Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

[BoofBonser26]

Just a note that I recently read this thread from the start and quite enjoyed it. Best wishes for the rest of 2047!

[Bub13]

Ok, it's getting real now. More than 1/3 of the way through the season, and the "it's early" excuses for underperforming teams no longer hold water. For us, June brings 28 games, half at home, half on the road. Sixteen of those games will be against divisional opponents. All three of our currently injured players -- JJ Simmons, Dave Henderson, and Justin Crowley -- are due back this month. Simmons and Henderson will come back to Hawaii, but Crowley will get a rehab stint in AAA. And as usual, I'll do the draft report separately from the June recap.

June 1-2 @ SEATTLE
Wrapping up this series. We're 5.5 up on the M's to start the month.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (5-4, 3.42) / RH Joe Koval (7-3, 2.09)
SEA pitchers: LH Miguel Moreno (2-6, 6.55) / RH Mark Guest (6-3, 3.71)

#57: WIN 10-8 ... lots of early scoring, but it takes 2 in the 8th and 1 in the 9th to go to extras, where Lasky (5-for-7 tonight) singles home the winner
#58: WIN 12-4 ... 21 hits for the gang, including 4 for Padilla, and 3 each for Stoneback, Groff, and Klump...4 runs against Koval, but he also fans 11

Pretty nice to put a boot to the neck of your closest competition. Seattle wins one the day after the series (one of our two off days in June), so we're up by 7 games.... Joseph Hart raised his average 10 points in this series, but how do I keep Phil Lasky (now 26-for-66) out of the lineup? He's already in vs LH, but I'm going to have to work him in against righties now too. Not a bad problem to have, tbh.... We're 14th in HR, with only Stoneback (12) in double figures. But since we're batting .292 overall, it's been okay to live without gaudy power numbers.... ELSEWHERE: Philly and Detroit lead everyone with 41 wins. At the bottom of the well, the Yankees are at 18 wins, and the only team with fewer than 20.... No one is batting .400 any longer, but Minny's William Antonio is still gamely striving for it, at .390.... Former Islander star Mike Messinger leads the majors with 108 strikeouts. Thank goodness he signed with Texas for less than half of what he wanted from me. I hope he can afford to eat.


June 4-5 @ HOUSTON
The Astros were back! With a 14-12 April--not great, but solid progress--fans were excited. Sadly, a 9-20 May has tempered the joy. Batting has been a grind, at 16th in runs, and 18th in HR and OPS. Pitching is 10th, with the 5th best rotation ERA in the AL. All told that's still a -45 run differential. Leadoff batter Dan Phoenix missed the first month-plus of the season, but is batting .309 in 18 games. That's where the good hitting news ends. Top SP Alejandro Gonzales and Chris Harris have been solid, and should form the foundation of the future, but probably won't. Former Islanders? 1B/DH Sen Masuda is batting .220/5/23, with 64 K in 186 AB. So take that, you fans who tore up your season tickets after we let him go last fall.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (4-2, 4.41) / RH Shamar Jackson (8-3, 3.27)
HOU pitchers: RH Dustin Springer (4-4, 3.52) / LH Brett McGee (4-6, 4.20)

#59: WIN 4-2 ... 2-run 9th inning HR for Stoneback is the difference tonight...Perry's line: 8 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 6 K
#60: LOSS 2-7 ... Jackson gives up 3 HR, including 2 to Masuda (of course)...2 more hits for Lasky, now batting .444 against mostly LHP (he's an LHB)

So maybe Lasky needs to move into the lineup full-time now? Joseph Hart is hitting better too, but I think it's time to ride a hot hand.... Groff is still swinging a big stick after coming off the DL, at .448 with 29 RBI in 32 games.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit is 41-20 but is suffering through a rash of injuries. Eight guys are hurt, with 4 on the DL. Worst of all is hot 2B Sean West (.315/16/44) missing the next 5 weeks. SP Raul Bravo has a minimal-influence arm injury, so they're taking the chance and leaving him in the lineup.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is the first to 20 HR, and he and teammate Vance Wise are tied for the AL lead with 56 RBI. Tampa also leads the AL in runs, just ahead of us (347 to 338).... The Yanks have won 3 straight, reaching 20 wins at last. Tony Flores popped two HR in his last game, giving him 14 on the season and 387 in his career. He's 10th among active players, and 94th in the all-time list.


June 6-9 vs OAKLAND
Our second four-spot this season against the A's. They're 8th in both runs for and against, with a thin +3 run differential, and a 32-28 record. AVG is just 13th, but they're 4th in HR, so getting those quick one-swing runs you need these days. Helping out is the return to health of OFs Jordan Coronado (.327/9/26) and Bobby Trujillo (.309/12/35), both hitting about 50 points higher than they did last year. Cleanup guy Ryan Walton (16 HR) is on pace for his third straight 40 HR season, but is batting just .241. And ace SP Mike Wiater (6-4, 2.99, 108 K) is having a solid season, but with a PO coming up this fall, he's on the trade block. I'd consider him, as he's earning a reasonable $14M, but he's cranky and unmotivated. Former Islanders? 40-year-old Jin-song Yee had a 1.64 ERA in 11 IP of relief work, but was just farmed out and is likely done as a big leaguer.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (4-2, 3.59) / RH Ryan Ratliff (5-4, 3.91) / RH Joe Koval (8-3, 2.34) / RH Dennis Perry (5-2, 4.16)
OAK pitchers: LH Miguel Valencia (5-2, 4.84) / RH Jim Schwartz (3-5, 5.29) / RH Greg Langworthy (4-4, 4.36) / LH Luis Otero (5-4, 5.14)

#61: WIN 6-3 ... 3-run HR for Stoneback (14th) and McCollum (4th)...2 hits for Padilla, hitting better of late...Jones goes 8 IP, Sanabria closes with 2 K
#62: WIN 7-3 ... pretty efficient tonight, scoring 7 from 10 singles and 2 doubles...Ratliff fans 11 in 6.2 IP, and Henderson finishes for his first save since 2031
#63: LOSS 5-6 ... 3-run HR for Groff, and 3 hits from Hart...Koval lifted after 5 and Stanley is roughed up hard
#64: WIN 9-3 ... big day for Daley, going 4-for-5 with a HR and 3 RBI...2 hits, 3 RBI for Padilla...Perry is erratic (6 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 1 K) but just good enough

Two injuries in that last game: Klump is dtd for four days, so he'll get a little rest. RP Nick Kramer went an inning and his diagnosis is pending. If Kramer is out for a while, we've got 15 pitchers in AAA (just adding Justin Crowley on a rehab stint), so there are choices available.... We're still not hitting HR (15th in the AL with 66), but a .294 AVG and .368 OBP means a LOT of runners are getting chances to score.... ELSEWHERE: Minny's William Antonio has has a hot streak, and is back up in Ted Williams Land, at .408.... Former Isle Ian McGowan, now with Austin, is 3rd in the NL with 43 RBI. He's definitely not a power guy (although he has reached double figures in HR four times), so I'm surprised to say the least.... Brooklyn's 5'11" SS Victor "No PEDs Here!" Sanchez is on pace for 50 HR this season, and just reached 300 for his career. All this from a guy who never hit more than 10 in the minors. He also reached 50 in 2041.


June 10-12 @ CINCINNATI
Interleague play! You know you love it. The Reds are 33-32, 2nd in the Central but 9.5 in back of the Pirates. Sixth in runs and 10th in runs against, for a +13 differential. They also have an ugly six players on the DL, including four starting pitchers. 24-year-old OF Jose "The Face of Baseball" Taveras is feeling it, as usual: .306/18/44. SP Corey Nelson and Jason Bailey have held the rotation together, and closer Jon White has been truly stout, with 16 saves and a 2.20 ERA. GM Adrian Ashford is in his 5th season, and Dan Remenowsky has been the manager since 2030. Prospects rank 17th, with SP David Guerra (#14) nearly ready to move into the MLB rotation. True to the heavy central European influence of the region's immigrants, the Reds lead the league in Germanic/Slavic surnames: Schnackenburg, Dobrolowski, Weinzierl, Hummel. Fan interest is at achtundachtzig, although attendance is down this year. Former Islanders? SP Ryuma Sato and RP Hisami Masuda.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (8-4, 3.62) / LH Eric Jones (5-2, 3.57) / RH Ryan Ratliff (6-4, 3.81)
CIN pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (7-4, 3.69) / RH Jason Bailey (5-3, 2.52) / RH Ben Griffin (2-3, 3.84)

#65: LOSS 1-3 ... Groff homers, and Jackson does well (8 IP, 9 H, 11 K, 5 BB) but is just outpitched by Sato
#66: LOSS 2-3 ... outpitched again, as we can't string together any hits...Jones is fine, but Bailey is better...our bats are on vacation
#67: WIN 12-4 ... 20 hits all of a sudden? Stoney and Groff with HR, and 4 hits for Daley...3 guys with 3 hits, and Rich manages 4 RBI...Canning gets a rare start, gets hurt

Flaccid offense perks up, and we avoid the sweep. We're now 45-22, 7.5 games up on Seattle.... Off to Pittsburgh, but we get our last day off until the All-Star break (July 7) before that.... Canning is dtd for 1-2 weeks, with minimal influence; Klump is now healthy. No one will go on the DL, no roster movements.... Short A and Rookie seasons are about to start, and somehow my 2nd R ball team, Boone Mountain, has twenty-one outfielders on the roster. What.... Jim Klein has 283 AB, is batting .283. Meaningless, yes, but there it is.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit is 46-22, just ahead of us, with Philly just behind at 44-22. Pittsburgh rounds out the 40-win club, at 42-23.... Proving there may be hope for everyone, the top three teams in the NL West right now are: SF (last playoffs in 2034), Austin (one playoff visit since 2021), and Arizona (two playoffs since 2021). Although SF did win the Series in '34.... Minny's William Antonio is now batting .411, and is not the leading All-Star vote-getter at AL catcher. Sure.... LAD's Eddy Llamas is the first to win 10 games, and is also tied at the top with 124 K.... More stats: Reds 2B Jonathan Salas is a dynamite fielder, but has this LOVELY slash: .113/.233/.231, with 110 K in 212 AB. Nice! And Angels 2B Shamel Jackson has 9 triples, matching his four-year career total. No one has ever hit 20 triples in a season in this dynasty, although three guys have hit 19 (last was BAL's Andrew Ostrowski in '43).


June 14-16 @ PITTSBURGH
Having missed the post-season for the last seven seasons, it may be safe to say that the Pirates (45-23, 8.5 games up on Cincy) are back. Second in runs scored, and 3rd in runs against, for a pretty good +93 differential. Like us, they don't hit a ton of HR, but they put runners on base (2nd in NL OBP). CF C.J. Howard has slumped lately, and is no longer leading the NL in hitting, but he's still at .332 and leads with a 3.9 WAR. Former Honkball all-timer (6-time MVP) Josh Gibbs leads with 14 HR and 37 RBI. Pitcher Joe Britton (7-1, 2.42) has a pending injury diagnosis, but David Fults (8-1, 2.85) is about to come off the DL. [EDIT: Britton is done for the season with an elbow tear.] Closer Manny Gomez has the highest ERA in the pen, at 3.09. GM John "Neo Theo" Papp is just 32 and in his 2nd year in office, and manager Ji-young Lee is in his first, after getting fired by Toronto after '46. Prospects rank 16th, but the clear prize is Josh Hohn, a two-time first overall draft pick (unsigned by Texas in '45), who looks like ace material. Fan interest is only at 69 but attendance is up, thanks to winning some games for a change. Owner Robert Nutting is 85, but has set some goals that stretch into 2051, so he's planning on sticking around a little longer...

HAW pitchers: RH Joe Koval (8-4, 2.41) / RH Dennis Perry (6-2, 4.19) / RH Shamar Jackson (8-5, 3.60)
PIT pitchers: LH Jeremy Akey (2-5, 3.97) / RH Chris Liles (7-4, 2.87) / RH David Fults (8-1, 2.85)

#68: WIN 4-3 ... tied 3-3 after 4, no one scores again until the 13th...a nice, five-hour game, oof...2 hits for Daley, Groff, and a HR for Stoneback to win it
#69: LOSS 3-4 ... down 3-0, we score in the 8th and 9th, but Brown can't hold them off in the 9th...just six hits for each team tonight
#70: WIN 7-0 ... Padilla's GRAND SLAM in the 9th puts this one out of reach...Jackson goes 7.1, Ramirez finishes it, for the shutout

Productive series for Padilla: 6-for-13, 1 HR, 4 RBI.... Simmons comes off the DL in two days, which is good since Stoneback got hurt in that last game and has a pending diagnosis. He's been our lone consistent power bat, and I'm not sure we have a horse to replace that if he's out for a while.... Rick Ramirez is in a contract year and is making a strong case for sticking around: 0.75 ERA (24 IP), 0.71 WHIP, 39 K. Has he finally figured it all out?.... ELSEWHERE: Torontos' Daniel Becker tosses the second no-hitter of the season, beating Portland 2-0, fanning 12 and walking 2.... Portland has now lost 9 of 10, and has fallen to the bottom of the barrel at 25-44, while Detroit swept the Mets to retain their hold on #1, at 49-22.... Twins catcher William Antonio is hitting .400 on the nose, juuust hanging on.... Expos 1B Jose Mendoza leads the majors with 25 SB, while Pirates 2B Yuji Nagata is 16-for-16 on the bases.

......

TL;DR Version: A 9-5 start to June has kept us 7 games up on the Mariners, who sit at 40-30. (Oakland has slipped back to 35-35.) Despite not having much HR power in the lineup, we've scored 394 runs (2nd in the AL), and have a +143 run differential. The only potential dark cloud is Stoneback's pending injury; not sure what I'll do if he's gone long-term, but don't rule out a trade. I do not like any of our AAA infielders right now (best prospect SS Bob Goodloe just isn't ready yet), and we have a surplus of outfielders. Maybe it's kismet. No more off days until the all-star break starts on 7/8, fyi.

[Bub13]

And now, we bring you a short break from the regular season for...

2047 DRAFT and MID-SEASON SYSTEM REVIEW

Welcome to the 2047 amateur draft! Thanks to a trade with the Mets, we have two first round picks this year, at 17 and 31. We also have the 16th pick in the Supplemental round, thanks to losing Sen Masuda to free agency. We are without our 7th round pick (gone to NYM). The top of the draft order in round one will be: SF, TEX, LAA, Tor, and MTL. As bad as the Giants have been in recent years, this will be their first #1 overall pick in this dynasty. The top of the draft looks pitching heavy, with MLB listing pitchers as 7 of the top 10 prospects.

San Fran takes pitcher Aaron Vacante first overall. He's a risk, frankly: fantastic ceilings, but he's 21 and has a long way to go to develop a) any control, and b) a third pitch. And he wants an astounding $8M signing bonus. Texas took pitcher Jerry Caprio at #2, and he looks like more of a sure thing, although his bonus ask is also $8M. OF Tom Reilly is the first batter taken, by the Angels at #3. He looks like a solid hitter, but maybe not someone you'd take at third overall. Pitchers round out the top five, with Toronto taking Jaden Buchanan and Montreal selecting Matt Cowart. Neither are guys I'd take in the top five, but they look decent enough. Probably the biggest "steals" in the first round go to Cleveland (#9), with OF Victor Cruz, who's got both top-five power and contact, and Brooklyn (#13) who took OF Jose Moreno, whose nickname should be "Future Multiple Batting Titles." No power, but a guy with elite contact, gap power, and eye/plate discipline? Yes please.

......

As usual, here are our top picks, plus a few select others:

Rnd 1, 17th overall: 2B Tim Chapman, 18, high school. Contact, power, won't strike out, and can run. What can't he do? Play defense. At all. So maybe not a second baseman after all. We'll see. Hard worker too, so it's possible he could develop into an elite hitter and write his ticket to wherever he wants in the lineup.

Rnd 1, 31st overall: P Shane Walker, 21, Long Beach State. Future starting pitcher here. Already has three decent pitches, and is working on a changeup for #4. Groundballer, hard worker, and maybe just a couple years away from the bigs. Might start in A ball; short A at least.

Supplemental, 47th overall: OF Julius Burrows, 21, Illinois State. Decent but not great ceilings, but fantastic intangibles, so worth the reach here. Good runner, good in the field, at either center or left. Was taken in the 2nd round by the Yankees back in '44, but didn't sign and got ignored every year until now.

Rnd 2, 78th overall: C Matt LeDoux, 19, high school. Right away becomes the best hitting prospect at catcher in our entire system. Only an average receiver, however, which might hinder his full-time play if he makes the majors. Has some power, but looks like a better hitter for average and gap power. We drafted a couple more catchers later on, none of whom look great but are already also at the top of our catchers list.

Rnd 3, 118th overall: P Chris Wildermuth, 18, high school. He's a groundballer with solid ceilings across the board. So, he's my perfect pitching prospect. Looks 50/50 on whether he'll develop a third pitch to make him a reliable starter, however. Work ethic should help in that regard.

