Post 3 - ROWING THROUGH THE DOLDRUMS
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:27 am
THE EL PASO TIMES
Chili's Show Some Fight in August by David Gutierrez
For teams that aren't in the playoff hunt, August can be a tedious period of the season save for the occasional bit of excitement surrounding the trade deadline. The Chili's however fought the enervation that can pervade a losing club in the dog days of the season and played their best baseball going 15-12 for the month and scoring the second most runs in the Frontier Division. Not that anyone should get carried away with a small period of success especially when they still gave up the most runs in the division by a long shot. Furthermore the few players carrying a bulk of the offensive load either will or likely will be gone in the offseason. Still, the wins had to be a breath of fresh air in the heat of an El Paso summer.
NOTES:
El Paso sat on the sidelines at the trade deadline this year but there were a few rumors surrounding CF Don Keagle. Nothing seemed to get to the serious stage as the team is intrigued by him and expect him to make an impact on the big league club some time next year.
SP Phil Cole had his best month of the season posting a 1.15 ERA and a ludicrous 401 ERA+ in 31 innings of work. He's going to be good.
RP Chris Sackett hasn't given up a home run in 24 innings since being called back up to the bigs in mid July which is no small feat in this home park. His walk rate will need to come down however.
The team announced that they inked a modest 2 year extension for center fielder Abdeljilill Sediki who was claimed off of waivers earlier in the season from Las Vegas. Sediki should provide some outfield depth in the next couple of years for the team.
1B/DH Jose Calderon struggled after the mid season trade with San Fernando but really got it going in August posting a .983 OPS.
Rosters expansion time is here with the Chili's brining up a few guys from Albuquerque. There won't be any late season prospect excitement this year as the team looks to sort through some depth options. Waiver claim Damon Tripping will get a look in the bullpen after being solid in AAA. Jeremy Webb will get an extended look at short after a disappointing 2045 to see if he can be a bench candidate heading into next year.
The Chili's will look to play spoilers in September as they play Montreal, Las Vegas, Boise and Phoenix who are all in the playoff hunt.
Chili's Show Some Fight in August by David Gutierrez
For teams that aren't in the playoff hunt, August can be a tedious period of the season save for the occasional bit of excitement surrounding the trade deadline. The Chili's however fought the enervation that can pervade a losing club in the dog days of the season and played their best baseball going 15-12 for the month and scoring the second most runs in the Frontier Division. Not that anyone should get carried away with a small period of success especially when they still gave up the most runs in the division by a long shot. Furthermore the few players carrying a bulk of the offensive load either will or likely will be gone in the offseason. Still, the wins had to be a breath of fresh air in the heat of an El Paso summer.
NOTES:
El Paso sat on the sidelines at the trade deadline this year but there were a few rumors surrounding CF Don Keagle. Nothing seemed to get to the serious stage as the team is intrigued by him and expect him to make an impact on the big league club some time next year.
SP Phil Cole had his best month of the season posting a 1.15 ERA and a ludicrous 401 ERA+ in 31 innings of work. He's going to be good.
RP Chris Sackett hasn't given up a home run in 24 innings since being called back up to the bigs in mid July which is no small feat in this home park. His walk rate will need to come down however.
The team announced that they inked a modest 2 year extension for center fielder Abdeljilill Sediki who was claimed off of waivers earlier in the season from Las Vegas. Sediki should provide some outfield depth in the next couple of years for the team.
1B/DH Jose Calderon struggled after the mid season trade with San Fernando but really got it going in August posting a .983 OPS.
Rosters expansion time is here with the Chili's brining up a few guys from Albuquerque. There won't be any late season prospect excitement this year as the team looks to sort through some depth options. Waiver claim Damon Tripping will get a look in the bullpen after being solid in AAA. Jeremy Webb will get an extended look at short after a disappointing 2045 to see if he can be a bench candidate heading into next year.
The Chili's will look to play spoilers in September as they play Montreal, Las Vegas, Boise and Phoenix who are all in the playoff hunt.