OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

Bub13 · 11-22-2017, 02:05 PM

July 30-31, August 1-2 @ OAKLAND
A four-game road series starts today, and we're tied for first (although the A's have two games in hand). It's no wonder that Oakland has been our divisional nemesis of late: they look a lot like us, with excellent hitting, good starting pitching, and a questionable bullpen. In my last post I brought up C Vinny Vargas, who is just tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .402 with 26 HR in 261 AB. Don't look past cleanup hitter Nick Robinson, tho: the injury-prone LF (has missed 100 games these last three years) is hitting .320 with 19 HR. SP Ricky Hose is once again the ace of the rotation. Despite all the good news, the team is openly feuding, with sources calling the clubhouse "in complete disarray." Most of the roster hates manager Robert Woodard, and most sources point to an unhappy pitching staff (none like Woodard, and all are seriously discontented right now) as the epicenter of the trouble. Stay tuned...

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (10-6, 3.58) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.79) / Eric Jones (7-5, 4.72) / Jim Kieffer (8-5, 4.11)
OAK pitchers: Bill Casas (8-5, 3.96) / Tom DiFranco (7-8, 4.07) / Ricky Hose (14-4, 3.29) / Fernando Pena (4-5, 4.93)

#107: LOSS 1-5 ... disappointing to outhit them 10-9 and only have one run to show for it...Casillas throws complete game, for naught
#108: WIN 9-7 ... extra-inning thriller, with Mercedes and Hullinger doubling in runners in the 12th...bullpen goes 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 10 K...more injuries too
#109: LOSS 2-3 ... unusual low-run affair, with a patchwork lineup...Jones is unremarkable through six, Hose is just better
#110: LOSS 3-9 ... uuunnnnngh...Kieffer gets beaten like a rented mule

Well that was a disappointing POS series. Only late-game heroics saved the one win for us. Sigh.... McArthur sprains his knee, is out for two weeks. Carillo gets hurt too, diagnosis still pending. At least Henkel came off the DL and immediately hit a HR, but our outfield defense is looking very rickety if McA and Car are gone for a while.... Trade Deadline came and went and we decided to stand pat. I don't want to part with any more prospects, and no one was willing to sell low on a decent reliever.... Twenty-seven games the rest of August, all but three are against teams with losing records. If we can't play well this month, we're done.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's on a 9-3 run, now just 1.5 behind Minnesota. Toronto has the biggest division lead in the game, 10 games over Miami.... Toronto's 33-year-old 1B, Preston Sorensen, a local boy as well, has packed a lot into his ten years in the game: 3 MVP, ROY, 7 Gold Gloves, 5 All-Star Games, 5 Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring.

August 3-5 @ MILWAUKEE
A preseason pick for playoff contention, the Brewers find themselves in last place at 46-63. Near the bottom in runs scored, but sixth in runs against. Like us, the bullpen has been less than stellar, sitting 15th in AL ERA. Elderly catcher Tyler Markey passed 2000 career hits last month, and is hitting .328 and approaching 70 career WAR. Hall of Famer? Maybe.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (5-3, 3.33) / Leon Casillas (10-7, 3.68) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.78)
MIL pitchers: Dan Lumsden (7-7, 4.10) / Nick Shockley (8-9, 4.27) / Brandon Jarmon (7-11, 4.01)

#111: LOSS 7-14 ... absolute garbage game, from everybody concerned...Dunklee injured as well, diagnosis pending
#112: LOSS 2-5 ... take out the fifth inning, and it's a four-hit shutout for Casillas. Alas.
#113: LOSS 5-6 ... that's more like it! Five late runs blow it for us, despite outhitting them 14-7

Ugh, what a disaster. Sad hitting, outrageously bad pitching, even our defense is looking tragic (down to 13th in team defense).... Injuries: Dunklee has a tight back, but needs to keep playing. I move him to DH so at least he's not in the field. Carillo, however, broke a finger and is out for five weeks. He'll be back mid-September, so can help if we're still in the playoff hunt by then. Right now, I'm not sanguine, even with Oakland struggling. We're back to three games out, but it feels like more, honestly.... ELSEWHERE: Washington is the only team without at least 40 wins, at 37-73.... SD's Gary Florence is still sailing along with a 1.61 ERA. The Padres are up on the Dodgers by 9.5 games.

