Tag: Andy Van Slyke Page 1 of 3

TWIWBL 66.2 Spotlight on the Homestead Grays

On September 19, 2024

Homestead may be the surprise of the league so far. They continue to struggle on the mound, but this team can hit, and there is some profound talent developing on the banks of the Allegheny.

The Grays inherit players from the Pirates, as well as a smattering of NeL players generally associated with the Grays.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Homestead is in a virtual tie with Brooklyn atop the Effa Manley Division.

There is a long way to go, but a playoff appearance would be a heck of an accomplishment for what was one of the truly weaker sides in the league last season.

THE OFFENSE

It’s an offense that is evolving into one of the most dangerous lineups in the league top to bottom, with most of the talent under 25 years of age.

#What’s Going Right

Josh Gibson is emerging as a generational talent. OF Rick Reichardt is actually hitting better than Gibson with a 1.166 OPS to Gibson’s 1.155. But Gibson is 21 and a C and–assuming health–has a long career as one of, if not the, best backstop in the league ahead of him. But it’s about more than the two of them: veteran presence Willie Stargell is tied with Reichardt in homeruns and Mike Epstein gives them 4 batters in double digits.

3B Chris Sabo has a SLG over .700, arguing for more playing time, but both Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner seem to be learning how to use their immense talents. Wagner, Andy Van Slyke, and Andrew McCutchen have combined for 46 SBs, led by McCutchen’s 20.

#What’s Not Going Right

Neither Van Slyke nor McCutchen are hitting much (Van Slyke’s OPS has edged over .700, which isn’t bad, but McCutchen is stuck in the .650s). Roberto Clemente is struggling to match his production from last season, and the other reserves–Rey Sánchez and Del Crandell are doing virtually nothing in their limited opportunities).

Stargell strikes out too much, and Wagner’s offense at this point is merely decent for a young SS, not actually decent. That’s about it.

THE PITCHING

It’s better than last year. But all that means is that it’s not miserable.

#What’s Going Right

Josh Lindblom has emerged–perhaps a little surprisingly–as an elite closer, with 12 saves and 3 wins in his 19 appearances, and the lowest WHIP on the staff.

Francisco Liriano is still the “ace” of the staff, but the quotes are very well deserved: he’s 3-4 with a 4.48 ERA, numbers that are pretty much indistinguishable from those of Billy Pierce and Bob Friend. Doug Drabek won a job on the staff with a strong Spring Training, and has been excellent, but is just recovering from injury. His successful return to form would go a long way to solidifying the mound corps.

Michael Jackson has recovered from a rough 2000 to be a solid bullpen contributor this year.

#What’s Not Going Right

Finding the back end of the rotation has been a struggle. Ray Brown has been hit hard, but retains his spot in the rotation for now, while the final rotation spot has become a bit of a free-for-all, currently distributed between Carlos Zambrano, Brickyard Kennedy, and Cliff Lee. But none of those are having much luck.

Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti, so effective last year, have been, at best, thoroughly mediocre this year.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

The Grays have a strong system. In the OF, Ralph Kiner (still a teenager) and the Waner brother, Lloyd and Paul, look to have WBL ceilings, and in the IF, there are a wealth of options in Judy Johnson, Freddie Lindstrom, Howard Johnson, and Khalil Greene.

Throw in Clayton Kershaw (currently dominating A ball), Nip Winters, Pink Hawley, and Tim Lincecum and there is enough talent to sort out the Grays’ mound woes, although the exact path to do so is far from clear.

WHAT’S NEEDED

Pitching. And then, more pitching.

Beyond that, when the Grays traded for Lajoie last year, they had visions of a Lajoie/Wagner infield developing into a truly elite pairing. They need to keep building towards that, with the hope they, Gibson, and a few others can all peak at the same time.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

Who pitches? Absolutely still the key question. There’s Liriano, a hopefully healthy Drabek, and then …. a whole lot of question marks.
For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF). Some things have clarified. Johnson and Kent are at AAA (and struggling), and Wilson is trying to come back from a shoulder injury. The Grays seem to have committed to Wagner and Lajoie in the MI, and are happy to let the OF play out over time.

FEATURED SERIES

The Grays open up the week with 3 games in New York to take on the division rival Gothams.

Projected Starters

Homestead starter listed first.

Francisco Liriano (3-4, 4.48) @ Christy Mathewson (2-5, 4.71)
Bob Friend (3-2, 5.43) @ Juan Marichal (4-3, 4.68)
Ray Brown (3-4, 6.21) @ Gaylord Perry (5-4, 5.15)

Game One

It’s not like Francisco Liriano was bad–it’s just that Christy Mathewson was better, as Liriano gave up 2 runs in just over 6 innings while Matty held the Grays scoreless through 7. A single to Mike Epstein and a double from Napoleon Lajoie chased Mathewson.

It got a little weird form there: Robb Nen‘s first pitch hit Honus Wagner on the elbow, forcing him out of the ballgame; Chris Sabo brought home one run on a sac fly, Andy Van Slyke reached on an error by Brandon Crawford, and an infield hit from Rick Reichardt tied the game at 2. Josh Gibson hit a sharp single to LF, scoring 1, but Jo-Jo Moore threw out Van Slyke at home. Willie Stargell drove in another, and Roberto Clemente beat out an infield single, meaning the Grays had run through their entire lineup in the inning. It looked like Nen had gotten out of it when Andrew McCutchen (who had pinch run for Epstein way back when) whiffed, but the ball got past the Gothams’ C, Dick Dietz, and McCutchen beat the throw to first, scoring another run.

So, Homestead now held a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the 8th. Dietz would try to redeem himself, hitting his first career homerun after a pinch double from Willie Mays, closing the lead to 5-4.

