Tag: Carl Hubbell

Season Review: New York Gothams

On January 1, 2024

87 - 67, .564 pct.
3rd in Bill James Division, 3 games behind.
Lost to Detroit in Division Round

Overall

The Gothams were one of the more pleasant surprises of the year. Just goes to show how far you can go with a single ace (Christy Mathewson), two elite bats (Willie Mays and Buster Posey), and the best bullpen in the league (Brian Wilson as closer, but also spectacular seasons from Mike Norris and Carson Smith).

This is a team that, despite their talent this year, is a little bereft of talent. With very few draft picks this season, they have a challenge in front of them to remain competitive. This is compounded by the Gothams being built … unusually. They hit for average, but not power; they get batters out, but don’t strike out many. Those are not recipes for long term success, but there’s no arguing with what it accomplished this season.

What Went Right

Willie Mays and Buster Posey, yes; but the contributions of Johnny Callison and Joe Adcock should not be underestimated.

Jimmy Sheckard and Pinky Higgins were solid, and Pete Runnels was fantastic down the stretch.

Wes Westrum quickly established himself as fan favorite, providing some pop as the backup C.

Benny Kauff was dominant in a September call up, and the question of how much more he has in the tank could be key to the Gothams’ success next season. He certainly has nothing left to prove at AAA, having won the MVP award there at age 27.

Christy Mathewson established himself as a true ace in the WBL, and Gaylord Perry‘s peripheral numbers were almost as good, although his results trailed far behind Matty’s.

Don Sutton, Juan Marichal, and Rube Waddell were all thoroughly meh. It’s not exactly something that went right, but that’s almost 400 not bad innings.

Oh, the bullpen … Brian Wilson was perhaps the most effective closer in the league, and he was the 3rd best performer in the Gothams’ bullpen, behind Carson Smith and the magnificent Mike Norris. Robb Nen was quite good and while Steve Howe was fine during the regular season, he found another gear entirely in the postseason.

ALL STARS
OF Willie Mays; C Buster Posey; RP Brian Wilson

What Went Wrong

The left side of the infield was a mess aside from Pinky Higgins as Brandon Crawford, Eugenio Suárez, Mark Loretta, and Johan Camargo all fumbled chances to claim starting roles.

Will Clark was poor after being (re)acquired from Miami. Offensively, that’s about it.

On the mound, even less: injuries to Carl Hubbell, Al Mays, and Pete Donohue probably count. Beyond that, the worse of the Gothams’ starters (Mickey Welch, Sad Sam Jones, and Vean Gregg) were still not horrid. It was about as good a year on the mound as a team can have, all things considered.

Transactions

March

1B Will Clark, C Harry Danning & OF Carlos Morán to Miami for OF Yasiel Puig, 2B Cookie Rojas, 1B Joe Adcock & P Liván Hernández

Half of these players came back later, so we’ll evaluate the deal as a whole below.

June

OF Don Mueller, P Ray Lamb, P Gil Heredia, P Lew Krawusse, Jr, 1st Round Pick & 8th Round Pick to Brooklyn for P Don Sutton

This is a lot to give up. But Sutton showed flashes of front of rotation potential. Call it a push.

July

P Travis Bowyer, OF Mike Shannon & 4th Round Pick to Homestead for P Vean Gregg & 5th Round Pick {Tom Burns}

Gregg wasn’t much, but not much was lost, either.

P Freddie Fitzsimmons, 2B Cookie Rojas, OF Yasiel Puig & 2nd Round Pick to Miami for P Rube Waddell, 2B Pete Runnels & 1B Will Clark

OK, so at the end of the day, this is Danning, Morán, Fitzsimmons, and a 2nd rounder for Adcock, Hernández, and Runnels. New York also got a solid half season from Rojas fwiw. Given Adock and Runnels’ late season heroics, it seems like a decent deal for the Gothams.

P Jeremy Affeldt, OF George Burns, 3B Art Devlin, P Bob Moose & 3rd Round Pick to Ottawa for RP Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren & 5th Round Pick {Kyle Tucker}

Probably overpaid slightly, but Howe and Van Haltren were excellent down the stretch, and getting Tucker with the pick helps a lot.