August 7-9 vs CLEVELAND
Back home to play the last place Indians, and we need the home cooking. The best part of the Indians game is stolen bases, second in the AL. Otherwise, 17th in runs scored, 12th in runs against, and next-to-last in team defense. Best player Greg Tackett has had his usual injury-wracked season, but is in the lineup and hitting well (.297/15/55 in 300 AB), and 1B Nate Rogers is the other bright spot, with 29 HR and 93 RBI. Pitching is struggling, with only one starter working and ERA below 5.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (7-6, 4.71) / Jim Kieffer (8-6, 4.52) / Rob Hart (5-4, 3.96)
CLE pitchers: Tyson Murphy (8-10, 5.16) / Mike Cote (5-11, 5.48) / Danny Powers (7-9, 4.32)

#114: LOSS 7-8 ... a 4-0 lead evaporates late because of course...Henkel sprains a knee, dtd for a few days...bullpen tragic again
#115: LOSS 4-12 ... this time, a 5-4 deficit goes haywire thanks to another--repeat after me--bullpen meltdown
#116: WIN 7-2 ... Hart shows up today, and Stanley Ks 5 over two innings of relief

Four games behind Oakland now, so at least they're not hot. But we're 1-7 this month.... Bullpen purge time: Jimenez and Randolph take their 7+ ERAs off to AAA, and Ian Albring and Mike Messinger get the call. This is Albring's first call-up, and Messinger's third. Albring becomes our 16th reliever this year, tying the number we used in 2034, our first year.... ELSEWHERE: Texas SS Jon Salas has struck out a remarkable 37% of his at-bats: 135 K in 315 AB.... Gary Florence (SD) has 23 decisions (17-6) in 23 starts, to go along with a 0.87 WHIP and 7.2 K/BB ratio.

August 10-12 vs DETROIT
We're ice cold, and the Tigers are red hot: 8-2 and 14-5 recently.... Fourth in runs, AVG, and OBP, and ninth in runs against. Starters ERA is 10th, but the bullpen is pretty solid, fifth in the AL. Team defense is last.... C.J. Lee has been the star this year, at .294/37/107. Three other starters are hitting .300. Rookie closer Ramon Sanabria has been more than solid, with 35 saves and 72 K in 53 IP.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (10-8, 3.76) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.85) / Eric Jones (7-6, 4.56)
DET pitchers: Alex de la Roca (8-5, 4.57) / Lance Hansen (7-6, 4.98) / Alex Gomez (7-5, 5.93)

#117: WIN 4-1 ... the old Leon is back, scattering 4 hits over 6.1 innings...Mayer and Glass yield just one hit and K two...phew
#118: LOSS 4-5 ... Heine's solid start and 14 hits go to waste thanks to solo home runs in the 8th and 9th...at least no one died
#119: WIN 7-6 ... Hullinger belts two, including the game winner in the 10th...two 9th inning errors nearly kill us today

Well, they weren't pretty, but I'll take the two wins. Plus, Oakland hasn't been any better, so we're still 2.5 games in back.... McArthur comes off the DL tomorrow, and he'll be a welcome addition.... ELSEWHERE: Fun game: two days ago Oakland accused Toronto of stealing signs in a 7-1 Blue Jays win.... Mets new acquisition D.J. Breland has been a delight in his five starts: 5-0, 38 IP, 24 H, 38 K, 1.3 WAR. New York leads Brooklyn by 5.5 games.... Washington still hasn't won 40 games, sitting at 39-77. Perenially bad Houston is next, at 44-76.