Josh Lindblom was perfect in the 9th, sealing the come from behind victory for the Grays.

HOM 5 (Ownbey 3-1; Lindblom 13 Sv; Giusti 4 H) @ NYG 4 (Nen 1-1, 2 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – none; NYG – Posey (13), Dietz (1).
Box Score

Good news for Homestead, as Wagner will only miss a day with a bruised elbow.

Game Two

With Bob Friend still out with some wrist issues, Cliff Lee got the start for Homestead against Tony Mullane, who wasn’t expected to last more than 3 or 4 innings in a sort of bullpen game for New York.

Perhaps to be expected with a couple spot starters, there were some longballs early: Rick Reichardt, Josh Gibson, and Andrew McCutchen for Homestead and Willie Mays for New York, leading to a 3-2 lead for the Grays after 3. Mullane gave up another one in the 5th, but overall his start wasn’t bad.

Lee’s was even better, until a Jo-Jo Moore double closed the gap to 4-3 and chased him from the game. Johnny Callison gave New York the lead later in the inning with a double off Brickyard Kennedy. It was short lived: Mike Epstein took the usually unhittable Mike Norris deep in the top of the 8th for a 2 run shot, swinging the game back to Homestead, 6-5. Norris hit 2 batters, but got out of the inning without further damage.

Gibson hit his 2nd of the game in the top of the 9th, which grew in importance when Larry Doyle hit a pinch hit dinger off closer Josh Lindblom to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Lindblom was able to close it out, giving the Grays the first 2 games of the series.

HOM 7 (Kennedy 2-0, 1 B Sv; Lindblom 13 Sv; Jackson 7 H) @ NYG 6 (Norris 2-3, 1 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (18), Gibson 2 (16), McCutchen (3), Epstein (14); NYG – Mays (19), Doyle (2).
Box Score

Game Three

When the Grays’ offense clicks, it clicks. 14 hits, 9 runs, and (finally) a strong outing from Ray Brown later, and Homestead had the series sweep. They did it with 6 runs in the top of the 4th, sending 4 balls over the outfield walls. An inning later, Andy Van Slyke joined Andrew McCutchen, Goose Goslin, Josh Gibson, and Mike Epstein in the homerun parade.

Brown loaded the bases to start the 8th, but Dave Giusti came in to get out of the jam without allowing a run. Giusti was forced from the game, but is likely to be available in a day or 2.

HOM 9 (Brown 4-4) @ NYG 1 (Marichal 4-4)
HRs: HOM – McCutchen (4), Goslin (2), Gibson (17), Van Slyke (3), Epstein (15); NYG – Crawford (7).
Box Score

This is what the Grays dream of: an irrepressible offense, enough pitching to get by, and a stream of victories.

TWIWBL 62.1: Year 2, Week 5

By mknn

On June 20, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 30

#Awards

Willie Mays (RIP IRL) of the New York Gothams was the NL Player of the Week after hitting .417 with 3 home runs. Over in the AL, the AL Player of the Week Award went to Miami‘s Ryan Braun, who hit .471 with 5 dingers.

As the calendar flipped from April to May, we also have the first player of the month awards.

Award	Player
AL Player of the Month	Ty Cobb (DET)	.411; 5 HR; 23 RBI; 21 R
AL Pitcher of the Month	Mark Buehrle (CAG)	5-0, 1.24
AL Rookie of the Month	Turkey Stearnes (SFS)	.352; 6 HR; 18 8RBI
NL Player of the Month	Larry Walker (OTT)	.395; .454 OBP; 9 HR; 23 RBI; 22 R
NL Pitcher of the Month	Toad Ramsey (HOU)	5-1, 0.96
NL Rookie of the Month	Adam Dunn (IND)	.253; 5 HR; 13 RBI

#Team Performance

Look, it’s way too early for any of this to matter. But, currently, only 3 games separate the best team in the Effa Manley Division (the Brooklyn Royal Giants at 14-11) and the worst (the Philadelphia Stars mirroring them at 11-14). The Homestead Grays are 1/2 game behind Brooklyn, and the New York Gothams and Ottawa Mounties sit at .500.

Brooklyn, Homestead, and the San Francisco Sea Lions have all gone 7-3 over their last 10 games, while the House of David are in the roughest patch of any team in the league, at 2-8 over their last 10.

#Player Performance

Batters

Some things that jump out: the House of David’s Ryne Sandberg is having an incredible start, the first player in the league to 11 homeruns. Led by Sandberg, 5 players have SLG over .700 but “only” 2 have BA over .400.

Ty Cobb (DET). 389/451/756. 18 2B, 1.8 WAR.
Carlos Correa (HOU). 420/474/659.
Eric Davis (NYY). 306/373/612. 27 R.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). 247/358/634. 10 HR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 379/426/793.
Curtis Granderson (BBB). 256/330/654. 10 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 416/442/629.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 396/426/635. 38 H, 15 2B.
Dick Lundy (SFS). 394/467/681. 4 3B, 15 SB, 2.3 WAR.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). 274/361/621. 10 HR.
Boog Powell (KCM). 268/344/622. 26 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/381/576. 5 3B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 308/430/659. 28 RBI, 24 R, 21 BB.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 365/409/824. 11 HR.
Bobby Wallace (BAL). 50/405/364. 22 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-0, 1.24.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 4-1, 2.38. 0.88 WHIP.
Bill Doak (MEM). 3-1, 2.76. 1.5 WAR.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 2-3, 5.03. 39.1 IP.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 5-1, 2.62.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 1-4, 4.15. 43.1 IP, 39 K.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 4-1, 1.19. 0.74 WHIP, 45 K, 1.7 WAR.

