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Old 09-15-2019, 06:08 PM   #281
Bub13
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Not many fireworks in the All-Star game, with only 12 combined hits. The NL won 5-2, in Brooklyn. Isles players didn't show a whole lot, not counting Stoneback's solo HR. Groff fanned three times; Mercer pitched to two batters, giving up a hit; and Crowley loaded the bases in the 8th but escaped unharmed.

Now back to regular programming.

July 17-19 vs BALTIMORE 2048: 37-50, 5th place
They made the playoffs a few seasons ago and looked to be trending up, but lately it's apparent to everyone that this is--or should be--a rebuilding team. Confession: I toyed with sending a raft of quality prospects to them for star OF Cesar Alvarenga, but they wanted a top player too. So, no go. Currently 12th in runs for and 11th in runs against, with a -19 differential. LF Terry Bishop has been the only real bright spot in the field, at .316/16/57. Pitcher Justin Barrington was called up from AAA in May, and is 5-1 with a 2.23 ERA in six starts. Also, first round draft pick (at #14) Danny Allen declined to sign, and will go back to college. (One other top pick, White Sox #11 pick Terrence Kostrzewa, also failed to sign.) Since 2040, only one of their first rounders has made the majors, and the others are all in AA or lower. Two are in other organizations altogether.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (3-2, 4.03) / LH Brandon Mercer (12-2, 3.20) / RH Seth Howard (7-2, 2.93)
BAL pitchers: RH Brian Simon (4-8, 4.20) / RH Danny McCanless (6-7, 5.29) / LH Jeremy Stines (7-7, 4.05)

#90: WIN 2-1 ... Daley's solo shot in the 8th proves the difference...3 hits for Rich...8 IP for Ratliff, 7 K and 6 H allowed...Groff hurt tho
#91: WIN 9-1 ... 15 hits, including 3 for Frederick, with 5 RBI...2 hits and 4 runs for Simmons...complete game 4-hitter for Mercer
#92: WIN 7-5 ... 2 HR and 5 RBI for Padilla (see below), and a 3-for-5 night for Simmons...Howard struggles on the mound, but the pen tosses 4.1 solid innings

Excellent series with one glaring exception: Groff hurts his back and will miss five weeks. Five! Ugh. We move Padilla back into the lineup, at first, and recall Bob Goodloe from Santa Barbara. DISLIKE.... Padilla at least got a few hits in his return, lifting his average to a still-ugly .225.... Our minor league pitchers keep dropping like flies: 17 guys are currently on the DL, and I've had to sign a couple of low-talent free agents and also traded a rookie ball outfielder for a couple of mediocrities. It's all about having enough bodies around at this point.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers ace and defending Cy Young winner Eddy Llamas is having another stellar season, at 12-4 and a 2.63 ERA. Now you can add a no-hitter to his resume, as he fanned 12 Expos and allowed just one walk in an 11-0 win. His effort came 11 months to the day after the last LA no-no, tossed by the now-injured Brad Benes.... Boston and Miami are well ahead of the pack in the AL East, but neither looks like they really want to win the division: both are 3-7 in their last ten.... LA's Vinny Vargas became the sixth active player with 2200 career hits. He's also fourth in active HR (with 455), and first with 95.2 WAR.


July 20-22 @ TORONTO 2048: 43-49, 3rd place
Still not hitting, at 16th in runs for. Pitching places 9th, but they still sport a -51 run differential. Leadoff man Jake Horvat is batting .289, and Sam Moore is at .313/17/55. No one else is doing much. Former Isle Malik Chaney (1 save, 3.68 ERA) has just been moved into the closer spot, taking over from Josh Gordon (5.04 ERA). Their 3B, SS, and four pitchers are on the DL, and two other regulars are nursing minor injuries.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (6-7, 3.95) / LH Eric Jones (6-2, 3.32) / RH Joe Koval (1-1, 4.50)
TOR pitchers: LH Frank Tate (2-9, 7.77) / RH Matt Sheil (1-2, 4.86) / RH Luke Weaver (9-7, 3.08)

#93: WIN 5-1 ... solid 8.2 IP for Jackson, fanning 7 and walking just two...everybody but Rich gets a hit tonight, including 2 doubles for Simmons
#94: WIN 5-3 ... five doubles tonight, and Long wakes up with 2 hits and 3 RBI...8 IP for Jones, 6th save for Crowley despite putting two on in the 9th
#95: WIN 6-1 ... we crash a 1-1 game with 5 runs in the 11th...a Long homer and 2-run double for Rich were the key hits...7 IP for Koval, and 3.2 good IP for Sanabria

So far so good: five games without Groff, five wins. Pitching was the key in this series, as everyone looked good for once.... pitchers Jones and Mercer, and backup IF Marcus Walker have all approached me about new contracts. I'm leaning YES on Jones and Mercer, and a big NO on Walker, currently batting just .178.... ELSEWHERE: Eddy Llamas followed up his no-hitter with a 4 hit shutout over Pittsburgh.... First place San Diego just traded half of their catcher platoon for a pair of minor leaguers. Then they traded two (different) minor leaguers for Twins closer Dan Wears. Wears has been overmatched as a closer, frankly: 17 saves, but 0-10 with an 8.63 ERA.... Pittsburgh's Chris Liles is angling for the pitching triple crown, leading in wins (14), ERA (2.13), and Ks (193). Rafael Maldonado won the last pitching TC, with Atlanta in 2041.


July 24-26 @ BOSTON 2048: 51-44, 2nd place
Trading first place with Miami for several weeks now, in an otherwise moribund division. Basic stats would make you think the record would be better: 4th in runs for and runs against, with a +63 run differential. (A -3 Pythag number is also telling.) Just 17th in home runs, but like us they put a lot of guys on base (2nd in OBP) and flood you with numbers. New SS Victor Sanchez has topped 40 HR in five of his last seven seasons, but has just 11 this year. Leading the team in power is #8 batter Joel Page, with 19 HR and 69 RBI. A trio of former Isles have yet to get on track at the plate: C Austin Collins (.252/3/19), 1B Chris Sanborn (.233 in 31 AB), and OF Glenn Heath (.247/5/19).

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (4-2, 3.69) / LH Brandon Mercer (13-2, 3.04) / RH Seth Howard (7-2, 3.27)
BOS pitchers: LH John Baldwin (5-9, 3.94) / RH John Sutton (8-5, 4.55) / LH Jonathan Esquivel (10-5, 3.08)

#96: LOSS 2-4 ... 11 combined hits tonight...3-for-3 by Lasky, with 2 doubles and 2 RBI...Ratliff lasts 7, gives up all 4 runs
#97: WIN 15-5 ... 2 hits, a GRAND SLAM, and an injury for Padilla...4 hits for Rich, and 4 RBI for Frederick...Mercer gets dinged around, but still picks up the win
#98: WIN 8-5 ... lots of hits tonight, ball flying all over...3 hits, 3 RBI for Stoneback, 2 hits for Cappuccilli, back in the lineup...Howard is solid through 7

Lots of hitting for both teams, as expected.... Padilla's injury is for five weeks, like Groff. Who know 1B was such a dangerous position. We call up IF Pat Matson, and go with a Lasky (vs RH) and Cappuccilli (vs LH) platoon at first. Groff is out four more weeks, so this had better work.... Man of the Future Jules Medici has just been promoted from the international complex to rookie all Boone.... ELSEWHERE: Nats OF Kevin Mazurowksi finally becomes the first player to reach 30 HR. Hard to believe someone reached 30 steals before 30 HR.... Sad to report that one of my favorite-from-afar players, pitcher Gary Florence, is pretty much done for good after tearing up his elbow this week. Florence was about as good a pitcher as you could find back in the 30s, but injuries killed him this decade, and probably robbed him of a place in the Hall. He was pitching in relief for the Dodgers this year.... Eight straight wins now for Richmond, pulling to 1.5 games behind the Phils.... Five NL Central teams are above or at .500. Then there's the Cards, at 30-68.


July 27-29 @ LA ANGELS 2048: 40-60, 6th place
Poor hitting has dropped LA into last place, despite decent (9th place) pitching. 1B Jason Eastep (.278/27/62) and 3B Tony Mendoza (.274/19/51) have been gold, but there's little else to celebrate at the plate. The good news is the rotation is all under 30, and all should be back next year. Their top three prospects are hitters, and look pretty good. However, they recently called up slugger Ricky Ochoa from AA, and he's just not ready: 1-for-23 with 17 K. Don't ruin him! [EDIT: Right before game one, LA trades Mendoza to the Yankees for OF Chris Hinrichs (former #2 overall pick), and three prospects ranging from decent to wtf. So they traded a quarter (Mendoza) for a dime and a few nickels. Ugh.]

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (7-7, 3.78) / LH Eric Jones (7-2, 3.32) / RH Joe Koval (1-1, 3.67)
LAA pitchers: RH Ken Demers (5-6, 4.66) / RH Justin Allred (6-8, 3.87) / LH Noah Sims (7-10, 2.93)

#99: WIN 8-4 ... another HR for Long, and the bottom of the lineup knocks in 5 runs...complete game for Jackson, despite 10 hits
#100: WIN 3-0 ... complete game 6-hitter for Jones...3 hits for Frederick and a solo HR for Stoneback
#101: WIN 8-1 ... Daley wakes up, with 4 hits and 5 RBI...Rangel and McCollum each with 3 hits...no CG for Koval, but why quibble

Nice. Strong pitching, enough hitting, and no additional injuries. Our lead is now 9 over Seattle.... This odd six-man rotation is going pretty good right now. No one wants to get moved to the pen or AAA. Outstanding.... ELSEWHERE: Lots trades, about 3-4 each day for the past week. Most are not worth discussing, but the Mendoza deal above was big stuff. And Minny just sent catcher William Antonio--who flirted with .400 much of last season--to the Mets for two really quality prospects. Nice trade for both clubs.... And Jordan Cruz is "The Man Who Would Not Die." He was just traded from Montreal to Brooklyn for pitcher Luis Rivera, who throws hard but extremely straight. Cruz is remarkable again this year, batting .156 with 184 K in 347 AB. And 31 of his 54 hits have gone for extras. This is his 8th MLB club.... Cincy's Jose Taveras becomes #2 to reach 30 HR. He's quite a stud hitter: seasons of 53, 50, 41, and 49 (projected) HR in his short career.


July 30-31 @ HOUSTON 2048: 58-41, 3rd place
Two games (of a total four-game series) to close out the month. The Astros have finally put something together, and have gone 18-4 this month to close in on Seattle and make a legit run at the playoffs for the first time since Coolidge was president. Up to 2nd in runs scored, and now 6th in pitching, for a +66 run differential. No one is hitting .300, but neither is anyone slumping. Only 13th in HR, but everyone is contributing. Ace pitcher Chris Harris has become a true #1, and Dustin Springer has stepped up with the absence of the injured Alejandro Gonzales. 1B Sen Masuda is back from rehab, and likely to hit 4-5 HR against his old mates this series.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (4-3, 3.82) / LH Brandon Mercer (14-2, 3.08)
HOU pitchers: LH Joe Jones (9-7, 5.21) / RH Chris Avalos (2-2, 3.05)

#102: LOSS 3-4 ... HR and now 75 RBI for Daley...Ratliff goes 8, gives up winning run in that last frame; don't know where the pen was tonight
#103: LOSS 3-4 ... we give up runs in the last three innings to drop this one...3 hits each for Simmons and Klein

Blech, not a great way to finish the month. We've got two more games against these guys to start August, so we can try to regain some of the ground we just lost.... Trade deadline is here, and we're making no new additions. We did, however, get FOUR trade offers for pitcher Ben Germann, none from playoff contenders. We were offered a lot of marginal prospects, so no dice. Oh, and Brooklyn tried to get Phil Lasky and stud prospect Jules Medici from us for a 33-year-old (and declining) starting pitcher. Um, no.... Stoneback slumped a bit this month, from .340 and .330 in May and June to .270. But he did maintain a .383 OBP and an .878 OPS.... ELSEWHERE: Former Isle Joseph Hart is on the move again already: the White Sox sent him to Tampa for a mediocre 33-year-old reliever, and a truly promising prospect, IF Ben Thomas. Neither team is anywhere close to a playoff race.... San Diego has opened a 13.5 game lead over LA now, and is also the first team to reach 70 wins.... KC's Juan Garcia has a 21-game hit streak going, and has moved to the top of the AL batting race at .334. Garcia has been quietly excellent for the past 8 years, getting between 185 and 221 hits every year, and maintaining a career .322 average. Despite all that, he has never won a batting title.

......

TL;DR Version: Back on our feet, with an 11-3 run here and an 18-7 month of July. We lost our perch atop the league standings, but so what. More important, we've opened back up a 7 game lead over Seattle. Our health took a hit this month, losing Groff and Padilla for extended stretches. Groff still has three weeks to go, Padilla 4-5 weeks. (And pitcher Dennis Perry also has three more weeks on the DL, before starting his rehab stint.) Those injuries have meant more playing time for Phil Lasky, and he responded with a 14-for-38 (.368) month, making nine starts. The only guy not on board the hitting train right now is newbie Craig Long, at .200 with just 2 HR in 90 at bats since we acquired him. The pitching staff has rebounded nicely from our June trash fire, although I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep our wacko six-man rotation going. But if everyone is pitching well...? Why not, right?
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Old 09-21-2019, 10:13 PM   #282
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August 2048

Now it gets serious. Twenty-nine games this month, 16 at home including a 12-game homestand in the middle of the month. We'll get our two injured batters back this month, Groff and Padilla. (Oddly, both have been out with strained abdominal muscles.)

August 1-2 @ HOUSTON 2048: 60-42, 3rd place
Finishing the four-game series. We lost the first two games.

HAW pitchers: RH Seth Howard (8-2, 3.31) / RH Shamar Jackson (8-7, 3.79)
HOU pitchers: LH Jason Castagna (2-3, 5.89) / RH Dustin Springer (10-5, 2.82)

#104: WIN 10-9 ... 9 runs in the 2nd, with a Stoneback GRAND SLAM...then we give up six in the next frame...LF Daley nails runner Jason Molnar twice, once at home, big time
#105: WIN 9-3 ... Long comes through with a 2-run blast, and Daley drives in 2 with 3 hits...Jackson goes the distance, gives up just 1 earned run

Two wins levels the series, yippee. Two big games from Daley! We also chase Springer--July's AL pitcher of the month--after three innings.... Six errors in these two games, really unusual for us.... Team batting average is now .289, with five regulars over .300 and Jim Klein nearly so, at .298.... Manny Rangel struggled through June, batting .174. He turned it around in July to the tune of .318, and is at .270 for the season.... ELSEWHERE: Pittsburgh closer Manny Gomez now has 41 saves. Francisco Rodriguez still has the single-season record at 62. Toronto's Jorge Ruiz came close in '34, getting 59. The Pirates have 56 games remaining.... NL batting averages are the same as last year, at .243, but the AL is down five points, to .255. But ERA in both leagues is down noticeably: 4.40 (from 4.56) in the AL, and 3.90 (from 4.03) in the NL. The last time one league's ERA was below 4 was 2037, when NL pitchers managed a 3.98 mark.


August 3-6 vs OAKLAND 2048: 44-62, 5th place
Since June 1, there has been no joy in Oakland, with a record of 17-38 and a plummet to fifth place, 27.5 games behind us. Hitting is fine: 6th in AVG, 3rd in home runs. Seven regulars have double figures in HR, with Ryan Walton tops at 29. Pitching tho...dead last in runs, and the AL's worst rotation ERA, at 5.60. Four starters are now on the DL, and the fill-ins have so far not been up to the task. Three of those injured guys won't be back this year. With a decent lineup, and a couple of promising kids moving up the ranks, if they get some pitching in here next year, they'll be back. Not that that makes me happy.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (8-2, 3.07) / RH Joe Koval (2-1, 3.18) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-4, 3.89) / LH Brandon Mercer (14-2, 3.08)
OAK pitchers: RH Chris Ronan (4-6, 4.82) / RH Oscar Escobedo (8-7, 6.44) / RH Ron Pearson (4-4, 6.31) / LH Danny Alicea (5-4, 5.26)

#106: WIN 8-4 ... 2 runs early, then 5 in the 5th break this open...3 hits, 3 RBI for Rich...2 hits and 2 steals for Simmons
#107: WIN 7-4 ... another 5-run inning erases a 3-0 deficit...only 8 hits and 3 walks tonight, and zero XBH, but we manage 7 runs...two injuries tho
#108: WIN 5-3 ... 4 hits and 14 K for Ratliff, in 8 IP...only the one double out of 11 hits, but we also take 8 walks
#109: LOSS 2-6 ... rare bad outing for Mercer...30th double for Simmons...10 hits for us, but we don't string any runners together tonight

Solid series, no complaints on the field.... Klein tweaks his shoulder, but is barely limited for just a few days. Koval, however, still has a pending diagnosis. Back to the five-man rotation, maybe.... Sixteen minor league pitchers are now on the DL, but that is down a bit from a month ago.... Rob Rich is batting .306, and has earned 2.9 WAR so far. He earned 0.7 last year. In 78 fewer AB (369 last season, 291 so far this year), he already has more runs, doubles, and home runs, and is just 7 hits away from last year's total.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle is still cooking, losing just a game to Hawaii even with the Isles' recent hot stretch.... Phils OF George Livezey just had a 7 RBI game, and is now the only MLB batter with an OPS over 1 (at 1.004). He's also third in batter WAR, at 5.5 (behind Brooklyn's Chris White at 5.6, and Minny's Josh Jacobson at 5.7).... Division races hardly matter this early, but it's still fun to watch. Pittsburgh and Cincy are tied in the NL Central, which has been the standard for several years now. And KC has caught Detroit in the AL Central, now just a half game out. Every other race is 3.5 to 13.5 games apart.


August 7-9 @ MIAMI 2048: 56-52, 2nd place
Still just a two team race in the East: 3.5 games behind Boston, and 7 games ahead of the Yankees. Only 10th in runs, but 6th in runs against, with a +17 run differential. Sixth in HR, tho, with six starters in double figures. Injuries are creeping in: OF Jose Basulto and Leon Lima are out long-term, and Marlins lifer Ricky Beard--still effective at 34--has a pending injury diagnosis. Only two SP are pitching well, but the bullpen is bailing them out, with closer Curt Nichols and setup men Tim Schuenke and Erik Schewe combining for a 2.66 ERA.

HAW pitchers: RH Seth Howard (8-2, 3.70) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-7, 3.63) / LH Eric Jones (9-2, 3.20)
MIA pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (10-6, 3.73) / RH Arturo Verduzco (7-11, 5.14) / RH Jason Simon (1-1, 5.40)

#110: LOSS 1-11 ... giving up THREE 3-run HR in the 1st inning is not something I recommend...we manage just a tired four hits...Howard's magic may have run out
#111: WIN 11-7 ... 3 hits for Simmons and Rangel, and 4 RBI for the latter...Jackson lifted after 5...Stoneback hurt, diagnosis pending. Ugh
#112: WIN 7-5 ... 4 HR, including Matson's first MLB dinger, and first two this year for Walker...Jones is terrible, but the pen allows just one runner in the final 4.1 IP

Injuries! Koval gets his diagnosis, and he's done: five months with a torn back muscle. We recall Germann (more fool me? well he's been 7-0 in AAA) and also send down Seth Howard. Back to the five-man rotation! We also call up RP Jaheim Mwaura for his first taste of MLB action. And now we're waiting to hear about Stoneback, argh.... Aaaand, with the change in date, we get his diagnosis: fractured hip, out 5-6 months. SH*T. There is no one to replace his bat, and we're still waiting on Groff and Padilla to get healed. Okay, time to scramble.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle has won 7 straight, hanging with Hawaii at seven games out. With the Isles sudden injury woes, who knows what could happen.... San Diego's lead over LA is now 15 games. And the NL West is the only division where all six teams have at least 50 wins.... Miami's Mario Rivera had a pair of 2-run HR games against Hawaii, and claimed AL player of the week honors.


