Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! - Page 23

Bub13 · 01-07-2022, 03:13 PM

Two more games against Oakland and then the All-Star break. After that, 23 games for the rest of the month, 11 at home. We'll also end the month playing the A's. The trade deadline will be coming soon, and as it looks right now we'll be standing pat. There's little on the trade block that I would even consider, and most of those guys anyway are way overpriced. What that decision will come down to, in the end, will be most likely contigent upon health: will any injuries this month compromise our depth? Time will tell.

In some team news, OF Erik Bennetsen is named AL Rookie of the Month for June: .327/8/26 in 110 AB, and a .976 OPS.

July 1-2 vs OAKLAND
Last two games of this series, and the last games before the break. We hit the road for a bit after this.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (7-3, 4.28) / LH Matt Waugh (9-1, 2.47)
OAK pitchers: LH Sean Guerrero (3-5, 5.26) / LH Chris Larimer (3-5, 3.68)

#80: WIN 2-1 ... Medici cranks out his 20th, but Royer's shot in the 9th is the winner...Croft goes 7 IP, only 5 H but 4 BB, and 8 K
#81: WIN 8-2 ... Waugh gets his 10th win, fanning 9 in 7.2 IP...Lynn collects three hits, while Hed gets two including a HR

Very nice. Seven game win streak puts us four games ahead of the Rangers at the break, and the halfway point of the season.... Like I said in my last post, I'm not unhappy with the way anyone is performing, really, even if I could wish for some improvement in spots. And while I complain some about our 3B production, the guys have combined for 13 HR, only slightly below Royer's usual 30 HR pace of the past two seasons.... Waugh and Irvin have reached 10 wins on the season, and Waugh has 131 K in as many innings.... International Amateurs are out, and I make bids on two guys. If I get them my budget will be busted, but whatever. I'm avoiding the $20M guys: seems like too much of a crapshoot to put that much money into someone who likely won't be as good as he's currently advertised. Better, imo, to spend less on mid-ceiling players with good/great intangibles.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's season may have turned to dust, but third-year RF Kevin Reynolds is having a breakout year: batting .349 with 5.2 WAR, and his 24 HR already matches his previous career high.... KC's Steve Scibek was named pitcher of the month for June, and kept that momentum going in July with a 4-hit shutout of the Chisox. He's given up just 4 runs in his last five starts, all wins, with two shutouts.... Teams really do take their time signing those draft picks. At the end of June, 18 of the 34 first round picks from a month ago were still unsigned. Two days later, it's down to 14, but there are only four days left to get 'em done.

It's All-Star time! Maybe your favorite Islander made the squad! Maybe not... This year, we're sending three guys, all pitchers: SP Matt Waugh and Josh Irvin, and CL Nate Kearns. Waugh is voted as the AL starter, but sometimes the game goes against that choice. And I find it a little odd that the league's best offense sent zero batters. Oh well, enjoy some time off guys. For the Prospects Game, we send eight players: P Juan Sais (A), Steve Shinnick (AAA), and Ken Taylor (AAA); 1B Eric Mele (A); 3B Jose Villalpando (AA); SS Jake Moore (AAA) and Joey Ulrich (R); and OF Rocky DeMars (A) and Brian Hassell (AA).

The games come and go, with the usual fanfare. The AL wins the Prospects Game 5-2, with Isles players going a combined 3-for-10, and two pitchers tossing two shutout innings. The AL also won the big boy's game, 9-5, scoring 5 runs in the 9th to claim a tight game. Irvin and Kearns both pitched scoreless innings, but Waugh--the top pitching vote getter--didn't pitch at all. ??? Weird, but at least he won't have to rest before his next start.

Back to business.

July 7-9 @ CLEVELAND
A thirteen game winless streak has put the kibosh on an otherwise promising .500 start, and dropped them to last in the Central. They've been outscored 38-76 over that stretch as well, with the offense plummeting to 14th in runs despite having the 7th-ranked AVG and OBP. RF Matt Hill (.323/18/59) and 1B Manny Ayala (.329/9/41) have been solid, as have former Isles Cam Daley (.304/16/40) and Julian Cardenas (.277/9/36). Pitching is 5th in runs allowed, but the rotation has slipped to 10th in ERA. But there's still some good young talent here, and despite the recent downturn this franchise seems to be heading in the right direction otherwise. Another solid SP, some RP free agents, and letting the young guys develop some power (they're 15th in HR), and they'll become competitive in a really tough division.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (10-1, 2.47) / RH Mike Bader (6-6, 4.37) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.60)
CLE pitchers: RH Dudley Mele (7-7, 3.78) / RH Sam Tedder (6-5, 5.13) / RH Jose Rubio (4-5, 4.48)

#82: WIN 1-0 ... 3 hits for Tipping, and Covington gets the winning RBI in the 2nd...Waugh goes 8 solid innings...but Simmons and Sanchez get hurt, both out for a bit
#83: WIN 7-3 ... Collins doubles home 2 in the 10th, and we add two more to finally grab this one...HR for Matson...Bader gets to go all 10 IP, just crazy
#84: LOSS 4-5 ... well dang...we allow the winner in the 9th, handing the Indians a win they didn't really deserve

So we suffer the indignity of ending their 15-game losing streak, but otherwise no big deal.... Bigger deal is losing Simmons to injury for five weeks, with a strained lat. We'll miss his .351 average and .406 OBP. Jake Moore comes back from AAA, where he was hitting .288 and has gotten hot over the last few weeks. He hit .167 in a brief call-up earlier. Sanchez suffers a sore foot and is dtd for five days. Hopefully we won't need him.... Loeb has given up 17 runs over his last four starts, so he could be going back down in a bit for some more seasoning. Travis Harris has been unimpressive since going down, so if I send Loeb back we might see someone else get a shot in the rotation for a stretch.... ELSEWHERE: The Dodgers have dropped five straight, bringing their lead in the West to "only" ten games. Likewise, Boston leads Baltimore (!) and NY by ten in the AL East.... Philly's Byron Wilmoth stole 50 bases last year, but has 43 already this year. He's on pace for 83. Defending AL champ Emilio Mares (TEX) has 38, pretty much on pace to match the 71 he had last season.... It took a while, but all of this year's first round picks have been signed. Two guys--pitchers David Lee (SF) and George Sandberg (RIC) are with their parent clubs for some reason. Ruin them early, huh guys?

July 10-12 @ CALIFORNIA
Eight games under .500 since June 1, but they're still .500 overall and not out of it for wild card contention. Hitting ranks 13th, and is holding them back, with no stats in the top ten anywhere. William Swanson and Mauricio Marquez are the stars, still going great, but they're not getting much help. Pitching sits 6th, but will be tested with one SP and three RP on the injured list. SP Aaron Moore has been decent if not impressive in the rotation, but has also made 35 starts in the field, across the middle infield. He's hitting .258/7/23 in 132 AB, slightly better than last year when he managed 11 HR in 79 starts. Honestly, I'm not sure where I would play him if he were in Hawaii. He rates well on the mound and in the field (solid defense at 3B and the OF, fwiw); after seeing him toss a couple of MLB seasons as a pitcher, however, I might stick him in the field full-time by now, especially after last season's 7.78 ERA in 21 pitching starts.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (10-3, 2.94) / LH Daniel Croft (7-3, 4.08) / LH Matt Waugh (11-1, 2.33)
CAL pitchers: LH Shaun Ostrander (3-2, 3.74) / RH John Weston (1-0, 3.63) / RH George Millard (7-5, 4.19)

#85: WIN 14-7 ... it was 13-6 after 4 1/2 innings...Medici and Tipping hit 3-run HR, and Bennetsen goes 3-for-4 with 3 RBI...Irvin gets beat up early tho
#86: WIN 8-3 ... Croft goes the distance, his ERA helped by a couple unearned runs...Pederson smacks his 20th, Medici homers again...Tipping hurt, pending diagnosis
#87: WIN 4-3 ... another night, another HR for Medici...he and Collins homer in the 8th to give us the sweep...2 hits each for Sanchez and Pederson

Three solid wins, always a great thing, and a five-game lead over Texas...Tipping's diagnosis is still pending. We've got some depth, but it won't be good to have our entire middle infield on the DL.... Jake Moore has looked good since his recall, getting a hit in all five starts and going 6-for-19 overall.... Prospect Villalpando--he of the mile-high power ceiling--finally hits his first AA home run in his 160th at bat.... We're the first team to 60 wins on the season.... ELSEWHERE: Seven losses for LA, and now an 8-game lead over Portland. Getting tighter.... Also an eight-game lead for Boston, with NY having won five straight.... Minnesota, in the middle of a bad stretch, sent catcher Devin Swan to Cincy for a trio of prospects. Swan, 27, has been hitting out of his socks the past two seasons--over .330--after being a subpar hitter for the first four years of his career. Solid defensively and a fan favorite, Swan will take over from 35-year-old Carlos Morales, batting just .196. The Reds are two games behing St Louis, so this looks like an actual beneficial trade for a playoff contender. Imagine that!

July 13-15 vs TAMPA BAY
Coming off four straight 90-win seasons, and predicted to compete again for the East crown, it's been tough sledding so far for the Rays: 39-48 and 16 games out of first. Offense ranks 12th in runs, pitching 14th, with a -40 differential. They're hitting for power--139 HR, 6th in the AL--but not for much else. Perennial MVP candidate Jose Tavares has been fine, at .302/19/66, and leadoff guy Orlando Navarro is hitting .303 with a .410 OBP. But stud Vance Wise is 140 points below last year's pace (just .243, but with 18 HR), and Jorge Arriola and Marcus van der Knaap are 90 and 120 points below last year's numbers. On the mound, Jon Jemison has been solid, but the over-30 set of Carlos Munoz, Jasper Haugen, and Bobby Reder have started to show their age. One odd roster fact is the bullpen features two regulars--DH Wise and OF Jeff Ward--who rarely pitch and don't fare well when they do. Manager Julian Morillo is in his fourth year and starting to hear rumblings of having "lost the room."

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (7-6, 4.23) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.89) / RH Josh Irvin (10-3, 3.28)
TBR pitchers: LH Jon Jemison (8-8, 3.81) / RH Jasper Haugen (1-10, 8.17) / LH Bobby Reder (6-8, 5.71)

#88: LOSS 3-6 ... flat, and only two runs in the 9th make this one look close at all...Bader hit early, but settles down, gets no support
#89: LOSS 5-7 ... Loeb gets hammered, and while the pen offers 7 shutout innings, it's too late...offense flat again, with HR from Medici and Sanchez the only threats
#90: WIN 10-6 ... offense, finally! 14 hits, led by Bennetsen with 4 including a HR...everyone gets a hit tonight, congrats!

I guess we were overdue for a flat series, so here it is. Texas gains two on us as well.... Tipping missed just two games with a muscle strain and will be back for our next series. Ulkini gets hurt again, however, but only dtd for a week. Dude needs to be heavily taped at all times apparently.... Loeb's awful outing means he's out, and will get a chance to revitalize himself in AAA. Next up is Steve Shinnick, acquired from Detroit in '52 and our #8 prospect overall.... ELSEWHERE: As expected, the AL Central race is going to be a fun one. Detroit leads Chicago by two, and just three games behind the Sox are the surprising Royals. Likewise, the NL races in the East and Central are close, but LA has reopened an 11-game bulge over Portland.... Cincy keeps working to upgrade their pitching staff, getting useful swingman Ricky Elmore from the Expos. In exchange, they send interesting utility IF Aaron Atchley, promising closr Sergio Gomez, and two non-entities to Montreal.... Several other trades happen, none really worth repeating here. In short, several teams acquire established-yet-uninteresting pitchers for multiple decent-to-no-hoper prospects.... So you think we in Hawaii have been good forever? Well, don't sleep on the Phillies. A nine-game winning streak has them back on top in the NL East, over Washington. The Phillies have missed the post-season just once in the past eleven years, winning two titles and posting three 100-win seasons. Once again they have the NL's best offense, but finally have a pitching staff that's nearly as good, meaning they don't need to score 12 runs every night to win.

......

TL;DR Version: An 8-3 run here is only marred by dropping two games against the struggling Rays. Simmons' injury has hurt the offense some, but he'll be back in a few weeks, and the experience is necessary for Jake Moore, who is our SS or 3B of the future, tbh. Of more immediate importance is the fact that our starting pitching has taken some dings of late, resulting in the demotion of John Loeb. He had replaced the ineffective Travis Harris, who hasn't been that solid in AAA since, so Shinnick gets the call over TH. If he shows unreadiness over the next two weeks, watch for something to happen at the deadline. While our pitching has been really good, I don't want to be just one injury away from disaster going down the stretch. There are some interesting guys available on the block, but I won't want to give up too much for someone likely to be only a rental. Stay tuned.

Bub13 · 01-17-2022, 09:13 PM

July 17-19 vs HOUSTON
Despite top ten pitching, a weak offense appears to be the doom of this team yet again, and at 35-55 they're barely keeping ahead of the terrible A's. OF Erik Kinnison (.299/20/50), 1B Jose Renteria (.250/19/48), and 2B Juan Rodriquez (.243/20/62) are pretty much it at the plate. Manager Alejandro Garcia is in the second year of a seven-year deal, but may not be around to see the end of this season, as owner Jim Crane is sliding into unhappiness with his 2055 goal of MAKE THE WORLD SERIES not likely being met. With only five 80-win seasons over the last thirty, I'm surprised there are any fans left here: Fan Loyalty is "Pathetic," and Interest is in the 60s. But season tickets sales were up 27% (to just over 9K, still not great), so maybe something good is going on anyway...

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (8-3, 3.92) / LH Matt Waugh (12-1, 2.38) / RH Mike Bader (7-7, 4.41)
HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (4-2, 5.23) / RH Mat Caldwell (4-12, 4.27) / RH Robbie Camp (2-9, 5.79)

#91: WIN 10-4 ... Tipping and Matson homer as we score 7 late to pull away...Croft is wobbly through 7 but still hangs on for the win
#92: WIN 5-1 ... Waugh leaves in the 7th with a 4-1 lead and 13 K through 6.1 IP, but is not injured...Pederson's 3-run HR is the big shot, and Bennetsen gets three hits
#93: WIN 5-2 ... 3 H, 2 RBI for Bennetsen, and two hits each for Covington and Moore...Bader gives up 10 H through 8 IP, but keeps them on base until the offense catches up

Harsh but necessary. Texas also sweeps, so our lead is still 3 games.... Jake Moore goes 3-for-8, starting to hit a bit now. He's still likely to head back to AAA once Simmons is healthy, but it's good to see my "[insert position here] of the future" not hitting .100 anymore.... Still top ten in AL home runs! And homers lead steals now 141-126, such a huge margin.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy completed its fifth trade of the month, adding another pitcher. Since 7/1 they've picked up C Devin Swan, SP Eric Stockton and Ricky Elmore, and RP John Sutton, Luis Ortiz, and Beau Nelson. For the record, they're 8-6 this month, four games out of first place.... Of course the Reds can't help that New Orleans has won 7 straight and 9 out of 10, to tie St Louis at the top of the Central.... Seven straight for Texas too, and they just acquired a new closer: from Toronto, Han-Lee Su. He's saved 110 games over the last three seasons, and this year has 12 saves, a 2.70 ERA with 32 K in 36.2 IP. Just another thing for us to deal with.... LA is hot again and now has a 13-game lead over Portland in the NL West. They're going for their fourth consecutive division crown, unsurprising when you have the annual budget of a small country.

July 20-22 @ SEATTLE
A 9-5 month is keeping them in the wild card hunt, at 48-45 overall and six games out of that race currently. Offense ranks 12th, pitching 9th, and a -23 run differential indicates that all is not well here. Leadoff man Luis Hernandez is batting .326, but with 0 HR; everyone else, however, has at least 10 and the team ranks 4th in HR with 161. SP Ron Rivera has made two starts since his recent call-up and is off to a hot start, having just shut out Oakland. Bench coach Ron Miller reports the clubouse is "electric" and players are "having fun." But other reports say the clubhouse is unhappy and, with no outright team captain, selfish players are bringing down the mood. Should be fun to see how this plays out.

HAW pitchers: RP Steve Shinnick (debut) / RH Josh Irvin (11-3, 3.38) / LH Daniel Croft (9-3, 3.99)
SEA pitchers: RH Eddie Van Dyke (3-10, 5.21) / RH Dan Crews (6-2, 3.27) / RH Daniel Newell (2-4, 8.20)

#94: LOSS 6-9 ... Shinnick gets punched out in the 4th, not a happy debut...Medici goes 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and a HR...we outhit them 14-13
#95: WIN 5-3 ... Medici pokes 2 more out, and we do our damage on just 7 hits (but 6 walks too)...Irvin leaves in the first with an ankle injury
#96: WIN 8-7 ... another day, another HR for Medici, as we score 5 late runs to pull this one out...3 H for Covington, big 2-run double in the 8th by Collins

Not the prettiest series, but I'll take it.... Irvin's injury is just dtd for a week, but he may not miss his next start.... Shinnick and Croft pitch poorly, so you better believe I'm still scouting a few veteran SP out there.... Did I mention that I signed two kids in the amateur window? Pitcher Elias Apolinar from the Dominican Republic and OF Mimum Antar out of Zambia. Both are average prospects, to be honest, but here's hoping a few years in our system will lift them to unknown heights. Besides, I'm not willing to shell out $20M for a 16-year-old future bust; would rather spend half that for two busts.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore, still the surprise of the AL East at eight games over .500 and second place behind Boston, lost offensive linchpin SS Chris Rock for six weeks. I told you this was about to happen.... The Yankees are tied with the O's, and likely field the oldest lineup in the game. LF Tyler Barnes and RF Melvin Lopez are both 27, but the rest of the starting lineup averages 36 years old.... Checking the trade block, and maybe I could do worse than Cincy's Steve McKeen, a two-way guy who's hit 15 HR and .305 in his career. But he's a 2-3 WAR SP, and I'm looking for a bit more than that. Plus Cincy is adding pitchers by the armful, not sending them away. Good luck winning your third Silver Slugger, Steve!

July 23-25 @ CHICAGO
The Sox are second in the Central at 55-41, four games behind Detroit and four ahead of KC. The offense hasn't been quite as potent as last year, at just 7th in AVG, but they've somewhow scored the most runs in the AL. Zeke de la Rosa (.320/27/65) is his usual near-MVP self, and three others have passed the 20 HR / 60 RBI marks. Helping the cause is improved pitching, at 9th overall (but the 3rd-best bullpen ERA going). These guys look like a lock for 90+ wins again and another playoff spot. But with Detroit still Detroit, you have to wonder if the Sox see their window closing already. Half of the pitching staff is over 30, and the bottom of the lineup is old and average as well. There's a solid 24-27 year-old core on the field, but they're going to have to keep spending on pitching to stay competitive in this division. Needles to say, they also won't hit their crazy 112-win mark from a year ago; but don't sleep on these guys. Vegas probably has them as even money to win the division again and at least get to the ALCS.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (13-1, 2.28) / RH Mike Bader (8-7, 4.28) / RH Steve Shinnick (0-1, 14.73)
CHW pitchers: RH Emmanuel Vasquez (7-0, 5.84) / RH Steve Davenport (9-7, 5.58) / RH Robby Liantonio (6-5, 5.42)

#97: WIN 6-1 ... 6-hit CG from Waugh, fanning six...Bennetsen, Medici, Pederson each get 2 hits, and Tipping knocks a 3-run homer in the second, his 19th
#98: LOSS 6-14 ... Tipping homers again, but we give up 20 hits, with all 4 pitchers allowing more runs thans innings pitched
#99: WIN 13-2 ... our turn: 16 hits (12 singles) with 8 walks, everyone gets on base...Shinnick is stout, fanning 11 in 8.1 IP

Terrible second game, but we sandwich that with two very nice outings. Bader is looking pretty fragile out there now: we'd better go and get him some help.... Speaking of that, Cincy is at it again, trading three good prospects--including future slugging star 1B/OF Alex Esquilin--to Oakland for SP Chris Larimer. DAMMIT. Larimer was my #1 target the last two weeks, but I kept dithering, waiting and waiting for some stupid reason. At least he's going outside the AL, but still this hurts. Oh well.... SO. Instead of Larimer we pull the trigger on our #2 guy, someone you may recognize: we send two prospects--SP Ken Taylor and 1B Eric Mele--to San Diego for pitcher Mike Garfield. Garfield pitched for us in '49 and '50, coming over from the Mets, and we let him walk after his second, middling, season. Now he's back! His strikeouts are down--to 6.9/9 IP, but he was never a power guy--but everything else looks solid, including a ridiculous K:BB ratio of 76 to 8 this year. Acquiring him means Shinnick is likely headed back to AAA for more seasoning. We gave up two solid guys, but ones I think we could afford to lose. Taylor was our #1 pitching prospect, but is already 25 and maybe maxed out below his projected ceilings. Mele, 18, was a 5th round pick last year, and projects to have fabulous contact and gap ceilings, but zero power. He's also limited to 1B/DH, and we're all set (I hope) there for the next ten years or so. Both could become solid guys for the Padres. Garfield is a free agent this fall, and SD will retain 100% of his salary.... ELSEWHERE: Yeah, lots and lots of deals these three days, over a dozen in all. Besides ours and the Larimer-to-Cincy deal, the only others worth noting are the Cubs deciding to shut down their disappointing (47-52, 12 games out) season, sending off two solid contributors for futures. First, they dealt closer Bob Harrison to STL for swingman Brian Howard and OF prospect Rich Rumbel (our 3rd round pick from '51). Next, they send solid SP Jamie McBride to DET for three roll-of-the-dice pitching prospects: Zack Durst, Tim Ferris, and Elias Morales. All three could break out, or all three could quickly fade away.... Bad news for NL Central leaders New Orleans: ace SP Chad Akers is done for the year. And, at 38 with a now 12-month injury, probably done for good. The Zephs still have a few days before the deadline to do something to stay ahead of the wheeling and dealing Cardinals and Reds.

July 27-29 vs MIAMI
Sub-.500 every month (plus a wretched 8-20 May) has put them at 40-59, fifth place and 21 games behind the Red Sox. The offense ranks 16th in runs, with most of their hitters from the past decade (which included two World Series appearances) having gone away or faded considerably. DH Toshi Shimabukuro (.299/32/75) is the exception, but long-timers Scott Robertshaw, Jon Ladd, and Mario Rivera are hitting homers but little else. Free agent additions Erick Ashlock and Mike McNeill are playing solid defense but providing scant support from the plate, and rookie Nelson Trevino has struggled to just a .306 OBP in leadoff. Pitching sits at 14th, slightly better, but the rotation has fared much worse than the bullpen: no one in the rotation has an ERA below league average, and only Victor Nunez is on pace for a season WAR over 3. Fun note: closer Jon Carlsen has segued nicely into his role as a late-career stopper, saving 58 and earning nearly 4 WAR in his 1.5 year stint with the Marlins. But he was probably the most successful two-pitch starter this dynasty has ever seen, fanning 2700, earning 60 WAR, and finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting four times in the eleven years he spent in various rotations. Anyway...team owner Justin Cox is a delusional man who is deemed "delighted" with a team with a losing record, drawing 10k less than desired, losing money, and with a nearly-empty prospect pool. Good luck, Marlins fans.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (9-3, 4.16) / RH Josh Irvin (11-3, 3.49) / LH Matt Waugh (14-1, 2.21)
MIA pitchers: RH Brad Meadows (0-1, 9.28) / RH Erik Allen (6-10, 5.85) / LH Victor Nunez (8-7, 4.89)

#100: LOSS 2-5 ... Tipping homers, but Croft stumbles and we manage just three hits tonight (but add 7 walks)...typical
#101: LOSS 3-6 ... we more than doubled our output, to seven hits! But still sucked...every time I criticize a bad team, they beat the **** out of us
#102: LOSS 3-5 ... sleepwalking

Of course, of course: say bad things about opponent--no matter how deserved--and get stomped. Every. Damn. Time.... I guess the "good" news is that no one got hurt, although if we keep playing like this...oy.... Texas gains ground, now just a game out.... Thinking about how many arbitration cases I had last winter, and how many are looming this winter (sixteen!), I take care of two of those straight off with new deals: SP Josh Irvin and 2B Lucas Tipping. Irvin goes for 7 years, $75.6M, escalating from 4.1M next year to 12.6M by '58, and team options for '61 and '62. Tippinggoes for a little less, 8 years and $45.3M. He'll make 1.3M next year, climbing to 8M by '60, and with a player option for '63. These are solid and affordable contracts, with the bonus of being tradeable should either player hit an early decline.... ELSEWHERE: Trades everywhere, five more over this last series alone. First, Toronto sends 1B Max Corliss to LA for three solid pitching prospects. Corliss hit 51 HR two seasons ago, and those prospects are all solid, if a bit old (all are over 22). Second, Brooklyn sends disgruntled 2B Maurizio Barbiusa (according to most, Barbiusa is Italian for "asshole") to the Bronx for four prospects, including former first rounder P Dustin Shoffner, who even at 24 could still become a rotation anchor. Third, Cincy acquires yet another pitcher, this time grabbing Cleveland closer John Jackman for two pretty good prospects. The other two are meh.... Cincy's trades are starting to pay off, as they've won five in a row and are tied for first with STL and CHI.... Nats 3B Adam Walker is the first to 40 HR, and Rangers 3B Emilio Mares the first to 50 SB.

July 30-31 vs OAKLAND
Still gunning for that first overall draft pick, at 32-70. League-worst offense and 15th-ranked pitching have equaled another tough season by the Bay. The offensive "star" of the moment is CF Henry Uhlman, batting .278, although ancient 2B Josh Robertson was batting .284 until going on the DL. Perennial sluggers Felix Reyes and Ryan Walton have combined for 39 HR, but are batting .246 and .220, respectively. With super-ancient 1B/DH Lance Powell now also on the DL, 24-year-old rookie Andy Heiser has gone 7-for-12 in his MLB debut, with three HR. On the mound, the rotation has fallen apart, with injuries to Jim Schwartz, Jaden Bartholomew, and Andy Paterson, and the trade of Chris Larimer to the Reds. So prospects Jesse Malone and Pat Oden are getting their chance, as is wished-for-ace Tom Baker. The bullpen has been miles better, although closer Jon Gray sports an ugly 7.27 ERA and an uglier -1.3 WAR. The good news here is there's money to spend and a nice bloc of prospects, especially pitchers. There's also a core of low-average-but-big-slugging OF types, with Heiser already here, and Matt Hall and Jorge Ledesma a year or two away. (Plus the recently-acquired 1B Matt Esquilin, from the Reds org.) But they need to sort our their pitching staff (figure out who's going where, as there are 7-8 possible SP available), and stop acquiring 40+ year-old infielders.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (8-8, 4.69) / LH Mike Garfield (7-8, 3.70)
OAK pitchers: RH Glen Marler (1-9, 7.04) / LH Sean Guerrero (4-8, 5.04)

#103: LOSS 1-5 ... outhit just 10-8, but two HR spell doom...four losses in a row now, great timing here
#104: LOSS 1-8 ... no words

Okay, five losses in a row and six out of seven. Fantastic. No longer in first place now, a game behind Texas.... We stopped hitting, but the bigger culprit has been a sudden downturn in starting pitching. Just what I was worried about. Still, slumps come...and then hopefully go. Right?... ELSEWHERE: A few more trades, but nothing major. The Dodgers, oddly, add another reliever, while the Braves, Cubs, Pirates, and Robins all ship out older players for prospects.... With a 17-game lead, LA may be able to wrap up the division by the end of August.... KC has won 16 games in each of the last three months to pull to 7 games behind Detroit, and tied with Chicago. Both are 13 games behind us in the wild card race, which hopefully won't get any closer.... The Yankees are hanging in there, at 55-49 and ten games out of first. But the two players they just added via trade--2B Maurizio Barbiusa and SP Micah Whitlow--won't help an already feuding clubhouse. Along with Cincy, they're the only winning teams with bad team chemistry right now.

......

TL;DR Version: A 7-7 finish to the month sort of kills the vibe we had going. Also, 15-10 for July, the worst monthly mark of the season. Anyway...Jake Moore's stopped hitting, so Victor Sanchez moves back into the lineup despite being a subpar SS. J.J. Simmons is back in a week, and we'll need him. Ulkini and Royer are platooning at third, as neither is hitting the cover off the ball, but neither is slumping. So I'll work both of them to see who might get hot. As for our pitchers, Mike Bader is slowly getting worse as the season goes on, mixing in more bad than good starts. He's one of the arbitration cases I mentioned above and right now...it's not looking good for him. Garfield's first start with us was an outright disaster, lasting just over 2 innings. He has to get better, right? Okay, enough crying, time to move on to August.

Bub13 · 02-02-2022, 08:06 PM

Heavy schedule this month, with 28 games. Thirteen at home, with seven games to start us off; but we end with a nine-game road trip. We'll see Texas twice: at the start, once we finish with Oakland, and again to close out the month. Our non-division foes include Detroit, New York, and Baltimore, all teams having good seasons. Gotta get back on the winning track here. (Btw, congrats to Matt Waugh, the AL Pitcher of the Month for July: 5-1, 2.01 ERA, 44.2 IP, 45 K, 9 BB.)

August 1 vs OAKLAND
Finishing up here. Can we stop the bleeding?

HAW pitcher: LH Daniel Croft (9-4, 4.24)
OAK pitcher: RH Jesse Malone (0-0, 5.19)

#105: LOSS 5-8 ... pain, and lots of it...at least now the bullpen is joining the suck, blowing this one

No, no we could not stop the bleeding.... I dunno what now. Maybe a mass promotion/demotion. Can I make the team to a day of bag skates?... ELSEWHERE: Nothing much new here. California's William Swanson takes over the AL home run race after a 3-dinger night, giving him 36 on the season. He's got 431 for his caDereer now, putting him into a tie for 86th all-time, with Cal Ripken and Danny Diaz, the great PIT/LA 2B and Hall of Fame wannabe.

August 2-4 vs TEXAS
Our sudden inability to play anything resembling actual baseball has given the Rangers a two-game division lead, as they've won five in a row. Third in runs scored (and 1st in AVG now), and tops in home runs with 212. Pitching sits 2nd, with the league's best rotation ERA. Everyone but leadoff man Emilio Mares has hit at least 18 HR, but Mares is no slouch either, batting .352 with an .895 OPS, and 53 steals. Ryan Boers (.318/31/92) is making a case for defending his MVP crown, and what team wouldn't love the luxury of batting someone like Ronnie Halvorson (.330/22/56) eighth. The only thing that could hold them back are injuries, having lost two SP (Bobby Daniel for the year, and Kevin Cahill for seven weeks) in the last ten days. So far, replacement Jesus Aguilar and Sean Reed have been up to the task. The only major move they made before the deadline was acquiring closer Han-lee Su from Toronto; he's only managed a 0.00 ERA in his 11.2 IP, trifling stuff. (They also added ancient RP Jay Debus from Montreal, but he likely won't move the needle much anymore.) We need to right our ship in this series, or there's a danger we'll see them sail off into the distance, and quickly.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (11-4, 3.66) / LH Matt Waugh (14-2, 2.35) / RH Mike Bader (8-9, 4.71)
TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (9-4, 3.86) / RH Mike Nelson (9-1, 2.72) / RH Sean Reed (7-5, 4.08)

#106: WIN 4-3 ... both teams manage just 8 hits, but Royer's HR tips the balance...two late runs make this close at the end, but we eke this one out...Sanchez hurt dtd
#107: LOSS 6-7 ... this one wasn't close until Pederson's grand slam in the 9th...Waugh is meh again, and the pen gives up three more to maintain their own slide
#108: LOSS 2-14 ... we allow 7 HR, Bader doesn't get past the 3rd inning, and the pen gives up seven more on their own

Cool stuff, especially after that unexpected game one win. Okay, time for some changes.... After the third game, it's the Wednesday Night Massacre. First, IF Victor Sanchez is waive/DFA'd. He's hit 7 HR and .263, but someone has to go, and it's not gonna be the futures of the franchise. With Simmons coming off the DL for the next series, we'll be set in the IF. OF Nick Gase and his .227 average are sent to AAA, and Chase Thompson gets the call. He's hit .378 with 17 HR, so warrants a look. I also send down Jake Moore and recall Bill Gamboa. Maybe he can hit .200 too. Next, I demote SP Mike Bader and Daniel Croft. Getting guys out is a pre-req for pitchers, and neither of these guys is meeting that need currently. Taking their places will be Steve Shinnick and newbie Gleb Mihalkovsky. RP Yoshi Watanabe also gets the boot. Dude strikes out a ton of guys, but has been giving up runs in bunches lately. Taking his place will be Jon Sitzler. Also, RP Sam Bohlen is getting the "ignore this guy" label for the meantime. Can't pitch, won't play.... 3B Caleb Royer is moved back into the lineup, after Ulkini batted .206 in July. And Josh Matson, currently ice cold, is moved down to 8th while Royer takes his spot at #3.... ELSEWHERE: So who is winning? LA now has a 20-game lead in the NL West, so winning games CAN be done. And Philadelphia, despite just losing former MVP Luke Kempf for the season, has won six straight and taken a three-game lead in the East. And the NL Central is going to be a fun watch down the stretch: right now, STL and CIN are tied for first, and NOZ is a game behind. Right now, the divisional winner would be the only one making the playoffs, so there's a lot to play for.

August 6-8 vs CALIFORNIA
We wrap up our disastrous home stand against the 50-58 Angels, who at 4-5 in their last nine have been way better than we have. Hitting ranks 14th, with the usual suspects (Swanson, .299/36/81, and Marquez, .304/23/75) carrying things. Pitching sits 7th, with Nate Elder looking like a future star, and rookie Sam Matthews responding well to being moved into the rotation in late July. Despite a 7-18 July, there is some optimism blooming in SOCAL. Youngsters CF Chris Burns and SS Kevin Perry had solid months at the plate, and #4 SP Aaron Moore finally looked like a legit MLB pitcher. Most of the veterans they've signed in recent years have underperformed, so maybe some better scouting will help too. (Although 31-year-old Dan Dellinger, a two-time NL batting champ, hit .353 last month to finally get his season average over .300. He's around for four more years, so needs to step up.) The team seems happy, and fans are still turning out, but owner Arturo Moreno needs to loosen the purse strings to bring these guys back to the good old days when they ruled the roost in the AL West.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.15) / RH Steve Shinnick (1-1, 5.25) / RH Josh Irvin (12-4, 3.53)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (10-5, 3.91) / RH Aaron Moore (7-6, 4.59) / LH Shaun Ostrander (4-2, 2.72)

#109: WIN 8-7 ... in the 7th, Pederson's RBI double and Simmons' RBI walk salvage this one...Garfield stinks again, then gets hurt; Sitzler gets bombed too
#110: WIN 5-1 ... CG for Shinnick, thank goodness. Give the pen some rest...Royer's 2-run shot gives us the lead...Lynn with 3 hits, breaking his silence
#111: WIN 9-1 ... Royer stays hot with an RBI double, and Medici and Covington homer...Simmons gets hurt AGAIN...Irvin goes 8.1, fanning 9

Much MUCH needed series, but not without cost. Simmons suffers two injuries, the second now with a pending diagnosis. Sigh. Garfield, however, only has a 3-day dtd injury. Had me worried there.... Sanchez gets claimed by Pittsburgh after his DFA, so for more veteran help I reach way back into the past and ink IF Mike Hunter to a minor league deal. Hunter was our star 2B/SS from '39 to '43, hitting .316 for us over that stretch, with 239 doubles. He's now 40, but hit .304 with Miami and Oakland last year, and looks ready to help us down the stretch. And he's 12th on the all-time doubles list, with 637, six behind Xander Bogaerts.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy now has the temporary lead in the NL Central, by a game.... KC is still hot, having moved past the White Sox into second in the Central, five out of first. LF Tim Chapman has broken out, leading the AL at .353, and 3B Tom Esposito (.312/29/78) has bounced back from .215 last year.... Toronto (35 wins) and Oakland (37) are fighting for last overall, but watch out for San Francisco (42) and Brooklyn (41), both dropping fast.... Tampa brought in CF Emmanuel Garcia to stabilize the outfield and provide some veteran leadership this year. Instead, he's been an outright flop. Worst in baseball with a -2.0 WAR, the career .270 hitter is instead going .199/.255/.342, with a -13 ZR in the field. And intead of giving them his usual 20-25 steals, he's been 3-for-9 on the basepaths. At least he'll be a free agent this fall, and the Rays will look to reload after what's been a disappointing year all around so far: 54-57, 15 games out of first.

August 9-11 @ BALTIMORE
This dreadful franchise finally looks decent! At 61-50 and 8 games out of first, they're not really threatening for the playoffs right now. But with only three winning seasons since 2038, the record alone is a dramatic turnaround. And it's not like Boston is running away with the division. For the O's: offense ranks 7th, pitching 12th, with a +10 run differential. 2B/RF Steve McClellan has been a helluva Rule 5 pickup, with 48 HR last year and .303/19/72 this year; 3B Kyle Crowl is having a late-career resurgence, with 26 HR; and CF Nate Murray, who started the season in AAA, is going .352/9/55 in 72 games. Plus, former #1 overal Eddie Feltman is finally showing something, batting .304 and settling into a hybrid 2B/SS role. Pitching has been up and down, but the top two SP, Danny Zulick and Jonas Chevalier, are under 25 and are a super solid foundation, as is 23-year-old closer Alex Juarez. With top prospect 3B Justin Horton slowly working into the lineup, and a 5th-ranked prospect system, a little patience and some judicious veteran additions will see the historic Orioles back in the hunt for big things in the AL.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (14-3, 2.48) / RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (debut) / LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.13)
BAL pitchers: RH Mike Zulick (11-9, 4.96) / RH Jonas Chevalier (6-5, 4.86) / RH Danny Carbajal (3-1, 5.22)

#112: WIN 8-3 ... Tipping homers twice, and Bennetsen and Espino add solo shots...Waugh rebounds with a CG, credited with only 1 ER against (two errors by us)
#113: LOSS 3-4 ... two more errors, two more unearned runs, and that's ballgame...Gleb is wild, walking 7 in 5 IP...3 H, 2 RBI by Pederson
#114: LOSS 5-9 ... ugh, the bullpen: a six-run 8th destroys us tonight...11 hits, 6 for extras, and we still lose

Well, that could have gone better. A rebounding offense was more than offset by some extremely shaky pitching. Injuries on the farm haven't left me much to call on either, should I want to make some more "adjustments".... Still no word on Simmons's latest injury.... Three-game lead for Texas now.... ELSEWHERE: After only one playoff appearance in 30 years, Washington reached the post-season last year on the final weekend of the season. They've continued that resurgence, going 70-44 to date, one game behind Philly for the division lead. I've already mentioned 3B Adam Walker, having an MVP-type season at .332/41/101. He's joined by 1B Mel Gallego, at .342/37/97 and leading the NL batting race. RF Darius Williams--an off-season steal from the Giants--fills out their power trio at .292/23/71. Their only sore spot is probably CF Jason Welch, a slick-fielding speedster, but a run-killer as a leadoff batter with a .298 OBP. Still, with Philly suffering some injuries, and neither team featuring top-flight pitching, this is another division race that will be fun to watch.... Minnesota built a powerful lineup over the off-season, but injuries and slumps have limted them to a 9th-place standing in runs despite sitting 3rd in HR. But someone forgot to tell them about pitching, ranked 16th and responsible for their -65 run differential and a recent 2-13 stretch which has dropped them to last in the AL Central.

August 12-14 @ HOUSTON
Gotta rebound (again) in our next two series. The Astros have stumbled through another forgettable season, 46-68 and 33 games out in fifth place. Few on offense have looked good, outside of Erik Kinnison (.301/27/74), and Chris Marshall (.274). Star 1B Jose Renteria has struggled, pairing 25 HR with a slump-ridden .251 average. DH Juan Rodriquez has been fine, .262/25/75, but at 36 he's playing out the string. On the mound, veterans Mat Caldwell, Robbie Camp, and Ron Mills have disappointed, while 25-year-old Jason Knight is a decent mid-rotation guy to keep. The best starter has been 38-year-old Mike Messinger, but again he's not here for the long term. There are prospects to build around in the high minors, so maybe it's time to bring them all up and let them get some seasoning in otherwise meaningless games. Closer Alex Moya and RP Miles Iandoli should move into the rotation, as should AAA guys Winton Jones and Daniel Jaramillo; all could (should?) be in the rotation next year. And swap out all the vets who are coming back next year for some lineup help, particularly at catcher and the left side of the infield, where 3B Zach Gille and SS Oscar Garza are outstanding fielders but execrable batters. See how easy it is, lol?

HAW pitchers: RH Steve Shinnick (2-1, 3.43) / RH Josh Irvin (13-4, 3.40) / LH Matt Waugh (15-3, 2.41)
HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (10-8, 4.10) / RH Mat Caldwell (5-14, 4.65) / RH Ron Mills (4-3, 5.94)

#115: WIN 13-2 ... everyone shows up: 14 hits, 3 HR, three guys with 3 RBI each...another CG for Shinnick, yielding just 6 hits and fanning 7
#116: LOSS 5-6 ... we pound out 3 more HR but once again leave ourselves open to a late rally, giving up 2 late runs for the loss
#117: WIN 5-2 ... we score three late runs, courtesy of HR from Medici and Hunter...Waugh is solid through 7, and Reyes and Kearns close it out for once of late

Whew, we needed that last win there, especially as Texas is hot now and has pulled out a four-game lead.... Bad news on the Simmons front: broken elbow, out five months. Sigh. He was having a nice comeback season, at .354/.412/.500, and will be really missed. So welcome back to Mike Hunter, our "new" shortstop. He'll be backed up by Bill Gamboa, up to replace JJ for now. Jake Moore stays on the farm, but he's a Simmons clone who'll get a chance to come back and improve on his .224 for us if these guys falter.... Jon Sitzler didn't impress, so it's back to AAA for him and we welcome back Watanabe, who looked good in his two weeks in Santa Barbara.... Welcome back also to Caleb Royer, who hit .353 in July and is 17-for-52 with 4 HR so far this month. He's a stone-handed slowpoke in the field, but if his bat has returned, that can be overlooked.... ELSEWHERE: Texas becomes the first team to secure a winning season, an 8-2 streak putting them at 82 wins. LA is right behind, with 81 wins (and a 21-game lead over Portland).... Cincy's rebuilt pitching staff continues to work, as they're now three up on STL and NOZ. Chris Larimer, Eric Stockton, and Ricky Elmore are a combined 8-2 in 12 starts, and all five of their new relievers are pitching great. It's enough to make you overlook slumping newbie catcher Devin Swan (.226 after hitting .353 for MIN through April and May) and forget to ask why super rookie Mike Knapp (.328/17/51) is making less than 50% of the starts in right in favor of Adam Durst, a good fielder who has hit just 11 HR across 10 professional seasons, almost all in the minors.

......

TL;DR Version: Okay, a little better, at 7-6 here, but with two crucial wins against a bad Houston team. Of course, counting the end of July, we're on a 7-11 run of late, which is not good, obviouslam. And as much as I've bitched out our pitching, we're still first overall in runs allowed, and 1st in rotation ERA, 2nd in bullpen. So it's the offense that has slipped, to 2nd in runs and 4th in AVG (from 1st place in both), while our power numbers are up: 8th in home runs. But I will dole out some kudos to a couple of guys. First, Jules Medici has reached 100 RBI for the third consecutive season; and I guess it says something about us that with 145 career HR he's already in 7th place in franchise history. (And his 434 RBI has him in 11th.) Also, big props to rookie 2B Lucas Tipping, who's popped 26 HR so far despite missing nearly three weeks of the season. And he's been a positive ZR at second, something we haven't had since Manny Rangel won the third of his three consecutive Gold Gloves back in '49. Finally, for all the grief I've given Royer about his deficiences with the glove at third, there are actually five guys statistically worse than him this year, and two others he's in a dead heat with. Progress!

Bub13 · 02-20-2022, 10:49 AM

August 16-18 vs SEATTLE
Currently 56-61, and 13th in both runs scored and runs allowed...but with an unhealthy -63 run differential. That says something, but I'm not sure what. The offense has been generally poor, but they are 6th in home runs, led by Paul Stough with 36 and Ger van Mourik with 28. And the pitching would be better if they didn't have six regulars on the DL, including MLB's #2 prospect Seb Mulholland, who hasn't pitched at all since last July. (He's got another month to go.) Here's another team that's also feuding, with zero veteran leadership and a handful of selfish trolls who aren't pulling their own weight. Manager Dwayne Cloninger is in the fifth and final year of his contract, and may be done with this struggling and angry team in another couple months. GM Nabil Crismatt has another year left, but may also be on his way out given that owner Adam Yamauchi is very unhappy these days. Crismatt was our Asst. GM from '46 to '50, and waaaay back in the day he was the closer for many years on those old Richmond teams I started with. Earned his way to Cooperstown on the back of that, too. Back to the team: payroll sits 30th, but ticket sales and profits are up and with several aging and unproductive vets coming off the books this fall, they could be primed for some smart spending (mixed with savvy use of their #2-ranked prospect system) and get back to being the consistent contender they were in the '40s.

HAW pitchers: RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (0-1, 3.60) / LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.18) / RH Steve Shinnick (3-1, 3.00)
SEA pitchers: RH Ron Rivera (3-3, 6.62) / RH Vince Push (3-6, 5.49) / RH Daniel Newell (2-5, 7.28)

#118: WIN 7-6 ... Medici homers, as does Bennetsen, winning the game in the 7th...also four RBI doubles key the win
#119: WIN 4-2 ... Pederson and Bennetsen (again!) homer, and we hang on after allowing 2 runs in the 9th...Garfield finally shows up!
#120: WIN 8-5 ... down 5-1, Medici hits a 3-run bomb in the 5th, then Matson a 2-run shot in the 6th...Meds goes 3-for-3 with 4 RBI, HR, 2 doubles, then gets hurt

Nice sweep, and necessary as the Rangers have won seven straight and have opened a four game lead.... Not without cost, however, as we suffered three injuries in that last game: Medici is dtd for a week, but as he's a DH and only running is affected, he can still play; more worrying are pending notifications for 2B Lucas Tipping and SP Steve Shinnick. Fingers crossed.... Interesting note that none of our starting pitchers were on the team in April.... AAA Santa Barbara is having another bang-up season, at 68-38 and 13.5 games up on Reno.... ELSEWHERE: AL division races are loosening up a bit. Texas/Hawaii, you know. Boston has gone 11-5 this month, and coupled with mediocre runs by Baltimore and NY, the Sox have a surprising 12 game lead. And Detroit is 8 up on KC, with the Chisox slumping to third place.... A big reason for LA's 20 game lead in the NL West is their MLB-low 391 runs allowed. St Louis is 2nd with 457, Philadelphia 3rd with 482. That Philly number is the most impressive to me: just two seasons ago they gave up over 900 runs, with no pitcher who tossed 100+ innings having an ERA below 5.30.... Some LA starting pitching stats: Bryan Shaheen 17-5, 2.56; Manny Lopez, 17-5, 3.28; Everett Cronk 10-5, 2.35. All three are in the top five of most NL pitching leader boards as well.

August 19-21 vs DETROIT
The class of the Central (again), 75-45 and eight games ahead of the surprising Royals. Still doing everything well, third in runs scored and against and a +162 run differential. Five regulars have topped 25 HR, led by 1B Pat Townsand (.328/38/125). Pitching has held up despite losing veteran SP Raul Bravo and Ron Curtis for the season. More vets in the rotation--only Tony Gamez, at 29, is under 30--have stabilized things, and 39-year-old T.J. Carroll is having a strong season in the pen, and is more than capable of stepping into the rotation if needed. Speaking of injuries, spare a thought for OF Roberto Gomez: the 22-year-old is a five-tool superstud, but may never break out due to his extreme fragility. He's already missed one entire season in his career, and has failed to register 100 AB in three others, across all leagues. Not a sign of a long career to come, I'm afraid. And he's played just 14 games this season as well. Anyway, if these guys stay healthy otherwise they're a strong bet to contend for a championship, something they haven't won since 1984.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (13-5, 3.56) / LH Matt Waugh (16-3, 2.41) / RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (0-1, 6.10)
DET pitchers: LH Corey Nelson (3-3, 2.73) / RH Jamie McBride (11-9, 3.61) / LH Carlos Zenon (10-8, 5.19)

#121: WIN 8-2 ... we outhit them 17-8, and do all that damage on 14 singles...3 hits each for Bennetsen, Matson, and Hunter...11 K, CG for Irvin
#122: WIN 6-2 ... Royer's HR and Lynn's 2 hits and RBI do tonight's damage...Gamboa with 2 hits, his first in MLB. Congrats!
#123: LOSS 0-8 ... bad pitching and little hitting equals a tired-looking game...3 hits from Hunter, but not much else

We did gain a game on Texas, now three games behind. At 83-40 we're third in MLB, behind Texas (86 wins) and LA (85).... Still no word on the injuries to Tipping and Shinnick, but we do make one roster move, sending Gleb Mihalkovsky back to AAA and recalling Daniel Croft. Gleb's just not ready yet, and Croft has looked better in his recent AAA stint.... Bennetsen is the fourth regular to reach 20 HR on the season, and is batting a team-best .339 (not counting Simmons at .354, since he's done for the season).... ELSEWHERE: Props to SF pitcher Danny Salgado becoming the first recorded case in MLB of cat scratch fever: he'll be out for seven months after supposedly getting "attacked by his cat".... Also props to Toronto for being the last team to reach 40 wins.... the White Sox still look like a formidable club on offense, but their starting pitching has finally let them down. A fifth-ranked bullpen has been undermined by the 13th place rotation, with only Jasper Cumming (4.02 ERA) anywhere close to league average. Now, they did win 96 games in '53 with even worse pitching (5.42 ERA vs this year's 4.96), and 112 games last year with nearly-as-bad tossers. So maybe they're not dead yet.

August 22-24 @ NEW YORK
It's been a back-and-forth season in the Bronx, alternating winning months with losing ones. August has been a down month, and they're sitting at 63-60 overall, 14 games out of first. Offense ranks 7th, pitching 10th, but that's not the whole story. Only 13th in AVG, but 2nd in HR, led by Chris Mitchell with 32, and Mo Barbiusa and Arturo Sena with 31 each. On the mound, the rotation has been much sharper than the bullpen, and closer Tim Downing was demoted in the pen in favor of last year's closer, Frank Casper (who's been much better this year, too). Injuries have done a number as well. Currently out are 2B JJ Dean, 3B Dave Rivera, #4 OF Gary Bellany (who would be starting rather than Dave McClendon, on a 7-for-77 ride so far this season), and SP Bobby Hamel, Justin Spurrell, and Alex Correa. They may be running out of time to take the division, but they're not at all out of the wild card race; so there's still a lot to play for.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (8-9, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (14-5, 3.43) / LH John Loeb (3-1, 5.15)
NYY pitchers: LH Elijah Bragg (11-8, 5.11) / RH Mike Knaak (9-9, 5.09) / RH Micah Whitlow (6-10, 5.44)

#124: WIN 5-1 ... Gamboa's first MLB home run is a 3-run shot in the 4th, the key hit tonight...Garfield goes the distance, allowing 6 hits, fans 9
#125: WIN 3-2 ... only 5 hits, but helped out by 5 walks and 4 NY errors...Moore gets beaned, breaks nose
#126: WIN 15-2 ... wake up! 19 hits and 5 HR, including 3 from Royer...he also gets 5 hits, Bennetsen with 4...Loeb comes back with 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R

Nice sweep for an injury-compromised lineup. Word comes down re Tipping (4 weeks) and Shinnick (2 weeks), and both are out.... Jake Moore comes up to take Tipping's spot in the lineup, although he'll play short and Hunter will move over to second. John Loeb gets the nod over Mike Bader in the rotation. (Bader: 3 AAA starts, one shutout, then two starts allowing 6 runs.).... And then Moore will miss 5 days after his beaning, so Bill Gamboa will now start at short for the next series.... With injuries, call-ups, and one trade, our rotation is now 4/5 lefty, maybe the first time that's happened in team history. As long as we keep winning, it doesn't matter.... Btw, Bennetsen is on a hot streak, now batting .343, third in the AL.... ELSEWHERE: Texas leads us by one game, and lost #1 SP Mike Nelson for two weeks. Nelson's 20 starts this year is a career high, and only the second time he's reached double figures in games in his six-year professional career.... Cincy's taken a 3-game lead in the NL Central, but just lost deadline SP acquisition Eric Stockton for the season. He joins Ricky Elmore, another July pick-up, on the season-ending DL.... Believe it or not, LA's Magic Number to win the division is only 14! They're 23 games ahead of Portland, just cruising along.

