[dgally]

July. One of my least favorite months in the world of BNN. I have to get trades offered to me by managers who think I'm lobotomized. I have to decide to offer trades that make me eye an icepick with longing.

But the 31st is not the only day in the month.

July 1 sees the tabbies start the month off against a weak Calgary team at home. After two 3-2 W's, we fail to finish the sweep. 2-1

Two 4 game series on the road follows. One against divisional rival Mississauga and the next against Guatemala. By the end, we have deja vous, losing the first two in both series before winning the last two in both series, splitting each and the road trip itself. 4-4

Mississauga follow us home for the next series, this one only three games. We take the first and last, taking the series. 2-1

Next up, Los Angeles comes into town. The last series before the AS break. The sub .500 team catches us flat footed, sweeping us at home and giving the boys plenty to think about.

Only two tabbies make the AS lineup, our two stars in English & Buck, both playing good ball after their new contracts which is always nice to see. Buck has 1.1 WAR above the next AS, making the Cy Young his to lose in the second half.

Games continue a few days later with a roadtrip against our rival this year for the divisional crown, Managua. The four game series sees no movement in the end though CL Rodriguez does blow his third game of the season. 2-2

Two in Toronto is up next. We drop the first but take the next. 1-1

Deadline day series sees Chicago visiting us. It's been a month of waffling in and out of .500 ball. Yet, we sweep the sub .500 War Eagles, capping the last game of the month off with 7 innings of no run ball by Buck, enough to earn him his 11th win on the season. 3-0
It also puts us above .500 for the month. We go 14-12

Originally, we were gonna sit tight. Then, we saw former SP Willie Asenjo on waivers. Claimed. Then, we thought to see if Gibson had any interest after a Pitcher of the Month month. He did. We trade him for RH bat Danny Martinez, a plus power hitter with a great eye. He'll slot in cleanup though he's a rental. We get another rental opp right before deadline day is ending. This time for a reliever we can't say no to. Our CL Rodriguez is having a banner year but Escalante is easily already a top 3 CL in the game. He's on a walk year but all we give up is Marrero who we picked up in late FA and a ~350 prospect OF. It's 'Win Now' mentality. Marrero, who we picked up to replace the injured Grizz would have found himself on the bench anyhow with Grizz coming back in a few days. Not bad biz. Gibson did great by the club, going 42-25 here and he was a key piece in our WS win two years ago. He's regressed but his stats this year have been strong. We'll follow his career with fondness and see where he lands when his contract is up in a year and a half.

Also, with the Gibson trade, we should have enough $$ to sign Martinez, Escalante, or McWilliams-- whom the Front Office is leaning toward. We'll see.