Tag: Benny Kauff Page 2 of 3

TWIWBL 49.6: The Playoffs! Division Round, Day VI– September 30

On October 4, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

Two game six’s on tap …

#Detroit Wolverines v New York Gothams, Game 6

Detroit leads, 3-2.

The news on John Hiller was not good, as he will be sidelined for about 5 months with a torn pectoral muscle. Mickey Lolich was added to the playoff roster as Hiller’s replacement.

New York would turn to Gaylord Perry for this must-win contest while Detroit would counter with Gene Conley in their attempt to clinch.

Hank Greenberg would open up the scoring for Detroit in the bottom of the 3rd, singling home Tony Phillips, who had doubled to lead off the inning. Perry would lose the strike zone, walking in not one, but two runs before getting out of the inning. Detroit was up 3-0, one-third of the way through the game.

Perry would last into the 4th, when a 2-out double by Ty Cobb would bring in Juan Marichal from the Gothams bullpen, who was able to end the inning without any damage.

The problem for New York was Conley, who was in full control, scattering 5 hits over 6 innings of work. Conley was relieved after the 7th, and the game remained 3-0 Wolverines as we entered the top of the 9th, with Mike Henneman on the mound to close it out.

Benny Kauff–2-for-3 today and hitting .500 in the postseason–led it off, but whiffed on a pitch on the inside corner. Will Clark foulded out to Oscar Gamble in left. Which meant the Gothams’ season was down to Carl Furillo. A lazy fly ball to Cobb in right later, and we knew the first team to the Whirled Series, the Detroit Wolverines!

Cobb went 4-for-4, but the plaudits need to go to Conley, Lolich, Buddy Napier, and Henneman, who combined on a 6 hit shutout to clinch the series. Mention should also be made of the Gotham’s Marichal, who was roughed up in his first start, but delivered 3 scoreless innings here to keep the game seemingly within reach.

NYG 0 (Perry 0-1) @ DET 3 (Conley 2-1; Henneman 2 Sv; Lolich 1 H; Napier 2 H)
HRs: None.
Box Score

Cobb’s .538 average earned him the MVP award, although a strong argument could made for Hal Newhouser, who finished the series 2-0 with a 0.57 ERA.

#Portland Sea Dogs v Baltimore Black Sox, Game 6

Pascual Pérez‘ recent struggles led Portland to offer Mike Cuellar his first start of the playoffs as they try to finish off Baltimore, whose season rests on the capable right arm of Connie Johnson, 2-0 so far in the postseason.

A bloop single, a walk, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly from Kent Hrbek led to Portland’s first run and an RBI double from Gavvy Cravath doubled their lead. Rogers Hornsby singled home Cravath, and the Sea Dogs had staked Cuellar to a 3-0 lead before his first pitch.

Baltimore would come back in the bottom of the 3rd, on RBI singles by Larry Gardner and Curt Blefary and a sacrifice fly from Dan McGann. That tied the game at 3, and got the Sea Dogs’ bullpen up and working. A leadoff double from Bryce Harper chased Cuellar, but Pérez was able to close out the inning cleanly.

Gardner took Pérez deep in the 5th to give the Black Sox a one run lead, but Hornsby sent a pitch from Johnny Sain deep into the night with a runner on, putting Portland back on top.

Mark Melancon came in for the bottom of the 7th and walked pinch-hitter Baby Doll Jacobson and, after a Bobby Wallace sacrifice bunt, retired Gardner. Frank Robinson singled home Jacobson to tie the game and bring in Atlee Hammaker to face Blefary, who fanned. Wade Miller relieved Hammaker and got McGann to ground out to Hornsby at second.

So: 7 innings played, and we are tied at 5 runs each with Baltimore’s season on the line.

Manny Machado has struggled all postseason, but he now has a chance to go down as Black Sox hero, as his homerun in the bottom of the 8th off Miller gave Baltimore a slim advantage.

Joe Beggs was perfect in the 9th, and we were heading to a game seven!

Machado, Gardner, Robinson, and Blefary each had 2 hits for Baltimore, but it will be Machado’s key blast that is most remembered.

POR 5 (Miller 0-1; Melancon 1 B Sv) @ BAL 6 (Beggs 1-0; Sain 1 B Sv)
HRs: POR – Hornsby (3); BAL – Gardner (2), Machado (2).
Box Score

TWIWBL 49.4: The Playoffs! Division Round, Day IV– September 27

By mknn

On September 29, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

From the obvious department: game four’s are important. Detroit and Portland have a chance to take commanding leads; New York and Baltimore look to overcome a 2-1 deficit and reset their series to best of 3’s.

#Detroit Wolverines v New York Gothams, Game 4

Detroit leads, 2-1.

Detroit didn’t announce their starter until the last minute, finally settling on Hank Aguirre over Justin Verlander. Part of the reason is a desire to neutralize the Gothams’ left-handed bats–the trio of Jimmy Sheckard, Geroge Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison are all far more effective against righties, and only Sheckard will be in the starting lineup, as will Johan Camargo, replacing the struggling Pinky Higgins at 3B.

New York is coming back with Christy Mathewson on shortish rest–if they can get 4 or 5 good innings out of Matty, it will be a success.

Pete Runnels and Willie Mays doubled in the first inning, giving the Gothams a 1-0 lead.

