MLB 2019 - Texas Rangers - A Challenge Mode Dynasty

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Figures he would no hit his former teammates. I have to admit I fear this for the upcoming MLB season with Seattle trading him to the Yankees

Honestly, with everybody talking about Machado and Harper this offseason, that trade for Paxton may be the biggest impact deal for the next years that nobody is really talking about... if he can stay healthy.

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Griever20

Honestly, with everybody talking about Machado and Harper this offseason, that trade for Paxton may be the biggest impact deal for the next years that nobody is really talking about... if he can stay healthy.

With Paxton that is a huge IF, but if he can then he should be a big piece in the Yanks rotation.....like they need the help. Meanwhile here in Seattle the playoff drought continues

[Griever20]

Transactions:
July 2nd – The international amateurs are there... and since we have some money available, we offered $5M to consensus top player 3B Florinio Ledon(17, 4.5*HS, 5* OSA). A right-handed hitter, he has a cannon for an arm and a big home run hitter in the future... maybe...

July 4th – The Rangers and 2B Hansel Moreno(25, 3/4.5*) agreed to a 7y/$42M extension kicking in at the end of the season. The switch-hitter is batting .259/.344/.500 20HR 49RBIs in 82 games.

July 5th – 3B Florinio Ledon(17, 4.5*HS, 5* OSA) has signed and was named the #7 prospect in baseball right away!

July 8th – LHSP Nick Lodolo(24, 4/5*) agreed to a 10y/$80M contract extension today that will keep him around until the end of 2032. He is 1-3 4.06 43K in 7 starts.

July 10th – The All-Star teams were announced today and the Rangers sent
SP Cory Taylor 9-4 2.90 102K 115IP 2.7WAR
as lone representative...

July 21st - C Danny Jansen was activated off the DL and C Matt Whatley(26, 0.5/1.5*) was optioned to AAA. However, with Patrick Bailey batting .275-3-10 .859OPS in 25 games, Jansen will serve as a backup now.

July 22nd – C Patrick Bailey(23, 2.5/4*) and the Rangers have agreed to an 8y/$36M contract extension that will keep him around until the end of 2030. The 2020 13th overall pick is now batting .280-3-10 .868OPS in 26 games.

July 26th – SS Royce Lewis(23, 4/4.5*) was placed on the 10-day DL with a sprained knee that would've kept him day-to-day for one week. The 23-year old was batting .282-8-35 .759OPS 34/51SB in 90 games. 2B Jorge Castellanos(25, 1.5/2.5*, .322-4-18 .866OPS 10/11SB AAA) was recalled.

Series:
2-1 vs HOU
2-2 @ OAK
3-0@ LAA
All-Star Break
1-2 @ SEA
3-1 vs LAA(Patrick Bailey 2-2 3R 2RBI 2BB DB HR(3), Nick Lodolo 5IP 4H 1ER 0BB 10K W(2-4 3.59))
1-2 @ SEA(Nelson Velazquez 2-4 2R 3RBI 2HR(16))
0-2 @ SFG(Nick Lodolo 7IP 2H 0ER 2BB 8K ND(2-4 3.13))
3-1 vs NYY

July: 15-11
Runs Scored: 584(3rd)
Batting AVG: .263(5th)
OBP: .335(5th)
Home Runs: 180(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 93(2nd)
Runs Against: 469(3rd)
Starters ERA: 4.38(4th)
Bullpen ERA: 3.82(3rd)
Defensive Eff.: .692(3rd)

An average month. Everybody did their job, Patrick Bailey and Nick Lodolo did a good job out there, Nelson Velazquez hit .233-6-15 .789OPS, good enough to replace McKinney, Edwin Diaz is a solid 2-1 5SV 3.48 15K in 10.1IP and Sparks is 4-14 with 2 walks.

Also, Nomar Mazara is finding his form, batting .316/.400/.674 with 9HR and 23RBIs and so did Aaron Nola, going 2-1 2.17 26K in 5 starts. Oh, and Brett Adcock posted a 2.73FIP... and a 7.94ERA... this guy has some rotten luck... Thompson however was horse**** again with a 6.31ERA and a 7.71 FIP.... sucker...

The big news for me personally... were the contract extensions signed. I'm fairly optimistic on the Lodolo contract and the Hansel Moreno deal as the 2B is batting .250-23-56 .807OPS right now... the Bailey deal is a risk.

Apart from a couple of relievers leaving, we are pretty much set for 2023, however Danny Jansen and his $5M arbitration estimate and Matt Whatley and his $3.4M arbitration estimate will move off the book for 2023 one way or another... which means Bailey needs to perform...

A little prospect update, and it's important. Logan and the guys are warming on Jorge Anjo as the 18-year old Venezuelan added another 1-2 mph on his heater and they have him as a 4* prospect that is 2-1 4.22 11K in 49IP in rookie ball... not bad. The international amateur free agents are muy importante for us as we (hopefully) won't draft high the next few seasons, and adding quality prospects that way will help us maintain that... Anjo(2020), Granados(2021) and now Ledon(2022) hopefully will go a long way with our org...

In Other News:
July 2nd – Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers(25, 4.5*) lost a long 26-game hitting streak today in a 8-3 win over the Athletics today. The reigning AL MvP is batting .314-11-47 .871OPS in 69 games.

July 24th – Twins C Ben Rortvedt(24, 2.5/3*) has hit for the CYCLE today, going 5-5 3R 6RBI DB TP 2HR in a 12-5 win over the Astros. The young lefty hitter is batting .275-6-28 .764OPS in 66 games.

July 28th – Twins SP Daniel Mengden(29, 2.5*) blanked the Tigers 8-0 today, going 9IP 5H 0ER 0BB 4K. The righty moved to 6-5 4.66 93K in 21 starts.

July 29th – Royals SS Adalberto Mondesi(27, 3*) collected 5 hits today, going 5-6 3R 3RBI HR in a 12-8 win over the White Sox. The 2022 AL All-Star is batting .305-14-58 .867OPS in 84 games.

July 30th – Blue Jays SP Chris Sale(33, 5*) is in Cy Young form, pitching a 9IP 3H 0ER 3BB 8K game in a 8-0 win over the Red Sox. The 10x All-Star moved to 9-5 3.13 168K in 22 games.

August 1st – Royals C Adley Rutschman(24, 4.5/5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .458 with 7 home runs, 20RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .312-17-52 .926OPS in 64 games for the year. He was the first overall selection in the 2019 draft and the #2 prospect prior to the season.

August 1st – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(28, 4.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .381 with 9 home runs, 22RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .349-29-93 1.048OPS in 106 games for the year.

August 1st – Royals SP Alfredo Mariscal(33, 3.5*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.93 36K in 37.1IP for the month and 10-3 4.56 91K in 19 starts for the year.

August 1st – Dodgers SP Walker Buehler(28, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 1.85 49K in 39IP for the month and 8-6 4.23 163K in 23 starts for the year.

August 1st – Royals C Adley Rutschman(24, 4.5/5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .458 with 7 home runs, 20RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .312-17-52 .926OPS in 64 games for the year.

August 1st – Giants CF Helios Ramos(22, 3/4*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .303 with 3 home runs, 18RBIs and 9 runs scored for the month and .271-5-32 .726OPS in 52 games for the year.

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Griever20

Attachment 598889

.

July 10th – The All-Star teams were announced today and the Rangers sent
SP Cory Taylor 9-4 2.90 102K 115IP 2.7WAR
as lone representative.

The only team in baseball with a winning % over 600 only gets 1 rep. Really shows the team success is really a team effort

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

The only team in baseball with a winning % over 600 only gets 1 rep. Really shows the team success is really a team effort

Which is exactly how I like it, and how this team was built. Like, defense and pitching success just go hand in hand more often than not, which is the first big cornerstone of this team.

