Charlie Morton was named to the final spot of the Black Barons’ rotation.
Morton’s first start was a bit of a disaster, a 12-5 loss to Philadelphia where the only bright spot was Richie Sexson‘s 2 homeruns.
#Houston Colt 45’s
Tony Gwynn homered twice and Craig Biggio provided a walk-off dinger as Houston edged Indianapolis, 9-8. Later in the series, Jeff Bagwell matched Gwynn with his 25th and 26th of the season, leading the Colt 45’s to a 9-3 win over the ABC’s.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Eppa Rixey replaced The Only Nolan in the ABC’s extended rotation.
George Foster homered twice as the ABC’s topped Kansas City 10-1. Barry Larkin, Bob Bescher, and Luis Padrón also went deep, with Padrón improving to 14-3 with another fine outing on the mound.
Johnny Cueto improved to 11-5 with a 4-hit shutout of Houston, fanning 7 in the complete game victory. Oscar Charleston and Ed Charles went deep in the 3-0 win.
#Wandering House of David
Mark McGwire hit out 2, giving him 7 in 13 games, as the House of David topped Birmingham 8-6.
Indianapolis missed the playoffs last year. This season, they are neck-and-neck with Kansas City to lead the Marvin Miller Division, sitting currently at 5 games over .500. So something’s gotten better.
The ABC’s inherit players from a franchise with a long history, but surprisingly little actual success, the Cincinnati Reds.
This is a pitching-and-defense kind of team, but honestly it feels like they are sort of doing it with mirrors right now.
THE OFFENSE
The ABC’s are fast, but really aren’t a terribly imposing offense. It’s a reasonably standard problem: there is a handful of excellence surrounded by a lot of mediocrity.
Overall, the ABC’s–other than Oscar Charleston and Joe Morgan–just don’t hit very well, with only those two, Bob Bescher and Tommy Helms sporting batting averages over .260.
There is some power, with 6 batters in double-digits for HR, led by Adam Dunn‘s 24, but the offense is just shut down far too often.
#What’s Going Right
Oscar Charleston has blossomed, with the 20 year old OFer slashing 336/386/642 and leading the team in 2B, 3B, RBI, and R.
When healthy, Joe Morgan looks to have an argument to be the best 2B in the WBL, hitting over .300, drawing a ton of walks, and even flashing some power. But Little Joe has only played in roughly half Indianapolis’ games so far this season. So, we’ll see.
Adam Dunn and Joey Votto are eerie clones of each other, and they’re doing very well in terms of drawing walks and hitting for power (Dunn leads the ABC’s with 24 homers; Votto has added 16).
George Foster has hit for impressive power as a rookie, although the rest of his game needs some seasoning.
Barry Larkin, who was essentially awful last year, has slowly extended his claim on the starting SS spot.
Bob Bescher gets on base a lot and is very, very fast–a .359 OBP and 38 steals, with only 7 times being caught.
Luis Padrón has been something slightly above mediocre as a position player, allowing some roster flexibility.
#What’s Not Going Right
The biggest issue is Johnny Bench who, despite 21 dingers, is only slashing 2228/290/510. Now, he did hit 267/371/720 in June, so perhaps he is reverting to his form of last year, but overall it’s been a struggle, with Bench dropping down significantly in the lineup.
The rest of the roster–3B and all the reserves–have been quite poor with Robin Ventura being particularly disappointing to date.
THE PITCHING
The ABC’s are the only team in the WBL committed to a 6-man rotation, and while the top 3 or 4 slots tend to stay somewhat stable, the rest is in somewhat constant flux.
This year, it’s working more often than not, and the bullpen has been solid.
Still, there are causes for concern all over the place, as most everyone’s secondary numbers are a little weak.
#What’s Going Right
Johnny Cueto, Rube Foster, and Luis Padrón look set at the front of the rotation. Padrón has the best record in the league at 11-2, and Cueto and Foster both have sub-4.00 ERA’s. All three have decent peripherals, but Cueto and Padrón especially seem strong enough to carry a staff.
Rob Dibble has 16 saves despite being torched occasionally.
Jack Billingham has been excellent late in games, contributing across the board with a 4-1 record, 22 saves and 6 holds.
Rob Murphy is tied for the WBL lead with 11 holds.
#What’s Not Going Right
Last year’s darlings, Doc White and Willie Mitchell, are a combined 5-11 with ERA’s around 6.00.
The Only Nolan has hit a rough patch, putting what looked like a promising debut season in doubt.
Dick Tidrow has been atrocious, and is most likely not long for the WBL roster.
There is roster filler here, but little high end talent. 3B/SS Oliver Marcell is the highest rated prospect, but 19 year old Tom Glavine may have a higher ceiling. On the IF, Donie Bush and Matt Chapman have some promise, but other than that … Bob Ewing? Jim Maloney? Chris Hammond? Yeah, roster filler.
WHAT’S NEEDED
The top-end performers to keep doing their thing while everyone else takes small steps forward. That would be enough to at least keep Indianapolis in contention for the post-season, which would be a successful season.
Storylines to Watch
Key Questions from Spring Training
Who starts, and does the team retain its experimentation with a 6-man rotation? The answer to the second question is yes, yes they do and the answer to the first seems fine: Cueto, Padron, and Foster, and then a makeshift group as things unfold.
How do the uncertainties at SS/3B resolve? Still an issue. Larkin looks to have claimed SS, but 3B remains fairly open.
FEATURED SERIES
July starts with a four game series at Philadelphia, so that’s what we’ll focus on.
Projected Starters
Indianapolis starter listed first.
Luis Padrón (11-2, 4.21) @ Charles Rogan (4-7, 4.68) Rube Foster (6-4, 3.80) @ J.M. Ward (3-4, 4.11) Edward Nolan (3-4, 5.32) @ Steve Carlton (7-8, 5.47) Willie Mitchell (1-5, 5.89) @ Ray Collins (1-4, 5.40)
Game One
Luis Padrón has struggled at the plate, so the ABC’s decided he would just concentrate in his pitching in this one; the Stars had no such concerns, and Bullet Joe Rogan would take the mound and serve as DH.
Through 4 innings, Rogan had allowed only 2 hits, but they were both solo homeruns (1 to Emil Frisk, the other to Joey Votto) while Padrón had kept the Stars hitless. So, 2-0 Indianapolis.
Frisk went deep again in the 5th, and Oscar Charleston drove in a run to extend the lead to 5-0.
Chase Utley broke up the no-hitter in the bottom of the frame, but that was really it: the Stars bullpen held until the 9th, but Padrón was just too good, dominating Philadelphia in a 2-hit shutout. He improved to 12-2 on the year, dropped his ERA below 4.00, and most likely cemented his position as the starting pitcher in the all-star game for the NL.
