Yamel Guevara 1-2, 4.86 ERA		Aaron Myette 5-5, 5.56 ERA

Of all the players to ever wear the Barnstormers uniform, none has generated more interest outside of Lancaster County than Yamel Guevara. The former Cuban phenom remains a curiosity for all of those who saw him at his peak.

Every week or so, someone who watched Guevara in the past will send an email my way to ask about him. How did he end up in Lancaster? What kind of velocity is he showing? Is he still that phenom? The righthander has even been featured in The Sporting News.

Guevara is not the fireballing superstar he was when he went 10-0 with a 2.06 ERA in the Cuban National Series. The 94 mph fastball he once displayed is now clocked in the 88-90 range. He doesn’t have great command with it. Since his debut with the Barnstormers on May 11, he has relied heavily on his slider – particularly against right-handed batters.

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	Josh Hall 3-1, 5.01 ERA		Aaron Rakers 4-5, 5.51 ERA

According to manager Von Hayes, the Barnstormers are on the verge of adding two players: INF Joe Evans and P Jason Scobie. Evans is part of the misguided venture into the world of player development. He is a product of Pepperdine University and has never played professionally.

Scobie is more likely to have an impact. The 6-1, 190-pound righthander has played parts of four seasons at Triple-A – most recently at Syracuse in 2007. He has a lifetime ERA of 3.76 and became available after being released last month by Woori of the Korea Baseball Organization.

The Barnstormers need a fifth starter and Scobie could fill that need. Yamel Guevara is going to make another spot start Friday – taking D.J. Mattox’s turn. Mattox has been bothered by tendinitis in his shoulder and could be used out of the bullpen.

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	Eric Ackerman 3-4, 3.63 ERA		Jim Magrane 1-6, 7.89 ERA

At this point you can only wonder what’s going to happen next for the Barnstormers. There hasn’t been a meteor shower at Clipper Magazine Stadium, yet. Locusts haven’t swarmed the field. Other than that, the team has endured just about every possible misfortune.

Jose Cabrera’s meltdown is the latest chapter in the season gone awry. Although manager Von Hayes and head of baseball operations Keith Lupton didn’t want to make an immediate decision Tuesday night, it’s hard to envision Cabrera ever stepping onto the mound in a Barnstormers uniform again. If he has reached the end of his time in Lancaster, there’s a giant hole in the bullpen to match the giant holes in the lineup.

With the second half only a week away, the roster is in greater disarray than ever. DH Greg Blosser’s strained calf, coupled with 3B Ivanon Coffie’s sprained wrist, means the Barnstormers are back to nine healthy position players until 2B Juan Francia returns – most likely Thursday.

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Closer Jose Cabrera is facing a suspension for his role in a bench-clearing incident with Somerset Tuesday night. His future with the team is undetermined.

“We’ll see what the league has to say about it and I’ll go from there,” manager Von Hayes said. “I don’t condone what he did by any means. Everything that went on that inning was totally on his shoulders. It had nothing to do with anybody else on this team. We don’t condone that type of behavior and I imagine the league doesn’t, either. We’ll see what comes of it.”

With the Barnstormers clinging to a 9-8 lead in the ninth inning, Cabrera fired a fastball behind Elliott Ayala. As the benches emptied, the reliever had to be forcibly restrained by teammate Kevin Kotch. Cabrera picked up the loose baseball and was threatening to throw it at the Somerset players who had streamed onto the field.

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	Nick Renault 3-2, 4.37 ERA		Brian Adams 4-3, 5.11 ERA

Sixty-three games are in the books. That is, coincidentally, the number of games that were played in each half last season – when the schedule was shortened to 126 because of the Road Warriors. The Barnstormers have been remarkably consistent over the last 1½ year. Sunday’s defeat assured them of their third consecutive losing half.

2007 1st half: 29-34
2007 2nd half: 28-35
2008 to date: 27-36

With only a week remaining until the second half begins, the team has two glaring needs: an outfielder and a starting pitcher. D.J. Mattox, the fifth starter, had his Sunday turn in the rotation skipped because his arm was bothering him. Being one starter short really isn’t that big of a deal. Most teams in this league are in worse shape. The Barnstormers have Yamel Guevara and Ricardo Gomez available for spot duty.