August 11-13 vs NY YANKEES 2048: 50-61, 3rd place
A stout pitching staff--third in runs against--has been completely undermined by league-worst hitting. (Merge OAK and NYY and there's a helluva team.) Leadoff batter Monte Reyna is at .338, but after him things get bleak fast. Okay, #3 guy Chris Mitchell has been fine, at .278/16/46, and Tony Mendoza and Oscar Sandoval have topped 20 HR. But too many low averages and low OBP kill too many innings. And not all the pitching news has been good: starter Yoshi Oh tossed a 5-hitter just over a week ago, but that's been his only season highlight, as he's 1-10 with an ERA near 6. Former Isles Alert: SP Jim Kieffer is the nominal ace, and has been decent enough; 1B Jonathan Klump has hit .197 with just 2 HR in the month since we traded him; and RP Pat Stanley has a nice 4-to-1 K:BB ratio, but an ERA of 4.85.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (5-4, 3.84) / LH Brandon Mercer (14-3, 3.30) / RH Ben Germann (6-6, 5.44)
NYY pitchers: RH Phil Avery (5-6, 4.91) / RH Yositoki Oh (1-10, 5.86) / RH Travis Heumann (3-3, 3.08)

#113: WIN 2-1 ... we're outhit, but a pair of RBI doubles in the 3rd win it...Ratliff is strong, yielding 5 H in 8 IP...of course Klump homers against us
#114: WIN 10-4 ... 17 hits, including 4 for Rangel and 3 for Lasky (with 4 RBI too)...complete game for Mercer, with 9 K
#115: LOSS 5-9 ... ugh, Germann...HR for Long, two hits for Simmons...that's about it...another HR for Klump, good for him

Still can't shake the M's, as they're now 7.5 games back.... Germann. How can someone look so good on paper but so, so bad in real life? He was amazing in AAA of late, and will be heading back there in a flash if he can't turn it around. He'll get one more shot.... With Stoneback's injury, Bob Goodloe moves to short, but will bat 8th (Stoney batted cleanup). Craig Long moves into the #4 slot, with Lasky moving up to #5.... Lasky, meanwhile, has four errors at 1B in 20 starts. Good thing he's batting .324.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa's Vance Wise has been hot and now leads the AL with 89 RBI. He's also still listed as the Rays' closer, with 2 saves in 2 relief appearances.... Old Man Update: 35-year-old Vinny Vargas is still bashing with the Dodgers (.313/21/50), and is closing in on 500 doubles and 100 WAR; Milwaukee's Matt Anderson (40) is batting .285 with 23 HR, giving him 538 for his career, and 2835 hits. Unless he falls off the table in the off-season, he still has a chance at 3000 hits, and maybe 600 home runs.

......

TL;DR Version: Some good (9-3 this period), some bad (season-ending injuries to Koval and Stoneback), and some ugly (Germann still can't pitch). At least Groff comes back in a week; we're still hitting, but we need his pop (he still leads the team with 19 HR). And our pitching outlook has changed quickly too, as Germann was pitiful in his return. If he can't regain his early-season form, I'm not sure who I'll try next. Shaun Gates made two bad starts in April, and has been up-and-down in AAA; maybe Seth Howard again; or maybe Angel Cordova will get another long-awaited shot.
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Old 09-24-2019, 08:27 PM   #283
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August 14-16 vs TAMPA BAY 2048: 52-62, 3rd place
Despite being ten games under .500, they're just 10.5 games out of first. Sixth in runs, and another example of the usefulness of power: 14th in AVG but 3rd in HR. Seven regulars have reached double figure HR, and three over 20. Vance Wise (.299/24/87) and Chris Goldthwait (.289/24/60) still power the offense from the middle of the lineup. Wise is also listed as the closer, with 2 saves in 2 appearances. Pitching is down, and offsetting the offense: 16th in runs against. Only one SP has an ERA below 5.00, only Taylor Barnett--remember him?--has a record more than one game over .500. Eight players are on the DL too, five of them pitchers.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (9-7, 3.74) / LH Eric Jones (9-2, 3.44) / RH Ryan Ratliff (6-4, 3.62)
TBR pitchers: RH Freddy Trujillo (4-11, 6.64) / RH Tony Zuniga (4-11, 6.66) / RH Greg Drake (3-2, 4.27)

#116: LOSS 2-11 ... 2 hits and a HR for Daley, and 2 hits for Rangel...everything else? stinkeroo
#117: WIN 11-3 ... 3 hits and 5 RBI by Frederick, while Klein goes 4-for-5...7 IP for Jones, nabs his 10th win and 11th consecutive season in double figures
#118: LOSS 4-8 ... Ratliff leaves a scoreless game after 7, having done his part...a Simmons error leads to 5 unearned runs in the 8th, and Crowley blows up in the 9th

Blech. Good news tho! No additional injuries.... Speaking of that, Groff should come back after our next series, and Padilla in two weeks. Dennis Perry will begin rehab in three days.... Craig Long has hit 4 HR for us since coming over, but is batting just .190.... ELSEWHERE: Austin's Miguel Dorado, 29, hasn't done much in five years as a starter for the Outlaws. Except for just tossing his second career no-hitter, a 5-0 victory over Washington.... Tampa's Joseph Hart, just acquired from the White Sox, was named AL player of the week. He went 13-for-26, and bashed 7 hits against his former Hawaii teammates.... Atlanta's won ten straight, bringing them to just five games under .500. Cincy's won 8 in a row, and has opened up a five game lead over Pittsburgh


August 18-20 vs DETROIT 2048: 66-51, 1st place
Not quite the offensive powerhouse of old, at 10th in runs scored, but still powerful (3rd in HR). Andy Howard (.289/25/72) and John Sheets (.304/24/76) have been solid as usual, and Sean West is batting .366 in 13 games since coming back from injury. Pitching has been the real strength this year, 1st in runs against and 2nd in both starter's and bullpen ERA. Currently riding a 7-game winning streak which has put them six games clear of Milwaukee, and 6.5 up on KC.

HAW pitchers: LH Brandon Mercer (15-3, 3.29) / RH Ben Germann (6-7, 6.00) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-8, 3.96)
DET pitchers: RH T.J. Bohanan (7-4, 4.48) / RH Mike Cote (15-6, 3.36) / LH T.J. Carroll (9-6, 3.64)

#119: WIN 4-2 ... a Simmons 2-run double and doubles by Rangel and Long win this one...Mercer lasts 8, gives up just 4 hits...Crowley manages to close out the 9th
#120: LOSS 3-12 ... Klein's 3-run HR is our highlight...Germann Germanns it up tonight...Mwaura pitches well, but the rest of the pen yields six more runs
#121: WIN 5-4 ... two more HR for Daley, including a walk-off in the 9th...Jackson is on here, fanning 9 through 7, but does give up all four runs

A nice rebound series, and we maintain an 8.5 game lead over Seattle.... Germann is gone again, this time likely for good. Six runs in 1.2 IP this last start. Seth Howard comes back up for now. Dennis Perry also comes off the DL and goes to rehab. Hopefully he'll pitch well and be another option should Howard (or Shaun Gates or someone else) falter.... Bob Goodloe has made nearly a dozen starts at short after Stoneback's injury, and is batting just .190 in that time.... I took the plunge and extended Brandon Mercer for three more years, at $10M per. He's 30, so this is a risk and not my usual M.O. And yet, how could I just let him walk this fall after the season he's given us so far.... ELSEWHERE: Boston is the hot team now, having won 6 in a row. They're seven games ahead of Miami.... Just three teams haven't yet won 50 games: Angels (45-77), St Louis (43-78), and Minnesota (42-79). The Cards have rebounded to a 32-38 record after their 11-40 start. Minny hasn't had a double figure winning month this season.


August 21-23 vs KANSAS CITY 2048: 62-59, 3rd place
Once an all-pitching team, they've turned around into the 3rd best offense in the AL, but have the 13th-ranked pitching staff. Three games over .500, but a -8 run differential. 3B Juan Garcia is second in AL batting at .325, and Adam Behling (.316/27/64) is still one of the best catchers in the game. With three listed SP on the DL, it's no wonder the rotation ERA is ranked 16th, and keeping Ryan June (5.24 ERA) in as closer over Jayden Grant (1.29) is mystifying. With their record, they're closer to the division lead than they are a wildcard slot.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (10-2, 3.46) / RH Ryan Ratliff (6-4, 3.39) / LH Brandon Mercer (16-3, 3.24)
KCR pitchers: RH Jon Errington (7-10, 6.11) / RH Ron Curtis (6-13, 5.58) / LH Chris Larimer (11-6, 4.10)

#122: WIN 6-2 ... 4-hitter for Jones, and a 3-run HR for Rich...3 hits, 2 RBI for Frederick
#123: WIN 3-2 ... JJ SIMMONS HOME RUN ALERT! Simmons last homered in 2044, over 700 games ago...Groff doubles in his first game back
#124: WIN 4-0 ... Mercer tosses a 2-hit shutout, fans 6...Goodloe triples home one run, and Daley rings up 3 hits...Mr. Home Run, JJ Simmons, gets injured by a pitch

Nice time for a sweep, and with Seattle faltering a bit we're now 11.5 games in front.... Simmons is just dtd for one day and won't miss any time.... despite Simmons' outrageous power display, we're still 17th--next to last--in AL home runs, with 126. Long has hit 22 total (just 5 with us), while Groff and Frederick have 19, Daley 18.... With league-best offense and pitching, we have a fun +172 run differential.... ELSEWHERE: Chisox 2B Chris Rock just lost a 26-game hitting streak, but still leads AL batters with a .335 average. Texas sophomore William Swanson has been crushing it all year, to the tune of .332/38/87. Solid MVP candidate.... Brooklyn 3B Chris White is the first player to reach 7.0 WAR, and leads MLB in OPS (1.023) and RBI (99).... Pittsburgh closer Manny Gomez has 45 saves, and is just 5 away from a new team record. The 34-year-old former long-time Boston SP was converted to relief just four years ago, and has earned nearly 11 WAR in that span.

August 24-26 @ MINNESOTA 2048: 42-82, 6th place
That record is now the worst in baseball, thanks to some consistent month-to-month losing: 9-13, 9-20, 9-19, 7-17, and 8-13. Team stats back that up: 14th in runs for, 17th in runs against. Miguel Reyes, at 36, has revived his career with a solid .278/22/69 run, but the only real star at the plate has been sophomore RF Josh Jacobson, at .308/38/91. Like the batters, only one pitcher has shown up as well: starter Conor MacLeod, who has the odd combo of terrible movement and an elite curveball.

HAW pitchers: RH Seth Howard (8-3, 4.20) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-8, 4.00) / LH Eric Jones (11-2, 3.37)
MIN pitchers: LH Andy Kozak (1-2, 5.52) / RH Conor MacLeod (13-7, 3.73) / RH Hugo Blerra (4-3, 5.08)

#125: WIN 10-3 ... welcome back, Seth: a 7-hit complete game...4 hits for Groff, 4 RBI for Rich (on two singles)...HR for Long
#126: LOSS 6-7 ... Long and Rich homer, Jackson gives up six runs in six IP...Crowley loses it in the 10th, for Minny's first win in extras this season (now 1-10)
#127: WIN 4-3 ... Klein's 3-run blast in the 6th is the difference maker...Jones only goes 6 IP, but gets the win...Simmons hurt dtd

Nice series here, even with Simmons' injury. It's just dtd for 5 days, so he won't start but could pinch hit. Padilla also comes back in a couple of days.... Welcome back to the bigs, Seth Howard. Now if we can only get Jackson pitching more consistently, we'll be all set.... Our lead over Seattle is now 12 games.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit's T.J. Carroll tossed the fourth no-hitter of the season, striking out 15 in a 5-0 win over Texas. That makes two no-hitters in each league.... Big loss for San Diego, with #2 pitcher Alfredo Longoria retiring due to a torn labrum. Longoria, 26, was having a career year for the division leaders, at 12-2, a 2.71 ERA, and 167 K in 143 IP. He was a scouting discovery out of Venezuela in '38, and was in his third full year as a starter for the Padres.... No tight divisional races right now, with the closest being the NL Central, Cincinnati leading Pittsburgh by 4.5.... The Cubs have lost ten straight and are now a distant third in the Central, and also losing touch with the wildcard contenders.


August 27-30 @ LA ANGELS 2048: 49-79, 6th place
They just can't hit. At 17th in runs for, and dead last in home runs, with no offensive number out of the bottom four in the AL. 1B Jason Eastep is on an island, with 36 home runs, but after trading all-star 3B Tony Mendoza to the Yankees, there's no one else around him. And looking at that Mendoza trade...sheesh. They got four players in return, and it's not looking good right now. Chris Hinrichs, the key, is a former #2 draft pick who's been relegated to AA after playing half the season in NY, and at 24 there's a serious chance he may never develop to his scouted potential. Pitcher Ryan Kuehner looks like a possible 4/5 starter, but is also 24 and is not lighting it up in AA. Then there's infielders Gary Harper and Kevin Maddux, both in A. Neither can hit a lick, although they are already excellent fielders. Mendoza is 31, so it made sense to trade him to jump start the always-ongoing rebuild; but this return is terrible. Anyway, pitching is okay, at 9th in runs against. The rotation has been decent, but the bullpen is a trash fire. So I'm saying we'll probably split these four games...

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (7-4, 3.31) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-3, 3.06) / RH Seth Howard (9-3 3.87) / RH Shamar Jackson (9-8, 4.15)
LAA pitchers: RH Mike Hosey (6-11, 4.58) / RH Jon Carlsen (4-8, 4.09) / RH Ken Demers (6-8, 4.67) / RH Justin Allred (9-11, 3.99)

#128: WIN 6-2 ... 3 hits for Groff and a pair of doubles for Long...8 innings of four-hit ball by Ratliff, with 8 whiffs
#129: WIN 17-8 ... Frederick, Daley, and Groff homer, and Rangel drives in 5 on 4 hits...Mercer and Mwaura get pushed around for 15 hits, but the latter takes the win
#130: WIN 11-5 ... Groff homers, and we rack up 11 hits and 7 walks...2 hits each for Long and Walker...not a great start for Howard, pulled after five
#131: WIN 6-1 ... tonight it's 15 hits and 7 walks...Walker and Rich were the big hitters, with 7 hits and 3 RBI...Jackson goes the distance, fans 12

Wow was that a cleansing series. Doubles figures in hits every night; in fact, 62 hits and 22 walks over the four games.... With Simmons and Padilla coming back to 100% in a couple of games, Marcus Walker could feel the cold hand of fate at his neck. Batting just .188, he went 6-for-10 with 2 HR and 5 RBI in the last two games here. So maybe he stays for a while longer.... Long has come around of late, and is batting .235 with us, with 8 HR, in 51 games.... Groff and Frederick reach the 20 HR mark.... Jackson's Jekyll-and-Hyde season continued with that sparkling effort, reaching 10 wins on the season.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego is now 13.5 games up on LA, but injuries are killing their up-to-now excellent rotation: #1 David Salguero is out for two weeks with a back injury; #2 Alfredo Longoria retired after his shoulder exploded; and #3 Levi Brady is out for another month with a rotator cuff trauma. They're now relying on 36-year-old journeyman Jimmy Porreca (surprisingly good), 32-year-old journeyman Jimmy Dalaba (not so much), 35-year-old Arturo Franco (meh), 32-year old swingman Ruben Garcia (also meh), and rookie Nate Malone (okay, but still developing). Good thing they're still hitting.... 49 saves for Pirates closer Manny Gomez, tying the team record. With 31 games remaining, he'll probably break it.... Tampa's Vance Wise and Brooklyn's Chris White reach 100 RBI on the same day.... With STL suddenly almost-good, only MIN and LAA haven't reached 50 wins.


August 31 @ TEXAS 2048: 61-69, 4th place
Despite the record, there's promise here. Fourth in runs and now 2nd in home runs, they've built a solid lineup at the plate. If they can find a catcher (Brett Monize, recently acquired from STL, has slashed .095/.146/.190 since the trade), they look set everywhere else. Pitching is still troubled, 13th in runs against. But their top four prospects are all pitchers, and decent-looking ones at that. But they're almost all at least a year or two away. (Bobby Daniel is in the bullpen, and almost ready for the rotation, however.) Former Isles Cy Young winner Mike Messinger is finally healthy, but just pitched last night and will likely miss this series. Good.

HAW pitcher: LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.35)
TEX pitcher: RH Francisco Pantaleon (13-8, 4.53)

#132: LOSS 5-6 ... booooo...we outhit them 13-8, but Crowley gives up a walk-off HR in the 10th for the loss...2 more hits for new Player o' the Week Groff

Meh, tough loss, but no one got hurt and we've got three more against them to start September.... ELSEWHERE: Fourteen straight losses for the Cubs, pretty much ending their post-season drive.... Cincy's Cris Frias tops the NL in wins and strikeouts, is third in ERA and 2nd in WAR. Pretty strong Cy Young candidate there.... San Diego's pitching issues haven't cost them yet as they still cling to a narrow 14.5 game lead over LA. Their magic number is 18, tied with us for the lowest in baseball.... Seattle and Houston are extreme longshots to catch the front-running Islanders, but they top the AL wild card standings. At 75 and 73 wins, respectively, they lead Milwaukee (68), Miami (67), and KC (66). In the NL, Pittsburgh (78 wins), and Richmond (72) lead over LA (68) and a trio at 66 wins (Portland, Austin, and Chicago).

......

TL;DR Version: Not the best way to end the month, but still a nice 12-5 stretch here, and a 21-8 month overall. We're now 14 games up on Seattle, and I really must admit that this year is looking a lot like last year: solid except for a mid-season horrowshow slump, with excellent batting and decent pitching. Still, are we looking at another 100-win season followed by a depressingly short post-season? Gird yourself, kiddos... Despite his injury, Groff is still a 'qualified' batter, and currently leads the AL in hitting at .334. He's also 2nd in OPS and third in WAR. JJ Simmons is third in batting (.331) and second in steals (with 28, along with 16 times caught). Brandon Mercer leads the AL with 17 wins, although I'm expecting he'll catch whatever late-season virus usually affects my pitchers and keeps them from passing 20 wins. (Ryan Ratliff's 21 wins last year being a notable exception.) Finally, for the moment we are pretty healthy. Obviously, Rich Stoneback and Joe Koval are done for the year, but the pitching staff is at 100% otherwise, and the lineup is stable for now. Although Goodloe at short is no Stoneback, but there's no other viable fielder there, unless I move Simmons over and put someone else at third (Padilla? Gotta hit better than .220, bud. Groff? No way, he gets hurt just throwing the ball these days.)
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Old 09-26-2019, 04:30 PM   #284
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September 2048

Thirty games to close out the regular season, eleven on the road. We'll wrap things up with nine home games against Seattle, LA, and Houston. Ryan Ratliff was named AL pitcher of the month for August, going 4-0 with 46 K in 39 IP and a 1.85 ERA. And St Louis managed an amazing 19-8 month and copped player of the month (J.R. Crudge, batting .396 with 10 HR) and the top pitcher (closer Frank Casper, 0.60 ERA in 15 IP with 10 saves). Quite a dramatic turnaround from their early season nihilism. And it's roster expansion time! I'm still not sure who's coming up, so I'll detail it below after the current series.

September 1-2 @ TEXAS 2048: 62-69, 4th place
Finishing this three-game series, our last of the season with the Rangers.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-4, 3.24) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-3, 3.25)
TEX pitchers: RH Greg Buchanan (9-13, 4.61) / RH Mike Messinger (5-6, 4.30)

#133: WIN 9-7 ... outhit, but three HR make the difference...Ratliff is pulled in the 4th, and the pen gives up 8 hits but doesn't break
#134: WIN 13-10 ... pitching, what pitching? Four more HR, including 2 for Long...everyone gets a hit, 3 for Simmons and Frederick

Simmons went 8-for-13 in this series, putting himself on top of the AL batting race, at .337.... For the roster expansion, we recall four players from AAA: RP Ben Willard, first time up this year (6.48 ERA in 35 IP last season); C Justin Cecil (also first callup, after batting .219 for Texas after they claimed him in the Rule 5 draft); IF Josh Matson (.351 in AAA, and 5-for-9 in an earlier callup); and OF Dustin Barton (0-for-1 earlier in August, .347 in AAA).... ELSEWHERE: Six wins in a row for the suddenly powerful Cardinals, but still 52-80 on the season.... Texas 1B William Swanson is the first batter to reach 40 HR.... Arizona's Dan Dellinger hit for the cycle, and continues to lead the NL with a .363 average.... DJ Grace (CLE) and Josh Jacobson (MIN) are the first to reach 7.0 WAR. Jacobson's power numbers make him a strong MVP candidate as well.


September 4-6 @ SEATTLE 2048: 75-57, 3rd place
Still in a solid spot for a wildcard nod, but now a half game behind Houston in the West. Only 11th in runs, but 6th in runs against, for a +30 run differential. There haven't been any standout performers this year, outside of closer Daryl Kennedy (40 saves, 1.84 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). Helping the cause will be the return in a few days of ace Miguel Moreno, who's been injured since June. Currently seven games ahead of Milwaukee for the second AL wildcard.

HAW pitchers: RH Seth Howard (9-3, 4.01) / RH Shamar Jackson (10-8, 4.00) / LH Eric Jones (12-2, 3.48)
SEA pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (12-7, 4.20) / RH Erik Ramey (9-6, 3.96) / RH Edgar Tinajero (14-8, 3.96)

#135: WIN 5-3 ... down 3-0 early, we score in the 8th and 9th, and Cappuccilli's 2-run single in the 10th wins it...we strike out 14 times, but also take 6 walks
#136: WIN 10-4 ... 2B + HR + 4 RBI for Frederick, and 4 hits for Groff...nine-hit complete game by Jackson
#137: WIN 5-3 ... nobody scores after the 4th...repeat night for Frederick, except 3 RBI instead...Klein hurt dtd...7 IP for Jones, 6 K

Back injury for Klein, just six days. He'll get some time off anyway.... Three players have now reached 22 HR, and we're 16th in the AL! Not that that's great, but hey progress.... AAA Santa Barbara and Short A Poughkeepsie top their respective divisions, but our other four farm teams all have losing records.... ELSEWHERE: Minnesota is the first team eliminated from post-season consideration.... What kind of hubris does a guy like the great Jordan Cruz have--given that he plays for a last place team and is angry that he's not in the September starting lineup--what with his lovely .159/.268/.280 slash, and 219 strikeouts. The soon-to-be free agent will be looking to catch on with his ninth MLB team next year.... San Diego still hasn't missed a beat, even with a patchwork rotation: 88-49 and 17.5 games ahead of LA.


September 8-10 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX 2048: 58-78, 5th place
Inefficient offense in action: 5th in AVG but only 13th in runs. Also 13th in runs against, but a -69 run differential. The bad news is another lost season. The good news is (or might be) that half of their top twenty salaries will be free agents this fall. And their top two prospects, pitchers Ben O'Neal and Burton Dick, look like ace starters. And there are some young regulars to build around: third year SS Chris Rock (23), RF Andy Barenberg (24), and CF Mike Embry (22, rookie). Clear out the dead wood and let the kids play.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-4, 3.50) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-3, 3.47) / RH Seth Howard (9-3, 4.03)
CHW pitchers: RH Jake Davidson (5-14, 5.24) / RH Ben O'Neal (2-1, 2.63) / RH Cory Graulich (13-7, 3.73)

#138: LOSS 5-9 ... Ratliff leaves after six, holding a 4-3 lead...Money melts down with a 5 run 8th however
#139: LOSS 8-9 ... Mercer suddenly can't get anyone out, as predicted...3-run HR for Frederick, and 3 hits for Groff
#140: WIN 9-4 ... 4 HR, including one more for Frederick and Long's 30th...not a good outing for Howard, but we get 4 shutout innings from the bullpen

At least we salvaged one win here.... Rich tweaks his knee and is dtd for five more days. McCollum and Justin Cecil will split catching duties for the next two series.... Our pitching is falling off of late, and we're now 3rd in runs against. The rotation's ERA is 4th, having topped 4.00 for the first time since April.... Groff, Simmons, and Sox player Chris Rock are now #2, 3, and 4 in AL batting.... ELSEWHERE: San Diego's Magic # is now 4.... KC has won seven straight, pulling to just three games behind Seattle for the second AL wildcard slot.... Cleveland's DJ Grace tops AL hitting, and is also the only MLB player at 8.0 WAR.... Pittsburgh's Manny Gomez now has 52 saves, tied for 11th on the all-time single season list. He's also 96th on the career list with 198 saves.... Speaking of all-time lists, Milwaukee's Matt Anderson is now 48th with 2860 career hits. He's two behind Albert Pujols.


September 11-13 vs MILWAUKEE 2048: 70-68, 3rd place
Six games behind in the wildcard race, but only 2-7 this month, not helping the chase. Only 11th in runs scored, and dead last in batting average. First in home runs, however, with Coby Sandu and Kaz Kawakami already over 30. Pitching has been solid, at 2nd in runs against, for a +60 run differential. However, their best pitcher, ace Jay Russo, is out for the season. As is closer HO Kara.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (11-8, 3.96) / LH Eric Jones (13-2, 3.50) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-4, 3.55)
MIL pitchers: RH Bryan Shaheen (7-8, 4.03) / RH Marcus Richardson (8-8, 4.71) / LH Danny Chavez (8-5, 4.37)

#141: LOSS 4-7 ... a 4-1 lead dissolves over the last three innings...Jackson gives up a pair of HR and takes the loss...2 hits for Groff
#142: LOSS 4-11 ... oh boy, good times are happening again...pitching once again fails us, as all three guys tonight give up runs
#143: LOSS 5-10 ... we outhit them, but also allow 8 walks, as again all our pitchers tonight give up multiple runs

Well, despite that ugly mess we clinched a playoff spot and Frederick wins player of the week honors.... We're now 6th in runs against, and I'm not sure what to tweak to get my pitchers back on form. I slide around a couple of relievers, then call up Dennis Perry from AAA rehab and shove Seth Howard into long relief. At this point, tho, every starter should go to the pen.... ELSEWHERE: Some division races are tightening: Cincy leads Pittsburgh by 3; Detroit over KC by 3.5; and Miami is closing on Boston while Richmond gains on Philly. KC and Miami are the only teams there that currently are not in playoff position.... CIN's Jose Taveras is the first NL batter to reach 40 HR, and has now hit that mark each of his four MLB seasons.... In his three big league seasons, DBacks OF Dan Dellinger has hit .344, .397, and now .368. He didn't qualify for the title last year, with just 291 PA. He should easily win his first batting title this year, and probably first of many.

......

TL;DR Version: Oh boy, the roller coaster is back! We are either on top of the world or completely unable to scratch out a win. Which one shows up for the post-season? Here, a 5-0 stretch gives way to a 1-5 run, culminated by three ugly losses to Milwaukee. Pitching? Who needs it when you've got the best offense in the league! Okay, 19 games to get things straight and ready for the playoffs. And if the rotation doesn't get its act together soon...well, you know the rest.
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Old 09-30-2019, 07:26 PM   #285
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Nineteen games left to sort ourselves out. The first six are on the road, the remainder at home. That should be a nice gift from the schedule-makers, yes? Let's just get the pitching back on track and keep everybody healthy.

September 15-17 @ CLEVELAND 2048: 71-70, 4th place
They've treaded water all season, but a 9-3 start to the month has brought them to just six games behind Seattle for the second wildcard slot. Hitting is 8th in runs, 2nd in OPS. Pitching is 13th, with the AL's worst bullpen, for a -30 run differential. Top hitter has been leadoff guy D.J. Grace, at .336/16/56, who's in the race for the AL batting crown. A pair of future stars have been up since August--LF Victor Cruz and 1B Manny Ayala--and while neither has done much yet, my scouts tell me they are the future core of a rebuilt Indians squad.

HAW pitchers: LH Brandon Mercer (17-4, 3.80) / RH Dennis Perry (debut) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-9, 4.03)
CLE pitchers: LH Josh Lawler (14-7, 3.65) / RH Bob Garner (5-10, 5.17) / RH Craig Bentley (2-1, 3.32)

#144: LOSS 1-9 ... remember when Mercer was untouchable? yeah, me neither...a five-run 8th dooms any comeback hopes here
#145: WIN 7-1 ... Groff triples home two runs in the 5th, but gets hurt sliding into third...nothing else matters tonight, sigh
#146: WIN 10-1 ... giants reawaken, as Jackson tosses a 14-K complete game, while Long and Padilla each homer twice...5 RBI for Dante as well

So we win two, getting back on track a bit, but the bigger news is that Groff is done for the season with a broken finger. Great. My two top bats--Groff and Stoneback--are done for the playoffs. Groff leaves currently 3rd in AL batting and 1st in OPS.... Padilla moves into the lineup at 1B, and Long moves up into the cleanup slot.... We pulled off the rare feat of winning all three top MLB daily perfomances in that third game: Long, Jackson, and Padilla went 1-2-3.... ELSEWHERE: Giants starter Jesus Chavolla not only pitched the fifth no-hitter of the season, he made it the first perfect game since Francisco Pantaleon did it for Oakland in '44. Chavolla struck out four in the 1-0 win over the Cubs. Oh, and he's a former Isles prospect, traded to SF in a multi-player deal that brought us Shamar Jackson and Kenny Welch (who was later traded to RIC for underused RP Bruce Parton and top SP prospect Braden Mathiesen).... San Diego clinched the NL West, and their 19.5 game lead is the best in the majors.


September 18-20 @ OAKLAND 2048: 62-84, 5th place
Fourth in runs, but still dead last in runs against. Ace SP Jim Schwartz is back from injury, having made his first start of the season just last week. They also just traded struggling SP Ron Pearson (6-10, 5.76) to Richmond for prospect 1B John Elits, who has power potential but little else. That fits, as a number of regulars--LF Roger Morales, 3B Ryan Walton, SS Daniel Hopkins, and CF Bobby Trujillo--are low-contact/high-power batters. Tenth in AVG but 4th in HR, that's the M.O. here.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.72) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-5, 3.74) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-5, 3.95)
OAK pitchers: RH Chris Ronan (5-10, 5.42) / RH Chris Grauer (1-3, 4.31) / RH Mike Pearson (3-1, 3.93)

#147: LOSS 6-7 ... 40 combined hits, but over 19 innings...Jones is sharp, but the bullpen combines to give up six runs...Daley goes 6-for-8, all singles (plus a walk)
#148: WIN 4-2 ... two more hits for Daley, and three for Klein...Padilla is 2-for-3, getting it back together at last...7 strong IP for Ratliff
#149: LOSS 6-9 ... Daley and Frederick reach 100 RBI, and 3 hits for Rich...Mercer is bombed out of the first inning, earning his paycheck huh

Good thing I re-upped Mercer for the next three years.... Actually, his deal isn't that bad, meaning he does look tradeable should he continue to pitch like this next spring.... Despite our struggles, we clinch the division and are now at 99 wins.... Long has turned it around, and even though he's batting just .258 with us (average for him, tho), he does have 16 HR in 279 AB.... Heckuva rookie season for Frederick, at .287/27/101. Well, I'm going to consider it his rookie season, despite his 150 PA from last year disqualifying him for ROY consideration this year.... ELSEWHERE: Philly has pulled away from Richmond in the NL East, with a 9-game lead. Others: Boston by 5.5 over Miami; Detroit 5.5 over Milwaukee and Cleveland; and Cincy 4.5 over Pittsburgh.... The front-runners for wildcard spots are still Houston and Seattle in the AL, Pittsburgh and Richmond in the NL.... Cincy's Cris Frias continues to put up big numbers, being the first pitcher to reach 7 WAR. He leads the NL in wins and K, and is fifth in ERA.


September 21-23 vs SEATTLE 2048: 80-68, 3rd place
Got passed by Houston for 2nd place last month, but are still holding on to a playoff spot. They're 2 game up on Miami, with Milwaukee, Cleveland, and KC just behind the Marlins. Still not hitting, at 14th in runs (and 17th in HR), but holding it together with the 6th-best AL staff. Only a +6 run differential, however. The lineup looks better than the numbers indicate, with a lot of good-contact batters in the middle. But leadoff man Pablo Delgado--a fringe HoF candidate--is batting just .198, which is just no way to set up the offense.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (1-0, 1.29) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-9, 3.90) / LH Eric Jones (13-3, 3.62)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramey (9-8, 4.17) / RH Edgar Tinajero (14-11, 4.30) / LH Ryan Galletto (11-12, 3.94)

#150: WIN 4-1 ... 3 hits, a HR, and a steal for Frederick...six good innings for Perry, and an appearance by the MIA Rick Ramirez to boot
#151: WIN 5-3 ... we outhit them 13-4, with 3 each for Simmons, Long, and Klein...Klein's triple in the 8th brings home 2 and wins it
#152: LOSS 2-6 ... tough game for Jones, and Sanabria in relief...Daley still hot, goes 3-for-3, and a HR for Long

Tough loss at the end there, but we top 100 wins for the fifth straight season. However, only one of those years--the first, 2044--saw us bring home a championship. Trite Statement time: I would trade 10+ wins a season for more titles.... We've scored 866 runs, nearly 100 more than second place Oakland (at 769). Eleven AL teams have scored 700 times, only two in the NL.... ELSEWHERE: Philly clinched their division, and Cincy a playoff spot.... Texas slugger William Swanson leads MLB with 45 HR, making it likely that no one will hit 50 HR this season. It's been nearly a decade since that last happened.... 301 K for Cris Frias, tops in baseball now; 55 saves for Manny Gomez (PIT).... The AL wildcard race is tight now: HOU (83 wins), SEA (81), MIA (80), MIL (78).... Minnesota fired veteran manager Ruben Vasquez, at 52-96 and worst in baseball. Vasquez has managed four teams (NOZ, ARI, WAS, MIN) over the last 15 seasons. He's had five winning seasons, with two post-season appearances. His replacement is Juan Vargas, a 14-year veteran catcher from the '20s and '30s. This is his first MLB job.


September 25-27 vs LA ANGELS 2048: 57-95, 6th place
Dead last in offense, 18th in runs and HR. Pitching is 12th, with a -149 run differential. Outside of Jason Eastep (.281/42/99), it's a wasteland. However: the top four prospects are batters, and two (Jake Glowski and Ricky Ochoa) are in the bigs, tho probably rushed a bit. But if they're not ruined, they're the basis for reconstructing the offense. They've been rebuilding for fifteen years now, and it's hard to say when it will end.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (9-5, 3.63) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-6, 4.22) / RH Dennis Perry (2-0, 1.38)
LAA pitchers: RH Ken Demers (7-10, 5.03) / RH Ryan Kuehner (debut) / RH Jon Carlsen (4-12, 4.72)

#153: LOSS 4-5 ... LA scores one in the 9th and two in the 11th to steal this one...2 hits each for Long and Frederick
#154: LOSS 3-10 ... 200 hits for Daley...Mercer is just bad bad bad. Again
#155: WIN 9-3 ... 4-hitter for Perry...2 hits, 2 RBI for Rich and Klein, and HR for Long and Padilla

Right now, we're just an average team. Honestly: 6-6 this stretch, with questionable pitching day-by-day. Still hitting, but we're definitely feeling the loss of Groff and Stoneback.... Our hottest pitcher is Perry, and he's not playoff eligible, of course [ED. note: he is].... ELSEWHERE: Boston clinches the East, and Pittsburgh clinches a playoff spot.... The AL batting race is tight: Chris Rock (CHW) .336; Groff .335; Simmons .332; DJ Grace (CLE) .332. Groff could win a batting title with a cast on his hand.... No batters anywhere have an OPS over .999 now.


September 28-October 1 vs HOUSTON 2048: 85-70, 2nd place
ALERT: The Astros are on the verge of their first playoff appearance since 2018. 2018! They don't hit many HR (14th), but are pretty decent across the board: 6th in runs, 7th in pitching, and a +72 run differential. Weirdly, they've turned one-time ace SP prospect Alejandro Gonzales into a closer. (A $32M/year closer!) He earned 6.7 WAR last year as a starter, but was disappointing in 18 starts this year. He hasn't done much better in relief, and really wants to be back in the rotation. His stamina is terrible (a 6 rating), so he may never go back. No one player has stood out stats-wise, but 2B Dan Phoenix is on his 4th season of batting .300 in his last five seasons.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (12-9, 3.90) / LH Eric Jones (13-4, 3.68) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-5, 3.60) / LH Brandon Mercer (17-7, 4.52)
HOU pitchers: LH Joe Jones (14-12, 4.41) / RH Chris Avalos (6-5, 3.82) / RH Dustin Springer (14-11, 3.67) / LH Chris Harris (11-11, 3.16)

#156: WIN 12-8 ... 6 combined HR...2 for Daley, and 6 RBI, and his 40th double...2 hits and 3 RBI for Simmons
#157: WIN 13-2 ... we're up 6-0 after two, and coast from there...3 RBI for Frederick and Long...Jones gets pulled in the 9th, for some reason
#158: WIN 6-2 ... a pair of 3-run HR (Frederick and Padilla) are all we need...12 K in 7 IP for Ratliff
#159: LOSS 2-8 ... Daley homers again, but a 4-run 8th stops our comeback

Guess who pitched poorly again? Wanna also guess what Mercer's ERA in six September/October starts is? Do the math: 40 ER in 24 IP.... How is it we can have 915 runs scored and a +219 run differential, and yet I still don't feel confident about this team? The answer is pitching. Our recent playoff flameouts have come when our hitting gets checked over a short series, and our pitching isn't good enough to match our opponents.... Frederick wins AL player of the month for September, batting .353 with 9 HR and 33 RBI.... ELSEWHERE: More playoff clinches: Detroit takes the AL Central, Richmond clinches an NL wildcard, and Cincy clinches the NL Central.... Four teams are still in the AL wildcard: Houston (86 wins), Seattle (85), Miami (83), and Milwaukee (82).... Detroit's Mike Cote wins his 20th game. Marvin Diaz (LAD) and Cris Frias (CIN) have 19.


