This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Four 2028

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Vic
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This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Four 2028

#1 Post by Vic »

By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News
05-01-2028

The Big Picture
Havana hasn’t started looking around for last year’s Mojito recipes yet, but it is checking on its rum supplies, stocking up on limes, and watering the mint plants growing in the bullpen at Campos Peloteros.

Not that they’re over-confident. But just in case the race for the Trans Atlantic Division crown gets out of hand early (like last season’s cakewalk), the Leones will be ready to resume their mid-summer quest for bartending perfection.

So, yeah. In case you hadn’t guessed, it was another winning week for the Leones. Not a 6-0 beat down like week three, but a 4-2 bruising that was all the more impressive because all six games were against a tough New Orleans squad.

Curiously, Havana lost its home series against the Trendsetters 2-1, but bounced back to sweep the three-game set in N.O. and stretch its lead over second place San Juan to five games .... Key Havana rankings in the 12-team Imperial League: Runs scored, 122 (1st); Team ERA, 2.98 (1st); Defensive Efficiency, .703 (7th).

San Juan sputtered a bit in week four, with a 2-4 record in home-and-home series against West Virginia. Still, league observers are impressed that the Coqui, so far, are making good on GM Mike Best’s quest to emphasize pitching and defense to bring them in at .500 or above, following a 102-loss 2027 campaign. Key San Juan rankings: Runs scored, 106 (5th); Team ERA, 3.41 (4th); Defensive Efficiency, .724 (2nd)

Scotland split its six-game series with the struggling Kentucky Thoroughbreds. Still, that was enough to keep the Claymores close to .500 and just a game behind San Juan. Key Scottish rankings: Runs scored, 120 (T-2nd); Team ERA, 4.66 (12th); Defensive efficiency, .705 (6th).

Finally, London slipped a bit more in week four, going 2-4 and dropping both of its three-game sets to the Arlington Bureaucrats and solidifying its grasp on the Trans Atlantic cellar. Key London rankings: Runs scored, 79 (11th); Team ERA, 3.94 (8th); Defensive Efficiency: .712, (5th).

Havana Happenings
Big doings, as Claudio Hernandez won the IL Rookie of the Month Award, putting together a potent slash line of .308/.432/.637, while mashing 8 home runs, knocking in 19, and posting a .448 wOBA (weighted on base average) and 2.0 WAR. Hernandez, you’ll recall, signed a six-year, $106.8 million contract as an international free agent out of Panama. Looks like money well spent … Bill Jones, last week’s IL Player of the Week, stayed hot, hitting at a .350 clip with 3 home runs … Game(s) of the week: All three of the Leones’ wins in New Orleans went down to the wire: they edged the Trendsetters 4-3 on April 30 with a ninth inning rally spurred by shortstop José Gonzáles, who singled, stole second and then took third on a throwing error. He scored on a SF by 3B Vern Duncan. The other two victories both came in extra innings: a 3-1 win on April 28, keyed by Claudio Hernandez’s two-run, top of the 11th blast; and a 4-3 win on April 29, spurred by 1B Ira Murdoch’s solo homer in the 12th. Trendsetters faithful may have gone home mourning the losses, but they can’t say they didn’t get their money’s worth!

Coqui Cables
San Juan fans have to be pleased at the week put together by outfielder/DH Flint Butler. Hitting leadoff in all six games, he put together a slash line of .333/.357/.556, which left him as the only Coqui hitter batting above .300 for the season (.303) … Left Fielder Mike Rose continued to struggle at the plate after his hot start, slashing .120/.185/.200 (although there was a bright spot towards the end of the week). Rose was joined in Slump City by CF Dean Walden (.143/.182/.190) and 3B Kwan-cheol Kang (.143/.294/.286). You begin to see why San Juan is stressing pitching and defense … Game of the week: Remember that bright spot for Rose? It came in the Coquis’ 11-4 victory over West Virginia on April 29. Rose went 3-5 with a triple, two singles and a couple of RBIs to win Player of the Game. Tatsui Kono picked up the win, going six innings and allowing five hits and three runs. He’s now 3-2 on the season.

Scottish Scoops
Well, it had to happen. After batting over .500 the first three weeks of the season, José Guillén came crashing to Earth in Week 4, going 1 for 20 and slashing .050/.200/.050. Although Guillén famously said he preferred the “reality” of the regular season to the “fake news” of spring training, he was a little less enamored Sunday night when asked about this tough stretch. “Sometimes,” he shrugged, “reality bites.” … Yeong-hun Kim has two home runs on the season. Big deal, you say? Well, yeah. Both are grand slams. The first came on April 15 against New Orleans, and the most recent came in the April 29 17-6 thrashing of Kentucky. Kim said he was “satisfied” with his first ‘slam. This one? “Gratifying.” The man’s a walking Thesaurus … Game of the Week: Had to be the nail-biting, 10-inning, 1-0 loss to Kentucky on April 30. Soichiro Ogawa threw seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball before yielding to the bullpen. Claymores fans could be excused if they thought things were well in hand when their closer Eitoku Tamura came in to handle the ninth and 10th, but those hopes were dashed in the top of the extra-inning frame: 3B Marcos Sánchez led off the inning with a 405-foot monster smash to right center. Kentucky’s Josh Urien, David Chesney and Alfredo Aranda combined for the shutout. Thrilling. Disappointing for the Scottish, but still thrilling.

Underground Utterings
Let’s sing the praises of London closer Gideon Byrd. Because, let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot else sing about here. But Byrd? He’s worth a chorus or two. He leads the staff in wins (3) and saves (5), has an ERA of 0.67, and has converted 100 percent of his save opportunities. His Command Ratio (K/BB) could be stronger – 2.5 is decent, but no better than that. Still, let’s not look our gift Byrd in the beak. He’s doing just fine, thank you ... Game(s) of the Week: Both of London’s Week 4 victories came in exciting extra-inning affairs. The first was a 5-4 win at Arlington on April 25, secured in the top of the 11th by a solo homer off the bat of Nobuo Suzuki. He smacked a 2-0 fastball from lefthander Mike Monroe 351 feet into the left field stands at Jane P. Woods Memorial Stadium. Byrd got the win, and Marcos González nailed down the save … Then, on April 29, London won again as Kelvin McDonald (who actually played all three outfield positions in the game) hit a walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th to score shortstop Tony Cuevas and nail down a tense 2-1 win. Akio Sai took the loss for the Alleghenies. The winner? Need you ask? Byrd, of course.

Where they stand
As of the morning of May 1, it’s: 1) Havana, 18-7; 2) San Juan, 13-12; 3) Scotland, 12-13; 4) London, 10-15.

See you next week!
Vic Caleca
Scottish Claymores
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Re: This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Four 2028

#2 Post by Reg »

LOVING THIS!
Great article again, Vic! :bang:

The week felt like a playoff series. Lots of close games. Havana is not an easy team to beat!
I guess the "Battle of the Gulf" is technically tied at 1 series apiece !+)
Reg LeBlanc
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(2021 - 2037)
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Re: This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Four 2028

#3 Post by MikeB »

In my rein at San Juan, only thing consistent has been inconsistency. Looks like more of the same so far.
Mike Best
San Juan Coqui
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