[ayaghmour2]

Should be back to a normal schedule now:

May 28th, 2021: Jameson Taillon is back with the team and Wei-Chieh Huang is headed down to AAA.

Taillon (2-1, 2.76 ERA, 1.22 WHIP) took the ball to start the quick two games in New York against Jake Arrieta (1-4, 6.00 ERA, 1.47 WHIP). I'm hopinh Taillon can return to his elite pre-injury form. He wasn't great, but we still won 5-4.


Taillon allowed 4 off 4 hit in 4.1 innings. He walked 2 and struck out three in the no decision. James Farris got the win, pitching the 8th with a hit and two strikeouts. Yasukzau Shiotani earned his 19th save, striking out two and allowing a hit.

We had 8 hits, three from Lewis Brinson. The left fielder drove in three, two from a double and the other from a single. Reliever A.J. Puckett scored after doubling off Arrieta in the 5th. Victor Caratini also had a pinch hit double and scored in the 8th. Brinson, Cole Brannen, and Scott Kingery had steals, while both Taillon and Nicky Delmonico made errors.

May 29th, 2021: The Yankees will keep fireballer Aroldis Chapman in town for at least two years. He'll make $16,800,000 both years, before a team option with the same dollar value and a $3,200,000 buyout. The "Cuban Misssle" is having a down year like he did in 2019, both years an ERA over 5.00, but in his career he's never had another season with an ERA above 3.60. He also has 287 career saves and could conceiveably reach 300 this year.

I don't quite know if you can call it a sweep, but that's what would happen if Walker Buehler (1-0, 4.60 ERA, 1.70 WHIP) and the squad out score former Marlin Zack Godley (2-2, 4.85 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) and the Yankess before we head to Yankee Stadium for two more.

Well, there wasn't much pitching, but the game did go 10 innings. Victor Caratini took the newly extended Chapman deep for a walk off solo homer, and we took the 8-7 victory to push our record to 10 games over .500.

Let's start with the bad: Lewis Brinson was hit by a pitch and dislocated his finger. He's just DTD, but I think I'd play him every other game to hopefully aovid re-injury.

Buehler pitched bad as well, 10 hits in 4.2 innings with 6 runs, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts as his ERA is gover 5 and a half. He hasn't quite been as advertised yet, but it's still early enough for the 26-year-old to rebound. Max Povse allowed the last run in 1.1 innings off 2 hits, despite striking out 2. Kenyan Middleton made his Marlins debut and struck out two in the 7th. Corbin Clouse earned the win, 2 hitless innings with a walk and three strikeouts.

Offensively, we had 10 hits, inlcuding three singles from Nicky Delmonico. He drove in two and scored once. Dustin Fowler doubled and singled in 5 at bats, as well as scoring twice. Andrelton Simmons drove in two with a pair of singles in four at bats.

We're off to New York to face Sonny Gray (2-3, 5.14 ERA) and Michael Pineda (1-2, 3.34 ERA) to finish the four with the Yanks.

May 30th, 2021: The Astros lost SP Francis Martes for the rest of the year with shoulder inflammation. The struggling 25-year-old was one of the guys I could've traded Balog for, but he was doing much, much worse, and ERA over 11 when offered.

Danny Duffy (3-2, 3.12 ERA, 1.12 WHIP) got the ball in the New York opener against Sonny Gray (2-3, 5.14 ERA, 1.55 WHIP). I gave Brinson the day off in favor of Charlie Tilson. We took game three 5-4, despite a late Yankee rally.

Duffy allowed just 1 run off 3 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings, despite striking out only two. Clouse got a hold, striking out 2 and walking 1 in the 6th, and Drew Steckenrider allowed 2 runs off a hit and 2 walks in the 8. Yasukazu Shiotani allowed 1 more in the 9th, but he finished off the inning to record the save. He does have trouble with the long ball, with all the runs he's allowed except one coming from a homer.