August 26-28 @ OAKLAND
At the bottom of the MLB pile with a 42-84 record, and facing their first sub.-400 win pct season since winning just 64 games in 2031. And yet...as bad as they've been (18th in offense, 16th in pitching), I see glimmers of light for the near future. They smartly traded off expiring vet contracts in Eric Stockton and Chris Larimer, opening up spots in the rotation for some young guys, and helping the bottom line. Plus, the five vets with expiring contracts who are still around will mean the A's will have about $40M free to go after some quality free agents this fall. If they're aggressive--IF--the rebuild could get fast-tracked. Also good: trading Stockton brought them 1B Alex Esquilin, a future slugging star who's gone .340/7/27 in his first MLB month. Factor in likely rebound years in '56 for starts Felix Reyes, Ryan Walton, Randy Costello, and Noah Johnson, and should they find a quality C and 2B: they'll be contending for the post-season next year, guaranteed. Can things go wrong? Of course; you could end up with 9 pitchers on the DL, like they have right now. (Some of those guys stink, but let's overlook that.) So yeah, attendance and revenue are down, but this is a team primed to bounce back, and not nearly as dire-looking as some teams ahead of them, even in this division (coughHoustoncough).

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (17-3, 2.36) / LH Daniel Croft (9-5, 4.49) / LH Mike Garfield (9-9, 3.83)
OAK pitchers: RH Bryan Nunez (2-3, 5.28) / RH Glen Marler (5-10, 6.20) / RH Pat Oden (1-7, 6.56)

#127: WIN 7-0 ... 3-run blast by Medici breaks open a close game, Lynn gets 3 hits, 2 doubles...Waugh and Bohlen combine for the shutout, 9 K and 0 BB
#128: WIN 7-1 ... 17 hits tonight, 3 each for Cov, Lynn, and Royer...16 singles, btw...Croft goes 8, Bohlen the save...career hit #2500 for Hunter
#129: WIN 11-8 ... 28 combined hits, and 7 HR...Pederson, Matson, and Hunter with 3 hits each, and Collins, Matson, Medici, and Royer homer

Two consecutive sweeps and we're still in second place! Yeah, Texas really is that good. So we have 89 wins, Texas 90, and LA 91. Detroit is 4th with 81. And, baseball being what it is, I'd bet that none of those top three teams will win the Series this year.... Mike Hunter may be 40, but what those few months of couch-time did for him, I won't complain about: .382/.444/.527, 2 K with 7 BB, 3 2b, 1 3b, 1 HR. Yeah, it's only 64 PA, but it sure beats the alternative.... As if we needed more offensive good news: superstud-to-be Jose Villalpando has found his power stroke in AA, with 8 HR and a .474 SLG, marked improvements over his early stats. He's still striking out nearly 30% of the time, so don't pencil him in at third for '56 just yet.... ELSEWHERE: Oh to be Portland's Oscar Escobedo. The 31-year-old made his third start of the season and tossed his second career no-hitter, fanning 10 in a 2-0 win over Austin. In 20 games for the Pioneers he's pitched 53 innings, struck out 60 (while walking just 9), and has a 0.73 WHIP. And one day later he's in AAA after ace Dan Klabunde returned from his rehab stint. Harsh, guys, harsh.... LA's magic number down to ten.... No one ever talks about Arizona, and for good reason: too many dull teams, only one playoff appearance in the last two decades, just forgettable stuff. But RF Kevin Reynolds is pushing for NL MVP honors, at .333/39/76, leading the league in SLG, runs, OPS, OPS+, wOBA, and WAR, and second in AVG. Let's see if anyone's paying attention and if he gets any votes.

August 29-31 @ TEXAS
Yes, this is what you've been waiting for! Texas (1st in offense, 2nd in pitching) vs. Hawaii (2nd in offense, 1st in pitching), winner goes into the final month of the season holding first in the division. The lineup has been stable and healthy, with all but leadoff guy Emilio Mares (leading the AL at .351) with at least 22 HR, but their pitching could begin to show some cracks, with injuries starting to add up. Three SP and two RP are out, but so far at least the replacements have held up. The only low mark they get anywhere is their 34th-ranked prospect system, but even that has time to build back up again with all the talent at the top. And somehow they're doing this while sitting 16th in player salaries--they're the opposite of the free-wheeling Dodgers. That'll change some with a large handful of arbitration cases, and decisions about extending their top two SP, Bobby Daniel (I would) and Emanuel Vasquez (ehhh). So these guys aren't going anywhere bad anytime soon, sadly.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (15-5, 3.41) / LH John Loeb (4-1, 4.53) / LH Matt Waugh (18-3, 2.26)
TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (11-5, 3.92) / RH Sean Reed (8-7, 5.00) / RH Jesus Aguilar (7-3, 3.91)

#130: LOSS 0-5 ... not a great start here, giving up 4 HR and getting just 4 hits ourselves...moving on
#131: LOSS 3-6 ... outhit 12-9, and Medici's 3 hits and Hunter's HR weren't enough to overcome a bad start from Loeb...hitting a wall here, aren't we
#132: WIN 5-1 ... ok, nice finish, mostly due to Waugh's 4-hit effort over 8 IP...HR from Royer and Covington, and a 2-RBI double from Pederson

Tough series, and we couldn't buy hits over those first two games. Irvin had a rare bad start, too.... Royer was named Player of the Week, going 12-for-26 with 4 HR, 7 RBI, and 8 runs.... Simmons' replacements at short haven't done much of late: Moore is hitting .211, Gamboa .149. Three weeks until Tipping comes back, so just hold on.... ELSEWHERE: And now a ridiculous 12-game winning streak for LA has their magic number down to just 7. SEVEN.... Detroit now has a double-digit lead in the AL Central, and are on a 9-1 ride of late. But Boston has lost six straight and seen their lead shrink to 9 games. Still pretty good, but there's oil coming from under the hood, and the Yankees have won 8 out of 10.... Detroit's Pat Townsand rides a five homer series to take the overall lead in MLB with 46, and gives him 259 over his six-year career.... Pitcher wins still have some cachet, especially with Cy Young voters. So props to Matt Waugh (19 wins) and LA's Manny Lopez and Bryan Shaheen, each with 18.

......

TL;DR Version: Don't let that last series change the fact that we went 12-3 to close out the month, and 19-9 for all of August. (Or that Texas went 20-8, lol.) More plusses: lots of guys getting hot at the plate, just at the right time. This month, Bennetsen hit .360, Medici .369 with 9 HR, Royer .324 with 10 HR, Covington .316, Pederson .304, and newbie Hunter .371. On the flip side, Matson hit just .250 and Lynn only .243, with a .293 OBP from leadoff. Not great. And our pitching stayed hot, with most everyone trending positive, outside of a few bullpen blow ups. Here's my favorite stat of the month: we walked just 40 batters all of August. (For comparison, our batters walked 72 times.) The only sour notes in this symphony of love are injuries, with Simmons now lost for the season, and Lucas Tipping and Steve Shinnick still out for three and four more weeks, respectively. Going into the final month of the season, down just two games to the Rangers, the division is an almost-literal toss up: their remaining opponent's winning pct is .466, ours is .464. Is that two games worth of difference?

Bub13 · 02-26-2022, 10:47 AM

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2055

Thirty games left in the regular season, with the final series to be played in October. An even split, 15-15, of home and road games, but we'll close out affairs with home series against Minnesota and California. (Texas will finish with KC, a solid team, and Oakland, a notably terrible one.) Although I'd love to win the division and get the benefits of a few extra days off (not to mention one less series to get through), my main hope for the month is health. I may forget I said this later, but I'll probably start rotating more backups into play as the month wears on, in the hopefully-not-vain belief that less time on the field means less chance of getting hurt! (Alternately, just let 'em play and take what happens, right?)

September 1-3 vs MILWAUKEE
At 58-74, they'll enter the second half of the decade without a playoff appearance, and no winning seasons since 2050. Once again their pitching has been atrocious, dead last in MLB and undoing a decent-enough 10th-ranked offense. Since there's nothing to look forward to this year, what about the future? Meh... The only piece in the lineup I'd keep is 1B Ricky Ayala, a 24-year-old in his first year as a starter, with a .298/42/96 season now under his belt. Maybe RF Oscar Espinosa, who can do a little bit of everything, but he's 29; and CF Bob Keefauver, 24, who's OK but really a guy you start until you find something better. Everyone else is either over 34 or thoroughly mediocre. On the farm? Only two guys I'd say are can't miss, CF Dave Blumenthal and C Garrett Dotson, but they're both '57 arrivals, at best. And the mound is a mess. The rotation on paper looks good at the 1-2-3 slots, all guys under-30, but all guys who've underperformed every year. Closer Chris McGuire and MR Felix Santiago are very good, and there are other youngsters in the pen who look to have the chops to start, but will they deliver? And there's not much bubbling up from below here either: #1 guy David Russello scouts well, looks like a potential #1 starter, but has no stamina. If I were looking for another job, this is one that could be fun: get rid of nearly everybody and start all over. Hit rock bottom but own it, then build a winner over 5-7 years.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (10-5, 4.31) / LH Mike Garfield (10-9, 3.88) / RH Josh Irvin (15-6, 3.56)
MIL pitchers: RH Josh Kennedy (3-3, 5.25) / RH Merlin Lemay (10-9, 4.92) / RH Chad O'Grady (5-5, 7.57)

#133: WIN 6-5 ... Collins' 3-run HR is our biggest shot, but we only win thanks to Thompson's RBI double in the 10th...Croft gives up 4 unearned runs after two errors early
#134: WIN 9-7 ... Garfield gives up 4 runs, all solo HR...Kearns also gives up a HR in relief...Matson goes 3-for-4, HR and 4 RBI
#135: WIN 8-1 ... Medici hits a SLAM and Royer and Lynn add solo shots...2 hits each for Royer, Bennetsen, and Hunter...CG from Irvin, but only one K

Nice sweep, but Texas matches so we're still two games behind.... roster expansion, and we only call up two players: OF Nick Gase and P Mike Bader. Both were demotions from Hawaii earlier this summer. Gase will be the #5 OF, PH, and some 1B time, while Bader will move into long relief. I'm not sure any AAA prospects are ready yet, as those who were are already in Hawaii due to injuries.... ELSEWHERE: As if LA needed any more boosting, they're now rolling on a 15-game winning streak, to 97 total wins and a 26-game lead in their division.... The closest divisional races are in the NL East (Philly 3 up on Washington, 4 over Richmond) and the NL Central (Cincy 4 over St Louis, 5 over New Orleans). Oh, and the AL West.... Detroit's Pat Townsand is putting in his case for AL MVP, leading the league in HR, RBI, and OPS, 3rd in WAR, and 7th in AVG.... Richmond hopes to up their playoff chances by signing RP Kymani Rhymes, who spent 8 years as Brooklyn's closer before missing half of last season with an elbow injury and not getting re-signed in the off-season. The Eagles inked Rhymes for $10.8 for the rest of this season.... Oakland, Toronto, San Francisco, and Brooklyn are all officially eliminated over this three-game stretch.... Emilio Mares (TEX) matches his steals number from last year, 71. Gunning for 80 now...

September 5-7 @ TORONTO
Already eliminated and on a 15-year run with no post-seasons. Offense ranks 18th and last, pitching 17th. (Fwiw, fielding also ranks 17th.) Not sure what the future holds here, either, even with the 4th-ranked prospect system. There are some decent pitchers, a few who are ready for MLB, but none are needle-movers. And there's almost nothing to pick through on the hitting side, unfortunately. Positives are that they'll have a ton of money to spend this fall, and have no onerous long-term contracts hanging over the team. At least owner Jim White wants to win and is willing to spend...but will they is the big question.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (4-2, 4.88) / LH Matt Waugh (19-3, 2.22) / LH Daniel Croft (10-5, 4.18)
TOR pitchers: RH Jaden Buchanan (7-10, 5.04) / RH Andy Jones (8-12, 4.58) / RH Mike Huddleston (1-6, 9.43)

#136: LOSS 4-5 ... this one was in the bag until Kearns gave up 3 in the 9th to blow it...3 hit night for Bennetsen, 2 H and 2 RBI for Lynn
#137: LOSS 3-6 ... outhit and outpitched completely...rare bad game by Waugh...HR for Bennetsen, 2 hit for Hunter
#138: LOSS 4-5 ... awful

Unexpected and extremely unwelcome, as we're now six behind Texas thanks to them sweeping Boston.... Joe Lynn reaches 50 steals on the seaon, and 245 for his career. He's third all-time for the franchise, behind Adam Groff (265) and J.J. Simmons (269).... Nothing else to add here. At least no one got hurt.... ELSEWHERE: LA clinches the NL West, and their 98 wins ties them for first overall in MLB with Texas.... Boston is on a 1-9 skid of late, and Baltimore has closed a once-big lead to just six games.... In the NL Central, Cincy has been just 5-5 but slides by St Louis and New Orleans have put them 7 and 6 games in arrears, respectively.... Mauro Barbiusa may be a subpar human, but he did his best to pull along an otherwise-moribund Yankees club (now 69-69) into the playoff race after a deadline deal with Brooklyn: .336/16/34 in 35 games and a 20-game active hitting streak. Also of note, his play at second base, sporting a -22 ZR and an efficiency rating of .837. What's the opposite of a Gold Glove? A Tin Cup, maybe? A Kingman?

September 8-10 @ HOUSTON
Despite a 57-81 overall record, they were actually over .500 in August. The offense ranks 16th in runs, pitching 9th. CF Erik Kinnison has been fine (.298/3/88), but a third of the lineup is hitting below .215. I've said it before, but they need bats, bats, bats. Pitching has been good enough to compete, but they haven't been able to put runners on base, and haven't hit for power to get any cheap runs and make games closer. The staff should be better next year, with some nice-looking kids coming along, but there's little at the plate to look forward to. Interesting note: AAA Oklahoma City, at 70-55, is the only farm team with a winning record. How much does that matter? Probably not a ton, but it does seem to point to a subpar system, overall.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-9, 3.92) / RH Josh Irvin (16-6, 3.44) / LH John Loeb (4-2, 4.55)
HOU pitchers: RH Robbie Camp (4-13, 5.22) / RH Jason Knight (12-10, 4.18) / RH Mat Caldwell (8-16, 4.40)

#139: LOSS 2-3 ... oh boy, four in a row now...Lynn's 2-run shot is our only highlight...Garfield goes all 8 IP, allows just 7 hits, same as what we got
#140: WIN 3-1 ... a trio of solo HR--Bennetsen, Matson, Gamboa--are all we need, and get, tonight...8 IP, 4 H allowed for Irvin
#141: LOSS 0-8 ... ugly ugly ugly...only four hits here, and Mike Hunter is theo only guy to reach second base, with a double

Still six behind the Rangers, who have clinched a playoff spot. We're likely not far from that at least, but I'd like to make a run at the division, still. Or at least play well leading into the post-season. Not too much to ask, is it?... Loeb is out of the rotation now, and Mike Bader will get another shot to try to impress me, heading into a contract decision this off-season.... Still getting just nothing out of our shortstop rotation: Moore .181, Gamboa .164.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's Pat Townsand lost his 23-game hit streak, but still leads MLB with 49 HR and 150 RBI.... 75 steals for Emilio Mares (TEX), on pace for 86 on the year.... In the all-important WAR race, Kevin Reynolds (ARI) leads hitters with 8.5, our own Matt Waugh tops pitchers with 9.1.... Oakland is the last team without 50 wins on the season, at 48-93.

September 11-13 vs SEATTLE
Let's see if we can get any mojo back against the 65-76 Mariners. We've stopped hitting against some bad-to-mediocre teams here, can we get it back against the 14th-ranked pitching staff? Like a lot of teams we've seen recently, they could really be helped this off-season by losing some overpriced and old contracts, about $25M worth. But I don't like that they may let 25-year-old CF Luis Hernandez--a solid contact hitter, great baserunner, and above-average fielder--walk instead of paying him a measly $6-7M. But I do like that their rotation could be really solid if their top guys--pretty much ready to go--stay healthy and don't backslide this off-season. Until then, however, stop trying and let us get back on our feet. Don't you hate the Rangers, too?

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.42) / LH Daniel Croft (10-6, 4.31) / LH Mike Garfield (10-10, 3.89)
SEA pitchers: RH Danny Diaz (13-11, 5.01) / RH Ron Rivera (3-5, 5.48) / RH Vince Push (5-9, 4.86)

#142: WIN 5-4 ... Bennetsen's RBI double in the 9th ties it, and Medici wins it in the 10th with a solo HR...Waugh lasts just 6 IP...Ulkini starts at short, goes 2-for-4
#143: WIN 7-4 ... Ulkini homers and has 3 hits total, as does Matson...Croft leaves in the 3rd, injury pending...six combined errors, including three by their infield
#144: LOSS 3-6 ... Royer homers twice but we're pretty brutal otherwise...Garfield is bad again, after turning a corner last month

Better, but still some really sloppy pitching and our hitting has struggled a bit. (Now 3rd in runs scored.).... Croft's pending diagnosis doesn't help my mood either. Irvin has been solid of late, and despite two bad starts I think we can still count on Waugh. Everyone else has struggled and their spots in the post-season rotation are up for grabs.... Ulkini made an error but had five hits in his two starts at short. He's really not good with the glove, but with Tipping back in a week, all he has to do is hit like that while he's needed the most.... AAA Santa Barbara started 5-5 in April, but is 80-40 since.... ELSEWHERE: Big series for ATL's Jake Morris sees him reach 50 HR for the third consecutive season. Solid player: defending NL MVP, two-time Gold Glove winner, no real weaknesses. Stuck on a so-so Braves team.... LA (103 wins) and Texas (102) continue to battle for Top Dog honors. Last year's World Series opponents look good to meet again this year.... 20 wins for LA's Manny Lopez, who's also recorded 232 K in 200 IP.

September 15-17 vs KANSAS CITY
The kids have jelled enough to get the Royals to a 78-66 record, more wins than they've had since '48, and on pace to close in on their 92-win season from '46, the last time they made the playoffs. The not-so-good news is that they're two games behind the White Sox for the second wildcard slot. They don't dominate anywhere: 6th in runs, 9th in runs against. Decent offensive production across the board, led by 3B Tom Esposito (.305/35/92), 1B Micah Bailey (.274/33/99), and DH Philip Tyler (.319/24/75). They'll be helped too once three guys--2B Marcus Tamrat, LF Tim Chapman, and RF Brian Spindler, all having solid seasons--come back off the DL soon. As for pitching, the team stats look better than the individuals, with only #1 SP Steve Scibek having an above-average season. Here too, once SP Bill Perez returns in two weeks, they'll be at full health. Three-time manager of the year Dario Agrazal has hit all the right notes so far, although there are a few lazy souls who haven't bought in. Owner J.J. Glass, Jr, is happy, what with attendance and profits rising, and the prospect system is full of nice-looking pitchers in particular, all of whom are 2-4 years away. Interesting team, one to watch in the next few seasons.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (17-6, 3.35) / RH Mike Bader (8-10, 4.90) / LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.48)
KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (11-9, 5.51) / RH Steve Scibek (14-8, 4.38) / RH Tony Waters (6-8, 5.16)

#145: WIN 7-2 ... 2 HR from Bennetsen, and Covington and Ulkini add shots too...Irvin goes the distance, yields 8 hits and a walk...playoffs clinched!
#146: LOSS 1-6 ... two early HR put us in a 5-0 hole and chase Bader...we manage just six hits, two each for Medici and Ulkini
#147: LOSS 3-6 ... a 3-0 lead into the top of the 8th vanishes, and we lose it in the tenth...Medici homers, but we get just six hits again

Well that sucked. KC is going pretty good now, but quiet bats equals quiet losses for us. Texas now has a 7-game lead, so the race for the division is all but over. With the Royals only two in back of the Chisox for the other wildcard, we might just see these guys again.... But we did clinch the playoffs at least.... Tipping comes back in two days, and he'll have to work off that rust over the next two weeks before the post-season. Bennetsen sat out the last two games, and will miss another one before he's 100% again. We have eight other guys who won't be back until next season, not including SP Steve Shinnick who should return right at the end of the month. But Daniel Croft is done: two months with rotator cuff inflammation.... ELSEWHERE: In three seasons of platoon catching with the Angels, Chris Yabba Dabbah hit .282, .222, and .206. This year as Atlanta's starter? He's at .335 and leading the NL.... LA has won 106 games and has a whopping THIRTY game lead over Portland. As much as I want us to win it all again, the two best teams in MLB by a safe margin are LA and TEX. Rematch of last year's Series, anyone?... NYM Conor MacLeod is on pace to take his seventh consecutive strikeout title, and is 75th all-time with 2519 whiffs. With another healthy season in '56 he'll easily move into the top fifty. What I can't decide, tho, is whether he looks more like David Cone or Tom Glavine? (See below.)

......

TL;DR Version: Just 7-8 to start the month, and we've pretty much ceded the division to Texas, sadly. Right now I'm trying to find a balance between giving some younger players more at bats to keep certain guys healthy, and to keep playing well enough to enter the playoffs on a roll. Obviously I haven't hit the right note yet. And injuries continue to bedevil us: Croft's damage means we'll have to hit the post-season relying on one of Travis Harris and Mike Bader, neither of whom has been able to sustain any success this year. Waugh and Irvin are set at the top of the rotation, and while Garfield (4.57 ERA) hasn't been as good as promised, his underlying numbers look way better than that subpar ERA. And while our batters have been pretty solid, with Royer and Covington in particular recovering from poor early months, I'm concerned about leadoff guy Joe Lynn, hitting about 40 points below his career average. With JJ Simmons out, I don't really have another viable leadoff option, so he's got to pull himself together, man!

darkcloud4579 · 02-28-2022, 01:29 AM

Can't believe you're still doing this one! Kudos on the longevity!

Bub13 · 02-28-2022, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Can't believe you're still doing this one! Kudos on the longevity!

Thanks! I've only got 30+ years to go to catch Westheim, so I'd better get busier.

Bub13 · 03-06-2022, 01:07 PM

September 18-20 @ BOSTON
Owners of a six-game winning streak and a ten-game lead over Baltimore and a Magic # of six. And this even with their SS, CF, #1 SP, CL, and a solid RP on the DL. Fifth in offense, and doing well across the board except for sitting next-to-last in home runs. The top three in the lineup are all over .300, and Rich Dragos in cleanup has 32 HR. CF Gary Carson is batting 9th but hitting .341 in injury relief for Jesus Monterroso, who may have trouble getting his spot back. Pitching ranks fourth, but has slipped a bit since losing Yuya Watabe in July. Dave Yocum has picked up the slack, and has proved to be that rare SP free agent signing completely earning his big paycheck. But the bullpen has been leaky, with closer Luis Garcia either striking guys out or watching his pitches sail into the bleachers. Overall though, a solid team but with some holes. I don't see them getting past either Detroit or Texas in the playoffs, but hey you still have to play the games...

HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (7-3, 5.07) / LH Mike Garfield (10-11, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (18-6, 3.30)
BOS pitchers: RH Jose Ambriz (9-11, 6.12) / LH Chris Rivera (11-9, 4.07) / RH Matthew Postlewait (7-5, 5.04)

#148: LOSS 4-7 ... ugh...only outhit 9-8, but Harris adds four walks in his 1.1 IP...two hits each for Lynn and Royer, and that's all to say about this game
#149: LOSS 1-11 ... four hits, no life at all...three pitchers, all get rocked
#150: WIN 6-2 ... FINALLY A WIN...Medici pops two HR and Irvin goes 7 solid IP...3 hits for Matson, 2 each for Lynn and Tipping

Another terrible series. Repeatedly parsing out "we played awful but at least no one got hurt" is not a winning formula.... Harris is pitching his way to watching the playoffs rather than sliding into the bullpen. Bad ending to a season that started with a lot of promise.... Tipping gets some hits on his return, but 2B/SS Mike Hunter has gone cold, so let's see if future wonder boy Jake Moore has learned to hit in his most recent call-up.... Eureka (A) sees their season end with a first round playoff loss to Lake Elsinore. The Magpies went 76-64, finishing second in the North Division to Stockton.... ELSEWHERE: Too little too late? Portland has won seven straight, but still find themselves four games out of the second NL wildcard spot. That NL race promises to be fun: RIC (85 wins), WSH (83), NOZ (82), STL (81), and POR (79). The AL race is much smaller, with only CHI (84 wins) and KC (83) really in the hunt for that #2 ticket.... No record-altering individual performances this season, in either hitting or pitching. DET's Pat Townsand has 158 RBI and TEX Emilio Mares 79 SB. Both highs for recent seasons, but not anywhere near the record books. No batter looks to hit the 10-WAR mark, although Matt Waugh might on the mound for HAW. No pitchers with 300 K, only two batters with 50 HR (but six or eight more could crack that mark), and just one batter over .337. Lots of good seasons, lots of good players to talk about, but no single-player excellence. I kind of miss that.

September 21-23 @ OAKLAND
Hopefully we can right some wrongs against the terrible (53 wins) A's. We better, because we'll see Texas next. Oakland is 17th in offense and 15th in pitching, truly embracing the rebuilding suckage after trying to avoid it for the past few seasons. And there are some solid blocks to build with. Good vets like LF Felix Reyes, 3B Ryan Walton, RF Randy Costello, and SS Noah Johnson will be back. They stole 1B/DH Alex Esquillin from Cincy, and he's hit .337 with 12 HR in 47 games; LF Andy Heiser has hit for average and power in his September call-up, although he's a stone pillar in the outfield. With just a touch of off-season growth this fall, OF Matt Hall and IFs Ismael Moreira and Steve Winkler (all in AA) could all become starters next year. Pitching is a mystery however. I've said before that SP Tom Baker, Jaden Bartholomew, and Glen Marler--on paper--look like the equal of any 1-2-3 rotation combo around. But in reality? They've each been solidly terrible in their one to two seasons in the bigs. Pat Oden is in the pen, and has the highest ceilings on the team, but he's 25 and had an awfully rough go of it this season. There's a solid crop of boom-or-bust pitching prospects coming up, but most are in A or rookie ball, and nowhere near ready for '56. So maybe next year is getting the lineup in order and hoping some of the pitchers figure it out? Then get an MLB-quality catcher and a solid MI, let the rookies play, and start bringing the fans back. It can be done.

HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (8-11, 5.07) / LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.47) / LH John Loeb (5-3, 4.62)
OAK pitchers: LH Sean Guerrero (8-13, 5.32) / RH Andy Paterson (3-5, 5.19) / RH Glen Marler (8-12, 5.78)

#151: WIN 7-2 ... 4 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI for Josh Hed in a rare start...HR for Cov too...Bader walks five but is otherwise fine in 7.1 IP, and Harris gets some quality RP time
#152: WIN 10-2 ... 20th win for Waugh...14 H + 6 BB = 9 R...3 hits for Tipping, 2 each for five others...100th win on the season
#153: WIN 6-4 ... Matson tops off a comeback season with his 20th HR, a GRAND SLAM...2 H each for Moore and Lynn...Loeb is okay, but allows just 4 hits

Just what we needed, and with Texas dropping two we're now only seven games out of first. CAN WE DO IT? Hah, c'mon now.... Waugh just keeps going, hitting 20 wins for each of his three seasons with us, and reaching 10 WAR for the first time in his career. He's over 2000 career K and and 60 WAR in just eight seasons, and could win his fifth Cy Young trophy in a couple of months.... Jake Moore is still not hitting much, at just .198, but he does have a better-looking .310 OBP, thanks to 21 BB in 157 PA. Worrying is his -4.7 ZR in 37 starts at short. If he could hit with any power at all he might make an ideal 3B instead.... ELSEWHERE: Boston clinches the AL East, while Philly clinches a playoff spot in the NL. Philly, Detroit, and Texas all have Magic # of 3.... Four straight wins for NO has them a game up on Washington, and just two in back of Richmond in the wild card race. STL and POR are still in it. In the AL, Chicago is holding on to a two-game lead over KC.... Milwaukee's Ricky Ayala would likely be the AL rookie of the year, going .296/51/116, except that he had two PA over the limit last year.... Brooklyn has axed manager Alex Cora, Jr, and GM Daniel Lowe in the midst of a 57-96 season. No word yet on a replacement for either.

September 25-27 @ TEXAS
Off to see the arch-rivals! A sweep here would bring us to four games out, but who expects that? First in offense and pitching and even fielding, because why not have it all? The only things they don't lead in are OBP and steals, where they sit in an awful third place. Tsk tsk. How devastating is their lineup? Everyone has at least 26 HR, except for leadoff Emilio Mares, with 8. But he's hitting .348 with 79 steals, so we'll cut him some slack. Everyone has over 80 RBI except Mares and Ronnie Halvorson (with merely 75). Only two batters are over .300, but only two are below .272. They've scored 941 runs; Detroit is second with 907, and we're way back in third with 883. They invested in pitching this off-season and at the deadline, and that's led to the AL's best ERA for both the rotation and the bullpen. And they've been without #1 SP Bobby Daniel since mid-July. Truly depressing stuff here. All of this has been done with a budget ranked #21, a payroll sitting at #15. They've got some pitchers to sign or let walk this fall, but I don't think they'll miss a beat in '56. The only area looking a little soft is the farm system: ranking 34th (out of 36) and with no players in the top 150 prospects. Something tells me they're not concerned with that right now. Last year's 101-win club has been surpassed by this year's 108 wins (and counting). I see no reason why they won't repeat as AL champs, but we'll give it a go!

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-12, 4.33) / RH Josh Irvin (19-6, 3.27) / RH Mike Bader (9-11, 4.95)
TEX pitchers: RH Emanuel Vasquez (11-8, 4.40) / RH Mike Nelson (13-3, 2.69) / RH Paul Labbe (15-6, 3.81)

#154: LOSS 2-4 ... Medici hits a 2-run shot in the 1st, but we go quiet after that...Garfield goes the distance, giving the pen some rest...3 hits for Lynn
#155: LOSS 3-11 ... Medici homers again, but we sure don't look like a 101-win team...bad outings from three pitchers, with Harris getting hurt in relief
#156: WIN 7-5 ... we reclaim some respect here, putting 20 runners on base...Bader is solid but Kearns gets roughed up in the 9th

Although it doesn't help us any in the now-lost divisional race, at least we avoided the sweep in that last game.... Add another pitcher to the fire, as Travis Harris goes on the DL for a month with a broken shoulder. He may have been left off the playoff roster anyway, but now it's moot.... Irvin looks to have missed his chance at 20 wins this season. I might hold him off from making another start, as we'll be in the wildcard series and we'll need all hands on deck early.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Lloyd tosses the season's sixth no-hitter, a 2-0 win over Portland.... In playoff race news, Texas clinches the AL West, Detroit the Central, and Boston the East. Chicago leads KC by two games in the #2 wildcard race.... In the NL, Philly and Cincy have Magic #s of ONE, and the Phils have also clinched a playoff spot. Richmond is a near-lock on the #1 wildcard spot, while Washington, New Orleans, and St Louis are all tied with 85 wins. LA you know about. They're vying with Texas for the best overall record (111 wins vs 110 for the Rangers).... Oakland (102) and Toronto (100) top the century mark in losses.... With 82 steals, Emilio Mares becomes the first player to top 80 since 1988, and only the second player to top 70 in this century.

September 28-30 vs MINNESOTA
They went from being mediocre through June (37-42) to just crashing out since (24-53). Offense ranks 11th, pitching 15th. They are 7th in HR, so there's a core of power here, but the offense has struggled everywhere else. LF Jordan Foots, CF Ryan Lawler, and 1B Santos Chavez are a dynamic 1-2-3 punch. Veteran free agents Andy Elliott and Tim Marinaccio brought some power but little else this year, and the rest of the lineup is truly subpar. RF Jesus Villegas missed time with injury; his return next year will help. On the mound, Gary Kocher and Ken Aikens are the start of a decent rotation, and closer Brett Roseman (despite awful numbers this year) has proved his worth in the past. The bullpen has some big arms behind Roseman, but the rotation needs help. Little help is forthcoming from the farm here. And their two best prospects in the field, 2B Juan Castro and OF Steve Nuzzo, are behind current regulars who are, frankly, much better than both of them at their best. With a declining budget and a money-managing owner, I'm not sure they'll be in the hunt for any big free agents this fall. They should really grab a pitcher or two, a catcher, and a shortstop. That won't put them up top with the Tigers and Sox, but they'll get closer and be in position to take advantage of any dips from those two. Sorry to say, Twins fans, that I don't see them adding to their two winning seasons in the past decade next year.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (20-4, 2.45) / LH John Loeb (6-3, 4.64) / LH Mike Garfield (10-13, 4.33)
MIN pitchers: RH Dan Hannan (10-12, 4.28) / RH Ken Aikens (8-14, 6.23) / RH Brandon Behrens (0-0, 3.94)

#157: WIN 7-2 ... Tipping and Bennetsen homer, and Waugh goes 7.1 IP to win his 21st...Royer bruises his elbow and will sit for a few days
#158: LOSS 4-7 ... two hits for Lynn and, ummm, that's about it...Loeb yields 12 hits, and another 3B goes down with a dtd injury (Ulkini)
#159: WIN 2-1 ... Medici homers, and Hunter doubles home the winning run, all in the 7th...Garfield solid through 8, nice...Hunter hurt, making us 3-for-3 in losing 3B here

What the heck is going on at third base? Royer dtd for 5 days, then Ulkini for 4, now Hunter for 3. Should I leave the space blank next game?... AAA Santa Barbara wins their PCL division going away and will face El Paso in the first round.... Shinnick is back from the DL and will get a start in place of Waugh to end the regular season.... ELSEWHERE: KC drops three straight one-run games to lose out to the Chisox in the AL wildcard race. Richmond clinches the #1 NL wildcard spot, with three teams battling behind them: Washington (87 wins), New Orleans (86), and St Louis (86).... ATL's Jake Morris won't defend his NL MVP title, but he leads baseball with 55 HR. After a .318 season in '54, he's reverted to his career average at just below .260.... Dodgers Stadium may be a pitcher's park, as their staff leads every major pitching category in MLB, but don't overlook the NL's second best offense either. Give a team $300M to spend, and they just might do something good with it.

October 1-3 vs CALIFORNIA
We close 2055 against the improving Angels, winners of 9 out of 10, although a 71-88 record is still not exactly a success story. Thirteenth in both offense and pitching, so that's a nice symmetry at least. This is another team in search of some identity. They'll keep stars William Swanson and Mauricio Marquez for another year, see young CF Chris Burns continue to grow, but what else? OF/DH Jesse Brickell has power but no contact, while OF Dan Dellinger and 2B Mike Eskridge have contact but no power. No one else looks like much. The third-ranked farm system could help soon: 1B/DH Carlos Castro is ready, as is 2B David Frost. OF Ricardo Vera, 3B Ivan Zamora, and C Fernando Santana look intriguing and could make the team out of camp; best of all is RF Joe Lundin, a terrible OF but a fabulous-looking hitter. He's two years away, however. For the staff, I like SP Nate Elder, Shaun Ostrander, and Aaron Moore. But Seth O'Neill took a big step backwards this year. Closer Michael Buckland is good, and there are some interesting swingmen in the pen worth a look for the rotation. Prospect SP Brian Jackson, Manny Brito, and David Gomez should all make pushes in camp next spring, but a big loss is #4 MLB prospect Zack Thornhill getting hurt in July and likely missing all of '56 to boot. I would say they should build from the mound out and move the fences back a bit to make up for a mediocre offense. Get a couple of power guys (already done) and go speedy, like their neighbors in Chavez. Easy peasy.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (19-7, 3.42) / RH Mike Bader (10-11, 4.94) / RH Steve Shinnick (3-1, 2.87)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (15-7, 4.02) / LH Shaun Ostrander (7-4, 4.86) / RH George Millard (11-13, 4.90)

#160: WIN 4-3 ... comeback win with 2 runs in the 7th...Irvin pitches well but can't claim his 20th win...Medici homers again, now has 48
#161: WIN 9-6 ... Cov, Med (again!), and Espino homer, with the latter (and Matson) getting three hits...pen loads the bases and yields a run in an iffy 9th
#162: WIN 10-2 ... Pederson and Bennetsen both knock 2 HR, and we rack up 15 hits...Lynn gets his 60th steal...Shinnick goes the distance, fanning 10 and allowing 4 hits

A nice, feel-good sweep to end the season. Pretty. But it feels odd to finish with 107 wins and be an afterthought in the division.... Medici just missed out on 50 HR, but don't feel bad for his .310/49/145 season.... Good to see Pederson wake up from his recent coma too.... Shinnick's outing there may have put him into the playoff rotation. That one game is miles better than anything Bader's offered up of late.... Lynn hit 60 steals for the second straight season, but his average was down nearly 40 points and his defense was way off (from 12 and 10 ZR to -0.5). Sign of things to come for the 26-year-old? Maybe just a one-year blip.... ELSEWHERE: How about not one, but two more no-hitters? First it's Portland's Chris Dennison in a 5-0 win over the Giants, then it's Tampa's Jon Jemison, beating the Yankees by the same score. Fun fact: Portland has been involved in the last three NL no-nos, tossing two of their own.... Richmond claims the #1 NL wildcard finally, but New Orleans wins their last four games to overtake Washington and St Louis for the #2 spot. The Nationals looked so strong all season, but faded badly down the stretch, going 9-21 from September 1, missing out by two games.... LA beats Texas to the mountain top, finishing with 117 wins, versus the Rangers 115.

......

TL;DR Version: Bounced back a little with a 10-5 finishing kick, to go 17-13 since September 1. We ended up 8 games behind Texas for the division, but well clear of the White Sox in the wildcard race, so they'll be in town in a couple days. Season-ending stats: 3rd in offense, 2nd in pitching. At the plate, Medici was our standout, leading the league in XBH and TB, and 2nd in RBI, 4th in HR. He finished at .310/.379/.615, all down from his previous two seasons, but still very solid. Joe Lynn finished 3rd with 60 steals. On the mound, it was all Matt Waugh, leading the league in ERA, W, WAR, WHIP, FIP, BB/9, etc. And let's not overlook Josh Irvin's nice season: not only 2nd to Waugh with 19 wins, but 3rd in ERA and WHIP, 6th in WAR, 2nd in Quality Starts. Good to see someone have a solid #2 SP season behind Waugh, at last, especially with all our injuries.

Anyway, we go into the post-season on a high note, and with no *new* injuries. J.J. Simmons is the only lineup regular who won't play, and Shinnick's return gives us another option for the playoff roster. Chicago will be tough, however--a balanced team that won 92 games and has playoff experience.

Bub13 · 03-26-2022, 05:29 PM

PLAYOFFS 2055

Wildcard season kicks off, with the Chicago White Sox facing YOUR Hawaii Islanders, and the New Orleans Zephyrs vs the Richmond Eagles. I rate both best-of-three series as toss-ups: the NL series sees a solid offensive team in Richmond facing a tough pitching squad in New Orleans. Something's gotta give. In the AL, we may have won 15 more games than the Sox, but they are a balanced team (4th in offense, 5th in pitching), with a power-stoked lineup that has no weak spots. Plus, they can run and have a top ten defensive squad. The "worst" team stat they hold is a rotation that was 9th in AL ERA, but with the cut-down playoff rotations that shouldn't matter much now. FUN FACT: this is the first time both Sox teams (the Soxes?) have been in the playoffs together since 2025, when the Brewers took them both out (Chicago in the wildcard game, Boston swept in the league championship).

No major roster changes for us heading into the post-season. We picked RP Yoshi Watanabe over swingman John Loeb for the bullpen, as Yoshi has more power and is better suited to a MR role. As a late-season call-up, Nick Gase didn't make the squad so was sent back to AAA for their playoff decider. (ED: Santa Barbara lost, ending their season.) Mike Hunter gets the nod to start at short, since neither Jake Moore nor Bill Gamboa seized the baton at the plate. Hunter is just fair in the field these days, but hit .302 with a .364 OBP after his signing, and we'll need all the offense we can muster.

WILDCARD SERIES

GAME ONE: Tuesday, October 6, Chicago (RH Luke Weaver, 17-7 5.08) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4 2.45). We strike first, early, when Pederson doubles home Matson in the bottom of the first. A Sox leadoff double in the second goes to waste, even after a two-out single, when Waugh picks off Zeke de la Rosa at first to end the threat. Second inning, and we add to the fun. With two outs and a runner on third, back-to-back doubles and a single bring home three runs, and after two we're up 4-0. The Sox get one back in the third, but we pad our lead in the fourth with a Covington solo HR and a small-ball run on a walk, sacrifice, single, and ground out. AFter four, it's 6-1. After adding another run in the fifth, the Sox make things tight in the seventh, scoring twice on two walks, two singles, and some timely sac flies. But we respond nicely in the bottom half with a pair of solo HR from Bennetsen and Medici, and we take an 8-4 lead into the penultimate frame. Just for kicks we score twice more in the eighth, thanks largely to two wild pitches which directly bring runners home. Waugh was a bit loose, and despite the big win we only outhit the Sox 12-11, and Waugh and Sam Bohlen add five walks to the proceedings. Not a stout pitching effort, but good enough. Final score: Hawaii 10, Chicago 4. Hawaii leads series 1-0

GAME TWO: Wednesday, October 7, Hawaii (RH Josh Irvin, 19-7 3.44) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings, 13-12 4.05). Another solid start, as Bennetsen triples and comes home on Matson's RBI single. More comes in the second, when Covington's two-out double scores Pederson, and then Cov scores on Hunter's follow-up double. Trouble arrives in the bottom second, however, when with two runners on and one Sox already having scored, Ethan Ransburg knocks a three-run drive into the bleachers. After two, and Chicago has it's first series lead, 4-3. Both teams put runners on in each of the next two innings, but nobody scores. We strike quickly in the fifth, though, on a Matson double and Medici home run to deep right-center. Chicago gets that right back with a Ben Usilton solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and after five we're knotted up at 5-5. But we just can't stop. Covington hits his second solo HR of the series in the sixth, and Tipping follows suit in the seventh. We set the Sox down in order in the seventh and eighth--only the second and third such innings our staff tossed in the series--and take a 7-5 lead into the final frame. We load the bases on a single and a pair of walks, but Covington can't repeat his heroics and strikes out to end the threat. Closer Nate Kearns comes in, and with two outs proceeds to walk the bases full. Somehow we stays in the game, and gets Usilton to hit a lazy fly out to center, ending the game and the series! Final score: Hawaii 7, Chicago 5. Hawaii WINS series 2-0

Sweep! A little surprising, but in a best-of-three series, very welcome. Our offense was superb, but our two best pitchers got knocked around quite a bit, and we walked 11 batters in the two games. Mike Covington and his .571 average takes home the series MVP. No injuries to report, and probably just a single day off to prepare for the next series. And surprise, surprise! we're playing the Rangers. The other series features Boston vs Detroit.

In the NL, New Orleans wins a pair of one-run affairs to sweep out Richmond and advance to play the Dodgers. Cincinnati travels to Philadelphia to open the other Divisional Series.

......

AL DIVISIONAL SERIES ... with some NL thrown in too.

We're off to Texas! You know all about them already...best offense, best pitching, tops in home runs, and nearly everything else. So good, in fact, that sitting 3rd in OBP and steals is about the worst you can say about their team-wide efforts. Healthy too, missing only a couple of pitchers. (One is ace Bobby Daniel, but he's been out since July and they only wound up with 115 wins...) Suffice it to say that Vegas doesn't really like our chances.

GAME ONE: Saturday, October 9, (LH Mike Garfield, 11-13 4.19) @ Texas (RH Mike Nelson, 14-3 2.76). Was a pretty nice game through 6 1/2 innings, tied at 1-1 on a sac fly for us and a solo home run for them. Then all hell broke loose, and when the dust settled the Rangers had added 8 runs in what seemed like a matter of minutes. The big blast was a Ryan Boers grand slam off reliever Yoshi Watanabe, but plenty of damage had already happened by that point. But at least we outhit them 11-8, so that's something to build off, right? Final score: Texas 9, Hawaii 1 Texas leads series 1-0

GAME TWO: Sunday, October 10, Hawaii (RH Steve Shinnick, 4-1 2.68) @ Texas (RH Kevin Cahill, 9-2 3.32). Two scoreless innings go by before we strike first, with Covington poking a solo home run in third to get things going. Provoked, the Rangers load the bases in the bottom half, but somehow escape undamaged. We add to our lead in the fourth on Royer's three-run blast, but the bad guys strike right back with four runs on three hits and a two-run throwing error by Bennetsen in left. The score remains tied until the sixth, when back-to-back solo HR and another error hand the Rangers three more runs, and we're in a hole for the first time tonight, 7-4. Bennetsen earns some redemption with a two-run shot in the seventh, pulling us to a run back, but the Rangers add another in the eighth, and all we can do over the final few innings is take a couple of walks, but no hits. Better hitting, but a loss nonetheless. Final score: Texas 8, Hawaii 6. Texas leads series 2-0

Elsewhere... Just a brief interlude to say that we're the only team not making things interesting right now, as the other three series are level at a game apiece. Joy.

GAME THREE: Tuesday, October 12, Texas (RH Emanuel Vasquez, 13-8 4.24) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4, 2.45). Win or die here ... And having said that, Waugh struggles right out of the gate, allowing a run on three hits in the first. It could have been worse, as Pederson threw out Boers at home to end the inning. In our half, we go down on ten pitches. Second inning, more of the same, another Texas run on two hits and a ground out. And we make it through only seven pitches. Third inning, lather rinse repeat: another run for the Rangers, this time a Phil Thomas solo home run. But then we show up! Royer's solo home run, followed by a pair of singles and a Bennetsen sac fly, and we're on the board, but still down 3-2 after three. Texas, though, keeps on rolling, scoring another run after a triple and their own sac fly. We put two more on in the bottom half, but can't score, and the deficit is two, 4-2, after four. Waugh is mercifully pulled, and finally we pitch a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to Brad Cahill. He keeps the lid on things until we get on track in the sixth, thanks to another blast from Covington, this time a three-run shot to right. Finally, a lead! 5-4 after six! Seventh inning, and both teams threaten but nobody scores. But in the eighth they level it up thanks to a Matt Provance (who?) solo home run. We can't manage any attack at all in our half, or in the ninth, and we're headed to extras tied at 5. And then of course, it happens: no-name Provance pops another solo shot, stunning the crowd. Texas adds two singles afterwards, but can't add any runs. We're into the bottom of the tenth, facing ace closer Han-lee Su: Bennetsen strikes out. Matson strikes out. But then! Medici doubles into right-center, keeping hopes alive. But then again! Pederson dribbles a 1-1 pitch right to second, and it's Good Night, Irene. Swept. Final score: Texas 6, Hawaii 5. Texas WIN series 3-0

Elsewhere, again... Detroit takes two straight from Boston, sending the Sox home; LA does the same to New Orleans. But Cincy comes back from a 2-1 deficit against the Phils to head to the league championship against the Dodgers, in an old-school NL West showdown. (LA took the honors in '42, the last time these two met with high stakes on the line.)

......

Sigh. Galling. I knew it would be tough getting past Texas, but I didn't expect to have our pitchers so thoroughly embarrassed. We actually outhit them in two of these games, but it seemed like they could just score at will against us. Ah well... On the plus side, we did win 107 games, but there seems to be something lacking in our offense, as we don't have the easy power of a Texas or Detroit. Not sure what form any off-season moves might take at the moment, but we may have to do something out of the ordinary for us, either in free agency or via trade, and "bulk up" our lineup. We'll see...

......

In League Championship series news... No surprise that the Dodgers are World Series bound yet again, taking the Reds in five. Other than a 6-5 game four loss, LA held Cincy to just two runs and 18 hits. This will be the Dodgers' third straight trip to the championship. Over in the AL, a wild back-and-forth series goes seven...with Texas finally ousting the Tigers thanks to a comeback win in game six, and a hang-on-for-dear-life game seven win. (Down 6-1, Detroit knocked a 3-run homer, then a solo shot, then put another man on, all with two outs, before finally yielding.)

This is a repeat of last year's series, taken by the Dodgers in six. (The last time teams faced each other in consecutive Series was in '35 and '36, with Toronto and Pittsburgh splitting their two meetings. Before that, you go all the way back to the '77-'78 match-ups between LA and NY.) Texas heads to the Series for the fifth time, and is seeking their second title. LA is looking for their tenth title.

......

2055 WORLD SERIES

Game One: TEX 3 - LA 1 ... (TEX leads 1-0)
Game Two: TEX 0 - LA 2 ... (series tied 1-1)
Game Three: LA 3 - TEX 6 ... (TEX leads 2-1)
Game Four: LA 9 - TEX 14 ... (TEX leads 3-1)
Game Five: LA 5 - TEX 4 ... (TEX leads 3-2)
Game Six: TEX 7 - LA 4 ... (TEX WINS 4-2)

While I'm not surprised the Rangers won this series, I am a bit surprised at the offensive output against a really strong Dodgers pitching staff. LA starters Bryan Shaheen and Manny Lopez combined to win 44 games this season; here they won zero and had a combined ERA over ten. Anyway...it's the Rangers second World Series title in franchise history, the first coming in '52. LA was unable to repeat as champions, meaning that we are still the last team to accomplish that feat with our wins in '43 and '44. Given the talent on these teams, and that almost all of it is returning for next year, I think there's a very great chance we could see the first THREE-PEAT World Series tilt since the Yankees and NY Giants squared off in '21, '22, and '23. That's NINETEEN twenty-one, etc, fyi.

So congrats to the Rangers. Now rot in hell, both of these teams. See you next year!

Bub13 · 04-02-2022, 05:15 PM

OFF-SEASON 2055-2056, part 1

Another successful regular season leads into another playoff fizzle. Can I be disappointed in 20 consecutive playoff appearances? No. Can I be disappointed by two consecutive 2nd place divisional finishes and early playoff exits? Yes. Finishing top-three in both offense and pitching is not BAD, not at all; but when a divisional rival is #1 in both, and has an offense that far outclasses your own, then it's time to do something. So while we don't need to overhaul the roster, or make really drastic changes, it's definitely time to spend some of our ownership's money and our own farm system capital.

Taking a quick look at the financial side of things, we're top five in attendance, gate, profits, etc. But only 17th in budget, and outside the top ten in player salaries. Accounting projects our budget to increase from $170M to $184M for 2056. Our current books also show player salaries jumping by $14M (from $157M to $171M), but that's counting the fourteen players currently scheduled to go to arbitration in the next month. While I may take most of those guys to arbitration, and eventually sign them, I don't expect all of them to return next year. So, ultimately, our player budget may indeed be around that $171M predicted mark, but it won't be as simple as just retaining the same guys who've been here for several years already. Make sense? Ok. Now it's time to start the off-season, see what we can get done...

First off, we exercise our team option on Joe Lynn. He'll make $8.8M in '56, the final year of his current deal. This will be a make-or-break season for Lynn's future with us. He'll hit 28 next season and enter his sixth year of full-time play, so it's not like he's old and breaking down. BUT... His offense and defense declined significantly this season, and with top prospect Brian Hassell lighting things up in AA and AAA, he's going to have to respond.

Next, RP Min-hyuk Yaung retires. The 38-year-old spent parts of four seasons with us, his best year being 2054 (78 IP, 3.32 ERA, 77 K, 1.4 WAR). Last season he pitched 7.1 dreadful innings before an elbow injury ended his season. He wasn't in our future plans anyway.

Four players on big league contracts are pending free agents: SP Mike Garfield, SP Mike Pearse, RP Sam Bohlen, and IF Mike Hunter. None will receive contract offers. Garfield was a deadline acquisition who was fine, but will be 38 soon and wants a ton of money before his career ends. Pearse is just 28 but has had two major injuries in the last three years, and didn't pitch particularly well when healthy in '54 anyway. He's a power pitcher who wants a relatively affordable $13.5/per for three years, but given his considerable injury history, he's not worth the risk, imo. Hunter, 40, hit well after signing in August, but faded badly down the stretch. I'm open to looking at him after free agency begins, depending on how the rest of my infield lineup plays out, but only if he'll sign for cheap. (Probably not likely, as he stills thinks he's a starter.) In addition, 22 minor leaguers are skipping out, including eleven pitchers at AAA/AA. So we'll have some upper-level minors to rebuild, and if we suffer pitching staff injuries at the rate we did this past year, we'll need to nab some serious depth here.

