Tag: Dennis Martínez Page 3 of 7

And away we go with the Divisional Round!

#New York Gothams v Detroit Wolverines, Game One

A very different start for Christy Mathewson in this one: Tony Phillips led off with a double and Bob Bailey followed with a homerun, giving Detroit an early 2-0 lead. Ty Cobb and Hank Greenberg followed with singles, but Matty recovered, retiring the next 3 batters. He gave up 2 more hits–but no runs–in the second, but his pitch count was skyrocketing.

He never settled down: a hit and a walk in the third were followed by a 3-run homerun by Chili Davis, extending Detroit’s lead to 5-0.

Meanwhile, Hal Newhouser was perfect through 3 innings.

Matty didn’t make it through the 4th, having thrown 91 pitches, and surrendered 9 hits and 3 walks. Sergio Romo put in a yeoman’s effort: 1 hit in over 2 innings in relief of Matty, helping prevent the Gothams’ bullpen from becoming too worn.

Newhouser surrendered his first hit in the top of the 6th, a leadoff single by Carl Furillo, and took a 2-hit shutout into the top of the 9th. And that’s all he allowed: what a performance! 2 hits, 7 strikeouts, and no runs allowed.

Look, you can blame Matty all you want for this one, but the Gothams weren’t touching Newhouser today.

NYG 0 (Mathewson 1-1) @ DET 5 (Newhouser 1-0)
HRs: NYG – none; DET – B. Bailey (2), C. Davis (2).
Box Score

#Portland Sea Dogs v Baltimore Black Sox, Game One

Neither team are set for their optimal rotations here, but Baltimore has an edge, sending Dennis Martínez against Portland’s Dizzy Trout.

Both pitchers were strong early, throwing shutouts through 3 innings. Baltimore struck first, with Frank Robinson doubling home Dan McGann in the top of the 4th. Bobby Murcer cut down Robinson trying to score on a fly to deep center to end the inning, leaving the score 1-0, Baltimore.

The throw fired Murcer up: he led off the Portland 6th with a homerun to tie the game. Martínez walked Kent Hrbek, and that was it, with El Presidente being pulled despite only throwing 75 pitches. It looked smart in the immediate: Johnny Sain came in and retired the side in order to end the inning.

Trout was removed with one out in the 7th, with Portland turning to a surprise reliever: Atlee Hammaker, despite his struggles during the regular season, was called in to face a string of lefties. Hammaker gave up a double to Curt Blefary, but got out of the inning unscathed, preserving the 1-1 tie.

Rogers Hornsby led off the top of the 9th with a double. He was replaced on the basepaths by Gary Pettis, who moved to third on a bunt by Buddy Bell and scored on a single from Jim Fregosi.

That gave Portland a chance to steal a game in Baltimore, taking a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th. The Sea Dogs’ two acquisitions from Houston–Mark Melancon and Trevor Hoffman–combined to finish it off, as the Black Sox were unable to score, giving Portland a 1-0 lead in the series.

Murcer had 3 hits for Portland.

POR 2 (Melancon 1-0; Hoffman 1 Sv) @ BAL 1 (Wetteland 0-1)
HRs: POR – Murcer (4); BAL – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 49.0: The Playoffs! Division Round Series Previews

By mknn

On September 22, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Series, TWIWBL

Detroit finished 2 games ahead of the New York Gothams in the Bill James Division: not enough to really say the Wolverines have an edge in the matchup of two teams that each swept their opening rounds.

The other series sees the best record in the league–the Baltimore Black Sox–taking on the team with the worst record of the four remaining: Portland won only 85 games in the regular season, 2 fewer than the Gothams.

For general overviews of the teams, I would refer you to the previews of their opening rounds: Detroit, New York, Baltimore, and Portland. Here, we’ll focus on more specific changes coming out of those matchups.

#Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines staff seems set after their opening round sweep: Hal Newhouser, Gene Conley, and Charlie Root will take the first three starts.

The question is what to do with the rest of their bench, where neither Ernie Lombardi nor Olmedo Sáenz made an appearance in the first series. Ultimately, the Wolverines decided against making changes.

#New York Gothams

With only backup-catcher-cum-folk-hero Wes Westrum not seeing any action in the opening series, the Gothams also decided to not make any changes, although the temptation to recall Brandon Crawford for late inning defensive help was strong.

The Gothams are in the same situation as they were in the opening round: Christy Mathewson to start, then probably Gaylord Perry and then … well, we’ll see. The Gothams’ bullpen has yet to give up a run in the postseason: if that continues, the Wolverines are probably in deep trouble.

