Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! - Page 22

Bub13 · 06-21-2021, 06:40 PM

Twenty-eight games this month, seventeen on the road. On the injury front, Josh Hed will return after the California series, and Jordan Ruiz about a week after that. Jonathon Sitzler has three more weeks, and Lua Ulkini will nurse his dtd tweak for another week. In better news, Jules Medici was named AL player of the month for July after going .433/14/38 and adding 16 walks (for a lovely OBP of .508). I guess he loved his new contract that much, huh.

August 1-2 vs CALIFORNIA
Wrapping up this series. We took the first game way back in July.

HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (5-2, 4.97) / LH Matt Waugh (13-3, 3.04)
CAL pitchers: RH Aaron Moore (1-5, 6.71) / LH Travis Fox (8-6, 4.84)

#110: WIN 6-5 ... 10 hits, 4 of them leave the yard...3 were solo shots, Medici added a 2-run blast...Burke struggles, Yaung fans all 4 batters he faces
#111: WIN 11-4 ... GRAND SLAM for Royer in the 3rd, and a 2-run shot by Espino an inning later...11 runs on 10 hits here, but add in six walks

Very solid, but we get no closer to Texas. We do have a four game gap to Houston, though.... Another big series from Medici, and he's now atop the AL batting race at .364, also tops with 112 RBI.... Two more steals by Lynn gives him 51 on the season. We have 128 steals total, good for 5th in the AL.... Rough season for Matson. I didn't expect him to repeat his wonderful '53, where he went .352/.388/.585 with 26 HR and a 140 OPS+; but he's sitting at .270/.328/.382 with only 6 HR and a 77 OPS+. And negative WAR.... ELSEWHERE: No more trades as the deadline comes and goes. Miami made the most moves, but has only gone 5-5 of late, making up no ground on Tampa Bay, and 9 games back.... St Louis has lost six straight and is in danger of losing touch with division-leading New Orleans, now five games up on the Cards.... And the White Sox stay hot, 9-1 in their last ten and seven games ahead of Detroit.... Juan Garcia watch: now at 2989 hits, only eleven away!

August 3-5 @ TORONTO
After posting some improvement with two .500 seasons, the bottom has fallen out this year: 45-66, last in the East, 12th in offense and 17th in pitching. They're 8th in HR, however, and are led by 30-year-old reclamation project 1B Max Corliss (.302/39/86), plucked off the scrap heap after four seasons in Mexico. Injuries have been the story for the pitching staff: four SP and three RP are out. The biggest name is Greg Boedigheimer, who hasn't pitched in over a year and now may never reach the lofty heights predicted for this former #5 overall draft pick. The good news here is the 9th-ranked farm system, but even that is tempered by a distinct lack of position players of note: only three infielders crack their top ten, and none are sure-things even as backups. The even better news, as far as owner Jody Patterson is concerned, is that his "Extreme Profit!" strategy is paying off to the tune of an expected $36M surplus this season.

HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (6-2, 3.42) / RH Mike Bader (5-6, 5.19) / RH Mike Pearse (8-6, 3.85)
TOR pitchers: RH Josh Haynam (8-12, 5.80) / RH Adam Arriaga (0-6, 10.17) / RH Jaden Buchanan (2-6, 6.92)

#112: LOSS 8-12 ... oof, total stinker with zero good pitching...we score 4 in the 9th to at least make it look less embarrassing
#113: LOSS 5-7 ... we outhit them 11-9, but more horrific early pitching otherwise dooms us again
#114: LOSS 4-5 ... once again we outhit these guys, but can't manage a win...again, 3 late runs makes this close

Ugly ugly ugly. No pitching, no timely hitting. And Toronto is truly terrible.... We lose two games to Texas, now five in arrears.... Only rookie ball Wilmington, at 16-22, ruins the picture of having all our farm clubs over .500.... Speaking of the farm, AAA Santa Barbara leads its division by 12.5 games and is batting an absurd .329. It seems like nearly every regular deserves a look at the bigs, too. Nice.... ELSEWHERE: Six-game losing streak in Seattle has put them below .500 and 11 games out of first, probably deep-sixing their playoff hopes.... Stealing is back, baby! Our Joe Lynn leads MLB with 53, but Emilio Meares (TEX) has 50, and NL batting leader (at .350) Nate Forrester (STL) has 49. Could we see someone come close to 70?... Still tight in the NL East, as only 9 games separates first (Washington) from last (Atlanta).... Juan Garcia now just 9 hits away from 3K.

August 6-8 @ SEATTLE
Whatever well they drank from early on has dried up now: a 36-23 start has given way to a 20-37 run since. And 0-5 so far this month. Still 2nd in runs and the lineup looks good, with no injuries at all. Pitching has dipped to 14th, however, with a 16th-ranked rotation ERA. Have I mentioned before that their pitching took blows in the spring, when top prospects--and likely MLB guys this year--Seb Mulholland and Ron Rivera were lost for the season? Probably, but it was worth saying again. They still have a +20 run differential, showing some signs of life remain. At only six games behind us, and with time still on the clock, if they can get any kind of decent pitching they can get right back into the race.

HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (5-2, 5.16) / LH Matt Waugh (14-3, 3.12) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-3, 3.92)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (10-7, 6.96) / RH Dan Crews (4-7, 5.60) / RH Steve Davenport (7-10, 7.77)

#115: WIN 5-3 ... Hed smacks a 3-run shot on his return, and a crazy 4-hit night from Simmons...Burke goes 7, gives up just one run
#116: LOSS 6-10 ... had a 6-5 lead late here, couldn't hold on...3 hits apiece from Royer and Matson
#117: LOSS 1-3 ... one bad pitch and Carbs gives up a 3-run HR to lose this one...just six hits for each team

Five losses out of six to two struggling teams. What a way to kick off the stretch run. And three challenging sets coming up: Texas, Detroit, and an over-.500 Red Sox squad.... Waugh has another forgettable outing, but in the other games we got good pitching and just couldn't hit.... Simmons has his average up to .240, which is still terrible but a much better place than he was in about a month ago.... ELSEWHERE: St Louis continues to struggle, losing 9 out of 10 and down into a tie with Chicago, and six games behind the Zephs (who have lost 5 in a row).... Don't look now, but a seven game run has the Yanks only five behind Tampa Bay and into a tie for the second wildcard slot with your favorite mid-Pacific Ocean team.... How is Juan Garcia doing, you ask? Only four hits away, after a six-hit series against Portland. The Giants play a pretty bad Arizona team next. I'll keep you posted.... By the way, 80 wins for the White Sox, and 78 for LA. Is a rematch of the 1959 Series in the cards? Only 95 years on...

August 10-12 vs TEXAS
The division leaders by 5, but like us off to a slow start this month. The offensive problems they were having earlier have been solved, as they're up to 7th in runs. Pitching sits second, and there's a sweet +121 run differential to show off too. The 2-5 hitters (Halvorson, Robbins, Boers, Olivera) are as good as anyone in baseball, and combined are hitting nearly .320 with 108 HR and 17 WAR. The bad news for us (and everyone in the division) is that all the regulars should be back next year, and hopefully 25-year-old top pitching prospect Mike Nelson will be fully healed from his spring elbow surgery. He looks like a serious Cy Young candidate, and I can't believe he lasted until late in the 2nd round in his draft year. (We at least grabbed Doug Pederson--great when healthy--in our first round.)

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (5-7, 5.45) / RH Mike Pearse (8-6, 3.89) / RH Andy Burke (6-2, 4.76)
TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (12-7, 4.19) / RH Kevin Cahill (9-7, 3.75) / RH Sean Reed (9-6, 4.12)

#118: LOSS 2-3 ... a nice 8 IP outing for Bader, but it's hard to mount much offense with only three hits...two errors too
#119: LOSS 5-8 ... outhomered 4 to 2 and outhit 10 to 7...Pfeifer knocks a 3-run shot late, to no avail...two more errors
#120: LOSS 1-7 ... yeah we pretty much gave up early...sigh

Lifeless, utterly lifeless. Again. To top it off manager Kenney put JJ Simmons and his 53 OPS+ self into the cleanup slot that third game. Sure why not.... It feels like rearranging the Titanic's deck chairs now, but I make one move right now, sending down 2B Jim Pfeifer and giving 2B Erik Griffin his first taste of MLB. Griffin's an average hitter, decent fielder, not fast but a good baserunner. He'll work the count way more than Pfiefer did, but I don't expect the next Rogers Hornsby here.... We're now 19 days away from bringing up the AAA club.... ELSEWHERE: Juan Garcia's 4th-inning RBI double off DBacks starter (and former Isles prospect) Cory Graulich makes him the 32nd player to reach 3000 career hits. He's tied now with Clemente and Joe Mauer, and with a healthy remainder of the season should pass Lou Brock to move to 25th overall.... Nine out of ten for the Yankees now, and just 4 games behind Tampa. Plus they just completely stole OF prospect Gary Bellany (solid power hitter and a strong RF arm) from Oakland for 29-year-old 2B Justin Gilbert, earner of exactly 1.0 career WAR.... Everyone's at least .500 in the NL East now, and last place Atlanta and Brooklyn are only nine games out of first place.

August 13-15 vs DETROIT
From the frying pan to the fire, with the 74-46 Tigers coming to town. Fourth in hitting, seventh in pitching, and a lineup full of power and average. The only thing hurting them right now are some accumulated...hurts of their own: 2B D.J. Grace and OF Manny Molina are out, as is future superstar OF Roberto Gomez. Backup 2B Elliott Wheat is also out, leaving vet Jefferson McKenzie (.199) the only slack bat in the lineup. Plus, top two starting pitchers T.J. Carroll and Raul Bravo are injured. And yet they keep winning, holding on at only 7 games behind Chicago and with the third best record in baseball. Honestly, if we muster even one win here it will be a major victory.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt "Ace" Waugh (14-3, 3.30) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 3.91) / RH Mike Bader (5-8, 5.31)
DET pitchers: LH Corey Nelson (9-3, 3.18) / RH Trevor Sanders (11-10, 6.36) / RH Tony Gamez (11-7, 4.99)

#121: WIN 8-4 ... moral victory incoming...everyone gets a hit, including new boy Griffin...11 K for Waugh, but gives up all 4 runs in 6.1 IP
#122: WIN 7-6 ... shrugs...down 6-1 early, we rally and tie it with 3 in the 9th, and Matson wins it in the 12th...closer Kearns goes 4 IP to win
#123: LOSS 1-3 ... Bader can't catch a break as we give him just 4 hits in support...Simmons, batting cleanup AGAIN, gets hurt

Well, we put up a better fight, at least. Didn't gain any ground on Texas (8 games behind) and lost ground to Seattle and Houston (both just a game behind us).... Simmons' nickname is "Boom Boom," which is as ironic as it comes. Why then Kenney keeps batting him cleanup is anyone's damn guess.... RP Jordan Ruiz comes off the DL and Brad Cahill (7.07 ERA) heads back to AAA.... ELSEWHERE: Eight straight wins for Seattle; they can just stop that, now.... Haven't mentioned these guys in a while, but the bottom dwellers are duking it out: Cleveland and Montreal have 46 wins, Milwaukee 48, and California 49.... Cincy captain Lance Powell called a players-only meeting, trying to get a handle on their 51-71 season I guess. Time for a 40-game winning streak!... Speaking of Cincy, wild man Cris Frias has gone on the season-ending DL. On paper, Frias is an ace with control issues. However, in reality this year: 6.11 ERA, .393 BABIP, 148.2 IP, 203 K, 143 BB. That's right, 21 batters per 9 innings make zero contact when he pitches.... LA's Junjiro McDonnell now leads all batters with 51 HR.... And the White Sox and Dodgers have clinched winning seasons, both with 82 wins.

......

TL;DR Version: Way to put pressure on the playoff race, guys. A solid 5-9 run has us at 65-58 and 8 games behind Texas. Also a game behind NY for the second wildcard, and just one game ahead of both Seattle and Houston in all the standings. Not sure what else to say about this little patch of games other than we stopped hitting AND stopped pitching, for a change of pace. And for a while our team defense was improving, but then our pitchers made a couple hundred errors here and we're bottom third in most team fielding stats now. Griffin's promotion makes him the sixth player to start at second, with no one really distinguishing himself. If we keep losing, there will definitely be a seventh and maybe an eighth player to see 2B time, in September. I would hate to break up the AAA party, with Santa Barbara leading their division at 67-43, but we come first. A number of their players are already on the 40-man roster, and will definitely get looks if we're beneath the waves by then.

Bub13 · 06-26-2021, 05:59 PM

August 16-18 @ BOSTON
Hanging on, at 62-61 and ten games out of first, but with our heel turn they're only four games out in the wildcard race. Like the record, the underlying numbers are average: 10th in runs, 8th in pitching, and a +13 run differential. Dustin Wasilewski missed 20 games and hasn't been the MVP he was in '52 for LA, but he's batting .340. At 35, 1B Rich Dragos keeps on hitting (.296/.417/.548, 28 HR); 2B Cortez Ortiz is batting .318; and C Riley King (.307/.378/.497, 13 HR) is still hitting nearly 50 points above his career average. On the mound, a 4th-ranked bullpen ERA has helped, but the rotation has been erratic: Chris Rivera and Xavier Timbo have been fine; but Yuya Watabe and Kaoru Tanaka have alternated strong starts with early-inning blowouts. And rookie Josh Williamson has been troublesome in the #5 slot (along with batting .239 in 43 games at DH). The clubhouse, long a bastion of hotheads, slugabeds, and other bozos, has been content so far, and there are no rifts on the coaching staff. There's a ton of help on the way in MLB's 4th-best prospect system, including the #2 prospect in the game, OF Tyler Knott. He's batting .331 in 33 starts in the OF so far, and was a 30th round pick in '51. Shows what a strong work ethic can bring you.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (8-7, 4.00) / RH Andy Burke (6-3, 5.06) / LH Matt Waugh (15-3, 3.40)
BOS pitchers: RH Xavier Timbo (4-2, 3.40) / RH Josh Williamson (7-7, 6.05) / LH Chris Rivera (13-6, 3.49)

#124: LOSS 2-4 ... 10 hits each side, but they add 2 HR to the mix...3 hits for Kelley, subbing for Simmons, 2 each for Matson and Gase
#125: WIN 6-1 ... Medici and Matson homer, 3 hits for Hed...4 H, 1 R allowed in 6 IP for Burke...a 4-run 8th breaks a 1-1 tie
#126: LOSS 1-8 ... 7 late runs destroys another 1-1 tie...Waugh is just bad again...only six hits here, while allowing 13

More forgettable stuff here. Seattle has caught us, and we're both 9 games behind Texas. Houston lurks one game back.... Simmons' injury is a back strain, and he's probably done for the season. He's gone from batting .344 in '52, to .278 last year, to .237 this year. Oh boy.... We call up youngster Lucas Tipping to take his roster spot. Tipping's 11th on our prospect list, 29th on MLB's. Not great at any one thing, but solid across the board and with surprising power. Batted .248/10/42 in 58 AAA starts.... ELSEWHERE: Nine wins out of ten for Seattle, putting them right back in the middle of the wildcard race.... That player's only meeting in Cincy has resulted in an 8-game losing streak. The players have spoken!... Oakland's Ryan Walton reached 50 HR for the third straight season... Eight wins in ten has Philly up to 2nd in the NL East, two games behind Washington.

August 20-22 @ OAKLAND
They've stabilized after a couple of awful months but still sit at 55-71, fifth place and 20 games in back of Texas. Hitting is 15th, pitching 11th, with a -74 run differential. Ryan Walton (50 HR, 119 RBI) is the main attraction at the plate; Randy Costello (.280/19/52) moved into leadoff and responded well; and sophomore Pedro Ortiz (.271/23/57) is a solid piece. But as I've said before: the pitching has been okay but would have been much better if their top three SP didn't miss all or most of the season...and if closer Matt Rabideau didn't have a 6.27 ERA. But with those three coming back next year, plus solid holdover Chris Larimer, and then top prospects Glen Marler and Jaden Sales knocking on the door, pitching should be a strength next year.

HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 4.16) / RH Mike Bader (5-9, 5.18) / RH Mike Pearse (8-8 4.04)
OAK pitchers: LH Chris Larimer (11-5, 3.33) / RH Kyle Forney (5-9, 5.63) / LH Sean Guerrero (2-2, 4.88)

#127: WIN 6-5 ... EXCITEMENT: a 6-run 9th, led by Groff's 3-run pinch HR, wins it late...2 H and an RBI for Medici...Yaung gets his 9th relief win
#128: LOSS 2-3 ... left in too long, Bader yields the GW HR to Reyes in the 9th...9 hits tonight, all singles
#129: WIN 6-2 ... outhit, but taking 8 walks helped...Medici's 2-run double in the 5th was the key hit...solid 8 IP for Pearse

Very much needed this. Texas dropped two so we picked up a game, now 8 back. Still just a game in front of Seattle and Houston.... Just a 1-for-12 start by Tipping, so I might rotate him back to AAA in a week if he's still struggling.... We're actually hitting well, 4th in AVG and OBP, but being 17th in HR is probably why we're only 10th in runs. Losing Pederson killed our secondary power, with only Royer (26) having more than 15 HR.... ELSEWHERE: None of the AL division races are closer than 6 games, but there's a nice tight race for the batting title: Jorge Arriola (TB) .351, Jules Medici (HAW) .349, Jordan Foots (MIN) .348. Each is seeking his first batting crown.... I can't remember the last time someone had 60 steals, but we've got three guys closing in on that number this year: Joe Lynn (HAW) 59, Emilio Mares (TEX) and Nate Forrester (STL) at 56.... Cleveland has outstunk the opposition and is the only team without 50 wins (at 48). Look out for Toronto, tho, with 53 wins and a 5-game losing streak.

August 23-25 @ HOUSTON
Just a game behind us, at 67-62, and they've squandered their mid-season momentum so far by going just 9-11 this month. Only 13th in runs--with, as usual, only Jose Renteria really producing, at .307/43/102--but 5th in pitching and with the AL's best bullpen. This may be the happiest clubhouse in the game: everybody loves everybody, no one's unhappy. One more thing of note: some older player's contracts will be coming off the books this fall, giving them a ton of money to spend on free agents. Get some more bats in here, and they'll contend in 2055.

HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (6-3, 4.80) / LH Matt Waugh (15-4, 3.58) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 4.12)
HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (7-9, 5.37) / RH Ken Demers (10-5, 3.33) / RH Robby Hardin (1-1, 3.03)

#130: WIN 4-3 ... 3 HR and all 4 RBI for Hed, crazy...5 hits for everyone else...another solid outing for Burke, 7 IP and 7 K
#131: WIN 11-1 ... 2 doubles and 4 RBI for Medici, and finally a solid 7.2 IP from Waugh...Hed HBP, pending injury diagnosis
#132: WIN 7-4 ... Covington drives in 3 with a HR and 1B, likewise for Venters...Carbs struggles a bit, but the pen bails him out, fanning 4 in 2 IP

Big series! But Texas matches and we're still 8 games out. Seattle's two behind us, Houston now 4.... Medici tied with Arriola (TB) for the AL batting lead, at .351.... Better pitching of late, and the bullpen now has the best ERA in the AL, 3.53. With our rotation issues, M-H Yaung is tied for second in team wins, with 9, and Nate Kearns is 4th in K, with 88 in 77 IP.... Hed got beaned and is done for the season. We give fast riser Erik Bennetsen his first MLB callup. The 23-year-old 1st rounder from '52 has this year hit .301 in AA and .345 in AAA, now gets a stint in a playoff race.... ELSEWHERE: NL Central race is tightening up, with the Zephs just 2 games ahead of the Cubs, 4 in front of the Cards. New Orleans isn't helped however by having their top two SP, Jeff Schaffer and Chad Akers, on the DL.... Six game win streak for Detroit makes them the 3rd team to reach 80 wins, and they've closed to six games behind Chicago.... LA's magic number is 14, with 30 games left in the season.... Cincy: 56-76 after expecting to contend, unhappy clubhouse, feuding coaches. All good.

August 26-28 vs MILWAUKEE
Okay on offense, at 7th in runs scored, but just a disaster on the mound: dead last in the AL in ERA and at or near the bottom in every stat category. The stars have hit--3B Mitch Elmore at .346 and DH Edwin Daza at .314--but no one else has stood out. Somehow 44-year-old C Dan Starr just keeps going, batting .270/.340/.499 with 21 HR in 89 games. He's signed through '56 and shows every intention of coming back; he hasn't topped 100 games since '48, but just keeps plugging away as various body parts fail. But I struggle to find anything good to say about their pitching. Closer Xavier Pride has a 4.15 ERA, which this year is pretty good...and is also the only ERA below 5 on the team. Not sure what next year holds: the prospect system ranks 26th, with no big studs at the top; a budget in the bottom quarter that won't get any bigger next year. They've got some young pitchers on the big club already, but they struggled so much this year it's hard to tell if they'll recover for next season.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (5-10, 5.07) / RH Mike Pearse (9-8, 3.96) / RH Andy Burke (7-3, 4.72)
MIL pitchers: RH Merlin Lemay (14-7, 5.92) / RH Tyler Rowe (8-8, 5.55) / RH Chris Ronan (7-10 6.49)

#133: WIN 10-8 ... hits for nearly everyone, including 3 for new boy Bennetsen...8-run 4th inning is just about all we needed
#134: LOSS 1-9 ... Matson homers, but only 5 hits otherwise...Pearse and Bohlen both get punched around tonight
#135: WIN 4-2 ... needed this one...8 of our 9 hits come from the top three, and they scored and drove in all four runs

Crucial game three win there, to keep us from losing our recent momentum. We're 8 games behind Texas and, frankly, probably won't catch them for the division. However, that win kept us a game ahead of NY (our next series, btw) in the #2 wildcard race.... Bennetsen goes 5-for-12 with 3 XBH in his first series. He also has seriously good pitching ceilings, but after breaking an elbow on the mound in A ball and losing nearly a year of development time, I nixed the idea of making him a two-way player. Worth it, I think, as he's got back-end SP potential, but solid all-star batting potential. Good on the bases, good kid, but limited to LF, so the outfield picture for next year looks complicated.... Joe Lynn, running amok: 2 steals in this series, but caught 4 times.... ELSEWHERE: Cleveland finally reached 50 wins; the Chisox reached 90 wins; and LA's magic number is now 10.... Will someone reach 10 WAR this year? Doubtful, but it's a good race between Texas' Ryan Boers (7.8) and Minny's Jordan Foots (7.4).... Breakout year for Cards CF Nate Forrester, in his second full season as a starter: .351 and 58 steals (both leading the NL), 25 HR, 7.2 WAR, and a +6.9 ZR in center.... Hard to believe Portland may let star 3B Gerardo Nieto go this fall. He's having another big year (.317/48/117), and the 26-year-old has 948 hits and 226 HR in five years as a starter for the Pioneers.

August 30-31 @ NY YANKEES
Another crucial series for the post-season. Currently we're a game up on them for the #2 wildcard. (Detroit, ten ahead of us, has the #1 all but locked up.) They're sitting 8 games behind division-leading Tampa Bay, and are just three up on Boston and Miami in the tightening East. Holding them back has been a stagnant offense, dead last in runs and bottom-three in AVG and OPS. CF Chris Mitchell (.287/27/84) and 3B Dave Rivera (.289/20/55) have produced, as has currently-injured Melvin Lopez (.323/26/79). Power bats Enrique Hernandez (34 HR) and Steve Colpo (21) hit dingers but little else, as the two 37-year-olds are each hitting around .220. Pitching has been superb, first in the AL with the second-best rotation going right now. But injuries have cropped up of late: #2 SP Bobby Hamel (12-11, 3.37) is out for a full year just now, and solid RP Justin Spurrell and Matt McGirr also went down recently. Former ace Tim Mitchell made his first start of the season last week, so there's hope he'll ramp up his game and contribute. Current ace Jose Sedillo should get some Cy Young attention, with 7.2 WAR and 240 K in 186 IP.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (16-4, 3.48) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-4, 4.19)
NYY pitchers: LH Jose Sedillo (15-5, 2.46) / RH Tim Mitchell (0-0, 6.75)

#136: WIN 7-1 ... Espino nearly cycles (needed a triple), Tipping hits his first MLB HR, and Waugh goes the distance...Nearly perfect
#137: WIN 3-2 ... pitcher's duel, won in the 13th by Gase with one of his four hits...lots of weird double switches going on tonight

A much-needed two wins here, and we close the month on a three-game winning streak. Still eight behind Texas.... Bennetsen came back to earth a bit, and Espino made a case for getting more playing time down the stretch. His good series here brought his average up to a season-high .260 (to go along with an .814 OPS and 8 HR in 154 AB). Tipping got a few hits, including his first HR, and may get the majority of AB at second next month if he continues showing some form. We need SOMEBODY to hit at second base this year.... Four of our six farm clubs lead their divisions, and Eureka (A) is two games out of first. Only Wilmington (R) is below .500.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans continues to fade, losing seven straight and slipping out of first, by a game to the Cubs. St Louis has rebounded and is only a game in back of the Zephs.... LA's magic number is down to 7, but the NL East is still hot, with Washington leading Richmond by 2 and Philly by 4.... Cleveland is still stuck on 50 wins, looking to consolidate their hold on June's #1 overall pick. No obvious studs stand out in next year's class, but there are some solid-looking pitchers, as well as the highest-ranked batter, catcher Wayne Payne.

......

TL;DR Version: After some back-and-forth nonsense, we rounded into shape to go 10-4 this stretch and a "just okay" 15-13 for the month. Texas has pulled away some, going 20-8 in August. Frankly, we need to admit that we cannot catch them for the division title at this point. And we're definitely not gaining on the red-hot Tigers, ten games ahead of us in the wild card race. So we need to beat the Yankees (3 behind us), Red Sox (4), and Mariners, Marlins, and Astros (each 5 behind us) to make the playoffs. Given that we're still vying for the post-season, that means we're probably not making wholesale call-ups from the farm in September. Injuries have hit us enough so that two guys--Tipping and Bennetsen--who were probably going to get looks anyway are now here of necessity; and injuries have slapped our farm teams hard enough that there aren't a lot of reserves to call on should I bring up 3-4 more guys. So I'll probably add a pitcher for the bullpen, and maybe one of the three catchers in AAA (would love to see what hot prospect Jamie Collins could do, but he's not on the 40-man, that roster is full, and there's no one I want to DFA right now).

So, twenty-five games left to define our season. If we go 25-0 we can win 100 games for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Or we could miss the playoffs for the first time since 2035. Quite a nice run.

Bub13 · 07-04-2021, 06:45 PM

Thirteen of our final twenty-five games will be on the road, but we'll close the season with home series against two bottom-dwellers, Minnesota and California. After tough early series--NY first, then Seattle and Texas--we'll only play one more over-.500 squad the rest of the way (Houston, mid-month). And true to my word, I only recall two players for the roster expansion: catcher Michael Snavely gets his second MLB call (.133 in 15 AB early on), and reliever Phil Bishop gets his first visit to the Islands. (We claimed him on waivers from Seattle in May, to help with AAA injuries. He made 5 starts for the M's last year and 1 relief app for them this year.)

September 1 @ NY YANKEES
Final tilt in the Bronx. A win puts us four in front of our nearest wildcard rivals.

HAW pitcher: RH Mike Bader (5-10, 5.15)
NYY pitcher: LH Elijah Bragg (14-10, 3.98)

#138: LOSS 3-4 ... three solo HR is the extent of our efforts tonight...Bader is okayish but gives up a run an inning early on and we can't recover

Tsk. Lead is now 2 over the Yanks. Okay, wrap this up and let's move on.... ELSEWHERE: Minnesota's rookie CF Ryan Lawler was named AL player of August, and for the season has gone .347/.387/.659 with 36 HR and 6.6 WAR. Between him, LF Jordan Foots (.338/.398/.723, 52 HR), and a RF rotation of Tim Marinaccio and Josh Conley (62 HR combined), you'd think their record would be better than 12 games under .500.... Eight game hot streak and 93 wins on the season for the White Sox, making their inevitable first round playoff KO in a month's time all that more disheartening for their fans.

September 2-4 @ SEATTLE
Yes, more must-win games for us. Seattle is now back in fourth place, five games behind us, but of course that could change quickly. (Ftr, we're 7-8 against them this year.) Since finishing May at 15 games over .500, they've given up 13 games to that mark and are currently 70-68. Offense sits 4th, pitching 14th, so it's clear where the issues are. Jon Terrell and Ger Van Mourik drive the offensive bus, and Paul Stough, Sam Moore, and Nick Ragsdale have added some power to the mix, putting them 5th overall in home runs. Four starting pitchers are out, along with RF Rogelio Pena. Throw those five back into the mix and you have a divisional contender here. Of course, that's not how this works, and they have to get things in gear if they're going to make the post-season for the first time since 2048. (Last winning season was in '49, at 83-79.)

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (9-9, 4.20) / RH Andy Burke (8-3, 4.52) / LH Matt Waugh (17-4, 3.31)
SEA pitchers: RH Vince Push (7-10, 5.04) / RH Dan Crews (5-7, 4.98) / RH Erik Ramey (12-8, 6.61)

#139: LOSS 3-7 ... Pearse fans 10 but blows up in the 6th, taking the loss...8 hits here, only 3 after the third inning
#140: WIN 7-5 ... Medici's 3-run blast in a 4-run 8th caps our comeback win...Burke gets beaten up early, but a solid 4.2 shutout IP from the pen
#141: WIN 3-2 ... no one scores after the 4th, but Gase and Tipping hit solo HR, and we use 11 hits plus a solid 5-hit outing from Waugh to win

Okay, I'll take it. Two out of three--or close to it--should get us to the playoffs. We get no closer to Texas (9 behind), but maintain a three game lead over an AL East logjam behind us: NY, Boston, and Miami are all tied with 74 wins.... Rookie Bennetsen has stopped hitting, so he'll slide out of the lineup a bit in favor of Espino and Venters, both still finding ways to contribute despite neither starring at the plate.... Bishop made a solid 3.2 inning debut against his old mates, not allowing a run.... ELSEWHERE: Six losses in a row for Cleveland, still stuck on 50 wins. Along with California and Montreal, they've been officially eliminated from the post-season.... Another forgettable year in Austin, but don't blame Alfonso Contreras, leading the NL with 58 HR and 127 RBI, as well as topping the charts in SLG, OPS, XBH, ISO, and WOBA.... So who's been the least productive MLB regular this year? I'll say Giants catcher Nate Homer, who in 368 AB has managed to go .158/.241/.228, with -2.2 WAR and 21 OPS+. Honorable mention however goes to 2052 first overall pick Eddie Feltman of Baltimore, who's hit .202 in 263 AB, with -1.8 WAR. Worst than that are his fielding stats at short: 52 starts, -9.0 ZR, .877 EFF. Wow.

September 5-7 vs TEXAS
Let's get this one out of the way early, okay? We're an unlovely 4-11 against these guys this season, so don't get your hopes up for an early-month run at the division crown. Their hitting finally came around, led of course by the impeccable Ryan Boers (.346/43/117) and Eric Halvorson (.335/46/128). Everyone but catcher Phil Thoma (.193) is raking right now, but at least he's added 15 HR and solid defense. Pitching is still getting it done too, 2nd in runs against and putting out the best rotation ERA in the AL, an amazing 3.88. Bobby Daniel leads the league in ERA and is second in wins, but probably won't get much of a sniff for the Cy Young because he doesn't have power numbers (150 K in 206 IP). After struggling for so long--zero playoff appearances from 2024 to 2049--they're headed to the post-season for the fifth consecutive campaign, and will likely take their first division title since 2019.

HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (7-4, 4.10) / RH Mike Bader (5-11, 5.14) / RH Mike Pearse (9-10, 4.28)
TEX pitchers: LH Bobby Daniel (16-4, 2.58) / RH Paul Labbe (15-9, 4.17) / LH Bill Butts (9-12, 5.36)

#142: LOSS 4-8 ... 4 long balls, none of them ours...I'm not quite sure how we even managed four runs here, on just six hits
#143: WIN 12-1 ... Medici homers then gets hit in the 7th and beats up their pitcher...shocking offense, 12 hits and 9 walks, even Griffin homers!
#144: LOSS 4-10 ... Pearse is chased after two frightful innings...three lousy singles from Gase account for a third of our offense

I knew this series wouldn't go well, and that third game especially, after Medici got suspended for three games. So we're ten behind the Rangers, no surprise, but Boston and Miami have gained a game on us. Next we play the awesome White Sox, so expect things to get even tighter before they could improve again.... Bishop tosses another 3.2 scoreless IP in relief. Maybe I should give him a start.... Backup catcher Bentley Kolb has 42 starts and has made six errors. That, and a 16% rate of throwing out baserunners, has me deeply concerned for the future of the best name on the roster right now.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans has stabilized and holds a single game lead over the Cubs, with the slipping Cards now 4 out. And LA will clinch the West with one more win or a Portland loss.... Fwiw, Mike Head (CHW), Matt Waugh (HAW), and Everett Cronk (LA) have 18 wins; Conor MacLeod (NYM) leads baseball with 269 K, the only guy to have a legit chance at 300 K. He'd become the first guy to hit that mark in both leagues since, I believe, Orlando Ramos (308 w/ BOS in '21, 309 w/ ATL in '26.

September 9-11 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Okay, here we go: our last season series against a truly good team. These guys have won 97 games, lead the league in offense (903 runs! 281 HR!) and are doing it without any one player having a knockout season. Four regulars are batting .300 (not including SS Chris Rock, dtd for another week and batting .320), and six have cracked at least 25 HR. Slots 3-7 have banged out 197 home runs (!!!) while we as a team have hit 180. And if that's not bad enough, their pitching ranks 4th in the AL. Fourth! Who do they think they are? Last-year us? Again, it's a team effort on the mound too, as most have been solid but no one's playing at an award-winning level. I'd be lying if I said I'd be happy with one win here, but I really wish we had a "use neutral zone trap" button as an option here.

HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (8-3, 4.77) / LH Matt Waugh (18-4, 3.28) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-5, 4.23)
CHW pitchers: RH Robby Liantonio (11-9, 5.00) / RH Mike Head (18-4, 4.28) / RH Jasper Cummings (11-4, 3.91)

#145: LOSS 1-2 ... arrrgh...Burke allows two hits, zero home runs, and still loses...we get three hits, two of them doubles, and still flounder
#146: LOSS 0-8 ... Waugh, why do you hurt me so: pulled in the 5th after another horrorshow...but Lynn gets 4 hits, yippee!
#147: LOSS 3-4 ... Carbs goes the distance but allows a 9th inning HR for the loss...we actually outhit them tonight, but to no avail

Four losses in a row, and five out of six, for our feckless fellows. We're back to a tie with NY for wildcard #2, with Boston and Miami a game behind.... Medici missed the first two games on suspension, not helping the cause. He got a hit on his return, but needs to start chowing down on those cans of spinach for us to be successful.... Athens (R) and Poughkeepsie (Short A) won their divisions and begin their playoffs soon; Eureka (A) tied with Bakersfield and is already down 2-0 in their playoff series; and Androscoggin (AA) has clinched their division and has one regular season game remaining.... ELSEWHERE: 100 wins for the Chisox, courtesy of some unlucky team.... A Tale of Two Cities: Cleveland is 9-29 since August 1, and LA becomes the first team to clinch their division.... Two weeks left in the season and STL's Nate Forrester has all but sealed the batting title, 25 points ahead at .361. In the AL it's a three-way tie at .351 with three more at .348, .347, and .346.... A little spree from Tampa has them 10 up on NY now, with their Magic # at 6. (Texas' is at 5, but who's counting.)

September 12-14 @ BALTIMORE
Okay, 15 games left and we're playing a team that's won 65 games and has lost 4 out of their last 5. Sixteenth in offense, 13th in pitching, but 194 steals leads the league! Congrats! There's not much else to celebrate here, but 2B Steve McClellan may be the Rule 5 pick of the century: .286/46/111, with 29 steals and 4.7 WAR. A few others have made some noise (Miguel Echevarria with 30 HR, Paul Stroot hitting .341). And they may have broken '52 #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman, batting .204 but with a league-worst -2 WAR and a really sad -10 ZR at short. On paper he looks pretty good still, so he can come back strong next year, you'd think. If they can keep some of these guys around, the possible good news is that the farm system ranks 11th, with 5 guys in the top 100. There are some good looking prospects on the mound and at the plate, so something to build on if they're smart.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (6-11, 4.93) / RH Mike Pearse (9-11, 4.58) / RH Andy Burke (8-4, 4.58)
BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (9-12, 5.54) / RH Andy Myers (4-7, 5.67) / RH Bob Lankford (1-3, 8.31)

#148: LOSS 0-3 ... great start here, held to just 3 hits...at least Bader looked good, not that anyone noticed...five straight losses
#149: WIN 6-1 ... Tipping and Bennetsen--who?--homer, and Lynn adds 3 hits and 3 RBI...Pearse fans 14 in 8 IP, Bishop another shutout IP in relief
#150: WIN 8-5 ... 3-hit games for Matson, Cov, and Ulkini, with HR from the first two...Yaung wins his 10th game from the pen

No needed sweep, but I'll take the two wins. Detroit has officially secured the #1 spot, but who cares. For now, we're maintaining a one game lead over NY and MIA, two over HOU, three over BOS.... Rough couple of months for Royer, going 33-for-150 and seeing his average drop below .300 for the first time in, oh, 18 months or so.... Tenth wins for Pearse and for Yaung, who's 10-0 out of the bullpen.... Josh Matson has hit 21, 26, and 26 home runs in his three years as a starter. He just reached # 10 on this season.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit, Chicago, and Texas all clinched AL playoff spots. Tampa should soon, with a 9-game lead in the East.... In the NL, outside of the West things are tight: WAS leads PHI by one and RIC by two in the East; and NOZ has reclaimed the Central, by two over CHI and five over STL. PHI and RIC have nice leads in the wildcard race as well.... A rare sight with an NL batter leading the MLB HR race: Austin's Alfonso Contreras has 61 blasts, while Oakland's Ryan Walton has "only" 56.

......

TL;DR Version: A sloppy 5-8 run does not help our bigger playoff picture. The good news is that of our four remaining series we'll face only one team with a winning record--Houston, right behind us in the playoff race. If we can't come out on top playing three other bottom-dwellers, then we truly deserve our fate. On the player front, Medici has slowed a bit in his run to becoming the second Isle to reach 50 home runs: he's at 46, so getting close. And Covington, after another slow start to the season, has 19 HR, good for third on the team. Matt Waugh will get two, maybe even three, more starts, and with 18 wins he still has a chance to reach 20, although he's going to have to pitch a lot better than he has of late.

So we won't repeat with 122 wins, but we're just one away from another official winning season! With some solid play, maybe we'll reach 90!

Bub13 · 07-11-2021, 08:56 PM

We'll wrap up the regular season with four final series: roadies against OAK and HOU, then closing at home against MIN and CAL. Only the Astros have a winning record, so if we close anwhere near or below .500 in this stretch it'll be a major disappointment. (Fun fact: we're 45-30 at home, 35-40 on the road.) Against these opponents, we've gone: 11-4 vs OAK; 9-6 vs HOU; 1-2 vs MIN; and 12-3 vs CAL. That gives me some hope.

I'll be monitoring other playoff races, as well as our wildcard race for the #2 slot. Once again, the placement is thus: HAW 80 wins, NY and MIA 79, HOU 78, BOS 77, and SEA 75. And for you minor league fans: Athens (R, Appalachian League) won their series against Bluefield to take their second-ever crown; Poughkeepsie (S A, NY-Penn) is tied 1-1 with Hudson Valley in their opening round; and Eureka (A, California) lost a one-game playoff to Bakersfield to lose the division, then dropped a 3-1 series to the same guys to end their season. Androscoggin (AA, Easter) opens their playoffs against Greensboro, while Santa Barbara (AAA, PCL) has seven regular season games remaining, and has clinched the South Division (with a sixteen-game lead).

September 15 @ OAKLAND
At 66-84, it's hard to remember that this team won the division just two years ago with 101 wins. Neither the offense (15th) nor pitching (11th) covered themselves in glory this year. There were a few standouts, however. Ace Chris Larimer did his best, leading the team (by far) in every major pitching category and earning over 6 WAR. At the plate, Ryan Walton has 56 HR and is closing in on 500 for his career, and Felix Reyes has 41 and 300 in his lifetime. It says a lot, however, that Larimer earned over half of the team's pitching WAR, and Walton and Reyes accounted for about a third of the team's offense. For the future, all the important (and actually talented) parts will be back, and hopefully top pitchers Jim Schwartz, Tom Baker, and Eric Stockton will be healthy. There's not much bubbling up in the system, so they'll need to look from beyond for more help than they've already got.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (18-5, 3.43) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.21) / RH Mike Bader (6-12, 4.86)
OAK pitchers: RH Jaden Bartholomew (9-16, 6.69) / RH Jon Jones (5-10, 6.45) / LH Chris Larimer (15-5, 2.91)

#151: WIN 2-0 ... Matson's single pokes one home in the 1st, Royer a solo shot in the 2nd...Waugh gets the win with 7.2 shutout IP
#152: WIN 8-7 ... down for the count, we score 6 in the 9th for the comeback...GRAND SLAM for Bennetsen in the 9th and a solo shot by Matson
#153: WIN 8-4 ... Espino and Kolb spark things with a pair of 3-run HR, and we get the sweep!

Big BIG series win here. Texas clinches the division--like we knew they would--but we stay two ahead of Miami, 3 from Boston, and 4 from NY.... Last winter's international FA signing Yoshi Watanabe finally comes off the DL and will work through his rehab stint in AAA, with three regular season games to go and then the playoffs. For us, J.J. Simmons comes off the DL after our next series.... 30 HR for his sophomore season by Caleb Royer, needing one more to match his rookie total. I wish he was a competent fielder at third, and that someone would teach him to take a walk now and then. (Just 16 in 140 starts this year; 19 in similar games played last year.).... ELSEWHERE: Philly's won 9 straight and has surged into first in the NL East, two games ahead of Washington.... 70 steals? Someone's going to hit that mark for the first time in ages. Emilio Mares (TEX) is the best bet, with 69; our own Joe Lynn has 66, so he has an outside shot. In the NL, Nate Forrester (STL) has "just" 63, but could still get there.... The White Sox have stayed hot, with 103 wins to date, seven games more than LA, with 96.

September 19-21 @ HOUSTON
We've opened up a five game lead on the Astros, so this series is a chance to put them away for good. Just 8-8 this month, with an offense that has slipped to 12th in runs and dead last in AVG and OPS. Jose Renteria (.310/52/123) has been the clear team MVP, but no one else who's been here all season is hitting better than .263, and only Kevin Mazurowski (with 24) has more than 20 HR. Pitching sits 6th, with some solid but unspectacular seasons from numerous guys. Next year will bring about some rebuilding, with 9 of their top 16 salaries hitting the market. But only one of those Hexiters is under 30, and none are irreplaceable. It looks to me like they'll have $30-35M to spend in the off-season, but can also build from within their 6th-ranked prospect system. No future superstars to my eyes, but a number of solid pitchers will be ready for prime time, and the positions they'll need to fill--OF, 3B, 2B--have possible candidates for training camp. So maybe they'll spend on one or two big names and build aound them from within. Not a bad plan.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (10-11, 4.44) / RH Andy Burke (8-4, 4.81) / LH Matt Waugh (19-5, 3.30)
HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (4-3, 5.33) / RH Ron Mills (8-13, 5.32) / RH Ken Demers (12-7, 3.70)

#154: WIN 4-3 ... 3 solo HR by Gase (!) is most of our offense, plus an RBI single from Royer...10 K in 7.2 IP for Pearse
#155: WIN 10-9 ... we yield 6 HR, but blasts from Medici and Royer plus Lynn's 2-run triple key the winning attack...20 runners for each team
#156: WIN 3-0 ... big shutout, 5 hits and 10 K from new 20 game winner Waugh...4th inning HR from Royer and Kelley (!!) provide all the runs tonight

Another huge sweep here, putting us 4 games up in the wildcard race, from Miami and Boston. And this eliminates both Houston and Seattle.... 20 wins for Waugh for the 4th time in his career. He's going to be a strong candidate for his 4th Cy Young, too.... two more HR by Royer, along with a pile of hits, has put him back near .300 on the year.... Simmons comes off the DL tomorrow, but likely won't get right back into the lineup.... Short A Poughkeepsie is a game away from playoff elimination, while AA Androscoggin was just ousted by Greensboro.... ELSEWHERE: No surprise that Cleveland reaches the magical 100-loss milestone, and has clinched the first overall pick for next summer.... Tampa Bay clinches the AL East, and the Phillies tie up a playoff spot on the back of an 11-game winning streak.... the Mets went from 15 games over .500 on June 1 to last in the NL East and playoff elimination just now. Losing your four best hitters for much of the summer will do that to you, and their team offense is next-to-last after all that.... New Orleans now has a 5 game lead over the Cubs, and the Zephs' magic number is two.

September 22-24 vs MINNESOTA
The league's highest batting average (.295) and 3rd in HR (265), but they shoot themselves in the foot somewhat with a 62 OPS+ guy in leadoff. But spots 2-5? 179 HR and a .330 average. Six regulars are hitting over .300, and most of them are young. Pitching, though, has been a problem, 15th in the AL and the reason for a -43 run differential. On paper at least they're better than their 5.93 rotation ERA; but it's results that matter. And there aren't any quality pitching prospects in the system either. Six players making $1M+ will walk this fall, tops being $22M man Roberto Miranda: still productive at the plate but injury-prone and 37. Let him go. Otherwise, it's mostly pitchers departing. So with a rising budget and some serious money (maybe $50M) available, they should grab as many pitchers as they can and load up with their solid offense for a run next year. Go full-LA and sign all the pitching.

HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.46) / RH Mike Bader (7-12, 4.87) / RH Mike Pearse (11-11, 4.40)
MIN pitchers: RH Dan Hannan (5-5, 4.32) / RH Doug Ricks (5-4, 4.16) / RH Chris Liles (10-15, 6.07)

#157: WIN 6-3 ... HR and 4 RBI for Matson, 3 H for Lynn, solo HR by Espino...Carbs has a nice, quiet 7 IP, but Ruiz earns the win late
#158: LOSS 2-14 ... winning streak meets an ugly end...Bader retires just 3 of 11 batters, and we allow 24 hits
#159: LOSS 5-6 ... Kearns blows this one, allowing a 2-run double in the 9th...2 H, 3 RBI from Royer, a HR by Gase

NOT GREAT, but we allow Boston and NY to eliminate themselves. Miami, though, is still in it, but a we-win or a they-lose clinches for us.... We finally reach the fabled 200-HR plateau.... Just back from the DL, reliever Orlando Silva strains his elbow and is dtd for two weeks.... Josh Hed will be 100% in a week, but likely won't make the start of the playoffs, should we get in.... ELSEWHERE: 7 straight losses from the Cubs and six from the Cards just hands the NL Central title to New Orleans. Those streaks also hand Richmond and Washington the NL wild cards.... Although technically that's not quite right, as Philly has not yet clinched their fourth straight division title, at just one game ahead of Richmond. Washington, however, is really suffering, just 1-9 of late and barely holding on to that last wild card.... 109 wins for the Chisox, and they're nearly 100% healthy. They've scored 993 runs and have an Islanders-esque +237 run differential.... 101 wins for LA, doing it with a pedestrian offense (but 263 HR, 2nd in the NL) and some lights-out pitching, allowing only 614 runs, the best in baseball by 80 runs.

September 25-27 vs CALIFORNIA
The SoCal Perpetual Rebuilders (new team name) are last in the division, with a 16th-ranked offense and 12th-ranked pitching. Four titles over a couple decades has given way to 20 years without a playoff appearance. But there's hope! The system is ranked 3rd, with CF Chris Burns and SP Sam Matthews already in MLB. Four other top prospects are also in MLB or AAA, and add to that a relatively young starting lineup. So if these prospects actually develop, could we see a return to competitiveness here? Yes, I think so, especially if they spend a little money on one more power bat, a la William Swanson, and maybe an anchor for the rotation. Loosen the purse strings, guys, and good things will follow.

HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (8-4, 5.11) / LH Matt Waugh (20-5, 3.17) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.43)
CAL pitchers: RH Aaron Moore (3-12, 7.28) / RH Josh Pomerantz (0-0, 3.18) / RH Nate Elder (8-12, 6.47)

#160: WIN 10-1 ... PLAYOFFS BABY! 15 hits, 3 HR, and a six-hit CG from Burke...an 8-run 2nd ends the suspense early
#161: WIN 5-4 ... 3 hits for Bennetsen, and 2 from Groff in his penultimate regular season game...8 IP and the W for Waugh
#162: LOSS 4-5 ... more hits, more runners, more everything but runs...Groff gets an RBI but fans three times for a sad ending

Well it took forever but we finally made it. Not to 90 wins, mind (for the first time since 2040), but we're headed to the post-season. And what do we get for our efforts? A series against the 99-win Tigers. Ah, well.... A little power blip these last few games saw us battle our way up to 16th place in the team HR standings.... He may not win another Cy Young this year, but a case can be made for Matt Waugh getting the team MVP nod: 4th in ERA (3.14), 1st in wins (21) and FIP (3.07), 2nd in WAR (7.8) and K (256).... Unlike past years, we didn't have a dominant team offense. In fact, the only stat we led in is fewest strikeouts, with just 845. Milwaukee was 2nd with 1005.... ELSEWHERE: Ten-game closing winning streak for the White Sox, pushing them to a 112-50 record. LA finished with 104 wins, Texas with 101.... A 13-game losing streak for Houston, however, a real drag in an otherwise decent year for them.... Your batting kings this year are Minnesota rookie Ryan Lawler (.364) and St Louis sophomore Nate Forrester (.363).... The entire NL East finished over .500, with Brooklyn, Atlanta, and NY tying for last with 82 wins.

......

TL;DR Version: A strong 9-3 ending to a roller coaster season, as we end with 89 wins and claim the second wild card spot by four over Boston and Miami. Offensively, our lack of power hurt us all season long, as we finished 16th with just 204 home runs. So despite finishing 4th in AVG and 3rd in OBP, we were only 9th in runs scored. The off-season trades of Cam Daley, Bob Goodloe, and Josh Frederick hurt in that regard, but also losing Doug Pederson for 100 games and having Josh Matson drop off by 50% didn't help. Pitching finished 4th in runs allowed, with the 5th-best rotation ERA and AL-best bullpen numbers. That rotation number is especially nice when you consider that Henry Skiffington and Josh Irvin were so bad early on that the two multi-year starting pitchers ended up spending more than half the season in AAA. I'll break down individual performances in more detail in a later post, but suffice to say that a lot of factors contributed to our 33-game downswing this season. (Not the least of which is that winning 122 games in a season is just insane.) But for now, we're in the playoffs. We may not last long, but we're there!

Bub13 · 07-22-2021, 08:16 PM

It's been some time since we've entered the playoffs as decided underdogs, but that day is here again. Plus we finished ten games behind another strong Detroit team, who may feel a bit unlucky to have won 99 games and be stuck in a wildcard series. The offense finished third in runs scored, andn were top five in nearly every other category. Pat Townsand was a triple crown threat for much of the season, and still finished with sterling .331/56/153 numbers; he's joined in the middle of the lineup by Jesus Villegas (.284/41/105), not to mention four others who finished with over 25 HR each. D.J. Grace played just half the season at 3B, but at .315 with 15 HR he's more than solid at leadoff. But there are health issues, as CF Luis Rodela and SS Miguel Guillen have pending diagnoses. On the mound, they ranked 6th in runs allowed, with strong starting and relief pitching. Ace Raul Bravo struggled all season with injuries and ineffectiveness, but vets Tony Gamez, Carlos Zenon, and Corey Nelson more than picked up the slack. We only managed two wins out of six games in the regular season.

