[Bub13]

We'll take the field for 29 games this month, including a wierd-ass doubleheader against the Reds (day off followed by the twinbill). Plus, you know it and you love it: Interleague Play! Nine games against the NL Central, and another year where I think I need to redo the schedule so we play West teams instead.

May 1-2 vs KANSAS CITY
Finishing up the set with the Royals, then we're back in our division for the next eleven games.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (2-0, 3.00) / RH Dennis Perry (2-1, 1.76)
KCR pitchers: RH Jayden Grant (0-2, 4.50) / RH Ryan Swan (1-2, 2.78)

#24: WIN 18-2 ... wow...18 hits, including 3 HR (6 RBI) for Padilla, and a HR for Ueda...Daley goes 4-for-4 with 5 RBI...Ratliff tosses 8 IP
#25: LOSS 3-7 ... quiet bats tonight, all worn out from yesterday...three pitchers get pushed around, and only Frederick manages a pair of hits

That loss, combined with a hot Seattle club, has us a half game out now.... Ueda has his average up to .207 atm, and leads the team with 7 HR. Groff leads with 26 RBI and a .333 average.... Those were Padilla's first three dingers of the season, and he and Daley earned first and second stars of the day from MLB.... ELSEWHERE: Yankees rookie Sieb "Hans" Moleman was named AL Player (and Rookie) of the Month for April. Arizona's Alfonso Torres won the NL honors.... Pittsburgh's Riley Krupp just shut out the Mets, and sports a lovely 0.88 ERA in five starts. He's 4-0 and has a 39-to-5 K-BB ratio in 41 innings.... Brewers catcher William Antonio hit above or near .400 for much of 2047 (with Minnesota), didn't hit a lick last year, but is back on the mark again with a .395 average.


May 3-5 @ SEATTLE
The Mariners are rolling, at 18-8 and on top of the division. Everything is clicking: 2nd in offense and 4th in runs allowed, for a +45 run differential. And they're doing it without the middle of their infield: 2B Jose Rodriguez is out for three months, while SS George Bradshaw has two more weeks on the shelf. This is a veteran team, with six regulars and 3/5 of the rotation over the age of 30: clearly they are in WIN NOW mode. Manager Jacob DeGrom is in his third campaign and has maintained harmony in the clubhouse despite his fiery ways. Top Prospect: Jon Terrell (20, 1B), who looks like a solid middle-of-the-lineup power guy, but with zero defensive instincts. He ranks #46 in MLB, while the system overall comes in at #23.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (4-1, 3.25) / RH Shamar Jackson (1-4, 6.10) / LH Eric Jones (3-0, 4.33)
SEA pitchers: LH Ryan Galletto (3-1, 3.71) / LH Miguel Moreno (4-0, 3.82) / LH Carlos Zenon (2-3, 2.58)

#26: LOSS 1-3 ... Garfield is on tonight (8 IP, 5 H, 11 K), but we can't muster any offense for him...2 hits for Simmons and a Ueda solo HR is about it
#27: WIN 2-1 ... another tight one, as Jackson fans 8 over 8 IP...two hits apiece for Daley and Justin Cecil...4 BB and a HPB aid tonight's cause
#28: LOSS 4-5 ... two HR (Groff, Padilla) but only two other hits...Money takes the loss after allowing three runs in the 8th

Seattle gains a game on us, but it's still early on.... Not much hitting over these three games, but the offense still ranks #1. Most of the bats have cooled off, however, with only two guys over .300, unusual for us.... ELSEWHERE: I believe St Louis had maybe five wins over the first five weeks of 2048. This year they're 16-12, winners of five in a row and getting quality pitching with good-enough hitting.... Cincy's Armando Guzman has won all six of his starts, with a 2.40 ERA and 46 K in 41 IP.... Yankees OF Sieb Moleman is having quite a rookie season, batting .360 and leading nearly every first-year batting category (other than HR) around. No rookie pitchers are dominating, although Twins closer Nate Metz has six saves.


May 6-9 vs HOUSTON
It's been a struggle for the recently-promising Astros this season, at just 6-22. Only 15th in offense and 14th in pitching, and a shiny -41 run differential already. 2B Pedro Acero leads the team with a .263 average, but is out for a month. SS Mike Chamberlain and CF Melvin Lugo are also laid up. Their catchers are a combined 7-for-83. Hard to believe this team has won 86 games in back-to-back seasons and made the playoffs last year. They should get better, but it's already looking like a lost season. Manager Dylan Barrow is in his fifth year at the helm, and probably his last, to be honest. Top Prospect: Jose Renteria (22, 1B), playing in Houston despite a clear need for more AAA seasoning. He has fabulous ceilings, and hopefully won't be ruined this year. He ranks #13 overall. (They also have the #14 ranked player, OF Tyler King, currently in high A.) The system ranks #12.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 2.79) / RH Dennis Perry (2-2, 2.57) / LH Mike Garfield (4-2, 3.27) / RH Shamar Jackson (2-4, 5.08)
HOU pitchers: RH Alex Trujillo (1-4, 5.97) / LH John Odom (0-3, 4.76) / LH Chris Harris (1-5, 6.34) / RH Dustin Springer (2-4, 4.04)

#29: WIN 5-1 ... Ratliff fans 9 over 8 IP, and Parton whiffs the side in the 9th...only 7 hits tonight, but 2 for Padilla and a pair of RBI
#30: WIN 9-1 ... a 12-K complete game for Perry...3 hits for Frederick, including a 2-run HR, and 3 for Daley
#31: WIN 5-0 ... we reach 10 hits in a game for the first time in a week...Ueda and Padilla homer, and Garfield whiffs 9 over 8.1 IP
#32: WIN 7-3 ... 3 H and 3 RBI for Klein, and a bunch of singles (12 of 13 total hits) for everyone else...Jackson goes just 6, but is good enough

Sucks for Houston, but fun for us. The offense gets back on track a bit, and was helped out by swapping Simmons (.232) from leadoff into eighth, and moving Klein (.316) to the top.... Pitchers held the hapless 'stros to a combined 5 runs and 23 hits, and registered 44 strikeouts.... Stoneback comes off the DL in six days.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn is suddenly hot, winners of five straight. Their series against Richmond featured a 16-K NO HITTER by Ricky Arnau, followed by a four-hit shutout by Mike Jernigan. The Eagles are losers of seven in a row.... Houston is now 6-26 and is the only team in MLB more than ten games out of first place.... Despite Hawaii's four game sweep of Houston, they are only a half game up on Seattle. No other team in the AL West is over .500.


May 10-13 @ OAKLAND
Perennial second-placers to us, the A's won just 71 games last year in a rare rebuilding season. A fairly young team, most of their top batters are entering their prime years, at ages 25 to 28. They made an off-season move to shore up the rotation, signing Chris Latimer to a big contract, but he's really struggled so far. Still, the offense is 6th in runs (but just 13th in AVG) and 3rd in HR. Pitching is 10th, with the bullpen outperforming the rotation. Manager Yoshi Sato is in his first year, taking over for long-time skipper Robert Woodard; so far he's 15-17, slightly underperforming expectations. Top Prospect: Miguel Tejeda (21, OF), an old school free-swinging, slow-moving pure power hitter. He's in A ball, and ranks #71 according to MLB. The system is 31st.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (3-0, 4.24) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-0, 2.43) / RH Dennis Perry (3-2, 2.25) / LH Mike Garfield (5-2, 2.75)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (1-4, 5.93) / RH Conrad Robertson (3-2, 3.25) / RH Jim Schwartz (3-3, 3.59) / RH Mike Pearson (2-3, 3.89)

#33: WIN 1-0 ... 11 combined hits in 11 innings...Ueda's RBI single wins it...Groff is now hitless in three games...Jones goes 9, gives up just 4 hits
#34: LOSS 5-11 ... Ratliff's first stinker, and Germann gets roughed up too...4 hits for Padilla, and a 3-run HR for Josh Matson, subbing for Groff
#35: WIN 7-2 ... Groff comes back refreshed: 3 H, HR, 3 RBI...Padilla and Ueda also go deep...Perry walks four but gets the win, and fans 9
#36: LOSS 2-3 ... Crowley is touched for a 2-run HR in the 9th to lose this one, wasting a 10-K effort from Garfield...two hits for Groff, everyone else is quiet

Tough finish for an otherwise decent series. We fall to a 1.5 game lag behind Seattle.... Klein (.321) is still hot, while Simmons (.222) is not. Padilla has been excellent in relief of Stoneback, hitting .372 with 7 HR. Ueda leads the team with 10 HR, but is batting just .208.... With Stoneback off the DL tomorrow, some lineup juggling is due in order to keep hot bats active. He'll go in at short, and Padilla will probably evenly split time at third (with Simmons) and DH (with Ueda).... Pitching has been solid, quietly on top of the AL in runs and rotation ERA, and second in K.... ELSEWHERE: Ten wins in a row for the Yankees, showing their first signs of real life in decades, at 25-11.... Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas is now 39, and may have lost some bite to his best pitches, but that hasn't shown on the scoresheet: 4-0, 1.58 ERA, 51.1 IP, 65 K, 7 BB. He's a free agent this fall, and you have to think he'll decline soon, and probably hard. But he's been durable (only one season under 30 starts since 2033), and is criminally underrated (one Cy Young, only six All-Star appearances). In this age of the hitter, he's a likely HoF lock, despite a "mere" 213 wins and a 3.55 career ERA. (Add to that 3589 K and 71.6 WAR, as of this writing.)


May 14-16 vs ST LOUIS
Now 20-16, third in the NL Central, and looking like a totally different team than the pile of slop they were over the first half of '48. They're not hitting: 11th in runs, 15th in AVG, and last in OBP and OPS. But pitching has been excellent, 4th in runs, and top five in rotation and bullpen ERA. Three starting-quality OF are injured right now, but their replacements are fitting in nicely (rookie Kyle Burbank in leadoff, at .291 with 5 HR especially). 1B J.R. Crudge leads the team at .299 and 6 HR, but old-man catcher Alexis Mercedes is 36 and looks done: .184, 4 HR. Manager Ron Miller is in his third season, and has the following winning pct: .352, .377, .556 (this year). Top Prospect: Nate Forrester (19, OF), in R ball. He won't walk or win a Gold Glove, but looks like a .300 career hitter, with 40 doubles and 20 HR a season. The system ranks #18.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (3-4, 5.00) / LH Eric Jones (3-0, 3.47) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 3.70)
STL pitchers: RH Jake Mackowski (3-0, 3.38) / RH DJ Pasquarelli (4-2, 2.65) / RH Steve Davenport (2-3, 5.68)

#37: WIN 5-2 ... two late runs mar Jackson's shutout bid, but he's solid again...3 hits for Frederick, and HR for him, Ueda, and Daley
#38: LOSS 0-5 ... held to just five hits...Parton blows up in the 8th, wiping out a close game...not that we were getting anyone on base anyway
#39: WIN 8-0 ... Ratliff fans 13 and allows just one hit, walking none...Stoneback with a 2-run blast, and 2 H and 3 RBI for Padilla

Strong series, especially for the rotation.... Stoneback comes back hot, and with Padilla still raking it's hard to see how JJ Simmons should stay in the lineup right now. Maybe he'll spell Ueda at DH some, or go in for Rangel at second (he's gone cold, down to .264 after a hot start).... Closer Justin Crowley has 11 saves and a 2.40 ERA. Fellow free-agent-to-be Bruce Parton, however, has struggled with an ERA over 11.... ELSEWHERE: The Yanks are still hot, sporting a 27-13 record, second-best in MLB. Houston finally won their tenth game, and trail the pack at 10-29.... Texas (16-24) hasn't made any noise yet, but reigning MVP William Swanson sure has. At .340/14/38, he ranks 3rd, 1st, and 2nd in the Triple Crown categories.... Former Isles RP Rick Ramirez washed out in several attempts at making him a closer on the islands, but his first year in San Diego is off to a good start: 16 GP, 14 saves, 2.87 ERA.

......

TL;DR Version: We're 7-3 in our last ten and have a 26-13 record. Yet we've lost ground to the red-hot Mariners, who are 29-12 and 2 games in front of us. With Stoneback's return, we're healthy at the plate again; only relievers Kym and Mwaura still have 4 and 6 weeks on the DL, and both will probably get rehab stints anyway before re-entering the roster. Our batters seem to be back in a groove again, but I sure wish I could get JJ Simmons going. He's a career .317 batter but is over 100 points below that average so far this season. He's still getting on base at a .327 clip, but with no power, he's got to get a lot of hits to be effective for us. Well, like I said somewhere above: I'll juggle the lineup a bit so as to keep the hot hitters going, but to try to get Simmons off the wagon. Someone is sure to get hurt soon and end that little experiment, but let's see how it goes in the meantime.