Rnd 4, 154th overall: OF Josh Hed, 19, high school. A very high school-heavy top of the draft for us this year. Solid hitting ceilings across the board, and a good fielder with an average arm. Could either end up as a future starter or a solid #4 guy one day.

Rnd 5, 190th overall: P Chris Carpenter, 19, high school. Similar to our third rounder, Wildermuth. Better stuff, but lower movement ceiling, and really needs a third pitch to become a starter. Curveball looks elite.

Rnd 6, 226th overall: OF Zaire Linton, 22, Texas A&M. Likely a future backup, as his hitting ceilings are just slightly above average. No power, tho. Very rangy in the field, but just a fair arm. Looks like a solid 2B prospect as well. Should be at least useful as a utility guy.

Rnd 7, 298th overall: OF Dallas Hemmelgarn, 21, Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Ceilings look very similar to Linton, maybe a bit lower. Better fielder, with a nice arm, making him a good option across the outfield.

Best of the rest: The usual mix of high-intangible, low-to-medium talent guys. Catcher Justin Saffer (9th) and 2B Tony Hulse (10th) look like they could surpass their draft position. I also like IF Kevin Buresh (17th), for the same reason: excellent fielder, but may never hit his weight.

......

Our system ranks 6th overall, which makes me happy, and my owner ecstatic. Three of the top six are in MLB already, so expect this ranking to drop some next year. Outfielders and power-hitting 1B are our strength, but we do have a few pitchers I like too. Nobody looks like an elite player, but there's more than enough here to build on.

#1: 3B Dante Padilla, ranked #9 by MLB. With Hawaii, 40 GP, .216/.266/.353, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 139 AB. Struggling a bit at the plate, but is showing some tantalizing glimpses. His contact should fill out a bit more, so he still looks like a future regular somewhere for me at some point. Is currently the primary backup at 1B and 3B, and seeing some time at DH.

#2: OF Josh Frederick, #43 by MLB. In AAA, .271/.331/.493, 6 HR in 144 AB (also 2-for-8 with 2 doubles in Hawaii). Was drafted as a pitcher, and would be studly there except for a lack of movement to his pitches. Definite five-tool guy, and a team captain to boot. He's 24, but still has some growing to do. If Joseph Hart keeps on not hitting, Frederick could see some major playing time sooner than later. LH batter, needs to develop some more against lefty pitching.

#3: 1B Jules Medici, #70 by MLB. International complex. He's just 16, so I'm trying not to get my hopes up. But there's a lot to like at the moment: premier hitting ceilings (all 17 to 19, except for eye/discipline), top-notch intangibles, no discernable L/R split imbalance. I'm sure he'll become just average over the next year or so, but a GM can dream some, can't he? Italian kid, signed last summer.

#4: OF Kenny Welch, #75 by MLB. Hawaii, .225/.289/.388, 4 HR, 80 AB. Missed some time due to injury, and left his bat on the DL apparently. There's still a lot to like here, and he'll keep getting chances to break into the lineup.

#5: P Shaun Gates, #84 by MLB. In AAA, 7 GP, 3-1, 3.99 ERA, 38 K (but 22 BB) in 38 IP. Looked like a borderline #4/#5 starter last year, but his stuff took a jump over the winter. Looks like he'll never have elite control (has walked 4.8 per 9 in 11 AAA starts), but otherwise looks to have all the chops to be in our rotation one day. He'll probably get a look this fall, and then be (lightly) penciled into the rotation next spring.

#6: OF Cameron Daley, #103 by MLB. Hawaii, .323/.354/.487, 14 doubles, 5 HR, 1.4 WAR. Got off to a hot April and, with Welch's injury, into a full-time slot in the lineup. Has cooled off a bit of late, but is still producing. Is only 23, and still has some room to grow his power stroke; he could be a 20-HR guy one day. Can run, has a great glove, and is already a fan favorite.

Others of note...
...OF Jerry Cappuccilli, 24, AAA (.351/.420/.627). Kind of quietly bubbled along in the minors until last year. Suddenly, my OF cupboard is bursting, and I'm very very happy
...P Josh Ashton, 20, A (1 start, on the DL). Done for the season, but is young enough to hopefully not be set back too much by this. Ceilings are still MLB-worthy
...P Kenny Alger, 20, A (3-1, 2.65, 30 K in 34 IP). 7th round pick has jumped up the charts in the past year. MLB likes him more than my scouts do, but I'm still thrilled. Hawaii-born.
...2B Josh Matson, 23, AA (.304/.358/.469). Last year's first rounder still has a lot of growing to do, but he keeps hitting. Not the greatest fielder, tho.

......

I'm pretty happy with our prospect pool, overall. We have a heap of outfielders, a few good/intriguing infielders, and a rash of pitchers that look at least like MLB-quality. Outfielders and power-hitting 1B seem to be our development forte, while we strike out repeatedly with catchers. (Rob Rich being the exception.) And I'll say it again: I would just go nuts if 16-year-old Jules Medici reached his tantalizing ceilings. I know, I know: international FA rarely pan out. And it was just two years ago that our #3 prospect was pitcher Alex Paredes, who looked like a future top starter for sure. Except that he's now 19 and not even a sure bet to make our rookie club. Our more recent int'l hopeful, pitcher Olimpio Le Coq, is throwing well in A ball, but his ceilings have dropped from "definitely SP material" to "maybe a fringe-y MR one day." Le Sigh.

[Bub13]

June 17-19 vs CHICAGO CUBS
They still look hungover after missing the playoffs on the final weekend of the season last fall. At 34-36, in third place, and featuring a 9th-place offense and a 13th-ranked pitching staff, with a -19 run differential. SS Ben Grossman is in his 2nd full season, batting .329, while veteran OF Neil Cockrell is thriving (.270/17/46) in his first starting opportunity. Pitching is up and down, but pricey free agent Rafael Maldonado has been worth the cost, and home-grown SP Tim Ciotta has been a solid anchor. Closer Tyler Trovato (16 saves, 1.16 ERA) has been great, but much of the bullpen has ERA over 5. GM Johnatan Solano has been around since 2030, while manager Tony Thompson is in his first year at the helm. Prospects rank 3rd, with six guys in the top 100, and all are pitchers. I don't like the top two guys--no movement--but the next four look solid indeed. Their top batter comes in at #14 in the system, and it's IF Brendan Polchlopek, who looks like a future utility player. Fan interest is still at 100, although they don't sell out most nights.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (5-3, 3.59) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-4, 3.96) / RH Joe Koval (8-4, 2.54)
CHC pitchers: RH Jake Marker (6-5, 4.64) / RH John LaBarbera (1-7, 4.64) / RH Rafael Maldonado (6-5, 3.55)

#71: WIN 9-5 ... down 5-0 early, we score 2 in the 9th to tie it, then win in the 16th on Klump's GRAND SLAM...Moore and Stanley each go 5 IP in relief, yield a combined 1 H and 1 BB
#72: WIN 10-1 ... 3 more hits for Klump, and Ratliff gives up just 2 H in his 6 IP...3 hits and HR for Rich
#73: WIN 9-5 ... Groff and Padilla hit HR, and Daley raps 3 hits...four more get 2 hits each...Koval leaves in the 4th, uh-oh

That offensive explosion puts us back on top in AL runs scored. The wins are nice too.... Injuries are biting us of late, and we get bad news on Stoneback: out for 4 months with a torn labrum. Lasky gets hit by a pitch in the first game, but he's just dtd for a week; Welch will take his spot in the lineup, but no DL needed. And Koval has a pending diagnosis after that last game. Fingers crossed.... JR Thompson hit a HR in his one start for Stoneback, and then with Simmons back from the DL, he goes back to the bench.... All of our draft picks have signed! But it's interesting to me that only five of 31 first round picks across the league have been signed (and two of those five are our picks).... ELSEWHERE: Say goodbye to Mr .400, as William Antonio is now down to .393. It was fun while it lasted.... Detroit got swept by Philly, so we're on top of MLB with 50 wins.... The Yankees are finally hot, following up a 6-22 May with a 14-4 start to June. They're still in last in the East, but only a game behind the Sox.... Seattle's Daryl Kennedy has 28 saves in his 35 appearances.... Toronto SS Jordan Cruz is back in the starting lineup! And batting a career-best .233! And, um, also has 52 K in 129 AB.


June 20-23 vs HOUSTON
Take out all of May and they're five games over .500. Unfortunately, they were 9-20 that month... No one is hitting, as they're 16th in runs, and dead last in OPS and HR. Pitching is decent, in 10th place, but that still makes for a -45 run differential. Slugging RF Hughie Noonan is on the DL with bone spurs, which will keep him from getting drafted, and only one regular is hitting above .260. SP Alejandro Gonzales has yet to lose a game, while RP Dan McQueen has fanned 19 in his 16.1 IP...but has walked 24. Not too many guys can manage to top 10.0 K and BB per 9 innings.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (6-2, 4.16) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-5, 3.35) / LH Eric Jones (5-3, 3.90) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-4, 3.80)
HOU pitchers: RH Dustin Springer (4-6, 3.24) / LH Brett McGee (6-6, 3.80) / RH Jeff Clayton (2-4, 4.86) / LH Chris Harris (4-4, 4.15)

#74: WIN 4-2 ... another HR for Padilla, a walk-off 2-run winner in the bottom of the 9th...Perry is quietly sharp through 7, giving up 9 hits and fanning 3
#75: LOSS 3-5 ... Jackson is wild tonight, walking five...five one-run innings doom us...Klump hits his 10th HR, 2 more hits for Padilla
#76: LOSS 4-7 ... 2 HR for Welch, but Jones is hit hard early and is out in the top of the 6th
#77: WIN 5-2 ... Ratliff is done after a 6th-inning rain delay, but stakes us to a 5-1 lead...HR for Groff and Welch, and a 2-RBI single for Lasky

Another series, another season-ending injury: Koval is done for 12 months. He'd been our best pitcher by far, so this one hurts. We call up Justin Crowley from his AAA rehab and move Dave Henderson into the rotation. Henderson has been solid in relief, but at 39 it remains to be seen what he's got left as a starter.... Groff and Klump reach 10 HR, as we're now 11th in the AL with 86 dingers.... ELSEWHERE: Philadelphia (52) and Detroit (51) reach the half-century mark in wins.... Portland is last overall, at 27-49.... Tampa's terrible twosome of Chris Goldthwait and Vance Wise lead MLB with 69 RBI.... San Francisco's fun start is over, as poor hitting (16th in the NL) has resulted in a 7-14 mark in June, and dropped them to third place in the NL West.


June 24-27 @ TEXAS
Last in the West at 34-42. Both hitting and pitching are middling--10th and 12th--and they have a -23 run differential. RF Brian Ormes leads the team with a .292 average, but finds himself on the bench behind .213-hitting Mike Potter. Leadoff batter Luis Sandoval (.269/11/30) has a pending injury, so could miss the series. Ace SP Mike Messinger is coming off a 16-K win over Seattle, and looks to have regained his top form. The clubhouse has no leadership and is generally unhappy, never a good sign. Former Islanders? Messinger is the most notable, and backup 1B David Rivera (.296) was once a top prospect of ours. Plus manager Pat Wilson, who hasn't been able to turn things around here.

HAW pitchers: RH Dave Henderson (2-0, 1.65) / RH Dennis Perry (6-2, 4.04) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-6, 3.43) / LH Eric Jones (5-4, 4.21)
TEX pitchers: LH Scott Schiavone (4-7, 4.73) / RH Francisco Pantaleone (6-5, 4.81) / RH Greg Buchanan (1-8, 5.30) / RH Mike Messinger (4-7, 3.58)

#78: LOSS 5-6 ... another long game, but tonight we lose in the 16th...five hits for Welch, 3 each for Groff and Klein...we use every reliever tonight, Henderson only lasts 4 IP
#79: WIN 3-2 ... Hart's 3-run HR is all we need tonight...3 hits for Simmons...7 IP for Perry, easing the strain on the bullpen after that last game
#80: WIN 8-2 ... complete game 7-hitter for Jackson, who reaches 10 wins...3 hits, a HR, and 3 RBI for Groff, plus 2 hits for Daley
#81: WIN 7-3 ... Welch's 8th inning GRAND SLAM breaks a 3-3 tie, wins the game...Padilla and Klump also hit HR...Jones fans 9 in 7 IP, Crowley finishes with 2 quiet innings

It's now a pattern: another series, another injury. This times it's reliever Dan Brown, who's out for 3 weeks with a bad elbow. We recall Steve Dickerson to take his place.... Henderson looks bad in his first start, but will get more chances to work things out.... Simmons is working on his third straight season without a home run.... ELSEWHERE: Five of the six division leaders have substantial leads: Miami by 7 games, Detroit 10.5, Hawaii 8.5, Philadelphia 8, Pittsburgh 11.5. Only the NL West is close: LA leads SF by a half game, and Austin by a full game.... MLB's top prospect, pitcher Burton Dick (CHW) will miss the rest of the season after elbow surgery. This will definitely keep him from competing for a roster spot next spring, unless his ratings take a big jump despite the injury.... Seattle's Miguel Moreno has had a rough season (5.17 ERA, with HR and BB up, K down), but he's thrown two straight shutouts, over Oakland and Texas.... Miami's Matt Anderson is one HR away from 500 for his career.


June 28-30 vs TORONTO
At 40-39, third in the East and 8.5 games behind Miami. Seventh in runs, but first in HR, with 125. 2B Henry Maldonado has hit 20, and five other regulars have hit at least 14. Pitching is 8th, but the bullpen is struggling (13th). After CL Kaz Ihara's injury, no one has been able to step up into that spot, and former Islander Malik Chaney (4.83, 3 saves) is currently in the role. Speaking of former Isles, one-time Assistant GM Grant Henning is the first-year GM, and long-time Isles-system minor league manager Jose A Jimenez is also in his first year with the club. Prospects rank 15th, with SS Sam Moore hitting .272/14/50 on the big club. The Jays are unusual in that their top 7 prospects are batters; the top pitcher is Nelson Campos, who at 22 has already had several significant injuries. Fan interest sits at 64, and despite attendance being up, they are only filling up just over half the stadium on most nights. [ED: Chaney ends up starting a game instead of closing.]

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (9-4, 3.69) / RH Dave Henderson (2-0, 2.87) / RH Dennis Perry (7-2, 3.94)
TOR pitchers: RH Joe Erkel (7-6, 4.16) / LH Malik Chaney (3-4, 4.83) / RH Randy Merrell (1-6, 11.45)

#82: WIN 8-5 ... Groff's 2-run HR and Simmons' 2-run double early stake us to a lead that we cling to...Ratliff isn't sharp, but fans 8
#83: WIN 9-3 ... 18 hits for us, including 4 for Daley and 3 each for Padilla and Welch...Henderson goes the distance, yields just 4 hits
#84: WIN 5-1 ... 3 more hits for Daley, and a 5-hit complete game for Perry, with no earned runs...we add 9 walks to our 8 hits, versus just six baserunners for the Jays

A nice way to close out the month! Ratliff reaches 10 wins on the season, and Henderson made a strong comeback from his first starting effort.... Padilla hit .282 this month, and reached 10 HR on the season.... Our two-headed catching platoon of Rich and McCollum has earned 2 WAR and has combined for 24 doubles and 50 RBI.... OF Joseph Hart finally started smelling which way the (trade) winds were blowing, and hit .333 this month. He leads the team with 40 walks, and has just enough power to keep Phil Lasky (.380 in 79 AB) on the bench. For now.... Short A Poughkeepsie is off to a 1-8 start.... ELSEWHERE: Portland still has not reached 30 wins on the season, and went 8-20 in June. They are 15th in runs and dead last in pitching. SP Mark Middleton went 15-8 with a 2.70 ERA last year; this season he's 0-10, 6.98.... Eddy Llamas (LAD) and Mike Messinger (TEX) are both on pace to reach 300 K, while Miami's Matt Anderson and Brooklyn's Victor Sanchez are the only 50-HR pace setters.

......

TL;DR Version: An 11-3 finish to the month brought us to 20-8 for June, 58-26 on the season, and a divisional lead now up to 9.5 games. Losing Stoneback and Koval for the season hurts, however. We'll see what impact their losses when we eventually come down off this high. Cameron Daley's MLB career is only three months long, but he has two Rookie of the Month awards to keep him happy. He's batting .340, which is not enough to put him in the AL top 10, oddly. (And Groff's .399 would lead baseball, except that he doesn't have enough PA to qualify. But he's close.) And a quick note from the farm: soon OF Josh Frederick will need to be called up, as he's gotten hot at the plate and is hot under the collar at being stuck in AAA.