For us, there will be some new-ish faces in the starting lineup. Josh Hed is still injured so rookie Eric Bennetsen will start in left; also, Nick Gase will go full-time in right, over Russ Venters; and fellow freshman Lucas Tipping only hit .200 after his call-up, but showed some power (5 HR) and played solid defense, so gets the first go at second base. Sadly, as Matt Waugh pitched a bit late in the season for us, he may not be available for the first two starts. Bad call by me, I admit.

In the NL, Richmond hosts Washington in the I-95 series.

AL WILDCARD

Game One: Hawaii (RH Mike Pearse 11-11, 4.43) @ Detroit (RH Tony Gamez 17-7, 4.72). Three scoreless innings then it all goes squirrelly in the fourth. Pearse loses his gourd, giving up a 3-run shot to Townsand, and when the dust clears it's 8-0 Detroit. We get half of that back in the 5th, courtesy a pair of 2-run doubles. Detroit adds another one, then we add two more late, but kind of meekly to be honest, and we don't even mount an attack in the 9th to make it fun. We're outhit 15 to 8, at least we kept it closer than those numbers suggest. Still, one more and we're done. Detroit wins 9-6 (Detroit leads series 1-0).

Game Two: Detroit (LH Carlos Zenon 16-6, 4.78) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh 21-5, 3.14). Medici gets us started with a 2nd inning leadoff HR, then we add two more in the third with RBI singles from Royer and Gase. Lynn gets us another one by doubling home a run in the 4th, then Gase strikes again with a 2-run HR in the 5th. That 6-0 lead is all we need, but we do yield a 3-run shot in the 9th from Austin Reinwald. But Kearns stanches their late hope, and we've tied up the series! Down to one last game. Hawaii wins 6-3 (series tied 1-1).

Game Three: Hawaii (RH Danny Carbajal 7-7, 4.52) @ Detroit (RH Raul Bravo 9-7, 5.48). Wild game. Lynn scores in the first on a Matson RBI single. 3rd inning, Medici puts us up 3-0 with a 2-run shot, but we give up four in the bottom half, mostly thanks to a Roberto Gomez 3-run HR. But why wait to get the lead back? We tie it in the 4th, then go ahead the same inning with a Covington triple and Matson's 3-run HR. We're up 8-4 and feeling pretty good....but things aren't done yet. In the 6th, Lynn scores again on a sac fly, then Medici adds a solo HR. Detroit scores one in the bottom half, but entering the final third of the game we've got a 10-5 lead. Bennetsen leads off the seventh with a triple and scores two batters later, padding the lead to six runs, 11-5. It gets (badly) interesting in the eighth, as some sloppy play--including a walk, WP, and a HBP--lead to three Detroit runs. Gulp...one inning left and we're now clinging to a tighter-looking 11-8 lead. We go down quickly in our half of the ninth, then call in closer Nate Kearns to take us to the next round: he obliges with two easy groundouts and a lazy fly ball. Hey, look! We won! Hawaii wins 11-5 Hawaii WIN series 2-1.

WOW. I'll take it and clear out of town. Next up! Oh, and Medici claims series MVP honors, going 7-for-11 with FOUR home runs and 6 RBI.

(And in case you're paying attention, the NL wild card win goes to Washington, topping Richmond in three close-fought games. They'll meet the Dodgers next.)

.....

So, for our sins we get to see the White Sox next. Yep, those guys with 112 regular-season wins, scoring 1015 runs while allowing only 773. (That's a fat +242 run differential there.) Rather than re-typing something you recently read, go back to the first September post to re-read our last series against the Sox. Hint: we got swept and outscored 13-4. The good news since then is that we've only lost four games after that (while winning twelve), but that may not matter. AND YET. Here we are. Best of five. No complaining. Let's go.

(Almost forgot: Tampa Bay plays Texas in the other AL series, while over in the NL it's Washington vs LA and New Orleans vs Philadelphia. My picks are Tampa, LA, and Philly.)

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES

Game One: Hawaii (RH Mike Bader 7-13, 5.20) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings 14-4, 3.75). Bader gets the start against my better judgement... Inauspicious beginning, too, as he loads the bases right from the start, allowing Raul Mader to score on a double play grounder. We counter in the second, loading the bases to start the inning, then plating two on a sac fly and a single. But we strand two runners. Still, a 2-1 lead. That vanishes in the second thanks to a dropped fly ball and an RBI single. That 2-2 tie was doomed to a short life, but it lasted at least until the sixth, when the Sox turn three hits and another walk into two runs, taking a 4-2 lead. After a quiet seventh, Medici strikes again! A two-run shot to deep center-left ties it up, and we've got life again...at least until the bottom of the inning, when Chris Rock triples home two more runs (one on yet another walk), and we're down by two again. Bennetsen leads off the ninth with a single, but with one out gets doubled up 6-4-3, ending the game. Tough loss. Chicago wins 6-4 (Chicago leads series 1-0).

Game Two: Hawaii (RH Mike Pearse 11-11, 4.43) @ Chicago (RH Robby Liantonio 13-10, 4.63). Both teams put runners on in the first two innings, but can't score. Same again for us in the third, but not for Chicago... Two singles and a wild pitch put runners on 2nd and 3rd, and they both score on a Zeke de la Rosa single. Small ball, sure, but we're still down 2-0. We finally break through in the fourth, however. Gase and Bennetsen single, then Medici smacks the third pitch he sees from the 40-year-old Liantonio into the right field seats, and we're up 3-2. We load the bases after that, but Lynn strikes out to end the threat. Chicago goes quietly in the fourth, but it's deja vu all over again in our fifth: Gase and Bennetsen get on base, then Medici clears them with another opposite-field homer. Suddenly we've got a nice-looking 6-2 lead. The Sox play more small ball in the sixth to get one back, on a hit batter, a walk, a steal, and a sac fly. The lead is now 6-3. Nobody does much of anything in the seventh, but our own silent Lucas Tipping wakes up to jolt a solo homer, putting us back up by 4. And after a 1-2-3 eighth, we come up again in the final frame and seal the deal: with two runners on a wild pitch scores one, then Tipping steps up and puts his second one into the seats, giving us four more runs and a solid 11-3 lead. Jordan Ruiz plays closer this game, and slams the door on our series-tying victory. Hawaii wins 11-3 (series tied 1-1).

Game Three: Chicago (RH Mike Head 19-5, 4.57) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh 21-5, 3.14). An unexpected pitcher's duel! Although it does end up a bit one-sided.... In the first, Joe Lynn walks but is caught out stealing. Too bad, as Bennetsten steps up and smacks a double...but is then thrown out at third trying to stretch it. Sigh. Lynn gets on again in the fourth but we can't get him past second. Meanwhile, Waugh is cruising, allowing only three baserunners through six. But the Sox strike first in the seventh, using a walk, a single (runner to third) and a sac fly to get on the board. We add another little single in the seventh, but nothing else and go 1-2-3 in the eighth. Chicago finally breaks out the bats in the ninth, sadly, with an Aaron Harrison double and a Ninsei Sato home run; 3-0 Sox. In the final frame, we at least try: Lynn singles and takes second on a groundout; Bennetsen singles; but Medici flies out and Royer takes ten pitches to finally strike out swinging. Sox win 3-0 (Chicago leads series 2-1).

Game Four: Chicago (LH Eric Millett 7-8, 4.82) @ Hawaii (RH Danny Carbajal 7-7, 4.52). Carbs flies through the first three innings, while we put runners on in each frame but can't get anyone to second base. Chicago again strikes first, however, thanks to a Zeke de la Rosa solo home run to lead off the fourth. After another meek inning from us, they add another run with a Chris Rock single and a Victor Valadez double. Lather, rinse, repeat in the sixth: this time a Ben Usilton solo home run. Meanwhile, we keep scratching out a runner at a time, and our biggest threat comes in the seventh after back-to-back walks: but that ends with a Tipping pop out. Then it's time for a comedy show in the ninth, as Andy Barenberg gets dinged, replaced by pinch runner T.J. Walsh, who then steals second and takes third on a throwing error. Reliever Sam Bohlen then throws one to the screen and Walsh strolls home. We finally make some noise in our half, when Medici knocks a solo shot to right. But that's all she wrote, folks, as we can't mount any other attack, and it's over. Chicago wins 4-1 (Chicago WINS series 3-1).

Well who would've thought these two offenses would play two small ball games to close out the series. We could only manage one run and eight combined hits over those two games, as well. It's not really a compensation either to have Medici named MVP of this series too, going 7-for-15 with four more home runs and 9 RBI. But Josh Matson? Oh-for-15. Mike Covington? Oh-for-13. The youngsters Gase, Bennetsen, and Tipping all played well, though, so that's more food for thought going into the silly season.

Elsewhere, Texas makes me look foolish by handily sweeping aside the Rays in three. And in the NL, Philly spots one game to New Orleans but then reels off three in a row to claim that series. And LA spots Washington two games but roars back to win the series in five. So it'll be the heavy bats of Chicago and Texas facing off in the AL, and the top-hitting Phillies versus the top-pitching Dodgers in the NL.

......

World Series 2054

Remember when I made fun of Chisox fans by saying they'd be especially sad to waste their 112-win season on a quick playoff exit? Yeah, that... So they did beat us, but then got dumped in five by the Rangers in the AL Championship series. Now, the Rangers did win 101 games, so they're not exactly chumps; but the Sox had been so dominant all year that I thought a trip to the Series was inevitable. Sorry, guys. This will be Texas' second trip in the last three seasons. They won the title in '52. And their opponents? In a topsy-turvy NL series, LA won the first two games, Philly the next two, then LA, PHI, and finally LA coasted to a 7-2 win in the decider. The Dodgers return to the Series after losing to us in a seven game thriller of a series last year. They'll look to avenge that loss and claim their first title since beating the Marlins in 2042.

Game 1: TEX 8, LA 3 ... TEX leads 1-0
Game 2: LA 4, TEX 1 ... series tied 1-1
Game 3: LA 9, TEX 2 ... LA leads 2-1
Game 4: LA 3, TEX 0 ... LA leads 3-1
Game 5: TEX 9, LA 3 ... LA leads 3-2
Game 6: LA 6, TEX 3 ... LA wins 4-2

Congrats to the frickin' Dodgers, winning their 9th title in team history. The team with the $309M payroll that still needed a deep playoff run to turn a profit. I look forward to them once again signing every reliever under the sun this fall, whether they need to or not. Pro tip, kids: You too can win a title every 15 years if you spend $30M a year on former closers!

Bub13 · 07-25-2021, 11:37 AM

Before I move into the off-season, let's have a brief remembrance for the career of Adam Groff, the Face of the Franchise, as he retires after a 19-year career and sails off into the sunset. Finishing dead last in our inauguaral season allowed me to select Groff #1 overall in the 2035 draft, and in the end it didn't matter that no one else we took that year amounted to anything at all. He made his big league debut just over a year later, in 2036, and never looked back. He was named AL Rookie of the Year in '37, and two years later took home the first of his four MVP trophies. (He'd win his final one exactly ten years later.) Add in 11 all-star appearances, 8 Silver Sluggers, and six championship titles, and that's a career! I'm only sorry that, because he's been a bench bat the last two seasons, he never had a strong shot at reaching 3000 hits, and fell 18 short of 500 career home runs.

Still, check him out: he's a first ballot Hall of Fame choice, without doubt. I'll miss him on the field, and it's now my job to find him a cushy front office job that he can occupy for a bit before embarking on his political career.

Bub13 · 07-28-2021, 08:21 PM

It's not an exaggeration to say that 2053 was a perfect season: 122 wins, great hitting, great pitching, all capped off by a hard-fought World Series title. Roll forward to this past season and...it's a different story: 89 wins, second in the division, okay-not-great hitting and pitching, and a fall at the Divisional Round playoff hurdle. Not a bad season per se, but quite a comedown. So what happened and why? What will we do moving forward to get back to top of the heap, to strike back at those cursed Rangers? Read on.

Team Stats Overview
If you're a regular here you know how crabby I got--especially mid-season--about some iffy hitting. On the plus side, we finished 4th in average and 3rd in OBP. But that didn't translate into runs, where we finished a distant 8th in the AL. Probably the biggest reason for that was our 16th-place finish in home runs, and an associated 14th-place standing in extra base hits. We still put a lot of runners on base, take a lot of walks, and rarely strike out. But we weren't consistently dynamic enough to drive runners home.

To that, I'd add two more reasons why we struggled. First, financial issues cost us the key off-season departures of 2B Bob Goodloe, LF Cam Daley, and RF Josh Frederick. In '53 those guys produced 74 doubles and 53 HR, even with Freds missing 2/3 of the season. (And for their new teams, they knocked 70 HR and earned nearly 10 WAR, fyi.) Their replacements were inconsistent: OF Josh Hed and Doug Pederson hit well, but missed lots of time with injuries; and no one did anything at 2B. Second, some players regressed from solid years in '53. Most notably 1B Josh Matson, who went from .352/.388/.585 with 51 doubles, 26 HR, and 4.3 WAR, to .297/.356/.448 with 31 doubles, 12 HR, and just 0.8 WAR. Also: Mike Covington rebounded to finish at .257 with 20 HR, but was batting below .230 for much of the year; SS J.J. Simmons was often hurt and batted only .234. So injuries and some transitions at numerous positions cost us lineup stability and meant we often didn't have more than one or two guys at any one time hitting at the high level we've come to expect.

On the mound... Our final team numbers looked pretty good: 4th in runs against, 5th best rotation ERA, AL-best bullpen ERA, 4th-ranked FIP. But the rotation numbers were greatly aided by Matt Waugh's dominant season, especially early on when the third-year trio of Henry Skiffington, Mike Bader, and Josh Irvin was getting shelled nearly every time out. The bullpen was generally more solid, but Kyle Johnson ended up bombing out of his return to the closer position and earned a trade to Tampa Bay by mid-season. Otherwise, I'll have questions about the staff in the coming months, but there are still a lot of solid pieces here.

......

Individual Position Overview

Catcher: Covington's offense dropped a bit, even if his power numbers stayed the same. His defense improved, and he batted well enough against LHP to no longer be constantly platooned. His salary arb estimate is $3.9M, up from league minimum, so next season will tell regarding his future. Backup Bentley Kolb hit .265 and got on base at a .361 clip, but doesn't hit for power and played some pretty poor defense (7 errors in 47 starts). Michael Snavely got a couple brief call-ups, but didn't impress.
2055 Outlook: Covington turns 25 next spring, so should be coming into his own. He'll need to, to earn that big pay raise. Backup Kolb will get a strong challenge from prospect Jamie Collins, who could even threaten Covington soon. Collins has a very nice-looking power bat, but is not nearly the defensive catcher Covington is.

First Base/DH: Yes, Josh Matson won't hit .350 every year, but every offensive stat went down significantly, and his month at 2B proved that moving him to 1B was better for everyone. We need him to return to his .300+/25+ HR seasons. At DH, Jules Medici was the team MVP, and could slot in at first if Matson doesn't rebound. No one is pushing up from the farm.
2055 Outlook: Mastson and Medici return as starters, and we'll need both of them to lead the offense.

Second Base: Six guys made ten or more starts here, and no one impressed. Zach Watt started the season, but didn't hit much and didn't field well either. Utility guy Kevin Kelley took over, but was more of the same. Erik Griffin got a brief stint and did hit .282 with solid defense, so may get another look in the spring. Matson and Jim Pfeifer didn't add anything either. Lucas Tipping got most of the September starts and looks like the future here; he hit only .200 but showed some power and solid defense.
2055 Outlook: I would like Tipping to show up in camp and solidify this position. He's got some pop in his bat, and should be more than solid in the field. Griffin has also earned a look, but doesn't bring much offense at all. If Tipping isn't ready, I'm not sure I'll want to go another entire season with this hole in the lineup.

Third Base: Caleb Royer had a decent sophomore season, knocking 32 HR and hitting .298. His defense isn't great, but he wasn't league-bottom like he was in '53. Backup Lua Ulkini is the better fielder, and a decent hitter, but has solid value as a utility backup in the IF and OF. Like Covington, Royer's salary will go way up ($3.5M up from minimum) so he'll have to keep hitting to earn his paycheck. MLB #1 prospect Jose Villalpando is still several years away.
2055 Outlook: More of the same please. Royer's deficiences will cost him one day, but I hope that day is far off. Super prospect Villalpando is still 3-4 years away.

Shortstop: J.J. Simmons played solid defense in his 73 starts but didn't hit for the second year running. Kevin Kelley didn't field well, and also hit like a utility infielder. Simmons hit just .234, but did get on base at a .326 clip, so he's still got something going, at least. At 32, I hope he's got something left in the tank.
2055 Outlook: We'll be all set if Simmons can return to his pre-'53 form, hitting near or above .300 and getting on base near .400. The backup plan here could be #2 prospect Jake Moore, who hit .319 in 30 games at AAA, and looks about ready for prime time. He looks like a Simmons clone, minus the footspeed. I like his promise, but he may still be a year away.

Outfield: We went into last season minus our two corner outfielders from '53, but found solid replacements...for a time, at least. LF Josh Hed made only 92 appearances, but hit .283 with 18 HR. He also played excellent defense, showing more range than Cam Daley ever had. In CF, Joe Lynn was his usual dependable self, batting .323/.383/.456 and stealing 68 bases. He and Hed are both Gold Glove candidates. In RF, Doug Pederson got off to a strong start, batting .306/10/38 in the first two months, but then missed the rest of the season. He also missed a month in '53, so may be showing serious signs of fragility already. Despite a lack of range, he's otherwise solid. Injuries allowed several youngsters--Diego Espino, Russ Venters, Nick Gase, and Erik Bennetsen--to get significant playing time, and each showed positive signs. All four are solid prospects, and Bennetsen, called up in September, could be best of all of them.
2055 Outlook: When healthy, this is a solid outfield. And those prospects will make for some interesting competition in the spring. Also getting a look will be Brian Hassell, MLB's #8 prospect, although he's at least a year away. He's a five-tool guy who's got all-star potential.

Starting Pitching: No pun intended, but man did we have a rough start to the season here. Waugh was excellent and kept us afloat, although he slipped a lot mid-summer. Mike Pearse was solid all season, and is the only other power arm currently in the rotation. Mike Bader missed six starts and also saw his BABIP rise by 50 points. Otherwise his stats didn't change, so I'm hopeful he'll recover his effectiveness. But Skiffington and Irvin flat out blew up and earned tickets back to AAA, where they didn't exactly star either. Luckily, replacements Danny Carbajal and Andy Burke proved capable and helped salvage the season. Skiff, Irvin, and Bader are due for arbitration raises so need to bring their games back to stay on the roster.
2055 Outlook: Waugh and Pearse are locks, the other spots are up in the air. Adding to the five others listed above is pitching prospect Daniel Croft, who would have been the first call-up if he hadn't torn up his elbow after 4 AAA starts. (Although it's concerning that he's gone from our #2 prospect overall to our #5 SP prospect, without those other four guys taking big jumps up.) Outside shots in the spring include Ken Taylor, Gleb Mihalkovsky, Travis Harris, and John Loeb.

Relief Pitching: Solid team stats for this unit, but no truly outstanding performances. Works for me. Nate Kearns took over as closer after Kyle Johnson played his way out of town, and will get first crack at that role next year. Jordan Ruiz also pitched well between closing and setup roles. Other regulars included MH Yaung--the only LH option--Sam Bohlen, Orlando Silva, and Anthony Booker. Phil Bishop came up in September and pitched 12 solid innings, so will get a long look in camp.
2055 Outlook: Everyone will come back, even though I thought I might pass on 37-year-old Yaung, but he was too good to just let go. Top prospects who have a chance too include Manny Reyes, Brad Cahill, Yoshi Watanabe, GJ Joe, and Elias Tena. We usually go after a UFA here in the off-season, but with these many options I doubt I'll spend any money here. Although we are short on lefties...

......

Okay, great. But sum this up please.

Injuries and declining performances led to a 33-game drop in wins from 2053. But we still made the playoffs and can still field talent at every position. Solid prospects at last year's trouble spots--2B, SS, and SP--have me hopeful that we can recover and compete with Texas--or anyone else--for the division. I mean, at least one of last year's terrible SP has to rebound, right? And one of Tipping or Moore should prove ready for the bigs and solve our middle infield issues. And six good outfielders is a good place to live, tbh. But if we're looking for an easy bump in team home runs, I'm not sure that's in the cards.

Prospects + probable funding issues = no big free agents for me.* I've got some big culling to do across the farm system, and there will be the usual sorting of coaching staff to deal with. I expect a quiet off-season for the team. Which means something big will end up happening...

(* - remember this when I start saying "It's only 15 million for a #2 starting pitcher. Cheap! Let's do it!")

Bub13 · 08-03-2021, 08:02 PM

First, a bit of minor news on staff, and a surprising but odd retirement:
...Hawaii pitching coach Conor Russell and bench coach Fenway Parks are departing. Both wanted massive raises so I bought them plane tickets instead.
...AAA manager Ryan Castellani and A ball hitting coach Brady Nailing are also leaving. Money (RC) and mediocrity (BN) are the reasons.
...21-year-old rookie ball 2B Alex Juarez is retiring for some reason. I have no memory of him whatsoever, so I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing.

Our new budget comes down the wires, and it's back up to $160M. Supposedly we're only allowed to spend $130M or so on player salaries, which is risible given that we're already planning on about $150M for that line. Looks like we'll have to sell more t-shirts again this year. And have more bake sales.

Someone in corporate has apparently been spending time on FanGraphs too, as one of our goals for '55 is to increase our defensive efficiency. I wonder if they think that will help increase profits... Also, we have to find a local player. "Find me Lenn Sakata III, stat!"

......

It's good to see that health care for billionaire old fogies is still excellent, as none of the rich bastards kicked off this year. However, three teams do end up with new management. Toronto was sold by Jody Patterson to something calling itself "Jim White," while Miami is now under the thumb of bazillionaire tech titan Justin Cox. At his introductory news conference he already confused people by contradicting himself with "We're going to...play Marlins baseball...and win a lot of games." Good luck there, fella. Finally, 1000-year-old man Adam Thompson sold the Twins to puréed-food magnate Jake Johnson, described in the press as a "hands-on economizer...with lenient performance demands." Just what a 71-win team needs: lowered on-field standards.

Also, a pile of GMs (that you don't care about) and managers were given the heave-ho, while a few others were simply "not renewed." Same diff. The only guys who stand out in the latter crowd are 11-year vet Ethan Larrison, late of Oakland, and San Diego's 14-year skipper Robert Woodall. Both have won a lot of games, gotten to the post-season more than a handful of times, yet neither has won a title. Maybe they should've been traded for each other. Notable retirements include former Isles head man Matt Sargent and hitting coach Paul Trashini, as well as three of the league's four Korean managers. (Only Portland's TC Park remains.)

AWARD WINNERS

AL Gold Gloves: P Chris Liles (MIN) [2nd win]; C Juan Pizano (HOU); 1B Justin Sandy (OAK) [2nd]; 2B Mike McNeill (TEX); 3B Mike Lee (CLE); SS Oscar Garza (HOU) [4th]; LF Jordan Foots (MIN) [3rd]; CF Luis Rodela (DET) [2nd]; RF Enrique Hernandez (NYY)
NL Gold Gloves: P Shamar Jackson (STL) [4th]; C Steve Newman (ATL) [4th]; 1B Jim Timmer (ARI) [8th]; 2B Jasper Jacobsen (PHI); 3B Chris Gulland (ARI) [3rd]; SS Kevin Lutz (LAD) [2nd]; LF Jake Morris (ATL) [2nd]; CF Jason Welch (WSH) [3rd]; RF Pat Meade (ATL) [2nd]

AL Hoyt Wilhelm: Nate Kearns (HAW) [61 GP, 92 IP, 6-4, 19 SV, 2.74 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 104 K, 1.8 WAR]
NL Hoyt Wilhelm: Rick Ramirez (LAD) [75 GP, 82 IP, 9-10, 45 SV, 3.07 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 104 K, 3.2 WAR, 2nd win]

AL Silver Sluggers: C Victor Valadez (CHW); 1B Pat Townsand (DET); 2B Steve McClellan (BAL); 3B Ben Usilton (CHW); SS Ryan Boers (TEX) [3rd]; LF Jordan Foots (MIN); CF Ryan Lawler (MIN); RF Toshi Shimabukuro (MIA); DH Jules Medici (HAW)
NL Silver Sluggers: P Steve McKeen (CIN) [2nd]; C Juan Espinoza (RIC) [3rd]; 1B Alfonso Contreras (AUS) [4th]; 2B Alfonso Torres (NYM) [3rd]; 3B Gerardo Nieto (POR) [3rd]; SS Martin Matarrese (NOZ); LF Jake Morris (ATL); CF Nate Forrester (STL); RF George Livezey (PHI) [5th]

AL Rookie of the Year: OF Ryan Lawler (MIN) [.364/.406/.658, 38 HR, 7.9 WAR, won AL batting title]
NL Rookie of the Year: C Jonathan Krzanowski (BKN) [.316/.365/.495, 19 HR, 3.2 WAR, already 26 yrs old]

AL Manager of the Year: TH Nam (TEX) [2nd win, and recently retired]
NL Manager of the Year: Eric van der Zalm (LAD) [not bad for the Dutch rookie]

AL Cy Young: [b]Matt Waugh (HAW) [21-5, 3.14, 223.2 IP, 256 K, 1.15 WHIP, 169 ERA+, 7.8 WAR, 4th win]
NL Cy Young: Nick Light (WSH) [12-15, 3.17, 229.2 IP, 284 K, 1.04 WHIP, 158 ERA+, 5.8 WAR, surprise winner]

AL MVP: SS Ryan Boers (TEX) [.333/.425/.676, 49 HR, 9.2 WAR, won by five points over DET's Pat Townsand; Jules Medici and Matt Waugh also received votes]
NL MVP: OF Jake Morris (ATL) [.310/.385/.702, 63 HR, 7.9 WAR, takes home a nice triple crown of trophies]

Congrats to all the trophy winners! Matt Waugh has been worth the price, with two Cy Youngs in two seasons with us. Next year: hat trick! And special kudos to Nate Kearns, becoming the EIGHTH Islanders closer to win a Hoyt Wilhelm trophy. Most of those guys didn't last more than a season with the club after winning, so...yeah, be careful Nate. And I'll take credit for two former Isles pitchers winning both league's Gold Glove trophies.

......

Back to us... Salary Arbitration time! And we have fifteen cases coming before the arbitrator. Fifteen! How did I let this happen... We'll tender offers to everyone, which includes: four starting pitchers (Pearse, Bader, Irvin, Skiff), six relievers (Kearns, Ruiz, Booker, Bohlen, Yaung, Sitzler), C Mike Covington, three IF (3B Caleb Royer, 3B/1B Lua Ulkini, and UT Kevin Kelley), and OF Doug Pederson. I expect to get bombed in every big case, but possibly win a bunch of the smaller, more irrelevant ones. Closer to the point, I expect the price four the four SP to go from $20.8M ('54 salaries) to well over the current estimate of $25M. Some good news here is that we likely won't have to spend a ton to re-establish our quality bullpen for another season. But still, this isn't a suitable strategy for long-term contract management, with 3/5 of your roster dictating their terms to you year-in, year-out.

On top of that there are 26 minor league free agents-to-be. No standouts on the list, nor anyone I want to sign at the cost of putting them on a tight 40-man roster, but I'll take a sec to say so long to 2048 first rounder Josh Egan. He was our top pitching prospect once upon a time, but hasn't been the same since an injury cost him all of 2052. (And let's be honest: he was starting to leak oil before that anyway.) He threw well in relief in AA this year, but was poor in his first AAA callup, and my scouts say he doesn't even have the movement or control to stick there, at least.

One last note: we finished filling all the empty minor league personnel slots, and one name sticks out. Our new manager at A ball Eureka is...Adam Groff! I made him a coach, and then took the plunge and signed him. I hope he turns out to be a good one. (I told you I'd do this, didn't I!)

Bub13 · 08-07-2021, 08:40 PM

Arbitration awards are in, and it's ridiculous. Henry Skiffington gets rewarded for his >9 ERA with a $6.25M deal ($1M more than I wanted, and still too high), and Mike Bader struggles his way to making $8.7M (more than $2M over what I offered). Likewise, we lost out (by anywhere from 500k to 1.5M) on every other big deal--Covington, Pearse, Pederson, Royer--but at least those guys produced more than tears this year. I know pitchers are voodoo, but it's particularly galling to be on the hook for over $17M to three guys who averaged less than one point of WAR each this past season. (But the less said about the $25M per we're doling out to the possibly terminally-declined J.J. Simmons, the better. Ahem.)

Anyway, we'll be paying out around $165M in player salaries for the coming season, quite a figure when you consider our entire budget is supposed to be only $162M. What that means is don't be surprised if a bunch of now-wayward starting pitchers find themselves run out of town in the coming months. I may also have to nibble around the edges further down the roster, taking hard looks at anyone making up to $2M or so, and hoping for some league-minimum guys to really shine in camp. And you just know that there's going to be a hotshot international free agent I'm going to drool over and not be able to afford. Ah well, life in the fast lane.

......

AROUND THE LEAGUE

...the first day of free agency and already the Dodgers have to be stopped. They've been linked to the top 2B (Alfonso Torres, a 4-WAR leadoff type), 3B (Gerardo Nieto, a monster slugger and do-it-all hitter), and SS (Chris Rock, injury-prone but good for batting .320-.340 in his sleep). No word yet from Vegas on the over/under for bullpen signings.
...Good News, Everyone! The international FAs are here and...they all suck! That didn't stop three teams from having already signed guys before the list was made public, but hey, what's a little graft among friends. So we'll save our pennies and wait til next year.
...Winter Meetings start, and there is the usual raft of multi-player trades, almost all of them involving 30-something year-old relief pitchers getting dealt for 2-4 lousy prospects and cash. What a strange trade algorithm these GMs operate under.
...aaaand the signings are underway. Of course, LA blazes the trail, and (surprisingly) not for relievers. They started by inking 2/3 of the guys mentioned above, 2B Torres (5 yrs, $135M) and 3B Nieto (8 yrs, $268M), but missed out on Chris Rock (more below). They did complete their infield makeover, however, by signing former Isles SS Rich Stoneback (2 yrs, $23M), still productive at 37. (Don't worry, Dodgers fans: they also added two RP, vets Elijah Jelks and Sean Pinney, because why not.)
...the aforementioned Chris Rock goes to Baltimore (5 yrs, $106M), meaning that he'll be supplanting recent #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman at short. (Feltman really struggled in '54, and should be moved over to second to continue his development. Which, of course, he won't be.) Rock is a solid contact hitter, but can't stay healthy, having played more than 110 games in a season only once in the last five campaigns. An odd signing for the rebuilding O's, but let's see if they add anything else to the offense.
...other big names going early: Boston grabs former Portland ace Dave Yocum (5 yrs, $81M); Richmond overpays for 2-WAR OF Phil Cronce (8 yrs, $168M); the Mets replace Torres with former Isles 2B Manny Rangel (4 yrs, $50M), a good grab for them; the Yankees add C Arturo Sena (2 yrs, $32M) to hit .200 and knock 30 HR; slugging 1B Chris Goldthwait will take his 40-HR game to New Orleans (4 yrs, $42M); LA outbids us for our one-time closer Robbie Collier (1 yr, $5.9M); underrated 4-WAR SP Alberto Reyes joins the Cards (4 yrs, $76M); and Cincy adds one-time Isles prospect SP Tim Mitchell (1 yr, $10.5M) and light-htting Gold Glove SS Kevin Lutz (2 yrs, $20M).

......

A LITTLE BIT OF ACTION FROM OUR END...

...SP Danny Carbajal is lucky to be alive after his car was struck by a train in early December. The 25-year-old emerged with just a hamstring injury, but one that will keep him sidelined until early in camp. He's expected to be 100% by then.
...with the Rule 5 Draft coming fast, we make one trade of note and a couple minor deals to free up some 40-man slots for prospects. First, we send off two to Baltimore--P Shane Walker and OF Stephen Eason--along with a couple of low draft picks--for a 4th round pick. Both players have spent time in Hawaii, but have been superseded by younger rivals. Second, we send 2B Zach Watt and a pick to Cincinnati for IF prospect Marquis Williams. Watt, you might remember, was one of the 2B rota last season, and while he's a solid fielder, his hitting is mediocre and with Lucas Tipping's emergence, became expendable. Williams, 20, is a solid fielder and runner, and could become a decent hitter, making him a future utility guy at the least. Finally, we ship out SP Henry "Biff" Skiffington to KC for reliever Justin Cornelius. Maybe this is an overreaction to Skiff's horrid '54, but I feel like there are rising prospects who look at least as good as he does, and we save nearly $4.5M in salary. Cornelius will be in AAA unless he doesn't clear waivers.
...now, despite having freed up three slots on the 40-man roster, I think we could lose 3-4 guys in the draft: pitchers Elias Tena, John Loeb, Chris Schroeder, Larry Hensley, and Nick Lee; C William Bustos; 1B Steve Rhodes and Matt Barlow; IF Carlos Ovalle; OF Collin Blazer, Kevin Jessen, Dave Langford, and Jason Cottam. All of these guys figure to be solid contributors at AAA, most look like quality injury replacements, and a few I really would rather not lose. But our system is so deep right now that I can't keep everyone. We'll just have to wait and see what pain we take...

......

BACK TO THE LEAGUE...

...but first, we did lose two guys to the Rule 5 madness. Pitcher John Loeb was a decent AA guy for us in '54, and was ticketed for AAA next season. His scouting profile pegs him as a solid starting pitcher, possibly a top-of-the-rotation guy. But...he's 26, has average stuff, and barely three pitches of note. So... Who's right? Me or the scouts? Ovalle is a slick-fielding middle infielder, who didn't get any MLB time last year only because our 40-man was full and we didn't have room for him. He's hit well in our system, but grades as an average batter overall, with no power and no speed. Purely a replacement-level utility guy. Both players could actually be back by the start of the regular season. Overall, 21 guys were selected in the draft, with LA losing the the most at three players.

...37-year-old 3B Roberto Miranda is back with Austin after a six-year hiatus in Minnesota, 2 yrs and $24M. He's no longer the 5-7 WAR guy he was way back when, but is still capable of .270 and 20 HR, with solid fielding. But he's old and bruises easily, maybe not what a rebuilding team should be going for.
...California signed pitcher Josh Hohn to a near-minimum $660k deal. Why bring him up? Because he was drafted #1 overall two years running, by Texas in '45 and then Pittsburgh in '46. He's 31 now and has appeared in 148 games over eight seasons for the Pirates, all in relief. Good stuff, good movement, poor control (5-7 BB/9 each season), so yeah something of a bust.
...Houston inks their second SP of the off-season, nabbing Robbie Camp for $73M over 7 years. Camp spent last season with Washington, after five in Richmond. Solid pitcher but walks too many (100 last season). Earlier in December they signed Mat Caldwell for 4 years and $40M. Caldwell split '54 with Arizona and Tampa Bay, not pitching particularly well at either stop. He's a scouts dream, with high-end ratings, a power pitcher who struck out 323 back in 2050. But his underlying numbers are not so hot: sub-league average ERA, high BABIP, and decreasing K rate couple with increasing BB rate. At 30, he's still got something left, no doubt, but hasn't shown that he's a top-end reliable guy over his career.
...LA signed another reliever, 32-year-old Chris Milano...then left him unprotected and saw Brooklyn sweep in and claim him in the Rule 5 draft. Milano's a former starter who's just an average reliever now, and pitched for LA in '52 and then Brooklyn in '53. Sounds like there's some history there...

......

YEAR-END SIGN OFF

With the calendar year flipping as I type this, we're signing off on an eventful 2054 and looking forward to a promising 2055. Unless something comes out of the blue, we're probably done with major off-season news. There might be a minor league FA to grab here and there, but honestly I think we've got enough players in our system to cover the full-season minor league teams already. And once again the 40-man roster is full, so any deal for major league talent would have to see someone move out. I'll scan the waiver and free agent wires for any young-and-talented guys slipping through the cracks, but those guys are harder to come by in recent years. I'll also probably cut some chaff out of the lower minor leagues, but I doubt anyone of any note will be sent packing. Otherwise...rosters look full, we're fully staffed, and now we just need to not have any more off-field disasters (Hey, Carbs!) between today and camp. See you in '55!

Bub13 · 08-10-2021, 09:16 PM

WELCOME TO 2055!

...Minnesota makes the first splash of the New Year, welcoming hungover fans by announcing the signing of OF Jesus Villegas for 5 years and $85M. The former Detroit slugger has cracked 221 HR and earned 20 WAR over his six year career, but will likely be moved to DH seeing as the current Twins outfield--Jordan Foots (.332/55/132), Ryan Lawler (.364/30/105 and ROY), and Tim Marinaccio (.286/46/121)--is as explosive as it gets. Looks like the Twins are going for winning a lot of games 10-8.
...Hall of Fame votes are in, and we have just a single new member: pitcher Gary Florence (2036-48, SD and LA). A fabulous perennial 7+ WAR guy, he won two Cy Youngs and an MVP by the age of 28, after which injuries took their toll and he only pitched 20 or more starts three times from then on. But he did pull out an 8.4 WAR season at age 32, winning his second Cy Young, and had a ludicrous 249-to-28 K-BB ratio for the season. He earned 64 WAR in his career, and is more than worthy of induction, in my eyes: 2.67 ERA, 2150 IP, 2205 K, 316 BB, 148 ERA+, 69 FIP-, 0.97 WHIP, best K/BB ratio (7.0) in history. But spare a thought for for C Tyler Markey, dropped after failing to get in in his 10th season on the ballots. His vote tally this year? 73.6%, after getting 74.3% last year. He'll get strong veteran's committee consideration, for sure.
...oh sure, the Dodgers added another reliever (former LA/DET/MTL closer Jason Faries), but the Mets (four) and the Phillies (three) are playing catch-up, mostly by signing nearly or completely washed-up former starters to MR roles. The world's saddest arms race.
...Houston continues to add to their rotation by re-signing former Isles ace Mike Messinger (3 yrs, $33.9M). Mess never hit the heights I thought he'd reach after winning a Cy Young in his rookie season (2041) with us, but he's been a mostly-dependable mid-rotation option for over a decade now. He'll be nearly 39 when the season opens, so the term on this deal may not be the smartest.
...Minnesota adds another bat, this time by inking 3B Ryan Pfaffle (4 yrs, $39M). He hits for power, but his average has tailed off to the .240 and below level; good fielder, though. Now if they can do something about their leadoff man with the .286 OBP...
...I may have to retire LA's "sign all the relievers" crown: the Mets added two more guys, Richmond's grabbed three, Philly one more. It's now been nearly a month since the Dodgers signed a reliever, sparking terrible rumors across the league.
...former Isles backup catcher Guillermo Diaz returns to the AL West, signing a one year deal ($8.6M) with Seattle. Diaz, now 38, has been an average hitter with some pop for ten-plus years, but he had a crazy season in '53 where he went .295/.406/.564, with 31 HR and 6.5 WAR while with San Francisco. That earned him a nutso $26M one-year deal with LA last year, whereupon he promptly returned to his .231 career average. The three-time Gold Glove winner is a shadow of his former self, even behind the plate, and as he's no better than what the Mariners already had at catcher I'm not sure why they didn't spend that money on some better pitching instead.
...San Diego just released pitcher John Loeb, whom they claimed from us in the December Rule 5 draft. Welcome back, John! Weird how he looks better too: in fact, scouting reports say he got a bump in January but was still released. Now he looks like a contender for the #5 SP spot for us, instead of just a decent AAA swingman. He's 26, however, so I'm not quite trusting my scouts saying that his stuff is going to increase to elite level one day... Oh, and Patino just brought back a 16-year-old pitcher from Australia that OSA touts as "judgement-impaired." Moises, what are you doing? Do I need to call the FBI?

...Spring Training games start (more on them later), and teams take that as a sign to ink a bunch of veterans on the cheap. First gone is 40-year-old 2B Josh Robertson, to Oakland. Man, I had forgotten just how good he was for us back in the day: 8 seasons, 1105 hits, 24 WAR, averaged .320 with a ton of doubles, and 2 Silver Sluggers. He's nearing the end but still looks like a useful platoon or part-time guy. Arizona then re-signed 1B Jim Timmer (now 33), after he bashed 34 HR for them last year. A low-average (.234) hitter who's closing in on 300 career homers, he's also won 8 Gold Gloves, and is way more useful than his career 8.1 WAR might suggest. Milwaukee grabs cranky OF Josh Conley away from Minnesota; he may not be popular, but he can still bat .290 or so with 25-30 HR while playing solid defense. Good pickup as long as he doesn't fight anybody. And then there's Ricky Chavez... The 39-year-old slugger is a lot of things: lazy, selfish, greedy, surly, mean to pets and old ladies. But he keeps hanging on, and will get another MLB season to earn his usual 1 point of WAR, this time with the Yankees. Consider: you're 27, coming off back-to-back seasons of 49 and 46 HR, and just hit a career high .287...and then no one signs you as a free agent. So you go to Italy for three years then come back to sign a six-year deal with Miami, only to have your team owner give his GM an annual goal to "trade the discontented Ricky Chavez." And yet, he's 39 and still going.
...Bad sign for the new season in Oakland, as two of their top pitchers--both of whom missed most of last season--are out for five and six weeks. Jim Schwartz and Eric Stockton just keep getting hurt now. I guess I shouldn't complain...
...Houston inks former Isles reliever Ben Germann for a year at $2.7M. After leaving us Germann spent last season with Richmond, finally getting a regular shot as a starter. His strikeouts were down (6.1 K/9 from his 9.7 career average), but his 3.84 ERA and 3.5 WAR were above league average. He's the third SP the Astros have signed this off-season. They also added aging 2B Juan Rodriquez for a year; he's no longer the .340 hitting, 40 HR bashing stud he was in his 20s, but he still hit .308 with 11 HR in 50 games before a season-ending injury last year. He's also nearly immobile in the field now, so second may not be the best place for him after all.
...Brooklyn makes the last signing of the off-season, grabbing 3B Nate Vawdrey (late of the Cardinals) for one season. He'll fit right in with their low-average-high-power lineup, where it looks like only their outfield is going to hit over .250. But they'll crack a ton of home runs. That translates, according to MLB, to 80 wins...which is down from last season's 82 wins. Good luck, Robins.

......

And with that, spring training comes to an end. Next up: the Hawaii spring report and the outlook for the 2055 season.

Bub13 · 08-15-2021, 05:32 PM

The best thing I can say about spring training is that it's over. We finished 13-17, winning six of our last eight after sending down the not ready for prime timers. We had trouble hitting and scoring, but got mostly solid pitching. (A portent for the coming season? Well, stay tuned.) No, the really worrisome part of the spring was a nasty outbreak of injury-itis. Eight players missed most or part of March, with some of them going on extended vacations, unfortunately. In order of seriousness, you have:

#2 SP Mike Pearse -- out for 11 months. He also missed all of 2052 with the same injury (torn UCL)
#4 SP Andy Burke -- out for 12-13 months. Burke and Carbajal (read on) stabilized a faltering rotation last season
#3 SP Danny Carbajal -- out for 5-6 weeks. Yippee
MR Orlando Silva -- out for 8 months. Was a dark horse candidate this spring, and threw well as a mid-season recall last year
SS J.J. Simmons -- dtd for another week. Hit better than he has in two years this spring; should be 100% shortly
DH Jules Medici -- missed 3/4 of March, but is back in time for opening day. Please don't be a sign of impending fragility
MR G.J. Joe -- out for 3 months. Prospect was throwing really well this spring, but hopefully this won't hurt us or AAA Santa Barbara
OF Josh Hed -- healthy again, but missed 1/2 of the spring

While only our rotation is currently wracked with pain, I of course worry that this is a bad omen for the coming season. Luckily, our farm system is still pretty deep; and now those shiny new toys will get a shot to see what they got. Plus that's depth I can mine for trades later, should I go that route instead. So with no further ado, here is the 2055 Opening Day roster for Your Hawaii Islanders:

C Mike Covington, 25, L; $4.5M thru 2055; .257/.315/.480, 20 HR, 1.4 WAR. A second consecutive slow start for Cov in '54, and while he picked up the pace late, he didn't match his overall numbers from '53. Solid receiver, just missed a Gold Glove imho. Will be pushed by the new guy, and we'll see how he responds in a contract year.

C Jamie Collins, 24, L; minor league contract; .260/.363/.460, 16 HR, 1.7 WAR in AA and AAA. Beat out poor-hitting Bentley Kolb for the backup spot. Ranks as the #26 prospect in MLB. Like Cov, a LHB so no more platoon here, like we've had with Kolb, et al, in recent years. Scouts say he's still growing, with solid power but less contact than earlier projections. Average defensively.

1B Josh Matson, 31, S; $11.5M thru '57, then two TOs; .297/.356/.448, 12 HR, 0.4 WAR. Hit nearly 30 points below his career average, his power dropped in half, and WAR was hurt by a really poor defensive month spent at 2B. We need him to rebound and show that someone over the age of 30 on this team can still hit. (I'm looking at you, J.J.)

DH Jules Medici, 24, R; $17.9M+ thru '60, then opt-out; .343/.437/.645, 47 HR, 5.9 WAR. The heart of the offense, we'll live and die at the plate with him. Fully earned his new long-term contract, which will keep him here thru '62 if he doesn't opt out. Hard worker, team leader, fan favorite. Too good to be true?

2B Lucas Tipping, 23, R; $500k (auto); .200/.276/.383, 5 HR in 115 AB (also .248, 10 HR in 222 AAA AB). The #34 prospect in MLB is getting his shot in the starting lineup after a solid spring. Doesn't do any one thing at a high level, but has no holes either. Still growing, and projects as a decent hitter with some power, maybe enough for 20 HR a season. Defense is above average, but not trophy-level. Like I said: no holes. The kind of guy who should go unnoticed most of the time because he's just doing his job.

3B Caleb Royer, 27, R; $4.25M thru '55 (arb); .298/.316/.530, 32 HR, 1.8 WAR. Offense was fine, but dropped from a really solid (.326/.352/.601) 2053 season. Good hitter across-the-board, except that he will not take a walk (35 in two full seasons). Will probably never be a plus fielder, but improved enough to not be at the bottom of the charts. Strong arm covers some of his fielding sins. As he's arbitration eligible in the fall, this is essentially a contract year for him.

3B/1B Lua Ulkini, 26, L; $1.1M thru '55 (arb); .283/.357/.425, 3 HR, 0.3 WAR, 113 AB. Two seasons in and he's become a solid utility bat, and might see some more time as a defensive sub for Royer against RHP. Depending on how much he might earn moving forward, he'll either get more playing time or a free agent this fall. Doesn't rate high enough to make regular starts, but has produced when called upon.

IF Kevin Kelley, 24, R; $800k (arb); .228/.331/.286, 2 HR, -1.4 WAR. Played more (311 AB) due to injuries, and his hitting suffered but most surprisingly he was a disaster at short (-7.9 ZR, .926 EFF). Didn't hit well in camp but made the roster over prospect Bill Gamboa due to his ability on the left side of the infield. (Gamboa doesn't have the arm for SS or 3B.) A good role player and a plus in the clubhouse, he could be the first man out if we struggle early and need to change things up.

SS J.J. Simmons, 32, R; $25M thru '56 (opt out, then thru '60); .234/.326/.278, 0 HR, -0.2 WAR. Once was a sparkplug in the offense, but has really struggled for two seasons now. He's boosted somewhat by his OBP, lack of strikeouts, speed, and fielding. Still, a .234 average and negative WAR was a major part in our offensive woes last year. I rolled the dice on his last long-term contract, and it's starting to look like that's coming up snake eyes.

LF Josh Hed, 26, R; $500k (arb); .283/.336/.500, 18 HR, 1.4 WAR, 374 AB. Didn't so much seize the starting nod in left in camp, as rather it sort of devolved onto him. Missed nearly half the seaon in '54 but was productive for most of his healthy time. With a pile of youngsters lining up behind him, however, his role on the team will be completely contingent on how he starts the season. Perhaps the best fielding OF (after maybe Espino), but his so-so arm limits him to left.

CF Joe Lynn, 26, R; $7.8M thru '56; .323/.383/.456, 6 HR, 14 triples, 68 SB, 4.5 WAR. Leadoff catalyst and has been remarkably consistent in his four years as a starter. Little power but is truly gifted everywhere else. Has a team option for next year--which we'll execute--but right now is asking for a long-term extension in excess of $20M per season. Even if Simmons opts out, saving us some cash, I'm not sure I want to turn right around and sign another guy until well into his thirties. Also, top prospect Brian Hassell is lurking...

RF Doug Pederson, 26, L; $4M thru '55 (arb); .306/.434/.518, 10 HR, 2.0 WAR, 222 AB. Positives: can rake with the best of them, for power and average; no slouch on the basepaths; team sparkplug. Negatives: becoming oddly immobile in the field, even at 26, despite good running speed; wants an extension at over $20M per for eight years; hasn't yet stayed healthy through an entire season. If he can stay on the field and keep hitting this year, we'll arbitrate him in the fall and see what our $$$ situation looks like afterwards.

OF Erik Bennetsen, 24, R; $500k (auto); .301/.326/.518, 4 HR, 83 AB (also .320 in 357 AA/AAA at bats). Didn't hit in the spring, ceding left field back to Hed. My scouts say he's better than Josh, however, and he'll definitely get some AB in April as I feel like the competition for LF is still open. Had hopes of seeing him make a mark as a two-way guy until be broke his elbow while pitching and missed all of '53.

OF Nick Gase, 25, R; $500k (arb); .316/.454/.500, 7 HR, 2.4 WAR, 206 AB. Showed more power than expected, filling in capably after Hed went down last summer. Wants to start and will push the Hed/Bennetsen duo, as well as seeing some time at 1B and DH. If he could only hit for power with regularity he'd be a shoo-in.

OF Diego Espino, 24, R; $500k (arb); .248/.320/.487, 11 HR, 0.1 WAR, 193 AB. Another of our young logjam of outfielders, he hasn't hit well enough to get more playing time yet. Being a gifted fielder and a team co-captain keeps him around for now, even if his batting hasn't developed as promised. One of those rare international FA signings that actually paid off.

OUTLOOK: On paper, at least, we should get a ton of hits, but it remains to be seen if we'll be dynamic enough to plate a lot of runs. Sound familiar? Pederson's injury and down seasons from several guys kept our runs total much lower than expected in '54, and it wouldn't shock me to see more of the same, injuries notwithstanding. There isn't much change to the lineup, although rookies Tipping (2B) and Bennetsen (OF) will be expected to produce. Bennetsen in particular will get the first crack if Hed is slow out of the gate, although if Gase keeps producing he might force me to make a roster move. And I'm intrigued enough by Collins' bat to see if he can take any games away from Covington behind the plate. I'll feel a lot better if the usual suspects produce, and if Simmons and Matson can return to form. If not...there could be bigger changes next off-season.

......

SP Matt Waugh, 28, L; $35M+ thru '60 (then a PO); 21-5, 3.14, 224 IP, 256 K, 7.9 WAR. Two seasons, two Cy Young trophies. He was nearly unhittable early on, and for some of that stretch was the only SP pitching well at all. Regressed in mid-season but came on strong late and led us into the playoffs. Will become the second Islander pitcher to make three consecutive opening day starts, after the great Leon Casillas in '39-'41. He has to stay healthy and deliver for us, period.