Also, you can safely say that every single position player we have has this one little flaw that keeps him from being elite, may it be defense, may it be the ability to make above average contact, may it be the missing ability to avoid K's. The only guy that MAY become one is Royce Lewis who has been magnetic to day-to-day injuries lately...

Generally, I think in OOTP you can literally divide the $30M per year you would pay for a Harper kind of guy into slices of $8M, $8M, $8M, and $6M and be better off if you have a little luck, and take a little risk here and there down the road.

[Griever20]

Bailey on Fire, 5-for-5 Against Baltimore
stadiumreport.bbn

August 13th, 2022

The Texas Rangers tripped up the Baltimore Orioles 8-4 today. The Rangers were led by Patrick Bailey, their 23-year-old catcher. Bailey made life miserable for Baltimore pitchers all day, tagging them for 5 hits in 5 at-bats. Patrick Bailey singled in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, singled in the 7th, singled in the 8th and hit a three-run triple in the 9th.

Currently, Bailey is batting .295/.397/.530 with 6 home runs and 18 RBIs in 42 games in his rookie season.

Almora Smacks 5 Hits for Rangers
stadiumreport.bbn

August 19th, 2022

It wasn't just another day at the ballpark for Albert Almora today. Almora went on a tear and cracked hit after hit off Detroit pitchers. When the dust settled on the diamond at Globe Life Park in Arlington, he had a 5-for-6 line and a day he will long remember. And the Texas Rangers had an 18-1 victory over the Tigers.

"Yeah, it'll be something nice to tell the grandkids, but it won't get me a hit tomorrow," he joked in the postgame interview.

Albert Almora singled in the 2nd, singled in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, struck out in the 6th, hit a two-run double in the 7th and hit a two-run single in the 8th.

So far this year in 81 games Almora is hitting .261/.296/.359 with 4 home runs, 32 RBIs and 35 runs scored.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
August 4th – Royce Lewis was activated from the DL, and 2B Jorge Castellanos(3-14) was demoted to AAA.

August 17th – 2B Hansel Moreno(.248-25-63 .794OPS) had to be placed on the 10-day DL with a sprained thumb that would've hampered him for the next 3 weeks. 2B Jonathan India(25, 3.5/4*) was called up to make his MLB debut. The right-handed hitter was batting .326-14-89 .906OPS in 115 games in AAA.

Series:
2-1 vs CLE(Aaron Nola 8IP 2H 0ER 2BB 7K W(8-3 3.40))
1-2 @ KCR
1-1 @ PIT(Patrick Bailey 2-5 2R 3RBI 2HR(6))
4-0 @ BAL(Patrick Bailey 5-5 2R 3RBI TP)
1-2 vs STL(Bobby Bradley 2-3 2R 4RBI BB 2HR(33))
4-0 vs DET(Nomar Mazara 3-4 3R 5RBI 2BB TP 2HR(25), Albert Almora 5-6 3R 4RBI DB)
1-2 @OAK
2-1 @ LAA(Jonathan India 3-2 2R 3RBI 2HR(3), Jake J. Thompson 7.1IP 3H 0ER 2BB 5K W(11-5 4.81), Nick Lodolo 7IP 4H 0ER 3BB 8K W(4-6 3.19))
1-1 vs OAK(Aaron Nola 8.1IP 3H 0ER 2BB 11K W(10-5 3.07), Bobby Bradley 2-4 2R 6RBI BB 2HR(36))

August: 17-10
Runs Scored: 740(3rd)
Batting AVG: .265(5th)
OBP: .337(5th)
Home Runs: 228(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 116(2nd)
Runs Against: 569(1st)
Starters ERA: 4.09(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.88(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .695(1st)

Now, we had a good month on paper, but I'm not quite convinced. We went 8-0 against the bottom feeders from Baltimore and Detroit, but 9-10 against the rest... with only LA(2-1) and Kansas City(1-2) being a playoff bound team... would've loved some more convincing results...

Speaking of convincing results, Nick Lodolo has simply no luck... and struggles a bit with going deep into games. He roughly averages 5.2IP per start, albeit with a good ERA, and somehow attracts losses... With some room for growth in his control, that should work out a lot better in the future tho.

Roster wise, we will recall Albert Abreu, who was 7-2 1.96 in AAA, and use him as part of a 6-man rotation, as well as 2B Jorge Castellanos(.310-4-26 59G AAA), CF Bubba Thompson(.294-13-76 121G AAA), LHRP Brett Martin(9-1 4SV 3.35 57K 75.1IP AAA) and RHP Riley Pint(10-7 4.19 112K 26GS AAA).

Also, Hansel Moreno obviously will rejoin us when he is fully healthy... and he will be in a tight battle with Jonathan India next year as it seems... India made quite a jump this season as Logan has him rated 60/55/55/60/55 on hitting, 3.5/4.5* overall, and is batting .333-3-12 .980OPS in 13 games so far... WoW... we went from having issues at second to having two quality players... good thing we did not sign that Cuban dude for a big pile of cash...

While that worked out, the Edwin Diaz trade... didn't so far. The 28-year old has 10 saves with us, but also works to a 4.67ERA with one loss and one blown save... living on the edge...

Now, not to be negative nancy too much, some of our guys deserve credit. 1B Bobby Bradley hit .313-9-24 1.082OPS in August and was snubbed of a Player of the Month Award, Patrick Bailey hit .308-2-7 .841OPS... very nice, and Aaron Nola quietly went 3-2 with a 1.62ERA and looks very solid despite his lowered stamina... and Justin Williams is competing for the batting title... that is a .093 batting average swing compared to 2021, and a 3.4WAR swing with one month to play...

Oh, and Dallas Keuchel keeps asking for a contract extension... you have a 4.69ER. You can accept the qualifying offer if you want to get me into trouble, but I think we will be fine with Abreu, Crouse and Mize battling for that rotation spot next season...

In Other News:

August 3rd – Mets LF J.D. Martinez(34, 2.5*) hammered three home runs today in a 15-6 loss(!) to the Phillies, going 3-4 3R 5RBI 3HR. The 2x All-Star is batting .268-29-89 .914OPS in 104 games.

August 4th – Mets LF J.D. Martinez(34, 2.5*) cannot be stopped. He hit three more home runs today, 4-4 4R 7RBI BB 3HR in a 10-3 win over the Pirates. He is now batting .275-32-96 .949OPS in 105 games.

August 4th – Mets CF Ian Happ(27, 4.5*) joined the party, going 4-5 3R 6RBI 3HR in a 10-1 win over the Brewers. The 2019 NL Silver Slugger is batting .256-26-71 .837OPS in 106 games.

August 6th – Royals C Adley Rutschman(24, 4.5/5*) lost a 22-game hitting streak today, going 0-4 in a 4-2 win over the Rangers. The 24-year old is batting .317-18-57 .942OPS in 68 games.

August 6th – Reds SP Jacob Heatherly(24, 2.5*) blanked the Cardinals 6-0, going 9IP 4H 0ER 2BB 6K. The 24-year old is 7-3 3.35 68K in 14 starts.

August 13th – Brewers SP Zach Davies(29, 3.5*) rolled to an easy 5-0 win over the Pirates, going 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 7K for the day. The 2x All-Star is 12-5 3.93 100K in 24 starts.

August 30th – Rays 3B Evan Longoria(36, 2.5*) had an impressive 5-5 day with 3 runs and 3 doubles in a 8-2 win over the Mariners today. The 3x Gold Glover returned to the team where it all started this year via trade and is batting .304-12-41 .839OPS between NYM and TBR.

August 31st – Twins LF Christian Yelich(30, 3*) saw his 20-game hitting streak come to an end with a 0-4 BB day in a 7-3 win over the Tigers. The 3x Silver Slugger is batting .294-12-61 .846OPS in 121 games.

September 1st – Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers(25, 5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .358 with 12 home runs, 27RBIs and 26 runs scored for the month and .334-29-92 .981OPS in 119 games for the year.