[Bub13]

If it's July, that means...International Free Agents are here!!! And it's an odd crop. Odd in that there are only three pitchers (four if you count listed-as-catcher Juan Pizano), and none looks particularly attractive. And also odd because the signing demands are getting out of hand. Two players are asking for more than $10M, and five others over $7M. Needless to say, I pass on all of them. Why chance signing a risky 16-year-old and bust your budget when you can target three or more for less? Which is exactly what I do. For starters, I make offers to four players: Venezuelans Roberto Duran (I know) and Dante Garrica, Colombian Diego Espino, and Wallisian (?) Luaipo Ulkini. All have nice batting ceilings, great intangibles, and all but Duran (a weak-armed and immobile SS who should/will shift to 1B) decent defense. One of these days I should make a list of every IFA for a particular year and track them to see how many become decent big leaguers.

Anyway, back to MLB. July brings 24 games and the all-star break. We'll play two series, then get four days off, play another series, then get another day off. After that day (7/15), it's just one more off day until August 8. Fifteen games are on the road, 9 at home. We'll play teams from all three AL divisions, ending the month with games against our two closest competitors, Oakland and Seattle.

As for what I'm looking for this month...First, to hold on to--or extend--our now 10-game lead over the M's. Second, I want to see how we fare without SS Rich Stoneback and SP Joe Koval. JJ Simmons has shifted to short, and Dante Padilla is now the everyday 3B. He may be coming on, batting .282 with 5 HR in part-time action in June. If he keeps hitting like that, I probably won't make a trade for a SS or 3B. Same goes for the pitching staff. If I can get solid production out of someone--anyone--taking Koval's spot, then no trade. Barring any other big injuries, I like our depth right now, and think we can contend for the big prize with the team as it is. Maybe...

......

July 2-4 vs NY YANKEES
An 18-10 June helped lessen the sting of starting the month 21 games under .500. They're now 13th in runs scored--a big improvement--and 8th in runs against, for a -25 differential. Still in last place in the East, but playing better and could be a spoiler late in the season. C Gabe Lafferty has been a solid addition, at .281/11/35, while 2B Jon Diaz has been his usual quiet solidity, at .279/17/41. Former Isle Jim Kieffer is listed as the #1 SP, but has a less-than-stellar 4.65 ERA, while 37-year-old Yoshi Oh has been their most dependable starter. Four players are on the DL, but two are coming back in less than a week, which will help. Nick Cicio has been an MLB GM for 16 years, the last five in NY. He has not covered himself in glory. Manager Efrain Nevares is in his 2nd year in NY, 6th in MLB. Prospects rank 11th, with four OF at the top: three look promising, with #4 Monte Reyna already starting in RF for the big club. Although attendance is down 11% from last year, fan interest is up, and owner Justin Dielman is raking in the cash. Whether he turns around and spends it on the club, however, is still an open question.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 3.33) / LH Eric Jones (6-4, 4.19) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-4, 3.75)
NYY pitchers: RH Phil Avery (0-9, 4.10) / RH Yo****oki Oh (5-4, 3.14) / RH Jim Kieffer (8-7, 4.65)

#85: WIN 5-0 ... a 4-hit complete game with 9 K for Jackson...Avery drops to 0-10...2 hits for Daley, and 2 RBI for Padilla
#86: LOSS 4-7 ... HR for Groff and a 2-run triple for Padilla, but little other offense...Jones is ineffective, gives up 10 hits in 5 IP
#87: WIN 7-3 ... 2-run HR for Klump, 2 more hits for Padilla, and a 2nd straight 2-hit game for Klein...Simmons hurt tho...7 IP for Ratliff

We reach 60 wins on the season, and maintain our 10-game division lead.... The only dark spot is Simmons hurts his back again and will miss 2 weeks. Despite my "he's not ready" claim last post, I call up SS Bob Goodloe from AAA to take his roster spot. I'll probably start John Canning every day, but Goodloe (and JR Thompson) will see some time, at least as defensive replacements. Goodloe looks like a decent-enough spray hitter right now, but is a lefty who cannot hit those pesky LH pitchers yet.... Oh, and we manage to sign ALL FOUR of the IFAs mentioned above.... ELSEWHERE: With two days left to get them inked, six of the 31 first round draft picks remain unsigned, including the top three overall picks.... Surprise, surprise: the big-bucks Dodgers have surged to the top of the NL West, at 48-39; San Fran, on top for most of April, May, and June, is now in third.... Pittsburgh (11.5) and Philly (10), along with Hawaii, also have double-digit leads.


July 5-7 @ BOSTON
The Sox are 38-46, which is not terribly surprising (9th in runs but next-to-last pitching). What is a shock is that the clubhouse is "Happy," and no one is mad about anything. First time for everything. CF Jose Diaz is batting .345, but he's out for 5 more weeks; SS Pablo Delgado is having his usual strong defensive year and has hit 15 HR, but is batting just .213; DH Isaiah Crooks has been a solid addition, at .287/18/43. Pitching, tho, has been a trial. No one in the rotation has been worth a darn, although Fernando Alameda is just off a rehab stint and should help. (They also just traded Robby Liantonio, who had the best starting ERA at 4.78.) Closer Nate Roderick sports a 6.39 ERA, but former Isle swingman Tim Pinksen has been fine (2.63, 8 SV, 22 IP) in relief. GM Jon Powell is in his 8th year, and is thoroughly undistinguished. Second-year manager Sean Ochinko has been fine, but hasn't stood out, either. Prospects rank 33rd, with only pitcher Danny Diaz in the top 100. He thinks he should be in the majors, and looking at their rotation, I think he's right. They've got a couple other decent-looking pitchers, and a Dutch infielder--who can't play defense--named Ger van Mourik, who looks like a solid hitter. Fan Interest remains at 80, and there's tons of cash for free agents; so why aren't they spending any of it?

HAW pitchers: RH Dave Henderson (3-0, 2.90) / RH Dennis Perry (8-2, 3.61) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-6, 3.10)
BOS pitchers: RH Fernando Alameda (debut) / LH Jonathan Esquivel (4-8, 5.07) / RH John Sutton (5-10, 5.59)

#88: LOSS 2-3 ... we can't hold an early lead, as Henderson gives up a solo HR and an RBI triple to lose it...2 hits for Klein, 2 RBI for Padilla
#89: WIN 5-1 ... 6 IP, 3 H, 7 K for Perry...2 hits and an RBI each for Daley, Groff, and Welch...rain calls this game in the 7th
#90: LOSS 6-12 ... we score 4 in the 9th for some sort of moral victory, I guess...Jackson and RP Nate Moore are equally bad tonight

Meh, at least no one got hurt.... Perry has really recovered from his slow start, and is now 9-2 with a 3.49 ERA.... All-Star rosters are out, and a number of good guys make the team: SP Joe Koval (would have started, but injured); SP Shamar Jackson; RP Rick Ramirez, 1B Adam Groff; SS Rich Stoneback (see comment for Koval). It's telling that all four IF made the top three AL vote getters (by position), but no OF did.... No former Islanders make either squad, proving that I am an exceptional trader, bar none.... ELSEWHERE: The #2 and #3 overall draft picks went unsigned (as did #24). Texas (at #2) has failed to sign it's first rounder in two of the past three seasons, and also did not have a 2nd round pick this year.... Speaking of Texas, ace Mike Messinger's elbow went kablooey, and he's done until next spring.... Oakland's Jordan Coronado (.365/18/44) leads all players with 5.5 WAR.... Austin is the latest team to take the NL West lead, by a game over LAD, 2.5 over SF, and 3.5 over Arizona.

......

The AL wins in a romp over the NL in the All-Star game, 10-1 at Minute Maid Park in Houston. All three Isles play, with Groff going 0-for-2, and Jackson (0.2 IP) and Ramirez (1) each seeing time in relief. The game is fun but meaningless, as it has no bearing on the playoffs anymore.

......

July 12-14 @ MILWAUKEE
Last year's AL champs are now 40-47, 5th in the Central. So they're probably going home in October. Batting was their Achilles heel last year; this year, it's their whole damn leg, at 17th in runs, and last in AVG and OBP. They still hit HR, with Kaz Kawakami leading the way at 21 (but batting just .217), and five others in double figures. Only one regular--2B Sean Young at .276--is batting over .250. Pitching was good last year, but is 14th in runs against this year, thanks largely to having lost their top two SP and closer-to-be for the season. Like Boston, they just traded their #1 SP (Luis Munoz, to the A's), this for 31-year-old light-hitting 3B Kevin Venable. Munoz is 35 and Venable just is, and this trade might help Oakland down the stretch, but does nothing for Milwaukee. Former Islanders? DH Justin Wright slugged 73 HR in a season-and-a-half for us, winning two titles. He's hit 78 in 2.5 seasons for the Brewers since then, and is batting just .218 this year. He's a good guy, but I want him to go 0-for-12 with 10 K and two crucial GIDP this series.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (11-4, 3.76) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-7, 3.38) / LH Eric Jones (6-5, 4.46)
MIL pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (8-7, 4.46) / RH Greg Sipes (6-7, 5.54) / RH Dan Tuff (2-5, 3.89)

#91: LOSS 2-9 ... Ratliff gives up just 2 solo HR, but leaves with an injury and the bullpen implodes...Nate Moore just may not be an MLB pitcher
#92: LOSS 1-2 ... Jackson goes all 8 IP, but we manage just 5 hits, with only Hart's solo HR doing any damage
#93: LOSS 4-5 ... we battle back to tie this one, but Sanabria loses it in the 9th...Jones is terrible again, continues to struggle this season

Summer doldrums are here, just as I said they'd be.... Trades are happening all over, most of little to no note. But it means I'll be taking a long look at other teams trade blocks, with a day off coming here. SS, 3B, maybe an SP. Or maybe I'll end up doing nothing, since Simmons is coming back from the DL in three days.... We did make one little trade: with injuries devastating our low minor league staffs, I traded a handful of our nearly-20-strong rookie ball outfielders for a handful of pitchers. If any of them develop at all, I'll write about it; but I don't expect that to happen.... ELSEWHERE: "Major trade announced." "It's a huge shakeup. You don't see deals like this every day." If "major" means trading your middling closer and a power hitter that bats .180 for a borderline starter who averages 1 WAR per year...then yes, this is major. Yuge!.... Of the nine other trades made in MLB so far, none have moved the meter like that one, so I guess it does count as MAJOR.... Four teams in the NL West remain within 2.5 games of each other, the only tight divisional race in baseball right now.

......

TL;DR Version: Blech. A 3-6 start to July is just...well, take a guess. At least we'll get healthier soon, with Simmons and Dan Brown coming off the DL in the next few days. And as for scouting around for trades, I'm still not sure. Nothing yet has jumped out at me. I'm thinking about adding a power bat, as we're 13th in HR and Stoneback is done for the year. Padilla and Welch have power, but haven't been consistent enough yet to completely rely on. No one else on the bench has stepped up with a big bat. And yet, we're still 61-32, so no need to panic. Now if I could only transform some of these nice-looking OF prospects in AAA (Frederick, Cappuccilli, etc) into infielders, I'd be all set.

[Bub13]

A few tweaks to the lineup as we enter the back half of July... IF Bob Goodloe is sent back to AAA and OF Josh Frederick comes up. Adam Groff moves from 1B to 3B for a bit (please don't get hurt Adam); Klump (LH) and Padilla (RH) will platoon at first; and Phil Lasky gets a chance to be the everyday DH. One of Frederick or Welch will move into the DH slot if Lasky (currently batting .380 in 79 AB) falters.

July 16-18 @ MINNESOTA
This upsetting road trip continues into the upper Midwest. The Twins have signed some big bats in the last two off-seasons, and then promptly fizzled last year and now this. Currently they're 36-54, last in the Central, with the AL's worst offense and 13th-ranked pitching, and with a fat -86 run differential. Catcher William Antonio is still hot, batting .389 to carry the offense mostly by himself (although OF Brendan Glenn is fine, at .273/19/46). They've already started looking ahead to next year, trading SP Lawrence Teklu and moving rookie James Clouse into the rotation. Owner Adam Thompson set five team goals this winter: none are being reached, and he's an unhappy camper. Just another poor old unhappy rich dude.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (9-2, 3.49) / RH Dave Henderson (3-1, 2.98) / RH Ryan Ratliff (11-4, 3.72)
MIN pitchers: RH Dan Moran (2-3, 5.68) / RH Hugo Blerra (6-10, 4.21) / LH Scott Kopetsky (6-9, 5.89)

#94: LOSS 3-11 ... cool, another loss...plus Groff gets hurt...Padilla's 3-run HR is our only highlight; that, and no one has died yet (Groff pending tho)
#95: LOSS 4-5 ... Crowley blows this one in the 12th, after we battled back to tie it...Canning and Henderson hurt, with Canning's diagnosis pending
#96: LOSS 4-13 ... swept again...slumpy hitting and terrible pitching

What is there to say? Swept by a last place club and we top that off by losing Groff for a month (somehow he sprains an ankle making a throw). Canning also gets hurt, but we haven't heard his bad news yet. Henderson's injury is just dtd (one week).... Good news? Simmons is healthy, and hit well in this series. Lasky, Padilla, and Welch all hit well. That's it.... Our lead over Seattle and Oakland is now 8 games.... ELSEWHERE: Philly becomes the 2nd 60-win team (still behind us, somehow), and is now 60-33.... Divisional races are tightening, as only Philly (10.5) still has a double-digit lead.... Texas has now lost ten straight, dropping to 39-56.... Thanks to our crappy pitching, Minny's William Antonio is now batting .404.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait is the first to reach 30 HR, and Seattle's Daryl Kennedy reaches 30 saves.

......

TRADE INTERLUDE! In the midst of this interminable losing streak, we pull off a big deal. Cincinnati, also slumping, is now selling off older parts. So we pick up 3B Dan Martin, SP Ryuma Sato (sound familiar?) and prospect pitcher Doug Beanblossom (how could I resist?) for IF Jorge Canales, RP Nate Moore, OFs Jim Morris and Jay Morse, a 2nd round pick, and a hundred bucks (for cab fare).

Why? Martin is a power bat, and even at 32 is still good enough at third to play every day. (He was also the first overall pick in '36, meaning we now have or had the #1 draftee from '34 thru '37 play for us.) Sato, you may recall, was an Int'l. FA signed by us in '43. He pitched a year for us (and tossed a no-hitter) before being sent to Cincy in the stupid Kyle Crowl trade. Beanblossom is here b/c I love his name. What did we lose? Canales was our #1 2B prospect, but as I'm probably going to extend Rangel this fall, he became expendable. Moore is a promising closer-wannabe, but hadn't been able to pitch consistently for us. Morris and Morse are part of the OF logjam in rookie ball, and each has some promise. All four are 24 or under.

Martin is under contract until 2051, Sato is a free agent this fall. Right now, neither is likely to be back in 2048.

......

July 19-21 @ CLEVELAND
At 49-44, winners of three straight (and four of five), and now just 6.5 games behind Detroit. Hitting is 5th in runs, pitching 18th and last. They did address pitching by recently acquiring SP Brandon Fleming from Portland, but he's been cold through two starts so far. All but one regular is in double figures for home runs, with CF Pat Daniels (22) and RF David Von Eschen (20) leading the way. LF Mike Blough is 36 but is having his usual 5-to-6 WAR season, and is just 2 away from 400 career HR. They'll throw three lefties at us, a rarity in these days.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (11-8, 3.31) / LH Eric Jones (6-5, 4.57) / RH Dennis Perry (9-3, 3.92)
CLE pitchers: LH Zach Gioeli (7-7, 4.55) / LH Bryan Altier (9-5, 3.78) / LH Roberto Maldonado (7-5, 5.43)

#97: WIN 6-2 ... WINWINWIN...13 hits, including 3 for Klein, and Welch's 3-run HR in the 4th is the key moment...Jackson goes 8.1 IP, fans 9
#98: LOSS 2-5 ... we outhit them, but Jones is hit hard early and often...3 hits for Daley, 2 for Klump
#99: LOSS 2-5 ... Simmons collects 3 of our meek 5 hits...Perry is okay, but does walk 6, and Ramirez blows up in the 8th, takes the loss

Well, we got ONE win, so that's an improvement. But we started another losing streak. How long will this one go?.... Newbie Dan Martin doesn't start against lefties, so he's still waiting for his Hawaii debut.... Our lead is now 7.5 games, over Oakland.... ELSEWHERE: Texas' streak reached 12 losses before a win over Baltimore. They've won 40 games, but St Louis (38) and Portland (34) are still worse.... Brooklyn's Victor Sanchez is the first in the NL to reach 30 HR, while Goldthwait's Tampa teammate Vance Wise becomes the second in the AL to do it.... Cubs catcher Omar Ramirez is so, so close to the magical 50% K mark: 120 K, 272 AB. Okay, sorta close.


