The Whirled League

Baseball The Way It Never Was

Tag: Bert Blyleven Page 1 of 3

TWIWBL 68.1: Year 2, Week 11

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On October 28, 2024

In TWIWBL

June 11th

Only a few weeks to All Star selections!

#Awards

Ottawa‘s Roberto Alomar won the NL Player of the Week, hitting .625 with 4 homeruns, while scoring and driving in 9.

Manny Ramírez of the Memphis Red Sox is already approaching his production from last season, and hitting .368 with 3 homers and 10 RBI’s earned him the AL Player of the Week.

#Team Performance

I am likely to regret writing this as the season unfolds, but three of the divisions really seem to be settling down. The New York Black Yankees continue to have the best record in the WBL, leading Cleveland by 7 games in the Bill James Division. In the Cum Posey Division, San Francisco has pulled away from Miami and Chicago, leading the former by 6.5 games and the latter by 7. And, over in the Marvin Miller Division, Indianapolis and Kansas City are tied for the top spot, 7 games ahead of the House of David.

That leaves the Effa Manley Division, where nobody really wants to take control, with Homestead currently in first and Philadelphia in last place, only 4.5 games back

The New York Gothams have ridden an 8-2 streak to move within 1 game of Homestead and the Birmingham Black Barons may finally be showing some life, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. It’s too early to really get excited in Birmingham, though: that run of success leaves them with still having the worst record in the league, 11 games out of first place.

Cleveland, Homestead, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, and the House of David have all struggled a bit, sporting 3-7 records over their last 10 games.

Some differences in style are emerging across the league, with all teams playing between 62 and 65 games.

Ottawa continues to have by far the most terrifying offense in the league, sporting a team OPS over .900 and leading the way with 160 homeruns. They are also the only team to have scored 400+ runs at this point.

San Francisco and Baltimore are the most patient teams in the WBL, each with over 260 walks, over 100 more than Brooklyn and Miami at the other end of the list. San Francisco and the Black Yankees strike out the most while Kansas City and Philadelphia are the hardest to whiff by a long shot.

Finally, Indianapolis and San Francisco are neck and neck in SB with 138 and 137 respectively. Only Ottawa and Chicago are also over 100, while the New York Gothams have only swiped 45 bases.

#Player Performance

Batters

This may be the first time in the history of the WBL that Babe Ruth only leads in 2 categories and those 2–runs and walks–are arguably the least important metrics being tracked.

José Canseco and Larry Walker have each reached the 30 HR mark and Walker’s amazing streak has vaulted him over Ruth for the RBI lead.

Tony Gwynn–at a blinding .420–is the only hitter over .400, although Homestead’s Josh Gibson is edging into that territory at .399.

Roberto Alomar (OTT). 324/407/616. 56 R.
José Canseco (MCG). 289/400/821. 30 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 325/382/582. 7 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 396/446/806. 86 H, 4.1 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 399/467/759. 3.9 WAR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 420/457/656. 96 H, 31 2B.
Pete Hill (HOU). 288/368/498. 8 3B.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 376/424/615. 31 2B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 319/384/552. 32 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 292/410/712. 27 HR, 69 RBI, 58 R, 47 BB.
Larry Walker (OTT). 324/395/781. 30 HR, 71 RBI.
Ted Williams (MEM). 311/432/612. 45 BB.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón was the first hurler to 10 wins, leading the league at 10-1, and Houston‘s Toad Ramsey is the only player with 9. We’ve included the 3 starters with 8 wins and 2 or fewer losses below and everyone with an ERA below 3.00, as well as the usual statistical leaders.

It paints an odd picture, as Ramsey has actually faded a bit over the past few weeks, but retains his spot as the best pitcher in the WBL right now.

Frank Castillo (KCM). 8-1, 4.03.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 8-2, 3.38.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 7-4, 3.26. 99 IP, 2.9 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-2, 3.65, 109 SO.
Bump Hadley (SFS). 8-4, 4.15. 3.39 FIP.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-4, 2.98.
Luis Padrón (IND). 10-1, 3.61.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-3, 2.68. 117 SO, 0.93 WHIP, 2.78 FIP, 3.9 WAR.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 5-2, 2.95. 1 Sv.
JM Ward (PHI). 3-2, 3.56. 1.00 WHIP.

Relievers

All three relievers with 9 holds are included, as well as all 3 with ERA’s below 1.50.

15 IP minimum.

Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 4.60. 15 Sv.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-1, 3.12. 9 H.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.23. 4 H.
Bob Howry (PHI). 3-1, 3.60. 10 Sv, 0.75 WHIP.
Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-2, 2.66. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 1.04. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-2, 3.86. 17 Sv.
Tug McGraw (HOU). 2-2, 1.04. 4 Sv.
Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 3.55. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.79 WHIP.