September 1st – Braves RF Bryce Harper(29, 5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .298 with 10 home runs, 27RBIs and 26 runs scored for the month and .283-35-90 1.048OPS in 131 games for the year.

September 1st – Yankees SP Chance Adams(28, 3*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-0 2.17 32K in 37.1IP for the month and 11-8 5.19 137K in 27 starts for the year.

September 1st – Brewers SP Zach Davies(29, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 2.70 24K in 43.1IP for the month and 14-6 3.73 111K in 27 starts for the year.

September 1st – Royals C Adley Rutschman(24, 4.5/5*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .329 with 8 home runs, 21RBIs and 16 runs scored for the month and .316-25-73 .961OPS in 87 games for the year.

September 1st – Marlins RF Dominic Fletcher(24, 2.5/3*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .409 with 8 home runs, 16RBIs and 14 runs scored for the month and .359-9-19 1.059OPS in 35 games for the year.

[Griever20]

Transactions:
September 6th – Hansel Moreno was activated off the DL today and will go straight back into the lineup ... as Jonathan India(.320-3-12 .953OPS 15G) was suspended for 5 games for charging the mound...

September 16th – September call-up RHRP Riley Pint(24, 3/4*) did not last long as he ruptured a tendon in his right index finger and will be out of the season. He posted a 10.80ERA in 6.2IP...

Series:
2-1 vs BAL Mag# 12, LAA 13GB
2-1 @ HOU Mag# 9, LAA 13GB
3-0 @ DET Mag# 4, LAA 15GB
2-1 vs KCR Mag# 1, LAA 15GB
2-1 @ BOS(Dallas Keuchel 7.1IP 5H 0ER 1BB 2K W(15-7 4.32), Joey Gallo 3-4 2R 4RBI BB DB HR(43)) CLINCHED
1-2 @ TBR
3-0 @ LAA(Albert Abreu 6.2IP 2H 0ER 2BB 7K W(7-5 4.78))
1-0 vs HOU(Patrick Bailey 2-3 3R 6RBI 2BB DB HR(11))
2-2 vs LAA
1-0 vs HOU(Albert Abreu 7IP 3H 1ER 2BB 8K W(8-5 4.50))

September & October: 19-8
Runs Scored: 892(2nd)
Batting AVG: .268(4th)
OBP: .340(2nd)
Home Runs: 275(2nd)
Stolen Bases: 131(2nd)
Runs Against: 569(1st)
Starters ERA: 3.94(1st)
Bullpen ERA: 3.78(2nd)
Defensive Eff.: .695(3rd)

We fell short one win from tying our franchise high mark of 103 wins... set last year, but we have the best record in AL and baseball and will once again wait for the result of the Wild Card game. Toronto - Yankees. More good news, every key player is healthy, and our guys are at least warm.

Justin Williams actually managed to win the batting title, and while he 'only' posted a 3.8WAR season besides that... that was a great bounceback from 2021 and that will hopefully continue in 2023. Also, kudos to Nelson Velazquez who slowly got his batting average above his weight and hit 34HR in 128 games, good for a .490SLG with good defense... corner outfield sorted for now.

Pitching-wise, we will go with a playoff rotation of Taylor, Lodolo, Nola and Keuchel, righty-lefty-righty-lefty. Jake J. Thompson(1.33ERA September) and Albert Abreu(2.25ERA September) made late bids for a spot, but this is Dallas Keuchel's last year with us... and with a 30-15 3.55ERA 268K career in two seasons, he earned that last rotation spot.

Lineup-wise, the consistency of our guys is impressive. Mazara had another season around .290-30-100, Bradley another season around .275-40-120, Gallo another season around .225-42-100 and Royce Lewis another .296 55SB 95R .800OPS year... only cut short by day-to-day injuries... else he would've easily stolen 60, scored 110 and posted around 6WAR.

At second base, we decided to leave Jonathan India off the playoff roster despite him batting .303-6-19 .924OPS in 25 games, and he will definitely push for a roster spot... but Hansel Moreno had a .260-26-73 .818OPS year in 135 games and hit .357 in September... that is a bit longer track record.

The player that surprised and impressed me the most... was 23-year old Patrick Bailey. Logan really hit it with that 13th overall pick, and a .285-12-36 .863OPS year in 80 games means we may have gotten a steal with that 8y/$36M contract extension... which means the arbitration estimates of $3.8M of Danny Jansen and $1.1M of Matt Whatley won't be paid out next year....

As crazy as it sounds after a 102-60 season, I still think that this is just the beginning of the prime of this roster. Lodolo, Lewis, Moreno, India, Bailey all have room for growth and the oldest of our core guys are Aaron Nola with 29 and Joey Gallo with 28...

We will need to rework our bullpen for next season as Diaz and Kahnle will leave into free agency. My secret plan for one of those spots is 23-year old AA closer Tony Darland who went 3-3 12SV 2.20 in AA and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings in AAA... and 4.1IP with one run allowed and a win in the AAA playoffs. Also, Dylan Cease and Riley Pint will be back... so we may go with in-house options and save some money here, and add at the trade deadline.

In Other News:
September 2nd – Padres LF Rangel Ravelo(30, 2*) hit three big home runs today in a 9-7 win over the Cardinals, going 3-3 3R 4RBI BB 3HR. Claimed off waivers from OAK last year, he is batting .264-19-62 .777OPS in 120 games.

September 2nd – Angels CF Mike Trout(31, 5*) collected career home run #400 today in a 8-4 win over the Blue Jays. The 2x MvP, 2012 AL Rookie of the Year, 11x All-Star and 9x Silver Slugger is a career .299/.411/.572 hitter with 400HR, 1093RBIs, and 1793 hits in 1649 career games.

September 3rd – Blue Jays SP Marcus Stroman(31, 3.5*) worked his groundball magic today in a 6-0 win over the Angels, going 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 2K. The 2x Gold Glover is 7-7 3.84 69K in 22 starts.

September 6th – Giants SP/1B Brendan McKay(26, 3*) pitched a big 7-hitter today, walking none and striking out 7 in a 5-0 win over the Padres. The two-way player moved to 12-9 3.09 137K in 28 starts.

September 8th – Blue Jays 3B Miguel Sano(29, 3*) added some points of batting average today, going 5-5 R RBI 2DB in a 8-2 win over the Mets. The 3x All-Star is batting .258-39-92 .901OPS in 137 games for the season.

September 8th – Cubs LF Juan Ramirez(27, 2*) had a big 6-6 R 6RBI 2DB HR night in a 12-6 win over the Cardinals today. A scouting discovery from Venezuela in 2019, he is batting .312-6-36 .830OPS in 131G/49GS.

September 9th – Rays SS Wander Samuel Franco(21, 4.5/5*) popped five hits today in a 8-2 win over the Orioles, going 5-6 2R RBI. The young stud is batting .301-23-59 .853OPS in 119 games.

September 9th – Yankees SP Alex Lange(26, 3*) blanked the Athletics 5-0 today, allowing 2 hits and 4BB while striking out 5. The 26-year old is 8-1 3.49 89K in 21 starts.

September 17th – White Sox 3B Nicky Delmonico(31, 2.5*) drove in seven with a 3 home run performance, going 4-5 3R 7RBIs 3HR in a 12-6 win over the Angels. The 2020 AL All-Star is batting .210-21-64 .675OPS in 140 games.

September 19th – Diamondbacks LF Michael Conforto(29, 5*) lost a 24-game hitting streak in a 5-0 loss to the Reds. The 5x All-Star is batting .305-31-116 .956OPS in 149 games in his first year with the team.

September 27th – Nationals SS Trea Turner(29, 4*) also saw his 21-game hitting streak come and go as his team lost 12-8 to the Braves. The 2021 NL Silver Slugger is batting a hot .321-18-82 .901OPS 33/43SB in 146 games.

September 29th – Dodgers SP Walker Buehler(28, 3.5*) pushed his ERA under four with a 9IP 4H 0ER 1BB 9K gem in a 5-0 win over the Padres. The 2019 NL All-Star is 11-10 3.98 229K in 34 starts.

