[ayaghmour2]

May 10th, 2018: As we arrived home in Miami, I sent Brad Ziegler on rehab assignment to AAA Jacksonville.

We gave Adam Conley (0-2, 4.67 ERA, 1.68 WHIP) the ball to face the Braves Brandon McCarthy (0-2, 6.12 ERA, 1.55 WHIP). We needed to win this game.

Atlanta had different ideas. They put up 2 runs in the 1st on a Dansby Swanson 2 run single. Shocked he hit the ball... He did go 3-for-5 and his hitting .354 so I guess OOTP fell for the hype. They didn't look back and finished us off 5-2, and out hit us 13-2. What a great game all around.

Cameron Maybin did double in the 1st, and then stole 3rd, I think, he did walk later in the game so it could have been then. Martin Prado had the only other hit, but Lane Adams and Miguel Rojas drove in Justin Bour and Prado with sac flies.

Adam Conley wasn't too great, allowing 8 hits and 4 runs while walking and striking out a pair. The struggling Jorge De La Rosa allowed the last run. He tossed 2/3rds of an inning and allowed 3 hits. Closer Drew Steckenrider got an inning, since we haven't won in forever, he needed to pitch.

Remember Braxton Lee? He went 5-for-5 against the Round Rock Express in an 11-3 victory for the Baby Cakes. But I thought he isn't ready for AAA? He's now hitting a ripe .421/.453/.487. I really want to call him up, but his ratings aren't major league ready.

May 11th, 2018: Sean Newcomb (1-2, 4.96 ERA, 1.71 WHIP) took the mound for the Braves and faced off against Dan Straily (2-2, 4.24 ERA, 1.24 WHIP).

We'd have to wait another day to get a win, but we did get to see super spec Ronald Acuna laucnh a 2 run homer off Straily.

We had 4 hits, 2 for Lane Adams, I know, I'm shocked too, but I did mention Braxton Lee yesterday, and the productive Cameron Maybin. Adams went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a pair of walks. He also stole 3 bases, giving him 8 steals on the year. When he gets on, he does get steals. Maybin was 2-for-4 with a run scored, and the 2 RBI's. Him and Adams were literally the only offense in the game. Bour and Derek Dietrich struck out 3 times. Well, I guess Realmuto and Miguel Rojas walked, but still.

Straily wasn't sharp either, allowing 5 hits and 3 walks which lead to 4 runs. He did strike out 6 in his 4 innings of worth. Enny Romero looks like Joe Thatcher again, allowing 2 runs off 2 hits and 3 walks in an inning. He did strike a batter out.

3 star reliever Adam Warren was on waivers and that was an instant claim. But it was rejected since I had no money and he cost $3,315,000. So I decided to sling a trade. Let's see Brain Cashman, interested in this stud named Enny Romero? He wasn't interested. But please, you stole Stanton from us. Again, not interested.

I threw Brad Ziegler his way instead and he actually thought about it. We'll see how he responds.

May 12th, 2018: 'NO WAY!' -Brian Cashman. Well thanks, why didn't you say that yesterday? Ironically he would have taken the deal for Jose Devers, the "prospect" we got for Stanton. Wasn't about to do that. Eventually we agreed on RF Brian C. Miller to head their way too.

Final deal, Adam Warren (45% salary retained) for Brad Ziegler and RF Brian C. Miller. This deal saved me over $5 million. Pretty nice deal. Miller is a 0.5* in my scouts eyes, but OSA thinks he's decent.

I optioned Brian Ellington back to AAA, and Adam Warren was added to the roster. Say hello to your new 8th inning guy!

Next came game three of four (it thre me off that Scott Kazmir was projected to start tommorow and with the Dodgers next I forgot they traded him in the Kemp deal, so I thought we only had 3 against the Braves). Our only pitcher Brian Johnson (4-3, 3.51 ERA, 1.27 WHIP) took on Luiz Gohara (2-1, 5.14 ERA, 1.54) who has started only 1 game, but came out of the pen for 14. We had three cold players (Derek Dietrich, Martin Prado, Miguel Rojas) and 1 hot player (Cameron Maybin).

We came to play, as Starlin Castro hit a solo shot in the 1st. Fast foward to the 5th and we put up 3 more runs, pushing the lead to 4-0. Miguel Rojas had a run scoring triple. But we know the Marlins don't like leads, so we allowed the Braves to cut the deficit in half. And then my nemesis Dansby Swasnson hit the newley acquired Adam Warren's pitch for a run scoring single. The very rested Drew Steckenrider came in for the 9th, and pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning with 2 K's and a ground out, earning save #7.

