[Bub13]

To start with an aside, the AL won the All-Star Game, 6-5, held in Kansas City. (As an aside to the aside, is there a way to tell beforehand where the ASG is being held?)

Now back to business... Heading into the second half of the season, there's a lot to like: 63-25, best record in baseball; an 8-game lead over Oakland; 1st in runs scored and runs against; only one player on the DL. But I wouldn't be a GM without fretting, would I? Injuries are always a worry, and I know I constantly feel like we're one or two injuries away from breaking the lineup. More specifically, however, I worry about our pitching, the rotation actually. Casillas has been dominant (14-2, 1.86), and Eric Jones is having a very good (8-2, 3.24) sophomore season. Afther them, however, there is plenty of room for worry. Rob Hart (6.31 ERA, 16 HR in 102 innings) has been relegated to the bullpen; Mark Phillips (2-0, but a 5.79 ERA) has spent time on the DL and in the minors; Bobby Piccirillo (4-2, 4.66) has one good game, one bad one; and Billy Heine, acquired from SF (1-2, 4.39 since) has yet to get on track. And Bobby Little (10-1, 4.22) is out for the season. On the farm, Bryan Hardin got two starts with Hawaii earlier, and didn't show much; #2 prospect Cam Bornhoft is out for the season; #1 prospect Mike Messinger is having a great year, but he's in AA and not ready for The Show; and there's Dave Carroll, at 9-2 with a 1.77 ERA in AAA, but his control is hugely suspect. We're just under three weeks from the trade deadline, so as I've already said, I'll keep an eye out for any help, but I don't have many assets I want to part with right now. So I suspect that we'll try to ride out the season with what we have, and roll the dice we're given.

......

July 15-17 vs MIAMI
We start a three series roll against the AL East by hosting the Marlins, who are 43-46 and 8 games behind division-leading Baltimore. Their team stats don't look good: 12th to 15th across the board, except for 10th in home runs. No one is batting .300, and CF Jason Molnar (.299/17/48), LF Ricky Beard (.286/11/32), and 1B Trey Joslin (.292/17/62) are pretty much the only starters pulling their weight. Pitcher Levi Brady (8-5, 4.28, 132 K) is having a decent year, but one sign of trouble is that former CL Ken Newman is now their #5 starter, and former #5 Matt Rubin is now the closer. GM Jayson Werth may be on a short leash, as owner Kyle Lobl is worried, and none of his team goals have been (or will be, frankly) met.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (8-2, 3.24) / Leon Casillas (14-2, 1.86) / Bobby Piccirillo (4-2, 4.66)
MIA pitchers: Levi Brady (8-5, 4.28) / Jeff Heller (5-7, 5.11) / Chris Keast (6-8, 5.13)

#89: WIN 12-0 ... Jones didn't need 12 runs and 17 hits, but isn't complaining...Hullinger and Hunter drive in three apiece with matching three-run homers
#90: LOSS 4-6 ... Casillas isn't great, but he's good enough to win, until Kieffer gives up a 9th inning two-run shot to Joslin
#91: WIN 3-2 ... Hullinger's 23rd HR in the 11th walks off the game for us...Piccirillo looks good this time: 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R

Good results for the rotation; even the loss was a good game for Casillas....Lead over Oakland still at 8 games....ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Jay Jansen hurls a perfect game against Philly, striking out 10. It's the first perfect game since two occurred in 2034, and the second no-hitter this year....the Dodgers signed seven closers as free agents this winter; three are now on the DL and done for the season


July 18-20 vs NY YANKEES
An improving team, they're still in the hunt at 49-43, in third place four games behind Baltimore. As predicted, pitching is leading the way, while team hitting is far behind: they're second in runs against, but 13th in runs scored. Pitchers Tony Villarruel and Mario Oliva would be superstars on a good team. Leadoff hitter Hector Aguilar (.315/15/35) is becoming a star, and the ageless Ty Cobb has a .331/.445/.400 slash. Owner Justin Dielman is the first non-Steinbrenner to run the team since the 1970s, but should look familiar to old-time Yankee fans: he's a meddler who wants EXTREME WINNING! No truth to the rumors that he's trying to have Billy Martin cloned.

HAW pitchers: Billy Heine (5-10, 4.05) / Mark Phillips (2-0, 5.79) / Eric Jones (9-2, 3.09)
NYY pitchers: Tony Villarruel (8-6, 2.55) / Bobby Amico (5-5, 5.38) / Mario Oliva (8-7, 3.07)

#92: LOSS 1-3 ... Villarruel just outpitches Heine...Pat Moore's 2nd inning 2-run double is the difference
#93: WIN 10-3 ... Hullinger and Dunklee each with 2-run blasts, and we drop 4 runs in the first and the fifth...Hart with three scoreless innings in his first relief appearance
#94: LOSS 1-6 ... Oliva shuts us down, and Alec Orr's 12th inning grand slam closes the door, wasting a good outing from Jones...Wiggins injured

So of course we get beat by the two pitchers I talked up. Oh well....Generally, another good series for the starting pitchers, but now the bullpen is leaking oil a bit....Wiggins has a pending mystery injury....Single A Boone got off to an 8-3 start, their best ever by far. Since then? 3-12.... ELSEWHERE: Padres 3B Tony Solar, leading the NL with a .367 average, is out for the season with a broken elbow. San Diego is 8.5 games ahead of Arizona currently. His injury does open the door for teammate Julio Gonzalez (2nd in AVG, 2nd in HR, 1st in RBI) to pursue the Triple Crown.


