Tag: Dick Tidrow Page 1 of 3

TWIWBL 67.6: Marvin Miller Division

On October 15, 2024

Team	W/L	Pct	GB
Indianapolis ABC’s	33-25	.569	—
Kansas City Monarchs	32-25	.561	0.5
Wandering House of David	27-29	.482	5
Houston Colt 45s	26-32	.448	7
Birmingham Black Barons	20-38	.345	13

Marvin Miller Division | 4 June

#Birmingham Black Barons

Hank Aaron drove in 6 as he and Curtis Granderson each went deep twice in an odd 12-10 win over the House of David. Odd because the Black Barons only managed 6 hits on the day, with 5 of them landing over the fence (JP Arencibia had the 5th). Birmingham took advantage of 5 walks, an error, and 3 hit batsmen, while only leaving 2 runners on base in the game.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Lefty James was demoted with Dick Tidrow being recalled from his rehab assignment. Lew Ritter was also sent down, with Mike Redmond being called up to serve as Johnny Bench‘s backup.

Luis Padrón became the league’s first 10 game winner with 6 strong innings in a 9-4 win over Philadelphia. Bench showed signs of breaking out of his slump with 2 homeruns, and Tommy Helms and Joe Morgan combined to go 5 for 9 with 5 RBI’s.

#Kansas City Monarchs

A. Rube Foster was virtually untouchable, facing the minimum 27 batters in a 1-hit shutout of Brooklyn. Foster improved to 3-0 with the 4-0 victory.

#Wandering House of David

Ferguson Jenkins replaced Kerry Wood in the House of David rotation.

George Stone went deep twice, but the House of David needed more than the 5 solo homers they got, falling 9-5 to Birmingham. Elrod Hendricks, Ryne Sandberg, and Jim Edmonds joined Stone in going deep with nobody on base.

TWIWBL 60.5: Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On June 4, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Eddie Mathews smashed a ball 544 feet for his 5th homerun of the year, but it wasn’t enough as the Black Barons fell to the Gothams, 3-2. Matthews continued to mash, sending a ball 551 feet the next day, again in a losing effort. Bob Nieman and Jim Pagliaroni went deep twice each, but disastrous outings from both John Malarkey and Warren Spahn were too much to overcome as the Black Barons fell to the Gothams, 12-8.

Curtis Granderson and Albert Belle each had 3 hits and each went deep twice and Hank Aaron added a longball of his own as the Black Barons beat the Gothams 11-6. Jim Whitney continued his brilliant start to the season with 2 perfect innings, picking up his first victory of the year.

Gene Tenace, off to a great start at the plate, will miss about 2 weeks, with JP Arencibia being recalled from AAA to backup Pagliaroni. With Arencibia able to play 1B, the Black Barons demoted the mightily struggling Jake Beckley and brought up Frank Viola from AA to make a start. Viola was absolutely torched, giving up 4 homeruns in 2 innings, and heading back to AA after the game with Bill Phyle taking his roster spot.

Granderson went deep twice in a 6-2 victory over Ottawa, the second shot giving the Black Barons the lead in the top of the 12th. Perhaps as importantly, Sam Streeter, Lefty Gomez, Juan Rincón, Larry Benton, and Bruce Chen all put in strong shifts on the mound, holding the Mounties to only 5 hits.

Birmingham hit 5 homeruns in an inning, including four in a row, and still needed some late inning heroics to pull out a 12-10 win over Ottawa. Recently recalled Arencibia was the star of the show, going 4 for 4 with 2 homeruns in his first WBL game. Arencibia’s first followed consecutive homers from Mathews, Andy Pafko, and Adrián González. Pafko had 3 hits and Belle also went deep for the Black Barons.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Tony Gwynn and HR Johnson had 4 hits each and combined for 7 RBIs as Houston put a beating on Philadelphia, 13-4. Bret Saberhagen was a little shaky, but evened his record at 1-1 in a game where the Colt 45’s pounded out 19 hits and saw Johnson and Carlos Correa each go deep. Gwynn ended the day batting .536 on the year.

Andrés Galarraga hit his first 2 homeruns of the year, but it wasn’t enough as a poor showing by Billy Wagner led to a 6-5 loss to Philadelphia.

Russ Adams was a bit of an afterthought coming out of spring training, but he’s making a case for more playing time. Adams had 4 hits in a 12-6 victory over the House of David. Johnson and Galarraga each drove in 3 in the win, with Roger Clemens improving to 3-0 with a decent outing.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Both Lefty James and Dick Tidrow were forced out of the game via injury in an 8-4 win over Kansas City. James was immediately placed on the DL, anticipated to miss about 2 weeks while Tidrow’s injury was less clear. Rob Murphy was recalled to take James’ spot in the pen.

Ed Charles broke out of a slump in a big way with 4 hits and his first homerun of the season, but the real star of the game was Luis Padrón, who drove in 4 and got the win with 6 solid innings on the mound. Johnny Bench drove in 3 and Padrón, Bench, Denis Menke, and Oscar Charleston all joined Charles in going yard in the 13-5 win over the Monarchs.

After the game, the ABC’s put Tidrow, who is expected to be out for just over a month, on the DL. Gorham Leverett was recalled from AAA to take Tidrow’s place.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Albert Pujols hit 2 solo shots, but it couldn’t overcome a poor start from Bob Gibson–who couldn’t make it out of the first inning–in a 13-5 loss to Indianapolis.

