Tag: Dolf Luque Page 1 of 2

Spring Training Questions

All the focus will be on the pitching staff, with the reserve positions also taking some attention.

Injuries

CF Edd Roush is doubtful for opening day with a back injury.

Hal White saw his slim hopes of making the ABC’s roster dashed as a torn labrum will keep him out of action for around 4 months.

First Cuts

Some of the pitching clarified: Tom Glavine, Paul Derringer, and Chris Hammond were each sent down to the minors. That leaves a lot of arms in camp, but the next week should sort out quite a few of them.

Cs Larry Pratt and Admiral Schlei were sent down as well, along with corner IFs Hal Morris, Edwin Encarnación, and Dan Driessen, clearing up a lot of the logjam at 1B. Tommy Helms and Buddy Myer were also moved out of camp.

In the middle infield, Dario Lodigiani and Davey Concepción have both been turning heads at 2B and SS respectively, while Lonny Frey, hitless over 6 games, was sent down.

Joe Keough has been quite impressive, but the other longshot OFers (Emil Frisk, Charlie Hemphill, and Curt Walker) were all sent down after the first week.

Second Cuts

Tony Mullane and Eppa Rixey were sent to AAA.

The ABC’s still believe in Robin Ventura, preferring to keep him in camp over teenager Bob Aspromonte, despite the latter having a slight edge in performance.

Nobody is hitting at 2B, with Joe Morgan and Denis Menke combining to go zero for 30. Their performance last year keeps them around, but Craig Counsell, lacking that pedigree, cannot overcome his sub .400 OPS.

The OF remains overcrowded, with 10 players still in camp. The bottom performers–Danny Hoffman, Jake Stenzel, and the injured Edd Roush–did enough last year, and the newcomers–Adam Dunn, George Foster, Pete Rose, and Joe Keough–are all hitting well.

Third Cuts

The pitching staff is very slowly coming into focus, with Virgil Trucks‘ and Jim Maloney‘s demotion. Maloney pitched well but at 19 needs some more seasoning–especially to master his control issues–before joining the WBL club.

Bo Díaz, Sean Casey, and Pete Rose were sent to AAA.

It was assumed that Denis Menke would be the opening day SS–and he likely will be–but his inability to hit combined with decent performances from both Barry Larkin and Davey Concepción are pushing him.

Three presumed OF contributors–Jake Stenzel, Edd Roush, and Danny Hoffman–are all struggling, while George Foster and Joe Keough are playing very well, throwing the ABC’s reserve OF situation into some chaos (Oscar Charleston, Dave Henderson, and Bob Bescher are all solid as starters).

Final Cuts

Tony Mullane was returned to AAA to clear some space in the rotation. Mullane refused to head to the minors, and ended up being released–making him immediately perhaps the best arm in the FA market.

The battle to carry Johnny Bench‘s glove is reduced by one, as Bo Díaz heads to the minors. Robin Ventura continues to fumble every opportunity, and with Ed Charles mashing the ball, Ventura will start this season at AAA.

Edd Roush started excellently last season but faded mightily at the end of the year. An injury in Spring Training has limited Roush’s time and effectiveness. Essentially, the ABC’s were looking to retain only one of Roush and Danny Hoffman at the big league level: it’ll be Hoffman as Roush heads to AAA.

RP Octavio Dotel, C/1B Patsy Gharrity, 1B Dick Hoblitzell, and 2B Dario Lodigiani were all sent to AAA to bring the ABC’s to 30.

The next decisions were easy, with both Red Faber and Rob Dibble going on the 10 Day DL, with Faber likely to miss 4 months of time with a knee issue. Additionally Dolf Luque was moved to AAA, as was OF Joe Keough. With the ABC’s planning to keep George Foster with the team, that meant one more OF had to go and, after much deliberation, Danny Hoffman was deemed the odd man out.

Season Review: Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On December 20, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

73 - 81, .474 pct.
3rd in Effa Manley Division, 13 games behind.

Overall

Just a very average performance. There are some good pieces here, and the organization as a whole is quite young, but until the pitching is sorted, nothing else is going to really matter.

What Went Right

Most of all, Johnny Bench. Bench is a superstar C, giving Indianapolis an edge in a difficult position to fill.

Beyond that there were a few surprises–neither Jake Stenzel or Dennis Menke were on many preseason lists to be strong offensive players, and Joey Votto was excellent in limited action after being recalled from the minors–and there was some promise for the future, most of all in Joe Morgan and Oscar Charleston, who were fine this year, but were also quite young (Charleston began the season as a teenager).

Dave Henderson, Bob Bescher, and Danny Hoffman were all perfectly acceptable in the OF.

Robin Ventura finally showed some promise after arriving via trade.

Willie Mitchell and Doc White, both of whom started the season in the bullpen, were the ABC’s best pitchers by the end of the season. Johnny Cueto was fine as a starter as well.

Rob Dibble was a first rate closer for Indianapolis.

ALL STARS
C Johnny Bench

What Went Wrong

1B was a right mess until Votto showed up; 3B Ed Charles faded badly after promising starts. Barry Larkin and Davey Concepción–one of whom is supposed to be the SS of the future–were awful.

But most of what went wrong was on the mound. The trio of Red Faber, Rube Foster, and Dolf Luque were thoroughly mediocre as starters, and Rob Murphy and Lefty James the same out of the pen.

Transactions

March

IF Miller Huggins & OF Willie Montañez to Baltimore for P Rube Foster

Foster wasn’t great, but he was a WBL player all season, so this seems fine.

