Los Angeles Leopards (SVMLB)

[pauwoo]

With the All-Star festivities behind us now, and after a good showing by our players who spent 4-days representing the club & league, we’re whole once more and looking to get off on the good foot here as we begin the 2nd half of the 2079 campaign. But first, some All-Star notes…

• Our own Otto Isaac won the HR Derby, besting Pittsburgh’s Mack Ramirez in the final after beating his teammate, Tom Franzone, one round prior.
• Our Ace, Stephen Estevez, in being recognized for his first half brilliance, got the start for the National League, while former Leopard’s mainstay, and perhaps my favorite SP in the save (outside of the incomparable Josiah Weber), Michael “Brisky” Brisk, got the nod for the American League squad.
• The game, contested at Smoothie King Field in New Orleans, was a low scoring affair that would see the often-beleaguered American League get the win by a score of 2-1. Otto scored the NL’s only run, putting himself in a position to score on a double before being brought the rest of the way around by Philadelphia’s Palmer Parker.
• Estevez, in 1-inning of work, struck out the side and ultimately set the tone for what would be the opposite of a rollicking affair as defense and pitching ruled the day… fans like offense, chicks dig the long ball, so, as you can imagine, I think it’s safe to say that the game didn’t go according to the script preferred by the commissioner’s office.
• CF Smith Wells, of the Salt Lake Alpines, won the All-Star MVP award on the back of his 2-for-2 performance that included the game-winning RBI.

A quick bit of roster news before we turn our attention to Brookyn… SP Dwight Beasley returns to the fold after his short stint on the IL – I’m told his elbow is as good as new – which, unfortunately, means that RP Tony Cartwright will return to Compton to ply his trade with our Triple-A outfit.

Los Angeles Leopards (54-34, .613, 1st NL West) @ Brooklyn Citizens (51-38, .573, 1st NL East)
Brooklyn has long held a low-key kind of allure to me – I’ve, on more than one occasion, seriously considered packing up my things here in Los Angeles and heading east to helm the Citizens. They of course get along just fine without me, making the playoffs in 15 of the last 16 seasons though they’ve not managed to win the whole thing since doing so waaay back in 2031. This year they’ve had the look of a club that should be dangerous in the post-season – not a lock to do the ultimate damage, but certainly an adversary worth keeping an eye on. In 2079, their staff has been sneaky good – ranked 1st in runs against, 2nd in FIP, with a defense ranked 2nd in efficiency – and their offense, while not otherworldly, has made a habit of impeccable timing and opportunistic run scoring. In that category, they rank 4th or 5th everywhere that matters, and have ridden that consistency to an NL East leading record over the 1st half of the ’79 campaign… backed by a fervent fanbase, formidable from the bump, and professionally competent in the box, Brooklyn is a tall order for any club – here we’ll try to get back on the horse after the break and attempt to display the form that had us kicking off this month on a 7-2 clip.

89 of 162: Keith Baeza (7-3, 2.43) @ Patrick Keith (1-0, 9.53)
Loss, 3-5. In a tale of two Keith’s, where ours allowed 5 bad ones to get across while theirs did not, we’d drop the first of three against the Citizens in less than dramatic fashion. And, while we’d best them in total doubles hit, 4 to 3, they’d bat the ball around to the tune of 12 hits while we could only muster 6 to go along with our unseemly 13 whiffs on the day… so much for returning from the break rested and ready to go… Weaver, Hanan, and PEPPER each drove in a run, Otto went 1-for-4 with that one being a weak little dribbler that he managed to leg out, and OH HONG came one K short of earning a Golden Sombrero. This was not the start we were looking for…


Elsewhere: 1B Ansley Athanasios, who once hit a GRAND SLAM against the Ridgemont Community College Tasty Waves as a member of the Washington State Cougars, blasted two moonshots out of the park for San Marcos today in Bush League play, leading his Supremos to a 6-1 victory over the Naperville Nibblers on the back of his 3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, and 3 run day… 2079 marks Athanasios’ first year back in the Bush League since 2074 after toiling in the Minors for the 2nd time as he attempted to make his big league dreams come true, finally making it all the way to Charlotte for 11 games in the sun during the 2078 season. He gave a good account of himself during what little time he had up there, finishing 6-for-25 with an RBI before being released by the Imperials… here’s hoping he’ll stick around the BL for a while and reach low-key legend status in San Marcos.

90 of 162: Merl Crawford (9-5, 4.70) @ Bradley Hughes (8-2, 2.52)
Loss, 2-3. Pepper Grant, at the plate with a man on 2nd and another on 3rd, with the chance to knot this one up, two outs already on the board, would, instead, hit a weak little dribbler right to Heathcote Kinton who’d soft toss it over to 1st to secure the series victory and 2nd win in a row for Brooklyn… OH HONG, coming off that 3-K day, went 1-for-2 with a SOLO DINGER that brought us to within a run, Otto secured two hits, both inconsequential, and Merl gave us a solid 5-inning effort, allowing just one run before turning it over to Leonardo Duarte who’d end up saddled with the loss after allowing 2 more to plate. Some uninspired baseball after the break from the Yellow Tops here… not great, man.

91 of 162: Jan Hernandez (4-2, 1.52) @ John Aivazian (9-5, 3.36)
Loss, 1-4. In our first series after the break, we’d be swept under the rug by the Citizens, and summarily dismissed in Brooklyn… not our best look, not the start we were looking for as we begin to navigate the 2nd half, and certainly not what I expected of the boys here… Brooklyn’s Aivazian leaned into his fierce fastball over 6.2 innings of work, fanning 8 while allowing a mere 2 hits to go along with our 2 walks, and Closer Sawyer Dahlgren, in 2.1 innings of work, would pick up where Aivazian left off with 4 more K’s for Brooklyn. All told, 5 of our 9 batsmen would record 2 K’s, with Otto’s solo TRUCK being the lone highlight here for our shopworn, suddenly anemic offense that has sputtered off the line as we kick off the 2nd half of the race…


Elsewhere: 1B Ben Compton, of the PDX Pines, somehow amassed 5 RBI during a 10-5 win for his club over the Boston Shamrocks on a 3-for-4 day that did not include a single EBH… I don’t know how you do that and, given that my club just got swept out of Brooklyn, don’t have the wherewithal to go through the game log to find out… nonetheless, some recognition for the 3x All-Star was, I think, necessary.

Record: 54-37, .593, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll take a long flight home, dejected, down, out, and no fun to be around, where we’ll meet up with the Montreal Alouettes to kick off a 7-game home stand with 4 games against the Canada-based ballclub.

[pauwoo]

Montreal Alouettes (46-46, .500, 5th NL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (54-37, .593, 1st NL West)
The Alouettes have the best starting rotation in the National League. Tops in ERA, FIP, and backed by the most efficient defense in the NL, Montreal’s problems have nothing to do with their hurlers and everything to do with the riff raff they’re parading into the box… an offensively challenged collection of stiffs who can’t seem to find their way on base, have trouble scoring, are power deficient, and lack even the most rudimentary of baserunning skills. Theirs is a halfway house, a fully stocked pantry with none of the wet goods required for the mix. And yet, somehow, someway, they find themselves within striking distance… a mere two games off the pace with a lot of runway left. By no means great, but perhaps good enough, we’ll have our hands full here as Montreal looks to make the necessary strides to ascend into a more comfortable position on the table at a time when our form isn’t up to par.

92 of 162: Miguel Almeida (2-2, 2.31) @ Stephen Estevez (8-3, 2.11)
Win, 1-0. Otto briefly punctured the bubble around this snooze fest, when, with two down and a man on 2nd, he hit the game-winning, run-scoring single during the bottom of the 3rd to contribute the lone offensive highlight during what was, otherwise, a tightly contested pitchers’ duel. Estevez gave us 7 hard-scrabble innings of work, fanning 9 while maintaining a clean sheet, and Turnbull held on to it for us before handing it off to Haag who picked up his 33rd save on 10 total pitches during the top of the 9th. We’ll take it – I mean we like winning, so why not? – but playing it this close to the bone, at home, isn’t going to get it done on a consistent basis. Side note: Stephen Estevez put an immaculate inning on the board during the top of the 4th – not sure if I’ve seen that in the game before.

93 of 162: Norm Rodriquez (5-5, 2.43) @ Dwight Beasley (7-3, 3.50)
Win, 4-2. We’d have this one pretty much in hand after Bill Cox put a 2-run blast on the board for us during the bottom of the 6th, extending our lead to three runs with Miotke warming up in the pen and Haag starting to get loose a little bit. And, while Haag would struggle to close the show a little bit, loading them up and walking in a run before striking out the last batter of the game, he’d eventually get it done to preserve Beasley’s 8th win on the year. Pepper gave us a 2-for-4 day with 2 runs scored, OH HONG drove in our two earlier runs, and the defense flashed the leather a little bit on a Rodriguez-Hanan-Ono double play.


Elsewhere: Wystan Rojek, Mesa’s hard-working 20-year-old 1B who Salt Lake drafted 59th overall out of Georgia Tech this year, went 3-for-4 with THREE SOLO BOMBS to lead the charge for the Vipers only to look on indignantly as our own Brentwood Bishops overcame his superb day at the plate to post a 10-5 win at home. A nice feather in Rojek’s hat, to be sure, as putting three out in one game is a tall order at any level… but, it’s nice to see that our Short Season A Ball club didn’t give into him and came away with the W anyway.

94 of 162: Bentley Hunt (7-6, 3.30) @ Keith Baeza (7-4, 2.88)
Loss, 2-3. It looked like Montreal’s Zippo Hollins would be the whole show today when, after getting things started for the Alouettes with a run-scoring double during the top of the 6th, he smashed out the go-ahead, solo homer during the top of the 9th only to have his hero status erased by our own Bill Cox who followed suit during the bottom of that frame. When the dust had settled, however, and despite Bill’s best efforts, we’d be saddled with the loss here after Haag, who’s been living pretty close to the edge as of late, gave up what would be the game winning home run to Montreal’s lightly regarded, third baseman Max Alvarado. This is how Montreal gets teams this year – they lull you into a deep sleep before making off with your girlfriend under the cover of darkness.

