Tag: Dupee Shaw

TWIWBL 63.5: Effa Manley Division

On July 16, 2024

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Roy White went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as the Royal Giants gave up a late lead and lost in 12 innings, 6-5, to the Gothams.

Frank Knauss became the league’s first 6 game winner with a 2 hit shutout, striking out 10 en route to a 2-0 victory over Ottawa. Solo homeruns from Duke Snider and Pedro Guerrero were all Knauss needed to move to 6-1 on the year.

#Homestead Grays

Daniel Hudson and Carlos Zambrano are both struggling mightily, but both hold their roster spots for now. It’s assumed that one will go down when Corey Kluber comes back from injury; it’s likely the other will follow shortly thereafter unless something turns around.

Francisco Liriano tossed a 2-hit shutout, leading the Grays to a 5-0 win over Kansas City. Liriano walked 4 and whiffed 8, and was helped along with homeruns from Mike Epstein and Willie Stargell.

Owen Wilson, struggling to regain his from from last season, will miss about a month and a half with a separated shoulder. OF Goose Goslin was recalled from AAA to take Wilson’s role as lefty OF off the bench.

Doug Drabek–perhaps the Grays’ best hurler in the early going–hit the DL with a sore wrist. Drabek should only miss a couple starts, but still. Brickyard Kennedy was recalled from AAA. Kennedy pitched well for Brooklyn last season in limited opportunities, but at 35, was released by the Royal Giants in February.

#New York Gothams

Brandon Crawford hit the shortest homerun of the day, but it was enough to give the Gothams a 6-5 walkoff victory in 12 innings over Brooklyn. In great news for the Gothams, Brian Wilson saw his first action of the year, giving up 1 hit and striking out 3 in 1.2 innings. The win went to Mike Norris, who improved to 2-0 with 2+ perfect innings.

Willie Mays went deep twice and Carl Furillo might have staved off his release with his first homerun of the year as the Gothams beat the House of David, 7-5.

Benny Kauff went deep twice, giving him 10 on the year, as the Gothams beat the House of David, 7-3.

#Ottawa Mounties

It was assumed that Ryan Dempster would lose his role as closer when Tom Henke returned. The surprise came when the Mounties moved Dempster to AAA, along with Dupee Shaw, as both Henke and Johnny Podgajny were recalled from their rehab assignments.

#Philadelphia Stars

Tim Belcher was sent to AAA with John Burkett being recalled as the Stars try to address their bullpen.

Joe Rogan tossed a complete game, 2-hit shutout as the Stars beat Birmingham, 7-0. He also drove in 2 while Art Fletcher and Willie Davis had 3 hits each, with Fletcher driving in 4.

Rogan was again the star, delivering a walkoff 2 run single to lead the Stars, who scored 6 runs over the final 3 innings, to a 7-6 victory over Birmingham. Ted Kluszewski went deep twice in the game and Burkett was excellent in his debut, delivering 2+ innings of 1 hit relief with the victory going to Ted Kennedy, now 2-1 on the year.

Scott Rolen went deep twice, but the Stars couldn’t hold a lead, falling to Homestead, 7-6.

TWIWBL 60.4: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On June 3, 2024

In TWIWBL

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Germany Smith was recalled from his injury rehab, with Maury Wills heading to AAA. For now, Smith will split time at SS with Ray Dandridge, but his power my force his name onto the lineup sheet more often.

#Homestead Grays

Willie Stargell‘s 4th homerun was a walkoff job in the bottom of the 11th, giving the Grays a 3-2 win over Brooklyn. Bob Friend–long gone when Pops struck–pitched excellently for Homestead, striking out 10 in just over 6 innings.

#New York Gothams

Will Clark went deep twice and drove in 6 runs as the Gothams built an early lead and held on, topping the Black Barons 12-8. Buster Posey had 3 hits and Juan Marichal evened up his record at 1-1 with a good outing.

Johnny Callison (3 hits and 6 RBIs) and Pete Runnels (4 hits) had great days, but a very poor outing from Christy Mathewson led to an 11-8 defeat at the hands of the Grays.

