Overall

This was such a weird year for Birmingham. They were absolute horrid out of the gate, very strong from June through August, and then faded at the end. During all of that, they (once again) traded away an all star, found some surprising talent on their own roster, and scored way too few runs, despite hitting the ball out of the park with shocking regularity.

Once more it feels like the Black Barons are a couple strokes of luck away from either championship contention or being the worst team in the league. It all centers around making the offense more effective overall, and realizing some of the immense potential in their starting rotation.

What Went Right

Jim Pagliaroni exceeds all expectations, hitting for geometrically more power than anyone could have expected. His .958 OPS made him an elite catcher in the WBL. At 32, it may not last, but it was quite a shock, for sure.

Hank Aaron is right on the verge of superstardom, leading the team in HR (51) and RBI (105). He only drew 16 walks, emblematic of some of Birmingham’s team-wide struggles.

Two players brought in via trade excelled–or, more accurately, performed pretty much as expected. Paul Konerko and Ryan Braun each showed extraordinary power, and Konerko’s plate discipline is desperately needed in Birmingham.

At 23, Eddie Mathews’46 homeruns, 90 RBIs, 99 runs, and 80 walks sure seem like things that went right. But a .224 average and only 12 non-homerun extra base hits are not great.

Harley Young emerged as an excellent option at the back of the bullpen, finishing the year with 15 saves and a 2.29 ERA.

Akinori Otsuka, another trade acquisition, immediately steps into the setup role to get Young the ball.

Fred Fussell was excellent in limited work, laying claim to a role in the bullpen next year.

ALL STARS
Harley Young.
Jim Whitney was selected, but later traded.

MAJOR AWARDS

Ryan Braun, NL 2nd Team of the Year
Paul Konerko, NL Team of the Year

RECOGNITIONS

JP Arencibia, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Fred Fussell, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Albert Belle, NL Over 30 Team
Paul Konerko, NL Over 30 Team
Jim Pagliaroni, NL Over 30 Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Jim Pagliaroni, MVP
Harley Young, Pitcher of the Year
Hank Aaron, Heart & Soul
JP Arencibia, Fan Favorite

Gio González, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Melky Cabrera, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Despite decent speed and walk rate, Cupid Childs‘s offense was so weak, the Black Barons decided to move on, trading for Bobby Grich. Grich belongs here, too, as while the overall shape of his offense is very strong, the level of performance is distressingly low.

SS was weak all year, eventually devolving into a platoon between Herman Long and Troy Tulowitzki. An upgrade here would be quite a boon.

It’s not clear what to do with Curtis Granderson: 41 homers is good, but a .206 average is most certainly not and, when you think of it, 41 homers with a SLG below .500 is pretty worrisome.

Adrián González continues to be a disappointment, hitting just enough to keep squandering his opportunities. His platoon split was pretty profound, so that may be the solution here next season.

And then there’s the pitching. All the pitching.

We can start with Greg Maddux (10-14, 5.35) and Alejandro Peña (8-11, 5.59), who allowed 109 homeruns between them. Maddux has great stuff, but cannot seem to harness it and Peña looks little more than innings eater at this point.

Bruce Chen had 12 holds, but was rocked more often then not, posting a 6.85 ERA with a 1.49 WHIP.

Warren Spahn continues to be terrible in the WBL, posting an ERA over 8 across 56 innings.

Transactions

March

P Andy Pettitte, OF Mickey Rivers, 3rd Round Pick to NYY for OF Albert Belle, P Frank Viola, P Lefty Gomez, IF Jess Barbour.

A win for both teams, and a trade that still may work out for Birmingham: Belle has been as advertised, Gomez looks a mid-rotation WBL starter, and both Viola and Barbour hold promise.

OF Bill Buckner, OF Joe Rudi to MEM for OF David Justice, IF Ozzie Albies, 2nd Round Pick.

Who knows? Only Rudi has seen the WBL, but they all have some potential, although time is running out for the 32-year old Justice.

July

Birmingham still felt they had a shot at this point, and decided to make some noise, trading Whitney–a clear all-star having a great season–to try to bring their offense up a notch.

