Tag: Ed Walsh Page 2 of 4

#Birmingham Black Barons v Detroit Wolverines, Game II

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#Chicago American Giants v Portland Sea Dogs, Game 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

#New York Gothams v Cleveland Spiders, Game 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TWIWBL 48.2: Playoff Previews – Chicago American Giants @ Portland Sea Dogs

By mknn

On September 8, 2023

In 2000 Playoffs, Series Previews, TWIWBL

As a reward for winning a one game playoff against Birmingham, Portland gets to host Chicago, a team with the 3rd best record in the league, and 3 more wins than the Sea Dogs amassed.

#Chicago American Giants

A media favorite as an underdog to go all the way, Chicago’s playoff hopes rest on their pitching–which doesn’t even have to be good, just good enough to support their spectacular offense.

Behind Tricky Nichols (15-9, 4.14), Chicago will turn to some mix of David Price (8-5, 3.98 but on fire as of late), Ben Sheets (11-8, 4.50), and Dick Rudolph (10-9, 4.58) and will hope that Ken Sanders and Hoyt Wilhelm can get the ball to AJ Minter, who has been fantastic with a 2.61 ERA and 30 saves.

The wild card here is Ed Walsh, 8-3 on the season with a 3.26 ERA. Walsh excelled in a swing role throughout the season, and may slide into the #2 spot behind Nichols, or may be called on to cover the middle innings in multiple games. Or, you know, both.

Enough of that, let’s talk about fun things. Like the American Giants’ offense. With 4 starters with OPS over .900 (Joe Jackson, Dick Allen, Eddie Collins, and Frank Thomas), the heart of the lineup is spectacular. Thomas, Jackson, and Allen each drove in over 100 (with Duffy Lewis just missing at 94), and Collins and Jackson each scored over a century. Jackson led the way with 31 homers, and Collins added 61 SB to the mix.

There’s no real weakness in the starters: Carlton Fisk‘s .790 OPS is excellent for a catcher and Mike Fiore‘s .405 OBP more than makes up for his utter lack of power. Chicago traded for all-star SS Freddy Parent, who has been thoroughly mediocre, so perhaps that is their one lineup hole.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Portland’s fought off some injuries and some challenges in finding enough PA’s for all their talent, but has remained a solid team all season. Shorter series should help them: anything that gets Walter Johnson (14-5, 3.50) more starts is good for the team. Johnson is followed by Bert Blyleven (11-11, 4.30) and then some mix of Pascual Pérez, Dizzy Trout, Mike Cuellar, and Wade Miller.

The bullpen has been solid, although the closer role is a little unsettled, split between Bob Porterfield, Trevor Hoffman, and Elmer Brown.

Two midseason acquisitions really took the offense from solid to spectacular: 2B Rogers Hornsby and RF Gavvy Cravath have embraced their new surroundings, with Cravath being especially impactful, slugging well over .700 in his 40 games with the Sea Dogs.

But the lineup can mash top to bottom: Bobby Murcer, Joe Mauer, and Kent Hrbek all have OPS over .900 (Hrbek has 36 homeruns and drove in 106 to lead the team). Gary Pettis and Iván Rodríguez have cooled off slightly, making, but still, along with Adrián Beltre and Jeff Burroughs, form one of the deeper benches in the league.

The Sea Dogs led the league in homers, with 5 players (Hrbek, Cravath, Mauer, Buddy Bell, and Gil Hodges) having over 20.

The end of roster choices were challenging. Cult hero Greg Litton got the final position spot–neither he nor Fred Dunlap can hit, but Litton is a little more flexible defensively and the final pitching spot went to Atlee Hammaker, who has struggled, but with Cuellar the only other lefty option from the pen, Hammaker edges out Ray Fontenot for now.

#Prediction

Chicago in 7. The most anticipated of the four series of the opening round.

