A Lesson in Futility: The 2-35 AAA Monterrey Gray Ghosts

By KYLE KEOUGH
Double Day AP

Losers of 29 consecutive games, the AAA club in Monterrey is enmeshed in what can only be described as one of the worst losing streaks in the history of DoubleDay. The streak, which has now reached nearly 10 days, has made Monterrey the worst team in all of DoubleDay, ahead of Durham's AAA club (5-32). Needless to say, tickets for an upcoming series between these two teams are still available - in large numbers.

The Gray Ghosts have managed a .277 team batting average, and while they are ranked outside of the top 20 in runs scored, their troubles stem more from their pitching.

With a 15.67 team ERA, the Gray Ghosts have been impossibly bad since just about the start of the season. Their manager has inexplicably opted to go with a two-man rotation, with Justin Morris and Sal Webster combining for all 37 starts.

Webster is the "staff ace," a pitcher who was 6-8 with a 6.91 ERA last season in Honolulu. He has struggled since leaving the Colt .45s organization, and Webster is now 0-14 with a 14.86 ERA. The former borderline ML prospect is now slated by scouts as a career minor leaguer.

Teaming with Webster is Justin Morris, a legitimate ML-caliber prospect with a 95 mile-per-hour 4-seamer that is, due to overuse, now clocked in the high 70's. In 19 starts, he is 0-18 with a 18.92 ERA. Last season, with Honolulu, Morris was 9-8 with a 5.57 ERA.

Monterrey has used five pitchers for an average of 59 innings thus far. They are slated to each pitch roughly 265 innings if their current pace lasts, with Morris on pace for just over 334 innings. Needless to say, this would be a career-high for the youngster.

Their worst defeat was just a couple of games ago, a 34-13 drubbing whose score tally looks more like a football game between two high-powered offenses than a nine-inning baseball game.

With their next 11 games against the Swing (20-17), Crawfords (25-12), and Seminoles (25-12), there exists the possibility that the losing streak of the Gray Ghosts could end up exceeding 40 games, or a quarter of the season.

It should also be noted that the Gray Ghosts are winless on the road (0-21) but will meet Durham at home. Their four-game series with the Tobacconists is slated for January 11th, and will be covered here on Doubleday Daily.