95 of 162: Vincent Urquhart (8-7, 3.03) @ Merl Crawford (9-5, 4.55)
Win, 10-0. Sent off much worse for wear and with their tails tucked firmly between their legs, Montreal looked every bit the 90lb weakling we had pegged them for in this one as our staff played their order like marionettes, allowing the visitors just three total hits on the day. Offensively, we were a juggernaut, the biggest bully on the block in prime bullying form, as we totaled 10 runs during the contest on THREE TWO-BAGGERS (2 for Weaver, 1 for DOM) and FOUR DINGERS (1 each for PEPPER, OH HONG, Ono, and Otto), while our staff, namely Crawford and Nakagawa, combined for a shutout with 8 K’s between them. Taking 3 of 4 off Montreal is as good a way to get our form tightened up as any I can think of with our division rival Las Vegas Outlaws headed to town.

Record: 57-38, .600, 1st NL West… up 2 games on Las Vegas
Up Next: We’ll welcome the Las Vegas Outlaws to town for an important 3-game set… our grasp on 1st place in the NL West is tenuous at best, so this, if nothing else, is an opportunity to tighten our grip on the throne.

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (55-40, .579, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (57-38, .600, 1st NL West)
The Outlaws have struggled since the All-Star break, dropping five of seven since the festivities, and arrive in Los Angeles mired in something of a funk. They’ve turned in a paltry 7-8 record so far in July and have been the victims of a suspect staff whose 10th rated FIP & 9th rated Starters ERA has proved too much for their #1 rated offense to overcome. Still, they’re a formidable rival, who, despite their recent troubles, always play us tough and who, even while operating on unsteady footing as of late, still only find themselves a mere two games off our pace. Here we have another opportunity to pull ahead of the Outlaws, to take advantage of their poor form, and to get in while the getting is good… our chances buoyed by the health of their club and the fact that their best player, SS Ray Gerhold, has been out since the 6th with a fractured finger.

96 of 162: Jack Sanchez-Flores (6-4, 3.37) @ Jan Hernandez (4-3, 1.64)
Win, 4-2. We’d bide our time early by doing our best Las Vegas impression, putting little to no offense on the board, and looking like we’d be an agreeable opponent for their beleaguered staff. As you can see by the final tally, no doubt, that’d change as Satoru Ono punched a 2-run BLAST out of the park immediately following our fans’ passionless rendition of ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame' which would then be followed up by an add-on run driven in on a single by our SS, Chris Hutchinson. Some good stuff from our staff too… Jan would give us 5.1, allowing both of the Outlaws’ runs, Major Hansen swiped the win from Hernandez in relief on 2.2 innings of work where he’d not allow a single hit while fanning 3, and, finally, your boy, Don Haag, would find a way to close the show for the 35th time on 11 total throws and 2 K’s.


Elsewhere: SP Phillip King, who was a featured member of our starting rotation in 2074 and a member of the club when we won our 1st World Series title way back in 2075, suffered a career-ending injury, diagnosed as a torn ulnar collateral ligament, forcing him to walk away from the game that he loves at only 30-years of age. Bummer biscuits, for real.

97 of 162: Jake Talley (7-6, 3.45) @ Stephen Estevez (9-3, 1.97)
Win, 6-0. While the Las Vegas offense continued to round out their definition of futility, we busied ourselves by running roughshod over their pitching staff to the tune of 6 runs on two, two-baggers and a well-hit SOLO TRUCK courtesy of OH HONG. Kyle Weaver led the offense, 2-for-3 at the plate while improving his RBI total by three to 22 on the season, Estevez entered his 10th win into the permanent record, fanning 9 in total before handing it off to Miotke for the hold, and Armendariz for the cleanup. And, with the shutout, we’d secure the series win against our rival here who, despite their recent troubles, are a tougher out than it looked like today.

98 of 162: Andy Giddings (1-1, 3.63) @ Dwight Beasley (8-3, 3.36)
Win, 6-2. Our owner, Phil Murray, wanted the sweep, I wanted the sweep, our club wanted it, the fans demanded it – and here, in spectacular fashion, we’d get it done on the back of another solid starting performance from Beasley and a workmanlike effort from the lineup, extending our lead over these yokels to 5-games in the NL West. Otto’s name was called early and often, he’d finish 2-for-5 at the plate with a delicious little 2-RUN TANK, Weaver secured RBI #23 on a SAC FLY, Ono drove one in on a double, and Simon Paulino, getting some burn for us in LF today, recorded his first RBI in a Leopards kit after being brought into the fold in the Hetereki Ailani to New Orleans trade – sort of a fortuitous turn of events for the young man who’d be plying his trade for us in Compton if not for Ethan’s elbow injury suffered earlier this month. Sure wouldn't mind getting him back - it'll be a few more weeks before that happens though...

Record: 60-38, .612, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll hop aboard the team jet for a quick, little 3.5 hour flight to Mexico City, where we’ll do our level best to stay out of trouble this time and focus, instead, on dismantling the Jags in front of their hometown faithful.

[pauwoo]

Before I get into another of these hackneyed series intros that I do with each post out of habit, let’s start with a trade, shall we? And, I should preface this one by saying that rarely, if ever, will I pull the trigger on an AI generated offer, much less one from a division rival who we’re on our way to visit, but this offer made too much sense to pass up… Mexico City offered up 30-year-old LF Tyler Hill (55/55), a solid hitter/fielder who will slot in nicely for our depleted OF, and minor-league RP Derek Cox (28/32) for 31-year-old utility IF, Germaine Sturdivant (50/50), who’s also a solid hitter/fielder with less speed than Hill. For our part, this means that, while Ethan is on the mend, I can send Simon Paulino back down to Compton, move Kyle Weaver into a more comfortable utility role, and put Sturdivant in a position to earn time with another club as he’s taken a back seat to Demetri Rodriguez, who’s looking like Pepper’s heir apparent at 3rd as his career winds down. Here’s a peek at the new lineup, at least until Ethan returns…



Los Angeles Leopards (60-38, .612, 1st NL West) @ Mexico City Jaguars (51-46, .526, 4th NL West)
Mexico City is still in the mix, in the thick of it at ½ game out of the last Wild Card slot, and, if not for an 11-16 May, they’d likely be challenging us and Vegas for top slot in the NL West… but, as ever, baseball isn’t contested in what ifs, so, staring back at us from the home team dugout is the 4th place team in our division, capable of handling us should we not come correct, who is looking to make up some ground on Phoenix and the suddenly struggling Outlaws. So far, we have a 4-2 H2H record against the Jags, most recently splitting a 2-game quickie series in their park, that we’ll look to improve on over the next three games. We’re all about priorities here folks… first & foremost, we want those WINS, second, a nice carne asada taco wouldn’t go unappreciated, and third, we’re not likely to turn our nose up to a shot of mezcal or three…

99 of 162: Keith Baeza (7-4, 2.79) @ Randy Keramidas (2-3, 4.05)
Win, 6-4. We’d break this one open during a wild top of the 6th, where we’d score 4 total runs, 2 on singles, one on a wild pitch, and another on a bases-loaded walk, and hold on for dear life from there as Mexico City did their level best to put a rally together, running their total up to 4-runs during the bottom of the 8th when C Gary Alvarado took RP Ram Chen yard, to bring the bad guys to within two. LF Tyler Hill finished 1-for-4 with a run in his Los Angeles debut against his old club, a performance sullied only by his 3rd inning fielding flub in the outfield. OTTO went buck, finished with TWO SOLO SHOTS, Bill Cox scored on that wild pitch, and Pepper drove in two for the game on 2-for-4 hitting. Haag gets his 37th here too, as we had to rely on him to close the door after Ram Chen left it more than slightly ajar.


Elsewhere: C Mo Brokaw, the #60 overall prospect in baseball, currently getting his development reps in with the Columbia Boonslickers in New Orleans’ minor league system, gave the fans a glimpse into what could be his future with a 3-for-4 performance that included a double, TWO JACKS, 4 total RBI, and a walk to lead his club to a thrilling 13-12 win over the visiting Gainesville Hogs. Brokaw looks like he has the skillset to make a fine big league backstop one day, unfortunately, his low leader & work ethic ratings give me, and many others, plenty of pause… Also, because I find this to be an interesting oversight on my part, the Gainesville Hogs, a Short A club operating under the Miami Herons’ purview, is encroaching on the Gainesville Gamecocks territory in the Bush League… we may have the makings of a Portland Mavericks storyline here folks… something to keep our eyes on, I suppose.

100 of 162: Merl Crawford (10-5, 4.25) @ Owen Sum (4-4, 3.07)
Win, 8-1. Our 6th straight win would feature yet another wild top of the 6th, where we’d put 7 on the board during the frame this time – 6 of which would come on 3-run DING DONGS for Lee Rolon (only his 4th dinger this year) and OH HONG (his 17th) – while our staff, despite Mexico City’s altitude, held the Jaguars in check as Merl twirled a 6-inning, 5-hit masterpiece that included 10 K’s and Nakagawa followed that up with 3 K’s in 3-innings of work to close the show…. We’re on the good stuff now, looking nearly unbeatable against two divisional opponents back-to-back.

101 of 162: Jan Hernandez (4-3, 1.76) @ Lee Myers (11-7, 3.67)
Loss, 1-8. As ever, and as evidenced by my “unbeatable” statement only one short game ago, I’m nothing if not prone to hyperbole born of misplaced confidence… add that I’m a sucker for a well-made taco, especially when paired with some homemade mezcal, and then the scene here will be sufficiently set. Watching from the visitor’s suite, hung over, severely dehydrated, and with no real recollection of the events that transpired after our win last night, I sat here transfixed as I watched my club put forth an embarrassing and sloppy effort to close out this road set. Mexico City, as was their wont, battered us from the opening bell, all but knocking us out on our feet as we managed to, at the very least, keep our hands up and chin tucked long enough to flee from town with our consciousness intact. There are too many offensive highlights to parse out here, too many runs scored against Jan, Nakagawa, and Armendariz to count, and I’m in no mood to do that work for one of my hackneyed recaps anyways… so, let’s just chalk this one up to our clubs’ foibles, especially when an opportunity to party it up in Mexico City presents itself… I found a polaroid in my jacket of me riding a donkey, wearing a pair of chaps that I’ve never seen before and not much else, with a clarinet in one hand and what looks like some Mardi Gras beads in the other – I mean, look, I’m as confused as you and, really, my whole focus at this point is getting on that plane and making my way back to the good ol’ US of A. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars…


Elsewhere: SP Grayson Thompson, putting in work with our AA outfit out in Inglewood, and 30th overall pick this year, got in some nice work against the San Juan Leatherbacks during a complete game, 4-hit shutout that included only 1 walk to go along with his 10 K’s as our Sentinels defeated the visiting club from Puerto Rico by a score of 7-0.