October 2-4 vs TEXAS 2048: 75-84, 4th place
I thought these guys were going to ride decent pitching into potential playoff contention. Instead, they're 11th in runs against and 3rd in runs scored. Three players have topped 30 HR, led by William Swanson's MLB-leading 46. RF Omar Gurrola has 35 and LF Luis Venegas 32. If Corey Turner hits four against us, that'll make four players with 30. (Milwaukee is also close to having four 30-HR guys.) Former Isle closer Dan Brown has 26 saves but a 4.43 ERA, nearly 2.5 times higher than he did with us last year.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (3-0, 2.05) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-9, 4.02) / LH Eric Jones (14-4, 3.62)
TEX pitchers: RH Dale Tessman (5-8, 5.55) / RH Mike Messinger (7-10, 4.42) / RH Mike Kent (5-6, 6.40)

#160: LOSS 0-3 ... only 3 hits tonight, but two are doubles...7 IP for Perry, but gives up three solo HR
#161: WIN 4-1 ... 30th HR for Frederick, 26th for Daley...Jackson is sharp through 8, and Crowley fans 2 in the 9th
#162: WIN 4-1 ... a 1st inning 3-run HR by Long sets the tone, and Jones fans 8 through 7 IP

Ok, a nice way to end the season. Decent pitching finally from our two top guys, who will need to be sharp.... Frederick ends with 30 HR, the most in a Hawaii uniform. Long hits 21 with us, 38 overall. Frederick also leads the team with 115 RBI.... Groff comes up just short in the batting race, losing to Chris Rock (CHW) .337 to .335. Chicago sat Rock on the last day of the season, the cowards! Simmons finished third at .330.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle and Houston take the AL wildcards after game #160, thanks to losses by Milwaukee and Miami.... Cincy's Cris Frias wins his 20th game of the season, a 2-0 shutout of New Orleans.... Minnesota managed a not-horrible 5-7 record under their new manager, but still finished as the only team without 60 wins (59-103).... Rock won his first batting crown, while Arizona's Dan Dellinger won the NL title at .363. Rock is 23, Dellinger 24.

......

TL;DR Version: 11-8 to close out the season, and we finish with a record of 107-55, best in MLB. (Philly and San Diego won 101.) A lot of good individual performances from our batters, with Groff, Daley, Simmons, and Frederick all having top-2 or top-5 finishes in various categories. Four regulars (five, counting Groff) finish over .300, and even JJ Simmons hit his first home run in nearly four seasons. Pitching fell off after the all-star break, but still finished 6th in runs against. Captain Obvious prediction: we will live and die in the playoffs on our pitching.

Next up: PLAYOFFS!
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Old 10-06-2019, 01:29 PM   #286
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Playoffs 2048

We kick things off with two pretty good wildcard games. In the NL, Richmond takes a 2-0 lead on the Pirates into the 7th but it's wiped out by a D.J. Flores 2-run blast. It's off to extra innings, with both teams wasting runners until the 12th...when Pittsburgh launches another 2-run home run to take the game and move on to the next round. Back in the AL, Seattle goes up 6-0 early on Houston, but the Astros rally for 4 combined in the 6th and 7th innings. However, likely AL Wilhelm trophy winner Daryl Kennedy shuts Houston down over the last two innings to preserve the win for Seattle.

No surprise that Seattle will play us in the next round. Detroit and Boston is the other AL series. Pittsburgh will play San Diego in one NL series, while Philadelphia and Cincinnati will meet in the other. These look like four pretty good series to me.

......

AL DIVISIONAL ROUND

As usual, it's a familiar NL West opponent for our first playoff round. This time, not Oakland--but a Seattle team we went 10-4 against during the regular season. We played them late in the season, but this bears repeating: they're a struggling offensive (14th in runs, 17th in HR) but a strong pitching squad (5th in runs against, 3rd best rotation ERA). We'll be rolling out a revised lineup, what with the injuries to Stoneback and Groff. Here's our base lineup: CF Klein / LF Daley / RF Frederick / DH Long / 1B Padilla / 2B Rangel / 3B Simmons / SS Goodloe / C Rich. We'll swap Klein/Simmons depending on who has the hot bat, like we did after the all-star break. Pitching, we'll use a four-man rotation, with ice cold Brandon Mercer moving to long relief.

Game One: 10/9/48, Seattle (Edgar Tinajero, 16-11 3.98) @ Hawaii (Shamar Jackson, 13-9 3.93). Jackson is pounded early, giving up a run in the 1st and then two HR in the second, as we go down 4-0 right from the start. Meanwhile, we can't do a thing against Tinajero until we load the bases in the 8th. With Kennedy (see above) coming in, it looks bleak...at least until Padilla singles home two runs, and we're back in it. We go into the 9th down by two, but Kennedy is jittery again, putting two men on and it costs the M's, as Daley doubles home two. Extra innings! In the 11th, with Simmons on second and nobody out, Rich lines a sharp single to left and brings him home. We win! Hawaii wins 5-4. Hawaii leads series 1-0.

Game Two: 10/10/48, Seattle (Ryan Galletto, 12-12 3.99) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 15-4 3.53). Once again, we give up a run in the first, with Mike Wapner knocking a solo shot off of Jones. After that, there's little suspense. Padilla homers in the 2nd, and Long blasts two (4th and 6th innings), and we score nine runs over the next four innings to take an insurmountable lead. Two Seattle runs in the 9th make this one look closer than it was. We pound 20 hits, with Rich getting 4, and Goodloe, Padilla, and Long adding three each. Hawaii wins 10-4. Hawaii leads series 2-0.

Game Three: 10/12/48, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 10-5 3.50) @ Seattle (Miguel Moreno, 11-6 3.34). We score in our first two innings, but Seattle adds two in their first, and we go into the fifth tied 2-2. The bad guys add another in the 5th, but we tie it up in the 7th and go ahead in the 8th on Klein's RBI single. But...once again, the bullpen rides in: Ramirez surrenders a 3-run homer to Willie Guerra, and we can't recover. No sweep for us. Seattle wins 6-4. Hawaii leads series 2-1.

Game Four: 10/13/48, Hawaii (Dennis Perry, 3-1 2.48) @ Seattle (Carlos Zenon, 13-9 3.95). Not a great start for us tonight, as Perry is wild (walking 7) and allows four runs in four innings. He gets pulled, tho, and after that we calm down. Zenon is floating along nicely for the M's until the 5th, when all hell breaks loose: single, single, fly out, double (one run), double (two more runs), wild pitch, double (run), single (run), single, K, error (run), fly out. That's six runs for us, and a 6-4 lead. And who comes in to pitch but Mr. Doghouse, Brandon Mercer. And he goes four innings, fanning four and giving up just two hits. Crowley shuts the door in the 9th, and we're off to the Championship round! Hawaii wins 6-4. Hawaii WIN series 3-1.

ELSEWHERE: Cincy takes control early and ousts the Phillies in four, and Pittsburgh comes back from a 2-0 series deficit to beat the Padres. The other AL series was quite a remarkable story. Boston was unstoppable in taking the first two games, but the Tigers stormed back to post three consecutive shutouts. One of those games was an improbable no-hitter by 35-year-old journeyman Wally McDermott, who has made all of 146 big league starts in his career, with an ERA of 4.86 to boot. Nice time to peak, Wally.

......

AL CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND

Yes, the Tigers again. Long-time readers might remember our previous four encounters this decade: us winning in '45, but losing in '40, '41 (ugh), and '46. It shouldn't be surprising that we regularly knock heads in the post-season: since the '38 season, one of these two teams has gone to the World Series seven times (Miami, Milwaukee, and Oakland are the others). Those Detroit teams were built on one thing: power, and lots of it. This year's squad still hit home runs (2nd in the AL), but also features the third best pitching staff in the AL. And they're coming off a series they closed out with three consecutive shutouts, including a no-hitter. If we can break that streak, and our own pitching holds up, I like our chances.

Game One: 10/17/48, Detroit (Mike Cote, 0-1 8.44) @ Hawaii (Shamar Jackson, 0-0 4.32). Jackson is again roughed up early, only this time he doesn't get the chance to work it out, getting pulled in the second and down 6-0. We score one in the second, but can't do anything against 2-0-game winner Cote until scratching out another run in the 8th, but that's it. Detroit wins 6-2. Detroit leads series 1-0.

Game Two: 10/18/48, Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-0 0.00) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 1-0 2.00). A thrilling playoff pitcher's duel, with only 12 combined hits tonight, and shockingly no home runs. Detroit puts runners on in each of the first three innings, but can't score. Meanwhile, we manage a few doubles, but never in the same inning, and so no runs for us either. Finally, with two outs and a runner on second, Cam Daley drives a single over short, and Rob Rich scrambles home, just beating the throw. And that's all it takes. Crowley goes 1-2-3 in the ninth, and we're tied. Hawaii wins 1-0. Series tied 1-1.

Game Three: 10/20/48, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 0-0 4.50) @ Detroit (Raul Bravo, 1-0 0.56). Last game was a thriller; this one definitely was not. A pair of home runs, including a three-run shot from Miguel Chavez, puts Detroit up 5-0, and they don't look back. We eke out a paltry run in the 5th, but can't string anything together and once again fall behind in the series. Detroit wins 5-1. Detroit leads series 2-1.

Game Four: 10/21/48, Hawaii (Dennis Perry, 0-0 9.00) @ Detroit (Wally McDermott, 1-0 0.00). This one starts off pretty ugly. After we score one in the first, Perry puts six runners on base and allows four to score. We manage another in the second, but then the bats go quiet. Until the 8th, that is...when we bash out a double, triple, home run (Rangel), and a pile of singles, to push home five runs and retake the lead. Once again Crowley comes into the 9th, and although he gives up a hit, he fans the last two batters to hold on for the save. Hawaii wins 7-4. Series tied 2-2.

Game Five: 10/22/48, Hawaii (Shamar Jackson, 0-1 7.20) @ Detroit (Mike Cote, 1-1 5.11). More offense, yes! It's a solid game all-around for us, as we plate one in the first, then two more in the second thanks to Daley's two-run double. Meanwhile, Jackson finds his groove, allowing just six Tiger runners all night, while fanning 8. We add two more in the 6th, and another in the 7th, while Jackson goes the distance and gives up just one run. We're close now, and we need to keep the offensive momentum going. Hawaii wins 6-1. Hawaii leads series, 3-2.

Game Six: 10/24/48, Detroit (T.J. Carroll, 1-1 0.55) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 2-0 1.06). Another tight one! Detroit smallballs a run in the 4th, thanks to an error, a steal, and two groundouts. No matter, we get one back in the bottom half thanks to three singles and a sac fly by Rich. Jones is sharp tonight, and doesn't give the Tigers another chance until the 8th, when two walks and a steal put runners on the corners. But he strikes out the fearsome John Sheets (35 HR) to end the inning. In our half, Padilla strikes quickly, tagging the fourth pitch from reliever Alex Castaneda over the left field wall, and we've got a 2-1 lead. Rangel then singles and makes it to third before being stranded, and we're off to the ninth up by one. Crowley comes in, and as usual this series strikes out the first two batters he sees. He then induces Toshi Hasegawa into a soft groundout to short, and it's over! We beat the Tigers! World Series time, baby! Hawaii wins 2-1. Hawaii WINS series 4-2.

ELSEWHERE: The NL Championship series was a classic. Cincy took game one, but the Pirates came back to take the next three, and it looked like the Reds were cooked. But a solid 6-1 win on the road in game five was followed by two convincing home wins (6-2 and 7-1), and the Reds are off to their first World Series since 1990. They'll be looking to extend the NL's Series winning streak to four, following the Phillies, Braves, and Phillies again.

......

Finally! We get past the hated Tigers! The bullpen didn't cave in, and the pitching staff held up. Now we're off to our sixth World Series, and our first since '45 (when we lost to Philadelphia). We're 3-2 in the Series, and are hungry for more. Just getting there is never enough. Cincy's tough, however, and even though we went 2-1 against them, that series was so long ago as to be practically meaningless.

Next up: World Series!
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Old 10-12-2019, 04:45 PM   #287
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World series 2048

Here we go! Cincinnati vs. Hawaii, all the marbles. Cincy is a tough team, and like us they feature a stout offense and statistically strong pitching. First in NL runs, first in OPS, and 1st in home runs, this is a powerful lineup. RF Jose Tavares, at just 25, is a former MVP winner and one of the league's stars. He hit .288/45/101, and was joined by 28-year-old rookie 3B Dave Rivera, who went .262/40/103. Three other players knocked over 20 home runs as well. Pitching begins with Cy Young candidate Cris Frias, coming off a 20-5 season, with a 2.66 ERA and 320 K in 233 IP. Closer Quinn Driscoll saved 44 and had a 1.69 ERA, leading bullpen with a strong front end. They're relatively healthy, too, with only light-hitting 2B Alex Cruz missing from the regular lineup. A pair of backup OF will also miss the series, as will capable RP Oscar Maldonado. They went 97-65 on the season, winning a tough Central division by three games over Pittsburgh. And they're tested, after coming back in seven against those Pirates in a classic NLCS.

Game One: 10/26/48, Cincinnati (Cris Frias, 3-0 1.64) @ Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 0-1 8.31). We're hurt tonight by having to start our #3 guy against the best NL pitcher, Frias. And it shows. Ratliff is game, going the distance and yielding just three hits. But two of those hits went yard, and accouted for all three of tonight's runs. Frias was just too stout, holding us to two hits. (Although we did add four walks.) Cold bats tonight; gotta heat them up overnight. Cincinnati wins 3-0. Cincinnati leads series 1-0.

Game Two: 10/27/48, Cincinnati (Corey Nelson, 1-1 4.09) @ Hawaii (Shamar Jackson, 1-1 4.26). Our turn! Another rather quiet night, with just twelve combined hits. We get on the board first, as Klein doubles home two in the second. We plate two more in the sixth, including a solo shot from Long with two outs. Jackson bends a bit in the seventh, putting two men on and conceding a run, but stays in the game and escapes without any more harm. Then it's Crowley and another 1-2-3 ninth, and we're all square. Hawaii wins 4-1. Series tied 1-1.

Game Three: 10/29/48, Hawaii (Eric Jones, 3-0 0.72) @ Cincinnati (Jason Bailey, 1-1 6.23). Jones, sadly, doesn't have it tonight. He gives up three quickly in the first, and settles down over the next three innings as we rally to tie the game heading into the bottom of the fifth. Jones is left in too long, however, giving up a three-run shot to Edwin Antunez, and that's all she wrote. Mercer comes in long relief and is fine once again, but the Reds add two more late to pad the score. Just five hits for us tonight, one being Padilla's 5th home run of the playoffs. We're in a hole again. Cincinnati wins 8-3. Cincinnati leads series 2-1.

Game Four: 10/30/48, Hawaii (Dennis Perry, 0-0 7.20) @ Cincinnati (Armando Guzman, 1-0 1.86). Both teams strike early. Padilla and Daley homer for us in the first, while Tavares knocks a two-run shot in the bottom half. Tied 2-2 after just one. Missing man Phil Lasky shows up with an RBI single in the fourth, and a pair of doubles in the seventh score two more Isles runnrs. Perry tires in the 8th and gives up a run before being lifted, but Sanabria and then Crowley slam the door. All even again. Still breathing. Hawaii wins 5-3. Series tied 2-2.

Game Five: 10/31/48, Hawaii (Ryan Ratliff, 0-2 5.60) @ Cincinnati (Cris Frias, 4-0 1.16). It's a Halloween rematch of the Game One starters. I would say it's a long, spooky night, but that's cheap. Frias, normally untouchable, gets tagged for three hits (two doubles), three walks, and five runs in the first. He's done. Tavares gets one back with a solo shot in the bottom half. Ratliff then gives up a 2-run shot in the third, and a solo blast in the fourth, and we're clinging to a 5-4 lead. After a quiet sixth, Ratliff is pulled, and Ramirez comes in...only to fare no better. We lost the lead as the Reds score two on two hits and two walks. We claw back the next inning, with Simmons' RBI single capping a two-run, two-out rally. Bottom of the seventh, we're up 7-6. Doesn't last long: two more runners and Ramirez is pulled, but not after giving up the tying run. Nobody does anything in the 8th or 9th, so it's extra innings. After a dull 10th, Cam Daley once again comes through, driving a solo shot over the left field wall and putting us up. With Crowley already used, it's Mark Money's turn. He gives up a hit, but gets three batters to ground out and preserve the win. Heading back home now. Hawaii wins 8-7. Hawaii leads series 3-2.

Game Six: 11/2/48, Cincinnati (Corey Nelson, 1-2 3.79) @ Hawaii (Shamar Jackson, 2-1 3.33). Another pitching rematch, Game Two this time. Jackson goes the distance again, but...it's no bueno this time. Despite him fanning 11 and allowing just 8 hits, our offense is impotent, as we manage only 6 hits and a single run. Unnnngh. I could really do without another game seven. Cincinnati wins 3-0. Series tied 3-3.

Game Seven: 11/3/48, Cincinnati (Jason Bailey, 2-1 5.40) @ Hawaii (Eric Jones, 3-1 1.86). Okay, it's crunch time. For all the marbles (again). Do or die. Etc etc etc. And you know what? Padilla knocks his 6th playoff home run, and Daley adds one late, also a solo shot. Unfortunately, Jones also gives up two homers, including one to Travis McArthur, our first-ever draft pick back in '34. Those blasts account for three runs and would be all the Reds needed, but they rub it in by scoring two more. And once again we're disappointed at home. Just four hits. Four hits against a pitcher who's struggled all season and in the playoffs. Clutch, guys, clutch. I think all of our playoff series-ending losses have happened at home. I'll have to look that up one day. Ugh. Once again we head home needing just one win, and once again... Cincinnati wins 5-2. Cincinnati WINS series 4-3.

......

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaap. I would rather have lost early in the playoffs than to go through this again. In the end we just couldn't get enough hits. Our pitching was actually not too bad, although Jones really let us down in his last two starts. Probably our best player was closer Justin Crowley, who went 10 IP in 8 GP, fanning 17 and giving up zero runs on just three hits. No walks either. He almost single-handedly won it all for us. And although we held most of their batters in check, and did knock out stud pitcher Cris Frias in game five, we let Jose Tavares beat us to the tune of .370 and a pair of home runs. He's named series MVP.

Whatever. Another coulda woulda shoulda. Bad hitting did us in. Too many guys went cold. Frederick hit .203. Simmons .239. Rangel .233. Klein and Long also hit below their season averages. Only Daley (.315, 3 HR), Padilla (.302, 6 HR), and Goodloe (.327!) were consistently good. Our lack of power hurt too, with just 15 HR over 17 games. Did we miss Groff and Stoneback? You bet.

Pitching? Jackson and Jones--at least until their last starts--were often good. Perry and Ratliff were not. Mercer did well in his two relief outings, so maybe I should've started him? But we won Perry's and Ratliff's final starts, and Jackson and Jones were going strong. And the pen, that baffled me down the stretch? Well, Ramirez was bad, with a 5.59 ERA. But as for everyone else, check these numbers out: 32 IP, 16 H, 44 K, zero runs. Wow. And we still couldn't win. Can't hit, can't win.
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Old 10-12-2019, 08:48 PM   #288
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Thrilling 7 game series but definitely a tough break not winning it all. Hopefully the off-season will treat the Islanders well.
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Old 10-13-2019, 04:10 PM   #289
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Fall 2048

2048-49 Off-Season, Part One

Stop me if you've heard this before: outstanding regular season, statistical excellence, a few solid-to-great individual performances, and a playoff flameout. Yes, calling a 7th-game World Series loss a "flameout" seems excessive, but that's how I look at it. [Note: all of our Series losses have been game 7s.] All losses hurt, but having two home games in hand to close out the season, and dropping both, is especially hard. And we had our #1 and #2 pitchers going. Suffice to say, pitching is definitely something I'll have to address this off-season. Hitting, maybe not so much, as the lineup already looks pretty set--starters anyway--for 2049. More details to come.

