[Bub13]

April 16-18 vs HOUSTON
Tied with us at 6-6, but with better underlying numbers: offense is 6th, pitching 4th. Career backup OF Ahmed Hackett is hitting .341, CF Erik Kinnison .318. Pitching has been strong but will be tested after ace Mat Caldwell (1.12 ERA in 16 IP) was just lost for the season. Winton Jones (1.96 ERA in 3 starts) has taken well to his first time in the rotation, and vet Robbie Camp has been solid. (Thankfully we'll see neither in this series.) [EDIT: Camp will pitch after all.] The franchise is no longer a laughingstock, but owner Jim Crane wants a playoff competitor while putting forth a franchise ranked bottom-six in budget and player salaries.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 3.52) / LH Daniel Croft (1-1, 5.40) / LH John Loeb (0-1, 3.97)
HOU pitchers: RH Chris James (0-2, 8.31) / RH Robbie Camp (1-1, 4.08) / RH Jason Knight (0-0, 3.00)

#13: LOSS 7-9 ... some bats wake up, with rookies Hassell and Coronado getting 3 H each...awful pitching all around ruins the fun however
#14: WIN 5-3 ... we're outhit 9-5 but adding 9 walks and 2 Houston errors to our cause helped out...4 steals too, fwiw
#15: WIN 9-5 ... allowing 4 late runs made this one look closer than it was...Collins knocks a 3-run blast...11 hits for each team, so no great pitching again

Better, but we're still not out of our funk. We're starting to put more guys on base and score some more, but aren't hitting for power at all. Interesting stat: our hitters have taken the most walks in the league, but our staff is walking nearly as many.... Hassell moved into CF over Lynn for a bit, and got off to a .583 start, while Coronado is batting .333 in his four starts. Hmm.... Bennetsen finally hit his first HR, but still nothing from Matson.... ELSEWHERE: 13-2 for NO, 12-3 LA, and MIL and DET with 11 wins. BKN is 2-13, MTL and CHW are 3-12.... Saves may not be a useful stat, but fwiw Zephs closer Brent Sandwell has 10 already.... ARI's Josh Hed is the last NL batter at .400, right on the nose. LA's Gerardo Nieto is 2nd in AVG and RBI, 1st in HR.... TEX catcher Phil Thoma leads everyone with 25 RBI and is batting .333, about 60 points over his career average.


April 19-21 vs OAKLAND
Muddling along with the rest of us in the division, at 7-8 and just two in back of the "red hot" Angels. Their power has returned--4th in HR--leading to a fun early-season stat of 4th in runs scored while ranking 16th in AVG and OPS. Pitching has been pretty bad so far, sitting 15th in runs allowed. Of the starters, only Tom Baker is pitching at a professional level, but he may miss a start or two with back spasms. Some of their managerial decision-making is going to hurt in the near-term if things stay the same, however: yes the starting OFs have hit 9 HR with 25 RBI, but they're batting a combined .190 and not getting on base much. Meanwhile, rookie OF Matt Hall has one AB but is ready for full-time duty. Time to dump an "overpriced veteran" somewhere and give the kids a chance!

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (2-1, 4.82) / RH Jose Rivera (2-1, 5.82) / RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 5.03)
OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (0-3, 6.41) / RH Andy Paterson (0-1, 18.00) / RH Jaden Sales (1-1, 7.90)

#16: *WIN 5-3 ... outhit 13-6 but a bases-loaded double from Chase Thompson followed by a 2-run HR from Coronado, and we're good...Tipping hurt AGAIN tho
#17: LOSS 5-7 ... Rivera can't get unstuck, allowing 5 R, 8 H in 6 IP, but did fan 11...we only muster five hits, but also take a whopping 9 walks, crazy
#18: WIN 2-0 ... another weak offensive outing, only 5 hits, but Irvin is lovely and allows only four...Hassell hits his first MLB home run

Just no hitting at all here, but we still manage to take two out of three.... Waugh looked better in his start, Irvin was stellar, but Rivera continues to struggle. Early days, though, right?... Tipping's diagnosis is a broken finger, he's out for 5-6 weeks. This is one fragile dude.... We're running out of middle infielders fast, and have to call up our third replacement in recent days: 2B Andrew Cunningham, 24, an 8th round pick from 2050. He hit .246 in AA then .321 in AAA last season, with just one HR. He's got some speed, can turn a DP like no one else, and shouldn't embarrass himself at the plate.... We're now tied for first in the West, at 10-8, with Seattle and Texas. California got swept by those Rangers.... ELSEWHERE: The White Sox are still hurting, at 5-13, and are now joined there by the Yankees and Rays. San Diego has lost 8 of 10 and is at the league bottom, at 4-14.... Boston's Dustin Wasilewski (.387/7/14) has his 20-game hitting streak ended.... Cubs pitcher Hector Ramos is gunning for NL pitcher of the month, sporting a 0.90 ERA to date.... Giants 3B Juan Garcia has started strong, batting .374, and has moved past 3200 career hits, but has a pending injury diagnosis and could miss extended time. Meanwhile, A's DH Lance Powell is off to a .153 start with 1 HR, finally coming to the end of the line at 44, and still sits in tenth all-time with 603 HR.


