MLB Comes to the Plains of North Dakota (OOTP 13)

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 6/23/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 12 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 3-3 this week, bringing their overall record to 29-46.

6/16 - loss to LA Angels 11-5 (W-Bedard, 4-7, L-Floyd, 4-6) - HR - Kinsler (15)
6/17 - beat LA Angels 10-8 (W-Aumont, 1-3, S-Jones (2), L-Thompson, 0-1) - HR - Smoak (17), Kinsler (16)
6/18 - beat LA Angels 5-3 (W-Qualls, 1-4, S-Broxton (5), L-Downs, 2-2)
6/20 - loss to KC 13-8 (W-Soria, 1-0, L-De La Cruz, 4-1) - HR - Rosales (6), Donaldson (3)
6/21 - beat KC 12-5 (W-Floyd, 5-6, L-Saunders, 3-7) - HR - Gentry (4), Smoak (18), Young (7), Kinsler (17), Wright 2 (10). Donaldson goes 3-5.
6/22 - loss to KC 5-0 (W-Montgomery, 5-9, L-Vogelsong, 2-7). Wright goes 3-4.

Hitting Notes
- Donaldson, Kinsler, and Wright are hot right now. Donaldson is batting .322/.362/.471, Kinsler is .309/.401/.587, and Wright is .281/.420/.484.
- Ryan Sweeney also batting well. He has boosted his batting #'s up to .248/.317/.380.

Pitching Notes
- De La Cruz loses his first start this week.
- Nate Jones has struggled the last couple weeks, and has seen his ERA jump to 5.50.
- Chad QUalls meanwhile, has lowered his ERA to 3.77.
- Zach Stewart started his first game on 6/18, and pitches 5 innings, giving up 1 earned run on 6 hits.

Other Team Notes
- Doug Gore picked up the win in his second AA start on 6/18, going 7.1 innings, giving up 7 hits, and 1 run. He struck out 7, while walking just 1.
- 2nd Round Draft choice Walt Jackson was named the 90th best prospect in baseball.

Other Team News
- 3rd Round Draft pick, Francisco Sotelo, could not be signed, and will re-enter the draft next year. He was demanding a $550,000 bonus, and the team was unwilling to match that.
- Justin Smoak and Ian Kinsler named to the AL All-Star team.

Standings Notes
- Detroit is in first place still in AL, now 4 games ahead of Tampa and Boston. Minot holds in 15th.
- Arizona now leads the NL, with Washington 2 games back.
- Detroit remains #1 in Team Power Ranking, followed by Arizona and then Boston. Minot falls to 30th.

Around the League
- Miami's Aaron Crow throws a no-hitter against Atlanta on 6/18.
- Milwaukee signed Carlos Gomez to a 3 year extension worth $34.5 million.
- Milwaukee's Zach Greinke tore his rotator cuff, will be out 12 months.
- Alex Rodriguez gets his 3000th hit on 6/20 against Baltimore.

[GoBlue2419]

Due to a Notepad crash causing a loss of updates for a couple game weeks (note to self - more frequent saves), I will be jumping ahead in the dynasty a few weeks.

[GoBlue2419]

Mallards Designate Kuo for Assignment

MINOT, ND (July 22, 2013) - The Minot Mallards have designated relief pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo for assignment today, placing him on waivers. Kuo has appeared in 43 games for Minot this season, and has a 1-4 record with a 6.07 ERA. If another team claims Kuo, Minot is unable to revoke the waivers. If he passes through waivers, Minot could send him to AAA El Paso.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 7/29/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 16 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 2-4 this week, bringing their overall record to 43-62.

6/22 - beat Texas 5-1 (W-Santana, 7-9, L-Ross, 10-6) - 3 hits each from Gentry and Delmon Young, along with 3 RBI for Young.
6/23 - loss to Texas 6-5 (W-Perez, 7-7, S-Adams (20), L-Stewart, 1-1) - 3 hits from Jonathan Greene
6/24 - loss to Texas 10-1 (W-Feliz, 9-6, L-Floyd, 6-11) - 2 hits from Suzuki and Huff
6/25 - loss to Toronto 11-4 (W-Morrow, 12-2, L-De La Cruz, 5-2) - 3 hits from Kinsler
6/26 - beat Toronto 5-4 (W-Samardzija, 9-5, S-Qualls (11), L-Ramirez, 8-3) - HR - Young (11), Donaldson (6)
6/27 - loss to Toronto 5-2 (W-Davis, 9-3, S-Santos (24), L-Stewart, 1-2) - HR - Suzuki (2). Three hits from Suzuki.

