[Bub13]

August 17-19 vs CLEVELAND
Still trying to figure a way out of the second-division in the Central, at 51-69 this year. They've focused on acquiring and developing pitching prospects of late, but it's only gotten them the 16th-ranked staff and next-to-last rotation ERA. Sort-of youngsters Jose Rubio, Sam Tedder, and Dudley Mele haven't progressed as hoped, and Mele looks to have lost his stamina after spending much of the season to date on the DL. Some good news is that they've brought up (from AA) top prospect Jonathan Narcisse to give him some looks in the bullpen; once his control catches up to the rest of his game, he figures to be a steady #2 or #3 starter. The offense is 9th in runs--and 2nd in AVG, but has hit the fewest home runs in the AL. Josh DeRango and Matthew Hill have kept up their power and batting numbers, as did Manny Ayala (leading in hitting until a season-ending injury). But their other productive regulars are all over 30, and only two batting prospects are anywhere near ready for the show. (And neither looks to become a leader on the offensive side of things.) So what does this mean for next year? Probably not much different, really: they're not spending money, and don't have a ton of room right now plus nearly everyone under contract figures to return in the spring. Maybe roll the dice on a solid SP and hope the guys who look great on paper finally figure it out, so that they're pitching is at least league-average. If that happens, they could even get hot and find themselves in a wildcard race.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (12-5, 3.26) / LH Matt Waugh (17-4, 2.67) / RH Jose Rivera (10-13, 3.85)
CLE pitchers: LH Yong-jun Har (3-1, 3.38) / RH Bryce Witulski (3-6, 5.31) / RH Sam Tedder (10-8, 5.25)

#121: WIN 6-3 ... a 5-run third, including a pair of RBI triples, seals the win early...Loeb gives up a pair of late runs, earning Kearns another save for getting one out
#122: WIN 9-5 ... Waugh fans 12 through 6 IP...Simmons and Bennetsen with 3 hits and 2 RBI each, and Medici drives in 2 with a double
#123: LOSS 7-8 ... Hagemann gets four hits (3 doubles), and three for Medici...but we can't get anyone out, and add a pair of crucial errors into the sordid mix

Ok, I'll take it, but we blew a sweep with a really sloppy third game.... Still 7 games behind Texas, but with everyone else in the division falling away, we're 14 games ahead of our nearest competition.... Lynn and Hassell are taking turns in center, but right now Hassell is edging him out. Lynn's hitting has really dropped off of late, with his average down to .269, a drop of 20 points in the last month.... Despite a few hiccups, the bullpen ERA keeps creeping down, now ranked 13th with a 4.11 mark.... ELSEWHERE: Philly's George Livezey has missed only 5 games this year but has battled a number of nagging, dtd, hurts. Still, he's the first in the NL to reach 40 home runs. The Phils are 3 games behind Richmond, and 7 up on the cooling-off Nationals.... LA is the first team to secure a winning season, with an 82-41 record. They lead Portland by 13 games, the biggest divisional margin in MLB.... Winners of 9 out of their last 10, Richmond is keeping ahead of the Phillies, and with an interesting approach of late. While every lineup regular has been on the roster for each of the last three seasons, the pitching staff undergone a total revamp, even right up to the last few weeks. Three of their five SP were with other teams last year, while six of the eight in the pen were with other teams THIS year. The results? A second-ranked bullpen ERA, 4th-best rotation.


