We only lost two series last chapter. Sadly enough, one was to Akron and the other was against Los Altos. This does not bode well for our fate in the coming Tournament of Randomness.
Our franchise record for wins in a season is 112, which means we'd need to win an improbable 21 games in the final chapter to tie that record. We're only nine wins away from 100 wins, which would be the eighth time we reached that figure in the league's 21-year history. It would be our first 100-win season since 2014, and only our second 100-win season since 2008. Of course, it would also be our first division title since '08 as well.
Hitters of the Chapter
Jose Ramirez seemed to fall into a slump during our ill-fated rematch with Los Altos last chapter, but his overall numbers for the chapter were impressive: .279/.401/.577, 8 HR, and a team-leading 29 runs created. Trea Turner (.333/.417/.465, with 19 stolen bases) enjoyed an impressive chapter as well. As did Travis Shaw (.273/.408/.558.) Each of those three players created 20 or more runs on the chapter.
The other newcomer to our roster, Brandon Nimmo (.316/.402/.500) began paying dividends for us last chapter. Justin Turner (.322/.363/.456) broke out of his mini slump. Kike Hernandez hit only .216/.310/.534 for the chapter, but tied Ramirez with eight home runs in Chapter Five. Ramon Laureano (.355/.487/.710), Danny Valencia (.409/.519/.682), and Christian Villanueva (.286/.412/.536) also had outstanding chapters.
On the flip side, Andrew Benintendi was all but useless in Chapter Five, hitting just .152/.227/.182. Francisco Cervelli had been clutch for us all season until last chapter. He hit just .194/.296/.226. Hunter Renfroe (.227/.280/.636) continues to be useless except for the occasional home run. Rafael Devers went just 3-for-24 while filling in for Justin Turner at third. And Odubel Herrera (0-for-11) continues to play his way off the postseason roster.
Pitchers of the Chapter
Our bullpen was, once again, the strength of our pitching staff in Chapter Five. Rich Rodriguez (0.75 ERA in 12 IP), Ryan Brasier (1.00 in 9), Pedro Strop (1.08 in 8+), and Taylor Rogers (1.80 in 15) were all on their "A" games in Chapter Five.
In the starting rotation, Clay Buchholz (2-1, 1.23 ERA in 22 IP) stepped up his game, but was inadvertently overused. As a result, we'll only see him start one game in the final chapter. Jon Gray (2-1, 2.79 ERA in 29 IP) continues to impress and exceed expectations by leaps and bounds.
On the flip side, Sonny Gray (7.25 ERA in 22+ IP) was an absolute disaster on the hill, reversing his surprising performance over the first four chapters. Mike Montgomery (6.75 ERA in 18+) was the almost-hero of that 21-inning marathon against Los Altos, but was unfairly stuck with some ugly numbers to end the chapter.
Looking Ahead
Our 2020 season is taking shape, and with nearly a full month remaining on the MLB regular season calendar, a lot can happen from here on out. You may recall how our entire team went into a collective slump in September of last year, seemingly destroying any chance we had of competing in 2019. (Boy, did that prediction age poorly.)
As it currently stands, it looks as though Rafael Devers will be our MVP. He's hitting .318/.367/.575, with 48 doubles and 29 homers. Justin Turner (.292/.370/.518, 27 HR) is having an excellent year as well. Jose Ramirez (.254/.325/.463) finally turned his game around after his massive first-half slump...and then proceeded to injure himself for the rest of the season. Our problem is that all three of those players will most likely be rated only at third base. We'll need to do something about that this winter.
Trea Turner (.298/.357/.480, 13 HR, 31 SB) is having another good all-around year. Andrew Benintendi (.281/.356/.462) has been a disappointment, but is still useful to have in the lineup and in the field. Ramon Laureano (.284/.334/.518, 21 HR) was enjoying a breakout year before he, too, injured himself for an extended period. (Although he's back now.) We still haven't figured out what we'll do with Shohei Ohtani (.286/.344/.492), but he seems too good to just let him rot on the reserve roster or bench all year.
Hunter Renfroe has hit a career-high 31 home runs, but is batting only .224 with a .293 OBP. Our catching situation hasn't played out the way we had hoped. Francisco Cervelli (.223/.309/.322) was in a massive slump before he concussed his way out of the game for several months. Danny Jansen (.208/.280/.366) began the season in a massive slump and stayed in that slump for the next five months. Thank god we managed to pick up Tom Murphy (.275/.312/.573, 17 HR) off of the free agent scrap heap.
On the pitching side, Jon Gray (150 IP, 3.84 ERA) was shaping up to be our ace before he...yep, you guessed it...injured himself for the rest of the year. Thankfully, his brother Sonny (151+ IP, 2.80 ERA) has picked up the slack and has been one of the better pitchers in baseball in the second half. Of course, we also have franchise pitcher Stephen Strasburg (179 IP, 3.47 ERA) returning for another year of schizophrenic performance. If Mike Montgomery (73+ IP, 4.42 ERA) keeps pitching well for his new MLB team, we may see him in the rotation as well.
Anibal Sanchez (140 IP, 4.11 ERA) was beginning to look like a possible front-end starter until his last disastrous outing completely destroyed his overall numbers. Steven Matz (133+ IP, 4.04) has had a very Steven Matz-like season. Clay Buchholz (36+ IP, 5.45 ERA) is probably going to end up costing us to release him. Trevor Cahill (94+ IP, 6.20 ERA), who we foolishly signed through 2021, will definitely cost us. Daniel Norris (132+ IP, 4.76 ERA) looks like he won't fulfill his potential until his contract ends with us after 2021. I don't know what we'll do with Felix Pena (96+ IP, 4.58 ERA), who also managed to injure himself for the entire remainder of the season.
Our bullpen currently consists of three Minnesota Twins: Taylor Rogers (60+ IP, 2.52 ERA), Trevor May (53+ IP, 3.21 ERA), and the newly-acquired Ryne Harper (49+ IP, 3.62 ERA).