Hitting Notes
- Suzuki and Gentry are on fire right now. Suzuki has raised his batting numbers to .310/.347/.372, while Gentry is at .283/.360/.417.
- Donaldson is struggling right now. His #'s on the season are .282/.318/.437.
- Kinsler is batting ./285/.358/.521, with 19 HR, 67 RBI
- Smoak is batting .275/.371/.504, with 23 HR, 73 RBI
- Wright is batting .278/.413/.460, with 14 HR, 47 RBI

Pitching Notes
- Samardzija continues to be best overall starting pitcher. He is 9-5 with a 4.62 ERA thus far.
- Santana is 7-10 with a 4.08 ERA.
- Floyd continues to struggle, with a 6-11 record and a 6.49 ERA.
- Qualls has pitched well as the closer, compiling 11 saves thus far to go with a 3.15 ERA.
- Broxton has managed to lower his ERA to 4.95.

Other Team Notes
- Smoak is currently out of the lineup with back soreness. The team has not put him on the DL at this point.
- Catcher Jesus Flores is healthy and eligible to come off of the DL after missing the entire season thus far with a broken kneecap. The Mallards face a decision on whether to keep him or Ronny Paulino as the backup catcher. Flores is cheaper, and is a free agents after this season, while Paulino is arbitration-eligible at a likely higher cost, so it may make sense to try to move Paulino before the trade deadline.
- The Mallards promoted Doug Gore to AAA El Paso this week. GM Timothy Erickson still maintains the club will give him this season in the minors, and wait until at least next season to bring him up.

Standings Notes
- Detroit remains in 1st place in the AL, 1 game ahead of Tampa and Boston at 64-42. Minot is currently 13th.
- Washington, St. Louis, and Arizona are all tied for 1st in the NL at 62-44.
- San Diego has the worst record in MLB at 39-67.

Around the League
- Mike Trout had his 26 game hitting streak end this week
- Alex Rodriguez out 5-6 weeks with torn ligament in thumb. ARod is batting .287 with 15 home runs and 53 RBI thus far.
- Johan Santana of the Mets is out for 4 months with a torn rotator cuff. His record this season is 6-9 with a 4.54 ERA.

[GoBlue2419]

MLB Trade Deadline Recap

NEW YORK, NY (August 1, 2013) - The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone for the 2013 season, and it was a relatively quiet one, at least compared to previous seasons. There were no blockbuster deals made, with the only deal even somewhat resembling a blockbuster being Boston's trade of Carl Crawford to Portland. The other expansion team, the Minot Mallards, was by far the most active team in this week leading up to the deadline, making four different deals.

Here is a recap of the deals made this week:
- Texas traded 1B Mitch Moreland to the LA Dodgers for RP Kenley Jansen and minor league SP Charles Kaalekahi.
- Boston traded OF Carl Crawford and minor league 3B David Renfroe to Portland for SP Clayton Richard.
- Pittsburgh traded minor league SS Chase d'Arnaud and minor league C Elias Diaz to San Diego for SP Dustin Moseley.
- Minnesota traded 1B Chris Parmalee and minor league RF Angel Morales to St. Louis for minor league LF Erik Komatsu.
- Minot traded RP Hong-Chih Kuo to Minnesota for minor league Closer Lester Oliveros.
- Minot traded SP Ryan Vogelsong to Detroit for P Phil Coke.
- Minot traded C Ronny Paulino to the Cubs for SP Travis Wood.
- Chicago White Sox traded RP Scott Olsen to Minnesota for minor league LF Brody Carvalho.
- The LA Angels traded RP LaTroy Hawkins and minor league SP Jose Urena to Kansas City for LF Alex Gordon.
- Minot traded LF Aubrey Huff to the Yankees for RP Boone Logan.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 8/5/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 17 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards have a good week this week, going 4-2 to bring their overall record to 47-64.

7/28 - loss to White Sox 6-2 (W-Sale, 5-6, L-Santana, 7-10)
7/29 - beat White Sox 4-3 (W-Floyd, 7-11, S-Qualls (12), L-Peavy, 8-8) - HR - Kinsler (20)
7/30 - beat White Sox 10-3 (W-De La Cruz, 6-2, L-Danks, 7-12) - HR - Young (12), Donaldson (7), Wright (15). Three hits from Donaldson, to go along with 3 RBI. Mallard baserunners also stole 3 bases (Gentry (12), Donaldson (2), Nelson (2).
7/31 - beat Boston 9-4 (W-Samardzija, 10-5, S-Jones (3), L-Wilson, 9-3) - HR - Young (13). Three hits from Young.
8/1 - beat Boston 8-7 (W-Jones, 3-1, S-Logan (4), Hill, 2-1) - HR - Flores (1), Young (14), Wright (16). Four RBI from Blake Dewitt.
8/2 - loss to Boston 9-5 (W-Buchholz, 9-9, L-Floyd, 7-12) - Three hits from Jesus Flores.