#Injury Report

Baltimore may receive a big boost to its bullpen with both John Wetteland and, more importantly, Sean Marshall due to begin rehab assignments this week. Marshall was among the most dominant relievers in the league last season before being injured.

Indianapolis’ 3B Ed Charles and Miami’s OF Al Oliver should both begin a rehab assignment late in the week

#Oddities

Thought we would check in on some of the odder performances in the league so far.

We’ll start with Homestead’s Mike Epstein and San Francisco’s Jimmie Foxx, each of which are hitting under .240 with OPS’ over .900. Epstein’s slash line is 236/369/577 while Foxx’s is 222/326/593. Half of Foxx’s 42 hits have been homeruns (Birmingham’s Curtis Granderson has 38 hits and 20 homers).

14 players who have seen a decent amount of playing time are sporting batting averages below .200. Only 2 of them have an OPS over .800. If you’re a diehard fan of the WBL, you may guess that one of them is Chicago’s eternal dilemma, Mike Fiore. Fiore is hitting .194. But 33 walks gives him a respectable .344 OBP, and 11 homers up his SLG to .472, giving him an OPS of .816. The other is Birmingham’s Eddie Mathews, who is doing it all with power. His OBP is barely over .300, but 19 homeruns gives him a .519 SLG to go with it.

On the mound, in the won-loss record is a bad stat department, I’ll offer up Bert Blyleven of the Portland Sea Dogs and Philadelphia’s John Montgomery Ward. Blyleven has 14 starts and is 6th in the league in IP, but sports only a 2-4 record while Ward has pitched excellently, holding a 3.56 ERA over 13 starts and the second best WHIP in the league at 1.00, but only managing a 3-2 record.

At the other end of the scale, 2 hurlers with at least 7 wins also have ERAs over 5.00: Ottawa’s Old Hoss Radbourn at 8-4, 5.79 and the New York Gothams’ Don Sutton at 7-3, 5.40.

TWIWBL 64.4: Cum Posey Division

By

On August 7, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Ed Walsh allowed only 2 hits through 8 innings–both to Miami’s Julio Rodríguez as the American Giants blanked the Cuban Giants, 6-0. A rain delay forced Walsh, who improved to 3-1, out of the game in the 8th, but Tom Williams pitched a perfect 9th to preserve the shutout. Much ridiculed Jack Doyle was hit by a pitch 3 times in the game, which is, you know, something.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Lou Fette headed back to AAA with Braden Looper‘s activation from the DL. The promising Kenshin Kawakami will miss over a month with a sprained ankle, with Steven Wright recalled from AAA.

Ryan Braun went deep twice–giving him 20 on the year–as the Cuban Giants came from behind to beat Chicago, 4-3. José Méndez was fantastic, but didn’t figure in the decision while Sandy Consuegra was roughed up, but got the win with Ricky Nolasco earning his 7th save of the season.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Two homeruns from Gil Hodges and an excellent start from Walter Ball led Portland to an 11-1 win over the Black Yankees.

Last year’s reserve darling, Gary Pettis, was sent to AAA. No matter your speed and no matter your glove, a .400 OPS can do that. Jeff Burroughs was recalled from a rehab stint.

Rogers Hornsby and Bobby Murcer went deep twice as the Sea Dogs trounced the Angels, 11-4. Ken Griffey, Jr., Jim Fregosi, Kent Hrbek, and Joe Mauer also went deep for the Sea Dogs as Bert Blyleven improved to 2-1 on the year despite being roughed up for 9 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Reggie Jackson hit 2 homeruns and Denny Walling went 4 for 5 with a dinger in his WBL debut as the Sea Lions pounded out a 15-4 victory over the Wolverines. San Francisco had 6 homeruns among their 21 hits, with Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, and Turkey Stearnes joining Walling and Jackson.

Not to be outdone, Jack Clark went deep 3 times, but it wasn’t enough as the Sea Lions fell to Detroit, 7-6.

Lefty Grove put it all together with a complete game, 4 hit shutout of Memphis, striking out 9 and improving his record to 5-4. The Sea Lions also only managed 4 hits, but managed to score twice, once on a 2-out RBI from Clark and once on a solo shot from Bobby Bonds to win the game, 2-0.

TWIWBL 61.3: Cum Posey Division

By

On June 12, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

The mystery of Mike Fiore continues. Fiore led the WBL in walks last year, and his on base/power combination made him a useful part for Chicago. But the American Giants looked poised to move on, until Duffy Lewis was injured, opening up playing time for Fiore … who is posting a .963 OPS despite a batting average in the .220’s.

Now that Lewis has started a rehab assignment, Chicago will need to figure out what to do with an overly crowded OF.

Mark Buehrle threw 8 scoreless innings and Paul Konerko homered twice as the American Giants trounced the Sea Dogs, 12-0. Buehrle became the league’s first 4 game winner, lowering his ERA to 1.32 in the process while Konerko had 3 hits and drove in 5.

