[Bub13]

June 10-12 @ MONTREAL
Our passports are in order as we're off to Montreal for another round of interleague play. The Expos are 29-35, 10 games out of first, but are 7-3 in their last ten. They're scoring a lot of runs (2nd in NL), but are giving them up in bunches (14th) as well. Interesting tho that their run diff is zero (306/306). As usual, 3B Matt Anderson is leading the offense (.323/20/59), with support from SS Bobby Moore (.261/13/50). 1B Luis Ruiz has 14 HR, but is on the DL for two more weeks. Pitching has been a strong suit for the Expos for years, but free agency has gutted the rotation. Ruben Villasenor has been their best pitcher by far, in his 11th year, but will probably be leaving as well this fall. Michael Ryan is the manager, in his 11th year with the team. Reports say the team is 'content,' but rumors say that he's lost the locker room, and the team leaders have tuned him out. Finances and Futures: 24th budget, 23rd payroll. Owner T.J. Reid is also upset, with attendance down and his desire for profit going down the tubes. Prospects rank 33rd in the league, with top guy Nate Hart at #100. He looks to be average at best. Cuban 3B Frank Acevedo looks decent, with nice power, but brings nothing else.

HAW pitchers: Mike Messinger (8-1, 2.42) / Leon Casillas (9-2, 3.79) / Rob Hart (6-4, 5.83)
MTL pitchers: Ryan Sorrow (2-6, 5.27) / Dorian Zimmerman (3-2, 2.98) / Ruben Villasenor (6-3, 3.25)

#65: LOSS 0-3 ... Sorrow holds us to 3 H, outpitching Messinger's decent start
#66: WIN 6-0 ... our turn for the shutout: Casillas scatters 4 hits in a complete game, and Henkel drives in two more with a pair of hits
#67: WIN 10-0 ... yet another shutout, this time helped by Mercedes' four hits and four RBI...Hart has his best game of the year, but gets lifted in the 9th, oddly

Very nice, even the loss was well pitched, we just ran into a hot pitcher. I still don't understand why you pull the starting pitcher with 2 outs in the 9th in a 10-0 win. Who knows.... We're 47-20 now, 9.5 games up on Oakland.... With the win, Casillas is the first pitcher to reach 10 wins.... ELSEWHERE: Miami has made their usual early-summer run to the top of the AL East, which will shortly be followed by a gradual decline to somewhere around a .500 record.... Hot and Not: Portland 1B Mat Quadrini, two years removed from a 53 HR season, has been a disaster this year: batting .160 with 98 K in 237 AB. Our own Alexis Mercedes is batting .500 in his last ten games. Individual Spotlight: Expos 3B Matt Anderson, fresh off going 4-for-8 against us, has been a lights-out hitter for nearly a decade now. His career average is .330, and he's topped 200 hits each of the last six seasons, and also reached 50 HR in 2038. He'll be 33 in a month, so it'll be interesting to see how long he can keep it going. And to give you the full picture of the man, he's also one of the worst fielding 3B you'll ever see. He only makes about 10 errors a season, but that's because he's nearly immobile at the position. Plus, his ZR and EFF usually rank at or near the bottom each year. His hitting more than makes up for it, tho.


June 14-16 @ CHICAGO CUBS
Currently in last at 29-38, looking at possibly their first losing season since 2032. They're hitting a lot of home runs (89, 4th in the NL), but they're 13th in runs scored and 16th in runs against. Leadoff hitter Jordan Cruz (I talk about him all the time) is batting .113 with 82 K in 177 AB. WOW. 1B Willie Jaramillo has 105 K in 246 AB. At least LF Oscar Sandoval is present, batting .319/23/55, and 2B Mark Hoger is hitting .286. Closer Fernando Alameda is the only pitcher doing well so far, with a 2.25 ERA and 17 saves. Two former closers for us--Jack Shewmake and Jay Yates--are on the DL and haven't pitched at all this year. Alexis Lara is the first-year manager, in his first big league job (coming off two years managing Boston's DSL farm team). Finances and Futures: 2nd in budget and payroll, but staring at losing over $20M, which has owner Chris Woodrum worried. I'd be worried too, given the odd lineup choices his manager makes. Prospects rank 30th, with pitcher DJ Evans their top guy; but he's 26, in AAA, and out until September. Their #2 guy is a 25-year-old pitcher stuck in AA, so maybe ranking these guys #30 is being a bit generous.

