[Bub13]

Thirteen more games will finish out April, including the start of a series against the--now say this slowly--division leading Houston Astros. Crazy. Sen Masuda takes home Player of the Week honors, for going 10-for-22 with 6 HR and 13 RBI. He's working hard for that contract extension. Oh, and this...

Trade! I can't stop! This is another minor one, however, so don't get all worked up. Finding ourselves with 14 pitchers on the AAA staff, someone had to go. So we send RP Brad Hake and IF Dave Eriksson (and a low pick) to the Mets for SS Mike Hoover. Hake was acquired from Boston a few years back but never developed like I hoped. He may get a shot with NY. Eriksson is an average hitter, but a good fielding and running 2B. Both of them are at least AAA or AAAA guys. Hoover is not the greatest hitter, but is a really slick fielder (love the name) at all three "skill" infield positions. I didn't have a true SS at AAA; now I do. And there's a possibility we might get Xin-tou Fa back from Brooklyn (we lost him in the Rule 5 draft). He's on the DL for a few more days, but I'd be surprised if they kept his weak bat around. [Narrator voice: They do keep him.]

April 16-18 vs OAKLAND
The A's have started slow, at 4-9, and aren't hitting yet (18th in runs). Pitching has been better, but still ranks 11th overall, for a -20 run differential. They've let some solid talent walk in the last couple of years, and right now the holdovers and replacements aren't getting it done. Catcher Alex Contreras and DH Chris Bateman are the only newbies in the lineup, but they're journeymen at best. And SP Jacob Wood is another journeyman, and at 35, not a long-term answer. The bullpen is 11th in ERA, but should get better, considering the gaggle of expensive, high-stuff guys they have in there. They've also stolen just one base this year, for what that's worth. Manager: Robert Woodard (15th season, with only one losing record!). Owner: Lewis Wolff, Jr., who is understanding and generous. He may need to be this year.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (1-1, 3.86) / Tim Pinksen (2-0, 1.13) / Taylor Barnett (1-1, 1.38)
OAK pitchers: Jacob Wood (0-1, 5.93) / John Herr (1-0, 3.94) / Mike Wiater (1-2, 2.91)

#13: LOSS 5-8 ... we bungle our way to giving up 8 runs on just 6 hits...nine walks--NINE--don't help either...only 33K come out to see us play our big rivals
#14: WIN 5-3 ... ok, better...Stoneback pops his 5th HR, and Pinksen goes 8, fans 5, gives up 6 H...Klump goes 3-for-4, two doubles
#15: WIN 8-7 ... was a tame 3-3 tie until we score 5 in the 7th, and they get 4 in the 8th...14 walks combined tonight...Klein knocks in 4...Barnett gets the win

Never complain about winning two out of three. Never.... Having said that, our pitching needs a jolt, and fast. One small change happens in the off day after the series: we send down RP Ben Germann (6 G, 7.88 ERA, 8 BB in 8 IP) and bring up Jonathan Murray, with his rehab stint ending. Murray wants to start, but will go into middle/long relief for now.... Trainer Jordan Villalobos updates me on Ryan Ratliff: uncertain return date. He's eligible to be activated, but can't play. Yippee.... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee's Jay Russo fanned 16 Tigers for his first win on the season; that's a league high for 2046 so far too. His teammate Robbie Collier is hothothot: 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA.... Houston is still pacing the league, with a 13-3 record. Seven other teams have reached double figures; we are not one of them.... NYY 2B Jon Diaz went quiet against us, but is hot again and leads the AL with 9 HR and 22 RBI.


April 20-22 @ TORONTO
Still rebuilding, the once-feared Blue Jays are on a run of five seasons without making the playoffs. Currently they sit at 5-9, and like Oakland, aren't hitting. Fifteenth in runs scored, but 8th in home runs (thanks to 7 from newbie Paul Foster). Pitching is better, at 5th, giving them a mere -5 run differential. The rotation has been wobbly, but no one is really struggling (take note, Rob Hart). You already know about Jordan Cruz (18 K now in 46 AB!), but the Jays also feature several former Islanders: Malik Chaney is their #5 starter, and the closer is original Islander Raleigh Vance. RF Justin Beeman made his debut with us way back in '42. None of them are truly hideous players, but none are really moving the needle any right now. Oh, and the GM is former Isle assistant GM Jason Knauss, in his fifth season of largely undistinguished work. This is only their second home series of the season. Manager: Ji-young Lee, in his second season, first as manager. Owner: Jody Patterson, a demanding economizer who wants EXTREME profit. He's getting it, but not much else as yet.