#Ottawa Mounties

Gary Carter continued his scorching start with 2 homeruns, giving him 8 on the year. Carter had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Tim Raines, Larry Walker, and Roberto Alomar also went deep in a 9-5 win over Birmingham. After Old Hoss Radbourn struggled a bit, Bob Brown, Atlee Hammaker, the newly recalled Bill Smith, and BJ Ryan combined to allow only one hit in almost 5 innings of relief.

Carlos Beltrán went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as the Mounties fell to Birmingham, 12-10. Dupee Shaw was pounded in his first career start, giving up 5 homeruns (4 consecutive) and while Ottawa tied the game after that, despite a strong outing from Smith, the bullpen just couldn’t hold it together.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars recalled Aaron Judge from his rehab assignment, sending Harmon Killebrew to AAA for regular playing time. Judge’s first at bat resulted in his 2nd homerun of the season, a welcome sight for Stars fans. Ted Kluszewski and Art Fletcher drove in 2 in the come from behind win over Houston as Larry Jackson, Ted Kennedy, and Bob Howry allowed only 1 hit in 3.2 innings of relief for an ineffective Steve Carlton. Kluszewski tied the game in the 8th and Fletcher drove in the winning run in the 9th, with Kennedy getting the win and Howry his 3rd save of the year.

TWIWBL 60.1: Year 2 – Week 3

By mknn

On May 29, 2024

In TWIWBL

April 16

#Team News

The best record in the league falls to the Kansas City Monarchs, who have won 9 in a row and sit atop the Marvin Miller Division at 10-2. The Chicago American Giants are 9-3.

At the other end, the Portland Sea Dogs are off to a rough start at 4-10, and Birmingham and defending Whirled Champion Baltimore are barely better at 4-9. Very early days, of course.

#Player News

Kansas City’s Albert Pujols was the NL Player of the Week, hitting .500 (10 for 20) with 2 homers over the span. Miami‘s Jim Thome took home the honors in the AL, hitting .458 with 6 homeruns and 12 RBI for the week.

Some fun stat lines from the early going:

Gary Carter (OTT). 412/500/941. 5 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 510/527/804. 26 H; 1.2 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 510/547/878. 12 2B; 17 R; 1.2 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 465/478/1.093. 8 HR. 18 RBI.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 435/527/739.
Jim Thome (MCG). 372/500/884.

In case you missed it there, Sandberg’s SLG is over 1.000 at the moment.

On the mound, Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) hasn’t allowed an earned run and Memphis‘ Jon Lester has an ERA of 0.75. Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin, Waite Hoyt of the New York Black Yankees, and Jack Taylor of the House of David each have 3 wins, and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck and Detroit‘s Mike Henneman have 5 saves each.

#Injury Watch

A few important ones over the first couple weeks (only considering injuries that will last a couple of weeks at minimum):

Once more the House of David is without their offensive leader, as Pete Browning will miss about a month.
San Francisco’s Tim Hudson may have suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury; at a minimum he’ll miss about 4 months.
Miami’s Julio Rodríguez is out for 2 more weeks, as is Portland’s 2B Rogers Hornsby.
Joe Morgan of the Indianapolis ABC’s will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

Some players are, of course, healing, with Baltimore’s Ned Garvin–the most dominant pitcher in the league when he went down last year–likely to begin a rehabilitation assignment sometime this week. Philadelphia‘s promising stud Aaron Judge should return this week, as will Portland’s young hurler, Walter Ball.

#Featured Series

This time we’re going to go with a 3 game set between the 6-5 Ottawa Mounties visiting the 10-2 Kansas City Monarchs.

We picked this series because the Monarchs have won 9 in a row and Ottawa is a shock in the young season, carrying a team OPS of 1.001–their overall slash line as a unit is 343/406/595, figures that easily lead the league (it’s not like the Monarchs are struggling at the plate, posting a 329/370/566 line as a team).

Ottawa was horrible on the mound last year, and really haven’t been much better so far, with a 6.14 team ERA while Kansas City’s hurlers have been, as you may guess from their record, excellent as a unit, one of only 2 teams with a sub-4.00 ERA at 3.83.

Probable Matchups:

Ottawa hurler listed first.

Bob Moose (1-0, 6.52) @ José Rijo (1-1, 8.68)
Randy Johnson (1-0, 7.71) @ Smokey Joe Wood (2-0, 0.00)
Old Hoss Radbourn (2-1, 2.61) @ Frank Castillo (2-0, 3.38)

Game One

The one game that seemed least likely to be a pitching duel was, in fact, a pitching duel. Both Ottawa’s Bob Moose (2 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings) and Kansas City’s José Rijo (4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings) were excellent, but Ted Simmons‘ second 500 foot plus moon shot of the year was a 2-run walkoff blast, propelling the Monarchs to victory in the opening game of the series.

OTT 2 (Hammaker 0-2) @ KCM 4 (DiPino 1-0)
HRs: OTT – Carter (6); KCM – Murphy (3), Simmons (4).
Box Score

Game Two

It didn’t take long for Ottawa to score off Smokey Joe Wood: Tim Raines doubled to lead off the game, stole third, and scored on a sac fly from Roberto Alomar, events made noteworthy as it was the first run off Wood all season. Ottawa would add 2 more in the inning, and then 3 more in the top of the 3rd behind a double from Larry Walker, a triple from Carlos Beltrán, and an inside the park homerun from Sam Thompson.

Randy Johnson was slated to start the game for the Mounties, but when he was unable to go, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith. Griffith gave up a 3 run shot to Boog Powell in the bottom of the 3rd, halving Ottawa’s lead. Griffith didn’t pitch poorly, allowing only 5 hits in 5 innings, but the Monarchs have been masters of timely offense so far, converting those 4 hits into 5 runs.

Dupee Shaw relieved Griffith, giving up a long RBI double to Robinson Canó to tie the game.

An Adrian Beltré homerun off Bob Shawkey put Ottawa back in front, 8-6.

There was some more scoring–a solo shot from Walker in the 9th and Powell’s second of the game in the bottom of the frame–but Ottawa held on for the 10-7 win, evening the series.

Walker went 4 for 4 and scored 3 times and Thompson finished with 3 RBIs for Ottawa while Powell drove in 5 on 3 hits for the Monarchs.

OTT 10 (Shaw 1-1, 1 B Sv; Ryan 1 H; Dempster 2 Sv) – KCM 7 (Shawkey 1-1)
HRs: OTT – Thompson (3), Beltré (3), Walker (5); KCM – Powell 2 (4), Smith (1).
Box Score

Game Three

This is what Ottawa hoped for from Randy Johnson: 6 fairly dominant innings with 6 strikeouts and only 2 runs allowed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as some timely hitting from the Monarchs–a 2 run double from Willie McGee, a homerun from Ducky Medwick, and Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith scoring 3 runs from the bottom of the lineup as Kansas City took the rubber match, 4-2.

Frank Castillo was even better than Johnson, allowing only 3 hits in almost 7 innings, with Dustin Hermanson, Craig Kimbrel, and Jeff Pfeffer combining to allow a single hit in 2.1 innings of relief.

OTT 2 (Gregg 0-1) @ KCM 4 (Hermanson 1-0; Pfeffer 5 Sv; Kimbrel 4 H)
HRs: KCM – Medwick (1).
Box Score

TWIWBL 58.1: Draft Pick Updates

By mknn

On April 12, 2024

In TWIWBL

With opening day just around the corner, we thought it would be interesting to see how the draft worked out …

#Love ‘Em (Draft Picks Making Opening Day Rosters)

1st Round

Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, the overall #1 pick in the draft, makes Philadelphia’s opening day roster, expected to be their 4th OF and provide bullpen support. The Stars’ other first-rounder, Dave Stieb, made their opening day rotation.

Two outfielders were taken with the 7th and 8th picks, and both should be in their team’s opening day lineups, as San Francisco took CF Turkey Stearnes at 7 and Los Angeles RF Ichiro Suzuki at 8.

