Week 3 Recap

Squirrels Fall to Eagles 8-4

It was bound to happen. The surprising early dominance by the Flying Squirrels ended this week with a tough and humbling loss to the Olivet Killer Eagles, 8-4. The team struggled in almost every aspect of the game, and looked like the bottom of the barrel team they were projected to be in the preseason. Of the eight categories lost, five weren't even close. The Squirrels were swept offensively, and took the saves and holds categories with just one apiece in their respective columns. On a slightly brighter note, of the six offensive categories lost, BB's, HR's and Runs were all lost by one each. The rain out for Atlanta on Sunday night sealed the Squirrels fate by cutting Chipper Jones and Troy Glaus' days short.

Offensively, the Squirrels were awful. The teams hottest hitter, Derek Jeter, cooled to the tune of .192 this week (5-26,) and as predicted last week, the early heavy hitting of Jeff Francouer and Chris Young slowed down. Mark Teixiera's early season struggles have really hurt the Squirrels offense, as he is one of the few legitimate power threats the team has. In another disappointing note, the steady bat of Carlos Guillen was lost this week due to a strained hamstring.

On the mound, the Squirrels weren't much better. If the Eagles would have had a decent pitching week, the Squirrels could have conceivably been swept across the board. Brian Fuentes returned and was promptly bombed by Miguel Cabrera, and this would prove to be a sign of things to come for the Squirrels bullpen. The absolute awfulness of Josh Beckett and Chris Volstad offset the good weeks by Lincecum, Anderson and Pettitte for the starters.

Flying High

BJ Upton- 7-25 (.280), 1HR, 7RBI, 5R, 3BB, 1SB
Although not the strongest week, Upton was the brightest spot in an offense that was swept.

Andy Pettitte- 8IP, 1W, 1.29 ERA, 0.75WHIP, 8K
Pettitte continued his early season dominance and is now 3-0 with a 1.29ERA and 1.07WHIP.


Squirrel Turds

Jeff Francouer- 4-25 (.160), 3R, 2RBI
While a cool down was expected, this line completely blows and any gained confidence in Frenchy is again gone.

The Bullpen- Apart from Carlos Villanueva, no one had an ERA below 8.10 or a WHIP below 1.88. The return of Brian Fuentes was ugly, Okajima was terrible and Badenhop showed why he belongs on the wire.


Week 4 Preview

Coming off a disheartening and ugly loss, the Squirrels will look to rebound against another formidable opponent and another Baker in the Mid Michigan Tigers. The Squirrels have made a few changes this week in hopes of putting together a more complete effort. Christian Guzman will get his first start of the season in the utility spot over the struggling Troy Glaus. Guzman has hit for a good average and has scored runs consistently so far this season. In for the injured Carlos Guillen will be Chris Coghlan. Coghlan was slated to be the starter from day one, and ownership hope this opportunity will light a fire under him. In the bullpen, the Squirrels welcome back Hong-Chih Kuo with open arms, in hopes he can bring some much needed consistency to a struggling bullpen. Mid Michigan boasts a good offense and a pitching staff that has been hurt by injuries. Unfortunately for Springfield, the Tigers lay claim to a deep starting rotation that will adequately cover it's injuries. This looks like another close matchup that could be decided by a stat here or there in a few categories, but look for Mid Michigan to pull away by week's end. Prediction: Mid Michigan 7-5

Week 2 Recap

Squirrels Cruise to 10-2 Victory Over Mets

In week two, the Flying Squirrels put together a solid overall effort to beat division rival New Jersey 10-2. The Squirrels had a balanced attack, winning both five hitting and five pitching categories, narrowly winning the wins category, but dominating in almost every other category won. The two categories lost this week were saves and SB's. With Brad Lidge and Brian Fuentes both on the DL, the Squirrels expected to lose the saves category and anytime you go against Juan Pierre, there is a reasonable chance you may lose the SB category.

The week was highlighted by the outstanding play of Derek Jeter who hit was 11-22 for the week with seven RBI and three HR. Jeter, was the counterbalance to Mark Teixeira who continued his annual slow start with a .100 average and really nothing else to show besides five free passes. On the mound, Andy Pettitte had an outstanding week posting two wins and a miniscule 1.29 ERA with ten k's.

This week holds some interesting items of note for the Squirrels, as several players on the DL may be coming back to the team. These include Brian Fuentes, Hong-Chih Kuo and possibly Daisuke Matsuzaka. Matsuzaka and Kuo have both been excellent in their minor league rehab assignments and Fuentes has thrown some bullpen sessions and says he is ready to go when he comes off the DL Wednesday.

Flying High

Derek Jeter- .500, 3HR, 7RBI, 5R
-Jeter was unstoppable this week, posting good numbers in four categories.

Andy Pettitte- 14 IP, 2W, 10K, 1.29ERA, 1.07WHIP
-Pettitte was twirling this week and posted half the Squirrels' Wins.


Squirrel Turds

Mark Teixeira- .100, 1HR, 3RBI, 1R, 5BB
-Saved himself with the five walks, but he isn't a 5yr player to chip in in one category.

Kenshin Kawakami- 5 IP, 0W, 2K, 7.20ERA, 2.00WHIP
-An uninspired 5 innings with 4ER, 2BB and 2K. Thanks, Kenshin.

The Squirrels will have their hands full this week as the Olivet Killer Eagles come calling. The Great Lakes Division leaders, Olivet has a strong offense and good pitching. The Squirrels will boast a stronger starting rotation, but will once again forfeit the saves category. This week will come down to whose offense takes the most categories. It is hard to believe that Chris Young and Jeff Francouer can keep up their torrid early season paces, which leads me to believe the Squirrels may come up short this week. Look for the SB and BB categories to swing this close match-up one way or the other. Prediction: Olivet 6-5-1

Squirrels Week One Review

Squirrels open inaugural season with a win


In their inaugural matchup, the Flying Squirrels managed a 6-5-1 win over fellow rookie owner Richard Chase and the division rival Rochester Red Sox. When asked about the victory, GM Adam Anson had this to say, "I thought the team came out of the gate strong and we came away with a close victory. With all the key guys we have on the DL, every win is crucial." The pitching was the bright spot this week, but the offense showed an early ability to swipe some bags, and those were the key reasons the Squirrels came away with the victory.

Flying High

Tim Lincecum- 2W, 17K, 1.29ERA, 0.71WHIP

As expected, Tim Lincecum started the season strong and will have to continue this type of dominance to bolster an injury depleted staff.

Chris Young- .292, 3HR, 11RBI, 4R
In the absolute definition of a pleasant surprise, Chris Young led the offense in week one. Young was the subject of much preseason trade talk, but new management decided to stick with the talented OFer in hopes he would put it all together...it's just one week, but so far so good.

Squirrel Turds

Josh Beckett- 1W, 5K, 6.17ERA, 1.80WHIP
Beckett, who along with Tim Lincecum is expected to lead the Squirrels staff this season, was just awful in his first start of the season.

Troy Glaus- .227, 3R, 2RBI, 2BB
GM Adam Anson drafted Glaus with the expectation that his average might be low all year, but hitting in the middle of Atlanta's lineup should tender him several opportunities for good power numbers. Certainly a disappointing start.