Rodger’s Diary - Frederick Had Good Pitching But Not Lots of Timely Hitting Punch This Year!
After winning the Carolina League Championship in 2007, the Frederick Keys, plagued by call ups, injuries and inconsistency, came up way short both halves in 2008.
They finished with an overall 63 - 76 W-L record, a third place finish with a 34-36 record n the Northern Division the first half, and a last place fourth place finish with 29 - 40 the second half,, both halves 8 games behind the division leading Potomac Nationals.
While the overall performance was sub par, individual performances were not all bleak this season.
Brandon Snyder hit 315 BA, 13 HR, drove in 80 RBI, was the second leading hitter (BA) in the Carolina League and was named Carolina League Player of the Month of August with a 388 BA, 7 2B, 3 HR, and
18 RBI.
Ourfielders Chris Vinyard (240 BA, 16 HR, and 65 RBI) and Brandon Tripp (236 BA, 17 HR, and 69 RBI) provided some power hitting.
RHP Jake Arrieta was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year, and the team‘s lone all star with a 6-5 W-L Record and a 2.87 ERA before helping the U.S. Olympic team win the bronze at Beijing.
RHP Brandon Erbe finished the season strong, allowing no runs in 3 of 5 August starts and back to back shutouts his last two starts while compiling an overall 10-12 W-L, 4.30 ERA record.
Right hander Jacob Renshaw (9-11, 5.11 ERA), Kyle Schmidt (4-4, 3.57), and Jeff Moore (5-3, 3.63 ERA)
kept the Keys in most games.