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liberty-ca · 05-15-2026, 12:00 AM

THE HOT CORNER
Baseball coverage from the inside — Sacramento Prayers and the FBL

By Claude Playball | Baseball Insider & Analyst | Host, "Hot Corner" Podcast

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July 16 – July 30, 1998 | Sixty-Four and Thirty-Nine | The Prieto Question

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THE ROTATION IS THE BEST IN THE FBL, PRIETO'S ERA IS 11.57 IN THE LAST 16

Let me ask it bluntly, because the numbers demand straight answer: is there any reason rooted in baseball — not sentiment, not sunk cost, not contract paperwork — to keep Luis Prieto on the active roster?

I have looked at this from every angle over the past several weeks. His ERA over his last sixteen appearances is 11.57. On the season it sits at 8.27. He is thirty-five years old. He is signed through 2000 at seven hundred and fifty-two thousand dollars per year. Prieto remains available, and when the bullpen is stretched — which happens — he gets used.

There is no charitable interpretation of a 11.57 ERA that makes a case for keeping a pitcher with such atrocious numbers. At this stage of a pennant race, with postseason positioning on the line, an 8.27 season ERA is not a slump to be managed. It is a verdict. The remainder of his contract is not a reason to keep him pitching in games that matter. It is a reason to make a decision, eat the financial cost, and move on. Every inning Prieto absorbs in a close game is an inning Sacramento is giving back to the opponent.

The front office acquired Nate Yost from Tucson on July 31st. That move adds a legitimate arm. It does not, by itself, resolve the Prieto question. That resolution requires a separate decision about the active roster.

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DID YOU CATCH THOSE GAMES? — WHAT THE SCORECARDS SAY

@ Portland, July 16-19 (2-2)

July 16th: Espenoza gave up three runs in five and two-thirds innings, Lawson allowed a Voss two-run homer in the seventh that decided it, and Cruz hit two home runs that weren't enough. Five to four, Portland. The winning pitcher was Santamaria, who entered that start with a one and seven record.

July 17th: Andretti pitched five and a third innings, gave up two runs, and departed with a lead. Prieto entered and allowed two more — both on a Thomas home run — before Musselman held the damage. Choi had hit a two-run homer in the first inning to build the early cushion that made the win survivable. Six to four, Prayers.

July 18th: Sato went eight innings, allowed zero runs, and the offense gave him enough in the first two innings to hold comfortably. Three to nothing.

July 19th: Rubalcava threw seven and a third innings and gave up two runs, the decisive blow being a Foulke two-run homer in the sixth. Eduardo Reyes — the same pitcher who no-hit Sacramento in April — went six and two-thirds innings for the win. One to two, Portland, to split the series even at two a piece.

vs. San Jose, July 21-23 (2-1)

July 21st: Strickler pitched six and a third innings as Sacramento scored sixteen runs. Choi hit two home runs. Lozano hit a three-run homer in the first. The margin was never in doubt. Sixteen to three.

July 22nd: Andretti allowed five earned runs in six and a third innings, and Trillo threw a complete game for San Jose. The lineup generated four hits. Two to eight.

July 23rd: Espenoza went five innings, Sacramento scored eight runs in the first inning on a Perez three-run homer and subsequent damage, and the bullpen held the rest of the way. Eight to five, Sacramento.

vs. Columbus, July 24-26 (2-1)

July 24th: Rubalcava pitched five and a third innings, Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the fifth that proved to be the winning run, and four relievers combined for three and two-thirds innings to finish it. Four to three.

July 25th: Sato gave up four runs in six innings. Gonzalez took the loss after allowing a Fujimoto two-run homer in the tenth. Prieto came in for a third of an inning with two inherited runners and both scored. Ten to four, Faith. This was one of the uglier games of July.

July 26th: Strickler struck out ten in six and two-thirds innings. Chavarria went three for five with a home run and double. Shinohara hit a bases-clearing double in the first. Sixteen to four.

@ San Antonio, July 27-28 (1-1)

July 27th: Andretti threw eight shutout innings against San Antonio. Choi hit two home runs. Six to nothing. Manuel Hernandez went zero for four as a pinch hitter in the eighth — his first scoreless game in recent memory in a season where he now has forty-nine home runs.

