Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

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Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

#1 Post by Vic »


By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News
2029-04-16

The Season So Far
April 1 – 15, 2029

The Claymores have been slow out of the gate to start the season, going 2-4 the first week and 3-3 the second for a disappointing 5-7 record at April's halfway point.

So far, at least, Scotland’s splashy off-season acquisitions have underwhelmed.

Clark Snow – the supposed new staff ace – off to an 0-2 start with a 5.27 ERA and an alarming 2.0 HR/9 rate. He also came up with a stiff forearm that forced him to leave his third start early and sidelined him for four days.

How about Pat Barry, the Don Mercer replacement? Well, he’s slashing .191/.240/.277 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. Not exactly the stuff of legend.

Neither is Eric Jacobs, Scotland’s infamous accidental third baseman. He’s slashing .229/.288/.500 with 3 homers and 12 RBIs. Approaching respectability, but not exactly scintillating, either.

Those numbers help explain why the Scottish have dropped three of their first four series of the season: 2 of 3 to Florida; 2 of 3 to Charleston at home, and 2 of 3 to the Statesmen on the road. Scotland’s only series win: 2 of 3 from New Orleans on the road.

If it’s any consolation, the Scottish aren’t too far off the pace they set last year en route to their first postseason since joining PEBA from the LRS. The Scottish were a lackluster 7-6 after the first two weeks of the 2028 campaign and actually slipped from there, finishing April at 12-13.

So there’s time to right the ship.

But the boys in blue are going to need to step it up if they hope make any noise in the Trans Atlantic Division this year.

Top Batter

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Orlando Barrón: 15 of 43 for a .349/.417/.419 slash line.

Top Pitcher

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Francisco Robles: 1-0, 15.1 IP, 2.93 ERA, 6 Ks, 2 BBs.

Top Game

Scotland’s 7-1 win at Charleston on April 14 was a glimpse at the formula executives hoped the team would use all season: timely hitting + stingy pitching = convincing win. The offensive hero was a name near and dear to Scottish hearts, as RF José Guillén went on a rampage with 4 hits in 5 at bats, including a 2-run homer in the top of the 3rd inning. Eric Jacobs, playing 1B, also had a big game with a 3-run double in the 5th. Clark Snow started the game, but had to leave with a forearm injury after just 2 innings. The bullpen stepped up, though – especially Terry Dumont, who threw 5 innings of scoreless ball to help nail down the win.

News and Notes

The Injured List is filling up for the Scottish already. They lost All-Star shortstop Naomi Honma for four weeks towards the end of Spring Training, and he just left the IL on April 15. Expect to see him return to action this week … 3B Bob Swift injured a hamstring running the bases on April 14, and will be out for another two weeks … 1B Peter Casey has been day-to-day for the past week with a sore groin … CF Orlando Rúbio, who was sent to AAA Aberdeen as part of a roster shuffle to cover for Honma’s injury, is on the IL for a week with a badly bruised knee … The Tomás Moya era is over in Scotland (thank goodness). At the end of Spring Training, GM Vic Caleca told Moya he hadn’t made the big league squad and asked him to go back to Aberdeen. When Moya refused, the Scottish put him on waivers and he was claimed by Bakersfield on April 10. Although Moya had some decent moments for the Scottish, he is largely remembered for surrendering a walk-off homer that cost them Game 2 of last season’s Divisional Series against Havana. His standing with manager Hayato Sasaki never recovered.

IL Trans-Atlantic Division Standings
As of the morning of April 16, 2029



Fresh From The Farm

Aberdeen has surprised everyone in Claymores nation with an 8-5 start to its season, good for 2nd place in the AML Europe and Islands Division. RF Román Suárez has been a top performer, slashing .333/.375/.400 with a team-leading 0.7 WAR … On the mound, Sam Minor has won his first 3 starts, with a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 IP. He has 15 Ks and 8 BB … AA Inverness, meanwhile, got off to a 6-8 start, and sits in 4th place in ATAL Euro-Caribbean Division, 4 games behind 1st place Port-Au-Prince … CF Dale Cooper is slashing .340/.368/.509 with 2 homers and 13 RBIs … Last season’s top draft pick, Keiji Honda, seems to be adjusting well to AA competition: he has yet to allow any runs in 9 innings of relief work. Given his strong start, manager Jiu-ling Huang has named him the team’s closer. If he thrives there, expect to see him in AAA Aberdeen sooner rather than later. Could he see action with the big club this season? Scottish brass are high on his potential, so anything’s possible … Single A Govan begins AWL play on the 16th with four games against Alexandria. Right-hander Andrew Smith will get the Opening Day start for the Shipbuilders.
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

#2 Post by DrewV »

I love the new format Vic!

Jacobs will come around. He may be a greedy SOB, but he heated up pretty good last year, and I have a feeling that AVG will come up.

A wild and weird start to the season for sure.
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

#3 Post by Vic »

As I recall, Snow started slow last season, too. Not sure about Barry, though - it’s gonna be a rough season if he doesn’t produce.
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

#4 Post by Ghosts »

Claymores wrote:As I recall, Snow started slow last season, too. Not sure about Barry, though - it’s gonna be a rough season if he doesn’t produce.
He'll produce. My scouts love him and think he should exceed his career numbers. A fall off the radar isn't completely unheard of in OOTP, but it's rare. I'm still salty you snagged him before I could!
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.007 "April 1-15 Flashback"

#5 Post by Leones »

Hard to imagine Pat Barry not getting hot at some point and rebalancing those stats. Teams that start the season slow often up hot come playoff time. Way too early to count the Scots out.
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