2nd Round

Miami took Julio Rodríguez with the 2nd pick in round 2 thinking the 19 year old would be a project for the future; instead he breaks camp as their starting CF.

Homestead’s Tim Lincecum makes the opening day roster in their bullpen, and Houston’s César Cedeño will start the season as their reserve OF (although this is expected to only last until George Brett‘s return from injury, but you never know).

Portland drafted 26 year old Walter Ball expecting him to be ready for the WBL, and he delivered, starting the season in their rotation.

Some mention should be made of Kansas City’s Matt Morris, who was expected to make their rotation before tearing his labrum.

3rd Round

Dobie Moore exploded on the scene for Memphis and should see essentially full time usage alternating between SS and 2B.

Philadelphia breaks camp with Bill Gatewood in the bullpen.

5th Round

The New York Black Yankees didn’t expect Noah Syndergaard to make the opening day roster, but he did.

Detroit is even more surprised at the performance and poise from 18 year old Billy Hoeft, who will start the season in their bullpen.

6th Round

Jess Barbour was a throw-in in the Albert Belle/Andy Pettitte trade, but his defensive flexibility and speed kept him around for Birmingham.

8th Round

Ottawa’s staff was essentially open going into Spring Training, so while Dupee Shaw making the team was a surprise, it wasn’t a shock.

The Black Yankees’ bench received a complete overhaul, with Elliot Maddox earning a spot out of the gate.

9th Round

Jack Billingham starts the season in Indianapolis’ bullpen.

12th Round

Indianapolis took Edward “The Only” Nolan with their final pick of the draft. Nolan starts the year on their staff as the WBL’s version if Mister Irrelevant.

#Leave ‘Em (Draft Picks No Longer With Original Organization)

Other than the inexplicable treatment of Chino Smith, this all looks fine. Topsy Hartsel should find a home somewhere, the rest may or may not.

1st Round: Vladimir Guerrero, OF (traded from MCG to POR)

2nd Round: Jon Matlack, P (traded from POR to MCG)

3rd Round: Topsy Hartsel, OF (BAL)

4th Round: Leo Cardenas, IF (IND); Bob Smith, P (BBB); Denard Span (traded from POR to OTT)

7th Round: Cass Michaels, IF (CAG)

8th Round: Ray Blades, OF (KCM); Chino Smith, IF (MEM, now with BAL); Lee Stange, P (POR, now with HOM)

9th Round: Justin Steel, P (HOD)

10th Round: Doug Bair, P (KCM); Greg Pryor, IF (BRK)

11th Round: Nick Allen, IF (SFS); Vern Kennedy, P (CAG); Eddie Solomon, P (BBB)

12th Round: Jeff Ballard, P (BBB); Craig Gentry, OF (CAG); Dave Lemanczyk, P (SFS); José Lopéz, 1B (MCG); Hal Mauck, P (HOD); Connor Seabold, P (MEM)

Year II Season Preview: Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On April 6, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

To not suck.

Beyond that, sorting through some of the young talent and making commitments around how is part of the long-term project and who is not would go a long way towards clarifying Ottawa’s future. Staying healthy would go a ways towards this, especially on the mound.

Best Case

Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Roy Halladay all return strong from injuries, joining Old Hoss Radbourn in a decent pitching staff and the core talent sorts itself out, especially in the OF.

Worst Case

The pitching continues to be among the worst in the league and none of the massive potential of Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr or Álex Rodríguez comes to the surface.

Key Questions

Can the staff both deliver and stay healthy?
Who is the bullpen?
How the young talent sorts itself out.

Trade Bait

Not really. Radbourn has some value, but he also was the only quasi reliable arm for the Mounties last season.

Well, that was interesting: Griffey, Jr. was moved on, netting Adrián Beltré plus.