July 22-24 vs LA ANGELS
Ordinarily, I would look forward to a nice 3-game homestand against the lowly Angels. Right now tho, I'd rather we face a crummy middle school team. At 46-53, their .465 win pct would be their best in five seasons. The one-time automatic division winners are now looking at their 12th consecutive season with no playoffs. At 16th in offense and 5th in pitching, it's easy to see where the problems lie. 3B Tony Mendoza (.306/17/43) and CF Emmanuel Garcia (.338/13/42) are the usual cornerstones, with catcher Juan Luarca (23 HR) helping out. No one else is hitting well, however. Former Islanders? RP Lawrence Teklu (just acquired from MIN) was a prospect for five minutes back in the 30s, and RP Cameron Vitali was an original draft pick and in the system through 2040.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (10-7, 3.21 w/ CIN) / RH Ryan Ratliff (11-5, 4.12) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-8, 3.25)
LAA pitchers: RH Bob Tranchida (6-5, 5.06) / RH Arturo Sosa (7-8, 3.67) / RH Justin Allred (8-5, 4.11)

#100: LOSS 0-4 ... oof, rock bottom...six-hit shuthout by the Angels...Sato's reunion in Hawaii does not go well: 5 IP, 10 H, 4 R
#101: WIN 9-3 ... finally we all pull in the same direction...a double, HR, and 4 RBI for Martin, and 3 hits for Hart...6 IP for Ratliff, and 3 shutout relief IP for Brown
#102: WIN 2-1 ... only 5 hits, but one is Klein's 2-run single in the 6th...Jackson goes 8.1 IP, Sanabria closes it out...two in a row!

FINALLY we string a couple of wins together again. Honestly, tho, if you had told me in April that after 100 games we'd be 62-38, I'd have been happy. Especially if you left out the "ten losses in your last eleven games" part.... We nearly traded for Cubs pitcher Jake Marker, a 33-year-old who'd been in the Marlins and Cubs rotations over the past 7 seasons. Lucky me: today he retired after tearing his rotator cuff last week. Bullet dodged, although sad news for the Marker family, as Jake will be taken out to the millpond and.... ELSEWHERE: We also almost traded for Richmond starter Brandon Mercer, who just tossed a 3-hit shutout over the dominant Phils. Small sample size, yes, but recency bias rules my world.... The reigning two-time NL Cy Young king Jose Gutierrez (ATL) once again leads the senior circuit in ERA (2.01) and WAR (5.1), and is tied for 2nd in strikeouts (177).... There are five position players also listed as pitchers on their teams, but only Brooklyn OF Rich Reilly has pitched more than an inning: 9 GP, 18.2 IP, 11 K, 0.48 ERA.


July 26-28 @ OAKLAND
We have played like ass lately, but the A's have not, going 15-4 in July and rushing past the Mariners for second place. They're 6.5 games behind us, and are three up on the M's. Hitting has picked up, now 7th in runs, with pitching slotting in at 6th, for a nice +46 differential. RF Jordan Coronado has had a decent five-year career already, but has really broken out this year: .360/23/56, 6.6 WAR. The bullpen has been a bit leaky, but closer Trevor Blackwood has been money, with 24 saves in his first year in the role. Former Islanders? None. I don't trade within the division.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (6-6, 4.71) / RH Dennis Perry (9-3, 3.84) / RH Ryuma Sato (0-1, 7.20)
OAK pitchers: RH Greg Langworthy (9-4, 4.57) / LH Miguel Valencia (7-4, 4.67) / RH Jim Schwartz (10-6, 3.68)

#103: LOSS 7-8 ... we tie it in the 9th and go ahead in the 11th, but Sanabria can't close it out, giving up a pair of run-scoring singles
#104: LOSS 9-11 ... a 9-4 lead goes bye-bye in the 8th...Padilla goes 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, and Daley knocks 4 hits, but all three pitchers tonight stink on ice
#105: LOSS 3-5 ... one inning kills us again, as Sato is touched for all five runs in the 4th...we get more hits but can't make anything work

Fabulous. Amazing how quickly things can go pear-shaped, isn't it. Oakland is now just 3.5 games behind us, and Seattle is coming to town for a month-ending four-game set.... We actually hit okay this series, but our pitching has been really, really terrible of late, despite some still good-looking overall numbers.... Canning comes off the DL tomorrow, but Groff is still 2-3 weeks away. I may have to try some freakish roster juggling just to get some guys up and moving again. Sad to say, it looks like it might be the end of the line for long-time Isle RP Pat Stanley, who started the year cold, warmed up, but has fallen off a cliff again of late.... ELSEWHERE: Austin is still holding on the NL West, 3 games up on the Padres. Sadly, the forever-terrible Giants have dropped away, and are now 3 games under .500 and in fourth place.... And yes, Minnesota's William Antonio is still hot, sitting right at .400 nearing the end of July. Pretty remarkable.


July 29-31 vs SEATTLE
Sitting at 57-49, 7.5 games behind us and 4 games behind the A's. The way we're playing, they'll be tied with us in two weeks, maybe less. Eleventh in runs, but 4th in runs against, for a +18 run differential. No one really stands out statistically, but most of their regulars are batting at least .270, and have at least 10 HR. Aaron Harrison and Mike Wapner, two big studly hitters, have been limited by injuries so far; if they're healthy the rest of the way, expect those offensive numbers to rise. And they just acquired 2B Danny Greenwald from Toronto; not a huge power bat (12-15 HR/year) but he's batting .313 this season. Former Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno has been off, way off, this year: 6-11, 5.55 ERA. Closer Daryl Kennedy leads the majors with 33 saves.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (12-5, 4.14) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-8, 3.14) / LH Eric Jones (6-6, 4.75)
SEA pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (12-3, 3.25) / RH Mark Guest (12-4, 3.74) / RH Daniel Brister (5-7, 5.45)

#106: WIN 6-1 ... complete game 5-hitter for Rats, and Rangel powers 2 HR...3 hits and 3 RBI for Lasky
#107: LOSS 2-5 ... back to the new normal...3 more hits for Lasky, getting hot again...Jackson, tho, gives up four HR, all solo shots...we only struck out once, a PH in the 9th
#108: WIN 10-0 ... Jones! Four-hit shutout, 5 K...Lasky singles two home in the 1st, and hits a 2-run HR in the 8th...Rich drives in 3 with 2 hits

Well that's better. The pitchers show up and we win games. Seems pretty simple, no?. We'll finish out the series to start August.... Oh, and we made another TRADE! Richmond offered us reliever Bruce Parton--who's 32 but still a stud--and also, surprisingly, a really good SP prospect, Braden Mathiesen. In exchange they wanted SS/3B JJ Simmons, which I turned down. Instead, I offered OF Kenny Welch and AAA pitcher Daniel Newell (along with some draft pick exchanges), and they accepted. Parton moves into a setup role, and will get consideration as closer next year; he's signed through '49. Mathiesen looks like a mid-rotation starter right now. Welch could be a 30 HR guy, but struggles against lefties, and was one of numerous young OF at the top of our system. Newell is mostly developed, and should move right into Richmond's bullpen.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa's Vance Wise had a big series against Toronto, and now has 103 RBI, tops in baseball.... Finally some MLB-level trades. SF upgrades their staff by acquiring former Isles SP Tim Pinksen from Boston for aging power hitter Willie Jaramillo. If only they hadn't tossed in their '46 first round pick, a nice looking OF named Dave Griffey. Bad trade for the Giants, even if Pinky does well down the stretch.... San Diego finally got a decent-hitting IF, getting Cory Hopkins (.325/11/36) from Washington for pitcher Mike Victor. The Nats also added a solid RP prospect. Hopkins is 31, has twice had more than 200 hits in a season, and is signed for a few more seasons. Good trade for the Padres, who are vying for first in the West.

......

TL;DR Version: That last series salvaged our pride a bit, but we still go 5-10 this stretch, and 8-16 for the month. Our lead over Oakland is down to 4.5 games. Somehow we're still 2nd in AL runs against, and 2nd in both starter's and bullpen ERA. The bigger news is that we've brought in some new blood to try to right the ship, making two trades. So far, the trade with Cincinnati hasn't paid off, as Dan Martin is batting .160 with just 1 HR in 7 starts. And Ryuma Sato has made 2 starts, giving up 16 hits and 9 runs in 8.1 IP. Not good. New RP Bruce Parton hasn't pitched yet, but was brought in not just for the stretch run, but also next year, as I'm undecided on paying Dan Brown north of $10M next season. One more thing: Adam Groff will come off the DL in two weeks. Hopefully he can stay healthy the rest of the year.

[pauwoo]

Listen, I don’t want to be the one that has to say this, but, in a situation as dire as this you need to fast track Beanblossom and let the young man spread his wings.

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

Listen, I don’t want to be the one that has to say this, but, in a situation as dire as this you need to fast track Beanblossom and let the young man spread his wings.

True! He's in A ball right now, so just a young sprout. And how I wish his name was Dean.

[Bub13]

What will August bring... Continued slump, or return to early-season form? Twenty-seven games this month will tell the tale. Fifteen road games, 12 at home. Most will be against East and Central teams, before we close out the month against LA, Houston, and Texas. We won't play Oakland or Seattle (except for the 8/1 game vs the M's) again until next month.

August 1 vs SEATTLE
Finishing up the four-spot against the M's.

HAW pitcher: RH Dennis Perry (9-3, 3.94)
SEA pitcher: LH Miguel Moreno (6-11, 5.55)

#109: rained out! Rescheduled for 9/13, as a now-double header

Nothing new to report for us. Except that the August scouting report is out, and AAA pitcher Shaun Gates--a rotation hopeful next year--took a hit in all his ratings, even pitching speed. Yay.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy is still struggling to find traction, but pitcher Cris Frias just tossed a 15-K 3-hit shutout over Montreal.... Minny's William Antonio continues to flirt with .400, and starts August at .396.


August 2-4 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The youth movement is starting to pay off, with leadoff SS Chris Rock (23) batting .342, and RF Andy Barenburg (also 23) batting .276/8/44 in 86 games. A pair of 25-year-olds, 1B Jim Timmer and 3B Alan Wilson, have 28 and 25 HR respectively. Sixth in runs scored, the offense is clicking right now. Pitching, however, is a mess: 15th in runs against; the pen has looked okay, but the rotation is near-bottom. Still, they're 54-55, not exactly in the running for the division maybe, but certainly right there in the wildcard race. They really need those top pitching prospects to develop, and soon.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (9-3, 3.94) / RH Ryuma Sato (0-2, 9.72) / RH Ryan Ratliff (13-5, 3.94)
CHW pitchers: RH Bryan Crider (9-7, 6.39) / LH Jeff Brandstrom (5-6, 5.28) / RH Chris Wead (8-5, 4.01)

#109: WIN 11-7 ... Martin breaks out, going 4-for-5 with a HR and 4 RBI...3 hits and 2 RBI for Daley, now batting .333...Klein hit by a pitch, gets hurt
#110: LOSS 5-6 ... Sato is solid tonight (7 IP, 3 H, 2 R) but Crowley gives up a grand slam in the 8th to blow it...Sox manage just four hits
#111: LOSS 3-10 ... we score 3 in the 1st, then go home...we do injure two of their regulars, tho, so hooray us?

I see things are no better in August so far. Can anyone pitch anymore?.... The odd thing is, despite giving up 23 runs here, we're now 1st in runs against. I don't want to see who did worse than that in their last series.... Now we're off to visit the powerful Tigers, oh boy.... Injury diagnosis is still pending on Klein.... ELSEWHERE: Antonio still batting .397.... Austin lost #1 SP Sam Thompson for the season, a serious blow to their title hopes. They're still 1.5 up on the Padres, but that loss may tell in the end.... Heck of a race for NL Cy Young: LAD's Eddy Llamas (15-4, 2.48, 209 K in 170 IP, 4.6 WAR) vs ATL's Jose Gutierrez (11-5, 1.97, 197 K in 146 IP, 5.8 WAR). Toss in Philly's Adam Price (11-2, 2.34, 133 K, 4.1 WAR) and Chicago's Rafael Maldonado (10-6, 3.24, 170 K, 5.0 WAR) for good measure.... San Francisco's won 7 straight to claw back into the West race, now 2.5 behind Austin. Former Isle prospect Dillon Ritter is batting .310, and rookie 1B Fernando Lerma won July ROY honors with a .291 average and 9 HR.


August 5-7 @ DETROIT
Yeah, yeah, strong hitting (4th in runs), powerful (3rd in HR), better pitching (3rd overall) this year, yadda yadda. At 65-47, they're 6.5 games up on the Indians, and right now look nearly certain to win their 3rd straight Central title. Except for an interlude in the '30s, this has been a consistently playoff-bound team for several decades. Just one with no title since 1984. So they're hungry. Like us, they struggled in July, probably due to losing all-everything 3B Sean West. He's back in a week and we don't have to face him, so there is some mercy in the universe after all.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (13-9, 3.27) / LH Eric Jones (7-6, 4.45) / RH Dennis Perry (10-3, 3.89)
DET pitchers: LH Brett McGee (9-6, 3.72) / RH Raul Bravo (10-8, 3.39) / LH Jeffrey Foley (6-3, 2.70)

#112: LOSS 2-3 ... outhit 12-6, somehow we go to extras, where Dan Brown serves up a walk-off HR to end things...new ways to lose, every night!
#113: WIN 5-3 ... waddaya know, we win this one in the 10th, thanks to Klump's 2-run double...9.1 solid IP for Jones, and Parton earns his first Hawaii save
#114: LOSS 3-11 ... there it is...Perry, Henderson, and Ramirez each get battered...we do manage ten hits, but all are singles

Oakland is now within a series of us, just 3 games back.... Jim Klein gets added to the DL, out for six weeks with a "bone marrow edema" on his knee (OWWWWWW). We call up Jerry Cappuccilli for his first taste of MLB action, and move Josh Frederick into the CF slot.... Nobody's consistently producing right now, to be brutally honest. Sure, we're still #1 in offense. Daley is batting .327, and Lasky has maintained a .329 average since moving into the lineup. But no regular power hitting, and now 3/5 of our rotation has ERA over 4. The relievers are taking turns giving up leads or taking us out of close games. All I can do is to keep juggling the lineup and hope sometthing finally clicks. Trying to earn my pay this year.... ELSEWHERE: Antonio is now batting .399.... The Giants are now 9-1 of late, and new-acquisition Tim Pinksen just one-hit the Mets. Good to see someone's having a nice summer!.... Philly is the first team to reach 70 wins, and has maintained a 9-game lead over Atlanta.


August 9-11 vs KANSAS CITY
They've been treading water most of the season, and right now are 55-58, fourth in the Central. Batting is 3rd, and pitching is 8th, for a +77 run differential, so that losing record is hard to figure. Former Isles stars Jeremy Dunklee (.252/17/69) and Josh Robertson (.310/.367/.410) have been solid, but the offense runs through catcher Adam Behling (.355/22/70). Original Islander(tm) Raleigh Vance is, for some reason, the closer, but has a 6.87 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP. Oakland is playing the White Sox this series; I wonder if they'll catch us sooner, or later?

HAW pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (10-9, 3.57) / RH Ryan Ratliff (13-6, 4.13) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-9, 3.22)
KCR pitchers: RH Ron Curtis (6-5, 3.52) / RH Dan Dronet (8-9, 4.81) / LH Chris Larimer (14-5, 3.68)

#115: WIN 4-3 ... all 7 runs are scored in the 3rd...Sato goes a decent 6 IP, and Klump and Lasky hit HR...the pen shows up tonight, but Crowley gets hurt
#116: WIN 12-4 ... we're up 12-1 early and then coast...only 3 XBH out of 12 hits, but we add 9 walks and a HBP...Ratliff goes 7 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 7 K
#117: LOSS 0-9 ... just 5 hits tonight...good to know we're enjoying some early vacation time

That horrible third game notwithstanding, I'll take the two wins here. Oakland lost two, so we're now 5 up on them, and 7 on Houston. Houston!.... Adam Groff was just given an "unknown return date" from the DL, rather than being ready in 3 days. AWESOME.... JJ Simmons gets moved into the leadoff slot, where he should thrive, and goes 1-for-13 here. Sigh.... ELSEWHERE: Antinio is now batting .401.... Fun race in the NL West is still happening: Austin is 1.5 up on SF, and 2 up on SD and LAD.... Miami has now lost 6 in a row, but is still 7 up on Tampa, while Cleveland has scrapped to 5.5 behind Detroit now.... Washington's Pat Gayer had a monster year in '46, going .305/43/108, all personal bests. This year he was batting .199 with 10 HR, and now his season is done.