Record: 62-39, .613, 1st NL West
Up Next: Headed to the Pacific Northwest, where we’ll take a quick day off tomorrow before getting back after it against the Seattle Metros for a 3-game, Interleague set in their park.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (62-39, .613, 1st NL West) @ Seattle Metros (48-52, .480, 4th AL West)
It’s not often that we’re afforded the opportunity to spend time in the Pacific Northwest, much less have a day off, left to our own devices, in town prior to the start of this 3-game set… plenty of time to rehydrate, take in the sights and sounds of Pike Place Market, toss some fish around, feed the seagulls some fries at Ivars on the water, and work on alkalizing my body sufficiently for the slog ahead. Seattle has spent the better part of a decade contending, managing to win the World Series 3x during that stretch (2070, 2073, and 2076), but have been a bit up and down more recently, missing the playoffs in 2077 for the first time in 7 years, and are on the outside looking in so far this season. This year’s model is average on both sides of the ball, they do have their bright spots, of course, with Lonzo Gonzo, Aitor Cubas, and Patrick Adams coming to mind offensively, but, after you’ve called those names out, there’s just not a lot left on the page worth talking about.

102 of 162: Stephen Estevez (10-3, 1.88) @ Ricky Halbur (4-4, 3.18)
Win, 1-0. To get the win, on the road, after posting a meager three hits and only a single run, that came during the top of the 6th inning off a Tyler Hill SAC FLY, is the exact kind of good fortune we need after getting shellacked so severely during our last time out. And, to that we’ll say, with respectful eye contact and positive body language, ‘thank you sir, may I have another’… look, I know I said that this year’s version of Seattle is average at best, but, given that theirs is a proud and historically successful franchise, it’s easy to get caught looking against this kind of club. For our part, we stuck to the game plan, gutted out a nice little road win, and will attempt to carry this good fortune forward through the next two games in Seattle.

103 of 162: Dwight Beasley (9-3, 3.31) @ Tony Cox (6-1, 4.06)
Win, 2-0. Another day, another pitchers’ duel… with Pepper’s 2-run DING DONG coming during the 5th, we’d rely on our pitching the rest of the way to protect the win, and shut out the Metros, in their park, for the second day in a row. Beasley was beastly over 7-innings of work, fanning 6 while allowing just 3 total hits, Donovan Turnbull fanned two as he recorded his 6th hold on the year, and Haag is now one save away from 40 after securing his 39th of the season. And, we’ll enjoy another day in the sun as good fortune continues to shine on our club…

Of Note: RP Kaoru Kudo, who went down in late June, missing 4-weeks of work due to a severe abdominal strain, is eligible to return form the IL… I’m having a difficult time figuring out who to send down, so, for now, K2 will spend some time in Compton on a rehab assignment in the hopes that he gets himself good & sharp while I let my bullpen sort itself out based on individual performances over the next few weeks.

104 of 162: Keith Baeza (8-4, 2.80) @ Pappy Kincaid (3-7, 4.90)
Win, 6-5. Down one headed into the stretch, OH HONG would put us up 2 with a 3-run DING DONG during the top of the 7th… Seattle, not content to go down at home without a fight, was able to get one of those back when 3B Lance Tabor brought Aitor Cubas around on a SAC FLY, and that’s where we’d leave it as the bullpen triumvirate of Miotke, Turnbull, and Haag would do work, shutting the door on the home team to preserve the W. Otto joins OH HONG in the derby, brought in 2 on an early HR of his own, Tyler Hill continues to fill out the Leopards kit quite nicely, scoring a run for us today, and Hutchinson, who contributed to a rally-killing double play during the bottom of the 7th, had himself a nice little 2-for-4 day with a run and a riblet… and, just like that, we find ourselves back on that good stuff, completing a sweep on the road before welcoming the AL’s Denver Miners to our house tomorrow.

Record: 65-39, .625, 1st NL West
Up Next: The Denver Miners are headed our way for a three-game set…

[pauwoo]

Denver Miners (55-50, .524, 2nd AL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (65-39, .625, 1st NL West)
After coming off the line gangbusters to start the 2079 campaign and making their living at the top of the pops in the American League for the first two months of the season, Denver ran on their soft tires for a bit too long, had a poor stop in the pit, and now find themselves lacking the pace necessary to lead the pack. July’s been a struggle – they’ve gone 11-14 so far, with only our game today left to close it out – as offensive leaders Remildo Puente and Shaughan Hayes have each had an off month, delivering -1.4 WAR between them, while mid-rotation guys, Taylor Pushkin & Misael Enriquez, are on pace to finish the month at 1-7, with an identical 5.83 ERA, and a FIP- in the ~73-88 range. Look, Denver is a good club, capable of kicking up dust and doing damage – they’re in a bit of a bad way, sure, but lets just hope we’re not the anecdote to all that ails them.

105 of 162: Paul Wilson (6-8, 4.08) @ Merl Crawford (11-5, 4.10)
Win, 7-1. An Ian Hanan double to lead off the bottom of the 4th would prove to be the beginning of Denver’s demise as we’d pour on 4 runs during the frame, with Pepper, Isaac (2), and Dom driving them in, to push our total up to 6 runs on the day… and, while we’d put one more on (PEPPER with a solo shot, his 9th long ball on the year), the story here was our pitching as Merl & Nakagawa combined to hurl a 3-hit, 1-run, 14 K masterpiece, with Masaya being particularly nasty today in picking up his 7 K’s on 41 total pitches.


Of Note: Our own Merl Crawford took home the Hurler of the Month Award… finishing July with an impressive 5-0 won-lost mark, 0.51 ERA, and 43 K’s in 6 total starts. I’m attaching the standings as of August 1st (the AL wildcard race is in shambles, you ask me), the league leaders, and our clubhouse for your perusal.

106 of 162: Al Bundy (10-4, 2.51) @ Jan Hernandez (4-4, 2.30)
Win, 5-3. Our good fortune continues… 5th straight win, this time with the scoring spread evenly throughout the first 7 frames of the contest, and a fun moment at the end where Haag was brought in to pitch to the last batter of the game, earning his 41st save of 2079, after Turnbull flirted with disaster in allowing two runs to plate during the top of the 9th. Haag, it should be noted is trending towards 63 saves on the year which would be the best total this league has ever seen by 5 saves… we’ll have to keep our eyes on that.


Of Note: Heart Surgeon #1, Hidetoshi Hasegawa, blew up my phone during the game to let me know that Ethan has experienced a severe setback in his recovery and will now miss an additional 3-weeks of time… not what I wanted to hear… also, it’s not lost on us that the unsolicited offer we accepted from Mexico City is looking better by the minute.

107 of 162: Misael Enriquez (4-9, 5.24) @ Stephen Estevez (11-3, 1.76)
Loss, 4-6. Denver, on a mission to salvage some pride here, managed to get it done as Stephen allowed 5 earned in just 4 innings of work – easily one of his worst starts of the season – while our offense could only strike in fits and starts, scoring single runs in the 1st, 4th, 6th and 9th. Two of those came on solo shots – Otto & Cox, STAND UP – with the others coming courtesy of SAC FLIES… this was just one of those tilts where the bad guys found a way to get out ahead of us and we just couldn’t be bothered to turn on the jets to make up for lost ground. All of which is whatever… the real issue here is that utilityman Demetri Rodriguez injured himself while running the bases… more on that below.

Of Note: SS Demetri Rodriguez, utilityman extraordinaire, whose made 51 starts and 60 appearances for the club this season, will shut it down for the remainder of 2079 after being diagnosed with a torn posterior cruciate ligament… such a bummer. Simon Paulino, who has the defensive acumen to slot in all over the field, will return to the fold as a stop gap of sorts… this sort of underscores the lack of true depth in my system… I’ll need to remedy that in the offseason, for sure.

Record: 67-40, .626, 1st NL West
Up Next: Back at it against a divisional foe as we make the trek to San Jose to get after it against the Seals.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (67-40, .626, 1st NL West) @ San Jose Seals (55-54, .505, 5th NL West)
San Jose has been treading water all season, doing just enough to keep their head above the surf, and demonstrating that they could easily meet the 10-minute requirement for PADI certification… but, this isn’t Scuba, this is baseball, and, in 2079, a slightly better than .500 record in the NL West won’t cut the mustard at all. After a 12-13 start to the season back in April, the Seals followed that up with a 14-14 May, a 15-12 June, a 13-14 record in July, are 5-5 for their last 10, and have started of the month of August at, you guessed it, 1-1. They’re nothing if not consistent… pairing the NL’s 6th ranked offense with it’s 9th ranked defense has yielded a surprising +2 RDiff and a performance on par with the PYT. They’re just a dependable, middling ballclub, content to amble through yet another season delivering ho-hum results for a disengaged fanbase who haven’t had the opportunity to buy playoff tickets in over 10 years…

108 of 162: Dwight Beasley (10-3, 3.09) @ Lucas Torres (10-6, 3.38)
Win, 11-6 (12). The Seals would attempt to continue their water-treading ways in this one, moving ahead by 4, holding our heads just below the surface of the water, using us as some makeshift buoy… we’d come up for a brief breath in the 8th, putting two on the board during that frame, and would struggle free from San Jose’s grasp just as the death throes were setting in when PEPPER put a 2-run MOONSHOT over the fence to knot things up… from there we’d trade zeroes, each club kicking just enough to keep from drowning until their arm strength failed them after we put 5 more bad ones on the board during the top of the 12th. OH HONG brought the team up on his Octopus Regulator, finishing 2-for-7 with 4 RBI and a run, Otto showed off his spearfishing skills during a 3-for-6 day at the plate, we’d hit 5 doubles and 4 homers (including Tyler Hill’s first as a Leopard) as a club, and manage to score 11 while leaving 11 more stranded… all in a day’s work.