The ABC’s would face John M0ntgomery Ward in the middle game, which is sort of a mixed bag: Ward’s peripheral numbers are great, but his record is only 3-4 and he’s struggled to get his ERA below the magical 4.00 mark. Indianapolis would counter with Rube Foster, whose 3.80 ERA makes an argument for his inclusion in the all-star game.
And then game the first inning: Philadelphia batted around, scored 6 runs, and Foster’s ERA ballooned to 4.35. He settled down after that and–surprisingly–made it through 5 innings, bringing his ERA back down to 4.17. Still.
Ward was dealing, making much of the rest of the game moot. He was finally chased by a moonshot from Joe Morgan, which closed the score to 8-2. He was relieved by Brad Kilby, who promptly gave up a homerun to Emil Frisk.
But the game was over, ending up 9-3 behind Ward’s fine outing. Willie Davis and Chase Utley had 3 hits each for the Stars.
IND 3 (Foster 6-5) @ PHI 9 (Ward 4-4) HRs: IND – Morgan (15), Frisk (4); PHI – none. Box Score
Game Three
With the series tied at 1 each, game 3 would see The Only Nolan take the mound for Indianapolis, opposed by Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton.
The ABC’s took the early lead on a 2-run shot by Joey Votto in the top of the first, but RBI singles from Butch Wynegar and Jimmy Rollins tied it up in the bottom of the 2nd. Philadelphia then took the lead on Aaron Judge‘s 25th homer of the year in the following inning, making it 3-2 in favor of the Stars.
Indianapolis rebounded on George Foster‘s 15 homer of the year, a 2-run shot making it 4-3.
Nolan couldn’t get an out in the 6th, allowing a double to Rico Carty and a walk to to Ted Kluszewski before being replaced by Willie Mitchell. Mitchell got 2 outs, but then surrendered a game-tying single to Rollins.
Carlton lasted a little longer, but departed in the top of the 8th after surrendering a single to Luis Padrón and hitting Joe Morgan with a pitch. After a walk, Oscar Charleston and Joey Votto singled and eventually Ed Charles doubled, making the score 10-4 in favor of the ABC’s.
That’s how it would end, with Votto finishing the game with 4 RBI’s as Indianapolis took a 2-1 lead in the series.
The series would end with Indianapolis’ Doc White taking on Ray Collins.
George Foster opened the scoring in the 2nd with a solo shot, but Joe Rogan put Philadelphia on top an inning later, launching his 15th of the year with 2 runners on base. White would give up 2 more in the 4th on RBI hits from Chase Utley and Sherry Magee. Singles to open up the 6th by Ted Kluszewski and Mike Scioscia finally chased White and brought Mike LaCoss in for his WBL debut.
Collins was finally touched for another run in the 7th, but Fred Cambria was able to work out of a jam, preserving the Stars’ 5-2 lead.
Joey Votto launched his 19th of the year in the top of the 9th off Stars’ closer Bob Howry to close it to 5-4, but that was all the ABC’s could muster.
Joe Morgan had 3 hits for Indianapolis, but it wasn’t enough, and the series ends in an even split.
It’s not bad, but if the ABC’s are going to solidify their position, they need to beat up on the weaker teams, like the Stars. But 3 homeruns for Votto and 2 for Frisk and Foster are decent signs, for sure.
We’ll preview the All Star selections, so this will be a bit of a longer entry.
#Awards
Lots of awards, as we moved into a new month!
First, the smaller ones. Houston‘s Jeff Bagwell was the National League Player of the Week, hitting .409 with 5 homeruns while Eric Davis of the juggernaut New York Black Yankees was the American League Player of the Week, hitting .481 with 5 homers in the same span.
In the monthly awards, the American League Rookie of the Month for June was San Francisco‘s Turkey Stearnes, who hit .378 with 11 homeruns in the month.
Kansas City‘s A. Rube Foster was both the National League Rookie of the Month and the NL Pitcher of the Month, going 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA, as the young hurler announced himself as, at least so far, a premier WBL starter. The American League Pitcher of the Month was Bump Hadley, Stearnes’ teammate in San Francisco. Hadley was 5-0 in June with a 2.66 ERA.
Ottawa‘s star backstop, Gary Carter, was the National League Batter of the Month, hitting .397 with 14 homeruns in June while in the American League, unsurprisingly, the award went to the stellar Ty Cobb. The Detroit OF hit .408 with 11 homers in June, which actually brought his overall average down in that span (Cobb is leading the WBL in BA at .418).
#Team Performance
Yawn.
The Black Yankees and the Sea Lions continue to be the 2 best teams in the league, leading their divisions by 5 and 11 games respectively.
The Effa Manley Division might offer some excitement in the second half, as Brooklyn still leads Homestead by 4 and the New York Gothams by 5.5. But the only true race is in the Marvin Miller Division, where Kansas City has overtaken Indianapolis, now leading the ABC’s by 2.5 games.
The Houston Colt 45’s are 8-2 over their last 10 games, but still sit 5 games under .500. Detroit and Philadelphia are moving in the other direction, with each team managing only 2 wins in their last 10 contests.
Birmingham still has the worst record in the league, but they have moved over .400, sitting at .410 (34-49).
#Player Performance
Batters
It’s still Ty Cobb’s world, although Babe Ruth is doing Babe Ruth things, and reached the 40 homerun plateau during the last week.
José Canseco (MCG). 254/375/734. 36 HR. Oscar Charleston (IND). 336/386/642. 103 H, 9 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 416/464/885. 116 H, 37 2B, 8 3B, 5.8 WAR. Josh Gibson (HOM). 392/481/748. 5.1 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 389/425/601. 116 H. Pete Hill (HOU). 291/371/487. 10 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 356/398/588. 103 H, 39 2B. Stan Musial (KCM). 329/392/573. 37 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 292/426/775. 40 HR, 90 RBI, 82 R, 68 BB, 5.0 WAR. Larry Walker (OTT). 293/369/721. 36 HR, 85 RBI.
Rickey Henderson (San Francisco) and Tim Raines (Ottawa) continue to be 1-2 in the league in steals, but it’s getting closer, with Henderson’s edge now 60 to 53.
Pitchers
Starters
While his performance has been somewhat below par, the New York Gothams’ Christy Mathewson continues to be definition of workhorse, leading the WBL with 20 starts, 2 ahead of a bevy of hurlers with 18.
