From Deseret News archives:
Salt Lake's slide continues
The last time they won a series against an opponent was back on April 16-19. That's two months and 15 series, including the current one, which the Tucson Sidewinders clinched at least a tie in with Sunday's 11-8 victory over Salt Lake at Franklin Covey Field.
Since then, the Stingers have posted a 16-43 record, a mark manager Mike Brumley doesn't think offers a fair measure of his team.
"I don't think we're as bad as our record," he said. "Heart-wise, we battle and we compete out there."
The Stingers battled Sunday, coming back from a 5-1 deficit to tie the game at 6, only to see that deadlock blown up the very next inning.
"We just haven't been able to get past making a mistake or two," Brumley said. "It's disheartening."
Not quite as discouraging as Saturday's loss, in which Salt Lake blew a 6-0 lead in the ninth, and which Brumley described as "one of those games where you go to bed thinking about it and wake up in the morning still thinking about it," but a downer nonetheless.
The Stingers do have some shortcomings, in such key areas as power, outfield speed and — and this has been something of a mystery — pitching, but Brumley said that's at least in part due to organizational philosophy.
Unlike most other teams, the parent-club Angels don't sign veteran free agents, the kind of guys Brumley refers to as "hired guns," to fill out their Triple-A roster. So instead of signing a 33-year-old major-league veteran like Quinton McCracken to play center field and bat at the top of the order, as Tucson did, the Stingers have just had to make do at both of those spots.
Even Yoshi Mizuo, at 36 the oldest Stinger, is on the roster not to beef up the Salt Lake staff, but because Anaheim has an all-right-handed bullpen, and thought he might be the lefty they need.
If Sunday's appearance was any indication, however, Mizuo is a long way from Anaheim. He entered the game in the seventh with the score tied, and six batters later it was an 11-6 game. An error, single, three doubles and a homer allowed the first five Sidewinders to score.
"I pitch with what I've got," Brumley said. "It's a shame it blows up so fast sometimes."
Once again, the pitching problems overshadowed a good performance by the hitters. For the second game in a row, every starter but one got at least one hit, and Casey Smith and Brian Gordon had two hits and two RBIs each.
It should be noted, too, that Salt Lake's Jake Woods, making his first Triple-A start, pitched respectably. He gave up just three earned runs over six innings, while striking out seven and walking one.
