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Old 12-12-2019, 10:52 PM   #301
Bub13
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We'll take the field for 29 games this month, including a wierd-ass doubleheader against the Reds (day off followed by the twinbill). Plus, you know it and you love it: Interleague Play! Nine games against the NL Central, and another year where I think I need to redo the schedule so we play West teams instead.

May 1-2 vs KANSAS CITY
Finishing up the set with the Royals, then we're back in our division for the next eleven games.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (2-0, 3.00) / RH Dennis Perry (2-1, 1.76)
KCR pitchers: RH Jayden Grant (0-2, 4.50) / RH Ryan Swan (1-2, 2.78)

#24: WIN 18-2 ... wow...18 hits, including 3 HR (6 RBI) for Padilla, and a HR for Ueda...Daley goes 4-for-4 with 5 RBI...Ratliff tosses 8 IP
#25: LOSS 3-7 ... quiet bats tonight, all worn out from yesterday...three pitchers get pushed around, and only Frederick manages a pair of hits

That loss, combined with a hot Seattle club, has us a half game out now.... Ueda has his average up to .207 atm, and leads the team with 7 HR. Groff leads with 26 RBI and a .333 average.... Those were Padilla's first three dingers of the season, and he and Daley earned first and second stars of the day from MLB.... ELSEWHERE: Yankees rookie Sieb "Hans" Moleman was named AL Player (and Rookie) of the Month for April. Arizona's Alfonso Torres won the NL honors.... Pittsburgh's Riley Krupp just shut out the Mets, and sports a lovely 0.88 ERA in five starts. He's 4-0 and has a 39-to-5 K-BB ratio in 41 innings.... Brewers catcher William Antonio hit above or near .400 for much of 2047 (with Minnesota), didn't hit a lick last year, but is back on the mark again with a .395 average.


May 3-5 @ SEATTLE
The Mariners are rolling, at 18-8 and on top of the division. Everything is clicking: 2nd in offense and 4th in runs allowed, for a +45 run differential. And they're doing it without the middle of their infield: 2B Jose Rodriguez is out for three months, while SS George Bradshaw has two more weeks on the shelf. This is a veteran team, with six regulars and 3/5 of the rotation over the age of 30: clearly they are in WIN NOW mode. Manager Jacob DeGrom is in his third campaign and has maintained harmony in the clubhouse despite his fiery ways. Top Prospect: Jon Terrell (20, 1B), who looks like a solid middle-of-the-lineup power guy, but with zero defensive instincts. He ranks #46 in MLB, while the system overall comes in at #23.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (4-1, 3.25) / RH Shamar Jackson (1-4, 6.10) / LH Eric Jones (3-0, 4.33)
SEA pitchers: LH Ryan Galletto (3-1, 3.71) / LH Miguel Moreno (4-0, 3.82) / LH Carlos Zenon (2-3, 2.58)

#26: LOSS 1-3 ... Garfield is on tonight (8 IP, 5 H, 11 K), but we can't muster any offense for him...2 hits for Simmons and a Ueda solo HR is about it
#27: WIN 2-1 ... another tight one, as Jackson fans 8 over 8 IP...two hits apiece for Daley and Justin Cecil...4 BB and a HPB aid tonight's cause
#28: LOSS 4-5 ... two HR (Groff, Padilla) but only two other hits...Money takes the loss after allowing three runs in the 8th

Seattle gains a game on us, but it's still early on.... Not much hitting over these three games, but the offense still ranks #1. Most of the bats have cooled off, however, with only two guys over .300, unusual for us.... ELSEWHERE: I believe St Louis had maybe five wins over the first five weeks of 2048. This year they're 16-12, winners of five in a row and getting quality pitching with good-enough hitting.... Cincy's Armando Guzman has won all six of his starts, with a 2.40 ERA and 46 K in 41 IP.... Yankees OF Sieb Moleman is having quite a rookie season, batting .360 and leading nearly every first-year batting category (other than HR) around. No rookie pitchers are dominating, although Twins closer Nate Metz has six saves.


May 6-9 vs HOUSTON
It's been a struggle for the recently-promising Astros this season, at just 6-22. Only 15th in offense and 14th in pitching, and a shiny -41 run differential already. 2B Pedro Acero leads the team with a .263 average, but is out for a month. SS Mike Chamberlain and CF Melvin Lugo are also laid up. Their catchers are a combined 7-for-83. Hard to believe this team has won 86 games in back-to-back seasons and made the playoffs last year. They should get better, but it's already looking like a lost season. Manager Dylan Barrow is in his fifth year at the helm, and probably his last, to be honest. Top Prospect: Jose Renteria (22, 1B), playing in Houston despite a clear need for more AAA seasoning. He has fabulous ceilings, and hopefully won't be ruined this year. He ranks #13 overall. (They also have the #14 ranked player, OF Tyler King, currently in high A.) The system ranks #12.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (3-0, 2.79) / RH Dennis Perry (2-2, 2.57) / LH Mike Garfield (4-2, 3.27) / RH Shamar Jackson (2-4, 5.08)
HOU pitchers: RH Alex Trujillo (1-4, 5.97) / LH John Odom (0-3, 4.76) / LH Chris Harris (1-5, 6.34) / RH Dustin Springer (2-4, 4.04)

#29: WIN 5-1 ... Ratliff fans 9 over 8 IP, and Parton whiffs the side in the 9th...only 7 hits tonight, but 2 for Padilla and a pair of RBI
#30: WIN 9-1 ... a 12-K complete game for Perry...3 hits for Frederick, including a 2-run HR, and 3 for Daley
#31: WIN 5-0 ... we reach 10 hits in a game for the first time in a week...Ueda and Padilla homer, and Garfield whiffs 9 over 8.1 IP
#32: WIN 7-3 ... 3 H and 3 RBI for Klein, and a bunch of singles (12 of 13 total hits) for everyone else...Jackson goes just 6, but is good enough

Sucks for Houston, but fun for us. The offense gets back on track a bit, and was helped out by swapping Simmons (.232) from leadoff into eighth, and moving Klein (.316) to the top.... Pitchers held the hapless 'stros to a combined 5 runs and 23 hits, and registered 44 strikeouts.... Stoneback comes off the DL in six days.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn is suddenly hot, winners of five straight. Their series against Richmond featured a 16-K NO HITTER by Ricky Arnau, followed by a four-hit shutout by Mike Jernigan. The Eagles are losers of seven in a row.... Houston is now 6-26 and is the only team in MLB more than ten games out of first place.... Despite Hawaii's four game sweep of Houston, they are only a half game up on Seattle. No other team in the AL West is over .500.


May 10-13 @ OAKLAND
Perennial second-placers to us, the A's won just 71 games last year in a rare rebuilding season. A fairly young team, most of their top batters are entering their prime years, at ages 25 to 28. They made an off-season move to shore up the rotation, signing Chris Latimer to a big contract, but he's really struggled so far. Still, the offense is 6th in runs (but just 13th in AVG) and 3rd in HR. Pitching is 10th, with the bullpen outperforming the rotation. Manager Yoshi Sato is in his first year, taking over for long-time skipper Robert Woodard; so far he's 15-17, slightly underperforming expectations. Top Prospect: Miguel Tejeda (21, OF), an old school free-swinging, slow-moving pure power hitter. He's in A ball, and ranks #71 according to MLB. The system is 31st.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (3-0, 4.24) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-0, 2.43) / RH Dennis Perry (3-2, 2.25) / LH Mike Garfield (5-2, 2.75)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (1-4, 5.93) / RH Conrad Robertson (3-2, 3.25) / RH Jim Schwartz (3-3, 3.59) / RH Mike Pearson (2-3, 3.89)

#33: WIN 1-0 ... 11 combined hits in 11 innings...Ueda's RBI single wins it...Groff is now hitless in three games...Jones goes 9, gives up just 4 hits
#34: LOSS 5-11 ... Ratliff's first stinker, and Germann gets roughed up too...4 hits for Padilla, and a 3-run HR for Josh Matson, subbing for Groff
#35: WIN 7-2 ... Groff comes back refreshed: 3 H, HR, 3 RBI...Padilla and Ueda also go deep...Perry walks four but gets the win, and fans 9
#36: LOSS 2-3 ... Crowley is touched for a 2-run HR in the 9th to lose this one, wasting a 10-K effort from Garfield...two hits for Groff, everyone else is quiet

Tough finish for an otherwise decent series. We fall to a 1.5 game lag behind Seattle.... Klein (.321) is still hot, while Simmons (.222) is not. Padilla has been excellent in relief of Stoneback, hitting .372 with 7 HR. Ueda leads the team with 10 HR, but is batting just .208.... With Stoneback off the DL tomorrow, some lineup juggling is due in order to keep hot bats active. He'll go in at short, and Padilla will probably evenly split time at third (with Simmons) and DH (with Ueda).... Pitching has been solid, quietly on top of the AL in runs and rotation ERA, and second in K.... ELSEWHERE: Ten wins in a row for the Yankees, showing their first signs of real life in decades, at 25-11.... Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas is now 39, and may have lost some bite to his best pitches, but that hasn't shown on the scoresheet: 4-0, 1.58 ERA, 51.1 IP, 65 K, 7 BB. He's a free agent this fall, and you have to think he'll decline soon, and probably hard. But he's been durable (only one season under 30 starts since 2033), and is criminally underrated (one Cy Young, only six All-Star appearances). In this age of the hitter, he's a likely HoF lock, despite a "mere" 213 wins and a 3.55 career ERA. (Add to that 3589 K and 71.6 WAR, as of this writing.)


May 14-16 vs ST LOUIS
Now 20-16, third in the NL Central, and looking like a totally different team than the pile of slop they were over the first half of '48. They're not hitting: 11th in runs, 15th in AVG, and last in OBP and OPS. But pitching has been excellent, 4th in runs, and top five in rotation and bullpen ERA. Three starting-quality OF are injured right now, but their replacements are fitting in nicely (rookie Kyle Burbank in leadoff, at .291 with 5 HR especially). 1B J.R. Crudge leads the team at .299 and 6 HR, but old-man catcher Alexis Mercedes is 36 and looks done: .184, 4 HR. Manager Ron Miller is in his third season, and has the following winning pct: .352, .377, .556 (this year). Top Prospect: Nate Forrester (19, OF), in R ball. He won't walk or win a Gold Glove, but looks like a .300 career hitter, with 40 doubles and 20 HR a season. The system ranks #18.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (3-4, 5.00) / LH Eric Jones (3-0, 3.47) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 3.70)
STL pitchers: RH Jake Mackowski (3-0, 3.38) / RH DJ Pasquarelli (4-2, 2.65) / RH Steve Davenport (2-3, 5.68)

#37: WIN 5-2 ... two late runs mar Jackson's shutout bid, but he's solid again...3 hits for Frederick, and HR for him, Ueda, and Daley
#38: LOSS 0-5 ... held to just five hits...Parton blows up in the 8th, wiping out a close game...not that we were getting anyone on base anyway
#39: WIN 8-0 ... Ratliff fans 13 and allows just one hit, walking none...Stoneback with a 2-run blast, and 2 H and 3 RBI for Padilla

Strong series, especially for the rotation.... Stoneback comes back hot, and with Padilla still raking it's hard to see how JJ Simmons should stay in the lineup right now. Maybe he'll spell Ueda at DH some, or go in for Rangel at second (he's gone cold, down to .264 after a hot start).... Closer Justin Crowley has 11 saves and a 2.40 ERA. Fellow free-agent-to-be Bruce Parton, however, has struggled with an ERA over 11.... ELSEWHERE: The Yanks are still hot, sporting a 27-13 record, second-best in MLB. Houston finally won their tenth game, and trail the pack at 10-29.... Texas (16-24) hasn't made any noise yet, but reigning MVP William Swanson sure has. At .340/14/38, he ranks 3rd, 1st, and 2nd in the Triple Crown categories.... Former Isles RP Rick Ramirez washed out in several attempts at making him a closer on the islands, but his first year in San Diego is off to a good start: 16 GP, 14 saves, 2.87 ERA.

......

TL;DR Version: We're 7-3 in our last ten and have a 26-13 record. Yet we've lost ground to the red-hot Mariners, who are 29-12 and 2 games in front of us. With Stoneback's return, we're healthy at the plate again; only relievers Kym and Mwaura still have 4 and 6 weeks on the DL, and both will probably get rehab stints anyway before re-entering the roster. Our batters seem to be back in a groove again, but I sure wish I could get JJ Simmons going. He's a career .317 batter but is over 100 points below that average so far this season. He's still getting on base at a .327 clip, but with no power, he's got to get a lot of hits to be effective for us. Well, like I said somewhere above: I'll juggle the lineup a bit so as to keep the hot hitters going, but to try to get Simmons off the wagon. Someone is sure to get hurt soon and end that little experiment, but let's see how it goes in the meantime.
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Old 12-17-2019, 07:06 PM   #302
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May 18-20 vs PITTSBURGH
Trying to find an edge with a 20-18 start, and .500 this month. (Pythag. has them at 20-18 too.) Hanging on to second place in a tight division: only a game-and-a-half separate 2nd from 5th place. Currently 6th in runs, 8th in runs against, with a +6 run differential. Also fun: 1st in NL in steals, last in HR. Leadoff CF C.J. Howard is a lot like our J.J. Simmons: all contact, defense, and speed, with zero power. (Both of them have a single HR over the last three seasons.) Ace Riley Krupp is having a bang-up year, and former #1 overall pick Josh Hohn is having a nice run as a middle reliever (14 K in 10 IP). If Hohn only had average control he'd be an ace SP, but here we are... Former Manager of the Year (and WS winner, both with Atlanta) Dario Agrazal is in his first year in charge after six seasons with the Braves. Top Prospect: Kenny West (21, P, ranked #2) has big-time stuff and projects to have outstanding control, but is a no-movement flyball pitcher. Deadly combo. He's also on the DL for 4 months with bone chips in his elbow. System ranks #5, with three other top 100 players.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (4-2, 2.28) / LH Mike Garfield (5-2, 2.54) / RH Shamar Jackson (4-4, 4.58)
PIT pitchers: LH Riley Krupp (5-1, 2.09) / RH Rick Horan (MLB debut) / LH Jonathan Bell (3-1, 2.70)

#40: LOSS 3-5 ... we get to Krupp some, but runs in the 6th and 7th kill us tonight...Simmons wakes up with 3 hits, 2 each for Klein and Daley
#41: WIN 4-1 ... Frederick and Cappuccilli go deep, and Freds triples home another run...Garfield leaves in the 1st, but Germann fans 8 over 4 IP for the win
#42: LOSS 1-2 ... only 2 runs against, but Jackson allows 10 hits and walks 4, with 0 strikeouts...not much hitting again tonight

Not a great series for our batters. Lately we either explode for 15 hits or scrape out 6 or fewer. Still 1st in AVG and OBP, but just barely now. Boo hoo.... Garfield has a dead arm and is out for 1-2 weeks. He goes on the DL; Shane Walker moves back into the rotation, and Carlos Munoz (acquired from ATL last winter) gets a call up.... Seattle continues to crank out the wins, now 3.5 games in front of us.... ELSEWHERE: Division-leading Atlanta is 25-16, but just lost their primary setup man (Khalil Smith) for 8 months, then lost ace SP (and two-time Cy Young winner) Jose Gutierrez for 13 months. Owie.... Milwaukee OF Kaz Kawakami has 16 HR, on a pace for 62. Mets speedster Marquis Moore is on pace for 61 steals.... Houston has won 6 out of 10, and now has a not-quite-as-horrible record of 12-30, just a couple games behind the awful Richmond Eagles (14 wins). Seattle is the first to reach 30 wins (with 31). NYY follows with 29.


May 21-23 @ CINCINNATI
Quirky scheduling has us playing a game on the 21st, a day off, then a double header on the 23rd. At 26-16, Cincy tops the NL Central by 3.5 games over the Pirates. They're 1st in runs, OPS, and HR; pitching is 9th, with the 5th best rotation ERA. OF Jose Tavares is on it again this year, at .319/13/31, although we're lucky to miss 2B Dave Rivera (40 HR last year), out for the series. Defending Cy Young winner Cris Frias is not (atm) scheduled to pitch against us, which is good since he's killing it again (77 K in 59 IP). Manager Ezequiel Sedano led the Reds to a completely-undeserved championship last year, and has his squad playing even better this year. Top Prospect: Seth O'Neill (21, P, ranked #45), who needs to develop a 3rd pitch to become a middle-rotation SP. System ranks #30.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (3-1, 3.36) / RH Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 3.04) / RH Dennis Perry (4-3, 2.67)
CIN pitchers: RH Gastone Sarretti (1-1, 2.70) / LH Armando Guzman (7-0, 3.02) / LH Corey Nelson (3-2, 3.44)

#43: WIN 5-1 ... both teams manage 7 hits, but we out-homer them 3 to 1...2 HR and 4 RBI for Frederick...7 quality IP for Jones too
#44: LOSS 1-2 ... dead bats again, can't make a Ratliff 3-hitter hold up...Reds SP Guzman is now 8-0...HR for Stoneback, and a double
#45: WIN 7-3 ... huzzah, some hits (11 here)...five doubles as we shake off some rust...3 hits for Rangel, 2 RBI for Simmons and Klein

The offensive numbers are dipping lower each series, but we do keep winning more often than not. Klein, Stoneback, and Frederick are hitting over .300, but others are struggling: Groff has lost 30 points in the last two weeks, and Simmons is still limping along at .231. Ueda has 11 HR but is batting .200. Might be time to just sit him right down.... Pitching has been mostly tight, and at the risk of inciting the wrath of the OOTP gods, I'll give a shout out to RP Ben Germann (2.67 ERA, 46 K in 27 IP).... We gained a game on the M's, now 2.5 out.... ELSEWHERE: Let's hear it for some big numbers on the 23rd: Boston's Victor Sanchez went 4-for-5 against Portland, with 3 HR and a whopping 10 RBI. Meanwhile, Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado fanned 18 Astros en route to a 7-0 pasting.... Just past the quarter pole, and Miami SS Mario Rivera leads MLB with 3.2 WAR. He's followed by LAD SP Eddy Llamas and Mets 1B Alfonso Contreras (3.1), and Maldonado, Texas 3B DJ Flores, and Philly CF Dan Larson (3.0).


May 25-27 vs NY YANKEES
This weird-ass schedule gave us another day off after the Cincy series, and now we welcome another first-place (30-15, 4 games up on Boston) squad. (I can't remember the last time the Yanks were in 1st place in late May. No playoffs since 2029, and no division title since 2017.) They're solid across the board: 4th in runs and 3rd in pitching. Former Isle Jonathan Klump has found a groove this year, whacking 12 HR so far. Rookie LF Sieb Moleman (.343/11/42) has been a revelation. Slugging DH Sean West, signed last winter from the Tigers, should add to the fun as he has just 6 AB after coming off the DL. The bullpen is the best in the AL right now, with closer Juan Lopez (14 SV, 1.66 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) leading the way. The rotation ERA is just 12th, however. The Yankees are manager Ruben Vasquez's fifth team, and the 15-year veteran has only two playoff appearances to show for it. Top Prospect: Melvin Lopez (21, CF, ranked #12), already starting and performing (.327/4/14) in the bigs. He's not quite Mantle, or Bernie Williams for that, but he's a dynamite fielder and a patient hitter. System ranks #19.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (1-0, 3.50) / RH Shamar Jackson (4-5, 4.21) / LH Eric Jones (4-1, 3.13)
NYY pitchers: RH Joe Erkel (4-3, 3.82) / LH Brian Whitney (4-0, 2.50) / RH Travis Heumann (3-1, 4.28)

#46: LOSS 1-5 ... sheesh, this offense...a 2B and HR for Matson, spelling Rangel...little else tho...Walker fans 8, gets no support
#47: WIN 8-5 ... Rangel bounces back with 3 H and a HR...3 hits for Padilla, and a solo HR for Daley...Jackson picks up the win, but Parton is shelled again in relief
#48: WIN 3-1 ... Jones is stout again, and we get juuuust enough hitting to win...Crowley fans the side in the 9th, picks up his 14th save

I'm not used to all these low-hitting affairs, but as long as our pitching holds up, we'll keep winning.... Ueda got a couple of starts, still isn't hitting, and is no longer getting any platoon time. Padilla is the full-time DH until he stops hitting.... Groff is hitting .276, nearly 70 points below his career average. Short-term slump or long-term problem? Dunno.... Shane Walker looked good in his start, but with Garfield returning, he'll go back to the pen. Carlos Munoz will go back to AAA, where pitchers are still dropping like flies.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Dellinger may have the sweetest non-power stroke in MLB. The 25-year-old is a career .363 hitter who won a batting title last year, and currently leads all of baseball with a .359 clip.... Still no 30-win teams in the NL; Seattle, Hawaii, and NY have done it in the AL.... Ben Popwell has saved 17 of the Mets 22 wins.... New Orleans is somehow over .500 despite having TEN players on the DL.


May 28-30 @ TORONTO
The Jays are 24-23 and trying to put it all together to make just their second playoff run of the decade (nothing since 2040). Somehow they're over .500 with the an offense ranked 11th and pitching ranked 15th, and a -28 run differential. Their highest qualified batter is hitting just .267, although rookie Mike Cross is batting .370 in 27 AB since a recent callup. Big free agent Tony Mendoza has 10 HR, but is batting just .200. And promising rookie 1B Jason Birchmier just .214 with 5 HR. Manager Jose A Jimenez is in his third year, after two seasons in the Bronx (and ten for our AA and AAA clubs). Top Prospect: Jaden Buchanan (23, P, ranked #19) is with the Jays, and will graduate from the bullpen just as soon as his curveball is up to big-league snuff. System ranks 22nd.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (5-2, 2.98) / RH Dennis Perry (5-3, 2.70) / LH Shane Walker (1-1, 3.60)
TOR pitchers: LH Chris Rivera (5-3, 4.18) / RH Luke Weaver (5-2, 3.12) / LH Frank Tate (2-3, 4.56)

#49: WIN 4-3 ... 2 hits and a HR for Daley, and 3 hits for Stoneback...lots of dinky singles, but we do add five walks...8 IP of 3-hit ball for Ratliff
#50: WIN 6-2 ... Groff wakes up and snaps 3 hits and a HR...Freds and Padilla drive in 2 each...Perry and Germann combine for a 6-hitter, fan 9
#51: WIN 7-4 ... Walker isn't sharp but fans 11...2 doubles each for Groff and Rich, and a 3-run blast for Daley...3 Jays pitchers suffer dtd injuries

It wasn't pretty, but I'll always take a sweep.... Big series for Groff, hopefully a good sign for the rest of the season.... Garfield had his DL stint stretched by a couple days, but now he's back.... Team defense has been much, much better of late, rising to 5th in efficiency, 6th in ZR, and 5th in total errors (up from 16th!).... Now just 1.5 behind Seattle.... ELSEWHERE: The Yankees swept the Rangers just now, and have the biggest division lead (6 games) in MLB.... Atlanta is still holding on in the NL East despite some crippling injuries. Still first in NL runs against, although the pen is 16th in ERA, which may start to hurt them before long.... Texas has nearly caught up (or down) to the very bad Astros, but William Swanson isn't giving up: first in MLB to 20 HR, and batting .335 with 50 RBI (in 51 games).


May 31 @ BOSTON
Chasing the Yankees, and at 27-22 they're tied for 2nd with the Marlins. (A -2 Pythag. tho.) Third in runs and 8th in runs against, with a +35 run diff. Victor Sanchez (15 HR, 44 RBI) has brought steady power, and Rich Dragos (.272/13/44) leads MLB with 35 RBI in May. Former Isle Glenn Heath is batting .304 but has just been relegated to the bench for some reason. The overall pitching numbers look okay, but 3/5 of the starting rotation has been pretty terrible so far. Hopefully we'll see all three... Manager Sean Ochinko, in his fourth year, has an unhappy clubhouse on his hands now; don't worry tho, that's the way this clubhouse always is: even when they make the playoffs they hate each other. Top Prospect: Eric Werts (22, P, ranked 53rd), a AA starting pither who's future is in the pen. System ranks #28.

HAW pitcher: LH Mike Garfield (5-2, 2.66)
BOS pitcher: RH Mike Wiater (4-3, 5.15)

#52: WIN 4-3 ... another close one, and we're outhit...a Stoneback HR and RBI singles by Groff and Simmons do the trick...8 IP in Garfield's return

Not much to report after just one game. Garfield looked good, so that's nice. Offense is still leaking oil, but lately is producing just enough to win.... Seattle lost, so we're only a half game out now.... ELSEWHERE: Texas baseball is off-the-charts bad right now. Houston has the worst record in MLB, and the Rangers are not far off. Plus, Texas lost #2 starter Josh Buchanan for the season, and now #3 Joey Muhlenkamp for two months. Dead-last pitching is more than off-setting the 5th-best offense in the AL.... Dodger pitcher Eddy Llamas had a remarkable month, winning all six of his starts, with a 0.92 ERA. He leads baseball with a 1.17 ERA and is second with 3.4 WAR.... Miami's Mario Rivera is the first player to 4 WAR.

......

TL;DR Version: Our offense has been so potent for so long that being 2nd in runs and having a team AVG below .280 feels almost like failure. Ridiculous, I know. With Kaz Ueda on the bench, no starters have 10 HR. (Frederick and Padilla have 9.) Pitching has been great so far, and four starting pitchers have ERA below 3. Only Shamar Jackson (4.15) is missing out, and even he hasn't been a disaster; just...wildly inconsistent. Anyway, we went 9-4 in this stretch and were 19-10 in May. Our overall record is 35-17, second only to division rival Seattle, who has a half game lead over us. (The Yankees match our record, btw.) No other team in the West has a winning record, with Oakland (25-27) in third place, 10.5 games out of first.
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Old 01-04-2020, 03:27 PM   #303
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2049 DRAFT and MID-SUMMER SYSTEM REVIEW

We have all of our top ten draft picks this year (after several years of trading away one or more), as well as a supplemental pick: at the top we'll have the #30 and #41 overall picks. Minnesota has the top pick this year, followed by St Louis, California, Brooklyn, and Toronto. The White Sox and Orioles are the only teams with multiple first round picks. There are 16 supplemental round picks, with Toronto, Kansas City, Detroit, and Pittsburgh each having two selections.

By projected potential, the clear #1 is CF Jordan Foots, a 22-year-old collegian. He has all the tools, and is only less-than-solid in eye/discipline and his glove. His demand is 'slot' so someone shouldn't have trouble signing him. After him, the next three highest potentials are all relievers: Ryan Scheele, Perry Magee, and Ezra Biniecki. I would rank them Magee, Biniecki, then Scheele, although truthfully there's not a lot of difference between them. The top-ranked SP is Kyle Flowe, a high schooler with a ridiculous ($8M) bonus demand. His best quality is elite movement, behind a solid forkball/slider combo. Smart kid, but bone-lazy and selfish. Given the choice, there are three other SP I'd look at over him: Greg Boedigheimer, Michael Buckland, and Jerry Mattox.

......

As expected, Minnesota took Foots #1. He's probably good enough to be in A or AA ball right away. St Louis selected Flowe #2; California took SS Aaron Moore (power and arm, but just a bit over average everywhere else); Gary Shelton (21, OF, super fast and disruptive, solid hitter) went #4 to Brooklyn; and Boedigheimer to Toronto at #5. Philadelphia took OF Todd Nickerson with the pick right before us, which was terribly disappointing since he was my #1 target: solid hitter, huge power, quality fielder. Damn. Any reaches? Oakland taking SP Ronnie Bergan at #7: he'll never develop into a starter, and has average movement and control. The White Sox took two infielders--Steve Cox and Elijah Pass--at 8 and 12, when there were better batters (and pitchers) still on the board. And Tampa taking 22-year-old marginal OF Phil Spickler at #17 was just bad. As was Miami taking Nick Ragsdale (also 22) at #21: he'll never hit more than .220 anywhere outside of church softball, bet on it. Dark horses? I was surprised Nickerson fell as far as he did, all the way to #29. Ah well; maybe he'll be a bust and I can get over it.

......

As usual, here are our top picks, plus a few select others. This was once again not a very promising-looking draft, and I'm not expecting more than two or three guys to have a chance with the big club, sadly.

Rnd 1, 30th overall: OF Kevin Jessen, 19, high school. A bit of a plodder in the field, but can hit for average and has some power. Probably a future role player or pinch hit specialist, as he's a LHB with some meh platoon splits.

Rnd 1 supplemental, 41st overall: P Tom Hall, 20, BYU. Possible two-way player, as a pitcher/outfielder. Reliever unless his third pitch develops. Like Jessen, may have use as a bench/role playing OF. Also left-handed.

Rnd 2, 76th overall: P Deshawn Card, 21, Long Beach State. He's already 21, his ceilings are B-level really, but my scouts raved about his intangibles. I think he could surprise, which may be odd to say of a 2nd round pick. Watch this space.