Smokey Joe Wood is the best pitcher in the WBL right now. He improved to 3-0 with a 2 hit shutout of the ABC’s. Dale Murphy went deep twice for the Monarchs in the game.

TWIWBL 58.6: Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On May 2, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Gene Tenace went deep twice as Birmingham pulled away late in a 9-2 victory over Philadelphia. Albert Belle hit his first homer of the year as he and Bob Nieman each had 3 RBI’s, supporting a strong start from Alejandro Peña.

Eddie Mathews went deep twice and Greg Maddux and Jim Whitney combined on a 6-hitter as the Black Barons blanked the Stars, 7-0.

#Indianapolis ABCs

The ABC’s pounded out 17 hits and 10 walks (4 to Joey Votto) in a 15-9 win over Birmingham. Joe Morgan, Denis Menke, and Oscar Charleston had 3 hits each, and Johnny Bench drove in 4.

The ABC’s pitched the first shutout of the season, a combined 8-hitter as they topped Houston 2-0 despite managing only 4 hits themselves. Johnny Cueto threw 6 innings for the win, followed by Dick Tidrow, Jack Billingham, and Clay Carroll, who picked up his 2nd save of the season.

Carroll will happily return to his setup duties as Indianapolis welcomed Rob Dibble back from injury. Billingham was sent to AAA very briefly, being recalled after only a day when Ewell Blackwell was diagnosed with bone chips in his elbow, putting him on the shelf for about 7 months.

#Kansas City Monarchs

C Ted Simmons launched a 507 ft bomb in a 9-5 loss to Birmingham.

It took a great start from Smokey Joe Wood to deal Indianapolis their first loss of the season. Robinson Canó and Ozzie Smith had 2 hits each and Dale Murphy hit an inside-the-park homerun as the Monarchs beat the ABC’s 3-0. Wood allowed 4 hits in over 7 innings, and Eddie Guardado and Jeff Pfeffer closed it out without allowing a baserunner.

Willie McGee had 4 hits (including 2 triples), drove in 4 and scored 4, leading the Monarchs to a 9-3 win over Indianapolis.

#Wandering House of David

Ryne Sandberg had 2 homeruns (one a grand slam) and drove in 6 as the House of David pummeled Houston, 10-1 behind a good start from Bob Rush.

Promising teenager Ad Gumbert strained his shoulder and was placed on the DL with Kyle Peterson being recalled from AAA. Peterson’s stay was brief, however, as Bruce Sutter was activated from the DL the following day.

Sandberg and Sammy Sosa hit 2 homeruns apiece as the House of David destroyed the Gothams 10-1. Perhaps most importantly, Jack Taylor put in a good shift, allowing 1 run in just over 5 innings. Sandberg’s start to the year is absolutely ridiculous, hitting .455 with 6 homeruns and 15 RBIs in his opening 5 games.

TWIWBL 55.3: Offseason Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On January 10, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

C Harry Bemis retired from the game.

The Spiders like what they saw in Mel Harder, and signed the starter to a 3 year, $13M contract. They were less enthusiastic about the performance of midseason acquisition Ron Reed, who was supposed to be the magic salve for their bullpen. Reed struggled, but showed enough to earn himself a 3 year, $5.1M contract.

OF Chuck Hostetler and RP Doug Jones both retired at the end of the AAA season.

#Homestead Grays

Mad Dog Madlock had a solid year at AAA, but the 35 year old decided his future lay outside the lines as he announced his retirement.

The Grays signed FA C Del Crandall, presumably to serve as Josh Gibson‘s backup next season.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

IF Casey Candaele and RP Eddie Fisher have both retired from the game.

25 year old free agent Bill Smith was signed to a $14.5M, 3 year deal and is looking to compete for a rotation spot come spring.

#New York Black Yankees

Art Howe capped his career with 3 games and 6 at-bats at the major league level before calling it quits on his time as a player.

The Black Yankees clearly expect Red Ruffing to fully recover form his rotator cuff surgery, signing him to a 5 year, $21M contract.

Red Schoendienst‘s WBL career was pretty unnoticed: 0 hits in 10 at-bats over 3 games. Both he and RP Mike Stanton announced their retirement.

The Black Yankees released 2 veteran arms who were highly ineffective in their time in the Bronx: Dick Tidrow and Jamie Moyer.

#Philadelphia Stars

Marlon Byrd hit well at AAA, but struggled mightily over a couple of short stints with Philadelphia. At 38, he decided to call it a career.

Jaret Wright suffered a major setback, re-tearing his meniscus while trying to rehabilitate it. Wright will be out well into next year, although he may be back in time for some of Spring Training.

Pete Alexander will require surgery on his shoulder, keeping the young pitcher out of action until the middle of next summer.

Season Review: Wandering House of David

By mknn

On December 26, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

83 - 71, .538 pct.
3rd in Bill James Division, 6 games behind.
Lost in Wild Card Round to Baltimore

Overall

The House of David caught fire in June and never looked back. That coincided, unsurprisingly, with Pete Browning‘s return from the DL (and a late season slump coincided with Browning’s cooling off at the tail end of the season). This team revolved around 3 players: Browning, Elrod Hendricks, and Jack Taylor.

On the one hand, it’s an example of how far a few well placed stars can carry you; on the other, it reveals an overall lack of quality that needs to be addressed.

What Went Right

Elrod Hendricks and Pete Browning finished with identical .961 OPS. Browning’s performance, at least, is expected to continue although his health remains a concern.