TWIWBL 44.2: Series XXXVI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 9, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Baltimore wanted to add another lefty to the pen, bringing up Scott McGregor and sending Lindy McDaniel down to AAA.

Curt Blefary‘s second homerun of the game (his 26th of the season) was a walk-off affair as the Black Sox edged Ottawa 7-5. Blefary had 4 hits and 4 RBIs in a game that saw Johnny Sain take back the #5 spot in the rotation from Jim Palmer.

The Black Sox pounded out 15 hits in a 14-1 pounding of the Mounties, getting 4 RBI’s from Blefary who, along with Frank Robinson, had 3 hits. Bill Byrd threw a strong 7 innings, improving to 14-3 on the year.

#Chicago American Giants

Perhaps in a preview of what the post-season holds, Chicago has moved Ed Walsh into the 4th spot of their rotation, and have not named a number five starter, although it is assumed that either Mark Buehrle or Ben Sheets will hold down the back of the staff.

Eddie Collins scored 3 times without an official AB (he walked 4 times), and Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits and 6 RBIs (3 coming on his 29th homerun) to lead Chicago to a back and forth 8-7 win over Kansas City. Cristóbal Torriente had 3 hits as well with the victory going to Buehrle in his first relief appearance.

Duffy Lewis had 4 hits in an 8-5 victory over Kansas City, but the story of the game for the postseason might be the growing success of the American Giants bullpen. Here, Don Newcombe, Fernando Rodney, Ken Sanders, and A.J. Minter combined with over 4 innings of near-perfect relief, with Rodney getting the win and Minter his 28th save.

David Price has been magnificent since joining Chicago, but he saved his best performance for the series finale against Kansas City, spinning a complete game, 2-hit shutout. Price carried a no-hitter into the 8th, improving his record with the American Giants to 4-0. Dick Allen drove in all 4 runs on 2 hits, one his 25th homerun of the season.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bones Ely‘s return from the DL meant Tom Sturdivant was returned to AAA.

Casey Stengel ripped his second pinch hit homerun of the year, this one a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough as the Colt 45’s fell to Birmingham, 10-6.

#Kansas City Monarchs

OF Max Flack retired at the end of the AA season.

The Monarchs needed a starter and recalled Joe Blong.

#Ottawa Mounties

Clayton Richard returned to the rotation for Ottawa, taking Johnny Podgajny‘s place.

RP Steve Reed announced his retirement from AA.

Randy Johnson left with an elbow injury after only an inning of work, but will likely only miss a few days. Podgajny did a good job in relief, perhaps earning another shot at starting before season’s end. Roberto Alomar tied the game with a homerun and Carlos Beltrán added 2 hits, but it wasn’t enough as Baltimore won the game in the bottom of the 9th, 7-5.

A potential bright spot for Ottawa: Roy Halladay joined AAA to get an outing or 2 after his long DL stint, with an outside shot at seeing action in the WBL before the end of the year.

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

TWIWBL 41.0: Series XXXIII Notes

By mknn

On June 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 22nd

Awards

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

Playoff Races

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

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

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

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

Performance

Batters

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

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

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

Pitchers

Starters

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

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

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

Relievers

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

35 IP for rate stats.

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

* Currently on the DL.

Streaks

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

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

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXIII

Houston over Los Angeles
New York Black Yankees over Philadelphia

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXIII

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

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

Birmingham over New York Gothams

Series Splits in Series XXXIII

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

Series XXXIII Featured Matchup: Chicago American Giants @ Wandering House of David

By mknn

On June 14, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: David Price @ Wade Miley

Chicago’s David Price was masterful, allowing only 1 run and 3 hits in just shy of 8 innings, leading the American Giants to a 5-1 victory. Dick Allen hit his 21st homerun and Kevin Mitchell his 2nd for Chicago, who also got 2 hits from Frank Thomas and Duffy Lewis.

The American Giants got a bit of a scare in the 7th as a Scott Downs fastball slammed into Mike Fiore‘s face. The American Giants CF got up from the ground with blood streaming from their nose, and had to be replaced by Jack Doyle.

CAG 5 (Price 2-0) @ HOD 1 (Miley 7-5)
HRs: CAG – Allen (21), Mitchell (2); HOD – Edmonds (15).
Box Score

News after the game was good for Chicago: Fiore would only miss a few days with a broken nose and, perhaps, a new profile.

More importantly, Pete Browning has, at long last, accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify for the the league leader lists. Browning leads the league in BA at .354 and is 3rd in SLG at .636.

#Game 2: Mark Buehrle @ Frank Sullivan

The House of David got one back with a sterling starting performance of their own as Frank Sullivan pitched into the 9th inning having allowed only 1 run and 5 hits. Despite some recent struggles, Bruce Sutter was solid in relief, picking up his 20th save of the year.

Elrod Hendricks gave the House of David an early lead with his 33rd homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. They would double their lead in the 5th, first on an RBI double from Skeeter Barnes and then when Barnes pulled off a steal of home with 2 outs.

Chicago’s Mark Buehrle was the hard luck loser, allowing 7 hits in what turned out to be a complete game 8 innings.

CAG 1 (Buehrle 10-9) @ HOD 4 (Sullivan 9-8; Sutter 20 Sv)
HRs: CAG – Collins (18); HOD – Hendricks (33).
Box Score

#Game 3: Ben Sheets @ Jack Taylor

While Chicago considered sending Ed Walsh out instead of the struggling Ben Sheets, the American Giants decided in the end to keep their rotation intact, hoping Sheets can match up against the league’s best pitcher, Jack Taylor.

Homeruns from Frank Thomas and Cristóbal Torriente gave Chicago an early 3-0 lead, but Taylor settled down after that. Surprisingly, Sheets was even better, tossing a 3-hit shutout through 5 innings.

The 6th was decisive: a double by Duffy Lewis made it 4-0, and Dick Allen‘s 22nd homerun (and 99th RBI) chased Taylor with the score 6-0 Chicago. 3 more runs in the 7th made it 9-0, and the game seemed out of reach.

Seemed.

2 runs in the bottom of the inning put the House of David on the board, and then they exploded in the bottom of the 8th, fueled by a 2-run double by Pete Browning and a bases clearing double from Richie Hebner. Suddenly, it was 9-7 with Hebner on 3rd and 1 out. A single from Ron Santo–his 4th hit of the day–made it 9-8 and chased Don Newcombe from the mound. Hoyt Wilhelm got out of the inning, but suddenly we had a ballgame.

But AJ Minter closed it out for his 23rd save, and Chicago won a game that was far closer than it should have been. The win put Chicago ahead 2-1 in the series.

CAG 9 (Sheets 9-8; Minter 23 Sv; Wilhelm 3 H) @ HOD 8 (Taylor 14-9)
HRs: CAG – Thomas (24), Torriente (1), Allen (22); HOD – none.
Box Score

#Game 4: Tricky Nichols @ CC Sabathia

George Stone led off the bottom of the 1st with his 26th homerun, but Chicago answered with a bases-loaded double from Freddy Parent. Chicago’s Tricky Nichols never really settled down, giving up dingers to Jim Edmonds and Ernie Banks in the 3rd before another homerun, this one to Anthony Rizzo, chased him in the 4th.

CC Sabathia, meanwhile, was cruising, not allowing a run since Parent’s double through 6 innings. His relief didn’t do so well: a Dick Allen homerun started their 8th inning, and a flurry of singles brought in 3 more runs. That closed the gap to 8-7 in favor of the House of David.

But, much like the prior game, the closer came through: Bruce Sutter struck out 2 in a perfect 9th to give the House of David a series split.

