Dirtbags Baseball - Long Beach State 49ers

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Tuesday, March 30, 2004

The truly unbelievable season that Jered Weaver is having has been widely written about...and with good reason. 8-0 with a tiny 0.64 ERA. 89 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. Just amazing! Not getting quite the notice (though not ignored) is the fantastic work being done by the bullpen. The composite numbers for all Long Beach pitchers who have appeared exclusively in relief are: 1.61 ERA, two wins and no losses, 56 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings with only 11 walks. Opposing batters are “hitting” just .155.

The bullpen is led by closer Neil Jamison, and setup men Brian Anderson and Brett Andrade.

This has been a breakout year for Anderson. Last summer he posted a 0.32 ERA over 28.1 innings of relief work for the Alexandria Beetles in the Northwoods League, going 3-0. Brian struck out 29, while walking 11, and opposing batters hit only .122. He has been even better for the Dirtbags this year. In 13.0 innings over 8 appearances, he is yet to give up a run, has 13 strikeouts against 2 walks, and opponents are batting just .119.

Neil Jamison likewise had an outstanding summer. Pitching in relief for the Chatham A’s in the Cape Cod League, Neil appeared in 20 games, pitched 32.0 innings and posted a 1.13 ERA. He went 1-0 with 1 save, and struck out 41 while walking just 8. In his new roll as closer for the Dirtbags, he has earned 8 saves and his ERA stands at 2.03. Leading the team in appearances at 13, he has struck out 16, while walking 3, over 13.1 innings. Opposing batters are hitting only .167.

Brett Andrade also had a fine summer, pitching for Fairbanks in the Alaska League. Appearing in 19 games (starting one), he went 5-3 with 2 saves, with a 2.55 ERA, over 42.1 innings. For the Dirtbags, Brett has pitched 15.0 innings over 11 games. After a couple of rough outings, he came back strong to shut down Irvine on Sunday. On the year, his ERA stands at 3.00, with 15 strikeouts against no walks. Hitters are batting just .211.

With the phenomenal pitching of Jered Weaver, and the very solid (and improving) pitching of Cesar Ramos and the Beach’s other starters, opponents might hope for pitch counts to rise and get to the bullpen. But not this bullpen.

posted on 3/30/2004 by Jeff Agnew

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