April 23-25 vs TAMPA BAY
It's been a rough start to the year for the Rays, at 5-13 and in last place with the equally disappointing Yankees. Coming off their fourth straight 90+ win season in '54, they've fallen off the pace, and nothing has worked this season at all. Both offense and pitching rank 17th, and only team OBP ranks in the top ten (at 10th place). The good news is that DH Orlando Navarro, 2B Jorge Arriola, and 1B Edgar Aranceta are all crushing it, but the bad news is that stud hitters Jose Taveras and Vance Wise are definitely not. In the rotation, only Carlos Nunez has been solid, and the bullpen has really struggled, especially with five guys on the DL. Fun stats: the staff has struck out the most batters but also walked the most.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (2-1, 4.76) / LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.86) / LH Matt Waugh (3-1, 4.21)
TBR pitchers: LH Phil Spickler (0-1, 7.41) / RH George Brorby (1-2, 5.79) / RH Matthew Grim (0-3, 7.36)

#19: LOSS 2-6 ... offense still phoning it in, only six hits...Croft pulled in the fourth after another ineffective start...no injuries is the only good thing here
#20: LOSS 4-5 ... outhit and outpitched again...bullpen blows this in the 9th, but only after we finally mount some offense in the 8th...everyone will now do wind sprints
#21: WIN 8-4 ... finally: 13 hits including 4 RBI doubles...Waugh is better but still yields 3 runs in 7 IP, Mendez earns his first save

Moribund. That's what describes us right now. Hitting is meh, pitching no better. We're not hitting for power at all, and in every stat and metric outside of runs and OBP we're bottom half of the league. And our supposedly league-best pitching is solidly average.... I'm hoping things will start to jell when we're not using three minor league infielders on the regular, but we're still a week-plus away from getting healthier. And that doesn't matter when half your lineup is slumping anyway.... ELSEWHERE: Mets closer Robbie Rodriguez was off to a perfect start: five games, five saves, zero runs allowed. And he'll stay that way thanks to elbow surgery, ending his season.... LA and NOZ are still the class of the NL, but props to Milwaukee's hot start: 16-5 with solid hitting and a largely-maligned pitching staff that's finally shown something of its promise.


April 26-28 @ SEATTLE
Four losses in a row has put a damper on an otherwise solid start. They've fallen to 10-11 but the underlying numbers are still good: 4th in runs, 9th in runs against. The lineup has been a bit A Tale of Two Cities, with Dan Bruno (.378/2/13), Rogelio Pena (.318/6/18), Paul Stough (.269/9/16), and Ethan Ransburg (.314) hitting hot, and everyone else running cold. And #1 SP Vince Push (6.37 ERA) has been brutal, but when he gets going he'll join the rest of his rotation-mates in moving the right direction. The bullpen has been largely bad, spoiling the works, but CL Jimmy Unganst and SU Theo Soole are doing their best. If their pitching stays at least average and they continue to hit, they'll stay in the race this year, no problem.

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (2-2, 6.18) / RH Josh Irvin (2-1, 3.45) / LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.81)
SEA pitchers: RH Ron Rivera (2-2, 4.34) / RH Mike Bader (2-2, 2.76) / RH Danny Diaz (1-1, 3.77)

#22: WIN 10-1 ... 2 doubles and a 3-run HR for Coronado, Medici adds 4 hits and his own HR to the mix...finally a strong CG from Rivera, 6 H and 8 K
#23: WIN 4-1 ... Medici goes deep again and Irvin tosses 8 IP, allows only 5 hits
#24: LOSS 6-7 ... not able to make a late 5-3 lead hold up, with Reyes blowing up in the 8th...4 H from Lynn, 3 from Matson...Croft is better here, just let down by the RPs

Two good games and then just two bad innings in the last. Let's keep that momentum going now, okay.... Lynn (.294) and Matson (.286) are slowly coming around, but Hagemann (.200) has gone cold, now without a home run in two weeks.... Jose topped Ron in the Battle of the Riveras, only his second decent start in five outings.... Injury update: Calderin is back at the start of May; Jake Moore 1-2 weeks; Pederson still 2 weeks away; Tipping 4-5 weeks.... First PM from Joe Lynn asking about a new contract. Let's see where this goes.... ELSEWHERE: Last Man Standing: Cleveland RF Mike Joseph is the final player still over .400, batting .409.... Texas C Phil Thoma is putting in his claim to AL player of the month, leading the league with 11 HR and 35 RBI, and a surprising .325 to boot.... In the NL, the stat of the month is STL pitcher John Odom, with a 0.95 ERA in his 5 starts. But with the Cards' terrible offense, his record sits at just 2-2.... MLB says Philly will win 98 games this year, taking the division with room to spare. But their excellent offense (3rd in runs) has been let down by some horrific pitching (dead last everywhere), and an 8-16 start to the season.


