[Ben E Lou]

AUGUST 2002

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 10-17
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 65-70
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 10 games behind the division-leading Mets.

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
SP Figueroa is diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow early in the month. He’ll likely be done until the last week or two of the regular season. Dean Sipe was called up to replace him.

TEAM NEWS

None.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Without Figueroa, the staff ERA rose 9 points to 4.19 (21st). Elliot Feder was horrid, 0-3 with a 9.24 ERA in 5 starts. Sipe was respectable in his return to the bigs: 0-1, 4.10 ERA in 4 starts. “The Fireball” Prahl is putting together a nice sophomore campaign. Right now he’s 11-7 with a 3.53 ERA

We struggled offensively this month, mainly at the top of the order. Dye hit .233, and Sylvain .239, dropping our team average to .257. Hopefully the youngsters will bounce back enough in September to get us up over .500 for the year.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.296
HR: 3B Dileo--27
RBI: C McDonald--76
SB: CF Sylvain--51
SP ERA: Prahl—3.53
RP ERA: Boykins—3.18
SAVES: Dinger—26
SP K’s: Figueroa--122

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Monday 8/6/2002:
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at LF drops to C ...
Jose Melendez has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to D ...
George Ruelas's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!
Kenneth Tamura seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 8/13/2002:
Tyler Poulson has learned reading pitchers better, his stealing ability raises to C ...
Bill Hicks's control seems to have taken a bump...
John Neville has worked out more, his duration raises to B ...

Monday 8/20/2002:
Tyler Poulson has lost some momentum, his range at 1B drops to E ...

Monday 8/27/2002:
Hugh Anderson has lost some power...
Luis Pierce has gained more power!

Melendez, drafted for his defense, is now below-average defensively. He’ll probably end up getting released…Ruelas is a single-A MR…Tamura was a 7th-round draft-pick…1st-round pick Anderson’s power drops from Brilliant to Good….

AAA NOTES
1B Danny Anderson--.746 OPS, (4/3/8), 4 stars.
2B/3B David Bischoff--.645 OPS, (4/3/4) 3.5 stars
RF Bryan Heasley--.838 OPS, (6/4/4), 4 stars.

AA NOTES:
SP Danny Robinson—9-6, 2.74 (3/3/5), 3 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.753 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—6-5, 2.91, (1/3/4), 4 stars (Out for season with ruptured disc…)
SP Donovan Wade—3-3, 3.28 (0/2/5), 3.5 stars.
1B Hugh Anderson--.824 OPS (2/3/56, 4 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.770 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.780 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
Friday 9/1/2002:
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Roberto Medina (NY)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 1.32.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Chris Korando (CLE)!
He batted .343 in 108 AB, with 10 homers and 35 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Urso Ramos (LA)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 6 games started, with an ERA of 0.92.
National League-Batter of the Month:
John Linville (PIT)!
He batted .378 in 98 AB, with 8 homers and 23 RBI.

Yes, that’s the same Roberto Medina that I let become a free agent. He’s been used in relief most of the year (46 relief appearances, 10 starts), and has a 4.56 ERA. He did have a very nice August for the Yanks.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.

MY SEPTEMBER CALL-UPS OF NOTE
None.