Sometimes it’s not the stars: Kevin Mitchell and Vernon Wells delivered consecutive singles in the bottom of the 9th, with Mitchell’s tying the game and Wells’ giving Chicago a walkoff 4-3 victory over San Francisco.

It wasn’t enough to save Mitchell’s job, however: with Lewis getting a few AB’s in at AAA, it was time to recall him to the big league club, with Mitchell heading the other way. Lewis’ return is complicated: Fiore and Konerko, the most likely players to lose playing time to Lewis, are performing fantastically.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Ryan Braun went deep twice leading the Cuban Giants to a 9-1 win over Cleveland. José Méndez allowed 1 run in 6 innings, improving to 2-0. Iván Rodríguez and Minnie Miñoso both went deep, perhaps signaling their emergence from offensive slumps to start the season.

Horrible news for the Cuban Giants, as staff ace Camilo Pascual will miss most if not all of the rest of the year with a knee injury. Miami recalled Kenshin Kawakami to join their bullpen, but declined to name a 5th starter for their rotation to take Pascual’s place.

José Canseco was the first person this season to hit 3 homeruns in a game, but it wasn’t enough as the Cuban Giants fell to Cleveland, 9-6.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Needing a starter, the Sea Dogs moved struggling Frank Williams to AAA, recalling Mike Cuellar. Cuellar pitched well enough, but took the defeat in a 6-2 loss to Detroit.

Walter Johnson, Wade Miller, and Trevor Hoffman combined on a 2 hit shutout in a 9-0 drubbing of Cleveland. Johnson was sailing along for 5 innings, and it’s not quite clear why he didn’t come out for the 6th. By that time, it was 6-0 in favor of Portland, who got 4 RBIs from Jim Fregosi and 3 hits from Bobby Murcer.

Jeff Burroughs will miss about 2 weeks with a sprained elbow, with Kiki Cuyler called up from AAA.

Gil Hodges went deep twice and drove in 3 and, perhaps more importantly for Portland, Johan Santana got his first save of the year in relief of a solid outing from Bert Blyleven, who picked up his first victory in a 6-3 win over Cleveland.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Tommy Bridges replaces Nick Altrock in the Sea Lions’ rotation.

TWIWBL 58.4: Cum Posey Division

By

On April 30, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Kevin Mitchell began a rehab assignment at AAA, and was almost immediately recalled after Duffy Lewis hit the 10-Day DL with blurred vision.

Dick Allen had 4 hits including a walkoff 2 run homerun to lead the American Giants to an 8-7 come from behind victory over Portland.

#Los Angeles Angels

Bobby Grich hit his first 2 homeruns of the season in an 11-5 loss to San Francisco.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants did it again, using Julio Rodríguez‘ second homerun of the game for their second walkoff victory to start the season. Rodríguez and Alejandro Oms had 3 hits each, with Sandy Consuegra picking up the victory.

The news wasn’t so good for Rodríguez later in the week as a nasty collision at second base left him with a bruised rib and a trip to the DL. The Cuban Giants recalled P Ed Brandt to take his roster slot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Bobby Murcer hit his first 2 homeruns of the year in a 6-4 loss. The game was Johan Santana‘s second blown save in a row, and wasted a solid start from Bert Blyleven. Trevor Hoffman and Santana blew a 4-1 lead in the 8th inning.

It’s not clear which news is worse: Johan Santana had his third consecutive horrible outing to start the year, blowing his 3rd save, falling to 0-3, and seeing his ERA nearly reach triple digits at 94.50. In the same game, Rogers Hornsby suffered a separated shoulder and will miss several weeks. The Sea Dogs recalled veteran IF Jeff Cirillo to take Hornsby’s spot.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions hit 5 homeruns–2 by Sal Bando–in an 11-5 win over Los Angeles. Bando had 3 hits and 4 RBI’s, Turkey Stearnes drove in 3, and Reggie Jackson had 3 hits, with Bando, Rickey Henderson, and Jimmy Bloodworth all going yard in a 6 run 6th inning.

Lefty Grove tossed the first complete game shutout of the season, twirling a masterful 3-hitter against Cleveland. Grove struck out 6, and homeruns by Stearnes and Jimmie Foxx were more than enough to lead the Sea Lions to victory.

Year II Season Preview: Portland Sea Dogs

By

On March 27, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

A deep playoff run once again, with championship contention.

Best Case

Everyone behind Walter Johnson in the rotation takes a step forward: Bert Blyleven becomes a legitimate #2, Dizzy Trout becomes more consistent, Elmer Brown makes the transition from the bullpen successfully, and first round pick Walter Ball steps right in, making the choice when Joséito Muñoz returns from injury a difficult one. Even without Gavvy Cravath (lost to free agency), the Sea Dogs should score quite a few runs, especially if Rogers Hornsby can prove a permanent solution (at least for a couple of years) at 2B.