Jim Edmonds emerged as a legitimate potential star in the league with both his glove and his bat, and Anthony Rizzo did the same, minus the bit about the glove. George Stone was perhaps the most underrated offensive player in the league.

Top to bottom, the House of David were excellent offensively: Ryne Sandberg was very good at 2B and Dan Ford, quite surprisingly, hit well enough to legitimately claim the RF spot. Their worst everyday player–SS Ernie Banks–still posted a .736 OPS with 25 homeruns.

Jack Taylor was excellent, Bob Rush quite good, and both Frank Sullivan and CC Sabathia serviceable in the rotation. The bullpen trio of Tom Niedenfuer, Lee Smith, and Bruce Sutter was above average, although both Smith and Sutter faded a bit at the end of the season.

ALL STARS
C Elrod Hendricks; OF George Stone

What Went Wrong

Many of the players who were expected to fill roles struggled: Sammy Sosa (who was traded), Mark McGwire, Mark Grace, Frank Grant, and Fred Lynn were all given significant chances to impress, and all failed. That is what opened the door for Edmonds and Rizzo, so in the end it worked out.

Browning’s injury was horribly impactful and Hendricks’ performance is most likely a career year. Neither of these things went wrong, technically, but both speak volumes to the House of David’s future.

The rest of the pitching staff struggled, with Frank Sullivan being thoroughly average and Ferguson Jenkins horrible in his 80+ innings. The middle relief was so weak it warranted the acquisition of Ed Bauta–Bauta was good, but when Ed Bauta rescues your bullpen …

Transactions

March

None

June

OF Sammy Sosa & 5th Round Pick to Memphis for OF Tony Conigliaro, OF Fred Lynn & 2nd Round Pick {Bill Lee}

Sosa was terrible for the House of David, so getting anything for him seemed a steal at the time. Given his performance for Memphis, it’s not as clear.

July

IF Bert Campaneris, P Jeff Heathcock & 3rd Round Pick to Miami for P Ed Bauta, 6th Round Pick {Ad Gumbert} & 7th Round Pick {Dave Malarcher}

See above: Bauta was very much needed.

P Dick Tidrow & 7th Round Pick to New York Black Yankees for P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick {Darren Daulton}

Seems fine: Clinton has some potential.

Looking Forward

SP

Taylor and Rush look quite good, and the House of David still believe in Ferguson Jenkins. There is some other talent here as well: Rick Reuschel, Kerry Wood and, although they are still teenagers at this point, Larry Dierker and Joe Nuxhall.

RP

Assuming Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith recover from their late season slumps, this looks good with support from Don Aase, and Rollie Fingers.

C

Something has to give here: Elrod Hendricks is clearly the starter heading into next year, with both Gabby Hartnett and Frank Chance behind him, although Chance’s future is likely not behind the plate.

1B

Anthony Rizzo looks very solid here, although the House of David remain optimistic that, someday, Mark McGwire will start connecting with more pitches. This may get even more crowded as both Chance and Cap Anson are expected to drift across the diamond to first eventually.

2B

Ryne Sandberg has this locked down, but young Billy Herman is turning some heads.

3B

Ron Santo is the starter here, although Anson should see some time over the next few years as well.

SS

Ernie Banks, although his performance this year really needs to be his floor for him to maintain his roster spot.

LF

George Stone now, Billy Williams later.

CF

Browning for as long as he stays healthy. There is a need for a better long term solution here.

RF

If Dan Ford cannot hold this down, Tony Conigliaro looks decent at AAA, and George Gore was among the better 4th OFers in the league.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With 3 picks in the first two rounds, the House of David is looking to add a fair bit of high end talent. It starts in the 1st round with P Zack Greinke and continues in the 2nd with franchise P Bill Lee. Greinke is a great talent; Lee has a lower ceiling, but could help sooner.

The House of David had back-to-back picks later in the second round. With one, they hope to have solved a long term need at catcher: there are whispers that Hendricks’ year was a fluke and that Frank Chance‘s future may be at 1B . So, while he’s clearly a few years away, they picked up teenager Darren Daulton as a long-term project, and with their final pick of the round, they picked up the highest rated franchise player remaining, Cody Bellinger, who looks eventually to further complicate the CF question, but that’s a challenge for another day.

In the 4th round, the House of David picked up Frank Dwyer, probably the best remaining arm in the draft.

Rounds 5-8

Corner OF, 1B, and pitching should be the focus with these picks for the House of David, starting with a franchise selection, 19 year old pitcher Ad Gumbert. That was followed by their final exemption, P Al Brazle. Their 2 picks in the 7th round were Dave Malarcher and John Peters, both of whom offer some infield depth, but neither of whom have much power potential.

Rounds 9-12

P Justin Steele; OF Mitch Webster; IF Charlie Deal; P Hal Mauck.

13th overall pick Zack Greinke refused the House of David’s offer, and will re-enter the draft next year.

Season Review: New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On December 21, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

81 - 73, .525 pct.
2nd in Effa Manley Division, 5 games behind.

Overall

From pre season championship favorite to missing the playoffs: it was a massively disappointing year in the Bronx, and while most of the blame has been focused on the bullpen, there are other concenrs.

Long term, this is an old franchise; but it is also built to win now, so it has conflicting incentives in terms of getting WBL level help immediately and building depth throughout the organization.

Also, Babe Ruth.

What Went Right

Babe Ruth did Babe Ruth things.

