VS ROAD WARRIORS
Darwin Soto (0-3, 7.94 ERA) vs.
Gustavo Martinez (4-3, 3.70 ERA)
In case you’ve forgotten, it’s an 11 a.m. start time today. The Barnstormers end their mini-homestand against the Road Warriors. Martinez, second on the team in ERA, is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in five starts this month. Soto is making his second start after 15 relief appearances. His first start only lasted two innings, even though he didn’t allow a run.
Pre-game notes:
– James Lira has been inserted into the rotation to replace Clayton Andrews. Manager Frank Klebe talked about the move at the bottom of the Game 50 thread. If you scroll down, Klebe and catcher Jeremy Deitrick talk about the ninth inning rally that fell short.
– Roberto Mejia is already gone. He signed with Veracruz of the Mexican League. Mejia never played a game for the Barnstormers. So there is no backup infielder again and none of the guys got a rest while Mejia was here.
– Jutt Hileman is not here for personal reasons. One bench player today: catcher Russ Cleveland.
Lineups …
Road Warriors (13-34) …………………… Lancaster (23-27)
Travis Ezi, CF …………………………….. Vince Blue, CF
Jorge Mejia, 2B …………………………… Danny Gonzalez, SS
Vito Chiaravalloti, DH ……………………. Jeremy Todd, 1B
Ian Bladergroen, 1B ……………………… Dominick Ambrosini, LF
Sandy Aracena, C ……………………….. Steve Van Note, 3B
Jason Bryan, RF ………………………….. Chris Van Rossum, DH
Steven Doetsch, LF ……………………… Mike Woods, 2B
Ron Fenwick, 3B …………………………. Jeremy Deitrick, C
Josh Arteaga, SS ………………………… Steve Booker, RF
Scoring summary:
FINAL: Road Warriors 12, Barnstormers 5
Road Warriors 1st: Mejia scores on passed ball. Road Warriors lead 1-0.
Stormers 2nd: Woods’ triple scores Ambrosini. Deitrick’s single scores Woods. Barnstormers lead 2-1.
Road Warriors 5th: Mejia’s sacrifice fly scores Arteaga. Bladergroen’s double scores Ezi. Road Warriors lead 3-2.
Road Warriors 6th: Bryan scores on wild pitch. Doetsch scores on wild pitch. Bladergroen’s hit by pitch scores Arteaga. Aracena’s walk scores Ezi. Bryan’s walk scores Chiaravalloti. Road Warriors lead 8-2.
Barnstormers 6th: Ambrosini’s double scores Gonzalez. Van Note’s single scores Ambrosini. Road Warriors lead 8-4.
Road Warriors 7th: Arteaga’s single scores Fenwick. Chiaravalloti’s home run scores Mejia and Arteaga. Road Warriors lead 12-4.
Barnstormers 9th: Blue’s fielder’s choice scores Deitrick. Road Warriors win 12-5.
RECORD: 23-28
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Josh Arteaga (3-for-5 with three runs scored out of the No. 9 spot in the order).
WHAT WENT RIGHT: *Crickets chirping*
WHAT WENT WRONG: To put it succinctly: The Barnstormers were awful. They committed four errors, issued nine walks, threw three wild pitches and hit two batters in a blowout loss to the worst team in the league.
*The sixth inning was a disaster. The Road Warriors sent 11 hitters to the plate and scored five runs even though they never hit the ball out of the infield. Team president Jon Danos and head of baseball operations Adam Gladstone watched the misery unfold from the press box.
“You’re going to have those games where you kick the ball around and throw the ball around,“ manager Frank Klebe said. “But it shouldn’t be that often.”
*Although you should never judge a team on its worst day, this game was emblematic of the Barnstormers’ overall problems: Their bullpen is lacking, their depth is non-existent and there’s a general shortage of talent. In the sixth inning, Klebe stuck with starter Gustavo Martinez far too long because the manager was reluctant to use his relievers. Rightfully so. When Klebe turned to Jason Norderum, the lefty walked two and hit a batter with the bases loaded.
“We haven’t been able to make the progress to help our bullpen out,” Klebe said. “We’re beating our arms up out there.”
*The lack of upgrades to the roster is starting to wear thin with the players in the clubhouse, most notably first baseman Jeremy Todd.
“There are holes that need to be filled and we haven’t filled them,” Todd said. “That’s the problem right now. We’ve got a good core group of guys here who can play, but need help and we haven’t gotten it.”
*While searching for relief help, the Barnstormers signed lefty Phil Norton, who allowed four runs in 2 1/3 innings in his debut Tuesday. With all due respect to Norton, he’s not what the Barnstormers needed. His addition gives Lancaster four lefties among their six relievers. Either the brass is oblivious to the team’s shortcomings or it is incapable of finding the necessary parts.
*The absence of depth shows up in a lot of ways: All four infielders — Todd, Mike Woods, Danny Gonzalez and Steve Van Note have played every inning since June 15. Relievers Eric Ackerman and Ross Peeples, in particular, have been worked too hard. Eventually, fatigue makes their production suffer.
“Our bullpen is getting worn out,” Todd said. “Our infield is getting worn out a little bit. Guys need to not have to be out there every day.”
*Roberto Mejia, the infielder the Barnstormers signed Sunday, left for Mexico Tuesday. That was yet another setback.
*BASA is struggling to do its job. Maybe having one company handle the baseball operations for four teams is asking too much. Maybe the Barnstormers simply aren’t willing to pay what it takes to upgrade. Something is clearly wrong. It shouldn’t be this difficult to find talent and bring it to Lancaster. It certainly wasn’t last season.
“I know what (we need),” Klebe said. “It’s the middle of the bullpen, another big bat in the middle of the lineup and a utility infielder. I’ve been saying that since the 20th game of the year.”
*Klebe is being a little disingenuous here. If you look at it objectively, he has fought change and has wanted to stick with his guys. Perhaps he is finally recognizing that this roster is not capable of winning a championship.
*The manager had a suggestion …
“This is a veteran league, but if we’re getting so thin and can’t afford the veterans that we’re supposed to get, we need to start thinking in a different direction. Let’s get some younger players.”
*That’s not the answer. The answer is finding premium talent to replace all the All-Star caliber guys that were lost. At this point, that talent might not be available. The Barnstormers might have slipped so far and waited so long to address their problems that there’s no chance for recovery. But you can’t let Reggie Taylor and Jose Ortiz walk out the door without suffering a drop-off in results.
“You saw what we had here last year to win,” Todd said. “We don’t really have the same personnel. We have a good group of guys, but there are certain aspects we need and we haven’t gotten them yet.”
*The Barnstormers are running out of time to fix those issues. The second half begins in 17 days and team appears to be in worse shape than ever. Does Todd have a sense that change is coming?
“No,” he said. “No sense at all.”
“We’re getting close to the second half and if we start off the way we’re going, the second half is going to be over with as soon as it starts.”
