Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! - Page 17

Bub13 · 04-05-2020, 03:00 PM

2050 DRAFT and MID-SUMMER SYSTEM REVIEW

Before we get to our June games, let's do the mid-season draft.

No 4th round pick this year, thanks to my off-season wheelin' and dealin', but we do have three fifth round picks. Yay us. No supplemental round pick this time around. Our first selection will be at #32. Texas, Arizona, and Austin will lead things off. Oakland (4 and 8) and the White Sox (5 and 9) each have two selections in the top ten. No other team has multiple first-round selections. There will be 20 supplemental round picks, with Washington and Atlanta having two each.

BNN has some odd choices at the top of the draft board. According to them, #1 overall is pitcher Tom Baker. My scouts, however, say he'll be no more than a mediocre reliever. At #2, SS Steve Cox looks much better, but still not really a top-of-first-round talent. The only guy in BNN's top ten I would sniff at is #7, OF Kevin Reynolds: projects as a solid all-around hitter, with some power and nice OBP, and a strong-armed RF-type. Let's see what happens...

......

Leading off, Texas went off the board and took college SS Ryan Boers, who is already 23. He's not bad, but he's not really good either, at least not "first overall" good. Decent hitter, and a solid fielder but probably better suited for 2B. Arizona then took my favorite, Kevin Reynolds, with Austin taking Steve Cox, then Oakland selecting Tom Baker. The White Sox then added to their already-large pile of pitching prospects by taking Branden Folk, who could grow into a solid #2 SP one day. Reaches? The White Sox took IF Ben Usilton at #9: I wouldn't say he's bad, but at 22 he's almost fully developed, and will never hit for average. The Cubs then took a low-stuff, low-intangible high school pitcher, Jaylin Jones. He looks like a AA-at-best reliever. Any steals? Ehh...This is a really thin draft, but there are a couple of high INT/WE players at the end of the first round who could become stars: Atlanta SP Mike McDade and Pittsburgh RP Brian MacLellan. When you have to rave about a "nice enough" reliever in the first round, you know you're drinking some thin gruel.

......

Here's a quick look at our top picks, and anyone else who caught my fancy. I give any of these guys no more than a 15-20% chance to see any MLB time one day, honestly.

Rnd 1, 32nd overall: OF Doug Pederson, 21, Oklahoma State. A hard worker with a strong arm, some speed. Hitting looks like backup level, if he's able to reach his scouted potential. Slow in the field too.

Rnd 2, 84th overall: C William Bustos, 18, high school. An average-looking hitter, with nothing that stands out, for good or bad. But he's a solid receiver with a good arm. Intangibles are nice, so he could develop into, say, a decent backup in a few years.

Rnd 3, 124th overall: P Will McGee, 17, high school. Taking a chance on a guy who may not sign with us. Fair but not great ceilings, with three pitches already starting to develop. So he's got starting chops. Strong stamina. Great intangibles, just a solid guy. Since most of our other picks will take slot, I'm gonna roll out the red carpet for Will and hope he bites.

Rnd 5, 170th overall: IF Matthew Couey, 21, UC-Riverside. Decent middle infielder type. Average hitting, zero power. May never be heard from again. Was drafted by Detroit in '47.

Rnd 5, 174th overall: OF Ricky Nogueras, 18, high school. Rangy and speedy fielder, but just an average glove and arm, and a bit lax when it comes to baserunning discipline. But he's a decent kid who already has attractive ceilings, and a number of years to reach them.

Rnd 5, 195th overall: OF/2B Dave Langford, 21, Missouri State. Similar to Nogueras, but with less power/discipline, and better running. Could compete for CF, but may end up as a slick 2B instead. Probably won't hit well enough, however.

Others of note: none, really. A bunch of guys the coaches will really like, and we'll have some really really enthusiastic low-minors teams. But talent? Not much of the baseball variety.

......

Our system ranks 9th overall, and once again we have five guys in the top 100. As always, we're strongest in the outfield and at first base, with a small scattering of interesting looking middle infielders, and a dearth of catchers. There are a few pitchers who could become something, but none that I would call can't-miss, or even probably-won't-miss.

#1: 1B Jules Medici, 19, ranked #9 by MLB. Lewiston (AA) .264/6/28 in 45 GP (plus 11 AB in AAA). Still coming along slowly, but has started to hit better in AA, and is enjoying a brief AAA callup due to injuries. Power hasn't developed as promised, but he's still just shy of 20 years old. I need to be patient with him, and not pencil him into the lineup until 2052.

#2: 2B Julian Cardenas, 25, ranked #53. Santa Barbara (AAA) .347/4/26 in 42 GP. Should be in the bigs right now, honestly. Has done nothing but hit hit hit in AAA, and I should give him a taste in Hawaii this summer.

#3: OF Joe Lynn, 21, ranked #64. Hawaii .286/0/3 in 21 AB (also .282 in AAA). Finally getting a shot at being more than a defensive replacement, with Klein's receding skills in center. Plate discipline still needs work and he won't hit for power, but is a solid contact hitter who won't strike out. Great runner, defense.

#4: 1B Tim Chapman, 21, ranked #71. Santa Barbara (AAA) .265/1/26. Power never developed, but is still rounding into a solid contact/doubles hitter. With Medici rising, however, he's more and more looking like trade bait. Injured for six more weeks currently.

#5: P Josh Irvin, 21, ranked #86. Eureka (A) 2-2, 3.14, 29 K, 28.2 IP. A fast-rising 3rd rounder from last year, he looks a lot like Eric Jones to me: low stuff, but excellent control, solid movement. Great worker. Should end the season in AA, start next year in AAA. Not an ace, but the kind of dependable mid-staff starter you always need.

#6: OF Dante Garrica, 19, ranked #108. Eureka (A) .257/0/17. A summer international signing back in '47, he's really risen up the charts to become a very promising prospect. A little bit of a "swing at everything" type, but that shouldn't hold him back. Reminds me a lot of Cam Daley already, but a better fielder. Strong arm could put him in right, but he doesn't project as quite the hitter that Josh Frederick is. Coaches call him "a second manager out there" like that's a good thing.

Others of note:
...Diego Espino, 19, OF: another Garrica-type. All-around hitter and quality fielder.
...Danny Carbajal, 20, P: turning into a back-end starter. He's just 20, so there's still time to flame out.
...Kevin Jessen, 20, OF: another nice-hitting OF! Seriously, I should trade a couple of these guys for some pitching help.
...Gleb Mihalkovsky, 16, P: still miles away, and could go nowhere. But I have to mention a semi-solid prospect from Kyrgyzstan when I have one.
...Olimpio Le Coq, 24, P: a torn labrum ruined his chance at getting called up this summer. Time is running out for the popular Brazilian.

Say goodbye to:
...Braden Mathiesen, 23, P: still struggling in AA, velocity and everything else has gone backwards. Pitchers are voodoo.

......

Post-Draft TRADE Interlude

So I took my own advice and traded away some outfield depth for a couple of pitching prospects. More darts for the board, as they say. First, I sent prospects Gary Beranek and Tyrone Goss to Pittsburgh for pitcher Henry "Biff" Skiffington. Beranek and Goss, both 22, are high intangible guys, excellent fielders, speedy, and should be at least average at the plate. Skiffington, also 22 and in A ball for the Pirates, is a former 1st round pick who seems to pitch well only every other year. He was the Pirates fourth-ranked pitching prospect. I think he'll be a mid-rotation guy, especially once his movement and control finally come around. He's not far off; or, if he doesn't develop any more, he'll be a huge bust. Simple.

Second, I drop two more outfield prospects, packing them off to Washington for 21-year-old Mike Bader. He's having an off year in AA so far, but my scouts really like him: like Biff, his movement and control need to round out, and he is also working on his third pitch. If he can get there, our middle-to-bottom of the rotation will be set in a couple years. In exchange, the Nats get Nick Webster and Mike Goodwin -- two more guys like the ones above, only with Webster being the best hitting prospect of the bunch. These two, also like the above guys, could grow beyond their current ceilings still. Goodwin was also a Hawaii native; I'm sorry to send him away, but needs must.

Below are picks of Doug Pederson, our number one pick, and Ryan Boers, the number one overall selection.

Bub13 · 04-07-2020, 12:57 PM

JUNE 2050

We start June at 34-19, a half game out of first. Nearly 1/3 of the season done, and despite our improving record, this team feels quite fragile. Not health-wise, but that it wouldn't surprise me to see us drop, say, 8 of 10 or the like.

One roster move to start the month: after Nick Kramer gets pushed around in his first appearances after his callup, we send him back to AAA and recall Yue-jiu Yi. Yi will see his first MLB action; I believe he is also the first Islander from Taiwan, and was signed as a free agent in December 2048.

June 1 @ CLEVELAND
Final game of the three-spot.

HAW pitcher: LH Eric Jones (6-2, 3.56)
CLE pitcher: RH George Millard (0-0, 14.54)

#54: WIN 12-5 ... 18 hits, 3 for Simmons and Goodloe, including his first HR of '50...we add three other HR as well...Jones fans 8, he's like Nolan Ryan suddenly

Oakland loses, and we're back in first place.... Simmons is batting .300 for the first time since the end of '48.... ELSEWHERE: NYY has opened up a 6 game lead over MIA and TB, while Brooklyn is now 7.5 up on Richmond.

June 2-5 @ SEATTLE
We took 2 out of 3 against the M's to open May. They went 16-13 in May, and currently sit at 25-29, fourth place. Stats are middling across the board, except for having the 5th best rotation and bullpen ERA in the AL...while being 9th in runs allowed. Veteran Mike Wapner will come off the DL in a couple of days, but two-time Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno tore his rotator cuff and is done for the year. Closer Daryl Kennedy is working on team MVP honors: 24.2 IP, 36 K, 0.36 ERA. Chemistry: Happy! Owner: Adam Yamauchi, who--by contrast--is unhappy, with none of his demands being met. And he expects a Championship by 2052. Good luck with that!

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (4-5, 5.90) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-4, 4.76) / LH Mike Garfield (2-2, 4.73) / RH Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 3.61)
SEA pitchers: RH Edgar Tinajero (5-3, 4.64) / RH Dan Welker (4-1, 1.99) / RH Erik Ramey (5-5, 4.75) / LH Carlos Zenon (3-4, 4.82)

#55: WIN 4-2 ... we're outhit and muster very little until a 3-run 9th wins it...3 hits for Frederick...10 K, 8 IP for Perry, still on a roll
#56: LOSS 2-11 ... nothing good here, outside of a couple of hits for Groff...Jackson is terrible, and Yi gets lit up in his debut
#57: LOSS 2-3 ... Daley homers, but we only manage four more hits...sharp game for Garfield however
#58: WIN 10-3 ... Ratliff fans 9, and a pair of 2-run HR spark the offense...3 hits for Simmons

We put another game on Oakland, now 1.5 games ahead. Houston has improved of late, and is just 5 games back.... Four weeks away from getting Goldthwait and Stoneback back from the DL.... Latest All-Star balloting shows Cam Daley leading all AL LF. This would be his first appearance.... After a slow April, AAA Santa Barbara went 19-8 in May. If they could stay healthy--five regulars/starters on the DL--they might never lose.... ELSEWHERE: Two teams still do not have twenty wins: Toronto (18) and Austin (19).... The mobsters in St Louis have switched from kneecapping to "torn labrum-ing" I guess, as the Cards just lost two SP for several months to this latest violent outbreak.... 20 HR for NYY Andy Howard, just ahead of Toronto's Tony Mendoza and Oakland's Ryan Walton.

June 6-7 @ CALIFORNIA
Down in last place now at 23-36, and they've gone 15-34 after their hot start in April. Twelfth in both runs scored and given up, but only 17th in AVG and OBP. LF Nate Atwater already has a career high 15 HR, and leadoff batter Luis Rivera is batting a solid .312, but with zero power and not many more walks. SP Jon Carlsen, as expected, leads the rotation at 5-4, 2.80, but with two other SP out with injuries, the pitching staff looks thin. A couple of MR are having good years, but you need more than that to win games. All of their top prospects are at least a couple years away, and even though there's a steady profit being made, owner Arturo Moreno Jr likes money so isn't likely to go spending it all on decent players any time soon. Best ranked player: SS Kevin Lutz, #7 by MLB, only by dint of his excellent glove, and not his .244 career average.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (7-2, 3.62) / RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 5.45)
CAL pitchers: RH Ken Demers (2-4, 4.97) / RH Ryan Kuehner (2-6, 6.82)

#59: WIN 6-2 ... 4 hits and 3 RBI for Frederick, and 3-and-3 for Daley. Both also homer...Jones keeps winning, going 7 IP and fanning 6
#60: LOSS 1-2 ... only three hits a side, with only one XBH...an error plates one CAL run, and two hits, a walk, and a fielder's choice scores the winner in the 8th

Perry has probably his best game of the season but takes the loss. Tough.... Eric Jones is tied for first in AL wins with 8; Cam Daley and Adam Groff are tied for third in batting at .346; and Josh Frederick is tied for second with 51 RBI.... My DH platoon is not DHing very well right now: Cappuccilli is batting .241, Whitton .250.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto is still stuck at 19 wins; Austin at 20.... 21 steals for Atlanta's Marquis Moore, looking for his fourth straight crown, and fifth total. He also has four Gold Gloves, and if he hit better than his career .237 average, he'd be a superstar.... With Philly and Richmond slipping a bit, the defending champs in Brooklyn have opened up a 7.5 game lead in the NL East.... Five two-way players are making a go of it this year. Sean Kropp (AUS) is probably having the best season, .264/6/15 and 4-5, 3.48; Phil Lasky (NYM) is pitching well, at 8-3, 4.03, but not hitting, at .162 with 1 HR; Chad Akers (NOZ) is 6-4, 4.37 on the mound, and .190/2/5 in 13 starts at 1B; Bob Harrison (NOZ) has been a whiz in the bullpen, 0.38 in 23.2 IP, and is hitting .259 in 27 AB; and star Vance Wise (TBR) is batting .267 with 11 HR, and hasn't given up a run in two seasons. Of course, he's only pitched 5.1 innings over that stretch, but he's nevertheless listed as the Rays' closer.

June 9-12 vs OAKLAND
The rivalry lives! We've surged past the A's for the moment, but this team is for real. Seventh in runs and 1st in HR, with four batters having reached double figures already. Ryan Walton's 20 HR is typical for him, but his .289 average is 40 points above his career stat. Nobody's batting .300, but nobodby's slumping either. Pitching is 2nd, and the 1-2 punch of Jim Schwartz and Chris Larimer are earning their dough. They swept us in three back in April, so we need revenge.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (6-5, 5.29) / LH Mike Garfield (2-3, 4.57) / RH Ryan Ratliff (6-1, 3.63) / LH Eric Jones (8-2, 3.54)
OAK pitchers: RH Scott Janulis (0-1, 4.98) / RH Jim Schwartz (7-1, 1.90) / LH Chris Larimer (7-4, 2.48) / RH Oscar Escobedo (2-6, 6.45)

#61: WIN 7-0 ... 12-K 4-hitter from Jackson...HR and 2 RBI each for Frederick and Daley
#62: LOSS 6-14 ... we're outhit, but only 15 to 13...Garfield is pulled in the 5th down 5-1, but the pen gives up 9 in the next 3 innings
#63: WIN 8-3 ... Simmons doubles twice, drives in 3, but gets hurt...more pen woes: Kym walks all four batters he faces in the 9th, but gets bailed out by White
#64: WIN 12-4 ... 15 hits, including 3 HR (Groff, Goodloe, Daley)...everyone gets a hit tonight

Two injuries here, but neither one is serious. Simmons sat out the last game with back spasms, but will be back next series. Josh Matson also has a back issue, so will probably sit out the next series, maybe the next two.... Pretty good series otherwise, despite that one shellacking. The pen did struggle a bit, with Kym's walk-a-thon, Money getting beat up twice but tossing 3 solid IP in the last game (overuse much?), and newbie YJ Yi not pitching well at all.... So with that last bit noted, I decide to send Yi back down, and call up Jeremy Kolek for his first taste of the big leagues. A 2nd round pick in '46, Kolek got off to a fast start in AAA last year and was looking like the next callup until he got hurt in May. Welcome to the show, J.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond RP Kaichi Endo had his season endo'ed with an elbow injury. Sorry, couldn't resist.... Both John Lane and Dustin Lambert knocked 5 hits in Cleveland's 8-7 win over the White Sox. Two household names there.

June 13-15 @ MONTREAL
Fifth place, 28-37, and likely starting at their 7th straight losing season, and sixth finishing fifth. Dead last in NL runs scored, and last in every major category except AVG and HR, where they're 16th in each. Pitching places 13th, not too bad considering four regular RP are on the DL. Not a lot of pitching depth here, but #1 SP Elijah Bragg could be a #1 on most staffs, and #2 Chris Milano is solid, if a little shy on stamina. Fun bit: the leadoff batter is named Jon Monreal. Manager: Andres Reyna, in his seventh season. Chemistry: Feuding! Only one leader in the clubhouse, and just enough selfish slackers to ruin the mood. Can't Miss Prospect? OF Edwin Rodas (MLB #41) is a future .300 hitter with 20+ HR power and solid defense. Top pitcher Andy Ayers (#43), however, looks average at best and is now out for at least a year with a torn rotator cuff.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 4.93) / RH Shamar Jackson (7-5, 4.75) / LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 4.90)
MON pitchers: RH Chris Milano (4-4, 4.11) / RH Bill Barger (6-3, 3.81) / RH Elijah Bragg (6-4, 3.12)

#65: LOSS 2-3 ... 7 strong innings for Perry, but the pen costs us this one: Germann yields a solo HR in the 8th, and Johnson gives up the GW in the 9th
#66: WIN 6-0 ... 2nd straight 4-hit shutout for Jackson, and he adds a single to the fun...Frederick drives in 3 with an RBI single and a 2-run HR
#67: WIN 7-5 ... quite a comeback from 5-1 down, thanks to a Simmons 2-run double in the 10th...4 hits for Goodloe, 3 and 2 RBI for Rich

Two wins here, and Oakland getting swept means we're now 5.5 games up on them.... The top four in our lineup are batting over .300: Simmons .323, Daley .344, Groff .348, Frederick .319.... Klein has responded to the Joe Lynn Challenge by upping his average to .299. Lynn is going well too, 10-for-30.... Shamar Jackson has gotten hot, but Mike Garfield struggles again. He gave up all 5 runs in 5 IP in that last game.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond's "Gotta collect 'em all!" old man free agent pitching strategy took a huge blow, with 39-year-old Eddy Llamas' labrum exploding. He'll miss a year at least, and is probably done for good.... The Yankees have lost 8 of 10 and seen their lead in the East shrink to just one game, over the Marlins.... San Fran is still holding on to the top spot in the West, at 39-26. One of their stars has been pitcher Jesus Chavolla (10-2, 2.76), whom I thought would probably never amount to much when I traded him to the Gints in '44 along with (perennial .320 hitter) Dillon Ritter, for pitcher Shamar Jackson (good), and OF Kenny Welch (meh). See, I do give up some value in trades after all.

......

TL;DR Version: Satisfield with that 9-5 stretch; and with Oakland dropping five straight, we've opened up a bit of a lead in the division for the first time this year. Team offense is back in first in runs and AVG, 2nd in OBP. Still 16th in home runs, but with Stoneback and Goldthwait coming back in two weeks that should improve. Not hitting so well is the DH platoon of Cappuccilli (.237) and Whitton (.250), and 2B Rangel (.241) who is in a contract year and wants a big bump on his $13M salary. Hmmm.... Pitching is 6th in runs allowed, with the bullpen continuing to outperform the rotation. But Jackson has gotten really hot, Perry good, Ratliff and Jones okay, while Garfield is faltering. New callup Kolek tossed two scoreless innings in his debut; I know that says nothing at all about his long-term future, but it's miles better than Yi (11.81 in 5.1 IP) and Mwaura (10.50 in 6 IP) had accomplished. And 19-year-old superprospect Jules Medici isn't seeing the bigs yet this season, but I'm mildly encouraged by him batting .262 in a recent injury-forced AAA callup. No power yet (1 HR in 42 AB), but at least he's not getting shut down.

Also a few things to ponder over the coming weeks: 1) Rangel is in a contract year and not hitting at all. He still has high value in the field. So do I keep him and consider losing him for nothing this fall, or trade him to shore up some other area? If I trade him, what do I want coming back? And possible replacement Josh Matson is no defensive whiz, but it may be time to put his bat in the lineup full time to see what he's got. And would anyone send me a prospect for a 29-year-old Gold Glove-level 2B? Would you, dear reader? 2) Four of my SP will be free agents. What to do with them? Three want to talk extensions, but with all the other potential roster movement this off-season, I'm leaning towards not signing all (or any?) of them, and seeing what comes up on the market. If I had to choose right now who to sign, this would be my ranking: Jones-Perry-Ratliff-Garfield. Not sure yet in what direction I'll go.

Bub13 · 04-11-2020, 10:33 AM

June 17-19 @ PITTSBURGH
Coming off three consecutive 90+ win seasons, this year's 32-36 record is a disappointment. But that's what happens to a mid-budget team that doesn't go after its own free agents. Offense in 9th, pitching 16th; with a -23 run differential maybe they're lucky to be only four games under .500. No standouts at the plate or in the rotation, but closer Manny Gomez has 18 saves and a 2.42 ERA. Like us, they don't hit many HR (53, 17th in the NL) but are third in steals with 45. Manager: Dario Agrazal, who won a title with the Braves and led the Pirates to 96 wins last year, his first with the club. Ninth year overall. Chemistry: Unhappy, and a couple of the outspoken and unmotivated players are starting to grumble about...something. Can't Miss Prospect? 2nd ranked system, with three players in the top 20, all currently with the big club. Jose Rivera (MLB #10) is just a solid changeup away from joining the rotation, as is Kenny West (#12). They're both high-stuff/low-movement guys. Alex Correa (#18), on the other hand, reminds me of Eric Jones but with better stuff. Once he fully develops, he'll be very good.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (7-1, 3.46) / LH Eric Jones (9-2, 3.60) / RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 4.61)
PIT pitchers: RH Rick Horan (4-6, 3.83) / RH Roberto Higuera (3-7, 5.79) / LH Mike Victor (4-5, 5.17)

#68: LOSS 6-9 ... Frederick's HR is pretty much the only highlight...Ratliff is pushed around, and Kym is wild again, walking 3 in 1.1 IP of relief
#69: WIN 9-3 ... 13 singles and a pair of doubles still equals 9 runs...Simmons and Daley with 3 hits each
#70: WIN 7-4 ... Simmons and Lynn drive in runs in a 4-run 6th...Perry lasts just 5, and Kym--yep--walks 3 more in 1.1 IP, gives up 2 runs

Still 5.5 up on Oakland, righting their ship after a bad stretch.... Groff batting .355, Daley .349.... I'm not picking on HC Kym. He's been okay, with a 3.33 ERA and 34 K in 24 IP. Also, though, 24 walks.... Stoneback suffers a setback, because of course he does. He's now going to miss 2-3 months, rather than weeks. Hopefully he'll be back in early September; haven't I said that before? Multiple times? Sigh.... ELSEWHERE: LA's Greg Sipes wins a 1-0 no hitter over the Marlins, fanning 6 and walking 3.... White Sox ace Ben O'Neal is having a breakout season, at 6-1 and a 1.89 ERA. But he's going to miss the next six weeks with a bum shoulder.... NL Central leaders New Orleans just extended SP Ricky Munoz for five more years. Munoz leads the NL with a 1.88 ERA.... LA is now just a half game behind SF, with the Padres just a game behind the Dodgers, and Portland 2 more games out.

June 20-22 vs CHICAGO CUBS
The Cubbies are also now 32-36, and just ahead of Pittsburgh thanks to us. Only 12th in runs despite having the 4th best OBP and the 5th most HR. Pitching has been pretty bad, at 15th in runs against. Jason Eastep (.285/21/40) paces the offense, while ageless Rafael Maldonado is still kicking it on the mound. And somehow John LaBarbera is 5-0 despite a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of the three regulars added during free agency, only 3B Juan Garcia is hitting well, but even his .291 is over 30 points below his career average. Manager: Tony Thompson, fourth year. Players are kinda meh about him, no one's mad but no one's thrilled. Chemistry: Happy, but with no team captain and only one leader. Can't Miss Prospect? No surprise that the 32nd ranked system has a middle reliever as the top prospect: Seth Broom, already with the Cubs, is a good-not-great pitcher, and will be just fine in his career. 2B Jose Ibanez is an excellent fielder and will hit for average one day, but that's it. The raft of pitchers behind him do not stand out.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (8-5, 4.32) / LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 5.17) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.12)
CHC pitchers: RH Lee Robinson (5-7, 5.74) / RH Tim Ciotta (4-3, 5.20) / RH John LaBarbera (5-0, 3.58)

#71: WIN 3-1 ... only 8 IP for Jackson this time, but still only 4 hits allowed...2 hits for Frederick, only 5 from everyone else
#72: LOSS 4-6 ... White takes his first loss, in the 10th inning...Garfield gives up 4 runs in 7 IP, so a slight improvement for him
#73: WIN 6-5 ... extra innings again, this time Groff wins it with a walk-off HR in the 11th...Frederick triples home 2 in the 4th

Oakland got slapped around some, so now we're up by 8 games.... Down to 17th in home runs, but leading baseball with 77 steals! Go, us.... One week left on the DL for Goldthwait, unless he's going to hand us bad injury news too.... ELSEWHERE: CF Ed Haley is reportedly unhappy in Texas, which he denies. Son, no one is happy playing in Texas.... Miami has surged of late, winning six straight and passing the Yankees for first in the East.... Austin still brings up MLB's rear, at 25-49. Toronto is 26-46, St Louis 27-46.... Two-time defending NL batting champ Dan Dellinger recently came off Arizona's DL and has retaken the batting lead at .350.

June 24-26 @ CALIFORNIA
Now 22-43 since their enviable 8-2 start. Feels like years ago. Batting has declined to 16th in runs, 17th in AVG and OBP. LF Nate Atwater is at least trying, at .261/21/48, but two regulars are below the Mendoza Line. In fact, they're below the line that's below the Mendoza Line, hitting just .145 and .143. Pitching is 10th, with ace Jon Carlsen continuing a solid year. Team chemistry has slid into unhappiness, and catcher Antonio Chamorro (the .145 guy) is unhappy with the manager. (He's probably not thrilled either, Tony.) Oh, and when I did their top prospects last time, I missed catcher Manny Fontane, an actual honest-to-god top-notch catching prospect: excellent batter and good enough behind the plate. All-star potential, a pretty rare bird these days.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (10-2, 3.53) / RH Dennis Perry (6-5, 4.55) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-5, 4.08)
CAL pitchers: RH Ken Demers (2-5, 4.66) / RH Jon Carlsen (6-5, 2.42) / RH Ryan Kuehner (3-8, 5.95)

#74: WIN 5-2 ... everybody but poor Rangel gets a hit, plus he makes an error...7 IP, 8 K, 2 R by Jones, and his 11th win
#75: LOSS 6-7 ... three hits apiece for Daley and Matson, and Josh gets his first HR of the year...bad outing from Perry, a la his April starts
#76: WIN 11-3 ... 4 hits from Frederick, just missing the cycle by a HR...another CG from Jackson, despite walking 6

Division lead now up to ten games, with Oakland really leaking oil right now.... Eric Jones might be pitching his way into a contract extension. On paper he doesn't look like much, but he keeps getting it done on the field.... Josh Matson has gone 5-for-15 since sharing time at 2B with Rangel, and hit his first HR of the year. His defense has been average, which is better than I hoped, actually.... ELSEWHERE: Getting close to the All-Star game, and Hawaii 1B Adam Groff has the 2nd most votes of all candidates at the moment. First place? Another AL 1B, William Swanson. Oh well.... Oakland's seven-game losing streak has moved them farther away from first place (10 games out) than last place (9.5 games ahead of CAL).... Not seeing any big rookie seasons so far, with Texas CF Ronnie Halverson having a good, not great, year: .261/13/36, on pace for 4 WAR, and in the running for a Gold Glove.

June 27-30 vs TEXAS
Even just 70-some games into the season, you figure the Rangers are well out of the post-season discussion. But with Oakland faltering, they're at least moving into the "2nd in the AL West" conversation, only 2.5 games out. Still, they're 8.5 games out of wildcard contention at the moment, so they need to start making noise now if they want to jump back in. Sixth in runs scored, thanks more to home runs (4th) and walks (7th in OBP) than to hitting (11th in AVG). Pitching ranks 10th, with the AL's best bullpen working hard to bail out the 16th-ranked rotation. What happens to SP when they go to Texas? On paper, the rotation looks at least decent; on the field, they've been an absolute mess, with an ERA near 5. And if they can get a few more bats to surround 1B William Swanson (.307/21/56), the offense could become a major force.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 5.16) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (11-2, 3.46) / RH Dennis Perry (6-5, 4.92)
TEX pitchers: RH Mike Kent (3-7, 5.52) / RH Mike Messinger (3-9, 5.70) / RH Greg Buchanan (7-5, 3.81) / LH Bill Butts (7-3, 4.01)

#77: WIN 6-3 ... the Garfield of old showed up tonight, going 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 11 K...Whittington gets 2 hits, but made his 5th error (in just 17 starts at catcher)
#78: LOSS 7-9 ... we blow a 7-2 lead late, with Ratliff left in too long and Kolek getting shelled inn relief...17 hits aren't enough
#79: WIN 8-6 ... our turn, coming back from a 6-2 deficit in the last two innings...Groff homers twice, including a walk-off GRAND SLAM
#80: WIN 6-4 ... we give up two runs late but hold on to this one...3-run HR for Frederick, solo shot for Rangel

Typical AL series here, lots of scoring and mostly erratic pitching.... After his outing in game one, Garfield wants to talk contract extension. The 32-year-old wants 7 years. Too long, my man.... Top prospect Medici is now batting .301 in AAA. My scouts say he's not ready, but maybe I should start paying more attention to stats, huh? Plus, #2 guy Cardenas is batting .321 and playing lights-out defense. Hmmm.... Frederick's big series puts him on top of the AL RBI race, with 78.... ELSEWHERE: Hawaii has opened up the largest divisional lead, at 10.5 games. Every other race is within 3.5 games.... Toronto and Austin, with 28 each, are the last teams without at least 30 wins.... Zephyrs ace Chad Akers fanned 19 Expos in an 8-1 win, the most since Detroit's Raul Bravo did it in 2046.

......

TL;DR Version: Cruising along at 9-4 here, 18-9 for the month, and 52-28 overall. We're first in runs, AVG, and OBP, but 4th in SLG and 3rd in OPS. I feel like we've become a '70s/'80s era smallball team: lots of hits--although fewer XBH than usual--and first in steals, while fewer HR than usual. Hey, wins are wins. Pitching looks okay right now too: 4th in team ERA, 3rd in runs allowed, 4th in K, 5th fewest walks, and 2nd fewest HR allowed. Defense has been troubling, however, at 16th in DEF and 15th in ZR. (With backup catcher Tom Whittington having a crazy .280 def efficiency rating. Wut.) Some individuals are showing up on leaderboards too: Groff leads AL batters at .348, Daley is second at .340; Frederick leads with 78 RBI; Simmons is tied for first with 21 steals; Groff is second with a .977 OPS; Frederick shares the AL lead with 4.0 WAR; Jones leads with 11 wins, Jackson tied for second with 10; and Jon White is tied for first with 20 saves.

Besides team defese, the only negatives right now are a) lack of production out of our DH platoon, b) Rangel's continued cold season (.247, 4 HR, -1.5 ZR!), and c) Stoneback's extended presence on the DL. Most of these can be worked around, hopefully. Chris Goldthwait is ready to come off the DL, so hopefully he can get on track as DH; Rangel, I dunno; Stoneback, we just have to wait.

progen · 04-11-2020, 11:16 AM

Good read!

Bub13 · 04-14-2020, 02:28 PM

JULY 2050

A new month! New possibilities! Okay, probably more of the same possibilities really. Can we keep winning? Can we stay (at least relatively) healthy? Will we make a trade? Maybe yes on all three fronts... Anyway, with the All-Star break and two other off days, we'll have just 25 games this month. Only six at home, which will make for some long-ass travel days. (We'll finish the month on a 13-game road swing, to Baltimore, Miami, Houston, and Oakland.)

July 1 also means International Amateurs are here! And holy cow have prices jumped. Only one player has a lisetd demand under $1M, and his want is still $900k. The highest ask is Panamanian 1B Willie Maya, who wants $11M to be a likely bust down the line. Although...he does look REALLY good. Still, as we went over budget last year we can't spend more than $500k on anyone, so we are out of the running. On everyone. For some reason, the cap on IFA spending is just $6M, so I think I'm gonna have to adjust that upward juuuust a little bit.

And Josh Frederick was named AL player of the month for June, after a month going .391/7/33 and scoring 54 times.

July 1-3 vs DETROIT
Our first sighting this season against the Tigres, who are once again on top of the Central. At 47-41, they're a game ahead of Milwaukee. Third in runs for, and 4th in pitching, and actually only 2nd in home runs. Part of that last stat is having two regulars on the DL: 2B Hideki Matsuro and CF Luis Rodela. Rodela in particular is a loss, as he was batting .292/21/62, and will miss five more weeks. Pitching has been stellar despite missing 2048 Cy Young winner Mike Cote all year, and of late solid SP Alex Hidalgo for the rest of the season. Manager: Ethan Larrison, fifth season, and with only one season of fewer than 90 wins. Chemistry: Ecstatic, despite half the team not liking Larrison, and no team captain. Can't Miss Prospect? 1B Pat Townsand (MLB #8) is already in Detroit; he's struggling a bit, at .219, but looks like a 50-HR guy one day, no kidding. OF Roberto Gomez (#21) also looks like a pure slugger, combined with great defense. Where do these guys find all these sluggers?

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-5, 3.91) / LH Mike Garfield (3-4, 5.01) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.52)
DET pitchers: RH Daniel White (5-6, 5.93) / RH Raul Bravo (9-2, 3.26) / LH T.J. Carroll (10-4, 3.31)

#81: LOSS 0-4 ... Jackson goes the distance, despite giving up 12 H and a pair of HR
#82: LOSS 0-4 ... another complete game, another pair of HR allowed, another loss...we outhit them 7-6 tho!
#83: LOSS 1-7 ... Lynn goes 3-for-3, but there's nothing else to see here

Well that went about as poorly as it could have. The only positive out of this series is no injuries. And the pen only appeared in the last game, so they're rested. Jeez.... Oakland's 8 in back of us now.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's sweep makes them the second team to reach 50 wins.... Just past the halfway mark of the season (82 games), and LA closer Lorenzo Quinones has 30 saves.... Brooklyn's offense is cranking on all cylinders, first in every major offensive category except home runs. And they're 3rd in that stat.

July 5-7 @ KANSAS CITY
Currently bringing up the rear in the Central, at 37-43. Next-to-last place batting and ninth-place pitching are the culprits. Only one batter--LF Rich Humphrey--is batting higher than .270, and even he's on the DL for two more weeks. The money they spent on stud SP Chris Liles last year is finally (ahem) paying off, as he's been their best pitcher by far; but letting go of perennial .300 hitter 3B Juan Garcia hurt, as his replacement (Jake Powers) is only batting .218. Manager: Andy Raaff, seventh season; although he's been managing (four teams) since 2031. Chemistry: Happy, thanks to a strong leadership group and no crybabies. Can't Miss Prospect? SS Jose Valdez (MLB #20) is their best prospect by far (second place is ranked #164), and right now his ceiling as a hitter is sky high. But he's only 17, so that could change drastically; and he's got a glove made of stone, despite his other positive fielding attributes. Not a sure thing, no.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (11-2, 3.64) / RH Dennis Perry (7-5, 4.79) / RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 3.92)
KCR pitchers: RH Ryan Swan (7-2, 3.57) / RH Adam Grossman (2-7, 5.10) / RH Phil Eckert (6-8, 5.35)

#84: WIN 4-0 ... only 6 hits a side, but I guess the 7 walks we took really helped...2 hits each for Daley and Frederick
#85: WIN 5-3 ... 2-run HR for Frederick, and Perry goes a strong 8 IP (5 H, 6 K)...Daley has an 18-game hitting streak snapped
#86: LOSS 7-8 ... a 5-run 1st quickly becomes a 6-5 deficit after two innings, and we can't come back...4 hits for Goodloe

One pitching horrorshow notwithstanding, a decent comeback series after the Detroit detbacle.... Daley losing his hit streak was some hard cheese, but he's still 3rd in AL batting.... Jones is really making a strong case for an extension, isn't he? Except the last pitcher I extended mid-season was Brandon Mercer back in '48. Remember him? He started out something like 15-1, but pretty much went into the dumper after I extended him around the All-Star break. Now he's with the Mets and hasn't pitched at all yet this year.... Third round pick Will McGee ignored my bonus offer and will go back into next year's draft. We'll get compensation for him, at least. And I'll shortlist him, as I still like his potential. (The last guy we couldn't sign? Josh Frederick; we re-picked him the following year. That's worked out pretty well for us.).... ELSEWHERE: Hey Richmond! The best way to ensure your extremely old pitching rotation (average age: 112) stays healthy is to have them pitch 11-inning complete games, tossing 133 pitches. 36-year-old Robby Liantonio agrees, despite needing his arm reattached after that game.... Austin the city may be fun and weird, but their baseball team just plain sucks: still the only team without 30 wins. And hey! They still have former Islander Mel Carrillo, a can't-miss prospect who turned into a perpetually-injured fan favorite: eleven MLB seasons, only four with more than 100 games played.... Draft pick signing deadline came and went, and every first rounder signed this year. The highest non-signee was Washington supplemental pick (#40 overall) 3B Mike Palmer. I shortlist him, as he looks pretty good.