Looking Forward

SP

Christy Mathewson, Gaylord Perry, and Carl Hubbell should be good, and the odds are at least a few of the other arms will come good. But some depth would be useful.

RP

Norris is aging but the rest of the bullpen should be around for a while.

C

Buster Posey‘s position to lose.

1B

While Will Clark looks good, long term the Gothams believe Bill Terry will eventually take over from him.

2B

Who knows? Pete Runnels has this right now, but this is an area of need.

3B

Who knows? Pinky Higgins has this right now, but this is an area of need.

SS

Who knows? Eugenio Suárez has this right now, but this is an area of need.

LF

Who kno–no, really, this is Jimmy Sheckard, with some pressure from both Steve Kemp and Ben Oglive. George Van Haltren should help here and in RF as well.

CF

Willie Mays is the one true offensive superstar the Gothams have (depending on how susceptible you think backstops are to injury). Benny Kauff will be here some next year as well.

RF

Johnny Callison and Carl Furillo, with perhaps some pressure from Mike Tiernan.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

None. Yep, a team that needs to stock a fairly empty system will add zero high ceiling talent this off season through drafts.

Rounds 5-8

They do have 3 picks in the 5th round, the first two being the 4th and 5th picks of the round. They used these on IF Tom Burns and OF Kyle Tucker. Tucker clearly has the higher ceiling while Burns fills some holes in a system devoid of MI talent. Their final pick is used on 2B David Eckstein.

In the 6th round they unearthed one of the few remaining arms capable of immediately contributing at the WBL level, Masahiro Tanaka and then an arm that is a few years away in Logan Webb. Round 7 brought C depth with Dick Buckley.

Rounds 9-12

P Ferdie Schupp; P Jordan Montgomery; P Bugs Raymond; P William VanLandingham.

TWIWBL 41.1: Series XXXIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Olmedo Sáenz now has 10 hits in first 20 at-bats in the WBL for a cool .500 average. Clearly unsustainable, but it has been useful for the Wolverines as they push towards the pennant. Saenz had 3 hits, Ty Cobb launched his 19th homerun of the year, and Hal Newhouser put in another solid outing as Detroit topped Memphis, 4-3. Newhouser is now 8-3, and Mike Henneman picked up his 34th save in the victory.

#Los Angeles Angels

Needing a spot starter, the Angels sent Larry Anderson to AAA, recalling Mike Smith, who might also be able to help with his bat.

#New York Gothams

The late season surge of the Gothams should get some help, as both Carl Hubbell and Carson Smith started rehab assignments this week. Smith–sporting a sub-2.00 ERA before his injury–will especially be welcomed back.

Rube Waddell was placed on the DL as the Gothams needed a starter. Various roster complications prevented them from recalling more preferable options, so the start fell to Mickey Welch who was already on the 40 man roster. It worked well as Welch pitched 7 strong in a 5-2 victory.

Two homeruns from Joe Adcock and 3 hits from Pete Runnels weren’t enough as Pete Donohue couldn’t make it out of the first inning (and was injured to boot) in a 12-8 loss to Birmingham.

Series XIV Featured Matchup: Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams

By mknn

On September 12, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Preview here

#Game One: Scott Baker @ Sad Sam Jones

Win-Loss records can be so deceiving. Birmingham’s Scott Baker sits at 5-3, despite an ERA over 5.00 while the Gothams’ Sad Sam Jones is pushing for consideration as an all-star, despite a 3-3 record.

Bob Nieman took Jones deep in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead for Birmingham, and Omar Infante doubled home Billy Southworth in the second to double it. Jones wouldn’t get out of the 5th: Nieman led off with a double, went to third on a single from Eddie Mathews, and scored on a base hit from Hank Aaron. Del Crandall would plate another run with a sacrifice fly, and Carson Smith would relieve Jones. So much for the all star argument …

Baker, meanwhile, had allowed only 1 hit through 5 innings, and nothing else until Willie Mays doubled with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th. By that point, Birmingham had added 2 more runs, and led 6-0.

