...And So It Continues

Almost a third of the season in the books and some tendencies are starting to emerge.

The Ugly
In the first three full seasons of the ABL the Bombers have managed to have a losing month in 18 of the 19 months.  The only month that South Carolina had a winning month was an abbreviated October 2014 when only 5 games were played and we went 3-2.  While it DOES count, it's not really what we're looking for, obviously.

So far, things have gotten better as we've had two near misses so far in 2015, and thankfully, with no one taking a leadership position in the division, we're just 2 games back being 5 games under 500 (22-27).

In April, the Bombers were 10-12.  In May, 12-15.  So, looking at full months of game play, the Bombers have played under 500 in 20 of 20 months.

#LookingToCorrectThisInJune.

The Bad
Pitching still is not where we'd like it, nor where we thought it would be, at least in terms of rankings.
RA, 8th
SP ERA, 9th
BP ERA, 8th
Defense, 12th

Management understood that a hit would take place because CF'er Martin Evans would be relegated to a 4th OF'er slot on the depth chart's.  His GG caliber Defense is utilized in late innings.
Gunner "Get" Smart defense has eroded as well.  His experiment at 1B didn't work primarily since Fernando Guzman failed to transition to 3B.

2013 1st Round Pick Aaron Harris has pitched well enough this season in AAA to now be noticed on a week to week basis for promotion into the starting rotation with the hopes of getting the SP ERA more in line to where management wants to see it.

Cecil "Gibby" Gibbons will be coming off the DL after tonight's SIM and then be headed for a rehab assignment.  Jeremy "Pin Cushion" Fisher appears to be the logical demotion upon Gibbons return.

Dave "Nickles" Nicholson is running out of time to get his act together as well.  So far, 1-7 with 6.17 ERA is unacceptable and he's been working feverishly with PC Lou Fountain.

The Good
Orlando Bustamante, has put together a season so far that he has thrown his hat into discussion for TML League MVP honors.  There is still a lot of baseball yet to play, but by far Bustamante is having a career season.  Bustamante is leading the TML in batting average (.361), Hits (73), 3rd in Slugging (.594), OPS (.986), 3rd in WAR (2.5), 8th in HR (11), 5th in RS (38), and 2nd in Total Bases (120).
There are some other players on other teams having outstanding seasons too, but it's clear Bustamante is carrying the load in South Carolina.

Stephen "Action" Jackson started the season going 4-6 with a HR and Double in a game and a half and then was put on the shelf for 3 weeks due to an injury.  When Jackson came off the DL he practically picked up where he left off.  He's hitting .318, and OB of .402 and a slug of .486 for a OPS of 888.  He's about 30 PA's shy of qualifying for any of the hitting categories right now.  We'll expect him there by the end of June, barring any further injuries.