Overall

Houston was quite a surprise this year, taking home their first division title with a team that came together a year or three earlier than expected. The question is can they maintain this level of play?

A lot depends on how the pitching plays out: Toad Ramsey was among the best in the WBL this year and Roger Clemens wasn’t far behind. If the rest of the rotation can come around, and if the bullpen can just manage to be OK, the Colt 45’s could be back in the playoffs next year.

The distant future is quite bright: this is a very young team with some strong talent working through the system as well.

What Went Right

We’ll start with the pitching this time.

Above all else, we have knuckleballer Toad Ramsey, who was probably the best pitcher in the WBL by any analysis of the metrics, but whose 16-10 record prevented him winning all the awards. Ramsey was nearly impossible to hit, and struck out over 11 per 9 innings, and will be looked to as a staff ace once more next season.

Roger Clemens delivered in his first full season in Houston, going 17-10 with a 3.71 ERA and joining Ramsey in pitching over 200 innings.

Ice Box Chamberlain was hurt for most of the season, but came back very strong, with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over 15 starts.

Andrew Chafin was good in the bullpen all year, and Jim Kern and Roberto Osuna good over the home stretch.

We’ll start on the offensive side with a couple late season additions. Gorman Thomas rode a 276/415/752 slash line over 34 games to a spot on the playoff roster, and a guaranteed deep look in Spring Training for the 31 year old. Will Smith was even better, pounding out a Ty Cobb like 1.422 OPS in 22 games, creating a virtual lock on the C job going into next year.

Paul Goldschmidt took about half the season to get going, but he was probably the most dangerous hitter on the team once he did, slashing 279/379/663 in 56 games and settling the question of DH (or 1B, depending on how the team evaluates his glovework v Jeff Bagwell‘s).

Speaking of Bagwell, he came good on his talent, leading the team with 112 RBIs and spanking 35 homeruns while showing great patience at the plate.

Carlos Correa was the surprise of the team, flirting with .400 for a while early in the season and finishing at 318/399/556 while playing quite well at SS. If Correa can keep this level of production up, it would both be an extreme boon for Houston and a bit of a surprise.

Speaking of surprises, Jim O’Rourke, a significant disappointment last year, posted an .889 OPS while providing his usual defensive flexibility.

And, speaking of flirting with .400, Tony Gwynn finished at .341, with exactly 200 hits.

Finally, Jim Wynn continues to somehow go underappreciated as a top corner outfielder. He led the team with 37 homeruns and 116 runs scored while posting an .881 OPS.

Oh, one more: Pete Hill‘s .800 OPS doesn’t seem like much until you realize he’s only 20 years old.

ALL STARS

Carlos Correa
Tony Gwynn
Toad Ramsey

MAJOR AWARDS

Toad Ramsey, All NL 1st Team
Jim Wynn, All NL 1st Team

RECOGNITIONS

Jeff Bagwell, All NL 3rd Team; NL 25 & Under Team
Vida Blue, NL 21 & Under Team
Andrew Chafin, All NL 3rd Team; NL 25 & Under Team
Ice Box Chamberlain, NL 21 & Under Team; All NL Rookie 2nd Team
Roger CLemens, All NL 3rd Team
Carlos Correa, All NL 2nd Team; NL 23 & Under Team
Tony Gwynn, All NL 3rd Team
Elliott Maddox, All NL Rookie 2nd Team
Toad Ramsey, NL Brock Rutherford Award, 2nd Place; NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team
Jim Wynn, NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Toad Ramsey, MVP
Toad Ramsey, Pitcher of the Year
Jim Wynn, Heart & Soul
Pete Hill, Fan Favorite

Lance McCullers, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Gorman Thomas, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

First, the bullpen. It didn’t seem to matter who the Colt 45’s used, from Billy Wagner to Brad Lidge to John Franco to Fred Ely to young Leon Day. They all got hammered. And, at closer, Tug McGraw (and, later, Sparky Lyle) were OK, but not more than that.

More importantly, though, Roy Oswalt and Stephen Strasburg (not to mention an early season trial for Bret Saberhagen) were miserable, and while each ate up innings, instead of anchoring the staff, they were anchors on the team.

There were 3 significant holes in the offense: C, 2B, and 3B.

Behind the plate, Jorge Posada was below average, even for a catcher; at 2B, Craig Biggio was largely miserable, slashing 234/333/398; and at 3B, it took a late season hot streak for George Brett to improve his numbers to 227.272/469. Biggio and Brett are young enough to rebound, and see above for Will Smith‘s ouster of Posada, who is likely to spend next season as the backup catcher.

Goldschmidt’s success lessens its impact, but Andrés Galarraga‘s miserable start must be mentioned. The Big Cat slashed 187/223/373 over 56 games before being sent to the minors.

Transactions

March

None.

July

Also, none. Not for lack of trying, but the Colt 45’s found themselves in a pretty optimistic state of mind these days.

August

IF Grant Johnson to NYY for P Sparky Lyle, IF Eliott Maddox, P Carlos Rodón, 2nd Round Pick, 4th Round Pick.

This was a big one. HR Johnson is an elite talent, and Houston made the Black Yankees overpay, hoping to solve both their closer issues (Lyle was mediocre at best) and gathering the draft picks. This deal settled the Colt 45’s infield, committing them to Biggio, Correa, and Brett and, hence, increasing the pressure on the latter 2 to rebound next year.

Positional Overview

C

The Colt 45’s are turning this over to Will Smith with Jorge Posada as the backup. If either falter, they do have the option of Jim O’Rourke and even Craig Biggio filling in.

Walter Schmidt is probably the best defensive option in the minors, for whatever that’s worth.

1B

Jeff Bagwell and Paul Goldschmidt have this locked up, with whoever isn’t on the field at DH.

Harry Stovey has some upside, as does Charlie Grimm, but Bagwell and Goldschmidt should be here for quite some time.

2B

Craig Biggio will get another shot at this, but a performance like this year will move him to a reserve role pretty quickly.

Bama Rowell would have the first crack at the job, although the Colt 45’s would be likely to try Travis Jackson as well, despite SS being his more natural position.

SS

It’s not quite clear that Carlos Correa belongs in the upper echelon of WBL shortstops, but another season like this one would certainly place him there. Should Correa falter, Travis Jackson is most likely to get a chance, although there is other talent to choose from: Shawon Dunston can hit, and both Bucky Dent and Cristian Guzmán have WBL quality gloves.

3B

George Brett is in a similar position to Biggio: there is great promise, but it’s not clear he can deliver fast enough to hold his role.

This one is more competitive: it’s O’Rourke’s natural position, and both Aramis Ramírez and Wes Helms are serviceable alternatives while Edgar Martínez–only 21–develops.

LF/RF

This is more settled: Jim Wynn in LF and Tony Gwynn in RF with support from Casey Stengel and, occasionally, Pete Hill.

Buddy Bradford, Shin-Soo Choo, Ken Henderson, and Hunter Pence are also available, should Stengel either falter or be injured again.

CF

Pete Hill keeps getting better, and Houston anticipates another step forward this year. Gorman Thomas has earned a shot at the backup spot.

At some point, César Cedeño or Kirby Puckett may demand more time, and if backup is needed before then, Lorenzo Cain looks almost ready.

DH

Goldschmidt and/or Bagwell; Bagwell or/and Goldschmidt.

SP

Toad Ramsey, Roger Clemens, and Ice Box Chamberlain to open. The final 2 spots will come down to Stephen Strasburg, Roy Oswalt, Vida Blue, and Dock Ellis.

