[Bub13]

September 16-18 vs SEATTLE
Once in the hunt for the wildcard, those hopes were dashed by a 9-14 July and the utter horror of a 6-22 August. (Hey, we feel your pain, Seattle.) Now playing out the string at 71-75, their hitting has pretty much disintegrated (16th in runs), but their pitching (7th) is still pretty good. Not much to report here, except for my hope to regain some positive momentum before we head off to Oakland.

HAW pitchers: Bobby Piccirillo (8-7, 5.14) / Rob Hart (11-11, 5.84) / Mike Messinger (0-2, 8.03)
SEA pitchers: Ruben Alvarado (8-12, 4.42) / Amir Farland (11-13, 4.19) / Aaron Myers (15-7, 2.42)

#146: WIN 6-4 ... ok, nice start...two first-inning home runs and one in the second give us a lead we don't relinquish...Piccirillo continues to play with my heart
#147: WIN 9-7 ... Kieffer tries to blow it again, but Hullinger's three-run shot in the ninth gives us the walk off win, clinching a playoff berth
#148: WIN 6-0 ... where has this been all month? Messinger is gold, yielding 3 hits over 7.1 innings...two more homers for us and Dunklee reaches 100 RBI

Well this came out of nowhere, didn't it? And we do clinch the playoffs, but Oakland also swept their series, and so remain 5.5 games behind us. We get them next.... Our defense is tanking too, down to 13th in overall efficiency. We've been top 5 most of the season, so this hurts.... ELSEWHERE: While we're the first team to clinch a post-season spot, others are getting close: the Mets and Padres both have Magic Numbers at 5, and Oakland is 10.5 games up in the wildcard race, pretty much clinching their berth as well.... Tampa is now 47-100, reaching 100 losses for the fifth time in their history.


September 19-21 @ OAKLAND
Here we go: the series that could make or break our season. I think we need at least two wins if we're going to hold them off. They're 13-3 this month, and have given up more than 4 runs in a game only three times, all losses. Our work is cut out for us.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (14-3, 2.97) / Leon Casillas (20-6, 2.54) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-7, 5.04)
OAK pitchers: Tom DiFranco (16-9, 3.95) / Mario Martinez (6-6, 3.62) / Jesse Squire (6-1, 2.16)

#149: LOSS 5-6 ... Jones is strong, but the pen throws it away in the 10th...plus! Hunter hits his 52nd double, then goes out for a month. Yes!...4.5 games up
#150: LOSS 3-8 ... the Casillas mojo is gone again, lasting just 5 innings and taking the loss...plus! Groff gets hit by a pitch, diagnosis pending. Yes!...3.5 games up
#151: LOSS 2-3 ... we spare everyone our usual 9th inning collapse by doing it in the 8th this time...Groff's injury is just minor, but does it matter?...2.5 games up

Disaster. How else to describe it? Swept by our closest competitor, and our lead is nearly gone. Were we really up by double digits just a couple weeks ago? I really can't remember.... Not sure what to try next; lineup tinkering hasn't helped, and lately when we do hit, our pitching disappears. The only possible light here is that we close the season against the dregs of our division. If we blow it completely against Houston, Texas, and LA, then we deserve whatever we get.... ELSEWHERE: KC is pretty much out of the hunt in the Central now, falling to seven back with eleven games to go. In the NL, Portland has risen to second in the West, and while they won't catch the Padres, they're in the hunt for the second wildcard spot.


September 22-25 @ HOUSTON
These four games we MUST win (Oakland has four against the terrible Angels). Houston's hitting, pitching, and fielding are all pretty bad, so we need to make book here. They're 61-91, so looking at a top five draft pick next year, at least.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (11-11, 5.79) / Mike Messinger (1-2, 5.03) / Eric Jones (14-3, 3.05) / Leon Casillas (20-7, 2.68)
HOU pitchers: Jonathan Caldera (11-12, 4.19) / Jason Ray (11-12, 5.18) / Josh Singleton (2-9, 4.93) / Jay Russo (9-12, 4.17)

#152: WIN 8-4 ... Kieffer sh*its all over the 9th inning, but we somehow manage 4 in the 10th to pull out the win...Hart is strawng for 8 innings, for once
#153: WIN 7-4 ... four more home runs pace the attack and the bullpen is only mildly awful...Groff (.371) and Robertson (.372) are battling for the batting crown, btw
#154: WIN 7-3 ... Wiggins comes off the DL with a double and a homer...Groff takes the lead over Robertson...Collins sprains his ankle, is dtd for a month. He has to play.
#155: WIN 8-2 ... Groff with four hits, and Casillas is back with 8.1 innings of 6-hit pitching...Hullinger hits a GRAND SLAM in the first too

