Tag: Casey Stengel

TWIWBL 29.2: Series XXII Notes – Cum Posey Division

On August 29, 2022

#Baltimore Black Sox

Mike Mussina was dominant, striking out 10 in almost 8 innings of 5 hit work, but it wasn’t enough as Baltimore fell to the Gothams 3-1 in 10 innings.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bret Saberhagen had to leave injured in the 3rd inning, but Roger Clemens gave his best performance as a Colt 45–if not his best on the season–tossing over 5 innings of shutout ball in relief. Billy Wagner picked up his 10th save, and Jimmie Wynn added 3 hits and 2 RBIs in the 6-3 win over Portland.

The Colt 45’s won the season finale in dramatic fashion, as Carlos Correa singled home Casey Stengel, who tripled to lead off the bottom of the 9th. The win went to–who else–Mark Melancon, who improved to 8-1 from the bullpen.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Stan Musial hit 2 homeruns, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit beat the Monarchs, 5-2.

#Ottawa Mounties

The good news for Ottawa is that they only allowed 6 hits in beating San Francisco 3-1. The bad news is starter Roy Halladay lasted only 3 innings before leaving with a a strained hamstring that will cause him to miss most of the rest of the season. Joe Mays relieved Halladay and through 5 shutout innings and Ryan Dempster closed it out for his 3rd save. Monk Dubiel was recalled from AAA, although Ottawa made no comment as to who would take Halladay’s next turn in the rotation.

Series XVII Featured Game: Birmingham Black Barons @ Houston Colt 45’s

By mknn

On December 8, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We’re going to focus on the usual see-saw affair, this one between the Birmingham Black Barons and Houston’s Colt 45‘s, pitting Birmingham’s Tim Hudson against Houston’s Stephen Strasburg.

It’s an interesting matchup: Hudson was seen as pretty washed-up, but the 36-year old has posted a 5-0 record with an ERA in the mid 2.00’s, and could begin appearing on league leaderboards within a few starts. Strasburg, on the other hand, has shown great promise at only 23, but has yet to harness his potential, posting a 2-4 record with an ERA in the low 4.00’s.

The two hurlers were at the top of their game, and we saw a scoreless contest into the bottom of the 5th when a solo homerun from Jim O’Rourke gave Houston a 1-0 lead. Houston missed a chance to double their lead when HR Johnson missed on a suicide squeeze attempt, leaving Craig Biggio to be easy pickings at home.

The Black Barons would finally touch Strasburg in the top of the 7th, when Hank Aaron launched a 2 run homerun, scoring Curtis Granderson to put Birmingham in front. They would add another run in the 8th, scoring against Mark Melancon when an RBI single from Tom Herr plated Omar Infante for a 3-1 lead, and then another in the 9th when Eddie Mathews took Melancon deep.

So. 4-1 Birmingham. But Hudson was gassed at this point after a marvelous effort: 8 innings, 5 hits, and only the single run allowed. But, Birmingham’s closer, Carlos Díaz, wasn’t an option. So the Black Barons turned to Harley Young to close the door.

It went OK at first: Jim Wynn led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, but Johnson grounded out, and after consecutive singles loaded the bases, Lance Berkman struck out. So, bases loaded, 2 outs.

Young gave up an RBI single to Jorge Posada, prompting Birmingham to bring in hard-throwing Steve Bedrosian … who promptly surrendered a walk-off, grand-slam, homerun to Casey Stengel.

Melancon, who did not pitch very well, improved his record to a stunning 7-1 out of the bullpen, while Birmingham ended up with nothing to show for Hudson’s great effort.

Granderson had 2 hits for Birmingham, while Jeff Bagwell and Tony Gwynn had 2 each for Houston.

BBB 4 (Young 0-4; Bedrosian 2 BSv) @ HOU 6 (Melancon 7-1)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (11), Mathews (11); HOU – O’Rourke (5), Stengel (6).
Box Score

Other Noteworthy Games

The Ottawa Mounties turned to Gary Peters, freshly back from AAA, to take on Ned Garvin of the Baltimore Black Sox, who is making an argument for the best pitcher in the WBL at the moment: this certainly seemed like a mismatch. But it was Ottawa, perhaps enlivened by the return of Larry Walker from the DL, who held the lead, 4-3, heading into the 9th. Curt Blefary turned it around with a 2-run shot, Brian Roberts added another RBI, and while they gave up a run in the bottom of the frame, Baltimore’s bullpen held on.