At 20, Leon Day is still probably a year or two away, but he may have the highest ceiling in the system–he or Blue.

Dave Dravecky, Bill Harper, Bret Saberhagen, Rick Wise, and Carlos Rodón should also be in the mix down the line.

RP

And now we come to the crux of the matter.

Houston has a huge amount of talent here, but the performance has been pretty miserable. They’ll again look for Tug McGraw and Sparky Lyle to close games, and turn to the best performers from this season to set them up (Andrew Chafin, Roberto Osuna, Jim Kern, and John Franco).

Beyond that … unsure. Brad Lidge and Billy Wagner have immense talent, but have struggled mightily over multiple opportunities.

Dan Quisenberry should get a look, as should their Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Lance McCullers.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

It’s a good opportunity for Houston to build their system although the temptation to find WBL level bullpen help with some of the early round picks is pretty strong.

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.

I do believe in defense mattering over time, as such, we’re using an 800 IP minimum for the GG awards. For each position, we’re listing the top 3 in each league, AL followed by NL.

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

Outfielders also have Assists (A), more romantically referred to as Outfield Kills are runners eliminated on the bases and Arm Runs (AR), which measures the net runs gained on an outfielder’s throws, including runner advancements.

Finally, catchers, who are really their own thing, also have RTO% (the percentage of runners thrown out trying to steal, abbreviated as RT), PB (passed balls), Framing Runs (the number of runs gained by the catcher’s positioning), and cERx, which reflects the ERA while the catcher was behind the plate compared to the overall staff ERA. A cERx below 1 means the catcher was better than the rest of the staff, above 1, worse.

#C

So, what is a catcher’s primary duty? Helping their staff, controlling the running game, and then, a somewhat distant third, making their own defensive plays.

The choice in the AL is pretty obvious, in the NL, I think it comes down to how much do you weigh Posey’s ability to frame pitches, and his ~150 more innings played than Hendricks.

#1B

Again, one choice is pretty clear–the NL this time.

In the AL, it’s much closer, but Greenberg makes some plays that Hrbek just doesn’t.

#2B

These are two relatively easy choices. And, there is a question of what’s going on in the AL, where almost everyone has a negative ZR.

#SS

In the NL, it’s another clear choice: while Smith and Crawford both make the sensational plays, Smith makes all the plays.

The AL is much, much closer and there’s really not much to choose from between Parent and Vaughan. As such, we’ll go with the player who stayed on the field more.

#3B

The hot corner is a challenge: everyone makes 2, 2 1/2 plays a game, so RF is less useful, although Beltré’s 2.6 does stand out, as does Longoria’s more limited mobility. But it means fPct–as a proxy for errors–and dEff rise in importance. In the AL, while it’s not by a mile, I think Bell is the clear choice while in the AL, it ends up being between Cey and Rolen, with the final edge going to The Penguin.

#LF

The AR numbers reflect just how hard it is to prevent runners from advancing on flyballs, and makes Jim Wynn‘s 3.7 mark there all the more remarkable. Unfortunately, the rest of Wynn’s numbers leave him out of the finalists entirely.

The NL is an easy choice, and one that gives us a repeat winner in Roy White. Over in the Al, it’s harder, but Bates makes more plays and has a far better arm than Henderson, despite how much ground the Sea Lions’ speedster covers.

#CF

Assists can be misleading: Detroit’s Chili Davis gunned down 14 runners and Kansas City’s Willie McGee 11, but they, overall, just weren’t effective enough out there to warrant their inclusion. Remember, the weaker the arm, the more often it gets run on, the more chances for assists you may get.

Look, Willie Mays is a great defensive CF. But Willie Davis, simply, had a better year out there. In the AL, you can only unseat Paul Blair if you give massive weight to Speaker’s additional 3 assists. But given how close they are in AR, it’s hard to rationalize that. So Blair it is once again, our 2nd repeat winner.

#RF

The NL is insanely close. Musial makes more spectacular plays than Clemente, Clemente makes marginally more plays overall and has that cannon for an arm, although Musial limits baserunners more effectively. It’s a coin flip, but today we’ll go with Clemente’s additional 150 innings as the difference maker.

In the AL, it’s clearly one of the players who didn’t make a single miscue, and although Betts has the edge in a few metrics, Suzuki has over 300 more innings–1200 innings without an error, but with great range, is incredible.

#P

We’re using 140 innings as the cutoff for the pitchers. Additionally, we have access to number of Framing Runs the pitcher benefitted from, as well as the SB numbers against them. Errors tend to be so low from pitchers, that fPct is no longer a really useful metric.

Sample size, of course, wrecks havoc with pitcher’s defensive stats. Still, we have what we have.

Not only does Bob Rush make a lot of plays, he keeps runners from stealing, and while Jack Taylor makes more spectacular plays, Rush’s ZR is more than good enough to take the award home. In the AL, Johnson and Blyleven are neck-and-neck, but we’ll go with Blyleven, who has a slight edge in most categories.

#The Gold Gloves

There are a surprising number of teams with 2 Gold Glove winners–Baltimore, Portland, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and the House of David.

But the overall number of finalists may be more interesting, as it should give some indications as to the higher tier defensive units in the league. Here’s how that stacks up:

6. Cleveland
5. Philadelphia
4. House of David, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Portland
3. Baltimore, Detroit, New York Gothams, San Francisco
2. Birmingham, Brooklyn, Memphis, Miami, New York Black Yankees, Ottawa
1. Chicago, Homestead, Los Angeles

Just a glance shows the differences in the leagues: you want offense, look at the AL, you want pitching, the NL. That’s a generality, and like all such, not fully accurate: the NL actually has more S Tier bats, but the AL is overall more top heavy offensively.

San Francisco, predictably, leads the way with 12 selections while the rivalry between the Black Yankees and Cleveland continues, with the Bill James Division heavyweights having 8 each.

#AL

I do wonder if this points to how fragile Cleveland is. The Spiders are one of only 2 teams to make the playoffs in both WBL seasons, but if you were to pick names likely to fade off this list, Arky Vaughan, Evan Longoria, Al Smith, and Firpo Marberry would jump out.

It also shows just how top heavy Los Angeles is: 2 S-Tier players (plus Brett Anderson and Ross Reynolds) with nothing to show for it. At the other end, there’s Detroit–the other team to make the playoffs each year–with only a single player (the incomparable Ty Cobb) listed, further reinforcing the Wolverines as having done it with a true team effort (although this was also quite close: Terry Adams, Al Kaline, and Hank Greenberg were all in contention for 3rd Team honors).

And the less said about Memphis, the better.

#NL

Brooklyn and Kansas City’s pitching is so strong. And imagine just how bad Ottawa’s pitching had to be, given their offensive representation.

Indianapolis has 3 S Tier players, giving them perhaps the most dominant nucleus in the league to build around. Kansas City has 4 S Tier players, but 2 of them are relievers, so most GM’s would prefer the ABC’s group.

And there are some league-wide deficiencies, especially at 1B and LF. Jim Wynn is a nice player, but the best in the league?

Both of Birmingham’s entrants were brought over in trade … but they also lost Jim Whtiney in those deals.

#Team by Team

Portland had nobody–nobody–who was deemed top 3 in the AL at their position. Ouch.