We also have fourteen guys currently on the arbitration list. That number gets whittled down quickly as we've made a contract offer to OF Doug Pederson, and expect him to sign in a few days. Next, we're not going to offer arbitration to depth pitchers Mark Larmer and Jonathon Sitzler, and IF Kevin Kelley. All were expected to garner somewhere on either side of $1M, but I'm not into paying minor leaguers big league money if I can help it. They're replaceable, and might even come back if no one signs them early and they accept minor league deals. The others are as follows, with current/offered salary, and my thoughts on each:

SP Mike Bader ... 8.75M / 10.5M -- hasn't been good for a couple of years now, so don't get too attached to him
RP Anthony Booker ... 1.12M / 1.3M -- worth it, core RP
RP Nate Kearns ... 1.4M / 2.42M -- ditto
RP Jordan Ruiz ... 850k / 1.2M -- ditto
C Mike Covington ... 4.5M / 6.8M -- I really need to choose between him and Jamie Collins at catcher
3B Caleb Royer ... 4.25M / 6.05M -- this much for a starter who earned 1.1 WAR?
3B Lua Ulkini ... 1.1M / 3.4M -- that salary number could be attractive in a trade package, just sayin'
OF Nick Gase ... 500k / 2.4M -- cheaper guys bumping up from the farm, again just sayin'...
OF Diego Espino ... 500k / 950k -- cheap enough to consider keeping, tbh, and everybody loves the guy
OF Josh Hed ... 500k / 2.86M -- thinks very highly of himself (see also comment under Nick Gase)

Unklike most years, I don't expect we'll fare too badly in these arb decisions. Maybe Covington will turn out to be more expensive, maybe also one of the RP. But a lot of these not-relievers are obvious trade bait...there's definitely a non-zero chance that most of these guys won't be Islanders next year...

......

Pretty quiet on the MLB front, aside from the usual raft of GMs/Managers getting let go. The Mets ditched four-year manager Hunter Harvey in favor of little-known international scout JH Kim, and the Rangers were shocked by the sudden retirement of first-year manager Henry Centeno. Centeno, 61, cited "health reasons" for his departure, and rumors abound that he'll be heading home to Venezuela for treatments relating to an undisclosed medical condition. He won 115 games and a World Series in his one year at the helm, and is a shoo-in for AL Manager of the Year. Although...to be fair, a sack of potatoes probably could have won a title with that lineup. (Sorry, Henry.)

We do make a couple of small moves before awards season kicks off. First, we claim RP Kevin Ford off waivers from the Cubs. Ford, 27, was decent in a small, 10-inning sample in Chicago this year, and will get a look in camp. He's more of a finesse, movement, pitcher, so if we go after any more bullpen arms, I'll definitely be looking at some power guys as a complement. We also waive/DFA Jonathon Sitzler and 2B Erik Griffin, to make room on the 40-man. Sitzler is claimed by the Giants, and fans are sorry to see him go for some reason. Griffin is off to AAA, where he belongs unless things go very, very wrong in our infield next year.

......

And now for some hardware...

AL GOLD GLOVE: P Chris Liles, DET (3rd trophy); C Steve Newman, HOU (5th); 1B Elijah Pass, CHW; 2B Mike McNeill, MIA (2nd); 3B Mike Lee, MIN (2nd); SS Oscar Garza, HOU (5th); LF Jordan Foots, MIN (4th); CF Luis Hernandez, SEA; RF Melvin Lopez, NYY (2nd)
NL GOLD GLOVE: P Nate Malone, SD; C Vinny Perez, MTL; 1B Alfonso Contreras, AUS; 2B Alex Bell, CIN; 3B Jose Ibanez, CHC; SS Alex Duran, NYM; LF Jake Morris, ATL (3rd); CF Jason Welch, WAS (4th); RF Pat Meade, ATL (3rd)

AL HOYT WILHELM: Jon Carlsen, MIA (7-6, 45 SV, 2.64 ERA, 86 K, 0.91 WHIP) [Nate Kearns reaped five points, 6th place]
NL HOYT WILHELM: Quinn Driscoll, LA (3-3, 51 SV, 2.19 ERA, 98 K, 1.01 WHIP)

AL SILVER SLUGGER: C Phil Thoma, TEX; 1B Pat Townsand, DET (2nd); 2B Matt Provance, TEX; 3B Tom Esposito, KC; SS Ryan Boers, TEX (4th); LF Dustin Wasilewski, BOS (4th); CF Chris Mitchell, NYY (3rd); RF Manny Molina, DET; DH Jules Medici, HAW (2nd)
NL SILVER SLUGGER: P Erik Sloan, STL; C Chris Dabbah, ATL; 1B Drew Elliott, SF (4th); 2B Alfonso Torres, LA (4th); 3B Heath Lewellen, CIN; SS Francisco Villon, RIC; LF Jake Morris, ATL (2nd); CF Nate Forrester, STL (2nd); RF Kevin Reynolds, ARIAL

AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: OF Erik Bennetsen, HAW (.327/.378/.560, 28 HR, 25 ST, 4.4 WAR) [Lucas Tipping garnered 44 points, good for 3rd place]
NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1B Juan Lozano, ARI (.295/.329/.531, 22 HR, 1.9 WAR, 414 AB)

AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Henry Centeno, TEX (Wins in his first year in MLB, then retires. Baller.)
NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Eric van der Zalm, LA (Two years as manager in LA, two trophies, one World Series title and one runner up)

AL CY YOUNG: Matt Waugh, HAW (21-4, 2.45 ERA, 249 IP, 245 K, 37 BB, 1.03 WHIP, 10.3 WAR) [FIFTH trophy, has won all three of his years in Hawaii]
NL CY YOUNG: Bryan Shaheen, LA (21-7, 2.59 ERA, 229 IP, 221 K, 37 BB, 1.01 WHIP, 8.3 WAR [Dude was pretty pedestrian in 8 previous seasons, injured last year. PEDs?]

AL MVP: Pat Townsand, DET (.327/.417/.658, 53 HR, 165 RBI, 7.5 WAR) [Waugh got 5 first place votes, 167 points, 7th place; Medici 9th place]
NL MVP: Heath Lewellen, CIN (.309/.367/.629, 53 HR, 130 RBI, 7.1 WAR) [Won by 4 points over the rightful winner, Kevin Reynolds (.325/.454/.686, 10.0 WAR)]

Not much to add to our trophy collection, but props to Bennetsen, Waugh, and Medici! And not to bury the lede, but in the midst of all this voting, Philly swooped in and poached our 22-year veteran scouting director Moises Patino, making him their new GM. I had no idea he was envying my job for so long.... To replace him, I thought about making my own raid, taking long looks at directors like Pat Zachman (CHW), Jorge Alonzo (RIC), and Sean Bokan (MIN). Ultimately I went with free agent Michael Rivera instead, inking him to a five-year deal. The 59-year-old Houston native will be getting his first MLB payday.

Elsewhere... Rough news for Washington, as starting SS Adam Burke retires after suffering a gruesome broken fibula in a September game. The 32-year-old began his MLB career with three seasons on the bench in LA, followed by three as the starter at short in SF, and finally four years in Washington. A career .270 hitter, he earned 27.9 WAR, hit 149 home runs on 1145 hits, led the NL in doubles in '52 and '53, and was a 2054 NL All-Star with the Nats. For now, the top of the team's SS depth chart has Billy Williams and Jamie Walker, two light hitters but solid fielders, and no immediate help in the system. Look for them to be in the market for a quality free agent, as the roster is good enough elsewhere to compete for the playoffs next year.

......

Arbitration Day comes and...it's not too bad. We won six cases, lost four. Nobody is getting ridiculously overpaid, and Mike Covington probably got the biggest boost, up to $8.1M now. Mike Bader got $10.5M, but since he was asking for over 12, it's still a win. Of more interest is that our three backup OF will now earn nearly $7M combined, which is too much as far as I'm concerned. I haven't gone into detail about my developing plans for the silly season, but suffice to say for now that as many as six of the ten arb guys may be wearing different uniforms in very short order...

Yes, I know you can't set your clock by 16-year-old prospects, but it's a nice sign that our new head scout Michael Rivera's first signing, Dominican 1B Luis Chavez, has promising ceilings and nice intangibles. We'll check in again in three/four years.

STAY TUNED THOUGH...MORE COMING

Bub13 · 04-16-2022, 04:55 PM

2055-56 OFF-SEASON, part 2

So free agency kicks off the official start to the off-season, and we don't make any early noise. Our waiver claim you know about. Plus, we tender offers to two international free agents--a pretty poor class overall this year, btw--to bulk up our minor leagues a bit, and that's pretty much it. Now I just wait until Spring Training. See you on the golf course and enjoy your holiday season.

Ok, not really. Buckle up, guys, it's gonna get bumpy.

First, the amuse bouche. We shed some salary (wonder why?) by sending off $10M man Mike Bader to Seattle for RP Marco Mendez. Bader, you may recall, was pretty good in '52 and '53, tanked hard in '54, and didn't really recover this past season. Paying him north of 10 million when he might not even make the opening day roster was unpalatable. In Mendez we get a power-throwing groundballer (oh yeah baby) to compete with Kearns for closer, and one who has a history as a solid SU or CL already. He's 25 and will be a free agent after '56, so I may try to extend him sooner than later, we'll see.

Second, the appetizer. Plenty of head-scratching in the local media when we send three players--3B Lua Ulkini, OF Josh Hed, and prospect P Tim Tenhundfeld (plus a 7th round pick)--to Arizona for a guy buried in their IF depth chart, 25-year-old 3B Jesus Calderin. With others pushing from the farm for playing time, frankly Ulkini and Hed became expendable when they were set to make a combined $7M next season. And although neither is exactly all-star quality, they'll make a mediocre DBacks squad instantly better. Tenhundfeld was way down our P prospect chart, but has intriguing upside as a solid RP or swingman. But the prize, and what makes me think I'm going to win this deal, is Calderin, a relative unkown with less than 300 career AB, but a sweet power stroke who was miscast in their system as a 2B. My scouts say he's a perfectly suited 3B, and has power, contact, and some speed; his only downside looks to be a somewhat undisciplined approach at the plate, but even that could improve still. He's now my penciled-in starter at 3B, because...

Finally, the main course. I liked our pitching last year, despite a large pile of injuries. Waugh was great, Irvin starred, and whoever was healthy at #3-#5 mostly pitched well. But as pitchers are such voodoo, and with almost everyone behind those top two still having little MLB experience, I felt we needed another solid SP to give us a top-level 1-2-3 punch. So I called up the hopeless Pirates and made a pitch (ha!) for arguably one of the top-five starters in the NL in recent years: Jose Rivera. After some fun back-and-forth, we finally settled, although the price was pretty steep. We shipped off C Mike Covington, 3B Caleb Royer, OF Nick Gase, and our 2nd and 11th round picks for the 29-year-old starter. In sending Covington, we made our decision behind the plate, opting for the (slightly) younger Jamie Collins; Gase, 26, is a solid hitter and fielder who was desperately unhappy sitting on the bench after the emergence of Erik Bennetsen; Royer has power and can hit for average, but is a subpar fielder and is vehemently opposed to walking more than 20 times a year. All three should start for Pittsburgh. Rivera has been on my radar for some time, but I felt he was untouchable because the Pirates kept trying to win despite not having the horses to break .500 in recent years. Plus he makes $15M and will jump to north of $20M next year and through '59, meaning I had to send off some salary to make it work and wasn't ready to do that until now. Rivera is big-time: an elite three-pitch combo, huge stuff, solid control, and has earned nearly 20 WAR over the last three seasons. Health has not yet been a concern, although at 29 I know I'm rolling the dice here. Still, I think it's worth it, and the kind of deal we need to make to try to put us back on top in the AL.

All told, that's three deals and a forthcoming major overhaul to our lineup. In the last two weeks, from last year's roster we've lost:

C Mike Covington (trade)
3B Caleb Royer (trade)
IF Mike Hunter (free agent)
IF Lua Ulkini (trade)
IF Kevin Kelley (free agent)
OF Nick Gase (trade)
OF Josh Hed (trade)
SP Mike Bader (trade)
SP Mike Garfield (free agent)
RP MH Yaung (retirement)

Where does that leave us, just days into free agency? Largely tapped out, really. Despite a $16M budget increase, we're now near our spending limit, so unless someone interesting slips into the "I'll sign for peanuts please" stage in late March, I'm done signing hitters. I'll take a look at relievers, possibly also via trade, especially as we are carrying several guys I'm counting on for '56 who now have significant and recent injury history. So adding another MR wouldn't go amiss.

Unless something major happens--like a freak accident or sudden retirement--the roster is close to set. Here's the way I see it heading into December:

CATCHER -- Jamie Collins is now our guy, but there's no can't-miss backup right now. As he's a lefty, I may try to add a cheap RHB to platoon with, while also giving some of the younger chaps a chance. So AAA guys Bentley Kolb and William Bustos, or maybe A ball guy Rob Gleason, will get long looks in camp. (Making the roster: Collins plus ???)

INFIELD -- Josh Matson (1b) and Lucas Tipping (2b) are set. J.J. Simmons is still the guy at short, but he'll be 34 by opening day and had an injury-plagued season. But he hit extremely well when healthy, so we're betting on that J.J. to return. New guy Calderin is the hope at third, one should bring at least as much power and offense as Royer did, but with much better defense. Jake Moore and Bill Gamboa figure to be the top reserves, with a few more from AAA and AA also getting some swings in camp. (Here, it's Matson, Tipping, Simmons, Calderin, with Moore and Gamboa as backups.)

OUTFIELD -- The regulars are back: LF Erik Bennetsen, CF Joe Lynn, RF Doug Pederson. The departure of Gase and Hed means we must have solid bench seasons from holdovers Diego Espino and Chase Thompson. And some intriguing prospects will get looks: CF Brian Hassell (all-around quality), LF Kyle Kolstad (big power), and RF Jeremy Hagemann (even bigger power). (To start, Bennetsen/Lynn/Pederson. Backups will be Espino and Thompson, with one more likely.)

DH -- Jules Medici is The Man. No more need be (Medici it is.)

ROTATION -- Matt Waugh is a god. Josh Irvin was a lovely surprise at #2. Jose Rivera will likely push him to #3, but if Irvin repeats his '55 success we've got 3/5 of a stud rotation. After those three, however, the picture is cloudy, but not ominous. Daniel Croft, John Loeb, and Steve Shinnick each had bright moments and are the favorites to fight for the final two slots. I do still like Gleb Mihalkovsky, and don't forget the DL-returnees Andy Burke and Miguel Tirado, who made only two starts in '55 between them. Travis Harris may get shifted to the pen, but he's also got the chops to start. Lots of available arms here; it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. (My bet would be: Waugh/Rivera/Irvin/Croft/Shinnick. Although if someone surprises, it would be Burke/Loeb/Harris, in that order.)

BULLPEN -- Nate Kearns returns as closer. He'll be joined by addition Marco Mendez, and returnees Manny Reyes, Jordan Ruiz, and Brad Cahill as the main go-to guys. Yoshi Watanabe also returns, and we'll get Orlando Silva and Anthony Booker at full health in the spring. Waiver pickup Kevin Ford will get a look, as will minor league hopefuls GJ Joe, Matt Grim, and Elias Tena. AA closer Joey Mayer is ready for AAA, and with a bit of growth this winter, maybe even more, who knows? (My picks: Kearns, Mendez, Reyes, Ruiz, Cahill, and Watanabe.)

I think that's a stellar lineup, and although we may not have the raw power of a Texas or Detriot, we should once again be at or near the top of the league's offensive table. Injuries and off-seasons are the obvious wildcards, but really there will be just two big question marks during the coming year. First, can Simmons keep up his return to form, and stay healthy too? He also has an opt-out after '56, which I expect him to use, so obviously I'm hoping the answer to my question is a BIG YES. Second, can Joe Lynn rebound from a career-low offensive slide? He did hit 48 doubles and steal 60 bases, but his AVG and OBP dropped 40 points from his career averages, and his defense was near the bottom of qualified AL center fielders. He'll be a free agent after '56, and could also be pushed hard by heir-apparent Brian Hassell, who hit .333 with 21 HR and 42 steals across AA and AAA. On the mound, we just have to stay healthy, period. We've got the horses, in numbers and quality, but really can't have another year of ten guys on the season-ending DL.

......

We're not the only team making interesting trades this month. After barely missing out on the playoffs, the rising Royals add should-be-great pitcher Pat Oden from Oakland for a hustling utility IF and a solid AAA reliever. Oden, 25, on paper looks like a prototype #3 SP: good across the board, three quality pitches, great stamina. But in his debut last year in Oakland he was pretty terrible, even allowing 19 HR in 78 IP. If he can figure it out, great trade for KC. If not, well at least they didn't give up much.

LA gets the signing season started by re-upping SS Rich Stoneback for two years, $23M. Too much for the 38-year-old, in my eyes. He's still a decent SS, but his arm is just average now, and he's lost his speed on the bases. And while he just hit 20 HR, his average plummeted to just .200. He does bring a great eye, however, and finished with more walks (102) than hits (92) last year, for a fun slash of .200/.343/.385.

Texas also kept one of their stars, re-signing CF Ronnie Halvorson for 7 yrs and $140M. He's turned into a five-tool guy: solid fielder, big arm, power, speed, average. But at nearly 29, you could question the wisdom of a seven-year deal. But it's probably one the Rangers had to make, with their championship window still wide open and not much in the way of prospects coming up to make a mark. (Not to mention a forthcoming overhaul of the rotation.)

Miami makes one of those shouldn't-you-be-rebuilding-instead deals, sending off decent swingman Jerry Caprio and a could-become-good OF prospect Richard Charette, to Baltimore for Alvin Phillips, a 35-year-old 2B who's only topped 2 WAR twice in the past seven seasons. Miami won 77 games last year, so I really can't figure out this one. Sure, they didn't give up a ton, but why give up anything for Phillips?

Now we're cooking! Cincy fans: rejoice! for your team just added two excellent players to hopefully get them past the Dodgers at last. First they grab SP Bryan Shaheen from those Dodgers, 4 yrs and $81M. Shaheen won 21 games with a 2.59 ERA, but is 32 and had been just okay prior to last year. Still, a good pickup. Next, they inked former AL MVP Chris Mitchell for 6 yrs and $142M. When he's on, he's a 7-9 WAR guy with 45-50 HR potential and a career average just over .300. Good fielder, excellent runner, and not a complete dickhead. Bad decision by the Yankees to let him walk.

Well, Detroit just filled a big need by signing SS Matthew Powell for 5 yrs and $77M. The 31-year-old had a huge year with the Cubs in '53, going .287/43/111 with 7.2 WAR, but he's really a career .248 hitter who can knock 20 or so HR for you, and play very solid defense. (Vets here might recall that in '51 Cleveland traded him to Oakland for five prospects...and the the A's let him walk to free agency a year later.)

LA got their "add a dozen RP a year" train out of the station by trading three iffy prospects for Houston's Ezra Biniecki. He's 27, has big stuff but also walks a lot of guys, and was on my short list to acquire when we went with Marco Mendez instead.

Richmond re-signed slugging 3B Dante Padilla for 5 yrs at $20M per. Can hardly remember he was once ours; I knew he'd hit some home runs but thought he'd never crack .250 (he's a career .272 guy) and actually hold his own defensively. Oh well...

Detroit's going ALL POWER ALL THE TIME, adding RP Alex Barcelona and his huge, huge stuff from Pittsburgh. He racks up the Ks (~12 per 9), but also walks nearly 4 per and yields over 2 HR/9. It's all-or-nothing time, I suppose.

We do make one minor addition during this rush of big spending, inking catcher Jared Null to a minor league deal. Null, 28, has only had a cup of coffee in the bigs, but will get a shot in a RH hitting platoon situation with Jamie Collins. A line drive hitter who can work a count, he's also a solid receiver and a captain-level clubhouse guy.

Pittsburgh adds another former Isle to their infield, signing 2B Julian Cardenas for 7 yrs and $16M per annum. He's still a solid 3-5 WAR guy who can hit .280+ with 20ish HR and give you quality defense. The Pirates are slowly remaking their lineup, and could actually threaten in the NL Central next year, with maybe another pitcher and another power bat.

Philadelphia makes news with one solid signing and an iffy one. Solid: signing Sam Bohlen--late of the Isles--for $8M over two years (about half what he asked me for) makes their bullpen better. Iffy: grabbing 30-year-old wild man Cris Frias for seven more years at $14M per. Frias, you may remember, is a strikeout god, fanning over 12 per 9 in his career. He's topped 300 three times, and has two Cy Youngs to his credit. But he's also a walks machine, at over 5 per 9 lifetime, and over 7 across the last three seasons. Plus, he's lasted just one full season since '48, so you can rightly question his remaining durability. He'll be fun to watch, at least.

Rounding out some other big names to close out the calendar year at the Winter Meetings:
...Cubs ink OF Aaron Harrison, (CHW in '55, 38yo, 44 WAR, 483 HR) 3 yrs $50M
...Richmond signs SP Bobby Daniel (TEX, 28, 30 WAR), 6 yrs $120M [Good to get him out of the division!]
...LA of course signs another RP, Jack Hildebrandt (DET, 31, 83sv) 2 yrs $7.5M
...Cincy replaces Frias with Mike Garfield (SD/HAW, 37, 59 WAR) 3 yrs $38M
...Brooklyn takes former Isle SP Mike Pearse for 1 yr $3.5M
...three trades in one day featuring backup/AAA catchers. Featuring, not just involved. Weird.
...LA signs two more former closers to multi-year deals. Thank goodness we can count on one thing in this world.
...for some reason Richmond bring back 40-year-old closer Hiro Nakamura to the bigs after two seasons in Japan, 2 yrs $8M
...Texas looks set to lose 4/5 of last year's starting rotation, with Daniel (above) and Emanual Vasquez having signed elsewhere.

Rule 5 Draft comes and we lose two players: C William Bustos and P Matt Grim. Bustos is a solid defensive catcher, but may return as I don't think he can hit MLB pitching. Grim was going to be counted on in the AAA rotation, so I'm sad now. SF was the busiest team, grabbing four relievers and an OF, while the Yankees grabbed three IF.

SO LONG 2055. SEE YOU IN 2056.

Bub13 · 04-30-2022, 08:04 PM

WELCOME TO 2056

With the calendar change comes the results of the latest Hall of Fame vote. Only one player makes it in this year: Matt Anderson, and well-deserved too. The long-time Expo didn't quite reach 3000 career hits (coming 63 hits short) but finished with 80 WAR, 551 HR, 579 2b, and a career line of .323/.362/.572. He split his career between third and first, and was subpar at the latter, and truly bad at the former, so he didn't earn any defensive WAR. But he wasn't there to win fielding prizes, he was there to knock the **** out of your pitching staff. He led the league in hits five times, batting twice, was a ten-time all-star and eight-time Silver Slugger winner. He hit over .340 five times and over 40 HR six times. He did play for some mediocre teams in Montreal, only making the post-season four times in his eleven years there, but he went three more times with three teams during his free agency touring years, finally making a World Series appearance with the Brewers in '49 (but losing to Brooklyn). He gets 98.2% of the votes in his first year of eligibility.

......

New year, same old same old. LA signs another former closer! Average RP are traded for three so-so prospects! We make no moves! Good times.
...In better news for us, three quality players leave the division: SEA loses CF Luis Hernandez (to SF, 6 yrs $72M) and SS Sam Moore (Cubs, 5 yrs $55M), while TEX loses SP Jesus Aguilar (to PHI for a modest $6.2M over 2 yrs). Yippee!
...the Yankees lose closer Frank Casper to CLE and potential replacement Steve Ramsey to the Padres, but do pick up former Cubs CF Mike Israel. Their staff looks pretty thin right now, so I'm guessing they're going for 80s-style NHL shootouts, all 10-8 scores.
...a few years ago I was sure RP Kyle Johnson would be my closer for the next decade. He was nearly unhittable the first half of '52, cooled off but finished strong that year, but was a 10.50 ERA disaster in '53, getting demoted mid-season. He gathered himself for '54, but we still traded him to Tampa for two pitchers who wound up tossing a combined 8 innings for us the next season-plus. (I still consider that trade a win.) Anyway, Baltimore just signed him to a three-year deal, with the hope of reclaiming him into their closer slot. If he's back to form, he'll make a decent team that much better.
...Terrible News for us: SP Andy Burke suffered a setback in his rehab from his torn flexor tendon and will need additional surgery. He'll miss the entire season, and possibly spring training next year too. Wow, tough break for a good kid who showed some promise in his 19 starts for us in '54. With Miguel Tirado (supposedly) coming back in 8 weeks, Burke is now the only pitching injury remaining from last year's cluster bomb of arm breakdowns. I've got offers out for a few AAA-type guys for depth, but was hoping Burke would at least push someone in camp this spring.
...Quite a coup by Brooklyn just now, re-signing 2B Maurizio Barbiusa to a gigantic 8-year deal. Why is it a coup? Because they traded the 26-year-old to the Yanks at the dealine for a solid SP prospect, a good 3B prospect, and two other hopefuls, and now they have Barbs back and the Yanks have nothing. Now, Barbs is a low-class human being, but he hits tons of home runs and in a good year is a +.300 hitter with a lot of speed. Nice asset management, NY.
...In case you were wondering, LA has added eight players this off-season, all of them relievers. But they did wait all the way until January 30 to sign their first one of 2056.
...More bad news on the injury front, as the annual prayer vigil for the arm of Atlanta ace Jose Gutierrez has again failed to bear fruit, and he's expected to miss another 12-13 months with rotator cuff issues. You might remember the 34-year-old as a 3-time NL Cy Young winner, all with the Braves. But his last full-time season came in 2051, and before that 2048. In the other six seasons since '49 he's made a combined 81 starts, with only two coming last year. He may still get a sniff at the Hall, with 76 career WAR and a pile of hardware, but if only he hadn't broken down by 30 we could be talking about an all-timer.
...I think LA just swindled the Red Sox big time, getting SP Chris Rivera for backup catcher Dan Morra and prospect P Dusty Browning. Rivera, 29, had several mediocre seasons in Toronto before going to the Sox in '54, where he's been sensational and one of the top SP in the AL. He'll beef up an already outstanding LA rotation. In exchange, the Sox get a really nice looking prospect in Browning, but he'll be a top closer at best, and probably not someone who puts your team over the top. And seeing that LA routinely has 7-10 spare closers laying around at any given moment, he was expendable. For Boston, they've still got 4 really good SP lined up, and a still-young top of the bullpen, so I'm not sure what Browning (who's still 1-2 years away) brings that they lack.

......

Pre-season ends and we finish 20-10, tied for the best record overall. Not that the games mean anything, but the top three teams from last season--TEX, LA, us--finish on top in the spring. (And I have hopes for an improved Pirates roster that I helped out big-time, but they finished dead last at 7-23.) The spring was marred by injuries, mostly to relievers; but a few big names won't see the field for some time. ARI lost stud OF Steve Abrams for 7 months (and former Isle Lua Ulkini for 3); BAL hoped to buoy their staff with vet Elijah Bragg, but he'll miss 2 months; BOS counted on Matt Postlewait to break out in the rotation, but he's gone for the season; as is CAL rookie sensation Sam Matthews, and CHW starters Steve Davenport and Robby Liantonio; CLE will be without three solid pitchers for 2-3 months each; and KC, LA, MIA, MIN, MON, and TB also lost key pitchers for all or most of the season.

We too didn't escape the spring unscathed: RF Doug Pederson sprained an elbow and is out for six weeks, as is RP Orlando Silva. RP Jordan Ruiz is out for 3-4 months, a bigger blow than Silva, tbh. And poor Andy Burke suffered a rehab setback and may never make it back.

But those injuries opened up slots for the kiddos to take advantage, and some seized the day. Jeremy Hagemann hit .333 with 6 HR and will platoon in right with Diego Espino, sitting against LHP. John Loeb outpitched Steve Shinnick to earn the #5 spot in the rotation, and Nick Lee made two starts and a handful of quality relief appearances to make the opening day roster. Pederson's injury will also see CF hopeful Brian Hassell on the roster, but he also earned that spot after hitting .386 over the month. Our opening day roster is, then:

DH Jules Medici, RH, 25. .310/.379/.615, 49 HR. The straw that stirs the drink.
C Jamie Collins, LH, 25. .253/.307/.500, 10 HR, 186 AB. Will start against RH pitching. Better show I made the right call picking him over Covington.
C Jared Null, RH, 28. .242 in AAA/AA in the BAL system. Our guy against LHP. Co-captain.
1B Josh Matson, SH, 32. .286/.336/.468, 20 HR. Now three years removed from hitting .352, needs to show he's still got something left.
2B Lucas Tipping, RH, 24. .274/.349/.533, 27 HR. Solid rookie season, needs to build on that.
2B/1B/SS Bill Gamboa, RH, 23. .172/.254/.312 in 64 AB. If he could only hit for contact, he might be a starter.
3B Jesus Calderin, SH, 25. .248/.300/.481, 129 AB with ARI. Newbie; big power bat. Now go hit over .250 and you'll make me happy.
3B/SS Jake Moore, LH, 24. .200/.304/.245, 155 AB. If he figures his bat out, he's the next JJ Simmons.
SS J.J. Simmons, RH, 33. .354/.412/.500. Big comeback year until he got hurt in July. Could be his last year with us, depending on his decision in the fall.
LF Erik Bennetsen, RH, 25. .327/.378/.560, 28 HR. AL Rookie of the Year. All-around talent, needs to stay healthy.
CF Joe Lynn, RH, 27. .284/.349/.426, 60 steals. Down year at the plate, in final contract season. Big comeback? Or last hurrah?
RF Joe Pederson, LH, 27. .287/.415/.585, 32 HR. Out for six weeks; injuries are his bugaboo. All-star caliber when healthy.
OF Diego Espino, RH, 25. .242/.295/.447, 161 AB. Has done everything but hit for average so far. Fan favorite, excellent fielder. Will platoon in RF for now.
OF Jeremy Hagemann, LH, 22. .290 with 44 HR in AAA. Tremendous spring and Pederson's injury see him starting in right against RHP for now.
OF Brian Hassell, LH, 22. .340 with 21 HR in AAA/AA last year. CF of the future? Hit well in spring, and here due to injury. Show us what you got.

SP Matt Waugh, LH, 29. 21-4, 2.45, 249 IP, 245 K. Three seasons in HAW, three Cy Youngs. I rest my case.
SP Jose Rivera, RH, 29. 12-11, 2.96, 222 IP, 259 K with PIT. A top-notch #2. My fingers are crossed, especially after he was terrible in the spring.
SP Josh Irvin, RH, 27. 19-7, 3.44, 230 IP, 144 K. Just a fabulous breakthrough season in '55. Also pitched poorly in the spring.
SP Daniel Croft, LH, 25. 10-6, 4.25, 161 IP, 106 K. Also saw some rehab time in AAA. Been a top prospect for a while, so counting on him to show up this year.
SP John Loeb, LH, 27. 6-4, 4.97, 89 IP, 66 K. (Also 82 IP in AAA.) Solid spring earns his the first crack at the $5 slot.

CL Nate Kearns, RH, 30. 6-5, 37 SV, 3.76, 65 IP, 82 K. Too many blowups last year for my taste. When he's on, he's tops. We need him to be on.
SU Manny Reyes, RH, 23. 7-3, 3 SV, 2.43, 33 IP, 39 K. One of many who ended up on the DL last year. Has closer potential.
SU Marco Mendez, RH, 26. 0-2, 14 SV, 2.31, 23 IP, 20 K with SEA. Solid spring and looking like a nice pickup so far. Stay healthy!
MR Anthony Booker, RH, 28. Only 11 IP last year due to injuries. Good in spring and earned his spot.
MR Nick Lee, RH, 27. Just 58 IP in AAA/AA last year, so also had injury issues. Long-time prospect will finally debut. Swingman.
MR Yoshi Watanabe, RH, 24. 3-0, 1 SV, 4.19, 62 IP, 67 K. Followed up last year's promise with a solid spring. Also has closer potential.

Injured: OF Doug Pederson (6 weeks); SP Andy Burke (season); RP Orlando Silva (6 weeks); RP Jordan Ruiz (3-4 months).

In camp, demoted but not forgotten: C Bentley Kolb; IF Jim Pfeifer; 3B Jose Villalpando (to AA but being monitored); OF Eric Sayward; SP Travis Harris, Will McGee, Steve Shinnick; RP Brad Cahill, Joey Mayer.

Overall, we look really good. Of course, we'll need to stay healthy (duh) and get the seasons I'm hoping for from the new guys. After an interesting spring, these are my questions heading into the regular season:
1) Will vets Simmons and Lynn hit to their career numbers? And can Lynn regain his defensive form?
2) Was Jamie Collins the right choice to keep behind the plate?
3) New guy Rivera and holdover Irvin looked really shaky in camp. Will that carry over, and if it does can we overcome?
4) No LHP in the bullpen. Mistake, bold move, or whatevs?

MLB has us winning the division with 97 wins, Texas at 94, and Seattle (!) with 93. No one else is close. MLB also sees us as having the 4th-best offense, but near last in HR, thinking that we didn't do enough to address the power gap between us and other top teams. Our pitching looks to be far and away the best in the AL. Elsewhere, they see Detroit (96 wins) taking the Central over Milwaukee and KC, and Miami (87 wins) topping a weak East by a game over the Yankees, and two over Tampa Bay. Cleveland and Oakland are forecast to win under 70 games. In the NL, Philly battles Richmond, STL scrapes by Cincy, and LA again dominates the West, and leads baseball with 106 wins. The Mets and the Cubs figure to be the biggest losers.

......

The rest of our division shapes up as follows. From bottom to top, according to MLB's preseason predictions.

6. Oakland 66-96, 785 runs for (14th), 928 runs against (14th)
Looking Back: Sustained excellence in the 30s and 40s finally broke after a surprising 101-win season in '52, and a bottoming-out 56-106 mark last year.
Offense: A rebuilding club with four starters over 30, including 44-year-old Lance Powell? Um, ok. Runs will be hard to come by, although they'll hit some home runs: Felix Reyes and Ryan Walton have seasons of 50+ in their recent pasts, and Powell did hit 15 in half a season in '55. The real gem here is 1B Alex Esquilin, 23, and nearly ready to become a real offensive stud. Rookie OF Jose Luna looks ready to start, making the jump from A ball, but he won't hit for average. But there are too many holes around: 2B Mike Wyatt has a nice glove but no moves and an average bat; their catchers look terrible; SS Noah Johnson has a great glove but never reached his hitting potential.
Pitching: MLB says it'll be the worst in the game, but I'm a little more optimistic. Ace Jim Schwartz hasn't had a full season since '51, and young hopefuls Tom Baker, Jaden Bartholomew, and Jaden Sales have been uniformly terrible in the bigs so far. But I think they'll improve at last, and the bullpen has a lot of power, if not a lot of control. Look for some comebacks seasons from this crew.
The Next Gen: MLB says they're 13th in baseball, but that seems a stretch. OF Joe McGinnis, at #17, has little more than a strong defensive game, and top-60 OFs Andy Heiser and Matt Hall look like solid depth pieces at best. There is no help coming for the infield at all. And none of their mound prospects intrigue me either.
My take: 63-66 wins

5. Houston 70-92, 812 runs for (12th), 839 runs against (8th)
Looking Back: Playoffs in '18, playoffs in '48. That's it. Recently they've thrown in some random winning seasons, but can't sustain anything. Finished with 67 wins in '55.
Offense: I don't know how MLB rates this lineup over Oakland's, not at all. 1B Jose Renteria is a legit star and could play anywhere, and DH Antonio Escobar could vie for ROY. But who else does anything? 2B Steve Wheatley is a career .280 guy, but with zero pop; RF Matt Dippel hit 30 HR, but only .220; and CF Erik Kinnison will probably never again match his .297 and 37 HR from last year. Like Oakland, the catching is awful; infield defense is a minus, outside of all-field-no-hit SS Oscar Garza; and the bench depth is laughable.
Pitching: Ok, there's promise here. Mat Caldwell came over from TB last year and was solid all season. Robbie Camp is a solid mid-level guy if he keeps the walks down. And soph Winton Jones should be vastly better than his MLB-too-soon numbers from last year show. Also, look for newly minted starter Miles Iandoli to break out as a clever junkballer in a league of flame throwers. The bullpen is pretty deep, if a bit untested at the top.
The Next Gen: Ranked 32nd with just one player in the top 100. What is it with long-bad teams having ugly prospect systems? The only batters I'd sniff at are 1B Rafaello Stefaneschi (lots of power but not a well-rounded hitter) and SS/2B Jeremy Dowling (ok hitter, pure "career utlity guy"). On the mound? There a few nice-looking relievers, but you don't build a winner from the bullpen on out.
My take: 63-66 wins, same as Oakland

4. California 77-85, 802 runs (13th), 836 runs against (7th)
Looking Back: Two decades without a winning season has bred a lot of discontent in SoCal, rightly so. Maybe they'll hit 80+ wins for the first time since '35?
Offense: It will shock me if Houston's offense is anywhere near as good as this team's. 1B William Swanson is still an all-around threat, they've got five OF to find room for, and the catching platoon looks solid. Yeah, the middle infield offense is drab, and 3B Mike Eskridge is ok but more of a glove guy. Even SP Aaron Moore--who hit .270 with 14 HR in 63 infield starts--is a better hitter than most of the guys with OAK and HOU. No contest here unless everyone regresses at once.
Pitching: Intriguing. #1 SP Nate Elder was very good last year, and Aaron Moore and Leo Ortiz look decent. The outriders are youngsters Shaun Ostrander and Arturo Colunga, both of whom have strong pitching chops but very little stamina. A strong season of bullpen support could vault this rotation well up the charts. But that's a big if, as nearly every RP currently on the roster was pretty bad last year.
The Next Gen: Ranks 6th, but recent promotions have left the offensive cupboard pretty bare. OF Joe Lundin and 1B Ivan Zamora look good, but are at least two years away. Everyone else looks average at best. Pitching is strong, however, with at least five future MLB starters, and a nice handful of RP too. But here's another system with no infield help on the way.
My take: 75-78 wins, in line with MLB

3. Seattle 93-69, 907 runs (4th), 855 runs against (10th)
Looking Back: Not much on the recent resume, and no playoffs this decade. But the trajectory has headed up the last couple of years.
Offense: Not a deep lineup, but some quality firepower. DH Ger van Mourik and RF Paul Stough are genuine stars; OF Jerry Cornell hit .301 in part-time play and will push for more; 2B Dan Bruno hit .283 in his sophomore season and upped his HR output from 6 to 22; and guys like Ben Otten, Nick Ragsdale, Ethan Ransburg, and Paul Cyr round out a respectable lineup with no glaring weaknesses. I'm not sure I see a 4th-ranked offense here, but it's the best in the West that I've written about so far, by a long way.
Pitching: On paper, I think this looks like a solid staff, even without a dominant #1 SP or CL. More of a finesse/movement-heavy rotation, they added Zion Robinson from the Zephyrs and former Isle Mike Bader to future star Vince Push and vets Danny Diaz and Ron Rivera. The pen has a little too much wildness for me, but otherwise looks pretty good. Probably a better staff than what CAL has, so MLB rating the Mariners lowers makes me shrug.
The Next Gen: Another highly-ranked system (at #3) that looks pretty shallow. Pitcher and MLB #2 Manny Minjarez is only 18, and will need a lot of time to develop his paltry stuff. His movement and control are elite, though, as are his intangibles, so don't write him off yet. But their top six batting prospects are all 1B or 2B (and not good anywhere else), and only top guy Adam Simpson looks like a sure thing. There are some OF and RP that look like useful roster filler, but no obvious future starters.
My take: 90-93 wins. I'm betting the under as I think a lot of things have to go right for them to hit 93 wins.

2. Texas 94-68, 996 run (1st), 850 runs against (9th)
Looking Back: Your new AL West overlords, with two straight division titles and two World Series title in the last four seasons.
Offense: The only thing that could keep this lineup in check is Time. Two regulars are now past 30 (plus the #4 OF) and a handful are 28-29. So...not anywhere close to over the hill, but not getting any younger. But everyone can hit, and the lineup is chock full of perennial All-Stars: Ryan Boers, Ronnie Halvorson, Eric Robbins, Mike Olivera, Ted Miller, Javier Tzoc, and Emilio Mares. All but Mares can go for 30-50 HR a year, and Mares at least contributes regular .330+ seasons. Add in the surprising power of C Phil Thoma and 2B Matt Provance (each had 40 HR last year, well above their average), and you can see why they just pound you to death every day. Barring injuries or major down seasons, nothing here will change this year.
Pitching: This is where it gets interesting. These guys lost 15 WAR from last year, most in the game, and most of that was on the mound. FOUR starters left via free agency, leaving just Sean Reed from the '55 rotation. (Kevin Cahill is back, tho, after missing much of the season.) The other SP--Dinand Huisman, Joel Wiechart, and Jason Bellamy--all threw in the pen last season. Who knows what they'll bring? The bullpen has a lot of flamethrowers, but may also walk a record number of batters this year. Safe to say the Rangers will win a lot of games by just outscoring teams, rather than outpitching anyone.
The Next Gen: It can be tough to keep your system humming when you're at the top of the league, and the Rangers' 35th-ranked system shows that. Only OF Craig Dahl ranks in the top 200, and he's 25 and already in the bigs. OF Julio Ruiz and Antonio Reyes could become adequate starters one day, but I dug deep and found zero other prospects worth mentioning. When the crash comes in Texas, it's going to hit hard, very hard.
My take: 94-95 wins, vying for the division again. No way they'll not hit enough to be competitive.

1. Hawaii 97-65, 887 runs (6th), 695 runs against (1st)
Looking Back: Hey, we've been pretty good for a while now, yes? Last title was in '53, however, so we're feeling the drought.
Offense: We'll be fine, don't let that sixth place prediction fool you. Unless everyone breaks a leg, we'll put a lot of guys on base and score a lot of runs. We don't have as much easy power as, say, Texas and Detroit do, but we'll get ours. Of course we have questions in the lineup, especially new starters Jamie Collins and Jesus Calderin. But there's depth and proven talent pretty much everywhere. Overwhelm them with sheer numbers, I always say. That's our path to success again.
Pitching: Picked to be tops in the AL again, and I say why not? Maybe we don't get another premier season out of surprise 19-game winner Josh Irvin...but maybe we do. If Matt Waugh stays healthy and Jose Rivera shakes off his spring training doldrums, our staff could be better than last year. And I think our bullpen combines the usual array of big arms but with solid control: I hate a lot of walks, and so finding low-walk flamethrowers is always a bullpen priority.
My take: 97 wins easy, should our arms not fall off.

NEXT: First pitch!

Bub13 · 05-09-2022, 09:00 PM

2056 SEASON KICKS OFF

Twenty-seven games to kick off the season in the opening month. Only 12 at home, and as usual we'll see all of our division rivals. Baltimore, Chicago, Tampa, and KC round out the dance card.

April 3-5 @ CALIFORNIA
See my last post for the Angels write-up. Last year's lineup is pretty much intact, with journeyman 2B Gary Harper getting a full-time nod now, rather than the platoon he was in last season. There are a couple of barely-tested rookies on the pitching staff, but only RP Andy Kozak is new to the team. It looks like they're building from within for the most part, but just don't quite have the horses yet. Spend a little, guys, while stars William Swanson and Mo Marquez are still productive!

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (21-4, 2.45) / RH Jose Rivera (12-11, 2.96 w/ PIT) / RH Josh Irvin (19-7, 3.44)
CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (15-8, 3.09) / RH Arturo Colunga (1-2, 4.75) / RH Leo Ortiz (0-0, 2.70)

#1: WIN 4-0 ... 4-hit complete game for Waugh, and quite the debut for Hagemann: two solo HR in his first two MLB at bats!...Two big injuries for CAL tho
#2: WIN 5-3 ... Hagemann goes deep again, and Calderin raps out 3 hits and scores a run...8 IP in a solid debut from Rivera, fanning 9
#3: LOSS 2-5 ... a 3-run 8th stops the good times rolling...outhit 9-7 but more worrying is a pending injury to Lucas Tipping

Disappointing to miss a sweep, but more troubling is Tipping's possible injury. We've got depth in the infield, but his combo of power and defense isn't matched by any of those guys.... Quite a start by Hagemann, eh? The only reason he didn't homer in the final game is that he's rotating every 3 days with Diego Espino for now. For now.... Finding myself short on farm catching depth, we made a minor-ish swap with Brooklyn, sending RP GJ Joe and rookie ball non-entity Dan Long, and receiving Jim Kurtz. A 25-year-old with no MLB experience, an average bat, but solid defense and a good clubhouse guy. If he sees significant big-league time this year, then mistakes were made. Joe was an international signing a few seasons ago but never panned out and can't stay healthy.... ELSEWHERE: If Philly gets the kind of year from newbie Cris Frias that they got on opening day--a 5-hit shutout with 16 K--then everyone in the NL better watch out. Frias will probably still walk 120 guys this year, but if he's on form and fans 12-16 a night, he'll be nearly unhittable like he was in his 16 K/9 heyday with Cincy.... New Orleans and Baltimore are the only undefeated teams, with Brooklyn and Chicago suffering the short ends of those series.... Speaking of the Chisox, they just lost closer Tim Wormald for the season, giving them three front-line pitchers done for the year.

April 6-8 @ TEXAS
From my pre-season write-up, they can hit, but can they pitch? Small sample size, but after going 1-2 in their opening series, the offense sits at #2 in the AL, but pitching is down on the bottom. Their starters got rocked in every game: more of that please! Although new series, new pitchers. What I didn't mention in the predictions last time is that only two pitchers in the current bullpen tossed more than 8 innings in the majors last year...

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (10-6, 4.25) / LH John Loeb (6-4, 4.97) / LH Matt Waugh (1-0, 0.00 this year)
TEX pitchers: RH Mike Nelson (14-3, 2.76) / RH Joel Wiechart (4-2, 3.24) / RH Kevin Cahill (0-0, 10.38 this year)

#4: WIN 12-7 ... Medici and, yes, Hagemann homer, and we ride a huge 8-run 6th to the win...Medici's blast was a GRAND SLAM...Calderin injured, pending
#5: LOSS 3-8 ... Loeb and Booker get abused, yielding 14 hits...no home runs for either team, scoring every run the old-fashioned way
#6: LOSS 3-11 ... well that sucked...Waugh and two RP get beat up and left for dead, and we manage just 7 hits

This series went about as poorly as possible. Two bad, bad losses, awful pitching, no hitting, and one injured starter. The only good news is that Tipping is only dtd for 6 days.... But Calderin goes down for six weeks, so we call up IF Jim Pfeifer and move Jake Moore into a starting role. As he's actually a bit better at short than Simmons, I'm swapping them and JJ will go to the hot corner, where he won 3 Gold Gloves from '48 to '50.... Our offense has been decidedly subpar to date, with the top three batters really struggling out of the gate. Lynn is the hot one at .231, but Bennetsen (.043) and Matson (.160) have been dreadful.... And can we get a home series now?.... ELSEWHERE: Cris Frias was nearly as good in his second Philly start: 8 IP, 4 H, 13 K. Watch out world.... The White Sox are still winless, and New Orleans still unbeaten. Can they keep it up? Place youre bets now.... Nice start for three guys I kicked to the curb in the off-season: OF Josh Hed (ARI, .444 with 3 HR), OF Nick Gase (PIT, .261 with 1 HR), and C Mike Covington (PIT, .278). So what if all three are off to better starts than their current analogs with us.

April 9-11 vs BALTIMORE
Off to a 4-2 start and tied for 1st in the East with Toronto. Fourth in runs scored despite ranking outside the top ten in almost every other offensive category. But 3rd in runs against. MLB picked them for last in the division, but I see them as being at least mid-pack contenders. The lineup isn't dynamic, but at least there's a mix of power and contact that could be dangerous when hot. The real damage will be done by their staff, however: I like 4/5 of their rotation, and the top of the bullpen looks very solid. I think ace SP Mike Zulick will have a breakout year, and #2 guy Jonas Chevalier won't be far behind. And there are a few familiar faces to long-time Isles fans in the staff: #3 SP Danny Carbajal, MR Kyle Johnson, and MR Shane Walker all have prominent roles.

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (1-0 3.38) / RH Josh Irvin (0-1, 4.91) / LH Daniel Croft (0-1, 8.10)
BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (1-0, 3.00) / RH Danny Carbajal (0-0, 9.53) / RH Dan Holzer (0-1, 1.50)

#7: WIN 13-7 ... a little lineup tweak and the silent three of Lynn/Benn/Matson register 8 hits...Rivera gets pegged for 7 runs tho, which is less than ideal
#8: WIN 3-2 ... nearly identical linescores (8 hits, 1 error each), but a Simmons sac fly in the 4th is the difference...Irvin goes 8, Kearns tosses a perfect 9th
#9: LOSS 1-4 ... Croft is better here but is left in to start the 9th, just a terrible decision...only 4 hits as the offense sputters again

So two wins isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when 75% of your runs over two games come from sacrifice flies, maybe you need some more batting practice. Or better voodoo.... Three series into the season and no discernible patterns have emerged, other than pure chaos. We hits lights-out for a couple games, then can't buy a base for a couple. Pitching is strong, then it isn't. I don't like this volatility, to be honest.... Lynn continues to not hit, outside of that first game. Brian Hassell is warming up, dude, so get it going.... ELSEWHERE: Still unbeaten in New Orleans, now 9-0. And the White Sox finally won a game, but dropped two more, to fall to 1-8.... Terrible news out of Portland, where ace SP Dan Klabunde tore his rotator for the third time in three seasons, and this time after making two really solid starts to begin the year. Word is the former first-round pick may be done for good, at the age of 25.... Even though the White Sox are off to a horrendous start, no one told OF Zeke de la Rosa to do likewise, as he just won AL Player of the Week with a .553/2/8 start. The 2050 Rookie of the Year also just passed the 1000 hit mark for his career, and is a team and community leader. So look for the Sox to not re-sign him when his contract ends...

April 13-15 @ CHICAGO
Life comes at you fast: two years ago these guys won 112 games and were the class of baseball. They won 92 last year, and 96 and 90 before their "big" year. Now? Off to a 1-8 start and even MLB says they'll only win 78 games. They're not hitting (15th) and not stopping anyone (16th). Thing is, there's still a dynamic lineup here, with Zeke de la Rosa, T.J. Walsh, Ben Usilton, Andy Barenberg, Elijah Pass, and Ninsei Sato all capable of having all-star caliber seasons. And I like much of the pitching staff, and would gladly take ownership of SP Jasper Cummings, Emanuel Vasquez, and Luke Weaver. But...no one is going well right now, outside of de la Rosa's absurd .553 start. (The bottom half of the lineup, e.g., is hitting a combined .170 with zero HR.) I think they'll get better as the season goes along, but I'd prefer they wait a few more days yet...

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (0-1. 6.75) / LH Matt Waugh (1-1, 3.55) / Jose Rivera (2-0, 6.14)
CHW pitchers: RH Mike Walsh (0-0, 0.00) / RH Jasper Cummings (0-2, 5.40) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (1-1, 5.40)

#10: LOSS 4-5 ... Kearns walks home the GW in the 10th...other than that, and allowing ten walks and losing Jake Moore for a month to a broken rib, it's all good
#11: WIN 7-5 ... Medici breaks out with 2 HR, 4 hits total...Bennetsen with 3 H, 3 RBI, Simmons and Matson 2 H each...Waugh struggles again, lasts just 6 IP
#12: LOSS 4-5 ... Tipping pots 2, and Medici goes deep again, but we get little else and more iffy pitching

More mediocrity, backsliding. Only Medici and Simmons are getting on base regularly right now, and our starting pitching is just rolling the dice.... Moore is the latest IF to go on the DL, joining Calderin (still out for 2 weeks). At least Tipping came back, but we do call up 3B Bobby Coronado to take Moore's spot. Coro makes contact, is a line drive hitter, but terribly undisciplined. He's a converted middle infielder, moved due to lack of mobility and a tin glove. He's 20, right-handed, and hit .278 across AA and AAA last year.... At least no one else in the West has started hot, with everyone grinding between 7-5 and 5-7.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans stays hot, at 11-1, with LA picking up their pace to 9-3. At the back end, Brooklyn is 2-10, and a handful of teams are at 3-8.... Good on Josh Hed, traded by us to Arizona: .389/.439/.833 and 2nd in NL OPS. Like us, Arizona is treading water at 6-6.

......

TL;DR Version: As you might expect with a 6-6 start, there's some good, some bad, and a lot of meh. Medici and Simmons are hot at the plate, Hagemann started hot but has cooled, but others have ranged from okay to pretty bad. Bennetsen hasn't found his stroke; Matson is coming around but is still just okay; Collins and Tipping have been mostly cold; and Lynn hasn't hit at all. Injuries haven't helped, with Calderin going out after just four games and Pederson not playing yet at all. No one is back in any hurry, with Calderin the closest at two weeks out. Our pitching was supposed to be a tower of strength, but also hasn't produced much. The rotation ERA sits 8th, but feels worse, probably because our top two guys are not pitching well. Oddly, the pen sits 13th in ERA but feels stronger, but with the usual occasional blow-ups. The good news (hopefully) is that we'll open a nine-game homestand next, so let's recover with that home cooking!