October 1st – Angels CF Mike Trout(31, 5*) was named AL Batter of the Month after batting .301 with 9 home runs, 18RBIs and 20 runs scored for the month and .248-37-99 .866OPS in 156 games for the year.

October 1st – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(28, 4.5*) was named NL Batter of the Month after batting .404 with 8 home runs, 21RBIs and 21 runs scored for the month and .346-40-125 1.032OPS in 160 games for the year.

October 1st – Yankees SP Alex Lange(26, 3*) was named AL Pitcher of the Month after going 5-0 2.51 27K in 32.1IP for the month and 11-1 3.47 106K in 24 starts for the year.

October 1st – Dodgers SP Alex Wood(31, 3.5*) was named NL Pitcher of the Month after going 4-1 2.45 34K in 40.1IP for the month and 12-9 3.25 183K in 32 starts for the year.

October 1st – White Sox SS Osiris Johnson(21, 3*) was named AL Rookie of the Month after batting .365 with 4 home runs, 16RBIs and 19 runs scored for the month and .313-16-41 .942OPS in 71 games for the year.

October 1st – Mets 2B Tyler Callihan(22, 4/5*) was named NL Rookie of the Month after batting .310 with 7 home runs, 14RBIs and 18 runs scored for the month and .290-17-33 .968OPS in 114G/48GS for the year.

October 6th – Rangers RF Justin Williams(27, 2.5*) has won the AL Batting Title this year, batting .326/.359/.547 23HR 92RBIs in 127 games.

October 6th – Dodgers SS Corey Seager(28, 4.5*) has won the NL Batting Title this year, batting .344/.419/.608 40HR 125RBIs in 162 games.

Rangers On The AL Leaderboards:
Cory Taylor – ERA – 3.33 - 1st
Cory Taylor – W – 16 – 2nd
Dallas Keuchel – W – 15 – 3rd
Cory Taylor – WAR – 3.8 – 5th
Cory Taylor – IP – 189.1 - 5th
Cory Taylor – QS – 21 - 1st

Justin Williams – AVG - .326 - 1st
Joey Gallo – HR – 47 - 3rd
Bobby Bradley – RBI – 119 - 5th
Joey Gallo – R – 112 - 2nd
Justin Williams – 2B - 51 - 3rd
Royce Lewis – SB – 53 - 1st
Royce Lewis – CS – 21 - 1st

Service Announcement: I will push back the Prospect Report to the start of the offseason to get the rescout in.

[Griever20]

NL Wild Card:
New York Mets 4 – Cincinnati Reds 2
New York advances to NLDS.

AL Wild Card:
Toronto Blue Jays 7 – New York Yankees 1
Toronto advances to ALDS.

The Toronto Blue Jays:

The third-place finishers in the AL East are still led by John Gibbons as the veteran skipper now made the playoffs the fourth time in ten seasons during his second tenure as a Blue Jays manager.

They used their ace in 2020 AL Cy Young winner Chris Sale(33, 4*, 10-9 3.57 226K) in the AL Wild Card game and he threw 8.1 innings of 1-run ball... which means we will start the series with RHSP Marcus Stroman(31, 3*, 9-7 3.94 77K 26GS) and their version of Nick Lodolo in 21-year old RHSP Alexis Carmona(21, 3.5/5*, 6-4 3.80 144K 26GS), a low stamina kid that throws 99-101 with groundball tendency... oh, and then there is RHSP Sean Reid-Foley(27, 2.5*, 3-5 4.74 41K 9GS)...

Bullpen-wise, they are in for quite a struggle. RHRP Antonio Santillan(25, 4/4.5*, 8-7 11SV 5.31 101K 96.2IP) was named their closer for the series, and the team is 9th overall in bullpen ERA. LHRP Adam Liberatore(35, 2.5*, 5-4 11SV 2.88 99K 75IP) will be a key for the series as their second lefty in Dario Alvarez(33, 2*, 1-0 8.10 7K 6.2IP) didn't impress much in limited time.

And then the lineup... that is missing their key figure. 3B Miguel Sano(29, 3.5*, .262-45-104 .920OPS 151G) is out for the season and then some, suffering form a torn PCL, out for 8-9 months. That means that their lineup starts with 2B Bo Bichette(24, 3/3.5*, .256-32-90 32/38SB .810OPS) as leadoff man, our old friend LF Jurickson Profar(29, 2*, .272-15-57 .781OPS 130G) and a pretty solid 5th round selection in 2018, RF Nick Decker(23, 3/3.5*, .261-21-79 .770OPS).

Cleanup duties will be performed by LF/DH Khris Davis(34, 1.5*, .219-17-40 .688OPS 100G), who was a good player two years ago when they signed him... but is pretty much washed up now. Interestingly enough, they bat 1B Jose Abreu(35, 2.5*, .263-22-57 .818OPS 110G) sixth... lineup construction....

Prediction: I don't want to say sweep, but I'll say TEX in four.

American League Division Series Game 1:

October 10th, 2022

Toronto Blue Jays - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

TOR: SP Marcus Stroman(R, 9-7 3.94)
TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 16-7 3.33)

We went with the reigning ERA King in the American League, and the park was packed and hyped for this first game. That hype took a little hit when Bo Bichette, who was 3-13 in the regular season against Taylor, started things off with a double to left... and it took two amazing plays by Albert Almora to end the top of the first scoreless.

Our half saw a couple of base hits by Williams and Mazara... second and third... one out... and we bottled that chance with Bradley hitting one on the ground and Gallo hitting one into the air... and we wasted two more runners in the second...

And of course, that came back to hunt us as the Jays reeled off two straight singles, turned the lineup over with a fly out... and drove in the first run of the ballgame when Bo Bichette went 2-2 with a line drive single to center that dropped in front of the Almora... TOR 1, TEX 0.

We knew that Stroman was hittable, and that came back when Justin Williams singled to right center and Kevin Pillar, normally a strong center fielder, overran the ball for a single and an error. Single, RBI-single(Bradley), walk, and RBI fielders choice(Moreno)... and the good guys were in front, 2-1... for mere seconds.

The Jays tore Taylor to shreds with three singles, a run-scoring wild pitch and another RBI groundout... Bo Bichette was 3-3 by then... and the back and forward continued when Nomar Mazara lasered a single into right... 2-run single, TEX 4, TOR 3. The team that for once gets pitchers on the mound that can get clean innings will win this game...

And Cory just barely did that after Abreu doubled and McGuire walked by inducing an inning-ending grounder to first base... that was his fifth inning, and we decided to close the book on him before the Jays find the dynamite hidden in it and fire that one up...

Toronto, on the other hand, went with Tyler Duffey right away in the fifth and that did not change a thing... he pitches, we hit, just with Duffey, it flew out of the park as Patrick Bailey tattooed him for a 2-piece... GOOD BOY! TEX 6, TOR 3!

And yet, that lead continued to erode over the innings. Jake J. Thompson came in, was taken for a ride by Bo Bichette(4-4 and counting), who else, for a home run and was yanked with runners at the corners, one out, in the seventh... Betances got the outs... but gave up a sac fly... TEX 6, TOR 5... CMON...

Unsurprisingly, the Jays started to throw their junkyard bullpen at us... with great effect... so with Edwin Diaz coming out to save a one-run lead, the only good news was... Bichette fanned in the eighth and was not up again... and with a little help by a diving Justin Williams, Diaz nailed down the save 1-2-3 in an unconvincing game one win...

