Tag: Bruce Chen

{ Whoops … somehow this never got published … }

Series preview here.

#Game One: Bert Blyleven @ Alejandro Peña

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

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

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

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

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

#Game 2: Dizzy Trout @ Vic Willis

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

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

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

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

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

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

Game 3: Wade Miller v Andy Pettitte

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

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

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

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

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

Game 4: Atlee Hammaker v Greg Maddux

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Series XXXI Preview: Portland Sea Dogs @ Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On April 28, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Ohhhh … what timing!

The Birmingham Black Barons (who we saw in Series III, XIV, and XXIII) have clawed their way to take the lead in the Marvin Miller Division, ahead of the Portland Sea Dogs (who were featured in Series IV and XVII, and XXIX) by 1/2 game.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Portland has stalled in the past week or so, but over the course of the season has been one of the top few teams in the WBL.

Offensively, they are excellent top-to-bottom, to the point where there are several spots in the lineup where they struggle to find enough at-bats. Most notably, both Joe Mauer (302/380/488) and Iván Rodríguez (324/343/502) are stars at C and Gary Pettis (376/460/518) refuses to slump as their reserve CF. Pettis is now over 100 ABs, but remains stuck behind Bobby Murcer (309/395/542).

Kent Hrbek (305/378/594) leads the team in HR (34) and RBI (89) with 7 other Sea Dogs hitting at least 15 homeruns and two–Murcer with 21 and Gil Hodges with 25–over 20.

Two trade acquisitions will be key to Portland’s stretch run. 2B Rogers Hornsby hasn’t hit as well with the Sea Dogs as they did in Kansas City, with an OPS over 120 points lower. Gavvy Cravath, however, has hit the ground running, slashing 286/422/571 in Portland compared to 289/358/493 in Philadelphia.

Portland’s best 2 pitchers–Walter Johnson and Joséito Muñoz (5-5, 2.50)–are currently injured (Johnson for only a few more days while Muñoz’ injury is still being diagnosed). Their closer–and the best in the league for a while–Johan Santana is out for the rest of the year, and Pascual Pérez, a solid rotation starter, is on a rehab assignment. That’s a lot to overcome on the mound.

Wade Miller‘s performance (9-4, 4.33) has helped a lot, and the trio of Atlee Hammaker, Dizzy Trout, and Bert Blyleven seem well poised to bridge the gap. Add in Mike Cuellar, who is 11-6 with almost all of his work coming in relief, and the combination of Elmer Brown and Bob Porterfield in the pen, and Portland’s pitching staff remains dangerous.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Their transformation into a playoff contender has been a shock, as Birmingham was a big seller at the first trading deadline, unloading 2 all-stars in 2B Tom Herr and SP Tim Hudson. Somehow, they’ve improved dramatically, to the point where they were significant buyers at the final deadline, where they added Andy Pettitte to their rotation.

They’ve done it with pitching and defense and an offense that is improving–which means it is approaching roughly league average. The loss of Herr has been outweighed by the emergence of Cupid Childs, who is slashing 321/446/491 in the very early going of his WBL career. The offense centers around the trio of SS Herman Long (287/336/528), Hank Aaron (266/304/498) and the resurgent Eddie Mathews (246/332/489). Aaron leads the team in HRs (23) and RBIs (78).

Jim Pagliaroni–picked up at the deadline–has solidified the C position, Curtis Granderson has been a solid, consistent contributor in CF, and Adrían González, after sporting an OPS under .500 with Chicago, is slashing 287/326/456 with Birmingham.

But the real story is on the mound, where the trio of Alejandro Peña (10-7, 3.28), Pettitte (12-4, 3.22 overall), and Greg Maddux (4-4, 2.88) are pitching as well as any threesome in the league. Juan Rincón has 19 saves since being elevated to closer, and the duo of Bruce Chen and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in late relief.

#Scheduled Matchups

Portland’s starter listed first.

Bert Blyleven (8-9, 4.67) @ Alejandro Peña (10-7, 3.28)
Atlee Hammaker (2-2, 5.46) @ Vic Willis (3-2, 3.56)
Dizzy Trout (6-3, 4.15) @ Sam Streeter (6-6, 4.84)
Wade Miller (9-4, 4.33) @ Andy Pettitte (12-4, 3.22)

Portland’s starters are likely to change, as Johnson may return and Muñoz seems headed to the DL.

