Red Robins bobbing 2024-7 (Inconsistent April)
Posted: Sun Nov 29, 2015 7:24 am
May 1st, 2024
Robins finished off April as inconstantly as they started it. Even so they still finished the month ahead of last year, in 2023 they were 13-15 for April this year they at least were above .500 at 14-13. A loss in the rubber match in Carolina cost them their second away series loss out of three and despite winning the opening game again in Buffalo they slumped to their third away series loss. The home form was better though as they returned to Brooklyn take the series with Montreal 2-1 before splitting the first two games of the Atlantic City series. Overall it was their inability to hold close games that dragged them down with nine of their 13 loses being by only two runs or less.
Disappointingly both Rick Ward and Joey Budding lost their final game of the month with an ERA above six to leave them both on a 1-3 record for April. To balance that out though Mario Mendez (3-0) and Fernando Moran (4-0) haven't lost a game yet with Fernando posting a 0.56 EA in his four starts. Silas Thompson continues to impress, pitching seven innings at the back end of the month picking up a win while posting a 1.23 ERA in the five outings and only giving up one run.
Under pressure Victor Talboom launched four homers in the last nine games of the month, hitting at a .265 clip while three more long balls from Jose Escarceja gives him a team leading eight for the month. Brian Whitten has been the month's real star, consistent throughout he leads the team in RBI (22) and is second in average (.349) & homers (7) but mention of course must go to third baseman Davis Locke who went 32 for 89 (.360) for the month. Rob Childers has bagged himself five homers but his batting average is a woeful .198 while back-ups Sam Adams, Larry Petty and Doriano Petito have combined for 23 swings of the bat without a single hit.
After 17 career MBBA starts a slow start to 2024 meant 21-yr-old Ward was sent to San Francisco In the Robins second trade of the season they sent young 21-yr-old Triple-A Randall Thomas pitcher to Vancouver for 25-yr-old pitcher Len Caldwell. Len had made six starts for Vancouver's Triple-A team going 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA, he will though be assigned to Brooklyn's bullpen as the reshaping of it continues. In the end the move caused a bit of a complete shuffle round in the Robins pitching staff after newly acquired 36-yr-old Jose Aicon refused to report to San Francisco. With the Robins reluctant to burn his $1m contract just yet after he posted a save and an 1.80 ERA in his only five innings pitched the decision was a shuffle as 21-yr-old Ward's 1-3, 5.83 ERA got him sent down to San Francisco. Jose Gracia (0-1, 3.38 with one save and 17 K's in 13IP) will get the chance to replace Ward in the rotation, he did start once in 2023, while Caldwell will settle in the bullpen. Already the Brooklyn bullpen ranks 10th out of the 12 JL relief crews with a 3.96 ERA, an improvement in that should bring about an improvement in the teams five losses out of nine in one-run games.
Robins finished off April as inconstantly as they started it. Even so they still finished the month ahead of last year, in 2023 they were 13-15 for April this year they at least were above .500 at 14-13. A loss in the rubber match in Carolina cost them their second away series loss out of three and despite winning the opening game again in Buffalo they slumped to their third away series loss. The home form was better though as they returned to Brooklyn take the series with Montreal 2-1 before splitting the first two games of the Atlantic City series. Overall it was their inability to hold close games that dragged them down with nine of their 13 loses being by only two runs or less.
Disappointingly both Rick Ward and Joey Budding lost their final game of the month with an ERA above six to leave them both on a 1-3 record for April. To balance that out though Mario Mendez (3-0) and Fernando Moran (4-0) haven't lost a game yet with Fernando posting a 0.56 EA in his four starts. Silas Thompson continues to impress, pitching seven innings at the back end of the month picking up a win while posting a 1.23 ERA in the five outings and only giving up one run.
Under pressure Victor Talboom launched four homers in the last nine games of the month, hitting at a .265 clip while three more long balls from Jose Escarceja gives him a team leading eight for the month. Brian Whitten has been the month's real star, consistent throughout he leads the team in RBI (22) and is second in average (.349) & homers (7) but mention of course must go to third baseman Davis Locke who went 32 for 89 (.360) for the month. Rob Childers has bagged himself five homers but his batting average is a woeful .198 while back-ups Sam Adams, Larry Petty and Doriano Petito have combined for 23 swings of the bat without a single hit.
After 17 career MBBA starts a slow start to 2024 meant 21-yr-old Ward was sent to San Francisco In the Robins second trade of the season they sent young 21-yr-old Triple-A Randall Thomas pitcher to Vancouver for 25-yr-old pitcher Len Caldwell. Len had made six starts for Vancouver's Triple-A team going 3-2 with a 2.06 ERA, he will though be assigned to Brooklyn's bullpen as the reshaping of it continues. In the end the move caused a bit of a complete shuffle round in the Robins pitching staff after newly acquired 36-yr-old Jose Aicon refused to report to San Francisco. With the Robins reluctant to burn his $1m contract just yet after he posted a save and an 1.80 ERA in his only five innings pitched the decision was a shuffle as 21-yr-old Ward's 1-3, 5.83 ERA got him sent down to San Francisco. Jose Gracia (0-1, 3.38 with one save and 17 K's in 13IP) will get the chance to replace Ward in the rotation, he did start once in 2023, while Caldwell will settle in the bullpen. Already the Brooklyn bullpen ranks 10th out of the 12 JL relief crews with a 3.96 ERA, an improvement in that should bring about an improvement in the teams five losses out of nine in one-run games.