BBB 6 (Miller 2-0, 1 BSv; Bessent 8 Sv) @ OTT 5 (Bowsfield 2-1, 1 BSv; Dempster 2 H; Leroux 1 H)
HRs: BBB – Blefary (19).
Box Score

A 6-run Homestead comeback in the bottom of the 8th, keyed by homeruns from Tom Brown and Rick Reichardt, went for naught as Yasiel Puig hit his third homerun of the day in the 9th inning to give the New York Gothams the win. Puig tied the league record for homeruns in a game and picked up 6 RBIs, while Mike Epstein and Reichardt each had 3 hits for the Grays. While note involved in the decision, the Gothams’ Gaylord Perry was fantastic through 5 innings, allowing only 1 unearned run.

NYG 8 (Wilson 1-0) @ HOM 7 (Jackson 2-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: NYG – Puig 3 (6), Rojas (1); HOM – Brown (1), Reichardt (9).
Box Score

When the Los Angeles Angels closed out their series against the San Francisco Sea Lions, they were looking to salvage a series split and, perhaps as importantly, to find out more about what they have in young Nolan Ryan, who has been a bit erratic since moving into the starting rotation. Ryan delivered a typical “good” performance for him: 5 innings, 2 hits (but 7 walks), and no runs. San Francisco’s Eddie Plank turned in another strong start, going 7.2 innings allowing only 2 runs. So the Angels took a 2-1 lead into the 9th. And then the wheels fell off for both teams: Los Angeles rocked Ron Robinson for four runs, the key hit being a 2-out, bases loaded triple from Doug Rader. But two of the Angels better bullpen arms–Jonny Venters and closer Joe Nathan–couldn’t hold it, with Mickey Cochrane, who seems perpetually on the verge of being sent to AAA, ending the contest with a walk-off 3 run homerun.

LAA 6 (Nathan 3-4, 4 BSv; Galvin 1 H; Rodríguez 6 H; Venters 8 H) @ SFS 7 (Robinson 4-1)
HRs: SFS – Cochrane (5).
Box Score

TWIWBL 17.2: Series XIV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On September 17, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Despite committing 4 errors, Chicago blew out the House of David 14-5 behind 4 hits from Dick Allen and 3 hits and 5 RBIs from Mike Fiore. The win went to Tricky Nichols, who improves to 5-2 in an outing that should also help rest the tired American Giants’ bullpen.

Dave Nilsson hit 2 homeruns and the Chicago bullpen survived some shaky moments–most notably a 3-run homerun by Dan Ford in the top of the 9th–as the American Giants beat the House of David 8-7. Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits, and Frank Smith won his 2nd game of the year with a decent start.

Eddie Collins went 4-for-4 with 2 homeruns and Carlton Fisk and Fiore drove in 3 each as the American Giants put up 15 hits and 12 runs. The bad news was their pitchers gave up 18 hits–but only 9 runs, so Chicago beat the House of David once again, this time 12-9.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Stubby Overmire finally got his first victory of the year with another strong performance, delivering 8 innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball against Los Angeles. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke had 3 hits including his 3rd homerun of the year and 5 RBIs for Houston and Carlos Correa drove in 3 runs as well.

With Leon Day on the DL for 10 days with a shoulder injury, Houston brought Bones Ely back from AAA. The Colt 45’s also activated Casey Stengel from the DL, sending DJ LeMahieu to AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Andy Pettite allowed 2 hits in 6 innings and Connie Johnson followed it with 3 perfect innings of relief as the Monarchs beat the Grays, 9-1. Rogers Hornsby and Gene Freese had 2 hits each and Hornsby hit a 3-run homerun (his 6th) and Albert Pujols a solo shot (his 9th). Pettite improved to 5-3 and Johnson picked up his first save.