#Prediction

A split, of course: want to keep the race as tight as possible.

TWIWBL 32.4: Series XXV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On February 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Bob Nieman and Pie Traynor combined to go 6-for-9, driving in 5 runs and scoring the same as the Black Barons beat Indianapolis 9-1.

Billy Southworth led off the final game of their series with a double, but twisted his knee going into second base, and had to be removed from the game. Birmingham won the game despite 3 errors from Herman Long at SS, with Hank Aaron driving in 2 and Greg Maddux, Kent Mercker, Harley Young, and Bruce Chen combining to only allow 2 unearned runs over 8 innings.

After the game, Southworth–who will miss 2 weeks–was put on the DL with young phenom Nate Colbert being recalled for his first taste of big league action.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Heralded prospect Minnie Miñoso made his long-anticipated debut in the opening game of a doubleheader … and promptly got hit by a pitch, being forced out of the game. It looks like Miñoso will only miss a few days, luckily. The Cuban Giants came back to beat Brooklyn 3-2 behind a 2-RBI single from Alejandro Oms and strong pitching from Camilo Pascual, Phenomenal Smith, and Aroldis Chapman, who picked up his 17th save.

Alexei Ramírez was moved to AAA and Carlos Peña was waived as Miami activated both Paul Molitor and Carlos Morán from the DL.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson took a no-hitter into the 9th inning against San Francisco, but Bobby Bonds led off the frame with a pinch-hit homerun, and Pedro Guerrero added another, chasing the Big Train from the game. Still, the Sea Dogs cruised to a 10-3 victory, led by 4 hits from Gil Hodges, 3 from Rogers Hornsby, and 4 RBI’s from Jeff Burroughs. Burroughs, Hornsby, and Kent Hrbek all went deep for Portland.

The miracle of Wade Miller finally came to a close, as he lost his first game of the year, falling to 9-1 despite a decent outing on the mound. Iván Rodríguez had 4 hits and went deep twice in the 10-5 loss to San Francisco.

Hal Griggs was returned to AAA as Bob Porterfield came off the DL.

TWIWBL 32.0: Series XXV Notes

By mknn

On February 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we’re going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it’s got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González’ OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600’s, which isn’t great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn’t exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It’s worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn’t really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs–but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it’s not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren’t.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA’s right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York’s bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That’s another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I’ve missed these for a little while, so I’m going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June’s Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC’s was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC’s rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels‘ Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI’s.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn’s Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It’s been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson‘s triple crown run fell apart, but we’re seeing some others, most notably Kansas City‘s Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins–Cole and Mathewson–are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit‘s Mike Henneman has finally passed the injured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker‘s on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell‘s is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson‘s 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd‘s 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young‘s 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45’s @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

TWIWBL 31.4: Series XXIV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On January 23, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons just keep on doing their thing since the All-Star break. against Cleveland, 3 hits from Adrián González and a key homerun from Eddie Mathews sparked a comeback from a 5-0 deficit. Bruce Chen got the win and Juan Rincón picked up his 15th save in the 6-5 victory.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Ralph Branca was recalled from AAA to start in Brooklyn’s doubleheader with Dick Redding being sent down, most likely just for the one day. Indeed, after giving up 5 runs in 4 innings, Branca was immediately sent back down to AAA. Jermaine Dye was waived, and Nap Rucker and Michael Brantley joined the big leagues.

Beals Becker tied the WBL record with 5 hits (all singles) in a 6-3 win over Indianapolis. Roy White had 3 hits and 4 RBIs in the game, but not all the news was good for the Royal Giants, as Ray Dandridge headed back to the DL after spraining his knee in the first inning. Davey Lopes was waived and Todd Walker promoted to the big leagues.

Both Dye and Lopes cleared waivers, rejoining the franchise with AAA Queens. Tommy Hansen has earned a shot at the #5 spot in the Royal Giants’ rotation.