We did our part, and LA took their last against Oakland to end the A's 13-game winning streak and give us a 3.5 game lead.... I lost count, but I think we hit 40 or so homers against the Astros.... ELSEWHERE: Now it's Milwaukee's turn to lead the Central, as they're tied with Minnesota, and both are five up on Cleveland. Baltimore has a--wait for it--3-game lead over Boston, and the Cubs have pulled out to 4 games over Cincy, 4.5 over Montreal. The Padres and Mets have clinched their divisions, and Oakland has also clinched a playoff spot.... SD's Julio Gonzalez looks strong to win the NL Triple Crown, but Porland's Mat Quadrini now has 51 HR, just 5 behind.


September 26-29 @ TEXAS
I thought the Rangers might compete for a playoff spot this year (so did MLB), but they never got on track, and are now 74-81. Not awful, but another disappointing year. They steal a lot of bases, and their bullpen has been pretty solid, but there's little else to report for the Rangers. They're also openly feuding, especially pitchers Jamie Bell (ex-Isles flameout) and Edgar Ulloa, who both think they should be in the rotation despite showing very little talent for pitching at the big league level.

HAW pitchers: Bobby Piccirillo (8-8, 4.95) / Rob Hart (11-11, 5.64) / Mike Messinger (2-2, 4.74) / Eric Jones (15-3, 3.07)
TEX pitchers: Mike Rath (10-14, 4.79) / Danny Powers (11-12, 4.85) / B.J. Nault (7-16, 5.12) / Seth Purdy (7-11, 4.92)

#156: LOSS 2-8 ... Piccs strains his brain and may miss his next start. I won't miss it...lead at 2.5 games
#157: WIN 11-4 ... Hart is okay, really just okay, and we score 9 runs in the sixth and seventh to seal the deal...Oakland loses, lead now 3.5 games
#158: LOSS 0-5 ... Groff with two more hits, but Messinger is bad again and we only manage six hits...Oakland loses again, lead still 3.5 games, Magic # is now ONE
#159: LOSS 6-11 ... seriously, guys, SERIOUSLY. Oakland inactive.

Not cool at all, although it's only SLIGHTLY mitigated by Oakland dropping two out of three to LA. Our lead is now three games heading into the final weekend of the season. ONE WIN is all it will take.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore leads Boston by a game, and the Yankees (!) by three; Minnesota is also up by one over Milwaukee, three over Cleveland and Detroit; the Cubs are up by three over Cincy, and five teams (Cincy, Montreal, Richmond, Arizona, and Portland) are in the running for the two wild card spots.


September 30, October 1-2 @ LA ANGELS
Can we please get ****ing healthy against these losers?

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (21-7, 2.66) / Bobby Piccirillo (8-9, 5.07) / Rob Hart (12-11, 5.57)
LAA pitchers: Dean Jernigan (14-10, 3.82) / Jeff Caraway (9-12, 4.37) / Fred Caviness (6-13, 6.92)

#160: WIN 10-3 ... Casillas is a beautiful man, giving us the division FINALLY...Hullinger pops his 50th, a team first...but tempering the fun is Wiggins' injury
#161: WIN 6-3 ... Piccirillo teases again with 8 quality innings...Groff with 3 hits and an RBI, now at 99 on the year
#162: WIN 7-5 ... Hart still blows chunks, but we're back to pounding hits with regularity, including Martinez's two HR

Well that feels better. We end up at 105-57, five games up on Oakland, tying San Diego for second best record overall.... The bad news is that Wiggins breaks his foot and is out for the playoffs, no matter how far we go. We may end up short handed on our playoff roster thanks to all these injuries.... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee takes two of three against Minnesota: they're tied, and will go to a one game playoff. Loser is out, since Boston won their last four to take the final wild card spot. Baltimore wins the East.... In the NL, Cincinnati and Montreal take the wild card spots, and NY, Chicago, and San Diego take their divisions. UPDATE: Milwaukee takes the playoff, 5-1, and Minnesota goes home disappointed. I'm not sure Milwaukee ever led the division by themselves until after this game.