Hitting Notes
- Jesus Flores has a big week returning to the active roster, going .389/.421/.1.143 for the week, with 1 HR and 4 RBI.
- Delmon Young homered in 3 straight games this week.
- Kinsler has the highest batting average among players with regular playing time, at .287, meaning no Mallards players have a +.300 average (other than Flores, just activated this week)

Pitching Notes
- The first start for newly acquired Travis Wood did not go so well. He lasted 2.1 innings, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits.
- On the flipside, newly acquired Boone Logan did have a good first week. He pitched in 3 games, giving up just 1 earned run in 5 innings, and picked up a save.
- The acquisitions of Coke and Logan give the Mallards two more leftys in the bullpen. Coke and Wood could switch roles as well, as both are also leftys.

Other Team Notes
- Jeff Samardzija was named AL Pitcher of the Month for July. This makes him the first Mallards player to receive a Batter/Pitcher of the Month award. Samardzija went 5-0 for the month, with 22 strikeouts in 40 innings pitched.
- The Mallards were able to offload some older, higher-salaried players this week. The Logan-Huff deal was certainly offered by the Yankees to help offset the loss of ARod for 5-6 weeks, needing more help on offense. Travis Wood is probably worth a gamble, as Paulino needed to be moved to make room for Flores, and Wood is still just 26. Vogelsong had requested a trade, unhappy with his role, and Mallards GM Erickson was more than happy to oblige, given his poor performance. The Mallards sent Oliveros to AAA El Paso to start off, but could see his way to Minot soon.
- John Ely was sent down to AAA El Paso amidst all of the trades, and infielder Blake DeWitt was recalled to Minot.
- Delmon Young was suspended 5 games for his role in a brawl with Jon Lester in the 8/1 game with Boston. The bench-clearing skirmish netted a 5 game suspension for Lester as well.

Standings Notes
- Tampa has passed Detroit for 1st Place in the AL with a record of 69-43, two games ahead of Detroit. Minot remains in 13th place.
- Washington and St. Louis are tied for 1st Place in the NL, at 66-46.

Around the League
- Tampa's Prince Fielder named July AL Batter of the Month. He hit .390 with 10 home runs and 32 RBI on the month.
- Milwaukee's Corey Hart named July NL Batter of the Month. He hit .324 on the month, along with 11 home runs and 31 RBI.
- Toronto's K.C. Hobson named July AL Rookie of the Month. His .350 average, along with 4 home runs and 9 RBI paced all AL rookies.
- Washington's Bryce Harper named July NL Rookie of the Month. Harper hit .375 with 6 home runs and 14 RBI in July. He was also named Rookie of the Month for May.
- Stephen Strasburg will miss 8-9 weeks with a sprained ankle.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 8/12/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 18 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 3-4 this week, bringing their overall record to 51-68.

8/4 - loss to Seattle 9-3 (W-Blanton, 9-7, L-Wood, 3-3) - HR - Rosales (11)
8/5 - beat Seattle 9-2 (W-Samardzija, 11-5, L-Hultzen, 5-6) - HR - Donaldson (8), Wright (17). Three RBI from Donaldson.
8/6 - loss to Seattle 5-4 (W-Kelley, 5-3, L-Logan, 1-2) - HR - Flores (2)
8/7 - loss to LA Angels 3-1 (W-Richards, 8-5, S-Kohn (4), L-Ely, 0-1) - HR - Flores (3)
8/8 - loss to LA Angels 4-3 (W-Downs, 3-4, L-Logan, 1-3)
8/9 - beat LA Angels 3-2 (W-Wood, 4-3, S-Aumont (1), L-Wilson, 12-5) - 8 inning solid performance for Wood, rebounding from 2 disappointing starts.
8/10 - beat Kansas City 5-3 (W-Aumont, 2-4, S-Logan (5), L-Saunders, 3-14) - HR - Kinsler (21)

Hitting Notes
- Flores continues to hit well in his return to action. He is batting .289/.325/.605, with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Might the free agent-to-be be trying to earn a new contract for next season?
- Smoak has not homered since 7/20, a streak of 13 games played.

Pitching Notes
- Perhaps he has been pitching injured all season, explaining the less than stellar stats, but Gavin Floyd was diagnosed this week with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament, and is expected to be out for 12 months.
- John Ely was recalled from El Paso to replace Floyd in the rotation. Another option available to manager Bob Walcott is moving Phil Coke to the rotation.

