[Bub13]

July 15-17 vs TAMPA BAY
Our second, and last, home series of the month. The Rays are 47-38, third in the East, six games out of first. Stats look generally good: 7th in runs, 5th in pitching. Eight regulars have topped double figures in HR, led by RF (and closer, lol) Vance Wise, at .274/22/59. Former Isle Dante Padilla is getting everyday cuts at 3B and has responded: .277/17/51. Leadoff man Orlando Navarro is batting .332. The rotation's ERA is only 14th, and those guys seem to be holding everyone else back, despite no one having an obviously terrible season. Manager: Tony Bajoczky, 8th season. Chemistry: Unhappy, and 12 players dislike Bajoczky despite his "calm and placid" demeanor. Can't Miss Prospect? An injury to their regular 2B means instant playing time for 20-year-old Jorge Arriola (#4 MLB), who looks a little underbaked for the bigs right now but is hitting .306 in 134 AB so far. Looks like a perennial all-star down the road.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.40) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.40)
TBR pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (6-4, 3.77) / RH Freddy Trujillo (7-7, 5.12) / RH Greg Drake (4-5, 4.76)

#89: WIN 17-2 ... six HR plate 11 runs, and everyone who gets an at bat gets a hit tonight...4 steals too...another CG for Jackson
#90: WIN 11-2 ... more hits for everyone, and Goldthwait puts two out of the park...4-for-4 night from Goodloe
#91: WIN 5-4 ... no HR for us tonight...Goldthwait and Goodloe hit RBI singles in the 9th to pull this one out of the fire...we outhit them 13-7

We just brutalized an entire pitching staff to the tune of 33 runs and 48 hits.... Cardenas is already batting .500, so I'm officially a genius. What? He has just two at bats, why do you ask.... Jesse Ryder cranks a PH at bat over the fence in game one for his first MLB home run.... That two-game homer binge finally put our season HR total over our SB, 96 to 92.... ELSEWHERE: No changes in any standings. Detroit is slowly pulling away from Milwaukee, now 6 games up.... Brooklyn has the NL's best offense, but mediocre pitching. So they just sent their starting 2B, Mike McNeill, to Texas for pitcher Bill Butts. McNeill is replaceable (rookie Harry Lewis is batting .350 this season), but Butts is just barely adequate. Maybe getting out of Texas will turn him around.... Oakland's Ryan Walton is the first batter to reach 30 HR.... The top three batting averages in the AL are all from Hawaii: Groff, Daley, Frederick.


July 18-20 @ BALTIMORE
A terrible April has led to barely mediocre months after that, and the O's sit in last in the East, 35-57. We took two out of three from them in that cruel April. Dead last in most offensive (and how) categories, only DH Mickey Chamberlain (.282/11/38) has risen above the muck and disorder. Pitching is 14th, but their best starter--Travis Heumann--was traded to Cleveland before the All-Star break. They are 2nd in steals, however. Highest ranked player: closer Ken Zeolla, 12th. His ERA is up (4.06, from 2.38 last year), but he's got power to burn and is kind of wasted on this team right now.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (4-5, 4.76) / RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.60) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-6, 4.10)
BAL pitchers: LH Carlton Saunders (7-5, 4.01) / RH Jasper Haugen (1-1, 9.00) / RH Justin Barrington (5-10, 4.19)

#92: WIN 6-2 ... the new keystone combo of Goodloe and Matson goes 6-for-7, 3 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB...six IP for Garfield, then 3 shutout innings for Mahoney
#93: WIN 10-3 ... Perry leaves after four, so Money goes the rest of the way, allows just one hit, fans five...2-run HR for Groff, 3 hits for Lynn
#94: WIN 9-4 ... Goldthwait powers two more out, and Daley hits his 20th...4 hits each for Goodloe and Matson...12 K, CG for Jackson

Feels pretty good when the offense is busting it on all cylinders like this. Makes me wonder what shoe is about to drop, because that's just how I am.... In five starts since the Rangel trade, Josh Matson has gone 11-for-20, adding a HR and four walks. In those same five games, Goodloe has hit 14-for-22.... Perry's injury is a dead arm, but he'll be out just four days and won't miss a start.... ELSEWHERE: The Yankees have the second-best record in baseball at 58-35. Miami is hanging with them, at 56-39.... Atlanta ace Matt Waugh is making a run at a second consecutive Cy Young: 14-5, 1.97 ERA, 190 K, 5.5 WAR.... Giants closer John Richard has saved 33 of SF's 55 wins; LA counterpart Lorenzo Quinones 32 out of 52.