Johnson wasn't perfect, but was good enough and was now 5-3. Again, almost half of our 12 wins. He went 5.1 innings, allowing 6 hits and 2 runs, while walking 2 and striking out 6 Brave (pun intented) hitters.

All three cold players got hits. Dietrich was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Prado was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Rojas was 1-for-2 with a run scored, and the RBI from the triple. He also walked. Brian Johnson might be a hitter in disguise. He hit his 2nd double of the season, scored, and droce in Rojas. He's hitting .385/.467/.538 with 3 RBI's. I checked his hitting ratings, and they aren't bad. 44/40/46/23/28 with potentials of 53/54/56/32/36. He has the same amount of contact as backup catcher Bryan Holaday (hitting .143), and more power then Maybin, Prado, Johnny Giavotella, Rafael Ortega, and Rojas. Can't quite deicde how to take that.

Junichi Tazawa left the game with a bone spur in his elbow. He's headed to the DL and should be there for 3 weeks.

Craig Kimbrel earned his 300th save as the Red Sox beat my real team, the Blue Jays, 4-3 in Rogers Centre. He has a legitimate chance to reach 600. He just has to pitch till 36 or 37. It's not easy, but he has a chance. I went to call up Alex Cobb, but he decided to be injured on rehab. He was 2-2 with a 2.19 ERA. He only struck out 5 in 12.1 innings. I'll wait until tommorow to make a decision.

May 13th, 2018: Personal favorite Chris Taylor is now out for the year with a broken kneecap. Big blow to the Dodgers, but they have the depth to cover anything. His season ends with 12 driven in and a .287/.345/.380 batting line in 34 games.

So Cobb still looks hurt, so I turned to Jarlin Garcia. Nicknamed 'Jarlin the Marlin' it seemed fitting. He tossed 18.2 innings between AA and AAA this year, with a respectable 2.47 ERA.

We looked to salvage a split in front of nearly 15,000 with the roof closed. Don't think the real Marlins would reach that total Opening Day. Anyways, the Braves meant business, pushing up Julio Teheran (1-4, 4.50 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) to face the sought after Odrisamer Despaigne (1-3, 3.13 ERA, 1.09). I really hope I spell his name right every time.

Tyler Flowers and Preston Tucker went back to back in the 2nd, but Despaigne settled in after that. We scored 3 in the 3rd, aided by a 2 run Derek Dietrich single. Despaigne ended up going 6 strong, allowing just 4 hits. He even struck out 5. Enny Romero and Adam Warren, my two trade aquisitions, pitched scorless 7th and 8th earning saves. We added 1 more in the 8th to make it 4-2. Steckenrider was in for the second consecutive days, and definitely gave a scare. Preston Tucker doubled with 1 on and 1 out, but Flowers was thrown out, preserving the lead. Steckenrider ended the game with a strike out, and we earned the split. It was the 3rd time Marlin pitching bested Ryan Schimpf.

Miguel Rojas went 2-for-3 to lead the 6 hit charge. He also scored and doubled. Lane Adams socred as well after a pinch hit double in the 8th. Dietrich drove in 2 and went 1-for-4 while Starlin Castro produced the last run in a 1-for-4 night of his own.

May 14th, 2018: We had a day off at home, so we could check the always fun power rankings! 28th? Not too shaby. 54.5 bested the White Sox (49) and Padres (40.7) only. We were 13-27, good for a 32.5 win percentage.

Looking ahead to hosting the 1st Place Dodgers (25-15) we would see Kenta Maeda (2-1, 4.91 ERA), Hyun-jin Ryu (2-3, 4.91 ERA as well), and Ross Stripling (3-1, 3.02 ERA). The same allignment, but switching Kershaw with Maeda. I'm ready to surprise these Dodgers.

May 15th, 2018: More bad news on the Alex Cobb. The rehabbing righty strained his forearm and will miss 2 months, sending him to the 60-Day DL.

So as expected, we saw Maeda (2-1, 4.91 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) face Jose Urena (1-4, 7.53 ERA). Urena was as awful as ever, allowing a run in the top of the 1st, and then a 2 run homer to Kike Hernandez in the 2nd. Add another in the top of the 3rd. Down 4-0 in the 3rd, the Marlins crumbled up and died. Wait, they didn't? They scored 5 runs? J.T. Realmuto had a clutch 2 run double and the Marlins did actually score 5 runs to take a 5-4 lead. In the 7th, Jarlin Garcia wanted to make a great impression to the club. He let Andrew Toles take him deep to tie the game, and Mattingly instantly yanked him. He really wanted to beat the team that fired him. Enny Romero gave up another run in the 8th, and we were now down 6-5. Didn't last too long, as Lane Adams hit a solo shot against Adam Liberatore. Ironically, I was thinking of Braxton Lee before simming this game, I saw him while making minor league moves. Liberatore got out of the inning and stayed in for the bottom of the 9th (no Kenley?). Derek Dietrich sent the home fans happy with a walk off double, capping a shocking 7-6 win. See, I was ready to surprise.