AL WEST STANDINGS
OAK ... 66-52 ... --
HAW ... 64-55 ... 2.5
TEX ... 59-60 ... 7.5
SEA ... 54-63 ... 11.5
LAA ... 54-64 ... 12
HOU ... 44-76 ... 23

11-22-2017, 02:05 PM	#95
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	July 30-31, August 1-2 @ OAKLAND A four-game road series starts today, and we're tied for first (although the A's have two games in hand). It's no wonder that Oakland has been our divisional nemesis of late: they look a lot like us, with excellent hitting, good starting pitching, and a questionable bullpen. In my last post I brought up C Vinny Vargas, who is just tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .402 with 26 HR in 261 AB. Don't look past cleanup hitter Nick Robinson, tho: the injury-prone LF (has missed 100 games these last three years) is hitting .320 with 19 HR. SP Ricky Hose is once again the ace of the rotation. Despite all the good news, the team is openly feuding, with sources calling the clubhouse "in complete disarray." Most of the roster hates manager Robert Woodard, and most sources point to an unhappy pitching staff (none like Woodard, and all are seriously discontented right now) as the epicenter of the trouble. Stay tuned... HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (10-6, 3.58) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.79) / Eric Jones (7-5, 4.72) / Jim Kieffer (8-5, 4.11) OAK pitchers: Bill Casas (8-5, 3.96) / Tom DiFranco (7-8, 4.07) / Ricky Hose (14-4, 3.29) / Fernando Pena (4-5, 4.93) #107: LOSS 1-5 ... disappointing to outhit them 10-9 and only have one run to show for it...Casillas throws complete game, for naught #108: WIN 9-7 ... extra-inning thriller, with Mercedes and Hullinger doubling in runners in the 12th...bullpen goes 7 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 10 K...more injuries too #109: LOSS 2-3 ... unusual low-run affair, with a patchwork lineup...Jones is unremarkable through six, Hose is just better #110: LOSS 3-9 ... uuunnnnngh...Kieffer gets beaten like a rented mule Well that was a disappointing POS series. Only late-game heroics saved the one win for us. Sigh.... McArthur sprains his knee, is out for two weeks. Carillo gets hurt too, diagnosis still pending. At least Henkel came off the DL and immediately hit a HR, but our outfield defense is looking very rickety if McA and Car are gone for a while.... Trade Deadline came and went and we decided to stand pat. I don't want to part with any more prospects, and no one was willing to sell low on a decent reliever.... Twenty-seven games the rest of August, all but three are against teams with losing records. If we can't play well this month, we're done.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's on a 9-3 run, now just 1.5 behind Minnesota. Toronto has the biggest division lead in the game, 10 games over Miami.... Toronto's 33-year-old 1B, Preston Sorensen, a local boy as well, has packed a lot into his ten years in the game: 3 MVP, ROY, 7 Gold Gloves, 5 All-Star Games, 5 Silver Sluggers, and a World Series ring. August 3-5 @ MILWAUKEE A preseason pick for playoff contention, the Brewers find themselves in last place at 46-63. Near the bottom in runs scored, but sixth in runs against. Like us, the bullpen has been less than stellar, sitting 15th in AL ERA. Elderly catcher Tyler Markey passed 2000 career hits last month, and is hitting .328 and approaching 70 career WAR. Hall of Famer? Maybe. HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (5-3, 3.33) / Leon Casillas (10-7, 3.68) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.78) MIL pitchers: Dan Lumsden (7-7, 4.10) / Nick Shockley (8-9, 4.27) / Brandon Jarmon (7-11, 4.01) #111: LOSS 7-14 ... absolute garbage game, from everybody concerned...Dunklee injured as well, diagnosis pending #112: LOSS 2-5 ... take out the fifth inning, and it's a four-hit shutout for Casillas. Alas. #113: LOSS 5-6 ... that's more like it! Five late runs blow it for us, despite outhitting them 14-7 Ugh, what a disaster. Sad