P Jim Whitney, OF Andy Pafko, OF José Cruz, 2nd Round Pick to MCG for OF Ryan Braun, IF Richie Sexson, 7th Round Pick.

Whitney is a rare gem on the mound, and ultimately Birmingham may regret this deal, especially with how well Pafko performed for Miami. But Braun is a great talent, and will only see more time as Belle and Konerko age.

August

And now, an even more desperate play for offense.

P Sam Streeter, IF Trea Turner, 5th Round Pick to CAG for P Akinori Otsuka, IF Paul Konerko, OF Lenny Dykstra, 3rd Round Pick.

Chicago was tanking at this point. Trade feels fine–Otskuka and Konerko’s present value for Turner’s future, and whatever the American Giants can get from Streeter.

C Gene Tenace, P Vic Wilis, 1st Round Pick to LAA for IF Bobby Grich, 3rd Round Pick.

This one came out of nowhere. Grich may be a solve at 2B for Birmingham for years to come, but the price was steep: Willis has a very live arm and a first round pick is a first round pick (Tenace is good, but was pretty blocked here, so his loss is more acceptable).

Positional Overview

C

An interesting challenge for Birmingham here. Pagliaroni clearly is the incumbent, and the fan base fell in love with Arencibia, who also can help out at 1B.

But Joe Torre slashed 282/362/584 at AAA as a 21 year old, and his WBL arrival has to be imminent.

Beyond that, only Earl Battey looks to have a WBL future at some point down the road.

1B

This will be Konerko for a while: his core skillset (power and walks) ages well.

If Adrián González doesn’t impress in Spring Training, look for young Nate Colbert to get a chance, although Colbert probably needs another year in the minors.

There’s some depth here: Frank McCormick, Hal Trosky, Ron Fairly, and Jake Beckley all have some WBL talent.

2B

We’ll see. The Black Barons traded Tom Herr, were shocked by how effective Cupid Childs was, then decided to move on, anointing Bobby Grich as their future. Grich does seem to be the real deal, even if his production this year was lower than hoped.

Ray Durham will get a chance in the Spring to be Grich’s backup.

Beyond that, there is some decent youth: Ozzie Albies, Marcus Giles, Jess Barbour, and Reddy Mack all have some talent and all are under 22.

SS

This is an issue throughout the system.

Right now, it looks like the platoon between Long and Tulowitzki will continue, with George McBride available at AAA if a purely defensive situation were desired.

3B

It’s still Eddie Mathews, and there is hope his overall offensive performance will nudge upwards.

If he falters, the most likely help would come from Pie Traynor.

LF/RF

This is set, with Braun in one corner and Aaron on the other.

Tommy Davis was spectacular in September, but the 23 year old would probably be better served by starting at AAA as opposed to warming the bench.

Gary Matthews is probably the best talent here, but he’s several years off.

CF

This is Granderson’s role for now, but there are rumors that Curt Flood may be given a strong look, and the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year, Melky Cabrera, is coming behind Flood.

DH

Albert Belle is going to see most of the time here, although there are emerging concerns about his bat speed.

SP

It’s probably one more year of hoping that Peña, Maddux, and Lefty Gomez can turn it around, with John Malarkey and Rube Melton the most likely to round out the rotation, although Warren Spahn and Bill Phyle will get looks in Spring Training as well.

There are some voices advocating that Peña move to the bullpen, which would open up another rotation spot.

There’s some likely help at AAA in Pretzels Getzien, Alex Malloy, and Charlie Morton, but the highest ceilings in the organization are probably teenager Steve Avery and Gio González at AA.

RP

Harley Young is the presumed closer, with Otsuka and Fussell assured of spots as well. As long as Chen doesn’t retire or totally bomb out in Spring Training, he should be there as well.

There’s a lot of moderately useful talent in the minors, but only Carlos Diaz and, perhaps, Steve Bedrosian, have arms that truly impress.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 0
2nd Round: 1
3rd Round: 2
4th Round: 1
5th Round: 0

This is not the year the system gets replenished. SS and 3B may be the areas of greatest need.

In this post, we’ll slowly carve people off those lists as we get younger, beginning with the under 25’s. As we get younger, future potential will begin to be more of a thing.

A full lineup, with DH, plus 3 starters and 3 relievers for each. We’ll start by relisting the overall selections, then new entries for each group will be bolded.

