Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! - Page 11

Bub13 · 03-11-2019, 06:32 PM

September 15-17 vs HOUSTON
One of a handful of teams officially eliminated from the playoffs, making it 27 consecutive seasons without any postseason play. Their offense has faded to last in the AL, and pitching isn't much better at 16th. I don't know what else to add, except that the good feelings from last year's .500 record have pretty much evaporated: an angry owner whose entire set of team goals will go unmet; a feuding clubhouse, for some reason; precipitous drops in season ticket sales (-36%) and attendance (14K, or -29%); and a bottom-ranked payroll that will still struggle to come home in the black. At least their prospect pool is #1...except that six of their top seven players are already in the bigs, so that will drop way off next year. Good times.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (10-6, 5.03) / Mike Messinger (12-5, 3.36) / Ryan Ratliff (7-6, 4.44)
HOU pitchers: Ryan Crawley (7-17, 5.10) / Chris Harris (7-10, 5.99) / Mike Huddleston (1-3, 4.54)

#146: WIN 5-3 ... Jones puts 8 guys on through 5 IP but somehow only gives up 2 runs and takes the win...2 H and 3 RBI for Klein
#147: WIN 7-4 ... JHart is the 1st star with 3 walks and 3 runs, ok...Mess is pulled in the 4th after giving up 4 runs...Cannon gets drilled by a pitch, injured
#148: WIN 5-2 ... 5 in a row now, thanks to 8 strong IP from Ratliff, and HR from Stoneback and Masuda...Klump gets hurt, will be until the playoffs

Yay us! We're the first team to clinch a playoff spot, and thanks to this latest hot streak our Magic Number is now just 3 for the division.... Two more injuries: Cannon is awaiting his diagnosis, with fingers crossed; and Klump will be dtd (influences throwing only, not a bad thing to be without when you're a DH) for 1-2 weeks.... Taylor Barnett will probably miss his next start, so someone will get a surprise start from AAA. But who.... Joe Hart is batting .270 and has 16 HR, both noticeable dropoffs from last year. But he's walked 92 times, has 11 sacrifices, and cut his caught stealing from 11 to just 4 (vs 17 steals). Still productive, imo.... ELSEWHERE: LA (Dodgers) Magic # is also 3, and with upcoming series against the dregs of their division, they should clinch very soon.... No one in the NL East has been eliminated yet, the only remaining division with that distinction. Last place NY is two games over .500, although they are 9 games out of a wild card spot.... Injuries have cut short some good pitching seasons this year, so only one guy (ATL's Jose Gutierrez, with 19) is close to 20 wins, and no one is near 300 K.

September 18-20 @ TEXAS
Sitting at 69-79, and fourth in the division. The first year at the helm for former Isles skipper Pat Wilson hasn't been a disaster--they're already 7 wins over last year's results, and have a +6 Pythagorean--but there haven't been many high points either. Like Houston, neither side of the roster has shown much: hitting is bottom four, while pitching is bottom two. If they're smart, they'll build around the left side of their infield, where 3B Corey Turner (.294/26/73) and SS JJ Dean (.246/17/76) have been good; but Dean needs a new contract, and it's even odds that he'll end up in free agency. Their prospects rate poorly (31st), and top guy SP Greg Buchanan has been so-so in AAA, and has the odd combo of throwing 100 heat while having poorly-rated stuff. Rookie SP Phil Eckert has been their best pitcher, but the team really needs Buchanan and #3 prospect Ramon Saucedo (struggling in AA) to get it together for next year. Yeah, good luck.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (11-7, 5.14) / Shamar Jackson (DEBUT) / Eric Jones (11-6, 4.93)
TEX pitchers: Phil Eckert (10-10, 4.72) / Luis Otero (9-8, 5.22) / Lorenzo Rangel (5-11, 5.19)

#149: LOSS 4-5 ... pin this on the pen, which gives up 2 late runs for the loss...Pinksen throws a solid 7, and it's 3 hits apiece for Groff and Stoneback
#150: LOSS 4-9 ... blecch, nothing to see here...move along, move along
#151: WIN 11-6 ... six early runs, then nada, then 5 in the 11th for the win...Stoneback smacks his 40th in the 1st, and JHart hits a 2-run shot late...Jones gives up 13 hits

Two ugly games keeps our Magic# at 2.... Cannon gets his diagnosis: broken collarbone, out for a month. Unnnngh. Then replacement RF Glenn Heath hurts himself just throwing a damn ball, but at that's just dtd.... So maybe hotshot prospect Shamar Jackson needs juuuust a little bit more minor league seasoning, after giving up 8 runs in 4 innings. Sorry bud.... ELSEWHERE: No playoff clinch yet for the Dodgers, although they're just a game away now.... And no changes in division leads, either, and only Philly (5.5 over Brooklyn) has anything bigger than a 2 game lead.... If the playoffs started tomorrow, Detroit and Seattle would be your AL wild cards, while New Orleans and Brooklyn would be the NL reps. Atlanta is just a half game behind Brooklyn, tho, so that race is not over.... NY's Cortez Ahumada became the 2nd player (after LAA's Juan Rodriquez) to reach 200 hits. Ahumada's a speedy guy who hits a lot of singles, although he's bumped up his doubles game (49!) this year. The 27-year-old developed slowly, getting traded three times, and is only in his third MLB season. He hit .354 in 400 PA for Cleveland last year, and still they let him walk. Shrug.

September 21-24 vs SEATTLE
Another long plane flight home for a four-spot against the Mariners. Currently at 86-66, 9.5 games behind us but comfortably in a playoff spot--they're a game behind Detroit, but 5.5 up on Baltimore in the wild card standings. Despite having the 3rd best AVG in the AL, they're only 12th in runs. Still, the best rotation in the AL makes for the 3rd fewest runs against, giving them a +65 run diff. They lost all-time star Mike Wapner in free agency, but CF Aaron Harrison has stepped up in a huge way: .341/48/130, and will get MVP consideration. Likewise, ace SP Miguel Moreno (19-4, 2.14) should figure in the Cy Young race. Two-way player Steve Mellon was dropped out of the rotation (5.28 ERA), but still bats leadoff and is hitting a respectable .283, although with little power.

HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (4-3, 5.40) / Mike Messinger (12-5, 3.49) / Ryan Ratliff (8-6, 4.31) / Tim Pinksen (11-7, 5.03)
SEA pitchers: Dave Conner (1-0, 2.25) / Brett McGee (14-8, 3.85) / Greg Sowa (13-10, 4.84) / Carlos Zenon (10-4, 3.66)

#152: WIN 3-0 ... 8 hits (4 doubles) and NINE walks. Nice...Barnett is aces, giving up just 3 hits over 8 innings, with ZERO walks...division clinched!
#153: WIN 3-2 ... Mess sticks around for 7 IP this time, gives up just 4 hits...
#154: WIN 7-4 ... everyone gets a hit, and Masuda's 3-run shot in the 1st keys a 6-run inning...Ratliff goes 6 IP, yields 7 H and 3 R, and rides some stout hitting
#155: WIN 6-2 ... complete game for Pinksen, 5 H, 9 K...Groff, in a down year, hits his 25th HR, Stoneback his 41st

We're now 17-5 this month, and a combined 35-14 since August 1. Pretty nice comeback from a bad July, I'd say.... Messinger gets his 13th win, tying him for the (active) team lead with middle reliever Pat Stanley.... Groff's HR gives us four players with at least 25 HR this season.... Dan Brown reached 20 saves, and has been a reliable closer all summer, after our injury trouble early.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit has won 7 straight to pass Cleveland for first in the Central. Tampa leads Baltimore by 2.5 in the East, and Cleveland and Seattle are in the driver's seat for the wild cards.... In the NL, LA has clinched, and Cincy and Philly still lead their divisions. New Orleans and Atlanta are still keeping up with them, and Brooklyn is on the outside of the wild card, but the only other team still in the hunt.... Still no pitchers with 20 wins, and while several NL pitchers are having outstanding seasons, in the AL only Seattle's Miguel Moreno is having an awards-worthy year. Not counting our--injured--Rob Hart, that is.

September 25-28 vs OAKLAND
At 75-80, and in real danger of having their nine-year streak of winning seasons come to an end. We'll try to help. 1B Vinny Vargas is excellent--as usual for the guy who's 4th all-time in OPS--and RF Jordan Coronado and 3B Ryan Walton have combined for 71 HR and 184 RBI. But three regulars are on the DL, guys who combined for nearly 80 HR and 210 RBI this year, resulting in a team that's 11th in runs, after years of being near the top of the charts. They're also 11th in runs against, with much of the rotation having struggled much of the season. Not helping was the precipitous collapse of long-time SP Ricky Hose, who went from 240 IP and a 4.72 ERA and 15 wins last year, to 58 IP, an 8.18 ERA and a 0-5 record. No surprise he's retiring too. There are some good prospects on the horizon, but no one who looks to figure next season.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (11-6, 5.04) / Taylor Barnett (5-3, 4.76) / Mike Messinger (13-5, 3.46) / Ryan Ratliff (9-6, 4.32)
OAK pitchers: Francisco Pantaleon (15-4, 3.95) / Miguel Valencia (2-2, 2.73) / Jim Schwartz (8-15, 4.79) / Jesus Claros (6-13, 4.34)

#156: WIN 2-1 ... only 5 hits for us, but gives up just 2 hits...Rich goes 3-for-3 and drives in both runs...Klein scores those runs
#157: LOSS 5-6 ... Oakland has nearly as many errors (4) as we had hits (5), and all singles...Barnett gives up everything in just 5 IP
#158: LOSS 6-9 ... lots of bad pitching, but our hitting keeps up until we lose it in the 12th...3-run HR for Stoneback is our big highlight
#159: LOSS 8-10 ... Masuda gets his 50th double, and Heath hits two triples, but more terrible pitching dooms us again...HR and 4 RBI for McArthur, and 3 more hits for Rich

Not a great series, especially after making fun of Oakland, as I like to do. We have one more series for the staff to get things figured out, and get ready for the playoffs.... We reach 200 HR as a team, but we're ranked 13th in the AL, quite a ways down the list from where we usually live.... And I'm still waiting for JJ Simmons to hit his annual HR.... AA Lewiston wins their league title, their second consecutive crown. AAA Santa Barbara goes for their 5th, starting today.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy clinches their division, and Philly is a game away from theirs. Atlanta and New Orleans (89 wins) and Brooklyn (87) are also still in it.... AL races: Detroit has a 2.5 game lead over Cleveland, and Tampa is 1.5 up on Baltimore. Seattle has 88 wins, and is still in solid second in the wild card race.... Tony Flores hit a few HR in the last series, now has 54 on the season. Jose Tavares leads the NL with 52.

Sept 29-30, Oct 1 vs LA ANGELS
Do I have to talk about these guys again? Didn't we just play them? (Checks notes...) Ok, late August. Anyway...they're 69-89 and have won just 7 games this month. But take a look at the middle of the lineup: .352/41/128, then .275/43/123, then .283/43/116. Wow. Combine that with no pitching and a lineup that's produced only 99 other home runs, and you get a losing record. Not sure where these guys go from here, especially as star Juan Rodriquez (the .352 hitter) will be a highly-coveted free agent this fall.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (12-7, 4.87) / Eric Jones (12-6, 4.89) / Taylor Barnett (5-4, 5.18)
LAA pitchers: Bob Tranchida (11-7, 4.55) / Khalil Smith (11-13, 5.01) / Greg Langworthy (10-16, 5.46)

#160: WIN 20-10 ... just a missed extra point there...Heath goes 5-for-5, two 2B and two HR...4 hits for JHart, three hits for a raft of others...that pitching tho
#161: WIN 5-2 ... Klein's 2-run blast in the 4th extends our lead to 4-1, and we ride it out from there...2 doubles for Simmons, giving him 39
#162: WIN 5-4 ... Masuda's turn at a 2-run HR seals the sweep...he also finishes with 51 doubles

Ok, let's ride this sweep into a successful playoff run.... Six regulars finish over .300, with Rich at .319 and Klein at .317.... Pinksen gets bombed in that first game but improves his record with us to 6-0.... Closer Dan Brown was named AL Pitcher of the Month for September, with 11 saves in 15 apps, and 19 K over 18 IP, with ZERO runs given up. Nice.... We activate RP Rick Ramirez from the DL; he should be 100% by the start of our opening series.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore sweeps Tampa to not only take the AL East, but knock the Rays right out of the playoffs. Detroit wins the Central, and Cleveland and Seattle take the wild cards.... In the NL, Philly, Cincy, and LAD take their divisions. New Orleans sweeps their final series to take one wild card, while Atlanta snags the other.... Detroit's Matt Anderson takes the AL batting crown, while Cincy's Jose Tavares wins the NL. Tavares also takes the HR title, and just misses a Triple Crown by 6 RBI. Oh, and he's a rookie, of all things. NYY's Tony Flores leads all MLB batters with 55 HR.

......

TL;DR Version: A 12-5 stretch to finish out the season with a 103-59 record. No injuries during this last run, and we get reliever Ramirez back from the DL. However, John Cannon (OF) and YT Yaung (CL) are still out for 2 weeks, so I decide not to activate either for the playoffs, choosing instead to have 25 active players on the roster. Let's hope we've got the horses, without Cannon's 25 HR and Yaung's experience closing big games.

Bub13 · 03-11-2019, 06:41 PM

And here are the end of season standings. Find your favorite team! I'll tell you all about them, lol.

paul.m.w. · 03-12-2019, 08:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bub13

And here are the end of season standings. Find your favorite team! I'll tell you all about them, lol.

The Reds...

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Bub13 · 03-12-2019, 06:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paul.m.w.

The Reds...

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Cincinnati....good team, won their second division title in four years, and nearly made the Series in '42 (should've beaten the Dodgers that year, imo). Underachieved last year (75 wins), but a nice bounce-back season this go-round.

They rode a good offense -- 3rd in runs, 6th in AVG, 9th in OBP, and 1st in HR -- and excellent pitching -- 2nd in runs allowed, best rotation ERA, 7th bullpen -- to that division title. Defense was good too, 2nd in team efficiency. Looking at their lineup, they mostly look non-threatening, with one MAJOR exception. Rookie Jose Tavares had a monster year, slashing .328/.387/.684, and adding 53 HR, to claim both Rookie of the Year and NL MVP honors. He's 22, and is that rare "scouting discovery" gone extremely good, and is probably the best young superstar in the league. Beyond him, catcher Antonio Chamorro chipped in 39 HR, but hit just .233. The other two outfielders were decent but unspectacular, and their infield fielded well but largely didn't hit. In fact, since I've simmed ahead already, I can tell you that they let all four starting infielders go to free agency, something I've never seen before. I think they'll be okay, since three of those guys hit .220-.230 and are not rated well as hitters at all, and the fourth--1B Daniel Matias--is 37 and past his prime.

In fact, this off-season will be a telling one for the franchise. They've got money to spend, but it remains to be seen what they'll end up with. They've already replace Matias from within, with a similar-looking slugging 1B, and traded for a new SS. That guy--John Hunt, from ATL--looks a lot like the guys they let go: good fielder, good runner, some power, low batting average. So they definitely have a type of player they prefer. (You can see this if you look at their young guys and top prospects: so-so hitters, but lots of power, and speedy with good defense. Very "toolsy" players.) And they just nabbed 2B Alex Cruz from Seattle, who does go a bit against type: powerful, but a better AVG hitter and a terrible runner. Great glove, too. They look weak at the infield corners, tho, and outside of Taveras the OF doesn't scare anyone.

They also let closer Edgar Tinajero go unsigned, I guess because he's greedy and wants nearly $10M. At least, I did until I saw that they added the Mets former closer Jon White for $14M. White > Tinajero, but that's a ton of money to pay for about 70-80 innings. They also lost their nominal ace starter, Jon Carlsen, to the Angels. Carlsen won 18 games and earned 6.5 WAR, but I think he played above his value last year. At least, I hope so, since he's now in my division.... Still, they've got a good-looking rotation, and their top two prospects are both blow-the-doors-off power pitchers, and look like they could be, say, Nolan Ryan clones: big power, great movement and endurance, but wild wild wild.

Overall, I like this team. They've got a good coach, Dan Remenowsky, who's been at the helm for 16 seasons. Most of his players like him, and the clubhouse seems stable. Which does seem a bit odd, as they have no captain, and more than a handful of outspoken and selfish players. I would prefer a team that puts more runners on bases, but you can't argue with winning through good pitching and defense, and hitting a ton of homers. Now, if they could just take the next step and get to the World Series, maybe they could really make their mark...

Bub13 · 03-15-2019, 07:06 PM

PLAYOFFS 2045

The playoffs open with a crazy one in Cleveland. Down 2-0 in the 3rd, Mariners P-slash-DH Steve Mellon blasts a 2-run shot that caps a 3-run inning. Cleveland then adds three of their own in the bottom half. And while Seattle scores another one in the 4th, the Indians add 2 in the bottom of that inning and another one in the 5th. After a scoreless 6th, they add two more in the 7th, and we go to the top of the 8th with the home team up 10-4. So then...thanks to a pile of hits and a few walks, Seattle scores six times to tie the game. Nobody scores in the 9th. Or the 10th. Or the 11th or 12th. Until...with a runner on and two outs in the 13th it's...Seattle with a 2-run home run to take the lead. Cleveland plates one in the bottom half, but strands two runners and drops a game they had in their hands. Tsk. Seattle 12, Cleveland 11.

In the NL, it's a different story. Atlanta rides five early runs and a sterling 9-K one-hitter from Jose Gutierrez to power by New Orleans and advance to the divisional round. Interesting that both home teams lost their wild card games. Atlanta 6, New Orleans 0.

DIVISIONAL ROUND
We'll face divisional foes Seattle in this round. We went 8-6 against them this year, and passed them standing still back in mid-summer. They finished 88-74, claiming the second wild card slot for the second consecutive season. Since this dynasty started in 2014, they've been to the playoffs seven times, advancing to the World Series just once, in 2016, where they lost to Richmond. Their strength this year has been pitching: AL-best in runs against and rotation ERA, but just 10th best bullpen. Hitting was less efficient: 14th in runs scored, despite a 7th-place AVG. OBP and HR were lower, so they're not a dynamic offensive team. Still, LF John Fry hit 30 HR, and SS Enrique Antunez had a nice slash of .298/27/95. CF Aaron Harrison (.336/48/131) will miss the first couple of games with back spasms. Probable AL Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno will go for the M's in game two, so we really need to take that first game...

Game One: Seattle (Carlos Zenon, 10-5 3.91) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 13-5 3.57). A low-hitting affair, but Seattle takes a 2-0 lead after five thanks to a solo HR and scratching a run out thanks to a Groff error. We manage just four hits all game, but only one mattered: Sen Masuda's 3-run HR in the 6th. Messinger goes 7 quality innings, and Willard and Brown each toss an inning to close it out. Hawaii 3, Seattle 2. Hawaii leads, 1-0

ELSEWHERE: Detroit quickly takes two from Baltimore, including a 16-6 game two pasting. This one could be over fast. In the NL, Philly scores in the 11th to take their first against Atlanta, and Cincy gets a 3-hit shutout to take an old-school NL West-type pitcher's duel in game one from the Dodgers.

Game Two: Seattle (Miguel Moreno, 20-5, 2.40) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 9-7 4.68). Staked to an early 1-0 deficit, and with star Seattle hurler Moreno on the mound, I already see grim portents after two innings. And then Groff singles home a run, Masuda doubles home Groff, and a Seattle error brings in two more: suddenly it's 4-1 and there is sunlight all around. Ratliff is splendid, giving up just 5 hits over 8 innings, yielding just one more run. Brown gives up one in the 9th to make things tight, but strikes out the side and hey ho! We're up by two. Hawaii 4, Seattle 3. Hawaii leads 2-0

ELSEWHERE: NL first: Philly takes another one-run tilt to go up 2-0 on Atlanta. And LA destroys Cincinnati pitching to the tune of 16 hits and 14 runs to square their series at one. (And here's a story that will drive you mad: LA reliever Jose Hernandez will miss the rest of the playoffs after accidentally shooting himself while cleaning his gun. Holy ZZ Top, Batman!)

Game Three: Hawaii (Eric Jones, 13-6 4.84) @ Seattle (Brett McGee, 14-10 4.00). First two games, and we score in just one inning in each. What will this game bring? Well, a third LHP from Seattle, for one. For another, our third game where we score in just a single inning. This time, a solo HR from Groff in the first. So we won 1-0 you ask? Um, no. Seattle scores three in the 4th, then adds two more late to take this one easily. We manage just three hits. Jones goes the distance for some strange reason; strange because we have eight RP on the playoff roster. Seattle 5, Hawaii 1. Hawaii leads 2-1

ELSEWHERE: Detroit scores in five separate innings (see, it can be done), including three solo HR, to take the game 6-4 and the series 3-0, over Baltimore. In the NL, Atlanta turns the tables with an extra-inning win, denying Philly the sweep. And then LA takes their own extra-inning affair, going up 2-1 on the Reds. I really, really do NOT want LA in another World Series (says the guy going for a three-peat).

Game Four: Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 13-7, 5.14) @ Seattle (Greg Sowa, 13-12 5.04). Finally a right hander to work against. Will it matter, I ask. Let's not bury the lede: yes, yes it does. Rob Rich scores on a Groff sac fly in the 5th, and two innings later Groff puts one way, way out to score three more and give us a 4-0 lead. And that's how it ends. This time, it's Seattle that can manage just three hits, with Pinksen (series MVP!) tossing a complete game while fanning ten. Woot! Championship series here we come! And against the Tigers too. Anything can--and usually does--happen against those guys. Hawaii 4, Seattle 0. Hawaii WINS series 3-1

ELSEWHERE: Atlanta wins another tight, one-run game with a 4-3 victory to level their series with Philly, 2-2. Meanwhile, the Evil Empire closes out the Reds in 15 and is now yet again close to yet another damn finals visit. Oh, one piece of good news: AAA Santa Barbara beat Oxnard (Brooklyn affiliate) in six games to take their fifth (and first in SB) AAA title. Congrats guys!

ELSEWHERE REDUX: Another close game for ATL v PHI, this time a two-run difference. Tied 3-3 in the 6th, Philly scores four times to take the lead for good, despite two late runs for the Braves. The game's best team for the first half of the season, the Phils will tilt against the Dodgers for the NL crown. Philly went to the Series in 2021 and 2023, losing both, and haven't been back since. LA has gone twice recently (2038 and 2042, winning the latter), and has been to the NL championships three other times in that span. Good club with lots of money, so no shock there.

......

CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
Detroit again. After we won our first title in 2039, with a strong team looking to head to our third straight Series, the Tigers instead ground us to a halt with a devastating attack that ended with them scoring 8 runs in the 9th inning--on our own turf, no less--to send us home. They did it again the next year, too. Both years they ended up in the Series, but lost both (to newbies New Orleans and Brooklyn). All to say that it comes as no surprise to see them here again. They finished with an ML) 2nd-best 96 wins, and featured the AL's second best offense, behind only us. They were, once again, first in HR, however, with 314. Every starter hit double figures, with five (!) passing the 30 mark. John Sheets led the way with 49, Sean West powered out 43, and league batting champ Matt Anderson hit 40. This is a powerful team. Pitching isn't bad either: 7th in runs against, with the 3rd best bullpen as well. Three starters passed the 200K plateau, with TJ Carroll leading the AL at 284. Let's get going...

Game One: Detroit (Raul Bravo, 1-0, 3.38) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 1-0 2.57). A surprisingly low-scoring affair, with just four runs and thirteen hits combined. Thankfully, we manage 8 of those hits, and all 4 runs. Messinger goes 7.1, but gives up 5 hits and fans 8. Two hits for Klump, who manages his first playoff RBI, and two hits and two RBI for Rich, getting it done from the ninth spot. Hawaii 4, Detroit 0. Hawaii leads 1-0

ON THE NL SIDE: LA just keeps rolling, plating 2 in the first and adding an insurance run in the fourth, to take this one 3-1. SP Mike Cote allows only 8 hits all the way, and the Dodgers are looking pretty damn tough right now.

Game Two: Detroit (Jeffrey Foley, 1-0 6.00) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 1-0 2.25). The Tigers score one in the 2nd and one in the 3rd, but inbetween we plate four in the 2nd, thanks largely to Klump's 3-run blast. Groff singles home two more in the 4th, and we add 3 for insurance purposes in the 8th, to coast to a 9-2 victory. Groff and Simmons manage 3 hits each, and Rich adds two more. Bad news: Ratliff went out in the third, and we're waiting on his diagnosis. Barnett tosses 3.1 solid innings in relief, and Ramirez adds 3 more. Combined, they gave up just 3 hits and struck out 9. Hawaii 9, Detroit 2. Hawaii leads 2-0

NL, AGAIN: Philly phinally breaks through, scoring eight times in the first four innings, and cruises to an 8-2 triumph. Finally, for one game at least, the Dodgers juggernaut is slowed. Series is all tied, and heads out west. MEANWHILE: Ryan Ratliff's diagnosis is a tender elbow (aww, poor baby). He'll be dtd for 6 days, so might miss a start. We'll see.

Game Three: Hawaii (Eric Jones, 0-1 5.63) @ Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-0 6.00). Where are the runs? This time, only one run crosses the plate, with the teams combining for only twelve hits. Carroll goes 7 IP, gives up 4 hits and fans 9. Meanwhile, Jones lasts only 5, giving up 5 hits and striking out just one. So who scored, you want to know? One swing of the bat, in the fifth inning, did it. The TOP of the fifth. Yes: us! Klump comes alive with two hits, including the critical long ball, to give us another surprisingly low-offense win. I. Will. Take. It. All. Day. Long. Ramirez tosses two more shutout innings, and Brown closes it out. Hawaii 1, Detroit 0. Hawaii leads, 3-0

YES, THERE'S ANOTHER SERIES GOING ON: Home field doesn't help LA today, as Philly strikes for four runs early, and five runs late, to take this one easily, 9-3. They manage those nine runs on just eleven hits, so that's effiency for you. Philly leads now, 2-1.

Game Four: Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 1-0 0.00) @ Detroit (Travis Heumann, 0-0 0.00). Well, we won't sweep, such a shame. Those hopes are dashed early, as the Tigers score in four straight innings to build a 7-1 lead. We get a couple back, but can't get enough runners to seriously challenge. Detroit's bats finally wake up somewhat: despite just seven hits, four of them leave the yard. We add 2 HR of our own, but it's not nearly enough. Detroit 7, Hawaii 3. Hawaii leads 3-1

WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT, NL STYLE: LA comes back, as you knew they would, staking out a 5-1 lead early, then holding on as Philly scores twice late, then strands runners in each of the last four innings. A 5-3 win for the bad guys, and it's all square at 2 apiece.

Game Five: Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 2-0 1.26) @ Detroit (Raul Bravo, 1-1 4.40). Another chance to close out the series. Can we do it, behind our ace? Well, McArthur smacks a 2-run shot in the 2nd for an early lead, and Messinger is on it, giving up just two hits and no runs through four. But then there's the fifth inning: three hits, three walks, two home runs, and one pulled pitcher. 4-2 Tigers. And, like the PHI/LA game the day before, we put runners on in the final four innings, and cannot score a one. Dang. We're not done yet. Making matters worse, Rob Rich breaks his foot running to second in the second inning, and will be out a month. In other words, the rest of the playoffs. Detroit 4, Hawaii 2. Hawaii leads 3-2

NL GUYS PLAY A GAME: It's the Philadelphia show in southern California, as the Phils score six times in the first, and take a laugher 9-0. Dave Henderson goes the distance, fanning 9 and giving up just five hits. Suddenly, it's the Phils who are a game away, and heading back home try to clinch it.

Game Six: Detroit (Jeffrey Foley, 1-1 9.31) @ Hawaii (Taylor Barnett, 1-0 0.00). Barnett goes for the sore-elbowed Ratliff. And... tied 1-1 in the third, the heretofore quiet Matt Anderson wakes up and smashes a 3-run shot. They add another one, and we do in the bottom half, but we're down 5-2 after three. The teams trade runs late, but by then the damage had been done. Each team managed 8 hits, but the Tigers out-homer us 3 to 0. That's the difference. Sigh. A 3-0 series lead has vanished into the ether. Detroit 7, Hawaii 3. Series tied, dammit, 3-3

FOR ALL THE MARBLES, NL VERSION? MAYBE: A wild game: nine pitchers, ten pinch hitters, eleven innings, and fifteen runs. Both teams score in the 1st, LA adds one in the 2nd, and Philly replies with 3 in the 3rd. LA scores again in the 4th, Philly adds two more in the 5th, but the Dodgers score three times in the 6th and 7th, and we're tied at six. Nobody scores again until the 11th, despite quality chances for both sides. LA scores one in extras, but strands two runners. Bottom of the 11th then, Philly up. First batter fans. Second batter grounds out. Third batter...walks. Next guy, a single. Then comes RF George Livezey, a .238 hitter on the season: who promptly smacks a deep drive into the right field corner, scoring both runners and driving the home fans even crazier than usual. Philadelphia wins! Off to the World Series!

Game Seven: Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-1 3.46) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 1-0 3.38). Their ace vs our #2. Winner take all; or at least the AL crown. A loss here will really sting... We start this one off right, with Stoneback (where have you been?) hitting a solo shot in the first. CJ Lee returns the favor in the top of the 2nd. Undaunted, after Klein walks in the bottom half, Klump powers one out over right field, and it's 3-1 good guys after two. Another ball leaves the yard in the top of the fourth, thanks to John Sheets, making it a one-run ballgame. Then, in the fifth, with Simmons on second, Groff lines a shot into the left field corner, scoring the runner, and giving us a 4-2 lead. After that, things settle down, and when Ratliff leaves with one out in the 7th, it comes down to our will-they-or-won't-they bullpen. Tonight, they will: first Willard over 1.2 innings, then Brown in the ninth, giving up just two runners and ZERO runs. Yes! We hold on to send Detroit packing, and head off to a chance at an honest-to-goodness three-peat! The teams tonight combined for 13 hits, with only FOUR singles. We only managed five hits, but took six walks and added a hit batter. JJ Simmons, who hit .480 in these seven games, is the series MVP (although Klump, with 4 HR and 8 RBI, wouldn't have been a bad choice). Ahhh, no crying yet.... Hawaii 4, Detroit 2. Hawaii WINS 4-3

......

Basball is a crazy game. I guess we have to make everything extra dramatic, huh. Detroit did pretty much everything I thought they would in that series: so-so pitching--but clutch at times--and a lot of home runs to score runs in bunches. We didn't hit like we did all season long, but in the end we did just enough. Now we're off to our third straight World Series appearance, with a chance at a rare three-peat: the last time that was accomplished was by those great Yankees teams of 1998-2000. No team since then has even gone to three straight championships. Eleven times (since 2000) teams have gone to two in row, with only two--Baltimore in 2028 and '29, and us these last two years--winning back-to-back titles. So a chance at a little bit of history for us.

Bub13 · 03-17-2019, 07:13 PM

2045 WORLD SERIES

This year's fall classic actually features the best teams from each league. Go figure! Sadly, because I never did uncheck the "all-star game determines home field for final playoff series" button, Philly's 96 wins trumps our 103 wins. So games 6 and 7--should it come to that--will be on enemy ground. [Ed. note: box is now unchecked.] Philadelphia is making it's tenth World Series appearance, and their first since 2023 (they lost). This is our fifth appearance, and we're going for our fourth win.

Philadelphia was the best team in the early going of 2045, wrapping up April/May with a 38-14 record. They stayed warm in June, but then played losing ball through the end of August, only turning things around in the final month. They never seriously lost their grip on a playoff spot, but seeing as how everyone in their division finished with a winning record, they very well could have. They had the NL's best offense: 1st in runs, 3rd in AVG, 4th in OBP, and 2nd in HR. LF Steve Dyer was the only regular to finish over .300, at .314/28/83. Four other regulars topped 20 HR, with perennial all-star SS Alex Castillo leading the way with 37. Pitching wasn't far behind, 4th in runs against. Their pen graded out slightly higher than the rotation, but don't sleep on that staff. Alberto Reyes won 17 games and sported a 2.88 ERA; Nominal ace Ryan Carlson won 12 games, with a 3.09 ERA. Closer Sam Berisford--a two-time Hoyt Wilhelm trophy winner--saved 42 games and had a WHIP just a touch over one. They're fairly healthy too, with only C Marc Orange, 2B Mike Thomas, and a meh reliever missing the series. None are stars, and none figure to degrade the offense by their absence.

The Phils feature four right-handed starters in their playoff rotation, which is good for my left-handed platoon-types (read: Jonathan Klump), at least at home. Both teams are good on the road, fwiw: we won 48 games, Philly 46. We'll miss Klump's power DH bat on the road, but that can't be helped.

......

Game One: October 25, Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 2-1 2.89) @ Philadelphia (Ryan Carlson, 0-0 0.00). After a scoreless first, McArthur puts the first points on the board with a 2-run jolt to left. Philly counters in the bottom half thanks to a George Livezey solo HR, but strands a runner and can't level things up. After that...it's all pitching. We manage six more hits against Philly pitching, but the Phils manage none against ours. Messinger is nearly perfect tonight, yielding just two hits and walking one, while fanning 13. Brown retires the side in the ninth. We do add another run on Stoneback's solo HR in the 8th, but that's it. Hawaii 3, Philadelphia 1. Hawaii leads 1-0

Game Two: October 26, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 2-0 3.18) @ Philadelphia (Alberto Reyes, 1-0 6.14). With two out and runners on the corners in the first, Joseph Hart smacks a deep double that scores them both. A Jose Gonzalez solo HR in the next inning tightens the score, and after a scoreless third it's Hawaii 2, Philly 1. In the fourth, a pair of singles puts two on for us, and moments later they both trot home thanks to a Simmons triple into left center. Nate Flygare pinch hits for Ratliff in the 6th and doubles into the corner, scoring another run: Hawaii 5, Philly 1. The Phils do come back in the 8th, putting on three runners and scoring two, making my heart skip around, but Ramirez calms down enough to fan two batters with runners on. Brown comes into the game in the 9th and once again closes the door, and just like that we're looking at the possibility of closing out the series at home. Hawaii 5, Philadelphia 3. Hawaii leads 2-0

Game Three: October 28, Philadelphia (Kevin Wellington, 2-1 3.18) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 1-1 3.38). Another game, another early lead for the good guys. Simmons leads off the first with a single, then scores on Groff's slicing triple into the gap. Masuda then singles him home, and it's 2-0 right out of the gate. And guess what? Tonight Jones is ON, giving up just four hits and walking three, while somehow managing seven (!) strikeouts. He exits the game after seven, still with a 2-0 lead. Reliever Ben Willard gives up a single in the 8th, but doesn't allow him to score; in the bottom half, two swings of the bat--from Klump and Masuda--make the score 4-0. Willard stays in and pitches a perfect 9th, and we're just a game away. One. Game. Away. Tonight we are efficiency in action: six hits, four runs. Nice ratio. Hawaii 4, Phliadelphia 0. Hawaii leads 3-0

Game Four: October 29, Philadelphia (Dave Henderson, 1-1 2.42) @ Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 1-1 4.72). We score early again, plating one in the 2nd, and with the game tied in the fourth, Jim Klien steps up and delivers a GRAND SLAM into left, and we're up 5-1 and feeling pretty chipper. That doesn't last. A Nick Roberts 2-run double in the 5th sparks a 3-run inning for the visitors, and they add another in the 6th to tie the game at 5. It's just not our night tonight, as Brown enters in the 9th and gives up a solo HR and two other hits, and Philly goes up by 2. We manage a hit in the 9th, but Hart grounds into a double play to end the rally and the game. Klein manages three hits and five RBI, but he can't carry us alone. Still one. Game. Away. Philadelphia 7, Hawaii 5. Hawaii leads 3-1

Game Five: October 30, Philadelphia (Ryan Carlson, 0-1 3.52) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 3-1 2.36). Last chance to seal the deal on home turf. Mess doesn't have his best stuff tonight, giving up solo HR in the 2nd and 5th, and allowing another run in the 5th as well. We scratch out a run in the 3rd, but our hitting is just off as we only manage five hits all night. Entering the 9th down 3-1, we get a leadoff triple from Stoneback, and a walk from Joseph Hart. Klein, tho, hits into a double play, which does at least allow Stoneback to score. Now just down a run, but with two outs and nobody on. Travis McArthur steps up...but can't manage anything, grounding weakly to the pitcher, and we're off to Philly to try to recapture our early series magic. Gulp...One. Game. Away. Right? Philadelphia 3, Hawaii 2. Hawaii leads 3-2

Game Six: November 1, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 3-0 2.86) @ Philadelphia (Alberto Reyes, 1-1 6.87). One again, two top offensive teams don't manage many hits or runs, collecting 16 hits combined. For us, Klein doubles in the first but doesn't move off the base. Philly proceeds to strike in the second and the third, scoring single runs on doubles in each inning. Groff claws us closer with his first WS home run in the 4th, but Philly adds insurance in the 5th with a pair of singles and a walk. And once again, we can't manage anything in the late innings, as closer Berisford allows just a pair of walks over the final two innings, and we're now One. Game. Away. From heartbreak. Philly 3, Hawaii 1. Series TIED, 3-3

Game Seven: November 2, Hawaii (Eric Jones, 2-1 2.21) @ Philadelphia (Kevin Wellington, 2-2 3.79). Okay, here we go. Disappointment or relief? Happy tears or bouts of wailing anger? Well, I can say up front there was very little pitching in evidence tonight, and some odd decisions late in the game that still have me puzzled. We jump on Philly starter Wellington early thanks to a 2-run single and later a GRAND SLAM from Stoneback--all in the 2nd--to take an early 6-0 lead. Jones fritters most of that away with a truly abhorrent bottom half, giving up four Philly runs and putting them right back in it. In the third, McArthur gets his bat warmed up with a 2-run shot of his own, and hey presto we're up by four again. Until...Jones allows two more runs in the bottom half, and then for some reason is left to start the fifth inning, where he promptly allows another one. So after just four innings, it's Hawaii 8, Philly 7. Joseph Hart finally shows some signs of life with a solo HR in the 5th, giving us a 2-run lead. Replacing Jones, Rick Ramirez tosses three fantastic innings, fanning 4 and giving up just one hit. And then...into the bottom of the 8th, with seven--SEVEN--healthy and rested relievers to choose from, why on earth does manager Clarence Whitney go with a rookie, Ben Willard? And why, why, why does he then allow him to stay in to give up a HR-single-HR combo, before getting the idea that bringing in someone, anyone else--hell, even ME--would be a good idea. So yes, after that affront to baseball sensibility, Pat Stanley comes in, for only the second time this series, and sets down the Phils like clockwork. Too late: we're down a run, heading into the final inning, and up against probably this year's best NL closer. So...Groff comes up, and grounds the second pitch he sees to short. One out. Masuda up, he jumps on the first pitch and...grounds to second. Two outs. Now it's Klump: strike, strike, ball, ball, and...a swing and a miss. And we're done. Philadelphia 10, Hawaii 9. Philadelphia wins a series they didn't deserve, 4-3

......

In the midst of wild on-field celebrations, after our players have trudged back to the visitor's clubhouse and begin turning their minds to off-season plans. I make a visit. My words, literally: "Guys, good season. Sorry it ended like this, but you put up a hell of a fight and I'm proud of you anyway. And Clarence, you're fired." Then I leave. See you all at the winter meetings.

Bub13 · 03-19-2019, 06:51 PM

Well that sucked. Maybe not if you're a snowball-throwing, dumpster-as-swimming-pool-having Philadelphia fan; but it sucks hard nevertheless. Not as bad as losing to the effing Dodgers would have, so there's that, I guess. Still stinks. Anyway...now we move into a long off-season, with some really tough decisions coming up, and probably a bizarre nonsensical visit from owner Angel Pagan in the near future. I'm gonna guess he'll say...we didn't make enough money, he's mad we didn't win the title, and still wants me to find a better catcher than Rob Rich. And maybe to steal 200 bases next year too. I'm going to stay drunk for the next month to prepare myself.

First off, you may have noticed that I fired manager Clarence Whitney in the clubhouse after the game seven loss. Classless? Maybe, but it's not your team; nor are you his mother, so your opinion counts for nothing. After thinking about it overnight, I decide to replace him with long-time team pitching coach Matt Sargent. Sarge's rep is excellent, and players like him. Well, all the pitchers do. The batters will take some more convincing, but they'll come around. To replace him in the bullpen, I promote AAA PC Conor Russell, who's been with the organization for ten years, and fully deserves the promotion. David Schuknecht will remain as bench coach, Adam Engel as hitting coach, and we're sticking with scouting director Moises Patino and trainer Jordan Villalobos. Assistant GM Grant Henning will not have his contract renewed, really only because I don't think Assistant GMs should be paid over half a million dollars, which is the raise he wants. AA manager Kyle Lobstein just won a championship for Lewiston, but wants a raise to 250K; he too won't be renewed. Likewise Short A Poughkeepsie hitting coach Matt Dacey. All can be replaced more cheaply.

Two days after the collapse, Pagan visits. It does not go poorly, which surprises me. Yes, he wants to make more money, but he "knows I can do better next year." Yes, he wants a better catcher, but he thinks Rob Rich--who plays good defense and hit .319 with 40 doubles--is "good enough, I suppose." Sheesh. He's happy with our organizational prospects, which rank 5th at the moment. And he wants a championship next season, which will "cement my legacy." The best news of all he drops via text after he leaves: he's raising our budget next season to $184M. Wha...? That's a $20M increase, which I have never seen in my time on the islands. Crazy, but GOOD crazy. The old man must be getting soft in his dotage (he's 50, btw). I am all smiles for once.

......

Before I get to the rest of our off-season decisions-to-be, here's a quick look around the league. Houston got an early start at riding the personnel carousel, firing manager Efrain Nevares and GM Joseph Woolfolk just before the end of the season. The GM, sure, since he hadn't done anything to make their team better, and the owner isn't firing himself. Nevares, tho, seemed like a good manager, was well-liked, and didn't take the firing lightly: "It's a bush town with a bush press and a bush management team." Well, maybe not so sympathetic then... Miami fired its own GM/Manager duo, in particular dumping popular manager Tony Diaz. Diaz had been Marlins skipper for 8 years, and the worsening records recently probably weren't really his fault, so much as management's decisions to not re-sign high profile free agents. (No Derek Jeter sighting yet, thankfully.)... And the Yankees fired manager Jose Jimenez after two terrible 60-win seasons. Jimenez managed in our system for ten seasons before taking the Bronx job. No word on his replacement yet.

No owners have died yet, although there is still hope/time.

......

