[ayaghmour2]

May 30th, 1903: The Red Hawks welcome us to town with Eric Thomas (5-4, 3.73 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) facing our shiny new ace Nate McCue (8-2, 2.46 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). Runs were far too frequent, and a big 7 run 6th for the Red Hawks aided them to an 11-10 walk-off win.

Right after we tied it at 10 in the 9th...

Not sure what happened to McCue (or why he basically pitched the whole 6th...), allowing 14 hits and 9 runs in 5.2 innings with just 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. Justin Pezzetti allowed a run in 2 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Simon Ellingson got the loss, allowing 3 hits and a run with a strikeout in 0.2 innings.

Brett Olsen was 2-for-3 with a double, sac-fly, hit by pitch, 2 runs, and 2 RBI's. Mike Shaddox was 3-for-5 with a homer and 3 RBI's. Mike Legg was 3-for-4 with a double, walk, homer, and 2 runs scored. Justin Arrington was 3-for-6 with 3 driven in. Giobbe Capuana was 2-for-5 with a double, run scored, and RBI. Carlos Sandate was 2-for-5 with a run scored.

Red Hawks SS Phil Davis was a big reason they won, going 5-for-6 with a double, triple, and 3 RBI's, including a walk-off single. And he did all this with a bruised jaw. Yeah, moderate effect on performance...

May 31st, 1903: We looked to even the series back up with Vince Brown (6-1, 3.91 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) facing Matt Puckett (5-4, 3.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP). Neither team had many runs left over for today, and we were tied at 2 as the 9th inning started. Enter Mike Shaddox, who doubled off lockdown closer Paul Monroe, and we escaped with a 3-2 victory.

Brett Olsen left the game after being hit by a pitch. He suffered a knee contusion, and will head to the DL just to make sure it doesn't get worse.

Brown tossed 8 solid innings, allowing 4 hits, 2 runs, and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts. Ellingson was much better today, striking out 2 in a perfect 9th to bring his save total to double digits.

Carlos Sandate was a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk and solo homer. Shaddox was 1-for-2 with 2 walks and the go-ahead double. Jim Raines, who substituted for Olsen, was 1-for-2 with a double, 2 steals, and a run scored. Omar Atillio was 1-for-3 with a triple, RBI, and run scored.

I called up Josh Stevens from AAA to replace Olsen. In Grand Rapids he's slashing .277/.434/.649 with 15 homers and 34 RBI's. He also has 17 at bats with us from Olsen's first injury, hitting .235/.458/.471 with a homer and 2 RBI's.

June 1st, 1903: Happy June! Milwaukee 1B Al Birkbeck and Baltimore RF Juan Lopez took home Player of the Week, although neither was Batter of the Month. That went to New York RF Armando Chavez and Philadelphia SS Willie Gonzalez. Chavez's teammate Joe Miller and Brooklyn's Jerry Smith were Pitcher of the Month. New Orleans' 1B Jesus Falcon and Baltimore LF Allen Mintz took home Rookie of the Month.

Down in Class C Keyser, our farmhand Justin Torres won VAWVL (Virginia-West Virginia League) Pitcher of the Month. The 22-year-old was 4-0 with a 1.46 ERA and he struck out 31 in 37 innings. A former 6th Rounder, he's been preally good in 11 starts to start the season, going 6-1 with a 2.49 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, while striking out 69 in 68.2 innings.

Lightning righty Yu-wei Li will miss the rest of the year with a torn ulnar collateral ligament. The 27-year-old had a 1.76 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 15.1 innings, and the Lightning really wanted to trade him to me when I was shopping for a starting pitcher.

We dropped down to 5th in the Power Rankings. At 30-23, we're 10 out of first and 1.5 games behind the Rebels for the Wild Card spot.

We looked to take the rubber match with D.J. Ruhnke (5-3, 3.21 ERA, 1.25 WHIP) and an offense full of replacement battling Evan O'Hagan (1-1, 4.56 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) and his offense full of replacements. Both teams had multiple tired and injured players, and we had four more in Chicago coming up... But it doesn't matter who suits up for a brilliant team like the Chargers, and we won the series with a 6-3 victory.

Ruhnke went 8 innings, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs while striking out 7. Simon Ellingson had the exact same stat line from yesterday, and the southpaw picked up his 11th save.

Giobbe Capuana, one of the few starters to play, went 3-for-4 with a walk, 2 homers, 3 runs scored, and 4 RBI's. Another starter Damian Salcido went 1-for-3 with a double, run scored, RBI, and two walks. Mike Legg was 1-for-3 with a triple and walk.

Our long stretch of games continues in Chicago, where we should sweep the 14-39 Cardinals. We'd see Tony Maldonado (3-4, 4.81 ERA), Andy Riffle (1-4, 5.28 ERA), Bobby Goldberg (1-8, 4.87 ERA), and Orlando Vigil (0-2, 5.48 ERA).

June 2nd, 1903: We started the four game set in Chicago with Cody Hall (4-3, 4.97 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) facing Tony Maldonado (3-4, 4.81 ERA, 1.14 WHIP). Tied at 6 in the 9th, the two biggest mistakes in Chargers history Ben Etienne took Pezzetti deep for a walk-off two run homer.

I was really expecting a sweep...

I guess the biggest news of the game was when Cody Hall plucnked Seth Bland, who charged the mound, starting a bench-clearing brawl leading to ejections and suspensions for both.