#WBL Teams of the Year

#WBL 25 & Under Teams

#WBL 23 & Under Teams

300 PA Minimums for batters, with 1 exception: Murray only had 145 PAs–1B in the AL just did not have a lot of youth.

#WBL 21 & Under

All praises to Ty Cobb, Josh Gibson, and Oscar Charleston for remaining on the list this far. The relievers dip into some rarely used arms, but of the rest, only Freddie Lindstrom was a late-season callup.

There really isn’t an all-teenager team: the only change from the teens above would be the addition of Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente, perhaps the worst offensive player in the league this year in CF, but surprisingly effective in a few mound appearances.

One more, largely for fun

#WBL Over 30 Team

Only 3 names from the All-League Teams (Baily, Konerko, and Lee Smith), reflecting on just how young the league is. This is a very wide range from some very strong performers who are expected to keep it up for a while (those 3, Pettitte, Hornsby, some others) to folks like Dave Henderson and Kiki Cuyler, who are just barely hanging onto their roster spots.

Overall, this is an NL dominant position for sure.

For the defensive stats, FRM is Framing Runs, a measure of how many runs were saved through handling the glove and RTO% is the % of runners thrown out. For these, the 3 best performers are in bold; the 3 worst in italics.

#S Tier

Josh Gibson was the best player in the NL, making him the de facto best catcher. But Gary Carter‘s season cannot be ignored. Just because there is a massive gap between 2 players (Gibson has, for example, an 11.4 to 5.5 edge in WAR) doesn’t mean both can be S-Tier. Just about the only edge Carter has is defensively, where his significantly stronger arm shines.

#A Tier

Jim Pagliaroni and Ed Bailey were each slightly less than full time players, but catching is hard, and we are more forgiving of that here.

Still, Mike Piazza would top this list and clearly (especially if you give weight to his monstrous postseason this year) has the best chance of moving up, as it’s not clear how many seasons Bailey has left and Pagliaroni–especially when his defensive ineptitude is considered–may actually belong 1 group lower.

In saying that, I continue an honored WBL tradition of not really giving Buster Posey his due. The metrics love him, as he is 3rd overall in WAR at 4.4 and clearly a better defensive catcher than the rest of this group. But his raw OPS is 40 points lower than Pagliaroni and he suffers from playing for the Gothams.

Which mean Ed Bailey is the best catcher in the AL right now, although Posey and some of the younger backstops from lower tiers may be preferred if you were building a team from scratch.

#B Tier

A good argument could be made that Johnny Bench belongs in the tier above, especially if we are giving any weight at all to his Year 1 performance, but his offense just fell off so much–the power remained, but little else. Still, the assumption is he will bounce back.

There is something off with Curt Blefary, but the team is remaining mum so far. Still rumors of him and alcohol abound, raising a question of how long he can keep up his production.

Gabby Hartnett and Mickey Cochrane are both incredibly solid, and Cochrane’s defensive masterclass in the Whirled Series did nothing but enhance his reputation.

Gentleman Jim O’Rourke‘s value is largely from his defensive versatility, but he did play more innings at C than anywhere else (which speaks more to Jorge Posada‘s ineptitude than anything else).

#C Tier

These are all solid starters, and none of their jobs are really in question (other than, perhaps, Ernie Lombardi, who just looks like someone who will always come off the bench). But none of them really catch the eye, either. Joe Mauer and Thurman Munson were much better last season, so there is hope they return to form and Pudge Rodríguez, of course, is absolutely spectacular defensively. But even with his cannon of an arm, he’ll need to add some more offense to edge up the list.

#D Tier

Elrod Hendricks, quite good for the House of David last year, lost his starting job this year, despite retaining a decent power bat. Posada is clearly on his way out, and will likely spend next season as Houston’s backup catcher, while Mike Scioscia is likely to fill the same role for Philadelphia.

#F Tier

I mean, maybe Hendricks and Posada belong here? Certainly the total mess of a situation in Los Angeles does–which brings up the challenge of the F Tier in general: if you play that poorly, you’re probably going to be moved out.