Rnd 3, 115th overall: P Josh Irvin, 20, Cal State-Fullerton. Similar to Card, above, although a bit behind developmentally. Groundballer, doesn't throw hard but has nice movement and control. Intangibles to burn. Taken in the 7th round by KC back in '46 but didn't sign. Card and Irvin are my only potential SP taken in the entire draft. Really. (Terrible crop of pitchers this year.)

Rnd 4, 151st overall: 1B Steve Rhodes, 21, Michigan. Another great clubhouse/intangible guy, with just-above-average batting ceilings. Not a ton of power. So yeah, I've got a thing for watching underdogs overdevelop. I'm an optimist on draft day.

Rnd 5-7: RP Nate Kearns (23, BYU); Anthony Booker (21, Central Michigan); and Richard Tracy (22, Fairfield). Three relievers with not much difference between them. Hard throwers, decent movement and control. Kearns throws the hardest, Booker has the best movement. And yes, I drafted Dick Tracy. All may start in A ball, actually, rather than rookie ball.

Others of note: Bentley Kolb (C, 9th round); Nick Gase (OF, 11th); Kevin Kelley (IF, 16th). Kolb for his name, although as a catcher in my system he has no chance of making the bigs; Gase could make it or miss as a AAAA guy; Kelley is a local guy with a fantastic glove.

......

Our system ranks 4th overall, with five guys in the top 100. I think we're a bit overrated, thanks mostly (again) to our top prospect. Pitching and outfield are our strengths, infield is so-so, and catchers are an anchor. Will we ever develop a stud catcher?

#1: 1B Jules Medici, ranked #3 by MLB. Eureka (A) .195/5/33 in 54 GP. He's struggled a bit in his first real pro level, but my scouts still love him. Once his eye starts developing, his stats should shoot up. Definitely a DH/1B type, and not the other way around.

#2: 1B Tim Chapman, ranked #33. Eureka (A) .283/6/28 in 53 GP. Has been kind of a dark horse behind Medici, but is a solid hitter in his own right. Not a true power hitter, but more of a contact/gap guy who could still rap 20 HR a year. Fast on the bases, and has potential as a pitcher too. He may get some double-duty down the stretch for Eureka, as his pitching is undeveloped right now.

#3: 2B Julian Cardenas, ranked #67. Eureka (A) .274/9/38 in 53 GP. At 24, is a bit of a long shot to become more than a backup in MLB. Probably deserves a promotion to AA by now. Excellent fielder, but arm limits him to the right side. My best non-1B infield prospect by far.

#4: P Josh Egan, ranked #72. Poughkeepsie (Short A) no stats yet. Groundballer, five potential pitches (only two MLB-level tho). A wild card, as his stuff and movement look to be solid, but control is a crapshoot right now. Not a sure thing, but works hard so could get better than advertised.

#5: P Braden Mathiesen, ranked #80. Lewiston (AA) 0-5, 5.47 ERA, 46 K, 51 IP. Disappointing so far after a good year in A ball. Ceilings have dipped a bit, to where he's almost at his scouted potential already. Which is...not great, because he looks like just a AAA guy now. Walking 6.4 per 9 as of this writing, so when/if that gets better, his numbers will improve. Only 20, so I'm not souring on him yet.

#6: P Shane Walker. Hawaii (MLB) 2-1, 4.32 ERA, 31 K in 33.1 IP, 3 starts, 11 GP. Useful swingman who's been mostly good for us, filling in for injuries. Elite curveball. Scouts say he's not done developing (he's 23), especially his stuff and command. At worst looks like a quality MR; at best he's a back-end starter.

Others of note:
...Olimpio Le Coq 23, P: control and stuff finally coming around. Struggling in AAA, but may get a look later this year, or maybe in the fall.
...Joe Lynn, 20, OF: has come out of nowhere and could be the CF of the future. Killing it in AAA (.348, 18 doubles) so far.
...Julius Burrows, 23, OF: another quality OF, playing in AA but close to being MLB-ready. Doesn't stand out anywhere, but no weaknesses either.
...Jaden Daniels, 25, OF: former pitcher, just called up to AAA. Great arm, super quick, and enough of a bat to figure for next year's MLB bench.
...Dante Garrica, 18, OF: will probably get a shot in R ball soon. He's a long way off, but looks like a future star. Intl. FA signing in '47.

......

So despite a couple of recent drafts that don't look too promising, overall I like our prospects. There's some high-end talent, although it is unbalanced positionally. We really need some infield help, especially with Groff and Stoneback aging. Assuming everyone hits their scouted potentials, I see regulars (maybe even stars), at the following positions:

C -- no
1B -- Medici/Chapman
2B -- Cardenas (maaybe)
3B -- no
SS -- no
OF -- Lynn
OF -- Burrows
OF -- Garrica
DH -- Chapman/Medici
SP -- Le Coq, Egan, Mathiesen, S. Walker, Tim Mitchell
RP -- Yue-Jiu Yi, Jeremy Kolek, Shaun Gates, Kevin Walker
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Old 01-07-2020, 08:41 PM   #304
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June, the first "serious" month of the season. April and May feel like the setup months, and things get real in June. We'll play 28 games in this busy month, 17 on the road and 11 at home. We'll also see every divisional opponent except Oakland.

June 2-3 @ BOSTON
Last two games of the series. Important series coming up after this...

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (5-5, 4.15) / LH Eric Jones (5-1, 2.90)
BOS pitchers: LH Jonathan Esquivel (4-2, 2.07) / LH Brett McGee (2-4, 6.97)

#53: WIN 5-3 ... Padilla's two-run bases loaded single in the 10th wins this one...Jackson goes 7 IP fanning 9...we take 6 walks, get 11 hits
#54: WIN 11-10 ... we nearly blow an 8-4 lead late, giving up 5 in the 9th...Cecil drives in 5, on a pair bases loaded doubles

Back in first place after that series. Good show. Going to be a long fight with the Mariners, it seems.... RP Bruce Parton blows up again, putting his ERA above 15. You don't have to be Kreskin to believe his time here is probably growing short.... Most runs in the AL: Seattle (288), Hawaii (284), New York (283).... Both have too few at bats to qualify, but Padilla (.374) and Stoneback (.350) are killing it right now.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy's Armando Guzman has reached 10 wins. Seattle's Edgar Tinajero has 9.... Houston's gone from 4-19 to 19-35. Still not great, but a near .500 stretch that has them nearly equal to the 5th place Rangers.... The Yankees have the biggest divisional lead right now, 8 games over Miami.


June 3-6 @ SEATTLE
Big series! Battle for the division! The Mariners are tops in AL offense, 4th in pitching, for a +80 run differential. They also have the most stolen bases. No one player is having a big season: in fact, no one in the lineup is batting over .295. But no one is slumping either. Aaron Harrison has popped 13 HR, and 3B Kevin Venable is batting .278--thirty points over his career average--and is nearing a career high in HR (not many tho, at 9). 2B Jose Rodriguez is still on the DL, and won't be back until the beginning of August. He'll be a big add. Despite their current record, owner Adam Yamauchi is "Unhappy," probably because he expected them to play .500 ball...

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (6-2, 2.76) / RH Dennis Perry (6-3, 2.56) / LH Mike Garfield (6-2, 2.74) / RH Shamar Jackson (5-5, 4.01)
SEA pitchers: RH Erik Ramsey (4-3, 4.24) / LH Ryan Galletto (6-3, 4.32) / LH Miguel Moreno (6-2, 3.45) / LH Carlos Zenon (6-3, 2.49)

#55: WIN 6-3 ... 3 hits (2 doubles) for Groff, and 2 H with 3 RBI for Simmons...Matson gets a start at second, gets hurt...Ratliff tosses 7 IP, gets the win
#56: WIN 5-4 ... stars getting hot: 2 HR for Stoneback, 5-for-5 for Groff and 3 RBI...Simmons stays warm with 2 more hits...10 K for Perry
#57: LOSS 2-7 ... 2-run HR for Daley, but little else...both Garfield and Walker get pushed around on the mound
#58: LOSS 3-10 ... no offense tonight, and Jackson undoes all his good pitching from the last month...ah well

Well, we didn't gain or lose any ground here, so there's that. Pitching got seriously roughed up those last two games, and we didn't hit for sh*t.... Groff's hot spell has him over .300, while Stoneback and Padilla have cooled off a bit.... Josh Matson hurt his arm and will be out for about two weeks. He goes on the DL and Joe Sayers comes back up. Sayers went 3-for-7 in a brief callup last month.... We made a trade, sending the horrendously struggling Bruce Parton to Cleveland for RP Luis Diaz. Diaz is a decent groundballer, a righty, and will move into middle relief. He's been inconsistent too this year: a 6.25 ERA, which is still less than half of Parton's. I don't expect him to be great, just...better than Parton.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn started the season at 2-11, including a 7-game losing streak. Since then they've gone 29-18, and are now 2.5 games out of first place, behind Atlanta.... 16 teams are at or over .500, 20 are below. Haves and have nots.... LA's Eddy Llamas gave up two runs in his last start, destroying his ERA--now up to 1.31.... You remember Daizo Yonamine, yes? Solid hitter, good fielder, some speed. Also: made of glass. Since being signed as a pricey (7 yrs, $82M) international free agent by the Yankees in 2042, he's had just one season with over 100 games (108 in '44), and has suffered the following number of injuries each year: 8 injuries in '43; 16 in '44; 4 in '45 (but two were long-term); 7 in '46; 5 in '47; 9 in '48; 2 this year. He's currently on the DL for another week. And has made $82M for 8.0 career WAR.


June 8-9 @ CALIFORNIA
Currently 24-33 and now battling with Texas and Houston for sixth-place ignominy. Disastrous offense: ranking 18/14/16/17 in runs/avg/obp/ops, and last in home runs. Leadoff man Luis Rivera (.300, 15 steals) has been an army of one, and the four regulars they signed as free agents have batted a combined .225 with 14 HR. Pitching has been better, at 6th in runs, but has been hurt by having three SP on the DL. Any positives? Fewest errors in the AL! And a happy clubhouse, which may say more about the role of "diminished expectations" than anything else.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (6-1, 3.10) / RH Ryan Ratliff (7-2, 2.86)
CAL pitchers: RH Arturo Sosa (5-4, 4.73) / LH Noah Sims (4-6, 4.11)

#59: WIN 9-7 ... snatching a late victory with 6 runs in the last two frames...HR for Daley, Stoneback, and Capp...six of Jones' eight baserunners allowed score
#60: WIN 9-0 ... 3 H, 11 K shutout for Ratliff...6 H, 7 R, 5 RBI for the bottom three batters in the lineup tonight: Rangel, Simmons, Rich

Nice. Gotta beat the bottom feeders all the time now.... No injuries, but I had a scare when checking the box score for that second game and saw Groff and Stoneback pulled early on. No one hurt: just weird managing.... Did some culling of the low minors, and for the first time in over a decade, probably, rookie ball Boone Mountain doesn't have 45 to 50 players on the roster.... ELSEWHERE: Those Yanks are still raging, now 7.5 games ahead of Miami. Rookie LF Sieb Moleman (.353) is back on top of the AL batting race, battling it out with Marlins SS Mario Rivera (.351).... Mets 1B Erik Reed has blasted 346 HR over his 12ish seasons in NY, but finds himself on the trade block despite batting .328 for the struggling (27-32) team.... Two-way player update: Sean Kropp (MTL 1B/P) .325/12/40 160 AB, 12 GP 7-4 3.38 ERA 82.1 IP; Phil Lasky (NYM OF/P) .238/1/6 122 AB, 11 GP 2-6 5.35 ERA 65.2 IP; Mike Snare (SFG OF/3B/P) .211/2/10 71 AB, 11 GP 0-6 5.86 ERA 66 IP; Tomas Zuniga (POR 3B/P) .209/1/6 43 AB, 6 GP 0-0 1.86 ERA 9.2 IP. Chad Akers (NOZ) has made 12 starts on the mound, and several apps at DH for the Zephs. And Tampa RF Vance Wise is also listed as a setup man, but hasn't pitched this year (has 13 HR, 43 RBI tho).


June 10-13 vs TEXAS
Suddenly winners of 8 of their last 10, bringing them to 28-33 and third place in the West. The batters have caught fire, producing the 5th-most runs in the AL, and 3rd in HR. Much of that is due to William Swanson (.338/23/57), but cleanup hitter DJ Flores (.346/11/40) and #5 guy Luis Venegas (15 HR) are also contributing. Pitching is still poor, next-to-last in runs, and is now dealing with the loss of three opening day SP. The bullpen has been better than the rotation, with closer Paul Labbe (2.91 ERA, 21 IP, 23 K but also 16 BB) having a solid year. Hopefully we can put a stop to all this new-found optimism.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (6-3, 2.44) / LH Mike Garfield (6-3, 3.13) / RH Shamar Jackson (5-6, 4.61) / LH Eric Jones (6-1, 3.49)
TEX pitchers: LH Jose Palomino (0-0, 9.00) / RH Guillermo Diaz (3-5, 5.83) / RH Jamie Arrigo (1-4, 7.16) / LH Bill Butts (7-5, 4.25)

#61: WIN 10-3 ... tight game broken open by a 7-run 7th...3 H and a HR for Stoneback, and 3 hits each for Groff and Rangel...Walker gets the win with 3 IP in relief
#62: WIN 20-5 ... wow...multiple runs in each of the first six innings...5 hits for Klein, 4 each for Frederick and Padilla...6 RBI for Stoneback and Groff
#63: WIN 3-2 ... much quieter, although we do pile up 12 hits...8 solid IP for Jackson, fanning 8 while giving up 7 hits
#64: LOSS 2-4 ... shut down by Butts, and Jones has his second straight poor start...2 hits each for Klein and Frederick

So the kinds of things that get you hated around the league are thus: two outs, top of the ninth, two men on, and you pull your reliever to bring in your closer. Oh, did I forget to mention you're up 20-5? Nice.... Seattle is still keeping pace, at 1.5 games behind us. We have the top two (44 and 43 wins) records in MLB, with the Yankees just behind (42 wins).... Garfield had his second "dead arm" issue of the season, but won't miss a start. Hmmm.... Those first two games put us back on top of the AL offensive stats, and we now sport a +130 run differential.... HC Kym is off the DL, and is in AAA on a rehab stint.... ELSEWHERE: Topping the charts are Hawaii (44 wins), Seattle (43), and NY Yankees (42). Milwaukee and Atlanta (37 wins each) are the "worst" division leaders.... Houston (23 wins) is still at the bottom, but they're catching up to Austin, Richmond, and the White Sox (25 wins each).... Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado is on track for 20 losses. And 362 K and 11.4 WAR.


June 14-16 @ MONTREAL
Still looking for their first playoff spot of the decade. Probably won't happen this year: 31-34, 5th place in the Central. Sixth in runs scored, with a pretty balanced offense (except slow and not powerful). Pitching has underwhelmed, at 13th in runs against. As noted above, Sean Kropp has been a solid two-way player so far: .318/13/43, and 7-4 3.83 ERA on the mound. I love that their leadoff batter is named John Monreal. Just perfect. Manager Andres Reyna is in his sixth season, and 78 wins last year has been his best result. Top Prospect: Tim Bell (21, 3B, #48), who should be a solid-not-spectacular starter in a couple of years.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (8-2, 2.55) / RH Dennis Perry (6-3, 2.59) / LH Mike Garfield (6-3, 3.19)
MTL pitchers: RH Sean Kropp (7-4, 3.83) / LH Elijah Bragg (3-7, 5.46) / RH Chris Milano (5-4, 4.18)

#65: LOSS 4-5 ... 2 HR each for Frederick and Padilla...3 errors result in 2 unearned runs...Kramer gives up the GW in the 13th...dang
#66: WIN 2-1 ... Groff's single in the 8th brings home 2 runs and powers the win...2 hits for Justin Cecil...8 K in 7 IP for Perry
#67: LOSS 0-5 ... sleepy bats...just 3 hits...Garfield pitches well, but we can't muster any effort tonight

Yuck. Bats tooks the series off, even in the one we won. Solid starting pitching tho, but the pen struggled too.... Nice that Seattle lost a few games as well, so we maintain a two game lead for the division.... After a so-so April, AAA Santa Barbara has gone 28-14 since.... ELSEWHERE: Dodgers SP Eddy Llamas is maintaining a 1.37 ERA through 13 starts. Former Yankees closer Adrian Hammerbeck has a 1.67 ERA for a struggling Richmond club.... Oh boy, we have new president of the Jordan ("Broken Shutter") Cruz Fan Club: Rays SS Jonathan Salas, batting .114 in 176 AB with 104 strikeouts. Like Cruz, he's a speedy SS with a great glove. But he's Stephen Hawking's singularity at the plate: a career .182 AVG over ten years, while never not being the starting SS for any of his seven teams.

......

TL;DR Version: 10-5 here, and 45-22 overall. Tops in MLB by a game, not that that really matters. (Ego, pure ego.) First in offense, first in pitching. KEEP IT UP. That four-HR game against Montreal put us back to 8th in the AL, pretty nice; however there is only a separation of eight HR from 7th to 14th place, so that's maybe not such a meaningful stat after all. JJ Simmons and Jim Klein are the only starters that haven't yet homered. My money is on Klein to hit one first, as he averages more than 1 HR every three seasons (like Simmons). Speaking of Simmons, his average is up to .262, and he's hit .318 so far this month. Injuries: only reliever Jaheim Mwaura, who comes off the DL in six days. He'll go to AAA for rehab.
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Old 01-12-2020, 01:15 PM   #305
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June 18-20 @ NEW ORLEANS
Having a pretty standout season, 2nd in their division with a 37-28 record. And that despite having nine players on the DL, all of whom would be on the roster otherwise. Not doing much at the plate: 13th in runs, 15th in AVG. Pitching has been much better, at 3rd in runs, with the rotation having the 2nd best NL ERA. (And therefore the 2nd best in MLB.) The lineup is a balanced one, although 2B Rodolfo Cerda has been a drag in the #2 spot, at just .196. But he's miles better than #9 hitter Weitze Ottens, batting just .139 with 75 K in 166 AB. Fun fact: Otten's fielding is so good that he still has a positive WAR. Manager Clarence Whitney (once one of ours!) is in his fourth year at the helm; his pitchers love him, his batters not so much. Top prospect: 2B Chris Gutierrez (19, #63 overall) doesn't look like much, tbh. Average hitter, some gap power, good range in the field, but no arm and no plate discipline. Team ranks #26.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (6-6, 4.40) / LH Eric Jones (6-2, 3.66) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-2, 2.55)
NOZ pitchers: RH Roberto Alvarado (2-0, 5.23) / RH Chad Akers (8-5, 3.15) / RH Gary Buttacavoli (3-4, 4.77)

#68: LOSS 0-1 ... we get one-hit by Alvarado, and lose on an RBI single in the 9th...Groff gets our only hit, and we don't take any walks either
#69: LOSS 0-7 ... wow, just two hits for us tonight...both by Groff again...Jones gets run in the 5th, and Germann and Walker also give up runs...oy
#70: LOSS 1-9 ... four hits tonight! And a run!

Oof, just an ugly, forgettable series. And poor Mark Money: comes into the 8th in that last game, puts six runners on and they all score. What a way to double your season ERA.... Somehow we're still two games up on Seattle.... Not surprising that we're no longer the top AL offense after that hellscape of a series.... ELSEWHERE: Ten straight wins now for those jerks in New Orleans. And seven consecutive losses for Seattle (thank you!).... Miami's Mario Rivera continues to pace the AL with a .359 AVG, and is the first player in MLB to reach 5 WAR.


June 21-23 vs CHICAGO CUBS
Last in the Central (30-39), but on a five-game win streak, so just what we need right now. Only 13th in runs, but 7th in runs against. Sound familiar? RF Justin Doss leads the team with a .305 average, the 6th consecutive season he's hit over .300. And ace Rafael Maldonado may only have a 4-8 record, but he's tops in the NL with 157 K and 4.9 WAR. Manager Tony Thompson is in his third year, and going through his first losing season. Top prospect: Seth Broom (22, #17 overall) is only missing a useful third pitch to becoming more than an effective MR one day. System ranks 15th.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (7-3, 2.49) / LH Mike Garfield (6-4, 3.24) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-7, 4.10)
CHC pitchers: LH Alex Montoya (7-1, 3.93) / LH Corey Downes (3-7, 3.63) / RH Lee Robinson (5-5, 3.01)

#71: WIN 7-5 ... ahhhh...three HR tonight, and two hits each for Stoneback and Rich...all our runs come early, as it's 7-0 after three innings
#72: WIN 3-1 ... Garfield returns to his early-season form, allowing just 5 H over 8 IP...two hits for Klein, and we ride two SF and two Cub errors into a smallball triumph
#73: WIN 11-7 ... Padilla's GRAND SLAM is our key hit, giving us a 6-0 lead and we hold on after that...three hits for Groff

Not a pretty series but a sweep is always welcome, especially after getting lulled to sleep in our last series.... Seattle continues to struggle, and we're now 5.5 games ahead.... Jaheim Mwaura comes off the DL and begins a rehab stint in AAA. Luis Diaz and his 9.00 ERA (just 4 IP) also went to Santa Barbara, and HC Kym comes back up after a shortened rehab tour of his own.... Our bullpen is struggling a bit right now, with a 4.22 ERA (11th in the AL). Mark Money is our only listed setup man, as Kym needs to prove himself healthy first, Nick Kramer and Shane Walker don't have big-enough stuff to do the job, and I still don't quite trust Ben Germann (despite his 3.76 ERA and 14.3 K/9) with higher-leverage innings. Still, I might give ol' Ben a shot there, before looking around at any of the 40 or so RP currently on the trade market.... ELSEWHERE: Eleven losses in a row for the Mariners. New Orleans reached 12 straight wins before dropping their last one.... Austin's Phil Imel and Cincy's Jose Tavares are the first in the NL to reach 20 HR. Texas slugger William Swanson just bashed his 30th, to go along with 70 RBI.


June 24-27 vs CALIFORNIA
Only Houston's dreadful start and Oakland's creeping decrepitude have kept the woeful-hitting Angels out of the basement. Saddled with the AL's worst offense, which is paired with the league's #2 pitching at the moment. Only leadoff batter Luis Rivera (.286) is hitting over .250. No batters are on the DL, so this is the offense they're going to war with. Pitching has been nice, with only Ryan Kuehner not having a stellar season. We've taken four out of five in the season series. Only 2B Kevin Lutz ranks higher than 20th in the positional rankings. Despite a career .245 average, he still rakes in 5-6 WAR per season, thanks to some truly outstanding defense. And yet: only one Gold Glove. Tsk.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (6-3, 3.95) / RH Ryan Ratliff (8-3, 2.64) / RH Dennis Perry (8-3, 2.62) / LH Mike Garfield (7-4, 3.06)
CAL pitchers: RH Ryan Kuehner (0-2, 7.85) / LH Noah Sims (4-8, 3.98) / RH Ken Demers (3-2, 3.11) / RH Jon Carlsen (6-5, 2.99)

#74: WIN 8-4 ... HR for Frederick and Daley in a 6-run 5th...13 hits tonight, zero walks tho...Jones throws well, going 7 IP 6 H 4 R 3 ER 7 K
#75: WIN 5-2 ... Daley homers again, and Ratliff fans 12 over 8 IP, yielding just 3 hits...Daley three hits, Stoneback two
#76: LOSS 2-4 ... we can only muster three hits (but six walks) tonight, and none for extras
#77: WIN 3-1 ... Garfield outduels Carlsen, and Daley's RBI single in the 8th wins it...HR for Frederick and two hits for Klein

We're still cranking along, although the offense has been more punchless than not of late. At least, relatively speaking: we're still #2 in runs, #1 in AVG and OBP.... I can't remember the last time we had three SP with ERA under 3.00 this far into the season.... [Quick check: only twice have we finished a season with two pitchers with ERA under 3. In 2036--our third season as a franchise--it was Ken Clark at 2.98 and Bobby Anderson at 2.63. And in '38 the great Leon Casillas finished at 2.49 and the ageless Eric Jones' rookie season brought a career-best 2.80 effort.].... ELSEWHERE: Kansas City currently sailing in the doldrums, with a 7-game losing streak dropping them out of a virtual tie for first in the AL Central.... Texas slugger William Swanson REALLY wants a Triple Crown. Currently he's first in HR and RBI, and now 2nd in AVG at .343.... Zephs pitcher Chad Akers tossed his second consecutive shutout, and his third in his last five starts.


June 28-30 @ HOUSTON
How quickly it all goes pear-shaped. Two winning seasons have not borne fruit, and the 'stros currently have the league's worst record, at 26-50. Next-to-last in batting, and just 14th in pitching: not a great combo. Leadoff batter Dan Phoenix is game, batting .282, and the middle three in the lineup have combined for 38 HR. But the rest of the team has just 39. Two pitchers already have ten losses each, although #1 Dustin Springer has pitched better than his record shows (although #5 John Odom, at 1-10, has not). At least the bullpen is 2nd in the AL, with one-time ace-to-be Alejandro Gonzales sporting a fine 1.95 ERA and 42 K in 29.2 IP. We swept these guys at home back in May. This series will conclude with a fourth game on 7/1.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (7-7, 4.36) / LH Eric Jones (7-3, 3.94) / RH Ryan Ratliff (9-3, 2.44)
HOU pitchers: RH Dustin Springer (4-10, 3.71) / RH Chris Avalos (5-7, 4.55) / RH Alex Trujillo (4-9, 5.56)

#78: WIN 8-4 ... Padilla cranks his 15th HR (another GRANDE SALAMI), and Simmons shows some life with 3 hits...Jackson isn't good, but gets the win anyway
#79: LOSS 5-10 ... nothing good in this one...maybe two HR? Daley and Rangel go deep, but Jones and Germann get taken to the woodshed
#80: LOSS 6-7 ... pin this one on the pen, blowing a 6-1 lead late...three hits each for Frederick and Simmons

Frustrating way to end the month, dropping two to these scrubs. Ah well.... Frederick's hot play of late gives us four regulars batting .300 or better.... Klein has pushed his average up to .288, but his OBP is low and his defensive numbers continue to sit south of the equator.... Shane Walker has gotten knocked around in his last two relief appearances, so he goes back to the farm and Steve Agajanian gets his first big league call-up. We signed him as a minor league FA (DET draftee originally) in '45. He's a lefty, solid fastball, so-so slider, and middling movement. I'm not expecting much, just trying to see who's got what before considering any pre-deadline trades.... ELSEWHERE: A hot Yankees club (six straight) has opened up a 10.5 game lead over Miami in the AL East.... Dodgers ace Eddy Llamas continues to marvel with a 1.51 ERA and a 10-0 record through 15 starts. LA sits 6.5 games behind the Padres.... Houston and Chicago (AL) are the only teams not above 30 wins on the season.

......

TL;DR Version: We're either all in or all out in this stretch: a 7-1 period bracketed by five losses. We finish the month at 17-11, and 52-28 overall. Seattle has arrested their recent slide, and they now sit 5 games in arrears. We continue to lead the AL in AVG, with Stoneback sitting at a cool .329, and Groff at .306. Groff leads the team with 56 RBI, but his power numbers are way down: a .455 SLG and .813 OPS, both his worst since his rookie season in '36. He's also on pace for just 16 HR, by far his lowest healthy-season total. And Cam Daley may have some nice power totals (13 HR, 45 RBI), but his .252 average is 60 points off his career average, and his OBP is below .300. It might be time to jigger the lineup a bit, as #1 Klein and #2 Daley aren't getting on base quite as well as I need them to. Maybe Frederick should get a shot at the 2 slot, and the surprising Manny Rangel (.354 OBP) a crack at leadoff. I'd like Simmons to hit there, but he's back to hating leadoff (just .244 there, as opposed to .320 batting 7th or 8th). And I still think I'll be adding an RP in July, although with Mwaura hopefully tossing well in rehab, I'm holding off on that just now.
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Old 01-14-2020, 08:08 PM   #306
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Twenty-four games in July, only nine at home: twelve-game road trip in the middle of things. And only six games in the division, five at the end of the month. And the All-Star game!

July 1 @ HOUSTON
Finishing up what could amount to an entirely forgettable visit to the Lone Star State.

HAW pitcher: RH Dennis Perry (8-4, 2.81)
HOU pitcher: LH John Odom (1-10, 5.80)

#81: WIN 15-0 ... well that's different

Sixteen hits including three home runs and six walks.... Agajanian makes his debut in the 9th, gives up a walk and a hit, but fans the side.... Halfway through the season and we're on a 106-win pace. I would just take four wins to close out the playoffs.... ELSEWHERE: Cris Frias, last year's NL Cy Young winner, has been good but not great this season, but just fanned 16 Cubs and has 30 K in his last two starts, both complete game shutouts.... Career stats update: Milwaukee's Matt Anderson is barely playing these days, with just 21 hits this season, giving him 2902 in his career. At 39, he'll probably retire this fall and just miss out on 3000 hits. He also leads active players with 547 HR; Cleveland's Paul Foster passed 500 last month, and LA's Vinny Vargas is closing in, with 479. Vargas also now has 100 WAR. On the mound, LA's Eddy Llamas has 219 wins, with Rafael Maldonado (197) and Levi Brady (193) next in line. Maldonado also leads with 97 WAR. Llamas is also 8th in career K (3661), Maldonado 11th (3569). They should end the season at #7 and #8.


