Los Angeles Kings (20-16, .555, t-2nd NL West) @ San Diego Chargers (11-27, .289, 6th NL West)
The Chargers are a bad team – let there be no doubt about that – but, San Diego remains a difficult place for us to play. It’s not that their fans are particularly rowdy – they’re not – instead our difficulties here stem from the wealth of off-field distractions that we find at our fingertips each time we roll through. Beautiful beaches, great food, a thriving night club scene, and the superb local talent make this destination a tough one to maintain focus in… we’ll need our guys to stay professional over these next three games to get the result we should here – and, that’s, almost, exactly what we got as we won the series 2-1. Newton gave us 8.1 innings in game one & registered 8 K’s while Barbaccia had stellar command of his fastball and used it to earn his 13th save of the season – Ethan also put his 7th ball out of the park for us in the 6-2 win. Game 2 did not go as well for us – a 3-4 walk-off loss where Barbaccia’s control was an issue as he blew his 4th Save of the season… he’s been so up and down for us at the start of the 2078 campaign – it’s concerning.
Game 3 was a reckoning for the Chargers – we won it by a score of 17-5, hit 5 doubles, 7 home runs, and scored seemingly at will. Otto went off – 3 for 5, 2 jacks, 3 runs, 6 RBIs, and a walk for our resident superstar whose weight, it should be noted, is still at a dainty 145lbs. If he’s going to stay healthy this season, we’ll need to put some meat on those bones… this is the peril of paying a young man obscene amounts of money in a city like LA – all the new age diets, yogis, Scientologists, and young starlets are enough to make a sane man lose himself in its cosmic possibilities. We’re keeping our eye on him – it’s just not doing us much good. Kid’s sneaky. But, for the love of all that is good & pure – EAT A STEAK ALREADY! I’ve put Ms. Foggy on the case – we’ll see what my new assistant has to offer in the sleuthing department soon enough. She claims to hold a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and I, by the power vested in me, have authorized her to choke out his Guru should she come face to face with the weirdo… I’m of the belief that she doesn’t realize that I, in fact, do not have the power to authorize such violence – we’ll cover that if it comes to it. It’s cool, I know a guy…
Bad News Bears: I was informed by my training staff (via text – ugh) that OH HONG’s recovery is not going as planned and that he will require additional “rest” before he is fully healed. This is not ideal – HONG is a big part of my club and our backup at first is garbage.
Some Trades (of the low-key prospecting variety): - Los Angeles and Green Bay announced some roster changes today as the Kings acquired 27-year-old minor league 2B Mikah Sellers from the Packers in exchange for 22-year-old minor league 3B Deangelo Pantoja.
- 28-year-old minor league RHP Mason Sandoval will now be playing for the Vancouver Giants and 29-year-old C Sueki Kojima, 24-year-old minor league SS Eli Bigham and 25-year-old minor league 2B Ray Martin will be suiting up for the Los Angeles Kings.
That second trade was a
mercy killing – Mason was languishing in our MiLB system because we are overstocked on relievers – this trade, while not netting us much of long-term value (outside of another backup catcher to hold us over until Dom’s return), will give him the opportunity to occupy space on Vancouver’s bullpen. He’s good – a worthy MLB arm – we just didn’t have room for his talents on the big club.
Roster Move: We’ve done the unthinkable… Rad Taylor has been promoted to the big club and will, for now, be slotted in as a last resort middle reliever out of the pen. To make room for him on the roster we have to option Joshua Moeller – who I like better than Rad as a reliever – to Compton for some much-needed seasoning. Moeller was 0-2 with a 5.65 ERA in 14 innings of work for the Kings – he’ll be slotted in as the set-up man in Compton. This isn’t permanent – just designed to let Moeller work out some kinks while rad gets a taste of what he’s been working so hard to achieve.
Other notes (of the quick-hit variety): Megan’s San Marcos Supremos are off to a 9-9 start in Bush League play and are currently on a 2-game skid – no worries, oh ye of little faith – my former protégé will whip these guys into shape in no time… mark my words. The NCAA Tourney Bracket has been finalized and we have a record 7-teams from the Unaffiliated Division earning bids. MIT, Polk CC, Blue Mountain State, Binghamton, Fairbanks, Ridgemont CC, and Port Chester University will each vie for an elusive NCAA Championship with MIT having, arguably, the best chance of the bunch.