John Ellis is really more of a pinch-hitter, spending roughly half his time at 1B as well. The occasional power is useful, but he’s not a starter at either position. Seeing him and Louis Santop (one of last year’s darlings, and still a highly regarded prospect given his tender age of 20) here makes Cleveland’s decision to acquire Ed Bailey quite obvious.

#Rookies

None. The best rookie catcher in the league was Philadelphia’s Bill Dickey, but he didn’t play enough to qualify here.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Look for the impressive Tommy Davis to see action in all of the remaining games for the Black Barons.

2 homers from Bobby Grich (1 a go-ahead grand slam) and 2 hits from Ryan Braun carried Birmingham to an 11-9 win over Brooklyn.

Jim Pagliaroni hit 2 out and Herman Long doubled 3 times as Birmingham topped Brooklyn, 10-9.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Following their practice all season, Indianapolis modified its 6-man rotation to reflect recent performance: Rube Foster was moved to the pen with Guy White joining the starters.

It’s still not clear who will take most of the time at 2B in Joe Morgan‘s prolonged absence. There’s zero chance of either Tommy Helms or Denis Menke replacing Morgan’s performance, but still … Helms is the better hitter, but Menke has significantly more power.

Johnny Bench hit 2 out as the ABC’s topped Philadelphia, 15-8.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood‘s return to the rotation leaves the Monarchs with a pleasant dilemma, as both Matt Morris and Adam Wainwright have impressed in their limited opportunities. For now, both head to the pen.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Jim Pagliaroni hit out 2 as the Black Barons topped Ottawa, 8-5.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

The ABC’s got some very bad news as they struggle to hold onto the final NL Wild Card spot: 2B extraordinaire Joe Morgan is done for the season with a muscle strain. Denis Menke was recalled, and is likely to split time at second with Tommy Helms for the rest of the way.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood returned to starting duties with a bang, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run in a complete game, 6-1 win over Birmingham. The win pulls the Monarchs into a dead heat with Indianapolis for the final NL Wild Card spot.

#Wandering House of David

Kerry Wood‘s season is over, as the swing starter will be out of action for a few months with a shoulder strain. Claude Osteen was recalled, giving the House of David another lefty option as the season winds down.

#Birmingham Black Barons

SS Wally Gerber announced his retirement.

JP Arencibia and Eddie Mathews each hit 2 out as Birmingham topped Indianapolis, 9-4. Lefty Gomez carried a no-hitter through 6 innings, and Hank Aaron and Jim Pagliaroni also went deep for the Black Barons.

Then, Adrián González and Albert Belle did the same, pounding 2 homers each in a 13-7 victory over Indianapolis. Belle drove in 6, giving him 99 on the year.

Aaron again hit 2 out, but the Black Barons fell to Houston in 10 innings, 7-6. There were some positives: Greg Maddux had a good start, something of which they’ll need more of if they want to slide into that final Wild Card slot.

#Houston Colt 45s

37 year old backstop Bob Boone announced his retirement, as well as a desire to go into coaching.

The Colt 45’s had one of their most dominant showings of the year in a 22-1 triumph over Ottawa. Roger Clemens improved to 17-9 with 8+ innings and 10 strikeouts, and the team rapped out 8 homeruns, including 2 from Jeff Bagwell. Bagwell drove in 8 on the day, eclipsing the century mark on the season. Paul Goldschmidt, Jim Wynn, Elliott Maddox, Will Smith, Craig Biggio, and Jackie Warner each also went deep for Houston, and the win extended the Colt 45’s lead in the Marvin Miller Division to 4 games.

Indianapolis ABC’s

Luis Padrón remains superlative, improving to 22-3 with a 4 hit shutout of Philadelphia. Chris Sabo had 2 homers as the ABC’s triumphed, 8-0.

George Foster drove in a half-dozen runs as the ABC’s came from behind to beat Philadelphia 10-8. Foster and Ed Charles had 3 hits each and Foster, Charles, and Johnny Bench each went deep.

#Kansas City Monarchs

The Monarchs recalled Dale Murphy from a rehab assignment, sending utility speedster Rex Hudler back to AAA. More importantly, Smokey Joe Wood began his own rehab, with a goal of being back with the big club by the end of the week.