August 13-15 vs MIAMI
First in the East at 66-50, 7.5 up on Tampa. Looking for their fourth playoff visit in their 32-year existence. Batting is 11th, but pitching is tied for 1st, with the best rotation in the AL. Long-timers Ricky Beard and Nick Meehan have been dependable as usual, but newbie Matt Anderson has been the offensive driver, at .320/25/80. The 39-year-old Anderson is a future Hall of Famer, and with a couple more good years could approach 3000 hits. SP Edgar Tinajero and CL Curt Nichols were deadline additions, and both have proven worth the price so far. #1 SP Matt Rubin is on the DL for another 7 weeks, so hopefully they can hold on without him.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (8-6, 4.29) / RH Dennis Perry (10-4, 4.08) / RH Ryuma Sato (11-9, 3.61)
MIA pitchers: RH Edgar Tinajero (3-4, 3.48) / LH Tim Bruns (1-1, 3.86) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (8-9, 4.34)

#118: LOSS 0-4 ... only five hits tonight, two for Martin...Jones is fine tonight, but Kramer ruins any chance of a comeback with a bad 7th
#119: WIN 3-1 ... two hits each for Daley and McCollum, and a two-run single for Padilla...Perry goes 7.1, gives up just 5 hits and a run
#120: WIN 2-1 ... only six hits, but two XBH for Frederick result in both runs...3 hits for Simmons...Sato finally pitches well, going 7

Not much hitting, but the pitching shows up again, finally.... And no injuries! Groff is still 'unknown' for his return date, and Klein has 4 weeks remaining.... Sato has gotten a little better each of his last three starts, after two dreadful ones upon arrival from Cincinnati.... ELSEWHERE: Miami leads by 7, Philly by 8. Every other division lead is no more than 5.5 (Pittsburgh over Chicago). Hawaii is up by 5; Detroit by 3.5, and Austin by 1.... William Antonio is down to .390, and he is probably going to keep heading south, to be honest. It was a fun ride while it lasted.... LAD's Vinny Vargas is having a fine comeback season (17 HR, .276, and injury-plagued last year), batting .307 with 31 HR. He also reached 2000 career hits and 400 HR earlier this summer. At 34, he's probably got a few more decent seasons in him, and should reach 100 WAR too.

......

TL;DR Version: A 6-6 run is quite an improvement, helped out by going 4-2 in our last two series. Corner turned? Who knows, but I'm hopeful. At 72-48, we're now 5 games up on Oakland, 6 on Houston. Fourteen more games this month, only four at home. Our home record is 40-17; on the road we're 32-31. We've gone 14-22 since July 1; we're still leading the AL in offense (runs, AVG, OBP), but have dropped to 17th (next-to-last) in home runs, with 119. How have my two July trades gone so far? With CIN, P Ryuma Sato (5 G, 2-2, 4.76) and 3B Dan Martin (.218/.328/.382 2 HR, 55 AB) for RP Nate Moore (5 G, 13 IP, 6.23) and prospects. Grade: B, since we got two big leaguers, even if neither is setting things on fire right now. And with RIC, RP Bruce Parton (2 G, 1.1 IP, 0.00) and a prospect for OF Kenny Welch (.296, 2 HR, 27 AB) and a prospect. Grade: B for both teams, although it's still early.

Finally, something interesting: one of our International Free Agent signings was OF Luaipou Ulkini, who is from Wallis & Futuna. I had to look that up: Wallis Island is a French protectorate in the south Pacific. Ulkini is the only player from there on any team roster, and appears to be the first Wallisian player ever to be signed by a big league club. As for Ulkini, he's got some promise, but will have to exceed his ceilings to get anywhere close to MLB. (A quick scan through the current player's list shows a few other south Pacific players around: one from Fiji, one Malaysian, three Cook Islanders, and a pile of Australians. There's also a player--maybe a defector?--from North Korea, in the Twins organization. Not a South Pacificer, but interesting anyway.)

[Bub13]

August 16-18 vs BALTIMORE
They got hot in July, but have been middling in August so far and sit at 59-62, 9 games out of first. Somehow they're 7th in runs, despite being 15th in AVG and 11th in OBP. Pitching ranks 11th, and they sport a -28 run differential. 2045 AL MVP Cesar Alvarenga paces the offense at .283/27/82, but three other regulars have topped 20 HR, which makes up a bit for the five guys who are batting below .250. Brian Simon has anchored a struggling rotation, not helped by having two guys on the DL. Closer Curt Paddock puts guys on base (1.55 WHIP), but fans them too (67 in 49 IP). Former Islanders? Nope, none. But to leave you with something, here's a name for you: top catching prospect in the system is named Alastair Crabtree.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (14-6, 4.00) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-10, 3.49) / LH Eric Jones (8-7, 4.19)
BAL pitchers: RH Bryan Melstrom (7-9, 6.49) / RH Brian Simon (10-5, 3.18) / RH Danny McCanless (2-3, 4.72)

#121: WIN 6-3 ... 15th win for Ratliff...3-for-4 night for Frederick (finally) and Rangel, each also with an RBI
#122: WIN 3-1 ... pitcher's duel, with Lasky's 3-run blast being the difference...8 IP, 6 H against, with 5 K and no walks for Jackson
#123: WIN 8-6 ... Jones throws poorly but still takes the win thanks to an early 8-2 lead...HR for Martin, and 2 RBI apiece for Lasky, Rangel, and Rich

Five wins in a row and 7-3 in our last 10. Six games up on Oakland.... Klump strains something or other, and is dtd for the next series. Just to be safe, I'll rotate in Dante Padilla instead. Still no word on Groff's return.... Eureka (A) has fallen back to 2nd place in the California League, and for the first time in years (a decade?) we have zero farm teams leading any of their divisions.... ELSEWHERE: Injuries have given 31-year-old Dodger Brad Benes his first crack at a big-league rotation, and the outspoken crabapple just made the record books: a no-hitter against the Expos, striking out 8 and walking 3. It's the first no-no for LA since Jackson Suttie did it in 2040 vs the Orioles. The Expos were last held hitless in 2032 by Hall of Famer Jon Talley.... Oakland's Jordan Coronado is the first player to reach 7 WAR this season.... Houston is quietly playing well, and has a few guys topping some stats, too: CF Marquis Moore leads baseball with 30 steals, while pitcher Alejandro Gonzales leads the AL in ERA and pitcher WAR.


August 20-22 @ TAMPA BAY
They've been battling with Miami all season for first in the East, but a 5-11 start to August has dropped them to 62-62 and 8 games back. Third in runs, and lead by the dynamic duo of Chris Goldthwait (.293/38/107) and Vance Wise (.320/36/107). Leadoff batter Orlando Navarro is getting on base at a .421 clip, although they're killing themselves by putting Steve Wilkins and his .181 average in the #2 slot. Pitching is 12th, and not helped by a suspect bullpen. They still list Vance Wise as a setup RP, but he's made just 2 appearances all season. No former Islanders, but they have a prospect named Brad "Gambler" Dice, and NO I DID NOT CREATE THAT NICKNAME MYSELF.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (11-4, 3.94) / RH Ryuma Sato (12-9, 3.50) / RH Ryan Ratliff (15-6, 3.96)
TBR pitchers: LH Jimmy Dalaba (11-6, 3.68) / RH Roberto Alvarado (5-5, 4.00) / RH Jason Davis (9-10, 4.37)

#124: LOSS 4-6 ... 4 hits for Simmons, and HR for Padilla and Lasky...rough night for Perry, giving up 7 H, 6 R, and 6 BB in just 3.2 IP
#125: WIN 5-1 ... Lasky keeps hitting, with a 3-run HR and a 2-run single...3 hits for Simmons too...6 IP for Sato, looking better each start
#126: WIN 6-4 ... crazy 9th inning, as we give up 2 but score 4, thanks to Simmons' bases loaded triple...Ratliff wins again, going 8 IP...15th save for Sanabria

Nice to keep the positive momentum going, and we're really riding our pitching these days (for better and for worse).... Simmons has been on a tear this last week, and has raised his average from .278 to .299 in the last five games alone (14-for-22).... we can all breathe easier in the knowledge that A ball Eureka is back in 1st place. Phew.... ELSEWHERE: former Isle Steve Ashjian couldn't make it with us, and didn't stick with Miami, but in his first year with the Giants just won his 10th game, and tossed his second consecutive shutout.... Five division are stretching out again, with leads between 5.5 and 9 games. But the NL West remains tight: SF leads Austin and LA by a half game, and SD by one. Portland, however, stinks up the picture by being the worst team in baseball right now.... We all love pitchers with that rare 10:1 ratio of K to BB. We all are horrified by batters who do it, tho. So props to TOR 2B Henry Maldonado, holding onto a job despite having a 152:14 K:BB ratio, and to Reds C Antonio Chamorro for his 142:14 heroics. Both of them at least have 20+ HR. Which leaves me at a loss for why Cincy is also starting SS Jonathan Salas, who leads (by 35) all of baseball with 204 K, having struck out a remarkable 42% of his AB. And he's batting just .148. He's a good fielder, but wow at the plate? He's the light-destroying singularity of offensive baseball.


August 23-25 @ LA ANGELS
[First, truly excellent news: Groff comes off the DL! I send down struggling RP Nick Kramer to make room.] The forever-rebuilding Angels are 59-69, and have the AL's second-worst offense. They've got three guys with 20+ HR, and no one is truly awful at the plate, but no one is really standing out either. Pitching is 9th, with some nice performances in the rotation, but the bullpen has been troubling, shown most significantly by closer Chris Brown (5.72 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 5.1 BB/9). Former Islanders? RP Lawrence Teklu was in our system for two years in the '30s, and RP Cam Vitali was a 4th round pick in our first-ever draft. (I think I wrote this before...deja vu.) What else? You know I love me some funky names, so it pains me that pitcher Eddie De Man (AAA) has never stuck in the bigs. Maybe prospects Dane Dean or Mal Dicks will make it instead.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (14-10, 3.39) / LH Eric Jones (9-7, 4.37) / RH Dennis Perry (11-5, 4.20)
LAA pitchers: LH Noah Sims (9-9, 3.96) / RH Arturo Sosa (9-11, 4.21) / RH Bob Tranchida (8-7, 5.44)

#127: LOSS 5-7 ... Jackson is KOed in the 5th, but Henderson takes the loss...1st career HR for Frederick, and Padilla clouts a 3-run shot
#128: WIN 4-1 ... three HR drive in all our runs, and Jones goes 8 innings to pick up his 10th win
#129: WIN 8-4 ... we score 6 in the 9th, most off of closer Chris Brown...2 doubles, 3 RBI for Groff...3 hits each for Rich and Martin

Jackson's no-decision was only his 2nd of the season, on 26 starts.... Jones gets his 10th win, giving all five starters double figures (although Sato is just 3-2 with us).... Groff returns and goes 3-for-12 with a HR and 4 RBI.... Oakland's won 4 straight, is now 5.5 behind us.... Simmons wins player of the week, going 13-for-24.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego's won 7 in a row and has taken over 1st in the West.... Kansas City is on a crazy 13-game win streak and is 5 games out of first in the Central.... William Antonio is now at .380, so the quest for .400 looks to wait for another year. One hundred six and counting.


August 26-28 @ HOUSTON
At 70-59, with 8 more wins they'll match last year's effort, as well as the totals of 6 of the last 9 years. Only 11th in runs, but 6th in runs against. Former Isle 1B Sen Masuda has picked it up over the 2nd half, and is now batting .263/18/72. But they did take a big loss last week when RF Hughie Noonan (.262/20/57) went down for the season. Ace Alejandro Gonzales is 12-1 with a 2.63 ERA, finally living up to his big promise; #2 Chris Harris hasn't been quite as successful, but on paper at least they are a formidable 1-2 punch. Houston is last in the AL with 117 HR (we're now 16th, but not too far ahead with 131).

HAW pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (13-9, 3.42) / RH Ryan Ratliff (16-6, 3.93) / RH Shamar Jackson (14-10, 3.54)
HOU pitchers: LH Chris Harris (9-8, 3.99) / LH Joe Payne (2-0, 3.26) / RH Dustin Springer (10-9, 3.47)

#130: LOSS 3-5 ... 7 hits, only one for extras...we lose it in the 7th when Crowley gives up two solo HR, one to our old friend Masuda
#131: WIN 12-3 ... 12 runs, 11 hits, 3 home runs, and 1 benches-clearing brawl...3 RBI apiece for Simmons, Groff, and Padilla...Ratliff goes 7, Henderson a quiet 2 IP
#132: WIN 7-3 ... big night for Lasky, with 2 doubles and 3 RBI...Jackson goes 8, gets his 15th win

Joseph Hart got plunked in that 2nd game, charged the mound, and incited a riot. He wasn't hurt, but is suspended for four games. Houston RP Chris Avalos got 9 games.... Thinking about bringing a catcher up just to get a few games/at bats before Sept. 1, in case we lose a catcher before the playoffs. It's happened to us before. Problem is, all of our high-minors catchers are pretty terrible.... ELSEWHERE: How's this for a quality month: ATL pitcher Jose Gutierrez has made 5 starts, with 33.2 IP, 20 H, 4 ER, 52 K 8 BB, and a 1.07 ERA.... The Cubs are heating up and are now just 4 games behind Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Cleveland is 2.5 behind Detroit, and KC just 5.5.... Old Man (ok, he's 34) Vinny Vargas has bounced back after a slow start, and is now batting .311/.396/.595 with 37 HR and a 2nd-best NL WAR of 5.7.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait finally became the first player to reach 40 HR. This could be the first season since...well, I'm not sure when...that we won't have a 50-HR batter.


August 30-31 vs TEXAS
Once again the ball and chain of the division, at 50-84, and looking (again) at another top draft pick. Maybe they can actually sign the next one? They were sort of treading water in mid-summer, but since June 1 they've gone 13-38. With the AL's worst offense and 15th-ranked pitching, owner Ray Davis must be furious...no, wait, he's actually 'delighted.' Texas is a crazy place, what else can I say? Attendance is up for the year, but down sharply over the last two months. And I guess the future looks bright, as the prospects are ranked 5th overall; but they look shallow to me, with very few real batting prospects. Oh, and of the six offensive regulars who were here in '46? All of them are hitting significantly worse than they did last year. So that means they'll show up and give us a run now, doesn't it...

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (10-7, 4.22) / RH Dennis Perry (11-5, 4.23)
TEX pitchers: LH Carlton Saunders (6-6, 5.36) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (8-12, 4.66)

#133: WIN 9-1 ... we score early and late, with HR from our new law firm, Groff & Frederick...Jones goes 7, gives up 5 H and fans 6
#134: WIN 3-2 ... nice way to finish the month...Groff goes 3-for-4, and Daley homers...Perry goes 7, and the only runs he yields come on two solo HR

Two wins here put us 6 up on the A's now, and 11.5 on the distant Astros.... Henderson strains his elbow and will miss a week, but won't go on the DL what with the roster expansion coming up. I've robbed AAA Santa Barbara of 2/3 of their outfield, so I'm not sure who else is coming up. Maybe an infielder and a couple of pitchers.... In other injury news, OF Jim Klein will be back to two weeks, and it looks like Stoneback could come back for the playoffs.... ELSEWHERE: It was a good month to be a former Isles prospect. NL pitcher of the month went to Jesus Chavolla, a scouting discovery from way back in 2039. We sent him to SF with a package of prospects (including OF Dillon Ritter, batting .320 this year), for pitcher Shamar Jackson and OF Kenny Welch. And speaking of Welch, he's the NL rookie of the month after batting .327 with 6 HR. Despite that, he's very unhappy after being traded, and man does that sad face icon in OOTP just depress the hell out of me. Change that, please, Markus.... Portland, at 47-88, is still the worst team in the game, and the only one that hasn't reached 50 wins.

......

TL;DR Version: Hopefully this 11-3 stretch--and 17-9 this month--means we've left whatever that was in July behind us. We may be the only team in baseball without a 20-HR hitter right now, as Groff and Stoneback lead the way with just 17. [Ed.: we're not. Texas, San Diego, St Louis, Portland, and Montreal don't either. In fact, Montreal has just 84 HR on the season, nearly 30 below the next-worst team.] Injuries to our top batters mean we don't make many appearances on any leaderboards. Cam Daley is the only guy of note, 4th in hits (168) and t1st in sac hits (6). I'll still take a .286/.355/.440 team slash, however. And for some reason I signed catcher Tyler Gilliard to a minor league contract, and brought him up to be our #3 receiver. He went 2-for-4 in his one game in August, so I'm officially a genius. He's been a journeyman backup, playing with Philly, Toronto, New Orleans, and Oakland. He hit .261 with 9 HR in 257 AB with the A's last year. He's pretty good defensively, and thinks he should start, but...won't.

[Bub13]

The final month of the season! We'll play 28 games--including a double header--with the season wrapping up on the 29th. Nine of those games are on the road, 19 at home. We'll close that run with an 11-game home stand. As for the roster expansion, in addition to the late-month signing of Gilliard, we bring up three players: RPs Justin Crowley and Ben Germann, and IF J.R. Thompson. All three have been in Hawaii earlier this season, so all are available for the post-season if necessary. In addition, I might bring up a pitcher or two to get a couple of year-end starts for some prospects.