Mathewson was his worst enemy and then his savior in the third: George Davis singled and Tony Phillips was safe on a sacrifice bunt attempt putting runners at first and second with no outs. Bob Bailey tapped it back to the mound and Mathewson’s throw was wild, allowing Davis to score. Mathewson was visibly upset, and responded by striking out Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, and Oscar Gamble in order. Matty did what he was asked to do: 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run.

Buster Posey doubled home Runnels in the bottom of the 5th giving New York a 2-1 lead which increased to 3-1 on a Benny Kauff pinch-hit single in the 6th. RBI’s from Mays and Wes Westrum made it 5-1.

The Gothams bullpen continues to be magnificent: Steve Howe, Carson Smith, Mike Norris, and Brian Wilson each pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Mathewson.

Cobb had 3 hits, but the rest of the the Wolverines’ offense struggled. Runnels had 3 hits for the Gothams as he, Posey, and Mays combined for 7 hits, 4 runs, and 3 RBIs from the first 3 positions of their order.

DET 1 (Aguirre 1-1) @ NYG 5 (Mathewson 2-1; Howe 1 H; Smith 1 H)
HRs: None.
Box Score

There was some bad news after the game for the Gothams: Howe, who has been quite effective in the postseason, strained his hamstring and will be out for the rest of the playoffs, meaning a roster change will be needed before game 5.

#Baltimore Black Sox v Portland Sea Dogs

Portland leads, 2-1.

A matchup of two hurlers who have struggled mightily in the postseason: Portland’s Bert Blyleven and Baltimore’s Mike Mussina.

Blyleven didn’t look very good initially, surrendering 4 hits and 2 runs in the top of the first (Bobby Wallace scored on a Curt Blefary sacrifice fly and Bryce Harper singled home the second run). Mussina was equally rough, though: Bobby Murcer, Rogers Hornsby, Buddy Bell, and Joe Mauer all had RBI doubles in an inning helped by two Baltimore errors. By the end of it, 12 Sea Dogs had come to the plate, and Portland had an 8-2 lead.

Blefary–in a massive slump all postseason–took Blyleven deep in the 3rd, cutting the lead to 8-4 and Larry Gardner hit a solo shot just inside the right field foul pole in the 5th to make it 8-5. Meanwhile, Mussina was literally perfect until a Gavvy Cravath double in the bottom of the 5th. Jim Fregosi took him deep two batters later, ending Mussina’s day and restoring a 5 run edge for Portland.

Homeruns from Paul Blair and Harper brought Baltimore closer, but Portland’s Elmer Brown was efficient and able to shut the door. Portland was now 1 game away from the Whirled Series!

Frank Robinson had 3 hits for Baltimore in the loss.

BAL 7 (Mussina 0-2) @ POR 10 (Blyleven 2-0; Brown 1 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Blefary (1), Gardner (1), Blair (1), Harper (3); POR – Fregosi (3).
Box Score

With Howe out, the Gothams were caught between needing a lefty from the pen and an additional starting pitcher. The settled on Vean Gregg, despite his struggles since his arrival from Homestead in a midseason trade.

TWIWBL 49.3: The Playoffs! Division Round, Day III– September 26

By mknn

On September 28, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

Both series are tied at 1, giving us a best of five situation in each of them.

#Detroit Wolverines v New York Gothams

Charlie Root will get the ball for Detroit; he’ll be opposed by Don Sutton, making his first start of the postseason for the Gothams. Al Kaline will get a start at DH for the Wolverines, with Oscar Gamble starting the game on the bench.

The top of Detroit’s lineup has been key for them. Here, Tony Phillips led off the game with an infield hit and Bob Bailey followed with a long drive into the right field seats for an early 2-0 Wolverines lead. Sutton gave up two more hits and a wild pitch, but no more runs.

The Gothams loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, and Benny Kauff got one run back with a single, but Root got a double play ball from Carl Furillo to end the inning with the score 2-1. Root again loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, and this time Buster Posey drove in 2 with a single, putting the Gothams up, 3-2.

Hank Greenberg sent an offering from Sutton into the seats in the 3rd, resetting the game in a 3-3 tie, and then RBI singles from Bob Bailey and Ty Cobb drove in 3 more runs and chased Sutton from the mound. Detroit poured it on, keyed by a triple from Ed Bailey, and built an 8-run lead.

That made Posey’s grand slam in the 9th a moot point, although perhaps New York putting up a fight means something for the Gothams’ fan base.

Bob Bailey had 3 hits and 5 RBI, and Chili Davis, George Davis, and Kaline each added 3 hits for Detroit. Posey had a good day, with 3 hits and 6 RBIs in the losing cause.

DET 12 (Root 2-0) @ NYG 8 (Sutton 0-1)
HRs: DET – B. Bailey (3), Greenberg (3), C. Davis (3); NYG – Posey (1).
Box Score

#Baltimore Black Sox v Portland Sea Dogs, Game 3

With the series reduced to a best-of-five, we have the matchup everyone wanted: Baltimore’s Bill Byrd against Portland’s Walter Johnson. Both hurlers are 2-0 in the postseason.

Although perhaps not 100%, Larry Gardner returns to Baltimore’s starting lineup after missing a few postseason came through a chest injury.

Byrd struggled mightily: 5 hits and an error in the bottom of the first led to a 6-0 lead for Portland, with Jim Fregosi blasting a 3-run homerun. Johnson struggled in the top of the first, walking two, but the lead seemed to energize him, and he struck out the side in the second.

