[Bub13]

June 15-17 @ CHICAGO CUBS 2048: 34-31, 3rd place // 2047: 89-73 2nd place
Although the curse of the goat is still going strong, the Cubs made the playoffs last year and are solid again this season. Seventh in runs, and 8th in runs against, with a nice +20 run differential. The pitching might be even better if they didn't have five guys (and a sixth pending) currently on the DL. SS Ben Grossman (.310/6/33) has led the attack, with RF Justin Doss (.321/7/24) and cleanup hitter LF Neil Cockrell (.270/9/32) playing well. The bottom half of the lineup has over 20 HR, but also a combined average of .234. And I would love to hear Harry Carey have fun with 2B Brendan Polchlopek's name: "Polchlopek spelled backwards is Kepolhclop. Hey, everybody!"

HAW pitchers: LH Brandon Mercer (9-1, 2.79) / RH Seth Howard (5-0, 2.96) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-4, 3.64)
CHC pitchers: RH Mike Grimshaw (3-2, 3.00) / RH Rafael Maldonado (6-5, 2.89) / RH Aaron Maloy (0-0, 0.00)

#65: WIN 9-4 ... complete game for Mercer, 10th win, and he gets a hit...3 hits for Stoney and Simmons, and 4 RBI for Daley
#66: LOSS 1-2 ... only 10 combined hits, and no XBH for us...Groff reaches 2000 career hits
#67: LOSS 2-5 ... still in the doldrums...little hitting, and Jackson goes 7 but puts 10 guys on

Ok, now we need to figure something out. At least Seattle got swept, so they're now 8 behind us.... I did send Germann down, and brought up Ratliff. Maybe he can get someone out? Can anyone but Mercer start games right now? Howard at least has been okay of late, but gets very little support.... The lineup is getting shuffled around a bit, in hopes that we can get some more consistent hitting. Although if we can't get anyone out, will it even matter.... ELSEWHERE: While I wasn't watching, two teams in the AL East have actually been winning and are now over .500: Miami (38-27) and Boston (38-28). No one else is close.... Pittsburgh's Yuji Nagata leads MLB with 27 steals, and has a chance to become the first guy to reach 50 steals in maybe decades.


June 19-21 @ MONTREAL 2048: 33-35, 4th place // 2047: 75-87, 5th place
Only two games below .500 despite some ugly team stats: 15th in runs and 16th in runs against, with a -44 run differential. The bullpen ERA is 4th in the NL, but other than that, nothing looks good. CF Tony Acevedo is batting .315, but no one else is anywhere near him. Team MVP right now is closer Jason Faries, with 17 saves and a 1.62 ERA. Six pitchers are on the DL, which sounds like a bad thing. Manager Andres Reyna is in his 5th year, and his best record has been the 4-3 mark he hit as a late-season replacement in '44. Fun Fact: Jordan Cruz! He'll never die, my friends. The two-time Gold Glover (at SS) has made 64 starts this year (35 at 1b!), and has responded to management's faith in him by slashing .149/.230/.267, with 137 K in 255 at bats. And batting leadoff. Leadoff! Miracles do happen, people.

HAW pitchers: RH Joe Koval (0-0, 9.00) / RH Ryan Ratliff (0-1, 4.91) / LH Brandon Mercer (10-1, 2.92)
MTL pitchers: LH Elijah Bragg (4-4, 4.98) / RH Bill Barger (2-7, 4.73) / RH Pat Fortier (4-2, 4.01)

#68: LOSS 2-7 ... outhit 13-7...Koval lowers his ERA by giving up just 5 ER in 6 IP...Sanabria also stinks in the 9th, just for fun
#69: LOSS 2-6 ... yep
#70: LOSS 5-6 ... 11 hits for us, 6 for them...what can you say?

All right, DD Martin, you've got a lot to answer for. Take it all back, will you.... Frederick hit well in this series, and Simmons kept his average at .324. But everything else was for s**t.... Our pitchers have forgotten how to throw, even Mercer got tattooed in this series.... Guess who's the worst team over the last ten games? Yes! Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.... ELSEWHERE: Ten wins in a row for Pittsburgh, moving them into first place.... Philly's George Livezey (.309/14/41) is the first batter to 4.0 WAR.... Seven teams have not yet reached 30 wins, five of them in the AL.


June 22-24 vs NEW ORLEANS 2048: 32-36, 5th place // 2047: 79-83, 4th place
Not a hitting squad, at 17th in runs and average. Hopefully, our pitching can help them out! Pitching has been better, 7th in runs against. C Willie Alonzo (.284) and CF Matt Powell (.271) are the only regulars hitting over .238. And like seemingly every other team out there, they've already lost a ton of pitchers: seven on the DL. Still, they are a rare team with a rotation ERA under 4. GM Cole Rohrbaugh is in his fourth year, and the team has regressed every year since his first. Manager Clarence Whitney used to manage us, but was let go after some truly questionable decisions in the '45 World Series. He's in his third year here, and the players like him. Yippee. Fun Fact: Is this fun? 2B Jose "G not Q" Rodriguez averages 35 HR a season, and at 29 he is the all-time NOZ leader in nearly every offensive category. But he'll be a free agent this fall, so I hope you Zephs fans enjoyed him while you had him.