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bill Byrd‘s been magnificent, but won’t be available for at least the first 2 games, so the Black Sox will turn to Dennis Martínez and Connie Johnson in the opening 2 games.

Larry Gardner‘s continued struggles to return from injury mean Brian Roberts will get at least a couple starts at 2B for the Black Sox.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Portland–having secured passage into the next round only yesterday–is the team scrambling most for pitching. Dizzy Trout will get the call in the opening game, with everything beyond that yet to be determined.

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

By mknn

On September 14, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons v Detroit Wolverines, Game II

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Chicago American Giants v Portland Sea Dogs, Game 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#New York Gothams v Cleveland Spiders, Game 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TWIWBL 48.4: The Playoffs! Wild Card Round, Day I – September 15

By mknn

On September 13, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Featured Games, TWIWBL

We’ll be going day by day here as the playoff series evolve.

#Birmingham Black Barons v Detroit Wolverines, Game I

Series preview here.

With Alejandro Peña not fully rested, Birmingham turns to ERA champ Andy Pettitte in Game 1 with Detroit countering with Hal Newhouser in a lefty v lefty matchup.

A walk, a sacrifice bunt, an infield hit, and a long 3-run homer: just like that, Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as a Hank Greenberg longball scored Tony Phillips and Ty Cobb. Birmingham would scratch a run back in the 3rd on an RBI single by Frank McCormick, another in the 4th on an RBI double from Cupid Childs, and another in the 5th to tie the game, this one an RBI single from Hank Aaron.

Greenberg gave the Wolverines the lead again in the bottom of the 5th with a single scoring Bob Bailey, but Birmingham would tie it up in the top of the 7th as McCormick brought home Bob Nieman.

It would stay that way until the top of the 9th, when Detroit left John Hiller in one batter too long, and Pie Traynor–much maligned after a hot start earlier in the year–took him deep with Al Schweitzer on base, putting the Black Barons up, 6-4.

Juan Rincón was called in to close it out, but couldn’t, eventually surrendering a 2 out, bases loaded single to Bill Carrigan to tie the game. Rincón walked Al Kaline to load the bases again, and was relieved by Steve Bedrosian … who promptly walked Chili Davis, forcing in the winning run.

McCormick and Nieman had 3 hits each for Birmingham, while Bob Bailey had 3 for the Wolverines.

This one could hurt: with neither Pettitte or Newhouser really pitching as expected, the Black Barons had done well to come back to tie the game, and then Traynor’s shot in the 9th seemed to have the victory stolen. Instead, Detroit takes the first game in an improbable fashion.

BBB 6 (Rincón 0-1, 1 B Sv) @ DET 7 (Anderson 1-0; Bradford 1 B Sv)
HRs: BBB – Traynor (1); DET – Greenberg (1).
Box Score

#Chicago American Giants v Portland Sea Dogs, Game 1

Series preview here.

Game one is a matchup of each team’s ace, which also reveals the gap in pitching between the sides. For Chicago, Tricky Nichols takes the mound with a record of 15-9 and a 4.14 ERA. Nichols has been good all year, clearly a top of rotation type starter. But Portland gets to run out The Big Train, with Walter Johnson ending the season 14-5 with a 3.50 ERA in a season punctuated by a few spells of absolute dominance.

Gil Hodges launched an offering from Nichols into the stands in the bottom of the 3rd for a 1-0 Portland lead, and Gavvy Cravath doubled it later in the inning with an RBI single. Hodges would do it again in the 4th, sending his 2nd home of the game over the wall for a 3-0 lead.

On the other side, Johnson had faced 9 batters through 3 innings (an HBP and a caught stealing were in there, so not a perfect 3 innings). Eddie Collins walked to leadoff the third, but he was caught leaning the wrong way on a snap throw by Portland catcher Joe Mauer. Dick Allen finally notched Chicago’s first hit of the game, a single in the top of the 5th.

Nichols was left in one batter too long, and again it was Hodges, whose third homerun of the day put Portland up, 6-0. Hodges, who finished with 5 RBIs, didn’t get a chance to hit a 4th, as Portland cruised to the win. This performance makes Hodges the first player in WBL history to hit 3 homeruns in a game on 2 separate occasions.

Cravath had 3 hits for the Sea Dogs. Johnson finished with 7 scoreless, allowing only 3 hits.