Baltimore. 4: Curt Blefary, Miller Huggins, Cal Ripken, Jr, Frank Robinson.
Birmingham, 2: Ryan Braun, Paul Konerko.
Brooklyn. 7: Ron Cey, Terry Forster, Eric Gagne, Orel Hershiser, Mike Piazza, Fernando Valenzuela, Smokey Joe Williams
Chicago. 3: Eddie Collins, Joe Jackson, Ed Walsh.
Cleveland. 8: Ed Bailey, Lance Berkman, Evan Longoria, Firpo Marberry, Ron Reed, Al Smith, Tris Speaker, Arky Vaughan.
Detroit. 1: Ty Cobb.
Homestead. 5: Josh Gibson, Josh Lindblom, Robb Nen, Rick Reichardt , Willie Stargell.
Houston. 7: Jeff Bagwell, Andrew Chafin, Roger Clemens, Carlos Correa, Tony Gwynn, Toad Ramsey, Jim Wynn.
Indianapolis. 3: Oscar Charleston, Joe Morgan, Luis Padrón.
Kansas City. 5: A. Rube Foster, Eddie Guardado, Albert Pujols, Lee Smith, Smokey Joe Wood.
Los Angeles. 4: Brett Anderson, Kal Daniels, Ross Reynolds, Mike Trout.
Memphis. 1: Andrew Miller.
Miami. 5: José Méndez, Jonathan Papelbon, Yasiel Puig, Jim Thome, Jim Whitney.
New York Black Yankees. 8: Lou Gehrig, Goose Gossage, Ron Guidry, Rogers Hornsby, Mickey Mantle, Andy Pettitte, Babe Ruth, Mike Schmidt.
New York Gothams. 3: Will Clark, Benny Kauff , Willie Mays.
Ottawa. 5: Roberto Alomar , Gary Carter, Rick Monday, Alex Rodríguez, Larry Walker.
Philadelphia. 7: Fred Cambria, Hardie Henderson, Bob Howry, Aaron Judge, Charles Rogan, Scott Rolen.
Portland. 0.
San Francisco. 12: Rod Beck, Jack Clark, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Lefty Grove, Bump Hadley, Ken Howell, Reggie Jackson, Dick Lundy, Eddie Plank, Turkey Stearnes.
Wandering House of David. 2: Ernie Banks, Ryne Sandberg.

We have a new defensive metric for outfielders: ARM, which is an estimate of the number of runs saved (or allowed) from their throwing arms.

#S Tier

I do feel sorry for Kal Daniels–that is a stupendous season right there, and he has no shot at being the best LF in the AL, not with Babe Ruth around. And Frank Robinson is the youngest of the trio, which speaks volumes for the future in Baltimore.

#A Tier

Seems strange to have only 1 name here, but there is clear separation between Robinson and Ted Williams (the only thing Williams does better is take walks), and when defense is factored in, this makes sense.

#B Tier

An interesting mix of useful players. Rickey Henderson is electric, for sure, but until he hits a bit more, he’s not elite and the other 4 are just dependable and solid, although it could be argued that Jim Wynn is a tier too high.

#C Tier

These are all solid players with a question mark in their game, usually revolving around a lack of power. There’s nothing wrong with this group, but they are, at this point, complimentary pieces not cornerstones.

Note that Alejandro Oms, Sherry Magee, and Tim Raines are so young that being here really puts them on a great trajectory.

#D Tier

The only thing separating Bob Bescher from Raines is playing time, so perhaps he belongs up one Tier alongside The Rock? And this may be a bit unfair to Ducky Medwick, but the statistical metrics really ding him for not being willing to take a walk.

#F Tier

There is some talent here, but nowhere near the offensive production to hold down a roster spot in the WBL.

#Rookies

Juan Beníquez (C Tier), Elliott Maddox (D Tier), and Kiki Cuyler (F Tier).

#Fielding Notes

We have our standard defensive stats here, with the leaders in bold and the worst performers in italics. Assists (A), more romantically referred to as Outfield Kills are runners eliminated on the bases. Range Factor (RF) measures the number of plays made per game–the higher the better. Zone Rating (ZR) attempts to credit players for plays other fielders missed and ding them for plays other fielders made–the higher the better, and it has the benefit of being comparative across the position. Defensive Efficiency (dEff) measures the rate at which an individual fielder contributes to outs being made on balls put into play, with any score over 1.000 being a net positive impact. Finally, Fielding Percentage (fPct) reflects the percentage of times a chance was handled without a mistake–if someone made no errors, their fPct would be 1.000.

Of these, Range Factor is the most susceptible to the impact of the pitching staff and the ballpark, although none of these defensive ratings are perfect.

Both teams will go back to the same pitchers that opened the first series, Toad Ramsey for Houston and Orel Hershiser for Brooklyn.

Houston opted for Jim O’Rourke behind the plate over Jorge Posada, while Brooklyn opts to keep the hot hand in the lineup, keeping Ray Dandridge at SS over Vern Stephens. It’s a hard choice–Ron Cey could be benched, allowing both Dandridge and Stephens to play, but Cey was an offensive juggernaut during the season, so despite his struggles in the series against Indianapolis, Cey retains his cleanup position.

Jim Wynn led off the game with a homerun off Hershiser, but Cey must have heard the muttering, as he touched Ramsey with a 3 run shot in the bottom of the frame (John Briggs and Jackie Robinson had singled). As is so often the case, you anticipate a pitching duel, you get homeruns: Paul Goldschmidt hit the 3rd of the game to cut the lead to 1 and Wynn hit his 2nd of the game to tie it at 3 in the top of the 3rd. Then Piazza hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 4th and Robinson a 2 run shot in the 5th, followed by Cey’s 2nd of the game.

So, yeah, 11 hits in the game with 7 of them being homeruns.

Ramsey picked a horrible time for his worst outing of the season, as the Colt 45’s now trailed, 7-3.

Hershiser was relieved by Burleigh Grimes–solid in the postseason so far, but not today. Doubles from Goldschmidt and George Brett narrowed the score to 7-5.

Grimes was relieved by Dave Von Ohlen, who promptly loaded the bases, bringing in Sandy Koufax, who walked Goldschmidt, but got out of the inning without further damage. It was now a 1 run game, 7-6 Royal Giants, which is how it stood in the 9th, with Eric Gagne coming in to face the heart of Houston’s lineup.

Three up, three down, and Brooklyn leads the series, 1-0.

Robinson, Cey, and Piazza had 2 hits each for Brooklyn with Cey driving in 4 with his pair of homers. Wynn, Gwynn, and Goldschmidt had 2 hits for Houston. Hershiser improved to 3-0 in the postseason, but the real story was Ramsey’s ineffectiveness: always a risk for a knuckler.

HOU 6 (Ramsey 2-1) @ BRK 7 (Hershiser 3-0; Van Ohlen 1 H; Koufax 1 H; Hildenberger 3 H)
HRs: HOU – Wynn 2 (3), Goldschmidt (4); BRK – Cey 2 (3), Piazza (6), Robinson (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Sun Oct 14

Two pitchers of similar molds will face off, Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and Houston’s Roger Clemens, with the Colt 45’s trying to steal an away game early in the series.

At long last, Dickie Thon is available for Brooklyn, but Ray Dandridge and Vern Stephens are playing so well, he’ll start his postseason from the bench.

Drysedale walked the first 2 batters, but looked to get out of the inning after striking out Carlos Correa and retiring Jeff Bagwell on a brilliant catch by gold glove candidate Roy White in LF. But then Paul Goldschmidt launched a pitch into the LF seats. George Brett followed with a shot to right and it was 4-0 Houston aver a half inning.

