[Bub13]

June 15-17 @ ST LOUIS
After a slow April, the Cards have played steadily better and currently share the division lead with Cincinnati (36-30 vs 37-31 for the Reds). Batting is only 12th in AVG, but 4th in OBP and steals, for a solid 6th place in runs. Pitching has been mediocre, only 12th in ERA, for a mere +6 in run differential. Five players are on the DL, including two starting OF and 2B Tim Ost (who hasn't played at all this season). The offense is being kept afloat by CF Jason McColl (.323/12/42) and former Islander and AL MVP winner Alexis Mercedes (.306/18/61). I know I pick on Toronto SS Jordan Cruz all the time; his NL counterpart is SS Jonathan Salas, now in his seventh season (with 4 teams), and a career average of .192 and a K% barely shy of 40. Closer Frank Casper, 24, is having a breaktrhough season in his first shot at the role: 23 saves, 1.38 ERA, 0.90 WHIP. Manager: Chad Kerfoot, who has amazingly turned five awful seasons in Holland into a big league post. Owner: Joe DeWitt, Jr, who seems like a fine person and yet is unhappy with his playoff-chasing team. System review: dead last, 36th. Not much to see here except for their top two prospects both being named Casey and both playing CF. What a battle royale that will be, huh.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 2.81) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.63) / Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.55)
STL pitchers: D.J. Pasquarelli (6-4, 4.50) / Ivan Villa (4-6, 3.81) / Andy Goeser (3-4, 4.72)

#67: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn socks two solo HR, and Ratliff scatters just 3 hits over 6.2 innings...3 hits for Simmons, and a 2-run double for Rich are also key
#68: LOSS 4-5 ... Nate Moore gives up a small-ball run in the 9th to lose this one...for some reason backup OF Nate Flygare comes in at catcher in the 9th
#69: WIN 9-6 ... 7 of 10 hits go for extra bases, including another HR for Sanborn...Pinksen struggles, but the pen bails him out with 4 shutout innings

Congrats to Cards catcher Alexis Mercedes on reaching 400 career HR.... Pinksen has really struggled since April, with an ERA near 7 in his last nine starts. Rob Hart, anyone?.... Sen Masuda comes back in five days. I'd almost forgotten he was still with us.... Top prospect Dante Padilla, who could barely hit a lick in R through A ball, hit .241 in AA and is batting .357 (in just 42 AB tho) since a AAA promotion.... Jim Klein has quietly moved into third in AL batting, at .355.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers pitching may be heating up just in time to save their season, with Gary Florence (he's back!) and Tony Rodriguez tossing shutouts. Portland continues to leads the NL West at 40-28.... While all the NL division races feature 4 (or 5) teams, things are spreading out in the AL. In the East, Baltimore is up on Tampa by 2.5, and by 11 over the Yankees. In the Central, it's Milwaukee by 3 over Detroit, then 8.5 over Cleveland. And Hawaii is 9 up on Seattle.


June 18-20 vs CINCINNATI
Thanks to us, the Reds now have a two-game cushion over the Cardinals. That they're winning at all really looks like it's completely due to a top-ranked defense and a couple of star players. They're 8th in runs, but just 14th in AVG and 17th in OBP, with superstud Jose Tavares having another MVP-caliber season (.356/21/52), and 3B Dan Martin adding 16 HR. I guess you should expect to struggle some when you turn over your entire infield in the off-season. Pitching is just 11th in runs against, but the rotation ERA is 7th. Juan Valdez is the star here, but don't sleep on former Islander Ryuma Sato and on retread Jeff Clayton. The bullpen hasn't been much, but there are a pair of former Islanders (again), in Hisami Masuda (5-1, 3.68, 1 save) and Gastone Sarretti (1-0, 1.08, 1 save). Sarretti was a prospect who went over in the ill-considered Kyle Crowl trade. Manager: Dan Remenowsky, now in his 17th year with the Reds. He's up for renewal this fall, and if I know MLB owners, he won't be re-signed. Owner: Bobby Joslin, a demanding yet charitable type. Goody. System review: 2nd overall, with five in the top 100. Led by #1 overall Cris Frias, who looks like he'll strkieout tons and walk tons too. Like a JR Richard or Nolan Ryan...not bad comparables.