Bub13 · 05-17-2022, 07:47 PM

April 16-18 vs HOUSTON
Tied with us at 6-6, but with better underlying numbers: offense is 6th, pitching 4th. Career backup OF Ahmed Hackett is hitting .341, CF Erik Kinnison .318. Pitching has been strong but will be tested after ace Mat Caldwell (1.12 ERA in 16 IP) was just lost for the season. Winton Jones (1.96 ERA in 3 starts) has taken well to his first time in the rotation, and vet Robbie Camp has been solid. (Thankfully we'll see neither in this series.) [EDIT: Camp will pitch after all.] The franchise is no longer a laughingstock, but owner Jim Crane wants a playoff competitor while putting forth a franchise ranked bottom-six in budget and player salaries.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 3.52) / LH Daniel Croft (1-1, 5.40) / LH John Loeb (0-1, 3.97)
HOU pitchers: RH Chris James (0-2, 8.31) / RH Robbie Camp (1-1, 4.08) / RH Jason Knight (0-0, 3.00)

#13: LOSS 7-9 ... some bats wake up, with rookies Hassell and Coronado getting 3 H each...awful pitching all around ruins the fun however
#14: WIN 5-3 ... we're outhit 9-5 but adding 9 walks and 2 Houston errors to our cause helped out...4 steals too, fwiw
#15: WIN 9-5 ... allowing 4 late runs made this one look closer than it was...Collins knocks a 3-run blast...11 hits for each team, so no great pitching again

Better, but we're still not out of our funk. We're starting to put more guys on base and score some more, but aren't hitting for power at all. Interesting stat: our hitters have taken the most walks in the league, but our staff is walking nearly as many.... Hassell moved into CF over Lynn for a bit, and got off to a .583 start, while Coronado is batting .333 in his four starts. Hmm.... Bennetsen finally hit his first HR, but still nothing from Matson.... ELSEWHERE: 13-2 for NO, 12-3 LA, and MIL and DET with 11 wins. BKN is 2-13, MTL and CHW are 3-12.... Saves may not be a useful stat, but fwiw Zephs closer Brent Sandwell has 10 already.... ARI's Josh Hed is the last NL batter at .400, right on the nose. LA's Gerardo Nieto is 2nd in AVG and RBI, 1st in HR.... TEX catcher Phil Thoma leads everyone with 25 RBI and is batting .333, about 60 points over his career average.

April 19-21 vs OAKLAND
Muddling along with the rest of us in the division, at 7-8 and just two in back of the "red hot" Angels. Their power has returned--4th in HR--leading to a fun early-season stat of 4th in runs scored while ranking 16th in AVG and OPS. Pitching has been pretty bad so far, sitting 15th in runs allowed. Of the starters, only Tom Baker is pitching at a professional level, but he may miss a start or two with back spasms. Some of their managerial decision-making is going to hurt in the near-term if things stay the same, however: yes the starting OFs have hit 9 HR with 25 RBI, but they're batting a combined .190 and not getting on base much. Meanwhile, rookie OF Matt Hall has one AB but is ready for full-time duty. Time to dump an "overpriced veteran" somewhere and give the kids a chance!

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (2-1, 4.82) / RH Jose Rivera (2-1, 5.82) / RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 5.03)
OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (0-3, 6.41) / RH Andy Paterson (0-1, 18.00) / RH Jaden Sales (1-1, 7.90)

#16: *WIN 5-3 ... outhit 13-6 but a bases-loaded double from Chase Thompson followed by a 2-run HR from Coronado, and we're good...Tipping hurt AGAIN tho
#17: LOSS 5-7 ... Rivera can't get unstuck, allowing 5 R, 8 H in 6 IP, but did fan 11...we only muster five hits, but also take a whopping 9 walks, crazy
#18: WIN 2-0 ... another weak offensive outing, only 5 hits, but Irvin is lovely and allows only four...Hassell hits his first MLB home run

Just no hitting at all here, but we still manage to take two out of three.... Waugh looked better in his start, Irvin was stellar, but Rivera continues to struggle. Early days, though, right?... Tipping's diagnosis is a broken finger, he's out for 5-6 weeks. This is one fragile dude.... We're running out of middle infielders fast, and have to call up our third replacement in recent days: 2B Andrew Cunningham, 24, an 8th round pick from 2050. He hit .246 in AA then .321 in AAA last season, with just one HR. He's got some speed, can turn a DP like no one else, and shouldn't embarrass himself at the plate.... We're now tied for first in the West, at 10-8, with Seattle and Texas. California got swept by those Rangers.... ELSEWHERE: The White Sox are still hurting, at 5-13, and are now joined there by the Yankees and Rays. San Diego has lost 8 of 10 and is at the league bottom, at 4-14.... Boston's Dustin Wasilewski (.387/7/14) has his 20-game hitting streak ended.... Cubs pitcher Hector Ramos is gunning for NL pitcher of the month, sporting a 0.90 ERA to date.... Giants 3B Juan Garcia has started strong, batting .374, and has moved past 3200 career hits, but has a pending injury diagnosis and could miss extended time. Meanwhile, A's DH Lance Powell is off to a .153 start with 1 HR, finally coming to the end of the line at 44, and still sits in tenth all-time with 603 HR.

April 23-25 vs TAMPA BAY
It's been a rough start to the year for the Rays, at 5-13 and in last place with the equally disappointing Yankees. Coming off their fourth straight 90+ win season in '54, they've fallen off the pace, and nothing has worked this season at all. Both offense and pitching rank 17th, and only team OBP ranks in the top ten (at 10th place). The good news is that DH Orlando Navarro, 2B Jorge Arriola, and 1B Edgar Aranceta are all crushing it, but the bad news is that stud hitters Jose Taveras and Vance Wise are definitely not. In the rotation, only Carlos Nunez has been solid, and the bullpen has really struggled, especially with five guys on the DL. Fun stats: the staff has struck out the most batters but also walked the most.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (2-1, 4.76) / LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.86) / LH Matt Waugh (3-1, 4.21)
TBR pitchers: LH Phil Spickler (0-1, 7.41) / RH George Brorby (1-2, 5.79) / RH Matthew Grim (0-3, 7.36)

#19: LOSS 2-6 ... offense still phoning it in, only six hits...Croft pulled in the fourth after another ineffective start...no injuries is the only good thing here
#20: LOSS 4-5 ... outhit and outpitched again...bullpen blows this in the 9th, but only after we finally mount some offense in the 8th...everyone will now do wind sprints
#21: WIN 8-4 ... finally: 13 hits including 4 RBI doubles...Waugh is better but still yields 3 runs in 7 IP, Mendez earns his first save

Moribund. That's what describes us right now. Hitting is meh, pitching no better. We're not hitting for power at all, and in every stat and metric outside of runs and OBP we're bottom half of the league. And our supposedly league-best pitching is solidly average.... I'm hoping things will start to jell when we're not using three minor league infielders on the regular, but we're still a week-plus away from getting healthier. And that doesn't matter when half your lineup is slumping anyway.... ELSEWHERE: Mets closer Robbie Rodriguez was off to a perfect start: five games, five saves, zero runs allowed. And he'll stay that way thanks to elbow surgery, ending his season.... LA and NOZ are still the class of the NL, but props to Milwaukee's hot start: 16-5 with solid hitting and a largely-maligned pitching staff that's finally shown something of its promise.

April 26-28 @ SEATTLE
Four losses in a row has put a damper on an otherwise solid start. They've fallen to 10-11 but the underlying numbers are still good: 4th in runs, 9th in runs against. The lineup has been a bit A Tale of Two Cities, with Dan Bruno (.378/2/13), Rogelio Pena (.318/6/18), Paul Stough (.269/9/16), and Ethan Ransburg (.314) hitting hot, and everyone else running cold. And #1 SP Vince Push (6.37 ERA) has been brutal, but when he gets going he'll join the rest of his rotation-mates in moving the right direction. The bullpen has been largely bad, spoiling the works, but CL Jimmy Unganst and SU Theo Soole are doing their best. If their pitching stays at least average and they continue to hit, they'll stay in the race this year, no problem.

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (2-2, 6.18) / RH Josh Irvin (2-1, 3.45) / LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.81)
SEA pitchers: RH Ron Rivera (2-2, 4.34) / RH Mike Bader (2-2, 2.76) / RH Danny Diaz (1-1, 3.77)

#22: WIN 10-1 ... 2 doubles and a 3-run HR for Coronado, Medici adds 4 hits and his own HR to the mix...finally a strong CG from Rivera, 6 H and 8 K
#23: WIN 4-1 ... Medici goes deep again and Irvin tosses 8 IP, allows only 5 hits
#24: LOSS 6-7 ... not able to make a late 5-3 lead hold up, with Reyes blowing up in the 8th...4 H from Lynn, 3 from Matson...Croft is better here, just let down by the RPs

Two good games and then just two bad innings in the last. Let's keep that momentum going now, okay.... Lynn (.294) and Matson (.286) are slowly coming around, but Hagemann (.200) has gone cold, now without a home run in two weeks.... Jose topped Ron in the Battle of the Riveras, only his second decent start in five outings.... Injury update: Calderin is back at the start of May; Jake Moore 1-2 weeks; Pederson still 2 weeks away; Tipping 4-5 weeks.... First PM from Joe Lynn asking about a new contract. Let's see where this goes.... ELSEWHERE: Last Man Standing: Cleveland RF Mike Joseph is the final player still over .400, batting .409.... Texas C Phil Thoma is putting in his claim to AL player of the month, leading the league with 11 HR and 35 RBI, and a surprising .325 to boot.... In the NL, the stat of the month is STL pitcher John Odom, with a 0.95 ERA in his 5 starts. But with the Cards' terrible offense, his record sits at just 2-2.... MLB says Philly will win 98 games this year, taking the division with room to spare. But their excellent offense (3rd in runs) has been let down by some horrific pitching (dead last everywhere), and an 8-16 start to the season.

April 29-30 @ KANSAS CITY
Still an up-and-coming team, but an iffy 10-14 start to the season already has them 8 behind the Brewers. Tenth in runs, and led by 3B Tom Esposito (.362/8/23) and leadoff DH Tim Chapman (.323). Struggling are SS Jose Valdez (injured and now hitting only .111) and 1B Micah Bailey (.285 and 37 HR last year, .211 and 4 so far). Pitching is 12th, but should be better with co-aces Steve Scibek and Bill Perez. They too have five RP on the DL right now, but the bullpen has thrown better than the rotation. And a blow for pitcher Pat Oden, 25, and a long-time scouting favorite: after a terrible debut with Oakland last year (78 IP, 6.20 ERA), he has an 8.35 ERA in 4 starts this year and now has a pending injury. Former Isles update: LF Julius Burrows (.220/4/18) is still starting, and P Henry "Biff" Skiffington (0-2, 5.06) is a semi-irritated swingman.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.51) / LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 4.13)
KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (2-1, 5.90) / RH Steve Scibek (3-2, 5.28)

#25: WIN 2-1 ... we outhit them 10-5, with Bennetsen getting 3 and adding a walk...Loeb goes 7 IP, allows 4 hits and zero runs
#26: LOSS 2-5 ... solo HR from Hagemann and Medici, but the pen blows another one, allowing 3 late runs for a walk-off loss

Still scraping along, but at least we're going well over 2/3 of the roster -- hitting and starters yes, bullpen no -- so that's progress.... How bad is the pen right now? Dead last in ERA; only team without a relief win; only one w/ opp AVG over .300; and an OPS allowed near .900. So Yoshi Watanabe heads back to AAA and Brad Cahill gets the recall. Manny Reyes (7.94 ERA) may have an option remaining, but I doubt Marco Mendez (9.95) does. Bad as they've been however, I don't want to lose either to waivers.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is a game ahead of us but just lost 2B Matt Provance for four months. Provance looks like an average hitter but somehow managed 40 HR last year. He was hitting .325 at the time of his injury. So of course they "reload" by moving MVP SS Ryan Boers over to second and put star-in-waiting Javier Tzoc at short. Jerks.... LA and NOZ (them again?) are the first teams to 20 wins; Milwaukee has 19.... It's a good thing that LA's Gerardo Nieto plays half his games in a pitcher's park, otherwise he might not be "just" hitting a pedestrian .364/10/22 right now, good for 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the NL. And leads in batter WAR and league-wide OPS.

......

TL;DR Version: A pretty scratchy first month to the season: 14-12, third place two games behind California. Some better results over the final week here pushed our offensive totals up a bit--8th in runs, 6th in AVG, 15th in HR--but we're still a long way from consistent on this front. And while most of our rotation--Daniel Croft excepted--has been better of late, our bullpen is a real anchor right now. Closer Nate Kearns has been okay, but like I said above, Mendez and Reyes have been awful, as has Anthony Booker and the for-now-departed Watanabe. The pen in AAA hasn't been that great either, so maybe we look somewhere else to shore things up if we can't get these guys going over the next month. Anyway, other things to note for this month and moving into May: OF Jeremy Hagemann has stopped hitting, so until Pederson gets back I'll look to work Diego Espino and maybe Brian Hassell into the lineup in RF a bit more; 3B Bobby Coronado wasn't even on the 40-man roster coming out of spring, but injuries necessitated his call-up, and he's responded by hitting .390 in 59 AB. With Jesus Calderin back tomorrow, I'm still going to keep Coronado in the lineup until he stops hitting. So maybe Calderin plays some second until he's hurt again. (Replacement 2B Bill Gamboa has been fine, hitting .268 with a .418 OBP, but we need more pop in the lineup.) Finally, Joe Lynn wants to talk contract extension, but the guy who regularly hit .320+ for five seasons appears to be gone, as he's into his second season of sub-.280 hitting. To the good, however, is that his awful CF defense from 2055 (a -0.5 ZR after a combined +38.5 over five seasons prior) has gone away, with a 2.7 ZR and 1.102 EFF to date. Unofficially, the 27-year-old wants a nine-year deal worth $123M.

Bub13 · 05-21-2022, 08:55 PM

Okay, get ready for month #2. Twenty-eight games, 15 at home including a month-ending nine-game homestand. Also we'll get our first tastes of top rivals Texas and Detroit, as well as the surprise East-leading Blue Jays. Time to get serious, boys!

May 1 @ KANSAS CITY
Wrapping up this three-game set.

HAW pitcher: RH Jose Rivera (3-2, 4.91)
KCR pitcher: RH Bill Perez (2-0, 3.11)

#27: WIN 6-4 ... a 3-run 8th gives us enough cushion to survive yet another bullpen blowup...Rivera pulled in the 3rd with a back issue, but it's just a dtd thing

Three games above .500 for the first time this season.... Rivera should be fine by his next start, just some back tightness.... Forgot to mention that I also called up 2B Andrew Cunningham from AAA to help with all these pesky infielder injuries. But with Calderin coming off the DL now, I've sent down Jim Pfeifer and expect to return Cunningham to Santa Barbara when Jake Moore is healthy in a week.... Speaking of Santa Barbara, after a 1-5 start they've won 6 in a row.... ELSEWHERE: The surprising Angels are about the hottest thing going right now, winners of 8 in their last 10, and with a 17-10 record they lead the AL West by a game over Texas.... Third-year pro Ivan Valladares, 23, is having quite the start in the Braves rotation: 6 starts, 47.2 IP, 61 K, 0.94 ERA, 1.7 WAR. Atlanta's still just 13-14 and treading water in the tough NL East.

May 3-5 vs TEXAS
Here we go! The standings are starting to sort out some now that we're into the second month of the season, and the Rangers have moved into second place at 16-11. While they've scored the most runs in the AL, as predicted their off-season pitching losses have hurt, with pitching ranked just 16th in runs allowed. With 2B Matt Provance done, last season's DH Javier Tzoc moves into the field. He's hitting .340 with 10 HR, so that seems pretty adequate. C Phil Thoma (.310/11/35) is having a career year, and the deadly trio of Ryan Boers/Mike Olivera/Eric Robbins are all hitting for average and power. Leadoff guy Emilio Mares is down a hundred points from a year ago, and sluggers Ted Miller and Eric Halvorson have yet to get on track, but no one is worried about them. On the mound, the rotation has struggled, but the bullpen has been pretty good, and now CL Han-lee Su is back from a AAA rehab stint, so things should get better. We've been better lately, but these guys still look better than we do right now, frankly.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-1, 2.95) / LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.40) / LH John Loeb (2-1, 2.76)
TEX pitchers: RH Sean Reed (1-4, 8.84) / RH Mike Nelson (2-1, 3.69) / RH Joel Wiechart (2-2, 4.64)

#28: LOSS 3-9 ... well that went poorly
#29: LOSS 3-6 ... we score 3 in the 7th to take a lead, then give up 5 late to blow another game
#30: LOSS 3-6 ... Matson hits his first HR, and we outhit them 11-9...nothing else to see here

Well that ****ing sucked. No hitting, no pitching, no anything. Time for some juggling.... LF Bennetsen isn't hitting, so Chase Thompson is in; also no bueno is CF Joe Lynn, so Brian Hassell slides in; MR Anthony Booker takes the fall for the entire bullpen, and Yoshi Watanabe comes back up. CL Nate Kearns loses that slot, and Brad Cahill is next in line.... Not sure what else to do right now. We do get some injured guys back soon--Pederson and Moore--so maybe that will help.... But it's hard to find speed when it feels like the whole car is terrible right now.... ELSEWHERE: Texas (4 consecutive wins) and California (8-2 of late) are trying to pull away in the AL West. NOZ has the largest division lead, at 7 games.... San Diego (8-22) and Montreal (9-21) bring up the rear currently.... CLE 1B Manny Ayala should be a superstar, with a .333 career average and a solid 2055: .333/.410/.525, 205 hits, 12 triples, 43 steals, 5.0 WAR. But he's been a regular since 2048, and that's the only season he's played over 118 games. Injuries are just brutal.

May 6-8 @ TORONTO
Tied with Miami for first, at 18-12. They've struggled to score, at 15th in runs and at or near bottom-tier in every other major offensive category. But pitching is carrying the day, league best across the board. 1B Ian Logan (.308) and 2B Joe Smith (.303) are getting on base, and C Victor Valadez (.289/4/11) is not far behind. But others are barely keeping up. Pitching? No complaints. The whole rotation is going well, and half the bullpen hasn't even allowed a run yet. For a team that hasn't finished over .500 in nearly a decade, and won just 58 games last year, this start has been a solid surprise. If they get any hitting at all, they can keep it up.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 3.83) / RH Jose Rivera (3-2, 4.58) / RH Josh Irvin (3-2, 3.95)
TOR pitchers: RH Nick Palmer (2-3, 4.17) / RH Jaden Buchanan (2-3, 3.72) / RH Josh Haynam (4-1, 2.82)

#31: WIN 18-2 ... nothing makes sense any more...22 hits, 4 HR, 7 doubles...Waugh goes the distance, allows 7 hits, fans 10
#32: WIN 3-1 ... tired from the last game, we manage just 6 hits, but a pair of timely doubles saves the day...Rivera tosses 7.2, allows just 4 hits himself
#33: LOSS 3-4 ... repeat after me: ANOTHER. BULLPEN. BLOWUP. Three runs in the 9th, a walkoff loss...Can anyone in the bullpen please step up?

Better, but still some glaring holes: in particular, our relief pitching continues to be abysmal. Dead last. Dreadful. Choose your pejorative.... Any kind of power at all is still hard to come by, we do have guys who are hitting right now: Coronado (.357), Hassell (.312), Thompson (.348), Simmons (.303). Medici has cooled but is still at .302. My job is to figure out how to arrange them so can score in bunches, like the old days.... Shouldn't be surprising our offense has been iffy, given that my entire pre-season outfield is not playing right now: Pederson (hurt), Lynn (benched), Bennetsen (benched). Great.... ELSEWHERE: Nearly a dozen shutouts over the last league-wide series of games. Lots of guys are still hitting, but the pitchers are coming around now.... Milwaukee is still on top in the Central at 23-10, but just lost 3B Mitch Elmore (batting .364) for the season.... San Diego has lost 7 straight, still the only team with double figures in wins.... Winners of 9 in a row, Washington has moved into first in the NL East, 21-12 and 4 games ahead of ATlanta.

May 9-11 vs MINNESOTA
It's been a rough start for the Twins, who expected better than a 13-20 beginning. Both offense and pitching rank 14th, and the only statistical bright spots are home runs (6th) and bullpen ERA (3rd, must be nice). Injuries have taken a big bite, with 1B Santos Chavez and 3B Caleb Ottenburg missing time, in addition to the six pitchers currently on the DL. And some veteran bats have been awfully quiet so far: all-everything LF Jordan Foots (.198), RF Tim Marinaccio (.232), and DH Jesus Villegas (.244) the most notable. On the mound, the rotation is getting playground-bullied most every night, and no one has an ERA under 5.2. That bullpen ERA is all the more impressive when you note that closer Ryan Scheele (5.56) and setup man John Kekic (4.70) haven't gotten themselves right yet either. With both Milwaukee and Detroit off to hot starts, the rest of the Central may only be fighting for wild card scraps, and soon.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.13) / LH John Loeb (2-2, 3.49) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 3.49)
MIN pitchers: RH Ken Aikens (2-4, 7.88) / RH Dan Hannan (3-1, 5.72) / LH Sid French (1-4, 7.81)

#34: WIN 8-4 ... Medici breaks open a 3-3 tie with a 2-run shot in the 6th...NEWSFLASH: Reyes in the pen tosses two shutout, no-hit innings!
#35: LOSS 4-7 ... sigh: Medici legs out a triple but breaks his thumb sliding into third...Calderin FINALLY hits his first HR of the season
#36: WIN 7-1 ... 3 hits each for Gamboa and Coronado (who?)...Waugh goes the distance again: 5 hits, 9 K

Okay, two wins here and somehow we now find ourselves in second in the West (thanks mostly to California slumping). And RF Doug Pederson returned from the DL, so we sent down the struggling Jeremy Hagemann.... And then Medici goes and breaks a finger in the dumbest way possible. He'll be out for a month, so we recall Hagemann and will give him some time at first as well as OF. The one guy we really can't afford to lose offensively, and there he goes.... Team offensive numbers look better, but we're still just 15th in home runs. I expected Pederson and Calderin to hit 25-35 HR each, and Matson 15-20. They've combined for just two so far. Medici (with 9) has 1/4 of our entire output, so you can right away see one major effect losing him will have.... ELSEWHERE: Those Angels have now dropped 8 straight, putting them at .500 and down in third place.... San Diego finally one a game, after losing 9 in a row. And they still don't have ten wins yet (at 9-27).... Seven starts for STL's John Odom, and still with an ERA under one.... It's all or nothing for Mets ace Conor MacLeod: 8 starts, a 4-4 record. In his losses: 18 runs through 27 IP. In his wins: 11 runs in 29 IP. But his best numbers are a ridiculous 70 to 9 K-to-BB ratio. And in only his 9th year in the league, he already ranks 60th in career strikeouts.

May 13-15 @ HOUSTON
Our second go-round against the Astros; we took 2 out of 3 last month. Middling stats and a 15-21 record, last in the divison, but just a -3 run differential. Three reasons for that record jump out: ace Mat Caldwell is out for the year; key hitters--notably the 1, 2, and 4 spots--are just not producing; and the newly-crowned worst bullpen ERA in the AL. Closer T.J. Watson may not be long for that role, given his 11.74 ERA and 1-to-1 walks-to-innings ratio. Continued props to 28-year-old OF Ahmed Hackett, making the most of his first full-time starting role: batting .310 with 10 HR and a 1.020 OPS. But can he sustain a .371 ISO and a 177 wRC+? Rolling the dice now...

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (4-2, 4.02) / RH Josh Irvin (3-2, 3.49) / LH Daniel Croft (3-2, 5.13)
HOU pitchers: RH Winton Jones (3-4, 3.57) / RH Chris James (2-3, 4.76) / RH Robbie Camp (3-4, 4.44)

#37: LOSS 3-5 ... for once we lose early, falling behind 5-1 in the early frames...Matson pokes a 2-run shot late...Rivera yields 14 hits in 7 innings
#38: LOSS 1-2 ... we waste a strong effort from Irvin, getting only 6 hits and contributing 2 costly errors
#39: WIN 3-1 ... more walks (7) than hits (6), but some timely doubles help squeak out this one...Croft seems to be coming around finally

Still haven't unlocked the secret to getting the offense going, as we muster a total of 17 hits in this series.... In particular, with Medici out, we're getting practically zero production from the heart of the lineup, the 4-5-6 slots. Pederson is back from injury, probably rusty, at only 2-for-15; Calderin is hitting .220 with 1 HR; and Collins only .229. Time for more tinkering.... Team defense stinks too, let's not overlook that: 17th in efficiency, 16th in ZR. Outside of 3B Coronado (-4.7 in 28 starts), no one has been truly bad, but no one is sparkling either. And guys who should be good--Moore at SS, Hassell in CF--have not performed.... Santa Barbara started the season 1-5, then won 17 straight until a recent loss to Sacramento.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego finally wins their tenth game, but still brings up the league rear at 10-29.... California has now dropped eleven in a row.... Richmond's won nine straight to surge to the top in the NL East.... Tampa Bay's Jose Taveras is the latest AL player of the week. Taveras, now 33, has 532 career HR, 70.6 WAR, and has been an all-star nine of his eleven full-time seasons. He's never played in fewer than 154 games over that stretch as well.

......

TL;DR Version: The doldrums continue, with a 6-7 stretch putting us at 20-19 overall. Somehow it's my fault, I know: we're top five in offense and pitching, with a +26 run differential. But we can't put things together on a night-in, night-out basis. One glaring hole is our near-complete lack of power, which will probably disappear completely with Medici's injury. (Until Pederson shakes off his rust, we may not average one HR per series.) My hope now is that I can find the right lineup to just outhit and out-OBP teams, like we used to do. Is there help on the farm? Well, top prospects Jose Villalpando and Eric Sayward are hitting a ton in AAA, but neither has produced any of their promised power yet, and both have enough holes in their games that I think they shouldn't come up until September. Barring any further injury disasters, of course.

Bub13 · 05-30-2022, 11:46 AM

May 16-18 @ OAKLAND
With Houston's success against us just now, Oakland is the new occupant of the bottom spot in the division. Hitting is 10th in runs, but is only that high due to the 56 home runs they've hit; otherwise, their rankings are all bottom-five. Felix Reyes has 12 HR, but is batting just .220, Ryan Walton has 7 and .205. But the 1-2-3 spots are producing, 17 HR and a combined .291 AVG. Pitching is 12th, for a -7 run differential. The rotation hasn't performed and is near the league bottom, but the bullpen has been stellar. Star-in-the-making Alex Esquilin has struggled to match his stats from last season's post-deadline work, but at .289/.333/.461, he hasn't been terrible either. The Ancient Lance Powell is on the DL, after batting .188 with 1 HR over the first month of the season. For some reason, the future Hall member is angry about sitting with a torn quad; I guess that's what "low adaptability" means.

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (2-3, 3.80) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 3.10) / RH Jose Rivera (4-3, 4.17)
OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (1-6, 5.89) / LH Steve Hansen (0-1, 6.75) / RH Glen Marler (2-2, 3.32)

#40: LOSS 3-7 ... just no life at all...congrats on taking 8 walks, tho, guys
#41: WIN 5-3 ... Gamboa, Bennetsen, and Thompson go deep, driving in all five runs...another single-digit hit night--8 here--so we're lucky for the power display
#42: LOSS 4-7 ... pass

Well, for a change we got some mostly sad pitching to go along with our lack of hitting. So that's nice, keeping me guessing like that.... Just in case you missed it: we dropped four out of six to the two last-place teams in our division, dropping us back to .500 for the season.... I keep thinking somebody is going to wake up and start hitting, but alas.... ELSEWHERE: Philly's hard-knock season just got a little more dinged: SP Cris Frias tears up his elbow and is out for a year-plus. Frias cooled off some after his crazy hot start (29 K in 2 games), failing to get past the second inning in two of his three most recent starts. His walks had also ballooned to nearly 7 per 9 IP, and now we know why. He's been limited by injuries the last two seasons, and this one may ultimately be a career-killer.... Twelve straight wins now for Richmond, and three up on Washington.... Cincy's won 9 of 10 to pull to 3 behind New Orleans. These two teams fought hard all of last season too, and this division is shaping up to be fun again this year.... Cleveland has been a subpar ten games below .500, but they're getting a couple of nice individual performances. OF Many Ayala still leads the AL in hitting, and journeyman pitcher Taylor Baxter is 6-0 with an AL-best 1.80 ERA. He's earned 5.9 WAR in his six-year career but is on pace to get 6.5 this year alone.

......

***BREAKING NEWS: TRADE ALERT!*** In an effort to shake things up a bit, we make a pair of mid-size trades that will hopefully address some of our issues. First we send slick-fielding but poor-hitting (.083) OF Diego Espino to Toronto for OF/DH Miguel Tejeda. Tejeda hit 27 HR for the Jays last year, but was relegated to the bench this year for some reason. He's not much of a fielder, so will slot into the DH role. Hope you brought your bat with you, Miguel. Espino was popular and a team captain, but never hit well enough to earn more than part-time play. Tejeda will be a free agent in the fall, and at 28 is three years older than Espino; so the Jays agreed to eat his salary for the year. Second, we welcome back RP Ramon Sanabria from the fading Phillies, in exchange for a pair of relievers I'd hoped to see in the bigs one day, but were held back by wildness: former high picks Elias Tena and Narayan Seshu. Sanabria, now 40, has been pretty solid in 15 games for the Phils this year, but with their struggles they were looking to swap out some of their old bones. Sanabria played two seasons for us, earning a Hoyt Wilhelm trophy in '47. He's closing in on 900 career appearances, and could find himself as closer if everyone around him keeps struggling. He's signed for next year as well, and Philly is also eating his entire contract ($1.68M).

......

May 19-21 @ NEW YORK
Our long-ass road trip concludes in the Bronx, where the Yankees have slipped into last place in the East, at 15-27. Their offense ranks dead last in runs, and they aren't hitting for contact or power, or getting on base much either. Old man (37) Jose Rodriguez (.317/11/35) has been good, and former MVP Melvin Lopez (.276/.415/.466) has a nice line. Injuries and age, however, seem to be the culprits: 2B Marcus Dotson and RF Hughie Noonan are out, and Andrew Taylor (38), Arturo Sena (37), and Victor Provencio (34) are looking slow and creaky right now. Pitching has been okay, 12th in runs allowed. A pair of LHP at the top of the rotation--Sedillo and Hamel--have been rock-solid, but few others anywhere on the staff have been. Closer Chris Milano is an up-and-down guy, and this year appears to be a down cycle for him. Injuries haven't helped here either, with SP Alex Correa and CL Tim Downing on the shelf. If you're a Yankees fan, their recent history has been tough: still one of the richest teams around, constant mis-management has seen them make the post-season just three times since 2025, and they haven't won a title since 2017.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-3, 3.38) / LH Daniel Croft (4-2, 4.55) / LH John Loeb (2-4, 4.18)
NYY pitchers: LH Jose Sedillo (1-3, 3.38) / RH Mike Knaak (1-4, 4.58) / RH Justin Spurrell (0-1, 5.94)

#43: WIN 7-6 ... we fight back from a 4-1 early deficit and win it in the 8th on a Gamboa RBI single...Gamboa also goes deep, ditto Bennetsen with a GRAND SLAM in the 5th
#44: LOSS 3-14 ... ugly all over...five pitchers get beaten nearly to death, and our offense again puts up almost no fight...Sanabria's first appearance is a disaster
#45: WIN 4-3 ... outhit again, but we add 8 walks (with 7 hits), and use Null's RBI double in the 8th to pull it out...Mirabile dictu! The pen goes 2 IP without a run!

Still not firing on all offensive cylinders, but somehow we managed to take two games here.... That second game was enough to drop our pen back to last place in the ERA race. Ah well, our progress was fun while it lasted.... Pederson now batting .114. Just how much rust can you accumulate in two months.... ELSEWHERE: Five straight losses for New Orleans has dropped them into a tie for first with Cincinnati. The AL Central race is also tied, with Detroit and Milwaukee now 11 games up on third place KC.... Mets pitcher Conor MacLeod showed some of his old form in whiffing 17 Portland batters, but still took the loss despite allowing only five hits.... The Angels season may be on life support, but don't tell 1B William Swanson, your latest AL player of the week. The three-time MVP hasn't quite been the same hitter in Cali that he was for Texas ("only" 9 WAR and 105 HR in his two seasons in SoCal), but he's back at the top of the hitting charts so far this year. Tanned, rested, and ready to go.

May 23-25 vs SEATTLE
FINALLY back home after a day off, and we'll close out the month on a nine-game run. At 22-23, the M's are just a game behind us, and a game ahead of Houston and California. Sixth in runs, but just 11th in AVG; they're getting on base otherwise and hitting for power. Must be nice. Paul Stough (14 HR) and Ger van Mourik (12) are making the most noise, but both are also hitting well below their career averages. The staff is 13th in runs allowed, with both #1 SP Vince Push and CL Jimmy Unangst having a rough time of it. But vet SP Ron Rivera and fomer Isle Mike Bader--of course--are having solid seasons, with the latter sporting a nifty 43:9 K-to-BB ratio. It took CF Rogelio Pena a while to establish himself, but in his third season as a starter the leadoff man is working on a career season, at .283/.355/.542, with 14 steals and 8 HR. He strikes out a bit much, and his glove isn't the best, but the 27-year-old will be a high priority for the M's to re-sign this off-season.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (7-1, 3.14) / RH Jose Rivera (4-4, 4.50) / RH Josh Irvin (3-3, 3.63)
SEA pitchers: RH Vince Push (3-4, 6.83) / RH Ron Rivera (6-3, 2.99) / RH Mike Bader (4-4, 3.70)

#46: WIN 7-4 ... Again: only 7 hits but 8 walks...Lynn pops his first HR, drives in 4 runs too...Waugh gives up a pair of solo HR, but fans 11 in 6.2 IP
#47: WIN 5-0 ... we make our five hits count tonight, oy...Jose again wins the Battle of the Riveras, now 2-0...Tejeda hits his first HR as an Islander
#48: LOSS 2-7 ... still no consistent offense, only 8 hits...Irvin gets knocked out early, and Sanabria is bombed again and this time leaves with an injury. Fabulous.

Our lack of hitting has seen our team stats slide down the charts the last couple of weeks, down to 7th in runs and 8th in AVG and OPS. But hey, we're second in steals! Awesome.... 2B Lucas Tipping is back after the next series, but where's he gonna play? Bill Gamboa has been good as his replacement, and backups Jake Moore and Bobby Coronado have hit for average (both over .300) if not for power.... We're No. 1! In starter's ERA, at least. Can any of them hit, I wonder.... ELSEWHERE: Hey, Mets fans: the Wilpons are finally out, with the recent passing of owner Eric Wilpon. It was thought that son Eric, Jr., would take over, but the family sold the club to a consortium fronted by Montana businessman Justin Orgain. His goals? PROFIT and Fiscal Economy. Sounds like a wining formula.... KC has won five in a row, and has allowed only three runs while registering three shutouts. They're still just .500 and the offense is mostly bottom-half in the AL, but with improving pitching if they can hit at all as the summer heats up, they'll contend for a wild card at least.... Fun stuff in the NL, with two one-game division leads and a slumping LA team (six straight losses) holding just a three-game lead over Austin and Portland. And how about the AL East: Miami leads by one game over BAL, TB, and TOR, and two games over BOS. NY, however, is well out of it.

May 26-28 vs DETROIT
We've stumbled a bit against mediocre to poor teams, so what happens when we face the 34-14 Tigers? Ranked 2nd in both offense and pitching (and team defense), but only 9th in AVG -- so they're getting on base and power-hitting their way to success, as usual. Reigning MVP and DH Pat Townsand (.321/15/42) has been stellar, as has 2B Elliott Wheat (.293/12/27). Leadoff 3B D.J. Grace is hitting .317, and SS Matthew Powell has 11 HR. But half the lineup is hitting under .230, and yet they're doing okay considering their three starting OF are all on the DL. (That includes Roberto Gomez--see below--who, at 23, has never played in more than 61 games in his professional career. Made of porcelain, poor guy.) Anyway...Pitching. Yeah, that's going good too. In the rotation, only vet Carlos Zenon has poor underlying numbers, but he's been a lucky 4-0 record-wise. They've all been so good that they moved long-time starter (and former Isle) Chris Liles into the pen, and he reeled off 10 saves to open the season.

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (4-3, 5.30) / LH John Loeb (3-4, 4.14) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 3.10)
DET pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (4-0, 6.14) / RH Steve McKeen (3-3, 4.76) / RH Jose Hernandez (6-4, 4.19)

#49: LOSS 0-1 ... Croft is pretty good tonight, despite 4 BB in 6 IP...but we can only manage three hits, with only two runners reaching second base
#50: WIN 3-2 ... Loeb allows just 5 H and zero R through 7...we triple our hits (!), including 2 RBI doubles from Matson and a solo HR by Gamboa
#51: LOSS 3-5 ... Cahill gives up a 2-run HR in the 10th, plunks the next guy up, and sparks a brawl. Sigh...only six hits by our still-paltry offense

Still clinging to a winning record, 26-25, but only just.... The offense is now 10th in runs, so time for the lineup blender again.... Tipping is back from the DL, and will get some starts despite Gamboa hitting fairly well (only .268 but with an .867 OPS).... Cahill gets suspended for two games. Which means a two-day delay before I send him back to AAA. Who's the next savior for the bullpen, I wonder.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa's found themselves, having surged to a 9-game winning streak and a tie for first with Miami.... Like us, LA has gone flat (8 losses out of 10), bringing Portland and Austin to just two games behind.... Lots of guys having good seasons so far, but let's talk about two who are not. San Diego LF Jesus Cabrales is a career .240 hitter who's usually good for 25-30 HR a season. Right now, though, he's bringing up the rear of every batter, with -1.5 WAR and a .161/.256/.201 line, and one HR in 172 PA. And on the mound, it's Cleveland pitcher Aaron Banks, with an 8.20 ERA, -1 WAR, and 30 BB and 12 HR in 45 IP, over 8 starts. Congrats guys!

May 29-31 vs CALIFORNIA
Tied with us in the jostling pack behind the Rangers, at 26-25. They've gone 10-14 this month, at one point losing 11 straight and 14 out of 15. But since then they've reeled off seven consecutive wins, just in time to befuddle us. Offense ranks 8th in runs, with 1B William Swanson (.361/.420/.705 and 16 HR) pounding out another MVP-caliber season. No one else has been stellar, but the usual suspects--RF Mo Marquez, LF Chris Burns, and 3B Mike Eskridge--have been solid and getting on base enough for Swanson to drive them home. Pitching is 5th, with the only difficulty being closer Brian Jackson and his 6.04 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. But scheduled closer Adam Burg comes off the DL in a week, so that'll help things. A pretty quiet team, with the only near-controversy being the anger felt by backup catcher Manny Fontane, hitting .278, for not starting over veteran Jose Fletes and his .185 weakness. (Fletes is a team captain and is maybe twice the defensive catcher Fontane is, so that's probably it.)

HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (5-4, 3.91) / RH Josh Irvin (3-4, 4.13) / LH Daniel Croft (4-4, 4.94)
CAL pitchers: LH Shaun Ostrander (1-1, 4.29) / RH Nate Elder (1-3, 3.92) / RH Aaron Moore (6-3, 3.39)

#52: LOSS 4-5 ... Rivera gives up all 5 early, but goes the distance, allowing only 6 hits with 12 K...9 hits for us, but just more dullness all around
#53: LOSS 4-5 ... Irvin does the rare "no walks and no strikeouts" effort across 8.2 IP...amazing how an entire team can slump at once. Exactly zero guys going well right now
#54: WIN 6-4 ... not sure where this one came from...2 H for Pederson, doubling his season total...3 H, 2 RBI from Tejeda, finally

True mediocrity: 27-27 record, +6 run differential, average stats (except for 1st place SP ERA, and next-to-last place HR, 17th).... With Tipping coming off the DL, Jeremy Hagemann goes down to AAA. Hags did have 8 HR, second on the team, but was hitting just .238 and striking out an awful lot of late.... We're wasting a lot of solid efforts from our rotation, with our broken offense and our sad bullpen. Also, our team FIP is 1st in the AL, at 3.89. Is that good or bad?... One positive is that our top three farm clubs have winning records, a hugely meaningful thing to our pennant hopes.... ELSEWHERE: 21 HR for Texas' Phil Thoma, leading all of baseball. And with 3.7 WAR, that's more than half of his career total over his four-year career.... A trio of sadness: Montreal, San Diego and the Chisox all with 16-38 records. Quite a fall for the Sox, having won 90+ games each of the last four seasons, and 112 just two years ago.... Checking in on some former #1 overall draft picks: 2052 guy Eddie Feltman is back up with Baltimore, fitting in as a utility IF, batting .242 but with 7 steals and really good defense; 2051's Van Polk, taken by Austin, has already retired due to injury. And the two previous guys, Ryan Boers (TEX) and Jordan Foots (MIN) are perennial all-stars.

......

TL;DR Version: Lineup juggling, two trades, and a lot of cursing. Nothing has worked yet. Next up: witch doctor or exorcist, depending on who answers the classified ad first. I've complained about our offense a lot, and I'm sort of stumped. Most guys haven't been terrible, but nobody is hitting for power or even for extra bases. Usually we ring up tons of doubles; this year, only Matson has more than 8 (he has 18, tied for 3rd in the AL). And no one is in double figures in HR. So much for addressing that shortfall this off-season. We are second in steals, but would we be better off if we didn't run so much? Dunno. Another shortcoming: next-to-last team defense. The top guilty parties there have been 3B Bobby Coronado (now benched despite hitting a low-key .345), and SS J.J. Simmons (plus 6 errors). Backup SS Jake Moore has been worse, and LF Erik Bennetsen hasn't hit well and looks lazy in left. That's not a critical fielding position, so he'll get chances to get his swing into a groove. But if we're still .500 (or worse) at the end of June? Might be time to give up on our playoff streak and refigure things for 2057. I haven't had to think like that for a long, long time; but I guess it all catches up to you eventually.

Bub13 · 06-11-2022, 12:53 PM

Let's skip ahead to 6/6 for the annual party that is the...

2056 ROOKIE DRAFT AND HAWAII SYSTEM OVERVIEW

It's MLB Christmas! In June! Merry merry! Where to begin... How about a top prospect who has already been a #1 overall pick? (More on him below.) Or no teams with multiple first round picks? (But several--including Texas with three--that have multiple Supplemental first round picks.) Or that once again there are no pitchers in the top ten ranked prospects? Not that that will stop teams from taking pitchers in the top five, really, but still an odd thing. (In fact, the BNN Mock Draft says picks 2-6 will be pitchers, so stay tuned.)

The arguable #1 overall prospect is OF Eric Lowenstein, who you may recall was taken first by the Orioles back in '53, while still a high schooler. He passed on signing and went on to star at Rice University, and now reenters as a near-consensus #1. He has a strong lefty bat with power and contact, won't strike out much, and is an excellent runner with speed to burn. His defense is just adequate, and he is undisciplined at the plate. He's still a solid pick. His competition is another high school OF, Jon Tanana, who may also prove difficult for a team to sign. He could be an even better hitter, with no weaknesses yet on display, but has a tin glove and little speed. The third, somewhat overlooked triumvir is OF Kyle Ewing, an affable guy from Georgia Tech. His ceilings project a bit lower than the other two, but his defense is better and he is okay on the bases. Not bust material, and a sure-fire top ten pick regardless of who snubs him for pitching instead. After him, it's kind of wide open, and who really knows where any of the pitchers in the top 50 will go. If it were me with a chance to roll the dice on a pitcher, rather than one of the top hitters? I might just go with LHP Erik Rogers, nearly a clone of our own old friend Eric Jones: okay stuff, but sublime location and control, and an extreme groundballer. BNN sees him going at #19. He won't fall to us at #29, but a guy can dream.

So let's get going...

Oakland starts us off with a truy weird pick, taking pitcher Aaron Penkava: he's stupid and lazy, and has just B-level ceilings, while demanding a $9M bonus. SMDH. Toronto keeps the silliness going by taking LHP Alfonso Sabillon, who's a much better human being but not any better as an actual pitcher. Brooklyn then laughs all the way to the bank and takes Tanana, maybe the best thing they've done in years. Montreal selects Ewing next, and the "will anyone take Lowenstein?" chatter builds. Minnesota selects another pitcher, Paul D'Angelo, making me at least ask "What the hell is going on here? Am I missing something?" Finally, the Giants end the suspense and take our good friend Lowenstein at #6, and ESPN eventually simmers down. Pittsburgh wounds me at #8 by taking the wonderfully-named Khalil Fauntleroy, and Seattle finishes me off at #13 by grabbing Erik Rogers. Game over, we're done. Good night.

I've got options at #29 now, and I'm torn. There's a trio of solid power-hitting 1B/DH types (Adam Martin, John Hoffman, Pat Lennox), who should produce power for years, but do I go with a DH-type in the first round? Then there's OF Ron LaBarge, a high schooler and therefore more volatile, but with a lot to love: solid hitting, undeveloped but intriguing power, excellent on the bases, and a good fielder at OF/2B/1B although with a noodle arm. His bonus ask is reasonable despite being listed as "Extremely Hard" to sign. Do I dare...? Or maybe IF/OF David Tedesco, about as fluid and graceful a fielder as you'll ever see, anywhere, with great intangibles...but subpar hitting ceilings. I don't have a pick again until the 4th round, so I want to get this right....

Our Picks, Revealed:

Round 1, #29 overall: OF/2B/1B Ron LaBarge, RH, 18, high school. I went with the intriguing potential. His defense is just okay, so he may end up as just a 1B/DH potential anyway, but I like his hitting/speed combo better than the other 1B-only guys listed above. Now we have to sign him...

Round 4, #150 overall: C Jeff Meadors, SH, 18, high school. Good defensive and leadership attributes, and charts well as a hitter outside of some contact issues. Might ditch us to play college at Georgetown, but who wouldn't rather make peanuts while riding endless miles on sweaty buses instead?

Round 5, #186 overall: OF David Chasteen, LH, 17, high school (Hawaii). Local kid getting a shot! Decent across the board at the plate, okay on defense, not much of a runner. Sound clubhouse guy, could end up a solid lefty-hitting utility OF one day.

Round 6, #222 overall: P Jaylen Hall, RH, 21, Penn State. Pitchers were thin on the ground outside the first couple rounds this year, and Hall was about the best avaiable to us. May struggle with control, but is otherwise decent. Groundballer. Developed enough to start in A ball straightaway.

Round 7, #226 overall: OF Gavin George, LH, 19, junior college. Why not take a chance on a guy who was good-not-great on the JuCo circuit? Very nice defense, can run, and has surprising hitting ceilings, at least according to our wacko scouts. May not take a walk, and might strike out a bit too. So you see, not all sunshine.

Round 8, #294 overall: P Chris Hedrick, LH, 18, high school. I dunno about a low-stuff reliever, but he has enough pitches (six!) that could develop to make him a starter one day, and with the intangibles to rise above his humble scouting reports. Movement and control ceilings look pretty impressive, though.

Round 9, #330 overall: OF Andy Steward, RH, 18, high school. At 6'4" "Stilts" is a veritable giant among non-giants. This guy is just all hitter: big power potential, line drive guy, good discipline, but prone to Ks. Can't run and laughs at playing defense. Could be good, or could become a legend in AA.

Best of the rest: Ehhhh.... I went for a lot of high-intangible sorts, so you know how that could turn out. The intriguing guys, to me at least, fall way down the list. Pitcher Zion Glatt (at round 25), is a straight-throwing finesse pitcher. Which--I will admit--may not give you the warm fuzzies, but his other ceilings look pretty nice. And our final pick, in round 28, is IF Sincere Booker. (Yes, he can run.) Excellent defense, great wheels, hard worker; if he can hit anything at all, he'll have a chance.

......

SYSTEM OVERVIEW

Michael Rivera, our new scouting director, has decided to befuddle me with his new ratings. While there hasn't been a lot of upheaval at the top of the ranks, he decided that most of our minor league pitchers were woefully underrated in the movement department. Do you know how unsettling it is to see a AA guy you thought little of get a write up like "Movement potential goes from 11 to 19"? Now multiply that times twenty guys. Is this for real? Probably not. But it makes us look like we actually have some RP hopefuls now, and has otherwise altered our pitching hopefuls to where I'm going to have to actually study some charts now.

Taking a look at the chart below, let's look at a few guys in particular, rather than going through the top ten or so like I usually do. (FYI we still have the #1 rated system in baseball, with three in the top ten and 12 in the top 100.) At #1, we're still high on Jose Villalpando, and his stats in AAA show he's probably ready for the bigs. We're still waiting for his power to show, which I'm assured it will do...one day. SS Cris Flores, at #3, needs to hit better to ever start, but his speed and defense will get him far anyway. Logan Barnett, at #4, gets scouted all over the place these days, so I'm not exactly high on him right now despite his gaudy position on this list. That trio at 5/6/7 can't be separated with a knife, they're scouted so closely. If one of them makes it as a full-time starter, I'll be tickled. Likewise with Curt Christensen at #9 and the also-fast-rising Jayden Gorham at #23. My favorite name continues to be #10, Rocky DeMars, a big-time slugger who has not hit for average in AA yet, but was a monster in A last year (.369 with 21 HR in 55 GP). He's also already shown serious injury issues, missing all of '54 and 2/3 of last season. One guy not shown here is RP Joey Mayer, ranked #39, who currently has allowed zero runs in 18 innings at AAA, fanning 29. I'd like his control to be a little higher, but yeah he's otherwise good to go.

Also of intrigue:
... #13 Joey Ulrich, a high-contact defensive stud who has no power and plate discipline issues;
... #17 Marcos Lemos, 21, with rising ceilings of late, making him a solid defensive 3B and a now slightly-above-average hitter
... #18 Mimum Antar, from Zambia, solid-looking utility OF who's only drawbacks are strikeouts and an inability to run
... #28 Kyle Kolstad, local kid who needs to stop striking out so much! Great CF, fast as all get out, and some nice pop at the plate. Just...whiffs galore tho

Bub13 · 06-16-2022, 07:24 PM

Twenty-seven games to get us back on track, 12 at home, 15 on the road. We'll finish the month on a 12-game road swing, which might sound bad except that we're a game under .500 at home (and a sterling one game over .500 elsewhere). Medici comes back from the DL in a week, which should help. (His replacement via trade, Miguel Tejeda, has hit .244 with 1 HR in 12 starts since coming over. Meh.) Lineup tweaks and maybe some more reconfigs in the bullpen are on tap again. Let's see if anything gets us going.

June 2-4 vs BOSTON
Finishing off our homestand before a long road stretch. At 28-26, the Sox are in 5th in a tight AL East, just three games out of first. (The Yankees are last, six games behind Boston.) Hitting has been a struggle, at 13th in runs, with only the mid-lineup guys like Tyler Knott (.362/7/32) and Dustin Wasilewski (.318/12/38) hitting with consistency. But their pitching is 1st in runs allowed, featuring 30-year-old journeyman Jose Palomino with a breakout season. Ace SP Yuya Watabe has missed a few weeks (and is out for one more), but they haven't missed a beat without him. Fun fact: half of the bullpen is named 'Mike.'

HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (4-4, 3.70) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 3.18) / RH Jose Rivera (5-5, 4.04)
BOS pitchers: RH Mike Moffit (2-3, 3.96) / RH Dave Yocum (4-6, 4.86) / LH Jose Palomino (4-2, 1.99)

#55: WIN 4-0 ... only 7 hits, but 5 are doubles...add in 4 walks, 2 HBP, and 2 sac flies...Loeb goes just 6.2 IP, and amazingly the pen holds up for the remainder
#56: WIN 5-3 ... crazy explosion of 16 hits, including 3 each from Simmons, Lynn, and Tejeda...2 H, 2 RBI for Calderin, waking up at last?
#57: WIN 6-4 ... a big 4th puts us up 6-1, and we ride out a pair of rocky innings for the win...Hassell goes 3-for-4, and Calderin and Matson add 2 H each

A sweep! When was the last time that happened? (Checks schedule...) First one this year! Timely, now let's go build on that.... Still looking for bullpen help, so I send off a pair of do-nothing minor leaguers (one, Chris Allred, was at AAA and has some talent at least) to the Giants for RP Jason Morales. He's been okay as their closer this year, but has had more success in a setup role, which he'll take on here. To make room, I option Brad Cahill to AAA, and DFA minor league pitcher Phil Bishop. (The 40-man is full!). Morales is now the only lefty in the pen, and his first appearance will be the first by a portsider this year.... Santa Barbara is now 33-11, after a 1-5 start.... ELSEWHERE: California just lost LF Chris Burns for the season, which will hurt. They've stabilized (7-3 of late) after an awful 1-14 run, so this is not good news.... Montreal, San Diego, and the Chisox are still stuck below twenty, each with just 17 wins.... Baltimore SS Chris Rock is healthy for the moment, and is now riding a 21-game hit streak. He's hitting .341 and has missed 23 games already this season, meaning he will play in fewer than 140 games in a season for the 7th of his 11 big-league seasons.

