Month: June 2023 Page 1 of 2

Nobody has more at stake in this series than Portland: if Baltimore–the best team in the league–can slow down Birmingham, Portland may be able to sneak by them into first place in the Marvin Miller Division.

Baltimore has been featured in Series IX, XVI, XXV, and XXIX; Birmingham in Series III, XIV, XXIII, and just now in XXXI.

#Birmingham Black Barons

In 3 months, the Black Barons went from a dozen games below .500 to a dozen games above, taking them from the basement to first place in their division. They’ve done it with spectacular pitching and a seeming omniscient sense of how to navigate the trade market.

Andy Pettitte is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA since joining Birmingham, joining advanced metrics darling Alejandro Peña (11-8, 3.82, but with a 4.5 WAR and 3.49 FIP) and Greg Maddux (a 2.97 ERA) to form as fearsome a front of the rotation is exists in the league. While Juan Ríncón has been hit a little harder of late, he’s still got 22 saves and a solid 3.45 ERA, with both Steve Bedrosian and Bruce Chen proving quite capable as setup men.

Offensively, it’s a patchwork quilt, but it’s getting the job done. Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron lead the offense, although neither is a superstar, they each sport an OPS around .820 and have combined for 49 homeruns and 158 RBIs. Cupid Childs has locked down the 2B job, managing an OPS over .900 through his first 100 ABs, but other than that … Bob Nieman has been solid in the OF, Herman Long hits really well for a SS, Curtis Granderson is a threat … patchwork.

#Baltimore Black Sox

We kept waiting for the Black Sox to stumble, but they never did. Turns out good pitching and good hitting tends to win games.

Strictly speaking, the pitching has been a bit better. The front 3 of the rotation (Dennis Martínez, Bill Byrd, and Mike Mussina) has been excellent, but there is very little drop off to Connie Johnson, Jim Palmer, and Johnny Sain (the last 2 have alternated in and out of the fifth slot all year, currently, it’s Palmer’s). Byrd, Johnson, and Martínez all have ERA’s under 4.00, led by Byrd at 3.48. Martínez leads in victories with 14, but Byrd’s record is better at 13-3 on the season. The bullpen seems to have settled a bit behind the superlative Buddy Groom (13 H, 5 Sv, and a 2.03 ERA), although the loss of Sean Marshall has certainly hurt.

Frank Robinson is a bonafide star, with 33 HR and 102 RBIs driving an OPS near .900. But Baltimore is very solid top to bottom, 2B Larry Gardner, SS Bobby Wallace, and 1B Dan McGann all sporting OBP’s near .400 and Curt Belfary (22), Manny Machado (17), and Ken Singleton (16) all adding power.

#Projected Starters

Birmingham’s pitcher listed first.

Andy Pettitte (14-4, 3.14) @ Bill Byrd (13-3, 3.48)
Greg Maddux (4-5, 2.97) @ Mike Mussina (5-3, 4.09)
Scott Baker (7-4, 4.68) @ Jim Palmer (9-8, 4.65)
Alejandro Peña (11-8, 3.82) @ Connie Johnson (6-5, 3.88)

TWIWBL 41.4: Series XXXIII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 26, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Birmingham is still tinkering with the edges of their roster; for now, Scott Baker replaces Jim Whitney as their #5 starter.

Hank Aaron had 4 hits and Frank McCormick added 3 to go with 4 RBIs as Birmingham beat the Gothams 12-8, overcoming a subpar start from Alejandro Peña who improved to 11-8 despite allowing 4 runs in 5 shaky innings. McCormick, Adrián González, Bob Nieman, and Cupid Childs each went deep for the Black Barons.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Frank Isbell went 4-for-4 and scored 4 runs as Brooklyn topped San Francisco 7-2. Frank Knauss had a strong start to improve to 11-4, Beals Becker hit his 24th homerun of the season and Roy White added his 12th as a pinch-hitter.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Freddie Fitzsimmons will miss about a week, prompting the Cuban Giants to put him on the DL, recalling Bob Duliba from AAA.

Eustaquio Pedroso had 3 hits and Minnie Miñoso was hit by pitches 3 times, but that was about all that went right for Miami in a 9-6 loss to Cleveland.