CAG 0 (Nichols 0-1) @ POR 7 (Johnson 1-0)
HRs: CAG – none; POR – Hodges 3 (3).
Box Score

#New York Gothams v Cleveland Spiders, Game 1

Series preview here.

The WBL’s only 2 17 game winners are matched in the opening game of the series (New York’s Christy Mathewson and Cleveland’s Pat Malone), with the only real question being how Cleveland would work wunderkind Tris Speaker into its lineup (Speaker was called up when Johnny Callison hit the DL, Callison is back now). Today, it’s Kenny Lofton as the odd man out, with Speaker starting in centerfield–essentially the Spiders deciding to keep MPV candidate Ron Blomberg, John Ellis, and Jake Stahl all in the lineup.

In the top of the 3rd, New York’s Jimmy Sheckard singled and stole second, and then scored on a 2-out singly by Buster Posey. Willie Mays plated Posey with a double, and the Gothams took a 2-0 lead.

It took until the fifth inning for the Spiders to get their first hit: a single from Ellis, who was left stranded at second. Cleveland had some more base runners–Matty hit 2 batters in the 6th and gave up a walk in the 7th–but no further hits through 7 innings.

With Mathewson on 109 pitches, New York had him on a short leash in the 9th. He got the first 2 outs easily, but a Jake Stahl single brought in the Gothams’ dominant closer, Brian Wilson, to face Chuck Knoblauch. An easy pop fly to right later, and the Gothams were up, 1-0 in the series.

Mays had 2 hits, but the real story was Matthewson, who allowed 2 hits through 8 2/3, striking out 8 and walking 2.

NYG 2 (Mathewson 1-0; Wilson 1 Sv) @ CLE 0 (Malone 0-1)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Wandering House of David v Baltimore Black Sox, Game 1

Series preview here.

Some may have been surprised that Baltimore turned to Bill Byrd instead of Dennis Martínez for game one, but Byrd has been on fire lately and certainly deserves the recognition as the Black Sox’s best. The House of David’s choice was more obvious, with Jack Taylor–despite a bit of a late season fade–being their clear ace.

A Frank Robinson double plated Bobby Wallace in the bottom of the first for an early 1-0 lead for Baltimore. Manny Machado made it 3-0 with a 2 run shot in the second.

Taylor settled down, but in the bottom of the fifth, gave up 2 singles before plonking Robinson, loading the bases with 1 out. But Taylor emerged unscathed, with the score still 3-0. The problem for the House of David was that Byrd was pitching excellently, allowing only a single hit through his 5 innings of work.

Jim Edmonds led off the 8th with the House of David’s second hit, a double to centerfield. A Richie Hebner single chased Byrd in favor of Gregg Olson, who emerged from the inning unscathed.

Kerry Wood‘s playoff debut was much rougher, as he gave up a wind aided grand slam to Ken Singleton, pushing the Black Sox ahead, 7-0.

And so we have our third shutout of the opening day of the playoffs–and the second that finished 7-0. Wallace had 3 hits, but the star was Byrd, striking out 4 and yielding only 3 hits in just over 7 innings.

HOD 0 (Taylor 0-1) @ BAL 7 (Byrd 1-0; Olson 1 Sv)
HRs: HOD – none; BAL – Machado (1), Singleton (1).
Box Score

TWIWBL 48.0: Wild Card Previews – Wandering House of David @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On September 6, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Series Previews, TWIWBL

The House of David were the wild card team with the worst regular season record, resulting in a matchup with the best team in the WBL, the Baltimore Black Sox.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David will turn to Jack Taylor (15-9, 3.42), Bob Rush (15-6, 4.39), and then either Frank Sullivan (9-10, 4.77) or CC Sabathia (13-13, 4.83). There’s quite a gap between Taylor and Rush and the rest, and Taylor’s fade–remember, after the all star break he was hailed as the best starter in baseball–is a cause for concern.

Tom Niedenfuer impressed enough to push Scott Downs off the playoff roster, and will, along with Ed Bauta and especially Lee Smith, try to get the ball to Bruce Sutter to close out ballgames. Look for Wade Miley to get the call from the pen when the House of David needs a lefty, with Sabathia being the other option.

