This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Six 2028

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This Week In The Trans Atlantic: Week Six 2028

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By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News
05-14-2028

The Big Picture
The Trans Atlantic standings have a familiar look after Week 6: everyone’s in the same place as last week with about as much distance between them.

Consistency? Or just treading water?

Top dog Havana (24-14) has so far followed up a red hot April (18-7, .720) with a tepid May (6-7, .462), splitting a 6-game home-and-home series against West Virginia after going 3-4 the week before against Kentucky and Florida. The Leones still have a healthy +23 run differential to date, though. Nothing lukewarm about that!

San Juan also went 3-3 last week to stay 4 games behind Havana and two clear of the .500 mark. Whereas winning as many as you lose would be (and likely is) cause for mild concern in Cuba, it should be (and likely is) cause for satisfaction in Puerto Rico, because it marks a continued, steady climb from the despair of last season’s 102-loss debacle. The Coqui were one game over the .500 mark in April (13-12) and have replicated that so far in May (7-6). San Juan’s run differential on the season is also healthy: +10.

The stage is now set for next week’s big four-game series between the Coqui and Leones at Havana. Bring your popcorn – should be anything but tepid!

As for the rest of the TAD, Scotland actually put together a winning week (4-2) against Arlington to claw its way back to the .500 mark, one game behind San Juan and five behind the division leaders. The Claymores also flipped their run differential to the positive side of the ledger at +3.

London, meanwhile, dropped further below the .500 line, going 2-4 against the Dixie Division leaders, New Orleans. The Underground are now 15-23 on the season, and have allowed 26 more runs than they have scored. Not a recipe for success.

Finally, we’ve gotta ask: who’s still the winningest division in the Imperial League? Why the TAD, of course (78 wins to 76 for the Seaboard and 74 for the Dixie).

We’re cruising.

Havana Happenings
It’s a Claudio Hernandez world, and we’re just living in it. If you check the team offensive leader board for Havana, the Panamanian Powerman (see what we did there?) is practically a one-man show. He’s the leader in BA (.295); OBP (.433); Slugging (.568); OBS (1.001); WAR (2.3); RC (33.2); RC/27 (9.15); ISO (.273); Runs (27); TB (75); HR (10); Walks (21); Int. Walks (3); and HBP (11). We sense a trend … Trending the wrong way, unfortunately, is Bill Jones. After winning the IL Player of the Week award on 4/24, he’s struggled mightily. Since May 6, he’s slashed .050/.208/.050. Yikes! … But don’t worry. The Leones have Closer Ricardo Pérez to take up the slack. He’s pretty much been on a streak since the season opened. From April 10 until now, he’s 4-0 with 8 saves, a 0.44 ERA, 11.95 K/9, and a WHIP of 0.69. Whew! … Game of the Week: The May 9 tilt with the West Virginia Alleghenies provided a 10th inning walk-off thriller to give a Havana a 3-2 win in front of 54,000 fans at Campos Pelotoros. Staff ace Enrique Vázquez faced off with Alleghenies starter José Castillo, and both pitched well, giving up a pair of runs each before yielding to their bullpens late in the game. The thriller was decided with two outs in the bottom of the 10th, however, when Ricardo Mateo – who had entered the game as a pinch runner in the 8th inning – smashed his first homer of the year 367 feet over the right field fence. Timing, as they say, is everything!

Coqui Cables
Fresh off his IL Player of the Week award, Flint Butler struggled in Week 6, slashing just .160/.222/.160. Thankfully, a couple of his teammates stepped into the breach. RF Franciso Torres went 6 for 13 in four games to slash .462/.588/.538, while a former Player of the Week – Mike Rose – broke out of a weeks-long slump. Although he still hasn’t homered since his opening week barrage of seven, Rose slashed .313/.353/.313 and stole three bases last week to help spark the Coqui. He’s stolen four on the season now without being caught … Fernando Castro, who threw a no-hitter in his first major league start on April 7, has struggled in his last two appearances, going 0-2 with a 9.31 ERA. The young right-hander is now 3-3 on the season with a 3.63 ERA … Game of the Week: There were a few thrillers to choose from, but we’ll go with San Juan’s 2-1 victory over Florida on May 8. Talented staff ace Hou Hao threw six innings of four-hit, one-run ball and LF Mike Rose had a big bases-loaded hit in the top of the 3rd to drive in what proved to be the game-winner. Lock-down bullpen work from Dave Coley and stopper José Gómez preserved the win. Coqui manager Sergio Manetti was giddy with reporters afterwards. “That was a fun game to coach! I hope it was just as fun to watch.” Trust us, it was!

Scottish Scoops
In case you missed this little gem from BNN, Claymore 2B Yeong-hun Kim strained his Achilles tendon while racing CF Teruo Nagai in the outfield on May 14. Teammates said the two bet on who could run the fastest from second base to the CF wall. Witnesses said Kim was in the lead when he pulled up lame about 20 feet from the finish line and had to be helped from the field. Now he’s on the seven-day disabled list while he recuperates. Here’s the kicker: Nagai has been on the DL himself with a bad back and isn’t due to come off for another week or so. Needless to say, manager Hayato Sasaki wasn’t pleased: “These guys can be very competitive … I have to tell them all the time to save it for the games. Hopefully, this time they’ve learned their lesson.” … Game of the Week: We’ll go with a 1-0 gem from May 13 that featured 8 innings of three-hit, shutout ball from Jorge Vázquez, who dueled all afternoon with Arlington SP Motoyuki Hatsutori. The only run of the game, in fact, came in the top of the 7th when RF Vincent Powell lined a 2-2 sinker that didn’t sink 342 feet into the right field stands at Arlington’s Jane P. Woods Memorial Stadium. Opined Sasaki after the win: “At the end of the day, it’s always about your starting pitcher.” Well, not always, maybe. But it certainly was on this day!

Underground Utterings
Emblematic of London’s struggles in Week 6 – or all season, for that matter – is the cold stretch RF Salvador Rodríguez has endured. Over the last nine games, he’s gone 2 for 30 – .067 with no homers and a lone RBI … Thankfully, LF Kelvin McDonald seems to be breaking out of his malaise, slashing .368/.455/579 last week. He was joined by catcher Miguel Angel Gálvez, who went .357/.400/.714. The pair played key roles in London’s … Game of the Week: Both McDonald and Gálvez went 2-4 with home runs in the Underground’s May 13, 5-4 victory over New Orleans. London trailed 3-2 heading into the bottom of the 5th, when McDonald blasted a solo shot 400 feet into the left field stands off Trendsetters’ SP Ángel Ramos. CF Luis Cervantes then drew a walk, and 1B Shigenobu Kawakami lifted a fly to medium right field, bringing McDonald to the plate. With the count full, he lifted a towering fly 367 feet over the right field wall to give the Underground a lead they would never relinquish. London, without a doubt, could use a few more days like that.

Where they stand
As of the morning of May 15, it’s Havana, 24-14; San Juan, 20-18, 4 GB; Scotland, 19-19, 5 GB and London, 15-23, 9 GB.

See you next week!
Vic Caleca
Scottish Claymores
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