Yasiel Puig drove the ball deep to left field with 2 outs, where it took an odd bounce, eluding Southworth’s pursuit. Puig ended up with an inside-the-park homerun, and hits from Willie McCovey and Brandon Crawford chased Baker from the game.

Harley Young relieved him, and gave up RBI hits to Cookie Rojas and Jimmy Sheckard, closing the score to 6-5.

That was as close as it got, however, as Juan Rincon was able to close the door in the 9th, and the Black Barons opened the four game series with a victory.

Matthews and Aaron had 3 hits each for Birmingham, who outhit New York 14-9. Baker, who ended up allowing 4 runs in his 6.2 innings did in fact earn his 6th victory of the year.

After the game, Birmingham learned that Gene Tenace‘s injury will sideline him for 5 to 6 weeks. That was better news than the Gothams received, as they learned that Carl Hubbell would miss 2-3 months with his current DL stint.

BBB 6 (Baker 6-3; Young 5 H; Bedrosian 1 H; Rincon 3 Sv) @ NYG 5 (Jones 3-4)
HRs: BBB – Nieman (3); NYG – Puig (2)
Box Score

#Game Two: Dick Rudolph @ Christy Mathewson

While Birmingham has, in Tom Herr, undoubtedly the surprise performance by an infielder so far in the WBL, the Gothams’ Eugenio Suarez comes close with an OPS over .900. Suarez continued his strong season with a 2-run homerun off Dick Rudolph in the bottom of th 2nd.

Meanwhile, Christy Mathewson had a no-hitter going until Hank Aaron led off the top of the 5th with a triple to centerfield over Willie Mays‘ head. Del Crandall followed with a fly to right field, but Carl Furillo‘s throw nailed Aaron trying to score from third.

Mathewson gave up 3 consecutive hits to start the 6th, with Bob Nieman driving in 2 with a double. That tied the game, and when Nieman scored on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Mathews, Birmingham took the lead, 3-2.

Yasiel Puig would tie the game in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double, placing the game firmly in the hands of the bullpens. Pete Donohue relieved Mathewson, and Larry Benton came on to pitch for Birmingham in the top of the 7th.

Furillo and Puig singled off Benton in the 8th, bringing in Steve Bedrosian for Birmingham in relief of Harley Young. Mark Loretta greeted Bedrosian with a 2-run double, and Suarez–there’s that man again–brought him home with a single to right. That gave the Gothams a 6-3 lead, with their closer, Brian Wilson, on the mound.

It was enough, as Wilson only allowed a walk in picking up his 7th save, with the win going to Donohue and Benton taking the loss. Puig had 3 hits and Suarez 3 RBIs for the Gothams as they evened up the series.

BBB 3 (Benton 0-1) @ NYG 6 (Donohue 1-0; Wilson 7 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Suarez (4)
Box Score

#Game Three: Tim Hudson @ Mickey Welch

Birmingham scored 2 in the top of the 2nd off Mickey Welch off an RBI single from Omar Infante, who later scored on an error by the Gotham’s shortstop, Eugenio Suarez. A Welch wild pitch would score Hank Aaron in the 3rd, and a Curtis Granderson homerun in the 6th would extend the lead to 4-0, chasing Welch from the game.

In the meantime, Birmingham’s Tim Hudson only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings. New York would break through in the 6th when a Jimmy Sheckard single plated Suarez, who had walked to leadoff the frame. Willie Mays would lead off the 7th with his 10th homerun of the year, cutting the lead in half to 4-2.

Hudson gave up another homerun, this one to Jimmy Sheckard, to leadoff the 9th, chasing Hudson and bringing in Juan Rincon. Rincon got one out, and then Willie Mays was injured beating a threw to first for the infield hit. Rincon got another out before giving up a single to Yasiel Puig, who took second when John Kerins–who replaced Mays as a pinch-runner–went first-to-third on the hit.