Relivers

Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 6.75. 7 Sv.
Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 1.74. 10 Sv.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.00. 1 Sv, 5 H.
Troy Percival (NYG). 0-0, 5.40. 5 H.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 0-0, 4.32. 7 Sv.

#Featured Series

We’ll check in on a team that looks much improved over last season, the Homestead Grays. The Grays are hitting better than expected, but more importantly, are finally hitting enough to overcome their usual rough performances on the mound. They are visiting Indianapolis for a 4-game set, and are hoping to keep a recent slide by the ABC’s going.

Scheduled Starters

Homestead’s hurler listed first.

Billy Pierce (2-1, 6.55) @ Johnny Cueto (4-1, 2.38)
Carlos Zambrano (0-4, 9.15) @ Luis Padrón (3-0, 2.38)
Ray Brown (1-2, 6.28) @ Doc White (1-3, 4.93)
Francisco Liriano (1-2, 4.36) @ Rube Foster (1-1, 3.86)

Cueto has performed fantastically so far this year, and Padrón, while no Joe Rogan, has been a decent 2-way threat all season.

Game One

With the announcement that the Grays have moved Zambrano out of the rotation, their starters for the series are all a bit up in the air. They’ll lead it off with Doug Drabek, who is taking Zambrano’s spot and will be making his first start of the year.

Drabek was fantastic, allowing 2 hits and 1 run in 7 innings, but Rick Ownbey couldn’t hold the lead, giving up Barry Larkin‘s first homer of the year, a 2 run shot to tie the game in the 8th. Luckily for the Grays, Willie Stargell‘s 2nd homerun of the game gave them the lead in the 10th, and Josh Lindblom was able to hold on for the 4-3 win in extra innings.

HOM 4 (Lindblom 3-0; Ownbey 3 B Sv) @ IND 3 (Murphy 0-1)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (10); Epstein (3); IND – Larkin (1).
Box Score

Game Two

The Grays turned to Billy Pierce in game 2, putting their rotation back on its expected schedule. His mound opponent, Luis Padrón, tossed a masterful 8 innings in a 14-3 walkover, allowing 5 hits and 1 run while fanning 8. Padrón improved to 4-0 and Tommy Helms had 3 hits and 4 RBI and Helms and Jake Stenzel each scored 3 runs in the rout.

Helms, Stenzel, George Foster, Adam Dunn (fresh off being named Rookie of the Month for April), and Johnny Bench each went yard for Indianapolis as they evened the series at 1 game each.

HOM 3 (Pierce 2-2) @ IND 14 (Padrón 4-0)
HRs: HOM – Clemente (3); IND – Helms (3), Foster (2), Stenzel (3), Dunn (6), Bench (7).
Box Score

Game Three

Chris Sabo went deep twice, driving in 3, and the Grays held on to take the series lead with a 5-4 win. Ray Brown pitched very well, but the trio of Corey Kluber, Michael Jackson, and Josh Lindblom were all a bit shaky in relief. Still, they got the job done. Tommy Helms and Bob Bescher had 2 hits for the ABC’s and Joey Votto went deep in the losing effort.

Kluber–fresh off an injury–had to leave the game with an elbow issue, and headed to the DL afterwards. Cliff Lee was recalled.

HOM 5 (Brown 2-2; Lindblom 4 Sv; Jackson 2 H) @ IND 4 (White 1-4)
HRs: HOM – Sabo 2 (5), Lajoie (2); IND – Votto (3).
Box Score

Game Four

Homestead’s bullpen did the job, with Dave Giusti, Rick Ownbey, and Josh Lindblom combining for 3+ innings of 1 hit relief of an effective Francisco Liriano. Mike Epstein went deep for the Grays and Andy Van Slyke showed signs of breaking out of an early season slump with 3 hits. All the ABC’s could muster on the day was a 2 run shot from Adam Dunn to tie the game early.

Homestead takes the series, 3-1, continuing their surprising start to the season.

HOM 4 (Liriano 2-2; Lindblom 5 Sv; Giusti 3 H; Ownbey 2 H) @ IND 2 (Foster 1-2)
HRs: HOM – Epstein (4); IND – Dunn (7).
Box Score

TWIWBL 58.5: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On May 1, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

It was not good news for the Royal Giant as as Dave Von Ohlen, a bullpen stalwart for them last season, was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will miss about 3 months. Dutch Leonard was recalled.

In slightly better news, both Germany Smith and Trevor Hildenberger were sent to AAA on rehab assignments as they make their way back from their injuries.

Hildenberger was recalled as Terry Forster was placed on the 10 day DL.

#Homestead Grays

Chris Sabo hit a pinch-hit, walk-off 3-run homerun to lead the Grays to a wild 12-11 victory over Ottawa. Honus Wagner had 4 hits and Rick Reichardt and Andy Van Slyke 3 each in a game where the Grays pounded out 4 homeruns, with Willie Stargell, Reichardt, and Del Crandall joining Sabo.

Josh Gibson‘s first homerun of the season was a doozy: a grand slam to give the Grays another walk-off win over Ottawa, this one 8-5. Roberto Clemente had 3 hits and rookie Doug Drabek continued his strong start to the season with a couple 1-hit innings in relief.

#Ottawa Mounties

Old Hoss Radbourn started the Mounties’ season off strong, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run over 7 innings in a 10-1 drubbing of Philadelphia. Larry Walker drove in 4 and Bob Watson had 3 hits for Ottawa.

The Mounties pounded out 25 hits, scored 11 runs, and held leads in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings. And, lost 12-11 in 10 innings to Homestead. Walker had 4 hits and Gary Carter drove in 3 in a game where Ottawa’s hurlers gave up 4 homeruns, including a walk-off shot.

