Tag: Goose Goslin

TWIWBL 66.2 Spotlight on the Homestead Grays

On September 19, 2024

Homestead may be the surprise of the league so far. They continue to struggle on the mound, but this team can hit, and there is some profound talent developing on the banks of the Allegheny.

The Grays inherit players from the Pirates, as well as a smattering of NeL players generally associated with the Grays.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Homestead is in a virtual tie with Brooklyn atop the Effa Manley Division.

There is a long way to go, but a playoff appearance would be a heck of an accomplishment for what was one of the truly weaker sides in the league last season.

THE OFFENSE

It’s an offense that is evolving into one of the most dangerous lineups in the league top to bottom, with most of the talent under 25 years of age.

#What’s Going Right

Josh Gibson is emerging as a generational talent. OF Rick Reichardt is actually hitting better than Gibson with a 1.166 OPS to Gibson’s 1.155. But Gibson is 21 and a C and–assuming health–has a long career as one of, if not the, best backstop in the league ahead of him. But it’s about more than the two of them: veteran presence Willie Stargell is tied with Reichardt in homeruns and Mike Epstein gives them 4 batters in double digits.

3B Chris Sabo has a SLG over .700, arguing for more playing time, but both Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner seem to be learning how to use their immense talents. Wagner, Andy Van Slyke, and Andrew McCutchen have combined for 46 SBs, led by McCutchen’s 20.

#What’s Not Going Right

Neither Van Slyke nor McCutchen are hitting much (Van Slyke’s OPS has edged over .700, which isn’t bad, but McCutchen is stuck in the .650s). Roberto Clemente is struggling to match his production from last season, and the other reserves–Rey Sánchez and Del Crandell are doing virtually nothing in their limited opportunities).

Stargell strikes out too much, and Wagner’s offense at this point is merely decent for a young SS, not actually decent. That’s about it.

THE PITCHING

It’s better than last year. But all that means is that it’s not miserable.

#What’s Going Right

Josh Lindblom has emerged–perhaps a little surprisingly–as an elite closer, with 12 saves and 3 wins in his 19 appearances, and the lowest WHIP on the staff.

Francisco Liriano is still the “ace” of the staff, but the quotes are very well deserved: he’s 3-4 with a 4.48 ERA, numbers that are pretty much indistinguishable from those of Billy Pierce and Bob Friend. Doug Drabek won a job on the staff with a strong Spring Training, and has been excellent, but is just recovering from injury. His successful return to form would go a long way to solidifying the mound corps.

Michael Jackson has recovered from a rough 2000 to be a solid bullpen contributor this year.

#What’s Not Going Right

Finding the back end of the rotation has been a struggle. Ray Brown has been hit hard, but retains his spot in the rotation for now, while the final rotation spot has become a bit of a free-for-all, currently distributed between Carlos Zambrano, Brickyard Kennedy, and Cliff Lee. But none of those are having much luck.

Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti, so effective last year, have been, at best, thoroughly mediocre this year.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

The Grays have a strong system. In the OF, Ralph Kiner (still a teenager) and the Waner brother, Lloyd and Paul, look to have WBL ceilings, and in the IF, there are a wealth of options in Judy Johnson, Freddie Lindstrom, Howard Johnson, and Khalil Greene.

Throw in Clayton Kershaw (currently dominating A ball), Nip Winters, Pink Hawley, and Tim Lincecum and there is enough talent to sort out the Grays’ mound woes, although the exact path to do so is far from clear.

WHAT’S NEEDED

Pitching. And then, more pitching.

Beyond that, when the Grays traded for Lajoie last year, they had visions of a Lajoie/Wagner infield developing into a truly elite pairing. They need to keep building towards that, with the hope they, Gibson, and a few others can all peak at the same time.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

Who pitches? Absolutely still the key question. There’s Liriano, a hopefully healthy Drabek, and then …. a whole lot of question marks.
For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF). Some things have clarified. Johnson and Kent are at AAA (and struggling), and Wilson is trying to come back from a shoulder injury. The Grays seem to have committed to Wagner and Lajoie in the MI, and are happy to let the OF play out over time.

FEATURED SERIES

The Grays open up the week with 3 games in New York to take on the division rival Gothams.

Projected Starters

Homestead starter listed first.

