We are nearing the end of May and it is time to peek in on the Hooks and see how they are doing down in the 8 team Texas League. Through 50 games, they are .500 (25-25) and in 3rd place in the Texas League South, 8 games out of 1st. All stats and rankings were as of the 5/27/08.
The Good:
The Hitters
As a team, the Hooks are doing well. Their .283 team batting average and their .439 slugging are both the second highest in the league. They are tied for the league lead in triples (14). They stand alone with the most hits (510) and doubles (117). Despite this lead, they are 3rd in runs scored (269), which is okay but you would expect better from the team who is in the top two in so many offensive categories.
Drew Sutton ranks 3rd in On Base Percentage (.422) and 8th in both average (.315) and OPS (.912). He is 4th in runs scored, 3rd in hits (63) and leads the league with 18 doubles. His 98 total bases are good for 5th. Sutton’s 35 walks are the second most in the league.
Tommy Manzella is tied for 5th in hits (61). He is tied for the league lead in triples (4). He is tied for 9th in total bases with 88.
Mitch Einertson ranks 3rd with 15 doubles.
Billy Hart is tied for 4th with 14 doubles (along with 8 other players).
Ray Sadler is tied for 3rd most triples (3) despite being called up to Round Rock.
The Pitchers
Control seems to be the strong point for this staff. They have the second fewest walks (162) and the third fewest hit batsmen (21).
Brad James’ 3.54 ERA places him 10th in the league. His five wins tie him for second most.
Bud Norris struck out 44 batters prior to going on the DL placing him 7th in the league.
Ryan McKeller is tied for 8th most Ks with 43, all of them coming in relief.
The Bad
The Hitters
The Hooks have no glaring weaknesses in the team hitting. They rank no lower than 4th in every team category.
Billy Hart and Tommy Manzella have both been caught stealing 4 times. That ties them with 10 other players for 7th. Hart is 7 out of 11 in stolen bases, Manzella is 4 out of 8.
You have to go all the way down to 18th to find a Hook in the most strike out rankings. That would be Mitch Einertson with 38 Ks in 179 AB.
The Pitchers
Corpus Christi only has 6 saves, which is last in the lead. They also are the only team to have not shut out an opponent this season. The Hooks have given up 53 long balls, second most in the league.
Sean Walker has given up the 6th most hits (67) and is tied for the 6th most runs allowed (39). Thirty eight of those runs are earned which puts him at #3 in that category.
Brad James has given up the 9th most hits (62) and is tied for giving up the 10th most HR (6).
Brian Bogusevic’s 30 earned runs ties him for 10th most. His 11 homers surrendered ties him the most allowed.
Chance Douglass joins James in a tie for 10th most HR allowed (6).
The Crowd
Corpus Cristi has already drawn 193,988 fans in 28 games. The average of 6928 places them second in the attendance race.