June 5-7 @ CLEVELAND
The 23-34 Indians sit in 4th in the Central. This franchise gets its act together about once a decade, putting forward a few winning--even playoff-caliber--teams, but nothing more. They're running out of time to get it done this decade. Hitting has been okay, but suffers from the same problem we have: only 10th in runs despite sitting top-five in AVG and OBP. Why? Only 52 HR, dead last in the AL. Injuries aren't helping, with AL-leading batter (at .363) Manny Ayala on the DL, and now 1B Josh DeRango and 2B Antonio Guerrero facing pending injury diagnoses. But the major criminals here are in the pitching staff, thanks mostly to the 2nd-worst rotation ERA in baseball, at 5.50. Ace Taylor Baxter (8-1, 2.44) has been brilliant, but holdovers Jose Rubio, Dane Olivas, and Jake Mackowski have been awful. Things might be better if projected starters Dudley Mele and Tyler Malinich were healthy, but then who knows. And somehow their bullpen ERA ranks 8th despite three of their most-used guys having a combined ERA of 7.50 (over 102 IP) and a 1-13 record. There are some good parts here, and some promising guys on the farm. But not enough of them--and not soon enough either--to make any short-term difference, alas.

HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-5, 4.14) / LH Daniel Croft (5-4, 4.89) / LH John Loeb (5-4, 3.36)
CLE pitchers: RH Jose Rubio (3-6, 6.34) / RH Sam Tedder (5-4, 4.33) / RH Bryce Witulski (1-2, 6.57)

#58: LOSS 5-6 ... Reyes allows the GW in the 10th, but blame the coaches for leaving Irvin in to allow 2 runs in the 9th...Bennetsen's 3-run HR gave us a short lead earlier
#59: WIN 5-4 ... our turn: Pederson's single in the 10th is the GWRBI...everyone gets a hit, 16 in total...Morales pitches the final 2 innings for the win
#60: WIN 4-2 ... another late win! Collins dribbles home a run with a single, then Hassell brings home two more with another one...Reyes gets the win, gets hurt too

Except for a couple of bad, late decisions in that first game, this was an all-around satisfying series. Two in a row now! Reyes' injury might drag things down, however.... Pederson is now hitting .179, his highest of the season. Sigh.... Tejeda has gotten a few clutch hits of late, but is still hitting only .232 with 2 HR since the trade. With Medici returning in two days, Miguel's gonna see some bench for a while.... A nice 5-1 start to the month, keeping us 5 behind the Rangers. California is keeping up, tho, tied with us, and the only teams in the division over .500.... ELSEWHERE: Mets SP Conor MacLeod keeps devastating NL hitting, most recently to the tune of a 14-K no-hitter against a powerful Phillies lineup, while walking just one. This is the first no-hitter of the season, and the first for a Mets pitcher since Kyle Michael did it back in 2051.... It's Miami's turn atop the AL East, a 7-3 streak putting them two games ahead of Tampa Bay. In the NL, Richmond is staying hot--winning 8 of 10--and has a six-game lead over Washington.... Texas catcher Phil Thoma continues to amaze: with 24 HR he's the only player to top the twenty mark, and also leads the AL in RBI, WAR, SLG, OPS, and ISO.... Baltimore's Chris Rock had his hit streak ended at 25 games. He and SD's Humberto Nunez (20 games) are the only players to have reached that 2# level.

June 8-10 vs HOUSTON
Back home again for the middle of the month before we go on a long-term cruise across the country and back. With Oakland deciding to not freefall any more, the Astros are bringing up the rear in the division, at 25-35, twelve games out of first. Offense is 16th, pithing 13th. Like I say every time we play these guys, the only batter who's earning his keep right now is DH Jose Renteria, at .295/16/40. RF Matt Dippel has 10 HR, but is hitting only .217; RF Steve Wheatley is hitting .271, but brings no power to the #5 spot in the lineup. Things should improve a little when LF Ahmed Hackett (.289/11/25) returns in a few days. Pitching is barely adequate, with the rotation at least having the 7th-ranked ERA, despite no one showing a number lower than 4.26. Winton Jones has returned to earth after his hot April and early May, losing three starts in a row and yielding at least 5 ER in three of his four most recent starts. But he's young and will figure it out soon. Aging owner Jim Crane, Jr, may have lost his marbles: every team goal is far behind his demands, and yet he's described as "ecstatic." I'll have some of those meds, please.

HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (9-1, 3.19) / RH Jose Rivera (6-5, 4.16) / RH Josh Irvin (3-5, 4.28)
HOU pitchers: RH Miles Iandoli (4-6, 4.83) / RH Winton Jones (4-7, 4.36) / RH Chris James (4-6, 5.08)

#61: WIN 14-3 ... six in the 6th, then 4 more in the next frame break open a 4-3 game...2 HR for Pederson, who then sprains his neck watching his magic happen
#62: LOSS 1-2 ... yeah well Winton Jones found it in this game: 5 hits allowed, dammit...Medici gets a hit and a walk in his return
#63: LOSS 3-4 ... oh **** it...a few hits, a HR, blah blah

Lots of good will and momentum lost in this series. We're now two games behind California, thank you very much guys.... The bullpen is waking up at last, but our bats continue to look good one game and then sleepy for the next several. And still very little power game going on right now. I can't explain it, other than just a run of bad dice rolls right now. We've got the horses (or so it seems).... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee and Detroit have gone cold, while the Royals have won 8 in a row, bringing them to just 8 games behind first and back in the division (and wildcard) race.... Meanwhile Toronto has dropped 7 straight and fallen right out of contention in the East. Still time to recover, though.... LA can't pull away yet like they've done in recent years, and leads the NL West by only a game over Portland. The Pioneers can't hit a lick but they've got the 2nd best pitching in the NL right now, and only one SP has an ERA over three. (LA, shock of all shocks, has the 15th-ranked pitching stats in the NL, definitely not earning the $100M+ they've poured into that staff.)

June 12-14 vs OAKLAND
So they're only one game under .500 since May 1: getting back on track, or a false hope for the near-term? Hard to say, given that their underlying numbers--13th in runs, 12th in runs against--are not good, and that not-so-horrid offensive placement is belied by terrible on-base numbers. Only a 7th-place showing in home runs is keeping the offense afloat right now: Felix Reyes and Ryan Walton have combined for 31 dingers, but also a .209 average. None of the catchers are hitting; 2B and SS are also offensive holes; and their DH is batting .206. Better news is that a couple of their top hitting prospects are ready to go, and only need to have the chaff removed, and soon. On the mound, the bullpen has been solid (5th in ERA), the rotation not so much (15th). But consider also these numbers: of the 47 guys currently under a big league contract, 14 will be free agents, one has a PO, and only one is signed beyond this year. Everyone else is arbitration eligible. MLB says they'll go from a $162M payroll to just $72M. So they'll either be able to clear the decks and rebuild in a grand way, or face on-field catastrophe next year. Fun either way!

HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-4, 4.81) / LH John Loeb (5-4, 3.28) / LH Matt Waugh (10-1, 3.12)
OAK pitchers: RH Jaden Sales (3-6, 4.74) / RH Tom Baker (5-2, 3.12) / LH Sean Guerrero (0-2, 5.62)

#64: LOSS 2-5 ... held to just three hits here...we touched Sales for a run in the first, but he got injured. Otherwise, what could have been...
#65: WIN 18-2 ... feast or famine, eh...18 runs on 18 hits, 4 H each for Lynn and Medici...Loeb goes the distance, allows 6 H while fanning 8
#66: LOSS 2-4 ... brutal

Once again we can't get out of our own way. One crazy game sandwiched by two brutal offensive showings. I have seen some bad teams, but never an entire team in a slump like this. How we're 5th in offense in the AL is beyond me. Our pitching has stabilized to where we're now 1st in runs allowed, and we've got a tidy looking +43 run differential. But there's just no dynamism in our offensive game anymore. I can't figure it out.... Forgot to mention Manny Reyes' injury: partially torn UCL, out 8-9 months. Brad Cahill comes back up for now, and Jason Morales moves into a setup role with Ramon Sanabria.... ELSEWHERE: It went from bad to worse for Cleveland's Manny Ayala: out for three weeks with a knee strain, in his first game back he tears up the same knee and is done for the year.... Not even at the 70-game mark of the season and there are three AL batters with at least 4 WAR: Phil Thoma (TEX) at 4.4; and teammate Ryan Boers and Boston's Tyler Knott at 4.3. Boers is gunning for his 2nd MVP crown, while Knott is a soph OF for the Sox who led the AL in runs, hits, and doubles last season.

......

TL;DR Version: Skipped to this part? You didn't miss much. Some early month success (5-1) gave way to moribund hitting and a pretty logy 2-4 stretch. We're back to just two games over .500, at 34-32, a game behind California and 8 behind Texas. The good news? The bullpen has been stable of late, although we're going to miss Manny Reyes, done for the year with a torn UCL; most of our team offensive stats are up, although I'm not sure how; for the first time this season, no batters/fielders are on the DL. The bad news? Will anyone reach double figures in HR? Popgun offense: 3rd highest OBP, 4th in AVG, yet only 9th in OPS. I've continued to shake up the lineup, to little avail. But I'm going to do it again: Simmons over to third, Gamboa to short, Calderin to the bench. Tipping gets more PT at second, to try to wake him up. Matson and Tejeda will platoon at first, and Hassell will regularly spell Lynn in center. That last one...it might be time to let Hassell take over for good. He's outhitting the veteran Lynn, but doesn't yet measure up defensively.

Palaaemon · 06-17-2022, 03:32 AM

Just a quick question. What happened to the game on June 1st? There was no mention of it but I assume it was a win as Hawaii was 27-27 at the end of May and at the start of your latest post you said that the team was 1 game over .500. I was just curious about the missing game.

Have a good night!

Bub13 · 06-17-2022, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Just a quick question. What happened to the game on June 1st? There was no mention of it but I assume it was a win as Hawaii was 27-27 at the end of May and at the start of your latest post you said that the team was 1 game over .500. I was just curious about the missing game.

Have a good night!

"...we're a game under .500 at home (and a sterling one game over .500 elsewhere)"

Is this what you're referencing? This is comparing our home and road records. We were .500 (27-27) at the end of May, and had no game on June 1. Sorry for the confusion.

01-07-2022, 03:13 PM	#441
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	July 2055 Two more games against Oakland and then the All-Star break. After that, 23 games for the rest of the month, 11 at home. We'll also end the month playing the A's. The trade deadline will be coming soon, and as it looks right now we'll be standing pat. There's little on the trade block that I would even consider, and most of those guys anyway are way overpriced. What that decision will come down to, in the end, will be most likely contigent upon health: will any injuries this month compromise our depth? Time will tell. In some team news, OF Erik Bennetsen is named AL Rookie of the Month for June: .327/8/26 in 110 AB, and a .976 OPS. July 1-2 vs OAKLAND Last two games of this series, and the last games before the break. We hit the road for a bit after this. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (7-3, 4.28) / LH Matt Waugh (9-1, 2.47) OAK pitchers: LH Sean Guerrero (3-5, 5.26) / LH Chris Larimer (3-5, 3.68) #80: WIN 2-1 ... Medici cranks out his 20th, but Royer's shot in the 9th is the winner...Croft goes 7 IP, only 5 H but 4 BB, and 8 K #81: WIN 8-2 ... Waugh gets his 10th win, fanning 9 in 7.2 IP...Lynn collects three hits, while Hed gets two including a HR Very nice. Seven game win streak puts us four games ahead of the Rangers at the break, and the halfway point of the season.... Like I said in my last post, I'm not unhappy with the way anyone is performing, really, even if I could wish for some improvement in spots. And while I complain some about our 3B production, the guys have combined for 13 HR, only slightly below Royer's usual 30 HR pace of the past two seasons.... Waugh and Irvin have reached 10 wins on the season, and Waugh has 131 K in as many innings.... International Amateurs are out, and I make bids on two guys. If I get them my budget will be busted, but whatever. I'm avoiding the $20M guys: seems like too much of a crapshoot to put that much money into someone who likely won't be as good as he's currently advertised. Better, imo, to spend less on mid-ceiling players with good/great intangibles.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's season may have turned to dust, but third-year RF Kevin Reynolds is having a breakout year: batting .349 with 5.2 WAR, and his 24 HR already matches his previous career high.... KC's Steve Scibek was named pitcher of the month for June, and kept that momentum going in July with a 4-hit shutout of the Chisox. He's given up just 4 runs in his last five starts, all wins, with two shutouts.... Teams really do take their time signing those draft picks. At the end of June, 18 of the 34 first round picks from a month ago were still unsigned. Two days later, it's down to 14, but there are only four days left to get 'em done. It's All-Star time! Maybe your favorite Islander made the squad! Maybe not... This year, we're sending three guys, all pitchers: SP Matt Waugh and Josh Irvin, and CL Nate Kearns. Waugh is voted as the AL starter, but sometimes the game goes against that choice. And I find it a little odd that the league's best offense sent zero batters. Oh well, enjoy some time off guys. For the Prospects Game, we send eight players: P Juan Sais (A), Steve Shinnick (AAA), and Ken Taylor (AAA); 1B Eric Mele (A); 3B Jose Villalpando (AA); SS Jake Moore (AAA) and Joey Ulrich (R); and OF Rocky DeMars (A) and Brian Hassell (AA). The games come and go, with the usual fanfare. The AL wins the Prospects Game 5-2, with Isles players going a combined 3-for-10, and two pitchers tossing two shutout innings. The AL also won the big boy's game, 9-5, scoring 5 runs in the 9th to claim a tight game. Irvin and Kearns both pitched scoreless innings, but Waugh--the top pitching vote getter--didn't pitch at all. ??? Weird, but at least he won't have to rest before his next start. Back to business. July 7-9 @ CLEVELAND A thirteen game winless streak has put the kibosh on an otherwise promising .500 start, and dropped them to last in the Central. They've been outscored 38-76 over that stretch as well, with the offense plummeting to 14th in runs despite having the 7th-ranked AVG and OBP. RF Matt Hill (.323/18/59) and 1B Manny Ayala (.329/9/41) have been solid, as have former Isles Cam Daley (.304/16/40) and Julian Cardenas (.277/9/36). Pitching is 5th in runs allowed, but the rotation has slipped to 10th in ERA. But there's still some good young talent here, and despite the recent downturn this franchise seems to be heading in the right direction otherwise. Another solid SP, some RP free agents, and letting the young guys develop some power (they're 15th in HR), and they'll become competitive in a really tough division. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (10-1, 2.47) / RH Mike Bader (6-6, 4.37) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.60) CLE pitchers: RH Dudley Mele (7-7, 3.78) / RH Sam Tedder (6-5, 5.13) / RH Jose Rubio (4-5, 4.48) #82: WIN 1-0 ... 3 hits for Tipping, and Covington gets the winning RBI in the 2nd...Waugh goes 8 solid innings...but Simmons and Sanchez get hurt, both out for a bit #83: WIN 7-3 ... Collins doubles home 2 in the 10th, and we add two more to finally grab this one...HR for Matson...Bader gets to go all 10 IP, just crazy #84: LOSS 4-5 ... well dang...we allow the winner in the 9th, handing the Indians a win they didn't really deserve So we suffer the indignity of ending their 15-game losing streak, but otherwise no big deal.... Bigger deal is losing Simmons to injury for five weeks, with a strained lat. We'll miss his .351 average and .406 OBP. Jake Moore comes back from AAA, where he was hitting .288 and has gotten hot over the last few weeks. He hit .167 in a brief call-up earlier. Sanchez suffers a sore foot and is dtd for five days. Hopefully we won't need him.... Loeb has given up 17 runs over his last four starts, so he could be going back down in a bit for some more seasoning. Travis Harris has been unimpressive since going down, so if I send Loeb back we might see someone else get a shot in the rotation for a stretch.... ELSEWHERE: The Dodgers have dropped five straight, bringing their lead in the West to "only" ten games. Likewise, Boston leads Baltimore (!) and NY by ten in the AL East.... Philly's Byron Wilmoth stole 50 bases last year, but has 43 already this year. He's on pace for 83. Defending AL champ Emilio Mares (TEX) has 38, pretty much on pace to match the 71 he had last season.... It took a while, but all of this year's first round picks have been signed. Two guys--pitchers David Lee (SF) and George Sandberg (RIC) are with their parent clubs for some reason. Ruin them early, huh guys? July 10-12 @ CALIFORNIA Eight games under .500 since June 1, but they're still .500 overall and not out of it for wild card contention. Hitting ranks 13th, and is holding them back, with no stats in the top ten anywhere. William Swanson and Mauricio Marquez are the stars, still going great, but they're not getting much help. Pitching sits 6th, but will be tested with one SP and three RP on the injured list. SP Aaron Moore has been decent if not impressive in the rotation, but has also made 35 starts in the field, across the middle infield. He's hitting .258/7/23 in 132 AB, slightly better than last year when he managed 11 HR in 79 starts. Honestly, I'm not sure where I would play him if he were in Hawaii. He rates well on the mound and in the field (solid defense at 3B and the OF, fwiw); after seeing him toss a couple of MLB seasons as a pitcher, however, I might stick him in the field full-time by now, especially after last season's 7.78 ERA in 21 pitching starts. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (10-3, 2.94) / LH Daniel Croft (7-3, 4.08) / LH Matt Waugh (11-1, 2.33) CAL pitchers: LH Shaun Ostrander (3-2, 3.74) / RH John Weston (1-0, 3.63) / RH George Millard (7-5, 4.19) #85: WIN 14-7 ... it was 13-6 after 4 1/2 innings...Medici and Tipping hit 3-run HR, and Bennetsen goes 3-for-4 with 3 RBI...Irvin gets beat up early tho #86: WIN 8-3 ... Croft goes the distance, his ERA helped by a couple unearned runs...Pederson smacks his 20th, Medici homers again...Tipping hurt, pending diagnosis #87: WIN 4-3 ... another night, another HR for Medici...he and Collins homer in the 8th to give us the sweep...2 hits each for Sanchez and Pederson Three solid wins, always a great thing, and a five-game lead over Texas...Tipping's diagnosis is still pending. We've got some depth, but it won't be good to have our entire middle infield on the DL.... Jake Moore has looked good since his recall, getting a hit in all five starts and going 6-for-19 overall.... Prospect Villalpando--he of the mile-high power ceiling--finally hits his first AA home run in his 160th at bat.... We're the first team to 60 wins on the season.... ELSEWHERE: Seven losses for LA, and now an 8-game lead over Portland. Getting tighter.... Also an eight-game lead for Boston, with NY having won five straight.... Minnesota, in the middle of a bad stretch, sent catcher Devin Swan to Cincy for a trio of prospects. Swan, 27, has been hitting out of his socks the past two seasons--over .330--after being a subpar hitter for the first four years of his career. Solid defensively and a fan favorite, Swan will take over from 35-year-old Carlos Morales, batting just .196. The Reds are two games behing St Louis, so this looks like an actual beneficial trade for a playoff contender. Imagine that! July 13-15 vs TAMPA BAY Coming off four straight 90-win seasons, and predicted to compete again for the East crown, it's been tough sledding so far for the Rays: 39-48 and 16 games out of first. Offense ranks 12th in runs, pitching 14th, with a -40 differential. They're hitting for power--139 HR, 6th in the AL--but not for much else. Perennial MVP candidate Jose Tavares has been fine, at .302/19/66, and leadoff guy Orlando Navarro is hitting .303 with a .410 OBP. But stud Vance Wise is 140 points below last year's pace (just .243, but with 18 HR), and Jorge Arriola and Marcus van der Knaap are 90 and 120 points below last year's numbers. On the mound, Jon Jemison has been solid, but the over-30 set of Carlos Munoz, Jasper Haugen, and Bobby Reder have started to show their age. One odd roster fact is the bullpen features two regulars--DH Wise and OF Jeff Ward--who rarely pitch and don't fare well when they do. Manager Julian Morillo is in his fourth year and starting to hear rumblings of having "lost the room." HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (7-6, 4.23) / LH John Loeb (3-0, 3.89) / RH Josh Irvin (10-3, 3.28) TBR pitchers: LH Jon Jemison (8-8, 3.81) / RH Jasper Haugen (1-10, 8.17) / LH Bobby Reder (6-8, 5.71) #88: LOSS 3-6 ... flat, and only two runs in the 9th make this one look close at all...Bader hit early, but settles down, gets no support #89: LOSS 5-7 ... Loeb gets hammered, and while the pen offers 7 shutout innings, it's too late...offense flat again, with HR from Medici and Sanchez the only threats #90: WIN 10-6 ... offense, finally! 14 hits, led by Bennetsen with 4 including a HR...everyone gets a hit tonight, congrats! I guess we were overdue for a flat series, so here it is. Texas gains two on us as well.... Tipping missed just two games with a muscle strain and will be back for our next series. Ulkini gets hurt again, however, but only dtd for a week. Dude needs to be heavily taped at all times apparently.... Loeb's awful outing means he's out, and will get a chance to revitalize himself in AAA. Next up is Steve Shinnick, acquired from Detroit in '52 and our #8 prospect overall.... ELSEWHERE: As expected, the AL Central race is going to be a fun one. Detroit leads Chicago by two, and just three games behind the Sox are the surprising Royals. Likewise, the NL races in the East and Central are close, but LA has reopened an 11-game bulge over Portland.... Cincy keeps working to upgrade their pitching staff, getting useful swingman Ricky Elmore from the Expos. In exchange, they send interesting utility IF Aaron Atchley, promising closr Sergio Gomez, and two non-entities to Montreal.... Several other trades happen, none really worth repeating here. In short, several teams acquire established-yet-uninteresting pitchers for multiple decent-to-no-hoper prospects.... So you think we in Hawaii have been good forever? Well, don't sleep on the Phillies. A nine-game winning streak has them back on top in the NL East, over Washington. The Phillies have missed the post-season just once in the past eleven years, winning two titles and posting three 100-win seasons. Once again they have the NL's best offense, but finally have a pitching staff that's nearly as good, meaning they don't need to score 12 runs every night to win. ...... TL;DR Version: An 8-3 run here is only marred by dropping two games against the struggling Rays. Simmons' injury has hurt the offense some, but he'll be back in a few weeks, and the experience is necessary for Jake Moore, who is our SS or 3B of the future, tbh. Of more immediate importance is the fact that our starting pitching has taken some dings of late, resulting in the demotion of John Loeb. He had replaced the ineffective Travis Harris, who hasn't been that solid in AAA since, so Shinnick gets the call over TH. If he shows unreadiness over the next two weeks, watch for something to happen at the deadline. While our pitching has been really good, I don't want to be just one injury away from disaster going down the stretch. There are some interesting guys available on the block, but I won't want to give up too much for someone likely to be only a rental. Stay tuned. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

01-17-2022, 09:13 PM	#442
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	July 17-19 vs HOUSTON Despite top ten pitching, a weak offense appears to be the doom of this team yet again, and at 35-55 they're barely keeping ahead of the terrible A's. OF Erik Kinnison (.299/20/50), 1B Jose Renteria (.250/19/48), and 2B Juan Rodriquez (.243/20/62) are pretty much it at the plate. Manager Alejandro Garcia is in the second year of a seven-year deal, but may not be around to see the end of this season, as owner Jim Crane is sliding into unhappiness with his 2055 goal of MAKE THE WORLD SERIES not likely being met. With only five 80-win seasons over the last thirty, I'm surprised there are any fans left here: Fan Loyalty is "Pathetic," and Interest is in the 60s. But season tickets sales were up 27% (to just over 9K, still not great), so maybe something good is going on anyway... HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (8-3, 3.92) / LH Matt Waugh (12-1, 2.38) / RH Mike Bader (7-7, 4.41) HOU pitchers: RH Ron Mills (4-2, 5.23) / RH Mat Caldwell (4-12, 4.27) / RH Robbie Camp (2-9, 5.79) #91: WIN 10-4 ... Tipping and Matson homer as we score 7 late to pull away...Croft is wobbly through 7 but still hangs on for the win #92: WIN 5-1 ... Waugh leaves in the 7th with a 4-1 lead and 13 K through 6.1 IP, but is not injured...Pederson's 3-run HR is the big shot, and Bennetsen gets three hits #93: WIN 5-2 ... 3 H, 2 RBI for Bennetsen, and two hits each for Covington and Moore...Bader gives up 10 H through 8 IP, but keeps them on base until the offense catches up Harsh but necessary. Texas also sweeps, so our lead is still 3 games.... Jake Moore goes 3-for-8, starting to hit a bit now. He's still likely to head back to AAA once Simmons is healthy, but it's good to see my "[insert position here] of the future" not hitting .100 anymore.... Still top ten in AL home runs! And homers lead steals now 141-126, such a huge margin.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy completed its fifth trade of the month, adding another pitcher. Since 7/1 they've picked up C Devin Swan, SP Eric Stockton and Ricky Elmore, and RP John Sutton, Luis Ortiz, and Beau Nelson. For the record, they're 8-6 this month, four games out of first place.... Of course the Reds can't help that New Orleans has won 7 straight and 9 out of 10, to tie St Louis at the top of the Central.... Seven straight for Texas too, and they just acquired a new closer: from Toronto, Han-Lee Su. He's saved 110 games over the last three seasons, and this year has 12 saves, a 2.70 ERA with 32 K in 36.2 IP. Just another thing for us to deal with.... LA is hot again and now has a 13-game lead over Portland in the NL West. They're going for their fourth consecutive division crown, unsurprising when you have the annual budget of a small country. July 20-22 @ SEATTLE A 9-5 month is keeping them in the wild card hunt, at 48-45 overall and six games out of that race currently. Offense ranks 12th, pitching 9th, and a -23 run differential indicates that all is not well here. Leadoff man Luis Hernandez is batting .326, but with 0 HR; everyone else, however, has at least 10 and the team ranks 4th in HR with 161. SP Ron Rivera has made two starts since his recent call-up and is off to a hot start, having just shut out Oakland. Bench coach Ron Miller reports the clubouse is "electric" and players are "having fun." But other reports say the clubhouse is unhappy and, with no outright team captain, selfish players are bringing down the mood. Should be fun to see how this plays out. HAW pitchers: RP Steve Shinnick (debut) / RH Josh Irvin (11-3, 3.38) / LH Daniel Croft (9-3, 3.99) SEA pitchers: RH Eddie Van Dyke (3-10, 5.21) / RH Dan Crews (6-2, 3.27) / RH Daniel Newell (2-4, 8.20) #94: LOSS 6-9 ... Shinnick gets punched out in the 4th, not a happy debut...Medici goes 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and a HR...we outhit them 14-13 #95: WIN 5-3 ... Medici pokes 2 more out, and we do our damage on just 7 hits (but 6 walks too)...Irvin leaves in the first with an ankle injury #96: WIN 8-7 ... another day, another HR for Medici, as we score 5 late runs to pull this one out...3 H for Covington, big 2-run double in the 8th by Collins Not the prettiest series, but I'll take it.... Irvin's injury is just dtd for a week, but he may not miss his next start.... Shinnick and Croft pitch poorly, so you better believe I'm still scouting a few veteran SP out there.... Did I mention that I signed two kids in the amateur window? Pitcher Elias Apolinar from the Dominican Republic and OF Mimum Antar out of Zambia. Both are average prospects, to be honest, but here's hoping a few years in our system will lift them to unknown heights. Besides, I'm not willing to shell out $20M for a 16-year-old future bust; would rather spend half that for two busts.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore, still the surprise of the AL East at eight games over .500 and second place behind Boston, lost offensive linchpin SS Chris Rock for six weeks. I told you this was about to happen.... The Yankees are tied with the O's, and likely field the oldest lineup in the game. LF Tyler Barnes and RF Melvin Lopez are both 27, but the rest of the starting lineup averages 36 years old.... Checking the trade block, and maybe I could do worse than Cincy's Steve McKeen, a two-way guy who's hit 15 HR and .305 in his career. But he's a 2-3 WAR SP, and I'm looking for a bit more than that. Plus Cincy is adding pitchers by the armful, not sending them away. Good luck winning your third Silver Slugger, Steve! July 23-25 @ CHICAGO The Sox are second in the Central at 55-41, four games behind Detroit and four ahead of KC. The offense hasn't been quite as potent as last year, at just 7th in AVG, but they've somewhow scored the most runs in the AL. Zeke de la Rosa (.320/27/65) is his usual near-MVP self, and three others have passed the 20 HR / 60 RBI marks. Helping the cause is improved pitching, at 9th overall (but the 3rd-best bullpen ERA going). These guys look like a lock for 90+ wins again and another playoff spot. But with Detroit still Detroit, you have to wonder if the Sox see their window closing already. Half of the pitching staff is over 30, and the bottom of the lineup is old and average as well. There's a solid 24-27 year-old core on the field, but they're going to have to keep spending on pitching to stay competitive in this division. Needles to say, they also won't hit their crazy 112-win mark from a year ago; but don't sleep on these guys. Vegas probably has them as even money to win the division again and at least get to the ALCS. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (13-1, 2.28) / RH Mike Bader (8-7, 4.28) / RH Steve Shinnick (0-1, 14.73) CHW pitchers: RH Emmanuel Vasquez (7-0, 5.84) / RH Steve Davenport (9-7, 5.58) / RH Robby Liantonio (6-5, 5.42) #97: WIN 6-1 ... 6-hit CG from Waugh, fanning six...Bennetsen, Medici, Pederson each get 2 hits, and Tipping knocks a 3-run homer in the second, his 19th #98: LOSS 6-14 ... Tipping homers again, but we give up 20 hits, with all 4 pitchers allowing more runs thans innings pitched #99: WIN 13-2 ... our turn: 16 hits (12 singles) with 8 walks, everyone gets on base...Shinnick is stout, fanning 11 in 8.1 IP Terrible second game, but we sandwich that with two very nice outings. Bader is looking pretty fragile out there now: we'd better go and get him some help.... Speaking of that, Cincy is at it again, trading three good prospects--including future slugging star 1B/OF Alex Esquilin--to Oakland for SP Chris Larimer. DAMMIT. Larimer was my #1 target the last two weeks, but I kept dithering, waiting and waiting for some stupid reason. At least he's going outside the AL, but still this hurts. Oh well.... SO. Instead of Larimer we pull the trigger on our #2 guy, someone you may recognize: we send two prospects--SP Ken Taylor and 1B Eric Mele--to San Diego for pitcher Mike Garfield. Garfield pitched for us in '49 and '50, coming over from the Mets, and we let him walk after his second, middling, season. Now he's back! His strikeouts are down--to 6.9/9 IP, but he was never a power guy--but everything else looks solid, including a ridiculous K:BB ratio of 76 to 8 this year. Acquiring him means Shinnick is likely headed back to AAA for more seasoning. We gave up two solid guys, but ones I think we could afford to lose. Taylor was our #1 pitching prospect, but is already 25 and maybe maxed out below his projected ceilings. Mele, 18, was a 5th round pick last year, and projects to have fabulous contact and gap ceilings, but zero power. He's also limited to 1B/DH, and we're all set (I hope) there for the next ten years or so. Both could become solid guys for the Padres. Garfield is a free agent this fall, and SD will retain 100% of his salary.... ELSEWHERE: Yeah, lots and lots of deals these three days, over a dozen in all. Besides ours and the Larimer-to-Cincy deal, the only others worth noting are the Cubs deciding to shut down their disappointing (47-52, 12 games out) season, sending off two solid contributors for futures. First, they dealt closer Bob Harrison to STL for swingman Brian Howard and OF prospect Rich Rumbel (our 3rd round pick from '51). Next, they send solid SP Jamie McBride to DET for three roll-of-the-dice pitching prospects: Zack Durst, Tim Ferris, and Elias Morales. All three could break out, or all three could quickly fade away.... Bad news for NL Central leaders New Orleans: ace SP Chad Akers is done for the year. And, at 38 with a now 12-month injury, probably done for good. The Zephs still have a few days before the deadline to do something to stay ahead of the wheeling and dealing Cardinals and Reds. July 27-29 vs MIAMI Sub-.500 every month (plus a wretched 8-20 May) has put them at 40-59, fifth place and 21 games behind the Red Sox. The offense ranks 16th in runs, with most of their hitters from the past decade (which included two World Series appearances) having gone away or faded considerably. DH Toshi Shimabukuro (.299/32/75) is the exception, but long-timers Scott Robertshaw, Jon Ladd, and Mario Rivera are hitting homers but little else. Free agent additions Erick Ashlock and Mike McNeill are playing solid defense but providing scant support from the plate, and rookie Nelson Trevino has struggled to just a .306 OBP in leadoff. Pitching sits at 14th, slightly better, but the rotation has fared much worse than the bullpen: no one in the rotation has an ERA below league average, and only Victor Nunez is on pace for a season WAR over 3. Fun note: closer Jon Carlsen has segued nicely into his role as a late-career stopper, saving 58 and earning nearly 4 WAR in his 1.5 year stint with the Marlins. But he was probably the most successful two-pitch starter this dynasty has ever seen, fanning 2700, earning 60 WAR, and finishing in the top three of Cy Young voting four times in the eleven years he spent in various rotations. Anyway...team owner Justin Cox is a delusional man who is deemed "delighted" with a team with a losing record, drawing 10k less than desired, losing money, and with a nearly-empty prospect pool. Good luck, Marlins fans. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (9-3, 4.16) / RH Josh Irvin (11-3, 3.49) / LH Matt Waugh (14-1, 2.21) MIA pitchers: RH Brad Meadows (0-1, 9.28) / RH Erik Allen (6-10, 5.85) / LH Victor Nunez (8-7, 4.89) #100: LOSS 2-5 ... Tipping homers, but Croft stumbles and we manage just three hits tonight (but add 7 walks)...typical #101: LOSS 3-6 ... we more than doubled our output, to seven hits! But still sucked...every time I criticize a bad team, they beat the ** out of us #102: LOSS 3-5 ... sleepwalking Of course, of course: say bad things about opponent--no matter how deserved--and get stomped. Every. Damn. Time.... I guess the "good" news is that no one got hurt, although if we keep playing like this...oy.... Texas gains ground, now just a game out.... Thinking about how many arbitration cases I had last winter, and how many are looming this winter (sixteen!), I take care of two of those straight off with new deals: SP Josh Irvin and 2B Lucas Tipping. Irvin goes for 7 years, $75.6M, escalating from 4.1M next year to 12.6M by '58, and team options for '61 and '62. Tippinggoes for a little less, 8 years and $45.3M. He'll make 1.3M next year, climbing to 8M by '60, and with a player option for '63. These are solid and affordable contracts, with the bonus of being tradeable should either player hit an early decline.... ELSEWHERE: Trades everywhere, five more over this last series alone. First, Toronto sends 1B Max Corliss to LA for three solid pitching prospects. Corliss hit 51 HR two seasons ago, and those prospects are all solid, if a bit old (all are over 22). Second, Brooklyn sends disgruntled 2B Maurizio Barbiusa (according to most, Barbiusa is Italian for "asshole") to the Bronx for four prospects, including former first rounder P Dustin Shoffner, who even at 24 could still become a rotation anchor. Third, Cincy acquires yet another pitcher, this time grabbing Cleveland closer John Jackman for two pretty good prospects. The other two are meh.... Cincy's trades are starting to pay off, as they've won five in a row and are tied for first with STL and CHI.... Nats 3B Adam Walker is the first to 40 HR, and Rangers 3B Emilio Mares the first to 50 SB. July 30-31 vs OAKLAND Still gunning for that first overall draft pick, at 32-70. League-worst offense and 15th-ranked pitching have equaled another tough season by the Bay. The offensive "star" of the moment is CF Henry Uhlman, batting .278, although ancient 2B Josh Robertson was batting .284 until going on the DL. Perennial sluggers Felix Reyes and Ryan Walton have combined for 39 HR, but are batting .246 and .220, respectively. With super-ancient 1B/DH Lance Powell now also on the DL, 24-year-old rookie Andy Heiser has gone 7-for-12 in his MLB debut, with three HR. On the mound, the rotation has fallen apart, with injuries to Jim Schwartz, Jaden Bartholomew, and Andy Paterson, and the trade of Chris Larimer to the Reds. So prospects Jesse Malone and Pat Oden are getting their chance, as is wished-for-ace Tom Baker. The bullpen has been miles better, although closer Jon Gray sports an ugly 7.27 ERA and an uglier -1.3 WAR. The good news here is there's money to spend and a nice bloc of prospects, especially pitchers. There's also a core of low-average-but-big-slugging OF types, with Heiser already here, and Matt Hall and Jorge Ledesma a year or two away. (Plus the recently-acquired 1B Matt Esquilin, from the Reds org.) But they need to sort our their pitching staff (figure out who's going where, as there are 7-8 possible SP available), and stop acquiring 40+ year-old infielders. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (8-8, 4.69) / LH Mike Garfield (7-8, 3.70) OAK pitchers: RH Glen Marler (1-9, 7.04) / LH Sean Guerrero (4-8, 5.04) #103: LOSS 1-5 ... outhit just 10-8, but two HR spell doom...four losses in a row now, great timing here #104: LOSS 1-8 ... no words Okay, five losses in a row and six out of seven. Fantastic. No longer in first place now, a game behind Texas.... We stopped hitting, but the bigger culprit has been a sudden downturn in starting pitching. Just what I was worried about. Still, slumps come...and then hopefully go. Right?... ELSEWHERE: A few more trades, but nothing major. The Dodgers, oddly, add another reliever, while the Braves, Cubs, Pirates, and Robins all ship out older players for prospects.... With a 17-game lead, LA may be able to wrap up the division by the end of August.... KC has won 16 games in each of the last three months to pull to 7 games behind Detroit, and tied with Chicago. Both are 13 games behind us in the wild card race, which hopefully won't get any closer.... The Yankees are hanging in there, at 55-49 and ten games out of first. But the two players they just added via trade--2B Maurizio Barbiusa and SP Micah Whitlow--won't help an already feuding clubhouse. Along with Cincy, they're the only winning teams with bad team chemistry right now. ...... TL;DR Version:** A 7-7 finish to the month sort of kills the vibe we had going. Also, 15-10 for July, the worst monthly mark of the season. Anyway...Jake Moore's stopped hitting, so Victor Sanchez moves back into the lineup despite being a subpar SS. J.J. Simmons is back in a week, and we'll need him. Ulkini and Royer are platooning at third, as neither is hitting the cover off the ball, but neither is slumping. So I'll work both of them to see who might get hot. As for our pitchers, Mike Bader is slowly getting worse as the season goes on, mixing in more bad than good starts. He's one of the arbitration cases I mentioned above and right now...it's not looking good for him. Garfield's first start with us was an outright disaster, lasting just over 2 innings. He has to get better, right? Okay, enough crying, time to move on to August. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

02-02-2022, 08:06 PM	#443
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	August 2055 Heavy schedule this month, with 28 games. Thirteen at home, with seven games to start us off; but we end with a nine-game road trip. We'll see Texas twice: at the start, once we finish with Oakland, and again to close out the month. Our non-division foes include Detroit, New York, and Baltimore, all teams having good seasons. Gotta get back on the winning track here. (Btw, congrats to Matt Waugh, the AL Pitcher of the Month for July: 5-1, 2.01 ERA, 44.2 IP, 45 K, 9 BB.) August 1 vs OAKLAND Finishing up here. Can we stop the bleeding? HAW pitcher: LH Daniel Croft (9-4, 4.24) OAK pitcher: RH Jesse Malone (0-0, 5.19) #105: LOSS 5-8 ... pain, and lots of it...at least now the bullpen is joining the suck, blowing this one No, no we could not stop the bleeding.... I dunno what now. Maybe a mass promotion/demotion. Can I make the team to a day of bag skates?... ELSEWHERE: Nothing much new here. California's William Swanson takes over the AL home run race after a 3-dinger night, giving him 36 on the season. He's got 431 for his caDereer now, putting him into a tie for 86th all-time, with Cal Ripken and Danny Diaz, the great PIT/LA 2B and Hall of Fame wannabe. August 2-4 vs TEXAS Our sudden inability to play anything resembling actual baseball has given the Rangers a two-game division lead, as they've won five in a row. Third in runs scored (and 1st in AVG now), and tops in home runs with 212. Pitching sits 2nd, with the league's best rotation ERA. Everyone but leadoff man Emilio Mares has hit at least 18 HR, but Mares is no slouch either, batting .352 with an .895 OPS, and 53 steals. Ryan Boers (.318/31/92) is making a case for defending his MVP crown, and what team wouldn't love the luxury of batting someone like Ronnie Halvorson (.330/22/56) eighth. The only thing that could hold them back are injuries, having lost two SP (Bobby Daniel for the year, and Kevin Cahill for seven weeks) in the last ten days. So far, replacement Jesus Aguilar and Sean Reed have been up to the task. The only major move they made before the deadline was acquiring closer Han-lee Su from Toronto; he's only managed a 0.00 ERA in his 11.2 IP, trifling stuff. (They also added ancient RP Jay Debus from Montreal, but he likely won't move the needle much anymore.) We need to right our ship in this series, or there's a danger we'll see them sail off into the distance, and quickly. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (11-4, 3.66) / LH Matt Waugh (14-2, 2.35) / RH Mike Bader (8-9, 4.71) TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (9-4, 3.86) / RH Mike Nelson (9-1, 2.72) / RH Sean Reed (7-5, 4.08) #106: WIN 4-3 ... both teams manage just 8 hits, but Royer's HR tips the balance...two late runs make this close at the end, but we eke this one out...Sanchez hurt dtd #107: LOSS 6-7 ... this one wasn't close until Pederson's grand slam in the 9th...Waugh is meh again, and the pen gives up three more to maintain their own slide #108: LOSS 2-14 ... we allow 7 HR, Bader doesn't get past the 3rd inning, and the pen gives up seven more on their own Cool stuff, especially after that unexpected game one win. Okay, time for some changes.... After the third game, it's the Wednesday Night Massacre. First, IF Victor Sanchez is waive/DFA'd. He's hit 7 HR and .263, but someone has to go, and it's not gonna be the futures of the franchise. With Simmons coming off the DL for the next series, we'll be set in the IF. OF Nick Gase and his .227 average are sent to AAA, and Chase Thompson gets the call. He's hit .378 with 17 HR, so warrants a look. I also send down Jake Moore and recall Bill Gamboa. Maybe he can hit .200 too. Next, I demote SP Mike Bader and Daniel Croft. Getting guys out is a pre-req for pitchers, and neither of these guys is meeting that need currently. Taking their places will be Steve Shinnick and newbie Gleb Mihalkovsky. RP Yoshi Watanabe also gets the boot. Dude strikes out a ton of guys, but has been giving up runs in bunches lately. Taking his place will be Jon Sitzler. Also, RP Sam Bohlen is getting the "ignore this guy" label for the meantime. Can't pitch, won't play.... 3B Caleb Royer is moved back into the lineup, after Ulkini batted .206 in July. And Josh Matson, currently ice cold, is moved down to 8th while Royer takes his spot at #3.... ELSEWHERE: So who is winning? LA now has a 20-game lead in the NL West, so winning games CAN be done. And Philadelphia, despite just losing former MVP Luke Kempf for the season, has won six straight and taken a three-game lead in the East. And the NL Central is going to be a fun watch down the stretch: right now, STL and CIN are tied for first, and NOZ is a game behind. Right now, the divisional winner would be the only one making the playoffs, so there's a lot to play for. August 6-8 vs CALIFORNIA We wrap up our disastrous home stand against the 50-58 Angels, who at 4-5 in their last nine have been way better than we have. Hitting ranks 14th, with the usual suspects (Swanson, .299/36/81, and Marquez, .304/23/75) carrying things. Pitching sits 7th, with Nate Elder looking like a future star, and rookie Sam Matthews responding well to being moved into the rotation in late July. Despite a 7-18 July, there is some optimism blooming in SOCAL. Youngsters CF Chris Burns and SS Kevin Perry had solid months at the plate, and #4 SP Aaron Moore finally looked like a legit MLB pitcher. Most of the veterans they've signed in recent years have underperformed, so maybe some better scouting will help too. (Although 31-year-old Dan Dellinger, a two-time NL batting champ, hit .353 last month to finally get his season average over .300. He's around for four more years, so needs to step up.) The team seems happy, and fans are still turning out, but owner Arturo Moreno needs to loosen the purse strings to bring these guys back to the good old days when they ruled the roost in the AL West. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.15) / RH Steve Shinnick (1-1, 5.25) / RH Josh Irvin (12-4, 3.53) CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (10-5, 3.91) / RH Aaron Moore (7-6, 4.59) / LH Shaun Ostrander (4-2, 2.72) #109: WIN 8-7 ... in the 7th, Pederson's RBI double and Simmons' RBI walk salvage this one...Garfield stinks again, then gets hurt; Sitzler gets bombed too #110: WIN 5-1 ... CG for Shinnick, thank goodness. Give the pen some rest...Royer's 2-run shot gives us the lead...Lynn with 3 hits, breaking his silence #111: WIN 9-1 ... Royer stays hot with an RBI double, and Medici and Covington homer...Simmons gets hurt AGAIN...Irvin goes 8.1, fanning 9 Much MUCH needed series, but not without cost. Simmons suffers two injuries, the second now with a pending diagnosis. Sigh. Garfield, however, only has a 3-day dtd injury. Had me worried there.... Sanchez gets claimed by Pittsburgh after his DFA, so for more veteran help I reach way back into the past and ink IF Mike Hunter to a minor league deal. Hunter was our star 2B/SS from '39 to '43, hitting .316 for us over that stretch, with 239 doubles. He's now 40, but hit .304 with Miami and Oakland last year, and looks ready to help us down the stretch. And he's 12th on the all-time doubles list, with 637, six behind Xander Bogaerts.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy now has the temporary lead in the NL Central, by a game.... KC is still hot, having moved past the White Sox into second in the Central, five out of first. LF Tim Chapman has broken out, leading the AL at .353, and 3B Tom Esposito (.312/29/78) has bounced back from .215 last year.... Toronto (35 wins) and Oakland (37) are fighting for last overall, but watch out for San Francisco (42) and Brooklyn (41), both dropping fast.... Tampa brought in CF Emmanuel Garcia to stabilize the outfield and provide some veteran leadership this year. Instead, he's been an outright flop. Worst in baseball with a -2.0 WAR, the career .270 hitter is instead going .199/.255/.342, with a -13 ZR in the field. And intead of giving them his usual 20-25 steals, he's been 3-for-9 on the basepaths. At least he'll be a free agent this fall, and the Rays will look to reload after what's been a disappointing year all around so far: 54-57, 15 games out of first. August 9-11 @ BALTIMORE This dreadful franchise finally looks decent! At 61-50 and 8 games out of first, they're not really threatening for the playoffs right now. But with only three winning seasons since 2038, the record alone is a dramatic turnaround. And it's not like Boston is running away with the division. For the O's: offense ranks 7th, pitching 12th, with a +10 run differential. 2B/RF Steve McClellan has been a helluva Rule 5 pickup, with 48 HR last year and .303/19/72 this year; 3B Kyle Crowl is having a late-career resurgence, with 26 HR; and CF Nate Murray, who started the season in AAA, is going .352/9/55 in 72 games. Plus, former #1 overal Eddie Feltman is finally showing something, batting .304 and settling into a hybrid 2B/SS role. Pitching has been up and down, but the top two SP, Danny Zulick and Jonas Chevalier, are under 25 and are a super solid foundation, as is 23-year-old closer Alex Juarez. With top prospect 3B Justin Horton slowly working into the lineup, and a 5th-ranked prospect system, a little patience and some judicious veteran additions will see the historic Orioles back in the hunt for big things in the AL. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (14-3, 2.48) / RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (debut) / LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.13) BAL pitchers: RH Mike Zulick (11-9, 4.96) / RH Jonas Chevalier (6-5, 4.86) / RH Danny Carbajal (3-1, 5.22) #112: WIN 8-3 ... Tipping homers twice, and Bennetsen and Espino add solo shots...Waugh rebounds with a CG, credited with only 1 ER against (two errors by us) #113: LOSS 3-4 ... two more errors, two more unearned runs, and that's ballgame...Gleb is wild, walking 7 in 5 IP...3 H, 2 RBI by Pederson #114: LOSS 5-9 ... ugh, the bullpen: a six-run 8th destroys us tonight...11 hits, 6 for extras, and we still lose Well, that could have gone better. A rebounding offense was more than offset by some extremely shaky pitching. Injuries on the farm haven't left me much to call on either, should I want to make some more "adjustments".... Still no word on Simmons's latest injury.... Three-game lead for Texas now.... ELSEWHERE: After only one playoff appearance in 30 years, Washington reached the post-season last year on the final weekend of the season. They've continued that resurgence, going 70-44 to date, one game behind Philly for the division lead. I've already mentioned 3B Adam Walker, having an MVP-type season at .332/41/101. He's joined by 1B Mel Gallego, at .342/37/97 and leading the NL batting race. RF Darius Williams--an off-season steal from the Giants--fills out their power trio at .292/23/71. Their only sore spot is probably CF Jason Welch, a slick-fielding speedster, but a run-killer as a leadoff batter with a .298 OBP. Still, with Philly suffering some injuries, and neither team featuring top-flight pitching, this is another division race that will be fun to watch.... Minnesota built a powerful lineup over the off-season, but injuries and slumps have limted them to a 9th-place standing in runs despite sitting 3rd in HR. But someone forgot to tell them about pitching, ranked 16th and responsible for their -65 run differential and a recent 2-13 stretch which has dropped them to last in the AL Central. August 12-14 @ HOUSTON Gotta rebound (again) in our next two series. The Astros have stumbled through another forgettable season, 46-68 and 33 games out in fifth place. Few on offense have looked good, outside of Erik Kinnison (.301/27/74), and Chris Marshall (.274). Star 1B Jose Renteria has struggled, pairing 25 HR with a slump-ridden .251 average. DH Juan Rodriquez has been fine, .262/25/75, but at 36 he's playing out the string. On the mound, veterans Mat Caldwell, Robbie Camp, and Ron Mills have disappointed, while 25-year-old Jason Knight is a decent mid-rotation guy to keep. The best starter has been 38-year-old Mike Messinger, but again he's not here for the long term. There are prospects to build around in the high minors, so maybe it's time to bring them all up and let them get some seasoning in otherwise meaningless games. Closer Alex Moya and RP Miles Iandoli should move into the rotation, as should AAA guys Winton Jones and Daniel Jaramillo; all could (should?) be in the rotation next year. And swap out all the vets who are coming back next year for some lineup help, particularly at catcher and the left side of the infield, where 3B Zach Gille and SS Oscar Garza are outstanding fielders but execrable batters. See how easy it is, lol? HAW pitchers: RH Steve Shinnick (2-1, 3.43) / RH Josh Irvin (13-4, 3.40) / LH Matt Waugh (15-3, 2.41) HOU pitchers: RH Jason Knight (10-8, 4.10) / RH Mat Caldwell (5-14, 4.65) / RH Ron Mills (4-3, 5.94) #115: WIN 13-2 ... everyone shows up: 14 hits, 3 HR, three guys with 3 RBI each...another CG for Shinnick, yielding just 6 hits and fanning 7 #116: LOSS 5-6 ... we pound out 3 more HR but once again leave ourselves open to a late rally, giving up 2 late runs for the loss #117: WIN 5-2 ... we score three late runs, courtesy of HR from Medici and Hunter...Waugh is solid through 7, and Reyes and Kearns close it out for once of late Whew, we needed that last win there, especially as Texas is hot now and has pulled out a four-game lead.... Bad news on the Simmons front: broken elbow, out five months. Sigh. He was having a nice comeback season, at .354/.412/.500, and will be really missed. So welcome back to Mike Hunter, our "new" shortstop. He'll be backed up by Bill Gamboa, up to replace JJ for now. Jake Moore stays on the farm, but he's a Simmons clone who'll get a chance to come back and improve on his .224 for us if these guys falter.... Jon Sitzler didn't impress, so it's back to AAA for him and we welcome back Watanabe, who looked good in his two weeks in Santa Barbara.... Welcome back also to Caleb Royer, who hit .353 in July and is 17-for-52 with 4 HR so far this month. He's a stone-handed slowpoke in the field, but if his bat has returned, that can be overlooked.... ELSEWHERE: Texas becomes the first team to secure a winning season, an 8-2 streak putting them at 82 wins. LA is right behind, with 81 wins (and a 21-game lead over Portland).... Cincy's rebuilt pitching staff continues to work, as they're now three up on STL and NOZ. Chris Larimer, Eric Stockton, and Ricky Elmore are a combined 8-2 in 12 starts, and all five of their new relievers are pitching great. It's enough to make you overlook slumping newbie catcher Devin Swan (.226 after hitting .353 for MIN through April and May) and forget to ask why super rookie Mike Knapp (.328/17/51) is making less than 50% of the starts in right in favor of Adam Durst, a good fielder who has hit just 11 HR across 10 professional seasons, almost all in the minors. ...... TL;DR Version: Okay, a little better, at 7-6 here, but with two crucial wins against a bad Houston team. Of course, counting the end of July, we're on a 7-11 run of late, which is not good, obviouslam. And as much as I've bitched out our pitching, we're still first overall in runs allowed, and 1st in rotation ERA, 2nd in bullpen. So it's the offense that has slipped, to 2nd in runs and 4th in AVG (from 1st place in both), while our power numbers are up: 8th in home runs. But I will dole out some kudos to a couple of guys. First, Jules Medici has reached 100 RBI for the third consecutive season; and I guess it says something about us that with 145 career HR he's already in 7th place in franchise history. (And his 434 RBI has him in 11th.) Also, big props to rookie 2B Lucas Tipping, who's popped 26 HR so far despite missing nearly three weeks of the season. And he's been a positive ZR at second, something we haven't had since Manny Rangel won the third of his three consecutive Gold Gloves back in '49. Finally, for all the grief I've given Royer about his deficiences with the glove at third, there are actually five guys statistically worse than him this year, and two others he's in a dead heat with. Progress! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