SP Mike Bader, 26, R; $8.75M thru '55 (arb); 7-13, 5.20, 177 IP, 116 K, 3.2 WAR. Bottomed out last year, but he wasn't alone. He must bounce back for us, especially as he'll really be playing for his contract. I'm not inclined to pay someone over $10M a season to be subpar. Pitched well in camp, so I'm cautiously optimistic he can regain the form he showed his first two seasons.

SP Josh Irvin, 26, R; $2.1M thru '55 (arb); 2-9, 7.20, 90 IP, 53 K, 0.1 WAR. Yes, another upcoming arbitration case, and yes another pitcher who blew up last year. A finesse guy with excellent control, every stat trended way downward for him in '54. And to continue the running theme: yes, he must bounce back for us to succeed this year. I sent him down last year after 16 mostly terrible starts, and while he was okay in AAA, he didn't earn a recall. He was excellent in camp, but really just needs to be average or slightly better to keep me happy.

SP Daniel Croft, 24, L; $500k (auto); 0-1, 0.41, 22 IP, 4 starts in AAA. Our erstwhile #1 pitching prospect missed nearly the entire season in '54, which cost him an MLB debut given how awful our pitching was early on. While he doesn't appear to have lost anything after his injury, he did slide down to our #4 pitching prospect, a curious thing. (And no, the three guys now above him didn't take big jumps.) Has a five-pitch repertoire and excellent stamina; groundballer; nothing else really stands out. Looked good in camp, but we'll see...

SP Travis Harris, 23, R; minor league money; 9-10, 2.98, 182 IP, 138 K, 27 starts in AA/AAA. Another low-ball finesse guy, looks very similar to Irvin. It's a broken record, but he too had a very strong camp and fully earned his major league debut. Will try to get by without a true fastball (cutter/curve/change arsenal). Sits at #44 in MLB's prospect rankings. (Croft is #37, btw.)

CL Nate Kearns, 29, R; $1.4M thru '55; 6-4, 2.72, 19 SV, 92 IP, 104 K, 1.9 WAR. Took home the Hoyt Wilhelm trophy after essentially 1/2 of a season as closer. He'll get a chance at it from the get-go this year. A flame-throwing sidearming groundballer, a lovely combo. Walks a bit more than I'd like (4 per 9 IP), but he usually makes up for it by striking out everyone else.

SU Manny Reyes, 22, R; minor league cash; 13-8, 4.68, 28 starts in A ball. Making the big leap from A ball after a very strong camp. Like Kearns, a fireballing groundball guy with some control issues. Wants to start, but not with that sad changeup, Manny. Like Travis Harris, was a supplemental round pick in the '51 draft, where we took a ton of pitchers early. (Others were the injured Andy Burke, and minor leaguers Elias Tena, Larry Hensley, Nick Lee, and John Loeb.)

SU Jordan Ruiz, 25, L; $850k (arb); 5-4, 2.03, 10 SV, 49 IP, 58 K, 1.4 WAR. Good enough to close, and a big piece of our solid bullpen. Struggled some in camp, but I expect him to round into form out of the gate. One of two lefties in the pen.

MR M-H Yaung, 38, L, $1.2M thru '55; 10-0, 0 SV, 3.32, 79 IP, 77 K, 1.4 WAR. The World's Tallest Korean is back for another year, with me hoping he still has something left in the tank. Ks were way down last year, and BABIP way up, so... you tell me why you won't be surprised to see him buried in AAA by July.

MR Yoshi Watanabe, 23, R, $800k (auto); 8 games in AAA last year after an elbow injury in camp. Breaking my rule against flyball pitchers since Turtle had the best camp of all our middle relief candidates. Power pitcher with a snappy fastball/slider combo, he's got a number of guys nipping at his heels should he start slow out of the gate.

MR Sam Bohlen, 27, R, $1.29M thru '55; 3-4, 2 SV, 4.94, 71 IP, 81 K, 0.7 WAR. Came over in our silly mega-trade with the Cubs last year. Started slow but came on late, eventually earning a solid spot in a setup role. Pitched a lot in camp, got better as the month went on; stuck around largely because of his contract and my unwillingness to let him go for nothing. Sidearmer.

OUTLOOK: Despite our injuries this is still a solid unit. If Bader and Irvin recover past form, we could have the best rotation in the game, although not one that will overpower hitters. The bullpen should be quality.

Injured: SS J.J. Simmons (dtd, five days); SP Mike Pearse (11 months), Andy Burke (12 months), and Danny Carbajal (5-6 weeks); RP Orlando Silva (8 months)

Waiting in the wings: C Bentley Kolb, 2B/SS Bill Gamboa, IF Jim Pfeifer, SS Jake Moore, OF Russ Venters and Chase Thompson. SP John Loeb, Gleb Mihalkovsky, and Ken Taylor; RP Brad Cahill, Jonathon Sitzler, Phil Bishop, and Anthony Booker. None were all that impressive in camp (even the ones who played a lot for us last season) but will be on the speed dial when injuries/incompetencies arise. Also watching AA OF Brian Hassell, seventh ranked prospect in baseball.

......

BNN has some pretty interesting predictions they unveiled today. The AL East figures to be wide open, with only a few games separating Boston, Tampa, Miami, and New York. Can't disagree. In the Central, Detroit leads with 91 games, but surprisingly they have the White Sox slipping dramatically from their 112-win 2054 to just 79 wins this year. (Why? Pitching: offense figures to be 2nd in the league, pitching 2nd-worst.) KC looks to figure in the wild card race. As for the West, Texas pulls away with 106 wins, but they show us as second in the AL with 96 wins, mostly on the backs of league-best pitching. I'm optimistic here... On the individual front, California 1B William Swanson returns to prominence (.322/56/150), while Texas SP Bobby Daniel wins 23 with a studly 3.23 ERA.

Over in the NL, it's Washington in the East (from Philly), and St Louis in the Central (taking a tight race with Chicago and Cincinnati). But LA figures to be the cream of the NL crop again, winning 99 games and again running away with the West by a wide margin over Arizona. Philadelphia again figures to be the most interesting team in the league, scoring 867 runs (best in the NL), but allowing 857 (by far the worst in the NL, and nearly the worst in MLB). Tipped for outstanding seasons are Cincy 3B Heath Lewellen (.308/63/135), Brooklyn 2B Mauro Barbiusa (.291/60/133), and LA's ace Everett Cronk (19-9, 2.83, 241 K).

For us? BNN says we'll score a lot but won't hit many home runs, and we'll have the AL's best pitching stats. I think that's pretty spot on, and very similar to last season as we didn't add any real power to our lineup, and we also didn't lose any major players. What will be telling, ultimately, comes down to three areas. 1) Power hitting. Medici figures to rake again; Pederson could, if he can stay healthy; Royer's power bat keeps him employed, so he needs to hit 30 again; and Matson, Hed, Covington, and rookie Tipping all need to--and can--add 15-20 dingers at a minimum. Home runs aren't everything but we need to be solid here to compete. 2) Starting pitching. Waugh was a beast last year, but veterans Skiff, Bader, and Irvin stunk right from the start. Solid #2 Mike Pearse is out for the year, as is sophomore Andy Burke, so our two rookies need to be solid, and we need comebacks from Bader and Irvin. 3) Health. Every team wants to stay healthy, of course. But we're already starting the year behind the curve a bit, with two SP and an RP out for the season. If we lose one or two power bats and another SP (esp if it's Waugh), look out below...

NEXT UP: Opening Day!

Bub13 · 08-24-2021, 09:18 PM

Twenty-four games in the kickoff month to the season, starting with a nine-game homestand. As usual, we'll see everyone in the division once, plus outsiders Boston, KC, and Toronto. Fifteen games at home; nine on the road. Tough opening series, though...

April 5-7 vs TEXAS
Fitting that we see our now-archrivals to open the season. There's nothing they don't do well. The lineup features a ton of hitting, led by reigning MVP Ryan Boers and MVP-wannabe Eric Robbins, both capable of perennial monster seasons. LF Mike Olivera has seasons of .330 and .360 in his recent past, and supporting castmates Emilio Mares, Ronnie Halvorson, Ted Miller, Javier Tzoc, and Phil Thoma are the envy of the league. Pitching hopes to be more solid than last year, what with no injuries and the additions of power-pitching starter Emanuel Vasquez (from SD) and closer Jesus Aguilar (from CHW). If anything, the bullpen could get leaky, and Vasquez has been prone to the long ball in the past. But those hitters will more than make up for any mound shortcomings. What's New? Vasquez and Aguilar, already mentioned. Also, rookie 2B Matt Provance looks a lot like our own rookie Lucas Tipping: solid fielder, some pop, may struggle for average. Long-time minor league coach Henry Centeno is the new manager, and he's joined by new GM Jesse Juday, who had a five year stint with the Angels in the 40s that was...less than successful. The Rangers will look to reach the post-season for the sixth consecutive season, and to repeat as AL champions.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (21-5, 3.14) / RH Mike Bader (7-13, 5.20) / RH Travis Harris (debut)
TEX pitchers: RH Kevin Cahill (13-8, 3.66) / LH Bobby Daniel (18-6, 2.92) / RH Paul Labbe (16-10, 4.12)

#1: LOSS 1-2 ... sucks to come up short in a pitcher's duel with Waugh...nine combined hits, two solo HR among those...13 K in 8 IP from Waugh
#2: LOSS 1-3 ... solid pitching again, but only four hits for the second night running...two late solo HR by Texas made the difference
#3: WIN 8-1 ... just 7 hits, but toss in 8 walks and we made it work...awesome 3-hit shutout from Harris in his big league debut

Only the one win here, but I probably should be happy with that against these guys. What is worrying is our predicted lack of hitting. Maybe I should remember that it's only three games.... At least the pitching looked brilliant, with Harris tossing the first shutout by a debut rookie in our history. Congrats, Travis!... With Simmons nursing his little owie, Kevin Kelley stepped in and went 4-for-8 with two walks.... Matson and Lynn went oh-for-the-series.... ELSEWHERE: Mike Lee was once one of the top prospects in baseball, and a cornerstone hope for the hapless Indians. Although his hitting never developed as promised, he's a fantastic infielder and a guy who can still pop 20-25 HR a season. So of course Cleveland gave up on the 26-year-old, sending him to the Twins for a non-hitting defensive catcher and a no-hoper 24-year-old 3B "prospect." And we wonder why some teams never win.... Minnesota, Washington, and LA start their seasons 3-0, while Toronto, Cincy, and Austin go the opposite route.

April 8-10 vs OAKLAND
Still in the midst of a multi-year rebuild, and the only off-season splash they made was signing 40-year-old 2B Josh Robertson. The core of LF Felix Reyes and 3B Ryan Walton returns, and around them are the bones of a solid lineup: RF Randy Costello, 1B Justin Sandy, SS Noah Johnson, and DH Pedro Ortiz have all hit well in recent campaigns, and should do so again this year. But there's still work to do, as they've handed over C to Sergio Lomeli, who's never hit anywhere, and rookie CF Paul Olson gets a go despite looking like a subpar hitter (excellent defense, though). On the mound, they made no outside moves but are allowing some kids to get their feet wet. Future solid SP Pat Oden is in middle relief for now, and rookie Glen Marler makes his rotation debut in this series. Ace Jim Schwartz, however, is just coming off of a 12-month injury, so will need rehab time before working back into the rotation. Longtime roving scout/coach Jose Pena was promoted into the manager's position, and while nothing about him stands out, everyone is happy for now. Like us, they dropped two of their first three games.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (2-9, 7.90) / LH Daniel Croft (debut) / LH Matt Waugh (0-1, 2.25 in '55)
OAK pitchers: RH Glen Marler (8-3, 1.85) / LH Sean Guerrero (4-5, 5.64) / LH Chris Larimer (0-1, 2.25 in '55)

#4: WIN 9-6 ... 3 HR for each team...a pair of RBI doubles sparks a 4-run 8th to win this one...3 H, 2 RBI for Lynn, including two doubles
#5: LOSS 3-4 ... Kearns loses this one, allowing an RBI single in the 9th...2 hits each for Matson and Medici, but not much else from anyone...Tipping hurt
#6: LOSS 6-7 ... another blown save, this time a sac fly and a 3-run HR, all from Kearns...6 runs on just 8 hits, and we still lose

Okay, how long until we need to tweak the lineup? We at least scored a lot, but we're not getting many hits or runners. And Kearns...wake up, son.... It took us a week to finally sell out a home game. Do the fans know something that I don't.... Tipping will sit a bit with a bruised lung (a BRUISED LUNG WTF), so Kelley will start for him. Kellz is batting .312 at least, but Tips was off to a .364 start. J.J. Simmons comes off his dtd injury and goes 1-for-2 in his return at short.... ELSEWHERE: Minnesota and LA are the hot teams, at 6-0, with Boston at 5-1. Cincinnati and Austin are 1-5.... Cincy 'ace' Cris Frias has walked 8 in his 13 IP so far, making his 5.5 BB/9 a marked reduction from last year's 8.6/per achievement.... Two starts, 13 IP, zero runs allowed by Washington's Nick Light, the reigning NL Cy Young winner.

April 11-13 vs BOSTON
We finish our homestand with a visit from the East-leading Red Sox. Second in runs scored, with 44, and getting the timely hitting that we are not. Pitching has been a struggle, 37 runs allowed and 14th in the AL. Like Oakland, they didn't dip much into the free agent pool to improve the roster. Instead, youngsters like 3B Luis Guevara, SS Hugo Santiago, and OF/DH Ty Knott are getting their shots. Knott, in particular, looks like a five-tool stud who should terrify AL pitching for the next decade, damn him. They did install one FA--Dave Yocum--as their new ace SP, but the jury is still out on him as he had a solid-but-out-of-nowhere season with Portland last year; they also added afterthought SP Jose Ambriz from California. Ryan Day is the second-year manager, and he managed to wrangle a notoriously cranky clubhouse into shape last year, winning 85 games. MLB says they'll 'win' the East with 85 wins this year, which I think is easily in reach if they get any decent pitching at all. They'll at least be fun to watch, with Knott developing and joining holdover stars Dustin Wasilewski, Cortez Ortiz, and Rich Dragos at the top of the lineup.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (0-1, 3.00) / RH Travis Harris (1-0, 0.00) / RH Josh Irvin (1-0, 3.86)
BOS pitchers: RH Matt Postlewait (0-0, 9.00) / LH Chris Rivera (0-0, 2.45) / RH Yuya Watabe (1-0, 4.50)

#7: WIN 6-5 ... comeback win, scoring 3 runs late with RBI from Collins and Medici...everyone gets a hit tonight...Bader struggles but at least goes 7 IP
#8: WIN 7-6 ... we do it again, scratching out a run in the 7th, 8th, and 9th to pull out this one...Harris comes back to earth, lasting just 4
#9: WIN 7-0 ... no suspense for once, as Irvin tosses a six-hit shutout, fanning 10...Matson homers, and Simmons gets 2 more hits

Unexpected but totally welcome sweep! Some cold bats--Matson, Royer, Lynn, Hed--finally came to life over those last two games. Let's keep it up, guys.... Pederson (.353), Lynn (.270), and Medici (.257) are the only guys in the top seven hitting over .207.... Irvin has now matched his win total from all of 2054, while Waugh (with 21 wins each of the last two seasons) has zero.... Pederson slid into the #5 slot, displacing Royer, hitting only .167 with no HR.... ELSEWHERE: LA now stands alone, at 8-1. Seattle is having it's usual hot start, at 7-2.... The Yankees have dropped five straight, slipping to 2-7.... Congrats to Boston's Hugo Santiago, the first batter to reach 1.0 WAR.... Three-time NL Cy Young winner Jose Gutierrez is done for the year after struggling through his first two starts, and leaving the second game in the 4th with a torn rotator cuff. Atlanta's 34-year-old ace may just be done for good now, and repeated injuries have seen him toss 30+ games only once since 2048. He did earn a combined 15 WAR over 58 starts in '51 and '52, so there's hope that he can be rebuilt and earn some of the $45M per season he's getting through 2059. But you have to think that's highly unlikely at this point. Meanwhile, the Braves are trying to make do with a pair of castoff veteran MR--Jimmy Warner and Danny Parra--at the back end of the rotation, something not at all sustainable in the long-term.

April 15-17 @ KANSAS CITY
After a day off we land in KC to see the 5-4 Royals and former Isles Julius Burrows and Biff Skiffington. Offense and pitching are even, 63 runs for and against, which makes the hitting #2 in the AL but pitching #17. Only ace Steve Scibek has been worthy of the "MLB starting pitcher" label so far, and they distrust their starters so much that they're rolling with an 8-man bullpen currently. The lineup looks pretty solid except for the outfield, where Philip Tyler and Trevor Evans are suspect hitters, and Burrows is injury-prone (and hurt again, btw). Why slugging lefty Brian Spindler isn't in the everyday lineup, I do not know. Outside of powerful 3B Tom Esposito, the lineup doesn't feature any true stars, but is built on AVG and OBP, like us. They won't hit many HR but should still be a bane to play against. Veteran manager (and three-time award winner) Dario Agrazal is in his fourth year at the helm and will have these guys playing hard every night. The staff loves each other, and the few lazy slugs on the roster haven't yet coalesced into a management-hating cabal. Sort out the pitching--and stay healthy there, as they also have four RP on the DL--and they may make some noise, although I don't see them staying up top over the whole season with Detroit. But with Minnesota better but unproven, the Sox having taken a step back, and Cleveland and Milwaukee their usual dumpster-fire selves, there's a chance to reach the post-season here.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (0-0, 3.38) / LH Matt Waugh (0-1, 2.81) / RH Mike Bader (0-1, 4.50)
KCR pitchers: LH Travis Fox (0-0, 12.27) / RH Steve Scibek (2-0, 2.70) / RH Bill Perez (0-0, 12.54)

#10: WIN 4-2 ... first W for Croft, as we extend a 2-1 lead with 2 in the 9th, then hold on...13 hits, including 4 from Matson
#11: WIN 3-2 ... so many close games...only 5 hits but we add in 7 walks and steal 5 bases...Covington's RBI double is our only XBH
#12: WIN 12-0 ... an old-fashioned style drubbing, banging out 15 hits including 6 doubles and 3 HR...Bader pulled with 2 outs in the ninth, but why

Six straight wins and suddenly so many problems just vanish. Okay, some guys still aren't hitting, but winning makes tinkering with the lineup seem like less of an emergency.... Truly solid pitching all around, and even Kearns lowered his ERA to under 12.... Matson has been our hottest hitter, rediscovering his old form to the tune of .333/4/12. Simmons is batting .357 and getting on base at a .471 clip.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle and California join Hawaii at 8-4 atop the AL West.... Oakland's lost six in a row to drop to the rear.... Philly's dropped 7 straight, falling to 4-8.... Minny's Jordan Foots leads all hitters with 10 HR, while Atlanta's Chris "Yabba" Dabbah tops everyone with a .537 average.... Strikeouts are down slightly, but Tampa's George Brorby hasn't heard the news and leads all pitchers with 35 K (in 25 IP).... Tampa, meanwhile, is at 7-5 despite a recent injury bug taking out three of their top hitters for at least a month each.... In the NL, old strikeout kings Cris Frias and Conor MacLeod lead with 31 each, while STL's Erik Sloan has 30.

......

TL;DR Version: A slow start but a strong finish has us at 8-4 and tied for first in the division. In the reverse from last season, we're scoring runs (4th) while not hitting (11th) with much regularity. Pitching is tops in the league, and only Nate Kearns' two big blowups are keeping the bullpen's numbers from looking good (11th in ERA thanks to his 11.57 number). Yes, it's only twelve games, but already some guys are moving towards the edge of the lineup, in terms of seeing their playing time reduced in the near future: Josh Hed is batting just .222 and being pushed by Nick Gase and Erik Bennetsen; Caleb Royer is at .178 (but up from a recent .111 mark), and may start getting spelled more by Lua Ulkini. And Mike Covington is hitting a modest .200 while Jamie Collins has gone 3-for-9 and is demanding to speak to management. I have no complaints yet about our pitching, but will be curious to see what Travis Harris brings the rest of the month. He went from a debut shutout to getting shelled early and leaving in the 4th in his next start. One odd thing does jump out at me, however, and that's that two relievers--Yaung and Watanabe--haven't pitched at all yet. The only other low stat to watch is our 13th-ranked ZR; but we do combine that with a 2nd-best defensive efficiency...which means I guess we catch what we get to, even if we don't get to much? Dunno.

Bub13 · 09-13-2021, 07:45 PM

April 18-20 @ SEATTLE
They reached .500 for the first time in five seasons in '54, although they stumbled after a hot April; this year they're off to an 8-4 start, so at least they're consistent. Seventh in runs for and against, with a +8 differential right now. Stars Paul Stough and Ger van Mourik are hitting the cover off the ball, and they're joined by DH Paul Cyr who's hitting three times his career average right now. Solid. And again...this is a team that largely eschewed free agency, only grabbing current #5 starter Conrad Robertson and average MRs Chris Salmela and Kerry Allen. (Robertson is only in the rotation due to injuries to projected SP Ron Rivera and Seb Mulholland.) Although I guess I can bring up ancient catcher Guillermo Diaz, brought over from LA but slowly expiring on the bench. Fifth-year manager Dwayne Cloninger had his first non-subpar season last year, so the jury is definitely still out on his capability. The other thing of note is that they're currently 2nd in the AL with 26 home runs, exactly twice what we've hit so far. Nice.

HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (1-0, 3.46) / RH Josh Irvin (2-0, 1.69) / LH Daniel Croft (1-0, 2.25)
SEA pitchers: RH Theo Soole (1-0, 3.77) / RH Daniel Newell ('55 debut) / RH Conrad Robertson (0-0, 8.25)

#13: LOSS 6-10 ... Harris gets bombed early, but we hang tough until giving up 4 late runs...Pederson and Medici homer, but we give up five in turn
#14: WIN 7-3 ... Tipping, Hed, and Matson go deep, and five players get two hits each...Irving solid again...two steals for Lynn, 8 on the season
#15: WIN 4-1 ... Matson's 2-run shot is the key hit...2 hits and an RBI for Simmons, and Gase throws out two runners at home...8 IP, 0 ER from Croft

Two wins: always good. We're 10-5 and a game behind the surprising Angels.... So we're winning, largely on the backs of our starting pitchers: first in the league. But the bullpen is 13th and may need some revising sooner than later.... We're also 6th in runs and 5th in OBP, but 10th in AVG and 11th in OPS.... Matson is flying at .328/6/16 and Simmons is hitting .410. Lynn, Hed, Royer, and Covington are still well below their career numbers.... ELSEWHERE: Eight wins out of ten for California, and William Swanson (.410/8/25) just won player of the week. Also hot: Tampa and the Mets (six straight), and Cincy (four). Not Hot: Philly's lost ten in a row, Oakland nine, and KC seven.... Swanson also hit the first cycle of the season, belting out five hits in a 14-13 win over Oakland.... LA is slumping, and also lost solid SP Homare Yano for two months. He joins ace Everett Cronk (out 3 more weeks), and closer Rick Ramirez (season). At least they've got 12 other closers to choose from to replace Ramirez.

April 21-23 vs HOUSTON
Back home for a six game stand. The 6-9 Astros are getting good hitting--8th in runs and 4th in AVG and HR--but are 10th in pitching ERA and their bullpen has been ever worse than ours. Five hitters are above .300, but two are stuck at .148 and .091. This is a team that grabbed a solid handful of players in free agency, including starting 2B Juan Rodriquez and LF Steve Wheatley (who's keeping Kevin Mazurowski--producer of 69 HR the last two seasons--on the bench), and catcher Juan Pizano, batting .364 but not starting. They also completely remade their rotation, adding Mat Caldwell, Ben Germann, and Robbie Camp via free agency, promoting rookie Alex Moya, and bringing swingman Jason Knight into the #5 slot. (Chris James and Ken Demers, two of last year's SP, are now in the pen.) Manager Alejandro Garcia is in his second season, and may be on the verge of losing team chemistry, so that's fun. Also, TIL their GM is one John Papp, in his third season here after seven years in Pittsburgh. He's 40. He also built a 90-game winning team four times and won a title in '51, but found himself unemployed after a 76-win '52 season.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (1-1, 2.62) / RH Mike Bader (1-1, 2.92) / RH Travis Harris (1-1, 5.82)
HOU pitchers: RH Mat Caldwell (1-2, 3.74) / RH Robbie Camp (0-3, 6.62) / RH Ben Germann (2-1, 4.15)

#16: WIN 8-0 ... 4-hit shutout by Waugh, 11 K...4 hits from Simmons 2-run double by Ulkini, and HR from Hed and Espino...two injuries dampens the mood
#17: WIN 7-2 ... big hits from Collins, Gase, and Ulkini break open a 1-1 tie in the 4th...Ulkini hurt for 2nd straight game however
#18: WIN 5-2 ... HR from Tipping and Ulkini (still playing?), and a solid 8 IP from Harris, getting some mojo back

Very solid series keeps us a game ahead of Seattle and Texas.... Our pitching was very good, with Harris finally turning in another solid start. Only two IP from the bullpen, something we've really needed lately.... Ulkini suffered two dtd injuries, Tipping one; but both kept playing. The injuries are minor leg injuries, and they should be fine in a few days. Both are hitting great, .583 and .393, respectively.... Our top three minor league teams are off to a combined 10-15 start.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's won 7 of 10 to pull up to 10-8 and into a four-way tie for first in the Central. But they lost rookie phenom CF Roberto Gomez for five months.... Remember when Oakland took two out of three from us a few weeks ago? They've dropped twelve straight since and sit at 3-15 overall.... Not only did Houston get swept in Hawaii, but Eddie Kinnison's league-best 20 game hit streak came to an end.... Third-year Tampa pitcher George Brorby has had a dream start to the season, winning all four of his starts while fanning 44 and walking just 3. Brorby gave up 51 HR in 196 IP last year, but only 3 in 33 innings thus far this time around.

April 25-27 vs TORONTO
The long-term rebuild showed signs of reaching bottom last year with a 69-win season, but they're off to a 6-12 start this time around. Only 16th in offense and 17th in pitching, with a -40 run differential. The lack of offense is surprising, given that they have five guys who've hit 30+ HR regularly over their careers. But then again they have new UFA Sam Wilhelm and his career .288 OBP at leadoff. On the mound, there's a whole lot of big numbers, made worse-looking by Gary Stamp's injury, since he's the only guy producing (2.11 ERA). During the winter, besides the aforementioned Wilhelm, they only went after a couple of middle relievers. And new manager Miki Simonich, a former MR with four teams in the '30s and '40s. This is his first managerial job anywhere. But the system ranks 7th, with a pile of nice looking pitchers...but very little anywhere else outside of a couple of low-contact power hitters. Still, they've got money and a motivated owner, so if the prospects develop and they ink some hitters, they should start to turn the ship around in a couple years.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-0, 1.93) / LH Daniel Croft (2-0, 1.50) / LH Matt Waugh (2-1, 1.91)
TOR pitchers: RH Jaden Buchanan (1-2, 6.15) / RH Greg Boedigheimer (1-1, 6.14) / RH Nick Palmer 2-2, 3.71)

#19: WIN 2-1 ... tied after both teams score in the 4th, then nothing until Matson's RBI double in the 13th wins it...complete 9 IP games for both starters
#20: WIN 5-1 ... CG with 9 K for Croft...3 hits each for Pederson (plus a HR) and Lynn, 2-RBI single for Covington
#21: WIN 7-2 ... 13 hits with 4 HR, including 2 by Medici...3 more hits from Lynn, with 2 RBI...Waugh goes 7.2, Ruiz closes it with 1.1 shutout innings

Another solid outing, putting us two games ahead of the competition. It's never too early for playoff consideration, lol.... More excellent pitching, and good-enough hitting even though we're not blowing the doors off anybody.... It's hard (maybe foolish) to mess around with something that's working, but three guys are still not producing at all: Hed in LF, Covington at C, and Royer at 3B. Ulkini has been a defensive sub for Royer, and is hitting, so might get some more regular starts now, too. And Collins will get some more AB at catcher, even though Covington is the much better defensive option. As for Hed, no other OF right now is hot off the bench, so I may tinker there a little less. We'll see.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland lost two more, then finally won one to get themselves to a booming 4-17.... Seven straight wins (and 9 out of 10) for the Cardinals, vaulting them into first in the NL Central.... Cincy 1B Lance Powell is 43 but still a powerful hitter, batting .324 in the young season. He just passed 100 career WAR and is tops in active hits (2674, 82nd overall) and home runs (584, 12th and just two behind Frank Robinson), and second in doubles (602, 20th all-time).

April 28-30 @ CALIFORNIA
BNN says they'll win 81 for the first time since '35, and so far they're 13-8. Early, yes, but still a good start. Ninth place--mid-pack--in offense, and the top third of the lineup is killing it: Dan Dellinger (.316), Preston Eckles (.324), and William Swanson (.361/9/27). But two in the middle of the lineup are under .200, and there's no real dynamism behind the top three (and cleanup guy Mauricio Marquez, who's been just okay so far). Pitching has been good, 6th in runs against, with good showings across the pen and rotation. Dellinger, a two-time batting champ, is new here this year, as is DH Jesse Brickell, who hit 26 HR with Atlanta last year. SP Shaun Ostrander and Joe Dawson are also new FAs, as are a handful of relievers. Add to that new manager Trent Johnson, who stepped into his first head role this year. So far, so good. Also good is the 3rd ranked prospect system, with seven players in the top 100. One player to watch is top guy Zackary Thornhill, third in MLB, who's stuff ceiling is the highest I've ever seen. The only non-pitcher in the lot is 1B Carlos Castro, already on the big club but only oh-for-four on the season. Future power hitter, should bat a consistent .280 with 30+ HR. Solid.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (2-1, 2.70) / RH Travis Harris (2-1, 4.68) / RH Josh Irvin (3-0, 1.67)
CAL pitchers: RH Joe Dawson (0-1, 6.23) / RH Nate Elder (4-0, 3.86) / RH George Millard (debut)

#22: LOSS 2-3 ... we're up 2-1 early but give up two late runs to lose...we outhit them 11-5 but spread them out too thin
#23: WIN 6-3 ... Pederson, Medici, and Tipping homer, and although we're outhit tonight we're able to score in bunches...Harris goes 8, Kearns fans two for the save
#24: WIN 6-3 ... Medici GRAND SLAM and holy cow a JJ Simmons home run alert!...Irvin goes 8 here and Kearns is money again, fanning the side in the 9th

We close out a solid month with two more wins, always a good thing.... Some nice power here, with Medici (7 HR) and Pederson (6) finally flexing a bit.... We're first in the AL with 38 steals, with Lynn and Simmons leading the way with 11.... ELSEWHERE: St Louis stays hot and is tops in the NL at 17-7, with LA right behind at 16 wins. In the AL, Hawaii has 18, with division mates Seattle and Texas right behind at 17.... Montreal and Toronto are making Canada sad with only 7 wins apiece, but no one has struggled like the A's, at only 4-20.... Tampa Bay still leads the AL East, but just lost ace George Brorby (4-1, 1.63) for four months.... Continuing the theme of old men hitting home runs, 44-year old Dan Starr seems to be finally slowing down, hitting just .221 with two HR, giving him 580 on his career. Like Lance Powell, he's a likely Hall of Fame candidate, but unlike Powell seems less likely to reach the 600 HR mark. Two other players have reached the 500 level--Erik Reed at 549 and Victor Sanchez with 534--but neither looks to have much gas left in the tank.

......

TL;DR Version: 15-2 to finish the month after a 3-4 start. Not bad.... Our run production has slipped a bit, to 7th, while we're still top four in AVG and OBP. We'll need to score more from here on if we're going to stay hot, frankly. To that end, I may start making some changes to the lineup starting with our next series: C Mike Covington is hitting .162 while backup Jamie Collins is at .391; 3B Caleb Royer is at .167 with 0 HR, while Lua Ulkini has gone 8-for-20; and LF Josh Hed is at .218 (but with 4 HR and a .338 OBP) so might lose to Nick Gase, slashing .312/.431/.396. Meanwhile, I'm very satisfied with our pitchers. The rotation has greatly exceeded my expectations with a combined 2.48 ERA. The bullpen has struggled some, with Yaung and Watanabe especially fragile in middle relief. But closer Nate Kearns has rebounded well from a shaky start, and the setup duo of Ruiz and Reyes has been spot on. Of course we can't expect to get this kind of starting pitching all season, which is why I want us to score more runs: gotta make up for the expected regression to the mean. Other positive notes: 1B Josh Matson (.330/6/19) and SS J.J. Simmons (.365) rebounding from off years, and rookie 2B Lucas Tipping hitting .320 with 4 HR. All in all, though, a very good month, with only a few quibbles here and there.

Bub13 · 12-12-2021, 06:41 PM

I'M BACK

Twenty-eight games this month: twelve at home, sixteen on the road. We start with three road series before coming home for a week. In personnel news, SP Daniel Croft takes home AL Rookie of the Month honors.

May 1-3 @ MINNESOTA
Went a decent 13-11 in April, but only 3-7 in the last ten. Solid offense, first in runs, AVG, OBP, and 2nd in HR. C Devin Swan is hitting .431, and everyone but leadoff SS Mike Rau (.224) is just raking right now. These guys are going to score a ton of runs all season long. Problem is, their pitching probably won't keep up: and certainly isn't right now, at 14th in runs allowed. Not everyone is struggling, but only SP Gary Kocher and Dan Hannan, along with a few RP, are earning their big league pay. Most disappointing so far is closer Brett Roseman, who's earned 57 saves the last two years, but with a 2.46 WHIP and 7.7 BB/9 currently. He's too good not to recover, and they'll need someone to step up on the mound. Second-year manager Eddie Sappelt is also dealing with an unhappy clubhouse, and most of the pitching staff is avoiding him. Looking into the future, the prospect system ranks just 33rd, with the best-looking guys on the international roster. In other words, a long way off.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (3-0, 1.36) / LH Matt Waugh (3-1 1.99) / RH Mike Bader (2-2, 2.83)
MIN pitchers: RH Gary Kocher (2-2, 3.00) / RH Ken Aikens (1-1, 10.22) / RH Doug Ricks (1-0, 4.91)

#25: LOSS 4-5 ... a 4-2 lead vanishes late, probably because Croft is left in to complete the game...Pederson goes 3-for-4, HR, 2 SB
#26: WIN 7-2 ... Bennetsen is the 3 hits and a HR maven tonight...we run wild, with 5 steals...Waugh goes 8.1 IP, Bohlen cleans up in the 9th
#27: LOSS 4-12 ... hoo boy, long time coming, this one...bad pitching, only six hits, five are singles, although Medici does get two

Disappointing, but not terribly surprising. Some lax pitching versus a solid offense, and bang: two losses.... Really is time to rotate a few guys out of the regular lineup: Hed, Covington, Royer. Put the replacements in for a week or three and see what they got.... On the mound, 38-year-old Yaung may have lost a couple of yards off his fastball, with his ERA hovering just under 12.... ELSEWHERE: The Zephyrs are blowing up with 9 wins in a row, coming back after a 6-12 start to the season. But the Cards are still hot, winners of 8 out of 10, and still lead the NL Central by 4 with a 19-8 mark.... And Texas moves into first in the AL West with their own 8-game winning streak.... Ryan Boers (TEX), Drew Elliott (SF), and Dante Padilla (RIC) have crested the 2.0 WAR mark.... It's hard to call a 29-year-old a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but William Swanson is probably that guy: in his 9th big league season he has just passed the 400 HR mark, is closing in on 1600 hits and 50 WAR, has 3 MVP trophies at home along with 5 Silver Sluggers and 7 All-Star nods. So glad his entire career has been in our division.

May 5-7 @ OAKLAND
Yeah, they're rebuilding, but no one here expected a 5-22 start to the year. Dead last in nearly every offensive category, and sitting 16th to 18th across the board in pitching. Only one guy is hitting anyting at all, and he--RF Tom Sanders--has only 31 AB and was just moved into the lineup. Four pitchers have ERA over ten, and four others are over six. On paper they're much better than this, so I expect some improvement in the coming months. But this season is a major setback to their plans to get back to the top of the West. One positive is rookie pitcher--and top prospect--Pat Oden has looked good in seven relief appearances, and could be moved into the rotation any time now. My wish is that they continue to suck for at least the next three days...

HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (3-1, 4.36) / RH Josh Irvin (4-0, 2.01) / LH Daniel Croft (3-1, 2.20)
OAK pitchers: RH Tom Baker (1-4, 7.36) / RH Jaden Bartholomew (0-3, 13.02) / LH Sean Guerrero (1-1, 4.15)

#28: WIN 10-2 ... 8 runs in the final few frames break open this one...3 H and a HR for Matson, and dingers from three others, including Collins' first MLB blast
#29: WIN 5-4 ... Matson and Tipping homer (again), with the latter's 3-run 9th inning shot the GW...Yaung hurt after another run-allowing outing
#30: WIN 8-3 ... a solid 17-hit attack from start to finish...even Royer got two hits, and Hed, Matson, and Simmons add three each...CG for Croft

Just what we needed: gotta beat the bottom-dwellers, keep them down there, suffering.... In the year-to-year battle between SB and HR, steals are again winning, 51 to 44.... Minor league injuries are already starting to mount. The latest casualty is AAA pitcher Miguel Tirado, who nearly won a rotation spot in the spring. He's done until next April.... No word yet on Yaung's injury.... ELSEWHERE: The 2055 draft pool is out, and brings you the delightfully named Wayne Payne and Joe Boy as two of the top guys. But don't lose sight of the melodious Adam Alewine, Jamie Opie, Roy Wray, and Blaze Shawley.... Oh boy, it's now a 5-25 record for Oakland. But fear not! Montreal has lost 11 straight and sits at 7-23. Houston and Toronto are lurking with 9 wins each.... At the other end, Texas has now made it 11 wins in a row, and leads MLB with a 23-7 record.... A recent 3-HR night from William Swanson has put him on top in the AL with 14 HR and 36 RBI. The Angels are also sailing along with an unexpected 17-13 record, trying to keep up with the hot Rangers and Islanders.

May 8-10 @ MIAMI
At 13-17 and struggling to get traction at the plate and on the mound. Offense ranks 16th in runs; pitching sits at 12th, but the bullpen ranks third in ERA. DH Toshi Shimabukurko is cruising along at .324/7/18, and platoon catcher Chris MacKenzie is batting .405. But star SS Mario Rivera is only hitting .153, well over 100 points below his usual average, and rookies Ken Ruder (.222) and Alex Firenze (.200) are not producing at leadoff and cleanup, respectively. The mound story really focuses on closer Jon Carlsen, who was a 5-WAR starter just two years ago but has been a very good closer (2.05 ERA, 2 WAR, 32 SV last year) since. He's given up just one run in 13 appearances this year. Other than the two rookies mentioned above, the only other new off-season addition was average RF Erick Ashlock from KC. Manager Quinton Forrester is in his second campaign, and hasn't shown much, positive or negative. The prospect system ranks just 26th, but is unusual in having a trio of solid-looking hitters at the top of their list, and no quality pitchers to be found anywhere. MLB had them winning 83 games and contending for the NL East title, but they're just spinning their tires right now.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 1.84) / RH Mike Bader (2-3, 4.09) / RH Travis Harris (4-1, 3.89)
MIA pitchers: RH Dwaine Webb (1-3, 4.46) / LH Dustin Panos (1-2, 7.20) / RH Trevor Kauffman (1-0, 3.46)

#31: WIN 3-2 ... Pederson's solo shot in the 5th gets us on the board, and Bennetsen's 2-run triple in the 8th wins it...held to just 7 hits, but solid pitching saves us
#32: WIN 12-0 ... a trio of 3-run innings late inflate this score...18 hits, and Royer and Hed break out with HR finally...CG 3-hitter from Bader
#33: WIN 6-3 ... more piles of runners: 16 hits tonight...3 H each for Bennetsen and Simmons, and 3 HR total...Ulkini hurt, pending diagnosis

Gotta keep up with Texas, who finally blinked and dropped a game, meaning we're tied for first at 25-8 now.... We're still sixth in runs scored, but our AVG and OBP have jumped to third in the AL. And pitching is still rock solid, giving us nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in run for-against (191 to 102).... Ulkini is going strong at .342 but could face a long-term injury. At least Royer has finally awakened, hitting his first HR and raising his average to .214.... JJ Simmons is still having a fine rebound season, leading the team at .366 and with 13 steals.... Yaung's diagnosis comes in, and he's done: torn rotator cuff. Anthony Booker gets the call from AAA.... ELSEWHERE: Washington leads the NL East at 20-13, but made headlines for less flattering reasons this week. SP Ben Turner will miss the rest of the season after getting beaned by a pitching machine and tearing his labrum. I'm not sure how those two things are connected, but that's the story they're sticking with.... Oakland stemmed the tide a bit by finally winning a game in their last series, while Montreal went nuts and swept the Pirates.... Batting numbers are starting to get back to normal now, with only Minnesota's Devin Swan topping .400 at the plate. The career .248 hitter is at .418 this year, after hitting .308 last year. Prior to that he had seasons of .230, .199, and .205. Someone needs to market what he's drinking.

May 11-13 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Last year's 112-win surprise team was picked to win just 79 by MLB this go-round. But they're holding strong at 19-14 and a game behind the Tigers in a competitive Central (with MIN and CLE right behind them). They've somehow pushed the 2nd-most runs across the plate despite ranking only 11th in AVG and HR. And they're 7th in runs allowed, and no one is really struggling on the mound outside of a couple in the pen. Zeke de la Rosa (.347/11/29) continues to star, and although they're not getting quite the production across-the-board like last season only 1B Elijah Pass is truly falling down (batting .179 with 2 HR after hitting over 100 total the past two seasons). They do miss 2B Chris Rock's usual .330 production at the top of the lineup, but probably do not miss the two months he spent on the DL each year. And 41-year-old Robby Liantonio continues to defy time, with a 2.31 ERA after six starts, and some of the best underlying stats he's had in many years. SP Steve Davenport and a trio of relievers were the only big adds in the off-season, and the emergence of 23-year-old 2B Raul Madera has so far kept former ROY Ninsei Sato (and his 41 HR from a year ago) on the bench. Ten-year manager Taylor Black got a huge raise after last year's performance (and two 90+ win seasons before that), so he needs to crack the whip to earn his keep now. The system ranks in the middle, 18th, but I don't see any sure-fire guys at the top of the list. 3B Collin Pritchard sits at #5 and is now starting at third for the big club: he swings a big bat, with 9 HR, but is only hitting .217.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (4-0, 2.14) / LH Daniel Croft (4-1, 2.16) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.91)
CHW pitchers: RH Luke Weaver (2-2, 5.40) / RH Earl Dobrowolski (0-1, 4.86) / RH Robby Liantonio (4-1, 2.31)

#34: LOSS 1-3 ... held to just 6 hits, and only 2 doubles get runners to second base...Irvin is fine in his 8 IP, but we give him no support
#35: WIN 10-3 ... Collins homers twice as we jump out to an 8-0 lead, then coast...another CG from Croft, fanning 7 and yielding 8 hits
#36: LOSS 2-3 ... another blah night at the plate, with only solo HR from Bennetsen and Tipping to show...rough night for Collins, fanning all four trips to the plate

Disappointing, more for the lack of consistent offense than the two losses to a good team.... We did hit 8 HR in this series, quite a shock to our fans, I know.... Lynn stole four bases, giving him 17 for the season.... no word on Ulkini's injury yet; SP Danny Carbajal was expected to begin rehab this week, but has been moved into the "unkown return" category instead.... ELSEWHERE: Mike Olivera (TEX) had a 28-game hit streak come to an end. Texas does lead the AL West, at 27-9, by a game over Hawaii.... The NL West is tight for the first time in years, with LA leading Portland by just one game.... Who says everybody goes to free agency these days? Tampa just extended 1B Edgar Aranceta for 5 yrs and $124M. Aranceta, 26, is batting .304/10/23 this season, and is a career .277 hitter with 250 HR and 27 WAR in his seven-plus seasons. Popular guy, solid all-around player: excellent signing and shows the franchise is serious about maintaining its current momentum.

......

TL;DR Version: Starting May at 8-4 (and now 26-10 overall) is good, but we still sit behind Texas in the division. A couple of tough series against two good Central Division teams marred our progress somewhat, but otherwise we beat who we needed to beat. Good News: Royer has started to hit some, and Bennetsen has responded well to a starting role. Bad News: Ulkini has a pending injury diagnosis (and is hitting .342) which would suck. If he's out long-term, I'll probably bring up one of Bill Gamboa or Jake Moore to platoon at third. Otherwise, there's little to complain about. I do wish my catchers were hitting better (Covington .176, Collins .255), and that we were hitting for power more consistently. But I'll take a .722 winning percentage any day. Wouldn't you?

Palaaemon · 12-15-2021, 04:43 PM

Great to have you back! I really missed reading about the Islanders. I hope that everything has been been well with you and yours, it's been some time since your last post. It looks like the team is doing well once again.

I do have a request if you don't mind. Could you please post at the end of each month a copy of Hawaiis' rankings in each statistical category? I would appreciate it.

Thanks Bub. Have a great day and be safe.

Palaaemon

Bub13 · 12-16-2021, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Great to have you back! I really missed reading about the Islanders. I hope that everything has been been well with you and yours, it's been some time since your last post. It looks like the team is doing well once again.

I do have a request if you don't mind. Could you please post at the end of each month a copy of Hawaiis' rankings in each statistical category? I would appreciate it.

Thanks Bub. Have a great day and be safe.

Palaaemon

Hey, thanks, Palaaemon. Everything is fine here, other than the usual getting-older aches and pains.

As for the stats request, sure thing. (Although it may be a couple of game-months off, as I've played a little ahead of what I've posted so far.)

Bub13 · 12-18-2021, 07:48 PM

May 15-17 vs SEATTLE
Their 19-17 record hides the fact that they've dropped ten of their last eleven, and hitting and pitching have dropped out of the top ten. Plus, a -18 run differential points to a downward trend. Ger van Mourik (.385/12/31) continues to be a one-man band at the plate, although at leadoff, Dan Bruno (.307) and #2 guy Mike Bruno (no relation, .297) are helping some. Top CF Rogelio Pena is out, as is backup Luis Hernandez; replacement Todd Downey has really struggled, at just .130. On the mound, SP Dan Newell has made two starts with a combined 1 1/3 innings pitched, and only Theo Soole is anywhere near league-average in ERA. At least the bullpen has been pretty solid, especially closer Marco Mendez. Joining him have been converted starters Dan Crews and Chris Salmela, and 33-year-old reclamation project Justin Cornelius. I guess you take your plusses where you can get them. Team chemistry has slipped to "unhappy," although bench coach Ron Miller says the clubhouse is "electric" and "having fun." No team leaders or captains, plus a few unhappy campers, means we could be seeing fistfights and rumbles any time now.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (3-3, 3.40) / RH Travis Harris (5-1, 3.75) / RH Josh Irvin (4-1, 2.32)
SEA pitchers: RH Dan Newell (0-2, 67.50) / RH Vince Push (2-2, 5.68) / RH Theo Soole (3-1, 3.77)

#37: LOSS 1-9 ... Bader gets bombed and we make the awful Newell look good...outhit 15-6, of course
#38: WIN 6-5 ... Harris is pushed around a bit, but the pen comes through to lock it down...Medici homers, and Bennetsen and Royer each get 2 hits
#39: WIN 15-2 ... rebound game! Royer homers twice and drives in six, Bennetsen with 3 hits...Gamboa debuts with an RBI walk

Nice recovery after that ugly first game. Now tied with Texas again, five up on California.... the report on Ulkini is a sprained knee, out for five weeks. Bill Gamboa gets the call, mostly because he's hitting .319 in AAA and Jake Moore is struggling. Gamboa's more suited to 2B than the left side, but will get time everywhere. Has an okay arm but excellent range, he's a good runner and decent-enough hitter; what's held him back has been a low contact ceiling, projecting him as a .250 hitter without enough plusses elsewhere to make him a can't-miss starter.... Injuries on the farm have led to a lot of battlefield promotions, including 19-year-old top prospect Jose Villalpando moving to AA after a .320 start in A ball.... ELSEWHERE: The A's finally put a few wins together to reach double figures on the season, and now sit at 10-29, three games behind Toronto and Montreal (Oh, Canada!) for all-around dubiousness.... We point out a lot of bad teams, streaks, and stats here, so it's time to turn that around and highlight something good for once. So: KC shortstop Jose Valdez, at 21 and in his second full season in MLB, is already a fielder for the ages. In just 31 games this season his ZR is +8.4, and last year he somehow did NOT win a Gold Glove with a ZR of +28. (Houston's Oscar Garza is the four-time reigning AL GG champ at short, but I think Valdez stomps on him this time around.)

May 18-20 @ HOUSTON
Disappointment abounds in Astro-land, after a 7-17 April and now a 5-10 May. At 15th in runs for, and 13th in runs allowed, for a -58 run differential. LF Ahmed Hackett is hitting .312, and 2B Chris Marshall .306, but they're bottom-of-the-lineup guys who are role players at best. The big guns in the lineup are showing some power--35 HR from the middle four--but only CF Erik Kinnison (.286) is over .260. On the mound, #1 SP Mat Caldwell has been solid, and #4 Jason Knight is showing promise in his sophomore season. But everyone else has really struggled, and injuries to closer Steve Cole and projected #2 Mike Messinger have really hurt. I'll be frank in saying that it's time to go young and get some of their solid prospects into the lineup. #1 guy SP Miles Iandoli is in AAA and not quite ready, but #2 Winton Jones needs to be moved out of the pen and into the rotation. Ditto for current closer Alex Moya, a big-time thrower with some control issues but otherwise a solid game. 1B Milt Schaefer was called up last week and needs to play a lot now, probably at DH, instead of 36-year-old Juan Rodriquez. The latter can still hit, but is doing no good on this team right now. Trade him for whatever you can get and let the kids run free!

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-1, 2.29) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.98) / RH Mike Bader (3-4, 3.92)
HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (3-2, 4.89) / RH Mat Caldwell (1-6, 3.82) / RH Ben Germann (2-4, 5.66)

#40: LOSS 4-5 ... Croft's luck runs out, giving up four late runs and taking the loss...Lynn, Medici, and Royer get 2 hits, but the latter gets hurt
#41: WIN 3-1 ... 2 HR and all the RBI from Bennetsen...only 4 more hits for us, but that's all Waugh needed, allowing 7 hits in 7 IP
#42: LOSS 4-5 ... Lynn's 3 hits are the only highlight in this ****ty game...2 errors cost 3 unearned runs, just magnificent

Thoroughly depressing effort against one of the worst teams in the league right now.... On top of that, Royer and Tipping suffer dtd injuries; both are only a week long, but are serious enough to shelve them for that stint. No DL time, but some lineup juggling nonetheless.... Gamboa has gone hitless so far, and after a pair of late errors, he'll be on a plane back to Santa Barbara. Next up is Jake Moore, who will play some at third while Royer recovers. Moore won't hit for Royer's power, but otherwise rates as a much better hitter.... ELSEWHERE: Texas also had a meh series, so no one's at 30 wins just yet.... Seven wins in a row by Richmond, putting them on top in the NL East for the first time in years.... A pair of recent shutouts for STL pitchers, but they're 2-8 of late and just barely holding on over New Orleans and Chicago.... Minnesota's Devin Swan is still clinging on at .404, best in MLB. Swan must have been seriously sandbagging everyone, batting .215 in his first 1000 AB, and about .360 in his last 420 AB.... Portland lost all kinds of WAR in the off-season, but are off to a 24-18 start, hanging close to the Dodgers. I'm not sure they've got the overall lineup strength to keep it up, but if 1B Mike Vahle (.291 and 18 HR) can maintain his pace, and with some solid pitching, the NL West might actually be interesting after the all-star for the first time in years.

