Seattle Zephyrs Recaps: Week 3, 5-11 Loss

Well, this week wasn't pretty. The middle of the Zephyrs' lineup was kept nicely in check, with Carlos Gonzalez letting everyone down by posting a single measly hit over the course of the whole seven days. This team is counting on CarGo to get on base, drive in runs and swipe some bases along the way and, so far, he's been doing none of those things. Injuries also took Victor Martinez and Logan Morrison out of the lineup, adding to the offensive void.

Not all is lost, however. The Zephyrs were surprisingly able to pick up Geovany Soto to replace Martinez. The Cubs catcher surely has to snap out of his recent slump in the near future. Grady Sizemore was also acquired this week, replacing the dramatically under-performing Brett Gardner. Outfielder Corey Hart is due to return from the disabled list, hopefully adding a bit more pop to the lineup. Finally, pitching pickups Michael Pineda and James Shields proved to be wonderful moves. After a couple weeks of pitch-and-ditching, the Zephyrs have finally settled into a semi-stable rotation of Weaver, Haren, Danks, Shields and Pineda.

Alright, off to the stat leaders...

Offense
-Runs: Jose Reyes (NYM), 5
-Hits: Adrian Gonzalez (BOS), 10
-Home Runs: tie - Casey McGehee (MIL), Colby Rasmus (STL), Grady Sizemore (CLE), 1
-Runs Batted In: Casey McGehee (MIL), 6
-Stolen Bases: tie - Dustin Pedroia (BOS), Jose Reyes (NYM), 2
-Walks: Dustin Pedroia (BOS), 9
-Batting Average*: tie - Casey McGehee (MIL), Jose Reyes (NYM), .320
-On-base Percentage plus Slugging*: Casey McGehee (MIL), .974

*minimum 15 at-bats

...and the Week 3 Offensive MVP Award goes to:


CASEY MCGEHEE! After a slow start, the Zephyrs' third baseman finally had a good week, getting timely hits, a fair share of walks and driving in some runs. The team certainly isn't looking to Casey to carry everything, but weekly contributions like this are what makes good teams great. Ideally, other hitters should be shouldering the MVP-type burdens, but the relative suckitude from our hitters this week does not diminish McGehee's accomplishments.

Pitching
-Wins: tie - Justin Masterson (CLE), Michael Pineda (SEA), James Shields (TB), Jered Weaver (LAA), 1
-Losses: John Danks (CWS), 2
-Saves: J.J. Putz (ARI), 2
-Strikeouts: John Danks (CWS), 13
-Holds: none recorded
-Earned Run Average*: tie - Michael Pineda (SEA), James Shields (TB), 0.00
-Walks plus Hits Per Inning Pitched*: tie - James Shields (TB), Jered Weaver (LAA), 0.67
-Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio*: Jered Weaver (LAA), infinite (8 Ks, no BBs)

*minimum 5.0 innings pitched

...and the Week 3 Cy Young Award goes to:


JAMES SHIELDS! This was a close call, since both James and Jered Weaver threw complete game wins this week. Ultimately, I decided that Shields' shutout was better than Weaver's one-run start, despite giving up two walks. Either way, this team has some incredible pitchers on its roster.