Perhaps no other team offers as dangerous a series of 7 hitters as the Black Yankees, with Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Albert Belle, Thurman Munson, Eric Davis, and Don Mattingly. It is very hard to work more than 6 of them into the lineup at the same time, but still.

Waite Hoyt, Jack Scott, and Red Ruffing were all excellent (Ruffing will miss much of next season through injury, however).

After being blasted for much of the season, the bullpen finally turned the corner with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. Once Chapman arrived, he, Rheal Cormier, and Goose Gossage began to consistently close out games.

The stats wonks insist that Ron Guidry was a top 5 starter this year, so he has that going for him.

ALL STARS
OF Eric Davis; 1B Lou Gehrig; SS Derek Jeter; OF Mickey Mantle; C Thurman Munson; P Red Ruffing; OF Babe Ruth.

What Went Wrong

The Black Yankees came out of the break with all-stars at both 2B (Tom Herr, acquired from Birmingham) and SS (Derek Jeter). Both struggled the rest of the season. Nothing worked in the middle infield all year: Willie Randolph was replaced by Herr, neither Hardy Richardson nor Red Rolfe did anything of note, and New York even turned to Pee Wee Reese, released earlier by Brooklyn. 2B/SS remains several notches below the level of the rest of the team.

So much ink has been spilled about their bullpen struggles, but it has to be mentioned. Suffice to say that Sparky Lyle and Dave Righetti pitched themselves right down to AAA, Ralph Citarella was pretty poor all season, and Gossage struggled until Chapman’s arrival.

The naked eye would insist that Guidry–their #1 starter going into the season–struggled. Plenty of strikeouts, but an 8-12 record and a 4.35 ERA are not what was expected.

Transactions

March

C Bill Dickey, OF Aaron Judge & 1B Prince Fielder to Philadelphia for 3B Mike Schmdit & P Cole Hamels

Right now, looks like a steal for New York, but the jury is still very much out.

June

IF Reddy Mack, OF Bill Buckner, P Heathcliff Slocumb, OF Charlie Keller, 1B Moose Skowron & 10th Round Pick to Birmingham for 2B Tom Herr

Birmingham got as much as they could from the deal and, given Herr’s struggles in New York, probably got the best of it.

IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick to Ottawa for P Gary Lavelle and P Jamie Moyer

Meh. Given that both Lavelle and Moyer are in the twilights of their careers, you have to give Ottawa the edge here if any of the players turn into anything.

July

C Smoky Burgess & P Cole Hamels to Miami for P Aroldis Chapman & 3rd Round Pick {Brett Gardner}

A win for New York, even if Hamels develops as expected.

P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick to House of David for P Dick Tidrow & 8th Round Pick {Elliott Maddox}

Tidrow was wildly inconsistent, so who knows.

P LaTroy Hawkins, P Fritz Coumbe, IF Mike Bordick & 3rd Round Pick to Philadelphia for P Rheal Cormier & 4th Round Pick {Mark Grudzielanek}

Meh. All of these deals were made to win now, and since that didn’t happen, have to be judged somewhat harshly.

Looking Forward

SP

Should be strong. Ron Guidry, Waite Hoyt, Whitey Ford, and Lefty Gomez will be supported by Vic Raschi, Frank Viola, and Dave Righetti long term. That’s a solid bunch.

RP

There is depth here, but not a lot of confidence. For now, Aroldis Chapman and Goose Gossage will close out games, but Sparky Lyle and David Robertson are both available as reinforcements.

C

Thurman Munson had a magnificent season.

1B

Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly should have this–and DH–locked down for quite some time.

2B

The Black Yankees still hope that Willie Randolph comes around. But there’s a decent chance they are in the market for a 2B.

3B

Mike Schmidt should have a lot of good years left, although there is very little talent behind him.

SS

There is a lot of optimism about Derek Jeter, but so far it seems to have been misplaced.

LF

Ruth forever, some Albert Belle sprinkled in for now.

CF

A mixture of Mickey Mantle and Eric Davis.

RF

Ruth, Mantle, and Belle–essentially the Black Yankees have 4 starting OFers to go along with their 2 starting 1Bs.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

What the Black Yankees need most–immediate help in the bullpen and depth at the big league level–won’t come through the rookie draft. As such, they are guided here by a desire to grab the best, youngest talent available. In the first round, that meant 19 year old David Cone, who has the advantage of being a franchise player as well.

With the 2nd pick of the 3rd round, they added another franchise selection in CF Brett Gardner and with the first choice of the 4th round, tried to fill in some MI depth with Mark Grudzielanek.

Rounds 5-8

The Black Yankees took a high risk/high reward flyer on P Noah Syndergaard, who could contribute in the next year or so, but also looks unlikely to stay healthy for very long, and then picked U player Jess Barbour in the 6th. Carlos Rodón is a bit of a project, but he becomes the final exception for the Black Yankees in round 7.

From here on out, it’s best talent with a slight preference for young position players, as their A level is pretty empty. That starts with young SS Anthony Volpe followed by IF/OF Elliott Maddox.

Rounds 9-12

OF Aaron Hicks; P Scott Kamieniecki; IF Charlie Irwin.

They were unable to come to terms with their first round pick, P David Cone.

Series XXXVII Featured Matchup: Los Angeles Angels @ New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On August 16, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Gerrit Cole @ Waite Hoyt

Lou Gehrig‘s 25th homerun of the year and an RBI single from Thurman Munson put the Black Yankees on top 2-0, but Waite Hoyt was unable to hold it, surrendering 2 runs in the top of the 3rd to tie the game.