April 29-30 @ KANSAS CITY
Still an up-and-coming team, but an iffy 10-14 start to the season already has them 8 behind the Brewers. Tenth in runs, and led by 3B Tom Esposito (.362/8/23) and leadoff DH Tim Chapman (.323). Struggling are SS Jose Valdez (injured and now hitting only .111) and 1B Micah Bailey (.285 and 37 HR last year, .211 and 4 so far). Pitching is 12th, but should be better with co-aces Steve Scibek and Bill Perez. They too have five RP on the DL right now, but the bullpen has thrown better than the rotation. And a blow for pitcher Pat Oden, 25, and a long-time scouting favorite: after a terrible debut with Oakland last year (78 IP, 6.20 ERA), he has an 8.35 ERA in 4 starts this year and now has a pending injury. Former Isles update: LF Julius Burrows (.220/4/18) is still starting, and P Henry "Biff" Skiffington (0-2, 5.06) is a semi-irritated swingman.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.51) / LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 4.13)
KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (2-1, 5.90) / RH Steve Scibek (3-2, 5.28)

#25: WIN 2-1 ... we outhit them 10-5, with Bennetsen getting 3 and adding a walk...Loeb goes 7 IP, allows 4 hits and zero runs
#26: LOSS 2-5 ... solo HR from Hagemann and Medici, but the pen blows another one, allowing 3 late runs for a walk-off loss

Still scraping along, but at least we're going well over 2/3 of the roster -- hitting and starters yes, bullpen no -- so that's progress.... How bad is the pen right now? Dead last in ERA; only team without a relief win; only one w/ opp AVG over .300; and an OPS allowed near .900. So Yoshi Watanabe heads back to AAA and Brad Cahill gets the recall. Manny Reyes (7.94 ERA) may have an option remaining, but I doubt Marco Mendez (9.95) does. Bad as they've been however, I don't want to lose either to waivers.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is a game ahead of us but just lost 2B Matt Provance for four months. Provance looks like an average hitter but somehow managed 40 HR last year. He was hitting .325 at the time of his injury. So of course they "reload" by moving MVP SS Ryan Boers over to second and put star-in-waiting Javier Tzoc at short. Jerks.... LA and NOZ (them again?) are the first teams to 20 wins; Milwaukee has 19.... It's a good thing that LA's Gerardo Nieto plays half his games in a pitcher's park, otherwise he might not be "just" hitting a pedestrian .364/10/22 right now, good for 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the NL. And leads in batter WAR and league-wide OPS.

......

TL;DR Version: A pretty scratchy first month to the season: 14-12, third place two games behind California. Some better results over the final week here pushed our offensive totals up a bit--8th in runs, 6th in AVG, 15th in HR--but we're still a long way from consistent on this front. And while most of our rotation--Daniel Croft excepted--has been better of late, our bullpen is a real anchor right now. Closer Nate Kearns has been okay, but like I said above, Mendez and Reyes have been awful, as has Anthony Booker and the for-now-departed Watanabe. The pen in AAA hasn't been that great either, so maybe we look somewhere else to shore things up if we can't get these guys going over the next month. Anyway, other things to note for this month and moving into May: OF Jeremy Hagemann has stopped hitting, so until Pederson gets back I'll look to work Diego Espino and maybe Brian Hassell into the lineup in RF a bit more; 3B Bobby Coronado wasn't even on the 40-man roster coming out of spring, but injuries necessitated his call-up, and he's responded by hitting .390 in 59 AB. With Jesus Calderin back tomorrow, I'm still going to keep Coronado in the lineup until he stops hitting. So maybe Calderin plays some second until he's hurt again. (Replacement 2B Bill Gamboa has been fine, hitting .268 with a .418 OBP, but we need more pop in the lineup.) Finally, Joe Lynn wants to talk contract extension, but the guy who regularly hit .320+ for five seasons appears to be gone, as he's into his second season of sub-.280 hitting. To the good, however, is that his awful CF defense from 2055 (a -0.5 ZR after a combined +38.5 over five seasons prior) has gone away, with a 2.7 ZR and 1.102 EFF to date. Unofficially, the 27-year-old wants a nine-year deal worth $123M.