7 pitchers have reached double-digits in wins, with Luis Padrón (Indianapolis) leading the way at 11-2. All 7 are included below. Houston’s Toad Ramsey was so dominant for so long, he is still the top starter in the league despite a recent dip in form, but I would probably choose Lefty Grove of San Francisco or the emergent A. Rube Foster.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 10-1, 4.22. A. Rube Foster (KCM). 5-1, 2.30. .203 BABIP, 0.98 WHIP, 3.70 FIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-4, 3.71. 126 IP, 132 K, 3.1 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-4, 3.86. 143 K, 3.80 FIP, 3.2 WAR. Bump Hadley (SFS). 11-4, 4.21, 3.50 FIP, 3.0 WAR. Orel Hershiser (BRK). 10-4, 3.87. Luis Padrón (IND). 11-2, 4.21. 3.57 FIP, 3.3 WAR. Eddie Plank (SFS). 11-3, 3.54. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 11-4, 2.77. 124 IP, 152 K, 0.89 WHIP, 2.80 FIP, 5.2 WAR. Ed Walsh (CAG). 6-3, 3.41. 1 Sv, .201 BABIP. Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 7-7, 3.41. 3.66 FIP, 3.4 WAR.
Relievers
We’ve listed the top 3 leaders in saves, all 5 of the relievers who have reached double digits in Holds, as well as all 5 with an ERA below 2.00.
18 IP minimum.
Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.47. 21 Sv. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-2, 6.03. 11 H. Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 2.92. 19 Sv. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.72. 1 Sv, 4 H. Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-4, 4.13. 1 Sv, 10 H. Brad Kilby (PHI). 1-2, 4.39. 2 Sv, 10 H. Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 2-1, 1.14. 2 Sv, 11 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 4-2, 3.45. 20 Sv. Rob Murphy (IND). 1-3, 3.75. 1 Sv, 11 H. Robb Nen (NYG). 3-2, 1.95. 9 Sv, 6 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 1-0, 1.64. 3 Sv, 3 H. BJ Ryan (OTT). 1-2, 4.15. 1 Sv, 10 H. Harley Young (BBB). 1-0, 1.23. 3 Sv, 5 H.
#Injury Report
Portland lost half of their backstop platoon as AJ Pierzynski will be out for close to a month. News was worse for Ottawa, as SP Bob Moose is out for close to a year.
Houston’s Casey Stengel and Kansas City’s Lou Brock are awaiting diagnosis on their current injuries.
Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace, Detroit’s Billy Hoeft, and the Black Yankees’ Dave Righetti should all begin rehab assignments this week.
#The All Star Candidates
We’ll look at these by position, mixing the two leagues for the time being.
For each position, we’ve included as many players as it takes to have at least 3-4 candidates from each league, highlighting some pretty severe disparities in talent between the AL and the NL.
If players don’t qualify for the batting stats, their playing time is noted, as are some other potentially influencing factors. This indicates a leader at that position among the players listed (but not necessarily overall).
Each league can only select 32 players for the All Star Game itself (usually 20 or 21 position players and 11 or 12 pitchers), so quite a few of the players listed here will be left on the outside looking in.
#C
The NL dominates here, with 3 catchers with an OPS over 1.000. That means some worthy candidates–most notably NYG’s Buster Posey –are likely to miss out.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Josh Gibson
HOM / NL
1.229
5.1 WAR; 67 RBI
3.1 FRM
Gary Carter
OTT /NL
1.073
28 HR
47.1 RTO%
Mike Piazza
BRK / NL
1.042
29 HR; 65 RBI
4.87 CERA
Ed Bailey
DET / AL
.972
57 G/216 PA; 43.6 RTO%
Jim Pagliaroni
BBB / NL
.925
61 G/231 PA
Mickey Cochrane
SFS / AL
.917
10 SB; 4.39 CERA
Ted Simmons
KCM / NL
.900
63 G/256 PA; 4.15 CERA
Buster Posey
NYG / NL
.870
3.8 FRM
Joe Mauer
POR / AL
.856
14 SB
Curt Blefary
BAL /AL
.826
Carlton Fisk
CAG / AL
.800
67 G/254 PA; 11 SB
FRM = Framing Runs | RTO% = Runners Thrown Out | CERA = Catcher ERA
The other stalwart defensive catchers–Miami‘s Iván Rodríguez and Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench–just haven’t hit enough, although a late surge by Bench has moved him up these lists.
I don’t think there is any question in the NL, where it’s Gibson, Carter, and Piazza. Cochrane and Mauer should be in for the AL, with a question of whether you go with Bailey’s bat in more limited appearances or Blefary. Should the NL decide to carry 4 backstops, the choice between Pagliaroni and Simmons (and, perhaps, Posey) is close.
Gibson and Cochrane should be the starters.
#1B
The AL has a slight edge here, but there’s a lot of talent throughout.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Lou Gehrig
NYY / AL
1.057
28 HR; 21 2B; 65 RBI
.995 Fldg
Will Clark
NYG / NL
1.006
Frank Thomas
CAG / AL
1.004
Hank Greenberg
DET / AL
.991
26 HR
.998 Fldg; 3.1 ZR
Mike Epstein
HOM / NL
.965
Anthony Rizzo
HOD / NL
.964
Lance Berkman
CLE / AL
.957
Jim Thome
MCG / AL
.927
28 HR; 64 RBI
Jeff Bagwell
HOU / NL
.923
66 RBI
.995 Fldg
Boog Powell
KCM / NL
.920
.995 Fldg; 9.23 RF; 2.9 ZR
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Gehrig and Clark are almost certainly the starters, and the AL will likely take Thomas and Greenberg as well. In the NL, it gets a little trickier, as Powell (along with Greenberg) is one of the better 1B defensively. Epstein’s offense will carry him, but after that my guess is Rizzo gets the selection (but cannot participate via injury), and is replaced by Powell, with Bagwell having a legitimate complaint.
#2B
The NL is ridiculously stacked in terms of offensive-minded 2B.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Joe Morgan
IND / NL
1.088
47 G/199 PA
Roberto Alomar
OTT/ NL
1.008
21 2B; 18 HR; 64 RBI; 31 SB; 3.5 WAR
Ryne Sandberg
HOD / NL
.995
28 HR; 60 RBI; 2.9 WAR
.997 Fldg; 5.00 RF
Jackie Robinson
BRK / NL
.938
Rogers Hornsby
POR / AL
.919
53 G/234 PA
Charlie Gehringer
DET / AL
.876
57 G/225 PA; .989 Fldg; 5.09 RF
Eddie Collins
CAG / AL
.850
36 SB
Bobby Grich
LAA / AL
.845
15 HR
Craig Biggio
HOU / NL
.841
Chase Utley
PHI / NL
.781
4.92 RF; 9.3 ZR
Cookie Rojas
MCG / AL
.766
27 2B
.987 Fldg
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Joe Morgan is included just for interest–he missed too much time to injury to warrant serious consideration. Detroit’s Charlie Gehringer, on the other hand, probably makes the cut, despite starting the season in the minors.
