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Wingate Gazette
by Billy Hillfinder
I stopped by the front office of the Wingate Gladiators to talk to Jeff Palin, General Manager, about how the team performed in August and his expectations for the rest of the season:
BH: Hello, Mr. Palin. How are you today? I thought I would stop in and we could review August and talk about the rest of the season.
JP: Hey Billy. I'm great! I hope Mary Jane isn't under the weather?
BH: Nah...she just felt things got too intense during her last interview with you. You know how she likes to keep things laid back and all.
JP: I know Billy, but we had just lost Himmi; I don't know what she expected based on the questions she asked. Here's $40, take her to the Gladiator Inn for lunch tomorrow on me.
BH: Hell, Mr. Palin it only costs about $10 for 2 people to eat there including tip.
JP: Well, first, leave a bigger tip Billy and second, have you went there with Mary Jane? She orders like half the menu. I've never seen such a small person eat so much...now what are your questions?
BH: So, let's talk about August. Wingate went 21-6 in August and made up 3 games on Long Island.
JP: Yes, it was a good month for us. Murray Clay pitched great! He deserved the Pitcher of the Month Award but apparently that award is solely based on Wins...not to downgrade the guy that won it, because Mitchell pitched great, but Clay was really good. Also Jimmy White has really come on lately. Christensen hit .320 with 7 HR's and 26 RBI's and Berry hit .296 with 5 HR's and 29 RBI's. You know who has really come on though? Felix Michaud. The guy plays gold glove centerfield and now has his OPS up over .800. He's been great the last 3 months and nobody even notices. He has really stepped up when we needed him. He takes the pressure off Christensen of having to play CF and be one of our top offensive players. Not that he's slacking off in RF and LF but having Michaud out there really strengthens our OF defense. Dave Bruce really just does his job out there everyday; sometimes you just don't notice how good he is because his production is so consistent.
BH: Looks like Sun Min and Mel Wright are a little off their game right now?
JP: I think Min is a little tired. We need to work in some days off for him down the stretch. It's so hard to take him out of the lineup because he is just a terror at the plate; pitchers really don't want to face him. Mel's OK. He's probably a bit worn out with the number of games he's played this year but he has to push through that and get back on track. He gets most days off against LHP's so I don't foresee him getting additional time off. We have all the confidence in the world that he will start punishing the ball again here shortly.
BH: What about Spike Horn? I heard he had a setback and I'm a bit concerned since it is listed as a sore shoulder.
JP: You know how Spike is. He was ticked cause we put him on the DL and just pushed too hard to try and prove us wrong. He is fine and will be ready to go once we activate him. We will probably give him an extra week off as a precaution. So, expect him to be activated on the 9th barring any further setbacks.
BH: So...you are unsure if he will be ready on the 9th? Is there more damage to his shoulder than has been reported?
JP: No, Billy, I'm not unsure, but if gets hit by a car or something between now and the 9th then he won't be activated. He's just sore. He's thrown a lot of innings the last couple of years and needed a break. That's all.
BH: How do you think this team will do in the playoffs?
JP: Playoffs? It's still September Billy. Let's make the playoffs first and then we can discuss it, OK?
BH: Alright, but you know you have a 16.5 game lead in the wildcard race, right?
JP: Yes, I know, but we haven't clinched the spot yet, so I don't want to talk about that yet.
BH: Fair enough. Hey, why did you let Yataro Kouki pitch the last game of the AAA season? Seemed clear to me that he wasn't ready for that level.
JP: Well, I don't necessarily agree with your assumption but...he had been riding the manager ever since the AA season ended to let him pitch. We had just promoted him so that he could see how much better the competition was at that level and hadn't let him pitch at all. The manager called me and said that they were out of the Division race and could he start Kouki the last game. I thought about it and said sure but I told him to let him get his pitches in and work himself out of a few jams if he got in trouble. Eventually, they took him out after 4 2/3 marginal innings. He's a great prospect and I think this just gives him a taste of his next stepping stone before he can even think about the Ahiba League.
BH: Does that mean Kouki will start out at AAA next season?
JP: No, not necessarily. He will most likely start out at AA and move up to AAA sometime next year.
BH: Mr. Palin, I appreciate your time and thank you for being candid as you always are.
JP: Take care Billy and use that money to take Mary Jane to lunch; I'll ask her if you did.
BH: haha...Yes sir. That money would be handy though as I'm trying to buy a bird dog ya know...