Wood was indeed recalled, with Dustin Hermanson being returned to AAA. Wood will start in the bullpen, but should re-enter the rotation next week.

#Wandering House of David

Jim Clinton began a rehab assignment, and then was recalled with Frank Sullivan heading to AAA.

Speedy minor league OFer Bob Dernier retired.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Bobby Grich had started his time with Birmingham in an 0-17 slump, but hit an early homerun and a late double in a 9-7 win over the ABC’s. Jim Pagliaroni was the hero, as his walk off grand slam in the 13th, his 36th dinger of the year, was the difference.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Tug McGraw and Casey Stengel were recalled from their rehab assignments.

Thanks to a game shortened by rain to 5 innings, Toad Ramsey got credit for his 3rd shutout and 7th complete game of the season, allowing 1 hit to Kansas City on a 1-0 win for Houston.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Indianapolis recalled pitchers Eddie Watt and Paul Derringer from AAA, along with position players Dan Driessen, Dave Henderson, Ross Youngs, Ed Swartwood, and Hal Morris.

Luis Padrón won his league-leading 18th game, carrying a 3 hit shutout into the 9th inning. He tired rapidly, and eventually needed help from the bullpen in the 7-3 win over Birmingham, but still fanned 11 batters in the effort.

Johnny Bench hit 2 out, including a 3 run shot in the top of the 13th, but it wasn’t enough as the ABC’s fell to Birmingham, 9-7.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Where has this been all year? Luke Hamlin needed help at the end, but still combined with Craig Kimbrel on a 2 hit shutout as the Monarchs topped the Gothams, 4-0.

Dale Murphy‘s 25th homer of the year helped support (another) great effort from A. Rube Foster as the Monarchs topped Houston, 2-1. Foster reached double-digits in wins, improving his record to 10-5.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David hit 7 homeruns, 3 by Mark McGwire, in a 9-2 win over Birmingham. As importantly, it was another solid outing from Jack Taylor, who may have emerged from the horrors of the first half of his season. McGwire now has 14 homers in about 100 PA’s, arguing for a WBL role despite struggling to move his average over .200.

Pete Browning was recalled from his latest rehab assignment, along with Tony Conigliaro, Billy Williams, and Billy Herman. Pitchers Scott Downs, Kerry Wood, and Frank Sullivan also joined the big league club.

We’ve been waiting for a long time for someone, anyone, in the WBL to hit 4 homeruns in a game. What we didn’t expect was that a rookie would do it, let alone in his first game. But that’s what Tony Conigliaro did: 3 homeruns, followed by being hit by a pitch, followed by a 9th inning shot for his 4th of the day. Mark McGwire hit 2, and between the 2 of them, Conigliaro and McGwire drove in 9 runs in the 11-9 win over Philadelphia.

Ernie Banks had 5 hits and 2 homeruns in a 13 inning, 11-10 victory over Philadelphia and then Banks did it again, with another 2 homers in an extra-inning affair, this one a 15 inning marathon win over the Stars by a score of 5-3. Banks now has 50 homeruns on the season.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Jim Pagliaroni and Curtis Granderson each hit 2 out of the ballpark, accounting for all 9 runs as Birmingham topped the Gothams, 9-2. Albert Belle and Ryan Braun did the same later in the series, leading the Black Barons to a 13-3 victory.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Chris Sabo hit 2 homeruns and the ABC’s scored thirteen runs in an inning to break the game wide open, topping Ottawa 16-6 behind another strong start from Luis Padrón, who improved to 16-3 on the season.

Edward Nolan‘s solid enough rookie campaign came to an end as the young hurler was sent to the DL with an elbow injury. While he’ll miss the rest of the season, the ABC’s remain confident he’ll be fully recovered for next season. Dolf Luque was recalled from AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Smokey Joe Wood had 3 hits and struck out 13 over 8 strong innings as the Monarchs topped the House of David, 3-2 behind homeruns from Robinson Canó and Ted Simmons. Wood improved to 13-10 on the year.

