08.17.2011: Unplugged

That sixth inning was pretty ridiculous as ten straight batters reached base to begin the innings? After almost two weeks of offensive ineptitude, it was nice to see the Voyagers break out the bats and do so with a lineup that, with all due respect to everyone involved, was by no means their strongest. Or at least, it was completed with some degree of uncertainty.

The 6-7-8 spots in the lineup, on paper--I repeat...on paper--appeared to be a bit of a black hole. Jeffer Patino was hitting just above .200 and Michael Schwartz and Sean O'Connell were hitting under .200 at Bristol. To Patino's defense, he has consistently provided the team with solid at-bats, just hasn't gotten the results. While I would love to come to the defense of Schwartz and O'Connell, I haven't seen them play enough to do so.

With everyone contributing, it's tough to say that the 6-7-8 spots came together as the most productive trio but they all were very helpful in the attack. Patino walked once and collected two hits, Schwartz walked three times with a hit, and O'Connell drove home a pair of runs on three hits and a sacrifice fly.

Things I loved about last night:

-The consistent offensive attack from start to finish

-The aggressiveness of the hitters when they came up with men on base, specifically in scoring position

-The fact that the team, through two games versus Casper, has walked 11 times. Coming into the series, Casper had issued (and still has) the fewest walks in the league at just under 2.5 per game. There is a reason why, despite the league's second worst average coming into last night, the Voyagers had reached base at the third highest rate in the league. Love the patience.

I will say this...I have to think that the team's lack of power is a negative. I am not saying that they need to be Bronx Bombers reincarnated, but it is somewhat disconcerting that they slug at such a low rate and hit home runs at an ever lower rate. A home run is instant offense and, maybe even more importantly, serves as a huge momentum boost. I think for this team to qualify for the playoffs, we will have to see a bit of a spike in power down the stretch. Makes coming back slightly easier, among other things...

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I am trying something new for the blog called "Unplugged." I will sit down with an athlete and just talk to them. A conversation. Pretty simple, huh? The first guinea pig? Kevin Rath. We spend most of the time talking about movies while enjoying some Qdoba. Enjoy: