[Bub13]

August 17-19 vs BOSTON
Way back in April they were fighting for first place. But at 9-29 since July 1 they've fallen all the way to the bottom of the East. Batting is 13th in runs, pitching 11th. Most batters are hitting below their career numbers, even team-leading Jose Diaz, who at .307 is still more than 20 points under his career average. The team chemistry is, as usual, terrible: they're feuding and only a few players are happy. Seven members of the pitching staff alone have terrible attitudes, and you have to think manager Sean Ochinko's time with the team is growing short. Pitcher Jonathan Esquivel has been a rare bright spot, and at 25 and signed for the next four years, he's a rock-solid piece to build around.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (13-5, 3.41) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-8, 4.51) / LH Eric Jones (10-4, 4.33)
BOS pitchers: RH John Sutton (0-1, 5.08) / RH Danny Diaz (4-12, 4.90) / RH Zion Robinson (8-11, 4.48)

#117: LOSS 2-6 ... HR for Frederick and Groff, and 3 hits for Groff...nothing else good to see here
#118: WIN 4-3 ... 3 more hits for Groff, and Ueda's bases loaded double is the winning hit...Jackson fans 9 through 7 IP, Germann and Montes fan 5 our of the last six BoSox
#119: WIN 8-1 ... 3 hits again for Groff, and Simmons and Rich each drive in two...CG 5-hitter for Jones, striking out 7

Nine hits for Groff in this series, bringing his average to an AL-best .349.... Jackson's outing was his 100th career MLB start. He's tied for 7th on the all-time Hawaii list. Eric Jones leads with 375. Twenty-seven of Jackson's 100 starts have been complete games, if you can believe that. Jones has 26.... The lead over Seattle is now 14 games.... ELSEWHERE: A five-hit game for Dbacks OF Dan Dellinger pushed his NL-best average to .345, fourteen points higher than teammate Alfonso Torres.... Eleven losses in a row for Texas, and slugger William Swanson has been stuck on 39 HR for almost two weeks.... Is it too soon to talk Magic Numbers? Of course it is. Still: NYY and SDP are at 26, and both lead their divisions by 16.5 games.


August 20-22 vs TORONTO
They've been consistently decent all year, for what that's worth. At 64-57, third place, and 18 games out of first; also a game out of a wildcard spot. They sit 9th in runs, 8th in runs against, and with a healthy +28 run differential. Former AL ROY Tony Mendoza struggled with the Yanks last year but has found his groove again: 30 HR and an .853 OPS. Nobody is batting over .272, but only the very bottom of the lineup is batting well below that. The rotation has been mostly good, and MR Jaden Buchanan has been solid in relief, as well as being only a near-thing curveball away from becoming the next in a long line of home-grown ace Toronto SP.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (13-5, 3.51) / RH Dennis Perry (11-6, 2.88) / LH Mike Garfield (13-6, 3.57)
TOR pitchers: RH Willie Hernandez (8-8, 5.03) / RH Ross Barnett (2-2, 4.86) / RH Ron Williams (8-12, 4.15)

#120: WIN 9-8 ... 5 H, 3 RBI for Simmons, and three others knock 3 hits each...Ratliff pulled in the 5th with an injury, uh oh
#121: WIN 9-6 ... outhomered 4-to-1, but Groff gets ours...5 hits for Frederick, and 3 hits with 3 RBI for Daley...Perry pushed around, pen does better than last night tho
#122: WIN 5-0 ... 5 H, 10 K CG for Garfield...HR for Frederick and Daley, and Stoneback returns with a hit and two walks

Five wins in a row and a ton of hitting are the good news. Add to that Stoneback's return from his dtd injury. Subtract, however, Ryan Ratliff, out for seven weeks with a triceps strain. He and Padilla should come back around the same time, and hopefully both will be available for our first playoff series.... Taking Ratliff's place is Jonathan Ashton, a one-time hopeful and first round pick, who's been saddled with injuries for several years. He's been pitching in relief for AAA Santa Barbara, and as none of the regular SP down there have done much at all statistically (despite a team record of 65-45), Ashton gets the nod.... ELSEWHERE: Rangers have dropped fourteen straight, and are the worst team in MLB now.... William Swanson finally reached 40 HR, and 99 RBI.... Only two division races are dead heats: Brooklyn and Atlanta are tied in the NL East, and Detroit leads Milwaukee by one in the AL Central.... Yankees ace Phil Avery is having a year: 17-3 record, 2.01 ERA 4.9 WAR. Teammates Joe Erkel and Jim Kieffer are tied for second with 15 wins.


August 23 @ DETROiT
Makeup game from a rainout last month. The first of a ten-game road trip for us to finish August (and start September). The Tigers are currently atop the Central, at 66-54, one game ahead of the Brewers.

HAW pitcher: RH Shamar Jackson (14-8, 4.51)
DET pitcher: LH T.J. Carroll (9-1 3.29)

#123: LOSS 4-10 ... Groff's 3-run HR is our only highlight...a whole lot of bad pitching, with Jackson, Money, and Mwaura getting shelled

Ugh. Whatever, moving on.... Off to the Bronx next! Big series.... ELSEWHERE: Fifteen in a row for Texas. But 41 HR, 100 RBI for Swanson now.... Seattle still holding on to the #1 wildcard slot despite some heavy injury losses.


August 24-26 @ NY YANKEES
The Bronx Bombers are back: 2nd in runs and 1st in HR. Also AL-best pitching: tops in rotation ERA and 2nd best bullpen. No weaknesses anywhere, honestly. Four regulars are batting over .300, and six have over 20 HR. Sean West leads with 29 HR, and he's missed 50 games. Former Isle Jonathan Klump has found a home, with 26 HR and 79 RBI. Rookies Melvin Lopez (.300/15/50) and Sieb Moleman (.333/21/71) are killing it at the top of the lineup. As noted above, the trio of Kieffer, Erkel, and Avery have notched 52 wins and 12.4 WAR. Number four starter Brian Whitney has 12 wins and 179 K. Like I said, solid everywhere. Okay, they are 17th in errors, but that seems nitpicky.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (11-4, 4.15) / RH Jonathan Ashton (debut) / RH Dennis Perry (12-6, 3.02)
NYY pitchers: LH Mike Thomas (4-1, 3.65) / RH Jim Kieffer (15-5, 3.59) / LH Brian Whitney (12-4, 3.34)

#124: WIN 5-4 ... Ueda's solo HR in the 16th is the winner...Stoneback hurt tho, which is all that matters
#125: WIN 12-1 ... Frederick cycles (5 hits total), and Cappuccilli powers a 3-run HR...6-hit complete game for Ashton
#126: LOSS 2-8 ... Rangel homers, but we give up three, and Perry gets pushed around again...so does Money, in relief

I'm please with our showing here, but not pleased that Stoneback got hurt again. And it's not good: torn ligaments, out 7-8 weeks. Playoffs are in jeopardy for him, although maybe we can put him on the roster anyway. Plus, Klein pulls something and is out for a week.... Cappuccilli takes his place at the top of the lineup. We call up Jesse Ryder for his first taste of the big leagues. He is a dynamite fielder and can run, but is an average hitter at best, with little power.... Props to Ashton in his '49 debut.... ELSEWHERE: Texas dropped their 16th straight, then won one, then lost again. Another streak maybe.... The Dodgers have given up, slumping to 8-15 this month and into 4th place in the West. This is an old team with very few decent prospects. But: they have tons of money, and project to have at least $110M to spend this off-season. No, that's not a typo.... San Diego's Magic Number is 18, best in the league.... Arizona's Alonso Torres has gone on a tear, with 26 RBI this month giving him an MLB-best 107.


August 27-29 @ OAKLAND
Poor hitting (12th in runs, 14th in AVG) has pushed the A's down the charts, now into 4th place at 60-68. One game behind California for third, but only two ahead of the resurgent Astros. Pitching is 14th, and no one has stood out. Ryan Walton has 37 HR and 98 RBI, and Ted Yoder has kept up his strong year, batting .318. Felix Reyes is .262/21/64, but they expected more from the 22-year-old hotshot. No one else has done much.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (14-6, 3.38) / RH Shamar Jackson (14-9, 4.52) / LH Eric Jones (11-4, 4.08)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (7-13, 4.01) / RH Mike Pearson (10-11, 4.72) / RH Jim Schwartz (10-12, 4.41)

#127: WIN 9-8 ... Garfield is gar-bage, but is bailed out by offense and the bullpen...HR for Groff, and HR with 3 RBI for Daley
#128: WIN 1-0 ... 2 hits for Frederick, and GWRBI for Cappuccilli...4-hit CG shutout for Jackson, fanning 7
#129: WIN 6-4 ... Goodloe's 2-run 9th inning single is the winner...Jones lasts just 5.1 IP, but the pen yields just 3 hits the rest of the way

Always nice to get a sweep. No injuries too. Klein comes back in two days.... I waived/DFAed catcher Justin Cecil, and called up OF Joe Lynn. Also sent Jaden Daniels back down; he went 1-for-5 in limited action. Lynn will make some contact and hit for doubles, but has no power and very little plate discipline. He's a dynamo on the field, and if he can hit at all looks like a decent candidate for CF one day. He's just 20, but tore it up in AAA: .371, 43 doubles, 29 steals, 5.6 WAR. He was a 4th round pick in '46.... Groff reaches 100 RBI for the 8th time.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Dellinger has opened a 23 point lead in the NL batting race, looking to defend his crown from last year.... Atlanta's Michael Rinehart has 16 HR this month, and now 41 on the season. He's a former 14th round pick making league minimum.... Mets speedster Marquis Moore is the first to 40 steals. Moore has three SB titles to his credit.


August 30-31 @ CALIFORNIA
At 61-68 on the year, but 15-11 this month. Hitting is still dead last, in runs, OBP, OPS, and HR. Manny Rosales leads with 14 HR, and only Luis Rivera (at .304) is batting over .255. Pitching is 2nd in runs, although they've now got four pitchers on the DL. Four of the five starters are 26 or younger, although Steve Onstad is an injury fill-in. And RPs Scott Mahala and Luis Andino are both young and should anchor the bullpen for years to come. Most of their prospects are still years away, although #3 guy Jake Glowski--a former 6th overall pick--is batting .235 in his rookie season. But he's 25, and should be further along than he looks. I smell a possible bust.

HAW pitchers: RH Jonathan Ashton (1-0, 1.00) / RH Dennis Perry (12-7, 3.26)
CAL pitchers: RH Steve Onstad (0-1, 6.00) / LH Noah Sims (6-12, 4.35)

#130: WIN 8-7 ... more outstanding pitching...we need 3 in the 9th to win this one...3 hits, 3 RBI for Cappuccilli, and 3 hits for Daley and Goodloe
#131: WIN 4-2 ... Daley knocks in two in the 7th and one in the 9th to help us win late

We did find ways to win two games we could easily have lost. Then again, we're playing the Angels, so maybe we shouldn't make it so hard on ourselves.... Groff is worn out, so he got a couple games off here.... Pitching is looking a bit leaky again, now standing 5th in runs against. The rotation ERA is 3rd, bullpen 14th.... Closer Miguel Montes has picked it up of late, and has 12 saves in his 14 appearances.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is the final team to reach 50 wins. Still only four teams with 80 wins: Hawaii, NY Yankees, San Diego, and Cincinnati.... Cincy's Quinn Driscoll is the first to 40 saves.... Pittsburgh's Jonathan Bell has given up just 5 HR in 184 IP. Atlanta's Matt Waugh is nearly as good: 5 in 178.2 IP. At the other end, White Sox starter Cory Graulich has given up 44 in 167.2 IP. And Twins reliever Hector Quiroz has given up 21 in 39 IP.

......

TL;DR Version: A fabulous 12-3 here, but marred by losing Stoneback for the season. Like I said above, I hope to have him back for the playoffs. Barring setbacks, we should get Padilla and Ratliff back regardless. As we head into the final month of the season, I've noticed a recurring pattern for Hawaii: 1) an okay or mediocre start, with either bad hitting or pitching; 2) things pick up and we go back and forth with another team for the division lead; 3) we get red hot, take the division lead, and pull away; 4) we cool off in September and leave me with questions heading into the playoffs; 5) lose to Detroit in the AL playoffs, or lose the World Series. Sound familiar for this year? Patterns have to end sometime, tho, right? Anyway, 23-5 this month--RED HOT--and a 16.5 game lead over the Mariners. Now let's see what goes wrong in September...