#Miami Cuban Giants

José Canseco almost brought the Cuban Giants back single-handedly, hitting a pinch-hit homerun in the 7th and another in the 9th to give him 5 RBI’s on the day. It wasn’t quite enough, as Miami fell to Baltimore, 6-5.

The Cuban Giants did salvage the final game of the series, as Roenis Elías, Phenomenal Smith, Ed Bauta, and Aroldis Chapman combined on a 5-hit shoutout. Gary Sheffield went deep and Miami won, 2-0, with Elías improving to 4-3 on the year and Chapman picking up his 15th save.

Prize acquisition Minnie Miñoso came off the DL, and was sent to AAA on a short rehab assignment before being recalled to the big league club, along with infielder Alexei Ramírez. Sandy Amorós moved to AAA, along with struggling slugger Jim Thome with more moves expected as Paul Molitor and Carlos Morán return from the DL this week.

On the mound, Steve Brown–hammered in his WBL stay–moved to AAA, along with once-WBL-darling Marcelino López. Ramón Martínez was brought back from a rehab assignment, nudging José Méndez out of the rotation with his return. Braden Looper will be brought up once space is cleared on the 40-man roster.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Joe Mauer will be out a couple weeks, but the Sea Dogs have a stellar replacement as Pudge Rodríguez takes over slashing 347/364/533. Cliff W. Lee, one of the best young catchers in the minor leagues, was recalled for a taste of the show.

Somehow, against all odds, Greg Litton still has a roster spot: playing 6 positions, no matter how badly you hit, has its benefits. But his offensive woes do continue to lessen his projected playing time.

Series XXIII Preview: Birmingham Black Barons @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On September 14, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Two of the hotter teams in the league face off in Series XXIII.

The Birmingham Black Barons, riding a 9 game winning streak, head into the series having moved into 3rd place in the Marvin Miller Division, 6.5 games behind Portland while the Los Angeles Angels, 7-3 over their last 10 games, are only 2 games behind the Gothams in the Bill James Division.

We first featured Birmingham in Series III and then again in Series XIV while the Angels were first profiled in Series V and then shortly thereafter in Series VIII.

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons were really seen as giving up on the season, moving All-Stars Tim Hudson and Tom Herr, as well as Ps Dick Rudolph and Hoyt Wilhelm and IF Frank Isbell. They picked up a dozen players and 4 draft picks for those players, but the only one currently at the WBL level is 1B Adrián González, who is hitting better than he did for Chicago, but still struggling at 220/238/317.

So how have they done it?

Hank Aaron has led a group of hitters hot since the break including fellow OFs Billy Southworth and Bob Nieman, as well as C Del Crandall, and on the mound, Greg Maddux has suddenly seemed to find a groove, allowing only 2 earned runs in 3 starts, and riding a 14 inning scoreless streak. Almost as surprising, the Black Barons’ bullpen has solidified, with Steve Bedrosian and Bruce Chen both pitching very well over the last couple weeks.

The numbers are still not all that impressive overall: Nieman leads the team with an 865 OPS and a 398 OBP. Pie Traynor edges him out with a 320 BA and CF Curtis Granderson leads the way in SLG at 508. Aaron has 16 HRs and 54 RBIs, and looks to pass Granderson in slugging soon. But still, none of those numbers are exactly eye-popping.

Alejandro Peña has been the most consistent of the starters, with an 8-6 record and a 3.81 ERA. Juan Ríncón, promoted to the closer role earlier in the year, has excelled, with 13 saves and a 3.13 ERA. But perhaps the key to the Black Barons’ success is a trio of unproven arms: Maddux needs to maintain his level, and both Larry Benton (5-1, 3.05) and Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) have excelled in their initial stints in the rotation.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have the look of a team coming together at the right time.

1B Carlos Delgado may be the best of all of the trade acquisitions in the league, slashing 396/439/623 since moving to the Left Coast from Ottawa. Adding Delgado to the continued excellence of Bobby Grich, Doug Rader, and Don Buford has been important, as has Mike Trout continuing to approach the league leaders in BA (322) and OBP (396), although his power numbers continue to lag behind.