HAW pitchers: Rob "Me Again?" Hart (0-1, 10.29) / Shamar Jackson (0-0, 5.73) / Eric Jones (1-1, 5.21)
TOR pitchers: Joe Erkel (1-0, 5.40) / Daniel Becker (1-1, 4.50) / Malik Chaney (0-1, 5.65)

#16: LOSS 4-5 ... RHart gives up 4 runs in 5 IP, so his ERA went down...then he gets hurt...we score 3 late runs to make this look close, but get only four hits, two of them HR
#17: LOSS 3-6 ... we give up just 6 hits, but hand out 6 walks...Jackson is pretty bad tonight...2 hits for Simmons, breaking out of a slump, and 3 for Groff (now batting .348)
#18: WIN 5-1 ... Jones stops the bleeding, his usual quiet way: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 K...Davila is struggling, but knocks one out tonight; Masuda adds one as well

Blargh. We're not pitching well right now, and the hitting is off and on. While I feel the batters will come around, I'm having my doubts about this staff.... Rob Hart threw better--if you call 4 runs in 5 IP "better"--but then went on the DL for two weeks. Shamar Jackson threw another poor game, and clearly needs more seasoning. So what do you do? Make another trade! This time, we send AA pitcher Corey Graulich to the White Sox for veteran Khalil Palmer. Graulich has big stuff and decent control, but little movement. Palmer, 31, is not a long-term solution, but he's got good stuff, keeps the ball down, and can also hit! Win-win.... In addition, we send down Jackson, bring up RP Nick Kramer, and move Jonathan Murray back into the rotation.... ELSEWHERE: Houston has lost 3 in a row, making them 13-6 and giving up the top overall spot to 14-4 Milwaukee and Baltimore.... Texas is 7-3 in their last ten, and Seattle--a team I thought would contend--has backslid to a 6-14 mark.... Baltimore's Justin Singleton, really an afterthough signing who's earning league minimum, now leads the AL with 11 HR, and is 2nd with 22 RBI.... Milwaukee's Robbie Collier now has four starts and an ERA under 1.... John Arrington (ATL) leads the NL in hitting at .468, but is injured for 3 weeks. Seriously, this guy is going to miss out on a Hall of Fame career because of injuries, I guarantee.


April 23-25 @ MIAMI
The Marlins are 7-10, but winners of four straight. Hitting is 16th, and pitching is crazy: the rotation is 17th in ERA, the bullpen 1st. It still means a -15 run differential. New DH Cole Ferrara hit 21 HR in Boston last year, but has zero this year. Probably part of why they're dead last in AL home runs, with 14. And injuries have already hit hard, with six players on the DL. Manager: Ruben Medina, in his 1st year (was bench coach last season). Owner: Dusty Means--a great name for a money guy--who manages to be both unmerciful and charitable, like an ancient god.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (3-0, 1.88) / Taylor Barnett (2-1, 2.25) / Khalil Palmer (2-0, 3.18)
MIA pitchers: Pete Burke (0-2, 9.20) / Alex Gomez (0-2, 5.12) / Matt Rubin (0-1, 8.00)

#19: WIN 8-4 ... Davila strokes a 3-run HR in a big 6th inning, also walks 3 times...Pinksen only lasts 6.1, gives up all 4 runs, but improves to 4-0
#20: WIN 9-2 ... Barnett impresses again, going the distance and allowing 4 hits...Groff knocks in 2 with a double and HR, 2 RBI also for Stoneback
#21: WIN 8-4 ... Stoneback and JHart homer, and we ride 11 hits and 6 walks to a road sweep...Palmer lasts just 5.2 in his Hawaii debut, but is good enough for the win

That was a pleasant surprise. The sweep boosts us to 13-8, and a game and a half behind the surprising Astros.... No injuries this series, either.... Palmer looked okay in his debut; Pinksen was fair, but still won, and Barnett looked pretty sharp. Nice to see guys going all out in this crisis.... One brick in next year's lineup is set: we extended 2B J.J. Simmons for 10 years and 158M. He'll make 8M next year, then it jumps to 12.5 and then 17 per season. He has a player opt out after 2052, and a team option after that. He's not hitting yet this year, but this is a weight off my shoulders. Now to decide about Stoneback and Masuda. And Pinksen lets it be known that he'll take a 2-year, 8M per extension. Not so sure about that yet.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland is the league's new bottom-dweller at 7-15. Four other teams have also won just 7 games.... Milwaukee and Baltimore have ridden hot streaks to 17-4 and 16-5 records, respectively.... Reds star Jose Tavares has his hitting streak stopped at 26 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White (.442/7/18) is the first player to 2.0 WAR.


April 27-29 vs BOSTON
At 8-13 and just a half game out of the AL East basement. They're not hitting well (9th in runs, 11th in AVG), and not getting high-quality pitching (11th in ERA, but 2nd best bullpen). Run differential is zero, so they may have more under the hood than is showing right now. Big free agent signee Josh Wall had 34 HR in Arizona last year, but just 4 this year. Several other big guns haven't hit many out yet either. Manager: Sean Ochinko (1st year, after 3 seasons as NYY bench coach). Popular 17-year skipper Kris Harvey was not renewed. Owner: Matthew Zunker, a tolerant economizer.