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	Yamel Guevara 1-1, 4.60 ERA		Eric DuBose 2-2, 3.78 ERA

The successful return of Matt LeCroy has alleviated some concerns about the offense. In four games since coming back from a shoulder injury that plagued him all season, LeCroy is 6-for-14 with two homers and five RBIs. He has reached safely in nine of his 17 plate appearances.

“My shoulder is starting to feel a lot better,” LeCroy said. “When you try to play hurt, you end up hurting the team and hurting yourself. I’m just glad I’m able to get in there, especially with (Lance Burkhart) not playing, and offensively help out. Let’s hope I can continue to do it.”

LeCroy had perfect timing. The Barnstormers needed someone to fill the offensive void left by the absence of Burkhart, who is out with a fractured wrist. Once Ian Bladergroen and Juan Francia are activated off the DL, the infield will be in good shape.

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	Eric Ackerman 2-4, 3.46 ERA		Barry Hertzler 3-3, 3.28 ERA

The construction of the Barnstormers’ current rotation is reminiscent of the group that started the 2006 season. That’s the only other time in franchise history when this team could claim to have four quality starters. The names were Denny Harriger, Scott Sobkowiak, Andy Zwirchitz and Brian Whitaker back then. Today the staff is anchored by Josh Hall, Eric Ackerman, Nick Renault and Shane Youman.

The Barnstormers won mostly with pitching in the first half of 2006. Harriger, Squeeze and Sobkowiak were a combined 17-7 with a 3.78 ERA through the end of June. They put the Barnstormers in first place on their way to a wire-to-wire championship.

Of course, Zwirchitz and Sobkowiak ended up getting injured, the rotation fell apart and the Barnstormers became an offensive juggernaut in the second half as they steamrolled toward the playoffs. That’s often how things work in the Atlantic League.

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	Shane Youman 0-1, 9.00 ERA		Kevin Mannix 0-2, 10.22 ERA

Tim McClaskey’s playing career is over. The righthander, who has been on the disabled list since June 6, is leaving the team and will pursue a career in coaching.

“He’s going to get on with his life,” manager Von Hayes said. “He’s got a condition that doesn’t allow him to play baseball. He’s fine with it. He’s going to make a heck of a coach. I think that’s what he wants to do now. He’s a great kid and we wish him the best.”

McClaskey suffers from an autoimmune disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome. The illness forced him to miss three months while at Double-A Reading last season. The symptoms re-emerged during his final start on June 5 and he was unable to return.

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The Barnstormers have lost another key player to injury. C Lance Burkhart suffered a fractured left wrist during a collision with Camden’s Richard Lewis at first base Tuesday night. Burkhart was taken to the hospital during the game and had his wrist placed in a cast.

“I knew something wasn’t right,” he said. “I’d never felt anything like that before. I knew it wasn’t good.”

Burkhart is out at least six weeks. Trainer Mark Francis estimated the typical recovery time for this type of injury — which involves the radius bone — is eight to 10 weeks. If it takes that long, it could put Burkhart’s season in jeopardy, but it’s too soon to project with any certainty.

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	D.J. Mattox 1-4, 6.26 ERA		Tony Peguero 2-0, 4.15 ERA

The cynical part of the Barnstormers probably expected something to go wrong. They’ve won seven of their last nine games, are benefiting from great pitching and seem to have found the right lineup mix. So, naturally, someone had to get injured. That’s the M.O. for 2008.

Juan Francia’s hamstring strain comes when the team was finally clicking. The bad news is hamstring injuries tend to linger and Francia relies heavily on his speed. Although the fastest timetable for his return is 10 days, it could certainly be longer. If you rush back from a hamstring strain, there’s a high risk of re-aggravation.

A big part of the recent offensive surge was moving Francia into the leadoff spot. The infielder was hitting .321 with a .376 on-base percentage in June. With Francia hitting first and Mike Woods second, the table setters were doing an excellent job. Those two have scored 33 runs in 22 games this month.

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