PawSox Weekly Notebook: Enjoying America's Pastime on America's Birthday

Ryan L. Fox

​Hello to all PawSox fans. Welcome to another edition of the PawSox Weekly Notebook, the guide for all those who want to know what’s going on with their favorite local baseball team. As we head into the long 4th of July weekend, it is the perfect time to head to the ball park to enjoy America’s pastime while celebrating America’s birthday.

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A Week in Review
 
Though the goal of most Triple-A managers would say that it’s to get as many of their players into the big leagues, there is a sense of pride in trying to make it into the postseason. This week, the PawSox were able to take a step in that direction.
 
After starting the week off with a crushing 9-3 loss to their divisional rivals, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, on Sunday, the PawSox went on a small road trip to Rochester, New York to play the Red Wings. The PawSox were able to take 2 out of the 3 against the Red Wings, thus closing the gap between them for the wildcard spot for the postseason.
 
After which, the PawSox then traveled back to McCoy to begin a long weekend series with the Columbus Clippers heading into the 4th of July. PawSox took Game 1 of the series 6-4 off the bat of C Dan Butler, who went 2-for-3 in that game with 1 home run and 4 RBIs.
 
Then on Friday, the PawSox took to the field for their second game against the Clippers. Things started to get dicey as the team found itself down 5-3 heading into the later innings as well as down a manager (Kevin Boles got tossed in the 7th inning for arguing balls and strikes, his 2nd ejection of the season). However by the time the 8th inning rolled around, the heavens opened up and began to pour buckets. Game had to be halted as there was a long delay (1 hour and 18 minutes to be exact) for the weather to clear up and for the field to be dry enough to be played on.
 
However once play resumed, the PawSox were only able to manage a run in the bottom of the 9th as the final score read 5-4 in favor of the Clippers.
 
Where They Stand
Currently the PawSox are fourth in the North Division of the International League at 42-40 (.512). This include a 21-23 record at home and a 19-16 record on the road. Compared to the other teams in the division, the PawSox are currently 8.0 games behind the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (50-32 (.610)) for the divisional lead. The Elimination number for the PawSox is now at 54 games.
 
Taking a quick peek into the Wildcard race, the PawSox are currently 5.5 games behind the Rochester Red Wings (48-35 (.578)) with the Elimination number being at 63 games.
 
Just the Stats Jack
The following statistics are from players currently playing on the PawSox Triple-A squad as of 6/24. This excludes players who were called up, traded, currently on the disabled list, or currently on the temporary inactive list.
 
At the Plate
(*=min. 75 at-bats)
- OF Henry Ramos leads the team in batting average (.309)* and slugging percentage (.481)*
- C Dan Butler leads the team in on-base percentage (OBP) (.393)* and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (.848)
- OF Justin Maxwell also leads the team in hit-by-pitches (5). He is also tied for team lead with teammate OF Chris Marrero for team lead in walks drawn (25)
- Marrero leads the team in games played (76), at-bats (281), runs scored (33), hits (77), total bases (128), home runs (12), and RBIs (34)
 
Start You Pitchers
(*= min. 40 IP)
- SP Henry Owens leads the team in innings pitched (77.0), games played (14), games started (14), strikeouts (73), hit batters (8), and shut-outs (1). He also is tied with teammates SP Sean O’Sullivan & SP Roenias Elias for most complete games (1).
- O’Sullivan leads the team in wins (6)
- SP Aaron Wilkerson leads the team in ERA (2.20)*, WHIP (1.07)*, opponent batting average (.198) and strikeouts per 9 innings (10.8)*
 
Outta Da Pen
(*= min. 10 appearances)
- RHP Kyle Martin leads the team in game appearances (23), strikeouts (49), strikeouts per 9 innings (11.4), saves (4), and games finished (15). He is also tied with LHP Robby Scott for team lead in holds (2) and is tied with RHP Roman Mendez for team lead in hit batsmen (3)
- Scott leads the team in in WHIP (0.91), opposing batting average and innings pitched (48.1).
- Mendez leads the team lead in bullpen wins (4)
-RHP Noe Ramirez leads the team in ERA (2.49)*
 
Player Movement
The following team transaction began from June 25 all the way to July 2.
 
6/25/16
- Sent SP William Cuevas to Boston (MLB)
- Sent RHP Jose Marban to Gulf Coast Red Sox (GCL) for an injury rehab assignment
- Received LHP Nik Turley from Portland (AA)
 
6/26/16
- Sent LHP Anthony Varvaro to Portland (AA)
- Received INF Deven Marrero from Boston (MLB)
 
6/27/16
- Sent INF Mike Miller to Boston (MLB)
 
6/28/16
- Sent RHP Pat Light to Boston (MLB)
 
6/30/16
- Received SP William Cuevas & SP Edurado Rodriguez from Boston (AA) retro to 6/27 for Cuevas and 6/28 for Rodriguez
 
7/1/16
- Sent OF Aneury Tavarez to Portland (AA)
- Sent INF Brock Holt to Boston (MLB) after completing injury rehab assignment
- Reinstated OF Brennan Boesch from the disabled list
 
Rehab Watch
 
With INF Brock Holt getting called up this past Friday to Boston left only C Ryan Hanigan as the only Boston Red Sox currently rehabbing in Pawtucket. In 6 rehab games with the PawSox, Hanigan has hit for .222 (4-for-18) with 1 extra base hit, 2 RBIs, 2 walks. In 4 of those games, Hanigan was the catcher as he recorded 18 putouts and 3 assists for a 1.000 fielding percentage while throwing out two opposing base runners.

Upcoming Games
 
The PawSox will continue their weekend home stand against the Columbus Clippers with the second game being played on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. and the series finale being played at 6:05 p.m. on Sunday. Following each game, there will be a firework display for those in attendance.
 
After that, the PawSox hit the road for a long trip down in the Tarheel State of North Carolina. They first meet with the Charlotte Knights for 3 games (7/4-7/6) in Charlotte and then play a long weekend series against the Durham Bulls in the city of Durham for 4 games (7/7-7/10) before the All-Star Break.