[Bub13]

May 2-4 @ SEATTLE
Off to their usual good start, at 15-10, the Mariners are getting good hitting (3rd in AVG) and pitching (5th in runs against). Two-thirds of their starting OF is on the DL, including all-star Mike 'Judge' Wapner, but their replacements are hitting over .300. Yet owner Adam ("The Unmerciful") Yamauchi is still angry.

HAW pitchers: Bryan Hardin (0-0, 10.38) / Leon Casillas (5-0, 0.45) / Rob Hart (2-1, 6.75)
SEA pitchers: Sean Easter (0-2, 8.31) / Aaron Myers (2-0, 1.16) / Ruben Alvarado (2-2, 2.27)

#25: WIN 7-4 ... Martinez hits a two-run shot in the 4th, and we add 4 more in the sixth to seal the deal...Hardin throws well, but goes back to AAA anyway
#26: LOSS 4-7 ... Casillas finally throws a bad game, 7 R in 6.1 IP, 3 HR...Collins' 3-run HR is our only highlight
#27: WIN 9-2 ... Hart finally throws a good one, a 7-hit complete game, 9 K...McArthur and Martinez 3 hits each

We're now 21-6, 5.5 games up on the A's. Second in runs scored, first in runs against....Phillips is back off the DL, and Hardin goes back to AAA....We're off to Oakland next. ELSEWHERE: Cleveland has slumped to 13-15 after their hot start. Tampa has been bad all along, and are currently 5-22....Minnesota rookie Steve Wilkins (.467) is the last player still hitting over .400....Richmond's Carlos Valencia is working on a 22-game hitting streak. He's a powerful hitter (33 HR/season in his career) who's hitting .340, 100 points above his career average.


May 5-8 @ OAKLAND
16-12, tied for second with Seattle. Fifth in runs scored and ninth in runs against, but first in defensive efficiency. DH David Shaw is hitting .394, but superstar C Vinny Vargas is hitting about 60 points below his career average, at .277. IF Emilio Tejada is hitting .478 but riding the bench for some reason. Robert Woodard is in his eighth season as manager, and despite nearly his entire pitching staff disliking him, he gets results: four playoff visits in the last five seasons.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (2-1, 3.90) / Bobby Little (4-0, 3.66) / Mark Phillips (1-0, 4.05) / Leon Casillas (5-1, 1.76)
OAK pitchers: Tom DiFranco (4-1, 3.57) / Edgar Maldonado (4-0, 4.20) / Matt Bienvenu (1-2, 3.58) / Ricky Hose (2-3, 2.51)

#28: WIN 5-4 ... Robertson sets a team record with 3 triples, driving in and scoring two...Jones 3 R in 6.1 IP, Kieffer his 11th save
#29: WIN 4-3 ... Robertson with 2 more hits, and Hullinger wakes up for his first HR in a week...Little 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, but a no-decision
#30: WIN 6-5 ... Phillips gets bombed for all 5 runs in the first, but yields just 3 more hits through the next five...we're not hitting HR now, but do take 8 walks
#31: LOSS 1-5 ... Casillas has gone ice cold, giving up 5 in 6.2 innings...Hose hoses us, tosses a complete game 5-hitter

You gotta figure you're getting the sweep with your ace on the mound, but Casillas has his second straight miserable outing. He'll snap out of it. Right?...AAA pitcher (and our #2 prospect Cam Bornhoft tears his elbow and is done for the year....CF Josh Drayton comes off the DL in a week. ELSEWHERE: Tampa is now 5-22, the clubhouse is feuding, yet owner Stuart Sternberg is very happy. Sure....Atlanta's now lost 10 in a row, dropping into last place at 11-21....The rookie crop for the upcoming draft was announced, and while there's no consensus #1, there's talent to be had. The top picks figure to be IF Josh Suprenant from Villanova, a line-drive hitting SS who looks pretty solid across the board (but is better fitted for 3B or LF); OF Morgan Akers from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who is very similar to Suprenant except he has very little defensive aptitude; 1B Jason Eastep, Pepperdine, who will hit a lot of home runs and pile up a lot of strikeouts; and RP Ted Minson, a lefty who figures to be a decent closer one day. For the Islanders, I'll probably take BPA every time (favoring intangibles, as always), but I'd sure love to finally draft a decent catcher. I've never developed a good one yet, and it looks like the wave of top-notch catching talent in this league has crested and broken.


May 9-12 vs HOUSTON
Things already look lost for the Astros, once again swimming in circles at 12-21, fifth place. They're not scoring (15th), and are only 14th in runs against too. Five players are on the DL. Manager Guillermo Reyes is 5-4 since taking over, and owner Jim Crane Jr. is delighted, for some reason. Their prospect pool is second in the league, however, and they do have the #1 rated prospect in SS Francisco Villon, who's currently toiling in AA, but should see some action in the bigs by September, at the latest.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (3-1, 5.77) / Eric Jones (3-1, 3.96) / Bobby Little (4-0, 3.55) / Mark Phillips (2-0, 5.12)
HOU pitchers: Jamie Pollock (1-2, 4.26) / Sean MacPherson (2-2, 5.52) / Jay Russo (2-2, 2.53) / Jason Ray (1-4, 4.89)

#32: WIN 11-3 ... Wiggins is the star, with 3 hits, 3 RBI, 2B, HR...three others homer, and Hart goes 8 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 7 K
#33: WIN 8-1 ... Robertson hits a HR, knocks in 2, ditto for Hullinger...Jones with 7.2 IP, 8 K
#34: WIN 5-4 ... Hullinger goes 4-for-4 with 3 doubles, and Groff adds 3 hits...Little gets the win with a so-so outing, 4 R in 7 IP
#35: WIN 9-4 ... the backups (Hoppmann, Carillo, Diaz, and Holguin) go 6-for-16 and all get hits in our 4-run seventh...Phillips pitches poorly, gets hurt

We're now 10-2 in May after this lovely sweep, and 28-7 overall. Mark Phillips' pending injury is the only down beat from the series. If he's done for a while, I do have three starters in AAA who want to come up, although none is a standout. It's still a long ways off from the deadline, so there's time to make a move if needed, although now I'm getting ahead of myself. We'll see what shakes out.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore is the latest HOT TEAM given their 10-0 run, propelling them to first place in the East....Pittsburgh's dynasty is receding further into the past, given that they paid zero attention to their awful pitching in the off-season, and are suffering for it now: 14-21, worst rotation in the NL (and just lost their ace for 13 months), while still boasting the league's best offense. There's a lesson in this team....Happy birthday to Minny's 'Peanuts' Carter, last year's AL batting champ, who's currently hitting .392 (second to teammate Steve Wilkins). He's a great hitter, a solid catcher, and team captain. You could almost say he's presidential...