John Briggs singled and stole 2nd and scored on a single from Jackie Robinson in the 4th, putting Brooklyn on the board at 4-1. White scored the following inning on a groundout, cutting the lead in half to 4-2.

Bagwell hit a solo shot in the 6th, and a Brett double chased Drysedale. Frank Knauss came in for his first action of the postseason. Pete Hill singled in Brett, and scored on a hit from Jorge Posada, making it 7-2.

Clemens gave up 2 walks in the 6th, and gave way to Jim Kern. Kern got 2 groundouts, 1 scoring a run, making it 7-3, Houston after 6. Some more runs were scored–3 for Houston and a solo shot by Mike Piazza for Brooklyn–but the outcome was never really threatened.

Goldschmidt and Brett had 2 hits each and Goldschmidt drove in 4 for Houston, but the story was really a solid start from Clemens followed by scoreless relief from Kern, Andrew Chafin, and Tug McGraw.

We are now in a best-of-5, with the action swinging back to Houston.

HOU 10 (Clemens 2-0) @ BRK 4 (Drysedale 1-1)
HRs: HOU – Goldschmidt (5), Brett (2), Bagwell (5); BRK – Piazza (7).
Box Score

#Game 3, Tue Oct 16

Game 3 will see Brooklyn’s Smokey Joe Williams face Houston’s Ice Box Chamberlain, in a matchup of pretty cool nicknames.

Gorman Thomas gets the start in CF for Houston, with Ray Dandridge playing SS for Brooklyn.

After Chamberlain struck out the side in the top of the first, Carlos Correa doubled home Tony Gwynn in the bottom of the inning for a 1-0 Houston lead.

Both pitchers ran into some trouble–Williams had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and Chamberlain the bases loaded with 1–but both worked out of the jams without giving up a run. The Colt 45’s added a run in the 4th on a wild pitch, and 4 more on a 2 run homers in the 5th, 1 from Jim Wynn, the other from Correa.

That chased Williams–who honestly hadn’t pitched that badly, despite the 6 runs allowed.

Meanwhile, Chamberlain had a 4 hit shutout until Mike Piazza hit a solo homerun in the 6th. Bagwell added one of his own, and Houston’s bullpen did the rest as the Colt 45’s took a 2-1 lead in the series.

BRK 1 (Williams 0-1) @ HOU 7 (Chamberlain 1-1)
HRs: BRK – Piazza (8); HOU – Wynn (4), Correa (2), Bagwell (6).
Box Score

#Game 4, Wed Oct 17

Fernando Valenzuela will try to tie the series for Brooklyn, opposed by game 1 starter Toad Ramsey, who will try to get his postseason performance on track.

It didn’t start great for Ramsey: Ron Cey went deep after a walk to Jackie Robinson for a 2-0 Brooklyn lead that held until the 4th, when a triple from Dan Brouthers made it 3-0.

Valenzuela was dominant here early: 0 hits, 1 walk, and 5 strikeouts through 3 innings. Houston touched him for a run in the 5th on a single by George Brett, but that was it.

Duke Snider greeted Jim Kern with a solo shot in the 7th, making it 4-1. In the bottom of the frame, Valenzuela hit Jeff Bagwell and gave up a single to Paul Goldschmidt, which ended his day. Dave Von Ohlen eventually loaded the bases, but escaped the inning unscathed, preserving Brooklyn’s 3 run lead.

Trevor Hildenberger had been effective all year setting up Eric Gagne, but he’s struggled this postseason. Here, he gave up a run when Tony Gwynn doubled in Craig Biggio and allowed the tying runs to score on a 2-run double from Goldschmidt.

So we were tied at 4 heading to the 9th. Tug McGraw set Brooklyn down in the top of the frame and a 1-out double by Jim O’Rourke brought Gagne in from the pen. He did his job, and we were off to extra innings.

Beals Becker led off the 10th with a solo shot off Sparky Lyle. Gagne gave up a leadoff single to Gwynn, but induced a double play from Carlos Correa and whiffed Bagwell, ending the game and tying the series at 2.

BRK 5 (Gagne 1-0; Von Ohlen 2 H; Hildenberger 1 B Sv) @ HOU 4 (Lyle 0-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: BRK – Cey (4), Snider (2), Becker (2); HOU – none.
Box Score

#Game 5, Thu Oct 18

With the series tied at 5, we are looking at a best-of-three at this point. Orel Hershiser will get the ball for Brooklyn while Houston, needing to bridge to its primary starters, will go with Stephen Strasburg over Dock Ellis, although Ellis is at the ready should Strasburg falter.

For the first time in the postseason, Houston will start Craig Biggio behind the plate, giving Bama Rowell a chance to make a difference at 2B.

Dan Brouthers walked and stole 2nd and 3rd before scoring on a groundout from Jackie Robinson, but Biggio did gun down Ron Cey at 2nd to end the inning. Still, it put the Royal Giants up, 1-0.

Mike Piazza and Roy White went back-to-back in the top of the 4th, increasing the lead to 3-0, and generating activity in the Houston bullpen.

The Colt 45’s generated traffic each inning, but Hershiser escaped any real danger until the bottom of the 5th, when Pete Hill singled and Rowell walked, putting runners at 1st and 2nd with no outs. Biggio grounded into a double play, but this time Houston at least got a run, as Hill scored on a passed ball, making it 3-1.

Cey took Strasburg deep, making it 4-1 and summoning Ellis from the pen. An errant throw by George Brett brought in Brooklyn’s 5th run and Robinson forced in a run by getting nicked by a Roberto Osuna pitch. So, 6-1 Brooklyn.

Houston wasn’t done, but it’s a long way back. Biggio went deep in the bottom of the 8th and Brett led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo shot of his own. A single from Hill summoned a somewhat fatigued Eric Gagne from the Royal Giants’ pen.

Gagne struck out the side, retiring Jim O’Rourke, Biggio, and Jim Wynn. No problem.

Hershiser was dominant in a crafty way, improving to 4-0 on the postseason, and Brouthers, Piazza, and Becker each had 2 hits pulling Brooklyn to within 1 win of the Whirled Series.

BRK 6 (Hershiser 4-0; Gagne 4 Sv) @ HOU 3 (Strasburg 1-1)
HRs: BRK – White (2), Piazza (9), Cey (5); HOU – Biggio (1), Brett (3).
Box Score

#Game 6, Sat Oct 20

So, will Brooklyn advance to the Whirled Series, or will Houston force a deciding game 7? It will be a rematch of the hurlers from game 2, with Houston’s Roger Clemens taking on Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale.

Houston took the lead in the top of the first, when Jeff Bagwell doubled in Jimmy Wynn, but a Duke Snider dinger in the 2nd tied the game at 1. Tony Gwynn and Carlos Correa went deep back to back in the 3rd, and George Brett scored Bagwell with a double. When Pete Hill doubled home Brett, Drysedale’s day was done, with Houston now leading 5-1 after 3 innings.

Houston added another, but Clemens was dealing until John Briggs took him deep with a runner on in the 5th, making it 6-3, Houston. Jackie Robinson singled to open up the 6th, prompting Clemens’ removal, much to his dismay. Roy Oswalt entered the game for Houston and promptly got a double play from Ron Cey to lower the threat and an inning-ending groundout from Roy White.

We were 9 outs from a Game 7.

Beals Becker got one back in the 7th with a homerun. 6-4, 6 outs to go for Houston to extend their season.

