.More rotation changes .
I suppose we can say we did win two games this week, which is a two game improvement on last week, but it’s still a way away from where we were and certainly not as good as we had hoped going into 2047. We’re currently on course for a 56-57 win season which is a disappointing tally, we would much prefer to get that up to a 60-65 win tally at the very least. I think we have improved our hitters from last year, if they can start hitting more consistently, and we’ve certainly improved the defence into the BURT leading defence, both in terms of efficiency and ZR. The one thing we just can’t improve is our pitching. The rotation is really our main problem, our new & expensive starters I had thought might have been a bit below par, but I hadn’t expected records of 1-7 & 1-6. If after 60 games your current rotation has a total of six wins between them you know it’s all going to shite.
Andresa Pires desire to play for a winner isn’t being helped by his 1-6 record with an ERA north of five, Juan Rodriguez might be 1-7 but at least his ERA is only just over four. So, this week’s rotation change is Pires heads for the waiver wire while 32-yr-old Taiwanese pitcher Ghi-cheng Kum takes his spot. Gum has just been signed as a minor league free agent, he has over 100 games of UMEBA experience with Beirut & Athens, posting a 27-24 record in that time. Not exactly a sexy star pitcher, but he’s only on a minimum contract and hopefully will use his experience to add a few wins to the rotation. His 316 K’s in 106 appearances shouldn’t go amiss either. Fraser Pond’s UMEBA debut against Beirut didn’t exactly go to plan as he gave up six hits, three runs & a couple of homers meaning he didn’t get out of the fifth innings and took the loss.
Mike Schofield is still only hitting a buck 79 but at least his five home runs have added to our meagre power output. Juan Martinez, recently handed the starting left field job is also helping there, racking up four homers & 14 RBI.
Since my musing piece on our farm system quite a few players have been promoted/signed to Santiago and the upshot is that the Tabaqueros have fought to six games over .500 and sit in second place. It is unlikely that they will improve further as they are 14 games adrift of leaders Asuncion. Uberto Casale who was 4-0 at South Guam started well in Santiago winning his first Double-A start, pitching into the ninth allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out five batters. Promotions like that have consequently weakened South Guam who have right now slipped to .500, 24-24. The opening week of Rookie Ball went well for the Chinese Taipei team who went 4-1, hitting double figure runs in two of those games. 20-yr-old RF Manuel Mendoza hit 5 homers in 46 outings last year with Taipei, but has started like a house on fire this year, hitting four long balls in his first five games while working six walks as well. Eight of the 20-strong draft class of 2047 have been released without ever reporting to Taipei and only two of the remaining 12 players have yet to agree a deal with the franchise. First & second round picks, Jouo Rovanpera & Czeslaw Bronkala have signed deals now and will make their pro debuts this coming week. Rovanpera will initially get AB’s at second and short while Riyadh decide which will suit him best going forward while Bronkala will take up residence straightaway in centre field.
2047 Riyadh Results against the UMEBA (Up to June 8th)
Vs BURT
| Team | HW | HL | AW | AL | RF | RA | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baghdad | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 45 | 52 | 4-7 |
| Beirut | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 48 | 67 | 5-8 |
| Jerusalem | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 48 | 65 | 4-8 |
| Manama | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 40 | 54 | 4-7 |
| Team | HW | HL | AW | AL | RF | RA | Series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 21 | 2-1 |
| Bucharest | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 1-2 |
| Cairo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 1-2 |
| Mumbai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 |
| Tripoli | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 0-3 |