CAG 7 (Nichols 14-8) @ HOD 8 (Sabathia 11-11; Sutter 21 Sv; Smith 13 H)
HRs: CAG – Allen (23); HOD – Stone (26), Edmonds (16), Banks (23), Rizzo (13).
Box Score

Series XXXIII Preview: Chicago American Giants @ Wandering House of David

By mknn

On June 9, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

In Series XXXIII, we’ll focus in on the wild card race, where the Chicago American Giants lead the Wandering House of David by 1 game. We focused on Chicago (our first team to be highlighted in 5 separate series) in Series VI, XX, XXII, and XXX and on the House of David in Series V, XVI, and XXVI.

#Chicago American Giants

We just saw the American Giants, and not a lot has changed: the offense is still fearsome; the bench is still suspect; and the pitching is still a bit irregular.

Eddie Collins (310/406/510) leads the team in WAR, but is behind both Joe Jackson (1.014) and Frank Thomas (.950) in OPS. Those 3, plus Mike Fiore have OBPs over .400 and Dick Allen and Duffy Lewis join Collins, Jackson, and Thomas with SLG over .500.

Cristóbal Torriente should be back at full strength during the series, and Kevin Mitchell has solidified a claim on the other reserve OF spot. The weak spots here are Jack Doyle and Jackie Hayes on the IF, but Doyle’s flexibility keeps him an attractive roster option, while Hayes is just passing time until rosters expand in a few days.

Tricky Nichols at 14-7 leads the rotation, with both Dick Rudolph and Mark Buehrle having 10 wins apiece. One of the questions for Chicago is what to do with Ed Walsh, who has been excellent as a swing starter/long reliever–to the point where he may be preferred as a starter in the playoffs over Buehrle or Ben Sheets. The bullpen trio of Hoyt Wilhelm, Ken Sanders, and AJ Minter continues to impress.

#Wandering House of David

Pete Browning (358/394/642) should emerge onto WBL leaderboards either this series or next. When that happens, he will immediately take over the lead in BA and be 3rd in SLG. Another injury to Browning feels like virtually the only thing that could derail the House of David’s playoff push.

While Elrod Hendricks has been excellent since the year began–even with a recent slump, Hendricks is slashing 287/348/605 with 32 homeruns and 81 RBIs–the House of David has retooled their lineup with spectacular success all season. First it was Dan Ford (.833 OPS) taking over in RF, then it was Anthony Rizzo (.884 OPS) at 1B and Jim Edmonds in CF (1.011 OPS).

Jack Taylor has emerged as the dominant starter in the league, sitting at 14-8 with a 2.99 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. There is a significant gap between Taylor and the rest of the staff, but none of them are bad, they just don’t live up to Taylor’s standards. The back of the bullpen is developing nicely, with the trio of Ed Bauta (obtained mid-season), Lee Smith, and Tom Niedenfuer reliably bridging the gap to Bruce Sutter, who should be back to full strength in a day or two.

#Predicted Starters

Chicago starter listed first.

David Price (5-5, 4.46) @ Wade Miley (7-4, 5.11)
Mark Buehrle (10-8, 4.23) @ Frank Sullivan (8-8, 4.84)
Ben Sheets (8-8, 4.77) @ Jack Taylor (14-8, 2.99)
Tricky Nichols (14-7, 3.68) @ CC Sabathia (10-11, 4.86)

TWIWBL 40.0 – Series XXXII Notes

By mknn

On June 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

August 18th

Playoff Series of Note

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

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

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

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

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

Performance

Batters

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

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

Pitchers

Starters

All 4 14 game winners are included.

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

Relievers

35 IP for rate stats.

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

* Currently injured.

Streaks

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

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

Series Results

Series Sweeps in Series XXXII

New York Gothams over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXXII

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

Series Splits in Series XXXII

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

Series XXX Featured Matchup: Cleveland Spiders @ Chicago American Giants

By mknn

On April 19, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Cy Young @ Dick Rudolph

A win would pull Chicago to within a game of Baltimore, who lost in surprising fashion earlier in the day. It certainly looks like a possibility as Dick Rudolph, one of the hottest pitchers in the league, takes on Cleveland’s Cy Young, who has cooled off noticeably in recent starts.

