Tag: Dennis Martínez

TWIWBL 13.2: Series XI Notes – Cum Posey Division

On August 8, 2021

#Baltimore Black Sox

Paul Blair has been the subject of much skepticism lately, mired in a horrendous slump for most of the season Still, the Baltimore center fielder has provided solid defense, and may be showing signs of finally coming around at that plate. Blair went 3-for-4 including a walkoff homerun as the Black Sox edged Memphis 3-2, bringing his batting average, at long last, over .200. More impressively, the hit came off Jonathan Papelbon, one of the best relievers in the league so far. Papelbon dropped to 0-2. Bill Byrd put in a good start, but wasn’t involved in the decision, which went to Don Bessent, who improved to 1-1.

Dennis Martinez continues to impress with 7 strong innings. He was actually outpitched by Memphis’ Roger Clemens, but the Black Sox jumped all over Turk Farrell en route to a 6-2 victory, led by Larry Gardner‘s 3 hits and 2-RBI games from Gardner, Bobby Wallace, and Dan McGann. Martinez allowed 5 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, improving his record to 5-1, and Buddy Groom and Bessent combined to allow only 1 walk over the final 2 innings.

A grand slam by Harlond Clift, 4 runs scored by McGann, and 3 hits from McGann and Frank Robinson powered the Red Sox to a 12-4 victory. McGann hit his 5th homerun of the year, and Robinson drove in 4. The win went to Mike Mussina–his first of the year–who pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief of a labored Johnny Sain.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Toad Ramsey continues to befuddle. Impress, but also befuddle. This time, it was a complete game effort against San Francisco, allowing only 6 hits and 2 runs. But the Colt 45’s didn’t score, so Ramsey’s effort resulted in his 4th loss of the year.

#Ottawa Mounties

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game against Brooklyn, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits in a 7-1 victory for the Mounties. He gave up 3 hits to Beals Becker and 2 to Roy White, and that was it. Anthony Rendon and Ken Griffey, Jr. each had 3 hits for Ottawa, with Roy Sievers delivering a key pinch-hit and Freddy Parent going yard for the 5th time this year.

TWIWBL 13.0: Series XI Notes

By mknn

On August 4, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 17th

Performance

The best team in the WBL is … the Baltimore Black Sox? Surprising, but with 29 wins, they have one more than either the New York Black Yankees or the Portland Sea Dogs. Baltimore is led by C Curt Blefary and OF Frank Robinson offensively, with Dennis Martinez and Johnny Sain each having 5 wins on the year. Key to their recent performance has been a bit of resurgence by OF Bryce Harper, who has pushed his OPS up over .700 (a jump of about 100 points in just over a week).

The league is pretty well clustered, with only four teams (Memphis, Homestead, Miami, and Birmingham) yet to reach 20 wins.

Individual performances are still pretty spread out, as the lists below demonstrate. Babe Ruth leads in 4 categories, but he’s really the only player dominating across the board that way.

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR) 6-0, 3.21 ERA, 2.1 WAR; Gerrit Cole (LAA) 6-2, 4.09 ERA; Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-3, 3.10 ERA, 83 Ks, 1.06 WHIP; Lefty Grove (SFS) 4-1, 3.14 ERA; Camilo Pascual (MCG) 4-2, 2.45 ERA; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-2, 2.60 ERA; Whit Wyatt (CLE) 3-1, 2.66 ERA, 1.12 WHIP; CC Sabathia 5-3, 3.01 ERA, 2.0 WAR.

Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR) 0-1, 3.65 ERA, 15 Sv; Terry Adams (CLE) 0-1, 1.69 ERA, 12 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 0-2, 5.74 ERA, 12 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 2.92 ERA, 2 Sv, 9 H; Ralph Citarella (NYY) 1-2, 3.71 ERA, 1 Sv, 7 H; Craig Kimbrel (KAN) 1-1, 2.75 ERA, 7 H; Aroldis Chapman (MCG) 0-2, 0.00 ERA, 9 Sv; Joe Beggs (MEM) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 5 Sv; Brian Wilson (NYG) 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 4 Sv, 0.77 WHIP; Bob Rush (HOD) 3-1, 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP.

