The Bullwhip - 1996.6 - Bulls Catch Fire, Reclaim 1st Place

[DoubleB]

The Record
August 11th, 1996
Hackensack, New Jersey
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After a chaotic July that brought a new general manager to the Hackensack Bulls, followed by a series of high profile trades, the Bulls have gone on a tear to start August, winning 9 of 10 and 13 of 16 going back to July 26th and now sit back in 1st place in the Frick Atlantic, 4 games ahead of Buffalo . Newly appointed manager Antonio Gonzalez appears to have found the right mix with a reworked defensive alignment and the starting rotation has continued it's dominance of the Frick League. The recent win streak is a welcomed sight for fans after watching the Bulls start the season strong in April (.593) but drop off from May through July (.571 to .481 to .423). Now at 65-53 (.551) the Bulls have their eyes set on a return to the postseason.

"It's nice to see the club playing well," said GM Brian Boulton. "Everyone worked very hard leading up to the deadline to give the players the best chance possible to get back to the playoffs. There are a few other things that we would like to improve on this winter... we could use more power in the middle of the lineup... but we're excited for the stretch run and to see where our pitching and defense will take us."

One of the most intriguing stories since the arrival of the new regime has been the performance of 21 year old Ken Quinney as the Bulls Closer. Quinney has now appeared in 16 games with 18 2/3 innings pitched. He's 2-0 with 9 saves and a eye popping 0.48 ERA and 20 strikeouts. With a crowded starting rotation in Hackensack, the young right hander may have found a niche with the Bulls and now looms large in what has proved to be the best bullpen in the MBBA.

It's a good time to be a Bulls fan... the season continues in Des Moines tonight.