Alan Ashby was the star, breaking out of a funk with a 4-for-4 day that included scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 9th on, of all things, a wild pitch. Camilo Pascual was strong over 7 innings, and Duliba and Pedroso were perfect in relief, with Pedroso improving to 8-6 on the year with the victory.

Four hits from Paul Molitor helped the Cuban Giants to a come from behind 9-7 victory over Cleveland. Molitor scored 3 times and José Cardenal and Alejandro Oms (who is now tied for the league lead in triples with 11) drove in 2 for Miami.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

4 hits from Pedro Guerrero and 3 from Bob Cerv led the Sea Lions to a 5-3 win over Brooklyn. Guerrero and Reggie Jackson went deep, and 4.1 innings of near-perfect relief from Dave LaRoche, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck closed out the contest.

TWIWBL 41.3: Series XXXIII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On June 20, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Homestead Grays

The Grays continue to try to figure out their middle infield of the future, recalling Rennie Stennett from AA and Nap Lajoie–their prize acquisition from the final trading period–from AAA, sending Bill Mazeroski and Jack Wilson back down.

Chief Wilson had 4 hits–2 doubles and a triple–leading the Grays to a 5-4 win over Kansas City. John Candelaria improved to 3-1 with a solid start and Josh Lindblom picked up his 13th save.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Johnny Cueto had one of his best starts of the year–7 innings, 3 hits, and only 1 run–but the ABC’s needed a pinch-hit, walkoff double from Hal Morris to win the game after a very rough outing from Clay Carroll let Baltimore back into the contest.

#New York Black Yankees

Ron Guidry‘s return from the DL pushes AJ Burnett back to AAA, although probably only until rosters expand next week.

Guidry’s return was triumphant: 6 innings of 1 run ball in a blowout, 17-2 win over Philadelphia. Eric Davis, Babe Ruth, and Albert Belle each had 3 hits and Lou Gehrig drove in 5 runs. Belle and Mickey Mantle went deep in the romp which, most importantly of all, moved the Black Yankees into a tie for first place in the Effa Manley Division.

In a rain-shortened game, Waite Hoyt improved to 10-6 on the year with a 7-inning, 2-hit shutout as the Black Yankees topped the Stars 3-0.

Ruth hit 2 homeruns–his league-leading 40th and 41st of the year–as the Black Yankees continued their run, beating Philadelphia 5-3 behind a good start from Jamie Moyer and another save from Aroldis Chapman.

#Philadelphia Stars

3 hits from Willie Davis and another 3 from George Hendrick (who added 4 RBIs) weren’t enough, as the Stars fell to the Black Yankees 8-5. The game might have thrown Philadelphia’s rotation into a bit of chaos as starter Jaret Wright was injured, forcing both Don Carman (who gave up 3 runs in a single inning to take the loss) and Pete Alexander into relief duty.

Wright will miss the rest of the season, heading to the DL with a torn meniscus. Robin Roberts was recalled from AAA for the Stars.

TWIWBL 41.2: Series XXXIII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 19, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

A rare poor start by Stephen Strasburg and an all-too-common blown save from Billy Wagner usually mean a defeat for Houston. But over 8 innings of hitless relief (with multiple innings from Kyle Kendrick and Luke Gregerson) proved enough combined with 5 RBI’s from Jorge Posada, including a walk-off homerun into the Crawford Boxes in the bottom of the 13th. Pete Hill had 3 hits for Houston and Craig Biggio scored 3 times in the 10-8 victory.

Ice Box Chamberlain was returned to AAA as the Colt 45’s needed a starter. Bones Ely was called up and did OK, but had to leave injured–leading to Chamberlain’s recall immediately after the game. More problematically, Tug McGraw–who was about to be named Houston’s closer–had to leave the game in extra innings with a strained forearm. All in a day’s work … for more on this game–which wound up a 14 inning classic, see here.

After the game, Jim Kern was returned to AAA with Boots Poffenberger recalled for an emergency start. Poffenberger did all that was asked, allowing 1 run in 4 innings, and Kendrick combined with an ineffective Chamberlain to hold on for the 8-3 victory. George Brett had 4 hits and Casey Stengel had 3, including his 10th homerun of the season.

McGraw is done for the year with a strained triceps. What a debut, though, as he finished the year with a 0.67 ERA over 14 appearances, putting himself in the conversation for a closer role next season. The Colt 45’s recalled Kern in his place.