September 1 vs TEXAS
Wrapping up this series. We'll see these guys for three more games in a couple of weeks.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (13-9, 3.46)
TEX pitchers: RH Greg Buchanan (6-13, 4.78)

#135: WIN 1-0 ... Sato yields just 4 hits through 8, and Sanabria closes it out...Daley singles home Rangel in the 5th for the only run...12 K for Sato too

Six games up on Oakland with 28 games to play.... My quest for a balanced team has finally lead me to this team: no statistical standouts, no big seasons for any individual, but we top most of the big team stats.... Having said that, Cameron Daley is a top candidate for AL rookie of the year.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas has 19 wins, and leads baseball with 270 K. He's second in NL pitcher WAR to ATL's Jose Gutierrez, 6.5 to 8.0.... MLB's pennant chase calculations are very interesting. We're given a 100% chance to make the playoffs, Oakland a 98.3% chance. Detroit is given a 98.2% chance, while Cleveland--just four games behind--only 53.0%. In the NL, Philly is at 99.3%, Pittsburgh 99.9%. The very tight NL West breaks down with LA (84.3), SF (56.5), and SD (18.4) farther apart in percentages than they are in the standings.


September 2-4 vs BOSTON
Winding down a pretty moribund season, where they were never good, but never really terrible either. They're 65-71, fifth in the East, with some good hitting (6th) but awful pitching (18th). On paper, the staff looks pretty good, so I'm not sure why they've been so bad. Mass hysteria, maybe? One positive note is 22-year-old CF Jose Diaz, now in his third full season: he's batting .353 and looking at a 6 WAR season. Most of the rest of their starters are over 30, so this doesn't look like a team on the rise, tbh. Former Islanders? Off-season acquisitions OF Glenn Heath (.278/15/63) and 1B Chris Sanborn (.266/10/42). Both are under 30, and should get more playing time next year with the departure of some place-holding vets.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (17-6, 3.93) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 3.49) / LH Eric Jones (11-7, 4.11)
BOS pitchers: LH John Baldwin (9-14, 5.56) / RH Jose Ambriz (2-0, 5.79) / RH Fernando Alameda (6-1, 2.24)

#136: LOSS 3-4 ... Sanabria gives up a tying HR in the 9th, then Parton loses it in the 10th...2 doubles for Groff, 3 hits and 2 RBI for Hart
#137: LOSS 3-5 ... we carry a lead into the 7th and leave it down 4-2...10 K for Jackson, 4 for Brown in 1.2 IP
#138: WIN 5-4 ... HR for Groff, and a 2-run double (his 30th) for Daley

That could've gone better. At least we avoided the sweep. Oakland, however, does creep a bit closer, now just 4 games behind us.... Daley also reached 70 RBI on the season, leading the team. Seems like a low number.... ELSEWHERE: Philly is slumping this month, and their lead over Atlanta is down to 3.5 games.... Portland and St Louis are the first teams officially eliminated from post-season play.... LA's Vinny Vargas hit .396 with 13 HR in August, and is batting .385 this month. He's surged to 1st in HR, OPS, and WAR, and 2nd in RBI.... Speaking of Portland, they still haven't hit 50 wins, and are sitting at 47-92.


September 6-8 @ NY YANKEES
Another mediocre season in the Bronx, at 65-73 and last place. They were good in June and July, a combined 34-19, which just points out how bad they've been the rest of the time. Eleventh in runs scored, and 9th in runs against, so they're not a scrub team. Batting average and OBP are near-bottom, but they are first in HR. 2B Jon Diaz leads the way with 31, and long-timer OF Tony Flores has 29 (and 402 for his career). One fun number: they made $51M profit last year, and project to match that this year. That's...astounding.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (12-5, 4.16) / RH Ryuma Sato (14-9, 3.30) / RH Ryan Ratliff (17-6, 3.88)
NYY pitchers: RH Travis Heumann (10-8, 3.66) / LH Brian Whitney (10-9, 4.44) / RH Phil Avery (6-12, 4.09)

#139: LOSS 3-5 ... Perry goes 7 innings, fans none and walks six...3 hits for Martin, and we outhit them, but give up 2 HR (to our zero)
#140: WIN 6-1 ... Lasky goes 5-for-5, and Frederick gets 2 hits, one a HR...7 quiet innings for Sato, and he actually strikes some guys out
#141: WIN 12-1 ... ten runs over the final three innings breaks open a 2-1 game...3 hits each for Groff, Lasky, Cappuccilli...7 IP of 5-hit ball for Ratliff

Good problems to have: Cappuccilli is 13-for-26 so far, and Lasky is red-hot and now batting .330. Klump at .290 looks like a chump next to them.... Trainer Villalobos tells me that Stoneback is recovering faster than expected and will be back in two weeks, instead of the very end of the season.... Groff is batting .382, and would be miles ahead of the pack in the batting race if he had stayed healthy this year.... ELSEWHERE: KC's Chris Larimer put on just one batter--a walk--in a 13-0 rout of the Marlins, to notch his second no-hitter of the season. Luis Cuevas accomplished that feat for the Tigers back in '26, and pitched three in his career.... Miami has lost 9 straight, and their lead in the East is down to 2 games over Baltimore.... LA and San Fran have pulled away a bit from the field in the NL West, as San Diego and Austin have dropped away.... Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas is the first to reach 20 wins. Cincy's Corey Nelson, KC's Chris Larimer, and HAW's Ryan Ratliff each have 18.


September 9-11 @ TORONTO
Our final non-West series of the season. Once one of the most feared offensive powerhouses in the AL, for years, this crop of Jays hit home runs, but that's about it. First in dingers (with 213), but only 15th in runs and 17th in AVG. Rich Dragos is having another quietly solid year, at .298/34/86, but no one else is hitting over .260. And for the curious: yes, Jordan Cruz is in the starting lineup, but is actually not truly terrible, at .215/13/27, and only 138 K in 335 AB. Pitching is not bad, at 7th in runs against. The pen has been iffy, but the rotation--anchored by vets Joe Erkel and Daniel Becker--has been fine. Former Islanders? Nope, unless you count former Isles Asst GM Grant Henning, now the head guy here.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-11, 3.59) / LH Eric Jones (11-7, 4.17) / RH Dennis Perry (12-6, 4.15)
TOR pitchers: RH Matt Sheil (7-4, 3.21) / LH Daniel Becker (17-9, 3.26) / RH Joe Erkel (12-11, 3.87)

#142: WIN 9-7 ... 6 HR combined, with Cappuccilli getting his 1st in MLB...Simmons goes 4-for-4, scores twice, knocks in 2...two 9th-inning doubles win it for us
#143: LOSS 0-5 ... 2 hits for Simmons, and we take six walks, but no one else delivers...Jones hit hard early, but Henderson and Germann combine for 4.2 shutout innings
#144: WIN 6-4 ... HR for Groff and Daley, and 3 hits total for the latter...Perry is fine through 7, but Parton tries to blow it late. Sanabria shuts the door for his 21st save

Oakland also won two out of three, so they're still 5 games out. The Magic # is now 13.... Single A Eureka lost their final regular season game to fall into a first place tie (combined record) with Bakersfield. But because they weren't one of the top teams in their division during either half of the season, they'll miss the playoffs.... AAA Santa Barbara is 9.5 games out of first, and looks like a non-playoff team for the first time since 2040.... ELSEWHERE: LAD and SFG are now tied for first in the NL West. San Diego is 3.5 games behind.... Portland, with 49 wins, is still dwelling in the basement, although St Louis (52 wins) has ridden a 1-9 start to September in their quest for the #1 pick.... More on Cincy SS Jonathan Salas: he leads MLB with 230 K (49 more than the #2 guy) and over his 8-year career has only topped the Mendoza Line twice.


September 13-15 vs SEATTLE
Four games here, including a rain date double header on the 13th. At 77-68, they're now 12.5 games behind us, but still in the thick of things for the #2 wild card spot. Eleventh in runs scored, and 5th in runs against, for a +23 differential. No one is having a standout year, although the Aarons--Henderson and Lenhard--have tried, with 25 and 24 HR repectively. SP Mark Guest has 15 wins, and closer Daryl Kennedy 37 saves, which no longer leads the league (he was on a pace for 50 earlier this summer). Not helping the cause are injuries to power-hitting 1B Adam Guidry and 3B Luis Cantu. Former Islanders? Nope.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryuma Sato (5-2, 3.25) / RH Ryan Ratliff (18-6, 3.78) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-11, 3.57) / LH Eric Jones (11-8, 4.33)
SEA pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (13-6, 3.86) / RH Mark Guest (15-6, 3.79) / LH Ryan Ebert (1-1, 3.86) / LH Miguel Moreno (8-14, 5.57)

#145: WIN 7-3 ... Groff hits his 20th HR, and Daley and Simmons each add two hits...7 strong innings for Sato, but it's our 4-run 8th that wins this one
#146: WIN 18-6 ... 2 HR and 6 RBI for Martin, and Groff hits another one out...Lasky goes 0-for-3 but gets 4 RBI...Ratliff wins his 19th...Klein comes off the DL, gets 2 hits
#147: WIN 8-5 ... 4 hits for Padilla, 3 for Daley, and 3 more RBI for Lasky...we're outhomered 4-2, but Jackson pitches well otherwise
#148: WIN 10-1 ... 2 hits for each of the top five battes, and Padilla drives in four runs...complete game five-hitter for Jones, with 6 K and 2 BB

That is a crazy amount of offense against a really solid pitching staff.... One game of the opening day double header was rained out, so we played two on the 14th instead.... Jim Klein is back from the DL, and will probably see some time in a platoon in CF, as Cappuccilli (.450) is hitting well there, but Frederick (.244) is not. He was batting .286 before his injury, and is one of just two RH hitters (out of six players) in our outfield right now. Plus, oddly, all six throw left-handed.... ELSEWHERE: A five game winning streak has LA three games up on the Giants.... Miami is still holding off Baltimore by a game.... Hawaii's Magic # is now 8; Detroit's is 9....Reds ace Juan Valdez, a three-time all-star, has missed the entire season with a torn labrum. Now the rumors are that he'll miss all of next season too.... Not many batting records have been set in this dynasty, but Ricky Pacheco did record the highest number of single-season AB in 2033, with 719. He had an odd career (see below). Five years into his career, and just 25, he had three seasons of 200+ hits under his belt, and seasons of batting .332, .314, .329, and .346. And yet, he faded from the Tigers lineup and was done as a full-time starter just three years later. What happened? Dunno. No major injuries, but knowing Detroit they probably replaced him with a .240-hitting behemoth who could sock 40 HR with his eyes closed. What a career of what-could-have-been.

......

TL;DR Version: Nothing wrong at all with a 10-4 start to the month. Especially because WE CLINCHED A PLAYOFF SPOT! That last series dropped Seattle into fourth place, behind Houston, and maintained a 6.5 game lead over Oakland. And, for now at least, we're getting healthier: Klein is back from injury, and Stoneback will return in one week, meaning I can get him into some games and knock the rust off before the post-season. And this is the fourth time in our history that all five starting pitchers have reached double figures in wins (Sato has just 5, but gets combined with Koval, who had 8). Adam Groff is hitting .386, but he looks to finish about 40 or so plate appearances shy of qualifying for what would easily be his sixth batting crown.

[Bub13]

Last update of the regular season, just 14 more games. One series on the road, then 11 games at home to close things out. We just clinched a playoff spot, and our Magic # for the division is now 8. All 14 games are in the division, including four against Oakland that could end up determining the division champ. Stats Watch: Ryan Ratliff will get two, possibly three, starts to reach 20 wins. And Adam Groff needs 109 plate appearances to qualify for the batting crown. I kinda doubt he'll get there.

September 16-18 @ TEXAS
At 56-93 and more or less guaranteed of their third 60-win season in the last five. No playoffs now for 24 consecutive seasons. Dead last in runs scored, 14th in runs against. What positive things are there to say? Rookie OF Omar Gurrola has been up for a month, and has batted .308 with 6 HR. Rookie 1B William Swanson is only batting .258, but has 20 HR and 67 RBI, and still has room to grow. Second-year pitcher Greg Buchanan has rebounded nicely after a terrible first two months to the season, and ace Mike Messinger should be fully healed by training camp. Two more top prospects--catcher Juan Espinoza and pitcher Mike Kent--look really close to being ready for the big time, and both look promising. So it's not all doom and gloom; just mostly.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (13-6, 4.09) / RH Ryuma Sato (5-2, 3.32) / RH Ryan Ratliff (19-6, 3.83)
TEX pitchers: LH Mike White (1-4, 12.49) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (9-14, 4.41) / RH Greg Buchanan (7-15, 4.61)

#149: WIN 3-2 ... just 15 combined hits, including 2 doubles...we scratch together a few hits and walks for a 2-run 8th to come from behind
#150: LOSS 1-17 ... Groff goes 4-for-4...anything else? Well, four incredibly bad pitching performances tonight
#151: WIN 7-2 ... 20 wins for Ratliff, who goes just 5 IP tonight...3-run HR for Groff, and 2 hits plus two walks for Simmons, finally looking a bit comfortable at leadoff

One uuuugly game notwithstanding, this was a good series. We're still 6.5 up on Oakland, and we play them five games from now. Can we clinch during that series? Would be nice.... Groff is now batting an amazing .391, and leads the team with 22 HR and 80 RBI, despite missing nearly two months of the season.... Klein has gone 4-for-6 in two starts since returning, so I'll work him into the lineup more, over Cappuccilli and Frederick, to get him sharper for the post-season.... Congrats to Ratliff on becoming the 2nd Islander to win 20 games; Leon Casillas won 22 back in '39, and Eric Jones won 19 twice (Mess did it once as well).... ELSEWHERE: SF has gone cold again, with six straight losses now dropping them 5 in back of LA.... The only really tight division right now is the AL East, where Miami is clinging to a half game lead over Baltimore. Even the last place Yankees are just six games out.... Tampa's Chris Goldthwait has put on a power burst in an attempt to be the first to 50 HR. He's now at 46.... Not to be outdone by Ratliff, Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas won his 22nd game of the season.


September 19-22 vs LA ANGELS
They're 73-79, which is already the most wins they've had since 78 in '43. But their last winning season was in '35, and I doubt they'll hit that mark this season. Top hitters Emmanuel Garcia (.322/21/76) and Tony Mendoza (.271/30/76) have brought their usual lumber, but only two other season regulars are batting over .250. Rookie OF Luis Rivera is batting .373 in his September call-up, and if would take a walk now and then he might have a chance to become a dangerous leadoff guy. As it is, he's a quality slap hitter who won't strike out, can run like hell, and is a stud fielder. Where has he been all season? Pitching has been okay, and all of the rotation looks set to come back next year. If they can buy a bullpen, they'll be much, much better already.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (16-11, 3.64) / LH Eric Jones (12-8, 4.18) / RH Dennis Perry (14-6, 4.03) / RH Ryuma Sato (5-3, 4.14)
LAA pitchers: RH Jon Carlsen (11-9, 2.93) / LH Noah Sims (9-10, 4.56) / RH Arturo Sosa (11-13, 4.18) / RH Bob Tranchida (10-8, 5.50)

#152: LOSS 3-7 ... 3 more hits and HR for Groff, but the pitchers don't show up...2 hits and 2 RBI for Rangel, who's been cold the latter half of the year
#153: WIN 4-3 ... a 4-hit night for Simmons, and 3 hits and the GWRBI for McCollum...Jones gives up 9 hits over 7 IP, but allows only 2 runs
#154: WIN 9-2 ... Klump, Hart, and Martin hit homers, and Hart adds two more hits and 2 RBI...Perrry goes 8.1, but walks more than he K's for the third straight start
#155: LOSS 5-7 ... we hit four HR tonight, but Sato's terrible pitching dooms us...Daley goes 3-for-4, is now batting .332 on the season

Well, not a great series, but our magic number against Oakland is down to two. We play them next, so one win out of four games will seal the deal.... Groff has stayed hot all season--when healthy--and is second in the AL with 6.9 WAR. Imagine the numbers if he'd been in the lineup all year.... Might have to get a couple of wannabes for next year's rotation a start before the season ends: Ben Germann (already with us) and Shaun Gates (in AAA).... ELSEWHERE: Rob Hart went from being our ace, to an injury-ruined overpaid ($6.6M) swingman for Brooklyn. He's been pretty bad this year (5-12, 5.07), but flashed some of his old brilliance with a 3-hit, 10-K shutout of the Mets.... In playoff news, Philly clinched the NL East, while Detroit, Oakland, and Pittsburgh clinched playoff spots.... Portland won a few games in a row, but became the first team to reach 100 losses. STL and TEX could join them soon.... Just to let you know, .400-flirter William Antonio "slumped" to .308 in August and all the way down to .250 this month, and is batting .362 on the season. Still, a good run and a likely batting title for the Twins catcher.