July 8-10 @ MINNESOTA
Third place, at 48-38, just quietly hanging around and staying in the playoff hunt. Second-best AL offense, led by CF Emmanuel Garcia (.332/14/36), RF Josh Jacobson (.324//17/72), and DH Josh Conley (.318/11/40). Add in last year's #1 overall pick LF Jordan Foots, who's struggling at just .209, but has 14 HR and has gotten better every month. Pitching is just 15th, with a boatload of guys on the DL, but ace Conor MacLeod is having an all-star season, leading baseball with 179 K. Manager: Robert Woodard, second season (after 17 with Oakland). Chemistry: Content; everyone is just swimming along peacefully for now. Can't Miss Prospect? Well, there's Foots, ranked #11. After him, it's #64 Jerry Caprio, a 24-year-old SP who may never develop that crucial third pitch. I'm partial to Aussie 2B Lucas Tipping, who looks like a decent hitter and good-enough fielder to become the middle-class-man's Chuck Knoblauch.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (3-5, 4.92) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-3, 4.66) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.40)
MIN pitchers: RH Bryan Crider (2-5, 6.26) / RH Conor MacLeod (10-6, 3.07) / LH Ed Holmes (2-0, 2.51)

#87: WIN 4-2 ... a pair of HR and seven not-so-bad innings from Garfield to boot...Matson goes 4-for-4, but gets stranded three times
#88: WIN 6-1 ... 10 K effort from Ratliff, and Goldthwait smacks his second HR of the series...25th double for Simmons, who adds a single as well
#89: Rain out! Rescheduled for September 6, as part of a (now) double header

Two nice wins, and we manhandled MacLeod too. We're now 11 games up on Oakland heading into the break.... So Adam Groff is tied for second in the AL batting race, and received the 3rd highest number of fan votes for the all-star game. And yet he's snubbed for the final roster, despite finishing only 14k votes behind 1B starter William Swanson. I will send a very strongly worded letter, yes indeed.... Rookie ball Wilmington won their first game of the season, after losing their first 13. Gulp.... ELSEWHERE: What a time to be an Alvarado, as Cincy's Alex and Brooklyn's Roberto each toss shutouts on 7/9, earning first and second stars of the day.... Pittsburgh is the hot squad right now, winners of 7 straight, to bring them back to .500, at 45-45. Washington has dropped seven in a row, and sits in last in the NL East, at 34-54.

......

All-Star Game interlude. This year's mid-summer classic is played in Montreal, which we only discover the day of the game. We place three guys on the team: LF Cam Daley (starter), RF Josh Frederick, and CL Jon White. Groff's snub is unforgiveable, and I will personally set out to destroy the reputation and career of AL manager SG Che, who helms the Brewers as his day job. And diddles small animals, or so I'm told. Anyway, off to the game....aaand the AL wins a rain-swept 7-4 contest at Parc Labatt, scoring all of their runs in the last two innings. Cam Daley went 3-for-5 and scored a run, Josh Frederick got a cheap RBI by walking with the bases loaded, and Jon White fanned two in one relief inning. Brooklyn closer Kymami Rhymes was hung out to dry, pitching three innings and yielding all seven AL runs. Richmond catcher Guillermo Diaz was named MVP, knocking two HR in the losing effort.

A few league notes before resuming normal programming and wrapping up...
...PIT and CIN make a rare, and odd, intra-division trade. PIT send CL Manny Gomez (25 SV, 2.08 ERA), and receives 23-year-old SS Scott Spicer (great fielder, terrible hitter) and 26-year-old 3B Sean Friedman (power but no average). Dunno about this one.
...The "stud" of the International Free Agent class was 1B Willie Maya, as mentioned above. Well the Miami Marlins got their man, but at the eye-popping cost of $29M. WHAT. Dude should retire RIGHT NOW, as his career can not get any better than that. Ten-to-one says he busts.
...so we make a little trade. ISLANDERS TRADE! We finally pulled the trigger on Manny Rangel, sending him to the Dodgers, along with a 20th round pick and a $500 gift card to the local Tires Warehouse franchise, for the next time they're in town. In return we get reliever Alex Mahoney and prospect pitcher Daniel Croft. Mahoney, 28, is a high-stuff power pitcher, with decent movement and control. He's signed through '52 at a reasonable rate ($3.8M). He's been erratic this year (4.98 ERA), but LA's terrible defense may be responsible for that. Croft is 19, a lefty, and a long way off. But he has good ceilings and is worth watching. This also means that Josh Matson moves into a full-time role at second, and we call up prospect Julian Cardenas (finally!) to spell him and provide late-inning defense.

......

TL;DR Version: 4-4 here, and not too bad...as long as we overlook that Detroit series. After 88 games we're 56-32, holding an 11-game lead over Oakland. With 74 games to go, we can't get comfortable. Our offense has really moved into gear, with four season-long regulars batting over .300, and Jim Klein at .293. To them, add new 2B Josh Matson (.342 in 73 AB), SS Bob Goodloe (.305 in 187 AB), and backup CF Joe Lynn (.353 in 51 AB). The pitching rotation has stepped up too, and we now have the 4th best starters ERA. Injuries: Stoneback has seven more weeks; gotta keep waiting. And Dan Brown's lost season will finally begin with a rehab stint in three weeks.

Bub13 · 04-17-2020, 01:42 PM

July 15-17 vs TAMPA BAY
Our second, and last, home series of the month. The Rays are 47-38, third in the East, six games out of first. Stats look generally good: 7th in runs, 5th in pitching. Eight regulars have topped double figures in HR, led by RF (and closer, lol) Vance Wise, at .274/22/59. Former Isle Dante Padilla is getting everyday cuts at 3B and has responded: .277/17/51. Leadoff man Orlando Navarro is batting .332. The rotation's ERA is only 14th, and those guys seem to be holding everyone else back, despite no one having an obviously terrible season. Manager: Tony Bajoczky, 8th season. Chemistry: Unhappy, and 12 players dislike Bajoczky despite his "calm and placid" demeanor. Can't Miss Prospect? An injury to their regular 2B means instant playing time for 20-year-old Jorge Arriola (#4 MLB), who looks a little underbaked for the bigs right now but is hitting .306 in 134 AB so far. Looks like a perennial all-star down the road.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.40) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.40)
TBR pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (6-4, 3.77) / RH Freddy Trujillo (7-7, 5.12) / RH Greg Drake (4-5, 4.76)

#89: WIN 17-2 ... six HR plate 11 runs, and everyone who gets an at bat gets a hit tonight...4 steals too...another CG for Jackson
#90: WIN 11-2 ... more hits for everyone, and Goldthwait puts two out of the park...4-for-4 night from Goodloe
#91: WIN 5-4 ... no HR for us tonight...Goldthwait and Goodloe hit RBI singles in the 9th to pull this one out of the fire...we outhit them 13-7

We just brutalized an entire pitching staff to the tune of 33 runs and 48 hits.... Cardenas is already batting .500, so I'm officially a genius. What? He has just two at bats, why do you ask.... Jesse Ryder cranks a PH at bat over the fence in game one for his first MLB home run.... That two-game homer binge finally put our season HR total over our SB, 96 to 92.... ELSEWHERE: No changes in any standings. Detroit is slowly pulling away from Milwaukee, now 6 games up.... Brooklyn has the NL's best offense, but mediocre pitching. So they just sent their starting 2B, Mike McNeill, to Texas for pitcher Bill Butts. McNeill is replaceable (rookie Harry Lewis is batting .350 this season), but Butts is just barely adequate. Maybe getting out of Texas will turn him around.... Oakland's Ryan Walton is the first batter to reach 30 HR.... The top three batting averages in the AL are all from Hawaii: Groff, Daley, Frederick.

July 18-20 @ BALTIMORE
A terrible April has led to barely mediocre months after that, and the O's sit in last in the East, 35-57. We took two out of three from them in that cruel April. Dead last in most offensive (and how) categories, only DH Mickey Chamberlain (.282/11/38) has risen above the muck and disorder. Pitching is 14th, but their best starter--Travis Heumann--was traded to Cleveland before the All-Star break. They are 2nd in steals, however. Highest ranked player: closer Ken Zeolla, 12th. His ERA is up (4.06, from 2.38 last year), but he's got power to burn and is kind of wasted on this team right now.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (4-5, 4.76) / RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.60) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-6, 4.10)
BAL pitchers: LH Carlton Saunders (7-5, 4.01) / RH Jasper Haugen (1-1, 9.00) / RH Justin Barrington (5-10, 4.19)

#92: WIN 6-2 ... the new keystone combo of Goodloe and Matson goes 6-for-7, 3 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB...six IP for Garfield, then 3 shutout innings for Mahoney
#93: WIN 10-3 ... Perry leaves after four, so Money goes the rest of the way, allows just one hit, fans five...2-run HR for Groff, 3 hits for Lynn
#94: WIN 9-4 ... Goldthwait powers two more out, and Daley hits his 20th...4 hits each for Goodloe and Matson...12 K, CG for Jackson

Feels pretty good when the offense is busting it on all cylinders like this. Makes me wonder what shoe is about to drop, because that's just how I am.... In five starts since the Rangel trade, Josh Matson has gone 11-for-20, adding a HR and four walks. In those same five games, Goodloe has hit 14-for-22.... Perry's injury is a dead arm, but he'll be out just four days and won't miss a start.... ELSEWHERE: The Yankees have the second-best record in baseball at 58-35. Miami is hanging with them, at 56-39.... Atlanta ace Matt Waugh is making a run at a second consecutive Cy Young: 14-5, 1.97 ERA, 190 K, 5.5 WAR.... Giants closer John Richard has saved 33 of SF's 55 wins; LA counterpart Lorenzo Quinones 32 out of 52.

July 22-24 @ MIAMI
After a slow April, they went 36-20 over the next two months, and are right behind the Yankees in the East. Their once-fierce lineup is a little defanged these days, at just 13th in runs and AVG, but are still 5th in home runs. Top hitter Sean West (.293/19/56) is on the DL for two more weeks, however. Pitching ranks 2nd, and is holding tough despite having four MLB-worthy guys on the DL, three of whom haven't pitched at all this year. We swept them to open the season. Highest ranked player: 2B Sean West, and closer Rick Ramirez, both ranked 3rd. Ramirez has been pretty stout: 2.83, 21 saves, 41.1 IP, 60 K, 10 BB.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-2, 3.36) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.45) / LH Mike Garfield (5-5, 4.67)
MIA pitchers: LH Victor Nunez (10-5, 3.01) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (8-7, 5.71) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (8-6, 3.23)

#95: LOSS 0-4 ... we're held to just 3 hits, all singles...Jones is okay through 7 IP, but obviously got no help
#96: WIN 5-4 ... 4 hits from Frederick, just missing out on the cycle...3 hits for Daley
#97: LOSS 6-11 ... Garfield gets shelled, and is pulled in the fifth...four hits from Simmons, 3 from Goodloe

Ok fine I guess we were due for a blah series. And Miami is a hot team right now. Suck it up and move on.... Garfield's continued poor performance this year has me sniffing around the trading block. He's actually much better--on paper at least--than all but one player currently on the block; and most pitchers on the block are pending free agents, just like Mike. Nothing's imminent, at any result.... ELSEWHERE: poor Baltimore has now lost 8 in a row, and is now the worst team in the league, at 35-63.... Cincy's Jose Taveras is having another monster year, at .354/30/72. He's 14 RBI behind NL leader Chris White (BKN), but leads in the other two categories. He also leads all batters with 5.3 WAR.... Arizona's Mat Caldwell and Minnesota's Conor MacLeod each have 203 K, and could set dynasty records for strikeouts if they stay healthy.

July 25-27 @ HOUSTON
So us getting hot in June probably put the division out of reach, but at 48-52 the Astros are just a couple of games behind Oakland for second place. A solid July will put them into wildcard contention too. Just 14th in runs, with Jose Renteria (.293, 26 HR) and Hughie Noonan (23 HR) leading the offense. Pitching is 8th in runs, and they have a -16 run differential. Highest ranked player: closer Alejandro Gonzales ranks 3rd, with RP Sean Pinney 4th. Both are having good years.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.68) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-6, 4.10) / LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.45)
HOU pitchers: LH Chris Harris (8-8, 3.81) / RH Alex Trujillo (2-5, 4.37) / RH Dustin Springer (10-6, 4.27)

#98: WIN 6-3 ... Goldthwait knocks his 20th HR, and we crank out 14 hits total...Perry lasts 7.1, records the win
#99: LOSS 2-9 ... bad pitching all around...Daley gets three hits, and another HR for Goldthwait
#100: LOSS 3-4 ... we can't hold a 3-1 lead late, and lost it in the 11th...11 hits aren't enough tonight

Okay, two blah series in a row. Still in first place by a long way, so calm yourself, Mr. GM.... Stolen bases are still leading Home Runs in the great Hawaii Stats Chase, 104 to 103.... The bullpen ERA is now #1 in the AL, at 3.41.... Our rookie ball teams are...not good this year. Athens (11-21) has dropped nine straight, and Wilmington (8-23) has at least played better since their 0-13 start.... ELSEWHERE: Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado blew out his elbow and is done for the season. He was 10-6 in 20 starts, having earned 4.6 WAR. Hopefullly he can come back strong next year, but even if he doesn't, he's probably still a future Hall of Famer.... Losers of 8 out of 10, Milwaukee has fallen to third in the Central, overtaken by Minnesota. Detroit leads by 7.5 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White leads the NL with 90 RBI, looking for his third straight RBI title.

July 28-31 @ OAKLAND
One last series to right ourselves before the end of the month. June was a pretty bad month for the A's--they went 7-20--and they're 10-11 this month and are barely holding off the Astros, at 51-49. Stats are not too bad: 11th in runs, despite being 4th in OBP and 3rd in HR. Sixth in runs against, for a +10 run differential. Hitting stars have been 3B Ryan Walton (.268/31/72) and LF Felix Reyes (.262/28/72). Top SP Jim Schwartz and Chris Larimer have rebounded from poor 2049 seasons, with ERA over a point and a half lower. Highest ranked players: Walton and Reyes, both #2 at their positions. Catcher Roger Morales is ranked #6: as he's a career .247 hitter with power and little else, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of MLB catchers right now.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.46) / LH Mike Garfield (5-6, 4.94) / RH Dennis Perry (9-5, 4.62) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-7, 4.31)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (4-9, 6.35) / RH Jim Schwartz (11-4, 3.03) / RH Mike Pearson (5-2, 6.18) / LH Chris Larimer (10-8, 3.31)

#101: WIN 7-3 ... Simmons has a 4-for-4 night, and Ratliff fans 9 in 7 IP...Goldthwait strains a giblet running the bases, and will need to lie down for the next 5 days
#102: WIN 4-0 ... a pair of complete games here, with Garfield tossing a 2-hitter and whiffing 10...20th HR for Frederick
#103: WIN 7-5 ... White gives up a solo HR in the 9th to tie it, but Daley and Groff drive in runs in the 10th for the win
#104: WIN 4-3 ... Jackson gives up three solo HR--and we get none--but get 16 runners and score just enough...3 hits, 2 RBI for Klein

Always good to put Oakland in their place: in this case, tied for 2nd with Houston, now 17 games back.... Goldthwait is actually out for the next two games, so Whitton has been playing in his place.... Matson-Goodloe are now batting .341 and .348.... We've hit 104 home runs on the season, and our #2-#5 hitters have 75 of them.... I dumped on my rookie ball teams last post, so now I'll pump the tires on Short A Poughkeepsie: 29-7, and with a pitching staff that is almost literally murdering people this season. But I only consider three of the SP to be anything approaching legit prospect status.... While trolling around the free agents list for any low minors help, I came across a 30-year-old Japanese 1B, Tetsuro Yoshimura, who is suspended for 175 games. No note as to why.... ELSEWHERE: Nearly twenty trades in the fortnight leading up to the deadline; none are really worth discussing, however. No big names moved anywhere, no 35-year-old MR mysteriously traded for three decent prospects, etc.... Philly is hot, Brooklyn is not; they're tied for the NL East lead, with Richmond trailing by 8 games.... San Francisco has 62 wins and a 4 game lead over San Diego. Former Isles first rounder Dillon Ritter is contending for the NL batting crown (at .343), while sophomore closer John Richard is having a huge breakout season: 36 SV, 0.81 ERA, 54 K, 2.5 WAR.

......

TL;DR Version: 12-4 this stretch; started and ended well, but with a weirdly inert period in the middle. Nevertheless, we're now 68-36 and lead Oakland/Houston by 17 games. Cam Daley leads the batting race at .341, while Josh Frederick leads MLB with 93 RBI. I still consider the rotation to be the soft spot in the lineup, but decided against trading for any help. Why? Dunno really...I guess I still want to roll the dice with the guys I started with. Everyone is healthy, and when they all get going I think we can have one of the best top-to-bottom rotations in the AL. I'm encouraged by Garfield's last start, even though I know one game is a ridiculous sample size. Beats the alternative, don't it. And Eric Jones is still bugging me about an extension. He's affordable, only wants two years, and so I'm leaning towards doing it. I'm holding off for a silly reason: the last couple of guys I've extended mid-season have had serious drops in form immediately after signing. Like I said: silly. And yet...I'm waiting before making an offer. I only hope I don't go back and find out he now wants a six-year deal for $120M. In which case I will shoot him.

Bub13 · 04-19-2020, 09:50 AM

AUGUST 2050

One hundred and four games down, fifty-eight to go. August has us playing 29 games, 16 at home. We get a nice 12-game home stand in the middle of the month too. The only divisional foes we'll see are Seattle to open the month, and Houston and California to close it.

August 1-4 vs SEATTLE
They've played .500 ball after a terrible April, but are still mired in fifth place, 49-57. Tenth in runs for, 7th in runs against, for a +3 run differential, oddly. Three regulars have 20 HR, but only DH Manuel Cervantes is hitting at all, at .280. The best pitcher has been Dan Welker, a 25-year-old claimed as an afterthought off waivers from KC. Having their best SP, CL, and the starting SS on the DL currently hasn't helped any. Finances: 18th ranked budget, 7th ranked payroll. The budget was cut from last year, and is projected to go lower next year too, despite turning a profit each of the last five seasons.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.47) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-3, 4.43) / LH Mike Garfield (6-6, 4.59) / RH Dennis Perry (9-5, 4.61)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (12-7, 4.00) / LH Carlos Zenon (8-9, 4.21) / RH Jesus Aguilar (5-9, 4.66) / RH Dan Welker (10-4, 3.15)

#105: WIN 9-2 ... 6-hit CG from Jones, and 3 hits each from Simmons, Daley, and Whitton
#106: LOSS 1-5 ... we snooze through this one, just four hits...we do take five walks tho...Money tosses 4.2 IP in relief, fanning six
#107: WIN 2-1 ... Frederick's 2-run HR does the trick...Garfield leaves in the third, injury diagnosis pending...pen yields just 2 hits the rest of tdhe way
#108: WIN 6-1 ... Ryder starts the scoring with a 2-run single, and we add nine walks to boot...Perry only goes 6, but fans 7 and gives up only 5 hits

Still cruising, but we get the injury report on Garfield, and it's not good: "forearm strain" and he's done for the season. Possibly for good, with us at least.... LH Shane Walker gets his second callup on the season to take Garfield's spot. He was okay in two starts, with a 4.05 ERA.... No more pitcher injuries, please, as the rest of the rotation in AAA has not pitched well this year.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore's Nick Mullins is a heck of a defensive 2B, but he leads MLB with 171 K (in 416 AB). In the NL, Montreal 1B Antonio Maestas has fanned 151 times in 332 AB.... The NL Central is the closest division race, with four teams within five games: CIN, NOZ, PIT, and CHC.

August 5-7 @ TORONTO
Having another terrible season (44-63), and not hitting (11th) or pitching (17th). But they are 4th with 155 HR, and everyone but leadoff guy Clint McDowell has at least ten. Star 3B Tony Mendoza is doing what he can, .267/27/75, but despite the long ball fireworks, no one else really hits for average. And the rotation is the worst in MLB, with only #5 man Joe Payne possessing an ERA below league average. We took two out of three back in late April. Highest Ranked Player: Mendoza, #4. Sam Moore ranks 9th at SS: excellent fielder, has some power, not much for average.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (13-7, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (14-3, 3.38) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-4, 4.62)
TOR pitchers: LH Joe Payne (5-4, 4.14) / LH Frank Tate (2-6, 5.23) / LH Chris Rivera (4-7, 5.19)

#109: WIN 7-2 ... Goldthwait's first inning GRAND SLAM sets the tone, and we cruise from there...Jackson tosses his 8th CG of the season
#110: WIN 8-2 ... Goldy and Daley each get a HR among their three hits, and Groff adds a pair of RBI doubles to the fun...Jones gives up 11 H in 6 IP, still gets the win
#111: WIN 3-0 ... Frederick's 2-run blast is the key hit, and Ratliff fans 14 in a 2-hit effort

That's the first entire series of dominating pitching performances I've seen from our guys in...months? Maybe this year? Anyway, very well done.... Jackson now has 8 complete games, good for second in the AL. He pitched 10 each of the last two seasons... ELSEWHERE: Speaking of complete games, Atlanta ace Matt Waugh has 11, along with 6 shutouts.... The NL player of the week is...drum roll...the recently-departed Manny Rangel, who batted .435 with 4 HR over this stretch. He has 5 HR and 12 RBI in 69 (nice) AB with LA; he had 4 and 20 in 265 AB for us.... A 5-game winning streak has Tampa creeping closer in the AL East race: now just 4 games out of first.... Detroit's lost 6 straight but still has a 5.5 game lead over Minnesota.... And Arizona is collapsing, having lost ten in a row. At 46-66, they're not quite the worst team in the league, but are closing fast on 41-win Austin.

August 9-11 vs BOSTON
Aside from a terrible 10-19 record in May, they've been pretty good; the 56-55 overall mark is deceptive. The offense is inefficient--9th in runs despite 4th in AVG--and the pitching is decent, 7th in runs against. DH Rich Dragos has punched 23 HR, CF Joel Page has 22; neither, tho, is hitting for average (both below .250). We took two of three from them way back in April. Highest ranked player? RP Mark Guest, #12. Looks like an average reliever, but has chops to be a starter. Not sure why he isn't in the rotation.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (1-0, 4.05) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.47) / RH Shamar Jackson (14-7, 4.13)
BOS pitchers: RH Zion Robinson (4-5, 4.19) / RH Jose Ambriz (1-0, 6.00) / LH Jonathan Esquivel (6-10, 4.59)

#112: WIN 7-4 ... Groff's solo HR and 4 guys with RBI doubles pace the attack...Walker is barely adequate, but Mahoney and White toss 3 shutout relief innings
#113: WIN 9-3 ... single, double, and 2 HR for Frederick, passes 100 RBI...HR for Groff, Goodloe too
#114: WIN 5-3 ... more power, this time two HR from Goldthwait...Jackson only goes 8 IP, a severe disappointment to everyone

We're now batting .301 as a team. More crucially, our home run total (116) has almost caught up to our stolen bases (118). Contain your excitement.... Six regulars are batting .322 or higher. That doesn't count Joe Lynn, at .356, who is splitting time in center with Klein.... Our A ball teams are now a combined 25-66.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy has won 9 of 10, but still only have a 1.5 game lead over also-hot New Orleans. Pittsburgh, winners of 5 straight, are only 3 back of the Reds; the Cubs are six out. Tight race.... Checking in on Richmond's Old Man River pitching squad: Robby Liantonio, 36: 10-8 3.20 = pretty good; Luis Otero, 37: 8-7 3.82 = adequate; Eddy Llamas, 39: 4-4 2.26 = nice, but out until next June; Jay Russo, 38: 3-5 5.65 = disaster, and signed for two more years. Hey kids: maybe don't do this.

August 12-14 vs NY YANKEES
At 68-45 and have led the division all season, although Miami (4 GB) and now Tampa Bay (5) are keeping up. Fourth in runs, with a balanced offense that's also 1st in home runs (201). CF Chris Mitchell has 30 HR, and he bats leadoff; 1B Andy Howard has 33. Their first four batters have a combined 114 home runs; Our whole team has 116. The rotation has the best ERA in the AL, and is led by former Hawaii closer/starter/scapegoat Jim Kieffer. The pen is adequate, but they've shuffled Francisco Viezcas (2.56 ERA, 36 K, only 8 BB) out of the closer role, installing former Isles prospect Tim Mitchell (7.42 ERA, 32 BB in 43 IP). Injuries may catch up with them: SP Steve Ashjian (8-1, 3.91) is out for the year, and vet Kasey Sikkema hasn't pitched all season. Three relievers are also on the DL, along with RF Monte Reyna and SS Alex Castillo. They took two out of three from us in May.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (15-3, 3.31) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-4, 4.33) / LH Shane Walker (2-0, 4.66)
NYY pitchers: RH Jim Kieffer (16-2, 3.25) / LH Brian Whitney (10-8, 3.05) / LH Jose Sedillo (2-5, 5.01)

#115: WIN 5-2 ... HR for Goldthwait, and we're up 5-0 after five, hold on from there...7 IP for Jones, 8 K, 2 R
#116: WIN 7-5 ... outhomered 3-0, but we win where it counts...3 hits and 4 RBI from Daley
#117: WIN 3-2 ... 1b, 2b, HR from Groff, 3 hits from Goodloe...complete game, 6-hitter for Walker, fanning 7

No offensive explosions in this series, but rather three very efficient games.... We've just gone nuts lately, reaching 80 wins. No other team has reached 70 yet.... So, 88 HR from our top four (Goldy, Frederick, Daley, Groff), and just 30 from everyone else.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond's pile of injuries and pitching woes are finally taking their toll, as the Eagles have fallen to third place, ten games off the NL East lead.... Ladies and gentlemen, your new second place team in the AL West: the Texas Rangers! At 60-57 and winners of 8 out of 10, they've overtaken the A's and are actually only a couple of games out of the #2 wildcard slot.... Detroit backup C Austin Collins hasn't played much this season, with just 16 AB. The 40-year-old also just announced his retirement at the end of the campaign, bringing a 17-year career to a close. You might recall that he was an early Isles hitting star, moving into a DH and then C role after being claimed off waivers from Milwaukee early in 2035. He went on to start six years for us, before being traded to Portland for slugging C Alexis Mercedes. He's a career .288 hitter, and earned over 39 WAR in his career. He no longer appears on any stats leaderboards for us, but did play in 695 games on the Islands, batting .293 and earning 16.7 WAR. So long, Austin.

......

TL;DR Version: 12-1 to start August, and now on an 11-game winning streak. Don't say anything about peaking too early. Although I will admit that I wish the playoffs started tomorrow.... Anyway, we have a crazy 80-37 record and a 20 game lead over Texas. (Last place California is only 9.5 behind that; if it weren't for us this would be a fun division.) And since I talk about stolen bases all the time, here's a closer look at this critical stat. We have 123 steals; California is second in MLB with 104. Cincinnati has the fewest, at 27. Oakland has the worst percentage, just over 60 (39-for-64). There you have it.

Bub13 · 04-23-2020, 02:01 PM

August 16-18 vs CLEVELAND
Not much has gone right for the Indians this year: fifth in the Central, at 53-63, with 15th-ranked hitting and dead-last pitching. 2B D.J. Grace (.309/15/53), LF Morgan Akers (.286/18/64, and a FA signing), and closer Tim Stoner (29 saves, 1.16 ERA) have been the lone individual bright spots. Former Isles star Jeremy Dunklee--at 40 and closing in on the end--is batting just .228, but has added 14 HR and an OBP of .342. He's also closing in on 2400 career hits and 80 WAR. His career metrics make him a coin flip for the Hall, but he'll be helped by his 2 MVPs, 8 all-star appearances, 5 Silver Sluggers, and 2 World Series wins. Highest ranked player: Grace, the #1 2B in the game. SS Matthew Powell comes in at #5, mostly due to his great defense and his hefty bat (power, but only a .244 career average).

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.50) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-7, 4.10) / LH Eric Jones (16-3, 3.28)
CLE pitchers: RH George Millard (7-4, 4.57) / RH Luis de Lara (9-9, 5.67) / LH Taylor Baxter (4-6, 7.50)

#118: LOSS 7-9 ... yessss, outhit them 15-9 but still lose the game...Perry and Money get abused on the mound, right in front of a full house
#119: LOSS 3-6 ... so the gang that can't hit put 5 into the stands tonight, just great...Goodloe gets a HR for us, hurrah
#120: WIN 3-0 ... leave it to Jones, saving the day with a 4-hit complete game...2 hits each for Simmons and Daley

We salvaged some pride in that last game, especially after giving up eight home runs in the first two games.... OF-turned-3B Lua Ulkini, from the Wallis Islands, tore up his knee in AAA just now and will miss 9 months. Ulkini was an outsider to make the roster next spring as a corner IF and LHB pinch hitter, but that's gone out the window now. He's just 21, so not dead yet.... ELSEWHERE: Atlanta's Matt Waugh keeps on truckin', having won 16 of the Braves 51 wins this year. And he's #1 in ERA, and WAR, and 2nd in K and wins.... SF closer John Richard reached 40 saves.... Brooklyn and Philly are now tied for first in the NL East, each at 68-52. They're 7.5 up on Richmond. Detroit has the largest non-Hawaiian divisional lead, 9 games over Minnesota.

August 19-21 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX
At 61-60 and still clinging to the back end of the wildcard race. Their numbers are decent: 6th in runs (4th in AVG), and 9th in runs against, with a +28 run differential. SS Chris Rock is back from injury, and after 31 games is batting .366. RF Andy Barenberg is batting well below his career number, but is still productive at .287/23/66. Ace Ben O'Neal missed a couple of months, which really hurt the playoff push, but in his 16 starts he's fanned 150 batters. Closer has been a source of woe, and now they've turned it over to former #1 ranked prospect Burton Dick. He should really be in the rotation, frankly, and getting 7+ innings every five days. He'd make a terrific 1-2 punch with O'Neal. Why does no one listen to me.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (11-4, 4.37) / LH Shane Walker (3-0, 3.81) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.68)
CHW pitchers: RH Cory Graulich (8-7, 5.13) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (3-0, 4.19) / RH Ben O'Neal (8-2, 2.06)

#121: WIN 14-2 ... aaagh! Groff injured! ok, just dtd whew...2 HR, RBI for Goldthwait...4 hits for Daley, 3 for Groff...Simmons singles, walks 3 times, scores 3 runs
#122: WIN 5-0 ... HR for Goodloe and 3 hits for Cappuccilli, back in the lineup for the moment...Walker is lifted in the 6th, but Mahoney and Kym preserve the shutout
#123: WIN 6-3 ... Perry walks 5 in 6.1 IP but wins, and we come back from an early 3-0 hole...10 hits, including 2 RBI triples, a very efficient outing

Always good to sweep someone, regardless of the team.... Two injuries: Groff and Walker, both dtd. Groff will sit for the first two games of the next series as I'm not taking a chance with him. Walker might be available for his next start. With no days off, it'll be questionable.... Goldy now leads the team with 28 HR, while Frederick still leads the AL with 109 RBI.... ELSEWHERE: Tight batting race in the NL: Dillon Ritter (SF) .348; George Livezey (PHI) .348; and Jose Tavares (CIN) .346. Tavares is also gunning for his second MVP, leading the NL in HR, SLG, WAR, H, TB, EBH, ISO, while appearing on nearly every desirable leaderboard everywhere else.... Pittsburgh has won 7 in a row and now trails Cincinnati by just two games.

August 22-24 @ MILWAUKEE
Last year's Islander-killers are on the outside looking in: 63-61, 11 games behind Detroit, and 4.5 out of the second wildcard slot. Fifth in runs scored, with CF Oscar Espinosa (.292/29/80) the leader. C William Antonio is batting .313, and leadoff LF Emilio Valdez .317. Pitching is just 14th in runs against, and most of the rotation has been an Achilles heel. Josh Kennedy (6-4, 2.80) has been the best starter, but he has a pending injury. Ostensible #1 Bryan Shaheen has been okay, but that's it. Last year's 17-game winner Jeffrey Foley is out until spring, and four relievers are also on the shelf. Rookie ball Helena is 36-20; but every other farm club is at least 20 games below .500. Odd for a system that ranks #4.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-8, 4.22) / LH Eric Jones (17-3, 3.11) / RH Ryan Ratliff (12-4, 4.29)
MIL pitchers: RH Ryan Crawley (8-14, 4.82) / RH Danny Salgado (0-1, 6.75) / RH Josh Kennedy (6-4, 2.80)

#124: LOSS 6-7 ... Goldthwait's GRAND SLAM is a rare highlight tonight...why can't we get these guys out?
#125: WIN 10-2 ... 4 hits and another HR for Goldy, and 4 hits also for Simmons...HR for Frederick and Matson too...Jones with another quiet 7 IP, 5 H and 2 K
#126: LOSS 1-2 ... Ratliff stakes us to a 1-0 lead into the 9th, but a solo HR and a 13th inning walkoff sac fly lose this one

Blech, let's just get out of town. Bad, good, then bad-should-have-been-good.... Groff is back at 100% and it looks like Walker will be fine for his start tomorrow.... Jackson's knuckler hasn't been dancing lately. Shake it off Shamar!... Philly re-signed veteran SP Andy Goeser to a 3-year deal worth $7.9M per. I bring it up because he was a potential free agent target of mine this fall. Scratch that one.... ELSEWHERE: Portland has been trying to catch up to the three-team race at the top of the NL West, but losing two of their top RP in one game--both for the season--won't help. Add them to the others already on the DL: C, 2B, SS, SP, 2 other RP.... California's Luis Rivera just had a 23-game hitting streak snapped. He's still batting .273 even with the streak; must've been a lot of 1-for-4 games in there, huh.... A whisper campaign is building in Boston against veteran pitcher Mike Wiater. He's a jerk, and a warning against signing older pitchers in free agency: coming off a 5.9 WAR, 302 K year in '47, he signed for four years with the Sox. Pitched well in '48: 17 wins and 5.6 WAR. Wheels fell off last year tho, with a 5.86 ERA, a sharp decline in K, and a sharp rise in BB and HR. This year? 14 relief appearances, 21 IP, negative WAR, and his car keeps getting keyed. Plus, he's signed for next year too.

August 25-28 @ HOUSTON
Part of the middling pack in our division, at 62-66 but only 2.5 games out of second place. Hitting still stinks, 15th in runs and 17th in AVG. 3B Ricky Silva (.285/17/56), 1B Jose Renteria (.284/27/70), RF Hughie Noona (29 HR), and LF David Heathcock (.345) have been good, but no one else has. At all. Pitching ranks 7th, and the rotation has been really good. Outside of vet Danny Ruiz, everyone else has an ERA well below the league average, and Chris Harris and Chris Avalos have been striking out lots of guys. Not much else to say here, except that I hope their #2 prospect Humberto Quirindongo makes the bigs one day, just so I can hear his name announced on the PA year after year.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (4-0, 3.21) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.67) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-9, 4.35) / LH Eric Jones (18-3, 3.08)
HOU pitchers: RH Alex Trujillo (3-7, 4.18) / RH Danny Ruiz (10-10, 4.71) / LH Chris Harris (9-13, 3.89) / RH Dustin Springer (13-8, 4.03)

#127: LOSS 1-2 ... Walker fans 11 in 8 IP but takes the loss...we outhit them 6 to 4 too
#128: LOSS 1-2 ... lather, rinse, repeat...same score, same number of hits...2 H for Groff and Cappuccilli, strong game for Perry
#129: LOSS 0-4 ... nada
#130: LOSS 7-12 ... hey look, we scored some runs!