Willie McCovey grounded out to first to end the game, but all attention for New York was on the health of their young centerfielder.

Hudson moved to 5-0, keeping his ERA under 3.00, and Rincon picked up his 4th save.

BBB 4 (Hudson 5-0; Rincon 4 Sv) @ NYG 3 (Welch 5-3)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (5); NYG – Mays (10); Sheckard (6)
Box Score

#Game 4: Rain, Rain, Rain

The 4th game of the series was rained out, to be made up in mid-August. Which means the Black Barons come out with a 2-1 series win, quite an unexpected result.

#Series Notes

Omar Infante, Hank Aaron, Curtis Granderson, and Bob Nieman each had 4 hits for Birmingham, with Nieman adding 3 RBIs.

For the Gothams, Willie Mays went 5-for-11 and, more importantly, was declared healthy enough to play in New York’s next game. Yasiel Puig also had 5 hits in the three games.

TWIWBL 16.1: Series XIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On September 3, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Each player in Detroit’s starting lineup had 1 hit, with the biggest being a 2-run single by Oscar Gamble leading the Wolverines to a 4-2 win over the Black Yankees. Johnny Marcum moved to 5-1 with 7.2 strong innings, and Mike Henneman earned his 10th save of the season.

Mickey Lolich was sent to AAA to make room for Si Johnson‘s return from his rehab assignment. Johnson’s return pushes Justin Verlander back to the bullpen.

#Los Angeles Angels

The less said about the 18-3 loss to Miami, the better. Aaron Heilman hit the DL after the game, and Doc Gooden‘s 6th loss of the year–4 innings, 6 walks, 6 hits, 8 runs–sent him to AAA to see if he can work out his great promise. Sid Fernandez and Francisco Rodriguez were recalled from AAA Las Vegas.

AT LAST! After many attempts, Gerrit Cole became the WBL’s first 7 game winner, improving to 7-3 with 7 strong innings in an 8-3 victory for the Angels over Miami. Mike Trout led the way with 4 hits and Don Buford and Bobby Grich added 3 each.

Brett Anderson threw a 4-hitter, blanking Miami 5-0 in a complete game effort. Derrek Lee and Grich each went deep and had 2 hits for Los Angeles.

#New York Gothams

Al Mays will miss a couple weeks after straining his wrist in a 7-1 loss to Indianapolis. Pete Donohue was recalled from AAA to take Mays’s place.

The Gothams’ other Mays–Willie Mays–showed a flash of what the future might hold as the 23 year old hit 2 homeruns, drove in 4, and threw the tying run out at the plate to end the game as New York beat Indianapolis, 5-4. Juan Marichal improved to 6-1 and Brian Wilson, despite giving up 3 hits and a run, was bailed out by Mays’ throw to gain his 6th save.

John Kerins has been tearing up AAA on his rehab assignment, leading the Gothams to send down Joe Adcock, returning Kerins to the big league club as a 1B, and given them 3 catchers on the roster. Carson Smith was also recalled from a rehab assignment, with Carl Hubbell‘s recent injury landing him right back on the DL.

#Wandering House of David

Elrod Hendricks had 2 homeruns and he and Ernie Banks had 3 hits each to back a masterful performance from Jack Taylor, who spun a 2 hit shutout against Portland to improve his record to 3-5. Taylor walked 2 and struck out 6, lowering his ERA to 3.88.

TWIWBL 15.1: Series XII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 23, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Hal Newhouser allowed 1 hit and 1 run in 6 innings … along with a WLB record-tying 8 walks. But it was enough for a win, improving his record to 2-1 and lowering his ERA to 1.67. Gene Conley, Buddy Napier, John Hiller, and Mike Henneman combined to allow only 1 more hit over the rest of the ballgame, with Henneman picking up his 9th save in a 2-1 victory for Detroit over San Francisco.

Doyle Alexander was moved into the starting rotation, which may last only as long as Si Johnson‘s rehab assignment (by which point, the Wolverines are hoping the mix of Napier, Matt Anderson, and Mickey Lolich have worked themselves out in terms of who belongs at the big league level).