Now back to us.

Our rotation gets the first hard look. The end-of-season starters were Mike Messinger, Ryan Ratliff, Eric Jones, Tim Pinksen, and Taylor Barnett. Messinger, making 13.8M, wants an 8-year, 251M deal, starting at 27M and escalating. No, just no. I will offer him the 13M arbitration amount, which he'll refuse. He will then sign with someone, a month into free agency, for about 15 to 18M. After telling me he wants 27M. That's how this stupid thing works. Ratliff makes minimum (500K), and will get renewed. He had a decent rookie year, and gets another cheap year to prove himself valuable. Jones is more interesting. He'll be entering his age-29 season, and is sitting on a team option for 9.3M for that year. He's been with us for eight seasons, never gets hurt, and seems to bounce back to solidity right when you think he's turned to jello. His K/9, never high, has declined for the last three years; but, he does alternate good with bad years, and is coming off a largely bad year. Right now, I'm inclined to use his option and squeeze one more season out of him. Plus, he's a lefty. Pinksen, acquired from NYY at the deadline, was pretty bad until partway through September, and has one more year remaining, at 6.7M. He's 31, and will probably stay unless someone beats him out in camp and I trade him. Barnett, 2044's sensational half-season darling, came back to earth this year, and then some. He's under arbitration for next year, and hopefully for under a million, so I'll keep him around and see what he does in March. Not mentioned: Rob Hart, who hopefully comes back full strength next year as our ace, and Jonathan Murray, who looks good on paper and throws really well for us (when healthy), but has an absurdly low arb estimate of 850K. He'll be back, and hopefully back on form.

So the rotation forming in my head atm is Hart, Ratliff, Jones, Pinksen, and one of Murray or Barnett. NOT GOOD, not fearsome by any stretch. And while we have some good talent percolating on the farm, none of it looks to be ready for 2046, unless someone does some serious growing in these next few months. So do I go out and pluck a #2/#3 type starter out of free agency? Do I take a look at signing Messinger for cheap(-ish), if he's still available in, say, December? Yeah, probably I do. I don't want to go into the season with a patchwork rotation, but I also don't want to break the bank on one arm, either.

The bullpen is more settled. Dan Brown and Rick Ramirez took turns as closer after YT Yaung went out for the season. Ramirez was decent, but Brown was a revelation. His arb estimate has shot up to 5.5M, and I'm willing to pay to see if he can do it again. Ramirez's salary will go up in '46 too, but he's also worth it. Yaung, however, has an arb estimate at 6.6M (vs 5.3M salary this year), which I'm not going to touch, sorry. Everyone else will be back to compete for spots.

There are also some discussions to be had regarding our batters. 1B Sen Masuda declined his PO, but oddly is still under arbitration for next season. His estimate is 9.3M (he made 6M this year). Do I keep him? I'd like to move Groff off of third, and regular DH Klump had a good season, but cannot hit lefties. Masuda was, however, our only consistent power threat, all year long, and finished with 136 RBI, leading the team by a long margin. Plus, he's insanely popular locally.

RF John Cannon had a monster year in 2044, then went UFA. No one signed him for his ridiculous 20M demand, so I snapped him up on the cheap, at 6.9M in early April. Now he's back on the verge of free agency. He wants an eight-year deal worth 11.5M per, but is coming off a disappointing season of just 24 HR (his 162-G average is 45). I can shoot him the usual 13M offer, which he might take, but I'm leaning away from pinning a ton of money on a guy who's about to enter his 30s. Plus, he has no range in right, which is a major drawback.

Elsewhere: catcher Rob Rich will see his arb money go up, and I'll probably try to lock in him longer term before the season starts. 2B JJ Simmons will also see an arb payday, and we'll also begin negotiating with him on a longer deal. LF Joseph Hart will also get a slight bump, but I'm not as set on retaining him longer term as I am with Rich and Simmons. Most everyone else will be back on cheap deals. Oh, except for Klein, who finally proved himself to me after two solid seasons in center: he's now under contract for six seasons, and will get 3.1M next year, rising to 6.5M by 2051. Oh (pt. 2), and also except for OF/DH Travis McArthur. I nabbed him for league minimum in April, and he was good off the bench: .320/9/37. However, I suspect that the 33-year-old doesn't have much left in the tank, and despite a good arm he's become a liability in the field. I won't re-sign him, but might take a look at him over the winter if I can grab him for cheap as he's got platoon usefulness.

......

Speaking of arbitrations.... We have fifteen players eligible for arbitration, including nine pitchers. Ultimately, I decide to make offers to ten players, and will let the rest walk. If we win all of these arbitrations, we'll pay out 15.8M more to these guys. We'll obviously lose the high profile ones, but win the cheap ones, as usual. Among the guys who weren't offered arbitration, there are a number of recognizable names. Backup catcher Mario Burgueno won't be back, nor will closer YT Yaung. RP Ramon Archila has been around for a few seasons now, but ended up in AAA by mid-summer, and now will be on his own by the end of this month. And P Pete Morrow also won't be back. Morrow looks great on paper, throws well in AAA, but has been pretty bad for us for two seasons now. His estimate is 3.5M, which is too much for a perpetual disappointment.

Three guys could get the 13M qualifying offer (Cannon, McArthur, and Messinger), but only Mess gets an offer up front. He'll say no, of course, but will be worth the compensatory pick if I don't re-take him in free agency. I haven't decided on Cannon yet because I'm leaning away from wanting him back, and I don't want to pay him 13M if he accepts the qualifier. Maybe make the offer, then try trading him if he says yes? Dunno.

Finally, eleven minor leaguers can walk to free agency, and none of them will be brought back. Among them are IF/OF Roberto Mendez, who has 3/5 of the tools you want in a player: He can field, throw, and run better than 95% of all major leaguers, but he can't hit and has no power. P Jamie Berisford was a supplemental #1 pick in 2039 and had a bright future once. But he missed almost all of 2040, all of '41, half of '42, and most of '43. He's been in AAA for two seasons, and has gotten progressively worse. Sad story. Finally, 1B Pablo Mora, an international signee from 2036 for a million bucks. He made it to AA this year, but could barely crack the lineup. Adieu to all of them.

......

We make one small early roster move, claiming RP Steve Dickerson off waivers from San Diego. Dickerson isn't any better than most of our other relievers, but he'll replace some of the guys who won't be back, guys who are AAA/MLB fringe types. He pitched 39 big league innings last year, with a 4.62 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. He was better in 2044, so he's got some positive history. Easy pick-up. Mario Burgueno and OF Danny Sipos are waived off of the 40-man roster, signs to their agents that their days are numbered...

......

There has been a rash of off-season incidents this fall. First, Dodgers reliever Jose Hernandez shot himself while cleaning one of his guns. He'll be back, but embarrassed. Just don't say anything about it to him, or...blammo. Next, Miami pitcher Corey Downes got mugged, falling and breaking his kneecap. He'll miss seven months. Finally, White Sox catcher--and 36M dollar man--Dan Starr suffers back spasms while skydiving. Luckily, no one gets killed...yet.

......

Awards season has begun, starting with the Gold Gloves. Our own Rich Stoneback wins his second, at SS, but his first with us. Minnesota 3B Paul Foster won his 8th; he won his first in 2034. Teammate R.J. Hernandez won his fourth, at 2B. In the NL, Philly's SS Alex Castillo won his 6th, four of them now at short. New Orleans LF Matt Powell won his third straight, and Philly 1B Danny Baca won his third.

Next, the Hoyt Wilhelm award, to the each league's best relief pitcher...and surprise! Dan Brown wins the AL trophy, for basically a half season of work (even though he was on the roster all season) as closer: 59 GP, 69 IP, 80 K, 23 saves. Pat Stanley also got votes, finishing fourth. Arizona closer Brad Schmitt (30 saves, 1.70 ERA) won the NL trophy.

No Islanders won Silver Slugger trophies, but Oakland's Vinny Vargas took home his 7th, likewise Detroit's Matt Anderson, and LAA's Juan Rodriquez his fourth, and third in a row. In the NL, STL catcher Alexis Mercedes--and former Islander--won his fourth trophy.

Boston CF Jose Diaz, who hit .334, won the AL rookie of the year (Jonathan Klump came in third, with 6 first place votes). In the NL, it wasn't even close as Cincinnati OF Jose Tavares (.328/53/124) swept all the first-place votes.

Well, the press hates me, obviously, as they vote fired manager Clarence Whitney manager of the year. Hope it keeps you warm, Clarence. Philly's Felix Osorio takes home his second consecutive NL trophy.

Although three of our pitchers received votes, Seattle's Miguel Moreno takes home the AL Cy Young trophy, the second of his career. He finished the season 20-5, with a 2.40 ERA. Rob Hart finished second despite missing the last month-plus of the season, Mike Messinger came in fifth, and Dan Brown (!) seventh. Atlanta's Jose Gutierrez won the NL trophy, with SD's Gary Florence--who's season also ended early due to injury--finishing second.

Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga didn't have the best WAR season, but his .338/47/157 year garnered him the AL MVP. Our Rich Stoneback received one first place vote and finished fourth overall. Cincy's Jose Tavares caps off a terrific rookie season by taking home the NL MVP, receiving 30 of 36 first place votes. Atlanta's Cy Young winner, Jose Gutierrez, came in second.

......

Another update: Hall of Fame voting begins on November 19th. Thirty-one players are on the ballot, with thirteen first-timers. The highest returnee is pitcher Orlando Ramos, who received 39.2% of the votes last year. He was a strikeout king--recording 4278 of them--but that was about it. Of the new players, probably the best of the lot are catcher Tyler Markey (324 HR, .309 average, 2044 hits, 65 WAR, 1 MVP, 3 ASG), and OF Kelvin Robinson (304 HR, .300 average, 2589 hits, 89.4 WAR, 1 MVP, 2 GG, 9 ASG). Other top returners are P Gabriel Gonzalez (11% votes, 204 wins, 2996 K, 58 WAR), IF Parker Kelly (20%, 2627 hits, 77 WAR), 2B Brendan Rodgers (30%, 2737 hits, 80 WAR), 3B Mason Templet (11%, 2692 hits, 73 WAR), OF Dillon Thomas (11%, 366 HR, 72 WAR), 1B Cisco Videira (9%, 3011 hits, 44 WAR), and pitcher Orlando Ramos. Stay tuned...

......

Finally, arbitration hearings come in, and we lose most of them. Still, our salaries only go up by about 3M from what I expected, for about an 18M increase. We're currently on the hook for $155.7M in salaries for 2046, a 16M jump over 2045. Accounting tells me we can afford 11M more in free agent salaries...but I don't know. And, no surprise, both Messinger and Cannon decline my qualifying offers. Messinger I'll probably sniff around in free agency, but Cannon I won't. But with only that 11M in free agent money available, unless I trade someone, I'll probably look for cheaper free agent options, if anyone at all.

Bub13 · 03-23-2019, 10:10 AM

OFF-SEASON 45-46, contd.

11/27 ... free agency gets off to a whimper as the White Sox make the first signing: a flyball-tossing, low-movement, low-stuff RP named Dylan Thomas, who's spent the last three years playing in Mexico. Should've left him there, Chicago.
12/04 ... the first big splash comes from Minnesota, inking OF Josh Hibbs to a 6-year, 85M deal. A bit of an unknown quantity--having spent the last ten seasons in Holland--Hibbs looks like a big-hitting, incompetent-fielding outfielder. Perfect for turf.
12/05 ...the Dodgers shock everyone by signing two players, neither of whom are closers. They lure SS Erik Morgan away from STL for 102M over 5 years, and ink SP Gary Florence (SDP) for 131M over five years. Florence is a risky move, imo: he's injured for six more months, and hasn't pitched a full season since 2041. Now, he's absolute money when he does pitch, but still--four years of major injuries, and already 32, does not inspire confidence.
12/06 ... Milwaukee steals SS J.J. Dean from Texas (130M, 7 yrs), while the Angels do something smart for once, signing ace SP Jon Carlsen (114M, 6 yrs) from Cincy. Of course, they did let all-everything SS Juan Rodriquez walk, so it looks like they're going for outs and not runs in 2046. Might just work.

Islanders Moves! Wanting to up my starting pitching depth, and not exactly thrilled with the players on the farm, I make a 2-for-1 deal, all pitchers, with KC. We send Dave Loch and Jayden Grant to the Royals, and receive Ben Germann. Grant was my sixth ranked prospect; Loch, 11th. Both look decent, but are lower-stuff guys that I have way too much of right now. Germann is a hard-throwing groundballer, who has a shot at the rotation, especially if we can harness his control. We also sign a free agent pitcher, inking Angel Cordova to a minor league deal. Cordova was not signed by the Indians in November, and I'm not sure why. Unless my scouts are way off, he looks like a fringe MLB pitcher right now. Like Germann, he needs to bump up his control a bit, but he's got good stuff, nice movement, and three decent and fully-developed pitches. Looks like a good clubhouse guy, too. Either I totally stole a guy or my scouts need to be marched into the sea.

12/07 ... another int'l free agent leaves the board, as the Yanks sign SP Yoshi Oh to a 27M, 3 yr deal. Oh is a superstar in Japan, a 10-time all-star and 4-time pitcher of the year. This gives them two Japanese stars on their roster, the other being OF Daizo Yonamine. Of course, he gets injured so much that Vegas already has it as even money that Oh will pitch more games than Yonamine will play in the field.
12/08 ... three big names sign new deals today. Toronto lands 3B Paul Foster (MIN), signing the 8-time Gold Glove winner to a 45M, 3 yr deal. Too much for a 35-year-old already in decline, imo. Seattle brings OF Mike Wapner home, wrapping him up for 89M over 6 years. He spent 11 years in Seattle before taking off for KC last year; he's 31 but shows no signs of slowing down yet, however he does have significant injury history. Finally, Minny makes up for losing Foster by grabbing catcher William Antonio for 63M over 4 yrs. Not a slugger at all, but a .323 lifetime hitter who's good with the staff and in the clubhouse. Another nice move, Twins.
12/09 ... another star catcher is headed to the AL Central, as KC nabs Adam Behling (SF) for 170M, 7 yrs. Cincy inks 2B Alex Cruz (SEA) for 116M, 6 yrs, and Minny adds another gem in SP Hugo Blerra (ATL), 87M for 6 yrs.
12/12 ... the Dodgers add another non-closer, making me question everything. This time it's SP Eddy Llamas (KC), a 34-year-old they've nabbed for 4 yrs, 39.8M total.
12/13 ... HERE WE GO: on the same day that former LAD closer Bill Brunson signs with Oakland, the Dodgers actually add a reliever! They sign closer Bruce Parton away from the Mets for a one-year, 10.5M deal. We're not even at the Winter Meetings yet and they've added over 40M to their pitching staff this month. Thanks to attrition in recent years, they're only paying their bullpen 26M for 2046, down considerably from years past. But hey it's only December...
12/15 ... Cincinnati is now the proud owner of a 29M closer, having signed Jon White to a 2-year deal. White was injured much of last year, but looks like a legit award-level closer. Just not...29M bucks worth. And a minor trade has amused me on a couple of levels: Boston--a notoriously and perennially cranky clubhouse--acquired a pitcher named Jolly from the Expos for a prospect named Monreal. Seriously, guys...

Islanders Trade! We get the Winter Meetings off to a rip-roaring start by sending...AAA pitcher Devin Woods to Pittsburgh for middle infielder Xiu-tou Fa. Woods is okay, but throws dead straight, while Fa can.not.hit, but is a dynamite fielder and will shore up a thin spot in our organization. I may make another deal or two to get a couple more middle IF guys, since I really have just one guy below AAA who looks any good at all. Well, two if you count the mysterious Dante Padilla.

12/17 ... well, one guy I hoped might stick around until late winter has just been signed. Richmond nabbed former Cy Young winner Drew Falconbury for 20.6M over 3 years. Falconbury's now a reliever--having been injured enough that his stamina dropped to near zero--and has been a good one for a couple years now. But he's 39, so I had hoped to grab him cheap for a year, but nooooo.
12/18 ... two power-hitting 1B sign for big bucks: San Diego grabs Joel Rogers (CLE), who's usually good for 30 HR and .300 average; and KC grabs one-time Islander superstar Jeremy Dunklee (from STL) for three years. Dunks isn't the 7-8 WAR beast he was with us anymore, but he did hit 25 HR and slash for .319/.428/.532, so he's still very useful, even at 35. And he'll be earning 20M per for the next 3 years.
12/23 ... hey, remember when I joked that although Mike Messinger was telling me he wanted 28M per for the next 8 years, he would probably end up signing somewhere on the cheap? Yeah, that. Well Texas just inked him for a six year deal worth...wait for it...12M per season. @$@!@$@!#%$!!

12/27 ... Rule 5 Draft day and, as usual, a lot of players change teams. Some teams go all in (Arizona, Portland, and NYY each claim six players). Only a few teams make zero selections, us included. Still, we do lose a couple of players: AAA 2B Connor Mitchell goes to Texas, while new acquisition (dang) Xin-tou Fa goes to Brooklyn. I won't be surprised to see Fa back in AAA after training camp, as he just does not look like a big league hitter (and barely a AAA one, at that). A couple of surprises made the list too. KC didn't protect Dave Loch, a pitcher we just traded to them, and he was claimed by Arizona. That's a good pick. At the other end of the stick, Oakland claimed pitcher Tim Shellhammer, a dead-straight-ball pitcher who had one of the worst single-season stat lines I've ever seen, from 2044 with the Cubs: 7.88 ERA, 139 IP, 165 HA, 48 HR, -3.7 WAR. How his career HR/9 is only 2.1 I'll never know. Oh, and the delightfully named Kyle Hoots was selected by Portland, while sadly the equally delightful Bubba Gazdag was not taken by anyone.

12/28 ... former Islander SP/CL/headache Jim Kieffer is now a Yankee, at 56M over 5 years. Kieffer, you may remember, was "famous" for having half an outstanding season, followed by curious, months-long bouts of "who am I" on the mound. In his final glorious season with us, 2043, he went from closer, to starter, to middle relief, to end-of-bench long relief, all in the span of a couple months. Still good for you, Jim; you'll bring good stuff and control, as well as 2 and almost 1/2 pitches to the Bronx rotation.

......

We're at the end of the year rollover, and a couple of star players are either getting the runaround (coughcollusioncough) or are playing hard-to-get. Last year's AL runner-up, SS Juan Rodriquez, and former 2-time AL MVP Vinny Vargas remain unsigned. Sure, they both want over 25M annual deal, but teams that need talent have got to have money for them, right? (Checks finances...almost no one does. Wtf? So they'll both probably sign in April for around 9M for one season. A steal.)

Bub13 · 03-26-2019, 05:05 PM

OFF-SEASON, pt. 3

1/1 ... 2046 gets off to a rip-roaring start, with San Diego announcing a 6-year, 57.1M contract with John Cannon. Former Islander John Cannon. "Fan interest almost crashed!" Well, season tickets are selling at a 12% drop compared to last year, so...maybe there's something to that. When he's on, Cannon's a beast of a hitter. Problem was that he was off most of last year. And he can't field. I like my outfielders to actually chase a ball now and again, so we'll make do. I have plans already for RF, Cannon's old spot, that I'll talk about more in the future. Sadly for Fan Interest, they don't include going after a $$$ free agent. (And thanks for the second compensation pick, SD! I appreciate it!)
1/2 ... another former Isle gets snapped up. This time, it's Josh Robertson, who was our excellent 2B from 2038 to 2044. He signed a big one-year deal with the Padres last year, and then got hurt and only made 25 PA. The Mets inked him for two years, and I wish him well. Also, the Giants inked the last of the decent international free agents, taking SP Tomo Taira for 6.9M per for four years. He's 30, new to MLB, and is terrible in the clubhouse. I looked at him and said no thanks.

1/3 ... The Hall of Fame voting has been tallied...and no one gets in. Kelvin Robinson (73.3%, 1st year) came closest, and only P Orlando Ramos (51.7, 5th yr) appearing on more than half the writer's ballots. First-year C Tyler Markey got just 49%, surprising given that he's in the top five in nearly every statistical category for catchers. Robinson should get voted in one day; same for Markey. Ramos will likely have to wait for the Veteran's Committee. Others who deserve serious looks but are not getting in via the BBWA: infielders Brendon Rodgers and Parker Kelley, 1B Cisco Videira, and closer Ethan Murphy. Videira got my vote this year; he fininshed with over 3000 hits, but was never regarded as a "best of" during his long career and is getting no love from Hall voters. And speaking of the Veteran's Committee, they (well, *I*) did put three guys in: 1B/DH Edgar Martinez, and managers Bobby Cox and Scott Hemond (the latter won three titles with Richmond in the '10s and '20s).

1/11 ... the Dodgers (of course) ink our former closer YT Yaung, for a one-year 5.9M deal. Our fans hate it--shocking--and our Fan Interest drops below 90 for the first time years. I guess World Series titles (and near-misses) don't count for anything. LA also adds former Marlins closer Brandon Dennis for 3.8M per for three years, proving they've got a ton of good money to throw after bad. And they now have four RP who want to be closers.
2/1 ... February rolls in and *finally* teams are starting to sniff around the two biggest names in free agency, Rodriquez and Vargas. Rumor has it that Vinny V is drawing looks from Minnesota and the Dodgers and Yankees, while J-Rod is flirting with Arizona, KC, and SF. Also, we made an offer to long-time Minnesota C/1B Peanuts Carter, who was drawing no interest and looking for a fairly tame 4.5M deal...And a few days later he comes back with "more money plz" and now three teams have cast out lines for him, moving his rumored demand up over 8M. Great.
2/3 ... aaaand just like that, Carter signs. With the Yankees (not one of his rumored suitors). And for 6.3M for one year. Whatever.
2/4 ... aaand Minnesota makes up for losing Carter by snagging Vinny Vargas, the plum of this year's FA class: 15.6M for one year. So we'll be doing this again next year.

ISLANDERS MAKE MOVES! Three moves over several days, two of which won't move the needle much, tbh.
...First, we claim RP Danny Fernandez off waivers from NYY. We traded him to the Bronx last year, and while he hadn't done much with us (and did less for the Yanks), he's useful insurance in AAA, since I've slashed a lot of last year's minor league staff.
...Next, we trade SP Malik Chaney to Toronto for pitcher Justin Darrisaw. Chaney made 3 starts for us last year, and while serviceable, he's 31 and frankly not at the top of my call-up list. Darrisaw is AAA fodder, and like Fernandez above, just a replacement chip for injuries. The bigger draw for us here is that Darrisaw is on a MiL contract, while Chaney was making 600K. Not much difference, but Darrisaw doesn't have to go through waivers and won't be on the 40-man roster.
...Finally, something of significance: we sign free agent OF Ramon Davila to a four-year deal worth 4.4M per season, with a team option for the final year. A 27-year-old with 6 MLB seasons under his belt, Davila brings a solid bat (.264/23/84 with TB), a better glove (2 Gold Gloves in RF), and is a great influence in the clubhouse. Although he's just a lifetime .247 hitter, he has power and he'll take a walk (.328 career OBP). He'll probably move to LF, with Joseph Hart sliding over to right. I had other plans for RF this year, but the combo of Davila being available for cheap and a February system-wide scouting report that read like a stock ticker in 1929, I felt I had to bring someone into the fold. Welcome aboard, Ramon!

2/12 ... Wow, big trade today. Seriously, no joke, a real trade! Detroit sent last year's AL batting champ Matt Anderson to LAD for SP Mike Cote. While Anderson is 37, he's on a decent contract (11M) and has barely lost a step at the plate. He should reach 2500 hits and 500 HR this upcoming season. And the AL was perfect for him, as he's lost the ability to play third; he'll be limited to first in the NL. Cote, 31, is a decent #2 or #3 pitcher, good for 3.5 to 4 WAR a season. He's talented, but a head case. So...not sure why Detroit would trade part of their powerful lineup for a decent but not top level pitcher. Plus, the Tigers threw in a prospect, 24-year-old pitcher Marvin Diaz to boot. Diaz spent last year in A ball, which is odd since he's nearly fully developed and should be in the bigs this season. He looks like a quality replacement for Cote already. And LA gets Anderson...the rich get richer.
2/14 ... Holy crap, some teams are loading up this year. The latest: Seattle, announcing the signing of 2B/SS Juan Rodriquez (15.4M for one year). Blessed with a quality pitching staff already, they addressed last year's hitting struggles by adding Mike Wapner (.321/44/110) and now Rodriquez (.349/42/133). They've lost nothing of significance from last year as well. The AL West will be a dogfight this year.

Not much else happens on the free agent front during the spring, despite there being about 4-5 A to B+ level closers on the market. I expect they'll get snapped up in early April. We do make a few other depth moves, to wit:
...two free agent signings, both to minor league deals (my favorite kind) -- IF John Canning and C Tyler McClellan. Canning you might remember was with us from '39 through '44, spending last year with Brooklyn. He's a contact hitter, with no power, and won't walk, but also won't strike out. His big benefits are leadership, and an ability to play excellent defense everywhere but catcher. He can run too, and is the perfect "just happy to be here" guy. McClellan will vie for the backup role behind Rich. His batting ratings look a lot like Canning's, so if he sticks he's not a power bat like last year's backup, Mario Burgueno, was. He's also a lefty, meaning I might bring in another catcher to face LHP if McClellan doesn't hit in the spring.
...and, right near the end of Spring Training, with the aforementioned McClellan not hitting, I make a trade with Atlanta. I send our captain, IF Aaron Little, to the Braves for catcher Dave McCollum. Little is a competent hitter, with some power. While he has a nice glove, he has no infield range, which isn't so hot for someone who could get serious playing time at short or second. Plus, he's in his final cheap contract year, with an arbitration estimate over 4M for 2047. No thanks. McCollum is just what I'm looking for in a backup catcher: decent-enough hitting, average-at-least defence, cheap contract (league minimum), and a good teammate (captain material). And a righty, so he'll bat against lefties, something that Rich struggled wit all last year. If McC hits better than Burgueno's .210, I'm good.

......

Spring Training report and Opening Day roster coming up next. No huge surprises for us, but some tough decisions, and some concerns going into the season...there are always concerns.

Bub13 · 03-28-2019, 03:21 PM

Spring Training has come and gone; we finished a streaky 19-11. Nobody played themselves off the roster, although as usual the bullpen will probably be in flux depending on who doesn't pitch well early on--and there's always someone... We will start with three players on the DL: last year's closer Dan Brown will miss 1-2 weeks, so he'll be back quickly; contender for the backup catcher role Brian Drummond broke his elbow and will miss 3 months; and pitching prospect Angel Cordova suffered a hamstring injury and will be out for another 5 weeks. Only Brown will come back to the big league roster.

Several players who had outside shots at cracking the opening day lineup--but didn't--had very good springs. OF Cameron Daley hit .550, although with no power, and looks about big league ready and with room to still grow. He hit .309 in AA last year, is 22, and looks like a can't miss prospect right now. Outfield mate Kenny Welch hit just .255, and battled with Glenn Heath for a backup spot right to the last game in March. He's got more power than Daley, but is held back by his lead feet in the field. Phil Lasky has made a rapid ascent up the prospect ladder: he played in A ball last year, will start this year in AAA, and nearly made the big club. He's a true two-way player and could figure more as a major league starting pitcher than a starting outfielder. We'll see what he does in AAA. Finally, SP Shamar Jackson went 4-0 with a 0.45 ERA, but still looks underdeveloped to me. He was gold in AA last year, but struggled mightily in AAA and then in one MLB start. He'll get some more seasoning and likely will be the first call-up should one of our SP keel over with the vapors.

One the other side of the ledger, not many guys looked off this March. Sen Masuda hit just .169, but I'm not worried about him. More concerning, however, was the play of nominal ace starter Rob Hart. Coming off his first major arm injury, he was inconsistent and really wild (he walked 5 in two of his five starts), and finished with a 6.95 ERA. Still, it was just five starts, so maybe I'm overreacting...

......

2046 Hawaii Islanders Opening Day Roster

Starters in bold, with age, batting hand, contract (year), and 2045 stats.

C Rob Rich, 25, LH, 3.5M (2051), .319/4/68, 40 doubles, 2.5 WAR. Recently signed to an extension, and he's worth it. Not really all-star caliber, and my owner constantly wants me to upgrade. But Rich hits for average, brings runs home, and is an excellent receiver. Doesn't hit well against lefties, so will be platooned, which hopefully will keep him healthier too.

C Dave McCollum, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), .321/0/4, 56 AB with SD and ATL. Acquired from the Braves during spring training. Decent hitter and fielder, and is immediately a hit in the clubhouse. Hopefully will be the perfect backup catcher. Will start against lefthanded pitching.

DH/1B Jonathan Klump, 25, LH, 500K (2046 arb), .306/26/90, 2.9 WAR. Solid power hitter, smart guy, gets on base (.376 OBP). Needs to up his game against lefty pitching, but is otherwise sound. Could take over at first if we don't re-sign Masuda after this season.

1B Senichi Masuda, 31, RH, 10.6M (2046), .281/36/136, 51 doubles, 3.9 WAR. Has been a low-key but solid contributor at first for four seasons now, but will be a free agent after this one. Scouts tell me his contact is getting worse, so we'll see if he starts to backslide. I'm undecided on re-signing him, but as he's already making over 10M, and is not a superstar, I'm leaning away from it as the season starts. He's extremely popular with the home fans, so this would be yet another blow to our imperilled Fan Interest meter.

2B JJ Simmons, 23, RH, 6.8M (2046 arb), .313/0/77, 2.8 WAR. Had a down year from his ROY '44 campaign, where he hit .350 and won the batting title. Has the bat, the eye, and the plate discipline to do that every year, tbh. Disappointed he didn't get his annual home run last year. Excellent fielder, can run too (but went 10-for-24 on the basepaths last year). I need to re-sign him, but he's only after a one-year deal right now, and I want to lock him up until he's 30.

IF/OF John Canning, 29, RH, MiLC, .306/1/43, 2.1 WAR with Brooklyn. Undervalued player, really, and I'm surprised I was able to sign him for peanuts. He's got decent contact and gap power, never strikes out, can run, and can play anywhere but catcher. Spent six years being an all-everything utility player for us. Has no power, tho, which is his only major drawback.

3B Adam Groff, 32, LH, 37.5M (2053), .302/26/77, 4.6 WAR. The face of the franchise, and paid like it too. Had a down year in '45, so we're hoping for a big bounce back. Scouts say he hasn't lost anything at the plate yet, but is losing range at third, almost to the point of liability. It's possible he'll be moved to first next year, if Masuda doesn't come back. Should reach 300 career HR this year, and pass 1700 career hits.

IF Manny Rangel, 25, RH, 900K (2046 auto), .158/0/2 in 19 AB (.235/21/72 at AAA). Our first Cuban player, Rangel will be a utility guy this year, although he's best suited for second (not much of an arm, tbh). Scouts say he still has room to grow at the plate, so I hope that low average in AAA isn't a long-term indicator. Has some power and a good eye, but will strike out a bit. If he develops some more this year, he could be our 2B in '47, should Groff move to first (and Simmons possibly over to third or back to short).

SS Rich Stoneback, 28, RH, 12.8M (2046), .299/42/110, 8.7 WAR. After a terrible '44, had a tremendous comeback season, leading the AL in WAR, and winning his second Gold Glove at short. Has tremendous range and a great glove, and really does almost everything well except run and hit the gaps (just 26 doubles). I'll start talking with his agent about an extension, but he'll want the big bucks. With both him and Simmons to re-sign, will I be able to afford both?

LF Ramon Davila, 28, RH, 4.4M (2049), .264/23/84 with Tampa Bay, 2.1 WAR. Free agent signee, missed a couple weeks of ST with an arm injury. Not the greatest contact hitter, but brings power, eye, and low-K to the game. Good range and glove in the field, if not the best arm around. (Also rates well in the IF, so you never know where he'll turn up.) If he can hit at least .250 with 25 or so HR, he'll be worth it.

OF Nate Flygare, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), .260/2/13 in 96 AB, -0.2 WAR. Last man on the bench for us last year, and will fill that role again this season. Shows decent contact and gap power, won't strike out, and can run some. Good fielder, fair arm, and a smart kid. Still, could likely find himself on the outside, as there are some bigger bats behind him on the farm.

RF Joseph Hart, 26, LH, 6.9M (2046 arb), .273/18/78, 2.5 WAR. Tends to get overlooked a bit, as he doesn't produce big numbers. Competent fielder, the fans adore him, and he walks more than he strikes out (86K vs 100 BB last year). Power numbers were down, didn't crack 20 HR for the first time in his short career, so we'll ask for that to return to form. Did go from a liability on the basepaths to an 18-for-22 season stealing bases, which was a nice surprise. How long he ends up staying here will depend on what we can either sign him for, or what an arbitrator rules he's worth. It always comes down to money.

CF Jim Klein, 26, RH, 3.1M (2051), .314/7/66, 44 doubles, 24 SB, 2.4 WAR. Well-liked by teammates and fans, I particularly like him because he delivers at a cheap price. Not a ton of power, but consistently hits over .300, and plays a solid center field. A good baserunner who should really fare better than his 24-for-40 SB totals showed.

OF Glenn Heath, 23, LH, 500K (2046), .226/2/8 in 62 AB (.310/13/46 in 261 AAA AB). Rates as a solid power bat and doubles machine, who will both take a lot of walks and whiff a ton. (His total minor league OBP is 110 points higher than his AVG.) Decent fielder, but a bit too slow for center. Started with the big club last year, too, but couldn't hit and spent much of the summer on the farm. Getting another shot at it this go-round, and needs to grab this chance.

Only one change to the starting lineup from 2045, and a few tweaks on the bench. All in all, I think this could be a better roster than last year's version, with a little more L/R balance. Once again, we won't threaten to lead the league in HR, but we'll get a lot of hits and put a lot of guys on base. And frankly, I'd rather put a ton of guys on base and have more chances to score than sit and wait for 3-run homers, a la Earl Weaver. Now, the pitching...

SP Rob Hart, 29, RH, 16M (2048), 15-6 3.29, 25 GS, 186 IP, 249 K, 5.1 WAR. Was having the best season of his career until he got hurt in late summer. Scouts say he hasn't lost anything, but after a bad spring, I'll be watching him closely. Used to alternate good years with bad ones, so let's hope he's grown out of that habit. With a big year he could top 2000 career strikeouts. If he's fully back, we're good; if he's not, then the wall is crumbling.

SP Ryan Ratliff, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), 9-7 4.68, 23 GS, 144 IP, 135 K, 2.1 WAR. Had a good start to 2045, then blew up and went to AAA for a bit, came back and slowly got back on track by September. As he's the #2 starter going into the season, we'll definitely need Good Ryan, not Bad Ryan. Gave up a career high (including minors) 1.4 HR/9, but counters that with allowing just 2 BB/9. Could be in line for a nice payday if he's good this season.

SP Eric Jones, 29, LH, 9.35M (2046), 13-6 4.84, 32 GS, 205 IP, 116 K, 2.2 WAR. Back for his ninth season with the Islanders, and this time--I really mean it!--it could be his last. Was truly horrific until after the all-star break, when he got his numbers to look respectable, at least. Like Hart, has a history of alternating good with bad years, so maybe this time around... Anyway, with Murray in rehab, he's our top lefty. Fun fact: he's never been seriously injured: has made 31-33 starts every big league season. You'd think maybe I'd respect him a bit more then.

SP Tim Pinksen, 32, RH, 6.7M (2046), 13-7 5.14, 31 GS, 175 IP, 137 K, 2.8 WAR (6-0 4.65 with us). Last year's deadline acquisition didn't really pitch all that great, but still went 6-0 behind some terrific run support. Strikeouts were up and walks were down with us, so if those numbers revert, then I don't know what to expect from him. Teammates like him b/c he busts his ass; let's hope that doesn't mean he hustles to back up the third baseman after yet another line drive into the gap.

SP Taylor Barnett, 27, LH, 750K (2046 arb), 6-4 5.24, 14 GS, 79 IP, 53 K, 0.1 WAR (plus 12 starts in AAA). You know all about his magical 2044 season (9-0 2.56 ERA in 12 starts). Well, reality bit hard last year, resulting in an extended stay in AAA after a craptacular start to the season. He came up for good after Hart's injury, but will be on a short leash this year. With several guys knocking on the door in AAA (including LHP Jonathan Murray on rehab), I'll have my finger on the "release the hounds" button early. Not a strikeout pitcher or big stuff guy, but gets by on movement, guile, gumption, and harassing midnight phone calls.

CL Rick Ramirez, 26, RH, 2.4M (2046 arb), 5-5, 20 SV, 42 G, 47 IP, 65 K, 0.8 WAR. Moved into the closer role after Yaung's season-ending injury and looked good early. Started to blow up with more frequency, then missed a couple months with his own injury. Came back for September and the playoffs and was good again. With Brown's injury, he'll start as closer. He has all the tools and should be a fantastic closer, but hasn't put it all together yet. Still, unless he proves a constant disappointment to me, I'll try to re-sign him during the season.

SU Pat Stanley, 32, LH, 2.5M (2047), 13-4, 3 SV, 54 G, 90 IP, 76 K, 1.0 WAR. Our workhorse, averaging 97 IP out of the pen over the last five seasons. Entering his tenth big league season, all with Hawaii. Combination of decent stuff, great control, and tons of groundball outs has been gold for most of that decade. One of two lefties in the pen.

SU Ben Willard, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), 3-1 5.68, 3 SV, 22 G, 32 IP, 30 K, negative WAR (plus 10 games in AAA). Played well at first after his call-up last year, but really struggled down the stretch. Had an excellent spring, beating out several others for a spot in the pen. But like Barnett in the rotation, is one of a few relievers that will be short-leashed early if they struggle in April. Has big-time stuff, with a nice fastball/knuckle curve combo, and nice control.

MR Steve Dickerson, 28, RH, 750K (2046 arb), 3-4 4.62, 3 SV, 34 G, 44 IP, 43 K, negative WAR (all with San Diego). Waiver pickup in November, threw well in the spring, so here he is. Kind of a dime-a-dozen guy, so I don't expect anything earth-shaking from him. Just go out and do your job, Steve, and everything will be fine.

MR Hisami Masuda, 31, LH, 3.4M (2046 arb), 3-4 4.95, 1 SV, 38 G, 67 IP, 78 K, negative WAR. Really thought he'd be gone this year, after being largely ineffective last season. But, here he is, after throwing well this spring, and warming my cold, dead heart a bit. I'll have no patience for the shenanigans he pulled last year, especially at 3.4 mill. Ratings still look good, he can hit 99 on the radar gun, which is nice. But if he gives up 2.8 HR/9 like he did in '45, I'll buy his airline ticket to waiverville myself.

LR Ben Germann, 26, RH, 800K (2046 arb), 6-4 4.88, 1 SV, 40 G, 52 IP, 60 K, negative WAR. (all with KC) Another newcomer. Will begin in long relief, and can step into the rotation in a pinch if needed. Still developing, which gives me hope that his subpar control will round into shape. Keeps the ball down, however, which helps him get out of most self-created jams. Again, another guy on a short leash.

This is not a staff that inspires confidence, if I'm honest. In the rotation, Hart at least looks good; the others look decidedly average. The pen is the same, with two newbies, and four guys who earned negative WAR last year. Still, we made what looked like a patchwork bullpen into the AL's best, somehow. We'll need that again. At quick glance, we've got three starters and four or five relievers in AAA that could step in right away. I'm hoping I won't have to do a lot of puppeteering this season, but I can feel it in the wind already. We'll see...

Injured already:
RP Dan Brown, 25, RH, 6.9M (2046 arb), 3-3 1.95, 23 SV, 59 G, 69 IP, 80 K, 2.2 WAR. He'll be back in just over a week. Can last year's surprise Hoyt Wilhelm trophy winner do it again? I'm bullish. He's a groundballer who can hit 101 MPH, with a wicked fastball/change combo, and a curve that stinks, but supposedly could develop well enough to make him a starter. Will it? Nah, probably. Come back strong, Dan, we'll need you.

SP Jonathan Murray, 28, LH, 850K (2046 arb), 3-2 4.18, 11 GS, 67 IP, 57 K, 0.5 WAR. Latest scouting reports dropped his ratings a bit, which hurts. On paper, at least, he's a definite #2 or #3 starter, but hasn't shown that consistently yet. Has a pretty solid five-pitch repertoire, with a change being his best pitch. Will start the year in AAA on rehab.

......

Despite some of the biggest names in free agency not being signed until late, it was a busy off-season across the league. The Dodgers, as usual, were among the busiest, and added 39 WAR (26.5 net gain) over the winter, including 3 starting pitchers, 3 more relievers, a 5-WAR SS, and reigning AL batting champ Matt Anderson. Seattle was second, adding 22 WAR (16.1 net gain), including returning superstar OF Mike Wapner and free agent plum Juan Rodriquez. They'll contend for league best, I'm certain. At the other end, St Louis lost 22 WAR (14.5 net loss), including 3/4 of their infield, their closer, and two starting pitchers. We ranked 24th, having lost -6.9 WAR, most of it being SP Mike Messinger.

BNN Season Predictions are out! I may not be optimistic about our chances this year, but MLB certainly is, saying we'll finish with 111 wins and run away with our division. We'll score the most runs and give up the fewest. Okay, season's over, trophy is ours! If only... Regardless, our division looks tough, with Seattle tabbed for 95 wins and Oakland, 92, both making the playoffs. Detroit will win the Central by two games over Milwaukee, while Boston will win the East with just 85 wins. LA and Texas occupy the bottom of the tank, with just 67 wins apiece. Adam Groff, Rob Hart, and Eric Jones (!) made the Top Hitters and Top Pitchers list. Wow, just...Jones, huh. Wow.

In the NL, Philadelphia is once again the cream of the crop, with 102 wins. Cincinnati wins the Central with 90 wins, while San Diego claims the West with 93. NY and LA figure to be the wild card teams. Arizona is tabbed to win just 59 games. They should be fun to watch. Once again, the East looks tough, with five teams finishing over .500.

Prospect rankings are out...and we're third! Third! 3B Dante Padilla ranks 6th among all prospects, and yet, I remain unconvinced. He looks great on paper, but hasn't hit his weight since rookie ball (he weighs 215). P Olimpio le Coq ranks 22nd, but had a bad April scouting report, losing ground in stuff, movement, and velocity. Ergh.... IF Manny Rangel (30th) and OF Kenny Welch (75th) round out the top 100, and both are starting the season in the bigs. The #1 overall prospect is Cincinnati pitcher Cris Frias, 20, who looks like the real deal. Except for low control (natch), he's ready for The Show already. The White Sox--the league's top-rated system--have the #2 prospect, pitcher Burton Dick, a future #1 starter. The top-rated batter is #3 Alfonso Torres, 20, a 2B in the Arizona system. The former 5th round pick has exceeded expectations and looks like a definite all-star caliber batter. He's still a couple years away. Of note is the #20 overall prospect, pitcher Sergio Gil: we traded him to SF in 2044, along with several other prospects for Kenny Welch (see above) and Shamar Jackson (last year's #37 ranked prospect; this year not on the list).

