On the Lam, 55.2 - All Star Players

[trmmilwwi]

Well, the April players of the month were also the lone 2 Outlaws at the All Star game festivities. I guess a good start to the season insures that you have a great chance to play with the best come early July. We had one starter and one bench player but we’ll take it. A quick look at the guys who were all-stars.

Starter – SP Sakutaro Kawano, 17 starts, 7-6 W/L record, 3.57 ERA, 116 IP, 113 HA, 28/94 w/k ratio.
Kawano has been the unquestionable ace of the Outlaw staff for the entire first half and has been having a career year. He started off with an excellent April (2.30 ERA) and May (2.25 ERA) before hitting a rough patch in June (6.27 ERA). His downfall in June was the long ball as he gave up 6 homers over 4 starts. However, in his 5th full season as a starter he has posted career bests in all the important categories. If the year continues he will be a rising star within the league. He pitched one inning of 2 hit ball pitching the 8th trying to keep it close. While the Johnson League fell just short it was an exciting game.

Bench – C Calvin Johnson, .263/3/27, 2.0 WAR
34 year old Catcher Calvin Johnson received a bench invitation to the 2055 All Star game backing up TNT Tatlock. It is the 2nd all star game appearance for the defensive minded catcher as he previously went in 2049 as a Hustler. Interestingly enough TNT also went in 2049 as a Futures All Star. Johnson pinch hit for TNT in the 7th and ended up going 0-1 with a strikeout. He struck out looking with Sammy McNeill on 2nd in the 7th in what was a key moment for the Johnson Leaguers. He caught fellow Outlaw Kawano in the top of the 8th inning in a very cool moment for the two players. Overall it was great to see Johnson in the game but his performance was a minor let down.