What Happens in Vegas 1995.4- 35-32, 5 games out

[recte44]

As we pause for the Ammy Draft, the Hustlers find themselves 5 games behind Long Beach. After a blistering 17-8 start in April, their 11-18 record in May has set them back to reality. So far in June the Hustlers are 7-6. So which club are they? Are they the .680 bunch from April, the .379 bunch of May, or the .538 bunch of June?

The answer is probably somewhere in the middle, probably closer to their June clip. "To be honest, this club has a lot of holes," GM Matt Rectenwald said. "However, we're in a great position to fix them this year. We have the fourth lowest payroll in the league with the highest attendance to date (1.6+ million through 36 home dates, projecting to over 3.6 million fans this season)."

The Hustlers look to address several areas. First of all, they do need to add another starting pitcher. After Frank Seminara went down with a torn rotator cuff, the Hustlers called up Gerardo Grillo from AAA Marquette to take the #5 slot in the rotation. Grillo, a groundball specialist who had been serving as the Suns' closer, has started four games for the Hustlers thus far, going 1-1, 4.81. His first two starters were nice, 8+ inning and 1 run performances and it appeared the Hustlers had an in-house answer. However, he followed those two gems with two four inning outings, giving up five runs in one and six runs in another. Now, it appears that Grillo will head to the Hustlers bullpen.

For now, the plan is for closer Washington "Toothbreaker" Jones to return to the rotation. Jones, who is in his first year as a closer, has 18 saves already and seems a natural as a closer with his electric stuff and imposing mentality on the mound. However, he's open to the idea of starting again. "I still view myself as a starting pitcher," Jones said. "I've been doing it for the better part of 10 seasons. But I'm not dumb, and I have seen how the closers role has allowed me to have the most success of my career (first ERA+ over 100 in his career is this season)."

The other option is to go with Greg "Gyro" Ganzfield. "Gyro" has been completely lights out in relief since coming up from Marquette. The Hustlers brass will debate between these two throughout the weekend. One will be the #5 starter and one will be the closer.

That is, unless the Hustlers can close the deal on making a trade for a top line starting pitcher. Adding another "ace" level guy to Heath Rockefeller, Johnny Madorin, Michael Shellenbarger, and Timothy Regina could not only solidify the Hustlers playoff aspirations but make them a contender for the Landis Memorial Series overnight.

One final school of thought is: Why bother with any of this? Why not just go with a four man rotation of Rockefeller, Madorin, Shellenbarger, and Regina? Of the 24 MBBA teams, currently only the Hawaii Tropics are using the 4 man staff, to mixed results (Starters ERA is 7th in the JL, they are 7 games out in the JLP).

It will be an interesting decision in Las Vegas, and one that could determine their seasons fate.

News and Notes:

- 1B Robin Larker has been a revelation this season after a disastrous 1994 (.171 avg, 16 HR). This season he's a different player, batting .262/.361/.524 with 12 HR and 32 RBI in 210 AB's. HE's been playing exclusively against righties, though now skipper Keith Minuso is going to give him a chance to earn some playing time versus lefties as well. "If he wants to," said Minuso, "Robin can seize this job."

- The Hustlers love Greg Litton's versatility. He can play eight positions. This versatility earned him the final roster spot and caused MInuso to not carry a "real" backup catcher for catcher Riley Hinson. With Litton yet to throw out an opposing basestealer and showing a negative zone rating in his limited appearances at catcher, and also not hitting a lick (.544 OPS), Minuso is now toying with the idea of looking elsewhere for bench help. "Greg's position on this club is tenuous," MInuso agreed. "Nothing is guaranteed." Though he is not a strong defensive catcher either, it might be high time to give Nicolas Kuffrey his "make it or break it" moment in the big leagues. Kuffrey is hitting well at AA Reno (.315, 5 HR, 42 RBI, 32/19 BB/K ratio) and has long been regarded as a major unfulfilled talent (8/6/7/8/5). First plan is to promote Kuffrey, now 28 years old, to Marquette for the next sim and see how he fares.

- In other transaction news, veteran outfielder Jesse Barfield is being shipped down to Marquette this weekend. He was looked upon to be a source of power versus lefties, but hasn't delivered. In his place, the Hustlers will promote Silas Camarena to the big club for the second time this season. Scouts note Camarena has grown a lot in the last couple weeks, even though his .223 average in Marquette has been as disappointing as his earlier stint with the Hustlers was (.654 OPS).