August 20-22 @ BOSTON
They've traded good months with bad months, and so a moribund July saw them fall out of the divisional race. But an 11-6 start to August has put them right back in it: third place, 7 games out of first, and 2 games out of a wildcard slot. Pitching is still the key to their success, having given up the 2nd-least runs in the AL. Every SP has pitched well this year, and top RP Luis Garcia (20 SV, 1.57 ERA) and Dusty Browning (18 and 1.87) have been the best 1-2 combo in the game. But the offense ranks just 15th, despite an MVP-type outing so far from sophomore RF Tyler Knott: a league-leading .345 average, with 23 HR and 88 RBI. Former MVP Dustin Wasilewski hasn't repeated his .333/36/142 from a year ago, but he is batting .294 with 17 HR from leadoff. Beyond them, however, it's a veteran-heavy lineup that features strong defense but low averages. Still, they're looking for their 2nd consecutive playoff appearance, after six largely forgettable seasons. This is another franchise with a ton of money to spend (right now: $50M) but is always way too cautious in the off-season. That needs to change if they're going to become relevant again, outside of once every five-to-eight years.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (10-9, 3.95) / LH Daniel Croft (12-9, 4.37) / LH John Loeb (13-5, 3.25)
BOS pitchers: RH Art Garner (9-10, 3.88) / LH Chris Cole (5-7, 4.21) / LH Jose Palomino (10-6, 3.50)

#124: WIN 2-0 ... only 4 hits but 2 are solo HR from Calderin...Irvin tosses 7 shutout innings, and the pen wraps it up, allowing zero runners the rest of the way
#125: LOSS 2-4 ... silent offense hurts us this time, with only 6 hits tonight, and 4 from Bennetsen alone...Sanabria takes the L with a poor 9th
#126: WIN 8-3 ... Medici GOES OFF, banging out 3 home runs and driving in 4...Lynn adds a solo shot...Loeb goes 8, wins his 14th and sees his ERA drop too

Two more wins, and now six games behind Texas. Not holding out for a miracle, but it's nice to at least have a sliver of hope.... Medici's triple-shot night ties a team record and finally gives us a player with more than 20 HR on the season.... nice comeback for Jordan Ruiz, with a 1.29 ERA in 7 IP, 6 K and 0 BB.... Calderin is finally showing something at the plate, with 4 HR in the past week and an average over .300. He's getting time at second over Tipping right now.... ELSEWHERE: Still some trades happening, as three deals occur in the last two days. No one of note (or real value) got moved, the closest being Cincy acquiring defensive stud 2B Jose Moran from the Mets for equally solid defensive OF Sam Gilmer. Neither can hit much at all, however.... Back-and-forth race for the NL strikeout crown, with Washington's Nick Light currently on top (245 K) over the Mets' Conor MacLeod (240). Mac has a game in hand, however.... Ten wins in a row for LA, like they really need to do that; 16 game lead over Portland now.... Nine losses out of ten for Milwaukee; that not only drops them to 9 games behind Detroit in the Central, but puts them 3 games behind Tampa Bay for the #2 wildcard spot.


August 24-26 vs TEXAS
The big boys are in town! They've got a six game lead now and are just gunning to widen it. You know the rest: 1st in offense, 5th in pitching, and a top-ten defense. That offense is still just killer, averaging nearly six runs and two homers per game. Six guys have reached 20+ home runs, and with one more RF Ted Miller will join that crowd. The only down note in the lineup is leadoff man Emilio Mares hitting .261, nearly 90 points lower than his mark from a year ago. And while injuries took a little starch out of the rotation, they went and grabbed Drew Hurt from the Chisox and Sid French from the Twins and plugged them into the #4 and #5 slots, where they've done well. So with all that good news, let's add one possible sour note: perennial MVP candidate (and '54 winner) Ryan Boers could walk via free agency this fall. He is the catalyst of the offense, and there's no immediate candidate to replace him, should he depart. I can't believe they'd let him go, but then they let William Swanson walk after his '53 season of .325/62/158, so there's precedence.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (18-4, 2.72) / RH Jose Rivera (10-14, 4.03) / RH Josh Irvin (11-9, 3.79)
TEX pitchers: RH Sean Reed (9-10, 4.34) / LH Sid French (3-10, 5.91) / RH Dinand Huisman (17-4, 3.77)

#127: WIN 6-5 ... we outhomer them 3-2, with Hassell hitting a GW solo shot in the 9th...Medici hits a 3-run blast, Bennetsen a 2-run knock
#128: LOSS 2-4 ... a late collapse ruins our 2-0 lead, sadly...JJ SIMMONS ANNUAL HOME RUN ALERT...but only four other hits
#129: WIN 6-0 ... 3 in the 2nd, 3 more in the 8th, with 13 hits total...Irvin tosses a 5-hitter, fanning 6

