The Portland Lumberjacks season got underway this week and it was a ho-hum beginning. The season opening 7-0 loss to Hawaii at "The Trail" likely set the tone for what was to become a 3-4 week for the good guys. That shutout loss became the focal point of a week that saw the Lumberjacks offense sputter out of the gate.
"It's just 7 games" said Manager Mons Raider after a 4-0 loss to Vancouver concluded the week that was. "We're not going to get focused on small sample sizes right now. Our guys are off to a slow start. By the end, we'll be hitting to the back of the baseball card.
Portland's slow start could also be contributed to missing one of its key pieces. "I think it shows how important Sammy McNeill is to our lineup at the top" added Raider. "Not having him this week to start the season was a bit of a downer. We expect him to be back tomorrow and he'll go right back into our lineup, leading off and hopefully setting the tone."
For the first week, Portland's offense ranked in the bottom 3rd of many categories as it looks to gain footing to start the season. Mynorli Gaajlimitz did his part by reaching base over 40% of the time while rookie firstbaseman Grame Odhieng proved why he nabbed the starting spot in the lineup with a pair of homeruns and an OPS over 1.000 to start the season.
"Those guys might have salvaged the 3-4 record" added Raider. "Without them we might have lost every game. Obviously we know what we're getting from Mynorli. But Odhieng is still uncertain. Not only is the team looking to get it's footing to start the season, but I'll admit, I'm trying to figure out exactly which pieces to put where in the lineup right now. I feel we have 11 to 12 guys who need to see time consistently to help us. So it may take me some time as well to figure out the correct mix of who to put where. But overall, we aren't panicking right now."
The Portland front office failed to comment on the slow start. GM Chris Wilson was reportedly fuming after the sim finale loss to Vancouver.
