Baseball The Way It Never Was

Tag: Jeff Cirillo

TWIWBL 63.4: Cum Posey Division

#Chicago American Giants

5 hits from Joe Jackson weren’t enough as the American Giants fell to Detroit, 8-6. Mark Buehrle had his first rough outing of the year, failing to become the league’s first 6 game winner and falling to 5-1.

Paul Konerko went deep twice, the 2nd shot a walkoff job in the bottom of the 10th to give the American Giants a 5-4 win over Detroit.

Akinori Otsuka will miss about 2 weeks with an elbow issue, weakening Chicago’s bullpen significantly. Tom Williams was recalled.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels recalled Elmer “Mike” Smith from his rehab assignments. Not wanting to be without a lefty, Los Angeles retained Noah Lowry while demoting Anthony DeSclafani despite DeSclafani’s better performance.

With George Wright being recalled from his rehab assignment, Eddie Joost is waived with the Angels hoping to retain him in AAA.

Mike Trout had himself a day: 5 hits, 3 homeruns (and 2 doubles), including a game-tying shot in the 9th and a game-winning walkoff in the bottom of the 13th.

Doc Gooden improved to 4-2 on the year with a 4 hit shutout of the Black Yankees. 4 RBI’s from Steve Garvey–including his 3rd homerun of the season–accounted for all of the Angels’ runs, more than enough to support Gooden, who whiffed 7 and walked none.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Freddie Fitzsimmons horrific start to the year (2-4, 8.17) has cost him his rotation spot, with Ed Brandt being named Miami’s #4 starter. Their 5th rotation slot remains open.

Julio Rodríguez was recalled from his rehab assignment, with the Cuban Giants (finally?) deciding that Minnie Miñoso would be better served with time at AAA. Rodríguez’ return (and Miñoso’s departure) resulted in a bunch of lineup juggling for Miami, as their OF remains quite crowded.

Rodríguez went 2 for 4 in his return as the Cuban Giants fell to Baltimore, 4-3.

The Cuban Giants came back from a 9-1 deficit in the 8th inning to beat Baltimore, 9-8. José Canseco went deep in the 8th and the 9th and Rodríguez in the 9th. Throw in a pinch-hit 2-run double from Gary Sheffield and you have a massive comeback for a shocking victory.

Needing a starter, Fitzsimmons’ continued battering led to his being sent to AAA with Lou Fette being recalled.

Al Oliver fractured his foot, and will miss about 5 weeks, with Carlos Morán recalled from AAA.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Jeff Cirillo headed back to AAA with Rogers Hornsby‘s return from a rehab assignment.

Walter Johnson was magnificent, allowing only a homerun through 8 innings before being chased by a single in the 9th in a 3-1 victory. Johnson evened his record at 3-3 with a 13 strikeout performance, walking none and lowering his ERA to 2.79.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

It was bullpen rejigger week for the Sea Lions, with San Francisco sending Bobby Seay, Steve Ontiveros, and Nick Altrock to AAA, with Tom Brewer, Mel Stottlemyre Sr, and Jim Devlin all being promoted. With both Bump Hadley and Watty Clark struggling, those 3, along with Dennis Eckersley, have to all be considered as auditioning for rotation slots.

Helped by Reggie Jackson‘s 13th homerun, Hadley, Devlin, Ken Howell, and Rod Beck combined on a 4 hit shutout, leading the Sea Lions to a 2-0 win over Chicago.

With Jimmy Bloodworth due to miss over a month, the Sea Lions recalled Denny Walling from AAA.

TWIWBL 58.4: Cum Posey Division

#Chicago American Giants

Kevin Mitchell began a rehab assignment at AAA, and was almost immediately recalled after Duffy Lewis hit the 10-Day DL with blurred vision.

Dick Allen had 4 hits including a walkoff 2 run homerun to lead the American Giants to an 8-7 come from behind victory over Portland.

#Los Angeles Angels

Bobby Grich hit his first 2 homeruns of the season in an 11-5 loss to San Francisco.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants did it again, using Julio Rodríguez‘ second homerun of the game for their second walkoff victory to start the season. Rodríguez and Alejandro Oms had 3 hits each, with Sandy Consuegra picking up the victory.

The news wasn’t so good for Rodríguez later in the week as a nasty collision at second base left him with a bruised rib and a trip to the DL. The Cuban Giants recalled P Ed Brandt to take his roster slot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Bobby Murcer hit his first 2 homeruns of the year in a 6-4 loss. The game was Johan Santana‘s second blown save in a row, and wasted a solid start from Bert Blyleven. Trevor Hoffman and Santana blew a 4-1 lead in the 8th inning.