Gary Peters will miss about a year with an elbow injury. Bob Brown was recalled from AAA, although for now at least it’s not clear who will take Peters’ spot in the rotation.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars may not win many games this year, but there is some talent on this team that should be fun to watch. To wit, OF Aaron Judge obliterated the record for the longest homerun in the history of the WBL, launching a pitch from Homestead’s Bob Friend 558 feet for his first dinger of the year.

Ray Collins lasted 2 innings in his debut before having to be removed with back spasms. Collins will be out a couple of weeks, and the Stars have once again turned to veteran Robin Roberts, giving the 33 year old what may be his final chance at the WBL. The next day, Judge went down with a strained muscle, and the Stars decided to continue to try to reinforce their mounds corps, recalling hard throwing Brad Kilby.

Year II Season Preview: Homestead Grays

By mknn

On April 6, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

Progress. Finishing over .500 with some clarity on long-term talent would be a success for next year.

Best Case

The roster stabilizes, and a handful of talent establishes itself as the core of future years. Napolean Lajoie and Honus Wagner settle in at 2B and SS respectively, and the OF talent clarifies. And, anyone reliable steps forward on the mound. Anyone.

Worst Case

Nothing settles, nobody figures it out, and the pitching continues to be miserable.

Key Questions

Who pitches?
For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF).

Trade Bait

Will the team hit it stride in time for Stargell to contribute? If not, he could be an attractive piece for a competitive team.

Roster Evaluation

POS	Elite	Strong	Solid	Meh	Weak	Unknown
C		Gibson			Crandall
1B	Epstein
2B					Lajoie
3B						Sabo
SS				Wagner		Sánchez
LF/ RF		Reichardt	Van Slyke Wilson	Clemente Stargell
CF				McCutchen
SP			Liriano	Friend	Pierce Brown Zambrano	~~Kluber~~
End				Lindblom Ownbey	Jackson
RP						Drabek Giusti Hudson Lincecum

New Addition | ~~Injured~~

So. Much. Talent. So little production. Even with that, though, the presence of anything approaching average pitching makes the Grays a .500 team.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	OF Willie Stargell	3B Steve Hertz
Batting Eye	1B Mike Epstein	OF Ralph Kiner
Contact	OF Roberto Clemente	OF Goose Goslin
Running Speed	OF Andy Van Slyke	OF Sterling Marte
Base Stealing	IF Honus Wagner	IF Bobby Wheelock
IF Defense	U Nap Lajoie	IF Rennie Stennett
OF Defense	OF Roberto Clemente	OF Max Carey
Stuff	P Tim Lincecum	P Harry Kelley
Control	SP Bob Friend	P Syl Johnson
Velocity	RP Josh Lindblom	RP Mychal Givens

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	POS	Name
1 (13)	19	P	Clayton Kershaw
2 (21)	21	P	Tim Lincecum
3 (39)	18	3B	Judy Johnson
4 (46)	19	OF	Ralph Kiner
5 (61)	24	P	Bartolo Colón
6 (64)	20	P	Pink Hawley
7 (79)	23	OF	Paul Waner
8 (109)	22	P	Trevor Cahill
9 (117)	23	P	Daniel Hudson
10 (130)	20	3B	Freddie Lindstrom

Others: P Catfish Hunter; P Nip Winters, P Ping Gardner; P Carlos Pulido; P Chris Zachary; P Dave Giusti.

Hope for the Grays persists, largely in how dense and deep their system is. 16 prospects in the top 200 bodes well for their future.

	Most	Least
Age	P Al Worthington, 38	3B Judy Johnson, 18
Height	P John Candelaria, 6’7″	P Earl Hamilton, 5’8″ SS Bobby Wheelock, 5’8″ OF Paul Waner, 5’8″ 1B Eric McNair, 5’8″
OPS	OF Harvey Hendrick, 1.088 (—)	IF Ken Harrelson, .432 (WBL)
HR	OF Starling Marte, 42 (—) IF JJ Hardy, 42 (—)	C Peaches Graham, 0 (WBL/AAA)
SB	CF Andrew McCutchen, 33 (WBL)	Many with 0
WAR	OF Andy Van Slyke, 5.7 (WBL/AAA/AA)	IF Ken Harrelson, -4.3 (WBL)
W	Frank Arellanes, 15 (—) Moose Haas, 15 (—)	Daniel Hudson, 3 (WBL/AAA/AA) Earl Hamilton, 3 (WBL/AAA) Doug Drabek 3 (—) John Candelaria, 3 (WBL/AAA)
SV	Mychal Givens, 24 (WBL/AAA/AA)
ERA	Charles Nagy, 2.17 (—)	John Candelaria, 6.84 (WBL/AAA)
WAR	Charles Nagy, 5.3 (—)	John Candelaria, -1.1 (WBL/AAA)

Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

Season Review: Homestead Grays

By mknn

On December 13, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

69 - 85, .448 pct.
4th in Effa Manley Division, 17 games behind.

Overall

With a .500 record predicted before the season, the Grays’ season is a bit of a disappointment: nobody could have seen the amount of talent they have on the mound performing so poorly.

This is a team building for 2, maybe 3 or 4, years down the road, so there a ton of unanswered questions that bear watching.

What Went Right

If you had Mike Epstein and Rick Reichardt on your bingo card for best players on the Grays before the season started, you’re a savant. But they were easily the best hitters over the course of the season (Epstein finished with an OPS just shy of .950; Reichardt just over .900).

Two players–OFs Andy Van Slyke and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson–were basically as good as those two in about a half season of work each.