September 23-26 vs OAKLAND
A playoff spot has been clinched, and they're one of five teams with 90 wins. With just one win, we'll clinch the division, but it's still within reach for these guys, just six games out. Hitting is 8th in runs, but pitching sits 4th; usually they're the opposite, being one of the top offenses in the AL until recent years. RF Jordan Coronado has been the clear team MVP, at .345/31/82, with 3B Ryan Walton adding 39 HR and 111 RBI. Three other regulars have topped 20 HR. Ace Mike Wiater hasn't been sharp all season, but does have 296 K, tops in the AL. And for once a team did something smart: they slid ineffective veteran Greg Langworthy (5.18 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) into the bullpen.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (20-6, 3.83) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-12, 3.74) / LH Eric Jones (13-8, 4.13) / RH Dennis Perry (15-6, 3.95)
OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (16-7, 3.47) / LH Luis Otero (6-7, 5.04) / LH Miguel Valencia (12-6, 4.66) / RH Mike Wiater (13-12, 3.57)

#156: WIN 4-2 ... Stoneback returns with a 3-for-3 night and a HR...Ratliff goes 8, fans 9, wins his 21st...Sanabria save his 25th...DIVISION CLINCHED!
#157: WIN 8-2 ... 2 HR, 7 RBI for Groff, including a GRAND SLAM...8 hits for us, but oddly everyone takes at least one walk...Jackson fans 10 in 6 IP
#158: WIN 7-0 ... 3-hit complete game for Jones...3 H, HR, 2 RBI for Lasky...18 hits for us, everyone gets in on the act...3 doubles for Klein
#159: WIN 7-3 ... another HR for Groff, and we add 5 doubles...2 RBI each for Groff and Klump...Perry goes 7, isn't great but is good enough

Surprising sweep, but it clinches the division and pushes us over 100 wins.... Stoneback makes a triumphant return, going 7-for-16 with a HR.... None of our minor league teams made the playoffs, and only AAA Santa Barbara (81-63) and A Eureka (75-65) finished over .500.... ELSEWHERE: Every division has been clinched, highly unusual for this dynasty. Not only that, but the AL playoff picture is complete, with Cleveland and Oakland winning wildcards. In the NL, five teams are still in the wildcard running: Chicago (87 wins), San Francisco (85), Atlanta and San Diego (84), and Cincinnati (83).... Still no 50 HR batters. Two pitchers (Eddy Llamas with LAD and Mike Wiater with OAK) have reached 300 K.... At the blunt end of the stick, Portland (56 wins), St Louis (58), and Texas (59), are vying for that coveted first overall draft pick.


September 27-29 vs HOUSTON
Until a September slump, the Astros were looking like they might contend for a wildcard right up til the end. They are sitting at 83-76, and do you know the last time they won 83 games? 2024. No playoffs this year, but they look like they're on the upswing right now. Just 11th in runs, and 10th in runs against, so there are holes in the lineup. The rotation ERA is 4th, however, so there's at least one strong spot. Ace Alejandro Gonzales leads AL pitchers in WAR. Former Isle 1B Sen Masuda has had a nice second half of the season, and is now batting .279/31/99.

HAW pitchers: RH Shaun Gates (debut) / RH Ryuma Sato (5-4, 4.57) / RH Dave Henderson (3-2, 3.75)
HOU pitchers: RH Alejandro Gonzales (14-3, 3.03) / LH Chris Harris (12-9, 4.05) / RH Dustin Springer (12-13, 4.08)

#160: WIN 3-2 ... nice 7-inning debut for Gates, but Brown gets the win thanks to 2 late runs...3 hits for Rangel, GW double for Klump in the 8th
#161: LOSS 2-6 ... 2 HR for someone named Bobby Johnsey, and Sato walks 7 and yields those two HR in 5.2 IP
#162: LOSS 2-3 ... Parton loses in the 12th on an RBI double...Henderson goes into the 9th, pitches well in what may be his last game for us (career too?)

Not thrilled to drop those last two, but they don't matter. Plus, no additional injuries, which is the real good news.... Everyone but Joe Koval is healthy heading into the playoffs, and most are at least playing well. Looks like I have options for the playoff roster, which has not always been the case.... Groff ends up leading the team at .385/27/95, and falls just a few weeks short of winning another batting title. C'est la vie.... Cam Daley wins his 3rd Rookie of the Month nod, with a .381 month.... ELSEWHERE: Chicago wins the first NL wildcard, but there's a three way tie for the next spot, with ATL, SF, and SD all at 86 wins.... TB's Chris Goldthwait heats up late, ends up with 52 HR.... MIN's William Antonio (.361) and SD's Blake Langer (.339) win batting titles, the first for each. ATL's Jose Gutierrez runs away with the NL ERA crown, at 1.83.... And to update the NL wildcard: ATL beats both SD and SF to take the 2nd spot.... For the first time in my memory, no managers were fired in September. Which actually makes sense.

......

TL;DR Version: A 9-5 final stretch puts us at a 102-60 finish, winning the division by 11 over Oakland. We finish third in runs, falling just behind Cleveland on the final weekend (KC lead MLB). We are tops in AVG, OBP, and batter WAR. We also finish 14th in HR, 78 behind the league leaders. Pitching is tops in the AL, and 4th in all of MLB. Team defensive efficiency is 2nd, and we made the 5th fewest errors in the AL. After Groff's .385 average, the top qualified player was Daley at .335. Simmons (.302), Stoneback (.302), Lasky (.314 in 315 AB), and Cappuccilli (.329 in 76 AB) also topped .300. And I can't remember the last time all five of our SP finished with ERA below 4.00 (AL average was 4.56).

[DD Martin]

Okay I took some time and read this whole Hawaii story. Very nice run you have done with the Islanders. Showing my age I saw them play when they were San Diego’s (I believe) AAA affiliate against my home town Tacoma Twins.

Anyway have enjoyed the Islanders success and good luck in the playoffs

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by DD Martin

Okay I took some time and read this whole Hawaii story. Very nice run you have done with the Islanders. Showing my age I saw them play when they were San Diego’s (I believe) AAA affiliate against my home town Tacoma Twins.

Anyway have enjoyed the Islanders success and good luck in the playoffs

I've never seen any PCL games (grew up watching the International League), but I always thought the idea of playing in Hawaii a fun one when I was a kid.

[DD Martin]

Originally Posted by Bub13

I've never seen any PCL games (grew up watching the International League), but I always thought the idea of playing in Hawaii a fun one when I was a kid.

Yeah I was really sad when the Islanders left the PCL. I mean I got it from a cost standpoint. When teams went to Hawaii they played 8 game series so that they would only travel to Hawaii once a season. I watch a football game at Aloha stadium between Washington and Hawaii several years ago. I tried picturing a baseball configuration there but just didn’t see it. The games from Hawaii would start around 10:30 pm on the radio, and the broadcast was a recreation which at the time I didn’t understand what that meant. But I’d often stay up late to hear the start of the game and then fall asleep after a few innings.

[Bub13]

2047 PLAYOFFS

Thrills! Chills! Excitement! Or...out in three games. Either way, it's that most wonderful time of the year. The wildcard games kick things off, where two teams get to experience the joy of their season-long hard work paying off and then ending over one day. Kind of like finally making it your favorite reality or game show, and then getting booted in some bogus "preliminary challenge" before you even get through the front door.

Anyway, in the AL, Oakland rides a 16-K, 3-hit effort from Mike Wiater to shut down the Indians 4-1. Over in the NL, the Cubs (!) actually win something, topping Atlanta 7-4 behind a trio of home runs. It should shock none of you that we will now play Oakland, with Detroit playing Miami in the other series. No surprise at all that our possible journey to the Series will likely have to run through the A's and Tigers. Again. The NL series will be Philly vs. Chicago, and Pittsburgh vs. LA.


Divisional Round

You know nearly as much as I do about the A's, if you've been reading this. We might catch a bit of a break, what with ace Mike Wiater having just pitched. Still, we have to win the games to put actual pressure on him...

Game One: 10/6/47, Oakland @ Hawaii (Jim Schwartz, 16-8, 3.54 vs. Ryan Ratliff, 21-6, 3.76). A single and a double put us down 1-0 after just two batters, but we get that and more back when Lasky doubles two home in the 4th. Unfortunately, Ratliff meets his Waterloo in the 5th, putting four runners on and allowing two runs. Two more hits off reliever Ramirez bring home two more runs as the A's pile up four in the inning and take a 5-2 lead. Stoneback cracks a solo home run in the 8th, but we can't put anyone else on base. 5-3 LOSS Oakland leads series 1-0

Game Two: 10/7/47, Oakland @ Hawaii (Luis Munoz, 13-10, 3.92 vs. Shamar Jackson, 17-12, 3.73). A few lineup tweaks double our hits from 6 to 12, but... A couple of hits and a walk, and we're up 1-0 after one. Jackson, however, doesn't have it early, putting on five runners in the second and allowing four of them to score. We claw back with a pair of solo HR (Groff and Daley) in the third, and then it's quiet: 4-3 A's as we head into the 9th. Sanabria retires the side in the top half, and with our backs to the wall, Klein triples and then Frederick raps a pinch single to bring him home to send this one to extras. Oakland, however, has ideas of their own, and in the 10th they go single-GIDP-triple-HR to score two. In the bottom half, Groff singles and gets to second, but once again we can't hit in the clutch. 4-2 LOSS. Oakland leads series 2-0

Game Three: 10/9/47, Hawaii @ Oakland (Eric Jones, 14-8, 3.95 vs. Mike Wiater, 13-13, 3.74). Pitching? What pitching? Oakland moves up ace Wiater to this game, and yet the teams combine for 15 runs on 21 hits tonight (with only two HR, tho). Oakland gets things started with a solo HR in the 2nd. In our 3rd, a walk, WP, and fly out put a runner on third, followed by a single and two doubles to bring three runners home, and it's 3-1 us. The A's add two more hits and two more runs in their half, and it's 3-2 A's after three. They do it again in the fourth, adding three hits this time and chasing Jones. 5-3 A's after four. The 5th inning goes quietly, just a short breather before everything ramps up again. With two outs in the 6th, a single, single, WP, and single scores TWO for us, and we're tied! Doesn't last for long, as a sac fly in the bottom half scores one, and the A's are back up, 6-5. We tie it up on a walk, throwing error on a steal, and a sac fly in the 7th. Small ball! More small ball in the 8th, as we ride an HBP, three straight singles, and some aggressive baserunning for two more runs, and we're up 8-6. Sanabria makes things interesting--as in BAD interesting--by giving up a leadoff solo HR in the bottom of the 9th, but retires the next three batters to save the win. 8-6 WIN! Oakland leads series 2-1

Game Four: 10/10/47, Hawaii @ Oakland (Dennis Perry, 16-6, 3.95 vs. Miguel Valencia, 12-7, 4.81). Another do-or-die game. Our core shows up tonight, with Daley, Stoneback, and Groff combining for six hits. The rest of the team? Nada. Two doubles for the bad guys in the second bring home three runs, and that's all it took. Perry is okay, going six innings, but the offense picks the worst time to take a night off. Remember when we swept the A's in September? Four ugly games? I believe this is the third time we've swept a team badly in September and then been eliminated by that team in October. I know the Red Sox did it to us when they made the Series, five years ago or so. Tonight's final is 5-0. Each team managed just six hits, but they seem to have been a little more efficient with their baserunners. Oakland WINS series 3-1

......

In the other AL series, Miami surprised Detroit with a 7-0 Game One shutout, but the Tigers stormed back to take the next two, scoring 21 runs in the process. Miami won a tight Game Four and tied up the decider with a 9th inning HR, but lost it on a walk-off double. Fun series, but it's still Detroit's win. They'll face Oakland (booooo) in the ALCS.

The NL featured two tight five-game series. LA/PIT went back-and-forth, with the favored Pirates falling in the 9th inning of Game Five thanks to a 2-run home run in the final frame. Three games were decided by one run. The Cubs, meanwhile, took a 2-1 series lead over the Phillies, until the favorites remembered they were the best team in the NL all season. Three low-scoring games were followed by two decisive Phils wins, keyed by three George Livezey home runs (remember him? He single-handedly won Game 7 in the '45 Series for PHI over us).

......

Wrapping things up quickly here: Oakland surprises the Tigers in six, winning the first two and the last two. Philly does nearly the same to LA, winning in six, although not in the same order. Oakland will be making its first World Series appearance since 2034 (they lost), and looking for their first title since 1989. Philly won in '45, and is making their fourth appearance in this dynasty.

Game One: OAK 1, PHI 10 ... PHI leads 1-0
Game Two: OAK 5, PHI 8 ... PHI leads 2-0
Game Three: PHI 6, OAK 5 ... PHI leads 3-0 ... going, going, ...
Game Four: PHI 3, OAK 9 ... PHI leads 3-1 ... not yet!
Game Five: PHI 3, OAK 5 ... PHI leads 3-2 ... don't plan the parade yet
Game Six: OAK 3, PHI 5 ... PHI WINS 4-2 ... okay, go ahead

Philadelphia gets a scare there for a bit, but puts it away at home to claim their second title in three years! 2B Mike Thomas, who went 12-for-24, gets the MVP nod. Congrats, Philly! Now go away.

......

Just a few notes before we head off into the winter...
...Arizona prospect Marty Salvo suffered an "undisclosed injury" after picking up his child last week. He's 17, by the way. This, coupled with that 16-year-old prospect who got hurt fighting his father-in-law over the summer should inform any teenagers reading this about the perils of starting a family at a young age. Or, any age, really.
...Cincinnati 1B Matt Gould, who hit 16 HR with Pittsburgh in '46, suffered through an injury-plagued '47 and managed exactly zero dingers. Now, he wants out, saying there's "too much pressure" in playing in southern Ohio. I guess sea level change must have wiped out the entire east and west coasts, huh.
...We DFA four pitchers who spent most/all of '47 in the minors. Three have at least some experience with Hawaii, the most notable being Taylor Barnett, who made a huge post-injury splash in '44, going 9-0 in 12 starts late in the summer. He's been largely ineffective ever since (including 270 MLB innings), and spent all of this season in AAA. Others waived are Steve Dickerson, Seth Howard (injured all season), and Alex Salazar. Dickerson and Salazar will be free agents this fall, and while decent AAA pitchers, won't be back--if at all--at anything more than a minor league contract.

......

Well, that's it for the 2047 season. Disappointing, to say the least. (Of course I had to make a joke above about "out in three games." LOL) While we did recover from that odd July swoon, I never really felt comfortable with our lineup down the stretch. Heading into the off-season, I'm still not sure what direction I might take to build next year's team. Do we go out and get another obvious power bat? What do we do with an unsettled outfield, especially that all our top prospects--who all look pretty decent, btw--are lefthanders with noticeable platoon splits? The answer sounds kind of obvious, I know, but that doesn't make it easy to solve.

[Bub13]

Some final stats for your enjoyment...

[Bub13]

2047-48 Off-Season, Part One

So. Another season of 100 wins, a division title, and failed playoff dreams. I suppose when you're a thirteen-year-old franchise with five World Series appearances to your credit, that maybe you should just shut up about "failed" post-season jaunts. But that's not where we are. I'll stop talking about playoffs when we're a 70-win rebuilding team, and not before. While we've got the horses to compete, we'll keep aiming high.

About the season: another dynamic--but not powerful--offensive year. Tops in putting men on base, and nearly the best at scoring them, but we didn't hit many home runs. I knew that going in to the season, and though it galled me to see other teams drop lots of easy runs via that route, I guess I should swallow my pride and take the overall team success instead. As for how (or even if) I should improve that? Well, stay tuned throughout the off-season... At the other end of the stick, our pitching was solid all season: first in runs against, first in rotation ERA, first in bullpen ERA. Nobody dominated the stats; there was no Leon Casillas, or Mike Messinger, or even Rob Hart, racking up strikeouts and shutouts. But Ryan Ratliff won 21 games, Shamar Jackson had a solid rookie season, Eric Jones overcame a rough mid-summer, and Dennis Perry was an adequate #4. I'll explore options for a solid fifth starter. The bullpen will change, as it does every year over the off-season, but I think we're set at the top, with Ramon Sanabria, Rick Ramirez, Bruce Parton, and Justin Crowley. I may need to dig to find one or two LHP for this group, however.

In the end, despite not winning a title, the year was generally a success. We're set up well talent-wise, not in financial trouble, and despite trading away some guys still have a good-sized developmental pool. I believe this off-season will be more about consolidating positions and having a more stable lineup, rather than making large changes via trade or free agency. Of course, I've said that before, and that often meant the start of a big spending spree. But this time I mean no!

......

Early team news...
...pitcher Dave Henderson has retired. The 40-year-old tossed 78 innings for us, making five starts and 23 relief appearances, with a 3.52 ERA. He was mostly effective when we needed him to be, although I wasn't going to re-sign him if he had not retired. He's an outside shot for the Hall, in my opinion: 187 wins, 62.8 WAR, but just 2413 K in a power-pitching era. All the Hall metrics have him just outside, but he may get some love for his four (yes, FOUR) Cy Young wins and two championship rings. He won 20 games once, and 19 games three times, all with some powerhouse Toronto teams from the '30s.
...all but one of our system personnel are returning. Santa Barbara manager Old Steve Johnson (he's 60) has priced himself out of a new contract. Lewiston hitting coach Young Steve Johnson (48) is returning, however.
...Tampa claimed pitcher Taylor Barnett off waivers. Everyone else cleared. Best of luck Taylor. Stay healthy, if you can.
...Owner Alexis Pagan has been weirdly generous of late, and again just now: our budget for 2048 will be an even $200 million, up from $194M. He does, however, want to combine that raise with $20M profit next year...which I hope to accomplish (or approach) by cutting payroll. He also wants a winning record, to build a dynasty, an upgrade at catcher, and an increase in home runs. Well there's the answer to my "more power yea or nay?" question posed above. And the request at catcher is a perpetual one, and one that I'm not likely to address, at least not this year.
...we decline to exercise a '48 option on reserve infielder John Canning. He was fine, batting .300 in 130 AB, with adequate defense and intangibles. But I've got two prospects to look at, and even combined they'll be cheaper than the $1.5M Canning would have been due next year.

