Week 1 has to be a Very Neat one for the Borealis as any 6-1 week qualifies for Neat:
- River Pope, who started his SL Batting Crown defense in 2023 by coming out of the gate slooooowly, starts 2024 with a 13-27 week and 9 runs scored - how he doesn't get player of the week is news to us...
- Then again, Mike Britt: 8-23, 2 HR, 10 RBI for 'Big Whiskey'...
- Provost: 2 GS, 2 W, 12.2 IP, 11 K, no runs allowed... Still refusing to talk extension (thankyouverymuchv.17...)
- To squeeze in a Not So Neat: 'Tugboat' lasted 2.1 innings in start #2, but fortunately the sore back that had him leave will have far more than the 1-day needed to recover as Aurora moves into one of it's 4-off day swings...
- 'Javelin' begins the year at closer and with three near perfect innings (1 BB) he has 3 saves... Bryant Burris has 4.1 IP and an L tacked to his record because of an unearned run in the 4th IP in an extra inning affair - why he was still in at that point (with arms still in the 'pen) is beyond our pay grade...
- Catchers: Rusty Butler got the starting nod, but a 4-19 week looks shaky compared to Luis Villanueva's 3-8... We may see a shift in that position... Whereas down at AAA Thornton, expected next in line Manny Castro was 7-30, while Domingo Gutierrez was 10-27 (at DH)...
- Not So Neat: 'Sawmill' went 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB... We knew bringing him back for a final season was a gamble - and maybe he'll improve; it's only one start - though if we had known ahead that the Contraction Draft was on the horizon, we
may have looked at him differently. That said, we needed someone to fill the 'Gunner Void'...
Contraction Chronicles
- The aforementioned Gutierrez (#2 from Niihama-shi) has started well for Thornton, and will get plenty of time at catcher as he and Castro split C/DH duties (assuming OOTP cooperates) (smells like the old Keller-Vinson dilemma).
- Edgardo Diaz (#1 from Tempe) went 6.1 IP and gave up 5 H and 1 run (HR), striking out 6 and walking 1. A positive start to his Aurora tenure
What's On Tap
4 days off before the Home Opener v. Reno and the Meeks Brigade. With these long stretches of off days, it's of course, tempting to reset rotations, but the thought of excessively long inactive stretches for back-end guys makes that seem counter-productive. Either way, guys get too much time off - which hopefully won't lead to injuries... That said, with #3-4-5 going against Reno, both Provost and 'Tugboat' are in line to face Crystal Lake in the following home series...