That last loss was capped off by an 8-run meltdown in the 8th.... I guess this is making up for that crazy winning stretch through July and early August, huh. Well I'm ready for it to end, thanks.... Goldthwait reaches 30 HR, and Daley hit two in the final game to get to 23. He still leads the AL with a .348 average.... ELSEWHERE: Cleveland's DJ Grace (7.2) and NYY's Melvin Lopez (7.0) are the first batters to reach 7 WAR. Atlanta's Matt Waugh leads everybody with 7.5.... Arizona's Mat Caldwell has blown past everyone to lead MLB with 276 K. He's on pace to record 347. His previous career high is 270. (Yes, he is a pitcher.)

August 29-31 @ CALIFORNIA
Last place, 56-74, but at least not heading for an all-time bad season any longer. Hitting ranks 16th, but at least they steal lots of bases. Nate Atwater is having a breakout season at 27, batting .272/36/91, way over his career averages. Ricky Ochoa has 27 HR and is still growing. Pitching ranks 12th, mostly due to ace Jon Carlsen and closer Scott Mahala (22 saves). Three SP are on the DL. Highest ranked player: SS Kevin Lutz, 7th only by virtue of some world-class fielding. He's batting .263 with limited power and is still on pace for 6 WAR.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (12-4, 4.09) / LH Shane Walker (4-1, 3.02) / RH Dennis Perry (10-6, 4.54)
CAL pitchers: RH Jon Carlsen (10-8, 2.75) / RH Mike Hosey (5-5, 4.82) / RH David Fults (1-2, 8.68)

#131: WIN 14-2 ... 10 runs in innings 5-7 salt it away...lots of hits and RBI to go around, and Klein goes 4-for-5
#132: WIN 9-4 ... Frederick's turn to go 4-for-5, just missing out on a cycle...3 singles and 2 RBI for Simmons
#133: WIN 7-2 ... more hits all around, and Perry wins it with six innings of 4-hit ball, fanning 8...3 IP in relief by Money, earning a rare save

The New Normal: Sweep or Get Swept.... Had a brief scare when Groff was pulled in the 5th for a pinch runner, but it was just precautionary. No injury to report.... Stoneback comes off the DL just in time for the September roster expansion.... We're still batting .300 as a team. We did it once before, batting .304 way back in 2039 when we beat San Diego for our first championship.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn's Steve Bozarth tosses the 3rd no-hitter of the 2050 season, in a 4-0 win over Washington. Bozarth, 21, is a rookie and was a 4th round pick in 2047. Meaning everyone--us too--had at least three shots at him and said "naah".... Going into September and no one has 40 HR yet. When was the last time that happened? The 1980s? Oakland's Ryan Walton has been stuck on 38 for nearly two weeks now, and still no one has caught him.... Miami has caught the Yankees in the AL East. See the attachment below--there are going to be some tight races coming down the stretch this year!

......

TL;DR Version: We finish the month on an 8-8 run, and yet for the whole of August we went 20-9. Disparities are cool.... Anyway, we head into September pretty much assured of a playoff spot and most certainly the division. (Magic # is 11.) Still 1st in offense and pitching, for a wild +225 run differential. Cam Daley still leads AL batters at .344, and Josh Frederick tops all of baseball with 116 RBI. And for you farm aficionados out there: three teams have winning records. AAA Santa Barbara (78-40) leads their division by 15.5; Short A Poughkeepsie (49-18) has clinched theirs; and A ball Eureka (71-64) sits in third place, and probably will not see the post-season.

Bub13 · 04-26-2020, 07:03 PM

SEPTEMBER 2050

Last month of the season! (Plus a couple games in October, whatever.) We have 27 games this month, and two in October. Only nine of those games will be on the road, and we close the season with a two-week homestand. For the roster expansion, we add very little. OF Julius Burrows was up for a week earlier in the summer, but didn't see any action. He's back, and we'll work the 24-year-old into the lineup a bit to see what he's got. (For the record: a little bit of everything, but speed and defense are his hallmarks.) Relievers Dan Brown (off rehab) and Nick Kramer will help round out the bullpen. I might bring up an SP for a couple of starts, but my AAA rotation has been really subpar and no one stands out as worthy of a promotion atm. (Olimpio Le Coq comes closest, but he's only a week back from his long-term injury.) Seth Howard has been in the AAA pen all season, but did get some time as a swingman with us in '48; he might come up too, in a week or so.

September 2-4 @ TEXAS
The sad sack Rangers are now 4 games over .500 and contending for a wildcard spot. They went 18-9 in August, all after losing three pitchers, their 3B, and their C for extended periods. All of which is probably not a strong selling point for the future of GM Brett "Not Thanos" Tanos. Then again, all their top players are signed for next year and they've got some money to spend come this off-season. Throw in some tasty-looking prospects, and the result is...maybe some good times are finally coming to town? Worth watching.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 4.36) / LH Eric Jones (18-3, 3.20) / RH Ryan Ratliff (13-4, 4.03)
TEX pitchers: RH Kevin Cahill (6-5, 4.35) / RH Paul Labbe (2-5, 3.72) / RH Mike Kent (7-13, 4.87)

#134: LOSS 4-5 ... Goodloe's 3-run HR in the 9th ties it up, but White loads the bases and gives up the GW hit in the bottom half, dangit
#135: WIN 12-4 ... Lynn smacks his first MLB HR, adds two other hits and 2 RBI...4 hits for Rich, 3 for Groff
#136: LOSS 3-5 ... Groff's 3 hits are almost as many as the Rangers get: five...congrats on the standings boost, Texas

Eh, I guess I could look at our recent play as the team leaking a bit of oil, but I'd rather we stay healthy and take the next few weeks to give some guys some targeted rest. Not worried about the standings or our final winning percentage. Only one thing matters now.... Goodloe is still batting .354 and making a strong strong push to be in next year's starting lineup. Ok, I'm taking you seriously now, Bob.... Ratliff reaches 200 K for the second time in his career (203 in '47).... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn's Steve Bozarth, of recent-no-hitter fame, has been a monster in his last five starts: 43.1 IP, 13 H, 2 R, 53 K, 10 BB, 3 wins. He also has an unworldly *30* defensive rating at pitcher. Damn.... Detroit reaches 80 wins and has a 9.5 game lead over Milwaukee. NYY and Miami have been trading first place for about a week now.

September 6-8 vs MINNESOTA
This is a four-game set, actually, thanks to a July rain out game. The first game counts as a road game, too. Currently 70-65, a couple games out of the wildcard, and a half game behind Milwaukee for second in the Central. Hitting is 3rd in runs, with a quartet of .300 hitters and a pair who've reached 30 HR (including last year's #1 overall Jordan Foots). Pitching is only 15th, but Conor MacLeod is one of a number of guys in the AL Cy Young race. Highest ranked player? Josh Jacobson, RF #3. He's been as advertised this year, batting .325/30/105, and on track to earn nearly 8 WAR. He may also earn his first Gold Glove this year.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (4-1, 3.40) / RH Dennis Perry (11-6, 4.42) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 4.38) / LH Eric Jones (19-3, 3.26)
MIN pitchers: RH Conor MacLeod (15-9, 3.50) / RH Joe O'Dowd (7-12, 5.00) / LH Bobby Reder (9-10, 4.62) / LH Ryan Galletto (8-10, 5.10)

#137: WIN 6-4 ... a 4-run 8th is the key tonight...2-run HR from Daley and Goodloe...30th save for White
#138: WIN 3-2 ... another 8th inning clincher, this time it's Frederick's solo HR...CG 6-hitter for Perry
#139: LOSS 2-3 ... Jackson goes the distance, fans 10...no offense tho, only five singles
#140: WIN 7-1 ... Goodloe's bases loaded triple starts us rolling, and we score all that on 9 hits and 8 walks...20th win for Jones

Jones celebrates his first 20-win season, and we announce a contract extension the same day: we've upped him for two more years at $15.1M per, and a few bonuses added in. Jones wanted a four-year deal, but we talked him off of that cliff. The second year is a player option, which doesn't worry me, even if he starts aging by then.... We're also looking at extending Goodloe, as he has a year of arbitration left and I want to avoid having a host of $$$ arbs in one sitting again, like we did last fall.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle's Dan Welker tossed the fourth MLB no-hitter of the season, a 2-0 win over Toronto. This is the first no-no by a Mariner since Berserker Graham did it back in '25.... Three weeks to go in the season, and the tight division races are thus: Miami (1 ahead of NYY); Philly (2.5 over Brooklyn); Cincy (5 up on NOZ, 5.5 on Pittsburgh); and San Francisco (3 over LA, 5.5 over SD). If the current divisional leaders hold, the wildcard races are: NYY (78 wins), MIL (74), TEX (73), TB and CHW (72), MIN (71). In the NL: BKN (78), LA (76), NOZ and PIT (75), SD (74), POR (72).

September 9-11 vs KANSAS CITY
Playing out the string now, at 62-76. At 17th in hitting and 12th in pitching, it's been a lost season all around in KC. RF Eric Ashlock's .288 average is the high number, and seven regulars are batting below .250. With their top two LF on the DL, they called up 24-year-old Greg Richards, who's batting .455! Ok, only 22 at bats tho. Looking toward next year, what do they have? A mediocre farm system; a top heavy salary structure, although they look to free up about $30M for free agents this fall; about half of a solid MLB-level pitching staff; most of their players rank in the bottom third of MLB's projections, and one (of two) that isn't is a 36-year-old catcher in decline who can't catch anymore and is on the hook for $24M per through '52. So, not great.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (13-15, 4.09) / LH Shane Walker (5-1, 3.56) / RH Dennis Perry (12-6, 4.29)
KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (2-15, 5.87) / RH Angel Cordova (8-3, 3.81) / RH Chris Liles (10-7, 3.09)

#141: WIN 5-0 ... a 10-K 3-hitter by Ratliff, really begging for an extension now...3 hits from Lynn, 2 from Simmons with 2 RBI
#142: WIN 7-6 ... Walker struggles, spotting KC a 5-0 lead in the first...smallball wins this one: 9 hits, 6 walks, 4 steals, 2 SF, 0 home runs
#143: LOSS 0-8 ... Liles dominates us, giving up more walks (5) than hits (4)...Groff walks 3 times, and apparently his failure to hit earns him getting pulled for a PH

Up to 94 wins now, and a Magic # of 3.... Stoneback sees his first action since coming off the DL, getting in an inning at 1B (?) in that third game. Burrows doubles in his first MLB at bat. Clearly another Islanders superstar is brewing.... Stolen bases have now pulled comfortably ahead of home runs, 149 to 139. Very exciting race here.... ELSEWHERE: LA starter Jeff Miller must be an odd sight: a 6'3" sidearm left-hander who barely hits 91 on the radar gun. And his pitch count over his last five starts? 130, 125, 125, 121, 141. That's four complete games (one a 12-inning affair) and one 8-inning outing.... Still no one at 40 HR. Cincy's Jose Tavares has 39, and a trio in the AL have 38. Oakland's Ryan Walton has been the season-long leader, but hasn't hit one out since August 20.... Pittsburgh has lost 9 straight, while LA (+7) and RIC (+6) are moving up.

September 13-15 @ DETROIT
Their 83-58 mark is the 2nd best in MLB, and they're ahead of Milwaukee by 8 games. Still an offensive juggernaut, 2nd in runs and home runs. Only catcher Dan Starr hasn't hit double figures in HR, and he has 9 in just 87 games. CF Luis Rodela (.286/23/72) has missed two months, so they slot in Roberto Flores (.308/19/51) in his place. Sure. Everyone in the lineup is producing, simply put. Pitching is 11th, with a rotation that places 16th, so not so great. But looking at the five starters and it's clear that they've moved out all but one of the non-producers, as four guys have ERA under 4 (translation: really good). They blew us out in three in our first series. Revenge? Sure, but I'd rather get it in October.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-11, 4.32) / LH Eric Jones (20-3, 3.20) / RH Ryan Ratliff (14-5, 3.90)
DET pitchers: RH Raul Bravo (14-4, 3.90) / RH Ross Barnett (7-5, 3.49) / LH T.J. Carroll (17-8, 3.79)

#144: WIN 3-2 ... we hold them to 5 hits, Daley homers, and Groff drives in two...Two hits each for Simmons, Daley, Groff...division is clinched!
#145: WIN 9-6 ... 17 hits, including 3 HR...a pair of doubles from Groff, and 3 hits each for Frederick and Matson...everyone gets a hit!
#146: LOSS 6-10 ... we outhit them 12-11, but our pitchers toss in 10 walks for fun

Even with that last stinker this is a much better performance than our first series against those guys.... Eric Jones' next win will be his 200th, all with us. Not bad for a 21st round pick, huh.... Frederick hit his 30th HR; Daley now has 25, Groff 19.... Looking at non-minimum arbitration estimates for the fall, here's the list and my present thinking: Perry (dunno?), Cappuccilli (meh), Kym (meh), Goodloe (yes, or an extension), Matson (yes, or an extension). There are two others with estimates below $1M.... ELSEWHERE: Atlanta's Matt Waugh joins Eric Jones in the 20-win club. Waugh is the shoo-in for NL Cy Young, let's be honest here.... Aaaand Ryan Walton reaches 40 HR. Our long national nightmare is over.... The Yankees and Marlins have each won 8 of their last 10, and are in a virtual tie for first. Brooklyn has won 6 straight and overtaken the Phillies.

......

TL;DR Version: Obviously I don't know what the rest of the season will bring, but it felt good to actually show up against the Tigers this time. We go 8-5 to start September, and have a very pretty 96-50 overall record. We clinched the division too. Now the goal is to a) stay healthy, and b) not slump. Stay sharp so we don't have a repeat of last year's playoff fiasco. After rewarding Jones with an extension, and writing about upcoming arbitrations above, I start negotiating with SS Bob Goodloe. Let's just say that right now there's been a lot of back and forth...

Bub13 · 05-01-2020, 07:46 PM

September 16-18 @ SEATTLE
The last road series of the season, if you can believe that. Once again a solid pitching effort (5th in runs) is undone by meh offense (11th). 2B Jose Rodriguez hit 28 HR but slumped to just .228, and is now on the DL. Injuries also caught up to aging Mike Wapner, to the tune of just .265 and 14 HR for the year. And for some reason they have a guy with a .269 OBP batting leadoff. Former Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno lasted just 8 starts before going down for the season. For next year, their top three prospects are already in the bigs, so at least they're getting valuable experience. None have played well, but they're still growing. And #5 guy Dan Welker, you may recall, recently tossed a no-hitter. So there's some reason for optimism; which is good, because it looks like the West could be a dogfight next year, with several teams improving.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (5-1, 4.22) / RH Dennis Perry (12-7, 4.52) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-11, 4.25)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (15-12, 4.74) / LH Carlos Zenon (15-10, 3.66) / RH Jesus Aguilar (9-13, 4.51)

#147: WIN 5-1 ... 3 HR, including one by Simmons! Goodloe and Frederick too...4 hits by Daley...7 IP from the up-and-down Walker, only 5 H and 1 R
#148: WIN 9-2 ... 4 HR tonight, including Groff's 20th and another for Goodloe...Daley and Groff closing in on 100 RBI
#149: WIN 6-5 ... we come back from a 5-1 deficit, banging out 3 more HR, yet another one from Goodloe...Jackson gets pulled in the 5th

Very nice. And that crazy homer binge gives us more dingers than steals--154 to 153--in case you're keeping track.... Goodloe has gotten a hit in 28 of his last 31 games. Oh, and we extended him: five years, $61.4M. Fifth year is a team option. We're overpaying him next year, but I think (hope!) he'll be a bargain in a couple years.... ELSEWHERE: LA has snuck past the Giants, thanks in part to a sudden five game losing streak from SF. And LA starter Marvin Diaz has had a quietly excellent season, becoming the third pitcher to reach 20 wins. He's 20-8, 2.38 ERA, 216 K, and 7.0 WAR.... NY is back to a 2.5 game lead over the Marlins, and Cincy is pulling away from New Orleans, now with an 8.5 game lead.

September 19-21 vs TEXAS
Hanging on to some wildcard hopes, at 77-71. They won't catch whoever loses the AL East division, but they're only 2.5 games behind 2nd place Tampa Bay. Star William Swanson hasn't hit for his usual average (.293, about 25 points below his career rate), but now has 41 HR and 106 RBI. He's gunning for his second AL MVP, and will get some votes for his power numbers alone. Rookies Eric Robbins (21 HR) and Ronnie Halverson (23), along with now-injured C Juan Espinoza (16 HR in 82 games) gives the Rangers a strong core going into next year. Pitcher Greg Buchanan has finally grown into his talent, and once injured #2 Bobby Daniel comes back they'll have a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (21-3, 3.18) / RH Ryan Ratliff (14-6, 4.00) / LH Shane Walker (6-1, 3.91)
TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (3-6, 4.64) / RH Mike Kent (9-13, 4.84) / RH Ricky Cruz (3-4, 5.40)

#150: WIN 2-0 ... Jones scatters just 3 hits over 7.1 IP...we combine 11 hits with 8 walks, but ground in 4 double plays
#151: LOSS 4-5 ... Capp hits his first HR of the year, a 3-run shot...too little, tho, as we give up 2 in the 9th and lose in the 11th
#152: WIN 9-3 ... a 5-run 1st sparks us, led by HR from Frederick and Daley...Klein shows up with 3 hits, all doubles, which ties a team record

Sorry, Texas, but I want wins wins wins! And hits, and runs, and etc.... Jones wins his 200th game, and ties the team season record as well.... Daley reaches 100 RBI, Groff now at 99.... Daley is also battling Minnesota's Josh Jacobson for the AL batting crown. Daley is now at .333, Jacobson .332.... ELSEWHERE: The NL batting race is a three person fight: Dillon Ritter (SF) .339; Jose Tavares (CIN) .338; George Livezey (PHI) .337.... Yankees RF Melvin Lopez leads MLB batters with 9.0 WAR. He's batting .305 with 36 HR, but is really making his mark in the field, with a combined +12.7 ZR in 149 games at center and right.... Ten straight wins for the Reds now, and an 8.5 game lead. The other NL divisions are deadlocked: BKN/PHI in the East, LA/SF in the West.

September 23-25 vs HOUSTON
At 75-77, they're nearly out of the wildcard race, but it hasn't been a lost season. The offense has been the real drag on any progress however: especially the bottom third of the lineup, which has combined for a .185 average in over 1000 total AB. For next year, nearly everyone critical is already signed, except for current #1 SP Chris Avalos. I still think having a closer who's making $33M a season is...a bit much, however.

HAW pitchers: RH Olimpio Le Coq (debut) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-11, 4.36) / LH Eric Jones (22-3, 3.07)
HOU pitchers: RH Chris Avalos (12-6, 3.69) / LH Chris Harris (10-16, 4.12) / RH Alex Trujillo (5-10, 4.41)

#153: WIN 7-6 ... a 6-0 deficit is erased in the final innings, capped by Frederick's 2-run triple in the 9th...3 hits for Daley
#154: WIN 6-4 ... 2 RBI hits for Goodloe, and Simmons drives in 3 with a 2b and 3b...9 K puts Jackson over 200 on the season
#155: WIN 6-5 ... 3 more hits for Daley, really reaching for that title...and he wins it with a walk-off HR in the 10th

Roll roll roll. The sweep eliminates Houston officially.... Short A Poughkeepsie lost the NY-Penn League title in six games to the Hudson Valley Renegades. Tough end to a great 52-18 season. Only AAA Santa Barbara looks like they'll see the post-season. No one else is that close.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit and Cincinnati clinch their divisions. Everywhere else is tight: NY leads Miami by 2; Philly by 1 over Brooklyn; and San Diego has surged to a half game lead on SF and LA.... Atlanta's Matt Waugh has gotten better down the stretch, lowering his ERA to 1.80. If this guy isn't a UNANIMOUS Cy Young pick in the NL, there ought to be an investigation.

September 26-29 vs OAKLAND
They're not offically eliminated yet, but at 78-77 and 7 games out from the second wildcard spot, it won't be long. The record is average, their stats are average. Big seasons from Ryan Walton (42 HR, 104 RBI) and Felix Reyes (40 and 116), and the team is 5th in home runs. The outlook for next year is promising: everyone good is coming back, they've got some money for free agents, and an owner who like to spend. I hate to say it, but they're getting close to being really good again, if they manage it right.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (14-6, 3.93) / LH Shane Walker (7-1, 3.84) / RH Olimpio Le Coq (0-0, 5.40) / RH Shamar Jackson (17-11, 4.32)
OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (15-11, 3.15) / RH Oscar Escobedo (8-16, 6.19) / LH Chris Larimer (17-11, 3.10) / RH Mike Pearson (10-6, 4.95)

#156: LOSS 5-15 ... damn...at least we score 5 late runs to avoid the shutout...3 hits for Frederick...three pitchers share all the grief tonight
#157: WIN 7-1 ... 4 hits for Goodloe, 2 HR for Goldthwait...Walker tosses 8.1 IP, 7 K and just 1 BB
#158: LOSS 2-4 ... we outhit them 10-6 but can't string anything together...Le Coq fans 8, but gives up all 4 runs in 6 IP
#159: LOSS 2-7 ... more outhitting, but only solo HR from Goldthwait and Daley make a dent

Oakland is still eliminated, but hey they secure at least an 81-win season.... Goldthwait has 39 HR and 97 RBI. One three-run HR in the next series should do it.... Le Coq has gotten two starts here late, in place of Perry, but I'm going to put Perry back in to get one more start before the playoffs.... ELSEWHERE: NY and Miami clinch playoff spots, as do Philly and Brooklyn. Two will win their division, two will be wildcard entries.... Going into the final series of the season, here are the second-place wildcard races: TB (86 wins), TEX (85), MIL (84), BOS (83). In the NL, SD (89), SF and NO (87), LA (85), and PIT (84). One of SD or SF looks to win the NL West.

September 30, October 1-2 vs CALIFORNIA
Last place in the division has been clinched, and they're at 69 wins. LF Nate Atwater had a breakout season in his first as a starter, .263/39/102. But he's 26 and it will be interesting to see if this was a fluke or not. 1B Ricky Ochoa, 22, raised his average by 30 points and hit 32 HR. He'll need to get even better than that next year. Four SP are on the DL, which may seem like a terrible thing until you notice that the rotation ERA ranks 15th in the AL. The good news is that the guys who won't be back are limited to overpaid or underperforming vets, so there's room for some young guys to grow. Unless they make some huge moves in free agency, they won't compete next year; but maybe by 2052 they'll be getting there.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (22-3, 3.23) / RH Dennis Perry (13-7, 4.47) / LH Shane Walker (8-1, 3.56)
CAL pitchers: RH Chris Muhammad (1-1, 5.79) / RH Jon Carlsen (12-10, 3.16) / RH Mike Hosey (7-8, 4.60)

#160: WIN 7-2 ... Goodloe smacks another HR, Daley with 3 hits, and Lynn doubles and triples...Jones pulled in the 4th, but won't miss any time
#161: LOSS 0-10 ... blech, nothing to see here unless you're a fan of Angels SP Jon Carlsen
#162: LOSS 3-7 ... Walker gets bombed, complicating my post-season rotation plans...two hits for Daley, sealing the AL batting crown!

More mediocre play to close things out. Ok, now things get serious and we gotta step it up.... Hopefully we'll get straight, and best of all: no one got hurt. So outside of Mike Garfield still being out, everyone else is healthy and ready to go.... ELSEWHERE: Texas! In the playoffs! Dogs and cats, living together! It has been 27 years since the Rangers made the playoffs; and yes, they could be one-and-done, but still, congrats! They'll play the Yankees in the AL wildcard game.... In the NL, San Francisco led the West for most of the summer, but they faded in September, lost the division to San Diego, and then missed the wildcard by a game to New Orleans. The Zephyrs won their final 8 games to slide into the wildcard game, where they'll face the defending champs from Brooklyn.... Atlanta's Matt Waugh was just 9 strikeouts away from winning the pitching triple crown.... Two new batting champs! NL: SF Dillon Ritter, .351; and AL: HAW Cameron Daley, .338. Oh, btw, Ritter was a supplemental 1st round pick of ours in '42. So it's like we won both crowns!.... No surprise that Austin (60-102) fired manager Jean Ramirez and GM Marc Ritter at the end of the season. No word yet on replacements.

......

TL;DR Version: We finish on a 10-6 mark, and 106-56 total; we won the division by 18 games. The only dark(-ish) mark is that we lost five of our last seven games. But let's be happy with what we have right now, eh? We wound up first in runs, AVG, OBP, and steals; 2nd in runs against, 3rd in starters ERA, 1st in bullpen ERA. Defense wasn't so hot: 10th in efficiency, 12th in ZR, but tied for second in fewest errors. Six end-of-season regulars batted over .300, and even though he didn't qualify for the batting race, Bob Goodloe led the team with a .354 mark (466 AB), and managed 15 HR and 80 RBI. He more than earned the five year extension we signed him to. On the mound, Eric Jones had a career year: 22-3, 3.26 ERA, 167 K, 5.0 WAR. But unless those 22 wins carry a lot of weight with voters, I don't think he'll feature in the Cy Young race: finishing 5th in WAR and FIP were his only other leaderboard appearances. Stranger things have happened, but I'm not banking on it.

Sizeman21 · 05-02-2020, 02:09 PM

Hope you can finish strong in the playoffs! I always love reading about how the Islanders are faring these days! Keep up the good work Bub!

Bub13 · 05-03-2020, 04:06 PM

2050 PLAYOFFS

Wildcard games get things going:
NL -- Brooklyn hangs on for a 7-6 win over New Orleans, despite giving up 2 scary runs in the top of the 9th. The defending champs are still alive.
AL -- Texas makes a strong run, but the Yankees rally from a 3-1 deficit and win it in the bottom of the 10th.

......

(Before we get started, AAA Santa Barbara loses in five to El Paso. No title for the Surf this year, dangit.)

DIVISIONAL SERIES, Hawaii vs New York Yankees

The 92-win Yankees look like an extremely tough team for a wildcard club. Third in runs scored and runs against, with a +157 run differential. Plus: first in home runs, with 291. Power teams have been our Achilles heel in years past (hello Detroit), so we'll see.... Where do we start with this lineup? Andy Howard and Chris Mitchell: 44 HR each. Melvin Lopez: .302/37/97, all-around solid and MVP front-runner. Ninth-place batter Jon Diaz: 29 home runs. On the mound, starters Jim Kieffer and Brian Whitney are a solid 1-2 punch. Tim Mitchell and Mike Thomas struggled, but have to pitch due to injuries to Joe Erkel and Steve Ashjian. The bullpen ERA ranked 14th, and current closer Jose Sedillo (20 saves, 5.16 ERA) doesn't inspire confidence. But these guys can hit, and if they get to our pitching staff--just like Milwaukee did last year--they could flat-out outhit us and end this one quickly. We've got to come out fast and not let up. Trite, but true. Let's go!

Game One, Saturday, October 9th: New York (RH Jim Kieffer 19-8, 3.62) @ Hawaii (LH Eric Jones 22-3, 3.26). We start early, when in the first Daley walks, steals second, then scores on Groff's single. We then strand runners in the 2nd and 3rd, but can't bring anyone home. NY strikes back in the 4th after an Andy Howard single and a Gabe Lafferty home run. 2-1 Yankees. Another inning goes by, no runs. Fifth inning, we're at bat. Daley singles, steals again; Groff singles, but Daley stops at third. Our first big break happens next, when Frederick blasts a deep shot into the left field stands. Two outs later, after a Goodloe single and steal, Lynn doubles him home, and we're up 6-2. The teams swap runs in the 8th, but no more. We take game one! Bad news, tho: Jones is pulled after three innings with back spasms. Uh oh. Final score: Hawaii 7, NY 3. Hawaii leads series 1-0.

Game Two, Monday, October 10th: New York (RH Josh Haynam 6-5, 3.95) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 17-12, 4.33). After two quiet innings, NY gets on the board in the third after a double, single, and fielder's choice. We return the favor quickly in the bottom half: Simmons singles, then scores on Daley's double; next, Groff singles and Daley scores from second. Groff is stranded at third, but we're up 2-1. In the fifth, Simmons singles again, goes to third after a single and ground out, and comes home on Frederick's sac fly. Next inning, four singles by our guys bring home two more runs. The Yanks try to rally late, but only get one more run on a Melvin Lopez home run. We outhit them 12-5, and score two unearned runs on two NY errors. Final score: Hawaii 5, NY 2. Hawaii leads series 2-0.

Game Three, Wednesday, October 12th: Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 14-7, 4.21) @ New York (LH Brian Whitney 14-13, 3.32). Finally, a defensive struggle! NY strikes early, when Andy Howard hits a two-run homer in the first, his second HR of the series. Meanwhile, Whitney is setting us down in order, and we only manage four hits all game, with one walk. Ratliff is pitching well too, allowing just six hits, but does give up a solo home run in the seventh. And that's it, no other scoring. Final score: NY 3, Hawaii 0. Hawaii leads series 2-1.

Game Four, Thursday, October 13th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 13-8, 4.62) @ New York (LH Mike Thomas 7-8, 5.11). Another fast start for NY, when Lafferty's two-run blast sparks a three-run first. We tie it in the fourth with a four-hit, three-run frame of our own. But Marcus Walker brings two home with his own home run, the Sieb Moleman drives in two with a single in the next inning. We can only manage a few more runners the rest of the way, and bring one run home in the 9th, but no more. One more game, do or die. Final score: New York 7, Hawaii 4. Series tied 2-2.

Game Five, Saturday, October 15th: New York (RH Joe Erkel 18-7, 2.99) @ Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 8-2, 4.21). Finally, no doubts about this one! Five doubles in the bottom of the first help score SIX runs. Marcus Dotson gets some back with a three-run shot in the 2nd, but Joe Lynn (of all people) adds one for us with a solo shot in the third. The Yanks plate two more in the fourth, then things quiet down until Frederick brings home two for us in the sixth. We add one more in the 8th on a pair of singles, and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief! Final score: Hawaii 10, NY 5. Hawaii WINS series 3-2!

Elsewhere ... Miami sweeps Detroit into the dustbin in three straight. In the NL, Brooklyn spots Cincinnati a game, then wins three straight. San Diego does likewise to Philadelphia. Next: Hawaii vs Miami, Brooklyn vs San Diego.

......

Woot! No first round exit like last year! It was close, but we rode our home field advantage to a home sweep. Cam Daley wins the series MVP, going 10-for-22. The bad news is that Eric Jones' back injury, while just dtd, is serious enough to push him out of the rotation. Shane Walker, the winner of Game Five, took his place in this series and will stay in the rotation.

Next: Miami is coming to town!

Sizeman21 · 05-03-2020, 05:20 PM

Great series!

I just realized Hawaii to New York could probably be the longest trans American flight for baseball.

Miami will be a good test as well! Long flights as well

Bub13 · 05-03-2020, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sizeman21

Great series!

I just realized Hawaii to New York could probably be the longest trans American flight for baseball.

Miami will be a good test as well! Long flights as well

Good thing we now have transporter technology, Star Trek style.

Bub13 · 05-05-2020, 12:34 PM

2050 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

The Marlins are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and third time in the last four. All that since they dumped that Jeter fellow... Anyway, not a good hitting team: 14th in runs, 10th in average. Of the regulars, only SS Mario Rivera (.284) and DH Sean West (.272) hit over .250, although CF Phil Cronce hit .320 in less than half a season after coming back from injury. They were 8th in home runs, however, with six starters hitting over 20. Pitching is where they shine: 1st in runs against and the 2nd best rotation and bullpen ERA. Matt Rubin missed the entire season with a torn labrum, but Victor Nunez won 16 games, closer Rick Ramirez (him again) saved 35 with a 1.70 ERA, and three others relievers had ERA under 2. This is a balanced team, and if they got on base more they'd be even better. (Who wouldn't.) We took four out of six from them in the reagular season.

Game One, Monday, October 17th: Miami (LH Victor Nunez 1-0, 2.57) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 1-0, 2.25). Fast start! We go single-double-single-double-single and score five runs in the 2nd to blitz out to an early lead. Meanwhile, Jackson keeps mowing 'em down, registering three 1-2-3 innings in the first four. Then we add runs in the 6th (one), 7th (two), and 8th (one more) to extend the lead to a whopping 9-0. Jackson gives up a solo HR to Chris Bierly in the 9th, but allows just four other hits while fanning 9. Nice to take charge early and coast to a win! Final score: Hawaii 9, Miami 1. Hawaii leads series 1-0.

Game Two, Tuesday, October 18th: Miami (RH Jason Simon 1-0, 6.75) @ Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 1-0, 3.86). An even faster start tonight, as four singles, a steal, and some iffy fielder's choices make for a three-run first inning. Solo home runs in the 2nd and 3rd, along with an RBI single, plate three runs for Miami however, and we're tied 3-3 after three. Nobody scores for the next three innings, with both teams wasting some prime opportunities. We break it open in the 7th, thankfully, when with two men on Groff brings one home with a single, then Matson plates two more with a double. Ratliff tosses a 1-2-3 eighth, then White does the same in the 9th, and we're halfway to the Series. Final score: Hawaii 6, Miami 3. Hawaii leads series 2-0.

Game Three, Thursday, October 20th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 0-1, 12.27) @ Miami (RH Francisco Pantaleon 0-0, 0.00). Someone must have sold us a great batch of pep pills, because once again we come out fast. Lynn sparks a two-out rally to score two runs in the 2nd, and Matson's double ignites a 4-run third, to stake us to a 6-0 lead through three. Perry comes back nicely from his New York debacle, scattering just six hits over six innings, and we give him another three runs in the 6th to boot. Miami dinks another solo HR in their 6th, but Alex Mahoney shuts everyone down over the final three innings and we add another run for fun in the 9th. One win away now. Final score: Hawaii 10, Miami 1. Hawaii leads series 3-0.

Game Four, Friday, October 21st: Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 0-0, 11.25) @ Miami (RH Norm Rowsell 12-15, 4.26 reg season). A much tighter game tonight, with no early explosions. Rich singles home a run in our 3rd, but the Marlins match with an RBI single in the 4th. No one scores from there, and we're still tied 1-1 heading into the 6th. Daley leads off with a double, then with two outs scores on Goldthwait's double. Matson singles him home, then steals second and scores on Goodloe's single. Just like that we're up 4-1. Not daunted, Miami scores twice in their half, on a pair of singles and West's two-run double. Walker stays in for the seventh and puts a couple of runners on before being lifted for Kyle Johnson. He fans West, and the threat is averted. Still a 4-3 lead for the good guys. It stays that way until the 9th, when we salt it away with a trio of doubles and a pair of singles, scoring three more runs for a 7-3 lead, and ultimately the win. Off to the World Series, baby! Final score: Hawaii 7, Miami 3. Hawaii WINS series 4-0.

......

Sweep!!! That's was a surprise dismantling, but what really gets me is how much we dominated their solid pitching. All but two regulars batted over .300, led by series MVP Rob Rich and his .438 hitting (with 4 RBI). Pitching was solid too, with the bullpen being unscored on and every starter getting a win.

The NL Championship series was a 2x2x2 affair, with San Diego taking the first two at home and Brooklyn winning the next back at their place. But the Padres demoralized the Robins with a decisive 7-1 game five victory, then waltzed to a 6-1 win back home. This will be San Diego's fifth World Series appearance, and they're looking for their first ever title. They'll also be hoping to keep the NL's five-year winning streak alive. We won our first title back in 2039 against San Diego; let's hope history wants to repeat!

Bub13 · 05-08-2020, 08:35 AM

2050 WORLD SERIES!

This year's title matchup is a repeat of the 2039 Series, won by Hawaii in five games. That was the first of our three titles. As I mentioned last post, this is the Padres fifth try at the title, and their first since that '39 Series. They also went in '32, losing to the Angels.

You know everything about us, so let's talk about the Padres. Like the Marlins, this is another balanced team: 8th in runs for, 3rd in runs against. Not as much power as Miami, finishing just 14th in NL home runs, but they get on base, score just enough, and rely on solid front-to-back pitching to put them over. They were seven games over .500 to start September and well behind the Giants, but pulled ahead with a 20-7 month to win the division by a single game. This was their third straight divisional title. Nobody hit .300, with 3B Blake Langer (who usually bats at least .320) heading the way at .290. RF Joel Rogers led the team with 31 HR and 96 RBI. They do have some injury concerns: starting C Drew Stofan (a .267 hitter but with great defense) will miss the series. His backup, Jaylen Galbreth, batted just .117 in 103 AB. SP Jimmy Dalaba and Levi Brady are also out, as is early-season closer Malik Stevens. All key players, and all good news for us...Just saying. (For us, SP Eric Jones is still out with his "dtd" back injury, and DH Chris Goldthwait is dinged up but will play, splitting time with Rich Stoneback.)