In the bottom of the 8th, Tug McGraw came on for Houston and gave up an RBI single to Cey and a 2 run homer to Piazza. Brooklyn came all the way back, and now lead 7-6.

Once again they turned to Eric Gagne, looking to close the series. With 2 outs, Goldschmidt took a pitch from Gagne and launched it to deep right … where it was caught at the base of the wall by Becker, sending Brooklyn to the Whirled Series.

As they have all year, Piazza and Robinson were the heart of Brooklyn’s offense, but the real story was on the mound, where Frank Knauss–passed over for postseason starts–gave 3 innings of 1-hit relief, earning the victory.

HOU 6 (McGraw 0-1, 1 B Sv; Oswalt 1 H) @ BRK 7 (Knauss 1-0; Gagne 5 Sv)
HRs: HOU – Gwynn (1), Correa (3); BRK – Snider (3), Briggs (1), Becker (3), Piazza (10).
Box Score

The Stars opted to start Hardie Henderson over Steve Carlton for game 1; for the Colt 45’s there was no question they would turn to Toad Ramsey and his mighty knuckleball.

Sherry Magee continues to be effective as the Stars’ leadoff hitter: here he coaxed a walk from Ramsey, stole 2nd and 3rd, and scored on Jim Fregosi‘s grounder for an early 1-0 lead. It may have been wasted effort, as Aaron Judge hit one into the Crawford Boxes, giving Philadelphia a 2-0 advantage.

It was short-lived: Jim Wynn doubled and scored on a triple from Tony Gwynn. Henderson got 2 outs, but left a sinker up to Paul Goldschmidt, who sent it deep into the seats for a 3-2 edge to Houston after 1 inning.

Ramsey seemed to settle down, but Houston continued its onslaught against Henderson, with George Brett going deep in the 2nd and Goldschmidt, after an error by Scott Rolen put Jeff Bagwell on base, hit his 2nd of the day, making it 6-2.

A single from Pete Hill leading off the 4th chased Henderson, but Robin Roberts escaped the inning without additional damage.

The Stars put runners on 2nd and 3rd (a walk to Chase Utley and a Magee double) with 1 out in the 5th. Ramsey walked in a run, but Philadelphia would be sad not to take greater advantage of the situation. Roberts continued to be effective, and we ended 5 with Houston ahead, 6-3.

Houston got some insurance in the bottom of the 8th as Hill laced a 2 run double, scoring 2 and increasing the score to 8-3.

Philadelphia had their chances, leaving 10 runners on base in the contest, but in the end–in what can only be seen as a good sign for the Colt 45’s–Andrew Chafin, Roberto Osuna, Tug McGraw, and Sparky Lyle combined for 4 scoreless innings in relief of Ramsey.

Goldschmidt was the clear star for Houston, driving in 4, but Carlos Correa and Hill chipped in 2 hits apiece. Magee and Rogan had 2 hits for the Stars.

Houston up, 1-0.

PHI 3 (Henderson 0-1) @ HOU 8 (Ramsey 1-0; Chafin 1 H; Osuna 1 H; McGraw 1 H)
HRs: PHI – Judge (1); Goldschmidt 2 (2), Brett (1).
Box Score

#Game 2, Thu 4 Oct

Philadelphia would turn to Steve Carlton, trying to even out the series against Houston’s Roger Clemens.

Once again Aaron Judge went deep in the opening frame, this time with a solo shot. The Stars scored a second on an RBI single from Rico Carty, meaning, for the 2nd consecutive game, Philadelphia leads 2-0 before Houston comes to bat.

The script diverged there, however briefly: the Colt 45’s cut the deficit in half on a solo shot from Jeff Bagwell in the 2nd. In the 3rd, a leadoff walk to Craig Biggio was followed by a double in the right field corner by Jim Wynn. Tony Gwynn launched a ball to left, forcing a nice diving catch from Sherry Magee, but it was more than enough for Biggio to trot home. But the Colt 45’s weren’t done: Carlos Correa hit an RBI single and then Bagwell launched his 2nd of the game, giving Houston a 5-2 lead.

Carlton lasted 5, Clemens 6, with neither pitching particularly well, turning the game over to the shakiest parts of each bullpen.

Houston seemed to blink first, as John Franco gave up singles to Ted Kluszewski and Bill Dickey to start the 7th. But a pop to short center and a good throw by Jorge Posada to nail Dickey’s attempt to steal second seemed to offer an avenue out. But Franco allowed singles to Magee and Chase Utley, narrowing the lead to 5-4 and fetching Jim Kern from Houston’s bullpen. Kern induced a flyout from Charles Rogan, maintaining the single run advantage for the Colt 45’s.

And this is what Houston had envisioned: Tug McGraw shut it down before yielding to Sparky Lyle to close it out, giving the Colt 45’s a 2-0 edge in the series.

Bagwell’s 2 homeruns were key, of course, but so were Posada’s erasing 2 runners attempting to steal.

It was another game of missed opportunities for Philadelphia, who outhit Houston 11-5 in the contest. 3 of those came from Judge, who is 4-for-8 across the 2 games. The Stars’ bullpen did well, with Brad Kilby, Fred Cambria, and Ted Kennedy combining for 3 frames without giving up a hit.

PHI 4 (Carlton 0-1) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 1-0; Lyle 1 Sv; McGraw 2 H; Kern 1 H; Franco 1 H)
HRs: PHI – Judge (2); Bagwell 2 (2).
Box Score

#Game 3, Sat Oct 6

We head to Philadelphia with something of a must-win game for the Stars, who will turn to the magnificent Charles Rogan, while Houston will counter with Ice Box Chamberlain.

Rogan balked in a run in the top of the first, but escaped a flurry of baserunners without further damage.

Aaron Judge did not hit a homerun in the opening frame, but he did drive in a run with a single, and later scored on a 3-run opposite drive by Jim Fregosi, putting the Stars up 4-1 after 1.

Then both hurlers settled down, and the score was unchanged through 5 innings. Jeff Bagwell took Rogan deep in the 6th, and when that was followed by a walk to Paul Goldschmidt, JM Ward was summoned from the Philadelphia bullpen. Ward retired Pete Hill, and the Stars still led, 4-2.

Judge was not to be denied, hitting one out of the park after Rogan was hit by a pitch. Fregosi followed with his 2nd of the day, chasing Chamberlain who gave up only 4 hits, but 8 runs.

Judge would add another, and Bill Dickey would go deep as well in what turned out to be a bit of walkover, 10-2 in favor of the Stars. Judge drove in 4 and Fregosi 5 on the day as Philadelphia corrected their errors of the first 2 games scoring 10 runs on 6 hits and leaving only a single runner on base.

HOU 2 (Chamberlain 0-1) @ PHI 10 (Rogan 1-0; Ward 1 H)
HRs: HOU – Bagwell (3); PHI – Fregosi 2 (2), Judge 2 (4), Dickey (1).
Box Score

#Game 4, Sun Oct 7

Game 4 presents challenges for each team’s pitching staffs.

For Houston, Stephen Strasburg‘s solid performances down the stretch earned him the start, while Philadelphia will counter with their ace, Hardie Henderson, fully rested after a very short appearance in game 1.

Henderson started well, but walked 3 batters to start the top of the 2nd. George Brett doubled home 2 runs and another scored on a groundout from Jim O’Rourke. Pete Hill tripled home another run and scored on a sacrifice fly from Paul Goldschmidt, making it 5-0.