July 2-4 vs BALTIMORE
A rare home series for us this month, and our first look at the Birds this year. At 15th in batting and 10th in pitching, it's no surprise that they're in last in the East, 34-44. Star Cesar Alvarenga is a pending UFA, has been on the trade block all season, but is still getting it done: .306/16/51, all team highs so far. The rotation has been a mess (15th in ERA), but the bullpen is the best thing going in the AL, paced by closer Ken Zeolla (16 SV, 0.72 ERA). The manager? Pat Wilson, MLB HoFer and our former manager, now in his second season with the O's. It's not going well for him. Top prospect: SP Pat Karahalios, who is 25 and ranked #125. He's with the big club and is struggling with the rest of the rotation. The prospect pool ranks dead last, 36th. Not a great sign for an already bad club.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (8-4, 2.91) / RH Shamar Jackson (8-7, 4.41) / LH Eric Jones (7-4, 4.30)
BAL pitchers: LH Rich Davis (5-6, 4.13) / RH Pat Karahalios (6-4, 5.59) / RH Danny McCanless (6-7, 3.58)

#82: LOSS 1-2 ... we waste a strong outing by Garfield, with Money giving up a solo HR in the 10th...just four hits for us, three in the last two innings
#83: WIN 13-7 ... Goodloe's first career HR is a GRAND SLAM, and Daley and Rangel add 2-run HRs...pitching struggles, as Jackson is wild
#84: LOSS 5-6 ... Jones struggles, and Money loses it in extras...also, something new: two injuries

Not good. Still, we're five up on Seattle, so no ground lost. Yet.... And the injuries: Groff has back spasms, but won't miss any games (day off coming up helps); but Padilla has a pending diagnosis, so stay tuned.... With our bullpen leaking oil, I scout around and find a guy I can get pretty cheap: Richmond's Joe Broussard, who's 35 and making $1.7M in the last year of his contract. He's got great stuff, and solid movement and control. Fastball/splitter combo, and a groundballer. Right-handed. Richmond gets 24-year-old prospect OF Ben Swanner, who's far down on our deep OF list; plus they'll pick up $1M of his remaining contract.... ELSEWHERE: Just past the halfway mark for everyone, and only the Yankees (!) are threatening to run away with their division, at 9 games ahead of Miami. Milwaukee (one game over Detroit) has the smallest divisional lead.... Two more HR for William Swanson, making 32 on the year, and giving him a strong chance at his second straight AL MVP.


July 6-8 vs MIAMI
At 44-37, and would look much better if NY wasn't on top of the world right now. Sixth in runs, 5th in runs against, with a +54 differential. Eight players are on the DL, and only three are likely to come back this season. SS Mario Rivera (.346/16/60) is having an MVP-type season, and is keeping hte offense afloat along with 1B Scott Robertshaw (.270/19/63). The manager is another former Islander, former hitting coach Paul Trashini, now in his second year leading the Marlins. Top prospect: SP Victor Nunez, 23 and ranked #23. Just called up to the big club and made his first career start last week. Solid stuff and control, but lacking in movement and will give up the long ball. System ranks 20th.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (9-3, 2.55) / RH Dennis Perry (9-4, 2.61) / LH Mike Garfield (8-4, 2.78)
MIA pitchers: RH Francisco Pantaleon (7-6, 3.77) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (4-5, 4.33) / RH Joe Britton (8-0, 2.51)

#85: WIN 5-4 ... strong 11-K effort for Ratliff, although we give up a run in the 9th but hold on...3 hits for Stoneback, including a 1st-inning HR
#86: WIN 8-5 ... another HR for Stoneback, and a GRAND SLAM for Rob Rich...Perry is pulled after 6 IP, and the pen gives up all five runs late
#87: WIN 8-2 ... JJ Simmons HR alert! First of the year...also committed two errors...13 hits for us, plus 4 walks...7 IP, 4 H for Garfield

Surprising sweep, and we gain a touch of ground on the Mariners, now up six games.... Padilla's diagnosis is a torn quad, and he's out for five weeks. We call up OF Scott Barnes, for his first taste of MLB. He's a LHB and will likely see most of his action as a PH. The DH role will be split between Kaz Ueda (RH) and Jerry Cappuccilli (LH). Neither has hit much this season, so time to get it together guys.... Perry strains a calf in his last start, but is only out for a few days.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy's the hot team now, with 7 wins in a row. NYY has extended its lead over Miami (thanks to us) to 12 games.... We took a run at the highest-ranked international FA, Argentine OF Roberto Gomez, starting him with a $5.5M bonus offer. We pulled out after it hit $8M. Detroit took him home in the end, with a $14.1M deal. Crazy. Although he does look really, really good right now.... Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado leads all MLB with 6.2 WAR.


July 9-11 @ TAMPA BAY
Final series before the All-Star break. Tampa is only 13th in runs, and 9th in runs against, with a -14 differential and a 41-44 record. There's power in the middle of the lineup, with 69 HR among four batters. Not much power elsewhere, tho. Five pitchers are on the DL right now, and the bullpen is really struggling. Stud hitter Vance Wise is still listed as the closer, even though he's only pitched two innings this year. Tony Bajoczky is the manager, in his 7th season. Top prospect: Jorge Arriola (19, 2B, ranked #6). If he fully develops, he'll be a stud batter with contact, power, and OBP. System ranks #10.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (9-7, 4.49) / LH Eric Jones (7-4, 4.45) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-3, 2.61)
TBR pitchers: RH Travis Calhoun (7-4, 2.54) / RH Tony Zuniga (4-8, 5.34) / RH Freddy Trujillo (7-7, 3.19)

#88: WIN 7-3 ... 3-run HR for Frederick, and 3 hits for Daley...complete game for Jackson, giving up 4 hits and just 3 BB
#89: WIN 4-2 ... Groff bangs a pair of doubles and Stoneback adds 3 hits...Jones looks good through 7.1 IP, taking the win
#90: LOSS 2-5 ... we can't come back after a 3-run TBR 1st...Rich homers and drives in our only runs

We reach the break with a 59-31 record, second best in the bigs (half game behind NYY).... And with a seven game lead over Seattle.... Six players have reaced double figures in HR, and although we're only 10th in the AL, our owner is still happy that his Goal to improve our HR total is being met.... ELSEWHERE: Brooklyn has won 7 of 10 and has taken the lead in the NL East from Atlanta. I like that their top three batters are named Moreno-Morano-Moreno.... Ten straight wins for Cincinnati now, and an 8.5 game lead over New Orleans.... Seattle's hopes of gaining ground on Hawaii took a blow with the loss of CF Aaron Harrison (rest of season) and CL Daryl Kennedy (three weeks), added to prior injuries to 2B Jose Rodriguez (two more weeks) and OF Mike Wapner (unknown).


The 2049 All-Star Game was played on the 13th at Fenway Park in Boston. While a number of our players received a ton of votes, only three actually made the team: SP Ryan Ratliff, CL Justin Crowley, and SS Rich Stoneback. This is Stoneback's fifth appearance, Crowley's third, and Ratliff's first. And the result is in: the AL wins 5-1 behind a pair of home runs and some five-hit pitching. Stoneback started and went 3-for-3, scoring a run. Crowley fanned two in his one inning, while Ratliff did not play.

......

TL;DR Version: A back-and-forth spurt, but we still went 7-3 in this stint, and have opened up a seven game lead over Seattle. Stoneback also earned Player of the Week nod, going 10-for-21 with 10 runs. We now head out on a nine-game road trip, come home for one series, then head out on the road again to end the month.
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Old 01-18-2020, 02:33 PM   #307
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July 16-18 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
The Sox are 34-52, last in the Central. (But 5-4 so far in July.) At 16th in runs and 17th in runs against, not much is working well this season. So what is going well? Um... RF Andy Barenburg (.289/11/42) and CF Jake Horvat (.271/9/40) are hitting. Leadoff man Chris Rock has hit .346 and .337 the last two seasons; he's at .279 this year. (Ok so that's not "going well.") Closer Mike Head wants to start, but with a 2.01 ERA and 19 saves, he's by far the best thing going on the mound. Also bad: the rotation has an MLB-worst 6.20 ERA; nine players are on the DL; etc etc. What then is actually good? Their top prospects are having good seasons on the farm, although they've probably rushed SP Justin Hickman and 2B Mike Rodgers. There's just no good reason to expose some still-cooking prospects to the tire fire right now.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (10-4, 2.47) / LH Mike Garfield (9-4, 2.69) / RH Shamar Jackson (10-7, 4.38)
CHW pitchers: RH Jake Davidson (5-9, 6.32) / RH Cory Graulich (7-7, 4.84) / RH Justin Hickman (1-5, 7.26)

#91: LOSS 5-6 ... Perry gets hurt, and the pen blows up with 3 runs in the 9th...great...HR and 2 RBI for Daley...we outhit them 11-8
#92: LOSS 6-8 ... Garfield just explodes and is pulled in the 3rd after giving up all 8 runs...one game away from an awful sweep...4 hits and a HR for Groff
#93: LOSS 2-4 ... 12 to 6 in hits tonight, but only one XBH...sigh

Of course, of course we get swept by this awful club. Jfc wtf.... Perry has a dead arm, and will miss two weeks. Shane Walker comes back up and will take the #5 slot in the rotation.... Seattle gains two games on us as well.... At least Groff got hot: 7-for-13, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R.... ELSEWHERE: Hot and not: Well, we've lost four straight, but that's not even close to rock bottom, as Richmond and Arizona are working on 9-game skids. Cincy's won 9 out of 10, opening up a 7.5 game lead on New Orleans.... And the Yankees are the first team to reach 60 wins (61-30, 13 games ahead of Miami).... Cat Scratch Feverrrrr: Detroit's Alex Longoria will miss 11-12 MONTHS after getting attacked by a cat, suffering an "undisclosed injury" lol.


July 20-22 @ CLEVELAND
They've yo-yoed this season to a 44-48 record, fourth in the Central, but just 7 games out of first. Offense is not the problem: 3rd in runs, 4th in AVG and HR, 2nd in OBP. Pitching, however, is a mess, at 15th in runs against and with the second-worst rotation ERA (just ahead of the White Sox, who luckily we played verrrrry well against just now). D.J. Grace batted .327 with 61 doubles last year; he doesn't yet have enough PA to qualify for the batting race this year, but at .379 currently he'll rocket to the top when he does. Add in 10 HR and 42 RBI and he's clearly the team MVP. Mike Blough may be 38, but the cleanup batter has 18 HR and a respectable .276 average. And fellow 38-year-old Paul Foster is batting .329 and has 10 HR. Our pitching better get into f***ing gear right f***ing now.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (8-4, 4.33) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-4, 2.75) / LH Shane Walker (3-1, 4.35)
CLE pitchers: RH Bob Garner (5-9, 5.23) / RH Luis de Lara (3-2, 9.19) / LH Chad Rivers (5-12, 5.60)

#94: WIN 7-5 ... Jones is damn rough, but six early runs gives us enough cushion...HR for Daley and Stoneback, and 4 RBI as well for the former
#95: LOSS 2-16 ... guess which team hit EIGHT home runs tonight...Ratliff lost nearly an entire ERA point here, ditto Nick Kramer...HR for Groff tho, woo hoo
#96: WIN 5-4 ... only 2 HR for the exhausted Indians...two for Rangel too...still, it takes 11 innings to win this one

Wow, that second game...jeezus. That one game knocked us from 1st to 4th in runs against.... With RP Jaheim Mwaura coming off rehab, we send down the suddenly ineffective Nick Kramer. And one game later: closer Justin Crowley gets hurt. Diagnosis pending. Grumble.... Groff finally reached double figures in HR: meaning he's either heating up for the stretch, or fatally losing his power stroke. Why yes, I do have a hard time with optimism, why do you ask.... ELSEWHERE: Lone Star baseball: Catch the Excitement! Texas (5th place), Houston (6th place), and Austin (6th, NL West) are the baseball world's Axis of Feeble.... Wins leaders: NYY (64), CIN (62), HAW (61). Cincy's Armando Guzman leads all pitchers with 15 wins.... Texas stud William Swanson still tops the HR charts with 35, but Oakland's Ryan Walton just belted his 30th. He's on pace for 51, and has topped 40 in each of his four MLB seasons.


July 23-25 @ DETROIT
If we're concerned about giving up piles of homers lately, rolling into D-town isn't going to help things: 2nd in the league with 147 dingers, and featuring three players with 20+ already. Eights in runs scored, and 5th in runs against, meaning their pitching is finally matching their hitting. The pen ERA is only 15th, but their closer and setup men combine to give up less then 3 per 9 innings, so that's good. Still, at just 7-9 this month, they've slid back into a 1st place tie with Milwaukee, and are just 3.5 up on KC. So the division will be a dog fight. They took 2 out of 3 from us to open the season.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (9-5, 3.23) / RH Shamar Jackson (10-8, 4.39) / LH Eric Jones (8-4, 4.54)
DET pitchers: RH Mike Cote (8-8, 5.01) / RH T.J. Bohanan (1-1, 2.96) / RH Wally McDermott (5-6, 4.67)

#97: WIN 6-4 ... four HR combined, and Groff goes 3-for-3 with a HR and 3 runs...Garfield goes the distance, easing our tired bullpen a bit
#98: WIN 6-3 ... we pop four more HR, including another from Groff...only two other hits for us...Jackson tosses a CG, again very timely for the pen
#99: rained out, rescheduled for 8/23

Lots of power on display, and we use no relievers. What a world, what a world.... Perry is still out for a week, Padilla for two, and still no word on Crowley.... No one's reached 20 HR for us yet, but six starters are in double figures, seven if you add the injured Padilla.... ELSEWHERE: Miami's Jason Simon throws the third no-hitter of the season, fanning 9 in an 8-1 win. It's the first no-hitter for the Marlins since 2042.... Yankees 2B Sean West pops two 3-HR games in a week, and now has 20 HR in just 50 games.... Also, nine wins in their last ten for the Yanks, and 14-4 this month.... The Dodgers are 49-48, hanging on to 2nd, behind the Padres, but are an unhappy bunch. Just this week, 1B Steve Wallace and RP Lorenzo Quinones have demanded trades, and our scouts list nine of their players as "disruptive" or even worse. I guess money can't buy you happiness.


July 26-28 vs OAKLAND
No good team stats here, but they are treading water at 48-51. Just 13th in runs and 12th in runs against, with a -32 run differential, so maybe they're playing over their heads right now. Ryan Walton has 30 HR with 78 RBI (batting just .226 tho), and Ted Yoder is 2nd in the AL with a .335 average. There's more talent at the plate than the numbers suggest, honestly. Losing closer Jim Overcash didn't help either, as neither Tony Salgado or Chris Ronan has gotten the job done. Pitchers Jim Schwartz and Oscar Escobedo make a solid foundation in the rotation, but prize free agent Chris Larimer has struggled.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (8-4, 4.54) / RH Ryan Ratliff (10-5, 3.23) / LH Shane Walker (3-1, 4.28)
OAK pitchers: RH Mike Pearson (9-8, 4.01) / RH Jim Schwartz (8-9, 3.97) / LH Chris Larimer (8-7, 5.45)

#99: WIN 12-9 ... we blow an early 4-0 lead but score 5 in the 8th for the comeback win...2 HR for Stoneback, 3 hits for Groff, Rich, and Frederick
#100: WIN 12-2 ... Frederick goes 4-for-4 and Ratliff regains his composure with 7 strong innings...five doubles too, and a lot of pinch hitters for some reason
#101: LOSS 3-8 ... no good vibes for the bullpen tonight after a 5-run 10th...22nd HR for Stoneback

Without playing a damn game we got two doses of bad injury news. First, closer Justin Crowley is done: 10 months with a shredded elbow. Second, Dante Padilla suffered a setback and needed surgery for his torn quad. He's now out for 2-3 months. So we're in the market for a closer now.... Oh, and our bullpen ERA is last--dead last--in the AL. Yippee.... ELSEWHERE: Not to be outdone by Jason Simon, New Orleans' Gary Buttacavoli laid down a perfect game against the Expos, fanning 10 in the process. This is the 2nd no-no in Zephs history, and the 8th perfect game in this dynasty.... The NL batting race right now is pitting last year's champion (Arizona's Dan Dellinger, this year at .340) vs the 2047 champ (SD's Blake Langer, .330 currently).

TRADE INTERLUDE! We take advantage of the turmoil in LA to wheedle them out of two solid players, in two separate deals. First, we acquire CL Miguel Montes for OF Scott Barnes and prospect pitcher Juliardo Felix. Montes has big stuff, solid control, and is a groundballer. He's a free agent this fall, but we may try to sign him if he pitches well for us. LA will retain 90% of his $5.8M salary. In Barnes and Felix, LA gets a solid young OF, and a decent pitcher who's only 21 and may surpass his scouted ceilings. Second, we add to our OF/DH depth and get a solid clubhouse leader in 35-year-old Faustino Whitton. He's not much in the field anymore, but can still hit, hit for some power, and run. He's a righty with non-significant platoon splits. He's signed through '51, but LA will pick up 70% of his salary over that time. Nice. We also add "prospect" IF Zack Baldwin, who's just a roster filler given the guys we just gave up. In return we send: P Nick Volosin (24, not bad but also not much); IF Steve Adeyinka (22, and buried in our depth chart), and 1B Guomez Palmer (22, and a once-promising power hitter who's declined more than a noodge).

In total, we get our closer and some solid batting depth for the stretch, and give up only one MLB-level player (Barnes), plus a host of "who knows" prospects that we can afford to lose. And LA will pay the bulk of any remaining salaries. They can afford it. Now, back to the games...

July 30-31 @ TEXAS
Fifth place, 45-58, but still striving, having made several trades around the fringes of the roster and prospect pool. The middle of the lineup is rock solid: William Swanson (.332/37/90) is having a triple crown-type year, and cleanup batter D.J. Flores (.308/19/68) has been a fine complement. At fifth in runs scored, the offense has not been the worry this year. The pitching, however, has been: 17th in runs against. There have been recent signs of life in the rotation, with Mike Messinger, Mike Kent, and Bill Butts all pitching well of late. Losing top young SP Greg Buchanon for much of the year has really hurt. I really don't know where this team is headed, however. Keep the offense together and healthy, add a pitcher or two, and maybe they threaten Seattle for second? Dunno. I thought Houston was on that path last year, and they're nearly dead last in MLB this year. So who knows.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (10-5, 3.29) / RH Shamar Jackson (11-8, 4.30)
TEX pitchers: LH Bill Butts (10-7, 3.55) / RH Guillermo Ruiz (5-9, 6.11)

#102: WIN 12-3 ... a 7-run 9th salts this one away...no hittin' for Whitton, going 0-for-4 in his Hawaii debut...Garfield recovers from his recent debacles
#103: WIN 11-10 ... good grief, this time it's an 8-run 9th that wins it...7 combined HR and a pile of dead pitchers...pinch 3-run HR for Cappuccilli is the key hit late

"Regressing to the norm" is the operative phrase re our pitching staff right now. Once again, a single game takes us from 1st in runs against down to 4th.... Hitting appears to be humming along. Only JJ Simmons isn't with the program, having dropped all the way to just .252, a hefty 60 points below his career average.... Remember when I preened about having three pitchers with ERA below 3.00? Well, with Perry injured, now we have zero. Ratliff and Garfield still look good, but have lost 30-50 points on their ERA in the last few weeks. And while Jackson has slowly gotten better, Jones has had a rough two months (7.13 and 5.92 in June and July). He's signed for next year, and while only making $11M, I may yet regret paying him even that much.... ELSEWHERE: Lots of trades, but nothing of real consequence. Montreal traded about half its pitching staff, getting a pile of semi-decent prospects and AAAA players. Will it help down the road? Meh.... NYY is the first team to 70 wins. Fun fact: they've had four complete seasons this decade without that many wins.... The Cubs are bad this year, but ace Rafael Maldonado is not: first in MLB WAR, with 7.2, and 3rd overall with 207 K. And he's nearly .500 after being 3-9 at one point.

......

TL;DR Version: More up-and-down play--mostly from the staff--but we pull out an 8-5 mark here, and stand at 67-36 overall. Holding on to an 8-game lead over Seattle. Adam Groff finally got hot, hitting .396 over the month, and all four of his home runs this month in the last week and a half. Stoneback also hit .321 with 8 HR. Unfortunately, injuries have crept up, costing us closer Justin Crowley for the season and DH Dante Padilla until the end of the regular season. Finally, our trades with LA will, I hope, make up for those injuries and also set us up well for the playoffs.
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Old 01-25-2020, 03:27 PM   #308
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August! The penultimate* month of the season sees us playing 28 games, and again with a heavy road schedule: 16 games away from home. Only three series against divisional foes too. At least no double headers...yet.

* - I'm counting that last series in early October as part of September.

August 1 @ TEXAS
Finishing up the three-game set against the Rangers.

HAW pitcher: LH Eric Jones (8-4, 4.60)
TEX pitcher: RH Joey Muhlenkamp (2-3, 5.58)

#104: WIN 7-4 ... three HR tonight, and three RBI for Frederick...Jones is ineffective again, but wins on the strength of our offense

A win and no injuries. I'll take it.... Dennis Perry comes off the DL and moves back into the rotation, and Shane Walker is returned to AAA.... The August player development report saw a crazy number of low-minors prospects take significant jumps in ceilings and potential. I've never seen across-the-board improvement/changes like this, at least not without changing the scouting staff. I have no idea if these are "real" improvements, mere figments, or a product of our new "no questions asked" training regimen.... ELSEWHERE: Not much to report here after just one game, although Texas' William Swanson is just two batting average points away from leading all three Triple Crown stat categories.


August 2-4 vs SEATTLE
April + May = 19 games over .500. June + July = 5 games under. Still 2nd in the division and tops in the wildcard standings, at 60-46. Most team stats are pretty good: 6th in runs and 3rd in runs against, and the best rotation ERA in the AL. Only 15th in AVG, and they just traded away their top hitter Nick Holloway (for average, at least, batting .276) to the Cubs. Now star CF Aaron Harrison (21 HR) is out for two months. The pitching staff is really solid, however; having 3/5 of their rotation being recent FA signings speaks well of their scouting. But they don't manage to keep or sign their star batters for long, leading to this kind of erratic season.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (11-5, 3.13) / RH Dennis Perry (10-4, 2.53) / LH Mike Garfield (11-5, 3.25)
SEA pitchers: LH Ryan Galletto (10-7, 3.86) / RH Erik Ramey (7-9, 4.42) / RH Edgar Tinajero (12-6, 3.11)

#105: WIN 7-6 ... 2-run 9th pulls this one out for us...4 hits for Klein, including a 2-run HR in the 9th...2-run HR for Frederick also
#106: LOSS 3-12 ... killed by a 9-run 6th, with Mwaura getting hammered in relief
#107: WIN 13-4 ... rebound with a 21-hit effort...4 hits for Simmons, and everybody gets at least one hit...another HR for Frederick

Two wins here puts us ten games up on the Mariners now.... More iffy pitching, especially from the bullpen. Lights out for a game or two, then they pitch like little leaguers.... Stoneback (finally) suffers an injury: dtd for two weeks. It's serious enough that I'll probably put him on the bench for a bit, and hope to manage this, rather than DL him. Fingers crossed.... ELSEWHERE: NYY still tops the league with 73 wins. Hawaii has 70.... New Orleans was hot, and now they're not: five straight losses, and third place behind the surging Pirates, winners of 9 out of 10.... So of course after the Islanders gave up on former first round pick Rick Ramirez, he's having a career year for the Padres: 31 saves, 2.13 ERA, 57 K in 42 IP.


August 6-8 @ KANSAS CITY
A mediocre June dropped the Royals to third place, 7 games out of first. Hitting is 11th, pitching 8th, with a -7 run differential. Five guys are on the DL, four more with dtd injuries. Former Isles prospect Jayden Grant has been their best starter, in ERA and WAR at least; another former Isle wannabe, Angel Cordova, has been excellent in 36 setup innings, and was named as an injury replacement to the AL all-star team. 3B Juan Garcia has been injured enough that he won't come close to 200 hits (which he's done six times previously), but is still batting .321 and just passed 2000 career hits.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (11-8, 4.47) / LH Eric Jones (9-4, 4.65) / RH Ryan Ratliff (11-5, 3.37)
KCR pitchers: RH Jayden Grant (5-8, 3.17) / RH Ryan Swan (7-10, 3.62) / RH Chris Liles (10-6, 3.78)

#108: WIN 7-5 ... another HR for Frederick, and 3 hits each for Rangel, Groff, and Daley...Jackson walks 5, but is otherwise good enough
#109: WIN 4-2 ... 8 innings of 4-hit ball by Jones...three hits (but two errors) for Goodloe, in for Stoneback at short
#110: WIN 9-7 ... the bullpen makes this close by yielding four late runs...Groff's GRAND SLAM in the 1st is our big hit...Ratliff continues to get roughed up

No complaints. Okay, one: rotation got banged around a bit, with Ratliff especially having cooled off of late.... Goodloe goes 6-for-13 starting for Stoneback, but Whitton is 0-for-13 since coming over from LA.... Miguel Montes hits me up for contract talks, but I dunno. He wants $8.5M per for three seasons, and is 30. I'm not opposed, but with several big arbitration estimates (Perry, Padilla, Ratliff, Rangel) coming up, and no big contracts slated to come off the books, I'm not ready to pull that trigger. Plus, Frederick and Cappuccilli are due contracts this fall. Lots of money might get tossed around, and someone may have to go. Still, we'll need a closer.... ELSEWHERE: Six straight for the Yankees, running away with the AL East now.... Yankee teammates Sieb Moleman (.328/13/66, 3.3 WAR) and Melvin Lopez (.309/13/45, 4.8 WAR) are far and away the favorites in the AL rookie of the year race. Zephs OF Ryan Packer (.268/27/62, 3.5 WAR) and Pirates SP Rick Horan (6-5, 2.90, 3.4 WAR) are your candidates in the NL.


August 9-11 @ MILWAUKEE
Currently on top of the Central, a game up on Detroit. Seventh in both runs for and against, and a +35 run differential. They've traded pure power-hitting for getting on base, and it's paying off; although Kaz Kawakami (30 HR) and Coby Sandu (27) can still go deep with regularity. Catcher William Antonio is batting .303, and 2B Andy Elliott is his usual steady self, batting .281 with excellent defense. SP Jeffrey Foley (12-3, 2.62) has been a standout, and closer Beau Nelson leads the AL with 34 saves. I do think they should give 41-year-old Matt Anderson (.293 in 99 PA) a shot at DH--and 3000 hits--over struggling Luis Ruiz (.229).

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (10-5, 2.93) / LH Mike Garfield (12-5, 3.33) / RH Shamar Jackson (12-8, 4.47)
MIL pitchers: RH Bryan Shaheen (7-6, 4.82) / LH Johnny Brownlee (9-9, 4.53) / RH Mark Ochal (6-7, 4.07)

#111: LOSS 3-4 ... a 4-run 3rd is enough to beat us tonight...just four hits, including Daley's 2-run HR in the 2nd...Perry's ERA now up over 3.00
#112: WIN 11-5 ... 5 in the 1st, 3 in the 3rd, and we sort-of coast after that...4 RBI for Ueda, 3 H and 2 RBI for Frederick
#113: WIN 11-5 ... 5 H, 4 RBI, and a HR for Groff...20 hits overall, with only Rich missing out...Jackson fans 9, but does give up all 5 runs

I'll take it and get out of town.... Ten-and-a-half games over Seattle now.... Four more hits for Goodloe, and he's now 10-for-24 in six games replacing Stoneback. Add 2-for-3 off the bench earlier this month, and he's really stepped in; no power (2 doubles, 1 triple), but he's getting on base.... Aaaand now Stoneback's return date is uncertain.... ELSEWHERE: Houston has won 9 straight, vaulting them over Texas and out of the MLB basement. Richmond (44 wins) and Arizona (45) are now vying for the bottom spot.... Only two first round picks from June failed to sign with their prospective mates: Oakland couldn't agree with the waaay-overdrafted pitcher Ronnie Bergen (#7), and the White Sox whiffed on SS Steve Cox. Cox at least looks like a potential starter (2B tho, not SS), but Bergen is a middling RP at best. (Wise of OAK to not match his $8M bonus demand.) In addition, Miami missed out on supplemental pick pitcher Alfredo Ayala, who looks to have some potential. I've shortlisted him, just in case.... Trouble for Seattle: ace Miguel Tinajero and 2B Jose Rodriguez are both done for the season.