In the NL, it’s pretty clear: Alomar, Sandberg, and Robinson, with the starter being decided between Sandberg and Alomar over the next week. The AL is trickier, but I think it ends up going according to form: Eddie Collins to start, with Gehringer and Hornsby behind him.
#SS
It’s pretty impressive there are this many shortstops that can hit, and Ernie Banks‘ production is incredible.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Ernie Banks
HOD/ NL
.978
30 HR; 71 RBI
Cal Ripken, Jr.
BAL / AL
.967
39 G/140 PA; .993 Fldg; 4.90 RF
Carlos Correa
HOU/ NL
.929
18 2B; 2.8 WAR
Arky Vaughan
CLE / AL
.887
19 2B; 2.4 WAR
6.3 ZR
Álex Rodríguez
OTT / NL
.885
23 HR
Robin Yount
MCG / AL
.845
15 HR
5.8 ZR
Jim Fregosi
POR / AL
.793
Dick Lundy
SFS / AL
.783
7 3B; 2.1 WAR; 33 SB
Derek Jeter
NYY / AL
.762
Dobie Moore
MEM / AL
.750
22 SB
.983 Fldg
Ozzie Smith
KCM / NL
.672
19 2B; 25 SB
.994 Fldg; 6.3 ZR
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Ripken, Jr. is really not a serious contender, but he has been impressive in the 40 G’s he’s played. That gives us Banks, Correa, and Rodríguez in the NL and Vaughan, Yount, and either Fregosi or Lundy in the AL.
Smith is included because of his superlative defense, but doesn’t probably make the cut.
This is an interesting position: Vaughan and Rodríguez changed teams in the off season, and Correa’s performance has been a bit of a shock.
#3B
The top 5 are locks, beyond that, it gets much trickier, especially in the NL.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Albert Pujols
KCM / NL
1.046
32 2B; 60 RBI; 2.8 WAR
Ron Cey
BRK / NL
.967
2.4 WAR
.976 Fldg; 3.3 ZR
Gary Sheffield
MCG/ AL
.929
22 HR; 55 RBI; 15 SB
Evan Longoria
CLE / AL
.926
2.2 ZR
Mike Schmidt
NYY / AL
.926
23 HR; 55 RBI
2.59 RF
Scott Rolen
PHI / NL
.922
2.1 WAR
.974 Fldg; 2.7 ZR
Ron Santo
HOD /NL
.906
52 G/192 PA
Eddie Mathews
BBB / NL
.904
24 HR
.978 Fldg; 2.66 RF
Wade Boggs
MEM / AL
.896
26 2B
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
After Pujols and Cey, it’s hard in the NL. Matthews and Rolen edge ahead of Santo due to defense and Santo’s relative low usage, but picking between the two of them is very challenging, to the point the NL may go with 4 players at the hot corner.
#OF
All of the OF spots are a bit combined in the end, but we’re keeping them separate for the sake of comparison.
#LF
When Detroit’s Ty Cobb plays the OF, he plays here as well, making the AL selections pretty simple.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Babe Ruth
NYY / AL
1.201
40 HR; 90 RBI; 5.0 WAR
.988 Fldg; 5.1 ZR
Ted Williams
MEM / AL
1.063
23 2B; 65 RBI
Frank Robinson
BAL / AL
1.035
24 HR; 64 RBI; 2.3 WAR
1.000 Fldg
Adam Dunn
IND / NL
.906
24 HR
.989 Fldg; 3.41 RF
Roy White
BRK / NL
.866
Oscar Gamble
DET / AL
.852
Rickey Henderson
SFS / AL
.840
2.8 WAR; 60 SB
7.2 ZR
Tim Raines
OTT / NL
.773
7 3B; 53 SB
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
So, Ruth, Williams, and Robinson are in, and perhaps Henderson’s 60+ SB warrant a spot. In the NL, it’s more challenging. Dunn seems to be a lock, and White is a bit of a sentimental choice. It may be just those 2 from this group.
#CF
Tris Speaker, as despicable of a human being as he is, is the best in the AL right now, especially considering the defensive contribution. Over in the NL, Willie Mays probably edges Oscar Charleston as the starter.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Rick Monday
OTT /NL
1.172
41 G/136 PA
Tris Speaker
CLE / AL
1.088
31 2B; 4.0 WAR
2.68 RF; 5.1 ZR; 6 Kills
Turkey Stearnes
SFS / AL
1.065
7 3B; 24 HR
Eric Davis
NYY / AL
1.058
26 SB
41 G/188 PA; 1.000 Fldg
Julio Rodríguez
MCG / AL
1.052
39 G/177 PA
Oscar Charleston
IND / NL
1.027
9 3B; 60 RBI; 24 SB
Willie Mays
NYG / NL
.977
31 HR; 62 RBI; 2.9 WAR
.990 Fldg; 2.70 RF; 7.7 ZR
Mike Trout
LAA / AL
.965
24 2B; 2.8 WAR; 21 SB
1.000 Fldg
Carlos Beltrán
OTT / NL
.916
63 RBI; 21 SB
Alejandro Oms
MCG / AL
.883
5 3B
6.3 ZR
Curtis Granderson
BBB / NL
.876
26 HR
3.01 RF
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Monday, Davis, and Rodríguez aren’t really in contention, but their performances in limited action have been pretty spectacular.
Speaker, Stearnes, and Trout are pretty much locks in the AL, with Oms being a hard luck case. Beltrán deserves the spot behind Mays and Charleston.
#RF
A deep, deep group, probably 4 deep in each league.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
José Canseco
MCG / AL
1.109
36 HR
Larry Walker
OTT / NL
1.090
36 HR; 85 RBI; 22.4 WAR
3.89 RF
Reggie Jackson
SFS / AL
1.027
63 RBI; 2.8 WAR; 24 SB
Tony Gwynn
HOU / NL
1.026
6 3B; 24 2B; 2.8 WAR
Aaron Judge
PHI / NL
.994
.992 Fldg
Mickey Mantle
NYY / AL
.993
30 HR; 76 RBI
Joe Jackson
CAG /AL
.986
39 2B; 27 SB
Stan Musial
KCM / NL
.964
37 2B
5.5 ZR
Johnny Callison
NYG / NL
.945
.993 Fldg
Mookie Betts
MEM / AL
.865
24 2B
1.000 Fldg
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Canseco, Mantle, and the 2 Jacksons seem locks in the AL, with Walker, Gwynn, and Judge in the NL. It’s possible Musial misses the cut, as ridiculous as that sounds.
#DH
The pressure here is immense, given the competition for the other OF spots.