It’s not clear which news is worse: Johan Santana had his third consecutive horrible outing to start the year, blowing his 3rd save, falling to 0-3, and seeing his ERA nearly reach triple digits at 94.50. In the same game, Rogers Hornsby suffered a separated shoulder and will miss several weeks. The Sea Dogs recalled veteran IF Jeff Cirillo to take Hornsby’s spot.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions hit 5 homeruns–2 by Sal Bando–in an 11-5 win over Los Angeles. Bando had 3 hits and 4 RBI’s, Turkey Stearnes drove in 3, and Reggie Jackson had 3 hits, with Bando, Rickey Henderson, and Jimmy Bloodworth all going yard in a 6 run 6th inning.

Lefty Grove tossed the first complete game shutout of the season, twirling a masterful 3-hitter against Cleveland. Grove struck out 6, and homeruns by Stearnes and Jimmie Foxx were more than enough to lead the Sea Lions to victory.

Year II Season Preview: Portland Sea Dogs

Expectations

A deep playoff run once again, with championship contention.

Best Case

Everyone behind Walter Johnson in the rotation takes a step forward: Bert Blyleven becomes a legitimate #2, Dizzy Trout becomes more consistent, Elmer Brown makes the transition from the bullpen successfully, and first round pick Walter Ball steps right in, making the choice when Joséito Muñoz returns from injury a difficult one. Even without Gavvy Cravath (lost to free agency), the Sea Dogs should score quite a few runs, especially if Rogers Hornsby can prove a permanent solution (at least for a couple of years) at 2B.

Worst Case

None of that happens in the rotation, Hornsby and Gil Hodges show the effects of age, and the OF ends up regressing towards absolute mediocrity (which really comes down to how much you think Bobby Murcer, Harry Hooper, and supersub Gary Pettis overperformed last season).

Key Questions

  • How will the Sea Dogs compensate for the loss of Cravath?
  • Who joins the OF?

Trade Bait

Yes: the Sea Dogs still need to resolve the situation behind the plate, and trading either Joe Mauer or (more likely) Iván Rodríguez seems likely. Moving people on could also resolve the Buddy Bell/Adrián Beltré situation as well as provide Pettis an everyday opportunity elsewhere.

Well that was interesting. The Sea Dogs essentially turned Beltré, Rodríguez, and some useful prospects into Paul Molitor, Vladimir Guerrero, and Ken Griffey, Jr.

Roster Evaluation

POSEliteStrongSolidMehWeakUnknown
CMauerLee
1BHrbekHodges
2BHornsbyMolitor
3BBell
SSFregosi
LF/
RF
MurcerHooperBurroughs
CFPettisGriffey, Jr
SPJohnsonBlyleven
Muñoz
Trout
Pérez
KoosmanMillerBall
EndHoffmanBrownMelanconSantana
RPWilliams
New Addition | Injured

There’s clearly potential here–the players likely to regress (Murcer, Kent Hrbek, Hornsby) are balanced by newcomers Griffey, Jr and Molitor, both of whom are strong favorites to improve. But, like so many teams, they’ll go as far as the pitching will take them.

Talent Ratings

WBLMinors
Raw PowerIF Rogers HornsbyIF Miguel Sanó
Batting EyeIF Rogers HornsbyIF Eddie Yost
ContactOF Ken Griffey, JrOF Bubba Morton
Running SpeedOF Gary PettisOF Alex Diaz
OF Hugh Duffy
OF Otis Nixon
OF Howie Shanks
Base StealingOF Gary PettisOF Otis Nixon
IF Defense3B Buddy BellIF Lee Tannehill
OF DefenseOF Gary PettisOF Charlie Jamieson
StuffSP Walter JohnsonP Harry Harper
ControlSP Bert BlylevenP Bob Porterfield
VelocityRP Trevor HoffmanP Heath Hembree

Best In The Minors

RankAgePOSName
1 (16)20OFVladimir Guerrero
2 (20)20OFHugh Duffy
3 (23)22OFChuck Klein
4 (40)26IFHughie Jennings
5 (124)25PWalter Ball
6 (137)23PDylan Bundy
7 (138)18PHarry Harper
Others: None.

What a weird system. Their top end is probably the strongest quartet in the game, Ball is in the opening day rotation, and then the entire system falls off the cliff.

