[Bub13]

September 15-17 @ TEXAS
Rare double header then two more; this series will go a long way to determining the Rangers' wildcard status (currently 2 ahead of Oakland and Tampa Bay). The long-bungling Rangers have finally become a solid team: 4th in offense, 3rd in pitching. You know about William Swanson (.350/42/107), but he's got ample support from sophomore DH Eric Robbins (.305/31/95), RF Omar Gurrola (.265/37/101), and C Juan Espinoza (.288/20/70). Every other regular, outside of SS Ryan Boers (.230 but excellent defense) is batting at least .270, and three of them have over 20 HR. A very solid lineup. Nice pitching too, but injuries are starting to mount: Mike Messinger has a nagging dtd gripe, Bobby Daniel is out for another week, and Greg Buchanan is done until next September. Two OF also have dtd injury issues right now. Still, a team that was so bad for so long is now looking at a possible 90-win season and a second consecutive playoff appearance.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (16-10, 3.92) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-7, 4.21) / RH Mike Pearse (14-4, 3.67) / RH Dennis Perry (10-9, 4.48)
TEX pitchers: RH Mike Kent (9-9, 4.20) / RH Mike Messinger (14-8, 3.78) / RH Kevin Cahill (2-4, 3.18) / LH Steve Means (2-1, 3.34)

#146: WIN 5-3 ... Matson gets 2 2b, 3b, and a HR...Jones leaves after rain delay in the 6th, but Walker and White shut it down over the last three
#147: LOSS 2-8 ... Jackson gives up 3 early HR, and we manage just four hits...Cappuccilli ejected for arguing with a stupid ump too
#148: LOSS 0-3 ... shut out and held to just six hits...Pearse pitches well too, finally cutting the walks (just 2)...Rich suffers dtd injury
#149: LOSS 5-6 ... blech...we score 3 at the end, but too little too late...we win the hit game, 12-9...Lopez hits his first MLB home run

Well that didn't go well. The offense took some days off, and we did waste a good start by Pearse.... Rich's injury is for six days, only dtd, but he'll sit for a few days anyway. Groff comes back from his dtd, and Frederick will be back in a week.... AAA Santa Barbara is now 92-44.... ELSEWHERE: MacLeod fans 20 Indians for his third 20+ K day this year. With that, he's at 383 and has tied Nolan Ryan's modern single-season record. He probably won't catch the all-time record, but should top 400.... Cris Frias just fanned 16, now at 330. He'd be up there with MacLeod if he hadn't missed a handful of starts in June.... Atlanta's Matt Waugh won his 20th, but the Braves are still stumbling and are now tied for first with Philadelphia. San Diego has moved 2.5 in front of Portland, and Cincy is lurking 3.5 behind Pittsburgh.... The only close race in the AL is in the East, where Tampa Bay has closed to 5.5 behind Miami.... Checking in with Baltimore: 44-103, fewer than half the wins of division-leading Miami (90 wins).


September 18-20 @ HOUSTON
A 5-10 September has dropped the Astros out of the wildcard race, and five games below .500. The offense is in 13th, pitching in 9th. Jose Renteria and Ricky Silva have been the offense, but C Jared Sharron has played well in his first extended starting role. An underperforming rotation has been hurt lately by Dustin Springer's injury, contributing to an overall disappointing season. Looking ahead, only Springer is schedule to hit free agency, of the top players on the roster. They don't have much budget to spend, unfortunately, but at least fan interest is starting to come back a little bit, with attendance up nearly 10% over last season.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (6-0, 4.53) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-8, 4.38) / LH Eric Jones (16-10, 3.90)
HOU pitchers: RH Cooper Bradberry (3-8, 5.57) / LH Chris Harris (12-7, 3.88) / RH Ron Mills (4-5, 4.66)

#150: WIN 5-2 ... Irvin goes 8 tonight, gives up just 4 hits, fans 7...Daley and Groff drive in runs in the 7th to break a tie, Cappy's HR in the 8th seals it
#151: WIN 12-0 ... Jackson shows up: 10 K in 6 IP...4 hits, 4 RBI for Goodloe, 3 RBI for Matson
#152: WIN 8-3 ... 7-run 2nd inning breaks it open...4 hits, 2 RBI for Groff, HR from Cappuccilli...Jones notches his 18th win

That was much better. We reached 100 wins and clinched the playoffs and then the division.... Nobody has 100 RBI yet, but three are closing in: Goodloe and Groff with 94, Matson with 91. Daley has 85, looks like he'll miss triple digits for the first time in four seasons.... ELSEWHERE: Pittsburgh just swept Cincy, now has a 6.5 game lead. Atlanta's put 1.5 between them and Philly. And San Diego has pulled out by 3.5 over Portland.... The Phils lost a key part for their playoff run: Ricky Hughes (.280/55/139) broke his hand and is done for the year.... Oakland's Jim Schwartz just won his 20th.