That's a nice surprise: now we're just five games behind. Too much to hope for? Maybe, but I like that we're fighting for it, and we didn't get blown out in this series like we did last time we played them.... In his last five starts, Irvin is 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA and a 25:5 K-to-BB ratio, in 32.1 IP.... Bad news: top pitching prospect Will McGee is out again, with elbow surgery putting him on the shelf for five months. At least he'll be back for camp, but this year has been a parade of injuries, limiting him to just 9 starts.... Beau Collins watch: 73 HR for the AA star, and an .887 SLG.... ELSEWHERE: Watch out, Miami, Tampa Bay has won ten straight and is now in sight, only three games out.... the NL Wildcard race is starting to jell, with Philly (79 wins) and New Orleans (76) well ahead of two 70-win teams, Washington and Portland.... only 45 wins for San Diego, on the bottom by five games (Chisox with 50).... Outspoken Atlanta CF Jake Morris, the 2054 NL MVP, may be wearing out his welcome in Georgia. He's unhappy with the team's record (58-71), and downright angry with his .231 AVG and 28 HR, both career lows. He also leads MLB with 168 strikeouts (still way behind his personal high of 259 from 2051).


August 27-29 vs CALIFORNIA
With your season playing out (at 62-67, not good but not terrible either) and staring at your second straight decade without a playoff appearance, where do you go if you're running this team? The prospects just aren't there: only one batter--OF Joe Lundin--looks like a solid future starter, and he's still in rookie ball. Otherwise it's a lot of replaceable support-type guys, unless somebody takes a big leap in their development. Pitching looks a little better, but again it's a bunch of back-end starters and middling middle relievers. So sign some free agents, right? Well...they've overspent already, so even with nearly $20M coming off the books this fall, there won't be much room to grab a top player. What I'd do is grab 2-3 cheaper guys who get on base--don't worry about power--and fill in the gaps they're going to lose in a few months (2b, C, SS). You'ver already got two stars in 1B William Swanson and OF/DH Mo Marquez, and two decent OF in Dan Dellinger and Chris Burns. Now go get some contact hitters and build a more competitive lineup on the cheap. Pitching? It's been decent, and since you can't afford a top SP with your budget, make sure your bullpen is as good as you can make it. Is this the path to the Series next year? No, but it's the path to winning more games, building your budget, bringing back the fans...and one day competing for the title again. Oh, and try not to have the bad luck to have FIFTEEN players injured at one time, like they have right now.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (12-9, 4.25) / LH John Loeb (14-5, 3.20) / LH Matt Waugh (18-4, 2.85)
CAL pitchers: RH Brad Cox (0-1, 2.45) / RH Aaron Moore (9-12, 4.67) / RH Nate Elder (3-12, 3.93)

#130: LOSS 4-7 ... we put a couple of bombs out, but a 4-run 8th thanks to a rare Sanabria meltdown is our doom tonight...Calderin goes 4-for-4
#131: WIN 5-4 ... 3 more late runs almost make me stroke out, but we hold on this time...7 of our 12 hits go for extras...Loeb fans 11 in 8.1 IP
#132: LOSS 2-5 ... AGAIN with the late blowup, this time 4 runs in the 8th, but ALL are unearned thanks to 2 errors

Ugly series, and not when we wanted it. Texas only grabs a game against us, however, so we're still six back. Not much hope to catch them, but it's still there.... Bennetsen gets hurt in the field in the first game: his diagnosis is still pending.... After a tough start to the season, Calderin has really picked it up, batting .444 in July and now .412 in August, with 4 HR.... 74 home runs for Beau Collins. Eighty is still in reach, but only just.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit has taken advantage of Milwaukee's swoon to open up a 10 game lead over them and KC, while Philly's injury issues have seen them slip to six behind Richmond. Still close in the AL East (Miami 3 ahead of Tampa Bay) and the NL Central (Cincy by 2 over NOZ).... At the other end of the stick, San Diego (47-85) is still the only team without 50 wins.... Still just four players at .300 in the NL, paced by Reds OF Chris Mitchell at .305.... With just over a month left to go, the wildcard races have also opened up. In the AL, #2 team Tampa Bay has a five game advantage over KC and Milwaukee. Over in the NL, New Orleans is five up on Washington and Portland.


