Squirrels Week 4 Recap

Squirrels Battle Back to Tie Mid-Michigan

Another week and another lackluster performance from the Flying Squirrels. After being down as much as 9-1 early in the week, the Squirrels battled back for a 6-6 tie, mostly on the merits of the pitching staff. The pitching, while not excellent, put up 4 of the 6 categories won, with walks and stolen bases as the only offensive categories taken.

The starting pitching was led by strong outings from Tim Lincecum, Chris Volstad, and young stud Jaime Garcia. Garcia has been an outstanding pickup for the Squirrels and has truly bolstered the starting staff. These strong outings were somewhat offset however, by the continued suckage of Josh Beckett and the first poor start this season from Andy Pettitte. The bullpen was solid, with the exception of Hideki Okajima, but the needed stats just didn't come through as the Squirrels pen combined for only one save and one hold. Brian Fuentes rebounded nicely this week, posting a win and a save, and with Brad Lidge ready to come back in the coming week, the saves category might become less of a gimme for opposing teams.

Offensively, the Squirrels attack was simply outmatched. Mid-Michigan clearly had the superior offensive team and it showed through as they took all the power categories. If anything, some of the Squirrels' bats are probably being too patient, i.e., Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones. Both continue to pace the team in walks, and both continue to put up nothing in the power categories. The SB category was taken by one steal, as neither team had a particularly strong showing in the category.


Flying High

Derek Jeter- (10/26) .385, 6R, 1HR, 8RBI, 2BB
Jeter started the week 0-4 and never looked back, contributing in five categories.

Brian Fuentes- 2IP, 1W, 1S, 3K, 0.00 ERA
While only pitching 2 innings, Fuentes put up a win and a save. The save saved a category loss and saved an overall matchup loss...that's a helluva save.


Squirrel Turds

Christian Guzman- (2-17) .118, 1RBI
Guzman had been on a tear...right until he got into my lineup. I remember when he led the league in triples back in 1983...so far he leads my team in completely wasted starts. You suck Christian. Rot on the bench.

Hideki Okajima- 1/3IP, 2ER, 3H, 1K, 54.00ERA
Okajima was drafted to log solid innings and rake in the holds. So far he has logged 8IP, and raked in 6ER. With Lidge and Kuo off the DL, Okajima could see his playing time take a major hit if he doesn't turn it around in a hurry.


Week 5 Outlook

The Squirrels come into their first match up with the in division rival Carolina Yankees, with the same old tune as every week...DL issues. Brett Anderson was placed on the DL in the middle of last week and reports are that he will be sidelined 4-6 weeks. Also falling to the DL this week was Carlos Guillen. While no offensive juggernaut, Guillen was having a solid season, and was contributing weekly to the avg, bb, rbi and runs categories, and his bat will be missed by a team that is struggling in almost every offensive category. The Yankees boast a strong offense and even with Yunel Escobar going to the DL, should have no problem handling the Squirrels in all power categories. The Squirrels will have to hope to take the BB category and SB category and hope to steal something like runs to have any chance at all this week on the offensive side. Pitching could really go either way this week. If Josh Beckett ever pulls his head out of his hind-quarters, the Squirrels would have a dominant SPing staff with Lincecum, Beckett, Pettitte, Garcia, and a strong bullpen in Fuentes, Kuo, Villanueva, and USUALLY Okajima. Theoretically, the Squirrels match up with any pitching staff in the league, but until I see the proof from Beckett and Okajima, all I can expect is more of the same. Look for more of the same from last week. Squirrels win handily on the pitching side, 5-1 or 4-2, and get dominated on the offensive side by a similar score. Prediction: Yankees 7-5