......

Here's where I make my prediction for the year. Offensively, this should look like last season: lots of hits and runs, but not a power team. Just how we fare overall, I think, will hang more on our pitching than our hitting. Last year, our bullpen bailed us out when the rotation struggled; we'll probably need that again. Can we win the division? With good health, steady hitting, and at least average pitching -- yes, I think we will. Will we win 111 games, like MLB thinks we will? LOL no.

Bub13 · 03-31-2019, 03:41 PM

Opening Day 2046!

We open at home, with one series, before traveling to the east coast for a pair of matchups, then back home. April brings 25 games, 12 at home. Oddly, we have no games on Thursdays this month.

Two roster notes: with Manny Rangel and John Canning added to the infield rotation, Edward Ospina became expendable. So we sent him to the Dodgers for 3B Sean Reeder. Reeder has a decent bat, bad glove, and a strong arm. He'll go to AAA. Texas releases Rule 5 pick Connor Mitchell, so he comes back to us, and also goes to AAA. Suddenly we have a glut of infielders in Santa Barbara, so something may have to give over the next week or two.

April 2-4 vs BALTIMORE
Surged last September to make the playoffs, but didn't last long. Working on three straight seasons of winning seasons, but just that one playoff appearance. MLB says they'll win 83 games, but miss the playoffs. They had a quiet off-season signing-wise, adding just 1B Travis Saunders (PIT) and DH Justin Singleton (NYY) to big league deals. They did part ways with last season's DH, 1B, 2B, 3B, CF, and one SP. (They also added two on minor league deals who are now in the lineup--CF Luis Villalba and SP Ken Newman.) They still have AL MVP Cesar Alvarenga, who may have the crown as the AL's best batter, after two seasons of .334/47/144 and .338/47/157. He's in his 8th year, and is signed through 2049 -- but given that his 36M contract is a huge part of their overall 99M budget, might it make better sense to trade him for a pile of prospects rather than keep winning 85 or so games a year with him? Just a thought. Manager: Nestor Corredor, 11th season. Owner: Reginald Ehrlich, a lenient penny-pincher.

HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (15-6, 3.29) / Ryan Ratliff (9-7, 4.68) / Eric Jones (13-6, 4.84)
BAL pitchers: Brian Simon (10-11, 5.54) / Jeremy Stines (16-9, 3.65) / Jonathan Bell (13-10, 4.79)

#1: LOSS 1-5 ... well, that was a bust...Hart gives up a 3-run blast in the first, and we manage just 5 hits, with Groff's HR our only highlight
#2: WIN 5-2 ... that's more like it! Ratliff fans 13 over 8 IP, but gets hurt...newbie McCollum goes 3-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI
#3: LOSS 5-9 ... Jones lets a 3-0 lead slip away, giving up 5 R in 5 IP, then Masuda gives up 3 in 1.1 IP...another HR for McCollum, plus Davila's first as an Islander

Not an auspicious opener by any means. Plus, after selling out opening day, we played to crowds of 30 and 31 thousand, the lowest home turnouts in some years. Fan interest is down, and season tickets undersold by 21% compared to last year. Hmm.... Ratliff's diagnosis comes in, and it's no so bad: strained back muscle, out for 2-3 weeks. I call up Shamar Jackson to see if he's still got his spring training mojo.... ELSEWHERE: I should talk about hot teams, hot players, and other fun stuff. Like maybe Philly's George Livezey, who ended our season in Game 7 in November, hitting 3 out on opening day. But no. Instead I'll talk about Toronto's new shortstop, JORDAN CRUZ. Yes, that's right, the slick-fielding, flashy-running, shortstop who'll add in 12-15 HR has signed with the Blue Jays. For 3 years, 8.5M. PER YEAR. Hahahahaha! Okay, let's give him some credit: he did hit thirty points above his career average last year in Cincy; but even then he batted just .233. And struck out an amazing 204 times, good enough to lead the league in Ks for the 10th time in his career. I also support his quest to become just the second batter in baseball history to reach the mystical 3000 strikeout plateau. With two whiffs in his first game for the Jays, he's now just 28 from reaching that milestone. Which would still put him nearly 900 Ks behind the all-time best, Miguel Sano. The only thing that will make me happier here is if the Jays bat him leadoff, like his old team the Cubs did for nearly a decade.

April 6-8 @ TAMPA BAY
The Rays swept their opener against Texas, dropping 24 runs on the Rangers. They were the best team in the East for much of 2045, until slumping in August and September and missing the playoffs on the last day of the season. Their lineup has power, and is essentially unchanged from last year, only adding catcher Todd Meyer and 3B Orlando Navarro. Navarro is interesting as he's making the jump from A ball; he's still developing, and while I don't think he has the arm for third, he's got a good bat and will hit for average and gap power, while not striking out much. The pitching staff looks decent too, dropping an underperforming SP and CL, while moving RP Roberto Alvarado into the rotation and giving the closer spot to rookie Nick Scott. Both look like good moves right now. Manager: Tony Bajoczky, 4th season. Owner: Stuart Sternberg, a demanding economizer

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (13-7, 5.14) / Taylor Barnett (6-4, 5.24) / Rob Hart (0-1, 6.75)
TBR pitchers: Jimmy Dalaba (18-7, 3.45) / Roberto Alvarado (6-4, 4.14) / Bill Casas (1-0, 2.08)

#4: WIN 9-1 ... Masuda drives in 5 and hits his 1st HR...Groff with 2 hits, while JHart and Klump get their first hits of the season...Pinksen goes the distance
#5: WIN 5-1 ... Barnett is sharp through 7, and Klump seals it with a 2-run shot in the 6th...Groff and Stoneback also hit HR...Tampa loses two pitchers to injuries tonight
#6: LOSS 6-7 ... RHart is off, way off, again tonight, giving up 10 H and 6 R in 4.1 IP...Stoneback goes 3-for-3, 2 RBI...we also add 3 sac flies

Two wins puts us back at .500, so at least that's good.... Rob Hart is terrible again, and between spring training and the first week of the season he's had just two good-looking starts. At least Pinksen and Barnett came up big.... A ball Eureka was a hot team last year, winning a club record 85 games and making a rare playoff appearance. Things have regressed so far this year, as they're swept in their season opening series.... ELSEWHERE: Texas got swept again, and have started the season 0-6. Houston is 6-0, which achieves a perfect balance in the state.... The Yankees are 6-0, and guess who we play next.... Detroit reliever Lance Hansen has 3 of their 5 wins, while Yankees closer Adrian Hammerbeck has 4 saves.

April 9-11 @ NY YANKEES
You can forgive Yankees fans for feeling optimistic for the first time in years: a 6-0 start, 49 runs and 16 HR in those games, while giving up just 24 runs. They were extremely active this off-season, to wit: new starters at DH, C, 1B, 3B, SS, and LF, plus two new SP and five new RP. And one of those newbies, SP Yoshi Oh, hasn't pitched yet due to injury. New 3B Marcus Walker and SS Brian Martin are, frankly, not very good, but the rest of their additions are creditable players who could push this team back into the playoffs for the first time since 2029. With Oh's injury, four of their starting pitchers are holdovers, and none pitched well last year. So that will bear watching as the season goes on. But they can hit, yes indeed. Manager: Efrain Nevares, 1st year (last four seasons with Houston). Owner: Justin Dielman, a lenient economizer. He's also a meddler who wants EXTREME WINNING, whatever that means. This is their home opening series of 2046.

HAW pitchers: Shamar Jackson (debut) / Eric Jones (0-1, 9.00) / Tim Pinksen (1-0, 1.00)
NYY pitchers: Kasey Sikkema (1-0, 5.14) / Brian Whitney (1-0, 1.29) / Phil Avery (0-0, 3.60)

#7: WIN 11-5 ... lowered the boom with 14 hits, including 2 HR from Masuda...3 hits each for Simmons and Davila, 3 RBI for JHart...Jackson no so good on the mound, but the pen rescues us
#8: WIN 19-1 ... wow, so maybe that Yank staff isn't good after all...we hit 5 HR, 2 more (with 5 RBI) for Masuda...3 H for Groff and Klein...Jones tosses a 4-hitter to boot
#9: WIN 8-3 ... four hits for Klump, including a 3-run HR in the 8th that seals it...3 hits for Stoneback...Pinksen allows 6 H, 1 R in 7 IP

Well that was an epic beatdown: 38 runs over the three games. And just like that, we take the lead as the league's best offense.... Pitching wasn't too shabby, although Jackson did not look ready in his 2nd MLB start. Ratliff is still out for 2 weeks, so Jackson may get one more bite before I try something else.... And Dan Brown comes off the DL, meaning someone had to go. Namely, Hisami Masuda and his 20.25 ERA. He's pissed, but so what? Two days after waiving him, no one's claimed him, and as I prefer not having a $3M salary sitting in AAA, I'll try trading him.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is 0-9, Miami 1-8. The Mets have won 6 straight, are now 9-1.... 8-time All-Star 3B Chris White missed half of 2045, but is having a nice comeback with Brooklyn so far, hitting .404 with 6 HR.... Houston is 8-2, largely behind pitchers Dustin Springer and Alejandro Gonzales, who are a combined 4-0 and have given up just 2 runs in 28.2 innings.... When I was considering acquiring a combo backup C/starting DH this off-season, the White Sox offered me Ken Carter for relative peanuts. Carter, you might recall, is a 35-year-old 2nd year player, who spent over a decade completely destroying Korean League pitching. He hit .277 with 27 HR for the Chisox last year, but they were keen to keep $37M man Dan Starr instead. I turned them down, for some reason I've forgotten. I know it's early days yet, but Carter has 5 HR and 13 RBI for Atlanta right now, just fyi.

TRADE! The aforementioned Hisami Masuda is no longer my problem. No one claimed him, so I shopped him around (reverse psychology!) and the Reds bit. In return (along with a pick exchanging hands) we get pitcher Andy Nowak, a 25-year-old starter with some decent upside. He'll go to AA for now since there's a bit of a logjam at AAA (working on that). It's possible he could see some action in the bigs during the September expansion too.

April 13-15 vs TEXAS
The Rangers are 0-9, and we just beat down the previously unbeaten Yankees. This is a recipe for disaster! Hitting is 14th, but they are getting hits and getting on base, just not scoring runs. Pitching has been a horror show so far, giving up 72 runs. Defense is dead last, too. What could go wrong, lol? They tried to be judicious in the off-season, being without a big budget, adding LF Wil Almodovar and DH Manuel Cervantes. Oh, and some pitcher named Messinger that I've never heard of. Grrr... Manager: Pat Wilson, 2nd season (after 11 seasons with us). Owner: Ray C. Davis, Jr., a lenient controller (wut?). He's unhappy; the players are unhappy, the fans are unhappy. Win-win-win.

HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (1-0, 1.29) / Rob Hart (0-1, 9.00) / Shamar Jackson (0-0, 11.25)
TEX pitchers: Pedro Cabrera (0-1, 4.50) / Mike Messinger (0-1, 9.58) / Thomas Cannaday (0-2, 5.73)

#10: LOSS 0-3 ... we're shut out and held to 3 hits...Barnett is good through 6, but Brown gives up 1 in the 8th and 9th to end any comeback hopes
#11: WIN 13-11 ... down 11-5, we drop 4 in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th to win it late...Klump drives in 4 with 2 HR, Groff goes 4-for-5, and 2 more RBI for Masuda
#12: LOSS 2-8 ... blame this on the pen, giving up 6 late runs...Jackson is better tonight, going 7 and giving up 2 H, 2 R, but he does walk 6

So, what did I say?!? At least we didn't get swept, ffs.... Rob Hart now has an ERA over ten, and has given up 25 hits in 14 innings over three starts. NOT GOOD, ROB.... Jackson looked better in his second start, but man that knuckle ball was all over the place. Ratliff is back in a week, and will probably come straight into the rotation, rather than go on rehab.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy's Jeff Clayton blanked St Louis on a 2-hitter in the first half of a double header. Not to be outdone, teammate Juan Valdez went out in the nightcap and 1-hit the Cards. Not too shabby.... More from Cincy: Jose Tavares has hit in every game this season, extending a streak he started last September, which has now reached 20 games. Atlanta's John Arrington has the other active streak of note going, now at 16 games.... Detroit and Houston (!) are the first teams to reach double figures in wins; both are 10-3. Texas is 2-10, Miami 3-9.... Jordan Cruz update: 10 starts, batting .158, 15 strikeouts.

......

TL;DR Version: A 7-5 start, with the usual mix of good, bad, and ugly. Good: hitting, and most of the rotation. Bad: bullpen, currently 14th in ERA). Ugly: Rob Hart may have actually lost his arm somewhere this winter. I will investigate. Otherwise...it's too early to tell. Rich Stoneback leads the AL with a .447 average, while Sen Masuda leads with 19 RBI and Jon Klump is third with 16. And minor league scheduling is weird: A ball Eureka has played 10 games, AA Lewiston three, and AAA Santa Barbara hasn't even started. Of note in SB: Phil Lasky will try pulling double duty as the #1 starting pitcher and the starting CF. He looks pretty decent at both.

Bub13 · 04-04-2019, 07:10 PM

Thirteen more games will finish out April, including the start of a series against the--now say this slowly--division leading Houston Astros. Crazy. Sen Masuda takes home Player of the Week honors, for going 10-for-22 with 6 HR and 13 RBI. He's working hard for that contract extension. Oh, and this...

Trade! I can't stop! This is another minor one, however, so don't get all worked up. Finding ourselves with 14 pitchers on the AAA staff, someone had to go. So we send RP Brad Hake and IF Dave Eriksson (and a low pick) to the Mets for SS Mike Hoover. Hake was acquired from Boston a few years back but never developed like I hoped. He may get a shot with NY. Eriksson is an average hitter, but a good fielding and running 2B. Both of them are at least AAA or AAAA guys. Hoover is not the greatest hitter, but is a really slick fielder (love the name) at all three "skill" infield positions. I didn't have a true SS at AAA; now I do. And there's a possibility we might get Xin-tou Fa back from Brooklyn (we lost him in the Rule 5 draft). He's on the DL for a few more days, but I'd be surprised if they kept his weak bat around. [Narrator voice: They do keep him.]

April 16-18 vs OAKLAND
The A's have started slow, at 4-9, and aren't hitting yet (18th in runs). Pitching has been better, but still ranks 11th overall, for a -20 run differential. They've let some solid talent walk in the last couple of years, and right now the holdovers and replacements aren't getting it done. Catcher Alex Contreras and DH Chris Bateman are the only newbies in the lineup, but they're journeymen at best. And SP Jacob Wood is another journeyman, and at 35, not a long-term answer. The bullpen is 11th in ERA, but should get better, considering the gaggle of expensive, high-stuff guys they have in there. They've also stolen just one base this year, for what that's worth. Manager: Robert Woodard (15th season, with only one losing record!). Owner: Lewis Wolff, Jr., who is understanding and generous. He may need to be this year.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (1-1, 3.86) / Tim Pinksen (2-0, 1.13) / Taylor Barnett (1-1, 1.38)
OAK pitchers: Jacob Wood (0-1, 5.93) / John Herr (1-0, 3.94) / Mike Wiater (1-2, 2.91)

#13: LOSS 5-8 ... we bungle our way to giving up 8 runs on just 6 hits...nine walks--NINE--don't help either...only 33K come out to see us play our big rivals
#14: WIN 5-3 ... ok, better...Stoneback pops his 5th HR, and Pinksen goes 8, fans 5, gives up 6 H...Klump goes 3-for-4, two doubles
#15: WIN 8-7 ... was a tame 3-3 tie until we score 5 in the 7th, and they get 4 in the 8th...14 walks combined tonight...Klein knocks in 4...Barnett gets the win

Never complain about winning two out of three. Never.... Having said that, our pitching needs a jolt, and fast. One small change happens in the off day after the series: we send down RP Ben Germann (6 G, 7.88 ERA, 8 BB in 8 IP) and bring up Jonathan Murray, with his rehab stint ending. Murray wants to start, but will go into middle/long relief for now.... Trainer Jordan Villalobos updates me on Ryan Ratliff: uncertain return date. He's eligible to be activated, but can't play. Yippee.... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee's Jay Russo fanned 16 Tigers for his first win on the season; that's a league high for 2046 so far too. His teammate Robbie Collier is hothothot: 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA.... Houston is still pacing the league, with a 13-3 record. Seven other teams have reached double figures; we are not one of them.... NYY 2B Jon Diaz went quiet against us, but is hot again and leads the AL with 9 HR and 22 RBI.

April 20-22 @ TORONTO
Still rebuilding, the once-feared Blue Jays are on a run of five seasons without making the playoffs. Currently they sit at 5-9, and like Oakland, aren't hitting. Fifteenth in runs scored, but 8th in home runs (thanks to 7 from newbie Paul Foster). Pitching is better, at 5th, giving them a mere -5 run differential. The rotation has been wobbly, but no one is really struggling (take note, Rob Hart). You already know about Jordan Cruz (18 K now in 46 AB!), but the Jays also feature several former Islanders: Malik Chaney is their #5 starter, and the closer is original Islander Raleigh Vance. RF Justin Beeman made his debut with us way back in '42. None of them are truly hideous players, but none are really moving the needle any right now. Oh, and the GM is former Isle assistant GM Jason Knauss, in his fifth season of largely undistinguished work. This is only their second home series of the season. Manager: Ji-young Lee, in his second season, first as manager. Owner: Jody Patterson, a demanding economizer who wants EXTREME profit. He's getting it, but not much else as yet.

HAW pitchers: Rob "Me Again?" Hart (0-1, 10.29) / Shamar Jackson (0-0, 5.73) / Eric Jones (1-1, 5.21)
TOR pitchers: Joe Erkel (1-0, 5.40) / Daniel Becker (1-1, 4.50) / Malik Chaney (0-1, 5.65)

#16: LOSS 4-5 ... RHart gives up 4 runs in 5 IP, so his ERA went down...then he gets hurt...we score 3 late runs to make this look close, but get only four hits, two of them HR
#17: LOSS 3-6 ... we give up just 6 hits, but hand out 6 walks...Jackson is pretty bad tonight...2 hits for Simmons, breaking out of a slump, and 3 for Groff (now batting .348)
#18: WIN 5-1 ... Jones stops the bleeding, his usual quiet way: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 K...Davila is struggling, but knocks one out tonight; Masuda adds one as well

Blargh. We're not pitching well right now, and the hitting is off and on. While I feel the batters will come around, I'm having my doubts about this staff.... Rob Hart threw better--if you call 4 runs in 5 IP "better"--but then went on the DL for two weeks. Shamar Jackson threw another poor game, and clearly needs more seasoning. So what do you do? Make another trade! This time, we send AA pitcher Corey Graulich to the White Sox for veteran Khalil Palmer. Graulich has big stuff and decent control, but little movement. Palmer, 31, is not a long-term solution, but he's got good stuff, keeps the ball down, and can also hit! Win-win.... In addition, we send down Jackson, bring up RP Nick Kramer, and move Jonathan Murray back into the rotation.... ELSEWHERE: Houston has lost 3 in a row, making them 13-6 and giving up the top overall spot to 14-4 Milwaukee and Baltimore.... Texas is 7-3 in their last ten, and Seattle--a team I thought would contend--has backslid to a 6-14 mark.... Baltimore's Justin Singleton, really an afterthough signing who's earning league minimum, now leads the AL with 11 HR, and is 2nd with 22 RBI.... Milwaukee's Robbie Collier now has four starts and an ERA under 1.... John Arrington (ATL) leads the NL in hitting at .468, but is injured for 3 weeks. Seriously, this guy is going to miss out on a Hall of Fame career because of injuries, I guarantee.

April 23-25 @ MIAMI
The Marlins are 7-10, but winners of four straight. Hitting is 16th, and pitching is crazy: the rotation is 17th in ERA, the bullpen 1st. It still means a -15 run differential. New DH Cole Ferrara hit 21 HR in Boston last year, but has zero this year. Probably part of why they're dead last in AL home runs, with 14. And injuries have already hit hard, with six players on the DL. Manager: Ruben Medina, in his 1st year (was bench coach last season). Owner: Dusty Means--a great name for a money guy--who manages to be both unmerciful and charitable, like an ancient god.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (3-0, 1.88) / Taylor Barnett (2-1, 2.25) / Khalil Palmer (2-0, 3.18)
MIA pitchers: Pete Burke (0-2, 9.20) / Alex Gomez (0-2, 5.12) / Matt Rubin (0-1, 8.00)

#19: WIN 8-4 ... Davila strokes a 3-run HR in a big 6th inning, also walks 3 times...Pinksen only lasts 6.1, gives up all 4 runs, but improves to 4-0
#20: WIN 9-2 ... Barnett impresses again, going the distance and allowing 4 hits...Groff knocks in 2 with a double and HR, 2 RBI also for Stoneback
#21: WIN 8-4 ... Stoneback and JHart homer, and we ride 11 hits and 6 walks to a road sweep...Palmer lasts just 5.2 in his Hawaii debut, but is good enough for the win

That was a pleasant surprise. The sweep boosts us to 13-8, and a game and a half behind the surprising Astros.... No injuries this series, either.... Palmer looked okay in his debut; Pinksen was fair, but still won, and Barnett looked pretty sharp. Nice to see guys going all out in this crisis.... One brick in next year's lineup is set: we extended 2B J.J. Simmons for 10 years and 158M. He'll make 8M next year, then it jumps to 12.5 and then 17 per season. He has a player opt out after 2052, and a team option after that. He's not hitting yet this year, but this is a weight off my shoulders. Now to decide about Stoneback and Masuda. And Pinksen lets it be known that he'll take a 2-year, 8M per extension. Not so sure about that yet.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland is the league's new bottom-dweller at 7-15. Four other teams have also won just 7 games.... Milwaukee and Baltimore have ridden hot streaks to 17-4 and 16-5 records, respectively.... Reds star Jose Tavares has his hitting streak stopped at 26 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White (.442/7/18) is the first player to 2.0 WAR.

April 27-29 vs BOSTON
At 8-13 and just a half game out of the AL East basement. They're not hitting well (9th in runs, 11th in AVG), and not getting high-quality pitching (11th in ERA, but 2nd best bullpen). Run differential is zero, so they may have more under the hood than is showing right now. Big free agent signee Josh Wall had 34 HR in Arizona last year, but just 4 this year. Several other big guns haven't hit many out yet either. Manager: Sean Ochinko (1st year, after 3 seasons as NYY bench coach). Popular 17-year skipper Kris Harvey was not renewed. Owner: Matthew Zunker, a tolerant economizer.

HAW pitchers: Jonathan Murray (0-0, 0.00) / Eric Jones (2-1, 4.15) / Tim Pinksen (4-0, 2.67)
BOS pitchers: Joe Koval (2-0, 3.63) / Octavio Corona (0-2, 6.38) / John Sutton (1-2, 7.97)

#22: LOSS 2-9 ... Murray is hit hard early, pulled after just 4...we outhit them, put two more runners on base, but you can see that score
#23: WIN 8-1 ... Jones is huge tonight: just 2 K and only 1 hit allowed, complete game...and that one hit was the leadoff batter...3 hits for Groff
#24: WIN 4-2 ... just 12 hits combined, with JHart winning by himself with a 2B, HR, and 3 RBI...Pinksen goes 7 IP, fans 7 and gives up just 4 hits

Somehow we scratch out 2 more wins. The pasted-together rotation continues to impress for the most part. Jones tosses that one-hitter then texts me from the clubhouse, "SHOW ME THE MONEY." String some more of those outings together first, Eric.... Over the three days we get messages regarding both pitchers still on the DL, Rob Hart and Angel Cordova. Their returns are now listed as "uncertain." Fab.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga is riding a hot month and now leads the AL with a .414 average. He's so hot, in fact, that he's suspended for 5 games after fighting KC pitcher Jayden Grant.... Brooklyn's Chris White is now hitting .455.... San Diego's Khalil Smith has saved 11 of the team's 15 wins.... NYY's decent start (9-6) has devolved to just one win in their last ten.... Atlanta acquired pitcher Roberto Landaverde from Cincinnati over the winter, and must've felt like they stole him when his ratings took a big jump before and during spring training. And then--he tears his rotator cuff a couple of weeks ago, and has been forced into retirement. Sad trombone noise.

April 30 @ HOUSTON
Probably the biggest surprise of the early season is the Astros 16-9 start. MLB figured they'd win just 75, and there is a long way to go.... Their underlying numbers are decent, but not overwhelming: 6th in runs, 9th in runs against, for a +6 run differential. 3B Jason Neighbors and RF Hughie Noonan are both hitting .349, but Noonan is on the DL for two weeks. LF Jason O'Hara got off to a slow start (.242, 0 HR), and is now out for the season with an elbow injury. So they went out and signed free agent Hi-yuan Qu a few days ago, and put him in at DH. He'll make his North American debut against us. Odd, since they spent no money at all on free agents; in fact, the only new face in the lineup is SS Ricky Silva, who will be pretty good one day, but isn't quite there yet. Manager: Dylan Barrow, 1st full season (went 3-3 as a late-season replacement last year). Owner: Jim Crane, Jr., an unmerciful economizer. Despite that, he's actually raised the budget slowly recently, to its current 77M mark. (Fun fact: next year's projected budget is 91M!)

HAW pitcher: Taylor Barnett (3-1, 2.17)
HOU pitcher: Alejandro Gonzales (3-0, 1.59)

#25: LOSS 1-8 ... ten runners, but only one run...Barnett lasts 5 IP, and should've been pulled after 3...they only drew 21K for this one

Not a great finish to April. Maybe this Houston team is for real.... Before the game, we send down Jonathan Murray and activate Ryan Ratliff from the DL.... AAA Santa Barbara is off to a 10-4 start; but A ball Eureka has fallen back again, is now 8-16.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore and Milwaukee are neck-and-neck at the top of the MLB standings, both 19-6. Boston, Texas, Montreal, and Portland are stuck at 9 wins apiece.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo may be lazy, selfish, and unmotivated, but the 2037 AL Cy Young winner is having a great start to the season: 3-0, 43.2 IP, 66 K, and 1.8 WAR.... With his win today against us, Houston's 24-year-old perpetual-phenom-to-be, Alejandro Gonzales, is now 4-0, with 48 K in 34 IP, and 2.1 WAR. He could end up one of the best pitchers in baseball in a year or two.

......

TL;DR Version: A little back-and-forth this month, but we manage to squeeze out a 15-10 record, good for second place, and 1.5 games behind Houston. Offense is first in runs, AVG, and OBP. Pitching is still being held together by string and baling wire: 10th in runs against, with the 11th ranked rotation and 13th placed bullpen. Still, our run diff is +38, thanks to some big offensive nights. What's odd too is that, thanks to injuries and demotions, our five current starting pitchers have ERA of 3.49, 2.25, 3.09, 2.65, and 3.44. And if you want another small, but hopeful, piece of good news: top prospect Dante Padilla, who hasn't hit at all since rookie ball, is hitting .274 with 3 HR in his first month in AA.

Bub13 · 04-06-2019, 05:08 PM

May 1-2 @ HOUSTON
Wrapping up our three-game set against the FIRST PLACE Astros...

HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (3-0, 3.49) / Ryan Ratliff (1-0, 2.25)
HOU pitchers: Chris Harris (1-1, 5.26) / Dustin Springer (3-2, 2.92)

#26: LOSS 1-3 ... how nice that we give up Hi-yuan Qu's first big league home run; and first two doubles; and first four-hit game...we only muster a weak five singles tonight
#27: WIN 9-8 ... this one was tied 4-4 after 8, and only went 9...7 doubles out of 15 hits tonight...Willard goes 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, and gets the win, huzzah

Well, that last game was pretty ugly for the bullpen, but a win is a win, and avoids the sweep.... Trying to jumpstart Simmons (.289), I swap him with Klein (.316) from leadoff to the #8 spot. *shrugs* I dunno either.... Ramirez blows a save in that last game, and his ERA is now up to 6.23. I need a voodoo doll, or an exorcist, or something for this guy.... ELSEWHERE: Yee-haw! It's only May 2nd and already everybody in Boston's clubhouse hates everybody else. Congrats guys!.... Somebody named Alvin Phillips is leading the AL in WAR (with 2.0) atm. He had earned 2.1 WAR combined in 263 games over the previous two seasons. So, way to step it up, mystery man. Oh, it says here he's in a contract year. Say no more.... Cubs RF Ryan Annand is not having a time of it in his first starting season: 1 HR in 86 AB, with a wicked slash of .140/.174/.186. And Seattle's Brett McGee has been a pretty fair starter for them for several years now. But not yet this year: in 5 starts he's 0-4 with an 8.80 ERA, and has given up 50 H (and 14 HR) in just 29.2 innings.

May 3-6 @ LA ANGELS
Part of the muddled middle/bottom in the AL West, as once you're past Houston and us you get to four teams vying for last place. The Angels are 12-16, are 9th in runs and 11th in runs against, with a -2 run differential. They are hitting more than they're scoring, and their starters have the 3rd best ERA in the AL. Signs of life, then. Over the winter they lost superstar 2B Juan Rodriquez, and replace him with last year's DH, Shamel Jackson; he's hitting .306, but with little power, or anything else really. They did address losing the big guy's bat by signing OF Coby Sandu, who hits a ton of home runs (four seasons of 45+ HR), but is an indifferent fielder and is generally lazy and slapdash. They also added SP Jon Carlsen (from CIN), who, at 27, is the oldest starter in the rotation. I'm not surprised these guys are pitching well, as top to bottom it's a pretty solid group. Manager: Miguel Rodriguez, who somehow has parlayed a 21-year (non-managerial) career in Mexico into into nine blah years with the Yankees and now a third season with the Angels. Owner: Arturo Moreno, Jr., another tolerant economizer. He's delighted--delighted!--with a losing team that doesn't draw well.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (3-1, 3.09) / Tim Pinksen (5-0, 2.65) / Taylor Barnett (3-2, 3.44) / Khalil Palmer (3-1, 3.57)
LAA pitchers: Arturo Sosa (1-0, 4.78) / Jon Carlsen (1-2, 2.97) / Noah Sims (1-3, 4.85) / Alex Diaz (3-0, 2.50)

#28: WIN 9-2 ... Klein leads off the game with a HR, and we don't look back...throw in 13 more hits and NINE walks, and we're good...complete game for Jones
#29: WIN 13-9 ... 5 in the 6th, and 7 in the 8th, helped out by Klump's GRAND SLAM and a pile of doubles...the pen flounders again, giving up 6 more runs...Pinksen hurt
#30: WIN 10-7 ... 3 hits for Groff, 3 RBI for Davila...we walk nine more times tonight...Barnett gives up 5 in the first, but calms down after that to allow us to catch up
#31: WIN 7-3 ... 14 hits, and the offense is just on fire this series...Palmer fans 10 in 6 IP...Masuda hurt running the bases. Note: never run guys

Did not expect this, even against the struggling Angels. And with Houston getting swept by Seattle, we suddenly find ourselves in first place, 2.5 games up.... Pinksen just has a strained oblique and won't miss any starts.... I move some parts around in the bullpen: Dan Brown is finally reinstalled as closer, Ramirez goes from closer to setup, Willard goes to MR, and Nick Kramer moves to the other setup role. Everybody but Brown has an ERA over 4.50.... ELSEWHERE: Four teams have won 20 games: Milwaukee (22), Baltimore (21), Hawaii (20), and the Mets (20).... Washington has just 10 wins, and is on a 6-game losing streak.... Brooklyn's Chris White (.444) and Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga (.407), are the only batters remaining above the Ted Williams line.... San Diego signed John Cannon away from us, and while he's just batting .212, he is leading the NL with 10 HR, and is helping to power the Padres to the top of the NL West, at 19-12.

May 7-10 vs SEATTLE
Both teams are riding 5-game winning streaks coming into this series. Playoff atmosphere! In May! Seattle finally is starting to look like the playoff contender I picked them to be this off-season. Third in runs, 2nd in HR, but pitching...oy...17th in runs against. Former Angel Juan Rodriquez has been as advertised (.358/7/19), but the surprise is that they're hitting so well with two of their other big guns--OF Aaron Harrison and OF Mike Wapner--on the DL. Miguel Moreno won the AL Cy Young last year, and has picked right up where he left off, at 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA. But their bottom three starters are a combined 1-11 with a 7.90 ERA. Manager: Jose Jimenez, in his sixth season. Owner: Adam Yamauchi, who is UNMERCIFUL, like Emperor Ming, yet charitable. He's also a meddling profit-hog. Keep me far, far away from this guy.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (1-0, 1.80) / Eric Jones (4-1, 2.86) / Tim Pinksen (5-0, 2.95) / Taylor Barnett (4-2, 4.12)
SEA pitchers: Miguel Moreno (2-0, 2.14) / Brett McGee (0-4, 8.83) / Carlos Zenon 1-3, 6.91) / Steve Maki (3-2, 4.19)

#32: WIN 18-1 ... wow, this against Moreno too...hits were 21 to 3...3 HR for us, and 4 RBI for Klump and Davila, and a HR for Sanborn (see below)
#33: WIN 5-3 ... Groff homers again (last night as well), and Jones throws another solid, low-key 8 IP...Brown does his job and earns a save in the 9th
#34: WIN 4-1 ... Pinksen gets another win, despite us being outhit tonight...2 RBI for Heath, in a rare start, and another save for Brown
#35: LOSS 1-3 ... streak ends with a flat effort...Barnett is fine through 6 IP, then gets hurt...2 more hits for Sanborn, having a nice restart to his MLB career

That last loss took the shine off a bit, but three out of four is still fabulous. We're 23-12 now, 4.5 up on Houston.... From our LA series: Sen Masuda suffered a hip strain, and will miss 5-6 weeks. We call up 1B/DH Chris Sanborn, batting .342 in AAA. He did fine this series, going 6-for-16 with a HR and 5 RBI.... Barnett has a dtd injury, back tightness, which is expected to last 1-2 weeks. I'm not sure what to do with him atm; Rob Hart came off the DL and started a rehab stint in AAA, looking very rusty in his first start (3 ER, 5 IP, 3 K, 3 BB). If I put Barnett on the DL, I might just give our two-way wonder boy, Phil Lasky, a shot at the rotation. Dunno yet.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's Raul Bravo tied a dynasty record with a 19-K effort against the White Sox. Dave Gonzalez (CLE, 2038) and Hall member Jon Talley (TB, 2026), also had 19 strikeout games.... Only Chris White (BKN) is now batting above .400. It's not something I think anyone will ever do again, but it's always fun to see how late into the season someone can go. I'll be shocked if he's still above .400 at the end of the month.... White also leads the bigs with 3.3 WAR, and is tied for 1st in NL home runs, and 2nd in RBI.... Toronto, bless their hearts, is still starting Jordan Cruz at short. In 31 games, he's batting .144 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. And 48 K in 111 AB. That's pretty bad, you say. But wait: Cincy's Antonio Chamorro has fanned 58 times in 113 AB, and STL's Jonathan Salas 54 in 111. These guys are getting paid for this!

May 11-13 vs PITTSBURGH
Interleague Play is finally here! Everyone's been clamoring for it, seriously. First up, Pittsburgh: at 18-17, they're already 1/3 of the way towards matching last year's victory total. The offense has holes, but is producing: 7th in runs, 4th in AVG, but only 13th in OBP and HR. LF Jimmy Taylor is having a breakout season (at 31), batting .341, and 3B D.J. Flores is hitting .306, about 40 points higher than his career average. Pitching is also decent: 8th in runs against. SP Manny Gomez and David Fults are carrying the load right now, and new closer James Clemons has 9 saves. For fans longing for the glory days of the '20s, they've got some nice prospects coming too: SS Phil Laybolt and 2B Cortez Ortiz look like a keystone combination for a decade. Manager: Nathan Culp, in his third year, and with a fine .373 winning percentage. Owner: Ecstatic 84-year-old Robert Nutting, a tolerant penny-pincher.

HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (4-1, 3.27) / Ryan Ratliff (2-0, 1.21) / Eric Jones (5-1, 2.94)
PIT pitchers: Manny Gomez (2-1, 2.13) / Chris Liles (2-2, 5.35) / Daniel Brister (1-1, 5.96)

#36: WIN 6-1 ... another GRAND SLAM for Klump, and a complete game with 9 K from Palmer...2 RBI double for Simmons, now hitting .310 after moving to 8th
#37: WIN 3-1 ... only 11 combined hits (6 to 5, us) in this one, but we manage 7 walks in addition...Ratliff goes 8, fans 7, while Brown strikes out the side in the 9th
#38: WIN 7-4 ... Klein busts loose, with 4 singles and 3 RBI, and Groff hits a 2-run triple...Jones gives up 4 R in 7 IP, but the pen proves stout tonight, setting down six straight to close

I don't know how that switch got thrown, but now we're winning games all sorts of ways, when we couldn't buy much over the first two weeks. The patchwork rotation is still holding up, and while not everyone is hitting right now, we've got five regulars batting over .300.... I'm not putting Barnett on the DL. He'll probably be affected for only one start, and a couple of injuries on farm teams means I'd rather not stretch those staffs any more for the moment.... ELSEWHERE: Portland is the current hot team, having won 8 in a row and 9 out of 10. They're now 20-18, so not setting things on fire overall. They haven't had a winning season, btw, since 2042.... CHW's catcher Dan "35 Million Dollar Man" Starr becomes the fourth active player to reach 400 career home runs. He's also now fifth all-time in home runs for catchers, and trails leader Devin "Soon-to-be-HoFer" Ransberger by 89 dingers.

May 14-16 vs CHICAGO CUBS
The Cubs haven't really been a playoff threat since the late '30s, but are currently tied for first at 22-17. Hitting has been a real drag, 18th in runs, and 17th in AVG and OBP. Three regulars are hitting at a sub-Mendoza clip, and two others just barely above it. Pitching has been just the opposite: 1st in runs against, with the 2nd best starters ERA and best bullpen ERA. Closer Tim Wormald has been fantastic, with a 0.44 ERA and 27 K in 20 IP. Manager: Alexis Lara, in his 6th year. Owner: David Woronski, described as lenient, charitable, and meddling. He's worried, too, despite all his owner goals being in the black at the moment.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (6-0, 2.66) / Taylor Barnett (4-3, 4.17) / Khalil Palmer (5-1, 2.86)
CHC pitchers: Tim Ciotta (3-1, 2.02) / Danny Zarate (1-3, 6.11) / John Baldwin (1-3, 6.81)

#39: LOSS 0-10 ... oof...oddly, this is the first loss as an Islander for Pinksen, after 12 straight wins...only five hits for us...this is a week's scoring for the Cubs
#40: WIN 3-2 ... scoreless after 9, all runs were scored in the 10th...Sanborn's 2-run HR tied it, and Klein's RBI single won it...bullpen has been cranky (again) this series
#41: WIN 12-8 ... leads of 6-1 and 7-2 vanish, until a 5-run 8th wins it, spaked by JHart's 3-run blast...he also had a 2-run shot earlier, and drove in 6 runs tonight

Nice series, hitting-wise. The bullpen was trash, tho, giving up 10 of the 20 runs.... Attendance is down too, 15% per game. Despite our recent World Series success (and, uh, occasional lack thereof) and fielding yet another winning team, our fans are proving incredibly fickle. FINE WE'LL JUST TRADE EVERYONE THEN.... Barnett pitched well despite his tight back, and Eric Jones now has the flu. We have a day off coming tho, so both should be good to go in our next series.... ELSEWHERE: Ten wins in a row now for Portland, who find themselves a 1/2 game out of first, now that LA has lost 4 straight. Yeah, I know, it's only May.... Washington has been hapless for nearly a generation: their last playoff visit was in 2031, and they've only had four winning seasons since. After a decade at the bottom of the NL East, the combination of savvy free agent signings and homegrown youth finally paid off in a hopeful 86-win season last year. This year: 13-27, dead last in MLB. No hitting, and worse pitching. Sorry guys.

......

TL;DR Version: A nifty 13-3 start to May is fine by me. At the quarter pole we're 28-13, now 4.5 games up on Houston. Hitting is league-best, and we're actually 7th in runs against, despite my constant kvetching. One worrying spot is our 14th-ranked bullpen. Even the normally reliable Pat Stanley is struggling: 7.16 ERA, 20 H and 6 HR in 16 IP. So after the Chicago series I send down Ben Willard (7.62 ERA), and call up Nate Moore (2.61, 6 SV in AAA). And Rob Hart is really not feeling it in his rehab stint: 2 starts, 8.00 ERA, 9 IP, 9 BB. Some good news from AAA is that two-way guy Phil Lasky is pitching really well, and is not embarrassing himself at the plate. I really have no idea what to do with him in the bigs, tbh.

Bub13 · 04-11-2019, 02:06 PM

May 18-20 @ MONTREAL
Sliding backwards in the competitive NL Central: on a 1-9 skein to put them at 14-27 overall. They've scored the fewest runs in the NL, and hitting is 15th, 18th in HR. Pitching is only marginally better, at 13th in runs against. They don't feature a lot of high-contact guys, and half their lineup is hitting about 40 points below career averages. Rookie Allen Geel has brought a bit of power--leading the team with 7 HR--but is batting just .188. Still, attendance is up, and the team is profitable. Probably thanks to Youppi. Manager: Andres Reyna, third season. Owner: T.J. Reid, a tolerant economizer (it shows, man), who is upset that none of his goals are being met, or even considered.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 1.19) / Eric Jones (6-1, 3.20) / Tim Pinksen (6-1, 3.20)
MTL pitchers: Jun-hyuk Au (1-7, 3.95) / David Salguero (2-3, 4.68) / Adam Kraemer (season debut)

#42: LOSS 6-7 ... the pen gives up a 4-run 8th for the loss...3-run HR for Klein, and 2 hits apiece for Groff, Stoneback, and Klump
#43: LOSS 7-10 ... despite three HR, another bullpen blow up--5 late runs this time--costs us this one...Groff goes 4-for-4, and Sanborn drives in three
#44: LOSS 5-7 ... three games, three bullpen losses: 2 runs in the 8th tonight...sigh...11 hits for us, but only one for extra bases

Well, that was fun. The bullpen--leaking oil for weeks--just exploded all over everyone, and essentially cost us all three games. Rick Ramirez (8.56 ERA) has been dropped to an avoid-high-leverage-at-all-costs MR slot, and Nick Kramer took his new setup role so seriously that he now sports a flaming 9.00 ERA. Pat Stanley, who didn't exactly wow 'em here, at least managed somehow to get his ERA below 6. Closer Dan Brown has been good, but didn't pitch any here because, well, he didn't have any late leads to close out.... The bullpen ERA is 17th, at 5.94. Meaning someone is actually worse.... ELSEWHERE: Chris White (BKN) is slumping, and his average has dropped to .389. Reds young superstar Jose Tavares had a huge series against the Angels (8-for-11, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB) and leads the NL with a .402 average.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo is pursuing the pitching triple crown: 1st in ERA (1.39), t5th in wins, and 2nd in strikeouts. I wonder when we play them next? (Checks calendar...crap).... Mets closer Nick Sexton already has 20 saves on the season.