June

C Ernie Lombardi to Detroit for IF Donie Bush, IF Jorge Orta, P Brandon League, OF Gene Martin & 2nd Round Pick {Matt Chapman}

It looks like more than it is, but with Lombardi blocked by Bench in Indianapolis, moving him is fine.

July

P David Price and IF Jorge Orta to Chicago for 3B Robin Ventura, P Tyler Clippard, 4th Round Pick & 5th Round Pick {Pete O'Brien}

It all hinges on whether the Ventura who showed up for Indianapolis in September is a mirage or not.

Looking Forward

SP

Such a random assortment of good-but-not-great here. Luis Padrón, Eppa Rixey, and Dolf Luque should be the long term front of rotation guys, but that doesn’t exactly strike terror in the hearts of the opposing team. An area of need.

RP

Solid, with Rob Dibble at closer and some mix of Clay Carroll, Rob Murphy, Octavio Dotel, and Norm Charlton behind him.

C

For as long as he’s healthy, it’s all about Johnny Bench.

1B

Joey Votto did well, but he’s 31 and unlikely to improve making this an area of need long term.

2B

Joe Morgan should be here for quite some time.

3B

Unknown. If Robin Ventura shows up, it’s his; if not, this is a bit of a black hole.

SS

Right now, it’s Dennis Menke; longer term, this should be either Barry Larkin or Davey Concepción, with the other being expendable. My bet would be on Larkin, despite his struggles this year.

LF

Some mixture of Bob Bescher and Adam Dunn are keeping this spot warm for George Foster.

CF

This should be Oscar Charleston‘s home for a long time.

RF

Unknown, although many in the organization see Pete Rose stepping up here.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are a few pitchers who look to be only a year or two from helping their WBL franchise, with Tom Glavine probably the best of them. That made the ABC’s pick in the first round pretty easy. In the 2nd round, franchise arm Jim Maloney was still available, who projects as a rotation starter, maybe.

Looking for some insurance in case Ventura doesn’t pan out, the ABC’s picked up 20 year old 3B Matt Chapman at the end of the 2nd round.

In the 3rd round, they took Maloney, version 2: another franchise arm with an outside shot at being useful, Bob Ewing; and in the 4th, slick fielding MI Leo Cardenas.

Rounds 5-8

These rounds should focus on position players: in the 5th round, 3B Oliver Marcelle and OF Pete O’Brien; in the 6th, OF Chris Dickerson and C Admiral Schlei; OF Adam Duvall in the 7th, and IF Pokey Reese in the 8th.

Rounds 9-12

P Jack Billingham; Pete Schourek; C Patsy Gharrity; and P The Only Nolan.

TWIWBL 46.0: Series XXXVIII Notes – September 9th (Day 1 of 4)

By mknn

On August 24, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

We’re doing it a bit differently for the final series of the season–TWIWBL will come out each day, focusing on three things:

The battle between the Birmingham Black Sox and the New York Black Yankees for the final playoff spot.
Other games between playoff contenders that might determine final seedings for the postseason.
Any other games or performances of note.

#The Battle for the Final Spot

Philadelphia exploded for 6 runs in the 5th, then held on for dear life to defeat Birmingham, 8-5 for the Black Barons 4th consecutive loss (and the Stars’ first win in 11 games). Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, and Aaron Judge delivered RBI singles, then Buck Freeman put the icing on top with his 20th homerun of the year, a 3 run shot to put Philadelphia ahead, 7-0. Bob Nieman and Adrián González went deep late to make it close, but it wasn’t enough.

PHI 8 (Collins 9-12; Howry 25 Sv) @ BBB 5 (Baker 7-6)
HRs: PHI – Freeman (20); BBB – Nieman (15), González (10).
Box Score

The Black Yankees were unable to take advantage, however, as a pinch hit homerun from Tris Speaker gave the Spiders a lead they preserved with solid relief efforts from Stan Bahnsen and Cory Gearrin, including Terry Adams picking up his 37th save. This one hurt, as New York scored 4 in the opening inning, and held a 6-4 lead before Speaker’s shot.

NYY 7 (Citarella 4-8, 6 B Sv) @ CLE 8 (Bahnsen 1-0; Adams 37 Sv; Gearrin 14 H)
HRs: NYY – Belle 16; Gehrig 26; CLE – Stahl (26), Speaker (4).
Box Score

#Playoff Seeding

The New York Gothams sealed their wild card spot with a walk-off, 4-3 victory over Portland. Buster Posey delivered the run scoring single in the bottom of the 9th. Jimmy Sheckard (who led off the game with his 20th homerun), Pinky Higgins, and Brian Dozier each had 2 hits for New York. The game also marked Christy Mathewson‘s final start of the regular season–despite a solid 5 plus innings, Mathewson was not around for the decision, leaving him on 17 wins for the season.

Detroit scored 10 runs in the 7th and 8th inning on their way to an 11-6 victory over the House of David. Ty Cobb extended his lead in the batting average race with a 4 hit day, Ed Bailey and Olmedo Sáenz added 3 hits each, and Cecil Fielder hit the first homerun of his career and drove in 4 in the route.

#Other Games

San Francisco eked out a win in 10 innings over Indianapolis, who wasted a strong 7 innings from Dolf Luque (4 hits, only 1 unearned run). Despite giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th, Rod Beck picked up his 33rd save. The Sea Lions’ Rickey Henderson stole his 96th base, keeping the chase for 100 alive.

Jimmy Wynn hit his 19th homerun of the year, a walk-off blast into the Crawford Boxes as Houston edged Ottawa, 2-1. But the real story of the game was the two starting pitchers, each of whom are coming back from injury. For Houston, Bones Ely pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits while Ottawa saw the long anticipated return of Roy Halladay, who allowed only 4 hits and 0 runs in 6 innings. Neither were around for the decision, with the win going to Jay Howell while Sean O’Sullivan took the loss for the Mounties.