July 22-24 @ TAMPA
Lately they've been winning at a .300 clip, a large improvement, moving them up to 24-69 on the season. So many batters (six) are on the DL that their qualified batter with the highest average is RF Alex Garcia at .199. There are just sad numbers everywhere, maybe none more so than their -177 run differential.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (14-3, 1.90) / Bobby Piccirillo (4-2, 4.43) / Billy Heine (1-3, 4.13 with HAW)
TBR pitchers: Jordan Sanchez (2-12, 3.89) / Nelson Gonzalez (4-11, 5.57) / George O'Toole (3-9, 5.30)

#95: LOSS 5-8 ... we blow a strong start from Casillas, especially by Rob Hart who gave up 3 hits, 3 runs, and a walk, without registering an out
#96: WIN 11-3 ... everyone parties as we rack up 21 hits, four from Groff...Piccirillo goes the distance
#97: WIN 9-0 ... Heine finally looks stout, but of course has a pending injury. Sigh...Hunter having a nice rookie season, just registering his 30th double

Another good series from the rotation, but now we're waiting on the injury report on Heine....Hullinger leads the team with 26 HR and 77 RBI....Lead over Oakland is 9 games.... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee's Brandon Jarmon no-hits the Mariners; his one walk is the only thing keeping him from his own perfect game....San Diego has won 7 straight to open up their lead over Arizona to 11 games. Padres pitcher Gary Florence is now 16-1.


July 25-27 @ HOUSTON
It's another dreary summer in Houston, with the Astros already playing out the string at 41-58. Terrible hitting, at 17th in runs scored, and pitching isn't much better, at 14th in runs against. The rotation, at least, is not bad, at 6th in ERA, but the bullpen is next to last. There is hope for the future, as they're starting four promising rookies in the field, and their prospect system is ranked 2nd in MLB.

HAW pitchers: Mark Phillips (3-0, 5.56) / Eric Jones (9-2, 2.92) / Leon Casillas (14-3, 1.99)
HOU pitchers: Jamie Pollock (2-6, 4.47) / Jay Russo (6-7, 3.85) / Jonathan Caldera (8-7, 3.19)

#98: WIN 6-4 ... we turn six hits into six runs, thanks to two three-run innings, led by McArthur's RBI double and triple...Phillips goes just five, but is generally fine
#99: WIN 6-2 ... Dunklee homers and Hullinger drives in three...Jones yields just four hits and a run over six innings
#100: WIN 7-0 ... four home runs (including Dunklee's 20th) and a complete game two-hitter from Casillas

We get the injury report on Heine: herniated disc, out 2-3 months. So much for trading for depth. For now, I'll move Hart back into the rotation, and call up Lorenzo Saez for the pen. With the deadline coming up, I'll scour some of the bottom-dwellers for another starting pitcher. Don't stay up expecting anything, however.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego with a 10-game winning streak, still 11 up on Arizona. Detroit is the other hot team, with 7 wins in a row and a three game lead on Cleveland.


July 28-31 vs TEXAS
A four game stint that will take us up to the deadline. Texas is 48-53, disappointing given that they were expected to contend for a wildcard spot. A good hitting team (5th in AVG) that doesn't translate that into runs (11th), and a subpar pitching staff (13th in runs against), that just saw its #1 starter, Amir Farland, traded to Seattle for a pair of prospects. The bright spots on the roster are 1B Ramon Esquilin, third in the AL hitting at .354, and C David Larrea, hitting .341.

HAW pitchers: Bobby Piccirillo (5-2, 4.25) / Rob Hart (7-7, 6.39) / Mark Phillips (3-0, 5.54) / Eric Jones (10-2, 2.86)
TEX pitchers: Danny Powers (7-7, 5.39) / B.J. Nault (4-11, 4.77) / Seth Purdy (5-6, 4.85) / Jeff Sullivan (4-11, 4.80)

#101: LOSS 12-14 ... ugly, ugly game...it seemed like everyone who got on base, scored (31 hits, 24 runs)...plus Wiggins is now out for two months
#102: LOSS 6-8 ... helluva time for Texas bats to wake up...Hart is a disaster again, 7 R in 7 IP...moving on
#103: WIN 7-2 ... Phillips stops the bleeding with 8.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 9 K, 0 BB...backup catcher Diaz with a grand slam in the fifth
#104: WIN 7-3 ... Jones with 7 good innings, Groff with 4 hits, and Robertson knocks in two and ups his average to .369

Two downright awful games, then two bounceback games. Still, we're up by seven on Oakland....Wiggins is the latest casualty, out around two months with a broken finger. We need him to heal fast (or at least on time) so he'll be available for the playoffs. To take his place on the roster, I call up Jesse Henkel, a slugger with a good all-around bat, but not much of an outfielder. He's also a lefty who should never bat against fellow lefties. Which is a problem since four of our five OF on the roster are lefthanded bats, severely limiting platoon possibilities....Rookie Mel Carrillo, who's hitting .326 in 145 PA, moves into the starting lineup in RF, which he's not ideally suited for. But needs must.... ELSEWHERE: Lots of trades this last week, but no blockbusters. However, Boston decided to trade its two best starting pitchers this season for marginalia. Normally, "so what?" except that they're 56-48 and in 2nd place in the AL East. Maybe it helped their team chemistry...except that it's still a disaster. Always unhappy, that team.