MLB says we'll win 88 games. I think that's a good estimate. I know we can hit with the best teams out there, and I think I've addressed power and OBP issues that should help us get more runners around to score. Our pitching staff...well, I'm going with nearly the same rotation as last year, and much of the same bullpen, so... I'm hoping that our hitting holds up, and our pitching is good enough to keep us in games and not make every game a 10-9 barn burner. Bad for the nerves, you know.
So let's get started. Here's how the games played out in April, with wins-losses for each series:
CHW 2-1 / KCR 2-1 / CLE 2-1 / TEX 3-1 / LAA 2-1 / MIL 3-0 / DET 1-2
Yep, that's a 15-7 month, by far the best we've had as a franchise. We scored 99 runs, 4.5/game, and gave up 70, 3.2/game. I'd say the pitching held up. At the plate, we got big months from 1B Dunklee (expected), CF Drayton, and C Collins. RF Wiggins and 3B Hebert also play well. Our shiny new toy, 2B Clarke, struggles to hit, but he's still getting base with those 15 walks. Notice also that my lineups got messed up somehow (operator error I'm sure) and our backups saw hardly any PT at all, save for C Zamorano, who comes in as a defensive replacement for Collins.
Lots to love for the pitching staff this month. Except for one glaring exception, our starters were pretty damn good. Clark, Wunderlich, and Anderson are living up to their paychecks, and Brock earns the best WAR of them all. Jamie Bell, tho, was glaringly awful, and will be on a short leash. He was a Rule 5 pick, so we can't send him down, and I've developed a lack of patience for pitchers with ERA over 9. Anderson missed two weeks with a strained oblique, so Partida was called up and did well in his two starts. The bullpen was great too, with only Ixcoy struggling.
......
Around the league... We're 2 games up on Seattle, outperforming their preseason prediction so far....Other notable teams this month are Minnesota (16-5), Pittsburgh (15-8), and Montreal (14-8), ditto Philadelphia. That NL Central could be fun to watch this year....Portland has struggled out of the gate, going 7-14, and Detroit has been flat out bad, at 5-16. Of course they won 2 out of 3 against us....Richmond pitcher Andy Fisher throws the season's first no hitter, 4/13 against Portland. Fisher was one of my last great draft picks while GM for the Eagles. Would love to get him on the Islanders....Pittsburgh 2B Danny Diaz has the best month in the NL, going .460/.509/.840, with 10 HR and 26 RBI. Chicago C Alexis Mercedes is tops in the AL, hitting .289 with 8 HR. Eh. Toronto's Dave Henderson (2035 Cy Young winner) goes 5-0 and is the top pitcher in the AL, while Montreal closer Jimmy Kelley gets the NL nod.
Next up: May 2036