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Bub13 · 06-23-2022, 06:15 PM

June 15-17 vs MIAMI
Steady play sees the Marlins holding on to a three-game lead in the East, and they haven't had a losing month this season. Pitching has been their key, at 2nd in runs allowed overall and the 2nd best rotation ERA. Dustin Panos (11-1, 2.32) has finally cracked his talent at age 27, and everyone else has been solid. Team offense has been almost as good, at 6th in runs, with most of the production--46 HR, 144 RBI, .320 AVG--coming from the #2-#4 slots of Mario Rivera, Toshi Shimabukuro, and Chris Bierly. 2B Alvin Phillips and C Chris MacKenzie are out, and recently joined by 37-year-old closer Jon Carlsen (the former long-time SP ace for the Angels, a long time ago). But they keep winning, and owner Justin Cox ("I said I want EXTREME WINNING!") is happy with the on-field success and the projected $24M profit he's going to fondle very soon.

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (6-6, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (3-6, 4.54) / LH Daniel Croft (5-5, 4.93)
MIA pitchers: RH Dwaine Webb (4-6, 4.11) / LH Victor Nunez (7-3, 4.59) / RH Sean Kramer (5-5, 3.99)

#67: LOSS 2-3 ... 5 hits, 1 double...strong game by Rivera: 8.1 IP, 8 H, 12 K, 1 BB, and the loss
#68: LOSS 4-7 ... 6 hits, 1 double, 1 triple...Irvin is terrible, bullpen is better (4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K)
#69: LOSS 3-4 ... 11 hits, 5 doubles, 1 HR...we leave 10 men on base, Miami just 4

If the players won't do anything, then why should I. Just a dreadful performance here, back below .500 on the season.... ELSEWHERE: After a terrible 9-17 April, the Phils have gone 11-4 this month and are now a game from .500 and just 7 games out of first. They have that hilarious combo of a #2 offense (326 runs) and a #18 pitching staff (325 runs allowed). They have more home runs right now (106) than we may hit all season.... Bad news for New York baseball: Yankees are 27-42, last in the AL East; Mets are 33-36, 5th in the NL East; and Brooklyn is 30-39, last in the NL East.... San Diego (24-45) may vie for the worst record in MLB this season, but they have a nice two-headed batting attack of Heriberto Nunez (.327, leading the NL) and Blake Langer (.320, third). But their next qualified batter is CF Bob Armstrong, hitting .226. And look: they're worse than we are in the power department, with only 46 HR.

June 18-20 @ SEATTLE
Now we head off on a long road trip, and no one will miss us. The Mariners have been spinning their tires all year, pairing a solid offense (5th) with some ugly pitching (15th). DH Ger van Mourik (.276/21/46) and 1B Jon Terrell (.283/11/27) are joined by recent call-up RF Tyler Baccala (.325/6/21 in 114 AB), and CF Rogelio Pena (15 HR from leadoff). On the mound, SP Danny Diaz and Mike Bader have delivered; no one else has, outside of should-be-a-starter-but-isn't Theo Soole in middle relief. These guys should have no problem with us right now.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (6-4, 3.15) / LH Matt Waugh (10-2, 3.28) / RH Jose Rivera (6-7, 3.97)
SEA pitchers: RH Daniel Newell (1-5, 5.94) / RH Vince Push (6-5, 5.88) / RH Ron Rivera (6-7, 4.22)

#70: WIN 8-4
#71: WIN 9-1
#72: WIN 9-3

Who even knows any more.... The low-effort game day reports will continue until my morale improves.... ELSEWHERE: Another outing, another string of broken bats against Mets ace Conor MacLeod. His June stats: 4 GS, 3-1, 34 IP, 19 H, 5 ER, 54 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 1 no-hitter.... LA plays in one of the premier pitching parks in baseball, so of course they've turned things upside down by having one of the best NL offenses (2nd in runs and HR, 1st in AVG, OBP, OPS). Meanwhile the mega-millions pitching staff rates just 11th. But they still lead the West, and will probably get to the Series again, yet again.... Philly sweeps first place Richmond, closing their gap now to just four games and into a tie for second with Atlanta. Quite a turnaround, and I want to see if they can simply play 80s-style hockey and outscore everyone on the way to a division title. (They've won four in a row, two with some truly execrable pitching.)

