London Badgers finish block 1

After a long and completely uneventful off-season (1 trade made during the draft, nothing before then), the London Badgers entered the season with a few question marks. Could Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer supply the power? How will the injury to Johan Santana effect the rotation? Will Alphonso Soriano provide more than just atbats at 3B this year? Who's on first?

Well it is far too early to answer any of those questions, but the Badgers are catiously optimistic by their 16-7 start. So far Jason Kubel has popped 6 home runs, Casey Kotchman and Jared "Skip" Schumaker have contributed nicely with .344 and .333 batting averages respectively, and Alphonso Soriano has chipped in with a .952 OPS to go along with a very respectable 3.10 team ERA despite Mark Buehrle having what appears to be Mike Pelfrey syndrome (see London Badgers team of last year, you'll understand). Manager C. Montgomery Burns stated that "Buehrle makes Elizabeth Hurley look like a good pitcher these days. Buehrle has accounted for 3 of our 7 losses!" In 4 starts, Buehrle has an attrocious 8.06 ERA with a 1.87 WHIP while giving up 4 home runs over 26 innings. Aside from Buehrle, the Badgers rotation has carried this team.


Dan Haren - 5-1 with an ERA of 2.28 along with a WHIP of 0.90 over 43 1/3 innings. He was expected to be one of the leading men this year and has not failed to dissapoint.

Josh Johnson - 3-1 with an ERA of 1.27 along with a WHIP of 0.88 over 35 1/3 innings. After perhaps reaching for him in the draft, Johnson so far is proving to be a good choice and has combined with Haren for a formidable 1-2 punch.

Johan Santana - London's first ever draft pick was a massive dissapointment last year (14-11 with a 4.48 ERA). So far he has been brilliant posting a 2-1 record with a 2.75 ERA. The Badgers wish he had a few more innings in his arm, but they will take what he gives them.

Mike Pelfrey - Owner Paul Mudry is quoted as saying "I believe Mike Pelfrey has gotten over the Mike Pelfrey syndrome". Pelfrey was abysmal last year (although he got hot late in the year), but so far this year, Pelfrey has gone 3-0 with a 2.25 ERA. When asked about this change, Pelfrey said "Mr. Burns told me to remember some inspiring words that someone else might have told me over the course of my life."

The back end of the Badgers bullpen has done very well, although righty specialists Jesse Crain and Mark Lowe both sport 4.91 ERAs. Despite an ugly ERA over 7 and with the exception of 2 outings, Kyle McClellan was nearly untouchable not giving up a single run. James McDonald and Jose Mijares have contributed ERAs less than 2 while Kerry Wood in 10 innings has converted 6 saves and has yet yield a run.

While the Badgers are cautiously optimistic with all of the positives going on, they are also patiently waiting on some of their heavy cogs such as Jason Bartlett and Michael Cuddyer to start producing on offense. Burns noted "If Cuddyer and Bartlett do not perform well shortly, it may affect their confidence. We may have to prepare the amnesia ray." Mudry quickly informed everyone that the team will not be shooting any of their players for poor performances...except maybe Buehrle. Mudry said the team knows it is a long season and April does not matter if it cannot be sustained. Mudry also asked that the owner of the Blue Honda Civic get their car out of Mudry's parking spot.