Lou Brock had 3 hits and 4 stolen bases, scoring twice and helping the Monarchs ease to a 7-3 win over the Grays. Frank Castillo evened his record at 4-4 with 6 solid innings and Jose Rijo gave up 1 hit in 3 innings for his first save, although it may not be enough to keep Rijo in the WBL.

Robinson Cano led the way in a 15-5 demolition of Homestead, going 5-for-5 with 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs, and 2 homeruns. Ted Simmons and Boog Powell added 3 hits each with Powell and Brock driving in 3 each.

#Ottawa Mounties

Over 13 innings, the difference between Ottawa and Portland was … a wild pitch. In the top of the 13th, Anthony Rendon, who hit his 3rd homerun in the first inning to give the Mounties an early lead, singled off Elmer Brown. He moved to second on a walk to Carlos Delgado and to third when Brown induced a double play from Freddy Parent. Then Brown uncorked a wild pitch, giving the Mounties the 3-2 lead, which Johnny Podgajny was able to preserve in the bottom of the frame. Rendon went 3-for-6 in the game, with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. The victory went to Gary Lavelle, who moved to 3-1.

The injury news on Tom Henke was not good: he tore a ligament in his elbow, and will miss close to a year. Jimmy Key was recalled from AAA, with Lavelle the logical candidate to move into the closer role for the Mounties.

TWIWBL 15.2: Series XII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 24, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin kept Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole from becoming the first 7 game winner in the WBL, spinning a brilliant 8 innings, allowing only 2 runs in a 4-2 Black Sox victory. Garvin moved to 4-1 on the year, and Bob Miller picked up his 4th save. Curt Blefary hit his 14th and Harlond Clift his 8th homerun of the year.

In the next game, Dennis Martinez moved to 6-1 on the year, allowing only 3 hits and 1 run in 7.2 innings. Bryce Harper drove in 2, and Harper, Ken Singleton, and Dan McGann all chipped in with 2 hits.

Bill Byrd pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball before being relieved by Don Bessent, who finished the job in a 5-0 win for the Black Sox. Byrd brought his ERA under 4.00 and improved his record to 4-2, helped by 3 hits from Bobby Wallace and the suddenly resurgent Paul Blair, who even hit his 4th homerun of the year in the game.

Clearly not a fan of the if it ain’t broke school of thought, the team with the best record in the WBL shook its roster up some on the day off, demoting P Mark Baldwin, 3B Brooks Robinson, and SS Mark Belanger to AAA. Baldwin and Robinson had done very little in their opportunities, and Belanger had only played in 7 games all season. P Bob Welch, and IFs Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brian Roberts were recalled to the big league club.

#Chicago American Giants

Frank Thomas went 3-for-4 and Dick Allen had 3 RBI’s to lead Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Indianapolis. Herb Pennock survived 6 rocky innings to pick up his 2nd win, with AJ Minter pitching a perfect 9th for his 6th save.

Adrian Gonzalez was sent to AAA, ending his nightmare of a year so far in the majors; with Joe Horlen being promoted to fill out the bullpen and C Pop Snyder being waived.

All of that will result in Cristobal Torriente and Avisail Garcia seeing more time in the American Giants’ OF.

#Houston Colt 45s

Behind 3 hits and 3 RBIs from George Brett, including his 5th homerun of the year, the Colt 45s put away the Black Yankees, 9-4. It could be a difficult game for Houston, as Bret Saberhagen and Casey Stengel (who also hit his 5th homerun) both had to leave with injuries.

Bones Ely was recalled, and if you ignore a 499 foot homerun to Babe Ruth and one nearly as long to Lou Gehrig, he did alright, earning the save with 3 innings of work in a 13-5 blowout win. Craig Biggio drove in 4 and HR Johnson and Lance Berkman 3 each in support of Roy Oswalt, who moved to 5-2 on the year.

Brad Lidge was replaced by Billy Wagner as Houston’s closer, with Mike Hartley being sent to AAA. Carney Lansford was recalled from the minors to add another bat off the bench.