#Ottawa Mounties

Johnny Podgajny rejoins the Mounties’ rotation for the time being.

TWIWBL 41.1: Series XXXIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Olmedo Sáenz now has 10 hits in first 20 at-bats in the WBL for a cool .500 average. Clearly unsustainable, but it has been useful for the Wolverines as they push towards the pennant. Saenz had 3 hits, Ty Cobb launched his 19th homerun of the year, and Hal Newhouser put in another solid outing as Detroit topped Memphis, 4-3. Newhouser is now 8-3, and Mike Henneman picked up his 34th save in the victory.

#Los Angeles Angels

Needing a spot starter, the Angels sent Larry Anderson to AAA, recalling Mike Smith, who might also be able to help with his bat.

#New York Gothams

The late season surge of the Gothams should get some help, as both Carl Hubbell and Carson Smith started rehab assignments this week. Smith–sporting a sub-2.00 ERA before his injury–will especially be welcomed back.

Rube Waddell was placed on the DL as the Gothams needed a starter. Various roster complications prevented them from recalling more preferable options, so the start fell to Mickey Welch who was already on the 40 man roster. It worked well as Welch pitched 7 strong in a 5-2 victory.

Two homeruns from Joe Adcock and 3 hits from Pete Runnels weren’t enough as Pete Donohue couldn’t make it out of the first inning (and was injured to boot) in a 12-8 loss to Birmingham.

TWIWBL 41.0: Series XXXIII Notes

By mknn

On June 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 22nd

Awards

Pedro Guerrero of the San Francisco Sea Lions was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .480 with 3 homeruns.

Playoff Races

The Bill James Division just gets tighter and tighter: we go into expanded rosters with the Detroit Wolverines and New York Gothams tied for first place, with the House of David only a game behind. Currently, all 3 teams would make the playoffs, but it’s very close and the only sure way to make it into the postseason is to win the division.

Well, sort of. The Chicago American Giants are tied (with the Gothams and Wolverines) for the 2nd best record in the WBL. That leaves them 4 games back in the Cum Posey Division, where the Baltimore Black Sox continue to be the league’s best team, playing at a .590 pace and leading the American Giants by 4 games. The Houston Colt 45‘s have won 6 straight, but remain 3 games out of the final Wild Card slot (and 9 behind Baltimore).

The New York Black Yankees have used an 8-2 streak (and a series sweep over the Philadelphia Stars) to–at long last–reclaim first place in the Effa Manley Division, where they now lead the Cleveland Spiders by 2 games. This race is intense, as most likely only the division winner will make the post-season. Cleveland missed a great opportunity this series, losing 3 out of 4 to the lowly Miami Cuban Giants.

Over in the Marvin Miller Division, the miracle that is the Birmingham Black Barons continues, as they lead the Portland Sea Dogs by 1 game. Both teams have a shot at the post-season, but it may be a close thing, putting pressure on the Black Barons to maintain their pace and the Sea Dogs to overtake them.

Performance

Batters

The House of David’s Pete Browning has finally cracked these lists after a long spell on the DL. Browning is one of 5 batters with an OPS over 1.000, led by Babe Ruth (who else?) at 1.102 (the others are Ron Blomberg, Reggie Jackson, and Joe Jackson).

Top 2 in each category as always, leaders in bold.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/410/652. 163 H, 38 HR.
Pete Browning (HOD). 352/388/632.
Ty Cobb (DET). 346/390/556.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/354/521. 5.7 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 232/399/378. 98 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 271/402/360. 85 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/421/587. 98 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/436/604.
Stan Musial (KCM). 326/390/576. 42 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 257/312/405. 11 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 337/397/548. 164 H, 119 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/371/435. 86 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 319/434/668. 41 HR, 118 RBI, 108 R, 96 BB, 7.0 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/338/459. 12 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

The Gothams’ Christy Mathewson is pulling away in victories–this is the 3rd time someone has done this (Portland’s Walter Johnson at the start of the year, then Gerrit Cole of the Los Angeles Angels), so we’ll see if it sticks. It’s still between Mathewson and the House of David’s Jack Taylor as the best starter in the league, although Andy Pettitte‘s spectacular start with Birmingham has pushed him into the conversation (and the league lead in ERA).

