June Report: Treading Water

H'ville, Tn - Another month in the books for the 2012 VBL6 season and the Hitmen are holding on to a slim lead for the best record in the ML.  At 51-29 the Hitmen have a 2 game lead over Boston and Sacramento for the top record and home field advantage in the playoffs.

Despite the overall record the Hitmen have been trading water of late.  After starting 10-4 vs the tougher opponents of the month the Hitmen finished 5-6 with one game left vs New Orleans.

Hville started strong taking 2 of 3 from Los Angeles Bruins in LA.
Swept Baffin Island Beavers in 3 games.
Took 2 of 3 vs Pocatello Boccabellas while they had the best record in the TL.

Then they hit the road for 12 straight games and lost 2 of 3 vs Oklahoma Droogies (2 1-run games).
Won 2 of 3 vs rival Orlando Calrissian.
Lost 2 of 3 vs Sacramento Mentalists (shutout in 2 games!!).
Then won 2 of 3 vs El Paso Diablos finishing the road trip at 6-6.

June has been an up and down month as Scott Hill has lost 3 straight starts with the Offense only scoring 1 run in those 3 starts.  Walter Bamber has a great shot at winning Pitcher of the Month going 5-0 with a 1.78 ERA.  Burkholder could win Hitter of the Month, but was injured last night and will most likely miss the rest of the season while no other regular starter hit over .300 in June.

 Top Hitters:
LF Gregg Burkholder: .330 avg (32-97), 8 HR, 23 RBI, 18 R, 4 SB, 14 BB, .412 OBP, .619 Slg, 1.031 OPS

RF John Prowse (only played 8 gms): .323 avg (10-31)
3B/SS Alonso Pérez (only played 9 gms): .464 avg (13-28)
C Anastasio López (only played 10 gms): .419 avg (13-31)

Top Pitchers:
SP Walter "The Claw" Bamber:  5-0, 1.78 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 35 K, 13 BB, .208 Opp Avg
SP Scott "The Francise" Hill:      2-3, 2.23 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 38 K,   1 BB, .224 Opp Avg
CL Martin "Cabfare" Griffin:      7 Svs, 1.04 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 13 K, 2 BB, .100 Opp Avg
MR Alfredo González:               3-0, 1.17 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 18 K,   2 BB, .148 Opp Avg and 4 Holds

Injuries:

LF Gregg Burkholder, Broken Kneecap, missed 1 game in June, out for 4 months
RF John Prowse, Knee Tendinitis, missed 3 weeks in June
SS Alonso Pérez, Fractured Foot, missed 3 weeks in June
MR Ghidewon Hassan, Elbow Inflammation, missed 2 weeks in June


Look ahead at July:
The strength of schedule looks to get easier in July, but that doesn't always = wins. 
The lost of Burkholder sucks and he will be hard to replace. 
The All-Star game is schedule for July 4
The trade deadline is in July 31st
H'ville's rival JTP returns to lead Orlando who is currently 9.0 games back