We had 10 hits. Simmons lead the charge with three, a pair of singles and a double, as he scored twice and drove in a run, while also reaching on a base on balls. Cole Brannen doubled, walked, and scored in 5 plate appearences. Mauricio Dubon played DH and hit 9th in an AL game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a steal. Dustin Fowler doubled and drove in a run in four at bats.

May 21st, 2021: Down in AAA, Ryan Mountcastle is really mashing, and this week he won player of the weak. The 3B hit .419 with 5 homers, 12 RBI's, and 11 runs scored. As a whole, he's hitting .360/.418/.654 with 14 homers and 54 RBI's, but there is no room on the active roster for him, with Kingery, Anderson, and Delmonico playing the positions he can play. Eventually he'll earn a callup, but I like how he's getting regular at bats.

The Power Rankings came out and we're in 5th, just 1 spot below Mets who we are tied with for first.

Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 6.12 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) got the ball in the final game of May against his former team and Michael Pinedas (1-2, 3.34 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). I took advanage of the DH and placed Brinson there for today's game and played Anderson in left with Cuthbert at third. The bats rallied, and we won 7-5.

Gumby still hasn't got back in the groove, allowing 4 runs in 5.2 innings, but still picked up the win. He gave up 6 hits, walked 1, and struck out 6. If you told me Montgomery and Buehler haven't pitched well all year and those two and Taillon have all spent time on the DL I would never have guessed we were in first. Farris and Tyler Jay (allowed 1 run) picked up holds and Shiotani got the save.

Everyone, but Delmonico had a hit today as we managed 16 of them. Brannen went 3-for-5 with a three run homer. Dustin Fowler was 3-for-5 with a steal. Lewis Brinson wasn't slowed down by his finger, a double and a solo homer in 5 at bats. Nick Feight also hit a homer and single in four trips, scoring twice and driving in two. Anderson looked fine in left and went 2-for-4 with a solo homer and he scored twice. Finally, Scott Kingery went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles to point out the rest of the notables.

Still tied with the Mets in first, we'd head to Washington for three. At 19-34, they're 13.5 games behind the 32-20 Mets and the 33-21 Marlins. The projected starters are Max Scherzer (3-2, 3.62 ERA), Mike Leake (1-8, 5.93 ERA), and Miguel Almonte (2-3, 3.35 ERA). Another sweep? Let's hope!

Just an interesting tidbit, the #1 Wild Card is techincally tied between us and the Mets, while the #2 spot is tied by the NL Central top two Cardinals and Cubs. The competition in both the Central and East are really tough, while the Dodgers have a 8.5 game lead with no other team at .500 or better. In comparison, the East has four and the Central three.

June 1st, 2021: The Rays lost intriguing young righty Adrian Navas to a torn rotator cuff that will cost him the rest of this and part of next season. In 21 relief apperaences and two starts he was 2-0 with 5 saves, a 1.65 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 38 strikeouts and 12 walks in 32.2 innings.

In better news, Lewis Brinson was named Player of the Month, even though he was better in April. He hit .303 with 10 HR's and 28 RBI's. For the season, he's hitting a robust .340/.406/.748 with 18 homers and 48 RBI's to go with 10 steals. He's on pace to accumulate 8.2 WAR, MVP numbers.

Down in AAA, Mountcastle was named batter of the month. He hit .354 with 9 homers and 25 RBI's, and scored 29 times for the Baby Cakes.

One more Marlin with accolades, as RHP Jairo Solis was Southern Leauge Pitcher of the Month. The 21-year-old ace of Jacksonville was 4-1 with a 0.64 ERA in 28.1 innings, and racked up 34 strikeouts.

One more piece of news, the Red Sox traded RHP Mike Shawrayn to the Indians for 2B Jesse Berardi. I like this deal for the Indians, although I view Shawaryn as a reliever not starter.

We opened up the series in our Nation's capital with Zach Davies (0-5, 3.83 ERA, 1.35 WHIP) looking to pick up his 1st win of the year against Jerald Eickhoff (2-2, 9.10 ERA, 1.76 WHIP) who was making a spot start. I left Brinson in the lineup after his performance yesterday. On paper, this looks like an easy win. But then again, this is OOTP not paper...