Worst Case

None of that happens in the rotation, Hornsby and Gil Hodges show the effects of age, and the OF ends up regressing towards absolute mediocrity (which really comes down to how much you think Bobby Murcer, Harry Hooper, and supersub Gary Pettis overperformed last season).

Key Questions

  • How will the Sea Dogs compensate for the loss of Cravath?
  • Who joins the OF?

Trade Bait

Yes: the Sea Dogs still need to resolve the situation behind the plate, and trading either Joe Mauer or (more likely) Iván Rodríguez seems likely. Moving people on could also resolve the Buddy Bell/Adrián Beltré situation as well as provide Pettis an everyday opportunity elsewhere.

Well that was interesting. The Sea Dogs essentially turned Beltré, Rodríguez, and some useful prospects into Paul Molitor, Vladimir Guerrero, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

Roster Evaluation

POSEliteStrongSolidMehWeakUnknown
CMauerLee
1BHrbekHodges
2BHornsbyMolitor
3BBell
SSFregosi
LF/
RF		MurcerHooperBurroughs
CFPettisGriffey, Jr
SPJohnsonBlyleven
Muñoz		Trout
Pérez		KoosmanMillerBall
EndHoffmanBrownMelanconSantana
RPWilliams
New Addition | Injured

There’s clearly potential here–the players likely to regress (Murcer, Kent Hrbek, Hornsby) are balanced by newcomers Griffey, Jr and Molitor, both of whom are strong favorites to improve. But, like so many teams, they’ll go as far as the pitching will take them.

Talent Ratings

WBLMinors
Raw PowerIF Rogers HornsbyIF Miguel Sanó
Batting EyeIF Rogers HornsbyIF Eddie Yost
ContactOF Ken Griffey, JrOF Bubba Morton
Running SpeedOF Gary PettisOF Alex Diaz
OF Hugh Duffy
OF Otis Nixon
OF Howie Shanks
Base StealingOF Gary PettisOF Otis Nixon
IF Defense3B Buddy BellIF Lee Tannehill
OF DefenseOF Gary PettisOF Charlie Jamieson
StuffSP Walter JohnsonP Harry Harper
ControlSP Bert BlylevenP Bob Porterfield
VelocityRP Trevor HoffmanP Heath Hembree

Best In The Minors

RankAgePOSName
1 (16)20OFVladimir Guerrero
2 (20)20OFHugh Duffy
3 (23)22OFChuck Klein
4 (40)26IFHughie Jennings
5 (124)25PWalter Ball
6 (137)23PDylan Bundy
7 (138)18PHarry Harper
Others: None.

What a weird system. Their top end is probably the strongest quartet in the game, Ball is in the opening day rotation, and then the entire system falls off the cliff.

MostLeast
AgeIF Jeff Cirillo, 35
OF Bubba Morton, 35
P Bob Porterfield, 35		P Harry Harper, 18
HeightOF Walt Bond, 6’7″OF Nemo Leibold, 5’6″
IF Howdy Caton, 5’6″
OPSIF Freddie Freeman, 1.130 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, .558 (AAA/AA)
HRIF Freddie Freeman, 47 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, 1 (AAA/AA)
SBOF Harry Hooper, 38 (WBL)Many with 0
WARIF Freddie Freeman, 6.2 (—)IF Bobby Wine, -1.6 (—)
WWalter Johnson, 14 (WBL)Pascual Pérez, 3 (WBL/AAA)
Colby Lewis, 3 (AAA)
SVJohan Santana, 23 (WBL)
ERAJoseito Muñoz, 2.80 (WBL/AAA)Mike Trombley, 6.56 (—)
WARWalter Johnson, 4.7 (WBL)Mike Trombley, -0.5 (—)
Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

Season Review: Portland Sea Dogs

By

On December 28, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

85 - 70, .548 pct.
1st in Marvin Miller Division
Lost to Baltimore in Division Round

Overall

Portland’s year was, if we’re being honest, a bit of a surprise, even though they led the Marvin Miller Division virtually wire to wire. Their offense was excellent all year, they made very impactful acquisitions via trade in Rogers Hornsby and Gavvy Cravath, and their top end pitching was among the league’s best.

Things are unlikely to go as well offensively next year, so it may take some talent acquisition for the Sea Dogs to maintain their place.

What Went Right

Let’s get the acquisitions out of the way first: 2B was an issue for the Sea Dogs all season until they brought in Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City. Hornsby was excellent and looks likely to remain with Portland for a while. Then, even knowing it was likely a rental for the last few months of the season, the Sea Dogs brought in Gavvy Cravath from Philadelphia who was spectacular, slugging .750 over 40 games. Cravath has moved on to Baltimore, proving the old rich get richer thing.