JP: Billy, you already have 15 "bird" dogs, 3 cats, 2 pet squirrels and a skunk. You can use your own money if you want to buy another dog. Catch you later.
by Billy Hillfinder
I stopped by the front office of the Wingate Gladiators to talk to Jeff Palin, General Manager, about how the team performed in August and his expectations for the rest of the season:
BH: Hello, Mr. Palin. How are you today? I thought I would stop in and we could review August and talk about the rest of the season.
JP: Hey Billy. I'm great! I hope Mary Jane isn't under the weather?
BH: Nah...she just felt things got too intense during her last interview with you. You know how she likes to keep things laid back and all.
JP: I know Billy, but we had just lost Himmi; I don't know what she expected based on the questions she asked. Here's $40, take her to the Gladiator Inn for lunch tomorrow on me.
BH: Hell, Mr. Palin it only costs about $10 for 2 people to eat there including tip.
JP: Well, first, leave a bigger tip Billy and second, have you went there with Mary Jane? She orders like half the menu. I've never seen such a small person eat so much...now what are your questions?
BH: So, let's talk about August. Wingate went 21-6 in August and made up 3 games on Long Island.
JP: Yes, it was a good month for us. Murray Clay pitched great! He deserved the Pitcher of the Month Award but apparently that award is solely based on Wins...not to downgrade the guy that won it, because Mitchell pitched great, but Clay was really good. Also Jimmy White has really come on lately. Christensen hit .320 with 7 HR's and 26 RBI's and Berry hit .296 with 5 HR's and 29 RBI's. You know who has really come on though? Felix Michaud. The guy plays gold glove centerfield and now has his OPS up over .800. He's been great the last 3 months and nobody even notices. He has really stepped up when we needed him. He takes the pressure off Christensen of having to play CF and be one of our top offensive players. Not that he's slacking off in RF and LF but having Michaud out there really strengthens our OF defense. Dave Bruce really just does his job out there everyday; sometimes you just don't notice how good he is because his production is so consistent.
BH: Looks like Sun Min and Mel Wright are a little off their game right now?
JP: I think Min is a little tired. We need to work in some days off for him down the stretch. It's so hard to take him out of the lineup because he is just a terror at the plate; pitchers really don't want to face him. Mel's OK. He's probably a bit worn out with the number of games he's played this year but he has to push through that and get back on track. He gets most days off against LHP's so I don't foresee him getting additional time off. We have all the confidence in the world that he will start punishing the ball again here shortly.
BH: What about Spike Horn? I heard he had a setback and I'm a bit concerned since it is listed as a sore shoulder.
JP: You know how Spike is. He was ticked cause we put him on the DL and just pushed too hard to try and prove us wrong. He is fine and will be ready to go once we activate him. We will probably give him an extra week off as a precaution. So, expect him to be activated on the 9th barring any further setbacks.
BH: So...you are unsure if he will be ready on the 9th? Is there more damage to his shoulder than has been reported?
JP: No, Billy, I'm not unsure, but if gets hit by a car or something between now and the 9th then he won't be activated. He's just sore. He's thrown a lot of innings the last couple of years and needed a break. That's all.
BH: How do you think this team will do in the playoffs?
JP: Playoffs? It's still September Billy. Let's make the playoffs first and then we can discuss it, OK?
BH: Alright, but you know you have a 16.5 game lead in the wildcard race, right?
JP: Yes, I know, but we haven't clinched the spot yet, so I don't want to talk about that yet.
BH: Fair enough. Hey, why did you let Yataro Kouki pitch the last game of the AAA season? Seemed clear to me that he wasn't ready for that level.
JP: Well, I don't necessarily agree with your assumption but...he had been riding the manager ever since the AA season ended to let him pitch. We had just promoted him so that he could see how much better the competition was at that level and hadn't let him pitch at all. The manager called me and said that they were out of the Division race and could he start Kouki the last game. I thought about it and said sure but I told him to let him get his pitches in and work himself out of a few jams if he got in trouble. Eventually, they took him out after 4 2/3 marginal innings. He's a great prospect and I think this just gives him a taste of his next stepping stone before he can even think about the Ahiba League.
BH: Does that mean Kouki will start out at AAA next season?
JP: No, not necessarily. He will most likely start out at AA and move up to AAA sometime next year.
BH: Mr. Palin, I appreciate your time and thank you for being candid as you always are.
JP: Take care Billy and use that money to take Mary Jane to lunch; I'll ask her if you did.
BH: haha...Yes sir. That money would be handy though as I'm trying to buy a bird dog ya know...
JP: Billy, you already have 15 "bird" dogs, 3 cats, 2 pet squirrels and a skunk. You can use your own money if you want to buy another dog. Catch you later.