Name
Tm / Lg
OPS
Reg Stats
Other
Ty Cobb
DET / AL
1.350
37 2B; 8 3B; 26 HR; 73 RBI; 5.8 WAR; 31 SB
Kal Daniels
LAA / AL
1.023
21 2B; 2.3 WAR; 30 SB
Manny Ramírez
MEM / AL
.986
56 G/224 PA
Ryan Braun
MCG/ AL
.982
31 HR
Willie Stargell
HOM / NL
.980
27 HR
Gavvy Cravath
BAL / AL
.926
22 2B; 69 RBI
Benny Kauff
NYG / NL
.909
Fldg = Fielding % | RF = Range Factor | ZR = Zone Rating
Cobb is, of course, a lock, and it would be hard to keep Daniels off the roster. Beyond that, though, it gets difficult to justify a pure DH, although Braun, Stargell, and Cravath all have decent arguments.
#P
Pitching is, of course, a constant crapshoot, and a lot could change in the outings this week.
All pitchers are sorted by ERA.
#SP
This list has everyone with an ERA under 4.00 or 10 or more wins.
Name
Tm / Lg
W-L; ERA
Reg Stats
Other
Toad Ramsey
HOU / NL
11-4, 2.77
152 K; 0.89 WHIP; 5.2 WAR; 2.80 FIP
71% QS; 5 CG; 2 SHO; 2.34 SIERA; 1.7 WPA
Doc Gooden
LAA / AL
7-5, 3.17
Hardie Henderson
PHI/ NL
9-6, 3.18
Smokey Joe Williams
BRK / NL
7-7, 3.41
3.4 WAR
Ed Walsh
CAG / AL
6-3, 3.41
1.06 WHIP
Eddie Plank
SFS / AL
11-3, 3.54
Roger Clemens
HOU / NL
9-4, 3.71
65% QS
Lefty Grove
SFS / AL
10-4, 3.71
132 K
4 CG; 3 SHO; 2.87 SIERA
Johnny Cueto
IND / NL
8-4, 3.75
67% QS
Rube Foster
IND / NL
6-4, 3.80
Ron Guidry
NYY / AL
8-4, 3.86
143 K
2.58 SIERA
Orel Hershiser
BRK / NL
10-4, 3.87
Brett Anderson
LAA / AL
7-2, 3.91
1.06 WHIP
Andy Pettitte
NYY / AL
9-5, 4.05
Bump Hadley
SFS / AL
11-4, 4.21
3.50 FIP
Luis Padrón
IND / NL
11-2, 4.21
3.3 WA; 3.57 FIP
Frank Castillo
KCM / NL
10-1, 4.22
3 CG; 2 SHO
José Méndez
MCG / AL
6-4, 4.45
FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added
Right now, I would guess the starting matchup is Toad Ramsey for the NL and Eddie Plank for the AL.
Beyond that, in the AL, I see Gooden, Walsh, and Grove as easy picks. Guidry is likely in as well, leaving Anderson and Hadley on the bubble.
The NL is much harder to figure out. Henderson, Hershiser, Padrón, and Castillo feel like they deserve selections, with Williams having a very strong case as well. That would leave some excellent performances–Clemens and Cueto especially–on the outside looking in.
#Swingmen / Long Relivers
These are players who are either swing starters or have seen more innings than the finishers below. As is often the case, there are a few folks here who, for whatever the reason, took a while to be inserted into the rotation.
Name
Tm / Lg
W-L; ERA
Reg Stats
Other
A. Rube Foster
KCM/ NL
5-1, 2.30
0.98 WHIP
7 GS; 90 IP; 86% QS; 2 SHO; 1.0 WPA
Jim Whitney
BBB / NL
4-2, 3.26
1 Sv; 2 H; 1.03 WHIP
11 GS; 94 IP; 73% QS; 1.9 WPA
Tom Brewer
SFS / AL
0-1, 2.33
1 Sv; 2 H
2 GS; 27 IP
Fernando Valenzuela
BRK / NL
5-0, 2.37
1 Sv; 4 H; 0.96 WHIP
1 GS; 60 IP; 1.0 WPA
Rheal Cormier
NYY / AL
0-2, 6.03
11 H
FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added
Foster and Valenzuela seem clear selections, with Brewer and Cormier missing the cut and Whitney being on the bubble.
#Closers & Setups
20 IP Minimum, with a possible exception for Brian Wilson of the New York Gothams.
Name
Tm / Lg
W-L; ERA
Reg Stats
Other
Brian Wilson
NYG/ NL
1-0, 1.08
11 Sv
17 IP
Craig Kimbrel
KCM / NL
2-1, 1.14
2 Sv; 11 H; 0.89 WHIP
15 SD; 5.6 IRS%; 2.90 SIERA; 2.0 WPA
Harley Young
BBB / NL
1-0, 1.23
3 Sv; 5 H
Ron Robinson
SFS / AL
1-0, 1.64
3 Sv; 3 H
Ken Howell
SFS / AL
4-1, 1.72
1 Sv; 4 H
Robb Nen
NYG / NL
3-2, 1.95
9 Sv; 6 H
Eddie Guardado
KCM / NL
2-1, 2.08
1 Sv; 5 H
2.92 SIERA
Tug McGraw
HOU / NL
3-3, 2.16
7 Sv
Ross Reynolds
LAA / AL
2-0, 2.19
1 Sv; 1 H
Goose Gossage
NYY / AL
2-3, 2.32
9 Sv; 8 H
.90 Sv%
Lee Smith
HOD / NL
4-1, 2.73
5 Sv; 6 H; 0.73 WHIP
Eric Gagne
BRK / NL
1-1, 2.92
19 Sv
17 SD
Justin Hampson
BAL / AL
0-0, 3.00
7 H; 0.95 WHIP
Terry Adams
CLE / AL
1-2, 3.18
15 Sv; 2 H
.94 Sv%
Josh Lindblom
HOM / NL
4-2, 3.45
20 Sv
.95 Sv%; 16 SD; 1.3 WPA
Rod Beck
SFS / AL
3-2, 3.47
21 Sv; 0.73 WHIP
15 SD
Rob Murphy
IND / NL
1-3, 3.75
1 Sv; 11 H
Michael Jackson
HOM / NL
1-4, 4.13
1 Sv; 10 H
BJ Ryan
OTT / NL
1-2, 4.15
1 Sv; 10 H
Brad Kilby
PHI / NL
1-2, 4.39
2 Sv; 10 H
2.73 SIERA
Rob Dibble
IND / NL
2-2, 5.25
16 Sv
Jeff Pfeffer
KCM / NL
1-3, 5.61
16 Sv
FIP = Fielding Independent Pitching | QS = Quality Starts | SIERA = Skill Interactive ERA | WPA = Win Probability Added
A difficult set of choices for sure. Of the true closers, Gagne, Lindblom, and Beck seem locks, with Kimbrel, Young, Howell, Nen, McGraw, Gossage, and Smith deserving nods as well.