109 of 162: Keith Baeza (8-4, 3.04) @ Case Tunnell (9-8, 2.95)
Win, 9-2. We’d pick up right where we left off after putting 5 bad ones on the board to end the game last night, putting at least one run up in each of the first 6 frames… Ono finished 2-for-5 with a 2-run BLAST and 2 runs from the 3-hole, Weaver, who started in right and finished in left, hit a 2-run HOMER of his own, and backup backstop, Lee Rolon, had himself a game, bringing in 3 total on a 2-run DING DONG and a SAC FLY, respectively. Good pitching here too with Baez maintaining a clean sheet for 5-innings before handing it off to the pen to close the show.


Elsewhere: J.R. Boyce, a 25-year-old second baseman currently plying his trade in Dallas’ development system with their Triple-A club, the Fort Worth Cowboys, went 2-for-4 with 2 TRUCKS, 6 RBI, and 2 runs as the Cowboys defeated our CITY OF COMPTON RAIDERS by a score of 6-1. With the win, Fort Worth improves to 57-49 on the season while our club drops to a poor 49-57 record which has us a full 7 games off the pace required to secure that last wildcard spot in the International League.

110 of 162: Merl Crawford (12-5, 3.89) @ Julen Morales (5-8, 4.01)
Win, 3-1. Our pitching would carry the day during this low-scoring affair with Crawford securing his 13th win after putting in 5-innings of 2-hit, shutout baseball on the board, before handing it off to Ram Chen for a 3-inning hold, and, eventually, to Don Haag who’d give up a solo homer before shutting the door for the 42nd time this year. Ono was the whole show for us offensively, he’d be responsible for each run scored, two on run-scoring singles, and the last on a solo TANK… we’ll have a rare chance to earn a 4-game sweep tomorrow – let’s hope our guys opt for rest over the San Jose nightlife.


Elsewhere: Andy Shepard, former Leopard who tested free agency during the off-season, went unsigned by an MLB club, took his talents to the Bush League (signing a fatty contract with the Quincy Quackers) before being purchased by the Dallas Chaparrals, went 3-for-3 with a double and TWO TRUCKS during a hard-fought 5-4 win over the Alpines in Salt Lake City. Word on the street is that the Chaps plan to celebrate the win with a team social held at some locally owned ice cream shop. Should be a rockin’ good time.

111 of 162: Jan Hernandez (5-4, 2.25) @ Bentley Hunt (11-8, 3.40)
Win, 6-2. I have it on good authority that our club, nearly to a man, opted for a night on the town spent celebrating our winning ways and chasing around the local talent instead of an early bedtime, and, because our opponent isn’t very good and they are young, we’d not pay for our collective transgressions here, instead walking away with a 6-2 win to cap off our 4-game road sweep. Otto led the charge, finishing 2-for-4 with a 3-run TATER and 4 total RBI, with Tyler Hill and Bill Cox being responsible for the two add-on runs, while our staff, led by Jan’s 7-inning, 3-hit, 2 earned effort, came through in the clutch again to put this one to bed before the Seals even realized that the game was underway.

Record: 71-40, .639, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll make the quick hop back to L.A. to kick off 10-straight at home with three against the visiting Coyotes.

[pauwoo]

Phoenix Coyotes (60-50, .545, 2nd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (71-40, .640, 1st NL West)
After entering into a death spiral during an 11-15 July, Phoenix has managed to gain some visibility through the milk-white fog and has seemingly pulled off the maneuvers required to regain control of their aircraft, kicking off the month of August on a 4-1 tear. Now, after besting the Las Vegas Outlaws, 2 games to 1, during their last set, Phoenix, at the healthiest we’ve seen them in some time, struts into town looking to make up some ground against us while solidifying their tenuous lead over the Outlaws… and, with Arthur & Scott Kaszuba off to rip-roaring starts so far this month, the Coyotes faithful are hoping that Harlem Peterson will put his recent hitting troubles (.118 so far this month after hitting .312 with 7 TANKS in July while everyone around him struggled) behind him… because, if these guys can all just get on the same page then this club would be truly formidable indeed.

112 of 162: Landon Sampson (10-4, 2.41) @ Stephen Estevez (11-4, 2.08)
Loss, 2-4. Perhaps it is us who is in need of some remedial flying lessons, something to keep us from panicking during a low-key graveyard spiral, to remind us to believe in our instruments, and to trust the process… Phoenix, precisely tuned to their instrument panel and in lockstep with Air Traffic Control, had no problem landing the plane in our park, sending their first of two, 2-run JACKS out of the park during the top of the 2nd before doing it again a mere 3 frames later. Harlem Peterson, in what Phoenix brass can only hope is a return to form, went 1-for-3 with a 2-run TRUCK to kick his club into gear while 3B Gavin Nalley, a Bootleg-Pepper if ever there was one, followed suit with one of his own. For our part it was only an OH HONG solo shot that brought the crowd to their feet before they settled into their seats, tray tables upright and in their locked positions, with seatbelts securely fastened as we ended this one with a rocky descent.

113 of 162: Max Harrington (12-4, 1.63) @ Dwight Beasley (10-3, 3.25)
Win, 9-3. We’d get some of that sweet, sweet get back here as the boys ran roughshod over the surging Coyotes en route to a 9-3 shellacking where IF Utilityman, Simon Paulino, who’s reappearance on the big club became a necessity when we lost Demetri Rodriguez for the remainder of the season, led the charge as his 3-for-4 day with two, two baggers, and 3 total RBI helped ensure a successful razing of Phoenix’s castle… he’d be joined in his marauding by Otto, who went 3-for-5 with a solo shot and 2 RBI, and OH HONG, who’s 2-run TANK managed to get all of those in attendance on their feet, as we pulled even with our division rival to set up a winner-takes-all rubber match tomorrow in Los Angeles…


Elsewhere: Dallas’ SP Johnny Levene spun a masterpiece for the Chaparrals today, finishing a complete-game, 1-hit shutout with 9 K’s on the road in Denver and leading his team to a resounding 5-0 victory at altitude. This was Levene’s 4th start as a pro with most of his time spent coming out of the pen since being called up from Fort Worth after RP Adam Fitzpatrick went down for the count with a torn meniscus.

114 of 162: Prior Balazs (1-2, 4.88) @ Keith Baeza (9-4, 2.89)
Win, 4-0. Baeza shackled the Phoenix offense over 7-innings of work, allowing a scant two hits, each a weak little dribbler that our defense gobbled up with ease, and fanned 10 while our offense did what was necessary to make sure he’d walk away with his 10th win on the season. Carson Hutchinson drove in two runs on an 8th inning double, to go along with the runs that OH HONG and Bill Cox drove in earlier in the contest, giving Donovan Turnbull and Dylan Miotke all the room they’d need to finish this one up and send the Coyotes off into the night a shell of their former selves.

Record: 73-41, .640, 1st NL West
Up Next: The NL East’s finest will pay us a visit over the next 4 games as the Brooklyn Citizens hope to engage us in the baseball equivalent of a Tupac versus Biggie rap battle…

[pauwoo]

Brooklyn Citizens (66-48, .579, 1st NL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (73-41, .640, 1st NL West)
While the Citizens are easily one of the better ran franchises in StrangeVerse (what’s so strange about this save, anyway?), their success has been limited to the regular season – in that way, while they are a formidable opponent throughout the year, the Citizens don’t take up much of the punditry's mind space once the post season begins. In 2079, Brooklyn is having one of its customary tip-top regular seasons – they’ve made the playoffs in 15 of the last 16 years – leading their division by 2 ½ games and are off to an acceptable start in August as they look to post their 5th .500+ month in a row this season. Certainly not an opponent we want to look past, even with our comfortable 11 game lead in the NL West... Oh, and to underscore Brooklyn’s playoff futility, here’s a look at their results over the last 16 seasons when they have managed to make it all the way to World Series:

• 2063 – Lost in 7 to Portland
• 2064 – Lost in 7 to Toronto
• 2066 – Swept by Toronto
• 2071 – Swept by Toronto

115 of 162: Patrick Keith (4-2, 4.54) @ Merl Crawford (13-5, 3.73)
Win, 5-4 (13). In what was a back-and-forth affair where neither offense could sufficiently assert themselves, it would be the pitching that came undone in the end as Brooklyn’s RP Joe Russell allowed 3 straight hits to start the bottom of the 13th before, finally, walking in the winning run… nothing like a walk off walk to start off a marquee matchup like this. Haag had some uncharacteristic struggles in this one, blowing a save for the 3rd time of the year on 2 hits and 3 earned over his 1.2 innings pitched, while Ono, who went 1-for-6 with a SOLO SHOT and 2 total RBI for the game, would draw that fortuitous walk to send the fans back out into the wild with a win to reflect on during their journey home.

116 of 162: Sawyer Dahlgren (9-5, 3.20) @ Jan Hernandez (6-4, 2.27)
Win, 8-1. After playing it so close to the bone yesterday our offense came out rested and with a renewed focus, putting 8 bad ones on the board in total, with half of those coming during the bottom of the very first frame. Ono, in picking up where he left off yesterday, sent out a 3-run TRUCK during the bottom of the first and finished 2-for-5 on the day, Otto went 2-for-4 with 2 batted in, and OH HONG’s name rang out with a run-scoring double in the 4th that was the precursor to us pouring on 4 more runs before this one was all said and done. Solid pitching from Jan too – 5-innings of hard-scrabble work, with 5 hits, nothing earned, and 6 K’s to earn with 7th win on the season before handing it off to long reliever Nakagawa to close out the final four frames.