Regarding the regular season: the offense was incredible all season. First in nearly every statistical category that OOTP cares to list, excepting walks (5th), steals (3rd), and home runs. Yeah, that last one: we ranked 16th (out of 18 teams), and I think that's something that needs addressing this fall. While I really don't want to sacrifice base runners at the altar of the almighty dinger, there's something to be said for getting those cheap, Earl Weaver-type 3-run blasts. And to dive a little deeper into some numbers: we hit 177 HR, but there were six teams with ten or fewer more than our total. Maybe a full season of Craig Long (21 HR with us, 38 total), and injury-free (ha!) seasons from Groff and Stoneback will help there, without having to break the bank on some random muscle-head. It does warm my heart, however, that six regulars (counting the laid-up Groff and Stoneback) hit over .300, and another finished at .295. Our team AVG/OBP/SLG topped the second-place teams by at least twenty points across the board, and we hit 30 more doubles than our closest competitor. I like all of that, and don't want any changes there. Yes, I'm asking for the moon.

Our pitching took a major dive in the second half, going from first in runs allowed to sixth. Our starters wound up with the 5th-ranked ERA, but were in first for much of the season. Our bullpen was generally excellent, but of course I do make a point of harping on those guys when things go wrong in individual games. And they were excellent, nearly unhittable, in the playoffs. Still, there are likely personnel changes coming in both sets this fall.

So, like last year, a generally successful season, just topped with a particularly bitter cherry again. My feeling--right now, before arbitrations and free agency come around--is that we're going to have an active off-season. I'm going to spend some cash, unless owner Alexis Pagan drops the budget. My spies in accounting say he won't, but who knows...

......

...I extend pitching coach Conor Russell for four more years, as well as three minor league coaches. Russell has been in our system since '35, and on the big team for three years. On the flip side, I'm not re-signing Eureka (A) manager Alex Almonte, nor any of the guys in rookie ball Boone. I'll likely move A-level hitting coach Young Steve Johnson into the manager slot at Eureka, and promote Short A hitting coach Cisco Videira to A. These are all vitally important things for you to know.
...speaking of the minors, Santa Barbara (AAA) fell just short of a title, losing their own game 7 heart-breaker to Salt Lake. The only other playoff team was Poughkeepsie (Short A), who lost their one playoff round to Staten Island.
...catcher Justin Cecil and pitcher Angel Cordova are waived off of the 40-man roster. Cecil, 25, was a Rule 5 grab by Texas last year, but came back in the summer when he got demoted. He saw a few at bats in the fall, wasn't impressive (never has been anywhere, really), and won't be missed if someone nabs him here. Cordova, 27, got some looks in camp for a few springs, but never really threatened to make the big club. He was not good (5.09 ERA) in AAA last year, and I want to free up the roster space for some younger guys. Or maybe some newbies...
...Owner Pagan drops by, casually raises the budget by $10M (to $210M), and grades my season. He liked winning; was sad about losing the championship; was happy we upgraded at catcher (note: I didn't, we just got better play from our starter, whom Pagan doesn't know by name); was happy we made him a pile of cash; and was seriously annoyed at our lack of home run prowess. Next year? He wants a title, more home runs, and a dynasty over the next six seasons. Just stay out of jail, my man!
...Two key players from '47 voided their contracts by declining their player options. SP Joe Koval turned down his $13.8M deal ($11M of which we paid), while RP Ramon Sanabria decided not to earn $5M next year with us. I like both guys, and may look at bringing them back. However...! Both are 32, and Koval may have sunk into an always-injured late career stage; Sanabria, meanwhile, was great in '47 but not so hot this year, losing his closer job to Justin Crowley. Not bringing them back would leave me with an estimated $163.6M in contracts for next year, assuming correct arbitration estimates. As those estimates are always underestimated, and that I want to do something in free agency, I will want to trim some payroll somewhere else. We went from paying $160M in salaries in '47 to $150M this year. Pagan says we can spend $190M on salaries for '49, but that's way overshooting what we can really afford. I'd like to keep things to $160-165M, if possible.

Around the league...
...Minnesota dropped manager Juan Vargas, after his truly awful 5-7 stint as an end-of-season hire. Makes sense. Atlanta let skipper Dario Agrazal go, which is surprising: Agrazal won the Series in '46, made the playoffs three of his six full seasons, and was a manager of the year, also in '46. Hopefully he'll catch on somewhere. And St Louis booted GM Nicholas Hulick, after two frankly horrific years. Not enough time, or maybe it was, on second thought... As usual, there were some guys who weren't fired, but were just "not renewed," to put it nicely. Brad Davis (LAA), Efrain Navares (NYY), Robert Woodard (OAK), and Justin Camp (SF) fell into this category. Pittsburgh's JY Lee retired. Woodard had been Oakland's manager for 17 seasons, and had his first losing season since '32, his first campaign. The Yankees released their entire big league coaching staff.
...off-field incidents have claimed two victims of late. Texas 1B Shane Avila nearly died after getting stung by a bee and going into shock. He'll be out until around Opening Day. And Angels OF Grant Nash fell down a flight of stairs and broke his knee. He'll miss half of '49. He's just a fringe MLBer, but did hit 19 HR for the Angels in '47.
...Cleveland and KC put in waiver claims on Angel Cordova, with KC getting the nod. The Royals then waive Tom Grudzinski, whom I take a gander at, but he looks like a LH version of Cordova, but with only two pitches and a higher salary. Pass.

......

Arbitration season pops up, and I expect to bite it hard once again. Nine players are eligible, and I'll deal with all of them this year. The biggest numbers go to 2B Manny Rangel (offered $5.8M), SP Ryan Ratliff ($4.15M), and OF Phil Lasky ($3.5M). P Ben Germann and C Dave McCollum also have offers over $1M. The others are SP Dennis Perry, RP Mark Money, RP Ben Willard, and IF Dante Padilla, all getting offered less than a mill. All of that last group, excepting Willard, figure to be MLB regulars next year. The middle group--Germann and McCollum--are candidates for trade, as they can be easy ways to trim a bit of salary at the edges of the roster.

Four regulars will hit free agency: the aforementioned Koval and Sanabria, as well as RP Rick Ramirez and IF Marcus Walker. Sanabria wants close to $10M, and won't get that from me. I'll sniff around him if he's still available by the Winter Meetings. Likewise for Ramirez, who I had once tabbed as my future closer. He could never hold on to that role, and usually found himself in "avoid high leverage" roles by September each year, which helped his stats but not my frustration with him. Walker was a sub-replacement level utility guy, and won't be back at any price. I just may qualify Koval, however, because why not.

Twenty-five minor leaguers will sail off into the wilds as well. None of them are worth mentioning, to be honest, and none are high-draft flameouts or could be considered busts. Sorry, no stories here.

......

MLB Awards Banquet is held somewhere warm. The winners are:

AL Gold Glove: P Dan Moran (MIN); C Rob Rich (HAW); 1B Jim Timmer (CHW), 3rd win; 2B Manny Rangel (HAW), 2nd; 3B J.J. Simmons (HAW); SS Alex Castillo (NYY), 9th; LF Aaron Lenhard (SEA); CF Chris Mitchell (NYY); RF Luis Rivera (LAA)
NL Gold Glove: P Chad Akers (NOZ); C Willie Alonzo (NOZ), 2nd; 1B Tony Moreno (BKN), 3rd; 2B Mike Thomas (PHI), 2nd; 3B Blake Langer (SDP); SS Francisco Villon (WAS), 2nd; LF Zach Cohen (AUS), 2nd; CF Marquis Moore (RIC), 3rd; RF Ed Silverio (WAS), 2nd

AL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Juan Lopez, NYY [1.70 ERA, 38 SV, 70 K, 58 IP, 1.5 WAR] (Justin Crowley finished 3rd in the voting)
NL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Quinn Driscoll, CIN [1.69 ERA, 44 SV, 102 K, 69 IP, 3.7 WAR]

AL Silver Slugger: C Adam Behling (KC), 2nd win; 1B William Swanson (TEX); 2B D.J. Grace (CLE), 2nd; 3B J.J. Simmons (HAW); SS Chris Rock (CHW), 2nd; LF Kaz Kawakami (MIL); CF Jose Diaz (BOS); RF Josh Jacobson (MIN); DH John Sheets (DET), 2nd
NL Silver Slugger: P Sean Kropp (MTL); C Bryan Huntley (LAD); 1B Vinny Vargas (LAD), 9th; 2B Jose Rodriguez (NOZ), 4th; 3B Chris White (BKN), 8th; SS Luke Kempf (PHI); LF Dan Dellinger (ARI); CF Drew Elliott (SF); RF George Livezey (PHI)

AL Rookie of the Year: LF Luis Venegas, TEX [.259/.338/.462, 32 HR, 88 RBI, 3.8 WAR]
NL Rookie of the Year: P Jeff Schon, NOZ [11-8, 2.65 ERA, 193 IP, 232 K, 24 BB, 3.8 WAR]

AL Manager of the Year: Matt Sargent, HAW (2nd win)
NL Manager of the Year: Ezequiel Sedano, CIN

AL Cy Young Award: Mike Cote, DET [20-7, 3.34, 232 K, 5.6 WAR] (20 wins seals it, although no one really dominated in the AL)
NL Cy Young Award: Cris Frias, CIN [20-5, 2.66, 320 K, 7.9 WAR]

AL MVP Award: William Swanson, TEX [.328/.403/.595, 47 HR, 119 RBI, 7.0 WAR] (Groff came in 5th, getting one first place vote)
NL MVP Award: Luke Kempf, PHI [.302/.372/.559, 39 HR, 93 RBI, 6.9 WAR] (Nice all-around season, but I think teammate George Livezey, who finished 2nd, deserved the win)

......

Four guys get my Hall of Fame vote this year: C Tyler Markey (4th year, 62% last time); P Orlando Ramos (8th, 63%); IF Brendan Rogers (8th, 35%); and 1B Cisco Videira (6th, 13%). None are locks. I do skip Preston Sorensen, who may be the best candidate to get in. JAWS and HOF Monitor say YES, but he only played 13 years and dropped off the table at age 33, depressing his career stats. He was a monster before that, tho, so I'm sure I'll be dragged on the Twitter as being a dinosaur for not voting for him: "Hey, if Joltin' Joe didn't get in on the first ballot..." Yeah, that.

......

Arbitrations and whatnot:
...Joe Koval declines the qualifying offer and will go to free agency.
...Ryan Ratliff wins his case (gets $4.83M; we offered $4.15)
...Dante Padilla loses (gets $750k; wanted $1.25)
...Mark Money loses (gets 900k, wanted 1.16)
...Dave McCollum wins (gets 1.81; we offered 1.2)
...Dennis Perry loses (gets 650k; wanted 1.25)
...Manny Rangel wins (gets 8.125; we offered 5.8)
...Phil Lasky wins (gets 6.765; we offered 3.5)
...Ben Germann wins (gets 1.74; we offered 1.6)
...Ben Willard loses (gets 675k; wanted 1.24)

Those Rangel and Lasky salaries are too damn high, imo. Although Manny did have a career year, batting .273 with 13 HR and winning his second consecutive Gold Glove. Lasky may have priced himself out of a backup OF role, however. And Germann? No way he's worth even that much.

Anyway, it's time to assess the state of things, with free agency bearing down on us...

Catcher. Rob Rich had a tremendous bounceback season, raising his average 40 points from '47 and winning a Gold Glove. He responded well to increased playing time, and is now no longer a platoon player. And he is no longer subject to that "get a better catcher" owner goal, either. He'll go into '49 as the clear #1. Dave McCollum played well as the primary backup, batting .290 and playing barely passable defense. But he's not much behing the plate, really, and his arm is suspect. He's been around as a platoon and leadership guy, but now that he's making nearly $2M, he's become expendable. I'll likely shop him around and/or see what's what on the FA market. We've got some decent hitting prospects in the minors--Justin Shaffer and Matt LeDoux--but they're AA-level at best right now, and neither is a solid defensive option anyway. Off-season outlook: Will seek a cheaper option than McCollum, but it's not imperative.

Infield. Another year, another set infield: Groff at first, Rangel at second, Stoneback at short, and Simmons at third. Rangel and Simmons won Gold Gloves, and Stoneback has three on his shelf. Fielding is not an issue here. Groff and Stoneback combine power and average, Simmons is a high average speedster, and Rangel is a solid-enough batter who could hit 20 HR in a good year. The problem here is health: Groff is increasingly fragile, and Stoneback is trending that way. When healthy, this is the best infield in the game, imho. But Groff is now 34, Stoney 31, so I don't know how they'll hold up in the coming years. There is some depth behind them. Craig Long came over mid-season, and while a so-so defender at first, his power makes him an ideal DH. Dante Padilla struggled to hit (.229), but did pop 19 HR in 275 AB. If his average goes up, say, 30 points, he becomes much more valuable. He's the corner IF backup and sometime DH. Middle infielders Bob Goodloe (.264) and Josh Matson (.278 in 18 AB) are capable. Matson projects as a better hitter than Rangel, but is not nearly the defender Manny is; Goodloe has everything but range and power. Neither are starting material right now, but are solid and cheap backups. Marcus Walker hit poorly, and with no power, and will not be back. There are no other prospects worth mentioning right now, something I should really address, and soon. Off-season outlook: No changes, except to keep Groff and Stoneback in bubble wrap.

Outfield. LF Cam Daley followed up his ROY season with a .315/26/112 line, earning the team MVP vote from me. I don't think we can count on those home runs every year, and he needs a rangy CF to help him out, but otherwise I have zero complaints. And his 5-year extension kicks in at just $3.6M next year, meaning he's either going to come back to earth or he needs to find a better agent. Like Rob Rich, CF Jim Klein rebounded from an off '47 to bat .306 and steal 20 bases. He'll begin his 6th year as our starter in center, and my only real worry about him is that his defense (ZR in particular) has declined sharply the last two seasons. RF Josh Frederick finally moved into a full-time role and nailed it: .295/30/115. Average, power, speed (15 steals), and solid defense make him the total package. Primary backups Phil Lasky (.315) and Jerry Cappuccilli (.271) played well, although Lasky's trial at 1B after Groff's injury was not good (5 errors in 21 starts). And he just won a $6.75M arb award, so I'm looking a little side-eyed at him right now. Scouts tell me Capp is the better hitter, so there could be some movement here. Prospect Dustin Barton had a very short cup of coffee in the fall, but he has little power and a tin glove. A better option might be Scott Barnes, who has little range, but looks like a nice hitter (.334 with 14 HR in AAA). He's a LHB with bad splits, however. No other prospects look like they'll be pushing for the roster next year, tho. Off-season outlook: Dunno? Move Lasky maybe, due to that fat contract? Or keep him around for another year and see what we can squeeze out of him and Capp again? I'll scope out the free agents, but won't be actively scouring for something here, unless there's someone irresistable.

Designated Hitter. Long is the clear starter here, and will get spelled by Lasky, Capp, and Padilla, as injuries and L/R matchups warrant. Having Long around for a full season will help our power numbers, as he hit 38 between NY and us. Off-season outlook: No changes.

Starting pitchers. We started the season with an unsettled rotation, and we head into the fall the same way. The current top of the rotation looks set: Shamar Jackson was off-and-on, but mostly good; Ryan Ratliff only made 23 starts, but got better and better as the season went on; and Eric Jones just ambled along in his consistent way. They'll be back, as I extended Jones for two more years. He's 32, so this is probably his last contract with us. The rest of the story, tho...Brandon Mercer signed in April and was the best thing going for about four months. Then he just imploded, inconveniently right after I extended him for three seasons. It's not an onerous contract--just $10M per--but I've really soured on the guy. It happens. Seth Howard made 21 starts over the middle of the season and was okay but wildly inconsistent. Dennis Perry was hurt and made just 4 starts late, but looked ready to go. I like him as a #5 guy, and he's penciled in there already. Other options? Jonathan Ashton had the team made in camp but got hurt, and won't be back until March. With his injury history, I'm not sure he's a dependable option moving forward, even if he is 100% by April. Ben Germann and Shaun Gates started the season in Hawaii: Gates went back down early, but Germann pitched well and lasted into May. Then he too exploded and was vaporized. Both are signed for next year, but only one (coughGatescough) is likely to be back by camp. Two prospects show some almost-there promise: Olimpio Le Coq and Shane Walker. But unless they take big jumps this winter, they're not ready to compete for spots. Off-season outlook: Do we go after a big free agent? There don't appear to be too many available, but yes, I think we do. I'll lay out the options in my next post, but don't be surprised if we don't land anyone after all. I'm not a "spend $30M on one arm" kind of GM. But we've got the money to go after, say, a $20M guy...

Relief pitchers. You know, as much as I gripe during the season about blown leads, our bullpen has been really dependable for several seasons now. Having said that, there will be some noticeable changes here. Ramon Sanabria lost his closer position early, and never pitched well enough to get it back. And closer-to-be Rick Ramirez looks like the best thing going on paper, but always starts poorly and only rounds into shape once he's pitching low-leverage innings. I thought about qualifying or re-signing both guys, but it's probably best to just pull off the bandage quickly and move on. There are always free agent options out there, at least. Always. Otherwise, we're in good shape right now. Closer belongs to Justin Crowley, off a 3.0 WAR season and a truly dynamite post-season. Setup arms Mark Money and Bruce Parton look good, and HC Kym started slow but improved as the year went on. Rookie Jaheim Mwaura looked okay in 32 late-season innings, and will be penciled in for training camp. Ben Willard and Nick Kramer are our best current minor leaguers, although Jeremy Kolek, John Russell, and Steve Agajanian will get long looks, especially if they grow a bit during the winter. Off-season outlook: We'll be looking for another MR guy, and I won't rule out either Sanabria or Ramirez if they're still around by, say, New Year's. (Although the Dodgers will probably sign both.) We've had some recent success with international FAs lately, so there could be a guy out there we've never heard of just waiting for us to come along.

Overall off-season outlook: We'll be looking hard at new guys for several positions: SP, RP, backup C, and maybe a backup OF. SP looks like the highest priority, at least until I get sticker shock once the list of free agents comes out. Accounting says we've got nearly $15M to spend on free agents right now, but if I end up moving the guys I'm thinking about currently, that could free up another $13-15M. Wheeling and dealing all the time, that's me.

......

Wrapping up November with a few tidbits...

...among the dozen international free agents listed on 11/28 is IF Junichiro Okamoto. He's an averge hitter, with little power, but can fly, plays a mean infield (everywhere) and is also a solid outfielder. Definitely someone to target. Except...he's already signed, with Arizona. How is that possible? Grrr. Anyway, there aren't many decent IFAs this time, it's pretty much just: 31-year-old Cuban OF Enrique Hernandez (solid power hitter but with low average and will K a lot; also lazy); 31-year-old Taiwanese OF JG Teng (a low-rent Hernandez, with less defense and even more attitude); 30-year-old Japanese OF Kazuhiko Ueda (actually could be a very nice get, quality power hitter); Taiwanese RP YJ Yi (still growing, at 23, but a flamethrower already); South Korean SP Chin Yaung (might be a nice back-end SP for someone). We might...be going after one or more of these guys.