But if the House of David are going to make some postseason noise, it’s going to fall on their offence. When they’re clicking on all cylinders, they can mash with the best of them. But its taken a lot of tinkering to make the engine hum: Jim Edmonds (293/348/576), Joe Harris (263/338/526), and Anthony Rizzo (247/346/515) were all in the minors at the start of the season. The key here is Pete Browning, who has to figure out a way out of his late season slump (Browning still finished the year at 331/370/591 after a protracted injury absence). Elrod Hendricks (41) and George Stone (30) lead the team in homeruns, but Browning, Ernie Banks, and Ryne Sandberg each added at least 20.

#Baltimore Black Sox

How do you finish with the best record in the WBL?

You boast a starting rotation where Connie Johnson (9-5, 3.65) is the 4th arm up, behind Bill Byrd (14-3, 3.33), Dennis Martínez (14-10, 3.80), and Mike Mussina (7-4, 4.08).

How do you finish with the best record in the WBL?

You can bring Buddy Groom, John Wetteland, and Joe Beggs out of the bullpen, none of which have an era over 3.60 or a WHIP over 1.25.

How do you finish with the best record in the WBL?

You do all of that while surviving injuries to Ned Garvin (9-4, 2.80) and Sean Marshall (whose injury prompted the acquisition of Beggs from Mephis).

How do you finish with the best record in the WBL?

You back that up with the duo of Frank Robinson (302/383/539 with 37 homeruns and 111 RBIs) and Curt Blefary (280/392/549). Perhaps more importantly–and perhaps a bit overlooked–you add the trio of Larry Gardner, Dan McGann, and Bobby Wallace, each of which have OBPs just shy of .400 to set the table for your big bashers. If there is a weak spot offensively, it’s in CF, but Paul Blair‘s OPS still hovers around .700 to support his excellent defense.

The playoff roster is a little odd–there are many players the Black Sox would rather have on than Brooks Robinson, whose struggles at the plate sent him to AAA for most of the season. But the options weren’t eligible for the post season, so look for Robinson to make a few late inning appearances as Manny Machado‘s glove.

#Prediction

Baltimore’s pitching is just too strong. Black Sox in 5.

Series XXXIV Featured Matchup: Birmingham Black Barons @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On July 6, 2023

In Featured Games, Featured Series

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Andy Pettitte @ Bill Byrd

This has the chance to be a fantastic matchup. Baltimore’s Bill Byrd is 13-3 on the year with a 3.48 ERA while Birmingham’s Andy Pettitte is 14-4 with a league leading 3.14 ERA overall and a stunning 5-0 / 1.75 since joining the Black Barons.

And then we play the game: Byrd gave up an infield single, two walks, and hit a batter in the top of the first. But it all only resulted in a single run on a sacrifice fly to put the Black Barons up 1-0.

Pettitte was better through 3 frames, allowing only 2 hits. But Byrd didn’t allow another run, despite a steady stream of baserunners. Baltimore tied the game in the bottom of the 5th with consecutive hits from Dan McGann, Manny Machado, and Bryce Harper.

We were still tied at 1 after 7 innings, so it looked like this would be decided by the bullpens eventually.

Baltimore threatened in the bottom of the 9th, as Larry Gardner reached on an infield single and Frank Robinson walked. But Steve Bedrosian induced a foul pop from Curt Blefary, bringing up Ken Singleton … who laced a single back up the middle to score the winning run.

Bob Nieman had 3 hits for Birmingham, but this was a game for the pitchers: Pettitte allowed 1 run in 8 innings, Byrd 1 run in 7.

BBB 1 (Mercker 1-1) @ BAL 2 (Groom 2-2)
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Game 2: Greg Maddux @ Mike Mussina

Another potentially great matchup, this one between 2 pitchers who struggled at the start of the season only to come on strong. On May 18th, Birmingham’s Greg Maddux earned a trip to AAA with an ERA approaching 7. He was recalled just under a month later and, since then, has lowered his ERA to just under 3.00, locking up the #3 slot in the Black Barons’ rotation.

Mike Mussina started the season at AAA for the Black Sox, but quickly earned a recall to Baltimore, and while he’s been hit a bit in his last few starts, he stood at 4-1 with a 3.15 ERA on July 24th (he’s lost 2 of his last 3 starts and seen his ERA jump to 4.11 since then).

So, advantage Birmingham? It certainly seemed so early, as a Frank McCormick single drove in a run in the top of the first and solo shots from Herman Long and Bob Nieman increased the lead to 3-0 in the second.

But Maddux lost his usual pinpoint control, walking 3 and giving up 2 hits, allowing the Black Sox to tie the game in the bottom of the frame.

