Mid Season ReCAP

The Bandits started the conference season off on top by defeating the Bay City Bombers behind the bat of Michael VanderPlas, who hit went 4-5 with a HR and 3 RBI. The Bandits out-hit the Plum City Blues in an extra inning 1-run loss, where they were doomed by four defensive errors, and many runners stranded on base. The Bandits dropped below the .500 mark after a shellacking at the hands of the Ellsworth Hubbers, but rose to 2-2 after a come from behind victory versus the Elmwood Expos.

The Bandits dropped to 2-3 after another 1-run loss to the Osceola Braves, and have been on a losing streak since, dropping their last three games to Hudson, New Richmond, and River Falls.

The Bandits stand at a 2-6 record, with the playoffs all but a mathematical impossibility. Sadly, this is the Bandits best conference mark when it comes to mid-season records. The Bandits sat at 1-7 both of their first two seasons. In 2008, the Bandits would win only one more game to finish at 2-13 in conference. However, in 2009, the Bandits defeated three of their final eight opponents to finish at a clip of 4-12 in conference. General Manager Jim Rochford stated that anything less than 5 wins this season in conference will be a major disappointment. "We have to keep trending forward, we cannot accept another 4-win season."

Despite the shoddy record, the Bandits have been playing better baseball. Here is a breakdown of the batting, pitching, and team defense:

HITTING:

The Bandits are currently batting .253 in conference which is 48 points higher than last season and 63 points higher than their first season in 2008. The Bandits on-base percentage is at .338, and slugging percentage is at .303 which are both over 60 points higher than the first two seasons in the SCVBL. The Bandits are also striking out less (7.38K/g, .3k/g lower than 2009 and almost 2K/g lower than 2008) and walking more (4.38BB/g vs. 2.38 and 3.67BB/g). Runs scored per game is also up substantially from 2.81R/g in 2009 and 2.53R/g in 2008 to 4.12R/g in 2010.

So we do see some improvement, the Bandits happened to lose some games where they have out hit their opponents, and need to get some more clutch hitting out of their lineup.

MidSeason Offensive MVP: Michael Chelberg - CONF STATS - 29AB, .345BA, 6R, 4RBI, 3BB, 6K, 2SB, 2B.

HM1 - Michael VanderPlas
HM2 - Steve Siqueiros

PITCHING:

Bandits pitching has been a little rougher this year than last year. The Bandits ERA is up almost a full run to 5.60, opponent batting averages and WHIPs are also up. The Bandits pitching performances have been fair, but there have been now three conference outings where the pitching staff has let up at least 10 runs. In the other 5 outings the staff has only given up 4.60 total runs per game. The strikeouts and walks have been roughly the same as the post-Gagner pitching staff has been.

MidSeason Pitcher of the YEAR: Will Ball - CONFERENCE STATS: Even though Will has only pitched in 3 games (starting 2), he has been the Bandits most effective pitcher. 17 1/3 IP, 1-1, 1.56 ERA, .164OP BA, 1.27WHIP, 15K, 11BB.

FIELDING:

The Bandits fielding has been close to previous years in the matter of fielding percentages, .930 in 2010, .932 in 2009, .927 in 2008. However, the Bandits are only allowing 1.4 errors per game, as compared to 1.63 in 2009, and 1.93 in 2008. The difference in Unearned Runs per game is down .5 Unearned Runs from 2009 and over 1 Unearned Run per game from 2008.

The Bandits have had some shaky performances, but for the most part, the defense has been fairly solid.

MidSeason Defensive MVP: Kyle Kahl - continually plays the hardest two spots on the field: 3B and SS - has a field % at SS of .878 which is the highest of any full-time SS the Bandits have had since 2007.

HM1: 2nd base of Roebuck, Gebhard, and Vanderplas have a fielding % of .956
HM2: The 4 outfielders with the most innings (Lindholm. Chelberg, Ball, and VanderPlas) are as of now 1.000 in conference play.

In Summary:

The Bandits need to hit the ball as they did up to the New Richmond game
The pitching needs to figure itself out, and not have disasters like Hudson, RF, and Ellsworth
The defense needs to continually improve and get to or below an error per game, and be alert to game situations.

Current SCVBL Standings SCVBL PREDICTIONS
River Falls 6-1 RIVER FALLS 12-4
Menomonie 5-3 Menomonie 9-7
Hudson 5-3 New Richmond 9-7
Osceola 5-3 Hudson 7-9
New Richmond 3-3 Osceola 7-9
St. Croix 2-6 SCRB 6-10
Ellsworth 8-2 ELLSWORTH 12-4
Plum City 6-4 Plum City 10-6
Prescott 5-4 Prescott 10-6
Elmwood 5-7 Elmwood 6-10
Hager City 1-7 Hager City 2-14
Bay City 1-9 Bay City 2-14