SP Cory Taylor 5IP 8H 3ER 2BB 2K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-5 R
RF Justin Williams 2-4 R
DH Nomar Mazara 3-4 R 2RBI DB
1B Bobby Bradley 2-4 RBI
2B Hansel Moreno 2-4 RBI
LF Nelson Velazquez 2-4 R
C Patrick Bailey 1-4 2R 2RBI HR
HR TOR: Bo Bichette(1)
HR TEX: Patrick Bailey(1)
W: Cory Taylor(1-0 5.40) L: Marcus Stroman(0-1 9.00) SV: Edwin Diaz(1 0.00)
TOR 5 TEX 6 TEX leads ALDS 1-0
First, Taylor and Thompson were bad, the back end of our bullpen was pretty solid at least. Second, the 'weak' Jays lineup looked pretty good to me... Third, our offense still was pretty good. Onwards to Nick Lodolo...

ALDS:
Tampa Bay Rays 2 – Kansas City Royals 3
Kansas City leads ALDS 1-0.

NLDS:
Atlanta Braves 8 – Milwaukee Brewers 6
Atlanta leads NLDS 1-0.

New York Mets 9 – Los Angeles Dodgers 1
New York leads NLDS 1-0.

Atlanta Braves 3 – Milwaukee Brewers 7
NLDS tied at 1.

New York Mets 3 – Los Angeles Dodgers 2
New York leads NLDS 2-0.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 2:

October 11th, 2022

Toronto Blue Jays - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

TOR: SP Alexis Carmona(R, 6-4 3.80)
TEX: SP Nick Lodolo(L, 4-8 3.89)

Featured as the 'Duel Of Two Future Cy Young Winners", I personally wasn't sure we would see a pitcher's duel here as both kids had ups and downs during the season. Nicky had the better peripherals and went a bit deeper on average, Carmona has a bit more experience as this is already his second season in the big leagues.

Anyways, Nicky started off the game with a whiff of tormenter of Rangers' pitchers Bo Bichette, whiffed our former employee Jurickson Profar, and then easily stranded Nick Decker, who blooped a lucky single into right. Three innings into the game, the Blue Jays still hadn't figured him out... and 7K's were on his ledger as he was electric and then some.

On the other hand, Carmona had a problem with walks... as we started off things with a walk by Royce Lewis... and a popout later, Nomar Mazara put a '1' onto the board with a loud double to left center. And the score stayed that way for a while.

While Carmona did not survive the fifth inning as Albert Almora grounded one sharply to the right side for an infield hit and then the righty wanted nothing of Nelson Velazquez... who walked. Enter lefty reliever Adam Liberatore... who K'ed Patrick Bailey... and then Royce Lewis came through with a boop to center... bases loaded, one out... CMON GUYS!

Justin Williams came up... and got the minimum done... sac fly, TEX 2, TOR 0. Mazara made the final out... and we handed a 2-0 lead to Nick Lodolo... who by that time had struck out TEN(!) in five innings. His day would end after six innings + one batter in the seventh...as Abreu singled to start that inning... by then, it was 3-0 Texas as Gallo bombed Adam Liberatore in the sixth... NOW BULLPEN, BRING THAT GEM HOME!

We brought in Guzman... and that nearly went sour as the first batter he faced singled... but our groundball guy became a strikeout guy as he fanned the next two and induced an inning-ending fly out to right! Alex Claudio pitched a clean and strong eighth... and the game eventually ended early as Joey Gallo saw Nomar Mazara at first... and decided to call it a night by hitting one 371ft to right into the bleachers.

SP Nick Lodolo 6IP 5H 0ER 0BB 11K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-3 R BB
RF Justin Williams 0-3 RBI
DH Nomar Mazara 1-3 R RBI BB DB
3B Joey Gallo 2-4 2R 3RBI 2HR
CF Albert Almora 2-4 R
HR TOR: none
HR TEX: Joey Gallo 2(2)
W: Nick Lodolo(1-0 0.00) L: Alexis Carmona(0-1 4.50)
TOR 0 TEX 5 TEX leads ALDS 2-0.
Nick Lodolo is a ******* god. That was an impressive, gutsy performance. No walks, five hits and the big strikeouts at the right time. And then, the offense did their job. One away with Aaron Nola up.

ALDS:
Tampa Bay Rays 0 – Kansas City Royals 1
Kansas City leads ALDS 2-0.

NLDS:
Milwaukee Brewers 4 - Atlanta Braves 0
Milwaukee Brewers leads NLDS 2-1.

Los Angeles Dodgers 3 - New York Mets 4(11)
New York wins NLDS 3-0, advances to NLCS.

[Griever20]

American League Division Series Game 3:

October 13th, 2022

Texas Rangers - Toronto Blue Jays @ Rogers Center

TEX: SP Aaron Nola(R, 12-6 3.24)
TOR: SP Chris Sale(L, 1-0 1.08)

Ok, this is going to be a tough cookie as Chris Sale genuinely is an ace. We beat him last year in the AL Wild Card game by grinding out AB's, getting him out of the game as early as possible and hope that we can hit the bullpen. That could work again if Aaron Nola manages a good game and our pen then takes over... Nola does not have the big stamina.

And that plan went down the drain when Bo Bichette, the second coming of the pest, singled, and bloody Jurickson Profar homered to make it 2-0 after two batters in the bottom first... which meant we needed a stroke of luck, and Chris Sale to make a mistake. That quest started off with a leadoff single by Gallo and a walk by Bobby... and ended for the second when our three right-handed hitters were not able to bring them home...

A Royce Lewis double was also wasted in the third, but Sale by far wasn't perfect... but things just did not fall for us. Fourth inning, Bradley walked with one down, Hansel M. made the second out... and Nelson Velazquez hit a high and HARD one to left... deep... deep... Profar, inning over.

Aaron Nola on the other hand was close to perfect in the next two innings but ran into more trouble in the fourth. Nick Decker singled to center on the first pitch... and Nola then got a K and a soft flyball... no danger anymore, right? No, Abreu snuck a 2-2 pitch past Moreno, McGuire dumped one into center for one run, and Shervyen Newton cleared the bases in a loud way with a double off the wall in right-center... TOR 5, TEX 0.

Jake J. Thompson and Alex Speas were sent out to soak up some innings, but there was nothing to be done against Chris Sale(6.1IP 2H 0ER 2BB 8K) and Dario Alvarez(2.2IP 1H 0ER 0BB 4K) and the sad highlights of those garbage innings were the second home run by Jurickson Profar... and Hansel Moreno getting ejected in the eighth for complaining about the blind monk calling the game from behind the plate.

SP Aaron Nola 5IP 8H 5ER 1BB 5K L
SS Royce Lewis 1-4 DB
3B Joey Gallo 1-4
LF Nelson Velazquez 1-3
HR TEX: none
HR TOR: Jurickson Profar 2(2)
W: Chris Sale(2-0 0.61) L: Aaron Nola(0-1 9.00)
TEX 0 TOR 6 TEX leads ALDS 2-1.
That is what we signed Aaron Nola for... clown... and then, bloody Jurickson Profar goes deep twice... TWICE... oh well, he, and a ton of dead presidents printed on paper landed us Royce Lewis so...

ALDS:
Kansas City Royals 1 - Tampa Bay Rays 3
Kansas City leads ALDS 2-1.

NLDS:
Milwaukee Brewers 6 - Atlanta Braves 5
Milwaukee Brewers wins NLDS 3-1, advances to NLCS.

[Griever20]

Sorry for the slow pace, started in a new job just today so :>

American League Division Series Game 4:

October 14th, 2022

Texas Rangers - Toronto Blue Jays @ Rogers Center

TEX: SP Dallas Keuchel(L, 15-7 4.28)
TOR: SP Sean Reid-Foley(R, 3-5 4.74 9GS)

For obvious reasons, we would love to NOT bring the series back to Texas, and the pitching matchup could go our way here. He picked up pace with a 2.35ERA in September and six innings of 1-run ball in one start in October... let's hope he will pitch nicely today.

And we started off well... kind of... Royce Lewis singled on the first pitch... and Justin Williams grounded into a double play to make it to 2 outs in a hurry... Which cost us some runs as Mazara singled, Bradley walked and Joey Gallo hit a sharp flyer to center field... that dropped just in front of Kevin Pillar... one run in, could've been three.