#Los Angeles Angels

Pud Galvin and Harry Howell have been replaced in the Angels’ starting rotation by Nolan Ryan and Chuck Finley; really the only surprise here is that Doc Gooden has retained his starting spot despite continuing to struggle. The Angels also made a shock move, replacing their entire catching corps by sending Jim Stephens and Brian Downing to AAA and promoting Ron Hassey and John Stearns, who are expected to platoon for the big league club. As part of this, the club recalled Rusty Staub to help fill in at RF, and waived Armando Benitez and his 8.00+ ERA. These moves also mean that Elmer Valo and Kal Daniels find spots in the lineup every day (Valo in RF, Daniels as the DH).

#Memphis Red Sox

Nomar Garciaparra‘s demotion to AAA from the disabled list was no surprise, but the choice to also send both Bob Brenly and Dustin Pedroia to New Orleans may have been. Billy Bryan was recalled from AAA, but Brenly’s demotion means Jim Pagliaroni becomes an everyday catcher. Iván de Jesus was recalled as well, mostly due to his defensive versatility.

#New York Gothams

Led by 3 hits apiece from Yasiel Puig and Pinky Higgins, the Gothams destroyed Cleveland 10-3. Juan Marichal improved to 5-1 with the victory.

Buck O’Brien‘s time in the WBL was very brief, as after being left as sacrificial arm in a blowout game, absorbing 11 hits in just over 2 innings pitched, O’Brien was returned to AAA with Carl Hubbell making his long awaited return from injury.

#Wandering House of David

In a see-saw game, the House of David relied on 4 hits from George Stone and Ryne Sandberg and 3 RBIs from Ron Santo in a 15-9 triumph over Kansas City. The Monarchs hit 4 homeruns, but the House of David responded by outhitting them, 22 to 13. After Wade Miley was hit hard, Bob Rush continued his great season with 4 innings, allowing only 1 run and improving his record to 4-1.

Rush has replaced Ferguson Jenkins in the House of David’s rotation and Bruce Sutter has been named the closer, with Tom Niedenfeuer out for several months. Jerry Mumphrey, Jung Ho Kang, and Bunny Downs were all sent down to AAA (essentially giving Sammy Sosa the job in CF for the time being). Dave Altizer was waived to make room for Craig Reynolds on the 40-man roster, and Jim Edmonds and Anthony Rizzo were recalled as well.

All of that results in Dan Ford parlaying his strong showing with the House of David into a starting job in RF.

TWIWBL 2.1: Notes From The Opening 5 Games

By mknn

On September 4, 2020

In TWIWBL

All 20 teams opened with 5 game series this week. Some notes from around the league.

First, the WBL Player of the Week went to Indianapolis’ Hal Morris, Morris did hit 450/476/1000 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs. Still, Lou Gehrig of the New York Black Yankees (538/600/1154, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs) and the Portland Sea Dog’s Buddy Bell (412/444/1059 with 3 HRs) had to deserve significant consideration as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

SP Fred Fussell and DH Emil Frisk will both miss about a month with injuries to start the season, with Greg Maddux returning to the WBL to replace Fussell.

The Black Barons’ starter’s ERA of 11.84 is the biggest contributor to their 0-5 start to the season.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Dutch Leonard tossed a 5 hit shutout in his 1st start of the year, and teammates Don Drysdale and Brickyard Kennedy only allowed 1 run in their starts, leading the Royal Giants to a 4-1 start. Dickie Thon–handed the starting SS role despite not playing in Spring Training–hasn’t embarrassed himself, hitting .250 so far.

#Chicago American Giants

Ticky Nichols threw a 3 hit shutout on 111 pitches to start the season.

#Cleveland Spiders

With John Ellis out about a week, the Spiders sent Hardie Henderson to AAA and recalled Harry Bemis to spell Andy Etchebarren at C. Ellis is still on the active roster, but Detroit has a league-leading 7 players on the DL, but Whit Wyatt, Doug Corbett, and Bill Steen should all be back within about a week.

