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Bub13 · 10-15-2017, 11:59 AM

September 1-4 vs OAKLAND
Oakland sits at 79-54, 11.5 games behind us, and 4.5 games ahead of Boston for the first wildcard spot. Despite some good numbers--7th in runs for, 4th in runs against--they haven't gotten the top-to-bottom team play as in recent years. All-star C Vinny Vargas has been good (.341/26/60), but has missed over a month of action. And right now their 2B, two SP, and CL are done for the season, while their LF, CF, and SS are out for one to three more weeks. Still, their bullpen looks sharp, four of their starters have ERA under the league average, and outfielders David Shaw (.283/20/75) and Dan Condon (.276/15/49) have kept the offense afloat, along with rookie callup LF Simon Hayn, who's hitting .290 with 13 steals, and battered us for a bunch of hits last time we played. Barring more painful injuries, this is a playoff team, one we'll likely have to reckon with these last five weeks of the season.

HAW pitchers: Lorenzo Saez (1-0, 4.66) / TBD / Leon Casillas (19-4, 2.38) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-5, 5.14)
OAK pitchers: Ricky Hose (13-6, 2.83) / Bill Casas (15-7, 4.18) / Tom DiFranco (14-8, 4.00) / Mario Martinez (3-6, 4.03)

#133: LOSS 3-6 ... Groff hits two out, Hullinger hits one, but our pitching issues continue, with emergency starter Saez no good, and reliever Pat Stanley even worse
#134: WIN 7-5 ... Groff (3-run shot in the 9th) and Hullinger go deep again, and Jones shoots enough painkillers into his ankle to give us six innings
#135: WIN 6-2 ... 13 more hits (but no HR, sadly), all against ex-Isle DiFranco (ha!)...Casillas pitches his 7th complete game for his 20th win on the season
#136: LOSS 2-6 ... Piccs yields 11 hits in 7 innings, which is what really does him in...Hullinger homers again, and wonders why he can't face Oakland pitching all the time

So, as hoped, we tread water by splitting the series. Still no consistency with our pitching, but at least all these injuries are giving me a lot of information for my off-season pitching considerations.... Twenty-six games left in the season, twenty of them are on the road. Our last fourteen games are roadies.... ELSEWHERE: In the NL, New York has extended their lead over Richmond to 9 games, while the Cubs are up by just 3.5 over the Expos. San Diego is running away with the West. In the AL, Baltimore still has their long-standing 3-game lead over Boston, while in the Central Minny is up by 1 over Cleveland, by 2.5 over Milwaukee, 4 over Detroit, and 4.5 over Kansas City.... Tampa still has a death grip on last place, at 43-92, but they've been winning lately, getting their percentage up over .300, much to my dismay.

September 5-7 vs DETROIT
Former division leaders have struggled of late, and went through August 11-18. They've steadied some, but find themselves in fourth, 4 games behind the Twins. Third in runs scored, and second in home runs, so the lineup is more than pulling its weight. But they're 12th in runs against, with the rotation having the bigger troubles, as exemplified by $23M guy Matthew Freeman and his 6.61 ERA and .375 BABIP. He's now in the bullpen. As we still have the #1 offense, this could be a high scoring series.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (10-10, 5.85) / Mike Messinger (0-0, 3.00) / Eric Jones (14-3, 2.81)
DET pitchers: Alex Gomez (7-7, 4.55) / Alex de la Roca (11-7, 4.07) / Raul Bravo (9-9, 5.21)

#137: LOSS 3-8 ... Hullinger hits his 40th, but Hart is just bogus and Saez just as bad out of the pen...Jesse Henkel, hitting .314 in his recent callup, gets hurt b/c of course he does
#138: LOSS 6-8 ... so if we hold them to 8 runs again tomorrow, and score 3 more runs like we did today, then we'll win one of these damn games
#139: LOSS 4-8 ... a six-run tenth inning. Yep, not a misprint...Kieffer's meltdown ruins Jones' good outing

Say goodbye to Lorenzo Saez, who can't get anyone out and will get to sail off into the sunset in AAA. Funny that he just asked me for a raise to 1.2M for next year. Funny, as in not so funny. Evan Larkins and Chris Mayer come up from KC because misery loves company.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland is now back into single digits behind us, at 8.5 games.... San Diego's Magic Number is now 12, the lowest in MLB.

September 9-11 @ MINNESOTA
It's back to the road, starting in Minnesota and the division-leading Twins. We're 15 games better than they are, so I expect no less than two or three ugly losses. Hitting is 2nd/3rd/4th in most categories, and pitching is nearly as good (bullpen is the best in the AL), backed by the best defense in the league. Peanuts Carter has been great (.334/34/105), and Steve Wilkins has slowed way down from his amazing start, but is still churning along at .289/23/81. It still amazes me that they're looking at a -67M dollar balance, with a player payroll that exceeds their alloted budget by 36M.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (20-4, 2.36) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-6, 5.06) / Rob Hart (10-11, 6.04)
MIN pitchers: Chris Kruse (9-9, 4.30) / Chris Varo (12-5, 3.91) / Ben Martin (6-8, 5.55)