Josh Gibson declared himself a superstar of the future, with an OPS of .833 as a 20 year old catcher. Davey Johnson was solid at 2B.

Rennie Stennett showed enough in 20 games to earn a look next year.

Willie Stargell has a ton of power.

Francisco Liriano was a good starter for most of the season, and Bob Friend was even better, but only put in 88 innings. Earl Hamilton was decent enough to warrant another look.

Josh Lindblom responded to losing the closer job excellently, earning it back and cementing his role for next season. Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti surprised, pitching quite well in limited opportunities.

ALL STAR SELECTIONS
1B Mike Epstein; C Josh Gibson

What Went Wrong

The left side of the infield was a bit of a mess: Honus Wagner has all the talent in the world, and the Grays seem committed to him at SS long term, but he neither hit nor adapted to the position very well. And everyone else given a chance (other than Stennett) struggled mightily: Chris Sabo, Frank Taveras, Jack Wilson, Jeff Kent, and Pedro Feliz.

Roberto Clemente and Andrew McCutcheon were … fine. But the Grays really need one of them–if not both–to take a major step forward.

Willie Stargell only has a ton of power, and struck out nearly 200 times.

Nobody else that was given a chance to join the rotation was any good (Billy Pierce, Corey Kluber, Hal Carlson), and most were quite bad (Carlos Zambrano, Ray Brown, Cliff Lee, Babe Adams, John Candelaria).

Michael Jackson imploded entirely in the second half of the year.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Phil Garner to San Francisco for IF Steve Hertz & 2nd Round Pick {Judy Johnson}

Given Garner’s age, getting anything for him seems fine.

July

P Vean Gregg & 5th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Travis Bowyer, OF Mike Shannon & 4th Round Pick {Pink Hawley}

I mean … it’s weird for a team this desperate for pitching to trade away pitching.

IF Arky Vaughan & 3rd Round Pick to Cleveland for IF Nap Lajoie, P Arodys Vizcaíno & 1st Round Pick {Ralph Kiner}

An absolute win. Moving Vaughan clears the way for Wagner, the Grays hope Lajoie can move to 2B over time, plus the potential of Kiner.

Looking Forward

SP

So. Much. Need. Only Ray Brown looks to be around long term, and he needs to get much better. There are useful pieces here, and Cliff Lee has a very live arm, but this is the most pressing need for the Grays organization.

RP

Some talent in the minors, with Daniel Hudson and Mychal Givens standing out especially.

C

Josh Gibson has superstar written all over him.

1B

How much do you believe in Mike Epstein? Willie Stargell will see some time here as well.

2B

The Grays are hoping that Nap Lajoie can hold this down long term.

3B

Very unsure. Chris Sabo and Freddie Lindstrom are in the minors, but this looks to be pretty vacant.

SS

There is a lot of pressure on Honus Wagner to succeed at shortstop: he clearly has the athletic skill to make the transition.

LF

How much do you believe in Rick Reichardt?

CF

Andrew McCutchen and Max Carey each have shown some tools, but this could be an upgrade spot for the Grays.

RF

Roberto Clemente seems to have this locked down, but there are voices in the organization that think Paul Waner could unseat him.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With the 4th overall pick, the Grays took the highest ceiling pitcher available, Clayton Kershaw.

Their 2nd pick in the 1st round was a bit of a surprise, and may answer the question of how much do you believe in Rick Reichardt as the Grays took franchise player Ralph Kiner. Kiner will play LF, but is probably 2-3 years away from the majors, giving the organization time to sort out its OF. I would expect the rest of their draft to focus more on needs–pitching, pitching, pitching and perhaps a 3B.

In the 2nd Round, that began with Tim Lincecum and continued with franchise pick 3B Judy Johnson, who should only accelerate Wagner’s move to SS. Homestead had no picks in the 3rd round, but 2 in the 4th. The first of those went to 3B Howard Johnson. That should give them some pieces to work with at 3B, so look for Homestead to load up on pitching for most of the rest of the draft, beginning with their last pick of the 4th round, Pink Hawley.

Rounds 5-8

Pitchers beware, Homestead is coming for you: Ed Seward is the Grays’ final exemption, followed by Johnny Morrison and Ping Gardner.

Rounds 9-12

P Nip Winters, OF Dave Hoskins; P Gary Lucas; and IF Liover Peguero.

TWIWBL 51.5: The Awards – Rookie of the Year Award

By mknn

On November 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

So this is a strange one … according to OOTP, everyone (well, virtually everyone) in the league is a rookie. So we’re instead giving it out to the best performing players who did not qualify for the league leaderboards–essentially mid or late season call ups.

Here are the position players under consideration

Name	Tm	Pos	G	BA	OPS	SLG	WAR
John Briggs	BRK	OF	39	322	415	529	0.9
Jim Edmonds	HOD	OF	71	293	348	576	2.0
Al Kaline	DET	OF	34	301	374	573	0.9
Andy Van Slyke	HOM	U	69	321	373	558	2.5
Larry Walker	OTT	OF	79	282	375	589	2.9

And, the pitchers

Name	Tm	Record	G	GS	Sv	H	WAR
Bob Feller	CLE	8-4, 3.89	24	11	0	0	1.8
Greg Maddux	BBB	6-7, 3.53	27	18	0	2	1.8
Joseíto Muñoz	POR	5-5, 2.57	24	9	3	2	1.8
Mike Mussina	BAL	16-7, 4.08	29	16	1	1	1.9
Bret Saberhagen	HOU	4-7, 4.02	17	17	0	0	1.8
Ed Walsh	CAG	8-3, 3.26	35	11	0	5	3.2

I’m going to push Walker out of the running, as his limited time was almost exclusively through injury.