HAW pitchers: Billy Heine (5-4, 6.15) / Eric Jones (7-2, 3.45) / Mike Messinger (8-2, 2.36)
CHC pitchers: Danny Zarate (3-5, 4.05) / Bryan Melstrom (4-6, 3.83) / Scott Kopetsky (4-5, 5.27)

#68: WIN 3-1 ... Groff's single in the 7th drives home the winning run...3 hits apiece for Robertson and Courtney, and 10 K in 6 IP for Heine
#69: WIN 3-2 ... Hunter is the hero tonight with a 5th-inning single to make the difference...Jones throws a strong 7, and five relievers close it out for the win
#70: LOSS 8-9 ... 3 runs in the 14th win the ga-- oh, 4-run bottom half kills the buzz, as Albring is hammered for the whole schmeer

Dang, almost had the sweep. The pen had been pitching much better of late too.... Still playing well, tho, now at 49-21, and about to get healthier: Groff and Dunklee's dtd injuries are done, and McArthur will be off the DL in two days.... Mercedes leads the AL with 4.3 WAR and 1.145 OPS.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn pitcher T.J. Bohanan has given up 2 ER in his last three starts, 20 IP.... Padres 2B Tony Solar leads with majors with a .370 average, including 25 doubles (and just 5 walks in 254 AB).... Hot and Not: the Mets have won four straight and pulled out a 4.5 game lead over Brooklyn in the NL East; Washington is 4-10 in June and has dropped to the bottom of the division. Cleveland is now at the bottom of the league barrel, on an 8-game losing streak and a record of 24-46.... Individual Spotlight: Twins 3B Paul Foster has been a fixture at third for ten seasons, a career .295 hitter averaging nearly 35 HR a season. He's on pace for his second consecutive 40-HR season and a 9.8 WAR, while batting .347. He also has just 4 doubles, and could be on the way to his second career season of single-digit doubles.


June 17-19 vs PITTSBURGH
The dynasty of the 2030s, the Pirates missed the playoffs for two seasons before rebounding with 91 wins last year. Currently they're 35-34, treading water and 6.5 games behind the Cardinals. Twelfth in runs scored and 7th in BA, but they're top three batters--Brendan Glenn, Mike Blough, and Jordan Shields, all perennial all-stars--are on the DL. CF Larry Kendall and two relief pitchers are also out. SS Danny Diaz (.265/14/47) is holding down the offense by himself right now. Pitching is 14th in the NL, with the bullpen faring worse than the rotation. No one is covering themselves in glory on the staff right now. David Wallace is the fourth-year manager, and he's not making dynasty-desiring owner Robert Nutting happy. Not at all. Finances and Futures: 25th in budget, 18th highest payroll, and on pace to lose nearly $20M. Prospects rank dead last, 36th. SP Robert Montoya ranks 108th, but looks to have a decent future. 3B D.J. Flores looks real: great contact and power, decent in the field, and great intangibles. One to watch. (Although I'd also love to see pitcher Sincere Brown take off and become a decent big leaguer.)

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (10-2, 3.44) / Rob Hart (7-4, 5.31) / Billy Heine (6-4, 5.83)
PIT pitchers: Mike Flynn (4-6, 4.34) / Franklin Sanchez (3-2, 4.46) / Daniel White (5-2, 3.82)

#71: WIN 10-5 ... three HR for guys named Diaz (one for our Guillermo, two for their Danny)...Casillas goes 7, wins his 11th
#72: LOSS 1-5 ... Hart throws a complete game: why?...two hits and an RBI for Dunklee, no one else shows up
#73: WIN 7-6 ... the bullpen tries hard to blow it, giving up NINE hits and four runs late...what doofus lets two relievers stay in while the other five sit and watch?

I don't manage the games, so maybe I should keep my trap shut, but bullpen management this year has been atrocious. Why have seven guys available if you're going to just go with one guy until he blows your game for you? That last game was ugly all around: three errors, and outhit 15-11. Only four XBH in a crazy six-run sixth won it.... Sigh. At 51-22 I should just shut up. It's not in my nature to be perfectly happy, tho.... ELSEWHERE: Cleveland fired manager Jose Jimenez after a 24-48 start. He was in his fifth season, and had done little with the team after guiding them to 91 wins his rookie year of 2037. His replacement is Jose "Who?" Ariza last seen as the pitching coach of the Grand Junction Rockies in the Pioneer League, two years ago.... Hot and Not: The Cardinals have lost six straight, dropping their lead over Cincy to four games.... Another look-in at Padres pitcher Gary Florence, NL Mr Cy Young Two-Years-Running: after a 1-3/4.64 April, here are his stats in his ten starts since: 7-1, 76 IP, 48 H, 87 K, 3 BB. Yes, THREE WALKS IN 76 INNINGS. Who does that?.... Individual Spotlight: 1B Benjamin Worley was signed as an international free agent in the spring of 2038 by the Rangers. He was 31 and coming off an amazing nine-year run in Japanese ball where he was MVP six times, a six-time Glove Wizard winner, among others. He had seasons of 81, 76, 69, and 68 home runs. He was supposed to be the cornerstone of a rebuild in Texas, yet was traded to Milwaukee by the all-star break, for two no-hoper prospects. Since playing in 129 games his rookie season, he's been in 98, 84, and 37 games (this year). Yesterday he suffered a broken elbow and his done for the year. He's hit 85 HR in 348 games since coming back to the bigs, but to say he's been a disappointment would be a major understatement. Milwaukee dropped from 91 wins in '39 to 71 last year, and despite sitting at 42-30 right now, losing Worley will have to hurt their chances moving forward.