[Bub13]

Opening Day! Everyone's tied, no one is struggling, and all seems right with the world. How soon all of that will change...

April 6-8 vs. TAMPA BAY
MLB is sour on the Rays too, saying they'll only win 63 games this year. (They won 65 last year.) No wonder, too, as their lineup does not inspire fear...or even a short gasp. 1B Andy Catron (.308, 19 HR) and 2B Jon Ledezma (.297, 29 SB) lead the attack. There's hope that Ricky Chavez, a powerful (and powerfully slow) RF will fully develop his power stroke (just 13 HR in 419 AB) and raise his average (.219). Our former supersub infielder Ervin Miranda gets a chance to play every day, as the opening day 3B. Oh, and SS Erik Roberts hasn't hit a home run since 2033.

Pitching is a little better, but they only have one starter (Yu Rui) who had a sub 4.50 ERA last year, and he did that for Pittsburgh. Rui's also coming off major arm surgery, so he's looking to prove he's still capable. The bullpen will throw a lot of innings this year, so it's good that the arms there look young and promising.

#1: WIN 4-2 ... McArthur 3 hits, 2 RBI; Dunklee the GW 2-run HR in the eighth...Clark pulled after 5 IP; why?
#2: WIN 16-2 ... Wiggins 5 hits, Dunklee 4 and 6 RBI...team hit 5 HR...Casillas 7 IP, 2 H, 0 ER
#3: LOSS 1-2 ... Brock goes 8 strong innings, but is outpitched by Marty Rodgers, who goes 9...TB wins it with solo HR in the 10th

Disappointing finish but overall a solid start to the year. Three well-pitched games, a bushel of home runs, and lots of hits. And on the 7th, my trainer Jordan Villalobos surprises me with the text "Bobby Little is now healthy and ready to go." Wha...? His 'unknown' injury has resolved itself and he's ready to pitch. Well, in KC that is, since he'll be there for April on rehab. Let's see how the rookies do (and how he fares coming back) before changing anything. ELSEWHERE...On the 6th, Detroit blitzed Texas 24-10, scoring 11 in the third and 8 more in the ninth. Texas starter Aaron Burton gave up 15 hits and 12 runs in 3 innings. Yee haw!


April 9-11 vs. MIAMI
Marlins are off to a 1-2 start, having started against Oakland. LF Ricky Beard leads the offense, and comes off a 46 HR season. 3B Sergio Torres hit 43 last year, and remaining outfielders Joel Courtney and Nic Wahl are also dangerous hitters. (All three OF, though, have dtd injuries.) Levi Brady is their best pitcher; we'll see him on the 11th.

#4: WIN 4-1 ... McArthur and Dunklee homer, and local hero Piccirillo goes six in his first big league appearance to get the win
#5: WIN 12-2 ... 17 hits, with McA and Dunks homering again...Eric Jones goes 5.1, strikes out 9
#6: WIN 4-3 ... we leave Clark in for 7 innings this time; he K's 10 and goes to 2-0...we hit two more HR as well

Off to a hot 5-1 start, led by Dunklee (.348, 4 HR) and McArthur (.458, 3 HR). Collins and Mullen also hitting over .400. Last year's megastar Adam Groff is sitting at .240 with no HR, likewise Drayton is down to .231 with no power...And finally, Travis "Insulted" McArthur finally did sign an extension with us, $48.58M over 8 years. This is almost exactly the first contract I pissed him off with. ELSEWHERE...Oakland is also 5-1, while Pittsburgh is the only undefeated team, at 6-0. San Francisco is 0-5.


April 13-15 @ NY YANKEES
The Yankees have struggled for years, not posting a winning season since 2029. This year: a 1-5 start. They're not hitting, and not scoring, but pitching has been pretty good, as they've managed to put together a pretty strong pitching staff, especially the rotation. Homegrown star Tony Villarruel, and new free agent signees Mario Oliva, Chris Smolak, and Mike Shilvock are going to keep the team in a lot of games. The bullpen has depth too, so if they start hitting, watch out. This series will be their 2038 home opener.

#7: LOSS 1-2 ... Casillas whiffs 11, scatters 6 hits over 8 innings, and takes the loss...outhit the Yanks 8-6
#8: WIN 8-2 ... T-Mac's three-run blast was the highlight of a six-fun first, and we coasted from there...Brock throws well again
#9: WIN 7-6 ... the pen wins this one, yielding just one run in four innings after Piccirillo looks young and confused early

The middle game was rained out so we got to play two on the 15th, meaning Tax Day was pretty nice to us this year...Groff continues to struggle, with zero HR and hitting just .200. Early days, tho...Jim Mullen is now hitting .520; let's see if he can keep that going til the All-Star Break. C'mon Jim!...Two Yankees starters and their 1B suffer injuries and all may miss considerable time. Sorry guys. ELSEWHERE...27-year-old Phillies pitcher Kyle Labate no-hit the Cardinals on the 14th, striking out five and walking two...Oakland up to 8-2 after sweeping the Rangers.


April 16-18 @ LA ANGELS
Predicted to finish last, the Angels are off to a nice 6-3 start, with a run diff of +12. Pitching is leading the way, although I still don't think they have the horses in the rotation to keep things going for a full season. The bottom third of their lineup is hitting about .170.

#10: WIN 5-3 ... all five runs scored in the last three innings, capped by Drayton's three-run shot in the ninth...Mullen dtd injury
#11: LOSS 3-4 ... Aaron Glass gives up a solo shot in the 7th for the loss...my vendetta against Clark continues, as he's pulled in the sixth after another strong start
#12: LOSS 0-6 ... there it is, our first truly sh*t outing...Casillas gets bombed for five in the first, and we only manage 3 hits

Our first series loss. Ah well, had to happen sometime. Groff hitting .174, with just one XBH, and has been dropped to fifth in the lineup. Jim Mullen suffers a week-long dtd injury, with minimal effect, but he'll not play back-to-back games just to try to nurse him along...We manage to injure five Angels during the series, so that's something, right? ELSEWHERE...Oakland is now 9-4, half a game up on us and the Angels. Pittsburgh is 10-3 to pace the league, while the Giants are now 1-11 and the torch-bearing villagers are at the gate.

Next up: Oakland comes to town