A unexpected bounce back
After finishing August with just one win in the last nine games we certainly didn’t expect to open September with three straight wins and indeed finish the first week 4-3. Our first winning week since early July and only our third such week since the start of May. It was nice to shut out Cairo and good to maintain our decent record against the Hebrew Hammers by splitting a four-game series with them, but perhaps not so good to fail to score against them in the series’ final two games. A rare bonus was not only a win against Manama, but a shut out win as well. The average home attendance dropped further still though and is now less than 4,000 above last year’s disappointing 15,000-odd effort.
Raymond Ortiz celebrated his return to Riyadh and the rotation by getting a 3-hit win against Jerusalem, but Bert Hackworth wasn’t so lucky, getting hooked in the fourth innings, having already given up seven hits, three walks and five runs in a game which the bullpen actually managed to win. Sean Gardner got a rare win too, his sixth of 2048, he’s the second most winningest pitcher in Riyadh history with a less than impressive 21 wins. Ricardo Quadrado has the most with 23, although he has only one win since mid-July. Nick Garner and Dave Welsh have returned to the Riyadh pitching staff now we’re down to the final Triple-A game in Port Elizabeth; that game will be 2048’s #1 overall draft pick Umar Doger’s 14th start at the level where he has a 7-0 record and a 2.24 ERA. He will be appearing in a Red Crescent’s uniform for certain next year, our first draft pick to reach the majors.
Vinnie Coalman, selected in this years Rule 5 draft from Cairo, now has 20 stolen bases in 2048, Riyadh’s single season record. He also leads the team in WAR (2.4) and walks (43). Both Diesel “All-Star” Dave and
Masaki Sato now have 30 home runs or more this season, unfortunately though, we only have three other players in double-digit homers; Grady Fern with two this week is now just one away from reaching the 10 mark. With Jamie Ramirez mired in a 2-29 slump to seemingly finish off his Riyadh career (he wants to test free agency), Sancho Castillo will take over the hot corner against RHP. Juan Luis Manuel also comes up from Port Elizabeth to join a gaggle of shortstops in Riyadh, none of whom are making any kind of case to be the 2049 starting shortstop.
2048 Riyadh Results against the UMEBA (up to September 7th)
Vs BURT
Team | HW | HL | AW | AL | RF | RA | Series |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baghdad | 4 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 91 | 135 | 10-17 |
Beirut | 3 | 9 | 4 | 15 | 86 | 176 | 7-24 |
Jerusalem | 9 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 148 | 129 | 16-14 |
Manama | 3 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 110 | 169 | 8-21 |
Team | HW | HL | AW | AL | RF | RA | Series |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Athens | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 26 | 27 | 2-4 |
Bucharest | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 18 | 34 | 1-5 |
Cairo | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 22 | 40 | 1-5 |
Mumbai | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 20 | 1-2 |
Tripoli | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 19 | 4-2 |