The challenge for LA is what to do with their rotation after the magnificence of Gerrit Cole. Cole is the frontrunner for the Brock Rutherford Award, leading the league with a 12-3 record and an ERA under 4.00. The rest looks ugly, but looks can, of course, be deceiving: Nolan Ryan, Chuck Finley, and especially Doc Gooden have all turned it around since some disastrous appearances early in the season. Joe Nathan closes out the bullpen with 14 saves, and the combination of Jonny Venters and Francisco Rodríguez has been great in getting Nathan his opportunities.

#Series Matchups

Birmingham starter first.

Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) @ Chuck Finley (4-4, 5.66)
Sam Streeter (4-4, 4.52) @ Nolan Ryan (3-3, 3.94)
Greg Maddux (2-2, 3.78) @ Tom Seaver (0-0, 23.14)
Alejandro Peña (8-6, 3.81) @ Doc Gooden (3-7, 5.47)

#Predictions

Look, I like a feel-good story as much as anyone. But I ain’t a believer. LA to take 3 out of 4–with Birmingham’s victory being Maddux continuing his dominant run.

Series XXI Best Games

By mknn

On June 29, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Five games made the list for Series XXI. We’ll give the detailed treatment to a great comeback, but the others all have some noteworthy moments.

#Indianapolis @ Memphis, Game 2

Just another see-saw …

A solo homerun by Mookie Betts and a 2 run shot by Ted Williams were the key hits as the Red Sox jumped out to a 7-0 lead. A 2-run homerun by Danny Hoffman and a triple from Oscar Charleston made it 7-3, and then, in the 7th inning, another homerun from Hoffman and a key, 2-0ut, 2-run shot from Johnny Bench brought the ABC’s within 1 run at 7-6. Reggie Smith added a solo shot off Lefty James, making it 8-6 heading to the top of the 9th.

Memphis brought in Jonathan Papelbon to close it out, which was certainly a reasonable choice. Tommy Helms led off the inning with a single, but a groundout by Hoffman seemed to set Memphis on the road to victory.

And then, Edd Roush and Charleston singled to load the bases and Bench cleared them with a double. A single by Dave Henderson scored Bench, and another by Denis Menke chased Papelbon from the game with Indianapolis having come all the way back to take the lead 10-8. Rob Dibble dominated the bottom of the frame, and the ABC’s had a great comeback win under their belt.

IND 10 (James 5-1, Dibble 16 Sv) @ MEM 8 (Papelbon 0-4, 2 BSv; Cicotte 1 H; Farrell 3 H)
HRs: IND – Hoffman 2 (11), Bench (17); MEM – Betts (6), Williams (18), Smith (11).
Box Score

#Ottawa @ Philadelphia, Game 2

A mismatch on paper as a tough Philadelphia lineup faces Joe Mays in his WBL debut. Tim Raines opened the game with homerun for Ottawa, but after that it went pretty much according to form, with Mays surrendering back-to-back-to-back homeruns in the 1st (José Ramírez, Rico Carty, and Scott Rolen) and then being chased from the game by back-to-back doubles in the 4th. Ottawa turned to Randy Johnson in relief, and the Big Unit delivered with a couple effective innings. Ottawa scored 7 runs in 2 innings to take the lead in a game with decimated bullpens. It was dicey throughout–Greg Holland, just recalled from AAA, had been hammered at the WBL level earlier in the year. But he gave the Mounties a good inning, and was followed by Ryan Dempster, asked to close the game. Dempster did so, but only when Raines threw out J.M. Ward at home for the final out. Larry Walker finished with 3 hits including his 8th homerun for the Mounties.

OTT 8 (Johnson 2-4; Dempster 2 Sv; Holland 3 H) @ PHI 7 (Cormier 4-1, 3 BSv; Laskey 1 H)
HRs: OTT – Raines (10), Walker (8); Ramírez (4), Carty (9), Kluszewski (14), Davis (14).
Box Score

#New York Gothams @ Brooklyn, Game 2

A tight pitching duel: Brooklyn’s Dick Redding was as good as the Gotham’s Christy Mathewson, but New York managed a sacrifice fly and a well-timed single by Eugenio Suárez to lead, 2-0. It was enough: Mathewson allowed 7 hits through 7 innings, but was dominant, fanning 11 and allowing only a solo shot from Duke Snider. Robb Nen and Brian Wilson slammed the door in relief to preserve the narrow victory.

