Charlotte Stone Crabs Week in Review: 6/18-6/24

This week marked the end of the first half of the 2009 Florida State League season. The Stone Crabs finished in second place with a record of 37-31 leaving them 5 1/2 games behind Fort Myers.

The Stone Crabs were 3-3 on the week which saw the Stone Crabs play five games against St. Lucie in a three day span. The week was highlighted by the All-Star game in Fort Myers. Greg Sexton represented the Stone Crabs well by going 2 for 2 with an RBI. Cody Cipriano was 1 for 5. Darin Downs and Matt Gorgen both pitched a shut-out inning for the South Division All-Stars.

Hitting Leaders: Cody Cipriano is still leading the team in hitting .309 average that is tied for fourth in the league and a slugging percentage of .495 that is fifth in the league. The Stone Crabs have two players in the top ten of the league in steals with Shawn O’Malley in fourth with 25 and Emeel Salem tied for seventh with 16.

Pitching Leaders: The Stone Crabs pitchers are in the top of the standings in all of the league pitching categories. Jeremy Hall leads the league in wins with 8 and Darin Downs is tied for second with 7. Downs is ranked fourth among the FSL starters with an ERA of 2.41. Alex Cobb is just outside the top 10 in eleventh place with an ERA of 3.28. The Stone Crabs also hold down three of the top ten leaders in strikeouts. Cobb in fourth with 68, Downs and Newmann are tied for sixth with 65. Matt Gorgen still has an ERA under 1 currently sitting at 0.78 and is second in the league with 10 saves.

Team Stats: The Stone Crabs offense is ninth in the league with a batting average of .244 on the year and are ranked second in the league in triples with 23. Despite the number of Stone Crabs among the leaders in the pitching categories, the team ERA is 3.60 which is sixth in the league. The Stone Crabs have surrendered 279 runs off 577 hits so far this season. They are second in the league in strikeouts with 521 and have issued the second fewest walks with 156.

Transactions: Scott Kazmir promoted to Durham (6/18/09). Joey Callender transferred to Hudson Valley (6/24/09). Deivis Mavares transferred to Hudson Valley (6/24/09).

Injuries: Stephen Vogt (shoulder)

The Week Ahead: 6/25/09-6/28/09: at Dunedin Blue Jays. 6/29/09-7/1/09: vs Brevard County Manatees.