#140: LOSS 2-7 ... Casillas loses, putting a damper on our hopes for the rest of the week
#141: LOSS 1-5 ... losing streak reaches six games, and Piccirillo gives up double figures in hits for the billionth time
#142: WIN 5-2 ... well, well, well...Hart shows up, Hunter nears 50 doubles on the season, and Groff hits #27

I guess I need to remember, as I start to despair for our post-season hopes, that I did say way back in April that I knew we would hit but we would live and die with our pitching. As our pitching has declined, so has our winning percentage. Pretty simple, really.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland just 7.5 games out now. Montreal has tied the Cubs. Boston just one in back of Baltimore. Minnesota clinging to a game lead over Cleveland, 1.5 over Detroit. PENNANT CHASE FEVER!... Toronto has smacked 235 home runs, closing in on a top-3 all-time number (still far behind Miami's outrageous 290 dingers from 2037).

September 13-15 @ MILWAUKEE
Battling hard in the Central, just 2.5 games in arrears, and also 2 games out in the wildcard standings. Mediocre hitting (10th in runs, 11th in average), but solid pitching (5th in runs) and fielding (3rd). We'll face the top of their rotation, so we'll see if we can wake up our bats. Fun fact: Bill Salazar, a prized free agent from two winters ago, has been riddled with injuries and just not worth his $18.8M annual cabbage. He's only 30, but his ratings have already started to drop, and his starts over the last four years number 16, 0, 24, 24. He's out for the season, naturally.

HAW "pitchers": Mike Messinger (0-1, 5.63) / Eric Jones (14-3, 2.80) / Leon Casillas (20-5, 2.49)
MIL pitchers: Nick Shockley (12-10, 3.71) / Brandon Jarmon (7-5, 3.22) / Tim Pinksen (5-1, 4.02)

#143: LOSS 5-6 ... Hunter gets his 50th double, and Messinger proves he's definitely not ready for the bigs...Martinez gets a dtd injury, surprise surprise
#144: WIN 18-10 ... snort...pity the smug Brewers with a 10-4 lead going into the 8th, watching us pile 14 runs on them over the next two innings...hell, it stunned me too
#145: LOSS 2-8 ... c'mon, Leon, you're the only thing keeping me alive right now. Don't do this to me.

We continue our mission to make every Central team look good, and to give the A's hope for the division title. Our lead is down to 5.5 games, and I'm scouring local fast-pitch softball leagues for starting pitchers now.... Next it's back to Hawaii for our final home series of the season.... ELSEWHERE: Bah, nothing to report. The hell with them all.