NYG 2 (Mathewson 9-6; Wilson 13 Sv; Nen 4 H) @ BRK 1 (Redding 0-3)
HRs: BRK – Snider (19).
Box Score

#Miami @ Portland, Game 2

Portland only managed 2 hits, but leveraged 3 Miami errors and 10 walks by Cuban Giant hurlers to score 5 runs. Four of the runs scored off a chain of 2 walks, a double by Rogers Hornsby, and then 2 more walks and a wild pitch. The winning run in the bottom of the 9th was scored on a sacrifice fly from Joe Mauer after Adrián Beltré delivered a pinch-hit single. Eustaquio Pedroso‘ pitching line wasn’t pretty, but he was really let down by Phenomenal Smith‘s wildness, and Pedroso’s start was actually a source of some encouragement for Miami.

MCG 4 (Bauta 1-4; Smith 1 BSv) @ POR 5 (Williams 2-1)
HRs: MCG – Braun (11), Sheffield (3).
Box Score

#Birmingham @ New York Black Yankees, Game 4

We had to put something in here for the shocking performance of the Black Yankees in this series, who came into the final game desperately trying to avoid a sweep by the Black Barons having only scored 3 runs total over the first 3 games.

New York took the lead in the bottom of the 1st on a 2-run shot by Don Mattingly and extended it to 3-0 on a solo shot by Manny Sanguillén in the 5th. And that seemed plenty as Ron Guidry was dominant in his best start since early in the season, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk through 7 innings while striking out 7.

But then came the 8th. Guidry gave up back to back walks and a single to load the bases and was clearly out of gas, relieved by Ralph Citarella, who let the wheels fall of: an error and a wild pitch scored runs, and then RBI singles from Curtis Granderson, Bob Nieman, and Pie Traynor chased Citarella with Birmingham holding a 6-3 lead.

Granderson added a 2-run inside-the-park-homerun in the 9th, giving plenty of cushion even when Albert Belle got 2 runs back in the final frame with his 10th homerun of the year. Vic Willis continued the strong start to his career, striking out 9 in 6 innings despite not factoring in the decision and Bruce Chen was nearly perfect over 2 innings in relief for the win, sealing the most surprising series sweep of the season.

BBB 8 (Chen 1-0) @ NYY 5 (Citarella 1-4; 3 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (10); NYY – Mattingly (17), Sanguillén (2), Belle (10).
Box Score

TWIWBL 25.4: Series XIX Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 10, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

With all of the trades, the Black Barons brought Warren Spahn back to the big leagues and promoted both Kent Mercker and Bruce Chen. Changes in the field include a platoon at first between Frank McCormick and newcomer Adrián González and at third between Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor. Herman Long and Ginger Beaumont were both promoted as well.

Bob Nieman and Del Crandall had 3 hits each and Hank Aaron drove in 3 runs as the Black Barons started the 2nd half with a 7-3 victory over Philadelphia.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Darren Dreifort joins the Royal Giants’ bullpen and newcomer Frank Isbell steps right into the lineup.

With Ray Dandridge missing a couple weeks, the Royal Giants recalled SS Germany Smith from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

José Méndez and Eustaquio Pedroso join the rotation, with Sandy Consuegra, Bill Landrum, and Phenomenal Smith all getting promotions to the big leagues. Alan Ashby took over a the fulltime catcher, with newly acquired Chris Hoiles his backup and Charlie Bennett moving to AAA.

Alexei Ramírez was sent to AAA as was José Tartabull (whose WBL stay lasted exactly one game) as both Alejandro Oms and Martín Dihigo were activated from the DL.

José Cardenal went deep twice and Ashby drilled a go-ahead 3-run homerun to lead the Cuban Giants to a come from behind, 8-6 victory over the Grays.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Frank Williams and Pascual Pérez move up to Portland’s bullpen. Rogers Hornsby‘s arrival means Fred Dunlap goes down to AAA, as Greg Litton‘s flexibility continues to keep him around.