Leading Batters: Buster Posey (NYG) 377/451/623, 35 R, 2.6 WAR; Reggie Jackson (SFS) 370/488/637; Babe Ruth (NYY) 337/441/703, 16 HR, 44 R, 2.8 WAR; Lou Gehrig (NYY) 338/440/654; Willie Mays (NYG) 353/403/538, 65 H; Stan Musial (KAN) 354/417/566, 62 H; Rico Carty (PHI) 353/416/569, 18 2B; Terry Puhl (OTT) 248/313/409, 5 3B; Eric Davis (NYY) 301/349/578, 14 HR, 52 RBI; Doug Rader (LAA) 322/367/519, 49 RBI; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 244/402/333, 40 BB, 36 SB.

League Standings | League Statistics

Streaks

Cleveland‘s Jake Stahl is hitting 353/450/912 over his last 10 games, with 5 homeruns. At the other end, Philadelphia‘s Gene Demontreville is challenging the value of the good field/no hit shortstop, managing only a 128/128/154 line over his las 23 games (Demontreville was actually demoted to AAA this week, understandably). Damian Jackson has been even worse for Chicago: 075/213/075 over 18 games, but with more at-bats than Demontreville.

Sad Sam Jones is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA over his last 5 starts while CC Sabathia is 4-1, 2.47 over his last 7.

Thurman Munson of the Black Yankees has the only active hitting streak of length, at 20 games and counting. Don Buford has reached base in 23 straight games, with Carlos Delgado, Oscar Charleston, and Munson each also having streaks of 20 games or more.

Hal Carlson hasn’t allowed a run in 14 innings.

The House of David is 1-9 over their last 10 games while Baltimore and Cleveland have one 8 of their last 10. Chicago has lost their last 7 games in a row.

Series Results

Series Sweeps

Cleveland over Chicago
Homestead over House of David

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XI

Baltimore over Memphis
Kansas City over Birmingham
Brooklyn over Ottawa
Philadelphia over Detroit
San Francisco over Houston
Portland over Indianapolis
New York Black Yankees over Miami

Series Splits

Los Angeles @ New York Gothams

TWIWBL Special Edition: All Star Preview – AL Starting Pitchers

By mknn

On July 13, 2021

In All Star Games, TWIWBL

{ The All-Star game is about a month away. We’ll post occasional articles about the contenders for participation in the mid-season classic. These are written “as of now,” so the final selections may vary dramatically, but hopefully these will add to the ongoing flavor of the league. }

We’ll start with the starting pitchers. Note that the AL is actually the Bill James & Cum Posey Divisions.

As the only 6-game winner in these divisions, Gerrit Cole (LAA) has the inside track on a spot, even if his performance may not strictly warrant it. Still, 6-2 with a WHIP under 1.3 and 1.8 WAR is pretty good, even if his ERA is slightly over 4.

CC Sabathia (HOD) has better numbers (2.73 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 1.9 WAR) and at 5-2 a very similar record. Chicago’s Tricky Nichols sits at 4-1 with a 3.93 ERA, and could certainly be selected if the wins keep piling up.

From there, it’s pretty wide open.

Baltimore’s Johnny Sain and Dennis Martinez are both at 4-1. Martinez has better numbers–a 3.42 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP–but the challenge is whether they can keep those levels up for the next month or so. Kansas City’s Andy Petite is 3-2, but with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP and is certainly in the conversation, as is Ben Sheets (CAG), whose 1.18 WHIP and 4-2 record are more impressive than his 3.98 ERA.

If you look past identical 2-3 records, Sad Sam Jones (NYG), Jack Taylor (HOD), and Hank Aguirre (DET) have good numbers. They sit second through fourth in ERA (from 3.15 for Jones to 3.44 for Aguirre) and WHIPs all at roughly 1.2. Aguirre is injured, but it’s currently unknown how much time–if any–he’ll miss.

Two Memphis hurlers, Roger Clemens and Nixey Callahan, have a shot as well, but you have to look pretty deep at the numbers. Clemens is 0-4 on the season with an ERA approaching 6, but his WHIP is under 1.4 and he has the 3rd lowest FIP at 3.63. Callahan is 3-4 with a far more acceptable 3.68 ERA and is holding opposition batters to a .230 BA.

Similarly, Kansas City’s Frank Castillo‘s record is only 2-4, and his ERA is pushing 4.00. But his FIP is 3.20 and he’s racked up 1.7 WAR, so a few wins could move him to the center of the contenders.

Two more long shots: Chicago’s Ed Walsh leads these divisions in strikeouts with 55, and the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson is third with 47. Walsh sits at 3-3 with a 4.00 ERA and Mathewson is 4-4 with a 4.62 ERA. Both have been hit hard, but if they can improve would have a strong argument.

The AI would select Jones, Martinez, Sabathia, Taylor, and, in a surprise, Stubby Overmire of Houston. Two things led to Overmire’s inclusion: first, the AI thinks he is Houston’s only player; second, he has pitched well: a 2.35 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, but it’s only over 3 starts and an 0-1 record. So I doubt that happens.

My prediction would be … Cole, Sabathia, Nichols, Walsh, and Martinez.

Series IX Featured Series: San Francisco Sea Lions @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On July 9, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Eddie Plank @ Bill Byrd

Eddie Joost is a mystery to San Francisco–and to most fans of the WBL. His batting average sits under .150, but he draws enough walks to have an OBP over 100 points higher, and while he doesn’t hit with much power, when he does, the ball leaves the ballpark. In early April, that meant his slash line was 267/333/567. A month later, he’s at 131/277/250.

With 2 outs in the top of the 3rd, Joost took Baltimore starter Bill Byrd‘s second pitch over the right field wall for an early 1-0 lead for the Sea Lions.

But the Sea Lions’ Eddie Plank struggled mightily with his command, and after an error by John Beckwith helped load the bases, Plank walked in a run, and then allowed two more to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

Curt Blefary tripled home a run in the bottom of the fifth, extending the lead to 4-1.

In the top of the 7th, a single by Mickey Cochrane chased Byrd, who was relieved by Mike Mussina. Beckwith–who has showed some signs of life at the plate recently–singled, bringing up Joost. The Sea Lions decided not to pinch hit, and Joost rewarded them with … a groundball double-play to second base. Cochrane would score on a single by Rickey Henderson, but a great opportunity to get back in the game went by the wayside.

The Black Sox are the only team in the WBL without a designated closer, instead rotating key situations between Bob Miller and Don Bessent. Today was Bessent’s turn, and despite struggling with control a bit, he only allowed a double to Beckwith in the 9th, preserving the victory for Baltimore.

Baltimore scored 4 runs on only 5 hits, with Blefary’s triple and a double from Paul Blair the only extra-base shots. Byrd moves to 3-2 on the year, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, with Mussina and Bessent combining for 3 innings of 3-hit, scoreless ball.

The Sea Lions saw Beckwith go 3-for-4 in the losing effort, with Henderson stealing 3 bases in a game for the first time this season. Plank evened his record at 2-2 with the loss, despite only allowing 1 earned run in 5 innings.

SFS 2 (Plank 2-2) @ BAL 4 (Byrd 3-2; Mussina 1 H; Bessent 5 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Joost (4).
Box Score

Game 2: Jim Devlin @ Johnny Sain

This may be a make-or-break game for San Francisco’s Jim Devlin, who comes in with an 0-2 record and a 6.57 era, allowing almost 2 baserunners per inning.

Both Devlin and his opposite number, Johnny Sain, gave up runs in the first. For San Francisco, back-to-back doubles by Pedro Guerrero and Reggie Jackson gave the Sea Lions an early 1-0 lead, while the bottom of the first was very Devlin: 2 hits, 1 walk, an HBP, an error … 8 batters faced, 2 runs scored, 1 earned.

But both would settle down. Sain allowed 1 more run, on an RBI double from Charlie Reilly, scoring Wally Moon and Devlin 2 more, on a double from Dan McGann and a sacrifice fly by Brooks Robinson, leaving the score 4-3, Baltimore, after 7 innings.

It would stay that way, with Ned Garvin, Buddy Groom, Gregg Olson, and Bob Miller combining for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to preserve the Black Sox victory.

Garvin finished with a good enough line for him (7 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 earned runs)–perhaps enough to stave off the demotion, but not to preserve his spot in the rotation.

SFS 3 (Devlin 0-3) @ BAL 4 (Sain 4-2; Garvin 2 H; Groom 3 H; Olson 2 H; Miller 2 Sv)
HR: SFS – Bloodworth (4)
Box Score

#Game 3: Cy Falkenberg @ Dennis Martinez

Dennis Martinez has been excellent so far, with a 3-1 record and a sub-4.00 ERA; Cy Falkenberg has been solid: his 2-0 record belies some poor outings leading to a 4.40 ERA.