August 13-15 vs MINNESOTA
Having the opposite season of KC, with a bad May/June (15 games under) giving way to more positive results since (10 games over). At just 55-59, they're still close, only 7.5 behind Milwaukee, so still in it. Fourth in runs, with the 2nd best AVG and 4th OBP. Josh Jacobson (.302/22/86) is having his usual excellent year, and Cortez Ortiz is also batting .302. Cleanup guy Roberto Miranda, the big FA get, is not anywhere near his usual solid AVG/OBP numbers, but does have 21 HR. Pitching has not been so good, at 13th in runs. The bullpen is next-to-last in ERA, although closer Nate Metz (2.91, 24 SV) has been good. Ace Conor MacLeod leads the AL in strikeouts.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (10-4, 4.40) / RH Ryan Ratliff (12-5, 3.53) / RH Dennis Perry (10-6, 3.03)
MIN pitchers: LH Bobby Reder (0-3, 2.73) / RH Joe O'Dowd (9-6, 3.88) / RH Hugo Blerra (5-8, 4.17)

#114: WIN 3-2 ... pitching duel! Although Jones does give up 12 hits in 6.1 IP...only 4 hits tonight, but two are RBI doubles
#115: WIN 12-2 ... turnaround: 19 hits here, and we score in each of the first 5 innings...HR for Klein and Daley, and 2 RBI doubles for Rich...Ratliff fans 10
#116: WIN 7-0 ... Perry walks 5, but yields just 2 hits...HR for Groff and Frederick...3 steals tonight, something I haven't paid any attention to at all

Now that's what I like to see. Strong pitching, stronger hitting.... Thirteen game lead over Seattle, who may be in trouble with some major injuries.... Daley is recovering from his midsummer swoon, back to batting .280 and has 19 HR.... On the prospect front, 1B Tim Chapman (our #2 prospect) and 2B Julian Cardenas (#3) were both called up to AA, and both have hit well. #1 guy Jules Medici has struggled in A ball, but currently has his average up to a season-high .241. Not showing much power yet, however, with only 6 HR.... ELSEWHERE: Twelve wins in a row for Houston now. Too little too late.... Eight out of ten wins for the Yankees, the first team to reach 80 wins, and a sturdy 16.5 game lead over Miami.... LA's 1B Vinny Vargas had a pair of HR against New Orleans, giving him 2400 career hits. He's also just 12 HR away from 500.... White Sox 1B Jim Timmer leads all batters with 179 K, but give a shout out to Tampa SS Jonathan Salas, with 172 in only 306 AB. He's also batting just .131 this season, and .181 in 4457 career AB.

......

TL;DR Version: I gripe and I gripe, and still we produce: 11-2 here, and we've widened our lead to 13 games. The only dark cloud here is Stoneback's uncertain return from injury; but I've been (reliably?) informed that it could be just "a week or so" away. If Goodloe keeps hitting (now .381 in 84 AB), that will ease the pain a bit. In pitching news, Perry got his ERA back below 3.00, the only guy for us now under that mark. And all five starters have reached double figures in wins. In farm team news, I sent down backup catcher Justin Cecil and recalled Tom Whittington. Cecil doesn't figure in my plans, and is no longer hitting, whereas Whittington I hope can be a productive backup for years. And he's better defensively than the cranky Cecil. Time to get him some more AB before the September expansion.
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Old 02-02-2020, 12:13 PM   #309
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August 17-19 vs BOSTON
Way back in April they were fighting for first place. But at 9-29 since July 1 they've fallen all the way to the bottom of the East. Batting is 13th in runs, pitching 11th. Most batters are hitting below their career numbers, even team-leading Jose Diaz, who at .307 is still more than 20 points under his career average. The team chemistry is, as usual, terrible: they're feuding and only a few players are happy. Seven members of the pitching staff alone have terrible attitudes, and you have to think manager Sean Ochinko's time with the team is growing short. Pitcher Jonathan Esquivel has been a rare bright spot, and at 25 and signed for the next four years, he's a rock-solid piece to build around.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (13-5, 3.41) / RH Shamar Jackson (13-8, 4.51) / LH Eric Jones (10-4, 4.33)
BOS pitchers: RH John Sutton (0-1, 5.08) / RH Danny Diaz (4-12, 4.90) / RH Zion Robinson (8-11, 4.48)

#117: LOSS 2-6 ... HR for Frederick and Groff, and 3 hits for Groff...nothing else good to see here
#118: WIN 4-3 ... 3 more hits for Groff, and Ueda's bases loaded double is the winning hit...Jackson fans 9 through 7 IP, Germann and Montes fan 5 our of the last six BoSox
#119: WIN 8-1 ... 3 hits again for Groff, and Simmons and Rich each drive in two...CG 5-hitter for Jones, striking out 7

Nine hits for Groff in this series, bringing his average to an AL-best .349.... Jackson's outing was his 100th career MLB start. He's tied for 7th on the all-time Hawaii list. Eric Jones leads with 375. Twenty-seven of Jackson's 100 starts have been complete games, if you can believe that. Jones has 26.... The lead over Seattle is now 14 games.... ELSEWHERE: A five-hit game for Dbacks OF Dan Dellinger pushed his NL-best average to .345, fourteen points higher than teammate Alfonso Torres.... Eleven losses in a row for Texas, and slugger William Swanson has been stuck on 39 HR for almost two weeks.... Is it too soon to talk Magic Numbers? Of course it is. Still: NYY and SDP are at 26, and both lead their divisions by 16.5 games.


August 20-22 vs TORONTO
They've been consistently decent all year, for what that's worth. At 64-57, third place, and 18 games out of first; also a game out of a wildcard spot. They sit 9th in runs, 8th in runs against, and with a healthy +28 run differential. Former AL ROY Tony Mendoza struggled with the Yanks last year but has found his groove again: 30 HR and an .853 OPS. Nobody is batting over .272, but only the very bottom of the lineup is batting well below that. The rotation has been mostly good, and MR Jaden Buchanan has been solid in relief, as well as being only a near-thing curveball away from becoming the next in a long line of home-grown ace Toronto SP.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (13-5, 3.51) / RH Dennis Perry (11-6, 2.88) / LH Mike Garfield (13-6, 3.57)
TOR pitchers: RH Willie Hernandez (8-8, 5.03) / RH Ross Barnett (2-2, 4.86) / RH Ron Williams (8-12, 4.15)

#120: WIN 9-8 ... 5 H, 3 RBI for Simmons, and three others knock 3 hits each...Ratliff pulled in the 5th with an injury, uh oh
#121: WIN 9-6 ... outhomered 4-to-1, but Groff gets ours...5 hits for Frederick, and 3 hits with 3 RBI for Daley...Perry pushed around, pen does better than last night tho
#122: WIN 5-0 ... 5 H, 10 K CG for Garfield...HR for Frederick and Daley, and Stoneback returns with a hit and two walks

Five wins in a row and a ton of hitting are the good news. Add to that Stoneback's return from his dtd injury. Subtract, however, Ryan Ratliff, out for seven weeks with a triceps strain. He and Padilla should come back around the same time, and hopefully both will be available for our first playoff series.... Taking Ratliff's place is Jonathan Ashton, a one-time hopeful and first round pick, who's been saddled with injuries for several years. He's been pitching in relief for AAA Santa Barbara, and as none of the regular SP down there have done much at all statistically (despite a team record of 65-45), Ashton gets the nod.... ELSEWHERE: Rangers have dropped fourteen straight, and are the worst team in MLB now.... William Swanson finally reached 40 HR, and 99 RBI.... Only two division races are dead heats: Brooklyn and Atlanta are tied in the NL East, and Detroit leads Milwaukee by one in the AL Central.... Yankees ace Phil Avery is having a year: 17-3 record, 2.01 ERA 4.9 WAR. Teammates Joe Erkel and Jim Kieffer are tied for second with 15 wins.


August 23 @ DETROiT
Makeup game from a rainout last month. The first of a ten-game road trip for us to finish August (and start September). The Tigers are currently atop the Central, at 66-54, one game ahead of the Brewers.

HAW pitcher: RH Shamar Jackson (14-8, 4.51)
DET pitcher: LH T.J. Carroll (9-1 3.29)

#123: LOSS 4-10 ... Groff's 3-run HR is our only highlight...a whole lot of bad pitching, with Jackson, Money, and Mwaura getting shelled

Ugh. Whatever, moving on.... Off to the Bronx next! Big series.... ELSEWHERE: Fifteen in a row for Texas. But 41 HR, 100 RBI for Swanson now.... Seattle still holding on to the #1 wildcard slot despite some heavy injury losses.


August 24-26 @ NY YANKEES
The Bronx Bombers are back: 2nd in runs and 1st in HR. Also AL-best pitching: tops in rotation ERA and 2nd best bullpen. No weaknesses anywhere, honestly. Four regulars are batting over .300, and six have over 20 HR. Sean West leads with 29 HR, and he's missed 50 games. Former Isle Jonathan Klump has found a home, with 26 HR and 79 RBI. Rookies Melvin Lopez (.300/15/50) and Sieb Moleman (.333/21/71) are killing it at the top of the lineup. As noted above, the trio of Kieffer, Erkel, and Avery have notched 52 wins and 12.4 WAR. Number four starter Brian Whitney has 12 wins and 179 K. Like I said, solid everywhere. Okay, they are 17th in errors, but that seems nitpicky.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (11-4, 4.15) / RH Jonathan Ashton (debut) / RH Dennis Perry (12-6, 3.02)
NYY pitchers: LH Mike Thomas (4-1, 3.65) / RH Jim Kieffer (15-5, 3.59) / LH Brian Whitney (12-4, 3.34)

#124: WIN 5-4 ... Ueda's solo HR in the 16th is the winner...Stoneback hurt tho, which is all that matters
#125: WIN 12-1 ... Frederick cycles (5 hits total), and Cappuccilli powers a 3-run HR...6-hit complete game for Ashton
#126: LOSS 2-8 ... Rangel homers, but we give up three, and Perry gets pushed around again...so does Money, in relief

I'm please with our showing here, but not pleased that Stoneback got hurt again. And it's not good: torn ligaments, out 7-8 weeks. Playoffs are in jeopardy for him, although maybe we can put him on the roster anyway. Plus, Klein pulls something and is out for a week.... Cappuccilli takes his place at the top of the lineup. We call up Jesse Ryder for his first taste of the big leagues. He is a dynamite fielder and can run, but is an average hitter at best, with little power.... Props to Ashton in his '49 debut.... ELSEWHERE: Texas dropped their 16th straight, then won one, then lost again. Another streak maybe.... The Dodgers have given up, slumping to 8-15 this month and into 4th place in the West. This is an old team with very few decent prospects. But: they have tons of money, and project to have at least $110M to spend this off-season. No, that's not a typo.... San Diego's Magic Number is 18, best in the league.... Arizona's Alonso Torres has gone on a tear, with 26 RBI this month giving him an MLB-best 107.


August 27-29 @ OAKLAND
Poor hitting (12th in runs, 14th in AVG) has pushed the A's down the charts, now into 4th place at 60-68. One game behind California for third, but only two ahead of the resurgent Astros. Pitching is 14th, and no one has stood out. Ryan Walton has 37 HR and 98 RBI, and Ted Yoder has kept up his strong year, batting .318. Felix Reyes is .262/21/64, but they expected more from the 22-year-old hotshot. No one else has done much.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (14-6, 3.38) / RH Shamar Jackson (14-9, 4.52) / LH Eric Jones (11-4, 4.08)
OAK pitchers: RH Oscar Escobedo (7-13, 4.01) / RH Mike Pearson (10-11, 4.72) / RH Jim Schwartz (10-12, 4.41)

#127: WIN 9-8 ... Garfield is gar-bage, but is bailed out by offense and the bullpen...HR for Groff, and HR with 3 RBI for Daley
#128: WIN 1-0 ... 2 hits for Frederick, and GWRBI for Cappuccilli...4-hit CG shutout for Jackson, fanning 7
#129: WIN 6-4 ... Goodloe's 2-run 9th inning single is the winner...Jones lasts just 5.1 IP, but the pen yields just 3 hits the rest of the way

Always nice to get a sweep. No injuries too. Klein comes back in two days.... I waived/DFAed catcher Justin Cecil, and called up OF Joe Lynn. Also sent Jaden Daniels back down; he went 1-for-5 in limited action. Lynn will make some contact and hit for doubles, but has no power and very little plate discipline. He's a dynamo on the field, and if he can hit at all looks like a decent candidate for CF one day. He's just 20, but tore it up in AAA: .371, 43 doubles, 29 steals, 5.6 WAR. He was a 4th round pick in '46.... Groff reaches 100 RBI for the 8th time.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Dellinger has opened a 23 point lead in the NL batting race, looking to defend his crown from last year.... Atlanta's Michael Rinehart has 16 HR this month, and now 41 on the season. He's a former 14th round pick making league minimum.... Mets speedster Marquis Moore is the first to 40 steals. Moore has three SB titles to his credit.


August 30-31 @ CALIFORNIA
At 61-68 on the year, but 15-11 this month. Hitting is still dead last, in runs, OBP, OPS, and HR. Manny Rosales leads with 14 HR, and only Luis Rivera (at .304) is batting over .255. Pitching is 2nd in runs, although they've now got four pitchers on the DL. Four of the five starters are 26 or younger, although Steve Onstad is an injury fill-in. And RPs Scott Mahala and Luis Andino are both young and should anchor the bullpen for years to come. Most of their prospects are still years away, although #3 guy Jake Glowski--a former 6th overall pick--is batting .235 in his rookie season. But he's 25, and should be further along than he looks. I smell a possible bust.

HAW pitchers: RH Jonathan Ashton (1-0, 1.00) / RH Dennis Perry (12-7, 3.26)
CAL pitchers: RH Steve Onstad (0-1, 6.00) / LH Noah Sims (6-12, 4.35)

#130: WIN 8-7 ... more outstanding pitching...we need 3 in the 9th to win this one...3 hits, 3 RBI for Cappuccilli, and 3 hits for Daley and Goodloe
#131: WIN 4-2 ... Daley knocks in two in the 7th and one in the 9th to help us win late

We did find ways to win two games we could easily have lost. Then again, we're playing the Angels, so maybe we shouldn't make it so hard on ourselves.... Groff is worn out, so he got a couple games off here.... Pitching is looking a bit leaky again, now standing 5th in runs against. The rotation ERA is 3rd, bullpen 14th.... Closer Miguel Montes has picked it up of late, and has 12 saves in his 14 appearances.... ELSEWHERE: Texas is the final team to reach 50 wins. Still only four teams with 80 wins: Hawaii, NY Yankees, San Diego, and Cincinnati.... Cincy's Quinn Driscoll is the first to 40 saves.... Pittsburgh's Jonathan Bell has given up just 5 HR in 184 IP. Atlanta's Matt Waugh is nearly as good: 5 in 178.2 IP. At the other end, White Sox starter Cory Graulich has given up 44 in 167.2 IP. And Twins reliever Hector Quiroz has given up 21 in 39 IP.

......

TL;DR Version: A fabulous 12-3 here, but marred by losing Stoneback for the season. Like I said above, I hope to have him back for the playoffs. Barring setbacks, we should get Padilla and Ratliff back regardless. As we head into the final month of the season, I've noticed a recurring pattern for Hawaii: 1) an okay or mediocre start, with either bad hitting or pitching; 2) things pick up and we go back and forth with another team for the division lead; 3) we get red hot, take the division lead, and pull away; 4) we cool off in September and leave me with questions heading into the playoffs; 5) lose to Detroit in the AL playoffs, or lose the World Series. Sound familiar for this year? Patterns have to end sometime, tho, right? Anyway, 23-5 this month--RED HOT--and a 16.5 game lead over the Mariners. Now let's see what goes wrong in September...
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Old 02-04-2020, 09:44 PM   #310
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SEPTEMBER 2049

Final month of the season! Counting three games in October, we have 31 games left. Only ten on the road this month, and we finish up with 11 straight at home. Three days off over this stretch, and a double header in the middle of the month. Something for everyone! Once again, AAA Santa Barbara is having a bang-up year (71-48, 1st place), so I'm not going to be heavy-handed with my callups.

September 1 @ CALIFORNIA
Wrapping up the three-game set. We get a travel day after this game.

HAW pitcher: LH Mike Garfield (14-6, 3.55)
CAL pitcher: RH Ryan Kuehner (6-8, 5.45)

#132: LOSS 1-5 ... yuck...3 hits for Goodloe, and a team-record-tying 4 walks for Simmons, who records zero official at bats

Whatevs.... We call up three players from AAA: OF Jaden Daniels will get a longer look, and probably a bit more than the few pinch at bats he had in August; RP Nick Kramer comes back after spending much of the summer in AAA; and swingman Shane Walker, who may get a start or two on the mound as well as mop up relief work.... ELSEWHERE: Not much to report.... White Sox vet Brendan Glenn had a 6-RBI game. Glenn, 39, is winding down what is likely a near-miss HoF career: 2194 career hits, 449 HR, 73 WAR, 2 MVP, 1 GG, 7 AS, 5 SS, 2 rings. He was probably the best player in the game during '36 and '37, when he earned a combined 20 WAR and back-to-back MVP titles. Injuries, alas, curtailed his career totals, as he has topped 130 games only three times in the last eleven seasons.


September 3-5 vs HOUSTON
So they're 61-73 and 30 games out of first; what you really need to know is they're also 23-7 since the beginning of August. Team stats still look terrible: 15th in runs, 13th in runs against. Not any real standouts on the field, but closer Alejandro Gonzales should get some notice for the Hoyt Wilhelm trophy: just 30 saves but a 1.27 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, and 72 K in 49.2 IP. And 28-year-old journeyman Pat Wise, with just 13 career relief appearances before this year, came up in August, made six starts, and won AL Pitcher of the Month. I don't think he's got the stuff to hang long-term, but he might have just earned himself a payday for next year. I still think future-stud 1B Jose Renteria was called up too soon this year, but he's turned things up lately with a .298 August, including 6 HR.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (15-9, 4.29) / LH Eric Jones (11-4, 4.16) / RH Jonathan Ashton (1-0, 4.05)
HOU pitchers: RH Dustin Springer (7-14, 4.25) / RH Chris Avalos (10-11, 4.44) / RH Alex Trujillo (5-14, 6.25)

#133: LOSS 7-9 ... 9 runs allowed on 8 hits and 7 walks...Klein, Frederick, and Goodloe each get 3 hits...3 HR for us, 4 for them
#134: WIN 5-4 ... another HR for Frederick, and two hits for Whitton (who?)...Jones goes 7, and Germann and Montes setup and close nicely
#135: WIN 4-3 ... another day, another HR for Frederick...Groff and Ueda also go deep, the latter with the winner in the bottom of the 9th...Ashton walks 9!

Ashton walked those nine guys in just 5 innings (he also fanned six). Money then walked 3 in his 3 IP. I can't remember the last time we walked 12 batters in a game.... Frederick went a little nuts there, and also reached 30 HR. Groff now has 21, and 105 RBI, just 5 out of the AL lead.... 2B Julian Cardenas hit .283 in 101 A ball games, .333 in 24 at AA, and in 10 AAA games is at .273. Hes 25, so I shouldn't be surprised he's doing well, but it probably means he's entered into the conversation this fall as we consider whether or not to offer arbitration to Manny Rangel ($11.6M arb estimate).... ELSEWHERE: San Diego's Magic # is 6, NYY is at 8.... Detroit has a more-comfortable 5 game lead over Milwaukee; Cincy is 4.5 up on Pittsburgh. Atlanta and Brooklyn are in a dead heat.... 45 HR for William Swanson (AL) and 42 for Michael Rinehart (NL).... Cincinnati has 260 HR. All-time-wise, they'll probably catch LA (3rd, 271 in '38) and maybe Austin (2nd, 279 in '43), but the record (310, Pittsburgh in '36) is most likely out of reach. Those Reds, tho: 8 starters have at least 21 HR (and toss in injured Alex Cruz, with 19 in 82 games). And no one has more than 77 RBI.


September 6-8 vs TAMPA BAY
Couldn't translate a decent April into anything solid, and have been sliding backwards since. Just 13th in runs and 12th in runs against. The 14th-ranked bullpen hasn't been helped by having six guys on the DL for much of the season, either. I wish they would stop listing Vance Wise as their closer. Yes, he has 2 saves in 3 appearances; but he's made 130 starts in RF, with 28 HR and 86 RBI. That's where he should stay. Down seasons at the plate for Chris Goldthwait (.247, 23 HR) and Wise (.241) hasn't helped. Of their current nine starters, six are hitting 30 or more points below their career averages. Six! Team slumps are real, people. Also, 20-year-old Edgar Aranceta has 32 HR in his first full year in the bigs; he'll only get better. Odd stat: of their nine minor league clubs, only one is more than 3 games over or under .500.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (12-7, 3.17) / LH Mike Garfield (14-7, 3.69) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-10, 4.41)
TBR pitchers: LH Nathaniel Cole (4-2, 3.01) / RH Travis Calhoun (9-7, 3.14) / RH Freddy Trujillo (11-11, 3.77)

#136: LOSS 1-3 ... we also lose the solo HR contest, 3 to 0...two hits each for Groff and Whitton
#137: WIN 6-1 ... HR for Groff and Daley...Garfield scatters 5 hits over 7 IP
#138: LOSS 2-11 ... **** this nutso September pitching, man...two HR, but nothing else

Is this the start of the September swoon I mentioned last post? As in: marginal play that highlights the weaknesses that will eventually kill us in the playoffs? Boy, I sure hope so.... One thing I do know is who may not be in the starting rotation in the post-season *coughJacksoncough*.... ELSEWHERE: Not only did Cincy lose defending Cy Young winner Cris Frias for the rest of this season, but for all of next year as well. Good luck finding him a new elbow at "Ligaments 'R Us Cadaver Farm".... San Diego's Magic # now at three.... Atlanta's young (23) ace Matt Waugh is making a late Cy Young push: 2.02 ERA (1st), 8.2 WAR (2nd), and 15 wins.... Arizona's Dan Dellinger just had his 22-game hitting streak ended. He's leading the NL at .357.


September 10-12 @ MIAMI
So they won't catch the Yankees for the division, that's been obvious for some time now; but they're a game out of the wildcard, just behind Seattle and Milwaukee. Solid, if unspectacular hitting, at 8th in runs, with good pitching, at 3rd. The rotation is paced by vet Francisco Pantaleon and a now-healthy Jason Simon, although solid #2 Matt Rubin is done for the year. Oldster RF Ricky Chavez doesn't hit quite like he used to (.241, well down for him), but still has 31 HR. Second-year 1B Scott Robertshaw has 33 HR and a useful .275/.350/.519 slash. They haven't had a month under .500 this year (although three months right at it), which says...something good, right?

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (12-4, 4.15) / RH Jonathan Ashton (1-0, 3.93) / RH Dennis Perry (12-8, 3.15)
MIA pitchers: RH Jason Simon (9-5, 2.90) / RH Arturo Verdazco (10-12, 4.28) / RH Francisco Pantaleon (14-8, 3.23)

#139: WIN 12-1 ... old school Jones win: just 3 K, but only 3 hits...for us, hits for everyone, including 5 by Rangel...HR and 4 RBI for Groff
#140: LOSS 4-9 ... 3 H and a HR for Groff, and more bad bad bad pitching...no one wants the #4 playoff rotation spot, I see
#141: WIN 8-3 ... CG for Perry, warming my heart...he stayed in even after a 29 minute rain delay in the 9th...who's making these decisions?

Okay, two wins, despite my bitching. Seriously tho, we either pitch lights out or get our bells rung. Annoying.... Minors update: Short A Poughkeepsie won their division, now playing Aberdeen (BAL) for some title or other; AAA Santa Barbara leads their division by 9 with 14 GP remaining.... ELSEWHERE: Josh Jacobson (MIN) now leads the AL with 114 RBI. Swanson and Adam Groff (hey!) are second with 113.... San Diego just clinched the NL West, with 20 games remaining. Portland is in 2nd with a 69-73 record. NYY's Magic # is 3, ours is 2.... no one has reached 9 WAR yet, despite some hot starts this year. Cubs SP Rafael Maldonado is closest, at 8.9. Atlanta's Matt Waugh has 8.6. No one else has reached 8.


September 13-15 @ BALTIMORE
The team that won its division in '45 has steadily regressed to this year's 63-76 mark. Average (8th) pitching, but poor (17th) hitting. In desperate need of a rebuild, they should have traded stud RF (and UFA-to-be) Cesar Alvarenga at the deadline. But I found out why they didn't: when I asked about him, he flexed his 10-and-5 right, and declined a trade. Ok, then! So his $36M will get cleared off the books, but they'll get nothing in return for him save a shoddy little supplemental round pick. No other regular is under 27, and none inspire confidence. In fact, they have two old Islanders: 2B Josh Robertson (.288/12/52, but 34 and fading) and CF Ian McGowan (.258/6/17 in just 29 games). There's a bit of youthful promise in the rotation, and closer Ken Zeolla has been very good (29 SV, 1.66 ERA).

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (15-7, 3.59) / RH Shamar Jackson (15-11, 4.56) / RH Jonathan Ashton (1-1, 4.64)
BAL pitchers: LH Rich Davis (9-8, 3.96) / RH Brandon Behrens (6-6, 4.92) / RH Pat Karahalios (11-9, 5.22)

#142: WIN 3-2 ... solo HR for Frederick and a GW, 2-run shot in the 9th for Whitton, his first with us...8 IP by Garfield, 6 H allowed, 7 K...we clinch!!!
#143: WIN 6-0 ... another HR for Frederick, and 3 RBI with a 2B/3B/HR for Matson...8th CG and 2nd SHO for Jackson, begging for that post-season rotation spot
#144: WIN 15-1 ... 20 hits for us...4 H, HR for Groff...3 H, 4 RBI for Rangel...even Ueda gets 2 hits...5 hits over 7.1 IP for Ashton; Walker puts 5 on in relief, gets lucky

We clinched the division! Thank you, Seattle.... Eventful last game: Jones was scheduled to pitch but ate some bad crabs and missed his start. Simmons got dinged by a pitch, but luckily only missed the rest of that game.... Ratliff and Padilla are due back in three weeks, just in time for the playoffs. Stoneback is four weeks, probably a few days after the start of our first series, but I'll have to activate him anyway; he's that useful.... ELSEWHERE: Tampa hit 8 home runs in an 11-8 win over Oakland. They have 190 on the season, 43 behing AL-leading Detroit (California is last with 112). Cincy leads MLB with 276. Washington is second in the NL with 181.... Speaking of the Reds, Cris Frias' injury replacement, Caleb Thompson, is himself done for the year. They'll still probably bash their way to the World Series, but pitchers are dropping at an alarming rate.

......

TL;DR Version: An 8-5 stretch, thanks to that late destruction of the O's. And with the division clinched, I'll probably work more reserves into the lineup than I've done already. Several players are already getting one (or more) days off a week. Some of the, um, older gentlemen may find themselves with more time on their hands down the stretch. Gotta stay healthy. Oh, and maybe a six-man rotation down the stretch. Give a couple of starts to some youngsters, see what they've got...
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Old 02-07-2020, 08:24 PM   #311
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September 17-19 vs SEATTLE
We got a day off (the last of the season), and then a four game set against the M's, including a double header to get us started. Seattle has gone from division leader to out of a playoff spot in just a couple of months: they're three games behind Miami for the #2 wild card spot at the moment. A 2-11 run this month has been the major culprit, as the team is wracked by injuries (2B, CF, and RF are out, along with two top SP). They're a near-cinch to hold on to 2nd place over the light-hitting Angels, but need to get a move on if they're going to make the post-season for the fourth time this decade.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (13-4, 3.95) / RH Dennis Perry (13-8, 3.14) / LH Mike Garfield (16-7, 3.54) / RH Shamar Jackson (4.36)
SEA pitchers: LH Carlos Zenon (15-9, 3.56) / LH Ryan Galletto (12-10, 4.40) / LH Danny Alicea (0-0, 7.11) / RH Erik Ramey (11-12, 4.47)

#145: WIN 9-3 ... Frederick HRs again, Rangel hits his 20th...3 hits for Matson, giving Groff a day off at 1B...7 IP for Jones
#146: WIN 2-1 ... 100th win...Daley RBI single and Whittington sac fly win this one late...12 K in 8 IP for Perry
#147: WIN 4-2 ... Ueda homers, along with--guess who--Frederick...3 hits for Goodloe...Garfield tosses 8 IP, gets 11 K
#148: WIN 6-1 ... another CG for Jackson, along with 10 K...Ueda bashes two more HR, now has 20 on the season

Very nice. Now let's just win out until late October, okay?... Five players have reached 20 HR, two with 100 RBI. Frederick has 99.... The bullpen is certainly well rested of late, with only Montes and Walker getting innings over the last two series.... Groff (.350) is in control of the AL batting race.... ELSEWHERE: The Yankees and Padres have also clinched their division. No one else has clinched a playoff spot.... The Yankees rotation has been solid all season, but they just lost #4 starter Brian Whitney (14-5, 3.12) for the year.... Eleven losses in a row for Seattle, ten for SF.... Arizona fired manager Dom Duggan, late in his third year with the club. He's replaced by newbie Chase Spears, coming off of seven years helming Rimini in the IBL.... 48 HR for William Swanson (TEX), 46 for Michael Rinehard (ATL).


