[Bub13]

June 23-26 @ LA ANGELS
They've really dropped off the table, going 5-15 in June, although they have won two in a row. Pitching is dead last, hitting is 12th in runs, worse everywhere else. Ageless catcher Jared Grose is still producing (.325/.466/.534), and future star 3B Tony Mendoza has 16 HR, but it's a struggle across the lineup. Seven players are on the DL, three for the rest of the season.

HAW pitchers: Billy Heine (4-8, 3.96 w/ SFG) / Eric Jones (6-2, 3.63) / Bobby Little (8-1, 4.31) / Leon Casillas (11-2, 1.96)
LAA pitchers: Milt Schott (4-4, 5.12) / Bryan Gruber (2-5, 4.46) / Jeff Caraway (2-7, 5.81) / Fred Caviness (0-7, 6.38)

#73: WIN 5-3 ... Heine is good enough (6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 6 K), and we score all our runs in the last three innings, topped by Robertson's two-run triple in the 9th
#74: WIN 7-3 ... Dunklee 4 hits, McArthur 3 hits and RBI...Jones lifted after five, so Beltowski throws four innings for the save
#75: WIN 3-1 ... tonight we're outhit, 7-8, but add in five walks and seven strong innings from Little, and it's all good
#76: WIN 13-5 ... not a pretty game: 29 hits, 3 errors, 6 walks...LA's Caviness is just brutal: 4.1 IP, 11 H, 11 R, 10 ER, 4 BB

After that moribund Cubs series, suddenly we've won seven straight, and are maintaining a seven game lead over Oakland. They come to town next.... ELSEWHERE: Former ace Ken Clark is having a nice bounce back season with the Cards, with 120 K in 95.2 IP, and only 1.1 HR/9, his lowest rate in years (and literally half what he had last season with us)....Nice horse race at the blunt end of the wedge: Angels 22-56, .282 win pct; Rays 19-57, .250. Austin is 26-51, but they seem like all-stars in comparison.


June 28-30 vs OAKLAND
We've needed every bit of our hot first half, as the A's are the third best team in the league right now, at 49-29. And they're doing it without all-everything Vinny Vargas, who's out for five more weeks. They're also missing their 2B and CL, and three other starters are nursing dtd injuries. Offense is fourth in runs scored, pitching is also fourth. Second year RF David Shaw is still hot at .337/13/48. Note: with four selfish and four unmotivated players, our spies tell us their team mood is "unhappy," and that more players dislike manager Bob Woodard than like him. Usually it's only the Red Sox who win games and hate each other. (The Sox are 42-35 and also unhappy, btw.)

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (7-5, 5.86) / Billy Heine (4-8, 3.99) / Eric Jones (7-2, 3.63)
OAK pitchers: Bill Casas (9-4, 4.65) / Edgar Maldonado (9-0, 3.84) / Ricky Hose (9-5, 2.72)

#77: LOSS 4-9 ... hellacious sophomore slump for Hart, here giving up 8 runs in 4.1 innings...Dunklee homers, our lone highlight
#78: LOSS 4-6 ... Simon Hayn goes 3-for-4 for the second game, and we roll over meekly again...Heine is butt tonight...Wiggins gets a dtd knee injury...lead is just 5 games
#79: LOSS 0-2 ... Jones' 8 innings of seven-hit ball are wasted on one pitch, as Kieffer gives up a two-run shot in the 9th...we outhit them 8-4

So these last two weeks we've swept two bad teams, and been swept by two good teams. Short term annoyance, or long term warning sign? I know we're missing Groff against these top teams; he's still got over a week before he comes back....Our lead over Oakland is now four games....I think Rob Hart has made his last start for a while; let's move Piccirillo back into the rotation and see if he can stabilize things.... ELSEWHERE: The Cubs (50-31) now have the biggest division lead in baseball, 9 games over Cincy and Montreal....Tampa won it's 20th game last night, it's 78th game of the season....Baltimore's Alex Morales has 86 RBI in 78 games. He drove in 39 in June.

......

A BRIEF INTERLUDE
Because we need one after that Oakland series. It's July 1st, and that means International Free Agents are here! Except...it's a dull, dull, dull class. Probably the "best" player is Dominican pitcher Francisco Lopez, and he looks more like a potential AAAA guy, to be honest. Love a guy with 20 stamina but just two pitches, btw. Since we spent over $4M last year, we're limited to spending 660K this time around. One of the best batters available is also one of the cheapest: CF Danny Perez from Mexico. Only average at the plate, but can cover all the ground in center, and has good speed to boot. He only wants 330K right now, but that will probably go up quickly, so I don't expect we'll be able to sign him in the end.

......

July 1-3 vs MILWAUKEE
The AL Central is wide open this year, as evidenced by the Brewers being 42-38 and in fifth place, 4.5 games behind Detroit (and only four games ahead of last-place Chicago). Their teams stats are pretty middle of the road everywhere but home runs, where they're 4th (103 in 80 games). Nine players are on the DL, but they've gotten solid play from all the fill-ins, and closer Bill Brunson is having a fine rookie year (2.38 ERA, 14 saves, 11.1 K/9). We need to bounce back against these guys.