Byrd settled down, keeping Portland scoreless into the fifth when he tired, but Johnny Sain got the final out of the inning in relief, preserving the score. Fregosi’s 4th hit of the night was a double in the bottom of the 8th, and he scored when Gil Hodges followed with a two-bagger of his own, making it 7-0.

The challenge for Baltimore was finding some traction against the Big Train, who had allowed 3 hits and whiffed 5 through five shutout innings. Gardner picked up the Black Sox’s 4th hit in the 8th, but that was it as Johnson picked up his second shutout of the postseason and the Sea Dogs took a 2-1 lead.

Gardner had 2 hits in his return and Fregosi drove in 3 to go with his 4 hits. Johnson ended the day with 7 strikeouts, giving up only 4 hits and 2 walks in another dominant performance for the Sea Dogs.

BAL 0 (Byrd 2-1) @ POR 7 (Johnson 3-0)
HRs: BAL – none; POR – Fregosi (2).
Box Score

TWIWBL 49.2: The Playoffs! Division Round, Day II– September 24

By mknn

On September 26, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

#New York Gothams v Detroit Wolverines

Detroit leads, 1-0.

New York will have to solve the mystery of Gene Conley to get their offense back on track, something few teams have been able to do, especially of late. Gaylord Perry will get the start for the Gothams, at least on paper a much less daunting hurler for the Wolverines to attack.

Oscar Gamble was almost benched in favor of Al Kaline; instead, he delivered a 2-out hit in the bottom of the first, scoring the game’s first run for Detroit. Ed Bailey doubled their lead in the 2nd with a solo shot, his 2nd of the post-season.

The Gothams ended Conley’s scoreless streak with a run in the 3rd, but have to wonder if they shouldn’t have gotten more: Pete Runnels delivered a 2-out hit to right, but Ty Cobb threw out Pinky Higgins at the plate to end the inning, leaving the score 2-1, Detroit. But the Gothams were onto something: Buster Posey singled and Willie Mays followed with a double to start hte 4th, then Benny Kauff touched Conley for a 2-run single, giving New York their first lead of the series. Kauff would score on a triple from George Van Haltren, who would come home on a sacrifice fly. When the dust settled, the Gothams had seized the lead, 5-2.

Conley was chased in the top of the 5th, giving up a single to Runnels, a walk to Posey, and a single to Mays. Justin Verlander got out of the inning with only a run scoring on a sacrifice fly.

Geoff Jenkins–the other player Kaline almost replaced–went deep in the 5th, cutting the lead to 6-3.

Perry didn’t allow another baserunner until the 8th, when he was relieved by Mike Norris, who did Mike Norris things: a groundball double play to end the inning. An error by Runnels made it interesting in the 9th, but Brian Wilson pitched through it, and we had a series tied at 1!

Runnels had 3 hits on the day, outweighing the error for sure. But the star for New York was Perry, who settled down and ended up with 9 strikeouts in just over 7 innings of work.

NYG 6 (Perry 1-0; Wilson 3 Sv; Norris 1 H) @ DET 3 (Conley 1-1)
HRs: NYG – none; DET – E. Bailey (2), Jenkins (1).
Box Score

#Portland Sea Dogs v Baltimore Black Sox

After eking out a victory in game one, Portland will turn to Pascual Pérez in game two. With Walter Johnson looming in game three, this one is important for Baltimore to take, and they’ll turn to Connie Johnson, dominant in his initial playoff start.

Frank Robinson put Baltimore in front in the bottom of the first with his second bomb of the postseason. Portland loaded the bases in the top of the 2nd, and Johnson walked Gil Hodges to tie it up. The struggling Harry Hooper laced a single scoring 2, and the Sea Dogs took a 3-1 lead. Hooper added a kill in the bottom of the inning, throwing out Bryce Harper as he tried to score.

Brian Roberts–given the start as Larry Gardner continues to recover–singled to lead off the 3rd for Baltimore, stole second, and moved to third on soft single from Bobby Wallace. Pérez plunked Dan McGann to load the bases, and get the Sea Dogs’ bullpen up. It was too late: Pérez gave up a grand slam to Robinson for his second dinger of the day, and a 5-3 Black Sox lead. Curt Blefary was nicked by a fastball that tailed too far inside and Harper singled, and that was all for Pérez, with Wade Miller coming in from the pen. Miller allowed a sacrifice fly, but that was it: after 3, the Black Sox were up, 6-3.

There were a bunch of runs, including homeruns by Wallace, Harper, and Rogers Hornsby, but after a solo shot from Gil Hodges to lead off Portland’s 9th, we were back at the same point: Baltimore up by 3, this time 10-7.

The Sea Dogs got closer for the first time: Hooper launched a pitch from Buddy Groom into the seats for his 4th hit of the game, making it 10-8. But that was it, and the series was tied at 1 game each.

Bobby Murcer finished with 3 hits for Portland; Harper did the same for Baltimore in a game that saw 8 homeruns (5 by the Black Sox).

The Sea Dogs’ bullpen was a bit stretched in this one–we’ll see how that plays out in game three and beyond. On the other side, this was by far the best showing by Jim Palmer, a key piece of Baltimore’s pen.

POR 8 (Pérez 0-2) @ BAL 10 (Johnson 2-0; Groom 4 Sv; Palmer 1 H)
HRs: POR – Hornsby (1), Hooper (1), Hodges (4); BAL – Robinson 2 (3), Wallace (1), Harper (2), McGann (3).
Box Score

TWIWBL 48.7: The Playoffs! Wild Card Round, Day IV– September 19

By mknn

On September 19, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

Three teams could clinch today: Detroit, New York, and Baltimore all lead their series 3-0. A victory by Chicago over Portland, however, would even that series at 2 games apiece.