July 28th: Espenoza allowed four runs in five innings. Manuel Hernandez — the San Antonio' future Hall of Famer — hit his forty-eighth home run of the season in the third inning. Sacramento's two runs weren't enough. Two to five.

vs. Cleveland, July 29-30 (2-0)

July 29th: Rubalcava went six and a third innings and allowed zero runs. Mollohan hit two home runs. Six to one.

July 30th: Sato went five and a third innings with eight strikeouts. Lawson, Benson, and Medina combined for three and two-thirds of clean relief. Florez hit a solo homer in the fifth. Two to nothing, Sacramento.

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WHAT JULY LOOKED LIKE FROM THE OUTSIDE

Twenty wins in a calendar month is a loud statement. The rotation produced five starters with ERAs under four on the season. Andretti leads the FBL at 2.42, Rubalcava is third at 2.92. Strickler and Sato are in the top ten. All four are red-hot entering August. Benson has not allowed a run in twenty-seven appearances. That is the spine of a championship pitching staff, and it has held through one of the toughest stretches of the schedule.

The offense generates runs in waves. Lozano has twenty-five home runs and seventy-five RBI. Choi has twenty-two home runs and sixty-four RBI, and his arbitration eligibility on what amounts to a bargain contract has to be one of the quietly developing situations in the front office right now. Perez hit a walkoff three-run homer on July 2nd with the season potentially turning. Lopez leads the AL in stolen bases. This lineup does not have a soft spot beyond Rodriguez at short.

The one-run record currently stands at twelve and seventeen. That is the single persistent weakness — close games frequently lost — and it sits alongside a home record of thirty-seven and thirteen that is among the best in the league. This team controls its own games when the margin is comfortable. It loses them when they're tight, and the bullpen exposure in late innings has a name: Prieto.

The Trade

Nate Yost, thirty years old, signed to the end of 1998 season, arriving from Tucson in exchange for three prospects and a pair of draft picks. Tucson retained one hundred percent of his remaining contract. The three prospects sent out were all twenty-one or twenty-two years old. The picks balanced. This is a win-now acquisition, unambiguously, and the front office made it because the bullpen needs depth and reliability beyond what Benson, Gonzalez, and Esparza can consistently provide. Yost now has to earn his way into the late-game mix.

______________________________

THE INBOX

From Sofía Delgado of Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, a high school librarian, who asks: "Is there really no baseball reason to keep Prieto on the active roster?"

None that I can construct honestly. The only argument that gets close is roster depth — a long game that exhausts six better options might require him to absorb an inning or two in a blowout. But that scenario doesn't justify carrying him as an active arm through a pennant race. You carry him in that role when the alternative is not having anyone else. Sacramento has alternatives. The decision to keep him active is not a baseball decision at this point.

From Aleksandr Kuzmenko of Sacramento's Arden-Arcade neighborhood, a mechanical engineer, who asks: "Manuel Hernandez is on pace for nearly sixty home runs. Is that actually going to happen?"

He has forty-nine with fifty-nine games left. Sixty requires eleven more, which is roughly one every five games. That is absolutely achievable at his current rate. Whether it happens depends on how the final two months of the San Antonio season play out and how often opposing teams decide to pitch around him. The more interesting number to me is his RBI total: one hundred. Daniel Mele in Baltimore is at one hundred and two and batting .378. That is a legitimate MVP race between two players having extraordinary seasons, and Sacramento will see neither of them in October unless the matchups fall perfectly.

From Brigid O'Sullivan of Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood, a physical therapist, who asks: "The home record is 37-13. Why is Sacramento so dominant at Sutter Health Park specifically?"

The pitching is the primary answer — it is easier to dominate at home when you have three starters who can limit opponents to two runs or fewer on a given night. The crowd at Sutter Health Park has been consistently strong since the back-to-back championships, and the team plays with a different energy in front of a full house. The road record at twenty-seven and twenty-six is perfectly acceptable for a playoff team but not dominant. Whatever Sacramento is doing at Sutter Health Park in 1998, they have not figured out how to replicate it consistently away from it.

______________________________

Washington for three starting July 31st, then Houston series at home. The schedule is manageable. The roster decision about Prieto is not.

______________________________
Claude Playball is a baseball insider and analyst and host of the Hot Corner podcast, based in Sacramento, California.

