[Bub13]

July 13-15 vs KANSAS CITY
Coming off a run of ten playoff appearances in thirteen seasons, this year has been a struggle for the Royals. Currently 38-48 and 18.5 games behind the Twins, and teams stats are all over the place. Decent hitting--8th in AVG and HR--but just 15th in runs scored. Poor pitching from the rotation, 17th in ERA, but currently the best bullpen in the AL, and 10th in runs against. RF Eric Holz is the top hitter, at .288/10/31, and C Aaron Moffett has chipped in 19 HR. Closer Alex Castaneda is having an excellent year, with 20 saves and a 1.04 ERA. Old-timer Eli Guy is managing his 19th year for the team, and owner J.J. Parks is unhappy, with all five of his team goals going unmet. Favorite name: A ball no-hoper Steve Slaughter.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (8-6, 3.52) / Billy Heine (9-6, 3.73) / Eric Jones (6-4, 4.66)
KCR pitchers: Francisco Duarte (6-8, 5.38) / Nick Boston (6-10, 5.20) / Chris Smolak (5-6, 4.65)

#92: LOSS 6-8 ... Casillas is still just eh (6.2 IP, 11 H, 4 R), and the pen does it again: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 4 R...McArthur suspended for 10 games
#93: WIN 7-3 ... Mercedes and Hullinger homer...Heine Ks 7 in 5.2 IP, Jimenez throws 3.1 shutout innings
#94: LOSS 1-8 ... five hits + three bad pitchers = another stupid loss

Not exactly a solid start after five days off. Pitching is still subpar, duh, plus three are now listed as "ice cold." Fab.... McArthur's suspension comes from starting a fight with Duarte after getting plunked.... Carillo gets a 4-day dtd groin pull; he still has to play, tho.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers have won 8 straight, and have closed to just 4 back of San Diego.... Pittsburgh's Jordan Shields is named NL player of the week, and is the first in the NL to reach 30 HR. He's still atop the league with a .382 average.


July 16-18 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The Sox look a lot like a lower-rent version of us: decent hitting (5th-7th across the board), paired with poor pitching (worst rotation, 12th bullpen). Okay, a much lower-rent version, as their record is 40-50, and run diff is -43. Only one starting pitcher has an ERA under 5. 2B Francisco Gervacio is the hitting star, with 23 HR and 65 RBI.

HAW pitchers: Jim Kieffer (6-5, 4.30) / Rob Hart (3-3, 4.01) / Leon Casillas (8-6, 3.62)
CHW pitchers: Jason Henry (3-8, 6.92) / Steve Miller (2-4, 2.74) / Hideyuki Asano (5-9, 5.15)

#95: WIN 6-4 ... Groff's 2-run shot in the 7th ties it, and Wiggins' triple in the 8th wins it...Carillo gets his second dtd injury in four days
#96: WIN 22-1 ... wow...only two of our guys don't get at least 2 hits...Dunklee with 6 RBI, Mercedes 5 (and 2 HR)...Groff sets a team record with 5 runs
#97: WIN 8-3 ... better game for Casillas (7 IP, 2 R, 9 K), and four hits for Groff

Nothing like a 22-run game to wash away a lot of bad feelings. Our sweep, coupled with Oakland getting swept, has us just 2.5 games behind them now.... Danny Holguin is just 3-for-33 in his AAA rehab stint.... ELSEWHERE: Portland has lost ten in a row, now tied with Austin for last in the NL West.... Oakland's Vinny Vargas missed the first month of the season but has been on fire since: .407/.500/.805, with 25 HR and 6.0 WAR in 231 AB.... LA's Ty Cobb has passed 3200 career hits, and is now only 35 hits behind Nap Lajoie for 13th all-time.


July 20-22 @ MINNESOTA
The top team in the AL currently, at 61-34, with a 5.5 game lead over the Tigers. First in runs scored (568) and home runs (156), 3rd in AVG and 2nd in OBP. Pitching is about average: 9th in runs, 6th best rotation, 11th bullpen. Peanuts Carter is having an awesome year (.380/23/76, 5.9 WAR), as has 3B Paul Foster (.287/27/78) and 1B Adam Woods (.301/20/70). Pitcher Chris Kruse has a snappy 14-1 record, but otherwise looks pretty modest for a #2 starter. Original Islander(tm) Chance Muller is the #4 starter, and has the best staff ERA, 3.46.

HAW pitchers: Billy Heine (9-6, 3.78) / Eric Jones (6-5, 4.77) / Jim Kieffer (6-5, 4.40)
MIN pitchers: Chris Kruse (14-1, 3.55) / Chris Varo (6-7, 5.09) / Ben Martin (7-8, 5.16)

#98: WIN 10-2 ... three hits for Hunter, and four hits (plus 3 RBI) for Carillo...Heine goes 7.2, five hits (but four walks)
#99: WIN 11-9 ... Jones stinks again, Powers nearly blows it in the 9th (6 H, 5 R), but we get 17 hits, including Collins' 3-run blast early
#100: WIN 9-1 ... Kieffer tosses a nice and easy 7-hitter and Dunklee and Collins go deep...sixteen hits this game, and we're now ten games over .500

Well I didn't expect this. Cooling off the hot Twins like this and us now with a six-game winning streak. Just 1.5 behind Oakland too.... Top prospect Mike Messinger is pitching well in AAA (16 G, 90 IP, 63 H, 103 K, 2.30 ERA), but is getting no run support and is just 2-6.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego's Gary Florence just tossed his sixth shutout of the year, a 2-0 four-hitter over Richmond.... Feuding teams: Baltimore, KC, Cleveland, Oakland (!), Seattle, Houston, Washington. Sparkplug teams: Milwaukee, White Sox (two! Both look excellent), Oakland, New Orleans. In general, bad teams are unhappy, good ones are 'content' at least. Except Oakland: leading their division, with two captains, a sparkplug, and a prankster to keep things loose. And yet, feuding. More than half the teams dislikes the manager, and the roster includes 2 disrupters, 3 selfish players, and 3 unmotivated ones. Take what you will from that.


