[Bub13]

Heavy schedule this month, with 28 games. Thirteen at home, with seven games to start us off; but we end with a nine-game road trip. We'll see Texas twice: at the start, once we finish with Oakland, and again to close out the month. Our non-division foes include Detroit, New York, and Baltimore, all teams having good seasons. Gotta get back on the winning track here. (Btw, congrats to Matt Waugh, the AL Pitcher of the Month for July: 5-1, 2.01 ERA, 44.2 IP, 45 K, 9 BB.)

August 1 vs OAKLAND
Finishing up here. Can we stop the bleeding?

HAW pitcher: LH Daniel Croft (9-4, 4.24)
OAK pitcher: RH Jesse Malone (0-0, 5.19)

#105: LOSS 5-8 ... pain, and lots of it...at least now the bullpen is joining the suck, blowing this one

No, no we could not stop the bleeding.... I dunno what now. Maybe a mass promotion/demotion. Can I make the team to a day of bag skates?... ELSEWHERE: Nothing much new here. California's William Swanson takes over the AL home run race after a 3-dinger night, giving him 36 on the season. He's got 431 for his caDereer now, putting him into a tie for 86th all-time, with Cal Ripken and Danny Diaz, the great PIT/LA 2B and Hall of Fame wannabe.


August 2-4 vs TEXAS
Our sudden inability to play anything resembling actual baseball has given the Rangers a two-game division lead, as they've won five in a row. Third in runs scored (and 1st in AVG now), and tops in home runs with 212. Pitching sits 2nd, with the league's best rotation ERA. Everyone but leadoff man Emilio Mares has hit at least 18 HR, but Mares is no slouch either, batting .352 with an .895 OPS, and 53 steals. Ryan Boers (.318/31/92) is making a case for defending his MVP crown, and what team wouldn't love the luxury of batting someone like Ronnie Halvorson (.330/22/56) eighth. The only thing that could hold them back are injuries, having lost two SP (Bobby Daniel for the year, and Kevin Cahill for seven weeks) in the last ten days. So far, replacement Jesus Aguilar and Sean Reed have been up to the task. The only major move they made before the deadline was acquiring closer Han-lee Su from Toronto; he's only managed a 0.00 ERA in his 11.2 IP, trifling stuff. (They also added ancient RP Jay Debus from Montreal, but he likely won't move the needle much anymore.) We need to right our ship in this series, or there's a danger we'll see them sail off into the distance, and quickly.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (11-4, 3.66) / LH Matt Waugh (14-2, 2.35) / RH Mike Bader (8-9, 4.71)
TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (9-4, 3.86) / RH Mike Nelson (9-1, 2.72) / RH Sean Reed (7-5, 4.08)

#106: WIN 4-3 ... both teams manage just 8 hits, but Royer's HR tips the balance...two late runs make this close at the end, but we eke this one out...Sanchez hurt dtd
#107: LOSS 6-7 ... this one wasn't close until Pederson's grand slam in the 9th...Waugh is meh again, and the pen gives up three more to maintain their own slide
#108: LOSS 2-14 ... we allow 7 HR, Bader doesn't get past the 3rd inning, and the pen gives up seven more on their own

