[Bub13]

May 16-18 vs CINCINNATI
A game out of first in the Central, at 21-17, just behind St Louis. Third in runs scored, and sixth against, for a +27 advantage. Eight players are on the DL--including three top relievers--and they're still humming along. Former Isle Jack Shewmake was the closer until his arm exploded a week ago; now it's up to Former Islander Steve Miller. Manager Dan Remenowsky is now in year 15 with the team; he took them to a game away from the World Series in 2042, where they haven't been since 1990.

HAW pitchers: Jonathan Murray (1-1, 5.73) / Ryuma Sato (4-1, 1.81) / Rob Hart (3-4, 4.78)
CIN pitchers: Brandon Jarmon (1-2, 5.52) / Jon Carlsen (1-4, 4.53) / Juan Valdez (6-0, 2.52)

#39: WIN 6-4 ... trailing 3-2 in the 3rd, J.Hart parks a GRAND SLAM to give us the lead and the win...Murray goes 8, Yaung gets his 7th save
#40: WIN 3-2 ... Masuda homers and singles home another, and J.Hart doubles home one...2 more hits for Simmons, now batting .377...Sato fans 8 in 8.2 IP
#41: WIN 10-3 ... 6 H, 8 K complete game for Hart...18 hits for us, everyone gets in on the act...3 RBI for Masuda, up to 43 on the season

Only one sour note out of this sweet series, and that's another injury (pending) to Stoneback. What a nightmare his first season in Hawaii has been: batting .145 in 20 games, with one HR, an injury in spring training, and now this.... Joseph Hart has gone nuts and is currently batting .366; Jim Klein .345.... Minor league middle infielders are dropping like flies, so I sign free agent Danny Boss and send him to AAA. He's a former Portland prospect who saw 22 games with the Pioneers back in 2039, but spent the last few seasons in Japan and Mexico. If our season goes well, you'll never hear about him again.... ELSEWHERE: White Sox RF Justin Haynes has had a hot month and is batting .400, the last of his kind this season. He's riding a 15-game hitting streak too.... The top four teams in the AL West are on win streaks of 6, 5, 5, and 4 games. The bottom two have lost 6 and 5 games straight.... Richmond's new manager is former Yankees (et al) pitcher Phil Hughes, last seen during a 5-year stint leading the A ball Lake Elsinore Storm to a total of zero playoff appearances. Oh, and he's been unemployed for two years. This will work out just fine.


May 20-22 @ NEW ORLEANS
It's been a tough go of things this season for the defending NL champs, currently bringing the absolute rear in baseball at 15-26. It shouldn't be a surprise, I suppose, given that 4/5 of their league-best rotation left via free agency, and their two free agent additions from the off-season are injured. Batting is limping along in 15th place, while the pitchers have gamely soldiered on and sport the 5th best runs against in the NL. They have a +10 run differential, so something's going right.

HAW pitchers: Mike Messinger (5-0, 2.60) / Eric Jones (2-2, 4.22) / Jonathan Murray (2-1, 5.21)
NOZ pitchers: Justin Ross (2-3, 2.16) / Danny Ruiz (1-1, 5.12) / Steve Jenson (0-4, 4.05)

#42: WIN 4-2 ... pitchers duel, as both starters go 8 innings...3 H, R, RBI for Robertson, and a 2-run pinch-HR for Wright
#43: WIN 5-3 ... 2-run HR for Klein is the key hit...Jones goes 7 IP and adds an RBI double for good measure
#44: WIN 5-4 ... another pinch HR for Wright, and a pair of doubles for Simmons...a 4-run 7th turns the game around

Now a 9-game winning streak, but as Oakland's gone 8-2 recently, we've gained just one game (a 5.5 lead).... Stoneback is diagnosed with a broken hand, and will miss 5-6 weeks. We call up 27-year-old IF/OF Roberto Mendez to fill his spot. Mendez can't hit, but he's fast and an excellent fielder across the board.... At 32-12, we're the first team to reach 30 wins, and are now first in offense and pitching, with a +91 run diff.... ELSEWHERE: Texas has lost 9 straight, blowing a nice start to the season; New Orleans is up to 8 straight losses.... Justin Haynes is now batting .411, with an 18-game hit streak.


May 23-25 vs BALTIMORE
Kind of spinning their tires at 20-24, but just 5.5 games out in a tight division. Decent hitting, 6th in offense, with three batters hitting between .365 and .329...but a bunch of guys who aren't pulling their weight are bringing them down. That includes a league-worst bullpen, crimping the style of the 6th-best rotation. Just a +1 run diff, so they have been truly middling. I'm still hoping my favorite O's prospect, pitcher Kyle Hoots, will make the big time one day: he's in AAA right now.

HAW pitchers: Ryuma Sato (5-1, 1.85) / Rob Hart (4-4, 4.52) / Mike Messinger (6-0, 2.42)
BAL pitchers: Mario Valdez (4-2, 5.51) / Jonathan Bell (2-3, 3.74) / Hugo Tirado (2-3, 4.60)

#45: LOSS 3-8 ... first bad outing for Sato, as he's hammered late, giving up 3 HR...2 doubles and a HR for Cannon, but his output was pretty much it
#46: WIN 6-5 ... Small ball! A single, two sac bunts, a walk, and a sac fly score the winning run in the 10th...Dan "Code" Brown throws a strong 3.1 IP in relief
#47: WIN 10-5 ... two 1st inning 2-run HR get us started, and it's 10-0 before the O's score in the 7th...2 HR for Cannon, and six players get 2+ hits

The win streak comes to an end, but we're still 9-1 in our last ten. But so is Oakland, and they've gained a game on us, now just 4.5 back.... Infielders are endangered in our system: AAA, four injured; AA, two; A, two more. At least four guys who played in short A or rookie ball are in AA or AAA now, and we've added two minor league free agents to boot. It's just not safe anywhere.... ELSEWHERE: Eleven losses in a row for New Orleans now, as depression sets in. And 12 for Texas, ugh.... Strikeout King extraordinaire SS Jordan Cruz is third in the NL with 64 whiffs in 166 AB, but at least he's hitting .229 (20 points higher than his career average) with some power. His partner at 2B, however, is Jonathan Salas, who is suffering through the horror of fanning 70 times in his 143 AB, while batting a puny .133. If you're keeping track at home, that's a middle infield with 134 K through 48 games. Outstanding!


