Week 5: The Rotation is Turning

Two placeholder starters, who were brought in to be innings-eaters for one season only, have been underperforming.  Larry Smiley (5 GS, 7.29 ERA) and Chris Johnson (4 GS, 7.20 ERA) have been demoted to AAA.  Royce Butterfield, who is projected to be a solid long-term member at the top of the major league rotation, was brought up from AAA affiliate Pasadena.  In seven starts, he was 3-1 with a 1.41 ERA.  Matt Murphy was also brought up from Pasadena.  In seven starts he was 4-2 with a 3.97 ERA.  Matt may or may not have a long term future in the major league rotation.

Week 3: Climb to Mediocrity and a Catcher Spotlight

Eureka has begun to climb toward the level of mediocrity anticipated for the team by the owner, going 4-2 in week 3, to move to 7-12.  Though 3rd in the standings, the office is beginning to come around, and leads the division in doubles and triples.  However, the fast runners, who have been given a loose rein to run, have not cut loose on the base paths, stealing only 5 bases through the first 5 games.  Catchers Franklin Tucker and David Rivera are not providing much offense, but are very solid defensively, calling good games and demonstrating strong arms on throws to 2nd.  David Rivera, however, has the much better catcher ERA, with 3.45 to Franklin Tucker's 5.09 catcher ERA.

Week 1, 2012

Week One of the inaugural season for the Eureka Hornets got off to a rocky start.  The team is primarily built around youth, particularly young pitching.  But a 1-5 start was worse than expected.  Heck, the management expected at LEAST a 2-4 start!


One problem was the first big "Doh!" moment of the season, when manager De La Garza realized he had created only non-DH lineups.  As a result, the first week lineups were, creatively: 1. C, 2. 1B, 3. 2B, and so forth!  Needless to say, this next week will be a more accurate indication of the quality of the lineup!

The pitching for the next season or so will be less-than-stellar.  The Eureka strategy was to build for the long haul, so most of the team's best pitching is in the minors.  However, by 2014, there should be a competitive product on the field.

The Week One star was a veteran, 35-year-old secondbaseman Gary McLernon.  He had a .417 BA and .625 SLG for the week.  Go Gary!