Early, Young regained his form and Rudolph maintained his: both hurlers had shutouts through 4 innings.

That lasted until the bottom of the 6th, when a double from Joe Jackson and a triple–a TRIPLE–from Frank Thomas put Chicago up, 1-0. The American Giants bench then lost their collective mind, putting on a suicide squeeze (when Duffy Lewis missed the bunt, Thomas was, predictably, dead meat at the plate).

Rudolph lasted until one out in the 8th, when he was relieved by Hoyt Wilhelm. Tris Speaker delivered a pinch-hit single, but a wild pitch plated Chuck Knoblauch to tie the game. A third run scored on an error, putting Cleveland ahead 3-1, and making Rudolph’s fine performance all for naught.

John Ellis took Wilhelm deep in the top of the 9th, putting Cleveland ahead, 2-1. Terry Adams made it interesting, walking three in the bottom of the frame, but Jack Doyle grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the game.

CLE 3 (Gearrin 2-8; Adams 27 Sv) @ CHA 1 (Wilhelm 3-4, 1 B Sv)
HRs: CLE – Ellis (20); CHA – none.
Box Score

#Game 2: Mel Harder @ Tricky Nichols

Each team had a good chance to score in the opening frame, but Joe Jackson nailed a runner at the plate for the 3rd out in the top of the frame and Mel Harder got a nice play from Arky Vaughan at SS with two on base to close out the bottom half.

Cleveland would take the lead in the top of the 4th when Tricky Nichols walked Ron Blomberg and gave up doubles to John Ellis and Jake Stahl, giving the Spiders a 2-0 lead. Johnny Bates added an RBI single in the 5th while Harder was superb, tossing a 2-hit shutout through 5 innings.

Nichols was chased in the 6th, but his replacement, Ken Sanders, plunked Sammy Strang to bring in Cleveland’s 4th run.

Harder was running on fumes, but had still only given up 2 hits through 7. With 1 out in the 9th–and having thrown 130 pitches–Harder gave up a double to Duffy Lewis and was replaced by Chuck Porter, who completed the combined 3-hit shutout.

CLE 4 (Harder 4-1) @ CAG 0 (Nichols 12-7)
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Game 3: Pat Malone @ David Price

Pat Malone–who???–tries to become the first pitcher in the league to reach 14 wins as Cleveland looks to cement a series win.

Malone will have to wait, as the game was canceled due to rain, to be made up as part of a doubleheader the following day, but the opening game featured the same matchup, with Malone taking on Chicago’s David Price.

Price struggled in the first, giving up a run on a double by Lance Berkman, but induced an inning ending double play from Louis Santop to escape with the score 1-0 Cleveland. Price settled down after that, allowing only the 1 run on 3 hits through 5; Malone was sailing along with a 2-hit shutout as well.

That lasted until the 6th, when Duffy Lewis singled in 2 with a 2 out knock. Dick Allen followed with his 19th homerun of the year, pushing the American Giants lead to 4-1. Both pitchers made it through 7 full innings, with the score unchanged.

Akinori Otsuka was greeted by a single by Jake Stahl, and another by Ron Blomberg. Chicago’s LF, Duffy Lewis, had Stahl dead for rights at 3B, but his throw was high for his first error of the year, scoring Stahl and putting Blomberg at second with no outs. Otsuka settled down, however, and the Spiders could only manage the single run, cutting the lead to 4-2.

AJ Minter pitched a perfect 9th for his 20th save, giving Chicago a chance to even the series in the second half of the doubleheader.

CLE 2 (Malone 13-6) @ CAG 4 (Price 1-0; Minter 20 Sv; Otsuka 3 H)
HRs: CLE – none; CAG – Allen (19).
Box Score

#Game 4: Bill Steen @ Mark Buehrle

Chicago’s Mark Buehrle will take on the Spiders’ Bill Steen in the nightcap as the American Giants try to earn a series split by sweeping the twinbill.