Hall will be out for 7 (or 6) games, and I think he was just mad about how terrible he was pitching and knew the only way for Manager Brett Martin to take him out is if he had to be dragged off the field. Hall allowed 5 hits, 4 runs, and a walk in 1.2 innings. Travis Walters had the unenviable task of entering without warming up, going 3.1 innings with a hit, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Pezzetti didn't really deserve the blame, as he was in his 3rd inning of work (don't ask why...), allowing 2 hits, 2 runs, and 3 walks while striking out 2 in 2.1 innings.

Jesus Camargo was 4-for-5 with a double, run scored, and 2 RBI's. The recently recalled Josh Stevens was 2-for-4 with a walk and 2 solo homers. Justin Arrington was 2-for-5 with a triple, walk, and 2 runs scored. Giobbe Capuana was 2-for-5 with 2 doubles and an RBI. Walters was 1-for-2. Mike Shaddox was 1-for-4 with a walk and run scored.

It's not ideal, but former #2 Overall Pick (and total bust...) Tim Weiss would get the spot start when Hall's rotation spot came up again. A rather terrible pitcher, he has a beautiful 5.06 ERA and 1.51 WHIP in 120 games (95 starts) and has just 4.2 big league innings this year, working to a 5.79 ERA and 1.50 WHIP...

June 3rd, 1903: CL Tobias Laranjeira is healthy and will head to Grand Rapids for a rehab assignemnt. He'll stay there until at least after our next off day on the 9th.

We looked to even the series back up with Carlos Ramirez (3-5, 5.22 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) facing Andy Riffle (1-4, 5.28 ERA, 1.46 WHIP), who beat us earlier in the year. He didn't allow a hit through 6 (although he walked 7), and we dropped another to the Cardinals, this time losing 4-1.

Oh man...

Of course, 100 stamina Ramirez went the distance, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) and 8 hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts in 8 innings.

We only managed 2 hits. Mike Legg was 1-for-3 with a walk and RBI. Jim Raines was 1-for-5.

What a game!...

We did a little better then the Pilots, who were shutout by Sal Lopez and the Cyclones. He allowed 4 hits in a 1-0 victory.

June 4th, 1903: Okay, we can't lose this series... Nate McCue (8-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) needed to master short-term memory loss and remember his wonderful shutouts. We'd face the unlucky Bobby Goldberg (1-8, 4.87 ERA, 1.34 WHIP). I'm lost for words, as we were topped 6-5.

If we get swept in four games...

Oh man...

Oh yeah, it gets worse...

Carlos Sandate left with an injury..

Yikes...

McCue only allowed 5 hits, but that was worth 5 runs. He struck out 6 in 6. Rick Gunter allowed a run and a hit with 2 strikeouts in the 7th.

Mike Legg was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Jesus Camargo was 3-for-5 with a double, steal, and run scored Justin Arrington was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI's. Giove Capuana was 1-for-4 with a solo shot.

A little good news for the day, Grand Rapids righty Juan Barajas threw a perfect game in a 5-0 win over the Rochester Rockers! Barajas has made 8 big league starts and has been far from perfect, but he's had a great season with the Bulls, going 6-2 with a 2.33 ERA and 0.86 WHIP in 11 starts. He's struck out 92 and walked just 19 in 73.1 innings. He deserves a callup, but I really don't want to release anyone to make room for him.

Tomorrow is also the draft, which I'll cover after we get swept...

June 5th, 1903: All-Star Update! Jesus Camargo has a commanding lead for 2B. Giobbe Capuana is third for 3B. Damian Salvido has a commanding lead for SS. Justin Arrington leads LF. Carlos Sandate leads CF. Brett Olsen is 3rd for RF. Tobais Laranjeira sits in 2nd and Juan de Loera in 4th for RP.

Okay, please don't get swept guys! Vince Brown (7-1, 3.74 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) took on fellow veteran Oscar Vega (2-3, 5.23 ERA, 1.41 WHIP) in the finale in Chicago. Thankfully, we managed to steal the finale, winning 7-3 to avoid the pathetic sweep from the pathetic team.

Brown did fine, 6 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. Ben Follmar, Jeremy Gotwals, and the well rested Simon Ellingson each had perfect frames, with the former and latter also recording a punch out.

Brown was the only Charger with a two hit game, going 2-for-2 with a sac-bunt and run scored. Jstin Arrington went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and a three run homer. Omar Atillio was 1-for-2 with 2 walks, a run scored, and RBI. Jim Raines was 1-for-4 with a solo homer as Sandate's replacement. Giobbe Capuana was 1-for-4 with a walk and solo homer.

Every member of the starting lineup recorded a hit!

Washington's Marcos Hernandez struck out 15 in a 10-2 win over the Mustangs.

I purchased SS Juan Garcia from the Parkersburg Power, an independent minor league team in the Virginia-West Virginia League.

My first draft in Detroit is next! Our first pick is 9th, so hopefully our selection will turn into a superstar! Detroit has been notoriously bad at drafting, and when they guess right, they give up too early. They love missing on top 3 picks, and if I didn't take over this year, they probaly would've waive 3 of their 4 #1 Overall Picks (I saved D.J. Runke). The only guy they didn't waive, Ben Hernandez, never made the majors. This is also their 2nd lowest 1st Round selection, with Chandler Nelson the 10th Overall Pick in 1901. He was their 2nd 1st Rounder, so I'm guessing it was from a Type A Free Agent.

Oh well, let's break the cycle!