And so we stayed until a Frank Robinson shot into the leftfield stands in the bottom of the 5th. A double by Curt Blefary and a walk to Bryce Harper chased Maddux. Jim Whitney relieved him, walked in a run and gave up a 2-run single to Paul Blair as Baltimore surged into the lead, 7-3.

Blefary’s 3rd double of the day–tying the WBL record–was a weird and wind-blown thing, but in the end it was just another run scored for Baltimore as the game devolved into an 11-4 rout. Blefary finished with 4 hits and Blair with 3 RBIs.

For Birmingham, Nieman continued his hot streak with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs, but it was far from enough as Baltimore eased to a 2-0 lead in the series.

Baltimore’s Rafael Betancourt and Milt Pappas both made their WBL debuts in relief.

BBB 4 (Maddux 4-6) @ BAL 11 (Mussina 6-3)
HRs: BBB – Long (9), Nieman (12); BAL – Robinson (34).
Box Score

#Game 3: Alejandro Peña @ Connie Johnson

Birmingham turned to Alejandro Peña, their #1 starter all season, to try to get something out of the series, with Baltimore countering with a rested Connie Johnson, displacing Jim Palmer from his scheduled start. Johnson and Peña matched each other through 5, with neither allowing a run despite a fair sprinkling of hits for each side (6 for Birmingham, 5 for Baltimore).

Peña would crack first in the bottom of the 6th, as Larry Gardner doubled to lead off the frame and moved to third on a single from Frank Robinson. Curt Blefary brought Gardner home with a sacrifice fly to right, but Dan McGann hit into a double play to limit the damage to a single run.

The 1-0 lead seemed like it might be enough, as Johnson was getting stronger as the game wore on, fanning 2 each in the 6th and the 7th, but a leadoff double in the 8th by Adrián González chased him from the mound, with Baltimore bringing in their current closer, lefty Buddy Groom to face the pinch-hitting Jim Whitney. Whitney moved Al Schweitzer–pinch-running for González–to third with a ground out, but Groom got a popout from Billy Southworth and struck out Bob Nieman to end the inning.

Groom gave up a pinch-hit to Pie Traynor in the top of the 9th, but held on for the narrow victory.

Robinson had 3 hits in the victory.

BBB 0 (Peña 11-9) @ BAL 1 (Johnson 2-1; Groom 6 Sv)
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Game 4: Vic Willis @ Dennis Martínez

Baltimore’s sweep of the first 3 games dropped Birmingham to a game behind in the Marvin Miller Division. The Black Barons will turn to Vic Willis to try to salvage a game while the Black Sox will counter with their ace, Dennis Martínez.

Chick Stahl took advantage of his first opportunity in the WBL, sending a pitch from Willis deep into the LF stands in his first at-bat in the bigs for a 1-0 Baltimore lead, but Eddie Mathews tagged Martínez for his 23rd of the year to tie it up in the 4th. A 2nd run scored on an Adrián González sacrifice fly, and the Black Barons held a slim lead, 2-1.

Baltimore looked to tie it up in the bottom of the inning when, with one out and the bases loaded, Manny Machado launched a fly to right, but Hank Aaron sent an absolute strike to the plate, cutting down Curtis Granderson attempting to score form third. An RBI from Cupid Childs added to the lead in the 5th, and then 2 out hits from González and Jim Pagliaroni both added to the lead and chased Martínez from the mound in the 6th. That made it 4-1 in favor of Birmingham with Willis sailing along, allowing only 5 hits and 1 run through 5 innings.

A solo shot from Curt Blefary made it 4-2, but Herman Long preserved the 3 run lead with an RBI double in the 7th which was followed by a 2-run single from Granderson, and the flood gates opened from there. By the time the inning was over, Birmingham was up 10-2.

Baltimore would score a couple times, but not enough to threaten. Long, Pagliaroni, and Traynor each had 3 hits for Birmingham. The game saw 3 OF kills: 2 by Birmingham (Aaron and Granderson) and 1 from Baltimore’s Stahl.

BBB 10 (Willis 4-3) @ BAL 4 (Martínez 14-9)
HRs: BBB – Mathews (23); BAL – Stahl (1), Blefary (23).
Box Score

Series XXXIV Preview: Birmingham Black Barons @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On June 30, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Nobody has more at stake in this series than Portland: if Baltimore–the best team in the league–can slow down Birmingham, Portland may be able to sneak by them into first place in the Marvin Miller Division.

Baltimore has been featured in Series IX, XVI, XXV, and XXIX; Birmingham in Series III, XIV, XXIII, and just now in XXXI.