Other Team Notes
- Kinsler leads the team in hitting at .291, home runs with 21, and RBI with 78
- Gentry leads the team in stolen bases with 15
- Santana leads the team in ERA at 3.88
- Samardzija leads the team in wins with 11, strike outs with 95, innings pitched with 139.2, and WAR at 1.9

Standings Notes
- Tampa still leads the AL at 71-48, a one game lead over Detroit and Boston. Minot remains in 13th place.
- St. Louis leads the NL at 72-47, a 3 game lead over Washington.

Around the League
- Joba Chamberlain signed a 2 year extension with the Yankees.
- Jay Bruce will miss 6 weeks for Cincinnati with an elbow strain.
- Carlos Beltran will miss 4-5 months for the Mets with a broken bone in his elbow.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 8/19/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 19 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 3-3 this week, bringing their overall record to 53-71.

8/11 - beat Kansas City 4-2 (W-Qualls, 4-2, S-Broxton (8), L-Soria, 1-1)
8/12 - loss to Kansas City 8-0 (W-Chen, 5-4, L-Ely, 0-2)
8/13 - loss to Tampa 6-5 (W-Lueke, 3-5, L-Coke, 6-2) - HR - Sizemore (11), Joseph (7). Three RBI for Sizemore.
8/14 - loss to Tampa 9-2 (W-Shields, 15-9, L-De La Cruz, 6-3)
8/15 - beat Tampa 3-2 (W-Samardzija, 12-5, S-Logan (6), L-Cobb, 8-2)
8/17 - beat Baltimore 9-8 (W-Aumont, 3-4, L-Jimenez, 1-2) - HR - Donaldson (9). Smoak goes 4-6 with 3 singles and a triple. Donaldson and Nelson also get 3 hits each, and Donaldson has 5 RBI.

Hitting Notes
- Smoak's homerless streak continues, now up to 19 games played.
- Donaldson and Flores are waging a battle to see who may get the nod to be starting catcher next year, unless a free agent is signed in the offseason.

Pitching Notes
- The pitching staff looks much better than earlier in the season. Currently the highest ERA on the staff is De La Cruz's 5.47. There are 3 pitchers with sub 4.00 ERAs, relievers Jones, Qualls, and Logan.
- Samardzija has now won 7 straight decisions. His last loss was on June 13th against Seattle.

Other Team Notes
- Suzuki is day-to-day with a sore knee
- AAA El Paso's Greg Golson was named American Conference Player of the Week. He hit .407 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI.
- AA Baton Rouge's Jorge Cruz was named Southern League Player of the Week. He hit .407 also, with 3 home runs and 8 RBI.

Standings Notes
- Tampa holds steady in 1st Place in the AL, with a 2 game lead over Detroit, at 76-49. Minot is still in 13th.
- St. Louis is in 1st Place in the NL, also with a 76-49 record, two games over Washington.

Around the League
- Detroit's Jhonny Peralta will be sidelined 4-5 months with a ruptured finger tendon.
- Brandon McCarthy of the Cubs will be out 4-5 months witha torn labrum.

[GoBlue2419]

Samardzija Has Herniated Disc

MINOT, ND (August 22, 2013) - When Minot Mallards pitcher Jeff Samardzija left his start yesterday with back pain, Mallards fans collectively held their breath, hoping for the best. Unfortunately those fears were founded, as Samardzija has been diagnosed with a herniated disc. Mallards General Manager Timothy Erickson stated the expectation is that Samardzija would be out of action for 2-3 months, which of course means his season is over.

Samardzija's 2013 season was a good one, a season which saw him attempt to stake his claim as the Mallards #1 starter. He finished the season with 8 straight wins, closing out with a 13-5 record to go along with a 4.19 ERA in 25 starts. Samardzija struck out 107 batters while walking 69.

"This is disapointing for sure, both for Jeff and for the club," Erickson shared with reporters this morning. "Jeff has had a very good season, and we were looking forward to his continued development this season," he continued.

"Looking at positives we can potentially take out of this, Jeff has not pitched this many innings at the big league level before, so this will allow us to save some wear and tear on his arm. I have no doubt that Jeff will come back better than ever next year. He's a tough kid, still has that football mentality, and I know he will work hard this offseason to build on the success he has had this year," Erickson commented, perhaps not in the least bit motivationally to Samardzija.

When asked who would replace Samardzija in the rotation, Erickson did not say definitively, but identified a couple options. One option would be moving Phil Coke to the rotation and calling up someone for the bullpen from AAA El Paso. Another option would be recalling Zach Stewart again, who has been pitching well at El Paso since he was optioned back to El Pason on July 30th. Stewart's AAA stats are a 7-2 record with a 2.74 ERA, including a 4 hit shutout of Baton Rouge in his previous start.

If bullpen help is needed, Lester Oliveros, acquired from Minnesota in the Hong-Chih Kuo deal, may be an option. The 25 year old had been up with Minnesota at the time of the trade, compiling a 4.14 ERA in 50 appearances, but the Mallards elected to have him begin in El Paso.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 8/26/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 20 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards continue their better play, going 5-2 this week, which brings their overall record to 58-73.