Cool stuff, especially after that unexpected game one win. Okay, time for some changes.... After the third game, it's the Wednesday Night Massacre. First, IF Victor Sanchez is waive/DFA'd. He's hit 7 HR and .263, but someone has to go, and it's not gonna be the futures of the franchise. With Simmons coming off the DL for the next series, we'll be set in the IF. OF Nick Gase and his .227 average are sent to AAA, and Chase Thompson gets the call. He's hit .378 with 17 HR, so warrants a look. I also send down Jake Moore and recall Bill Gamboa. Maybe he can hit .200 too. Next, I demote SP Mike Bader and Daniel Croft. Getting guys out is a pre-req for pitchers, and neither of these guys is meeting that need currently. Taking their places will be Steve Shinnick and newbie Gleb Mihalkovsky. RP Yoshi Watanabe also gets the boot. Dude strikes out a ton of guys, but has been giving up runs in bunches lately. Taking his place will be Jon Sitzler. Also, RP Sam Bohlen is getting the "ignore this guy" label for the meantime. Can't pitch, won't play.... 3B Caleb Royer is moved back into the lineup, after Ulkini batted .206 in July. And Josh Matson, currently ice cold, is moved down to 8th while Royer takes his spot at #3.... ELSEWHERE: So who is winning? LA now has a 20-game lead in the NL West, so winning games CAN be done. And Philadelphia, despite just losing former MVP Luke Kempf for the season, has won six straight and taken a three-game lead in the East. And the NL Central is going to be a fun watch down the stretch: right now, STL and CIN are tied for first, and NOZ is a game behind. Right now, the divisional winner would be the only one making the playoffs, so there's a lot to play for.


August 6-8 vs CALIFORNIA
We wrap up our disastrous home stand against the 50-58 Angels, who at 4-5 in their last nine have been way better than we have. Hitting ranks 14th, with the usual suspects (Swanson, .299/36/81, and Marquez, .304/23/75) carrying things. Pitching sits 7th, with Nate Elder looking like a future star, and rookie Sam Matthews responding well to being moved into the rotation in late July. Despite a 7-18 July, there is some optimism blooming in SOCAL. Youngsters CF Chris Burns and SS Kevin Perry had solid months at the plate, and #4 SP Aaron Moore finally looked like a legit MLB pitcher. Most of the veterans they've signed in recent years have underperformed, so maybe some better scouting will help too. (Although 31-year-old Dan Dellinger, a two-time NL batting champ, hit .353 last month to finally get his season average over .300. He's around for four more years, so needs to step up.) The team seems happy, and fans are still turning out, but owner Arturo Moreno needs to loosen the purse strings to bring these guys back to the good old days when they ruled the roost in the AL West.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.15) / RH Steve Shinnick (1-1, 5.25) / RH Josh Irvin (12-4, 3.53)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (10-5, 3.91) / RH Aaron Moore (7-6, 4.59) / LH Shaun Ostrander (4-2, 2.72)

#109: WIN 8-7 ... in the 7th, Pederson's RBI double and Simmons' RBI walk salvage this one...Garfield stinks again, then gets hurt; Sitzler gets bombed too
#110: WIN 5-1 ... CG for Shinnick, thank goodness. Give the pen some rest...Royer's 2-run shot gives us the lead...Lynn with 3 hits, breaking his silence
#111: WIN 9-1 ... Royer stays hot with an RBI double, and Medici and Covington homer...Simmons gets hurt AGAIN...Irvin goes 8.1, fanning 9

Much MUCH needed series, but not without cost. Simmons suffers two injuries, the second now with a pending diagnosis. Sigh. Garfield, however, only has a 3-day dtd injury. Had me worried there.... Sanchez gets claimed by Pittsburgh after his DFA, so for more veteran help I reach way back into the past and ink IF Mike Hunter to a minor league deal. Hunter was our star 2B/SS from '39 to '43, hitting .316 for us over that stretch, with 239 doubles. He's now 40, but hit .304 with Miami and Oakland last year, and looks ready to help us down the stretch. And he's 12th on the all-time doubles list, with 637, six behind Xander Bogaerts.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy now has the temporary lead in the NL Central, by a game.... KC is still hot, having moved past the White Sox into second in the Central, five out of first. LF Tim Chapman has broken out, leading the AL at .353, and 3B Tom Esposito (.312/29/78) has bounced back from .215 last year.... Toronto (35 wins) and Oakland (37) are fighting for last overall, but watch out for San Francisco (42) and Brooklyn (41), both dropping fast.... Tampa brought in CF Emmanuel Garcia to stabilize the outfield and provide some veteran leadership this year. Instead, he's been an outright flop. Worst in baseball with a -2.0 WAR, the career .270 hitter is instead going .199/.255/.342, with a -13 ZR in the field. And intead of giving them his usual 20-25 steals, he's been 3-for-9 on the basepaths. At least he'll be a free agent this fall, and the Rays will look to reload after what's been a disappointing year all around so far: 54-57, 15 games out of first.