May 21-23 vs MILWAUKEE
Currently on top of the Central, at 28-16. They score more runs (9th) than their hitting (14th AVG, 17th OBP) would indicate...although being 3rd in home runs certainly helps. RF Chris O'Brien has powered 14 of them, and is well on his way to topping his career high of 32. Pitching (1st) and defense (2nd) have been the obvious strengths, tho. Ace Jay Russo has been great, and three other starters have ERA below 4. They're doing all this with 8 guys on the DL, including 3B Josh Toombs, who hit 39 HR last year. So they'll get even better soon.... Manager: Seon-gwon Che, a temperamental first-year guy who doesn't really get along well with anybody. Owner: Ron Attanasio, who's both lenient and controlling. Erm...

HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (4-3, 3.54) / Khalil Palmer (5-1, 3.05) / Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 1.73)
MIL pitchers: Jay Russo (4-0, 1.39) / Nathaniel Cole (0-0, 3.75) / Jim Gilbert (6-3, 3.31)

#45: WIN 5-4 ... I talk up Dan Brown and he nearly blows it in the 9th...a bases loaded walk in the 11th wins it tonight...3 hits for Klein, and a good start for Barnett
#46: LOSS 6-10 ... pin this on Palmer, who gives up every run, then gets hurt...hard wind blowing out meant 6 combined HR
#47: WIN 5-3 ... we score 3 in the 2nd, thanks mostly to JHart's 2-run HR, and then hang on...3.1 solid innings from the pen tonight

Solid series, getting back on track. Pitching was better, and Palmer is just dtd for 5 days. With a day off upcoming, he probably won't miss a start.... Jose Esquivel gets called up to take a spot in the pen, Nick Kramer goes back down. Esquivel pitches twice, goes 3.2 innings, looks good.... Rob Hart gets ransacked again in his third rehab AAA start.... We only draw 33K per game in this series, way way down from last year.... ELSEWHERE: Portland has been an astounding 18-3 this month, bringing them to 27-19 and first in the NL West by 2.5 games.... For the first time in years (decades?) an NLer is leading MLB in home runs: STL catcher Alexis Mercedes has 17, leading CIN Jose Tavares and LAA Tony Mendoza by one.... Austin looked like a team on the rise a couple years ago. Now, they're 17-29 and getting no pitching and no hitting. Although former Islander Ronnie Corgan was just installed at closer, and has a 0.92 ERA. Can we have him back?

May 25-27 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
A proud franchise that hasn't seen the post-season since 2030, this season doesn't look likely to end that streak. At 20-27, they're bringing up the rear in the Central, with a 17th-ranked offense and 16th-ranked pitching. Billionaire catcher Dan Starr is hitting again, leading the team with 10 HR and 36 RBI, and leadoff RF Justin Haynes is rolling at a .311/8/32 clip. But #2 hitter Ken Howard gives it right back with his lovely .209/.270/.319 line. Let's not mention cleanup hitter Jim Timmer and his .198 average. SP Jake Davidson is having a fine year, but the bottom three in the rotation have a combined ERA over 7.00. Closer Luis Andino has 14 saves and is at least holding his own in a struggling pen. This is a staff that really needs Burton Dick, the #2 prospect in MLB, to hurry up and develop already. Manager: Taylor Black, in his first season after just four years at the helm in A ball. Owner: Andy Johnston. Demanding. Economizer. Meddling. Profit! A losing team that's not drawing fans and won't turn a big profit? He's satisfied.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (6-1, 3.66) / Tim Pinksen (6-1, 3.73) / Taylor Barnett (4-3, 3.43)
CHW pitchers: Daniel Hampton (0-1, 8.25) / Gary Stoker (2-1, 7.11) / Chris Wead (3-5, 4.42)

#48: LOSS 2-3 ... Jones pitches well enough to keep us in this, but Moore gives up a raft of singles in the 9th for the loss...We make Hampton look very, very good tonight
#49: WIN 9-5 ... Pinksen isn't at his best (7.1 IP< 9 H, 5 R), but the offense powers through for 13 hits, including 3 doubles for Klein, and 3 RBI for Stoneback
#50: WIN 8-2 ... Barnett throws a smooth 6 IP...Davila wakes up with 3 hits (2 doubles and a HR), 2 RBI...Ramirez somehow throws 3 scoreless, hitless innings in relief

Get your record healthy against the weak teams, some smart guy once said. Which is good, as we've got some tough series coming up.... Hitting is still league-best, and the pitching has stabilized of late. The pen lowered its ERA by over a half run these last six games.... Finally some good Rob Hart news: a 7.1 IP start, 7 H, 2 R, 7 K.... Sen Masuda, tho, has an injury setback and will be out an additional week. He's looking at the end of June for a return date now.... Somehow we're 2nd in the AL in steals, at 41. J.J. Simmons is third with 13.... ELSEWHERE: Washington, Montreal, and Austin are the only teams without at least 20 wins.... Don't look now, but the Yankees are 16-9 this month and in third in the East. Attendance is up a remarkable 83 percent over last year.... I wouldn't say Philly is having a post-championship letdown this year, but at 28-21 and 2nd in the NL East, they're not tearing it up like last year. Hitting is still 1st in the NL; and while they're 5th in runs against, the rotation is ranked just 13th, and was seriously hurt by the season-ending injury to four-time Cy Young winner Dave Henderson.

May 29-30 @ DETROIT
Quirky schedule means a day off, then a double header on the 29th. No surprise: the Tigers are having another good year. Currently a game behind the Brewers, and at 31-20 they have the best non-division-leading record in MLB. Hitting is down a bit, just 8th in runs (and a sad-looking 17th in AVG), but pitching has been the rock, at 2nd in runs against. They have a +45 run differential. Four players are already in double figures in HR, so they get a lot of easy runs. But if the power dries up (it won't tho), they'll have trouble scoring with that bad hitting. SP Raul Bravo is having a Cy Young-type year, and 34-year-old closer Alex Castaneda is having a nice comeback (2.63, 10 saves) after several years of dreary middle relief. Manager: Ethan Larrison, in his first at the helm (two years as bench coach) after the retirement of the beloved Franceso Miani. Owner: Henry Ilitch, who's demanding and fiscally controlling, and yet hands-off. That's a lot of passive-aggressiveness right there. His owner goals are simple tho: reach the playoffs, reach the World Series.

HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (5-2, 4.20) / Ryan Ratliff (4-0, 2.14) / Eric Jones (6-1, 3.55)
DET pitchers: Mike Cote (5-2, 4.14) / Jeffrey Foley (0-2, 4.88) / Travis Heumann (1-2, 6.18)

#51: WIN 3-1 ... HR for Davila, and we outhit them 12-6...Seven four-hit innings for Palmer, and Brown gets his 8th save
#52: LOSS 1-9 ... sloppy nightcap, as no one pitches well...3 hits each for Klein and McCollum
#53: WIN 5-4 ... Klump goes 3-for-5 with a 2-run HR...four others get 2 hits each...Jones has his usual game, putting 12 runners on through 7 but somehow getting the win

Will always take two out of three, and especially against Detroit.... Klein continues to deliver, batting .335, with 32 RBI from leadoff.... Sanborn has hit .278 with 4 HR since his recall, making a solid case for a regular shift in the lineup. He'll probably have to go, however, once Masuda comes back.... All five starting pitchers have ERA below 4.00, which may be a first for any Islander team.... ELSEWHERE: With one more day left in May, Jose Tavares may finish the month over .400 (by one point, for now).... Yankees OF Daizo Yonamine, likeable yet fragile, has played just 14 games this season. His four-year career in NY has seen the follwing games played: 62, 108, 55, and 14.... Austin pitcher Danny Arroyo is having a nightmare year: 10 starts, 64 IP, 83 H, 26 HR, 5.43 ERA, -1.8 WAR. And Cubs RF Ryan Annand is somehow still in the lineup with this line: .135/.191/.184.

May 31 @ HOUSTON
We finish the month with the first of a four-game set with the Astros. They've slipped a bit, going six games under .500 to sit at 28-26, 6.5 games behind us. Eleventh in runs for and 14th in runs against, for a distressing -31 run differential. These are not good signs going forward. SP Alejandro Gonzales is finally looking like the ace he was meant to be, and RF Hughie Noonan is having a fantastic sophomore season, .340/13/32. The bullpen, tho, has been worse than ours: dead last in ERA, and closer Alex Mahoney is lucky to still have a job: 8.75 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. System outlook: 18th (of 36), with 1B Jose Renteria (#17 ranked) and 3B Ricky Silva (#27) looking like legit hitting studs. No big pitching prospects, however.

HAW pitcher: Tim Pinksen (7-1, 3.99)
HOU pitcher: Chris Driscoll (2-4, 5.52)

#54: LOSS 4-7 ... three HR (Groff, Davila, Klump) are pretty much it for highlights...Pinksen puts 11 runners on in 5 IP...Stoneback hurt too

Pinksen may be regressing to his mean, which is not that surprising, tbh.... Stoneback suffers a herniated disc on the bases (how?) and will be out for two weeks. I'll move Simmons over from second, and give Manny Rangel a couple of weeks as a regular to get a better read on him (he's hitting .250, but in just 32 AB, so I'm curious to see what he's got). Not sure who will come up from the farm.... ELSEWHERE: Nobody is hitting .400 any longer. Oh well, we can still dream.... Austin ends May with just 19 wins on the season. They've been stuck in last in the NL West all year, but with Arizona (projected to win just 59 games, remember) on a 1-9 skid, that could be changing soon.

......

TL;DR Version: A 6-7 run to finish the month on a less than strong note. Hitting is still going strong, which is good: 1st in runs, AVG, OBP, and 8th in HR. Pitching is...a bit less predictable. The bullpen has recovered from it's early-month horrorshow, and is now 12th in AL ERA, at 5.17. The rotation ERA is 8th, and there are some signs that maybe the honeymoon is coming to an end. Pinksen has gotten a little bit worse nearly every outing this year, while Barnett and Palmer have outpitched expectations. Ratliff and Jones have been pretty steady, but as I said during spring training: this is not a rotation that scares anybody. We really need Rob Hart to get his rehab act together and come back strong, if only so I feel like I have one solid ace/near-ace level pitcher available.

knuckler · 04-15-2019, 05:56 PM

Very cool dynasty here - lots of great writing. I saw your post about Lewiston and they will definitely be in. I'm a fellow Maine resident (Isle au Haut) so I appreciated the suggestion.

Bub13 · 04-16-2019, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knuckler

Very cool dynasty here - lots of great writing. I saw your post about Lewiston and they will definitely be in. I'm a fellow Maine resident (Isle au Haut) so I appreciated the suggestion.

Thanks! Just for that, I'm promoting a knuckler to my pitching staff next year.

Bub13 · 04-16-2019, 06:13 PM

Two months done already! We'll play 28 games in June, only 10 at home. Three more interleague series as well, and six games against Oakland. And as usual, I'll do the draft report and system review after the first half of the month. Finally, there was more bloodletting in our June scouting report, with a number of MLB and AAA players losing ground against father time. Including...Rob Hart...yaaaay.

June 1-3 @ HOUSTON
Three more games against our new nemeses, perhaps? With Stoneback out, I call up 2B Cameron Mitchell, who'll make his first big league appearance sometime over the next two weeks. Let's see what Manny Rangel can do over that period too.

HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (5-3, 3.39) / Khalil Palmer (6-2, 3.90) / Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 2.66)
HOU pitchers: Alejandro Gonzales (7-2, 2.42) / Chris Harris (4-1, 3.33) / Dustin Springer (3-5, 3.63)

#55: WIN 7-6 ... a hatful of singles and walks in the 8th result in 4 runs and a late win...sadly, Astros pitcher Gonzales hurt
#56: WIN 1-0 ... 2 hits and an RBI for Simmons...Palmer, Ramirez, and Brown combine on a 2-hitter, fanning 10
#57: WIN 5-3 ... 3 RBI and the GW double in the 9th for Klein...tonight it's Klump's turn to get hurt on the bases, diagnosis pending

Nice finish to the series, and nice start to the month. Back up to 8 over Houston, 8.5 over Seattle.... Still waiting on Klump's diagnosis.... ELSEWHERE: NYY's Oscar Sandoval (21) and TOR's Paul Foster (20) lead the HR parade.... Miami's George Bradshaw is working on a 22-game hitting streak.... Pittsburgh's David Fults (7-0) is the last pitcher with a sub-2 ERA, at 1.79.... Mets closer Nick Sexton has saved 25 of the team's 36 wins.

June 5-6 vs OAKLAND
It looks like the rebuild may be on in Oakland, with a 24-34 record. The once-vaunted offensive machine has broken down this year: 17th in runs, and 16th in home runs. 3B Ryan Walton has 16 HR, and LF Kris Wallace is hitting .302, but not much else is going right. Pitching has been much better, at 5th in runs against. Mike Wiater and Francisco Pantaleon have been solid starters. System review: 23rd ranked. Pitchers Bryan Nunez (#39) and Antonio Olmedo (#70) look solid, and 3B Scott Peckler (#61) is a top fielder but so-so hitter. I count 4-5 more solid pitching prospects around, but sadly no real hitting stars.

HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (7-1, 3.69) / Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.32)
OAK pitchers: Mike Wiater (5-4, 3.42) / Jacob Wood (1-6, 3.91)

#58: LOSS 5-6 ... Brown gives up solo HR in the 9th and 10th to cost us this one...2-run HR for Groff, solo shot for JHart
#59: WIN 7-6 ... our turn: Simmons and Klein drive in runs in the 9th to fuel the comeback...Davila, JHart, and Klein each get 3 hits, and everyone gets at least one

A study in use-of-bullpen contrasts in that second game: we used one reliever, Pat Stanley, over the last 3.2 innings; Oakland used 6 pitchers over 2.2 innings.... Klump's diagnosis: sprained ankle, out for six weeks. I call up OF Kenny Welch for his first taste of the big time. Welch was hitting .320 in AAA with 8 HR in 178 AB. He's got contact, power, and a huge arm in the field, but has no range. Still, let's see what ya got, big guy. He'll platoon at DH with Glenn Heath, a lefty.... Rob Hart will come off rehab tomorrow, and has thrown two quality starts in a row. Fingers crossed.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto is the latest team gone cold, losers of 7 straight and 9 out of 10. Former Islander Malik Chaney (1-7, 5.89) has not been good on the mound, while my favorite whipping boy Jordan Cruz is batting .175 with 79 K in 189 AB. YOU GO, SON.... Baltimore and Tampa have won 5 and 6 straight, respectively, and are pulling away from the rest of the East. The Yankees are still over .500, but Boston, Miami, and Toronto are all slipping away.... Turns out I lied to you in the last update: Portland pitcher Neil Cromer now has enough IP to qualify for the ERA race, which he leads with a quality 1.47 mark. David Fults is still there too, at 1.79, so bully for them.... The MLB WAR race is as follows: Chris White (BKN 3B) 3.9; Eddy Llamas (LAD SP) 3.8; Cesar Alvarenga (BAL RF) 3.8; Alexis Mercedes (STL C) 3.7.

June 7-10 @ TEXAS
An 0-9 start hasn't really gotten better in Texas, sitting at 23-37 and at the bottom of the division. They put a lot of runners on base--5th in AVG, 4th in OBP--but are scoring at only the 13th-best clip. Pitching has been a challenge, at 17th in runs against. They are trying to make things better, however: sending down Pedro Cabrera (although, tbh, his 4.72 ERA is a full three runs better than his career number) and calling up '44 1st rounder Greg Buchanan to make his debut against us this series. Former Isle Mike Messinger is coming around after a rough start to the seaseon, and one-time Isles prospects 1B David Rivera (.294/7/20) and 3B Danny Holguin (.266/4/14) are holding their own. System review: ranked 8th, with four in the top 100. Buchanan is #10, and 1B William Swanson (#42) looks like a future stud. Pitchers Paul Labbe (#55) and Mike Kent (#94) seem like future starters, albeit with some glaring holes (walks and home runs, respectively).

HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (5-3, 3.66) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.56) / Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 2.78) / Eric Jones (7-1, 3.77)
TEX pitchers: Mike Messinger (6-3, 4.24) / Thomas Cannaday (2-4, 3.40) / Greg Buchanan (MLB debut) / Luis Otero (3-4, 5.59)

#60: WIN 3-1 ... pitcher's duel, and we're outhit 8-6...all singles for us, but add in four walks, an HBP, and a sac fly for a small-ball win...8 IP for Barnett
#61: LOSS 6-7 ... most hits loses, as we're the "victims" 12-9 in that stat...3 hits for Groff...3 errors by the guys doesn't help, as an unearned run is the difference
#62: WIN 15-3 ... 23 H, 6 HR, and one destroyed MLB debut (Buchanan: 3.2 IP, 14 H, 10 R, 5 HR)...2 HR, 4 RBI for Heath, and 4 H with 4 RBI for Klein
#63: WIN 5-2 ... 8.1 IP of 4-hit ball for Jones...Welch debuts, goes 3-for-4 with an RBI...2 hits, 2 RBI for Groff

Poor Buchanan; he'll need therapy after that one.... Adam Groff passed 1000 career runs in this series. This season he also moved into first place in franchise games played and at bats. Four more doubles and he'll pass Jeremy Dunklee for first there too.... Rob Hart is recalled and moved into long relief for now. Jose Esquivel pitched well, but gets the nudge downwards.... Our top draftees are signing, but I decide against offering $4M to 19th rounder Max Hopper. I'm not "Gullible Bill," after all.... Stoneback's DL time gets extended by a week; Masuda still out ofr 2 more weeks.... ELSEWHERE: Miami's George Bradshaw has his 25-game hitting streak ended by Boston.... LAD traded for AL batting champ Matt Anderson, and then promptly nailed him to the bench. He's batted 46 times this year, and is demanding a trade. I'm thinking "hmmmm".... Six-game losing streak for the Mets, allowing Philly to creep to a 1/2 game out.... Seattle moves into 2nd in the AL West with their own winning streak, passing Houston.

June 11-13 @ NEW ORLEANS
A short hop from Arlington to New Orleans to start out last round of interleague series. The 2040 champs have made the playoffs four times this decade, but are struggling to find consistency so far this year. At 31-32, they're just 4 games out of first. Only 13th in runs and 16th in AVG, they are somehow 4th in OBP. Pitching, as usual, is strong: 4th in runs against, featuring the 2nd best NL rotation. Ricky Munoz (6-3, 2.71) is having another quietly strong year. These guys could really use LA's disgruntled Matt Anderson. Manager: another former Isle, Clarence Whitney, who settled for $978K after asking for nearly 2M from us. Owner: Corey LaHood, a not-at-all-criminally-named owner, who is happy despite having all four of his goals going unmet atm. He's tolerant, charitable, normal, and balanced. Shouldn't we all be? System review: ranked just 32nd, with only two players (pitchers John Sanders and Bobby Nelson, both ok looking) in the top 100. I'm partial to OF Wietze Ottens, an amazing fielder and runner who apparently bats with a toothpick, based on his ratings.

HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.60) / Taylor Barnett (6-3, 3.40) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.91)
NOZ pitchers: Adam Oeltjenbruns (1-5, 4.90) / Chad Akers (3-7, 3.96) / Ricky Munoz (6-3, 2.71)

#64: WIN 6-5 ... 4 errors lead to 4 unearned runs, combined...we win in the 9th thanks to a bases loaded wild pitch from closer Joey Riley
#65: WIN 4-1 ... another 9th inning win off Riley, this time a Groff 3-run blast...Barnett scatters 4 hits over 7.1 IP, goes home empty-handed
#66: WIN 4-3 ... this time it takes 13 innings to win, after allowing 2 runs in the 9th...4 hits for Klein, 3 and a HR for Davila...we outhit the Zephs 15-6

Now we're rolling.... Thoughts and prayers to Zephyrs closer Joey Riley, who lost or blew every game in this set.... Stoneback comes off the DL for our next series, with Connor Mitchell (1-for-2 in 2 games) going back to AAA.... The bulllpen ERA is back below 5 now--it's really strange to have most of your best-on-paper relievers filling out the "avoid high leverage" slots in the pen.... Unlike last year, all of our (worthiest) draft picks have signed. All are starting in R or Short A, except for top pick Josh Frederick, who starts in A (and is 23, so needs to develop quickly).... ELSEWHERE: Toronto has slid backwards to last in the East and a bottom-five overall record. And they just lost best hitter (and winter free-agent plum Paul Foster for 6-7 weeks). No worries, tho, as they've *finally* moved strikeout machine (35% of AB) Jordan Cruz into leadoff. He does have a much higher OBP than AVG, which is good. We'll just ignore the fact that that average is .177 at the moment.... Baltimore's Jason Powell leads the bigs by a comfortable margin with a .382 AVG. Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is having one of those near-Triple-Crown years, 2nd in hitting (.357), tied for 1st in HR (23), and first in RBI (55). Cincy's Jose Tavares is doing about the same in the NL, although much farther back in RBI.... Minnesota's Vinny Vargas just reached 1900 career hits. He's not adjusting well to his new home, batting just .270/8/31, projecting to his worse season by far. (He batted .235 during a brief rookie call-up, but averaged .340 in the intervening 11 seasons.)

......

TL;DR Version: A 10-2 start to June, and an active 5-game winning streak. Seattle and Houston are lukewarm right now, so we've built up an astonishing 10 game lead over the Mariners (with the Astros a game behind that). Rob Hart has yet to make a relief appearance, so I moved him to MR rather than LR. My rotation is throwing really well right now (although Pinksen is regressing from a hot start), so I really need to see if he has anything left before we get into crunch time this season. Plus, he has a team option for next year, so soon enough it'll be decision time...

Bub13 · 04-20-2019, 03:09 PM

2046 DRAFT and SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Can I just say that once again it is difficult to maintain focus when you get past, say, round 6, and you're trying to decide whether to select that outfielder who can run and field but couldn't hit a wiffle ball ten feet, or that pitcher who never learned how to make the ball "do bendy things" when throwing? Having said that...at least we have a number of high picks, with two selections (um...how? I can't remember.) in the 1st round, and two supplemental picks thanks to losing some not-so-cheap free agents last year. We also have two 10th round picks, but you probably don't want to hear about them...

......

The top five picks belonged to Pittsburgh, Texas, San Francisco, Houston, and the Yankees. San Fran, Arizona, Boston, Oakland, and us each had two picks in the first. Pittsburgh led off by selecting pitcher Josh Hohn out of the University of Mississippi. If he sounds familiar, it's because Texas took him #1 overall last year but couldn't sign him. Ha! Like last year, control looks like his only weakness, but he is definitely at least A-ball ready right now. Texas then took another hard-to-sign pitcher, 18-year-old Bobby Daniel. A bit of a reach if you ask me, as he looks like a decent back-end starter (better movement than stuff, and no fastball). Can they sign him, tho? The Giants took the first fielder, selecting high school OF Darius Williams. Solid pick: five tool guy, and a hard enough worker that he could exceed his already-high ceiling. Houston then grabbed one of the few decent pitchers left, getting 23-year-old Oliver Bergquist. He was taken #6 by the Cubs last year, and...well, you know the drill. He looks okay, but doesn't blow the doors off at the moment. With the last of the top five picks, the Yanks took OF Chris Mitchell: very fast kid, good fielder, but is a bottom-of-the-lineup hitter and not the solid lock you'd want to take at #5.

Sleeper pick: I like Montreal's choice of 3B Tim Bell at #8. He's probably the 2nd best hitter in the first round, after the Giants choice of Williams. Blue Jays 1B Ian Logan (#11) and Arizona OF Chris Piper (#16) should have been top ten picks, imo.

Definite reach: No real glaring mistakes, but with high-quality pitching all but gone after the first 20 picks, the Orioles surprised everyone by taking (Hawaiian!) high schooler Jarret Corrigan at #24. I say 'surprise' because he's a high-stuff/low-movement-and-control reliever, who would've been available a round or two later, for sure. As for batters, Philly took OF Mark Schrock at #30. He can run all day and hit some doubles, but that's about it.

Best first round name: Cubs pitcher Adam Krull (#7) and Giants OF Dave Griffey (#10). Disappointed he's not Ken Griffey III tho.

......

Here's a run-down of our top picks:

Rnd 1, 28th overall: P Josh Frederick, 23, North Carolina. Why, yes, we did take him in the first last year. (Draft Day 2046 has a theme, apparently.) Listed--and drafted--as a pitcher, but will get moved to the outfield. He will sign this time, oh yes.

Rnd 1, 31st overall: 2B Josh Matson, 22, Arizona State. Solid contact and line drive hitter, and has a little pop too. Won't walk much. Good runner, good enough in the field. Probably limited to second base only: good glove in the outfield, but no arm.

Supplemental, 55th overall: P Kevin Walker, 17, high school. Moderate ceilings, but good intangibles will definitely help. Has stamina to start, and should develop a quality cutter/slider/changeup variety.

Supplemental, 58th overall: P Tim Mitchell, 21, Iona. Another dart at the board. Looks similar to Walker, above, but with better stuff and slightly lower movement and control. Should develop nice fastball, and a slider/change to go with it. Future starter.

Rnd 2, 87th overall: P Jeremy Kolek, 21, Rice. You can't have enough pitchers, ever, so I took Kolek despite him being strictly a reliever. Should be a solid contributor, and in the not-too-distant future. Probably ready for A ball, at least.

Rnd 3, 124th overall: OF Marc McKenzie, 21, Cal State-Fullerton. Perhaps a bit of a reach, as he looks like backup material only right now. Speedy, good fielder with a so-so arm. More of a singles/groundball hitter, with zero power.

Rnd 4, 161st overall: OF Joe Lynn, 17, high school. Intriguing prospect. Decent contact, better gap power, little HR power. Won't walk, but won't strike out either. Incredibly fast, probably one of the fastest in baseball, but not an outstanding base runner. Great range, bad glove, decent arm. High work ethic. Like I said, intriguing.

Rnd 5, 165th overall: OF Chris Henderson, 18, high school. Looks kind of like 3rd rounder McKenzie, but with better power and a rocket arm. Feel like I really stocked up on outfielders this year.

Best of the rest: Catcher Luis Hernandez (6th) could be a decent backup one day; OF Nick Cooley (10th) has some hitting chops, but has an iron glove. The rest are the usual assortment of high-character guys who will exceed their low ceilings, but not get anywhere near the bigs, most likely.

......

Without factoring in this year's draft, MLB says our prospects rank 3rd, with four players placing in the top 100 prospects. Two are in the bigs already, and one was just moved up to AAA. More detail:

#1: 3B Dante Padilla, 22, 6th ranked by MLB. Santa Barbara (AAA), 5-for-9 with a HR after his AAA promotion. Also hit .241 in 48 games with AA. Couldn't hit a lick in the low minors, but his bat is finally coming around the higher he gets. Hitting ceilings look great, with power, eye, and low strikeouts. Biggest drawback is his poor glove, and lack of any speed on base. Still, he could be on the hot corner as soon as next year, and might get a few swings this September.

#2: P Olimpio Le Coq, 20, 22nd ranked. Athens (R), 14 GS, 3-2, 2.90 ERA last year. He's moving up our prospect ranks, but hasn't developed much over the past year. Has four pitches, and good stuff, but needs to work on his movement in order to be a truly legit prospect.

#3: IF Manny Rangel, 25, 30th ranked. Hawaii, .240/0/5 in 50 AB. Bat is coming around some after a slow start, and will get some quality reps over the next couple of weeks after Stoneback's injury. Probably won't hit for high average, but looks decent enough across the board, and with really strong fielding, that he could be our regular second baseman by next year. Decent OF as well.

#4: OF Kenny Welch, 23, 75th ranked. Hawaii, no stats. Just called up from AAA, where he was .320/8/34. If he can hit in the majors, he'll be a fixture for quite a while. Looks to have 25-HR power, with good contact too. Great arm, but little range. And not a runner, at all.

#5: P Shaun Gates, 22, 120th ranked. Lewiston (AA), 11 GS, 3-5, 4.26 ERA. Hasn't yet pitched as well as he did last year, but scouts say he's developing nicely. Looks like he's ready for AAA, but is hampered by a logjam of pitchers there. He wants to be in the bigs, so I'll probably move him up a level soon. I want him competing for our rotation next season.

#6: P Jonathan Ashton, 19, 138th ranked. Rookie ball, no stats yet. 2045: 14 GS, 4.46 ERA. Supplemental pick from last year. Right now, looks to become a #3 or so starting pitcher, which works for me. Groundball pitcher, which I like. Looks to develop four good pitches, and like most kids, needs serious work on his control.

Others of note:
P/OF Phil Lasky, 24: could be a real two-way player, but maybe is a slightly better pitcher right now. Might get him some MLB time this year.
OF Cameron Daley, 22: hitting .341 in AAA, so is probably ready right now. Might be our LF by next season, easy.
1B Roberto Navarette, 18: still in the intl. complex; scouts still say he's going to be a dynamite hitter.
SP Shamar Jackson, 23: pitching well in AAA, with one bad start in Hawaii. Looks like another 3/4-type SP. Knuckleballer.

Bub13 · 04-21-2019, 06:19 PM

June 15-17 @ ST LOUIS
After a slow April, the Cards have played steadily better and currently share the division lead with Cincinnati (36-30 vs 37-31 for the Reds). Batting is only 12th in AVG, but 4th in OBP and steals, for a solid 6th place in runs. Pitching has been mediocre, only 12th in ERA, for a mere +6 in run differential. Five players are on the DL, including two starting OF and 2B Tim Ost (who hasn't played at all this season). The offense is being kept afloat by CF Jason McColl (.323/12/42) and former Islander and AL MVP winner Alexis Mercedes (.306/18/61). I know I pick on Toronto SS Jordan Cruz all the time; his NL counterpart is SS Jonathan Salas, now in his seventh season (with 4 teams), and a career average of .192 and a K% barely shy of 40. Closer Frank Casper, 24, is having a breaktrhough season in his first shot at the role: 23 saves, 1.38 ERA, 0.90 WHIP. Manager: Chad Kerfoot, who has amazingly turned five awful seasons in Holland into a big league post. Owner: Joe DeWitt, Jr, who seems like a fine person and yet is unhappy with his playoff-chasing team. System review: dead last, 36th. Not much to see here except for their top two prospects both being named Casey and both playing CF. What a battle royale that will be, huh.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 2.81) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.63) / Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.55)
STL pitchers: D.J. Pasquarelli (6-4, 4.50) / Ivan Villa (4-6, 3.81) / Andy Goeser (3-4, 4.72)

#67: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn socks two solo HR, and Ratliff scatters just 3 hits over 6.2 innings...3 hits for Simmons, and a 2-run double for Rich are also key
#68: LOSS 4-5 ... Nate Moore gives up a small-ball run in the 9th to lose this one...for some reason backup OF Nate Flygare comes in at catcher in the 9th
#69: WIN 9-6 ... 7 of 10 hits go for extra bases, including another HR for Sanborn...Pinksen struggles, but the pen bails him out with 4 shutout innings

Congrats to Cards catcher Alexis Mercedes on reaching 400 career HR.... Pinksen has really struggled since April, with an ERA near 7 in his last nine starts. Rob Hart, anyone?.... Sen Masuda comes back in five days. I'd almost forgotten he was still with us.... Top prospect Dante Padilla, who could barely hit a lick in R through A ball, hit .241 in AA and is batting .357 (in just 42 AB tho) since a AAA promotion.... Jim Klein has quietly moved into third in AL batting, at .355.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers pitching may be heating up just in time to save their season, with Gary Florence (he's back!) and Tony Rodriguez tossing shutouts. Portland continues to leads the NL West at 40-28.... While all the NL division races feature 4 (or 5) teams, things are spreading out in the AL. In the East, Baltimore is up on Tampa by 2.5, and by 11 over the Yankees. In the Central, it's Milwaukee by 3 over Detroit, then 8.5 over Cleveland. And Hawaii is 9 up on Seattle.

June 18-20 vs CINCINNATI
Thanks to us, the Reds now have a two-game cushion over the Cardinals. That they're winning at all really looks like it's completely due to a top-ranked defense and a couple of star players. They're 8th in runs, but just 14th in AVG and 17th in OBP, with superstud Jose Tavares having another MVP-caliber season (.356/21/52), and 3B Dan Martin adding 16 HR. I guess you should expect to struggle some when you turn over your entire infield in the off-season. Pitching is just 11th in runs against, but the rotation ERA is 7th. Juan Valdez is the star here, but don't sleep on former Islander Ryuma Sato and on retread Jeff Clayton. The bullpen hasn't been much, but there are a pair of former Islanders (again), in Hisami Masuda (5-1, 3.68, 1 save) and Gastone Sarretti (1-0, 1.08, 1 save). Sarretti was a prospect who went over in the ill-considered Kyle Crowl trade. Manager: Dan Remenowsky, now in his 17th year with the Reds. He's up for renewal this fall, and if I know MLB owners, he won't be re-signed. Owner: Bobby Joslin, a demanding yet charitable type. Goody. System review: 2nd overall, with five in the top 100. Led by #1 overall Cris Frias, who looks like he'll strkieout tons and walk tons too. Like a JR Richard or Nolan Ryan...not bad comparables.

HAW pitchers: Rob "Hello Again" Hart (0-2, 9.47) / Taylor Barnett (6-3, 3.22) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.65)
CIN pitchers: Ben Griffin (3-6, 4.78) / Ryuma Sato (4-2, 3.75) / Juan Valdez (7-4, 3.59)

#70: LOSS 5-6 ... Hart looks fine: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 9 K...the pen gives up 4 in the 9th, all on Brown thanks to a Tavares grand slam
#71: WIN 14-2 ... 5 HR tonight, including 2 each for Groff and Davila...4 RBI for Rich, 3 for Simmons, but still zero HR combined for those two
#72: WIN 9-8 ... Palmer suffers through a 7-run 4th...we add 7 of our own late, and win it in the 12th on Davila's RBI single...Moore goes 3 IP for the win

Runs, runs, everywhere runs.... Hart walks four in his start, but I was very encouraged otherwise, and will keep him in the rotation for now. Pinksen will get used to his new role at the back end of the bullpen.... I open up contract extension talks with Eric Jones and Rich Stoneback. Jones wants 22M total over 2 years, while Stoneback wants a huge 302M deal over 9 years. Yow.... ELSEWHERE: Portland ends Miami RF Nick Meehan's 21-game hit streak, then the next day Miami ends Portland 2B Mike Hunter's 20-game run. (Yes, former Islander star Mike Hunter. Hi, Mike!).... Unsung young stud Chris Goldthwait, 24, is having a super season for Tampa: .361/29/66, and leading baseball with 5.3 WAR and a 1.216 OPS. That's already a career best WAR, and he's just 9 away from a career season in HR. My favorite aspect of him is his complete lack of foot speed (a 1 rating), but an amazing knack for stealing (18 rating) and baserunning (20).... Philly and NY are tied at the top of the NL East, with Phils catcher Marc Orange 2nd in NL batting at .357. That's a full 80 points above his career average.

June 21-24 @ OAKLAND
The A's are 11-7 in June, to stabilize somewhat after a bad first two months. Still not scoring (13th) or hitting (16th), they are patient enough to be 7th in OBP. 3B Ryan Walton leads the team with 21 HR and 46 RBI, but top hitter LF Kris Wallace (.300) is out until late July. Free agent signee C Alex Contreras has hit just .189, while rookie 2B Ernesto de la Torre only .230. Pitching is 5th in runs allowed, for a somewhat charitable -2 run diff. The rotation's numbers look good, and even the awful Tim Shellhammer just tossed a shutout. For some reason they moved Tim Friddle (2.76 ERA) out of the closer position and gave it to journeyman Cory Wood (5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). System review: 23rd, with three top 100 guys. Pitcher Bryan Nunez (#39) looks good, but hasn't developed a third pitch, and may never do so. 3B Scott Peckler (#61) is a future captain, but also a future career backup, honestly. I'm partial to pitcher Jim Overcash (he is not greedy, sadly), who looks like a mid-range starter and could surpass that ceiling.

HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (6-1, 2.93) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.77) / Rob Hart (0-2, 7.33) / Taylor Barnett (7-3, 3.21)
OAK pitchers: Mike Wiater (6-4, 3.35) / Jacob Wood (2-7 3.78) / Tim Shellhammer (1-1, 6.00) / Francisco Pantaleon (5-9, 3.98)

#73: WIN 3-2 ... a subdued pitcher's duel, with 11 combined hits...Stoneback showed up, tho, with 3 hits and a pair of doubles...7 good IP for Ratliff, but Brown is leaky again in the 9th
#74: WIN 5-2 ... complete game 7-hitter for Jones...Heath gets HBP, diagnosis pending...3-run HR for Sanborn is the GW here
#75: LOSS 5-9 ... Hart is not so good today, let's just leave it there...3 hits each for Klein and Groff...Masuda whiffs 4 times in his first post-DL start
#76: LOSS 0-11 ... Barnett is terrible for the first time in a long while, and we manage just four hits

Phew, some pretty awful pitching those last two games. We were due, I suppose. Hart was bad, but Pinksen at least looked good in 4 IP of mop up work.... Still no word yet on Glenn Heath's injury. With Masuda back, I sent down Kenny Welch, but as he was 7-for-16 while with us, he'll come right back up if Heath is gone for a while.... So--I inked Stoneback to an extension. He wanted, basically, 32M per season. So I took a chance and offered him a complex 9-year deal: he'll make 16.5M next year, then 22, then 18, then 23, and then have an opt-out. After that, his salary zooms to 35M per for three more seasons, after which there's a team option. If he sticks around that long, he'll be 36 and there's zero chance I'll take that offer. He has bonuses for MVP and all-star apps too. I figured he's too good a fielder and too solid a power bat to lose for a little supplemental pick on the free market. Plus, the fan interest meter hit 90 for the first time this calendar year after announcing the deal.... ELSEWHERE: Some good pitching on day four there: a one-hitter and four four-hitters.... Mets closer Nick Sexton has reached 30 saves.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo continues to sport a 1.73 ERA (15 starts), while Pittsburgh's David Fults owns a 1.67 mark.

June 26-28 vs LA ANGELS
Now 30-48 and falling into "top five pick" territory. 13th in runs and 17th in runs against, with a -18 run diff. Power hitters Tony Mendoza and Jason Eastep are producing, and leadoff CF Emmanuel Garcia (.294/10/35) is having a solid sophomore seasons, but not much else is going right at the plate. Former Isle Travis McArthur is now batting 2nd, but is hitting just .252. Slugger Coby Sandu is just back after missing nearly two months. Pitching: new signee Jon Carlsen has been as advertised, and closer Bret Roemke has been solid. But otherwise, it's another lost season in a rebuild that keeps stretching on and on. System review: 29th, with only one top 100 prospect, which is...not good. Pitcher Dane Dean (#38) has some promise but is really low on stuff right now. The rest of the cast look like role players to me, including #2 prospect pitcher Noah Sims, who's already in the bigs.

HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (7-2, 4.14) / Ryan Ratliff (7-1, 2.78) / Eric Jones (9-1, 3.62)
LAA pitchers: Jon Carlsen (4-4, 3.31) / Arturo Sosa (3-5, 5.19) / Bob Tranchida (5-8, 4.77)

#77: WIN 5-4 ... Palmer has his good stuff tonight, yielding just 4 H over 7 IP...Groff powers two HR, including the GW 2-run shot in the 7th
#78: WIN 7-4 ... HR for Stoneback and Masuda, and Davila goes 3-for-4 with 4 RBI...Ratliff pulled after three batters, Ramirez earns the win with 4.1 solid innings
#79: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn and Masuda HR tonight, and JHart triples home two runs...6 IP, 6 H, 6 K for Jones, who signed a new deal before the game

More money: Jones re-signs with us, and the fans go, um, yay?.... Ratliff gets hurt, diagnosis pending. He's been our most dependable starter, so I really hope he's back soon.... Jones reaches 10 wins on the season, tied at the top with Yankees starter Brian Whitney.... ELSEWHERE: Six wins in a row for the Red Sox, who suddenly don't completely stink. Clubhouse is still feuding, tho.... Texas is trailing the field, with just 27 wins. The Angels are next, with 30.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is the first batter to 30 HR. We could end up with Triple Crown winners in both leagues, which I think would be pretty cool.... New Orleans gets a jump on next season by dumping 37-year-old starter Adam Oeltjenbruns off on KC for a pair of solid RP prospects. Oelts goes and tosses a shutout in his first start for the Royals, who are 9 back of Milwaukee but playing better of late.

June 29-30 vs CLEVELAND
Two games to finish out the month, then one in July. Currently the Indians are 37-42 and 11.5 out of first. They can't hit, at 16th in runs and 14th in AVG. While leadoff batter Walt DiDio is hitting .294 (50 points above his career mark), the 3-through-6 guys are coming in at .231, .264, .193 and .163. Although 24-year-old cleanup batter David Van Eschen does have 17 HR and looks like a solid contributor for years. Pitching is much better: 5th in runs. Ace Zach Gioeli hasn't been great, but his 3.69 ERA is a full run below league average. SP Matt Grigg has been solid, if unloved, and closer Tim Stoner was just called up from A ball (!) and has two saves in 5 games. Manager: Jose Ariza, 6th year. He won 92 games last year, but won't this year. Owner: Kurt Dolan, demanding, controlling, and profit-hungry. He's happy, for some reason.

HAW pitchers: Rob "C'mon Man" Hart (0-3, 9.30) / Taylor Barnett (7-4, 3.80)
CLE pitchers: Roberto Maldonado (2-9, 4.33) / Zach Gioeli (4-3, 2.54)

#80: WIN 6-5 ... Hart allows 5 R in 6 IP, a marked improvement. Fans 8, but walks 4...4 hits and 2 RBI for Davila, and 3 hits for Klein
#81: LOSS 5-9 ... another bad one for Barnett: 6 R in 6 IP, ERA now over 4...two HR for Groff, now over 300 in his career. Congrats!