#Kansas City Monarchs

2 homeruns from Stan Musial helped the Monarchs overcome a 90 minute rain delay in an 11-5 win over the House of David. Musial drove in 4, and the win went to Connie Johnson, who pitched 3 scoreless innings after the rains came down.

Who knows what to make of Luke Hamlin? He seems to mix mediocre starts with absolute gems. This was one of the latter, as Hamlin had a no-hitter into the 7th and ended up with a 2-hit, complete game shutout to level his record at 3-3. 5 pitchers had thrown 3-hit shutouts, but this was the first game to go below that, and it was the 3rd best game score of the season at 86.

Willie McGee was 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in the 6-0 victory. Hamlin’s performance was especially welcome, as the Monarchs’ bullpen was fairly decimated.

Jose Rijo lost his spot in the starting rotation in favor of Adam Wainwright, and McGee–who had been in a platoon with Fielder Jones–has become the everyday CF for the Monarchs.

#Ottawa Mounties

Greg Holland was sent to AAA with Ryan Dempster coming back the other way. Josh Donaldson–0-for-15 in his time in the big leagues–was returned to AAA as well, with Steve Garvey coming off the DL to return to Ottawa. The Mounties would like to promote Larry Parrish, who is playing very well at 3B, but haven’t found a corresponding move to free up room on the 40-man roster.

Series VIII Featured Game: Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 4

By mknn

On June 29, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

These are, simply, fair-to-middling teams with more promise than performance so far on the season. Houston has won the first three games of the series, raising their record to 15-18 while lowering Brooklyn‘s to 18-14.

The final game would see Brooklyn’s Don Sutton face the Colt 45’s Roy Oswalt, a well anticipated matchup as both hurlers have shown flashes of strong performances.

In the top of the first, Oswalt gave up a 1-out double to Beals Becker, but he struck out Duke Snider and seemed to be out of danger when Roy White lashed the first pitch he saw into right field for an RBI single, giving the Royal Giants an early 1-0 lead.

Houston would tie it up in the bottom of the frame when Casey Stengel sent a pitch from Sutton deep into the night for a solo homerun.

Oswalt struggled all day, never really finding his rhythm, giving up 2 more runs in the top of the second on RBI hits from Jackie Robinson and Becker, and then another in the top of the third on a double from Robinson. He would get through 5 innings, leaving the game with Houston down 4-2 (they scored their second run in the bottom of the 5th on an RBI groundout from DJ LeMahieu, scoring Carlos Correa who had led off the inning with a double down the left field line).

Houston would tie it up in the bottom of the 6th on doubles from Jimmie Wynn, Jeff Bagwell, and Lance Berkman. Despite the 4 runs, Sutton was actually in control for most of the game, and lasted 8 innings, allowing only 6 hits and 1 walk.

Houston’s Leon Day followed Oswalt with 2 scoreless innings, and he was followed by Trevor Hoffman, who pitched a scoreless 8th.

That brought us to the top of the 9th, with Hoffman still on the mound. Dickie Thon led it off with a single, then stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Robinson. Becker hit a ball deep enough to centerfield to score Thon, and Brooklyn had a 5-4 lead. Hoffman served a gopher ball into the short left field seats to Snider, giving the Royal Giants a 2-run cushion.

Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, relieved Sutton in the bottom of the 9th. His first 16 pitches included 11 balls and a wild pitch, with George Brett and Correa starting the inning with walks before Jorge Posada doubled them both home to tie the game at 6. That was enough for Clark, who was relieved by Terry Forster … who had similar problems, walking pinch-hitter Paul Goldschmidt on five pitches (HR Johnson replaced Posada as a pinch-runner) and Tony Gwynn on four to load the bases. Forster got Wynn to ground weakly to Robinson at second, who threw to Mike Piazza to force Johnson at the plate, and when Stengel flew out in shallow right field, it looked like extra innings were likely.

Bagwell worked Forster from a 1-2 count to 3-2 … and looked on as his next pitch was low and outside, forcing in the winning run.