July 22-24 @ MIAMI
After a slow April, they went 36-20 over the next two months, and are right behind the Yankees in the East. Their once-fierce lineup is a little defanged these days, at just 13th in runs and AVG, but are still 5th in home runs. Top hitter Sean West (.293/19/56) is on the DL for two more weeks, however. Pitching ranks 2nd, and is holding tough despite having four MLB-worthy guys on the DL, three of whom haven't pitched at all this year. We swept them to open the season. Highest ranked player: 2B Sean West, and closer Rick Ramirez, both ranked 3rd. Ramirez has been pretty stout: 2.83, 21 saves, 41.1 IP, 60 K, 10 BB.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-2, 3.36) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.45) / LH Mike Garfield (5-5, 4.67)
MIA pitchers: LH Victor Nunez (10-5, 3.01) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (8-7, 5.71) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (8-6, 3.23)

#95: LOSS 0-4 ... we're held to just 3 hits, all singles...Jones is okay through 7 IP, but obviously got no help
#96: WIN 5-4 ... 4 hits from Frederick, just missing out on the cycle...3 hits for Daley
#97: LOSS 6-11 ... Garfield gets shelled, and is pulled in the fifth...four hits from Simmons, 3 from Goodloe

Ok fine I guess we were due for a blah series. And Miami is a hot team right now. Suck it up and move on.... Garfield's continued poor performance this year has me sniffing around the trading block. He's actually much better--on paper at least--than all but one player currently on the block; and most pitchers on the block are pending free agents, just like Mike. Nothing's imminent, at any result.... ELSEWHERE: poor Baltimore has now lost 8 in a row, and is now the worst team in the league, at 35-63.... Cincy's Jose Taveras is having another monster year, at .354/30/72. He's 14 RBI behind NL leader Chris White (BKN), but leads in the other two categories. He also leads all batters with 5.3 WAR.... Arizona's Mat Caldwell and Minnesota's Conor MacLeod each have 203 K, and could set dynasty records for strikeouts if they stay healthy.


July 25-27 @ HOUSTON
So us getting hot in June probably put the division out of reach, but at 48-52 the Astros are just a couple of games behind Oakland for second place. A solid July will put them into wildcard contention too. Just 14th in runs, with Jose Renteria (.293, 26 HR) and Hughie Noonan (23 HR) leading the offense. Pitching is 8th in runs, and they have a -16 run differential. Highest ranked player: closer Alejandro Gonzales ranks 3rd, with RP Sean Pinney 4th. Both are having good years.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.68) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-6, 4.10) / LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.45)
HOU pitchers: LH Chris Harris (8-8, 3.81) / RH Alex Trujillo (2-5, 4.37) / RH Dustin Springer (10-6, 4.27)

#98: WIN 6-3 ... Goldthwait knocks his 20th HR, and we crank out 14 hits total...Perry lasts 7.1, records the win
#99: LOSS 2-9 ... bad pitching all around...Daley gets three hits, and another HR for Goldthwait
#100: LOSS 3-4 ... we can't hold a 3-1 lead late, and lost it in the 11th...11 hits aren't enough tonight

Okay, two blah series in a row. Still in first place by a long way, so calm yourself, Mr. GM.... Stolen bases are still leading Home Runs in the great Hawaii Stats Chase, 104 to 103.... The bullpen ERA is now #1 in the AL, at 3.41.... Our rookie ball teams are...not good this year. Athens (11-21) has dropped nine straight, and Wilmington (8-23) has at least played better since their 0-13 start.... ELSEWHERE: Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado blew out his elbow and is done for the season. He was 10-6 in 20 starts, having earned 4.6 WAR. Hopefullly he can come back strong next year, but even if he doesn't, he's probably still a future Hall of Famer.... Losers of 8 out of 10, Milwaukee has fallen to third in the Central, overtaken by Minnesota. Detroit leads by 7.5 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White leads the NL with 90 RBI, looking for his third straight RBI title.