Not a great finish to the month, especially with our rotation looking more wonky by the day. At least Ratliff is only out for five days. He might miss a start, or get pushed off by a day, but that's it.... We're only 9th in HR, but seven players have hit double figures, meaning a nice balanced attack. Very nice.... ELSEWHERE: KC has gone 8-2 of late, reaching .500 again and pulling to 9 out of first.... Tampa's Goldthwait is approaching 6 WAR. No one else has 5.... Eight wins in a row now for Boston, just a game under .500. Can the Cranky Boys keep going?

......

TL;DR Version: 10-5 to finish the month, and a league-best 54-27 mark at the halfway point to the season. Nice! And yet... The rotation suddenly looks human. Palmer and Barnett are trending down, Pinksen has been down there for over a month already, and who knows about Hart yet. Only Jones and Ratliff have been steady. I'm not sure anyone in AAA is quite ready yet, either. A trade? There really isn't anyone available who is a) pitching well AND b) available at a non-extortionate price. Richmond is making 4/5 of its rotation available, but only 2-time Cy Young winner Rafael Maldonado looks tempting. But he's making $24M, would cost way too much in prospects, and has just 2.5 pitches right now, meaning he's probably going to decline sharply soon. Not sure what, if anything, I'll do just yet. Maybe hold fire, and see if Hart and Barnett can find some consistency over the next couple weeks. Then reassess. I've got a month before the deadline.

SxSnts9 · 04-22-2019, 04:56 PM

Just read through this whole thing from beginning to end in the last week. Really great write-ups so I wanted to drop off a cheers to you my friend. Go Islanders!

03-11-2019, 06:32 PM	#201
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	September 15-17 vs HOUSTON One of a handful of teams officially eliminated from the playoffs, making it 27 consecutive seasons without any postseason play. Their offense has faded to last in the AL, and pitching isn't much better at 16th. I don't know what else to add, except that the good feelings from last year's .500 record have pretty much evaporated: an angry owner whose entire set of team goals will go unmet; a feuding clubhouse, for some reason; precipitous drops in season ticket sales (-36%) and attendance (14K, or -29%); and a bottom-ranked payroll that will still struggle to come home in the black. At least their prospect pool is #1...except that six of their top seven players are already in the bigs, so that will drop way off next year. Good times. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (10-6, 5.03) / Mike Messinger (12-5, 3.36) / Ryan Ratliff (7-6, 4.44) HOU pitchers: Ryan Crawley (7-17, 5.10) / Chris Harris (7-10, 5.99) / Mike Huddleston (1-3, 4.54) #146: WIN 5-3 ... Jones puts 8 guys on through 5 IP but somehow only gives up 2 runs and takes the win...2 H and 3 RBI for Klein #147: WIN 7-4 ... JHart is the 1st star with 3 walks and 3 runs, ok...Mess is pulled in the 4th after giving up 4 runs...Cannon gets drilled by a pitch, injured #148: WIN 5-2 ... 5 in a row now, thanks to 8 strong IP from Ratliff, and HR from Stoneback and Masuda...Klump gets hurt, will be until the playoffs Yay us! We're the first team to clinch a playoff spot, and thanks to this latest hot streak our Magic Number is now just 3 for the division.... Two more injuries: Cannon is awaiting his diagnosis, with fingers crossed; and Klump will be dtd (influences throwing only, not a bad thing to be without when you're a DH) for 1-2 weeks.... Taylor Barnett will probably miss his next start, so someone will get a surprise start from AAA. But who.... Joe Hart is batting .270 and has 16 HR, both noticeable dropoffs from last year. But he's walked 92 times, has 11 sacrifices, and cut his caught stealing from 11 to just 4 (vs 17 steals). Still productive, imo.... ELSEWHERE: LA (Dodgers) Magic # is also 3, and with upcoming series against the dregs of their division, they should clinch very soon.... No one in the NL East has been eliminated yet, the only remaining division with that distinction. Last place NY is two games over .500, although they are 9 games out of a wild card spot.... Injuries have cut short some good pitching seasons this year, so only one guy (ATL's Jose Gutierrez, with 19) is close to 20 wins, and no one is near 300 K. September 18-20 @ TEXAS Sitting at 69-79, and fourth in the division. The first year at the helm for former Isles skipper Pat Wilson hasn't been a disaster--they're already 7 wins over last year's results, and have a +6 Pythagorean--but there haven't been many high points either. Like Houston, neither side of the roster has shown much: hitting is bottom four, while pitching is bottom two. If they're smart, they'll build around the left side of their infield, where 3B Corey Turner (.294/26/73) and SS JJ Dean (.246/17/76) have been good; but Dean needs a new contract, and it's even odds that he'll end up in free agency. Their prospects rate poorly (31st), and top guy SP Greg Buchanan has been so-so in AAA, and has the odd combo of throwing 100 heat while having poorly-rated stuff. Rookie SP Phil Eckert has been their best pitcher, but the team really needs Buchanan and #3 prospect Ramon Saucedo (struggling in AA) to get it together for next year. Yeah, good luck. HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (11-7, 5.14) / Shamar Jackson (DEBUT) / Eric Jones (11-6, 4.93) TEX pitchers: Phil Eckert (10-10, 4.72) / Luis Otero (9-8, 5.22) / Lorenzo Rangel (5-11, 5.19) #149: LOSS 4-5 ... pin this on the pen, which gives up 2 late runs for the loss...Pinksen throws a solid 7, and it's 3 hits apiece for Groff and Stoneback #150: LOSS 4-9 ... blecch, nothing to see here...move along, move along #151: WIN 11-6 ... six early runs, then nada, then 5 in the 11th for the win...Stoneback smacks his 40th in the 1st, and JHart hits a 2-run shot late...Jones gives up 13 hits Two ugly games keeps our Magic# at 2.... Cannon gets his diagnosis: broken collarbone, out for a month. Unnnngh. Then replacement RF Glenn Heath hurts himself just throwing a damn ball, but at that's just dtd.... So maybe hotshot prospect Shamar Jackson needs juuuust a little bit more minor league seasoning, after giving up 8 runs in 4 innings. Sorry bud.... ELSEWHERE: No playoff clinch yet for the Dodgers, although they're just a game away now.... And no changes in division leads, either, and only Philly (5.5 over Brooklyn) has anything bigger than a 2 game lead.... If the playoffs started tomorrow, Detroit and Seattle would be your AL wild cards, while New Orleans and Brooklyn would be the NL reps. Atlanta is just a half game behind Brooklyn, tho, so that race is not over.... NY's Cortez Ahumada became the 2nd player (after LAA's Juan Rodriquez) to reach 200 hits. Ahumada's a speedy guy who hits a lot of singles, although he's bumped up his doubles game (49!) this year. The 27-year-old developed slowly, getting traded three times, and is only in his third MLB season. He hit .354 in 400 PA for Cleveland last year, and still they let him walk. Shrug. September 21-24 vs SEATTLE Another long plane flight home for a four-spot against the Mariners. Currently at 86-66, 9.5 games behind us but comfortably in a playoff spot--they're a game behind Detroit, but 5.5 up on Baltimore in the wild card standings. Despite having the 3rd best AVG in the AL, they're only 12th in runs. Still, the best rotation in the AL makes for the 3rd fewest runs against, giving them a +65 run diff. They lost all-time star Mike Wapner in free agency, but CF Aaron Harrison has stepped up in a huge way: .341/48/130, and will get MVP consideration. Likewise, ace SP Miguel Moreno (19-4, 2.14) should figure in the Cy Young race. Two-way player Steve Mellon was dropped out of the rotation (5.28 ERA), but still bats leadoff and is hitting a respectable .283, although with little power. HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (4-3, 5.40) / Mike Messinger (12-5, 3.49) / Ryan Ratliff (8-6, 4.31) / Tim Pinksen (11-7, 5.03) SEA pitchers: Dave Conner (1-0, 2.25) / Brett McGee (14-8, 3.85) / Greg Sowa (13-10, 4.84) / Carlos Zenon (10-4, 3.66) #152: WIN 3-0 ... 8 hits (4 doubles) and NINE walks. Nice...Barnett is aces, giving up just 3 hits over 8 innings, with ZERO walks...division clinched! #153: WIN 3-2 ... Mess sticks around for 7 IP this time, gives up just 4 hits... #154: WIN 7-4 ... everyone gets a hit, and Masuda's 3-run shot in the 1st keys a 6-run inning...Ratliff goes 6 IP, yields 7 H and 3 R, and rides some stout hitting #155: WIN 6-2 ... complete game for Pinksen, 5 H, 9 K...Groff, in a down year, hits his 25th HR, Stoneback his 41st We're now 17-5 this month, and a combined 35-14 since August 1. Pretty nice comeback from a bad July, I'd say.... Messinger gets his 13th win, tying him for the (active) team lead with middle reliever Pat Stanley.... Groff's HR gives us four players with at least 25 HR this season.... Dan Brown reached 20 saves, and has been a reliable closer all summer, after our injury trouble early.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit has won 7 straight to pass Cleveland for first in the Central. Tampa leads Baltimore by 2.5 in the East, and Cleveland and Seattle are in the driver's seat for the wild cards.... In the NL, LA has clinched, and Cincy and Philly still lead their divisions. New Orleans and Atlanta are still keeping up with them, and Brooklyn is on the outside of the wild card, but the only other team still in the hunt.... Still no pitchers with 20 wins, and while several NL pitchers are having outstanding seasons, in the AL only Seattle's Miguel Moreno is having an awards-worthy year. Not counting our--injured--Rob Hart, that is. September 25-28 vs OAKLAND At 75-80, and in real danger of having their nine-year streak of winning seasons come to an end. We'll try to help. 1B Vinny Vargas is excellent--as usual for the guy who's 4th all-time in OPS--and RF Jordan Coronado and 3B Ryan Walton have combined for 71 HR and 184 RBI. But three regulars are on the DL, guys who combined for nearly 80 HR and 210 RBI this year, resulting in a team that's 11th in runs, after years of being near the top of the charts. They're also 11th in runs against, with much of the rotation having struggled much of the season. Not helping was the precipitous collapse of long-time SP Ricky Hose, who went from 240 IP and a 4.72 ERA and 15 wins last year, to 58 IP, an 8.18 ERA and a 0-5 record. No surprise he's retiring too. There are some good prospects on the horizon, but no one who looks to figure next season. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (11-6, 5.04) / Taylor Barnett (5-3, 4.76) / Mike Messinger (13-5, 3.46) / Ryan Ratliff (9-6, 4.32) OAK pitchers: Francisco Pantaleon (15-4, 3.95) / Miguel Valencia (2-2, 2.73) / Jim Schwartz (8-15, 4.79) / Jesus Claros (6-13, 4.34) #156: WIN 2-1 ... only 5 hits for us, but gives up just 2 hits...Rich goes 3-for-3 and drives in both runs...Klein scores those runs #157: LOSS 5-6 ... Oakland has nearly as many errors (4) as we had hits (5), and all singles...Barnett gives up everything in just 5 IP #158: LOSS 6-9 ... lots of bad pitching, but our hitting keeps up until we lose it in the 12th...3-run HR for Stoneback is our big highlight #159: LOSS 8-10 ... Masuda gets his 50th double, and Heath hits two triples, but more terrible pitching dooms us again...HR and 4 RBI for McArthur, and 3 more hits for Rich Not a great series, especially after making fun of Oakland, as I like to do. We have one more series for the staff to get things figured out, and get ready for the playoffs.... We reach 200 HR as a team, but we're ranked 13th in the AL, quite a ways down the list from where we usually live.... And I'm still waiting for JJ Simmons to hit his annual HR.... AA Lewiston wins their league title, their second consecutive crown. AAA Santa Barbara goes for their 5th, starting today.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy clinches their division, and Philly is a game away from theirs. Atlanta and New Orleans (89 wins) and Brooklyn (87) are also still in it.... AL races: Detroit has a 2.5 game lead over Cleveland, and Tampa is 1.5 up on Baltimore. Seattle has 88 wins, and is still in solid second in the wild card race.... Tony Flores hit a few HR in the last series, now has 54 on the season. Jose Tavares leads the NL with 52. Sept 29-30, Oct 1 vs LA ANGELS Do I have to talk about these guys again? Didn't we just play them? (Checks notes...) Ok, late August. Anyway...they're 69-89 and have won just 7 games this month. But take a look at the middle of the lineup: .352/41/128, then .275/43/123, then .283/43/116. Wow. Combine that with no pitching and a lineup that's produced only 99 other home runs, and you get a losing record. Not sure where these guys go from here, especially as star Juan Rodriquez (the .352 hitter) will be a highly-coveted free agent this fall. HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (12-7, 4.87) / Eric Jones (12-6, 4.89) / Taylor Barnett (5-4, 5.18) LAA pitchers: Bob Tranchida (11-7, 4.55) / Khalil Smith (11-13, 5.01) / Greg Langworthy (10-16, 5.46) #160: WIN 20-10 ... just a missed extra point there...Heath goes 5-for-5, two 2B and two HR...4 hits for JHart, three hits for a raft of others...that pitching tho #161: WIN 5-2 ... Klein's 2-run blast in the 4th extends our lead to 4-1, and we ride it out from there...2 doubles for Simmons, giving him 39 #162: WIN 5-4 ... Masuda's turn at a 2-run HR seals the sweep...he also finishes with 51 doubles Ok, let's ride this sweep into a successful playoff run.... Six regulars finish over .300, with Rich at .319 and Klein at .317.... Pinksen gets bombed in that first game but improves his record with us to 6-0.... Closer Dan Brown was named AL Pitcher of the Month for September, with 11 saves in 15 apps, and 19 K over 18 IP, with ZERO runs given up. Nice.... We activate RP Rick Ramirez from the DL; he should be 100% by the start of our opening series.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore sweeps Tampa to not only take the AL East, but knock the Rays right out of the playoffs. Detroit wins the Central, and Cleveland and Seattle take the wild cards.... In the NL, Philly, Cincy, and LAD take their divisions. New Orleans sweeps their final series to take one wild card, while Atlanta snags the other.... Detroit's Matt Anderson takes the AL batting crown, while Cincy's Jose Tavares wins the NL. Tavares also takes the HR title, and just misses a Triple Crown by 6 RBI. Oh, and he's a rookie, of all things. NYY's Tony Flores leads all MLB batters with 55 HR. ...... TL;DR Version: A 12-5 stretch to finish out the season with a 103-59 record. No injuries during this last run, and we get reliever Ramirez back from the DL. However, John Cannon (OF) and YT Yaung (CL) are still out for 2 weeks, so I decide not to activate either for the playoffs, choosing instead to have 25 active players on the roster. Let's hope we've got the horses, without Cannon's 25 HR and Yaung's experience closing big games. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-11-2019, 06:41 PM	#202
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	And here are the end of season standings. Find your favorite team! I'll tell you all about them, lol. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-15-2019, 07:06 PM	#205
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	PLAYOFFS 2045 The playoffs open with a crazy one in Cleveland. Down 2-0 in the 3rd, Mariners P-slash-DH Steve Mellon blasts a 2-run shot that caps a 3-run inning. Cleveland then adds three of their own in the bottom half. And while Seattle scores another one in the 4th, the Indians add 2 in the bottom of that inning and another one in the 5th. After a scoreless 6th, they add two more in the 7th, and we go to the top of the 8th with the home team up 10-4. So then...thanks to a pile of hits and a few walks, Seattle scores six times to tie the game. Nobody scores in the 9th. Or the 10th. Or the 11th or 12th. Until...with a runner on and two outs in the 13th it's...Seattle with a 2-run home run to take the lead. Cleveland plates one in the bottom half, but strands two runners and drops a game they had in their hands. Tsk. Seattle 12, Cleveland 11. In the NL, it's a different story. Atlanta rides five early runs and a sterling 9-K one-hitter from Jose Gutierrez to power by New Orleans and advance to the divisional round. Interesting that both home teams lost their wild card games. Atlanta 6, New Orleans 0. DIVISIONAL ROUND We'll face divisional foes Seattle in this round. We went 8-6 against them this year, and passed them standing still back in mid-summer. They finished 88-74, claiming the second wild card slot for the second consecutive season. Since this dynasty started in 2014, they've been to the playoffs seven times, advancing to the World Series just once, in 2016, where they lost to Richmond. Their strength this year has been pitching: AL-best in runs against and rotation ERA, but just 10th best bullpen. Hitting was less efficient: 14th in runs scored, despite a 7th-place AVG. OBP and HR were lower, so they're not a dynamic offensive team. Still, LF John Fry hit 30 HR, and SS Enrique Antunez had a nice slash of .298/27/95. CF Aaron Harrison (.336/48/131) will miss the first couple of games with back spasms. Probable AL Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno will go for the M's in game two, so we really need to take that first game... Game One: Seattle (Carlos Zenon, 10-5 3.91) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 13-5 3.57). A low-hitting affair, but Seattle takes a 2-0 lead after five thanks to a solo HR and scratching a run out thanks to a Groff error. We manage just four hits all game, but only one mattered: Sen Masuda's 3-run HR in the 6th. Messinger goes 7 quality innings, and Willard and Brown each toss an inning to close it out. Hawaii 3, Seattle 2. Hawaii leads, 1-0 ELSEWHERE: Detroit quickly takes two from Baltimore, including a 16-6 game two pasting. This one could be over fast. In the NL, Philly scores in the 11th to take their first against Atlanta, and Cincy gets a 3-hit shutout to take an old-school NL West-type pitcher's duel in game one from the Dodgers. Game Two: Seattle (Miguel Moreno, 20-5, 2.40) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 9-7 4.68). Staked to an early 1-0 deficit, and with star Seattle hurler Moreno on the mound, I already see grim portents after two innings. And then Groff singles home a run, Masuda doubles home Groff, and a Seattle error brings in two more: suddenly it's 4-1 and there is sunlight all around. Ratliff is splendid, giving up just 5 hits over 8 innings, yielding just one more run. Brown gives up one in the 9th to make things tight, but strikes out the side and hey ho! We're up by two. Hawaii 4, Seattle 3. Hawaii leads 2-0 ELSEWHERE: NL first: Philly takes another one-run tilt to go up 2-0 on Atlanta. And LA destroys Cincinnati pitching to the tune of 16 hits and 14 runs to square their series at one. (And here's a story that will drive you mad: LA reliever Jose Hernandez will miss the rest of the playoffs after accidentally shooting himself while cleaning his gun. Holy ZZ Top, Batman!) Game Three: Hawaii (Eric Jones, 13-6 4.84) @ Seattle (Brett McGee, 14-10 4.00). First two games, and we score in just one inning in each. What will this game bring? Well, a third LHP from Seattle, for one. For another, our third game where we score in just a single inning. This time, a solo HR from Groff in the first. So we won 1-0 you ask? Um, no. Seattle scores three in the 4th, then adds two more late to take this one easily. We manage just three hits. Jones goes the distance for some strange reason; strange because we have eight RP on the playoff roster. Seattle 5, Hawaii 1. Hawaii leads 2-1 ELSEWHERE: Detroit scores in five separate innings (see, it can be done), including three solo HR, to take the game 6-4 and the series 3-0, over Baltimore. In the NL, Atlanta turns the tables with an extra-inning win, denying Philly the sweep. And then LA takes their own extra-inning affair, going up 2-1 on the Reds. I really, really do NOT want LA in another World Series (says the guy going for a three-peat). Game Four: Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 13-7, 5.14) @ Seattle (Greg Sowa, 13-12 5.04). Finally a right hander to work against. Will it matter, I ask. Let's not bury the lede: yes, yes it does. Rob Rich scores on a Groff sac fly in the 5th, and two innings later Groff puts one way, way out to score three more and give us a 4-0 lead. And that's how it ends. This time, it's Seattle that can manage just three hits, with Pinksen (series MVP!) tossing a complete game while fanning ten. Woot! Championship series here we come! And against the Tigers too. Anything can--and usually does--happen against those guys. Hawaii 4, Seattle 0. Hawaii WINS series 3-1 ELSEWHERE: Atlanta wins another tight, one-run game with a 4-3 victory to level their series with Philly, 2-2. Meanwhile, the Evil Empire closes out the Reds in 15 and is now yet again close to yet another damn finals visit. Oh, one piece of good news: AAA Santa Barbara beat Oxnard (Brooklyn affiliate) in six games to take their fifth (and first in SB) AAA title. Congrats guys! ELSEWHERE REDUX: Another close game for ATL v PHI, this time a two-run difference. Tied 3-3 in the 6th, Philly scores four times to take the lead for good, despite two late runs for the Braves. The game's best team for the first half of the season, the Phils will tilt against the Dodgers for the NL crown. Philly went to the Series in 2021 and 2023, losing both, and haven't been back since. LA has gone twice recently (2038 and 2042, winning the latter), and has been to the NL championships three other times in that span. Good club with lots of money, so no shock there. ...... CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND Detroit again. After we won our first title in 2039, with a strong team looking to head to our third straight Series, the Tigers instead ground us to a halt with a devastating attack that ended with them scoring 8 runs in the 9th inning--on our own turf, no less--to send us home. They did it again the next year, too. Both years they ended up in the Series, but lost both (to newbies New Orleans and Brooklyn). All to say that it comes as no surprise to see them here again. They finished with an ML) 2nd-best 96 wins, and featured the AL's second best offense, behind only us. They were, once again, first in HR, however, with 314. Every starter hit double figures, with five (!) passing the 30 mark. John Sheets led the way with 49, Sean West powered out 43, and league batting champ Matt Anderson hit 40. This is a powerful team. Pitching isn't bad either: 7th in runs against, with the 3rd best bullpen as well. Three starters passed the 200K plateau, with TJ Carroll leading the AL at 284. Let's get going... Game One: Detroit (Raul Bravo, 1-0, 3.38) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 1-0 2.57). A surprisingly low-scoring affair, with just four runs and thirteen hits combined. Thankfully, we manage 8 of those hits, and all 4 runs. Messinger goes 7.1, but gives up 5 hits and fans 8. Two hits for Klump, who manages his first playoff RBI, and two hits and two RBI for Rich, getting it done from the ninth spot. Hawaii 4, Detroit 0. Hawaii leads 1-0 ON THE NL SIDE: LA just keeps rolling, plating 2 in the first and adding an insurance run in the fourth, to take this one 3-1. SP Mike Cote allows only 8 hits all the way, and the Dodgers are looking pretty damn tough right now. Game Two: Detroit (Jeffrey Foley, 1-0 6.00) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 1-0 2.25). The Tigers score one in the 2nd and one in the 3rd, but inbetween we plate four in the 2nd, thanks largely to Klump's 3-run blast. Groff singles home two more in the 4th, and we add 3 for insurance purposes in the 8th, to coast to a 9-2 victory. Groff and Simmons manage 3 hits each, and Rich adds two more. Bad news: Ratliff went out in the third, and we're waiting on his diagnosis. Barnett tosses 3.1 solid innings in relief, and Ramirez adds 3 more. Combined, they gave up just 3 hits and struck out 9. Hawaii 9, Detroit 2. Hawaii leads 2-0 NL, AGAIN: Philly phinally breaks through, scoring eight times in the first four innings, and cruises to an 8-2 triumph. Finally, for one game at least, the Dodgers juggernaut is slowed. Series is all tied, and heads out west. MEANWHILE: Ryan Ratliff's diagnosis is a tender elbow (aww, poor baby). He'll be dtd for 6 days, so might miss a start. We'll see. Game Three: Hawaii (Eric Jones, 0-1 5.63) @ Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-0 6.00). Where are the runs? This time, only one run crosses the plate, with the teams combining for only twelve hits. Carroll goes 7 IP, gives up 4 hits and fans 9. Meanwhile, Jones lasts only 5, giving up 5 hits and striking out just one. So who scored, you want to know? One swing of the bat, in the fifth inning, did it. The TOP of the fifth. Yes: us! Klump comes alive with two hits, including the critical long ball, to give us another surprisingly low-offense win. I. Will. Take. It. All. Day. Long. Ramirez tosses two more shutout innings, and Brown closes it out. Hawaii 1, Detroit 0. Hawaii leads, 3-0 YES, THERE'S ANOTHER SERIES GOING ON: Home field doesn't help LA today, as Philly strikes for four runs early, and five runs late, to take this one easily, 9-3. They manage those nine runs on just eleven hits, so that's effiency for you. Philly leads now, 2-1. Game Four: Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 1-0 0.00) @ Detroit (Travis Heumann, 0-0 0.00). Well, we won't sweep, such a shame. Those hopes are dashed early, as the Tigers score in four straight innings to build a 7-1 lead. We get a couple back, but can't get enough runners to seriously challenge. Detroit's bats finally wake up somewhat: despite just seven hits, four of them leave the yard. We add 2 HR of our own, but it's not nearly enough. Detroit 7, Hawaii 3. Hawaii leads 3-1 WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT, NL STYLE: LA comes back, as you knew they would, staking out a 5-1 lead early, then holding on as Philly scores twice late, then strands runners in each of the last four innings. A 5-3 win for the bad guys, and it's all square at 2 apiece. Game Five: Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 2-0 1.26) @ Detroit (Raul Bravo, 1-1 4.40). Another chance to close out the series. Can we do it, behind our ace? Well, McArthur smacks a 2-run shot in the 2nd for an early lead, and Messinger is on it, giving up just two hits and no runs through four. But then there's the fifth inning: three hits, three walks, two home runs, and one pulled pitcher. 4-2 Tigers. And, like the PHI/LA game the day before, we put runners on in the final four innings, and cannot score a one. Dang. We're not done yet. Making matters worse, Rob Rich breaks his foot running to second in the second inning, and will be out a month. In other words, the rest of the playoffs. Detroit 4, Hawaii 2. Hawaii leads 3-2 NL GUYS PLAY A GAME: It's the Philadelphia show in southern California, as the Phils score six times in the first, and take a laugher 9-0. Dave Henderson goes the distance, fanning 9 and giving up just five hits. Suddenly, it's the Phils who are a game away, and heading back home try to clinch it. Game Six: Detroit (Jeffrey Foley, 1-1 9.31) @ Hawaii (Taylor Barnett, 1-0 0.00). Barnett goes for the sore-elbowed Ratliff. And... tied 1-1 in the third, the heretofore quiet Matt Anderson wakes up and smashes a 3-run shot. They add another one, and we do in the bottom half, but we're down 5-2 after three. The teams trade runs late, but by then the damage had been done. Each team managed 8 hits, but the Tigers out-homer us 3 to 0. That's the difference. Sigh. A 3-0 series lead has vanished into the ether. Detroit 7, Hawaii 3. Series tied, dammit, 3-3 FOR ALL THE MARBLES, NL VERSION? MAYBE: A wild game: nine pitchers, ten pinch hitters, eleven innings, and fifteen runs. Both teams score in the 1st, LA adds one in the 2nd, and Philly replies with 3 in the 3rd. LA scores again in the 4th, Philly adds two more in the 5th, but the Dodgers score three times in the 6th and 7th, and we're tied at six. Nobody scores again until the 11th, despite quality chances for both sides. LA scores one in extras, but strands two runners. Bottom of the 11th then, Philly up. First batter fans. Second batter grounds out. Third batter...walks. Next guy, a single. Then comes RF George Livezey, a .238 hitter on the season: who promptly smacks a deep drive into the right field corner, scoring both runners and driving the home fans even crazier than usual. Philadelphia wins! Off to the World Series! Game Seven: Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-1 3.46) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 1-0 3.38). Their ace vs our #2. Winner take all; or at least the AL crown. A loss here will really sting... We start this one off right, with Stoneback (where have you been?) hitting a solo shot in the first. CJ Lee returns the favor in the top of the 2nd. Undaunted, after Klein walks in the bottom half, Klump powers one out over right field, and it's 3-1 good guys after two. Another ball leaves the yard in the top of the fourth, thanks to John Sheets, making it a one-run ballgame. Then, in the fifth, with Simmons on second, Groff lines a shot into the left field corner, scoring the runner, and giving us a 4-2 lead. After that, things settle down, and when Ratliff leaves with one out in the 7th, it comes down to our will-they-or-won't-they bullpen. Tonight, they will: first Willard over 1.2 innings, then Brown in the ninth, giving up just two runners and ZERO runs. Yes! We hold on to send Detroit packing, and head off to a chance at an honest-to-goodness three-peat! The teams tonight combined for 13 hits, with only FOUR singles. We only managed five hits, but took six walks and added a hit batter. JJ Simmons, who hit .480 in these seven games, is the series MVP (although Klump, with 4 HR and 8 RBI, wouldn't have been a bad choice). Ahhh, no crying yet.... Hawaii 4, Detroit 2. Hawaii WINS 4-3 ...... Basball is a crazy game. I guess we have to make everything extra dramatic, huh. Detroit did pretty much everything I thought they would in that series: so-so pitching--but clutch at times--and a lot of home runs to score runs in bunches. We didn't hit like we did all season long, but in the end we did just enough. Now we're off to our third straight World Series appearance, with a chance at a rare three-peat: the last time that was accomplished was by those great Yankees teams of 1998-2000. No team since then has even gone to three straight championships. Eleven times (since 2000) teams have gone to two in row, with only two--Baltimore in 2028 and '29, and us these last two years--winning back-to-back titles. So a chance at a little bit of history for us. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-17-2019, 07:13 PM	#206
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2045 WORLD SERIES This year's fall classic actually features the best teams from each league. Go figure! Sadly, because I never did uncheck the "all-star game determines home field for final playoff series" button, Philly's 96 wins trumps our 103 wins. So games 6 and 7--should it come to that--will be on enemy ground. [Ed. note: box is now unchecked.] Philadelphia is making it's tenth World Series appearance, and their first since 2023 (they lost). This is our fifth appearance, and we're going for our fourth win. Philadelphia was the best team in the early going of 2045, wrapping up April/May with a 38-14 record. They stayed warm in June, but then played losing ball through the end of August, only turning things around in the final month. They never seriously lost their grip on a playoff spot, but seeing as how everyone in their division finished with a winning record, they very well could have. They had the NL's best offense: 1st in runs, 3rd in AVG, 4th in OBP, and 2nd in HR. LF Steve Dyer was the only regular to finish over .300, at .314/28/83. Four other regulars topped 20 HR, with perennial all-star SS Alex Castillo leading the way with 37. Pitching wasn't far behind, 4th in runs against. Their pen graded out slightly higher than the rotation, but don't sleep on that staff. Alberto Reyes won 17 games and sported a 2.88 ERA; Nominal ace Ryan Carlson won 12 games, with a 3.09 ERA. Closer Sam Berisford--a two-time Hoyt Wilhelm trophy winner--saved 42 games and had a WHIP just a touch over one. They're fairly healthy too, with only C Marc Orange, 2B Mike Thomas, and a meh reliever missing the series. None are stars, and none figure to degrade the offense by their absence. The Phils feature four right-handed starters in their playoff rotation, which is good for my left-handed platoon-types (read: Jonathan Klump), at least at home. Both teams are good on the road, fwiw: we won 48 games, Philly 46. We'll miss Klump's power DH bat on the road, but that can't be helped. ...... Game One: October 25, Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 2-1 2.89) @ Philadelphia (Ryan Carlson, 0-0 0.00). After a scoreless first, McArthur puts the first points on the board with a 2-run jolt to left. Philly counters in the bottom half thanks to a George Livezey solo HR, but strands a runner and can't level things up. After that...it's all pitching. We manage six more hits against Philly pitching, but the Phils manage none against ours. Messinger is nearly perfect tonight, yielding just two hits and walking one, while fanning 13. Brown retires the side in the ninth. We do add another run on Stoneback's solo HR in the 8th, but that's it. Hawaii 3, Philadelphia 1. Hawaii leads 1-0 Game Two: October 26, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 2-0 3.18) @ Philadelphia (Alberto Reyes, 1-0 6.14). With two out and runners on the corners in the first, Joseph Hart smacks a deep double that scores them both. A Jose Gonzalez solo HR in the next inning tightens the score, and after a scoreless third it's Hawaii 2, Philly 1. In the fourth, a pair of singles puts two on for us, and moments later they both trot home thanks to a Simmons triple into left center. Nate Flygare pinch hits for Ratliff in the 6th and doubles into the corner, scoring another run: Hawaii 5, Philly 1. The Phils do come back in the 8th, putting on three runners and scoring two, making my heart skip around, but Ramirez calms down enough to fan two batters with runners on. Brown comes into the game in the 9th and once again closes the door, and just like that we're looking at the possibility of closing out the series at home. Hawaii 5, Philadelphia 3. Hawaii leads 2-0 Game Three: October 28, Philadelphia (Kevin Wellington, 2-1 3.18) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 1-1 3.38). Another game, another early lead for the good guys. Simmons leads off the first with a single, then scores on Groff's slicing triple into the gap. Masuda then singles him home, and it's 2-0 right out of the gate. And guess what? Tonight Jones is ON, giving up just four hits and walking three, while somehow managing seven (!) strikeouts. He exits the game after seven, still with a 2-0 lead. Reliever Ben Willard gives up a single in the 8th, but doesn't allow him to score; in the bottom half, two swings of the bat--from Klump and Masuda--make the score 4-0. Willard stays in and pitches a perfect 9th, and we're just a game away. One. Game. Away. Tonight we are efficiency in action: six hits, four runs. Nice ratio. Hawaii 4, Phliadelphia 0. Hawaii leads 3-0 Game Four: October 29, Philadelphia (Dave Henderson, 1-1 2.42) @ Hawaii (Tim Pinksen, 1-1 4.72). We score early again, plating one in the 2nd, and with the game tied in the fourth, Jim Klien steps up and delivers a GRAND SLAM into left, and we're up 5-1 and feeling pretty chipper. That doesn't last. A Nick Roberts 2-run double in the 5th sparks a 3-run inning for the visitors, and they add another in the 6th to tie the game at 5. It's just not our night tonight, as Brown enters in the 9th and gives up a solo HR and two other hits, and Philly goes up by 2. We manage a hit in the 9th, but Hart grounds into a double play to end the rally and the game. Klein manages three hits and five RBI, but he can't carry us alone. Still one. Game. Away. Philadelphia 7, Hawaii 5. Hawaii leads 3-1 Game Five: October 30, Philadelphia (Ryan Carlson, 0-1 3.52) @ Hawaii (Mike Messinger, 3-1 2.36). Last chance to seal the deal on home turf. Mess doesn't have his best stuff tonight, giving up solo HR in the 2nd and 5th, and allowing another run in the 5th as well. We scratch out a run in the 3rd, but our hitting is just off as we only manage five hits all night. Entering the 9th down 3-1, we get a leadoff triple from Stoneback, and a walk from Joseph Hart. Klein, tho, hits into a double play, which does at least allow Stoneback to score. Now just down a run, but with two outs and nobody on. Travis McArthur steps up...but can't manage anything, grounding weakly to the pitcher, and we're off to Philly to try to recapture our early series magic. Gulp...One. Game. Away. Right? Philadelphia 3, Hawaii 2. Hawaii leads 3-2 Game Six: November 1, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 3-0 2.86) @ Philadelphia (Alberto Reyes, 1-1 6.87). One again, two top offensive teams don't manage many hits or runs, collecting 16 hits combined. For us, Klein doubles in the first but doesn't move off the base. Philly proceeds to strike in the second and the third, scoring single runs on doubles in each inning. Groff claws us closer with his first WS home run in the 4th, but Philly adds insurance in the 5th with a pair of singles and a walk. And once again, we can't manage anything in the late innings, as closer Berisford allows just a pair of walks over the final two innings, and we're now One. Game. Away. From heartbreak. Philly 3, Hawaii 1. Series TIED, 3-3 Game Seven: November 2, Hawaii (Eric Jones, 2-1 2.21) @ Philadelphia (Kevin Wellington, 2-2 3.79). Okay, here we go. Disappointment or relief? Happy tears or bouts of wailing anger? Well, I can say up front there was very little pitching in evidence tonight, and some odd decisions late in the game that still have me puzzled. We jump on Philly starter Wellington early thanks to a 2-run single and later a GRAND SLAM from Stoneback--all in the 2nd--to take an early 6-0 lead. Jones fritters most of that away with a truly abhorrent bottom half, giving up four Philly runs and putting them right back in it. In the third, McArthur gets his bat warmed up with a 2-run shot of his own, and hey presto we're up by four again. Until...Jones allows two more runs in the bottom half, and then for some reason is left to start the fifth inning, where he promptly allows another one. So after just four innings, it's Hawaii 8, Philly 7. Joseph Hart finally shows some signs of life with a solo HR in the 5th, giving us a 2-run lead. Replacing Jones, Rick Ramirez tosses three fantastic innings, fanning 4 and giving up just one hit. And then...into the bottom of the 8th, with seven--SEVEN--healthy and rested relievers to choose from, why on earth does manager Clarence Whitney go with a rookie, Ben Willard? And why, why, why does he then allow him to stay in to give up a HR-single-HR combo, before getting the idea that bringing in someone, anyone else--hell, even ME--would be a good idea. So yes, after that affront to baseball sensibility, Pat Stanley comes in, for only the second time this series, and sets down the Phils like clockwork. Too late: we're down a run, heading into the final inning, and up against probably this year's best NL closer. So...Groff comes up, and grounds the second pitch he sees to short. One out. Masuda up, he jumps on the first pitch and...grounds to second. Two outs. Now it's Klump: strike, strike, ball, ball, and...a swing and a miss. And we're done. Philadelphia 10, Hawaii 9. Philadelphia wins a series they didn't deserve, 4-3 ...... In the midst of wild on-field celebrations, after our players have trudged back to the visitor's clubhouse and begin turning their minds to off-season plans. I make a visit. My words, literally: "Guys, good season. Sorry it ended like this, but you put up a hell of a fight and I'm proud of you anyway. And Clarence, you're fired." Then I leave. See you all at the winter meetings. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! Last edited by Bub13; 03-19-2019 at 06:52 PM.