...The top free agents, according to MLB, with age, rumored demand, and any rumored teams)...
--2B Jose Rodriguez (30, wants $41M/7 yrs) -- top power-hitter, great glove, statuesque (i.e., immobile) fielder; rumored SEA
--OF John Arrington (30, $39M/9 yrs) -- HoF ability, but made of glass; hasn't played more than 139 games in a season yet
--SP Chris Liles (28, $32M/8 yrs) -- has won 32 games with Pittsburgh the last two years; lefty, definite ace material
--3B Roberto Miranda (31, $27M/8 yrs) -- nice power, solid fielder; not worth 8 years, especially at that price
--3B Toshi Hasegawa (31, $25M/7 yrs) -- less power but better fielder than Miranda; might be in decline; rumored DET, LAN
--C William Antonio (35, $23M/4 yrs) -- flirted with .400 recently; nice contact and OBP; average receiver; rumored MIL, SF
--SP Jay Russo (37, $23M/3 yrs) -- best pure talent at SP on the market; extremely fragile arm and ego; rumored LAN, KC, TB
--1B Jay Eastep (30, $22M/6 yrs) -- can hit 40+ HR a year in his sleep; career .280 hitter too; rumored CHC, SD
--SP Joe Erkel (35, $18M/5 yrs) -- gives up too many HR and may decline sharply soon; rumored ATL, CHW, MIN
--3B Tony Mendoza (31, $18M/7 yrs) -- former ROY was, imo, the next A-Rod; got good but never nearly that good; rumored TEX, MIN, TOR
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Old 10-18-2019, 08:59 PM   #290
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OFF-SEASON 48-49, part two

Since I'm looking at my pitching rotation this off-season, I thought I'd lay out how the past game-week went...

Right now our rotation looks something like this: Shamar Jackson / Ryan Ratliff / Eric Jones / Dennis Perry / Brandon Mercer. Seth Howard (MLB/AAA), Shaun Gates (AAA), and Jonathan Ashton (injured) are also candidates. Just like I felt last fall, I want to be more inspired by this bunch. Barring a switch in my mental health, Jackson/Ratliff/Jones are set. Perry looked good late, so is on the inside track for the #4 or #5 slot. Mercer, tho, made me despair for all humanity over the late summer. I'm not sure he'll be back. For argument's sake, let's say I dump Mercer (making $10M per) and go after an established vet. Who's out there?

1. Chris Liles, 28, LH, Pittsburgh: 18-6, 2.64, 294 K, 6.3 WAR. Groundballer; good intangibles; asking $32M/8 years
2. Jay Russo, 37, LH, Milwaukee: 13-3, 2.63, 198 K, 22 GS, 5.0 WAR. Groundballer; bad intangibles; old; recent injury history; asking $26M/1 year
3. Joe Erkel, 35, RH, Toronto: 8-10, 3.96, 198 K, 3.2 WAR. Neutral; old and declining; lazy; asking $18.6M/5 years
4. Joe Koval, 32, RH, Hawaii: 2-1, 3.35, 6 starts, 0.6 WAR. Extreme groundballer; likeable; recent injury history; asking $14M/2 years
5. Joey Muhlenkamp, 34, RH, Brooklyn: 10-15, 3.56, 153 K, 3.2 WAR. Extreme groundballer; good guy; only two pitches now; asking $9.25M/6 years
6. Chris Larimer, 30, LH, Kansas City: 14-9, 3.80, 206 K, 5.7 WAR. Extreme groundballer; sparkplug; no fastball; asking $20.7M/7 years
7+ others: Chad Akers (no control, two pitches); Jeffrey Foley (huge power but fastball already slowing at age 29); Mike Head (great control but has slipped to just two pitches); Yoshi Oh (is 38, period); Mike Jernigan (excellent control but is otherwise just average); etc etc.

My favorites here are Liles and Larimer, with all the Joes/Joeys removed for reasons listed above. Joe Koval is the most likely option from the 'J' group, but given his recent injuries, I'm going to pass. The 'others' are the kinds of guys you'd sign if you're rebuilding and don't want to trot out any prospects to get bombed every 5 days. Since we're not rebuilding, I pass on them too. I decide to approach both Chrises.

Liles isn't budging from his current demand. He will soon, given that he has no rumored suitors. There are also only two pitchers in MLB making over $30M: both are better than Liles and both were extended by their current teams, not signed via free agency. As I'm feeling impatient, I may not come back to him. Larimer, on the other hand, is willing to negotiate a bit. He initially wanted $26M, so I "lowball" him with $19.6M per over five years. He comes back with his $20.7M ask from above. I'll sit on that a bit. Interestingly, the MLB free agent page shows his demand as $16.5M/9 years, with OAK, NYY, and MIA interested. That makes me think he'll go sooner than later, and--oddly--I bet it'll be for less than what I've already offered him. Negotiating is such strange business.

A couple days later, and feeling a little restless, I take a look at the current trade block. There are nearly twenty listed SP on the block, but only one looks like anything decent: Mets pitcher Mike Garfield. He's 30, a lefty, throws for power, has four pitches, great stamina, is a good team guy, and keeps the ball well down in the zone. He makes more than Larimer wants from me, $22.6M next season, but has a diminishing contract (down to $18.6M in '50) for one more year. Why is he on the block? The Mets are rebuilding, and have listed nearly every vet on the team as available. So I dig deeper. Huh, they need a catcher. And maybe an OF or two. And they have very few decent prospects. Hmm...well then.

Might as well jump in with both feet, eh? Just like that, YES, A TRADE! Hawaii makes a multi-player deal with the New York Mets, acquiring pitcher Mike Garfield and catcher Tom Whittington. In exchange, the Isles send pitcher Brandon Mercer, catcher Dave McCollum, OF Phil Lasky, and prospect pitcher Chris Carpenter. Garfield adds to what I hope will be a fairly deep and consistent rotation next year. I feel like we have four #2-type guys--all of whom can get 'ace' hot for a bit--and a few #4/#5 guys to choose from to round us out. And Whittington gets every chance to become our new backup catcher; he's not quite the hitter that McCollum was (which was average to begin with), and not captain material, but is a better receiver and earns minor league cash. Garfield is signed for two years, through '50, which will be a big year for us. (I'll have more to say on that year in my next post.)

For the two of them, we gave up a lot, I believe. Mercer was great, then the exact opposite of great. Is a 30-year-old what a rebuilding Mets team needs? Dunno, but he's their problem now and maybe he regains his early-season magic. Plus, he had to go in order to a) make elbow room for Garfield, and b) make Garfield's contract affordable to us. McCollum immediately becomes their best catcher, and he's demanding a starting role anyway. 1+1=2. Lasky also wants to start, but wasn't going to get that chance here unless injuries hit. I like him, and am sad to see him go, but that's business. Carpenter is the wild card: he was our fifth-ranked prospect and #2 pitcher, and if he hits his ceilings will become a power pitcher with three excellent pitches. A good mid-rotation guy, maybe a #2. But his movement needs work, and he may never develop his third pitch (he's not a '1' so there is a good chance). So we didn't give up the farm, but did send four quality pieces. Now Garfield just has to stay healthy, dammit, for all this to work.

......

After pulling off that trade, I'm probably not in the market for any more big deals. But I did shop around the eternally disappointing Ben Germann. In return, we were offered about 50 or so players, not a single one of whom looked worthwhile. Oh, there were some good players, but they were either too old and overpaid, or too overvalued by their current teams. [NB: this is where the 'overall' player rating falls down, I feel. Too many guys with average ratings and average stats but with overalls between 40 and 60. I may have to tweak the AI trade valuations a bit...] After thinking on Germann for a couple of days, I decide I'm keeping him for now, but will definitely move him to the pen, in hopes he'll actually stick. He's got power to burn, and may become a perfect MR, even though he'll still want to start. Ok, so maybe a slightly angry MR. But if he make it in this role, who cares.

......

...wow, Oakland. Last year they splurged on a 2-year, $42M contract for free agent pitcher Juan Valdez. Who promptly got hurt and missed the entire season. While my scouts say he's still got gas, he's almost now a one-pitch guy and no longer the #1 starter the A's envisioned getting. Today the A's sent Valdez and $1M to Boston for two truly stink-o prospects. Too bad, Oakland. [Narrator: no, it's not too bad.]
...three big names just went off the FA board at one go: 2B Sean West (still a power threat but on the DL until June) to the Yankees, 2 yrs/$30.8M total; SP Joe Koval (hey, a supplemental pick! Woot!) to Brooklyn, 2 yrs/$25M; and SP Jay Russo (old, cranky, and fragile but still an A+ pitcher) to the Dodgers, 1 yr/$23.6M. Folks are sad about losing Koval, but we do get a useful pick in return. And now the Dodgers can get on with their usual business of signing every decent RP available.
...Milwaukee adds top catcher William Antonio for 3 years, $64.8M. He's just what the dead-last-in-AVG Brewers need, a high-contact, high-OBP guy in the middle of the lineup.
...ten days into free agency, and (alleged) contract demands by the top guys have already dropped by 8-10 million.
...Seattle wants to win now: they sign the #1 player available, 2B Juan Rodriguez, for 5 years and $187M. Gulp. Also in the division, LA adds SS Kevin Lutz, an under-the-radar guy with KC the past five seasons. He doesn't hit for average, but gives 15-20 HR a season, walks a ton, and is a dynamic fielding SS. Good get.
...the Yanks get even older, signing pitcher Joe Erkel (35) to a 3 year, $54.6M deal. Oof, too much.
...Seattle completes the revamp of their middle infield, acquiring SS George Bradshaw from Minnesota. Bradshaw doesn't hit much, but is a quality fielder and can run.
...Toronto nabs 3B Tony Mendoza, 5 years, $97M.
...why do teams do this: New Orleans signed veteran pitcher Robby Collier to a one-year, $1.2M deal. Collier last pitched in relief, but still has enough left to move into the rotation. Or he would, if he wasn't injured for the next ten months. So he'll never throw a pitch for the Zephyrs. Ok.
...the Dodgers keep confounding expectations, this time grabbing a bat: 3B Toshi Hasegawa for 5 yrs, $125M. Too much, imo, for a guy who hits .250 and may never crack 20 HR. Decent glove and arm tho.
...the Cubs take 1B Jason Eastep, 4 years and $83M. Big power hitter, should love it in Wrigley.
...St Louis, wyd? The Cards re-sign catcher Alexis Mercedes for $28M over 3 years. He's 36 and in steep decline; sure, he hit 30 HR and earned 4.0 WAR last year, but you should've seen that as a last gasp, rather than a youthful regeneration.
...Boston signs 1B Rich Dragos for 7 years and $45M. Big LH power bat, and a solid team captain. Just the thing for that cursed clubhouse. Excellent signing.
...Islanders signing! We grab one of the internationals, signing RP Yue-Jiu Yi to a minor league deal. Yi, 23, will go to AA Lewiston. He's got "solid MR guy" written all over him, if he keeps developing. He's a year away, at least.
...Islanders signing! Part Deux! Another furriner hits our shores: OF/1B Kazuhiko Ueda agrees to an 8 year, $92M deal. Ueda, if our scouts can be believed, is a premier power hitter, can make decent contact, and won't strike out a ton either. He's a decent--but not really good--fielder as well. He may have just made Craig Long expendable, as we're over our internal budget. Ueda is two years younger than Long, a better fielder, and doesn't have the same L/R splits as Long does. I'd hate to lose Long's power bat--especially needing more HR, per team orders--but I don't really have lineup space for both guys. We'll see...
...aaaand Chris Larimer signs elsewhere. Oakland, in particular. For far, far less than he wanted from me: 7 years, $100M (14.3M per). I guess I can't keep my division rivals from trying to get better, but it would be awfully nice.
...St Louis won 61 games this year and should be rebuilding, right? Of course, so why then trade for a 35-year-old starting pitcher with an injury history? Well, Robby Liantonio is now theirs, and off to Toronto is a middling OF plus a stud future closer in Kurt Kramer.
...Winter Meetings arrive, and several days into them we are seeing a beehive of activity. Six trades and twelve "name" free agents make news, the biggest being Detroit's signing of former Giants SP Mike Fields, for $44M over 4 years. Fields, 29, doesn't have a long MLB history, but has been toiling successfully at the back end of the Giants rotation for a few years now. Good addition.
...San Fran keeps losing out, only this one is self-inflicted: they acquire error-prone, light-hitting SS Adam Burke from the Dodgers in exchange for ace closer Miguel Montes and promising 3B prospect Tyler Waters. Montes is also a fan favorite, so kudos to the Giants for alienating everybody.
...KC lost one Chris (Larimer) but just gained another: signing Chris Liles for $161M over 6 years. Sorry I couldn't get in on that, but I think I'm constitutionally unable to offer a pitcher that much money and term. Well, we did it for Leon Casillas years ago, and he was lights out for a few years, then got hurt and was about as useful as an 11th toe.
...38 players were taken in the Rule 5 draft. We lost no one. The White Sox took five guys, and Baltimore and KC take four each.
...Meanwhile, Ramon Sanabria and Rick Ramirez are still available. Sanabria still wants $9.5M, Ramirez $8.7M.
...AT LAST, the Dodgers add an RP the old-fashioned way, by signing one for too much money and term. This time it's Jon White, 32, added for three years at $19M.
...New Year's Eve is Sign a Former Islanders Reliever Day: Pat Stanley inks a one-year deal with Richmond; Bobby Piccirillo re-ups with the Dodgers; and Ramon Sanabria finally closes with Arizona, for three years and $18.3M.

...and finally, we close out the calendar with another trade, as hinted above. BIG TRADE! We send slugger Craig Long--made surplus by adding Ueda--to Atlanta for a pair of prospects. We receive RP Carlos Munoz, 23, who tossed 57 innings in AA last year, but made one appearance in ATL the year before. He's not quite fully developed, and should grow into a hard-throwing MR with good control. If his third pitch develops he could one day figure as a starter. We also add 2B Julian Cardenas, 24. He's an average hitter, with power potential that may never be fully tapped. But he's a dynamic fielder at second, and at last gives us a middle infield prospect who looks better than a rookie ball talent. Rounding out the package to Atlanta is SS/3B Eric Freeburg, 19, who has a low ceiling but excellent intangibles.

......

Okay, that's going to be about it for "reading about guys I've never heard of" this off-season. I'll keep the non-Hawaii updates to a minimum next time. Having said that, there are still some big names out there, including top ten FAs John Arrington and Roberto Miranda. In addition, there are a couple of old Islanders stalwarts still hanging about. Jeremy Dunklee, now 38, was a huge mid-season signing for us in our first year, back in '34. He held down 1B for the next seven years, only leaving when he became too damn greedy for us. Eight years later, and he's nearing the end of the line, having batted a paltry .212 last year, with just 12 HR, for KC and SD. My scouts say he's still got something left, however, so maybe someone will take a chance on the fringe HoF candidate. Also, there's 2B Josh Robertson, who was a starter for seven seasons with us. He's definitely got something left, having hit .271 with 12 HR for KC last year. And OF Travis McArthur, who decided to become a g*ddamn game 7 playoff hero for the Reds this last Series.

Next time: Just a little bit of free agency news, promise. Plus, a look at what the next couple of seasons might bring us, player- and salary-wise. Rebuilding, you ask? Nay! says I.
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Old 10-18-2019, 11:39 PM   #291
DD Martin
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Hey whatever happened to former Cub’s SS, leadoff batter and potential all time whiff King? Wasn’t his name like a Jordan Cruz? I know he bounced around a bit after a nice career with the Cubbies. Where does he stand on the all-time list of whiff masters?

Your trade looks like a good one for the SP. Win it all now while you got the horses on the field.
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Old 10-19-2019, 01:18 PM   #292
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Hey whatever happened to former Cub’s SS, leadoff batter and potential all time whiff King? Wasn’t his name like a Jordan Cruz? I know he bounced around a bit after a nice career with the Cubbies. Where does he stand on the all-time list of whiff masters?

Your trade looks like a good one for the SP. Win it all now while you got the horses on the field.
Alas, Jordan Cruz has retired. He finished at #2 in all-time strikeouts, behind the HoF career of Miguel Sano (with over 3800).

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" -- Ozymandias
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Old 10-19-2019, 01:38 PM   #293
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Alas, Jordan Cruz has retired. He finished at #2 in all-time strikeouts, behind the HoF career of Miguel Sano (with over 3800).

"Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" -- Ozymandias
Man 1 more stolen base to 300 and he’d be a shoe-in for the hall. 1 more abat and K would have gotten him below 200 for a lifetime average. What did the Cubs ever see in him.
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Old 10-19-2019, 03:51 PM   #294
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Man 1 more stolen base to 300 and he’d be a shoe-in for the hall. 1 more abat and K would have gotten him below 200 for a lifetime average. What did the Cubs ever see in him.
Leadership, excellent glove, speedy, probably a good baker.

What's even more fun is the guy at #5 on the all-time K list was a teammate of Cruz's for a while. That offense ground to a halt too often...
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Old 10-27-2019, 12:15 PM   #295
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Off-season report, part 3

I've alluded to 2050 being a season of reckoning for us a couple of times this off-season. I say this because our roster may see a lot of flux after that year. Obviously, the 2049 roster and payroll is largely set. Unless we get something we can't refuse, we're not looking to sign or trade for anyone else this spring, and likely not during the year. At least not until Groff and/or Stoneback get hurt. For 2050, the only player without a contract is RP Bruce Parton; and as he'll be 35 and wanting more than his current $4.7M, he likely won't be back. The only other major decisions for '50 will be 1) either offering RF Josh Frederick arbitration or signing him to a long-term deal; and 2) playing nice with CL Justin Crowley as he mulls his player option. Everyone else is signed through 2050, and the other arbitration decisions for '50 probably will not be too onerous.

But after that...the following players will have these contract "issues" for 2051:
C Rob Rich -- player option
1B Adam Groff -- player opt-out (signed through '53 otherwise)
2B Manny Rangel -- free agent
SS Rich Stoneback -- player opt-out (signed through '55 otherwise)
CF Jim Klein -- team option
SP Mike Garfield -- free agent
SP Eric Jones -- free agent
SP Ryan Ratliff -- free agent
RP Ben Germann -- free agent
RP Mark Money -- free agent
CL Justin Crowley -- free agent, assuming he picks up his PO after '50

That's a lot of key players who could be gone after the next two seasons. Most of those guys will be aging, including Groff (will be 37), Stoneback (33), Jones (34), Garfield (31), Klein (31), and Ratliff (30). Groff I would love to keep, as he's been the face of the franchise and selfishly I want him to be an Islander lifer. Stoneback may just be too expensive to bring back, as his salary will jump from $23M in '50 to $35M in '51, should he opt-in. My early guess is that Groff will probably opt out, while Stoney opts in. As for the pitchers--Garfield, Jones, and Ratliff--I'll have a hard time wanting to throw a lot of money at three starters over 30.

Who replaces them, or should I let everyone walk? We have no catchers who look like sure-thing big leaguers, so Rich's replacement would come via trade or free agency. Super prospect Jules Medici could be ready to step in at 1B (or DH) by '51. One of Josh Matson or Bob Goodloe could take over for Rangel; neither fields like the two-time Gold Glove winner, but they're at least as talented at the plate. I'm not sanguine about any other current IF prospects. (Although Julian Cardenas, currently in AA, at least looks like a dynamite fielder.) Klein will probably be in decline; we have no obvious replacement for him right now, but there are some interesting looking prospects in the pool. The only SP prospect who looks like definite MLB-level is Braden Mathiesen. And relievers can be found via free agency every year.

