[Ben E Lou]

JUNE 2004

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 12-15
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 44-37
CURRENT STANDING: Third. 2.5 games behind the Mets, and ½ game behind the Marlins, who lead the Wild Card race..

MAJOR INJURIES:
Dewey Baumer ruptures an elbow ligament on June 27th, and is set to be out 7-8 weeks. Ouch. Neither of my options at AAA looks like I want to go with him yet, so I sign FA SP/RP Harry Stickles (Avg/Avg/Good,8/7/7,34yo). Stickles was cut by the Brewers in April. He’s a left with a lifetime ERA of 4.37 in 10 seasons in the bigs, mostly as a reliever. He has “E” endurance as a starter. I sign him for $680K for the season.

TEAM NEWS FROM THIS MONTH

Tuesday 6/1/2004:
Richard Marano has been released.

Tuesday 6/8/2004:
Steve Adams strikes out 11 against St. Louis.

Friday 6/25/2004:
Matthew Erwin hits 2 homers against Houston.

We were no-hit by 25-year-old Keith Ewers during the month. He is 8-4 with a 2.72 ERA.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
Well, the staff ERA lowered to 3.95 (14th), but that was before losing Baumer. The top four pitchers in the rotation all had ERA’s under 3.30 for the month, and the ‘pen was pretty solid as well. Hague got bombed in his first two outings in the #5 rotation slot, but has been decent in the last two starts—11IP, 6ER. I’ll let him stick around another month in the rotation.

The offense cooled off a little, but we’re still tied for first in homers (95) and 4th in runs scored (382). Sweeney continues to DAZZLE in the leadoff role. He’s now got a .359 OBP, with 39 stolen bases in 46 tries.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Sweeney--.297
HR: RF Feely--17
RBI: RF Feely--55
SB: 2B Sweeney--39
SP ERA: Castonguay—3.10
RP ERA: Martinez—2.16
SAVES: Marmolejo--18
SP K’s: Adams--110

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Monday 6/7/2004:
Freddy Castonguay has lost some movement on his pitches...

Monday 6/14/2004:
Raphael Perez seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...
Raphael Perez has lost some movement on his pitches...
Raphael Perez's control seems to have taken a bump...

Monday 6/21/2004:
Winfred Dunaway has lost some power...
Alberto Martos has lost some momentum, his range at RF drops to E ...

Monday 6/28/2004:
Paul Williams increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
Paul Williams has improved his plate disclipine!
Harvey Baker has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
Carlos Saldivar's control seems to have taken a bump...

None of these changes appear to be of major significance.

AAA NOTES
SP Gregorio Cruz—5-2,4.03, (7/6/6),5 stars
SP Hikoshirou Haruhiko—3-7,5.69,(6/6/5), 4.5 stars

AA NOTES:
SP Gregory Alkire—4-8,5.08, (1/4/4), 3.5 stars
MR Antonio Latta—1-1,2.65,(2/4/7), 4.5 stars
CL James Barta—4-2,2.05,18SV, (3/4/5), 4 stars
1B George Palafox--.598 OPS, (2/3/4), 3.5 stars

A NOTES:
SS Arthur Owens--.781OPS,(1/2/6),3.5 stars

NEW PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Perry Edelstein (DET)!
He had a record of 5-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 0.53.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Ralph Myler (CWS)!
He batted .281 in 96 AB, with 11 homers and 27 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Dale Yuan (CHC)!
He had a record of 4-0 in 5 games started, with an ERA of 1.54.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Clarence Howard (FLO)!
He batted .347 in 98 AB, with 9 homers and 20 RBI.

OTHER IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
Mark Harris of Detroit threw a no-hitter against Boston. He’s 4-5 with a 3.14 ERA.