8/18 - beat Baltimore 5-4 (W-Coke, 7-2, L-Eyre, 2-3) - HR - Smoak (24), Sweeney (7), Kinsler (23). Kinsler goes 4-6 with 2 RBI.
8/19 - loss to Baltimore 7-1 (W-Patton, L-Ely, 0-3)
8/20 - beat Cleveland 6-1 (W-De La Cruz, 7-3, L-Masterson, 11-12) - HR - Young (15). Four RBI for Young.
8/21 - beat Cleveland 2-1 (W-Samardzija, 13-5, S-Logan (7), L-Martinez, 0-1)
8/22 - beat Cleveland 2-1 (W-Broxton, 4-1, S-Logan (8), L-Perez, 2-3)
8/23 - loss to Portland 5-4 (W-Durbin, 1-0, S-Wang (13), L-Oliveros, 4-2) - HR - Sweeney (8)
8/24 - beat Portland 9-6 (W-Logan, 2-3, S-Oliveros (1), L-McClellan, 3-2) - HR - Young (16), Sizemore (12), Kinsler (24), Sweeney (9). Five RBI from Young.

Hitting Notes
- CF Ryan Sweeney hit 3 home runs this week. Sweeney is currently batting .239/.300/.382, with 9 home runs and 51 RBI.
- C Jesus Flores has come back down to earth after his good start. His numbers have dropped to .208/.265/.377.
- Justin Smoak broke his homerless streak on 8/18, hitting his first home run since July 20th. He and Kinsler both have 24 to pace the Mallards, though 10 of Smoak's came with Seattle.

Pitching Notes
- The club's patience with Broxton seems to be paying off, as he has now lowered his ERA to 4.12, and cut down on his number of walks.
- Lester Oliveros was called up from El Paso to take Samardzija's place on the staff. Phil Coke will move to the rotation for the time being at least.
- John Ely may find himself back in El Paso soon, as he is now 0-3 with an 8.68 ERA in 4 starts. Zach Stewart may get another chance with the big club. J.A. Happ is also pitching well in El Paso, though is currently not on the 40 Man Roster, but there is room currently.

Other Team Notes
- Suzuki has a sore wrist and will miss a week of time.
- CF Craig Gentry left the 8/24 game against Portland with an as yet undisclosed injury.

Standings Notes
- Tampa continues to lead the AL, increasing their lead to 5 over Detroit. Minot still finds itself in 13th place.
- St. Louis leads the NL at 80-52, 2 games ahead of Atlanta.

Around the League
- Eric Hosmer (KC) leads the AL with a .343 average
- Miguel Cabrera (DET) leads the AL with 37 home runs
- Prince Fielder (TB) leads the AL with 114 RBI
- Daniel Alvarez (COL) leads the NL with a .328 average
- Corey Hart (MIL) leads the NL with 34 home runs
- Juan Francisco (ATL) leads the NL with 101 RBI
- James Shields and Justin Verlander lead the AL with 17 wins
- Verlander leads the AL also with a 2.80 ERA, and strikeouts with 196
- Jaime Garcia (STL) leads the NL in wins with 15
- Stephen Strasbourg (WAS) leads the NL with a 2.46 ERA
- Tim Lincecum (SF) leads the NL with 196 strikeouts

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 9/2/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 21 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards have a great week, going 5-1, bringing their overall record to 63-74.

8/25 - beat Portland 4-1 (W-Santana, 8-10, S-Broxton (9), L-McGowan, 8-12)
8/26 - beat Minnesota 8-5 (W-Logan, 3-3, L-Perkins, 2-1) - HR - Smoak (25). Three RBI from Smoak.
8/27 - beat Minnesota 8-1 (W-De La Cruz, 8-3, L-Duensing, 9-12) - HR - Rosales (12)
8/28 - loss to Minnesota 13-6 (W-Hendriks, 10-13, L-Wood, 4-4) - HR - Joseph (8)
8/30 - beat Detroit 4-1 (W-Ely, 1-3, S-Logan (9), L-Scherzer, 10-10) - HR - Flores (4), Smoak (26). Three hits from Flores and Kinsler.
8/31 - beat Detroit 2-1 (W-Santana, 9-10, S-Logan (10), L-Schlereth, 2-6) - HR - Rosales (13)

Hitting Notes
- Smoak now hitting .275/.376/.500, with 26 home runs and 86 RBI
- Kinsler hitting .286/.362/.508, with 24 home runs and 83 RBI
- Wright hitting .261/.397/.436, with 17 home runs and 56 RBI

Pitching Notes
- Boone Logan has 10 saves, and a 2.36 ERA in 54 appearances. He was pretty much locked down the closer role at this point.
- Qualls is not happy that Logan has the closer role. He has pitched well himself, with a 3.25 ERA in 65 appearances, with 12 saves.
- Ely may have bought himself one more start with the big club after his last start. He has lowered his ERA to 6.39.

