Hanging on by a Thread

Well, since the last update, things have gone from hanging in there, to barely hanging on. In the past ten games, we've gone a rather pathetic 2-8, dropping our overall record to 17-23. We currently stand six games back of the WC2 position, currently held by Trenton. I believe that we can compete with teams like Trenton and Salt Lake City, however, it's all but decided that either San Francisco or Anaheim will win the WC1.

While our deficit is not insurmountable, it's always tough to come out of a hole. We've responded by placing several players on the trade block. Anaheim inquired about Richard Takada, but refused to offer value in exchange for him. Hard to blame them - their system is all dried up, and the window could be closing for them. They need to hang on to what few prospects they have.

We're willing to part with any contracts that expire over the next two seasons, but the ones that don't expire until the end of Season 10, well, we're in no hurry to move them. There will be some players that we'll want to move this season, but first we'll see if we can't play our way back in. The biggest issue is that almost every offensive player is underperforming, and we're dead last in runs scored. If these guys ever put it together, we could make up some ground.

Midre Cela is still hitting well, posting a .963 OPS with 14 RBIs. He has cooled off some, though. D'Angelo Rivera finally surrendered his first run of the season, but he is still sporting an impressive 0.50 ERA in 18 innings of work. He is making a case for the closer's job in Season 10, and maybe even later this season if Rod Sweeney is traded. Willie Mercado is also pitching well out of the bullpen, posting a 1.64 ERA in 11 innings of work.

Speaking of Sweeney, he is not pitching especially well, as he is posting a 6.14 ERA in 14.2 IP. He's also blown a save. Alex Johnson is doing even worse, sporting a 7.91 ERA in 19.1 IP. Finally, Robert Daniels hasn't been able to come out of his funk, as he's still posting a lowly .269 on-base percentage.