#Wandering House of David

Jim Clinton and Anthony Rizzo were both recalled from rehab assignments. Clinton’s return was easy, with Bob Shaw heading to AAA. Rizzo’s was far more complicated, as, even with Cap Anson heading back to AAA, it leaves the House of David with 4 players–Rizzo, Richie Hebner, Mark McGwire, and Ron Santo–rotating through 3 positions (1B, 3B, and DH). For now, they’ll try to spread the PA’s around, but if McGwire’s hot start continues, it does present a bit of a logjam.

It was a good news/bad news day for the House of David: Jack Taylor found some of his form from last season and the team hit 3 consecutive homeruns and 5 overall in a 9-2 win over Indianapolis, but Pete Browning will head–once again–to the DL after being injured making a diving catch in CF in the top of the first. Veteran John Titus was recalled from AAA.

Kyle Peterson continues to be a surprise, combining with Karl Spooner and Ed Bauta on a 4-hit shutout with the House of David topping Kansas City, 4-0. With his 7 scoreless innings, Peterson dropped his ERA below 3.00 and improved his record to 5-2.

Rizzo homered twice, driving in 4, as the House of David edged Kansas City, 8-7. George Stone had 4 hits in the win.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

That said, they are 7.5 games behind, and struggling a bit for sure, and it’s not clear that trading away a an all-star arm in Jim Whitney was the right move at the midseason break.

THE OFFENSE

It’s a bit weird. The Black Barons have a ton of power, with over 250 homers, second in the NL in that department. But that’s about it. They struggle to get on base, struggle to hit singles and doubles, and, at the end of the day, are only meh at what matters for an offense, scoring runs.

#What’s Going Right

Hank Aaron continues to position himself right on the edge of superstar level, leading the team in OPS (.953), homeruns (39), and RBIs (77).

Behind Aaron, Eddie Mathews continues to be an offensive force despite struggling to hit over .230.

Newly acquired Ryan Braun is a monster at the plate given Birmingham a truly impressive top 3 in the lineup..

While not at the same level as those three, Jim Pagliaroni is among the better offensive backstops in the league and Albert Belle, brought in during the offseason to hit for power, has done exactly that.

A shade of last year: Richie Sexson was brought in over the all star break as a throw-in to the Braun trade. Sexson has 4 homeruns in his first 10 games with Birmingham.

Gene Tenace is demanding more playing time now that he’s back from injury, with an OBP over .400 and SLG over .500 in pretty limited action.

#What’s Not Going Right

Even with 31 homers, Curtis Granderson is somewhat exemplary of what’s wrong with Birmingham’s offense overall: he’s hitting under .200 despite all those homeruns, with only 7 other extra base hits. Likewise, fan favorite JP Arencibia keeps hitting them out–12 dingers in 127 PAs–but doing little else at the plate.

Despite being given every opportunity to lock down the 1B job, Adrián González is not doing much. He’s performing better than last year, but an OPS under .800 is rough from a 1B in this league.

Similarly, despite Troy Tulowitzki‘s recent improvement, neither he nor Herman Long have been able to hold onto the SS job for long.

Cupid Childs is flashy, leading the team with 28 homers and the same number of steals. But closer examination reveals some weaknesses, with his OPS hovering barely over .700 and 19 caught stealings reducing the impact of those stolen bases.

THE PITCHING

The offense is better than last year, but the record is worse: an indication that not all is great on the mound for Birmingham.

#What’s Going Right

Harley Young has moved into the closer role, and the first-time all-star has continued his dominance, with 6 saves, 6 holds, and an ERA under 3.00.

Alejandro Peña and Greg Maddux are both pitching better than their raw numbers might suggest. While both have losing records and ERA’s around 5.00, their WHIPs remain solid.

#What’s Not Going Right

Even the above has caveats: Peña and Maddux have surrendered 68 homeruns combined, which is nearly unfathomable.

Juan Rincón has 12 saves, but has been pretty awful, losing his closer role and perhaps in danger of a trip to AAA–an ERA around 8.50 will do that.

While Bruce Chen has been better of late, he still sports an ERA near 6.00, and he and Rincón are both surrendering dingers at a Peña and Maddux like rate.

Nobody else has stood up in the rotation, with John Malarkey and Lefty Gomez being thoroughly meh to date.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is talent here, but it’s not clear how it all fits together. As an example, Joe Torre looks for real behind the plate, but unlikely to unseat Pagliaroni, and it’s not clear what Curt Flood offers that Granderson does not.

