[Bub13]

May 22-24 vs BOSTON
Rolling along at 20-22, fourth place and 7.5 games back. Pitching has been stout, third in runs against, but hitting is troublesome: 16th in runs for and OBP, 15th in AVG. CF and leadoff hitter David Holpp leads with 11 HR and 30 RBI, and 1B Carlos Beltran, Jr, is hitting .325. SP Tony Villarruel is listed as the #1 pitcher in MLB, and was the prize catch in free agency over the winter, but has yet to find his way: 5-3, 4.04 ERA. Kris Harvey is in his 12th season as manager, and as usual, is helming a cast of unhappy campers. Favorite name: in a league largely devoid of interesting Latin names, AA 2B Xalbador Arellan is here for you.

HAW pitchers: Leon Casillas (5-3, 3.62) / Eric Jones (3-3, 5.37) / Billy Heine (3-4, 3.81)
BOS pitchers: Manny Gomez (2-2, 3.80) / Kazuya Matsuoka (2-5, 5.80) / Robby Liantonio (3-2, 6.43)

#46: WIN 8-7 ... the bullpen really wanted to give this one away, yielding 3 runs in the 8th, until Diaz and Hunter single in runs in the 9th for the walk-off win
#47: WIN 4-1 ... Jones holds the Sox hitless over six (and K's 10), while Rifkind and Hunter collect two hits each...nice, solid, quiet win for once
#48: LOSS 2-13 ... 12 hits for each team, but that run differential, jeez...Heine sucks balls and Piccirillo gives up 4 in 3 innings but lowers his ERA by 11 runs

Bad month for Heine, who's ERA has doubled in the last three weeks. There's no inbetween with him: he's either unhittable or the worst pitcher you've ever seen.... Hunter went 9-for-13 this series, raising his average by 30 points. He'll probably break his face in a motorcycle accident next week.... Holguin hurts his arm in game one, diagnosis pending.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland knocks eight home runs in a 20-7 rout of Detroit. They managed those runs on just 18 total hits.... Pittsburgh (33-14) and Minnesota (32-16) continue to pace their respective leagues in win pct. Houston is dragging anchor at 11-37 now, and 3-19 this month.


May 25-27 @ NY YANKEES
Our annual trek to The Babe's House. The Yanks are last in the East, at 18-30. They lost a lot of WAR this off-season, and it's showing across the board: 15th in runs for and AVG, 13th in runs against, 14th in starter's ERA. 1B Peter Bowden leads the team in most categories (.295/11/25), but no one else is hitting above .274. Only one starting pitcher has an ERA below 4.24, but the bullpen has been good, standing at 4th in the AL. New owner Justin Dielman favors EXTREME WINNING, and has given GM Joe Martinez five goals, none of which have been met, but is EXTREMELY HAPPY. Manager Miguel Rodriguez is in his fourth year, but has an unhappy clubhouse and only two players who like him. Favorite name: monocle-wearing rookie ball closer Preston Thurm.

HAW pitchers: Jim Kieffer (2-3, 3.86) / Mike Messinger (0-0, 0.00) / Leon Casillas (5-3, 3.82)
NYY pitchers: Pat Teer (2-2, 3.45) / Justin Darrisaw (2-4, 5.88) / Zachary Setaro (3-5, 4.24)

#49: LOSS 4-5 ... a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 8th looks pretty good, except when our bullpen gets involved...Key blows another one, ERA up to 7.31 now
#50: LOSS 6-10 ... take a guess at how we lost this game, in 11 innings and with a 6-4 lead in the 8th. Go ahead, I'll wait.
#51: LOSS 3-4 ... Jesus tapdancing Christ the bullpen does it AGAIN, giving up one in the 9th and losing it in the 11th. CAN ANYONE READING THIS PITCH? EMAIL ME.

