Tick Tock Tick Tock
So we pick things up after having won a game against Toledo with 2 more on tap. If there is a chance of sweeping the Neptunes now is the time. That would put us just 5 games out of 2nd place.
Game #2 - Saturday July 8th 2056
Toledo 45-34 vs Chicago 38-41
RHP V. Imbert (4-4, 4.89 ERA) vs RHP N. Keddy (8-3, 2.91 ERA)
A - 36,084
Kent Noseworthy leads the charge for the Architects. He goes 4-for-4 with a pair of dingers. He scores twice and drives in two. José Aranda doubles twice and drives in three before leaving the game late with an injury.
Chicago 10, Toledo 4.
RF T Stone 2-4 R, RBI, BB, 2B J Lambert 2-5 2DB, DH J Aranda 2-5 2DB R 3RBI, 3B K Noseworthy 4-4 2HR 3R 2RBI
HR - Tol RF M Wadell (12), 1B P Labbe (13), CF S Rice (2) CH - 3B K Noseworthy 2 (6)
POTG - Chicago 3B Kent Noseworthy (1)
Saturday, July 8th , 2056 - Chicago Architects: RF José Aranda was injured while running the bases. The Diagnosis: strained rib cage muscle. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last 3 weeks. So he should be able to still play, but we are going to make a move to bring up a reinforcement to help Aranda not play every day.
Game #3 - Sunday July 9th 2056
Toledo 45-35 vs Chicago 39-41
RHP M. Inoue (8-8, 3.87 ERA) vs RHP C. Bouchard (9-3, 3.02 ERA)
A - 35,869
On paper, this looked to be a stellar pitching matchup. Christopher Bouchard squaring off against Motoyuki Inoue. Both starters give up five runs. Toledo’s Eric Molina and Mark Wadell homer, with Wadell’s homer doing three runs of damage. Joe Hunt homers for Chicago. The winning run comes on a Jean-Paul Richard RBI single.
Toledo 6, Chicago 5.
RF T Stone 2-5, 1B R Osborn 2-4 DB RBI, C J Hunt 2-4 HR R 2RBI
HR - Tol DH E Molina (20) RF M Wadell (13), CH - C J Hunt (12)
POTG - Toledo C Jean-Paul Richard
Summary - Well maybe there is hope, but there would have been a lot more of it with a win on Sunday. We crept to within 6 games of Toledo and that win would have made it 5. I would have felt a lot better if we could have somehow pulled off that sweep. But still we are hanging around. We are back into a tie for 4th as the Bad News Bears are reverting back to their usual form.
At 3-6 since the All-Star Break and 3 games below 500 on the season, it feels like it will be a huge chore just to get ahead of Detroit who stands at 43-39. But if we can reel them in during the next week maybe there is hope.
With the d-t-d injury to DH Aranda, we have decided to bring up for his first taste of big league ball, 1B and corner OF Marc Nakayama (age 24 and prospect #57 overall). On the season, he has shown significant improvement with the bat at AAA this season. He is hitting 275/385/914 with 19 home runs and 59 RBI’s. In looking at him he probably should have been given an opportunity out of spring training, but he is getting his chance to shine here. He will play as we will likely limit Aranda to not playing more than 2 games in a row and he will not start against LHSP’s.
Making way for Nakayama on the roster is utility infielder Juan Vazquez. Vazquez appeared in 9 games but only got 3 plate appearances going 1-3. With 3B Travis Arnaud back and Kent Noseworthy capable of backing up across the infield, Vazquez wasn’t going to get much if any playing time.
Detroit Thunderbirds 43-38 3rd in US vs Chicago Architects 39-42 T-4th in US
July 10th-12th 2056
Chicago’s Pier IV Grounds
We enter 3-game series at home against the Detroit Thunderbirds kicking off today, just 4 games behind the T-Birds in the standings.
Going 43-38 so far this year, the Thunderbirds have compiled a .531 winning percentage. They are in 3rd place in the South of the Border, 8.0 games behind the leader. The Thunderbirds are playing well at the moment, having a 3-game winning streak going. Their number of runs scored of 428 rank 3rd in the USA, their .285 batting average ranks 1st. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 415 runs (3rd) with their starters compiling an ERA of 5.08 which ranks 5th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 4.84, ranking 3rd. When playing against our Architects this season, they have a record of 3 wins and 9 losses.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP Joo-seok Kim (5-4, 4.52 ERA) vs RHP Yale Hulbert (4-2, 6.69 ERA)
LHP Dwayne Miller (6-5, 3.81 ERA) vs RHP Jose Cedeño (9-4, 4.46 ERA)
LHP Brian Miller (4-6, 7.40 ERA) vs RHP John Moore (5-1, 3.17 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. SP Bill Clary (Age: 28, Overall : 3.0, Potential: 3.0)
2. RF Stan Gillis (30, 3.0, 3.0)
3. 2B Paul Larocque (25, 3.0, 3.0)
4. SP Joo-seok Kim (27, 3.0, 3.0)
5. 1B Mal Johnston (22, 3.0, 4.0)
Game #1 Monday July 10th, 2056
Detroit 43-38 vs Chicago 39-42
RHP Joo-seok Kim (5-4, 4.52 ERA) vs RHP Yale Hulbert (4-2, 6.69 ERA)
A - 29,768 (season low)
The T-Birds score six out of the box, with José Díaz doubling in the first two and Larry Thomson homering in the last two. Two innings later, Thomson hits another two-run home run.
Detroit 10, Chicago 3.
2B J Lambert 2-5 HR R RBI,
HR - Det SS L Tompson 2 (7), C D Tah (7), CH - 2B J Lambert (13)
POTG - Detroit SS Larry Thomson
Game #2 Tuesday July 11th, 2056
Detroit 44-38 vs Chicago 39-43
LHP Dwayne Miller (6-5, 3.81 ERA) vs RHP Jose Cedeño (9-4, 4.46 ERA)
A - 27,040 (season low)
Chicago’s José Cedeño (7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 11 K) wins his 10th game of the season. Thomas Arnaud, in his third game back a month plus on the injured list, hits his first home run since his return. Welcome back, Thomas. Chicago 3, Detroit 1.
2B J Lambert 2-3 RBI
HR - Det none CH - 3B T Arnaud (4)
POTG - Chicago SP Jose Cedeno (5)
Game #3 Wednesday July 12th, 2056
Detroit 44-39 vs Chicago 40-43
LHP Brian Miller (4-6, 7.40 ERA) vs RHP John Moore (5-1, 3.17 ERA)
A - 30,086
Detroit’s John Nichols hits a three-run home run in the first. In the second, Paul Larocque and Mal Johnston singled in runs. Thomas Arnaud does his best to get Chicago back in the game—he goes 4-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs—but gets little help from his teammates. Detroit 5, Chicago 4.
3B T Arnaud 4-5 2HR 2R 3RBI
HR - Det CF J Nichols (10) CH - 3B T Arnaud 2 (6)
POTG - Chicago 3B Thomas Arnaud (1)
Summary - Wasted Opportunity!!!!! With an opportunity to climb up the standings, the Architects once again fell down in a heap. Another 1 run loss and this time it was 2 costly errors 2B Kent Noseworthy which caused the most damage. SP John Moore wasn’t his best but 2 of the 5 runs he gave up were unearned.
Dropping 2 out of 3 means we are now 5 full games behind Detroit for 3rd place and 8 games off 2nd place and currently wildcard Toledo. Duluth is a full 12 games ahead and catching them feels more than a pipe dream. We are clinging to 4th place ½ game ahead of Traverse City. Thankfully Milwaukee is 13 games off our pace so we shouldn’t have to worry about falling down to last place.
In another move to just save pennies, we made a trade. We shipped 2054 playoff hero and AAA C Chi-yong Lee to Duluth who seems to be picking up all our scraps for AAA journeyman 3B Josh Hopkins. We don’t expect much out of Hopkins and this was a nod that Lee wasn’t going to be our starting or backup catcher next season. He was owed $950,000 next season and with any GLBL service time would be eligible for arbitration. We felt we had equal options and cheaper options long term in the organization.
Chicago Architects 40-44 4th in the US @ Milwaukee Eagles 28-56 6th in the US
Friday July 14th - 16th 2056
Milwaukee’s The Nest ballpark
A good time to face the worst club in the GLBL as we go to Brew Town to face the Eagles. Milwaukee as you will see below in the scouting report does nothing well. Last in offense, last in pitching, they have earned their porous record. They did sign C Cecil Phillips who we had coveted in prior years as he returned to the Eagles after winning a ring with Thunder Bay.
We have a 3-game series on the road against the Milwaukee Eagles kicking off today. Here is my report on the opponent: The Eagles play their games in The Nest, which can be described as a slight pitchers park. The building seats 40000 fans.
Going 26-58 so far this year, the Eagles have compiled a .310 winning percentage. They are in 6th place in the South of the Border, 26.0 games behind the leader. Their number of runs scored of 364 rank 6th in the USA, their .270 batting average ranks 6th. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 521 runs (6th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 5.64 which ranks 6th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 6.65, ranking 6th. When playing against our Architects this season, they have a record of 4 wins and 8 losses.
The first two games of this series will be included in this report.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP Motoyuki Inoue (8-9, 4.17 ERA) vs RHP Jon Atkinson (2-8, 6.29 ERA)
RHP Yale Hulbert (4-3, 7.68 ERA) vs LHP Arthur Tiller (4-4, 5.79 ERA)
RHP Jose Cedeno (10-4 4.26 ERA ) vs RHP Mike Emery (4-9, 5.69 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. C Cecil Phillips (Age: 33, Overall : 4.0, Potential: 4.0)
2. 1B John Crosby (28, 3.0, 3.0)
3. RF Luo-lang Petit (25, 2.5, 2.5)
4. SP Mike Emery (23, 2.5, 3.0)
5. SP Kent Bennett (27, 2.5, 2.5)
Game #1 - Friday July 14th 2056
Chicago 40-44 @ Milwaukee 28-56
RHP Motoyuki Inoue (8-9, 4.17 ERA) vs RHP Jon Atkinson (2-8, 6.29 ERA)
A - 28,233
Milwaukee’s Alexandre Gasnier goes 5-for-5 with a home run, a double, and two runs scored, but his effort is not enough. Chicago’s Reagan Osborn hits a two-run home run, a sac fly, and drives in a run with a ground out. John Lambert doubles, triples, and scores twice.
Chicago 8, Milwaukee 5.
SP M Inoue (5-5 4.66 with Ch) 5.2IP 6H 2R 2BB 6K, 2B J Lambert 2-6 DB, TP 2R RBI, 1B R Osborn 2-4 HR R 4RBI, LF J Justice 3-5 DB R
HR - CH 1B R Osborn (19) Mil - SS A Gasnier (6), LF R Hiscock (6)
07/14/2056 3B Larry Davis was injured being hit by a pitch (Chicago @ Milwaukee) The Diagnosis: knee contusion. This is a day-to-day injury expected to last one week. Poor timing for Larry on this injury as we decide we need the player spot for the last game against Milwaukee and the upcoming Canadian Games. He will be sent down to recover (and sinisterly slow his arbitration clock. I don’t like doing that but we do have a budget issue to deal with and every dollar counts according to our owner.).
Game #2 - Saturday July 15th 2056
Chicago 41-44 @ Milwaukee 28-57
RHP Motoyuki Inoue (8-9, 4.17 ERA) vs RHP Jon Atkinson (2-8, 6.29 ERA)
A - 25,517
Chicago’s Yale Hulbert (8.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K) nearly pitches a complete game shutout. Only three batters reach base against him: two batters single, and one reaches base on an error. Milwaukee’s Arthur Tiller (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 5 K) took his own shutout into the seventh, but John Lambert led off that inning with a home run. Cris Luna adds a two-run home run the next inning.
Chicago 4, Milwaukee 0.
RF T Stone 2-4 R, SB LF R Leroy 2-4 DB (33)
HR - Mil none CH - 2B J Lambert (14), CF C Luna (9)
POTG - Chicago SP Yale Hulburt (3)
Summary - It is so nice to see Yulburt have a great game. Two outs from a complete game shutout. With the way our bullpen has been pitching we need that type of production from our starting pitchers.
The stress of this season has really hit and hit hard. We optioned C Juan Duran to AAA today. The reasons were several. 1.) Joe Hunt came into my office a few days ago and was a bit upset about playing time. Through the first 84 games Duran (216/317/726 8HR 27 RBI’s) had started 44 and Hunt (309/364/956 12HR 40RBI’s) who had started only 40. In this case of a player not happy I couldn’t argue. I was going to try and trade Hunt since he was only on a 1-year contract and we would not be able to re-sign him next season, plus he was right. He should be starting at least 65% of the time (I like to rest catchers). 2.) Duran (24) who is our future at catcher for this club, needs to get his bat worked out. He is only 24 years old but again this might have been an arbitration avoidance decision. Duran has GLBL big league service of 1 year and 113 days. He might still be a Super Two type player but I’m looking to push salary down the road where I can. And the way he has been hitting all season, this isn’t exactly unjustified.
With Duran’s demotion maybe being a public scapegoat sort of deal, it allowed us to bring up a guy that we signed in the off-season for $1 million for 1 season in C Guo-Quiang Lee who is a left handed 33 year old catcher. Not a great defender but a reasonable left handed bat. He is another guy who we won’t be able to re-sign unless we can get him for the minimum and that might be possible, but we have another option as well.
With the other “Lee” being traded that opened the door to promote C Doug Hill who had played well (369 AA this season) in the minors and deserves to be the backup C honestly. He will get his shot but he will move up to AAA where he has hit successfully before (391 last season). He is a bit angry that he is not in the majors but he will probably get a call up when the rosters expand or if we can trade Hunt. We will actively attempt to trade Hunt up until the deadline.
We also released malcontent 1B/DH David Kenney after nobody thought his $1.4 million salary (cut for more than half to around $650,000 for the remainder of the season) was worth it. We will just eat his salary and cut our losses. In fairness to Kenney his attitude wasn’t bad other than he wanted more playing time. But honestly he just wasn’t going to get it with Reagan Osborn at 1B and rookie Marc Nayakama hitting well since he was called up.
With Davis going down to AAA to “rest” his injury, we brought back up UIF Juan Vazquez.
My patience was also starting to really wear thin with another player who will be named soon.