May 27-29 @ TAMPA BAY
Last year's 91-win season is starting to look like an aberration: 21-25 this season, and 7 losing seasons broken up only by last season's party. Although...they're 10th in runs, and 6th in pitching, with a +14 differential and a solid defense, so perhaps a turnaround is only a matter of time. 1B Toby Difazio is having a nice season, .318/13/39, and has been an under-the-radar star for several seasons now, averaring 30 HR and 90+ RBI. They also made quite a splash signing three quality SP in the off-season, but lost star Robbie Collier--signed from Cincinnati--last week, for the season. C'est la vie.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (3-2, 4.18) / Jonathan Murray (3-1, 5.00) / Ryuma Sato (5-2, 2.34)
TBR pitchers: Bill Casas (4-4, 4.61) / Jeff Caraway (1-5, 6.31) / Gabe Ray (2-5, 3.07)

#48: WIN 9-3 ... 4 hits each for Robertson and Wright, and 4 RBI for Cannon...win for Jones (6 IP, 2 ER) and a 3-inning stint for Archila in relief...1B Masuda hurt
#49: WIN 4-1 ... 11 K in 6.2 IP for Murray, and a double and HR for Cannon, with two more RBI
#50: WIN 11-8 ... tied 4-4 after 9, then 6-6 after 10, then 5 in the top of the 16th countered by just 2 for the Rays...Klump makes 2 errors, hits a HR in his debut

Sweep! Very nice.... Masuda sprains his ankle in the first game, will miss 5-6 weeks. Jonathan Klump, hitting .400 in AAA, takes his place on the roster. He's a lefty but will only bat against right handers for now. Gooding will play first against southpaws.... In better news, Groff will come off the DL in three days.... AAA Santa Barbara has turned things around after a 3-8 April, going 18-6 so far in May.... ELSEWHERE: The Rangers were feeling pretty good after a 10-5 start to the season. Since then, everything's gone wrong, and their current record of 18-31 has resulted in the not-unexpected firing of manager Drew Saylor. In his 14th season with the Rangers, 12th as manager, Saylor had never guided the club to a winning record, but was still popular with his players. No word yet on his replacement.... ChiSox' Justin Haynes (.403) and Seattle's Alex Cruz (.400) are battling for the AL batting lead. Cruz is also leading in HR, OPS, and WAR.... New Orleans is still suffering, at the bottom of the league standings at 17-33.


May 30-31 @ MIAMI
At 28-23, and atop the East by one over Boston and another half over the Yankees. Offense and defense are both 10th, with an equal number of runs for and against. Defending AL Cy Young winner Levi Brady is having a down year, and stud 3B Sergio Torres is batting .303/19/40, but for Richmond in the NL. The offense is noticing the loss.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (4-4, 4.72) / Mike Messinger (7-0, 2.71)
MIM pitchers: Jake Marker (3-3, 4.96) / Pete Burke (3-4, 4.77)

#51: LOSS 5-9 ... booooo...Hart, Stanley, and Masuda all pitch poorly, but it's a close game until Miami scores 3 in the 8th
#52: WIN 8-5 ... a 3-run 13th, sparked by Little's 2-run HR, pushes us over the top...4 hits for Robertson, 2 doubles (15 on the season) for Simmons

At least we close out the month with a thrilling win, after that disgusting loss.... We end May first in offense (313 runs), and first in pitching (210 runs against, 1st in starter's and bullpen ERA). Team defense is even up, currently placing 4th.... Personal stats-wise, Sato is 2nd in AL ERA, while Messinger leads in strikeouts and wins. Hart is second in Ks. Groff has dropped off the batting list due to his injury, but his .381 average would place him third. He's back and healthy tomorrow.... ELSEWHERE: AL batters Haynes and Cruz had their 24- and 21-game hitting streaks ended, and have dropped below .400.... Pittsburgh (8 losses in a row) and Boston (7) are the current cold squads, while Hawaii (8-2), Oakland (7-3), and Baltimore (7-3) are hot.... Richmond's Sergio Torres is the first batter to 20 HR, and Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga leads baseball with 52 RBI.... Texas has named T.J. Chism its new manager. Chism has just a few minor league seasons under his belt, and after just a few games at the helm, most of his players are less than thrilled with him already. Good stuff.

......

TL;DR Version: A nice little 12-2 blitz over the last half of the month, vaulting us to the top of the league standings. For the whole month, we went 22-7. A couple of injuries--Stoneback and Masuda--have marred the picture a bit, but so far their replacements have been more than adequate. Groff, however, comes back at the first of the month. And former top prospect pitcher Taylor Barnett will begin his latest rehab stint later in the week, and hopefully can regain something that made him a 1st round draft pick and find a place on our staff eventually. I'm not sanguine.