03-19-2019, 06:51 PM	#207
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Well that sucked. Maybe not if you're a snowball-throwing, dumpster-as-swimming-pool-having Philadelphia fan; but it sucks hard nevertheless. Not as bad as losing to the effing Dodgers would have, so there's that, I guess. Still stinks. Anyway...now we move into a long off-season, with some really tough decisions coming up, and probably a bizarre nonsensical visit from owner Angel Pagan in the near future. I'm gonna guess he'll say...we didn't make enough money, he's mad we didn't win the title, and still wants me to find a better catcher than Rob Rich. And maybe to steal 200 bases next year too. I'm going to stay drunk for the next month to prepare myself. First off, you may have noticed that I fired manager Clarence Whitney in the clubhouse after the game seven loss. Classless? Maybe, but it's not your team; nor are you his mother, so your opinion counts for nothing. After thinking about it overnight, I decide to replace him with long-time team pitching coach Matt Sargent. Sarge's rep is excellent, and players like him. Well, all the pitchers do. The batters will take some more convincing, but they'll come around. To replace him in the bullpen, I promote AAA PC Conor Russell, who's been with the organization for ten years, and fully deserves the promotion. David Schuknecht will remain as bench coach, Adam Engel as hitting coach, and we're sticking with scouting director Moises Patino and trainer Jordan Villalobos. Assistant GM Grant Henning will not have his contract renewed, really only because I don't think Assistant GMs should be paid over half a million dollars, which is the raise he wants. AA manager Kyle Lobstein just won a championship for Lewiston, but wants a raise to 250K; he too won't be renewed. Likewise Short A Poughkeepsie hitting coach Matt Dacey. All can be replaced more cheaply. Two days after the collapse, Pagan visits. It does not go poorly, which surprises me. Yes, he wants to make more money, but he "knows I can do better next year." Yes, he wants a better catcher, but he thinks Rob Rich--who plays good defense and hit .319 with 40 doubles--is "good enough, I suppose." Sheesh. He's happy with our organizational prospects, which rank 5th at the moment. And he wants a championship next season, which will "cement my legacy." The best news of all he drops via text after he leaves: he's raising our budget next season to $184M. Wha...? That's a $20M increase, which I have never seen in my time on the islands. Crazy, but GOOD crazy. The old man must be getting soft in his dotage (he's 50, btw). I am all smiles for once. ...... Before I get to the rest of our off-season decisions-to-be, here's a quick look around the league. Houston got an early start at riding the personnel carousel, firing manager Efrain Nevares and GM Joseph Woolfolk just before the end of the season. The GM, sure, since he hadn't done anything to make their team better, and the owner isn't firing himself. Nevares, tho, seemed like a good manager, was well-liked, and didn't take the firing lightly: "It's a bush town with a bush press and a bush management team." Well, maybe not so sympathetic then... Miami fired its own GM/Manager duo, in particular dumping popular manager Tony Diaz. Diaz had been Marlins skipper for 8 years, and the worsening records recently probably weren't really his fault, so much as management's decisions to not re-sign high profile free agents. (No Derek Jeter sighting yet, thankfully.)... And the Yankees fired manager Jose Jimenez after two terrible 60-win seasons. Jimenez managed in our system for ten seasons before taking the Bronx job. No word on his replacement yet. No owners have died yet, although there is still hope/time. ...... Now back to us. Our rotation gets the first hard look. The end-of-season starters were Mike Messinger, Ryan Ratliff, Eric Jones, Tim Pinksen, and Taylor Barnett. Messinger, making 13.8M, wants an 8-year, 251M deal, starting at 27M and escalating. No, just no. I will offer him the 13M arbitration amount, which he'll refuse. He will then sign with someone, a month into free agency, for about 15 to 18M. After telling me he wants 27M. That's how this stupid thing works. Ratliff makes minimum (500K), and will get renewed. He had a decent rookie year, and gets another cheap year to prove himself valuable. Jones is more interesting. He'll be entering his age-29 season, and is sitting on a team option for 9.3M for that year. He's been with us for eight seasons, never gets hurt, and seems to bounce back to solidity right when you think he's turned to jello. His K/9, never high, has declined for the last three years; but, he does alternate good with bad years, and is coming off a largely bad year. Right now, I'm inclined to use his option and squeeze one more season out of him. Plus, he's a lefty. Pinksen, acquired from NYY at the deadline, was pretty bad until partway through September, and has one more year remaining, at 6.7M. He's 31, and will probably stay unless someone beats him out in camp and I trade him. Barnett, 2044's sensational half-season darling, came back to earth this year, and then some. He's under arbitration for next year, and hopefully for under a million, so I'll keep him around and see what he does in March. Not mentioned: Rob Hart, who hopefully comes back full strength next year as our ace, and Jonathan Murray, who looks good on paper and throws really well for us (when healthy), but has an absurdly low arb estimate of 850K. He'll be back, and hopefully back on form. So the rotation forming in my head atm is Hart, Ratliff, Jones, Pinksen, and one of Murray or Barnett. NOT GOOD, not fearsome by any stretch. And while we have some good talent percolating on the farm, none of it looks to be ready for 2046, unless someone does some serious growing in these next few months. So do I go out and pluck a #2/#3 type starter out of free agency? Do I take a look at signing Messinger for cheap(-ish), if he's still available in, say, December? Yeah, probably I do. I don't want to go into the season with a patchwork rotation, but I also don't want to break the bank on one arm, either. The bullpen is more settled. Dan Brown and Rick Ramirez took turns as closer after YT Yaung went out for the season. Ramirez was decent, but Brown was a revelation. His arb estimate has shot up to 5.5M, and I'm willing to pay to see if he can do it again. Ramirez's salary will go up in '46 too, but he's also worth it. Yaung, however, has an arb estimate at 6.6M (vs 5.3M salary this year), which I'm not going to touch, sorry. Everyone else will be back to compete for spots. There are also some discussions to be had regarding our batters. 1B Sen Masuda declined his PO, but oddly is still under arbitration for next season. His estimate is 9.3M (he made 6M this year). Do I keep him? I'd like to move Groff off of third, and regular DH Klump had a good season, but cannot hit lefties. Masuda was, however, our only consistent power threat, all year long, and finished with 136 RBI, leading the team by a long margin. Plus, he's insanely popular locally. RF John Cannon had a monster year in 2044, then went UFA. No one signed him for his ridiculous 20M demand, so I snapped him up on the cheap, at 6.9M in early April. Now he's back on the verge of free agency. He wants an eight-year deal worth 11.5M per, but is coming off a disappointing season of just 24 HR (his 162-G average is 45). I can shoot him the usual 13M offer, which he might take, but I'm leaning away from pinning a ton of money on a guy who's about to enter his 30s. Plus, he has no range in right, which is a major drawback. Elsewhere: catcher Rob Rich will see his arb money go up, and I'll probably try to lock in him longer term before the season starts. 2B JJ Simmons will also see an arb payday, and we'll also begin negotiating with him on a longer deal. LF Joseph Hart will also get a slight bump, but I'm not as set on retaining him longer term as I am with Rich and Simmons. Most everyone else will be back on cheap deals. Oh, except for Klein, who finally proved himself to me after two solid seasons in center: he's now under contract for six seasons, and will get 3.1M next year, rising to 6.5M by 2051. Oh (pt. 2), and also except for OF/DH Travis McArthur. I nabbed him for league minimum in April, and he was good off the bench: .320/9/37. However, I suspect that the 33-year-old doesn't have much left in the tank, and despite a good arm he's become a liability in the field. I won't re-sign him, but might take a look at him over the winter if I can grab him for cheap as he's got platoon usefulness. ...... Speaking of arbitrations.... We have fifteen players eligible for arbitration, including nine pitchers. Ultimately, I decide to make offers to ten players, and will let the rest walk. If we win all of these arbitrations, we'll pay out 15.8M more to these guys. We'll obviously lose the high profile ones, but win the cheap ones, as usual. Among the guys who weren't offered arbitration, there are a number of recognizable names. Backup catcher Mario Burgueno won't be back, nor will closer YT Yaung. RP Ramon Archila has been around for a few seasons now, but ended up in AAA by mid-summer, and now will be on his own by the end of this month. And P Pete Morrow also won't be back. Morrow looks great on paper, throws well in AAA, but has been pretty bad for us for two seasons now. His estimate is 3.5M, which is too much for a perpetual disappointment. Three guys could get the 13M qualifying offer (Cannon, McArthur, and Messinger), but only Mess gets an offer up front. He'll say no, of course, but will be worth the compensatory pick if I don't re-take him in free agency. I haven't decided on Cannon yet because I'm leaning away from wanting him back, and I don't want to pay him 13M if he accepts the qualifier. Maybe make the offer, then try trading him if he says yes? Dunno. Finally, eleven minor leaguers can walk to free agency, and none of them will be brought back. Among them are IF/OF Roberto Mendez, who has 3/5 of the tools you want in a player: He can field, throw, and run better than 95% of all major leaguers, but he can't hit and has no power. P Jamie Berisford was a supplemental #1 pick in 2039 and had a bright future once. But he missed almost all of 2040, all of '41, half of '42, and most of '43. He's been in AAA for two seasons, and has gotten progressively worse. Sad story. Finally, 1B Pablo Mora, an international signee from 2036 for a million bucks. He made it to AA this year, but could barely crack the lineup. Adieu to all of them. ...... We make one small early roster move, claiming RP Steve Dickerson off waivers from San Diego. Dickerson isn't any better than most of our other relievers, but he'll replace some of the guys who won't be back, guys who are AAA/MLB fringe types. He pitched 39 big league innings last year, with a 4.62 ERA and 1.62 WHIP. He was better in 2044, so he's got some positive history. Easy pick-up. Mario Burgueno and OF Danny Sipos are waived off of the 40-man roster, signs to their agents that their days are numbered... ...... There has been a rash of off-season incidents this fall. First, Dodgers reliever Jose Hernandez shot himself while cleaning one of his guns. He'll be back, but embarrassed. Just don't say anything about it to him, or...blammo. Next, Miami pitcher Corey Downes got mugged, falling and breaking his kneecap. He'll miss seven months. Finally, White Sox catcher--and 36M dollar man--Dan Starr suffers back spasms while skydiving. Luckily, no one gets killed...yet. ...... Awards season has begun, starting with the Gold Gloves. Our own Rich Stoneback wins his second, at SS, but his first with us. Minnesota 3B Paul Foster won his 8th; he won his first in 2034. Teammate R.J. Hernandez won his fourth, at 2B. In the NL, Philly's SS Alex Castillo won his 6th, four of them now at short. New Orleans LF Matt Powell won his third straight, and Philly 1B Danny Baca won his third. Next, the Hoyt Wilhelm award, to the each league's best relief pitcher...and surprise! Dan Brown wins the AL trophy, for basically a half season of work (even though he was on the roster all season) as closer: 59 GP, 69 IP, 80 K, 23 saves. Pat Stanley also got votes, finishing fourth. Arizona closer Brad Schmitt (30 saves, 1.70 ERA) won the NL trophy. No Islanders won Silver Slugger trophies, but Oakland's Vinny Vargas took home his 7th, likewise Detroit's Matt Anderson, and LAA's Juan Rodriquez his fourth, and third in a row. In the NL, STL catcher Alexis Mercedes--and former Islander--won his fourth trophy. Boston CF Jose Diaz, who hit .334, won the AL rookie of the year (Jonathan Klump came in third, with 6 first place votes). In the NL, it wasn't even close as Cincinnati OF Jose Tavares (.328/53/124) swept all the first-place votes. Well, the press hates me, obviously, as they vote fired manager Clarence Whitney manager of the year. Hope it keeps you warm, Clarence. Philly's Felix Osorio takes home his second consecutive NL trophy. Although three of our pitchers received votes, Seattle's Miguel Moreno takes home the AL Cy Young trophy, the second of his career. He finished the season 20-5, with a 2.40 ERA. Rob Hart finished second despite missing the last month-plus of the season, Mike Messinger came in fifth, and Dan Brown (!) seventh. Atlanta's Jose Gutierrez won the NL trophy, with SD's Gary Florence--who's season also ended early due to injury--finishing second. Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga didn't have the best WAR season, but his .338/47/157 year garnered him the AL MVP. Our Rich Stoneback received one first place vote and finished fourth overall. Cincy's Jose Tavares caps off a terrific rookie season by taking home the NL MVP, receiving 30 of 36 first place votes. Atlanta's Cy Young winner, Jose Gutierrez, came in second. ...... Another update: Hall of Fame voting begins on November 19th. Thirty-one players are on the ballot, with thirteen first-timers. The highest returnee is pitcher Orlando Ramos, who received 39.2% of the votes last year. He was a strikeout king--recording 4278 of them--but that was about it. Of the new players, probably the best of the lot are catcher Tyler Markey (324 HR, .309 average, 2044 hits, 65 WAR, 1 MVP, 3 ASG), and OF Kelvin Robinson (304 HR, .300 average, 2589 hits, 89.4 WAR, 1 MVP, 2 GG, 9 ASG). Other top returners are P Gabriel Gonzalez (11% votes, 204 wins, 2996 K, 58 WAR), IF Parker Kelly (20%, 2627 hits, 77 WAR), 2B Brendan Rodgers (30%, 2737 hits, 80 WAR), 3B Mason Templet (11%, 2692 hits, 73 WAR), OF Dillon Thomas (11%, 366 HR, 72 WAR), 1B Cisco Videira (9%, 3011 hits, 44 WAR), and pitcher Orlando Ramos. Stay tuned... ...... Finally, arbitration hearings come in, and we lose most of them. Still, our salaries only go up by about 3M from what I expected, for about an 18M increase. We're currently on the hook for $155.7M in salaries for 2046, a 16M jump over 2045. Accounting tells me we can afford 11M more in free agent salaries...but I don't know. And, no surprise, both Messinger and Cannon decline my qualifying offers. Messinger I'll probably sniff around in free agency, but Cannon I won't. But with only that 11M in free agent money available, unless I trade someone, I'll probably look for cheaper free agent options, if anyone at all. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-23-2019, 10:10 AM	#208
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	OFF-SEASON 45-46, contd. 11/27 ... free agency gets off to a whimper as the White Sox make the first signing: a flyball-tossing, low-movement, low-stuff RP named Dylan Thomas, who's spent the last three years playing in Mexico. Should've left him there, Chicago. 12/04 ... the first big splash comes from Minnesota, inking OF Josh Hibbs to a 6-year, 85M deal. A bit of an unknown quantity--having spent the last ten seasons in Holland--Hibbs looks like a big-hitting, incompetent-fielding outfielder. Perfect for turf. 12/05 ...the Dodgers shock everyone by signing two players, neither of whom are closers. They lure SS Erik Morgan away from STL for 102M over 5 years, and ink SP Gary Florence (SDP) for 131M over five years. Florence is a risky move, imo: he's injured for six more months, and hasn't pitched a full season since 2041. Now, he's absolute money when he does pitch, but still--four years of major injuries, and already 32, does not inspire confidence. 12/06 ... Milwaukee steals SS J.J. Dean from Texas (130M, 7 yrs), while the Angels do something smart for once, signing ace SP Jon Carlsen (114M, 6 yrs) from Cincy. Of course, they did let all-everything SS Juan Rodriquez walk, so it looks like they're going for outs and not runs in 2046. Might just work. Islanders Moves! Wanting to up my starting pitching depth, and not exactly thrilled with the players on the farm, I make a 2-for-1 deal, all pitchers, with KC. We send Dave Loch and Jayden Grant to the Royals, and receive Ben Germann. Grant was my sixth ranked prospect; Loch, 11th. Both look decent, but are lower-stuff guys that I have way too much of right now. Germann is a hard-throwing groundballer, who has a shot at the rotation, especially if we can harness his control. We also sign a free agent pitcher, inking Angel Cordova to a minor league deal. Cordova was not signed by the Indians in November, and I'm not sure why. Unless my scouts are way off, he looks like a fringe MLB pitcher right now. Like Germann, he needs to bump up his control a bit, but he's got good stuff, nice movement, and three decent and fully-developed pitches. Looks like a good clubhouse guy, too. Either I totally stole a guy or my scouts need to be marched into the sea. 12/07 ... another int'l free agent leaves the board, as the Yanks sign SP Yoshi Oh to a 27M, 3 yr deal. Oh is a superstar in Japan, a 10-time all-star and 4-time pitcher of the year. This gives them two Japanese stars on their roster, the other being OF Daizo Yonamine. Of course, he gets injured so much that Vegas already has it as even money that Oh will pitch more games than Yonamine will play in the field. 12/08 ... three big names sign new deals today. Toronto lands 3B Paul Foster (MIN), signing the 8-time Gold Glove winner to a 45M, 3 yr deal. Too much for a 35-year-old already in decline, imo. Seattle brings OF Mike Wapner home, wrapping him up for 89M over 6 years. He spent 11 years in Seattle before taking off for KC last year; he's 31 but shows no signs of slowing down yet, however he does have significant injury history. Finally, Minny makes up for losing Foster by grabbing catcher William Antonio for 63M over 4 yrs. Not a slugger at all, but a .323 lifetime hitter who's good with the staff and in the clubhouse. Another nice move, Twins. 12/09 ... another star catcher is headed to the AL Central, as KC nabs Adam Behling (SF) for 170M, 7 yrs. Cincy inks 2B Alex Cruz (SEA) for 116M, 6 yrs, and Minny adds another gem in SP Hugo Blerra (ATL), 87M for 6 yrs. 12/12 ... the Dodgers add another non-closer, making me question everything. This time it's SP Eddy Llamas (KC), a 34-year-old they've nabbed for 4 yrs, 39.8M total. 12/13 ... HERE WE GO: on the same day that former LAD closer Bill Brunson signs with Oakland, the Dodgers actually add a reliever! They sign closer Bruce Parton away from the Mets for a one-year, 10.5M deal. We're not even at the Winter Meetings yet and they've added over 40M to their pitching staff this month. Thanks to attrition in recent years, they're only paying their bullpen 26M for 2046, down considerably from years past. But hey it's only December... 12/15 ... Cincinnati is now the proud owner of a 29M closer, having signed Jon White to a 2-year deal. White was injured much of last year, but looks like a legit award-level closer. Just not...29M bucks worth. And a minor trade has amused me on a couple of levels: Boston--a notoriously and perennially cranky clubhouse--acquired a pitcher named Jolly from the Expos for a prospect named Monreal. Seriously, guys... Islanders Trade! We get the Winter Meetings off to a rip-roaring start by sending...AAA pitcher Devin Woods to Pittsburgh for middle infielder Xiu-tou Fa. Woods is okay, but throws dead straight, while Fa can.not.hit, but is a dynamite fielder and will shore up a thin spot in our organization. I may make another deal or two to get a couple more middle IF guys, since I really have just one guy below AAA who looks any good at all. Well, two if you count the mysterious Dante Padilla. 12/17 ... well, one guy I hoped might stick around until late winter has just been signed. Richmond nabbed former Cy Young winner Drew Falconbury for 20.6M over 3 years. Falconbury's now a reliever--having been injured enough that his stamina dropped to near zero--and has been a good one for a couple years now. But he's 39, so I had hoped to grab him cheap for a year, but nooooo. 12/18 ... two power-hitting 1B sign for big bucks: San Diego grabs Joel Rogers (CLE), who's usually good for 30 HR and .300 average; and KC grabs one-time Islander superstar Jeremy Dunklee (from STL) for three years. Dunks isn't the 7-8 WAR beast he was with us anymore, but he did hit 25 HR and slash for .319/.428/.532, so he's still very useful, even at 35. And he'll be earning 20M per for the next 3 years. 12/23 ... hey, remember when I joked that although Mike Messinger was telling me he wanted 28M per for the next 8 years, he would probably end up signing somewhere on the cheap? Yeah, that. Well Texas just inked him for a six year deal worth...wait for it...12M per season. @$@!@$@!#%$!! 12/27 ... Rule 5 Draft day and, as usual, a lot of players change teams. Some teams go all in (Arizona, Portland, and NYY each claim six players). Only a few teams make zero selections, us included. Still, we do lose a couple of players: AAA 2B Connor Mitchell goes to Texas, while new acquisition (dang) Xin-tou Fa goes to Brooklyn. I won't be surprised to see Fa back in AAA after training camp, as he just does not look like a big league hitter (and barely a AAA one, at that). A couple of surprises made the list too. KC didn't protect Dave Loch, a pitcher we just traded to them, and he was claimed by Arizona. That's a good pick. At the other end of the stick, Oakland claimed pitcher Tim Shellhammer, a dead-straight-ball pitcher who had one of the worst single-season stat lines I've ever seen, from 2044 with the Cubs: 7.88 ERA, 139 IP, 165 HA, 48 HR, -3.7 WAR. How his career HR/9 is only 2.1 I'll never know. Oh, and the delightfully named Kyle Hoots was selected by Portland, while sadly the equally delightful Bubba Gazdag was not taken by anyone. 12/28 ... former Islander SP/CL/headache Jim Kieffer is now a Yankee, at 56M over 5 years. Kieffer, you may remember, was "famous" for having half an outstanding season, followed by curious, months-long bouts of "who am I" on the mound. In his final glorious season with us, 2043, he went from closer, to starter, to middle relief, to end-of-bench long relief, all in the span of a couple months. Still good for you, Jim; you'll bring good stuff and control, as well as 2 and almost 1/2 pitches to the Bronx rotation. ...... We're at the end of the year rollover, and a couple of star players are either getting the runaround (coughcollusioncough) or are playing hard-to-get. Last year's AL runner-up, SS Juan Rodriquez, and former 2-time AL MVP Vinny Vargas remain unsigned. Sure, they both want over 25M annual deal, but teams that need talent have got to have money for them, right? (Checks finances...almost no one does. Wtf? So they'll both probably sign in April for around 9M for one season. A steal.) Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-26-2019, 05:05 PM	#209
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	OFF-SEASON, pt. 3 1/1 ... 2046 gets off to a rip-roaring start, with San Diego announcing a 6-year, 57.1M contract with John Cannon. Former Islander John Cannon. "Fan interest almost crashed!" Well, season tickets are selling at a 12% drop compared to last year, so...maybe there's something to that. When he's on, Cannon's a beast of a hitter. Problem was that he was off most of last year. And he can't field. I like my outfielders to actually chase a ball now and again, so we'll make do. I have plans already for RF, Cannon's old spot, that I'll talk about more in the future. Sadly for Fan Interest, they don't include going after a $$$ free agent. (And thanks for the second compensation pick, SD! I appreciate it!) 1/2 ... another former Isle gets snapped up. This time, it's Josh Robertson, who was our excellent 2B from 2038 to 2044. He signed a big one-year deal with the Padres last year, and then got hurt and only made 25 PA. The Mets inked him for two years, and I wish him well. Also, the Giants inked the last of the decent international free agents, taking SP Tomo Taira for 6.9M per for four years. He's 30, new to MLB, and is terrible in the clubhouse. I looked at him and said no thanks. 1/3 ... The Hall of Fame voting has been tallied...and no one gets in. Kelvin Robinson (73.3%, 1st year) came closest, and only P Orlando Ramos (51.7, 5th yr) appearing on more than half the writer's ballots. First-year C Tyler Markey got just 49%, surprising given that he's in the top five in nearly every statistical category for catchers. Robinson should get voted in one day; same for Markey. Ramos will likely have to wait for the Veteran's Committee. Others who deserve serious looks but are not getting in via the BBWA: infielders Brendon Rodgers and Parker Kelley, 1B Cisco Videira, and closer Ethan Murphy. Videira got my vote this year; he fininshed with over 3000 hits, but was never regarded as a "best of" during his long career and is getting no love from Hall voters. And speaking of the Veteran's Committee, they (well, I) did put three guys in: 1B/DH Edgar Martinez, and managers Bobby Cox and Scott Hemond (the latter won three titles with Richmond in the '10s and '20s). 1/11 ... the Dodgers (of course) ink our former closer YT Yaung, for a one-year 5.9M deal. Our fans hate it--shocking--and our Fan Interest drops below 90 for the first time years. I guess World Series titles (and near-misses) don't count for anything. LA also adds former Marlins closer Brandon Dennis for 3.8M per for three years, proving they've got a ton of good money to throw after bad. And they now have four RP who want to be closers. 2/1 ... February rolls in and finally teams are starting to sniff around the two biggest names in free agency, Rodriquez and Vargas. Rumor has it that Vinny V is drawing looks from Minnesota and the Dodgers and Yankees, while J-Rod is flirting with Arizona, KC, and SF. Also, we made an offer to long-time Minnesota C/1B Peanuts Carter, who was drawing no interest and looking for a fairly tame 4.5M deal...And a few days later he comes back with "more money plz" and now three teams have cast out lines for him, moving his rumored demand up over 8M. Great. 2/3 ... aaaand just like that, Carter signs. With the Yankees (not one of his rumored suitors). And for 6.3M for one year. Whatever. 2/4 ... aaand Minnesota makes up for losing Carter by snagging Vinny Vargas, the plum of this year's FA class: 15.6M for one year. So we'll be doing this again next year. ISLANDERS MAKE MOVES! Three moves over several days, two of which won't move the needle much, tbh. ...First, we claim RP Danny Fernandez off waivers from NYY. We traded him to the Bronx last year, and while he hadn't done much with us (and did less for the Yanks), he's useful insurance in AAA, since I've slashed a lot of last year's minor league staff. ...Next, we trade SP Malik Chaney to Toronto for pitcher Justin Darrisaw. Chaney made 3 starts for us last year, and while serviceable, he's 31 and frankly not at the top of my call-up list. Darrisaw is AAA fodder, and like Fernandez above, just a replacement chip for injuries. The bigger draw for us here is that Darrisaw is on a MiL contract, while Chaney was making 600K. Not much difference, but Darrisaw doesn't have to go through waivers and won't be on the 40-man roster. ...Finally, something of significance: we sign free agent OF Ramon Davila to a four-year deal worth 4.4M per season, with a team option for the final year. A 27-year-old with 6 MLB seasons under his belt, Davila brings a solid bat (.264/23/84 with TB), a better glove (2 Gold Gloves in RF), and is a great influence in the clubhouse. Although he's just a lifetime .247 hitter, he has power and he'll take a walk (.328 career OBP). He'll probably move to LF, with Joseph Hart sliding over to right. I had other plans for RF this year, but the combo of Davila being available for cheap and a February system-wide scouting report that read like a stock ticker in 1929, I felt I had to bring someone into the fold. Welcome aboard, Ramon! 2/12 ... Wow, big trade today. Seriously, no joke, a real trade! Detroit sent last year's AL batting champ Matt Anderson to LAD for SP Mike Cote. While Anderson is 37, he's on a decent contract (11M) and has barely lost a step at the plate. He should reach 2500 hits and 500 HR this upcoming season. And the AL was perfect for him, as he's lost the ability to play third; he'll be limited to first in the NL. Cote, 31, is a decent #2 or #3 pitcher, good for 3.5 to 4 WAR a season. He's talented, but a head case. So...not sure why Detroit would trade part of their powerful lineup for a decent but not top level pitcher. Plus, the Tigers threw in a prospect, 24-year-old pitcher Marvin Diaz to boot. Diaz spent last year in A ball, which is odd since he's nearly fully developed and should be in the bigs this season. He looks like a quality replacement for Cote already. And LA gets Anderson...the rich get richer. 2/14 ... Holy crap, some teams are loading up this year. The latest: Seattle, announcing the signing of 2B/SS Juan Rodriquez (15.4M for one year). Blessed with a quality pitching staff already, they addressed last year's hitting struggles by adding Mike Wapner (.321/44/110) and now Rodriquez (.349/42/133). They've lost nothing of significance from last year as well. The AL West will be a dogfight this year. Not much else happens on the free agent front during the spring, despite there being about 4-5 A to B+ level closers on the market. I expect they'll get snapped up in early April. We do make a few other depth moves, to wit: ...two free agent signings, both to minor league deals (my favorite kind) -- IF John Canning and C Tyler McClellan. Canning you might remember was with us from '39 through '44, spending last year with Brooklyn. He's a contact hitter, with no power, and won't walk, but also won't strike out. His big benefits are leadership, and an ability to play excellent defense everywhere but catcher. He can run too, and is the perfect "just happy to be here" guy. McClellan will vie for the backup role behind Rich. His batting ratings look a lot like Canning's, so if he sticks he's not a power bat like last year's backup, Mario Burgueno, was. He's also a lefty, meaning I might bring in another catcher to face LHP if McClellan doesn't hit in the spring. ...and, right near the end of Spring Training, with the aforementioned McClellan not hitting, I make a trade with Atlanta. I send our captain, IF Aaron Little, to the Braves for catcher Dave McCollum. Little is a competent hitter, with some power. While he has a nice glove, he has no infield range, which isn't so hot for someone who could get serious playing time at short or second. Plus, he's in his final cheap contract year, with an arbitration estimate over 4M for 2047. No thanks. McCollum is just what I'm looking for in a backup catcher: decent-enough hitting, average-at-least defence, cheap contract (league minimum), and a good teammate (captain material). And a righty, so he'll bat against lefties, something that Rich struggled wit all last year. If McC hits better than Burgueno's .210, I'm good. ...... Spring Training report and Opening Day roster coming up next. No huge surprises for us, but some tough decisions, and some concerns going into the season...there are always concerns. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-28-2019, 03:21 PM	#210
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Spring Training has come and gone; we finished a streaky 19-11. Nobody played themselves off the roster, although as usual the bullpen will probably be in flux depending on who doesn't pitch well early on--and there's always someone... We will start with three players on the DL: last year's closer Dan Brown will miss 1-2 weeks, so he'll be back quickly; contender for the backup catcher role Brian Drummond broke his elbow and will miss 3 months; and pitching prospect Angel Cordova suffered a hamstring injury and will be out for another 5 weeks. Only Brown will come back to the big league roster. Several players who had outside shots at cracking the opening day lineup--but didn't--had very good springs. OF Cameron Daley hit .550, although with no power, and looks about big league ready and with room to still grow. He hit .309 in AA last year, is 22, and looks like a can't miss prospect right now. Outfield mate Kenny Welch hit just .255, and battled with Glenn Heath for a backup spot right to the last game in March. He's got more power than Daley, but is held back by his lead feet in the field. Phil Lasky has made a rapid ascent up the prospect ladder: he played in A ball last year, will start this year in AAA, and nearly made the big club. He's a true two-way player and could figure more as a major league starting pitcher than a starting outfielder. We'll see what he does in AAA. Finally, SP Shamar Jackson went 4-0 with a 0.45 ERA, but still looks underdeveloped to me. He was gold in AA last year, but struggled mightily in AAA and then in one MLB start. He'll get some more seasoning and likely will be the first call-up should one of our SP keel over with the vapors. One the other side of the ledger, not many guys looked off this March. Sen Masuda hit just .169, but I'm not worried about him. More concerning, however, was the play of nominal ace starter Rob Hart. Coming off his first major arm injury, he was inconsistent and really wild (he walked 5 in two of his five starts), and finished with a 6.95 ERA. Still, it was just five starts, so maybe I'm overreacting... ...... 2046 Hawaii Islanders Opening Day Roster Starters in bold, with age, batting hand, contract (year), and 2045 stats. C Rob Rich, 25, LH, 3.5M (2051), .319/4/68, 40 doubles, 2.5 WAR. Recently signed to an extension, and he's worth it. Not really all-star caliber, and my owner constantly wants me to upgrade. But Rich hits for average, brings runs home, and is an excellent receiver. Doesn't hit well against lefties, so will be platooned, which hopefully will keep him healthier too. C Dave McCollum, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), .321/0/4, 56 AB with SD and ATL. Acquired from the Braves during spring training. Decent hitter and fielder, and is immediately a hit in the clubhouse. Hopefully will be the perfect backup catcher. Will start against lefthanded pitching. DH/1B Jonathan Klump, 25, LH, 500K (2046 arb), .306/26/90, 2.9 WAR. Solid power hitter, smart guy, gets on base (.376 OBP). Needs to up his game against lefty pitching, but is otherwise sound. Could take over at first if we don't re-sign Masuda after this season. 1B Senichi Masuda, 31, RH, 10.6M (2046), .281/36/136, 51 doubles, 3.9 WAR. Has been a low-key but solid contributor at first for four seasons now, but will be a free agent after this one. Scouts tell me his contact is getting worse, so we'll see if he starts to backslide. I'm undecided on re-signing him, but as he's already making over 10M, and is not a superstar, I'm leaning away from it as the season starts. He's extremely popular with the home fans, so this would be yet another blow to our imperilled Fan Interest meter. 2B JJ Simmons, 23, RH, 6.8M (2046 arb), .313/0/77, 2.8 WAR. Had a down year from his ROY '44 campaign, where he hit .350 and won the batting title. Has the bat, the eye, and the plate discipline to do that every year, tbh. Disappointed he didn't get his annual home run last year. Excellent fielder, can run too (but went 10-for-24 on the basepaths last year). I need to re-sign him, but he's only after a one-year deal right now, and I want to lock him up until he's 30. IF/OF John Canning, 29, RH, MiLC, .306/1/43, 2.1 WAR with Brooklyn. Undervalued player, really, and I'm surprised I was able to sign him for peanuts. He's got decent contact and gap power, never strikes out, can run, and can play anywhere but catcher. Spent six years being an all-everything utility player for us. Has no power, tho, which is his only major drawback. 3B Adam Groff, 32, LH, 37.5M (2053), .302/26/77, 4.6 WAR. The face of the franchise, and paid like it too. Had a down year in '45, so we're hoping for a big bounce back. Scouts say he hasn't lost anything at the plate yet, but is losing range at third, almost to the point of liability. It's possible he'll be moved to first next year, if Masuda doesn't come back. Should reach 300 career HR this year, and pass 1700 career hits. IF Manny Rangel, 25, RH, 900K (2046 auto), .158/0/2 in 19 AB (.235/21/72 at AAA). Our first Cuban player, Rangel will be a utility guy this year, although he's best suited for second (not much of an arm, tbh). Scouts say he still has room to grow at the plate, so I hope that low average in AAA isn't a long-term indicator. Has some power and a good eye, but will strike out a bit. If he develops some more this year, he could be our 2B in '47, should Groff move to first (and Simmons possibly over to third or back to short). SS Rich Stoneback, 28, RH, 12.8M (2046), .299/42/110, 8.7 WAR. After a terrible '44, had a tremendous comeback season, leading the AL in WAR, and winning his second Gold Glove at short. Has tremendous range and a great glove, and really does almost everything well except run and hit the gaps (just 26 doubles). I'll start talking with his agent about an extension, but he'll want the big bucks. With both him and Simmons to re-sign, will I be able to afford both? LF Ramon Davila, 28, RH, 4.4M (2049), .264/23/84 with Tampa Bay, 2.1 WAR. Free agent signee, missed a couple weeks of ST with an arm injury. Not the greatest contact hitter, but brings power, eye, and low-K to the game. Good range and glove in the field, if not the best arm around. (Also rates well in the IF, so you never know where he'll turn up.) If he can hit at least .250 with 25 or so HR, he'll be worth it. OF Nate Flygare, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), .260/2/13 in 96 AB, -0.2 WAR. Last man on the bench for us last year, and will fill that role again this season. Shows decent contact and gap power, won't strike out, and can run some. Good fielder, fair arm, and a smart kid. Still, could likely find himself on the outside, as there are some bigger bats behind him on the farm. RF Joseph Hart, 26, LH, 6.9M (2046 arb), .273/18/78, 2.5 WAR. Tends to get overlooked a bit, as he doesn't produce big numbers. Competent fielder, the fans adore him, and he walks more than he strikes out (86K vs 100 BB last year). Power numbers were down, didn't crack 20 HR for the first time in his short career, so we'll ask for that to return to form. Did go from a liability on the basepaths to an 18-for-22 season stealing bases, which was a nice surprise. How long he ends up staying here will depend on what we can either sign him for, or what an arbitrator rules he's worth. It always comes down to money. CF Jim Klein, 26, RH, 3.1M (2051), .314/7/66, 44 doubles, 24 SB, 2.4 WAR. Well-liked by teammates and fans, I particularly like him because he delivers at a cheap price. Not a ton of power, but consistently hits over .300, and plays a solid center field. A good baserunner who should really fare better than his 24-for-40 SB totals showed. OF Glenn Heath, 23, LH, 500K (2046), .226/2/8 in 62 AB (.310/13/46 in 261 AAA AB). Rates as a solid power bat and doubles machine, who will both take a lot of walks and whiff a ton. (His total minor league OBP is 110 points higher than his AVG.) Decent fielder, but a bit too slow for center. Started with the big club last year, too, but couldn't hit and spent much of the summer on the farm. Getting another shot at it this go-round, and needs to grab this chance. Only one change to the starting lineup from 2045, and a few tweaks on the bench. All in all, I think this could be a better roster than last year's version, with a little more L/R balance. Once again, we won't threaten to lead the league in HR, but we'll get a lot of hits and put a lot of guys on base. And frankly, I'd rather put a ton of guys on base and have more chances to score than sit and wait for 3-run homers, a la Earl Weaver. Now, the pitching... SP Rob Hart, 29, RH, 16M (2048), 15-6 3.29, 25 GS, 186 IP, 249 K, 5.1 WAR. Was having the best season of his career until he got hurt in late summer. Scouts say he hasn't lost anything, but after a bad spring, I'll be watching him closely. Used to alternate good years with bad ones, so let's hope he's grown out of that habit. With a big year he could top 2000 career strikeouts. If he's fully back, we're good; if he's not, then the wall is crumbling. SP Ryan Ratliff, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), 9-7 4.68, 23 GS, 144 IP, 135 K, 2.1 WAR. Had a good start to 2045, then blew up and went to AAA for a bit, came back and slowly got back on track by September. As he's the #2 starter going into the season, we'll definitely need Good Ryan, not Bad Ryan. Gave up a career high (including minors) 1.4 HR/9, but counters that with allowing just 2 BB/9. Could be in line for a nice payday if he's good this season. SP Eric Jones, 29, LH, 9.35M (2046), 13-6 4.84, 32 GS, 205 IP, 116 K, 2.2 WAR. Back for his ninth season with the Islanders, and this time--I really mean it!--it could be his last. Was truly horrific until after the all-star break, when he got his numbers to look respectable, at least. Like Hart, has a history of alternating good with bad years, so maybe this time around... Anyway, with Murray in rehab, he's our top lefty. Fun fact: he's never been seriously injured: has made 31-33 starts every big league season. You'd think maybe I'd respect him a bit more then. SP Tim Pinksen, 32, RH, 6.7M (2046), 13-7 5.14, 31 GS, 175 IP, 137 K, 2.8 WAR (6-0 4.65 with us). Last year's deadline acquisition didn't really pitch all that great, but still went 6-0 behind some terrific run support. Strikeouts were up and walks were down with us, so if those numbers revert, then I don't know what to expect from him. Teammates like him b/c he busts his ass; let's hope that doesn't mean he hustles to back up the third baseman after yet another line drive into the gap. SP Taylor Barnett, 27, LH, 750K (2046 arb), 6-4 5.24, 14 GS, 79 IP, 53 K, 0.1 WAR (plus 12 starts in AAA). You know all about his magical 2044 season (9-0 2.56 ERA in 12 starts). Well, reality bit hard last year, resulting in an extended stay in AAA after a craptacular start to the season. He came up for good after Hart's injury, but will be on a short leash this year. With several guys knocking on the door in AAA (including LHP Jonathan Murray on rehab), I'll have my finger on the "release the hounds" button early. Not a strikeout pitcher or big stuff guy, but gets by on movement, guile, gumption, and harassing midnight phone calls. CL Rick Ramirez, 26, RH, 2.4M (2046 arb), 5-5, 20 SV, 42 G, 47 IP, 65 K, 0.8 WAR. Moved into the closer role after Yaung's season-ending injury and looked good early. Started to blow up with more frequency, then missed a couple months with his own injury. Came back for September and the playoffs and was good again. With Brown's injury, he'll start as closer. He has all the tools and should be a fantastic closer, but hasn't put it all together yet. Still, unless he proves a constant disappointment to me, I'll try to re-sign him during the season. SU Pat Stanley, 32, LH, 2.5M (2047), 13-4, 3 SV, 54 G, 90 IP, 76 K, 1.0 WAR. Our workhorse, averaging 97 IP out of the pen over the last five seasons. Entering his tenth big league season, all with Hawaii. Combination of decent stuff, great control, and tons of groundball outs has been gold for most of that decade. One of two lefties in the pen. SU Ben Willard, 25, RH, 500K (2046 arb), 3-1 5.68, 3 SV, 22 G, 32 IP, 30 K, negative WAR (plus 10 games in AAA). Played well at first after his call-up last year, but really struggled down the stretch. Had an excellent spring, beating out several others for a spot in the pen. But like Barnett in the rotation, is one of a few relievers that will be short-leashed early if they struggle in April. Has big-time stuff, with a nice fastball/knuckle curve combo, and nice control. MR Steve Dickerson, 28, RH, 750K (2046 arb), 3-4 4.62, 3 SV, 34 G, 44 IP, 43 K, negative WAR (all with San Diego). Waiver pickup in November, threw well in the spring, so here he is. Kind of a dime-a-dozen guy, so I don't expect anything earth-shaking from him. Just go out and do your job, Steve, and everything will be fine. MR Hisami Masuda, 31, LH, 3.4M (2046 arb), 3-4 4.95, 1 SV, 38 G, 67 IP, 78 K, negative WAR. Really thought he'd be gone this year, after being largely ineffective last season. But, here he is, after throwing well this spring, and warming my cold, dead heart a bit. I'll have no patience for the shenanigans he pulled last year, especially at 3.4 mill. Ratings still look good, he can hit 99 on the radar gun, which is nice. But if he gives up 2.8 HR/9 like he did in '45, I'll buy his airline ticket to waiverville myself. LR Ben Germann, 26, RH, 800K (2046 arb), 6-4 4.88, 1 SV, 40 G, 52 IP, 60 K, negative WAR. (all with KC) Another newcomer. Will begin in long relief, and can step into the rotation in a pinch if needed. Still developing, which gives me hope that his subpar control will round into shape. Keeps the ball down, however, which helps him get out of most self-created jams. Again, another guy on a short leash. This is not a staff that inspires confidence, if I'm honest. In the rotation, Hart at least looks good; the others look decidedly average. The pen is the same, with two newbies, and four guys who earned negative WAR last year. Still, we made what looked like a patchwork bullpen into the AL's best, somehow. We'll need that again. At quick glance, we've got three starters and four or five relievers in AAA that could step in right away. I'm hoping I won't have to do a lot of puppeteering this season, but I can feel it in the wind already. We'll see... Injured already: RP Dan Brown, 25, RH, 6.9M (2046 arb), 3-3 1.95, 23 SV, 59 G, 69 IP, 80 K, 2.2 WAR. He'll be back in just over a week. Can last year's surprise Hoyt Wilhelm trophy winner do it again? I'm bullish. He's a groundballer who can hit 101 MPH, with a wicked fastball/change combo, and a curve that stinks, but supposedly could develop well enough to make him a starter. Will it? Nah, probably. Come back strong, Dan, we'll need you. SP Jonathan Murray, 28, LH, 850K (2046 arb), 3-2 4.18, 11 GS, 67 IP, 57 K, 0.5 WAR. Latest scouting reports dropped his ratings a bit, which hurts. On paper, at least, he's a definite #2 or #3 starter, but hasn't shown that consistently yet. Has a pretty solid five-pitch repertoire, with a change being his best pitch. Will start the year in AAA on rehab. ...... Despite some of the biggest names in free agency not being signed until late, it was a busy off-season across the league. The Dodgers, as usual, were among the busiest, and added 39 WAR (26.5 net gain) over the winter, including 3 starting pitchers, 3 more relievers, a 5-WAR SS, and reigning AL batting champ Matt Anderson. Seattle was second, adding 22 WAR (16.1 net gain), including returning superstar OF Mike Wapner and free agent plum Juan Rodriquez. They'll contend for league best, I'm certain. At the other end, St Louis lost 22 WAR (14.5 net loss), including 3/4 of their infield, their closer, and two starting pitchers. We ranked 24th, having lost -6.9 WAR, most of it being SP Mike Messinger. BNN Season Predictions are out! I may not be optimistic about our chances this year, but MLB certainly is, saying we'll finish with 111 wins and run away with our division. We'll score the most runs and give up the fewest. Okay, season's over, trophy is ours! If only... Regardless, our division looks tough, with Seattle tabbed for 95 wins and Oakland, 92, both making the playoffs. Detroit will win the Central by two games over Milwaukee, while Boston will win the East with just 85 wins. LA and Texas occupy the bottom of the tank, with just 67 wins apiece. Adam Groff, Rob Hart, and Eric Jones (!) made the Top Hitters and Top Pitchers list. Wow, just...Jones, huh. Wow. In the NL, Philadelphia is once again the cream of the crop, with 102 wins. Cincinnati wins the Central with 90 wins, while San Diego claims the West with 93. NY and LA figure to be the wild card teams. Arizona is tabbed to win just 59 games. They should be fun to watch. Once again, the East looks tough, with five teams finishing over .500. Prospect rankings are out...and we're third! Third! 3B Dante Padilla ranks 6th among all prospects, and yet, I remain unconvinced. He looks great on paper, but hasn't hit his weight since rookie ball (he weighs 215). P Olimpio le Coq ranks 22nd, but had a bad April scouting report, losing ground in stuff, movement, and velocity. Ergh.... IF Manny Rangel (30th) and OF Kenny Welch (75th) round out the top 100, and both are starting the season in the bigs. The #1 overall prospect is Cincinnati pitcher Cris Frias, 20, who looks like the real deal. Except for low control (natch), he's ready for The Show already. The White Sox--the league's top-rated system--have the #2 prospect, pitcher Burton Dick, a future #1 starter. The top-rated batter is #3 Alfonso Torres, 20, a 2B in the Arizona system. The former 5th round pick has exceeded expectations and looks like a definite all-star caliber batter. He's still a couple years away. Of note is the #20 overall prospect, pitcher Sergio Gil: we traded him to SF in 2044, along with several other prospects for Kenny Welch (see above) and Shamar Jackson (last year's #37 ranked prospect; this year not on the list). ...... Here's where I make my prediction for the year. Offensively, this should look like last season: lots of hits and runs, but not a power team. Just how we fare overall, I think, will hang more on our pitching than our hitting. Last year, our bullpen bailed us out when the rotation struggled; we'll probably need that again. Can we win the division? With good health, steady hitting, and at least average pitching -- yes, I think we will. Will we win 111 games, like MLB thinks we will? LOL no. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-31-2019, 03:41 PM	#211