#Birmingham Black Barons

In 3 months, the Black Barons went from a dozen games below .500 to a dozen games above, taking them from the basement to first place in their division. They’ve done it with spectacular pitching and a seeming omniscient sense of how to navigate the trade market.

Andy Pettitte is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA since joining Birmingham, joining advanced metrics darling Alejandro Peña (11-8, 3.82, but with a 4.5 WAR and 3.49 FIP) and Greg Maddux (a 2.97 ERA) to form as fearsome a front of the rotation is exists in the league. While Juan Ríncón has been hit a little harder of late, he’s still got 22 saves and a solid 3.45 ERA, with both Steve Bedrosian and Bruce Chen proving quite capable as setup men.

Offensively, it’s a patchwork quilt, but it’s getting the job done. Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron lead the offense, although neither is a superstar, they each sport an OPS around .820 and have combined for 49 homeruns and 158 RBIs. Cupid Childs has locked down the 2B job, managing an OPS over .900 through his first 100 ABs, but other than that … Bob Nieman has been solid in the OF, Herman Long hits really well for a SS, Curtis Granderson is a threat … patchwork.

#Baltimore Black Sox

We kept waiting for the Black Sox to stumble, but they never did. Turns out good pitching and good hitting tends to win games.

Strictly speaking, the pitching has been a bit better. The front 3 of the rotation (Dennis Martínez, Bill Byrd, and Mike Mussina) has been excellent, but there is very little drop off to Connie Johnson, Jim Palmer, and Johnny Sain (the last 2 have alternated in and out of the fifth slot all year, currently, it’s Palmer’s). Byrd, Johnson, and Martínez all have ERA’s under 4.00, led by Byrd at 3.48. Martínez leads in victories with 14, but Byrd’s record is better at 13-3 on the season. The bullpen seems to have settled a bit behind the superlative Buddy Groom (13 H, 5 Sv, and a 2.03 ERA), although the loss of Sean Marshall has certainly hurt.

Frank Robinson is a bonafide star, with 33 HR and 102 RBIs driving an OPS near .900. But Baltimore is very solid top to bottom, 2B Larry Gardner, SS Bobby Wallace, and 1B Dan McGann all sporting OBP’s near .400 and Curt Belfary (22), Manny Machado (17), and Ken Singleton (16) all adding power.

#Projected Starters

Birmingham’s pitcher listed first.

Andy Pettitte (14-4, 3.14) @ Bill Byrd (13-3, 3.48)
Greg Maddux (4-5, 2.97) @ Mike Mussina (5-3, 4.09)
Scott Baker (7-4, 4.68) @ Jim Palmer (9-8, 4.65)
Alejandro Peña (11-8, 3.82) @ Connie Johnson (6-5, 3.88)

TWIWBL 41.0: Series XXXIII Notes

By mknn

On June 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 22nd

Awards

Pedro Guerrero of the San Francisco Sea Lions was named the WBL Player of the Week, hitting .480 with 3 homeruns.

Playoff Races

The Bill James Division just gets tighter and tighter: we go into expanded rosters with the Detroit Wolverines and New York Gothams tied for first place, with the House of David only a game behind. Currently, all 3 teams would make the playoffs, but it’s very close and the only sure way to make it into the postseason is to win the division.

Well, sort of. The Chicago American Giants are tied (with the Gothams and Wolverines) for the 2nd best record in the WBL. That leaves them 4 games back in the Cum Posey Division, where the Baltimore Black Sox continue to be the league’s best team, playing at a .590 pace and leading the American Giants by 4 games. The Houston Colt 45‘s have won 6 straight, but remain 3 games out of the final Wild Card slot (and 9 behind Baltimore).

The New York Black Yankees have used an 8-2 streak (and a series sweep over the Philadelphia Stars) to–at long last–reclaim first place in the Effa Manley Division, where they now lead the Cleveland Spiders by 2 games. This race is intense, as most likely only the division winner will make the post-season. Cleveland missed a great opportunity this series, losing 3 out of 4 to the lowly Miami Cuban Giants.

Over in the Marvin Miller Division, the miracle that is the Birmingham Black Barons continues, as they lead the Portland Sea Dogs by 1 game. Both teams have a shot at the post-season, but it may be a close thing, putting pressure on the Black Barons to maintain their pace and the Sea Dogs to overtake them.