Roster Evaluation

POS	Elite	Strong	Solid	Meh	Weak	Unknown
C			Carter			Ausmus
1B				Staub		Watson
2B			Alomar
3B				Beltré
SS					Rodríguez	Dorgan
LF/ RF		Walker	Raines			Thompson
CF			Beltrán			Monday
SP		Halladay	Radbourn	Moose	Peters Griffith Johnson Podgajny	Hammaker
End		~~Henke~~	Dempster			Ryan
RP						Gregg Shaw ~~Collins~~

New Addition | ~~Injured~~

Over half the roster is either unknown or was pretty horrible last year. Hence the goal being merely not to suck.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	C Gary Carter	OF Jim Lemon
Batting Eye	IF Roberto Alomar	1B Nick Johnson
Contact	IF Álex Rodríguez	OF Terry Puhl
Running Speed	U Tim Raines	OF George Burns
Base Stealing	U Tim Raines	OF George Burns
IF Defense	3B Adrián Beltré	IF Dick Bertell
OF Defense	OF Sam Thompson	OF Jason Heyward
Stuff	P Charles Radbourn	P Reggie Richter
Control	SP Roy Halladay	P Curt Davis
Velocity	RP Ryan Dempster RP Tom Henke	RP Greg Holland

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	POS	Name
1 (4)	23	P	Al Orth
2 (30)	21	P	Dan Haren
3 (50)	23	P	Max Scherzer
4 (70)	22	1B	Bob Watson
5 (80)	20	1B	John Mayberry
6 (102)	20	2B	Jimmy Dykes
7 (106)	19	P	Mark Eichhorn
8 (181)	20	C	Milt May
9 (183)	22	P	Dupee Shaw

Others: None.

It’s not a bad system, but it lacks–beyond the top arms–top end potential. Watson and Shaw both start the season with the Mounties.

	Most	Least
Age	P Ken Forsch, 38	IF Elbie Fletcher, 19 P Mark Eichhorn, 19 OF Warren Cromartie, 19 P Dave Bennett
Height	P Randy Johnson, 6’10”	OF Wee Willie Keeler, 5’4″
OPS	1B Dale Long, 1.236 (—)	IF Mike Sharperson, .526 (—)
HR	1B Dale Long, 66 (—)	IF Larry Kopf, 0 (—) IF Mike Dorgan, 0 (—)
SB	U Tim Raines, 92 (WBL)	Many with 0
WAR	1B Vic Saier, 5.0 (—)	IF Mike Sharperson, -2.3 (—)
W	Danny Cox, 16 (—)	Jesse Crain, 1 (AAA/AA)
SV	Ryan Dempster, 16 (WBL/AAA) Pedro Ramos, 16 (—)
ERA	Mark Grant, 2.31 (—)	Randy Johnson, 6.60 (WBL/AAA)
WAR	Charles Radbourn, 4.4 (WBL)	Monk Dubiel, -1.6 (WBL/AAA)

Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

TWIWBL 56.17: Spring Training Notes – Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On March 5, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

1st and 2nd round picks Max Scherzer and Al Orth will be given the opportunity to make the opening day staff, and the bullpen behind presumed closer Ryan Dempster is wide open.

While Carlos Beltrán goes in as the presumed starter in CF, Ken Griffey Jr will again be given a long look.

First Cuts

Ottawa’s pitching staff is a bit clearer, as there have been some horrible performances. Jesse Crain, Max Scherzer, Kid Camp, Dan Haren, Mike Minor, and Al Orth have all moved to the minors. That leaves only 15 arms in camp, so look for some recalls if others in camp struggle or face injuries. Chuck Taylor, Dupee Shaw, and Dave Gregg have all been pleasant surprises so far.

The starting C job belongs to Gary Carter. But Emil Gross and Brad Ausmus are pushing Jim Stephens for the backup role, with Milt May and Einar Díaz both leaving camp.

1B and 3B are wide open, with Bob Watson‘s fast start (combined with his solid debut last season) making him an early favorite at 1B and Art Devlin and Ryon Healy making arguments at the hot corner. 3B Josh Donaldson and 1Bs John Mayberry, Tino Martinez, and Nick Johnson all hit the minors.

In the middle of the infield, the Mounties have gone with a very aggressive approach, sending Julio Gotay, Everett Scott, Jose Vidro, Bernie Allen, and Dick Bartell all to the minors. That leaves them with only 6 2B/SS, making this another position where later recalls are possible. Jimmy Dykes, Henry Easterday, and Mike Dorgan have all impressed, although this moves seems to indicate more than anything else that Álex Rodríguez will be the opening day SS, even though some believe his eventual position will be at third.