May 21-23 @ TAMPA BAY
A solid playoff contender and sitting in a good spot--24-18 and 3 games out of first--in the East. Not hitting, only 14th in runs, but pitching is top ten and the rotation has looked good. Perennial MVP candidate Jose Tavares is hitting .354, and newly-resigned 1B Edgar Aranceta .289 with 10 HR. But much of the rest of the lineup is struggling for average, power, or both. Pitching has been much better, with #1 SP Jon Jemison starring and closer Ken Zeolla (12 SV, 1.93 ERA) firing on all cylinders. Two former closers--Ken Soch and Bubba Fairweather--have also been lights-out, but former Isles guy Kyle Johnson is still on the outs (8.31 ERA). Injuries have taken a toll: OF Pat Knight, and SP George Brorby, Greg Drake, and Karl Beil are all out. Fourth-year manager Julian Morillo is looking for his third straight post-season berth, but owner Stuart Sternberg is more concerned that he's on track to lose $19M and isn't happy. (Note that star Tavares is on the verge of a couple of career milestones, with 497 HR and 1992 hits. The 32-year-old is a strong Hall candidate already, and a lock if he's productive for 3-4 more seasons.)

HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (6-1, 4.19) / RH Josh Irvin (5-1, 2.30) / LH Daniel Croft (5-2, 2.70)
TBR pitchers: LH Jon Jemison (4-3, 3.86) / RH Carlos Munoz (3-3, 4.03) / LH Bobby Reder (4-2, 4.50)

#43: LOSS 7-8 ... tight game that we drop thanks to a 2-run seventh...three pitchers fan ten but each allows runs, with Harris taking the L
#44: WIN 6-1 ... Irvin tweaks his back some but yields just 2 hits in 6.2 IP...3 H and a HR for Collins, 2 H for Medici and Lynn
#45: LOSS 5-8 ... Croft leaves in the 2nd and the pen struggles...14 hits for us, but we allow 4 HR and that's all she wrote

Ugh, I guess we're officially "not hot" right now, after two dreary series.... Making matters worse are a new pile of injuries. Royer is placed on the DL with an unknown return date; Croft and Irvin leave their starts with back strains, but both are dtd and should be fine; in the final game, IF Kevin Kelley and RP Anthony Booker have pending diagnoses. For now, I recall IF Jim Pfeifer only. We'll see what the diagnoses bring, after a day off tomorrow. If needed, we might have to dip into free agency or look at some trade options if we keep losing infielders like this. (Two on the DL, two dtd, one pending.).... Now we're two games behind Texas, but still are one half of MLB teams with 30 wins on the season.... ELSEWHERE: A 9-1 stretch has Richmond surging to the top of the NL East, while an 8-win streak sees New Orleans just a game behind the Cards in the Central.... Michael Rinehart (ATL) and William Swanson (CAL) are the first to reach 20 HR. Swanson was also just named AL player of the week.... Swanson and Dante Padilla (RIC) are the first to pass 3 WAR, although LA pitcher Bryan Shaheen has earned 3.5 WAR, thanks to this start: 7-1, 1.93 ERA, 70 IP, 71 K, 10 BB.

May 25-27 vs CALIFORNIA
So MLB doesn't put much stock into the Angels, but a 13-8 May has them at 27-18 overall and only three games behind us. Eighth in runs, thanks mostly to sitting 5th in HR, but no thanks to a 12th-place AVG and a 15th-ranked OBP. As noted above, William Swanson is again terrorizing AL pitching, to the tune of .345/20/47. Pitching has been solid across the roster, at 4th in runs allowed, and making for a +34 run differential. The bullpen ERA is 2nd best, although they've recently lost three solid guys to injury. Have I mentioned before that I really like their 3rd-ranked prospect system? Six pitchers at/near the top of their list, all of whom look really good. Not as much depth on the hitting side, with top guys 1B Carlos Castro and OF Mike Lundin looking okay but not like stars. But potential is here for a really nice looking rotation and top of the bullpen in just a couple of years, which is always a good start to long-term competitiveness.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.91) / RH Mike Bader (3-5, 3.84) / RH Travis Harris (6-2, 4.89)
CAL pitchers: RH Seth O'Neill (2-4, 6.91) / RH Aaron Moore (3-2, 4.47) / RH Joe Dawson (1-3, 5.12)

#46: WIN 8-2 ... Waugh stems the flow with a 13 K effort over 8.1 IP...a new boy in the lineup goes 3-for-4 with two doubles and 4 RBI, and Simmons adds 3 H and 3 RBI
#47: LOSS 3-4 ... close one despite getting outhit 11-6...why is Bader left in the entire game? Loses it in the 8th...new boy homers tonight, along with Medici
#48: WIN 6-4 ... we allow 3 late runs but still take a big win...Medici homers and new boy gets 2 RBI despite getting zero hits. I'll take it

New boy? What? Yeah, with Kelley going on the DL for three weeks with a hernia, I make a free agency pick up: 38-year-old vet Victor Sanchez, for one year and $1.6M. A career .279 hitter with 534 HR and 61 WAR, he's been a solid SS and 3B since the late '30s, mostly with Brooklyn. He won an NL MVP in '43 and is a 4-time all-star. In his first three games with us he's gone 4-for-10, with 2 doubles, a HR, and 7 RBI. He's obviously still got power, is a strong leader, won't K, and looks like a solid 3B (no range for SS any more). On the minus side, he won't walk and his average has declined (.240 over the last two seasons). Worth it, tho.... Booker's diagnosis also comes back: bone chips in his elbow, out 5 months.... Bennetsen is hitting .326 as a starter, with 5 HR in 86 AB. So far so good.... ELSEWHERE: Outside of New Orleans, no one is really streaking right now. Detroit has been quietly solid, putting five games between themselves and the Chisox, and Boston is four up on Tampa Bay.... No more .400 hitters left, but Minny catcher Devin Swan continues to confound the experts by hitting .386 late into May.... Seattle has rebounded somewhat from a terrible start to the month (see the top of this post), at 26-22 on the season; but their continued hopes took a blow with the season-ending injury to solid closer Marco Mendez.... ageless wonder Lance Powell appears to have demanded a trade out of Cincinnati. The 43-year-old 1B replied "no comment" when asked recently about his demotion to part-time player for manager Josh Pihl (who's only 38, btw).

May 28-30 vs CLEVELAND
This year's squad sits at 23-25, a marked betterment from last season's 58-win effort. Although the offense has been a bit iffy--12th in runs despite 7th in AVG and 5th in OBP--the secret sauce has been 7th-ranked pitching, a vast improvement from last year's disastrous staff. Back to the offense: five regulars are over .300, including former Isles Cam Daley and Julian Cardenas, although only Manny Ayala (.342) is really pounding it. They should be better when new 3B Austin Reinwald comes off the DL in a few weeks too. On the mound, getting even average to slightly-above-average results from the rotation has been crucial, and a welcome change from recent years. Youngsters Dudley Mele, Sam Tedder, and Taylor Baxter have been reliable and are finally living up to their respective billings. The bullpen has been just okay, with the MR guys outdoing the CL/SU guys by a wide margin. Manager Jose Ariza has somehow been around since 2041, through some very lean years. The roster is loaded with leaders and sparkplugs, a bunch of grinders who aren't let anyone get slack. (And I have to give a shout-out to long-time hitting coach Fðrat Rahim, an Illinois native, surprisingly. Like Ariza, he's been around since the '40s, so you can't say owner Kurt Dolan isn't loyal.)

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (6-1, 2.21) / LH Daniel Croft (5-2, 2.91) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 1.94)
CLE pitchers: LH Alex Alvarado (1-5, 5.03) / RH Dudley Mele (6-3, 3.42) / LH Morgan Daws (1-1, 5.17)

#49: WIN 7-3 ... HR from Medici and Bennetsen, and 3 H for Matson...Irvin wins his 7th, with another quietly effective outing, backed by 2.1 closing IP from Bohlen
#50: LOSS 3-6 ... 8 hits for each team, including 2 HR each, but they get theirs in bunches and we don't...Croft pitches through a tight back, fares poorly
#51: WIN 4-3 ... 9th inning GW single by Bennetsen...crucial RBI double by Tipping tied it earlier...Waugh goes 8, but Kearns closes for the win

Nice. Two out of three over a competitive Indians team.... Our pitching is now 1st across the board: runs allowed, rotation ERA, bullpen ERA. And we're 1st in AVG, although still only 7th in runs scored.... Sanchez calmed down, but is still hitting .333 in his first week with us. Still no word on Royer's return, which I'm sure will be announced as a surprise some day soon.... Injuries, man: 8 MLB players, plus one in AAA rehab; 6 more hurt in AAA, 3 in AA, and just one in A.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle SP Theo Soole is the latest victim to the injury bug in the Pacific NW. He's the fifth Mariner pitcher out for the season.... The Yankees have won six straight, moving above .500 and into second in the East.... Two way tie for first in the NL East (Richmond and Washington), and a three-way in the Central (St Louis, New Orleans, Cincinnati).... Tampa Bay stud Jose Tavares cranks his 500th career HR off Boston pitcher Kaoru Tanaka. He's 44th on the all-time list, and fourth on the active list behind Lance Powell (586), Erik Reed (551), and Victor Sanchez (535). Taveras has to be a cinch to reach 600, probably sometime in 2057. He's also two hits from 2000 in his career.

May 31 @ TEXAS
Fitting that we close the month against our latest big rivals. The Rangers are 36-15 and two games ahead of us. Everything's going well: 2nd in runs scored and in runs against; 1st in OPS, 2nd in HR; 1st even in FIP, pitching WAR, and strikeouts. Outside a couple back-end relievers, no one is underperforming. 1-2 batters Emilio Mares and Mike Olivera are hitting .343 and .340, and way down in the #8 spot is Ronnie Halvorson, chugging along at .355. MVP Ryan Boers is "only" hitting .288, but has 17 HR and is a formidable defensive SS. What else? SP Mike Nelson is having a Cy Young start to his season: 7-0, 1.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP. Fun fact: he hasn't registered a loss in his MLB career. Okay, admittedly he's only had 14 relief appearances in his two prior call-ups, and missed all of last season with injury. (And it will be interesting to see how long he can go this year: he's pitched only 67 times in his five seasons in the Texas system, suffering a serious injury every year.) I console myself by noting that their prospect system ranks only 34th, and their payroll is set to jump up drastically in the next year or two with all the guys they've got to re-sign. (Or let go!)

HAW pitcher: RH Mike Bader (3-6, 3.86)
TEX pitcher: RH Emanuel Vasquez (4-3, 4.03)

#52: WIN 8-5 ... after spotting them an early 5-1 lead, we rebound late, capped by a Pederson HR and 3 RBI from Matson...Medici cranks out 3 hits, staying hot

Uplifting way to close out the month, gaining a game on them to boot.... With Booker out, we recall AAA closer Brad Cahill. He's 23 and is finally coming close to his pretty high ceilings, taking a long, sweet time working through our system since 2050. He had a 7.07 ERA in 7 appearances with us last year, but was fanning them to the tune of 14.2 K/9 in AAA this year.... After a solid April, catcher Jamie Collins hit just .168 this month, and with Covington playing better in his limited starts (.260), the vet will rotate in over the rookie for a bit starting next month.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland's been better of late and Toronto is on a six-game losing streak, meaning the Jays have dropped to last in MLB at 15-37, a game worse than the A's.... Steals keep going up, with Philly's Byron Wilmoth leading the majors at 31, on pace for 97 on the season.... There are several two-way players going right now, most of whom are much better hitters than pitchers. But STL's Erik Sloan has been solid at both ends: 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 11 pitching starts; and .275/5/15 in 142 AB, including 26 starts in the OF. The third-year player appeared in 128 games last year, batting .254 with 10 HR in 53 OF starts and 28 mound starts.

......

TL;DR Version: Nearing the 1/3 mark of the season: 17-11 this month (after 18-6 in April) keeps us a game behind Texas (who went 19-9 in May). Although we did slip a bit at just 9-7 for this stretch. I'm still happy with our offense, and picking up Victor Sanchez has worked out great so far. He should be a valuable power bat should Royer's injury prove longer than anticipated; and at any rate most of our backup/injury options from AAA don't hit for power. On the field, the top four batters in the lineup are all at .317 or better, and I've been very pleased that Matson (.325/9/36) has bounced back from a terrible '54. Erik Bennetsen has been more than solid, relegating Josh Hed and Nick Gase to backup roles. And J.J. Simmons, at .344, has shown he still has something left in the tank. On the mound, it's mostly good news. My only quibbles, really, are that Bader and Harris have been pretty inconsistent, with the latter's high ERA belying his 7-2 record. But Waugh has been his usual #1 self, Irvin has bounced back, and Croft is having a nice rookie season. So...if we can stay healthy, we should be battling for the division crown all season.

Bub13 · 12-22-2021, 09:10 PM

(The annual jump-ahead-a-few-days-to-do-the-draft-and-system-review. Confused? It'll pass.)

2055 DRAFT AND SYSTEM REVIEW

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What I do know is that everyone's excited and ready to add a new cohort of no-hopers and instant has-beens to their systems. Congrats, everyone, on adding anywhere between one and three people who'll ever see big league time to the payroll. Now that you're all excited, let's get started...

Cleveland's rotten year has them picking first, followed by Montreal, California, Milwaukee, and Toronto for the top five. First round double-dippers include Cincy (#9 and #29), Richmond (#15, #28), and Portland (#21, #26). The Pioneers also have two supplemental round picks, so they're hoping to make a splash and become relevant again by 2060. We're at #27, maybe the first time in decades we've had a non-traded-for first rounder inside the first 30 picks. Based on scouting projections, almost all of the front page in the draft pool is made up of pitchers, including two closers and a good ol' middle reliever in the top ten. The mock draft, of course, has many more position players going in the first round than what the scouts would suggest. And if you're wondering, MLB says we'll select catcher Shawn Ward, who has a nice power bat and is solid defensively, but doesn't make much contact and likes to record a solid strikeout or two every day. Some other facts from this year's draft class: two guys tie for the tallest, at 6'11", while several are 5'8"; heaviest guy comes in at 250, while on of those shorties mentioned earlier tips the scales at just 135; oddest of all are the ten guys on the list who are aged 27, and another twenty or so at 26.

The top five picks are as follows:
CLE - P Jonathan Narcisse -- very solid pick, already looks like a #2-type SP and could grow into ace level
MTL - C Wayne Payne -- slow as cold molasses but is very good everywhere else; not a ton of power but could threaten for batting titles
CAL - P Andrew Chartrand -- MLB's mock #1; good but needs that changeup to come around to become legit starter material
MIL - P David Russello -- taken too high, imho; nice pitching ceilings, with a four-pitch repertoire; but stamina makes him a reliever or a three-inning starter
TOR - P Wilfried Schrama -- solid power pitcher but is 22 already; $9M bonus demand!

Finally a solid top five! Turns out that the first round was almost entirely pitchers. All of them have solid ceilings, but a few are major dice rolls, in that they may not develop that third pitch that makes them a worthwhile future star SP. Chartrand, above, fits that bill; as do Josh Osborn (MIN #8), Ron Klinefelter (PIT #12), and John Cuomo (POR #21). But my pick for least solid first rounder goes to KC at #13, taking pitcher Jason Parsons: he doesn't have a hope of developing a third pitch, and doesn't have good enough ceilings to make him a top reliever either. Left a lot of quality pitchers (and hitters) on the board there. Personally, my most disappointing pick was seeing Brooklyn take 3B/1B Ryan Allen at #19: a solid fielder and an across-the-board offensive talent, the kind I gravitate towards. I didn't really think he'd make it to #27, but dang anyway. And New Orleans took SS Joe Boy at #25, winning the first round name-game sweepstakes. (Although Wayne Payne is pretty good too.)

And now, that moment you're all waiting for: the Islanders All-Stars of tomorrow. Or at least the AAA washouts of tomorrow.

Rnd 1, 27th overall: OF Matthew Walburn, 21, R, Washington. Love this kid. Battler, speedy, solid defense with a big arm, and scouts to have .300/30/100 potential at the plate. Is a little undisciplined with the bat right now, but that could come around. Listed as a CF but likely has a better future in right.

Rnd 2, 73rd overall: P Curt Christensen, 21, L, UVA. Big kid (6'5" 210#) with a big fastball and potentially four other pitches. Movement and control, as usual, will need to develop, but his intangibles suggest that won't be an issue.

Rnd 3, 109th overall: P Marcus Crawford, 18, L, high school. A bit of a gamble here, as he'll need for that changeup to grow and his movement to fully develop. But he should have good stuff, excellent control, and intangibles to burn. At 18, he's got time to develop too.

Rnd 4, 123rd overall: OF Josh Taylor, 21, R, Georgia Tech. No power, and lacks top-line speed, but otherwise projects as a nice #4-type outfielder. Won't strike out, and has a gun for an arm.

Rnd 4, 146th overall: OF Mike Grimes, 19, R, JuCo. A 6'6" monster with a huge power bat. What else? Um...he'd make an okay left fielder, has decent contact and his other ceilings are average. Hard worker, so he won't slack off. Failed to sign with SF after last year's draft.

Rnd 5, 182nd overall: OF Kyle Simmons, 18, R, high school. Going the modern route by drafting some big power bats and seeing if any of them turn out. Ceilings are above average elsewhere, but not star-level. Also not great in the field, and absolutely cannot move faster than a crawl. But if he pounds homers all the time, he can trot his way to success.

Best of the rest: As usual, not much else. Seventh rounder Cam Schroeder could become a solid RP, but not the closer he wants to be right now; Lupe Vega (12th round) is a reliever with intriguing two-way potential; and a trio of listed SS--Kevin Sullivan, Justin Gantt, and Evan Wooters--with middling potentials but great intangibles, will definitely be worth watching. Everyone else would be a surprise.

......

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Another year, another #1 ranked system. This really can't last much longer, to be honest... We have an absurd 13 players in the top 50 of MLB prospects. Six of them are in Hawaii right now, so there should be major changes to this list next year.

3B Jose Villalpando, 19, ranked #1 (no change), 33 G in A: .320/.365/.516; 18 G in AA: .283/.386/.383. Injuries in our system have seen him rise to AA faster than anticipated, but so far he's held his own at the plate. Stil projected to have elite power, but that part of his swing hasn't developed yet. (5 HR in 188 AB this year.) Otherwise, I'm pleased with his development and at just 19 he's not being rushed.

SP Ken Taylor, 25, ranked #3 (up from #25), AAA: 5-2, 9 starts, 6.42 ERA. MLB says he's a future #1 SP, but so far I don't see it. Only average stuff, but outstanding control and movement. Despite his slow beginning to the year, I'll probably give him some big league starts this summer. Hard worker, very popular in the clubhouse. He's 25 now, though, so it's time for us to see what he's got, or to dangle him as trade bait perhaps.

OF Brian Hassell, 21, ranked #7 (up from #15), AA: .362/.450/.578, 7 HR, 185 AB. Dude is getting close. He keeps hitting the cover off the ball everywhere he goes, and should be in AAA by late summer or September. The only thing close to a negative I can say about him is that as a lefty he'll struggle some against LHP. And that I think he may have lost of touch of his early OF range, making him probably more suited for LF than CF.

SS Jake Moore, 23, ranked #8 (up from #23), AAA: .240/.368/.308, 0 HR, 104 AB; 2-for-13 in Hawaii. Still love this guy, who--as I've said before--looks like a slow-footed J.J. Simmons clone. Excellent infield defense paired with .330 potential? Sign me up. Walks a ton and doesn't strike out. Has no power, so it's good that I'll still have someone who can fit the one-HR-a-year slot in the lineup even after Simmons retires.

SS Bill Gamboa, 22, ranked #9 (up from #16), AAA: .319/.447/.504, 4 HR, 119 AB; 0-for-9 earlier in Hawaii. I still think he looks more like a super-utility IF than a true ninth-ranked prospect, but maybe I'm all wrong. Playing short in the minors, but looks better at second, which is an issue as he doesn't grade out as well as rookie MLB 2B Lucas Tipping. But as a backup IF who won't hurt you if he has to play in place of someone, he could be excellent for us.

P Manny Reyes, 22, ranked #13 (up from #30), MLB: 3-1, 1.08 ERA, 7 K, 8.1 IP. Hasn't pitched much but has been more than solid when given the chance. Jumped all the way from A ball after an excellent camp. If he had a changeup (sound familiar to you?) he'd be ace starter material. But, alas...

P Juan Sais, 22, ranked #20 (new), A: 3-5, 5.61 ERA, 59 K, 67.1 IP. Our first rounder from last year hasn't pitched great so far, but my scouts still love him and say he'll be in the rotation by 2057. Power pitcher who can hit 100 on the gun, he's still developing his pitches and needs to work on control (4 BB/9 across 1.5 minor league seasons so far). But his stuff and movement are about there, so he shoud get some AA time this year and be in AAA next year.

P Logan Barnett, 17, ranked #21 (new), international complex: no stats. First look at a signing out of Australia from last summer. Still a long way off, and probably won't see rookie ball until he's 19 or 20, assuming he doesn't regress any before then. Finesse pitcher who doesn't look to excel at anything but could be the kind of mid- to low-end SP you always need.

C Jamie Collins, 24, ranked #26 (up from #65), MLB: .214/.256/.452, 5 HR, 84 AB. Good camp had him spelling Covington once or twice a week early on, but then Covington's slumpy start has seen him get more starts of late. Fielding is a worry, with four errors already; but he's shown power and was hitting well until a recent slump. If he can return to hitting some for average, he looks like the catcher of the future. At least he's playing well enough to leave me undecided re extending Covington long term or not...

P Steve Shinnick, 24, ranked #29 (up from #45), AAA: 4-3, 2.83 ERA, 69 K, 63.2 IP. He's ready for the bigs, and only a multi-week muscle injury kept him from getting a recent call-up after an MLB injury. Still out for another week, but I think he'll get a look later in the summer, and should be a top contender in camp next year. No real weaknesses, although he's not the groundballer type that I usually go for.

Among the rest, the next four guys--Lucas Tipping, Daniel Croft, Travis Harris, and Erik Bennetsen--are all contributors in Hawaii right now. Rounding out the guys we have in the top 100 are P Will McGee and OF Rocky DeMars, both in A. McGee took quite a jump this winter, and now looks like a legit MLB prospect; DeMars is still a big power but big K guy, although his power ceiling is high enough that he'll be watched closely over the next year or so.

Bub13 · 12-27-2021, 11:55 AM

Twenty-seven games this month, 13 at home, 14 away. We'll see Texas twice, oddly: two games to finish our current series, then again at the end of the month. Plus the Yankees, Tigers, Orioles, and Brewers. That will bring us right up against the halfway mark of the season and then the All-Star break in July. And don't forget the draft! [Which you've...already read about.]

June 1-2 @ TEXAS
Finishing up the latest battle for the division lead. We took the first game! Can we sweep?

HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (7-2, 4.87) / RH Josh Irvin (7-1, 2.25)
TEX pitchers: RH Mike Nelson (7-0, 1.67) / LH Bobby Daniel (5-1, 4.14)

#53: LOSS 1-8 ... Harris gives up two first inning HR then leaves with a back injury...only outhit 10-7, but we yield four HR, one a grand slam
#54: WIN 19-0 ... wow...16 H, 6 BB, 5 2B and 4 HR tonight...5 RBI each for Bennetsen and Matson...three-hit CG by Irvin

That last game washed away any bad taste from the first game. We should've banked some of those runs, though.... Harris' back injury will cost him three weeks. To take his spot in the rotation we call up John Loeb, whom we actually lost in the Rule 5 draft in December, to San Diego. But they said "nah" after all, and now here he is. Hard-throwing groundballer, four pitches, good stuff but just okay movement and control. He was a 4th round pick in '51, the same pitcher-heavy draft we took Harris and Andy Burke (both injured), Manny Reyes (in the pen), and current AAAers Elias Tena, Larry Hensley, and Nick Lee.... That last game also moved us up to 3rd in runs scored, quite a leap.... ELSEWHERE: So close to history for Expos pitcher Randy Haddon: two walks and two errors in the ninth cost him a shutout, loaded the bases, and saw him replaced by closer Chris Smith. Smith strikes out the final Brooklyn batter to save the game and earn a team no-hitter in the process. This is the first no-no of the MLB season, and Montreal's first since David Salguero tossed one way back in 2045.... Tampa's Jose Taveras finally reaches 2000 career hits.... Eight straight losses for Toronto, keeping them on the bottom of the bottom. Eight also for Pittsburgh, putting them in range of the sad Expos in the Central.

June 4-6 vs NY YANKEES
Two losses to start the month has them at 28-26, five games behind Boston and tied with Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Ninth--mid-pack--in runs scored but fifth in runs allowed, with a +30 differential. Lineup stud Chris Mitchell, the 2053 AL MVP, slumped last year but has rebounded to .347/15/41. Behind him, Melvin Lopez (.302/14/35) and Dave Rivera (.300/11/30) add to a formidable 2-3-4 punch. Their slugging jerk of a catcher, Arturo Sena, already has 18 HR, but leadoff guy Andrew Taylor--usually a .330ish hitter--is down at .250. Oh, and these guys lead the AL with 103 home runs. On the mound, their overall mound stats look good, but individual results are wildly mixed. Starters Jose Sedillo and Mike Knaak have been ace, but the other three have been...much less so. Closer Tim Downing has struggled, but SU/MR guys Frank Casper and Josh Shank have been nearly unhittable. Third year manager (and Paterson, NJ, native) Anthony "Yo!" Collazo always seems to have his teams right around the .515 mark, so he's meeting expectations there. (And the clubhouse vibe is "unhappy," due to four disruptive influences: Mitchell, Casper, Sedillo, and Elijah Bragg. All are core players too.)

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 3.34) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 2.07) / RH Mike Bader (3-6, 3.92)
NYY pitchers: LH Rick Minteer (4-3, 6.99) / LH Jose Sedillo (5-2, 2.80) / LH Elijah Bragg (4-3, 5.28)

#55: WIN 8-7 ... SP get beat up, as it's 8-5 after three...seven combined HR, three for us, but we are outhit 11-9...3 H and a HR for Bennetsen
#56: WIN 4-3 ... winning ugly again, getting outhit and committing two errors...Medici and Pederson homer, but closer Kearns gets hurt
#57: WIN 9-5 ... two more errors but overall a more solid outing...11 hits, 3 (and another HR) from Bennetsen, and Cov comes alive with a pair of doubles

It may not have looked pretty, but a sweep is a sweep. Outhit twice, and we made five errors (three by pitchers though).... No SP made it out of the sixth inning, so kudos to the pen for holding up their end at least.... Royer finally has a target return date, and it'll come after the next series. Jake Moore has had only 13 AB since his recall so will probably be on his way back to AAA.... Kearns injury is only a two-day dtd thing, so he'll be fine.... ELSEWHERE: Houston's Mat Caldwell no-hit the Orioles in a 9-0 drubbing. This is the first one-man no hitter in the league this year and the first for the Astros since Jay Russo did it to the Islanders in 2035.... 3B Ryan Pfaffle was a big free agent pick up for the Twins this past off-season, adding more power punch to an already loaded lineup. But he's already on the bench after a .147 start, sitting behind the super glove of Mike Lee, an amazing defensive player who won a Gold Glove with Cleveland last year. Lee was a top five pick by the Indians in '51, but oddly they gave up on him after his batting potentials declined from their pre-draft heights. As everyone seems to hate Pfaffle anyway, it seems the Twins are better off and should meet his recent request for a trade.

June 7-9 @ DETROIT
Hitting the road and we begin with a set against our other arch-nemeses. Once again, the Tigers lead the Central, at 35-22 and five games up on the Chisox. They have another well-balanced team: 3rd in offense and 3rd in pitching, with a +82 run differential. I love our player system, but these guys are at least as good, and much better at developing a ton of power bats. To an already established lineup they've added sophomore stars Manny Molina and Elliott Wheat and old free agent grabs Willie Alonzo (C) and Evan Weiser (SS). The one fly in the ointment is 22-year-old five-tool stud Roberto Gomez is out for the year after making just 14 starts; he missed all of last year and appeared in only 10 AA games in '53. The guy is MVP material if he can ever stay healthy. On the mound, it's a veteran rotation, with only Trevor Saunders and Tony Gamez (both 29) under the 30 mark. Ageless Raul Bravo (37) is off to a strong start and just passed 3800 career strikeouts. Tyler Macklin is the third-year manager, and the club hasn't missed a beat under his watch. Ten straight playoff appearances--with eight division titles--show how long they've been a top franchise, but the one missing piece is an elusive World Series title: 1984 is still the last time they held the trophy.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (debut) / RH Josh Irvin (8-1, 2.01) / LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 3.72)
DET pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (5-3, 4.82) / RH Trevor Sanders (5-4, 4.92) / RH Tony Gamez (4-5, 4.48)

#58: WIN 5-0 ... Loeb: 4 H, 0 R over 7.2 IP...Sanchez homers and we add four doubles, ten hits overall
#59: LOSS 0-6 ... Irvin's first bad start in a while, giving up 5 R in 6.2 IP...outhit just 11-9, but they score five on two HR, we get zero from none
#60: LOSS 6-8 ... we blow a 4-0 lead and outhit them 12-8 but still lose...Croft continues to really struggle

Well that went south in a hurry.... Irvin should recover from his first bad start in over a month, but Croft's ERA has more than doubled over his last five starts, and he's lost his control (13 BB in 21 IP, with just 12 K) and allowed 7 HR. With Carbajal coming off rehab in ten days, it's beginning to look like Croft may have two more starts to figure things out.... Royer comes off the DL and gets a hit in his first game back. He'll split time with Sanchez at third, since the latter has cooled off quite a bit after his hot start. Jake Moore heads back to AAA to get some quality playing time.... ELSEWHERE: Another no-hitter! Houston's Robbie Camp has been way below expectations (2-6, 5.79 ERA) in his first year in the AL, but took a 4-0 win over the Brewers for the disappointing (24-36) Astros.... Washington and Richmond continue to swap places atop the NL East, while LA is slowly tightening its grip on the West, now 7 games up on the DBacks.... Zephs pitcher Chad Akers, at 38, is not only off to a hot 7-3 start, but is hitting .273 and has an OPS+ of 112. Someone needs to make him a DH and watch him pop 25 HR in the AL.

June 10-12 @ SEATTLE
Same story thus far this season for the M's as was last season: 17-7 in April, 14-22 since. The offense has continued to decline, now 11th in runs (although still 3rd in HR). Pitching is 13th, and not helped by having eight guys on the DL. DH Ger van Mourik is still tearing things up, .327/16/44, while Jon Terrell with just 6 HR is far away from his usual 35+ output. Injury to excellent closer Marco Mendez has seen the promotion of the wonderfully-named Jimmy Unangst to that role: he's given up zero runs in 3.2 IP to date. Their second-ranked prospect system has a number of solid-looking pitchers, with my favorite probably being 17-year-old Manny Minjarez. If his third pitch (a knuckle curve) develops, he'll approach true ace level.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 2.23) / RH Mike Bader (4-6, 4.19) / LH John Loeb (1-0, 0.00)
SEA pitchers: RH Danny Diaz (6-5, 5.40) / LH Chris Salmela (3-0, 1.75) / RH Dan Crews (1-2, 3.60)

#61: WIN 10-5 ... Simmons goes 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles and 2 runs...3 RBI each for Matson and Sanchez...17 hits total
#62: WIN 8-6 ... a quiet game gets loud in the 7th as we score 5 and they score 3...we finally win in the 11th thanks to Lynn's 2-run HR...Kearns goes 3 IP for the win
#63: WIN 2-1 ... only 6 hits apiece, but we win it on Tipping's solo HR in the 8th and Espino's RBI single in the 9th...Loeb solid again, over 8 IP tonight

Sweep moves us into a tie for first with Texas, and drops the Mariners below .500.... We're now 1st in AL run and AVG, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in OPS. Also 1st in most pitching categories. Feels good.... Kevin Kelley comes off the DL, so back to AAA goes IF Jim Pfeifer, who went 3-for-10 in limited duty.... Loeb has now allowed just one run in 15.2 IP over his first two MLB starts. He's the same age as the now-veteran Bader and Irvin, so he took his time developing and this has NOTHING AT ALL to do with me holding him back too long.... ELSEWHERE: It's Good to be Rich: LA extended pitcher Josh Gall for 7 years at $21M per. Gall is a 30-year-old 8-year vet who's made 24 starts in his career, but is now paid like a #1 starter. And he would rate that highly legitimately if he had any stamina, as his numbers are top-notch. He'd make a good closer too, but for now the Dodgers have him at neither position. Must be nice to afford a $21M middle reliever.... Mediocre play of late has reduced the Red Sox lead in the AL East to four games, but at least #1 SP Yuya Watabe is finally showing his stuff: 10-2, 2.72 ERA, 1.8 WAR, 81 FIP-. Watabe, 23, is already in his third season but hadn't looked impressive at all until this year.... LA is the first NL team to reach 40 wins, and now has an 8-game lead over Arizona and Portland.

June 14-16 vs HOUSTON
More dismals for the Astros, now at 25-38 and mired in fifth place. The offense sits 15th in runs, pitching 10th, and a -50 run differential. CF Erik Kinnison has been fine, at .289/17/37, and old-man DH Juan Rodriquez has 16 HR, reaching 400 for his career. But star Jose Renteria is hitting just .213, about 100 points below his career number. Mat Caldwell tossed a no-hitter earlier this month and has an ERA below 4, but no one else has been consistently solid, across the rest of the staff. The clubhouse is unhappy too, with a cadre of slackers bringing down the mood for everyone else.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (8-2, 2.36) / LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 4.28) / LH Matt Waugh (7-1, 2.51)
HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (2-1, 5.03) / RH Jason Knight (6-3, 4.20) / RH Mat Caldwell (3-8, 3.58)

#64: LOSS 2-6 ... 2 hits each for Matson and Medici, but little else tonight...Irvin has an off night despite allowing only six hits
#65: WIN 4-2 ... Croft is solid, allowing just 2 solo HR and one other hit...Medici and Bennetsen homer
#66: WIN 6-2 ... Waugh fans 10 over 8 IP, and we win despite being outhit...Lynn's bases loaded triple sparks a 5-run 6th inning

Two wins here keeps us tied with Texas, at 45-21, and seven games ahead of California.... Hitting was generally subpar this series, but most of the guys are still going well. Covington and Sanchez, however, are not, and I'm still tinkering with some sort of platoon at those position--C and 3B--for now.... I'll also have roster decisions to make when Ulkini (IF) and Harris (SP) come off the DL in a week.... All of our draft picks but one--16th round OF Isaiah Dixon--have signed. Dixon is demanding half a mill, but doesn't figure to bring much to the table other than a decent glove. So ta-ta Isaiah.... ELSEWHERE: LA now has a ten game lead in the NL West, with Arizona having lost six straight, and San Diego and Portland not moving up either.... Six wins in a row for Cincinnati, pushing them past STL and CHI and just a game behind New Orleans.... Baltimore has hit 70 wins only twice in the last eight years, but this year? Halfway there, at 35-31! Former Chisox SS Chris Rock is hitting .354 and driving the offense, so it'll be sad to see the O's wilt once he suffers his annual season-ending injury in a week or two.

......

TL;DR Version: Very solid 10-4 start to the month, and a 45-21 overall record, as noted above. (Tied for the best record in MLB, btw.) Little to complain about, but, me being me, I will anyway: not much hitting at catcher (Collins .234/5/14; Covington .218/3/18), and 3B is still unsettled (Royer is better but still down at .241/3/20 and Sanchez has cooled off to .234). In right, Pederson is hitting only .262, but has 11 HR and a .946 OPS. Backup OFs Hed, Gase, and Espino are all below .250, but Hed does have 7 HR in 78 AB. And injuries continue to bug us, with eight players currently out to varying degrees: RP Cahill is back from his dtd tomorrow; IF Ulkini returns in a week; and SP Harris comes off the DL in four days. Harris may go to AAA to get regular starts, as he was struggling before he got hurt. Out for the season are SP Pearse and Burke, and RP Booker, Yaung, and Silva. The good news is that replacements for all those injured players have performed well, so fingers crossed that continues.

Bub13 · 01-01-2022, 02:11 PM

June 17-19 vs BALTIMORE
Yes, they've been pretty rotten for years now (only two 70+ win seasons in the last seven), but so far this season are keeping the plates spinning with a 35-31 record. The underlying numbers don't look great, however: 11th in runs for and against, with a -16 run differential. Only in HR (at 8th) are they in the top ten in any major stat category. Chris Rock, signed away from the Chisox, is hitting .354, and hopefully won't suffer his annual devastating leg injury any day now. Power comes from 1B Marcus Dotson (19 HR) and 2B Steve McClellan (10), with contributions from Isles castoffs Kenny Welch (11) and Kyle Crowl (14). On the mound, there's little to suggest any solid play, outside of closer Alex Juarez (2.89, 15 SV) and rookie SP Josh Crosby. There's good news also on the prospect front, with a 4th-ranked system featuring six players in the top 100. Top guy (and #10 in MLB) 3B Justin Horton was recently called up and is hitting only .160 but has 2 HR in 25 AB. Most everyone else, however, is down in A or rookie ball, so not guys who'll be seen any time soon. And it appears that former #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman (in '52) is a bust, with his ceilings suggesting he's a utility IF at best; he started the year in AA but was called up a few weeks ago, and hasn't cracked the lineup yet. I guess there's still time for the nearly-24-year-old, but he's not looking like the guy you pick to become a franchise cornerstone.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (4-6, 4.50) / LH John Loeb (2-0, 0.57) / RH Josh Irvin (8-3, 2.70)
BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (5-4, 5.11) / RH Andy Ayers (3-7, 6.43) / LH Josh Crosby (6-4, 4.15)

#67: WIN 10-0 ... Medici, Matson, and Bennetsen go deep, with Matson hitting a SLAM...Bader goes the distance, allows 6 H, fans 3
#68: WIN 12-4 ... Pederson homers twice, and Medici scores 5 times on 3-for-3 hitting with 2 BB (and another HR)...Loeb comes back to earth, still gets the win
#69: WIN 11-4 ... Royer's turn tonight, putting two into the seat and driving in 6 runs...Bennetsen homers again and knocks in 4...Irvin gets a CG, 8-hitter

Crazy offense here, but without unseemly amounts of hits, only a couple more hits than runs scored in each game.... Eight HR puts us over 100 for the season, and we now have more HR than steals for the first time in, what, over a year?... P Danny Carbajal ends his AAA rehab, but as he's been pretty bad there and we've got everyone going well on the big club, he gets DFA'd. Hopefully no one will claim him, but maybe a fresh start would do him some good.... Travis Harris will come off the DL tomorrow and will head to AAA to sort himself out.... ELSEWHERE: Third no-hitter of the year--all three this month--goes to Seattle's Conrad Robertson, the 31-year-old vet shutting down the Marlins, fanning six and walking two.... Streaks everywhere! The good: five wins has Hawaii a game up on Texas; 7 wins puts LA eleven games up in the West, making a mockery of the rest of the division; 8 straight for Philly, now just three games behind the Nats. The bad: 5 losses for the O's, getting battered by the Islanders just now; slumps also for Houston and San Francisco, dropping them well off even the wild card hunt already.... Richmond 3B Dante Padilla is the first batter to 4 WAR, and also leads the NL in hitting at .346. He also has 21 HR but just 37 RBI.

June 20-22 @ CALIFORNIA
Still playing well, at 38-31, but they've gone 10-11 since we played them last. Tied for the second wildcard slot with Chicago as well. Offense is still down, at 14th in runs, but pitching sits 6th, which still gives them a -1 run differential. William Swanson has cooled off a bit, batting "only" .308 now, but has banged out 23 HR. Also concerning is that career .300 hitters--at 1-2 in the lineup--Dan Dellinger and Mike Eskridge are both batting just .260. Everyone else but Mauricio Marquez (at .312) is hitting in the .240-.250 range. Since I mentioned a former #1 overall pick in the O's series, why not talk about another one here. Josh Hohn has the rare distinction of being selected #1 twice, by the Rangers in '46 and the Pirates the following year. A groundballer with big stuff, superb movement, and two elite pitches, he figured to be a near-lock as the Pirates ace of the future. Never worked out. A lack of control (7.0 BB/9 for his career) and a third pitch that remained subpar relegated him to middle relief duties, and he's made just 7 starts out of his 161 career appearances, earning only 0.4 career WAR. Forrest Gump was right: "You just never know what you're going to get with #1 overall draft picks."

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (6-3, 4.09) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 2.49) / RH Mike Bader (5-6, 4.10)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (9-2, 3.64) / RH Seth O'Neill (3-8, 6.88) / RH Aaron Moore (5-4, 4.37)

#70: WIN 6-5 ... Old Man Alert! A Victor Sanchez solo HR in the 12th wins it, and was his third hit of the night...2 H for Simmons...each team took 7 walks
#71: LOSS 6-7 ... Waugh leaves with a 6-3 lead, but Reyes blows it in the 9th and is left in to give up 4 runs and take the loss...3-run HR for Bennetsen and Matson
#72: WIN 5-4 ... Covington is tonight's hero, going 4-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI...3 hits each for Lynn and Matson

Three one-run games, meaning no non-gray hairs left for anyone on the coaching staff.... Five regulars are hitting over .300, and even Covington has his average up near .250. I swear I should just keep him in a deep freeze until June each year, as he's always terrible at the plate early in every season.... Croft has the worst ERA on the rotation, at 4.31, which is still half a run better than the league average at 4.84. But with some interesting prospects in AAA right now, and Travis Harris just off the DL and shaking off the rust there too, I might play musical chairs at the #5 spot, just to give some guys a look or two. We'll see.... Danny Carbajal is gone. Claimed off waivers by both Atlanta and Baltimore, the O's get him, and he may yet become their best SP (which...isn't saying much, sadly). So long Danny, god luck and good speed.... ELSEWHERE: Cubs OF--and former Isles star--Josh Frederick has suffered his usual long-term every-other-year injury this week: a torn quad which has already kept him out several weeks and will see him miss 2-3 more months. He's missed half a season or more every other year since '50, which is one reason I included him in the mega-trade that brought us future stud (fingers crossed) OF Brian Hassell and solid RP Sam Bohlen.... Eleven wins in a row for the Phils, putting them two in back of Washington and tied with Richmond in second place.... More bad news for Oakland ace Jim Schwartz, out for the season with a torn flexor tendon. A guaranteed 5-6 WAR producer, once he hit 30 his body has just quit on him, letting him make just 37 total starts over the last four years. After missing spring training and all of April, he made five solid starts for the A's before his latest injury. With Oakland toiling at the bottom of the division for some time now, I almost traded a handful of prospects for him a few years back. Good thing I passed on his $34M salary ask in free agency and went with Matt Waugh and his, um, $35M price tag instead.

June 24-26 @ MILWAUKEE
A franchise that rarely seems to put it all together, they've been pretty moribund for a couple decades now, despite two surprise World Series appearances (no wins) in the last decade. Pitching was awful last year, with a team ERA over six; despite some generally better numbers this year, they're still last in the AL. Josh Kennedy--off injury rehab for just a month now--has been very good, but no one else has. The offense has been better, at least middling at 9th in runs scored. Mitch Elmore looks capable of 200+ hits and a .350 average, but his lack of desire at taking any walks and his inability to get along with other humans makes him a less-than-desirable leadoff hitter. Rookie CF Bob Keefauver is hitting .283 with 10 HR so far, and sophomore 1B Ricky Ayala is going .290/22/40 in his first full season as a starter. Free agent grab Josh Conley has been solid at the plate, .306/14/53, but like Elmore is a disaster as a person. In fact, a core of ten players are making life miserable for everyone else, leading to a feuding clubhouse. Fortunately, most of these guys will be gone this fall (excepting Elmore and the decrepit old a**h*le Dan Starr, finally showing his age at .219 with just 5 HR), so a rebuild could hopefully start immediately. Unfortunately, however, a 29th-ranked farm system won't help along those lines.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (3-0, 2.05) / RH Josh Irvin (9-3, 2.81) / LH Daniel Croft (6-3, 4.31)
MIL pitchers: RH Josh Kennedy (2-0, 3.25) / RH Jeremy Atkins (6-5, 4.09) / RH Tyler Rowe (4-5, 4.40)

#73: WIN 9-5 ... Loeb is chased during a 5-run 5th, but we score all 9 runs late to come back bigly...Pederson homers twice, and a handful of guys get 2-3 hits each
#74: LOSS 8-9 ... our turn to blow it, with Kearns suffering through a 5-run 9th and getting left behind by the team bus
#75: WIN 8-3 ... consistent pitching at last, and everybody contributes to a 15-hit attack, 13 of them singles...Croft does walk 6 in 7 IP

Our pitching was actually not so bad, excepting a couple of individual meltdowns. Makes the total numbers look worse, but most guys are still going well.... Lua Ulkini comes off the DL, so I send down light-hitting defensive IF sub Kevin Kelley.... Bullpen ERA is still hanging on to 1st overall despite some recent breakdowns.... Victor Sanchez continues to be a roller coaster since his signing, raising his average nearly 40 points over these last two series, back up to .276. He's also hit 5 HR, and is now 11 away from 550 on his career.... ELSEWHERE: STL is tied with Cincy for first in the NL Central, and SP Jose Tellez has done his part of late, with back-to-back shutouts in his last two starts.... Speaking of Cincy, they made a trade with Oakland just now, and at first I thought they completely hoodwinked the A's. The Reds sent 43-year-old Lance Powell and prospect OF Matt Hall and received SP Eric Stockton, 25. Stockton, I thought, was ace material; but closer inspection shows he missed all of last season after elbow surgery, and this year has completely lost his game since coming back, with a 5.82 ERA and 37 K but 32 BB in 68 IP. Hall is the prize here, a slugging prospect who's work ethic could see his other--average looking, tbh--hitting ceilings boom, with luck. Powell makes no sense, however: a team captain who would be valuable in a down-the-stretch playoff drive, like Cincy will be in, he's now with the no-hoper A's, quite a comedown for the future Hall of Fame guy. This may only end up working for Cincy if Stockton can bounce back and show any form at all.

June 27-29 vs TEXAS
Back into a first-place tie with us thanks to a sweep of the Indians, these guys are still among the class of the league. Killing it in both directions, 3rd in offense and 2nd in pitching, with a tasty +121 run differential. And first in HR, of course. Everyone has reached double figures in homers, except for leadoff batter Emilio Mares (with 6), but as he's hitting .356 that lack of power can be excused. Really, what can you complain about when your #8 batter, Ronnie Halverson, is hitting .333/18/41? Unacceptable, from my viewpoint. The only mild blemish I can see anywhere is the bullpen ERA, situated 8th in the league, with a handful of guys having great seasons, and an equal handful having truly awful ones. So you're saying there's a chance.... Hard to believe it was only five years ago that these guys were still rolling on a 27-year streak without seeing the post-season; now they've won 97+ games four years running, own one World Series title (and probably should have two, tbh), and are on pace to have their best regular season in franchise history. One other thing: six pitchers on the DL is not a good sign, but that the best two--SP Mike Nelson and Kevin Cahill--are due back in 4 days and 2 weeks, definitely is. No reason not to expect this team to either battle us all the way into October, or get hot and pull away from us.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 2.56) / RH Mike Bader (6-6, 4.13) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.25)
TEX pitchers: RH Jesus Aguilar (3-2, 4.35) / RH Paul Labbe (6-4, 3.70) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (6-3, 3.94)

#76: WIN 3-1 ... Pederson accounts for all our runs with 2 HR and an RBI double...Waugh is stout as usual, 7 H and 9 K through 7.2 IP
#77: WIN 7-6 ... Medici's two-out solo shot in the 9th claims this one...Lynn's bases loaded double is our other big knock...Bohlen with 3.1 relief IP to clam things down
#78: WIN 5-4 ... HUGE...four HR tonight, with Gase taking his turn to hit the 9th inning winner...Ulkini goes 3-for-3 in his return, but gets hurt again

SWEEEEEP! Not bad, considering we got outhit those first two games. How we hit more HR than these monsters did is a mystery, but we shoo them away nonetheless.... Medici and Pederson pace the team with 19 HR each; Tipping has 15 but has been pretty quiet lately.... Speaking of power, or a lack of it, stud power prospect Jose Villalpando is hitting .290 in 124 AB in AA, but has yet to homer.... We're at the stage of the season where 1-2 minor leaguers are going down with injuries every day.... ELSEWHERE: Recent NL player of the week Adam Walker (WSH) is having a banner follow-up to his breakout '54 season, going at .362/32/82 in 76 games, leading all three categories. He went .313/47/117 last year.... Walker is joined by fellow NLers Chris Goldthwait (PIT) and Heath Lewellyn (CIN) in the 30 HR club.... A promising start to the season has devolved into a 7-19 June for Arizona, putting them 10 games under .500 and 19 games behind LA.... While KC--8-2 of late--is rising in the AL Central, the Indians are sinking fast, on a ten-game skid and falling to fifth in the division.... After two seasons in the outer darkness, Cincy's Cris Frias seems to have rediscovered himself. Sure, he still walks over 6 per 9 IP, but a BABIP 140 points lower than his '54 rate, plus an ERA over 2 runs lower, have certainly contributed to the Reds strong start, which has them at 44-34 and a game behind STL in the NL Central.

June 30 vs OAKLAND
The rise of the Rangers coincides almost neatly with the decline of the A's, although they did win 101 games and reach the post-season in '52. It's been tough sledding since then, though, and this year's 25-53 mark may or may not be a bottoming-out. The offense is already there, last in the league in runs and OPS, and bottom-three everywhere else. Josh Robertson, a 40-year-old former Isles star, is the only guy hitting right now, at .281. Ryan Walton has 20 HR, but is batting just .225, while Felix Reyes is a long way from his 50-HR days, with only 11. Pitching is hardly better, at 16th, but there is some young talent in the rotation that seems to be starting to jell. The clubhouse is full of solid guys but is unhappy right now, probably because of the record. And...why they traded for 43-year-old Lance Powell is beyond me. He's a good guy and a future Hall of Famer, so maybe he was the price to get solid prospect Matt Hall, who swings a big power bat but needs a lot of development. (But is now the team's #1 prospect, btw.)

HAW pitcher: RH Josh Irvin (9-3, 2.92)
OAK pitcher: RH Tom Baker (3-7, 5.83)

#79: WIN 9-3 ... 3 H for Simmons, and HR for Matson, Cov, and Tipping...Irvin is pulled for some reason with one out left in the game, because why not

Always a good way to end a solid month, and we maintain our three game lead over Texas.... This recent power surge has moved us into 7th in the AL in home runs, rarified air for us.... Ulkini's diagnosis is mild: leg strain, dtd for five days.... With the All-Star game coming up in a week, Matt Waugh is our only lock to make the team. Medici, Simmons, Irvin, and Kearns are with the leaders at their respective positions, but are no sure-things.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans' Zion Robinson not only no-hit the Cubs, but tossed the 9th perfect game in dynasty history, and the first since Gary Buttacavoli did it in '49, pitching for...New Orleans. This is the fourth no-hitter in franchise history.... On the same night, Brooklyn lost to Richmond 1-0 in ten innings, with Robins pitcher Brad Thornton allowing just 3 hits in a complete game effort, but taking the loss.... Cleveland drops it's eleventh straight.

......