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Opening Day 2046! We open at home, with one series, before traveling to the east coast for a pair of matchups, then back home. April brings 25 games, 12 at home. Oddly, we have no games on Thursdays this month. Two roster notes: with Manny Rangel and John Canning added to the infield rotation, Edward Ospina became expendable. So we sent him to the Dodgers for 3B Sean Reeder. Reeder has a decent bat, bad glove, and a strong arm. He'll go to AAA. Texas releases Rule 5 pick Connor Mitchell, so he comes back to us, and also goes to AAA. Suddenly we have a glut of infielders in Santa Barbara, so something may have to give over the next week or two. April 2-4 vs BALTIMORE Surged last September to make the playoffs, but didn't last long. Working on three straight seasons of winning seasons, but just that one playoff appearance. MLB says they'll win 83 games, but miss the playoffs. They had a quiet off-season signing-wise, adding just 1B Travis Saunders (PIT) and DH Justin Singleton (NYY) to big league deals. They did part ways with last season's DH, 1B, 2B, 3B, CF, and one SP. (They also added two on minor league deals who are now in the lineup--CF Luis Villalba and SP Ken Newman.) They still have AL MVP Cesar Alvarenga, who may have the crown as the AL's best batter, after two seasons of .334/47/144 and .338/47/157. He's in his 8th year, and is signed through 2049 -- but given that his 36M contract is a huge part of their overall 99M budget, might it make better sense to trade him for a pile of prospects rather than keep winning 85 or so games a year with him? Just a thought. Manager: Nestor Corredor, 11th season. Owner: Reginald Ehrlich, a lenient penny-pincher. HAW pitchers: Rob Hart (15-6, 3.29) / Ryan Ratliff (9-7, 4.68) / Eric Jones (13-6, 4.84) BAL pitchers: Brian Simon (10-11, 5.54) / Jeremy Stines (16-9, 3.65) / Jonathan Bell (13-10, 4.79) #1: LOSS 1-5 ... well, that was a bust...Hart gives up a 3-run blast in the first, and we manage just 5 hits, with Groff's HR our only highlight #2: WIN 5-2 ... that's more like it! Ratliff fans 13 over 8 IP, but gets hurt...newbie McCollum goes 3-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI #3: LOSS 5-9 ... Jones lets a 3-0 lead slip away, giving up 5 R in 5 IP, then Masuda gives up 3 in 1.1 IP...another HR for McCollum, plus Davila's first as an Islander Not an auspicious opener by any means. Plus, after selling out opening day, we played to crowds of 30 and 31 thousand, the lowest home turnouts in some years. Fan interest is down, and season tickets undersold by 21% compared to last year. Hmm.... Ratliff's diagnosis comes in, and it's no so bad: strained back muscle, out for 2-3 weeks. I call up Shamar Jackson to see if he's still got his spring training mojo.... ELSEWHERE: I should talk about hot teams, hot players, and other fun stuff. Like maybe Philly's George Livezey, who ended our season in Game 7 in November, hitting 3 out on opening day. But no. Instead I'll talk about Toronto's new shortstop, JORDAN CRUZ. Yes, that's right, the slick-fielding, flashy-running, shortstop who'll add in 12-15 HR has signed with the Blue Jays. For 3 years, 8.5M. PER YEAR. Hahahahaha! Okay, let's give him some credit: he did hit thirty points above his career average last year in Cincy; but even then he batted just .233. And struck out an amazing 204 times, good enough to lead the league in Ks for the 10th time in his career. I also support his quest to become just the second batter in baseball history to reach the mystical 3000 strikeout plateau. With two whiffs in his first game for the Jays, he's now just 28 from reaching that milestone. Which would still put him nearly 900 Ks behind the all-time best, Miguel Sano. The only thing that will make me happier here is if the Jays bat him leadoff, like his old team the Cubs did for nearly a decade. April 6-8 @ TAMPA BAY The Rays swept their opener against Texas, dropping 24 runs on the Rangers. They were the best team in the East for much of 2045, until slumping in August and September and missing the playoffs on the last day of the season. Their lineup has power, and is essentially unchanged from last year, only adding catcher Todd Meyer and 3B Orlando Navarro. Navarro is interesting as he's making the jump from A ball; he's still developing, and while I don't think he has the arm for third, he's got a good bat and will hit for average and gap power, while not striking out much. The pitching staff looks decent too, dropping an underperforming SP and CL, while moving RP Roberto Alvarado into the rotation and giving the closer spot to rookie Nick Scott. Both look like good moves right now. Manager: Tony Bajoczky, 4th season. Owner: Stuart Sternberg, a demanding economizer HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (13-7, 5.14) / Taylor Barnett (6-4, 5.24) / Rob Hart (0-1, 6.75) TBR pitchers: Jimmy Dalaba (18-7, 3.45) / Roberto Alvarado (6-4, 4.14) / Bill Casas (1-0, 2.08) #4: WIN 9-1 ... Masuda drives in 5 and hits his 1st HR...Groff with 2 hits, while JHart and Klump get their first hits of the season...Pinksen goes the distance #5: WIN 5-1 ... Barnett is sharp through 7, and Klump seals it with a 2-run shot in the 6th...Groff and Stoneback also hit HR...Tampa loses two pitchers to injuries tonight #6: LOSS 6-7 ... RHart is off, way off, again tonight, giving up 10 H and 6 R in 4.1 IP...Stoneback goes 3-for-3, 2 RBI...we also add 3 sac flies Two wins puts us back at .500, so at least that's good.... Rob Hart is terrible again, and between spring training and the first week of the season he's had just two good-looking starts. At least Pinksen and Barnett came up big.... A ball Eureka was a hot team last year, winning a club record 85 games and making a rare playoff appearance. Things have regressed so far this year, as they're swept in their season opening series.... ELSEWHERE: Texas got swept again, and have started the season 0-6. Houston is 6-0, which achieves a perfect balance in the state.... The Yankees are 6-0, and guess who we play next.... Detroit reliever Lance Hansen has 3 of their 5 wins, while Yankees closer Adrian Hammerbeck has 4 saves. April 9-11 @ NY YANKEES You can forgive Yankees fans for feeling optimistic for the first time in years: a 6-0 start, 49 runs and 16 HR in those games, while giving up just 24 runs. They were extremely active this off-season, to wit: new starters at DH, C, 1B, 3B, SS, and LF, plus two new SP and five new RP. And one of those newbies, SP Yoshi Oh, hasn't pitched yet due to injury. New 3B Marcus Walker and SS Brian Martin are, frankly, not very good, but the rest of their additions are creditable players who could push this team back into the playoffs for the first time since 2029. With Oh's injury, four of their starting pitchers are holdovers, and none pitched well last year. So that will bear watching as the season goes on. But they can hit, yes indeed. Manager: Efrain Nevares, 1st year (last four seasons with Houston). Owner: Justin Dielman, a lenient economizer. He's also a meddler who wants EXTREME WINNING, whatever that means. This is their home opening series of 2046. HAW pitchers: Shamar Jackson (debut) / Eric Jones (0-1, 9.00) / Tim Pinksen (1-0, 1.00) NYY pitchers: Kasey Sikkema (1-0, 5.14) / Brian Whitney (1-0, 1.29) / Phil Avery (0-0, 3.60) #7: WIN 11-5 ... lowered the boom with 14 hits, including 2 HR from Masuda...3 hits each for Simmons and Davila, 3 RBI for JHart...Jackson no so good on the mound, but the pen rescues us #8: WIN 19-1 ... wow, so maybe that Yank staff isn't good after all...we hit 5 HR, 2 more (with 5 RBI) for Masuda...3 H for Groff and Klein...Jones tosses a 4-hitter to boot #9: WIN 8-3 ... four hits for Klump, including a 3-run HR in the 8th that seals it...3 hits for Stoneback...Pinksen allows 6 H, 1 R in 7 IP Well that was an epic beatdown: 38 runs over the three games. And just like that, we take the lead as the league's best offense.... Pitching wasn't too shabby, although Jackson did not look ready in his 2nd MLB start. Ratliff is still out for 2 weeks, so Jackson may get one more bite before I try something else.... And Dan Brown comes off the DL, meaning someone had to go. Namely, Hisami Masuda and his 20.25 ERA. He's pissed, but so what? Two days after waiving him, no one's claimed him, and as I prefer not having a $3M salary sitting in AAA, I'll try trading him.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is 0-9, Miami 1-8. The Mets have won 6 straight, are now 9-1.... 8-time All-Star 3B Chris White missed half of 2045, but is having a nice comeback with Brooklyn so far, hitting .404 with 6 HR.... Houston is 8-2, largely behind pitchers Dustin Springer and Alejandro Gonzales, who are a combined 4-0 and have given up just 2 runs in 28.2 innings.... When I was considering acquiring a combo backup C/starting DH this off-season, the White Sox offered me Ken Carter for relative peanuts. Carter, you might recall, is a 35-year-old 2nd year player, who spent over a decade completely destroying Korean League pitching. He hit .277 with 27 HR for the Chisox last year, but they were keen to keep $37M man Dan Starr instead. I turned them down, for some reason I've forgotten. I know it's early days yet, but Carter has 5 HR and 13 RBI for Atlanta right now, just fyi. TRADE! The aforementioned Hisami Masuda is no longer my problem. No one claimed him, so I shopped him around (reverse psychology!) and the Reds bit. In return (along with a pick exchanging hands) we get pitcher Andy Nowak, a 25-year-old starter with some decent upside. He'll go to AA for now since there's a bit of a logjam at AAA (working on that). It's possible he could see some action in the bigs during the September expansion too. April 13-15 vs TEXAS The Rangers are 0-9, and we just beat down the previously unbeaten Yankees. This is a recipe for disaster! Hitting is 14th, but they are getting hits and getting on base, just not scoring runs. Pitching has been a horror show so far, giving up 72 runs. Defense is dead last, too. What could go wrong, lol? They tried to be judicious in the off-season, being without a big budget, adding LF Wil Almodovar and DH Manuel Cervantes. Oh, and some pitcher named Messinger that I've never heard of. Grrr... Manager: Pat Wilson, 2nd season (after 11 seasons with us). Owner: Ray C. Davis, Jr., a lenient controller (wut?). He's unhappy; the players are unhappy, the fans are unhappy. Win-win-win. HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (1-0, 1.29) / Rob Hart (0-1, 9.00) / Shamar Jackson (0-0, 11.25) TEX pitchers: Pedro Cabrera (0-1, 4.50) / Mike Messinger (0-1, 9.58) / Thomas Cannaday (0-2, 5.73) #10: LOSS 0-3 ... we're shut out and held to 3 hits...Barnett is good through 6, but Brown gives up 1 in the 8th and 9th to end any comeback hopes #11: WIN 13-11 ... down 11-5, we drop 4 in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th to win it late...Klump drives in 4 with 2 HR, Groff goes 4-for-5, and 2 more RBI for Masuda #12: LOSS 2-8 ... blame this on the pen, giving up 6 late runs...Jackson is better tonight, going 7 and giving up 2 H, 2 R, but he does walk 6 So, what did I say?!? At least we didn't get swept, ffs.... Rob Hart now has an ERA over ten, and has given up 25 hits in 14 innings over three starts. NOT GOOD, ROB.... Jackson looked better in his second start, but man that knuckle ball was all over the place. Ratliff is back in a week, and will probably come straight into the rotation, rather than go on rehab.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy's Jeff Clayton blanked St Louis on a 2-hitter in the first half of a double header. Not to be outdone, teammate Juan Valdez went out in the nightcap and 1-hit the Cards. Not too shabby.... More from Cincy: Jose Tavares has hit in every game this season, extending a streak he started last September, which has now reached 20 games. Atlanta's John Arrington has the other active streak of note going, now at 16 games.... Detroit and Houston (!) are the first teams to reach double figures in wins; both are 10-3. Texas is 2-10, Miami 3-9.... Jordan Cruz update: 10 starts, batting .158, 15 strikeouts. ...... TL;DR Version: A 7-5 start, with the usual mix of good, bad, and ugly. Good: hitting, and most of the rotation. Bad: bullpen, currently 14th in ERA). Ugly: Rob Hart may have actually lost his arm somewhere this winter. I will investigate. Otherwise...it's too early to tell. Rich Stoneback leads the AL with a .447 average, while Sen Masuda leads with 19 RBI and Jon Klump is third with 16. And minor league scheduling is weird: A ball Eureka has played 10 games, AA Lewiston three, and AAA Santa Barbara hasn't even started. Of note in SB: Phil Lasky will try pulling double duty as the #1 starting pitcher and the starting CF. He looks pretty decent at both. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-04-2019, 07:10 PM	#212
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Thirteen more games will finish out April, including the start of a series against the--now say this slowly--division leading Houston Astros. Crazy. Sen Masuda takes home Player of the Week honors, for going 10-for-22 with 6 HR and 13 RBI. He's working hard for that contract extension. Oh, and this... Trade! I can't stop! This is another minor one, however, so don't get all worked up. Finding ourselves with 14 pitchers on the AAA staff, someone had to go. So we send RP Brad Hake and IF Dave Eriksson (and a low pick) to the Mets for SS Mike Hoover. Hake was acquired from Boston a few years back but never developed like I hoped. He may get a shot with NY. Eriksson is an average hitter, but a good fielding and running 2B. Both of them are at least AAA or AAAA guys. Hoover is not the greatest hitter, but is a really slick fielder (love the name) at all three "skill" infield positions. I didn't have a true SS at AAA; now I do. And there's a possibility we might get Xin-tou Fa back from Brooklyn (we lost him in the Rule 5 draft). He's on the DL for a few more days, but I'd be surprised if they kept his weak bat around. [Narrator voice: They do keep him.] April 16-18 vs OAKLAND The A's have started slow, at 4-9, and aren't hitting yet (18th in runs). Pitching has been better, but still ranks 11th overall, for a -20 run differential. They've let some solid talent walk in the last couple of years, and right now the holdovers and replacements aren't getting it done. Catcher Alex Contreras and DH Chris Bateman are the only newbies in the lineup, but they're journeymen at best. And SP Jacob Wood is another journeyman, and at 35, not a long-term answer. The bullpen is 11th in ERA, but should get better, considering the gaggle of expensive, high-stuff guys they have in there. They've also stolen just one base this year, for what that's worth. Manager: Robert Woodard (15th season, with only one losing record!). Owner: Lewis Wolff, Jr., who is understanding and generous. He may need to be this year. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (1-1, 3.86) / Tim Pinksen (2-0, 1.13) / Taylor Barnett (1-1, 1.38) OAK pitchers: Jacob Wood (0-1, 5.93) / John Herr (1-0, 3.94) / Mike Wiater (1-2, 2.91) #13: LOSS 5-8 ... we bungle our way to giving up 8 runs on just 6 hits...nine walks--NINE--don't help either...only 33K come out to see us play our big rivals #14: WIN 5-3 ... ok, better...Stoneback pops his 5th HR, and Pinksen goes 8, fans 5, gives up 6 H...Klump goes 3-for-4, two doubles #15: WIN 8-7 ... was a tame 3-3 tie until we score 5 in the 7th, and they get 4 in the 8th...14 walks combined tonight...Klein knocks in 4...Barnett gets the win Never complain about winning two out of three. Never.... Having said that, our pitching needs a jolt, and fast. One small change happens in the off day after the series: we send down RP Ben Germann (6 G, 7.88 ERA, 8 BB in 8 IP) and bring up Jonathan Murray, with his rehab stint ending. Murray wants to start, but will go into middle/long relief for now.... Trainer Jordan Villalobos updates me on Ryan Ratliff: uncertain return date. He's eligible to be activated, but can't play. Yippee.... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee's Jay Russo fanned 16 Tigers for his first win on the season; that's a league high for 2046 so far too. His teammate Robbie Collier is hothothot: 3-0 with a 0.42 ERA.... Houston is still pacing the league, with a 13-3 record. Seven other teams have reached double figures; we are not one of them.... NYY 2B Jon Diaz went quiet against us, but is hot again and leads the AL with 9 HR and 22 RBI. April 20-22 @ TORONTO Still rebuilding, the once-feared Blue Jays are on a run of five seasons without making the playoffs. Currently they sit at 5-9, and like Oakland, aren't hitting. Fifteenth in runs scored, but 8th in home runs (thanks to 7 from newbie Paul Foster). Pitching is better, at 5th, giving them a mere -5 run differential. The rotation has been wobbly, but no one is really struggling (take note, Rob Hart). You already know about Jordan Cruz (18 K now in 46 AB!), but the Jays also feature several former Islanders: Malik Chaney is their #5 starter, and the closer is original Islander Raleigh Vance. RF Justin Beeman made his debut with us way back in '42. None of them are truly hideous players, but none are really moving the needle any right now. Oh, and the GM is former Isle assistant GM Jason Knauss, in his fifth season of largely undistinguished work. This is only their second home series of the season. Manager: Ji-young Lee, in his second season, first as manager. Owner: Jody Patterson, a demanding economizer who wants EXTREME profit. He's getting it, but not much else as yet. HAW pitchers: Rob "Me Again?" Hart (0-1, 10.29) / Shamar Jackson (0-0, 5.73) / Eric Jones (1-1, 5.21) TOR pitchers: Joe Erkel (1-0, 5.40) / Daniel Becker (1-1, 4.50) / Malik Chaney (0-1, 5.65) #16: LOSS 4-5 ... RHart gives up 4 runs in 5 IP, so his ERA went down...then he gets hurt...we score 3 late runs to make this look close, but get only four hits, two of them HR #17: LOSS 3-6 ... we give up just 6 hits, but hand out 6 walks...Jackson is pretty bad tonight...2 hits for Simmons, breaking out of a slump, and 3 for Groff (now batting .348) #18: WIN 5-1 ... Jones stops the bleeding, his usual quiet way: 7 IP, 4 H, 3 K...Davila is struggling, but knocks one out tonight; Masuda adds one as well Blargh. We're not pitching well right now, and the hitting is off and on. While I feel the batters will come around, I'm having my doubts about this staff.... Rob Hart threw better--if you call 4 runs in 5 IP "better"--but then went on the DL for two weeks. Shamar Jackson threw another poor game, and clearly needs more seasoning. So what do you do? Make another trade! This time, we send AA pitcher Corey Graulich to the White Sox for veteran Khalil Palmer. Graulich has big stuff and decent control, but little movement. Palmer, 31, is not a long-term solution, but he's got good stuff, keeps the ball down, and can also hit! Win-win.... In addition, we send down Jackson, bring up RP Nick Kramer, and move Jonathan Murray back into the rotation.... ELSEWHERE: Houston has lost 3 in a row, making them 13-6 and giving up the top overall spot to 14-4 Milwaukee and Baltimore.... Texas is 7-3 in their last ten, and Seattle--a team I thought would contend--has backslid to a 6-14 mark.... Baltimore's Justin Singleton, really an afterthough signing who's earning league minimum, now leads the AL with 11 HR, and is 2nd with 22 RBI.... Milwaukee's Robbie Collier now has four starts and an ERA under 1.... John Arrington (ATL) leads the NL in hitting at .468, but is injured for 3 weeks. Seriously, this guy is going to miss out on a Hall of Fame career because of injuries, I guarantee. April 23-25 @ MIAMI The Marlins are 7-10, but winners of four straight. Hitting is 16th, and pitching is crazy: the rotation is 17th in ERA, the bullpen 1st. It still means a -15 run differential. New DH Cole Ferrara hit 21 HR in Boston last year, but has zero this year. Probably part of why they're dead last in AL home runs, with 14. And injuries have already hit hard, with six players on the DL. Manager: Ruben Medina, in his 1st year (was bench coach last season). Owner: Dusty Means--a great name for a money guy--who manages to be both unmerciful and charitable, like an ancient god. HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (3-0, 1.88) / Taylor Barnett (2-1, 2.25) / Khalil Palmer (2-0, 3.18) MIA pitchers: Pete Burke (0-2, 9.20) / Alex Gomez (0-2, 5.12) / Matt Rubin (0-1, 8.00) #19: WIN 8-4 ... Davila strokes a 3-run HR in a big 6th inning, also walks 3 times...Pinksen only lasts 6.1, gives up all 4 runs, but improves to 4-0 #20: WIN 9-2 ... Barnett impresses again, going the distance and allowing 4 hits...Groff knocks in 2 with a double and HR, 2 RBI also for Stoneback #21: WIN 8-4 ... Stoneback and JHart homer, and we ride 11 hits and 6 walks to a road sweep...Palmer lasts just 5.2 in his Hawaii debut, but is good enough for the win That was a pleasant surprise. The sweep boosts us to 13-8, and a game and a half behind the surprising Astros.... No injuries this series, either.... Palmer looked okay in his debut; Pinksen was fair, but still won, and Barnett looked pretty sharp. Nice to see guys going all out in this crisis.... One brick in next year's lineup is set: we extended 2B J.J. Simmons for 10 years and 158M. He'll make 8M next year, then it jumps to 12.5 and then 17 per season. He has a player opt out after 2052, and a team option after that. He's not hitting yet this year, but this is a weight off my shoulders. Now to decide about Stoneback and Masuda. And Pinksen lets it be known that he'll take a 2-year, 8M per extension. Not so sure about that yet.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland is the league's new bottom-dweller at 7-15. Four other teams have also won just 7 games.... Milwaukee and Baltimore have ridden hot streaks to 17-4 and 16-5 records, respectively.... Reds star Jose Tavares has his hitting streak stopped at 26 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White (.442/7/18) is the first player to 2.0 WAR. April 27-29 vs BOSTON At 8-13 and just a half game out of the AL East basement. They're not hitting well (9th in runs, 11th in AVG), and not getting high-quality pitching (11th in ERA, but 2nd best bullpen). Run differential is zero, so they may have more under the hood than is showing right now. Big free agent signee Josh Wall had 34 HR in Arizona last year, but just 4 this year. Several other big guns haven't hit many out yet either. Manager: Sean Ochinko (1st year, after 3 seasons as NYY bench coach). Popular 17-year skipper Kris Harvey was not renewed. Owner: Matthew Zunker, a tolerant economizer. HAW pitchers: Jonathan Murray (0-0, 0.00) / Eric Jones (2-1, 4.15) / Tim Pinksen (4-0, 2.67) BOS pitchers: Joe Koval (2-0, 3.63) / Octavio Corona (0-2, 6.38) / John Sutton (1-2, 7.97) #22: LOSS 2-9 ... Murray is hit hard early, pulled after just 4...we outhit them, put two more runners on base, but you can see that score #23: WIN 8-1 ... Jones is huge tonight: just 2 K and only 1 hit allowed, complete game...and that one hit was the leadoff batter...3 hits for Groff #24: WIN 4-2 ... just 12 hits combined, with JHart winning by himself with a 2B, HR, and 3 RBI...Pinksen goes 7 IP, fans 7 and gives up just 4 hits Somehow we scratch out 2 more wins. The pasted-together rotation continues to impress for the most part. Jones tosses that one-hitter then texts me from the clubhouse, "SHOW ME THE MONEY." String some more of those outings together first, Eric.... Over the three days we get messages regarding both pitchers still on the DL, Rob Hart and Angel Cordova. Their returns are now listed as "uncertain." Fab.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga is riding a hot month and now leads the AL with a .414 average. He's so hot, in fact, that he's suspended for 5 games after fighting KC pitcher Jayden Grant.... Brooklyn's Chris White is now hitting .455.... San Diego's Khalil Smith has saved 11 of the team's 15 wins.... NYY's decent start (9-6) has devolved to just one win in their last ten.... Atlanta acquired pitcher Roberto Landaverde from Cincinnati over the winter, and must've felt like they stole him when his ratings took a big jump before and during spring training. And then--he tears his rotator cuff a couple of weeks ago, and has been forced into retirement. Sad trombone noise. April 30 @ HOUSTON Probably the biggest surprise of the early season is the Astros 16-9 start. MLB figured they'd win just 75, and there is a long way to go.... Their underlying numbers are decent, but not overwhelming: 6th in runs, 9th in runs against, for a +6 run differential. 3B Jason Neighbors and RF Hughie Noonan are both hitting .349, but Noonan is on the DL for two weeks. LF Jason O'Hara got off to a slow start (.242, 0 HR), and is now out for the season with an elbow injury. So they went out and signed free agent Hi-yuan Qu a few days ago, and put him in at DH. He'll make his North American debut against us. Odd, since they spent no money at all on free agents; in fact, the only new face in the lineup is SS Ricky Silva, who will be pretty good one day, but isn't quite there yet. Manager: Dylan Barrow, 1st full season (went 3-3 as a late-season replacement last year). Owner: Jim Crane, Jr., an unmerciful economizer. Despite that, he's actually raised the budget slowly recently, to its current 77M mark. (Fun fact: next year's projected budget is 91M!) HAW pitcher: Taylor Barnett (3-1, 2.17) HOU pitcher: Alejandro Gonzales (3-0, 1.59) #25: LOSS 1-8 ... ten runners, but only one run...Barnett lasts 5 IP, and should've been pulled after 3...they only drew 21K for this one Not a great finish to April. Maybe this Houston team is for real.... Before the game, we send down Jonathan Murray and activate Ryan Ratliff from the DL.... AAA Santa Barbara is off to a 10-4 start; but A ball Eureka has fallen back again, is now 8-16.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore and Milwaukee are neck-and-neck at the top of the MLB standings, both 19-6. Boston, Texas, Montreal, and Portland are stuck at 9 wins apiece.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo may be lazy, selfish, and unmotivated, but the 2037 AL Cy Young winner is having a great start to the season: 3-0, 43.2 IP, 66 K, and 1.8 WAR.... With his win today against us, Houston's 24-year-old perpetual-phenom-to-be, Alejandro Gonzales, is now 4-0, with 48 K in 34 IP, and 2.1 WAR. He could end up one of the best pitchers in baseball in a year or two. ...... TL;DR Version: A little back-and-forth this month, but we manage to squeeze out a 15-10 record, good for second place, and 1.5 games behind Houston. Offense is first in runs, AVG, and OBP. Pitching is still being held together by string and baling wire: 10th in runs against, with the 11th ranked rotation and 13th placed bullpen. Still, our run diff is +38, thanks to some big offensive nights. What's odd too is that, thanks to injuries and demotions, our five current starting pitchers have ERA of 3.49, 2.25, 3.09, 2.65, and 3.44. And if you want another small, but hopeful, piece of good news: top prospect Dante Padilla, who hasn't hit at all since rookie ball, is hitting .274 with 3 HR in his first month in AA. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-06-2019, 05:08 PM	#213
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 1-2 @ HOUSTON Wrapping up our three-game set against the FIRST PLACE Astros... HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (3-0, 3.49) / Ryan Ratliff (1-0, 2.25) HOU pitchers: Chris Harris (1-1, 5.26) / Dustin Springer (3-2, 2.92) #26: LOSS 1-3 ... how nice that we give up Hi-yuan Qu's first big league home run; and first two doubles; and first four-hit game...we only muster a weak five singles tonight #27: WIN 9-8 ... this one was tied 4-4 after 8, and only went 9...7 doubles out of 15 hits tonight...Willard goes 1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, and gets the win, huzzah Well, that last game was pretty ugly for the bullpen, but a win is a win, and avoids the sweep.... Trying to jumpstart Simmons (.289), I swap him with Klein (.316) from leadoff to the #8 spot. shrugs I dunno either.... Ramirez blows a save in that last game, and his ERA is now up to 6.23. I need a voodoo doll, or an exorcist, or something for this guy.... ELSEWHERE: Yee-haw! It's only May 2nd and already everybody in Boston's clubhouse hates everybody else. Congrats guys!.... Somebody named Alvin Phillips is leading the AL in WAR (with 2.0) atm. He had earned 2.1 WAR combined in 263 games over the previous two seasons. So, way to step it up, mystery man. Oh, it says here he's in a contract year. Say no more.... Cubs RF Ryan Annand is not having a time of it in his first starting season: 1 HR in 86 AB, with a wicked slash of .140/.174/.186. And Seattle's Brett McGee has been a pretty fair starter for them for several years now. But not yet this year: in 5 starts he's 0-4 with an 8.80 ERA, and has given up 50 H (and 14 HR) in just 29.2 innings. May 3-6 @ LA ANGELS Part of the muddled middle/bottom in the AL West, as once you're past Houston and us you get to four teams vying for last place. The Angels are 12-16, are 9th in runs and 11th in runs against, with a -2 run differential. They are hitting more than they're scoring, and their starters have the 3rd best ERA in the AL. Signs of life, then. Over the winter they lost superstar 2B Juan Rodriquez, and replace him with last year's DH, Shamel Jackson; he's hitting .306, but with little power, or anything else really. They did address losing the big guy's bat by signing OF Coby Sandu, who hits a ton of home runs (four seasons of 45+ HR), but is an indifferent fielder and is generally lazy and slapdash. They also added SP Jon Carlsen (from CIN), who, at 27, is the oldest starter in the rotation. I'm not surprised these guys are pitching well, as top to bottom it's a pretty solid group. Manager: Miguel Rodriguez, who somehow has parlayed a 21-year (non-managerial) career in Mexico into into nine blah years with the Yankees and now a third season with the Angels. Owner: Arturo Moreno, Jr., another tolerant economizer. He's delighted--delighted!--with a losing team that doesn't draw well. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (3-1, 3.09) / Tim Pinksen (5-0, 2.65) / Taylor Barnett (3-2, 3.44) / Khalil Palmer (3-1, 3.57) LAA pitchers: Arturo Sosa (1-0, 4.78) / Jon Carlsen (1-2, 2.97) / Noah Sims (1-3, 4.85) / Alex Diaz (3-0, 2.50) #28: WIN 9-2 ... Klein leads off the game with a HR, and we don't look back...throw in 13 more hits and NINE walks, and we're good...complete game for Jones #29: WIN 13-9 ... 5 in the 6th, and 7 in the 8th, helped out by Klump's GRAND SLAM and a pile of doubles...the pen flounders again, giving up 6 more runs...Pinksen hurt #30: WIN 10-7 ... 3 hits for Groff, 3 RBI for Davila...we walk nine more times tonight...Barnett gives up 5 in the first, but calms down after that to allow us to catch up #31: WIN 7-3 ... 14 hits, and the offense is just on fire this series...Palmer fans 10 in 6 IP...Masuda hurt running the bases. Note: never run guys Did not expect this, even against the struggling Angels. And with Houston getting swept by Seattle, we suddenly find ourselves in first place, 2.5 games up.... Pinksen just has a strained oblique and won't miss any starts.... I move some parts around in the bullpen: Dan Brown is finally reinstalled as closer, Ramirez goes from closer to setup, Willard goes to MR, and Nick Kramer moves to the other setup role. Everybody but Brown has an ERA over 4.50.... ELSEWHERE: Four teams have won 20 games: Milwaukee (22), Baltimore (21), Hawaii (20), and the Mets (20).... Washington has just 10 wins, and is on a 6-game losing streak.... Brooklyn's Chris White (.444) and Baltimore's Cesar Alvarenga (.407), are the only batters remaining above the Ted Williams line.... San Diego signed John Cannon away from us, and while he's just batting .212, he is leading the NL with 10 HR, and is helping to power the Padres to the top of the NL West, at 19-12. May 7-10 vs SEATTLE Both teams are riding 5-game winning streaks coming into this series. Playoff atmosphere! In May! Seattle finally is starting to look like the playoff contender I picked them to be this off-season. Third in runs, 2nd in HR, but pitching...oy...17th in runs against. Former Angel Juan Rodriquez has been as advertised (.358/7/19), but the surprise is that they're hitting so well with two of their other big guns--OF Aaron Harrison and OF Mike Wapner--on the DL. Miguel Moreno won the AL Cy Young last year, and has picked right up where he left off, at 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA. But their bottom three starters are a combined 1-11 with a 7.90 ERA. Manager: Jose Jimenez, in his sixth season. Owner: Adam Yamauchi, who is UNMERCIFUL, like Emperor Ming, yet charitable. He's also a meddling profit-hog. Keep me far, far away from this guy. HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (1-0, 1.80) / Eric Jones (4-1, 2.86) / Tim Pinksen (5-0, 2.95) / Taylor Barnett (4-2, 4.12) SEA pitchers: Miguel Moreno (2-0, 2.14) / Brett McGee (0-4, 8.83) / Carlos Zenon 1-3, 6.91) / Steve Maki (3-2, 4.19) #32: WIN 18-1 ... wow, this against Moreno too...hits were 21 to 3...3 HR for us, and 4 RBI for Klump and Davila, and a HR for Sanborn (see below) #33: WIN 5-3 ... Groff homers again (last night as well), and Jones throws another solid, low-key 8 IP...Brown does his job and earns a save in the 9th #34: WIN 4-1 ... Pinksen gets another win, despite us being outhit tonight...2 RBI for Heath, in a rare start, and another save for Brown #35: LOSS 1-3 ... streak ends with a flat effort...Barnett is fine through 6 IP, then gets hurt...2 more hits for Sanborn, having a nice restart to his MLB career That last loss took the shine off a bit, but three out of four is still fabulous. We're 23-12 now, 4.5 up on Houston.... From our LA series: Sen Masuda suffered a hip strain, and will miss 5-6 weeks. We call up 1B/DH Chris Sanborn, batting .342 in AAA. He did fine this series, going 6-for-16 with a HR and 5 RBI.... Barnett has a dtd injury, back tightness, which is expected to last 1-2 weeks. I'm not sure what to do with him atm; Rob Hart came off the DL and started a rehab stint in AAA, looking very rusty in his first start (3 ER, 5 IP, 3 K, 3 BB). If I put Barnett on the DL, I might just give our two-way wonder boy, Phil Lasky, a shot at the rotation. Dunno yet.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's Raul Bravo tied a dynasty record with a 19-K effort against the White Sox. Dave Gonzalez (CLE, 2038) and Hall member Jon Talley (TB, 2026), also had 19 strikeout games.... Only Chris White (BKN) is now batting above .400. It's not something I think anyone will ever do again, but it's always fun to see how late into the season someone can go. I'll be shocked if he's still above .400 at the end of the month.... White also leads the bigs with 3.3 WAR, and is tied for 1st in NL home runs, and 2nd in RBI.... Toronto, bless their hearts, is still starting Jordan Cruz at short. In 31 games, he's batting .144 with 1 HR and 2 RBI. And 48 K in 111 AB. That's pretty bad, you say. But wait: Cincy's Antonio Chamorro has fanned 58 times in 113 AB, and STL's Jonathan Salas 54 in 111. These guys are getting paid for this! May 11-13 vs PITTSBURGH Interleague Play is finally here! Everyone's been clamoring for it, seriously. First up, Pittsburgh: at 18-17, they're already 1/3 of the way towards matching last year's victory total. The offense has holes, but is producing: 7th in runs, 4th in AVG, but only 13th in OBP and HR. LF Jimmy Taylor is having a breakout season (at 31), batting .341, and 3B D.J. Flores is hitting .306, about 40 points higher than his career average. Pitching is also decent: 8th in runs against. SP Manny Gomez and David Fults are carrying the load right now, and new closer James Clemons has 9 saves. For fans longing for the glory days of the '20s, they've got some nice prospects coming too: SS Phil Laybolt and 2B Cortez Ortiz look like a keystone combination for a decade. Manager: Nathan Culp, in his third year, and with a fine .373 winning percentage. Owner: Ecstatic 84-year-old Robert Nutting, a tolerant penny-pincher. HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (4-1, 3.27) / Ryan Ratliff (2-0, 1.21) / Eric Jones (5-1, 2.94) PIT pitchers: Manny Gomez (2-1, 2.13) / Chris Liles (2-2, 5.35) / Daniel Brister (1-1, 5.96) #36: WIN 6-1 ... another GRAND SLAM for Klump, and a complete game with 9 K from Palmer...2 RBI double for Simmons, now hitting .310 after moving to 8th #37: WIN 3-1 ... only 11 combined hits (6 to 5, us) in this one, but we manage 7 walks in addition...Ratliff goes 8, fans 7, while Brown strikes out the side in the 9th #38: WIN 7-4 ... Klein busts loose, with 4 singles and 3 RBI, and Groff hits a 2-run triple...Jones gives up 4 R in 7 IP, but the pen proves stout tonight, setting down six straight to close I don't know how that switch got thrown, but now we're winning games all sorts of ways, when we couldn't buy much over the first two weeks. The patchwork rotation is still holding up, and while not everyone is hitting right now, we've got five regulars batting over .300.... I'm not putting Barnett on the DL. He'll probably be affected for only one start, and a couple of injuries on farm teams means I'd rather not stretch those staffs any more for the moment.... ELSEWHERE: Portland is the current hot team, having won 8 in a row and 9 out of 10. They're now 20-18, so not setting things on fire overall. They haven't had a winning season, btw, since 2042.... CHW's catcher Dan "35 Million Dollar Man" Starr becomes the fourth active player to reach 400 career home runs. He's also now fifth all-time in home runs for catchers, and trails leader Devin "Soon-to-be-HoFer" Ransberger by 89 dingers. May 14-16 vs CHICAGO CUBS The Cubs haven't really been a playoff threat since the late '30s, but are currently tied for first at 22-17. Hitting has been a real drag, 18th in runs, and 17th in AVG and OBP. Three regulars are hitting at a sub-Mendoza clip, and two others just barely above it. Pitching has been just the opposite: 1st in runs against, with the 2nd best starters ERA and best bullpen ERA. Closer Tim Wormald has been fantastic, with a 0.44 ERA and 27 K in 20 IP. Manager: Alexis Lara, in his 6th year. Owner: David Woronski, described as lenient, charitable, and meddling. He's worried, too, despite all his owner goals being in the black at the moment. HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (6-0, 2.66) / Taylor Barnett (4-3, 4.17) / Khalil Palmer (5-1, 2.86) CHC pitchers: Tim Ciotta (3-1, 2.02) / Danny Zarate (1-3, 6.11) / John Baldwin (1-3, 6.81) #39: LOSS 0-10 ... oof...oddly, this is the first loss as an Islander for Pinksen, after 12 straight wins...only five hits for us...this is a week's scoring for the Cubs #40: WIN 3-2 ... scoreless after 9, all runs were scored in the 10th...Sanborn's 2-run HR tied it, and Klein's RBI single won it...bullpen has been cranky (again) this series #41: WIN 12-8 ... leads of 6-1 and 7-2 vanish, until a 5-run 8th wins it, spaked by JHart's 3-run blast...he also had a 2-run shot earlier, and drove in 6 runs tonight Nice series, hitting-wise. The bullpen was trash, tho, giving up 10 of the 20 runs.... Attendance is down too, 15% per game. Despite our recent World Series success (and, uh, occasional lack thereof) and fielding yet another winning team, our fans are proving incredibly fickle. FINE WE'LL JUST TRADE EVERYONE THEN.... Barnett pitched well despite his tight back, and Eric Jones now has the flu. We have a day off coming tho, so both should be good to go in our next series.... ELSEWHERE: Ten wins in a row now for Portland, who find themselves a 1/2 game out of first, now that LA has lost 4 straight. Yeah, I know, it's only May.... Washington has been hapless for nearly a generation: their last playoff visit was in 2031, and they've only had four winning seasons since. After a decade at the bottom of the NL East, the combination of savvy free agent signings and homegrown youth finally paid off in a hopeful 86-win season last year. This year: 13-27, dead last in MLB. No hitting, and worse pitching. Sorry guys. ...... TL;DR Version: A nifty 13-3 start to May is fine by me. At the quarter pole we're 28-13, now 4.5 games up on Houston. Hitting is league-best, and we're actually 7th in runs against, despite my constant kvetching. One worrying spot is our 14th-ranked bullpen. Even the normally reliable Pat Stanley is struggling: 7.16 ERA, 20 H and 6 HR in 16 IP. So after the Chicago series I send down Ben Willard (7.62 ERA), and call up Nate Moore (2.61, 6 SV in AAA). And Rob Hart is really not feeling it in his rehab stint: 2 starts, 8.00 ERA, 9 IP, 9 BB. Some good news from AAA is that two-way guy Phil Lasky is pitching really well, and is not embarrassing himself at the plate. I really have no idea what to do with him in the bigs, tbh. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-11-2019, 02:06 PM	#214
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 18-20 @ MONTREAL Sliding backwards in the competitive NL Central: on a 1-9 skein to put them at 14-27 overall. They've scored the fewest runs in the NL, and hitting is 15th, 18th in HR. Pitching is only marginally better, at 13th in runs against. They don't feature a lot of high-contact guys, and half their lineup is hitting about 40 points below career averages. Rookie Allen Geel has brought a bit of power--leading the team with 7 HR--but is batting just .188. Still, attendance is up, and the team is profitable. Probably thanks to Youppi. Manager: Andres Reyna, third season. Owner: T.J. Reid, a tolerant economizer (it shows, man), who is upset that none of his goals are being met, or even considered. HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 1.19) / Eric Jones (6-1, 3.20) / Tim Pinksen (6-1, 3.20) MTL pitchers: Jun-hyuk Au (1-7, 3.95) / David Salguero (2-3, 4.68) / Adam Kraemer (season debut) #42: LOSS 6-7 ... the pen gives up a 4-run 8th for the loss...3-run HR for Klein, and 2 hits apiece for Groff, Stoneback, and Klump #43: LOSS 7-10 ... despite three HR, another bullpen blow up--5 late runs this time--costs us this one...Groff goes 4-for-4, and Sanborn drives in three #44: LOSS 5-7 ... three games, three bullpen losses: 2 runs in the 8th tonight...sigh...11 hits for us, but only one for extra bases Well, that was fun. The bullpen--leaking oil for weeks--just exploded all over everyone, and essentially cost us all three games. Rick Ramirez (8.56 ERA) has been dropped to an avoid-high-leverage-at-all-costs MR slot, and Nick Kramer took his new setup role so seriously that he now sports a flaming 9.00 ERA. Pat Stanley, who didn't exactly wow 'em here, at least managed somehow to get his ERA below 6. Closer Dan Brown has been good, but didn't pitch any here because, well, he didn't have any late leads to close out.... The bullpen ERA is 17th, at 5.94. Meaning someone is actually worse.... ELSEWHERE: Chris White (BKN) is slumping, and his average has dropped to .389. Reds young superstar Jose Tavares had a huge series against the Angels (8-for-11, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB) and leads the NL with a .402 average.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo is pursuing the pitching triple crown: 1st in ERA (1.39), t5th in wins, and 2nd in strikeouts. I wonder when we play them next? (Checks calendar...crap).... Mets closer Nick Sexton already has 20 saves on the season. May 21-23 vs MILWAUKEE Currently on top of the Central, at 28-16. They score more runs (9th) than their hitting (14th AVG, 17th OBP) would indicate...although being 3rd in home runs certainly helps. RF Chris O'Brien has powered 14 of them, and is well on his way to topping his career high of 32. Pitching (1st) and defense (2nd) have been the obvious strengths, tho. Ace Jay Russo has been great, and three other starters have ERA below 4. They're doing all this with 8 guys on the DL, including 3B Josh Toombs, who hit 39 HR last year. So they'll get even better soon.... Manager: Seon-gwon Che, a temperamental first-year guy who doesn't really get along well with anybody. Owner: Ron Attanasio, who's both lenient and controlling. Erm... HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (4-3, 3.54) / Khalil Palmer (5-1, 3.05) / Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 1.73) MIL pitchers: Jay Russo (4-0, 1.39) / Nathaniel Cole (0-0, 3.75) / Jim Gilbert (6-3, 3.31) #45: WIN 5-4 ... I talk up Dan Brown and he nearly blows it in the 9th...a bases loaded walk in the 11th wins it tonight...3 hits for Klein, and a good start for Barnett #46: LOSS 6-10 ... pin this on Palmer, who gives up every run, then gets hurt...hard wind blowing out meant 6 combined HR #47: WIN 5-3 ... we score 3 in the 2nd, thanks mostly to JHart's 2-run HR, and then hang on...3.1 solid innings from the pen tonight Solid series, getting back on track. Pitching was better, and Palmer is just dtd for 5 days. With a day off upcoming, he probably won't miss a start.... Jose Esquivel gets called up to take a spot in the pen, Nick Kramer goes back down. Esquivel pitches twice, goes 3.2 innings, looks good.... Rob Hart gets ransacked again in his third rehab AAA start.... We only draw 33K per game in this series, way way down from last year.... ELSEWHERE: Portland has been an astounding 18-3 this month, bringing them to 27-19 and first in the NL West by 2.5 games.... For the first time in years (decades?) an NLer is leading MLB in home runs: STL catcher Alexis Mercedes has 17, leading CIN Jose Tavares and LAA Tony Mendoza by one.... Austin looked like a team on the rise a couple years ago. Now, they're 17-29 and getting no pitching and no hitting. Although former Islander Ronnie Corgan was just installed at closer, and has a 0.92 ERA. Can we have him back? May 25-27 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX A proud franchise that hasn't seen the post-season since 2030, this season doesn't look likely to end that streak. At 20-27, they're bringing up the rear in the Central, with a 17th-ranked offense and 16th-ranked pitching. Billionaire catcher Dan Starr is hitting again, leading the team with 10 HR and 36 RBI, and leadoff RF Justin Haynes is rolling at a .311/8/32 clip. But #2 hitter Ken Howard gives it right back with his lovely .209/.270/.319 line. Let's not mention cleanup hitter Jim Timmer and his .198 average. SP Jake Davidson is having a fine year, but the bottom three in the rotation have a combined ERA over 7.00. Closer Luis Andino has 14 saves and is at least holding his own in a struggling pen. This is a staff that really needs Burton Dick, the #2 prospect in MLB, to hurry up and develop already. Manager: Taylor Black, in his first season after just four years at the helm in A ball. Owner: Andy Johnston. Demanding. Economizer. Meddling. Profit! A losing team that's not drawing fans and won't turn a big profit? He's satisfied. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (6-1, 3.66) / Tim Pinksen (6-1, 3.73) / Taylor Barnett (4-3, 3.43) CHW pitchers: Daniel Hampton (0-1, 8.25) / Gary Stoker (2-1, 7.11) / Chris Wead (3-5, 4.42) #48: LOSS 2-3 ... Jones pitches well enough to keep us in this, but Moore gives up a raft of singles in the 9th for the loss...We make Hampton look very, very good tonight #49: WIN 9-5 ... Pinksen isn't at his best (7.1 IP< 9 H, 5 R), but the offense powers through for 13 hits, including 3 doubles for Klein, and 3 RBI for Stoneback #50: WIN 8-2 ... Barnett throws a smooth 6 IP...Davila wakes up with 3 hits (2 doubles and a HR), 2 RBI...Ramirez somehow throws 3 scoreless, hitless innings in relief Get your record healthy against the weak teams, some smart guy once said. Which is good, as we've got some tough series coming up.... Hitting is still league-best, and the pitching has stabilized of late. The pen lowered its ERA by over a half run these last six games.... Finally some good Rob Hart news: a 7.1 IP start, 7 H, 2 R, 7 K.... Sen Masuda, tho, has an injury setback and will be out an additional week. He's looking at the end of June for a return date now.... Somehow we're 2nd in the AL in steals, at 41. J.J. Simmons is third with 13.... ELSEWHERE: Washington, Montreal, and Austin are the only teams without at least 20 wins.... Don't look now, but the Yankees are 16-9 this month and in third in the East. Attendance is up a remarkable 83 percent over last year.... I wouldn't say Philly is having a post-championship letdown this year, but at 28-21 and 2nd in the NL East, they're not tearing it up like last year. Hitting is still 1st in the NL; and while they're 5th in runs against, the rotation is ranked just 13th, and was seriously hurt by the season-ending injury to four-time Cy Young winner Dave Henderson. May 29-30 @ DETROIT Quirky schedule means a day off, then a double header on the 29th. No surprise: the Tigers are having another good year. Currently a game behind the Brewers, and at 31-20 they have the best non-division-leading record in MLB. Hitting is down a bit, just 8th in runs (and a sad-looking 17th in AVG), but pitching has been the rock, at 2nd in runs against. They have a +45 run differential. Four players are already in double figures in HR, so they get a lot of easy runs. But if the power dries up (it won't tho), they'll have trouble scoring with that bad hitting. SP Raul Bravo is having a Cy Young-type year, and 34-year-old closer Alex Castaneda is having a nice comeback (2.63, 10 saves) after several years of dreary middle relief. Manager: Ethan Larrison, in his first at the helm (two years as bench coach) after the retirement of the beloved Franceso Miani. Owner: Henry Ilitch, who's demanding and fiscally controlling, and yet hands-off. That's a lot of passive-aggressiveness right there. His owner goals are simple tho: reach the playoffs, reach the World Series. HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (5-2, 4.20) / Ryan Ratliff (4-0, 2.14) / Eric Jones (6-1, 3.55) DET pitchers: Mike Cote (5-2, 4.14) / Jeffrey Foley (0-2, 4.88) / Travis Heumann (1-2, 6.18) #51: WIN 3-1 ... HR for Davila, and we outhit them 12-6...Seven four-hit innings for Palmer, and Brown gets his 8th save #52: LOSS 1-9 ... sloppy nightcap, as no one pitches well...3 hits each for Klein and McCollum #53: WIN 5-4 ... Klump goes 3-for-5 with a 2-run HR...four others get 2 hits each...Jones has his usual game, putting 12 runners on through 7 but somehow getting the win Will always take two out of three, and especially against Detroit.... Klein continues to deliver, batting .335, with 32 RBI from leadoff.... Sanborn has hit .278 with 4 HR since his recall, making a solid case for a regular shift in the lineup. He'll probably have to go, however, once Masuda comes back.... All five starting pitchers have ERA below 4.00, which may be a first for any Islander team.... ELSEWHERE: With one more day left in May, Jose Tavares may finish the month over .400 (by one point, for now).... Yankees OF Daizo Yonamine, likeable yet fragile, has played just 14 games this season. His four-year career in NY has seen the follwing games played: 62, 108, 55, and 14.... Austin pitcher Danny Arroyo is having a nightmare year: 10 starts, 64 IP, 83 H, 26 HR, 5.43 ERA, -1.8 WAR. And Cubs RF Ryan Annand is somehow still in the lineup with this line: .135/.191/.184. May 31 @ HOUSTON We finish the month with the first of a four-game set with the Astros. They've slipped a bit, going six games under .500 to sit at 28-26, 6.5 games behind us. Eleventh in runs for and 14th in runs against, for a distressing -31 run differential. These are not good signs going forward. SP Alejandro Gonzales is finally looking like the ace he was meant to be, and RF Hughie Noonan is having a fantastic sophomore season, .340/13/32. The bullpen, tho, has been worse than ours: dead last in ERA, and closer Alex Mahoney is lucky to still have a job: 8.75 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. System outlook: 18th (of 36), with 1B Jose Renteria (#17 ranked) and 3B Ricky Silva (#27) looking like legit hitting studs. No big pitching prospects, however. HAW pitcher: Tim Pinksen (7-1, 3.99) HOU pitcher: Chris Driscoll (2-4, 5.52) #54: LOSS 4-7 ... three HR (Groff, Davila, Klump) are pretty much it for highlights...Pinksen puts 11 runners on in 5 IP...Stoneback hurt too Pinksen may be regressing to his mean, which is not that surprising, tbh.... Stoneback suffers a herniated disc on the bases (how?) and will be out for two weeks. I'll move Simmons over from second, and give Manny Rangel a couple of weeks as a regular to get a better read on him (he's hitting .250, but in just 32 AB, so I'm curious to see what he's got). Not sure who will come up from the farm.... ELSEWHERE: Nobody is hitting .400 any longer. Oh well, we can still dream.... Austin ends May with just 19 wins on the season. They've been stuck in last in the NL West all year, but with Arizona (projected to win just 59 games, remember) on a 1-9 skid, that could be changing soon. ...... TL;DR Version: A 6-7 run to finish the month on a less than strong note. Hitting is still going strong, which is good: 1st in runs, AVG, OBP, and 8th in HR. Pitching is...a bit less predictable. The bullpen has recovered from it's early-month horrorshow, and is now 12th in AL ERA, at 5.17. The rotation ERA is 8th, and there are some signs that maybe the honeymoon is coming to an end. Pinksen has gotten a little bit worse nearly every outing this year, while Barnett and Palmer have outpitched expectations. Ratliff and Jones have been pretty steady, but as I said during spring training: this is not a rotation that scares anybody. We really need Rob Hart to get his rehab act together and come back strong, if only so I feel like I have one solid ace/near-ace level pitcher available. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-15-2019, 05:56 PM	#215
knuckler Hall Of Famer Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3,347	Very cool dynasty here - lots of great writing. I saw your post about Lewiston and they will definitely be in. I'm a fellow Maine resident (Isle au Haut) so I appreciated the suggestion.