September 20-22 @ HOUSTON
Last road series of the season. After a 22-7 August, they're 8-8 this month, still an improvement over the rest of the season. They're still in fourth place, nearly officially eliminated from the post-season but also creeping up on the slumping Mariners. Not sure what this late-season stability portends for next year: many of their top salaries are older and will be UFA this fall. But they may be able to hold on to most of the pitching staff, which has been pretty good. And rookie 1B Jose Renteria is coming around at the plate (.253, 14 HR), and should be at full bore next year.

HAW pitchers: RH Olimpio Le Coq (debut) / RH Jonathan Ashton (2-1, 3.45) / LH Eric Jones (14-4, 3.95)
HOU pitchers: RH Dustin Springer (9=15, 4.67) / RH Chris Avalos (11-12, 4.38) / RH Alex Trujillo (5-16, 6.13)

#149: WIN 5-2 ... 2B and 3B for Simmons...3 runs in the 9th for the win, with Whitton's single the GWRBI...Le Coq is okay, but walks four; two relievers add 6 more BB
#150: LOSS 3-9 ... Ashton is chased early, and we're down 8-1 after three...3 H and 2 RBI for Groff, 2 H each for Frederick and Rich
#151: LOSS 3-5 ... we blow a 3-0 lead in the 9th, and Montes yields a walkoff 3-run HR...3 H for Daley, 2 RBI for Ueda

Disappointing to lose two, but they don't matter. No injuries is the good news.... Good first start for Le Coq; he got his walks down to 3.7 per 9 in AAA, but that's still what's holding him back right now.... Jury is still out on the #4 starter for the playoffs. Garfield, Ratliff, and Perry are shoo-ins right now, so the race is coming down to Jackson vs Jones.... ELSEWHERE: Arizona's Dan Dellinger leads MLB with a .362 average, holding off a late charge from SD's Blake Langer (.349).... NYY's Phil Avery will have a chance in their next game to reach 20 wins, and probably put a lock on the AL Cy Young. Cubs ace Rafael Maldonado leads MLB with 9.3 WAR, but isn't close in any other major stats category, so the NL race looks up in the air.... Speaking of races, ATL and BKN are tied for 1st in the NL East; Cincy leads PIT by 1.5 in the Central; and DET has opened a 6 game spread over MIL.


September 23-26 vs OAKLAND
Adrift near the bottom of the division, at 68-84 they should at least improve upon last year's 71 wins. Hitting and pitching are slumping, and team defense is near the bottom. But...there are some good signs for next year: 3B Ryan Walton (39 HR) has huge power; LF Felix Reyes (.272/25/77) is just 22 and should be even better next year; RF Jordan Coronado (.243/15/50) is a former MVP who should rebound nicely; 3B/DH Tony Hockaday was just called up and should be a fixture somewhere in the lineup soon; and 2B Ernesto de la Torre is maybe the best fielding 2B in the bigs. Pitching is still a question mark, especially the bullpen. But with four solid SP (when healthy), one more UFA addition could solidify that part of the roster. They should be back, and soon.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (14-8, 3.05) / LH Mike Garfield (17-7, 3.48) / RH Shamar Jackson (17-11, 4.21) / RH Olimpio Le Coq (0-0, 3.00)
OAK pitchers: RH Conrad Robertson (10-15, 5.25) / RH Oscar Escobedo (8-15, 4.50) / RH Mike Pearson (12-13, 4.36) / RH Jim Schwartz (11-14, 4.27)

#152: WIN 7-4 ... Matson's 2-run 2B in the 8th puts this one away...Groff hits a 2-run HR, and Whitton knocks 3 hits...Perry goes 5 IP, 6 K and 6 BB
#153: WIN 8-7 ... down 7-2, we rally for 3 in the 6th and in the 8th to take it late...3 H for Goodloe, including a 2-run HR in the 8th
#154: WIN 5-4 ... a Rangel solo HR in the 8th is tonight's money shot, and Ueda adds his 23rd HR for good measure
#155: WIN 18-4 ... 9 runs in the 4th, helped by 4 doubles...4 RBI for Klein, 3 each for Groff and Daley, and Jaden Daniels goes 5-for-5, tying a team record for hits

Big hitting series, and Groff is now one RBI out of the league lead.... Daniels is making a strong case for a bench OF/PH role next year.... Ashton gets the next start on the mound, and then one of him or Le Coq will be sent down to solidify the AAA playoff race for Santa Barbara.... Short A Poughkeepsie won the NY-Penn League crown with a four game sweep over Tri-Cities.... ELSEWHERE: Two divisions are still up for grabs, but the NL playoff roster is set: BKN, ATL, CIN, PIT, and SDP. Only SD has clinched their division. In the AL, Detroit clinched a spot, and MIA (84 wins) and MIL (85) are the likely wildcards, with SEA (79), TOR (77), and CAL (77) still hanging on.... Still no 20-game winners. Phil Avery (NYY) lost his start, and Chad Akers (NOZ) won his last. Both are at 19 wins.... 49 HR for William Swanson. So close.... No one has 300 K in the AL, but two do in the NL: Emanuel Vasquez (STL) with 319, and Brooklyn's Ricky Arnau has 308.


September 27-30 vs TEXAS
Another year, another likely #1 overall draft pick for the 58-win Rangers. They showed promise in June, but a 20-54 mark since then dropped them like a stone. Still, there are some nice bats to build around, with five regulars at 24 or younger, and FA pickup DJ Flores only 28. They desperately need hitting at the top of the lineup, however, where they've combined to bat .221 in the top two spots, with no power and little OBP. And while the bullpen needs a lot of attention, my scouts tell me there's no way the rotation should be 16th in ERA. I'll once again go out on a limb and say they'll be competitive next year. I'm not putting any money on it, but I can still say it.

HAW pitchers: RH Jonathan Ashton (2-2, 5.58) / LH Eric Jones (14-4, 3.92) / RH Dennis Perry (15-8, 3.11) / LH Mike Garfield (17-7, 3.72)
TEX pitchers: RH Mike Messinger (9-12, 4.05) / RH Mike Kent (5-7, 4.98) / LH Bill Butts (11-14, 4.44) / RH Jamie Arrigo (5-13, 5.86)

#156: LOSS 1-2 ... we're outhit 10-5, with only 1 XBH, which drives in our only run...decent start for Ashton, going 8.1 IP, but he takes the loss
#157: WIN 5-4 ... comeback win, thanks to a 3-run 7th...2 hits for Groff and Daley, and also Jesse Ryder, getting his first MLB hits
#158: WIN 5-4 ... a 4-0 lead evaporates in the 9th, but Whitton's walkoff single wins it...4 hits total for the Brazilian, and Rich drives in 2
#159: LOSS 2-6 ... another poor start for Garfield, and Broussard makes his first appearance of the month, also throws poorly...2 RBI for Frederick

Another 'meh' series, but again: no injuries.... Garfield will bounce back. Right? Right.... Groff had visions of his first RBI title, until MIN's Josh Jacobson had a 5-RBI game.... Frederick finally breached the 100-RBI mark on the season.... Jackson needs 14 K in his final start to reach 200 and exactly match his season totals for the last two campaigns.... ELSEWHERE: Miami and Milwaukee wrapped up the wild cards. Brooklyn leads Atlanta by 1.5 in the NL East, while Cincinnati is 2 up on Pittsburgh in the Central. Unfortunately, a 90-win team in the NL is going home after one playoff game this year.... Finally 20 wins for Yankee ace Phil Avery, along with a league-leading 2.27 ERA and a 2nd-best 5.8 WAR, should probably earn him a big trophy in a couple of months.


October 1-3 vs CALIFORNIA
A not-bad eight games over .500 since August 1, giving them 78 wins on the season. They could reach 80 wins for the first time since 2035. Pitching is 2nd in the AL, but the hitting is awful, nearly last in every category. There are some decent bats in the lineup, but most aren't young, and there isn't much power on display. (Only 123 HR on the season, too.) Oh, and there are 8 pitchers on the DL, most of whom are MLB-worthy. So of course they won't trade any of that surplus for hitting...

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (18-11, 4.22) / RH Jonathan Ashton (2-3, 4.85) / LH Eric Jones (14-4, 3.98)
CAL pitchers: RH Mike Hosey (1-1, 1.59) / RH Ryan Kuehner (10-9, 4.76) / RH Steve Onstad (0-1, 4.91)

#160: WIN 10-2 ... another CG for Jackson, 6 H and 9 K...Groff and Matson hit HR, and six guys each get two hits
#161: LOSS 7-9 ... 30th HR for Groff, and we outhit them 15-12...Ashton gets pummeled early, leaves in the 2nd
#162: WIN 2-0 ... strong 8 IP for Jones, fanning 8...3 hits for Simmons, raising his average to a season-high .262

We'll take it and go home. Best of all: no new injuries. Phew.... Groff reached 30 HR for the 8th time, and first since '46. His 126 RBI are his most since '42. He'll also claim his sixth batting title.... Rangel had a career best year at the plate: .285/22/73. That and his usual stellar defense earned him 4.8 WAR, another high.... Mixed reviews for rookie hurlers Ashton and Le Coq. They'll get looks in camp, of course, but we may not end up having an available spot in the rotation after all.... And Eric Jones was again money down the stretch: since August 1st, 12 starts, 7-0, 2.69, 87.1 IP, 2.3 WAR.... ELSEWHERE: No surprise that Brooklyn and Cincinnati clinched their divisions. Pittsburgh and Atlanta were the runaway wild card teams. The Pirates won 96 games, and their post-season could end in one game.... No one reached 50 HR or 50 steals, and only one batter (the Mets' Alfonso Contreras) had an OPS over 1.000.... Cincy finished with 301 HR. Second-place Detroit had 272, the Yankees with 252. We had a good year, but were way in back of that with just 206. Austin finished last with 118; California just 125.

......

TL;DR Version: Off to the playoffs now. As I mentioned above, no new injuries! And we get Padilla and Ratliff back from the DL tomorrow, and Stoneback in a week. I'll activate all three, and hope we make it long enough for Stoneback to get back into the lineup. With Jackson and Jones pitching well down the stretch, I'll probably start with Ratliff in long relief, as Garfield and Perry will round out the four-man rotation. Fingers crossed that'll work.

We finished the season on a 13-5 stretch, and wound up with 111 wins, tops in MLB. (The Yankees were 2nd with 104 wins. San Diego had 103.) No one is going into the playoffs on a cold streak, and a number of players hit very well down the stretch. If we can keep our bats alive, we should do quite well...
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Old 02-13-2020, 08:05 PM   #312
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Playoffs 2049

The post-season kicks off with the wild card games. In the AL, Marlins pitcher Jason Simon tosses a one-hitter...and loses, 1-0. Milwaukee scored the only run of the game on a double and a throwing error by Miami's catcher, scoring the runner. The Brewers will travel to Hawaii for the next round. The NL game was over early: riding a pair of two-run HR, the Pirates rolled over the Braves 6-1, and will travel to San Diego to keep their title hopes alive.

There was some injury news in days following the close of the regular season. Brooklyn ace Ricky Arnau, coming off a 16-win, 316-K season, is done for the year with a sore shoulder. And Hawaii's Rich Stoneback suffered a mild setback in his recovery, and will miss another week. Depending on the length, he may miss the entire first series. Hey, if we win, he can enjoy the extra off days. We activate him anyway to get him ready, and send Jonathan Ashton to AAA for their playoff series against El Paso.

We'll go with the usual four-man rotation: Garfield, Jackson, Perry, and Jones. Ratliff moves into long relief. Miguel Montes is the closer, with Joe Broussard and Ben Germann in setup roles. HC Kym, Jaheim Mwaura, and Mark Money round out the bullpen. At the plate, we'll go with the lineup that we used through September. Notably, Ueda will start at DH, with Padilla spelling him should he stumble. Now let's get going.

......

AL DIVISIONAL ROUND
Game One: Milwaukee (RH Bryan Shaheen 13-8, 4.47) @ Hawaii (LH Mike Garfield 17-8, 3.77). It's 1-1 after three, when Garfield stumbles first and yields a 2-run blast to Kaz Kawakami. We take our first lead with three runs in the bottom half, sparked by Rich's two-run single. However, it all goes wrong in the fifth, as Garfield puts two on and gives up a three-run HR to Matt Anderson. He's pulled for Ratliff, who promptly puts a runner on and lets Kawakami go deep again. Down 8-4, we get one back in the sixth, but relievers Mwaura and Money each give up three runs late, and we die meekly in game one, 14-6. Our pitchers gave up 14 hits, 8 walks, and 4 home runs. Well, we did hit, but someone needs to pitch well, and fast. Final score: 14-6. Milwaukee leads series 1-0

Game Two: Milwaukee (LH Johnny Brownlee 12-14, 5.41) @ Hawaii (RH Shamar Jackson 19-11, 4.14). Death by a thousand cuts. Jackson gives up single runs in the first, second, and sixth. We come back in the bottom of the sixth, plating three runs on Rangel's RBI double and Frederick's triple. But for some reason...Jackson is left in in the seventh, loads the bases, and allows four more runs. Money relieves him and is butt again. We get one back in the bottom half, but Money allows two more in the eighth, and we fall short yet once more. The best thing from this game was Ratliff fanning all five batters he faced to close out the game. Too little, too late. Final score: 9-4. Milwaukee leads series 2-0

Game Three: Hawaii (LH Eric Jones 14-5, 3.83) @ Milwaukee (LH Jeffrey Foley 17-3, 2.65). Groff steps up in the second and blasts one over the RF fence one pitch in. In the fifth, Frederick singles, advances twice agressively, and comes home on a fielder's choice. We're up 2-0. One swing in the sixth, tho, ties it: Matt Anderson hits his second HR of the series, and it's 2-2. But our pitching fails us again in the seventh, as Jones gives up three hits and three runs; once again we're down and this time we're facing the end of days. Daley isn't down and out yet tho: in the eighth, after a Rangel single, he powers a line drive into the LF stands, and we're only down by a run. HC Kym comes in to the bottom of the eighth, puts two runners on, but gets a strikeout to keep us alive and end the inning. Off to the ninth, one last chance at life. Whitton strikes out. Simmons flies out, but Ueda walks on four pitches. Up comes Jim Klein: not much power, but batting .434 in the series. AND...he grounds out. Game. Set. Match. Final score: 5-4. Milwaukee WINS series 3-0

Elsewhere:
NY takes DET in four; Brooklyn sweeps the defending champion Reds right out of sight; and San Diego gets stretched to five games but shut outs the Pirates in the decider. None of this matters.

......

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES:
Milwaukee roars out to a 3-1 lead over the Yanks, but the Bombers strike back with late wins in games five and six. But...in Yankee Stadium, the wild card Brewers hit four home runs and plate ten runs to take game seven and slide into their second World Series in four years. Wow.

In the NL, it was seven back and forth games, with the Padres winning game six in Brooklyn by a single run. But back at home, their vaunted pitching fails (sound familiar?) and the Robins take a 7-2 decider, and now look to claim their second title in franchise history.

However, none of this matters.

......

WORLD SERIES
Brooklyn won a title in their only championship appearance, back in 2041. Milwaukee fell to Atlanta in their last trip, in 2046. They also went in 2025, losing to Richmond. They have never won the championship, but definitely have momentum on their side, having taken out the top two teams in baseball back-to-back.

Game One: Milwaukee 10, Brooklyn 6 ... MIL leads 1-0
Game Two: Brooklyn 5, Milwaukee 2 ... series tied 1-1
Game Three: Brooklyn 8, Milwaukee 4 ... BKN leads 2-1
Game Four: Milwaukee 5, Brooklyn 4 ... series tied 2-2
Game Five: Brooklyn 13, Milwaukee 1 ... BKN leads 3-2
Game Six: Milwaukee 9, Brooklyn 7 ... series tied 3-3
Game Seven: Brooklyn 5, Milwaukee 4 ... BKN WINS 4-3

Fun series. Brooklyn goes ahead in the final game in the 8th thanks to an error, single, fly out, and single. Milwaukee puts two on the 9th, but a swinging strikeout brings the series to a close, ending the Brewers title hopes, and giving the Robins their second title in as many tries. Making it extra bitter for Milwaukee, their owner Ron Attanasio died after the fifth game. His son Chris will take over team ownership.

Series MVP goes to veteran Brooklyn 3B Chris White, hitting six HR and batting .414 over the seven games. And why didn't Milwaukee use DH Matt Anderson more? He hit two HR against us, sat on the bench against NY, but hit 2 HR in 3 AB in this series. Mismanaged asset, there.

Again, however, none of this matters.

......

Sigh.
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Old 02-17-2020, 09:21 PM   #313
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2049-50 Off-Season, part one

Can a 111-win season be regarded as a regression in form? Well, it is if you go from an inning away from a World Series title to being swept out of the first round of the playoffs by a wild card team. In a way, the loss to Milwaukee hurts less, in that it was so stunning. I thought we were perfectly set up for a long playoff run: we were (nearly totally) healthy, we were hitting like mad in September, and even the pitching improved after sputtering some in August and early September. Our lineup was solid, the rotation set. And then...fizzle. We did do well at the plate, outhitting the Brewers in two of the three games. But the pitching was truly execrable, not even close to replacement level. Obviously, despite getting more hits, we didn't get them in the right places to score more runs; but I can truly pin the most of the responsibility for the loss on the pitching staff. And yet...what would I have done differently? Maybe put Ratliff back in the rotation, rust and all? He did throw well in playoff relief, so maybe that would have helped. But the guys I did roll out--Garfield, Jackson, and Jones--all threw well at the end of the season, and by that point had definitely earned their spots. So I'm not sure there's anything to have been done. Chalk it up to one of those things, I guess, just running into a hot team--after all, the Brewers did make it to the Series, eliminating the second-ranked Yankees in the process. It's just...damn, I thought this was our year.

Once again, our hitters trounced the rest of the league, and we led the AL in nearly every major statistical category. We even improved our home run total (an Owner Goal, lol), up to 206 and a tie for 6th. Our defense was top ten, and we made the third fewest errors in the league. Pitching was off-and-on, despite finishing second in runs allowed. The rotation was good most of the year, winding up with the second-best ERA, at 3.81. The bullpen started strong, but wobbled a lot during the middle third of the year, before picking up again late. Still, we finished with the 11th-ranked ERA (4.13) there, and with some personnel leaving, we'll have to retool that unit carefully.

We had some individual standout performers. Most notably, Adam Groff was fully healthy for the first time in three seasons, and he responded with his 6th career batting title (and more: see below); he also led the league in runs and OPS and finished second in RBI. His power took a while to return--he had just 8 home runs at the end of June--but he finished with 30 on the season, and added 45 doubles. Josh Frederick (.313/34/102) had a terrific sophomore season, and Rich Stoneback batted .323/22/56, albeit in just 90 games. Cam Daley (.292/27/112) and Manny Rangel (.285/22/73) were solid, and Jim Klein hit a quiet .306 at leadoff. Only J.J. Simmons (.262, well below his career average) and 31-year-old rookie Kaz Ueda (23 HR, .228 AVG) were disappointments. The pitching rotation was usually on, and we never truly had a period where more than one guy at a time struggled. Shamar Jackson had a better second half of the season and wound up with a team-leading 19 wins. Mike Garfield led the way with 211 K and 6.2 WAR, adding 17 wins. Ryan Ratliff, Eric Jones, and Dennis Perry (team best 3.11 ERA) were all pretty solid. All five will be back too, if I want them. The bullpen underwent some flux, especially after closer Justin Crowley went down for the season in July. We acquired Miguel Montes from LA at the deadline, and while he racked up some saves, he was mostly just adequate in the role. No one else really stood out one way or the other, although Ben Germann had perhaps his best complete season with us, piling up 112 K in 70.2 IP (an excellent 14.3 K/9). Like I said above, some guys probably won't be back next year, so expect some new faces here.

......

...Rolling into November, salary arbitrations kick off the silly season. Eleven players are due for hearings, with another three players as pending free agents (one with compensation, two without). Some big names getting arb hearings: Perry and Ratliff from the rotation; regulars Josh Frederick and Manny Rangel; solid subs Dante Padilla, Bob Goodloe, and Jerry Cappuccilli; and four relievers. Only one player--RP Luis Diaz, acquired from Cleveland last year--won't be offered a deal and will be let go outright. Everyone else will go through the wringer, and of course we'll try to short some guys. Why wouldn't we! I expect we'll win the cheap deals, and lose out on the big ones. (E.g., we're offering Frederick $5.5M, but he'll probably get north of $8M; Rangel gets a $9.5M offer, but is estimated to get $12M. And etc.) As for free agents, closer Justin Crowley voided his player option, and would bring us compensation, but of course won't get a $13M qualifying offer. He wants nearly $9M, but at 31 and out for half the coming season with an elbow injury, I'll let him go. The non-compensation FAs are both relievers: closer Montes and middleman Joe Broussard. Both are solid; both are also over 30, and combined they want north of $10M. I'll look elsewhere, thank you. Like I said: we will be retooling our bullpen this off-season.

...Finally, some 25 minor leaguers will ride off into the sunset. No big names here, of course, but there are some guys I thought might have big league futures but never panned out. 1B Eric Griffin was a 1st round pick in '43 and the power hitter of the future. He hit just .252 with 8 HR in AAA this year, and never developed that vaunted power stroke. IF Bob Walter (4th round in '43) looked like a super-utility player, but his hitting declined with every step up the ladder, and he topped out in AA, batting just .204. And sorry folks, but RP Doug Beanblossom (acquired via trade from CIN) just never developed any use at all, managing an ERA over 5 in A ball and earning a future somewhere else. Otherwise it's the usual list of middling draft picks, wash-out internationals, and fill-in minor-league FA signings.

...We make a number of personnel moves as well. Three-year bench coach Dave Schuknecht wanted a $500k extension; too rich, so see ya Dave. His place will be filled by AAA manager (and 30-year-old wunderkind) Chris Kenney, who's already been coaching in our system for seven (!) seasons. His spot in Santa Barbara will be filled by A ball manager Steve Johnson. Some other shuffling and departures leave us with four slots in the low minors to fill; nothing much else to see here for now. But back to Kenney for a sec: does this bode ill for manager Matt Sargent? Well, not officially at least...but he is coming up on a contract year.

...Owner Alexis Pagan checks in: he's happy, generally, although disappointed we didn't win it all. For next year, he wants a title, a long-term goal to build a dynasty (*eyeroll gif*), and to end the year with $21M in profit. That last one...hard to do without seriously cutting spending, man. We'll see.

...First roster moves of the off-season. We claim RP Kevin Johnson off waivers from Oakland. Good stuff, decent control/movement, groundballer, elite slider. He'll have an inside track on a roster spot in camp. To make room for him, we waive RP Joe Broussard, whom we weren't going to re-sign anyway. He's claimed by Minnesota, but they haven't signed him yet; not sure if they will. We immediately sign Johnson to a two year deal, for 750k and 950k.

...Second "move" is avoiding arbitration with Josh Frederick by signing him to a 9-year, $118M deal. He'll earn $4.9M in '50, then it jumps to $8.3, $12.2, and $15.5 before a player opt out after 2053. If he opts in, he'll earn that same $15.5 through '58. Frederick--so nice we drafted him twice--has been a rock in right for two seasons. I think he's MVP material in a good year. Barring some off-field catastrophe, this deal seems like a steal.

......

Out in the wilds...
...Weird manager stuff: 1) Cincy dropped two-year manager Ezequiel Sedano, after winning the World Series in '48 and 97 games (and the division) this year. 2) Brooklyn--remember them? They just won the World Series?--decided not to re-sign Austin Adams after two seasons at the tiller. Adams was snapped up quickly by the Columbus Clippers, so a nice comedown for him. 3) Atlanta made the playoffs, but that wasn't good enough to save Pat McCoy's job. 4) Not weird, but longtime Mets skipper Jorge Charry (2031-49) retired.
...Also, Mets fans: just wanted to let you know that the Wilpons still own your team. You're welcome.
...The Yankees and Tigers strike a deal: NY gets slugging 1B Andy Howard (.302/39/113) in exchange for 3B Jim McAtee and prospect C Jason Boatner. Howard is a top-notch power hitter, but they already have Jonathan Klump (32 HR) at first. McAtee is an okay hitter, with some pop (12 HR in 89 GP last year), but only an average fielder. Boatner is nothing much. Not sure what this deal accomplishes, unless Detroit was moving salary.

......

And now back to us...
Arbitration awards are announced, and we're going to be paying out the a$$ next year. Of course.
...Ryan Ratliff will get $7.18M (up from 4.83). We offered $6.2M
...Dante Padilla will get $10M (up from 750k). We offered $5M
...Jerry Cappuccilli will get $4.23M (up from 500k). We offered $3.25M
...Mark Money will get $1M (up from 900k). We won this one!
...Ben Germann will get $2.16M (up from 1.74). We offered $2M
...Bob Goodloe will get $2.51M (up from 500k). We offered $1.5M
...Nick Kramer will get $750k (up from 500k). We won this one!
...Dennis Perry will get $5.25M (up from 650k). We offered $3.5M
...Manny Rangel will get $13.6M (up from 8.13). We offered $9.5M

NEARLY $28M IN ARBITRATION INCREASES. Kids, don't let this many arbitrations at once happen to you. Damn.

...Miguel Montes and Justin Crowley file for free agency. Their departures, plus Broussard on waivers earlier, shave just over $8M in salaries. As of right now, we're on the hook for $203.5M in 2050. That's too much. I want to clear maybe $10M from next year's books before we get to spring training. And I've got to find 2-3 more relievers to shore up our bullpen losses. The clear signal is that someone on the current roster won't be around for much longer...

......

Award time! Who gets what...

AL Gold Glove: SP Chad Rivers (CLE); C John Lane (CLE); 1B Jim Timmer (CHW), 4th win; 2B Manny Rangel (HAW), 3rd; 3B J.J. Simmons (HAW), 2nd; SS Alex Castillo (NYY), 10th; LF Aaron Lenhard (SEA), 2nd; CF Luis Rodela (DET); RF Clint McDowell (TOR)
NL Gold Glove: SH Chad Akers (NOZ), 2nd; C Willie Alonzo (NOZ), 3rd; 1B Tony Moreno (BKN), 4th; 2B Brendan Polchlopek (CHC); 3B Blake Langer (SDP), 2nd; SS Francisco Villon (WAS), 3rd; LF Jesus Cabrales (PIT); CF Marquis Moore (NYM), 4th; RF Ed Silverio (WAS), 3rd

AL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Alejandro Gonzales, HOU [1.59 ERA, 38 SV, 87 K, 62.1 IP, 3.0 WAR]
NL Hoyt Wilhelm Trophy: Quinn Driscoll, CIN [1.69 ERA, 44 SV, 108 K, 69 IP, 3.6 WAR] (2nd consecutive win; stats are nearly identical from '49)

AL Silver Slugger: C Adam Behling (KC), 3rd win; 1B Adam Groff (HAW), 8th; 2B D.J. Grace (CLE), 3rd; 3B Tony Mendoza (TOR), 2nd; SS Mario Rivera (MIA); LF Sieb Moleman (NYY); CF Chris Mitchell (NYY); RF Andy Barenberg (CHW); DH Ricky Chavez (MIA), 3rd
NL Silver Slugger: P Sean Kropp (MTL), 2nd; C Bryan Huntley (LAD), 2nd; 1B Alfonso Contreras (NYM); 2B Alfonso Torres (ARI); 3B Blake Langer (SDP), 2nd; SS Enrique Antunez (CIN); LF Dan Dellinger (ARI), 2nd; CF Drew Elliott (SF), 2nd; RF Jose Tavares (CIN), 2nd

AL Rookie of the Year: LF Sieb Moleman, NYY [.331/.362/.566, 26 HR, 98 RBI, 4.9 WAR]
NL Rookie of the Year: LF Ryan Packer, NOZ [.254/.336/.522, 35 HR, 86 RBI, 4.3 WAR]

AL Manager of the Year: Matt Sargent, HAW (3rd win)
NL Manager of the Year: Dario Agrazal, PIT (2nd)

AL Cy Young Award: Phil Avery, NYY [20-5, 2.26, 191 K, 6.0 WAR]
NL Cy Young Award: Matt Waugh, ATL [16-8, 2.26, 291 K, 9.3 WAR]

AL MVP Award: Adam Groff, HAW, 4th win! [.351/.414/.582, 30 HR, 126 RBI, 8.0 WAR] (Josh Frederick came in third)
NL MVP Award: Blake Langer, SDP [.343/.391/.530, 20 HR, 76 RBI, 8.2 WAR]
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Old 02-29-2020, 06:33 PM   #314
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Decade: The 2040s

With the end of the 2040s, let's review the highs and lows of the last ten years. I've recorded these stats for each decade since this dynasty started in 2014. Several personal-dynasty highs were set this decade: Vinny Vargas batting .386 in '43; Dan Dellinger's 243 hits just this past season; Tony Flores topping his "record" 65 HR in '41 with 68 the next year; and Emanuel Vasquez reaching 331 K last season.