TL;DR Version: We wrap up June on an 11-2 run, and went 21-6 for the whole month. Team numbers continue to look great: first in offense, first in pitching, and a +181 run differential. No one is having a killer stats year, although Simmons has bounced back with a .349 average, good for 4th in the league. Other standouts so far have been a) Pederson and his 1.068 OPS, second in the league; and b) pretty much the entire pitching staff. Stability has been the watchword here. Finally, I think when he's fully healthy in a few days, it's time to see what Lua Ulkini can do as our full-time third baseman, ahead of both Royer and Sanchez. They've both been okay of late, but Ulkini's numbers (see below) in his limited appearances have been outstanding; let's see what he can do with a couple of weeks in the lineup, at least against RHP.

06-21-2021, 06:40 PM	#421
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	August 2054 Twenty-eight games this month, seventeen on the road. On the injury front, Josh Hed will return after the California series, and Jordan Ruiz about a week after that. Jonathon Sitzler has three more weeks, and Lua Ulkini will nurse his dtd tweak for another week. In better news, Jules Medici was named AL player of the month for July after going .433/14/38 and adding 16 walks (for a lovely OBP of .508). I guess he loved his new contract that much, huh. August 1-2 vs CALIFORNIA Wrapping up this series. We took the first game way back in July. HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (5-2, 4.97) / LH Matt Waugh (13-3, 3.04) CAL pitchers: RH Aaron Moore (1-5, 6.71) / LH Travis Fox (8-6, 4.84) #110: WIN 6-5 ... 10 hits, 4 of them leave the yard...3 were solo shots, Medici added a 2-run blast...Burke struggles, Yaung fans all 4 batters he faces #111: WIN 11-4 ... GRAND SLAM for Royer in the 3rd, and a 2-run shot by Espino an inning later...11 runs on 10 hits here, but add in six walks Very solid, but we get no closer to Texas. We do have a four game gap to Houston, though.... Another big series from Medici, and he's now atop the AL batting race at .364, also tops with 112 RBI.... Two more steals by Lynn gives him 51 on the season. We have 128 steals total, good for 5th in the AL.... Rough season for Matson. I didn't expect him to repeat his wonderful '53, where he went .352/.388/.585 with 26 HR and a 140 OPS+; but he's sitting at .270/.328/.382 with only 6 HR and a 77 OPS+. And negative WAR.... ELSEWHERE: No more trades as the deadline comes and goes. Miami made the most moves, but has only gone 5-5 of late, making up no ground on Tampa Bay, and 9 games back.... St Louis has lost six straight and is in danger of losing touch with division-leading New Orleans, now five games up on the Cards.... And the White Sox stay hot, 9-1 in their last ten and seven games ahead of Detroit.... Juan Garcia watch: now at 2989 hits, only eleven away! August 3-5 @ TORONTO After posting some improvement with two .500 seasons, the bottom has fallen out this year: 45-66, last in the East, 12th in offense and 17th in pitching. They're 8th in HR, however, and are led by 30-year-old reclamation project 1B Max Corliss (.302/39/86), plucked off the scrap heap after four seasons in Mexico. Injuries have been the story for the pitching staff: four SP and three RP are out. The biggest name is Greg Boedigheimer, who hasn't pitched in over a year and now may never reach the lofty heights predicted for this former #5 overall draft pick. The good news here is the 9th-ranked farm system, but even that is tempered by a distinct lack of position players of note: only three infielders crack their top ten, and none are sure-things even as backups. The even better news, as far as owner Jody Patterson is concerned, is that his "Extreme Profit!" strategy is paying off to the tune of an expected $36M surplus this season. HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (6-2, 3.42) / RH Mike Bader (5-6, 5.19) / RH Mike Pearse (8-6, 3.85) TOR pitchers: RH Josh Haynam (8-12, 5.80) / RH Adam Arriaga (0-6, 10.17) / RH Jaden Buchanan (2-6, 6.92) #112: LOSS 8-12 ... oof, total stinker with zero good pitching...we score 4 in the 9th to at least make it look less embarrassing #113: LOSS 5-7 ... we outhit them 11-9, but more horrific early pitching otherwise dooms us again #114: LOSS 4-5 ... once again we outhit these guys, but can't manage a win...again, 3 late runs makes this close Ugly ugly ugly. No pitching, no timely hitting. And Toronto is truly terrible.... We lose two games to Texas, now five in arrears.... Only rookie ball Wilmington, at 16-22, ruins the picture of having all our farm clubs over .500.... Speaking of the farm, AAA Santa Barbara leads its division by 12.5 games and is batting an absurd .329. It seems like nearly every regular deserves a look at the bigs, too. Nice.... ELSEWHERE: Six-game losing streak in Seattle has put them below .500 and 11 games out of first, probably deep-sixing their playoff hopes.... Stealing is back, baby! Our Joe Lynn leads MLB with 53, but Emilio Meares (TEX) has 50, and NL batting leader (at .350) Nate Forrester (STL) has 49. Could we see someone come close to 70?... Still tight in the NL East, as only 9 games separates first (Washington) from last (Atlanta).... Juan Garcia now just 9 hits away from 3K. August 6-8 @ SEATTLE Whatever well they drank from early on has dried up now: a 36-23 start has given way to a 20-37 run since. And 0-5 so far this month. Still 2nd in runs and the lineup looks good, with no injuries at all. Pitching has dipped to 14th, however, with a 16th-ranked rotation ERA. Have I mentioned before that their pitching took blows in the spring, when top prospects--and likely MLB guys this year--Seb Mulholland and Ron Rivera were lost for the season? Probably, but it was worth saying again. They still have a +20 run differential, showing some signs of life remain. At only six games behind us, and with time still on the clock, if they can get any kind of decent pitching they can get right back into the race. HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (5-2, 5.16) / LH Matt Waugh (14-3, 3.12) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-3, 3.92) SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (10-7, 6.96) / RH Dan Crews (4-7, 5.60) / RH Steve Davenport (7-10, 7.77) #115: WIN 5-3 ... Hed smacks a 3-run shot on his return, and a crazy 4-hit night from Simmons...Burke goes 7, gives up just one run #116: LOSS 6-10 ... had a 6-5 lead late here, couldn't hold on...3 hits apiece from Royer and Matson #117: LOSS 1-3 ... one bad pitch and Carbs gives up a 3-run HR to lose this one...just six hits for each team Five losses out of six to two struggling teams. What a way to kick off the stretch run. And three challenging sets coming up: Texas, Detroit, and an over-.500 Red Sox squad.... Waugh has another forgettable outing, but in the other games we got good pitching and just couldn't hit.... Simmons has his average up to .240, which is still terrible but a much better place than he was in about a month ago.... ELSEWHERE: St Louis continues to struggle, losing 9 out of 10 and down into a tie with Chicago, and six games behind the Zephs (who have lost 5 in a row).... Don't look now, but a seven game run has the Yanks only five behind Tampa Bay and into a tie for the second wildcard slot with your favorite mid-Pacific Ocean team.... How is Juan Garcia doing, you ask? Only four hits away, after a six-hit series against Portland. The Giants play a pretty bad Arizona team next. I'll keep you posted.... By the way, 80 wins for the White Sox, and 78 for LA. Is a rematch of the 1959 Series in the cards? Only 95 years on... August 10-12 vs TEXAS The division leaders by 5, but like us off to a slow start this month. The offensive problems they were having earlier have been solved, as they're up to 7th in runs. Pitching sits second, and there's a sweet +121 run differential to show off too. The 2-5 hitters (Halvorson, Robbins, Boers, Olivera) are as good as anyone in baseball, and combined are hitting nearly .320 with 108 HR and 17 WAR. The bad news for us (and everyone in the division) is that all the regulars should be back next year, and hopefully 25-year-old top pitching prospect Mike Nelson will be fully healed from his spring elbow surgery. He looks like a serious Cy Young candidate, and I can't believe he lasted until late in the 2nd round in his draft year. (We at least grabbed Doug Pederson--great when healthy--in our first round.) HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (5-7, 5.45) / RH Mike Pearse (8-6, 3.89) / RH Andy Burke (6-2, 4.76) TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (12-7, 4.19) / RH Kevin Cahill (9-7, 3.75) / RH Sean Reed (9-6, 4.12) #118: LOSS 2-3 ... a nice 8 IP outing for Bader, but it's hard to mount much offense with only three hits...two errors too #119: LOSS 5-8 ... outhomered 4 to 2 and outhit 10 to 7...Pfeifer knocks a 3-run shot late, to no avail...two more errors #120: LOSS 1-7 ... yeah we pretty much gave up early...sigh Lifeless, utterly lifeless. Again. To top it off manager Kenney put JJ Simmons and his 53 OPS+ self into the cleanup slot that third game. Sure why not.... It feels like rearranging the Titanic's deck chairs now, but I make one move right now, sending down 2B Jim Pfeifer and giving 2B Erik Griffin his first taste of MLB. Griffin's an average hitter, decent fielder, not fast but a good baserunner. He'll work the count way more than Pfiefer did, but I don't expect the next Rogers Hornsby here.... We're now 19 days away from bringing up the AAA club.... ELSEWHERE: Juan Garcia's 4th-inning RBI double off DBacks starter (and former Isles prospect) Cory Graulich makes him the 32nd player to reach 3000 career hits. He's tied now with Clemente and Joe Mauer, and with a healthy remainder of the season should pass Lou Brock to move to 25th overall.... Nine out of ten for the Yankees now, and just 4 games behind Tampa. Plus they just completely stole OF prospect Gary Bellany (solid power hitter and a strong RF arm) from Oakland for 29-year-old 2B Justin Gilbert, earner of exactly 1.0 career WAR.... Everyone's at least .500 in the NL East now, and last place Atlanta and Brooklyn are only nine games out of first place. August 13-15 vs DETROIT From the frying pan to the fire, with the 74-46 Tigers coming to town. Fourth in hitting, seventh in pitching, and a lineup full of power and average. The only thing hurting them right now are some accumulated...hurts of their own: 2B D.J. Grace and OF Manny Molina are out, as is future superstar OF Roberto Gomez. Backup 2B Elliott Wheat is also out, leaving vet Jefferson McKenzie (.199) the only slack bat in the lineup. Plus, top two starting pitchers T.J. Carroll and Raul Bravo are injured. And yet they keep winning, holding on at only 7 games behind Chicago and with the third best record in baseball. Honestly, if we muster even one win here it will be a major victory. HAW pitchers: LH Matt "Ace" Waugh (14-3, 3.30) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 3.91) / RH Mike Bader (5-8, 5.31) DET pitchers: LH Corey Nelson (9-3, 3.18) / RH Trevor Sanders (11-10, 6.36) / RH Tony Gamez (11-7, 4.99) #121: WIN 8-4 ... moral victory incoming...everyone gets a hit, including new boy Griffin...11 K for Waugh, but gives up all 4 runs in 6.1 IP #122: WIN 7-6 ... shrugs...down 6-1 early, we rally and tie it with 3 in the 9th, and Matson wins it in the 12th...closer Kearns goes 4 IP to win #123: LOSS 1-3 ... Bader can't catch a break as we give him just 4 hits in support...Simmons, batting cleanup AGAIN, gets hurt Well, we put up a better fight, at least. Didn't gain any ground on Texas (8 games behind) and lost ground to Seattle and Houston (both just a game behind us).... Simmons' nickname is "Boom Boom," which is as ironic as it comes. Why then Kenney keeps batting him cleanup is anyone's damn guess.... RP Jordan Ruiz comes off the DL and Brad Cahill (7.07 ERA) heads back to AAA.... ELSEWHERE: Eight straight wins for Seattle; they can just stop that, now.... Haven't mentioned these guys in a while, but the bottom dwellers are duking it out: Cleveland and Montreal have 46 wins, Milwaukee 48, and California 49.... Cincy captain Lance Powell called a players-only meeting, trying to get a handle on their 51-71 season I guess. Time for a 40-game winning streak!... Speaking of Cincy, wild man Cris Frias has gone on the season-ending DL. On paper, Frias is an ace with control issues. However, in reality this year: 6.11 ERA, .393 BABIP, 148.2 IP, 203 K, 143 BB. That's right, 21 batters per 9 innings make zero contact when he pitches.... LA's Junjiro McDonnell now leads all batters with 51 HR.... And the White Sox and Dodgers have clinched winning seasons, both with 82 wins. ...... TL;DR Version: Way to put pressure on the playoff race, guys. A solid 5-9 run has us at 65-58 and 8 games behind Texas. Also a game behind NY for the second wildcard, and just one game ahead of both Seattle and Houston in all the standings. Not sure what else to say about this little patch of games other than we stopped hitting AND stopped pitching, for a change of pace. And for a while our team defense was improving, but then our pitchers made a couple hundred errors here and we're bottom third in most team fielding stats now. Griffin's promotion makes him the sixth player to start at second, with no one really distinguishing himself. If we keep losing, there will definitely be a seventh and maybe an eighth player to see 2B time, in September. I would hate to break up the AAA party, with Santa Barbara leading their division at 67-43, but we come first. A number of their players are already on the 40-man roster, and will definitely get looks if we're beneath the waves by then. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

06-26-2021, 05:59 PM	#422
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	August 16-18 @ BOSTON Hanging on, at 62-61 and ten games out of first, but with our heel turn they're only four games out in the wildcard race. Like the record, the underlying numbers are average: 10th in runs, 8th in pitching, and a +13 run differential. Dustin Wasilewski missed 20 games and hasn't been the MVP he was in '52 for LA, but he's batting .340. At 35, 1B Rich Dragos keeps on hitting (.296/.417/.548, 28 HR); 2B Cortez Ortiz is batting .318; and C Riley King (.307/.378/.497, 13 HR) is still hitting nearly 50 points above his career average. On the mound, a 4th-ranked bullpen ERA has helped, but the rotation has been erratic: Chris Rivera and Xavier Timbo have been fine; but Yuya Watabe and Kaoru Tanaka have alternated strong starts with early-inning blowouts. And rookie Josh Williamson has been troublesome in the #5 slot (along with batting .239 in 43 games at DH). The clubhouse, long a bastion of hotheads, slugabeds, and other bozos, has been content so far, and there are no rifts on the coaching staff. There's a ton of help on the way in MLB's 4th-best prospect system, including the #2 prospect in the game, OF Tyler Knott. He's batting .331 in 33 starts in the OF so far, and was a 30th round pick in '51. Shows what a strong work ethic can bring you. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (8-7, 4.00) / RH Andy Burke (6-3, 5.06) / LH Matt Waugh (15-3, 3.40) BOS pitchers: RH Xavier Timbo (4-2, 3.40) / RH Josh Williamson (7-7, 6.05) / LH Chris Rivera (13-6, 3.49) #124: LOSS 2-4 ... 10 hits each side, but they add 2 HR to the mix...3 hits for Kelley, subbing for Simmons, 2 each for Matson and Gase #125: WIN 6-1 ... Medici and Matson homer, 3 hits for Hed...4 H, 1 R allowed in 6 IP for Burke...a 4-run 8th breaks a 1-1 tie #126: LOSS 1-8 ... 7 late runs destroys another 1-1 tie...Waugh is just bad again...only six hits here, while allowing 13 More forgettable stuff here. Seattle has caught us, and we're both 9 games behind Texas. Houston lurks one game back.... Simmons' injury is a back strain, and he's probably done for the season. He's gone from batting .344 in '52, to .278 last year, to .237 this year. Oh boy.... We call up youngster Lucas Tipping to take his roster spot. Tipping's 11th on our prospect list, 29th on MLB's. Not great at any one thing, but solid across the board and with surprising power. Batted .248/10/42 in 58 AAA starts.... ELSEWHERE: Nine wins out of ten for Seattle, putting them right back in the middle of the wildcard race.... That player's only meeting in Cincy has resulted in an 8-game losing streak. The players have spoken!... Oakland's Ryan Walton reached 50 HR for the third straight season... Eight wins in ten has Philly up to 2nd in the NL East, two games behind Washington. August 20-22 @ OAKLAND They've stabilized after a couple of awful months but still sit at 55-71, fifth place and 20 games in back of Texas. Hitting is 15th, pitching 11th, with a -74 run differential. Ryan Walton (50 HR, 119 RBI) is the main attraction at the plate; Randy Costello (.280/19/52) moved into leadoff and responded well; and sophomore Pedro Ortiz (.271/23/57) is a solid piece. But as I've said before: the pitching has been okay but would have been much better if their top three SP didn't miss all or most of the season...and if closer Matt Rabideau didn't have a 6.27 ERA. But with those three coming back next year, plus solid holdover Chris Larimer, and then top prospects Glen Marler and Jaden Sales knocking on the door, pitching should be a strength next year. HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 4.16) / RH Mike Bader (5-9, 5.18) / RH Mike Pearse (8-8 4.04) OAK pitchers: LH Chris Larimer (11-5, 3.33) / RH Kyle Forney (5-9, 5.63) / LH Sean Guerrero (2-2, 4.88) #127: WIN 6-5 ... EXCITEMENT: a 6-run 9th, led by Groff's 3-run pinch HR, wins it late...2 H and an RBI for Medici...Yaung gets his 9th relief win #128: LOSS 2-3 ... left in too long, Bader yields the GW HR to Reyes in the 9th...9 hits tonight, all singles #129: WIN 6-2 ... outhit, but taking 8 walks helped...Medici's 2-run double in the 5th was the key hit...solid 8 IP for Pearse Very much needed this. Texas dropped two so we picked up a game, now 8 back. Still just a game in front of Seattle and Houston.... Just a 1-for-12 start by Tipping, so I might rotate him back to AAA in a week if he's still struggling.... We're actually hitting well, 4th in AVG and OBP, but being 17th in HR is probably why we're only 10th in runs. Losing Pederson killed our secondary power, with only Royer (26) having more than 15 HR.... ELSEWHERE: None of the AL division races are closer than 6 games, but there's a nice tight race for the batting title: Jorge Arriola (TB) .351, Jules Medici (HAW) .349, Jordan Foots (MIN) .348. Each is seeking his first batting crown.... I can't remember the last time someone had 60 steals, but we've got three guys closing in on that number this year: Joe Lynn (HAW) 59, Emilio Mares (TEX) and Nate Forrester (STL) at 56.... Cleveland has outstunk the opposition and is the only team without 50 wins (at 48). Look out for Toronto, tho, with 53 wins and a 5-game losing streak. August 23-25 @ HOUSTON Just a game behind us, at 67-62, and they've squandered their mid-season momentum so far by going just 9-11 this month. Only 13th in runs--with, as usual, only Jose Renteria really producing, at .307/43/102--but 5th in pitching and with the AL's best bullpen. This may be the happiest clubhouse in the game: everybody loves everybody, no one's unhappy. One more thing of note: some older player's contracts will be coming off the books this fall, giving them a ton of money to spend on free agents. Get some more bats in here, and they'll contend in 2055. HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (6-3, 4.80) / LH Matt Waugh (15-4, 3.58) / RH Danny Carbajal (6-4, 4.12) HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (7-9, 5.37) / RH Ken Demers (10-5, 3.33) / RH Robby Hardin (1-1, 3.03) #130: WIN 4-3 ... 3 HR and all 4 RBI for Hed, crazy...5 hits for everyone else...another solid outing for Burke, 7 IP and 7 K #131: WIN 11-1 ... 2 doubles and 4 RBI for Medici, and finally a solid 7.2 IP from Waugh...Hed HBP, pending injury diagnosis #132: WIN 7-4 ... Covington drives in 3 with a HR and 1B, likewise for Venters...Carbs struggles a bit, but the pen bails him out, fanning 4 in 2 IP Big series! But Texas matches and we're still 8 games out. Seattle's two behind us, Houston now 4.... Medici tied with Arriola (TB) for the AL batting lead, at .351.... Better pitching of late, and the bullpen now has the best ERA in the AL, 3.53. With our rotation issues, M-H Yaung is tied for second in team wins, with 9, and Nate Kearns is 4th in K, with 88 in 77 IP.... Hed got beaned and is done for the season. We give fast riser Erik Bennetsen his first MLB callup. The 23-year-old 1st rounder from '52 has this year hit .301 in AA and .345 in AAA, now gets a stint in a playoff race.... ELSEWHERE: NL Central race is tightening up, with the Zephs just 2 games ahead of the Cubs, 4 in front of the Cards. New Orleans isn't helped however by having their top two SP, Jeff Schaffer and Chad Akers, on the DL.... Six game win streak for Detroit makes them the 3rd team to reach 80 wins, and they've closed to six games behind Chicago.... LA's magic number is 14, with 30 games left in the season.... Cincy: 56-76 after expecting to contend, unhappy clubhouse, feuding coaches. All good. August 26-28 vs MILWAUKEE Okay on offense, at 7th in runs scored, but just a disaster on the mound: dead last in the AL in ERA and at or near the bottom in every stat category. The stars have hit--3B Mitch Elmore at .346 and DH Edwin Daza at .314--but no one else has stood out. Somehow 44-year-old C Dan Starr just keeps going, batting .270/.340/.499 with 21 HR in 89 games. He's signed through '56 and shows every intention of coming back; he hasn't topped 100 games since '48, but just keeps plugging away as various body parts fail. But I struggle to find anything good to say about their pitching. Closer Xavier Pride has a 4.15 ERA, which this year is pretty good...and is also the only ERA below 5 on the team. Not sure what next year holds: the prospect system ranks 26th, with no big studs at the top; a budget in the bottom quarter that won't get any bigger next year. They've got some young pitchers on the big club already, but they struggled so much this year it's hard to tell if they'll recover for next season. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (5-10, 5.07) / RH Mike Pearse (9-8, 3.96) / RH Andy Burke (7-3, 4.72) MIL pitchers: RH Merlin Lemay (14-7, 5.92) / RH Tyler Rowe (8-8, 5.55) / RH Chris Ronan (7-10 6.49) #133: WIN 10-8 ... hits for nearly everyone, including 3 for new boy Bennetsen...8-run 4th inning is just about all we needed #134: LOSS 1-9 ... Matson homers, but only 5 hits otherwise...Pearse and Bohlen both get punched around tonight #135: WIN 4-2 ... needed this one...8 of our 9 hits come from the top three, and they scored and drove in all four runs Crucial game three win there, to keep us from losing our recent momentum. We're 8 games behind Texas and, frankly, probably won't catch them for the division. However, that win kept us a game ahead of NY (our next series, btw) in the #2 wildcard race.... Bennetsen goes 5-for-12 with 3 XBH in his first series. He also has seriously good pitching ceilings, but after breaking an elbow on the mound in A ball and losing nearly a year of development time, I nixed the idea of making him a two-way player. Worth it, I think, as he's got back-end SP potential, but solid all-star batting potential. Good on the bases, good kid, but limited to LF, so the outfield picture for next year looks complicated.... Joe Lynn, running amok: 2 steals in this series, but caught 4 times.... ELSEWHERE: Cleveland finally reached 50 wins; the Chisox reached 90 wins; and LA's magic number is now 10.... Will someone reach 10 WAR this year? Doubtful, but it's a good race between Texas' Ryan Boers (7.8) and Minny's Jordan Foots (7.4).... Breakout year for Cards CF Nate Forrester, in his second full season as a starter: .351 and 58 steals (both leading the NL), 25 HR, 7.2 WAR, and a +6.9 ZR in center.... Hard to believe Portland may let star 3B Gerardo Nieto go this fall. He's having another big year (.317/48/117), and the 26-year-old has 948 hits and 226 HR in five years as a starter for the Pioneers. August 30-31 @ NY YANKEES Another crucial series for the post-season. Currently we're a game up on them for the #2 wildcard. (Detroit, ten ahead of us, has the #1 all but locked up.) They're sitting 8 games behind division-leading Tampa Bay, and are just three up on Boston and Miami in the tightening East. Holding them back has been a stagnant offense, dead last in runs and bottom-three in AVG and OPS. CF Chris Mitchell (.287/27/84) and 3B Dave Rivera (.289/20/55) have produced, as has currently-injured Melvin Lopez (.323/26/79). Power bats Enrique Hernandez (34 HR) and Steve Colpo (21) hit dingers but little else, as the two 37-year-olds are each hitting around .220. Pitching has been superb, first in the AL with the second-best rotation going right now. But injuries have cropped up of late: #2 SP Bobby Hamel (12-11, 3.37) is out for a full year just now, and solid RP Justin Spurrell and Matt McGirr also went down recently. Former ace Tim Mitchell made his first start of the season last week, so there's hope he'll ramp up his game and contribute. Current ace Jose Sedillo should get some Cy Young attention, with 7.2 WAR and 240 K in 186 IP. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (16-4, 3.48) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-4, 4.19) NYY pitchers: LH Jose Sedillo (15-5, 2.46) / RH Tim Mitchell (0-0, 6.75) #136: WIN 7-1 ... Espino nearly cycles (needed a triple), Tipping hits his first MLB HR, and Waugh goes the distance...Nearly perfect #137: WIN 3-2 ... pitcher's duel, won in the 13th by Gase with one of his four hits...lots of weird double switches going on tonight A much-needed two wins here, and we close the month on a three-game winning streak. Still eight behind Texas.... Bennetsen came back to earth a bit, and Espino made a case for getting more playing time down the stretch. His good series here brought his average up to a season-high .260 (to go along with an .814 OPS and 8 HR in 154 AB). Tipping got a few hits, including his first HR, and may get the majority of AB at second next month if he continues showing some form. We need SOMEBODY to hit at second base this year.... Four of our six farm clubs lead their divisions, and Eureka (A) is two games out of first. Only Wilmington (R) is below .500.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans continues to fade, losing seven straight and slipping out of first, by a game to the Cubs. St Louis has rebounded and is only a game in back of the Zephs.... LA's magic number is down to 7, but the NL East is still hot, with Washington leading Richmond by 2 and Philly by 4.... Cleveland is still stuck on 50 wins, looking to consolidate their hold on June's #1 overall pick. No obvious studs stand out in next year's class, but there are some solid-looking pitchers, as well as the highest-ranked batter, catcher Wayne Payne. ...... TL;DR Version: After some back-and-forth nonsense, we rounded into shape to go 10-4 this stretch and a "just okay" 15-13 for the month. Texas has pulled away some, going 20-8 in August. Frankly, we need to admit that we cannot catch them for the division title at this point. And we're definitely not gaining on the red-hot Tigers, ten games ahead of us in the wild card race. So we need to beat the Yankees (3 behind us), Red Sox (4), and Mariners, Marlins, and Astros (each 5 behind us) to make the playoffs. Given that we're still vying for the post-season, that means we're probably not making wholesale call-ups from the farm in September. Injuries have hit us enough so that two guys--Tipping and Bennetsen--who were probably going to get looks anyway are now here of necessity; and injuries have slapped our farm teams hard enough that there aren't a lot of reserves to call on should I bring up 3-4 more guys. So I'll probably add a pitcher for the bullpen, and maybe one of the three catchers in AAA (would love to see what hot prospect Jamie Collins could do, but he's not on the 40-man, that roster is full, and there's no one I want to DFA right now). So, twenty-five games left to define our season. If we go 25-0 we can win 100 games for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Or we could miss the playoffs for the first time since 2035. Quite a nice run. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

07-04-2021, 06:45 PM	#423
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	September 2054 Thirteen of our final twenty-five games will be on the road, but we'll close the season with home series against two bottom-dwellers, Minnesota and California. After tough early series--NY first, then Seattle and Texas--we'll only play one more over-.500 squad the rest of the way (Houston, mid-month). And true to my word, I only recall two players for the roster expansion: catcher Michael Snavely gets his second MLB call (.133 in 15 AB early on), and reliever Phil Bishop gets his first visit to the Islands. (We claimed him on waivers from Seattle in May, to help with AAA injuries. He made 5 starts for the M's last year and 1 relief app for them this year.) September 1 @ NY YANKEES Final tilt in the Bronx. A win puts us four in front of our nearest wildcard rivals. HAW pitcher: RH Mike Bader (5-10, 5.15) NYY pitcher: LH Elijah Bragg (14-10, 3.98) #138: LOSS 3-4 ... three solo HR is the extent of our efforts tonight...Bader is okayish but gives up a run an inning early on and we can't recover Tsk. Lead is now 2 over the Yanks. Okay, wrap this up and let's move on.... ELSEWHERE: Minnesota's rookie CF Ryan Lawler was named AL player of August, and for the season has gone .347/.387/.659 with 36 HR and 6.6 WAR. Between him, LF Jordan Foots (.338/.398/.723, 52 HR), and a RF rotation of Tim Marinaccio and Josh Conley (62 HR combined), you'd think their record would be better than 12 games under .500.... Eight game hot streak and 93 wins on the season for the White Sox, making their inevitable first round playoff KO in a month's time all that more disheartening for their fans. September 2-4 @ SEATTLE Yes, more must-win games for us. Seattle is now back in fourth place, five games behind us, but of course that could change quickly. (Ftr, we're 7-8 against them this year.) Since finishing May at 15 games over .500, they've given up 13 games to that mark and are currently 70-68. Offense sits 4th, pitching 14th, so it's clear where the issues are. Jon Terrell and Ger Van Mourik drive the offensive bus, and Paul Stough, Sam Moore, and Nick Ragsdale have added some power to the mix, putting them 5th overall in home runs. Four starting pitchers are out, along with RF Rogelio Pena. Throw those five back into the mix and you have a divisional contender here. Of course, that's not how this works, and they have to get things in gear if they're going to make the post-season for the first time since 2048. (Last winning season was in '49, at 83-79.) HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (9-9, 4.20) / RH Andy Burke (8-3, 4.52) / LH Matt Waugh (17-4, 3.31) SEA pitchers: RH Vince Push (7-10, 5.04) / RH Dan Crews (5-7, 4.98) / RH Erik Ramey (12-8, 6.61) #139: LOSS 3-7 ... Pearse fans 10 but blows up in the 6th, taking the loss...8 hits here, only 3 after the third inning #140: WIN 7-5 ... Medici's 3-run blast in a 4-run 8th caps our comeback win...Burke gets beaten up early, but a solid 4.2 shutout IP from the pen #141: WIN 3-2 ... no one scores after the 4th, but Gase and Tipping hit solo HR, and we use 11 hits plus a solid 5-hit outing from Waugh to win Okay, I'll take it. Two out of three--or close to it--should get us to the playoffs. We get no closer to Texas (9 behind), but maintain a three game lead over an AL East logjam behind us: NY, Boston, and Miami are all tied with 74 wins.... Rookie Bennetsen has stopped hitting, so he'll slide out of the lineup a bit in favor of Espino and Venters, both still finding ways to contribute despite neither starring at the plate.... Bishop made a solid 3.2 inning debut against his old mates, not allowing a run.... ELSEWHERE: Six losses in a row for Cleveland, still stuck on 50 wins. Along with California and Montreal, they've been officially eliminated from the post-season.... Another forgettable year in Austin, but don't blame Alfonso Contreras, leading the NL with 58 HR and 127 RBI, as well as topping the charts in SLG, OPS, XBH, ISO, and WOBA.... So who's been the least productive MLB regular this year? I'll say Giants catcher Nate Homer, who in 368 AB has managed to go .158/.241/.228, with -2.2 WAR and 21 OPS+. Honorable mention however goes to 2052 first overall pick Eddie Feltman of Baltimore, who's hit .202 in 263 AB, with -1.8 WAR. Worst than that are his fielding stats at short: 52 starts, -9.0 ZR, .877 EFF. Wow. September 5-7 vs TEXAS Let's get this one out of the way early, okay? We're an unlovely 4-11 against these guys this season, so don't get your hopes up for an early-month run at the division crown. Their hitting finally came around, led of course by the impeccable Ryan Boers (.346/43/117) and Eric Halvorson (.335/46/128). Everyone but catcher Phil Thoma (.193) is raking right now, but at least he's added 15 HR and solid defense. Pitching is still getting it done too, 2nd in runs against and putting out the best rotation ERA in the AL, an amazing 3.88. Bobby Daniel leads the league in ERA and is second in wins, but probably won't get much of a sniff for the Cy Young because he doesn't have power numbers (150 K in 206 IP). After struggling for so long--zero playoff appearances from 2024 to 2049--they're headed to the post-season for the fifth consecutive campaign, and will likely take their first division title since 2019. HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (7-4, 4.10) / RH Mike Bader (5-11, 5.14) / RH Mike Pearse (9-10, 4.28) TEX pitchers: LH Bobby Daniel (16-4, 2.58) / RH Paul Labbe (15-9, 4.17) / LH Bill Butts (9-12, 5.36) #142: LOSS 4-8 ... 4 long balls, none of them ours...I'm not quite sure how we even managed four runs here, on just six hits #143: WIN 12-1 ... Medici homers then gets hit in the 7th and beats up their pitcher...shocking offense, 12 hits and 9 walks, even Griffin homers! #144: LOSS 4-10 ... Pearse is chased after two frightful innings...three lousy singles from Gase account for a third of our offense I knew this series wouldn't go well, and that third game especially, after Medici got suspended for three games. So we're ten behind the Rangers, no surprise, but Boston and Miami have gained a game on us. Next we play the awesome White Sox, so expect things to get even tighter before they could improve again.... Bishop tosses another 3.2 scoreless IP in relief. Maybe I should give him a start.... Backup catcher Bentley Kolb has 42 starts and has made six errors. That, and a 16% rate of throwing out baserunners, has me deeply concerned for the future of the best name on the roster right now.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans has stabilized and holds a single game lead over the Cubs, with the slipping Cards now 4 out. And LA will clinch the West with one more win or a Portland loss.... Fwiw, Mike Head (CHW), Matt Waugh (HAW), and Everett Cronk (LA) have 18 wins; Conor MacLeod (NYM) leads baseball with 269 K, the only guy to have a legit chance at 300 K. He'd become the first guy to hit that mark in both leagues since, I believe, Orlando Ramos (308 w/ BOS in '21, 309 w/ ATL in '26. September 9-11 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX Okay, here we go: our last season series against a truly good team. These guys have won 97 games, lead the league in offense (903 runs! 281 HR!) and are doing it without any one player having a knockout season. Four regulars are batting .300 (not including SS Chris Rock, dtd for another week and batting .320), and six have cracked at least 25 HR. Slots 3-7 have banged out 197 home runs (!!!) while we as a team have hit 180. And if that's not bad enough, their pitching ranks 4th in the AL. Fourth! Who do they think they are? Last-year us? Again, it's a team effort on the mound too, as most have been solid but no one's playing at an award-winning level. I'd be lying if I said I'd be happy with one win here, but I really wish we had a "use neutral zone trap" button as an option here. HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (8-3, 4.77) / LH Matt Waugh (18-4, 3.28) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-5, 4.23) CHW pitchers: RH Robby Liantonio (11-9, 5.00) / RH Mike Head (18-4, 4.28) / RH Jasper Cummings (11-4, 3.91) #145: LOSS 1-2 ... arrrgh...Burke allows two hits, zero home runs, and still loses...we get three hits, two of them doubles, and still flounder #146: LOSS 0-8 ... Waugh, why do you hurt me so: pulled in the 5th after another horrorshow...but Lynn gets 4 hits, yippee! #147: LOSS 3-4 ... Carbs goes the distance but allows a 9th inning HR for the loss...we actually outhit them tonight, but to no avail Four losses in a row, and five out of six, for our feckless fellows. We're back to a tie with NY for wildcard #2, with Boston and Miami a game behind.... Medici missed the first two games on suspension, not helping the cause. He got a hit on his return, but needs to start chowing down on those cans of spinach for us to be successful.... Athens (R) and Poughkeepsie (Short A) won their divisions and begin their playoffs soon; Eureka (A) tied with Bakersfield and is already down 2-0 in their playoff series; and Androscoggin (AA) has clinched their division and has one regular season game remaining.... ELSEWHERE: 100 wins for the Chisox, courtesy of some unlucky team.... A Tale of Two Cities: Cleveland is 9-29 since August 1, and LA becomes the first team to clinch their division.... Two weeks left in the season and STL's Nate Forrester has all but sealed the batting title, 25 points ahead at .361. In the AL it's a three-way tie at .351 with three more at .348, .347, and .346.... A little spree from Tampa has them 10 up on NY now, with their Magic # at 6. (Texas' is at 5, but who's counting.) September 12-14 @ BALTIMORE Okay, 15 games left and we're playing a team that's won 65 games and has lost 4 out of their last 5. Sixteenth in offense, 13th in pitching, but 194 steals leads the league! Congrats! There's not much else to celebrate here, but 2B Steve McClellan may be the Rule 5 pick of the century: .286/46/111, with 29 steals and 4.7 WAR. A few others have made some noise (Miguel Echevarria with 30 HR, Paul Stroot hitting .341). And they may have broken '52 #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman, batting .204 but with a league-worst -2 WAR and a really sad -10 ZR at short. On paper he looks pretty good still, so he can come back strong next year, you'd think. If they can keep some of these guys around, the possible good news is that the farm system ranks 11th, with 5 guys in the top 100. There are some good looking prospects on the mound and at the plate, so something to build on if they're smart. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (6-11, 4.93) / RH Mike Pearse (9-11, 4.58) / RH Andy Burke (8-4, 4.58) BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (9-12, 5.54) / RH Andy Myers (4-7, 5.67) / RH Bob Lankford (1-3, 8.31) #148: LOSS 0-3 ... great start here, held to just 3 hits...at least Bader looked good, not that anyone noticed...five straight losses #149: WIN 6-1 ... Tipping and Bennetsen--who?--homer, and Lynn adds 3 hits and 3 RBI...Pearse fans 14 in 8 IP, Bishop another shutout IP in relief #150: WIN 8-5 ... 3-hit games for Matson, Cov, and Ulkini, with HR from the first two...Yaung wins his 10th game from the pen No needed sweep, but I'll take the two wins. Detroit has officially secured the #1 spot, but who cares. For now, we're maintaining a one game lead over NY and MIA, two over HOU, three over BOS.... Rough couple of months for Royer, going 33-for-150 and seeing his average drop below .300 for the first time in, oh, 18 months or so.... Tenth wins for Pearse and for Yaung, who's 10-0 out of the bullpen.... Josh Matson has hit 21, 26, and 26 home runs in his three years as a starter. He just reached # 10 on this season.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit, Chicago, and Texas all clinched AL playoff spots. Tampa should soon, with a 9-game lead in the East.... In the NL, outside of the West things are tight: WAS leads PHI by one and RIC by two in the East; and NOZ has reclaimed the Central, by two over CHI and five over STL. PHI and RIC have nice leads in the wildcard race as well.... A rare sight with an NL batter leading the MLB HR race: Austin's Alfonso Contreras has 61 blasts, while Oakland's Ryan Walton has "only" 56. ...... TL;DR Version: A sloppy 5-8 run does not help our bigger playoff picture. The good news is that of our four remaining series we'll face only one team with a winning record--Houston, right behind us in the playoff race. If we can't come out on top playing three other bottom-dwellers, then we truly deserve our fate. On the player front, Medici has slowed a bit in his run to becoming the second Isle to reach 50 home runs: he's at 46, so getting close. And Covington, after another slow start to the season, has 19 HR, good for third on the team. Matt Waugh will get two, maybe even three, more starts, and with 18 wins he still has a chance to reach 20, although he's going to have to pitch a lot better than he has of late. So we won't repeat with 122 wins, but we're just one away from another official winning season! With some solid play, maybe we'll reach 90! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

07-11-2021, 08:56 PM	#424
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	We'll wrap up the regular season with four final series: roadies against OAK and HOU, then closing at home against MIN and CAL. Only the Astros have a winning record, so if we close anwhere near or below .500 in this stretch it'll be a major disappointment. (Fun fact: we're 45-30 at home, 35-40 on the road.) Against these opponents, we've gone: 11-4 vs OAK; 9-6 vs HOU; 1-2 vs MIN; and 12-3 vs CAL. That gives me some hope. I'll be monitoring other playoff races, as well as our wildcard race for the #2 slot. Once again, the placement is thus: HAW 80 wins, NY and MIA 79, HOU 78, BOS 77, and SEA 75. And for you minor league fans: Athens (R, Appalachian League) won their series against Bluefield to take their second-ever crown; Poughkeepsie (S A, NY-Penn) is tied 1-1 with Hudson Valley in their opening round; and Eureka (A, California) lost a one-game playoff to Bakersfield to lose the division, then dropped a 3-1 series to the same guys to end their season. Androscoggin (AA, Easter) opens their playoffs against Greensboro, while Santa Barbara (AAA, PCL) has seven regular season games remaining, and has clinched the South Division (with a sixteen-game lead). September 15 @ OAKLAND At 66-84, it's hard to remember that this team won the division just two years ago with 101 wins. Neither the offense (15th) nor pitching (11th) covered themselves in glory this year. There were a few standouts, however. Ace Chris Larimer did his best, leading the team (by far) in every major pitching category and earning over 6 WAR. At the plate, Ryan Walton has 56 HR and is closing in on 500 for his career, and Felix Reyes has 41 and 300 in his lifetime. It says a lot, however, that Larimer earned over half of the team's pitching WAR, and Walton and Reyes accounted for about a third of the team's offense. For the future, all the important (and actually talented) parts will be back, and hopefully top pitchers Jim Schwartz, Tom Baker, and Eric Stockton will be healthy. There's not much bubbling up in the system, so they'll need to look from beyond for more help than they've already got. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (18-5, 3.43) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.21) / RH Mike Bader (6-12, 4.86) OAK pitchers: RH Jaden Bartholomew (9-16, 6.69) / RH Jon Jones (5-10, 6.45) / LH Chris Larimer (15-5, 2.91) #151: WIN 2-0 ... Matson's single pokes one home in the 1st, Royer a solo shot in the 2nd...Waugh gets the win with 7.2 shutout IP #152: WIN 8-7 ... down for the count, we score 6 in the 9th for the comeback...GRAND SLAM for Bennetsen in the 9th and a solo shot by Matson #153: WIN 8-4 ... Espino and Kolb spark things with a pair of 3-run HR, and we get the sweep! Big BIG series win here. Texas clinches the division--like we knew they would--but we stay two ahead of Miami, 3 from Boston, and 4 from NY.... Last winter's international FA signing Yoshi Watanabe finally comes off the DL and will work through his rehab stint in AAA, with three regular season games to go and then the playoffs. For us, J.J. Simmons comes off the DL after our next series.... 30 HR for his sophomore season by Caleb Royer, needing one more to match his rookie total. I wish he was a competent fielder at third, and that someone would teach him to take a walk now and then. (Just 16 in 140 starts this year; 19 in similar games played last year.).... ELSEWHERE: Philly's won 9 straight and has surged into first in the NL East, two games ahead of Washington.... 70 steals? Someone's going to hit that mark for the first time in ages. Emilio Mares (TEX) is the best bet, with 69; our own Joe Lynn has 66, so he has an outside shot. In the NL, Nate Forrester (STL) has "just" 63, but could still get there.... The White Sox have stayed hot, with 103 wins to date, seven games more than LA, with 96. September 19-21 @ HOUSTON We've opened up a five game lead on the Astros, so this series is a chance to put them away for good. Just 8-8 this month, with an offense that has slipped to 12th in runs and dead last in AVG and OPS. Jose Renteria (.310/52/123) has been the clear team MVP, but no one else who's been here all season is hitting better than .263, and only Kevin Mazurowski (with 24) has more than 20 HR. Pitching sits 6th, with some solid but unspectacular seasons from numerous guys. Next year will bring about some rebuilding, with 9 of their top 16 salaries hitting the market. But only one of those Hexiters is under 30, and none are irreplaceable. It looks to me like they'll have $30-35M to spend in the off-season, but can also build from within their 6th-ranked prospect system. No future superstars to my eyes, but a number of solid pitchers will be ready for prime time, and the positions they'll need to fill--OF, 3B, 2B--have possible candidates for training camp. So maybe they'll spend on one or two big names and build aound them from within. Not a bad plan. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Pearse (10-11, 4.44) / RH Andy Burke (8-4, 4.81) / LH Matt Waugh (19-5, 3.30) HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (4-3, 5.33) / RH Ron Mills (8-13, 5.32) / RH Ken Demers (12-7, 3.70) #154: WIN 4-3 ... 3 solo HR by Gase (!) is most of our offense, plus an RBI single from Royer...10 K in 7.2 IP for Pearse #155: WIN 10-9 ... we yield 6 HR, but blasts from Medici and Royer plus Lynn's 2-run triple key the winning attack...20 runners for each team #156: WIN 3-0 ... big shutout, 5 hits and 10 K from new 20 game winner Waugh...4th inning HR from Royer and Kelley (!!) provide all the runs tonight Another huge sweep here, putting us 4 games up in the wildcard race, from Miami and Boston. And this eliminates both Houston and Seattle.... 20 wins for Waugh for the 4th time in his career. He's going to be a strong candidate for his 4th Cy Young, too.... two more HR by Royer, along with a pile of hits, has put him back near .300 on the year.... Simmons comes off the DL tomorrow, but likely won't get right back into the lineup.... Short A Poughkeepsie is a game away from playoff elimination, while AA Androscoggin was just ousted by Greensboro.... ELSEWHERE: No surprise that Cleveland reaches the magical 100-loss milestone, and has clinched the first overall pick for next summer.... Tampa Bay clinches the AL East, and the Phillies tie up a playoff spot on the back of an 11-game winning streak.... the Mets went from 15 games over .500 on June 1 to last in the NL East and playoff elimination just now. Losing your four best hitters for much of the summer will do that to you, and their team offense is next-to-last after all that.... New Orleans now has a 5 game lead over the Cubs, and the Zephs' magic number is two. September 22-24 vs MINNESOTA The league's highest batting average (.295) and 3rd in HR (265), but they shoot themselves in the foot somewhat with a 62 OPS+ guy in leadoff. But spots 2-5? 179 HR and a .330 average. Six regulars are hitting over .300, and most of them are young. Pitching, though, has been a problem, 15th in the AL and the reason for a -43 run differential. On paper at least they're better than their 5.93 rotation ERA; but it's results that matter. And there aren't any quality pitching prospects in the system either. Six players making $1M+ will walk this fall, tops being $22M man Roberto Miranda: still productive at the plate but injury-prone and 37. Let him go. Otherwise, it's mostly pitchers departing. So with a rising budget and some serious money (maybe $50M) available, they should grab as many pitchers as they can and load up with their solid offense for a run next year. Go full-LA and sign all the pitching. HAW pitchers: RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.46) / RH Mike Bader (7-12, 4.87) / RH Mike Pearse (11-11, 4.40) MIN pitchers: RH Dan Hannan (5-5, 4.32) / RH Doug Ricks (5-4, 4.16) / RH Chris Liles (10-15, 6.07) #157: WIN 6-3 ... HR and 4 RBI for Matson, 3 H for Lynn, solo HR by Espino...Carbs has a nice, quiet 7 IP, but Ruiz earns the win late #158: LOSS 2-14 ... winning streak meets an ugly end...Bader retires just 3 of 11 batters, and we allow 24 hits #159: LOSS 5-6 ... Kearns blows this one, allowing a 2-run double in the 9th...2 H, 3 RBI from Royer, a HR by Gase NOT GREAT, but we allow Boston and NY to eliminate themselves. Miami, though, is still in it, but a we-win or a they-lose clinches for us.... We finally reach the fabled 200-HR plateau.... Just back from the DL, reliever Orlando Silva strains his elbow and is dtd for two weeks.... Josh Hed will be 100% in a week, but likely won't make the start of the playoffs, should we get in.... ELSEWHERE: 7 straight losses from the Cubs and six from the Cards just hands the NL Central title to New Orleans. Those streaks also hand Richmond and Washington the NL wild cards.... Although technically that's not quite right, as Philly has not yet clinched their fourth straight division title, at just one game ahead of Richmond. Washington, however, is really suffering, just 1-9 of late and barely holding on to that last wild card.... 109 wins for the Chisox, and they're nearly 100% healthy. They've scored 993 runs and have an Islanders-esque +237 run differential.... 101 wins for LA, doing it with a pedestrian offense (but 263 HR, 2nd in the NL) and some lights-out pitching, allowing only 614 runs, the best in baseball by 80 runs. September 25-27 vs CALIFORNIA The SoCal Perpetual Rebuilders (new team name) are last in the division, with a 16th-ranked offense and 12th-ranked pitching. Four titles over a couple decades has given way to 20 years without a playoff appearance. But there's hope! The system is ranked 3rd, with CF Chris Burns and SP Sam Matthews already in MLB. Four other top prospects are also in MLB or AAA, and add to that a relatively young starting lineup. So if these prospects actually develop, could we see a return to competitiveness here? Yes, I think so, especially if they spend a little money on one more power bat, a la William Swanson, and maybe an anchor for the rotation. Loosen the purse strings, guys, and good things will follow. HAW pitchers: RH Andy Burke (8-4, 5.11) / LH Matt Waugh (20-5, 3.17) / RH Danny Carbajal (7-6, 4.43) CAL pitchers: RH Aaron Moore (3-12, 7.28) / RH Josh Pomerantz (0-0, 3.18) / RH Nate Elder (8-12, 6.47) #160: WIN 10-1 ... PLAYOFFS BABY! 15 hits, 3 HR, and a six-hit CG from Burke...an 8-run 2nd ends the suspense early #161: WIN 5-4 ... 3 hits for Bennetsen, and 2 from Groff in his penultimate regular season game...8 IP and the W for Waugh #162: LOSS 4-5 ... more hits, more runners, more everything but runs...Groff gets an RBI but fans three times for a sad ending Well it took forever but we finally made it. Not to 90 wins, mind (for the first time since 2040), but we're headed to the post-season. And what do we get for our efforts? A series against the 99-win Tigers. Ah, well.... A little power blip these last few games saw us battle our way up to 16th place in the team HR standings.... He may not win another Cy Young this year, but a case can be made for Matt Waugh getting the team MVP nod: 4th in ERA (3.14), 1st in wins (21) and FIP (3.07), 2nd in WAR (7.8) and K (256).... Unlike past years, we didn't have a dominant team offense. In fact, the only stat we led in is fewest strikeouts, with just 845. Milwaukee was 2nd with 1005.... ELSEWHERE: Ten-game closing winning streak for the White Sox, pushing them to a 112-50 record. LA finished with 104 wins, Texas with 101.... A 13-game losing streak for Houston, however, a real drag in an otherwise decent year for them.... Your batting kings this year are Minnesota rookie Ryan Lawler (.364) and St Louis sophomore Nate Forrester (.363).... The entire NL East finished over .500, with Brooklyn, Atlanta, and NY tying for last with 82 wins. ...... TL;DR Version: A strong 9-3 ending to a roller coaster season, as we end with 89 wins and claim the second wild card spot by four over Boston and Miami. Offensively, our lack of power hurt us all season long, as we finished 16th with just 204 home runs. So despite finishing 4th in AVG and 3rd in OBP, we were only 9th in runs scored. The off-season trades of Cam Daley, Bob Goodloe, and Josh Frederick hurt in that regard, but also losing Doug Pederson for 100 games and having Josh Matson drop off by 50% didn't help. Pitching finished 4th in runs allowed, with the 5th-best rotation ERA and AL-best bullpen numbers. That rotation number is especially nice when you consider that Henry Skiffington and Josh Irvin were so bad early on that the two multi-year starting pitchers ended up spending more than half the season in AAA. I'll break down individual performances in more detail in a later post, but suffice to say that a lot of factors contributed to our 33-game downswing this season. (Not the least of which is that winning 122 games in a season is just insane.) But for now, we're in the playoffs. We may not last long, but we're there! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

