By Hamish Campbell
The Edinburgh News
The Scottish Claymores spent another week backsliding from their season’s high water mark of 17 games over .500, which they hit on July 15. Since then, the boys in powder blue have gone 5-9, dipping to 59-46 and dropping another game behind Trans Atlantic Division leader Havana.
So, what’s ailing the Claymores?
Two weeks ago, it was an unexpected offensive blackout that led to the most abysmal series of baseball Scotland has played in years: an 0-4 series at London in which the Claymores scored a grand total of zero (0) runs.
Last week, the culprit was pitching: SP Francisco Robles was touched up for 11 runs in two starts, SP Soichiro Ogawa gave up 6 runs in 5.1 innings against New Orleans, and reliever Sadakuno Nakagawa proved he was human by giving up two runs in 1.1 innings against Charleston and then losing his first game two days later.
The good news, if you want to look at it that way, is that there’s no one area you can point to as dramatically deficient. Batters and pitchers have each taken their turns soaring to the heavens or plunging to earth.
But the bad news is that Scotland simply doesn’t seem to be on the same level as the top tier teams of the Imperial League: West Virginia, Florida and Havana.
That likely means the Claymores will need to slug it out with five or six other teams for one of the Wild Card slots and then hope for a little luck to make it through the playoffs.
It’s a path forward, but not an easy one – with no guarantee of a happy ending.
Buckle your seatbelts, Scottish fans. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Top Hitter
Vincent Powell, LF/DH: .381/.500/.714, 8-21, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, 1.214 OPS
Top Pitcher
Ken Fisher, CL: 3 G, 2.2 IP, 3 HA, 0 R, 3 SVs, 0.00 ERA
News and Notes
The Claymores last week took steps to address one of their biggest weaknesses by acquiring a right-handed bat with proven success against left-handed pitching. Scotland sent its 2nd and 4th round draft picks in 2030 to West Virginia in exchange for OF Jorge Flores. The 27-year-old right-hander started the year in Canton, then moved to West Virginia’s farm system in a trade. The Claymores’ scouting staff grades Flores as a 5/7 Contact, 6/7 gap power; 5/7 HR power; 8/8 eye – with 6/7 contact against left-handers. He had an effective first week with Scotland, starting four games, hitting .286 with 2 doubles and a triple … Manager Hayato Sasaki is said to be considering a return to a six-man starting rotation to help limit wear and tear on the veteran arms of Francisco Robles and Allen Guthrie … SP Clark Snow, after a slow start to the season, is finally rounding into the pitcher Claymores’ GM Vic Caleca had hoped he would be after signing him to a 4-year, $51.5 million contract over the winter. Since July 1, Snow has gone 3-1 with a 2.97 ERA, 35 Ks and 6 walks. For the season now, he is 7-7 with a 3.88 ERA, 94 Ks and 18 walks.
IL Trans Atlantic Standings
Through the morning of July 30, 2029
|Team...........|W | L | W % |GB |RD |
|Havana|.......|66|41|.617| -- |+82|
|Scotland|.....|59|46|.562| 6.0|+76|
|San Juan......|57|49|.538| 8.5|+15|
|Amsterdam..|52|54|.491|13.5|-31|
|London........|47|58|.448|18.0|-48|
Fresh From the Farm
AAA Aberdeen played some of its best ball of the year last week, going 5-2 to raise its record to 53-54. The Golden Sands are now in 4th place in the competitive AML Europe and Islands Division, 2.5 games behind 1st place Eindhoven … Bullpen setup specialist Andrew Blowey continues his fine season. In has past 20 appearances, he’s 1-0 with a 1.02 ERA in 35.1 innings with 30 Ks … AA Inverness put together a winning week, going 4-3 to lift its record to 61-45. The Highlanders are 3rd in the ATAL Euro-Caribbean Division, 4 games behind 1st place Port-au-Prince … 1B Bob Sutherland, the franchise’s Minor League Player of the Year last season, has been mired in a horrendous slump of late. In his last 10 games, he’s 1-20 with a .050 BA, 0 HRs and 0 RBIs … Single A affiliate Govan struggled to a 2-4 record last week, dipping to 41-53 on the season. The Shipbuilders are in 5th place in the AWL Intercontinental Division, 19.5 games behind co-leaders Kingston and Utrecht … SP Vance Taylor has been roughed up in recent outings. In has past 2 starts, he’s 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA over 6.2 IP with 3 Ks … Short Season A affiliate Maui put together a 4-2 week to hit the .500 mark for the first time this year. The Mahi-Mahi are now 21-21 in the HL Archipelago Division, 13 games behind Lana’i City … SS Johnny Andrews has been swinging a hot bat during this stretch. In his last 6 games, he;s 9-23 with a .391 BA, 0 HRs and 5 RBIs.