Game One, Tuesday, October 25th: San Diego (RH Edward Davalos 0-2, 6.94) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 2-0, 1.59). Once again we start fast. In the first, Daley singles then scores thanks to two more singles. We do strand those guys, but lead 1-0. We add another in the 2nd after Matson singles and then scores on Lynn's double. 2-0 us. Things go a little pear-shaped in the third, however. With runners on second and third, Matt Israel doubles them both home, and scores on Rogers' single. 3-2 bad guys. But are we fazed? No! We add two more runs on Groff's double and three other runners, and we're back on top 4-3 after three. No one scores--or gets on base--until the bottom of the fifth, when Cappuccilli's two-run double sparks a three-run inning, extending our lead to 7-3. With two outs and a runner on in the Padres 7th, Jackson shows he was left in too long, giving up back-to-back doubles and allowing two runs. But Johnson stifles the rally, tosses a silent 8th, and gives way to another 1-2-3 White 9th and a game one home victory! Final score: Hawaii 7, San Diego 5. Hawaii leads series 1-0.

Game Two, Wednesday, October 26th: San Diego (RH Brian Simon 2-0, 2.70) @ Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 1-1, 3.63). This was not an easy game for the faint of heart. After an unusually quiet trio of innings, we finally put something on the board in the 4th with a Matson RBI single. Groff sparks another two runs in the 5th, and Lynn's double in the 6th plates Goodloe. 4-0 Hawaii after six! But then... A solo HR in the 7th plates the Padres first run. Feeling it now, they tie it up on Rogers' two-run double in the 8th, and our nice lead has vanished. We go quietly in the 8th, as does San Diego in the 9th thanks to yet another solid outing from White. Then, with two outs and two on in the 9th, up steps Rich Stoneback. The former 40-HR guy spent much of this season on the DL, and only batted six times in September after returning to the lineup. So what does he do? He wastes no time, lacing the first pitch from closer Tyler Trovato into the left field stands, and bing bang boom, a 3-run walk-off home run! Final score: Hawaii 7, San Diego 4. Hawaii leads series 2-0.

Game Three, Friday, October 28th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 1-1, 5.59) @ San Diego (LH Tim Chandler 2-0, 1.99). Off to Petco Park, where we haven't played since 2039. Not much has changed, really... Anyway: the fireworks start early, as usual this off-season. Groff doubles home a run in the 1st, but that's matched by Rogers' solo home run in the bottom half. In the second, a Simmons soft liner into right plates another run for us, and it's 2-1 after two. No runs in the third. Next inning, with one out Lynn triples into the left field gap, then comes home on Rich's single. One inning later Frederick singles Daley home, and it's 4-1 Hawaii. San Diego keeps putting runners on, but Perry never lets more than one on at a time, and holds the Padres scoreless until the 7th, when Langer triples home Israel, and it's now 4-2 us. But Langer fails to score, so they get no closer. We add another run on a pair of singles and a sac fly in the 8th, putting the lead back to three runs. And then you-know-who (Jonathan White, that's who) comes into the 9th and sets them all down again, and suddenly we're One. Game. Away. Final score: Hawaii 5, San Diego 2. Hawaii leads series 3-0.

Game Four, Saturday, October 29th. Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 1-0, 6.75) @ San Diego (RH Tim Cannaday 1-0, 0.00). I'm not feeling great about having the untested Walker out there for the possible clincher, but then the Padres roll out a reliever who made only two starts all year, and his first post-season start ever. Despite the uncertainties on the mound, it's actually a pitcher's duel for much of the game. San Diego gets things going early, with an Israel RBI double in the 1st, but it stays 1-0 into the 6th inning. Unfortunately then it's San Diego again, with Nick Lehto getting the inning's RBI single: 2-0 them. Walker then loads the bases in the 7th, Kym in relief allows two of them to score, and we're in a four run hole. We get one in the 8th after another Lynn triple and Rich RBI single, but can get no closer. Cannaday went only 4.1 innings, but two relievers allow us only three runners over the final 4.2 innings. No sweep this time, dang. Nervous? Me? Final score: San Diego 4, Hawaii 1. Hawaii leads series 3-1.

Game Five, Sunday, October 30th. Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 3-0, 3.04) @ San Diego (RH Edward Davalos 0-3, 8.62). 22-game winner Jones may be out, but his replacement in the #1 slot, Jackson, has more than filled in. And again we help him out early against the struggling Davalos when Groff lines a first-inning pitch over the wall in deep left, scoring two. Nothing new happens until the third, when--two men on, two outs--Matson hits one in the exact same spot, and we're up 5-0! We small-ball our way to another run in the 4th, after a pair of singles, a fielder's choice, and a (shorter this time) Groff fly ball bring another run home. 6-0! We can't be stopped! Then four more hits--mixed in with a pair of walks--bring home three more in the 6th, and we can see the end now. 9-0! Just four more Padres innings to get through! Jackson loads the bases in the 6th on two walks and a HBP, but strands all three. Nine outs to go! Jackson stays in, gives up a single, but forces a ground out to end the inning. Six outs to go! Jackson is still in, and getting stronger: a 1-2-3 inning on just nine pitchers. Three outs to go! We go quietly in the 9th, and manager Sargent decides to let Jackson try to finish it out. After a leadoff Rogers single, Lehto strikes out and Tony Moreno flies out. One out to go! Then...let's just say it's good we had a nine-run lead. PH Ricky Beard reaches on a dropped fly ball (!?!), Rogers scores on a Preston Eckles single, then Beard scores on a Galbreth double. It's now 9-2, two runners are on, and still Jackson is left in. The next batter is Cory Hopkins, who hits an 0-1 pitch on the ground to short, Goodloe snags it and throws to first and it's...it's in the dirt! E6! Eckles scores, and somehow a two-out rally has gifted the Padres three runs and a (very) faint glimmer of light. Sargent of course, leaves Jackson in, because why not? Thankfully, my soon-to-be conniption fit disappears when Israel hits a grounder that is actually CAUGHT AND HELD ON TO by Goldthwait, who steps on the bag and ends the game. And the season. HAWAII WINS!! AT LAST AT LAST WE WON AGAIN. Final score: Hawaii 9, San Diego 3. HAWAII WINS SERIES 4-1!

......

Wow wow wow. Finally, our long national nightmare is over. Okay okay, calm down. This IS our fourth title, but it's our first in six years, and there have been some truly heartbreaking playoff losses in the interim, including two in the Series. This year, at least, we got leads and held them, and our pitching actually held up, even without a power-pitching ace that everyone says you absolutely have to have. MVP of the series goes to Joe Lynn, who went 11-for-20, drove in two runs, scored a bunch, and seemed to hit a triple nearly every night. I have no problem with that. Nearly the entire team played well (although Goodloe, who hit .354 in the regular season, went 1-for-19 here), and the win was definitely a group effort. Once again the bullpen was mega-clutch: 7.2 IP, 6 H (3 by one guy), 12 K, and just one run allowed. I think that's the only run our playoff bullpen has allowed in over two seasons. This is the fourth title for Adam Groff and Eric Jones, the only guys who've seen all four of our wins. Simmons notched his third title. Everyone else now has one or two, with every pitcher but Jones getting his first title win.

And finally the NL stranglehold on the Series is broken! I'm surprised to see, however, that we had also won the last three AL titles; in fact, no AL team that isn't us has won the World Series since Toronto did it way back in 2035, and LA before them in '32. So that's just six AL wins in the last 21 seasons. But who cares. It's our title now. Let's savor it a while.

Sizeman21 · 05-08-2020, 11:20 AM

Excellent series!

Bub13 · 05-11-2020, 08:42 PM

2050-51 OFF-SEASON, part one

World Champions! It feels great, and the trophy is awfully shiny. But this hangover just will NOT go away...

But since a GM's work is never done, it's time to move on to the next round. Goodbye 2050, hello 2051.

......

First of all, player awards are announced:

AL Gold Glove: P Greg Drake, TB (first); C John Lane, CLE (2nd); 1B Jim Timmer, CHW (5th); 2B Alvin Phillips, KC; 3B JJ Simmons, HAW (3rd); SS Alex Castillo, NYY (11th); LF Aaron Lenhard, SEA (3rd); CF Jesus Monterroso, MIA; RF Clint McDowell, TOR (2nd)
NL Gold Glove: P Chad Akers, NO (3rd); C Willie Alonzo, NO (4th); 1B Tony Moreno, SD (5th); 2B Brendan Polchlopek, CHC (2nd); 3B Blake Langer, SD (3rd); SS Finley Osborne, ATL; LF Jesus Cabrales, PIT (2nd); CF Dan Politz, POR; RF Ed Silverio, WAS (4th)

AL Hoyt Wilhelm: Rick Ramirez, MIA [9-5, 35 SV, 1.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.7 WAR]
NL Hoyt Wilhelm: John Richard, SFG [3-4, 50 SV, 1.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.7 WAR]

AL Silver Slugger: C Arturo Sena, SEA (3rd); 1B William Swanson, TEX (2nd); 2B D.J. Grace, CLE (4th); 3B Andrew Taylor, BOS; SS Bob Goodloe, HAW; LF Cam Daley, HAW; CF Melvin Lopez, NYY; RF Josh Jacobson, MIN (2nd); DH John Sheets, DET (3rd)
NL Silver Slugger: P Sean Kropp, AUS (3rd); C Lance Powell, CIN (6th); 1B Alfonso Contreras, NYM (2nd); 2B Alfonso Torres, ARI (2nd); 3B Dave Rivera, CIN; SS Ben Grossman, BKN; LF Mark Schrock, PHI; CF Drew Elliott, SFG (3rd); RF Jose Taveras, CIN (3rd)

AL Rookie of the Year: CF Ezequiel de la Rosa, CHW [.275/27/83, 32 SB, 5.0 WAR]
NL Rookie of the Year: SP Steve Bozarth, BKN [13-7, 2.82 ERA, 207 K, 4.2 WAR]

AL Manager of the Year: Paul Trashini, MIA (3rd season)
NL Manager of the Year: Alex Cora, Jr, BKN (1st season!)

AL Cy Young Award: Joe Erkel, NYY [18-7, 2.99 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 258 K, 4.9 WAR] (Eric Jones gets no 1st place votes, finishes 5th)
NL Cy Young Award: Matt Waugh, ATL [22-7, 1.89 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 314 K, 9.4 WAR]

AL MVP: OF Melvin Lopez, NYY [.302/37/97, 9.4 WAR] (Cam Daley finishes 4th BOOOOOOOOOO)
NL MVP: OF Jose Taveras, CIN [.343/44/110, 7.9 WAR] (2nd MVP for Taveras; Matt Waugh gets 2 first place votes]

......

Some league news...
...No owners are gunned down or packed off to federally-sponsored minimum security day camp this year, but two team sales are announced after the World Series. First, David Montgomery, Jr., sold the Philadelphia Phillies to local entrepreneur Tony Limon, 57. Limon says he wants to win while still earning a buck, and already has designs on increasing profit while maintaining quality on the field. The Phillies won 96 games this year, and have made the playoffs 7 of the last 8 seasons, so he's starting at a high level. Next, the Austin Outlaws were acquired by 53-year-old "personal services" billionaire Nelson Salgado. Rumors persist that Salgado has already cut the budget by nearly $20M, and while a recent "You Wish You Had My Life" magazine spread described Salgado as an easy-going sort, it's expected that he will take a more hands-on approach than his predecessors, likely wringing out whatever small amount fun is left for employees of the floundering club. "Nelson likes money," said Giants pitcher--and nephew to Nelson--Mike Salgado. "That's not exactly a family secret." The Outlaws finished 60-102 this season, and has spent more years as a doormat than a contender. Their last two playoff appearances came in 2043 and loooong ago in 2021. Hopefully Salgado has something better up his sleeve than that 22 Year Plan from the last regime.

...In addition to those changes, there will be 13 new big league skippers next spring. Most notable among the changes was the move by the Hawaii Islanders, letting five-year manager Matt Sargent walk. "It's time for a new direction," said GM Jim Smith. (Smart-aleck observers might note that if you're on top, the only "new direction" is down.) The 78-year-old GM announced that Chris Kenney, 31, would move from his Bench Coach position into the on-field leadership role. "Chris may be young, but he's already seasoned. He's spent seven years managing in our system, and one year as an assistant with the big club. The players know him, and like him." Kenney, who could not be reached for comment, was a 23rd round draft pick by the Islanders back in 2040, and spent three years in rookie ball before beginning his coaching career after retiring at age 23. Elsewhere: Also of note is the rehiring of David Baker by the Giants; Baker managed the team from '44 to '46, failing to finish higher than fifth. This is not an auspicious hire by a team that faded late and missed the playoffs by one game, and played their last post-season games in 2034. (At least they won the Series that year; definitely the epitome of Go Big or Go Home.) The longest-tenured departure is Tampa's Tony Bajoczky, who retired after eight years with the Rays. And surprisingly, Detroit let five-year head Ethan Larrison go, despite winning the AL Central for the last four years.

...Hall of Fame voting opens now. There are 38 players on the ballot, and no sure things in my opinion. There are a couple former Islanders on the ballot this year: SP Leon Casillas and OF Josh Drayton. Casillas was the best pitcher in baseball from '35 to '40, winning three Cy Youngs. Then injuries set in, and at 32 he was pretty much done. He lingered on for a couple more seasons but probably lost any real shot at the Hall. He appeared on 35% of ballots last year, his first year of eligibility. Drayton was a decent player but is a no-hoper as a Hall candidate. He was our first bona fide real CF, after coming to us in the summer of '35 and starring through '38. He never reached the lofty heights he hit with us (3 100-RBI seasons, 113 HR over that stretch), but did win a title with SF. He may not make it to next year's ballot. In the end, I vote for five guys: C Tyler Markey (54% last year, his 5th), SP Orlando Ramos (69%, 9th), 1B Nate Rogers (61%, 1st), 1B Cisco Videira (11%, 7th), and CL Ethan Villines (73%, 2nd). I would bet that Villines will make it, Ramos might, but no one else will. Videira, who reached 3000 hits but was never a real star, will have to rely on the Veteran's Committee in a couple of years. Ramos was a strikeout king--2nd all time--and should be in, but will probably haeca to wait like Videira. Rogers and Markey will probably get there in a year or three.

......

And now back to us:
...Owner Alexis Pagan makes his annual "Sojourn Amongst the Plebes" as he likes to call it. He's all back-slapping-happy with the championship trophy, but then turns serious: his "internal numbers" projected a $21M profit this year. Instead we came home with just under $3M. "Disappointing," he says, eyeing his now one-year-old superyacht. "Anyway," he goes on, "next year we'll want some new and improved revenue streams. You can do it, Jim. I have faith! Oh, and let's keep this trophy here, where it belongs. Good? Good. See you in a year." One piece of good news, however: he again raises the budget, by six million, up to $220M. As we may be shedding significant salary this off-season (see below), that could be some very good news indeed, in several ways.

...'Tis also the season for options and arbitrations. One team option (Klein), one player option (Rich), and two opt outs (Groff and Stoneback). These will absolutely define next year's payroll, especially the Groff and Stoneback decisions: these four players make up about $70M in payroll, more if Stoneback returns (he'd be due a $10M raise). In addition, five players are going to arbitration: Dennis Perry, Nick Kramer, HC Kym, Josh Matson, and Jerry Cappuccilli. Not everyone will be getting an offer. Finally, five others--Dan Brown, Mike Garfield, Chris Goldthwait, Mark Money, and Ryan Ratliff--are going straight to free agency. All are compensation eligible, and several will receive qualifying offers. We'll lay them all out here:

ARBITRATIONS
SP Dennis Perry -- makes $5.25M -- we offer $6M
RP Nick Kramer -- makes $750k -- we offer $850k
RP HC Kym -- makes $2.6M -- we decline to offer anything
2B Josh Matson -- makes $500k -- we offer $3.8M
OF Jerry Cappuccilli -- makes $4.293M -- we offer $4.8M

Matson and Capp will probably come in higher than what we offer; Perry probably not. Don't assume that everyone who signs here will be on the roster come April.

PENDING FREE AGENTS
RP Dan Brown -- makes $1.2M -- no qualifying offer
SP Mike Garfield -- makes $18.6M -- will get qualifying offer
1B Chris Goldthwait -- makes $13.5M -- will get qualifying offer
RP Mark Money -- makes $1.0M -- no qualifying offer
SP Ryan Ratliff -- makes $7.2M -- will get qualifying offer

No one I've ever qualified has taken me up on the offer. I expect nothing different this year. Goldthwait just might, as his ask is right around the $13M qualifier. Ratliff wants $19M per for four years (plus four more years after an opt out). I'll let him walk. The 32-year-old Garfield wants a straight-up $22M per for eight years. No thanks. Money is a tougher decision, as he struck out an amazing 152 in 118 IP; but wants a quadrupled salary, and I'm trying to shed in various places. We'll see if he's willing to talk--or even still available--in December. Brown was not good after his injury, and won't be missed.

...and the contract news is in: Rich exercises his player option and will be back for '51. We make the tough decision to not pick up Klein's team option. That will trim $6.1M and allow some up-and-comers to compete for a roster spot. Burying the lede: Groff AND Stoneback use their opt outs and will test free agency. We would have been on the hook for $68M combined for them in '51. My consideration now is this: do I want either or both of them back, under a different contract? Groff I definitely want back. He'll probably ask for a huge contract, but I wonder if I can front-load something short term and get us out from under a big deal if the 36-year-old declines fast. Stoneback, however, I'll wave goodbye to. He's been a dynamite hitter for us, but can't stay healthy. He's now played seven seasons with us, with his games played each year amounting to 35, 158, 114, 75, 89, 90, and 48. Too pricey for a physical wreck, and not going after him should allow us to afford Groff.

What all this means for next year's payroll is this: assuming we win all the above arbitrations, and not including a potential Groff contract, we currently project to have $104.4M in payroll for 2051. Groff made $37.5M last year; let's assume he wants, say, $45M for '51 and we agree to it. That still means a payroll of $149M. Salaries in 2050 were around $190M, and we'll be working with a slightly larger budget for '51. So less payout in salary, and more income from the boss. (It's the American Dream!) Even if I funnel the entire budget increase into scouting and development (likely), and figuring staff increases and other increases in expenses, that gives me at least $30M to go after free agents. Or so says the back of this envelope I'm holding.

Next post I'll detail the roster position-by-position, and lay out any pending decisions and possibilities for the coming off-season.

Bub13 · 05-17-2020, 09:20 AM

STATE OF THE FRANCHISE REPORT, NOVEMBER 2050

Presenting a top-down look at the overall status of the Hawaii Islanders franchise, covering just about everything except stadium concessions and parking. (Lots of parking btw, no problems there. And the food options? Amazing.) So open up a can/bottle/mason jar of your favorite, and read on.

FINANCES
The budget has gradually crept up over the years, and was recently raised to a franchise-high $220 million. That puts us 8th in the league, and just $2M behind the Yankees. (LA leads the majors with a whopping $302M; Baltimore is the chintziest, at $93M.) We have the biggest budget in our division, thirty million ahead of second-place Oakland. Our expenses currently come in at $210M, which makes for just a $10M gap between budget and expenses. (Although I'm wondering if that will drop once our free agents come off the books. Probably?) We led the league in attendance and were fourth in gate revenue. (Helped by all those playoff games, of course.) One thing that hurts the bottom line is our media revenue: we get a combined $74M, which ranks us 32nd and is less than half of what the Yankees and Dodgers make. We are currently in negotiations for the next media contracts, so this could change, hopefully for the better.

Despite leading the league in overall attendance, our average game numbers (45.2k per game) were down a couple thousand from 2049. We sold 20.1k season tickets, which was also down slightly. We are not planning on raising ticket prices for '51, so sales should rebound somewhat. Our market size still ranks as Below Average, although internal polling shows our fan loyalty rose into the nebulous "Very Good" range, and fan interest remains at or above 100. With a number of popular players entering free agency, however, that last number will likely be tested. (Our staff metrics guy calls it "facing some downward pressure.")

Our overall financial health is pretty good. The budget increase allowed me to raise our scouting and developmental budgets for next year, something I had not been able to do for several seasons; in fact those budgets have declined over the last five years or so. We also raised our draft budget, although how much of that we end up spending won't be determined until the actual draft. The board wants us to make over $20M in profit next year: that too will be a challenge.

PERSONNEL
With several openings left to fill, our staff budget is $5.6M, which ranks among the league's highest. One reason manager Matt Sargent was let go, frankly, was his salary ask of $3M. Instead, we've promoted bench coach Chris Kenney, and now have the (somewhat dubious) distinction of having a manager who is the lowest-paid member of the MLB staff. That may change, as the Assistant GM and Bench Coach positions have yet to be filled. We also need a new pitching coach for our Short A squad. All big league staff are contracted through at least 2052, and the highest-paid non-GM contract (Scouting Director Moises Patino, making $1.1M) goes through 2054.

......

PLAYERS
The heart of the team, and what really matters. Money and coaches are irrelevant if you don't have the horses to get it done and bring it home. (No more platitudes, please.) This will be a position-by-position overview, and will include current MLB players as well as the highest ranked prospects, with a concluding outlook for each position.

Catchers
Starter Rob Rich was a complete non-factor at the plate (.252/2/52, 0.7 WAR), but continues to be a strong defensive receiver. He re-upped for another year at $5M, and is the best option going forward, unless something better comes along via trade. I don't believe the current crop of free agents would help us here. Backup Tom Whittington (.244/1/9) doesn't offer much right now, but is cheap and is an above-average receiver. His advanced stats were better than Rich's, so he might get more AB this coming season. Combined, these two played at replacement level (1 WAR). Currently they are the only catchers on the 40-man roster.

Top Prospects
Tom Whittington (MLB) -- see above
Bentley Kolb (Rookie) -- still just 19; batted okay in '50 (.253, .346 OBP); decent receiver with some batting upside; worth watching
Justin Saffer (AAA) -- batted .310 and a team captain; terrible ceilings and not much behind the plate; not really big league material

OUTLOOK: I would love more production from these guys, but that could be a vain hope. Vet Lance Powell (38) is the best option in free agency, but while he can still hit, he's a train wreck behind the plate. I may probe around the league for trade options, but won't sacrifice solid defense just for a few more WAR points. The other AAA guy is 32-year-old Brett Monize, who has decent MLB experience and will push Whittington in camp if I re-sign him. Otherwise, it's pretty barren on the farm save for last year's #2 pick William Bustos: a good catcher but lost at the plate, a common theme here.

...

First Basemen/DH
Adam Groff will be tendered a new contract offer, so I expect he'll be back either at first or DH. His range has vanished, but otherwise is a solid fielder, and he still wields a powerful bat. Last year's backup and regular DH, Chris Goldthwait, won't be back. The other current option is Faustino Whitton, who at 36 has little left in the field but can still hit lefties. He's a platoon option here or at DH should we keep him around. Jerry Cappuccilli saw some time here as well, and could also be a DH platoon option with Whitton, as he's a lefty who looks strong against RHP.

Top Prospects
Jules Medici (AA/AAA) -- star of the future; finally hit for power (18 HR in AA/AAA); still needs to grow some, so will likely start in AAA
Tim Chapman (AAA) -- hit .310 in an injury-riddled season; power ceiling has dropped, but looks decent elsewhere; very fast too
Frank Ruvalcalba (Short A) -- better CF prospect with speed and range; subpar hitter, tho, who will probably get exposed once he moves up the ladder

OUTLOOK: Groff is still The Man, and hopefully will be for a few more years. I'm trying to be patient with Medici, who still rates as our next stud hitter. There's not much behind these guys, outside of Steve Rhodes (A), a decent hitting prospect with awesome intangibles.

...

Second Baseman
Josh Matson received a battlefield promotion after the mid-season trade of Manny Rangel, and hit well (.303/.356/.448). His bat should keep him employed for a while, but his defense is substandard. Decent glove, but range and DP ability are just average. Backup Julian Cardenas finally got the call, and while he didn't hit (.190), he's an excellent defender. He'll be back as a late-inning defensive sub, and probably see some time at first too. His arm isn't up to playing the left side, sadly. If Matson hits at all, I'll be satisfied here.

Top Prospects
Julian Cardenas -- see above
Erik Griffin (SA/A) -- decent fielder, hitter; future backup most likely; can play LF; good runner; 8th round pick in '48
Francisco Salcedo (AA/AAA) -- another reserve-level prospect; better fielder than hitter, but at 22 might still surprise; stud OF defense but no range

OUTLOOK: More of the same, please. We'll miss Rangel's Gold Glove defense, but Matson should be a much better hitter. Hopefully Cardenas won't get too cranky about his backup role and spot starts. There are no other prospects who rate at the moment, so depth could be a concern.

...

Third Basemen
J.J. Simmons has no power (career high 2 HR last year) at a traditional power position, but brings everything else. He batted .311 with 79 walks and 32 SB thrown in, and won his third consecutive Gold Glove. And yet, I may swap him with Bob Goodloe (see below), as he's much rangier than Mr. Bob. Jesse Ryder is the current backup (also see shortstop). Depending on how that switch goes, we may yet regret trading slugging prospect Dante Padilla last year (he hit 29 HR with Tampa Bay).

Top Prospects
Lua Ulkini (AAA) -- will miss camp with an MCL injury; not great at anything, but well-rounded enough to compete for corner IF/OF backup duty one day
Joe Mikell (AAA) -- average UFA signing, and will return there this fall
Bobby Zoll (A) -- great fielder, bad hitter, and wants to explore free agency; so long, then

OUTLOOK: Great at the top, but an over-reliance on minor league free agents and some poor development have really emptied the cupboard. We can remedy some of that at the AAA level at least, but once again there are questions down the line here.

...

Shortstops
Bob Goodloe stepped in for the injured Rich Stoneback and was magnificent. He batted .354 with 15 HR, 80 RBI, and 5.8 WAR in 120 starts. While those may end up being career highs, we still signed him to a five-year extension. He's a decent fielder, he can run, he won't strike out, and he's a team captain. Still, his lack of high-end range has me contemplating a move to third, brining Simmons back to short (he's made 272 starts there over the years). My groundball pitching staff requires mobile infielders, so this change will get a long look in camp. Backup Jesse Ryder only batted 34 times, and will probably have the job next year as long as he hits .265 again. He's a good enough fielder to cover all three "skill" IF positions, and is happy with the backup role. A significant injury to Goodloe or Simmons, however, will be hard to fill. Speaking of injuries, we say goodbye to walking hospital ward Rich Stoneback, a hell of a hitter who just can't stay on the field.

Top Prospects
Kevin Kelly (S A) -- 16th round pick with great intangibles; if he can learn to hit, he's a future starter; that's a big 'if' however
Jesse Ryder -- see above
Kevin Kemper (AA) -- another stud fielder with bat issues; batted just .201 and doesn't have good ceilings; can hit doubles and take some walks, but that's it

OUTLOOK: Again, very solid at the big league level. I might look around for some depth options, however, as a serious injury on the left side of the infield will spell disaster. Another place where we need to step up our development: there are several players (Eric Husted, Manny Escobar, Chris Williams, Carlos Ovalle, Matt Couey) at AA and below who are all quality fielders but not much at the plate. If at least one of those guys learns to hit, however, I'll feel much better here.

...

Left Fielders
As long as he keeps hitting, the job belongs to Cam Daley. In addition to his batting crown, he banged out 48 doubles and stole 18 bases. His only drawback is that he's lost some range in the field and will never compete for a Gold Glove. So having said that, maybe he'll be a DH one day before too long instead. He's also beloved by the fans and has a ridiculously team-friendly contract that tops out at $5.6M in '53, when he'll turn 30. Cappuccilli (see also: 1B) is his nominal backup and is itching to get into the lineup, but will probably figure more as a DH next season. Ditto Faustino Whitton, also listed as a LF on the roster, but with all the range of a fire hydrant.

Top Prospects
Julius Burrows (AAA) -- saw some September time and is a near-lock for next year's roster; can play all three OF positions; LHB who struggles vs LHP
Josh Hed (A) -- hasn't hit much yet, and if he doesn't develop next year, will probably become trade bait; good CF rating too
Stephen Eason (AA) -- 20-year-old will probably head to AAA next year; high INT/WE has made his potential jump and he's a legit prospect now

OUTLOOK: We still have an embarrassment of riches in the outfield, and could look to trade a prospect or two for some middle infield help. Daley is set here, as is the MLB roster in general. Behind the aforementioned, there's also Caleb Royer (AA), Roberto Duran (A), Nick Gase (Short A), and Pat Baker (R), all of whom look promising.

...

Center Fielders
Joe Lynn hit .361 (in just 146 AB tho) and finally dislodged Jim Klein's hold here. Klein can still get on base, witness his .276 average and .348 OBP, and he stole 14 bases. But his defense has all but evaporated, so we decided not to take up his option for '51. I might still consider bringing him back at less than the $6.5M he made last year, but honestly I'm more interested in a) taking at look at some younger players, or b) finding more of a power bat off the OF bench. With the LH Burrows already penciled in to the '51 roster, I may be on the prowl for a RH bench bat, if someone from the farm doesn't impress. And as Burrows can also play center, that bat can be more of a corner outfielder, if that's what's available.

Top Prospects
Joe Lynn -- already covered
Tim Chapman (AAA) -- see 1B prospects
Dante Garrica (A/AA) -- looks a lot like a better fielding Cam Daley; intangibles through the roof; a free swinger, so that may limit him a bit

OUTLOOK: Lynn doesn't walk a ton and has no power; those are his only drawbacks. Otherwise, center field is another strong suit for us. And there are other prospects galore here: Jorge Sanchez and Will Villanueva (AA), Jose Gonzales (A), Diego Espino (S A and the best of the bunch), and Dave Langford (R).

...

Right Fielders
Josh Frederick has emerged as a star in the league, especially after this season's .318/34/142 effort, producing 7.7 WAR. He's also got a big arm (was once a decent pitching prospect too) and is a team captain. He's just 27 and signed for eight more years (let's overlook his opt out after '53 for now), so should be a fixture in right for a long time. Once again, Burrows is the #1 backup here, but we'll give Jaden Daniels (.206 in 34 AB) another shot. Daniels mostly fits the bill I talked about above, being a RH bench bat with good fielding; but he has little power, and I want my bench--and injury fill-ins, as needed--to have some more pop next year. Two AAA RF, William Cabrera and Ken Taliaferro, will get a look in camp, but they are both defensively limited. (Taliaferro, at least, does hit for power.)

Top Prospects
Joe Lynn -- see above
Dante Garrica -- see above
Kevin Jessen (S A) -- a 1st rounder from '49, he's got a good all-around bat and decent speed; okay arm and glove, but little range

OUTLOOK: No one is getting in Frederick's way, so the only question here is who makes the team in a backup role. Burrows is the OF supersub, and Daniels has enough experience to be a contender. Prospect Garrica is at least a year away, and RF looks like his best spot. Not mentioned above is Russ Venters (A), a 13th round pick in '49 who took a major jump last year according to our scouts. And there are still more promising guys on the way: Nick Cooley (AA), Doug Pederson (Short A), and David Dillard (R).

...

Starting Pitchers
Only three of last year's regulars are coming back: Eric Jones, Shamar Jackson, and now Dennis Perry (arbitration). Mike Garfield struggled for much of the season, then got injured and missed two months and the playoffs. He's 32 and wants a big payday, and we say no thanks. Ryan Ratliff led the team with 225 K, winning 14 games and finishing second with 3.4 WAR. But he's 30, also wants a big payday, but has pitched just two full seasons in the six he's been with us. He's tempting, but if I'm going to pay a guy $20M or more, I'll find someone without such an injury history. (Yes, I know pitchers are always a crapshoot. Go away.) So we have three options to fill out the rotation: 1) free agency. Good, but will cost us a first round pick; 2) trade. Possibly, if someone will take, say, a prospect OF for an established pitcher. Maybe; And 3) promote from within. Who could fit the bill for the third option? First is LH Shane Walker, who made 13 starts after Garfield got hurt. He's not overpowering and doesn't rate highly anywhere, but might get the job done in the #5 slot. From AAA, there's Olimpio Le Coq, Shaun Gates, and Jonathan Ashton. All have seen time in the bigs, all have some strengths, and all struggle with control. Definite maybes. Then there's the surprising Mike Pearse, a 23-year-old minor league FA signing from '47 who's jumped up the charts for no reason that I can discern. Are our scouts drunk? Could be, but they say he's worth a look now that his control finally rounded out. There are also some promising contenders in AA and A, but they're at least a year away and so will get mentioned below.

Top Prospects
Josh Irvin (A) -- looks a lot like Jones: control groundball pitcher; only hits 91 on the radar gun; 3rd rounder from '49, will be in AAA next year
Henry Skiffington (AA) -- power pitcher with some movement issues; acquired from PIT in June; will also be in AAA
Mike Bader (AA) -- came over from WSH in June, really struggled all year; back-end type, decent across the board with nothing standing out
Danny Carbajal (A) -- waiting for his 3rd pitch to develop before we know what to do with him; another #4 or 5 type starter
Olimpio Le Coq (AAA) -- see above

OUTLOOK: We haven't had a truly dominant power pitcher since the days of Mike Messinger and Rob Hart. And I doubt I'm going to spend the bucks and the draft pick to go and sign one, frankly. Maybe we'll take a trade flier on a guy in his last contract year, in hopes of riding him to another ring. What I'm guessing right now, however, is that this will be an unsettled area right up to the end of camp. As for prospects beyond the five mentioned above...there isn't much. Greg Van Tilburg (A), Chris Wildermuth and Raul Almendariz (S A) are long shots at best, and pretty much everyone else isn't worth mentioning.

...

Relief Pitchers
This group was a tower of strength all year long, and was definitely a major reason we won another title. Closer Jon White was fabulous, and will be back. Ben Germann and Kyle Johnson were solid in setup roles, and will also be back, although Germann's K/9 dropped substantially. Alex Mahoney was acquired from LA at the deadline, and was also excellent; he could easily slide into a SU or CL role if needed. Nick Kramer finally pitched well, not allowing a run in September and earning a nice arbitration award ($1.2M) for next year. Mark Money, HC Kym, and Dan Brown, however, will not be back. Money I'd like to retain, as he fanned 152 (!) in 118 IP, but wants a ton of money (lol). I'll see if he's unsigned in December and take a sniff. Jaheim Mwaura, Jeremy Kolek, and YJ Yi all saw time in Hawaii this year, and will get looks in camp. Kevin Walker, Shane Hanley, and Henry Cruz are big-stuff guys with bad control, and might also merit some camp time.

Top Prospects
Anthony Booker (AA) -- was excellent in AA, and once his control rounds out he'll get a long look; should be in AAA next year
Kyle Johnson (MLB) -- see above
Deshawn Card (AA) -- swingman; control is his best asset, but stuff isn't great; struggled as a starter in AA, might get moved to pen in AAA
YJ Yi (AAA) -- impressed in AAA, not so much in Hawaii; one of several with the inside line for the final RP slot
Henry Cruz (AAA) -- cranky about being stuck in AAA; control is a major issue, but looks solid otherwise; might be a numbers victim and find himself traded
Alex Paredes (A) -- former top prospect who never developed; pitched poorly in A this season; probably has one more year in him; I might make him a coach

OUTLOOK: Should be a position of strength again next year. White, Johnson, Germann, and Mahoney are locks. That leaves two slots open, with Nick Kramer the front runner for one of them. I'm undecided about bringing in a free agent to add to the competitive mix. I tried that with Dan Brown last year, but he got hurt and missed nearly the whole season. Still, if someone good is available cheap late in the game, I'll consider it. As for other prospects lower in the minors: Tyler Amsden (AA), Josh Egan and Jeff Black (A), and Alex Lopez (S A) are the usual at-least-a-year-away crew.

......