Hoyt was chased by singles from Mike Trout and Doug Rader to leadoff the 5th, with AJ Burnett coming in for New York. Burnett escaped further damage but Gerrit Cole gave up the lead in the bottom of the inning as Mickey Mantle led off the frame with his 26th homer.

Burnett walked Trout with the bases loaded to tie the game again, and then gave up a 2 run single to Rader. Dave Righetti was brought on, but Carlos Delgado delivered an RBI single, and Elmer Valo a run-scoring double and when the smoke cleared, the Angels were up, 7-3.

They would add 5 more in the following inning, and the score was only respectable due to Babe Ruth hitting his 45th homer of the year in the 9th inning.

Trout and Rader had 4 hits each, and Delgado added 3. The 3 of them drove in 11 runs, with Rader maintaining his overall lead in the RBI race over Ruth, 131 to 130.

LAA 12 (Cole 16-9) @ NYY 7 (Burnett 5-3)
HRs: LAA – Delgado (11); Gehrig (25), Mantle (26), Ruth (45).
Box Score

With Cleveland losing, this was a lost opportunity for New York, who end the day still 3 games out of the final wild card spot and 5 behind the Spiders for the division lead.

#Game 2: Pud Galvin @ Jack Scott

Mike Trout‘s 21st homerun of the year put the Angels up 2-0 in the top of the first. Two more homeruns (Bobby Grich‘s 12th and Doug Rader‘s 18th) doubled the lead in the 3rd to 4-0. RBI singles from Thurman Munson and Don Mattingly cut it back to 4-2 in the bottom of the inning.

Both pitchers were laboring and New York’s Jack Scott was relieved by Bryan Hickerson with 1 out in the top of the 6th while Pud Galvin gave way to Chuck Finley in the bottom of the frame.

Harry Howell led off the 7th with a pinch hit triple, but was gunned down at the plate on a nice throw from Albert Belle.

Rader doubled in another run–his 133rd RBI of the year–in the top of the 8th, extending Los Angeles’ lead to 5-2. That run loomed large after the bottom of the 8th, when Mattingly hit his 27th homerun of the year after a leadoff double from Munson (his 40th of the year) made it 5-4.

The Angels brought in their closer in the bottom of the 9th, but Joe Nathan was greeted by a leadoff homerun from Mickey Mantle. That sent us to extra innings.

Kal Daniels took Aroldis Chapman deep in the top of the 12th after Hi Myers led off with a walk. And that was it: Francisco Rodríguez held on in the bottom of the 12th as the Angels put another dent in the Black Yankees’ post-season hopes.

Daniels finished with 3 hits for the Angels.

LAA 7 (Rodríguez 4-3; Nathan 9 B Sv; Finley 6 H; Seaver 2 H) @ NYY 5 (Chapman 1-1) [12 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (21), Grich (12), Rader (18), Daniels (14); NYY – Mattingly (27), Mantle (27).
Box Score

#Game 3: Jason Vargas @ Ron Guidry

The Black Yankees enter game 3 of the series 3.5 games back of the final wild card slot with 6 games left in their season. Not only do they need to, essentially, win out, they need help.

But all they can control is trying to win out.

Consecutive doubles by Thurman Munson and Doug DeCinces gave New York the lead in the 2nd, and a 2-run homerun from Hardy Richardson (the first of his career) extend it to 4-0- in the 4th. Ron Guidry was dominant early, but began to struggle in the 5th walking in a run and giving up another on a sacrifice fly, but a 2-run shot from Don Mattingly essentially ended the contest, giving New York a 6-2 edge.

As always, New York’s bullpen is a question mark, but AJ Burnett, Dick Tidrow, and Rheal Cormier were solid in relief of Guidry, and the Black Yankees remain alive.

LAA 2 (Vargas 1-3) @ NYY 7 (Guidry 8-12)
HRs: LAA – none; NYY – Richardson (1), Mattingly (28).
Box Score

#Game 4: Brett Anderson @ Red Ruffing

The Black Yankees bypass Jamie Moyer‘s spot in the rotation, sending out a rested Red Ruffing to face Los Angeles’ Brett Anderson.

Don Buford greeted Ruffing with a dinger to lead off the game, but Thurman Munson–who else for New York?–tied it up with a single in the 2nd, scoring Lou Gehrig. Derek Jeter would bring Munson home, giving the Black Yankees a 2-1 edge.

Both pitchers settled, and the score stayed that way until the bottom of the 5th, when Babe Ruth launched one over 450 feet for his 46th of the year and a 4-1 lead for New York.

Ruffing had to leave injured in the 7th, but he was likely coming out anyway after giving up a leadoff single to Mike Trout. The Angels scored one off Goose Gossage on a double by Don Buford, and then loaded the bases with one out against Aroldis Chapman. Steve Garvey lofted a deep fly to center to make it a 1-run game, but Hi Myers grounded out to end it.