July 23-25 vs SEATTLE
One of the feuding teams from above, likely due to their record (43-54) and that they have zero team leadership. Plus, most guys don't like rookie manager Jose Alfonso. Mike Wapner is having a killer year (.325/25/67) and is coming off a Player of the Week award. Otherwise, they're 14th in runs for and 13th in runs against, with the fourth-worst rotational ERA in the AL. It's been a tough year, and for some reason owner Adam "The Unmerciful" Yamauchi, who wants PROFIT above all (and expects to lose about $10M) is a happy guy.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (4-3, 3.68) / Leon Casillas (9-6, 3.57) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.70)
SEA pitchers: Amir Farland (4-2, 3.66) / Jimmy Stanford (6-9, 5.97) / Sean Easter (7-9, 5.04)

#101: LOSS 3-4 ... we can't make a 3-0 lead hold up, but we do injure their best starting pitcher...Hart does okay again, slowly building confidence
#102: WIN 19-7 ... 7-0 after three and 15-3 after five...Dunklee finally hits his 20th, and drives in 5...Casillas is okay, Powers is butt again (1.2 IP, 4 R)
#103: WIN 8-4 ... down 4-0, we score big late to make another bullpen cry for once...Powers throws well today, of course gets hurt

Still rolling, even after that tough first loss. Oakland dropped two out of four, so we're just a game out now.... Trade deadline is coming, and with the pen still waffling and now Ken Powers facing a possible long-term injury, it might be time for another trade.... McArthur is back from his suspension, but his replacement, Ian McGowan, raised his average 40 points in this series and drove in 8 runs.... ELSEWHERE: Across the league there was a one-hitter and a handful of two-hitters in this set of series.... Pittsburgh took a blow with star CF Brendan Glenn (a two-time MVP) going down for the season. They did immediately make a trade, sending a so-so reliever to KC for OF Rob Stremmel, who's struggling at the plate this year, but did hit 38 HR in 2038 for the Royals. But he is perhaps the worst non-age-destroyed outfielder I've ever seen in the bigs: Range=1, Glove=13, Arm=8. That range! He's accumulated a -14 ZR in just 116 major league games in the outfield. Impressive!

TRADE ANNOUNCEMENT: Without waiting for the Powers injury diagnosis, I went ahead and made a small deal that I hope will help the pen at least a little. We reacquire RHP Chris Mayer from Portland for IF Danny Holguin. Mayer, you may recall, was a part of the eight-player deal that brought us Alexis Mercedes. He's been decent for the Pioneers, with a 3.82 ERA and 30 K (with 9 BB) in 33 IP from 35 appearances. Holguin hit .268 with 4 HR for us as the main IF sub, and does bring good leadership and excellent fielding to the table. But he'd been made redundant with the development of Canning (and others) and the acquisition of Collins. Mayer will bring good intangibles and excellent control (much needed) to the pen. He's not a game-changer, but given what I was willing to offer in trade, probably about the best I could expect to get right now.

In other trade-ish news, everyone wants AAA pitcher Bobby Piccirillo all of a sudden. I'm open to making a deal, but I'm only getting offered broken dishes and worn out tennis shoes in return. No thanks, I've got plenty of those already.

July 27-29 vs LA ANGELS
I've been making fun of LA's supposed rebuild for a couple years now, what with holding on to 35+ year-olds and signing marginal washed-up free agents, but maybe they've figured something out. No, they're not going anywhere with a 49-53 record, but that's a solid improvement over two seasons of 60 wins. And they've figured out how to create a decent bullpen, third best in the AL. In fact, they're first in runs against, while only 10th in runs scored. Still, they've got a +39 run diff, so a sloppy offense (and next-to-last in HR, the real driver of modern offenses) has killed them this year. Jared Grose, ageless at 37, still can't catch his way out of a paper bag but is hitting .289 and is on pace for 35 HR. Future superstar 3B Tony Mendoza is going through a sophomore slump, but is still hitting at a 30-HR pace. Most of their better pitchers are 30+, however, so it remains to be seen what next year (and beyond) brings.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (6-5, 4.84) / Jim Kieffer (7-5, 4.13) / Rob Hart (4-3, 3.70)
LAA pitchers: Josh Singleton (7-5, 3.75) / Jeff Caraway (10-4, 2.86) / Bryant Owens (7-8, 4.00)

#104: WIN 3-2 ... Collins homers again, along with Mercedes...Jones only lasts 5, but is solid, and the pen gives up just 4 H and 1 R the rest of the way
#105: WIN 5-4 ... Hunter and Groff with 3 hits and a HR apiece, Kieffer goes 7, and Glass gives up one in the 9th but holds on...tied for first today
#106: WIN 3-0 ... Hart goes 8, giving up 4 hits with 12 K...Hullinger wakes up from the dead to hit just his 14th HR (had 50 last year)

With that, we've won five straight, and 11 out of 12. We're tied with Oakland for first, and guess who we play next.... Good thing I made that trade, as Powers had his elbow explode and needs Tommy John surgery. His career may be done.... OF Jesse Henkel will come off the DL near the end of our next series. Not sure who'll go down to make room for him.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn's Chris White is the first to 100 RBI.... Detroit is slowly catching up to Minnesota, and is now just 2.5 games behind. Only the AL Central and West divisions are marked by leads of less than five games.... league-worst Washington (33-70) is looking at a team-wide triple crown: last in runs scored, runs against, and team defense.