Performance

Batters

The House of David’s Pete Browning has finally cracked these lists after a long spell on the DL. Browning is one of 5 batters with an OPS over 1.000, led by Babe Ruth (who else?) at 1.102 (the others are Ron Blomberg, Reggie Jackson, and Joe Jackson).

Top 2 in each category as always, leaders in bold.

Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/410/652. 163 H, 38 HR.
Pete Browning (HOD). 352/388/632.
Ty Cobb (DET). 346/390/556.
Eric Davis (NYY). 278/354/521. 5.7 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 232/399/378. 98 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 271/402/360. 85 SB.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/421/587. 98 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 319/436/604.
Stan Musial (KCM). 326/390/576. 42 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 257/312/405. 11 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 337/397/548. 164 H, 119 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 293/371/435. 86 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 319/434/668. 41 HR, 118 RBI, 108 R, 96 BB, 7.0 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 305/338/459. 12 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

The Gothams’ Christy Mathewson is pulling away in victories–this is the 3rd time someone has done this (Portland’s Walter Johnson at the start of the year, then Gerrit Cole of the Los Angeles Angels), so we’ll see if it sticks. It’s still between Mathewson and the House of David’s Jack Taylor as the best starter in the league, although Andy Pettitte‘s spectacular start with Birmingham has pushed him into the conversation (and the league lead in ERA).

All 4 14 game winners are included. This list has more pitcher’s who are among the leaders, but not having especially great years than the batters do: the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry has been a hard luck starter all year, but still an ERA over 4.50 removes him from any “best in the league” list; likewise Cleveland’s Cy Young is an innings eater, but essentially a league average innings eater at this point.

Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.50. 184 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-10, 4.55. 166 K.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-8, 3.72.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.47.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-8, 4.02.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-8, 3.82. 4.5 WAR, 3.49 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-6, 4.08. 3.34 FIP.
Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-7, 3.55. 183 IP, 4.3 WAR.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14, 1.20 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-9, 3.21. 1.14 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 9-9, 4.67. 181 IP.

Relievers

The Gothams’ bullpen continues to be stellar, with Mike Norris perhaps the most valuable reliever in the league and Brian Wilson continuing to be totally lights out as a closer.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.05. 30 Sv, 1 H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.54. 34 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.35. 4 Sv, 9 H, 0.99 WHIP.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 0-5, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.36. 7 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.64. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.73. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

* Currently on the DL.

Streaks

Most impressively, Christy Mathewson hasn’t given up a run in 19 innings.

Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has a 32 game on-base streak, but he’s still 20 shy of the league record. George Stone of the House of David has 4 consecutive pinch-hits, which has him tied for the league record.

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXIII

Houston over Los Angeles
New York Black Yankees over Philadelphia

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXIII

Detroit over Memphis Red Sox
Homestead Grays over Kansas City Monarchs
Miami over Cleveland

Taking 3 out of 5 in Series XXXIII (weather makeup included)

Birmingham over New York Gothams

Series Splits in Series XXXIII

Chicago @ House of David
Baltimore @ Indianapolis ABC’s
Portland @ Ottawa Mounties
San Francisco @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

TWIWBL 40.2: Series XXXII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 5, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Don Bessent has lost his role as closer for the Black Sox, with that honor now being split between Joe Beggs and Buddy Groom.

Paul Blair threw out a runner at home and launched a grandslam for his 10th homerun of the season, leading the Black Sox to a 6-3 win over Cleveland. Larry Gardner had 3 hits and 2 RBIs and Connie Johnson pitched into the 9th for his first win with Baltimore and Groom got the final 2 outs to pick up his 3rd save of the season.

Dennis Martínez had a solid start, earning his 14th victory of the year in a game where Curt Blefary and Brooks Robinson went deep in a 7-2 win over Cleveland.

The Black Sox kept rolling, pounding out 19 hits in a 13-6 victory in the last game of the series with Cleveland. Bobby Wallace and Baby Doll Jacobson had 3 hits each and Dan McGann and Manny Machado each drove in 3 in a game that saw Bill Byrd improve to 13-3 despite giving up 5 runs in under 6 innings.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Holding onto a slim shot at the playoffs, the Colt 45’s made some changes, abandoning some of their flexibility for some more offensive pop. Jim O’Rourke heads to AAA as Pete Hill is activated from a short stint on the DL.

After another blown save by Brad Lidge–his 7th of the year–Houston decided enough is enough, returning Lidge to AAA and recalling Jay Howell.