All 4 14 game winners are included. This list has more pitcher’s who are among the leaders, but not having especially great years than the batters do: the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry has been a hard luck starter all year, but still an ERA over 4.50 removes him from any “best in the league” list; likewise Cleveland’s Cy Young is an innings eater, but essentially a league average innings eater at this point.

Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.50. 184 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-10, 4.55. 166 K.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-8, 3.72.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.47.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-8, 4.02.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-8, 3.82. 4.5 WAR, 3.49 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-6, 4.08. 3.34 FIP.
Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-7, 3.55. 183 IP, 4.3 WAR.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14, 1.20 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-9, 3.21. 1.14 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 9-9, 4.67. 181 IP.

Relievers

The Gothams’ bullpen continues to be stellar, with Mike Norris perhaps the most valuable reliever in the league and Brian Wilson continuing to be totally lights out as a closer.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.05. 30 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.54. 34 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.35. 4 Sv, 9 H, 0.99 WHIP.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 0-5, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.36. 7 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.64. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.73. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

* Currently on the DL.

Streaks

Most impressively, Christy Mathewson hasn’t given up a run in 19 innings.

Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has a 32 game on-base streak, but he’s still 20 shy of the league record. George Stone of the House of David has 4 consecutive pinch-hits, which has him tied for the league record.

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXIII

Houston over Los Angeles
New York Black Yankees over Philadelphia

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXIII

Detroit over Memphis Red Sox
Homestead Grays over Kansas City Monarchs
Miami over Cleveland

Taking 3 out of 5 in Series XXXIII (weather makeup included)

Birmingham over New York Gothams

Series Splits in Series XXXIII

Chicago @ House of David
Baltimore @ Indianapolis ABC’s
Portland @ Ottawa Mounties
San Francisco @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

Series XXXIII Featured Matchup: Chicago American Giants @ Wandering House of David

By mknn

On June 14, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: David Price @ Wade Miley

Chicago’s David Price was masterful, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits in just shy of 8 innings, leading the American Giants to a 5-1 victory. Dick Allen hit his 21st homerun and Kevin Mitchell his 2nd for Chicago, who also got 2 hits from Frank Thomas and Duffy Lewis.

The American Giants got a bit of a scare in the 7th as a Scott Downs fastball slammed into Mike Fiore‘s face. The American Giants CF got up from the ground with blood streaming from their nose, and had to be replaced by Jack Doyle.

CAG 5 (Price 2-0) @ HOD 1 (Miley 7-5)
HRs: CAG – Allen (21), Mitchell (2); HOD – Edmonds (15).
Box Score

News after the game was good for Chicago: Fiore would only miss a few days with a broken nose and, perhaps, a new profile.

More importantly, Pete Browning has, at long last, accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify for the the league leader lists. Browning leads the league in BA at .354 and is 3rd in SLG at .636.

#Game 2: Mark Buehrle @ Frank Sullivan

The House of David got one back with a sterling starting performance of their own as Frank Sullivan pitched into the 9th inning having allowed only 1 run and 5 hits. Despite some recent struggles, Bruce Sutter was solid in relief, picking up his 20th save of the year.

Elrod Hendricks gave the House of David an early lead with his 33rd homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. They would double their lead in the 5th, first on an RBI double from Skeeter Barnes and then when Barnes pulled off a steal of home with 2 outs.

Chicago’s Mark Buehrle was the hard luck loser, allowing 7 hits in what turned out to be a complete game 8 innings.

CAG 1 (Buehrle 10-9) @ HOD 4 (Sullivan 9-8; Sutter 20 Sv)
HRs: CAG – Collins (18); HOD – Hendricks (33).
Box Score

#Game 3: Ben Sheets @ Jack Taylor

While Chicago considered sending Ed Walsh out instead of the struggling Ben Sheets, the American Giants decided in the end to keep their rotation intact, hoping Sheets can match up against the league’s best pitcher, Jack Taylor.

Homeruns from Frank Thomas and Cristóbal Torriente gave Chicago an early 3-0 lead, but Taylor settled down after that. Surprisingly, Sheets was even better, tossing a 3-hit shutout through 5 innings.

The 6th was decisive: a double by Duffy Lewis made it 4-0, and Dick Allen‘s 22nd homerun (and 99th RBI) chased Taylor with the score 6-0 Chicago. 3 more runs in the 7th made it 9-0, and the game seemed out of reach.

Seemed.

