31 July 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper
Well, well. Back in June we wondered where the hell a 20-8 record came from. It went back wherever it lives as July's 7-19 came back down the chimney with a sickening thud. Yes, 7-19 is the worst month of the season with a .269 win PCT. April's 10-17 (.370 PCT) sounds so sweet now. The offense took a step backwards scoring an anemic 3.9 runs/game. Total runs scored went from ranked 6th in the JL to 11th in just 26 games. As ugly as it is, we kinda wanna keep discussing the offense because pitching just seems to be worsening as the year goes by. I mean, allowing 6.6 runs/game is almost criminal. The good news is that runs allowed stayed ranked 14th in the league. Stability.
SPUDS OF THE MONTH - JULY
Pitcher
P Buddhapalita Kankipati
22 G, 17 GS, 6-2, 3.29 ERA, 93.0 IP, 3.8 BB/9, 7.4 K/9, 1.17 WHIP, +0.5 WAR
The nod this month is more of an "eye test" verdict than a pick by the numbers. Veteran righty setup man Brian Groves took the mound 8 times in July booking 1 save and an 0-1 record with a 2.53 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 10.2 IP. He had 10 K's and allowed 3 runs. CL Mario Santos put up flashy numbers in July allowing just 1 run in 8 games going 10.1 innings and allowing just 6 hits while striking out 10. He had 2 save opps and converted both. But you don't want your closer logging a 1-2 record and walking 6.1 per 9. Then there is arguably the best pitcher for the Spuds this season in righty P Buddhapalita Kankipati. Kankipati has moved from the starting rotation to bullpen (17 starts in 22 games) but spent virtually all of July as a reliever save one start against Jacksonville on the 2nd. He turned in a 0-1 record in 6 games with a 2.16 ERA and 0.84 WHIP, allowing 14 hits in 16.2 innings with 14 strikeouts. He just seemed the better when compared to Santos. And, for the record, he'll be moving back to the rotation for the remainder of the season. He's just that valuable and the Spuds need as many solid, if not technically "quality," starts.
Batter
1B Tracy 'Jigga' Allison
91 G, 29 2B, 12 3B, 4 HR, 27 RBI, .347/.396/.531, 47 SB, +3.3 WAR
No need for an eye test here. Only 5 players recorded 10 or more RBI during the month and 3 of those were LF Tsutomu Yamauchi (.242 AVG, .695 OPS), 3B Bill Kuhn (.233 AVG, .738 OPS), and CF Bob Hills (.220 AVG, .655 OPS) who each delivered 10. 2B Ryan Geauxinue had an excellent month at the plate appearing in 22 games posting 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI, and 3 SB, with a .305/.330/.432 slash. But there is no doubt that Allison gets the nod. He slashed .343/.409/.566 and had 8 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, and 6 SB (though he was gunned down 4 times...gotta cut that out).
July: P Buddhapalita Kankipati, 1B Tracy 'Jigga' Allison
June: SP Mahad Einan, 3B Bill Kuhn
May: P Brian Groves, DH Pedro Hozven
April: P Buddhapalita Kankipati, 3B Bill Kuhn