One of those tight games was lost when our bullpen blew a 3-0 lead in the eighth inning against the despicable Los Altos Undertakers. Our newest "closer", Tommy Hunter, who was supposed to help us with this one-run loss problem, only added to our misery by serving up a two-out, grand-slam, home run to Wilmer Flores.
We lost another one-run game against Kansas City when Robinson Cano hit a walk-off home run off Mike Leake in extra innings. That heroic event was only made possible because our bullpen blew a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning.
Our third one-run loss came against the Granite State Lightning, of all teams. We scored six runs against a team that is among the lowest-scoring teams in the BDBL, and yet it wasn't enough. We lost 7-6 thanks to another sub-par effort from our bullpen.
As we head into the third chapter, we face several usage issues that will need to be addressed sooner rather than later. We made several inquiries on the trading market this past chapter, and will continue to have those discussions as we head into the all-star break. We managed to add yet another bullpen arm this past chapter, and hope that Brad Brach can continue to pitch as well for us as he had been for the Western Kansas Buffaloes.
The question, as always, is: how much do we want to sacrifice for this season? With the Flagstaff Outlaws on pace to win 117 games, the playoffs promise to be an uphill battle (again.) Although winning the division would be sweet, sacrificing the future of this franchise for yet another postseason failure isn't a very tempting prospect. After years and years of trading our most talented young players away for no reward in the end, we intend to stick to our strategy of building around our foundation of young players. Trading one of those core players for an outside chance of upsetting the Outlaws in the playoffs is a fool's game. We've been foolish long enough.
The Good
Although we only hit .240/.310/.398 as a team in Chapter Two, we saw some stellar performances from Gary Sanchez (.338/.410/.622), Jose Ramirez (.319/.396/.574), Rafael Devers (.269/.345/.462), and, oddly enough, Deven Marrero (.333/.417/.905).
On the pitching side, Matt Grace has been an unexpected asset out of our bullpen. In ten innings, he didn't allow a single run, with only eight batters reaching base against him. We got another unexpected boost from Aaron Loup, who also didn't allow a run in his five-plus innings of work.
Mike Montgomery continues to shine as both a starter and reliever. He posted a 2.41 ERA in Chapter Two, and led the team with 41 innings. Unfortunately, we will need to cut back on those innings going forward.
Jose Quintana (4-1, 2.45 ERA in 40+ IP) was our best starting pitcher, and Mike Leake (4-2, 2.67 in 33+) continues to be a solid inning-eater. Even Stephen Strasburg (2-1, 2.91) and Jon Gray (1-2, 3.12) were useful in Chapter Two. And Stras only allowed one home run! If only we had any hitting whatsoever, we could have easily won twenty or more games.
The Bad
Trea Turner (.253/.298/.304) cooled down considerably from his hot start to the season. So did Travis d'Arnaud (.206/.308/.294.) And so did Odubel Herrera (.204/.268/.350). All three batters went from red-hot to ice cold.
Then there is Matt Joyce (.200/.273/.383), who has been ice cold all season. His OPS against right-handers is 142 points below his MLB OPS. He hit 24 homers against righties in MLB. He's currently on pace to hit 17 in the BDBL.
The Ugly
Man, what the fuck is up with Eugenio Suarez? Seriously. Enough already with this guy. He hit .194/.299/.388 for the chapter, and is now hitting .209/.305/.359 for the season. He's hitting ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-FOUR POINTS below his MLB OPS. I'm now batting him seventh in the lineup, and yet I still can't hide his bat. He has been absolutely useless. I get it. He posted his MLB numbers in Cincinnati, which is a big-time hitter's park. But 164 F'ing points?? C'mon, man!
Then there is Andrew Benintendi, our leadoff hitter. Here is what Benny did hitting out of the leadoff spot for us all chapter, setting the table: .163/.277/.186. He's batting 155 points below his MLB OPS for the season. Is there something in Salem's water supply that is causing all of these good hitters to become completely useless? Maybe it's the Curse of the Salem Jumbotron. Next year, I'll put Doyle's picture out there in center field and see what happens.
Let's talk about Mitch Moreland. We got him for his glove and his bat against right-handers. So far, the glove has been great. The bat? Not so much. Here's what he has hit against right-handers this season: .174/.223/.326. Here are his MLB numbers: .246/.324/.460. I mean...seriously. This isn't even the same guy! It's like DMB switched his player card with Tyler Saladino's!
On the pitching side, I present to you our ugliest performance of the chapter. Pedro Strop: 12 IP, 14 H, 11 R, 11 ER, 10 BB, 13 K. He sported an 8.25 ERA for the chapter and was responsible for two of our losses. His ERA is now nearly two and a quarter runs higher than his MLB ERA. His OPS allowed against lefties is -- get this -- 269 POINTS above his MLB OPS. Keep in mind that his main purpose for existing is getting left-handed batters out. Instead, he's allowed over 40% of them to reach base!