Other Team Notes
- Both Smoak and Kinsler have injury diagnoses pending. The team cannot afford to lose either of them for long.
- Greg Golson again named American Conference Player of the Week for AAA El Paso, and deserves a call-up with rosters expanding.

Standings Notes
- Tampa continues to increase its lead, now up to 9 games over Detroit, with a 87-51 record. Minot is now tied for 12th with Portland.
- St. Louis holds on to 1st in the NL at 84-54, a 4 game lead over Washington and Atlanta.

Around the League
- Tampa's Sean Rodriguez named August Batter of the Month in the AL. He hit .369, with 11 home runs and 25 RBI on the month.
- Colorado's Daniel Alvarez named August Batter of the Month in the NL. He hit .445 with 8 home runs and 30 RBI during the month.
- Minnesota's Liam Hendriks named AL Pitcher of the Month for August. He went 5-1 with a 2.66 ERA.
- LA's Clayton Kershaw named NL Pitcher of the Month for August. He went 3-0 with a 0.79 ERA for the month.
- San Francisco fired manager Mike Sciosia.
- Both Rafael Furcal (STL) and Zach McAllister (HOU) were suspended for 10 games for a brawl
- Andruw Jones (PHI) collected his 2000th hit this week.
- Tampa's Prince Fielder hit his 300th career home run this week.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 9/8/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 22 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards have another winning week, going 4-3, bringing their overall record to 67-77.

9/1 - loss to Detroit 4-1 (W-Verlander, 18-6, S-Schlereth (29), L-Coke, 7-3) - HR - Dewitt (1)
9/2 - beat Oakland 3-2 (W-Wood, 5-4, S-Logan (11), L-Peacock, 9-9) - HR - Young (17), Wright (18)
9/3 - beat Oakland 4-3 (W-De La Cruz, 9-3, S-Logan (12), L-Anderson, 9-14) - HR - Cabrera (1), Donaldson (10). Three hits for Joseph and Donaldson.
9/4 - loss to Oakland 8-6 (W-Valverde, 7-1, L-Coke, 7-4) - HR - Mattison (1), Wright (19). Three hits for Kevin Mattison.
9/5 - beat Yankees 16-5 (W-Broxton, 5-1, L-Hughes, 12-9) - HR - Smoak (27), Rosales (14), Nelson (3). Three hits for Suzuki. Three RBI for Smoak, Nelson, and Rosales.
9/6 - loss to Yankees 16-1 (W-Betances, 1-0, L-Happ, 0-1) - Happ gets shelled in his first start. He gives up 6 runs in 1/3 inning.
9/7 - beat Yankkes 11-4 (W-Wood, 6-4, L-Pineda, 10-13) - HR - Mattison (2), Smoak (28), Young (18), Wright (20). Mattison has 3 hits and 6 RBI. Flores has 3 hits.

Hitting Notes
- CF Kevin Mattison is smoking hot right now. He is batting .294/.342/.559, with 2 home runs and 7 RBI. These are the first home runs of his career.
- Delmon Young has increased his RBI total to 95.
- OF Willie Cabrera hit his first career home run this week. At 27, he doesn't have much of a future, but nice for him to get this milestone.
- Suzuki has raised his average to .341, with a .381 OBP. He may not be finished after all. I'm sure GM Timothy Erickson hopes for that since he gave him a 3 year contract before this season.

Pitching Notes
- Boone Logan has not given up a run since 8/21. That spans 7 appearances.
- Jonathan Broxton has only given up 1 run since 8/14, spanning 10 appearances.
- Ervin Santana and Eulogio De La Cruz are both knocking on double digit wins for the season. Each has 9, and De La Cruz is scheduled to pitch 9/8.

Other Team Notes
- The Mallards recalled pitchers Zach Stewart, Junichi Tazawa, Scott Diamond, Charlie Furbush, J.A. Happ, 2B Jonathan Herrera, and outfielders Willie Cabrera, Stephen Vogt, Ezequiel Carrera, Kyle Hudson, and Greg Golson from AAA El Paso when the rosters expanded 9/1.
- Kinsler was placed on the 15 Day DL with a bruised wrist. He will be out one more week.
- Doug Gore is currently ranked as the 11th best prospect in baseball. He is the 6th best pitching prospect according to BNN.