August 29-30 vs MILWAUKEE
Four games under .500 this month, and a combined -6 since June 1, putting the one-time division leaders in danger of missing the playoffs outright. Ricky Ayala (45 HR) and Kyle Murphy (.311) have paced the attack, but with little support behind them the offense sits at 12th in runs scored. 3B Mitch Elmore hit .364 in April then got hurt for the season; his replacement Myles Linville hit .293 with defense and speed, but now he's hurt; HIS replacement Adrian Gonzales has done very little. Pitching has been carrying the day, at 8th in runs against, but injuries have pained here too, with three solid relievers currently on the shelf. Unfortunately half of the current pitching roster are upcoming free agents, so there's a lot of work to do this winter to keep them competitive. The better news is that #2 prospect, OF Matt Keil is already on the big team and learning the ropes, while #1 Juwan Watkins should be along by next summer or '57 at the worst. Both are decent hitters, and Watkins offers speed and defense to the mix. There isn't much help on the way for their pitching, although if Chris Pestel (already in the MLB bullpen) can get his control working, he could be in the rotation next spring.

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (10-15, 4.00) / RH Josh Irvin (12-9, 3.59)
MIL pitchers: RH Merlin Lemay (7-6, 4.70) / RH Jose Ambriz (11-9, 3.78)

#133: WIN 6-0 ... one way to avoid another bullpen collapse is to toss a 4-hit shutout...HR and two hits, two RBI for Calderin
#134: WIN 4-1 ... 8 strong innings from Irvin, and we make the most of our mere 5 hits...the big hit is Simmons with a 2-run double in the 5th

Needed, and with Texas dropping a pair we're now only four games out. Who saw this coming back in mid-summer.... Bennetsen has a strained oblique and will miss 6 weeks or so. Maybe we'll get him back for the playoffs if we can make a deep run. We call up Honolulu native Kyle Kolstad for his first taste of the bigs. He's got some pop (33 HR in AA last year), speed, and is an excellent fielder. But he's not much for contact (.257 this year in AAA seems about right) and strikes out nearly 30% of the time. Still, he could figure in the mix as a left-handed bench bat and defensive option.... Another HR and three more hits for Calderin, now .313 on the year and looking like the guy we traded for last November.... ELSEWHERE: Still just 47 wins for the Padres, and now the first team officially eliminated from the post-season.... With just two games here, obviously there are no big swings in the division races, but New Orleans gains a game on Cincinnati to close to two back.... Bizarre late-season trade sees Seattle send minor leaguers Jimmy Dolan (RP, control issues but otherwise decent) and 2B Andy Rardin (no-hoper) to Toronto for 34-year-old journeyman OF Jesus Alfaro, who hasn't sniffed the bigs since '53. Neither team is in playoff contention, so maybe this trade was made on a dare.

......

TL;DR Version: A 9-5 finish to the month gave us a 21-7 record overall, and a 37-16 effort since July 1. We've put ourselves in a position to catch Texas, but at least as important is that we're solidly in the playfoff mix, atop the wildcard standings. Again, at the end of June: who saw this coming, when we were just three games over .500 and struggling for offense. Well, August turned that around, with eight players hitting at least .299 and hitting 42 home runs as a team. Really only Lynn (.243), Gamboa (.208), and Pederson (.185) didn't get in on the fun. The other fly in the ointment is losing Bennetsen for the closing stretch, after he really heated up just now (.345 with 7 HR in August). Someone will need to step up in his place. For now, Pederson goes back in the lineup since he has the highest ceiling if he gets hot. Hagemann is still in right, and Hassell is busy platooning with Lynn in center. That leaves ice-cold Chase Thompson and rookie Kyle Kolstad. So: c'mon Pederson!