Bagwell finished the game 2-for-4 with a run and 2 RBIs, Correa scored twice and Posada drove in 2 as well as the Colt 45’s left only 3 runners on base all day.

Brooklyn outhit Houston 11 to 7, with Robinson, Becker, White, and Thon each having 2. Thon scored three times and Robinson and Becker drove in 2 each.

Clark suffered both his 2nd blown save of the year and his first loss, giving up 3 runs on a hit and 2 walks without recording an out. Mark Melancon picked up the win for one-third of an inning in relief of Hoffman.

BRK 6 (Clark 2-1, 2 BS) @ HOU 7 (Melancon 2-1)
HRs: BRK – Snider (8); HOU – Stengel (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 8.2: Series VII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 20, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Curt Blefary hit 2 HRs, bringing his season total to a whopping 12, in an 8-4 loss to the Detroit Wolverines.

#Chicago American Giants

Cristobal Torriente was placed on the DL after severely twisting an ankle in the American Giants‘ 7-6 victory over San Francisco, a game won on a walk-off HR by Dick Allen. It could be a hard game for Chicago: Herb Pennock was injured as well, but may be able to make his next start and, more importantly, superstar 2B Eddie Collins left the game favoring his leg. His diagnosis is currently unknown.

Avisail Garcia was promoted from AAA Milwaukee to take Torriente’s place.

Collins will miss about 2 weeks: Nellie Fox was called up from AAA, but the bulk of the 2B duties will fall to Damian Jackson.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Casey Stengel–yes, Casey Stengel–hit the second longest HR in WBL history when he launched a 517ft mammoth shot off Miami‘s Bill Landrum, leading Houston to a 4-1 victory over the Cuban Giants.

Only slightly less improbably than the above paragraph: Toad Ramsey, who has been thoroughly mediocre at best, delivered a 4-hit shutout against Miami in a 3-0 Houston victory. Ramsey walked 7, so it wasn’t exactly a dominant performance; still, a 4-hitter is a 4-hitter.

#Kansas City Monarchs

How do you win a game when you give up 10 walks? By pounding out 23 hits and scoring 17 runs … the Monarchs blew away Memphis 17-3, led by Rogers Hornsby‘s 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. Hornsby, Stan Musial, and Ozzie Smith scored 3 runs each, and recently recalled Robinson Cano added 4 hits. Jose Rijo pitched well enough for the win, improving to 2-1, and Trevor Rosenthal and Craig Kimbrel provided 4 innings of scoreless, one-hit relief.

#Ottawa Mounties

OF Larry Walker is heading back to the DL with a sprained wrist, leaving the Mounties without one of their only 2 higher end offensive performers so far (the other being Tim Raines). Rick Monday was recalled from AAA, increasing the pressure on Ken Griffey, Jr. to come out of his slump.

Bombs Away!

By mknn

On June 12, 2021

In Uncategorized

Thanks to the efforts of our underpaid research department, we now have a place for a variety of statistics unavailable through OOTP’s usual reports, including all of the 500+ ft. homeruns hit in the WBL. There have been 8 such blasts so far this season, with one batter doing it twice.

Not sure what is more surprising: Casey Stengel‘s presence or Eugenio Suarez‘. Certainly Curt Blefary being on there twice is a bit of an eye-opener.

525 ft. Albert Pujols (KCM)
515 ft. Carlos Correa (HOU)
514 ft. Casey Stengel (HOU)
504 ft. Curt Blefary (BAL); Eugenio Suarez (NYG)
502 ft. Wally Moon (SFS)
501 ft. Curt Blefary (BAL)

WBL Year I Statistics

I needed a place to hold statistics that aren’t easily displayed in OOTP. Most of these are game-level performances.

For complete statistics, poke around on the WBL Stats Page.

