Monday, May 4, 2015

April turns to May



The Biscuits slipped away quietly last Wednesday after dropping three in a row to the league doormat Generals, happy to get out of town and start a new set of games.

While the bullpen struggles may have cost the Skitz a half dozen games and dropped them to third place, it doesn't diminish the strong start the team is off to. The ingredients are quality even if they stayed in the oven a little too long and got burned in the Jax series.

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MAY IS TEST TIME
Unless we suffer history, a repeat of last years terrible month of May could mean the Biscuits fall flat before AllStar Break. Yet history also says the Skitz have a better road record in recent seasons, and Montgomery plays 19 road games and just ten at home this month.

Already the Skitz are making amends by taking the series in Pearl against the MBraves, outscoring the opposition 28-9 in the three victories thru Sundays game. An early Monday game will round out the set and the team has an off day before opening the next homestand.

RIVALRY RENEWED
Five games vs rival Birmingham starts Wednesday. Its going to be a recurring theme, all the Skitz opponents during the month of May are North Division rivals. It will be an important few weeks for the Biscuits, who sit at an even .500 and face a make-or-break month.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

These two teams match up very closely on paper, look for a tough fought series between these teams, one of the oldest rivalries in the Southern League.

Look for the SlagCity Sox baserunners to test Capitol City catchers, Barons Tim Anderson leads the loop in stolen bases. MLB lists Anderson as the #2 prospect in the Sox organization.

Do not look for MJ
Look for Biscuit pitchers to pitch carefully to Jacob May, the Brummie outfielder is hitting a scorching .337 and is second in the SL in steals. He's the grandson of former big leaguer, Lee May.

Look for Francelis Montas to light up the radar gun, if it says 102 it might not be in error. Montas embodies the old saying "He can throw a grape through a battleship, but he can't always hit the battleship."



HISTORY NOTES
MAY 4 1958 
Max Burleson assigned to Rebels, will play 3b.
Former Florence State tailback signed with Detroit Tigers. Article mentions the trouble Montgomery has with attendance, only attracting about 300 patrons per game. 
The article goes on to say that other teams in the Al-Fl league have the same trouble and cites 1955 Census figures of White/Negro population and states that while the Ala-Fla league maintains segregation it eliminates any chance of drawing black fans.

Burleson would bat .227 in 55 games for Montgomery under skipper Schoolboy Rowe. The Alabama-Florida League would hang on until the early 1960s before folding the tent for good on segregated D-League ball.

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