Francisco Liriano (3-4, 4.48) @ Christy Mathewson (2-5, 4.71)
Bob Friend (3-2, 5.43) @ Juan Marichal (4-3, 4.68)
Ray Brown (3-4, 6.21) @ Gaylord Perry (5-4, 5.15)

Game One

It’s not like Francisco Liriano was bad–it’s just that Christy Mathewson was better, as Liriano gave up 2 runs in just over 6 innings while Matty held the Grays scoreless through 7. A single to Mike Epstein and a double from Napoleon Lajoie chased Mathewson.

It got a little weird form there: Robb Nen‘s first pitch hit Honus Wagner on the elbow, forcing him out of the ballgame; Chris Sabo brought home one run on a sac fly, Andy Van Slyke reached on an error by Brandon Crawford, and an infield hit from Rick Reichardt tied the game at 2. Josh Gibson hit a sharp single to LF, scoring 1, but Jo-Jo Moore threw out Van Slyke at home. Willie Stargell drove in another, and Roberto Clemente beat out an infield single, meaning the Grays had run through their entire lineup in the inning. It looked like Nen had gotten out of it when Andrew McCutchen (who had pinch run for Epstein way back when) whiffed, but the ball got past the Gothams’ C, Dick Dietz, and McCutchen beat the throw to first, scoring another run.

So, Homestead now held a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the 8th. Dietz would try to redeem himself, hitting his first career homerun after a pinch double from Willie Mays, closing the lead to 5-4.

Josh Lindblom was perfect in the 9th, sealing the come from behind victory for the Grays.

HOM 5 (Ownbey 3-1; Lindblom 13 Sv; Giusti 4 H) @ NYG 4 (Nen 1-1, 2 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – none; NYG – Posey (13), Dietz (1).
Box Score

Good news for Homestead, as Wagner will only miss a day with a bruised elbow.

Game Two

With Bob Friend still out with some wrist issues, Cliff Lee got the start for Homestead against Tony Mullane, who wasn’t expected to last more than 3 or 4 innings in a sort of bullpen game for New York.

Perhaps to be expected with a couple spot starters, there were some longballs early: Rick Reichardt, Josh Gibson, and Andrew McCutchen for Homestead and Willie Mays for New York, leading to a 3-2 lead for the Grays after 3. Mullane gave up another one in the 5th, but overall his start wasn’t bad.

Lee’s was even better, until a Jo-Jo Moore double closed the gap to 4-3 and chased him from the game. Johnny Callison gave New York the lead later in the inning with a double off Brickyard Kennedy. It was short lived: Mike Epstein took the usually unhittable Mike Norris deep in the top of the 8th for a 2 run shot, swinging the game back to Homestead, 6-5. Norris hit 2 batters, but got out of the inning without further damage.

Gibson hit his 2nd of the game in the top of the 9th, which grew in importance when Larry Doyle hit a pinch hit dinger off closer Josh Lindblom to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Lindblom was able to close it out, giving the Grays the first 2 games of the series.

HOM 7 (Kennedy 2-0, 1 B Sv; Lindblom 13 Sv; Jackson 7 H) @ NYG 6 (Norris 2-3, 1 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (18), Gibson 2 (16), McCutchen (3), Epstein (14); NYG – Mays (19), Doyle (2).
Box Score

Game Three

When the Grays’ offense clicks, it clicks. 14 hits, 9 runs, and (finally) a strong outing from Ray Brown later, and Homestead had the series sweep. They did it with 6 runs in the top of the 4th, sending 4 balls over the outfield walls. An inning later, Andy Van Slyke joined Andrew McCutchen, Goose Goslin, Josh Gibson, and Mike Epstein in the homerun parade.

Brown loaded the bases to start the 8th, but Dave Giusti came in to get out of the jam without allowing a run. Giusti was forced from the game, but is likely to be available in a day or 2.

HOM 9 (Brown 4-4) @ NYG 1 (Marichal 4-4)
HRs: HOM – McCutchen (4), Goslin (2), Gibson (17), Van Slyke (3), Epstein (15); NYG – Crawford (7).
Box Score

This is what the Grays dream of: an irrepressible offense, enough pitching to get by, and a stream of victories.

TWIWBL 63.5: Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On July 16, 2024

In TWIWBL

#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.

Year II Season Preview: Homestead Grays

By mknn

On April 6, 2024

In Team News

Expectations

Progress. Finishing over .500 with some clarity on long-term talent would be a success for next year.