Batting Statistics

2+ 3B Games

2. Oscar Charleston (HOM); Rickey Henderson (SFS); Pete Hill (HOU); Gary Pettis (POR); Rick Reichardt (HOM); Manny Sanguillen (NYY); Billy Southworth (BBB); George Stone (HOD)

3+ 2B Games

4. Stan Musial (KCM)
3. Bob Bailey (DET); Curt Blefary (BAL); Pete Browning (HOD); Rico Carty (PHI) x2, Rick Ferrell (HOM); Pinky Higgins (NYG); Baby Doll Jacobson (BAL); Davey Johnson (HOM); Scott Rolen (PHI); Jimmy Sheckard (NYG); Ozzie Smith (KCM); Roy White (BRK)

3+ HR Games

3. Joe Adcock (NYG); Gil Hodges (POR); Reggie Jackson (SFS); Yasiel Puig (NYG); Chase Utley (PHI)

3+ OF Assists

3. Jim Edmonds (HOD); Curtis Granderson (BBB)

4+ BB Games

4. Eddie Collins (CAG); Gavvy Cravath (PHI); Mickey Mantle (NYY); Joe Morgan (IND); Babe Ruth (NYY) x2; Reggie Jackson (SFS); Reggie Smith (MEM); Elmer Valo (LAA); Joe Votto (IND)

4+ Run Games

5. Don Mattingly (NYA)

4. John Briggs (BRK); Johnny Callison (NYG); Robinson Cano (KCM); Cupid Childs (BBB); Will Clark (MIA); Mark Ellis (LAA); Carlton Fisk (CAG); Dan Ford (HOD); Bryce Harper (BAL); Kent Hrbek (POR); Frank Isbell (BBB/BRK) x2; Joe Jackson (CAG); Reggie Jackson (SFS); Geoff Jenkins (DET); Eddie Mathews (BBB); Willie Mays (NYG); Andrew McCutcheon (HOM); Willie McGee (KCM); Boog Powell (KCM); Edd Roush (IND); Pops Stargell (HOM); Mike Trout (LAA) x2; George Wright (LAA)

4+ SB Games

4. Bobby Bonds (SFS); Lou Brock (KCM); Eddie Collins (CAG); Billy Southworth (BBB)

5+ Hit Games

5. Pete Browning (HOD); Robinson Cano (KCM); Ty Cobb (DET); Chili Davis (DET); Mark Ellis (LAA); Tom Herr (BBB); Frank Isbell (BBB); Stan Musial (KCM); Ken Singleton (BAL); Jim Stephens (LAA); Mike Trout (LAA); Andy Van Slyke (HOM); Jim Wynn (HOU)

5+ SO Games

5. Phil Bradley (OTT); Mike Piazza (BRK); Bobby Wallace (BAL)

6+ RBI Games

9. Jim Stephens (LAA)
7. Mickey Cochrane (SFS); Eric Davis (NYY) x2; Reggie Jackson (SFS); Doug Rader (LAA); Pete Runnels (MCG)
6. Bob Bailey (DET); Carlos Delgado (LAA); Rogers Hornsby (KCM); Jim Pagliaroni (MEM); Yasiel Puig (NYG); Honus Wagner (HOM)

Longest HRs

526 ft. Jim Thome (MCG)
525 ft. Albert Pujols (KCM)
524 ft. Frank McCormick (BBB)
515 ft. Carlos Correa (HOU)
514 ft. Casey Stengel (HOU)
511 ft. Boog Powell (KCM)
504 ft. Curt Blefary (BAL); Eugenio Suárez (NYG)
503 ft. Ernie Banks (HOD)
502 ft. Wally Moon (SFS)
501 ft. Curt Blefary (BAL)