June 22-24 @ MILWAUKEE
Only 8-10 this month, which has matched Detroit and kept them just a game behind the Tigers in the Central. Ninth in runs scored, 7th in runs allowed, and a +18 differential. 1B Ricky Ayala (.258/21/58) is having a nice follow-up to his breakout 52 HR effort from a year ago; and DH Joey Walker (.271/20/50) was apparently born in a test tube, as no one had heard of the 33-year-old before January when the Brewers signed him from god-knows-where. Throw in SS Kyle Murphy, batting a hundred points over his usual self at .341, and some timely power from Oscar Espinosa and Luis Morales, and the offense has clicked enough to keep them winning. Pitching is harder to figure out, as top SP Jeremy Atkins and Merlin Lemay continue to struggle despite possessing some of the best raw talent in the bigs. The team bullpen ERA (12th) looks leaky, but the top three guys do most of the work and have a combined 2.60 number, which I'd take any day. Injuries are piling up, tho: out for good are 3B Mitch Elmore (batting .364), and solid RP Robbie Collier and Erik Schewe. Five other guys have nagging dtd gripes or are out for several more weeks, putting a strain on an already low-rated farm system.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-7, 4.90) / LH Daniel Croft (5-6, 4.93) / LH John Loeb (7-4, 3.12)
MIL pitchers: RH Jose Ambriz (5-4, 4.08) / RH Eric Lantier (10-3, 2.93) / RH Merlin Lemay (7-6, 5.12)

#73: WIN 7-3
#74: WIN 5-1
#75: WIN 5-3

*shrugs*.... The only things worth relating are that we were outhit twice, and we have not one but TWO guys with ten HR on the season, finally: Jules Medici, of course, and freaking Bill Gamboa somehow.... ELSEWHERE: Philly takes 2 out of 3 from hapless Brooklyn, keeping pace with Richmond and passing Atlanta. Fun stuff.... LA has won six straight and is pulling away from Portland, not surprisingly.... Meanwhile NOZ and CIN continue to battle it out in the Central, with just a game separating the two, and first place changing hands repeatedly.... Francisco Rodriguez still has the single-season saves record, with 62 set back in 208. But watch out for New Orleans closr Brent Sandwell, with 29 so far (in just 35 appearances). Cincinnati's John Jackson is second with 25.... Cards pitcher Erik Sloan continues to impress with double duty: 8-7 with a 3.02 ERA, 132 K in 131 IP on the mound; and .322/.368/.530, with 21 doubles and 9 HR in 230 AB and 43 OF starts.

June 25-27 @ CALIFORNIA
Now two games behind us; the struggle is real. Sixth in runs scored, and 3rd in AVG, but other numbers are in the bottom half of the league. Pitching sits tenth, making for a small +7 run differential. I've harped on these guys a lot, for turning a great franchise into an annual joke, a team without a winning record since 2035. But credit now where it's due: they splurged on William Swanson, and as he's only 30 he's got a lot of time left for them to build around him. They have holes--like everyone does--and they're nowhere near as powerful as the Rangers right now; but a few more FA grabs, a prospect or two pans out, and their pitching stays healthy....then they're competitive and back in the playoff picture regularly. The good news is that most everyone looks to be back next year, and minus a couple of useful pitchers most of the departures look easily replaceable. Not that I *want* my divisional competitors to regain their mojo, but if they have to, let them supplant the Rangers then.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (11-2, 3.09) / RH Jose Rivera (7-7, 3.89) / RH Josh Irvin (4-7, 4.78)
CAL pitchers: RH Leo Ortiz (4-5, 4.70) / LH Shaun Ostrander (5-2, 3.11) / RH Nate Elder (2-4, 3.12)