It became two in the second as Velazquez grounded one under the glove of old man Jose Abreu, was forced by a grounder towards the pitcher... but that turned the lineup over to Royce Lewis... quite a battle, a 2-2 pitch... TO RIGHT FIELD AND DEEP... OFF THE WALL.... BAILEY SCORED... Lewis rounding second... TOWARDS THIRD... OUT! Our shortstop made it 2-0... and then ran into an out at second... TEX 2, TOR 0.

And the clobbering continued as the first SIX batters reached in the third, five singles, a walk, and three more runs, all on the ledger of Reid-Foley... RBI's for Bradley, Moreno and Almora... our kids are hot today!

Oh and the veteran with the great beard on the mound? That is one clean inning... two... three... a walk and nothing else... that is four no-hit innings! That bid ended when Bryan Lizardo, their second-year third baseman and long term prospect hit one off the second base bag and into right(strange bounce...) for a clean single... and got stranded at third...

By then, Reid-Foley was long gone... and we decisively set our sights towards the ALCS when Williams singled, Nomar Mazara walked... and Bobby Bradley came, saw, and hit the first pitch by righty Danny Barnes over the wall in right center, TEX 8, TOR 0. That is what happens if you don't have a good righty or any lefty against our lefty sluggers...

Things escalated a bit when Dallas Keuchel went 8 with one earned... and Brian Adcock came in and allowed two more runs... but by then, Bradley had hit a solo shot and Royce Lewis hit a 2-run single... three runs in the ninth... and the game was over!

ALCS here we come!

SP Dallas Keuchel 8IP 3H 1ER 3BB 4K W
SS Royce Lewis 3-6 3RBI DB
RF Justin Williams 2-6 2R
DH Nomar Mazara 2-4 3R BB
1B Bobby Bradley 3-4 3R 5RBI BB 2HR
3B Joey Gallo 1-3 RBI 2BB
2B Hansel Moreno 1-4 RBI BB
CF Albert Almora 3-5 R RBI DB
LF Nelson Velazquez 2-5 R
HR TEX: Bobby Bradley 2(2)
HR TOR: Skye Bolt(1)
W: Dallas Keuchel(1-0 1.13) L: Sean Reid-Foley(0-1 11.25)
TEX 11 TOR 3 TEX wins ALDS 3-1, advances to ALCS.
LET'S GO! That is the offense I've been waiting for in a playoff scenario. Keuchel was brilliant and starting him over Jake J. Thompson was the right call... now, KCR or TBR...

ALDS:
Kansas City Royals 0 - Tampa Bay Rays 2
ALDS tied at 2.

Tampa Bay Rays 3 - Kansas City Royals 8
Kansas City wins ALDS 3-2, advances to ALCS.

[DD Martin]

Congrats on making the ALCS but more importantly congrats on the new job. Good luck with it

[Griever20]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Congrats on making the ALCS but more importantly congrats on the new job. Good luck with it

First day was good so, and money is good as well, so no problems :> kinda sounds like my dream job... excel tables over excel tables...

[Griever20]

The Kansas City Royals:

Royalty coming to town! With 96-66, the Royals won the division for the first time since their World Series win in 2015 and made the playoffs for the second year in a row, and their Manager Tom Prince, former PIT bench coach has a 100% playoff rate as their manager... impressive.

They maxed out on free agent money in the rotation recently, signing RHSP Michael Wacha(31, 3*, 14-7 4.34 143K) and Cuban defector and 2x All-Star RHSP Alfredo Mariscal(33, 3.5*, 13-6 4.62 123K) to sit on top of their rotation, but it was actually RHSP Marcos Molina(27, 2.5*, 9-6 3.69 120K), a kid that bounced around on minor league deals for years, that had the best ERA of the group. That group will be rounded out by trade acquisition RHSP T.J. Zeuch(27, 2.5*, 4-4 4.52 54K 13GS with KCR)... all right-handed, none of them a true ace... advantage TEX!

To add to that, they actually do NOT carry a single left-handed pitcher on their playoff roster... I'M not kiddin'. Their closer will be Carter Capps(32, 4*, 7-6 37SV 4.93 90K 65.2IP), a strikeout artist that got clobbered a lot with a career-high home run rate of 1.0... their rotation is ranked 6th in the AL, their pen seventh...

Now, why are they here you ask... because they have the best offense in the AL. Leading off will be BB machine CF Michael Gigliotti(26, 3*, .233-13-72 .688OPS 109R 38/45SB) who led the AL in walks with 104... Then, there is 2022 AL All-Star SS Adalberto Mondesi(27, 3*, .305-24-95 .878OPS 26/32SB)... speed and more speed.

Someone who can drive in people? 1B Nick Pratto(24, 3.5*, .316-24-120 .899OPS) drove in a ton, and they got quite a star in 2019 first overall pick C Adley Rutschman(24, 4.5/5*, .308-31-91 .952OPS) in the cleanup spot... followed by LF Trevor Larnach(25, 4*, .282-23-83 .840OPS)... the 33rd overall selection in the 2018 draft...

Yep, those guys drafted well... (Looks at Matthew Allan whose right arm in a cast... due to a torn labrum...)

The good news, this lineup consists out of six lefties, two switch-hitters and one righty... Lodolo and Keuchel could have fun with them...

Another tidbit, Alfredo Mariscal is day-to-day with a sore elbow and pitched the final game of the ALDS... so the earliest we expect to see him in game three...

Prediction: TEX in six as we will struggle with our right-handers on the mound...

American League Championship Series Game 1:

October 18th, 2022

Kansas City Royals - Texas Rangers@ Globe Life Park

KCR: SP Michael Wacha(R, 14-7 4.34)
TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 1-0 5.40)

We were optimistic about our lefty starters... we were skeptic about our righties... but Taylor got the game going by inducing three quick outs, one strikeout... and the Royals front office looked like they wanted a refund on Michael Wacha after the first three hitters in the bottom first.

Four pitches in(!), Royce Lewis had bunted for a hit, Williams lined one into right for a single... and Nomar hammered the second pitch he saw into right field... into hundreds of cheering fans for a 3-run jack... TEX 3, KCR 0... that is what I call setting the tone!

Mazara came back to the plate in the third... and hit his second homer of the day to make it 4-0, and the lefty barrage of Royals were not even touching Cory Taylor who was gobbling up outs at an alarming rate, but just as the FOX commentator said that 'it is only a matter of time for this Royals lineup to get going', Mondesi doubled off the left-field wall and RBI.machine Nick Pratto came through with a little flare into center for a single... Mondesi running around third... ALMORA UNLEASHES A MONSTER THROW... OVER THE MIDDLE INFIELD... CLOSE PLAY... AND OUT! OUT!

Almora tried the same stunt two pitches later... when Rutschman doubled to DEEP center... and this time, Pratto scored, and our relievers were told to put the chicken sandwiches and Playmobile magazines away and get game ready... which turned out to be premature as our guests bats went back into a deep freeze and Cory Taylor left with a three-game lead after a 7IP 5H 1ER 0BB 2K performance with 6 groundouts and 11 fly outs... we dodged some bullets here.

A sac fly that scored Royce Lewis made it 5-1, and to make things interesting, we brought in Brett Adcock to pitch the ninth... and he served up TWO solo home runs before ending the game... what a dumpster fire this guy has been this season in indescribable.

SP Cory Taylor 7IP 5H 1ER 0BB 2K W
SS Royce Lewis 3-4 2R 2DB
RF Justin Williams 1-4 R
DH Nomar Mazara 2-3 2R 5RBI 2HR
1B Bobby Bradley 1-4
2B Hansel Moreno 1-3 SB(1)
LF Nelson Velazquez 1-3
HR KCR: Adley Rutschman(2), Trevor Larnach(1)
HR TEX: Nomar Mazara 2(2)
W: Cory Taylor(2-0 3.00) L: Michael Wacha(0-1 2.70)
KCR 3 TEX 5 TEX leads ALCS 1-0.
Ok, I expected this to not go that smooth... Taylor cooled them down quite well, and the top half of our lineup brought the good lumber today...

