Outlaws get out of the gate with OL-best record
After all the preseason hype, the Flagstaff Outlaws starting 2018 on the right foot, winning 75% of their games thanks to great pitching and solid defense. It’s a foundation that could lead the Outlaws to their best season in the 20-season history of the BDBL.
Sitting down with national and local press, Outlaws owner and GM Greg Newgard was smiling, but tried to downplay his team’s success.
“Twenty-one wins is a great accomplishment, but there is work still to be done,” Newgard said. “We can’t let off the gas pedal. A solid Kansas City team is only four games behind us and we can’t let those guys catch us.”
When asked if there were any concerns about the team, Newgard was very blunt.
“This is not a perfect team. Four runs a game is near the bottom of the league in scoring. That bats have to improve. The pitching was great, but there will be some regression to the mean. We have to continue to execute and get better.”
When asked about the offense, Newgard shrugged.
“This team is built on power, but to get the best of use of that power, we have to get guys on base in front of the pop. A .321 on-base percentage isn’t going to cut it.”
After talking offense, the discussion turned to pitching and the dividends that the Chris Sale brought in the first month of the season.
“Well, Sale was good, outside of the one bad start against Bear Country. He struck out 71 in just over 43 innings. But we went 4-3 in his starts, but that was mostly a run-support issue. Not quite ace-like material, but we like where this is headed.
“But the guys behind him certainly picked up the slack. Alex Wood goes 4-0 in his five starts, Zack Greinke goes 4-1, Michael Wacha was solid in the four-spot, despite not getting a lot of decisions. And then the bullpen was crazy good. And the defense behind them was the best in the Ozzie League. Certainly helped mitigate the poor offense.”
When asked who the Pitcher of the Month was, Newgard smiled.
“When you posts a 2.50 team ERA, you have a lot of great candidates. But I think closer Blake Parker gets nod. He saved 12 games, won two and lost two. Those numbers doesn’t sound great, but we played 16 one-run games, but had a bunch more that were close late. When a new relievers switches teams, there is a pressure to show that he is the man and Blake certainly did that.”
Parker finished with a 1.45 ERA in 18 2/3 innings, striking out 21 and allowing just seven hits and and six walks.
When asked about Hitter of the Month, Newgard was less pleased.
“When you look at the stats in a vacuum, you’d think we were among the top teams in the league. George Springer hit 10 homers in the leadoff spot, Paul Goldschmidt posts a .919 OPS and scoring 18 times, Aaron Judge hits nine tape-measure bombs and drives in 23 runs. We tapped Springer with the award, but I’m more focused on getting the bottom of the lineup going.”