02-20-2022, 10:49 AM	#444
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	August 16-18 vs SEATTLE Currently 56-61, and 13th in both runs scored and runs allowed...but with an unhealthy -63 run differential. That says something, but I'm not sure what. The offense has been generally poor, but they are 6th in home runs, led by Paul Stough with 36 and Ger van Mourik with 28. And the pitching would be better if they didn't have six regulars on the DL, including MLB's #2 prospect Seb Mulholland, who hasn't pitched at all since last July. (He's got another month to go.) Here's another team that's also feuding, with zero veteran leadership and a handful of selfish trolls who aren't pulling their own weight. Manager Dwayne Cloninger is in the fifth and final year of his contract, and may be done with this struggling and angry team in another couple months. GM Nabil Crismatt has another year left, but may also be on his way out given that owner Adam Yamauchi is very unhappy these days. Crismatt was our Asst. GM from '46 to '50, and waaaay back in the day he was the closer for many years on those old Richmond teams I started with. Earned his way to Cooperstown on the back of that, too. Back to the team: payroll sits 30th, but ticket sales and profits are up and with several aging and unproductive vets coming off the books this fall, they could be primed for some smart spending (mixed with savvy use of their #2-ranked prospect system) and get back to being the consistent contender they were in the '40s. HAW pitchers: RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (0-1, 3.60) / LH Mike Garfield (7-9, 4.18) / RH Steve Shinnick (3-1, 3.00) SEA pitchers: RH Ron Rivera (3-3, 6.62) / RH Vince Push (3-6, 5.49) / RH Daniel Newell (2-5, 7.28) #118: WIN 7-6 ... Medici homers, as does Bennetsen, winning the game in the 7th...also four RBI doubles key the win #119: WIN 4-2 ... Pederson and Bennetsen (again!) homer, and we hang on after allowing 2 runs in the 9th...Garfield finally shows up! #120: WIN 8-5 ... down 5-1, Medici hits a 3-run bomb in the 5th, then Matson a 2-run shot in the 6th...Meds goes 3-for-3 with 4 RBI, HR, 2 doubles, then gets hurt Nice sweep, and necessary as the Rangers have won seven straight and have opened a four game lead.... Not without cost, however, as we suffered three injuries in that last game: Medici is dtd for a week, but as he's a DH and only running is affected, he can still play; more worrying are pending notifications for 2B Lucas Tipping and SP Steve Shinnick. Fingers crossed.... Interesting note that none of our starting pitchers were on the team in April.... AAA Santa Barbara is having another bang-up season, at 68-38 and 13.5 games up on Reno.... ELSEWHERE: AL division races are loosening up a bit. Texas/Hawaii, you know. Boston has gone 11-5 this month, and coupled with mediocre runs by Baltimore and NY, the Sox have a surprising 12 game lead. And Detroit is 8 up on KC, with the Chisox slumping to third place.... A big reason for LA's 20 game lead in the NL West is their MLB-low 391 runs allowed. St Louis is 2nd with 457, Philadelphia 3rd with 482. That Philly number is the most impressive to me: just two seasons ago they gave up over 900 runs, with no pitcher who tossed 100+ innings having an ERA below 5.30.... Some LA starting pitching stats: Bryan Shaheen 17-5, 2.56; Manny Lopez, 17-5, 3.28; Everett Cronk 10-5, 2.35. All three are in the top five of most NL pitching leader boards as well. August 19-21 vs DETROIT The class of the Central (again), 75-45 and eight games ahead of the surprising Royals. Still doing everything well, third in runs scored and against and a +162 run differential. Five regulars have topped 25 HR, led by 1B Pat Townsand (.328/38/125). Pitching has held up despite losing veteran SP Raul Bravo and Ron Curtis for the season. More vets in the rotation--only Tony Gamez, at 29, is under 30--have stabilized things, and 39-year-old T.J. Carroll is having a strong season in the pen, and is more than capable of stepping into the rotation if needed. Speaking of injuries, spare a thought for OF Roberto Gomez: the 22-year-old is a five-tool superstud, but may never break out due to his extreme fragility. He's already missed one entire season in his career, and has failed to register 100 AB in three others, across all leagues. Not a sign of a long career to come, I'm afraid. And he's played just 14 games this season as well. Anyway, if these guys stay healthy otherwise they're a strong bet to contend for a championship, something they haven't won since 1984. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (13-5, 3.56) / LH Matt Waugh (16-3, 2.41) / RH Gleb Mihalkovsky (0-1, 6.10) DET pitchers: LH Corey Nelson (3-3, 2.73) / RH Jamie McBride (11-9, 3.61) / LH Carlos Zenon (10-8, 5.19) #121: WIN 8-2 ... we outhit them 17-8, and do all that damage on 14 singles...3 hits each for Bennetsen, Matson, and Hunter...11 K, CG for Irvin #122: WIN 6-2 ... Royer's HR and Lynn's 2 hits and RBI do tonight's damage...Gamboa with 2 hits, his first in MLB. Congrats! #123: LOSS 0-8 ... bad pitching and little hitting equals a tired-looking game...3 hits from Hunter, but not much else We did gain a game on Texas, now three games behind. At 83-40 we're third in MLB, behind Texas (86 wins) and LA (85).... Still no word on the injuries to Tipping and Shinnick, but we do make one roster move, sending Gleb Mihalkovsky back to AAA and recalling Daniel Croft. Gleb's just not ready yet, and Croft has looked better in his recent AAA stint.... Bennetsen is the fourth regular to reach 20 HR on the season, and is batting a team-best .339 (not counting Simmons at .354, since he's done for the season).... ELSEWHERE: Props to SF pitcher Danny Salgado becoming the first recorded case in MLB of cat scratch fever: he'll be out for seven months after supposedly getting "attacked by his cat".... Also props to Toronto for being the last team to reach 40 wins.... the White Sox still look like a formidable club on offense, but their starting pitching has finally let them down. A fifth-ranked bullpen has been undermined by the 13th place rotation, with only Jasper Cumming (4.02 ERA) anywhere close to league average. Now, they did win 96 games in '53 with even worse pitching (5.42 ERA vs this year's 4.96), and 112 games last year with nearly-as-bad tossers. So maybe they're not dead yet. August 22-24 @ NEW YORK It's been a back-and-forth season in the Bronx, alternating winning months with losing ones. August has been a down month, and they're sitting at 63-60 overall, 14 games out of first. Offense ranks 7th, pitching 10th, but that's not the whole story. Only 13th in AVG, but 2nd in HR, led by Chris Mitchell with 32, and Mo Barbiusa and Arturo Sena with 31 each. On the mound, the rotation has been much sharper than the bullpen, and closer Tim Downing was demoted in the pen in favor of last year's closer, Frank Casper (who's been much better this year, too). Injuries have done a number as well. Currently out are 2B JJ Dean, 3B Dave Rivera, #4 OF Gary Bellany (who would be starting rather than Dave McClendon, on a 7-for-77 ride so far this season), and SP Bobby Hamel, Justin Spurrell, and Alex Correa. They may be running out of time to take the division, but they're not at all out of the wild card race; so there's still a lot to play for. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (8-9, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (14-5, 3.43) / LH John Loeb (3-1, 5.15) NYY pitchers: LH Elijah Bragg (11-8, 5.11) / RH Mike Knaak (9-9, 5.09) / RH Micah Whitlow (6-10, 5.44) #124: WIN 5-1 ... Gamboa's first MLB home run is a 3-run shot in the 4th, the key hit tonight...Garfield goes the distance, allowing 6 hits, fans 9 #125: WIN 3-2 ... only 5 hits, but helped out by 5 walks and 4 NY errors...Moore gets beaned, breaks nose #126: WIN 15-2 ... wake up! 19 hits and 5 HR, including 3 from Royer...he also gets 5 hits, Bennetsen with 4...Loeb comes back with 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R Nice sweep for an injury-compromised lineup. Word comes down re Tipping (4 weeks) and Shinnick (2 weeks), and both are out.... Jake Moore comes up to take Tipping's spot in the lineup, although he'll play short and Hunter will move over to second. John Loeb gets the nod over Mike Bader in the rotation. (Bader: 3 AAA starts, one shutout, then two starts allowing 6 runs.).... And then Moore will miss 5 days after his beaning, so Bill Gamboa will now start at short for the next series.... With injuries, call-ups, and one trade, our rotation is now 4/5 lefty, maybe the first time that's happened in team history. As long as we keep winning, it doesn't matter.... Btw, Bennetsen is on a hot streak, now batting .343, third in the AL.... ELSEWHERE: Texas leads us by one game, and lost #1 SP Mike Nelson for two weeks. Nelson's 20 starts this year is a career high, and only the second time he's reached double figures in games in his six-year professional career.... Cincy's taken a 3-game lead in the NL Central, but just lost deadline SP acquisition Eric Stockton for the season. He joins Ricky Elmore, another July pick-up, on the season-ending DL.... Believe it or not, LA's Magic Number to win the division is only 14! They're 23 games ahead of Portland, just cruising along. August 26-28 @ OAKLAND At the bottom of the MLB pile with a 42-84 record, and facing their first sub.-400 win pct season since winning just 64 games in 2031. And yet...as bad as they've been (18th in offense, 16th in pitching), I see glimmers of light for the near future. They smartly traded off expiring vet contracts in Eric Stockton and Chris Larimer, opening up spots in the rotation for some young guys, and helping the bottom line. Plus, the five vets with expiring contracts who are still around will mean the A's will have about $40M free to go after some quality free agents this fall. If they're aggressive--IF--the rebuild could get fast-tracked. Also good: trading Stockton brought them 1B Alex Esquilin, a future slugging star who's gone .340/7/27 in his first MLB month. Factor in likely rebound years in '56 for starts Felix Reyes, Ryan Walton, Randy Costello, and Noah Johnson, and should they find a quality C and 2B: they'll be contending for the post-season next year, guaranteed. Can things go wrong? Of course; you could end up with 9 pitchers on the DL, like they have right now. (Some of those guys stink, but let's overlook that.) So yeah, attendance and revenue are down, but this is a team primed to bounce back, and not nearly as dire-looking as some teams ahead of them, even in this division (coughHoustoncough). HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (17-3, 2.36) / LH Daniel Croft (9-5, 4.49) / LH Mike Garfield (9-9, 3.83) OAK pitchers: RH Bryan Nunez (2-3, 5.28) / RH Glen Marler (5-10, 6.20) / RH Pat Oden (1-7, 6.56) #127: WIN 7-0 ... 3-run blast by Medici breaks open a close game, Lynn gets 3 hits, 2 doubles...Waugh and Bohlen combine for the shutout, 9 K and 0 BB #128: WIN 7-1 ... 17 hits tonight, 3 each for Cov, Lynn, and Royer...16 singles, btw...Croft goes 8, Bohlen the save...career hit #2500 for Hunter #129: WIN 11-8 ... 28 combined hits, and 7 HR...Pederson, Matson, and Hunter with 3 hits each, and Collins, Matson, Medici, and Royer homer Two consecutive sweeps and we're still in second place! Yeah, Texas really is that good. So we have 89 wins, Texas 90, and LA 91. Detroit is 4th with 81. And, baseball being what it is, I'd bet that none of those top three teams will win the Series this year.... Mike Hunter may be 40, but what those few months of couch-time did for him, I won't complain about: .382/.444/.527, 2 K with 7 BB, 3 2b, 1 3b, 1 HR. Yeah, it's only 64 PA, but it sure beats the alternative.... As if we needed more offensive good news: superstud-to-be Jose Villalpando has found his power stroke in AA, with 8 HR and a .474 SLG, marked improvements over his early stats. He's still striking out nearly 30% of the time, so don't pencil him in at third for '56 just yet.... ELSEWHERE: Oh to be Portland's Oscar Escobedo. The 31-year-old made his third start of the season and tossed his second career no-hitter, fanning 10 in a 2-0 win over Austin. In 20 games for the Pioneers he's pitched 53 innings, struck out 60 (while walking just 9), and has a 0.73 WHIP. And one day later he's in AAA after ace Dan Klabunde returned from his rehab stint. Harsh, guys, harsh.... LA's magic number down to ten.... No one ever talks about Arizona, and for good reason: too many dull teams, only one playoff appearance in the last two decades, just forgettable stuff. But RF Kevin Reynolds is pushing for NL MVP honors, at .333/39/76, leading the league in SLG, runs, OPS, OPS+, wOBA, and WAR, and second in AVG. Let's see if anyone's paying attention and if he gets any votes. August 29-31 @ TEXAS Yes, this is what you've been waiting for! Texas (1st in offense, 2nd in pitching) vs. Hawaii (2nd in offense, 1st in pitching), winner goes into the final month of the season holding first in the division. The lineup has been stable and healthy, with all but leadoff guy Emilio Mares (leading the AL at .351) with at least 22 HR, but their pitching could begin to show some cracks, with injuries starting to add up. Three SP and two RP are out, but so far at least the replacements have held up. The only low mark they get anywhere is their 34th-ranked prospect system, but even that has time to build back up again with all the talent at the top. And somehow they're doing this while sitting 16th in player salaries--they're the opposite of the free-wheeling Dodgers. That'll change some with a large handful of arbitration cases, and decisions about extending their top two SP, Bobby Daniel (I would) and Emanuel Vasquez (ehhh). So these guys aren't going anywhere bad anytime soon, sadly. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (15-5, 3.41) / LH John Loeb (4-1, 4.53) / LH Matt Waugh (18-3, 2.26) TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (11-5, 3.92) / RH Sean Reed (8-7, 5.00) / RH Jesus Aguilar (7-3, 3.91) #130: LOSS 0-5 ... not a great start here, giving up 4 HR and getting just 4 hits ourselves...moving on #131: LOSS 3-6 ... outhit 12-9, and Medici's 3 hits and Hunter's HR weren't enough to overcome a bad start from Loeb...hitting a wall here, aren't we #132: WIN 5-1 ... ok, nice finish, mostly due to Waugh's 4-hit effort over 8 IP...HR from Royer and Covington, and a 2-RBI double from Pederson Tough series, and we couldn't buy hits over those first two games. Irvin had a rare bad start, too.... Royer was named Player of the Week, going 12-for-26 with 4 HR, 7 RBI, and 8 runs.... Simmons' replacements at short haven't done much of late: Moore is hitting .211, Gamboa .149. Three weeks until Tipping comes back, so just hold on.... ELSEWHERE: And now a ridiculous 12-game winning streak for LA has their magic number down to just 7. SEVEN.... Detroit now has a double-digit lead in the AL Central, and are on a 9-1 ride of late. But Boston has lost six straight and seen their lead shrink to 9 games. Still pretty good, but there's oil coming from under the hood, and the Yankees have won 8 out of 10.... Detroit's Pat Townsand rides a five homer series to take the overall lead in MLB with 46, and gives him 259 over his six-year career.... Pitcher wins still have some cachet, especially with Cy Young voters. So props to Matt Waugh (19 wins) and LA's Manny Lopez and Bryan Shaheen, each with 18. ...... TL;DR Version: Don't let that last series change the fact that we went 12-3 to close out the month, and 19-9 for all of August. (Or that Texas went 20-8, lol.) More plusses: lots of guys getting hot at the plate, just at the right time. This month, Bennetsen hit .360, Medici .369 with 9 HR, Royer .324 with 10 HR, Covington .316, Pederson .304, and newbie Hunter .371. On the flip side, Matson hit just .250 and Lynn only .243, with a .293 OBP from leadoff. Not great. And our pitching stayed hot, with most everyone trending positive, outside of a few bullpen blow ups. Here's my favorite stat of the month: we walked just 40 batters all of August. (For comparison, our batters walked 72 times.) The only sour notes in this symphony of love are injuries, with Simmons now lost for the season, and Lucas Tipping and Steve Shinnick still out for three and four more weeks, respectively. Going into the final month of the season, down just two games to the Rangers, the division is an almost-literal toss up: their remaining opponent's winning pct is .466, ours is .464. Is that two games worth of difference? Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

02-26-2022, 10:47 AM	#445
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	September 2055 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2055 Thirty games left in the regular season, with the final series to be played in October. An even split, 15-15, of home and road games, but we'll close out affairs with home series against Minnesota and California. (Texas will finish with KC, a solid team, and Oakland, a notably terrible one.) Although I'd love to win the division and get the benefits of a few extra days off (not to mention one less series to get through), my main hope for the month is health. I may forget I said this later, but I'll probably start rotating more backups into play as the month wears on, in the hopefully-not-vain belief that less time on the field means less chance of getting hurt! (Alternately, just let 'em play and take what happens, right?) September 1-3 vs MILWAUKEE At 58-74, they'll enter the second half of the decade without a playoff appearance, and no winning seasons since 2050. Once again their pitching has been atrocious, dead last in MLB and undoing a decent-enough 10th-ranked offense. Since there's nothing to look forward to this year, what about the future? Meh... The only piece in the lineup I'd keep is 1B Ricky Ayala, a 24-year-old in his first year as a starter, with a .298/42/96 season now under his belt. Maybe RF Oscar Espinosa, who can do a little bit of everything, but he's 29; and CF Bob Keefauver, 24, who's OK but really a guy you start until you find something better. Everyone else is either over 34 or thoroughly mediocre. On the farm? Only two guys I'd say are can't miss, CF Dave Blumenthal and C Garrett Dotson, but they're both '57 arrivals, at best. And the mound is a mess. The rotation on paper looks good at the 1-2-3 slots, all guys under-30, but all guys who've underperformed every year. Closer Chris McGuire and MR Felix Santiago are very good, and there are other youngsters in the pen who look to have the chops to start, but will they deliver? And there's not much bubbling up from below here either: #1 guy David Russello scouts well, looks like a potential #1 starter, but has no stamina. If I were looking for another job, this is one that could be fun: get rid of nearly everybody and start all over. Hit rock bottom but own it, then build a winner over 5-7 years. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (10-5, 4.31) / LH Mike Garfield (10-9, 3.88) / RH Josh Irvin (15-6, 3.56) MIL pitchers: RH Josh Kennedy (3-3, 5.25) / RH Merlin Lemay (10-9, 4.92) / RH Chad O'Grady (5-5, 7.57) #133: WIN 6-5 ... Collins' 3-run HR is our biggest shot, but we only win thanks to Thompson's RBI double in the 10th...Croft gives up 4 unearned runs after two errors early #134: WIN 9-7 ... Garfield gives up 4 runs, all solo HR...Kearns also gives up a HR in relief...Matson goes 3-for-4, HR and 4 RBI #135: WIN 8-1 ... Medici hits a SLAM and Royer and Lynn add solo shots...2 hits each for Royer, Bennetsen, and Hunter...CG from Irvin, but only one K Nice sweep, but Texas matches so we're still two games behind.... roster expansion, and we only call up two players: OF Nick Gase and P Mike Bader. Both were demotions from Hawaii earlier this summer. Gase will be the #5 OF, PH, and some 1B time, while Bader will move into long relief. I'm not sure any AAA prospects are ready yet, as those who were are already in Hawaii due to injuries.... ELSEWHERE: As if LA needed any more boosting, they're now rolling on a 15-game winning streak, to 97 total wins and a 26-game lead in their division.... The closest divisional races are in the NL East (Philly 3 up on Washington, 4 over Richmond) and the NL Central (Cincy 4 over St Louis, 5 over New Orleans). Oh, and the AL West.... Detroit's Pat Townsand is putting in his case for AL MVP, leading the league in HR, RBI, and OPS, 3rd in WAR, and 7th in AVG.... Richmond hopes to up their playoff chances by signing RP Kymani Rhymes, who spent 8 years as Brooklyn's closer before missing half of last season with an elbow injury and not getting re-signed in the off-season. The Eagles inked Rhymes for $10.8 for the rest of this season.... Oakland, Toronto, San Francisco, and Brooklyn are all officially eliminated over this three-game stretch.... Emilio Mares (TEX) matches his steals number from last year, 71. Gunning for 80 now... September 5-7 @ TORONTO Already eliminated and on a 15-year run with no post-seasons. Offense ranks 18th and last, pitching 17th. (Fwiw, fielding also ranks 17th.) Not sure what the future holds here, either, even with the 4th-ranked prospect system. There are some decent pitchers, a few who are ready for MLB, but none are needle-movers. And there's almost nothing to pick through on the hitting side, unfortunately. Positives are that they'll have a ton of money to spend this fall, and have no onerous long-term contracts hanging over the team. At least owner Jim White wants to win and is willing to spend...but will they is the big question. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (4-2, 4.88) / LH Matt Waugh (19-3, 2.22) / LH Daniel Croft (10-5, 4.18) TOR pitchers: RH Jaden Buchanan (7-10, 5.04) / RH Andy Jones (8-12, 4.58) / RH Mike Huddleston (1-6, 9.43) #136: LOSS 4-5 ... this one was in the bag until Kearns gave up 3 in the 9th to blow it...3 hit night for Bennetsen, 2 H and 2 RBI for Lynn #137: LOSS 3-6 ... outhit and outpitched completely...rare bad game by Waugh...HR for Bennetsen, 2 hit for Hunter #138: LOSS 4-5 ... awful Unexpected and extremely unwelcome, as we're now six behind Texas thanks to them sweeping Boston.... Joe Lynn reaches 50 steals on the seaon, and 245 for his career. He's third all-time for the franchise, behind Adam Groff (265) and J.J. Simmons (269).... Nothing else to add here. At least no one got hurt.... ELSEWHERE: LA clinches the NL West, and their 98 wins ties them for first overall in MLB with Texas.... Boston is on a 1-9 skid of late, and Baltimore has closed a once-big lead to just six games.... In the NL Central, Cincy has been just 5-5 but slides by St Louis and New Orleans have put them 7 and 6 games in arrears, respectively.... Mauro Barbiusa may be a subpar human, but he did his best to pull along an otherwise-moribund Yankees club (now 69-69) into the playoff race after a deadline deal with Brooklyn: .336/16/34 in 35 games and a 20-game active hitting streak. Also of note, his play at second base, sporting a -22 ZR and an efficiency rating of .837. What's the opposite of a Gold Glove? A Tin Cup, maybe? A Kingman? September 8-10 @ HOUSTON Despite a 57-81 overall record, they were actually over .500 in August. The offense ranks 16th in runs, pitching 9th. CF Erik Kinnison has been fine (.298/3/88), but a third of the lineup is hitting below .215. I've said it before, but they need bats, bats, bats. Pitching has been good enough to compete, but they haven't been able to put runners on base, and haven't hit for power to get any cheap runs and make games closer. The staff should be better next year, with some nice-looking kids coming along, but there's little at the plate to look forward to. Interesting note: AAA Oklahoma City, at 70-55, is the only farm team with a winning record. How much does that matter? Probably not a ton, but it does seem to point to a subpar system, overall. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-9, 3.92) / RH Josh Irvin (16-6, 3.44) / LH John Loeb (4-2, 4.55) HOU pitchers: RH Robbie Camp (4-13, 5.22) / RH Jason Knight (12-10, 4.18) / RH Mat Caldwell (8-16, 4.40) #139: LOSS 2-3 ... oh boy, four in a row now...Lynn's 2-run shot is our only highlight...Garfield goes all 8 IP, allows just 7 hits, same as what we got #140: WIN 3-1 ... a trio of solo HR--Bennetsen, Matson, Gamboa--are all we need, and get, tonight...8 IP, 4 H allowed for Irvin #141: LOSS 0-8 ... ugly ugly ugly...only four hits here, and Mike Hunter is theo only guy to reach second base, with a double Still six behind the Rangers, who have clinched a playoff spot. We're likely not far from that at least, but I'd like to make a run at the division, still. Or at least play well leading into the post-season. Not too much to ask, is it?... Loeb is out of the rotation now, and Mike Bader will get another shot to try to impress me, heading into a contract decision this off-season.... Still getting just nothing out of our shortstop rotation: Moore .181, Gamboa .164.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's Pat Townsand lost his 23-game hit streak, but still leads MLB with 49 HR and 150 RBI.... 75 steals for Emilio Mares (TEX), on pace for 86 on the year.... In the all-important WAR race, Kevin Reynolds (ARI) leads hitters with 8.5, our own Matt Waugh tops pitchers with 9.1.... Oakland is the last team without 50 wins on the season, at 48-93. September 11-13 vs SEATTLE Let's see if we can get any mojo back against the 65-76 Mariners. We've stopped hitting against some bad-to-mediocre teams here, can we get it back against the 14th-ranked pitching staff? Like a lot of teams we've seen recently, they could really be helped this off-season by losing some overpriced and old contracts, about $25M worth. But I don't like that they may let 25-year-old CF Luis Hernandez--a solid contact hitter, great baserunner, and above-average fielder--walk instead of paying him a measly $6-7M. But I do like that their rotation could be really solid if their top guys--pretty much ready to go--stay healthy and don't backslide this off-season. Until then, however, stop trying and let us get back on our feet. Don't you hate the Rangers, too? HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.42) / LH Daniel Croft (10-6, 4.31) / LH Mike Garfield (10-10, 3.89) SEA pitchers: RH Danny Diaz (13-11, 5.01) / RH Ron Rivera (3-5, 5.48) / RH Vince Push (5-9, 4.86) #142: WIN 5-4 ... Bennetsen's RBI double in the 9th ties it, and Medici wins it in the 10th with a solo HR...Waugh lasts just 6 IP...Ulkini starts at short, goes 2-for-4 #143: WIN 7-4 ... Ulkini homers and has 3 hits total, as does Matson...Croft leaves in the 3rd, injury pending...six combined errors, including three by their infield #144: LOSS 3-6 ... Royer homers twice but we're pretty brutal otherwise...Garfield is bad again, after turning a corner last month Better, but still some really sloppy pitching and our hitting has struggled a bit. (Now 3rd in runs scored.).... Croft's pending diagnosis doesn't help my mood either. Irvin has been solid of late, and despite two bad starts I think we can still count on Waugh. Everyone else has struggled and their spots in the post-season rotation are up for grabs.... Ulkini made an error but had five hits in his two starts at short. He's really not good with the glove, but with Tipping back in a week, all he has to do is hit like that while he's needed the most.... AAA Santa Barbara started 5-5 in April, but is 80-40 since.... ELSEWHERE: Big series for ATL's Jake Morris sees him reach 50 HR for the third consecutive season. Solid player: defending NL MVP, two-time Gold Glove winner, no real weaknesses. Stuck on a so-so Braves team.... LA (103 wins) and Texas (102) continue to battle for Top Dog honors. Last year's World Series opponents look good to meet again this year.... 20 wins for LA's Manny Lopez, who's also recorded 232 K in 200 IP. September 15-17 vs KANSAS CITY The kids have jelled enough to get the Royals to a 78-66 record, more wins than they've had since '48, and on pace to close in on their 92-win season from '46, the last time they made the playoffs. The not-so-good news is that they're two games behind the White Sox for the second wildcard slot. They don't dominate anywhere: 6th in runs, 9th in runs against. Decent offensive production across the board, led by 3B Tom Esposito (.305/35/92), 1B Micah Bailey (.274/33/99), and DH Philip Tyler (.319/24/75). They'll be helped too once three guys--2B Marcus Tamrat, LF Tim Chapman, and RF Brian Spindler, all having solid seasons--come back off the DL soon. As for pitching, the team stats look better than the individuals, with only #1 SP Steve Scibek having an above-average season. Here too, once SP Bill Perez returns in two weeks, they'll be at full health. Three-time manager of the year Dario Agrazal has hit all the right notes so far, although there are a few lazy souls who haven't bought in. Owner J.J. Glass, Jr, is happy, what with attendance and profits rising, and the prospect system is full of nice-looking pitchers in particular, all of whom are 2-4 years away. Interesting team, one to watch in the next few seasons. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (17-6, 3.35) / RH Mike Bader (8-10, 4.90) / LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.48) KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (11-9, 5.51) / RH Steve Scibek (14-8, 4.38) / RH Tony Waters (6-8, 5.16) #145: WIN 7-2 ... 2 HR from Bennetsen, and Covington and Ulkini add shots too...Irvin goes the distance, yields 8 hits and a walk...playoffs clinched! #146: LOSS 1-6 ... two early HR put us in a 5-0 hole and chase Bader...we manage just six hits, two each for Medici and Ulkini #147: LOSS 3-6 ... a 3-0 lead into the top of the 8th vanishes, and we lose it in the tenth...Medici homers, but we get just six hits again Well that sucked. KC is going pretty good now, but quiet bats equals quiet losses for us. Texas now has a 7-game lead, so the race for the division is all but over. With the Royals only two in back of the Chisox for the other wildcard, we might just see these guys again.... But we did clinch the playoffs at least.... Tipping comes back in two days, and he'll have to work off that rust over the next two weeks before the post-season. Bennetsen sat out the last two games, and will miss another one before he's 100% again. We have eight other guys who won't be back until next season, not including SP Steve Shinnick who should return right at the end of the month. But Daniel Croft is done: two months with rotator cuff inflammation.... ELSEWHERE: In three seasons of platoon catching with the Angels, Chris Yabba Dabbah hit .282, .222, and .206. This year as Atlanta's starter? He's at .335 and leading the NL.... LA has won 106 games and has a whopping THIRTY game lead over Portland. As much as I want us to win it all again, the two best teams in MLB by a safe margin are LA and TEX. Rematch of last year's Series, anyone?... NYM Conor MacLeod is on pace to take his seventh consecutive strikeout title, and is 75th all-time with 2519 whiffs. With another healthy season in '56 he'll easily move into the top fifty. What I can't decide, tho, is whether he looks more like David Cone or Tom Glavine? (See below.) ...... TL;DR Version: Just 7-8 to start the month, and we've pretty much ceded the division to Texas, sadly. Right now I'm trying to find a balance between giving some younger players more at bats to keep certain guys healthy, and to keep playing well enough to enter the playoffs on a roll. Obviously I haven't hit the right note yet. And injuries continue to bedevil us: Croft's damage means we'll have to hit the post-season relying on one of Travis Harris and Mike Bader, neither of whom has been able to sustain any success this year. Waugh and Irvin are set at the top of the rotation, and while Garfield (4.57 ERA) hasn't been as good as promised, his underlying numbers look way better than that subpar ERA. And while our batters have been pretty solid, with Royer and Covington in particular recovering from poor early months, I'm concerned about leadoff guy Joe Lynn, hitting about 40 points below his career average. With JJ Simmons out, I don't really have another viable leadoff option, so he's got to pull himself together, man! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

02-28-2022, 01:29 AM	#446
darkcloud4579 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 8,690	Can't believe you're still doing this one! Kudos on the longevity! __________________ ------ My Mods OOTP Advanced Stats & DFS Suite Managerial Strategy Pack Competitive Balance Tax Calculator Major League Women's Baseball (OOTP24) quickstart Indian Premier League \| 300+ years of baseball quickstart \| Expatriate League quickstart \| Off-Field Injuries Update \| Women's Name File for OOTP \| ---- Dynasty classics: Centurion comes to OOTP5 \| DC Moneyball Dynasty (2004)

03-06-2022, 01:07 PM	#448
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	End of Regular Season 2055 September 18-20 @ BOSTON Owners of a six-game winning streak and a ten-game lead over Baltimore and a Magic # of six. And this even with their SS, CF, #1 SP, CL, and a solid RP on the DL. Fifth in offense, and doing well across the board except for sitting next-to-last in home runs. The top three in the lineup are all over .300, and Rich Dragos in cleanup has 32 HR. CF Gary Carson is batting 9th but hitting .341 in injury relief for Jesus Monterroso, who may have trouble getting his spot back. Pitching ranks fourth, but has slipped a bit since losing Yuya Watabe in July. Dave Yocum has picked up the slack, and has proved to be that rare SP free agent signing completely earning his big paycheck. But the bullpen has been leaky, with closer Luis Garcia either striking guys out or watching his pitches sail into the bleachers. Overall though, a solid team but with some holes. I don't see them getting past either Detroit or Texas in the playoffs, but hey you still have to play the games... HAW pitchers: RH Travis Harris (7-3, 5.07) / LH Mike Garfield (10-11, 4.04) / RH Josh Irvin (18-6, 3.30) BOS pitchers: RH Jose Ambriz (9-11, 6.12) / LH Chris Rivera (11-9, 4.07) / RH Matthew Postlewait (7-5, 5.04) #148: LOSS 4-7 ... ugh...only outhit 9-8, but Harris adds four walks in his 1.1 IP...two hits each for Lynn and Royer, and that's all to say about this game #149: LOSS 1-11 ... four hits, no life at all...three pitchers, all get rocked #150: WIN 6-2 ... FINALLY A WIN...Medici pops two HR and Irvin goes 7 solid IP...3 hits for Matson, 2 each for Lynn and Tipping Another terrible series. Repeatedly parsing out "we played awful but at least no one got hurt" is not a winning formula.... Harris is pitching his way to watching the playoffs rather than sliding into the bullpen. Bad ending to a season that started with a lot of promise.... Tipping gets some hits on his return, but 2B/SS Mike Hunter has gone cold, so let's see if future wonder boy Jake Moore has learned to hit in his most recent call-up.... Eureka (A) sees their season end with a first round playoff loss to Lake Elsinore. The Magpies went 76-64, finishing second in the North Division to Stockton.... ELSEWHERE: Too little too late? Portland has won seven straight, but still find themselves four games out of the second NL wildcard spot. That NL race promises to be fun: RIC (85 wins), WSH (83), NOZ (82), STL (81), and POR (79). The AL race is much smaller, with only CHI (84 wins) and KC (83) really in the hunt for that #2 ticket.... No record-altering individual performances this season, in either hitting or pitching. DET's Pat Townsand has 158 RBI and TEX Emilio Mares 79 SB. Both highs for recent seasons, but not anywhere near the record books. No batter looks to hit the 10-WAR mark, although Matt Waugh might on the mound for HAW. No pitchers with 300 K, only two batters with 50 HR (but six or eight more could crack that mark), and just one batter over .337. Lots of good seasons, lots of good players to talk about, but no single-player excellence. I kind of miss that. September 21-23 @ OAKLAND Hopefully we can right some wrongs against the terrible (53 wins) A's. We better, because we'll see Texas next. Oakland is 17th in offense and 15th in pitching, truly embracing the rebuilding suckage after trying to avoid it for the past few seasons. And there are some solid blocks to build with. Good vets like LF Felix Reyes, 3B Ryan Walton, RF Randy Costello, and SS Noah Johnson will be back. They stole 1B/DH Alex Esquillin from Cincy, and he's hit .337 with 12 HR in 47 games; LF Andy Heiser has hit for average and power in his September call-up, although he's a stone pillar in the outfield. With just a touch of off-season growth this fall, OF Matt Hall and IFs Ismael Moreira and Steve Winkler (all in AA) could all become starters next year. Pitching is a mystery however. I've said before that SP Tom Baker, Jaden Bartholomew, and Glen Marler--on paper--look like the equal of any 1-2-3 rotation combo around. But in reality? They've each been solidly terrible in their one to two seasons in the bigs. Pat Oden is in the pen, and has the highest ceilings on the team, but he's 25 and had an awfully rough go of it this season. There's a solid crop of boom-or-bust pitching prospects coming up, but most are in A or rookie ball, and nowhere near ready for '56. So maybe next year is getting the lineup in order and hoping some of the pitchers figure it out? Then get an MLB-quality catcher and a solid MI, let the rookies play, and start bringing the fans back. It can be done. HAW pitchers: RH Mike Bader (8-11, 5.07) / LH Matt Waugh (19-4, 2.47) / LH John Loeb (5-3, 4.62) OAK pitchers: LH Sean Guerrero (8-13, 5.32) / RH Andy Paterson (3-5, 5.19) / RH Glen Marler (8-12, 5.78) #151: WIN 7-2 ... 4 H, 2 HR, 5 RBI for Josh Hed in a rare start...HR for Cov too...Bader walks five but is otherwise fine in 7.1 IP, and Harris gets some quality RP time #152: WIN 10-2 ... 20th win for Waugh...14 H + 6 BB = 9 R...3 hits for Tipping, 2 each for five others...100th win on the season #153: WIN 6-4 ... Matson tops off a comeback season with his 20th HR, a GRAND SLAM...2 H each for Moore and Lynn...Loeb is okay, but allows just 4 hits Just what we needed, and with Texas dropping two we're now only seven games out of first. CAN WE DO IT? Hah, c'mon now.... Waugh just keeps going, hitting 20 wins for each of his three seasons with us, and reaching 10 WAR for the first time in his career. He's over 2000 career K and and 60 WAR in just eight seasons, and could win his fifth Cy Young trophy in a couple of months.... Jake Moore is still not hitting much, at just .198, but he does have a better-looking .310 OBP, thanks to 21 BB in 157 PA. Worrying is his -4.7 ZR in 37 starts at short. If he could hit with any power at all he might make an ideal 3B instead.... ELSEWHERE: Boston clinches the AL East, while Philly clinches a playoff spot in the NL. Philly, Detroit, and Texas all have Magic # of 3.... Four straight wins for NO has them a game up on Washington, and just two in back of Richmond in the wild card race. STL and POR are still in it. In the AL, Chicago is holding on to a two-game lead over KC.... Milwaukee's Ricky Ayala would likely be the AL rookie of the year, going .296/51/116, except that he had two PA over the limit last year.... Brooklyn has axed manager Alex Cora, Jr, and GM Daniel Lowe in the midst of a 57-96 season. No word yet on a replacement for either. September 25-27 @ TEXAS Off to see the arch-rivals! A sweep here would bring us to four games out, but who expects that? First in offense and pitching and even fielding, because why not have it all? The only things they don't lead in are OBP and steals, where they sit in an awful third place. Tsk tsk. How devastating is their lineup? Everyone has at least 26 HR, except for leadoff Emilio Mares, with 8. But he's hitting .348 with 79 steals, so we'll cut him some slack. Everyone has over 80 RBI except Mares and Ronnie Halvorson (with merely 75). Only two batters are over .300, but only two are below .272. They've scored 941 runs; Detroit is second with 907, and we're way back in third with 883. They invested in pitching this off-season and at the deadline, and that's led to the AL's best ERA for both the rotation and the bullpen. And they've been without #1 SP Bobby Daniel since mid-July. Truly depressing stuff here. All of this has been done with a budget ranked #21, a payroll sitting at #15. They've got some pitchers to sign or let walk this fall, but I don't think they'll miss a beat in '56. The only area looking a little soft is the farm system: ranking 34th (out of 36) and with no players in the top 150 prospects. Something tells me they're not concerned with that right now. Last year's 101-win club has been surpassed by this year's 108 wins (and counting). I see no reason why they won't repeat as AL champs, but we'll give it a go! HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-12, 4.33) / RH Josh Irvin (19-6, 3.27) / RH Mike Bader (9-11, 4.95) TEX pitchers: RH Emanuel Vasquez (11-8, 4.40) / RH Mike Nelson (13-3, 2.69) / RH Paul Labbe (15-6, 3.81) #154: LOSS 2-4 ... Medici hits a 2-run shot in the 1st, but we go quiet after that...Garfield goes the distance, giving the pen some rest...3 hits for Lynn #155: LOSS 3-11 ... Medici homers again, but we sure don't look like a 101-win team...bad outings from three pitchers, with Harris getting hurt in relief #156: WIN 7-5 ... we reclaim some respect here, putting 20 runners on base...Bader is solid but Kearns gets roughed up in the 9th Although it doesn't help us any in the now-lost divisional race, at least we avoided the sweep in that last game.... Add another pitcher to the fire, as Travis Harris goes on the DL for a month with a broken shoulder. He may have been left off the playoff roster anyway, but now it's moot.... Irvin looks to have missed his chance at 20 wins this season. I might hold him off from making another start, as we'll be in the wildcard series and we'll need all hands on deck early.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Lloyd tosses the season's sixth no-hitter, a 2-0 win over Portland.... In playoff race news, Texas clinches the AL West, Detroit the Central, and Boston the East. Chicago leads KC by two games in the #2 wildcard race.... In the NL, Philly and Cincy have Magic #s of ONE, and the Phils have also clinched a playoff spot. Richmond is a near-lock on the #1 wildcard spot, while Washington, New Orleans, and St Louis are all tied with 85 wins. LA you know about. They're vying with Texas for the best overall record (111 wins vs 110 for the Rangers).... Oakland (102) and Toronto (100) top the century mark in losses.... With 82 steals, Emilio Mares becomes the first player to top 80 since 1988, and only the second player to top 70 in this century. September 28-30 vs MINNESOTA They went from being mediocre through June (37-42) to just crashing out since (24-53). Offense ranks 11th, pitching 15th. They are 7th in HR, so there's a core of power here, but the offense has struggled everywhere else. LF Jordan Foots, CF Ryan Lawler, and 1B Santos Chavez are a dynamic 1-2-3 punch. Veteran free agents Andy Elliott and Tim Marinaccio brought some power but little else this year, and the rest of the lineup is truly subpar. RF Jesus Villegas missed time with injury; his return next year will help. On the mound, Gary Kocher and Ken Aikens are the start of a decent rotation, and closer Brett Roseman (despite awful numbers this year) has proved his worth in the past. The bullpen has some big arms behind Roseman, but the rotation needs help. Little help is forthcoming from the farm here. And their two best prospects in the field, 2B Juan Castro and OF Steve Nuzzo, are behind current regulars who are, frankly, much better than both of them at their best. With a declining budget and a money-managing owner, I'm not sure they'll be in the hunt for any big free agents this fall. They should really grab a pitcher or two, a catcher, and a shortstop. That won't put them up top with the Tigers and Sox, but they'll get closer and be in position to take advantage of any dips from those two. Sorry to say, Twins fans, that I don't see them adding to their two winning seasons in the past decade next year. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (20-4, 2.45) / LH John Loeb (6-3, 4.64) / LH Mike Garfield (10-13, 4.33) MIN pitchers: RH Dan Hannan (10-12, 4.28) / RH Ken Aikens (8-14, 6.23) / RH Brandon Behrens (0-0, 3.94) #157: WIN 7-2 ... Tipping and Bennetsen homer, and Waugh goes 7.1 IP to win his 21st...Royer bruises his elbow and will sit for a few days #158: LOSS 4-7 ... two hits for Lynn and, ummm, that's about it...Loeb yields 12 hits, and another 3B goes down with a dtd injury (Ulkini) #159: WIN 2-1 ... Medici homers, and Hunter doubles home the winning run, all in the 7th...Garfield solid through 8, nice...Hunter hurt, making us 3-for-3 in losing 3B here What the heck is going on at third base? Royer dtd for 5 days, then Ulkini for 4, now Hunter for 3. Should I leave the space blank next game?... AAA Santa Barbara wins their PCL division going away and will face El Paso in the first round.... Shinnick is back from the DL and will get a start in place of Waugh to end the regular season.... ELSEWHERE: KC drops three straight one-run games to lose out to the Chisox in the AL wildcard race. Richmond clinches the #1 NL wildcard spot, with three teams battling behind them: Washington (87 wins), New Orleans (86), and St Louis (86).... ATL's Jake Morris won't defend his NL MVP title, but he leads baseball with 55 HR. After a .318 season in '54, he's reverted to his career average at just below .260.... Dodgers Stadium may be a pitcher's park, as their staff leads every major pitching category in MLB, but don't overlook the NL's second best offense either. Give a team $300M to spend, and they just might do something good with it. October 1-3 vs CALIFORNIA We close 2055 against the improving Angels, winners of 9 out of 10, although a 71-88 record is still not exactly a success story. Thirteenth in both offense and pitching, so that's a nice symmetry at least. This is another team in search of some identity. They'll keep stars William Swanson and Mauricio Marquez for another year, see young CF Chris Burns continue to grow, but what else? OF/DH Jesse Brickell has power but no contact, while OF Dan Dellinger and 2B Mike Eskridge have contact but no power. No one else looks like much. The third-ranked farm system could help soon: 1B/DH Carlos Castro is ready, as is 2B David Frost. OF Ricardo Vera, 3B Ivan Zamora, and C Fernando Santana look intriguing and could make the team out of camp; best of all is RF Joe Lundin, a terrible OF but a fabulous-looking hitter. He's two years away, however. For the staff, I like SP Nate Elder, Shaun Ostrander, and Aaron Moore. But Seth O'Neill took a big step backwards this year. Closer Michael Buckland is good, and there are some interesting swingmen in the pen worth a look for the rotation. Prospect SP Brian Jackson, Manny Brito, and David Gomez should all make pushes in camp next spring, but a big loss is #4 MLB prospect Zack Thornhill getting hurt in July and likely missing all of '56 to boot. I would say they should build from the mound out and move the fences back a bit to make up for a mediocre offense. Get a couple of power guys (already done) and go speedy, like their neighbors in Chavez. Easy peasy. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (19-7, 3.42) / RH Mike Bader (10-11, 4.94) / RH Steve Shinnick (3-1, 2.87) CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (15-7, 4.02) / LH Shaun Ostrander (7-4, 4.86) / RH George Millard (11-13, 4.90) #160: WIN 4-3 ... comeback win with 2 runs in the 7th...Irvin pitches well but can't claim his 20th win...Medici homers again, now has 48 #161: WIN 9-6 ... Cov, Med (again!), and Espino homer, with the latter (and Matson) getting three hits...pen loads the bases and yields a run in an iffy 9th #162: WIN 10-2 ... Pederson and Bennetsen both knock 2 HR, and we rack up 15 hits...Lynn gets his 60th steal...Shinnick goes the distance, fanning 10 and allowing 4 hits A nice, feel-good sweep to end the season. Pretty. But it feels odd to finish with 107 wins and be an afterthought in the division.... Medici just missed out on 50 HR, but don't feel bad for his .310/49/145 season.... Good to see Pederson wake up from his recent coma too.... Shinnick's outing there may have put him into the playoff rotation. That one game is miles better than anything Bader's offered up of late.... Lynn hit 60 steals for the second straight season, but his average was down nearly 40 points and his defense was way off (from 12 and 10 ZR to -0.5). Sign of things to come for the 26-year-old? Maybe just a one-year blip.... ELSEWHERE: How about not one, but two more no-hitters? First it's Portland's Chris Dennison in a 5-0 win over the Giants, then it's Tampa's Jon Jemison, beating the Yankees by the same score. Fun fact: Portland has been involved in the last three NL no-nos, tossing two of their own.... Richmond claims the #1 NL wildcard finally, but New Orleans wins their last four games to overtake Washington and St Louis for the #2 spot. The Nationals looked so strong all season, but faded badly down the stretch, going 9-21 from September 1, missing out by two games.... LA beats Texas to the mountain top, finishing with 117 wins, versus the Rangers 115. ...... TL;DR Version: Bounced back a little with a 10-5 finishing kick, to go 17-13 since September 1. We ended up 8 games behind Texas for the division, but well clear of the White Sox in the wildcard race, so they'll be in town in a couple days. Season-ending stats: 3rd in offense, 2nd in pitching. At the plate, Medici was our standout, leading the league in XBH and TB, and 2nd in RBI, 4th in HR. He finished at .310/.379/.615, all down from his previous two seasons, but still very solid. Joe Lynn finished 3rd with 60 steals. On the mound, it was all Matt Waugh, leading the league in ERA, W, WAR, WHIP, FIP, BB/9, etc. And let's not overlook Josh Irvin's nice season: not only 2nd to Waugh with 19 wins, but 3rd in ERA and WHIP, 6th in WAR, 2nd in Quality Starts. Good to see someone have a solid #2 SP season behind Waugh, at last, especially with all our injuries. Anyway, we go into the post-season on a high note, and with no new injuries. J.J. Simmons is the only lineup regular who won't play, and Shinnick's return gives us another option for the playoff roster. Chicago will be tough, however--a balanced team that won 92 games and has playoff experience. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