#Portland Sea Dogs v Chicago American Giants, Game 4

Portland leads, 2-1.

The choice for the Sea Dogs comes down to either Pascual Pérez (1-2, 4.92) or Mike Cuellar (13-8, 4.56). Cuellar has been more comfortable coming out of the pen all season, making only 6 starts, which is probably the reason for Pérez getting the nod. There is little controversy for Chicago, where Dick Rudolph takes his scheduled turn.

Adrián Beltré gets the nod at 3B for Portland over Buddy Bell while Rocky Colavito gets the start in LF for Chicago.

The choice of Pérez proved immediately controversial: Eddie Collins took his 4th pitch into the right field stands for a 1-0 Chicago lead. But Pérez quickly settled down, lasting all the way until the 7th, when Dick Allen doubled with one out and Mike Fiore walked. Cuellar was called on, and got the second out of the inning, but Colavito doubled, increasing the lead to 3-0.

Rudolph was even better, not giving up a hit until a Gavvy Cravath single in the top of the 5th inning, then nothing thereafter. The one-hit shutout was still intact after 8, and with Rudolph on only 88 pitches, he headed back out to the mound.

He got the first two outs, but Joe Mauer singled. After a visit to the mound, Rudolph fanned Kent Hrbek, and we had a series tied at 2 games each!

Obviously, this one was all about Rudolph: 2 hits and 5 strikeouts in a complete game, 99 pitch gem.

POR 0 (Pérez 0-1) @ CAG 3 (Rudolph 1-0)
HRs: POR – none; CAG – Collins (2).
Box Score

And now we move to the win or go home games.

#Detroit Wolverines v Birmingham Black Barons, Game 4

With no need to push things, Detroit will turn to the red hot Hank Aguirre (9-10, 4.34) while Birmingham counters with Vic Willis (4-6, 3.57), but today, and for any future games, all of Birmingham’s staff is down in the pen, ready to go. The Black Barons make 2 tweaks to their lineup, starting Al Schweitzer in CF over the struggling Curtis Granderson, and giving Jim Pagliaroni a day off behind the plate in favor of Gene Tenace.

Schweitzer repaid the faith immediately, singling in the bottom of the first and coming around to score on a hit from Eddie Mathews. Not to be outdone, Tenace doubled to lead off the home second, but was stranded at third.

Willis was sailing until the 4th, when he gave up homeruns to Bob Bailey, Hank Greenberg, and Chili Davis, putting Detroit up 4-1, and ending his afternoon. Andy Pettitte was summoned from the bullpen, hoping to make up for his subpar start in game one of the series.

Aguirre struggled a bit through his five plus innings, giving up 6 hits and a walk, but he surrendered only the single run.

Johnny Marcum relieved Aguirre and got into some trouble in the bottom of the 7th: Tenace walked, and Granderson pinch-ran and promptly stole second. Then, Adrián González, pinch-hitting for Herman Long, was granted first on catcher’s interference. After an out, Marcum walked Bob Nieman to load the bases. That fetched Buddy Napier from the Wolverines’ bullpen to face Schweitzer, who lifted a fly to shallow center. Chili Davis made the catch and nailed the runner at home to end the inning.

And so we made our way to the bottom of the 9th with Birmingham trailing 4-1 and the Wolverines’ closer, Mike Henneman, on the mound. Three up, three down, and Detroit were through to the next round!

Yeah, Willis gave up the three homers, but Birmingham knew it would need to tally more than a single run to have a chance. At the end of the day, the fault has to be laid at the feet of their offense, who managed only a single homerun in the 4 games. Mention should be made of Pettitte’s effort as well: 3.2 scoreless innings and, clearly tiring, getting Ty Cobb to end the 7th with his final pitch.

DET 4 (Aguirre 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv; Marcum 1 H; Napier 1 H) @ BBB 1 (Willis 0-1)
HRs: DET – B. Bailey (1), Greenberg (2), C. Davis (1); BBB – None.
Box Score

Hank Greenberg was declared the MVP of the series, hitting .438 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBIs.

#Cleveland Spiders v New York Gothams, Game 4

This one surprised quite a few people, but the Gothams are just a solid team. The Spiders will turn to Stan Coveleski in what could be their final game of the season, while New York has the luxury of giving the mercurial Rube Waddell a game.

Lance Berkman gets the start at first for Cleveland, with John Ellis sliding behind the plate in place of the slumping Louis Santop.

The Spiders would clearly not go quietly: Kenny Lofton beat out an infield hit to start the game, moved to second on a walk to Tris Speaker, and scored on a soft single to right by Jake Stahl. A 2-out double by Chuck Knoblauch plated them both, giving the Spiders an early 3-0 lead.

Benny Kauff continues to impress: after a leadoff double from Willie Mays, Kauff took a pitch from Coveleski off the wall in centerfield, putting the Gothams on the board. Without another hard hit ball, New York loaded the bases and scored on a soft topper by Jimmy Sheckard that didn’t make it past the mound. Another infield hit–this one by Pete Runnels–tied it up.

Both pitchers recovered, but were beginning to tire. Coveleski didn’t make it out of the 5th: a walk to Buster Posey and a single from Mays chased him. Cleveland turned to Ron Reed, looking to prove he was worth his mid-season acquisition: the jury is out, as Reed walked Kauff and surrendered a bases-clearing double to Will Clark for a 6-3 lead for the Gothams.