That would give the NL 7 selections, likely keeping Wilson from making the team. It would also give the AL only 3, opening the door for Adams and even Reynolds or Hampson.
Ottawa‘s Roberto Alomar won the NL Player of the Week, hitting .625 with 4 homeruns, while scoring and driving in 9.
Manny Ramírez of the Memphis Red Sox is already approaching his production from last season, and hitting .368 with 3 homers and 10 RBI’s earned him the AL Player of the Week.
#Team Performance
I am likely to regret writing this as the season unfolds, but three of the divisions really seem to be settling down. The New York Black Yankees continue to have the best record in the WBL, leading Cleveland by 7 games in the Bill James Division. In the Cum Posey Division, San Francisco has pulled away from Miami and Chicago, leading the former by 6.5 games and the latter by 7. And, over in the Marvin Miller Division, Indianapolis and Kansas City are tied for the top spot, 7 games ahead of the House of David.
That leaves the Effa Manley Division, where nobody really wants to take control, with Homestead currently in first and Philadelphia in last place, only 4.5 games back
The New York Gothams have ridden an 8-2 streak to move within 1 game of Homestead and the Birmingham Black Barons may finally be showing some life, going 7-3 in their last 10 games. It’s too early to really get excited in Birmingham, though: that run of success leaves them with still having the worst record in the league, 11 games out of first place.
Cleveland, Homestead, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, and the House of David have all struggled a bit, sporting 3-7 records over their last 10 games.
Some differences in style are emerging across the league, with all teams playing between 62 and 65 games.
Ottawa continues to have by far the most terrifying offense in the league, sporting a team OPS over .900 and leading the way with 160 homeruns. They are also the only team to have scored 400+ runs at this point.
San Francisco and Baltimore are the most patient teams in the WBL, each with over 260 walks, over 100 more than Brooklyn and Miami at the other end of the list. San Francisco and the Black Yankees strike out the most while Kansas City and Philadelphia are the hardest to whiff by a long shot.
Finally, Indianapolis and San Francisco are neck and neck in SB with 138 and 137 respectively. Only Ottawa and Chicago are also over 100, while the New York Gothams have only swiped 45 bases.
#Player Performance
Batters
This may be the first time in the history of the WBL that Babe Ruth only leads in 2 categories and those 2–runs and walks–are arguably the least important metrics being tracked.
José Canseco and Larry Walker have each reached the 30 HR mark and Walker’s amazing streak has vaulted him over Ruth for the RBI lead.
Tony Gwynn–at a blinding .420–is the only hitter over .400, although Homestead’s Josh Gibson is edging into that territory at .399.
Roberto Alomar (OTT). 324/407/616. 56 R. José Canseco (MCG). 289/400/821. 30 HR. Oscar Charleston (IND). 325/382/582. 7 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 396/446/806. 86 H, 4.1 WAR. Josh Gibson (HOM). 399/467/759. 3.9 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 420/457/656. 96 H, 31 2B. Pete Hill (HOU). 288/368/498. 8 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 376/424/615. 31 2B. Stan Musial (KCM). 319/384/552. 32 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 292/410/712. 27 HR, 69 RBI, 58 R, 47 BB. Larry Walker (OTT). 324/395/781. 30 HR, 71 RBI. Ted Williams (MEM). 311/432/612. 45 BB.
Pitchers
Starters
Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón was the first hurler to 10 wins, leading the league at 10-1, and Houston‘s Toad Ramsey is the only player with 9. We’ve included the 3 starters with 8 wins and 2 or fewer losses below and everyone with an ERA below 3.00, as well as the usual statistical leaders.
It paints an odd picture, as Ramsey has actually faded a bit over the past few weeks, but retains his spot as the best pitcher in the WBL right now.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 8-1, 4.03. Johnny Cueto (IND). 8-2, 3.38. Lefty Grove (SFS). 7-4, 3.26. 99 IP, 2.9 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-2, 3.65, 109 SO. Bump Hadley (SFS). 8-4, 4.15. 3.39 FIP. Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-4, 2.98. Luis Padrón (IND). 10-1, 3.61. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-3, 2.68. 117 SO, 0.93 WHIP, 2.78 FIP, 3.9 WAR. Ed Walsh (CAG). 5-2, 2.95. 1 Sv. JM Ward (PHI). 3-2, 3.56. 1.00 WHIP.
Relievers
All three relievers with 9 holds are included, as well as all 3 with ERA’s below 1.50.
15 IP minimum.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 4.60. 15 Sv. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-1, 3.12. 9 H. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.23. 4 H. Bob Howry (PHI). 3-1, 3.60. 10 Sv, 0.75 WHIP. Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-2, 2.66. 1 Sv, 9 H. Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 1.04. 1 Sv, 9 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-2, 3.86. 17 Sv. Tug McGraw (HOU). 2-2, 1.04. 4 Sv. Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 3.55. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.79 WHIP.
#Injury Report
Baltimore may receive a big boost to its bullpen with both John Wetteland and, more importantly, Sean Marshall due to begin rehab assignments this week. Marshall was among the most dominant relievers in the league last season before being injured.
Indianapolis’ 3B Ed Charles and Miami’s OF Al Oliver should both begin a rehab assignment late in the week
#Oddities
Thought we would check in on some of the odder performances in the league so far.
We’ll start with Homestead’s Mike Epstein and San Francisco’s Jimmie Foxx, each of which are hitting under .240 with OPS’ over .900. Epstein’s slash line is 236/369/577 while Foxx’s is 222/326/593. Half of Foxx’s 42 hits have been homeruns (Birmingham’s Curtis Granderson has 38 hits and 20 homers).
14 players who have seen a decent amount of playing time are sporting batting averages below .200. Only 2 of them have an OPS over .800. If you’re a diehard fan of the WBL, you may guess that one of them is Chicago’s eternal dilemma, Mike Fiore. Fiore is hitting .194. But 33 walks gives him a respectable .344 OBP, and 11 homers up his SLG to .472, giving him an OPS of .816. The other is Birmingham’s Eddie Mathews, who is doing it all with power. His OBP is barely over .300, but 19 homeruns gives him a .519 SLG to go with it.
On the mound, in the won-loss record is a bad stat department, I’ll offer up Bert Blyleven of the Portland Sea Dogs and Philadelphia’s John Montgomery Ward. Blyleven has 14 starts and is 6th in the league in IP, but sports only a 2-4 record while Ward has pitched excellently, holding a 3.56 ERA over 13 starts and the second best WHIP in the league at 1.00, but only managing a 3-2 record.