The TL;DR Version of all that is pretty much this: I like our group for 2051, and probably won't be looking to make major changes. Barring a major fit of forgetfulness, or a steep decline from a veteran, I'll probably not be looking at any expensive free agent pickups this winter. Maybe a backup infielder and outfielder; possibly a catcher, perhaps a quad-A/MLB tweener; and maybe a starting pitcher and a middle reliever. Basically, a whole lot of 'maybe' for the next few months. What's really keeping me from going after a high-dollar free agent is losing that first round pick as compensation. Throw in that we qualified four guys who could possibly bring back supplemental picks next year, and we could be looking at five picks in the first 50 or so players. I want that. Still...I'll at least take a look at the top SPs available. They'll all start with demands well north of $20M (plus a couple who'll likely start over $30M), but we'll see who doesn't get signed early and might lower their demand into reasonable territory. I can add that the trade block is terrible right now, but we'll also look at that heading into the Winter Meetings. Gotta be somebody who's desperate out there!

Bub13 · 05-22-2020, 12:54 PM

OFF-SEASON 2050-51, part two (or three)

Getting our house in order just in time for Thanksgiving...
...we make offers for all three open personnel slots: Asst GM, bench coach, and Short A pitching coach. Crickets so far.
...speaking of offers, yeah we re-signed a few players. To start, we made Adam Groff the highest paid player in MLB, signing him to a five-year, $192.5M deal. Crazy right? Well, first off it's front-loaded: he'll make $42.5M in '51 and '52, then $34.5M in '53, after which we hold a team option. He holds an option for '55. As he'll be 37 by next April, I sort of don't expect him to a) be worth that kind of money these next two years, and b) be a viable player after '53. But he's the face of the franchise, and I made this offer with my heart more than my head. Could it bite us? Sure. But I'd rather he finish his career with us, even at extortionate pricing; I know I'm paying now for his career of 4 MVPs and 98 WAR. Next, I mentioned the Bob Goodloe extension: five years, $60M, with a team option for '55. Fingers crossed he's the real deal. Eric Jones you also know about: 2 years, $30.2M, with a player option for '52. How could I not bring back a 22-game winner? And Ben Germann re-upped too: five years, $13M, with a TO for '54 and a PO for '55.
...not counting options and whatnot, players entering their contract year in '51 are: Dennis Perry, Rob Rich, Jon White, and Faustino Whitton.
...looking at the UFA starting pitcher landscape, and although there are some good ones out there, they all want too much money right now and will probably be snapped up before they drop into our range. All are also compensation eligible. Elijah Bragg (MTL in '50) is the best, wanting $32M; Alberto Reyes (PHI) wants just $15M, but has already garnered interest, meaning that number will probably go up. Finally, the familiar-to-us Carlos Zenon (from Seattle) wants a fairly reasonable $17M but for 10 years (he's 29). Naah. Oh, and there's also Japanese import Homare Yano: he's affordable ($15M) and really good, but is 30 and coming off an elbow injury that cost him all of 2050. Too risky. So I'm probably closing the door on any free agent starting pitchers.

......

Around the league
...the Yankees make the first big free agent splash, signing the #1 ranked player on MLB's list: SP Elijah Bragg, 5 years and $156.1M. That's a lot of cash, but Bragg might be worth it. He's almost 27 and a six-year vet, having been buried on a bad Montreal team. He's earned nearly 6 WAR a season, has been healthy, and has really solid underlying numbers (10+ K/9, <1 HR/9, a 4:1 K-to-BB ratio. Looks like the old free-spending Yankees are back and here to stay.
...LA takes the next wave, inking Japanese star Homare Yano (see also above) for $109M over 7 years. Too much for a 30 year old coming off of major elbow surgery, one that cost him an entire season. And he's not even a closer, LA. What has become of tradition, I ask you.
...we "lose" our first 2050 regular when 1B/DH Chris Goldthwait signs with the Pirates for 4 years, $86M. One supplemental first round pick acquired. Check. Fan interest takes a hit. Check.
...And another one's down: LA signs Rich Stoneback for 2 years and $40M. Good luck getting more than 100 games out of him. Anyway, fan interest "almost crashed" so there's that. One more supplemental first round pick achieved.
...Strike three: Mike "Humble" Garfield inks with the Padres for five years, $93M. I guess he felt sorry for them in the Series. Yet another hit to our Fan Interest, meaning no one is going to show up for any games I suppose. That makes three supplemental draft picks for us, so I'm happy with that at least. Only Ryan Ratliff is left unsigned out of our big free agent departures.
...Until the last day of the Winter Meetings, that is. (Re: Ratliff.) Cleveland signs the former 21-game winner: $47.8M over 6 years. Not too bad a price; we could have signed him for that, but he asked me for at least double that. And that's now FOUR supplemental picks. How will we afford to sign all these extra draft picks?
...Miami got swept out of the playoffs by us, so they decided to load up for another run by addressing the major weaknesses in their outfield. Combined, their '50 starters Chris Bierly, Jesus Monterroso, and Eric Croley batted .244 and earned 4.0 WAR. (Although Monterroso did earn a Gold Glove.) We're not even into '51 yet and they've added RF David von Eschen (.274/36/105) from Brooklyn, and Japanese import LF Toshi Shimabukuro (no stats, but range and speed are his only drawbacks). Their only FA loss was closer Rick Ramirez (3.7 WAR), but they traded for Houston RP Jack Hildebrant, whose stats were only so-so but is a guy my scouts rate very highly. Watch the Marlins this coming year.
...Mark Money turned a big year in a middle relief role for us (152 K in 118 IP) into a $4.8M deal with San Diego, joining Garfield on their staff. I thought about getting into the sweepstakes for him at $3M, but that wasn't going any higher than that.
...New Orleans adds to an already potent roster by signing former AL MVP--and #2 ranked off-season target--Jordan Coronado for 7 years. Coronado (.302/26/89) will play RF and joins LF John Arrington (.288/26/97) and CF Jose Diaz (.303), while showing the Zephs are going to contend for the NL Central again in '51. That is, if the increasingly-fragile Arrington can stay healthy...
...Thirteen teams will have new managers in 2051. Some facts: Felix Osorio (PHI) is the longest-tenured with his current team, having been at the helm since 2038.... Andy Raaff (21st year, 8th with KC) and Robert Woodard (20th year, 3rd with MIN) are the longest-tenured overall.... Hawaii's Chris Kenney is the youngest manager, at 31.... SF's David Baker enters his second tenure with the club, having led them from '44 thru '46.... only Oakland hasn't hired a new manager yet. (EDIT: in January they signed fired Tigers manager Ethan Larrison.)

......

Back to us...
...a flurry of activity for us as we enter December, with two trades and a NEW CAR! No wait...too much Price is Right during lockdown... A new contract! Action number one is that we avoid arbitration with CF Joe Lynn by locking him up for 5 years and $32M. He'll make $2.8M in '52, then escalate up to $8.8 in '56, which is also a team option year.
...Action number two is a TRADE!, this one with the Cubs. Apparently they're desperate to cut salary, as nearly one third of their big league lineup is on the block. So we swoop in and land SP Tim Ciotta in exchange for pitcher Jonathan Ashton and two middling draft picks. Ciotta is not the ace pitcher we were sacrificing to the Elder Gods for, but he's a very nice mid-rotation guy; and although not a groundballer, he doesn't give up a lot of home runs. He's coming off a couple of "down" years where his ERA shot up over 4, but his underlying stats still look good and he's been healthy for his six-year career. The only downside is he'll be a free agent after next year and probably wants a big raise from his current $8.8M (we'll be on the hook for $7M of that). Ashton was stuck in a logjam in AAA, and the Cubs asked after him specifically. Hopefully my scouts haven't overlooked something, but I'm pretty confident they haven't.
...Action number three is a lower-case Trade, this one with only minor league implications. We send AAA pitcher Shaun Gates to San Diego for 2B/OF Jesus Lopez. Gates was another stuck-in-AAA guy, and we're clearing out some of the older guys to make room for a few prospects. Lopez will probably get a look in camp, but he's mostly here to beef up our middle infield depth in AAA. He's best suited for 2B, but can fill in at third and has nice ratings in the OF as well. Decent hitter, but won't knock your socks off. And his minor league contract helps us out. (Gates was on the 40-man; Lopez probably will not be unless called up for an emergency.)
...and one of my favorite names is now in the flock: Fenway Parks is our new bench coach. Parks coached for Brooklyn's rookie team in Moab, Utah for 11 years before heading off to coach in Korea. Seems like a decent guy, and hasn't annoyed anyone yet. I remember drafting him when I was the GM in Richmond way back in 2014, but he never got past A ball. No hard feelings.
...and as we head off to the Winter Meetings we welcome another addition to the fold. Needing at least one veteran reliever to compete for a couple open spots, we sign 36-year-old lefty Robbie Collier to a one year, $1.5M deal. Collier was a six-year starter for the Reds before signing a big free agent deal with the Brewers. But in the tradition of Milwaukee free agent pitchers, he blew out his elbow and missed all of '47. He came back and signed another big deal, this time with LA. But once again his elbow failed to comply, and he was done after six games in '48. After missing all of '49 as well he turned up in Cincy's bullpen last year, a greatly diminished man. They let him go after the season, and now here he is. The Reds used him as their LOOGY: 15 IP in 36 GP, fanning 22, walking 6, and finishing with a 2.40 ERA. If he can survive the season for us, he looks to be worth it. If he goes the Dan Brown route and gets "injured" so he can sit on his butt all year, at least it's not a huge contract. Plus he's a local guy who also went to school here. [Plus-plus what you can't see on the pic below is his elite circle change, rated a 21 by our scouts.]

......

And that ends the 2050 calendar year. Hall of Fame voting results come back in four days, and pitchers and catchers will report in less than a month!

04-05-2020, 03:00 PM	#321
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2050 DRAFT and MID-SUMMER SYSTEM REVIEW Before we get to our June games, let's do the mid-season draft. No 4th round pick this year, thanks to my off-season wheelin' and dealin', but we do have three fifth round picks. Yay us. No supplemental round pick this time around. Our first selection will be at #32. Texas, Arizona, and Austin will lead things off. Oakland (4 and 8) and the White Sox (5 and 9) each have two selections in the top ten. No other team has multiple first-round selections. There will be 20 supplemental round picks, with Washington and Atlanta having two each. BNN has some odd choices at the top of the draft board. According to them, #1 overall is pitcher Tom Baker. My scouts, however, say he'll be no more than a mediocre reliever. At #2, SS Steve Cox looks much better, but still not really a top-of-first-round talent. The only guy in BNN's top ten I would sniff at is #7, OF Kevin Reynolds: projects as a solid all-around hitter, with some power and nice OBP, and a strong-armed RF-type. Let's see what happens... ...... Leading off, Texas went off the board and took college SS Ryan Boers, who is already 23. He's not bad, but he's not really good either, at least not "first overall" good. Decent hitter, and a solid fielder but probably better suited for 2B. Arizona then took my favorite, Kevin Reynolds, with Austin taking Steve Cox, then Oakland selecting Tom Baker. The White Sox then added to their already-large pile of pitching prospects by taking Branden Folk, who could grow into a solid #2 SP one day. Reaches? The White Sox took IF Ben Usilton at #9: I wouldn't say he's bad, but at 22 he's almost fully developed, and will never hit for average. The Cubs then took a low-stuff, low-intangible high school pitcher, Jaylin Jones. He looks like a AA-at-best reliever. Any steals? Ehh...This is a really thin draft, but there are a couple of high INT/WE players at the end of the first round who could become stars: Atlanta SP Mike McDade and Pittsburgh RP Brian MacLellan. When you have to rave about a "nice enough" reliever in the first round, you know you're drinking some thin gruel. ...... Here's a quick look at our top picks, and anyone else who caught my fancy. I give any of these guys no more than a 15-20% chance to see any MLB time one day, honestly. Rnd 1, 32nd overall: OF Doug Pederson, 21, Oklahoma State. A hard worker with a strong arm, some speed. Hitting looks like backup level, if he's able to reach his scouted potential. Slow in the field too. Rnd 2, 84th overall: C William Bustos, 18, high school. An average-looking hitter, with nothing that stands out, for good or bad. But he's a solid receiver with a good arm. Intangibles are nice, so he could develop into, say, a decent backup in a few years. Rnd 3, 124th overall: P Will McGee, 17, high school. Taking a chance on a guy who may not sign with us. Fair but not great ceilings, with three pitches already starting to develop. So he's got starting chops. Strong stamina. Great intangibles, just a solid guy. Since most of our other picks will take slot, I'm gonna roll out the red carpet for Will and hope he bites. Rnd 5, 170th overall: IF Matthew Couey, 21, UC-Riverside. Decent middle infielder type. Average hitting, zero power. May never be heard from again. Was drafted by Detroit in '47. Rnd 5, 174th overall: OF Ricky Nogueras, 18, high school. Rangy and speedy fielder, but just an average glove and arm, and a bit lax when it comes to baserunning discipline. But he's a decent kid who already has attractive ceilings, and a number of years to reach them. Rnd 5, 195th overall: OF/2B Dave Langford, 21, Missouri State. Similar to Nogueras, but with less power/discipline, and better running. Could compete for CF, but may end up as a slick 2B instead. Probably won't hit well enough, however. Others of note: none, really. A bunch of guys the coaches will really like, and we'll have some really really enthusiastic low-minors teams. But talent? Not much of the baseball variety. ...... Our system ranks 9th overall, and once again we have five guys in the top 100. As always, we're strongest in the outfield and at first base, with a small scattering of interesting looking middle infielders, and a dearth of catchers. There are a few pitchers who could become something, but none that I would call can't-miss, or even probably-won't-miss. #1: 1B Jules Medici, 19, ranked #9 by MLB. Lewiston (AA) .264/6/28 in 45 GP (plus 11 AB in AAA). Still coming along slowly, but has started to hit better in AA, and is enjoying a brief AAA callup due to injuries. Power hasn't developed as promised, but he's still just shy of 20 years old. I need to be patient with him, and not pencil him into the lineup until 2052. #2: 2B Julian Cardenas, 25, ranked #53. Santa Barbara (AAA) .347/4/26 in 42 GP. Should be in the bigs right now, honestly. Has done nothing but hit hit hit in AAA, and I should give him a taste in Hawaii this summer. #3: OF Joe Lynn, 21, ranked #64. Hawaii .286/0/3 in 21 AB (also .282 in AAA). Finally getting a shot at being more than a defensive replacement, with Klein's receding skills in center. Plate discipline still needs work and he won't hit for power, but is a solid contact hitter who won't strike out. Great runner, defense. #4: 1B Tim Chapman, 21, ranked #71. Santa Barbara (AAA) .265/1/26. Power never developed, but is still rounding into a solid contact/doubles hitter. With Medici rising, however, he's more and more looking like trade bait. Injured for six more weeks currently. #5: P Josh Irvin, 21, ranked #86. Eureka (A) 2-2, 3.14, 29 K, 28.2 IP. A fast-rising 3rd rounder from last year, he looks a lot like Eric Jones to me: low stuff, but excellent control, solid movement. Great worker. Should end the season in AA, start next year in AAA. Not an ace, but the kind of dependable mid-staff starter you always need. #6: OF Dante Garrica, 19, ranked #108. Eureka (A) .257/0/17. A summer international signing back in '47, he's really risen up the charts to become a very promising prospect. A little bit of a "swing at everything" type, but that shouldn't hold him back. Reminds me a lot of Cam Daley already, but a better fielder. Strong arm could put him in right, but he doesn't project as quite the hitter that Josh Frederick is. Coaches call him "a second manager out there" like that's a good thing. Others of note: ...Diego Espino, 19, OF: another Garrica-type. All-around hitter and quality fielder. ...Danny Carbajal, 20, P: turning into a back-end starter. He's just 20, so there's still time to flame out. ...Kevin Jessen, 20, OF: another nice-hitting OF! Seriously, I should trade a couple of these guys for some pitching help. ...Gleb Mihalkovsky, 16, P: still miles away, and could go nowhere. But I have to mention a semi-solid prospect from Kyrgyzstan when I have one. ...Olimpio Le Coq, 24, P: a torn labrum ruined his chance at getting called up this summer. Time is running out for the popular Brazilian. Say goodbye to: ...Braden Mathiesen, 23, P: still struggling in AA, velocity and everything else has gone backwards. Pitchers are voodoo. ...... Post-Draft TRADE Interlude So I took my own advice and traded away some outfield depth for a couple of pitching prospects. More darts for the board, as they say. First, I sent prospects Gary Beranek and Tyrone Goss to Pittsburgh for pitcher Henry "Biff" Skiffington. Beranek and Goss, both 22, are high intangible guys, excellent fielders, speedy, and should be at least average at the plate. Skiffington, also 22 and in A ball for the Pirates, is a former 1st round pick who seems to pitch well only every other year. He was the Pirates fourth-ranked pitching prospect. I think he'll be a mid-rotation guy, especially once his movement and control finally come around. He's not far off; or, if he doesn't develop any more, he'll be a huge bust. Simple. Second, I drop two more outfield prospects, packing them off to Washington for 21-year-old Mike Bader. He's having an off year in AA so far, but my scouts really like him: like Biff, his movement and control need to round out, and he is also working on his third pitch. If he can get there, our middle-to-bottom of the rotation will be set in a couple years. In exchange, the Nats get Nick Webster and Mike Goodwin -- two more guys like the ones above, only with Webster being the best hitting prospect of the bunch. These two, also like the above guys, could grow beyond their current ceilings still. Goodwin was also a Hawaii native; I'm sorry to send him away, but needs must. Below are picks of Doug Pederson, our number one pick, and Ryan Boers, the number one overall selection. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-07-2020, 12:57 PM	#322
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	JUNE 2050 We start June at 34-19, a half game out of first. Nearly 1/3 of the season done, and despite our improving record, this team feels quite fragile. Not health-wise, but that it wouldn't surprise me to see us drop, say, 8 of 10 or the like. One roster move to start the month: after Nick Kramer gets pushed around in his first appearances after his callup, we send him back to AAA and recall Yue-jiu Yi. Yi will see his first MLB action; I believe he is also the first Islander from Taiwan, and was signed as a free agent in December 2048. June 1 @ CLEVELAND Final game of the three-spot. HAW pitcher: LH Eric Jones (6-2, 3.56) CLE pitcher: RH George Millard (0-0, 14.54) #54: WIN 12-5 ... 18 hits, 3 for Simmons and Goodloe, including his first HR of '50...we add three other HR as well...Jones fans 8, he's like Nolan Ryan suddenly Oakland loses, and we're back in first place.... Simmons is batting .300 for the first time since the end of '48.... ELSEWHERE: NYY has opened up a 6 game lead over MIA and TB, while Brooklyn is now 7.5 up on Richmond. June 2-5 @ SEATTLE We took 2 out of 3 against the M's to open May. They went 16-13 in May, and currently sit at 25-29, fourth place. Stats are middling across the board, except for having the 5th best rotation and bullpen ERA in the AL...while being 9th in runs allowed. Veteran Mike Wapner will come off the DL in a couple of days, but two-time Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno tore his rotator cuff and is done for the year. Closer Daryl Kennedy is working on team MVP honors: 24.2 IP, 36 K, 0.36 ERA. Chemistry: Happy! Owner: Adam Yamauchi, who--by contrast--is unhappy, with none of his demands being met. And he expects a Championship by 2052. Good luck with that! HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (4-5, 5.90) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-4, 4.76) / LH Mike Garfield (2-2, 4.73) / RH Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 3.61) SEA pitchers: RH Edgar Tinajero (5-3, 4.64) / RH Dan Welker (4-1, 1.99) / RH Erik Ramey (5-5, 4.75) / LH Carlos Zenon (3-4, 4.82) #55: WIN 4-2 ... we're outhit and muster very little until a 3-run 9th wins it...3 hits for Frederick...10 K, 8 IP for Perry, still on a roll #56: LOSS 2-11 ... nothing good here, outside of a couple of hits for Groff...Jackson is terrible, and Yi gets lit up in his debut #57: LOSS 2-3 ... Daley homers, but we only manage four more hits...sharp game for Garfield however #58: WIN 10-3 ... Ratliff fans 9, and a pair of 2-run HR spark the offense...3 hits for Simmons We put another game on Oakland, now 1.5 games ahead. Houston has improved of late, and is just 5 games back.... Four weeks away from getting Goldthwait and Stoneback back from the DL.... Latest All-Star balloting shows Cam Daley leading all AL LF. This would be his first appearance.... After a slow April, AAA Santa Barbara went 19-8 in May. If they could stay healthy--five regulars/starters on the DL--they might never lose.... ELSEWHERE: Two teams still do not have twenty wins: Toronto (18) and Austin (19).... The mobsters in St Louis have switched from kneecapping to "torn labrum-ing" I guess, as the Cards just lost two SP for several months to this latest violent outbreak.... 20 HR for NYY Andy Howard, just ahead of Toronto's Tony Mendoza and Oakland's Ryan Walton. June 6-7 @ CALIFORNIA Down in last place now at 23-36, and they've gone 15-34 after their hot start in April. Twelfth in both runs scored and given up, but only 17th in AVG and OBP. LF Nate Atwater already has a career high 15 HR, and leadoff batter Luis Rivera is batting a solid .312, but with zero power and not many more walks. SP Jon Carlsen, as expected, leads the rotation at 5-4, 2.80, but with two other SP out with injuries, the pitching staff looks thin. A couple of MR are having good years, but you need more than that to win games. All of their top prospects are at least a couple years away, and even though there's a steady profit being made, owner Arturo Moreno Jr likes money so isn't likely to go spending it all on decent players any time soon. Best ranked player: SS Kevin Lutz, #7 by MLB, only by dint of his excellent glove, and not his .244 career average. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (7-2, 3.62) / RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 5.45) CAL pitchers: RH Ken Demers (2-4, 4.97) / RH Ryan Kuehner (2-6, 6.82) #59: WIN 6-2 ... 4 hits and 3 RBI for Frederick, and 3-and-3 for Daley. Both also homer...Jones keeps winning, going 7 IP and fanning 6 #60: LOSS 1-2 ... only three hits a side, with only one XBH...an error plates one CAL run, and two hits, a walk, and a fielder's choice scores the winner in the 8th Perry has probably his best game of the season but takes the loss. Tough.... Eric Jones is tied for first in AL wins with 8; Cam Daley and Adam Groff are tied for third in batting at .346; and Josh Frederick is tied for second with 51 RBI.... My DH platoon is not DHing very well right now: Cappuccilli is batting .241, Whitton .250.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto is still stuck at 19 wins; Austin at 20.... 21 steals for Atlanta's Marquis Moore, looking for his fourth straight crown, and fifth total. He also has four Gold Gloves, and if he hit better than his career .237 average, he'd be a superstar.... With Philly and Richmond slipping a bit, the defending champs in Brooklyn have opened up a 7.5 game lead in the NL East.... Five two-way players are making a go of it this year. Sean Kropp (AUS) is probably having the best season, .264/6/15 and 4-5, 3.48; Phil Lasky (NYM) is pitching well, at 8-3, 4.03, but not hitting, at .162 with 1 HR; Chad Akers (NOZ) is 6-4, 4.37 on the mound, and .190/2/5 in 13 starts at 1B; Bob Harrison (NOZ) has been a whiz in the bullpen, 0.38 in 23.2 IP, and is hitting .259 in 27 AB; and star Vance Wise (TBR) is batting .267 with 11 HR, and hasn't given up a run in two seasons. Of course, he's only pitched 5.1 innings over that stretch, but he's nevertheless listed as the Rays' closer. June 9-12 vs OAKLAND The rivalry lives! We've surged past the A's for the moment, but this team is for real. Seventh in runs and 1st in HR, with four batters having reached double figures already. Ryan Walton's 20 HR is typical for him, but his .289 average is 40 points above his career stat. Nobody's batting .300, but nobodby's slumping either. Pitching is 2nd, and the 1-2 punch of Jim Schwartz and Chris Larimer are earning their dough. They swept us in three back in April, so we need revenge. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (6-5, 5.29) / LH Mike Garfield (2-3, 4.57) / RH Ryan Ratliff (6-1, 3.63) / LH Eric Jones (8-2, 3.54) OAK pitchers: RH Scott Janulis (0-1, 4.98) / RH Jim Schwartz (7-1, 1.90) / LH Chris Larimer (7-4, 2.48) / RH Oscar Escobedo (2-6, 6.45) #61: WIN 7-0 ... 12-K 4-hitter from Jackson...HR and 2 RBI each for Frederick and Daley #62: LOSS 6-14 ... we're outhit, but only 15 to 13...Garfield is pulled in the 5th down 5-1, but the pen gives up 9 in the next 3 innings #63: WIN 8-3 ... Simmons doubles twice, drives in 3, but gets hurt...more pen woes: Kym walks all four batters he faces in the 9th, but gets bailed out by White #64: WIN 12-4 ... 15 hits, including 3 HR (Groff, Goodloe, Daley)...everyone gets a hit tonight Two injuries here, but neither one is serious. Simmons sat out the last game with back spasms, but will be back next series. Josh Matson also has a back issue, so will probably sit out the next series, maybe the next two.... Pretty good series otherwise, despite that one shellacking. The pen did struggle a bit, with Kym's walk-a-thon, Money getting beat up twice but tossing 3 solid IP in the last game (overuse much?), and newbie YJ Yi not pitching well at all.... So with that last bit noted, I decide to send Yi back down, and call up Jeremy Kolek for his first taste of the big leagues. A 2nd round pick in '46, Kolek got off to a fast start in AAA last year and was looking like the next callup until he got hurt in May. Welcome to the show, J.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond RP Kaichi Endo had his season endo'ed with an elbow injury. Sorry, couldn't resist.... Both John Lane and Dustin Lambert knocked 5 hits in Cleveland's 8-7 win over the White Sox. Two household names there. June 13-15 @ MONTREAL Fifth place, 28-37, and likely starting at their 7th straight losing season, and sixth finishing fifth. Dead last in NL runs scored, and last in every major category except AVG and HR, where they're 16th in each. Pitching places 13th, not too bad considering four regular RP are on the DL. Not a lot of pitching depth here, but #1 SP Elijah Bragg could be a #1 on most staffs, and #2 Chris Milano is solid, if a little shy on stamina. Fun bit: the leadoff batter is named Jon Monreal. Manager: Andres Reyna, in his seventh season. Chemistry: Feuding! Only one leader in the clubhouse, and just enough selfish slackers to ruin the mood. Can't Miss Prospect? OF Edwin Rodas (MLB #41) is a future .300 hitter with 20+ HR power and solid defense. Top pitcher Andy Ayers (#43), however, looks average at best and is now out for at least a year with a torn rotator cuff. HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 4.93) / RH Shamar Jackson (7-5, 4.75) / LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 4.90) MON pitchers: RH Chris Milano (4-4, 4.11) / RH Bill Barger (6-3, 3.81) / RH Elijah Bragg (6-4, 3.12) #65: LOSS 2-3 ... 7 strong innings for Perry, but the pen costs us this one: Germann yields a solo HR in the 8th, and Johnson gives up the GW in the 9th #66: WIN 6-0 ... 2nd straight 4-hit shutout for Jackson, and he adds a single to the fun...Frederick drives in 3 with an RBI single and a 2-run HR #67: WIN 7-5 ... quite a comeback from 5-1 down, thanks to a Simmons 2-run double in the 10th...4 hits for Goodloe, 3 and 2 RBI for Rich Two wins here, and Oakland getting swept means we're now 5.5 games up on them.... The top four in our lineup are batting over .300: Simmons .323, Daley .344, Groff .348, Frederick .319.... Klein has responded to the Joe Lynn Challenge by upping his average to .299. Lynn is going well too, 10-for-30.... Shamar Jackson has gotten hot, but Mike Garfield struggles again. He gave up all 5 runs in 5 IP in that last game.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond's "Gotta collect 'em all!" old man free agent pitching strategy took a huge blow, with 39-year-old Eddy Llamas' labrum exploding. He'll miss a year at least, and is probably done for good.... The Yankees have lost 8 of 10 and seen their lead in the East shrink to just one game, over the Marlins.... San Fran is still holding on to the top spot in the West, at 39-26. One of their stars has been pitcher Jesus Chavolla (10-2, 2.76), whom I thought would probably never amount to much when I traded him to the Gints in '44 along with (perennial .320 hitter) Dillon Ritter, for pitcher Shamar Jackson (good), and OF Kenny Welch (meh). See, I do give up some value in trades after all. ...... TL;DR Version: Satisfield with that 9-5 stretch; and with Oakland dropping five straight, we've opened up a bit of a lead in the division for the first time this year. Team offense is back in first in runs and AVG, 2nd in OBP. Still 16th in home runs, but with Stoneback and Goldthwait coming back in two weeks that should improve. Not hitting so well is the DH platoon of Cappuccilli (.237) and Whitton (.250), and 2B Rangel (.241) who is in a contract year and wants a big bump on his $13M salary. Hmmm.... Pitching is 6th in runs allowed, with the bullpen continuing to outperform the rotation. But Jackson has gotten really hot, Perry good, Ratliff and Jones okay, while Garfield is faltering. New callup Kolek tossed two scoreless innings in his debut; I know that says nothing at all about his long-term future, but it's miles better than Yi (11.81 in 5.1 IP) and Mwaura (10.50 in 6 IP) had accomplished. And 19-year-old superprospect Jules Medici isn't seeing the bigs yet this season, but I'm mildly encouraged by him batting .262 in a recent injury-forced AAA callup. No power yet (1 HR in 42 AB), but at least he's not getting shut down. Also a few things to ponder over the coming weeks: 1) Rangel is in a contract year and not hitting at all. He still has high value in the field. So do I keep him and consider losing him for nothing this fall, or trade him to shore up some other area? If I trade him, what do I want coming back? And possible replacement Josh Matson is no defensive whiz, but it may be time to put his bat in the lineup full time to see what he's got. And would anyone send me a prospect for a 29-year-old Gold Glove-level 2B? Would you, dear reader? 2) Four of my SP will be free agents. What to do with them? Three want to talk extensions, but with all the other potential roster movement this off-season, I'm leaning towards not signing all (or any?) of them, and seeing what comes up on the market. If I had to choose right now who to sign, this would be my ranking: Jones-Perry-Ratliff-Garfield. Not sure yet in what direction I'll go. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-11-2020, 10:33 AM	#323
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	June 17-19 @ PITTSBURGH Coming off three consecutive 90+ win seasons, this year's 32-36 record is a disappointment. But that's what happens to a mid-budget team that doesn't go after its own free agents. Offense in 9th, pitching 16th; with a -23 run differential maybe they're lucky to be only four games under .500. No standouts at the plate or in the rotation, but closer Manny Gomez has 18 saves and a 2.42 ERA. Like us, they don't hit many HR (53, 17th in the NL) but are third in steals with 45. Manager: Dario Agrazal, who won a title with the Braves and led the Pirates to 96 wins last year, his first with the club. Ninth year overall. Chemistry: Unhappy, and a couple of the outspoken and unmotivated players are starting to grumble about...something. Can't Miss Prospect? 2nd ranked system, with three players in the top 20, all currently with the big club. Jose Rivera (MLB #10) is just a solid changeup away from joining the rotation, as is Kenny West (#12). They're both high-stuff/low-movement guys. Alex Correa (#18), on the other hand, reminds me of Eric Jones but with better stuff. Once he fully develops, he'll be very good. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (7-1, 3.46) / LH Eric Jones (9-2, 3.60) / RH Dennis Perry (5-5, 4.61) PIT pitchers: RH Rick Horan (4-6, 3.83) / RH Roberto Higuera (3-7, 5.79) / LH Mike Victor (4-5, 5.17) #68: LOSS 6-9 ... Frederick's HR is pretty much the only highlight...Ratliff is pushed around, and Kym is wild again, walking 3 in 1.1 IP of relief #69: WIN 9-3 ... 13 singles and a pair of doubles still equals 9 runs...Simmons and Daley with 3 hits each #70: WIN 7-4 ... Simmons and Lynn drive in runs in a 4-run 6th...Perry lasts just 5, and Kym--yep--walks 3 more in 1.1 IP, gives up 2 runs Still 5.5 up on Oakland, righting their ship after a bad stretch.... Groff batting .355, Daley .349.... I'm not picking on HC Kym. He's been okay, with a 3.33 ERA and 34 K in 24 IP. Also, though, 24 walks.... Stoneback suffers a setback, because of course he does. He's now going to miss 2-3 months, rather than weeks. Hopefully he'll be back in early September; haven't I said that before? Multiple times? Sigh.... ELSEWHERE: LA's Greg Sipes wins a 1-0 no hitter over the Marlins, fanning 6 and walking 3.... White Sox ace Ben O'Neal is having a breakout season, at 6-1 and a 1.89 ERA. But he's going to miss the next six weeks with a bum shoulder.... NL Central leaders New Orleans just extended SP Ricky Munoz for five more years. Munoz leads the NL with a 1.88 ERA.... LA is now just a half game behind SF, with the Padres just a game behind the Dodgers, and Portland 2 more games out. June 20-22 vs CHICAGO CUBS The Cubbies are also now 32-36, and just ahead of Pittsburgh thanks to us. Only 12th in runs despite having the 4th best OBP and the 5th most HR. Pitching has been pretty bad, at 15th in runs against. Jason Eastep (.285/21/40) paces the offense, while ageless Rafael Maldonado is still kicking it on the mound. And somehow John LaBarbera is 5-0 despite a 1:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Of the three regulars added during free agency, only 3B Juan Garcia is hitting well, but even his .291 is over 30 points below his career average. Manager: Tony Thompson, fourth year. Players are kinda meh about him, no one's mad but no one's thrilled. Chemistry: Happy, but with no team captain and only one leader. Can't Miss Prospect? No surprise that the 32nd ranked system has a middle reliever as the top prospect: Seth Broom, already with the Cubs, is a good-not-great pitcher, and will be just fine in his career. 2B Jose Ibanez is an excellent fielder and will hit for average one day, but that's it. The raft of pitchers behind him do not stand out. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (8-5, 4.32) / LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 5.17) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.12) CHC pitchers: RH Lee Robinson (5-7, 5.74) / RH Tim Ciotta (4-3, 5.20) / RH John LaBarbera (5-0, 3.58) #71: WIN 3-1 ... only 8 IP for Jackson this time, but still only 4 hits allowed...2 hits for Frederick, only 5 from everyone else #72: LOSS 4-6 ... White takes his first loss, in the 10th inning...Garfield gives up 4 runs in 7 IP, so a slight improvement for him #73: WIN 6-5 ... extra innings again, this time Groff wins it with a walk-off HR in the 11th...Frederick triples home 2 in the 4th Oakland got slapped around some, so now we're up by 8 games.... Down to 17th in home runs, but leading baseball with 77 steals! Go, us.... One week left on the DL for Goldthwait, unless he's going to hand us bad injury news too.... ELSEWHERE: CF Ed Haley is reportedly unhappy in Texas, which he denies. Son, no one is happy playing in Texas.... Miami has surged of late, winning six straight and passing the Yankees for first in the East.... Austin still brings up MLB's rear, at 25-49. Toronto is 26-46, St Louis 27-46.... Two-time defending NL batting champ Dan Dellinger recently came off Arizona's DL and has retaken the batting lead at .350. June 24-26 @ CALIFORNIA Now 22-43 since their enviable 8-2 start. Feels like years ago. Batting has declined to 16th in runs, 17th in AVG and OBP. LF Nate Atwater is at least trying, at .261/21/48, but two regulars are below the Mendoza Line. In fact, they're below the line that's below the Mendoza Line, hitting just .145 and .143. Pitching is 10th, with ace Jon Carlsen continuing a solid year. Team chemistry has slid into unhappiness, and catcher Antonio Chamorro (the .145 guy) is unhappy with the manager. (He's probably not thrilled either, Tony.) Oh, and when I did their top prospects last time, I missed catcher Manny Fontane, an actual honest-to-god top-notch catching prospect: excellent batter and good enough behind the plate. All-star potential, a pretty rare bird these days. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (10-2, 3.53) / RH Dennis Perry (6-5, 4.55) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-5, 4.08) CAL pitchers: RH Ken Demers (2-5, 4.66) / RH Jon Carlsen (6-5, 2.42) / RH Ryan Kuehner (3-8, 5.95) #74: WIN 5-2 ... everybody but poor Rangel gets a hit, plus he makes an error...7 IP, 8 K, 2 R by Jones, and his 11th win #75: LOSS 6-7 ... three hits apiece for Daley and Matson, and Josh gets his first HR of the year...bad outing from Perry, a la his April starts #76: WIN 11-3 ... 4 hits from Frederick, just missing the cycle by a HR...another CG from Jackson, despite walking 6 Division lead now up to ten games, with Oakland really leaking oil right now.... Eric Jones might be pitching his way into a contract extension. On paper he doesn't look like much, but he keeps getting it done on the field.... Josh Matson has gone 5-for-15 since sharing time at 2B with Rangel, and hit his first HR of the year. His defense has been average, which is better than I hoped, actually.... ELSEWHERE: Getting close to the All-Star game, and Hawaii 1B Adam Groff has the 2nd most votes of all candidates at the moment. First place? Another AL 1B, William Swanson. Oh well.... Oakland's seven-game losing streak has moved them farther away from first place (10 games out) than last place (9.5 games ahead of CAL).... Not seeing any big rookie seasons so far, with Texas CF Ronnie Halverson having a good, not great, year: .261/13/36, on pace for 4 WAR, and in the running for a Gold Glove. June 27-30 vs TEXAS Even just 70-some games into the season, you figure the Rangers are well out of the post-season discussion. But with Oakland faltering, they're at least moving into the "2nd in the AL West" conversation, only 2.5 games out. Still, they're 8.5 games out of wildcard contention at the moment, so they need to start making noise now if they want to jump back in. Sixth in runs scored, thanks more to home runs (4th) and walks (7th in OBP) than to hitting (11th in AVG). Pitching ranks 10th, with the AL's best bullpen working hard to bail out the 16th-ranked rotation. What happens to SP when they go to Texas? On paper, the rotation looks at least decent; on the field, they've been an absolute mess, with an ERA near 5. And if they can get a few more bats to surround 1B William Swanson (.307/21/56), the offense could become a major force. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (2-4, 5.16) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (11-2, 3.46) / RH Dennis Perry (6-5, 4.92) TEX pitchers: RH Mike Kent (3-7, 5.52) / RH Mike Messinger (3-9, 5.70) / RH Greg Buchanan (7-5, 3.81) / LH Bill Butts (7-3, 4.01) #77: WIN 6-3 ... the Garfield of old showed up tonight, going 8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 11 K...Whittington gets 2 hits, but made his 5th error (in just 17 starts at catcher) #78: LOSS 7-9 ... we blow a 7-2 lead late, with Ratliff left in too long and Kolek getting shelled inn relief...17 hits aren't enough #79: WIN 8-6 ... our turn, coming back from a 6-2 deficit in the last two innings...Groff homers twice, including a walk-off GRAND SLAM #80: WIN 6-4 ... we give up two runs late but hold on to this one...3-run HR for Frederick, solo shot for Rangel Typical AL series here, lots of scoring and mostly erratic pitching.... After his outing in game one, Garfield wants to talk contract extension. The 32-year-old wants 7 years. Too long, my man.... Top prospect Medici is now batting .301 in AAA. My scouts say he's not ready, but maybe I should start paying more attention to stats, huh? Plus, #2 guy Cardenas is batting .321 and playing lights-out defense. Hmmm.... Frederick's big series puts him on top of the AL RBI race, with 78.... ELSEWHERE: Hawaii has opened up the largest divisional lead, at 10.5 games. Every other race is within 3.5 games.... Toronto and Austin, with 28 each, are the last teams without at least 30 wins.... Zephyrs ace Chad Akers fanned 19 Expos in an 8-1 win, the most since Detroit's Raul Bravo did it in 2046. ...... TL;DR Version: Cruising along at 9-4 here, 18-9 for the month, and 52-28 overall. We're first in runs, AVG, and OBP, but 4th in SLG and 3rd in OPS. I feel like we've become a '70s/'80s era smallball team: lots of hits--although fewer XBH than usual--and first in steals, while fewer HR than usual. Hey, wins are wins. Pitching looks okay right now too: 4th in team ERA, 3rd in runs allowed, 4th in K, 5th fewest walks, and 2nd fewest HR allowed. Defense has been troubling, however, at 16th in DEF and 15th in ZR. (With backup catcher Tom Whittington having a crazy .280 def efficiency rating. Wut.) Some individuals are showing up on leaderboards too: Groff leads AL batters at .348, Daley is second at .340; Frederick leads with 78 RBI; Simmons is tied for first with 21 steals; Groff is second with a .977 OPS; Frederick shares the AL lead with 4.0 WAR; Jones leads with 11 wins, Jackson tied for second with 10; and Jon White is tied for first with 20 saves. Besides team defese, the only negatives right now are a) lack of production out of our DH platoon, b) Rangel's continued cold season (.247, 4 HR, -1.5 ZR!), and c) Stoneback's extended presence on the DL. Most of these can be worked around, hopefully. Chris Goldthwait is ready to come off the DL, so hopefully he can get on track as DH; Rangel, I dunno; Stoneback, we just have to wait. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-14-2020, 02:28 PM	#325
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	JULY 2050 A new month! New possibilities! Okay, probably more of the same possibilities really. Can we keep winning? Can we stay (at least relatively) healthy? Will we make a trade? Maybe yes on all three fronts... Anyway, with the All-Star break and two other off days, we'll have just 25 games this month. Only six at home, which will make for some long-ass travel days. (We'll finish the month on a 13-game road swing, to Baltimore, Miami, Houston, and Oakland.) July 1 also means International Amateurs are here! And holy cow have prices jumped. Only one player has a lisetd demand under $1M, and his want is still $900k. The highest ask is Panamanian 1B Willie Maya, who wants $11M to be a likely bust down the line. Although...he does look REALLY good. Still, as we went over budget last year we can't spend more than $500k on anyone, so we are out of the running. On everyone. For some reason, the cap on IFA spending is just $6M, so I think I'm gonna have to adjust that upward juuuust a little bit. And Josh Frederick was named AL player of the month for June, after a month going .391/7/33 and scoring 54 times. July 1-3 vs DETROIT Our first sighting this season against the Tigres, who are once again on top of the Central. At 47-41, they're a game ahead of Milwaukee. Third in runs for, and 4th in pitching, and actually only 2nd in home runs. Part of that last stat is having two regulars on the DL: 2B Hideki Matsuro and CF Luis Rodela. Rodela in particular is a loss, as he was batting .292/21/62, and will miss five more weeks. Pitching has been stellar despite missing 2048 Cy Young winner Mike Cote all year, and of late solid SP Alex Hidalgo for the rest of the season. Manager: Ethan Larrison, fifth season, and with only one season of fewer than 90 wins. Chemistry: Ecstatic, despite half the team not liking Larrison, and no team captain. Can't Miss Prospect? 1B Pat Townsand (MLB #8) is already in Detroit; he's struggling a bit, at .219, but looks like a 50-HR guy one day, no kidding. OF Roberto Gomez (#21) also looks like a pure slugger, combined with great defense. Where do these guys find all these sluggers? HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-5, 3.91) / LH Mike Garfield (3-4, 5.01) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 4.52) DET pitchers: RH Daniel White (5-6, 5.93) / RH Raul Bravo (9-2, 3.26) / LH T.J. Carroll (10-4, 3.31) #81: LOSS 0-4 ... Jackson goes the distance, despite giving up 12 H and a pair of HR #82: LOSS 0-4 ... another complete game, another pair of HR allowed, another loss...we outhit them 7-6 tho! #83: LOSS 1-7 ... Lynn goes 3-for-3, but there's nothing else to see here Well that went about as poorly as it could have. The only positive out of this series is no injuries. And the pen only appeared in the last game, so they're rested. Jeez.... Oakland's 8 in back of us now.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's sweep makes them the second team to reach 50 wins.... Just past the halfway mark of the season (82 games), and LA closer Lorenzo Quinones has 30 saves.... Brooklyn's offense is cranking on all cylinders, first in every major offensive category except home runs. And they're 3rd in that stat. July 5-7 @ KANSAS CITY Currently bringing up the rear in the Central, at 37-43. Next-to-last place batting and ninth-place pitching are the culprits. Only one batter--LF Rich Humphrey--is batting higher than .270, and even he's on the DL for two more weeks. The money they spent on stud SP Chris Liles last year is finally (ahem) paying off, as he's been their best pitcher by far; but letting go of perennial .300 hitter 3B Juan Garcia hurt, as his replacement (Jake Powers) is only batting .218. Manager: Andy Raaff, seventh season; although he's been managing (four teams) since 2031. Chemistry: Happy, thanks to a strong leadership group and no crybabies. Can't Miss Prospect? SS Jose Valdez (MLB #20) is their best prospect by far (second place is ranked #164), and right now his ceiling as a hitter is sky high. But he's only 17, so that could change drastically; and he's got a glove made of stone, despite his other positive fielding attributes. Not a sure thing, no. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (11-2, 3.64) / RH Dennis Perry (7-5, 4.79) / RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 3.92) KCR pitchers: RH Ryan Swan (7-2, 3.57) / RH Adam Grossman (2-7, 5.10) / RH Phil Eckert (6-8, 5.35) #84: WIN 4-0 ... only 6 hits a side, but I guess the 7 walks we took really helped...2 hits each for Daley and Frederick #85: WIN 5-3 ... 2-run HR for Frederick, and Perry goes a strong 8 IP (5 H, 6 K)...Daley has an 18-game hitting streak snapped #86: LOSS 7-8 ... a 5-run 1st quickly becomes a 6-5 deficit after two innings, and we can't come back...4 hits for Goodloe One pitching horrorshow notwithstanding, a decent comeback series after the Detroit detbacle.... Daley losing his hit streak was some hard cheese, but he's still 3rd in AL batting.... Jones is really making a strong case for an extension, isn't he? Except the last pitcher I extended mid-season was Brandon Mercer back in '48. Remember him? He started out something like 15-1, but pretty much went into the dumper after I extended him around the All-Star break. Now he's with the Mets and hasn't pitched at all yet this year.... Third round pick Will McGee ignored my bonus offer and will go back into next year's draft. We'll get compensation for him, at least. And I'll shortlist him, as I still like his potential. (The last guy we couldn't sign? Josh Frederick; we re-picked him the following year. That's worked out pretty well for us.).... ELSEWHERE: Hey Richmond! The best way to ensure your extremely old pitching rotation (average age: 112) stays healthy is to have them pitch 11-inning complete games, tossing 133 pitches. 36-year-old Robby Liantonio agrees, despite needing his arm reattached after that game.... Austin the city may be fun and weird, but their baseball team just plain sucks: still the only team without 30 wins. And hey! They still have former Islander Mel Carrillo, a can't-miss prospect who turned into a perpetually-injured fan favorite: eleven MLB seasons, only four with more than 100 games played.... Draft pick signing deadline came and went, and every first rounder signed this year. The highest non-signee was Washington supplemental pick (#40 overall) 3B Mike Palmer. I shortlist him, as he looks pretty good. July 8-10 @ MINNESOTA Third place, at 48-38, just quietly hanging around and staying in the playoff hunt. Second-best AL offense, led by CF Emmanuel Garcia (.332/14/36), RF Josh Jacobson (.324//17/72), and DH Josh Conley (.318/11/40). Add in last year's #1 overall pick LF Jordan Foots, who's struggling at just .209, but has 14 HR and has gotten better every month. Pitching is just 15th, with a boatload of guys on the DL, but ace Conor MacLeod is having an all-star season, leading baseball with 179 K. Manager: Robert Woodard, second season (after 17 with Oakland). Chemistry: Content; everyone is just swimming along peacefully for now. Can't Miss Prospect? Well, there's Foots, ranked #11. After him, it's #64 Jerry Caprio, a 24-year-old SP who may never develop that crucial third pitch. I'm partial to Aussie 2B Lucas Tipping, who looks like a decent hitter and good-enough fielder to become the middle-class-man's Chuck Knoblauch. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (3-5, 4.92) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-3, 4.66) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.40) MIN pitchers: RH Bryan Crider (2-5, 6.26) / RH Conor MacLeod (10-6, 3.07) / LH Ed Holmes (2-0, 2.51) #87: WIN 4-2 ... a pair of HR and seven not-so-bad innings from Garfield to boot...Matson goes 4-for-4, but gets stranded three times #88: WIN 6-1 ... 10 K effort from Ratliff, and Goldthwait smacks his second HR of the series...25th double for Simmons, who adds a single as well #89: Rain out! Rescheduled for September 6, as part of a (now) double header Two nice wins, and we manhandled MacLeod too. We're now 11 games up on Oakland heading into the break.... So Adam Groff is tied for second in the AL batting race, and received the 3rd highest number of fan votes for the all-star game. And yet he's snubbed for the final roster, despite finishing only 14k votes behind 1B starter William Swanson. I will send a very strongly worded letter, yes indeed.... Rookie ball Wilmington won their first game of the season, after losing their first 13. Gulp.... ELSEWHERE: What a time to be an Alvarado, as Cincy's Alex and Brooklyn's Roberto each toss shutouts on 7/9, earning first and second stars of the day.... Pittsburgh is the hot squad right now, winners of 7 straight, to bring them back to .500, at 45-45. Washington has dropped seven in a row, and sits in last in the NL East, at 34-54. ...... All-Star Game interlude. This year's mid-summer classic is played in Montreal, which we only discover the day of the game. We place three guys on the team: LF Cam Daley (starter), RF Josh Frederick, and CL Jon White. Groff's snub is unforgiveable, and I will personally set out to destroy the reputation and career of AL manager SG Che, who helms the Brewers as his day job. And diddles small animals, or so I'm told. Anyway, off to the game....aaand the AL wins a rain-swept 7-4 contest at Parc Labatt, scoring all of their runs in the last two innings. Cam Daley went 3-for-5 and scored a run, Josh Frederick got a cheap RBI by walking with the bases loaded, and Jon White fanned two in one relief inning. Brooklyn closer Kymami Rhymes was hung out to dry, pitching three innings and yielding all seven AL runs. Richmond catcher Guillermo Diaz was named MVP, knocking two HR in the losing effort. A few league notes before resuming normal programming and wrapping up... ...PIT and CIN make a rare, and odd, intra-division trade. PIT send CL Manny Gomez (25 SV, 2.08 ERA), and receives 23-year-old SS Scott Spicer (great fielder, terrible hitter) and 26-year-old 3B Sean Friedman (power but no average). Dunno about this one. ...The "stud" of the International Free Agent class was 1B Willie Maya, as mentioned above. Well the Miami Marlins got their man, but at the eye-popping cost of $29M. WHAT. Dude should retire RIGHT NOW, as his career can not get any better than that. Ten-to-one says he busts. ...so we make a little trade. ISLANDERS TRADE! We finally pulled the trigger on Manny Rangel, sending him to the Dodgers, along with a 20th round pick and a $500 gift card to the local Tires Warehouse franchise, for the next time they're in town. In return we get reliever Alex Mahoney and prospect pitcher Daniel Croft. Mahoney, 28, is a high-stuff power pitcher, with decent movement and control. He's signed through '52 at a reasonable rate ($3.8M). He's been erratic this year (4.98 ERA), but LA's terrible defense may be responsible for that. Croft is 19, a lefty, and a long way off. But he has good ceilings and is worth watching. This also means that Josh Matson moves into a full-time role at second, and we call up prospect Julian Cardenas (finally!) to spell him and provide late-inning defense. ...... TL;DR Version: 4-4 here, and not too bad...as long as we overlook that Detroit series. After 88 games we're 56-32, holding an 11-game lead over Oakland. With 74 games to go, we can't get comfortable. Our offense has really moved into gear, with four season-long regulars batting over .300, and Jim Klein at .293. To them, add new 2B Josh Matson (.342 in 73 AB), SS Bob Goodloe (.305 in 187 AB), and backup CF Joe Lynn (.353 in 51 AB). The pitching rotation has stepped up too, and we now have the 4th best starters ERA. Injuries: Stoneback has seven more weeks; gotta keep waiting. And Dan Brown's lost season will finally begin with a rehab stint in three weeks. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders! Last edited by Bub13; 04-14-2020 at 02:29 PM.