That took the wind out of Cleveland’s sails, and when New York added 2 more on a double from Runnels and sacrifice hit from Mays.

New York rode its bullpen, like it’s done all year, right into the next round.

Nobody hit for Cleveland, other than Lofton. But Ron Blomberg‘s 1-for-16 performance jumps off the page–that ain’t no MVP performance, that’s for sure.

CLE 3 (Coveleski 0-1) @ NYG 8 (Waddell 1-0)
HRs: None.
Box Score

Willie Mays won the MVP hitting .438 for the series, but Will Clark rediscovering his stroke and the contributions of Benny Kauff deserve some recognition as well. And if you could, the MVP award really could go to the entire Gothams bullpen, who allowed 4 runs in 11 effective innings.

#Baltimore Black Sox v Wandering House of David

Baltimore leads, 3-0.

Can any of the teams with their backs against the wall gain any breathing room? The House of David will turn to CC Sabathia (13-13, 4.83), with a full bullpen behind him, while Baltimore will counter with Mike Mussina (7-4, 4.08).

Jim Edmonds slides over to 1B, with George Gore taking over in CF for the House of David.

A sacrifice fly from Edmonds scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, and Richie Hebner and George Stone took Mussina deep with back to back jacks in the next inning. That made it 3-0, but Dan McGann hit his second homerun of the series with a man on to close the score to 3-2.

Mussina gave up another shot to Stone in the 5th, and was relieved by Jim Palmer, who let in another run. The House of David had hope, a 5-2 lead, and a cruising Sabathia. He was replaced by Ed Bauta in the 7th, then Lee Smith in the 8th, and Bruce Sutter in the 9th.

Each team added runs, but the outcome was secured: we will have a game 5!

Stone and Gore had 3 hits each for the House of David, and Elrod Hendricks even had his first hit of the series–a weak single to right, but still, a hit.

Things just got worse for Baltimore: Larry Gardner was forced out of the game in the bottom of the 7th with an apparent rib injury.

BAL 3 (Mussina 0-1) @ HOD 8 (Sabathia 1-0)
HRs: BAL – McGann (2); HOD – Stone 2 (2), Hebner (1), Gore (1).
Box Score

News on Gardner was better than feared: he’ll be day-to-day for about a week, so Baltimore will hold off on roster moves for now.

TWIWBL 48.6: The Playoffs! Wild Card Round, Day III – September 18

By mknn

On September 18, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

All four series now shift locations. Today is a key day: Portland, Detroit, New York, and Baltimore all hold 2-0 leads, making this pretty much a must-win day for Chicago, Birmingham, Cleveland, and the House of David.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Chicago American Giants, Game 3

Portland leads, 2-0.

Dizzy Trout (7-5, 4.18) will take the mound for Portland, opposed by Ed Walsh (8-3, 3.26). Walsh is a bit of a wild card for the American Giants, having made only 11 starts during the season, but with Dick Rudolph struggling down the stretch, he’s emerged as a solid choice for a game Chicago knows it has to win.

Walsh worked out of a bases loaded jam in the 3rd, and with Trout only allowing one hit–a single to Freddy Parent–we were scoreless through three innings. We stayed that way until the 5th, when a Joe Mauer single scored Gil Hodges for the game’s first run. Again, Walsh faced a bases-loaded jam, but after whiffing Kent Hrbek, he walked Gavvy Cravath to force in a second run, which also prompted a call to Chicago’s bullpen, bringing in Don Newcombe, who gave up a 2-RBI single to Rogers Hornsby, making it 4-0 in favor of Portland.

Frank Thomas broke up the shutout, knocking home Freddy Parent in the bottom of the 6th. Duffy Lewis followed with a double, and that was it for Trout, who gave way to Mark Melancon. Dick Allen greeted Melancon with a sharp single to right, scoring both Thomas and Lewis, pulling Chicago within a run.

Eddie Collins picked a heckuva time to announce himself: he was hitless in the series until he rocked a Trevor Hoffman slider into the right field seats with Parent on base. Chicago had come all the way back to take a 5-4 lead. Hoffman gave up a further walk and a single, but Elmer Brown came in to prevent any further damage.

That setup the 9th inning Chicago had hoped for all along: AJ Minter on the mound against the lefty dominant lineup of the Sea Dogs. Three up, three down, and Chicago was back in the series led by Parent’s 3 hits and Collins’ key clout.

POR 4 (Hoffman 1-1, 1 B Sv; Melancon 1 H) @ CAG 5 (Sanders 1-0; Minter 1 Sv)
HRs: POR – none; CAG – Collins (1).
Box Score

#Detroit Wolverines @ Birmingham Black Barons, Game 3

Detroit leads, 2-0.

This is an interesting matchup, with Detroit sending Charlie Root (10-6, 3.53 overall, but 5-1, 2.62 since joining the Wolverines) to face Greg Maddux, who overcame some early season struggles to end the season at 6-7, 3.53.

Detroit would score first, as Oscar Gamble and Al Kaline each took Maddux deep in the second inning. Ed Bailey would add a moon shot of his own in the 4th, putting the Wolverines in front, 6-0. A walk and a single chased Maddux, but Sam Streeter was able to get out of the inning without further harm.

With Root only allowing 3 hits through 5 innings, Detroit looked like they were sailing towards a dominant series lead. But Pie Traynor and Bob Nieman led off the 6th with singles, and a double from Hank Aaron scored the first 2 runs of the day for the Black Barons, chasing Root from the game. His repalcement, Justin Verlander, was solid, escaping the inning without allowing more runs despite allowing a walk.

