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Ben Fritz 3-3, 3.73 ERA |
| Jim Magrane 8-1, 2.48 ERA |
|---|
One of the reasons Somerset is at the top of the standings is it finds players like Jim Magrane. The 6-2, 200-pound righthander began last season with the Long Island Ducks but was released after just three starts. Somerset scooped him up, got a serviceable year out of him in 2008 and has watched him blossom into an all-star.
The Barnstormers counter with Fritz, who has lifted his performance recently. The righthander was 2-2 with a 3.21 ERA in June.
This could be one of Fritz’s last starts with us. I am sure there will be some scouts in the stands tonight. Good luck Ben.
Let’s just hope the offense shows up.
I also see where RHP Bill Bliss was reinstated to active list on the Atlantic League website as of yesterday.
We thought Bill was going in last night he came out of the dug out with a glove on and started to get loose. I would like to see him pitch if its only a few pitches.
How long are we going to have to suffer through keeping a 240 hitter on the team all because his last name is Herr. We did that last year. Its time that players have to perform no matter what their name is.
Oh my did I read a bad message about about a player..
Herr yea we can talk bad about him…Just do not say anything nice about anyone on here.
lance fan ..what are you talking about?
C’mon, can’t we all just get along?
It’s not hERRor’s average so much as it is the other parts of this puzzle.
In no particular order I’ve seen him:
1) Not run out a grounder hit to the 2nd baseman.
2) Not run out a fly ball, but instead throw his bat into the ground and jog towards first.
3) Make acrobats of the the first basemen when he constantly throws the ball on routine plays into the ground or over their head.
4) Can’t make routine plays on grounders and pop flys and leads the league in ERRors.
5) Lets balls not hit right at him go by without great effort.
6) Except for a 2-3 week stretch when his hand had healed *wink wink Mr. Collins* and he was hitting the ball like a High-A player, he hasn’t hit the ball hard more than one time in a game since and he strikes out in critical situations….a lot. I’m talking strickly about effort and concentration on all but one of these things, and there’s not excuse for it as a professional. I’m also stating facts and not picking on Aaron.
I believe a lot more was expected of both hERRor and Mulhern and it just isn’t going to happen this year, or maybe again for either guy.
On the other side, Sabatella began to shine when he got a chance in the lineup at first base everyday. Haran came into town, started hot and has stayed that way by seeing pitches every day. Campbell is another player who will do the same thing if he stays in the lineup and is not yoyo’d in and out every 3-4 games. I believe he was also hitting near .300 early before Medina showed up and playing time started to get shared. These younger guys are very capable and can contribute if VonhERR lets them blossom. I’ve seen all three dive and bust their butts to get to a ball and make a play, and then I see very weak or no effort from the annointed ones.
It’s time to avoid signing 34-year old infield/outfield singles hitters who hit below .200 and have lost any power that they may have had. It’s also time to let players go or to sit them down when they think they are too good to be playing in the AL and shouldn’t be here. They may be absolutely right.
Good luck Fritz. I love your effort and hope you get the chance you’ve been working for this year.
JJackson to HOF.
From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette mail bag today.
Amos_P_Swanson: In your opinion….Is there ANYTHING as Pirate fans that we could do to begin circumventing this current regime?
Gene Collier: Absolutely, but not enough people want to do it. Don’t show up. Don’t pay attention. But I would not recommend either course. Baseball, even, as i said, bad baseball, is entertainment — a diversion. It’s not something that should be negatively impacting your quality of life. The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since four years before the Titanic left port, but you can’t buy a ticket at Wrigley Field. It’s packed. They’re enjoying it, no matter what happens. Pittsburghers feel ripped off when the team loses. It’s just a game. Enjoy it.
It is a diversion, but it could be such a positive diversion if a manager didn’t manage for his next gig and players didn’t play for just themselves.
….and it’s true that we do keep showing up.
Dave, who is the young man in the booth.. and I’m not talking about Tom… LOL
Ahh, just heard… BeerPong.
Just started pouring down rain in Mayberry.
we had the dogs in and brought them home, sir went back in not storming there like here.
MM…you would have alot more credibility with your criticism if you would be positive just a smidge. You are like the boy that cried wolf….it’s old news.
Housel looked pretty darn good at SS tonite. Quincy made one helluva catch too.
Totally agree with you Booby!
I just don’t get why the transactions pages on the Barnstormer site and the official Atlantic League site rarely match. Is it really that hard to keep up with the transactions? If it weren’t for the blog and Jason we would all be in the dark all the time.
Still pouring in Mayberry – at least up in Northern Mayberry. I guess your being spared Lance Fan at the stadium.
Lackluster offense tonight. I know Migrane is a good pitcher, but as a team i dont think any of our batters really scare the opponent.
If all the players here were perfect they would not be here. Let’s just let them play and stop bashing there every move. Again nobody is holding a gun to your head to come out to the park every night and watch.
Congrats Jason on your new job! You have BIG shoes to fill.
What is Jason’s new job?
Being critical of players on a blog about the team seems in line to me. If someone decides they want to ONLY be critical, that is their choice. It seems to me that as long as the remarks are kept in the baseball arena (avoiding unwarranted personal attacks on players and other posters) that’s what an ongoing baseball blog is partly about. If a guy never runs out a ground ball, what’s wrong with making that point? You may grow tired of a particular poster making that point over and over, but this IS the place to debate on-field play.
I’m not a Yankee fan, but if you get a chance, add this blog to your list http://www.yankees.lhblogs.com
On a good night there are over 2,000 posts on the game thread, some extremely negative, some extremely positive. Sure, the Stormers aren’t a big league team, but it is still fun to hear different opinions and debate the makeup of the team.
New job? Did I miss something?
Yup
Very good point 4seamed, very good point.
4seamed totally agree. I never mentioned what you said because I just assumed people knew that. Check out some of the Eagles, Phillies or Cubs blogs and you will see the same thing. The other night when Jason Woerth swung at the 1st pitch after the 2 previous batters walk on 8 straight pitches he was blasted! In the old days you would hear some players or fans say they didn’t read the paper because they didn’t like what was written. Then it was they didn’t watch Sports Center because they didn’t like what was said. Now we are into the world of blogging, so if a player or fan doesn’t like what they read ……
Remember it’s like when you don’t like something on TV, you change the channel or turn it off. We are all capable of making choices.
OK, so what is Jason’s new job?
I understand the sentiment about not being all negative, but if you think things are ok here right now your deluding yourself. How can you be positive about Herr. Atleast his brother didn’t act like he was a big shot on the field. I can handle struggling, but the arguing on the numerous called 3rd strikes and the half hearted dives where he stays lying on the ground is way too much. I have been a big supporter since the Barnstormers came to Lancaster. I am starting to think that we’ve allowed mediocre baseball to be ok for too long. The teams winning are fundamentally sound and the Stormers are not. That has been a problem for several years now. We get players signed so there is talent here, but so many errors.
How about last night when the PA announcer said “these defensive changes for the Barnstormers …… and Herr in to play 3rd base”