HAW pitchers: Rob "Hello Again" Hart (0-2, 9.47) / Taylor Barnett (6-3, 3.22) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.65)
CIN pitchers: Ben Griffin (3-6, 4.78) / Ryuma Sato (4-2, 3.75) / Juan Valdez (7-4, 3.59)

#70: LOSS 5-6 ... Hart looks fine: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 9 K...the pen gives up 4 in the 9th, all on Brown thanks to a Tavares grand slam
#71: WIN 14-2 ... 5 HR tonight, including 2 each for Groff and Davila...4 RBI for Rich, 3 for Simmons, but still zero HR combined for those two
#72: WIN 9-8 ... Palmer suffers through a 7-run 4th...we add 7 of our own late, and win it in the 12th on Davila's RBI single...Moore goes 3 IP for the win

Runs, runs, everywhere runs.... Hart walks four in his start, but I was very encouraged otherwise, and will keep him in the rotation for now. Pinksen will get used to his new role at the back end of the bullpen.... I open up contract extension talks with Eric Jones and Rich Stoneback. Jones wants 22M total over 2 years, while Stoneback wants a huge 302M deal over 9 years. Yow.... ELSEWHERE: Portland ends Miami RF Nick Meehan's 21-game hit streak, then the next day Miami ends Portland 2B Mike Hunter's 20-game run. (Yes, former Islander star Mike Hunter. Hi, Mike!).... Unsung young stud Chris Goldthwait, 24, is having a super season for Tampa: .361/29/66, and leading baseball with 5.3 WAR and a 1.216 OPS. That's already a career best WAR, and he's just 9 away from a career season in HR. My favorite aspect of him is his complete lack of foot speed (a 1 rating), but an amazing knack for stealing (18 rating) and baserunning (20).... Philly and NY are tied at the top of the NL East, with Phils catcher Marc Orange 2nd in NL batting at .357. That's a full 80 points above his career average.


June 21-24 @ OAKLAND
The A's are 11-7 in June, to stabilize somewhat after a bad first two months. Still not scoring (13th) or hitting (16th), they are patient enough to be 7th in OBP. 3B Ryan Walton leads the team with 21 HR and 46 RBI, but top hitter LF Kris Wallace (.300) is out until late July. Free agent signee C Alex Contreras has hit just .189, while rookie 2B Ernesto de la Torre only .230. Pitching is 5th in runs allowed, for a somewhat charitable -2 run diff. The rotation's numbers look good, and even the awful Tim Shellhammer just tossed a shutout. For some reason they moved Tim Friddle (2.76 ERA) out of the closer position and gave it to journeyman Cory Wood (5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). System review: 23rd, with three top 100 guys. Pitcher Bryan Nunez (#39) looks good, but hasn't developed a third pitch, and may never do so. 3B Scott Peckler (#61) is a future captain, but also a future career backup, honestly. I'm partial to pitcher Jim Overcash (he is not greedy, sadly), who looks like a mid-range starter and could surpass that ceiling.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (6-1, 2.93) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.77) / Rob Hart (0-2, 7.33) / Taylor Barnett (7-3, 3.21)
OAK pitchers: Mike Wiater (6-4, 3.35) / Jacob Wood (2-7 3.78) / Tim Shellhammer (1-1, 6.00) / Francisco Pantaleon (5-9, 3.98)

#73: WIN 3-2 ... a subdued pitcher's duel, with 11 combined hits...Stoneback showed up, tho, with 3 hits and a pair of doubles...7 good IP for Ratliff, but Brown is leaky again in the 9th
#74: WIN 5-2 ... complete game 7-hitter for Jones...Heath gets HBP, diagnosis pending...3-run HR for Sanborn is the GW here
#75: LOSS 5-9 ... Hart is not so good today, let's just leave it there...3 hits each for Klein and Groff...Masuda whiffs 4 times in his first post-DL start
#76: LOSS 0-11 ... Barnett is terrible for the first time in a long while, and we manage just four hits

Phew, some pretty awful pitching those last two games. We were due, I suppose. Hart was bad, but Pinksen at least looked good in 4 IP of mop up work.... Still no word yet on Glenn Heath's injury. With Masuda back, I sent down Kenny Welch, but as he was 7-for-16 while with us, he'll come right back up if Heath is gone for a while.... So--I inked Stoneback to an extension. He wanted, basically, 32M per season. So I took a chance and offered him a complex 9-year deal: he'll make 16.5M next year, then 22, then 18, then 23, and then have an opt-out. After that, his salary zooms to 35M per for three more seasons, after which there's a team option. If he sticks around that long, he'll be 36 and there's zero chance I'll take that offer. He has bonuses for MVP and all-star apps too. I figured he's too good a fielder and too solid a power bat to lose for a little supplemental pick on the free market. Plus, the fan interest meter hit 90 for the first time this calendar year after announcing the deal.... ELSEWHERE: Some good pitching on day four there: a one-hitter and four four-hitters.... Mets closer Nick Sexton has reached 30 saves.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo continues to sport a 1.73 ERA (15 starts), while Pittsburgh's David Fults owns a 1.67 mark.


June 26-28 vs LA ANGELS
Now 30-48 and falling into "top five pick" territory. 13th in runs and 17th in runs against, with a -18 run diff. Power hitters Tony Mendoza and Jason Eastep are producing, and leadoff CF Emmanuel Garcia (.294/10/35) is having a solid sophomore seasons, but not much else is going right at the plate. Former Isle Travis McArthur is now batting 2nd, but is hitting just .252. Slugger Coby Sandu is just back after missing nearly two months. Pitching: new signee Jon Carlsen has been as advertised, and closer Bret Roemke has been solid. But otherwise, it's another lost season in a rebuild that keeps stretching on and on. System review: 29th, with only one top 100 prospect, which is...not good. Pitcher Dane Dean (#38) has some promise but is really low on stuff right now. The rest of the cast look like role players to me, including #2 prospect pitcher Noah Sims, who's already in the bigs.

HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (7-2, 4.14) / Ryan Ratliff (7-1, 2.78) / Eric Jones (9-1, 3.62)
LAA pitchers: Jon Carlsen (4-4, 3.31) / Arturo Sosa (3-5, 5.19) / Bob Tranchida (5-8, 4.77)

#77: WIN 5-4 ... Palmer has his good stuff tonight, yielding just 4 H over 7 IP...Groff powers two HR, including the GW 2-run shot in the 7th
#78: WIN 7-4 ... HR for Stoneback and Masuda, and Davila goes 3-for-4 with 4 RBI...Ratliff pulled after three batters, Ramirez earns the win with 4.1 solid innings
#79: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn and Masuda HR tonight, and JHart triples home two runs...6 IP, 6 H, 6 K for Jones, who signed a new deal before the game

More money: Jones re-signs with us, and the fans go, um, yay?.... Ratliff gets hurt, diagnosis pending. He's been our most dependable starter, so I really hope he's back soon.... Jones reaches 10 wins on the season, tied at the top with Yankees starter Brian Whitney.... ELSEWHERE: Six wins in a row for the Red Sox, who suddenly don't completely stink. Clubhouse is still feuding, tho.... Texas is trailing the field, with just 27 wins. The Angels are next, with 30.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is the first batter to 30 HR. We could end up with Triple Crown winners in both leagues, which I think would be pretty cool.... New Orleans gets a jump on next season by dumping 37-year-old starter Adam Oeltjenbruns off on KC for a pair of solid RP prospects. Oelts goes and tosses a shutout in his first start for the Royals, who are 9 back of Milwaukee but playing better of late.


June 29-30 vs CLEVELAND
Two games to finish out the month, then one in July. Currently the Indians are 37-42 and 11.5 out of first. They can't hit, at 16th in runs and 14th in AVG. While leadoff batter Walt DiDio is hitting .294 (50 points above his career mark), the 3-through-6 guys are coming in at .231, .264, .193 and .163. Although 24-year-old cleanup batter David Van Eschen does have 17 HR and looks like a solid contributor for years. Pitching is much better: 5th in runs. Ace Zach Gioeli hasn't been great, but his 3.69 ERA is a full run below league average. SP Matt Grigg has been solid, if unloved, and closer Tim Stoner was just called up from A ball (!) and has two saves in 5 games. Manager: Jose Ariza, 6th year. He won 92 games last year, but won't this year. Owner: Kurt Dolan, demanding, controlling, and profit-hungry. He's happy, for some reason.

HAW pitchers: Rob "C'mon Man" Hart (0-3, 9.30) / Taylor Barnett (7-4, 3.80)
CLE pitchers: Roberto Maldonado (2-9, 4.33) / Zach Gioeli (4-3, 2.54)

#80: WIN 6-5 ... Hart allows 5 R in 6 IP, a marked improvement. Fans 8, but walks 4...4 hits and 2 RBI for Davila, and 3 hits for Klein
#81: LOSS 5-9 ... another bad one for Barnett: 6 R in 6 IP, ERA now over 4...two HR for Groff, now over 300 in his career. Congrats!

Not a great finish to the month, especially with our rotation looking more wonky by the day. At least Ratliff is only out for five days. He might miss a start, or get pushed off by a day, but that's it.... We're only 9th in HR, but seven players have hit double figures, meaning a nice balanced attack. Very nice.... ELSEWHERE: KC has gone 8-2 of late, reaching .500 again and pulling to 9 out of first.... Tampa's Goldthwait is approaching 6 WAR. No one else has 5.... Eight wins in a row now for Boston, just a game under .500. Can the Cranky Boys keep going?

......

TL;DR Version: 10-5 to finish the month, and a league-best 54-27 mark at the halfway point to the season. Nice! And yet... The rotation suddenly looks human. Palmer and Barnett are trending down, Pinksen has been down there for over a month already, and who knows about Hart yet. Only Jones and Ratliff have been steady. I'm not sure anyone in AAA is quite ready yet, either. A trade? There really isn't anyone available who is a) pitching well AND b) available at a non-extortionate price. Richmond is making 4/5 of its rotation available, but only 2-time Cy Young winner Rafael Maldonado looks tempting. But he's making $24M, would cost way too much in prospects, and has just 2.5 pitches right now, meaning he's probably going to decline sharply soon. Not sure what, if anything, I'll do just yet. Maybe hold fire, and see if Hart and Barnett can find some consistency over the next couple weeks. Then reassess. I've got a month before the deadline.