September 21-24 vs SEATTLE
The M's are 69-82 and undistinguished at the plate (15th) and on the mound (14th). Who's been good? Um...DH Ger van Mourik is batting .293, but with only 13 HR from the cleanup slot; 1B Jon Terrell's first full big league season has produced .286/16/63; SP Shaun Ostrander has 14 wins and a nice 3.76 ERA; closer Adam Krull, 34 saves and a 3.12 ERA. Yeah, that's pretty much it. And on the field isn't the only home of bad news: attendance is down 33%, there's no money to be had, and the budget for next year is projected to be significantly lower.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (14-5, 3.65) / RH Dennis Perry (10-10, 4.61) / RH Josh Irvin (7-0, 4.20) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-8, 4.26)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (10-9, 4.06) / RH Chris Grauer (3-5, 5.48) / LH Miguel Moreno (1-8, 7.78) / RH Dan Welker (9-15, 5.54)

#153: WIN 11-0 ... one-hitter and 13 K from Pearse, back on his game...19 hits, including at least 2 for all but one starter
#154: WIN 3-1 ... Groff and Goodloe homer, and Dunklee gets 3 hits...Perry leaves in the first with a dtd injury
#155: WIN 14-6 ... 5 HR tonight, including two more from Goodloe, reaching 100 RBI...bullpen gives up 5 runs late, greatly hurting ERA and egos
#156: WIN 4-3 ... Cappy's 2-run triple in the 8th, then Groff's RBI single in the ninth snatch a victory...CG for Jackson

Seems like Seattle is just mailing it in at this point.... We hit some stats milestones this series: Goodloe reaches 100 RBI, Groff at 97; Groff now has 31 HR; Pearse is the 3rd starter to reach 15 wins.... Matson tweaks his knee on the bases in that second game; it's dtd for the rest of the regular season, so he'll sit and Cardenas will get some rare starts to finish the season. He's playing for next year's roster, to be frank, batting just .167 coming into this series.... ELSEWHERE: Detriot clinches the AL Central and Miami clinches a playoff spot. In the NL, only San Diego has clinched the post-season.... The division and wildcard standings right now are: in the AL, Miami (94 wins), Texas (93), Tampa (90), and Oakland (87). In the NL, San Diego (93 wins), Pittsburgh and Portland (91), Atlanta (90), Philly (88), Cincy (85), Richmond (84), New York (82).... Philly's George Livezey now has 58 HR, and is looking to register the 12th 60-HR season in MLB history.... Conor MacLeod fanned 10 in his most recent start, giving him 393 and the new modern day record. He'll need 25 in his final start to break Charlie Buffington's all-time record from 1884.


September 25-27 vs OAKLAND
Although there isn't as much on the line for this series from our standpoint, the A's are still vying for a wildcard and are very much on the outside. They're 11-11 this month, mostly due to slumping hitting. But don't worry, A's fans, there are still some monsters out there: SS Noah Johnson (.323/29/105), LF Felix Reyes (.276/50/126), and 3B Ryan Walton (.242/43/104) are a potent 2-3-4 punch. Johnson is in his first full year in the bigs, so he'll be a thorn in our sides for years to come. Throw in Hughie Noonan (39 HR) and leadoff Randy Costello (23 HR), and this is a dangerous lineup. The rotation is the 2nd best in the AL, but the pen has slipped to 15th, having gone through a quartet of closers, none of whom has impressed. And you know what? They're not losing anyone important this fall, other than aging backup OF Bobby Trujillo and several disappointing relievers...and those can be snapped up by the cartful in the off-season.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (18-10, 3.87) / RH Mike Pearse (15-5, 3.48) / RH Dennis Perry (10-10, 4.60)
OAK pitchers: LH Mike Thomas (6-14, 5.72) / LH Chris Larimer (15-9, 3.35) / RH Chris Ronan (3-5, 3.67)