Baltimore went back-to-back-to-back in the 3rd inning with homeruns from Bryce Harper, Frank Robinson, and Curt Blefary in their victory over Kansas City. No real impact on the playoff race, but notable nonetheless.

So we end the day with Baltimore’s magic number down to 1 to clinch the Cum Posey Division and Birmingham’s down to 2 for the final playoff spot.

TWIWBL 42.0: Series XXXIV Notes

By mknn

On July 7, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 27th

Playoffs

The more things change, the more things stay the same …

On the whole, the playoff teams took care of business, with Cleveland sweeping Houston and Baltimore, Chicago, Portland, and the New York Black Yankees all winning 3 of 4 games.

As such, Baltimore still has the best record in the lead, and still leads the Chicago American Giants by 4 games in the Cum Posey Division. Chicago leads the wild card race, and both teams seem certain to make the postseason.

Each of the other divisions are tight as tight can be. In the Bill James Division, the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are tied for first place, with the Wandering House of David 1 game back. Over in the Effa Manley Division, the Black Yankees have maintained their lead, but it’s down to 1 game over the Cleveland Spiders and in the Marvin Miller Division, the Portland Sea Dogs lead the Birmingham Black Barons by a single game, helped by Baltimore’s 3 wins coming against the Black Barons.

Right now, Cleveland and Birmingham are tied for the final wild card slot. The Houston Colt 45’s–five games back–still have an outside shot, but getting swept essentially took them out of the race. Realistically it looks like 1 of the 9 teams vying for the divisional leads won’t make the postseason.

Performance

Going into a little more depth this time, providing some insight into players who are not performing well, but have still, for a variety of reasons, amassed enough PA or IP to qualify for the leaderboards.

Batters

The list is longer, but not really. With Babe Ruth taking over the OBP lead from San Francisco‘s Reggie Jackson, if you ignore some of the outliers (the SB leaders, the 3B, etc), the offensive leaders of the WBL boil down to Ron Blomberg and Babe Ruth, with Pete Browning, Stan Musial, and Doug Rader in a second group, with apologies to Johnny Bench of the Indianapolis ABC’s, who is putting up outrageous numbers for a backstop. Bench, Musial (Kansas City) and Rader (Los Angeles) are out of the playoff picture, but the rest should be around for the postseason.

Johnny Bench (IND). 286/390/575. 5.7 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/655. 168 H, 40 HR, 101 R.
Pete Browning (HOD). 353/390/629.
Ty Cobb (DET). 348/391/557. 169 H.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/352/517. 5.7 WAR.
Willie Davis (PHI). 301/350/498. 11 3B.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 100 BB.
Hank Greenberg (DET). 317/376/589. 41 2B.
Bobby Grich (LAA). 292/381/483. 41 2B.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 268/398/356. 86 SB.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 316/430/598.
Stan Musial (KCM). 326/389/574. 44 2B.
Alejandro Oms (MCG). 255/308/398. 11 3B.
Doug Rader (LAA). 335/395/542. 122 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 288/367/426. 89 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 318/435/673. 43 HR, 121 RBI, 113 R, 100 BB, 7.4 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 304/336/464. 13 3B.

Anti-Batters

Looking at the pool of hitters who qualify for rate stats only. 17 of them haven’t hit a triple, so those are omitted.

Hank Aaron (BBB). 263/302/498. 21 GIDP.
Ernie Banks (HOD). 262/287/459. 16 BB.
Wade Boggs (MEM). 286/364/412. 25 GIDP.
José Canseco (MCG). 291/352/525. 159 SO.
Rico Carty (PHI). 264/340/421. 48 R.
George Davis (DET). 258/334/326. 1 HR.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 238/402/396. 89 H.
Tom Herr (BBB/NYY). 288/357/390. 2 HR, 25 RBI.
Gil Hodges (POR). 222/297/423. -0.4 WAR.
Frank Isbell (BBB/BRK). 310/341/401. 2 HR, 14 BB.
Derek Jeter (NYY). 262/311/369. -0.6 WAR.
Ted Kluszewski (PHI). 249/327/478. 48 R.
Freddy Parent (OTT/CAG). 257/305/431. 9 2B.
Ozzie Smith (KCM). 221/309/292. 86 H, 2HR, 25 RBI.
Pops Stargell (HOM). 243/327/427. 179 SO.
George Stone (HOD). 289/380/512. 12 2B.
Arky Vaughan (HOM/CLE). 235/348/335. 12 2B.
George Wright (LAA). 240/296/396.

This is an interesting list. There are some players considered stars on their teams–Aaron for Birmingham and Canseco for the Miami Cuban Giants especially (although GIDP and SO aren’t such awful things to lead the league in). Others are having decent seasons overall–Boggs, Banks, Hodges, Stone.

And then there is Ozzie Smith, hands down the weakest overall offensive player in the WBL. He’s been good defensively, but that’s a lot of negative output at the plate to overcome.

Mike Fiore offers the interesting case of being the only player to make both lists, leading the league in walks and having the second fewest hits of anybody qualifying for the leaderboards (behind Smith, of course).

Pitchers

Starters

A shorter list this time: 6 players have 14 wins, but since they would be 3rd in the league behind Christy Mathewson and Jack Taylor, they aren’t listed unless they qualify under another stat.

One thing to note: the presence of two starters from the San Francisco Sea Lions underscores how disappointing the season has been for them.

Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 191 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-11, 4.42. 175 K.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 16-7, 3.50.
Roy Oswalt (HOU). 12-8, 3.63. 188.1 IP.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 11-9, 3.72. 4.8 WAR, 3.45 FIP.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-6, 3.87. 3.29 FIP.
Andy Pettitte (KCM/BBB). 14-4, 3.05. 1.18 WHIP.
Jack Taylor (HOD). 15-9, 3.13. 1.12 WHIP.
Cy Young (CLE). 10-9, 4.64. 188.1 IP, 4.4 WAR.

Anti-Starters

Bert Blyleven (POR). 10-10, 4.17. 30 HRA.
Roger Clemens (MEM/HOU). 11-8, 5.31.
Vean Gregg (HOM). 9-8, 4.78. 97 BB, 1.59 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 13-7, 3.55. 98 BB.
Luke Hamlin (KCM). 9-12, 4.80.
Jon Lester (MEM). 9-12, 4.68.
Dolf Luque (IND). 8-10, 5.29. 5.67 FIP.
Juan Marichal (NYG). 11-8, 5.64. 1.56 WHIP.
Wade Miley (HOD). 7-5, 5.05. 5.50 WHIP.
Don Newcombe (MCG/CAG). 4-13, 6.44. 34 HRA.
Jack Scott (NYY). 14-5, 4.41. 30 HRA.

Lefty Grove is on both lists: if he ever masters his control, he could be the best starter in the league (and if he loses an edge to his pitches, he could quickly be out of the league).

Blyleven and Scott are front of rotation starters for playoff bound teams, and Clemens has pitched far better since arriving in Houston, but his earlier performance for the Memphis Red Sox was so, so poor.

Newcombe is an conundrum: he doesn’t give up many hits or many walks, but when he does get hit, he gets hit hard.

Relievers

The best of the lot are probably Baltimore’s Buddy Groom and a duo from the Gothams, closer Brian Wilson and do-everything Mike Norris.

35 IP for rate stats.

Terry Adams (CLE). 2-6, 2.84. 33 Sv. 1 H.
Buddy Groom (BAL). 2-2, 1.93. 6 Sv, 13 H, 0.99 WHIP.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-6, 4.83. 35 Sv.
* Sean Marshall (BAL). 5-0, 1.79. 1 Sv, 8 H, 0.98 WHIP.
Mike Norris (NYG). 4-3, 1.34. 8 Sv, 13 H.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-6, 4.58. 3 Sv, 17 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 6-4, 3.92. 1 Sv, 17 H.
Ed Walsh (CAG). 8-6, 2.73. 5 H, 3.00 FIP.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.00. 24 Sv, 1 H, 2.58 FIP.

Streaks

Very little going on here.

Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich–who should come of the DL soon–has reached base in 32 consecutive games, good for the 4th best streak in the league.

Brian Wilson has converted 22 consecutive saves and Andy Pettitte, between his time with Kansas City and Baltimore, has won his last 9 decisions, and is undefeated in his last 12 appearances.

Series Results

Series XXXV Sweeps

Cleveland over Houston
Memphis over Philadelphia Stars

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXV

Baltimore over Birmingham
Chicago over Ottawa Mounties
Portland over Homestead Grays
Indianapolis over Miami
New York Black Yankees over San Francisco

Series Splits in Series XXXV

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Kansas City
Detroit @ Los Angeles
House of David @ New York Gothams

Series XXIX Best Games

By mknn

On March 29, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Detroit‘s trip to Brooklyn and Kansas City‘s visit to Indianapolis each provided 3 games worth recapping.

We’ll take a look at the Wolverines matchup with the Royal Giants first.

#Detroit Wolverines @ Brooklyn Royal Giants

Detroit’s Charlie Root and Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss hooked up in a pitcher’s duel. Ty Cobb‘s 17th homerun of the year–a 3 run shot–gave the Wolverines a 3-1 lead in the top of the 8th, but John Briggs sent one over the fence to tie it in the bottom of the frame. Bill Carrigan doubled in Hank Greenberg in the top of the 10th, and Detroit turned to the league leader in saves, Mike Henneman, to close it out. Ron Cey greeted Henneman with a double, but was thrown out, inexplicably trying to stretch the hit into a triple. That ended the threat, and Henneman ended the game.

DET 4 (Hiller 3-1, 2 B Sv; Henneman 31 Sv) @ BRK 3 (Von Ohlen 5-2) [10 Innings]
HRs: DET – Cobb (17); BRK – Becker (18), Briggs (4).
Box Score

Detroit won game 2, taking the lead on a 3-run homer from Oscar Gamble in the top of the first and never looking back. That put the Wolverines up 2-0 in the series, setting the stage for game 3.

Gene Conley continues to be a rare find for Detroit, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) and 3 hits in 7 innings. But the usually reliable Wolverines bullpen wasn’t able to hold a lead, giving up 4 runs in the final 3 innings with Duke Farrell doubling in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th.

John Hiller blew his second save of the series, falling to 3-2 on the season, with the victory going to Trevor Hildenberger who pitched a scoreless final 2 innings.

DET 3 (Hiller 3-2; 3 B Sv) @ BRK 4 (Hildenberger 4-1)
HRs: DET – Greenberg (22); BRK – Briggs (5).
Box Score

Whoops he did it again … Just like in Series XXV, Beals Becker ended a game with a walk-off grandslam. Again it was the Detroit bullpen that collapsed, this time–shockingly–it was Mike Henneman who gave up a walk and 3 hits (including Becker’s blast) to the 4 batters he faced.

Tony Phillips–who has sparkled since his return from injury–had 4 hits for Detroit, and Frank Isbell went 3-for-3 for Brooklyn.

