The Express start the month of May looking at a pretty big hill to climb to get back into the pennant race. Off to a 7-14 start, they are in last place in the PCL American South and half a game ahead of having the worst record in the league. The good news is they are only 3 1/2 games out of the division lead. Let’s see how the Express stack up against the rest of the league in the stats through 4/30/09.
The Good:
The Hitters
As a team, the Express do not rank higher than 10th out of 16 in any stat at the plate.
Individually, you have more competition to be ranked here because of the large number of teams in the league. An example of that is the .350 batting average that Yordany Ramirez is carrying is only good for 12th best in the league.
Marc Saccomanno has 20 RBI’s which ties him for 5th most.
The Pitchers
As the team the old motto applies: If you don’t have anything good to say, move on to the bad. There is plenty to talk about there.
Individually, Bud Norris is showing his ranking was warrented. He has a 2.28 ERA which is the 8th best in the league. His 25 strike outs are the second most in the league.
Chad Paronto’s 4 saves rank him tied for 2nd.
The Bad:
The Hitters
As a team, the Express rank near the bottom in several categories. The one that is the most shocking is they have only 2 stolen bases as a team. They have attempted 8 and have been caught 6 times. They have the leagues lowest walk total at 52. They are the forth lowest in runs scored (84), third lowest in OBP (.315) and tied for the second fewest triples (3).
Brian Bogusevic has fanned 22 times and is tied 5th most.
The Pitchers
The Express has given up 200 hits (3rd most), 124 runs (the most), 112 earned runs (2nd most) and 20 HR (3rd most). They have given up 105 walks in 185 innings pitched (most in the league). All that leads to the highest WHIP (1.65) and the second highest ERA in the league (5.45).
Jose Capellan has giving up 35 hits which is the second most in the league. Those hits often turn in to runs. Capellan has surrendered 27 runs to tie for the most in the league. Twenty six have been earned which is all alone the most in the league. He has also given up 5 long balls (3rd most). His 16 walks rank him second most in the league.
Josh Muecke’s 28 hits surrendered ties him for 6th most. He has given up 4 home runs (T-8th most). His 12 walks place him as tying for giving up the 7th most in the league.
Yorman Bazardo has given up 4 home runs (T-8th most).
Bud Norris’ 12 walks are tied for the 7th most in the league.