07-22-2021, 08:16 PM	#425
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Playoffs 2054 It's been some time since we've entered the playoffs as decided underdogs, but that day is here again. Plus we finished ten games behind another strong Detroit team, who may feel a bit unlucky to have won 99 games and be stuck in a wildcard series. The offense finished third in runs scored, andn were top five in nearly every other category. Pat Townsand was a triple crown threat for much of the season, and still finished with sterling .331/56/153 numbers; he's joined in the middle of the lineup by Jesus Villegas (.284/41/105), not to mention four others who finished with over 25 HR each. D.J. Grace played just half the season at 3B, but at .315 with 15 HR he's more than solid at leadoff. But there are health issues, as CF Luis Rodela and SS Miguel Guillen have pending diagnoses. On the mound, they ranked 6th in runs allowed, with strong starting and relief pitching. Ace Raul Bravo struggled all season with injuries and ineffectiveness, but vets Tony Gamez, Carlos Zenon, and Corey Nelson more than picked up the slack. We only managed two wins out of six games in the regular season. For us, there will be some new-ish faces in the starting lineup. Josh Hed is still injured so rookie Eric Bennetsen will start in left; also, Nick Gase will go full-time in right, over Russ Venters; and fellow freshman Lucas Tipping only hit .200 after his call-up, but showed some power (5 HR) and played solid defense, so gets the first go at second base. Sadly, as Matt Waugh pitched a bit late in the season for us, he may not be available for the first two starts. Bad call by me, I admit. In the NL, Richmond hosts Washington in the I-95 series. AL WILDCARD Game One: Hawaii (RH Mike Pearse 11-11, 4.43) @ Detroit (RH Tony Gamez 17-7, 4.72). Three scoreless innings then it all goes squirrelly in the fourth. Pearse loses his gourd, giving up a 3-run shot to Townsand, and when the dust clears it's 8-0 Detroit. We get half of that back in the 5th, courtesy a pair of 2-run doubles. Detroit adds another one, then we add two more late, but kind of meekly to be honest, and we don't even mount an attack in the 9th to make it fun. We're outhit 15 to 8, at least we kept it closer than those numbers suggest. Still, one more and we're done. Detroit wins 9-6 (Detroit leads series 1-0). Game Two: Detroit (LH Carlos Zenon 16-6, 4.78) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh 21-5, 3.14). Medici gets us started with a 2nd inning leadoff HR, then we add two more in the third with RBI singles from Royer and Gase. Lynn gets us another one by doubling home a run in the 4th, then Gase strikes again with a 2-run HR in the 5th. That 6-0 lead is all we need, but we do yield a 3-run shot in the 9th from Austin Reinwald. But Kearns stanches their late hope, and we've tied up the series! Down to one last game. Hawaii wins 6-3 (series tied 1-1). Game Three: Hawaii (RH Danny Carbajal 7-7, 4.52) @ Detroit (RH Raul Bravo 9-7, 5.48). Wild game. Lynn scores in the first on a Matson RBI single. 3rd inning, Medici puts us up 3-0 with a 2-run shot, but we give up four in the bottom half, mostly thanks to a Roberto Gomez 3-run HR. But why wait to get the lead back? We tie it in the 4th, then go ahead the same inning with a Covington triple and Matson's 3-run HR. We're up 8-4 and feeling pretty good....but things aren't done yet. In the 6th, Lynn scores again on a sac fly, then Medici adds a solo HR. Detroit scores one in the bottom half, but entering the final third of the game we've got a 10-5 lead. Bennetsen leads off the seventh with a triple and scores two batters later, padding the lead to six runs, 11-5. It gets (badly) interesting in the eighth, as some sloppy play--including a walk, WP, and a HBP--lead to three Detroit runs. Gulp...one inning left and we're now clinging to a tighter-looking 11-8 lead. We go down quickly in our half of the ninth, then call in closer Nate Kearns to take us to the next round: he obliges with two easy groundouts and a lazy fly ball. Hey, look! We won! Hawaii wins 11-5 Hawaii WIN series 2-1. WOW. I'll take it and clear out of town. Next up! Oh, and Medici claims series MVP honors, going 7-for-11 with FOUR home runs and 6 RBI. (And in case you're paying attention, the NL wild card win goes to Washington, topping Richmond in three close-fought games. They'll meet the Dodgers next.) ..... So, for our sins we get to see the White Sox next. Yep, those guys with 112 regular-season wins, scoring 1015 runs while allowing only 773. (That's a fat +242 run differential there.) Rather than re-typing something you recently read, go back to the first September post to re-read our last series against the Sox. Hint: we got swept and outscored 13-4. The good news since then is that we've only lost four games after that (while winning twelve), but that may not matter. AND YET. Here we are. Best of five. No complaining. Let's go. (Almost forgot: Tampa Bay plays Texas in the other AL series, while over in the NL it's Washington vs LA and New Orleans vs Philadelphia. My picks are Tampa, LA, and Philly.) AL DIVISIONAL SERIES Game One: Hawaii (RH Mike Bader 7-13, 5.20) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings 14-4, 3.75). Bader gets the start against my better judgement... Inauspicious beginning, too, as he loads the bases right from the start, allowing Raul Mader to score on a double play grounder. We counter in the second, loading the bases to start the inning, then plating two on a sac fly and a single. But we strand two runners. Still, a 2-1 lead. That vanishes in the second thanks to a dropped fly ball and an RBI single. That 2-2 tie was doomed to a short life, but it lasted at least until the sixth, when the Sox turn three hits and another walk into two runs, taking a 4-2 lead. After a quiet seventh, Medici strikes again! A two-run shot to deep center-left ties it up, and we've got life again...at least until the bottom of the inning, when Chris Rock triples home two more runs (one on yet another walk), and we're down by two again. Bennetsen leads off the ninth with a single, but with one out gets doubled up 6-4-3, ending the game. Tough loss. Chicago wins 6-4 (Chicago leads series 1-0). Game Two: Hawaii (RH Mike Pearse 11-11, 4.43) @ Chicago (RH Robby Liantonio 13-10, 4.63). Both teams put runners on in the first two innings, but can't score. Same again for us in the third, but not for Chicago... Two singles and a wild pitch put runners on 2nd and 3rd, and they both score on a Zeke de la Rosa single. Small ball, sure, but we're still down 2-0. We finally break through in the fourth, however. Gase and Bennetsen single, then Medici smacks the third pitch he sees from the 40-year-old Liantonio into the right field seats, and we're up 3-2. We load the bases after that, but Lynn strikes out to end the threat. Chicago goes quietly in the fourth, but it's deja vu all over again in our fifth: Gase and Bennetsen get on base, then Medici clears them with another opposite-field homer. Suddenly we've got a nice-looking 6-2 lead. The Sox play more small ball in the sixth to get one back, on a hit batter, a walk, a steal, and a sac fly. The lead is now 6-3. Nobody does much of anything in the seventh, but our own silent Lucas Tipping wakes up to jolt a solo homer, putting us back up by 4. And after a 1-2-3 eighth, we come up again in the final frame and seal the deal: with two runners on a wild pitch scores one, then Tipping steps up and puts his second one into the seats, giving us four more runs and a solid 11-3 lead. Jordan Ruiz plays closer this game, and slams the door on our series-tying victory. Hawaii wins 11-3 (series tied 1-1). Game Three: Chicago (RH Mike Head 19-5, 4.57) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh 21-5, 3.14). An unexpected pitcher's duel! Although it does end up a bit one-sided.... In the first, Joe Lynn walks but is caught out stealing. Too bad, as Bennetsten steps up and smacks a double...but is then thrown out at third trying to stretch it. Sigh. Lynn gets on again in the fourth but we can't get him past second. Meanwhile, Waugh is cruising, allowing only three baserunners through six. But the Sox strike first in the seventh, using a walk, a single (runner to third) and a sac fly to get on the board. We add another little single in the seventh, but nothing else and go 1-2-3 in the eighth. Chicago finally breaks out the bats in the ninth, sadly, with an Aaron Harrison double and a Ninsei Sato home run; 3-0 Sox. In the final frame, we at least try: Lynn singles and takes second on a groundout; Bennetsen singles; but Medici flies out and Royer takes ten pitches to finally strike out swinging. Sox win 3-0 (Chicago leads series 2-1). Game Four: Chicago (LH Eric Millett 7-8, 4.82) @ Hawaii (RH Danny Carbajal 7-7, 4.52). Carbs flies through the first three innings, while we put runners on in each frame but can't get anyone to second base. Chicago again strikes first, however, thanks to a Zeke de la Rosa solo home run to lead off the fourth. After another meek inning from us, they add another run with a Chris Rock single and a Victor Valadez double. Lather, rinse, repeat in the sixth: this time a Ben Usilton solo home run. Meanwhile, we keep scratching out a runner at a time, and our biggest threat comes in the seventh after back-to-back walks: but that ends with a Tipping pop out. Then it's time for a comedy show in the ninth, as Andy Barenberg gets dinged, replaced by pinch runner T.J. Walsh, who then steals second and takes third on a throwing error. Reliever Sam Bohlen then throws one to the screen and Walsh strolls home. We finally make some noise in our half, when Medici knocks a solo shot to right. But that's all she wrote, folks, as we can't mount any other attack, and it's over. Chicago wins 4-1 (Chicago WINS series 3-1). Well who would've thought these two offenses would play two small ball games to close out the series. We could only manage one run and eight combined hits over those two games, as well. It's not really a compensation either to have Medici named MVP of this series too, going 7-for-15 with four more home runs and 9 RBI. But Josh Matson? Oh-for-15. Mike Covington? Oh-for-13. The youngsters Gase, Bennetsen, and Tipping all played well, though, so that's more food for thought going into the silly season. Elsewhere, Texas makes me look foolish by handily sweeping aside the Rays in three. And in the NL, Philly spots one game to New Orleans but then reels off three in a row to claim that series. And LA spots Washington two games but roars back to win the series in five. So it'll be the heavy bats of Chicago and Texas facing off in the AL, and the top-hitting Phillies versus the top-pitching Dodgers in the NL. ...... World Series 2054 Remember when I made fun of Chisox fans by saying they'd be especially sad to waste their 112-win season on a quick playoff exit? Yeah, that... So they did beat us, but then got dumped in five by the Rangers in the AL Championship series. Now, the Rangers did win 101 games, so they're not exactly chumps; but the Sox had been so dominant all year that I thought a trip to the Series was inevitable. Sorry, guys. This will be Texas' second trip in the last three seasons. They won the title in '52. And their opponents? In a topsy-turvy NL series, LA won the first two games, Philly the next two, then LA, PHI, and finally LA coasted to a 7-2 win in the decider. The Dodgers return to the Series after losing to us in a seven game thriller of a series last year. They'll look to avenge that loss and claim their first title since beating the Marlins in 2042. Game 1: TEX 8, LA 3 ... TEX leads 1-0 Game 2: LA 4, TEX 1 ... series tied 1-1 Game 3: LA 9, TEX 2 ... LA leads 2-1 Game 4: LA 3, TEX 0 ... LA leads 3-1 Game 5: TEX 9, LA 3 ... LA leads 3-2 Game 6: LA 6, TEX 3 ... LA wins 4-2 Congrats to the frickin' Dodgers, winning their 9th title in team history. The team with the $309M payroll that still needed a deep playoff run to turn a profit. I look forward to them once again signing every reliever under the sun this fall, whether they need to or not. Pro tip, kids: You too can win a title every 15 years if you spend $30M a year on former closers! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

07-25-2021, 11:37 AM	#426
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Adam groff Before I move into the off-season, let's have a brief remembrance for the career of Adam Groff, the Face of the Franchise, as he retires after a 19-year career and sails off into the sunset. Finishing dead last in our inauguaral season allowed me to select Groff #1 overall in the 2035 draft, and in the end it didn't matter that no one else we took that year amounted to anything at all. He made his big league debut just over a year later, in 2036, and never looked back. He was named AL Rookie of the Year in '37, and two years later took home the first of his four MVP trophies. (He'd win his final one exactly ten years later.) Add in 11 all-star appearances, 8 Silver Sluggers, and six championship titles, and that's a career! I'm only sorry that, because he's been a bench bat the last two seasons, he never had a strong shot at reaching 3000 hits, and fell 18 short of 500 career home runs. Still, check him out: he's a first ballot Hall of Fame choice, without doubt. I'll miss him on the field, and it's now my job to find him a cushy front office job that he can occupy for a bit before embarking on his political career. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

07-28-2021, 08:21 PM	#427
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2054 review It's not an exaggeration to say that 2053 was a perfect season: 122 wins, great hitting, great pitching, all capped off by a hard-fought World Series title. Roll forward to this past season and...it's a different story: 89 wins, second in the division, okay-not-great hitting and pitching, and a fall at the Divisional Round playoff hurdle. Not a bad season per se, but quite a comedown. So what happened and why? What will we do moving forward to get back to top of the heap, to strike back at those cursed Rangers? Read on. Team Stats Overview If you're a regular here you know how crabby I got--especially mid-season--about some iffy hitting. On the plus side, we finished 4th in average and 3rd in OBP. But that didn't translate into runs, where we finished a distant 8th in the AL. Probably the biggest reason for that was our 16th-place finish in home runs, and an associated 14th-place standing in extra base hits. We still put a lot of runners on base, take a lot of walks, and rarely strike out. But we weren't consistently dynamic enough to drive runners home. To that, I'd add two more reasons why we struggled. First, financial issues cost us the key off-season departures of 2B Bob Goodloe, LF Cam Daley, and RF Josh Frederick. In '53 those guys produced 74 doubles and 53 HR, even with Freds missing 2/3 of the season. (And for their new teams, they knocked 70 HR and earned nearly 10 WAR, fyi.) Their replacements were inconsistent: OF Josh Hed and Doug Pederson hit well, but missed lots of time with injuries; and no one did anything at 2B. Second, some players regressed from solid years in '53. Most notably 1B Josh Matson, who went from .352/.388/.585 with 51 doubles, 26 HR, and 4.3 WAR, to .297/.356/.448 with 31 doubles, 12 HR, and just 0.8 WAR. Also: Mike Covington rebounded to finish at .257 with 20 HR, but was batting below .230 for much of the year; SS J.J. Simmons was often hurt and batted only .234. So injuries and some transitions at numerous positions cost us lineup stability and meant we often didn't have more than one or two guys at any one time hitting at the high level we've come to expect. On the mound... Our final team numbers looked pretty good: 4th in runs against, 5th best rotation ERA, AL-best bullpen ERA, 4th-ranked FIP. But the rotation numbers were greatly aided by Matt Waugh's dominant season, especially early on when the third-year trio of Henry Skiffington, Mike Bader, and Josh Irvin was getting shelled nearly every time out. The bullpen was generally more solid, but Kyle Johnson ended up bombing out of his return to the closer position and earned a trade to Tampa Bay by mid-season. Otherwise, I'll have questions about the staff in the coming months, but there are still a lot of solid pieces here. ...... Individual Position Overview Catcher: Covington's offense dropped a bit, even if his power numbers stayed the same. His defense improved, and he batted well enough against LHP to no longer be constantly platooned. His salary arb estimate is $3.9M, up from league minimum, so next season will tell regarding his future. Backup Bentley Kolb hit .265 and got on base at a .361 clip, but doesn't hit for power and played some pretty poor defense (7 errors in 47 starts). Michael Snavely got a couple brief call-ups, but didn't impress. 2055 Outlook: Covington turns 25 next spring, so should be coming into his own. He'll need to, to earn that big pay raise. Backup Kolb will get a strong challenge from prospect Jamie Collins, who could even threaten Covington soon. Collins has a very nice-looking power bat, but is not nearly the defensive catcher Covington is. First Base/DH: Yes, Josh Matson won't hit .350 every year, but every offensive stat went down significantly, and his month at 2B proved that moving him to 1B was better for everyone. We need him to return to his .300+/25+ HR seasons. At DH, Jules Medici was the team MVP, and could slot in at first if Matson doesn't rebound. No one is pushing up from the farm. 2055 Outlook: Mastson and Medici return as starters, and we'll need both of them to lead the offense. Second Base: Six guys made ten or more starts here, and no one impressed. Zach Watt started the season, but didn't hit much and didn't field well either. Utility guy Kevin Kelley took over, but was more of the same. Erik Griffin got a brief stint and did hit .282 with solid defense, so may get another look in the spring. Matson and Jim Pfeifer didn't add anything either. Lucas Tipping got most of the September starts and looks like the future here; he hit only .200 but showed some power and solid defense. 2055 Outlook: I would like Tipping to show up in camp and solidify this position. He's got some pop in his bat, and should be more than solid in the field. Griffin has also earned a look, but doesn't bring much offense at all. If Tipping isn't ready, I'm not sure I'll want to go another entire season with this hole in the lineup. Third Base: Caleb Royer had a decent sophomore season, knocking 32 HR and hitting .298. His defense isn't great, but he wasn't league-bottom like he was in '53. Backup Lua Ulkini is the better fielder, and a decent hitter, but has solid value as a utility backup in the IF and OF. Like Covington, Royer's salary will go way up ($3.5M up from minimum) so he'll have to keep hitting to earn his paycheck. MLB #1 prospect Jose Villalpando is still several years away. 2055 Outlook: More of the same please. Royer's deficiences will cost him one day, but I hope that day is far off. Super prospect Villalpando is still 3-4 years away. Shortstop: J.J. Simmons played solid defense in his 73 starts but didn't hit for the second year running. Kevin Kelley didn't field well, and also hit like a utility infielder. Simmons hit just .234, but did get on base at a .326 clip, so he's still got something going, at least. At 32, I hope he's got something left in the tank. 2055 Outlook: We'll be all set if Simmons can return to his pre-'53 form, hitting near or above .300 and getting on base near .400. The backup plan here could be #2 prospect Jake Moore, who hit .319 in 30 games at AAA, and looks about ready for prime time. He looks like a Simmons clone, minus the footspeed. I like his promise, but he may still be a year away. Outfield: We went into last season minus our two corner outfielders from '53, but found solid replacements...for a time, at least. LF Josh Hed made only 92 appearances, but hit .283 with 18 HR. He also played excellent defense, showing more range than Cam Daley ever had. In CF, Joe Lynn was his usual dependable self, batting .323/.383/.456 and stealing 68 bases. He and Hed are both Gold Glove candidates. In RF, Doug Pederson got off to a strong start, batting .306/10/38 in the first two months, but then missed the rest of the season. He also missed a month in '53, so may be showing serious signs of fragility already. Despite a lack of range, he's otherwise solid. Injuries allowed several youngsters--Diego Espino, Russ Venters, Nick Gase, and Erik Bennetsen--to get significant playing time, and each showed positive signs. All four are solid prospects, and Bennetsen, called up in September, could be best of all of them. 2055 Outlook: When healthy, this is a solid outfield. And those prospects will make for some interesting competition in the spring. Also getting a look will be Brian Hassell, MLB's #8 prospect, although he's at least a year away. He's a five-tool guy who's got all-star potential. Starting Pitching: No pun intended, but man did we have a rough start to the season here. Waugh was excellent and kept us afloat, although he slipped a lot mid-summer. Mike Pearse was solid all season, and is the only other power arm currently in the rotation. Mike Bader missed six starts and also saw his BABIP rise by 50 points. Otherwise his stats didn't change, so I'm hopeful he'll recover his effectiveness. But Skiffington and Irvin flat out blew up and earned tickets back to AAA, where they didn't exactly star either. Luckily, replacements Danny Carbajal and Andy Burke proved capable and helped salvage the season. Skiff, Irvin, and Bader are due for arbitration raises so need to bring their games back to stay on the roster. 2055 Outlook: Waugh and Pearse are locks, the other spots are up in the air. Adding to the five others listed above is pitching prospect Daniel Croft, who would have been the first call-up if he hadn't torn up his elbow after 4 AAA starts. (Although it's concerning that he's gone from our #2 prospect overall to our #5 SP prospect, without those other four guys taking big jumps up.) Outside shots in the spring include Ken Taylor, Gleb Mihalkovsky, Travis Harris, and John Loeb. Relief Pitching: Solid team stats for this unit, but no truly outstanding performances. Works for me. Nate Kearns took over as closer after Kyle Johnson played his way out of town, and will get first crack at that role next year. Jordan Ruiz also pitched well between closing and setup roles. Other regulars included MH Yaung--the only LH option--Sam Bohlen, Orlando Silva, and Anthony Booker. Phil Bishop came up in September and pitched 12 solid innings, so will get a long look in camp. 2055 Outlook: Everyone will come back, even though I thought I might pass on 37-year-old Yaung, but he was too good to just let go. Top prospects who have a chance too include Manny Reyes, Brad Cahill, Yoshi Watanabe, GJ Joe, and Elias Tena. We usually go after a UFA here in the off-season, but with these many options I doubt I'll spend any money here. Although we are short on lefties... ...... Okay, great. But sum this up please. Injuries and declining performances led to a 33-game drop in wins from 2053. But we still made the playoffs and can still field talent at every position. Solid prospects at last year's trouble spots--2B, SS, and SP--have me hopeful that we can recover and compete with Texas--or anyone else--for the division. I mean, at least one of last year's terrible SP has to rebound, right? And one of Tipping or Moore should prove ready for the bigs and solve our middle infield issues. And six good outfielders is a good place to live, tbh. But if we're looking for an easy bump in team home runs, I'm not sure that's in the cards. Prospects + probable funding issues = no big free agents for me.* I've got some big culling to do across the farm system, and there will be the usual sorting of coaching staff to deal with. I expect a quiet off-season for the team. Which means something big will end up happening... (* - remember this when I start saying "It's only 15 million for a #2 starting pitcher. Cheap! Let's do it!") __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

08-03-2021, 08:02 PM	#428
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	OFF-SEASON 2054-2055, part one First, a bit of minor news on staff, and a surprising but odd retirement: ...Hawaii pitching coach Conor Russell and bench coach Fenway Parks are departing. Both wanted massive raises so I bought them plane tickets instead. ...AAA manager Ryan Castellani and A ball hitting coach Brady Nailing are also leaving. Money (RC) and mediocrity (BN) are the reasons. ...21-year-old rookie ball 2B Alex Juarez is retiring for some reason. I have no memory of him whatsoever, so I don't know if this is a good or a bad thing. Our new budget comes down the wires, and it's back up to $160M. Supposedly we're only allowed to spend $130M or so on player salaries, which is risible given that we're already planning on about $150M for that line. Looks like we'll have to sell more t-shirts again this year. And have more bake sales. Someone in corporate has apparently been spending time on FanGraphs too, as one of our goals for '55 is to increase our defensive efficiency. I wonder if they think that will help increase profits... Also, we have to find a local player. "Find me Lenn Sakata III, stat!" ...... It's good to see that health care for billionaire old fogies is still excellent, as none of the rich bastards kicked off this year. However, three teams do end up with new management. Toronto was sold by Jody Patterson to something calling itself "Jim White," while Miami is now under the thumb of bazillionaire tech titan Justin Cox. At his introductory news conference he already confused people by contradicting himself with "We're going to...play Marlins baseball...and win a lot of games." Good luck there, fella. Finally, 1000-year-old man Adam Thompson sold the Twins to puréed-food magnate Jake Johnson, described in the press as a "hands-on economizer...with lenient performance demands." Just what a 71-win team needs: lowered on-field standards. Also, a pile of GMs (that you don't care about) and managers were given the heave-ho, while a few others were simply "not renewed." Same diff. The only guys who stand out in the latter crowd are 11-year vet Ethan Larrison, late of Oakland, and San Diego's 14-year skipper Robert Woodall. Both have won a lot of games, gotten to the post-season more than a handful of times, yet neither has won a title. Maybe they should've been traded for each other. Notable retirements include former Isles head man Matt Sargent and hitting coach Paul Trashini, as well as three of the league's four Korean managers. (Only Portland's TC Park remains.) AWARD WINNERS AL Gold Gloves: P Chris Liles (MIN) [2nd win]; C Juan Pizano (HOU); 1B Justin Sandy (OAK) [2nd]; 2B Mike McNeill (TEX); 3B Mike Lee (CLE); SS Oscar Garza (HOU) [4th]; LF Jordan Foots (MIN) [3rd]; CF Luis Rodela (DET) [2nd]; RF Enrique Hernandez (NYY) NL Gold Gloves: P Shamar Jackson (STL) [4th]; C Steve Newman (ATL) [4th]; 1B Jim Timmer (ARI) [8th]; 2B Jasper Jacobsen (PHI); 3B Chris Gulland (ARI) [3rd]; SS Kevin Lutz (LAD) [2nd]; LF Jake Morris (ATL) [2nd]; CF Jason Welch (WSH) [3rd]; RF Pat Meade (ATL) [2nd] AL Hoyt Wilhelm: Nate Kearns (HAW) [61 GP, 92 IP, 6-4, 19 SV, 2.74 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 104 K, 1.8 WAR] NL Hoyt Wilhelm: Rick Ramirez (LAD) [75 GP, 82 IP, 9-10, 45 SV, 3.07 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 104 K, 3.2 WAR, 2nd win] AL Silver Sluggers: C Victor Valadez (CHW); 1B Pat Townsand (DET); 2B Steve McClellan (BAL); 3B Ben Usilton (CHW); SS Ryan Boers (TEX) [3rd]; LF Jordan Foots (MIN); CF Ryan Lawler (MIN); RF Toshi Shimabukuro (MIA); DH Jules Medici (HAW) NL Silver Sluggers: P Steve McKeen (CIN) [2nd]; C Juan Espinoza (RIC) [3rd]; 1B Alfonso Contreras (AUS) [4th]; 2B Alfonso Torres (NYM) [3rd]; 3B Gerardo Nieto (POR) [3rd]; SS Martin Matarrese (NOZ); LF Jake Morris (ATL); CF Nate Forrester (STL); RF George Livezey (PHI) [5th] AL Rookie of the Year: OF Ryan Lawler (MIN) [.364/.406/.658, 38 HR, 7.9 WAR, won AL batting title] NL Rookie of the Year: C Jonathan Krzanowski (BKN) [.316/.365/.495, 19 HR, 3.2 WAR, already 26 yrs old] AL Manager of the Year: TH Nam (TEX) [2nd win, and recently retired] NL Manager of the Year: Eric van der Zalm (LAD) [not bad for the Dutch rookie] AL Cy Young: [b]Matt Waugh (HAW) [21-5, 3.14, 223.2 IP, 256 K, 1.15 WHIP, 169 ERA+, 7.8 WAR, 4th win] NL Cy Young: Nick Light (WSH) [12-15, 3.17, 229.2 IP, 284 K, 1.04 WHIP, 158 ERA+, 5.8 WAR, surprise winner] AL MVP: SS Ryan Boers (TEX) [.333/.425/.676, 49 HR, 9.2 WAR, won by five points over DET's Pat Townsand; Jules Medici and Matt Waugh also received votes] NL MVP: OF Jake Morris (ATL) [.310/.385/.702, 63 HR, 7.9 WAR, takes home a nice triple crown of trophies] Congrats to all the trophy winners! Matt Waugh has been worth the price, with two Cy Youngs in two seasons with us. Next year: hat trick! And special kudos to Nate Kearns, becoming the EIGHTH Islanders closer to win a Hoyt Wilhelm trophy. Most of those guys didn't last more than a season with the club after winning, so...yeah, be careful Nate. And I'll take credit for two former Isles pitchers winning both league's Gold Glove trophies. ...... Back to us... Salary Arbitration time! And we have fifteen cases coming before the arbitrator. Fifteen! How did I let this happen... We'll tender offers to everyone, which includes: four starting pitchers (Pearse, Bader, Irvin, Skiff), six relievers (Kearns, Ruiz, Booker, Bohlen, Yaung, Sitzler), C Mike Covington, three IF (3B Caleb Royer, 3B/1B Lua Ulkini, and UT Kevin Kelley), and OF Doug Pederson. I expect to get bombed in every big case, but possibly win a bunch of the smaller, more irrelevant ones. Closer to the point, I expect the price four the four SP to go from $20.8M ('54 salaries) to well over the current estimate of $25M. Some good news here is that we likely won't have to spend a ton to re-establish our quality bullpen for another season. But still, this isn't a suitable strategy for long-term contract management, with 3/5 of your roster dictating their terms to you year-in, year-out. On top of that there are 26 minor league free agents-to-be. No standouts on the list, nor anyone I want to sign at the cost of putting them on a tight 40-man roster, but I'll take a sec to say so long to 2048 first rounder Josh Egan. He was our top pitching prospect once upon a time, but hasn't been the same since an injury cost him all of 2052. (And let's be honest: he was starting to leak oil before that anyway.) He threw well in relief in AA this year, but was poor in his first AAA callup, and my scouts say he doesn't even have the movement or control to stick there, at least. One last note: we finished filling all the empty minor league personnel slots, and one name sticks out. Our new manager at A ball Eureka is...Adam Groff! I made him a coach, and then took the plunge and signed him. I hope he turns out to be a good one. (I told you I'd do this, didn't I!) Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! Last edited by Bub13; 08-03-2021 at 08:03 PM. Reason: added pic

08-07-2021, 08:40 PM	#429
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2054-55 Off-season, part 2 Arbitration awards are in, and it's ridiculous. Henry Skiffington gets rewarded for his >9 ERA with a $6.25M deal ($1M more than I wanted, and still too high), and Mike Bader struggles his way to making $8.7M (more than $2M over what I offered). Likewise, we lost out (by anywhere from 500k to 1.5M) on every other big deal--Covington, Pearse, Pederson, Royer--but at least those guys produced more than tears this year. I know pitchers are voodoo, but it's particularly galling to be on the hook for over $17M to three guys who averaged less than one point of WAR each this past season. (But the less said about the $25M per we're doling out to the possibly terminally-declined J.J. Simmons, the better. Ahem.) Anyway, we'll be paying out around $165M in player salaries for the coming season, quite a figure when you consider our entire budget is supposed to be only $162M. What that means is don't be surprised if a bunch of now-wayward starting pitchers find themselves run out of town in the coming months. I may also have to nibble around the edges further down the roster, taking hard looks at anyone making up to $2M or so, and hoping for some league-minimum guys to really shine in camp. And you just know that there's going to be a hotshot international free agent I'm going to drool over and not be able to afford. Ah well, life in the fast lane. ...... AROUND THE LEAGUE ...the first day of free agency and already the Dodgers have to be stopped. They've been linked to the top 2B (Alfonso Torres, a 4-WAR leadoff type), 3B (Gerardo Nieto, a monster slugger and do-it-all hitter), and SS (Chris Rock, injury-prone but good for batting .320-.340 in his sleep). No word yet from Vegas on the over/under for bullpen signings. ...Good News, Everyone! The international FAs are here and...they all suck! That didn't stop three teams from having already signed guys before the list was made public, but hey, what's a little graft among friends. So we'll save our pennies and wait til next year. ...Winter Meetings start, and there is the usual raft of multi-player trades, almost all of them involving 30-something year-old relief pitchers getting dealt for 2-4 lousy prospects and cash. What a strange trade algorithm these GMs operate under. ...aaaand the signings are underway. Of course, LA blazes the trail, and (surprisingly) not for relievers. They started by inking 2/3 of the guys mentioned above, 2B Torres (5 yrs, $135M) and 3B Nieto (8 yrs, $268M), but missed out on Chris Rock (more below). They did complete their infield makeover, however, by signing former Isles SS Rich Stoneback (2 yrs, $23M), still productive at 37. (Don't worry, Dodgers fans: they also added two RP, vets Elijah Jelks and Sean Pinney, because why not.) ...the aforementioned Chris Rock goes to Baltimore (5 yrs, $106M), meaning that he'll be supplanting recent #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman at short. (Feltman really struggled in '54, and should be moved over to second to continue his development. Which, of course, he won't be.) Rock is a solid contact hitter, but can't stay healthy, having played more than 110 games in a season only once in the last five campaigns. An odd signing for the rebuilding O's, but let's see if they add anything else to the offense. ...other big names going early: Boston grabs former Portland ace Dave Yocum (5 yrs, $81M); Richmond overpays for 2-WAR OF Phil Cronce (8 yrs, $168M); the Mets replace Torres with former Isles 2B Manny Rangel (4 yrs, $50M), a good grab for them; the Yankees add C Arturo Sena (2 yrs, $32M) to hit .200 and knock 30 HR; slugging 1B Chris Goldthwait will take his 40-HR game to New Orleans (4 yrs, $42M); LA outbids us for our one-time closer Robbie Collier (1 yr, $5.9M); underrated 4-WAR SP Alberto Reyes joins the Cards (4 yrs, $76M); and Cincy adds one-time Isles prospect SP Tim Mitchell (1 yr, $10.5M) and light-htting Gold Glove SS Kevin Lutz (2 yrs, $20M). ...... A LITTLE BIT OF ACTION FROM OUR END... ...SP Danny Carbajal is lucky to be alive after his car was struck by a train in early December. The 25-year-old emerged with just a hamstring injury, but one that will keep him sidelined until early in camp. He's expected to be 100% by then. ...with the Rule 5 Draft coming fast, we make one trade of note and a couple minor deals to free up some 40-man slots for prospects. First, we send off two to Baltimore--P Shane Walker and OF Stephen Eason--along with a couple of low draft picks--for a 4th round pick. Both players have spent time in Hawaii, but have been superseded by younger rivals. Second, we send 2B Zach Watt and a pick to Cincinnati for IF prospect Marquis Williams. Watt, you might remember, was one of the 2B rota last season, and while he's a solid fielder, his hitting is mediocre and with Lucas Tipping's emergence, became expendable. Williams, 20, is a solid fielder and runner, and could become a decent hitter, making him a future utility guy at the least. Finally, we ship out SP Henry "Biff" Skiffington to KC for reliever Justin Cornelius. Maybe this is an overreaction to Skiff's horrid '54, but I feel like there are rising prospects who look at least as good as he does, and we save nearly $4.5M in salary. Cornelius will be in AAA unless he doesn't clear waivers. ...now, despite having freed up three slots on the 40-man roster, I think we could lose 3-4 guys in the draft: pitchers Elias Tena, John Loeb, Chris Schroeder, Larry Hensley, and Nick Lee; C William Bustos; 1B Steve Rhodes and Matt Barlow; IF Carlos Ovalle; OF Collin Blazer, Kevin Jessen, Dave Langford, and Jason Cottam. All of these guys figure to be solid contributors at AAA, most look like quality injury replacements, and a few I really would rather not lose. But our system is so deep right now that I can't keep everyone. We'll just have to wait and see what pain we take... ...... BACK TO THE LEAGUE... ...but first, we did lose two guys to the Rule 5 madness. Pitcher John Loeb was a decent AA guy for us in '54, and was ticketed for AAA next season. His scouting profile pegs him as a solid starting pitcher, possibly a top-of-the-rotation guy. But...he's 26, has average stuff, and barely three pitches of note. So... Who's right? Me or the scouts? Ovalle is a slick-fielding middle infielder, who didn't get any MLB time last year only because our 40-man was full and we didn't have room for him. He's hit well in our system, but grades as an average batter overall, with no power and no speed. Purely a replacement-level utility guy. Both players could actually be back by the start of the regular season. Overall, 21 guys were selected in the draft, with LA losing the the most at three players. ...37-year-old 3B Roberto Miranda is back with Austin after a six-year hiatus in Minnesota, 2 yrs and $24M. He's no longer the 5-7 WAR guy he was way back when, but is still capable of .270 and 20 HR, with solid fielding. But he's old and bruises easily, maybe not what a rebuilding team should be going for. ...California signed pitcher Josh Hohn to a near-minimum $660k deal. Why bring him up? Because he was drafted #1 overall two years running, by Texas in '45 and then Pittsburgh in '46. He's 31 now and has appeared in 148 games over eight seasons for the Pirates, all in relief. Good stuff, good movement, poor control (5-7 BB/9 each season), so yeah something of a bust. ...Houston inks their second SP of the off-season, nabbing Robbie Camp for $73M over 7 years. Camp spent last season with Washington, after five in Richmond. Solid pitcher but walks too many (100 last season). Earlier in December they signed Mat Caldwell for 4 years and $40M. Caldwell split '54 with Arizona and Tampa Bay, not pitching particularly well at either stop. He's a scouts dream, with high-end ratings, a power pitcher who struck out 323 back in 2050. But his underlying numbers are not so hot: sub-league average ERA, high BABIP, and decreasing K rate couple with increasing BB rate. At 30, he's still got something left, no doubt, but hasn't shown that he's a top-end reliable guy over his career. ...LA signed another reliever, 32-year-old Chris Milano...then left him unprotected and saw Brooklyn sweep in and claim him in the Rule 5 draft. Milano's a former starter who's just an average reliever now, and pitched for LA in '52 and then Brooklyn in '53. Sounds like there's some history there... ...... YEAR-END SIGN OFF With the calendar year flipping as I type this, we're signing off on an eventful 2054 and looking forward to a promising 2055. Unless something comes out of the blue, we're probably done with major off-season news. There might be a minor league FA to grab here and there, but honestly I think we've got enough players in our system to cover the full-season minor league teams already. And once again the 40-man roster is full, so any deal for major league talent would have to see someone move out. I'll scan the waiver and free agent wires for any young-and-talented guys slipping through the cracks, but those guys are harder to come by in recent years. I'll also probably cut some chaff out of the lower minor leagues, but I doubt anyone of any note will be sent packing. Otherwise...rosters look full, we're fully staffed, and now we just need to not have any more off-field disasters (Hey, Carbs!) between today and camp. See you in '55! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

08-10-2021, 09:16 PM	#430
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2054-55 Off-season, part 3 WELCOME TO 2055! ...Minnesota makes the first splash of the New Year, welcoming hungover fans by announcing the signing of OF Jesus Villegas for 5 years and $85M. The former Detroit slugger has cracked 221 HR and earned 20 WAR over his six year career, but will likely be moved to DH seeing as the current Twins outfield--Jordan Foots (.332/55/132), Ryan Lawler (.364/30/105 and ROY), and Tim Marinaccio (.286/46/121)--is as explosive as it gets. Looks like the Twins are going for winning a lot of games 10-8. ...Hall of Fame votes are in, and we have just a single new member: pitcher Gary Florence (2036-48, SD and LA). A fabulous perennial 7+ WAR guy, he won two Cy Youngs and an MVP by the age of 28, after which injuries took their toll and he only pitched 20 or more starts three times from then on. But he did pull out an 8.4 WAR season at age 32, winning his second Cy Young, and had a ludicrous 249-to-28 K-BB ratio for the season. He earned 64 WAR in his career, and is more than worthy of induction, in my eyes: 2.67 ERA, 2150 IP, 2205 K, 316 BB, 148 ERA+, 69 FIP-, 0.97 WHIP, best K/BB ratio (7.0) in history. But spare a thought for for C Tyler Markey, dropped after failing to get in in his 10th season on the ballots. His vote tally this year? 73.6%, after getting 74.3% last year. He'll get strong veteran's committee consideration, for sure. ...oh sure, the Dodgers added another reliever (former LA/DET/MTL closer Jason Faries), but the Mets (four) and the Phillies (three) are playing catch-up, mostly by signing nearly or completely washed-up former starters to MR roles. The world's saddest arms race. ...Houston continues to add to their rotation by re-signing former Isles ace Mike Messinger (3 yrs, $33.9M). Mess never hit the heights I thought he'd reach after winning a Cy Young in his rookie season (2041) with us, but he's been a mostly-dependable mid-rotation option for over a decade now. He'll be nearly 39 when the season opens, so the term on this deal may not be the smartest. ...Minnesota adds another bat, this time by inking 3B Ryan Pfaffle (4 yrs, $39M). He hits for power, but his average has tailed off to the .240 and below level; good fielder, though. Now if they can do something about their leadoff man with the .286 OBP... ...I may have to retire LA's "sign all the relievers" crown: the Mets added two more guys, Richmond's grabbed three, Philly one more. It's now been nearly a month since the Dodgers signed a reliever, sparking terrible rumors across the league. ...former Isles backup catcher Guillermo Diaz returns to the AL West, signing a one year deal ($8.6M) with Seattle. Diaz, now 38, has been an average hitter with some pop for ten-plus years, but he had a crazy season in '53 where he went .295/.406/.564, with 31 HR and 6.5 WAR while with San Francisco. That earned him a nutso $26M one-year deal with LA last year, whereupon he promptly returned to his .231 career average. The three-time Gold Glove winner is a shadow of his former self, even behind the plate, and as he's no better than what the Mariners already had at catcher I'm not sure why they didn't spend that money on some better pitching instead. ...San Diego just released pitcher John Loeb, whom they claimed from us in the December Rule 5 draft. Welcome back, John! Weird how he looks better too: in fact, scouting reports say he got a bump in January but was still released. Now he looks like a contender for the #5 SP spot for us, instead of just a decent AAA swingman. He's 26, however, so I'm not quite trusting my scouts saying that his stuff is going to increase to elite level one day... Oh, and Patino just brought back a 16-year-old pitcher from Australia that OSA touts as "judgement-impaired." Moises, what are you doing? Do I need to call the FBI? ...Spring Training games start (more on them later), and teams take that as a sign to ink a bunch of veterans on the cheap. First gone is 40-year-old 2B Josh Robertson, to Oakland. Man, I had forgotten just how good he was for us back in the day: 8 seasons, 1105 hits, 24 WAR, averaged .320 with a ton of doubles, and 2 Silver Sluggers. He's nearing the end but still looks like a useful platoon or part-time guy. Arizona then re-signed 1B Jim Timmer (now 33), after he bashed 34 HR for them last year. A low-average (.234) hitter who's closing in on 300 career homers, he's also won 8 Gold Gloves, and is way more useful than his career 8.1 WAR might suggest. Milwaukee grabs cranky OF Josh Conley away from Minnesota; he may not be popular, but he can still bat .290 or so with 25-30 HR while playing solid defense. Good pickup as long as he doesn't fight anybody. And then there's Ricky Chavez... The 39-year-old slugger is a lot of things: lazy, selfish, greedy, surly, mean to pets and old ladies. But he keeps hanging on, and will get another MLB season to earn his usual 1 point of WAR, this time with the Yankees. Consider: you're 27, coming off back-to-back seasons of 49 and 46 HR, and just hit a career high .287...and then no one signs you as a free agent. So you go to Italy for three years then come back to sign a six-year deal with Miami, only to have your team owner give his GM an annual goal to "trade the discontented Ricky Chavez." And yet, he's 39 and still going. ...Bad sign for the new season in Oakland, as two of their top pitchers--both of whom missed most of last season--are out for five and six weeks. Jim Schwartz and Eric Stockton just keep getting hurt now. I guess I shouldn't complain... ...Houston inks former Isles reliever Ben Germann for a year at $2.7M. After leaving us Germann spent last season with Richmond, finally getting a regular shot as a starter. His strikeouts were down (6.1 K/9 from his 9.7 career average), but his 3.84 ERA and 3.5 WAR were above league average. He's the third SP the Astros have signed this off-season. They also added aging 2B Juan Rodriquez for a year; he's no longer the .340 hitting, 40 HR bashing stud he was in his 20s, but he still hit .308 with 11 HR in 50 games before a season-ending injury last year. He's also nearly immobile in the field now, so second may not be the best place for him after all. ...Brooklyn makes the last signing of the off-season, grabbing 3B Nate Vawdrey (late of the Cardinals) for one season. He'll fit right in with their low-average-high-power lineup, where it looks like only their outfield is going to hit over .250. But they'll crack a ton of home runs. That translates, according to MLB, to 80 wins...which is down from last season's 82 wins. Good luck, Robins. ...... And with that, spring training comes to an end. Next up: the Hawaii spring report and the outlook for the 2055 season. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

08-15-2021, 05:32 PM	#431
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Spring report and 2055 season preview The best thing I can say about spring training is that it's over. We finished 13-17, winning six of our last eight after sending down the not ready for prime timers. We had trouble hitting and scoring, but got mostly solid pitching. (A portent for the coming season? Well, stay tuned.) No, the really worrisome part of the spring was a nasty outbreak of injury-itis. Eight players missed most or part of March, with some of them going on extended vacations, unfortunately. In order of seriousness, you have: #2 SP Mike Pearse -- out for 11 months. He also missed all of 2052 with the same injury (torn UCL) #4 SP Andy Burke -- out for 12-13 months. Burke and Carbajal (read on) stabilized a faltering rotation last season #3 SP Danny Carbajal -- out for 5-6 weeks. Yippee MR Orlando Silva -- out for 8 months. Was a dark horse candidate this spring, and threw well as a mid-season recall last year SS J.J. Simmons -- dtd for another week. Hit better than he has in two years this spring; should be 100% shortly DH Jules Medici -- missed 3/4 of March, but is back in time for opening day. Please don't be a sign of impending fragility MR G.J. Joe -- out for 3 months. Prospect was throwing really well this spring, but hopefully this won't hurt us or AAA Santa Barbara OF Josh Hed -- healthy again, but missed 1/2 of the spring While only our rotation is currently wracked with pain, I of course worry that this is a bad omen for the coming season. Luckily, our farm system is still pretty deep; and now those shiny new toys will get a shot to see what they got. Plus that's depth I can mine for trades later, should I go that route instead. So with no further ado, here is the 2055 Opening Day roster for Your Hawaii Islanders: C Mike Covington, 25, L; $4.5M thru 2055; .257/.315/.480, 20 HR, 1.4 WAR. A second consecutive slow start for Cov in '54, and while he picked up the pace late, he didn't match his overall numbers from '53. Solid receiver, just missed a Gold Glove imho. Will be pushed by the new guy, and we'll see how he responds in a contract year. C Jamie Collins, 24, L; minor league contract; .260/.363/.460, 16 HR, 1.7 WAR in AA and AAA. Beat out poor-hitting Bentley Kolb for the backup spot. Ranks as the #26 prospect in MLB. Like Cov, a LHB so no more platoon here, like we've had with Kolb, et al, in recent years. Scouts say he's still growing, with solid power but less contact than earlier projections. Average defensively. 1B Josh Matson, 31, S; $11.5M thru '57, then two TOs; .297/.356/.448, 12 HR, 0.4 WAR. Hit nearly 30 points below his career average, his power dropped in half, and WAR was hurt by a really poor defensive month spent at 2B. We need him to rebound and show that someone over the age of 30 on this team can still hit. (I'm looking at you, J.J.) DH Jules Medici, 24, R; $17.9M+ thru '60, then opt-out; .343/.437/.645, 47 HR, 5.9 WAR. The heart of the offense, we'll live and die at the plate with him. Fully earned his new long-term contract, which will keep him here thru '62 if he doesn't opt out. Hard worker, team leader, fan favorite. Too good to be true? 2B Lucas Tipping, 23, R; $500k (auto); .200/.276/.383, 5 HR in 115 AB (also .248, 10 HR in 222 AAA AB). The #34 prospect in MLB is getting his shot in the starting lineup after a solid spring. Doesn't do any one thing at a high level, but has no holes either. Still growing, and projects as a decent hitter with some power, maybe enough for 20 HR a season. Defense is above average, but not trophy-level. Like I said: no holes. The kind of guy who should go unnoticed most of the time because he's just doing his job. 3B Caleb Royer, 27, R; $4.25M thru '55 (arb); .298/.316/.530, 32 HR, 1.8 WAR. Offense was fine, but dropped from a really solid (.326/.352/.601) 2053 season. Good hitter across-the-board, except that he will not take a walk (35 in two full seasons). Will probably never be a plus fielder, but improved enough to not be at the bottom of the charts. Strong arm covers some of his fielding sins. As he's arbitration eligible in the fall, this is essentially a contract year for him. 3B/1B Lua Ulkini, 26, L; $1.1M thru '55 (arb); .283/.357/.425, 3 HR, 0.3 WAR, 113 AB. Two seasons in and he's become a solid utility bat, and might see some more time as a defensive sub for Royer against RHP. Depending on how much he might earn moving forward, he'll either get more playing time or a free agent this fall. Doesn't rate high enough to make regular starts, but has produced when called upon. IF Kevin Kelley, 24, R; $800k (arb); .228/.331/.286, 2 HR, -1.4 WAR. Played more (311 AB) due to injuries, and his hitting suffered but most surprisingly he was a disaster at short (-7.9 ZR, .926 EFF). Didn't hit well in camp but made the roster over prospect Bill Gamboa due to his ability on the left side of the infield. (Gamboa doesn't have the arm for SS or 3B.) A good role player and a plus in the clubhouse, he could be the first man out if we struggle early and need to change things up. SS J.J. Simmons, 32, R; $25M thru '56 (opt out, then thru '60); .234/.326/.278, 0 HR, -0.2 WAR. Once was a sparkplug in the offense, but has really struggled for two seasons now. He's boosted somewhat by his OBP, lack of strikeouts, speed, and fielding. Still, a .234 average and negative WAR was a major part in our offensive woes last year. I rolled the dice on his last long-term contract, and it's starting to look like that's coming up snake eyes. LF Josh Hed, 26, R; $500k (arb); .283/.336/.500, 18 HR, 1.4 WAR, 374 AB. Didn't so much seize the starting nod in left in camp, as rather it sort of devolved onto him. Missed nearly half the seaon in '54 but was productive for most of his healthy time. With a pile of youngsters lining up behind him, however, his role on the team will be completely contingent on how he starts the season. Perhaps the best fielding OF (after maybe Espino), but his so-so arm limits him to left. CF Joe Lynn, 26, R; $7.8M thru '56; .323/.383/.456, 6 HR, 14 triples, 68 SB, 4.5 WAR. Leadoff catalyst and has been remarkably consistent in his four years as a starter. Little power but is truly gifted everywhere else. Has a team option for next year--which we'll execute--but right now is asking for a long-term extension in excess of $20M per season. Even if Simmons opts out, saving us some cash, I'm not sure I want to turn right around and sign another guy until well into his thirties. Also, top prospect Brian Hassell is lurking... RF Doug Pederson, 26, L; $4M thru '55 (arb); .306/.434/.518, 10 HR, 2.0 WAR, 222 AB. Positives: can rake with the best of them, for power and average; no slouch on the basepaths; team sparkplug. Negatives: becoming oddly immobile in the field, even at 26, despite good running speed; wants an extension at over $20M per for eight years; hasn't yet stayed healthy through an entire season. If he can stay on the field and keep hitting this year, we'll arbitrate him in the fall and see what our $$$ situation looks like afterwards. OF Erik Bennetsen, 24, R; $500k (auto); .301/.326/.518, 4 HR, 83 AB (also .320 in 357 AA/AAA at bats). Didn't hit in the spring, ceding left field back to Hed. My scouts say he's better than Josh, however, and he'll definitely get some AB in April as I feel like the competition for LF is still open. Had hopes of seeing him make a mark as a two-way guy until be broke his elbow while pitching and missed all of '53. OF Nick Gase, 25, R; $500k (arb); .316/.454/.500, 7 HR, 2.4 WAR, 206 AB. Showed more power than expected, filling in capably after Hed went down last summer. Wants to start and will push the Hed/Bennetsen duo, as well as seeing some time at 1B and DH. If he could only hit for power with regularity he'd be a shoo-in. OF Diego Espino, 24, R; $500k (arb); .248/.320/.487, 11 HR, 0.1 WAR, 193 AB. Another of our young logjam of outfielders, he hasn't hit well enough to get more playing time yet. Being a gifted fielder and a team co-captain keeps him around for now, even if his batting hasn't developed as promised. One of those rare international FA signings that actually paid off. OUTLOOK: On paper, at least, we should get a ton of hits, but it remains to be seen if we'll be dynamic enough to plate a lot of runs. Sound familiar? Pederson's injury and down seasons from several guys kept our runs total much lower than expected in '54, and it wouldn't shock me to see more of the same, injuries notwithstanding. There isn't much change to the lineup, although rookies Tipping (2B) and Bennetsen (OF) will be expected to produce. Bennetsen in particular will get the first crack if Hed is slow out of the gate, although if Gase keeps producing he might force me to make a roster move. And I'm intrigued enough by Collins' bat to see if he can take any games away from Covington behind the plate. I'll feel a lot better if the usual suspects produce, and if Simmons and Matson can return to form. If not...there could be bigger changes next off-season. ...... SP Matt Waugh, 28, L; $35M+ thru '60 (then a PO); 21-5, 3.14, 224 IP, 256 K, 7.9 WAR. Two seasons, two Cy Young trophies. He was nearly unhittable early on, and for some of that stretch was the only SP pitching well at all. Regressed in mid-season but came on strong late and led us into the playoffs. Will become the second Islander pitcher to make three consecutive opening day starts, after the great Leon Casillas in '39-'41. He has to stay healthy and deliver for us, period. SP Mike Bader, 26, R; $8.75M thru '55 (arb); 7-13, 5.20, 177 IP, 116 K, 3.2 WAR. Bottomed out last year, but he wasn't alone. He must bounce back for us, especially as he'll really be playing for his contract. I'm not inclined to pay someone over $10M a season to be subpar. Pitched well in camp, so I'm cautiously optimistic he can regain the form he showed his first two seasons. SP Josh Irvin, 26, R; $2.1M thru '55 (arb); 2-9, 7.20, 90 IP, 53 K, 0.1 WAR. Yes, another upcoming arbitration case, and yes another pitcher who blew up last year. A finesse guy with excellent control, every stat trended way downward for him in '54. And to continue the running theme: yes, he must bounce back for us to succeed this year. I sent him down last year after 16 mostly terrible starts, and while he was okay in AAA, he didn't earn a recall. He was excellent in camp, but really just needs to be average or slightly better to keep me happy. SP Daniel Croft, 24, L; $500k (auto); 0-1, 0.41, 22 IP, 4 starts in AAA. Our erstwhile #1 pitching prospect missed nearly the entire season in '54, which cost him an MLB debut given how awful our pitching was early on. While he doesn't appear to have lost anything after his injury, he did slide down to our #4 pitching prospect, a curious thing. (And no, the three guys now above him didn't take big jumps.) Has a five-pitch repertoire and excellent stamina; groundballer; nothing else really stands out. Looked good in camp, but we'll see... SP Travis Harris, 23, R; minor league money; 9-10, 2.98, 182 IP, 138 K, 27 starts in AA/AAA. Another low-ball finesse guy, looks very similar to Irvin. It's a broken record, but he too had a very strong camp and fully earned his major league debut. Will try to get by without a true fastball (cutter/curve/change arsenal). Sits at #44 in MLB's prospect rankings. (Croft is #37, btw.) CL Nate Kearns, 29, R; $1.4M thru '55; 6-4, 2.72, 19 SV, 92 IP, 104 K, 1.9 WAR. Took home the Hoyt Wilhelm trophy after essentially 1/2 of a season as closer. He'll get a chance at it from the get-go this year. A flame-throwing sidearming groundballer, a lovely combo. Walks a bit more than I'd like (4 per 9 IP), but he usually makes up for it by striking out everyone else. SU Manny Reyes, 22, R; minor league cash; 13-8, 4.68, 28 starts in A ball. Making the big leap from A ball after a very strong camp. Like Kearns, a fireballing groundball guy with some control issues. Wants to start, but not with that sad changeup, Manny. Like Travis Harris, was a supplemental round pick in the '51 draft, where we took a ton of pitchers early. (Others were the injured Andy Burke, and minor leaguers Elias Tena, Larry Hensley, Nick Lee, and John Loeb.) SU Jordan Ruiz, 25, L; $850k (arb); 5-4, 2.03, 10 SV, 49 IP, 58 K, 1.4 WAR. Good enough to close, and a big piece of our solid bullpen. Struggled some in camp, but I expect him to round into form out of the gate. One of two lefties in the pen. MR M-H Yaung, 38, L, $1.2M thru '55; 10-0, 0 SV, 3.32, 79 IP, 77 K, 1.4 WAR. The World's Tallest Korean is back for another year, with me hoping he still has something left in the tank. Ks were way down last year, and BABIP way up, so... you tell me why you won't be surprised to see him buried in AAA by July. MR Yoshi Watanabe, 23, R, $800k (auto); 8 games in AAA last year after an elbow injury in camp. Breaking my rule against flyball pitchers since Turtle had the best camp of all our middle relief candidates. Power pitcher with a snappy fastball/slider combo, he's got a number of guys nipping at his heels should he start slow out of the gate. MR Sam Bohlen, 27, R, $1.29M thru '55; 3-4, 2 SV, 4.94, 71 IP, 81 K, 0.7 WAR. Came over in our silly mega-trade with the Cubs last year. Started slow but came on late, eventually earning a solid spot in a setup role. Pitched a lot in camp, got better as the month went on; stuck around largely because of his contract and my unwillingness to let him go for nothing. Sidearmer. OUTLOOK: Despite our injuries this is still a solid unit. If Bader and Irvin recover past form, we could have the best rotation in the game, although not one that will overpower hitters. The bullpen should be quality. Injured: SS J.J. Simmons (dtd, five days); SP Mike Pearse (11 months), Andy Burke (12 months), and Danny Carbajal (5-6 weeks); RP Orlando Silva (8 months) Waiting in the wings: C Bentley Kolb, 2B/SS Bill Gamboa, IF Jim Pfeifer, SS Jake Moore, OF Russ Venters and Chase Thompson. SP John Loeb, Gleb Mihalkovsky, and Ken Taylor; RP Brad Cahill, Jonathon Sitzler, Phil Bishop, and Anthony Booker. None were all that impressive in camp (even the ones who played a lot for us last season) but will be on the speed dial when injuries/incompetencies arise. Also watching AA OF Brian Hassell, seventh ranked prospect in baseball. ...... BNN has some pretty interesting predictions they unveiled today. The AL East figures to be wide open, with only a few games separating Boston, Tampa, Miami, and New York. Can't disagree. In the Central, Detroit leads with 91 games, but surprisingly they have the White Sox slipping dramatically from their 112-win 2054 to just 79 wins this year. (Why? Pitching: offense figures to be 2nd in the league, pitching 2nd-worst.) KC looks to figure in the wild card race. As for the West, Texas pulls away with 106 wins, but they show us as second in the AL with 96 wins, mostly on the backs of league-best pitching. I'm optimistic here... On the individual front, California 1B William Swanson returns to prominence (.322/56/150), while Texas SP Bobby Daniel wins 23 with a studly 3.23 ERA. Over in the NL, it's Washington in the East (from Philly), and St Louis in the Central (taking a tight race with Chicago and Cincinnati). But LA figures to be the cream of the NL crop again, winning 99 games and again running away with the West by a wide margin over Arizona. Philadelphia again figures to be the most interesting team in the league, scoring 867 runs (best in the NL), but allowing 857 (by far the worst in the NL, and nearly the worst in MLB). Tipped for outstanding seasons are Cincy 3B Heath Lewellen (.308/63/135), Brooklyn 2B Mauro Barbiusa (.291/60/133), and LA's ace Everett Cronk (19-9, 2.83, 241 K). For us? BNN says we'll score a lot but won't hit many home runs, and we'll have the AL's best pitching stats. I think that's pretty spot on, and very similar to last season as we didn't add any real power to our lineup, and we also didn't lose any major players. What will be telling, ultimately, comes down to three areas. 1) Power hitting. Medici figures to rake again; Pederson could, if he can stay healthy; Royer's power bat keeps him employed, so he needs to hit 30 again; and Matson, Hed, Covington, and rookie Tipping all need to--and can--add 15-20 dingers at a minimum. Home runs aren't everything but we need to be solid here to compete. 2) Starting pitching. Waugh was a beast last year, but veterans Skiff, Bader, and Irvin stunk right from the start. Solid #2 Mike Pearse is out for the year, as is sophomore Andy Burke, so our two rookies need to be solid, and we need comebacks from Bader and Irvin. 3) Health. Every team wants to stay healthy, of course. But we're already starting the year behind the curve a bit, with two SP and an RP out for the season. If we lose one or two power bats and another SP (esp if it's Waugh), look out below... NEXT UP: Opening Day! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

