Looking through the stats from the games versus Alby it is kind of frustrating on several levels. Check out the average that the Sharks got. That’s not bad numbers! For some reason the numbers just don’t work for us! A loss five to four away should have been the other way around. The second game illustrates the pitching problem that the Sharks has right now. Not the pitching in that game in particular, but that number of games that we had against us over and over again. Frustrating. To make it more than frustrating we can’t blame anyone in particular. Five games was lost in the seventh because we failed to score more than three runs! Only 14 games of the entire season did come up with a winner not scoring double digits.
That said, one must be impressed by Alby players such as Demond Wiltshire playing second base, third when visiting Gothenburg. Almost taking as many walks as at bats. His six errors during a hundred innings (perfect at third base) is impressive! The youngster Emil Sahlin got a bright future. Already pitching at a high level. His ERA of 9+ is leveraged by the number of walks. (Walking over two per inning). If the coach could align to the rules of how many innings a junior are allowed to pitch, this guy has a bright future (He pitched more than he was allowed to when the team was visiting Gothenburg) We won that game however. When Alby was visiting Gothenburg I was also impressed by the stamina and stubbornness of Raul Lozano. From where I was standing I could not see that he was born 1960 when pitching a nine inning game.
Today I must recognize a true fighter! A guy that stands up for the Sharks regardless if it is for a Elitseries game, the regional team or for our youngsters. He is a role model for any team! Thank you Joe Lankford.