Standings Notes
- Tampa holds on to first, with a record of 90-54, 7 games ahead of Detroit. Minot has moved up to 10th place in the AL.
- St. Louis remains in first in the NL, at 87-57, 3 games up on Washington.

Around the League
- Albert Pujols has a 25 game hitting streak active currently.
- David Ortiz got his 2000th career hit this week.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 9/15/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 23 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 3-3 this week, bringing their overall record to 70-80.

9/8 - beat Texas 10-2 (W-De La Cruz, 10-3, L-Guthrie, 10-13) - Four hits from Delmon Young, along with 4 RBI. Three hits from Suzuki and Flores. De La Cruz goes 8.1 innings, giving up 8 hits and striking out 8.
9/9 - beat Texas 6-3 (W-Ely, 2-3, S-Logan (13), L-Buckel, 2-3) - HR - Young (19), Golson 2 (2)
9/10 - loss to Texas 15-5 (W-Feliz, 13-7, L-Santana, 9-11) - HR - Smoak (29). Greg Golson goes 4-5.
9/12 - beat Toronto 6-0 (W-Wood, 7-4, L-Davis, 11-7) - HR - Smoak (30), Golson (3). Wood pitches a 6 hit shutout.
9/13 - loss to Toronto 10-6 (W-Morrow, 14-7, S-Santos (34), L-De la Cruz, 10-4)
9/14 - loss to Toronto 4-2 (W-Alvarez, 12-12, S-Santos (35), L-Ely, 2-4)

Hitting Notes
- Greg Golson has a great first first couple weeks. He is batting .371/.389/.686 with 3 home runs and 6 RBI. Perhaps the Mallards should have called him up earlier.
- Delmon Young reaches the 100 RBI mark, becoming the first Mallard to do so.
- Smoak reaches 30 home runs on the season.
- David Wright is one run away from 100 runs scored on the season. He has also walked 115 times.

Pitching Notes
- Boone Logan has now gone 9 straight appearances without giving up a run.
- Eulogio De La Cruz becomes the second Mallards pitcher, after Samardzija, to reach 10 wins.
- Phillippe Aumont has only given up 2 runs in his last 18 appearances, and had not given up a run in 10 appearances before giving up 1 on 9/7.

Other Team News
- Kinsler's injury seems to be taking longer than expected to heal. He will be out another 1-2 weeks.
- Ezequiel Carrera was placed on the 15 Day DL with a mild hamstring strain. He should miss another 2 weeks.

Standings Notes
- Tampa leads in the AL by 8 games over Detroit with a record of 94-56. Minot is tied for 9th place with Oakland.
- St. Louis continues to lead the NL, with a record of 91-59, 4 games better than Washington.

Around the League
- Albert Pujol's hit streak was snapped at 28 games.
- Rumors are swirling out of Miami that Jose Reyes could be on his way out. He is batting just .251 this season, with a .677 OPS.
- Philadelphia's Jonathan Papelbon notches his 300th career save on 9/9.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 9/22/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 24 Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards go 4-3 this week, bringing their overall record to 74-83.

9/15 - loss to White Sox 11-4 (W-Heath, 1-0, L-Santana, 9-12) - HR - Wright (21)
9/16 - beat White Sox 8-0 (W-Stewart, 2-2, L-Sale, 8-8) - HR - Flores (5), Young (20)
9/17 - loss to White Sox 6-5 (W-Infante, 4-1, L-Logan, 3-4) HR - DeWitt (2). Three hits for Golson.
9/18 - beat Boston 8-6 (W-Coke, 8-4, S-Qualls (13), L-Melancon, 6-1) - HR - J. Herrera (1), Donaldson (11), Wright (22). Three hits for Wright.
9/19 - beat Boston 11-10 (W-Qualls, 5-5, L-Melancon, 6-2) - HR - Wright (23). Kevin Mattison goes 4-7 with 4 RBI.
9/20 - beat Boston 11-8 (W-Jones, 4-1, S-Oliveros (2), L-Sherrill, 4-3) - HR - Sizemore (13), Wright (24).
9/21 - loss to Seattle 1-0 (W-Luetge, 3-0, S-Uehara (31), L-Stewart, 2-3)

Hitting News
- David Wright has a hot week, hitting 3 home runs. He is now batting .269/.400/.473, with 24 home runs and 73 RBI.
- Delmon Young reaches 20 home runs on the season.
- Justin Smoak has 99 RBI on the year.
- Greg Golson continues to play very well. He is batting .377/.389/.585, with 3 home runs and 7 RBI in 15 games. He has stolen 4 bases also.
- Ichiro Suzuki has a 20 game hitting streak active.

Pitching Notes
- Boone Logan's scoreless streak ends when he gives up 3 runs against Chicago on 9/17.
- Ervin Santana has been stuck on 9 wins for 4 starts now. He is 0-2 in those 4 starts.
- Broxton continues to pitch well, lowering his ERA to 3.74 now.