At the other end of the scale, 2 hurlers with at least 7 wins also have ERAs over 5.00: Ottawa’s Old Hoss Radbourn at 8-4, 5.79 and the New York Gothams’ Don Sutton at 7-3, 5.40.
We’ve entered June, so we’re clearly heading towards our midseason stride.
#Awards
Since we cross into June we have a bevy of awards.
In the AL, the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth was named the Batter of the Month, hitting .347 with 15 homers in May, driving in 34 and scoring 30 times. And look, that’s impressive. But Ruth’s reputation certainly helped him with the honor, given that he had the 3rd best OPS in the AL for the month, trailing behind Miami‘s José Canseco (1.430) and Detroit‘s Ty Cobb (1.429). Canseco also had more homeruns, leading the WBL for the month with 18. Ruth’s RBI and R numbers did lead the league, and it is hard to argue against his numbers.
In the NL, the award went to Ottawa‘s Larry Walker for the second consecutive month. Walker hit .273 with 17 dingers and a whopping 38 RBI, but his selection wasn’t unanimous. Looking at just the major slash stats, his BA was eclipsed by Houston‘s Tony Gwynn, who hit .441 for the month; his OBP by Homestead‘s Josh Gibson, who led the NL with a .480 mark; and Gibson’s teammate Mike Epstein SLG mark of .833 SLG eclipsed Walker’s .818. But Walker’s HR and RBI numbers led the league by a lot, and 38 RBI in 26 games is just remarkable.
The Black Yankees doubled it up, with Ron Guidry winning the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 6-0 with a 1.73 ERA in May while in the NL, Rob Dibble of the Indianapolis ABC‘s was a bit of a surprise selection. Dibble went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 8 saves, certainly a strong performance. You really can’t quibble with Guidry’s selection, but Dibble was selected over San Francisco‘s Lefty Grove (5-1, 1.18) and Brooklyn‘s Smokey Joe Williams (4-1, 2.16). Homestead’s Josh Lindblom had more saves than Dibble (11 to 8), but Lindblom’s other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive. Still, if it were up to me, the award would have gone to Grove.
There’s just not a lot to say about Julio Rodríguez other than wow. Miami’s surprise starter in CF leaving Spring Training hit .397 with 13 homeruns in the month, earning the AL Rookie of the Month. Over in the NL, the award went to Smokey Joe Williams, who, as mentioned above, was in the running for the overall award, let alone the rookie honor.
Player of the Week Awards were given out as well, although overshadowed by the larger honors for May.
Philadelphia‘s Aaron Judge has continued to develop from his impressive showing last season, and a recent hot streak where he hit .444 with 3 homeruns earned him the NL Player of the Week. Canseco was significantly hotter, hitting .636 with 5 homeruns to earn the AL award for the second consecutive week, perhaps some comfort against being snubbed for the monthly honor for May.
#Team Performance
Last week I wrote The New York Black Yankees and the Indianapolis ABC’s have each gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. This week, it’s still true. New York now leads Cleveland in the Bill James Division by 6.5 games, while Indianapolis has moved into 1st place in the Marvin Miller Division, leading Kansas City by .5 games.
San Francisco has a little more breathing room in the Cum Posey Division, leading Chicago by 5.5 games and the surprising Miami Cuban Giants by 6. The Effa Manley Division is still tight, with all 5 teams separated by only 4.5 games, from Homestead in 1st to Philadelphia and Ottawa in a virtual tie for 5th.
Detroit continues to flounder, going 2-8 in their last 10 games and plummeting to 13.5 games behind the Black Yankees.
#Player Performance
Batters
A shorter list: Ty Cobb is first or second in each of the slash categories, and he, Larry Walker, and José Canseco are all challenging Babe Ruth‘s historical dominance of the league.
Cobb and Tony Gwynn are still well over .400 as the calendar turns to June.
José Canseco (MCG). 304/421/881. 29 HR. Oscar Charleston (IND). 333/390/611. 7 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 420/471/862. 79 H, 28 2B, 4.0 WAR. Josh Gibson (HOM). 382/447/742. 48 R. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/463/683. 85 H. Pete Hill (HOU). 282/366/505. 8 3B. Stan Musial (KCM). 312/382/540. 29 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 307/426/743. 66 RBI, 55 R, 44 BB, 3.7 WAR. Larry Walker (OTT). 318/394/764. 26 HR, 61 RBI.
It often feels like the SB leaders should be handled separately: San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson leads the WBL with 42 steals. Indianapolis’ Bob Bescher has moved into 2nd place with 32 (and only 6 CS) while Ottawa’s Tim Raines has 30. Raines’ struggles at the plate are clearly contributing to his not challenging Henderson this year: while Rickey’s has an OBP just under .400 at .392, Raines is way down at .332.
Pitchers
Starters
Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón leads the league at 9-1, with Houston’s Toad Ramsey (9-2) and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry (8-1) close behind. Six pitchers have 7 wins, we’ve only included below the 3 that have only 1 or 2 losses. Also included are all 3 starters with sub-3.00 ERA’s (Ramsey, Philadelphia’s Hardie Henderson, and Los Angeles‘ Doc Gooden).
Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-1, 3.88. Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.43. Doc Gooden (LAA). 5-4, 2.92. Lefty Grove (SFS). 7-4, 3.13. 92 IP, 2.7 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-1, 3.17. 99 K, 3.39 FIP, 2.7 WAR. Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-3, 2.83. Luis Padrón (IND). 9-1, 3.66. Eddie Plank (SFS). 7-2, 3.94. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-2. 2.69. 87 IP, 108 K, 0.93 WHIP, 2.66 FIP, 3.8 WAR. JM Ward (PHI). 2-1, 3.46. 1.00 WHIP.
Relievers
There really isn’t a dominant closer in the WBL this season–the league leaders in saves have given up a bunch of runs; the dominant performers haven’t been racking up the saves. Indianapolis’ Rob Dibble is probably the best of the group. Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel, tied with the Black Yankees’ Rheal Cormier for the league lead in Holds, has probably been the best bullpen performer overall so far, and is pushing teammate Jeff Pfeffer for a shot at the closer spot.
13 IP minimum.
Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 2.84. 9 H. Rob Dibble (IND). 2-1, 3.06. 12 Sv. Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 4.91. 14 Sv. Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 1.10. 1 Sv, 9 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-1, 3.80. 15 Sv. Tug McGraw (HOU). 2-2, 1.26. 1 Sv. Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 1-2, 6.16. 12 Sv.
Some mention somewhere should be made of Brooklyn’s Fernando Valenzuela, who is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 4 Holds in over 40 innings. The Royal Giants have a very strong rotation, and Valenzuela is still looking for his first opportunity to step into a starting role.