10-15-2017, 11:59 AM	#79
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	September 1-4 vs OAKLAND Oakland sits at 79-54, 11.5 games behind us, and 4.5 games ahead of Boston for the first wildcard spot. Despite some good numbers--7th in runs for, 4th in runs against--they haven't gotten the top-to-bottom team play as in recent years. All-star C Vinny Vargas has been good (.341/26/60), but has missed over a month of action. And right now their 2B, two SP, and CL are done for the season, while their LF, CF, and SS are out for one to three more weeks. Still, their bullpen looks sharp, four of their starters have ERA under the league average, and outfielders David Shaw (.283/20/75) and Dan Condon (.276/15/49) have kept the offense afloat, along with rookie callup LF Simon Hayn, who's hitting .290 with 13 steals, and battered us for a bunch of hits last time we played. Barring more painful injuries, this is a playoff team, one we'll likely have to reckon with these last five weeks of the season. HAW pitchers: Lorenzo Saez (1-0, 4.66) / TBD / Leon Casillas (19-4, 2.38) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-5, 5.14) OAK pitchers: Ricky Hose (13-6, 2.83) / Bill Casas (15-7, 4.18) / Tom DiFranco (14-8, 4.00) / Mario Martinez (3-6, 4.03) #133: LOSS 3-6 ... Groff hits two out, Hullinger hits one, but our pitching issues continue, with emergency starter Saez no good, and reliever Pat Stanley even worse #134: WIN 7-5 ... Groff (3-run shot in the 9th) and Hullinger go deep again, and Jones shoots enough painkillers into his ankle to give us six innings #135: WIN 6-2 ... 13 more hits (but no HR, sadly), all against ex-Isle DiFranco (ha!)...Casillas pitches his 7th complete game for his 20th win on the season #136: LOSS 2-6 ... Piccs yields 11 hits in 7 innings, which is what really does him in...Hullinger homers again, and wonders why he can't face Oakland pitching all the time So, as hoped, we tread water by splitting the series. Still no consistency with our pitching, but at least all these injuries are giving me a lot of information for my off-season pitching considerations.... Twenty-six games left in the season, twenty of them are on the road. Our last fourteen games are roadies.... ELSEWHERE: In the NL, New York has extended their lead over Richmond to 9 games, while the Cubs are up by just 3.5 over the Expos. San Diego is running away with the West. In the AL, Baltimore still has their long-standing 3-game lead over Boston, while in the Central Minny is up by 1 over Cleveland, by 2.5 over Milwaukee, 4 over Detroit, and 4.5 over Kansas City.... Tampa still has a death grip on last place, at 43-92, but they've been winning lately, getting their percentage up over .300, much to my dismay. September 5-7 vs DETROIT Former division leaders have struggled of late, and went through August 11-18. They've steadied some, but find themselves in fourth, 4 games behind the Twins. Third in runs scored, and second in home runs, so the lineup is more than pulling its weight. But they're 12th in runs against, with the rotation having the bigger troubles, as exemplified by $23M guy Matthew Freeman and his 6.61 ERA and .375 BABIP. He's now in the bullpen. As we still have the #1 offense, this could be a high scoring series. HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (10-10, 5.85) / Mike Messinger (0-0, 3.00) / Eric Jones (14-3, 2.81) DET pitchers: Alex Gomez (7-7, 4.55) / Alex de la Roca (11-7, 4.07) / Raul Bravo (9-9, 5.21) #137: LOSS 3-8 ... Hullinger hits his 40th, but Hart is just bogus and Saez just as bad out of the pen...Jesse Henkel, hitting .314 in his recent callup, gets hurt b/c of course he does #138: LOSS 6-8 ... so if we hold them to 8 runs again tomorrow, and score 3 more runs like we did today, then we'll win one of these damn games #139: LOSS 4-8 ... a six-run tenth inning. Yep, not a misprint...Kieffer's meltdown ruins Jones' good outing Say goodbye to Lorenzo Saez, who can't get anyone out and will get to sail off into the sunset in AAA. Funny that he just asked me for a raise to 1.2M for next year. Funny, as in not so funny. Evan Larkins and Chris Mayer come up from KC because misery loves company.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland is now back into single digits behind us, at 8.5 games.... San Diego's Magic Number is now 12, the lowest in MLB. September 9-11 @ MINNESOTA It's back to the road, starting in Minnesota and the division-leading Twins. We're 15 games better than they are, so I expect no less than two or three ugly losses. Hitting is 2nd/3rd/4th in most categories, and pitching is nearly as good (bullpen is the best in the AL), backed by the best defense in the league. Peanuts Carter has been great (.334/34/105), and Steve Wilkins has slowed way down from his amazing start, but is still churning along at .289/23/81. It still amazes me that they're looking at a -67M dollar balance, with a player payroll that exceeds their alloted budget by 36M. HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (20-4, 2.36) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-6, 5.06) / Rob Hart (10-11, 6.04) MIN pitchers: Chris Kruse (9-9, 4.30) / Chris Varo (12-5, 3.91) / Ben Martin (6-8, 5.55) #140: LOSS 2-7 ... Casillas loses, putting a damper on our hopes for the rest of the week #141: LOSS 1-5 ... losing streak reaches six games, and Piccirillo gives up double figures in hits for the billionth time #142: WIN 5-2 ... well, well, well...Hart shows up, Hunter nears 50 doubles on the season, and Groff hits #27 I guess I need to remember, as I start to despair for our post-season hopes, that I did say way back in April that I knew we would hit but we would live and die with our pitching. As our pitching has declined, so has our winning percentage. Pretty simple, really.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland just 7.5 games out now. Montreal has tied the Cubs. Boston just one in back of Baltimore. Minnesota clinging to a game lead over Cleveland, 1.5 over Detroit. PENNANT CHASE FEVER!... Toronto has smacked 235 home runs, closing in on a top-3 all-time number (still far behind Miami's outrageous 290 dingers from 2037). September 13-15 @ MILWAUKEE Battling hard in the Central, just 2.5 games in arrears, and also 2 games out in the wildcard standings. Mediocre hitting (10th in runs, 11th in average), but solid pitching (5th in runs) and fielding (3rd). We'll face the top of their rotation, so we'll see if we can wake up our bats. Fun fact: Bill Salazar, a prized free agent from two winters ago, has been riddled with injuries and just not worth his $18.8M annual cabbage. He's only 30, but his ratings have already started to drop, and his starts over the last four years number 16, 0, 24, 24. He's out for the season, naturally. HAW "pitchers": Mike Messinger (0-1, 5.63) / Eric Jones (14-3, 2.80) / Leon Casillas (20-5, 2.49) MIL pitchers: Nick Shockley (12-10, 3.71) / Brandon Jarmon (7-5, 3.22) / Tim Pinksen (5-1, 4.02) #143: LOSS 5-6 ... Hunter gets his 50th double, and Messinger proves he's definitely not ready for the bigs...Martinez gets a dtd injury, surprise surprise #144: WIN 18-10 ... snort...pity the smug Brewers with a 10-4 lead going into the 8th, watching us pile 14 runs on them over the next two innings...hell, it stunned me too #145: LOSS 2-8 ... c'mon, Leon, you're the only thing keeping me alive right now. Don't do this to me. We continue our mission to make every Central team look good, and to give the A's hope for the division title. Our lead is down to 5.5 games, and I'm scouring local fast-pitch softball leagues for starting pitchers now.... Next it's back to Hawaii for our final home series of the season.... ELSEWHERE: Bah, nothing to report. The hell with them all.