Other Team News
- David Wright named AL Player of the Week
- Ichiro Suzuki tore ankle ligaments 9/17, and will be out of action for 4 months. He should be healthy in time for the start of Spring Training.
- Low A Kelowna Timber Rattlers manager Jay Younger was not resigned and has left the team now that their season is over.
- AA Baton Rouge River Bats pitching coach Pedro Alvarado was not resigned and has left the team now that their season is over.

Standings Notes
- Tampa Bay has clinched 1st place in the AL. The Yankees have a 1 game lead over LA for the 5th and final AL playoff spot. Minot is in 9th place.
- St. Louis remains in 1st in the NL at 95-62, 5 games better than Washington. Milwaukee and Arizona are tied for 5th in the NL.

Around the League
- Alejandro De Aza of the White Sox had his 24 game hitting streak snapped by the Blue Jays.

[GoBlue2419]

QuackNotes - 9/29/13

Welcome to the Minot Mallards Week 25 and Final Week of the Regular Season Recap here at the #1 fan blog for the Minot Mallards, QuackNotes. The Mallards end the season on a sour note, going 1-4 in the final week, to bring their overall record to 75-87.

9/22 - loss to Seattle 7-2 (W-Noesi, 9-17, L-Wood, 7-5) - HR - Smoak (31)
9/23 - loss to Seattle 3-2 (W-Hernandez, 18-6, S-Weiland (1), L-De La Cruz, 10-5)
9/25 - beat LA Angels 8-5 (W-Oliveros, 5-2, S-Logan (14), L-Bell, 7-11) - HR - Young (21). Three hits from Wright and Young. Five RBI from Young.
9/26 - loss to LA Angels 10-6 (W-Wilson, 18-5, S-League (6), L-Ely, 2-5) - HR - Young 2 (23). Three hits from Wright. Four RBI from Young.
9/27 - loss to LA Angels 8-3 (W-Weaver, 13-9, L-Wood, 7-6) - HR - Flores (6), Young (24)

Hitting Notes
- Kinsler returned to the lineup 9/26, but goes 0-7 to end the season.
- Delmon Young has a great final week, hitting 4 home runs and 11 RBI.
- Wright continued his hot spell as well, going 7 for 20 in the final week. Wright ends up 9th in MLB in OBP with a .400 mark.
- Smoak reaches 100 RBI on the season, joining Delmon Young as the 2 Mallards players to hit the century mark. Kinsler would have most likely reached it as well if he had not injured his wrist.

Pitching Notes
- Phillippe Aumont finishes the year hot. In 78 appearances, the Rule 5 draftee finishes with a 3.95 ERA. Both Rule 5 draftees, Aumont and Nate Jones,
made their selections worthy ones with their performances this season. Jones pitched in 66 games, compiling a 4.23 ERA.
- Santana's bid for 10 wins fails as he ends the season with a 9-12 record. Samardzija and De La Cruz are the lone Mallards in double digit wins.
- Qualls ends the season with an ERA under 3.00, finishing at 2.99. He continues to be upset with his role, wanting to close, so his status for next
season will be one of the interesting questions this offseason for Mallards GM Timothy Erickson.

Other Team News
- Delmon Young ties for 3rd in MLB in RBI on the season with his 120.
- David Wright finishes with the 3rd highest number of walks in MLB, with 121.

Standings Notes
- AL Playoff Teams - Tampa Bay, Boston, and Detroit get byes, and New York and Seattle battle in the Wildcard Series.
- NL Playoff Teams - St. Louis, Philadelphia, and Washington get byes, and Arizona and Atlanta face off in the Wildcard Series.
- Minot ends up tied for 11th in the AL with Portland, its expansion brother.

Around the League
- Justin Verlander wins the AL Pitching Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (22), ERA (2.72), and strikeouts (245).
- KC's Eric Hosmer wins the AL Batting Crown with a .339 average.
- Colorado's Daniel Alvarez wins the NL Batting Crown with a .341 average.
- Mark Teixeira (NYY) hits the most home runs in the AL, with 42.
- Corey Hart (MIL) wins the NL Home Run Race, with 39.
- Miguel Cabrera (DET) has the most RBI in the AL with 128.
- Juan Francisco (ATL) has the most RBI in the NL with 120.
- Washington's Yoenis Cespedes ruptures his medial collateral ligament and will miss 9 months.

[GoBlue2419]

Final AL Standings for 2013 Regular Season:



Final NL Standings for Regular Season 2013:

[GoBlue2419]

Minot Mallards Final 2013 Hitting Stats



Minot Mallards Final 2013 Pitching Stats