DET 5 (Henneman 1-5, 4 B Sv; Lolich 3 H; Anderson 6 H) @ BRK 7 (Dreifort 1-3)
HRs: DET – Bailey (17), Kaline (2), Phillips (7); BRK – Farrell (6), Snider (27), Becker (21).
Box Score

#Kansas City Monarchs @ Indianapolis ABC’s

Indianapolis won all four games against Kansas City. A bases-clearing double by Joe Morgan was the key hit in game 1. The other 3 games were all close contests.

In the 2nd game, Kansas City out hit the ABC’s 17-7, but 4 RBIs (3 on his 25th homerun of the year) by Johnny Bench keyed an 8-6 Indianapolis victory. Ted Simmons had 4 hits for the Monarchs and Ducky Medwick 3, but Kansas City left 11 runners on base.

KCM 6 (Blong 3-2, 1 B Sv) @ IND 8 (Murphy 2-4; Dibble 24 Sv; Carroll 8 H)
HRs: KCM – Pujols (18), Medwick (12); IND – Votto (5), Bench (25).
Box Score

Game 3 saw Kansas City’s Trevor Rosenthal and Frank DiPino implode as the ABC’s scored 6 runs in the 7th, coming back from a 7-2 deficit. The ABC’s Dolf Luque logged only 2 innings, but Johnny Cueto had his best appearance in a while, allowing a single run in 5 strong innings of relief work.

KCM 7 (DiPino 1-5) @ IND 8 (Cueto 8-6; Carroll 2 Sv; James 5 H)
HRs: KCM – Medwick (13); IND – none.
Box Score

It took 12 innings for Indianapolis to secure the sweep in a see-saw game. The ABC’s were wasteful throughout, leaving 19–nineteen–runners on base in the contest. Joey Votto and Jake Stenzel had 4 hits each, with Votto driving in 3. Kansas City’s Boog Powell tied the game in the top of the 9th with his 14th homerun of the season.

Both bullpens were exhausted, so an unexpectedly strong performance from Octavio Dotel was desperately needed by Indianapolis.

KCM 8 (Rosenthal 5-2; Kimbrel 4 B Sv; Russell 1 B Sv) – IND 9 (Dotel 1-1; James 6 H; Murphy 2 B Sv) [12 Innings]
HRs: KCM – Powell (14); IND – Stenzel (8).
Box Score

Series XXVI Preview: Indianapolis ABC’s @ Wandering House of David

By mknn

On February 8, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We looked at Indianapolis Series XVIII and Series X and saw the House of David in action in Series XVI and Series V.

Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s have struggled all year, sitting 6 games under .500 and 9.5 off the pace in the Effa Manley Division. There have been some bright spots, especially offensively, where Johnny Bench continues to be among the best backstops in the league, slashing 295/411/564 and leading the team in HRs (20) and RBIs (64). The problem is Bench has been virtually the only power source for the ABC’s, with only 3 other players in double digits in homeruns (Danny Hoffman and Bob Bescher with 11 and Hal Morris with 10). SS Denis Menke (305/394/431) has been a bit of a pleasant surprise, but the team is really hoping the return of Oscar Charleston and Joe Morgan from the DL can jump start a pretty anemic attack.

Quite controversially, Indianapolis has adopted a 6 man rotation, choosing almost at random between Dolf Luque, Rube Foster, Doc White, Johnny Cueto, David Price, and Willie Mitchell. White has been excellent, both in the bullpen and across 8 starts, but the rest are fairly identical, sporting ERA’s in the 4’s with decent secondary numbers. Rob Dibble has been excellent as a closer, with 20 saves.

Wandering House of David

The House of David are also 3rd in their division, but they sit 4 games over .500 and only 4 games back in the Bill James Division.

It’s not clear how they’re doing it, honestly. There is a lot of power here, with both George Stone (23) and Elrod Hendricks (21) having hit over 20 homeruns. Ernie Banks–3rd on the team with 17–leads the way with 63 RBIs. Stone has been superb, slashing 301/391/555, but that only puts him 3rd among the starters in OPS, with Pete Browning (341/380/584) and the blistering Anthony Rizzo (329/440/700) in front of him. Rizzo has to cool off at some point, with 7 homeruns in his first 25 games, but the success of the House of David may rest on Browning staying healthy, something that has been a bit of a struggle for him all year. Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, and the surprising Dan Ford fill out a lineup that is pretty solid top to bottom.

Jack Taylor and Bob Rush have led a mediocre group of starters, although both Eddie Rommel and Kerry Wood have shown great promise in their first few big league appearances. Bruce Sutter is the closer, with Dick Tidrow and Lee Smith being the most effective arms out of the pen.

Projected Starters

Indianapolis pitcher listed first.

Doc White (5-1, 3.38) @ Frank Sullivan (6-7, 5.20)
Johnny Cueto (7-5, 4.94) @ Jack Taylor (8-8, 3.54)
David Price (4-5, 4.84) @ CC Sabathia (9-9, 4.81)
Dolf Luque (8-8, 4.68) @ Bob Rush (8-5, 4.41)

Prediction

Meh. I like Indianapolis in the first game behind White, but the rest is pretty much a toss-up. Let’s say the House of David gets hot, and wins the final 3 to take the series, 3-1.

TWIWBL 31.3: Series XXIV Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On January 19, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Pat Malone improved to 10-5 on the year, allowing 3 runs in just over 7 innings in a 4-3 win over Birmingham. Terry Adams earned his 23rd save in a game where Lance Berkman and Evan Longoria had 2 hits.