Elsewhere: SP Grayson Thompson, our supplemental round pick this year (30th overall), posted his 3rd 8+ inning shutout as a pro, this time going 8.1 innings with only 3 hits and nothing earned to go with his 6 K’s as our AA Inglewood Sentinels defeated the Henderson Ducks by a score of 1-0. If I’m honest, I don’t have the highest of hopes for Grayson, but his start in AA can’t be denied and, at this point, I shouldn’t be surprised if he makes it to the big club sooner than previously expected.

117 of 162: Josiah Kawka (13-6, 1.99) @ Stephen Estevez (11-5, 2.27)
Loss, 0-8. It was our turn to get playground bullied this time with our pitching staff taking elbow after elbow as the Citizens played us like marionets at a Shakespearian puppetry festival. Estevez gave a good enough account of himself early, giving us 5 solid innings of work, allowing just two runners to plate on 4 total hits, and Ram Chen was able to hold it down for 2.2 scoreless innings in relief before handing the pill off to Donovon Turnbull who was tossing more meatballs around than an Italian restaurant, allowing 6 more bad ones to get across over 31 pitches in just one inning of work. Of note here, begrudgingly, is that Josiah Kawka, who spent half the year starting and the other half closing for the Leopards during our first championship season of 2075, exerted some small measure of revenge against his former home with the complete game shutout today… but, really, who cares about all that?


Elsewhere: SS Lorne Goolsby, highlighted as much for his weird name and swank ‘stache as his performance, of the Staten Island Killer Bees (a Brooklyn affiliate), did his club proud today, leading the charge with a 4-for-4 performance that includes a 2B, a SHERMAN TANK, and 4 RBI, as the Kay Bee’s defeated the Arvada Panners at home by a score of 8-6.

118 of 162: John Aivazian (10-7, 3.54) @ Dwight Beasley (11-3, 3.05)
Win, 5-1. Ian Hanan had three hits and drove in the tiebreaking run on a 3-run TANK in the eighth inning as we pushed Brooklyn’s face in the mud for the 3rd time in 4 tries, winning the final game by a score of 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. Tyler Hill, 2-for-5 with an RBI, and Satoru Ono, 1-for-3 with an RBI, both contributed to the cause offensively while RP Major Hansen recorded his 5th win of the 2079 campaign after shutting the Citizens down over 2.2 inning in relief.

Record: 76-42, .644, 1st NL West
Up Next: More home cooking as Tom Franzone and his Pittsburgh Pipers head to Los Angeles for a 3-game set.

[pauwoo]

Pittsburgh Pipers (68-50, .576, 1st NL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (76-42, .644, 1st NL West)
After a slow start in April, the Pittsburgh Pipers opened things up in May, posting an 18-10 record for the month before falling back into April’s poor form during a ho-hum, 13-15 June – but once again they’d bounce back the next month, finishing out July with a 17-9 record and are looking to keep that form intact as they are off to an 8-3 start so far in August. The offense continues to be led by Tom Franzone (.299-26-82) and Mack Ramirez (.232-27-77) while Paul Yeager (12-8, 3.47), Robby Garrett (12-8, 2.56), and Gregory Norman (11-5, 2.85) are holding it down for their 4th ranked staff. As winners of 6-straight, Pittsburgh has pulled ahead of Brooklyn in the NL East and arrives in town playing their best baseball so far this season… something’s got to give here – either they continue to run roughshod over all comers (in this case us) or we stop them dead in their tracks on our turf in the City of Angels.

119 of 162: Jaxson Mottola (5-2, 3.41) @ Keith Baeza (10-4, 2.69)
Loss, 2-3 (14). Pittsburgh mainstay, Xavier Pace, a contributing member of the Pipers’ club for the last 6 years, has Veteran manager Jim Bielefeldt’s full vote of confidence when the game is on the line. And, with a man on 2nd & two outs already on the board, Xavier showed that his Skipper’s trust isn’t misplaced as he managed to sneak one through the infield for a run-scoring single during the top of the 14th that all but sealed our fate. Major Hansen, after pitching admirably for 2.2 innings last night, struggled to close this one out, giving up the game-winner and seeing his record fall to an imperfect 5-1 on the year.

Some notes… the weekly power rankings came out today and your Los Angeles Leopards are currently holding it down in the MLB from the top of the pops while our AA outfit, the Inglewood Sentinels, and our Short A outfit, the Brentwood Bishops, are doing the same in their respective leagues… also, and perhaps more importantly, Inglewood pitchers have recorded complete-game shutouts in their last two tilts starting with SP Cristobal Ruiz’s complete-game, 5-hit shutout on the 13th (during a 2-0 Inglewood triumph over the Newark Colonials) and finishing with SP Morton Saldivar’s complete-game, 4-hitter during today’s 1-0 win in Newark. Cristobal will one day be at or near the top of our rotation, he’s one of our most promising prospects, while Morton’s ceiling looks to be as a Major League bullpen arm… only time will tell, as they say.

120 of 162: Edwin Blaxley (8-10, 3.53) @ Merl Crawford (13-5, 3.62)
Win, 1-0. Blaxley, like Merl, busied himself in this one by mowing down the competition until, after probably being left in one batter too many by his Skipper, Dom took him yard for a solo shot with two outs already on the board, giving us the margin required to claim victory in game two, evening this 3-game set a 1 each with the rubber match all set for tomorrow. 6 Ks, 3 hits, and nothing earned in 7-innings of work for Crawford, 2 K’s for Turnbull during the 8th, and save #44 for Haag, who’s now trending to record 59 saves (still enough, by 1, for the all-time record), during a 9-pitch 9th to close the show.

121 of 162: Kurt Miller (3-1, 4.35) @ Jan Hernandez (7-4, 2.16)
Win, 5-1. Jan Hernandez pitched six shutout innings, OH HONG had four RBI to power the offense and your Los Angeles Leopards put a bad one on the Pittsburgh Pipers to secure our second straight series victory against the current leader of the NL East… knocking each from their perch atop the division as Pittsburgh moved into that spot after we finished with Brooklyn only for the Citizens to slide right back into that spot once we made mincemeat of the Pipers.

Record: 78-43, .644, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll take a day off in Los Angeles before getting back after it on Friday against the visiting Vancouver Mounties, who, as luck would have it, look to be just as good as our last two opponents.

[pauwoo]

Vancouver Mounties (63-58, .520, 2nd AL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (78-43, .644, 1st NL West)
After stumbling mightily off the line at the start of the 2079 campaign, Vancouver has been able to put an 8-17 April in their rearview mirror after posting three straight winning months leading into August. So far, that trend has continued as the Mounties have found a way to win 8 of 14 this month but arrive in Los Angeles on something of a slow down after posting a .500 record over their last 10 tilts. Yet, for all their early struggles, Vancouver finds themselves at a scant 2 games off the pace being set by the Portland Pines, all while undergoing a sort of youthful sea change within their organization as youngsters, 23-year-old LF Baron Henry (63/63 - .312/.388/.467, 11 HR, 54 RBI), 26-year-old RF Leandro Corona (54/54 - .252/.315/.435, 18 HR, 74 RBI), and 26-year-old 2B Ahmed Smith (57/57, 15 HR, 59 RBI) have each stepped into the limelight, delivering the message to the rest of the league that the future starts now in British Columbia.

122 of 162: Trev Anderson (10-9, 3.70) @ Stephen Estevez (11-6, 2.32)
Win, 4-3. Stephen Estevez was dominant over 7.1 innings pitched, allowing a mere 2 hits with nothing earned, but Donovan Turnbull was unable to maintain the clean sheet as he’d allow a second baserunner after coming into the game followed by a 3-run TANK courtesy of 3B Jarel White. Fortunately, Haag would come in shortly thereafter and lock it down such that Pepper’s 6th inning, 3-run double, acting as both the straw that broke the camels back (Trev would be sent to the showers after he put it over the fence) and ultimate difference-maker, would be all the cushion required for us to start this set off with a win. Oh, and the young guns (REGULATORS! MOUNT UP!) I highlighted earlier, started things off by going a combined 1-for-10 at the plate.

123 of 162: Jake Renfer (0-2, 2.72) @ Dwight Beasley (11-3, 2.90)
Win, 5-3. We were outhit 11 to 8, outhustled, and, really, outplayed in this one, yet still found a way to come away with the series clinching win as the club relied on some key defensive stops (we’d post 2 Pepper-Hanan-Ono DP’s on the day) and some fine pitching out of the pen (Miotke, Turnbull each earned a hold while Haag, in doing what he does, posted his 46th save) to enter this one as W into the permanent record. Ono put us on the board early with a 2-run double during the bottom of the 1st, Pepper added a solo shot during the very next frame, and OH HONG would provide the difference-making runs during the bottom of the 6th in the form of a 2-run MOONSHOT. A good, if workmanlike, performance from the club today – it’s all systems go right now for the La La’s.

124 of 162: Isaiah Zuno (11-7, 3.12) @ Keith Baeza (10-4, 2.73)
Loss, 1-2. Center fielder Filonas Polyclitus threw Tyler Hill out at second to end the game, and the Vancouver Mounties held us off, by a score of 2-1, to salvage some pride behind Baron Henry’s early two-run homer. We’d manage 8 total hits as a club, leaving all but one of those stranded (Hutchinson brought Ono around on a 4th inning double), and, despite getting some solid performances from our staff, would, ultimately, allow one more run than we should of here leading to a game three loss as we failed to secure yet another sweep since taking four straight off San Jose in their park earlier this month.

And, in other, less fortunate news… Hidetoshi Hasegawa has informed me that Ethan Mullens lingering elbow injury continues to, well, linger, indicating that he will require even more rest to fully heal from the condition. Good grief, what a wuss. Additionally, so-so AA pitching prospect, currently laboring with our Inglewood development outfit, Morton Saldivar took home the player of the week honor after posting a 2-0 record with 12 K’s in 16.2 innings of work. Good on him… that’s what we like to see. And, not that it matters in the larger scheme of things, but Brentwood and our big club both were listed at the #1 slot in their respective power rankings once again.