08-24-2021, 09:18 PM	#432
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	Opening day 2055 Twenty-four games in the kickoff month to the season, starting with a nine-game homestand. As usual, we'll see everyone in the division once, plus outsiders Boston, KC, and Toronto. Fifteen games at home; nine on the road. Tough opening series, though... April 5-7 vs TEXAS Fitting that we see our now-archrivals to open the season. There's nothing they don't do well. The lineup features a ton of hitting, led by reigning MVP Ryan Boers and MVP-wannabe Eric Robbins, both capable of perennial monster seasons. LF Mike Olivera has seasons of .330 and .360 in his recent past, and supporting castmates Emilio Mares, Ronnie Halvorson, Ted Miller, Javier Tzoc, and Phil Thoma are the envy of the league. Pitching hopes to be more solid than last year, what with no injuries and the additions of power-pitching starter Emanuel Vasquez (from SD) and closer Jesus Aguilar (from CHW). If anything, the bullpen could get leaky, and Vasquez has been prone to the long ball in the past. But those hitters will more than make up for any mound shortcomings. What's New? Vasquez and Aguilar, already mentioned. Also, rookie 2B Matt Provance looks a lot like our own rookie Lucas Tipping: solid fielder, some pop, may struggle for average. Long-time minor league coach Henry Centeno is the new manager, and he's joined by new GM Jesse Juday, who had a five year stint with the Angels in the 40s that was...less than successful. The Rangers will look to reach the post-season for the sixth consecutive season, and to repeat as AL champions. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (21-5, 3.14) / RH Mike Bader (7-13, 5.20) / RH Travis Harris (debut) TEX pitchers: RH Kevin Cahill (13-8, 3.66) / LH Bobby Daniel (18-6, 2.92) / RH Paul Labbe (16-10, 4.12) #1: LOSS 1-2 ... sucks to come up short in a pitcher's duel with Waugh...nine combined hits, two solo HR among those...13 K in 8 IP from Waugh #2: LOSS 1-3 ... solid pitching again, but only four hits for the second night running...two late solo HR by Texas made the difference #3: WIN 8-1 ... just 7 hits, but toss in 8 walks and we made it work...awesome 3-hit shutout from Harris in his big league debut Only the one win here, but I probably should be happy with that against these guys. What is worrying is our predicted lack of hitting. Maybe I should remember that it's only three games.... At least the pitching looked brilliant, with Harris tossing the first shutout by a debut rookie in our history. Congrats, Travis!... With Simmons nursing his little owie, Kevin Kelley stepped in and went 4-for-8 with two walks.... Matson and Lynn went oh-for-the-series.... ELSEWHERE: Mike Lee was once one of the top prospects in baseball, and a cornerstone hope for the hapless Indians. Although his hitting never developed as promised, he's a fantastic infielder and a guy who can still pop 20-25 HR a season. So of course Cleveland gave up on the 26-year-old, sending him to the Twins for a non-hitting defensive catcher and a no-hoper 24-year-old 3B "prospect." And we wonder why some teams never win.... Minnesota, Washington, and LA start their seasons 3-0, while Toronto, Cincy, and Austin go the opposite route. April 8-10 vs OAKLAND Still in the midst of a multi-year rebuild, and the only off-season splash they made was signing 40-year-old 2B Josh Robertson. The core of LF Felix Reyes and 3B Ryan Walton returns, and around them are the bones of a solid lineup: RF Randy Costello, 1B Justin Sandy, SS Noah Johnson, and DH Pedro Ortiz have all hit well in recent campaigns, and should do so again this year. But there's still work to do, as they've handed over C to Sergio Lomeli, who's never hit anywhere, and rookie CF Paul Olson gets a go despite looking like a subpar hitter (excellent defense, though). On the mound, they made no outside moves but are allowing some kids to get their feet wet. Future solid SP Pat Oden is in middle relief for now, and rookie Glen Marler makes his rotation debut in this series. Ace Jim Schwartz, however, is just coming off of a 12-month injury, so will need rehab time before working back into the rotation. Longtime roving scout/coach Jose Pena was promoted into the manager's position, and while nothing about him stands out, everyone is happy for now. Like us, they dropped two of their first three games. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (2-9, 7.90) / LH Daniel Croft (debut) / LH Matt Waugh (0-1, 2.25 in '55) OAK pitchers: RH Glen Marler (8-3, 1.85) / LH Sean Guerrero (4-5, 5.64) / LH Chris Larimer (0-1, 2.25 in '55) #4: WIN 9-6 ... 3 HR for each team...a pair of RBI doubles sparks a 4-run 8th to win this one...3 H, 2 RBI for Lynn, including two doubles #5: LOSS 3-4 ... Kearns loses this one, allowing an RBI single in the 9th...2 hits each for Matson and Medici, but not much else from anyone...Tipping hurt #6: LOSS 6-7 ... another blown save, this time a sac fly and a 3-run HR, all from Kearns...6 runs on just 8 hits, and we still lose Okay, how long until we need to tweak the lineup? We at least scored a lot, but we're not getting many hits or runners. And Kearns...wake up, son.... It took us a week to finally sell out a home game. Do the fans know something that I don't.... Tipping will sit a bit with a bruised lung (a BRUISED LUNG WTF), so Kelley will start for him. Kellz is batting .312 at least, but Tips was off to a .364 start. J.J. Simmons comes off his dtd injury and goes 1-for-2 in his return at short.... ELSEWHERE: Minnesota and LA are the hot teams, at 6-0, with Boston at 5-1. Cincinnati and Austin are 1-5.... Cincy 'ace' Cris Frias has walked 8 in his 13 IP so far, making his 5.5 BB/9 a marked reduction from last year's 8.6/per achievement.... Two starts, 13 IP, zero runs allowed by Washington's Nick Light, the reigning NL Cy Young winner. April 11-13 vs BOSTON We finish our homestand with a visit from the East-leading Red Sox. Second in runs scored, with 44, and getting the timely hitting that we are not. Pitching has been a struggle, 37 runs allowed and 14th in the AL. Like Oakland, they didn't dip much into the free agent pool to improve the roster. Instead, youngsters like 3B Luis Guevara, SS Hugo Santiago, and OF/DH Ty Knott are getting their shots. Knott, in particular, looks like a five-tool stud who should terrify AL pitching for the next decade, damn him. They did install one FA--Dave Yocum--as their new ace SP, but the jury is still out on him as he had a solid-but-out-of-nowhere season with Portland last year; they also added afterthought SP Jose Ambriz from California. Ryan Day is the second-year manager, and he managed to wrangle a notoriously cranky clubhouse into shape last year, winning 85 games. MLB says they'll 'win' the East with 85 wins this year, which I think is easily in reach if they get any decent pitching at all. They'll at least be fun to watch, with Knott developing and joining holdover stars Dustin Wasilewski, Cortez Ortiz, and Rich Dragos at the top of the lineup. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (0-1, 3.00) / RH Travis Harris (1-0, 0.00) / RH Josh Irvin (1-0, 3.86) BOS pitchers: RH Matt Postlewait (0-0, 9.00) / LH Chris Rivera (0-0, 2.45) / RH Yuya Watabe (1-0, 4.50) #7: WIN 6-5 ... comeback win, scoring 3 runs late with RBI from Collins and Medici...everyone gets a hit tonight...Bader struggles but at least goes 7 IP #8: WIN 7-6 ... we do it again, scratching out a run in the 7th, 8th, and 9th to pull out this one...Harris comes back to earth, lasting just 4 #9: WIN 7-0 ... no suspense for once, as Irvin tosses a six-hit shutout, fanning 10...Matson homers, and Simmons gets 2 more hits Unexpected but totally welcome sweep! Some cold bats--Matson, Royer, Lynn, Hed--finally came to life over those last two games. Let's keep it up, guys.... Pederson (.353), Lynn (.270), and Medici (.257) are the only guys in the top seven hitting over .207.... Irvin has now matched his win total from all of 2054, while Waugh (with 21 wins each of the last two seasons) has zero.... Pederson slid into the #5 slot, displacing Royer, hitting only .167 with no HR.... ELSEWHERE: LA now stands alone, at 8-1. Seattle is having it's usual hot start, at 7-2.... The Yankees have dropped five straight, slipping to 2-7.... Congrats to Boston's Hugo Santiago, the first batter to reach 1.0 WAR.... Three-time NL Cy Young winner Jose Gutierrez is done for the year after struggling through his first two starts, and leaving the second game in the 4th with a torn rotator cuff. Atlanta's 34-year-old ace may just be done for good now, and repeated injuries have seen him toss 30+ games only once since 2048. He did earn a combined 15 WAR over 58 starts in '51 and '52, so there's hope that he can be rebuilt and earn some of the $45M per season he's getting through 2059. But you have to think that's highly unlikely at this point. Meanwhile, the Braves are trying to make do with a pair of castoff veteran MR--Jimmy Warner and Danny Parra--at the back end of the rotation, something not at all sustainable in the long-term. April 15-17 @ KANSAS CITY After a day off we land in KC to see the 5-4 Royals and former Isles Julius Burrows and Biff Skiffington. Offense and pitching are even, 63 runs for and against, which makes the hitting #2 in the AL but pitching #17. Only ace Steve Scibek has been worthy of the "MLB starting pitcher" label so far, and they distrust their starters so much that they're rolling with an 8-man bullpen currently. The lineup looks pretty solid except for the outfield, where Philip Tyler and Trevor Evans are suspect hitters, and Burrows is injury-prone (and hurt again, btw). Why slugging lefty Brian Spindler isn't in the everyday lineup, I do not know. Outside of powerful 3B Tom Esposito, the lineup doesn't feature any true stars, but is built on AVG and OBP, like us. They won't hit many HR but should still be a bane to play against. Veteran manager (and three-time award winner) Dario Agrazal is in his fourth year at the helm and will have these guys playing hard every night. The staff loves each other, and the few lazy slugs on the roster haven't yet coalesced into a management-hating cabal. Sort out the pitching--and stay healthy there, as they also have four RP on the DL--and they may make some noise, although I don't see them staying up top over the whole season with Detroit. But with Minnesota better but unproven, the Sox having taken a step back, and Cleveland and Milwaukee their usual dumpster-fire selves, there's a chance to reach the post-season here. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (0-0, 3.38) / LH Matt Waugh (0-1, 2.81) / RH Mike Bader (0-1, 4.50) KCR pitchers: LH Travis Fox (0-0, 12.27) / RH Steve Scibek (2-0, 2.70) / RH Bill Perez (0-0, 12.54) #10: WIN 4-2 ... first W for Croft, as we extend a 2-1 lead with 2 in the 9th, then hold on...13 hits, including 4 from Matson #11: WIN 3-2 ... so many close games...only 5 hits but we add in 7 walks and steal 5 bases...Covington's RBI double is our only XBH #12: WIN 12-0 ... an old-fashioned style drubbing, banging out 15 hits including 6 doubles and 3 HR...Bader pulled with 2 outs in the ninth, but why Six straight wins and suddenly so many problems just vanish. Okay, some guys still aren't hitting, but winning makes tinkering with the lineup seem like less of an emergency.... Truly solid pitching all around, and even Kearns lowered his ERA to under 12.... Matson has been our hottest hitter, rediscovering his old form to the tune of .333/4/12. Simmons is batting .357 and getting on base at a .471 clip.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle and California join Hawaii at 8-4 atop the AL West.... Oakland's lost six in a row to drop to the rear.... Philly's dropped 7 straight, falling to 4-8.... Minny's Jordan Foots leads all hitters with 10 HR, while Atlanta's Chris "Yabba" Dabbah tops everyone with a .537 average.... Strikeouts are down slightly, but Tampa's George Brorby hasn't heard the news and leads all pitchers with 35 K (in 25 IP).... Tampa, meanwhile, is at 7-5 despite a recent injury bug taking out three of their top hitters for at least a month each.... In the NL, old strikeout kings Cris Frias and Conor MacLeod lead with 31 each, while STL's Erik Sloan has 30. ...... TL;DR Version: A slow start but a strong finish has us at 8-4 and tied for first in the division. In the reverse from last season, we're scoring runs (4th) while not hitting (11th) with much regularity. Pitching is tops in the league, and only Nate Kearns' two big blowups are keeping the bullpen's numbers from looking good (11th in ERA thanks to his 11.57 number). Yes, it's only twelve games, but already some guys are moving towards the edge of the lineup, in terms of seeing their playing time reduced in the near future: Josh Hed is batting just .222 and being pushed by Nick Gase and Erik Bennetsen; Caleb Royer is at .178 (but up from a recent .111 mark), and may start getting spelled more by Lua Ulkini. And Mike Covington is hitting a modest .200 while Jamie Collins has gone 3-for-9 and is demanding to speak to management. I have no complaints yet about our pitching, but will be curious to see what Travis Harris brings the rest of the month. He went from a debut shutout to getting shelled early and leaving in the 4th in his next start. One odd thing does jump out at me, however, and that's that two relievers--Yaung and Watanabe--haven't pitched at all yet. The only other low stat to watch is our 13th-ranked ZR; but we do combine that with a 2nd-best defensive efficiency...which means I guess we catch what we get to, even if we don't get to much? Dunno. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

09-13-2021, 07:45 PM	#433
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	April 2055, second half April 18-20 @ SEATTLE They reached .500 for the first time in five seasons in '54, although they stumbled after a hot April; this year they're off to an 8-4 start, so at least they're consistent. Seventh in runs for and against, with a +8 differential right now. Stars Paul Stough and Ger van Mourik are hitting the cover off the ball, and they're joined by DH Paul Cyr who's hitting three times his career average right now. Solid. And again...this is a team that largely eschewed free agency, only grabbing current #5 starter Conrad Robertson and average MRs Chris Salmela and Kerry Allen. (Robertson is only in the rotation due to injuries to projected SP Ron Rivera and Seb Mulholland.) Although I guess I can bring up ancient catcher Guillermo Diaz, brought over from LA but slowly expiring on the bench. Fifth-year manager Dwayne Cloninger had his first non-subpar season last year, so the jury is definitely still out on his capability. The other thing of note is that they're currently 2nd in the AL with 26 home runs, exactly twice what we've hit so far. Nice. HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (1-0, 3.46) / RH Josh Irvin (2-0, 1.69) / LH Daniel Croft (1-0, 2.25) SEA pitchers: RH Theo Soole (1-0, 3.77) / RH Daniel Newell ('55 debut) / RH Conrad Robertson (0-0, 8.25) #13: LOSS 6-10 ... Harris gets bombed early, but we hang tough until giving up 4 late runs...Pederson and Medici homer, but we give up five in turn #14: WIN 7-3 ... Tipping, Hed, and Matson go deep, and five players get two hits each...Irving solid again...two steals for Lynn, 8 on the season #15: WIN 4-1 ... Matson's 2-run shot is the key hit...2 hits and an RBI for Simmons, and Gase throws out two runners at home...8 IP, 0 ER from Croft Two wins: always good. We're 10-5 and a game behind the surprising Angels.... So we're winning, largely on the backs of our starting pitchers: first in the league. But the bullpen is 13th and may need some revising sooner than later.... We're also 6th in runs and 5th in OBP, but 10th in AVG and 11th in OPS.... Matson is flying at .328/6/16 and Simmons is hitting .410. Lynn, Hed, Royer, and Covington are still well below their career numbers.... ELSEWHERE: Eight wins out of ten for California, and William Swanson (.410/8/25) just won player of the week. Also hot: Tampa and the Mets (six straight), and Cincy (four). Not Hot: Philly's lost ten in a row, Oakland nine, and KC seven.... Swanson also hit the first cycle of the season, belting out five hits in a 14-13 win over Oakland.... LA is slumping, and also lost solid SP Homare Yano for two months. He joins ace Everett Cronk (out 3 more weeks), and closer Rick Ramirez (season). At least they've got 12 other closers to choose from to replace Ramirez. April 21-23 vs HOUSTON Back home for a six game stand. The 6-9 Astros are getting good hitting--8th in runs and 4th in AVG and HR--but are 10th in pitching ERA and their bullpen has been ever worse than ours. Five hitters are above .300, but two are stuck at .148 and .091. This is a team that grabbed a solid handful of players in free agency, including starting 2B Juan Rodriquez and LF Steve Wheatley (who's keeping Kevin Mazurowski--producer of 69 HR the last two seasons--on the bench), and catcher Juan Pizano, batting .364 but not starting. They also completely remade their rotation, adding Mat Caldwell, Ben Germann, and Robbie Camp via free agency, promoting rookie Alex Moya, and bringing swingman Jason Knight into the #5 slot. (Chris James and Ken Demers, two of last year's SP, are now in the pen.) Manager Alejandro Garcia is in his second season, and may be on the verge of losing team chemistry, so that's fun. Also, TIL their GM is one John Papp, in his third season here after seven years in Pittsburgh. He's 40. He also built a 90-game winning team four times and won a title in '51, but found himself unemployed after a 76-win '52 season. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (1-1, 2.62) / RH Mike Bader (1-1, 2.92) / RH Travis Harris (1-1, 5.82) HOU pitchers: RH Mat Caldwell (1-2, 3.74) / RH Robbie Camp (0-3, 6.62) / RH Ben Germann (2-1, 4.15) #16: WIN 8-0 ... 4-hit shutout by Waugh, 11 K...4 hits from Simmons 2-run double by Ulkini, and HR from Hed and Espino...two injuries dampens the mood #17: WIN 7-2 ... big hits from Collins, Gase, and Ulkini break open a 1-1 tie in the 4th...Ulkini hurt for 2nd straight game however #18: WIN 5-2 ... HR from Tipping and Ulkini (still playing?), and a solid 8 IP from Harris, getting some mojo back Very solid series keeps us a game ahead of Seattle and Texas.... Our pitching was very good, with Harris finally turning in another solid start. Only two IP from the bullpen, something we've really needed lately.... Ulkini suffered two dtd injuries, Tipping one; but both kept playing. The injuries are minor leg injuries, and they should be fine in a few days. Both are hitting great, .583 and .393, respectively.... Our top three minor league teams are off to a combined 10-15 start.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's won 7 of 10 to pull up to 10-8 and into a four-way tie for first in the Central. But they lost rookie phenom CF Roberto Gomez for five months.... Remember when Oakland took two out of three from us a few weeks ago? They've dropped twelve straight since and sit at 3-15 overall.... Not only did Houston get swept in Hawaii, but Eddie Kinnison's league-best 20 game hit streak came to an end.... Third-year Tampa pitcher George Brorby has had a dream start to the season, winning all four of his starts while fanning 44 and walking just 3. Brorby gave up 51 HR in 196 IP last year, but only 3 in 33 innings thus far this time around. April 25-27 vs TORONTO The long-term rebuild showed signs of reaching bottom last year with a 69-win season, but they're off to a 6-12 start this time around. Only 16th in offense and 17th in pitching, with a -40 run differential. The lack of offense is surprising, given that they have five guys who've hit 30+ HR regularly over their careers. But then again they have new UFA Sam Wilhelm and his career .288 OBP at leadoff. On the mound, there's a whole lot of big numbers, made worse-looking by Gary Stamp's injury, since he's the only guy producing (2.11 ERA). During the winter, besides the aforementioned Wilhelm, they only went after a couple of middle relievers. And new manager Miki Simonich, a former MR with four teams in the '30s and '40s. This is his first managerial job anywhere. But the system ranks 7th, with a pile of nice looking pitchers...but very little anywhere else outside of a couple of low-contact power hitters. Still, they've got money and a motivated owner, so if the prospects develop and they ink some hitters, they should start to turn the ship around in a couple years. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-0, 1.93) / LH Daniel Croft (2-0, 1.50) / LH Matt Waugh (2-1, 1.91) TOR pitchers: RH Jaden Buchanan (1-2, 6.15) / RH Greg Boedigheimer (1-1, 6.14) / RH Nick Palmer 2-2, 3.71) #19: WIN 2-1 ... tied after both teams score in the 4th, then nothing until Matson's RBI double in the 13th wins it...complete 9 IP games for both starters #20: WIN 5-1 ... CG with 9 K for Croft...3 hits each for Pederson (plus a HR) and Lynn, 2-RBI single for Covington #21: WIN 7-2 ... 13 hits with 4 HR, including 2 by Medici...3 more hits from Lynn, with 2 RBI...Waugh goes 7.2, Ruiz closes it with 1.1 shutout innings Another solid outing, putting us two games ahead of the competition. It's never too early for playoff consideration, lol.... More excellent pitching, and good-enough hitting even though we're not blowing the doors off anybody.... It's hard (maybe foolish) to mess around with something that's working, but three guys are still not producing at all: Hed in LF, Covington at C, and Royer at 3B. Ulkini has been a defensive sub for Royer, and is hitting, so might get some more regular starts now, too. And Collins will get some more AB at catcher, even though Covington is the much better defensive option. As for Hed, no other OF right now is hot off the bench, so I may tinker there a little less. We'll see.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland lost two more, then finally won one to get themselves to a booming 4-17.... Seven straight wins (and 9 out of 10) for the Cardinals, vaulting them into first in the NL Central.... Cincy 1B Lance Powell is 43 but still a powerful hitter, batting .324 in the young season. He just passed 100 career WAR and is tops in active hits (2674, 82nd overall) and home runs (584, 12th and just two behind Frank Robinson), and second in doubles (602, 20th all-time). April 28-30 @ CALIFORNIA BNN says they'll win 81 for the first time since '35, and so far they're 13-8. Early, yes, but still a good start. Ninth place--mid-pack--in offense, and the top third of the lineup is killing it: Dan Dellinger (.316), Preston Eckles (.324), and William Swanson (.361/9/27). But two in the middle of the lineup are under .200, and there's no real dynamism behind the top three (and cleanup guy Mauricio Marquez, who's been just okay so far). Pitching has been good, 6th in runs against, with good showings across the pen and rotation. Dellinger, a two-time batting champ, is new here this year, as is DH Jesse Brickell, who hit 26 HR with Atlanta last year. SP Shaun Ostrander and Joe Dawson are also new FAs, as are a handful of relievers. Add to that new manager Trent Johnson, who stepped into his first head role this year. So far, so good. Also good is the 3rd ranked prospect system, with seven players in the top 100. One player to watch is top guy Zackary Thornhill, third in MLB, who's stuff ceiling is the highest I've ever seen. The only non-pitcher in the lot is 1B Carlos Castro, already on the big club but only oh-for-four on the season. Future power hitter, should bat a consistent .280 with 30+ HR. Solid. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (2-1, 2.70) / RH Travis Harris (2-1, 4.68) / RH Josh Irvin (3-0, 1.67) CAL pitchers: RH Joe Dawson (0-1, 6.23) / RH Nate Elder (4-0, 3.86) / RH George Millard (debut) #22: LOSS 2-3 ... we're up 2-1 early but give up two late runs to lose...we outhit them 11-5 but spread them out too thin #23: WIN 6-3 ... Pederson, Medici, and Tipping homer, and although we're outhit tonight we're able to score in bunches...Harris goes 8, Kearns fans two for the save #24: WIN 6-3 ... Medici GRAND SLAM and holy cow a JJ Simmons home run alert!...Irvin goes 8 here and Kearns is money again, fanning the side in the 9th We close out a solid month with two more wins, always a good thing.... Some nice power here, with Medici (7 HR) and Pederson (6) finally flexing a bit.... We're first in the AL with 38 steals, with Lynn and Simmons leading the way with 11.... ELSEWHERE: St Louis stays hot and is tops in the NL at 17-7, with LA right behind at 16 wins. In the AL, Hawaii has 18, with division mates Seattle and Texas right behind at 17.... Montreal and Toronto are making Canada sad with only 7 wins apiece, but no one has struggled like the A's, at only 4-20.... Tampa Bay still leads the AL East, but just lost ace George Brorby (4-1, 1.63) for four months.... Continuing the theme of old men hitting home runs, 44-year old Dan Starr seems to be finally slowing down, hitting just .221 with two HR, giving him 580 on his career. Like Lance Powell, he's a likely Hall of Fame candidate, but unlike Powell seems less likely to reach the 600 HR mark. Two other players have reached the 500 level--Erik Reed at 549 and Victor Sanchez with 534--but neither looks to have much gas left in the tank. ...... TL;DR Version: 15-2 to finish the month after a 3-4 start. Not bad.... Our run production has slipped a bit, to 7th, while we're still top four in AVG and OBP. We'll need to score more from here on if we're going to stay hot, frankly. To that end, I may start making some changes to the lineup starting with our next series: C Mike Covington is hitting .162 while backup Jamie Collins is at .391; 3B Caleb Royer is at .167 with 0 HR, while Lua Ulkini has gone 8-for-20; and LF Josh Hed is at .218 (but with 4 HR and a .338 OBP) so might lose to Nick Gase, slashing .312/.431/.396. Meanwhile, I'm very satisfied with our pitchers. The rotation has greatly exceeded my expectations with a combined 2.48 ERA. The bullpen has struggled some, with Yaung and Watanabe especially fragile in middle relief. But closer Nate Kearns has rebounded well from a shaky start, and the setup duo of Ruiz and Reyes has been spot on. Of course we can't expect to get this kind of starting pitching all season, which is why I want us to score more runs: gotta make up for the expected regression to the mean. Other positive notes: 1B Josh Matson (.330/6/19) and SS J.J. Simmons (.365) rebounding from off years, and rookie 2B Lucas Tipping hitting .320 with 4 HR. All in all, though, a very good month, with only a few quibbles here and there. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

12-12-2021, 06:41 PM	#434
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 2055 I'M BACK Twenty-eight games this month: twelve at home, sixteen on the road. We start with three road series before coming home for a week. In personnel news, SP Daniel Croft takes home AL Rookie of the Month honors. May 1-3 @ MINNESOTA Went a decent 13-11 in April, but only 3-7 in the last ten. Solid offense, first in runs, AVG, OBP, and 2nd in HR. C Devin Swan is hitting .431, and everyone but leadoff SS Mike Rau (.224) is just raking right now. These guys are going to score a ton of runs all season long. Problem is, their pitching probably won't keep up: and certainly isn't right now, at 14th in runs allowed. Not everyone is struggling, but only SP Gary Kocher and Dan Hannan, along with a few RP, are earning their big league pay. Most disappointing so far is closer Brett Roseman, who's earned 57 saves the last two years, but with a 2.46 WHIP and 7.7 BB/9 currently. He's too good not to recover, and they'll need someone to step up on the mound. Second-year manager Eddie Sappelt is also dealing with an unhappy clubhouse, and most of the pitching staff is avoiding him. Looking into the future, the prospect system ranks just 33rd, with the best-looking guys on the international roster. In other words, a long way off. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (3-0, 1.36) / LH Matt Waugh (3-1 1.99) / RH Mike Bader (2-2, 2.83) MIN pitchers: RH Gary Kocher (2-2, 3.00) / RH Ken Aikens (1-1, 10.22) / RH Doug Ricks (1-0, 4.91) #25: LOSS 4-5 ... a 4-2 lead vanishes late, probably because Croft is left in to complete the game...Pederson goes 3-for-4, HR, 2 SB #26: WIN 7-2 ... Bennetsen is the 3 hits and a HR maven tonight...we run wild, with 5 steals...Waugh goes 8.1 IP, Bohlen cleans up in the 9th #27: LOSS 4-12 ... hoo boy, long time coming, this one...bad pitching, only six hits, five are singles, although Medici does get two Disappointing, but not terribly surprising. Some lax pitching versus a solid offense, and bang: two losses.... Really is time to rotate a few guys out of the regular lineup: Hed, Covington, Royer. Put the replacements in for a week or three and see what they got.... On the mound, 38-year-old Yaung may have lost a couple of yards off his fastball, with his ERA hovering just under 12.... ELSEWHERE: The Zephyrs are blowing up with 9 wins in a row, coming back after a 6-12 start to the season. But the Cards are still hot, winners of 8 out of 10, and still lead the NL Central by 4 with a 19-8 mark.... And Texas moves into first in the AL West with their own 8-game winning streak.... Ryan Boers (TEX), Drew Elliott (SF), and Dante Padilla (RIC) have crested the 2.0 WAR mark.... It's hard to call a 29-year-old a sure-fire Hall of Famer, but William Swanson is probably that guy: in his 9th big league season he has just passed the 400 HR mark, is closing in on 1600 hits and 50 WAR, has 3 MVP trophies at home along with 5 Silver Sluggers and 7 All-Star nods. So glad his entire career has been in our division. May 5-7 @ OAKLAND Yeah, they're rebuilding, but no one here expected a 5-22 start to the year. Dead last in nearly every offensive category, and sitting 16th to 18th across the board in pitching. Only one guy is hitting anyting at all, and he--RF Tom Sanders--has only 31 AB and was just moved into the lineup. Four pitchers have ERA over ten, and four others are over six. On paper they're much better than this, so I expect some improvement in the coming months. But this season is a major setback to their plans to get back to the top of the West. One positive is rookie pitcher--and top prospect--Pat Oden has looked good in seven relief appearances, and could be moved into the rotation any time now. My wish is that they continue to suck for at least the next three days... HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (3-1, 4.36) / RH Josh Irvin (4-0, 2.01) / LH Daniel Croft (3-1, 2.20) OAK pitchers: RH Tom Baker (1-4, 7.36) / RH Jaden Bartholomew (0-3, 13.02) / LH Sean Guerrero (1-1, 4.15) #28: WIN 10-2 ... 8 runs in the final few frames break open this one...3 H and a HR for Matson, and dingers from three others, including Collins' first MLB blast #29: WIN 5-4 ... Matson and Tipping homer (again), with the latter's 3-run 9th inning shot the GW...Yaung hurt after another run-allowing outing #30: WIN 8-3 ... a solid 17-hit attack from start to finish...even Royer got two hits, and Hed, Matson, and Simmons add three each...CG for Croft Just what we needed: gotta beat the bottom-dwellers, keep them down there, suffering.... In the year-to-year battle between SB and HR, steals are again winning, 51 to 44.... Minor league injuries are already starting to mount. The latest casualty is AAA pitcher Miguel Tirado, who nearly won a rotation spot in the spring. He's done until next April.... No word yet on Yaung's injury.... ELSEWHERE: The 2055 draft pool is out, and brings you the delightfully named Wayne Payne and Joe Boy as two of the top guys. But don't lose sight of the melodious Adam Alewine, Jamie Opie, Roy Wray, and Blaze Shawley.... Oh boy, it's now a 5-25 record for Oakland. But fear not! Montreal has lost 11 straight and sits at 7-23. Houston and Toronto are lurking with 9 wins each.... At the other end, Texas has now made it 11 wins in a row, and leads MLB with a 23-7 record.... A recent 3-HR night from William Swanson has put him on top in the AL with 14 HR and 36 RBI. The Angels are also sailing along with an unexpected 17-13 record, trying to keep up with the hot Rangers and Islanders. May 8-10 @ MIAMI At 13-17 and struggling to get traction at the plate and on the mound. Offense ranks 16th in runs; pitching sits at 12th, but the bullpen ranks third in ERA. DH Toshi Shimabukurko is cruising along at .324/7/18, and platoon catcher Chris MacKenzie is batting .405. But star SS Mario Rivera is only hitting .153, well over 100 points below his usual average, and rookies Ken Ruder (.222) and Alex Firenze (.200) are not producing at leadoff and cleanup, respectively. The mound story really focuses on closer Jon Carlsen, who was a 5-WAR starter just two years ago but has been a very good closer (2.05 ERA, 2 WAR, 32 SV last year) since. He's given up just one run in 13 appearances this year. Other than the two rookies mentioned above, the only other new off-season addition was average RF Erick Ashlock from KC. Manager Quinton Forrester is in his second campaign, and hasn't shown much, positive or negative. The prospect system ranks just 26th, but is unusual in having a trio of solid-looking hitters at the top of their list, and no quality pitchers to be found anywhere. MLB had them winning 83 games and contending for the NL East title, but they're just spinning their tires right now. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 1.84) / RH Mike Bader (2-3, 4.09) / RH Travis Harris (4-1, 3.89) MIA pitchers: RH Dwaine Webb (1-3, 4.46) / LH Dustin Panos (1-2, 7.20) / RH Trevor Kauffman (1-0, 3.46) #31: WIN 3-2 ... Pederson's solo shot in the 5th gets us on the board, and Bennetsen's 2-run triple in the 8th wins it...held to just 7 hits, but solid pitching saves us #32: WIN 12-0 ... a trio of 3-run innings late inflate this score...18 hits, and Royer and Hed break out with HR finally...CG 3-hitter from Bader #33: WIN 6-3 ... more piles of runners: 16 hits tonight...3 H each for Bennetsen and Simmons, and 3 HR total...Ulkini hurt, pending diagnosis Gotta keep up with Texas, who finally blinked and dropped a game, meaning we're tied for first at 25-8 now.... We're still sixth in runs scored, but our AVG and OBP have jumped to third in the AL. And pitching is still rock solid, giving us nearly a 2-to-1 ratio in run for-against (191 to 102).... Ulkini is going strong at .342 but could face a long-term injury. At least Royer has finally awakened, hitting his first HR and raising his average to .214.... JJ Simmons is still having a fine rebound season, leading the team at .366 and with 13 steals.... Yaung's diagnosis comes in, and he's done: torn rotator cuff. Anthony Booker gets the call from AAA.... ELSEWHERE: Washington leads the NL East at 20-13, but made headlines for less flattering reasons this week. SP Ben Turner will miss the rest of the season after getting beaned by a pitching machine and tearing his labrum. I'm not sure how those two things are connected, but that's the story they're sticking with.... Oakland stemmed the tide a bit by finally winning a game in their last series, while Montreal went nuts and swept the Pirates.... Batting numbers are starting to get back to normal now, with only Minnesota's Devin Swan topping .400 at the plate. The career .248 hitter is at .418 this year, after hitting .308 last year. Prior to that he had seasons of .230, .199, and .205. Someone needs to market what he's drinking. May 11-13 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX Last year's 112-win surprise team was picked to win just 79 by MLB this go-round. But they're holding strong at 19-14 and a game behind the Tigers in a competitive Central (with MIN and CLE right behind them). They've somehow pushed the 2nd-most runs across the plate despite ranking only 11th in AVG and HR. And they're 7th in runs allowed, and no one is really struggling on the mound outside of a couple in the pen. Zeke de la Rosa (.347/11/29) continues to star, and although they're not getting quite the production across-the-board like last season only 1B Elijah Pass is truly falling down (batting .179 with 2 HR after hitting over 100 total the past two seasons). They do miss 2B Chris Rock's usual .330 production at the top of the lineup, but probably do not miss the two months he spent on the DL each year. And 41-year-old Robby Liantonio continues to defy time, with a 2.31 ERA after six starts, and some of the best underlying stats he's had in many years. SP Steve Davenport and a trio of relievers were the only big adds in the off-season, and the emergence of 23-year-old 2B Raul Madera has so far kept former ROY Ninsei Sato (and his 41 HR from a year ago) on the bench. Ten-year manager Taylor Black got a huge raise after last year's performance (and two 90+ win seasons before that), so he needs to crack the whip to earn his keep now. The system ranks in the middle, 18th, but I don't see any sure-fire guys at the top of the list. 3B Collin Pritchard sits at #5 and is now starting at third for the big club: he swings a big bat, with 9 HR, but is only hitting .217. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (4-0, 2.14) / LH Daniel Croft (4-1, 2.16) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.91) CHW pitchers: RH Luke Weaver (2-2, 5.40) / RH Earl Dobrowolski (0-1, 4.86) / RH Robby Liantonio (4-1, 2.31) #34: LOSS 1-3 ... held to just 6 hits, and only 2 doubles get runners to second base...Irvin is fine in his 8 IP, but we give him no support #35: WIN 10-3 ... Collins homers twice as we jump out to an 8-0 lead, then coast...another CG from Croft, fanning 7 and yielding 8 hits #36: LOSS 2-3 ... another blah night at the plate, with only solo HR from Bennetsen and Tipping to show...rough night for Collins, fanning all four trips to the plate Disappointing, more for the lack of consistent offense than the two losses to a good team.... We did hit 8 HR in this series, quite a shock to our fans, I know.... Lynn stole four bases, giving him 17 for the season.... no word on Ulkini's injury yet; SP Danny Carbajal was expected to begin rehab this week, but has been moved into the "unkown return" category instead.... ELSEWHERE: Mike Olivera (TEX) had a 28-game hit streak come to an end. Texas does lead the AL West, at 27-9, by a game over Hawaii.... The NL West is tight for the first time in years, with LA leading Portland by just one game.... Who says everybody goes to free agency these days? Tampa just extended 1B Edgar Aranceta for 5 yrs and $124M. Aranceta, 26, is batting .304/10/23 this season, and is a career .277 hitter with 250 HR and 27 WAR in his seven-plus seasons. Popular guy, solid all-around player: excellent signing and shows the franchise is serious about maintaining its current momentum. ...... TL;DR Version: Starting May at 8-4 (and now 26-10 overall) is good, but we still sit behind Texas in the division. A couple of tough series against two good Central Division teams marred our progress somewhat, but otherwise we beat who we needed to beat. Good News: Royer has started to hit some, and Bennetsen has responded well to a starting role. Bad News: Ulkini has a pending injury diagnosis (and is hitting .342) which would suck. If he's out long-term, I'll probably bring up one of Bill Gamboa or Jake Moore to platoon at third. Otherwise, there's little to complain about. I do wish my catchers were hitting better (Covington .176, Collins .255), and that we were hitting for power more consistently. But I'll take a .722 winning percentage any day. Wouldn't you? __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

12-15-2021, 04:43 PM	#435
Palaaemon Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 263	Great to have you back! I really missed reading about the Islanders. I hope that everything has been been well with you and yours, it's been some time since your last post. It looks like the team is doing well once again. I do have a request if you don't mind. Could you please post at the end of each month a copy of Hawaiis' rankings in each statistical category? I would appreciate it. Thanks Bub. Have a great day and be safe. Palaaemon __________________ I don't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than you.