Chase Utley took Strasburg deep with Willie Davis on 2nd in the 3rd, closing the gap to 5-2.

A leadoff single from Craig Biggio chased Henderson, bringing in Robin Roberts. Bill Dickey whipped Roberts first strike to first, catching Biggio leaning the wrong way–something that may matter, as Jim Wynn followed with a homerun. Houston now led, 6-2–we’ll see if that extra run comes back to haunt them.

Scott Rolen went deep in the bottom of the 4th. 6-3. Doubles from Dickey and Sherry Magee plated another run in the 5th. 6-4.

But Tony Gwynn singled in 2 runs in the 6th to restore the cushion, making it 8-4, Houston.

A 1 out walk to Rolen in the 6th chased Strasburg after a decent enough effort, but Andrew Chafin was able to escape unscathed. The 7th did not go as well for Chafin, who gave up opening singles to Davis and Utley. In came Jim Kern, who induced a double play from Magee and a sharp grounder to short from Charles Rogan, preserving the lead.

But in the 8th, Jim Fregosi came through with a 2-run shot, cutting the lead in half, 8-6.

Philadelphia’s bullpen sort of imploded in the 9th: Bagwell doubled and scored on a single by Hill, who scored on a double by Goldschmidt. Wynn then drew a bases loaded walk, and Gwynn singled in 2 more runs. The 5 run explosion made it 13-6, Houston.

Philadelphia had some baserunners, but it came to naught, and Houston took a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

Brett and Gwynn had 3 hits each with Gwynn, now hitting .353 in the series, driving in 4 runs on the day.

The bottom of the Stars’ order came to play, with Dickey, Davis, and Utley each having 2 hits.

HOU 13 (Strasburg 1-0, Kern 2 H, McGraw 3 H) @ PHI 6 (Henderson 0-2)
HRs: HOU – Wynn (1); PHI – Utley (1), Rolen (1), Fregosi (3).
Box Score

#Game 5, Mon Oct 8

Perhaps surprisingly, the first team with a chance to clinch their spot in the Division Series is the Houston Colt 45’s. The stellar Toad Ramsey gets the ball for Houston, while the Stars will turn to Ray Collins.

Jeff Bagwell singled in a run in the top of the first, and then Paul Goldschmidt launched a ball deep into the OF. An odd bounce and a poor throw later, and Goldschmidt had an inside-the-park homerun and Houston had a 3-0 edge.

Ramsey started a bit rough giving up singles to Sherry Magee, Aaron Judge, and Scott Rolen to score 1 and a 2-out double to Charles Rogan, resetting the game in a tie. Houston nudged ahead again when George Brett, who had tripled, scored on an RBI groundout from Jorge Posada.

And then both pitchers remembered how to pitch: the score remained 4-3, Houston, through 6 innings, which marked the end of Collins’ day.

Bagwell greeted Brad Kilby with a solo shot in the top of the 8th, extending the lead to 5-3. Houston brought in Jim Kern for the 8th, and he struck out 2, preserving the 2 run advantage, and then they padded it, scoring 3 in the top of the 9th (2 on Carlos Correa‘s first homerun of the series).

The Colt 45’s brought in Sparky Lyle with a 5 run edge, leading 8-3. Rico Carty and Rogan whiffed, bringing Philadelphia to their last batter, catcher Bill Dickey … a hard groundball, fielded by Correa, rifled to first. And Houston is through to the Division Series!

Bagwell, Gwynn, Brett, and Posada each had 2 hits for the Colt 45’s.

HOU 8 (Ramsey 2-0) @ PHI 3 (Collins 0-1)
HRs: HOU – Goldschmidt (3), Bagwell (4), Correa (1); PHI – none.
Box Score

Bagwell, who hit .300 with 4 homeruns, was named Series MVP, but Goldschmidt and Gwynn deserved consideration as well. And, perhaps most importantly for Houston, Tug McGraw, Sparky Lyle, Jim Kern, and Andrew Chafin combined for over 10 innings of scoreless work out of the bullpen.

Aaron Judge (.421 with 4 homeruns and 6 RBIs) also deserved at least cursory MVP consideration.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Sailing under the radar for most of the season, Brooklyn still managed 99 victories, led by a ridiculously strong pitching staff.

The Royal Giants are one of the a very few teams with a legitimate top 4, and it’s unclear if Don Drysedale‘s 2nd half resurgence earns him a start in the opening game, given that Orel Hershiser (19-5, 3.69), Smokey Joe Williams (12-13, 3.93), and Fernando Valenzuela (14-5, 3.69) each had better seasons than Drysedale’s 11-8, 5.66 record.

The bullpen sports 2 of the dominant relievers of the league, with closer Eric Gagne and setup man Trevor Hildenberger, and Burleigh Grimes and Sandy Koufax provide excellent middle inning help when needed.

The offense is a notch below the pitching: Ron Cey and Mike Piazza are stars, and Dan Brouthers, John Briggs, Jackie Robinson, Beals Becker, and Duke Snider are all quite good. Vern Stephens and Dickie Thon seem to be sufficient at SS, and the versatility of Ray Dandridge helps around the IF, despite his lackluster offense.

George Hendrick has been lights out since being brought over in a trade, and makes the playoff roster ahead of swing starter Jim Bunning.

#Philadelphia Stars

Quite a turnaround for Philly, who were horrible last year, mediocre much of this year, and then turned it on the final few months to finish in 2nd place in the Effa Manley Division.

It’s an odd team in many ways. Clearly, Charles Rogan and his unique combination of a 308/362/620 slash line and legitimate #2 starter mound performances count for a lot, as does Aaron Judge breaking out with an OPS over 1.000, 63 homers, 133 RBI’s, and 108 runs scored. Scott Rolen is excellent at 3B, and Rico Carty held off the demons of age for another productive season.

And then the question marks start … Bill Dickey seems to be the answer behind the plate, but is untested, Sherry Magee could be useful, and the newly acquired Jim Fregosi might finally provide some stability at SS. Seems, could be, might …

The rotation is … odd. Hardie Henderson (18-12, 3.78) is probably the #1, but Steve Carlton‘s stuff is electric, despite a 12-13 record and a 5.05 ERA. Then, Rogan. Behind those, JM Ward has been far, far, far better than his 6-10 record would indicate and lefty Ray Collins is dependable.

Bob Howry, Ted Kennedy, Fred Cambria, and Pedro Feliciano form a solid, no-name bullpen (with trade acquisition Mark Melancon‘s selection to the postseason roster in doubt).

In the end, Melancon made it, as did the disappointing Harry Hooper, but that was more a function of a lack of relevant alternatives than anything else.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Most saw this Houston team as being a year or 2 away, but they kept winning through the Summer, and ended up topping the Marvin Miller Division by a comfortable margin.

The pitching staff is not structured as it was to start the season, as both Stephen Strasburg and Roy Oswalt have struggled mightily all season. Still, it’s a strong opening trio, led by the dominant Toad Ramsey (16-10, 3.23) and Roger Clemens (17-10, 3.71) and the now-healthy Ice Box Chamberlain (4-4, 3.56).

The bullpen has been poor all season, with Sparky Lyle (brought over to be the closer) struggling and Tug McGraw having his issues as well. Jim Kern has been a surprising bright spot, and Andrew Chafin and Roberto Osuna have been solid enough.