#76: LOSS 1-2
#77: LOSS 1-4
#78: WIN 2-0

Just 15 hits across the entire series. Sad.... Good thing we're on a roll playing a terrible team next.... ELSEWHERE: Nine straight now for LA, and tied atop MLB with a 50-28 record (with Texas and New Orleans).... Phil Thoma has finally slowed down, and has been caught by the unstoppable force that is Detroit's Pat Townsand. The reigning AL MVP is hitting .305/27/65, just behind the Rangers catcher in the two power numbers. However, Thoma's teammate Ryan Boers is the first batter to 5 WAR, and also leads in AL all-star game voting, for what that's worth.... Cincinnati's Chris Mitchell picked a great time to jump ship from the Yankees, signing on with the Reds last winter. NY is in the dumps in the AL East, while Cincy is battling New Orleans for supremacy in the NL Central. Mitchell also leads the NL in batting (.320) and WAR (4.2), and has 18 HR for his new club. (He was the AL MVP in '53 for New York.)

June 28-30 @ TEXAS
Let's just get this series over with, shall we? Then we get a nice, long, All-Star break to rest and reassess where things went so very wrong. These guys? First in offense, fourth in pitching. Ryan Boers (.350/18/50), Javier Tzoc (.329/18/46), Phil Thoma (.298/28/67), Mike Olivera (.283/14/41), Eric Robbins (.318/15/52), etc etc. And so much for losing 80% of last year's rotation to free agency, as the new group is 3rd in AL ERA. Try not to get hurt out there, fellas.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (6-6, 4.59) / LH John Loeb (7-4, 3.04) / LH Matt Waugh (11-3, 3.06)
TEX pitchers: RH Sean Reed (4-7, 4.70) / RH Joel Wiechart (6-8, 5.34) / RH Kevin Cahill (10-3, 3.40)

#79: LOSS 0-16
#80: LOSS 6-7
#81: WIN 2-1

Absolute incompetence, outside of Matt Waugh.... Not since our inaugural seasons have we been so bad in every aspect of the game. Hits? Nah. Pitching? Nah. Fielding? Six errors here, two that cost us that second game.... ELSEWHERE: Philadelphia has won 5 straight despite having lost two SP (Keith Bradshaw and Leonardo Vigil) to season-ending injuries in the past week. They're now just a game behind Richmond.... Keeping it in the NL East: this is a tight race, as even last place Brooklyn is just 9 games out. Anyone can get on a roll here and make some noise.... The AL East is shaping up to be a good race too, with Miami leading Tampa Bay by 2, and Boston and Baltimore by 4.

......

TL;DR Version: Thought we'd turned a corner after those Seattle and Milwaukee series, didn't you? Maybe I did too... Instead we drop four out of six, including some pretty ugly losses, and strike a real blow to whatever confidence we were so close to regaining. Bigger picture, it means that July becomes a make-or-break month for our playoff chances. And also means I'll be giving deep thoughts to who will even be on the roster after the deadline. Frankly, we're too tightly budgeted to go out and grab a big-money guy this season, and if we're in the same position on 7/30 as we're in now, we'll be sellers if anything. No, I'm not looking at a fire sale; but I do need to take some sober looks at guys to see if this is just a bad year, or if there is some deeper lineup rot going on. Anyway...

... in the meantime, I undertake a small-potatoes version of a Great Roster Reset, demoting five guys to AAA. Gone (for now? for good?) are C Jared Null, IF Jake Moore, OF Chase Thompson, and RPs Marco Mendez and Nick Lee. Taking their places are C Bentley Kolb, IF Bobby Coronado, OF Jeremy Hagemann, and RPs Gleb Mikhailkovsky and Yoshi Watanabe. All but Kolb have been up this season already, although Gleb didn't pitch in the two days he was up for an injured Brad Cahill. Time to see if I can finally find the right buttons to push, or if we'll continue to flail in the mud.

