April Recap

Let's begin the recap with a look at the standings:

Team	W	L	GB	Pyt.Rec	Run Differential	1Run
Kansas City Cougars	16	12	-	18-10	45	1-6
Regina River Sharks	15	13	1	15-13	5	6-2
Haddonfield Hackers	10	18	6	13-15	-8	1-7
Oklahoma Droogies	10	18	6	10-18	-43	4-4

The -8 run differential is bad. The 10-18 record is awful. Especially with 6 of 10 wins coming against Oklahoma. The 1-7 record in 1-run games is a little unlucky. Hackers fans need to be careful when whining about luck though, as if the luck broke even Kansas City would really be running away with this thing.

The Bad

Defense. The Hackers rank in the middle of the pack in walks, strikeouts and homers allowed, yet are 11th in the league at runs allowed. Why? A little bad luck and a LOT of bad defense. Outside of defensive specialist Juan Benitez (whose bat may force him out of the lineup sooner rather than later) Haddonfield marches mediocre to poor defenders out at every position.

As for the pitching, free agent adds Rowdy Phillips and Emilio Archibequi are combining for a 3.62 ERA while the rest of the rotation is putting up a 7.24 figure. That's just not going to cut it. I'm looking at you Guillermo Mendoza.

The Good

Several position players are shining. Julio Ortega, in his first season, is batting .294/.391/.514. Team captain Louis May is at .321/.415/.589. Adrian Figueroa hit for the cycle! The Hackers are setting the TL pace in batting average and hits, while slugging the 3rd best percentage and scoring the 5th most.

What to Look for in May

Louis May is going to miss a week with a sore elbow, and Haddonfield's really lacking in infield depth. Even worse is Hyung-jin Park's ribs need a couple more weeks to heal. Hacker catchers are putting up a sub .245 OBP in his absence. The second half of May looks to be better than the first.

The schedule gives us 8 games against leaders Kansas City, a great chance to climb up the standings a bit. Even though they're missing JT Francoeur, KC is dominating the TL pitching leaderboards. At the end of the month, the Hackers will likely be contending or surrendering, and it could all hinge on those 2 series.

Awards

Player of the Month: Julio Ortega
Pitcher of the Month: Rowdy Phillips
Facial Hair of the Month: Paul Hill