Jersey Shore - July 2012

June treated Jersey Shore very well with a 16-11 record in June, Jersey kept up their winning ways in July going 15-11 even though they faced a brutal schedule which included the majority of teams over .500.  They gained 3 games on Pittsburgh, but still sit 10 games out of first place, and 7 games out of the Wild Card.  We saw good pitching and even the first Pitcher of the Month Award for 2012.


Players of the Month:
SP Jose Reyes: 5-0, 1.16 ERA, 1.16 WHIP.  After coming off the DL in June and having 3 sub par starts Reyes turned it on in July winning all 5 of his starts and being named the Pitcher of the Month for the Trillian League.  His wins including ones against Sacramento, Pittsburgh and Greenville.  He improved his record to 7-1 on the season.

CL Daniel Morris: 1-0, 9 Saves, 0.00 ERA  0.72 WHIP.  For the 2nd straight month Morris was dominate making the Players of the Month list.  He appeared in 10 games, 9 of them in situations and converted all of them.  After he signed a one year deal which was deemed ill advised by fans, Morris has stepped in and been one of the best closers in the league.  He also signed a 3 year deal earlier in the month.

MR Jose "Dog Pound" Gomes:  1-0, 1.27 ERA, 0.82 WHIP:  2nd straight month for Gomes on the POTM list as well.  He set up Morris beautifully, giving up one ER all month long to Sacramento.  After a rough start to the season he has improved his overall ERA to 2.11 and his WHIP to 1.21.  He and Morris anchor the league's 3rd best bullpen ERA wise.

SS Jerome Lindsey: .315/.406/.413 2 HR 11 RBI:  Coming off the DL was a kick in the pants for offense at a position Jersey was sorely missing.  If he can stay healthy Jersey has a top of the lineup threat, but his problem has been staying on the field.  

OF Ramon Tavarez: .343/.365/.600 5 HR 16 RBI:  Tavarez is one of the stranger leadoff hitters you will see.  He lead the team in HR and RBI.  He took only 3 walks and struck out 14 times, but amassed a SLG% of .600.  The switch hitter mashed righties for the month, with his stats he is more of the prototypical 3 or 5 hitter, but looks to stay in the leadoff role.

Roster Changes, Questions and Answers:

The first roster changes came with the trade deadline.  Jersey sent 2B Jose Nunez to Los Angeles in return for 2B prospects Rafeal Lara.  Then Jersey dealt Tak-hing Ma and Juan Garcia to Orlando in exchange for SP Hector Hernandez and Bill Welshman.  Garcia was part of the original team but was sent to make room for AB's for Milliard Cross and Derrick Wright.  Hernandez will see where he can fit into the rotation.

Again the bullpen was dominate the starting pitching was better, and the offense stepped up enough to win 15 games.  The team still didn't show much power, hitting 18 HR in 26 games, but with the addition of Cross to the 25 man roster, we are hoping to see more of it the next month.

With Nunez being traded Top Prospect Antonio Ruiz was called up again to be the full time starting 2B.  He has struggled there thus far after killing AAA, we will see how he progresses through the later months in the year.  With Garcia being gone the 1B/3B/DH AB's will be split between Parker Morrow, David Pena and Milliard Cross.  If any of them falter, 26 year old 1B Derrick Wilson is posting historically big numbers in AAA waiting for his spot. 

A question that wasn't answered in July was again the young starting pitching.  Rob Goodship got 2 starts, one ok and one terrible.  Jerry Paige is still in AAA, awaiting his shot at the rotation as well.  The only other questions that can be asked is, can this team continue to stay healthy?  With being 7 games out, can they possibly make a run at the Wild Card?  Which prospects will continue to move up the ladder and which ones will get their shot at the big league club?  Can the bullpen continue to be dominate?  We will see in August!

GO D-BAGS