Helped by a homerun from Eddie Joost, San Francisco was up 2-0 in the 6th, but then the wheels fell off for Falkenberg, with Harlond Clift hitting a grand slam as the Black Sox moved out to a 6-2 lead. A 2-run shot by Larry Gardner in the 8th provided the final margin of 8-2 as Baltimore moved to the verge of sweeping the four game series.

Martinez moved to 4-1, lowering his ERA to 3.42 in his 8 innings of work, while Falkenberg too his first loss of the year.

SFS 2 (Falkenberg 2-1) @ BAL 8 (Martinez 4-1)
HR: SFS – Joost (5); BAL – Clift (5), Gardner (3)
Box Score

#Game 4: Dennis Eckersley @ Mark Baldwin

Dennis Eckersley was absolutely hammered in his first start back from the DL, lowering his record to 1-3 and seeing his ERA balloon to 9.00. He’ll be opposed by Baltimore’s Mark Baldwin, who at 2-4, 6.62 has had his own fair share of struggle.

Both pitchers struggled, but somehow at the end of 5 innings, San Francisco only lead by 1, 3-2. A solo homerun by Jimmy Bloodworth in the 8th extended it to 4-2, and Ron Robinson and Rod Beck each pitched a 1-hit, scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley, who lowered his ERA by well over a run in his 7 innings of work.

Dan McGann and Frank Robinson each had 2 hits in the losing effort.

SFS 4 (Eckersley 2-3; Robinson 4 H; Beck 8 Sv) @ BAL 2 (Baldwin 2-5)
HR: SFS – Bloodworth (5)
Box Score

Series Notes

John Beckwith showed signs of emerging from his season-long slump, going 5-for-11 in the series for San Francisco.

For Baltimore, Dan McGann was 5-for-7 and Ken Singleton 5-for-15 in a series dominated by the pitchers.

Previewing Series IX: San Francisco Sea Lions @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On July 8, 2021

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Series IX is the debut in our featured matchup for both teams. San Francisco comes into the series at .500, 5 games back in the Marvin Miller Division, while Baltimore is performing above expectations, only 1 game back in the Cum Posey Division with a record of 19-15. Both teams won 3 out of 4 in their prior series (San Francisco against the Gothams, Baltimore against Philadelphia).

Expected matchups for the four games are (SFS first) Eddie Plank (2-1, 5.66) v Bill Byrd (2-2, 4.24); Jim Devlin (0-2, 6.57) v Johnny Sain (3-2, 4.57); Cy Falkenberg (2-0, 4.40) v Dennis Martinez (3-1, 3.63); and Dennis Eckersley (1-3, 9.00) v Mark Baldwin (2-4, 6.62).

Baldwin and Eckersley may be pitching for their lives in the final game; of the rest, perhaps the most interesting thing is Martinez, who is right on the edge of the top tier of WBL starters right now.

TWIWBL 10.2: Series VII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 4, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin shut out Philadelphia on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4, improving his record to 2-1 in easily his best performance of the year.

A pinch-hit grand slam from Frank Robinson helped power the Black Sox past the Stars in the second game. Dennis Martinez had another strong outing, improving to 3-1 and Ken Singleton also went deep.

#Chicago American Giants

Frank Thomas hit 2 homeruns, leading Chicago past the New York Black Yankees, 8-4. Ben Sheets moved to 4-1 on the year with a strong effort, and Carlton Fisk and Joe Jackson also went deep.

In game two of the series, down 4-2 in the top of the 7th, the American Giants responded with 6 runs, shocking the Black Yankees and providing the final score in the 8-4 victory. The inning started with hits from Luke Appling and Dave Nilsson, chasing New York’s starter, Jake Scott, from the game. He was relieved by A.J. Burnett, who allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, then surrendered a single to Jackson to tie the game … and then things got rough, with Dick Allen hitting a 2 run homerun and Mike Fiore scoring on a fielders’ choice. Thomas went 3-for-5, and both Adrian Gonzalez and Duffy Lewis hit homers as well. The win went to Ed Walsh, who struggled through 126 pitches over 7 innings, allowing 4 runs. Akinori Otsuka and A.J. Minter combined for 2 scoreless innings in relief.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Stubby Overmire got a spot start and made the most of it, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings against Brooklyn in a game Houston eventually won in the bottom of the 9th, with the victory going to Andrew Chafin, who evened his record at 1-1.

Jeff Bagwell went deep twice–perhaps an indication he’s finding his swing at last–to lead Houston to a 6-2 victory in the 2nd game, with Tony Gwynn adding 3 RBI’s as well. Trevor Hoffman moved to 3-0 on the year, after a decent effort from Stephen Strasburg.

#Ottawa Mounties

Jamie Moyer‘s WBL debut was a thing of beauty: 7.2 innings, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts, and a single earned run. Tom Henke‘s total meltdown was not–4 runs on three hits in the 9th inning, turning a 2-1 lead into a 5-2 defeat to Indianapolis.

The question of what it would take for Ottawa to give up on Randy Johnson–at least for a while–was answered: 1-4 with an ERA approaching 9 and a WHIP over 2. It’s unclear what the long term plans are in Ottawa: for now, Monk Dubiel gets a start and a likely quick hook, with Greg Holland called up to the bullpen.

Holland did well: 3.1 innings in relief of Dubiel (who gave up 4 runs in 3 innings), allowing only 1 run. It was enough, as Ottawa took advantage of a total implosion by Rob Murphy that included 2 bases-loaded walks and a grand slam by the suddenly red-hot Freddy Parent. It all added up to an 8-5 victory for the Mounties.

Spring Training Preview: Baltimore

By mknn

On June 19, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

Ned Garvin and Mark Baldwin are pretty much set, as much from their ability to eat innings as anything else.
It is likely that Rube Foster, Bob Welch, and Johnny Sain fill out the rotation, but Bill Byrd, Dennis Martinez, and Jim Palmer each could force their way into the conversation.
- 10 games in, Foster and Welch have struggled, Sain has been magnificent, and Palmer has impressed. Byrd will miss the rest of Spring Training, and both Mike Mussina and McDaniel have joined Martinez in the back of rotation competition.
  - Sain & Baldwin are set, with Martinez, Garvin, and Palmer the most likely behind them, with Foster having an outside chance. Mussina and Welch were sent to minor league camp, with Milt Pappas being recalled in case an emergency SP is needed.
Similarly, both John Wetteland and Lindy McDaniel‘s role to start the season is likely to be determined by their Spring performance.
- B.J. Ryan has struggled so far, and Bob Miller may push him on the closer role, with newly promoted Gregg Olsen also an outside possibility.
  - Ryan has lost the closing role, but nobody else has really jumped forward. Miller and Don Bessent have been the best, but the rest have been miserable, with Wetteland and Don Aase possibly pitching themselves off the roster.
The other major Spring contests are at SS, where both Bobby Wallace and Cal Ripken, Jr. look good enough to start and the OF, where the roles behind Merv Rettenmund and Frank Robinson need to be settled.
- SS is just weird. The presumed starter, Wallace, hasn’t been able to hit; Ripken hasn’t shown any power, and defensive whiz Mark Belanger is hitting well over .500.
  - Belanger has cooled off: now he’s only hitting exactly .500. Nothing clarified here.
- Right now, Ken Singleton, Alex Johnson, and Paul Blair are in the lead for the rest of the OF slots.
  - The OF is still a bit unsettled, but Jesse Burkett and Chick Stahl have been returned to AAA and 19 year old Bryce Harper recalled.
C is far too crowded. The problem is that the weaker candidates–Rick Ferrell and Ramon Hernandez especially–are performing as well as the presumed frontliners. Still, something must be done to free up playing time, sending Ferrell back to AAA.
- Chris Hoiles is sent to AAA, reducing the Cs in camp to 3.
3B is now difficult, as Brooks Robinson is struggling and both Harlond Clift and Bill Sweeney are knocking the cover off the ball.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers	Johnny Sain Mark Baldwin	Ned Garvin Dennis Martinez Jim Palmer	Rube Foster ~~Bill Byrd~~
Middle Relievers		Rafael Betancourt	Don Aase John Wetteland Lindy McDaniel	Milt Pappas
Setup			Gregg Olson
Closer			BJ Ryan Bob Miller Don Bessent
C	Curt Blefary	Tom Haller Ramon Hernandez
1B			Dan McGann Eddie Murray	Richie Sexson
2B			Larry Gardner Brian Roberts
3B		Brooks Robinson	Harlond Clift Bill Sweeney
SS		Bobby Wallace Cal Ripken, Jr.	Mark Belanger
OF	Frank Robinson	Ken Singleton Paul Blair	Merv Rettenmund Alex Johnson	Baby Doll Jacobson Ron Northey Bryce Harper