Instead, we played a 13 inning marathon that lead to a Anderson Franco walkoff single off Corbin Clouse in a 6-5 loss.

Davies allowed 4 runs in 6 innings with 6 hits and two punch outs. Jay gave up the 5th run in the 7th off a homer. Farris tossed a perfect inning, and both Max Povse and A.J. Puckett tossed two perfect.

We did have 10 hits, but it wasn't enough. Brian Anderson was 2-for-6 with a single and solo homer in the 2nd. Both Delmonico and Caratini doubled in five at bats, although Delmonico drove in two. Nick Feight, who's exceeded expectations severely, had a pinch hit triple. The 25-year-old backup catcher has a .717 slugging perfecntage and is hitting .302 with 6 homers and 14 RBI's. What a steal from the Padres! Brinson was 2-for-4 with a walk and hit by pitch. He also swiped two bags.

Nathan Eovaldi of the Phillies tossed a 3-hit shutout against the Cardinals in a 2-0 victory.

June 2nd, 2021: The Indians lost LF Abraham Almonte for the rest of the year with a torn labrum.

We had a nice pitching matchup, Taillon (2-1, 3.21 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) against Scherzer (3-2, 3.62 ERA, 1.43 WHIP). I gave Brinson the day off in favor of the lefty Charlie Tilson. We bounced back to an 8-1 win.

Taillon was brilliant, despite only recording three K's. In 6 innings, he walked 1, allowed just 5 hits and a run, and earned his 3rd victory. Both Povse and Puckett didn't allow a hit to finish the game.

The hit total reached 13 today, as Taillon was the only player with a plate appearence to not record a hit. Even pinch hitters Cheslor Cuthbert and Mauricio Dubon recorded hits. The first an RBI single and eventually scored, the latter a double in which he scored as well. Victor Caratini had a two run homer and a single in 5 at bats. Dustin Fowler was 2-for-4 with a solo homer off Scherzer in the 6th. Tilson, Brinson's replacement, went 2-for-4 and scored, so it looks like I made a good choice.

June 3rd, 2021: All star voting update: Caratini sits in 3rd, Brinson in 1st, and Shiotani in 3rd. I'm shocked Brannen isn't at least 3rd for RF. He's just not popular enough.

We looked to win the series and hopefully take first, but we'd need a good start from Walker Buehler (1-0, 5.56 ERA, 1.82 WHIP). He'd face Miguel Almonte (2-3, 3.35 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) who would have to deal with a healthy Lewis Brison. If anyone is shocked with Brinson's production, I wouldn't be surprised if he develops into an MVP caliber player in real life as well.

Brinson was held quiet, but Buehler delivered the needed good start in a 4-2 victory to claim the series on the road.

Buehler was a little wild, but he really pitched well in his 6.2 innings. Just 4 hits, despite 4 walks, but he struck out 10 Nationals. Middleton allowed a run in 1.1 innings, but still got the hold, before Bulldozer Shiotani got his 22nd save.

We only had 7 hits, but three of them were Andrelton Simmons. Two were singled, and he also doubled, stole a base, and scored twice. Scott Kingery doubled and singled in four at bats, while driving in a run and scoring twice. Dustin Fowler was 1-for-3 with a walk and a steal. Now with 17 steals, he trails just Brannen in the NL.

And we're back in first! With a day off before a crucial series at home against none other then the Mets!

June 4th, 2021: Tomorrow was the Amateur Draft, but today was a free game to travel home before one of the biggest series' of the season.

At 35-22, we had a one game lead ovver the 33-22 Mets. It'd be a hard fought series, but as of now, we'd avoid Thor. We'd see Michael Wacha (3-2, 3.86 ERA), Chris Sale (4-3, 4.53 ERA), and Jacob deGrom (5-3, 3.82 ERA). These are winnable games, but It's defintely going to be tough.

But first, I'd have a special draft edition, since it happens to come right before the series starts! And like always, around the end/beginning of a new month, here's the teams stats in our semi-fixed version: