Tag: Al Javery

29 April, 2002

#Awards

Al Kaline is the AL Player of the Week for Detroit, on a .400 week with 6 doubles, 2 homeruns and 10 RBI — powered by a 3-double game followed by a 2-homer, 5-RBI day. He is hitting .326 with 7 homeruns.

The NL Player of the Week is the New York Gothams‘ HR Johnson, who hit .400 with 4 homeruns and 9 RBI over 6 games, slugging .960. Johnson is fast becoming a fan favorite for the Gothams, for obvious reasons, but also for confirmation that perhaps they pulled a fast one on the Black Yankees in the offseason with his acquistion.

In the minors: Josh Harrison (New York Black Yankees) took the award at AAA Newark on a 14-for-28 week, and continues to make an argument for a longer trial at the WBL level; Steve Henderson (Los Angeles) took the AA Player of the Week, and Bob Cerv (Houston) won it at A-ball.

#Three Games

{A new section: when I can’t think of better topic for the front page, we’ll highlight 3 games of note from the week that was.}

Cleveland @ Ottawa, 24 April

Two pitchers with lightning in their arms and massive question marks on their futures faced off in Ottawa, with Cleveland’s Bob Feller taking the mound against the Mounties’ Big Question Mark, Randy Johnson. Both did well, allowing only a single run each. Feller’s day was better, with 11 strikeouts in over 6 innings, while Johnson did his usual thing, walking as many as he whiffed (5 of each).

Neither were around for the exciting parts of the game.

First, in the top of the 7th, RBI’s by Tris Speaker and Larry Doby gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead. Then, the Spiders turned the game over to Aroldis Chapman–their key offseason acquisition, who has been even more important with closer Terry Adams hurt for about a week. Chapman has been … awful. Which continued here.

First, he hit Gary Carter, then gave up singles to Álex Rodríguez and Adrián Beltré, loading the bases. And then Ottawa’s manager got creative, first sending pitcher Bill Smith in to pinch run for Beltré and then sending Old Hoss Radbourn, another pitcher, up to hit for the struggling John Olerud. While the fans were scratching their heads–Olerud is obviously better at the plate than Radbourn–Radbourn simply delivered, driving in 2 with a sharply hit single to left.

Chapman got to 2 outs, but no further, as a single from Roberto Alomar plated Radbourn with the winning run.

CLE 3 (Chapman 0-2, 3 BSv) @ OTT 4 (Holland 2-0)
HRs: none.
Box Score

Chicago @ San Francisco, 28 April

After a rough start, San Francisco has begun to right the ship while Chicago has been surprisingly good in the early going. This game felt like the Sea Lions continuing to reassert their dominance … until ….

Hits from Reggie Jackson and Jack Clark were the big blows, each driving in 2, and San Francisco led 5-0 behind easily the best start of the year so far from Tom Brewer. With the strength of the Sea Lions’ bullpen a well known commodity, some fans had even begun to eye the exits.

And then came the 8th.

Charlie Ferguson allowed a single to Jack Doyle before being relieved by Ken Howell. Howell got two outs–strikeouts of Chino Smith and Mickey Vernon–but allowed 2 singles and 2 doubles before giving way to Trevor Hoffman. Cristóbal Torriente doubled in 2, Kevin Mitchell and Travis Jackson had RBIs, and Eddie Collins greeted Hoffman with a double of his own and suddenly the American Giants were, somehow, ahead, 6-5.

They didn’t need it, but Chicago wasn’t done: Smith hit a 2 run shot in the 9th and Jackson drove in 2 more with a double. With Alex Reyes shutting down San Francisco in the 8th and 9th, that was it and the American Giants emerged with a 10-5 victory.

Allen, Collins, and Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago on the day.

CAG 10 (Reyes 1-0) @ SFS 5 (Howell 1-1; Hoffman 1 BSv)
HRs: CAG – C. Smith (9); SFS – none.
Box Score

Birmingham @ the House of David, 28 April

It was the last game of the week. We were all just tired.

So nobody thought much about it when Paul Konerko blasted a solo shot off Bob Shaw to tie the game 5-5 in the top of the 8th. Given how well the offenses performed earlier, it seemed obvious that more runs were coming (Birmingham’s John Malarkey had surrendered 11 hits and 5 runs in 5 innings, including a 3 run shot by Ernie Banks; Jack Taylor was barely better for the House of David, giving up 4 runs in his 5 innings of work).

But the bullpens decided to change the script. For Birmingham, Al Javery, Akinori Otsuka, Harley Young, and Kerry Ligtenberg combined to allow 3 hits and zero runs over 9 innings of work, while for the home team, Scott Downs, Ed Bauta, Dellin Betances, Fergie Jenkins, and Karl Spooner gave up more hits (6), but were equally effective over 8 combined frames.

So, what happened?

Birmingham turned to Slim Embrey in the bottom of the 16th. And Embrey can’t really be blamed for what happened: he retired Ryne Sandberg, then saw Pete Browning and Ernie Banks reach on errors before Ron Santo singled to load the bases. Embrey then grooved one to Anthony Rizzo, who deposited in the seats for a walkoff grandslam homerun.

Cap Anson, Sandberg, and Santo had 3 hits each for the House of David, and Bobby Grich and Melky Cabrera had 3 for the Black Barons.

BBB 5 (Embrey 0-1) @ HOD 9 (Spooner 2-0; Shaw 1 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Konerko (5); HOD – Banks (6), Rizzo (4).
Box Score

#Player Performance

Four weeks in, the lists are starting to hold their shape. Qualifying is 3.1 plate appearances or 1 inning per team game — about 80 PA and 26 innings.

#Batters

The Ted Williams problem has not gone away. He leads the WBL in batting average, on-base, slugging, runs, RBI, walks and WAR outright, and shares the homerun lead with Indianapolis’ Oscar Charleston at 12. Williams is hitting .434 with a .952 slugging percentage.

As usual, top 2-3 in most all stats below.

Cool Papa Bell (KAN). .203/.292/.291. 8 SB.
John Briggs (MEM). .247/.306/.438. 12 2B.
Pete Browning (HOD). .337/.393/.525. 9 SB.
Rico Carty (PHI). .375/.446/.694.
Oscar Charleston (IND). .304/.345/.676. 12 HR, 29 RBI, 1.8 WAR.
Ty Cobb (DET). .348/.402/.685. 1.5 WAR.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). .311/.398/.711. 24 RBI.
Hank Greenberg (DET). .241/.327/.448. 3 3B.
HR Johnson (NYG). .372/.400/.691. 12 2B.
Willie Mays (NYG). .283/.343/.641. 21 R.
Joe Morgan (IND). .230/.396/.297. 20 BB.
Jackie Robinson (BRK). .323/.368/.515. 13 2B.
Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI). .344/.385/.885. 9 HR.
Babe Ruth (NYY). .228/.384/.608. 9 HR, 19 BB.
Chino Smith (CAG). .277/.307/.699. 9 HR, 22 R.
Turkey Stearnes (SFS). .259/.300/.635. 9 HR.
Roy White (BRK). .303/.402/.487.
Ted Williams (MEM). .434/.542/.952. 12 HR, 28 R, 32 RBI, 22 BB, 2.4 WAR.

At the other end, Los Angeles’s Dobie Moore has now struck out 55 times, 9 clear of anyone else. Moore has shown some signs of life lately, but it’s a deep hole to crawl out of.

#Pitchers

Christy Mathewson of the New York Gothams is the league’s only 5-game winner, sitting at 5-0.

#Starters

Steve Carlton (PHI). 4-1, 1.89.
Whitey Ford (NYY). 3-2, 2.25. .195 BABIP.
Dwight Gooden (LAA). 2-2, 4.41. 1.90 FIP, 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 3-1, 3.63. 54 K.
Waite Hoyt (CAG). 4-1, 2.45.
Walter Johnson (POR). 3-1, 2.37. 45 K, 0.82 WHIP, 1.74 FIP, 1.3 WAR.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 3-1, 3.45. .178 BABIP.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 5-0, 2.50. 48 K.
Charles Radbourn (OTT). 2-0, 1.38.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 2-3, 3.28. 1.4 WAR.
Tom Seaver (MEM). 1-1, 1.95.
Smokey Joe Wood (KAN). 2-0, 2.78. 0.77 WHIP.

#Relievers

One more week until we actually have some decent insight into the relievers–for now, here are the 4 closers tied atop the league with 6 saves each.

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-1, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Jack Billingham (POR). 0-1, 4.00. 6 Sv.
Jonathan Papelbon (MCG). 0-0, 3.00. 6 Sv.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 0-1, 2.35. 6 Sv.

#Hardest Shots

Josh Gibson owned the week: a 124 mph solo homerun off Indianapolis‘s Luis Padrón on Saturday was the hardest ball struck by anyone, and he also had a 120 mph double and a 119 mph homerun. Gibson’s overall stats aren’t showing it yet, but the thunder in the bat is clearly still there.

The hardest out was Ted Williams‘s — a 122 mph fly ball to right.

#Injuries

The big one is Bullet Joe Rogan, out about 2 weeks — Philadelphia loses a rotation turn and a bat with 9 homeruns in one move, and he is the fourth Stars pitcher on the disabled list in 10 days. The Gothams lose Dave Righetti for about the same stretch.

Memphis swingman Len Barker and Los Angeles OF Dwight Evans both hit the DL this week as well.

Year III Season Preview: Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On July 26, 2026

In 2002 Season Previews, Team News

State of the Franchise

The Black Barons say they want to pick a direction and hold it. The transaction log says otherwise. Two games out in July and they buy; one bad month and they tear it down. So far, that’s only produced a mushy pile of dissatisfaction, and the fans are beginning to grumble.

2001 was worse than 2000: 5th in the Marvin Miller Division and seemingly exiled to the borders of the standings. Hence the line the front office has now drawn: Birmingham, they say, is aiming for a championship between 2003 and 2005.

Though, you know, if they’re 4 games out in August …

The pressing problem is simple: nobody here gets outs. Birmingham took a wild card in 2000 on the strength of its arms. Last year Greg Maddux and Alejandro Peña gave up 109 home runs between them. One-effing-hundred-and-nine. The lineup put 5 men over 40 homers and the team finished last.

2001 Revisited

A year ago the read on Birmingham was blunt: they were strong on the mound, couldn’t score, and held a roster that didn’t look like a strong playoff contender. So they fixed the offense — emphatically. They shipped their own ace, Andy Pettitte, to New York for Albert Belle (a deal Birmingham still tells itself it won, never mind that Pettitte became a Bronx ace), imported Paul Konerko and Ryan Braun (for the NL All-Star arm of Jim Whitney), then Bobby Grich, and turned the box score into a fireworks show. Hank Aaron hit 51 home runs, Belle 46, Eddie Mathews 46, Jim Pagliaroni 45, Curtis Granderson 41.

And they finished dead last, 75-87, 10 out. The power was a mirage in an exploding offensive year: Belle’s 46 came with negative WAR, Aaron’s 51 with 16 walks all season, Mathews’ 46 on a .224 average, Granderson’s 41 on .206. Nobody got on base, and solo home runs are … nice?

Underneath it, the pitching everyone had worried about collapsed — Peña’s ace season evaporated, Maddux gave up 59 home runs all by himself, and the bullpen was a struggle all season (excepting the pleasant surprise of closer Harley Young). The club’s own review said it plainest: they scored way too few runs, despite hitting the ball out of the park with shocking regularity.

Key Changes

In: Bill Byrd (BAL); Asdrúbal Cabrera (BAL)
Out: Curt Flood (BAL)

Opening Day Rookies: Asdrúbal Cabrera; Melky Cabrera; Slim Embrey; Kerry Ligtenberg; Joe Torre

Best Case for 2002

They hold still. Maddux fronts a rotation for a full year, Bill Byrd takes the ball every 5th day behind him, Lefty Gomez does the same behind Byrd, and the staff ERA comes down without anyone new arriving. Asdrúbal Cabrera‘s glove holds at short, stilling a long-standing revolving door. Granderson’s platoon with Melky Cabrera covers center well enough, and the young starters — Rube Melton, Al Javery, John Malarkey — get their turns. That isn’t a juggernaut: the goal is a year that ends with more pitching than it started with, and clarity about how the offense adapts to a less HR-rich environment.

Worst Case for 2002

The same movie runs again. One Cabrera can’t play short, the other Cabrera flops in CF, and the drop in homers across the league leaves the Black Barons a team that doesn’t get on base and doesn’t do anything else, either. Then, one hot week in August makes the team sniff the playoffs, and another knee-jerk deal is done that changes the overall direction again.

Or, simply, Maddux implodes.

Key Questions

Will Birmingham keep an arm? Pettitte is the loud example, but Whitney is really no different. All-Star arms, traded for perceived value, but leaving a vacuum behind that is always filled with slightly lesser arms (no knock on Lefty Gomez and John Malarkey, but nobody would say they prefer them to Pettitte and Whitney).
Is the power real? Aaron, Konerko, Belle, Braun, Pagliaroni: 5 right-handed bats of consequence. But the league has changed, and Rickwood Field is projected to dampen right-handed power. This is really 2 questions: does the power maintain and, if so, do they keep it or move it on?
Who plays shortstop? The softest spot on the roster, with no clean internal answer (not new — last year’s semi-platoon of Herman Long and Troy Tulowitzki wasn’t very good in the end). Can Cabrera seize the position? If not, is Dick Groat the answer? Or do Long or Tulo force their way back into the conversation — a likely sign of failure if it happens.

Roster Evaluation

Tier = the player’s 2001 positional grade (S best → F worst; color coded S A B C D F). Bold names carry a substantive WBL track; italic names are pure projection — a hope, not a grade — with no qualifying track to anchor them.

Pos	Players
C	Pagliaroni A · Torre
1B	Konerko B · Fairly
2B	Grich B · A. Cabrera
SS	A. Cabrera · Long D · Groat
3B	Mathews B
LF	Braun B · Davis
CF	Granderson D · M. Cabrera
RF	Aaron B
DH	Belle C
SP	Maddux D · Byrd · Gomez D · Melton · Malarkey · Javery
RP	Young B (CL) · Otsuka B · Ligtenberg · Peña D · Embrey · Chen

Look at all that gold … the lineup could be quite good.

For all the ruthlessness in the market, Birmingham is stubbornly loyal inside its own clubhouse — veterans get ridden a beat past their expiration, and Bruce Chen, the 37-year-old lefty being handed soft, low-leverage innings rather than a cold release, is the gentlest version of it.

The 9th inning is its own question. Juan Rincón saved 26 games in 2000, then came apart in 2001 — an 8.47 ERA across 34 innings — and the job now belongs to Young, who answered with a 2.29 ERA and 15 saves on results rather than stuff. 2003 shouldn’t bank on him until the command proves it holds.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	3B Eddie Mathews	1B Nate Colbert
Batting Eye	2B Bobby Grich	2B Cupid Childs
Contact	LF Tommy Davis	2B Cupid Childs
Running Speed	SS Herman Long	3B Ricardo Hernández
Base Stealing	SS Herman Long	C Art Nichols; 2B Cupid Childs
IF Defense	SS Herman Long	3B Mike Benjamin; 2B Jess Barbour
OF Defense	RF Hank Aaron	CF Lenny Dykstra
Stuff	RP Kerry Ligtenberg	RP Jason Grilli
Control	SP Al Javery	RP Carlos Diaz
Velocity	RP Akinori Otsuka	RP Steve Cishek

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	Pos	Name
1 (22)	22	CF	Lenny Dykstra
2 (28)	21	LF	Gary Matthews
3 (68)	21	2B	Jess Barbour
4 (97)	21	SP	Bill James

Others: IF Cupid Childs, IF Nate Colbert, IF Ozzie Albies, IF Richie Sexson, OF Ron Gant.

Graduated to the active roster since the ranked list: Joe Torre (14), Kerry Ligtenberg (58).

A year ago this list was headed by Whitney, the arm flipped to Miami for Braun, and Torre, who has since graduated into the backup-catcher job. The new man at the top, Lenny Dykstra, is himself a trade acquisition — part of the Konerko haul from Chicago. What’s left is thin but useful: Dykstra and Gary Matthews in the outfield, Jess Barbour‘s utility glove, and Bill James, clinging to the back of the top hundred. Note what isn’t there. James is the only arm in the system worth ranking (maybe Cozy Dolan, but …), and the 5 unranked names behind him — Cupid Childs, Nate Colbert, Ozzie Albies, Richie Sexson, Ron Gant — are 5 more bats.

Superlatives

	Most	Least
Age	Bruce Chen, 37	Frank Gilhooley, 18
Height	Richie Sexson, 6’8″	Kid Baldwin, 5’6″
OPS	Paul Konerko, .964	George McBride, .585 (AA)
HR	Nate Colbert, 57 (AAA)	Brock Davis, 1 (A)
SB	Cupid Childs, 37	–
WAR (bat)	Gary Matthews, 5.1 (A)	Pie Traynor, −1.0 (AAA)
W	John Malarkey, 11	–
SV	Harley Young, 17	–
ERA	Bill James, 3.69 (A)	Mike Leake, 6.77 (AAA)
WAR (pit)	Rube Melton, 3.3 (AAA)	Bill James, −0.9 (A)

Stats across all levels, 2001 season. 200 PA / 75 IP minimum. Non-WBL levels tagged in parentheses.

Baseball The Way It Never Was