HAW pitchers: Jonathan Murray (0-0, 0.00) / Eric Jones (2-1, 4.15) / Tim Pinksen (4-0, 2.67)
BOS pitchers: Joe Koval (2-0, 3.63) / Octavio Corona (0-2, 6.38) / John Sutton (1-2, 7.97)

#22: LOSS 2-9 ... Murray is hit hard early, pulled after just 4...we outhit them, put two more runners on base, but you can see that score
#23: WIN 8-1 ... Jones is huge tonight: just 2 K and only 1 hit allowed, complete game...and that one hit was the leadoff batter...3 hits for Groff
#24: WIN 4-2 ... just 12 hits combined, with JHart winning by himself with a 2B, HR, and 3 RBI...Pinksen goes 7 IP, fans 7 and gives up just 4 hits

Somehow we scratch out 2 more wins. The pasted-together rotation continues to impress for the most part. Jones tosses that one-hitter then texts me from the clubhouse, "SHOW ME THE MONEY." String some more of those outings together first, Eric.... Over the three days we get messages regarding both pitchers still on the DL, Rob Hart and Angel Cordova. Their returns are now listed as "uncertain." Fab.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga is riding a hot month and now leads the AL with a .414 average. He's so hot, in fact, that he's suspended for 5 games after fighting KC pitcher Jayden Grant.... Brooklyn's Chris White is now hitting .455.... San Diego's Khalil Smith has saved 11 of the team's 15 wins.... NYY's decent start (9-6) has devolved to just one win in their last ten.... Atlanta acquired pitcher Roberto Landaverde from Cincinnati over the winter, and must've felt like they stole him when his ratings took a big jump before and during spring training. And then--he tears his rotator cuff a couple of weeks ago, and has been forced into retirement. Sad trombone noise.


April 30 @ HOUSTON
Probably the biggest surprise of the early season is the Astros 16-9 start. MLB figured they'd win just 75, and there is a long way to go.... Their underlying numbers are decent, but not overwhelming: 6th in runs, 9th in runs against, for a +6 run differential. 3B Jason Neighbors and RF Hughie Noonan are both hitting .349, but Noonan is on the DL for two weeks. LF Jason O'Hara got off to a slow start (.242, 0 HR), and is now out for the season with an elbow injury. So they went out and signed free agent Hi-yuan Qu a few days ago, and put him in at DH. He'll make his North American debut against us. Odd, since they spent no money at all on free agents; in fact, the only new face in the lineup is SS Ricky Silva, who will be pretty good one day, but isn't quite there yet. Manager: Dylan Barrow, 1st full season (went 3-3 as a late-season replacement last year). Owner: Jim Crane, Jr., an unmerciful economizer. Despite that, he's actually raised the budget slowly recently, to its current 77M mark. (Fun fact: next year's projected budget is 91M!)

HAW pitcher: Taylor Barnett (3-1, 2.17)
HOU pitcher: Alejandro Gonzales (3-0, 1.59)

#25: LOSS 1-8 ... ten runners, but only one run...Barnett lasts 5 IP, and should've been pulled after 3...they only drew 21K for this one

Not a great finish to April. Maybe this Houston team is for real.... Before the game, we send down Jonathan Murray and activate Ryan Ratliff from the DL.... AAA Santa Barbara is off to a 10-4 start; but A ball Eureka has fallen back again, is now 8-16.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore and Milwaukee are neck-and-neck at the top of the MLB standings, both 19-6. Boston, Texas, Montreal, and Portland are stuck at 9 wins apiece.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo may be lazy, selfish, and unmotivated, but the 2037 AL Cy Young winner is having a great start to the season: 3-0, 43.2 IP, 66 K, and 1.8 WAR.... With his win today against us, Houston's 24-year-old perpetual-phenom-to-be, Alejandro Gonzales, is now 4-0, with 48 K in 34 IP, and 2.1 WAR. He could end up one of the best pitchers in baseball in a year or two.

......

TL;DR Version: A little back-and-forth this month, but we manage to squeeze out a 15-10 record, good for second place, and 1.5 games behind Houston. Offense is first in runs, AVG, and OBP. Pitching is still being held together by string and baling wire: 10th in runs against, with the 11th ranked rotation and 13th placed bullpen. Still, our run diff is +38, thanks to some big offensive nights. What's odd too is that, thanks to injuries and demotions, our five current starting pitchers have ERA of 3.49, 2.25, 3.09, 2.65, and 3.44. And if you want another small, but hopeful, piece of good news: top prospect Dante Padilla, who hasn't hit at all since rookie ball, is hitting .274 with 3 HR in his first month in AA.