#Detroit Wolverines

OF Oscar Gamble was hot out of the gates, with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs in the 1st 5 games. Hal Newhouser lasted less than 2 innings before his elbow gave out, sidelining him for a couple weeks. With Claude Passeau also injured, it’s not clear who will get Newhouser’s starts between Gene Conley, Johnny Marcum, and Justin Verlander.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Stan Musial is as hot as any player in the league, opening the season at a 455/500/773 clip. Jose Rijo fanned 10 in 8 IP in a strong 1st start.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Camilo Pascual only allowed 3 hits in 8.2 IP in a strong opening start for the Cuban Giants.

#New York Black Yankees

Eric Davis leads the league with 11 RBI. Both Willie Randolph and Mike Schmidt are still looking for the 1st hits on the season.

#New York Gothams

It’s been a rough 5 days to be a Gothams pitcher: Carl Hubbell is out for over a month, Carson Smith for a few weeks, and Al Mays will be out about a week. Mat Latos (freshly returned from the injury list himself), Al Spalding, and Gaylord Perry are on hand to pick up the starts.

Brian Wilson has 2 saves in the Gothams’s 3 wins.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Mike Cuellar is the 1st 2-game winner in the league, picking up 2 victories in relief and Johan Santana leads the league with a save in each of the Sea Dogs’ 3 wins.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove only gave up 3 hits and 1 run in a complete game win in his 1st start of the year. Jack Clark is hitting 417/417/750 with 10 RBI, leading the Sea Lions to a 5-0 record. Newly acquired Dick Lundy proved a sparkplug off the bench for San Francisco, even managing a steal of home in his first appearance.

Season Preview: New York Gothams

By mknn

On August 19, 2020

In Team News

The Gothams look to have one of the strongest pitching staffs in the league, and assuming that holds up, they should go far this season. The lineup looks solid–one of the keys is whether Buster Posey can continue to perform at an elite level offensively.

Final Roster

SP: Christy Mathewson, Mickey Welch, Sad Sam Jones, Juan Marichal, Carl Hubbell.
RP: Al Spalding & Gaylord Perry; Marcel Lachemann; Robb Nen & Mike Norris; Brian Wilson.

C: Buster Posey; John Kerins
1B: Willie McCovey
2B: Brian Dozier; Mark Loretta
3B: Pinky Higgins
SS: Art Fletcher; Eugenio Suarez
LF: Jimmy Sheckard; Ben Oglive
CF: Willie Mays
RF: Johnny Callison & Carl Furillo
DH: Wally Berger

Notes

Buck O’Brien imploded at the end of Spring Training, making him the final cut from the pitching staff … despite limited appearances in the Spring, Carl Hubbell will slide into the 5th rotation spot once he’s back from injury … Will Clark‘s injury proved decisive, and he’ll start the year at AAA … The final cut, after OF Carlos Moran, is quite a challenge: at the end of the day, the Gothams have decided to leverage their expected strength on their pitching staff and go with 11 arms, sending Sergio Romo down.

35 year old RP Mike Norris is the oldest player on the opening day roster, with 20 year old SP Christy Mathewson the youngest.

The Gothams loved what Moran offered in the OF, but the 20 year old needs a little more experience. The most likely immediate help at AAA would come from SP Pete Donohue or OF Benny Kauff. 1B Hi Myers might be closest to contributing from AA.

*Will Clark is pictured as he has not yet been sent to AAA due to current short-term injury.*

Getting to 30: Bill James Division

By mknn

On August 6, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

#Detroit Wolverines

The starting rotation looks set, with Justin Verlander and Jason Schmidt both being relegated to the bullpen for the time being. John Hiller was brought into camp to add a left hander to the bullpen, as Hal Newhouser, Whitey Wilshere, and Hank Aguirre all made the rotation. If Hiller sticks around, it will be most likely at the expense of Kevin Hart.

Promising youngsters Al Kaline and Charlie Gehringer failed to hold on to a spot in camp. Jorge Orta raised some eyebrows with his performance, but not enough to force his way into a crowded infield. The final cut at this point was Wes Covington, who was displaced from the roster by a fantastic showing from Tony Phillips.