2 runs in the bottom of the inning put the House of David on the board, and then they exploded in the bottom of the 8th, fueled by a 2-run double by Pete Browning and a bases clearing double from Richie Hebner. Suddenly, it was 9-7 with Hebner on 3rd and 1 out. A single from Ron Santo–his 4th hit of the day–made it 9-8 and chased Don Newcombe from the mound. Hoyt Wilhelm got out of the inning, but suddenly we had a ballgame.

But AJ Minter closed it out for his 23rd save, and Chicago won a game that was far closer than it should have been. The win put Chicago ahead 2-1 in the series.

CAG 9 (Sheets 9-8; Minter 23 Sv; Wilhelm 3 H) @ HOD 8 (Taylor 14-9)
HRs: CAG – Thomas (24), Torriente (1), Allen (22); HOD – none.
Box Score

#Game 4: Tricky Nichols @ CC Sabathia

George Stone led off the bottom of the 1st with his 26th homerun, but Chicago answered with a bases-loaded double from Freddy Parent. Chicago’s Tricky Nichols never really settled down, giving up dingers to Jim Edmonds and Ernie Banks in the 3rd before another homerun, this one to Anthony Rizzo, chased him in the 4th.

CC Sabathia, meanwhile, was cruising, not allowing a run since Parent’s double through 6 innings. His relief didn’t do so well: a Dick Allen homerun started their 8th inning, and a flurry of singles brought in 3 more runs. That closed the gap to 8-7 in favor of the House of David.

But, much like the prior game, the closer came through: Bruce Sutter struck out 2 in a perfect 9th to give the House of David a series split.

CAG 7 (Nichols 14-8) @ HOD 8 (Sabathia 11-11; Sutter 21 Sv; Smith 13 H)
HRs: CAG – Allen (23); HOD – Stone (26), Edmonds (16), Banks (23), Rizzo (13).
Box Score

Series XXXIII Best Games

By mknn

On June 13, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We have more good pitching than usual in the best games of Series XXXIII.

We’ll start with the opening and closing game from a series with potentially massive playoff implications.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams, Games 1 and 5

Birmingham’s Greg Maddux wasn’t bad: just over 6 innings and only 2 runs allowed. The problem was the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson was stellar, picking up his league-leading 16th win of the season by throwing a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings. Maddux left the game after allowing an RBI single to Will Clark, replaced by Kent Mercker who gave up a deep flyball to the pinch-hitting Carl Furillo, scoring another run.

Hank Aaron took Robb Nen deep in the 8th to cut the lead in half, but Mike Norris (pushed into service due to Brian Wilson‘s injury) picked up his 6th save of the year, allowing only a walk in the 9th.

BBB 1 (Maddux 4-5) @ NYG 2 (Mathewson 16-7; Norris 6 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (25); NYG – none.
Box Score

The Gothams turned to Don Sutton for a spot start, and the 24 year old was simply brilliant … but it wasn’t enough. Sutton gave up 1 run–a solo shot by Aaron–through 7 innings, and while New York’s bullpen beckoned, Sutton was still well under 90 pitches. But with 2 outs in the 8th, Cupid Childs took him deep and Aaron launched his second of the game, edging Birmingham in front, 3-2.

Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón, allowed only 1 hit in the 9th, closing out the victory for the Black Barons.

NYG 2 (Sutton 2-4) @ BBB 3 (Whitney 1-2; Rincón 22 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Higgins (13); BBB – Aaron 2 (27), Childs (4).
Box Score

Two more good games with good pitching!

#Memphis Red Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

Through six innings, the only score was a solo shot from Memphis’ Manny Ramírez. That was one of only 2 hits allowed by Detroit’s Gene Conley over his 7 innings, further cementing Conley’s adaptation from reliever to starter over the season. Buddy Napier gave up an unearned run in the top of the 8th, putting the Red Sox in front, 2-0.

Memphis’ Stubby Overmire was nearly as good: a shutout through 6, a single run in the 7th on an RBI single from Chili Davis, and finally being chased in the 8th after giving up 2 hits and a walk. Overmire’s relief, Tim Wakefield, gave up a sacrifice fly to Hank Greenberg tying the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when Memphis’ Claude Ritchey took John Hiller deep. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the frame, fanning Greenberg to end the game.

MEM 3 (Wakefield 6-7, 2 B Sv; Papelbon 13 Sv) @ DET 2 (Hiller 3-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: MEM – Ramírez (15), Ritchey (8); DET – none.
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 3

Baltimore’s pitching is just hard to gain traction against: Connie Johnson, John Wetteland, and the suddenly resurgent Buddy Groom limited Indianapolis to 5 hits, 2 of which were solo homers by the ABC’s Danny Hoffman. Indianapolis got a good start from Willie Mitchell (2 runs in 6.2 innings), but in the end superstars gonna’ superstar: Frank Robinson took Rob Dibble deep in the top of the 9th with a 2-run shot, his 33rd of the year, to provide the winning margin for Baltimore.

BBB 4 (Wetteland 3-0, 2 B Sv; Groom 5 Sv) @ IND 2 (Mullane 1-1)
HRs: Robinson (33); Hoffman 2 (15).
Box Score

And now back to our usual see-saw slugfests.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

The scoring started fairly innocuously: Ottawa’s Tim Raines led off the bottom of the first with a single, was bunted to second, then scored on a Roy Sievers single (helped along by an error).

Portland took the lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by Gavvy Cravath, then Ottawa took it back, scoring twice on back-to-back doubles from Rusty Staub and Sievers, giving the Mounties a 3-2 edge. A George Burns double drove in 2, extending it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th.

But, Portland roared back: a 2 run single from Jeff Burroughs chased Ottawa’s starter, Kirk Reuter, from the game, and Jim Fregosi drove in 2 more later in the inning, putting the Sea Dogs back on top, 6-5. The lead would reach 9-5 on Cravath’s 2nd homerun of the day and RBI’s from Buddy Bell (a bases loaded walk) and Gil Hodges (a sacrifice fly).

But Ottawa had also caught on to the utility of the long ball: Larry Parrish and Roberto Alomar both went deep in the bottom of the 6th, cutting the gap to 9-8.

Portland added 2 in the following inning via 2 hits and a walk, but Ottawa was unleashed: Sievers scored on an unlikely triple by Gary Carter and a 2-run shot from Carlos Beltrán. Suddenly, we were tied at 11.

Tired of running, Carter ended the game with a walkoff homerun leading off the bottom of the 9th.

Burroughs had 4 hits and he and Cravath drove in 3 each for Portland. Burns had 4 hits for Portland, and Sievers added 3.

POR 11 (Porterfield 3-1; Hammaker 2 B Sv) @ OTT 12 (Holland 6-2)
HRs: POR – Cravath 2 (6); OTT – Parrish (6), Alomar (3), Beltrán (10), Carter (17).
Box Score

#Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 2

With Harry Howell sailing along on the mound, the Angels had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with the key hit being a solo homerun by Mike Trout. Houston scored 1 in the inning, but Tom Seaver and Jonny Venters were excellent in relief of Howell, allowing Los Angeles to send out their closer, Joe Nathan, for the bottom of the 9th.

Nathan was rough: Casey Stengel walked as a pinch-hitter, Tony Gwynn singled, Jim Wynn doubled in a run, and Jeff Bagwell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, sending us to extra innings.

José Reyes drove in a run in the top of the 11th, but Pete Hill singled in Gwynn, who had doubled, in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going. Which it did, until the 14th, when Bagwell was hit by a pitch. HR Johnson pinch-ran, stole second, and scored on a walk-off single by George Brett.

Trout, Gwynn, and Wynn each had 3 hits in the game, which was rough for Houston’s staff, as both Bones Ely and Tug McGraw were forced to leave with injuries. McGraw’s was especially unfortunate, as the young lefthander was on the brink of being named the Colt 45’s closer for the rest of the season.

The game also saw Los Angeles’ Wally Backman get a hit in his first WBL at-bat.

LAA 4 (Vargas 1-2; Seaver 1 H; Venters 15 H; Nathan 8 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 4-1) [14 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (17); HOU – none.
Box Score

Series XXXIII Preview: Chicago American Giants @ Wandering House of David

By mknn

On June 9, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

In Series XXXIII, we’ll focus in on the wild card race, where the Chicago American Giants lead the Wandering House of David by 1 game. We focused on Chicago (our first team to be highlighted in 5 separate series) in Series VI, XX, XXII, and XXX and on the House of David in Series V, XVI, and XXVI.

#Chicago American Giants

We just saw the American Giants, and not a lot has changed: the offense is still fearsome; the bench is still suspect; and the pitching is still a bit irregular.

Eddie Collins (310/406/510) leads the team in WAR, but is behind both Joe Jackson (1.014) and Frank Thomas (.950) in OPS. Those 3, plus Mike Fiore have OBPs over .400 and Dick Allen and Duffy Lewis join Collins, Jackson, and Thomas with SLG over .500.

Cristóbal Torriente should be back at full strength during the series, and Kevin Mitchell has solidified a claim on the other reserve OF spot. The weak spots here are Jack Doyle and Jackie Hayes on the IF, but Doyle’s flexibility keeps him an attractive roster option, while Hayes is just passing time until rosters expand in a few days.

Tricky Nichols at 14-7 leads the rotation, with both Dick Rudolph and Mark Buehrle having 10 wins apiece. One of the questions for Chicago is what to do with Ed Walsh, who has been excellent as a swing starter/long reliever–to the point where he may be preferred as a starter in the playoffs over Buehrle or Ben Sheets. The bullpen trio of Hoyt Wilhelm, Ken Sanders, and AJ Minter continues to impress.

#Wandering House of David

Pete Browning (358/394/642) should emerge onto WBL leaderboards either this series or next. When that happens, he will immediately take over the lead in BA and be 3rd in SLG. Another injury to Browning feels like virtually the only thing that could derail the House of David’s playoff push.

While Elrod Hendricks has been excellent since the year began–even with a recent slump, Hendricks is slashing 287/348/605 with 32 homeruns and 81 RBIs–the House of David has retooled their lineup with spectacular success all season. First it was Dan Ford (.833 OPS) taking over in RF, then it was Anthony Rizzo (.884 OPS) at 1B and Jim Edmonds in CF (1.011 OPS).

Jack Taylor has emerged as the dominant starter in the league, sitting at 14-8 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. There is a significant gap between Taylor and the rest of the staff, but none of them are bad, they just don’t live up to Taylor’s standards. The back of the bullpen is developing nicely, with the trio of Ed Bauta (obtained mid-season), Lee Smith, and Tom Niedenfuer reliably bridging the gap to Bruce Sutter, who should be back to full strength in a day or two.

#Predicted Starters

Chicago starter listed first.

David Price (5-5, 4.46) @ Wade Miley (7-4, 5.11)
Mark Buehrle (10-8, 4.23) @ Frank Sullivan (8-8, 4.84)
Ben Sheets (8-8, 4.77) @ Jack Taylor (14-8, 2.99)
Tricky Nichols (14-7, 3.68) @ CC Sabathia (10-11, 4.86)

Series XXXI Featured Matchup: Portland Sea Dogs @ Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On June 7, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

{ Whoops … somehow this never got published … }

Series preview here.

#Game One: Bert Blyleven @ Alejandro Peña

There is a statistical argument that Birmingham’s Alejandro Peña has been the best starting pitcher in the WBL this season, but today he was totally out classed by Portland’s Bert Blyleven.

Blyleven was perfect through 5 2/3, had a no-hitter through 7 1/3, and ended up giving up 3 hits and 1 run through 9 2/3 innings, striking out 7 while walking none (he did hit 2 batters, and clearly was tiring towards the end). Still, it was a great performance, lowering Blyleven’s ERA to 4.46 and improving his record to 9-9 on the year.

Peña, on the other hand, lasted only 3 innings, surrendering 9 hits and 6 runs, including homeruns from Bobby Murcer and Kent Hrbek (his 35th of the year). Murcer, Jim Fregosi, and Joe Mauer ended the day with 3 hits each as the Sea Dogs cruised to the 7-1 victory, retaking 1st place in the Marvin Miller Division.

POR 7 (Blyleven 9-9) @ BBB 1 (Peña 10-8)
HRs: POR – Murcer (22), Hrbek (35); BBB – none.
Box Score

After the game, Portland announced that Joséito Muñoz would be out 3-4 weeks. He was placed on the DL with Frank Williams recalled from AAA.

#Game 2: Dizzy Trout @ Vic Willis

Birmingham seemed to bounce back, scoring in the two opening innings on sacrifice flies while Vic Willis quieted the Portland bats. Willis exited after 6 innings with Birmingham up 3-1, and suddenly the game got far more interesting. Kent Mercker gave up 2 homeruns–a 2 run shot by Kent Hrbek and a solo drive by Jim Fregosi–to put the Sea Dogs up by one.