NLCS:
New York Mets 0 – Milwaukee Brewers 5
Milwaukee leads NLCS 1-0.

New York Mets 2 – Milwaukee Brewers 6
Milwaukee leads NLCS 2-0.

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 2:

October 19th, 2022

Kansas City Royals - Texas Rangers@ Globe Life Park

KCR: SP Marcos Molina(R, 0-1 4.50)
TEX: SP Nick Lodolo(L, 1-0 0.00)

The hype was real for this start now that the whole baseball world had seen what Nicky can do in the ALDS start... and while he gave up a single to ex-Yankee Greg Bird... he also struck out the side in the first inning... but he wasn't a finished product, as seen in the third.

When their only right-handed hitter came to the plate in the second, Lodolo had issued two straight walks, and South Korean third baseman Tu-chin Suh took him to deep right... and just like that, he dropped a 3-run shot into the EXACT SAME section as Mazara yesterday... TEX 0, KCR 3.

That was Nicky's only blemish through five, but we had a hard time finding holes against Molina as well and ran into an out in the first with Lewis getting thrown out at third... but the difference between the 2022 Rangers and 2021 Rangers... we have some pop. Williams homered with one down in the fourth, and that got into Molina's head enough to see two straight singles by the middle of our order... and Gallo was able to bring in one, TEX 2, KCR 3...

We closed the book on Lodolo after six innings of 2-hit, 3-run, 4BB and 9 strikeout ball in what looked to be an unlucky start, but the narrative changed when the Royals for the second straight game went with Hunter Harvey as the first arm out of the pen... and he looked tired.

Seeing that, our top of the order started grinding out AB's and with two down, JW and Bobby had walked and Harvey, with 15 pitches thrown yesterday and 21 so far today, faced Joey Gallo. Pitch #22 was his last today... as Joey hit the green... behind the center field wall for a score flipping 3-run home run, TEX 5, KCR 3!

With nine outs to go, Alex Claudio was summoned and needed 9 pitches for the seventh... and he worked around a couple of baserunners to bridge the gap to our flashy closer Edwin Diaz... who nailed it, 1-2-3 2K.

SP Nick Lodolo 6IP 2H 3ER 4BB 8K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-3 BB 2SB(2)
RF Justin Williams 1-3 2R RBI BB HR
DH Nomar Mazara 1-4 R
1B Bobby Bradley 1-3 R
3B Joey Gallo 1-4 R 4RBI HR
CF Albert Almora 1-3
LF Nelson Velazquez 1-3
HR KCR: Tu-chin Suh(3)
HR TEX: Joey Gallo(3), Justin Williams(1)
W: Nick Lodolo(2-0 2.25) L: Hunter Harvey(0-1 6.75) SV: Edwin Diaz(2 0.00)
KCR 3 TEX 5 TEX leads ALCS 2-0.
Lodolo got beaten by a 33-year old 3B that would not even start in our AAA team... crazy game this baseball... See you in Kansas City.

NLCS:
Milwaukee Brewers 6 - New York Mets 7
Milwaukee leads NLCS 2-1.

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 3:

October 21st, 2022

Texas Rangers - Kansas City Royals @ Kauffman Stadium

TEX: SP Aaron Nola(R, 0-1 9.00)
KCR: SP Alfredo Mariscal(R, 1-0 4.26)

Nola didn't convince anyone that he is worth $19M in his ALDS start, but a good performance today could basically guarantee the World Series... no pressure, Aaron, just pitch as you did in the last months of the regular season and let the bats do the talking...

And we were in the driver's seat right away as JW tripled with one down and got driven in by a solid sac by the Nomar man... and the home fans were already looking troubled, and more troubled when we just barely stranded runners at the corners in the second.

Nola also wiggled around a couple of base hits by whiffing right fielder Khalil Lee and this Suh guy and the second time through the order, we started hurting Mariscal. He faced six hitters in the third... and both Lewis and Mazara went yard DECISIVELY to make it 3-0 TEX!

Our bottom of the order got their shot in the fourth... a bloop and a blast later, Nelson Velazquez finally collected his first two RBI's of this postseason, and the book would close Mariscal with 6ER on him... as he was pulled after a Justin Williams single... and then, Mazara hit another 2-run jack... put on the flip-flops, this game is over.

Velazquez made it two home runs and four RBI's with another 2-piece in the fifth... and while the Royals got a couple of scrappy runs on a wild pitch and on Jake J. Thompson being awful, the win was never in danger.

SP Aaron Nola 7IP 3H 1ER 1BB 10K W
SS Royce Lewis 1-5 R RBI HR
RF Justin Williams 3-5 2R TP
DH Nomar Mazara 2-4 2R 4RBI 2HR
3B Joey Gallo 1-3 BB
CF Albert Almora 3-4 2R
LF Nelson Velazquez 3-4 2R 4RBI 2HR
HR TEX: Nomar Mazara 2(4), Royce Lewis(1), Nelson Velazquez 2(2)
HR KCR: none
W: Aaron Nola(1-1 4.50) L: Alfredo Mariscal(1-1 8.10)
TEX 9 KCR 2 TEX leads ALCS 3-0.
Ok that was a great start by our righty and some big pants offense... can we end the series in style tomorrow?

NLCS:
Milwaukee Brewers 5 - New York Mets 0
Milwaukee leads NLCS 3-1.

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 4:

October 22nd, 2022

Texas Rangers - Kansas City Royals @ Kauffman Stadium

TEX: SP Dallas Keuchel(L, 1-0 1.13)
KCR: SP T.J. Zeuch(R, 0-1 3.60)

There was some early controversy when some Rangers fans entered the park with a sign saying 'It's over, it's over', firing up the home fans even more. Most of then just entered the game with the hope of not getting swept and the Royals jumped ahead to an early 1-0 lead by reeling off three straight singles off a pretty helpless Keuchel. Our lefty eventually was helped out by Trevor Larnach getting thrown out at second, but he looked a bit wonky in the first two innings...

When this bloody Suh guy singled in Larnach in the fourth, our offense was still stymied to great effect today as Zeuch was casually one-hitting us through six... and it was quite clear that this won't be our day when Rutschman and Mazara traded home run to make it 3-1 Royals...

Eventually, we were down to our last three outs with Carter Capps on the mound... and he finished off a game where we only had four hits.

SP Dallas Keuchel 6IP 6H 3ER 1BB 3K L
DH Nomar Mazara 2-4 R RBI DB HR
LF Nelson Velazquez 2-3 2DB
HR TEX: Nomar Mazara(5)
HR KCR: Adley Rutschman(3)
W: T.J. Zeuch(1-1 2.38) L: Dallas Keuchel(1-1 1.93)
TEX 1 KCR 3 TEX leads ALCS 3-1.
Not much to write home about... We forgot our thunder in the hotel.

NLCS:
Milwaukee Brewers 2 - New York Mets 3
Milwaukee leads NLCS 3-2.

[Griever20]

American League Championship Series Game 5:

October 23rd 2022

Texas Rangers - Kansas City Royals @ Kauffman Stadium

TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 2-0 3.00)
KCR: SP Michael Wacha(R, 0-1 2.70)

We don't want to get close to 'choke' territory... please... PLEASE... *Casually goes looking for the whips Mr. Westheim recommends...*

In the early going, it was all us getting the highlights... stranding runners in the first two innings, and then getting runners at the corners on a Williams double and a Mazara single... and Michael Wacha then missed one pitch... that moved over the middle of the plate... to Joey Gallo... you don't do that and survive to throw another pitch... and Joey lifted that one for a majestic 3-run blast into right.