20 year old Ty Cobb will need to impress to make the final 25, and the Wolverines would like to sort out the competition between Ray Chapman and George Davis at SS.

#Los Angeles Angels

Only two of Mike Smith, Chuck Finley, and Nolan Ryan should make the opening day roster. Similarly, the Angels will most likely break camp with only two arms in middle relief, meaning Darren Holmes and Jeurys Familia are battling for the final bullpen slot.

Andrelton Simmons beat out Kevin Elster as the reserve SS.

The other choices to get down to 30 are far more difficult. It was assumed Tim Wallach‘s power and High Pockets Kelly‘s versatility would earn them a roster spot, instead they are off to AAA, with both Mark Ellis and Doug Rader perhaps surprising many to still be in big league camp.

It has left them with fairly weak defense at 3B.

The organization is pretty thin at C, and is scouring for some depth.

#Memphis Red Sox

Luiz Gohara‘s implosion continued, and landed him in AAA. There are still a few spots up for grabs on the pitching staff, with Dean Chance and Eddie Cicotte fighting for the final long relief slot. Roger Clemens slipped into the #5 starting spot, settling the rotation, at least for now.

Closer Eddie Watt‘s injury is yet to be diagnosed, and could throw the bullpen into disarray, although both Jonathan Papelbon and Joe Beggs look capable of stepping into the role.

Truly poor performances from Claude Ritchey, Francisco Lindor, David Justice, and Dwight Evans made some decisions easy; a glut of players at 3B sent Bill Melton packing. But the final decisions were more difficult, with the failure of either Reggie Smith or Joe Kelley showing enough to claim the CF spot leading to an essential coin-flip that saw Smith stick with the big league team.

Bill White and George Scott will platoon at 1B. There is a battle in the OF between Mookie Betts and Tony Conigliaro for a final roster spot, with Betts holding the edge at this point.

#New York Gothams

Carl Hubbell‘s return from injury should setup a competition with Al Spalding for the final place in the starting rotation. Both should make the roster in what looks like a very deep pitching staff.

There are probably only 2 roster slots available for Buck O’Brien, Gaylord Perry, and Marcel Lachemann. The challenge is that all of them are pitching quite well. Matt Thornton and Aaron Loup pitched decently, but are headed to AAA. This leaves New York without a lefthanded arm on the staff aside from Hubbell, which may be an argument for him to land in the bullpen.

Bill Terry lost the battle at 1B and was sent to AAA.

The Gothams struggle from a real lack of defensive versatility, which constrains many of their roster decisions. If Benny Kauff, Art Devlin, or Brandon Crawford could play a 2nd position, they would probably still be on the roster.

#Wandering House of David

The initial cuts from the pitching staff were obvious, as 15 year old Joe Nuxhall‘s first exposure to big league camp was a disaster, and neither Kerry Wood nor Jeff Heathcock showed enough to stick around.

Tom Niedenfuer is the closer, but both Joakim Soria and especially Bruce Sutter have shown enough to handle that role as well. Veteran Dick Tidrow is getting a longer look than expected for the bullpen, and Arnold Carter may stick around as the only lefty in the pen, especially with the struggling Hector Rondon heading to AAA.

19 year old Cap Anson never found anything resembling a stride in Spring Training, and will be heading to AAA, along with Patsy Dougherty and Dave Altizer. All 3 of those had expectations of roles at the WBL level; they’ve been supplanted by Mark Grace and Anthony Rizzo at 1B, George Stone at LF, and George Gore and Jerry Mumphrey in CF.

Elrod Hendricks has seized a platoon role at C, with Frank Chance and Gabby Hartnett still fighting for their lives. They could keep both, but that would likely mean 1 of the pair of talented 20 year olds of Dick Lundy and Frank Grant would start the season at AAA.