Pitching Statistics

80+ Game Scores

91. Sandy Koufax (BRK); Christy Mathewson (NYG)
89. Dave Righetti (NYY)
88. Bert Blyleven (POR); Bob Gibson (KCM); Ron Guidry (NYY); Bill Steen (CLE)
87. Pete Donohue (NYG); Jack Taylor (HOD)
86. Luke Hamlin (KCM); Mel Harder (CLE); José Rijo (KCM); Jack Taylor (HOD)
85. Freddie Fitzsimmons (MCG); Waite Hoyt (NYY)
84. Bert Blyleven (POR); Gene Conley (DET); Freddie Fitzsimmons (MCG); Ned Garvin (BAL); Lefty Grove (POR); Luke Hamlin (KCM); Harry Howell (LAA); Greg Maddux (BBB); Stubby Overmire (MEM); David Price (CAG); Frank Smith (CAG).
83. Jamie Moyer (OTT); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
82. Ned Garvin (BAL); Luke Hamlin (KCM); Walter Johnson (POR); Dutch Leonard (BRK); Tricky Nichols (CAG); Bob Rush (HOD); Stephen Strasburg (HOU); Jack Taylor (HOD); Cy Young (HOM)
81. Brett Anderson (LAA); Bert Blyleven (POR); Walter Johnson (POR); Tricky Nichols (CAG); Camilo Pascual (MCG); Whit Wyatt (CLE)
80. Brett Anderson (LAA); Bob Brown (OTT); Steve Carlton (PHI); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Lefty Grove (POR); Waite Hoyt (NYY), Ramón Martínez (MCG); Wade Miley (HOD); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Charlie Root (DET)

10+ Strikeout Games

14. Bert Blyleven (POR)
12. Ed Walsh (CAG)
11. Bob Brown (OTT); Lefty Grove (POR) x2; Ron Guidry (NYY); Luke Hamlin (KCM); Tommy Hanson (BRK); Ramón Martínez (MCG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Tricky Nichols (CAG); Dave Righetti (NYY); Bret Saberhagen (HOU); Ed Walsh (CAG)
10. Bob Feller (CLE); Lefty Grove (POR); Ron Guidry (NYY) x2; Walter Johnson (POR); Mike Mussina (BAL); Frank Knauss (BRK).

8+ Walk Games

8. Ramon Martínez (MCG); Nolan Ryan (LAA); Carlos Zambrano (HOM)

Shutouts

1 H. Sandy Koufax (BRK); Christy Mathewson (NYG)
2 H. Luke Hamlin (KCM); Waite Hoyt (NYY) [7 Inn]; David Price (CAG); José Rijo (KCM); Frank Smith (CAG); Jack Taylor (HOD)
3 H. Brett Anderson (LAA); Pete Donohue (NYG); Freddie Fitzsimmons (MCG); Ned Garvin (BAL): Bob Gibson (KCM); Luke Hamlin (KCM); Mel Harder (CLE); Ron Guidry (NYY); Greg Maddux (BBB); Tricky Nichols (CAG); Stubby Overmire (MEM); Dave Righetti (NY); Bob Rush (HOD); Jack Taylor (HOD).
4 H. Brett Anderson (LAA); Bert Blyleven (POR); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Gene Conley (DET); Ned Garvin (BAL); Waite Hoyt (NYY); Wade Miley (HOD); Tricky Nichols (CAG); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Bill Steen (CLE); Jack Taylor (HOD); Cy Young (CLE)
5 H. Bert Blyleven (POR); Steve Carlton (PHI); Harry Howell (LAA); Walter Johnson (POR); Dutch Leonard (BRK); Ramon Martinez (MCG); Jamie Moyer (OTT); Milt Pappas (BAL); José Rijo (KCM); CC Sabathia (HOD); Sam Streeter (BBB)

Shutouts (Combined)

1 H. Luke Hamlin / Frank DiPino / Jeff Pfeffer (KCM)
3 H. Whit Wyatt / Chad Qualls / Chuck Porter (CLE); H. Newhouser / Gene Conley / Kevin Hart (DET); Stephen Strasburg / Billy Wagner (HOU); Mel Harder / Chuck Porter (CLE)
4 H. Hank Aguirre / Mike Henneman (DET); Dizzy Trout / Elmer Brown (POR); Vic Willis / John Malarkey (BBB); Doc Gooden / Mike Smith (LAA); Stubby Overmire / Lance Broadway / Heath Bell / Jonathan Papelbon (MEM); Willie Mitchell / Clay Carroll / Rob Dibble (IND)
5 H. Ray Collins / Rheal Cormier (PHI); Vean Gregg / Stan Bahnsen (HOM); Connie Johnson / Smokey Joe Wood / Jeff Pfeffer (KAN); Bob Rush / Rollie Fingers / Scott Downs / Lee Smith / Bruce Sutter (HOD); Francisco Liriano / Frank Linzy (HOM); Gene Conley / Buddy Napier / John Hiller; Jack Taylor / Scott Downs / Kerry Wood (HOD); Roenis Elías / Phenomenal Smith / Ed Bauta / Aroldis Chapman (MCG); Stephen Strasburg / Chad Qualls / Brad Lidge (HOU) / Eddie Plank / Dave LaRoche / Rob Beck (SFS); Jack Scott / Aroldis Chapman (NYY); Pat Malone / Chuck Porter / Cory Gearrin / Terry Adams (DET)