Best Case

The roster stabilizes, and a handful of talent establishes itself as the core of future years. Napolean Lajoie and Honus Wagner settle in at 2B and SS respectively, and the OF talent clarifies. And, anyone reliable steps forward on the mound. Anyone.

Worst Case

Nothing settles, nobody figures it out, and the pitching continues to be miserable.

Key Questions

Who pitches?
For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF).

Trade Bait

Will the team hit it stride in time for Stargell to contribute? If not, he could be an attractive piece for a competitive team.

Roster Evaluation

POS	Elite	Strong	Solid	Meh	Weak	Unknown
C		Gibson			Crandall
1B	Epstein
2B					Lajoie
3B						Sabo
SS				Wagner		Sánchez
LF/ RF		Reichardt	Van Slyke Wilson	Clemente Stargell
CF				McCutchen
SP			Liriano	Friend	Pierce Brown Zambrano	~~Kluber~~
End				Lindblom Ownbey	Jackson
RP						Drabek Giusti Hudson Lincecum

New Addition | ~~Injured~~

So. Much. Talent. So little production. Even with that, though, the presence of anything approaching average pitching makes the Grays a .500 team.

Talent Ratings

	WBL	Minors
Raw Power	OF Willie Stargell	3B Steve Hertz
Batting Eye	1B Mike Epstein	OF Ralph Kiner
Contact	OF Roberto Clemente	OF Goose Goslin
Running Speed	OF Andy Van Slyke	OF Sterling Marte
Base Stealing	IF Honus Wagner	IF Bobby Wheelock
IF Defense	U Nap Lajoie	IF Rennie Stennett
OF Defense	OF Roberto Clemente	OF Max Carey
Stuff	P Tim Lincecum	P Harry Kelley
Control	SP Bob Friend	P Syl Johnson
Velocity	RP Josh Lindblom	RP Mychal Givens

Best In The Minors

Rank	Age	POS	Name
1 (13)	19	P	Clayton Kershaw
2 (21)	21	P	Tim Lincecum
3 (39)	18	3B	Judy Johnson
4 (46)	19	OF	Ralph Kiner
5 (61)	24	P	Bartolo Colón
6 (64)	20	P	Pink Hawley
7 (79)	23	OF	Paul Waner
8 (109)	22	P	Trevor Cahill
9 (117)	23	P	Daniel Hudson
10 (130)	20	3B	Freddie Lindstrom

Others: P Catfish Hunter; P Nip Winters, P Ping Gardner; P Carlos Pulido; P Chris Zachary; P Dave Giusti.

Hope for the Grays persists, largely in how dense and deep their system is. 16 prospects in the top 200 bodes well for their future.

	Most	Least
Age	P Al Worthington, 38	3B Judy Johnson, 18
Height	P John Candelaria, 6’7″	P Earl Hamilton, 5’8″ SS Bobby Wheelock, 5’8″ OF Paul Waner, 5’8″ 1B Eric McNair, 5’8″
OPS	OF Harvey Hendrick, 1.088 (—)	IF Ken Harrelson, .432 (WBL)
HR	OF Starling Marte, 42 (—) IF JJ Hardy, 42 (—)	C Peaches Graham, 0 (WBL/AAA)
SB	CF Andrew McCutchen, 33 (WBL)	Many with 0
WAR	OF Andy Van Slyke, 5.7 (WBL/AAA/AA)	IF Ken Harrelson, -4.3 (WBL)
W	Frank Arellanes, 15 (—) Moose Haas, 15 (—)	Daniel Hudson, 3 (WBL/AAA/AA) Earl Hamilton, 3 (WBL/AAA) Doug Drabek 3 (—) John Candelaria, 3 (WBL/AAA)
SV	Mychal Givens, 24 (WBL/AAA/AA)
ERA	Charles Nagy, 2.17 (—)	John Candelaria, 6.84 (WBL/AAA)
WAR	Charles Nagy, 5.3 (—)	John Candelaria, -1.1 (WBL/AAA)

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

TWIWBL 56.10: Spring Training Notes – Homestead Grays

By mknn

On February 27, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

Up to nine spots on the mound are up for grabs, including 3 rotation slots. Positional depth needs to be resolved in the lineup. Second round draft pick Judy Johnson will be given every shot to seize the 3B job.

Injuries

Daniel Hudson has missed most of camp so far, but might be back to show enough to make the opening day roster.