Spring Training Preview: New York Gothams

By mknn

On June 20, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

There’s a lot of SP depth, but perhaps 1 of Sad Sam Jones, Matt Latos, and Al Mays could force their way into the conversation.
- The Gotham pitching has been pretty remarkable all Spring, which hasn’t really clarified the situation. It has meant that Pete Donohue‘s struggle probably move them out of the rotation contenders.
  - Donohue is headed back to AAA. The 5th spot is still up for grabs, most likely between Gaylord Perry and Al Spalding, with Buck O’Brien and Mays having a shot as well.
  - Carl Hubbell should be back before the end of Spring Training, but Latos will miss opening day.
Will Clark and Willie McCovey will both make the roster, but it’s not clear which will play 1B.
- Neither McCovey nor Bill Terry are playing well, and the less said about Clark’s first 10 games, the better.
  - Terry is still struggling, but both McCovey and Clark have recovered.
2B is up for grabs between Brian Dozier and Mark Loretta.
- Not so much: Dozier is playing great and Loretta could lose the backup spot to newly recalled Larry Doyle.
The starting OF is pretty much set, but it’s not clear who between Jimmy Sheckard, Wally Berger, Carl Furillo, and Carlos Moran will make the team as reserves.
- Johnny Callison‘s struggles have opened up an opportunity in the OF, with Berger, Moran, and Furillo all playing very well.
  - George Burns is back in AAA.
SS has been remarkable productive, with Brandon Crawford, Art Fletcher, and Eugenio Suarez all knocking the cover off the ball with regularity.
- Suarez has cooled off a bit.
Pinky Higgins has seized the 3B job, with neither Art Devlin nor Ken Boyer doing much at all. Boyer, in fact, has been optioned to AAA.
John Kerins has leapfrogged Dick Dietz to be the likely backup to Buster Posey behind the plate.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers	Christy Mathewson Mickey Welch	Sad Sam Jones Juan Marichal	Gaylord Perry Al Spalding ~~Matt Latos~~ ~~Carl Hubbell~~	Al Mays Buck O'Brien
Middle Relievers		Matt Thornton Mike Norris		Aaron Loup Marcel Lachemann Sergio Romo
Setup		Robb Nen Carson Smith
Closer	Brian Wilson
C	Buster Posey	John Kerins	Dick Dietz
1B		Willie McCovey	Will Clark Bill Terry
2B		Brian Dozier	Mark Loretta	Larry Doyle
3B		Pinky Higgins	Art Devlin
SS		Art Fletcher Brandon Crawford	Eugenio Suarez
OF	Willie Mays Wally Berger	Benny Kauff Carl Furillo Carlos Moran	Johnny Callison Jimmy Sheckard	Ben Oglive

Seed Players

By mknn

On June 19, 2020

In About

Each franchise, working within a WAR (Wins Above Replacement, per bb-ref) budget, selected historical players to seed their franchise. This group was augmented by a somewhat arbitrary top-40 NeL players, and a handful of 19th century players and/or players who “belonged” to franchises not represented in the league.

The budget led to some difficult choices–as an example, the New York Gothams (the New York and San Francisco Giants franchise) start in the WBL without Barry Bonds, instead opting for the duo of Christy Mathewson and Willie Mays as their franchise anchors (in addition to Al Spalding, Bill Terry, Buster Posey, Pop Lloyd, Carl Hubbell, and Carlos Moran).

Each of these players enter the league towards the start of their careers, and received a 5 year contract.

Each team additionally maintained “franchise rights” to a handful of players. Many of these players were in the 3,000+ players comprising the initial draft class for the WBL; the rest will appear on the franchise when, randomly, they appear in a rookie class down the road

Sticking with the Gothams, this meant the franchise starts with Gaylord Perry, Juan Marichal, Will Clark, and Willie McCovey as well, with each of them signed for 3 years. These players entered the league at points throughout their career, but almost always with at least a few peak season remaining.

It also means that, whenever they enter the WBL, Homestead will hold the rights to Bonds, Mel Ott, Roger Connor, and Tim Keefe.

You can see on each team’s home page the Seed Players, the Franchise Rights players, and the players for which they hold Future Rights.