[Ben E Lou]

AUGUST 2003

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 15-13
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 71-59
CURRENT STANDING: First place, 2 games ahead of the 2nd-place Mets.

KEY INJURIES:
None.

TEAM NEWS

Saturday 8/2/2003:
James Wuest slams 2 homers against Milwaukee.

Monday 8/4/2003:
John Swensen hits 2 homers against New York (N).
Ronald Feely crushes 2 homers against New York (N).

Saturday 8/9/2003:
James Wuest hits a 451-foot homerun!!
James Wuest crushes 2 homers against Pittsburgh.

Monday 8/11/2003:
Anthony Jones has 4 hits against New York (N).

Saturday 8/16/2003:
Ryan Wiens has 4 hits against Philadelphia.

Tuesday 8/19/2003:
Benjamin Lopez fans 11 batters against Atlanta.

Wednesday 8/20/2003:
Ronald Feely slams 2 homers against Atlanta.

Monday 8/25/2003:
Ronald Feely was named Player of the Week!
He batted .500 in 18 AB, with 4 HR and 12 RBI.

Wednesday 8/27/2003:
Anthony Jones slams 2 homers against Atlanta.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The pitching continues to be among the best in baseball. Baumer continues to lead the way among the starters. He’s now 12-5, 2.18.

The team batting average comes up to .245 (25th), and we’re now 8th in runs scored. 3B Anthony Jones had a big month, turning in a 1.011 OPS and 6 HR’s, 19 RBI. RF Feely hit 10 homers and drove in 30 runs. CF Wuest chipped in 7 homers and 18 RBI’s.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: CF Wuest--.287
HR: RF Feely--28
RBI: RF Feely--90
SB: UT Sweeney--23
SP ERA: Baumer—2.18
RP ERA: Marmolejo—1.78
SAVES: Marmolejo--30
SP K’s: Lopez--148

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Monday 8/4/2003:
James Wuest has improved his plate disclipine!
Tatsuko Matsuta seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 8/11/2003:
Harvey Baker has lost some lower body strength, his duration drops to D ...

Monday 8/18/2003:
Allen Murray seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 9/1/2003:
Gregory Alkire seems to have improved his pure stuff!
Gregory Alkire's pitches have more bite now, the movement has improved!

Murray drops off to 2.5 stars…SP Alkire becomes a 3.5-star guy…

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—2-3, 6.34, (5/6/5), 5 stars—He had a much better month, and his ratings continue to improve.
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—9-8,4.07, (6/5/4), 4 stars
MR Dion Martinez—1-0,0.74, (9/7/8). He’s now a 3.5 gold star guy. He struggled in the bigs, but clearly has outclassed AAA hitters. He’ll be with the big club in September.
3B/1B Harry “Pluto” Reid--.913 OPS (5/7/5), 5 stars
LF Russ Mangan--.862 OPS, (4/7/6), 4 stars—One more point in any category, and he’s getting called up to The Show.

AA NOTES:
CL James Barta—1-8, 3.67, 19SV (2/4/4), 4 stars—He’s doing much better in this stint in AA
LF/CF Michael Bedoya--.804 OPS, (3/3/3), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—11-3, 3.46, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—5-4, 4.37, (1/3/6), 4.5 stars
1B George Palafox--.791 OPS, (1/2/3), 4 stars
SS Arthur Owens--.692 OPS (1/2/5), 3.5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 2-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.78.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Armando Fresno (BOS)!
He batted .380 in 108 AB, with 6 homers and 29 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Justin Ward (LA)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.49.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Chris Rettig (CIN)!
He batted .376 in 93 AB, with 7 homers and 28 RBI.
American League-Player of the Week:
SS Alonso Ejea (NY)!
He batted .440 in 25 AB, with 1 HR and 6 RBI.
National League-Player of the Week:
LF Jerry Grimmer (SD)!
He batted .409 in 22 AB, with 5 HR and 12 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.