HAW "pitchers": RH Seth Howard (5-1, 2.87) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-5, 3.74) / LH Eric Jones (5-0, 2.97)
NOZ pitchers: LH Jeff Schon (5-3, 2.85) / RH Justin Ross (4-5, 5.16) / RH Gary Buttacavoli (0-1, 4.74)

#71: LOSS 3-6 ... 13 hits but we don't score until the 9th...Howard is strong through 7, but the pen (c'mon guys!) gives up 5 in the final two innings
#72: LOSS 2-4 ... hey, at least we outhit them AGAIN...um, that's about it
#73: LOSS 2-9 ... close game until a 5-run 8th...Jones returns, throws well, but--wait for it--the pen vomits up 6 runs over 3 IP

Who are these guys? I don't know. Were we really 41-11 after June 1st? Yes. Remember that? Still 1st in offense, somehow.... And we're only 4 up on Seattle now. Is it possible we'll be sellers by the deadline? Am I overreacting? Probably.... Eric Jones returns, and Koval moves to long relief for now. Seth Howard isn't giving up a lot of runs, but is walking more than he's striking out.... I don't know what else to say, except that I think June did this to us last year too.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego, at 48-25, now has the best record in baseball. Philly is second at 46-24.... Brooklyn's Corey Rhea is now batting .390. EXCITING.... For the first time since I don't know when, no one in the AL has an OPS over 1.000.... Not even halfway through the season, and Pittsburgh closer Manny Gomez has 30 saves.


June 26-28 @ TEXAS 2048: 32-41, 5th place
Seattle is 17-6 this month. The other five teams in our division (including us) are 29 games under .500. And those awful Cards? 11-11, after winning 11 games total in April and March. Texas has gone 9-12, which would put them in second place, had the season started on June 1. And the only reason we don't have the worst record is that we keep getting days off between series. Small comfort, that.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (0-2, 5.09) / LH Brandon Mercer (10-1, 3.29) / RH Seth Howard (5-2, 2.71)
TEX pitchers: RH Francisco Pantaleon (7-3, 4.59) / RH Dale Tessman (3-3, 6.30) / RH Greg Buchanan (5-9, 4.93)

#74: WIN 9-4 ... pretty sad that a win "comes from outta nowhere" now...7 of our 11 hits go for extras...Ratliff goes the distance, not a bad call with the pen in flames
#75: WIN 3-2 ... two in a row, wut...11 total hits, 7 for us including HR from Groff and Daley...8 IP for Mercer, fanning 6 and giving up only 4 hits
#76: WIN 8-4 ... hahaha these guys...four HR tonight, two for Frederick...HR and 3 RBI for Stoneback

Who knows anymore.... The Great Lineup Shuffle was really just putting Klump back in the lineup, and swapping Groff and Stoneback at the #3 and #4 slots. I'm guessing somebody found out I'm thiiiis close to making a trade for a power hitting DH and pushing a couple of guys right off the roster.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego is now the hot hot hot team, having won 11 in a row. They've opened up a 10.5 game lead over LA too.... Corey Rhea is batting .384, but he's got company: Arizona LF Dan Dellinger, at .380. Dellinger also hit .397 last year, but only had 291 PA. And he hit .344 as a starter the year before, so I'm not sure why he got moved to the bench. He may be the best pure contact hitter in the game right now, which means he's completely wasted on the Arizona franchise. Last year's champ Blake Langer is in third, waaaay back at .334.... Speaking of the DBacks, they are the new cold team (thanks also to us finally winning a few), going 1-9 in their last ten.... And Toronto SS Sam Moore became the first player in this dynasty to have a four HR game, in a 12-7 win over Baltimore.


June 29-30 vs SEATTLE 2048: 46-31, 2nd place
Still hitting, producing runs at the 4th-best rate in the AL. No one is crushing it, but most of the lineup is hitting. Catcher Arturo Sena is .275/16/43, about 20 points better than his career average. CF Aaron Harrison has been his usual productive self, but is injured for another month. Pitching has been decent, 7th in runs against, but ace SP Miguel Moreno will miss this series. And yet, the combo of their 20-6 month and our dumpster fire stretch has brought them to just 4.5 games behind us. No bueno. These two games will close out June, and we'll start July with two more.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (6-6, 3.82) / LH Eric Jones (5-1, 3.09)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (5-4, 4.13) / RH Mark Guest (4-4, 5.37)

#77: LOSS 3-4 ... stop me if I repeat myself: twice the hits, but the pen blows up late...can't make a 3-0 lead stick, wasting a solid 8 IP from Jackson
#78: WIN 7-6 ... turning the tables, scoring 1 in the 9th and winning in 15...but we did give up 4 in the top of the 9th, because of course we did

This bullpen is killing me. Still third in ERA, but we're blowing a lot of games late. So Sanabria (5.35 ERA) is moved out of the closer spot, and we'll give Justin Crowley (1.77) a go.... Cam Daley has been slumping of late, and his average has dropped below .300 for the first time this season.... ELSEWHERE: Twelve straight wins now for the Padres, and the league's best record at 53-25.... Every year I talk big about relenting and signing a hard-throwing, pricey free agent pitcher. This fall's catch might be Pittsburgh's Chris Liles, who's seriously in contention for the NL Cy Young, at 11-1 and a 2.27 ERA. Of course, if he's not re-signed (they'd be crazy not to sign him, but they won't of course) he'll probably demand $30M on the market, and I'll pass. As usual.

......

TL;DR Version: A rotten 5-9 stretch, but we did turn it around a bit after starting 1-8. For the month: 11-16. Oof. I think we've been exposed here, as our pitching has really let down our still-competent offense. Speaking of pitching...Koval and Ratliff came back from rehab, and have been less than good; in fact, less than not good. Koval has been moved to the pen but hasn't pitched in over a week. Ratliff at least won a game, but is still looking for his first truly decent start. At least as concerning has been the bullpen, where Ramon Sanabria in particular has been mostly horrid, and has (for now) lost his closer position. We'll try Justin Crowley first, as he's been pretty good in a setup role. Bruce Parton and Mark Money are still pitching fairly well, so they'll be next up, unless Sanabria snaps out of it. Let's hope he does; this month has tightened the division race considerably, and we'll need all our guns ready if we're going to take the top spot again.