Forceful Break
You'd think GBL MVP candidate Pat Breen, the hit-hawking outfielder in Chico this weekend with the Orange County Flyers, might talk about how pumped he is feeling going into these dog days of the season. He is still the linchpin of the formidable Orange County lineup with his .388 batting average, 21 home runs and 80 RBIs.
Yet when asked about his second-half performance before tonight's game against the Outlaws, Breen admitted it has taken some time to recover from the effects of spending two days in Texas for the All-Star game. Instead of indulging in the break most of his teammates received, he spent hours getting in and out of San Angelo the Monday before and Wednesday after the event. Plus, the day of the game he was in the home run derby that proved arduous physically (the competition pretty much is a more grunt-heavy version of batting practice.)
"Man, I was pretty worn out," Breen said about the week followng the game. "My lower body especially, it was messed up especially, just out of whack."
I only bring this up for one specific reason. Perhaps no Outlaws position player has performed as poorly after the All-Star break than the lone All-Star from that group himself, Jose Valdez. It's almost becoming discouraging seeing Valdez transform the slickest player on the roster to one of its most mistake-prone. His batting average has dropped 31 points to .309 during the second half. But more of a struggle for the third baseman has been the errors starting to crop up defensively. He has six errors to his name in 16 games after committing just seven the whole first half (among those six, two could be classified as those "50-50" errors the scorer had to deal with.)
I did ask Valdez outside the clubhouse earlier this evening how he felt physically and he didn't identify anything as being even minor (most players don't unless it's common knowledge.) He is coming off two days rest in what has the appearance of manager Jon Macalutas letting him catch up on rest. Valdez returns to the lineup tonight and is batting outside his customary cleanup spot in the order for the first time in the second half, hitting down at sixth.