Longoria plays reasonable defense, but his struggles at the plate earned him a trip back to AAA, with Tris Speaker–injured since Spring Training, but slashing 295/392/636 at AAA on a rehab assignment–being recalled to backup Kenny Lofton in CF. There’s more help at AAA, with both Larry Doby and Nap Lajoie blossoming since their early-season major league struggles.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays roared out to a 9-0 lead over the Black Yankees, then held on for dear life for a 12-9 victory. Andrew McCutcheon had 3 hits, including his 12th homerun of the year, and scored 4 runs. Rick Reichardt had 3 RBI’s and Josh Gibson 3 hits in support of Vean Gregg, who pitched 6 solid innings for his 8th win of the year.

Hal Carlson and Frank Linzy combined to allow only 3 hits and 1 run in a 5-1 victory over the Black Yankees. Andy Van Slyke and Willie Stargell had 3 hits each, with Stargell and Chief Wilson driving in two in the Grays’ victory.

Earl Hamilton was placed on the DL, and isn’t expected back until late August. Bob Friend will move into the rotation as the Grays shake up a lot of their pitching, with Ray Brown and Linzy heading to AAA, replaced by Billy Pierce, Dave Giusti, and–after some waiver wire activity–Rick Ownbey.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Red Faber was sent down to AAA, with Virgil Trucks being recalled to the WBL. Trucks’ stay lasted one poor start, replaced by Eppa Rixey, who was also immediately returned to AA with Paul Derringer coming up for a start.

Even with all that, the ABC’s stick with a 6-man rotation–which boils down to a search each day for the most rested arm out of Dolf Luque, Rube Foster, Doc White, Johnny Cueto, David Price, and Willie Mitchell.

While Barry Larkin and Pete Rose are both struggling–neither have an OPS over .600–for now they both retain their MLB spots, although that should change when Oscar Charleston and Joe Morgan return from the injured list.

#New York Black Yankees

Babe Ruth closed out the series against Homestead with his league-leading 30th homerun of the year, as the Black Yankees hammered the Grays, 13-3. Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Schmidt had 3 hits each as Jack Scott improved to 10-4 with 7 solid innings of work.

The Black Yankees continue to struggle with their middle infield. Derek Jeter and Tom Herr are established as the starters, but the experiment of the two Reds seems over, as Red Schoendienst, hitless in 10 ABs at the WBL level, was returned to AAA, giving Hardy Richardson a crack at the backup role. Red Rolfe remains with the Black Yankees. For now: Pee Wee Reese, picked up after being cut by Brooklyn, has been playing decently at AAA, and may replace Rolfe soon.

#Philadelphia Stars

Scott Rolen went 4-for-5, tying the WBL record for a single game with 3 doubles, but it wasn’t enough as the Stars fell to the Sea Dogs, 3-2 in extra innings as closer Bobby Howry was unable to hold a late lead.

Needing a spot starter, the Stars sent 1B Cecil Cooper back to AAA in exchange for Bill Laskey. Laskey was pretty rough, and sent back after the start, with Bobby Abreu being recalled. In the game itself, Willie Davis (who led off the game with his 16th homerun), Gavvy Cravath, and Rolen combined to go 8-for-11 in the game itself, scoring 7 runs and driving in 6 as the Stars prevailed, 9 to 7.

The shuttle got busier after their series, as, in search of some relief on the mound, Fred Talbot was sent to AAA and Don Carman was placed on waivers with an eye toward doing the same. Larry Jackson was recalled, as was, once Carman cleared waivers, Tom Sturdivant.

TWIWBL 24.8: Mid-Season Reviews – Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On March 3, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

Another team hovering around .500. It feels like the ABC’s are a team of the future, and should treat the second half appropriately. That means some of their best players–Edd Roush, Dennis Menke–may be on their way out.

What’s Gone Right

Unexpected Arms. While most of the ABC’s pitching has been quite good, the biggest surprises have been pitchers whose role was uncertain at the start of the season, especially Doc White and Willie Mitchell. White has moved into the rotation, and Mitchell is making an argument to do so as well.

The Backstops. Most of all, Johnny Bench, who has been the best offensive player on the team. But also, Jake Stenzel and Ernie Lombardi who, splitting time behind the plate, at 1B, and in the OF, have been solid contributors.

No Roush. Giving Roush the fulltime CF job was a clear turning point for Indianapolis, and the 28 year-old has contributed an OPS over .800.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Hot Corner. Nothing’s really worked here, despite both Chase Headley and Ed Charles being given a lot of opportunity.

The Curse of Mediocrity. A lot of the ABCs have been, well, just fine through the first half of the year. But no better than that. This would extend from Hal Morris and Bob Bescher at bat to Red Faber and Johnny Cueto on the mound, among others.

Power Outage. Bench has 15 homeruns. Nobody else is in double digits (Morris and Danny Hoffman have 9, two others have 6). The team needs someone else that can send the ball over the wall.

Key Storylines

The big storyline is the development of the ABC’s youth. The core of this team–Oscar Charleston, Joe Morgan, Bench–are all young. Even some of the disappointments–Barry Larkin, Davey Concepción–have plenty of time to turn it around.

Trading Outlook

SELLING.

If they pull the trigger, how deep does the fire sale go? Currently, Roush, Menke, Hoffman, Dave Henderson, and Lombardi are all performing decently and over 26. Likewise on the mound, Cueto, Dolf Luque, David Price, and Faber could all be useful to a contender.

AAA Shuttle

Roush has been fantastic, little else has worked. Concepción was given every chance to grab the SS job, and has not.

Midseason Changes

Menke takes over as the everyday SS, with Tommy Helms coming up from AA to provide infield depth.

Awards

All Stars: Johnny Bench (C).

