[Bub13]

September 1 @ OAKLAND
Finishing up the three-game set, trying to avoid the sweep.

#133: WIN 8-2 ... Nine hits, six are home runs. What's not to love?...Hart another big outing, now 5-2

We avoided the sweep, and are 8.5 games up on the A's now. Can't let up with just a month to go....Roster expansion time, and I'm not sure if I'll bring up anyone, as KC is in first place in AAA and I always like to give the minors a chance to win it all.


September 3-5 @ SEATTLE
Floating along at 67-65 and will need a stronger push to get back into the wildcard hunt. Decent pitching (4th in runs against) but mediocre hitting (9th to 12th across the board). Strong defensively too. DH Fernando Orozco (.274/.329/.499, 31/89) has been their best hitter, but no one else stands out.

#134: WIN 4-1 ... Jones goes eight, gives up just six hits...Groff with three more hits, Martinez with two and two RBI
#135: WIN 10-3 ... 17 hits, 9 for extra bases...Casillas K's 10 and gets his 14th win
#136: WIN 8-6 ... two errors in the 8th cost us three unearned runs, but we get it all back with three in the ninth for the win

Quite a hitting display this series: Wiggins 3 triples, 2 HR; Martinez 4 HR; team registered 9 HR total....Brock made his best start in a month, 3 R in 7 IP....Videira just two hits away from 3K....September roster moves: with KC tearing it up in AAA, I left their team largely intact, just recalling RP Chris Mayer. I also signed FA SS/OF Sid Collins for the rest of the season. Collins is 36 and played last year for Arizona and Baltimore. He was Richmond's starting SS or 3B for eleven seasons (yes, I drafted him way back in 2024). With a couple outfielders needing time off this month, he'll help our depth, even if he isn't playoff available. ELSEWHERE...Arizona's Lance Powell is having the closest-to-triple-crown season: 1st in AVG (.362), 2nd in HR (46), and 3rd in RBI (107)....NL Central update: Chicago is still 4.5 up on the Reds, and 5 on Montreal. Pittsburgh (1-6 in last 7) is 7 back and fading....Boston once again--for the third or fourth year running--is a good team that is openly feuding. They finished a game from winning it all last year and were "unhappy" all year long. This year they're 70-65 and are "feuding." Lovely.


September 6 vs CLEVELAND
Make up game from August 19. They've won five in a row, but it doesn't matter since they're 63-71.

#137: WIN 9-3 ... super-hot Wiggins with the 3-run HR in the 7th to seal the win...Little six innings, Clark tosses 3 (gives up only 1 HR!), gets the save

Eh, not much more to say after just one game. We won, so that's good. ELSEWHERE...New Orleans (51-87) is the first team eliminated from playoff contention. I could have told you that in early April....Ty Cobb is up to 2986 hits, and may even pass Videira if he doesn't get off his ass soon.


September 7-9 vs MINNESOTA
Four games behind KC in the Central, but have lost three straight and may soon have to fight off the charging White Sox and Brewers. Tops in AL hitting, and 2nd in bullpen ERA, but 16th in rotation ERA. Currently have eight players on the DL. FUN FACT: Owner Adam Thompson gave GM Richie Lenz a goal to make $19M this year. They're projected balance right now is -$64M.

#138: WIN 4-1 ... Hart surrenders only two hits through six, and the pen yields just one walk the rest of the way...Videira gets a hit, now just one away from history!
#139: WIN 4-2 ... Videira's 7th inning double puts him into the books with hit #3000...Jones 7.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, wins his 17th
#140: LOSS 1-4 ... Casillas pitches well (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R) but takes the loss...Miller gives up 2 R in his one inning of work

Videira! Congrats, Cisco! Now get back to work....Minnesota suffered five more injuries this series. ELSEWHERE...Cobb now at 2989 hits....Cincy just 2 back of the Cubs, Pittsburgh 3.5, Montreal 4.5.


September 10-12 vs KANSAS CITY
Still hanging on to first at 80-58, 4.5 up on the Twins. Hitting is average (but 11th in runs scored), pitching is 3rd best in the AL. Rotation is still doing well, even after the stupid trade of Tom DiFranco (8-2, 2.54 with KC; 4-0, 2.61 with OAK) to the A's, while acquiring Chris Smolak (1-4, 6.33 with KC) to replace him. Some GMs think too much.

#141: WIN 5-4 ... a run in the 8th, and another in the 9th, et voila: a win...Austin Collins goes 4-for-4, 2 RBI
#142: WIN 12-9 ... teams combine for eight home runs (yes, Clark gave one up)...our ten-run second inning probably helped us get the win
#143: WIN 8-1 ... Hart sets a team record with 15 K, although he's pulled with two outs in the ninth...Dunklee gets his 100th RBI, four years in a row now

Wow, did not expect a sweep, or to win five out of six against the Central's best....Drayton leading the league with 37 steals....Oakland playing well, is still 10 games back. ELSEWHERE...Six teams are within 1.5 games of each other in the NL wildcard places, while four teams are within three of vying for the second AL place....Nate Johnson has 56 HR, has a chance for 60.


September 14-16 @ DETROIT
Fifth place, 68-73, good hitting (6th in runs, 5th in HR) but bad pitching (15th in runs against). Their five top prospects are all pitchers, however, four of them starters; all five look really, really good.

#144: LOSS 1-4 ... hitting finally dried up, and Jones has an off day, yielding a 2-run HR in the first and never getting back on track
#145: WIN 5-2 ... Groff and Martinez homer and Casillas picks up his 15th win (6.1, 7 H, 2 R, 3 K)...PLAYOFFS CLINCHED!
#146: WIN 10-2 ... we pound former Islander Jimmy Wunderlich for five runs in 1.2 innings, and injure him to boot...Brock back on track with 7.2 good innings

Woot! Playoffs! Our Magic Number is now 8 for clinching the division. As good as we've been recently (8-2 last ten), the A's have been 9-1 and won eight straight. They're a lock for the first wildcard spot, at worst....Ernesto Martinez has probably played himself onto next year's roster with a hot August (.305) and hotter September (.327, 6 HR). He's cheap, has good power and contact, and can play corner OF, 1B, and of course DH. ELSEWHERE...Ty Cobb goes 4-for-5 on the 16th to finally reach 3000 hits. Definitely a shoo-in hall of famer....Six NL teams have been officially eliminated from the playoffs, zero AL teams.

Speaking of playoffs, the pennant races stand thus:
AL EAST: Toronto 10.5 games up on Boston and Miami. Magic Number is 8.
AL CENTRAL: KC 4.5 ahead of Minnesota and Chicago. Both KC and MIN have lost six straight.
AL WEST: Hawaii 9 up on the A's. Oakland in turn is 9.5 games up on the nearest wildcard pursuer.

NL EAST: Mets are 4 ahead of Richmond, 5 clear of Brooklyn. The Robins are still looking for their first playoff appearance.
NL CENTRAL: Chicago hanging on to a 3 game lead over Cincy, 4.5 over Pittsburgh, 6.5 over Montreal.
NL WEST: LA 6.5 up on Arizona, with the Diamondbacks slumping.

Next up: End of the Regular Season