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Tag: Bruce Chen

Series XXIII Preview: Birmingham Black Barons @ Los Angeles Angels

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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

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

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

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)

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