Harry Stovey had 4 hits and scored 3 times, but it wasn’t enough as the Colt 45’s fell to Memphis in 12 innings.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Lou Brock‘s year keeps getting better: 3 hits lifted his average to .308, and 4 RBIs led the Monarchs to a 10-2 victory over Ottawa. Ted Simmons drove in 3 runs and a solid start from Luke Hamlin improved his record to 8-11. Brock’s OBP edged over .350, and his OPS is nearing .800, proving he is more than just a set of wheels (although his 45 steals ranks 6th in the league).

#Ottawa Mounties

Clayton Richard pitched 6 strong innings, but left injured after 6 innings of 1 run ball. Chris Leroux, Ryan Dempster, and Gary Peters combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief, and the Mounties eked out 1 2-1 win in 11 innings over Kansas City, with Ken Griffey, Jr. driving in the winning run. Richard hit the DL after the game, with Clark Griffith being recalled.

Sam Thompson will miss the next month–meaning perhaps the rest of the season. Young Julio Gotay was recalled to help out defensively.

TWIWBL 40.0 – Series XXXII Notes

By mknn

On June 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 18th

Playoff Series of Note

From here on out, it’s pretty much all about the playoffs.

The Bill James Division has been thrown into a bit of chaos, with the Detroit Wolverines falling from first to third place over the past series. The Wolverines dropped 3 out of 4 to the New York Black Yankees, while the New York Gothams swept the Indianapolis ABC’s. That leaves the Gothams 1.5 games ahead of both Detroit and the Wandering House of David. The House of David will host the Chicago American Giants in the featured matchup of Series XXXIII, while Detroit has an easier opponent (the basement dwelling Memphis Red Sox) than the Gothams, who visit Birmingham.

Three consecutive losses leave the Cleveland Spiders clinging to a 1 game edge over the Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division. This race is key as, right now, the Black Yankees would miss the postseason, trailing Portland for the final wild card slot by 2 games.

The Cum Posey and Marvin Miller Divisions remain unchanged, with Baltimore leading the American Giants by 4 games in the former and Birmingham clingnig to a 1/2 game lead over Portland in the latter.

Really, that’s it: Houston, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Indianapolis are all between 5 and 10 games out of the wild card race, so technically we’re saying there’s a chance …

Performance

Batters

The MVP race really is between Babe Ruth, Ron Blomberg, and Doug Rader with Ruth having a clear edge.

Dick Allen (CAG). 302/373/533/ 10 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 340/408/645. 158 H, 36 HR.
George Brett (HOU). 273/304/407. 10 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 343/389/548.
Eric Davis (NYY). 274/350/520. 5.4 WAR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 234/400/382. 98 BB.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 272/402/363. 84 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/382/602. 36 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 336/422/592. 97 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 318/438/592.
Stan Musial (KCM). 327/392/579. 41 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 258/309/402. 10 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 339/398/554. 161 H, 119 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 289/365/432. 81 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 316/433/661. 39 HR, 11o RBI, 104 R, 94 BB, 6.7 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 304/334/462. 12 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

All 4 14 game winners are included.

Don Drysedale (BRK). 7-7, 3.77. 1.20 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 12-7, 3.61. 178 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-10, 4.67. 162 Ks.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 15-7, 3.61.
Dennis Martínez (BAL). 14-7, 3.64.
Tricky Nichols (CAG). 14-7, 3.68.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 10-8, 3.71. 4.5 WAR, 3.42 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.14.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-5, 3.95. 1 Sv, 4.0 WAR, 3.30 FIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 14-8, 2.99. 1.13 WHIP.

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 3.12. 29 Sv, 1H.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-5, 4.74. 33 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 4-4, 2.39. 4 Sv, 4 H. 0.98 WHIP.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.40. 5 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.40. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.86. 1 Sv, 16 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.82. 5 H, 2.98 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

* Currently injured.

Streaks

In terms of active streaks, Bobby Bonds (San Francisco) has hit in 20 consecutive games; Homestead‘s Rick Reichardt has homered in 5 consecutive (tying him for the WBL record); and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich has reached base in 32 straight.

Kansas City‘s Boog Powell‘s consecutive streak of reaching base ended after an impressive 52 games.

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXII

New York Gothams over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXII

Baltimore over Cleveland
Chicago over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Homestead
New York Black Yankees over Detroit
Los Angeles over Miami Cuban Giants
House of David over Portland

Series Splits in Series XXXII

Houston @ Memphis
Ottawa Mounties @ Kansas City
Philadelphia Stars @ San Francisco