[pauwoo]

Miami United (58-42, .580, 2nd NL East) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (46-56, .451, 3rd AL East)
With their best position player (CF Page Sommers) and closer (Axel Beans) on the shelf for a stretch, the Jaguars are having a difficult time picking up the slack – and, if you add in the fact that 1B Ruben Zarate has started to slip at only 28-years old and that SP Matt Olston (11-7, 4.43, 95 ERA+) has lost a bit of movement off his fastball what you get is a team that is headed in the wrong direction. Their offense has been abysmal – 12th in AVG, OPS, bWAR, wOBA, and HRs, and 11th everywhere else – and their staff, while serviceable, has not been able to close that offensive gap with any regularity. On the bright side, they have their payroll under control (20th of 24) and could be a major player in free agency during the offseason if the miserly owner, Limerick Wasson, would get involved (he’s pretty hands-off) and open up his pocketbook a bit (he’s a 70-year old economizer who’s unlikely to change)… and, who knows, after three straight losing seasons (counting this one if it continues to go this poorly), maybe he will loosen up a bit. I mean, you can’t take it all with you, right?

101 of 162: Murray Wagner (7-4, 4.56) @ Carson Vespa (8-7, 4.94)
Loss, 7-6. Murray battled through a sluggish, 129-pitch start, where he allowed 6 total runs and THREE HOMERS… that’s not going to get it done, but good on him for staying in there to save our bullpen for another day. SS Steve Green, the time-traveling goofball from outer space, hit a run-scoring double, his 3rd of the season, in the top of the 9th to give us some hope, Manookian repeated that during the same frame to even things up, and Johnny Dial, who’s usage rate of late may have gotten away from us, gave up the ghost in the bottom of the 9th to give the Jacksonville fans a much-needed walk-off victory to celebrate. If you’re counting – we’re now 0-4 in the battle for Florida this season (Hanging Curveball-Gate, 2080).

102 of 162: Julian Horne (11-3, 2.56) @ Roger Baumann (0-2, 3.86)
Win, 4-1. Well, we finally beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, so I can take solace in that, somewhat unsatisfying, fact… Horne gave us an 8.1 inning, 5-hit, 1 earned performance with 5 K’s, Anaconda did his thing in a 1 for 3 effort that included an RBI and two free passes, and Norton went 1 for 2 with an RBI double. OH HONG scored, Magmo sacrificed his stat line with a SAC FLY, Gordon picked up his 30th steal, and Dial, who we refuse to rest, picked up his 24th save in a 5-pitch effort to the last batter of the night. Dial got the guy to ground out… luckily.

Elsewhere: RF King Disney (DAL) went 3 for 5 with 2 jacks (HIS FIRST TWO HRs THIS YEAR), 4 RBIs, and 3 runs in the Cowboys’ 11-1 win over the defending champions from San Diego – LF Jo Jo Jackson did not contribute to the win…3B Dontrell Gay pulled even with Tom Franzone at 29 HRs during a 3 for 5 day that included 2 runs and 2 RBIs – Los Angeles won the game by a score of 8-2 over the struggling Seattle Sounders.

Note: Yan Welli, after using every last ounce the guy had to give, traded Johnny Dial to the Carolina Panthers for 32-year old 3B Germane Sturdivant. Sturdivant has only played in 18 games for the Panthers, but has hit .386 with 3 HRs and 11 RBIs during that stretch… If I’m honest, I have no real idea why Yan pulled the lever on this one. I guess it’s on me – if you give a girl the keys, expect her to drive it.

103 of 162: Kordell Littles (13-4, 2.62) @ Matt Olston (11-7, 4.43)
Win, 4-2. So, we finish the season series with Jacksonville at 2-4, which, as you can imagine, is a disappointing result even if we managed to get the final say in this one… Kordell did what we’ve come to expect – 7 solid innings of work, 8 hits, 1 earned, and 4 K’s, and Anaconda put on a bit of a show in a 3 for 4 performance that included a triple and 2 runs. Manookian was the hero for us tonight – his 2-run double in the top of the 9th brought this one home for us… he went 1 for 5 on the day, but that one was a clutch piece of hitting – maybe we’ll let him sit in business class on the way home. Not sure, depends on what the inflight meal options are.

Notes: We’re still a game back in the NL East with Pittsburgh just pacing us now and will head home for some more Interleague silliness to welcome the New York Jets to town for 4 games, including a doubleheader to kick it off due to a makeup game being scheduled in our park after a storm caused a cancellation while we were in the city to play them earlier this season… 1B Pablo Madera (CAR) won player of the week honors in the American League on the back of a 14 for 30 stretch that included three dingers and 7 RBIs, while SS Jess Alford (SF) took home that honor in the National League on a 14 for 22 week. The weekly power rankings are out and we’ve made the top five – sweet! The ranking is as follows: 1st – Pittsburgh, 2nd Phoenix (gross), 3rd Miami (OK, now we’re talking), 4th Toronto (might be the favorite come playoff time), and 5th Los Angeles Kings (all three of the clubs that I’ve served as a GM made the cut!).