LAA 3 (Anderson 7-8) @ NYY 4 (Ruffing 14-9; Chapman 13 Sv; Righetti 1 H; Gossage 7 H)
HRs: LAA – Buford (18); NYY – Ruth (46).
Box Score

Series XXXVII Preview: Los Angeles Angels @ New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On August 14, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

The Los Angeles Angels have only featured in 3 series (Series V, VIII, XXIII), but they head into the penultimate series of the season with a chance to play spoiler. We’ve seen the New York Black Yankees more often (Series XI, XV, XIX, XXIX), but after early season dominance, and despite an offense that is probably the best in the league, they are fighting for their playoff life.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have some interesting pieces. For a while, Gerrit Cole (15-9, 4.30) was in the argument for the best starter in the league, and he still is an unquestioned ace. 3B Doug Rader (333/395/535, a league leading 128 RBI) will finish in the top 4 or 5 in the MVP race, and CF Mike Trout (315/383/492) is coming into his own. Trout leads the team in HR with 20 (Carlos Delgado has 21, but only 10 with LA), and while 6 other players are in double figures, there is an overall lack of power in the lineup. But they hit for average and they get on base, and especially with Delgado, Kal Daniels, and Elmer Valo, they are very strong against righties.

As the season winds down, the Angels are looking to get Wally Backman (a 1.244 OPS in his first dozen games) and Ps Mike Smith and Harry Howell some time in the field as well as they look to next year.

Brett Anderson has pitched almost as well as Cole, and his return from the DL is a welcome site. But beyond that, the pitching staff is a whole lot of potential, but little else: Chuck Finley, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, and Pud Galvin have each had moments of promise, but on the whole, have been somewhere between mediocre and downright bad.

Francisco Rodríguez has done well in the bullpen, and an argument could be made that he should replace Joe Nathan as closer.

#New York Black Yankees

Let’s start with the new good news: the Black Yankees have run through something like 4 closers this season, but the position has finally been solidified with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. Chapman has a dozen saves and a 1.50 ERA for the Black Yankees, and 31 saves overall, and is the clear bright spot in the bullpen.

And then there is the old good news. This team can flat-out rake. We’ve spilled plenty of ink on Babe Ruth, but he deserves it, leading the league in OPS (1.095), HR (44), BB (104), and a few other things as well. Then there’s Mickey Mantle, who has taken over from Eric Davis as the second best hitter on the team. Mantle is slashing 323/424/555, and has only escaped being hailed as a superstar due to Ruth’s presence. 5 other regulars, plus 4th OF Albert Belle, all have OPS’ over .800. A mark of how deep the lineup is can be seen by Lou Gehrig (24 HR, .883 OPS) being criticized for an off year. Davis has 32 HR, and Mantle, Gehrig, Don Mattingly, and Mike Schmidt all have more than 20.

Even the backup catcher, Manny Sanguillén, has an OPS over .800.

And then the old meh news. The rotation is … fine? I mean, it’s fine, right? The quartet of Waite Hoyt (10-6, 3.95), Ron Guidry (7-12, 4.51), Jack Scott (14-5, 4.46), and Red Ruffing (13-9, 4.15) are … OK? Guidry’s secondary numbers (a 3.91 FIP, a 1.24 WHIP) are good, Scott’s aren’t. So … fine?

And then there is the Achilles’ heel of this club: the bullpen. Another midseason acquisition, Rheal Cormier, has been decent. But the rest–Dick Tidrow, Goose Gossage, Ralph Citarella–have fallen short again and again and again throughout the season. Gossage has shown signs of turning it around, even replacing Citarella as the primary RH setup man, but still … for a team that may need to win 6 of their final 8 games to make the postseason, the bullpen must be solid.

#Projected Starters

Los Angeles pitcher listed first.

Gerrit Cole (15-9, 4.30) @ Waite Hoyt (10-6, 3.95)
Pud Galvin (6-7, 4.75) @ Jack Scott (14-5, 4.46)
Jason Vargas (1-2, 3.03) @ Jamie Moyer (6-8, 5.05)
Brett Anderson (7-7, 3.75) @ Ron Guidry (7-12, 4.51)

Series XXXII Best Games

By mknn

On May 22, 2023

In Featured Games

This series we have a few more well-pitched games than usual, a contest between 2 imploding bullpens, and a few walk-offs.

Indianapolis ABCs @ New York Gothams, Game 2

The ABC’s were held scoreless by the Gothams for 14 innings, with Christy Mathewson combining with 3 relievers on a 10-hit shutout in Game 1 and Gaylord Perry holding Indianapolis scoreless through 5 innings in Game 2.

The ABC’s starter, Willie Mitchell, gave up 4 runs in the 1st, including a 2 run homerun by Willie Mays, but he settled down well from there. Indianapolis finally scored in the top of the 6th on a 3 run shot from Jake Stenzel. Another New York run made it 5-3 heading into the 9th when Dave Henderson and Edd Roush delivered RBI hits to tie the game.

But Indianapolis’ Francisco Cordero couldn’t hold on, surrendering a double to the red hot Pete Runnels and a walk-off single to Buster Posey.

IND 5 (Cordero 0-2) @ NYG 6 (Nen 3-4, 2 B Sv; Gregg 1 H)
HRs: IND – Stenzel (10); NYG – Mays (21).
Box Score

Detroit Wolverines @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

This is a key series, as the Black Yankees try to make a late season pennant charge.

New York’s bullpen collapsing is old news; Detroit’s imploding is not.

Both starters–New York’s Waite Hoyt and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser–did well enough. But the Black Yankees’ Dick Tidrow gave up RBI knocks to Hank Greenberg and Chili Davis in the 7th, putting the Wolverines up, 4-2. But Chad Bradford gave it right back as Tom Herr drove in 2 to tie the game.

The 8th inning was more of the same: Goose Gossage gave up an RBI to Ty Cobb to send Detroit in front, but Mickey Lolich and Matt Anderson gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the frame, the first on a solo shot from Mike Schmidt, the second on an RBI double from Manny Sanguillén.

