matt nevarez is back!

C.J.Riefenhouser

Ted knew the strike zone

Congrats to CJ Rief, winner of the SL Pitcher of the Week for the week ending April 21st. Awesome work, just one walk in seven and one third innings over three games - it begs the question, who was the lucky recipient and how did he lay off a pitch that close! The umpire must have squeezed him, probably a check swing that wasn't called a strike.

PREDICTED AND DELIVERED
I got the game preview right on Friday, predicting fireworks before the end of the game and indeed the Skitz responded with a record setting effort in the form of their 12 run inning vs Mobile.

Psychic Base Ball

There was a big difference the next day, as the GrapeJelly Series began.

GRAPE JELLY SERIES 2013

Biscuits vs Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies and Montgomery Biscuits - both delicious with grape jelly and always a favorite matchup of mine. However the Smokies have battered the Biscuits, winning two out of three in the five game series so far.

RECAP

On Saturday, the first game of the series saw the Cubs affiliate pound the Biscuits with 11 runs and sending Jake Thompson to his second loss of the season.

In the second game of the set the Skitz broke through in the 11th inning to take Sundays game and hand the victory to Riefenhauser in extras.

Monday night fell into the loss column, chasing Merrill Kelly in the sixth as they put up five runs in the inning - five would be the difference in the 8-3 contest. Andrew Bellatti walked one and allowed three runs on three hits. Only Matt Nevarez emerged unscathed, striking out two in his one inning of work, his first of the year.

Matt Nevarez (left) celebrates with Spokane

Nevarez, activated by the Biscuits, started the year on the DL but now comes in to add to the Biscuits bullpen.


Starter Enny Romero goes to the bump for the 'Skitz today, Victor Mateo tomorrow.




SWINGING WELL - WELL ENOUGH
At the plate for this series, the Biscuits have gotten some production from the usual suspects - Mahtook, O'Malley, Glaesmann and Thomas have all had multi hit games or productive at bats, but the team batting average is hovering around .240.


LOW WATER MARK
The low Biscuits batting average MIGHT be cause for alarm if the league average wasn't .235.
If that sounds low, its because it IS drastically below the normal batting average posted by southern league hitters - since 2010 the the lowest batting average for all southern league hitters combined is .252, and even that was about ten points lower than the usual.

The Southern League has less than 25% chance of getting wet

If there isnt a rise in the numbers over the next forty five days or so, we could be looking at a serious pitchers year - maybe a reflection of the type of players currently being developed and how they are being brought along. Something to keep an eye on, for sure!

THE LUCKY WHITEMAN STORY - 

FROM MONTGOMERY CLIMBER TO WORLD SERIES HERO

When we last left Lucky, he had played in his first World Series game with the RedSox, had a couple of hits and played left field as Babe Ruth shut out the Cubs.

George "Lucky" Whiteman, 1918 Red Sox

Game Two ticket

 GAME TWO
Again Lucky gets the start hitting fourth and playing left field. Ruth is on the bench, unavailable after pitching nine innings yesterday.

After walking in the first inning and moving to third on a single and a sacrifice, Lucky is thrown out at the plate when a grounder doesnt get through a drawn in Cubs infield.

In the fourth inning he pops the ball up to the second baseman. His luck fails him again in his next at bat, Lucky grounded into a double play to end the sixth inning.

1918 Series Cartoon

In the ninth inning, after Strunk leads off with a triple, Whiteman does the same to drive him in for the first Boston run of the game but as the runner on third base, he would be stranded.

Lefty Tyler defeats Bullet Joe Bush as the Sox lose 3-1 to the Cubs knotting the series at a game apiece.

Cubs pitcher Lefty Tyler

TOMORROW - INTRIGUE AS LUCKY ENCOUNTERS THE CUBS CURSE!