That brought us to the top of the 7th, with the Wolverines leading, 6-2.

A double by Ty Cobb–only the 2nd hit allowed by Streeter–brought in Larry Benton for Birmingham, who allowed an RBI single to Hank Greenberg before escaping the inning. The Wolverines threatened again in the 8th, but a tired Bruce Chen was called on to face Cobb, and induced an inning-ending double play without letting the 5 run deficit get any worse.

But all it did was delay the inevitable, with Detroit going up 3-0 in the series with the 7-2 win. George Davis had 3 hits in support of Detroit’s three long balls, but the real story might be Maddux having very bad timing to have arguably his worst outing of the season.

Both bullpens were excellent with Verlander and John Hiller combining to allow only 2 hits in 4 innings for Detroit and, while hit a little harder, Streeter, Benton, Harley Young, Chen, and Steve Bedrosian held the Wolverines to 1 run over 5 innings.

DET 7 (Root 1-0) @ BBB 2 (Maddux 0-1)
HRs: DET – Gamble (1), Kaline (1), E. Bailey (1); BBB – none.
Box Score

#Cleveland Spiders v New York Gothams, Game 3

New York leads 2-0.

Cleveland will hope Cy Young can slow the Gothams down. The Gothams had a more difficult choice picking between Juan Marichal (13-9, 5.47) and Don Sutton (6-8, 4.94). In the end, they went with Marichal, partially because Sutton was far more used to coming out of the bullpen.

Both teams tweaked their lineups slightly: for Cleveland, they still have been unable to find a way to get Lance Berkman in the starting lineup, preferring to have Kenny Lofton and Tris Speaker back to back at the top of the lineup, but they did replace Sammy Strang at 3B with Jim Gantner. The Gothams’changes were a little more drastic, with George Van Haltren starting in RF and Benny Kauff at DH.

Cleveland’s choices paid immediate dividends: Lofton led off the game with a double and scored on Speaker’s single. Perhaps more importantly for the Spiders, Ron Blomberg picked up his first hit of the series, a comebacker through the middle for a single. Marichal settled down, allowing only one more run despite loading the bases.

The Gothams’ response was immediate: Jimmy Sheckard singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Pete Runnels. Despite a Buster Posey double and another wild pitch by Young, the Gothams only managed the single tally, ending the first inning trailing 2-1.

Singles to lead off the 4th by Louis Santop and Arky Vaughan brought in Sutton in relief of Marichal. He shut the door, retiring Gantner, Lofton, and Speaker in succession.

Kauff took Young deep in the 5th to tie the game at 2, but the Cleveland starter closed out the inning. He was chased from the game in the 6th, after giving up 2 hits and a walk to start the inning (Sheckard led off with a hit, but was caught stealing). In came Yordano Ventura, who surrendered a sharp hit to Willie Mays, but Lofton was able to gun down Runnels at the plate to preserve the tie.

Sutton was fantastic, most likely sealing his role as a starter should the Gothams progress, allowing only a hit in just over 3 innings. He was relieved by Steve Howe, who had been erratic all year, but usually effective against lefties. Howe came through here: a routine grounder from Lofton was bobbled by Runnels, but Speaker flew out and Blomberg grounded into a double play.

And from there, things just got more and more tense as the bullpens proved their worth until Mays led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from Johan Camargo, and scored on a base hit from Will Clark.

The key here for New York was their bullpen, as it has been all year, although there were some different names involved this time: Sutton, Howe, and Robb Nen combined to allow only 2 hits over 6 innings.

On the whole, the managerial choices proved solid: Gantner had a hit and Kauff the key homerun.

CLE 2 (Porter 0-1) @ NYG 3 (Nen 1-0)
HRs: CLE – none; NYG – Kauff (1).
Box Score

#Baltimore Black Sox v Wandering House of David, Game 3

Baltimore leads 2-0.

Baltimore had indicated that Mike Mussina would get the third start, but have opted instead for Connie Johnson, one of the hottest arms in the league. Johnson was 9-5 on the year with a 3.65 ERA, so he’s been pretty stellar throughout. The House of David will counter as planned, with Frank Sullivan (9-10, 4.77).

For Baltimore, Baby Doll Jacobson will get the start in CF in place of Paul Blair. The House of David react to a somewhat desperate situation with Ron Santo and Joe Harris both joining the starting lineup in place of Richie Hebner and Anthony Rizzo, a move questioned by fans, given the choice to give up the platoon advantage.

Baltimore wasted no time: Bobby Wallace led off the game with a triple and scored on a long flyball from Larry Gardner. A homerun from Dan McGann in the top of the second doubled the lead to 2-0.

Sullivan settled down after that, but Johnson was just that much better, striking out 7 over 5 scoreless innings.

Wade Miley relieved Sullivan, but not effectively: two walks and a 3-run homer from Ken Singleton pushed the Black Sox lead to 5-0.

A glimmer of hope for the House of David in the 7th, when Pete Browning took Jim Palmer deep with a man on, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Which is how it ended: the House of David had their chances, but couldn’t come through when it mattered, and now face the steepest of uphill climbs.

McGann had 3 hits for Baltimore; Ryne Sandberg and Dan Ford 2 each for the House of David.