And then we hit the one, and perhaps the most important, bright spot in the Black Yankees’ bullpen: recent acquisition Aroldis Chapman has been essentially lights out, and here, despite putting the tying run on base, he closed out the game for a victory for the Black Yankees.

Detroit lost Tony Phillips for a few days, and were forced to put him on the DL to keep some infield flexibility with Jimmy Collins being recalled from AAA.

DET 5 (Anderson 1-3; Bradford 1 B Sv) @ NYY 6 (Citarella 4-6; Chapman 6 Sv)
HRs: DET – none; NYY – Schmidt (19).
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Homestead Grays, Game 2 & 3

These two games followed similar arcs. Both featured a great 7 innings by Homestead’s starter (Francisco Liriano in the first game, Bob Friend in the second). In the first game, powered by a Josh Gibson homerun, the Grays took a 5-1 lead into the 9th inning; in the second, backed by a grand slam from Chief Wilson, the Grays led 6-1 heading into the 9th.

But, oh those 9th innings.

In game 1, Brooklyn torched Josh Lindblom for a 2-run double from Beals Becker and a 3-run homer from Matt Holliday (the first of his WBL career) to take a 6-5 lead. Homestead responded in this one, with Rick Reichardt sending a walkoff shot into the stands with Andy Van Slyke on base for the Grays to pull out a victory.

The second game was far weirder.

Carlos Zambrano got 2 quick outs to start the 9th and then … Holliday reached on an error by Homestead’s SS, Frank Taveras. Frank Isbell walked and Zambrano plunked Ray Dandridge to load the bases, bringing in Cliff Lee. Lee walked Becker to force in a run, then hit Duke Snider to force in another. Lee was replaced by Michael Jackson, who threw grease on the fire the old fashioned way, by giving up a bases-clearing double to Ron Cey. All told, and all with 2 outs, the Royal Giants scored 5 times on 1 hit, 3 walks, 2 HBPs, and an error.

Becker would single in the winning run in the top of the 10th.

Willie Stargell had 5 hits across the 2 games.

BRK 6 (Clark 3-4, 7 B Sv) @ HOM 7 (Jackson 3-2; Lindblom 5 B Sv)
HRs: BRK – Holliday (1); HOM – Gibson (7), Reichardt (24).
Box Score

BRK 7 (Gagne 5-5; Hildenberger 2 Sv) @ HOM 6 (Jackson 3-3, 3 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: BRK – none; HOM – Wilson (9), Reichardt (25).
Box Score

Houston Colt 45’s @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 4

Memphis’ Dean Chance had a great start, allowing 1 run in just under 7 innings. But it was nothing like Toad Ramsey‘s effort for Houston. Ramsey had his knuckleball dancing, carrying a 2-hit shutout into the 9th inning, but Memphis managed to touch him for a game-tying run when Ted Williams doubled home Reggie Smith with 2 outs.

Ramsey allowed the 1 run on 3 hits through 9 innings, but wasn’t part of the decision. Four hits in the 11th gave Houston a 4-1 lead, and Tug McGraw–who is still sporting an ERA of 0.00 in his WBL career–closed it out. Craig Biggio had 3 hits and Jeff Bagwell and Tony Gwynn 2 each for Houston.

HOU 4 (Qualls 1-1) @ MEM 1 (Farrell 2-4) [11 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

Series XXXI Best Games

By mknn

On May 2, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

This time, we have two see-saw games and two series that deserve a little focus.

Let’s do the one-offs first.

#Homestead Grays @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

This one got wild. Ottawa took the lead on Larry Walker‘s 18th homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. Hits from Davey Johnson and Roberto Clemente got a run back for Homestead, but Ottawa scored 2 on a single from Roberto Alomar to increase their lead to 4-1. Homestead’s Rick Reichardt sent a pitch from Clayton Richard into the stands to tie the game in the top of the 3rd, so, we’re back to all square at 4-4.

The game continued to swing back and forth: a sacrifice fly from Johnson offset a solo shot from Roy Sievers, but an RBI double from Andy Van Slyke put Homestead back on top momentarily: a 2-run double from Sievers and a single from Bernie Allen gave Ottawa a 2-run lead, 8-6.

And then the 9th. Ted Bowsfield started the inning for Ottawa, walking Mike Epstein and giving up a single to Van Slyke. Bowsfield grabbed his elbow after the hit, and the Mounties brought in their closer, Ryan Dempster. Dempster retired 2 and walked one, loading the bases with Johnson at the plate. He singled to right, driving in 2. Perhaps more importantly for Ottawa, their star RF, Walker, was forced out of the game after the throw. But, the game was tied.

Tied, that is, until a single from Rusty Staub scored Carlos Beltrán to give the Mounties a walk off victory.

Nobody pitched particularly well, but Ottawa’s Monk Dubiel and Dempster did manage to escape without being scored on.

Both Bowsfield and Walker were sent to the DL after the game, with Chris Leroux and Sam Thompson being recalled from AAA.

HOM 8 (Ownbey 1-3; Brown 1 B Sv) @ OTT 9 (Dempster 4-1, 2 B Sv; Bowsfield 7 H)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (21); OTT – Walker (18), Sievers (7).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 2

This one had everything except good pitching (Mickey Lolich‘s 2 innings of clean relief for Detroit notwithstanding).