04-17-2020, 01:42 PM	#326
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	July 15-17 vs TAMPA BAY Our second, and last, home series of the month. The Rays are 47-38, third in the East, six games out of first. Stats look generally good: 7th in runs, 5th in pitching. Eight regulars have topped double figures in HR, led by RF (and closer, lol) Vance Wise, at .274/22/59. Former Isle Dante Padilla is getting everyday cuts at 3B and has responded: .277/17/51. Leadoff man Orlando Navarro is batting .332. The rotation's ERA is only 14th, and those guys seem to be holding everyone else back, despite no one having an obviously terrible season. Manager: Tony Bajoczky, 8th season. Chemistry: Unhappy, and 12 players dislike Bajoczky despite his "calm and placid" demeanor. Can't Miss Prospect? An injury to their regular 2B means instant playing time for 20-year-old Jorge Arriola (#4 MLB), who looks a little underbaked for the bigs right now but is hitting .306 in 134 AB so far. Looks like a perennial all-star down the road. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (10-6, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.40) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.40) TBR pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (6-4, 3.77) / RH Freddy Trujillo (7-7, 5.12) / RH Greg Drake (4-5, 4.76) #89: WIN 17-2 ... six HR plate 11 runs, and everyone who gets an at bat gets a hit tonight...4 steals too...another CG for Jackson #90: WIN 11-2 ... more hits for everyone, and Goldthwait puts two out of the park...4-for-4 night from Goodloe #91: WIN 5-4 ... no HR for us tonight...Goldthwait and Goodloe hit RBI singles in the 9th to pull this one out of the fire...we outhit them 13-7 We just brutalized an entire pitching staff to the tune of 33 runs and 48 hits.... Cardenas is already batting .500, so I'm officially a genius. What? He has just two at bats, why do you ask.... Jesse Ryder cranks a PH at bat over the fence in game one for his first MLB home run.... That two-game homer binge finally put our season HR total over our SB, 96 to 92.... ELSEWHERE: No changes in any standings. Detroit is slowly pulling away from Milwaukee, now 6 games up.... Brooklyn has the NL's best offense, but mediocre pitching. So they just sent their starting 2B, Mike McNeill, to Texas for pitcher Bill Butts. McNeill is replaceable (rookie Harry Lewis is batting .350 this season), but Butts is just barely adequate. Maybe getting out of Texas will turn him around.... Oakland's Ryan Walton is the first batter to reach 30 HR.... The top three batting averages in the AL are all from Hawaii: Groff, Daley, Frederick. July 18-20 @ BALTIMORE A terrible April has led to barely mediocre months after that, and the O's sit in last in the East, 35-57. We took two out of three from them in that cruel April. Dead last in most offensive (and how) categories, only DH Mickey Chamberlain (.282/11/38) has risen above the muck and disorder. Pitching is 14th, but their best starter--Travis Heumann--was traded to Cleveland before the All-Star break. They are 2nd in steals, however. Highest ranked player: closer Ken Zeolla, 12th. His ERA is up (4.06, from 2.38 last year), but he's got power to burn and is kind of wasted on this team right now. HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (4-5, 4.76) / RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.60) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-6, 4.10) BAL pitchers: LH Carlton Saunders (7-5, 4.01) / RH Jasper Haugen (1-1, 9.00) / RH Justin Barrington (5-10, 4.19) #92: WIN 6-2 ... the new keystone combo of Goodloe and Matson goes 6-for-7, 3 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB...six IP for Garfield, then 3 shutout innings for Mahoney #93: WIN 10-3 ... Perry leaves after four, so Money goes the rest of the way, allows just one hit, fans five...2-run HR for Groff, 3 hits for Lynn #94: WIN 9-4 ... Goldthwait powers two more out, and Daley hits his 20th...4 hits each for Goodloe and Matson...12 K, CG for Jackson Feels pretty good when the offense is busting it on all cylinders like this. Makes me wonder what shoe is about to drop, because that's just how I am.... In five starts since the Rangel trade, Josh Matson has gone 11-for-20, adding a HR and four walks. In those same five games, Goodloe has hit 14-for-22.... Perry's injury is a dead arm, but he'll be out just four days and won't miss a start.... ELSEWHERE: The Yankees have the second-best record in baseball at 58-35. Miami is hanging with them, at 56-39.... Atlanta ace Matt Waugh is making a run at a second consecutive Cy Young: 14-5, 1.97 ERA, 190 K, 5.5 WAR.... Giants closer John Richard has saved 33 of SF's 55 wins; LA counterpart Lorenzo Quinones 32 out of 52. July 22-24 @ MIAMI After a slow April, they went 36-20 over the next two months, and are right behind the Yankees in the East. Their once-fierce lineup is a little defanged these days, at just 13th in runs and AVG, but are still 5th in home runs. Top hitter Sean West (.293/19/56) is on the DL for two more weeks, however. Pitching ranks 2nd, and is holding tough despite having four MLB-worthy guys on the DL, three of whom haven't pitched at all this year. We swept them to open the season. Highest ranked player: 2B Sean West, and closer Rick Ramirez, both ranked 3rd. Ramirez has been pretty stout: 2.83, 21 saves, 41.1 IP, 60 K, 10 BB. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-2, 3.36) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.45) / LH Mike Garfield (5-5, 4.67) MIA pitchers: LH Victor Nunez (10-5, 3.01) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (8-7, 5.71) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (8-6, 3.23) #95: LOSS 0-4 ... we're held to just 3 hits, all singles...Jones is okay through 7 IP, but obviously got no help #96: WIN 5-4 ... 4 hits from Frederick, just missing out on the cycle...3 hits for Daley #97: LOSS 6-11 ... Garfield gets shelled, and is pulled in the fifth...four hits from Simmons, 3 from Goodloe Ok fine I guess we were due for a blah series. And Miami is a hot team right now. Suck it up and move on.... Garfield's continued poor performance this year has me sniffing around the trading block. He's actually much better--on paper at least--than all but one player currently on the block; and most pitchers on the block are pending free agents, just like Mike. Nothing's imminent, at any result.... ELSEWHERE: poor Baltimore has now lost 8 in a row, and is now the worst team in the league, at 35-63.... Cincy's Jose Taveras is having another monster year, at .354/30/72. He's 14 RBI behind NL leader Chris White (BKN), but leads in the other two categories. He also leads all batters with 5.3 WAR.... Arizona's Mat Caldwell and Minnesota's Conor MacLeod each have 203 K, and could set dynasty records for strikeouts if they stay healthy. July 25-27 @ HOUSTON So us getting hot in June probably put the division out of reach, but at 48-52 the Astros are just a couple of games behind Oakland for second place. A solid July will put them into wildcard contention too. Just 14th in runs, with Jose Renteria (.293, 26 HR) and Hughie Noonan (23 HR) leading the offense. Pitching is 8th in runs, and they have a -16 run differential. Highest ranked player: closer Alejandro Gonzales ranks 3rd, with RP Sean Pinney 4th. Both are having good years. HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (8-5, 4.68) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-6, 4.10) / LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.45) HOU pitchers: LH Chris Harris (8-8, 3.81) / RH Alex Trujillo (2-5, 4.37) / RH Dustin Springer (10-6, 4.27) #98: WIN 6-3 ... Goldthwait knocks his 20th HR, and we crank out 14 hits total...Perry lasts 7.1, records the win #99: LOSS 2-9 ... bad pitching all around...Daley gets three hits, and another HR for Goldthwait #100: LOSS 3-4 ... we can't hold a 3-1 lead late, and lost it in the 11th...11 hits aren't enough tonight Okay, two blah series in a row. Still in first place by a long way, so calm yourself, Mr. GM.... Stolen bases are still leading Home Runs in the great Hawaii Stats Chase, 104 to 103.... The bullpen ERA is now #1 in the AL, at 3.41.... Our rookie ball teams are...not good this year. Athens (11-21) has dropped nine straight, and Wilmington (8-23) has at least played better since their 0-13 start.... ELSEWHERE: Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado blew out his elbow and is done for the season. He was 10-6 in 20 starts, having earned 4.6 WAR. Hopefullly he can come back strong next year, but even if he doesn't, he's probably still a future Hall of Famer.... Losers of 8 out of 10, Milwaukee has fallen to third in the Central, overtaken by Minnesota. Detroit leads by 7.5 games.... Brooklyn's Chris White leads the NL with 90 RBI, looking for his third straight RBI title. July 28-31 @ OAKLAND One last series to right ourselves before the end of the month. June was a pretty bad month for the A's--they went 7-20--and they're 10-11 this month and are barely holding off the Astros, at 51-49. Stats are not too bad: 11th in runs, despite being 4th in OBP and 3rd in HR. Sixth in runs against, for a +10 run differential. Hitting stars have been 3B Ryan Walton (.268/31/72) and LF Felix Reyes (.262/28/72). Top SP Jim Schwartz and Chris Larimer have rebounded from poor 2049 seasons, with ERA over a point and a half lower. Highest ranked players: Walton and Reyes, both #2 at their positions. Catcher Roger Morales is ranked #6: as he's a career .247 hitter with power and little else, that should tell you all you need to know about the state of MLB catchers right now. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 4.46) / LH Mike Garfield (5-6, 4.94) / RH Dennis Perry (9-5, 4.62) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-7, 4.31) OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (4-9, 6.35) / RH Jim Schwartz (11-4, 3.03) / RH Mike Pearson (5-2, 6.18) / LH Chris Larimer (10-8, 3.31) #101: WIN 7-3 ... Simmons has a 4-for-4 night, and Ratliff fans 9 in 7 IP...Goldthwait strains a giblet running the bases, and will need to lie down for the next 5 days #102: WIN 4-0 ... a pair of complete games here, with Garfield tossing a 2-hitter and whiffing 10...20th HR for Frederick #103: WIN 7-5 ... White gives up a solo HR in the 9th to tie it, but Daley and Groff drive in runs in the 10th for the win #104: WIN 4-3 ... Jackson gives up three solo HR--and we get none--but get 16 runners and score just enough...3 hits, 2 RBI for Klein Always good to put Oakland in their place: in this case, tied for 2nd with Houston, now 17 games back.... Goldthwait is actually out for the next two games, so Whitton has been playing in his place.... Matson-Goodloe are now batting .341 and .348.... We've hit 104 home runs on the season, and our #2-#5 hitters have 75 of them.... I dumped on my rookie ball teams last post, so now I'll pump the tires on Short A Poughkeepsie: 29-7, and with a pitching staff that is almost literally murdering people this season. But I only consider three of the SP to be anything approaching legit prospect status.... While trolling around the free agents list for any low minors help, I came across a 30-year-old Japanese 1B, Tetsuro Yoshimura, who is suspended for 175 games. No note as to why.... ELSEWHERE: Nearly twenty trades in the fortnight leading up to the deadline; none are really worth discussing, however. No big names moved anywhere, no 35-year-old MR mysteriously traded for three decent prospects, etc.... Philly is hot, Brooklyn is not; they're tied for the NL East lead, with Richmond trailing by 8 games.... San Francisco has 62 wins and a 4 game lead over San Diego. Former Isles first rounder Dillon Ritter is contending for the NL batting crown (at .343), while sophomore closer John Richard is having a huge breakout season: 36 SV, 0.81 ERA, 54 K, 2.5 WAR. ...... TL;DR Version: 12-4 this stretch; started and ended well, but with a weirdly inert period in the middle. Nevertheless, we're now 68-36 and lead Oakland/Houston by 17 games. Cam Daley leads the batting race at .341, while Josh Frederick leads MLB with 93 RBI. I still consider the rotation to be the soft spot in the lineup, but decided against trading for any help. Why? Dunno really...I guess I still want to roll the dice with the guys I started with. Everyone is healthy, and when they all get going I think we can have one of the best top-to-bottom rotations in the AL. I'm encouraged by Garfield's last start, even though I know one game is a ridiculous sample size. Beats the alternative, don't it. And Eric Jones is still bugging me about an extension. He's affordable, only wants two years, and so I'm leaning towards doing it. I'm holding off for a silly reason: the last couple of guys I've extended mid-season have had serious drops in form immediately after signing. Like I said: silly. And yet...I'm waiting before making an offer. I only hope I don't go back and find out he now wants a six-year deal for $120M. In which case I will shoot him. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-11-2020, 11:16 AM	#324
progen All Star Starter Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 1,526 Infractions: 0/1 (1)	Good read!