03-26-2022, 05:29 PM	#449
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2055 playoffs PLAYOFFS 2055 Wildcard season kicks off, with the Chicago White Sox facing YOUR Hawaii Islanders, and the New Orleans Zephyrs vs the Richmond Eagles. I rate both best-of-three series as toss-ups: the NL series sees a solid offensive team in Richmond facing a tough pitching squad in New Orleans. Something's gotta give. In the AL, we may have won 15 more games than the Sox, but they are a balanced team (4th in offense, 5th in pitching), with a power-stoked lineup that has no weak spots. Plus, they can run and have a top ten defensive squad. The "worst" team stat they hold is a rotation that was 9th in AL ERA, but with the cut-down playoff rotations that shouldn't matter much now. FUN FACT: this is the first time both Sox teams (the Soxes?) have been in the playoffs together since 2025, when the Brewers took them both out (Chicago in the wildcard game, Boston swept in the league championship). No major roster changes for us heading into the post-season. We picked RP Yoshi Watanabe over swingman John Loeb for the bullpen, as Yoshi has more power and is better suited to a MR role. As a late-season call-up, Nick Gase didn't make the squad so was sent back to AAA for their playoff decider. (ED: Santa Barbara lost, ending their season.) Mike Hunter gets the nod to start at short, since neither Jake Moore nor Bill Gamboa seized the baton at the plate. Hunter is just fair in the field these days, but hit .302 with a .364 OBP after his signing, and we'll need all the offense we can muster. WILDCARD SERIES GAME ONE: Tuesday, October 6, Chicago (RH Luke Weaver, 17-7 5.08) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4 2.45). We strike first, early, when Pederson doubles home Matson in the bottom of the first. A Sox leadoff double in the second goes to waste, even after a two-out single, when Waugh picks off Zeke de la Rosa at first to end the threat. Second inning, and we add to the fun. With two outs and a runner on third, back-to-back doubles and a single bring home three runs, and after two we're up 4-0. The Sox get one back in the third, but we pad our lead in the fourth with a Covington solo HR and a small-ball run on a walk, sacrifice, single, and ground out. AFter four, it's 6-1. After adding another run in the fifth, the Sox make things tight in the seventh, scoring twice on two walks, two singles, and some timely sac flies. But we respond nicely in the bottom half with a pair of solo HR from Bennetsen and Medici, and we take an 8-4 lead into the penultimate frame. Just for kicks we score twice more in the eighth, thanks largely to two wild pitches which directly bring runners home. Waugh was a bit loose, and despite the big win we only outhit the Sox 12-11, and Waugh and Sam Bohlen add five walks to the proceedings. Not a stout pitching effort, but good enough. Final score: Hawaii 10, Chicago 4. Hawaii leads series 1-0 GAME TWO: Wednesday, October 7, Hawaii (RH Josh Irvin, 19-7 3.44) @ Chicago (RH Jasper Cummings, 13-12 4.05). Another solid start, as Bennetsen triples and comes home on Matson's RBI single. More comes in the second, when Covington's two-out double scores Pederson, and then Cov scores on Hunter's follow-up double. Trouble arrives in the bottom second, however, when with two runners on and one Sox already having scored, Ethan Ransburg knocks a three-run drive into the bleachers. After two, and Chicago has it's first series lead, 4-3. Both teams put runners on in each of the next two innings, but nobody scores. We strike quickly in the fifth, though, on a Matson double and Medici home run to deep right-center. Chicago gets that right back with a Ben Usilton solo shot in the bottom of the inning, and after five we're knotted up at 5-5. But we just can't stop. Covington hits his second solo HR of the series in the sixth, and Tipping follows suit in the seventh. We set the Sox down in order in the seventh and eighth--only the second and third such innings our staff tossed in the series--and take a 7-5 lead into the final frame. We load the bases on a single and a pair of walks, but Covington can't repeat his heroics and strikes out to end the threat. Closer Nate Kearns comes in, and with two outs proceeds to walk the bases full. Somehow we stays in the game, and gets Usilton to hit a lazy fly out to center, ending the game and the series! Final score: Hawaii 7, Chicago 5. Hawaii WINS series 2-0 Sweep! A little surprising, but in a best-of-three series, very welcome. Our offense was superb, but our two best pitchers got knocked around quite a bit, and we walked 11 batters in the two games. Mike Covington and his .571 average takes home the series MVP. No injuries to report, and probably just a single day off to prepare for the next series. And surprise, surprise! we're playing the Rangers. The other series features Boston vs Detroit. In the NL, New Orleans wins a pair of one-run affairs to sweep out Richmond and advance to play the Dodgers. Cincinnati travels to Philadelphia to open the other Divisional Series. ...... AL DIVISIONAL SERIES ... with some NL thrown in too. We're off to Texas! You know all about them already...best offense, best pitching, tops in home runs, and nearly everything else. So good, in fact, that sitting 3rd in OBP and steals is about the worst you can say about their team-wide efforts. Healthy too, missing only a couple of pitchers. (One is ace Bobby Daniel, but he's been out since July and they only wound up with 115 wins...) Suffice it to say that Vegas doesn't really like our chances. GAME ONE: Saturday, October 9, (LH Mike Garfield, 11-13 4.19) @ Texas (RH Mike Nelson, 14-3 2.76). Was a pretty nice game through 6 1/2 innings, tied at 1-1 on a sac fly for us and a solo home run for them. Then all hell broke loose, and when the dust settled the Rangers had added 8 runs in what seemed like a matter of minutes. The big blast was a Ryan Boers grand slam off reliever Yoshi Watanabe, but plenty of damage had already happened by that point. But at least we outhit them 11-8, so that's something to build off, right? Final score: Texas 9, Hawaii 1 Texas leads series 1-0 GAME TWO: Sunday, October 10, Hawaii (RH Steve Shinnick, 4-1 2.68) @ Texas (RH Kevin Cahill, 9-2 3.32). Two scoreless innings go by before we strike first, with Covington poking a solo home run in third to get things going. Provoked, the Rangers load the bases in the bottom half, but somehow escape undamaged. We add to our lead in the fourth on Royer's three-run blast, but the bad guys strike right back with four runs on three hits and a two-run throwing error by Bennetsen in left. The score remains tied until the sixth, when back-to-back solo HR and another error hand the Rangers three more runs, and we're in a hole for the first time tonight, 7-4. Bennetsen earns some redemption with a two-run shot in the seventh, pulling us to a run back, but the Rangers add another in the eighth, and all we can do over the final few innings is take a couple of walks, but no hits. Better hitting, but a loss nonetheless. Final score: Texas 8, Hawaii 6. Texas leads series 2-0 Elsewhere... Just a brief interlude to say that we're the only team not making things interesting right now, as the other three series are level at a game apiece. Joy. GAME THREE: Tuesday, October 12, Texas (RH Emanuel Vasquez, 13-8 4.24) @ Hawaii (LH Matt Waugh, 21-4, 2.45). Win or die here ... And having said that, Waugh struggles right out of the gate, allowing a run on three hits in the first. It could have been worse, as Pederson threw out Boers at home to end the inning. In our half, we go down on ten pitches. Second inning, more of the same, another Texas run on two hits and a ground out. And we make it through only seven pitches. Third inning, lather rinse repeat: another run for the Rangers, this time a Phil Thomas solo home run. But then we show up! Royer's solo home run, followed by a pair of singles and a Bennetsen sac fly, and we're on the board, but still down 3-2 after three. Texas, though, keeps on rolling, scoring another run after a triple and their own sac fly. We put two more on in the bottom half, but can't score, and the deficit is two, 4-2, after four. Waugh is mercifully pulled, and finally we pitch a 1-2-3 inning, thanks to Brad Cahill. He keeps the lid on things until we get on track in the sixth, thanks to another blast from Covington, this time a three-run shot to right. Finally, a lead! 5-4 after six! Seventh inning, and both teams threaten but nobody scores. But in the eighth they level it up thanks to a Matt Provance (who?) solo home run. We can't manage any attack at all in our half, or in the ninth, and we're headed to extras tied at 5. And then of course, it happens: no-name Provance pops another solo shot, stunning the crowd. Texas adds two singles afterwards, but can't add any runs. We're into the bottom of the tenth, facing ace closer Han-lee Su: Bennetsen strikes out. Matson strikes out. But then! Medici doubles into right-center, keeping hopes alive. But then again! Pederson dribbles a 1-1 pitch right to second, and it's Good Night, Irene. Swept. Final score: Texas 6, Hawaii 5. Texas WIN series 3-0 Elsewhere, again... Detroit takes two straight from Boston, sending the Sox home; LA does the same to New Orleans. But Cincy comes back from a 2-1 deficit against the Phils to head to the league championship against the Dodgers, in an old-school NL West showdown. (LA took the honors in '42, the last time these two met with high stakes on the line.) ...... Sigh. Galling. I knew it would be tough getting past Texas, but I didn't expect to have our pitchers so thoroughly embarrassed. We actually outhit them in two of these games, but it seemed like they could just score at will against us. Ah well... On the plus side, we did win 107 games, but there seems to be something lacking in our offense, as we don't have the easy power of a Texas or Detroit. Not sure what form any off-season moves might take at the moment, but we may have to do something out of the ordinary for us, either in free agency or via trade, and "bulk up" our lineup. We'll see... ...... In League Championship series news... No surprise that the Dodgers are World Series bound yet again, taking the Reds in five. Other than a 6-5 game four loss, LA held Cincy to just two runs and 18 hits. This will be the Dodgers' third straight trip to the championship. Over in the AL, a wild back-and-forth series goes seven...with Texas finally ousting the Tigers thanks to a comeback win in game six, and a hang-on-for-dear-life game seven win. (Down 6-1, Detroit knocked a 3-run homer, then a solo shot, then put another man on, all with two outs, before finally yielding.) This is a repeat of last year's series, taken by the Dodgers in six. (The last time teams faced each other in consecutive Series was in '35 and '36, with Toronto and Pittsburgh splitting their two meetings. Before that, you go all the way back to the '77-'78 match-ups between LA and NY.) Texas heads to the Series for the fifth time, and is seeking their second title. LA is looking for their tenth title. ...... 2055 WORLD SERIES Game One: TEX 3 - LA 1 ... (TEX leads 1-0) Game Two: TEX 0 - LA 2 ... (series tied 1-1) Game Three: LA 3 - TEX 6 ... (TEX leads 2-1) Game Four: LA 9 - TEX 14 ... (TEX leads 3-1) Game Five: LA 5 - TEX 4 ... (TEX leads 3-2) Game Six: TEX 7 - LA 4 ... (TEX WINS 4-2) While I'm not surprised the Rangers won this series, I am a bit surprised at the offensive output against a really strong Dodgers pitching staff. LA starters Bryan Shaheen and Manny Lopez combined to win 44 games this season; here they won zero and had a combined ERA over ten. Anyway...it's the Rangers second World Series title in franchise history, the first coming in '52. LA was unable to repeat as champions, meaning that we are still the last team to accomplish that feat with our wins in '43 and '44. Given the talent on these teams, and that almost all of it is returning for next year, I think there's a very great chance we could see the first THREE-PEAT World Series tilt since the Yankees and NY Giants squared off in '21, '22, and '23. That's NINETEEN twenty-one, etc, fyi. So congrats to the Rangers. Now rot in hell, both of these teams. See you next year! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-02-2022, 05:15 PM	#450
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	OFF-SEASON '55-'56, part one OFF-SEASON 2055-2056, part 1 Another successful regular season leads into another playoff fizzle. Can I be disappointed in 20 consecutive playoff appearances? No. Can I be disappointed by two consecutive 2nd place divisional finishes and early playoff exits? Yes. Finishing top-three in both offense and pitching is not BAD, not at all; but when a divisional rival is #1 in both, and has an offense that far outclasses your own, then it's time to do something. So while we don't need to overhaul the roster, or make really drastic changes, it's definitely time to spend some of our ownership's money and our own farm system capital. Taking a quick look at the financial side of things, we're top five in attendance, gate, profits, etc. But only 17th in budget, and outside the top ten in player salaries. Accounting projects our budget to increase from $170M to $184M for 2056. Our current books also show player salaries jumping by $14M (from $157M to $171M), but that's counting the fourteen players currently scheduled to go to arbitration in the next month. While I may take most of those guys to arbitration, and eventually sign them, I don't expect all of them to return next year. So, ultimately, our player budget may indeed be around that $171M predicted mark, but it won't be as simple as just retaining the same guys who've been here for several years already. Make sense? Ok. Now it's time to start the off-season, see what we can get done... First off, we exercise our team option on Joe Lynn. He'll make $8.8M in '56, the final year of his current deal. This will be a make-or-break season for Lynn's future with us. He'll hit 28 next season and enter his sixth year of full-time play, so it's not like he's old and breaking down. BUT... His offense and defense declined significantly this season, and with top prospect Brian Hassell lighting things up in AA and AAA, he's going to have to respond. Next, RP Min-hyuk Yaung retires. The 38-year-old spent parts of four seasons with us, his best year being 2054 (78 IP, 3.32 ERA, 77 K, 1.4 WAR). Last season he pitched 7.1 dreadful innings before an elbow injury ended his season. He wasn't in our future plans anyway. Four players on big league contracts are pending free agents: SP Mike Garfield, SP Mike Pearse, RP Sam Bohlen, and IF Mike Hunter. None will receive contract offers. Garfield was a deadline acquisition who was fine, but will be 38 soon and wants a ton of money before his career ends. Pearse is just 28 but has had two major injuries in the last three years, and didn't pitch particularly well when healthy in '54 anyway. He's a power pitcher who wants a relatively affordable $13.5/per for three years, but given his considerable injury history, he's not worth the risk, imo. Hunter, 40, hit well after signing in August, but faded badly down the stretch. I'm open to looking at him after free agency begins, depending on how the rest of my infield lineup plays out, but only if he'll sign for cheap. (Probably not likely, as he stills thinks he's a starter.) In addition, 22 minor leaguers are skipping out, including eleven pitchers at AAA/AA. So we'll have some upper-level minors to rebuild, and if we suffer pitching staff injuries at the rate we did this past year, we'll need to nab some serious depth here. We also have fourteen guys currently on the arbitration list. That number gets whittled down quickly as we've made a contract offer to OF Doug Pederson, and expect him to sign in a few days. Next, we're not going to offer arbitration to depth pitchers Mark Larmer and Jonathon Sitzler, and IF Kevin Kelley. All were expected to garner somewhere on either side of $1M, but I'm not into paying minor leaguers big league money if I can help it. They're replaceable, and might even come back if no one signs them early and they accept minor league deals. The others are as follows, with current/offered salary, and my thoughts on each: SP Mike Bader ... 8.75M / 10.5M -- hasn't been good for a couple of years now, so don't get too attached to him RP Anthony Booker ... 1.12M / 1.3M -- worth it, core RP RP Nate Kearns ... 1.4M / 2.42M -- ditto RP Jordan Ruiz ... 850k / 1.2M -- ditto C Mike Covington ... 4.5M / 6.8M -- I really need to choose between him and Jamie Collins at catcher 3B Caleb Royer ... 4.25M / 6.05M -- this much for a starter who earned 1.1 WAR? 3B Lua Ulkini ... 1.1M / 3.4M -- that salary number could be attractive in a trade package, just sayin' OF Nick Gase ... 500k / 2.4M -- cheaper guys bumping up from the farm, again just sayin'... OF Diego Espino ... 500k / 950k -- cheap enough to consider keeping, tbh, and everybody loves the guy OF Josh Hed ... 500k / 2.86M -- thinks very highly of himself (see also comment under Nick Gase) Unklike most years, I don't expect we'll fare too badly in these arb decisions. Maybe Covington will turn out to be more expensive, maybe also one of the RP. But a lot of these not-relievers are obvious trade bait...there's definitely a non-zero chance that most of these guys won't be Islanders next year... ...... Pretty quiet on the MLB front, aside from the usual raft of GMs/Managers getting let go. The Mets ditched four-year manager Hunter Harvey in favor of little-known international scout JH Kim, and the Rangers were shocked by the sudden retirement of first-year manager Henry Centeno. Centeno, 61, cited "health reasons" for his departure, and rumors abound that he'll be heading home to Venezuela for treatments relating to an undisclosed medical condition. He won 115 games and a World Series in his one year at the helm, and is a shoo-in for AL Manager of the Year. Although...to be fair, a sack of potatoes probably could have won a title with that lineup. (Sorry, Henry.) We do make a couple of small moves before awards season kicks off. First, we claim RP Kevin Ford off waivers from the Cubs. Ford, 27, was decent in a small, 10-inning sample in Chicago this year, and will get a look in camp. He's more of a finesse, movement, pitcher, so if we go after any more bullpen arms, I'll definitely be looking at some power guys as a complement. We also waive/DFA Jonathon Sitzler and 2B Erik Griffin, to make room on the 40-man. Sitzler is claimed by the Giants, and fans are sorry to see him go for some reason. Griffin is off to AAA, where he belongs unless things go very, very wrong in our infield next year. ...... And now for some hardware... AL GOLD GLOVE: P Chris Liles, DET (3rd trophy); C Steve Newman, HOU (5th); 1B Elijah Pass, CHW; 2B Mike McNeill, MIA (2nd); 3B Mike Lee, MIN (2nd); SS Oscar Garza, HOU (5th); LF Jordan Foots, MIN (4th); CF Luis Hernandez, SEA; RF Melvin Lopez, NYY (2nd) NL GOLD GLOVE: P Nate Malone, SD; C Vinny Perez, MTL; 1B Alfonso Contreras, AUS; 2B Alex Bell, CIN; 3B Jose Ibanez, CHC; SS Alex Duran, NYM; LF Jake Morris, ATL (3rd); CF Jason Welch, WAS (4th); RF Pat Meade, ATL (3rd) AL HOYT WILHELM: Jon Carlsen, MIA (7-6, 45 SV, 2.64 ERA, 86 K, 0.91 WHIP) [Nate Kearns reaped five points, 6th place] NL HOYT WILHELM: Quinn Driscoll, LA (3-3, 51 SV, 2.19 ERA, 98 K, 1.01 WHIP) AL SILVER SLUGGER: C Phil Thoma, TEX; 1B Pat Townsand, DET (2nd); 2B Matt Provance, TEX; 3B Tom Esposito, KC; SS Ryan Boers, TEX (4th); LF Dustin Wasilewski, BOS (4th); CF Chris Mitchell, NYY (3rd); RF Manny Molina, DET; DH Jules Medici, HAW (2nd) NL SILVER SLUGGER: P Erik Sloan, STL; C Chris Dabbah, ATL; 1B Drew Elliott, SF (4th); 2B Alfonso Torres, LA (4th); 3B Heath Lewellen, CIN; SS Francisco Villon, RIC; LF Jake Morris, ATL (2nd); CF Nate Forrester, STL (2nd); RF Kevin Reynolds, ARIAL AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: OF Erik Bennetsen, HAW (.327/.378/.560, 28 HR, 25 ST, 4.4 WAR) [Lucas Tipping garnered 44 points, good for 3rd place] NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: 1B Juan Lozano, ARI (.295/.329/.531, 22 HR, 1.9 WAR, 414 AB) AL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Henry Centeno, TEX (Wins in his first year in MLB, then retires. Baller.) NL MANAGER OF THE YEAR: Eric van der Zalm, LA (Two years as manager in LA, two trophies, one World Series title and one runner up) AL CY YOUNG: Matt Waugh, HAW (21-4, 2.45 ERA, 249 IP, 245 K, 37 BB, 1.03 WHIP, 10.3 WAR) [FIFTH trophy, has won all three of his years in Hawaii] NL CY YOUNG: Bryan Shaheen, LA (21-7, 2.59 ERA, 229 IP, 221 K, 37 BB, 1.01 WHIP, 8.3 WAR [Dude was pretty pedestrian in 8 previous seasons, injured last year. PEDs?] AL MVP: Pat Townsand, DET (.327/.417/.658, 53 HR, 165 RBI, 7.5 WAR) [Waugh got 5 first place votes, 167 points, 7th place; Medici 9th place] NL MVP: Heath Lewellen, CIN (.309/.367/.629, 53 HR, 130 RBI, 7.1 WAR) [Won by 4 points over the rightful winner, Kevin Reynolds (.325/.454/.686, 10.0 WAR)] Not much to add to our trophy collection, but props to Bennetsen, Waugh, and Medici! And not to bury the lede, but in the midst of all this voting, Philly swooped in and poached our 22-year veteran scouting director Moises Patino, making him their new GM. I had no idea he was envying my job for so long.... To replace him, I thought about making my own raid, taking long looks at directors like Pat Zachman (CHW), Jorge Alonzo (RIC), and Sean Bokan (MIN). Ultimately I went with free agent Michael Rivera instead, inking him to a five-year deal. The 59-year-old Houston native will be getting his first MLB payday. Elsewhere... Rough news for Washington, as starting SS Adam Burke retires after suffering a gruesome broken fibula in a September game. The 32-year-old began his MLB career with three seasons on the bench in LA, followed by three as the starter at short in SF, and finally four years in Washington. A career .270 hitter, he earned 27.9 WAR, hit 149 home runs on 1145 hits, led the NL in doubles in '52 and '53, and was a 2054 NL All-Star with the Nats. For now, the top of the team's SS depth chart has Billy Williams and Jamie Walker, two light hitters but solid fielders, and no immediate help in the system. Look for them to be in the market for a quality free agent, as the roster is good enough elsewhere to compete for the playoffs next year. ...... Arbitration Day comes and...it's not too bad. We won six cases, lost four. Nobody is getting ridiculously overpaid, and Mike Covington probably got the biggest boost, up to $8.1M now. Mike Bader got $10.5M, but since he was asking for over 12, it's still a win. Of more interest is that our three backup OF will now earn nearly $7M combined, which is too much as far as I'm concerned. I haven't gone into detail about my developing plans for the silly season, but suffice to say for now that as many as six of the ten arb guys may be wearing different uniforms in very short order... Yes, I know you can't set your clock by 16-year-old prospects, but it's a nice sign that our new head scout Michael Rivera's first signing, Dominican 1B Luis Chavez, has promising ceilings and nice intangibles. We'll check in again in three/four years. STAY TUNED THOUGH...MORE COMING Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-16-2022, 04:55 PM	#451
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2055-56 OFF-SEASON, part 2 So free agency kicks off the official start to the off-season, and we don't make any early noise. Our waiver claim you know about. Plus, we tender offers to two international free agents--a pretty poor class overall this year, btw--to bulk up our minor leagues a bit, and that's pretty much it. Now I just wait until Spring Training. See you on the golf course and enjoy your holiday season. Ok, not really. Buckle up, guys, it's gonna get bumpy. First, the amuse bouche. We shed some salary (wonder why?) by sending off $10M man Mike Bader to Seattle for RP Marco Mendez. Bader, you may recall, was pretty good in '52 and '53, tanked hard in '54, and didn't really recover this past season. Paying him north of 10 million when he might not even make the opening day roster was unpalatable. In Mendez we get a power-throwing groundballer (oh yeah baby) to compete with Kearns for closer, and one who has a history as a solid SU or CL already. He's 25 and will be a free agent after '56, so I may try to extend him sooner than later, we'll see. Second, the appetizer. Plenty of head-scratching in the local media when we send three players--3B Lua Ulkini, OF Josh Hed, and prospect P Tim Tenhundfeld (plus a 7th round pick)--to Arizona for a guy buried in their IF depth chart, 25-year-old 3B Jesus Calderin. With others pushing from the farm for playing time, frankly Ulkini and Hed became expendable when they were set to make a combined $7M next season. And although neither is exactly all-star quality, they'll make a mediocre DBacks squad instantly better. Tenhundfeld was way down our P prospect chart, but has intriguing upside as a solid RP or swingman. But the prize, and what makes me think I'm going to win this deal, is Calderin, a relative unkown with less than 300 career AB, but a sweet power stroke who was miscast in their system as a 2B. My scouts say he's a perfectly suited 3B, and has power, contact, and some speed; his only downside looks to be a somewhat undisciplined approach at the plate, but even that could improve still. He's now my penciled-in starter at 3B, because... Finally, the main course. I liked our pitching last year, despite a large pile of injuries. Waugh was great, Irvin starred, and whoever was healthy at #3-#5 mostly pitched well. But as pitchers are such voodoo, and with almost everyone behind those top two still having little MLB experience, I felt we needed another solid SP to give us a top-level 1-2-3 punch. So I called up the hopeless Pirates and made a pitch (ha!) for arguably one of the top-five starters in the NL in recent years: Jose Rivera. After some fun back-and-forth, we finally settled, although the price was pretty steep. We shipped off C Mike Covington, 3B Caleb Royer, OF Nick Gase, and our 2nd and 11th round picks for the 29-year-old starter. In sending Covington, we made our decision behind the plate, opting for the (slightly) younger Jamie Collins; Gase, 26, is a solid hitter and fielder who was desperately unhappy sitting on the bench after the emergence of Erik Bennetsen; Royer has power and can hit for average, but is a subpar fielder and is vehemently opposed to walking more than 20 times a year. All three should start for Pittsburgh. Rivera has been on my radar for some time, but I felt he was untouchable because the Pirates kept trying to win despite not having the horses to break .500 in recent years. Plus he makes $15M and will jump to north of $20M next year and through '59, meaning I had to send off some salary to make it work and wasn't ready to do that until now. Rivera is big-time: an elite three-pitch combo, huge stuff, solid control, and has earned nearly 20 WAR over the last three seasons. Health has not yet been a concern, although at 29 I know I'm rolling the dice here. Still, I think it's worth it, and the kind of deal we need to make to try to put us back on top in the AL. All told, that's three deals and a forthcoming major overhaul to our lineup. In the last two weeks, from last year's roster we've lost: C Mike Covington (trade) 3B Caleb Royer (trade) IF Mike Hunter (free agent) IF Lua Ulkini (trade) IF Kevin Kelley (free agent) OF Nick Gase (trade) OF Josh Hed (trade) SP Mike Bader (trade) SP Mike Garfield (free agent) RP MH Yaung (retirement) Where does that leave us, just days into free agency? Largely tapped out, really. Despite a $16M budget increase, we're now near our spending limit, so unless someone interesting slips into the "I'll sign for peanuts please" stage in late March, I'm done signing hitters. I'll take a look at relievers, possibly also via trade, especially as we are carrying several guys I'm counting on for '56 who now have significant and recent injury history. So adding another MR wouldn't go amiss. Unless something major happens--like a freak accident or sudden retirement--the roster is close to set. Here's the way I see it heading into December: CATCHER -- Jamie Collins is now our guy, but there's no can't-miss backup right now. As he's a lefty, I may try to add a cheap RHB to platoon with, while also giving some of the younger chaps a chance. So AAA guys Bentley Kolb and William Bustos, or maybe A ball guy Rob Gleason, will get long looks in camp. (Making the roster: Collins plus ???) INFIELD -- Josh Matson (1b) and Lucas Tipping (2b) are set. J.J. Simmons is still the guy at short, but he'll be 34 by opening day and had an injury-plagued season. But he hit extremely well when healthy, so we're betting on that J.J. to return. New guy Calderin is the hope at third, one should bring at least as much power and offense as Royer did, but with much better defense. Jake Moore and Bill Gamboa figure to be the top reserves, with a few more from AAA and AA also getting some swings in camp. (Here, it's Matson, Tipping, Simmons, Calderin, with Moore and Gamboa as backups.) OUTFIELD -- The regulars are back: LF Erik Bennetsen, CF Joe Lynn, RF Doug Pederson. The departure of Gase and Hed means we must have solid bench seasons from holdovers Diego Espino and Chase Thompson. And some intriguing prospects will get looks: CF Brian Hassell (all-around quality), LF Kyle Kolstad (big power), and RF Jeremy Hagemann (even bigger power). (To start, Bennetsen/Lynn/Pederson. Backups will be Espino and Thompson, with one more likely.) DH -- Jules Medici is The Man. No more need be (Medici it is.) ROTATION -- Matt Waugh is a god. Josh Irvin was a lovely surprise at #2. Jose Rivera will likely push him to #3, but if Irvin repeats his '55 success we've got 3/5 of a stud rotation. After those three, however, the picture is cloudy, but not ominous. Daniel Croft, John Loeb, and Steve Shinnick each had bright moments and are the favorites to fight for the final two slots. I do still like Gleb Mihalkovsky, and don't forget the DL-returnees Andy Burke and Miguel Tirado, who made only two starts in '55 between them. Travis Harris may get shifted to the pen, but he's also got the chops to start. Lots of available arms here; it'll be interesting to see how it shakes out. (My bet would be: Waugh/Rivera/Irvin/Croft/Shinnick. Although if someone surprises, it would be Burke/Loeb/Harris, in that order.) BULLPEN -- Nate Kearns returns as closer. He'll be joined by addition Marco Mendez, and returnees Manny Reyes, Jordan Ruiz, and Brad Cahill as the main go-to guys. Yoshi Watanabe also returns, and we'll get Orlando Silva and Anthony Booker at full health in the spring. Waiver pickup Kevin Ford will get a look, as will minor league hopefuls GJ Joe, Matt Grim, and Elias Tena. AA closer Joey Mayer is ready for AAA, and with a bit of growth this winter, maybe even more, who knows? (My picks: Kearns, Mendez, Reyes, Ruiz, Cahill, and Watanabe.) I think that's a stellar lineup, and although we may not have the raw power of a Texas or Detriot, we should once again be at or near the top of the league's offensive table. Injuries and off-seasons are the obvious wildcards, but really there will be just two big question marks during the coming year. First, can Simmons keep up his return to form, and stay healthy too? He also has an opt-out after '56, which I expect him to use, so obviously I'm hoping the answer to my question is a BIG YES. Second, can Joe Lynn rebound from a career-low offensive slide? He did hit 48 doubles and steal 60 bases, but his AVG and OBP dropped 40 points from his career averages, and his defense was near the bottom of qualified AL center fielders. He'll be a free agent after '56, and could also be pushed hard by heir-apparent Brian Hassell, who hit .333 with 21 HR and 42 steals across AA and AAA. On the mound, we just have to stay healthy, period. We've got the horses, in numbers and quality, but really can't have another year of ten guys on the season-ending DL. ...... We're not the only team making interesting trades this month. After barely missing out on the playoffs, the rising Royals add should-be-great pitcher Pat Oden from Oakland for a hustling utility IF and a solid AAA reliever. Oden, 25, on paper looks like a prototype #3 SP: good across the board, three quality pitches, great stamina. But in his debut last year in Oakland he was pretty terrible, even allowing 19 HR in 78 IP. If he can figure it out, great trade for KC. If not, well at least they didn't give up much. LA gets the signing season started by re-upping SS Rich Stoneback for two years, $23M. Too much for the 38-year-old, in my eyes. He's still a decent SS, but his arm is just average now, and he's lost his speed on the bases. And while he just hit 20 HR, his average plummeted to just .200. He does bring a great eye, however, and finished with more walks (102) than hits (92) last year, for a fun slash of .200/.343/.385. Texas also kept one of their stars, re-signing CF Ronnie Halvorson for 7 yrs and $140M. He's turned into a five-tool guy: solid fielder, big arm, power, speed, average. But at nearly 29, you could question the wisdom of a seven-year deal. But it's probably one the Rangers had to make, with their championship window still wide open and not much in the way of prospects coming up to make a mark. (Not to mention a forthcoming overhaul of the rotation.) Miami makes one of those shouldn't-you-be-rebuilding-instead deals, sending off decent swingman Jerry Caprio and a could-become-good OF prospect Richard Charette, to Baltimore for Alvin Phillips, a 35-year-old 2B who's only topped 2 WAR twice in the past seven seasons. Miami won 77 games last year, so I really can't figure out this one. Sure, they didn't give up a ton, but why give up anything for Phillips? Now we're cooking! Cincy fans: rejoice! for your team just added two excellent players to hopefully get them past the Dodgers at last. First they grab SP Bryan Shaheen from those Dodgers, 4 yrs and $81M. Shaheen won 21 games with a 2.59 ERA, but is 32 and had been just okay prior to last year. Still, a good pickup. Next, they inked former AL MVP Chris Mitchell for 6 yrs and $142M. When he's on, he's a 7-9 WAR guy with 45-50 HR potential and a career average just over .300. Good fielder, excellent runner, and not a complete dickhead. Bad decision by the Yankees to let him walk. Well, Detroit just filled a big need by signing SS Matthew Powell for 5 yrs and $77M. The 31-year-old had a huge year with the Cubs in '53, going .287/43/111 with 7.2 WAR, but he's really a career .248 hitter who can knock 20 or so HR for you, and play very solid defense. (Vets here might recall that in '51 Cleveland traded him to Oakland for five prospects...and the the A's let him walk to free agency a year later.) LA got their "add a dozen RP a year" train out of the station by trading three iffy prospects for Houston's Ezra Biniecki. He's 27, has big stuff but also walks a lot of guys, and was on my short list to acquire when we went with Marco Mendez instead. Richmond re-signed slugging 3B Dante Padilla for 5 yrs at $20M per. Can hardly remember he was once ours; I knew he'd hit some home runs but thought he'd never crack .250 (he's a career .272 guy) and actually hold his own defensively. Oh well... Detroit's going ALL POWER ALL THE TIME, adding RP Alex Barcelona and his huge, huge stuff from Pittsburgh. He racks up the Ks (~12 per 9), but also walks nearly 4 per and yields over 2 HR/9. It's all-or-nothing time, I suppose. We do make one minor addition during this rush of big spending, inking catcher Jared Null to a minor league deal. Null, 28, has only had a cup of coffee in the bigs, but will get a shot in a RH hitting platoon situation with Jamie Collins. A line drive hitter who can work a count, he's also a solid receiver and a captain-level clubhouse guy. Pittsburgh adds another former Isle to their infield, signing 2B Julian Cardenas for 7 yrs and $16M per annum. He's still a solid 3-5 WAR guy who can hit .280+ with 20ish HR and give you quality defense. The Pirates are slowly remaking their lineup, and could actually threaten in the NL Central next year, with maybe another pitcher and another power bat. Philadelphia makes news with one solid signing and an iffy one. Solid: signing Sam Bohlen--late of the Isles--for $8M over two years (about half what he asked me for) makes their bullpen better. Iffy: grabbing 30-year-old wild man Cris Frias for seven more years at $14M per. Frias, you may remember, is a strikeout god, fanning over 12 per 9 in his career. He's topped 300 three times, and has two Cy Youngs to his credit. But he's also a walks machine, at over 5 per 9 lifetime, and over 7 across the last three seasons. Plus, he's lasted just one full season since '48, so you can rightly question his remaining durability. He'll be fun to watch, at least. Rounding out some other big names to close out the calendar year at the Winter Meetings: ...Cubs ink OF Aaron Harrison, (CHW in '55, 38yo, 44 WAR, 483 HR) 3 yrs $50M ...Richmond signs SP Bobby Daniel (TEX, 28, 30 WAR), 6 yrs $120M [Good to get him out of the division!] ...LA of course signs another RP, Jack Hildebrandt (DET, 31, 83sv) 2 yrs $7.5M ...Cincy replaces Frias with Mike Garfield (SD/HAW, 37, 59 WAR) 3 yrs $38M ...Brooklyn takes former Isle SP Mike Pearse for 1 yr $3.5M ...three trades in one day featuring backup/AAA catchers. Featuring, not just involved. Weird. ...LA signs two more former closers to multi-year deals. Thank goodness we can count on one thing in this world. ...for some reason Richmond bring back 40-year-old closer Hiro Nakamura to the bigs after two seasons in Japan, 2 yrs $8M ...Texas looks set to lose 4/5 of last year's starting rotation, with Daniel (above) and Emanual Vasquez having signed elsewhere. Rule 5 Draft comes and we lose two players: C William Bustos and P Matt Grim. Bustos is a solid defensive catcher, but may return as I don't think he can hit MLB pitching. Grim was going to be counted on in the AAA rotation, so I'm sad now. SF was the busiest team, grabbing four relievers and an OF, while the Yankees grabbed three IF. SO LONG 2055. SEE YOU IN 2056. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-09-2022, 09:00 PM	#453
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	April 2056 2056 SEASON KICKS OFF Twenty-seven games to kick off the season in the opening month. Only 12 at home, and as usual we'll see all of our division rivals. Baltimore, Chicago, Tampa, and KC round out the dance card. April 3-5 @ CALIFORNIA See my last post for the Angels write-up. Last year's lineup is pretty much intact, with journeyman 2B Gary Harper getting a full-time nod now, rather than the platoon he was in last season. There are a couple of barely-tested rookies on the pitching staff, but only RP Andy Kozak is new to the team. It looks like they're building from within for the most part, but just don't quite have the horses yet. Spend a little, guys, while stars William Swanson and Mo Marquez are still productive! HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (21-4, 2.45) / RH Jose Rivera (12-11, 2.96 w/ PIT) / RH Josh Irvin (19-7, 3.44) CAL pitchers: RH Nate Elder (15-8, 3.09) / RH Arturo Colunga (1-2, 4.75) / RH Leo Ortiz (0-0, 2.70) #1: WIN 4-0 ... 4-hit complete game for Waugh, and quite the debut for Hagemann: two solo HR in his first two MLB at bats!...Two big injuries for CAL tho #2: WIN 5-3 ... Hagemann goes deep again, and Calderin raps out 3 hits and scores a run...8 IP in a solid debut from Rivera, fanning 9 #3: LOSS 2-5 ... a 3-run 8th stops the good times rolling...outhit 9-7 but more worrying is a pending injury to Lucas Tipping Disappointing to miss a sweep, but more troubling is Tipping's possible injury. We've got depth in the infield, but his combo of power and defense isn't matched by any of those guys.... Quite a start by Hagemann, eh? The only reason he didn't homer in the final game is that he's rotating every 3 days with Diego Espino for now. For now.... Finding myself short on farm catching depth, we made a minor-ish swap with Brooklyn, sending RP GJ Joe and rookie ball non-entity Dan Long, and receiving Jim Kurtz. A 25-year-old with no MLB experience, an average bat, but solid defense and a good clubhouse guy. If he sees significant big-league time this year, then mistakes were made. Joe was an international signing a few seasons ago but never panned out and can't stay healthy.... ELSEWHERE: If Philly gets the kind of year from newbie Cris Frias that they got on opening day--a 5-hit shutout with 16 K--then everyone in the NL better watch out. Frias will probably still walk 120 guys this year, but if he's on form and fans 12-16 a night, he'll be nearly unhittable like he was in his 16 K/9 heyday with Cincy.... New Orleans and Baltimore are the only undefeated teams, with Brooklyn and Chicago suffering the short ends of those series.... Speaking of the Chisox, they just lost closer Tim Wormald for the season, giving them three front-line pitchers done for the year. April 6-8 @ TEXAS From my pre-season write-up, they can hit, but can they pitch? Small sample size, but after going 1-2 in their opening series, the offense sits at #2 in the AL, but pitching is down on the bottom. Their starters got rocked in every game: more of that please! Although new series, new pitchers. What I didn't mention in the predictions last time is that only two pitchers in the current bullpen tossed more than 8 innings in the majors last year... HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (10-6, 4.25) / LH John Loeb (6-4, 4.97) / LH Matt Waugh (1-0, 0.00 this year) TEX pitchers: RH Mike Nelson (14-3, 2.76) / RH Joel Wiechart (4-2, 3.24) / RH Kevin Cahill (0-0, 10.38 this year) #4: WIN 12-7 ... Medici and, yes, Hagemann homer, and we ride a huge 8-run 6th to the win...Medici's blast was a GRAND SLAM...Calderin injured, pending #5: LOSS 3-8 ... Loeb and Booker get abused, yielding 14 hits...no home runs for either team, scoring every run the old-fashioned way #6: LOSS 3-11 ... well that sucked...Waugh and two RP get beat up and left for dead, and we manage just 7 hits This series went about as poorly as possible. Two bad, bad losses, awful pitching, no hitting, and one injured starter. The only good news is that Tipping is only dtd for 6 days.... But Calderin goes down for six weeks, so we call up IF Jim Pfeifer and move Jake Moore into a starting role. As he's actually a bit better at short than Simmons, I'm swapping them and JJ will go to the hot corner, where he won 3 Gold Gloves from '48 to '50.... Our offense has been decidedly subpar to date, with the top three batters really struggling out of the gate. Lynn is the hot one at .231, but Bennetsen (.043) and Matson (.160) have been dreadful.... And can we get a home series now?.... ELSEWHERE: Cris Frias was nearly as good in his second Philly start: 8 IP, 4 H, 13 K. Watch out world.... The White Sox are still winless, and New Orleans still unbeaten. Can they keep it up? Place youre bets now.... Nice start for three guys I kicked to the curb in the off-season: OF Josh Hed (ARI, .444 with 3 HR), OF Nick Gase (PIT, .261 with 1 HR), and C Mike Covington (PIT, .278). So what if all three are off to better starts than their current analogs with us. April 9-11 vs BALTIMORE Off to a 4-2 start and tied for 1st in the East with Toronto. Fourth in runs scored despite ranking outside the top ten in almost every other offensive category. But 3rd in runs against. MLB picked them for last in the division, but I see them as being at least mid-pack contenders. The lineup isn't dynamic, but at least there's a mix of power and contact that could be dangerous when hot. The real damage will be done by their staff, however: I like 4/5 of their rotation, and the top of the bullpen looks very solid. I think ace SP Mike Zulick will have a breakout year, and #2 guy Jonas Chevalier won't be far behind. And there are a few familiar faces to long-time Isles fans in the staff: #3 SP Danny Carbajal, MR Kyle Johnson, and MR Shane Walker all have prominent roles. HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (1-0 3.38) / RH Josh Irvin (0-1, 4.91) / LH Daniel Croft (0-1, 8.10) BAL pitchers: RH Jonas Chevalier (1-0, 3.00) / RH Danny Carbajal (0-0, 9.53) / RH Dan Holzer (0-1, 1.50) #7: WIN 13-7 ... a little lineup tweak and the silent three of Lynn/Benn/Matson register 8 hits...Rivera gets pegged for 7 runs tho, which is less than ideal #8: WIN 3-2 ... nearly identical linescores (8 hits, 1 error each), but a Simmons sac fly in the 4th is the difference...Irvin goes 8, Kearns tosses a perfect 9th #9: LOSS 1-4 ... Croft is better here but is left in to start the 9th, just a terrible decision...only 4 hits as the offense sputters again So two wins isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when 75% of your runs over two games come from sacrifice flies, maybe you need some more batting practice. Or better voodoo.... Three series into the season and no discernible patterns have emerged, other than pure chaos. We hits lights-out for a couple games, then can't buy a base for a couple. Pitching is strong, then it isn't. I don't like this volatility, to be honest.... Lynn continues to not hit, outside of that first game. Brian Hassell is warming up, dude, so get it going.... ELSEWHERE: Still unbeaten in New Orleans, now 9-0. And the White Sox finally won a game, but dropped two more, to fall to 1-8.... Terrible news out of Portland, where ace SP Dan Klabunde tore his rotator for the third time in three seasons, and this time after making two really solid starts to begin the year. Word is the former first-round pick may be done for good, at the age of 25.... Even though the White Sox are off to a horrendous start, no one told OF Zeke de la Rosa to do likewise, as he just won AL Player of the Week with a .553/2/8 start. The 2050 Rookie of the Year also just passed the 1000 hit mark for his career, and is a team and community leader. So look for the Sox to not re-sign him when his contract ends... April 13-15 @ CHICAGO Life comes at you fast: two years ago these guys won 112 games and were the class of baseball. They won 92 last year, and 96 and 90 before their "big" year. Now? Off to a 1-8 start and even MLB says they'll only win 78 games. They're not hitting (15th) and not stopping anyone (16th). Thing is, there's still a dynamic lineup here, with Zeke de la Rosa, T.J. Walsh, Ben Usilton, Andy Barenberg, Elijah Pass, and Ninsei Sato all capable of having all-star caliber seasons. And I like much of the pitching staff, and would gladly take ownership of SP Jasper Cummings, Emanuel Vasquez, and Luke Weaver. But...no one is going well right now, outside of de la Rosa's absurd .553 start. (The bottom half of the lineup, e.g., is hitting a combined .170 with zero HR.) I think they'll get better as the season goes along, but I'd prefer they wait a few more days yet... HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (0-1. 6.75) / LH Matt Waugh (1-1, 3.55) / Jose Rivera (2-0, 6.14) CHW pitchers: RH Mike Walsh (0-0, 0.00) / RH Jasper Cummings (0-2, 5.40) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (1-1, 5.40) #10: LOSS 4-5 ... Kearns walks home the GW in the 10th...other than that, and allowing ten walks and losing Jake Moore for a month to a broken rib, it's all good #11: WIN 7-5 ... Medici breaks out with 2 HR, 4 hits total...Bennetsen with 3 H, 3 RBI, Simmons and Matson 2 H each...Waugh struggles again, lasts just 6 IP #12: LOSS 4-5 ... Tipping pots 2, and Medici goes deep again, but we get little else and more iffy pitching More mediocrity, backsliding. Only Medici and Simmons are getting on base regularly right now, and our starting pitching is just rolling the dice.... Moore is the latest IF to go on the DL, joining Calderin (still out for 2 weeks). At least Tipping came back, but we do call up 3B Bobby Coronado to take Moore's spot. Coro makes contact, is a line drive hitter, but terribly undisciplined. He's a converted middle infielder, moved due to lack of mobility and a tin glove. He's 20, right-handed, and hit .278 across AA and AAA last year.... At least no one else in the West has started hot, with everyone grinding between 7-5 and 5-7.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans stays hot, at 11-1, with LA picking up their pace to 9-3. At the back end, Brooklyn is 2-10, and a handful of teams are at 3-8.... Good on Josh Hed, traded by us to Arizona: .389/.439/.833 and 2nd in NL OPS. Like us, Arizona is treading water at 6-6. ...... TL;DR Version: As you might expect with a 6-6 start, there's some good, some bad, and a lot of meh. Medici and Simmons are hot at the plate, Hagemann started hot but has cooled, but others have ranged from okay to pretty bad. Bennetsen hasn't found his stroke; Matson is coming around but is still just okay; Collins and Tipping have been mostly cold; and Lynn hasn't hit at all. Injuries haven't helped, with Calderin going out after just four games and Pederson not playing yet at all. No one is back in any hurry, with Calderin the closest at two weeks out. Our pitching was supposed to be a tower of strength, but also hasn't produced much. The rotation ERA sits 8th, but feels worse, probably because our top two guys are not pitching well. Oddly, the pen sits 13th in ERA but feels stronger, but with the usual occasional blow-ups. The good news (hopefully) is that we'll open a nine-game homestand next, so let's recover with that home cooking! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-17-2022, 07:47 PM	#454
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	April 16-18 vs HOUSTON Tied with us at 6-6, but with better underlying numbers: offense is 6th, pitching 4th. Career backup OF Ahmed Hackett is hitting .341, CF Erik Kinnison .318. Pitching has been strong but will be tested after ace Mat Caldwell (1.12 ERA in 16 IP) was just lost for the season. Winton Jones (1.96 ERA in 3 starts) has taken well to his first time in the rotation, and vet Robbie Camp has been solid. (Thankfully we'll see neither in this series.) [EDIT: Camp will pitch after all.] The franchise is no longer a laughingstock, but owner Jim Crane wants a playoff competitor while putting forth a franchise ranked bottom-six in budget and player salaries. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 3.52) / LH Daniel Croft (1-1, 5.40) / LH John Loeb (0-1, 3.97) HOU pitchers: RH Chris James (0-2, 8.31) / RH Robbie Camp (1-1, 4.08) / RH Jason Knight (0-0, 3.00) #13: LOSS 7-9 ... some bats wake up, with rookies Hassell and Coronado getting 3 H each...awful pitching all around ruins the fun however #14: WIN 5-3 ... we're outhit 9-5 but adding 9 walks and 2 Houston errors to our cause helped out...4 steals too, fwiw #15: WIN 9-5 ... allowing 4 late runs made this one look closer than it was...Collins knocks a 3-run blast...11 hits for each team, so no great pitching again Better, but we're still not out of our funk. We're starting to put more guys on base and score some more, but aren't hitting for power at all. Interesting stat: our hitters have taken the most walks in the league, but our staff is walking nearly as many.... Hassell moved into CF over Lynn for a bit, and got off to a .583 start, while Coronado is batting .333 in his four starts. Hmm.... Bennetsen finally hit his first HR, but still nothing from Matson.... ELSEWHERE: 13-2 for NO, 12-3 LA, and MIL and DET with 11 wins. BKN is 2-13, MTL and CHW are 3-12.... Saves may not be a useful stat, but fwiw Zephs closer Brent Sandwell has 10 already.... ARI's Josh Hed is the last NL batter at .400, right on the nose. LA's Gerardo Nieto is 2nd in AVG and RBI, 1st in HR.... TEX catcher Phil Thoma leads everyone with 25 RBI and is batting .333, about 60 points over his career average. April 19-21 vs OAKLAND Muddling along with the rest of us in the division, at 7-8 and just two in back of the "red hot" Angels. Their power has returned--4th in HR--leading to a fun early-season stat of 4th in runs scored while ranking 16th in AVG and OPS. Pitching has been pretty bad so far, sitting 15th in runs allowed. Of the starters, only Tom Baker is pitching at a professional level, but he may miss a start or two with back spasms. Some of their managerial decision-making is going to hurt in the near-term if things stay the same, however: yes the starting OFs have hit 9 HR with 25 RBI, but they're batting a combined .190 and not getting on base much. Meanwhile, rookie OF Matt Hall has one AB but is ready for full-time duty. Time to dump an "overpriced veteran" somewhere and give the kids a chance! HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (2-1, 4.82) / RH Jose Rivera (2-1, 5.82) / RH Josh Irvin (1-1, 5.03) OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (0-3, 6.41) / RH Andy Paterson (0-1, 18.00) / RH Jaden Sales (1-1, 7.90) #16: WIN 5-3 ... outhit 13-6 but a bases-loaded double from Chase Thompson followed by a 2-run HR from Coronado, and we're good...Tipping hurt AGAIN tho #17: LOSS 5-7 ... Rivera can't get unstuck, allowing 5 R, 8 H in 6 IP, but did fan 11...we only muster five hits, but also take a whopping 9 walks, crazy #18: WIN 2-0 ... another weak offensive outing, only 5 hits, but Irvin is lovely and allows only four...Hassell hits his first MLB home run Just no hitting at all here, but we still manage to take two out of three.... Waugh looked better in his start, Irvin was stellar, but Rivera continues to struggle. Early days, though, right?... Tipping's diagnosis is a broken finger, he's out for 5-6 weeks. This is one fragile dude.... We're running out of middle infielders fast, and have to call up our third replacement in recent days: 2B Andrew Cunningham, 24, an 8th round pick from 2050. He hit .246 in AA then .321 in AAA last season, with just one HR. He's got some speed, can turn a DP like no one else, and shouldn't embarrass himself at the plate.... We're now tied for first in the West, at 10-8, with Seattle and Texas. California got swept by those Rangers.... ELSEWHERE: The White Sox are still hurting, at 5-13, and are now joined there by the Yankees and Rays. San Diego has lost 8 of 10 and is at the league bottom, at 4-14.... Boston's Dustin Wasilewski (.387/7/14) has his 20-game hitting streak ended.... Cubs pitcher Hector Ramos is gunning for NL pitcher of the month, sporting a 0.90 ERA to date.... Giants 3B Juan Garcia has started strong, batting .374, and has moved past 3200 career hits, but has a pending injury diagnosis and could miss extended time. Meanwhile, A's DH Lance Powell is off to a .153 start with 1 HR, finally coming to the end of the line at 44, and still sits in tenth all-time with 603 HR. April 23-25 vs TAMPA BAY It's been a rough start to the year for the Rays, at 5-13 and in last place with the equally disappointing Yankees. Coming off their fourth straight 90+ win season in '54, they've fallen off the pace, and nothing has worked this season at all. Both offense and pitching rank 17th, and only team OBP ranks in the top ten (at 10th place). The good news is that DH Orlando Navarro, 2B Jorge Arriola, and 1B Edgar Aranceta are all crushing it, but the bad news is that stud hitters Jose Taveras and Vance Wise are definitely not. In the rotation, only Carlos Nunez has been solid, and the bullpen has really struggled, especially with five guys on the DL. Fun stats: the staff has struck out the most batters but also walked the most. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (2-1, 4.76) / LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.86) / LH Matt Waugh (3-1, 4.21) TBR pitchers: LH Phil Spickler (0-1, 7.41) / RH George Brorby (1-2, 5.79) / RH Matthew Grim (0-3, 7.36) #19: LOSS 2-6 ... offense still phoning it in, only six hits...Croft pulled in the fourth after another ineffective start...no injuries is the only good thing here #20: LOSS 4-5 ... outhit and outpitched again...bullpen blows this in the 9th, but only after we finally mount some offense in the 8th...everyone will now do wind sprints #21: WIN 8-4 ... finally: 13 hits including 4 RBI doubles...Waugh is better but still yields 3 runs in 7 IP, Mendez earns his first save Moribund. That's what describes us right now. Hitting is meh, pitching no better. We're not hitting for power at all, and in every stat and metric outside of runs and OBP we're bottom half of the league. And our supposedly league-best pitching is solidly average.... I'm hoping things will start to jell when we're not using three minor league infielders on the regular, but we're still a week-plus away from getting healthier. And that doesn't matter when half your lineup is slumping anyway.... ELSEWHERE: Mets closer Robbie Rodriguez was off to a perfect start: five games, five saves, zero runs allowed. And he'll stay that way thanks to elbow surgery, ending his season.... LA and NOZ are still the class of the NL, but props to Milwaukee's hot start: 16-5 with solid hitting and a largely-maligned pitching staff that's finally shown something of its promise. April 26-28 @ SEATTLE Four losses in a row has put a damper on an otherwise solid start. They've fallen to 10-11 but the underlying numbers are still good: 4th in runs, 9th in runs against. The lineup has been a bit A Tale of Two Cities, with Dan Bruno (.378/2/13), Rogelio Pena (.318/6/18), Paul Stough (.269/9/16), and Ethan Ransburg (.314) hitting hot, and everyone else running cold. And #1 SP Vince Push (6.37 ERA) has been brutal, but when he gets going he'll join the rest of his rotation-mates in moving the right direction. The bullpen has been largely bad, spoiling the works, but CL Jimmy Unganst and SU Theo Soole are doing their best. If their pitching stays at least average and they continue to hit, they'll stay in the race this year, no problem. HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (2-2, 6.18) / RH Josh Irvin (2-1, 3.45) / LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.81) SEA pitchers: RH Ron Rivera (2-2, 4.34) / RH Mike Bader (2-2, 2.76) / RH Danny Diaz (1-1, 3.77) #22: WIN 10-1 ... 2 doubles and a 3-run HR for Coronado, Medici adds 4 hits and his own HR to the mix...finally a strong CG from Rivera, 6 H and 8 K #23: WIN 4-1 ... Medici goes deep again and Irvin tosses 8 IP, allows only 5 hits #24: LOSS 6-7 ... not able to make a late 5-3 lead hold up, with Reyes blowing up in the 8th...4 H from Lynn, 3 from Matson...Croft is better here, just let down by the RPs Two good games and then just two bad innings in the last. Let's keep that momentum going now, okay.... Lynn (.294) and Matson (.286) are slowly coming around, but Hagemann (.200) has gone cold, now without a home run in two weeks.... Jose topped Ron in the Battle of the Riveras, only his second decent start in five outings.... Injury update: Calderin is back at the start of May; Jake Moore 1-2 weeks; Pederson still 2 weeks away; Tipping 4-5 weeks.... First PM from Joe Lynn asking about a new contract. Let's see where this goes.... ELSEWHERE: Last Man Standing: Cleveland RF Mike Joseph is the final player still over .400, batting .409.... Texas C Phil Thoma is putting in his claim to AL player of the month, leading the league with 11 HR and 35 RBI, and a surprising .325 to boot.... In the NL, the stat of the month is STL pitcher John Odom, with a 0.95 ERA in his 5 starts. But with the Cards' terrible offense, his record sits at just 2-2.... MLB says Philly will win 98 games this year, taking the division with room to spare. But their excellent offense (3rd in runs) has been let down by some horrific pitching (dead last everywhere), and an 8-16 start to the season. April 29-30 @ KANSAS CITY Still an up-and-coming team, but an iffy 10-14 start to the season already has them 8 behind the Brewers. Tenth in runs, and led by 3B Tom Esposito (.362/8/23) and leadoff DH Tim Chapman (.323). Struggling are SS Jose Valdez (injured and now hitting only .111) and 1B Micah Bailey (.285 and 37 HR last year, .211 and 4 so far). Pitching is 12th, but should be better with co-aces Steve Scibek and Bill Perez. They too have five RP on the DL right now, but the bullpen has thrown better than the rotation. And a blow for pitcher Pat Oden, 25, and a long-time scouting favorite: after a terrible debut with Oakland last year (78 IP, 6.20 ERA), he has an 8.35 ERA in 4 starts this year and now has a pending injury. Former Isles update: LF Julius Burrows (.220/4/18) is still starting, and P Henry "Biff" Skiffington (0-2, 5.06) is a semi-irritated swingman. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (1-1, 3.51) / LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 4.13) KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (2-1, 5.90) / RH Steve Scibek (3-2, 5.28) #25: WIN 2-1 ... we outhit them 10-5, with Bennetsen getting 3 and adding a walk...Loeb goes 7 IP, allows 4 hits and zero runs #26: LOSS 2-5 ... solo HR from Hagemann and Medici, but the pen blows another one, allowing 3 late runs for a walk-off loss Still scraping along, but at least we're going well over 2/3 of the roster -- hitting and starters yes, bullpen no -- so that's progress.... How bad is the pen right now? Dead last in ERA; only team without a relief win; only one w/ opp AVG over .300; and an OPS allowed near .900. So Yoshi Watanabe heads back to AAA and Brad Cahill gets the recall. Manny Reyes (7.94 ERA) may have an option remaining, but I doubt Marco Mendez (9.95) does. Bad as they've been however, I don't want to lose either to waivers.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is a game ahead of us but just lost 2B Matt Provance for four months. Provance looks like an average hitter but somehow managed 40 HR last year. He was hitting .325 at the time of his injury. So of course they "reload" by moving MVP SS Ryan Boers over to second and put star-in-waiting Javier Tzoc at short. Jerks.... LA and NOZ (them again?) are the first teams to 20 wins; Milwaukee has 19.... It's a good thing that LA's Gerardo Nieto plays half his games in a pitcher's park, otherwise he might not be "just" hitting a pedestrian .364/10/22 right now, good for 2nd, 1st, and 1st in the NL. And leads in batter WAR and league-wide OPS. ...... TL;DR Version:* A pretty scratchy first month to the season: 14-12, third place two games behind California. Some better results over the final week here pushed our offensive totals up a bit--8th in runs, 6th in AVG, 15th in HR--but we're still a long way from consistent on this front. And while most of our rotation--Daniel Croft excepted--has been better of late, our bullpen is a real anchor right now. Closer Nate Kearns has been okay, but like I said above, Mendez and Reyes have been awful, as has Anthony Booker and the for-now-departed Watanabe. The pen in AAA hasn't been that great either, so maybe we look somewhere else to shore things up if we can't get these guys going over the next month. Anyway, other things to note for this month and moving into May: OF Jeremy Hagemann has stopped hitting, so until Pederson gets back I'll look to work Diego Espino and maybe Brian Hassell into the lineup in RF a bit more; 3B Bobby Coronado wasn't even on the 40-man roster coming out of spring, but injuries necessitated his call-up, and he's responded by hitting .390 in 59 AB. With Jesus Calderin back tomorrow, I'm still going to keep Coronado in the lineup until he stops hitting. So maybe Calderin plays some second until he's hurt again. (Replacement 2B Bill Gamboa has been fine, hitting .268 with a .418 OBP, but we need more pop in the lineup.) Finally, Joe Lynn wants to talk contract extension, but the guy who regularly hit .320+ for five seasons appears to be gone, as he's into his second season of sub-.280 hitting. To the good, however, is that his awful CF defense from 2055 (a -0.5 ZR after a combined +38.5 over five seasons prior) has gone away, with a 2.7 ZR and 1.102 EFF to date. Unofficially, the 27-year-old wants a nine-year deal worth $123M. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-21-2022, 08:55 PM	#455
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 2056 Okay, get ready for month #2. Twenty-eight games, 15 at home including a month-ending nine-game homestand. Also we'll get our first tastes of top rivals Texas and Detroit, as well as the surprise East-leading Blue Jays. Time to get serious, boys! May 1 @ KANSAS CITY Wrapping up this three-game set. HAW pitcher: RH Jose Rivera (3-2, 4.91) KCR pitcher: RH Bill Perez (2-0, 3.11) #27: WIN 6-4 ... a 3-run 8th gives us enough cushion to survive yet another bullpen blowup...Rivera pulled in the 3rd with a back issue, but it's just a dtd thing Three games above .500 for the first time this season.... Rivera should be fine by his next start, just some back tightness.... Forgot to mention that I also called up 2B Andrew Cunningham from AAA to help with all these pesky infielder injuries. But with Calderin coming off the DL now, I've sent down Jim Pfeifer and expect to return Cunningham to Santa Barbara when Jake Moore is healthy in a week.... Speaking of Santa Barbara, after a 1-5 start they've won 6 in a row.... ELSEWHERE: The surprising Angels are about the hottest thing going right now, winners of 8 in their last 10, and with a 17-10 record they lead the AL West by a game over Texas.... Third-year pro Ivan Valladares, 23, is having quite the start in the Braves rotation: 6 starts, 47.2 IP, 61 K, 0.94 ERA, 1.7 WAR. Atlanta's still just 13-14 and treading water in the tough NL East. May 3-5 vs TEXAS Here we go! The standings are starting to sort out some now that we're into the second month of the season, and the Rangers have moved into second place at 16-11. While they've scored the most runs in the AL, as predicted their off-season pitching losses have hurt, with pitching ranked just 16th in runs allowed. With 2B Matt Provance done, last season's DH Javier Tzoc moves into the field. He's hitting .340 with 10 HR, so that seems pretty adequate. C Phil Thoma (.310/11/35) is having a career year, and the deadly trio of Ryan Boers/Mike Olivera/Eric Robbins are all hitting for average and power. Leadoff guy Emilio Mares is down a hundred points from a year ago, and sluggers Ted Miller and Eric Halvorson have yet to get on track, but no one is worried about them. On the mound, the rotation has struggled, but the bullpen has been pretty good, and now CL Han-lee Su is back from a AAA rehab stint, so things should get better. We've been better lately, but these guys still look better than we do right now, frankly. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-1, 2.95) / LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.40) / LH John Loeb (2-1, 2.76) TEX pitchers: RH Sean Reed (1-4, 8.84) / RH Mike Nelson (2-1, 3.69) / RH Joel Wiechart (2-2, 4.64) #28: LOSS 3-9 ... well that went poorly #29: LOSS 3-6 ... we score 3 in the 7th to take a lead, then give up 5 late to blow another game #30: LOSS 3-6 ... Matson hits his first HR, and we outhit them 11-9...nothing else to see here Well that **ing sucked. No hitting, no pitching, no anything. Time for some juggling.... LF Bennetsen isn't hitting, so Chase Thompson is in; also no bueno is CF Joe Lynn, so Brian Hassell slides in; MR Anthony Booker takes the fall for the entire bullpen, and Yoshi Watanabe comes back up. CL Nate Kearns loses that slot, and Brad Cahill is next in line.... Not sure what else to do right now. We do get some injured guys back soon--Pederson and Moore--so maybe that will help.... But it's hard to find speed when it feels like the whole car is terrible right now.... ELSEWHERE: Texas (4 consecutive wins) and California (8-2 of late) are trying to pull away in the AL West. NOZ has the largest division lead, at 7 games.... San Diego (8-22) and Montreal (9-21) bring up the rear currently.... CLE 1B Manny Ayala should be a superstar, with a .333 career average and a solid 2055: .333/.410/.525, 205 hits, 12 triples, 43 steals, 5.0 WAR. But he's been a regular since 2048, and that's the only season he's played over 118 games. Injuries are just brutal. May 6-8 @ TORONTO Tied with Miami for first, at 18-12. They've struggled to score, at 15th in runs and at or near bottom-tier in every other major offensive category. But pitching is carrying the day, league best across the board. 1B Ian Logan (.308) and 2B Joe Smith (.303) are getting on base, and C Victor Valadez (.289/4/11) is not far behind. But others are barely keeping up. Pitching? No complaints. The whole rotation is going well, and half the bullpen hasn't even allowed a run yet. For a team that hasn't finished over .500 in nearly a decade, and won just 58 games last year, this start has been a solid surprise. If they get any hitting at all, they can keep it up. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (4-1, 3.83) / RH Jose Rivera (3-2, 4.58) / RH Josh Irvin (3-2, 3.95) TOR pitchers: RH Nick Palmer (2-3, 4.17) / RH Jaden Buchanan (2-3, 3.72) / RH Josh Haynam (4-1, 2.82) #31: WIN 18-2 ... nothing makes sense any more...22 hits, 4 HR, 7 doubles...Waugh goes the distance, allows 7 hits, fans 10 #32: WIN 3-1 ... tired from the last game, we manage just 6 hits, but a pair of timely doubles saves the day...Rivera tosses 7.2, allows just 4 hits himself #33: LOSS 3-4 ... repeat after me: ANOTHER. BULLPEN. BLOWUP. Three runs in the 9th, a walkoff loss...Can anyone in the bullpen please step up? Better, but still some glaring holes: in particular, our relief pitching continues to be abysmal. Dead last. Dreadful. Choose your pejorative.... Any kind of power at all is still hard to come by, we do have guys who are hitting right now: Coronado (.357), Hassell (.312), Thompson (.348), Simmons (.303). Medici has cooled but is still at .302. My job is to figure out how to arrange them so can score in bunches, like the old days.... Shouldn't be surprising our offense has been iffy, given that my entire pre-season outfield is not playing right now: Pederson (hurt), Lynn (benched), Bennetsen (benched). Great.... ELSEWHERE: Nearly a dozen shutouts over the last league-wide series of games. Lots of guys are still hitting, but the pitchers are coming around now.... Milwaukee is still on top in the Central at 23-10, but just lost 3B Mitch Elmore (batting .364) for the season.... San Diego has lost 7 straight, still the only team with double figures in wins.... Winners of 9 in a row, Washington has moved into first in the NL East, 21-12 and 4 games ahead of ATlanta. May 9-11 vs MINNESOTA It's been a rough start for the Twins, who expected better than a 13-20 beginning. Both offense and pitching rank 14th, and the only statistical bright spots are home runs (6th) and bullpen ERA (3rd, must be nice). Injuries have taken a big bite, with 1B Santos Chavez and 3B Caleb Ottenburg missing time, in addition to the six pitchers currently on the DL. And some veteran bats have been awfully quiet so far: all-everything LF Jordan Foots (.198), RF Tim Marinaccio (.232), and DH Jesus Villegas (.244) the most notable. On the mound, the rotation is getting playground-bullied most every night, and no one has an ERA under 5.2. That bullpen ERA is all the more impressive when you note that closer Ryan Scheele (5.56) and setup man John Kekic (4.70) haven't gotten themselves right yet either. With both Milwaukee and Detroit off to hot starts, the rest of the Central may only be fighting for wild card scraps, and soon. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (2-2, 5.13) / LH John Loeb (2-2, 3.49) / LH Matt Waugh (5-1, 3.49) MIN pitchers: RH Ken Aikens (2-4, 7.88) / RH Dan Hannan (3-1, 5.72) / LH Sid French (1-4, 7.81) #34: WIN 8-4 ... Medici breaks open a 3-3 tie with a 2-run shot in the 6th...NEWSFLASH: Reyes in the pen tosses two shutout, no-hit innings! #35: LOSS 4-7 ... sigh: Medici legs out a triple but breaks his thumb sliding into third...Calderin FINALLY hits his first HR of the season #36: WIN 7-1 ... 3 hits each for Gamboa and Coronado (who?)...Waugh goes the distance again: 5 hits, 9 K Okay, two wins here and somehow we now find ourselves in second in the West (thanks mostly to California slumping). And RF Doug Pederson returned from the DL, so we sent down the struggling Jeremy Hagemann.... And then Medici goes and breaks a finger in the dumbest way possible. He'll be out for a month, so we recall Hagemann and will give him some time at first as well as OF. The one guy we really can't afford to lose offensively, and there he goes.... Team offensive numbers look better, but we're still just 15th in home runs. I expected Pederson and Calderin to hit 25-35 HR each, and Matson 15-20. They've combined for just two so far. Medici (with 9) has 1/4 of our entire output, so you can right away see one major effect losing him will have.... ELSEWHERE: Those Angels have now dropped 8 straight, putting them at .500 and down in third place.... San Diego finally one a game, after losing 9 in a row. And they still don't have ten wins yet (at 9-27).... Seven starts for STL's John Odom, and still with an ERA under one.... It's all or nothing for Mets ace Conor MacLeod: 8 starts, a 4-4 record. In his losses: 18 runs through 27 IP. In his wins: 11 runs in 29 IP. But his best numbers are a ridiculous 70 to 9 K-to-BB ratio. And in only his 9th year in the league, he already ranks 60th in career strikeouts. May 13-15 @ HOUSTON Our second go-round against the Astros; we took 2 out of 3 last month. Middling stats and a 15-21 record, last in the divison, but just a -3 run differential. Three reasons for that record jump out: ace Mat Caldwell is out for the year; key hitters--notably the 1, 2, and 4 spots--are just not producing; and the newly-crowned worst bullpen ERA in the AL. Closer T.J. Watson may not be long for that role, given his 11.74 ERA and 1-to-1 walks-to-innings ratio. Continued props to 28-year-old OF Ahmed Hackett, making the most of his first full-time starting role: batting .310 with 10 HR and a 1.020 OPS. But can he sustain a .371 ISO and a 177 wRC+? Rolling the dice now... HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (4-2, 4.02) / RH Josh Irvin (3-2, 3.49) / LH Daniel Croft (3-2, 5.13) HOU pitchers: RH Winton Jones (3-4, 3.57) / RH Chris James (2-3, 4.76) / RH Robbie Camp (3-4, 4.44) #37: LOSS 3-5 ... for once we lose early, falling behind 5-1 in the early frames...Matson pokes a 2-run shot late...Rivera yields 14 hits in 7 innings #38: LOSS 1-2 ... we waste a strong effort from Irvin, getting only 6 hits and contributing 2 costly errors #39: WIN 3-1 ... more walks (7) than hits (6), but some timely doubles help squeak out this one...Croft seems to be coming around finally Still haven't unlocked the secret to getting the offense going, as we muster a total of 17 hits in this series.... In particular, with Medici out, we're getting practically zero production from the heart of the lineup, the 4-5-6 slots. Pederson is back from injury, probably rusty, at only 2-for-15; Calderin is hitting .220 with 1 HR; and Collins only .229. Time for more tinkering.... Team defense stinks too, let's not overlook that: 17th in efficiency, 16th in ZR. Outside of 3B Coronado (-4.7 in 28 starts), no one has been truly bad, but no one is sparkling either. And guys who should be good--Moore at SS, Hassell in CF--have not performed.... Santa Barbara started the season 1-5, then won 17 straight until a recent loss to Sacramento.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego finally wins their tenth game, but still brings up the league rear at 10-29.... California has now dropped eleven in a row.... Richmond's won nine straight to surge to the top in the NL East.... Tampa Bay's Jose Taveras is the latest AL player of the week. Taveras, now 33, has 532 career HR, 70.6 WAR, and has been an all-star nine of his eleven full-time seasons. He's never played in fewer than 154 games over that stretch as well. ...... TL;DR Version:** The doldrums continue, with a 6-7 stretch putting us at 20-19 overall. Somehow it's my fault, I know: we're top five in offense and pitching, with a +26 run differential. But we can't put things together on a night-in, night-out basis. One glaring hole is our near-complete lack of power, which will probably disappear completely with Medici's injury. (Until Pederson shakes off his rust, we may not average one HR per series.) My hope now is that I can find the right lineup to just outhit and out-OBP teams, like we used to do. Is there help on the farm? Well, top prospects Jose Villalpando and Eric Sayward are hitting a ton in AAA, but neither has produced any of their promised power yet, and both have enough holes in their games that I think they shouldn't come up until September. Barring any further injury disasters, of course. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-30-2022, 11:46 AM	#456
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	May 16-18 @ OAKLAND With Houston's success against us just now, Oakland is the new occupant of the bottom spot in the division. Hitting is 10th in runs, but is only that high due to the 56 home runs they've hit; otherwise, their rankings are all bottom-five. Felix Reyes has 12 HR, but is batting just .220, Ryan Walton has 7 and .205. But the 1-2-3 spots are producing, 17 HR and a combined .291 AVG. Pitching is 12th, for a -7 run differential. The rotation hasn't performed and is near the league bottom, but the bullpen has been stellar. Star-in-the-making Alex Esquilin has struggled to match his stats from last season's post-deadline work, but at .289/.333/.461, he hasn't been terrible either. The Ancient Lance Powell is on the DL, after batting .188 with 1 HR over the first month of the season. For some reason, the future Hall member is angry about sitting with a torn quad; I guess that's what "low adaptability" means. HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (2-3, 3.80) / LH Matt Waugh (6-1, 3.10) / RH Jose Rivera (4-3, 4.17) OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (1-6, 5.89) / LH Steve Hansen (0-1, 6.75) / RH Glen Marler (2-2, 3.32) #40: LOSS 3-7 ... just no life at all...congrats on taking 8 walks, tho, guys #41: WIN 5-3 ... Gamboa, Bennetsen, and Thompson go deep, driving in all five runs...another single-digit hit night--8 here--so we're lucky for the power display #42: LOSS 4-7 ... pass Well, for a change we got some mostly sad pitching to go along with our lack of hitting. So that's nice, keeping me guessing like that.... Just in case you missed it: we dropped four out of six to the two last-place teams in our division, dropping us back to .500 for the season.... I keep thinking somebody is going to wake up and start hitting, but alas.... ELSEWHERE: Philly's hard-knock season just got a little more dinged: SP Cris Frias tears up his elbow and is out for a year-plus. Frias cooled off some after his crazy hot start (29 K in 2 games), failing to get past the second inning in two of his three most recent starts. His walks had also ballooned to nearly 7 per 9 IP, and now we know why. He's been limited by injuries the last two seasons, and this one may ultimately be a career-killer.... Twelve straight wins now for Richmond, and three up on Washington.... Cincy's won 9 of 10 to pull to 3 behind New Orleans. These two teams fought hard all of last season too, and this division is shaping up to be fun again this year.... Cleveland has been a subpar ten games below .500, but they're getting a couple of nice individual performances. OF Many Ayala still leads the AL in hitting, and journeyman pitcher Taylor Baxter is 6-0 with an AL-best 1.80 ERA. He's earned 5.9 WAR in his six-year career but is on pace to get 6.5 this year alone. ...... *BREAKING NEWS: TRADE ALERT!* In an effort to shake things up a bit, we make a pair of mid-size trades that will hopefully address some of our issues. First we send slick-fielding but poor-hitting (.083) OF Diego Espino to Toronto for OF/DH Miguel Tejeda. Tejeda hit 27 HR for the Jays last year, but was relegated to the bench this year for some reason. He's not much of a fielder, so will slot into the DH role. Hope you brought your bat with you, Miguel. Espino was popular and a team captain, but never hit well enough to earn more than part-time play. Tejeda will be a free agent in the fall, and at 28 is three years older than Espino; so the Jays agreed to eat his salary for the year. Second, we welcome back RP Ramon Sanabria from the fading Phillies, in exchange for a pair of relievers I'd hoped to see in the bigs one day, but were held back by wildness: former high picks Elias Tena and Narayan Seshu. Sanabria, now 40, has been pretty solid in 15 games for the Phils this year, but with their struggles they were looking to swap out some of their old bones. Sanabria played two seasons for us, earning a Hoyt Wilhelm trophy in '47. He's closing in on 900 career appearances, and could find himself as closer if everyone around him keeps struggling. He's signed for next year as well, and Philly is also eating his entire contract ($1.68M). ...... May 19-21 @ NEW YORK Our long-ass road trip concludes in the Bronx, where the Yankees have slipped into last place in the East, at 15-27. Their offense ranks dead last in runs, and they aren't hitting for contact or power, or getting on base much either. Old man (37) Jose Rodriguez (.317/11/35) has been good, and former MVP Melvin Lopez (.276/.415/.466) has a nice line. Injuries and age, however, seem to be the culprits: 2B Marcus Dotson and RF Hughie Noonan are out, and Andrew Taylor (38), Arturo Sena (37), and Victor Provencio (34) are looking slow and creaky right now. Pitching has been okay, 12th in runs allowed. A pair of LHP at the top of the rotation--Sedillo and Hamel--have been rock-solid, but few others anywhere on the staff have been. Closer Chris Milano is an up-and-down guy, and this year appears to be a down cycle for him. Injuries haven't helped here either, with SP Alex Correa and CL Tim Downing on the shelf. If you're a Yankees fan, their recent history has been tough: still one of the richest teams around, constant mis-management has seen them make the post-season just three times since 2025, and they haven't won a title since 2017. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-3, 3.38) / LH Daniel Croft (4-2, 4.55) / LH John Loeb (2-4, 4.18) NYY pitchers: LH Jose Sedillo (1-3, 3.38) / RH Mike Knaak (1-4, 4.58) / RH Justin Spurrell (0-1, 5.94) #43: WIN 7-6 ... we fight back from a 4-1 early deficit and win it in the 8th on a Gamboa RBI single...Gamboa also goes deep, ditto Bennetsen with a GRAND SLAM in the 5th #44: LOSS 3-14 ... ugly all over...five pitchers get beaten nearly to death, and our offense again puts up almost no fight...Sanabria's first appearance is a disaster #45: WIN 4-3 ... outhit again, but we add 8 walks (with 7 hits), and use Null's RBI double in the 8th to pull it out...Mirabile dictu! The pen goes 2 IP without a run! Still not firing on all offensive cylinders, but somehow we managed to take two games here.... That second game was enough to drop our pen back to last place in the ERA race. Ah well, our progress was fun while it lasted.... Pederson now batting .114. Just how much rust can you accumulate in two months.... ELSEWHERE: Five straight losses for New Orleans has dropped them into a tie for first with Cincinnati. The AL Central race is also tied, with Detroit and Milwaukee now 11 games up on third place KC.... Mets pitcher Conor MacLeod showed some of his old form in whiffing 17 Portland batters, but still took the loss despite allowing only five hits.... The Angels season may be on life support, but don't tell 1B William Swanson, your latest AL player of the week. The three-time MVP hasn't quite been the same hitter in Cali that he was for Texas ("only" 9 WAR and 105 HR in his two seasons in SoCal), but he's back at the top of the hitting charts so far this year. Tanned, rested, and ready to go. May 23-25 vs SEATTLE FINALLY back home after a day off, and we'll close out the month on a nine-game run. At 22-23, the M's are just a game behind us, and a game ahead of Houston and California. Sixth in runs, but just 11th in AVG; they're getting on base otherwise and hitting for power. Must be nice. Paul Stough (14 HR) and Ger van Mourik (12) are making the most noise, but both are also hitting well below their career averages. The staff is 13th in runs allowed, with both #1 SP Vince Push and CL Jimmy Unangst having a rough time of it. But vet SP Ron Rivera and fomer Isle Mike Bader--of course--are having solid seasons, with the latter sporting a nifty 43:9 K-to-BB ratio. It took CF Rogelio Pena a while to establish himself, but in his third season as a starter the leadoff man is working on a career season, at .283/.355/.542, with 14 steals and 8 HR. He strikes out a bit much, and his glove isn't the best, but the 27-year-old will be a high priority for the M's to re-sign this off-season. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (7-1, 3.14) / RH Jose Rivera (4-4, 4.50) / RH Josh Irvin (3-3, 3.63) SEA pitchers: RH Vince Push (3-4, 6.83) / RH Ron Rivera (6-3, 2.99) / RH Mike Bader (4-4, 3.70) #46: WIN 7-4 ... Again: only 7 hits but 8 walks...Lynn pops his first HR, drives in 4 runs too...Waugh gives up a pair of solo HR, but fans 11 in 6.2 IP #47: WIN 5-0 ... we make our five hits count tonight, oy...Jose again wins the Battle of the Riveras, now 2-0...Tejeda hits his first HR as an Islander #48: LOSS 2-7 ... still no consistent offense, only 8 hits...Irvin gets knocked out early, and Sanabria is bombed again and this time leaves with an injury. Fabulous. Our lack of hitting has seen our team stats slide down the charts the last couple of weeks, down to 7th in runs and 8th in AVG and OPS. But hey, we're second in steals! Awesome.... 2B Lucas Tipping is back after the next series, but where's he gonna play? Bill Gamboa has been good as his replacement, and backups Jake Moore and Bobby Coronado have hit for average (both over .300) if not for power.... We're No. 1! In starter's ERA, at least. Can any of them hit, I wonder.... ELSEWHERE: Hey, Mets fans: the Wilpons are finally out, with the recent passing of owner Eric Wilpon. It was thought that son Eric, Jr., would take over, but the family sold the club to a consortium fronted by Montana businessman Justin Orgain. His goals? PROFIT and Fiscal Economy. Sounds like a wining formula.... KC has won five in a row, and has allowed only three runs while registering three shutouts. They're still just .500 and the offense is mostly bottom-half in the AL, but with improving pitching if they can hit at all as the summer heats up, they'll contend for a wild card at least.... Fun stuff in the NL, with two one-game division leads and a slumping LA team (six straight losses) holding just a three-game lead over Austin and Portland. And how about the AL East: Miami leads by one game over BAL, TB, and TOR, and two games over BOS. NY, however, is well out of it. May 26-28 vs DETROIT We've stumbled a bit against mediocre to poor teams, so what happens when we face the 34-14 Tigers? Ranked 2nd in both offense and pitching (and team defense), but only 9th in AVG -- so they're getting on base and power-hitting their way to success, as usual. Reigning MVP and DH Pat Townsand (.321/15/42) has been stellar, as has 2B Elliott Wheat (.293/12/27). Leadoff 3B D.J. Grace is hitting .317, and SS Matthew Powell has 11 HR. But half the lineup is hitting under .230, and yet they're doing okay considering their three starting OF are all on the DL. (That includes Roberto Gomez--see below--who, at 23, has never played in more than 61 games in his professional career. Made of porcelain, poor guy.) Anyway...Pitching. Yeah, that's going good too. In the rotation, only vet Carlos Zenon has poor underlying numbers, but he's been a lucky 4-0 record-wise. They've all been so good that they moved long-time starter (and former Isle) Chris Liles into the pen, and he reeled off 10 saves to open the season. HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (4-3, 5.30) / LH John Loeb (3-4, 4.14) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 3.10) DET pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (4-0, 6.14) / RH Steve McKeen (3-3, 4.76) / RH Jose Hernandez (6-4, 4.19) #49: LOSS 0-1 ... Croft is pretty good tonight, despite 4 BB in 6 IP...but we can only manage three hits, with only two runners reaching second base #50: WIN 3-2 ... Loeb allows just 5 H and zero R through 7...we triple our hits (!), including 2 RBI doubles from Matson and a solo HR by Gamboa #51: LOSS 3-5 ... Cahill gives up a 2-run HR in the 10th, plunks the next guy up, and sparks a brawl. Sigh...only six hits by our still-paltry offense Still clinging to a winning record, 26-25, but only just.... The offense is now 10th in runs, so time for the lineup blender again.... Tipping is back from the DL, and will get some starts despite Gamboa hitting fairly well (only .268 but with an .867 OPS).... Cahill gets suspended for two games. Which means a two-day delay before I send him back to AAA. Who's the next savior for the bullpen, I wonder.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa's found themselves, having surged to a 9-game winning streak and a tie for first with Miami.... Like us, LA has gone flat (8 losses out of 10), bringing Portland and Austin to just two games behind.... Lots of guys having good seasons so far, but let's talk about two who are not. San Diego LF Jesus Cabrales is a career .240 hitter who's usually good for 25-30 HR a season. Right now, though, he's bringing up the rear of every batter, with -1.5 WAR and a .161/.256/.201 line, and one HR in 172 PA. And on the mound, it's Cleveland pitcher Aaron Banks, with an 8.20 ERA, -1 WAR, and 30 BB and 12 HR in 45 IP, over 8 starts. Congrats guys! May 29-31 vs CALIFORNIA Tied with us in the jostling pack behind the Rangers, at 26-25. They've gone 10-14 this month, at one point losing 11 straight and 14 out of 15. But since then they've reeled off seven consecutive wins, just in time to befuddle us. Offense ranks 8th in runs, with 1B William Swanson (.361/.420/.705 and 16 HR) pounding out another MVP-caliber season. No one else has been stellar, but the usual suspects--RF Mo Marquez, LF Chris Burns, and 3B Mike Eskridge--have been solid and getting on base enough for Swanson to drive them home. Pitching is 5th, with the only difficulty being closer Brian Jackson and his 6.04 ERA and 1.59 WHIP. But scheduled closer Adam Burg comes off the DL in a week, so that'll help things. A pretty quiet team, with the only near-controversy being the anger felt by backup catcher Manny Fontane, hitting .278, for not starting over veteran Jose Fletes and his .185 weakness. (Fletes is a team captain and is maybe twice the defensive catcher Fontane is, so that's probably it.) HAW pitchers: RH Jose Rivera (5-4, 3.91) / RH Josh Irvin (3-4, 4.13) / LH Daniel Croft (4-4, 4.94) CAL pitchers: LH Shaun Ostrander (1-1, 4.29) / RH Nate Elder (1-3, 3.92) / RH Aaron Moore (6-3, 3.39) #52: LOSS 4-5 ... Rivera gives up all 5 early, but goes the distance, allowing only 6 hits with 12 K...9 hits for us, but just more dullness all around #53: LOSS 4-5 ... Irvin does the rare "no walks and no strikeouts" effort across 8.2 IP...amazing how an entire team can slump at once. Exactly zero guys going well right now #54: WIN 6-4 ... not sure where this one came from...2 H for Pederson, doubling his season total...3 H, 2 RBI from Tejeda, finally True mediocrity: 27-27 record, +6 run differential, average stats (except for 1st place SP ERA, and next-to-last place HR, 17th).... With Tipping coming off the DL, Jeremy Hagemann goes down to AAA. Hags did have 8 HR, second on the team, but was hitting just .238 and striking out an awful lot of late.... We're wasting a lot of solid efforts from our rotation, with our broken offense and our sad bullpen. Also, our team FIP is 1st in the AL, at 3.89. Is that good or bad?... One positive is that our top three farm clubs have winning records, a hugely meaningful thing to our pennant hopes.... ELSEWHERE: 21 HR for Texas' Phil Thoma, leading all of baseball. And with 3.7 WAR, that's more than half of his career total over his four-year career.... A trio of sadness: Montreal, San Diego and the Chisox all with 16-38 records. Quite a fall for the Sox, having won 90+ games each of the last four seasons, and 112 just two years ago.... Checking in on some former #1 overall draft picks: 2052 guy Eddie Feltman is back up with Baltimore, fitting in as a utility IF, batting .242 but with 7 steals and really good defense; 2051's Van Polk, taken by Austin, has already retired due to injury. And the two previous guys, Ryan Boers (TEX) and Jordan Foots (MIN) are perennial all-stars. ...... TL;DR Version: Lineup juggling, two trades, and a lot of cursing. Nothing has worked yet. Next up: witch doctor or exorcist, depending on who answers the classified ad first. I've complained about our offense a lot, and I'm sort of stumped. Most guys haven't been terrible, but nobody is hitting for power or even for extra bases. Usually we ring up tons of doubles; this year, only Matson has more than 8 (he has 18, tied for 3rd in the AL). And no one is in double figures in HR. So much for addressing that shortfall this off-season. We are second in steals, but would we be better off if we didn't run so much? Dunno. Another shortcoming: next-to-last team defense. The top guilty parties there have been 3B Bobby Coronado (now benched despite hitting a low-key .345), and SS J.J. Simmons (plus 6 errors). Backup SS Jake Moore has been worse, and LF Erik Bennetsen hasn't hit well and looks lazy in left. That's not a critical fielding position, so he'll get chances to get his swing into a groove. But if we're still .500 (or worse) at the end of June? Might be time to give up on our playoff streak and refigure things for 2057. I haven't had to think like that for a long, long time; but I guess it all catches up to you eventually. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

