[PilotMan]

July Recap


Well, the team found a groove and jumped out to a hot start for the month, but faltered at the end against the Pirates and Astros. Injuries started to pile up and the season is looking to be set with no NL West pennant coming to LA this year. The team had a good showing going 15-11, but only 4 games above .500 means they aren't keeping pace with the Astros. Right now our record stands at 56-48 and the team is on pace for 87 wins. That won't win anything this year. We're 1.5 games ahead of the Reds for 2^nd place, and 12 games behind the Astros.


The team this year is really showing a lack of punch at the plate. Despite being 6^th in runs scored, the team is 11^th in average, and 9^th in OBP. I think leading the league in steals is helping the run production as is being 6^th in HR's. The top producer in July was Von Hayes. Hayes batted .286 with 6 HR's and 15 RBI's in the month and leads the team with 15 HR's on the year, despite batting leadoff for most of it. His .560 SLG was also tops. Pete O'Brien also had a good month .296/.340/.490, but nothing that lit the world on fire. Too many guys are not pulling their weight and causing issues. Winfield is hurt now, but his month was bad. He batted .233 with a .315 SLG and 2 HR's. Rickey was even worse. He started so hot, and is not quite pedestrian. For July he batted only .192/.287/.283 with 10 stolen bases. Not enough frankly. Inky had half as many at bats and more production.


The pitching staff is still a bright spot, but with both Tanana and Valenzuela gone now will it continue? Tanana was the top pitcher in July. He only went 1-0, but his 1.52 ERA lead the team. Bryn Smith (3-1, 1.86) and Kelly Downs (4-1, 2.11) were right behind in what was a very strong month for pitchers. Fernando was the dead weight and it was showing in his games. For July he went 0-3, with a 6.14 ERA. His control was an issue, so now that he's out, maybe he can come back and be more of what he was before the injury.


Looking around the league, in the NL it's really a 2 horse race. The Astros will most likely play the Mets in the NLCS. They have the 2 best records in baseball. The Astros lead LA by 12 games. The Mets only lead the Pirates by 6. That has shrunk by 3 games since June. The Pirates are baseball's hottest team. They are on a 13 game winning streak.


Over in the AL. The East is a catfight between the O's, Blue Jays and Yankees. None of these teams has a winning record though. The Jays are a game below, the closest thing to a winning team. The West is a mess. Four teams are within 4 games. Right now the M's lead the way, and the Rangers and Angels are right behind, followed by the White Sox. The A's are in 5^th. If they were in the East, they'd be tied for first. So you'd have to think that whoever comes out of the West will make the Series.


August is here. Historically, this has been a make or break month. I think it's already broken. The Astros are a top notch team. I don't think LA can catch them at all. It's a done deal. Sit back, relax, and let's just see where we end up at. The season's been written already. Let's just see it out.