First Cuts

With 28 pitchers starting off in camp, Homestead clearly had a lot of work to do, with many decisions destined to be made on very limited data. Here’s who didn’t make the cut after the first week of Spring Training: starters Pink Hawley, Clayton Kershaw, John Candelaria, and Hal Carlson and relievers Mychal Givens, Ed Seward, and Ricardo Rincón.

With that many arms still in camp, the Grays only moved one C, Tim Thompson, out of camp, along with 3B’s Freddie Lindstrom and Brock Holt. Judy Johnson is hitless so far, but has impressed the coaching staff enough to stick around a little more.

Impressive starts from Rey Sáncehz and Jack Wilson at SS have forced Dick Groat out of camp, while Rennie Stennett remains, largely on the bases of his performances towards the end of last season. Jeff Kent has also been impressive, although Davey Johnson remains the presumptive starter at 2B.

Paul Waner is tearing the cover off the ball, but his brother Lloyd is hitless, meanings the siblings will be separated with Llyod heading back to the minors, along with CF Darren Lewis. That’s left a crowded OF still pretty clogged: Ralph Kiner has impressed with his power, Max Carey with his speed, and Goose Goslin is barely holding onto a spot. Of those three plus the remaining Waner, there looks to be–at most–a single roster spot available.

Second Cuts

Only 4 pitchers–Gary Lucas, Gary Nash, Ray Brown, and Bartolo Colón–have ERA’s over 2. Of those, Brown and Colón will be given some more time, but both Nash and Lucas were shipped off to the minors. That still leaves a ton of arms in camp, so something will have to give over the next week.

C Tim Thompson was shipped out. Rick Ferrell probably should be, but his defense and his WBL experience keeps him around for now.

18 year old Judy Johnson turned some heads with his defense, but needs some time in the minors. The Grays recalled Pedro Feliz for depth at 3B.

Goose Goslin and Max Carey were also sent down, although Carey was recalled a few days later, just to provide another glove in CF.

The Grays are in an interesting spot: a host of players who were assumed to not have much chance to make the team are performing fantastically, led by Ps Doug Drabek and Cliff Lee and position players Ed Kranepool, Paul Waner, Jeff Kent, Rey Sánchez, Chris Sabo, Cam Carreón, and Jack Wilson. This has created some unanticipated competition, keeping camp crowded but also making the next week quite crucial.

Third Cuts

Homestead continues to retool their pitching staff, with Bartolo Colón‘s poor Spring sending him to the minors along with Arodys Vizcaíno and Ping Gardner. Other than Francisco Liriano as their opening day starter and Josh Lindblom as their closer, though, nothing on the staff is settled.

The backup C slot continues to be challenging: Del Crandall has been spectacular, but doesn’t offer much defensively. Cam Carreón was demoted, but Peaches Graham and Rick Ferrell remain in the mix with Crnadall behind Josh Gibson.

Pedro Feliz, Max Carey, and Ralph Kiner were all sent down as well. That still leaves 1B and the OF overcrowded, and the Grays’ obsession with Rennie Stennett needs to probably come to an end. Owen Wilson and Davey Johnson–both essentially guaranteed roster spots due to their performance last year–are struggling mightily while Ed Kranepool, Rey Sánchez, and Jeff Kent are all tearing the cover off the ball.

Final Cuts

Needing to thin out the competition for the backup C role, Peaches Graham is the first to head down to the minors, followed by Rennie Stennett and Jack Wilson as the Grays tried to figure out their infield.

Cliff Lee‘s demotion to AAA was Homestead’s first step towards clarifying their staff for opening day. But that was as far as they got in the drive to cut to 30, as Del Crandall‘s Spring performance sent Rick Ferrell down, and two players with excellent Springs–Paul Waner and Ed Kranepool–were also sent down to receive steady ABs at AAA.

Babe Adams and the impressive teenager Catfish Hunter were both sent to the minors along with Jeff Kent, who had an excellent Spring but at 37 is not part of the Grays’ plans.

Earl Hamilton was the final cut from the pitching staff, leaving the Grays with a nasty set of choices. In the end, it came down to prized prospect Napolean Lajoie, incumbent 2B Davey Johnson, of OF sub extraordinaire Owen Wilson. The Grays, in a move met with much skepticism, decided to hand the 2B position to Lajoie, sending Johnson to AAA.