Now Urena's 3 innings sucked. 7 hits and 4 runs with a pair of strike outs. De La Rosa was fineish in mop up for 2.1 innings. No hits, 3 strikeouts, 4 walks. Don't really know what to make of this. Closer Drew Steckenrider picked up the win, pitching a scorless 9th with a walk and strikeout.

Martin Prado was a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored and his 6th double of the year, but Rafael Ortega ran for him in the 6th. Don't know what that was about... We only had 9 hits, and no other Marlin had more then 1. Cameron Maybin was 1-for-5, but drove in 2 and scored with a 3rd inning double. J.T Realmuto doubled and drove home 2 as well.

May 16th, 2018: Game 2 saw Adam Conley (0-3, 5.08 ERA, 1.49 WHIP) and the host Marlins duel Hyun-jin Ryu (2-3, 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP) and the visiting Dodgers.

LA jumped to a quick 3 run lead with help from a Joc Pederson 2 run double in the 1st. We matched them in the 3rd, with a 3 run inning of our own. Ryu helped his cause with a run scoring single in the 4th, and that was all the scoring. Despite outhitting the Dodgers 10-6, we lost 4-3.

Conley, now 0-4, was hit hard, allowing 6 hits and 4 runs in 4 innings. He walked 1 and struck out 2. The pen was solid, missing a lot of bats. Nick Wittgren struck out 3 in 2, Garcia 1 in 0.1, Chapman 2 in 1.2, and Warren 2 in 1. None of them allowed a hit, but Wittgren and Chapman walked a batter each.

The top 5 hitters (Maybin, Dietrich, Castro, Prado, Realmuto) all had 2 hits. Maybin, Dietrich, and Castro scored, Maybin, Prado, and Realmuto drove in runs. Other then Garett Cooper walking (who's cooled down a ton), literally the whole offense was in the top 5 hitters of the order. Maybe that's why we lost, but you think they'd score some that way. I guess we had 4 runs.

May 17th, 2018: Stan Meek gave me a call, said we added 18-year-old Juan Trujillo to the International Complex. The Dominican isn't very good, but he can play in the DSL, so there is a plus to a 0.5* hitter. He can play 2B, 3B, SS, and RF, and has a cannon.

On to this much anticipated rubber match. 10,992 were in attendence, much less then the Braves game, which didn't make sense. Ross Stripling (3-1, 3.02 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) took on Dan Straily (2-3, 4.74 ERA, 1.32 WHIP). I caved, I looked it up. And I was right. He was pulled in the 8th inning of a no hitter after 7.1 innings. Pitch count is what skipper Dave Roberts said was the reason. At least he wasn't walked off on like Rich Hill.

The Dodgers had 10 hits, we had 7. Guess who won? US!!! 4-3! OOTP was on dirt though, "Even with the win, the Marlins have a dismal 15-28 record." Well yeah, we have a dismal payroll and budget too so what do you expect...

Straily was fine, going 5.1 innings. He allowed 6 hits and a walk to go with 2 runs, but struck out 5. Adam Warren allowed a run in a 2 inning hold and Jarlin Garcia, yes the AAA scrub Jarlin the Marlin, picked up the save. Steckenrider struggled, allowed 2 hits and a walk, only striking out a hitter before Garcia finished the last two outs. Pretty clutch honestly. A pair of fly outs which surprisingly didn't score runs. Must've been pop ups.

Justin Bour went deep, his 12th of the year, in a 1-for-3 day. He drocve in a pair, walked, and scored (of course). Castro also picked up an RBI in a 2-for-4 performance. Lane Adams hit his 3rd homer of the year as well.

Can you believe it? We won a series against the Dodgers? We were an even 3-3 against them for the season.

Back on the road to Atlanta for 3 and then Queens for a trio against the Mets. A pair of division matchups with teams better then us. Everyone is better then us? Nah, the Paders are 14-31. But that's it...

Expect Luiz Gohara (2-2, 5.45 ERA) who I think I misspelled his name earlier, Julio Teheran (1-5, 4.40 ERA), and Mike Foltynewicz (1-3, 3.59 ERA). A pair of guys we just saw and a new face in Folty. Let's do this!!!