05-15-2026, 12:00 AM	#337
liberty-ca All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: New Westminster, BC Posts: 573	THE HOT CORNER *Baseball coverage from the inside — Sacramento Prayers and the FBL* By Claude Playball \| Baseball Insider & Analyst \| Host, "Hot Corner" Podcast ______________________________ *July 16 – July 30, 1998 \| Sixty-Four and Thirty-Nine \| The Prieto Question* ______________________________ THE ROTATION IS THE BEST IN THE FBL, PRIETO'S ERA IS 11.57 IN THE LAST 16 Let me ask it bluntly, because the numbers demand straight answer: is there any reason rooted in baseball — not sentiment, not sunk cost, not contract paperwork — to keep Luis Prieto on the active roster? I have looked at this from every angle over the past several weeks. His ERA over his last sixteen appearances is 11.57. On the season it sits at 8.27. He is thirty-five years old. He is signed through 2000 at seven hundred and fifty-two thousand dollars per year. Prieto remains available, and when the bullpen is stretched — which happens — he gets used. There is no charitable interpretation of a 11.57 ERA that makes a case for keeping a pitcher with such atrocious numbers. At this stage of a pennant race, with postseason positioning on the line, an 8.27 season ERA is not a slump to be managed. It is a verdict. The remainder of his contract is not a reason to keep him pitching in games that matter. It is a reason to make a decision, eat the financial cost, and move on. Every inning Prieto absorbs in a close game is an inning Sacramento is giving back to the opponent. The front office acquired Nate Yost from Tucson on July 31st. That move adds a legitimate arm. It does not, by itself, resolve the Prieto question. That resolution requires a separate decision about the active roster. ______________________________ DID YOU CATCH THOSE GAMES? — WHAT THE SCORECARDS SAY @ Portland, July 16-19 (2-2) July 16th: Espenoza gave up three runs in five and two-thirds innings, Lawson allowed a Voss two-run homer in the seventh that decided it, and Cruz hit two home runs that weren't enough. Five to four, Portland. The winning pitcher was Santamaria, who entered that start with a one and seven record. July 17th: Andretti pitched five and a third innings, gave up two runs, and departed with a lead. Prieto entered and allowed two more — both on a Thomas home run — before Musselman held the damage. Choi had hit a two-run homer in the first inning to build the early cushion that made the win survivable. Six to four, Prayers. July 18th: Sato went eight innings, allowed zero runs, and the offense gave him enough in the first two innings to hold comfortably. Three to nothing. July 19th: Rubalcava threw seven and a third innings and gave up two runs, the decisive blow being a Foulke two-run homer in the sixth. Eduardo Reyes — the same pitcher who no-hit Sacramento in April — went six and two-thirds innings for the win. One to two, Portland, to split the series even at two a piece. vs. San Jose, July 21-23 (2-1) July 21st: Strickler pitched six and a third innings as Sacramento scored sixteen runs. Choi hit two home runs. Lozano hit a three-run homer in the first. The margin was never in doubt. Sixteen to three. July 22nd: Andretti allowed five earned runs in six and a third innings, and Trillo threw a complete game for San Jose. The lineup generated four hits. Two to eight. July 23rd: Espenoza went five innings, Sacramento scored eight runs in the first inning on a Perez three-run homer and subsequent damage, and the bullpen held the rest of the way. Eight to five, Sacramento. vs. Columbus, July 24-26 (2-1) July 24th: Rubalcava pitched five and a third innings, Rodriguez hit a two-run homer in the fifth that proved to be the winning run, and four relievers combined for three and two-thirds innings to finish it. Four to three. July 25th: Sato gave up four runs in six innings. Gonzalez took the loss after allowing a Fujimoto two-run homer in the tenth. Prieto came in for a third of an inning with two inherited runners and both scored. Ten to four, Faith. This was one of the uglier games of July. July 26th: Strickler struck out ten in six and two-thirds innings. Chavarria went three for five with a home run and double. Shinohara hit a bases-clearing double in the first. Sixteen to four. @ San Antonio, July 27-28 (1-1) July 27th: Andretti threw eight shutout innings against San Antonio. Choi hit two home runs. Six to nothing. Manuel Hernandez went zero for four as a pinch hitter in the eighth — his first scoreless game in recent memory in a season where he now has forty-nine home runs. July 28th: Espenoza allowed four runs in five innings. Manuel Hernandez — the San Antonio' future Hall of Famer — hit his forty-eighth home run of the season in the third inning. Sacramento's two runs weren't enough. Two