This was a team already hitting at an elite level: CF Bobby Murcer, 1B Kent Hrbek, C Joe Mauer, and SS Jim Fregosi all hit about as well as anyone in the league at their position. 3B Buddy Bell and OF Harry Hooper were solid as well.

Two reserves were magnificent: each was behind an all star talent, but each kept pushing even them for playing time. Both C Iván Rodríguez and CF Gary Pettis faded a bit at the end of the year, but still posted OPS’ of .827 (Pettis) and .780 (Pudge).

It’s hard to figure out if Gil Hodges‘ year went right or not: on the good side, he was 2nd on the team with 29 homers.

Walter Johnson was fantastic, clearly one of the best starting pitchers in the league at the tender age of 20. Joseíto Muñoz was even better, even younger, and coming on strong when he was injured.

Bert Blyleven and Dizzy Trout were solid enough.

Johan Santana was leading the league in saves before his injury: there are hopes he will be fully recovered by Spring Training. In his absence, the rest of the bullpen stepped up with Portland getting very strong performances from Bob Porterfield, Trevor Hoffman (acquired at midseason), Pascual Pérez, and Elmer Brown.

ALL STARS
3B Buddy Bell; SS Jim Fregosi; 1B Kent Hrbek; C Joe Mauer; OF Bobby Murcer; P Johan Santana

What Went Wrong

Somehow Greg Litton became a fan favorite despite struggling to get his OPS over .600. Neither he nor Fred Dunlap showed anything at all at the plate, although they were useful enough as utility players.

It’s hard to figure out if Gil Hodges‘ year went right or not: on the bad side, he hit .223 with an OPS under .750.

Muñoz and Santana’s injuries sucked. Muñoz may miss most of next season as well.

Not a lot went wrong in the Pacific northwest.

Transactions

March

None

June

P Smokey Joe Wood, C Devin Mesoraco to Kansas City for 2B Rogers Hornsby, OF Vince Coleman & 4th Round Pick

A clear win. Wood is likely to have the best career, given Hornsby’s age, but Hornsby was key to Portland’s postseason push.

July

OF Kirby Puckett, P Jim Kern, P Rick Wise, 3rd Round Pick & 5th Round Pick to Houston for P Trevor Hoffman, P Mark Melancon & 4th Round Pick {Denard Span}

We’ll see. Hoffman was quite strong, and may challenge Santana for the closer’s job next year. It was a clear win for this year, it was also a lot of value to give up.

3B Harmon Killebrew & 1st Round Pick to Philadelphia for OF Gavvy Cravath & 2nd Round Pick {Hugh Duffy}

For this year, totally worth it. Down the road … not so much.

Looking Forward

SP

Walter Johnson is elite. Bert Blyleven and Jerry Koosman should be solid, and while Joseíto Muñoz is unlikely to be as good as his debut, he should be a good rotation starter for many years. So … solid, but another top arm would be welcome. Some believe Johan Santana will come back as a starter, which may help.

RP

This group is solid, but there aren’t many likely reinforcements coming. Still, Trevor Hoffman should be the closer for a few years.

C

As if having Joe Mauer and Iván Rodríguez weren’t enough, the Sea Dogs have the best C prospect at AAA, Cliff Lee, as well. Someone will be traded.

1B

Kent Hrbek for a while, but Rafael Palmiero is pushing him long term. Gil Hodges also plays here, and is an interesting piece: Hodges’ power is undeniable, but he really doesn’t hit well enough to hold down an everyday job.

2B

Rogers Hornsby probably has a few years left, but not much more than that. There is nothing behind him, so this is an area of need.

3B

Another position where someone is going to be moved on: Buddy Bell was excellent this year, but Adrián Beltré probably has the ability to be his equal.

SS

Jim Fregosi was excellent for Portland. Hughie Jennings looks promising for the future as well.

LF

Riggs Stephenson has this for now, but this may be an area the Sea Dogs look to upgrade.

CF

Bobby Murcer was Portland’s most dangerous hitter all year, even if Hrbek had more power. It’s not clear how many years Pettis will accept being a reserve.

RF

This coming year, this is likely to be a mix of Harry Hooper and Ruben Sierra. If they don’t work out, Candy Maldanado and Tom Brunansky have shown some promise.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With the pick to compensate for the loss of Cravath, Portland had three consecutive picks to close out the first round and start the second. With two of them, they took the closest things to Cravath they could find: OFs Chuck Klein and Hugh Duffy. With the other, they took a franchise arm that is several years away in 18 year old Jon Matlack. They balanced out Matlack with the 15th pick of the 2nd round by selecting Walter Ball, who, at twenty-seven, looks ready for WBL action right now.