And that once again rattled the cage of Wacha who missed the plate four out of five tries to Hansel Moreno... and one batter later, with a 3-1 count, Albert Almora did something he does not exactly gets paid for... and homered to left center... TEX 5, KCR 0.

One inning later, Bailey walks, Lewis doubles, 6-0 TEX and Michael Wacha was booed off the mound. The Royals were looking for a glimmer of hope... and got some when Taylor lost his composure in the bottom of the fifth, walking Lee and allowing a scrappy groundball single up the middle by Suh... who himself did not know how he got that one...

Lopez and Michael Gigliotti then drove in two to make it a 4-run cushion, but Taylor managed six strong innings of 2-run ball... and when we then scored four in the seventh, and four in the ninth... it became an easy and comfortable 14-2 blowout.

WORLD SERIES BABY!

SP Cory Taylor 6IP 5H 2ER 2BB 1K W
SS Royce Lewis 2-6 2RBI DB
RF Justin Williams 3-6 2R 3RBI DB HR
DH Nomar Mazara 3-6 2R TP
3B Joey Gallo 3-4 2R 4RBI 2HR
2B Hansel Moreno 1-4 2R DB
CF Albert Almora 4-5 3R 3RBI HR
LF Nelson Velazquez 2-4 R BB DB
HR TEX: Justin Williams(2), Joey Gallo 2(5), Albert Almora(1)
HR KCR: none
W: Cory Taylor(3-0 3.00) L: Michael Wacha(0-2 5.51)
TEX 14 KCR 2 TEX wins ALCS 4-1, advances to World Series
And, the thunder is back... World Series, here we come.

NLCS:
New York Mets 7 - Milwaukee Brewers 2
NLCS tied at 3.

New York Mets 4 - Milwaukee Brewers 5
Milwaukee wins NLCS, advances to World Series.

[Griever20]

Back from a two-day business trip, will try to get the World Series done by Sunday

The Milwaukee Brewers:

Having eliminated the Braves and Mets, the Milwaukee Brewers entered the postseason with their first division title since 2011, a 92-70 record, and the will to finally win the first World Series of their existence.

Managed by 49-year old Jose Zapata, the team did not shine on the pitching side, allowing 769 runs(8th) and a 4.73 starters ERA. But, no reason to underestimate that group. Led by the NL Pitching WAR leader RHSP Freddy Peralta(26, 5*, 16-5 3.05 268K 31GS) and groundballer (and former TEX trade target) RHSP Zach Davies(29, 3.5*, 17-7 3.97 131K) who also led the NL in Wins, they have a strong 1-2 punch.

To the surprise of many, they run out the corpse of RHSP Jeff Samardzija(37, 2.5*, 1-2 7.52 18K 6GS) and former first-rounder RHSP Tanner Houck(26, 2.5/3*, 14-8 4.56 143K)... that is three right-handers again. Now, if we focus on their pen(4.11, 5th), they do have lefties(!) in there... and one of them may be a problem... and it is not LHRP Ben Bowden(28, 2.5*, 3-7 3SV 5.43 70K 61.1IP).

It is their closer in LHCL Felipe Vazquez(31, 4*, 5-1 18SV 1.82 34K 34.2IP with MIL), a trade deadline acquisition from Pittsburgh... he is Alex Claudio with 98-100mph and therefore more K's... we should hope to avoid him.

Now, how did this team get here? Offense... They led the NL in runs scored with 831 and on merit. SS Luis Alexander Gonzalez(23, 2/2.5*, .306-12-73 .809OPS 25/42SB) was drafted in the Rule V last year... and promptly amassed 4.0 WAR. They will continue to gamble on former 2nd round pick 3B Bryson Stott(25, 3/3.5*, .232-7-49 .655OPS) in the #2 hole as the rookie struggled to fulfill his promise in regular season and playoffs(.222) so far...

And then, there are the big run producers. LF Corey Ray(28, 2.5*, .261-31-87 .816OPS) and 1B A.J. Reed(29, 2.5*, .268-40-102 .903OPS), both underappreciated by scouts, both acquired via trade over the years... good business... And all four are left-handed.

Also, keep an eye out for 2020 NL Rookie of the Year 2B Keston Hiura(26, 3.5*, .286-15-70 .794OPS)... the kid can bat .300 easily...

Prediction: I don't predict World Series outcomes... but IF I were to place a bet... it would be on us...

World Series Game 1:

October 28th, 2022

Milwaukee Brewers - Texas Rangers @ Globe Life Park

MIL: SP Freddy Peralta(R, 1-1 2.25)
TEX: SP Cory Taylor(R, 3-0 3.00)

Ok, to be honest... we could've started Lodolo here... but I did not want HIM to start against bloody Peralta... definitely one of the best starters of this young, fresh generation.

And it was a game of quick innings. Taylor with groundballs, Peralta with K's... the Brewers with a couple of singles, a groundout and a Luis Alexander Gonzalez RBI... and the home team with a Hansel Moreno solo home run to make it 1-1 after three....

It was clear that the Brewers did not exactly know what to brew, and the Rangers were still investigating the strange people visiting them here... but the hits came closer. Joey Gallo struck out with Bradley waiting at second... and our defense eroded with Taylor making a throwing error on a easy grounder.... and Moreno then just had to get eaten up by a grounder... two on... two down... Bryson Stott sent one DEEP to right... deep... way deep... CAUGHT...

Everybody was waiting for the one run to score... and we had another chance when Peralta lost Moreno on five pitches, and Almora singled to bring the go-ahead run to third base... and then, we choked... Velazquez grounded out softly to third, but at least Almora stayed away from the double play... and Bailey lifted a soft flyer to right... no problem for Ray out there...

Two down, two on... Royce Lewis hacked at the first pitch... groundball... routine play at third for Stott... throw to first... PAST REED! THE BALL FLIES ALL THE WAY TO THE WALL BEHIND REED AND RICHOCHETS INTO RIGHT! ... MORENO IN... ALMORA IN... Bryson Stott with a crucial throwing error that scores TWO RUNS for the home team! TEX 3, MIL 1!

The Brewers were completely stunned, the Rangers fans were excited, and Peralta, shaking his head, started pitching to Justin Williams... and got a cute little grounder to second, throw to first... and the embarrassment continued as A.J. Reed dropped it and it rolled away from him big time... 4-1 TEX.

After walking Mazara intentionally, Bobby made the final out of a bottom of the fifth that the Brewers fans will want to erase from their memory right away and suddenly, Cory Taylor was throwing a 2-hitter with one earned run and only two hits allowed... and brought that one through seven before getting a handshake and some big boy hugs.

Looking to actually score another EARNED run on Peralta, Patrick Bailey upped his pedestrian postseason batting average up to .094 with a leadoff single bottom 7th, and that sealed the deal for Peralta... but the book on him closed two batters later... lefty Ben Bowden conceded a sac bunt... and Justin Williams made it 5-1 with a hard single to left that Bailey scored upon...

Four runs of cushion meant that Joe Girardi decided to call upon Brian Adcock... the lefty only allowed a shy single in the eighth... and Tommy Kahnle struck out a couple in a fairly clean ninth... ONE GAME UP IN THE ****** World Series.

SP Cory Taylor 7IP 2H 1ER 0BB 8K W
SS Royce Lewis 0-3 R
RF Justin Williams 3-4 RBI
1B Bobby Bradley 1-3 BB
2B Hansel Moreno 1-3 2R RBI BB HR
CF Albert Almora 2-4 R
C Patrick Bailey 1-3 R
HR MIL: none
HR TEX: Hansel Moreno(1)
W: Cory Taylor(4-0 2.52) L: Freddy Peralta(1-2 1.42)
MIL 1 TEX 5 TEX leads World Series 1-0
Logan keeps on whispering into my ear that their best hitters are not that good and if we get past Peralta and Nola manages a big start in game three... we technically can not lose this series...

Optimistic dude... I'll celebrate when we actually have won it... beating Davies won't be easy... and we got lucky today with their fielding being ****...