04-16-2019, 06:13 PM	#217
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Two months done already! We'll play 28 games in June, only 10 at home. Three more interleague series as well, and six games against Oakland. And as usual, I'll do the draft report and system review after the first half of the month. Finally, there was more bloodletting in our June scouting report, with a number of MLB and AAA players losing ground against father time. Including...Rob Hart...yaaaay. June 1-3 @ HOUSTON Three more games against our new nemeses, perhaps? With Stoneback out, I call up 2B Cameron Mitchell, who'll make his first big league appearance sometime over the next two weeks. Let's see what Manny Rangel can do over that period too. HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (5-3, 3.39) / Khalil Palmer (6-2, 3.90) / Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 2.66) HOU pitchers: Alejandro Gonzales (7-2, 2.42) / Chris Harris (4-1, 3.33) / Dustin Springer (3-5, 3.63) #55: WIN 7-6 ... a hatful of singles and walks in the 8th result in 4 runs and a late win...sadly, Astros pitcher Gonzales hurt #56: WIN 1-0 ... 2 hits and an RBI for Simmons...Palmer, Ramirez, and Brown combine on a 2-hitter, fanning 10 #57: WIN 5-3 ... 3 RBI and the GW double in the 9th for Klein...tonight it's Klump's turn to get hurt on the bases, diagnosis pending Nice finish to the series, and nice start to the month. Back up to 8 over Houston, 8.5 over Seattle.... Still waiting on Klump's diagnosis.... ELSEWHERE: NYY's Oscar Sandoval (21) and TOR's Paul Foster (20) lead the HR parade.... Miami's George Bradshaw is working on a 22-game hitting streak.... Pittsburgh's David Fults (7-0) is the last pitcher with a sub-2 ERA, at 1.79.... Mets closer Nick Sexton has saved 25 of the team's 36 wins. June 5-6 vs OAKLAND It looks like the rebuild may be on in Oakland, with a 24-34 record. The once-vaunted offensive machine has broken down this year: 17th in runs, and 16th in home runs. 3B Ryan Walton has 16 HR, and LF Kris Wallace is hitting .302, but not much else is going right. Pitching has been much better, at 5th in runs against. Mike Wiater and Francisco Pantaleon have been solid starters. System review: 23rd ranked. Pitchers Bryan Nunez (#39) and Antonio Olmedo (#70) look solid, and 3B Scott Peckler (#61) is a top fielder but so-so hitter. I count 4-5 more solid pitching prospects around, but sadly no real hitting stars. HAW pitchers: Eric Jones (7-1, 3.69) / Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.32) OAK pitchers: Mike Wiater (5-4, 3.42) / Jacob Wood (1-6, 3.91) #58: LOSS 5-6 ... Brown gives up solo HR in the 9th and 10th to cost us this one...2-run HR for Groff, solo shot for JHart #59: WIN 7-6 ... our turn: Simmons and Klein drive in runs in the 9th to fuel the comeback...Davila, JHart, and Klein each get 3 hits, and everyone gets at least one A study in use-of-bullpen contrasts in that second game: we used one reliever, Pat Stanley, over the last 3.2 innings; Oakland used 6 pitchers over 2.2 innings.... Klump's diagnosis: sprained ankle, out for six weeks. I call up OF Kenny Welch for his first taste of the big time. Welch was hitting .320 in AAA with 8 HR in 178 AB. He's got contact, power, and a huge arm in the field, but has no range. Still, let's see what ya got, big guy. He'll platoon at DH with Glenn Heath, a lefty.... Rob Hart will come off rehab tomorrow, and has thrown two quality starts in a row. Fingers crossed.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto is the latest team gone cold, losers of 7 straight and 9 out of 10. Former Islander Malik Chaney (1-7, 5.89) has not been good on the mound, while my favorite whipping boy Jordan Cruz is batting .175 with 79 K in 189 AB. YOU GO, SON.... Baltimore and Tampa have won 5 and 6 straight, respectively, and are pulling away from the rest of the East. The Yankees are still over .500, but Boston, Miami, and Toronto are all slipping away.... Turns out I lied to you in the last update: Portland pitcher Neil Cromer now has enough IP to qualify for the ERA race, which he leads with a quality 1.47 mark. David Fults is still there too, at 1.79, so bully for them.... The MLB WAR race is as follows: Chris White (BKN 3B) 3.9; Eddy Llamas (LAD SP) 3.8; Cesar Alvarenga (BAL RF) 3.8; Alexis Mercedes (STL C) 3.7. June 7-10 @ TEXAS An 0-9 start hasn't really gotten better in Texas, sitting at 23-37 and at the bottom of the division. They put a lot of runners on base--5th in AVG, 4th in OBP--but are scoring at only the 13th-best clip. Pitching has been a challenge, at 17th in runs against. They are trying to make things better, however: sending down Pedro Cabrera (although, tbh, his 4.72 ERA is a full three runs better than his career number) and calling up '44 1st rounder Greg Buchanan to make his debut against us this series. Former Isle Mike Messinger is coming around after a rough start to the seaseon, and one-time Isles prospects 1B David Rivera (.294/7/20) and 3B Danny Holguin (.266/4/14) are holding their own. System review: ranked 8th, with four in the top 100. Buchanan is #10, and 1B William Swanson (#42) looks like a future stud. Pitchers Paul Labbe (#55) and Mike Kent (#94) seem like future starters, albeit with some glaring holes (walks and home runs, respectively). HAW pitchers: Taylor Barnett (5-3, 3.66) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.56) / Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 2.78) / Eric Jones (7-1, 3.77) TEX pitchers: Mike Messinger (6-3, 4.24) / Thomas Cannaday (2-4, 3.40) / Greg Buchanan (MLB debut) / Luis Otero (3-4, 5.59) #60: WIN 3-1 ... pitcher's duel, and we're outhit 8-6...all singles for us, but add in four walks, an HBP, and a sac fly for a small-ball win...8 IP for Barnett #61: LOSS 6-7 ... most hits loses, as we're the "victims" 12-9 in that stat...3 hits for Groff...3 errors by the guys doesn't help, as an unearned run is the difference #62: WIN 15-3 ... 23 H, 6 HR, and one destroyed MLB debut (Buchanan: 3.2 IP, 14 H, 10 R, 5 HR)...2 HR, 4 RBI for Heath, and 4 H with 4 RBI for Klein #63: WIN 5-2 ... 8.1 IP of 4-hit ball for Jones...Welch debuts, goes 3-for-4 with an RBI...2 hits, 2 RBI for Groff Poor Buchanan; he'll need therapy after that one.... Adam Groff passed 1000 career runs in this series. This season he also moved into first place in franchise games played and at bats. Four more doubles and he'll pass Jeremy Dunklee for first there too.... Rob Hart is recalled and moved into long relief for now. Jose Esquivel pitched well, but gets the nudge downwards.... Our top draftees are signing, but I decide against offering $4M to 19th rounder Max Hopper. I'm not "Gullible Bill," after all.... Stoneback's DL time gets extended by a week; Masuda still out ofr 2 more weeks.... ELSEWHERE: Miami's George Bradshaw has his 25-game hitting streak ended by Boston.... LAD traded for AL batting champ Matt Anderson, and then promptly nailed him to the bench. He's batted 46 times this year, and is demanding a trade. I'm thinking "hmmmm".... Six-game losing streak for the Mets, allowing Philly to creep to a 1/2 game out.... Seattle moves into 2nd in the AL West with their own winning streak, passing Houston. June 11-13 @ NEW ORLEANS A short hop from Arlington to New Orleans to start out last round of interleague series. The 2040 champs have made the playoffs four times this decade, but are struggling to find consistency so far this year. At 31-32, they're just 4 games out of first. Only 13th in runs and 16th in AVG, they are somehow 4th in OBP. Pitching, as usual, is strong: 4th in runs against, featuring the 2nd best NL rotation. Ricky Munoz (6-3, 2.71) is having another quietly strong year. These guys could really use LA's disgruntled Matt Anderson. Manager: another former Isle, Clarence Whitney, who settled for $978K after asking for nearly 2M from us. Owner: Corey LaHood, a not-at-all-criminally-named owner, who is happy despite having all four of his goals going unmet atm. He's tolerant, charitable, normal, and balanced. Shouldn't we all be? System review: ranked just 32nd, with only two players (pitchers John Sanders and Bobby Nelson, both ok looking) in the top 100. I'm partial to OF Wietze Ottens, an amazing fielder and runner who apparently bats with a toothpick, based on his ratings. HAW pitchers: Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.60) / Taylor Barnett (6-3, 3.40) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.91) NOZ pitchers: Adam Oeltjenbruns (1-5, 4.90) / Chad Akers (3-7, 3.96) / Ricky Munoz (6-3, 2.71) #64: WIN 6-5 ... 4 errors lead to 4 unearned runs, combined...we win in the 9th thanks to a bases loaded wild pitch from closer Joey Riley #65: WIN 4-1 ... another 9th inning win off Riley, this time a Groff 3-run blast...Barnett scatters 4 hits over 7.1 IP, goes home empty-handed #66: WIN 4-3 ... this time it takes 13 innings to win, after allowing 2 runs in the 9th...4 hits for Klein, 3 and a HR for Davila...we outhit the Zephs 15-6 Now we're rolling.... Thoughts and prayers to Zephyrs closer Joey Riley, who lost or blew every game in this set.... Stoneback comes off the DL for our next series, with Connor Mitchell (1-for-2 in 2 games) going back to AAA.... The bulllpen ERA is back below 5 now--it's really strange to have most of your best-on-paper relievers filling out the "avoid high leverage" slots in the pen.... Unlike last year, all of our (worthiest) draft picks have signed. All are starting in R or Short A, except for top pick Josh Frederick, who starts in A (and is 23, so needs to develop quickly).... ELSEWHERE: Toronto has slid backwards to last in the East and a bottom-five overall record. And they just lost best hitter (and winter free-agent plum Paul Foster for 6-7 weeks). No worries, tho, as they've finally moved strikeout machine (35% of AB) Jordan Cruz into leadoff. He does have a much higher OBP than AVG, which is good. We'll just ignore the fact that that average is .177 at the moment.... Baltimore's Jason Powell leads the bigs by a comfortable margin with a .382 AVG. Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is having one of those near-Triple-Crown years, 2nd in hitting (.357), tied for 1st in HR (23), and first in RBI (55). Cincy's Jose Tavares is doing about the same in the NL, although much farther back in RBI.... Minnesota's Vinny Vargas just reached 1900 career hits. He's not adjusting well to his new home, batting just .270/8/31, projecting to his worse season by far. (He batted .235 during a brief rookie call-up, but averaged .340 in the intervening 11 seasons.) ...... TL;DR Version: A 10-2 start to June, and an active 5-game winning streak. Seattle and Houston are lukewarm right now, so we've built up an astonishing 10 game lead over the Mariners (with the Astros a game behind that). Rob Hart has yet to make a relief appearance, so I moved him to MR rather than LR. My rotation is throwing really well right now (although Pinksen is regressing from a hot start), so I really need to see if he has anything left before we get into crunch time this season. Plus, he has a team option for next year, so soon enough it'll be decision time... __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-20-2019, 03:09 PM	#218
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2046 DRAFT and SYSTEM OVERVIEW Can I just say that once again it is difficult to maintain focus when you get past, say, round 6, and you're trying to decide whether to select that outfielder who can run and field but couldn't hit a wiffle ball ten feet, or that pitcher who never learned how to make the ball "do bendy things" when throwing? Having said that...at least we have a number of high picks, with two selections (um...how? I can't remember.) in the 1st round, and two supplemental picks thanks to losing some not-so-cheap free agents last year. We also have two 10th round picks, but you probably don't want to hear about them... ...... The top five picks belonged to Pittsburgh, Texas, San Francisco, Houston, and the Yankees. San Fran, Arizona, Boston, Oakland, and us each had two picks in the first. Pittsburgh led off by selecting pitcher Josh Hohn out of the University of Mississippi. If he sounds familiar, it's because Texas took him #1 overall last year but couldn't sign him. Ha! Like last year, control looks like his only weakness, but he is definitely at least A-ball ready right now. Texas then took another hard-to-sign pitcher, 18-year-old Bobby Daniel. A bit of a reach if you ask me, as he looks like a decent back-end starter (better movement than stuff, and no fastball). Can they sign him, tho? The Giants took the first fielder, selecting high school OF Darius Williams. Solid pick: five tool guy, and a hard enough worker that he could exceed his already-high ceiling. Houston then grabbed one of the few decent pitchers left, getting 23-year-old Oliver Bergquist. He was taken #6 by the Cubs last year, and...well, you know the drill. He looks okay, but doesn't blow the doors off at the moment. With the last of the top five picks, the Yanks took OF Chris Mitchell: very fast kid, good fielder, but is a bottom-of-the-lineup hitter and not the solid lock you'd want to take at #5. Sleeper pick: I like Montreal's choice of 3B Tim Bell at #8. He's probably the 2nd best hitter in the first round, after the Giants choice of Williams. Blue Jays 1B Ian Logan (#11) and Arizona OF Chris Piper (#16) should have been top ten picks, imo. Definite reach: No real glaring mistakes, but with high-quality pitching all but gone after the first 20 picks, the Orioles surprised everyone by taking (Hawaiian!) high schooler Jarret Corrigan at #24. I say 'surprise' because he's a high-stuff/low-movement-and-control reliever, who would've been available a round or two later, for sure. As for batters, Philly took OF Mark Schrock at #30. He can run all day and hit some doubles, but that's about it. Best first round name: Cubs pitcher Adam Krull (#7) and Giants OF Dave Griffey (#10). Disappointed he's not Ken Griffey III tho. ...... Here's a run-down of our top picks: Rnd 1, 28th overall: P Josh Frederick, 23, North Carolina. Why, yes, we did take him in the first last year. (Draft Day 2046 has a theme, apparently.) Listed--and drafted--as a pitcher, but will get moved to the outfield. He will sign this time, oh yes. Rnd 1, 31st overall: 2B Josh Matson, 22, Arizona State. Solid contact and line drive hitter, and has a little pop too. Won't walk much. Good runner, good enough in the field. Probably limited to second base only: good glove in the outfield, but no arm. Supplemental, 55th overall: P Kevin Walker, 17, high school. Moderate ceilings, but good intangibles will definitely help. Has stamina to start, and should develop a quality cutter/slider/changeup variety. Supplemental, 58th overall: P Tim Mitchell, 21, Iona. Another dart at the board. Looks similar to Walker, above, but with better stuff and slightly lower movement and control. Should develop nice fastball, and a slider/change to go with it. Future starter. Rnd 2, 87th overall: P Jeremy Kolek, 21, Rice. You can't have enough pitchers, ever, so I took Kolek despite him being strictly a reliever. Should be a solid contributor, and in the not-too-distant future. Probably ready for A ball, at least. Rnd 3, 124th overall: OF Marc McKenzie, 21, Cal State-Fullerton. Perhaps a bit of a reach, as he looks like backup material only right now. Speedy, good fielder with a so-so arm. More of a singles/groundball hitter, with zero power. Rnd 4, 161st overall: OF Joe Lynn, 17, high school. Intriguing prospect. Decent contact, better gap power, little HR power. Won't walk, but won't strike out either. Incredibly fast, probably one of the fastest in baseball, but not an outstanding base runner. Great range, bad glove, decent arm. High work ethic. Like I said, intriguing. Rnd 5, 165th overall: OF Chris Henderson, 18, high school. Looks kind of like 3rd rounder McKenzie, but with better power and a rocket arm. Feel like I really stocked up on outfielders this year. Best of the rest: Catcher Luis Hernandez (6th) could be a decent backup one day; OF Nick Cooley (10th) has some hitting chops, but has an iron glove. The rest are the usual assortment of high-character guys who will exceed their low ceilings, but not get anywhere near the bigs, most likely. ...... Without factoring in this year's draft, MLB says our prospects rank 3rd, with four players placing in the top 100 prospects. Two are in the bigs already, and one was just moved up to AAA. More detail: #1: 3B Dante Padilla, 22, 6th ranked by MLB. Santa Barbara (AAA), 5-for-9 with a HR after his AAA promotion. Also hit .241 in 48 games with AA. Couldn't hit a lick in the low minors, but his bat is finally coming around the higher he gets. Hitting ceilings look great, with power, eye, and low strikeouts. Biggest drawback is his poor glove, and lack of any speed on base. Still, he could be on the hot corner as soon as next year, and might get a few swings this September. #2: P Olimpio Le Coq, 20, 22nd ranked. Athens (R), 14 GS, 3-2, 2.90 ERA last year. He's moving up our prospect ranks, but hasn't developed much over the past year. Has four pitches, and good stuff, but needs to work on his movement in order to be a truly legit prospect. #3: IF Manny Rangel, 25, 30th ranked. Hawaii, .240/0/5 in 50 AB. Bat is coming around some after a slow start, and will get some quality reps over the next couple of weeks after Stoneback's injury. Probably won't hit for high average, but looks decent enough across the board, and with really strong fielding, that he could be our regular second baseman by next year. Decent OF as well. #4: OF Kenny Welch, 23, 75th ranked. Hawaii, no stats. Just called up from AAA, where he was .320/8/34. If he can hit in the majors, he'll be a fixture for quite a while. Looks to have 25-HR power, with good contact too. Great arm, but little range. And not a runner, at all. #5: P Shaun Gates, 22, 120th ranked. Lewiston (AA), 11 GS, 3-5, 4.26 ERA. Hasn't yet pitched as well as he did last year, but scouts say he's developing nicely. Looks like he's ready for AAA, but is hampered by a logjam of pitchers there. He wants to be in the bigs, so I'll probably move him up a level soon. I want him competing for our rotation next season. #6: P Jonathan Ashton, 19, 138th ranked. Rookie ball, no stats yet. 2045: 14 GS, 4.46 ERA. Supplemental pick from last year. Right now, looks to become a #3 or so starting pitcher, which works for me. Groundball pitcher, which I like. Looks to develop four good pitches, and like most kids, needs serious work on his control. Others of note: P/OF Phil Lasky, 24: could be a real two-way player, but maybe is a slightly better pitcher right now. Might get him some MLB time this year. OF Cameron Daley, 22: hitting .341 in AAA, so is probably ready right now. Might be our LF by next season, easy. 1B Roberto Navarette, 18: still in the intl. complex; scouts still say he's going to be a dynamite hitter. SP Shamar Jackson, 23: pitching well in AAA, with one bad start in Hawaii. Looks like another 3/4-type SP. Knuckleballer. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-21-2019, 06:19 PM	#219
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 15-17 @ ST LOUIS After a slow April, the Cards have played steadily better and currently share the division lead with Cincinnati (36-30 vs 37-31 for the Reds). Batting is only 12th in AVG, but 4th in OBP and steals, for a solid 6th place in runs. Pitching has been mediocre, only 12th in ERA, for a mere +6 in run differential. Five players are on the DL, including two starting OF and 2B Tim Ost (who hasn't played at all this season). The offense is being kept afloat by CF Jason McColl (.323/12/42) and former Islander and AL MVP winner Alexis Mercedes (.306/18/61). I know I pick on Toronto SS Jordan Cruz all the time; his NL counterpart is SS Jonathan Salas, now in his seventh season (with 4 teams), and a career average of .192 and a K% barely shy of 40. Closer Frank Casper, 24, is having a breaktrhough season in his first shot at the role: 23 saves, 1.38 ERA, 0.90 WHIP. Manager: Chad Kerfoot, who has amazingly turned five awful seasons in Holland into a big league post. Owner: Joe DeWitt, Jr, who seems like a fine person and yet is unhappy with his playoff-chasing team. System review: dead last, 36th. Not much to see here except for their top two prospects both being named Casey and both playing CF. What a battle royale that will be, huh. HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 2.81) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.63) / Tim Pinksen (7-2, 4.55) STL pitchers: D.J. Pasquarelli (6-4, 4.50) / Ivan Villa (4-6, 3.81) / Andy Goeser (3-4, 4.72) #67: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn socks two solo HR, and Ratliff scatters just 3 hits over 6.2 innings...3 hits for Simmons, and a 2-run double for Rich are also key #68: LOSS 4-5 ... Nate Moore gives up a small-ball run in the 9th to lose this one...for some reason backup OF Nate Flygare comes in at catcher in the 9th #69: WIN 9-6 ... 7 of 10 hits go for extra bases, including another HR for Sanborn...Pinksen struggles, but the pen bails him out with 4 shutout innings Congrats to Cards catcher Alexis Mercedes on reaching 400 career HR.... Pinksen has really struggled since April, with an ERA near 7 in his last nine starts. Rob Hart, anyone?.... Sen Masuda comes back in five days. I'd almost forgotten he was still with us.... Top prospect Dante Padilla, who could barely hit a lick in R through A ball, hit .241 in AA and is batting .357 (in just 42 AB tho) since a AAA promotion.... Jim Klein has quietly moved into third in AL batting, at .355.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers pitching may be heating up just in time to save their season, with Gary Florence (he's back!) and Tony Rodriguez tossing shutouts. Portland continues to leads the NL West at 40-28.... While all the NL division races feature 4 (or 5) teams, things are spreading out in the AL. In the East, Baltimore is up on Tampa by 2.5, and by 11 over the Yankees. In the Central, it's Milwaukee by 3 over Detroit, then 8.5 over Cleveland. And Hawaii is 9 up on Seattle. June 18-20 vs CINCINNATI Thanks to us, the Reds now have a two-game cushion over the Cardinals. That they're winning at all really looks like it's completely due to a top-ranked defense and a couple of star players. They're 8th in runs, but just 14th in AVG and 17th in OBP, with superstud Jose Tavares having another MVP-caliber season (.356/21/52), and 3B Dan Martin adding 16 HR. I guess you should expect to struggle some when you turn over your entire infield in the off-season. Pitching is just 11th in runs against, but the rotation ERA is 7th. Juan Valdez is the star here, but don't sleep on former Islander Ryuma Sato and on retread Jeff Clayton. The bullpen hasn't been much, but there are a pair of former Islanders (again), in Hisami Masuda (5-1, 3.68, 1 save) and Gastone Sarretti (1-0, 1.08, 1 save). Sarretti was a prospect who went over in the ill-considered Kyle Crowl trade. Manager: Dan Remenowsky, now in his 17th year with the Reds. He's up for renewal this fall, and if I know MLB owners, he won't be re-signed. Owner: Bobby Joslin, a demanding yet charitable type. Goody. System review: 2nd overall, with five in the top 100. Led by #1 overall Cris Frias, who looks like he'll strkieout tons and walk tons too. Like a JR Richard or Nolan Ryan...not bad comparables. HAW pitchers: Rob "Hello Again" Hart (0-2, 9.47) / Taylor Barnett (6-3, 3.22) / Khalil Palmer (7-2, 3.65) CIN pitchers: Ben Griffin (3-6, 4.78) / Ryuma Sato (4-2, 3.75) / Juan Valdez (7-4, 3.59) #70: LOSS 5-6 ... Hart looks fine: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 9 K...the pen gives up 4 in the 9th, all on Brown thanks to a Tavares grand slam #71: WIN 14-2 ... 5 HR tonight, including 2 each for Groff and Davila...4 RBI for Rich, 3 for Simmons, but still zero HR combined for those two #72: WIN 9-8 ... Palmer suffers through a 7-run 4th...we add 7 of our own late, and win it in the 12th on Davila's RBI single...Moore goes 3 IP for the win Runs, runs, everywhere runs.... Hart walks four in his start, but I was very encouraged otherwise, and will keep him in the rotation for now. Pinksen will get used to his new role at the back end of the bullpen.... I open up contract extension talks with Eric Jones and Rich Stoneback. Jones wants 22M total over 2 years, while Stoneback wants a huge 302M deal over 9 years. Yow.... ELSEWHERE: Portland ends Miami RF Nick Meehan's 21-game hit streak, then the next day Miami ends Portland 2B Mike Hunter's 20-game run. (Yes, former Islander star Mike Hunter. Hi, Mike!).... Unsung young stud Chris Goldthwait, 24, is having a super season for Tampa: .361/29/66, and leading baseball with 5.3 WAR and a 1.216 OPS. That's already a career best WAR, and he's just 9 away from a career season in HR. My favorite aspect of him is his complete lack of foot speed (a 1 rating), but an amazing knack for stealing (18 rating) and baserunning (20).... Philly and NY are tied at the top of the NL East, with Phils catcher Marc Orange 2nd in NL batting at .357. That's a full 80 points above his career average. June 21-24 @ OAKLAND The A's are 11-7 in June, to stabilize somewhat after a bad first two months. Still not scoring (13th) or hitting (16th), they are patient enough to be 7th in OBP. 3B Ryan Walton leads the team with 21 HR and 46 RBI, but top hitter LF Kris Wallace (.300) is out until late July. Free agent signee C Alex Contreras has hit just .189, while rookie 2B Ernesto de la Torre only .230. Pitching is 5th in runs allowed, for a somewhat charitable -2 run diff. The rotation's numbers look good, and even the awful Tim Shellhammer just tossed a shutout. For some reason they moved Tim Friddle (2.76 ERA) out of the closer position and gave it to journeyman Cory Wood (5.87 ERA, 1.57 WHIP). System review: 23rd, with three top 100 guys. Pitcher Bryan Nunez (#39) looks good, but hasn't developed a third pitch, and may never do so. 3B Scott Peckler (#61) is a future captain, but also a future career backup, honestly. I'm partial to pitcher Jim Overcash (he is not greedy, sadly), who looks like a mid-range starter and could surpass that ceiling. HAW pitchers: Ryan Ratliff (6-1, 2.93) / Eric Jones (8-1, 3.77) / Rob Hart (0-2, 7.33) / Taylor Barnett (7-3, 3.21) OAK pitchers: Mike Wiater (6-4, 3.35) / Jacob Wood (2-7 3.78) / Tim Shellhammer (1-1, 6.00) / Francisco Pantaleon (5-9, 3.98) #73: WIN 3-2 ... a subdued pitcher's duel, with 11 combined hits...Stoneback showed up, tho, with 3 hits and a pair of doubles...7 good IP for Ratliff, but Brown is leaky again in the 9th #74: WIN 5-2 ... complete game 7-hitter for Jones...Heath gets HBP, diagnosis pending...3-run HR for Sanborn is the GW here #75: LOSS 5-9 ... Hart is not so good today, let's just leave it there...3 hits each for Klein and Groff...Masuda whiffs 4 times in his first post-DL start #76: LOSS 0-11 ... Barnett is terrible for the first time in a long while, and we manage just four hits Phew, some pretty awful pitching those last two games. We were due, I suppose. Hart was bad, but Pinksen at least looked good in 4 IP of mop up work.... Still no word yet on Glenn Heath's injury. With Masuda back, I sent down Kenny Welch, but as he was 7-for-16 while with us, he'll come right back up if Heath is gone for a while.... So--I inked Stoneback to an extension. He wanted, basically, 32M per season. So I took a chance and offered him a complex 9-year deal: he'll make 16.5M next year, then 22, then 18, then 23, and then have an opt-out. After that, his salary zooms to 35M per for three more seasons, after which there's a team option. If he sticks around that long, he'll be 36 and there's zero chance I'll take that offer. He has bonuses for MVP and all-star apps too. I figured he's too good a fielder and too solid a power bat to lose for a little supplemental pick on the free market. Plus, the fan interest meter hit 90 for the first time this calendar year after announcing the deal.... ELSEWHERE: Some good pitching on day four there: a one-hitter and four four-hitters.... Mets closer Nick Sexton has reached 30 saves.... Milwaukee's Jay Russo continues to sport a 1.73 ERA (15 starts), while Pittsburgh's David Fults owns a 1.67 mark. June 26-28 vs LA ANGELS Now 30-48 and falling into "top five pick" territory. 13th in runs and 17th in runs against, with a -18 run diff. Power hitters Tony Mendoza and Jason Eastep are producing, and leadoff CF Emmanuel Garcia (.294/10/35) is having a solid sophomore seasons, but not much else is going right at the plate. Former Isle Travis McArthur is now batting 2nd, but is hitting just .252. Slugger Coby Sandu is just back after missing nearly two months. Pitching: new signee Jon Carlsen has been as advertised, and closer Bret Roemke has been solid. But otherwise, it's another lost season in a rebuild that keeps stretching on and on. System review: 29th, with only one top 100 prospect, which is...not good. Pitcher Dane Dean (#38) has some promise but is really low on stuff right now. The rest of the cast look like role players to me, including #2 prospect pitcher Noah Sims, who's already in the bigs. HAW pitchers: Khalil Palmer (7-2, 4.14) / Ryan Ratliff (7-1, 2.78) / Eric Jones (9-1, 3.62) LAA pitchers: Jon Carlsen (4-4, 3.31) / Arturo Sosa (3-5, 5.19) / Bob Tranchida (5-8, 4.77) #77: WIN 5-4 ... Palmer has his good stuff tonight, yielding just 4 H over 7 IP...Groff powers two HR, including the GW 2-run shot in the 7th #78: WIN 7-4 ... HR for Stoneback and Masuda, and Davila goes 3-for-4 with 4 RBI...Ratliff pulled after three batters, Ramirez earns the win with 4.1 solid innings #79: WIN 5-3 ... Sanborn and Masuda HR tonight, and JHart triples home two runs...6 IP, 6 H, 6 K for Jones, who signed a new deal before the game More money: Jones re-signs with us, and the fans go, um, yay?.... Ratliff gets hurt, diagnosis pending. He's been our most dependable starter, so I really hope he's back soon.... Jones reaches 10 wins on the season, tied at the top with Yankees starter Brian Whitney.... ELSEWHERE: Six wins in a row for the Red Sox, who suddenly don't completely stink. Clubhouse is still feuding, tho.... Texas is trailing the field, with just 27 wins. The Angels are next, with 30.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is the first batter to 30 HR. We could end up with Triple Crown winners in both leagues, which I think would be pretty cool.... New Orleans gets a jump on next season by dumping 37-year-old starter Adam Oeltjenbruns off on KC for a pair of solid RP prospects. Oelts goes and tosses a shutout in his first start for the Royals, who are 9 back of Milwaukee but playing better of late. June 29-30 vs CLEVELAND Two games to finish out the month, then one in July. Currently the Indians are 37-42 and 11.5 out of first. They can't hit, at 16th in runs and 14th in AVG. While leadoff batter Walt DiDio is hitting .294 (50 points above his career mark), the 3-through-6 guys are coming in at .231, .264, .193 and .163. Although 24-year-old cleanup batter David Van Eschen does have 17 HR and looks like a solid contributor for years. Pitching is much better: 5th in runs. Ace Zach Gioeli hasn't been great, but his 3.69 ERA is a full run below league average. SP Matt Grigg has been solid, if unloved, and closer Tim Stoner was just called up from A ball (!) and has two saves in 5 games. Manager: Jose Ariza, 6th year. He won 92 games last year, but won't this year. Owner: Kurt Dolan, demanding, controlling, and profit-hungry. He's happy, for some reason. HAW pitchers: Rob "C'mon Man" Hart (0-3, 9.30) / Taylor Barnett (7-4, 3.80) CLE pitchers: Roberto Maldonado (2-9, 4.33) / Zach Gioeli (4-3, 2.54) #80: WIN 6-5 ... Hart allows 5 R in 6 IP, a marked improvement. Fans 8, but walks 4...4 hits and 2 RBI for Davila, and 3 hits for Klein #81: LOSS 5-9 ... another bad one for Barnett: 6 R in 6 IP, ERA now over 4...two HR for Groff, now over 300 in his career. Congrats! Not a great finish to the month, especially with our rotation looking more wonky by the day. At least Ratliff is only out for five days. He might miss a start, or get pushed off by a day, but that's it.... We're only 9th in HR, but seven players have hit double figures, meaning a nice balanced attack. Very nice.... ELSEWHERE: KC has gone 8-2 of late, reaching .500 again and pulling to 9 out of first.... Tampa's Goldthwait is approaching 6 WAR. No one else has 5.... Eight wins in a row now for Boston, just a game under .500. Can the Cranky Boys keep going? ...... TL;DR Version: 10-5 to finish the month, and a league-best 54-27 mark at the halfway point to the season. Nice! And yet... The rotation suddenly looks human. Palmer and Barnett are trending down, Pinksen has been down there for over a month already, and who knows about Hart yet. Only Jones and Ratliff have been steady. I'm not sure anyone in AAA is quite ready yet, either. A trade? There really isn't anyone available who is a) pitching well AND b) available at a non-extortionate price. Richmond is making 4/5 of its rotation available, but only 2-time Cy Young winner Rafael Maldonado looks tempting. But he's making $24M, would cost way too much in prospects, and has just 2.5 pitches right now, meaning he's probably going to decline sharply soon. Not sure what, if anything, I'll do just yet. Maybe hold fire, and see if Hart and Barnett can find some consistency over the next couple weeks. Then reassess. I've got a month before the deadline. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-22-2019, 04:56 PM	#220
SxSnts9 Minors (Double A) Join Date: May 2016 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 154	Just read through this whole thing from beginning to end in the last week. Really great write-ups so I wanted to drop off a cheers to you my friend. Go Islanders! __________________ "They let me down real easy when they cut me. I showed up at the stadium and was told that visitors aren't allowed in the clubhouse." - Bob Uecker