Portland has 3 4th round picks and only a single franchise exception remaining. That final choice went to Lee May, who projects to have WBL level power, maybe. The other two 4th round picks were OF Denard Span and reliever Joaquin Benoit.

Rounds 5-8

Portland needs arms. At some point, a SS would be nice, but essentially, arms. They start in the 6th with CJ Wilson, in the 7th with Harry Harper, and in the 8th with Lee Stange.

Rounds 9-12

OF Adolis García; IF Josh Jung; OF Howie Shanks; OF Billy Lush.

12th round Billy Lush decided to not sign with the Sea Dogs.

TWIWBL 51.6: The Awards – Brock Rutherford Award

By

On November 2, 2023

In TWIWBL

Given to the best pitcher in the league each year, here are your contenders for the Brock Rutherford Award this season.

This includes every starter with at least 15 wins, as well as the top 5 in WAR, ERA, FIP (a measurement that tries to eliminate the impact of fielding on pitching stats), and SIERA (a measurement that tries to eliminate factors out of control of the pitcher).

NameTmRecordBB/9K/9WHIPWARFIPSIERA
Bert BlylevenPOR11-11, 4.302.47.61.272.74.433.81
Bill ByrdBAL14-3, 3.332.34.51.203.24.254.87
Gerrit ColeLAA16-9, 4.163.36.11.344.04.144.64
Lefty GroveSFS14-7, 3.464.89.21.343.94.083.96
Ron GuidryNYY8-12, 4.352.79.01.254.23.853.36
Walter JohnsonPOR14-5, 3.503.97.01.194.73.754.41
Frank KnaussBRK12-6, 3.413.47.21.213.34.064.19
Pat MaloneCLE17-8, 3.842.87.71.275.03.643.82
Christy MathewsonNYG17-8, 3.504.27.71.404.44.024.29
Tricky NicholsCAG15-9, 4.143.66.31.383.04.464.65
Stubby OvermireHOU/
MEM		10-7, 3.432.83.91.363.14.035.28
Alejandro PeñaBBB12-9, 3.792.56.31.315.13.524.34
Andy PettitteKCM/
BBB		15-5, 3.202.35.11.184.63.774.65
Eddie PlankSFS12-7, 3.873.47.11.414.53.474.32
Charlie RootSFS/
DET		10-6, 3.532.46.91.353.34.263.93
Red RuffingNYY14-9, 4.053.48.11.353.34.263.92
Jack TaylorHOD15-9, 3.422.35.81.142.94.464.42
Cy YoungCLE11-10, 4.361.74.21.235.03.724.88

OK, I get it. That’s a lot of numbers. And, SIERA always complicates things, since it is precisely designed to show who is pitching far better than the other numbers would show.

Christy Mathewson and Pat Malone were the league’s only 17 game winners. Andy Pettitte won the ERA crown and carried Birmingham into the playoffs after being acquired from Kansas City. Charlie Root and Jack Taylor (followed by Pettitte) allowed the fewest baserunners.

So let’s call this Pettitte, Mathewson, Malone from the perspective of the traditional stats.

FIP likes Malone (3rd in the league, but Pettitte isn’t far behind). If you then turn to SIERA, Malone is 3rd and Root 5th in the metric, with Matty a bit further behind.

I think evaluating pitchers remains the most elusive of quarry, and at such times, the known terrain is the safest. Call it Pettitte, Malone, Matty, with Andy Pettitte‘s clear contribution to a playoff drive sealing the inaugural Brock Rutherford Award for the lefty.

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

By

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 48.9: The Playoffs! Wild Card Round, Day VI– September 22

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On September 21, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

Only one series still in doubt … Portland has the edge over Chicago, 3 games to 2.

#Portland Sea Dogs v Chicago American Giants, Game 6

Chicago has a choice: do they start Ben Sheets or David Price? The left handed power in Portland’s lineup led them to Price, but he’ll be on a short leash. Portland will go with Bert Blyleven, hoping he can recover some of his earlier form after being hit hard in game 2 of the series.

Portland will start Iván Rodríguez behind the plate and Jeff Burroughs in LF–Pudge in a regular rotation and Burroughs partially due to Harry Hooper‘s struggles.

Eddie Collins is just a force of nature: he singled to leadoff the game, stole second, stole third, and scored on a groundout by Frank Thomas. Blyleven didn’t do anything wrong, and yet the American Giants took an early 1-0 lead.

Bobby Murcer would tie it up an inning later with a solo homerun and, in the third, Jim Fregosi would go deep and Murcer would drive in another with a single. That made it 3-1 in favor of the Sea Dogs.

But Chicago would not go quietly: Dick Allen hit his first homerun of the posteason, and hits from Rocky Colavito and Freddy Parent put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs. But Blyleven induced a weak popout from Mike Fiore to end the threat with Portland holding on to a 1 run lead, 3-2.

