GAME 3:

Les Nessman reports from Pittsburgh:

The Flytraps with another exciting victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers. Lewis Locko pitched fairly well, going 5.1 innings and allowing 5 runs (2 unearned due to a costly dropped flyball in center field by Roosevelt Abbott). Matt Kirwan hit his first home run of the season, a 3 run shot in the 4th inning. Terry Witt and Phillip Poweel both hit solo shots in the top of the 6th to give the 'traps a 5-3 lead, but Locko got into trouble and allowed the Panthers to tie it in the bottom of the 6th. Fausto Herrera and Tim Hart then combined for 2.2 shutout innings and the game went to the 9th tied at 5.

Phillip Powell got hit by a pitch leading off the bottom of the 9th and got pulled for speedster Nike Nady as a pinch runner. Nady advanced to second on a walk to Tony Stanley and to third when Ron Campbell grounded into a fielder's choice at second. Virgil Rodriguez then flew out to right and Nady's speed proved key as he was able to beat the throw to the plate on the tag up and score th go ahead run.

Rookie Fernando Navarro then came in for his major league debut in the bottom of the 9th. After giving up a single to the leadoff hitter, a fielder's choice, a strikeout, and a flyout ended the game and netted him his first career save. Tim Hart got the win in relief.

Up next - the finale in Pittsburgh as Paulie Goodwin gets his first start of the year.

GAME 5:

Les Nessman with this bulletin from the WKRP news room:

The 'traps improve to 5-0 by a 4-2 score as Fuentes goes 7 strong innings allowing only 1 run and Navarro nails down his third consecutive save. Johnnie Price takes the mound this afternoon for game 2 in Columbus.

GAME 7:

The Flytraps finally lost a game, falling 10-5 to Columbus. A 2-1 lead heading to the bottom of the 8th when it all fell apart and 9 runs were given up. In addition, Virgil Rodriguez goes down for 12 days with an injury. With Matt Kirwan already taking up a spot on the roster while waiting out an injury, the decision was made to put Rodriguez, who was struggles so far this season anyhow, on the 15 day DL and call up veteran Orlando Fernandez. Mike Nady will take Rodrgiuez's spot in the lineup for the next 15 days.

With the perfect season now done, updates will be given once every 20 games or so.

havent had time for a proper update but suffice it to say that my team totally tanked while i was away for 2 weeks. the young hitters are showing they are not quite ready yet and after Price and Fuentes, the pitching has been horrible. Currently 31-42, looks like we are still a year away......

So, may we conclude that after 3 weeks of honeymooning you have to go back to work to rest up.

101 GAME UPDATE: 45-56

Les Nessman reporting:

The struggles continue for our Flytraps, although it should be noted that in terms of winning percentage, our boys are the most improved team in baseball this season. However, the fact of the matter is that this team was supposed to be over .500 and possibly contend for a wild card berth, and instead is fighting to stay out of last place in the division.

Offensively, only one player has a batting average over .300 and noone had over 70 RBI. These kids do have a ton of talent but it is clear that they are struggling to adjust to the big leagues. The future is still bright for these kids though.

The pitching has been either great or awful all season. Julio Fuentes is 13-6 with a 3.29 ERA and has been close to untouchable all season. Johnnie Price has a very good 3.51 ERA but a lack of run support has his record sitting at 7-7. Lewis Locko is beginning to show his potential with a 6-5 record and a 4.98 ERA, much improved over his past 2 seasons. The bullpen has basically been horrendous, with only 2 pitchers under 5.00 in ERA. The team's major concentration next offseason will be in a serious upgrade to the relief pitching corps.

There is trade news in Cincinnati as well. The team has traded third base power hitting prospect Phil Kim (High A level currently) to Buffalo for 24 year old major league first baseman John Nakamura. Nakamura has a ton of offensive talent though he has not come near his potential in his first couple of major league seasons. The team does believe that Nakamura presents them with a solid 1B or DH for the foreseeable future, an upgrade given that veteran Terry Witt has been the team's DH all season and Tony Stanley was not much more than a roster filler for this season at first base. Once the deal is finalized, Nakamura will become a regular starter for the rest of the season, with Terry Witt most likely to be designated for assignment.

We will try to get one more update between now and our season-ending report. Obviously, any other big news will be reported as well.