hitting, outrageously bad pitching, even our defense is looking tragic (down to 13th in team defense).... Injuries: Dunklee has a tight back, but needs to keep playing. I move him to DH so at least he's not in the field. Carillo, however, broke a finger and is out for five weeks. He'll be back mid-September, so can help if we're still in the playoff hunt by then. Right now, I'm not sanguine, even with Oakland struggling. We're back to three games out, but it feels like more, honestly.... ELSEWHERE: Washington is the only team without at least 40 wins, at 37-73.... SD's Gary Florence is still sailing along with a 1.61 ERA. The Padres are up on the Dodgers by 9.5 games. August 7-9 vs CLEVELAND Back home to play the last place Indians, and we need the home cooking. The best part of the Indians game is stolen bases, second in the AL. Otherwise, 17th in runs scored, 12th in runs against, and next-to-last in team defense. Best player Greg Tackett has had his usual injury-wracked season, but is in the lineup and hitting well (.297/15/55 in 300 AB), and 1B Nate Rogers is the other bright spot, with 29 HR and 93 RBI. Pitching is struggling, with only one starter working and ERA below 5. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (7-6, 4.71) / Jim Kieffer (8-6, 4.52) / Rob Hart (5-4, 3.96) CLE pitchers: Tyson Murphy (8-10, 5.16) / Mike Cote (5-11, 5.48) / Danny Powers (7-9, 4.32) #114: LOSS 7-8 ... a 4-0 lead evaporates late because of course...Henkel sprains a knee, dtd for a few days...bullpen tragic again #115: LOSS 4-12 ... this time, a 5-4 deficit goes haywire thanks to another--repeat after me--bullpen meltdown #116: WIN 7-2 ... Hart shows up today, and Stanley Ks 5 over two innings of relief Four games behind Oakland now, so at least they're not hot. But we're 1-7 this month.... Bullpen purge time: Jimenez and Randolph take their 7+ ERAs off to AAA, and Ian Albring and Mike Messinger get the call. This is Albring's first call-up, and Messinger's third. Albring becomes our 16th reliever this year, tying the number we used in 2034, our first year.... ELSEWHERE: Texas SS Jon Salas has struck out a remarkable 37% of his at-bats: 135 K in 315 AB.... Gary Florence (SD) has 23 decisions (17-6) in 23 starts, to go along with a 0.87 WHIP and 7.2 K/BB ratio. August 10-12 vs DETROIT We're ice cold, and the Tigers are red hot: 8-2 and 14-5 recently.... Fourth in runs, AVG, and OBP, and ninth in runs against. Starters ERA is 10th, but the bullpen is pretty solid, fifth in the AL. Team defense is last.... C.J. Lee has been the star this year, at .294/37/107. Three other starters are hitting .300. Rookie closer Ramon Sanabria has been more than solid, with 35 saves and 72 K in 53 IP. HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (10-8, 3.76) / Billy Heine (10-6, 3.85) / Eric Jones (7-6, 4.56) DET pitchers: Alex de la Roca (8-5, 4.57) / Lance Hansen (7-6, 4.98) / Alex Gomez (7-5, 5.93) #117: WIN 4-1 ... the old Leon is back, scattering 4 hits over 6.1 innings...Mayer and Glass yield just one hit and K two...phew #118: LOSS 4-5 ... Heine's solid start and 14 hits go to waste thanks to solo home runs in the 8th and 9th...at least no one died #119: WIN 7-6 ... Hullinger belts two, including the game winner in the 10th...two 9th inning errors nearly kill us today Well, they weren't pretty, but I'll take the two wins. Plus, Oakland hasn't been any better, so we're still 2.5 games in back.... McArthur comes off the DL tomorrow, and he'll be a welcome addition.... ELSEWHERE: Fun game: two days ago Oakland accused Toronto of stealing signs in a 7-1 Blue Jays win.... Mets new acquisition D.J. Breland has been a delight in his five starts: 5-0, 38 IP, 24 H, 38 K, 1.3 WAR. New York leads Brooklyn by 5.5 games.... Washington still hasn't won 40 games, sitting at 39-77. Perenially bad Houston is next, at 44-76. AL WEST STANDINGS OAK ... 66-52 ... -- HAW ... 64-55 ... 2.5 TEX ... 59-60 ... 7.5 SEA ... 54-63 ... 11.5 LAA ... 54-64 ... 12 HOU ... 44-76 ... 23