And just a bit of league news...
...all 36 team owners survived the annual November Plague Season, but two GMs and one Manager did not. Texas canned both GM Dane Stone and Manager Pat Wilson (hey, we know him!), while Portland dumped GM Case Munson. Texas has gone nowhere fast for a long time, and I guess they didn't like what Stone offered in his one year at the helm, nor from Wilson's three-year tenure. At Portland, Munson lasted just two years, but did oversee a 30-game crash from one year to the next. There will probably be a few other Managers who "won't be extended" rather than outright fired, but they didn't make headlines. [EDIT: only a few, actually. Baltimore, Miami, and Richmond. Cincy promoted bench coach Ezequiel Sedano with Dan Remenowsky retiring after an 18-year stretch, and Houston retained manager Dylan Barrow but axed the every other member of their big league staff.

......

Arbitration time. We have eight players eligible this year, as well as five potential free agents. Of the eight arbs, I withdraw offers for two of them: pitchers Steve Dickerson and Ryuma Sato. Dickerson has already been waived and is of the useful-but-hopefully-not-necessary type of reliever. I may see if he'll take a minor league deal; if not, there will be others guys out there. Sato came over in a trade from Cincy, and was off-and-on while here. He made $8.7M and his arb estimate is $11M. I don't want to pay him that, and at 36, he would probably be too old and too expensive to trade. The six we'll deal with are all regulars from this year's squad. They include SP Ryan Ratliff ($2.8M estimate), RPs Rick Ramirez ($3.99M) and Ben Germann ($1.3M), catcher Dave McCollum ($850k), DH Jonathan Klump ($5.1M, but I'm going to lowball him), and 2B Manny Rangel ($2M). Those are all numbers I can live with, and if the arbitrator goes higher on some, we'll still have space aplenty. Although I'll still grumble some.

As for free agents, there are some bigger names here. OF Joseph Hart won't be back. Four seasons of declining numbers means he'll have a new home this fall. He produced 3.0 WAR (18 HR, .257) for us this season, but makes $7.5M and wants over $10M from us. Likewise, RP Dan Brown (5-2, 10 SV, 1.87 ERA) wants nearly $10M; since I'm happy with Ramon Sanabria in the closer role, it doesn't make sense to pay a MR eight figures. And yet...I almost offered him the $13M qualifying offer, just in case he turned it down and we could possibly get a compensation pick when someone else signs him. But he either would have taken the offer (bad) or signed with someone else for peanuts (not great, but still). I'd have him back at a lower salary, but I have a feeling he'll be snapped up early, probably even before the Winter Meetings. Others: IF John Canning was not renewed at $1.5M, but I'll talk with him if he's still available by, say, Christmas. And MR Pat Stanley's 11-year tenure with the team is coming to an end. Two seasons of subpar ERA and WHIP will do that, but that also means I'll need to find a LH reliever (or two) this fall. He leaves us as an all-timer Islander: first in games pitched (421), 5th in innings (798), 6th in strikeouts (724), and 7th in wins (47). He was an 8th round pick by the Cubs in '34, but was released after the '35 draft and signed by us shortly thereafter.

And then, before everything gets started... TRADE! We send 3B Dan Martin and 3 picks to Arizona for RP Mark Money and prospect P Jan Cronbaugh. Martin came over from Cincy (with Ryuma Sato) before the deadline, and while he was okay (.268/8/29 in 42 GP) he didn't thrill me to the point of playing him next year over any of my prospects. He's got power and gets on base, but at $12M, was expendable. This filled a major need for the DBacks. In Money, we get a fireballing (100+ mph) reliever who has spent time as a closer and setup man. He's a righty, so we're still looking for our next LOOGY. He'll make $810k next year. Cronbaugh is 19, has decent MLB-level ceilings right now, and the intangibles to possibly surpass them. In addition, we nab a 2nd round pick. [ED. NOTE: In the first development report after this trade, Cronbaugh declined across the board, including pitch velocity. Great.]

......

It's MLB Award Season, so here's your breakdown on all the winners:

AL Gold Glove: P Phil Eckert (KC), 3rd win; C Arturo Sena (BAL), 3rd; 1B Jim Timmer (CHW), 2nd; 2B Manny Rangel (HAW); 3B Paul Foster (TOR), 10th; SS Alex Castillo (NYY), 8th; LF Jon Berthiaume (TBR); CF Jesus Villalobos (DET), 3rd; RF Randy Murray (TOR)
NL Gold Glove: P Calvin Webster (POR); C Willie Alonzo (NOR); 1B Tony Moreno (BKN), 2nd; 2B Mike Thomas (PHI); 3B Andy Janski (SD); SS Francisco Villon (WAS); LF Zach Cohen (AUS); CF Kris Warner (WAS); RF Ed Silverio (WAS)

AL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Ramon Sanabria, HAW [1.62 ERA, 26 SV, 77 K, 55.2 IP, 2.2 WAR]
NL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Tyler Trovato, CHC [1.88 ERA, 42 SV, 78 K, 71.2 IP, 2.4 WAR]

AL Silver Slugger: C Adam Behling (KC); 1B Chris Goldthwait (TBR), 3rd; 2B D.J. Grace (CLE); 3B Juan Garcia (KC), 2nd; SS Chris Rock (CHW); LF Mike Blough (CLE), 5th; CF Emmanuel Garcia (LAA); RF Jordan Coronado (OAK); DH Matt Anderson (MIA), 8th)
NL Silver Slugger: P Cris Frias (CIN); C Ken Carter (ATL), 2nd; 1B Vinny Vargas (LAD), 8th; 2B Juan Rodriquez (LAD), 5th; 3B Chris White (BKN), 7th; SS Blake Langer (SD); LF Steve Dyer (PHI); CF C.J. Howard (PIT); RF Phil Imel (AUS), 4th

AL Rookie of the Year: OF Cameron Daley, HAW [.335/.364/.483, 14 HR, 83 RBI, 17 SB]
NL Rookie of the Year: 1B Fernando Lerma, SF [.289/.325/.516, 22 HR, 74 RBI, 343 AB] (won by a single point over CIN pitcher Jason Bailey)

AL Manager of the Year: Matt Sargent, HAW
NL Manager of the Year: Felix Osorio, PHI (3rd win)

AL Cy Young Award: Daniel Becker, TOR [20-10, 3.06, 233 K, 5.1 WAR] (Surprising, as he didn't lead any stats category. Sanabria came 5th.)
NL Cy Young Award: Eddy Llamas, LAD (23-6, 2.14, 302 K, 7.6 WAR] (Won by a sizeable margin over Jose Gutierrez, who was probably the second-best pitcher in baseball this year)

AL MVP Award: Jordan Coronado, OAK [.349/.462/.595, 32 HR, 86 RBI, 9.0 WAR] (Groff came in 3rd, pretty good for missing two whole months)
NL MVP Award: Vinny Vargas, LAD [.307/.400/.593, 45 HR, 118 RBI, 7.0 WAR] (Third trophy; hit 37 HR after June 1; HoF lock now)

......

I put seven players on my Hall of Fame ballot this year. There is probably only one sure thing: newbie IF Ty Cobb, who wound up with 3400 hits and 124 WAR, and somehow won five Silver Sluggers despite hitting just 20 doubles and one HR per season. I think OF Kelvin Robinson (1 MVP, 2500 hits, 90 WAR, injury-plagued or those numbers would be higher) should get in; he got 70% of the vote last year. I added five other veterans, including 1B Cisco Videira, who wasn't really a "great," but did manage to top 3000 hits and stayed healthy for nearly two decades. Survival combined with success carries weight with me. He only appeared on 12% of ballots last year, so I think he's more of a veteran's committee addition down the line.

......

Arbitrations come in, and we "lose" five of the six cases. From above, estimates had come in at a total around $15.8M. Instead, the lovely arbitrator gave out a total of $18.2M. Not a huge difference, really, but it all starts to add up in the end. McCollum (gets $850k) is the only player we "won" on, which--as he was the lowest salary--is usually the case. Rick Ramirez (we lost) will make $4.8M, and his arb estimate for next year is already set at $5.8M. So he's one decision pending for '48/'49. Another will be Jonathan Klump, who will now make $5.3M and has an estimate of $6.6M beyond that. Depending on how some of the youngsters pan out this coming season, he's a candidate for moving on next fall. On the fun side, despite losing on Ryan Ratliff, his new salary will be $2.9M. Not bad for a 21-game winner, huh. His salary estimates for the following three seasons are 3.4, 4.0, and 5.5 million. And since we're here at the moment, consider that we only have one player on the payroll who is definitely not on the '49 payroll (pitcher Eric Jones). Three players will enter their "big money" arbitration years--Cam Daley, Shamar Jackson, and Dante Padilla. As they're all entering "core player" designation, I'll likely want to keep all of them, perhaps even offering some longer term contracts at favorable terms (to me, at least).

......

With arbitrations behind us, and free agency looming, let's take a look at the possible roster for the '48 season, by position.

Catcher. Rob Rich (vs RHP) and Dave McCollum (LHP) have platooned for two seasons now, but with diminishing results. They earned 2.9 WAR in '46, but just 2.0 this year. Both are 26; Rich earns $4.5M, while McC $850k. McCollum is also a team captain. Rich is by far the better behind the plate, and looking at their ratings, I'm no longer sure why I platoon these guys. Rich hit a fancy .346 versus lefties this year (just 26 AB tho), so might get more looks against them next season. Owner Pagan wants me to upgrade this position; I figure that if Rich can get his hitting back on track (.260 this year vs. .306 and .319 in the two previous ones), then I'll keep ignoring that request. Or maybe move out McCollum in favor of a power bat backup. We do finally have two prospects with solid hitting ceilings in the system, but they're at least two more seasons away from sniffing MLB. Off-season outlook: Probably no moves, unless something irresistable comes along.

Infield. Last year's infield returns: 1B Adam Groff, 2B Manny Rangel, SS Rich Stoneback, 3B J.J. Simmons. I moved out mid-season acquisition Dan Martin, and will once again work 3B/1B Dante Padilla into the lineup where I can. I seriously considered trading Rangel, but despite Padilla's power potential, he's still got some room to grow and I'm not sure I want to count on him for 500+ productive at bats just yet, especially with our championship window still open. Barring injury, Padilla is the corner backup and will see some DH time, and hopefully grow into a spot at third for '49, moving Simmons back to 2B. I let super utility Dave Canning walk, so the two backup slots are penciled in for prospects Josh Matson and Bob Goodloe. Of the two, Goodloe is closest to ready, and Matson is also limited to the right side of the infield (no arm). No other prospects look that great, but if I decide to go with an all field/no hit guy, there's Mike Hoover (.247 in AAA) or Jesse Ryder (.290 in A, but maxed out developmentally) as options. I do like my backups to hit above the Mendoza line, however, so they are not my top choices. Off-season outlook: Will keep an eye out for a utility middle infielder, in case my "penciled-in" plans fall through. Plus, I'll need to add a guy or two at the AAA level anyway.

Outfield. Trades and the free agency of Joseph Hart have thinned the ranks here, but there are still five guys who could start. Problem is, three are lefthanders, and all of them have very noticeable L/R splits. Still, helping matters was the solid debut (ROY!) of LF Cameron Daley. One starter. CF Jim Klein missed nearly two months, but was still productive when he played. Two starters. Right field will get sorted out in camp. I'd like Josh Frederick to seize the day, to be honest. He's got solid ceilings across the board, and can run, field, and throw. He's a captain too. He'll get every chance to fail. Phil Lasky hit .314 and Jerry Cappuccilli .329 in fill-in roles last year, and are more than solid backups. Or starters, should injury strike or Frederick not get it done. The one lack here is a true power bat; all but Klein could mash for 20 HR, but no one is a real threat to reach 30 or more. With only Groff and Stoneback (and Klump, at DH) having any real power elsewhere in the lineup, home runs will be hard to come by again next year. But if we hit over .290 as a team, that will be greatly mitigated, imo. There are no sure-thing prospects after this lot, although Scott Barnes and Dustin Barton will likely be on the 40-man roster and the first up if needed. Off-season outlook: No additions, and keep working those kids into the lineup!

Designated Hitter. Jonathan Klump will probably get the majority of time here this year. His power never really surfaced last year (16 HR) and he slumped badly in September. But the fans love him, and if he gets regular time I think he's good for 25-30 dingers and an OPS over .900. He only hit .248 (with 42 K vs just 5 BB) against lefties, so he'll see some platooning, most likely with Padilla. Off-season outlook: No changes.

Starting Pitchers. Most of the rotation will be back, with Ratliff, Jackson, Jones, and Perry all penciled in. With Ryuma Sato's departure, that leaves the #5 slot up in the air. Two in-house candidates will get long looks next spring: Shaun Gates and Ben Germann. Both have control issues, but do have the stuff and movement to make it. Angel Cordova could figure, but he's a step below those two, and had a rough year in AAA. No other prospects look adequate, although I'll probably take a sniff at Seth Howard, who looks a lot like Eric Jones (so-so stuff, but great control). His stamina might limit him to the pen, however. Off-season outlook: Most likely camp battle for the #5 slot, but possibly we look at a free agent if someone affordable is out there.

Relief Pitchers. I've spent a lot the last two seasons on a solid bullpen, and it's paid off, no pun intended. Closer Ramon Sanabria was tops in the AL, and will be back. Likewise for middle men Rick Ramirez, Justin Crowley, and Bruce Parton. Add in newly acquired Mark Money, and we'll find two quality setup guys among that lot. I expect us to go with an 11-man staff again this year, so that leaves just one more spot available in camp. Right now, that may go to either the loser of the Germann/Gates SP battle, or one of Ben Willard (brilliant in AAA, but injured until June), Nick Kramer, Walt Thompson, or Jose Esquivel. AA guy Jaheim Mwaura and A closer Jeff Black have promise, but both are a year or two away. As I'll probably have to sign a AAAA-level guy or two for Santa Barbara, I'll keep my eyes peeled for any bargains out there to compete for that 6th slot. Off-season outlook: Maybe a free agent here? And with lefty Pat Stanley gone, we have no LH relievers on the roster at the moment.

Overall, it doesn't look like I'll be terribly active this off-season. The fans will be sad/mad when Joseph Hart and Dan Brown sign with other teams, but they'll get over it. Hopefully I can get a supplemental pick or two out of them as well. Fingers crossed. My plan right now is to look for a reliever and a backup infielder, but I won't be miffed if I can't find someone solid at a reasonable price. I have about ten million to spend (internal budget of $150M, which should allow for the profit my owner wants, but still give me a solid top-flight roster), and so won't bust the budget on a guy from the top of the free agent list.

......

A few more team and team-related things before signing out...
...we sign RJ Wampler as our new manager in Lewiston (AA). Wampler was a 2018 1st round pick (5th overall) of mine back in Richmond, and had a few decent seasons with us until fading fast and dropping out of the bigs by 2031. He's been coaching in Mexico, and this is his first gig in the states, at least the first he's willing to tell us about.
...the AA slot was open due to the promotion of Chris Kenney to manage Santa Barbara (AAA). Kenney is just 28, and over just five seasons has gone from managing in rookie ball to getting the call in the PCL. He's the first former Hawaii draft pick to coach in our system, having been a 25th round selection in 2039. He didn't get past rookie ball as a player, but has become a well-regarded skipper in our system, and could be in the bigs in a couple more years, all things considered...
...former Isles manager Pat Wilson didn't stay unemployed for long. After getting fired by Texas, he was quickly snapped up by the Orioles. Baltimore has been a much better team than Texas, pretty much for the entire century. So this should be a good fit. Also, former Richmond star (and HoF) 3B Paul Trashini is finally getting his shot at managing, taking over for the AL East defending Miami Marlins. He was our hitting coach from '34 through '40, and then spent time as bench coach in Austin and Toronto, before inking just now with Miami.

[pauwoo]

Mark Money... reminds me of Keyboard Money Mark, whose Keyboard Repair album is solid gold. Good stuff as always - feel like this one has been dark for a bit longer than the usual cadence - was a welcome surprise to see it near the top of the table.

[Bub13]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

Mark Money... reminds me of Keyboard Money Mark, whose Keyboard Repair album is solid gold. Good stuff as always - feel like this one has been dark for a bit longer than the usual cadence - was a welcome surprise to see it near the top of the table.

It comes from having just a couple months of summer in Maine. You want to get out and away from screens when you can while you can.