Rick Monday and Sam Thompson have impressed in the OF, with Wee Willie Keeler and Jackie Jensen the only early casualties. This will be a clear focus for Ottawa, as a leading priority for them is sorting through their options in the OF and, perhaps most of all, figuring out what to do with Ken Griffey Jr, who continues to struggle mightily in CF.

Second Cuts

The Mounties had made such deep cuts earlier that only one arm was moved this time, with Rick Honeycutt heading to the minors. That’s not to say the rest have done well: Bob Brown and Bob Moose–both of whom were supposed to contend for rotation spots–have struggled, as has presumed closer Ryan Dempster.

The competition at 1B is thick, prompting Ottawa to send Roy Sievers, who spent most of last season in the WBL, to their minor league camp.

Third Cuts

With only 14 arms in camp, the pitching staff remains unchanged. There is concern over Bob Brown and Old Hoss Radbourn, two of last year’s bright spots, who are struggling mightily this Spring.

John Olerud, Henry Easterday, and Jason Heyward head to AAA. Easterday’s demotion leaves only two SS in camp: Álex Rodríguez and the surprising Mike Dorgan.

Gary Carter is the starting C for sure, but the battle to back him up is running tight between Jim Stephens, Brad Ausmus, and Emil Gross.

The OF is a total mess, with rumors emerging that the Mounties are shopping the immense talent of Ken Griffey, Jr in the hope that a change of scenery might unlock his bat. George Burns is only in camp due to a strong season last year, but he’s on the edge for sure. Rick Monday, Jesse Burkett, Terry Puhl, Sam Thompson, and Bill O’Neill are all hitting well enough to warrant consideration for 2 or 3 reserve spots.

Final Cuts

3B Ryon Healy was tearing up Spring Training for a while, but has since come back to earth. With the arrival of Adrián Beltré, Healy’s future for the start of the season is in the minors, as is CF Bill O’Neill‘s. They are joined by Tino Martinez: 1B was always pretty blocked for the Mounties and Martinez hasn’t shown enough to add his name to the list.

Pedro Ramos had a brief stint with the big league team before heading off to AAA. Dan Collins was placed on IR and Chuck Taylor (also injured) was sent to AAA, preserving the spot on the 40 man roster. That left the Mounties with 3 players to go to get to 30. One was Emil Gross, leaving 3 catchers in camp (4 if you count Mike Dorgan), the second was 2B Jimmy Dykes, who turned a lot of heads with his Spring performance, and the last was veteran OF Jesse Burkett.

Bob Moose, Bob Brown, Ryan Dempster, and Hoss Radbourn were among the few bright spots on the mound for Ottawa last season. They are among the worst performers this Spring, making all of the roster choices all that much more difficult. Brown’s wildness was inescapable, and he was moved to AAA to see if he could work it out. That left a dozen arms in camp, but with so many of them–Atlee Hammaker, Dupee Shaw, Dave Gregg, BJ Ryan–being essentially unproven, the Mounties would like to open the season with a larger staff than most teams will carry.

Gary Carter remains the starting catcher, but Brad Ausmus‘ fantastic Spring moved him ahead of Jim Stephens as Carter’s backup with Stephens heading to the minors along with OFs George Burns and Terry Puhl. The final cut was a hard one, as Art Devlin was among the most impressive Spring performers. But Devlin was likely blocked at Ottawa, so he heads down to AAA to start the season, keeping both Bob Watson and Sam Thompson on the WBL roster to open the season.

Season Review: Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On December 11, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

69 - 85, .448 pct.
4th in Cum Posey Division, 22 games behind.

Overall

With low expectations come limited success, or some such.

Ottawa has some interesting pieces, a ton of raw talent, and very little to show for it all. Future success hinges on the development of that talent–Ken Griffey, Jr, Álex Rodríguez, and Randy Johnson, I’m looking at you.

As is often the case with teams that struggle, there were some decent high spots on offense but a bit of a mess on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot.

Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter each established themselves as legitimate WBL players, although each of them are just outside the upper tier at their position in the league (Walker only through seemingly being injury prone).

Carlos Beltrán did enough to put himself on the roster next year, and Rusty Staub hit well for Ottawa after being acquired in trade.

Old Hoss Radbourn and, before getting injured, Roy Halladay both look like front of rotation arms for Ottawa. Ryan Dempster stepped into the absence created by Tom Henke‘s injury quite well. Some other starters–Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Clayton Richard especially–flashed some potential in limited innings, going 14-6 over a combined 30 starts.

The Mounties are an incredibly young organization: in one sense, merely surviving went right if 7 of your starters are 23 or under.

ALL STARS
SS Freddy Parent

What Went Wrong

Roberto Alomar faded and neither Álex Rodríguez nor Ken Griffey, Jr. did anything to live up to their massive potential. Across the board, it seemed like the best players could do was meh offensively.

Most of the pitching was horrible, and when not poor, greatly inconsistent (with Randy Johnson being the best example). Jim Clancy–whose 0.0 WAR was an accurate representation of his quality–was the only pitcher other than Radbourn and Halladay with over 100 IP.

Overall, there was just an absence of quality for the Mounties.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Steve Garvey, OF Spud Johnson, 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles for OF Rusty Staub, P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan

Seems fine–Delgado’s loss this year hurt, but Staub (a franchise player) and Beltrán offer a lot of future value.

IF Freddy Parent to Chicago for IF Sibby Sisti, OF Bob Watson, and IF Rickie Weeks

Parent was Ottawa’s only all star, so the drop in quality hurt. But it does clear the way for Á-Rod (which may or may not be a good thing if his performance doesn’t pick up), and Watson looks promising.

RP Gary Lavelle & P Jamie Moyer to Black Yankees for IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick {Mark Eichhorn}

Seems fine, maybe a little light if neither Bartell nor Thompson see WBL time.

July

P Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren, 5th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Jeremy Affeldt, P Bob Moose, OF George Burns, IF Art Devlin & 3rd Round Pick

All reasonable, as both Moose and Burns have some promise.

Looking Forward

SP

Radbourn and Halladay should be solid for years to come, and there is great excitement over the potential of Randy Johnson. Beyond that, it’s a lot of question marks.

RP

If Henke can bounce back from injury, he and Dempster should be solid here, and there are some decent arms behind them.

C

Carter should have this locked up for quite a while.

1B

Long term, a mixture of John Olerud and John Mayberry should handle this, but there are no great immediate options, unless Staub and Bob Watson can handle it.

2B

Even with his late season fade, this should be Roberto Alomar‘s position, especially as Raines shifts permanently to the outfield.

3B

An area of need, as neither Anthony Rendon nor Larry Parrish impressed.

SS

It’s assumed that Rodríguez will hold this down.

LF

Raines should play here more and more.

CF

This gets more interesting, as either Betrán or Griffey, Jr. could be here long term, with the other moving to a corner OF position.

RF

Walker as long as he’s healthy, with others, including Staub, filling in.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are some tempting choices out there, but Max Scherzer being a franchise selection who looks almost ready for the majors makes him the choice. The 2nd round was a much harder selection, but the Mounties eventually settled on Al Orth, partially because he should be able to help out at the major league level somewhat immediately.

1B is a bit unsettled for the franchise, so Elbie Fletcher made sense in the 3rd round. Fletcher is a ways away from helping at the WBL level, but he could be in the mix eventually. In the last part of that round, they took another arm: 22 year old Dan Haren.

In the 4th round, the Mounties took 2B Jimmy Dykes with their final franchise exemption and rubber armed reliever Mark Eichhorn with their other pick that round.

Rounds 5-8

Ottawa needs quality across the board, but being limited to franchise selections may make that challenging. They start in the 7th round with OF Warren Cromartie and follow that in the 8th with SP Dupee Shaw.

Rounds 9-12

IF Joey Cora; OF Leon Roberts; P Billy Koch; and P Chuck Taylor.