The offense is an intriguing mix. Carlos Correa, Jeff Bagwell, and Tony Gwynn are a solid core and Paul Goldschmidt has forced his way into the conversation in about 1/3 of a season’s work. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke has bounced back from a poor first season, and the rest of the pieces–mostly Jim Wynn and teenage phenom Pete Hill–are solid enough.

The worst news for Houston is that C Will Smith, who has absolutely destroyed WBL pitching since his recall, is not eligible for the postseason, putting the onus behind the plate on Jorge Posada, who has struggled. Given the presence of Gorman Thomas–who has also been on fire in limited action–we may see O’Rourke catching more than anticipated.

Thomas’ performance forced Casey Stengel off the playoff roster, as, especially with Dock Ellis injured for a few days, both Strasbourg and Oswalt made it.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

It came down to a playoff, but baseball fans are happy to see the ABC’s make the playoffs, as it extends the season for the best pitcher in baseball, Luis Padrón, and the emerging superstar Oscar Charleston.

The postseason likely brings an end to Indianapolis’ 6 man rotation, as the team will try to maximize the starts for Padrón (23-3, 3.22) and Johnny Cueto (12-14, 4.62). Eppa Rixey, Guy White, and Joe Lake are the most likely candidates behind those 2.

The back end of the bullpen was supposed to be a strength, but both Rob Dibble and Rob Murphy have struggle of late, leaving Jack Billingham and the surprising Mike LaCoss as the strongest performers at the moment.

Offensively, this is Charleston’s team, with the young CF slashing 337/381/619 with 38 homers, 130 RBIs, and 101 runs scored. Joey Votto and George Foster have been excellent and while Johnny Bench fell short of last year’s heights, 46 homers and 116 RBIs from behind the plate is nothing to sneeze at.

Chris Sabo has mostly displaced Ed Charles at 3B, but the biggest issue is the absence of Joe Morgan, who will miss the postseason through injury. Morgan was among the best in the game, and without him, the middle infield becomes pretty mediocre, relying on Tommy Helms and Barry Larkin.

#Predictions

Brooklyn is just that much better than Indianapolis across the board, so I think the Royal Giants take that one, 4-2.

The Houston/Philadelphia series is even harder to predict, and I think it is either very close, going the full 7 games, or Houston’s offense clicks on all cylinders and the Colt 45’s win in 5. Let’s say the former, with Houston edging it in a final contest.

#Monday

Miami moved in front of Detroit by a half game in the AL Wild Card race behind a great start from Phenomenal Smith, whose return may be a difference maker for the Cuban Giants. Smith gave up 1 run in 7 innings, moving to 4-0. Hal Newhouser was good for Detroit, but an early homer from Gary Sheffield and a late one from Joe Adcock sealed the game for Miami.

Cleveland was supposed to have an easy time of it, hosting the lowly Memphis Red Sox. But the Spiders’ bullpen collapsed, and they dropped a 9-8 decision to the visitors, who were powered by homers from Lefty O’Doul, Hack Wilson, and David Ortiz.

In a series that means more for Indianapolis than Philadelphia, the ABC’s opened with a decisive win, 15-8 over the Stars. Johnny Bench hit 2 out, and the game wasn’t as close as the score (Philadelphia tallied 5 in the 9th to make it more respectable).

#Tuesday

Detroit pulled back into a dead heat with Miami, pounding out 6 homeruns (2 from JD Martinez) in an 11-5 win. Ernie Lombardi, Tony Lazzeri, Oscar Gamble, and Ty Cobb also went deep for the Wolverines in an easy win for the visitors.

Memphis did it again, beating Cleveland 4-2, and dropping the Spiders 2.5 games behind the Black Yankees. Homers from Reggie Smith and Wade Boggs backed a strong showing from Stubby Overmire, who moved to 13-9 on the year. The Spiders, however, remained only 2 games behind the Black Yankees as New York fell to San Francisco, 9-0, as Bump Hadley improved to 18-6 with a masterful 1-hitter.

Philadelphia stormed back from a 7-1 deficit, beating the ABC’s 8-7 on a pinch-hit walkoff shot from Aaron Judge–his 60th of the year–in a game that saw 2 grandslams, one from Indianapolis’ Ed Swartwood, the other from the Stars’ Charles Rogan. This was good news for Houston, who dropped a 9-8 decision to the New York Gothams, who were powered by 2 homeruns from Willie Mays. Houston remains 3.5 games ahead in the Marvin Miller Division.

Riding an excellent start from Rick Reuschel, the House of David pulled into a tie with Kansas City by defeating the Monarchs 3-1. Reuschel was supported by Ryne Sandberg‘s 40th homer of the year, and the win leaves both teams 1 game behind Indianapolis in the Wild Card race.

#Wednesday

What you see depends on where you stand: Miami fans will be miserable at their bullpen’s performance, as the Cuban Giants’ relievers surrendered 11 runs over the final 4 innings n an 11-8 loss to Detroit. Wolverines fans, of course, will be applauding the clutch performance of their team, led by Juan Beníquez‘ 4 hits and 3 RBI’s from Charlie Gehringer and Bob Bailey. The win moves Detroit 1.5 games up in the Wild Card chase.

The Spiders are struggling, but they refuse to give up: a Larry Doby homerun and walkoff RBI single from John Ellis gave Cleveland a 9-8 win over Memphis, keeping them at least within touch of the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division crown. Willie McCovey hit his 15th homerun in 35 games, and Paul O’Neill (the first of his WBL career) and Ron Blomberg also went deep.

The Black Yankees fell to San Francisco, as Eddie Plank earned his 20th win of the season with 6 strong innings for the Sea Lions. San Francisco’s bullpen–Ken Howell, Joe Nathan, and closer Rod Beck–fanned 7 of the 9 batters they retired, with Beck earning his 40th save of the season.

Houston bounced back in a big way, using a phenomenal start from Ice Box Chamberlain and 7 homeruns to beat the Gothams, 9-2. Chamberlain allowed 1 hit in just under 8 innings, fanning 12 and 2 of the important cogs in the Colt 45’s late season surge–OF Gorman Thomas and C Will Smith–carried the team, twice launching back-to-back homeruns. Jim Wynn led off the game with a dinger, and Paul Goldschmidt and Jim O’Rourke also went deep.

The victory sealed the pennant for Houston, setting off raucous celebrations in the home dugout. It also meant all of the attention in the NL is now focused on the final Wild Card Spot, currently owned by Indianapolis, but with Kansas City and the House of David hot on their heels (and Homestead still hanging around with at least a mathematical chance).

After fighting back from a 6-1 deficit, Indianapolis suffered a gut-wrenching loss, falling to Philadelphia, 12-8. The Stars were led by homeruns from Sherm Lollar, Harmon Killebrew, Jung Ho Kang, and Sherry Magee.

Ryne Sandberg had 4 hits including a go-ahead solo homer in the bottom of the 8th as the House of David topped Kansas City, 6-5. Jack Taylor continued a late-season rebound with a solid start, but both bullpens struggled in this one. The victory moves the House of David into a dead heat with Indianapolis in the Wild Card chase, with Kansas City 1 game back.

#Thursday

Miami just refuses to lose: Cleveland had taken the lead, 5-4 in the 6th inning, but the Cuban Giants scored 8 runs in their final 2 frames in a 12-6 victory. Miami pounded out 17 hits, led by 3 each from Jim Thome and Martín Dihigo. The game was never sure: Cuban Giants pitchers gave up 8 walks, so the Spiders had constant traffic on the basepaths. But they did just enough, with homeruns from Julio Rodríguez, Dihigo, Alejandro Oms, and Thome.