That said, Jess Barbour, Marcus Giles, Trea Turner, Ozzie Albies, and Gary Matthews all have some significant upside. But right now Giles, Turner, and Albies all play the same position, and Braun’s acquisitions further crowds the OF situation.

On the mound, the best arms–Cozy Dolan and Steve Avery–are still a few years away, with little help likely from the upper levels.

WHAT’S NEEDED

Fewer solo homers, more overall offensive production, and the pitching to improve across the board.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• How will some key pieces for last season–Pettitte, Rincón, González, Childs, Pagliaroni–perform over the course of a full year. Mixed. Pettitte, of course, was traded, Pagliaroni has excelled and González has been acceptable.
• With Andy Pettitte traded, how does the rotation respond and does Albert Belle perform at a level that makes it worthwhile. Belle has been good, but Birmingham would rather have Pettitte, given the rest of their roster right now. This is not in small part due to Lefty Gomez (part of the Pettitte trade) being unable to keep up his early strong performance.
• Who will fill out the roster. Still a question …

FEATURED SERIES

The Black Barons travel to New York at the end of the week for a 3 game set against the Gothams.

Projected Starters

Birmingham’s starter listed first.

Lefty Gomez @ Christy Mathewson
Alejandro Peña (5-6, 4.91) @ Juan Marichal (8-9, 4.92)
Charlie Morton (4-3, 5.01) @ Gaylord Perry (8-10, 4.88)
Greg Maddux (8-9, 5.10) @ Don Sutton (11-4, 4.75)

(Forgot to grab stats for Gomez and Mathewson before playing the game.)

I mean … who knows? These are two teams still searching for an identity, let alone a .500 record.

Game One

Birmingham took the lead in the 2nd on a 2-run double from Herman Long, and then made it 4-0 on a 2-run shot from Ryan Braun in the 3rd. But Lefty Gomez gave it back in the bottom of the frame on an RBI single by Willie Mays and a 3-run pop fly that curled just inside the short left field pole from Will Clark.

RBI’s from Curtis Granderson and Albert Belle gave the Black Barons a 2-run lead, later halved by a solo shot from Mays. And that’s where we stood in the bottom of the 7th, 6-5 in favor of Birmingham. Clark then took Bill Phyle deep for his second homerun of the game, tying us up at 6.

On this day, though, Birmingham would prevail: Gene Tenace homered off Robb Nen in the top of the 9th and Harley Young pitched a perfect frame in the bottom for his 7th save of the season.

BBB 7 (Jackson 1-5, 5 B Sv; Kemmerer 2 H) @ NYG 6 (Crain 1-2; Henke 9 Sv)
HRs: BBB – Braun (38), Tenace (9); NYG – Clark 2 (24), Mays (37).
Box Score

Game Two

Alejandro Peña and Juan Marichal would face off in game two.

Marichal struggled immediately: a single, 2 walks, and an HBP gave Birmingham a 1-0 lead, Ryan Braun delivered a grandslam, and Curtis Granderson a 2-run shot to make it 7-0. Then it got comical: a hit, 2 errors, and a walk led to another run. So, 8-0 good guys after half an inning.

By the end of the 3rd, the Gothams had clawed their way back into it with a solo shot from Jim Ray Hart and a homerun and double from Willie Mays, closing the score to 8-5.

A rain delay of just over half an hour removed both starters in the 4th inning. Peña’s replacement, Joe Orrell, only lasted a few pitches before having to leave via injury. Birmingham brought in Charlie Morton, scrambling their rotation for the rest of the series.

A double from Benny Kauff brought the Gothams back to within a single run, 8-7, but the Black Barons remembered how to score in the 7th when Cupid Childs plated 2 with a single and Hank Aaron drove in another, for an 11-7 lead.

But New York wasn’t done: Larry Doyle took Bruce Chen deep, making it a 2 run game at 12-10. Again, though, Harley Young was up to it, giving Birmingham a 2-0 lead in the series.