Record: 80-44, .645, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’re travelling to Dallas on Monday, where we’ll spent the rest of the day settling in, before kicking off a 3-game set in their park on Tuesday. Which, I’m pretty sure, marks our last set this season against an American League club.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (80-44, .645, 1st NL West) @ Dallas Chaparrals (59-66, .472, 4th AL West)
Even at 59-66 on the year, the shopworn and road weary Dallas Chaparrals find themselves only a scant 2 games off the pace required to crib the final wild card slot in the American League, and, while I’m well aware that this says more about my wonky playoff structure than it does the strength of the AL, I can’t help but be reminded of the 2022 Portland Timbers who were the first, and only, club to win the World Series with a losing record. To be clear, I don’t suspect that a repeat of that sad fact is in the cards for this year’s version of the Dallas Chaparrals, in fact I don’t see a scenario where they even manage to secure a ticket to the dance – it’s just that it was the only thing of note that seemed interesting enough to post here. Dallas is a bland club, representing a city whose scenery is equally bland, in a division they haven’t finished higher than 3rd in for 12 years. Our expectation here is that, for us, the good times will continue to roll, that we’ll run roughshod over this loose collection of stiffs and extend our 10-series winning streak to 11 in a row. The world is our oyster folks, we’re just doing our best not to choke on the pearls.

125 of 162: Merl Crawford (14-5, 3.43) @ Radoslav Borovsky (9-5, 3.68)
Win, 11-2. Two big innings, a 6-run top of the 5th and a 4-run top of the 8th, would punctuate what was, otherwise, a less-than rip-roaring affair as we managed to start things off on the right foot in the barren wasteland known as Dallas, TX. The club was in cruise control offensively – 3 doubles as a team, DINGERS for Ono (a 3-run shot off Radoslav) and Dom (also a 3-run shot off RP Emeterio Orona), two SAC FLIES, two HBPs, and, not to be outdone by the offense, our D even put up two impressive DP’s on the day. Solid outing for Merl too – 6-innings, 5 hits, 2 earned – with Nakagawa putting this one to bed on 18-total pitches spread out across the 8th and 9th.


Elsewhere: Former Leopard, current Motor of Detroit, SP Peter Garcia, whose fastball is only rivaled by his suave & stylish ‘stache, gave his club a complete-game, 2-hit lockdown effort that included 8 K’s as they’d go on to defeat the visiting Pittsburgh Pipers by a score of 5-0 in Michigan. Peter is now 11-6 on the year with a 2.37 ERA, 145 ERA+, 9.4 K/9, and career-best, 2.40 FIP. Clearly, we should have paid the man.

126 of 162: Jan Hernandez (8-4, 2.03) @ Sherwin Kane (5-8, 4.58)
Win, 9-6. We’d rely on some late game heroics from Otto, whose 2-run BLAST during the top of the 9th knotted things up at 6 runs apiece, followed by a 10th inning 3-run TANK courtesy of Bill Cox to take a 3-run lead which is, ultimately, where we’d leave it as we secured a win in game two, extending our series win streak to 11 in a row. Wow. Isaac finished 2-for-5 with the aforementioned 2-run TANK and one more riblet for good measure, Hanan drove in two, Cox added those last three, and the club would put 4 more doubles on the board tonight, making it 7 two-baggers for the club so far in Dallas.

127 of 162: Stephen Estevez (12-6, 2.26) @ Johnny Levene (3-3, 2.82)
Win, 3-2. SWEEP CITY. We’d edge the Chaparrals here, prevailing in what was a tight, taut affair by just a single run as PEPPER GRANT’s solo HOMER during the top of the 7th would prove to be the game-winner. All told, PEPPER would drive in two of our 3 runs, with the other belonging to Hutchinson, while Estevez led the staff with 5-innings of shutout baseball and Don Haag, no longer trending to eclipse the single-season SAVES record, recorded his 47th one of those this year.

Record: 83-44, .653, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head all the way back to LA, only to welcome the other Texas club to town as the Austin Grackles will pay us a visit over the weekend for another 3-game set.

[pauwoo]

Austin Grackles (51-77, .398, 6th NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (83-44, .653, 1st NL West)
Though their record may suggest otherwise, the Austin Grackles haven’t completely packed it in just yet – there’s always pride and next year’s contract to play for. What we do know is that, at 32 ½ games off our pace in the NL West, the Austin Grackles are going nowhere fast and even if they were in possession of a trucker’s atlas, with all the most efficient routes outlined in sharpie, they lack the petrol to get too far down the road anyways. After winning 40% or less of their games each month, with their worst being a 10-18 June, the Grackles shuffle into town on an 11-11 record so far in August, are 3-2-1 in the series they’ve played this month, and have actually taken on the look of a competent ballclub of late. Our challenge here will be to avoid playing down to the level of our competition so that these good times we find ourselves living in keep on rolling… and remain an unfettered dynamo of a ballclub, on a mission from God.

128 of 162: Ryan Burg (7-10, 3.44) @ Dwight Beasley (12-3, 2.99)
Win, 3-0. Winners of 4 straight now, we’d rely on lights out pitching to carry the day as Dwight set the tone over 5-innings of 5-hit, shutout baseball before handing off to Major Hansen, who picked up his 6th hold on 2.2 innings of work, and Don Haag, who retired the side in the 9th, 2 by strikeout, on 16 total pitches for save #48. A well-hit 2-run DING DONG from Bill Cox during the bottom of the 3rd would serve as both our opening salvo and game-winning runs, with our insurance coming courtesy of a Ronald Guzman error at 3rd for the Grackles. In other news, Otto tried to swipe 2nd twice, was caught with his hand in the honeypot on each attempt, and has now been picked off while trying to get cute on the basepaths 5 times this season.

129 of 162: Joshua Moeller (3-13, 5.33) @ Keith Baeza (10-5, 2.77)
Win, 6-0. Our staff’s dominance would once again reign supreme as Baeza kicked us off with 5.2 innings of 3-hit baseball, allowing nothing to get across while fanning 8, and Nakagawa followed his lead, closing out the final 3.1 frames, allowing just two baserunners while securing his 6th save of the year. Offensively, Hanan came alive a bit – 2-for-4, with a 2-run double and another RBI sprinkled in for good measure – while Bill Cox, Otto, and Weaver would each drive in a run to round things out for us here. Austin, suddenly struggling with us looking back at them from the home dugout, haven’t scored yet in this series and have, instead, been forced to look on as our La La’s styled their way to 5-straight wins.


Elsewhere: Down on the farm… RF Chuck Holmes, of our Inglewood Sentinels, finished 3-for-7 with TWO JACKS, 5 total RBI, and 3 runs of his own, during our AA clubs 11-10 win over the visiting Halifax Whalers. Holmes, whose motto is apparently, ‘carpe diem’, doesn’t really have the profile that would make him an obvious future member of our big club, but he had something snappy today and, if nothing else, will likely be a Bush League stud one day.

130 of 162: Vin Uhlman (5-12, 4.29) @ Merl Crawford (15-5, 3.42)
Loss, 0-4. It’d be Austin’s turn to piece some offense together while we took on the role they played over the first two games offensively – unable to piece together any offense of note, Vin Uhlman displayed great form in holding our guys in check over 6, 3-hit innings, before handing it off to RJ Manning and Midas Haven who proved to have what it’d take to keep us off balance the rest of the way. And, even though we couldn’t secure a second straight sweep over a Texas-based ballclub, we’ve won 12 sets in a row, and, really, look like an unstoppable force right now. This was just a minor misstep in what has, otherwise, been a flawless dance recital for the yellow tops.

Record: 85-45, .653, 1st NL West
Up Next: A quick hop over to Phoenix for a couple of quick ones before a much-needed day off.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles (85-45, .653, 1st NL West) @ Phoenix Coyotes (71-59, .546, 2nd NL West)
Phoenix, sitting pretty in the wildcard race at 3 games up on Las Vegas & Philly, finds themselves firmly entrenched in the second slot on the NL West table, but are operating a full 14 games off our pace. The Coyotes have been good this year, as they often are… though, the 2079 campaign has been uneven at times. After finishing 18-10 in May, Phoenix was able to carry that form forward into June, posting a 15-11 record for the month, but found themselves taking a few steps back during a dismal 11-15 July, giving us all the opportunity we’d need to build up what looks like an insurmountable lead. Interestingly, so far this season, Phoenix ranks 6th for total offense and 7th in pitching amongst National League teams, with Las Vegas ranked ahead of them in both categories. Phoenix will have their work cut out for them if they have designs on staying ahead of the Outlaws and ultimately securing one of two wildcard slots that will get homefield advantage during the Circle Series round of the playoffs.

131 of 162: Jan Hernandez (8-4, 2.19) @ Landon Sampson (12-4, 2.18)
Loss, 5-6. We’d not go down without a fight, scoring 4 runs during a furious rally attempt during the top of the 8th, before finally succumbing to former Leopard, CL Rishon Shaw, who mowed down the top of our order, Cox-Hong-Otto, on strikes to give his club a hard-fought victory in the first of two games we’ll contest in Phoenix. Cox was particularly atrocious at the plate, posting a GOLDEN SOMBRERO from the leadoff spot, setting a tone that our offense would, mostly, follow until we managed to get a little bit of something going during our late, ill-fated rally attempt. The Coyotes’ Landon Sampson, one of the best hurlers in this save, gave us the business over 6.1-innings of work, fanning 8 Leopards while allowing only 1 run – he’s now 13-4 on the year with a tip-top, 2.15 ERA.

Note: RP Kaoru Kudo’s rehab stint in Compton has come to an end, meaning his return to the big club will, unfortunately, come at the expense of RP Ignazio Armendariz, who’d given quite a good account of himself in 26 appearances on the big club. Fare thee well sir… may you have fair winds and following seas in Compton. Well at least for a couple of days, we'll be back for you on September 1st so stay limber...

132 of 162: Stephen Estevez (13-6, 2.18) @ Prior Balazs (3-3, 3.33)
Win, 4-3. Phoenix made a game of it with runs scored in the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings, pulling within one of sending this tilt into extras, but Haag, in a less-than-vintage performance, managed to cling to our tentative lead and earn his 49th save of the year. Estevez went 6 strong, allowed just two hits with nothing getting across on his watch, he’ll enter his 14th victory of the season into the permanent record, while the offense somehow found a way to squeeze out the minimum number of runs required for victory. Sort of a weird contest where things started coming unglued at the end with the team that probably should have won, in this case Phoenix, just running out of time to do so.


