[PFellah]

Week 2 - April 12 to April 18

Monday (4/12) - vs PHI. Ed Lynch (1-0, 0.00) vs. Steve Rogers (1-0, 2.08)
Philly scratches out an early 2-0 lead but the Greyhounds chip away and eventually retake the lead. Rogers pitches 7 and four different relievers combine to finish up. Greyhounds 4, Patriots 2.

TRADE:
Overnight, Philly sent LF Ben Oglivie and minor-league LF Tim Lawson to the Georgia Tigers for 3B Toby Harrah. 3B Larry Parrish appears to be the big playing-time loser in the move.

Tuesday (4/13) - vs PHI. Steve Renko (0-1, 4.50) vs. John Tudor (1-0, 2.84)
Philly takes a 4-3 lead into the 9th, setting the stage for a come-from-behind win against Philly's Rick Camp. Camp puts two on to start the frame before U.L. Washington singles in Dale Murphy to tie the game. Jeffrey Leonard is intentionally walked to re-load the bases (runners moved up to 2nd and 3rd during the play at the plate) but Willie Wilson lofts a fly deep enough to left for a walk-off sac fly. Greyhounds 5, Pariots 4.

Wednesday (4/14) - vs. PHI. Dennis Eckersley (0-1, 6.43) vs. Mike Moore (0-1, 3.38)
A long day for Philly as Eck gets chased in the 3rd inning. The Greyhounds hit three triples -- Willie Wilson and U.L. Washington, sure. But Don Money? Mike Moore throws a fairly non-descript 5-2/3.Greyhounds 10, Patriots 3. OOC: "Hit Machine" Achievement for Andre Thornton..

Thursday (4/15) - vs. PHI. Ron Guidry (1-1, 5.40) vs. Pascual Perez (1-0, 0.00)
Get out the brooms. The Greyhounds hit three homers in the 3rd (back-to-back for Money and Parrish, and a two-run shot by Murphy) to give Perez a cushion and he did the rest. Perez got into a little trouble in a three-run 6th, but went on to pitch 8 and get the win.Greyhounds 5, Patriots 3.

ROSTER MOVE/TRADE TALKS
Brian Downing is eligible to come off the DL. That's the good news. The bad news is I'm a bit stuck who to send down because a lot of the best choices (Pittman, Martinez, Leonard) are out of options. But as we're thinking about this, Cincinnati comes in with a trade offer of Rod Carew, straight up. I don't think I want Carew -- 1B strikes me as a power position -- but I've always been a bit leery of leaning too heavily on Mike Moore and Pascual Perez, so maybe this is a chance to upgrade my rotation. Of Cinci's starting pitchers, I kinda like John Denny -- his control's not great, but he has four pitches to work with. So we submit Downing for Denny and we'll see what happens. In the meantime, I'll let Downing sit on the DL for a day or two.

Friday (4/16) - at TOR. Jerry Ujdur (0-0, 12.46) vs. Larry Christenson (0-2, 4.91)
First road trip of the season, and that was not how we wanted to start. I don't know if it's an embedded message about this Downing-Denny trade, but the Rhinos jump all over Ujdur. The Greyhounds chip away a little bit in the middle innings, but never get all the way back.Rhinos 10, Greyhounds 5. OOC: The mocking "On A Roll" Achievement for ending a six-game win streak.

ROSTER MOVE/TRADE TALKS
I don't know if they watched Ujdur pitch and decided to lowball me, but Cinci went from "we'll think about it" to "NO WAY!" overnight. They'd be willing to do the deal if I threw in Bob Laporte or Don Mattingly -- you know... my two best hitting prospects.

In terms of a counter-offer, I looked at their roster and there's not a lot of great deals that work. I kind of like Bruce Hurst (2-star overall, 3.5-star potential) but that's an upgrade for the future, not for today. Even worse, I'd have to eat a salary (Doug Bird?) to make it work.

I put Downing's name on the block league-wide, and no great offers there either. Maybe Doyle Alexander? Charlie Hough? Otherwise, mostly just other people's problem contracts and old guys. So I guess I'll get Downing back in the lineup and re-evaluate down the road. Because of options considerations, Marshall Edwards is the unlucky guy headed back to AAA.

Saturday (4/17) - at TOR. Steve Rogers (2-0, 2.30) vs. Dennis Lamp (0-1, 11.42)
Rematch of our Opening Day with much different results. U.L. Washington (3-for-3, with a double and a triple) seemed to be the only guy who showed up to play for us, while the Rhinos knocked 17 hits in a laugher. Rhinos 9, Greyhounds 2.

Sunday (4/18) - at TOR. John Tudor (1-0, 3.77) vs. Larry Gura (0-1, 3.60)
The Greyhounds rough up Larry Gura early, but the bullpen almost gives it back late. Tudor gives up 1 run in 6 innings, while the offense stakes him six runs, but then the Rhinos chip away with runs in the 7th and 8th, before Gossage shuts the door in the 9th (minus a solo shot by Darrell Evans). Greyhounds 7, Rhinos 5.

Week Record: 5-2
Season Record: 9-3