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liberty-ca · 02-26-2026, 08:21 PM

THE HOT CORNER
Baseball coverage from the inside — Sacramento Prayers and the FBL
By Claude Playball | Baseball Insider & Analyst | Host, "Hot Corner" Podcast

April 2 – April 15, 1992 | Games 1–13 of the Sacramento Prayers 1992 Season

9-4, AND NOBODY'S SATISFIED

Let me tell you how it goes when you cover the Sacramento Prayers.

You watch them go 9-4 over their first two weeks of the season. You watch them hit the cover off the ball. You watch a 23-year-old center fielder hit four home runs before April is half over. You watch Edwin Musco turn into a one-man wrecking crew with six home runs and a .326 average. You watch Robby Larson — Robby Larson, the guy who spent most of spring training as the rotation's biggest question mark — go out there three times and come back 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA.

And then you look at the standings, and Fort Worth is 11-1, and it doesn't matter.

That's the deal with this franchise. It's been the deal since 1969. Nine wins and four losses isn't a good start, it's a below-expectations start, because the preseason projections had Sacramento at 113-49, and right now, the math isn't adding up. Two and a half games back in the division already, and we haven't even gotten to May.

I said it on the podcast opening day and I'll say it again here: Fort Worth at 11-1 is real. The Spirits didn't sleepwalk into that record. But thirteen games is thirteen games, and I'm not panicking. I'm just noting, for the record, that the Prayers faithful — and Travis Strickland, somewhere in his owner's box counting both rings and receipts — are already keeping one eye on the West standings every morning. That's the price of twelve championships. The bar doesn't come down. It only goes up.

So yeah. 9-4. Nobody's satisfied. Welcome to Sacramento.

______________________________

THE FIRST TWO WEEKS: A GAME-BY-GAME TOUR

Opening Weekend: San Jose Demons, Games 1-4 (April 2-5)

The season opened at Cathedral Stadium against the San Jose Demons, and the Prayers came out swinging like men who had something to prove — which, given this organization's standards, they always do.

Game one was a statement. Sacramento 15, San Jose 2. Alex Torres went 3-for-4 with two doubles and was the consensus Player of the Game, but let's be honest — the story was the offense going full throttle from the first pitch. Eli Murguia hit two home runs, including one in the first and one in a six-run sixth inning. Francisco "Slicker" Hernandez capped a four-run fourth with a grand slam. Jordan "Pluto" Rubalcava cruised through 7.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs, and the 22,456 fans at Cathedral went home very happy. Good times.

Game two stayed more workmanlike. Bernardo Andretti held the Demons scoreless through five innings, and Gil "Mongoose" Cruz put on a show that Cathedral Stadium will be talking about for a while. The kid went 3-for-4 with two triples and a double — tying the Sacramento regular season single-game record for triples — and drove in three runs in a 5-2 win. "Nice to tuck this win away," Cruz said afterward, with the calm of a man who just set a record and decided it wasn't worth getting excited about. I like this kid more every time I watch him.

Game three, Sacramento 6, San Jose 4. David Perez hit a solo home run and Edwin Musco went deep as well, both off Adam Bruno in the fourth inning. Young Alejandro "Ale-Lo" Lopez had a run-scoring double in the second that got things started. Robby Larson was shaky — five innings, four runs, five walks, two wild pitches — but Danny St. Clair came in and was absolutely filthy, three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The "Saint" earned his first hold of the season and Luis Prieto closed it out. Jimmy Aces called it a "businesslike approach", which, coming from a man who manages the team and runs the front office simultaneously, is probably the highest praise available.

Game four on Sunday was the one that stings a little. Fernando Salazar started — and here's where I need to pause and acknowledge something. The old man took a hit in that game, and I don't mean metaphorically. The game notes say Salazar was injured while pitching, and Steve Dodge followed him and was also injured. I've confirmed that neither of them missed time — they played through — but at 41 years old, you don't throw the words "Fernando Salazar" and "injured" in the same sentence without every Prayers fan in Sacramento reaching for their antacids. More on "Mad Hare" later.

The Demons won that one, 9-5, thanks largely to Virgile Perfelti going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double and the San Jose bullpen shutting things down after the starters got shellacked. The bullpen situation for Sacramento in that game was a preview of some concerns we'll revisit below.

The Tucson Series: Games 5-7 (April 6-8)

The Cherubs came to town and Sacramento took two of three, which is fine, though the series had some rough edges.

Game five was the kind of baseball that either kills you or builds character. Ten innings, 3-2, Sacramento wins on a Musco walk-off double. "Mustang" was 3-for-4 that night, and when Scott Fletcher threw that fastball in the tenth, Musco put it in the gap like he'd been waiting for it all night. Mario Espenoza started and gave the team 7.1 innings allowing just two earned runs, which is exactly what you need from your fifth starter. Luis Prieto got the win in relief. The Cathedral crowd of 16,480 — down from the opening series, which you'd expect for a Monday — got their money's worth and then some.

Sad footnote: Tucson shortstop Nick Smith was injured in a base collision during the game. No further details were right away available, but you hate to see it.

Game six was a joy. Rubalcava went eight innings, the offense exploded for eight runs, and Cruz hit his first home run of the year in the third. "Ale-Lo" Lopez added one too. Four home runs total in the game. 8-4 final, and "Pluto" is now 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA. The man is a horse.

Game seven, though — that one was frustrating. Bernardo Andretti pitched well enough to win, going 7.1 innings and allowing three earned runs, but Gil Caliari came in and immediately surrendered a two-run homer to Vinny Berber in the eighth. Tucson's Kenichi Kubota threw a complete game, which always feels like a minor indignity when it happens to you. Edwin Musco went 2-for-4 with two solo shots — his fourth and fifth home runs of the season — but the Prayers couldn't get enough going against Kubota. 7-3 Tucson. Take the series, move on.

At Boston: Games 8-10 (April 10-12)

Three games in Boston. Two wins, one loss, and a split that feels about right.

Game eight, Friday night at Messiahs Stadium, "Ale-Lo" Lopez hit a three-run home run in the second inning that basically set the tone for the whole game. Robby Larson went six innings allowing no earned runs — you read that right, no earned runs — and Danny St. Clair closed it with three perfect innings. 6-2 Sacramento. Lopez was the Player of the Game and said afterward, "It's nice to deliver when your team's counting on you." Simple, clean, true.

Game nine on Saturday was the offensive showcase of the young season. Sacramento 8, Boston 2. David Perez had two doubles. Gil Cruz went deep in the seventh. George MacDonald, quietly having an extraordinary start (.444 average through the first two weeks), added two hits and an RBI. Most importantly, Fernando Salazar — "Mad Hare" himself — went 6.2 innings and won. He allowed just two runs. At 41, two weeks after playing through what the game log called an injury, he stood out there on the mound at Messiahs Stadium in 45-degree weather and gave the Prayers a quality start. I'll say this about Fernando Salazar: the man refuses to act his age, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment.

Sunday's loss, 8-6, belongs to Pluto. Jordan Rubalcava, who had been our best starter through the first two weeks, ran into a buzzsaw named Rogelio Ruiz. The Boston DH went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and four RBI, and Rubalcava simply didn't have it — giving up 12 hits and 8 runs in 6.1 innings. His ERA jumped from 2.35 to 4.98. That's baseball. Ruiz told the Boston Today afterward: "Don't care what other people think. Rogelio knows who Rogelio is." I don't know exactly what that means, but I respect the energy.

The Phoenix Series: Games 11-13 (April 13-15)

Two wins and a loss against Phoenix, which puts Sacramento at 9-4 and answers some questions while raising others.

Game eleven was Rafael Alonzo's coming-out party. The Sacramento catcher went 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles, driving in four runs in a 10-4 win. Alonzo's three-run shot off Fred Storey in the sixth broke the game open. Andretti got the win. MacDonald hit his third homer of the season. All good.

Game twelve, Sacramento lost 4-3, and if you want to find someone to point at, the name is Mario Espenoza. The left-hander had a rough go — nine hits, four runs, including a Davis homer and an A. Pena double-double performance. Rob Burton came out of the Phoenix bullpen and threw two shutout innings to seal it. Sacramento left seven on base with no walks. Jimmy Aces reportedly was not pleased. He didn't say so publicly, but the look on his face in the dugout told the story.

Game thirteen on Wednesday was Robby Larson doing what Robby Larson has been doing all month — just quietly, efficiently being excellent. Five-plus innings, no runs, three hits. He's 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA and I'm starting to wonder if the most reliable starter on this staff right now is the guy nobody's talking about. Alejandro Lopez had a two-run double in the fourth that proved to be the difference in a 3-1 final. Luis Prieto got his third save. Clean, workmanlike, classic Prayers baseball when it works.

______________________________

THE EARLY STORYLINES

Edwin Musco is on fire, and that's putting it mildly.

Six home runs in thirteen games. A .326 average. He's the highest-paid player in the entire FBL at $880,000, and right now, he's earning every penny and then some. "Mustang" has been the heartbeat of this lineup. What I love most about watching him these days is the consistency — he shows up every single night whether Sacramento scores five or fifteen, and he's produced in the big moments repeatedly. The walk-off double against Tucson. The home runs in the Boston loss just to keep the Prayers competitive. The man is a professional's professional.

Gil Cruz, ladies and gentlemen.

The "Mongoose" is 24 years old, hitting .298 with five home runs, and his OPS is over 1.100. That triples game against San Jose on April 3rd was the kind of performance that makes you call your friends and tell them to watch this kid. He already had the tools — the switch-hitting, the baserunning (three steals), the defensive reliability at first. What's emerging now is the clutch gene. Cruz hits better when it matters. That's not a small thing.

Alejandro Lopez is a revelation.

Alejandro Lopez came into this season as the prospect everyone was cautious about — 23 years old, 183 major league plate appearances, good speed, question marks everywhere else. Through thirteen games, he has four home runs, eleven RBI, six stolen bases, and an OPS of .952. He's been the Player of the Game twice. Is this sustainable? I don't know. But what I know is that right now, in this lineup, "Ale-Lo looks" like he belongs.

The Fort Worth problem.

I don't want to spend too much time on this because thirteen games is a small sample and the Spirits will cool off. But 11-1 is 11-1, and Sacramento is two and a half back. The preseason projections had Sacramento winning this division by 23 games. Instead, they're chasing. Jimmy Aces, to his credit, has said nothing publicly about Fort Worth. He doesn't need to. The standings say it for him.

______________________________

CONCERN CORNER

I try to be honest with you, so here's what I'm watching with a slightly furrowed brow.

Steve Dodge has a 11.57 ERA. The young reliever, one of our organizational shortlist prospects, has appeared in two games and it's been rough. He was the one who gave up the lead in the fateful Game 4 against San Jose, allowing a 2-run double to Perfelti in the eighth. Then he came back against Phoenix in Game 12 and threw a scoreless inning of relief, which is something. He's 27 years old with a career ERA of 1.59, so I'm not ready to write him off. But the early returns aren't pretty.

David Perez has made three errors at third base. His bat has been very good — .347 average, two home runs, nine RBI — but the glove has been a problem. He's a 26-year-old in his prime, so this should correct itself. But three errors in thirteen games is a number Jimmy Aces is surely aware of.

Gil Caliari's ERA is 6.35. The veteran lefty reliever has been hit around a bit. He's 35 years old, and I'm not suggesting his career is over, but five appearances and a 6.35 ERA is not the ace we're accustomed to seeing. The bullpen behind Prieto needs to be more reliable than this if Sacramento wants to win close games.

Fernando Salazar. I said it gently before, I'll say it more directly now. Mad Hare is 41 years old. He played through some discomfort on April 5th and came back six days later to give the Prayers 6.2 innings in Boston, which is either inspiring or concerning depending on your disposition. His 3.12 ERA through two starts is perfectly acceptable. But we're going to be watching his pitch counts, his between-start recovery, and his general health very carefully from here on. This is the greatest pitcher in FBL history. He deserves our attention and our care, even from a distance.

______________________________

MAILBAG — The Hot Corner audience has questions. Claude Playball has answers.

From R.T. in Midtown Sacramento: "Claude, who has surprised you most in the first two weeks — in a good way?"

Honestly? Robby Larson. I came into this season thinking Rubalcava-Andretti-Salazar were the story of this rotation, and Larson was the dependable but unspectacular fourth option. Three starts, three wins, 2.20 ERA, and he's been the most consistent starter on the staff. He doesn't overpower anyone. He doesn't post gaudy strikeout numbers. He just throws strikes, gets ground balls, and lets his defense work. Sometimes the least glamorous thing on the field is the most valuable. Larson is making a case.

From D.M. in East Sacramento: "What do you make of Jimmy Aces wearing both the GM hat and the manager hat? Does that help or hurt the team?"

Great question, and one I think about more than I probably should. The argument for it: nobody knows this roster better than the man who built it. When Jimmy Aces writes out his lineup card, he knows every contract, every option year, every player's market value. There's a clarity of vision that comes with that dual role that a lot of organizations don't have. The argument against it: the conflicts of interest are real. When you're the GM evaluating whether a player is performing well enough to keep, and you're also the manager making the daily decisions that affect his performance, the lines get blurry in ways that can be hard to see from the inside. My honest take? Jimmy Aces has made it work for years, and twelve championship banners suggest the model isn't broken. But I watch him in the dugout and I sometimes wonder what it costs him. That's a lot of weight for one man to carry.

From B.K. in Rancho Cordova: "Any early thoughts on the National League?"

I'll keep it brief since we're an AL shop here, but a few things caught my eye. Fort Worth's 11-1 is the biggest story in baseball right now, obviously. In the NL, Las Vegas Blessed out to an 8-4 start in the West is worth noting — they were projected to win that division and they're doing it. Detroit Preachers at 3-9 is a disaster for a team that was supposed to contend. And if you're looking for a team that might surprise people, keep an eye on Salt Lake City Prophets at 7-5 — they're outperforming their Pythagorean record and playing like a team that believes in itself. Early days, but the NL West race looks interesting.

______________________________

The Sacramento Prayers return to action this week against El Paso Abbots on the road, then host Fort Worth Spirits, Washington Devils, and Albuquerque Damned before closing April at Seattle. Claude Playball will have full coverage of the second two-week stretch when it concludes.

Got a question for the mailbag? Find the Hot Corner wherever you get your podcasts.

______________________________

Claude Playball is a baseball insider and analyst and host of the Hot Corner podcast, based in Sacramento, California.

02-26-2026, 08:21 PM	#227
liberty-ca Major Leagues Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: New Westminster, BC Posts: 401	THE HOT CORNER *Baseball coverage from the inside — Sacramento Prayers and the FBL* By Claude Playball \| Baseball Insider & Analyst \| Host, "Hot Corner" Podcast *April 2 – April 15, 1992 \| Games 1–13 of the Sacramento Prayers 1992 Season* 9-4, AND NOBODY'S SATISFIED Let me tell you how it goes when you cover the Sacramento Prayers. You watch them go 9-4 over their first two weeks of the season. You watch them hit the cover off the ball. You watch a 23-year-old center fielder hit four home runs before April is half over. You watch Edwin Musco turn into a one-man wrecking crew with six home runs and a .326 average. You watch Robby Larson — Robby Larson, the guy who spent most of spring training as the rotation's biggest question mark — go out there three times and come back 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA. And then you look at the standings, and Fort Worth is 11-1, and it doesn't matter. That's the deal with this franchise. It's been the deal since 1969. Nine wins and four losses isn't a good start, it's a below-expectations start, because the preseason projections had Sacramento at 113-49, and right now, the math isn't adding up. Two and a half games back in the division already, and we haven't even gotten to May. I said it on the podcast opening day and I'll say it again here: Fort Worth at 11-1 is real. The Spirits didn't sleepwalk into that record. But thirteen games is thirteen games, and I'm not panicking. I'm just noting, for the record, that the Prayers faithful — and Travis Strickland, somewhere in his owner's box counting both rings and receipts — are already keeping one eye on the West standings every morning. That's the price of twelve championships. The bar doesn't come down. It only goes up. So yeah. 9-4. Nobody's satisfied. Welcome to Sacramento. ______________________________ THE FIRST TWO WEEKS: A GAME-BY-GAME TOUR Opening Weekend: San Jose Demons, Games 1-4 (April 2-5) The season opened at Cathedral Stadium against the San Jose Demons, and the Prayers came out swinging like men who had something to prove — which, given this organization's standards, they always do. Game one was a statement. Sacramento 15, San Jose 2. Alex Torres went 3-for-4 with two doubles and was the consensus Player of the Game, but let's be honest — the story was the offense going full throttle from the first pitch. Eli Murguia hit two home runs, including one in the first and one in a six-run sixth inning. Francisco "Slicker" Hernandez capped a four-run fourth with a grand slam. Jordan "Pluto" Rubalcava cruised through 7.1 innings, allowing just two earned runs, and the 22,456 fans at Cathedral went home very happy. Good times. Game two stayed more workmanlike. Bernardo Andretti held the Demons scoreless through five innings, and Gil "Mongoose" Cruz put on a show that Cathedral Stadium will be talking about for a while. The kid went 3-for-4 with two triples and a double — tying the Sacramento regular season single-game record for triples — and drove in three runs in a 5-2 win. "Nice to tuck this win away," Cruz said afterward, with the calm of a man who just set a record and decided it wasn't worth getting excited about. I like this kid more every time I watch him. Game three, Sacramento 6, San Jose 4. David Perez hit a solo home run and Edwin Musco went deep as well, both off Adam Bruno in the fourth inning. Young Alejandro "Ale-Lo" Lopez had a run-scoring double in the second that got things started. Robby Larson was shaky — five innings, four runs, five walks, two wild pitches — but Danny St. Clair came in and was absolutely filthy, three scoreless innings with five strikeouts. The "Saint" earned his first hold of the season and Luis Prieto closed it out. Jimmy Aces called it a "businesslike approach", which, coming from a man who manages the team and runs the front office simultaneously, is probably the highest praise available. Game four on Sunday was the one that stings a little. Fernando Salazar started — and here's where I need to pause and acknowledge something. The old man took a hit in that game, and I don't mean metaphorically. The game notes say Salazar was injured while pitching, and Steve Dodge followed him and was also injured. I've confirmed that neither of them missed time — they played through — but at 41 years old, you don't throw the words "Fernando Salazar" and "injured" in the same sentence without every Prayers fan in Sacramento reaching for their antacids. More on "Mad Hare" later. The Demons won that one, 9-5, thanks largely to Virgile Perfelti going 3-for-4 with a home run and a double and the San Jose bullpen shutting things down after the starters got shellacked. The bullpen situation for Sacramento in that game was a preview of some concerns we'll revisit below. The Tucson Series: Games 5-7 (April 6-8) The Cherubs came to town and Sacramento took two of three, which is fine, though the series had some rough edges. Game five was the kind of baseball that either kills you or builds character. Ten innings, 3-2, Sacramento wins on a Musco walk-off double. "Mustang" was 3-for-4 that night, and when Scott Fletcher threw that fastball in the tenth, Musco put it in the gap like he'd been waiting for it all night. Mario Espenoza started and gave the team 7.1 innings allowing just two earned runs, which is exactly what you need from your fifth starter. Luis Prieto got the win in relief. The Cathedral crowd of 16,480 — down from the opening series, which you'd expect for a Monday — got their money's worth and then some. Sad footnote: Tucson shortstop Nick Smith was injured in a base collision during the game. No further details were right away available, but you hate to see it. Game six was a joy. Rubalcava went eight innings, the offense exploded for eight runs, and Cruz hit his first home run of the year in the third. "Ale-Lo" Lopez added one too. Four home runs total in the game. 8-4 final, and "Pluto" is now 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA. The man is a horse. Game seven, though — that one was frustrating. Bernardo Andretti pitched well enough to win, going 7.1 innings and allowing three earned runs, but Gil Caliari came in and immediately surrendered a two-run homer to Vinny Berber in the eighth. Tucson's Kenichi Kubota threw a complete game, which always feels like a minor indignity when it happens to you. Edwin Musco went 2-for-4 with two solo shots — his fourth and fifth home runs of the season — but the Prayers couldn't get enough going against Kubota. 7-3 Tucson. Take the series, move on. At Boston: Games 8-10 (April 10-12) Three games in Boston. Two wins, one loss, and a split that feels about right. Game eight, Friday night at Messiahs Stadium, "Ale-Lo" Lopez hit a three-run home run in the second inning that basically set the tone for the whole game. Robby Larson went six innings allowing no earned runs — you read that right, no earned runs — and Danny St. Clair closed it with three perfect innings. 6-2 Sacramento. Lopez was the Player of the Game and said afterward, "It's nice to deliver when your team's counting on you." Simple, clean, true. Game nine on Saturday was the offensive showcase of the young season. Sacramento 8, Boston 2. David Perez had two doubles. Gil Cruz went deep in the seventh. George MacDonald, quietly having an extraordinary start (.444 average through the first two weeks), added two hits and an RBI. Most importantly, Fernando Salazar — "Mad Hare" himself — went 6.2 innings and won. He allowed just two runs. At 41, two weeks after playing through what the game log called an injury, he stood out there on the mound at Messiahs Stadium in 45-degree weather and gave the Prayers a quality start. I'll say this about Fernando Salazar: the man refuses to act his age, and I mean that as the highest possible compliment. Sunday's loss, 8-6, belongs to Pluto. Jordan Rubalcava, who had been our best starter through the first two weeks, ran into a buzzsaw named Rogelio Ruiz. The Boston DH went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer and four RBI, and Rubalcava simply didn't have it — giving up 12 hits and 8 runs in 6.1 innings. His ERA jumped from 2.35 to 4.98. That's baseball. Ruiz told the Boston Today afterward: "Don't care what other people think. Rogelio knows who Rogelio is." I don't know exactly what that means, but I respect the energy. The Phoenix Series: Games 11-13 (April 13-15) Two wins and a loss against Phoenix, which puts Sacramento at 9-4 and answers some questions while raising others. Game eleven was Rafael Alonzo's coming-out party. The Sacramento catcher went 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles, driving in four runs in a 10-4 win. Alonzo's three-run shot off Fred Storey in the sixth broke the game open. Andretti got the win. MacDonald hit his third homer of the season. All good. Game twelve, Sacramento lost 4-3, and if you want to find someone to point at, the name is Mario Espenoza. The left-hander had a rough go — nine hits, four runs, including a Davis homer and an A. Pena double-double performance. Rob Burton came out of the Phoenix bullpen and threw two shutout innings to seal it. Sacramento left seven on base with no walks. Jimmy Aces reportedly was not pleased. He didn't say so publicly, but the look on his face in the dugout told the story. Game thirteen on Wednesday was Robby Larson doing what Robby Larson has been doing all month — just quietly, efficiently being excellent. Five-plus innings, no runs, three hits. He's 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA and I'm starting to wonder if the most reliable starter on this staff right now is the guy nobody's talking about. Alejandro Lopez had a two-run double in the fourth that proved to be the difference in a 3-1 final. Luis Prieto got his third save. Clean, workmanlike, classic Prayers baseball when it works. ______________________________ THE EARLY STORYLINES Edwin Musco is on fire, and that's putting it mildly. Six home runs in thirteen games. A .326 average. He's the highest-paid player in the entire FBL at $880,000, and right now, he's earning every penny and then some. "Mustang" has been the heartbeat of this lineup. What I love most about watching him these days is the consistency — he shows up every single night whether Sacramento scores five or fifteen, and he's produced in the big moments repeatedly. The walk-off double against Tucson. The home runs in the Boston loss just to keep the Prayers competitive. The man is a professional's professional. Gil Cruz, ladies and gentlemen. The "Mongoose" is 24 years old, hitting .298 with five home runs, and his OPS is over 1.100. That triples game against San Jose on April 3rd was the kind of performance that makes you call your friends and tell them to watch this kid. He already had the tools — the switch-hitting, the baserunning (three steals), the defensive reliability at first. What's emerging now is the clutch gene. Cruz hits better when it matters. That's not a small thing. Alejandro Lopez is a revelation. Alejandro Lopez came into this season as the prospect everyone was cautious about — 23 years old, 183 major league plate appearances, good speed, question marks everywhere else. Through thirteen games, he has four home runs, eleven RBI, six stolen bases, and an OPS of .952. He's been the Player of the Game twice. Is this sustainable? I don't know. But what I know is that right now, in this lineup, "Ale-Lo looks" like he belongs. The Fort Worth problem. I don't want to spend too much time on this because thirteen games is a small sample and the Spirits will cool off. But 11-1 is 11-1, and Sacramento is two and a half back. The preseason projections had Sacramento winning this division by 23 games. Instead, they're chasing. Jimmy Aces, to his credit, has said nothing publicly about Fort Worth. He doesn't need to. The standings say it for him. ______________________________ CONCERN CORNER I try to be honest with you, so here's what I'm watching with a slightly furrowed brow. Steve Dodge has a 11.57 ERA. The young reliever, one of our organizational shortlist prospects, has appeared in two games and it's been rough. He was the one who gave up the lead in the fateful Game 4 against San Jose, allowing a 2-run double to Perfelti in the eighth. Then he came back against Phoenix in Game 12 and threw a scoreless inning of relief, which is something. He's 27 years old with a career ERA of 1.59, so I'm not ready to write him off. But the early returns aren't pretty. David Perez has made three errors at third base. His bat has been very good — .347 average, two home runs, nine RBI — but the glove has been a problem. He's a 26-year-old in his prime, so this should correct itself. But three errors in thirteen games is a number Jimmy Aces is surely aware of. Gil Caliari's ERA is 6.35. The veteran lefty reliever has been hit around a bit. He's 35 years old, and I'm not suggesting his career is over, but five appearances and a 6.35 ERA is not the ace we're accustomed to seeing. The bullpen behind Prieto needs to be more reliable than this if Sacramento wants to win close games. Fernando Salazar. I said it gently before, I'll say it more directly now. Mad Hare is 41 years old. He played through some discomfort on April 5th and came back six days later to give the Prayers 6.2 innings in Boston, which is either inspiring or concerning depending on your disposition. His 3.12 ERA through two starts is perfectly acceptable. But we're going to be watching his pitch counts, his between-start recovery, and his general health very carefully from here on. This is the greatest pitcher in FBL history. He deserves our attention and our care, even from a distance. ______________________________ MAILBAG — The Hot Corner audience has questions. Claude Playball has answers. From R.T. in Midtown Sacramento: "Claude, who has surprised you most in the first two weeks — in a good way?" Honestly? Robby Larson. I came into this season thinking Rubalcava-Andretti-Salazar were the story of this rotation, and Larson was the dependable but unspectacular fourth option. Three starts, three wins, 2.20 ERA, and he's been the most consistent starter on the staff. He doesn't overpower anyone. He doesn't post gaudy strikeout numbers. He just throws strikes, gets ground balls, and lets his defense work. Sometimes the least glamorous thing on the field is the most valuable. Larson is making a case. From D.M. in East Sacramento: "What do you make of Jimmy Aces wearing both the GM hat and the manager hat? Does that help or hurt the team?" Great question, and one I think about more than I probably should. The argument for it: nobody knows this roster better than the man who built it. When Jimmy Aces writes out his lineup card, he knows every contract, every option year, every player's market value. There's a clarity of vision that comes with that dual role that a lot of organizations don't have. The argument against it: the conflicts of interest are real. When you're the GM evaluating whether a player is performing well enough to keep, and you're also the manager making the daily decisions that affect his performance, the lines get blurry in ways that can be hard to see from the inside. My honest take? Jimmy Aces has made it work for years, and twelve championship banners suggest the model isn't broken. But I watch him in the dugout and I sometimes wonder what it costs him. That's a lot of weight for one man to carry. From B.K. in Rancho Cordova: "Any early thoughts on the National League?" I'll keep it brief since we're an AL shop here, but a few things caught my eye. Fort Worth's 11-1 is the biggest story in baseball right now, obviously. In the NL, Las Vegas Blessed out to an 8-4 start in the West is worth noting — they were projected to win that division and they're doing it. Detroit Preachers at 3-9 is a disaster for a team that was supposed to contend. And if you're looking for a team that might surprise people, keep an eye on Salt Lake City Prophets at 7-5 — they're outperforming their Pythagorean record and playing like a team that believes in itself. Early days, but the NL West race looks interesting. ______________________________ The Sacramento Prayers return to action this week against El Paso Abbots on the road, then host Fort Worth Spirits, Washington Devils, and Albuquerque Damned before closing April at Seattle. Claude Playball will have full coverage of the second two-week stretch when it concludes. Got a question for the mailbag? Find the Hot Corner wherever you get your podcasts. ______________________________ Claude Playball is a baseball insider and analyst and host of the Hot Corner podcast, based in Sacramento, California.