No miracles.
We got swept at home giving up 21 runs to a lousy offensive team. Not so bad to lose three, but giving up that many runs to that offense tells you a lot about my season.
First game, we get 15 runners and score a single run with Musgrove who is BRUTAL v LHB, and facing six of them, going 6.2 IP allowing a single run. Game two, Blanton gets his 13 BS with six straight rolls on the hitter's cards (of course) . In the finale, Blanton picks up BS #14 and we lose in 10. 2 WP and a sac fly send the game to extras. To be fair Blanton has a 20 wp, but two in two batters? Pretty much bad luck. Billy Hamilton hits a HR off of a LHP to end it. To be fair he has 3.6 HRs v LHP despite being weak and generally sucking v LHP. We leave the bases loaded for two outs in the bottom of the 10th.
Well, that'll do it for us. A total microcosm of our season. Blanton sucks. Hitting leaves a ton on base and untimely errors and x-chart hits kill us.
Our best starter ERA is Kennedy if that tells you anything about our season. He's at 3.99 with Cueto, Tanaka and Quintana all over 4. This playing in a pitcher's park with average d. Actually Kennedy is the ONLY pitcher with more than 20 IP with an ERA under 4. That's hard to do when playing in Kauffman. Votto has five fewer HRs, playing every day than Franklin who played only v RHP. He did manage to raise his average to .273, but the power is pathetic. Heck Gillaspie who we picked up halfway through the season and playing a platoon has as many HRs and Villar has one more!
But, fundamentally our pitching, Blanton and Cueto in particular just did nothing. Offensively we rose to sixth overall which was probably about right. Our pitching just didn't get it done. Tanaka had almost 100 more rolls on the hitters cards. Blanton at 54% on the hitters cards, with 31 HRs allowed in 185 IP. Again, pitching in Kauffman. Actually all of the HR numbers are pretty high even though two of the teams in our division were 11th and 8th in HRs overall.
Brutal, brutal season. Had hopes that we would play better after the garbage start, but never really did anything. We were 13 under after 15 games and we're 15 now so I guess this team just wasn't any good, especially in our division which is the worst in the league.
A very confusing team.
Meanwhile, M, looks like you have clinched! Edge, you must be disappointed like me.