Best team? Hawaii, hands down. Playoffs every season, four World Series appearances, two titles. (Philadelphia and Brooklyn also won two titles.) Nine divisional titles; seven 100-win seasons. More to come? Who knows. Honorable Mention: Philadelphia (10 winning seasons, 7 playoff appearances, 2 Titles); Detroit (8 and 8, but no titles); LA (9 and 6, one title).

Worst team? Gotta be Texas. Only one winning season (82 wins, at that), and not even close to a sniff at the playoffs. Seven seasons with sub-70 wins. Nearly a decade of top-five draft picks, and they still aren't a good team. Honorable mentions: Washington (0 playoffs, 2 winning seasons, but only one truly bad year, 53 wins in 40); Montreal (0 and 1, but a lot of close-to-.500 play); and Arizona (0 and 3).

Batting
Best Player (Most WAR) (* = season MVP)
2040 - Adam Groff HAW 9.0
2041 - Alexis Mercedes HAW 8.1*
2042 - Mike Wapner SEA 10.7
2043 - Vinny Vargas OAK 9.9*
2044 - Mike Wapner SEA 8.9
2045 - Rich Stoneback HAW 9.5
2046 - Adam Groff HAW 8.9*
2047 - Jordan Coronado OAK 9.0*
2048 - D.J. Grace CLE 8.7
2049 - Dan Larson PHI 9.0

Batting Average
Vinny Vargas OAK 2043 ... .386
William Antonio TBR 2043 ... .376
John Arrington ATL 2046 ... .365
Dan Dellinger ARI 2048 ... .363
Adam Groff HAW 2042 ... .362
Adam Groff HAW 2046 ... .361
William Antonio MIN 2047 ... .361
Ty Cobb SFG 2041 ... .359
Matt Anderson MTL 2043 ... .357
Dan Dellinger ARI 2049 ... .357
Roberto Rivera DET 2043 ... .353
Matt Anderson DET 2045 ... .353
Adam Groff HAW 2049 ... .351
J.J. Simmons HAW 2044 ... .350

Hits
Dan Dellinger ARI 2049 ... 243
Chris Rock CHW 2048 ... 232
Juan Rodriquez LAA 2045 ... 228
Juan Rodriquez LAA 2043 ... 224
Blake Langer SDP 2047 ... 224
Juan Garcia KCR 2043 ... 221
Juan Rodriquez LAA 2044 ... 220
Juan Garcia KCR 2042 ... 219
Victor Sanchez AUS 2043 ... 218
Adam Groff HAW 2046 ... 216
Juan Garcia KCR 2044 ... 215
Mike Hunter HAW 2040 ... 214
Juan Garcia KCR 2047 ... 214
Tony Solar SDP 2041 ... 214
Adam Groff HAW 2040 ... 213
Jose Diaz BOS 2045 ... 213
Andrew Taylor BOS 2046 ... 213
Cameron Daley HAW 2047 ... 213
Gabe Duncan ATL 2049 ... 213
Cory Hopkins DET 2043 ... 212
Vinny Vargas OAK 2044 ... 212
Cam Daley HAW 2048 ... 212
Travis Tanner BAL 2042 ... 211
Cortez Ahumada NYY 2045 ... 211
Chris White BKN 2046 ... 210
Andrew Taylor BOS 2048 ... 210
Blake Langer SDP 2049 ... 210

Doubles
Justin Doss ATL 2044 ... 64
D.J. Grace CLE 2048 ... 61
Cory Hopkins DET 2040 ... 56
Erik Reed NYM 2042 ... 56
Mike Hunter HAW 2040 ... 55
Carlos Beltran, Jr CLE 2041 ... 55
Cory Hopkins DET 2043 ... 55
Tony Solar SDP 2041 ... 53
Mike Hunter HAW 2042 ... 53
Oscar Mendez SFG 2046 ... 53
Preston Eckles SDP 2049 ... 53
Adam Woods MIN 2040 ... 52
Pat Barnes NOZ 2043 ... 52
Corey Jarrell MTL 2043 ... 52
Cortez Ahumada NYY 2045 ... 52
Dillon Ritter SFG 2045 ... 52
Giovanni Laster CLE 2046 ... 52
Dillon Ritter SFG 2047 ... 52

Triples
Chad Kruer KCR 2041 ... 19
Andrew Ostrowski BAL 2043 ... 19
Roberto Rivera DET 2043 ... 16
Steve Richards CHW 2046 ... 16
Jose Moreno BKN 2049 ... 16
Orlando Navarro TBR 2047 ... 15
Chris Rock CHW 2047 ... 15
Kevin Venable OAK 2041 ... 14
Sean Young TBR 2044 ... 14

Home Runs
Tony Flores NYY 2042 ... 68
Tony Flores NYY 2041 ... 65
Sean West STL 2042 ... 56
Coby Sandu MIL 2043 ... 55
Tony Flores NYY 2045 ... 55
Vinny Vargas OAK 2044 ... 54
Jose Tavares CIN 2045 ... 53
Sean West DET 2046 ... 52
Chris Goldthwait TBR 2047 ... 52
Justin Wade NYY 2042 ... 51
Victor Sanchez BKN 2041 ... 50
Jose Taveras CIN 2046 ... 50

RBI
Cesar Alvarenga BAL 2045 ... 157
Chris Goldthwait TBR 2047 ... 148
Cesar Alvarenga BAL 2044 ... 144
Morgan Akers POR 2043 ... 141
Victor Sanchez AUS 2043 ... 140
Sean West STL 2042 ... 138
Chris Goldthwait TBR 2046 ... 138
Jose Taveras CIN 2046 ... 138
Sergio Torres MIA 2042 ... 137
Senichi Masuda HAW 2045 ... 136
Ricky Chavez TBR 2042 ... 135
Nate Rogers CLE 2040 ... 134
Jesse Henkel HAW 2041 ... 134
John Cannon HAW 2044 ... 134


Pitching
Best Pitcher (Most WAR) (* = season Cy Young)
2040 - Gary Florence SDP 9.5*
2041 - Rafael Maldonado RIC 9.4*
2042 - Alex Rossello NYM 6.9*
2043 - Rafael Maldonado RIC 8.4
2044 - Rafael Maldonado RIC 11.4*
2045 - Gary Florence SDP 8.9
2046 - Jose Gutierrez ATL 8.6*
2047 - Jose Gutierrez ATL 8.9
2048 - Cris Frias CIN 7.9*
2049 - Rafael Maldonado CHC 10.1

Most Starts, Decade, with Wins and WAR
330 Rafael Maldonado (157) 78.2
328 Mike Cote (143) 41.2
322 Raul Bravo (131) 44.6
322 Mike Wiater (130) 42.0
320 Joe Erkel (113) 36.2
319 Eric Jones (144) 32.2
317 Eddy Llamas (137) 47.3
316 Sam Thompson (115) 40.1
315 Miguel Moreno (124) 34.4
311 Hugo Blerra (91) 37.4

ERA
Jose Gutierrez ATL 2047 ... 1.83
Gary Florence SDP 2040 ... 2.09
Jose Gutierrez ATL 2046 ... 2.14
Eddy Llamas LAD 2047 ... 2.14
Matt Waugh ATL 2049 ... 2.26
Phil Avery NYY 2049 ... 2.26
Rafael Maldonado RIC 2041 ... 2.28

Wins
Gary Florence SDP 2040 ... 23
Eddy Llamas LAD 2047 ... 23
Jackson Suttie LAD 2043 ... 21
Zach Gioeli CLE 2044 ... 21
Ryan Ratliff HAW 2047 ... 21
Rafael Maldonado RIC 2041 ... 20
Alex Rossello NYM 2042 ... 20
Miguel Moreno SEA 2045 ... 20
Daniel Becker TOR 2047 ... 20
Mike Cote DET 2048 ... 20
Cris Frias CIN 2048 ... 20
Phil Avery NYY 2049 ... 20

Losses
Antonio Morales WAS 2040 ... 21
Pedro Cabrera TEX 2044 ... 21
Joe Jones ARI 2044 ... 21
Chad Rivers CLE 2049 ... 21
Sam Kennedy AUS 2040 ... 20
Jimmy Porreca MTL 2042 ... 20
Brandon Mercer RIC 2047 ... 20
Dan Moran MIN 2048 ... 20
Nick Boston KCR 2040 ... 19
Rob Sczesny TBR 2040 ... 19
Ryan Crawley HOU 2045 ... 19
Travis Bovee WAS 2046 ... 19
Rob Sczesny SFG 2046 ... 19
Scott Kopetsky MIN 2047 ... 19

Strikeouts
Emanuel Vasquez STL 2049 ... 331
Cris Frias CIN 2048 ... 320
Rafael Maldonado RIC 2044 ... 318
Ricky Arnau BKN 2049 ... 313
Joe Erkel TOR 2040 ... 309
Conor MacLeod MIN 2049 ... 306
Jose Gutierrez ATL 2048 ... 304
Mike Wiater OAK 2047 ... 302
Eddy Llamas LAD 2047 ... 302
Emanuel Vasquez STL 2048 ... 298
Rafael Maldonado RIC 2041 ... 296
Jose Gutierrez ATL 2045 ... 296
Chris Liles PIT 2048 ... 294
Jose Gutierrez ATL 2047 ... 291
T.J. Carroll DET 2048 ... 286
T.J. Carroll DET 2045 ... 284
Francisco Manzano LAD 2045 ... 283
Mike Wiater OAK 2045 ... 283
Rafael Maldonado RIC 2043 ... 282
Rafael Maldonado MTL 2040 .. 281
Cris Frias CIN 2047 ... 281


Fielding
Gold Glove Team
C - Ben Moore SEA (3 Gold Gloves)
1B - Jim Timmer CHW (4 GG) [Hon. Mention to Tony Moreno, also with 4 GG]
2B - Danny Diaz PIT/LAD (4 GG)
3B - Paul Foster MIN/CLE (10 GG, 6 this decade)
SS - Alex Castillo CHC/NYY (10 GG: 2 3B, 8 SS)
OF - Eli Immordino KCR (6 GG, 5 this decade)
OF - Jesus Villalobos DET (3 GG)
OF - Marquis Moore DET/NYM (4 GG, 2 in each league)

......

Other things.... 3 AL MVP for Adam Groff, 2 for Vinny Vargas (plus one NL win); 2 NL MVP for Rafael Maldonado (plus two NL Cy Youngs); NL MVP and ROY in '45 for Jose Taveras.... 35 no-hitters, including five perfect games. Sam Thompson and Miguel Dorado each tossed two.... first dynasty 4-HR game, by Toronto's Sam Moore in 2048.... Pitching Triple Crown by Rafael Maldonado in '41.... Team records set, AL: Miami with 386 doubles in '42; Detroit with 314 HR in '45; Houston with 1554 strikeouts (batters) in '49; Detroit with 1637 strikeouts (pitchers) in '45. NL: LAD with just 8 triples in '45; Cincinnati with 1660 strikeouts (batters) in '47; Philadelphia with 1677 strikeouts (pitchers) in '48.... World Series appearances. AL: Hawaii 4, Detroit/Milwaukee 2, Miami/Oakland 1. NL: Brooklyn/Philadelphia/New Orleans 2, St Louis/Atlanta/Cincinnati/LA 1.... Finally, kudos to SS Jordan Cruz, who finally retired in '48 after a 16-year career in which he struck out 3567 times, good for second on the all-time list. His other career stats: .200/.295/.340, 225 HR, 1762 hits, 299 steals, 2 Gold Gloves, 28.4 WAR. You'll be missed by somebody, I'm just not sure who.

Last edited by Bub13; 02-29-2020 at 06:38 PM.
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Old 03-01-2020, 11:42 AM   #315
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2049-50 Off-Season, part two

So as we get ready to kick off the annual Free Agent Frenzy (tm), what are the Islanders looking to do? First off, we'll need a couple of relievers. We did just make a waiver pickup, but losing closer Miguel Montes and setup man Joe Broussard means that one guy won't be enough. There is some talent developing in the minors, but no one is ready yet; so no callups to take a roster spot. We'll need someone closer-worthy (although Ben Germann may get a taste in the spring), and a setup guy. We do return the rest of last year's pen, but I'm not comfortable with our depth right now. (Germann fanned a ton of guys, but is prone to giving up big innings; Kym, Mwaura, Money, and Kramer all took turns in the dog house; swingman Shane Walker was just okay.) It's possible we try to grab someone early in the FA show, or make a trade, then wait a while and see what might pop up either via waivers, or on the cheap after the new year, when demands start dropping. The rotation looks set.

Second, the rest of the roster is largely in place; at least the starting lineup is. The only place that might get a lookie-look is DH. Kaz Ueda disappointed, and Dante Padilla hit well, but missed a good chunk of the season, and his hitting may not completely round out as advertised. Combined, they make nearly $20M, and I'm not sure their total production is worth that. If I decided to deal away both them, just saying, I could consider a platoon there: deadline acquisition Faustino Whitton started slowly but got red hot into September. He just kills lefties, and is damn near useless in the field; so he's a backup DH/1B at best. He could possibly platoon with LH Jerry Cappuccilli, who is pushing for more AB and got a sizeable arbitration raise. JC's a good fielder, so he's useful as a utility backup OF and part-time DH at the least. But if he plays more DH, I'd want to look at the backup OF roles. Joe Lynn is a free swinger who makes some contact, but has zero power. He played a lot as a late-inning defensive sub down the stretch, and could even end up taking over for the incumbent Joe Klein, if Klein comes out cold next year. Plus, Klein's defense has gone to the dogs. Jaden Daniels also hit well in September, and is just about a dead-cert lock for one bench position. Elsewhere, infield and catcher won't change. We have a $90M infield, and when all four are healthy, it's probably the best in the game. Backups Josh Matson and Bob Goodloe return, and may get pushed by up-and-comer Julian Cardenas. Catcher Rob Rich was steady, but backup Tom Whittington needs to develop his bat to keep his roster spot. No catchers from the minors are pushing him, as usual.

Verdict: a couple of pitchers; consideration of the DH spot; the usual minor league depth signings. And unmentioned in the above is that somehow I'd like to shed some salary too. Can we drop about $10M and get better? Happens all the time, right?

......

Around the Horn...
...so maybe Detroit knows what they're doing after all: having made a lopsided trade with the Yanks, they just inked star OF Cesar Alvarenga for 5 years, $102M. Alvarenga played 12 years with Baltimore, never missing more than ten games in a season. He's no longer a 40+ HR guy, but can still hit .300 with 25-30 dingers. Not a great outfielder anymore, but he's yet another power bat in that strong lineup.
...former #1 overall pick Kris Warner goes to the Mets for 5 years at $123M. He's a good, but not great, hitter, and a solid CF. He'll make the Mets better, but is definitely overpaid now.
...Detroit added another power bat, this time catcher Dan Starr, for 3 years, $67M. Thing is, he's now 39, and although he did hit .282 last year with Tampa, he's in decline. And he's a truly terrible catcher now.
...Richmond was pretty bad last year, so they've decided that their path to rebuilding is by signing old pitchers. To wit: 38-year-old Eddy Llamas (2 yrs, $61M) and 36-year-old Robby Liantonio (3 yrs, $45M). Both pitched well last year, but are probably going to start leaking oil any day now. (Llamas was good last year, but is down to just two pitches now.) And for a team that has only two regulars who batted over .248, new pitching may not be their wisest investment.
...our own J.J. Simmons apparently is spending the off-season training with a longtime friend and former Green Beret (they still have those?), and says that his strength and power will be even better in the coming season. As he has 3 home runs in his 6 full seasons, my head swoons at thoughts of the coming power surge. But if it puts 50 points back on his batting average, it's all good, J.J.
...Austin stupidly let OF Phil Imel walk, and he signed with St Louis for eight years, $208M. He can do it all (except run), and is a legitimate MVP-candidate in any given year. Great pickup for the Cards.
...LA inks former Isle SP Joe Koval, 33, to a five-year deal worth $70M. Koval is still strong, when healthy. But a 33-year-old with a significant injury history getting signed for five years? Include me out.
...Detroit is definitely loading up: now they add SS Francisco Villon for five years, $115M. Villon is good for 30+ home runs, a .275 average, and has three Gold Gloves on his mantel. At this rate the Tigers will field an entire roster capable of 30 HR a season.
...ISLANDERS TRADE! We shed some salary and get a reliever, trading once again with our pals in LA. We pick up 33-year-old Jon White and a 5th round pick, for 1B/DH Kaz Ueda, pitcher Jeff Miller, and a few low draft picks. White is closer material, having last saved 44 games for Cincy in '47. He's got great control and keeps the ball down. LA will also retain 30% of his $6.3M salary, and he's signed through '51. Ueda was supposed to be a big power bat in the middle of the lineup, but never got on track, ending with 23 HR and batting just .228. He's also 31 and signed for six more years, and I decided that long-term contract was a mistake I wanted to be rid of. Miller was acquired from Boston last year, spending all season in AAA. He's really quad-A material, and was sent off to make room for guys moving up the system.
...this year's crop of International Free Agents is another dud list. A couple of back-end-type relievers, a so-so young power hitting Japanese 1B, and a AAA-level SP top the list. But that SP tho was already signed by Cleveland when the list was announced. WTH, MLB?
...Richmond adds another old pitcher: 38-year-old Jay Russo, 3 years and $43.8M. Russo pitched well for LA last year, but he's missed time most of the last four years with injury. When on, he's solid. But: 38. Their three additions this fall are 38, 38, and 36 years old.
...woah: the Yankees just traded Cy Young winner Phi Avery to Cincinnati. In return they get power-hitting (but low averge) 2B Marcus Dotson, and two 24-year-old prospects (both adequate, but doubtful MLB material). Dotson sort-of fills a hole for NY, but losing a 20-game winner is quite a price.
...ISLANDERS TRADE PART DEUX! Okay, we pulled off a blockbuster, to try to keep up with the AL arms race. We sent four players--Dante Padilla, Dustin Barton, Carlos Munoz, and Tom Hall--to Tampa Bay for 1B/DH Chris Goldthwait. We also sent some cash, and we swapped draft picks--a 4th going out, a 5th coming back; each team now has three picks in those respective rounds. What did we give up? Padilla was penciled in at DH after the Ueda trade, and is pure power hitter, although he has struggled to stay healthy the last two seasons. Barton is a AAAA/MLB-type OF, who saw some time in Hawaii last year. Munoz was acquired from Atlanta before the season, and looks like at least a solid MR, possibly a back-end SP. Hall is only 21, a former supplemental round pick, and a nice-looking SP prospect. He's the hardest to give up, honestly. What did we get? Goldthwait is a big-time power bat, who bashed 52 HR back in '47, and is usually good for 35-40 a year. He gets on base too, with a career slash of .286/.397/.545. He struggled last year, batting just .256, but I think he can come back strong. He's just 28, signed only through the coming season, but might be signable next fall, given our coming roster apocalypse (more on that later). He reminds me of our former stud Jeremy Dunklee: power, OBP, average. In an up year, he's an MVP candidate. At worst, he helps us keep up with the Detroits and New Yorks, who are loading up for another run at a title. I'm happy.

...and with that deal, the 2049 Winter Meetings are off and running. No other trades yet, but Detroit re-signed their ace Mike Cote for four more years (at $28M per). He, however, will not hit 30 HR this year. And Milwaukee got better, signing two possible closers and a solid middle-rotation SP.
...LA signs its first closer of the off-season, inking former Dodger (and Isle) Miguel Montes for $5.5M. Despite his vaunted popularity, our phone lines did not light up at news of the signing. Maybe he hates poi. Also: it's extremely surprising that it's late December and the Dodgers have signed exactly ONE relief pitcher. No one has any regard for tradition anymore.
...we take no one in the Rule 5 draft, although I did take a look at a few catchers as possible competition for Whittington's backup spot. (But to quote Groundskeeper Willie: They're all sh*te!) We lost pitcher Tim Mitchell to the Yankees: Mitchell spent '49 in AA and AAA, was decent but not quite good enough for our rotation. I guess NY is going to replace Cy Young winner Phil Avery with him? We were one of eight teams to not draft anyone. LA topped the selection list, taking five players, including three relievers. (Side note: one of those is Daniel Newell, whom we drafted in the 4th round in '44 and traded to Richmond in '47. He's a AAAA-type pitcher, really, but has some really nice hitting ratings. I considered taking him myself, tbh. So LA grabs him...then releases him the same day, back to Richmond. Odd.)
...Brooklyn signed former Isles ace SP Rob Hart to a one-year, 950k deal. Hart has little left after injuries have taken their toll. And the Robins add the prize FA catch this year: SS Ben Grossman, formerly of the Cubs. Grossman is a .300 hitter, gets about 15 HR a year, and plays all-world defense. He's miles--thousands of them--above last year's starter: Jose Mendoza, who batted .156 with 1 HR in 307 AB. The defending champs lost their 1B and two quality SP, but free agents and replacements from within should more than fill those gaps. They'll be strong again.
...rest easy everyone: LA is now up to EIGHT relief pitcher acquisitions.
...next day: make that NINE.
...New Year, two new Islanders players: first, we re-sign RP Dan Brown to a one-year, $1.2M deal. Brown last pitched for us in '47, making his way through Texas, Baltimore, and then to the Mets since then. He had 26 saves for the New Yorkers last year, earning 1.4 WAR in about half a season. Should be a solid veteran presence in the pen for us, perhaps in a setup role. And he's just 29, so he's not ancient. Second, scout Moises Patino unearths a rare earth mineral, bringing back pitcher Gleb Mihalkovsky from...Kyrgyzstan. He's actually got some decent ceilings and solid intangibles, so it's possible he could become something. I'm going out on a limb right now to say that there probably has never been a Kyrgyzstani player in MLB... [NOTE: OOTP describes Kyrgyz baseball as "non-existent" with zero leagues and zero teams. So let's just figure he's been pitching in, say, Florida since his parents emigrated around ten years ago. Makes sense.]
...HOF voting is in, and only one player makes it: catcher Jared Grose gets in with 96.4% of the vote. Grose was a shoo-in, wrapping up his career with 109 WAR, 2554 hits, 477 HR, 3 MVP, a ROY, 9 all-star games, and 6 Silver Sluggers. Closer Ethan Villines was close, with 73% in his second year, and pitcher Orlando Ramos inched up a bit, getting 68.5% in his 9th year. My dark horse, Cisco Videira, got only 11%, and will likely have to wait for the Veteran's committee one day. (I bring him up b/c he ended his career with 3000 hits, and is the only player to reach that milestone and not be in the Hall. The exception that tests the rule, apparently.)
...Atlanta signed pitcher Jonathan Bell for 3 years, $46M. Bell won 17 games and earned 6.7 WAR for the Pirates last year. He's also the third SP PIT has lost this fall, without adding one in return. They should talk to LA about that.
...speaking of the Dodgers (again), the count is now SIX starters and TEN relievers added this off-season.

...the rest of late winter / early spring goes largely without incident. A couple of old Islanders sign with new teams: Jeremy Dunklee, 39, signs with Cleveland for what will likely be his final season; and Rick Ramirez turns his fabulous season with San Diego into a $13M one-year deal with Miami. I toyed with making Ramirez an offer, but $13M was waaaay out of my comfort zone.
...by signing half of the free agent pitchers available, LA paced the off-season WAR gains, with +10.3. Richmond was second, gaining 8.0, largely due to their trio of old old fusty old SP signings. Detroit, however, may have had the best off-season, adding a starting C, SS, RF, rebuilding their bullpen, and re-signing ace SP Mike Cote. Washington ranked last, losing 9.3 WAR, thanks to saying goodbye to a pair of all-stars, CF Kris Warner and SS Francisco Villon. Philadelphia was next-to-last, but may only miss middling SP Ryan Crawley.

......

Spring Training. We went a crazy 22-8, winning 15 of our last 16 games. Not that it really matters...but it beats the alternative. Most everyone hit well and pitched well. No one lost their job from playing poorly. Then again, there weren't really any spots open to competition. Injuries didn't hit us hard, but we did suffer a bit: RP Dan Brown will spend about half of this season on the DL, and RP Jaheim Mwaura got hurt twice, the second one causing him to miss the first week of the season. Also, Adam Groff missed a couple weeks with a strained quad. Nothing major, but I hope that's not an omen for the season to come.

Next up: opening day roster and season preview
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Old 03-06-2020, 06:50 PM   #316
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Your 2050 Hawaii Islanders Roster

Very little roster churn this off-season, although hopefully our new adds will help put us over the top come October. (Lather, rinse, repeat.) The bullpen is the area most significantly impacted, with three new additions (counting the injured Dan Brown).

As usual, below is player name, personal and salary info, last year's stats, and notes. Regulars and starting pitchers are underlined.

Batting!
C Rob Rich, 29, LH, $4.8M (thru '51), .269/.306/.357, 4 HR, 54 RBI, 1.1 WAR. Coming off a down year, but still an excellent receiver and worth his paycheck. Career high in games and AB last year, which might have contributed to his offensive slackness. Has a player option after this season.

C Tom Whittington, 25, RH, $500k (auto '51, then arb), .153/.150/.271, 3 RBI, -0.5 WAR (.290 in 286 AB in AAA). Scouts say his bat is better than those stats suggest. Decent receiver, and will get some time spelling Rich against LHP, although we won't play a full platoon. If he learns to hit, he could be our regular catcher in a couple of years, although he'll defintely never not be a #9 batter.

1B Adam Groff, 36, LH, $37.5M ('53, w/ opt out this fall), .351/.414/.582, 30 HR, 126 RBI, 7.5 WAR. Won his fourth MVP crown, sixth batting title. Still the straw that stirs the drink when healthy. May switch him more to DH this year to help keep him in the lineup, although he's a much better fielder than Goldthwait. Ratings are beginning to decline a tad, so it's possible that 2049 was more of a last hurrah than anything else. Will reach 400 HR and at least 2300 hits this season.

DH/1B Chris Goldthwait, 28, LH, $13.5M ('50), .256/.358/.474, 32 HR, 84 RBI, 2.3 WAR with TBR. Former 50-HR guy coming off a down year. We bought low on him, hoping for a turnaround. Depending on our many options and opt-ins-or-outs coming this fall, we may try to re-sign him. Great career OBP, and hits plenty of doubles too.

2B Manny Rangel, 29, RH, $13.6M ('50), .285/.354/.457, 22 HR, 73 RBI, 4.3 WAR. Won third consecutive Gold Glove; also had best power year at the plate. Free agent-to-be, and possibly in his last season with us. Considered trading him, but as we're "going for it" again this year, he's too valuable to give away just yet. Even if he regresses to his usual batting form (career avgs: .276, 13 HR), he's still a 3-4 WAR guy.

IF Josh Matson, 26, SH, $500k (arb), .324/.390/.676, 5 HR, 1.0 WAR in 74 AB. Didn't play much last year but stood out when he did. Continued hitting like that will more than make up for possibly losing Rangel. He is not Manny's equal in the field, however, and is barely passable at that. Not quite as good at the plate against LHP, so if he does play more, that will be a factor.

3B J.J. Simmons, 27, RH, $17M ('56), .262/.368/.357, 1 HR, 59 RBI, 3.2 WAR. Won second straight Gold Glove at third. Hitting slumped, but he still got on base at a good clip. Came into camp this spring in excellent shape, and will get a shot at leadoff again, after being moved down to #8 last year. Had a 1:4 K-to-BB ratio last year, and added 19 steals. No power at a traditional power position, but makes up for it elsewhere.

IF Bob Goodloe, 26, LH, $2.5M (arb), .343/.380/.435, 4 HR, 36 RBI, 1.9 WAR, 239 AB. Filled in nicely for Stoneback, although he's better suited for 2B or 3B. Bit undisciplined at the plate, but doesn't strike out much either. Is pushing to play more, and his escalating arb salary may dictate that, or a trip out of town. One of the team captains.

SS Rich Stoneback, 32, RH, $23M ('55, w/ opt out this fall), .323/.434/.592, 22 HR, 56 RBI, 5.8 WAR, 316 AB. Third straight season with less than 100 games played, which is not concerning at all, no, uh-uh. Still highly productive at the plate, and an excellent fielder (has three GGs). If he opts in for next year, his salary will go up by about $10M, which is also definitely not concerning at all. Tbh, I kind of hope Groff opts in, and Stoney opts out...

LF Cam Daley, 26, RH, $3.6M ('53), .292/.333/.486, 27 HR, 112 RBI, 3.5 WAR. Bat picked up as the season went along after a slow first half. Average has dropped 20 points each of the last two seasons, but he's still a productive hitter. Great glove (only two errors over the last three seasons), but a little slow and with an average arm; that may hasten his shift to first or DH sooner than later. Fans love him, and despite an escalating contract over the next few years, he's still on a sweetheart deal.

CF Jim Klein, 30, RH, $6.5M ('50, team opt for '51), .308/356/.419, 7 HR, 67 RBI, 2.8 WAR. Still hits and gets on base, adding 22 steals last year too. Range in center has decreased, and his defensive stats reflect that. Joe Lynn was sent down after camp, but is the best replacement in the system and could be back up soon Klein struggles. Undecided on what I'll do about his option for '51.