So, the outlook is thus: with possibly $120M coming off the books during the '50-'51 off-season, we could be looking at a free agency splurge heretofore unseen in franchise history. Even if we target Groff for big bucks, we're still looking at around $90M to go after a catcher, center fielder, and five or six pitchers. Is that doable? Yes. Will there be attractive big name guys available? Probably, but of course it's way too early to tell. The other side of that coin is that most of the desirable free agents are usually nearing or over 30 and want expensive long-term deals, so you're likely just kicking any financial worries down the road a bit. You could of course try to front-load some shorter term deals, and hope for a pile of sweet, sweet playoff cash to help balance the books. OR... Part of me says to let them all go and do a retooling on the fly. Or maybe go cheap, signing a few low-level replacements, and suffer through some sort of rebuild. I obviously don't like the idea of facing losing seasons, but they're gonna come one day. ANYWAY... To wrap up: someone will probably re-sign and I'll probably try to hold on to a few of these guys--at least as the-devil-you-know type of thing--and overspend to do so. I'm not ready to say our long-term championship window is now just the next two seasons, but it's looking like that window for our current core is definitely just that.

TL;DR Version: Half our starting roster and 3/5 of our rotation could be gone in two seasons. What then?

......

Around the league...
...STL grabbed OF Jesus Villalobos ($69M, 6 yrs). Defense and speed, but a streaky hitter
...quietly good signing by KC, getting 2B Alvin Phillips ($36.6M, 5 yrs) from Texas. Can hit 15+ HR, bat .280+, and Gold Glove-level defense
...Minny signs a giant bat, inking 3B Roberto Miranda for $135M over 6 years. His power was down last year, but when on he's a 35 HR and 6 WAR guy
...the next top bat goes to New Orleans: OF John Arrington for $138M over 7 years. MVP candidate when healthy, which is his big challenge
...a pair of former Isles have new homes: 2B Josh Robertson to Baltimore ($18M over 4 years) and 1B Jeremy Dunklee to New Orleans ($5.9M, 1 year). Both are old now, but can still be productive. Four years for Robertson, though, is too much term for an injury-prone 34-year-old
...odd signing of the off-season so far: Tampa throws $15M (one season only) at pitcher Josh Singleton, 35. Singleton has been a reliever--and a capable if unspectacular one--for the past seven seasons, and was last a starter for two years with the Angels at the start of the decade. There aren't too many pitcher options remaining, but why sign a guy for that money when you're still a rebuilding team anyway?
...San Diego inks former Isles RP Rick Ramirez, for one year at $13.1M (!!!). They'll set him up as their closer, something he could never hold on to for me. Good luck, Rick, and maybe we'll see you in October!
...New Orleans had a good spring on the field, but injuries decimated them: one SP, five RP, and 1B free agent signee Jeremy Dunklee are out for anywhere from a month to the season.
...and the White Sox lost three relievers for the season ON ONE DAY. Including Burton Dick, who has gone from #1 prospect in baseball (in 2047) to an injury-prone near-bust.

With the end of spring training, it's time to look ahead. Based on WAR, the Angels (+8.7), Red Sox (+7.8), and Dodgers (+7.1) had the best off-seasons, while Atlanta, Houston, Pittsburgh, and Richmond all lost over 10 WAR. (We finished 25th, bottom half as usual.)

MLB predictions are out, and I can immodestly say that we are picked #1 overall: most wins, best offense, best (AL) pitching. Frederick, Daley, Groff, and Stoneback pop up on the odd "top ten" batters list, while Jackson and Garfield show up on the pitcher's list. Boston and Milwaukee are picked to win their divisions, with Cleveland and New York (!) taking the wildcards. In the NL, Cincy is pegged for 103 wins, with LA winning the West and Atlanta and NY tying in the East. San Diego is the other wildcard.

And our prospect system checks in at #4, with Jules Medici the #3 overall prospect (down from #1 tho). The recently-traded Chris Carpenter (now a Mets guy) is #61 overall, and would now be our best pitching prospect had we kept him. C'est la vie! (As usual, I'll do a fuller in-depth system review after the June draft.)

......

Now let's meet the 2049 Hawaii Islanders, with pertinent stats and info. Starters are underlined.

C Rob Rich, 28, LH, $4.6M (thru '51), .306/.362/.435, 6 HR, 65 RBI, 3.5 WAR. Responded to full-time play just as I had hoped, with a career year. Also won his first Gold Glove. Will get full-time duties again and will need to perform again, as his backup is a newbie. Owner Pagan finally dropped the "get a better catcher" goal this off-season, so congrats Rob!

C Tom Whittington, 24, RH, minor league deal, .269/.358/.393 in AA in the NYM system. New guy getting his first taste of MLB action. Probably won't hit much, but does have a good eye and won't strike out. Better behind the plate than the guy he's replacing (McCollum) but not the same leader. Just has to "not be awful" to keep his roster spot.

1B Adam Groff, 35, LH, $37.5M (thru '53), .335/.428/.571, 22 HR, 64 RBI, 6.3 WAR, in 111 GP. Still the face of the franchise, and starting to pile up some quality career numbers now (2068 H, 369 HR, 84.6 WAR). But he's getting more fragile with age, and I wonder if he's got any more 130+ game seasons left in him. If he and Stoneback go out at the same time again, our offense suffers; I believe there's no way we don't win a title last year with them in the October lineup.

IF Josh Matson, 25, SH, $500k (arb.), .278/1/3 in 18 MLB AB, .351 in 134 AAA AB. Defense has been the only thing keeping him out of the starting lineup. And if Rangel prices himself out of our budget.... Good contact and gap power, and could hit 10-15 HR a year. Good runner too. Just isn't mobile enough in the infield to play anywhere but first or second, and doesn't have the arm to play outfield.

2B Manny Rangel, 28, RH, $8.125M (thru '49, arb.), .273/.334/.418, 13 HR, 78 RBI, 3.3 WAR. Stellar fielder won his second consecutive Gold Glove. His agent keeps upping Rangel's demand, so Manny may be in his last go-round on the Islands. Hit ten points over his career numbers last year, and added 43 doubles. Still, Matson's bat will probably tell in the end, and we'll just live without Rangel's defense. Probably.

3B/1B Dante Padilla, 25, RH, $750k (arb.), .229/.299/.455, 19 HR, 61 RBI, 0.4 WAR, 275 AB. Has power to burn, but hasn't hit for average in his two seasons yet. Also doesn't hit much else, with only 5 doubles, and isn't speedy enough to leg out any triples. Doesn't fan much, which is good, and would have a decent OBP if he could hit for average. Defense has been better than advertised, with a great arm. Not rangy enough for short, so is limited to the corner spots.

3B J.J. Simmons, 26, RH, $17M (thru '56), .330/.405/.429, 1 HR, 47 RBI, 6.1 WAR. I love it that a guy with 1 HR won a Silver Slugger, and at third base! Also pulled in his first Gold Glove. Runs well (33 steals, 41 doubles, 9 triples), and has a lovely K:BB ratio (43:73). Finally responded well to batting leadoff, which is good, since our other option (Klein) appears to be slipping a bit.

IF Bob Goodloe, 25, LH, $500k (arb.), .264/.322/.329, 0 HR, 29 RBI, -0.1 WAR (plus .333 in 81 AAA AB). Decent backup, and held his own in 56 starts after injuries bit the infield last year. But he's a backup for a reason, and doesn't make the offense go like the regulars do. Just barely rangy and well-armed enough for short. Plays hard, and doesn't strike out (just 13 times in '48), so he sticks around.

SS Rich Stoneback, 31, RH, $18M (thru '55), .310/.407/.512, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 5.0 WAR, 336 AB. Like Groff, we need him healthy; his last three seasons have seen him play just 114, 75, and 89 games, however. He's a stud when healthy, as he hits for average and power, doesn't strike out much, will take walks, and plays Gold Glove-quality defense. Break out the kinesio tape tho.

LF Cameron Daley, 25, RH, $3.63M (thru '53), .315/.362/.509, 26 HR, 112 RBI, 4.5 WAR. Followed up his ROY campaign with an even better year, at least power-wise. Average dropped some, but his rookie .335 average looks unsustainable anyway. Also scored an amazing 119 runs. Time to hit the trifecta, Cam!

CF Jim Klein, 29, RH, $6.5M (thru '51), .306/.365/.412, 7 HR, 69 RBI, 2.7 WAR, 20 steals. I keep saying he's declining, but he did have a bounceback season at the plate, topping .300 for the fourth time. He did strike out a career high, and--more concerning--his defense has really slipped these last three seasons, getting worse over that time. There's no one else to move into center at the moment, however, so he'll stay there for now. Batted 7th or 8th most of the season.

RF Josh Frederick, 26, LH, $500k (arb.), .295/.353/.533, 30 HR, 115 RBI, 5.3 WAR. If he hadn't amassed too many PA in '47, he would've been a sure-fire ROY last year. Has all the tools and used them all to great effect last year. Defense was outstanding, and he could nail down a Gold Glove himself one day. Team captain already.

OF Dustin Barton, 26, RH, $500k (thru '49), .347/.405/.536 in AAA, 1-for-6 in MLB in September. Won the backup OF competition in camp. Decent hitter, with a little power and won't whiff much. Runs very well, and has a nice arm. Glove is a bit tinny, tho, and range is just average. No bad L/R splits. Groundball hitter. More of a stopgap until some younger guys develop. Third round pick in '41, so he's been simmering on the burner for quite a while now.

OF Jerry Cappuccilli, 26, LH, $500k (arb.), .271/.340/.380, 1 HR, 13 RBI, 0.3 WAR. With the departure of Phil Lasky, Capp becomes our #1 OF backup. He's not a great fielder, but is just good enough to back up all three positions. He's got the tools at the plate to be a regular, and I'm hoping he'll at least push Klein for more playing time. Has really worked on his L/R splits to where he's more than a platoon guy, making him more valuable.

DH/OF Kazuhiko Ueda, 30, RH, $11.5M (thru '56), no stats (Japan). Took a flyer on the Int'l Free Agent, and it paid off in the spring, at least. Just an average fielder, so he'll see most of his time at DH. Will replace Craig Long as the "other" power bat in the lineup, so I'm expecting him to deliver 30 HR at least. Has a good attitude, and should quickly prove popular with our fans. He's our for a while, too, so I rolled some big dice here.

...

SP Mike Garfield, 31, LH, $22.6M (thru '50), 10-10, 4.35, 211 K in 223 IP, 4.5 WAR (with NYM). Came over this fall in the big trade I felt I needed to shore up the top of my rotation. His stats weren't the greatest last year, but he's produced before and I think I bought low on him. He's a four-pitch guy with excellent (36 BB last year) control, keeps the ball down, and is a good clubhouse guy. He was aces in the spring.

SP Shamar Jackson, 26, RH, $5.46M (thru '55), 13-9, 3.93, 200 K in 238 IP, 2.6 WAR. Knuckleballer, who's change and slider are nearly as good. Sparkplug and a battler. Gets inconsistent, enough to depress his stats a bit, but still rates as a solid #2. Walked 82 guys last year, something I'd like to see go down this year.

SP Eric Jones, 32, LH, $13.1M (thru '50), 15-4, 3.53, 125 K in 198 IP, 3.3 WAR. Really struggled early in the spring, but came around by the end. Still, I'm wondering when the consistently reliable Jones will finally wear down. In eleven seasons with us, he's never made fewer than 30 starts. Doesn't strike out many, but also doesn't give up many long balls either, keeping what does get hit in the yard.

SP Dennis Perry, 27, RH, $650k (arb.), 4 starts, 3-1, 2.38, 23 K in 29 IP, -0.1 WAR. Missed most of the season, but came off rehab in time to shine in September and make the playoff roster. His return solidifies the back end of the rotation, given how some of my recent prospect hopefuls haven't yet panned out. Groundballer; not spectacular anywhere, but gets the job done. Another guy we hustled from the Mets.

SP Shane Walker, 23, LH, minor league, 27 starts in AA-AAA, 14-8, 3.70, 143 K in 162 IP, 2.3 WAR. Made the roster due to Ratliff's injury (see below). Probably goes back down once RR is healthy. Kind of an Eric Jones-type: not great stuff, but keeps the ball in play and relies on quality movement and placement. Was a 1st round pick in '47; while he doesn't have a high ceiling, he could still figure in the mix depending on how he does this year, and on who (coughJONEScough) might regress or age out.

CL Justin Crowley, 30, RH, $2.2M (thru '50), 52 GP, 72 IP, 23 SV, 2.23 ERA, 113 K, 3.0 WAR. Took over for a faltering Ramon Sanabria and was a knockout. And was even better in the playoffs, giving up zero runs in all his appearances.

SU Bruce Parton, 34, RH, $4.72M (thru '49), 16 GP, 22 IP, 2.08 ERA, 23 K, 0.8 WAR. Missed part of the season with injury, but was still underused after his return. We'll fix that this year by putting him in a setup role. Aging, but still looks sharp, relying on quality movement and control to keep balls in the infield. Given his age and current salary, we are edging away from re-signing him for next year.

SU Mark Money, 28, RH, $900k (arb.), 41 GP, 87 IP, 3.12 ERA, 104 K, 0.7 WAR. The only thing he's really lacking is top-notch control. Throws over 100 MPH when on form, and was another guy who was spotless in the playoffs. Acquired via trade with Arizona in '47, and has been worth it.

MR Hyo-chin Kym, 29, LH, $2.6M (thru '50), 25 GP, 44 IP, 4.50 ERA, 62 K, 0.5 WAR. That high ERA came down quite a bit as the season went along, and he was also big-time in the playoffs for us. Is again the only LHP in the bullpen. Control is his issue, walking 22 batters last year. Hopefully he'll produce all season for us, or he won't be back.

MR Ben Germann, 29, RH, $1.736M (arb.), 15 starts, 85 IP, 6-8, 6.54, 71 K, 0.1 WAR. (Also 17 starts in AAA.) Started the season like gangbusters, but was a broken man by the time we sent him down in June. Probably doesn't have the quality third pitch needed to be a surefire SP; but does have an elite curve and solid fastball. Keeps the ball down, but can struggle with movement and control. Pitched well in relief this spring, so I'm cautiously optimistic my experiement with him will work out.

MR Nick Kramer, 26, RH, $500k (arb.), 47 GP, 1.94 ERA, 76 K in 60 IP, all in AAA. This is his fourth stab at sticking around with us. His career stats so far: 26 GP, 41 IP, 4.83 ERA, 42 K, 18 BB, 0.5 WAR. On paper he's a solid choice; on the field he's been terribly erratic. Made the team thanks to Mwaura's injury, and will be on the usual short leash.

Injured:
SP Ryan Ratliff, 28, RH, $4.83M (arb.), 10-5, 3.50, 160 K in 157 IP, 2.5 WAR, 23 starts. Oblique strain has him out for one more week, so he'll likely miss just one start. Got roughed up in the spring, however, so hopefully he'll be able to come back sharp. Won 21 games in '47, and was throwing even better last year until he got hurt. Gives up too many long balls (1.4/9 last year) but when he's on, he's tough to beat. Not really an ace, but a solid #2 or #3 in any rotation.

RP Jaheim Mwaura, 22, RH, $500k (thru '49), 9 GP, 32 IP, 37 K, 3.90 ERA, 0.9 WAR. Will miss three months with a ruptured finger tendon. Came up late in the summer last year and was generally pretty good in long relief. Still needs to work on his control (5.0 per 9 IP), but is otherwise fully developed and looks like a solid MR for us for the near future at least.

......

My prediction: My owner says we should win it all this year, and I think we can do it. We have it all: hitting, pitching, and fielding. Our power numbers should be up this year too. Of course, we'll need the usual good luck that comes with winning a title, particularly with regards to injuries. We don't have a pile of ready pitching help on the farm, so if our rotation or bullpen get hit hard, watch out. And our big hitters must stay healthy: 130+ games from both Groff and Stoney, as well as being around for the post-season, could be the difference between an A+ year and a "mere" A year. As I pointed out in the beginning of this post, I think we're built for one more two-year run at the top, before having to refigure things. So let's do it.
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Old 11-21-2019, 04:33 AM   #296
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Hawaii Islanders vacation in Nebraska!

Bub,

Hopefully everything is well with you. We miss you and the Islanders! News reports tell of the Islanders taking an impromptu vacation to Nebraska for some R&R. THATS probably where you are! In the lush brown crop fields, the wide open ranches, the beautiful cities (yes, we have those) and of course the rebuilding Nebraska Cornhuskers (football).

Before you come back you just have to try some Rocky Mountain Oysters (we have a different name for them but I can't remember it) they are delicious!?!

On a serious note, I and all your readers truly do hope you are well and are just taking a well deserved break. Come back when you are ready, with your batteries and thinking cap recharged!

By the way, I have never thanked you for your efforts with your dynasty. Well done and looking forward to much more!

Thank you Bub

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Old 12-05-2019, 09:21 PM   #297
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Wow, thank you very much for that. I appreciate it, and I'm glad you've enjoyed the read!

And it's a big NO to Rocky Mountain oysters for me, but thanks anyway...

Having said that...

I'M BACK! Sadly, a couple of deaths in the family meant a lot of impromptu travel and some emotional weariness. That and the holiday made for a longer-than-expected break.

So let's get back to Islander baseball now.
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Old 12-05-2019, 09:34 PM   #298
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April 2049!

2049 SEASON

April brings 23 games, all but 10 at home. As usual, we open (and finish) the month with several series against Central division teams. Let's get going.

April 5-7 vs DETROIT
Currently riding a four-season playoff streak, MLB picks them to win just 82 games and miss out on the fun this year. Once again they have a lineup packed with power, and they're picked to lead the pack in home runs. Two players (John Sheets and Andy Howard) who smacked 30 last year return, along with 29-HR guy Antonio Chamorro, who comes over from MIL. They lost 4.3-WAR 3B Toshi Hasegawa, but picked up 5-WAR pitcher Mike Fields, whom they promptly shuffled off to the bullpen. They also return Cy Young winner Mike Cote. Manager Ethan Larrison begins his fourth season on the throne, and is beloved by his pitching staff while being disliked by nearly everyone else. Top Prospect: Pat Townsend (20, 1B, ranked #9 by MLB), who looks like the real deal, hitting for average and power. He'll be in A ball. System ranks #13.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-10, 4.35) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-9, 3.93) / LH Eric Jones (15-4, 3.53)
DET pitchers: RH Raul Bravo (14-11, 3.36) / RH Mike Cote (20-7, 3.34) / LH T.J. Carroll (13-8, 4.28)

#1: WIN 5-0 ... solo HR from Stoneback and Ueda, but the star is Garfield, who tosses a 3-hit, 10-K shutout...also named 1st star of the day by MLB
#2: LOSS 3-8 ... back to earth tonight...Jackson is knocked out in the 3rd, giving up six of their runs...Germann fans 9 in 4.1 IP of relief
#3: LOSS 4-5 ... Crowley blows his first appearance, giving up 2 in the 9th...we scored twice in the 8th to take a late lead...Jones fans 13 in 7 IP

Not the start dreams are made of. Garfield kept up his spring momentum, Jackson struggled, but Jones got on track.... Groff (.600) and Stoneback (.556) also start hot.... We also claim a couple of fringe-y pitchers off waivers and send both to AAA to fill out that roster.... ELSEWHERE: New Orleans, San Diego, and San Francisco start 3-0, while Chicago, Montreal, and Portland go 0-3.... Astros 1B--and former Islander--Sen Masuda cranks four home runs in his series against the Blue Jays.... Injuries are hitting already: New Orleans lost their seventh pitcher, this time closer Bob Harrison, who'll miss 4 to 5 months. And always-injured former Isle OF Mel Carrillo broke his leg and will miss four months for Austin.


