Scottish Scoops: 29.010 "May 7-13 Flashback"

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Scottish Scoops: 29.010 "May 7-13 Flashback"

#1 Post by Vic »

By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News
May 10, 2029

Claymores Week in Review May 7-13

Scotland’s offense, powered by a newly-awakened Pat Barry and a sizzling Orlando Barrón, helped carry the team to a 5-1 week and a two-game lead over Havana atop the Imperial League’s tough-as-nails Trans Atlantic Division.

The Claymores took two of three games from the Alleghenies at West Virginia, and then swept a three-game road series from Manchester. The only loss for the week was a 16-inning marathon at West Virginia on May 6, which the Scottish dropped 6-5 when RP Mauro Rocha yielded a walk-off single to SS Bang-xao You.


Barry, signed to a 5-year $118 million contract in January, was a big reason for Scotland’s successful road trip. He got off to a frigid start and struggled to hit even .200 in the early going. Last week, though, he showed signs of breaking out, slashing .370/.387/.741 with 3 homers and 11 RBIs.

Another reason for the early success lays in a new “less is more” philosophy when it comes to the team’s starters.

The Claymores have been using a six-man rotation, aimed at limiting wear and tear on the team’s veteran starters and, hopefully, keeping them healthy as the season wears on.

“We have some older guys, like Francisco Robles, Allen Guthrie, and Roger Keller, and we don’t want to wear them out in April and May,” said Claymores Manager Hayato Sasaki. “In addition, given his significant injury last season, we have Francisco on a strict pitch count to try to protect his shoulder.”

Robles, 38, went down in early June last year with shoulder inflammation, which saw him miss the final five months of the schedule. So far, at least, the kid gloves treatment the team has employed with Robles has paid dividends: he’s 4-0 with a 3.03 ERA over 35.2 IP. He has started seven games so far, and is averaging just over 5 innings per start.

“Francisco is an important part of this team,” Sasaki said, “and we would dearly love for him to see post-season play at least once more in his most-estimable career.”

Promising as the early results have been, there’s still a long way to go, however.

“We are taking nothing for granted,” Sasaki said. “This is a marathon, and we need to treat it as such.”

Top Hitter










Orlando Barrón, 1B: .464/.529/.571, 1.101 OPS, 7 runs, 1 RBI, 0.7 WAR

Top Pitcher










Ken Fisher, CL: 4 G, 4 IP, 2 Saves, 2 HA, 0 R, 6 Ks, 2 BBs, 0.00 ERA, 0.3 WAR

Top Game

An 11-inning thriller against Manchester on May 11 gets the nod this week. Both teams flashed some offense early on, with Scotland scoring 4 runs in the third to take a 4-3 lead, only to see the Maulers come back and tie it in the 6th. Scotland and Manchester then traded runs in the late going, and went into extra innings tied at 5.

RP Ronnie Mason retired the first two Claymores batters in the 11th inning, retiring 3B Eric Jacobs on a deep fly to right and then inducing CF Teruo Nagai into a 5-3 groundout.

Mason wouldn’t be so fortunate against catcher Michinaga Hashimoto, however. The left-hander drilled a one-strike fastball 379 feet into the left field stands for a solo home run that would prove to be the game-winner.

RP Orlando Moya nailed down the win in the bottom half of the 11th, retiring the side in order.

News and Notes

As expected, offense has been the key to the Claymores so far. The Scottish rank 2nd or 3rd in virtually every offensive category (except stolen bases, where they rank 10th) in the IL. In contrast, they rank anywhere from 8th to 13th in the major pitching categories. Team defense has seen an uptick, though. Whereas the Scottish consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in 2028 for defensive efficiency and zone rating, this season they rank 5th and 8th, respectively. Not great, certainly, but better … RP Subaru Adachi, who had been one of the Claymores’ more consistent relievers this season, was lost on May 12 with shoulder inflammation. Team physicians estimate he will be out for about 4 months. Ángelo Gonzáles, who had been the closer for AAA Aberdeen, was promoted to fill Adachi’s roster spot. The team is said to be exploring free agent and waiver wire options, as well … 3B Bob Swift is on a 20-day rehab assignment in Aberdeen after coming off the injured list with his strained hamstring.

IL Trans Atlantic Division Standings
As of the morning of May 14, 2029

|Team...........|W | L | W % |GB |RD |
|Scotland|.....|23|13|.639|--|+35|
|Havana........|21|15|.595|2.0|+30|
|San Juan......|22|16|.579|2.0|-2|
|Amsterdam..|19|18|.514|4.5|-6|
|London........|18|18|.500|5.0|-11|

Fresh From the Farm

AAA Aberdeen went 3-3 last week, winning the final two of a three game set against Raleigh, then suffering a three-game sweep at the hands of Fayetteville before bouncing back to win the first of a three-game series vs. Allentown. The Golden Sands are 21-17, good for first place in the AML Europe and Islands Division … SP Yukinaga Kikuchi had a solid week, going 2-0 with 15 IP in two starts. He allowed 9 hits and just 1 run over that span, for a 0.60 ERA and 0.6 WAR … AA Inverness, meanwhile, had a successful week, going 4-1. Although the Highlanders dropped the last game in a two-game series against Youngstown, they swept a three-game set versus Omaha and then captured the curtain lifter of a three-game series at Monterey. Inverness is 20-17 on the season, 6 games back of Port-au-Prince in the Euro-Caribbean Division … In an alarming development, top pitching prospect Keiji Honda is out for at least six weeks with a sore shoulder. He had two saves and a 0.35 ERA in 25.2 IP for Inverness so far this season. The organization is expected to handle Honda’s injury with caution and sharply limit his workload when he returns … Govan, the Claymores’ A-level affiliate, struggled to a 2-4 week, taking 2 of 3 from Nashua but then losing all three of its games against the Kingston Sun. Govan is now 10-16, in 4th place 8 games behind Intercontinental Division-leading Ultrecht … SP Harry Roberts has been lights out for Govan, going 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA over his last four starts for the Shipbuilders.
Last edited by Vic on Wed Jul 24, 2019 8:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
Vic Caleca
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.010 "May 7-13 Flashback"

#2 Post by DrewV »

Really digging your update format Vic. Informative and well-organized!

Too bad about Adachi. He annihilated Spring Training and I've been following him closely since.

Looks like another nail-biter this season!
Drew Visscher (GM Ricky McCoy) | Duluth Warriors
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Re: Scottish Scoops: 29.010 "May 7-13 Flashback"

#3 Post by Vic »

Yeah, it's going to be another dogfight all the way to the end, I think!

Thanks, re: the format. I picked it up from a guy my other league, and I really like it. The best thing, I think, is that it forces me to keep track of what's up in my minor-league system, which I really didn't do consistently last season. (Although, given my minor leagues, ignorance truly can be bliss ...)
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