#157: LOSS 3-4 ... close, but then Jones gives up a 3-run shot to Reyes in the 8th
#158: LOSS 2-6 ... a welcome back HR by Frederick, but we give up three of our own, and look generally flat tonight
#159: WIN 7-0 ... 4-hit shutout by Perry...3-run HR by Cappy, 2-run shot by Cardenas

Pretty quiet those first two games, but a nice bit of redemption in the last one. That shutout might have ended Oakland's playoff hopes: they're 3 wins behind Tampa Bay with 3 games left. The Rays have 4 remaining.... Perry tossed his second shutout of the season, also second of his career, while passing 200 K for the first time as well.... We actually get an off day after this series, while most of the league plays. So my Oakland statement above could be moot by the time I have to write my next sentence.... ELSEWHERE: And it is: Tampa beats Miami to pull within two of the division leader; but also, they eliminate the A's. Texas clinched the other AL wildcard.... Cincy is hanging on for dear life, 3 games behind Philly for the final wildcard. The Phils are also a half game behind Atlanta, but the Braves have a game in hand. Portland has (likely) clinched the other wildcard spot, although they could mathematically still catch the Padres.... Livezey now has 62 HR after going on a binge against Atlanta.... MacLeod fanned 12 Brewers to finish the season with 405 strikeouts. Remarkable.


September 28-October 1 @ CALIFORNIA
At 65-94, they'll finish below 70 wins for the fourth time in the last seven seasons. Outside of Ricky Ochoa's 54 HR and 126 RBI there's little to see here. Maybe 100 steals, 4th in the AL? Or the 7th best defensive efficiency? Straw clutching, all of that. Next-to-last in runs allowed, but somehow both the rotation and pen are only 14th in ERA. The bullpen especially needs rebuilding, and a closer in particular (Scott Mahala's 7.11 ERA is decidedly below average). Not sure what kind of rebuild is happening here, really; given that Texas and Oakland look like regular contenders now, Houston has some nice parts, and Seattle is...a few games better...it doesn't look like the Angels are going to threaten anyone anytime soon.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (8-0, 3.92) / RH Shamar Jackson (17-8, 4.21) / LH Eric Jones (18-11, 3.88)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (8-4, 4.19) / RH Ryan Kuehner (8-15, 6.02) / RH Mike Hosey (8-17, 6.39)

#160: WIN 7-4 ... Burrows and Groff each deliver 3 hits and a 2-run HR...Irvin goes 7, gets the win and remains undefeated for 2051
#161: WIN 6-4 ... pinch HR from Frederick and Burrows, plus Groff's RBI double in the 9th win it...Jackson gives up his 40th HR of the year
#162: WIN 6-1 ... Jones scatters 3 hits over 7 IP...another Groff 2-run HR...3 hits by Rich, 2 for Daley and Goodloe

A nice, season-ending sweep, helping us finish 11 games over the surging Rangers.... Groff finished with 106 RBI, the tenth time in his career he drove in triple digits.... Josh Irvin won pitcher of the month and rookie of the month for September. He went 6-0, and 9-0 for the season. He also went 9-0 in AAA, meaning he retains the undefeated heavyweight belt.... Jones followed up last year's 22-win season with his third year of 19 wins.... More on this later, but a couple of guys who were definitely looking at their last seasons on the islands may have changed my mind: Rich and Cappuccilli.... AAA Santa Barbara won 97 games but was eliminated in four by 76-win El Paso.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto swept Baltimore to send the Orioles into the depths of despair, aka a 48-114 season, the worst ever in this dynasty. (New Orleans won just 49 in '35, their second year of existence.).... Miami lost their last six, but Tampa Bay lost their season ender to hand the division to the Marlins.... Atlanta pulled away from Philly to win by 3 games; likewise, San Diego topped Portland by 4. Cincinnati won 89 games but missed the wildcard by two.... George Livezey won player of the month with a 20 HR and 48 RBI effort. He finished the season at .285/62/128 and 8.5 WAR. He'll give Portland's Gerardo Nieto (.347/48/141, 10.3 WAR) a run for NL MVP honors.