06-11-2022, 12:53 PM	#457
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2056 draft Let's skip ahead to 6/6 for the annual party that is the... 2056 ROOKIE DRAFT AND HAWAII SYSTEM OVERVIEW It's MLB Christmas! In June! Merry merry! Where to begin... How about a top prospect who has already been a #1 overall pick? (More on him below.) Or no teams with multiple first round picks? (But several--including Texas with three--that have multiple Supplemental first round picks.) Or that once again there are no pitchers in the top ten ranked prospects? Not that that will stop teams from taking pitchers in the top five, really, but still an odd thing. (In fact, the BNN Mock Draft says picks 2-6 will be pitchers, so stay tuned.) The arguable #1 overall prospect is OF Eric Lowenstein, who you may recall was taken first by the Orioles back in '53, while still a high schooler. He passed on signing and went on to star at Rice University, and now reenters as a near-consensus #1. He has a strong lefty bat with power and contact, won't strike out much, and is an excellent runner with speed to burn. His defense is just adequate, and he is undisciplined at the plate. He's still a solid pick. His competition is another high school OF, Jon Tanana, who may also prove difficult for a team to sign. He could be an even better hitter, with no weaknesses yet on display, but has a tin glove and little speed. The third, somewhat overlooked triumvir is OF Kyle Ewing, an affable guy from Georgia Tech. His ceilings project a bit lower than the other two, but his defense is better and he is okay on the bases. Not bust material, and a sure-fire top ten pick regardless of who snubs him for pitching instead. After him, it's kind of wide open, and who really knows where any of the pitchers in the top 50 will go. If it were me with a chance to roll the dice on a pitcher, rather than one of the top hitters? I might just go with LHP Erik Rogers, nearly a clone of our own old friend Eric Jones: okay stuff, but sublime location and control, and an extreme groundballer. BNN sees him going at #19. He won't fall to us at #29, but a guy can dream. So let's get going... Oakland starts us off with a truy weird pick, taking pitcher Aaron Penkava: he's stupid and lazy, and has just B-level ceilings, while demanding a $9M bonus. SMDH. Toronto keeps the silliness going by taking LHP Alfonso Sabillon, who's a much better human being but not any better as an actual pitcher. Brooklyn then laughs all the way to the bank and takes Tanana, maybe the best thing they've done in years. Montreal selects Ewing next, and the "will anyone take Lowenstein?" chatter builds. Minnesota selects another pitcher, Paul D'Angelo, making me at least ask "What the hell is going on here? Am I missing something?" Finally, the Giants end the suspense and take our good friend Lowenstein at #6, and ESPN eventually simmers down. Pittsburgh wounds me at #8 by taking the wonderfully-named Khalil Fauntleroy, and Seattle finishes me off at #13 by grabbing Erik Rogers. Game over, we're done. Good night. I've got options at #29 now, and I'm torn. There's a trio of solid power-hitting 1B/DH types (Adam Martin, John Hoffman, Pat Lennox), who should produce power for years, but do I go with a DH-type in the first round? Then there's OF Ron LaBarge, a high schooler and therefore more volatile, but with a lot to love: solid hitting, undeveloped but intriguing power, excellent on the bases, and a good fielder at OF/2B/1B although with a noodle arm. His bonus ask is reasonable despite being listed as "Extremely Hard" to sign. Do I dare...? Or maybe IF/OF David Tedesco, about as fluid and graceful a fielder as you'll ever see, anywhere, with great intangibles...but subpar hitting ceilings. I don't have a pick again until the 4th round, so I want to get this right.... Our Picks, Revealed: Round 1, #29 overall: OF/2B/1B Ron LaBarge, RH, 18, high school. I went with the intriguing potential. His defense is just okay, so he may end up as just a 1B/DH potential anyway, but I like his hitting/speed combo better than the other 1B-only guys listed above. Now we have to sign him... Round 4, #150 overall: C Jeff Meadors, SH, 18, high school. Good defensive and leadership attributes, and charts well as a hitter outside of some contact issues. Might ditch us to play college at Georgetown, but who wouldn't rather make peanuts while riding endless miles on sweaty buses instead? Round 5, #186 overall: OF David Chasteen, LH, 17, high school (Hawaii). Local kid getting a shot! Decent across the board at the plate, okay on defense, not much of a runner. Sound clubhouse guy, could end up a solid lefty-hitting utility OF one day. Round 6, #222 overall: P Jaylen Hall, RH, 21, Penn State. Pitchers were thin on the ground outside the first couple rounds this year, and Hall was about the best avaiable to us. May struggle with control, but is otherwise decent. Groundballer. Developed enough to start in A ball straightaway. Round 7, #226 overall: OF Gavin George, LH, 19, junior college. Why not take a chance on a guy who was good-not-great on the JuCo circuit? Very nice defense, can run, and has surprising hitting ceilings, at least according to our wacko scouts. May not take a walk, and might strike out a bit too. So you see, not all sunshine. Round 8, #294 overall: P Chris Hedrick, LH, 18, high school. I dunno about a low-stuff reliever, but he has enough pitches (six!) that could develop to make him a starter one day, and with the intangibles to rise above his humble scouting reports. Movement and control ceilings look pretty impressive, though. Round 9, #330 overall: OF Andy Steward, RH, 18, high school. At 6'4" "Stilts" is a veritable giant among non-giants. This guy is just all hitter: big power potential, line drive guy, good discipline, but prone to Ks. Can't run and laughs at playing defense. Could be good, or could become a legend in AA. Best of the rest: Ehhhh.... I went for a lot of high-intangible sorts, so you know how that could turn out. The intriguing guys, to me at least, fall way down the list. Pitcher Zion Glatt (at round 25), is a straight-throwing finesse pitcher. Which--I will admit--may not give you the warm fuzzies, but his other ceilings look pretty nice. And our final pick, in round 28, is IF Sincere Booker. (Yes, he can run.) Excellent defense, great wheels, hard worker; if he can hit anything at all, he'll have a chance. ...... SYSTEM OVERVIEW Michael Rivera, our new scouting director, has decided to befuddle me with his new ratings. While there hasn't been a lot of upheaval at the top of the ranks, he decided that most of our minor league pitchers were woefully underrated in the movement department. Do you know how unsettling it is to see a AA guy you thought little of get a write up like "Movement potential goes from 11 to 19"? Now multiply that times twenty guys. Is this for real? Probably not. But it makes us look like we actually have some RP hopefuls now, and has otherwise altered our pitching hopefuls to where I'm going to have to actually study some charts now. Taking a look at the chart below, let's look at a few guys in particular, rather than going through the top ten or so like I usually do. (FYI we still have the #1 rated system in baseball, with three in the top ten and 12 in the top 100.) At #1, we're still high on Jose Villalpando, and his stats in AAA show he's probably ready for the bigs. We're still waiting for his power to show, which I'm assured it will do...one day. SS Cris Flores, at #3, needs to hit better to ever start, but his speed and defense will get him far anyway. Logan Barnett, at #4, gets scouted all over the place these days, so I'm not exactly high on him right now despite his gaudy position on this list. That trio at 5/6/7 can't be separated with a knife, they're scouted so closely. If one of them makes it as a full-time starter, I'll be tickled. Likewise with Curt Christensen at #9 and the also-fast-rising Jayden Gorham at #23. My favorite name continues to be #10, Rocky DeMars, a big-time slugger who has not hit for average in AA yet, but was a monster in A last year (.369 with 21 HR in 55 GP). He's also already shown serious injury issues, missing all of '54 and 2/3 of last season. One guy not shown here is RP Joey Mayer, ranked #39, who currently has allowed zero runs in 18 innings at AAA, fanning 29. I'd like his control to be a little higher, but yeah he's otherwise good to go. Also of intrigue: ... #13 Joey Ulrich, a high-contact defensive stud who has no power and plate discipline issues; ... #17 Marcos Lemos, 21, with rising ceilings of late, making him a solid defensive 3B and a now slightly-above-average hitter ... #18 Mimum Antar, from Zambia, solid-looking utility OF who's only drawbacks are strikeouts and an inability to run ... #28 Kyle Kolstad, local kid who needs to stop striking out so much! Great CF, fast as all get out, and some nice pop at the plate. Just...whiffs galore tho Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

06-16-2022, 07:24 PM	#458
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 2056 Twenty-seven games to get us back on track, 12 at home, 15 on the road. We'll finish the month on a 12-game road swing, which might sound bad except that we're a game under .500 at home (and a sterling one game over .500 elsewhere). Medici comes back from the DL in a week, which should help. (His replacement via trade, Miguel Tejeda, has hit .244 with 1 HR in 12 starts since coming over. Meh.) Lineup tweaks and maybe some more reconfigs in the bullpen are on tap again. Let's see if anything gets us going. June 2-4 vs BOSTON Finishing off our homestand before a long road stretch. At 28-26, the Sox are in 5th in a tight AL East, just three games out of first. (The Yankees are last, six games behind Boston.) Hitting has been a struggle, at 13th in runs, with only the mid-lineup guys like Tyler Knott (.362/7/32) and Dustin Wasilewski (.318/12/38) hitting with consistency. But their pitching is 1st in runs allowed, featuring 30-year-old journeyman Jose Palomino with a breakout season. Ace SP Yuya Watabe has missed a few weeks (and is out for one more), but they haven't missed a beat without him. Fun fact: half of the bullpen is named 'Mike.' HAW pitchers: LH John Loeb (4-4, 3.70) / LH Matt Waugh (8-1, 3.18) / RH Jose Rivera (5-5, 4.04) BOS pitchers: RH Mike Moffit (2-3, 3.96) / RH Dave Yocum (4-6, 4.86) / LH Jose Palomino (4-2, 1.99) #55: WIN 4-0 ... only 7 hits, but 5 are doubles...add in 4 walks, 2 HBP, and 2 sac flies...Loeb goes just 6.2 IP, and amazingly the pen holds up for the remainder #56: WIN 5-3 ... crazy explosion of 16 hits, including 3 each from Simmons, Lynn, and Tejeda...2 H, 2 RBI for Calderin, waking up at last? #57: WIN 6-4 ... a big 4th puts us up 6-1, and we ride out a pair of rocky innings for the win...Hassell goes 3-for-4, and Calderin and Matson add 2 H each A sweep! When was the last time that happened? (Checks schedule...) First one this year! Timely, now let's go build on that.... Still looking for bullpen help, so I send off a pair of do-nothing minor leaguers (one, Chris Allred, was at AAA and has some talent at least) to the Giants for RP Jason Morales. He's been okay as their closer this year, but has had more success in a setup role, which he'll take on here. To make room, I option Brad Cahill to AAA, and DFA minor league pitcher Phil Bishop. (The 40-man is full!). Morales is now the only lefty in the pen, and his first appearance will be the first by a portsider this year.... Santa Barbara is now 33-11, after a 1-5 start.... ELSEWHERE: California just lost LF Chris Burns for the season, which will hurt. They've stabilized (7-3 of late) after an awful 1-14 run, so this is not good news.... Montreal, San Diego, and the Chisox are still stuck below twenty, each with just 17 wins.... Baltimore SS Chris Rock is healthy for the moment, and is now riding a 21-game hit streak. He's hitting .341 and has missed 23 games already this season, meaning he will play in fewer than 140 games in a season for the 7th of his 11 big-league seasons. June 5-7 @ CLEVELAND The 23-34 Indians sit in 4th in the Central. This franchise gets its act together about once a decade, putting forward a few winning--even playoff-caliber--teams, but nothing more. They're running out of time to get it done this decade. Hitting has been okay, but suffers from the same problem we have: only 10th in runs despite sitting top-five in AVG and OBP. Why? Only 52 HR, dead last in the AL. Injuries aren't helping, with AL-leading batter (at .363) Manny Ayala on the DL, and now 1B Josh DeRango and 2B Antonio Guerrero facing pending injury diagnoses. But the major criminals here are in the pitching staff, thanks mostly to the 2nd-worst rotation ERA in baseball, at 5.50. Ace Taylor Baxter (8-1, 2.44) has been brilliant, but holdovers Jose Rubio, Dane Olivas, and Jake Mackowski have been awful. Things might be better if projected starters Dudley Mele and Tyler Malinich were healthy, but then who knows. And somehow their bullpen ERA ranks 8th despite three of their most-used guys having a combined ERA of 7.50 (over 102 IP) and a 1-13 record. There are some good parts here, and some promising guys on the farm. But not enough of them--and not soon enough either--to make any short-term difference, alas. HAW pitchers: RH Josh Irvin (3-5, 4.14) / LH Daniel Croft (5-4, 4.89) / LH John Loeb (5-4, 3.36) CLE pitchers: RH Jose Rubio (3-6, 6.34) / RH Sam Tedder (5-4, 4.33) / RH Bryce Witulski (1-2, 6.57) #58: LOSS 5-6 ... Reyes allows the GW in the 10th, but blame the coaches for leaving Irvin in to allow 2 runs in the 9th...Bennetsen's 3-run HR gave us a short lead earlier #59: WIN 5-4 ... our turn: Pederson's single in the 10th is the GWRBI...everyone gets a hit, 16 in total...Morales pitches the final 2 innings for the win #60: WIN 4-2 ... another late win! Collins dribbles home a run with a single, then Hassell brings home two more with another one...Reyes gets the win, gets hurt too Except for a couple of bad, late decisions in that first game, this was an all-around satisfying series. Two in a row now! Reyes' injury might drag things down, however.... Pederson is now hitting .179, his highest of the season. Sigh.... Tejeda has gotten a few clutch hits of late, but is still hitting only .232 with 2 HR since the trade. With Medici returning in two days, Miguel's gonna see some bench for a while.... A nice 5-1 start to the month, keeping us 5 behind the Rangers. California is keeping up, tho, tied with us, and the only teams in the division over .500.... ELSEWHERE: Mets SP Conor MacLeod keeps devastating NL hitting, most recently to the tune of a 14-K no-hitter against a powerful Phillies lineup, while walking just one. This is the first no-hitter of the season, and the first for a Mets pitcher since Kyle Michael did it back in 2051.... It's Miami's turn atop the AL East, a 7-3 streak putting them two games ahead of Tampa Bay. In the NL, Richmond is staying hot--winning 8 of 10--and has a six-game lead over Washington.... Texas catcher Phil Thoma continues to amaze: with 24 HR he's the only player to top the twenty mark, and also leads the AL in RBI, WAR, SLG, OPS, and ISO.... Baltimore's Chris Rock had his hit streak ended at 25 games. He and SD's Humberto Nunez (20 games) are the only players to have reached that 2# level. June 8-10 vs HOUSTON Back home again for the middle of the month before we go on a long-term cruise across the country and back. With Oakland deciding to not freefall any more, the Astros are bringing up the rear in the division, at 25-35, twelve games out of first. Offense is 16th, pithing 13th. Like I say every time we play these guys, the only batter who's earning his keep right now is DH Jose Renteria, at .295/16/40. RF Matt Dippel has 10 HR, but is hitting only .217; RF Steve Wheatley is hitting .271, but brings no power to the #5 spot in the lineup. Things should improve a little when LF Ahmed Hackett (.289/11/25) returns in a few days. Pitching is barely adequate, with the rotation at least having the 7th-ranked ERA, despite no one showing a number lower than 4.26. Winton Jones has returned to earth after his hot April and early May, losing three starts in a row and yielding at least 5 ER in three of his four most recent starts. But he's young and will figure it out soon. Aging owner Jim Crane, Jr, may have lost his marbles: every team goal is far behind his demands, and yet he's described as "ecstatic." I'll have some of those meds, please. HAW pitchers: LH Matt Waugh (9-1, 3.19) / RH Jose Rivera (6-5, 4.16) / RH Josh Irvin (3-5, 4.28) HOU pitchers: RH Miles Iandoli (4-6, 4.83) / RH Winton Jones (4-7, 4.36) / RH Chris James (4-6, 5.08) #61: WIN 14-3 ... six in the 6th, then 4 more in the next frame break open a 4-3 game...2 HR for Pederson, who then sprains his neck watching his magic happen #62: LOSS 1-2 ... yeah well Winton Jones found it in this game: 5 hits allowed, dammit...Medici gets a hit and a walk in his return #63: LOSS 3-4 ... oh ** it...a few hits, a HR, blah blah Lots of good will and momentum lost in this series. We're now two games behind California, thank you very much guys.... The bullpen is waking up at last, but our bats continue to look good one game and then sleepy for the next several. And still very little power game going on right now. I can't explain it, other than just a run of bad dice rolls right now. We've got the horses (or so it seems).... ELSEWHERE: Milwaukee and Detroit have gone cold, while the Royals have won 8 in a row, bringing them to just 8 games behind first and back in the division (and wildcard) race.... Meanwhile Toronto has dropped 7 straight and fallen right out of contention in the East. Still time to recover, though.... LA can't pull away yet like they've done in recent years, and leads the NL West by only a game over Portland. The Pioneers can't hit a lick but they've got the 2nd best pitching in the NL right now, and only one SP has an ERA over three. (LA, shock of all shocks, has the 15th-ranked pitching stats in the NL, definitely not earning the $100M+ they've poured into that staff.) June 12-14 vs OAKLAND So they're only one game under .500 since May 1: getting back on track, or a false hope for the near-term? Hard to say, given that their underlying numbers--13th in runs, 12th in runs against--are not good, and that not-so-horrid offensive placement is belied by terrible on-base numbers. Only a 7th-place showing in home runs is keeping the offense afloat right now: Felix Reyes and Ryan Walton have combined for 31 dingers, but also a .209 average. None of the catchers are hitting; 2B and SS are also offensive holes; and their DH is batting .206. Better news is that a couple of their top hitting prospects are ready to go, and only need to have the chaff removed, and soon. On the mound, the bullpen has been solid (5th in ERA), the rotation not so much (15th). But consider also these numbers: of the 47 guys currently under a big league contract, 14 will be free agents, one has a PO, and only one is signed beyond this year. Everyone else is arbitration eligible. MLB says they'll go from a $162M payroll to just $72M. So they'll either be able to clear the decks and rebuild in a grand way, or face on-field catastrophe next year. Fun either way! HAW pitchers: LH Daniel Croft (5-4, 4.81) / LH John Loeb (5-4, 3.28) / LH Matt Waugh (10-1, 3.12) OAK pitchers: RH Jaden Sales (3-6, 4.74) / RH Tom Baker (5-2, 3.12) / LH Sean Guerrero (0-2, 5.62) #64: LOSS 2-5 ... held to just three hits here...we touched Sales for a run in the first, but he got injured. Otherwise, what could have been... #65: WIN 18-2 ... feast or famine, eh...18 runs on 18 hits, 4 H each for Lynn and Medici...Loeb goes the distance, allows 6 H while fanning 8 #66: LOSS 2-4 ... brutal Once again we can't get out of our own way. One crazy game sandwiched by two brutal offensive showings. I have seen some bad teams, but never an entire team in a slump like this. How we're 5th in offense in the AL is beyond me. Our pitching has stabilized to where we're now 1st in runs allowed, and we've got a tidy looking +43 run differential. But there's just no dynamism in our offensive game anymore. I can't figure it out.... Forgot to mention Manny Reyes' injury: partially torn UCL, out 8-9 months. Brad Cahill comes back up for now, and Jason Morales moves into a setup role with Ramon Sanabria.... ELSEWHERE: It went from bad to worse for Cleveland's Manny Ayala: out for three weeks with a knee strain, in his first game back he tears up the same knee and is done for the year.... Not even at the 70-game mark of the season and there are three AL batters with at least 4 WAR: Phil Thoma (TEX) at 4.4; and teammate Ryan Boers and Boston's Tyler Knott at 4.3. Boers is gunning for his 2nd MVP crown, while Knott is a soph OF for the Sox who led the AL in runs, hits, and doubles last season. ...... TL;DR Version:** Skipped to this part? You didn't miss much. Some early month success (5-1) gave way to moribund hitting and a pretty logy 2-4 stretch. We're back to just two games over .500, at 34-32, a game behind California and 8 behind Texas. The good news? The bullpen has been stable of late, although we're going to miss Manny Reyes, done for the year with a torn UCL; most of our team offensive stats are up, although I'm not sure how; for the first time this season, no batters/fielders are on the DL. The bad news? Will anyone reach double figures in HR? Popgun offense: 3rd highest OBP, 4th in AVG, yet only 9th in OPS. I've continued to shake up the lineup, to little avail. But I'm going to do it again: Simmons over to third, Gamboa to short, Calderin to the bench. Tipping gets more PT at second, to try to wake him up. Matson and Tejeda will platoon at first, and Hassell will regularly spell Lynn in center. That last one...it might be time to let Hassell take over for good. He's outhitting the veteran Lynn, but doesn't yet measure up defensively. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

06-17-2022, 03:32 AM	#459
Palaaemon Minors (Triple A) Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 263	Missing Game Just a quick question. What happened to the game on June 1st? There was no mention of it but I assume it was a win as Hawaii was 27-27 at the end of May and at the start of your latest post you said that the team was 1 game over .500. I was just curious about the missing game. Have a good night! __________________ I don't have to run faster than the bear, just faster than you.