MostLeast
AgeIF Jeff Cirillo, 35
OF Bubba Morton, 35
P Bob Porterfield, 35
P Harry Harper, 18
HeightOF Walt Bond, 6’7″OF Nemo Leibold, 5’6″
IF Howdy Caton, 5’6″
OPSIF Freddie Freeman, 1.130 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, .558 (AAA/AA)
HRIF Freddie Freeman, 47 (—)IF Elvis Andrus, 1 (AAA/AA)
SBOF Harry Hooper, 38 (WBL)Many with 0
WARIF Freddie Freeman, 6.2 (—)IF Bobby Wine, -1.6 (—)
WWalter Johnson, 14 (WBL)Pascual Pérez, 3 (WBL/AAA)
Colby Lewis, 3 (AAA)
SVJohan Santana, 23 (WBL)
ERAJoseito Muñoz, 2.80 (WBL/AAA)Mike Trombley, 6.56 (—)
WARWalter Johnson, 4.7 (WBL)Mike Trombley, -0.5 (—)
Stats are across all levels. 200 PA / 75 IP min. Non WBL leagues indicated by —.

TWIWBL 56.1: Spring Training Notes – Portland Sea Dogs

{ These are in no particular order–or, more exactly, they are in the order in which teams wrap up their Spring Training games. }

Spring Training Questions

The competition between Ruben Sierra and first round pick Chuck Klein for a corner OF spot should be fierce; similarly, while Buddy Bell excelled at 3B for Portland last year, he continues to be pushed by Adrián Beltré.

First Cuts

With the roster expected to be essentially set, much of this is pro forma for the Sea Dogs. But still there are some surprises–on the negative side, the relative struggles of many of the more established arms. Two pitchers who were seen as contenders for bullpen spots–Atlee Hammaker and Harry Harper–were returned to minor league camp, along with José Berríos.

That leaves 19 pitchers still in camp, something that will have to be sorted out over the next week or so.

Cliff Lee and Ernie Krueger have been fantastic so far in camp, which is just what a team with Iván Rodríguez and Joe Mauer behind the plate needs. Carlos Ruiz was returned to the minors.

At the corners, things have cleared up a little: Mickey Vernon, Don Baylor, Miguel Sanó, Jeff Cirillo, and Freddie Freeman were all sent down with very strong starts from Al Oliver, Eddie Yost and Buck Jordan keeping their hopes alive. And, at least so far, Beltré is dominating Bell in the contest to be the Sea Dogs’ starting 3B.

Wayne Garrett hits minor league camp while Greg Litton is only around due to the lack of other options at 2B behind Rogers Hornsby and Fred Dunlap (but that was how he stayed on the roster most of last season, so …). Strong starts from Hughie Jennings, Howdy Caton, and Elvis Andrus keeps the field crowded at SS.

The OF remains crowded as well, even with five departures (Charlie Jamieson, Gene Stephens, Wes Parker, Hugh Duffy, and Kiki Cuyler). Oliver has played here, and Chuck Klein has been fantastic at the plate, as has last year’s fourth OF, Jeff Burroughs. With Bobby Murcer seeming a bit slow in CF, the competition for the corner spots is pretty fierce.

Second Cuts

The Sea Dogs staff remains a puzzle, with only Ray Fontenot heading out of camp right now. The other four pitchers who are struggling (Elmer Brown, Mark Melancon, Mike Cuellar, and Bob Porterfield) all performed well last season, but do need to turn it around over the next week or two.

The long national nightmare is over for now, as Greg Litton was jettisoned to the minors, along with Eddie Yost. Tom Satriano was recalled for some 2B depth.

And … that’s it. Chuck Klein, Jeff Burroughs, Al Oliver, and Gary Pettis are hammering the ball and even the worst hitting players (Riggs Stephenson, Ruben Sierra) are doing fine. So that needs to be sorted out.

Third Cuts

Mike Cuellar won 13 games for Portland last year, but has lost all command so far this season and fins himself headed to AAA, along with fellow pitcher Bill Dietrich.

Neither Cliff Lee nor Ernie Krueger has much of a shot at making the team, but with both Iván Rodríguez and Joe Mauer struggling mightily and those two sporting OPS’ over 1.100, they stick around for a while. That performance also may make the Sea Dogs open to astounding offers for either of their top tier backstops.

1B Buck Jordan, SS Elvis Andrus, and OF Riggs Stephenson all head to AAA.

Final Cuts

Tom Satriano heads to the minors as does Ruben Sierra.

It was assumed that Alan Ashby–brought over in the trade with Miami that sent Pudge Rodríguez to the Cuban Giants–would backup Joe Mauer for the Sea Dogs. But Ashby heads to AAA, leaving the reserve C spot still up for grabs between Cliff Lee and Ernie Krueger.