August 9-11 @ BALTIMORE
This dreadful franchise finally looks decent! At 61-50 and 8 games out of first, they're not really threatening for the playoffs right now. But with only three winning seasons since 2038, the record alone is a dramatic turnaround. And it's not like Boston is running away with the division. For the O's: offense ranks 7th, pitching 12th, with a +10 run differential. 2B/RF Steve McClellan has been a helluva Rule 5 pickup, with 48 HR last year and .303/19/72 this year; 3B Kyle Crowl is having a late-career resurgence, with 26 HR; and CF Nate Murray, who started the season in AAA, is going .352/9/55 in 72 games. Plus, former #1 overal Eddie Feltman is finally showing something, batting .304 and settling into a hybrid 2B/SS role. Pitching has been up and down, but the top two SP, Danny Zulick and Jonas Chevalier, are under 25 and are a super solid foundation, as is 23-year-old closer Alex Juarez. With top prospect 3B Justin Horton slowly working into the lineup, and a 5th-ranked prospect system, a little patience and some judicious veteran additions will see the historic Orioles back in the hunt for big things in the AL.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (14-3, 2.48) / RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (debut) / LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.13)
BAL pitchers: RH Mike Zulick (11-9, 4.96) / RH Jonas Chevalier (6-5, 4.86) / RH Danny Carbajal (3-1, 5.22)

#112: WIN 8-3 ... Tipping homers twice, and Bennetsen and Espino add solo shots...Waugh rebounds with a CG, credited with only 1 ER against (two errors by us)
#113: LOSS 3-4 ... two more errors, two more unearned runs, and that's ballgame...Gleb is wild, walking 7 in 5 IP...3 H, 2 RBI by Pederson
#114: LOSS 5-9 ... ugh, the bullpen: a six-run 8th destroys us tonight...11 hits, 6 for extras, and we still lose

Well, that could have gone better. A rebounding offense was more than offset by some extremely shaky pitching. Injuries on the farm haven't left me much to call on either, should I want to make some more "adjustments".... Still no word on Simmons's latest injury.... Three-game lead for Texas now.... ELSEWHERE: After only one playoff appearance in 30 years, Washington reached the post-season last year on the final weekend of the season. They've continued that resurgence, going 70-44 to date, one game behind Philly for the division lead. I've already mentioned 3B Adam Walker, having an MVP-type season at .332/41/101. He's joined by 1B Mel Gallego, at .342/37/97 and leading the NL batting race. RF Darius Williams--an off-season steal from the Giants--fills out their power trio at .292/23/71. Their only sore spot is probably CF Jason Welch, a slick-fielding speedster, but a run-killer as a leadoff batter with a .298 OBP. Still, with Philly suffering some injuries, and neither team featuring top-flight pitching, this is another division race that will be fun to watch.... Minnesota built a powerful lineup over the off-season, but injuries and slumps have limted them to a 9th-place standing in runs despite sitting 3rd in HR. But someone forgot to tell them about pitching, ranked 16th and responsible for their -65 run differential and a recent 2-13 stretch which has dropped them to last in the AL Central.


August 12-14 @ HOUSTON
Gotta rebound (again) in our next two series. The Astros have stumbled through another forgettable season, 46-68 and 33 games out in fifth place. Few on offense have looked good, outside of Erik Kinnison (.301/27/74), and Chris Marshall (.274). Star 1B Jose Renteria has struggled, pairing 25 HR with a slump-ridden .251 average. DH Juan Rodriquez has been fine, .262/25/75, but at 36 he's playing out the string. On the mound, veterans Mat Caldwell, Robbie Camp, and Ron Mills have disappointed, while 25-year-old Jason Knight is a decent mid-rotation guy to keep. The best starter has been 38-year-old Mike Messinger, but again he's not here for the long term. There are prospects to build around in the high minors, so maybe it's time to bring them all up and let them get some seasoning in otherwise meaningless games. Closer Alex Moya and RP Miles Iandoli should move into the rotation, as should AAA guys Winton Jones and Daniel Jaramillo; all could (should?) be in the rotation next year. And swap out all the vets who are coming back next year for some lineup help, particularly at catcher and the left side of the infield, where 3B Zach Gille and SS Oscar Garza are outstanding fielders but execrable batters. See how easy it is, lol?