July 28-31 @ OAKLAND
One last series to right ourselves before the end of the month. June was a pretty bad month for the A's--they went 7-20--and they're 10-11 this month and are barely holding off the Astros, at 51-49. Stats are not too bad: 11th in runs, despite being 4th in OBP and 3rd in HR. Sixth in runs against, for a +10 run differential. Hitting stars have been 3B Ryan Walton (.268/31/72) and LF Felix Reyes (.262/28/72). Top SP Jim Schwartz and Chris Larimer have rebounded from poor 2049 seasons, with ERA over a point and a half lower. Highest ranked players: Walton and Reyes, both #2 at their positions. Catcher Roger Morales is ranked #6: as he's a career .247 hitter with power and little else, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of MLB catchers right now.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.46) / LH Mike Garfield (5-6, 4.94) / RH Dennis Perry (9-5, 4.62) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-7, 4.31)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (4-9, 6.35) / RH Jim Schwartz (11-4, 3.03) / RH Mike Pearson (5-2, 6.18) / LH Chris Larimer (10-8, 3.31)

#101: WIN 7-3 ... Simmons has a 4-for-4 night, and Ratliff fans 9 in 7 IP...Goldthwait strains a giblet running the bases, and will need to lie down for the next 5 days
#102: WIN 4-0 ... a pair of complete games here, with Garfield tossing a 2-hitter and whiffing 10...20th HR for Frederick
#103: WIN 7-5 ... White gives up a solo HR in the 9th to tie it, but Daley and Groff drive in runs in the 10th for the win
#104: WIN 4-3 ... Jackson gives up three solo HR--and we get none--but get 16 runners and score just enough...3 hits, 2 RBI for Klein

Always good to put Oakland in their place: in this case, tied for 2nd with Houston, now 17 games back.... Goldthwait is actually out for the next two games, so Whitton has been playing in his place.... Matson-Goodloe are now batting .341 and .348.... We've hit 104 home runs on the season, and our #2-#5 hitters have 75 of them.... I dumped on my rookie ball teams last post, so now I'll pump the tires on Short A Poughkeepsie: 29-7, and with a pitching staff that is almost literally murdering people this season. But I only consider three of the SP to be anything approaching legit prospect status.... While trolling around the free agents list for any low minors help, I came across a 30-year-old Japanese 1B, Tetsuro Yoshimura, who is suspended for 175 games. No note as to why.... ELSEWHERE: Nearly twenty trades in the fortnight leading up to the deadline; none are really worth discussing, however. No big names moved anywhere, no 35-year-old MR mysteriously traded for three decent prospects, etc.... Philly is hot, Brooklyn is not; they're tied for the NL East lead, with Richmond trailing by 8 games.... San Francisco has 62 wins and a 4 game lead over San Diego. Former Isles first rounder Dillon Ritter is contending for the NL batting crown (at .343), while sophomore closer John Richard is having a huge breakout season: 36 SV, 0.81 ERA, 54 K, 2.5 WAR.

......

TL;DR Version: 12-4 this stretch; started and ended well, but with a weirdly inert period in the middle. Nevertheless, we're now 68-36 and lead Oakland/Houston by 17 games. Cam Daley leads the batting race at .341, while Josh Frederick leads MLB with 93 RBI. I still consider the rotation to be the soft spot in the lineup, but decided against trading for any help. Why? Dunno really...I guess I still want to roll the dice with the guys I started with. Everyone is healthy, and when they all get going I think we can have one of the best top-to-bottom rotations in the AL. I'm encouraged by Garfield's last start, even though I know one game is a ridiculous sample size. Beats the alternative, don't it. And Eric Jones is still bugging me about an extension. He's affordable, only wants two years, and so I'm leaning towards doing it. I'm holding off for a silly reason: the last couple of guys I've extended mid-season have had serious drops in form immediately after signing. Like I said: silly. And yet...I'm waiting before making an offer. I only hope I don't go back and find out he now wants a six-year deal for $120M. In which case I will shoot him.