06-23-2022, 06:15 PM	#462
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 15-17 vs MIAMI Steady play sees the Marlins holding on to a three-game lead in the East, and they haven't had a losing month this season. Pitching has been their key, at 2nd in runs allowed overall and the 2nd best rotation ERA. Dustin Panos (11-1, 2.32) has finally cracked his talent at age 27, and everyone else has been solid. Team offense has been almost as good, at 6th in runs, with most of the production--46 HR, 144 RBI, .320 AVG--coming from the #2-#4 slots of Mario Rivera, Toshi Shimabukuro, and Chris Bierly. 2B Alvin Phillips and C Chris MacKenzie are out, and recently joined by 37-year-old closer Jon Carlsen (the former long-time SP ace for the Angels, a long time ago). But they keep winning, and owner Justin Cox ("I said I want EXTREME WINNING!") is happy with the on-field success and the projected $24M profit he's going to fondle very soon. HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (6-6, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (3-6, 4.54) / LH Daniel Croft (5-5, 4.93) MIA pitchers: RH Dwaine Webb (4-6, 4.11) / LH Victor Nunez (7-3, 4.59) / RH Sean Kramer (5-5, 3.99) #67: LOSS 2-3 ... 5 hits, 1 double...strong game by Rivera: 8.1 IP, 8 H, 12 K, 1 BB, and the loss #68: LOSS 4-7 ... 6 hits, 1 double, 1 triple...Irvin is terrible, bullpen is better (4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 7 K) #69: LOSS 3-4 ... 11 hits, 5 doubles, 1 HR...we leave 10 men on base, Miami just 4 If the players won't do anything, then why should I. Just a dreadful performance here, back below .500 on the season.... ELSEWHERE: After a terrible 9-17 April, the Phils have gone 11-4 this month and are now a game from .500 and just 7 games out of first. They have that hilarious combo of a #2 offense (326 runs) and a #18 pitching staff (325 runs allowed). They have more home runs right now (106) than we may hit all season.... Bad news for New York baseball: Yankees are 27-42, last in the AL East; Mets are 33-36, 5th in the NL East; and Brooklyn is 30-39, last in the NL East.... San Diego (24-45) may vie for the worst record in MLB this season, but they have a nice two-headed batting attack of Heriberto Nunez (.327, leading the NL) and Blake Langer (.320, third). But their next qualified batter is CF Bob Armstrong, hitting .226. And look: they're worse than we are in the power department, with only 46 HR. June 18-20 @ SEATTLE Now we head off on a long road trip, and no one will miss us. The Mariners have been spinning their tires all year, pairing a solid offense (5th) with some ugly pitching (15th). DH Ger van Mourik (.276/21/46) and 1B Jon Terrell (.283/11/27) are joined by recent call-up RF Tyler Baccala (.325/6/21 in 114 AB), and CF Rogelio Pena (15 HR from leadoff). On the mound, SP Danny Diaz and Mike Bader have delivered; no one else has, outside of should-be-a-starter-but-isn't Theo Soole in middle relief. These guys should have no problem with us right now. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (6-4, 3.15) / LH Matt Waugh (10-2, 3.28) / RH Jose Rivera (6-7, 3.97) SEA pitchers: RH Daniel Newell (1-5, 5.94) / RH Vince Push (6-5, 5.88) / RH Ron Rivera (6-7, 4.22) #70: WIN 8-4 #71: WIN 9-1 #72: WIN 9-3 Who even knows any more.... The low-effort game day reports will continue until my morale improves.... ELSEWHERE: Another outing, another string of broken bats against Mets ace Conor MacLeod. His June stats: 4 GS, 3-1, 34 IP, 19 H, 5 ER, 54 K, 11 BB, 1 HR, 1 no-hitter.... LA plays in one of the premier pitching parks in baseball, so of course they've turned things upside down by having one of the best NL offenses (2nd in runs and HR, 1st in AVG, OBP, OPS). Meanwhile the mega-millions pitching staff rates just 11th. But they still lead the West, and will probably get to the Series again, yet again.... Philly sweeps first place Richmond, closing their gap now to just four games and into a tie for second with Atlanta. Quite a turnaround, and I want to see if they can simply play 80s-style hockey and outscore everyone on the way to a division title. (They've won four in a row, two with some truly execrable pitching.) June 22-24 @ MILWAUKEE Only 8-10 this month, which has matched Detroit and kept them just a game behind the Tigers in the Central. Ninth in runs scored, 7th in runs allowed, and a +18 differential. 