HAW pitchers: RH Steve Shinnick (2-1, 3.43) / RH Josh Irvin (13-4, 3.40) / LH Matt Waugh (15-3, 2.41)
HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (10-8, 4.10) / RH Mat Caldwell (5-14, 4.65) / RH Ron Mills (4-3, 5.94)

#115: WIN 13-2 ... everyone shows up: 14 hits, 3 HR, three guys with 3 RBI each...another CG for Shinnick, yielding just 6 hits and fanning 7
#116: LOSS 5-6 ... we pound out 3 more HR but once again leave ourselves open to a late rally, giving up 2 late runs for the loss
#117: WIN 5-2 ... we score three late runs, courtesy of HR from Medici and Hunter...Waugh is solid through 7, and Reyes and Kearns close it out for once of late

Whew, we needed that last win there, especially as Texas is hot now and has pulled out a four-game lead.... Bad news on the Simmons front: broken elbow, out five months. Sigh. He was having a nice comeback season, at .354/.412/.500, and will be really missed. So welcome back to Mike Hunter, our "new" shortstop. He'll be backed up by Bill Gamboa, up to replace JJ for now. Jake Moore stays on the farm, but he's a Simmons clone who'll get a chance to come back and improve on his .224 for us if these guys falter.... Jon Sitzler didn't impress, so it's back to AAA for him and we welcome back Watanabe, who looked good in his two weeks in Santa Barbara.... Welcome back also to Caleb Royer, who hit .353 in July and is 17-for-52 with 4 HR so far this month. He's a stone-handed slowpoke in the field, but if his bat has returned, that can be overlooked.... ELSEWHERE: Texas becomes the first team to secure a winning season, an 8-2 streak putting them at 82 wins. LA is right behind, with 81 wins (and a 21-game lead over Portland).... Cincy's rebuilt pitching staff continues to work, as they're now three up on STL and NOZ. Chris Larimer, Eric Stockton, and Ricky Elmore are a combined 8-2 in 12 starts, and all five of their new relievers are pitching great. It's enough to make you overlook slumping newbie catcher Devin Swan (.226 after hitting .353 for MIN through April and May) and forget to ask why super rookie Mike Knapp (.328/17/51) is making less than 50% of the starts in right in favor of Adam Durst, a good fielder who has hit just 11 HR across 10 professional seasons, almost all in the minors.

......

TL;DR Version: Okay, a little better, at 7-6 here, but with two crucial wins against a bad Houston team. Of course, counting the end of July, we're on a 7-11 run of late, which is not good, obviouslam. And as much as I've bitched out our pitching, we're still first overall in runs allowed, and 1st in rotation ERA, 2nd in bullpen. So it's the offense that has slipped, to 2nd in runs and 4th in AVG (from 1st place in both), while our power numbers are up: 8th in home runs. But I will dole out some kudos to a couple of guys. First, Jules Medici has reached 100 RBI for the third consecutive season; and I guess it says something about us that with 145 career HR he's already in 7th place in franchise history. (And his 434 RBI has him in 11th.) Also, big props to rookie 2B Lucas Tipping, who's popped 26 HR so far despite missing nearly three weeks of the season. And he's been a positive ZR at second, something we haven't had since Manny Rangel won the third of his three consecutive Gold Gloves back in '49. Finally, for all the grief I've given Royer about his deficiences with the glove at third, there are actually five guys statistically worse than him this year, and two others he's in a dead heat with. Progress!