RF Josh Frederick, 27, LH, $4.8M ('58, w/ opt out after '53), .313/.371/.564, 34 HR, 102 RBI, 6.7 WAR. Built on his 5.3 WAR rookie season, and has become a fixture in the middle of the lineup. Added 23 steals, and near-GG level defense. With some off-season work, he could be a dark horse for the rotation, too! Team captain.

OF/DH/1B Faustino Whitton, 36, RH, $7.9M ('51, w/ LA retaining 75%), .280/.421/.440, 1 HR, 9 RBI, in 75 AB (.170 in 47 AB with LA). Is done as an outfielder, but still has a potent bat. Should get plenty of AB against LHP as DH and 1B. Expects to start, so we'll have to massage his ego this season.

OF/1B Jerry Cappuccilli, 27, LH, $4.2M (arb), .302/.373/.525, 10 HR, 33 RBI, 1.2 WAR. Not as rangy as you'd want for a CF, but he could seriously push Klein for PT this year. Corner OF backup, and a useful DH and 1B occasionally. Has brought up his hitting against LHP, making him more than just a platoon option. He really needs to be in the lineup soon, or traded for prospects.

OF Jaden Daniels, 26, RH, $500k (arb), .455 in 22 AB (.310 in 400 combined AAA/AA at bats). Strong arm, solid defense, and speed keep him in the lineup for now. Looks like a good-enough batter, but with little power. Converted pitcher, never did develop his control, but made it to the AA rotation. Will need to play well this year to stay ahead of the next crop of youngsters.


Pitching!
SP Mike Garfield, 32, LH, $18.6M ('50), 17-8, 3.77, 207.2 IP, 211 K, 6.2 WAR. Our ace, but a free agent-to-be. And looking for a long-term contract that he's not likely to get here, at age 32. Keeps the ball down, only gave up 17 HR last year, and walked just 40.

SP Shamar Jackson, 27, RH, $5.4M ('55), 19-11, 4.14, 226.1 IP, 195 K, 2.1 WAR. Was just so-so a lot of last year, but brought his stats up over the last couple months. More of support staffer than an ace, but we definitely need him to step up all season long. Knuckleballer, sparkplug.

SP Ryan Ratliff, 29, RH, $7.9M ('50), 13-5, 3.59, 158 IP, 163 K, 3.4 WAR (23 starts). Our only power throwing SP, he's also prone to the long ball. He's also proving injury-prone, having only made 30+ starts in one of his four full seasons with us. A good year here and we'll try to bring him back, if he's willing and the term isn't too onerous.

SP Eric Jones, 33, LH, $11M ('50), 15-4, 3.83, 218.1 IP, 156 K, 3.2 WAR. The former 21st round draft pick just keeps rolling on. Still getting by on movement and control, he keeps the ball on the ground, giving up less than 1 HR per 9 IP over his career. The third of our current SP who needs a decision this fall.

SP Dennis Perry, 28, RH, $5.25M (arb), 15-8, 3.11, 193.2 IP, 193 K, 4.4 WAR. Was healthy all year and had his best pro season by far. He was steady all season long, and is yet another groundballer who benefits from our solid infield defense. He's not a free agent this fall, but will need an arbitration decision.

CL Jon White, 33, LH, $6.3M ('51, w/ LA retaining 30%), 1-4, 1 SV, 5.14, 21 IP, 16 K, -0.2 WAR, w/ LA. Another guy (with Goldthwait, above) who needs to bounce back from a tough 2049. Has been an all-star closer before, so he has it in him, and he'll get the nod after a decent spring. Another ground ball pitcher -- yes, I have a type -- with power and control. Elite curveball, excellent sinker.

SU Ben Germann, 30, RH, $2.1M ('50), 5-1, 3 SV, 3.82, 70.2 IP, 112 K, 1.3 WAR. Despite a few late-season blow ups, had his best MLB year, especially with that lovely 14.3 K/9. Seems to have finally found a home in the bullpen, and will probably be the first man up if White can't get it done as closer. Another free agent this fall.

SU Kyle Johnson, 23, RH, $750k ('51), 3-3, 14 SV, 2.27, 47.2 IP, 50 K in AA Midland (Oakland system). A November waiver pick up. He appears to have solved his minor league control issues (was solid this spring), and has earned a shot in a setup role due mostly to owning some big-time stuff. Groundballer, slider/fastball combo, looks murderous against righties. Fingers crossed here.

MR Hyo-chin Kym, 30, LH, $2.6M ('50), 3-0, 3.09, 23.1 IP, 36 K, 0.2 WAR. Missed about half the season with a shoulder issue. Also walked 15 batters in those 23 IP, so control is a big shortcoming. Whether or not we offer him a deal this fall depends entirely on his performance this season. If he keeps walking guys at a 5 or 6 per 9 IP clip, that'll be a no thanks.

MR Nick Kramer, 27, RH, $750k (arb), 2-1, 1 SV, 3.89, 37 IP, 44 K, 0.3 WAR. (Also made 11 AAA apps.) Replaceable back-end-of-the-staff guy. Has spent parts of four seasons with us, and last year was the first time he showed any (positive) consistency. Excellent fastball, and (of course) a groundballer.

MR Mark Money, 29, RH, $1M ('50), 10-3, 2 SV, 4.01, 76.1 IP, 82 K, -0.2 WAR. A pure flamethrower, topping out at just over the 100 MPH mark. Struggled with control last year (47 BB), and allowed 12 HR as well. Has tossed over 230 IP over the last three seasons, with his stats getting a little worse each year. Probably in his last go-round on the islands, unless he has a career year. I'll allow it.


Almost...
2B Julian Cardenas, 25. Hits better than his tools say he should--combined .296 in three minor league levels last year--and is a dynamite fielder. Will start in AAA, but if he keeps his head up, will be on the pro team soon enough. Doesn't really look to hit at the MLB level like Matson or Goodloe, but runs circles around them on the field.

OF Joe Lynn, 21. Saw 28 games late last year, mostly as a defensive sub for Klein. Went 7-for-28 at the plate, but was otherwise undistinguished there. Simply will not take a walk, but has many pluses to his game: great defense, nice contact and gap power, rarely fans, runs like a deer.

RP Jerey Kolek, 25. Knocking on the door after two seasons in AAA. Arm injury last year set him back some. Doesn't have big stuff, but with solid movement and control could be a nice middle reliever. Probably the first call up in case of injuries.


And the walking wounded...
RP Dan Brown, 29. Probably won't be back until late August, including a rehab stint. Was going to slot into a setup role, but that went away early in the spring. At least we're only paying him $1.2M to watch games. Was solid in 52 IP for the Orioles and Mets last year.

RP Jaheim Mwaura, 23. Should return in a week, but will probably start out in AAA, unless Money or Kramer really flame out early. Started last year injured as well, was great in rehab, then struggled on his return to Hawaii. Showed enough in '47 and '48 to get another shot, especially with several current regulars likely moving on after this year.

......

MLB Preseason Predictions are in, and...it's more of the same, really. They say we'll win the West with 103 wins, 16 more than second-place Seattle. We'll have the 2nd-ranked offense (behind Detroit), and the best pitching. We'll be next-to-last in home runs (uh oh, there goes that Owner Goal). Elsewhere, the Yankees and Tigers are picked for their divisions, with Miami and Milwaukee taking the wild cards (Seattle just missing out...again). No one is picked to be terrible, with Toronto, Cleveland, and California slated for the bottom rungs, but all winning over 70 games.

In the NL, Philly, Cincy, and Arizona (!!!) are picked to take their respective divisions, with New Orleans and Pittsburgh grabbing the wild cards. (No such luck for defending champion Brooklyn.) Best offense goes to Brooklyn, and also the worst pitching. Best staff will be New Orleans, who usually has solid pitching. Odd pick: 26-year-old Philly 1B Ryan Hughes, who has 26 career HR, is slated to break out with 51 dingers. Atlanta, Montreal, and Portland are picked to fill out the back end of the grid.

In player rankings, SS Rich Stoneback comes in as the #3 position player in MLB, with Chris Goldthwait at #16. Mike Garfield is the 18th ranked pitcher. Our prospect system ranks #9, with five players in the top 100. (More on our prospects in the June draft review.)

We'll watch for some old-timers to reach some career milestones this year. Matt Anderson (41) signed with KC, and needs just 76 hits to reach 3000. Now play him you cowards. Paul Foster (CLE) and Vinny Vargas (LA) should reach 2500 hits by the all-star break, and our own Faustino Whitton could as well if injuries put him in the lineup full-time. Vargas, Dan Starr (DET), and Mike Blough (BOS) are closing in on 500 HR. Another MVP-type season will push Adam Groff over the 100 WAR mark. On the mound, only Arturo Franco has a chance to reach 200 wins (unless Eric Jones has 22 wins in him), but he's currently a free agent. Detroit RP Alex Castaneda should hit 1000 games, and a healthy season will see 39-year-old Eddy Llamas pass 4000 Ks. Rafael Maldonado (CHC) needs 308 K to reach the same milestone.

And, of course, our owner Alexis Pagan expects us to win it all this year. "Or else."

......

Finally, since the start of another season makes me think about the championship window with this current squad, here's a look at where we stand for the 2051 season with all of our current lineup. (Assuming no trades, retirements, or career-ending injuries.) There is a lot to consider.

Signed for '51
SP Shamar Jackson
RP Jon White
RP Kyle Johnson
3B JJ Simmons
LF Cam Daley
RF Josh Frederick
OF Faustino Whitton

Opt outs after '50
1B Adam Groff
SS Rich Stoneback

Team Option for '51
CF Joe Klein

Player Option for '51
C Rob Rich

Arbitration eligible
SP Dennis Perry
RP HC Kym
RP Nick Kramer
RP Jaheim Mwaura
C Tom Whittington
IF Bob Goodloe
IF Josh Matson
OF Jerry Cappuccilli
OF Jaden Daniels

Free Agents
SP Mike Garfield
SP Ryan Ratliff
SP Eric Jones
RP Ben Germann
RP Dan Brown
RP Mark Money
DH Chris Goldthwait
2B Manny Rangel

Regarding the arbitrations, some of the estimates are big (over $2M) -- Perry, Kym, Goodloe, Matson, and Cappuccilli. Those last three guys are probably good enough to become regulars. Perry has been solid in his time here. Kym is replaceable. The other four come in more cheaply; whether or not they return depends on a) this year's performance, and b) personnel decisions on other fronts.

Of the pending free agents, all the SP will be at least 30, making them not-so-favorable for long term deals. Ratliff is the youngest of the three, but also has the longest injury history. In the pen, Germann has come on of late, but will he want too large a raise? Brown and Money, like Kym, are replaceable. Goldthwait and Rangel, if they walk, will absolutely require solid replacement. (Although one of Goodloe or Matson would be a from-within replacement for Rangel.)

Our current salary outlay is $196.7M. Next year we're on the hook for $155.4M, and that includes the $68.5M for Groff and Stoneback should they opt in. If I let all my current free agents go, those two opt in, and all current arb estimates are accurate (they're not, obvs), with the same budget as this year I'll have nearly $50M try try to replace those eight guys. Oh, and that's also assuming I pick up Klein's option and Rich exercises his.

So the long and short of it is as follows: 1) Groff's and Stoneback's pending options (plus Rich's, to a much lesser extent) are keeping me from considering any major extensions for the current cast. (The other consideration here is that even if both come back, they're injury-prone enough that we'll need quality reserves for them, just in case.) 2) The pitching staff will probably be vastly different next year, assuming the likely (too high) term demands from the old guys. 3) To re-sign, reload, or rebuild: That is the question. Re-signing everyone is expensive, but the most comfortable, as in the devil-you-know meaning. We could try to bring most everyone back, grab a few guys via trade using our prospect depth, and keep on trucking. Letting a select few go and reloading via free agency is possible, but also expensive. Finding quality starting pitching and not-one-dimensional power bats costs piles of dough. Rebuilding is the other option, but then begs the question of how deep a rebuild? Should we consider the six guys (minus the very old Whitton) already signed for '51 to be the new core? Add to them a few of the arbitration cases, go from there? Frankly, that is my least favorite option. With no high-quality prospects ready yet for prime time (there are some good ones down there, but they're all 2-3 years away), we'd probably be looking at a couple of down seasons, and I'm just not ready to do that.

Should be some interesting times coming.

......

Next up: Play Ball!
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Old 03-13-2020, 09:22 PM   #317
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It's been a real stresser of a week, with the prospect of many more to come. I hope all of you are doing well, and keeping your loved ones close. Anyway...here's my paltry attempt at taking some of those troubles away. Time to go where it's always sunny and the seasons never go away. Thank you all for reading.

2050 OPENING DAY!

Twenty-four games in April, starting on the 5th (most teams started on the 4th, but we're special). All but seven games will be against AL East teams, and we open with two home series. Half of this month will be on the road, half at home. Let's go!

April 5-7 vs MIAMI
Coming off of three straight winning seasons, and two playoff appearances. MLB says they'll do it again, winning 88 games and taking a wild card. They return most of last year's lineup, adding LF Chris Bierly from Richmond (who hit an unimpressive .182 in his first extended big league action, but should be better than that). Two rookies have entered the rotation, in part because long-time #2 Matt Rubin will miss the entire season. And when closer Tim Schuenke went down for 4 months, they went out and signed 41-save closer Rick Ramirez away from San Diego. Manager: Paul Trashini, beginning his third season. Chemistry: Unhappy, with no captain and several slackers in the clubhouse stirring up some sh*t. Can't Miss Prospect? Well, #2 Josh Alsup is already in their pen, but should be in the rotation by, say, mid-summer. #1 Dustin Panos and #3 Dwaine Webb look like solid MiLB starters, but with only two pitches apiece, they'll be big league relievers instead.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (17-8 3.77) / RH Shamar Jackson (19-11 4.14) / RH Ryan Ratliff (13-5 3.59)
MIA pitchers: RH Francisco Pantaleon (17-10 3.48) / RH Jason Simon (11-8 3.55) / LH Jason Mangiaracina (11-10 4.32)

#1: WIN 4-3 ... Garfield gives up 3 in the 2nd, and we don't mount a full comeback until Rich's 2-run GWHR in the 9th...10 K for Garfield
#2: WIN 2-1 ... A fielder's choice and an error plate our only two runs, but it's enough...Jackson walks 4 but it otherwise solid...White Ks the side in the 9th
#3: WIN 6-3 ... we wake up with 12 hits, and Stoneback homers while driving in 4...Ratliff fans 10 thru 6 IP; Money and White whiff 5 in 3 IP

Yes I'll take it! A nice way to start the season. Two low-hitting affairs, one near-blowout, with three solid pitching outings.... A win, two saves, and 8 K in 5 IP for new closer Jon White.... Attendance quibbles: after selling out opening night, we draw 31K and 29K for the next two games. We raised ticket prices a couple of bucks in the off-season, so is everyone made at us now?... Adam Groff leads the AL with two steals. That is NOT what I want him doing.... ELSEWHERE: California sweeps their opening series, driving fans wild with anticipation for the sure-to-come super season.... So I made fun of Richmond for signing three old guys (combined age over 110) to the rotation this fall: well the three pitched a sweep over Cincinnati to open the season.


April 8-10 vs BALTIMORE
Dumped in three straight by the Angels just now, scoring only three runs and giving up 17. MLB says they'll win 72 games and struggle to score. I can see why: five new starters, including four rookies, none of whom wield strong bats. (Although rookie 1B Mickey Chamberlain at least is a nice contact hitter.) Pitching looks a lot better, although the rotation is not deep and won't survive many injuries. (One starter is out for two months at present.) They'll miss long-time OF Cesar Alvarenga, and should have traded him rather than losing him for nothing via free agency. C'est la vie. Manager: our old friend Pat Wilson, now in his fourth seasons with the O's, and still looking for his first post-season run since leaving the Islands. Chemistry: Content, with no disruptive players. Can't Miss Prospect? Pitcher Michael Buckland ranks 23rd in MLB, and his ceilings point to a solid #2-type starter. Excellent intangibles mean he could one day be even better than that.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (15-4 3.83) / RH Dennis Perry (15-8 3.11) / LH Mike Garfield ('50: 0-0 2.25)
BAL pitchers: RH Pat Karahalios (13-11 5.43) / LH Carlton Saunders (6-2 4.97) / RH Justin Barrington ('50: 0-1 4.50)

#4: WIN 6-5 ... we're outhit 12-8, but Rich's 2-run single in the 9th sparks a 4-run frame and another comeback win...Jones struggles, as does Kramer in their season debuts
#5: LOSS 5-7 ... HR for Stoneback, and 3 hits for Rangel...that's it tho...Perry gets battered pretty heavily, 11 hits and all 7 runs
#6: WIN 12-7 ... down 6-3, we score 5 in the 7th and 4 in the 8th...everyone gets a hit: 3 for Groff, and 4 RBI for Frederick

Once again, criticizing an opponent's hitting results in some bad pitching karma for us. Every starter gets seriously pushed around here, but our bats save us twice.... No HR yet for Groff or Goldthwait. I'm hoping for about 65 combined from them this year.... ELSEWHERE: A hot start for the Angels got even better thanks to a no-hitter tossed by Ken Demers, a 6-0 win over Tampa Bay. Demers fanned 10 and walked just one.... Richmond Old Man Pitcher Watch: Jay Russo is out for two months after injuring his ancient shoulder.... Texas is the only winless team, at 0-6.... A pair of wonderful names: Washington's Ryan Pfaffle leads the NL in RBI, while Atlanta's Finley Osborne is third in batting. (ATL also has a reliever named Cheney Welters. Neither wears monocles, apparently.)


April 12-14 @ TAMPA BAY
Predicted to win 74 games; if that holds, it'll be their fourth straight losing season. Currently sitting 3-3, not hitting (17th in runs), but pitching well (3rd). They traded slugger Chris Goldthwait to us, but still have Vance Wise (34 HR) batting cleanup. He's also listed as their closer, but will almost never pitch. Last year's lineup is otherwise mostly intact, but they did add 3B Dante Padilla thanks to us. And CF Justin Faber is out for the season. Manager: Veteran Tony Bajoczky is in his 8th year at the helm. Chemistry: Content, but with no captain the first losing streak is going to mean 'Knives Out.' Can't Miss Prospect? 2B Jorge Arriola is *almost* ready, and looks like a future perennial all-star. 3B Marcus Van Der Knaap looks almost as good, even if he's 2-3 years away...and not much of a third baseman.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (1-0, 1.13) / RH Ryan Ratliff (0-0, 4.50) / LH Eric Jones (0-0, 6.00)
TBR pitchers: RH Nick Scott (0-0, 5.68) / LH Nathaniel Cole (0-0, 3.86) / RH Greg Drake (0-1, 10.38)

#7: LOSS 1-5 ... 8 hits, only 2 back-to-back, as we can't generate anything at the plate...Jackson yields 2 HR
#8: LOSS 2-6 ... another quiet night...Stoneback drives in two...Ratliff gives up 10 hits in 4 IP, and five runs
#9: WIN 6-3 ... Groff and Goldthwait finally homer, and Jones tosses a solid 6 IP

Jones salvages the series for us in that last game, and Groff's HR is the 400th of his career.... Despite our inconsistent pitching and hitting, a 6-3 start is perfectly fine.... Mwaura comes off the DL and begins a rehab stint.... Frederick and Goldthwait haven't hit much yet, but Jim Klein is really struggling, at .167 with zero XBH.... ELSEWHERE: Texas wins a couple, so the new rock-bottom team is Toronto, losers of 7 straight and with a 1-8 record.... California is still hot, at 8-2. Brooklyn and Minnesota share the same record.... Boston 2B Mike Sanchez will miss nearly two months after breaking his wrist on an off day. He was washing his truck at the time, and fell off. Sounds like too much lubrication to me.

......

TL;DR Version: I'll take the 6-3 start. Hitting has been slow to get on track--we're 6th in runs, 9th in OPS, unusual spots for us--and despite being 8th in runs allowed, the rotation has the 4th-worst ERA in the AL right now. It's early days, of course, so things can change drastically in a couple of weeks. (Ain't that the truth.) Anyway...we've got 15 games the rest of this month, and the season is just 9 games old, so let's hold off on any complaining just yet. Individuals: Groff is batting .393, but with just 1 HR and 3 RBI; Stoneback is .303/2/10; only Shamar Jackson has an ERA below 5 (at 3.68) among our starting pitchers; 3 saves, 4 IP, and 9 K for closer Jon White.
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Old 03-24-2020, 03:50 PM   #318
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April 15-17 @ OAKLAND
Right behind us at 5-4, and 5th in both runs for and against. 3B Ryan Walton has had a great start, at .405/3/9, and 1B Ted Yoder is batting .407. Their bullpen ERA is the worst in the AL right now, with their closer and main setup RP combining for an ERA near 20. MLB says they'll win 80 games this year, which would be their best mark since '47. They didn't add much over the off-season, just a couple of relievers and CF Ian McGowan (former Isle). None move the needle upward much. Manager: Yoshi Sato, starting his 2nd year. Chemistry: content, thanks in part to three captains and other leaders. The players like Sato too. Can't Miss Prospect? OF Miguel Tejeda projects as a Jose Canseco-type: big hitter and bad fielder, but no speed. He's 22 and currently in AA, and is at least a year away.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (0-1, 9.53) / LH Mike Garfield (0-0, 5.27) / RH Shamar Jackson (1-1, 3.68)
OAK pitchers: RH Mike Pearson (0-0, 5.14) / RH Jim Schwartz (2-0, 1.50) / LH Chris Larimer (1-1, 3.21)

#10: LOSS 6-9 ... 2 HR, 5 RBI for Goldthwait...Perry gives up 6 R in 2.2 IP tho...3 RP give up a run each too
#11: LOSS 3-5 ... Goldthwait homers again, and we outhit them 13-8, but we just can't score...Garfield is better, but takes the loss
#12: LOSS 3-7 ... more bad pitching, more lax hitting...Daley knocks his first HR of the season

Well that didn't go well.... We're actually 1st in batting average, but we're not scoring (8th) and are 11th in home runs.... Rotation stats are best left unobserved for the moment.... At least we're coming back home for a bit, maybe we can get going there.... ELSEWHERE: KC is the first to ten wins; three teams have nine wins.... Toronto is 2-10, and four other teams have four wins.... Texas' perennial MVP candidate William Swanson is off to a hot start: batting .435 with 7 HR and a 1.509 OPS.... Cincy starter Aaron Maloy has yet to give up a run in his two starts.... The White Sox finally moved prospect Ben O'Neal into the rotation and he's responded: 43 K in 25 IP, a 2.13 ERA.


April 18-21 vs CALIFORNIA
Predicted to finish last in the division, they're off to an 8-5 start. Unlike us, they've managed to score (4th in runs) the runners they get on base, and their pitching staff is feeling it too (5th in runs against). 2B Jonathan Honeycutt (.356) and LF Nate Atwater (.308) are hitting well above their career numbers; but some of their better hitters are struggling. So that will balance out. Manager: Jonathan Fixler, also starting his 2nd season. Chemistry: Content, but most of the team dislikes Fixler, so that'll be interesting to watch. Can't Miss Prospect? OF Mauricio Marquez is just 19, but has .300/30/100-type ceilings. Good fielder too, with some speed.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (0-1, 7.20) / LH Eric Jones (0-0, 5.25) / RH Dennis Perry (0-2, 12.96) / LH Mike Garfield (0-1, 4.79)
CAL pitchers: RH Ken Demers (1-0, 3.21) / RH Ryan Kuehner (1-1, 5.40) / RH Jon Carlsen (1-1, 1.88) / RH Mike Hosey (1-0, 2.19)

#13: WIN 8-2 ... finally some good pitching, although Ratliff leaves in the 7th with an injury...HR for Stoneback, moved down the lineup today
#14: WIN 13-6 ... 2 HR and 5 RBI for Daley, and another Goldthwait HR...Jones tosses 7 strong IP, although Money is rocked hard in the 8th
#15: LOSS 2-10 ... Perry is again beaten like a rented mule, and our bats took the night off
#16: WIN 7-6 ... Daley (2 HR) and Goldthwait (1 HR) carry the load again...3 hits for Rich too...Garfield struggles again: 6 runs in 6 IP

Much better, although still some pitching issues to work through.... Lineup movement: Stoneback from 3rd to 6th, Frederick from 5th to 3rd, and Goldthwait from 6th to 5th.... Goldy and Daley almost single-handedly won this series, and both are on fire.... Perry's ERA is still over 11, not what he's hoping for in a contract year.... CF Klein is batting just .259 and playing pretty poor defense (no errors, but range and EFF are very, very low).... ELSEWHERE: Oakland swept their current series too, and sit on top of the AL West at 11-4.... Toronto is still stuck on two wins (2-12), and Baltimore (3-13) has lost six straight to join them in the cellar.... St Louis is off to a 6-10 start, and clubhouse tensions are already simmering: OF Callum Hewitt complained about "the martinet and dictator," aka manager Ron Miller, running the team, to which Miller responded "get happy or get out." Funny that Hewitt's relationship with Miller is listed as "Good," and only a few players are unhappy at the moment. Stay tuned.


April 22-24 @ NY YANKEES
Our annual trip to the Bronx, and an early test of strength for each team. NY is 9-6, and like us still trying to work out the kinks in the lineup. Seventh in runs scored, second in runs against. The lineup is loaded, featuring six regulars who topped 20 HR last year, along with returning ROY Sieb Moleman (.372 so far). Three of those six just mentioned are new acquisitions, so NY is not sitting on any first place laurels from '49. The rotation has been the best in the AL so far (despite trading last year's Cy Young winner), while the bullpen has been just average. Manager: Ruben Vasquez, who managed four teams to just two playoff appearances over 15 seasons, but has come along to NY just in time for their major resurgence. Chemistry: Content, although it's worth noting that not a single pitcher likes Vasquez. Can't Miss Prospect? The pool ranks dead last, with only two players in the top 200: pitchers Jose Sedillo and Ricky Pascual. Neither looks like much, so the answer to the question looks like a No.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (1-2, 5.75) / RH Ryan Ratliff (1-1, 5.06) / LH Eric Jones (1-0, 4.74)
NYY pitchers: RH Steve Ashjian (0-0, 0.00) / RH Joe Erkel (3-0, 1.35) / LH Brian Whitney (0-2, 5.71)

#17: WIN 4-3 ... a pair of HR for each side, but it's Klein's 9th-inning RBI single that wins it...Jackson fans 9 through 8 IP...only ten combined hits
#18: LOSS 5-6 ... we can't hold on to a 5-3 lead, and drop this one in the 10th...4 RBI for Goodloe, but not much else tonight
#19: LOSS 1-3 ... flat again, with just 3 hits...Jones is better, but still puts 12 men on over 8 innings

Better pitching in this series, but moribund offense. We're 3rd in getting runners on, and 5th in runs. Slow starts for Simmons (batting #1), Frederick (#3), and Stoneback (now #6) haven't helped.... Eric Jones is still the only SP with an ERA under 5. The bullpen has been stout, despite blowng that second game.... Prized prospect Jules Medici is really struggling in AA: .119/.178/.143, 0 HR.... ELSEWHERE: After an 8-2 start, the Angels have dropped 9 of 10, and are currently in 4th place in the West.... Everyone in the AL Central is over .500, and all but one team in the NL West is at least .500.... Milwaukee's Matt Anderson has announced that this will be his last season. The 41-year-old is sitting on 2925 career hits, but with only 4 AB so far this season, he isn't likely to get too many more. Too bad.


April 25-27 @ BOSTON
Another middling squad so far, at 9-8. Poor hitting (10th in runs) paired with solid pitching (4th). Like NY, the rotation is strong but the pen has struggled mightily. The #3 through #5 hitters are batting a combined .186 right now. Manager: Gustavo Nunez was promoted from the Pioneer League to MLB, and like NY's Vasquez he has an entire pitching staff that hates him. Chemistry: Content, which is a step up for this notoriously unquiet clubhouse. With six players known as being either 'selfish' or 'unmotivated' things could get ugly quick. Can't Miss Prospect? They have 38th-ranked Dylan Tate tabbed for the rotation one day, but he looks more like a MR to me. Their top eight prospects are SP, and I'm partial to #3 Sean Reed and #4 Yuya Watabe, two future mid-rotation anchors.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (0-3, 11.37) / LH Mike Garfield (0-1, 5.67) / RH Shamar Jackson (2-2, 5.08)
BOS pitchers: LH Josh Lawler (2-1, 2.18) / RH Adrian Hammerbeck (2-0, 2.16) / LH Jonathan Esquivel (1-1, 3.28)

#20: LOSS 0-6 ... more sleepytime offense, but at least Perry lowers his ERA by over a run
#21: WIN 11-1 ... hello hitters! 13 hits for us, including 3 for Frederick, along with 5 RBI...Garfield gives up just the one run through 7 IP
#22: WIN 10-3 ... two in a row! Wondrous...18 hits, at least one for everyone, and 3 each for Simmons and Stoneback...CG for Jackson, 7 hits, 8 K

A more wakeful offense keeps us over .500, now 12-10 and 2.5 games behind Oakland.... Those outbursts have put us back on top in average, at .283. But we're stuck in 15th in HR, with just 22.... Adam Groff is hitting, at .333, but has just 1 HR and 7 RBI from the cleanup spot. Might be time to move him out of there.... ELSEWHERE: Cincy's Jose Taveras was just named NL player of the week, and leads all of baseball with a .425 average.... Seven losses in a row for California, dropping them to 9-14. Baltimore is the bottom dog, at 5-17, while the Yankees catapulted after their series with us to a five-game winning streak.... KC pitcher Ryan Swan has given up just 3 runs in his first 5 starts, for a 0.66 ERA.