04-19-2020, 09:50 AM	#327
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	AUGUST 2050 One hundred and four games down, fifty-eight to go. August has us playing 29 games, 16 at home. We get a nice 12-game home stand in the middle of the month too. The only divisional foes we'll see are Seattle to open the month, and Houston and California to close it. August 1-4 vs SEATTLE They've played .500 ball after a terrible April, but are still mired in fifth place, 49-57. Tenth in runs for, 7th in runs against, for a +3 run differential, oddly. Three regulars have 20 HR, but only DH Manuel Cervantes is hitting at all, at .280. The best pitcher has been Dan Welker, a 25-year-old claimed as an afterthought off waivers from KC. Having their best SP, CL, and the starting SS on the DL currently hasn't helped any. Finances: 18th ranked budget, 7th ranked payroll. The budget was cut from last year, and is projected to go lower next year too, despite turning a profit each of the last five seasons. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.47) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-3, 4.43) / LH Mike Garfield (6-6, 4.59) / RH Dennis Perry (9-5, 4.61) SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (12-7, 4.00) / LH Carlos Zenon (8-9, 4.21) / RH Jesus Aguilar (5-9, 4.66) / RH Dan Welker (10-4, 3.15) #105: WIN 9-2 ... 6-hit CG from Jones, and 3 hits each from Simmons, Daley, and Whitton #106: LOSS 1-5 ... we snooze through this one, just four hits...we do take five walks tho...Money tosses 4.2 IP in relief, fanning six #107: WIN 2-1 ... Frederick's 2-run HR does the trick...Garfield leaves in the third, injury diagnosis pending...pen yields just 2 hits the rest of tdhe way #108: WIN 6-1 ... Ryder starts the scoring with a 2-run single, and we add nine walks to boot...Perry only goes 6, but fans 7 and gives up only 5 hits Still cruising, but we get the injury report on Garfield, and it's not good: "forearm strain" and he's done for the season. Possibly for good, with us at least.... LH Shane Walker gets his second callup on the season to take Garfield's spot. He was okay in two starts, with a 4.05 ERA.... No more pitcher injuries, please, as the rest of the rotation in AAA has not pitched well this year.... ELSEWHERE: Baltimore's Nick Mullins is a heck of a defensive 2B, but he leads MLB with 171 K (in 416 AB). In the NL, Montreal 1B Antonio Maestas has fanned 151 times in 332 AB.... The NL Central is the closest division race, with four teams within five games: CIN, NOZ, PIT, and CHC. August 5-7 @ TORONTO Having another terrible season (44-63), and not hitting (11th) or pitching (17th). But they are 4th with 155 HR, and everyone but leadoff guy Clint McDowell has at least ten. Star 3B Tony Mendoza is doing what he can, .267/27/75, but despite the long ball fireworks, no one else really hits for average. And the rotation is the worst in MLB, with only #5 man Joe Payne possessing an ERA below league average. We took two out of three back in late April. Highest Ranked Player: Mendoza, #4. Sam Moore ranks 9th at SS: excellent fielder, has some power, not much for average. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (13-7, 4.25) / LH Eric Jones (14-3, 3.38) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-4, 4.62) TOR pitchers: LH Joe Payne (5-4, 4.14) / LH Frank Tate (2-6, 5.23) / LH Chris Rivera (4-7, 5.19) #109: WIN 7-2 ... Goldthwait's first inning GRAND SLAM sets the tone, and we cruise from there...Jackson tosses his 8th CG of the season #110: WIN 8-2 ... Goldy and Daley each get a HR among their three hits, and Groff adds a pair of RBI doubles to the fun...Jones gives up 11 H in 6 IP, still gets the win #111: WIN 3-0 ... Frederick's 2-run blast is the key hit, and Ratliff fans 14 in a 2-hit effort That's the first entire series of dominating pitching performances I've seen from our guys in...months? Maybe this year? Anyway, very well done.... Jackson now has 8 complete games, good for second in the AL. He pitched 10 each of the last two seasons... ELSEWHERE: Speaking of complete games, Atlanta ace Matt Waugh has 11, along with 6 shutouts.... The NL player of the week is...drum roll...the recently-departed Manny Rangel, who batted .435 with 4 HR over this stretch. He has 5 HR and 12 RBI in 69 (nice) AB with LA; he had 4 and 20 in 265 AB for us.... A 5-game winning streak has Tampa creeping closer in the AL East race: now just 4 games out of first.... Detroit's lost 6 straight but still has a 5.5 game lead over Minnesota.... And Arizona is collapsing, having lost ten in a row. At 46-66, they're not quite the worst team in the league, but are closing fast on 41-win Austin. August 9-11 vs BOSTON Aside from a terrible 10-19 record in May, they've been pretty good; the 56-55 overall mark is deceptive. The offense is inefficient--9th in runs despite 4th in AVG--and the pitching is decent, 7th in runs against. DH Rich Dragos has punched 23 HR, CF Joel Page has 22; neither, tho, is hitting for average (both below .250). We took two of three from them way back in April. Highest ranked player? RP Mark Guest, #12. Looks like an average reliever, but has chops to be a starter. Not sure why he isn't in the rotation. HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (1-0, 4.05) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.47) / RH Shamar Jackson (14-7, 4.13) BOS pitchers: RH Zion Robinson (4-5, 4.19) / RH Jose Ambriz (1-0, 6.00) / LH Jonathan Esquivel (6-10, 4.59) #112: WIN 7-4 ... Groff's solo HR and 4 guys with RBI doubles pace the attack...Walker is barely adequate, but Mahoney and White toss 3 shutout relief innings #113: WIN 9-3 ... single, double, and 2 HR for Frederick, passes 100 RBI...HR for Groff, Goodloe too #114: WIN 5-3 ... more power, this time two HR from Goldthwait...Jackson only goes 8 IP, a severe disappointment to everyone We're now batting .301 as a team. More crucially, our home run total (116) has almost caught up to our stolen bases (118). Contain your excitement.... Six regulars are batting .322 or higher. That doesn't count Joe Lynn, at .356, who is splitting time in center with Klein.... Our A ball teams are now a combined 25-66.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy has won 9 of 10, but still only have a 1.5 game lead over also-hot New Orleans. Pittsburgh, winners of 5 straight, are only 3 back of the Reds; the Cubs are six out. Tight race.... Checking in on Richmond's Old Man River pitching squad: Robby Liantonio, 36: 10-8 3.20 = pretty good; Luis Otero, 37: 8-7 3.82 = adequate; Eddy Llamas, 39: 4-4 2.26 = nice, but out until next June; Jay Russo, 38: 3-5 5.65 = disaster, and signed for two more years. Hey kids: maybe don't do this. August 12-14 vs NY YANKEES At 68-45 and have led the division all season, although Miami (4 GB) and now Tampa Bay (5) are keeping up. Fourth in runs, with a balanced offense that's also 1st in home runs (201). CF Chris Mitchell has 30 HR, and he bats leadoff; 1B Andy Howard has 33. Their first four batters have a combined 114 home runs; Our whole team has 116. The rotation has the best ERA in the AL, and is led by former Hawaii closer/starter/scapegoat Jim Kieffer. The pen is adequate, but they've shuffled Francisco Viezcas (2.56 ERA, 36 K, only 8 BB) out of the closer role, installing former Isles prospect Tim Mitchell (7.42 ERA, 32 BB in 43 IP). Injuries may catch up with them: SP Steve Ashjian (8-1, 3.91) is out for the year, and vet Kasey Sikkema hasn't pitched all season. Three relievers are also on the DL, along with RF Monte Reyna and SS Alex Castillo. They took two out of three from us in May. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (15-3, 3.31) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-4, 4.33) / LH Shane Walker (2-0, 4.66) NYY pitchers: RH Jim Kieffer (16-2, 3.25) / LH Brian Whitney (10-8, 3.05) / LH Jose Sedillo (2-5, 5.01) #115: WIN 5-2 ... HR for Goldthwait, and we're up 5-0 after five, hold on from there...7 IP for Jones, 8 K, 2 R #116: WIN 7-5 ... outhomered 3-0, but we win where it counts...3 hits and 4 RBI from Daley #117: WIN 3-2 ... 1b, 2b, HR from Groff, 3 hits from Goodloe...complete game, 6-hitter for Walker, fanning 7 No offensive explosions in this series, but rather three very efficient games.... We've just gone nuts lately, reaching 80 wins. No other team has reached 70 yet.... So, 88 HR from our top four (Goldy, Frederick, Daley, Groff), and just 30 from everyone else.... ELSEWHERE: Richmond's pile of injuries and pitching woes are finally taking their toll, as the Eagles have fallen to third place, ten games off the NL East lead.... Ladies and gentlemen, your new second place team in the AL West: the Texas Rangers! At 60-57 and winners of 8 out of 10, they've overtaken the A's and are actually only a couple of games out of the #2 wildcard slot.... Detroit backup C Austin Collins hasn't played much this season, with just 16 AB. The 40-year-old also just announced his retirement at the end of the campaign, bringing a 17-year career to a close. You might recall that he was an early Isles hitting star, moving into a DH and then C role after being claimed off waivers from Milwaukee early in 2035. He went on to start six years for us, before being traded to Portland for slugging C Alexis Mercedes. He's a career .288 hitter, and earned over 39 WAR in his career. He no longer appears on any stats leaderboards for us, but did play in 695 games on the Islands, batting .293 and earning 16.7 WAR. So long, Austin. ...... TL;DR Version: 12-1 to start August, and now on an 11-game winning streak. Don't say anything about peaking too early. Although I will admit that I wish the playoffs started tomorrow.... Anyway, we have a crazy 80-37 record and a 20 game lead over Texas. (Last place California is only 9.5 behind that; if it weren't for us this would be a fun division.) And since I talk about stolen bases all the time, here's a closer look at this critical stat. We have 123 steals; California is second in MLB with 104. Cincinnati has the fewest, at 27. Oakland has the worst percentage, just over 60 (39-for-64). There you have it. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-23-2020, 02:01 PM	#328
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	August 16-18 vs CLEVELAND Not much has gone right for the Indians this year: fifth in the Central, at 53-63, with 15th-ranked hitting and dead-last pitching. 2B D.J. Grace (.309/15/53), LF Morgan Akers (.286/18/64, and a FA signing), and closer Tim Stoner (29 saves, 1.16 ERA) have been the lone individual bright spots. Former Isles star Jeremy Dunklee--at 40 and closing in on the end--is batting just .228, but has added 14 HR and an OBP of .342. He's also closing in on 2400 career hits and 80 WAR. His career metrics make him a coin flip for the Hall, but he'll be helped by his 2 MVPs, 8 all-star appearances, 5 Silver Sluggers, and 2 World Series wins. Highest ranked player: Grace, the #1 2B in the game. SS Matthew Powell comes in at #5, mostly due to his great defense and his hefty bat (power, but only a .244 career average). HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.50) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-7, 4.10) / LH Eric Jones (16-3, 3.28) CLE pitchers: RH George Millard (7-4, 4.57) / RH Luis de Lara (9-9, 5.67) / LH Taylor Baxter (4-6, 7.50) #118: LOSS 7-9 ... yessss, outhit them 15-9 but still lose the game...Perry and Money get abused on the mound, right in front of a full house #119: LOSS 3-6 ... so the gang that can't hit put 5 into the stands tonight, just great...Goodloe gets a HR for us, hurrah #120: WIN 3-0 ... leave it to Jones, saving the day with a 4-hit complete game...2 hits each for Simmons and Daley We salvaged some pride in that last game, especially after giving up eight home runs in the first two games.... OF-turned-3B Lua Ulkini, from the Wallis Islands, tore up his knee in AAA just now and will miss 9 months. Ulkini was an outsider to make the roster next spring as a corner IF and LHB pinch hitter, but that's gone out the window now. He's just 21, so not dead yet.... ELSEWHERE: Atlanta's Matt Waugh keeps on truckin', having won 16 of the Braves 51 wins this year. And he's #1 in ERA, and WAR, and 2nd in K and wins.... SF closer John Richard reached 40 saves.... Brooklyn and Philly are now tied for first in the NL East, each at 68-52. They're 7.5 up on Richmond. Detroit has the largest non-Hawaiian divisional lead, 9 games over Minnesota. August 19-21 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX At 61-60 and still clinging to the back end of the wildcard race. Their numbers are decent: 6th in runs (4th in AVG), and 9th in runs against, with a +28 run differential. SS Chris Rock is back from injury, and after 31 games is batting .366. RF Andy Barenberg is batting well below his career number, but is still productive at .287/23/66. Ace Ben O'Neal missed a couple of months, which really hurt the playoff push, but in his 16 starts he's fanned 150 batters. Closer has been a source of woe, and now they've turned it over to former #1 ranked prospect Burton Dick. He should really be in the rotation, frankly, and getting 7+ innings every five days. He'd make a terrific 1-2 punch with O'Neal. Why does no one listen to me. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (11-4, 4.37) / LH Shane Walker (3-0, 3.81) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.68) CHW pitchers: RH Cory Graulich (8-7, 5.13) / RH Emanuel Vasquez (3-0, 4.19) / RH Ben O'Neal (8-2, 2.06) #121: WIN 14-2 ... aaagh! Groff injured! ok, just dtd whew...2 HR, RBI for Goldthwait...4 hits for Daley, 3 for Groff...Simmons singles, walks 3 times, scores 3 runs #122: WIN 5-0 ... HR for Goodloe and 3 hits for Cappuccilli, back in the lineup for the moment...Walker is lifted in the 6th, but Mahoney and Kym preserve the shutout #123: WIN 6-3 ... Perry walks 5 in 6.1 IP but wins, and we come back from an early 3-0 hole...10 hits, including 2 RBI triples, a very efficient outing Always good to sweep someone, regardless of the team.... Two injuries: Groff and Walker, both dtd. Groff will sit for the first two games of the next series as I'm not taking a chance with him. Walker might be available for his next start. With no days off, it'll be questionable.... Goldy now leads the team with 28 HR, while Frederick still leads the AL with 109 RBI.... ELSEWHERE: Tight batting race in the NL: Dillon Ritter (SF) .348; George Livezey (PHI) .348; and Jose Tavares (CIN) .346. Tavares is also gunning for his second MVP, leading the NL in HR, SLG, WAR, H, TB, EBH, ISO, while appearing on nearly every desirable leaderboard everywhere else.... Pittsburgh has won 7 in a row and now trails Cincinnati by just two games. August 22-24 @ MILWAUKEE Last year's Islander-killers are on the outside looking in: 63-61, 11 games behind Detroit, and 4.5 out of the second wildcard slot. Fifth in runs scored, with CF Oscar Espinosa (.292/29/80) the leader. C William Antonio is batting .313, and leadoff LF Emilio Valdez .317. Pitching is just 14th in runs against, and most of the rotation has been an Achilles heel. Josh Kennedy (6-4, 2.80) has been the best starter, but he has a pending injury. Ostensible #1 Bryan Shaheen has been okay, but that's it. Last year's 17-game winner Jeffrey Foley is out until spring, and four relievers are also on the shelf. Rookie ball Helena is 36-20; but every other farm club is at least 20 games below .500. Odd for a system that ranks #4. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-8, 4.22) / LH Eric Jones (17-3, 3.11) / RH Ryan Ratliff (12-4, 4.29) MIL pitchers: RH Ryan Crawley (8-14, 4.82) / RH Danny Salgado (0-1, 6.75) / RH Josh Kennedy (6-4, 2.80) #124: LOSS 6-7 ... Goldthwait's GRAND SLAM is a rare highlight tonight...why can't we get these guys out? #125: WIN 10-2 ... 4 hits and another HR for Goldy, and 4 hits also for Simmons...HR for Frederick and Matson too...Jones with another quiet 7 IP, 5 H and 2 K #126: LOSS 1-2 ... Ratliff stakes us to a 1-0 lead into the 9th, but a solo HR and a 13th inning walkoff sac fly lose this one Blech, let's just get out of town. Bad, good, then bad-should-have-been-good.... Groff is back at 100% and it looks like Walker will be fine for his start tomorrow.... Jackson's knuckler hasn't been dancing lately. Shake it off Shamar!... Philly re-signed veteran SP Andy Goeser to a 3-year deal worth $7.9M per. I bring it up because he was a potential free agent target of mine this fall. Scratch that one.... ELSEWHERE: Portland has been trying to catch up to the three-team race at the top of the NL West, but losing two of their top RP in one game--both for the season--won't help. Add them to the others already on the DL: C, 2B, SS, SP, 2 other RP.... California's Luis Rivera just had a 23-game hitting streak snapped. He's still batting .273 even with the streak; must've been a lot of 1-for-4 games in there, huh.... A whisper campaign is building in Boston against veteran pitcher Mike Wiater. He's a jerk, and a warning against signing older pitchers in free agency: coming off a 5.9 WAR, 302 K year in '47, he signed for four years with the Sox. Pitched well in '48: 17 wins and 5.6 WAR. Wheels fell off last year tho, with a 5.86 ERA, a sharp decline in K, and a sharp rise in BB and HR. This year? 14 relief appearances, 21 IP, negative WAR, and his car keeps getting keyed. Plus, he's signed for next year too. August 25-28 @ HOUSTON Part of the middling pack in our division, at 62-66 but only 2.5 games out of second place. Hitting still stinks, 15th in runs and 17th in AVG. 3B Ricky Silva (.285/17/56), 1B Jose Renteria (.284/27/70), RF Hughie Noona (29 HR), and LF David Heathcock (.345) have been good, but no one else has. At all. Pitching ranks 7th, and the rotation has been really good. Outside of vet Danny Ruiz, everyone else has an ERA well below the league average, and Chris Harris and Chris Avalos have been striking out lots of guys. Not much else to say here, except that I hope their #2 prospect Humberto Quirindongo makes the bigs one day, just so I can hear his name announced on the PA year after year. HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (4-0, 3.21) / RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 4.67) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-9, 4.35) / LH Eric Jones (18-3, 3.08) HOU pitchers: RH Alex Trujillo (3-7, 4.18) / RH Danny Ruiz (10-10, 4.71) / LH Chris Harris (9-13, 3.89) / RH Dustin Springer (13-8, 4.03) #127: LOSS 1-2 ... Walker fans 11 in 8 IP but takes the loss...we outhit them 6 to 4 too #128: LOSS 1-2 ... lather, rinse, repeat...same score, same number of hits...2 H for Groff and Cappuccilli, strong game for Perry #129: LOSS 0-4 ... nada #130: LOSS 7-12 ... hey look, we scored some runs! That last loss was capped off by an 8-run meltdown in the 8th.... I guess this is making up for that crazy winning stretch through July and early August, huh. Well I'm ready for it to end, thanks.... Goldthwait reaches 30 HR, and Daley hit two in the final game to get to 23. He still leads the AL with a .348 average.... ELSEWHERE: Cleveland's DJ Grace (7.2) and NYY's Melvin Lopez (7.0) are the first batters to reach 7 WAR. Atlanta's Matt Waugh leads everybody with 7.5.... Arizona's Mat Caldwell has blown past everyone to lead MLB with 276 K. He's on pace to record 347. His previous career high is 270. (Yes, he is a pitcher.) August 29-31 @ CALIFORNIA Last place, 56-74, but at least not heading for an all-time bad season any longer. Hitting ranks 16th, but at least they steal lots of bases. Nate Atwater is having a breakout season at 27, batting .272/36/91, way over his career averages. Ricky Ochoa has 27 HR and is still growing. Pitching ranks 12th, mostly due to ace Jon Carlsen and closer Scott Mahala (22 saves). Three SP are on the DL. Highest ranked player: SS Kevin Lutz, 7th only by virtue of some world-class fielding. He's batting .263 with limited power and is still on pace for 6 WAR. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (12-4, 4.09) / LH Shane Walker (4-1, 3.02) / RH Dennis Perry (10-6, 4.54) CAL pitchers: RH Jon Carlsen (10-8, 2.75) / RH Mike Hosey (5-5, 4.82) / RH David Fults (1-2, 8.68) #131: WIN 14-2 ... 10 runs in innings 5-7 salt it away...lots of hits and RBI to go around, and Klein goes 4-for-5 #132: WIN 9-4 ... Frederick's turn to go 4-for-5, just missing out on a cycle...3 singles and 2 RBI for Simmons #133: WIN 7-2 ... more hits all around, and Perry wins it with six innings of 4-hit ball, fanning 8...3 IP in relief by Money, earning a rare save The New Normal: Sweep or Get Swept.... Had a brief scare when Groff was pulled in the 5th for a pinch runner, but it was just precautionary. No injury to report.... Stoneback comes off the DL just in time for the September roster expansion.... We're still batting .300 as a team. We did it once before, batting .304 way back in 2039 when we beat San Diego for our first championship.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn's Steve Bozarth tosses the 3rd no-hitter of the 2050 season, in a 4-0 win over Washington. Bozarth, 21, is a rookie and was a 4th round pick in 2047. Meaning everyone--us too--had at least three shots at him and said "naah".... Going into September and no one has 40 HR yet. When was the last time that happened? The 1980s? Oakland's Ryan Walton has been stuck on 38 for nearly two weeks now, and still no one has caught him.... Miami has caught the Yankees in the AL East. See the attachment below--there are going to be some tight races coming down the stretch this year! ...... TL;DR Version: We finish the month on an 8-8 run, and yet for the whole of August we went 20-9. Disparities are cool.... Anyway, we head into September pretty much assured of a playoff spot and most certainly the division. (Magic # is 11.) Still 1st in offense and pitching, for a wild +225 run differential. Cam Daley still leads AL batters at .344, and Josh Frederick tops all of baseball with 116 RBI. And for you farm aficionados out there: three teams have winning records. AAA Santa Barbara (78-40) leads their division by 15.5; Short A Poughkeepsie (49-18) has clinched theirs; and A ball Eureka (71-64) sits in third place, and probably will not see the post-season. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

04-26-2020, 07:03 PM	#329
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	SEPTEMBER 2050 Last month of the season! (Plus a couple games in October, whatever.) We have 27 games this month, and two in October. Only nine of those games will be on the road, and we close the season with a two-week homestand. For the roster expansion, we add very little. OF Julius Burrows was up for a week earlier in the summer, but didn't see any action. He's back, and we'll work the 24-year-old into the lineup a bit to see what he's got. (For the record: a little bit of everything, but speed and defense are his hallmarks.) Relievers Dan Brown (off rehab) and Nick Kramer will help round out the bullpen. I might bring up an SP for a couple of starts, but my AAA rotation has been really subpar and no one stands out as worthy of a promotion atm. (Olimpio Le Coq comes closest, but he's only a week back from his long-term injury.) Seth Howard has been in the AAA pen all season, but did get some time as a swingman with us in '48; he might come up too, in a week or so. September 2-4 @ TEXAS The sad sack Rangers are now 4 games over .500 and contending for a wildcard spot. They went 18-9 in August, all after losing three pitchers, their 3B, and their C for extended periods. All of which is probably not a strong selling point for the future of GM Brett "Not Thanos" Tanos. Then again, all their top players are signed for next year and they've got some money to spend come this off-season. Throw in some tasty-looking prospects, and the result is...maybe some good times are finally coming to town? Worth watching. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 4.36) / LH Eric Jones (18-3, 3.20) / RH Ryan Ratliff (13-4, 4.03) TEX pitchers: RH Kevin Cahill (6-5, 4.35) / RH Paul Labbe (2-5, 3.72) / RH Mike Kent (7-13, 4.87) #134: LOSS 4-5 ... Goodloe's 3-run HR in the 9th ties it up, but White loads the bases and gives up the GW hit in the bottom half, dangit #135: WIN 12-4 ... Lynn smacks his first MLB HR, adds two other hits and 2 RBI...4 hits for Rich, 3 for Groff #136: LOSS 3-5 ... Groff's 3 hits are almost as many as the Rangers get: five...congrats on the standings boost, Texas Eh, I guess I could look at our recent play as the team leaking a bit of oil, but I'd rather we stay healthy and take the next few weeks to give some guys some targeted rest. Not worried about the standings or our final winning percentage. Only one thing matters now.... Goodloe is still batting .354 and making a strong strong push to be in next year's starting lineup. Ok, I'm taking you seriously now, Bob.... Ratliff reaches 200 K for the second time in his career (203 in '47).... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn's Steve Bozarth, of recent-no-hitter fame, has been a monster in his last five starts: 43.1 IP, 13 H, 2 R, 53 K, 10 BB, 3 wins. He also has an unworldly 30 defensive rating at pitcher. Damn.... Detroit reaches 80 wins and has a 9.5 game lead over Milwaukee. NYY and Miami have been trading first place for about a week now. September 6-8 vs MINNESOTA This is a four-game set, actually, thanks to a July rain out game. The first game counts as a road game, too. Currently 70-65, a couple games out of the wildcard, and a half game behind Milwaukee for second in the Central. Hitting is 3rd in runs, with a quartet of .300 hitters and a pair who've reached 30 HR (including last year's #1 overall Jordan Foots). Pitching is only 15th, but Conor MacLeod is one of a number of guys in the AL Cy Young race. Highest ranked player? Josh Jacobson, RF #3. He's been as advertised this year, batting .325/30/105, and on track to earn nearly 8 WAR. He may also earn his first Gold Glove this year. HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (4-1, 3.40) / RH Dennis Perry (11-6, 4.42) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 4.38) / LH Eric Jones (19-3, 3.26) MIN pitchers: RH Conor MacLeod (15-9, 3.50) / RH Joe O'Dowd (7-12, 5.00) / LH Bobby Reder (9-10, 4.62) / LH Ryan Galletto (8-10, 5.10) #137: WIN 6-4 ... a 4-run 8th is the key tonight...2-run HR from Daley and Goodloe...30th save for White #138: WIN 3-2 ... another 8th inning clincher, this time it's Frederick's solo HR...CG 6-hitter for Perry #139: LOSS 2-3 ... Jackson goes the distance, fans 10...no offense tho, only five singles #140: WIN 7-1 ... Goodloe's bases loaded triple starts us rolling, and we score all that on 9 hits and 8 walks...20th win for Jones Jones celebrates his first 20-win season, and we announce a contract extension the same day: we've upped him for two more years at $15.1M per, and a few bonuses added in. Jones wanted a four-year deal, but we talked him off of that cliff. The second year is a player option, which doesn't worry me, even if he starts aging by then.... We're also looking at extending Goodloe, as he has a year of arbitration left and I want to avoid having a host of $$$ arbs in one sitting again, like we did last fall.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle's Dan Welker tossed the fourth MLB no-hitter of the season, a 2-0 win over Toronto. This is the first no-no by a Mariner since Berserker Graham did it back in '25.... Three weeks to go in the season, and the tight division races are thus: Miami (1 ahead of NYY); Philly (2.5 over Brooklyn); Cincy (5 up on NOZ, 5.5 on Pittsburgh); and San Francisco (3 over LA, 5.5 over SD). If the current divisional leaders hold, the wildcard races are: NYY (78 wins), MIL (74), TEX (73), TB and CHW (72), MIN (71). In the NL: BKN (78), LA (76), NOZ and PIT (75), SD (74), POR (72). September 9-11 vs KANSAS CITY Playing out the string now, at 62-76. At 17th in hitting and 12th in pitching, it's been a lost season all around in KC. RF Eric Ashlock's .288 average is the high number, and seven regulars are batting below .250. With their top two LF on the DL, they called up 24-year-old Greg Richards, who's batting .455! Ok, only 22 at bats tho. Looking toward next year, what do they have? A mediocre farm system; a top heavy salary structure, although they look to free up about $30M for free agents this fall; about half of a solid MLB-level pitching staff; most of their players rank in the bottom third of MLB's projections, and one (of two) that isn't is a 36-year-old catcher in decline who can't catch anymore and is on the hook for $24M per through '52. So, not great. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (13-15, 4.09) / LH Shane Walker (5-1, 3.56) / RH Dennis Perry (12-6, 4.29) KCR pitchers: RH Adam Grossman (2-15, 5.87) / RH Angel Cordova (8-3, 3.81) / RH Chris Liles (10-7, 3.09) #141: WIN 5-0 ... a 10-K 3-hitter by Ratliff, really begging for an extension now...3 hits from Lynn, 2 from Simmons with 2 RBI #142: WIN 7-6 ... Walker struggles, spotting KC a 5-0 lead in the first...smallball wins this one: 9 hits, 6 walks, 4 steals, 2 SF, 0 home runs #143: LOSS 0-8 ... Liles dominates us, giving up more walks (5) than hits (4)...Groff walks 3 times, and apparently his failure to hit earns him getting pulled for a PH Up to 94 wins now, and a Magic # of 3.... Stoneback sees his first action since coming off the DL, getting in an inning at 1B (?) in that third game. Burrows doubles in his first MLB at bat. Clearly another Islanders superstar is brewing.... Stolen bases have now pulled comfortably ahead of home runs, 149 to 139. Very exciting race here.... ELSEWHERE: LA starter Jeff Miller must be an odd sight: a 6'3" sidearm left-hander who barely hits 91 on the radar gun. And his pitch count over his last five starts? 130, 125, 125, 121, 141. That's four complete games (one a 12-inning affair) and one 8-inning outing.... Still no one at 40 HR. Cincy's Jose Tavares has 39, and a trio in the AL have 38. Oakland's Ryan Walton has been the season-long leader, but hasn't hit one out since August 20.... Pittsburgh has lost 9 straight, while LA (+7) and RIC (+6) are moving up. September 13-15 @ DETROIT Their 83-58 mark is the 2nd best in MLB, and they're ahead of Milwaukee by 8 games. Still an offensive juggernaut, 2nd in runs and home runs. Only catcher Dan Starr hasn't hit double figures in HR, and he has 9 in just 87 games. CF Luis Rodela (.286/23/72) has missed two months, so they slot in Roberto Flores (.308/19/51) in his place. Sure. Everyone in the lineup is producing, simply put. Pitching is 11th, with a rotation that places 16th, so not so great. But looking at the five starters and it's clear that they've moved out all but one of the non-producers, as four guys have ERA under 4 (translation: really good). They blew us out in three in our first series. Revenge? Sure, but I'd rather get it in October. HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-11, 4.32) / LH Eric Jones (20-3, 3.20) / RH Ryan Ratliff (14-5, 3.90) DET pitchers: RH Raul Bravo (14-4, 3.90) / RH Ross Barnett (7-5, 3.49) / LH T.J. Carroll (17-8, 3.79) #144: WIN 3-2 ... we hold them to 5 hits, Daley homers, and Groff drives in two...Two hits each for Simmons, Daley, Groff...division is clinched! #145: WIN 9-6 ... 17 hits, including 3 HR...a pair of doubles from Groff, and 3 hits each for Frederick and Matson...everyone gets a hit! #146: LOSS 6-10 ... we outhit them 12-11, but our pitchers toss in 10 walks for fun Even with that last stinker this is a much better performance than our first series against those guys.... Eric Jones' next win will be his 200th, all with us. Not bad for a 21st round pick, huh.... Frederick hit his 30th HR; Daley now has 25, Groff 19.... Looking at non-minimum arbitration estimates for the fall, here's the list and my present thinking: Perry (dunno?), Cappuccilli (meh), Kym (meh), Goodloe (yes, or an extension), Matson (yes, or an extension). There are two others with estimates below $1M.... ELSEWHERE: Atlanta's Matt Waugh joins Eric Jones in the 20-win club. Waugh is the shoo-in for NL Cy Young, let's be honest here.... Aaaand Ryan Walton reaches 40 HR. Our long national nightmare is over.... The Yankees and Marlins have each won 8 of their last 10, and are in a virtual tie for first. Brooklyn has won 6 straight and overtaken the Phillies. ...... TL;DR Version: Obviously I don't know what the rest of the season will bring, but it felt good to actually show up against the Tigers this time. We go 8-5 to start September, and have a very pretty 96-50 overall record. We clinched the division too. Now the goal is to a) stay healthy, and b) not slump. Stay sharp so we don't have a repeat of last year's playoff fiasco. After rewarding Jones with an extension, and writing about upcoming arbitrations above, I start negotiating with SS Bob Goodloe. Let's just say that right now there's been a lot of back and forth... Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-01-2020, 07:46 PM	#330
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	September 16-18 @ SEATTLE The last road series of the season, if you can believe that. Once again a solid pitching effort (5th in runs) is undone by meh offense (11th). 2B Jose Rodriguez hit 28 HR but slumped to just .228, and is now on the DL. Injuries also caught up to aging Mike Wapner, to the tune of just .265 and 14 HR for the year. And for some reason they have a guy with a .269 OBP batting leadoff. Former Cy Young winner Miguel Moreno lasted just 8 starts before going down for the season. For next year, their top three prospects are already in the bigs, so at least they're getting valuable experience. None have played well, but they're still growing. And #5 guy Dan Welker, you may recall, recently tossed a no-hitter. So there's some reason for optimism; which is good, because it looks like the West could be a dogfight next year, with several teams improving. HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (5-1, 4.22) / RH Dennis Perry (12-7, 4.52) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-11, 4.25) SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (15-12, 4.74) / LH Carlos Zenon (15-10, 3.66) / RH Jesus Aguilar (9-13, 4.51) #147: WIN 5-1 ... 3 HR, including one by Simmons! Goodloe and Frederick too...4 hits by Daley...7 IP from the up-and-down Walker, only 5 H and 1 R #148: WIN 9-2 ... 4 HR tonight, including Groff's 20th and another for Goodloe...Daley and Groff closing in on 100 RBI #149: WIN 6-5 ... we come back from a 5-1 deficit, banging out 3 more HR, yet another one from Goodloe...Jackson gets pulled in the 5th Very nice. And that crazy homer binge gives us more dingers than steals--154 to 153--in case you're keeping track.... Goodloe has gotten a hit in 28 of his last 31 games. Oh, and we extended him: five years, $61.4M. Fifth year is a team option. We're overpaying him next year, but I think (hope!) he'll be a bargain in a couple years.... ELSEWHERE: LA has snuck past the Giants, thanks in part to a sudden five game losing streak from SF. And LA starter Marvin Diaz has had a quietly excellent season, becoming the third pitcher to reach 20 wins. He's 20-8, 2.38 ERA, 216 K, and 7.0 WAR.... NY is back to a 2.5 game lead over the Marlins, and Cincy is pulling away from New Orleans, now with an 8.5 game lead. September 19-21 vs TEXAS Hanging on to some wildcard hopes, at 77-71. They won't catch whoever loses the AL East division, but they're only 2.5 games behind 2nd place Tampa Bay. Star William Swanson hasn't hit for his usual average (.293, about 25 points below his career rate), but now has 41 HR and 106 RBI. He's gunning for his second AL MVP, and will get some votes for his power numbers alone. Rookies Eric Robbins (21 HR) and Ronnie Halverson (23), along with now-injured C Juan Espinoza (16 HR in 82 games) gives the Rangers a strong core going into next year. Pitcher Greg Buchanan has finally grown into his talent, and once injured #2 Bobby Daniel comes back they'll have a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (21-3, 3.18) / RH Ryan Ratliff (14-6, 4.00) / LH Shane Walker (6-1, 3.91) TEX pitchers: RH Paul Labbe (3-6, 4.64) / RH Mike Kent (9-13, 4.84) / RH Ricky Cruz (3-4, 5.40) #150: WIN 2-0 ... Jones scatters just 3 hits over 7.1 IP...we combine 11 hits with 8 walks, but ground in 4 double plays #151: LOSS 4-5 ... Capp hits his first HR of the year, a 3-run shot...too little, tho, as we give up 2 in the 9th and lose in the 11th #152: WIN 9-3 ... a 5-run 1st sparks us, led by HR from Frederick and Daley...Klein shows up with 3 hits, all doubles, which ties a team record Sorry, Texas, but I want wins wins wins! And hits, and runs, and etc.... Jones wins his 200th game, and ties the team season record as well.... Daley reaches 100 RBI, Groff now at 99.... Daley is also battling Minnesota's Josh Jacobson for the AL batting crown. Daley is now at .333, Jacobson .332.... ELSEWHERE: The NL batting race is a three person fight: Dillon Ritter (SF) .339; Jose Tavares (CIN) .338; George Livezey (PHI) .337.... Yankees RF Melvin Lopez leads MLB batters with 9.0 WAR. He's batting .305 with 36 HR, but is really making his mark in the field, with a combined +12.7 ZR in 149 games at center and right.... Ten straight wins for the Reds now, and an 8.5 game lead. The other NL divisions are deadlocked: BKN/PHI in the East, LA/SF in the West. September 23-25 vs HOUSTON At 75-77, they're nearly out of the wildcard race, but it hasn't been a lost season. The offense has been the real drag on any progress however: especially the bottom third of the lineup, which has combined for a .185 average in over 1000 total AB. For next year, nearly everyone critical is already signed, except for current #1 SP Chris Avalos. I still think having a closer who's making $33M a season is...a bit much, however. HAW pitchers: RH Olimpio Le Coq (debut) / RH Shamar Jackson (16-11, 4.36) / LH Eric Jones (22-3, 3.07) HOU pitchers: RH Chris Avalos (12-6, 3.69) / LH Chris Harris (10-16, 4.12) / RH Alex Trujillo (5-10, 4.41) #153: WIN 7-6 ... a 6-0 deficit is erased in the final innings, capped by Frederick's 2-run triple in the 9th...3 hits for Daley #154: WIN 6-4 ... 2 RBI hits for Goodloe, and Simmons drives in 3 with a 2b and 3b...9 K puts Jackson over 200 on the season #155: WIN 6-5 ... 3 more hits for Daley, really reaching for that title...and he wins it with a walk-off HR in the 10th Roll roll roll. The sweep eliminates Houston officially.... Short A Poughkeepsie lost the NY-Penn League title in six games to the Hudson Valley Renegades. Tough end to a great 52-18 season. Only AAA Santa Barbara looks like they'll see the post-season. No one else is that close.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit and Cincinnati clinch their divisions. Everywhere else is tight: NY leads Miami by 2; Philly by 1 over Brooklyn; and San Diego has surged to a half game lead on SF and LA.... Atlanta's Matt Waugh has gotten better down the stretch, lowering his ERA to 1.80. If this guy isn't a UNANIMOUS Cy Young pick in the NL, there ought to be an investigation. September 26-29 vs OAKLAND They're not offically eliminated yet, but at 78-77 and 7 games out from the second wildcard spot, it won't be long. The record is average, their stats are average. Big seasons from Ryan Walton (42 HR, 104 RBI) and Felix Reyes (40 and 116), and the team is 5th in home runs. The outlook for next year is promising: everyone good is coming back, they've got some money for free agents, and an owner who like to spend. I hate to say it, but they're getting close to being really good again, if they manage it right. HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (14-6, 3.93) / LH Shane Walker (7-1, 3.84) / RH Olimpio Le Coq (0-0, 5.40) / RH Shamar Jackson (17-11, 4.32) OAK pitchers: RH Jim Schwartz (15-11, 3.15) / RH Oscar Escobedo (8-16, 6.19) / LH Chris Larimer (17-11, 3.10) / RH Mike Pearson (10-6, 4.95) #156: LOSS 5-15 ... damn...at least we score 5 late runs to avoid the shutout...3 hits for Frederick...three pitchers share all the grief tonight #157: WIN 7-1 ... 4 hits for Goodloe, 2 HR for Goldthwait...Walker tosses 8.1 IP, 7 K and just 1 BB #158: LOSS 2-4 ... we outhit them 10-6 but can't string anything together...Le Coq fans 8, but gives up all 4 runs in 6 IP #159: LOSS 2-7 ... more outhitting, but only solo HR from Goldthwait and Daley make a dent Oakland is still eliminated, but hey they secure at least an 81-win season.... Goldthwait has 39 HR and 97 RBI. One three-run HR in the next series should do it.... Le Coq has gotten two starts here late, in place of Perry, but I'm going to put Perry back in to get one more start before the playoffs.... ELSEWHERE: NY and Miami clinch playoff spots, as do Philly and Brooklyn. Two will win their division, two will be wildcard entries.... Going into the final series of the season, here are the second-place wildcard races: TB (86 wins), TEX (85), MIL (84), BOS (83). In the NL, SD (89), SF and NO (87), LA (85), and PIT (84). One of SD or SF looks to win the NL West. September 30, October 1-2 vs CALIFORNIA Last place in the division has been clinched, and they're at 69 wins. LF Nate Atwater had a breakout season in his first as a starter, .263/39/102. But he's 26 and it will be interesting to see if this was a fluke or not. 1B Ricky Ochoa, 22, raised his average by 30 points and hit 32 HR. He'll need to get even better than that next year. Four SP are on the DL, which may seem like a terrible thing until you notice that the rotation ERA ranks 15th in the AL. The good news is that the guys who won't be back are limited to overpaid or underperforming vets, so there's room for some young guys to grow. Unless they make some huge moves in free agency, they won't compete next year; but maybe by 2052 they'll be getting there. HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (22-3, 3.23) / RH Dennis Perry (13-7, 4.47) / LH Shane Walker (8-1, 3.56) CAL pitchers: RH Chris Muhammad (1-1, 5.79) / RH Jon Carlsen (12-10, 3.16) / RH Mike Hosey (7-8, 4.60) #160: WIN 7-2 ... Goodloe smacks another HR, Daley with 3 hits, and Lynn doubles and triples...Jones pulled in the 4th, but won't miss any time #161: LOSS 0-10 ... blech, nothing to see here unless you're a fan of Angels SP Jon Carlsen #162: LOSS 3-7 ... Walker gets bombed, complicating my post-season rotation plans...two hits for Daley, sealing the AL batting crown! More mediocre play to close things out. Ok, now things get serious and we gotta step it up.... Hopefully we'll get straight, and best of all: no one got hurt. So outside of Mike Garfield still being out, everyone else is healthy and ready to go.... ELSEWHERE: Texas! In the playoffs! Dogs and cats, living together! It has been 27 years since the Rangers made the playoffs; and yes, they could be one-and-done, but still, congrats! They'll play the Yankees in the AL wildcard game.... In the NL, San Francisco led the West for most of the summer, but they faded in September, lost the division to San Diego, and then missed the wildcard by a game to New Orleans. The Zephyrs won their final 8 games to slide into the wildcard game, where they'll face the defending champs from Brooklyn.... Atlanta's Matt Waugh was just 9 strikeouts away from winning the pitching triple crown.... Two new batting champs! NL: SF Dillon Ritter, .351; and AL: HAW Cameron Daley, .338. Oh, btw, Ritter was a supplemental 1st round pick of ours in '42. So it's like we won both crowns!.... No surprise that Austin (60-102) fired manager Jean Ramirez and GM Marc Ritter at the end of the season. No word yet on replacements. ...... TL;DR Version: We finish on a 10-6 mark, and 106-56 total; we won the division by 18 games. The only dark(-ish) mark is that we lost five of our last seven games. But let's be happy with what we have right now, eh? We wound up first in runs, AVG, OBP, and steals; 2nd in runs against, 3rd in starters ERA, 1st in bullpen ERA. Defense wasn't so hot: 10th in efficiency, 12th in ZR, but tied for second in fewest errors. Six end-of-season regulars batted over .300, and even though he didn't qualify for the batting race, Bob Goodloe led the team with a .354 mark (466 AB), and managed 15 HR and 80 RBI. He more than earned the five year extension we signed him to. On the mound, Eric Jones had a career year: 22-3, 3.26 ERA, 167 K, 5.0 WAR. But unless those 22 wins carry a lot of weight with voters, I don't think he'll feature in the Cy Young race: finishing 5th in WAR and FIP were his only other leaderboard appearances. Stranger things have happened, but I'm not banking on it. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-02-2020, 02:09 PM	#331
Sizeman21 Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: The bleachers of Sportsman's Park Posts: 435	Hope you can finish strong in the playoffs! I always love reading about how the Islanders are faring these days! Keep up the good work Bub! __________________