Elsewhere: Jay Noury, of the Cheyenne Rattlers (Single A club rolling to Phoenix), twirled a complete-game masterpiece, allowing no runners to plate while fanning 14 for the contest, as the visiting Wyoming-based ballclub handled the Louisville Swatters with relative ease during a 7-0 win for the road team. Noury, a Redmond, WA native, finished his college career with the Maryland Terrapins in 2077, went undrafted that year, and ended up playing for 4 different Bush League clubs before being released by the Dearborn Dilly’s… he was signed as a free agent by Phoenix in '78, starting his career with them in A-ball, and is currently splitting time between their A-Ball club and their Short Season A-Ball club so far this year. He’s destined to be a StrangeVerse vagabond, a bootleg Caine from Kung Fu, wandering aimlessly across the landscape and trying to earn money as a professional athlete for as long as his body will allow it. Fair play to him.

Record: 86-46, .651, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll conclude August at home, with the Mexico City Jaguars in town for four games.

[pauwoo]

Mexico City Jaguars (68-64, .515, 4th NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (86-46, .652, 1st NL West)
After two consecutive months making their living well above .500, the Jags are undoubtedly looking forward to putting August, where they’ve posted a 14-14 record so far, behind them as they launch into September on a mission to fill the 2-game hole they find themselves in and ultimately capture that last wild card slot in the National League. They arrive in town after winning their first series in their last three tries, besting the San Jose Seals two games to one after dropping consecutive sets to Las Vegas and Denver by that same margin, only in reverse. Let’s not kid ourselves, Mexico City isn’t a great ballclub, they’re treading water in the NL, and only find themselves in the hunt because our playoff structure is so forgiving, a figurative set of water wings for clubs that can technically swim, just not that well.

133 of 162: Ben McGillicuddy (5-10, 4.10) @ Dwight Beasley (13-3, 2.88)
Loss, 2-10. We’d say our goodbyes to August with our worst performance of the month as the Mexico City Jaguars had their way with us like we were a middle school kickball team trying to challenge the local high school’s varsity club in a game of proper baseball. For their part, the Jags looked SUPER comfortable in the box, putting 10 bad ones on us like there were batting it around in their home park, at altitude, where scoring 10 runs is more norm than anomaly. Pepper and Hanan, from the very bottom of our order, drove in our only two runs, while our pitching staff was, obviously, used and abused throughout the game… Beasley sees his ERA balloon to 3.13 (hey! That’s not so bad) after allowing 5 runs, Nakagawa let 3 more get across after coming on 1 batter into the 4th, and Major Hansen was a MAJOR BUMMER as he’d let 2 more plate before we could close the book on this embarrassment.


Elsewhere: I don’t get to talk about Heathcote Kinton enough, because, as good as he is (80/80, baby), his name doesn’t seem to come up much. Tonight though… tonight was a Heathcote night as your boy posted a 2-for-3 day with a GRAND SLAM, 5 total riblets, and 3 runs to lead the charge for his Brooklyn Citizens as they bested the hard-charging, for this game at least, Miami Herons by a score of 7-6. Look, I’m not going to sit here and blow smoke – this hasn’t been a rip-roaring year for Kinton, and, while I wanted it to be a big time bounce back for him after posting only 4.4 WAR following his breakout 8.8 WAR ’77 campaign, he is at least earning most of his pay as a fielding dynamo who can swing the bat a little bit… .255/.350/.395, 135 OPS+, trending 6.0 WAR… and, I know, I know, these are really good numbers, but Heathcote, well, I had him pegged as an All-Timer, and, while the book hasn’t been completely written, let’s just say I thought he’d have a couple of MVP’s by now.

Also, given that the month has concluded, I’m attaching the standings, our clubhouse, and some of Augusts individual stats to the post. I like this sort of thing… ymmv…

134 of 162: Owen Sum (6-6, 2.59) @ Keith Baeza (11-5, 2.64)
Loss, 0-2. Well… not exactly what we were looking for here, beat twice, in a row, at home. Throw in the fact that we’ve not led these yokels in runs over the first 18-innings of this 4-game set and you have a recipe for disaster. We were handled by MC’s staff, each of the 4 hurlers who made an appearance tonight wouldn’t allow as much as an EBH for the game, never mind any runs… we struck out 11 times as a unit, and while Ram Chen was nasty over 2.2 innings where he’d fan 7 of the 8 batters he faced, the two that Baeza let get across would be more than enough for the Jags to guarantee that they walk away with a 2-2 split at the very least.

Hey! Dance & rejoice… Ethan Mullens is returning to the fold after his all too lengthy stint on the IL.

135 of 162: Randy Keramidas (4-5, 3.66) @ Merl Crawford (15-6, 3.41)
Loss, 0-2. Is this it? Have the wheels completely fallen off? We’d trade zeroes with our visitors until the top of the 9th when, RF Winslow McMillan would break the tie on a well-hit, 2-run double, and your boy, my boy, everybody’s boy (and recently traded Leopard), Germaine Sturdivant brought in an insurance run on a single. We’d follow that up by going down in order, with OH HONG and Otto both getting caught looking, and Tyler Hill (who was part of the Sturdivant trade) popping out to RF, putting this one to bed. We’ve now not scored in 20 consecutive innings… against Mexico City, of all clubs, and in our house in front of our families, friends, wives, and mistresses… it’s no bueno.

A look back at what I thought about that trade back in July… perhaps I should not have been so excited about it afterall…

I should preface this one by saying that rarely, if ever, will I pull the trigger on an AI generated offer, much less one from a division rival who we’re on our way to visit, but this offer made too much sense to pass up… Mexico City offered up 30-year-old LF Tyler Hill (55/55), a solid hitter/fielder who will slot in nicely for our depleted OF, and minor-league RP Derek Cox (28/32) for 31-year-old utility IF, Germaine Sturdivant (50/50), who’s also a solid hitter/fielder with less speed than Hill.

Elsewhere: Hold the phone… just wait a gosh dern second… The “Crawdad”, SP Troy Upham, whose played his entire, 3-year professional career in the Bush League, currently plying his trade with the Beaumont Bullies, has etched his name into the BL annuals of time, pitching a PERFECT GAME – 9 IP, NO HITS, NO RUNS, NO WALKS, NOT A SINGLE BASERUNNER, with 11 K’s, leading his club to a resounding, legendary, once-in-a-lifetime 11-0 win. We’ll have to add him to the ol’ Kwai Chang Caine shortlist to follow where his journey through StrangeVerse takes him… what a stud.

136 of 162: Lee Myers (14-10, 3.68) @ Jan Hernandez (8-5, 2.34)
Win, 6-0. Baseball is a fickle mistress, one minute your sleeping on the couch, the next your embroiled in some blissful entanglement, snuggled up against her bosom, safe in her warm embrace… here we’d come back to life after being left for dead in our first three contests against Mexico City with Jan Hernandez at the helm, keeping the Jags in check and navigating his way through a spell of rough seas by inducing a rally-killing double play to maintain his clean sheet. After not hitting any extra-base hits since the 7th inning of the first game of the series, we’d put 5 doubles and a homer on the board in this one – Ethan, starting to work into a groove now, finished 1-for-3 with a run, Dom put one over the fence and brought another around on a double, and Hutchinson tallied 2 RBI on a two-bagger of his own. Donovan Turnbull, who tallied 56 saves for us last year, picked up his first of those in ’79 after bringing it home over the last two innings of the game.

Record: 87-49, .639, 1st NL West
Up Next: A day of rest spent looking at ourselves in the mirror and wondering where it all went wrong followed by a quickie, 2-game romp against the Sin City Outlaws…

[BirdWatcher]

Midas Haven: I think you need to acquire this guy just for the name.

[pauwoo]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Midas Haven: I think you need to acquire this guy just for the name.

While, I do agree on the name, and even though I have more than one Captain on the big club, I try to stay away from these low leadership types...

[pauwoo]

Las Vegas Outlaws (73-63, .536, 3rd NL West) @ Los Angeles Leopards (87-49, .640, 1st NL West)
The Outlaws were challenging us for the spot at the top of the NL West Table for the first three months of the season… and, then, the bottom fell out. Back-to-back losing months in July and August sufficiently chipped away at their clubhouse esprit de corps, and while I wouldn’t call their current predicament an all-out freefall, with Phoenix outperforming the preseason prediction that had them finishing on the outside looking in come playoff time, the Outlaws need to get back to their winning ways and fast if they have designs on making some noise in the postseason. Of course, they’ve been unlucky too – sitting at -5 against the PYT and possessing the 5th best RDiff in the Majors at +83, the Outlaws are clearly better than their record would suggest… our aim here is to avoid a repeat of our last series and to keep the Outlaws from turning the corner on our watch.

137 of 162: Jake Talley (9-11, 3.75) @ Stephen Estevez (14-6, 2.10)
Win, 3-0. In holding Las Vegas to 3 total hits with nothing to show for them, we’d reassert our dominance over a worthy division rival with a run-scoring double from OH HONG followed by a 2-run MOONSHOT courtesy of Satoru Ono doing more than enough damage to turn our visitors away at the door. Mullens hit a double and scored, Estevez dealt from the mound for 6-innings, allowing 2 hits and nothing else of note, Kudo made his first appearance out of the pen since returning to the fold, 2-innings & 4 K’s for him, and Haag managed to secure his 50th save of the season on a 10-pitch top of the 9th. We’d turn FOUR double plays in this one as well proving once again that pitching dominance coupled with supreme defensive prowess always rules the day.

138 of 162: Andy Giddings (5-2, 3.60) @ Dwight Beasley (13-4, 3.13)
Loss, 1-3. Andy Giddings gave a good account of himself for the Outlaws, allowing just 1 run over 6 innings of work, and DH Travis Scharmer hit a SOLO SHOT that would provide Las Vegas a bit of insurance during the top of the 6th, extending their lead to where we’d leave it at 3-1. For our part, Beasley labored in this one, allowing three runners to plate on two HRA’s, and, while we had our chances, most notably loading up the bags with two outs on the board during the bottom of the 9th only for Hutchinson to pop up the game-ender, we’ll have to settle for a split here as we’ve amassed an abysmal 2-4 record at home during this 10-game homestand.