With both pitchers on a tight leash, they suddenly remembered they could pitch a little bit.

Price cracked first when Murcer singled up the middle to lead off the 6th. In came Sheets, who seemed to have it under control until, with 2 outs, Gil Hodges singled home Murcer and Burroughs followed with a shot into the right field seats. By the time the inning ended, Sheets had been relieved by Ken Sanders and the Sea Dogs were up, 7-2.

A walk to Colavito and a single from Parent chased Blyleven in the top of the 7th, with Portland turning to Mike Cuellar for the run of lefty hitters in Chicago’s lineup. Cuellar was left in to face a righty the following inning: Thomas took him deep with Jackson on, closing the gap to 7-4.

Which brings us to the top of the 9th. Portland’s closer, Bob Porterfield, comes in to face the bottom of the American Giants’ lineup. And that was it: Porterfield was perfect, and Portland was through!

Thomas drove in 3 of Chicago’s 4 runs and Hornsby and Murcer had 3 hits each for the Sea Dogs.

CAG 4 (Price 0-1) @ POR 7 (Blyleven 1-0; Porterfield 2 Sv; Hoffman 1 H)
HRs: CAG – Allen (1), Thomas (1); POR – Murcer (3), Fregosi (1), Burroughs (1).
Box Score

Rogers Hornsby, who hit .455 with 6 RBIs in the series, was named series MVP, although Gil Hodges (3 homeruns and 8 RBI) and Walter Johnson (2-0, 2.25) each deserved some consideration.

TWIWBL 48.5: The Playoffs! Wild Card Round, Day II – September 16

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On September 14, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons v Detroit Wolverines, Game II

Game two would see Birmingham send its second ace–Alejandro Peña–to the mound against perhaps Detroit’s most effective pitcher all season, Gene Conley, who started out in the bullpen, but has made 16 starts since moving into the rotation.

Peña seemed to have a hard time settling, and in the bottom of the 3rd, Detroit finally broke through: a single from Tony Phillips, who moved to second on Bob Bailey‘s sacrifice bunt, and came around to score on a single from Hank Greenberg. It continued in the 4th: 4 more hits brought in 2 more runs (one on a single from Ed Bailey and the other on a sacrifice fly from Bob), making it 3-0 in favor of the Wolverines.

Meanwhile, Conley had allowed 2 hits through 7 innings, but was showing signs of fatigue, prompting the Wolverines to bring in Matt Anderson for the 8th. Anderson got 2 outs, then had to leave with some sort of leg injury.

The Wolverines added a run in the bottom of the 8th, which looked like it could be important when Cupid Childs greeted Mike Henneman with a leadoff triple. Henneman got two quick outs, but Curtis Granderson brought home Childs, and when Adrián González walked, Herman Long stepped up as the potential tying run. Long singled to load the bases, but Henneman got Jim Pagliaroni to fly out to end the game. So, a typical Mike Henneman save.

Phillips had 3 hits for Detroit, but the star was Conley, who struck out 8 in his 7 scoreless innings.

Two close games, but 2 wins for Detroit to open the series at home.

BBB 1 (Peña 0-1) @ DET 4 (Conley 1-0; Anderson 1 H; Hiller 1 H)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Chicago American Giants v Portland Sea Dogs, Game 2

Chicago decided to go with the hot hand to try to even up the series, sending out David Price to face Bert Blyleven. Price is 4-0 with a 2.44 ERA since coming over from Indianapolis, making him preferred over Dick Rudolph and Ed Walsh (the likely game 3 starter).

Chicago came out firing after their game one loss: Eddie Collins and Frank Thomas walked, both scored on Duffy Lewis‘ double, and Lewis came home on a groundout by Dick Allen. But a shot from Bobby Murcer with 2 on board in the bottom of the inning reset us in a tie. Game one hero Gil Hodges–the 9th Sea Dog to bat in the inning–hit a 2-run single before Price could finally get the final out in an inning that saw 2 Chicago errors, a walk, and 4 hits.

Portland scored again in the 2nd, but the lead was short lived as Carlton Fisk took Blyleven deep in the 3rd with the bases loaded, putting Chicago back in front, 7-6.

Price didn’t make it out of the 4th, as a leadoff single from Kent Hrbek brought in Ben Sheets from the Chicago bullpen. Likewise, Blyleven was relieved by Wade Miller to start the 5th.

And suddenly the offenses were held in check: Chicago preserved its one run lead through the 5th, through the 6th, through the 7th. But in the 8th, Hoyt Wilhelm surrendered an RBI single to Hrbek and then, after Thomas dropped a throw for the American Giants’ 3rd error of the day, Rogers Hornsby laced a 2-run double down the left field line. A single from Buddy Bell scored Hornsby and chased Wilhelm.

