August 1st 2018
All-Star month was a busy one for me while the team had it's worst month so far this year. A 15-11 record isn't terrible but the Orioles closed the gap on us by 2.5 games and are now 8 games back.
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Mason Williams good form has continued, he got himself another Player of the week award this month and continues to lead the club in homers.
Williams was also one of our All-Stars, he was joined by Chris Sale, Mark Montgomery, Matt Snyder, Brandon Belt, Xander Bogaerts and Thomas Pham.
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As the trade deadline loomed I got some business done that I think has improved us as we push for the AL East title and the playoffs.
First up I strengthened my OF back up. Josh Reddick hasn't impressed and it may be knee-jerk with him only being with us a few months but I traded him to Kansas for Kelly Dugan. Dugan is 4 years younger and hitting at .323 this year versus Reddick's .203. I had to throw 3 minor leaguers in to sweeten the deal but I didn't see any of them contributing to a title push this year so I saw them as disposable. Short-termism maybe, but lets be honest, my job is on the line this year, we have to compete.
Next with C Jason Castro hitting a bit of a slump I traded for some real competition for him. Toronto's Tim Federowicz was that man. The Jays got LF Tucker Neuhaus and 3 other AAA level players. All of them are over 24 and not likely to ever crack my 25 man so again were movable.
Next bit of business was to secure Chris Sale to an extension, he's 15-3 and has an ERA below 2.50. I'm sure he'll earn every penny of the $85m he's due over the next 5 years; the last year and $17m is a team option.
We now head towards the business end of the season and need to hold it together. Steinbrenner's finger is hovering above the FIRE button, can I hold him at bay?