1B Ricky Ayala (.258/21/58) is having a nice follow-up to his breakout 52 HR effort from a year ago; and DH Joey Walker (.271/20/50) was apparently born in a test tube, as no one had heard of the 33-year-old before January when the Brewers signed him from god-knows-where. Throw in SS Kyle Murphy, batting a hundred points over his usual self at .341, and some timely power from Oscar Espinosa and Luis Morales, and the offense has clicked enough to keep them winning. Pitching is harder to figure out, as top SP Jeremy Atkins and Merlin Lemay continue to struggle despite possessing some of the best raw talent in the bigs. The team bullpen ERA (12th) looks leaky, but the top three guys do most of the work and have a combined 2.60 number, which I'd take any day. Injuries are piling up, tho: out for good are 3B Mitch Elmore (batting .364), and solid RP Robbie Collier and Erik Schewe. Five other guys have nagging dtd gripes or are out for several more weeks, putting a strain on an already low-rated farm system. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-7, 4.90) / LH Daniel Croft (5-6, 4.93) / LH John Loeb (7-4, 3.12) MIL pitchers: RH Jose Ambriz (5-4, 4.08) / RH Eric Lantier (10-3, 2.93) / RH Merlin Lemay (7-6, 5.12) #73: WIN 7-3 #74: WIN 5-1 #75: WIN 5-3 shrugs.... The only things worth relating are that we were outhit twice, and we have not one but TWO guys with ten HR on the season, finally: Jules Medici, of course, and freaking Bill Gamboa somehow.... ELSEWHERE: Philly takes 2 out of 3 from hapless Brooklyn, keeping pace with Richmond and passing Atlanta. Fun stuff.... LA has won six straight and is pulling away from Portland, not surprisingly.... Meanwhile NOZ and CIN continue to battle it out in the Central, with just a game separating the two, and first place changing hands repeatedly.... Francisco Rodriguez still has the single-season saves record, with 62 set back in 208. But watch out for New Orleans closr Brent Sandwell, with 29 so far (in just 35 appearances). Cincinnati's John Jackson is second with 25.... Cards pitcher Erik Sloan continues to impress with double duty: 8-7 with a 3.02 ERA, 132 K in 131 IP on the mound; and .322/.368/.530, with 21 doubles and 9 HR in 230 AB and 43 OF starts. June 25-27 @ CALIFORNIA Now two games behind us; the struggle is real. Sixth in runs scored, and 3rd in AVG, but other numbers are in the bottom half of the league. Pitching sits tenth, making for a small +7 run differential. I've harped on these guys a lot, for turning a great franchise into an annual joke, a team without a winning record since 2035. But credit now where it's due: they splurged on William Swanson, and as he's only 30 he's got a lot of time left for them to build around him. They have holes--like everyone does--and they're nowhere near as powerful as the Rangers right now; but a few more FA grabs, a prospect or two pans out, and their pitching stays healthy....then they're competitive and back in the playoff picture regularly. The good news is that most everyone looks to be back next year, and minus a couple of useful pitchers most of the departures look easily replaceable. Not that I want my divisional competitors to regain their mojo, but if they have to, let them supplant the Rangers then. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (11-2, 3.09) / RH Jose Rivera (7-7, 3.89) / RH Josh Irvin (4-7, 4.78) CAL pitchers: RH Leo Ortiz (4-5, 4.70) / LH Shaun Ostrander (5-2, 3.11) / RH Nate Elder (2-4, 3.12) #76: LOSS 1-2 #77: LOSS 1-4 #78: WIN 2-0 Just 15 hits across the entire series. Sad.... Good thing we're on a roll playing a terrible team next.... ELSEWHERE: Nine straight now for LA, and tied atop MLB with a 50-28 record (with Texas and New Orleans).... Phil Thoma has finally slowed down, and has been caught by the unstoppable force that is Detroit's Pat Townsand. The reigning AL MVP is hitting .305/27/65, just behind the Rangers catcher in the two power numbers. However, Thoma's teammate Ryan Boers is the first batter to 5 WAR, and also leads in AL all-star game voting, for what that's worth.... Cincinnati's Chris Mitchell picked a great time to jump ship from the Yankees, signing on with the Reds last winter. NY is in the dumps in the AL East, while Cincy is battling New Orleans for supremacy in the NL Central. Mitchell also leads the NL in batting (.320) and WAR (4.2), and has 18 HR for his new club. (He was the AL MVP in '53 for New York.) June 28-30 @ TEXAS Let's just get this series over with, shall we? Then we get a nice, long, All-Star break to rest and reassess where things went so very wrong. These guys? First in offense, fourth in pitching. Ryan Boers (.350/18/50), Javier Tzoc (.329/18/46), Phil Thoma (.298/28/67), Mike Olivera (.283/14/41), Eric Robbins (.318/15/52), etc etc. And so much for losing 80% of last year's rotation to free agency, as the new group is 3rd in AL ERA. Try not to get hurt out there, fellas. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (6-6, 4.59) / LH John Loeb (7-4, 3.04) / LH Matt Waugh (11-3, 3.06) TEX pitchers: RH Sean Reed (4-7, 4.70) / RH Joel Wiechart (6-8, 5.34) / RH Kevin Cahill (10-3, 3.40) #79: LOSS 0-16 #80: LOSS 6-7 #81: WIN 2-1 Absolute incompetence, outside of Matt Waugh.... Not since our inaugural seasons have we been so bad in every aspect of the game. Hits? Nah. Pitching? Nah. Fielding? Six errors here, two that cost us that second game.... ELSEWHERE: Philadelphia has won 5 straight despite having lost two SP (Keith Bradshaw and Leonardo Vigil) to season-ending injuries in the past week. They're now just a game behind Richmond.... Keeping it in the NL East: this is a tight race, as even last place Brooklyn is just 9 games out. Anyone can get on a roll here and make some noise.... The AL East is shaping up to be a good race too, with Miami leading Tampa Bay by 2, and Boston and Baltimore by 4. ...... TL;DR Version: Thought we'd turned a corner after those Seattle and Milwaukee series, didn't you? Maybe I did too... Instead we drop four out of six, including some pretty ugly losses, and strike a real blow to whatever confidence we were so close to regaining. Bigger picture, it means that July becomes a make-or-break month for our playoff chances. And also means I'll be giving deep thoughts to who will even be on the roster after the deadline. Frankly, we're too tightly budgeted to go out and grab a big-money guy this season, and if we're in the same position on 7/30 as we're in now, we'll be sellers if anything. No, I'm not looking at a fire sale; but I do need to take some sober looks at guys to see if this is just a bad year, or if there is some deeper lineup rot going on. Anyway... ... in the meantime, I undertake a small-potatoes version of a Great Roster Reset, demoting five guys to AAA. Gone (for now? for good?) are C Jared Null, IF Jake Moore, OF Chase Thompson, and RPs Marco Mendez and Nick Lee. Taking their places are C Bentley Kolb, IF Bobby Coronado, OF Jeremy Hagemann, and RPs Gleb Mikhailkovsky and Yoshi Watanabe. All but Kolb have been up this season already, although Gleb didn't pitch in the two days he was up for an injured Brad Cahill. Time to see if I can finally find the right buttons to push, or if we'll continue to flail in the mud. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!