MONTH IN REVIEW: Boise's follow-up to their Frontier Division-winning 2041 was not what most expected. At 12-15, the team -- from top to bottom -- really struggled. The franchise's best player and team captain, Dennis French, was excellent but streakier than usual and continuing to be a liability on the basepaths (40 SB%). Up-and-coming superstar Félix Román was decent but struggled mightily against lefties (.156/.229/.344), something that's given the Boise brass some concern. Similarly, Ricardo Ruíz played poorly overall but looked completely lost against righties (.176/.263/.279). Are these offensive issues out of their best players what keeps Boise out of the playoffs or are they just small sample sizes that should work themselves out?Besides from solid defense that Boise has been known for, the Spuds' team statistics were no better than middle of the pack, with some closer to the cellar of the entire Johnson League. Starting pitching was okay, but was prone to a few ugly starts. As a whole, the bullpen has underachieved, or maybe they're just not as good as they were last year?
The lone silver lining was Boise's schedule was difficult, including eight games (1-7) against the league's best team thru April, division-foe Edmonton Jackrabbits. Additionally, Boise played the fewest home games in the entire league. Fortunately, the team's schedule starts to even out in May, with 16 scheduled home games versus 11 on the road.
ORE-IDA® TATER-TOTS EMOJI SUMMARY OF THE MONTH:
HITTER OF THE MONTH: Pepe Madrid - .381/.473/.714 (4 HR, 11 R, 11 RBI)
PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Júlio Alicea - 1-1 (6 GS), 2.80 ERA, 0.99 WHIP (5.6 K/9, 1.5 BB/9)
HOT POTATOES:
Yunosuke Terada - .278/.395/.639 (4 HR, 7 R, 8 RBI)
Dennis French - .342/.363/.650 (6 HR, 16 R, 19 RBI)
Dave Walsh - 0-0 (11 G), 1 HLD, 0.79 ERA, 0.71 WHIP (6.4 K/9, 1.6 BB/9)
COLD FRIES:
Ricardo Hernandez - .096/.217/.115 (0 HR, 5 R, 2 RBI)
Sancho Castillo - .190/.261/.238 (0 HR, 5 R, 3 RBI)
José Campos - .171/.237/.314 (1 HR, 5 R, 2 RBI)
Calvin Clohessy - .194/.250/.339 (1 HR, 6 R, 6 RBI)
Jesús Arce - 1-2 (18 G), 4 SV, 6.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP (4.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9)
Frank Metcalf - 2-2 (6 GS), 7.24 ERA, 1.64 WHIP (3.6 K/9, 2.5 BB/9)
