If the Bobbies were looking for a bit of a bounce from an unkind May, well they were sadly mistaken. June ended up with a nearly identical 11-16 record, as the fans sighed, shrugged their shoulders, and figured on 2004 as being yet another mediocre year.
To hopefully prevent this sort of thing from happening, as the month opened the club dealt highly rated prospect Morgan Ackerman to Carloina in exchange for a couple of accomplished veteran arms, starter Chip Foodie and reliever Segundo Prado, in hopes of rescuing a clearly floundering pitching staff. Yeah, it didn't work. Sigh.
Starter of the Month
Chip Foodie
No, not a single Washington starter had an ERA under 4 for the month, and none won more than two games. But Chip did provide 40 decent innings, going 2-4 with a 4.08 ERA. And more importantly he posted a BB:K ratio of nearly 1:8, even recording three eight-inning quality starts. Shocking!
Reliever of the Month
James Endres
Occasionally, Endres will actually pitch as if his team really is paying him a boatload of cash. June was one of those times, as the young fireballer went 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA and 5 saves in 11.1 IP. Not too many save opps in DC these days, but at least he converted them.
Infielder of the Month
Neil McKinney
The team's offense was clearly not up to par as compared to the previous two months, but someone has to be the best of a disappointing lot. That title falls to McKinney, who hit .307 with 6 homers and 15 RBI for an .894 OPS. While it didn't help the Bobs in the standings, Mac's performance did help his trade value, as we shall see in July's report.
Outfielder of the Month
Jim Wilson
Wilson struggled through a punchless May, and June was not much better. But the man with the sweet Derek Holland moustache still displayed the power that has him among the league leaders yet again, gunning for 50 homers. He hit 9 of them in June, to go with 18 RBI and a sobering .799 OPS.
Injury Report
2B Lamont Poper strained his elbow on June 10 and returned later that month.
SS Nasir Jones, Poper's backup, suffered a concussion on June 4th and remains out until at least September.