Player of the Week: Hal Morris (4/3)

Offensive MVP: Johnny Bench (C)
Pitching MVP: Rube Foster (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Cincinnati Tigers

Next to the Show: Joey Votto, Bo Díaz, Pete Rose. Dan Spillner and Johnny Vander Meer on the mound.

Prospects: None, really.

Projects: 1B Joey Votto (30), C Bo Díaz (26), OF Pete Rose. Virgil Trucks and Octavio Dotel have been great at AAA, but hit hard at the big league level. OF Bobby Brooks (23). P Dixie Leverett (26), P Dan Spillner (27).

Suspects: C Al Todd (37), P Bill Bailey (21).

AA: Nashville Sounds

Prospects: P Dick Joyce (21), OF Adam Dunn (21), 1B Bill Windle (23), OF George Foster (21), SS Buddy Myer (22)

Projects: Ps Michael Lorenzen (23) and Chris Hammond (24), C Rollie Hemsley (20).

Suspects: RP Gene Lambert (21), 3B Jim Finigan (26), SS Doc Farrell (23).

Series XVIII Featured Matchup: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 21, 2022

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game One: Robin Roberts @ David Price

Philadelphia’s Robin Roberts is pitching for his roster spot, coming into the game at 4-5 (not bad) with a 6.69 ERA (very bad).

Indianapolis’ David Price‘s first pitch was sent into the seats by Willie Davis for his 12th homerun of the year and extending his hitting streak to 15 games. Despite loading the bases, Roberts escaped the bottom of the first, leaving the score 1-0 in favor of the Stars after 1 inning.

Sherry Magee launched a fastball from Price into the left field seats in the top of the 4th extending the lead to 3-0. Roberts allowed at least one base-runner in each inning, but had a 4-hit shutout through 5 innings.

Price was chased from the game when he gave up his third homerun of the day, another 2-run shot, this one by George Hendrick for a 5-0 lead for Philadelphia.

Roberts ran out of gas in the 6th, giving up a run on a double by Hal Morris, but got out of the inning without further damage. Larry Jackson replaced him in the bottom of the 7th, trying to preserve the 5-1 lead.

The ABC’s loaded the bases in the bottom of the 9th, but Jackson closed it out, and you have to imagine this performance keeps Roberts around a little longer.

Stars 7 (Roberts 5-5; Jackson 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 1 (Price 3-5)
HRs: PHI – Davis (12), Magee (5), Hendrick (8).
Box Score

#Game Two: Steve Carlton @ Rube Foster

Steve Carlton makes his return from the DL for the Stars in this one. He looked incredibly sharp, fanning four in 2 innings, until in the bottom of the 3rd, Edd Roush tripled home Joe Morgan to put Indianapolis up, 1-0. That was all Carlton gave up in his 5 innings of work, but Rube Foster was even better, allowing only 1 hit over that span.

Willie Davis would extend his hitting streak with a bloop double in the top of the 6th, and Sherm Lollar would plate the tying run with a single, scoring Mickey Doolin.

It stayed 1-1 from then on. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Ernie Lombardi singled, putting the winning run on first. Barry Larkin ran for the Schnozz, and Dave Henderson pinch hit for Davey Concepcíon, trying to win it for the ABC’s. Henderson delivered, with a hit through the right side moving Larkin to 3rd, bringing up the struggling Ed Charles. Dennis Menke pinch hit for Charles, but whiffed on a nice curveball from Rheal Cormier, sending us to extra innings in the rain.

The 9th was hard on Indianapolis in terms of their defense: the elected to surrender the DH, allowing Larkin to take the field.

Scott Rolen led off the top of the 12th with a double against Rob Dibble, who then walked Ted Kluszewski. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice from Buck Freeman, but Hendrick plated both runners with a base hit. Kluszewski was hurt on the slide, so the Stars went to the bottom of the 12th with Rolen in right and J.M. Ward at the hot corner.

Bob Howry gave up a hit to Bob Bescher and then a double to Morgan, putting the tying run on second with one out. Don Carman came in for Howry, and promptly balked in a run. But Carman was able to retire Edd Roush and Johnny Bench, ending a good game in the Stars’ favor.

Stars 3 (Howry 2-3; Carman 1 Sv) @ ABC’s 2 (Dibble 2-3)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Game Three: Ray Collins @ Doc White

Indianapolis will try to get their first win of the season behind one of the hottest pitchers in the leagues, lefty Doc White. The Stars will counter with probably their most dependable arm so far this season, the 6-4 Ray Collins.

Two groundouts led to a run for Philadelphia in the top of the 2nd, with Buck Freeman scoring Scott Rolen, who had singled to leadoff the inning, giving the Stars an early 1-0 lead.

The ABC’s took the lead in the bottom of the frame, on RBIs from Barry Larkin (a groundout) and Bob Bescher (a single), making it 2-1 in favor of Indianapolis. The bottom of the ABC’s lineup added to the lead the next inning, with a double from Ernie Lombardi, and singles from Larkin, Bescher, and Ed Charles make it 6-1.

A leadoff single from Johnny Bench and a walk to Oscar Charleston chased Collins from the game, with the Stars bringing in Don Carman in a game that was quickly getting out of reach.

Meanwhile, White continued to pitch brilliantly, giving up only the 2 hits and 1 run through 5 innings. Sherry Magee would lead off the 6th with a homerun, but any immediate hopes of a Stars’ comeback were put to rest with a 2 run shot from Lombardi in the bottom of the frame.

White would leave the game after walking in a run in the 7th, but Willie Mitchell got Rico Carty to fly out to end the inning, leaving the score at 8-3, Indianapolis, which is how the contest would end.

Lombardi had 3 hits, 3 RBIs, and scored 3 times for the ABC’s, as they closed within a win of a series split.