05-03-2020, 04:06 PM	#332
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2050 PLAYOFFS Wildcard games get things going: NL -- Brooklyn hangs on for a 7-6 win over New Orleans, despite giving up 2 scary runs in the top of the 9th. The defending champs are still alive. AL -- Texas makes a strong run, but the Yankees rally from a 3-1 deficit and win it in the bottom of the 10th. ...... (Before we get started, AAA Santa Barbara loses in five to El Paso. No title for the Surf this year, dangit.) DIVISIONAL SERIES, Hawaii vs New York Yankees The 92-win Yankees look like an extremely tough team for a wildcard club. Third in runs scored and runs against, with a +157 run differential. Plus: first in home runs, with 291. Power teams have been our Achilles heel in years past (hello Detroit), so we'll see.... Where do we start with this lineup? Andy Howard and Chris Mitchell: 44 HR each. Melvin Lopez: .302/37/97, all-around solid and MVP front-runner. Ninth-place batter Jon Diaz: 29 home runs. On the mound, starters Jim Kieffer and Brian Whitney are a solid 1-2 punch. Tim Mitchell and Mike Thomas struggled, but have to pitch due to injuries to Joe Erkel and Steve Ashjian. The bullpen ERA ranked 14th, and current closer Jose Sedillo (20 saves, 5.16 ERA) doesn't inspire confidence. But these guys can hit, and if they get to our pitching staff--just like Milwaukee did last year--they could flat-out outhit us and end this one quickly. We've got to come out fast and not let up. Trite, but true. Let's go! Game One, Saturday, October 9th: New York (RH Jim Kieffer 19-8, 3.62) @ Hawaii (LH Eric Jones 22-3, 3.26). We start early, when in the first Daley walks, steals second, then scores on Groff's single. We then strand runners in the 2nd and 3rd, but can't bring anyone home. NY strikes back in the 4th after an Andy Howard single and a Gabe Lafferty home run. 2-1 Yankees. Another inning goes by, no runs. Fifth inning, we're at bat. Daley singles, steals again; Groff singles, but Daley stops at third. Our first big break happens next, when Frederick blasts a deep shot into the left field stands. Two outs later, after a Goodloe single and steal, Lynn doubles him home, and we're up 6-2. The teams swap runs in the 8th, but no more. We take game one! Bad news, tho: Jones is pulled after three innings with back spasms. Uh oh. Final score: Hawaii 7, NY 3. Hawaii leads series 1-0. Game Two, Monday, October 10th: New York (RH Josh Haynam 6-5, 3.95) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 17-12, 4.33). After two quiet innings, NY gets on the board in the third after a double, single, and fielder's choice. We return the favor quickly in the bottom half: Simmons singles, then scores on Daley's double; next, Groff singles and Daley scores from second. Groff is stranded at third, but we're up 2-1. In the fifth, Simmons singles again, goes to third after a single and ground out, and comes home on Frederick's sac fly. Next inning, four singles by our guys bring home two more runs. The Yanks try to rally late, but only get one more run on a Melvin Lopez home run. We outhit them 12-5, and score two unearned runs on two NY errors. Final score: Hawaii 5, NY 2. Hawaii leads series 2-0. Game Three, Wednesday, October 12th: Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 14-7, 4.21) @ New York (LH Brian Whitney 14-13, 3.32). Finally, a defensive struggle! NY strikes early, when Andy Howard hits a two-run homer in the first, his second HR of the series. Meanwhile, Whitney is setting us down in order, and we only manage four hits all game, with one walk. Ratliff is pitching well too, allowing just six hits, but does give up a solo home run in the seventh. And that's it, no other scoring. Final score: NY 3, Hawaii 0. Hawaii leads series 2-1. Game Four, Thursday, October 13th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 13-8, 4.62) @ New York (LH Mike Thomas 7-8, 5.11). Another fast start for NY, when Lafferty's two-run blast sparks a three-run first. We tie it in the fourth with a four-hit, three-run frame of our own. But Marcus Walker brings two home with his own home run, the Sieb Moleman drives in two with a single in the next inning. We can only manage a few more runners the rest of the way, and bring one run home in the 9th, but no more. One more game, do or die. Final score: New York 7, Hawaii 4. Series tied 2-2. Game Five, Saturday, October 15th: New York (RH Joe Erkel 18-7, 2.99) @ Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 8-2, 4.21). Finally, no doubts about this one! Five doubles in the bottom of the first help score SIX runs. Marcus Dotson gets some back with a three-run shot in the 2nd, but Joe Lynn (of all people) adds one for us with a solo shot in the third. The Yanks plate two more in the fourth, then things quiet down until Frederick brings home two for us in the sixth. We add one more in the 8th on a pair of singles, and we can finally breathe a sigh of relief! Final score: Hawaii 10, NY 5. Hawaii WINS series 3-2! Elsewhere ... Miami sweeps Detroit into the dustbin in three straight. In the NL, Brooklyn spots Cincinnati a game, then wins three straight. San Diego does likewise to Philadelphia. Next: Hawaii vs Miami, Brooklyn vs San Diego. ...... Woot! No first round exit like last year! It was close, but we rode our home field advantage to a home sweep. Cam Daley wins the series MVP, going 10-for-22. The bad news is that Eric Jones' back injury, while just dtd, is serious enough to push him out of the rotation. Shane Walker, the winner of Game Five, took his place in this series and will stay in the rotation. Next: Miami is coming to town! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-03-2020, 05:20 PM	#333
Sizeman21 Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: The bleachers of Sportsman's Park Posts: 435	Great series! I just realized Hawaii to New York could probably be the longest trans American flight for baseball. Miami will be a good test as well! Long flights as well __________________

05-05-2020, 12:34 PM	#335
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2050 LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND The Marlins are in the playoffs for the second consecutive season, and third time in the last four. All that since they dumped that Jeter fellow... Anyway, not a good hitting team: 14th in runs, 10th in average. Of the regulars, only SS Mario Rivera (.284) and DH Sean West (.272) hit over .250, although CF Phil Cronce hit .320 in less than half a season after coming back from injury. They were 8th in home runs, however, with six starters hitting over 20. Pitching is where they shine: 1st in runs against and the 2nd best rotation and bullpen ERA. Matt Rubin missed the entire season with a torn labrum, but Victor Nunez won 16 games, closer Rick Ramirez (him again) saved 35 with a 1.70 ERA, and three others relievers had ERA under 2. This is a balanced team, and if they got on base more they'd be even better. (Who wouldn't.) We took four out of six from them in the reagular season. Game One, Monday, October 17th: Miami (LH Victor Nunez 1-0, 2.57) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 1-0, 2.25). Fast start! We go single-double-single-double-single and score five runs in the 2nd to blitz out to an early lead. Meanwhile, Jackson keeps mowing 'em down, registering three 1-2-3 innings in the first four. Then we add runs in the 6th (one), 7th (two), and 8th (one more) to extend the lead to a whopping 9-0. Jackson gives up a solo HR to Chris Bierly in the 9th, but allows just four other hits while fanning 9. Nice to take charge early and coast to a win! Final score: Hawaii 9, Miami 1. Hawaii leads series 1-0. Game Two, Tuesday, October 18th: Miami (RH Jason Simon 1-0, 6.75) @ Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 1-0, 3.86). An even faster start tonight, as four singles, a steal, and some iffy fielder's choices make for a three-run first inning. Solo home runs in the 2nd and 3rd, along with an RBI single, plate three runs for Miami however, and we're tied 3-3 after three. Nobody scores for the next three innings, with both teams wasting some prime opportunities. We break it open in the 7th, thankfully, when with two men on Groff brings one home with a single, then Matson plates two more with a double. Ratliff tosses a 1-2-3 eighth, then White does the same in the 9th, and we're halfway to the Series. Final score: Hawaii 6, Miami 3. Hawaii leads series 2-0. Game Three, Thursday, October 20th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 0-1, 12.27) @ Miami (RH Francisco Pantaleon 0-0, 0.00). Someone must have sold us a great batch of pep pills, because once again we come out fast. Lynn sparks a two-out rally to score two runs in the 2nd, and Matson's double ignites a 4-run third, to stake us to a 6-0 lead through three. Perry comes back nicely from his New York debacle, scattering just six hits over six innings, and we give him another three runs in the 6th to boot. Miami dinks another solo HR in their 6th, but Alex Mahoney shuts everyone down over the final three innings and we add another run for fun in the 9th. One win away now. Final score: Hawaii 10, Miami 1. Hawaii leads series 3-0. Game Four, Friday, October 21st: Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 0-0, 11.25) @ Miami (RH Norm Rowsell 12-15, 4.26 reg season). A much tighter game tonight, with no early explosions. Rich singles home a run in our 3rd, but the Marlins match with an RBI single in the 4th. No one scores from there, and we're still tied 1-1 heading into the 6th. Daley leads off with a double, then with two outs scores on Goldthwait's double. Matson singles him home, then steals second and scores on Goodloe's single. Just like that we're up 4-1. Not daunted, Miami scores twice in their half, on a pair of singles and West's two-run double. Walker stays in for the seventh and puts a couple of runners on before being lifted for Kyle Johnson. He fans West, and the threat is averted. Still a 4-3 lead for the good guys. It stays that way until the 9th, when we salt it away with a trio of doubles and a pair of singles, scoring three more runs for a 7-3 lead, and ultimately the win. Off to the World Series, baby! Final score: Hawaii 7, Miami 3. Hawaii WINS series 4-0. ...... Sweep!!! That's was a surprise dismantling, but what really gets me is how much we dominated their solid pitching. All but two regulars batted over .300, led by series MVP Rob Rich and his .438 hitting (with 4 RBI). Pitching was solid too, with the bullpen being unscored on and every starter getting a win. The NL Championship series was a 2x2x2 affair, with San Diego taking the first two at home and Brooklyn winning the next back at their place. But the Padres demoralized the Robins with a decisive 7-1 game five victory, then waltzed to a 6-1 win back home. This will be San Diego's fifth World Series appearance, and they're looking for their first ever title. They'll also be hoping to keep the NL's five-year winning streak alive. We won our first title back in 2039 against San Diego; let's hope history wants to repeat! __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-08-2020, 08:35 AM	#336
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2050 WORLD SERIES! This year's title matchup is a repeat of the 2039 Series, won by Hawaii in five games. That was the first of our three titles. As I mentioned last post, this is the Padres fifth try at the title, and their first since that '39 Series. They also went in '32, losing to the Angels. You know everything about us, so let's talk about the Padres. Like the Marlins, this is another balanced team: 8th in runs for, 3rd in runs against. Not as much power as Miami, finishing just 14th in NL home runs, but they get on base, score just enough, and rely on solid front-to-back pitching to put them over. They were seven games over .500 to start September and well behind the Giants, but pulled ahead with a 20-7 month to win the division by a single game. This was their third straight divisional title. Nobody hit .300, with 3B Blake Langer (who usually bats at least .320) heading the way at .290. RF Joel Rogers led the team with 31 HR and 96 RBI. They do have some injury concerns: starting C Drew Stofan (a .267 hitter but with great defense) will miss the series. His backup, Jaylen Galbreth, batted just .117 in 103 AB. SP Jimmy Dalaba and Levi Brady are also out, as is early-season closer Malik Stevens. All key players, and all good news for us...Just saying. (For us, SP Eric Jones is still out with his "dtd" back injury, and DH Chris Goldthwait is dinged up but will play, splitting time with Rich Stoneback.) Game One, Tuesday, October 25th: San Diego (RH Edward Davalos 0-2, 6.94) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 2-0, 1.59). Once again we start fast. In the first, Daley singles then scores thanks to two more singles. We do strand those guys, but lead 1-0. We add another in the 2nd after Matson singles and then scores on Lynn's double. 2-0 us. Things go a little pear-shaped in the third, however. With runners on second and third, Matt Israel doubles them both home, and scores on Rogers' single. 3-2 bad guys. But are we fazed? No! We add two more runs on Groff's double and three other runners, and we're back on top 4-3 after three. No one scores--or gets on base--until the bottom of the fifth, when Cappuccilli's two-run double sparks a three-run inning, extending our lead to 7-3. With two outs and a runner on in the Padres 7th, Jackson shows he was left in too long, giving up back-to-back doubles and allowing two runs. But Johnson stifles the rally, tosses a silent 8th, and gives way to another 1-2-3 White 9th and a game one home victory! Final score: Hawaii 7, San Diego 5. Hawaii leads series 1-0. Game Two, Wednesday, October 26th: San Diego (RH Brian Simon 2-0, 2.70) @ Hawaii (RH Ryan Ratliff 1-1, 3.63). This was not an easy game for the faint of heart. After an unusually quiet trio of innings, we finally put something on the board in the 4th with a Matson RBI single. Groff sparks another two runs in the 5th, and Lynn's double in the 6th plates Goodloe. 4-0 Hawaii after six! But then... A solo HR in the 7th plates the Padres first run. Feeling it now, they tie it up on Rogers' two-run double in the 8th, and our nice lead has vanished. We go quietly in the 8th, as does San Diego in the 9th thanks to yet another solid outing from White. Then, with two outs and two on in the 9th, up steps Rich Stoneback. The former 40-HR guy spent much of this season on the DL, and only batted six times in September after returning to the lineup. So what does he do? He wastes no time, lacing the first pitch from closer Tyler Trovato into the left field stands, and bing bang boom, a 3-run walk-off home run! Final score: Hawaii 7, San Diego 4. Hawaii leads series 2-0. Game Three, Friday, October 28th: Hawaii (RH Dennis Perry 1-1, 5.59) @ San Diego (LH Tim Chandler 2-0, 1.99). Off to Petco Park, where we haven't played since 2039. Not much has changed, really... Anyway: the fireworks start early, as usual this off-season. Groff doubles home a run in the 1st, but that's matched by Rogers' solo home run in the bottom half. In the second, a Simmons soft liner into right plates another run for us, and it's 2-1 after two. No runs in the third. Next inning, with one out Lynn triples into the left field gap, then comes home on Rich's single. One inning later Frederick singles Daley home, and it's 4-1 Hawaii. San Diego keeps putting runners on, but Perry never lets more than one on at a time, and holds the Padres scoreless until the 7th, when Langer triples home Israel, and it's now 4-2 us. But Langer fails to score, so they get no closer. We add another run on a pair of singles and a sac fly in the 8th, putting the lead back to three runs. And then you-know-who (Jonathan White, that's who) comes into the 9th and sets them all down again, and suddenly we're One. Game. Away. Final score: Hawaii 5, San Diego 2. Hawaii leads series 3-0. Game Four, Saturday, October 29th. Hawaii (LH Shane Walker 1-0, 6.75) @ San Diego (RH Tim Cannaday 1-0, 0.00). I'm not feeling great about having the untested Walker out there for the possible clincher, but then the Padres roll out a reliever who made only two starts all year, and his first post-season start ever. Despite the uncertainties on the mound, it's actually a pitcher's duel for much of the game. San Diego gets things going early, with an Israel RBI double in the 1st, but it stays 1-0 into the 6th inning. Unfortunately then it's San Diego again, with Nick Lehto getting the inning's RBI single: 2-0 them. Walker then loads the bases in the 7th, Kym in relief allows two of them to score, and we're in a four run hole. We get one in the 8th after another Lynn triple and Rich RBI single, but can get no closer. Cannaday went only 4.1 innings, but two relievers allow us only three runners over the final 4.2 innings. No sweep this time, dang. Nervous? Me? Final score: San Diego 4, Hawaii 1. Hawaii leads series 3-1. Game Five, Sunday, October 30th. Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 3-0, 3.04) @ San Diego (RH Edward Davalos 0-3, 8.62). 22-game winner Jones may be out, but his replacement in the #1 slot, Jackson, has more than filled in. And again we help him out early against the struggling Davalos when Groff lines a first-inning pitch over the wall in deep left, scoring two. Nothing new happens until the third, when--two men on, two outs--Matson hits one in the exact same spot, and we're up 5-0! We small-ball our way to another run in the 4th, after a pair of singles, a fielder's choice, and a (shorter this time) Groff fly ball bring another run home. 6-0! We can't be stopped! Then four more hits--mixed in with a pair of walks--bring home three more in the 6th, and we can see the end now. 9-0! Just four more Padres innings to get through! Jackson loads the bases in the 6th on two walks and a HBP, but strands all three. Nine outs to go! Jackson stays in, gives up a single, but forces a ground out to end the inning. Six outs to go! Jackson is still in, and getting stronger: a 1-2-3 inning on just nine pitchers. Three outs to go! We go quietly in the 9th, and manager Sargent decides to let Jackson try to finish it out. After a leadoff Rogers single, Lehto strikes out and Tony Moreno flies out. One out to go! Then...let's just say it's good we had a nine-run lead. PH Ricky Beard reaches on a dropped fly ball (!?!), Rogers scores on a Preston Eckles single, then Beard scores on a Galbreth double. It's now 9-2, two runners are on, and still Jackson is left in. The next batter is Cory Hopkins, who hits an 0-1 pitch on the ground to short, Goodloe snags it and throws to first and it's...it's in the dirt! E6! Eckles scores, and somehow a two-out rally has gifted the Padres three runs and a (very) faint glimmer of light. Sargent of course, leaves Jackson in, because why not? Thankfully, my soon-to-be conniption fit disappears when Israel hits a grounder that is actually CAUGHT AND HELD ON TO by Goldthwait, who steps on the bag and ends the game. And the season. HAWAII WINS!! AT LAST AT LAST WE WON AGAIN. Final score: Hawaii 9, San Diego 3. HAWAII WINS SERIES 4-1! ...... Wow wow wow. Finally, our long national nightmare is over. Okay okay, calm down. This IS our fourth title, but it's our first in six years, and there have been some truly heartbreaking playoff losses in the interim, including two in the Series. This year, at least, we got leads and held them, and our pitching actually held up, even without a power-pitching ace that everyone says you absolutely have to have. MVP of the series goes to Joe Lynn, who went 11-for-20, drove in two runs, scored a bunch, and seemed to hit a triple nearly every night. I have no problem with that. Nearly the entire team played well (although Goodloe, who hit .354 in the regular season, went 1-for-19 here), and the win was definitely a group effort. Once again the bullpen was mega-clutch: 7.2 IP, 6 H (3 by one guy), 12 K, and just one run allowed. I think that's the only run our playoff bullpen has allowed in over two seasons. This is the fourth title for Adam Groff and Eric Jones, the only guys who've seen all four of our wins. Simmons notched his third title. Everyone else now has one or two, with every pitcher but Jones getting his first title win. And finally the NL stranglehold on the Series is broken! I'm surprised to see, however, that we had also won the last three AL titles; in fact, no AL team that isn't us has won the World Series since Toronto did it way back in 2035, and LA before them in '32. So that's just six AL wins in the last 21 seasons. But who cares. It's our title now. Let's savor it a while. Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-08-2020, 11:20 AM	#337
Sizeman21 Major Leagues Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: The bleachers of Sportsman's Park Posts: 435	Excellent series! Attached Images __________________

05-11-2020, 08:42 PM	#338
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	2050-51 OFF-SEASON, part one World Champions! It feels great, and the trophy is awfully shiny. But this hangover just will NOT go away... But since a GM's work is never done, it's time to move on to the next round. Goodbye 2050, hello 2051. ...... First of all, player awards are announced: AL Gold Glove: P Greg Drake, TB (first); C John Lane, CLE (2nd); 1B Jim Timmer, CHW (5th); 2B Alvin Phillips, KC; 3B JJ Simmons, HAW (3rd); SS Alex Castillo, NYY (11th); LF Aaron Lenhard, SEA (3rd); CF Jesus Monterroso, MIA; RF Clint McDowell, TOR (2nd) NL Gold Glove: P Chad Akers, NO (3rd); C Willie Alonzo, NO (4th); 1B Tony Moreno, SD (5th); 2B Brendan Polchlopek, CHC (2nd); 3B Blake Langer, SD (3rd); SS Finley Osborne, ATL; LF Jesus Cabrales, PIT (2nd); CF Dan Politz, POR; RF Ed Silverio, WAS (4th) AL Hoyt Wilhelm: Rick Ramirez, MIA [9-5, 35 SV, 1.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 3.7 WAR] NL Hoyt Wilhelm: John Richard, SFG [3-4, 50 SV, 1.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.7 WAR] AL Silver Slugger: C Arturo Sena, SEA (3rd); 1B William Swanson, TEX (2nd); 2B D.J. Grace, CLE (4th); 3B Andrew Taylor, BOS; SS Bob Goodloe, HAW; LF Cam Daley, HAW; CF Melvin Lopez, NYY; RF Josh Jacobson, MIN (2nd); DH John Sheets, DET (3rd) NL Silver Slugger: P Sean Kropp, AUS (3rd); C Lance Powell, CIN (6th); 1B Alfonso Contreras, NYM (2nd); 2B Alfonso Torres, ARI (2nd); 3B Dave Rivera, CIN; SS Ben Grossman, BKN; LF Mark Schrock, PHI; CF Drew Elliott, SFG (3rd); RF Jose Taveras, CIN (3rd) AL Rookie of the Year: CF Ezequiel de la Rosa, CHW [.275/27/83, 32 SB, 5.0 WAR] NL Rookie of the Year: SP Steve Bozarth, BKN [13-7, 2.82 ERA, 207 K, 4.2 WAR] AL Manager of the Year: Paul Trashini, MIA (3rd season) NL Manager of the Year: Alex Cora, Jr, BKN (1st season!) AL Cy Young Award: Joe Erkel, NYY [18-7, 2.99 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 258 K, 4.9 WAR] (Eric Jones gets no 1st place votes, finishes 5th) NL Cy Young Award: Matt Waugh, ATL [22-7, 1.89 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 314 K, 9.4 WAR] AL MVP: OF Melvin Lopez, NYY [.302/37/97, 9.4 WAR] (Cam Daley finishes 4th BOOOOOOOOOO) NL MVP: OF Jose Taveras, CIN [.343/44/110, 7.9 WAR] (2nd MVP for Taveras; Matt Waugh gets 2 first place votes] ...... Some league news... ...No owners are gunned down or packed off to federally-sponsored minimum security day camp this year, but two team sales are announced after the World Series. First, David Montgomery, Jr., sold the Philadelphia Phillies to local entrepreneur Tony Limon, 57. Limon says he wants to win while still earning a buck, and already has designs on increasing profit while maintaining quality on the field. The Phillies won 96 games this year, and have made the playoffs 7 of the last 8 seasons, so he's starting at a high level. Next, the Austin Outlaws were acquired by 53-year-old "personal services" billionaire Nelson Salgado. Rumors persist that Salgado has already cut the budget by nearly $20M, and while a recent "You Wish You Had My Life" magazine spread described Salgado as an easy-going sort, it's expected that he will take a more hands-on approach than his predecessors, likely wringing out whatever small amount fun is left for employees of the floundering club. "Nelson likes money," said Giants pitcher--and nephew to Nelson--Mike Salgado. "That's not exactly a family secret." The Outlaws finished 60-102 this season, and has spent more years as a doormat than a contender. Their last two playoff appearances came in 2043 and loooong ago in 2021. Hopefully Salgado has something better up his sleeve than that 22 Year Plan from the last regime. ...In addition to those changes, there will be 13 new big league skippers next spring. Most notable among the changes was the move by the Hawaii Islanders, letting five-year manager Matt Sargent walk. "It's time for a new direction," said GM Jim Smith. (Smart-aleck observers might note that if you're on top, the only "new direction" is down.) The 78-year-old GM announced that Chris Kenney, 31, would move from his Bench Coach position into the on-field leadership role. "Chris may be young, but he's already seasoned. He's spent seven years managing in our system, and one year as an assistant with the big club. The players know him, and like him." Kenney, who could not be reached for comment, was a 23rd round draft pick by the Islanders back in 2040, and spent three years in rookie ball before beginning his coaching career after retiring at age 23. Elsewhere: Also of note is the rehiring of David Baker by the Giants; Baker managed the team from '44 to '46, failing to finish higher than fifth. This is not an auspicious hire by a team that faded late and missed the playoffs by one game, and played their last post-season games in 2034. (At least they won the Series that year; definitely the epitome of Go Big or Go Home.) The longest-tenured departure is Tampa's Tony Bajoczky, who retired after eight years with the Rays. And surprisingly, Detroit let five-year head Ethan Larrison go, despite winning the AL Central for the last four years. ...Hall of Fame voting opens now. There are 38 players on the ballot, and no sure things in my opinion. There are a couple former Islanders on the ballot this year: SP Leon Casillas and OF Josh Drayton. Casillas was the best pitcher in baseball from '35 to '40, winning three Cy Youngs. Then injuries set in, and at 32 he was pretty much done. He lingered on for a couple more seasons but probably lost any real shot at the Hall. He appeared on 35% of ballots last year, his first year of eligibility. Drayton was a decent player but is a no-hoper as a Hall candidate. He was our first bona fide real CF, after coming to us in the summer of '35 and starring through '38. He never reached the lofty heights he hit with us (3 100-RBI seasons, 113 HR over that stretch), but did win a title with SF. He may not make it to next year's ballot. In the end, I vote for five guys: C Tyler Markey (54% last year, his 5th), SP Orlando Ramos (69%, 9th), 1B Nate Rogers (61%, 1st), 1B Cisco Videira (11%, 7th), and CL Ethan Villines (73%, 2nd). I would bet that Villines will make it, Ramos might, but no one else will. Videira, who reached 3000 hits but was never a real star, will have to rely on the Veteran's Committee in a couple of years. Ramos was a strikeout king--2nd all time--and should be in, but will probably haeca to wait like Videira. Rogers and Markey will probably get there in a year or three. ...... And now back to us: ...Owner Alexis Pagan makes his annual "Sojourn Amongst the Plebes" as he likes to call it. He's all back-slapping-happy with the championship trophy, but then turns serious: his "internal numbers" projected a $21M profit this year. Instead we came home with just under $3M. "Disappointing," he says, eyeing his now one-year-old superyacht. "Anyway," he goes on, "next year we'll want some new and improved revenue streams. You can do it, Jim. I have faith! Oh, and let's keep this trophy here, where it belongs. Good? Good. See you in a year." One piece of good news, however: he again raises the budget, by six million, up to $220M. As we may be shedding significant salary this off-season (see below), that could be some very good news indeed, in several ways. ...'Tis also the season for options and arbitrations. One team option (Klein), one player option (Rich), and two opt outs (Groff and Stoneback). These will absolutely define next year's payroll, especially the Groff and Stoneback decisions: these four players make up about $70M in payroll, more if Stoneback returns (he'd be due a $10M raise). In addition, five players are going to arbitration: Dennis Perry, Nick Kramer, HC Kym, Josh Matson, and Jerry Cappuccilli. Not everyone will be getting an offer. Finally, five others--Dan Brown, Mike Garfield, Chris Goldthwait, Mark Money, and Ryan Ratliff--are going straight to free agency. All are compensation eligible, and several will receive qualifying offers. We'll lay them all out here: ARBITRATIONS SP Dennis Perry -- makes $5.25M -- we offer $6M RP Nick Kramer -- makes $750k -- we offer $850k RP HC Kym -- makes $2.6M -- we decline to offer anything 2B Josh Matson -- makes $500k -- we offer $3.8M OF Jerry Cappuccilli -- makes $4.293M -- we offer $4.8M Matson and Capp will probably come in higher than what we offer; Perry probably not. Don't assume that everyone who signs here will be on the roster come April. PENDING FREE AGENTS RP Dan Brown -- makes $1.2M -- no qualifying offer SP Mike Garfield -- makes $18.6M -- will get qualifying offer 1B Chris Goldthwait -- makes $13.5M -- will get qualifying offer RP Mark Money -- makes $1.0M -- no qualifying offer SP Ryan Ratliff -- makes $7.2M -- will get qualifying offer No one I've ever qualified has taken me up on the offer. I expect nothing different this year. Goldthwait just might, as his ask is right around the $13M qualifier. Ratliff wants $19M per for four years (plus four more years after an opt out). I'll let him walk. The 32-year-old Garfield wants a straight-up $22M per for eight years. No thanks. Money is a tougher decision, as he struck out an amazing 152 in 118 IP; but wants a quadrupled salary, and I'm trying to shed in various places. We'll see if he's willing to talk--or even still available--in December. Brown was not good after his injury, and won't be missed. ...and the contract news is in: Rich exercises his player option and will be back for '51. We make the tough decision to not pick up Klein's team option. That will trim $6.1M and allow some up-and-comers to compete for a roster spot. Burying the lede: Groff AND Stoneback use their opt outs and will test free agency. We would have been on the hook for $68M combined for them in '51. My consideration now is this: do I want either or both of them back, under a different contract? Groff I definitely want back. He'll probably ask for a huge contract, but I wonder if I can front-load something short term and get us out from under a big deal if the 36-year-old declines fast. Stoneback, however, I'll wave goodbye to. He's been a dynamite hitter for us, but can't stay healthy. He's now played seven seasons with us, with his games played each year amounting to 35, 158, 114, 75, 89, 90, and 48. Too pricey for a physical wreck, and not going after him should allow us to afford Groff. What all this means for next year's payroll is this: assuming we win all the above arbitrations, and not including a potential Groff contract, we currently project to have $104.4M in payroll for 2051. Groff made $37.5M last year; let's assume he wants, say, $45M for '51 and we agree to it. That still means a payroll of $149M. Salaries in 2050 were around $190M, and we'll be working with a slightly larger budget for '51. So less payout in salary, and more income from the boss. (It's the American Dream!) Even if I funnel the entire budget increase into scouting and development (likely), and figuring staff increases and other increases in expenses, that gives me at least $30M to go after free agents. Or so says the back of this envelope I'm holding. Next post I'll detail the roster position-by-position, and lay out any pending decisions and possibilities for the coming off-season. __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!

05-22-2020, 12:54 PM	#340
Bub13 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Maine Posts: 748	OFF-SEASON 2050-51, part two (or three) Getting our house in order just in time for Thanksgiving... ...we make offers for all three open personnel slots: Asst GM, bench coach, and Short A pitching coach. Crickets so far. ...speaking of offers, yeah we re-signed a few players. To start, we made Adam Groff the highest paid player in MLB, signing him to a five-year, $192.5M deal. Crazy right? Well, first off it's front-loaded: he'll make $42.5M in '51 and '52, then $34.5M in '53, after which we hold a team option. He holds an option for '55. As he'll be 37 by next April, I sort of don't expect him to a) be worth that kind of money these next two years, and b) be a viable player after '53. But he's the face of the franchise, and I made this offer with my heart more than my head. Could it bite us? Sure. But I'd rather he finish his career with us, even at extortionate pricing; I know I'm paying now for his career of 4 MVPs and 98 WAR. Next, I mentioned the Bob Goodloe extension: five years, $60M, with a team option for '55. Fingers crossed he's the real deal. Eric Jones you also know about: 2 years, $30.2M, with a player option for '52. How could I not bring back a 22-game winner? And Ben Germann re-upped too: five years, $13M, with a TO for '54 and a PO for '55. ...not counting options and whatnot, players entering their contract year in '51 are: Dennis Perry, Rob Rich, Jon White, and Faustino Whitton. ...looking at the UFA starting pitcher landscape, and although there are some good ones out there, they all want too much money right now and will probably be snapped up before they drop into our range. All are also compensation eligible. Elijah Bragg (MTL in '50) is the best, wanting $32M; Alberto Reyes (PHI) wants just $15M, but has already garnered interest, meaning that number will probably go up. Finally, the familiar-to-us Carlos Zenon (from Seattle) wants a fairly reasonable $17M but for 10 years (he's 29). Naah. Oh, and there's also Japanese import Homare Yano: he's affordable ($15M) and really good, but is 30 and coming off an elbow injury that cost him all of 2050. Too risky. So I'm probably closing the door on any free agent starting pitchers. ...... Around the league ...the Yankees make the first big free agent splash, signing the #1 ranked player on MLB's list: SP Elijah Bragg, 5 years and $156.1M. That's a lot of cash, but Bragg might be worth it. He's almost 27 and a six-year vet, having been buried on a bad Montreal team. He's earned nearly 6 WAR a season, has been healthy, and has really solid underlying numbers (10+ K/9, <1 HR/9, a 4:1 K-to-BB ratio. Looks like the old free-spending Yankees are back and here to stay. ...LA takes the next wave, inking Japanese star Homare Yano (see also above) for $109M over 7 years. Too much for a 30 year old coming off of major elbow surgery, one that cost him an entire season. And he's not even a closer, LA. What has become of tradition, I ask you. ...we "lose" our first 2050 regular when 1B/DH Chris Goldthwait signs with the Pirates for 4 years, $86M. One supplemental first round pick acquired. Check. Fan interest takes a hit. Check. ...And another one's down: LA signs Rich Stoneback for 2 years and $40M. Good luck getting more than 100 games out of him. Anyway, fan interest "almost crashed" so there's that. One more supplemental first round pick achieved. ...Strike three: Mike "Humble" Garfield inks with the Padres for five years, $93M. I guess he felt sorry for them in the Series. Yet another hit to our Fan Interest, meaning no one is going to show up for any games I suppose. That makes three supplemental draft picks for us, so I'm happy with that at least. Only Ryan Ratliff is left unsigned out of our big free agent departures. ...Until the last day of the Winter Meetings, that is. (Re: Ratliff.) Cleveland signs the former 21-game winner: $47.8M over 6 years. Not too bad a price; we could have signed him for that, but he asked me for at least double that. And that's now FOUR supplemental picks. How will we afford to sign all these extra draft picks? ...Miami got swept out of the playoffs by us, so they decided to load up for another run by addressing the major weaknesses in their outfield. Combined, their '50 starters Chris Bierly, Jesus Monterroso, and Eric Croley batted .244 and earned 4.0 WAR. (Although Monterroso did earn a Gold Glove.) We're not even into '51 yet and they've added RF David von Eschen (.274/36/105) from Brooklyn, and Japanese import LF Toshi Shimabukuro (no stats, but range and speed are his only drawbacks). Their only FA loss was closer Rick Ramirez (3.7 WAR), but they traded for Houston RP Jack Hildebrant, whose stats were only so-so but is a guy my scouts rate very highly. Watch the Marlins this coming year. ...Mark Money turned a big year in a middle relief role for us (152 K in 118 IP) into a $4.8M deal with San Diego, joining Garfield on their staff. I thought about getting into the sweepstakes for him at $3M, but that wasn't going any higher than that. ...New Orleans adds to an already potent roster by signing former AL MVP--and #2 ranked off-season target--Jordan Coronado for 7 years. Coronado (.302/26/89) will play RF and joins LF John Arrington (.288/26/97) and CF Jose Diaz (.303), while showing the Zephs are going to contend for the NL Central again in '51. That is, if the increasingly-fragile Arrington can stay healthy... ...Thirteen teams will have new managers in 2051. Some facts: Felix Osorio (PHI) is the longest-tenured with his current team, having been at the helm since 2038.... Andy Raaff (21st year, 8th with KC) and Robert Woodard (20th year, 3rd with MIN) are the longest-tenured overall.... Hawaii's Chris Kenney is the youngest manager, at 31.... SF's David Baker enters his second tenure with the club, having led them from '44 thru '46.... only Oakland hasn't hired a new manager yet. (EDIT: in January they signed fired Tigers manager Ethan Larrison.) ...... Back to us... ...a flurry of activity for us as we enter December, with two trades and a NEW CAR! No wait...too much Price is Right during lockdown... A new contract! Action number one is that we avoid arbitration with CF Joe Lynn by locking him up for 5 years and $32M. He'll make $2.8M in '52, then escalate up to $8.8 in '56, which is also a team option year. ...Action number two is a TRADE!, this one with the Cubs. Apparently they're desperate to cut salary, as nearly one third of their big league lineup is on the block. So we swoop in and land SP Tim Ciotta in exchange for pitcher Jonathan Ashton and two middling draft picks. Ciotta is not the ace pitcher we were sacrificing to the Elder Gods for, but he's a very nice mid-rotation guy; and although not a groundballer, he doesn't give up a lot of home runs. He's coming off a couple of "down" years where his ERA shot up over 4, but his underlying stats still look good and he's been healthy for his six-year career. The only downside is he'll be a free agent after next year and probably wants a big raise from his current $8.8M (we'll be on the hook for $7M of that). Ashton was stuck in a logjam in AAA, and the Cubs asked after him specifically. Hopefully my scouts haven't overlooked something, but I'm pretty confident they haven't. ...Action number three is a lower-case Trade, this one with only minor league implications. We send AAA pitcher Shaun Gates to San Diego for 2B/OF Jesus Lopez. Gates was another stuck-in-AAA guy, and we're clearing out some of the older guys to make room for a few prospects. Lopez will probably get a look in camp, but he's mostly here to beef up our middle infield depth in AAA. He's best suited for 2B, but can fill in at third and has nice ratings in the OF as well. Decent hitter, but won't knock your socks off. And his minor league contract helps us out. (Gates was on the 40-man; Lopez probably will not be unless called up for an emergency.) ...and one of my favorite names is now in the flock: Fenway Parks is our new bench coach. Parks coached for Brooklyn's rookie team in Moab, Utah for 11 years before heading off to coach in Korea. Seems like a decent guy, and hasn't annoyed anyone yet. I remember drafting him when I was the GM in Richmond way back in 2014, but he never got past A ball. No hard feelings. ...and as we head off to the Winter Meetings we welcome another addition to the fold. Needing at least one veteran reliever to compete for a couple open spots, we sign 36-year-old lefty Robbie Collier to a one year, $1.5M deal. Collier was a six-year starter for the Reds before signing a big free agent deal with the Brewers. But in the tradition of Milwaukee free agent pitchers, he blew out his elbow and missed all of '47. He came back and signed another big deal, this time with LA. But once again his elbow failed to comply, and he was done after six games in '48. After missing all of '49 as well he turned up in Cincy's bullpen last year, a greatly diminished man. They let him go after the season, and now here he is. The Reds used him as their LOOGY: 15 IP in 36 GP, fanning 22, walking 6, and finishing with a 2.40 ERA. If he can survive the season for us, he looks to be worth it. If he goes the Dan Brown route and gets "injured" so he can sit on his butt all year, at least it's not a huge contract. Plus he's a local guy who also went to school here. [Plus-plus what you can't see on the pic below is his elite circle change, rated a 21 by our scouts.] ...... And that ends the 2050 calendar year. Hall of Fame voting results come back in four days, and pitchers and catchers will report in less than a month! Attached Images __________________ Introducing Your Hawaii Islanders!