to five. vs. Cleveland, July 29-30 (2-0) July 29th: Rubalcava went six and a third innings and allowed zero runs. Mollohan hit two home runs. Six to one. July 30th: Sato went five and a third innings with eight strikeouts. Lawson, Benson, and Medina combined for three and two-thirds of clean relief. Florez hit a solo homer in the fifth. Two to nothing, Sacramento. ______________________________ WHAT JULY LOOKED LIKE FROM THE OUTSIDE Twenty wins in a calendar month is a loud statement. The rotation produced five starters with ERAs under four on the season. Andretti leads the FBL at 2.42, Rubalcava is third at 2.92. Strickler and Sato are in the top ten. All four are red-hot entering August. Benson has not allowed a run in twenty-seven appearances. That is the spine of a championship pitching staff, and it has held through one of the toughest stretches of the schedule. The offense generates runs in waves. Lozano has twenty-five home runs and seventy-five RBI. Choi has twenty-two home runs and sixty-four RBI, and his arbitration eligibility on what amounts to a bargain contract has to be one of the quietly developing situations in the front office right now. Perez hit a walkoff three-run homer on July 2nd with the season potentially turning. Lopez leads the AL in stolen bases. This lineup does not have a soft spot beyond Rodriguez at short. The one-run record currently stands at twelve and seventeen. That is the single persistent weakness — close games frequently lost — and it sits alongside a home record of thirty-seven and thirteen that is among the best in the league. This team controls its own games when the margin is comfortable. It loses them when they're tight, and the bullpen exposure in late innings has a name: Prieto. The Trade Nate Yost, thirty years old, signed to the end of 1998 season, arriving from Tucson in exchange for three prospects and a pair of draft picks. Tucson retained one hundred percent of his remaining contract. The three prospects sent out were all twenty-one or twenty-two years old. The picks balanced. This is a win-now acquisition, unambiguously, and the front office made it because the bullpen needs depth and reliability beyond what Benson, Gonzalez, and Esparza can consistently provide. Yost now has to earn his way into the late-game mix. ______________________________ THE INBOX From Sofía Delgado of Sacramento's Oak Park neighborhood, a high school librarian, who asks: "Is there really no baseball reason to keep Prieto on the active roster?" None that I can construct honestly. The only argument that gets close is roster depth — a long game that exhausts six better options might require him to absorb an inning or two in a blowout. But that scenario doesn't justify carrying him as an active arm through a pennant race. You carry him in that role when the alternative is not having anyone else. Sacramento has alternatives. The decision to keep him active is not a baseball decision at this point. From Aleksandr Kuzmenko of Sacramento's Arden-Arcade neighborhood, a mechanical engineer, who asks: "Manuel Hernandez is on pace for nearly sixty home runs. Is that actually going to happen?" He has forty-nine with fifty-nine games left. Sixty requires eleven more, which is roughly one every five games. That is absolutely achievable at his current rate. Whether it happens depends on how the final two months of the San Antonio season play out and how often opposing teams decide to pitch around him. The more interesting number to me is his RBI total: one hundred. Daniel Mele in Baltimore is at one hundred and two and batting .378. That is a legitimate MVP race between two players having extraordinary seasons, and Sacramento will see neither of them in October unless the matchups fall perfectly. From Brigid O'Sullivan of Sacramento's Land Park neighborhood, a physical therapist, who asks: "The home record is 37-13. Why is Sacramento so dominant at Sutter Health Park specifically?" The pitching is the primary answer — it is easier to dominate at home when you have three starters who can limit opponents to two runs or fewer on a given night. The crowd at Sutter Health Park has been consistently strong since the back-to-back championships, and the team plays with a different energy in front of a full house. The road record at twenty-seven and twenty-six is perfectly acceptable for a playoff team but not dominant. Whatever Sacramento is doing at Sutter Health Park in 1998, they have not figured out how to replicate it consistently away from it. ______________________________ Washington for three starting July 31st, then Houston series at home. The schedule is manageable. The roster decision about Prieto is not. ______________________________ Claude Playball is a baseball insider and analyst and host of the Hot Corner podcast, based in Sacramento, California.