Phantoms Phanatics Week in Review for July 14-20, 2039
Time to put away childish things.
It was fun, for awhile, to pretend this team had playoff hopes. But last week made plain what pretty much but only the sunniest of Phanatics already knew: this is not a playoff team.
Now, it’s not even a winning team. Our bologna, if you will, has gone bad, and the smell is wafting out over the JL Southeast Division. Although the Phantoms are still, technically, within striking distance (5.5 games) of a Wild Card slot, they would need to climb over four other teams to get there: unlikely. And the Vegas odds makers agree – Huntsville’s chances of making the playoffs are down to 4.8 percent.
Here's the thing about this team: Huntsville is just good enough to beat up a bit on the league’s bottom feeders, but once an opponents’ record climbs above .500 … look out!
Against teams with records of .500 or better this season, the Phantoms are 28-42, a putrid .400 winning percentage. The only teams in this category Huntsville has bested, so far, are Charm City (5-2) and San Antonio (4-3). The Phantoms are even with Wichita at 3-3. Every other winning team has pretty much had its way with Huntsville. New Orleans? 1-4. Jacksonville? 1-5. Mexico City? 2-5. San Fernando? 0-3. So, ick.
Now, against bad teams – even worse than the Phantoms – Huntsville has shone like a rich vein of pyrite: 19-9, or a .678 winning percentage.
Conclusion? If Huntsville could schedule only the league’s bottom feeders, it would be a championship club. Unfortunately, it can’t and it isn’t.
So, it’s time to start looking to next year: new city, new stadium, new division, new league.
New roster?
We’ll see.
Batter of the Week
Manny Cleide, RF: 20 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .400 AVG, .955 OPS
Pitcher of the Week
Manuel Peña, SP: 1-0, 6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 2 Ks.
News and Notes
Hector Reyes, called up from AAA recently to audition for the 5th starter role, was a little off-key. Neil Young in his “Tonight’s the Night” era off-key. In 5.2 IP against Rockville on July 16, he yielded 5 runs, 9 hits and 2 HRs. He didn’t get the “L,” but he certainly paved the way for it. Still, he’ll get another couple shots to see if his travails were due to first-start jitters or something else … Vito Reyes is living up to his “fragile” reputation, coming down with yet another nagging injury. This time, it’s a finger blister that has him listed as day-to-day for 3 days. So far this season, he lost 5 weeks with a bone spur in his elbow and another 2 weeks with elbow inflammation … Although Huntsville, as a rule, does not trade, word is that management is putting together a list of players for a so-called “rummage sale” in hopes of bringing in some mid- to late-round draft picks or middling minor league talent in advance of the big off-season move to Chicago.
JL Southeast Division Standings
As of the morning of July 21, 2039
| Team | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | RD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | 56 | 41 | .577 | - | +89 |
| Jacksonville | 50 | 47 | .515 | 6.0 | +37 |
| Louisville | 50 | 47 | .515 | 6.0 | +37 |
| Huntsville | 47 | 51 | .480 | 9.5 | -39 |
| Nashville | 42 | 56 | .429 | 14.5 | -67 |
AAA Carolina went 3-2 last week to raise its record in the GL East Coast Division to 52-40. The Flight is second place, 3.5 games behind Gotham … LF Craig Barber won the Granville League Player of the Week Award after putting up a .577 BA (15-26) with 3 HRs and 10 RBIs. On the season, Barber is now slashing .278/.350/.490, with 10 HRs, 36 RBIs and 1.7 WAR … AA Beloit caught fire last week, going 6-1 and climbing back above .500 for the year. The Blue Sox are now 48-47, in third place in the DNL Mid-Central Division, 15 games behind Duluth … CF Myeong-hwan Im has been raking of late: over his last 9 games, he’s 14 of 35 for a .400 BA with 2 HRs and 7 RBIs. For the year, he’s slashing .261/.362/.426 with 9 HRs, 41 RBIs and 2.0 WAR … Class A Grand Junction went undefeated for the week: 4-0, to raise its record to 41-51. That places the Gold Sox at third in the PL West Central Division, 5.5 games behind first place Pahrump … Gilberto Sosa, normally a closer but pitching in the starting rotation of late, is 2-0 over his last 2 starts. In 17.0 IP, he had a 1.59 ERA and 18 Ks. For the year, he’s 7-8 with a 3.84 ERA in 91.1 IP with 59 Ks and 20 BBs. He also has 6 saves … Short Season affiliate San Pedro de Macoris stumbled to a 2-4 record last week, dropping to 9-17 on the season. The Green Sox are now in 4th place in the SL2 Big Islands Division, 10 games behind San Juan … Toyoharu Kodo has had a horrific couple of weeks. In his last 3 starts, he’s 0-1 with a 16.00 ERA and 10 Ks in 9.0 IP … Rookie League affiliate Monclova had a nice week, going 5-1 to lift its record over .500 for the first time this season. The Aqua Sox are now 15-14, good for third place in the HL Mexican-American Division, 4 games behind first place Ogden … RF Danny Bennett had a nice week, too, slashing .417/.481/,625 with 1 HR and 7 RBIs. He’s now slashing .300/.339/.450 on the year … Two-way update: Paul Kemp pitched 7.0 innings against Laramie on July 18, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits with 2 Ks and 3 BBs. He did not get a decision, although Monclova won the game 7-3 in 10 innings. Kemp is now 3-0 with a 2.17 ERA in 45.2 IP, with 24 Ks and 13 BBs. On the hitting side of the ledger, he’s slashing .220/.281/.373 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs.
