Minor League Slugfest

The Nantucket Orcas have been off to a great start this season led by a starting rotation with a 3.12 ERA, but everything came together Friday, May 11^th. It was a chilly spring night on the island, and the Orcas were hosting the rival Nashua Redlegs in front of 2600 people. It was like any other game until the bottom of the second when the Orcas Right Fielder Juan Conseco told grandma to get out the rye bread and mustard because it was Grand Salami time! Conseco took the pitch from Ed Foster 383ft and capped off a 5 run inning. The Orcas kept the train running scoring in all but the 5^th and 8^th innings to finish off the game with a 30-2 victory. All but one starter had a RBI and Conseco and House both had Grand Slams.

Player of the Game:

Juan Conseco

5 for 6 5 runs 9 RBI's and 2 HR

April in Review

The first month in Niagara Falls is officially in the books. The Frenzy finished with a 15-13 record, and had only 8 games at Edmund Fitzgerald Field. The organization as a whole is a bit disappointed with the team’s results, but ultimately is still in the hunt for the division. The team saw a great deal of success against the powerful Zaphod division, sweeping the upstart Mentalists, and winning crucial series against the World Series favorite Bruins, and the ever dangerous Tropics.

The biggest disappointment came from the Frenzy’s terrible play against divisional opponents and bottom dwelling teams. They were nearly swept in a 4 game series with Boston, and avoided a sweep early on against the AAA New Orleans Looters. Injuries have plagued the team early on as the team was not able to field their starting lineup. This could be leading to the lack of clutch hitting that Frenzy fans have been used to in the past. If the team ever manages to get healthy they will be poised to make a run for the Arthur Division.

April MVP’s

P Earl Harper

The excitement of signing Harper did not seem to send shock waves through the league but GM JJ Hoban knew he had signed someone special. In the first month of play (Stats through current sim as I was too lazy to do this earlier) Harper has compiled a 6-1 record with a 2.61 ERA and he currently leads the league in Strikeouts with 83. Harper has proven to be one of the elite aces in the league, and if he stays healthy he could challenge Scott Hall for the Boardman Award.

DH Jose Caro

Caro was had high expectations to live up to after winning the Simpson Award last year. He has not disappointed so far. He is putting up huge numbers at the plate including a .319 AVG with 6 long balls and 25 RBI’s. What is even more impressive is the fact that he is close to a .400 OBP. Caro will continue to be a force all year and Pitchers all around the ML will be respecting him as he approaches the plate.

Road Trip Spotlight

The Frenzy started the season with a 10 game road stretch. Playing away from home always poses a challenge to a baseball team, but coming away with 6 wins was a great achievement for the under the radar Frenzy!

SP Tso-Lin Kuo

Kuo is a new acquisition to the Frenzy after coming over in a trade from Maui. Kuo had a bit of a down year in 2011 going 4-10 with a 4.88 ERA. Kuo had a fantastic spring training allowing only 3 runs in 5 starts. His performance earned him the number two spot in the Frenzy rotation. The start of the season has started off with a bang for Kuo as he is 1-0 in 2 starts with a 1.26 ERA while striking out 15. When asked about his performance Kuo stated “I feel like I have found my groove again, the past couple years I just couldn’t hit the corners, I had lost my chi. When I was traded it allowed me to start over.”

And start over he did! When Kuo faced his old team on the 7^th he pitched a solid 7.2 innings fanning 6.

CF Scott Powers

Powers is no stranger to the organization, and he is off to a career start. The 4 year veteran is hitting .361 in the leadoff spot. Powers knows how to get on base, and this causes headaches for opposing pitchers, as he is a constant threat on the base path. So far this season he has stolen 5 bases, and has already told the Niagara Falls Review that he plans on breaking Cortez’s single season record.

The season is still young and the Frenzy are looking to compete for their first Arthur Division title!

Niagra Falls Free Agents

It is hard to add and subtract players from a championship team, that is why Niagara Falls was determined to lock up much of its young talent this off-season. When looking at the roster, it was easy to see that the Pitching staff needed a boost, especially when contract negotiations failed with previous ace Fransisco Rivera. That is why GM JJ Hoban went out and aggressively negotiated with SP Earl Harper

SP Earl Harper brings his knuckle ball and 3.83 ERA to Niagara Falls. Harper has been stuck with little run support in Regina for the past two years. GM Hoban locked up the pitcher with the largest contract in the organizations history, four years $48.5 Mil. Over the past four years Harper has thrown 200+ innings while earning 200+ strikeouts a year. When asked to comment on the signing JJ Hoban said " We are excited to bring in a talent like Earl. He is excited for this opportunity to play for a big market team, we are looking for him to anchor this rotation. " This signing seemed to send a ripple through the league as the Frenzy turned a marginal rotation into a solid one. The LA times contacted perennial contender Los Angeles GM Brouillette and asked his opinion on the signing "The frenzy got great value in Earl Harper. He should fit their stadium, and team plan going forward. Definitely one of the best signings off the off-season."

After the departure of Jason Rich, leaving the Frenzy with two proven outfielders. Minor League slugger Stephen Bowling was called up from AAA Portland, but with no big league experience, the Frenzy needed to find a solution. The Frenzy were able to negotiate a one year one million dollar deal with Julio Mendoza.

Mendoza spent the past two years with the Vista organization, and he brings a lifetime average of .283 along with 100 stolen bases. Mendoza will be competing for the starting spot along with Stephen Bowling, either way they will be platooning in the outfield until a suitable starter is found. Mendoza's blazing speed, and solid defensive play will help the Frenzy solidify one of the better outfields in the league.