Holy Crap what a sh*tshow. Our last four games from the bullpen: 12.1 IP, 18 H, 17 R. Untenable, and unbelievable, frankly. So the trades have started, three in the last three days. First, before this series we send two unremarkable pitching prospects to Brooklyn for 2B Kevin Collins, who can hit, has a teensy bit of power, but plays second like you'd expect a mid-size rock would. Still, since we got the news on Holguin (out six weeks) and I didn't like our replacement options, I felt this was necessary. Collins is a prankster, and signed for two more years, so maybe he'll lighten the mood and stick around for a while. Second, I send AAA reliever Evan Larkins (who looks good but has never done squat for me in four seasons) to Richmond for reliever Ramon Archila. Ramon's got great stuff, keeps the ball down, and has nice intangibles. Having a down year (5.13 ERA), but he's still been better than most of what we've trotted out there so far. Finally, Ryan Key's ass is moved out, after three games with an infinite ERA. I ship him across the clubhouse to the Yankees, along with minor league "stud" Jorge Escalante (he of the 27.00 ERA for us in April) for reliever (you're seeing a trend here, yes?) Ricky Jimenez, another high-stuff guy. Also in a down year, but I love his control (2 BB in 27 IP) and pitches. So I've either lit some fires under this team, or am halfway to actually lighting them all on fire.... ELSEWHERE: Houston's won three straight now, only 10 games behind us. LOOK OUT! I'm only sort of kidding.... Somehow I've missed the fact that Pittsburgh is now riding a 16-game winning streak. Sure to end now that I've noticed it, of course. Oh, and when did it start? By sweeping us. YOU'RE WELCOME, PIRATES FANS.


May 28-30 @ BALTIMORE
Yet another team treading water (25-25, 9 games out), I can't wait to see how we blow these games. (Yes I can.) Sixth in runs scored, but 12th in AVG; 7th in runs against, but with the 12th "best" rotation and 4th best bullpen. (Bullpens: How do they work?) Raul Trevino, who won 20 games in 2038 and arguably should've taken the Cy Young that year, has been their best pitcher and yet was in the pen for most of the spring, and is currently their #5 starter. Catcher Juan Jimenez is having another bang up year (.311/18/40) after last season's 45 HR barrage. Nestor Corredor is managing his fifth year with the team, and had his only winning season last year (91 wins). Favorite name: a three way tie! AAA reliever Zach McIe (is that an 'I' or an 'l'?); future prep school head coach Tanner Hotchkiss; and Big 10 defensive lineman Ken Kronk.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (4-3, 4.83) / Billy Heine (3-5, 4.76) / Jim Kieffer (2-3, 3.80)
BAL pitchers: Raul Trevino (3-0, 2.65) / Miguel Moreno (5-4, 4.03) / Rob Sczesny (4-4, 4.27)

#52: WIN 10-6 ... why, yes, the pen did give up two runs, and Jones was horrific...but the hitters overcame all that, led by Mercedes' 7th-inning Grand Slam
#53: WIN 5-2 ... Heine the Great shows up for this one, although he does walk six...Collins makes the first of what will be many, many errors at second...Mercedes another HR
#54: WIN 4-2 ... I've seen these false dawns before. I'm not buying it this time, nosiree...McArthur hurts his arm, dtd for two weeks, dangit

LOLWUT. Where did that come from? Anyway, we're back at .500 and I've stopped self-harming for the moment.... On the injury front, Carillo tweaks his back for a 4-day dtd annoyance, and McArthur nearly throws out his shoulder from the warning track. He has to play, but I move him out of center.... ELSEWHERE: Pittsburgh reeled off 18 in a row before last night's 16-3 shellacking by Richmond.... And speaking of the Eagles, they sacked manager Buster Posey and GM Justin Greene three days ago. Posey, who had been bench coach for nine years and was in his third as manager, was quoted as saying "I jumped through hoops for this organization and this is how I'm repaid?" GM Greene was in his tenth season, after serving as my Assistant GM before I left the team. They're replaced by GM Andres Edwards Perez and Manager Joe Thatcher, neither of whom bring any experience whatsoever to their new jobs.


May 31, June 1-3 vs OAKLAND
BIG SERIES BOYS. Oakland has been surging (winning 7 of their last 10) and is tied with Texas for the division lead, at 31-22. Strong hitting (3rd in runs and AVG), and good-enough pitching (7th in runs and starter's ERA). Their bugaboo? A 17th-ranked bullpen, JUST AHEAD OF US! (GET 'EM FELLAS!) They're still hurting, with five players on the DL, but top guys Vinny Vargas (.394/10/26 in 99 AB) and Nick Robinson (.308/6/19 in 130 AB) are recently back from injury. Four starters are hitting .300, so the attack is a balanced one. I really wanna take down these smug jerks. No reason. Our second series with them, and they swept us last time.

