Monday, July 30, 2007

Coming back home

The Defenders are back home starting Tuesday with a pair of three-game series against Southern Division teams. Both Akron and Erie are tough and have gotten decent pitching performances. Off the top of my head, I'm not sure if Erie's Dallas Trahern, an all star, will pitch this weekend.

Connecticut has gotten itself out of last place -- again -- and I'm interested to see how the offense functions after playing football in Portland. The season seems to be more about being competitive than it does trying to make the playoffs. Reality is, the odds are slim to nothing against the Defenders. Could they catch New Britain? Yeah. I think if they continue to play the way they have in the past two weeks they can. But catching New Hampshire and Portland is a tall task.

John Bowker is out of the slump he entered after the all-star game and is on a tear. Eugenio Velez is on the Giants' 40-man roster and Randy Ruiz joins his fourth EL team in two seasons. The last month should be interesting.

2 comments:

greg8370 said...

How the trading deadline impacts the Defenders is something I'm wondering about.

Joe said...

Greg,

There hasn't been too much going on with the Giants as far as trade talks. Why? Because the major league squad has few desirable pieces and the minors are generally viewed as lacking talent.

The only name I am hearing a lot of is Matt Morris. Unless they are directly involved or someone from Triple-A Fresno is dealt, a Morris deal will have no impact on the Defenders.

As much as Brian Sabean says he wants to be an active participant, I just don't see it. Plus, for the Giants to get anyone of real value that cam help for an extended period, the team would have to part with players who represent the few shining beacons of light in the minor league system.

If the Giants traded, say Chris Begg, it wouldn't hurt them because of Begg's age and the volume of pitching in the minor league system. But trading a Velez, Bowker, Matos, etc., could hurt them.