Beavers 2011 Summer - So Far...

It's been an interesting summer. Starting with a couple of rainouts wrapped around a bye week, we have finally reached the last week of the season. Travel schedules have taken their toll on the everyday lineup. There have been "scrubs" in 10 of the 14 games. Those scrubs are hitting a combined .432. We need to look for a new class of reserves!

In fact, only one Beaver has played in every game this year. You'll be surprised to learn that the only one to do so is Big John. He's kinda good, you know. But, like the scrubs, his .450 average is not raising the team average. Big John also leads the club in walks. I am sure that will spark Sabo to watch a few more pitches this Wed. Big John has 9 walks, Sabo 5. Speaking of Sabo, he is not quite hitting in typical Sabo-fashion but his .531 average is still respectable and his 22 runs lead the club (one ahead of Kid).

Kid rode 2 monsterous games (in the same night) where he mashed 2 grand slams and drove in a total of 12 runs. That was just shy of half of his season RBI (26 total). Those are also the only 2 HR for the season for Kid - though he is leading the team in that category. As a team, we have hit only 5 HR, but have hit 18 triples. Not a stat line you would expect from a team whose average age is 37.1 years old. The triples are well disbursed. PT and Sabo lead with 3 each. In total 9 Beavers have fallen just 60 feet shy of a HR.

PT is having a big season at the plate. He is flirting with the .600 mark (just shy at .595) and finds himself in cleanup spot occasionally to get some of that production in the heart of the order. Some people hit better higher in the order, others don't want the pressure. Take Rage for example...he always is asking to hit last and catch, but his .652 speaks otherwise.

There are but two constants in the Beavers lineup; Kid bats third, Jimmy - last. Here's how that is working out. Kid is, well, hitting like Kid at an impressive .681 (leading the club in that category as well). In fact, that means that Kid is pacing to win the Beaver Triple Crown (.681/2/26). Jimmy-D is hitting not quite half of that. Coming in at .308 with all 12 of his hits going for singles.

Unfortunately, Jimmy is not bringing up the rear in avg though. The hits are just not falling this year for Dupper. Struggling at just .294, he's even having a hard time getting the SAC flies (3), tied with Rake.

Rake is having a below average season coming in at .462. And that carried over to SS last week when he tried to hide himself at SS for an inning or two. It is painfully obvious that infield practice would have been as helpful as another visit to the cages. Someone who has hit well this year is the younger of the Richmond brothers. Tanner is slightly outpacing Rage by .003 in the batting avg race (.655 / .652). Tanner also benefited from a huge night when he drove in a total of 11 runs. Outside of that night, he has 5 additional RBI. That night he went 8 for 8. But that was bested by Gee's string of 10 hits without an out. That string of hits raised Gee's average to .541 - quite respectable for someone with one eye. I think he would say that he should be hitting 1.082.

To round out the team you have Allan and Mobilly. First of all, we need to get Allan a nickname. He has played 12 games and nothing has exactly stuck yet. I believe "Protege" is being tried on for size this week. We'll see if that sticks. Allan should focus on his hitting and let us worry about what to call him. He is hitting .475 in his rookie season with the Beavs. Mobilly has been hitting well when he shows. He has made less than 50% of the games so far (6 in total), but is hitting a strong .650 in those few games.

It all comes down to the last 2 games of the season. Beavers play the 6-8 Team America. They might be better than the record implies. They have played the tougher teams in the league with the exception of the Hillitary (who has lost every game, save one against us). So with first place on the line (Beavers and Golden Sombreros are tied with 11-3 records) the showdown is set for 8PM on field #1 (near the tennis courts). The team will be shy our catcher, JImmy-D, and our catcher wannabe, Rage. The other 10 of us have the fate of the season in our hands.

Now you know the stats. Now's our chance to improve upon them.