12-18-2021, 07:48 PM	#437
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 15-17 vs SEATTLE Their 19-17 record hides the fact that they've dropped ten of their last eleven, and hitting and pitching have dropped out of the top ten. Plus, a -18 run differential points to a downward trend. Ger van Mourik (.385/12/31) continues to be a one-man band at the plate, although at leadoff, Dan Bruno (.307) and #2 guy Mike Bruno (no relation, .297) are helping some. Top CF Rogelio Pena is out, as is backup Luis Hernandez; replacement Todd Downey has really struggled, at just .130. On the mound, SP Dan Newell has made two starts with a combined 1 1/3 innings pitched, and only Theo Soole is anywhere near league-average in ERA. At least the bullpen has been pretty solid, especially closer Marco Mendez. Joining him have been converted starters Dan Crews and Chris Salmela, and 33-year-old reclamation project Justin Cornelius. I guess you take your plusses where you can get them. Team chemistry has slipped to "unhappy," although bench coach Ron Miller says the clubhouse is "electric" and "having fun." No team leaders or captains, plus a few unhappy campers, means we could be seeing fistfights and rumbles any time now. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (3-3, 3.40) / RH Travis Harris (5-1, 3.75) / RH Josh Irvin (4-1, 2.32) SEA pitchers: RH Dan Newell (0-2, 67.50) / RH Vince Push (2-2, 5.68) / RH Theo Soole (3-1, 3.77) #37: LOSS 1-9 ... Bader gets bombed and we make the awful Newell look good...outhit 15-6, of course #38: WIN 6-5 ... Harris is pushed around a bit, but the pen comes through to lock it down...Medici homers, and Bennetsen and Royer each get 2 hits #39: WIN 15-2 ... rebound game! Royer homers twice and drives in six, Bennetsen with 3 hits...Gamboa debuts with an RBI walk Nice recovery after that ugly first game. Now tied with Texas again, five up on California.... the report on Ulkini is a sprained knee, out for five weeks. Bill Gamboa gets the call, mostly because he's hitting .319 in AAA and Jake Moore is struggling. Gamboa's more suited to 2B than the left side, but will get time everywhere. Has an okay arm but excellent range, he's a good runner and decent-enough hitter; what's held him back has been a low contact ceiling, projecting him as a .250 hitter without enough plusses elsewhere to make him a can't-miss starter.... Injuries on the farm have led to a lot of battlefield promotions, including 19-year-old top prospect Jose Villalpando moving to AA after a .320 start in A ball.... ELSEWHERE: The A's finally put a few wins together to reach double figures on the season, and now sit at 10-29, three games behind Toronto and Montreal (Oh, Canada!) for all-around dubiousness.... We point out a lot of bad teams, streaks, and stats here, so it's time to turn that around and highlight something good for once. So: KC shortstop Jose Valdez, at 21 and in his second full season in MLB, is already a fielder for the ages. In just 31 games this season his ZR is +8.4, and last year he somehow did NOT win a Gold Glove with a ZR of +28. (Houston's Oscar Garza is the four-time reigning AL GG champ at short, but I think Valdez stomps on him this time around.) May 18-20 @ HOUSTON Disappointment abounds in Astro-land, after a 7-17 April and now a 5-10 May. At 15th in runs for, and 13th in runs allowed, for a -58 run differential. LF Ahmed Hackett is hitting .312, and 2B Chris Marshall .306, but they're bottom-of-the-lineup guys who are role players at best. The big guns in the lineup are showing some power--35 HR from the middle four--but only CF Erik Kinnison (.286) is over .260. On the mound, #1 SP Mat Caldwell has been solid, and #4 Jason Knight is showing promise in his sophomore season. But everyone else has really struggled, and injuries to closer Steve Cole and projected #2 Mike Messinger have really hurt. I'll be frank in saying that it's time to go young and get some of their solid prospects into the lineup. #1 guy SP Miles Iandoli is in AAA and not quite ready, but #2 Winton Jones needs to be moved out of the pen and into the rotation. Ditto for current closer Alex Moya, a big-time thrower with some control issues but otherwise a solid game. 1B Milt Schaefer was called up last week and needs to play a lot now, probably at DH, instead of 36-year-old Juan Rodriquez. The latter can still hit, but is doing no good on this team right now. Trade him for whatever you can get and let the kids run free! HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-1, 2.29) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.98) / RH Mike Bader (3-4, 3.92) HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (3-2, 4.89) / RH Mat Caldwell (1-6, 3.82) / RH Ben Germann (2-4, 5.66) #40: LOSS 4-5 ... Croft's luck runs out, giving up four late runs and taking the loss...Lynn, Medici, and Royer get 2 hits, but the latter gets hurt #41: WIN 3-1 ... 2 HR and all the RBI from Bennetsen...only 4 more hits for us, but that's all Waugh needed, allowing 7 hits in 7 IP #42: LOSS 4-5 ... Lynn's 3 hits are the only highlight in this **ty game...2 errors cost 3 unearned runs, just magnificent Thoroughly depressing effort against one of the worst teams in the league right now.... On top of that, Royer and Tipping suffer dtd injuries; both are only a week long, but are serious enough to shelve them for that stint. No DL time, but some lineup juggling nonetheless.... Gamboa has gone hitless so far, and after a pair of late errors, he'll be on a plane back to Santa Barbara. Next up is Jake Moore, who will play some at third while Royer recovers. Moore won't hit for Royer's power, but otherwise rates as a much better hitter.... ELSEWHERE: Texas also had a meh series, so no one's at 30 wins just yet.... Seven wins in a row by Richmond, putting them on top in the NL East for the first time in years.... A pair of recent shutouts for STL pitchers, but they're 2-8 of late and just barely holding on over New Orleans and Chicago.... Minnesota's Devin Swan is still clinging on at .404, best in MLB. Swan must have been seriously sandbagging everyone, batting .215 in his first 1000 AB, and about .360 in his last 420 AB.... Portland lost all kinds of WAR in the off-season, but are off to a 24-18 start, hanging close to the Dodgers. I'm not sure they've got the overall lineup strength to keep it up, but if 1B Mike Vahle (.291 and 18 HR) can maintain his pace, and with some solid pitching, the NL West might actually be interesting after the all-star for the first time in years. May 21-23 @ TAMPA BAY A solid playoff contender and sitting in a good spot--24-18 and 3 games out of first--in the East. Not hitting, only 14th in runs, but pitching is top ten and the rotation has looked good. Perennial MVP candidate Jose Tavares is hitting .354, and newly-resigned 1B Edgar Aranceta .289 with 10 HR. But much of the rest of the lineup is struggling for average, power, or both. Pitching has been much better, with #1 SP Jon Jemison starring and closer Ken Zeolla (12 SV, 1.93 ERA) firing on all cylinders. Two former closers--Ken Soch and Bubba Fairweather--have also been lights-out, but former Isles guy Kyle Johnson is still on the outs (8.31 ERA). Injuries have taken a toll: OF Pat Knight, and SP George Brorby, Greg Drake, and Karl Beil are all out. Fourth-year manager Julian Morillo is looking for his third straight post-season berth, but owner Stuart Sternberg is more concerned that he's on track to lose $19M and isn't happy. (Note that star Tavares is on the verge of a couple of career milestones, with 497 HR and 1992 hits. The 32-year-old is a strong Hall candidate already, and a lock if he's productive for 3-4 more seasons.) HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (6-1, 4.19) / RH Josh Irvin (5-1, 2.30) / LH Daniel Croft (5-2, 2.70) TBR pitchers: LH Jon Jemison (4-3, 3.86) / RH Carlos Munoz (3-3, 4.03) / LH Bobby Reder (4-2, 4.50) #43: LOSS 7-8 ... tight game that we drop thanks to a 2-run seventh...three pitchers fan ten but each allows runs, with Harris taking the L #44: WIN 6-1 ... Irvin tweaks his back some but yields just 2 hits in 6.2 IP...3 H and a HR for Collins, 2 H for Medici and Lynn #45: LOSS 5-8 ... Croft leaves in the 2nd and the pen struggles...14 hits for us, but we allow 4 HR and that's all she wrote Ugh, I guess we're officially "not hot" right now, after two dreary series.... Making matters worse are a new pile of injuries. Royer is placed on the DL with an unknown return date; Croft and Irvin leave their starts with back strains, but both are dtd and should be fine; in the final game, IF Kevin Kelley and RP Anthony Booker have pending diagnoses. For now, I recall IF Jim Pfeifer only. We'll see what the diagnoses bring, after a day off tomorrow. If needed, we might have to dip into free agency or look at some trade options if we keep losing infielders like this. (Two on the DL, two dtd, one pending.).... Now we're two games behind Texas, but still are one half of MLB teams with 30 wins on the season.... ELSEWHERE: A 9-1 stretch has Richmond surging to the top of the NL East, while an 8-win streak sees New Orleans just a game behind the Cards in the Central.... Michael Rinehart (ATL) and William Swanson (CAL) are the first to reach 20 HR. Swanson was also just named AL player of the week.... Swanson and Dante Padilla (RIC) are the first to pass 3 WAR, although LA pitcher Bryan Shaheen has earned 3.5 WAR, thanks to this start: 7-1, 1.93 ERA, 70 IP, 71 K, 10 BB. May 25-27 vs CALIFORNIA So MLB doesn't put much stock into the Angels, but a 13-8 May has them at 27-18 overall and only three games behind us. Eighth in runs, thanks mostly to sitting 5th in HR, but no thanks to a 12th-place AVG and a 15th-ranked OBP. As noted above, William Swanson is again terrorizing AL pitching, to the tune of .345/20/47. Pitching has been solid across the roster, at 4th in runs allowed, and making for a +34 run differential. The bullpen ERA is 2nd best, although they've recently lost three solid guys to injury. Have I mentioned before that I really like their 3rd-ranked prospect system? Six pitchers at/near the top of their list, all of whom look really good. Not as much depth on the hitting side, with top guys 1B Carlos Castro and OF Mike Lundin looking okay but not like stars. But potential is here for a really nice looking rotation and top of the bullpen in just a couple of years, which is always a good start to long-term competitiveness. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 1.91) / RH Mike Bader (3-5, 3.84) / RH Travis Harris (6-2, 4.89) CAL pitchers: RH Seth O'Neill (2-4, 6.91) / RH Aaron Moore (3-2, 4.47) / RH Joe Dawson (1-3, 5.12) #46: WIN 8-2 ... Waugh stems the flow with a 13 K effort over 8.1 IP...a new boy in the lineup goes 3-for-4 with two doubles and 4 RBI, and Simmons adds 3 H and 3 RBI #47: LOSS 3-4 ... close one despite getting outhit 11-6...why is Bader left in the entire game? Loses it in the 8th...new boy homers tonight, along with Medici #48: WIN 6-4 ... we allow 3 late runs but still take a big win...Medici homers and new boy gets 2 RBI despite getting zero hits. I'll take it New boy? What? Yeah, with Kelley going on the DL for three weeks with a hernia, I make a free agency pick up: 38-year-old vet Victor Sanchez, for one year and $1.6M. A career .279 hitter with 534 HR and 61 WAR, he's been a solid SS and 3B since the late '30s, mostly with Brooklyn. He won an NL MVP in '43 and is a 4-time all-star. In his first three games with us he's gone 4-for-10, with 2 doubles, a HR, and 7 RBI. He's obviously still got power, is a strong leader, won't K, and looks like a solid 3B (no range for SS any more). On the minus side, he won't walk and his average has declined (.240 over the last two seasons). Worth it, tho.... Booker's diagnosis also comes back: bone chips in his elbow, out 5 months.... Bennetsen is hitting .326 as a starter, with 5 HR in 86 AB. So far so good.... ELSEWHERE: Outside of New Orleans, no one is really streaking right now. Detroit has been quietly solid, putting five games between themselves and the Chisox, and Boston is four up on Tampa Bay.... No more .400 hitters left, but Minny catcher Devin Swan continues to confound the experts by hitting .386 late into May.... Seattle has rebounded somewhat from a terrible start to the month (see the top of this post), at 26-22 on the season; but their continued hopes took a blow with the season-ending injury to solid closer Marco Mendez.... ageless wonder Lance Powell appears to have demanded a trade out of Cincinnati. The 43-year-old 1B replied "no comment" when asked recently about his demotion to part-time player for manager Josh Pihl (who's only 38, btw). May 28-30 vs CLEVELAND This year's squad sits at 23-25, a marked betterment from last season's 58-win effort. Although the offense has been a bit iffy--12th in runs despite 7th in AVG and 5th in OBP--the secret sauce has been 7th-ranked pitching, a vast improvement from last year's disastrous staff. Back to the offense: five regulars are over .300, including former Isles Cam Daley and Julian Cardenas, although only Manny Ayala (.342) is really pounding it. They should be better when new 3B Austin Reinwald comes off the DL in a few weeks too. On the mound, getting even average to slightly-above-average results from the rotation has been crucial, and a welcome change from recent years. Youngsters Dudley Mele, Sam Tedder, and Taylor Baxter have been reliable and are finally living up to their respective billings. The bullpen has been just okay, with the MR guys outdoing the CL/SU guys by a wide margin. Manager Jose Ariza has somehow been around since 2041, through some very lean years. The roster is loaded with leaders and sparkplugs, a bunch of grinders who aren't let anyone get slack. (And I have to give a shout-out to long-time hitting coach Fðrat Rahim, an Illinois native, surprisingly. Like Ariza, he's been around since the '40s, so you can't say owner Kurt Dolan isn't loyal.) HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (6-1, 2.21) / LH Daniel Croft (5-2, 2.91) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 1.94) CLE pitchers: LH Alex Alvarado (1-5, 5.03) / RH Dudley Mele (6-3, 3.42) / LH Morgan Daws (1-1, 5.17) #49: WIN 7-3 ... HR from Medici and Bennetsen, and 3 H for Matson...Irvin wins his 7th, with another quietly effective outing, backed by 2.1 closing IP from Bohlen #50: LOSS 3-6 ... 8 hits for each team, including 2 HR each, but they get theirs in bunches and we don't...Croft pitches through a tight back, fares poorly #51: WIN 4-3 ... 9th inning GW single by Bennetsen...crucial RBI double by Tipping tied it earlier...Waugh goes 8, but Kearns closes for the win Nice. Two out of three over a competitive Indians team.... Our pitching is now 1st across the board: runs allowed, rotation ERA, bullpen ERA. And we're 1st in AVG, although still only 7th in runs scored.... Sanchez calmed down, but is still hitting .333 in his first week with us. Still no word on Royer's return, which I'm sure will be announced as a surprise some day soon.... Injuries, man: 8 MLB players, plus one in AAA rehab; 6 more hurt in AAA, 3 in AA, and just one in A.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle SP Theo Soole is the latest victim to the injury bug in the Pacific NW. He's the fifth Mariner pitcher out for the season.... The Yankees have won six straight, moving above .500 and into second in the East.... Two way tie for first in the NL East (Richmond and Washington), and a three-way in the Central (St Louis, New Orleans, Cincinnati).... Tampa Bay stud Jose Tavares cranks his 500th career HR off Boston pitcher Kaoru Tanaka. He's 44th on the all-time list, and fourth on the active list behind Lance Powell (586), Erik Reed (551), and Victor Sanchez (535). Taveras has to be a cinch to reach 600, probably sometime in 2057. He's also two hits from 2000 in his career. May 31 @ TEXAS Fitting that we close the month against our latest big rivals. The Rangers are 36-15 and two games ahead of us. Everything's going well: 2nd in runs scored and in runs against; 1st in OPS, 2nd in HR; 1st even in FIP, pitching WAR, and strikeouts. Outside a couple back-end relievers, no one is underperforming. 1-2 batters Emilio Mares and Mike Olivera are hitting .343 and .340, and way down in the #8 spot is Ronnie Halvorson, chugging along at .355. MVP Ryan Boers is "only" hitting .288, but has 17 HR and is a formidable defensive SS. What else? SP Mike Nelson is having a Cy Young start to his season: 7-0, 1.67 ERA, 1.02 WHIP. Fun fact: he hasn't registered a loss in his MLB career. Okay, admittedly he's only had 14 relief appearances in his two prior call-ups, and missed all of last season with injury. (And it will be interesting to see how long he can go this year: he's pitched only 67 times in his five seasons in the Texas system, suffering a serious injury every year.) I console myself by noting that their prospect system ranks only 34th, and their payroll is set to jump up drastically in the next year or two with all the guys they've got to re-sign. (Or let go!) HAW pitcher: RH Mike Bader (3-6, 3.86) TEX pitcher: RH Emanuel Vasquez (4-3, 4.03) #52: WIN 8-5 ... after spotting them an early 5-1 lead, we rebound late, capped by a Pederson HR and 3 RBI from Matson...Medici cranks out 3 hits, staying hot Uplifting way to close out the month, gaining a game on them to boot.... With Booker out, we recall AAA closer Brad Cahill. He's 23 and is finally coming close to his pretty high ceilings, taking a long, sweet time working through our system since 2050. He had a 7.07 ERA in 7 appearances with us last year, but was fanning them to the tune of 14.2 K/9 in AAA this year.... After a solid April, catcher Jamie Collins hit just .168 this month, and with Covington playing better in his limited starts (.260), the vet will rotate in over the rookie for a bit starting next month.... ELSEWHERE: Oakland's been better of late and Toronto is on a six-game losing streak, meaning the Jays have dropped to last in MLB at 15-37, a game worse than the A's.... Steals keep going up, with Philly's Byron Wilmoth leading the majors at 31, on pace for 97 on the season.... There are several two-way players going right now, most of whom are much better hitters than pitchers. But STL's Erik Sloan has been solid at both ends: 7-2 with a 2.57 ERA in 11 pitching starts; and .275/5/15 in 142 AB, including 26 starts in the OF. The third-year player appeared in 128 games last year, batting .254 with 10 HR in 53 OF starts and 28 mound starts. ...... TL;DR Version:** Nearing the 1/3 mark of the season: 17-11 this month (after 18-6 in April) keeps us a game behind Texas (who went 19-9 in May). Although we did slip a bit at just 9-7 for this stretch. I'm still happy with our offense, and picking up Victor Sanchez has worked out great so far. He should be a valuable power bat should Royer's injury prove longer than anticipated; and at any rate most of our backup/injury options from AAA don't hit for power. On the field, the top four batters in the lineup are all at .317 or better, and I've been very pleased that Matson (.325/9/36) has bounced back from a terrible '54. Erik Bennetsen has been more than solid, relegating Josh Hed and Nick Gase to backup roles. And J.J. Simmons, at .344, has shown he still has something left in the tank. On the mound, it's mostly good news. My only quibbles, really, are that Bader and Harris have been pretty inconsistent, with the latter's high ERA belying his 7-2 record. But Waugh has been his usual #1 self, Irvin has bounced back, and Croft is having a nice rookie season. So...if we can stay healthy, we should be battling for the division crown all season. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

12-22-2021, 09:10 PM	#438
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	(The annual jump-ahead-a-few-days-to-do-the-draft-and-system-review. Confused? It'll pass.) 2055 DRAFT AND SYSTEM REVIEW "It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What I do know is that everyone's excited and ready to add a new cohort of no-hopers and instant has-beens to their systems. Congrats, everyone, on adding anywhere between one and three people who'll ever see big league time to the payroll. Now that you're all excited, let's get started... Cleveland's rotten year has them picking first, followed by Montreal, California, Milwaukee, and Toronto for the top five. First round double-dippers include Cincy (#9 and #29), Richmond (#15, #28), and Portland (#21, #26). The Pioneers also have two supplemental round picks, so they're hoping to make a splash and become relevant again by 2060. We're at #27, maybe the first time in decades we've had a non-traded-for first rounder inside the first 30 picks. Based on scouting projections, almost all of the front page in the draft pool is made up of pitchers, including two closers and a good ol' middle reliever in the top ten. The mock draft, of course, has many more position players going in the first round than what the scouts would suggest. And if you're wondering, MLB says we'll select catcher Shawn Ward, who has a nice power bat and is solid defensively, but doesn't make much contact and likes to record a solid strikeout or two every day. Some other facts from this year's draft class: two guys tie for the tallest, at 6'11", while several are 5'8"; heaviest guy comes in at 250, while on of those shorties mentioned earlier tips the scales at just 135; oddest of all are the ten guys on the list who are aged 27, and another twenty or so at 26. The top five picks are as follows: CLE - P Jonathan Narcisse -- very solid pick, already looks like a #2-type SP and could grow into ace level MTL - C Wayne Payne -- slow as cold molasses but is very good everywhere else; not a ton of power but could threaten for batting titles CAL - P Andrew Chartrand -- MLB's mock #1; good but needs that changeup to come around to become legit starter material MIL - P David Russello -- taken too high, imho; nice pitching ceilings, with a four-pitch repertoire; but stamina makes him a reliever or a three-inning starter TOR - P Wilfried Schrama -- solid power pitcher but is 22 already; $9M bonus demand! Finally a solid top five! Turns out that the first round was almost entirely pitchers. All of them have solid ceilings, but a few are major dice rolls, in that they may not develop that third pitch that makes them a worthwhile future star SP. Chartrand, above, fits that bill; as do Josh Osborn (MIN #8), Ron Klinefelter (PIT #12), and John Cuomo (POR #21). But my pick for least solid first rounder goes to KC at #13, taking pitcher Jason Parsons: he doesn't have a hope of developing a third pitch, and doesn't have good enough ceilings to make him a top reliever either. Left a lot of quality pitchers (and hitters) on the board there. Personally, my most disappointing pick was seeing Brooklyn take 3B/1B Ryan Allen at #19: a solid fielder and an across-the-board offensive talent, the kind I gravitate towards. I didn't really think he'd make it to #27, but dang anyway. And New Orleans took SS Joe Boy at #25, winning the first round name-game sweepstakes. (Although Wayne Payne is pretty good too.) And now, that moment you're all waiting for: the Islanders All-Stars of tomorrow. Or at least the AAA washouts of tomorrow. Rnd 1, 27th overall: OF Matthew Walburn, 21, R, Washington. Love this kid. Battler, speedy, solid defense with a big arm, and scouts to have .300/30/100 potential at the plate. Is a little undisciplined with the bat right now, but that could come around. Listed as a CF but likely has a better future in right. Rnd 2, 73rd overall: P Curt Christensen, 21, L, UVA. Big kid (6'5" 210#) with a big fastball and potentially four other pitches. Movement and control, as usual, will need to develop, but his intangibles suggest that won't be an issue. Rnd 3, 109th overall: P Marcus Crawford, 18, L, high school. A bit of a gamble here, as he'll need for that changeup to grow and his movement to fully develop. But he should have good stuff, excellent control, and intangibles to burn. At 18, he's got time to develop too. Rnd 4, 123rd overall: OF Josh Taylor, 21, R, Georgia Tech. No power, and lacks top-line speed, but otherwise projects as a nice #4-type outfielder. Won't strike out, and has a gun for an arm. Rnd 4, 146th overall: OF Mike Grimes, 19, R, JuCo. A 6'6" monster with a huge power bat. What else? Um...he'd make an okay left fielder, has decent contact and his other ceilings are average. Hard worker, so he won't slack off. Failed to sign with SF after last year's draft. Rnd 5, 182nd overall: OF Kyle Simmons, 18, R, high school. Going the modern route by drafting some big power bats and seeing if any of them turn out. Ceilings are above average elsewhere, but not star-level. Also not great in the field, and absolutely cannot move faster than a crawl. But if he pounds homers all the time, he can trot his way to success. Best of the rest: As usual, not much else. Seventh rounder Cam Schroeder could become a solid RP, but not the closer he wants to be right now; Lupe Vega (12th round) is a reliever with intriguing two-way potential; and a trio of listed SS--Kevin Sullivan, Justin Gantt, and Evan Wooters--with middling potentials but great intangibles, will definitely be worth watching. Everyone else would be a surprise. ...... SYSTEM OVERVIEW Another year, another #1 ranked system. This really can't last much longer, to be honest... We have an absurd 13 players in the top 50 of MLB prospects. Six of them are in Hawaii right now, so there should be major changes to this list next year. 3B Jose Villalpando, 19, ranked #1 (no change), 33 G in A: .320/.365/.516; 18 G in AA: .283/.386/.383. Injuries in our system have seen him rise to AA faster than anticipated, but so far he's held his own at the plate. Stil projected to have elite power, but that part of his swing hasn't developed yet. (5 HR in 188 AB this year.) Otherwise, I'm pleased with his development and at just 19 he's not being rushed. SP Ken Taylor, 25, ranked #3 (up from #25), AAA: 5-2, 9 starts, 6.42 ERA. MLB says he's a future #1 SP, but so far I don't see it. Only average stuff, but outstanding control and movement. Despite his slow beginning to the year, I'll probably give him some big league starts this summer. Hard worker, very popular in the clubhouse. He's 25 now, though, so it's time for us to see what he's got, or to dangle him as trade bait perhaps. OF Brian Hassell, 21, ranked #7 (up from #15), AA: .362/.450/.578, 7 HR, 185 AB. Dude is getting close. He keeps hitting the cover off the ball everywhere he goes, and should be in AAA by late summer or September. The only thing close to a negative I can say about him is that as a lefty he'll struggle some against LHP. And that I think he may have lost of touch of his early OF range, making him probably more suited for LF than CF. SS Jake Moore, 23, ranked #8 (up from #23), AAA: .240/.368/.308, 0 HR, 104 AB; 2-for-13 in Hawaii. Still love this guy, who--as I've said before--looks like a slow-footed J.J. Simmons clone. Excellent infield defense paired with .330 potential? Sign me up. Walks a ton and doesn't strike out. Has no power, so it's good that I'll still have someone who can fit the one-HR-a-year slot in the lineup even after Simmons retires. SS Bill Gamboa, 22, ranked #9 (up from #16), AAA: .319/.447/.504, 4 HR, 119 AB; 0-for-9 earlier in Hawaii. I still think he looks more like a super-utility IF than a true ninth-ranked prospect, but maybe I'm all wrong. Playing short in the minors, but looks better at second, which is an issue as he doesn't grade out as well as rookie MLB 2B Lucas Tipping. But as a backup IF who won't hurt you if he has to play in place of someone, he could be excellent for us. P Manny Reyes, 22, ranked #13 (up from #30), MLB: 3-1, 1.08 ERA, 7 K, 8.1 IP. Hasn't pitched much but has been more than solid when given the chance. Jumped all the way from A ball after an excellent camp. If he had a changeup (sound familiar to you?) he'd be ace starter material. But, alas... P Juan Sais, 22, ranked #20 (new), A: 3-5, 5.61 ERA, 59 K, 67.1 IP. Our first rounder from last year hasn't pitched great so far, but my scouts still love him and say he'll be in the rotation by 2057. Power pitcher who can hit 100 on the gun, he's still developing his pitches and needs to work on control (4 BB/9 across 1.5 minor league seasons so far). But his stuff and movement are about there, so he shoud get some AA time this year and be in AAA next year. P Logan Barnett, 17, ranked #21 (new), international complex: no stats. First look at a signing out of Australia from last summer. Still a long way off, and probably won't see rookie ball until he's 19 or 20, assuming he doesn't regress any before then. Finesse pitcher who doesn't look to excel at anything but could be the kind of mid- to low-end SP you always need. C Jamie Collins, 24, ranked #26 (up from #65), MLB: .214/.256/.452, 5 HR, 84 AB. Good camp had him spelling Covington once or twice a week early on, but then Covington's slumpy start has seen him get more starts of late. Fielding is a worry, with four errors already; but he's shown power and was hitting well until a recent slump. If he can return to hitting some for average, he looks like the catcher of the future. At least he's playing well enough to leave me undecided re extending Covington long term or not... P Steve Shinnick, 24, ranked #29 (up from #45), AAA: 4-3, 2.83 ERA, 69 K, 63.2 IP. He's ready for the bigs, and only a multi-week muscle injury kept him from getting a recent call-up after an MLB injury. Still out for another week, but I think he'll get a look later in the summer, and should be a top contender in camp next year. No real weaknesses, although he's not the groundballer type that I usually go for. Among the rest, the next four guys--Lucas Tipping, Daniel Croft, Travis Harris, and Erik Bennetsen--are all contributors in Hawaii right now. Rounding out the guys we have in the top 100 are P Will McGee and OF Rocky DeMars, both in A. McGee took quite a jump this winter, and now looks like a legit MLB prospect; DeMars is still a big power but big K guy, although his power ceiling is high enough that he'll be watched closely over the next year or so. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

12-27-2021, 11:55 AM	#439
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 2055 Twenty-seven games this month, 13 at home, 14 away. We'll see Texas twice, oddly: two games to finish our current series, then again at the end of the month. Plus the Yankees, Tigers, Orioles, and Brewers. That will bring us right up against the halfway mark of the season and then the All-Star break in July. And don't forget the draft! [Which you've...already read about.] June 1-2 @ TEXAS Finishing up the latest battle for the division lead. We took the first game! Can we sweep? HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (7-2, 4.87) / RH Josh Irvin (7-1, 2.25) TEX pitchers: RH Mike Nelson (7-0, 1.67) / LH Bobby Daniel (5-1, 4.14) #53: LOSS 1-8 ... Harris gives up two first inning HR then leaves with a back injury...only outhit 10-7, but we yield four HR, one a grand slam #54: WIN 19-0 ... wow...16 H, 6 BB, 5 2B and 4 HR tonight...5 RBI each for Bennetsen and Matson...three-hit CG by Irvin That last game washed away any bad taste from the first game. We should've banked some of those runs, though.... Harris' back injury will cost him three weeks. To take his spot in the rotation we call up John Loeb, whom we actually lost in the Rule 5 draft in December, to San Diego. But they said "nah" after all, and now here he is. Hard-throwing groundballer, four pitches, good stuff but just okay movement and control. He was a 4th round pick in '51, the same pitcher-heavy draft we took Harris and Andy Burke (both injured), Manny Reyes (in the pen), and current AAAers Elias Tena, Larry Hensley, and Nick Lee.... That last game also moved us up to 3rd in runs scored, quite a leap.... ELSEWHERE: So close to history for Expos pitcher Randy Haddon: two walks and two errors in the ninth cost him a shutout, loaded the bases, and saw him replaced by closer Chris Smith. Smith strikes out the final Brooklyn batter to save the game and earn a team no-hitter in the process. This is the first no-no of the MLB season, and Montreal's first since David Salguero tossed one way back in 2045.... Tampa's Jose Taveras finally reaches 2000 career hits.... Eight straight losses for Toronto, keeping them on the bottom of the bottom. Eight also for Pittsburgh, putting them in range of the sad Expos in the Central. June 4-6 vs NY YANKEES Two losses to start the month has them at 28-26, five games behind Boston and tied with Baltimore and Tampa Bay. Ninth--mid-pack--in runs scored but fifth in runs allowed, with a +30 differential. Lineup stud Chris Mitchell, the 2053 AL MVP, slumped last year but has rebounded to .347/15/41. Behind him, Melvin Lopez (.302/14/35) and Dave Rivera (.300/11/30) add to a formidable 2-3-4 punch. Their slugging jerk of a catcher, Arturo Sena, already has 18 HR, but leadoff guy Andrew Taylor--usually a .330ish hitter--is down at .250. Oh, and these guys lead the AL with 103 home runs. On the mound, their overall mound stats look good, but individual results are wildly mixed. Starters Jose Sedillo and Mike Knaak have been ace, but the other three have been...much less so. Closer Tim Downing has struggled, but SU/MR guys Frank Casper and Josh Shank have been nearly unhittable. Third year manager (and Paterson, NJ, native) Anthony "Yo!" Collazo always seems to have his teams right around the .515 mark, so he's meeting expectations there. (And the clubhouse vibe is "unhappy," due to four disruptive influences: Mitchell, Casper, Sedillo, and Elijah Bragg. All are core players too.) HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 3.34) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 2.07) / RH Mike Bader (3-6, 3.92) NYY pitchers: LH Rick Minteer (4-3, 6.99) / LH Jose Sedillo (5-2, 2.80) / LH Elijah Bragg (4-3, 5.28) #55: WIN 8-7 ... SP get beat up, as it's 8-5 after three...seven combined HR, three for us, but we are outhit 11-9...3 H and a HR for Bennetsen #56: WIN 4-3 ... winning ugly again, getting outhit and committing two errors...Medici and Pederson homer, but closer Kearns gets hurt #57: WIN 9-5 ... two more errors but overall a more solid outing...11 hits, 3 (and another HR) from Bennetsen, and Cov comes alive with a pair of doubles It may not have looked pretty, but a sweep is a sweep. Outhit twice, and we made five errors (three by pitchers though).... No SP made it out of the sixth inning, so kudos to the pen for holding up their end at least.... Royer finally has a target return date, and it'll come after the next series. Jake Moore has had only 13 AB since his recall so will probably be on his way back to AAA.... Kearns injury is only a two-day dtd thing, so he'll be fine.... ELSEWHERE: Houston's Mat Caldwell no-hit the Orioles in a 9-0 drubbing. This is the first one-man no hitter in the league this year and the first for the Astros since Jay Russo did it to the Islanders in 2035.... 3B Ryan Pfaffle was a big free agent pick up for the Twins this past off-season, adding more power punch to an already loaded lineup. But he's already on the bench after a .147 start, sitting behind the super glove of Mike Lee, an amazing defensive player who won a Gold Glove with Cleveland last year. Lee was a top five pick by the Indians in '51, but oddly they gave up on him after his batting potentials declined from their pre-draft heights. As everyone seems to hate Pfaffle anyway, it seems the Twins are better off and should meet his recent request for a trade. June 7-9 @ DETROIT Hitting the road and we begin with a set against our other arch-nemeses. Once again, the Tigers lead the Central, at 35-22 and five games up on the Chisox. They have another well-balanced team: 3rd in offense and 3rd in pitching, with a +82 run differential. I love our player system, but these guys are at least as good, and much better at developing a ton of power bats. To an already established lineup they've added sophomore stars Manny Molina and Elliott Wheat and old free agent grabs Willie Alonzo (C) and Evan Weiser (SS). The one fly in the ointment is 22-year-old five-tool stud Roberto Gomez is out for the year after making just 14 starts; he missed all of last year and appeared in only 10 AA games in '53. The guy is MVP material if he can ever stay healthy. On the mound, it's a veteran rotation, with only Trevor Saunders and Tony Gamez (both 29) under the 30 mark. Ageless Raul Bravo (37) is off to a strong start and just passed 3800 career strikeouts. Tyler Macklin is the third-year manager, and the club hasn't missed a beat under his watch. Ten straight playoff appearances--with eight division titles--show how long they've been a top franchise, but the one missing piece is an elusive World Series title: 1984 is still the last time they held the trophy. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (debut) / RH Josh Irvin (8-1, 2.01) / LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 3.72) DET pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (5-3, 4.82) / RH Trevor Sanders (5-4, 4.92) / RH Tony Gamez (4-5, 4.48) #58: WIN 5-0 ... Loeb: 4 H, 0 R over 7.2 IP...Sanchez homers and we add four doubles, ten hits overall #59: LOSS 0-6 ... Irvin's first bad start in a while, giving up 5 R in 6.2 IP...outhit just 11-9, but they score five on two HR, we get zero from none #60: LOSS 6-8 ... we blow a 4-0 lead and outhit them 12-8 but still lose...Croft continues to really struggle Well that went south in a hurry.... Irvin should recover from his first bad start in over a month, but Croft's ERA has more than doubled over his last five starts, and he's lost his control (13 BB in 21 IP, with just 12 K) and allowed 7 HR. With Carbajal coming off rehab in ten days, it's beginning to look like Croft may have two more starts to figure things out.... Royer comes off the DL and gets a hit in his first game back. He'll split time with Sanchez at third, since the latter has cooled off quite a bit after his hot start. Jake Moore heads back to AAA to get some quality playing time.... ELSEWHERE: Another no-hitter! Houston's Robbie Camp has been way below expectations (2-6, 5.79 ERA) in his first year in the AL, but took a 4-0 win over the Brewers for the disappointing (24-36) Astros.... Washington and Richmond continue to swap places atop the NL East, while LA is slowly tightening its grip on the West, now 7 games up on the DBacks.... Zephs pitcher Chad Akers, at 38, is not only off to a hot 7-3 start, but is hitting .273 and has an OPS+ of 112. Someone needs to make him a DH and watch him pop 25 HR in the AL. June 10-12 @ SEATTLE Same story thus far this season for the M's as was last season: 17-7 in April, 14-22 since. The offense has continued to decline, now 11th in runs (although still 3rd in HR). Pitching is 13th, and not helped by having eight guys on the DL. DH Ger van Mourik is still tearing things up, .327/16/44, while Jon Terrell with just 6 HR is far away from his usual 35+ output. Injury to excellent closer Marco Mendez has seen the promotion of the wonderfully-named Jimmy Unangst to that role: he's given up zero runs in 3.2 IP to date. Their second-ranked prospect system has a number of solid-looking pitchers, with my favorite probably being 17-year-old Manny Minjarez. If his third pitch (a knuckle curve) develops, he'll approach true ace level. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 2.23) / RH Mike Bader (4-6, 4.19) / LH John Loeb (1-0, 0.00) SEA pitchers: RH Danny Diaz (6-5, 5.40) / LH Chris Salmela (3-0, 1.75) / RH Dan Crews (1-2, 3.60) #61: WIN 10-5 ... Simmons goes 5-for-5 with a pair of doubles and 2 runs...3 RBI each for Matson and Sanchez...17 hits total #62: WIN 8-6 ... a quiet game gets loud in the 7th as we score 5 and they score 3...we finally win in the 11th thanks to Lynn's 2-run HR...Kearns goes 3 IP for the win #63: WIN 2-1 ... only 6 hits apiece, but we win it on Tipping's solo HR in the 8th and Espino's RBI single in the 9th...Loeb solid again, over 8 IP tonight Sweep moves us into a tie for first with Texas, and drops the Mariners below .500.... We're now 1st in AL run and AVG, 2nd in OBP, 3rd in OPS. Also 1st in most pitching categories. Feels good.... Kevin Kelley comes off the DL, so back to AAA goes IF Jim Pfeifer, who went 3-for-10 in limited duty.... Loeb has now allowed just one run in 15.2 IP over his first two MLB starts. He's the same age as the now-veteran Bader and Irvin, so he took his time developing and this has NOTHING AT ALL to do with me holding him back too long.... ELSEWHERE: It's Good to be Rich: LA extended pitcher Josh Gall for 7 years at $21M per. Gall is a 30-year-old 8-year vet who's made 24 starts in his career, but is now paid like a #1 starter. And he would rate that highly legitimately if he had any stamina, as his numbers are top-notch. He'd make a good closer too, but for now the Dodgers have him at neither position. Must be nice to afford a $21M middle reliever.... Mediocre play of late has reduced the Red Sox lead in the AL East to four games, but at least #1 SP Yuya Watabe is finally showing his stuff: 10-2, 2.72 ERA, 1.8 WAR, 81 FIP-. Watabe, 23, is already in his third season but hadn't looked impressive at all until this year.... LA is the first NL team to reach 40 wins, and now has an 8-game lead over Arizona and Portland. June 14-16 vs HOUSTON More dismals for the Astros, now at 25-38 and mired in fifth place. The offense sits 15th in runs, pitching 10th, and a -50 run differential. CF Erik Kinnison has been fine, at .289/17/37, and old-man DH Juan Rodriquez has 16 HR, reaching 400 for his career. But star Jose Renteria is hitting just .213, about 100 points below his career number. Mat Caldwell tossed a no-hitter earlier this month and has an ERA below 4, but no one else has been consistently solid, across the rest of the staff. The clubhouse is unhappy too, with a cadre of slackers bringing down the mood for everyone else. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (8-2, 2.36) / LH Daniel Croft (5-3, 4.28) / LH Matt Waugh (7-1, 2.51) HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (2-1, 5.03) / RH Jason Knight (6-3, 4.20) / RH Mat Caldwell (3-8, 3.58) #64: LOSS 2-6 ... 2 hits each for Matson and Medici, but little else tonight...Irvin has an off night despite allowing only six hits #65: WIN 4-2 ... Croft is solid, allowing just 2 solo HR and one other hit...Medici and Bennetsen homer #66: WIN 6-2 ... Waugh fans 10 over 8 IP, and we win despite being outhit...Lynn's bases loaded triple sparks a 5-run 6th inning Two wins here keeps us tied with Texas, at 45-21, and seven games ahead of California.... Hitting was generally subpar this series, but most of the guys are still going well. Covington and Sanchez, however, are not, and I'm still tinkering with some sort of platoon at those position--C and 3B--for now.... I'll also have roster decisions to make when Ulkini (IF) and Harris (SP) come off the DL in a week.... All of our draft picks but one--16th round OF Isaiah Dixon--have signed. Dixon is demanding half a mill, but doesn't figure to bring much to the table other than a decent glove. So ta-ta Isaiah.... ELSEWHERE: LA now has a ten game lead in the NL West, with Arizona having lost six straight, and San Diego and Portland not moving up either.... Six wins in a row for Cincinnati, pushing them past STL and CHI and just a game behind New Orleans.... Baltimore has hit 70 wins only twice in the last eight years, but this year? Halfway there, at 35-31! Former Chisox SS Chris Rock is hitting .354 and driving the offense, so it'll be sad to see the O's wilt once he suffers his annual season-ending injury in a week or two. ...... TL;DR Version: Very solid 10-4 start to the month, and a 45-21 overall record, as noted above. (Tied for the best record in MLB, btw.) Little to complain about, but, me being me, I will anyway: not much hitting at catcher (Collins .234/5/14; Covington .218/3/18), and 3B is still unsettled (Royer is better but still down at .241/3/20 and Sanchez has cooled off to .234). In right, Pederson is hitting only .262, but has 11 HR and a .946 OPS. Backup OFs Hed, Gase, and Espino are all below .250, but Hed does have 7 HR in 78 AB. And injuries continue to bug us, with eight players currently out to varying degrees: RP Cahill is back from his dtd tomorrow; IF Ulkini returns in a week; and SP Harris comes off the DL in four days. Harris may go to AAA to get regular starts, as he was struggling before he got hurt. Out for the season are SP Pearse and Burke, and RP Booker, Yaung, and Silva. The good news is that replacements for all those injured players have performed well, so fingers crossed that continues. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

01-01-2022, 02:11 PM	#440
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 17-19 vs BALTIMORE Yes, they've been pretty rotten for years now (only two 70+ win seasons in the last seven), but so far this season are keeping the plates spinning with a 35-31 record. The underlying numbers don't look great, however: 11th in runs for and against, with a -16 run differential. Only in HR (at 8th) are they in the top ten in any major stat category. Chris Rock, signed away from the Chisox, is hitting .354, and hopefully won't suffer his annual devastating leg injury any day now. Power comes from 1B Marcus Dotson (19 HR) and 2B Steve McClellan (10), with contributions from Isles castoffs Kenny Welch (11) and Kyle Crowl (14). On the mound, there's little to suggest any solid play, outside of closer Alex Juarez (2.89, 15 SV) and rookie SP Josh Crosby. There's good news also on the prospect front, with a 4th-ranked system featuring six players in the top 100. Top guy (and #10 in MLB) 3B Justin Horton was recently called up and is hitting only .160 but has 2 HR in 25 AB. Most everyone else, however, is down in A or rookie ball, so not guys who'll be seen any time soon. And it appears that former #1 overall pick Eddie Feltman (in '52) is a bust, with his ceilings suggesting he's a utility IF at best; he started the year in AA but was called up a few weeks ago, and hasn't cracked the lineup yet. I guess there's still time for the nearly-24-year-old, but he's not looking like the guy you pick to become a franchise cornerstone. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (4-6, 4.50) / LH John Loeb (2-0, 0.57) / RH Josh Irvin (8-3, 2.70) BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (5-4, 5.11) / RH Andy Ayers (3-7, 6.43) / LH Josh Crosby (6-4, 4.15) #67: WIN 10-0 ... Medici, Matson, and Bennetsen go deep, with Matson hitting a SLAM...Bader goes the distance, allows 6 H, fans 3 #68: WIN 12-4 ... Pederson homers twice, and Medici scores 5 times on 3-for-3 hitting with 2 BB (and another HR)...Loeb comes back to earth, still gets the win #69: WIN 11-4 ... Royer's turn tonight, putting two into the seat and driving in 6 runs...Bennetsen homers again and knocks in 4...Irvin gets a CG, 8-hitter Crazy offense here, but without unseemly amounts of hits, only a couple more hits than runs scored in each game.... Eight HR puts us over 100 for the season, and we now have more HR than steals for the first time in, what, over a year?... P Danny Carbajal ends his AAA rehab, but as he's been pretty bad there and we've got everyone going well on the big club, he gets DFA'd. Hopefully no one will claim him, but maybe a fresh start would do him some good.... Travis Harris will come off the DL tomorrow and will head to AAA to sort himself out.... ELSEWHERE: Third no-hitter of the year--all three this month--goes to Seattle's Conrad Robertson, the 31-year-old vet shutting down the Marlins, fanning six and walking two.... Streaks everywhere! The good: five wins has Hawaii a game up on Texas; 7 wins puts LA eleven games up in the West, making a mockery of the rest of the division; 8 straight for Philly, now just three games behind the Nats. The bad: 5 losses for the O's, getting battered by the Islanders just now; slumps also for Houston and San Francisco, dropping them well off even the wild card hunt already.... Richmond 3B Dante Padilla is the first batter to 4 WAR, and also leads the NL in hitting at .346. He also has 21 HR but just 37 RBI. June 20-22 @ CALIFORNIA Still playing well, at 38-31, but they've gone 10-11 since we played them last. Tied for the second wildcard slot with Chicago as well. Offense is still down, at 14th in runs, but pitching sits 6th, which still gives them a -1 run differential. William Swanson has cooled off a bit, batting "only" .308 now, but has banged out 23 HR. Also concerning is that career .300 hitters--at 1-2 in the lineup--Dan Dellinger and Mike Eskridge are both batting just .260. Everyone else but Mauricio Marquez (at .312) is hitting in the .240-.250 range. Since I mentioned a former #1 overall pick in the O's series, why not talk about another one here. Josh Hohn has the rare distinction of being selected #1 twice, by the Rangers in '46 and the Pirates the following year. A groundballer with big stuff, superb movement, and two elite pitches, he figured to be a near-lock as the Pirates ace of the future. Never worked out. A lack of control (7.0 BB/9 for his career) and a third pitch that remained subpar relegated him to middle relief duties, and he's made just 7 starts out of his 161 career appearances, earning only 0.4 career WAR. Forrest Gump was right: "You just never know what you're going to get with #1 overall draft picks." HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (6-3, 4.09) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 2.49) / RH Mike Bader (5-6, 4.10) CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (9-2, 3.64) / RH Seth O'Neill (3-8, 6.88) / RH Aaron Moore (5-4, 4.37) #70: WIN 6-5 ... Old Man Alert! A Victor Sanchez solo HR in the 12th wins it, and was his third hit of the night...2 H for Simmons...each team took 7 walks #71: LOSS 6-7 ... Waugh leaves with a 6-3 lead, but Reyes blows it in the 9th and is left in to give up 4 runs and take the loss...3-run HR for Bennetsen and Matson #72: WIN 5-4 ... Covington is tonight's hero, going 4-for-4 with a HR and 2 RBI...3 hits each for Lynn and Matson Three one-run games, meaning no non-gray hairs left for anyone on the coaching staff.... Five regulars are hitting over .300, and even Covington has his average up near .250. I swear I should just keep him in a deep freeze until June each year, as he's always terrible at the plate early in every season.... Croft has the worst ERA on the rotation, at 4.31, which is still half a run better than the league average at 4.84. But with some interesting prospects in AAA right now, and Travis Harris just off the DL and shaking off the rust there too, I might play musical chairs at the #5 spot, just to give some guys a look or two. We'll see.... Danny Carbajal is gone. Claimed off waivers by both Atlanta and Baltimore, the O's get him, and he may yet become their best SP (which...isn't saying much, sadly). So long Danny, god luck and good speed.... ELSEWHERE: Cubs OF--and former Isles star--Josh Frederick has suffered his usual long-term every-other-year injury this week: a torn quad which has already kept him out several weeks and will see him miss 2-3 more months. He's missed half a season or more every other year since '50, which is one reason I included him in the mega-trade that brought us future stud (fingers crossed) OF Brian Hassell and solid RP Sam Bohlen.... Eleven wins in a row for the Phils, putting them two in back of Washington and tied with Richmond in second place.... More bad news for Oakland ace Jim Schwartz, out for the season with a torn flexor tendon. A guaranteed 5-6 WAR producer, once he hit 30 his body has just quit on him, letting him make just 37 total starts over the last four years. After missing spring training and all of April, he made five solid starts for the A's before his latest injury. With Oakland toiling at the bottom of the division for some time now, I almost traded a handful of prospects for him a few years back. Good thing I passed on his $34M salary ask in free agency and went with Matt Waugh and his, um, $35M price tag instead. June 24-26 @ MILWAUKEE A franchise that rarely seems to put it all together, they've been pretty moribund for a couple decades now, despite two surprise World Series appearances (no wins) in the last decade. Pitching was awful last year, with a team ERA over six; despite some generally better numbers this year, they're still last in the AL. Josh Kennedy--off injury rehab for just a month now--has been very good, but no one else has. The offense has been better, at least middling at 9th in runs scored. Mitch Elmore looks capable of 200+ hits and a .350 average, but his lack of desire at taking any walks and his inability to get along with other humans makes him a less-than-desirable leadoff hitter. Rookie CF Bob Keefauver is hitting .283 with 10 HR so far, and sophomore 1B Ricky Ayala is going .290/22/40 in his first full season as a starter. Free agent grab Josh Conley has been solid at the plate, .306/14/53, but like Elmore is a disaster as a person. In fact, a core of ten players are making life miserable for everyone else, leading to a feuding clubhouse. Fortunately, most of these guys will be gone this fall (excepting Elmore and the decrepit old a*hle Dan Starr, finally showing his age at .219 with just 5 HR), so a rebuild could hopefully start immediately. Unfortunately, however, a 29th-ranked farm system won't help along those lines. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (3-0, 2.05) / RH Josh Irvin (9-3, 2.81) / LH Daniel Croft (6-3, 4.31) MIL pitchers: RH Josh Kennedy (2-0, 3.25) / RH Jeremy Atkins (6-5, 4.09) / RH Tyler Rowe (4-5, 4.40) #73: WIN 9-5 ... Loeb is chased during a 5-run 5th, but we score all 9 runs late to come back bigly...Pederson homers twice, and a handful of guys get 2-3 hits each #74: LOSS 8-9 ... our turn to blow it, with Kearns suffering through a 5-run 9th and getting left behind by the team bus #75: WIN 8-3 ... consistent pitching at last, and everybody contributes to a 15-hit attack, 13 of them singles...Croft does walk 6 in 7 IP Our pitching was actually not so bad, excepting a couple of individual meltdowns. Makes the total numbers look worse, but most guys are still going well.... Lua Ulkini comes off the DL, so I send down light-hitting defensive IF sub Kevin Kelley.... Bullpen ERA is still hanging on to 1st overall despite some recent breakdowns.... Victor Sanchez continues to be a roller coaster since his signing, raising his average nearly 40 points over these last two series, back up to .276. He's also hit 5 HR, and is now 11 away from 550 on his career.... ELSEWHERE: STL is tied with Cincy for first in the NL Central, and SP Jose Tellez has done his part of late, with back-to-back shutouts in his last two starts.... Speaking of Cincy, they made a trade with Oakland just now, and at first I thought they completely hoodwinked the A's. The Reds sent 43-year-old Lance Powell and prospect OF Matt Hall and received SP Eric Stockton, 25. Stockton, I thought, was ace material; but closer inspection shows he missed all of last season after elbow surgery, and this year has completely lost his game since coming back, with a 5.82 ERA and 37 K but 32 BB in 68 IP. Hall is the prize here, a slugging prospect who's work ethic could see his other--average looking, tbh--hitting ceilings boom, with luck. Powell makes no sense, however: a team captain who would be valuable in a down-the-stretch playoff drive, like Cincy will be in, he's now with the no-hoper A's, quite a comedown for the future Hall of Fame guy. This may only end up working for Cincy if Stockton can bounce back and show any form at all. June 27-29 vs TEXAS Back into a first-place tie with us thanks to a sweep of the Indians, these guys are still among the class of the league. Killing it in both directions, 3rd in offense and 2nd in pitching, with a tasty +121 run differential. And first in HR, of course. Everyone has reached double figures in homers, except for leadoff batter Emilio Mares (with 6), but as he's hitting .356 that lack of power can be excused. Really, what can you complain about when your #8 batter, Ronnie Halverson, is hitting .333/18/41? Unacceptable, from my viewpoint. The only mild blemish I can see anywhere is the bullpen ERA, situated 8th in the league, with a handful of guys having great seasons, and an equal handful having truly awful ones. So you're saying there's a chance.... Hard to believe it was only five years ago that these guys were still rolling on a 27-year streak without seeing the post-season; now they've won 97+ games four years running, own one World Series title (and probably should have two, tbh), and are on pace to have their best regular season in franchise history. One other thing: six pitchers on the DL is not a good sign, but that the best two--SP Mike Nelson and Kevin Cahill--are due back in 4 days and 2 weeks, definitely is. No reason not to expect this team to either battle us all the way into October, or get hot and pull away from us. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 2.56) / RH Mike Bader (6-6, 4.13) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.25) TEX pitchers: RH Jesus Aguilar (3-2, 4.35) / RH Paul Labbe (6-4, 3.70) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (6-3, 3.94) #76: WIN 3-1 ... Pederson accounts for all our runs with 2 HR and an RBI double...Waugh is stout as usual, 7 H and 9 K through 7.2 IP #77: WIN 7-6 ... Medici's two-out solo shot in the 9th claims this one...Lynn's bases loaded double is our other big knock...Bohlen with 3.1 relief IP to clam things down #78: WIN 5-4 ... HUGE...four HR tonight, with Gase taking his turn to hit the 9th inning winner...Ulkini goes 3-for-3 in his return, but gets hurt again SWEEEEEP! Not bad, considering we got outhit those first two games. How we hit more HR than these monsters did is a mystery, but we shoo them away nonetheless.... Medici and Pederson pace the team with 19 HR each; Tipping has 15 but has been pretty quiet lately.... Speaking of power, or a lack of it, stud power prospect Jose Villalpando is hitting .290 in 124 AB in AA, but has yet to homer.... We're at the stage of the season where 1-2 minor leaguers are going down with injuries every day.... ELSEWHERE: Recent NL player of the week Adam Walker (WSH) is having a banner follow-up to his breakout '54 season, going at .362/32/82 in 76 games, leading all three categories. He went .313/47/117 last year.... Walker is joined by fellow NLers Chris Goldthwait (PIT) and Heath Lewellyn (CIN) in the 30 HR club.... A promising start to the season has devolved into a 7-19 June for Arizona, putting them 10 games under .500 and 19 games behind LA.... While KC--8-2 of late--is rising in the AL Central, the Indians are sinking fast, on a ten-game skid and falling to fifth in the division.... After two seasons in the outer darkness, Cincy's Cris Frias seems to have rediscovered himself. Sure, he still walks over 6 per 9 IP, but a BABIP 140 points lower than his '54 rate, plus an ERA over 2 runs lower, have certainly contributed to the Reds strong start, which has them at 44-34 and a game behind STL in the NL Central. June 30 vs OAKLAND The rise of the Rangers coincides almost neatly with the decline of the A's, although they did win 101 games and reach the post-season in '52. It's been tough sledding since then, though, and this year's 25-53 mark may or may not be a bottoming-out. The offense is already there, last in the league in runs and OPS, and bottom-three everywhere else. Josh Robertson, a 40-year-old former Isles star, is the only guy hitting right now, at .281. Ryan Walton has 20 HR, but is batting just .225, while Felix Reyes is a long way from his 50-HR days, with only 11. Pitching is hardly better, at 16th, but there is some young talent in the rotation that seems to be starting to jell. The clubhouse is full of solid guys but is unhappy right now, probably because of the record. And...why they traded for 43-year-old Lance Powell is beyond me. He's a good guy and a future Hall of Famer, so maybe he was the price to get solid prospect Matt Hall, who swings a big power bat but needs a lot of development. (But is now the team's #1 prospect, btw.) HAW pitcher: RH Josh Irvin (9-3, 2.92) OAK pitcher: RH Tom Baker (3-7, 5.83) #79: WIN 9-3 ... 3 H for Simmons, and HR for Matson, Cov, and Tipping...Irvin is pulled for some reason with one out left in the game, because why not Always a good way to end a solid month, and we maintain our three game lead over Texas.... This recent power surge has moved us into 7th in the AL in home runs, rarified air for us.... Ulkini's diagnosis is mild: leg strain, dtd for five days.... With the All-Star game coming up in a week, Matt Waugh is our only lock to make the team. Medici, Simmons, Irvin, and Kearns are with the leaders at their respective positions, but are no sure-things.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans' Zion Robinson not only no-hit the Cubs, but tossed the 9th perfect game in dynasty history, and the first since Gary Buttacavoli did it in '49, pitching for...New Orleans. This is the fourth no-hitter in franchise history.... On the same night, Brooklyn lost to Richmond 1-0 in ten innings, with Robins pitcher Brad Thornton allowing just 3 hits in a complete game effort, but taking the loss.... Cleveland drops it's eleventh straight. ...... TL;DR Version: We wrap up June on an 11-2 run, and went 21-6 for the whole month. Team numbers continue to look great: first in offense, first in pitching, and a +181 run differential. No one is having a killer stats year, although Simmons has bounced back with a .349 average, good for 4th in the league. Other standouts so far have been a) Pederson and his 1.068 OPS, second in the league; and b) pretty much the entire pitching staff. Stability has been the watchword here. Finally, I think when he's fully healthy in a few days, it's time to see what Lua Ulkini can do as our full-time third baseman, ahead of both Royer and Sanchez. They've both been okay of late, but Ulkini's numbers (see below) in his limited appearances have been outstanding; let's see what he can do with a couple of weeks in the lineup, at least against RHP. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!