Muñoz is probably the most impressive performer over the small sample size. But it is a small sample size. We’ll go with Walsh, Van Slyke, and Muñoz.

TWIWBL 45.3: Series XXXVII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On August 22, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Pat Malone tied for the league lead in victories, allowing 1 run in 8 innings as the Spiders topped the Sea Lions 3-1. Malone now stands at 17-8 with Terry Adams picking up his 36th save. Trailing 1-0 in the 8th, Cleveland used Ron Blomberg‘s 43rd homerun of the year to tie the game and Hal Trosky‘s first career shot in the 9th to take the lead.

The Spiders were the first team in the WBL to clinch their division behind a sparkling complete game effort from Bill Steen, who improved to 13-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.93 in the 2-1 victory. Johnny Bates, who had 3 hits on the day, hit a solo homerun in the top of the 9th to seal the victory over San Francisco.

#Homestead Grays

Two solo shots from Andy Van Slyke weren’t enough as the Grays lost 9-6 to the Black Sox. Babe Adams talked his way into a start at DH and promptly went 3-for-4, making an argument for some more playing time when not on the mound for Homestead.

This came out of nowhere: Homestead powered out 19 hits and 15 runs in a 15-3 thrashing of Baltimore. Davey Johnson had 4 hits and little used backup catcher Rick Ferrell had 3 doubles as both he and Kevin Young drove in 3 runs. Adams, energized by his big day at the plate, threw 7 strong innings, improving to 2-3 on the year.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Willie Mitchell, Clay Carroll, and Rob Dibble combined on a 4-hit shutout (Dibble allowed 2 in the 9th) as the ABC’s topped Philadelphia, 2-0. Mitchell improved to 9-5 and Dibble picked up his 30th save.

With Jake Stenzel sidelined for a few games, Indianapolis sent Chris Hammond to AAA and recalled Bo Diaz to help behind the plate.

#New York Black Yankees

New York got some bad news, as Red Ruffing–14-9 with a respectable 4.05 ERA on the year–will miss about 8 months with damage to his rotator cuff. Youngster Whitey Ford, who had a good year at AAA, was recalled to take Ruffing’s spot.

#Philadelphia Stars

The nightmare of Pete Alexander‘s initial season is over, as the promising-yet-underperforming pitcher will be shut down with an injured right shoulder. Brad Kilby–the closer at AAA all season–was recalled.

J.M. Ward had easily his best day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with his first homerun, but it wasn’t enough as the Stars lost 10-6 to Indianapolis. The game also cost the Stars the services of Roger Peckinpaugh for the rest of the season: quite a shame, as Peckinpaugh was slashing 328/347/493 and making an argument for the starting position next year. Gene DeMontreville was recalled for the final few games.

Series XXXII Best Games

By mknn

On May 22, 2023

In Featured Games

This series we have a few more well-pitched games than usual, a contest between 2 imploding bullpens, and a few walk-offs.

Indianapolis ABCs @ New York Gothams, Game 2

The ABC’s were held scoreless by the Gothams for 14 innings, with Christy Mathewson combining with 3 relievers on a 10-hit shutout in Game 1 and Gaylord Perry holding Indianapolis scoreless through 5 innings in Game 2.

The ABC’s starter, Willie Mitchell, gave up 4 runs in the 1st, including a 2 run homerun by Willie Mays, but he settled down well from there. Indianapolis finally scored in the top of the 6th on a 3 run shot from Jake Stenzel. Another New York run made it 5-3 heading into the 9th when Dave Henderson and Edd Roush delivered RBI hits to tie the game.

But Indianapolis’ Francisco Cordero couldn’t hold on, surrendering a double to the red hot Pete Runnels and a walk-off single to Buster Posey.

IND 5 (Cordero 0-2) @ NYG 6 (Nen 3-4, 2 B Sv; Gregg 1 H)
HRs: IND – Stenzel (10); NYG – Mays (21).
Box Score

Detroit Wolverines @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

This is a key series, as the Black Yankees try to make a late season pennant charge.

New York’s bullpen collapsing is old news; Detroit’s imploding is not.

Both starters–New York’s Waite Hoyt and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser–did well enough. But the Black Yankees’ Dick Tidrow gave up RBI knocks to Hank Greenberg and Chili Davis in the 7th, putting the Wolverines up, 4-2. But Chad Bradford gave it right back as Tom Herr drove in 2 to tie the game.

The 8th inning was more of the same: Goose Gossage gave up an RBI to Ty Cobb to send Detroit in front, but Mickey Lolich and Matt Anderson gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, the first on a solo shot from Mike Schmidt, the second on an RBI double from Manny Sanguillén.

And then we hit the one, and perhaps the most important, bright spot in the Black Yankees’ bullpen: recent acquisition Aroldis Chapman has been essentially lights out, and here, despite putting the tying run on base, he closed out the game for a victory for the Black Yankees.

Detroit lost Tony Phillips for a few days, and were forced to put him on the DL to keep some infield flexibility with Jimmy Collins being recalled from AAA.

DET 5 (Anderson 1-3; Bradford 1 B Sv) @ NYY 6 (Citarella 4-6; Chapman 6 Sv)
HRs: DET – none; NYY – Schmidt (19).
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Homestead Grays, Game 2 & 3

These two games followed similar arcs. Both featured a great 7 innings by Homestead’s starter (Francisco Liriano in the first game, Bob Friend in the second). In the first game, powered by a Josh Gibson homerun, the Grays took a 5-1 lead into the 9th inning; in the second, backed by a grand slam from Chief Wilson, the Grays led 6-1 heading into the 9th.

But, oh those 9th innings.