Record: 88-50, .637, 1st NL West
Up Next: Philadelphia is headed our way for a 4-game series, capping off what will have been a 10-game homestand before we board a plane headed all the way to New Orleans for four more.

[pauwoo]

Philadelphia Founders (72-67, .518, 3rd NL East) @ Los Angeles Leopards (88-50, .637, 1st NL West)
While 2-time MVP, Palmer Parker, is having another fine season - .322/.384/.907, 169 OPS+, 5.9 WAR – there hasn’t been enough offensive production around him to lift his club into the top half of the National League for offense. And, while the pitching is ranked solidly at 5th overall, without some serviceable sticks it’s hard to envision a scenario where they find a way to traverse the 9 ½ game chasm that sits between them and the division-leading Brooklyn Citizens. They’ve floundered so far in September, starting things off on a 1-4 record (we’re not much better at 2-3), and, if they have any designs on usurping Pittsburgh’s position at 2nd in the NL East it will need to start now, against us, in Los Angeles.

139 of 162: Steve Allen (9-10, 3.74) @ Keith Baeza (11-6, 2.66)
Win, 4-2. Coming into this game, Palmer Parker was batting .417 off Baeza, but after finishing 0-for-4 tonight his average dropped to a more realistic .333 as Kool Keith turned in a top notch, 7-inning effort, allowing 2 hits and 2 earned while fanning 11. Ono hit a TANK during the bottom of the 7th, his 23rd on the year, with the rest of our runs coming on run-scoring singles and SAC FLIES, and Ethan, showing off the wheels a little bit, swiped his 16th bag of the year to help keep Philly’s defense guessing. Dom left the game early after being hit by a pitch, he’ll be listed as day-to-day with a bruised knee.


Elsewhere: 1B Nemo Tejeda, a low-ceiling member of our A-Ball club in Watts, went 4-for-6 with THREE TRUCKS, 7 total RBI, and 4 runs as the Warriors ran roughshod over the Bethlehem Steelers by a score of 18-7. In addition to Tejeda’s 3 jacks, they’d hit 3 more as a club with 2 of those DING DONGS belonging to RF Dalton Burch, who we selected 50th overall in 2078 out of Texas A&M. He’s been good this year and, at only 21-years old, seems to be developing quite nicely with good contact, avoid K’s, and baserunning tools already at or near their expected peak. What’s holding him back is his defense – he certainly has a big-league arm in Right Field, but we’d like to see him become less error prone out there before considering him for the next level. Nemo Tejeda, on the other hand, should store this offensive outburst in the memory banks as his ceiling looks to be AA or maybe even a contributing role on a Bush League club.

140 of 162: PJ Street (1-0, 0.61) @ Merl Crawford (15-6, 3.26)
Loss, 0-2. Since being called up in late August, PJ Street has made two starts – each has resulted in a shutout win for his club, first against Montreal where he tossed an 8.1-inning 2-hitter, followed by this performance where he held us in check for 7-innings of 5-hit baseball… not bad for a guy that wasn’t even on my radar. OH HONG was particularly befuddled by Street, finishing 0-for-4 with 3 K’s, and save Otto’s double, the team, to a man, had trouble settling in against Street. Merl was good, the bullpen was good, it’s just that they were better at every turn, managing to parlay that cornering prowess into enough speed on the straights to keeps us a second or two behind.

141 of 162: Milt Montemayor (4-3, 2.69) @ Jan Hernandez (9-5, 2.20)
Win, 1-0. It’d be our staffs turn to befuddle the opposition – or, I should say it was our turn to be just a smidge better than Philly’s stable of arms as we’d manage to ride Dom Cooke’s 1st inning SAC FLY all the way to victory on the strength of Jan’s 7-innings of 3-hit baseball. Turnbull would dismantle Philly during the 8th, striking out the side on 12 total pitches, and Haag came through with save #51, fanning two and popping out the last on 11-pitches of his own. There’s not much to parse out here - ~51k of our most ardent fans were treated to the type of baseball game that can have the same effect on people as melatonin without the weird, vivid dreams.

142 of 162: Linden Brittingham (12-8, 3.44) @ Stephen Estevez (15-6, 2.01)
Loss, 3-4. Things were moving along just fine… Estevez had his good stuff, keeping the Pennsylvania-based barbarians at bay over 6-innings of work, but Kaoru Kudo couldn’t follow suit, allowing 4 runners to plate during a wild top of the 7th on a 3-RUN TRUCK from Alexander MacDonald and a run-scoring double for Jordan Maze. Dom, even on a bruised knee, continued to show out for us – he’d be the whole show offensively, driving in three runs on a double and 2-run DING DONG – while the rest of the offense continued perform like a weak, ineffectual teenager too preoccupied by the fact that his crush is sitting in the stands to focus on the task at hand. A real-life George McFly living in a world without the advent of the flux capacitor.

Record: 90-52, .633, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll head out to New Orleans for a 4-game series before returning home for 9-straight.

[pauwoo]

Los Angeles Leopards (90-52, .633, 1st NL West) @ New Orleans Gators (49-94, .342, 6th NL East)
We’re at that point in the season where we need to guard against going through the motions as the club gives in to thoughts about playoff glory and repeating as World Series champions… and, on a visit to the bayou, it’s of the utmost importance that our guys keep their eyes on the prize lest their likeness end up a voodoo doll used to derail all our best laid plans. There’s not a lot to say about New Orleans that their 49-94 record doesn’t already allude to – they’re, simply put, bad at baseball, haphazardly constructed, and, likely to a man, looking for a way out of this terrible season. They are professionals though, of course, and should not be taken lightly, lest they rise above their station long enough to smack us good and hard in the face. This one is ours to lose.

143 of 162: Dwight Beasley (13-5, 3.17) @ William Macomber (5-13, 3.21)
Loss, 1-7. It felt like a tentative poke when New Orleans matched our 3rd inning run with one of their own, when they scored again in the 6th we all felt like something was awry, and when they poured on 5 more during the bottom of the 8th it was clear that some witch doctor had gotten a hold of a strand of Major Hansen’s hair as he was uncharacteristically battered around during his 1-inning of work. Offensively, only Ethan was immune from New Orleans’ dark arts, finishing 1-for-4 with a run-scoring double, while the rest of our offense continued to sleepwalk there way through the last full month of the season. We’ll need to wake up and fast because answering our oppositions 4 doubles and 2 JACKS (Angry Eloy hit his 20th) with only a double won’t get it done in the Bayou when our very souls may be on the line.

144 of 162: Keith Baeza (12-6, 2.65) @ Ty Peterson (3-2, 2.88)
Win, 3-2. After successfully constructing a magic mirror to counteract any potential voodoo, standing it up in a bowl of black salt, and pointing it in the direction of yesterdays box score, we managed to do just enough to stay one step ahead of the spider and secure a game 2 victory by the slimmest of margins. PEPPER’s 2-run TANK in the top of the 3rd put us ahead 2-1 and Ian Hanan’s run-scoring single would represent the game winner after the Gators knotted things up during the 5th. Save #52 for Haag here too as we sent the ~13K in attendance off into the night on a loss.

Elsewhere: While Compton failed to secure a playoff bid in Triple-A, Inglewood (AA), Watts (A), and Brentwood (SA) will each represent our organization in the playoffs of each of their respective leagues. 3 out of 4 of our development clubs in the playoffs? We’ll take that.

145 of 162: Merl Crawford (15-7, 3.25) @ Pete Taylor (8-15, 3.43)
Loss, 1-2. Perhaps our haphazardly constructed magic mirror wasn’t as foolproof as we’d hoped given that Pete Taylor bewitched our shopworn outfit over a superb 8-innings of 4-hit, 1 run work before handing it off to Hayden Snodgrass who picked up his 28th save, making quick work of our hypnotized lineup on 11 total pitches. And while our pitching was stout, both of New Orleans’ runs were unearned (BLACK MAGIC, OBVIOUSLY), the offense would once again fail to turn over as our battery has been drained and we have no jumpers in the trunk. And even if we did have the cables, I’m not 100% that it’s not the alternator anyways.

Elsewhere: Watts won game 1 of their 5-game series against the Duluth Zeniths (Toronto’s A-Ball Club) by a score of 8-2…



146 of 162: Jan Hernandez (10-5, 2.08) @ Tom Abraham (8-7, 2.54)
Win, 4-2. It’d take a vial of fake theatrical blood, a bag of chicken bones (h/t to Manchu – best fried chicken and yak-a-mein in all of New Orleans - ), and an exotic dancer who we hired to play the role of a Voodoo Witch Doctor to convince Jan that it was safe to take the mound, but, once we got him out there he’d manage to give a good account of himself after navigating some early troubles that saw two runs get across before 3-innings were in the books. OH HONG drove one in on a single during an otherwise nondescript 1-for-4 day, Bill Cox drove in another on a triple, and Ian Hanan made it four in the top of the 4th when he took a forkball from Tom Abraham yard to right center. During the post-game interview, Ian had this to say… "Chalk one up for the good guys," said Hanan. "I'm sure our fans enjoyed that win." I couldn’t agree more – and I do believe that a 2-2 split is enough to ensure that we’ll exit town with our souls intact.

Elsewhere: Watts wins again, by a score of 6-5, and will take their 2-0 lead over Duluth back to California where they’ll look to close this 5-game series out at home. Brentwood, who finished a league best 58-18 in Short Season A-Ball, took a 1-game lead over Punxsutawney at home by a score of 4-5. Also, with the win today, we have officially secured a spot in the MLB playoffs.

Record: 92-54, .630, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’re on a plane back to Los Angeles, and not a minute too soon as New Orleans left us feeling slightly dazed and more than a little bit fatigued… when we get there, the San Jose Seals will be anxiously awaiting our arrival to kick off a 3-game set against them in our park on Friday.