Week Thirteen: Summary of Series

Sass win again!
Solid hitting, Adequate pitching key
By Beth Sass / hereforthesass.blogspot.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Here for the Sass team announced their third win in a row, for a season high. Earlier this year they won two in a row, but tied the third. At 9-3, this was their most dominating win of the year.

"Things are really starting to gel as a team," Beth said. "We've got a line-up settled, there's laughter in the clubhouse. There have been less trips to the DL recently, and even the guys in Nice are starting to recover. Everything is just feeling good right now."

The hitting was very dominant, taking 5 of 6, while pitching did surprisingly well taking 4 of 6. "After Carlos [Silva]’s spectacular start early this week, we could hardly stand to look at the pitching stats. We've taken to re-showing our That is a Very Bad Idea presentation a couple of times, and it looks like we'll need a few more if the team is going to win," Dawn said.

In hitting, the Sass dominated nearly every category except home runs, where they kept things close. The final results were: runs (50-26), home runs (7-8), RBIs (46-26), stolen bases (4-1), walks (25-14), and batting average (.341-.311).

"I was making good contact with the ball," outfielder Jermaine Dye said, "But nothing was going out of the park. I feel good at the plate, though, so I'm hoping I'll see some good pitches to knock around."

Among the regular line-up, the team leaders were as follows: runs, Little Nicky Punto (9); home runs, Adam Dunn and Rocco Baldelli (2); RBIs, Adam and Rocco (8); stolen bases, Little Nicky and Carlos Guillen (2); walks, Adam and Carlos G. (5); and batting average, Jermaine (.440).

"I'm really pleased with my plate appearances this week," Adam said. "I know I had a couple of weeks of doing not-so-well, and I really appreciate the confidence that Beth and Dawn showed in my ability. I really feel like I've gotten my swing back."

Among the bench players, Doug Mientkiewicz scored 3 runs, hit 1 home run, and had a .400 batting average for the bench leaders. Mark Grudzielanek also scored 1 run, and Emil Brown had 1 walk.

“I’m always glad to help out whenever I can,” Doug said, “It’s a good time. I don’t like sitting on the bench much, so I’m hoping that eventually my playing will force Beth and Dawn to get me in the line-up more often.”

The pitching wasn't nearly as dominant, with the relieve corps having a surprisingly bad week. But, despite it all, the Sass managed to keep everything but the WHIP close. The final results in pitching were: wins (6-1), saves (1-0), strike-outs (41-25), holds (1-2), ERA (5.03-5.18), and WHIP (1.42-1.24).

“We did make the mistake of starting Kristin [Benson] on 4 days’ rest, rather than the usual 5. We didn’t really want to, but SBGF caught wind that we were going to pick a starting pitcher from the stands and threw a fit. It’s not like we hadn’t done that before, so I have no idea what the problem was, but he refused to let us play without a starting pitcher. Kristin readily admitted to us on Sunday that he didn’t think he could do it, but we had no choice; Aaron Cook was the only other option, as he would also be pitching on 4 days rest, but he forgot his glove,” Beth said.

The individual leaders among the starters were: wins, Kristin, Aaron Harang, Carlos S., and Aaron Cook (1); strike-outs, Carlos S. (7); ERA, Aaron H. (1.29), and WHIP (0.88)

“It was my goal to strike-out more players than Brad [Halsey] this week, and Beth and Dawn gave me two chances to beat him, but it wasn’t happening. I feel better that Carlos S. didn’t beat Brad, either, with two starts. That kid's a mad strike-out machine," Kristin said in awe.

Among the relievers, the leaders were: wins, Ambiorix Burgos and Julio Mateo (1); saves, Ambiorix (1); strike-outs, Brad (8); Holds, Brad (1); ERA, Rheal Cormier (0.00); and WHIP (0.90).

“It was a good week. My pitches were all working earlier this week and it felt good. I kinda wrecked my ERA on Saturday, though. I was just kinda tired and gave up a few too many hits. I’m ready to take on this week, though,” Brad said.

This week the 13th place Sass match-up with the 12th place Johan es mi novio team, in what is hoped to be a good competition.

“A good solid week of hitting and pitching and we could move up in the standings. That would be fun. We’re now heading into a tough portion of our schedule. We need to take this momentum and fight to the end,” Dawn said.