April 29-30 vs TORONTO
They've done one thing well this year, and that's hit home runs (2nd, with 34). But they're only 14th in runs scored and 17th in pitching, and a -35 run differential already. Four RP and their #1 catcher are on the DL too. I'm still not sure why they went out and signed prize UFA Tony Mendoza last year: despite hitting well this year (.288, 8 HR), they've surrounded him with very little, and it shows. The rotation is experienced, but almost no one has a track record of SP success, and their one proven guy--ace Frank Tate--is really dragging along with an ERA near 12. Manager: Jose A Jimenez spent a decade in our system before moving up, first to the Yankees and now here. He's in his sixth MLB year, and has just one winning season to show for it. Chemistry: Unhappy. For a change, at least this pitching staff likes their manager. Can't Miss Prospect? Former top-five pick Greg Boedigheimer is ranked #17 by MLB and looks like a future contributor, but I also like #2 man Nick Palmer, with more stamina and better pitches than Boe-dog.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (1-1, 5.57) / LH Eric Jones (1-1, 4.00)
TOR pitchers: RH Erik Bradley (0-0, 7.48) / LH Chris Rivera (0-1, 8.10)

#23: WIN 7-1 ... finally a good start for Ratliff (7 IP, 5 H, 10 K)...3 hits for Groff and Daley, and a 3-run HR for Goldthwait (his 8th)
#24: WIN 6-4 ... 3 hits for Rangel, and 2 H / 2 RBI for Daley...Jones is quietly sharp through 7 IP, although Germann nearly blows things in the 8th

Solid way to end the month: good hitting and improving pitching.... Four batters ended the month at/over .300, and Daley drove in 24 runs, while Goldthwait added 8 HR and 21 RBI.... Ben Germann has had a couple of shaky outings lately, but overall the pen has been solid, at third in ERA (2.58).... Tough times for AA Lewiston, at 5-10, struggling at the plate and on the mound. One-time can't miss pitcher Braden Mathiesen has an ERA near 17. Seventeen!... ELSEWHERE: Usually by the end of April at least one team has started pulled out a sizable division lead. Not this year: Cincy's 2.5 game advantage over New Orleans is the biggest.... All six AL Central teams are still over .500.... Richmond's ageless Eddy Llamas (at 39) leads NL pitchers with a 0.97 ERA and 2.1 WAR, and is tied for 1st with 49 K. A healthy year will see him reach the 4000 K mark, and would be the 7th to do so. (The others are Ryan, Johnson, Clemens, Strasburg, Orlando Ramos, and Carlton.)

......

TL;DR Version: A nice little 4-game winning streak at the end helped out an otherwise up-and-down month. We end at 14-10, 1.5 games behind the resurgent A's, and two ahead of the Astros. Our bats have come alive of late, and we're up to 2nd in runs, while leading in AVG and OBP. The pitchers finally came around too, with the rotation at last getting its ERA down under 5. A little more power from our hitters (only 23 total HR) and continued improvement from the rotation, and we'll be fine. So: SP Dennis Perry needs to get it in gear; CF Jim Klein raised his AVG by 20 points late in the month, but is hitting with zero power (just 1 double) and playing poor defense; 2B Manny Rangel reached the .300 mark, but isn't hitting for XBH and RBI like he did last year. Backups Goodloe and Matson are pushing him, and prospect Julian Cardenas is batting .409 in AAA...And with Rangel in his final contract year, don't be surprised if something happens soon, especially if we need a boost to catch the A's.
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Old 03-27-2020, 03:53 PM   #319
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MAY 2050

Big month ahead: 29 games, with 17 at home. After finishing with Toronto, we'll hit three series against divisional foes and then it's off to interleague play. No days off until the 16th, and then one more on the 26th. Keep winning guys!

May 1 vs TORONTO
Final game in the series, featuring two badly struggling pitchers.

HAW pitcher: RH Dennis Perry (0-4, 10.13)
TOR pitcher: LH Frank Tate (0-3, 11.68)

#25: LOSS 3-10 ... Perry gives up 6 in the 5th, getting yanked...Money and Kramer fare little better in relief...2 hits for Rich, and a rare RBI for Groff

Yuck. Perry just can't join the fun, and may be looking at a flogging if this keeps up.... ELSEWHERE: Texas slugger William Swanson is the first batter to reach 2 WAR, and is currently hitting .391/9/22.... For the first time since I don't know when, someone has reached double figures in steals (BAL's Nick Mullins, with 11), before anyone has ten home runs (three players with 9).


May 2-4 vs SEATTLE
Recent losers of seven straight, and stuck at a 9-16 mark right now. Only 12th in AVG, but 5th in OBP and runs somehow. Pitching is just 15th in runs against, however, with neither the rotation or pen distinguishing itself. (Although closer Daryl Kennedy has a 0.90 ERA.) Mike Wapner, a 17-year vet who would likely have HoF numbers if he could stay healthy, has just been dropped onto the DL for a month. Catcher Arturo Sena, at .320, is batting 70 points over his career average. Manager: Jacob DeGrom is in his fourth year, and has yet to field a losing team. Despite that, he's only made the playoffs one time. Chemistry: Content, with a healthy crop of team leaders and only a couple of malcontents. Only two players kinda like DeGrom, tho. Can't Miss Prospect? 1B Jon Terrell (49th by MLB) was just called up from AA, probably a bit early in his development. But at least him, 2B Ger van Mourik, and CF Luis Hernandez all look like future core players, a nice group to build around.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (1-1, 4.76) / RH Shamar Jackson (3-2, 4.34) / RH Ryan Ratliff (2-1, 4.50)
SEA pitchers: RH Edgar Tinajero (2-1, 3.63) / RH Erik Ramey (1-3, 6.21) / LH Carlos Zenon (1-1, 6.51)

#26: LOSS 5-7 ... more pitching struggles, and only one hit from our top four batters...backup CF Jaden Daniels is now batting .364, hmmm
#27: WIN 12-4 ... quite the reversal, with 17 hits and 3 HR...4 hits for Groff and Frederick, and 4 RBI for Groff
#28: WIN 8-1 ... 3 more HR, a solid game from Ratliff, but Groff is injured on a HPB

Time to reiterate: I will always take two wins in three games. The only negative is Groff's injury, but he'll only miss a week with a hand contusion.... I finally moved him out of cleanup, and he responded perfectly (okay, it's just two games, but still).... Our recent HR spate still has us in 15th place however. It has also jumped Daley, Goldthwait, and Frederick to 1-2-3 in RBI.... ELSEWHERE: Former Mets 50-HR man Erik Reed spent much of last season on the bench, getting just 150 AB and going .273/7/25. His first month with Brooklyn saw him bat .343/7/24 and win NL player of the month honors.... No team has won 20 games yet, but Baltimore (21) and Texas (20) have each lost that many.... Tony Mendoza (TOR) is the first to 10 HR, and Tampa's Orlando Nararro is batting .419.


May 5-8 @ TEXAS
Losing has become a Rangers tradition, unfortunately. Currently 8-20, with middling (9th) hitting and bad (18th and last) pitching. Their rotation has been worse than ours, with an ERA near 7. 1B William Swanson is keeping the offense afloat all by himself: .356/9/23. Four other regulars are hitting at least .270, but their two top rookies are batting a combined .200. Manager: Tae-Hyeok Nam is in his third year, and they've gotten worse each season. Chemistry: Content, which doesn't say good things, honestly. Can't Miss Prospect? DH Eric Robbins is batting just .182 for the big club, but he should come around soon. He's got a huge power bat, and looks like a nice complement to Swanson. OF Ronnie Halverson is also up, also not hitting, but is a solid defender with speed. And I really like their #4, SS Javier Tzoc, who looks like a future #2/#3 hitter with nice infield defense.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (2-1, 3.44) / RH Dennis Perry (0-5, 10.57) / LH Mike Garfield (1-1, 5.26) / RH Shamar Jackson (4-2, 4.26)
TEX pitchers: LH Bill Butts (1-2, 8.31) / RH Ramon Saucedo (0-0, 20.25) / RH Mike Messinger (0-6, 6.94) / RH Mike Kent (2-3, 5.31)

#29: WIN 5-4 ... Simmons singles home Rangel in the 8th, then Germann and White shut it down to save the win
#30: WIN 7-5 ... Perry gives up 5 in 6.2 IP, and still lowers his ERA...Klein knocks a GRAND SLAM in a six-run 3rd
#31: LOSS 4-6 ... 10th HR for Goldthwait, and we outhit them, but Garfield is chased in the 5th
#32: WIN 6-5 ... we knock 7 doubles, including two for Daley (he adds two more singles)...Jackson goes 6.2, but gives up 5...bullpen goes 2.1 and shuts them down again

Would have loved the sweep, but I'll take the three wins and get out of town.... Starting pitching is still really dragging us down, although kudos to Perry for finally getting his ERA below 10.... Daley is batting .358, and leads the AL with 29 RBI.... We've righted the ship somewhat, and have moved ahead of Oakland by a half game, at 19-13.... ELSEWHERE: Texas pitcher Ramon Saucedo blows out his elbow in his last start, then retires the next day. Sorry, bud.... Eight losses in a row for Austin, now at 9-23 (along with Texas).... LA's Vinny Vargas popped three HR against Arizona on the 5th, passing 500 for his career.... Richmond's Eddy Llamas has lost his last two starts, but still sports a 1.76 ERA, and a pretty decent 63-to-7 K-to-BB ratio.


May 9-12 vs HOUSTON
Keeping up in the division, at 17-15. Hitting is 10th in runs, pitching is 7th, for a +10 differential. Jose Renteria appears to have filled out after last year's struggles, batting .328/12/23. SS Ricky Silva is hitting .272 with 7 HR; LF H-Y Qu .281, 5 HR. Not much other production around, however. And let's point out pitcher Alejandro Gonzales, who would be a perennial Cy Young candidate if he had any stamina at all. Instead, he's a top closer (7 saves, 0.82 ERA) who makes a whopping $33M a year. Manager: Dylan Barrow, sixth season. Chemistry: Content; the players like Barrow, but there's a large group of potential cancers hanging around. Can't Miss Prospect? Ron Mills, ranked #80 by MLB, is in the rotation already and looks fairly unremarkable, really. I'm pulling for #2 guy Humberto Quirindongo, for his name more than anything else.

HAW pitchers: RH Ryan Ratliff (3-1, 3.93) / LH Eric Jones (3-1, 3.73) / RH Dennis Perry (1-5, 9.71) / LH Mike Garfield (1-2, 5.93)
HOU pitchers: LH Chris Harris (2-4, 5.31) / RH Dustin Springer (2-3, 5.35) / RH Chris Avalos (2-2, 4.95) / RH Ron Mills (1-1, 4.26)

#33: LOSS 3-7 ... Ratliff twists his ankle, and leaves after 2 solid innings...the pen, tho, blows up quickly, despite 14 strikeouts
#34: WIN 11-5 ... Groff comes back and homers, and Simmons adds his annual blast...3 hits for Matson and Simmons
#35: WIN 3-2 ... we manage a pair of solo HR, including Klein's GW in the 10th...Perry is strong, while Germann and White set it up and close it out
#36: WIN 3-1 ... another HR for Groff, and finally a strong 8 IP from Garfield, fanning 13...then he gets hurt

Nice. And yet, we lose first place after Oakland wins four straight. Still beats losing, tho.... Ratliff's injury was not serious, and he's fine. Garfield, however, strains a hamstring and is dtd for a week. He'll probably be good to go for his next start too.... Groff has responded well to moving out of cleanup, in fact smacking two home runs in his three games back from injury. New cleanup guy Goldthwait, however, is now batting just .224.... ELSEWHERE: Detroit has won 5 straight, and nine out of ten, to become the latest hot team. At the other end: California has dropped six in a row, and Austin has lost 9 out of 10.... Twins ace Conor MacLeod has been a strikeout machine: he leads MLB with 91 (in 64.1 IP), quite a lead over second-place Matt Waugh, with 72.... The Twins have scored 212 runs in 35 games, and would be even better than their 22-13 record if they weren't a one-man rotation.


May 13-15 vs NEW ORLEANS
Odd stat moment: the Zephs are 3rd in NL runs, despite being 16th in average. They're 7th in OBP and 8th in OPS, so that is quite the anomaly. Pitching is good too: 3rd in runs against, and the 2nd best rotation in the NL. No batters are lighting it up, and in fact cleanup batter Steve Wallace is batting just .177. What hurts, however, is that two SP, a swingman, and a solid MR are on the DL right now. Manager: my old bud Clarence Whitney, now in his fifth season in NOLA. Chemistry: Content, but no team captain. Can't Miss Prospect? Ehh...the system is ranked 28th, and there aren't any 'wow' players. I do like #2 guy Arnold Mills, who promises to be a Gold Glove-quality 2B, with a bat that will at least keep him in the bigs. SP Sean Guerrero and Hugo Jimenez look like the only potential big-leaguers-to-be for the rotation, and neither looks like much, frankly.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (5-2, 4.59) / RH Ryan Ratliff (3-1, 3.72) / LH Eric Jones (4-1, 3.94)
NOZ pitchers: RH Gary Buttacavoli (1-2, 4.25) / RH Chris Douglas (0-0, 1.13) / RH Jose Pascual (0-1, 4.70)

#37: LOSS 4-5 ... Jackson gets hit early, and our comeback falls short...two hits and a HR for Stoneback...two hits for Simmons...8 K for the bullpen
#38: LOSS 4-5 ... bullpen gives up the tying run in the 9th, loses it in the 11th...7 good IP for Ratliff...3 hits for Daley and Goldthwait
#39: WIN 7-1 ... Goldy knocks in 4 with a HR and a 2B, then gets hurt...3 hits for Simmons...Jones scatters 4 hits over 7.2 IP

Redemption in that third game after two tough losses.... Goldthwait's diagnosis is pending. If he goes out, I'm not sure who's gonna hit home runs for us: he has 12 of our 44 on the season.... Rotation ERA now up to 14th place! Kudos guys.... ELSEWHERE: Austin gets swept, dropping them to a league-worst 10-29. Baltimore got hot (4-6 of late), moving up to 11-28 now.... Detroit CF Luis Rodela had a nice coming out party last year at age 20: 40 HR, 102 RBI, 5.1 WAR, a Gold Glove. This year he's batting .333/12/31, with 9 steals, an MLB-high 2.8 WAR, and more excellent defense. Another reason to hate the Tigers.... Oakland has won 7 in a row, opening up a 2.5 game lead over Hawaii.

......

TL;DR Version: 9-6 in this stretch, and now 23-16 overall. We trail Oakland by 2.5, and lead Houston by 2 games. The encouraging news is that the offense appears to have found a groove, despite being in the unusual position of "not first place" (we're 3rd in runs, 2nd in AVG and OBP). However, if Goldy is out for a while, there goes our power hitting. Someone's got to step up if that's the case: Stoneback, Frederick, and Groff are all under their career power averages, despite still hitting well. We'll see.... And while the bullpen has been a strength, the rotation--while improved--is still trying to find it's footing. Garfield and Jackson have been off-and-on, but at least Jones and Ratliff have held it together of late. And fingers crossed that Perry's last two decent starts mean he's over whatever malaise he had in April.
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Old 03-30-2020, 11:19 PM   #320
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May 17-19 vs CINCINNATI
At 20-19, and 5-5 in their last ten, the Reds are still trying to figure things out, kind of like us. Just 9th in runs and 12th in AVG, but once again leading the NL in home runs (with 57). At 11th in runs against, and a -1 differential, their record is probably right where it should be. RF Jose Taveras has been his usual superb self: .359/12/30, and 3B Dave Rivera is .301/10/25. But 1B Larry Schnackenberg has 0 HR (after 27 last year), and 38-year-old catcher Lance Powell has just 2 (29 in '49) and is batting .186. Manager: Dom Duggan, first year after flaming out over three poor seasons in Arizona. Chemistry: Happy! Nobody dislikes Duggan, and captain Powell has kept things together in the clubhouse. Can't Miss Prospects? Two 3B--Heath Lewellen and Sean Friedman--who look pretty much interchangeable (and pretty good), and once SP Seth O'Neill's changeup comes around, he'll be at the top of the rotation.

HAW pitchers: RH Dennis Perry (1-5, 8.27) / RH Shamar Jackson (5-3, 5.04) / RH Ryan Ratliff (3-1, 3.74)
CIN pitchers: RH David Guerra (1-4, 4.50) / RH Aaron Maloy (6-1, 3.29) / RH Phil Avery (2-2, 3.49)

#40: WIN 6-2 ... Whitton clocks his first HR of the season, and Perry fans 10 over 7 IP
#41: LOSS 5-6 ... HR for Stoneback, and we outhit them 11-10...but two errors lead to 4 unearned runs, and another late comeback falls short
#42: WIN 2-1 ... only 4 hits a side, but we string together three in the 7th to score twice, then let the pen take over

Pretty gutty series, if you ask me. Especially as we have to tweak the lineup after getting two injury reports.... First, Goldthwait has a sprained knee and will miss six weeks. There is no power bat to replace him, so instead we call up OF Joe Lynn. He's defense, speed, and some contact, and I'm hoping he'll show enough to make me believe he's Klein's replacement in center. He'll get a couple starts a week for now. At DH, we move Cappuccilli in against RHP, and Whitton against LHP. More hope that they'll perform.... Second: Garfield's hamstring will keep him out for an unknown time, so we send him to the DL and call up Shane Walker. He threw 74 IP for us last year, making 5 starts and 21 relief apps. Bit of a soft tosser, but has some control and keeps the ball low. More fingers crossed.... ELSEWHERE: Remember California's 8-2 start? Yeah, since then they've gone 8-25. Austin keeps losing too, now 11-31. Baltimore 12-30.... Oakland has the most wins, at 27.... Defending NL Cy Young winner Matt Waugh (ATL) is the first player to 3 WAR. He's at 6-2, 1.67 ERA, 75 IP, 85 K, 10 BB.


May 20-22 @ ST LOUIS
They had a nice run of six winning seasons and four playoff appearances in the early 40s. Other than that stretch they've been without winning teams since 2029. What happened, guys? This year's edition is 17-25, with moribund hitting (13th in runs), and bad pitching (15th, with a bad rotation backed by a solid bullpen). Five players are on the DL, and three must have mysterious gangland connections, as they're all out with broken kneecaps. New addition RF Phil Imel has led the offense at .298/7/24, which really isn't saying a lot. Manager: Ron Miller, fourth season. Hasn't shown much. Chemistry: Unhappy, despite six "leaders" (although no captain). Can't Miss Prospect? SP Kyle Flowe looks so-so really, but CF Nate Forrester looks like our own Joe Lynn, but with more power.

HAW pitchers: LH Eric Jones (5-1, 3.58) / LH Shane Walker (debut) / RH Dennis Perry (2-5, 7.36)
STL pitchers: RH Steve Davenport (0-2, 4.58) / RH Jake Mackowski (2-4, 5.09) / RH Colin Conant (2-5, 4.50)

#43: WIN 5-1 ... another four-hit start for Jones...3 hits for Rangel, a HR for Frederick, and Daley's 18th (!) double
#44: WIN 8-2 ... solid first outing for Walker (7 IP)...3 hits for Stoneback, then gets hit by a pitch, and injured too!
#45: WIN 1-0 ... 13 K, 2 H for Perry, with White closing out the 9th...only 8 hits, but a pair of doubles bring the only needed run home

Another series, another injury: this time it's Stoneback's annual trip to the DL. Six weeks with a broken hand. We call up IF Jesse Ryder, as he can fill in at both short and third. (Higher-ranked prospect Julian Cardenas is the better hitter, but is noodle-armed and not suited to the left side.).... Injuries are running wild all through our system: all three active teams are down to 25 players, with several callups from Short A (and rookie ball) getting some unexpected playing time.... Dennis Perry has been named a daily top-three-star by MLB each of his last three starts.... ELSEWHERE: League's best rookie so far is 21-year-old Portland 3B Gerardo Nieto, batting .336/6/20. He's a future perennial all-star, although not much of an infielder. The best rookie pitcher is probably Brooklyn's Steve Bozarth, at 4-2 and a 2.83 ERA. Although keep an eye on Nats closer Nick Light, with 14 saves in 16 appearances.... From the How Do You Still Have a Job Dept., comes the stats for Nats SS Jonathan Salas: .102/.214/.153, 98 AB, 56 K.


May 23-25 vs MILWAUKEE
Hoping to build on last year's 89-win surprise AL championship, they didn't add much over the winter: 3B Greg Arcand and aging SP Ryan Galletto. Arcand has been good (6 HR, excellent defense), while Galletto has not (5.33 ERA). The 23-21 Brewers aren't getting much hitting (12th in runs), nor much pitching (13th) either, come to mention it. But they're hanging in there despite a -22 run differential. I guess it's hitting HR (63 this year) and a solid top-three in the rotation. Otherwise, I dunno. Manager: Seon-gwon Che, in his fifth season and still without a losing campaign. Chemistry: Happy, with a good crop of leaders and only a couple of selfish bastards. No pitchers like Che, tho. Can't Miss Prospects? I guess closer Josh Kennedy, ranked #1 by MLB, counts as one. He's been unexceptional in the role so far, however, and he should really be in the rotation, where he'll be a star. They've also got rookie RP John Landers, who could easily slot into the closer role. Do it.

HAW pitchers: RH Shamar Jackson (5-4, 5.03) / RH Ryan Ratliff (4-1, 3.40) / LH Eric Jones (6-1, 3.32)
MIL pitchers: LH Ryan Galletto (2-4, 5.33) / LH Daniel Becker (0-1, 8.14) / LH Jeffrey Foley (2-2, 3.86)

#46: WIN 11-7 ... Groff's GRAND SLAM is the key hit, and he drives in six total...3 hits for Daley...Jackson pitches into the 9th, but nearly blows it late
#47: WIN 8-4 ... Groff, Daley, and Whitton homer...Ratliff fans 9 in 7 IP...12th save for White
#48: LOSS 1-5 ... Jones is hit hard early, then plunks two batters and somehow doesn't incite a riot...only six singles for us tonight

Oakland keeps winning, so we only maintain our 1.5 game deficit. We're also one of four teams with 30 wins.... So we're still hitting SOME home runs, but are now ranked 16th in the AL. Oh well, wins are better anyway.... Joe Lynn is 4-for-7 in his two starts in center. Maybe he should play more huh.... We also send down RP Jaheim Mwaura and his 10.50 ERA, recalling Nick Kramer and his way more attractive 4.50 self.... ELSEWHERE: Toronto is now 13-32, the new holder of the Rotten Crown.... somebody named "Byron Wilmoth" is leading MLB in batting at .378. Supposedly he plays for Philly, but I've never heard of him before.... Congrats to former Isle Dante Padilla, named AL player of the week. He's batting .256 with 9 HR and getting a chance as the everyday 3B for the Rays. And our first-ever draft pick way back in 2034, Travis McArthur, is having a late-career renaissance with the Mets, batting .315 and working on a 4-WAR season.


May 27-29 @ CHICAGO WHITE SOX
At 25-22, in third place, and one of five teams at or over .500 in the Central. Eighth in batting, but only 13th in runs. Pitching is 3rd, and led by future-Cy-Young winner Ben O'Neal, finally in the rotation after a couple of diddly seasons in the pen. (His fellow star-to-be Burton Dick is still noodling around in middle relief, however.) Chris Rock, 2048 AL batting champ (and career .322 hitter), hasn't played yet this year and is still out for six weeks. Manager: Taylor Black, in his fifth year and still looking for a winning season. Chemistry: Content, but yet another unhappy pitching staff. Can't Miss Prospect? The aforementioned O'Neal and Dick have graduated, so next up is Ezequiel de la Rosa, already starting in CF. Perhaps a year too early, but if he's not ruined he'll be a solid 4-WAR starter for a decade.

HAW pitchers: LH Shane Walker (1-0, 2.57) / RH Dennis Perry (3-5, 6.23) / RH Shamar Jackson (6-4, 5.05)
CHW pitchers: RH Jake Davidson (4-3, 4.27) / RH Cory Graulich (4-2, 4.99) / RH Ben O'Neal (4-1, 2.17)

#49: WIN 7-5 ... Simmons singles home two in the 9th, and White shuts the door in the bottom half...two-run double for CCaappuucciillii, and 3 Sox pitchers get hurt
#50: WIN 8-3 ... 16 hits, including HR for Daley and Groff, and 3 hits each for Daley, Capp, and Klein (responding quite nicely to reduced playing time)
#51: WIN 4-2 ... "Frederick Comes Alive" is a great album, featuring 4 hits (and 3 RBI) in a 12-inning win...best start of the year for Jackson: 8 IP, 2 R, 6 K, 0 BB

Sweep! Plus we gain on Oakland, now just a half game out.... Garfield comes off the DL, so we send down Shane Walker. Thanks for the memories, Shaney. Stoney and Goldy are still five weeks away.... The rotation ERA has really perked up recently, now in 6th place at 4.52.... Klein has played better of late, bringing his average up to .281, while Joe Lynn is 4-for-10. Some production out of CF, nice to see.... ELSEWHERE: Remember that odd spate of broken kneecaps in STL when we played them a few weeks ago? Well, add 1B Jeff Campbell to the mysterious "kneecapped" list, and he's out for the season.... Ages of Richmond's current rotation: 38, 37, 36, 32, and 25. And that doesn't count the injured Eddy Llamas, 39.... Nobody really stunk it up over the last ten games, although Toronto and Austin are still stuck at 15 wins.


May 30-31 @ CLEVELAND
They were 15-8 in April, but have gone 8-18 this month. Currently last in the Central, with weak (15th) hitting, and weaker (17th) pitching. New addition Morgan Akers is batting .331, and SS Matthew Powell .300/10/24. Closer Tim Stoner has been awesome (0.42 ERA, 0.56 WHIP). But much of the lineup is underperforming. Manager: Jose Ariza, at the helm for a decade now. Chemistry: Happy, oddly. And, yes, all the pitchers dislike the manager. Is this a game feature? Can't Miss Prospect? A subpar system, with two 2B at the top of the list. Neither--Antonio Guerrero, already in the bigs, and Conrad Hunt--looks all that impressive. Guerrero will hit a lot of doubles, but is batting just .143 early in his big league career.

HAW pitchers: LH Mike Garfield (2-2, 5.19) / RH Ryan Ratliff (5-1, 3.45)
CLE pitchers: RH Luis de Lara (4-4, 6.29) / RH Brad Benes (2-2, 4.60)

#52: LOSS 2-5 ... 3 hits for Simmons, and Whittington's first MLB HR...Garfield is impressive, but Germann implodes in the final 1.1 IP to blow a win
#53: WIN 10-7 ... a pair of 3-run HR--Frederick in the 7th and Groff in the 10th--are the highlights...Ratliff only lasts five

Now 17th in team home runs. A few guys are hitting 'em out, but we're not getting the through-the-lineup power production our team owner so desperately wants and deserves, poor guy.... RP Ben Germann had a K/9 over 14 last year. Right now, tho, he's the only reliever under 10.... ELSEWHERE: The Giants are leading the NL West by 1.5 games. Big deal, you say: but they have had just two winning seasons since 2035, and no division titles since 2025.... Brooklyn leads baseball with 35 wins, and has the largest division lead, at 6.5 games.... Want a quiet superstar? How about Mets 1B Alfonso Contreras. The 24-year-old went .300/45/107 last year, and is following that up with a .314/14/43 start to 2050, with a 1.023 OPS. He's projected to earn 9.8 WAR too.

......

TL;DR Version: We go 11-3 in this stretch, and gain just a game on Oakland. It beats losing, and if we stay healthy we'll be just fine. Oh, and we went 20-9 in May. Team is still 2nd in runs, AVG, and OBP; now the pitching is coming around, and we're 7th in runs allowed, with the 6th best rotation ERA and 2nd best bullpen. Nobody is slumping at the plate, although Bob Goodloe hasn't done much at short since Stoneback's injury. And several free agents-to-be contacted me this month about extensions: Garfield, Ratliff, and Jones. They want extensions of 7, 8, and 2 years, respectively. As all are at least 30, I'm not inclined to talk about any of those, in all honesty. Jones and Ratliff have pitched the best, but I'm wondering if I should just cut bait with all three and take my chances elsewhere this fall. There's still time to consider all of this, however.
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