Wade Miller improved to 6-0 by carrying a no-hitter through 6 innings en route to a 7-2 victory over the New York Gothams. Buddy Bell had 3 hits and he and Harry Hooper drove in 2 runs each for the Sea Dogs.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lots of churn here. Huston Street and Eddie Joost were waived, although the Sea Lions hope to retain them. With a lot of moving parts, the Sea Lions are taking a risk by going with only one shortstop–Miguel Cairo–until Dick Lundy comes of the DL. Ron Hunt and Sal Bando are called up in the interim.

Two homeruns by Pedro Guerrero and a stellar start by Charlie Root weren’t enough as Indianapolis came back to beat San Francisco 4-3 in 10 innings. Chad Bradford balked in the winning run after Rod Beck suffered his third blown save of the season.

TWIWBL 24.1: Mid-Season Reviews – Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On February 16, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

In some ways, being 5 games under .500 is an accomplishment for Birmingham, who had a rough start to the season. Finishing over .500 is the goal.

What’s Gone Right

The Call Ups. First, and most of all, Tommy Herr. While the scrappy second baseman has cooled off a bit, his OPS is still just under .800, and his feel-good story has culminated in an All-Star selection. Tim Hudson–also a surprise all-star–has a similar story. Starting the season at AAA, Hudson is now 5-0 with an ERA under 3.00. At 36 years old, Hudson may be more valuable to Birmingham as trade bait than anything else. If all goes well, Vic Willis may make a similar impact.

CF. Curtis Granderson has emerged as a legitimate WBL starter in CF, and has been, in fact, the best offensive player for the Black Barons for much of the season.

Nieman and Isbell. Not a lot was expected from Frank Isbell or Bob Nieman, but they’ve proving to be useful pieces for Birmingham, maintaining OPS’ in the high .700s.

What’s Gone Wrong

Aaron & Mathews. Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron have been among the bigger disappointments in the league, each hovering in the 240/280/450 range with 11 homeruns each.

Catching. It’s been an absolute travesty, with Gene Tenace hitting for enough power to be barely passable before he got injured, but Del Crandall and Dale Murphy unable to get their OPS’ over .560.

Pitching Potential. There are some good arms here, led by youngsters Greg Maddux and Warren Spahn, but they’ve just struggled to produce on the mound.

Key Storylines

The biggest successes for Birmingham have been minor league callups. There’s Nieman, Herr, Hudson, and Willis, and now 3B Pie Traynor is demanding more playing time. Given how poor others have performed, perhaps Birmingham should just keep doing that.

Moving Juan Ríncón into the closer role has worked well.

The big story here is the gap between performance and potential: Maddux, Spahn, Aaron, and Mathews could form the backbone of a great team.

Trading Outlook

SELLING.

Hudson, Herr, Dick Rudolph, Isbell, Nieman, and Hoyt Wilhelm look to be the most useful bits that could be moved on.

AAA Shuttle

Maddux and Spahn have been up and down, struggling at Birmingham but doing well in Atlanta.

Midseason Changes

Quite a few. Earl Batty was promoted to Birmingham, moving into a platoon with Crandall for the time being. P John Malarkey was sent down, with Maddux coming up, yet again.

Ginger Beaumont was released, and then re-signed after a few trades were made.

Awards

All Stars: Tom Herr (2B); Tim Hudson (P).

Offensive MVP: Tom Herr (2B)
Pitching MVP: Tim Hudson (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Atlanta X Giants

Next to the Show: 1B Nate Colbert, OF Joe Rudi, SP Bruce Chen

Prospects: SP Greg Maddux (22), RP George Murray (23), 1B Nate Colbert (22), OF Joe Rudi (22).

Projects: P Kent Mercker (30), OF Terry Whitfield and Alfonso Soriano (both 31), IF Cupid Childs (22), SS Herman Long (26), C Dale Murphy (22)

Suspects: John Clarkson (27), CF Mickey Rivers (28).

AA: Montgomery Biscuits

Prospects: 3B Candy Jim Taylor (21)

Projects: RPs Ben Johnson (29), Cal McLish (23), Dick Coffman (33), and Eric Gunderson (25); 2B Don Zimmer (23).

Suspects: RP Matt Miller (35), Lucas Sims (23)