HAW pitchers: Mike Messinger (0-0, 7.20) / Leon Casillas (5-3, 3.67) / Eric Jones (4-3, 4.98) / Billy Heine (4-5, 4.46)
OAK pitchers: Ricky Hose (7-3, 3.68) / Fernando Pena (2-2, 5.44) / Matt Bienvenu (4-3, 3.55) / Tom DiFranco (2-5, 5.27)

#55: LOSS 7-10 ... it may be too soon for Messinger, as he's hammered again...four runs given up by the funsters in the pen too...Groff goes 4-for-5 tho, with 4 RBI
#56: WIN 4-0 ... ohhhhhh, yes. Sweet Casillas with a 4-hit shutout...I may try to force all my starters to go nine innings...Dunklee and Mercedes homer, but we suffer three injuries
#57: WIN 7-2 ... Groff homers twice and Jones allows just two hits (with 11 K) over seven...no injuries this game, but a lot of guys hurting right now
#58: WIN 13-5 ... five more homers, including two more for Groff...we score enough that another ninth inning bullpen meltdown doesn't cost us this time

Well well well, that was a surprise. Dynamite hitting this series; Groff alone went 10-for-16 with 4 HR and 12 RBI. The bullpen is still mega-erratic though; but tremendous hitting overcomes pretty much anything.... Injuries are mounting: CF McArthur has a shoulder tweak for 1-2 weeks, can't throw much; RF Wiggins has a bad elbow for another week, also can't throw much; new 2B Collins broke his head, to moderate effect across the board, so I may actually have to sit him. At least Hunter's injury was just for a day, so he missed no time. But, fun fact: Hunter and Collins went out in the same game. I only have one backup IF, John Canning. He replaced Hunter. Collins' replacement? Reliever Ronnie Corgan, who played two innings and fielded two chances flawlessly. (Note that he's only pitched 0.2 innings this summer).... ELSEWHERE: Aw, Miami. They've been hanging tough with the Jays all year, just a game out, and now they've gone and lost their two best players, Ricky Beard (.350/11/31 in 117 AB) and Sergio Torres (15 HR, 41 RBI) for the season and six weeks, respectively.... Houston is on the move! A recent surge has brought them to 18-40 for a smooth (but improved!) win pct of .310.


June 4-6 @ HOUSTON
Well, speak of the devil(s). We should continue our recent hot play against these guys, but will we? Ha ha, why would you ask that? Bad hitting, bad pitching, but decent fielding. Six players on the DL, four of them starters, two of them closers. RF Paul Carlson is 33 and has lost a lot of his stroke and gap power, but is having quite the year, all things considered: .276/17/38. SP Jay Russo is just back from the DL, and has given up just one run over 12 innings in his two appearances. He's the last non-Casillas to win the AL Cy Young award, back in 2037.

HAW pitchers: Jim Kieffer (2-3, 3.71) / Mike Messinger (0-1, 9.64) / Leon Casillas (6-3, 3.27)
HOU pitchers: Nelson Gonzalez (3-5, 4.11) / Khalil Palmer (3-8, 6.55) / Jay Russo (2-0, 0.73)

#59: LOSS 2-4 ... ah, old times: a four-run 8th for the 'stros and the pen is full of goats again
#60: WIN 6-5 ... six runs on five HR, including two each for Mercedes and Henkel...a 6-2 lead gets whittled down late, but Houston runs out of innings; also suffers three injuries
#61: LOSS 0-4 ... Russo is on fire, simple as that...Canning gets three hits, rest of team gets two

Boy, these guys are a buzzkill this season. I think I've aged ten years these last five weeks. I don't understand how we can bash the A's around and then drop two out of three to the worst team in the league. I already need a long vacation.... I reluctantly put Collins on the DL and call up IF Steve Douglas, a 23-year-old former 4th round pick who made his big league debut this series (going 1-for-4 with a double). Decent contact, hits a lot of line drives, but little power and plate discipline. Strong arm, but a so-so fielder otherwise. I might see if he can pitch too.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn reliever Drew Yaeger will miss 12 months with a concussion suffered after missing a high five with an unnamed teammate. That's, um, creative.


AL WEST STANDINGS
OAK ... 34-25 --
TEX ... 35-26 --
HAW ... 31-30 4
LAA ... 28-32 6.5
SEA ... 26-33 8
HOU ... 20-41 15