In game 1, Brooklyn torched Josh Lindblom for a 2-run double from Beals Becker and a 3-run homer from Matt Holliday (the first of his WBL career) to take a 6-5 lead. Homestead responded in this one, with Rick Reichardt sending a walkoff shot into the stands with Andy Van Slyke on base for the Grays to pull out a victory.

The second game was far weirder.

Carlos Zambrano got 2 quick outs to start the 9th and then … Holliday reached on an error by Homestead’s SS, Frank Taveras. Frank Isbell walked and Zambrano plunked Ray Dandridge to load the bases, bringing in Cliff Lee. Lee walked Becker to force in a run, then hit Duke Snider to force in another. Lee was replaced by Michael Jackson, who threw grease on the fire the old fashioned way, by giving up a bases-clearing double to Ron Cey. All told, and all with 2 outs, the Royal Giants scored 5 times on 1 hit, 3 walks, 2 HBPs, and an error.

Becker would single in the winning run in the top of the 10th.

Willie Stargell had 5 hits across the 2 games.

BRK 6 (Clark 3-4, 7 B Sv) @ HOM 7 (Jackson 3-2; Lindblom 5 B Sv)
HRs: BRK – Holliday (1); HOM – Gibson (7), Reichardt (24).
Box Score

BRK 7 (Gagne 5-5; Hildenberger 2 Sv) @ HOM 6 (Jackson 3-3, 3 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: BRK – none; HOM – Wilson (9), Reichardt (25).
Box Score

Houston Colt 45’s @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 4

Memphis’ Dean Chance had a great start, allowing 1 run in just under 7 innings. But it was nothing like Toad Ramsey‘s effort for Houston. Ramsey had his knuckleball dancing, carrying a 2-hit shutout into the 9th inning, but Memphis managed to touch him for a game-tying run when Ted Williams doubled home Reggie Smith with 2 outs.

Ramsey allowed the 1 run on 3 hits through 9 innings, but wasn’t part of the decision. Four hits in the 11th gave Houston a 4-1 lead, and Tug McGraw–who is still sporting an ERA of 0.00 in his WBL career–closed it out. Craig Biggio had 3 hits and Jeff Bagwell and Tony Gwynn 2 each for Houston.

HOU 4 (Qualls 1-1) @ MEM 1 (Farrell 2-4) [11 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 39.3: Series XXXI Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On May 10, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Bill Dahlen was injured in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Gothams. After the twinbill, Dahlen hit the DL with Bill Knickerbocker returning to the big leagues.

The Spiders found themselves in need of a starter, forcing them to send Bob Feller to AAA temporarily, with Hank Gastright being recalled for the start. Gastright was exceptional, allowing 4 hits and 1 run through 7 while striking out 6. Solo homeruns from 4 Spiders (John Ellis, Ron Blomberg, Jake Stahl, and–shockingly–Jim Gantner) were all he needed as the Spiders won 4-1 with Terry Adams picking up his 29th save.

#Homestead Grays

Mike Epstein hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4 as the Grays beat Ottawa 8-6.

With Honus Wagner out for the rest of the year, the Grays recalled 22 year old Frank Taveras from AA. Andy Van Slyke will become the everyday 3B in Wagner’s absence, with Jack Wilson getting the bulk of the action at SS.

Roberto Clemente had 4 hits, nudging his average close to .300, and Epstein added 3 as the Grays topped Ottawa, 9-5. John Candelaria overcame a rough start to improve his record to 2-1, making a case to remain in the Homestead rotation.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Jake Stenzel‘s 4 hits brought his batting average up to .300, but weren’t enough as Indianapolis dropped a 7-5 decision to Chicago in 12 innings.

Virgil Trucks was demoted to AAA with Tony Mullane next in line to get a shot in the ABC’s 6-man rotation.

Tommy Helms and Joe Morgan both picked up knocks, sending Helms to the DL with Barry Larkin being recalled to Indianapolis.

Series XXXI Best Games

By mknn

On May 2, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

This time, we have two see-saw games and two series that deserve a little focus.

Let’s do the one-offs first.

#Homestead Grays @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

This one got wild. Ottawa took the lead on Larry Walker‘s 18th homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. Hits from Davey Johnson and Roberto Clemente got a run back for Homestead, but Ottawa scored 2 on a single from Roberto Alomar to increase their lead to 4-1. Homestead’s Rick Reichardt sent a pitch from Clayton Richard into the stands to tie the game in the top of the 3rd, so, we’re back to all square at 4-4.

The game continued to swing back and forth: a sacrifice fly from Johnson offset a solo shot from Roy Sievers, but an RBI double from Andy Van Slyke put Homestead back on top momentarily: a 2-run double from Sievers and a single from Bernie Allen gave Ottawa a 2-run lead, 8-6.

And then the 9th. Ted Bowsfield started the inning for Ottawa, walking Mike Epstein and giving up a single to Van Slyke. Bowsfield grabbed his elbow after the hit, and the Mounties brought in their closer, Ryan Dempster. Dempster retired 2 and walked one, loading the bases with Johnson at the plate. He singled to right, driving in 2. Perhaps more importantly for Ottawa, their star RF, Walker, was forced out of the game after the throw. But, the game was tied.

Tied, that is, until a single from Rusty Staub scored Carlos Beltrán to give the Mounties a walk off victory.

Nobody pitched particularly well, but Ottawa’s Monk Dubiel and Dempster did manage to escape without being scored on.

Both Bowsfield and Walker were sent to the DL after the game, with Chris Leroux and Sam Thompson being recalled from AAA.

HOM 8 (Ownbey 1-3; Brown 1 B Sv) @ OTT 9 (Dempster 4-1, 2 B Sv; Bowsfield 7 H)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (21); OTT – Walker (18), Sievers (7).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 2

This one had everything except good pitching (Mickey Lolich‘s 2 innings of clean relief for Detroit notwithstanding).