BAL 5 (Johnson 1-0; Groom 2 Sv; Beggs 1 H) @ HOD 2 (Sullivan 0-1)
HRs: BAL – McGann (1), Singleton (2); HoD – Browning (2).
Box Score

TWIWBL 48.3: Playoff Previews – New York Gothams @ Cleveland Spiders

By mknn

On September 11, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Series Previews, TWIWBL

The final matchup features two teams that got no respect during the season. Everyone focused on the New York Black Yankees, but the Spiders won that division by 5 games (the largest gap of any division); the Gothams were always sort of an afterthought, but won one more game than Cleveland.

#New York Gothams

We’ve got a true #1 starter and the best bullpen in the league. Seems like a good recipe for the playoffs, right?

Christy Mathewson (17-8, 3.50) will pitch as many games as he can, and the Gothams will turn to Carson Smith (3-0, 2.05) and the superlative Mike Norris (4-4, 1.47) to get the ball to Brian Wilson (2-0, 2.13 with 29 saves). Beyond Matty, Gaylord Perry (9-10, 4.27) has been solid and they’ll try to find some mix of Don Sutton, Juan Marichal, and Rube Waddell for the rest.

Two additions (veteran Joe Adcock and OF George Van Haltren) have rounded out New York’s offense, adding some support for Willie Mays (322/384/516), Buster Posey (319/397/462), and Johnny Callison (304/352/543). It’s an offense that gets a lot of hits, but lacks power: Mays and Will Clark led the team with 24 homeruns, but most of Clark’s came with Miami. Callison and Jimmy Sheckard hit 20 each, but really that’s it.

Still, there aren’t really any bad hitters until you get all the way down to SS Eugenio Suárez, and his OPS is just under .700. Pete Runnels has been out of his mind since coming to the Gothams, with an OPS over .900, and could really be the key to their postseason success.

Callison’s return from injury as well as Benny Kauff‘s fantastic WBL debut at the end of the season (a 1.2o2 OPS over 20+ AB) forces LHP Vean Gregg off the playoff roster, and left the Gothams with an interesting tactical choice between defensive SS sub Brandon Crawford and IF Johan Camargo, who can play both 2B and SS, albeit mediocrely. They ended up going with Camargo for the first series.

#Cleveland Spiders

The Spiders are a good team, and Tris Speaker‘s explosion on the scene makes them better. But they are also a pretty thin team all around.

Pat Malone (17-8, 3.84), Bill Steen (13-3, 2.93), and Cy Young (11-10, 4.36) are a solid opening trio, and either Mel Harder or Stan Coveleski will cover behind them. The trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Terry Adams (38 saves) has been great on the back end. But Ron Reed–an all-star with Philadelphia–has been a large disappointment with the Spiders, and the rest of the bullpen is very unknown.

The offense has been carried all year by Ron Blomberg, with strong support from Jake Stahl, John Ellis, Johnny Bates and Louis Santop. Bates, Ellis, and Stahl all have OPS in the .800s. Blomberg leads the team with 44 homeruns, 125 RBIs, and 109 runs. But only Stahl (26) and Ellis (21) have over 20 dingers, and Stahl, with 85 RBI and 83 R shows just how far behind Blomberg the rest of the offense has been.

Enter Speaker, who was injured for most of the year, and then stuck behind Kenny Lofton in CF. In just under 100 PA, Speaker is slashing 372/443/616, giving the Spiders a true second offensive threat. Also of note, while Lance Berkman‘s overall .744 OPS isn’t much to look at, his OPS with Cleveland is at .800, a significant difference.

The left side of the IF continues to be a challenge: Arky Vaughan has brought his glove with him since the trade that brought him over from Homestead, but his bat remains missing and Sammy Strang does little more at third than get on base (his .370 OBP is 4th on the team, but his .705 OPS is well towards the bottom of the list).

#Prediction

Gothams in 6. Their bullpen carries it for me.

TWIWBL 46.1: Series XXXVIII Notes – September 10th (Day 2 of 4)

By mknn

On August 25, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

#The Battle for the Final Spot

Birmingham lowered their magic number to 1 with an 8-4 victory over Philadelphia. Cupid Childs broke out of a slump with 3 hits including his 5th homerun of the year and Sam Streeter improved to 7-6 with a strong 7 plus innings. The only bad news for the Black Barons concerned young Nate Colbert, who was forced to leave the game with a high ankle sprain that will keep him off the playoff roster as well.

PHI 4 (Carlton 8-13) @ BBB 8 (Streeter 7-6)
HRs: PHI – Davis 19, Judge 7; BBB – Nieman (16), Childs (5).
Box Score

Mike Schmidt had 3 hits and Babe Ruth hit his 47th longball of the season as the Black Yankees did what they could, beating Cleveland 7-2 to keep their hopes alive. Waite Hoyt picked up his 11th win of the year.

These two results mean that any combination of wins by Birmingham or losses by the Black Yankees will end New York’s season, but for now, hope prevails.

NYY 7 (Hoyt 11-6) @ CLE 2 (Gastright 1-1)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (47); CLE – Trosky (2).
Box Score

#Playoff Seeding

Boog Powell had 5 hits and drove in 4 runs and Lou Brock added 4 hits as Kansas City gave up a 7 run lead, but prevailed in 11 innings over Baltimore. The loss for the Black Sox kept Chicago’s hopes of overtaking them for the lead in the Cum Posey Division alive. The American Giants responded by riding a strong start from Ben Sheets to a 3-1 win over Brooklyn. Joe Jackson hit his 30th homerun of the year to give Chicago the lead, and to pull them within 2 games of Baltimore.