The trade also brought over Paul Molitor, whose presence makes Fred Dunlap a bit redundant, sending him to AAA.

Four cuts were needed to get to 30: P Kris Medlen (who performed quite well this Spring), SS Howdy Caton (who also performed well, but not as well as Hughie Jennings), RP Bob Porterfield (who has struggled mightily, but is a bit of a surprise after his excellent performance last season), and C Ernie Krueger (who has been perhaps the Sea Dogs’ best hitter all Spring, and has rocketed up their prospect charts). This means the much lauded Cliff Lee will slide into the reserve C spot.

Veteran 1B Rafael Palmeiro had an outside chance to make the roster, but a late slump, combined with his being blocked by Gil Hodges and Kent Hrbek, moves Palmeiro to AAA.

Marc Hall and Cliff Markle had marvelous Springs, but in the end the Sea Dogs’ pitching staff was basically set: there was one open spot, and draft pick Walter Ball cemented that.

Draft pick Chuck Klein finished the Spring with a 1.101 OPS … and it wasn’t enough, as incumbent reserve OF Jeff Burroughs ended at 1.142. Klein heads to AAA in search of regular at-bats, with clear expectations of being back in Portland very soon.

The final cut was Hughie Jennings, who had as good a Spring as can be imagined, hitting .459 with 5 steals. But incumbent SS Jim Fregosi is an all star and a Silver Stick winner, and Paul Molitor–part of the high-profile trade of Pudge Rodríguez–can backup Fregosi (as well as 2B and CF).

TWIWBL 24.6: Mid-Season Reviews – Homestead Grays

Summary

Almost nothing has gone right by the three rivers: Homestead wasn’t expected to compete, but they weren’t supposed to be this bad.

What’s Gone Right

Superjew. What do you want, it was the 70s. Mike Epstein has an OPS in the mid .900s, and has easily been the Grays’ best offensive player.

The Kids. Josh Gibson (19), Andrew McCutcheon (22), and Rick Reichardt (23) have all been good, and Gibson especially looks to be a keeper.

Clemente’s Heating Up. Roberto Clemente has raised his OPS about 120 points in the last month.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Pitching: All Of It. Nothing has gone right on the mound for the Grays. It’s been a total disaster, from the starters to an unreliable bullpen and everything in between.

Stargell, Sort Of. Pops Stargell leads the team in homeruns with 13, but has struck out 113 times (!) with an OPS barely over .700. For a player expected to be the main power threat in the lineup, it’s just not enough.

The Pitching: No Help Coming. The failure of various short-term tryouts (Cliff Lee with an ERA approaching 9.00; Frank Linzy over 7.00; each with over 20 innings along with a handful of others even worse in fewer innings) has been exasperating. It’s left the Grays constantly turning to Carlos Zambrano and his 6.50+ ERA.

Key Storylines

Can anything be salvaged of the season?

Trading Outlook

SELLING.

Oh dear god, please, let us get some talent in these doors. The problem is there aren’t any obvious targets. The Grays are carrying a lot of veterans, but none of them are terribly attractive. Maybe minor leaguer Kevin Young? IF Phil Garner? C Peaches Graham? Even the iconic veteran Stargell could go.

This is just an exceptionally young organization, and may require patience.

AAA Shuttle

Chief Wilson and Phil Garner have been solid.

Midseason Changes

Billy Pierce has done enough at AAA to get another shot at the rotation.

Awards

All Stars: Mike Epstein (1B); Josh Gibson (C).

Offensive MVP: Mike Epstein (1B)
Pitching MVP: Vean Gregg (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Louisville Redbirds

Next to the Show: Andy Van Slyke , Kevin Young, Paul Waner, Max Carey (29).

Prospects: OFs Andy Van Slyke & Paul Waner (both 23).

Projects: Ps Cliff Lee (28), Bartolo Colón (24), Babe Adams (27), Bob Friend (27), Mychal Givens (25), 1B Kevin Young (30).

Suspects: Bill Madlock (34), Daryle Ward (32), Miguel Tejada (39), Jeff Cirillo (34), P Rip Sewell (42), 3B Pedro Feliz (29).

AA: Syracuse Sky Chiefs

Prospects: 1B Tim Harkness (23), P Chris Zachary (20).

Projects: OF José Guillén (23), OF Lloyd Waner (22), P Catfish Hunter (19), P Fred Beene (25), SS Jack Wilson (25).

Suspects: C George Gibson (24), P Bob Malloy (26), OF Cliff Heathcoate (31).

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