San Francisco kicked off the game with a bang: a leadoff homerun from Rickey Henderson, a 2 run shot from Reggie Jackson, and an RBI groundout from Phil Garner made it 4-0 Sea Lions before Diego Seguí threw his first pitch.

But the Bailey Boys got to him the following inning: Ed Bailey launched a 3 run shot and Bob Bailey added an RBI groundout to score Sparky Adams, who had doubled, tying the game at 4. Momentarily: Garner went deep and another run scored on a Sal Bando single, putting San Francisco back on top, 7-4. A solo shot from Hank Greenberg clawed one back, but a 2-run single from San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero made it 9-5 heading into the 6th, when Detroit chased Seguí and hammered his replacement, James Shields, who only lasted 4 batters. Al Kaline singled home one run and Tony Phillips brought in another with a double. By the time it was all done, San Francisco’s lead was slashed to a single run, 9-8. Kaline would put the Wolverines in front with a 3-run shot in the 7th, and a Bob Bailey triple scored Phillips, who was hit by a pitch. Suddenly, Detroit was up, 12-9.

Their closer (and the WBL leader in saves), Mike Henneman, struggled in the 9th, facing 8 batters and giving up 2 runs (one on a solo shot by Jimmie Foxx, the other on a single by Guerrero). But he got Jack Clark to ground out with 2 batters on to preserve the victory.

SFS 11 (LaRoche 1-1, 1 B Sv; Hadley 2 H) @ DET 13 (Bradford 2-0)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (25), Henderson (6), Foxx (2); DET – E. Bailey (6), Greenberg 2 (24), Kaline (5).
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ Miami Cuban Giants, Games 1 & 3

This series is a battle of basement teams, but that doesn’t keep the games from being entertaining.

The Red Sox scored 4 runs early with the RBIs coming on a sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk, and an error by Miami’s shortstop, Robin Yount. Miami took a more conventional route back: a walk and 4 singles scored 3 runs in the 4th. But they followed Memphis’ lead to tie the game, as a sacrifice fly from José Cardenal plated Ryan Braun. The Cuban Giants then took the lead on a solo shot from their best player, José Canseco.

Wade Boggs finally brought home a conventional run for Memphis in the 8th with a single, but the Red Sox immediately reverted to form, with a bases-loaded walk and another sacrifice fly giving them a 7-5 lead. Three perfect relief innings from Turk Farrell, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon, closed the game out.

Ted Williams and Bill White finished the game with 3 hits each for Memphis; Cookie Rojas had 3 for Miami.

MEM 7 (Farrell 2-3; Papelbon 11 Sv; Bell 5 H; Callahan 4 B Sv) @ MCG 5 (Consuegra 0-4)
HRs: MEM – none; MCG – Canseco (30).
Box Score

In Game 3, Memphis was up 6-0, and then 8-5, powered by a grandslam from David Justice and 2 homers from Billy Bryan. It wasn’t enough: Minnie Miñoso broke out of his funk with 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Cookie Rojas, Gary Sheffield, and Chris Hoiles each drove in 2. As importantly for Miami, Eustaquio Pedroso, Sandy Consuegra, Ricky Nolasco, and Braden Looper combined for 4 innings of 1-hit relief of an ineffective Ramón Martínez.

MEM 8 (Callahan 5-10) @ MCG 11 (Pedroso 7-6; Looper 3 Sv; Consuegra 2 H; Nolasco 2 H)
HRs: none.
Box Score

New York Black Yankees @ Houston Colt 45’s, Games 2 and 4

In Game 2, Houston had a 6-3 lead heading to the 9th inning. The Colt 45’s got 2-run shots from Jim O’Rourke and Tony Gwynn and a solo dinger from Jorge Posada to take the lead.

The problem was their closer, Billy Wagner, was tired, leaving them turning to Brad Lidge, who had been solid since his recall, but here reverted to his old form: an RBI groundout from Tom Herr and a 3-run shot from Don Mattingly put the Black Yankees up 7-6.

Andrés Galarraga singled home a run in the bottom of the 9th, sending us to extra innings. Mattingly and Eric Davis homered in the 10th to put New York up 11-7, which seemed safe until you remembered the fragility of the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Here, Ralph Citarella and Rheal Cormier gave up RBI’s to Jim Wynn and Craig Biggio, but Cormier fanned Galarraga with the tying run on third base to close it out.

NYY 11 (Chapman 1-0, 1 B Sv; Cormier 1 Sv) @ HOU 10 (Kern 0-2; Chamberlain 1 H; McGraw 7 H; Lidge 4 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: Mattingly 2 (26), Davis (31); HOU – O’Rourke (6), Gwynn (8), Posada (7).
Box Score

Game 4 of the series was a similar story: a Houston comeback that just fell short. Mattingly had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Mike Schmidt hit his 17th homerun for the Black Yankees, who also got 3 brilliant innings from Goose Gossage. They did have to withstand a horrible outing from the heretofore solid Dick Tidrow, who surrendered 4 hits (2 to pinch hitters Jim O’Rourke and Harry Stovey) and 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Andrés Galarraga had 4 hits and Casey Stengel and Jorge Posada had 3 each for Houston. Tug McGraw closed the game for the Colt 45’s, and has yet to surrender a run in his first 10 innings at the WBL level.

NYY 8 (Gossage 5-4; Chapman 5 Sv; Citarella 10 H) @ HOU 7 (Strasburg 7-7)
HRs: NYY – Schmidt (17); HOU – Stengel (9), Biggio (7).
Box Score