BBB 12 (Morton 5-3; Young 8 Sv; Malloy 2 H) @ NYG 10 (Marichal 8-10)
HRs: BBB – Braun (39), Granderson (33); NYG – Hart (2), Mays (38), Doyle (14).
Box Score

Game Three

Before the game, even though it wasn’t clear what the exact nature of his injury was, the Black Barons needed a starter, so Joe Orrell headed to the DL with Warren Spahn being recalled for the start. He’d be opposed by Gaylord Perry for the Gothams.

Spahn was roughed up, giving up 5 homeruns in under 5 innings, with Larry Doyle going deep twice and Will Clark, Jim Ray Hart, and Buster Posey each sending one over the fence as well. After 5 innings, the Gothams led 7-0, with Perry surrendering neither a hit nor a walk in that span.

Perry walked Bob Nieman to lose the perfecto, but held onto the no-no until the 7th, when a single from Eddie Mathews gave Birmingham their first hit. At that point, it was 9-0, and the result was unlikely to come into doubt.

Perry ended with a 3-hitter, whiffing 10 in the complete game effort. Doyle and Hart had 4 hits each, and Doyle and Clark drove in 3.

BBB 0 (Spahn 2-3) @ NYG 10 (Perry 9-10)
HRs: BBB – none; NYG – Clark (25), Hart (3), Posey (29), Doyle 2 (16).
Box Score

Game Four

So, will Birmingham take the series 3-1, or will the Gothams come back and earn a series split? The Black Barons turn to Greg Maddux, while New York will counter by giving Rube Waddell the spot start.

Waddell struggled out of the gate, allowing an RBI single to Hank Aaron, walking Albert Belle with the bases loaded, and giving up a third run on a groundout while Brooklyn batted around in the top of the first.

Recently acquired Don Buford led off the bottom of the inning with his 21st homer of the year, closing it to 3-1 in favor of Birmingham.

Waddell settled down, and we were still 3-1 after 6 innings. Waddell was unlikely to come out for the 7th, but an elbow injury forced the Gothams’ hand, with Mike Norris taking the ball in the top of the 7th.

Maddux gave up a leadoff homer to Benny Kauff in the bottom of the frame, closing the gap to 3-2, and a single from Will Clark raised action in the Birmingham bullpen. Jim Ray Hart launched his 4th of the year, chasing Maddux with the Gothams having suddenly taken the lead, 4-3. Buford added an RBI with his 3rd hit of the day, and New York’s bullpen took over with a 2 run edge.

Robb Nen had a poor inning, but Jo-Jo Moore nailed Aaron at the plate to end the frame, preserving the 2 run lead. Brian Wilson had no such issues, walking 1 and whiffing 3 in picking up his 15th save of the year.

BBB 3 (Maddux 8-10) @ NYG 5 (Norris 4-4; Wilson 15 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – none; NYG – Buford (5), Kauff (26), Hart (4).
Box Score

Waddell will miss a couple weeks, earning the oft-injured lefty a trip to the DL with Pete Donohue being recalled from AAA.

So, a series split. Birmingham’s bats fell off dramatically over the final 2 games, pointing to the inconsistency the Black Barons need to overcome if they are to escape the bottom few slots in the league.

Homeruns continue to plague Birmingham’s staff: the Gothams hit 15 out in the 4 games, with Jim Ray Hart launching his first 4 of the season and Will Clark and Larry Doyle hitting 3 each.

#Birmingham Black Barons

Sam Streeter will miss a few starts with shoulder inflammation. Rube Melton was recalled from AAA to take his place in the interim.

Jim Pagliaroni went deep twice and Birmingham topped Kansas City, 7-4.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Teenager Leon Day was returned to AAA with 20 year old Vida Blue being recalled to make his WBL debut.

Craig Biggio hit 2 out but Houston fell to Philadelphia, 9-5.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Emil Frisk, who has done quite well since being recalled, will miss about a month with an abdominal strain. Jake Stenzel–who started the season with Indianapolis, but was injured himself–was recalled.

George Foster hit 2 homeruns as the ABC’s beat the House of David, 9-4.

#Wandering House of David

Sammy Sosa and Ernie Banks each went deep twice as the House of David beat Indianapolis, 13-5. Ron Santo, Ryne Sandberg, and Mark McGwire also hit homeruns, with McGwire’s being his 5th in only 8 games.