Spring Training Preview: Houston

By mknn

On June 20, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

There’s a lot to sort out here starting with the starting rotation, where the final 2 slots will go to someone from the group of Dock Ellis, Stubby Overmire, Bret Saberhagen, and Leon Day.
- Saberhagen is leading the way in this group, and Scott Erickson has forced himself into the conversation as well. Day and Overmire are most likely to miss the roster cut based on performances so far.
  - Day has been horrible, earning a trip to AAA, along with Overmire.
  - The rotation is still a bit up for grabs. Stephen Strasbourg, Roy Oswalt, Ice Box Chamberlain, and Toad Ramsey are likely in, leaving Saberhagen, Ellis, and Erickson vying for the final spot and the long relief roles.
The bullpen is a bit more settled: Brad Lidge is set as the closer, but Spring performances will determine the exact roles for Trevor Hoffman, Tug McGraw, Mark Melancon, and Billy Wagner.
- Melancon, Hoffman, and Andrew Chafin have been great, while Wagner has been hit extraordinarily hard.
  - Wagner and Dan Quisenberry are both on the verge of heading to AAA.
On the infield, only SS is set with Carlos Correa. Paul Goldschmidt and Jeff Bagwell are vying to start at 1B, DJ LeMahieu, Craig Biggio, and HR Johnson are in the mix at 2B, and George Brett, Morgan Ensberg, and Aramis Ramirez all have shot to start at 3B.
- At 1B, Andres Galarraga has been the best of the bunch by a fair measure, with both Bagwell and especially Goldschmidt struggling.
  - Right now, there’s nothing to choose between Galarraga, Bagwell, and Goldschmidt.
- Johnson’s forcing himself into the conversation somewhere as well, especially given Correa’s struggles at SS.
  - This is still true: Johnson is hitting everything thrown to him. The end result of this is Shawon Dunston likely not making the opening day roster.
  - 3B is pretty much settled: Brett is pounding the ball and both Ramirez and Ensberg are struggling.
The OF isn’t much clearer: the group of Luis Gonzalez, Larry Hisle, Gorman Thomas, and Casey Stengel look to have a slight edge, but any of Lance Berkman, Pete Hill, Felipe Alou, Jim Wynn, and Tony Gwynn could earn a starting position.
- Wynn, Gwynn, and Stengel have been the standouts so far, with Wynn being perhaps Houston’s best hitter through 10 games. Hill, and especially Hisle, have struggled, with Hisle being sent to AAA in an effort to clear some roster space.
  - Alou and Hill are both struggling, and seem unlikely to make the roster. Hisle has been recalled, along with Lance Blankenship.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers		Toad Ramsey Roy Oswalt Stephen Strasbourg Ice Box Chamberlain	Scott Erickson Dock Ellis Bret Saberhagen
Middle Relievers			Mike Hartley Tug McGraw Andrew Chafin	Dan Quisenberry Billy Wagner
Setup		Tervor Hoffman Mark Melancon
Closer	Brad Lidge
C	Jim O'Rourke	Jorge Posada
1B			Jeff Bagwell Paul Goldschmidt Andres Galarraga
2B		HR Johnson	Craig Biggio DJ LeMahieu	Lance Blankenship
3B	George Brett		Morgan Ensberg Aramis Ramirez
SS		Carlos Correa		Shawon Dunston
OF		Casey Stengel Jim Wynn Tony Gwynn	Luis Gonzalez Gorman Thomas Lance Berkman	Pete Hill Felipe Alou Larry Hisle