Portland and the New York Gothams combined for 21 runs and 33 hits as the Sea Dogs used 9 runs from the 6th inning on to stage a come from behind 12-9 win. For Portland, Joe Mauer and Buddy Bell had 3 hits each and–who else–Gavvy Cravath delivered a key homerun to give them the lead. For the Gothams, Will Clark had 4 hits and drove in 3 and George Van Haltren, Benny Kauff, and Buster Posey added 3 hits each in the losing effort.

#Other Games

Lefty Grove ran out of steam, missing out on a shutout in his final game of the season. Still, his 8 innings was more than good enough, earning him the victory in the 8-1 triumph over Indianapolis. Grove improved to 14-7 on the year, and finished with a league-leading 207 strikeouts. The Sea Lions’ Rickey Henderson had 3 hits (2 of which were triples, tying the league record) and Jimmie Foxx added 3 hits and 3 RBI’s.

Harry Stovey went deep twice, doubling his total for the year and Roy Oswalt was strong in his final start of the year, finishing at 14-8 as the Colt 45’s thrashed Ottawa, 10-2. Pete Hill had 4 hits and Jim Wynn 3 in the blowout win.

Bill Doak and 3 relievers combined to shutout Los Angeles over 12 innings in a 1-0 victory for Memphis over the Angels. Doak and Tim Wakefield allowed 8 hits over 10 plus innings, and Lance Broadway and Jonathan Papelbon finished it out, with Broadway picking up his 1st WBL career victory and Papelbon his 18th save. Gerrit Cole pitched excellently, allowing 5 hits and whiffing 9 over 8 innings, but finishes the year at 16-9. Sammy Sosa delivered the only RBI of the game in the top of the 12th.

TWIWBL 45.1: Series XXXVII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 18, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Gene Conley just keeps rolling: in what might be his last start before the playoffs, Conley improved to 12-6 with a complete game 4 hit shutout of Birmingham. Tony Phillips and Bob Bailey went deep back-to-back in the 6th inning to break up a shutout to fuel the victory.

#New York Gothams

IF Brian Dozier and P Sad Sam Jones were recalled from AAA.

Four hits and 3 RBIs from Pinky Higgins led the way as the Gothams triumphed over Kansas City, 8-6. Benny Kauff added 3 hits and Eugenio Suárez drove in 2 as Don Sutton improved to 4-4 and Brian Wilson picked up his 29th save. With the win, New York clinched a playoff spot, although their seeding is still up for grabs.

#Wandering House of David

2 homeruns from George Stone led the House of David over Houston, 5-2. Bob Rush threw almost 6 scoreless, improving his record to 15-6 and Bruce Sutter picked up his 25th save.

TWIWBL 44.1: Series XXVI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Hank Aguirre, Jason Schmidt, and Whitey Wilshire combined to allow only 2 hits in an 8-1 victory over Indianapolis (the run scored on 2 walks, a sac fly, and an RBI groundout). Hank Greenberg had 4 hits, including his 28th homerun, and Ty Cobb added 3 in the victory.

Greenberg continued his hot streak, with 3 more hits and his 29th homerun in a 3-2 win in 10 innings. Chad Bradford got the win over Indianapolis, improving his record to 4-0, and Mike Henneman maintained his league lead in saves, picking up his 36th of the year.

Detroit just continues to look strong as they push for the playoffs: homeruns from Cobb and Greenberg carried them to their 3rd win of the series. There was some concerning news, as reliever-turned-starter extraordinaire Gene Conley was forced out of the game with back stiffness, but it looks like he’ll only miss a few days of action.

#Los Angeles Angels

Jason Vargas has done enough to warrant getting a few starts as the Angel’s season winds down.

P Huck Betts retired from AA.

#Memphis Red Sox

Nixey Callahan was demoted, with Derek Lowe being brought up to Memphis.

After he was released by Ottawa, Memphis took a flyer on 42 year old Terry Mulholland, but it didn’t work out, and Mulholland announced his retirement after the AA season concluded.

This is what the Red Sox thought would happen all year: Memphis suddenly rallied, embracing their role as playoff spoiler in their series against the Black Yankees.

Mookie Betts had 2 homeruns and Ted Williams hit his 27th of the year in a 7-3 victory.

Reggie Smith had 4 hits and Claude Ritchey had 2 homeruns (!), leading Memphis to a 6-5 victory, sealed with Len Barker being called in to face Babe Ruth with the tying run on first in the top of the 9th. Barker got his first save as Stubby Overmire improved to 6-5 in his tenure in Memphis.

Two OF kills, one by Smith and one by Sammy Sosa, were crucial as Memphis held off the Black Yankees in the series finale, 4-3. Williams reached the century mark in RBIs, as he, Boogs, and Smith each had 2 hits in support of Dean Chance, who improved to 11-9 with 6 innings of 1-run ball.

#New York Gothams

Johnny Callison injured his elbow, with only an outside shot at returning before the end of the season. Callison hit the DL. This put the organization in a hard spot, as their AAA affiliate, Hartford, was in the playoffs. But the Gothams are in the mix for a wild card spot, so they recalled Benny Kauff, probably Hartford’s MVP with 39 HR and a 303/370/600 slash line at AAA.

The news on SP Pete Donohoe was not good, as a bum elbow will keep him out for the rest of the season. Edwin Jackson was recalled to take Donohoe’s place.

OF Dode Paskert retired from AA at the age of 40.