PHI 3 (Collins 6-5) @ IND 8 (White 3-1; Mitchell 1 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Magee (6); IND – Lombardi (6)
Box Score

Game #4: John Montgomery Ward @ Dolf Luque

The ABC’s will look to Dolf Luque to manage a series split, while the Stars will counter with J.M. Ward. Both hurlers have been throwing excellently of late, so the potential for a well thrown game is there.

Indianapolis would score first, with Johnny Bench driving in Bob Bescher with a double in the bottom of the first. Meanwhile, Luque didn’t allow his first hit until José Ramírez singled to lead off the top of the fourth. In the bottom of that inning, Hal Morris blasted a 3-run homerun to increase the lead to 4-0.

With two outs in the 5th, Luque walked Mike Scioscia and gave up a double to Chase Utley, but Mickey Doolin struck out to end the inning and preserve the shutout.

Ward would escape a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, surrendering only 1 run to make it 5-0.

Bill Laskey relieved Ward, and promptly let the game get further out of hand, giving up Morris’ second longball of the game, another flurry of hits, and a homerun to Bench, making it 11-0.

That left the only suspense as whether Luque could complete the shutout. He had a 4-hitter through 8, but had thrown 124 pitches when he took the mound for the 9th. Doubles by Buck Freeman and pinch-hitter George Hendrick would end the shutout and Luque’s day.

Morris, Bench, and Oscar Charleston each had 3 hits for Indianpolis, combining for 8 runs scored, 10 RBIs, and 3 homeruns.

PHI 1 (Ward 3-4) @ IND 16 (Luque 6-5)
HRs: IND – Morris 2 (9), Bench (15), Charles (3)
Box Score

Series Stats

The blowout at the end skews a lot of the offensive numbers for Indianapolis, who were led by Hal Morris, who went 7-for-16 and Bob Bescher’s 6 hits.

For Philadelphia, George Hendrick was 5-for-14 and Willie Davis 6-for-18 to lead the offense.

Series XVIII Preview: Philadelphia Stars @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On January 18, 2022

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We first met the Philadelphia Stars in Series VI and the Indianapolis ABC’s in Series X. Each team is struggling a bit, but each has the potential to make a move in the second half of the season.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars are 2 games under .500, sitting at 34-36, 7 games behind the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

They’ve actually played worse than that, and are outperforming their projections by four games–the most in the league. This is borne out in their stats: this is a below average team in everything except fielding and, perhaps, homerun power.

The real problem is that the Stars lack stars. To wit: no Star batter has an OPS over .900, but 6 of them are contributing solidly in the .800’s. This wasn’t always the case, but Rico Carty has hit a cold spot, with only 1 hit in his last 20 at-bats, dropping his slash line to 296/360/483. Not bad, but not where he was.

Still, the top four of the Stars’ lineup–Carty, Willie Davis, Gavvy Cravath, and Scott Rolen–are certainly good enough to play on a contender. Davis is tied with Ted Kluszewski for the team homerun lead with 11, Cravath leads the team in RBI with 38. The middle infield remains a bit of a mess for Philadelphia, with Mickey Doolin‘s sub .600 OPS causing him to lose playing time to José Ramírez at SS and 2B Chase Utley continuing to struggle after a hot start to the season.

The only regular member of the rotation with a winning record is Ray Collins, who has been pretty spectacular with a 3.44 ERA but only a 6-4 record. Jaret Wright has been surprisingly good (3-3, 3.83 ERA), and Larry Jackson (3-2, 4.06 ERA) has shown some promise. But Robin Roberts is on the verge of being sent to AAA, as is Don Carman, and Steve Carlton has just returned from injury. All that mediocrity is offset by the back end of the bullpen, which has been among the league’s best, with Ron Reed serving as a fantastic setup man for Bob Howry, who has 16 saves despite an ERA just over 5.00.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s are 1.5 games behind Philadelphia, but are roughly the same offensively, and a notch better on the mound … go figure.

C Johnny Bench is clearly their best player, slashing 289/399/569 while leading the team in homeruns (14) and RBIs (38). But CF Edd Roush–who moved into the starting lineup a few weeks ago–has an OPS pushing .900 and both IF Dennis Menke and young OF Oscar Charleston are solid contributors.

The challenge is at the other end. SS Davey Concepción has barely nudged his OPS over .600, 3B Ed Charles is on a cold streak that has seen his productivity plummet, and while Bob Bescher has stolen 23 bases, he offers little else.

Joe Morgan‘s return from injury offers some help, but it feels like the ABC’s really need to turn over more of their lineup to make a move.

The ABC’s’ pitching has been solid across the board, but one of the established starters (Johnny Cueto, Dolf Luque, and Rube Foster) really need to step up. Cueto is the only one of those three with a winning record at 6-4, but Luque and Foster have probably pitched better. If that happens–and if either Doc White (having just moved into the rotation with a 2.79 ERA) or Willie Mitchell (1.19 ERA in mostly relief work) can successfully step into the rotation–the ABC’s have a shot. The back end of the bullpen has been solid, with Rob Dibble leading the way with 12 saves.

#Series Matchups

Philadelphia starter listed first.

Robin Roberts (4-5, 6.69) @ David Price (3-4, 4.10)
Ray Collins (6-4, 3.44) @ Rube Foster (4-4, 4.11)
J.M. Ward (3-4, 5.02) @ Doc White (2-1, 2.79)
Jaret Wright (3-3, 3.83) @ Dolf Luque (5-5, 4.10)

#Series Prediction

Lessee … I think Roberts struggles again, earning a ticket to AAA, and the Stars win the other 3 games, taking the series, 3-1.