April 9-11 vs CLEVELAND
MLB says they'll win 90 games and squeeze into the playoffs for the fourth time in the last six years. A strong lineup, featuring leadoff batter DJ Grace (.327 last year, but right now out for four weeks), and a middle four of David Von Eschen/Mike Blough/Matthew Powell/Eddie Hummel whacked 99 HR last year. The rotation looks weak, however, with only Chad Rivers ever having more than 100 IP in a season. And all five of last year's starters are with other teams. It looks like the offense will have to make up for their pitching staff. Manager Jose Ariza is in his ninth year. Top Prospect: Conrad Hunt (21, 2B, ranked #44), looks like a decent hitter with a good eye. Average fielder, but rangy enough for second. In A ball. System ranks #21.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (3-1, 2.48) / LH Shane Walker (MLB debut) / RH Mike Garfield (1-0, 0.00 in '49)
CLE pitchers: RH Bob Garner (5-13, 5.39) / RH Josh Gordon (1-4, 6.28) / RH Terry Elliott (0-1, 12.27 in '49)

#4: WIN 5-0 ... Perry fans 10 and yields just 2 hits in his 7.1 IP...Groff's 3-run HR in the 8th is the big blow tonight...3 errors however
#5: WIN 8-3 ... we give up 11 hits tonight but spread them out enough to take the win...three HR (Ueda, Groff, Stoneback), and a solid 6 IP debut for Walker
#6: WIN 7-2 ... Groff homers again, and Rangel adds his first of the year...7 IP for Garfield, and a 2 K finish for closer Crowley

That's the ticket! Despite getting outhit two of the three games and watching our attendance plummet after opening night. What gives with that.... Stoneback gave me a fright with his first injury, but it's only a sore heel. He won't miss any games. Probably stepped on an infield pebble or had a pea under his mattress.... Strong start for Perry and a nice debut for Walker, at the back end of the rotation. Ryan Ratliff comes back in one day, so Walker will probably go back to AAA. Sorry bud.... Groff wins AL player of the week honors, the 11th time he's recieved that nod.... ELSEWHERE: Philly has won four straight and tops the charts at 5-1. Portland and Brooklyn are at 1-5, Miami at 1-4.... Our own Adam Groff leads MLB with 12 RBI.... Cubs SS Ben Grossman has a 20-game hitting streak, dating back to September.... STL didn't win four games over all of last April, but they're 4-2 so far this year.


April 12-14 vs CHICAGO WHITE SOX
Their last division title came in 2030, and they've had just three winning seasons in the intervening years. MLB says they'll win 79 this campaign. There's some power in the lineup, but outside of AL batting champ Chris Rock and RF Andy Barenburg, there's not much hitting for average or OBP. The rotation looks patchwork, with only vet Jake Davidson and Isles-castoff Cory Graulich having any previous MLB starts. FA signing (and former AL Cy Young winner) Zach Gioeli has already been consigned to AAA, and youngster Ben O'Neal should be the #2 starter but is for some reason wallowing in middle relief atm. Former #1 overall prospect Burton Dick is out for the season (again), and may never hit his scouted ceilings, sadly. Manager Taylor Black is in his fourth go-round, and hasn't brought much to the table yet. Top prospect: Ezequiel de la Rosa (20, OF, ranked #25), has long-term CF starter written all over him. If they don't rush him, he'll be a centerpiece (pun!) for a decade or more. Currently in A ball. System ranks #14.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (0-1, 20.25) / LH Eric Jones (0-0, 3.86) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-5, 3.50 in '48)
CHW pitchers: RH Cory Graulich (1-0, 5.14) / RH Jay Bruce (AAA in '48) / RH Nick Esterline (ditto)

#7: LOSS 1-3 ... Daley's solo HR is our only highlight...Jackson is solid, fanning 7 in a CG, but is outdueled
#8: WIN 11-2 ... 14 hits against AAA pitching, but I'll take it...GRAND SLAM for Ueda, and 3 hits for Stoneback...3 IP, 5 K and a save for Germann
#9: WIN 12-6 ... 16 more hits and we overcome an early 3-0 deficit...Ratliff is not great, but our offense makes up for that

I don't feel bad at all about bashing the AAA pitching the Sox trotted out against us. Tons of hits for nearly everybody, and Daley homered in every game. Ueda added two.... Ratliff returns and Shane Walker is sent to AAA. R's first start is meh (5 IP, 8 H, 3 R). RP Nick Kramer gets a win despite allowing 3 R in 1 IP, and has an ERA over 10. RP HC Kym gets hurt, diagnosis pending. He's our only LH in the pen.... Somehow we're leading the AL in home runs, with 14.... Ben Germann has 10 IP in relief, but is third in AL strikeouts, with 19.... ELSEWHERE: Five shutouts and 13 complete games on the first day of these series. Then the bats came alive, just like they did for us. Odd.... No team has gotten hot yet (several 6-3 records), but Brooklyn is already struggling, at 2-7. Several other teams are at 2-6.... STL closer Jason Faries has saved all four Cards wins.


April 15-18 @ TEXAS
MLB has the Rangers winning just 68 games; hard cheese after their +15 upswing last year while managing 76 wins. The offense is currently 1st in runs, 3rd in AVG, but outside of reigning MVP William Swanson, doesn't actually have a history of big hitting. 3B DJ Flores and LF Luis Venegas are fine complementary players, but everyone else is in the career .250ish range. The rotation looks better--Mike Messinger, Joey Muhlenkamp, and Greg Buchanan are a solid 1-2-3 punch--but right now is struggling with a 5.34 ERA. Likewise, they've got 2/3 of a nice bullpen, but they're also dragging with an ERA near 7. Manager Tae-Hyeok Nam is in his second season; his low-key personality makes him friends, but there are a lot of malcontents on the roster. Not a great recipe. Top prospect: Kevin Cahill (22, P, ranked #4), a team captain and potential five-pitch near-ace, to my eyes. Needs to get his control reigned in. Just promoted to AA. (Texas RP Bobby Daniel ranks #8 overall, btw.) System ranks #1 in MLB, with three more players in the top 50.

TEX pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (0-0, 0.00) / LH Mike Garfield (2-0, 0.56) / RH Shamar Jackson (0-2, 6.94) / LH Eric Jones (1-0, 3.46)
HAW pitchers: LH Bill Butts (1-0, 3.00) / RH Mike Messinger (2-0, 3.60) / RH Joey Muhlenkamp (0-2, 8.74) / RH Greg Buchanan (0-1, 3.21)

#10: WIN 6-3 ... Perry fans 11 over 7 IP, claims his first win...3 hits for Daley, two solo HR for Frederick
#11: WIN 5-4 ... Garfield yields our lead in the 8th, but we get 2 in the 9th to take it...Groff's two-run single wins it, and Crowley fans 2 in the bottom half of the 9th
#12: LOSS 5-8 ... Jackson struggles again, allowing 4 in the 6th. He walks 6 and allows 8 hits in 5.2 IP...2 hits for Klein, 1st HR of season for Rich
#13: WIN 7-4 ... Jones gives up 3 dingers, but we throw 15 hits and a 3-run 9th for a rally win...3 hits each for Stoneback and Rangel

Mostly solid series, giving us a 9-4 record and a slight grip on 1st place in the division.... Our offense ranks first, but there are some who are struggling: JJ Simmons is at .188, and Rob Rich brought his average up in this series, but is batting only .222. His backup, Whittington, is at .143. Kaz Ueda has 4 HR, but a weak .170 average. He might get some platooning with Dante Padilla soon, who has just 2 AB.... Pitching ranks 8th, which is not bad. If Jackson can round into shape, I'll feel better.... And Kym is out with bone spurs (which will also keep him from military service), 8 weeks. I call Shane Walker back up, and move him into the pen.... ELSEWHERE: Philly and Boston top MLB with 9-3 records; Brooklyn is now 2-11, Houston at 3-9.... Forget the chase for .400: Cincy's Larry Schnackenburg is batting .525. Stop it with your talk of small sample size.... Cubs SS Ben Grossman has his hit streak stopped at 22 games. There are five other active streaks at 10+ games, so maybe someone else will make a run.

......

TL;DR Version: A 9-4 start to the season is good. We're a game up on Seattle, and everyone else is below .500 right now. Like I said above, the offense is hot, with six players batting over .300, and we're still tied for first in AL home runs with 20. Pitching has been mostly good, but our fielding has not, at 16th in efficiency and 16th in errors. Rich Stoneback is a negative in ZR for the first time ever, and RF Frederick (a +7.8 ZR last year) is a team-worst -1.6 this year. Early days, tho. In the minors, our AA and A teams have started, and AAA Santa Barbara kicks off the season in two days. Lots of injuries are coming, I'm sure....
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Old 12-06-2019, 05:35 PM   #299
Palaaemon
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Bub,

Welcome back to you and the Islanders!

My condolences to you and yours for your families passing. Always a difficult thing to deal with, especially during the holidays.

Glad to have you back!

Palaaemon
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Old 12-07-2019, 02:03 PM   #300
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April 19-21 @ CALIFORNIA
The road trip continues against the newly rechristened Angels. (Throwback unis too!) MLB says another year of sub-70 wins for their frustrated fans. At 5-7, they're third in the division. A decade-plus of rebuilding has resulted in a lineup with very little punch that is currently ranked 17th or 18th in most batting categories. 1B Corey Turner and DH Steve Dyer have at least hit for power with other teams, but they'll need career years to power this lineup. Case in point: how does a team with money to burn end up with just one catcher in they system with MLB experience to start the year? And he is 28-year-old Ben Sparling, a career .205 batter over 320 at bats. The pitching staff looks a little better, but the bullpen currently ranks #1 in ERA. There's a lot of power paired with low movements in the rotation, and we all know what that equals. Long-time minor-league coach Jonathan Fixler was moved from bench coach to the top position last winter, and he'll have his hands full. Almost everyone is annoyed at him already, however. Top prospect: Mauricio Marquez (18, OF, ranked #18), a solid-looking batter with some pop. Not a great eye or glove, but a strong arm and a good runner. Be patient and he'll be a ROY candidate in 4-5 years. System ranks #9.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (0-0, 5.40) / RH Dennis Perry (1-0, 1.88) / LH Mike Garfield (3-0, 1.50)
CAL pitchers: LH Noah Sims (0-2, 2.65) / LH Eric Mathis (AAA in '48) / RH Jim Dunn (2-0, 2.38)

#14: WIN 10-1 ... 10 runs on 14 hits, nice and efficient...everyone gets on base, and 3 hits for Groff...CG for Ratliff, on 4 hits, fanning 7
#15: WIN 2-0 ... quieter tonight, as we manage just 6 hits, but Simmons scores twice late thanks to a hit and a sac fly by Stoneback
#16: LOSS 2-6 ... our hot streak ends, as we're held to 7 hits...HR for Stoneback in the 1st, but we're dulled after that

Behind Seattle now, as the hot M's are 12-5.... Garfield's overall numbers still look good (3-1, 2.32 ERA) but he's pitched worse each of his three starts after that awesome opening day.... Simmons has pushed his average over .200, but Ueda has gotten worse (now .158).... ELSEWHERE: Seattle is hot, yes, but they just lost #1 off-season acquisition 2B Jose Rodriguez for 3 months.... Larry Schnackenburg hasn't gotten a hit since I pumped his tires at .525, and is now batting "just" .423.... Reigning NL MVP Luke Kempf has two injuries, which will keep the Philly SS out of the lineup for the next six weeks.... Phil Lasky, traded by us to the Mets, is having a go as a full-time two-way player. And is not doing well at either end: 0-2 with a 5.95 ERA in three starts on the mound, he's also added 8 starts in the OF, batting .172 with just one extra base hit.


April 23-25 @ MINNESOTA
An 8-6 start has them one of four teams vying for the top spot in the Central, and looking for their first playoff visit since '43. Offense is 5th in runs, 2nd in AVG and OBP. At 23, OF Josh Jacobson is already one of the best players in the AL, and is off to a .351 start. Cleanup DH Josh Conley is batting .348. When prized FA signing Roberto Miranda (signed from Austin) returns from the DL in June, they'll be even better. Pitching is 6th overall, despite the struggles of star sophomore Conor MacLeod. Closer Nate Metz has four saves, but has walked 6 in 7 IP. Old-timer Robert Woodard, dropped by Oakland after 17 seasons at the helm, is the new manager. He guided the A's to twelve winning seasons in his tenure there. Top prospect: Lucas Tipping (17, OF, ranked #54), who could end up in the OF or at 2B. Decent-looking hitter, a nice complementary guy, and gets along with everyone. System ranks #25th, so there's not much behind him. (The #2 guy is pitcher Jerry Caprio, taken in '48 after the Rangers drafted him in '47 and, as is their way, couldn't sign him.)

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (0-3, 7.79) / LH Eric Jones (1-0, 3.98) / RH Ryan Ratliff (1-0, 2.57)
MIN pitchers: RH Conor MacLeod (1-1, 4.58) / LH Andy Kozak (1-0, 3.60) / RH Hugo Blerra (1-1, 3.66)

#17: WIN 4-1 ... a 5-hits over 9 IP for Jackson, showing up at last...13 hits, 11 are singles, but add in four walks...3 runs in the 10th wins it
#18: WIN 14-5 ... 7 runs in the 3rd key this romp...Rangel nearly hits for the cycle, and Klein drives in 3...Stoneback gets hurt tho NOOOOOO
#19: WIN 5-3 ... we rebound from an early 3-0 deficit...Ueda and Groff homer...Ratliff fans 8 in 7 IP, and Money and Crowley wrap it up

So, a nice sweep, putting us back ahead of the Mariners. But we lose Stoneback (.456/5/14) for three weeks. At least it's early and a rare less-than-a-month injury for him. Not sure who'll come up from the farm. Stoneback leads the AL in AVG, OPS, and WAR.... Offense is now first across the board, and pitching is 4th. Jackson finally had a good outing, and Perry has been rock solid at the back end of the rotation.... ELSEWHERE: Hawaii tops the charts today at 14-5, Atlanta at 14-6, Seattle at 14-7. Houston has dropped to 4-16.... Mat Caldwell, 24, was a 25th-round pick by Austin in '43, was released a year later and signed by Arizona, and now leads all of baseball in strikeouts. Quite a ride.


April 27-29 vs MILWAUKEE
The recent formula for success has been an Earl Weaver-inspired one: quality pitching backed up by good fielding and a lot of home runs. This year's lineup looks different, for once. Fewer dingers--although Kaz Kawakami and Coby Sandu should combine for 75-80--and more hits. Newbie William Antonio brings his .318 career average to town, and rookie Oscar Espinosa is still growing but already looks like a top-shelf leadoff batter. Daniel Becker, Bryan Shaheen, and Jeffrey Foley are three of the hardest-throwing starters anywhere in baseball, and closer Beau Nelson has 9 saves in his 10 appearances so far. Song-Gwon Che begins his fourth year as manager, and guided the Brewers to the World Series in his first season. They lead the Central at 12-7, and look primed for a solid season at least. Top prospect: Josh Kennedy (23, P, ranked #1). How this guy slipped to the 29th overall pick in '47, I don't know. Still has some room to grow, but looks to become a 100-MPH-tossing groundballer with great control and an elite fastball. In AA right now. System ranks #7 overall.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (2-0, 1.21) / LH Mike Garfield (3-1, 2.32) / RH Shamar Jackson (1-3, 5.47)
MIL pitchers: RH Mark Ochal (2-1, 4.98) / LH Daniel Becker (2-2, 3.10) / RH Bryan Shaheen (1-0, 1.78)

#20: LOSS 1-3 ... Perry is left in too long, ceding two late runs for the loss...only 7 hits for the revamped lineup, and just 39k in attendance
#21: WIN 8-5 ... up 4-1, down 5-4, win 8-5, ok...4 hits for Padilla, 3 for Daley, and we put 19 runners on...Garfield gets the win despite going 5 rough innings
#22: LOSS 2-7 ... ten hits for us but no love...Jackson regresses hard and is pulled in the fifth...Germann goes 4.1 IP, fans 8

Our first bad series in a while; we were probably due.... Seattle is hot again, now leads us by a half game.... Jackson still can't get anyone out, and would probably like to forget this month. Garfield threw poorly in his game, but we still managed a win. So an up-and-down rotation right now.... Ben Germann has been pretty solid in relief so far: 2.20 ERA, 16.1 IP, 27 K, 3 BB.... ELSEWHERE: Seattle is 16-7, winners of 8 in their last 10. Houston, meanwhile, is now 4-18, and losers of 9 out of 10.... Minnesota's Cortez Ortiz is the second batter to have a 20-game hit streak, but sees it come to an end just now.... Milwaukee's Matt Anderson leads all active players with 2888 career hits. He's only played in six games this season, and is now in danger of not reaching 3000 career hits, only because the Brewers are sitting him for some reason.


April 30 vs KANSAS CITY
Winners of 92 games three seasons ago, they've backslid ever since, and are off to a slow start this year, at 9-12. Just 13th in runs, and 13th in runs against, for a -24 run differential. Star 3B Juan Garcia was batting .403 when he got hurt last week; he's out for another month. RF Cory George is batting .333, and CF Corey Murray .342; but catcher Adam Behling, at .257, is nearly 60 points below his career average. The bullpen has been torched frequently already, but former Isle Angel Cordova (2-0, 1.74) has been solid in a setup role. Manager Andy Raaff is in his sixth season with the club, and has managed in the bigs every year since 2031. Top prospect: Adam Grossman (24, P, ranked #66) is already on the big club, and has pitched 9.2 IP in relief. He should be in the rotation before too long. System ranks #32 overall.

HAW pitcher: LH Eric Jones (2-0, 4.61)
KCR pitcher: RH Phil Eckert (2-2, 5.55)

#23: WIN 5-3 ... Jones yields 2 HR, but just 4 hits overall through 8 IP...2 doubles and 2 runs for Frederick...9th save for Crowley...finally a sellout crowd

The win puts us back to a half game up on Seattle. Not that it really matters yet.... We come back from a 3-0 deficit early to win this one. Cappuccilli plays for Ueda in this one, and gets a hit, but is batting just .200 and isn't pushing the slumping Ueda for playing time.... Backup C Whittington is hitting only .133 and may need some more seasoning in AAA, although there's no one on the farm who impresses either.... ELSEWHERE: Five straight losses, and a 4-19 record for Houston now.... No one has reached 10 HR or 30 RBI. Padres CF Nick Lehto leads MLB with 28 RBI, and three players are tied with 9 HR.

......

TL;DR Version: 7-3 to finish the month, and a 16-7 record overall. We're in first, a half game up on the Mariners. No one else in the division is over .500, and Houston in the worst team in baseball right now. We've been pretty lucky with injuries, although the offense took a hit when Stoneback went out. He'll be back in two weeks; let's hope he's had his yearly injury now. Thanks to that injury, Kaz Ueda now leads the team with 6 HR; he's batting a still-crappy .192, but it's a long sight better than where he was two weeks ago. Speaking of injuries: pitchers on the farm teams are dropping like flies; I've already called up three guys from below A ball and signed three free agents to fill rosters in A and AA, just this month. There's not much left below A to call up anymore, so it's cannon fodder from here on out. My top prospects are 1B/DH Jules Medici and Tim Chapman. Both are in A ball, and are meeting with varying success: Medici (.179/2/12) has struggled, while Chapman (.354/4/13) has not.
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