Steen gave up Joe Jackson‘s 25th homerun in the bottom of the first for an early 2-0 lead for Chicago. Duffy Lewis and Mike Fiore would add RBI singles, increasing the lead to 4-0 while Buehrle was spinning a 4-hit shutout through 6 innings, despite 2 errors in the field behind him.

Buehrle was relieved by Ed Walsh with 2 outs in the 7th. Despite being greeted by a pinch-hit double by Johnny Bates, Walsh got out of the inning with the shutout preserved, and proceeded to close out the game as an 8-hit combined shutout.

Chicago added 2 more runs–the first on an error by Lance Berkman, the second on a solo shot by Carlton Fisk. Jackson ended the game with 3 hits, as did José Abreu, who had been mired in a horrible slump.

CLE 0 (Steen 8-3) @ CAG 7 (Buehrle 9-8)
HRs: CLE – none; CAG – Jackson (25), Fisk (10).
Box Score

Series XXX Preview: Cleveland Spiders @ Chicago American Giants

By mknn

On April 12, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We focused on Cleveland just 2 series ago, in Series XXVIII, as well as in Series XIX and VII while Chicago was featured in Series XXII, Series XX, and Series VI.

Neutral viewers will be rooting for Chicago: if they do well, they will close their gap with Baltimore in the Cum Posey Division while helping pull the Spiders back to within reach of the New York Black Yankees in the Effa Manley Division.

Cleveland Spiders

Not much has changed for Cleveland since we last saw them: the starting pitching is still excellent, if without a truly dominant front of the rotation arm. Pat Malone is 13-5, but really the quintet of Malone, Stan Coveleski, Cy Young, Bill Steen, and Mel Harder are fairly interchangeable. Strong pitching throughout the rotation is clearly an edge on other teams. Probably the most important question on the mound for Cleveland is if Ron Reed can regain the form he had with Philadelphia.

The offense continues to revolve around Ron Blomberg (335/405/636, 32 HR, 91 RBI), John Ellis (288/349/540, 19 HR) and Jake Stahl (279/340/529, 20 HR). The offensive questions remain the same: Sammy Strang gets on base, but does little else at 3B, and SS Arky Vaughan is still an unknown quantity since being acquired a few days ago.

Perhaps the biggest challenge is how to get Tris Speaker (385/467/846 in only 15 PAs) some more plate appearances. Kenny Lofton (296/379/391) has done well in CF, meaning Speaker is blocked at his primary position, but the team does need to know if Speaker can maintain anything close to that level of performance.

Before the series, the commissioner’s office finally approved the inclusion of Stan Bahnsen in the Spiders’ trade with Homestead. Bahnsen was sent to AAA for the meantime.

Chicago American Giants

While not yet following Indianapolis into the uncharted waters of a 6-man rotation, Chicago does need to do something to get Ed Walsh more innings. Tricky Nichols leads the staff with a 12-6 record, but there’s really not a lot between Nichols, Dick Rudolph, Mark Buehrle, Ben Sheets, and the newly-acquired David Price.

But they’re all a clear notch below Cleveland’s starters.

Closer AJ Minter is–finally–back from his stint on the DL. OF Magglio Ordoñez was the odd man out, with the American Giants preferring a deeper staff to Ordoñez’ glove in RF.

Chicago has 4 batters with an OPS over 900–RF Joe Jackson (333/420/584), 1B/DH Frank Thomas (312/425/535), 2B Eddie Collins (313/405/531), and 3B Dick Allen (309/378/543). The rest of the lineup is above-average as well–LF Duffy Lewis has 23 HRs, SS Freddy Parent continues to produce at an all-star level since being acquired from Ottawa, CF Mike Fiore has an OBP of .400 and C Carlton Fisk‘s .800 OPS is excellent for a backstop.