Portland’s starter, Dizzy Trout, was long-gone by this point, with Ray Fontenot providing solid relief until Herman Long tripled with one out in the bottom of the inning. Mike Cuellar relieved Fontenot, and allowed a sacrifice fly to Adrián González, tying the game at 4.

In the bottom of the 8th, an RBI double from Cupid Childs scored Bob Nieman, giving the Black Barons a 1 run lead, and turning the game over to their closer, Juan Rincón.

Rincón couldn’t reclaim first place, giving up RBI singles to Hrbek and Buddy Bell before being replaced by Bruce Chen, who gave up one more run on a base hit from Rogers Hornsby, putting Portland in front 7-5.

Elmer Brown walked 2, but induced a double play from Frank McCormick to end the game. Could Birmingham’s magical run be ending?

POR 7 (Porterfield 3-0; Brown 10 Sv; Cueller 2 B Sv) @ BBB 5 (Rincón 2-4, 5 Sv; Mercker 1 B Sv)
HRs: POR – Hrbek (36), Fregosi (16); BBB – none.
Box Score

Game 3: Wade Miller v Andy Pettitte

Victories in the first two games of the series have moved Portland 1.5 games ahead of Birmingham, who will turn to Andy Pettitte to stop their slide. Pettitte is 3-0 with a 1.29 ERA since arriving in Birmingham.

Another trade acquisition, Portland’s Gavvy Cravath, put the Sea Dogs on top 1-0 with a solo shot in the top of the 2nd. 2 walks and a weak infield hit loaded the bases with 2 outs, and Jim Pagliaroni touched Wade Miller for a 2-run single to give the Black Barons a 2-1 edge. But Pettitte gave it back on a double to Bobby Murcer, knotting the contest at 2.

The Black Barons began to gain some separation with a double by Eddie Mathews in the 3rd and a homerun from Adrián González in the 4th.

Pettitte had settled right down by then, and left the game allowing only 5 hits and the 2 runs over 8 innings. Juan Rincón came in and struck out the first two batters, but singles from Rogers Hornsby, Buddy Bell, and Jeff Burroughs loaded the bases with 2 outs with Harry Hooper at the plate. Rincón got him looking for the save, pulling Birminghan back within 1/2 game of Portland.

POR 2 (Miller 9-5) @ BBB 4 (Pettitte 4-0; Rincón 20 Sv)
HRs: POR – Cravath (4); BBB – González (6).
Box Score

Game 4: Atlee Hammaker v Greg Maddux

Trying to edge back into first place, Birmingham turned to perhaps the hottest arm in the league in Greg Maddux.

In the 2nd, a triple by Gavvy Cravath and a homerun from Rogers Hornsby put Portland ahead 2-0, a lead cut in half when Gene Tenace took Atlee Hammaker into the seats in the bottom of the frame.

It remained that way into the 5th, when Bobby Murcer doubled and scored on a single from Kent Hrbek. Maddux would last one more inning, departing with the Sea Dogs ahead, 3-1. Portland touched his relief for 3 runs in the top of the 7th, the key hit being a 2 run homerun by Joe Mauer.

Hammaker at this point was cruising, allowing only 5 hits through 6 innings, but hits from Curtis Granderson and Pie Traynor chased him with 2 outs in the 7th. Trevor Hoffman relived him, and Birmingham countered by pinch-hitting Eddie Matthews, who delivered a 3-run shot to close the score to 6-4.

There would be more baserunners after, but neither team could score, setting up Elmer Brown‘s entrance for Portland in the bottom of the 9th for the save. Adrián González led off the inning with a double down the left field line, and Brown followed with a walk to Jim Pagliaroni. Brown would allow the game to be tied in the most unlikely fashion: on consecutive wild pitches. That setup a 2-out single from Cupid Childs, winning the game and putting Birmingham back on top of the division, although just barely.

After the game, Mathews referred to himself as, “the straw that stirs the drink.” Wonder where he got that from?

POR 6 (Brown 3-6, 3 B Sv; Porterfield 3 H) @ BBB 7 (Baker 7-3)
HRs: POR – Hornsby (10), Mauer (11); BBB – Tenace (11), Mathews (21).
Box Score