ROSTER UPDATE:

Les Nessman reporting:

Three roster moves to update you on:

First, the Flytraps claimed right fielder Denny Brown off of waivers from Chicago. Brown struggled mightily in the Windy City, but the team believes he has solid ratings. A roster spot was freed up for him when Terry Witt recently when down with an injury and was placed on the DL. (Witt had not been previously designated for assignment when Nakamura was acquired, but instead the team had demoted one of its struggling long relief pitchers, Darryl Thompson).

Second, the team signed international free agent Rolando Bonilla and assigned the 19 year old to its Rookie League team. Bonilla projects to be a big time power hitting corner outfielder, and the team spent almost half of its remaining prospect budget on him. There is still money for one more international signing as well.

Finally, the team announced that it has traded catcher Javier Mateo, one of the few remaining players in the organization that was on the big league team when current management took over. In exchange, they have acquired relief pitcher prospect Brian Coco, who has solid but not spectacular ratings. He does provide the team with some more organizational depth in the bullpen and if he matures to his projection in a couple years could have a solid big league career.

Roster expansion is about a week away, the next major team update will occur then.

END OF SEASON UPDATE: 76-86

The Flytraps caught fire down the stretch, going 15-7 in their final 22 games including a 9 game win streak. The team barely missed tying the franchise record of 77 wins, a record that looked out of reach completely at the 140 game mark. The highlight of the final stretch came in the final game of the season, with the Flytraps hosting a 91 win Columbus team that needed the victory to not only win the division but to make the playoffs. Julio Fuentes, pitching on 2 days' rest, threw a 122 pitch complete game victory, allowing only 2 runs, 1 earned, and a Marshall Ferrell leadoff home run in the bottom of the 9th highlighted a rally from a 2-1 deficit to a 3-2 victory. The only bad news from that game was that right fielder Matt Kirwan suffered a significant injury. While he should be ready by the start of next season, he took a huge ratings hit, including his power dropping from 90 to 83, and with Kirwan being arb eligible next year, he may end up getting released if he doesn't gain some power back in between seasons.

The offensive wrapup for the season:
Mike Nady led the majors in stolen bases with 49
Parker Bennett hit 26 home runs and 75 RBI
Marshall Ferrell had 24 hr and 81 RBI along with 16 SB
Tony Stanley led the team with 49 HR and 103 RBI. He is a finalist for the AL ROY.
Virgil Rodriguez hit .281 with 34 HR, 90 RBI and 14 SB. He won the 2B Silver Slugger and is an AL ROY finalist as well
Phillip Powell hit .299 with 26 HR and 86 RBI
Matt Kirwan had 40 HR and 94 RBI
Roosevelt Abbott had 24 HR and 82 RBI, batting .272
The team's power numbers were impressive and as these young guys continue to develop there should be a lot of offense in the Flytraps future.

The pitching wrap for the season:
Johnny Price did not pitch like an 18 million dollar man, as he went 11-15 with a 4.40 ERA. His being able to turn it around next season will be a key for the 'traps.
Lewis Locko improved to 9-11 with a 4.68 ERA and still figures into the team's future.
Carlos Morales was 6-7, Jason Wright 3-9 and Paulie Goodwin 5-7, all disappointing seasons for potential starters next season.
Fernando Navarro went 2-8 with 26 saves in 30 chances but a high ERA of 5.28. Not an awful year for a rookie closer, and the team hopes he can continue to improve. Noone else in the bullpen was even worth mentioning and upgrading then 'pen will be the offseason focus.

Of course the highlight of the year was starting pitcher Julio Fuentes. Fuentes went 23-10 with a 3.36 ERA in 36 starts (meaning he only had 3 no decisions all season). he led all of baseball in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, complete games, and shutouts. He is an AL Cy Young finalist as he turned in truly remarkable numbers, especially for a pitcher on a team with a losing record.

The only thing to be determined this season is the Rookie League playoffs where the Flytraps will be starting the best of 7 ALCS tomorrow. Once those playoffs are complete, the team will make its final preparations for the offseason, such as protecting 6 year minor league free agents by placing them on the 40. Then all that will be is waiting to see the final ballot on the AL ROY and Cy Young awards, and seeing who wins the World Series.

See you all next season!!!!!