HAW pitchers: Bobby Little (9-1, 4.09) / Leon Casillas (12-2, 2.00) / Bobby Piccirillo (3-2, 4.60)
MIL pitchers: Daryll Evans (6-5, 3.93) / Bill Salazar (6-5, 4.75) / Nick Shockley (8-6, 3.33)

#80: WIN 12-6 ... a six-run 2nd gives us breathing room, and we build on that before giving up some late scores...Little hurt, diagnosis pending. Sigh.
#81: WIN 8-4 ... Glass tries to give this one away (1.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R), but we were up 8-1, so I'm okay...Martinez three-run shot in the sixth salts it away
#82: WIN 6-5 ... Wiggins goes 1-for-6, but drives in the winning run in the 10th...Piccirillo gives up 5 in 6 innings, but we win, so whatever

Another sweep, so that's good. Oakland, tho, has won 7 straight and are still just 4 in back of us....Little's diagnosis comes in, and it's what I was afraid of: forearm inflammation, our for 4 months. See ya in 2040, Bobby. Mark Phillips is killing it in AAA, so he gets first crack at Little's spot.... ELSEWHERE: Fun game in Richmond: Clint Loomis hits a grand slam against New Orleans in the first, adds a two-run shot in the third, then steps up in the fourth, just after teammate Tye Spears hits his own three-run blast, and gets plunked by Zephs pitcher Sean Reid. The benches clear, and Loomis and Reid get tossed, suspended. Good times....


July 5-7 vs MINNESOTA
If the pattern holds, the 43-37 Twins will sweep us. Good to know, eh? Minny's team stats are good across the board, top five, except for the rotation, which sits in 14th place with a 4.83 ERA. Peanuts Carter (.353/22/69) and Steve Wilkins (.312/16/55) lead the offense, and Carter leads the AL with a 5.0 WAR. Jose Mateo has been the manager since 2024, and may be the longest tenured bench boss in the league currently. Fun fact: their player payroll is currently $32M over their entire team budget. They're facing a $70M shortfall by the end of the year. Wow.

HAW pitchers: Billy Heine (4-9, 4.30) / Eric Jones (7-3, 3.35) / Mark Phillips (2-0, 5.87)
MIN pitchers: Joey Etler (9-3, 4.08) / Chris Varo (6-2, 3.84) / Ben Martin (2-5, 5.94)

#83: LOSS 1-3 ... here we go...McArthur three hits, Dunklee a solo shot (his 16th), but we only muster 7 hits total...Heine is okay, but hasn't shown much in his 3 starts
#84: WIN 3-1 ... the streak train goes bye-bye...Jones rallies us with a strong 6 innings and Robertson goes 3-for-3, is now hitting .359
#85: WIN 7-5 ... three home runs (Collins, Dunklee, Hullinger) plus 13 hits equals success...Phillips is less than stellar (5 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 4 BB) in his return

As I've said before, two out of three always works, and we gained a game on the A's....Growing less enamored of our rotation, however. Casillas is money, Jones has been solid, but Piccirillo and Heine have been subpar and Phillips is on a short leash. If we stop hitting, I'm not confident that our pitching can carry us. I'll see what's circulating at the deadline, but I'm not stocked up on tradeable prospects right now.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa continues to impress, rounding the halfway mark at 21-61.


July 8-10 @ DETROIT
Currently on top of the tighest division in baseball (6.5 games separate the top five teams), the Tigers are 49-34 and feature good hitting and pitching. RF Roberto Rivera is just 22 but already in his fourth season; he's hitting .337/18/64, and led the league in hits and triples last year. Islander reject Jimmy Wunderlich is having his best season ever, as his 3.74 ERA is a full run lower than his 10-year average. They're also 2nd in the AL in home runs (124), with seven starters already in double figures.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (13-2, 1.96) / Bobby Piccirillo (3-2, 4.96) / Billy Heine (4-10, 4.31)
DET pitchers: Matthew Freeman (4-8, 5.95) / Alex de la Roca (8-3, 3.32) / Raul Bravo (6-4, 4.53)

#86: WIN 12-3 ... did not expect 18 hits, as everyone gets on base, and three home runs to boot...no earned runs for Casillas, so his ERA drops even lower
#87: WIN 6-2 ... Martinez homers in his third straight, and Piccirillo actually looks good, yielding just 4 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings
#88: WIN 8-1 ... everyone gets a hit again, and Heine finally makes me look good with a 3-hit complete game

Unexpected. Plus, Cleveland swept their series and is now tied with Detroit, but that's not my problem....Oakland got swept by Toronto, giving us an eight-game cushion heading into the All-Star Break....1B Dunklee, 3B Groff, and SP Casillas will start at their respective positions, and RP Beltowski is also named to the team. Groff is now back from his injury and will play...Btw, international Danny Perez signed with us for 450K, after a brief flirtation with KT in Korea.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego's Gary Florence went 18-4 last year, is 14-1 so far this year, with a crazy ratio of 123 K to just 10 BB....Julio Gonzalez (SD) and Mat Quadrini (PLD) lead the majors with 30 HR. Gonzalez also leads the NL in RBI, WAR, and is third in AVG.