With the result, the Spiders drop to 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees and the Cuban Giants move to 1 game behind Detroit in the Wild Card race.

Speaking of the Black Yankees … their bullpen continues to be their Achilles’ heel, with 4 relievers giving up 9 runs in 2.1 innings. Ouch. The big blows were homeruns from Jimmie Foxx and Bobby Bonds as San Francisco defeated New York, 13-10.

#Friday

The Black Yankees continue not to grab the Bill James Division by the throat, falling to lowly Baltimore 5-4 in the opening game of the final series of the season. Homers from Eddie Murray, Manny Machado, and a final go-ahead blast from Earl Averill gave the Black Sox the edge in another game that saw less than stellar performances from New York’s bullpen.

Two homers from Gary Sheffield carried Miami to a 5-4 win over Cleveland, preserving New York’s 1 game advantage, and keeping the pressure on Detroit. The Cuban Giants got another strong outing from Jim Whitney, and were able to fade a 9th inning comeback from the Spiders for the victory.

So what will Detroit do with their opportunity?

Play a game for the ages where they held leads of 3-1, 4-2, 9-5, and 10-6. And it was never enough as, after closer Mike Henneman was forced from the game with a back injury, Troy Percival came in and gave up a grand slam to Manny Ramírez and a walkoff shot to Gabby Hartnett. Both Ramírez and Hartnett had 2 homers in the game, while Al Kaline had 2 for Detroit. Kaline had 3 hits and 7 RBIs while Hartnett had 4 hits for Memphis. A true thriller of a game that leaves everything pretty much undecided.

The House of David fell to Houston 8-2, as all eyes turned to the 4 game series between Indianapolis and Kansas City.

Kansas City’s Smokey Joe Wood and the ABC’s’ Luis Padrón squared off in the series opener and while each pitched well, neither were involved in the decision. Instead, after a 2 run shot from Ducky Medwick tied the game, Kansas City won it on a sacrifice fly from Dale Murphy in the bottom of the 9th. So Padrón fails in his attempt to win his 24th game of the year and, more importantly, Kansas City forces a 3 way dead heat for the final Wild Card spot.

#Saturday

Memphis keeps embracing their role as spoiler while relying on a handful of late season call ups. In this case, Bucky Walters gave a good starting performance, Lefty O’Doul had 3 hits, and Wayne Causey drove in 2 with an 8th inning single for a 5-3 victory over Detroit.

It sure looks like Miami has found a key part of their rotation: Phenomenal Smith improved to 5-0, combining with Ricky Nolasco on a 3 hit shutout of Cleveland. Smith struck out 10 before yielding to Nolasco, for the last 2 outs. Martín Dihigo drove in 2 runs, continuing his second half surge.

Miami moves a full game ahead of Detroit for the Wild Card slot, and Cleveland falls 1.5 games behind the Black Yankees for the Bill James Division title, with New York’s magic number reduce to 1.

And then it was none. New York topped Baltimore 11-7 behind homers from Mickey Mantle, Babe Ruth, and Roger Maris, giving the Black Yankees their first Bill James Division title.

Oh boy … Indianapolis has nobody to blame but themselves.

Behind a great start from Johnny Cueto and 3 RBI’s from Oscar Charleston, the ABC’s took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th, with their closer, Rob Dibble, on the mound. Dibble got one out, and then 16 of his next 20 pitches missed the strike zone, resulting in 4 consecutive walks, scoring a run. Rob Murphy relieved Dibble, and an RBI groundout and 2 wild pitches later, the game was tied at 6.

Cool Papa Bell walked in the bottom of the 10th, stole second, and scored on a hit from Ozzie Smith, moving Kansas City a game ahead in the Wild Card race.

#Sunday

The final day of the season leaves both final Wild Card spots up for grabs: in the AL, Miami has a 1 game lead over Detroit and in the NL, Kansas City has the edge over both Indianapolis and the House of David.

Miami was unable to clinch it: Larry Doby became the 2nd player in WBL history (and the first in the AL) to hit 4 homeruns in a game, driving in 7 as Cleveland topped the Cuban Giants, 13-7. That leaves Miami’s fate in the hands of Detroit later in the day.

Detroit used a mix of the old reliable–2 homeruns from Al Kaline and 1 from Ty Cobb–and the newly acquired (a strong start from Connie Johnson and key innings from Steve Howe and Troy Percival) to beat Memphis, 8-4.

And so, we finish in a dead heat.

Eppa Rixey combined with 4 relievers (including an important 1.2 innings from Doc Mitchell), leading the ABC’s to a 7-3 win over Kansas City, meaning Indianapolis and the Monarchs finish with identical 79-83 records. The only question is if the House of David will join them in a 3-way tie for the final playoff spot.

Nope.

The House of David tried valiantly, and even outhit Houston, 10-8, but they fell to the Colt 45’s, 10-9 in a game that saw Tony Gwynn rap out 3 hits, reaching 200 on the season. Richie Hebner, Ryne Sandberg, and Anthony Rizzo each had 2 hits, but they didn’t get enough support as the House of David season ends, falling just short of the postseason.

#Monday

So, two playoff games, winner makes the postseason.

#AL

First up, we have Miami visiting Detroit.

The Cuban Giants will turn to Hugh McQuillan who, despite being roughed up in his last start, has been solid for Miami. If he struggles early, look for Jim Whitney to try to give the team some innings on short rest. For Detroit, Pete Conway will take the mound, also on a pretty short leash.

Ty Cobb may be almost universally disliked, but his baseball talent cannot be denied: he launched a 3 run homer in the top of the first and a grand slam in the 2nd, helping Detroit to a 9-0 lead after 2 innings.

Conway, meanwhile, had allowed a single run on 3 hits through 5, and left after 6 with the score 13-2.

Miami scored 3 in the 9th, but fell well short, 14-5. In the end, a just result, as Detroit really feels like the better team. Still, the Cuban Giants went from being the worst team in the league to being this close to the playoffs: a good year for them.

Cobb finished with 2 homers and 7 RBIs, and Al Kaline, Charlie Gehringer, Ernie Lombardi, and Hank Greenberg each also went deep. There was some bad news on Greenberg, who will be out of action for a few days with a leg injury.

#NL

Indianapolis would turn to Doc White while Kansas City gave the start to young Matt Morris.

Kansas City took an early lead on Albert Pujols‘ second homerun of the game, pulling ahead 6-3 after 3 innings, with the ABC’s runs coming on longballs from George Foster and Chris Sabo.

Morris was OK–not great, but not bad–until Tommy Helms singled and scored on a double from Barry Larkin in the top of the 4th. A Bob Bescher walk put runners on the corner, and fetched Frank Castillo from the bullpen. The move backfired as Sabo and Oscar Charleston singled and, after a couple of outs, Johnny Bench brought home 2 with a single of his own, giving Indianapolis an 8-7 lead. Foster followed with his 2nd dinger of the game, extending the lead to 10-7 and chasing Castillo. His successor, Bob Shawkey, gave upa solo shot to Helms and when all of the dust settled, the ABC’s had scored 8 and were up 11-7.

The ABC’s coasted from there, riding additional homeruns by Ed Charles and Sabo to a 15-8 win, powering Indianapolis into the postseason. Sabo drove in 5 and Foster 4, with each of them notching 3 hits on the day.

Kansas City had ridden its pitching staff all year; here their arms betrayed them, surrendering 14 hits and 15 runs.

#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.