Alright, lets pick up where we left off yesterday:
Melbourne
Aces
Outlook:
Half Full (but only after a late top up)
The Defensive Specialist isn’t going to lie to you,
last week at Deep in the Hole headquarters we held a monthly meeting where we
spit-balled ideas for future blog posts. When the Half Full or Half Empty
concept was generated, a lively debate ensued regarding where each team sat,
that raged for almost 3 hours. The general consensus amongst the Deep in the
Hole staff (45 people) was that the Aces had run their race for this season.
Being the voice of reason, the Defensive Specialist suggested that the Aces
were showing signs of life and deserved to be watched for one more series
against the Blue Sox. Wouldn’t you know it, they came out and boat-raced the
Sydneysiders across 5 games and completely reshaped their season.
What’s the lesson here? Don’t count the Aces out.
So what is there to be optimistic about? Well thanks
to a 30 run explosion last Saturday, the team hitting stats look a hell of a
lot better! Seriously, the offensive line-up has started to click, lead by
Yoshiyuki Kamei (candidate for name of the year) who’s hitting a robust .425
with a meaty 1.177 OPS in 10 games. Josh Davies and Andrew Russell have been in
scintillating form in the first half of the season in the middle part of the
order. The concerns centre around a collection of hitters who have proven track
records but haven’t delivered yet – Justin Huber being the most obvious
example. Are we going to have another Sydney situation where the offense is
hamstrung by under performance?
From a pitching perspective, the Aces have run a
staggering 16 arms out to the mound this year already, although with the
addition of Greg Wiltshire and Travis Blackley you’d have to think that this
may stabilise somewhat since both guys are proven inning eaters and front of
the rotation starters. Adding those two arms relieves some pressure on Norihito
Kaneto and Adam Blackley and gives the Aces 4 guys with a legitimate chance at
winning every time they take the ball. Adam Bright was outstanding in an
extended relief appearance last week and has been dominant out of the pen with
16k’s in 15 innings. Jumpei Ono and Masumi Hoshino have lent credence to
Japanese made imports by contributing out of the bullpen and don’t forget the
Aces have pro Shane Lindsay to work into the mix in some capacity as well. By the Defensive Specialist’s count,
that’s 8 good arms on the staff, which is definitely enough to make your old
pal optimistic. And don’t forget Peter Moylan lurking in the shadows!
Yoshiyuki Kamei revelling in cool-namedness |
Perth
Heat
Outlook:
Half Full
The Defensive Specialist has been staring at the Heat
pitching staff and wondering “how are they getting it done?” Surely there has
to be an element of smoke and mirrors when you’re leading the league and your
best pitcher has a losing record and a 5.79 ERA (and participated in the
perhaps the best post ejection move by slow walking across the diamond with his
gear bag that also happened to be on wheels). Liam Hendriks (he of the ejection
move) has been hot and cold in 2010 mixing in dominant performances with some
real fizzers, which is not what manager Brooke Knight wants from his ace. After
Hendriks the Heat have import Cole McCurry who is 0-1 with a 4.12 although he
does have 23 punch outs in 19 innings. So what’s going right? How about Daniel
Schmidt who has been outstanding in compiling a 4-1 record and a 1.83 era while
giving his manager almost 7 innings per outing. How about Warwick Saupold with his
2-0 record and 2.49 era in 25 innings (and one of the most awkward television
interviews in recent memory). These guys are backed up by Tyler Anderson (1-0,
1.42 era), Brett Jacobsen (1.93 era, 3 saves) and Cameron Lamb (2-0, 3.09 era)
who’ve provided rock solid relief. The Heat will have to cover the loss of
Jacobsen who is being recalled to the US (part of a trade package that sent him
to Minnesota this week). It will be interesting to see if they elect to bring
out another import pitcher to make up for his arm.
Liam Hendriks minus his bag with wheels on it |
The good news for the Heat offensively is the rumour
that Luke Hughes may be back from his stint in Venezuela not long after
Christmas. Anytime you can plug his bat into the line-up you have to be
optimistic. Robbie Widlansky has been a great pick up for the Heat, hitting at
a .367 clip and scoring 17 runs. Catcher Allan De San Miguel has morphed into a
middle order threat along with import Evan McArthur who has manned the hot
corner. The addition of Tim Kennelly (who recently returned from the Arizona
Fall League) is huge and provides another middle order threat. Manager Knight
will be pleased Mitch Graham came out of his coma last week and will be praying
that import Ronnie Welty follows suit and cranks it up quick smart.
If Knight can add Hughes to his line up it looks something
like this:
1. Graham SS
2. Widlansky 1B
3. Hughes 2B
4. Kennelly RF
5. De San Miguel C
6. Welty DH
7. McArthur 3B
8. Dale CF
9. Kennelly DH
And that is enough to make the Defensive Specialist
extremely bullish on their chances.
Adelaide
Bite
Outlook:
Half Full (with a straw poised)
The Defensive Specialist would have punched himself in
the face for even having that thought early in the season. A severe hiccup in
Canberra where the Multiculturalists put them to the sword over 3 games, and a
less than stellar split in a weather-affected 2 game series with the Bandits,
has the Defensive Specialist somewhat concerned now.
The pitching staff has proven to be the weak link this
season. Number 1 guy Paul Mildren has a 1-4 record with a 4.97 era and a
propensity to give up the long ball. Darren Fidge came out with guns blazing
but looks like to be destined for a role in relief. Import Brandon Maurer
punches out a lot of guys but also gives up a bunch of hits, which has led to a
1-1 record and a 6.19 era. The bright spot has been Dushan Ruzic who is 2-0 in
3 starts with 21k’s in 22 innings. Ryan Murphy and Mark Brackman pick up the
majority of the leftover innings and have been solid but after that the bullpen
looks a little sketchy. Manager Tony Harris has to rely heavily on his starters
so as to avoid overexposing his pen, which is fine when your starters are
dealing and not so great when they are having a tough time.
Offensively there’s a hell of a lot to like about the
Bite with the Q-Tip straight out banging like the latter day Peter North –
producing very large amounts of offensive output on a consistent basis (.377, 5
HR, 17 RBI’s, 1.115 OPS). Brandon Pett (.368, 1.113 OPS), James McOwen (.358,
11 RBI’s), Brandon Bantz (13 RBI’s) and the surprising Jeremy Cresswell have
provided ample support to the Q-Tip as the Bite have consistently swung the bat
this season. Stefan Welch had been asleep at the wheel until recently so if he
can keep his form going the line up just keeps on getting better and with that
sort of thump you have to be positive about their chances.
James McOwen |
Right, with the word count creeping up, its time to
finish up with an abbreviated, yet highly thought out round of series
predictions for this weekend’s action:
Perth
Heat Vs. Canberra Multiculturalists
Heat 3-1 series win
Sydney
Blue Sox Vs. Adelaide Bite
Series split 2-2
Brisbane
Bandits Vs. Melbourne Aces
This is a tough one as the Aces take on the
Multiculturalists on Sunday and Monday to make up for previously postponed
games and then follow that immediately with 4 against the Bandits. You’d have
to assume that by game 6 the pitching staff will be gasping for air.
Series split 2-2
As per usual, don’t bet your house!
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