That gave the Sea Dogs a 10-7 lead heading to the 9th. Singles from Thomas and Lewis brought the tying run to the plate, but Bob Porterfield induced a double play from Allen, leaving Chicago’s hopes up to Mike Fiore … who grounded out weakly to first, giving Portland a 2-0 edge in the series.

It’s hard to overcome 3 errors, even harder in the post season.

Thomas had 3 hits for Chicago, and Hrbek 3 for Portland, who got 3 RBIs each from Murcer and Hornsby.

CAG 7 (Wilhelm 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ POR 10 (Hoffman 1-0; Porterfield 1 Sv)
HRs: CAG – Fisk (1); POR – Murcer (1).
Box Score

#New York Gothams v Cleveland Spiders, Game 2

Cleveland would send out Bill Steen to face the Gothams’ Gaylord Perry.

Cleveland sat Johnny Bates in favor of getting both Kenny Lofton and Tris Speaker in the lineup, and it paid dividends early against Perry. Lofton singled, stole second, and scored on a homerun from Speaker that curled just around the right field foul pole. Cleveland would bat around, but score only one more run, on an RBI single by Chuck Knoblauch, giving the Spiders a 3-0 lead after one inning.

New York clawed one back in the 3rd on an RBI single from Pete Runnels. But that was really it, as Steen allowed only 3 hits through 6 innings.

Sergio Romo relieved Perry, but had to leave with injury after the first two outs.

New York had a chance in the bottom of the 8th, as Pinky Higgins led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on Jimmy Sheckard‘s single. That brought in Chuck Porter, who got Runnels to hit into a double play, ending the threat and the inning, and preserving the Spider’s 3-1 lead.

Terry Adams came in for Cleveland to close it out, but promptly gave up singles to Buster Posey and Willie Mays and, after an out, a game-tying single from Johnny Callison. Carl Furillo delivered a pinch-hit single, plating Callison and giving the Gothams a 4-3 lead.

That brought Brian Wilson in to seal the deal, with the unusual move of Posey playing third. Kenny Lofton singled, setting up a 2-out confrontation with Ron Blomberg. Wilson got him to fly out to center, giving the Gothams a dramatic victory and a 2-0 series lead.

This one will hurt: the Spiders out-hit the Gothams 10-8 and left 9 runners on base. The victory went to Mike Norris, who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings despite giving up 2 hits.

NYG 4 (Norris 1-0; Wilson 2 Sv) @ CLE 3 (Adams 0-1, 1 B Sv; Porter H 1)
HRs: NYG – none; CLE – Speaker (1).
Box Score

The news was encouraging on Romo, who will only miss a day or two of action with a stiff back.

#Wandering House of David v Baltimore Black Sox, Game 2

The House of David will try to even the series behind Bob Rush while Baltimore will counter with Dennis Martínez.

A solo shot by Ernie Banks put the House of David in front in the top of the 3rd. That was all the offense through five innings, with Martínez actually pitching better than Rush, despite the 1-0 deficit for Baltimore.

In the bottom of the 6th, Bryce Harper tied the game with a solo shot that barely cleared the right field wall. Two hits in the top of the 7th chased Martínez, but John Wetteland caught George Stone looking to end the inning, leaving the game tied, 1-1.

This is the kind of situation for which the House of David brought Ed Bauta over from. Here, the reliever gave up a leadoff single to Paul Blair, who stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Bobby Wallace. But Ryne Sandberg cut down Blair at the plate on a slow ground ball, and Bauta got a groundout from Frank Robinson to end the threat. So, onto the 8th, still tied.

Pete Browning‘s end of season struggles have been well documented, but he had two sharply hit singles today before facing Wetteland in the 8th, when he drove a pitch deep to straight away center for his first post-season homerun, and a 2-1 edge for the House of David.

Harper would strike again with a triple, scoring Brian Roberts (who had pinch run for Curt Blefary, who singled to lead off the frame) to tie the game. Ken Singleton followed with a soft single to right for a 3-2 lead. Lee Smith struggled some more, and the House of David had to turn to Wade Miley to get the final out of the inning. But, he did, sending us to the top of the 9th with Baltimore having seized a 1 run edge.

Buddy Groom gave up a leadoff single to Dan Ford, but Banks bounced into a tailor made 6-4-3 double play, leaving the House of David’s hopes on pinch hitter Ron Santo, who lined a ball hard to the left side, caught by Bobby Wallace, putting the Black Sox up in the series, 2-0.

Browning had 3 hits–a welcome sign for House of David fans, and a requirement if they are to make a comeback. For Baltimore, 3 players–Harper, Singleton, and Manny Machado–had 2 hits each, with Harper the clear hitting star.

HOD 2 (Smith 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ BAL 3 (Miller 1-0; Groom 1 Sv)
HRs: HOD – Banks (1), Browning (1); BAL – Harper (1).
Box Score

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