San Francisco kicked off the game with a bang: a leadoff homerun from Rickey Henderson, a 2 run shot from Reggie Jackson, and an RBI groundout from Phil Garner made it 4-0 Sea Lions before Diego Seguí threw his first pitch.

But the Bailey Boys got to him the following inning: Ed Bailey launched a 3 run shot and Bob Bailey added an RBI groundout to score Sparky Adams, who had doubled, tying the game at 4. Momentarily: Garner went deep and another run scored on a Sal Bando single, putting San Francisco back on top, 7-4. A solo shot from Hank Greenberg clawed one back, but a 2-run single from San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero made it 9-5 heading into the 6th, when Detroit chased Seguí and hammered his replacement, James Shields, who only lasted 4 batters. Al Kaline singled home one run and Tony Phillips brought in another with a double. By the time it was all done, San Francisco’s lead was slashed to a single run, 9-8. Kaline would put the Wolverines in front with a 3-run shot in the 7th, and a Bob Bailey triple scored Phillips, who was hit by a pitch. Suddenly, Detroit was up, 12-9.

Their closer (and the WBL leader in saves), Mike Henneman, struggled in the 9th, facing 8 batters and giving up 2 runs (one on a solo shot by Jimmie Foxx, the other on a single by Guerrero). But he got Jack Clark to ground out with 2 batters on to preserve the victory.

SFS 11 (LaRoche 1-1, 1 B Sv; Hadley 2 H) @ DET 13 (Bradford 2-0)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (25), Henderson (6), Foxx (2); DET – E. Bailey (6), Greenberg 2 (24), Kaline (5).
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ Miami Cuban Giants, Games 1 & 3

This series is a battle of basement teams, but that doesn’t keep the games from being entertaining.

The Red Sox scored 4 runs early with the RBIs coming on a sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk, and an error by Miami’s shortstop, Robin Yount. Miami took a more conventional route back: a walk and 4 singles scored 3 runs in the 4th. But they followed Memphis’ lead to tie the game, as a sacrifice fly from José Cardenal plated Ryan Braun. The Cuban Giants then took the lead on a solo shot from their best player, José Canseco.

Wade Boggs finally brought home a conventional run for Memphis in the 8th with a single, but the Red Sox immediately reverted to form, with a bases-loaded walk and another sacrifice fly giving them a 7-5 lead. Three perfect relief innings from Turk Farrell, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon, closed the game out.

Ted Williams and Bill White finished the game with 3 hits each for Memphis; Cookie Rojas had 3 for Miami.

MEM 7 (Farrell 2-3; Papelbon 11 Sv; Bell 5 H; Callahan 4 B Sv) @ MCG 5 (Consuegra 0-4)
HRs: MEM – none; MCG – Canseco (30).
Box Score

In Game 3, Memphis was up 6-0, and then 8-5, powered by a grandslam from David Justice and 2 homers from Billy Bryan. It wasn’t enough: Minnie Miñoso broke out of his funk with 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Cookie Rojas, Gary Sheffield, and Chris Hoiles each drove in 2. As importantly for Miami, Eustaquio Pedroso, Sandy Consuegra, Ricky Nolasco, and Braden Looper combined for 4 innings of 1-hit relief of an ineffective Ramón Martínez.

MEM 8 (Callahan 5-10) @ MCG 11 (Pedroso 7-6; Looper 3 Sv; Consuegra 2 H; Nolasco 2 H)
HRs: none.
Box Score

New York Black Yankees @ Houston Colt 45’s, Games 2 and 4

In Game 2, Houston had a 6-3 lead heading to the 9th inning. The Colt 45’s got 2-run shots from Jim O’Rourke and Tony Gwynn and a solo dinger from Jorge Posada to take the lead.

The problem was their closer, Billy Wagner, was tired, leaving them turning to Brad Lidge, who had been solid since his recall, but here reverted to his old form: an RBI groundout from Tom Herr and a 3-run shot from Don Mattingly put the Black Yankees up 7-6.

Andrés Galarraga singled home a run in the bottom of the 9th, sending us to extra innings. Mattingly and Eric Davis homered in the 10th to put New York up 11-7, which seemed safe until you remembered the fragility of the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Here, Ralph Citarella and Rheal Cormier gave up RBI’s to Jim Wynn and Craig Biggio, but Cormier fanned Galarraga with the tying run on third base to close it out.

NYY 11 (Chapman 1-0, 1 B Sv; Cormier 1 Sv) @ HOU 10 (Kern 0-2; Chamberlain 1 H; McGraw 7 H; Lidge 4 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: Mattingly 2 (26), Davis (31); HOU – O’Rourke (6), Gwynn (8), Posada (7).
Box Score

Game 4 of the series was a similar story: a Houston comeback that just fell short. Mattingly had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Mike Schmidt hit his 17th homerun for the Black Yankees, who also got 3 brilliant innings from Goose Gossage. They did have to withstand a horrible outing from the heretofore solid Dick Tidrow, who surrendered 4 hits (2 to pinch hitters Jim O’Rourke and Harry Stovey) and 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Andrés Galarraga had 4 hits and Casey Stengel and Jorge Posada had 3 each for Houston. Tug McGraw closed the game for the Colt 45’s, and has yet to surrender a run in his first 10 innings at the WBL level.

NYY 8 (Gossage 5-4; Chapman 5 Sv; Citarella 10 H) @ HOU 7 (Strasburg 7-7)
HRs: NYY – Schmidt (17); HOU – Stengel (9), Biggio (7).
Box Score