#Injury Report
Will this week be the long awaited reckoning for Chicago’s Jack Doyle? The return of SS Damian Jackson, expected at the end of the week, may be the final nail in Doyle’s WBL service time.
#A Ball Check In
Wrapping up our 3 week trip through the minors, we’ll examine A ball this week. Given A ball’s focus on youth, we won’t have an age division, instead just presenting the top 2 performers at each position. 100 A PA minimum for batters.
Frank Dwyer (21, HOD). 6-1, 1.58. Jim McElroy (21, PHI). 4-1, 1.65.
RP
Joe Edelin (24, NYY). 1-0, 1.77. 14 Sv.
Mélido Pérez (20, NYY). 3-1, 2.05. 9 Sv, 4 H.
Griffin and Kershaw standout as the only teenagers listed. The Gothams have two 2B listed, although Washington is really spending more time at SS. And, Memphis’ Bill Buckner, although currently out for a couple of weeks through injury, is just dominating the league in most categories. Of this group, he, Kershaw, and Herman are probably the best long term prospects.
Something is just not right with young Bret Saberhagen. The Colt 45s moved him down to AAA, hoping he can recover his command there. Needing a starter, they promoted teenage phenom Leon Day for his first taste of WBL action since last season.
Jim O’Rourke‘s strong performance since his recall meant that, when George Brett was available for recall from a rehab assignment, Russ Adams was the odd man out, heading to AAA.
Toad Ramsey improved to 9-2, allowing only 2 hits and 2 runs over 8 innings while striking out 14 in a 6-2 win over Birmingham. Ramsey became the first hurler in the WBL to eclipse 100 K’s on the season.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Johnny Bench‘s poor start has finally impacted the ABC’s lineup construction, with the all-star catcher from last season dropping to 6th. It didn’t help, as Bench whiffed in all 4 of his at-bats, but Indianapolis used a solo homer from Oscar Charleston to edge Homestead 1-0 despite managing only 3 hits. Johnny Cueto, Sad Sam Jones, Rob Murphy, and Rob Dibble combined on the shutout, striking out 16.
Luis Padrón is dominating on the mound right now: the ABC’s scored 11 runs in the 3rd inning, but the story of the game was Padrón, who took a no-hitter into the 9th against the Grays, retired the first batter, gave up a single to Andrew McCutchen, and promptly induced a double-play for the 1-hitter. In doing so, Padrón dropped his ERA to 3.66 and improved his record to 9-1. Dave Henderson, Joey Votto, and Barry Larkin each drove in 3 while Larkin, Charleston, and George Foster each had 3 hits.
It wasn’t all good news for Indianapolis, however: Ed Charles headed to the DL, expected to miss a couple weeks with Robin Ventura being recalled from AAA.
#Kansas City Monarchs
A. Rube Foster moved into the Monarch’s rotation.
Despite a shaky outing, Smoky Joe Wood helped himself with his first homerun of the year, improving his record to 6-3 in a 14-6 win over the House of David. Stan Musial had 3 homeruns–one an inside the park job– and Willie McGee and Ted Simmons also went deep for the Monarchs. Musial has hit well this year, but without much power, having only one dinger coming into today’s game.
Two homeruns from Albert Pujols were enough to force extra innings, but not enough to win as the Monarchs fell to the House of David in 11 innings, 6-5.
#Wandering House of David
CC Sabathia replaced Frank Sullivan in the starting rotation for the House of David; one consequence of this is preserving Wade Miley as the sole lefty in their bullpen despite his recent struggles.
Sabathia rewarded the choice immediately, twirling a 5 hit shutout over Brooklyn in his first start. Sabathia walked 2 and fanned 3, leveling his record at 2-2 and supported by homeruns from Elrod Hendricks and Richie Hebner.
Ryne Sandberg went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as the House of David fell to Brooklyn, 11-5. Hebner, recently installed as the House of David’s leadoff batter, did the same, going deep twice in a 9-4 loss to the Royal Giants.
Jim Edmonds went deep twice and Sammy Sosa, who entered the game as a pinch-runner, delivered a walkoff shot in the bottom of the 10th in a 4-2 win over Kansas City.
Roberto Alomar hit .500 on the week with 4 homeruns, earning the Ottawa 2B the National League Player of the Week. Over in the American League, Miami‘s José Canseco had 7 homeruns to go with a .417 average, earning the American League award.
#Team Performance
The New York Black Yankees and the Indianapolis ABC‘s have each gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. For New York, this has helped them extend their lead over Cleveland in the Bill James Division to 4 games, while Indianapolis has roared int 2nd place in the Marvin Miller Division, sitting 1.5 games behind Kansas City.
Birmingham and Detroit have each gone 2-8 over their last 10, with the Black Barons now 13 games behind Kansas City and the Wolverines falling to 10 games behind the Black Yankees.
#Player Performance
Batters
The changing of the guard continues: Ty Cobb leads the league in most things, and Larry Walker is ahead of Babe Ruth (and Canseco) in homers.
A sign that it’s still early in the season: 2 batters are still hitting over .400 (Cobb and Houston‘s Tony Gwynn); 2 have OBPs over .450 (Cobb and Ruth), and 4–FOUR–are still slugging over .800 (Cobb, Walker, Ruth, and Canseco).
José Canseco (MCG). 280/392/803. 24 HR. Oscar Charleston (IND). 314/361/581. 7 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 420/471/882. 71 H, 28 2B, 3.6 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 417/447/669. 73 H. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 269/374/491. 39 SB. Pete Hill (HOU). 272/344/503. 8 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 366/411/579. 25 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 339/457/814. 24 HR, 62 RBI, 52 R, 41 BB, 3.8 WAR. Joey Votto (IND). 287/439/507. 36 BB. Larry Walker (OTT). 339/416/819. 26 HR, 61 RBI, 45 R.
Seems like a good time to check on the underperformers as well. Clearly a player who leads the league in whiffs can certainly have more value than someone who leads the league in worst OPS while still qualifying for the leaderboards.
Cupid Childs (BBB). 241/371/350. 6 RBI, 13 CS. Adam Dunn (IND). 242/349/571. 64 SO. Andrés Galarraga (HOU). 190/222/393. -1.1 WAR. Oscar Gamble (DET). 234/376/422. 10 GIDP. Mickey Mantle (NYY). 278/385/650. 65 SO. Tony Phillips (DET). 174/266/304. -1.2 WAR. Doug Rader (LAA). 249/305/379. 10 GIDP. Cristóbal Torriente (CAG). 187/228/253. 7 RBI.
It’s an interesting group, with only Galarraga, Phillips, and Torriente really in danger of losing their spots. Dunn and Mantle are clearly excellent players, they just strike out a lot. Childs’ OBP keeps him vital to the top of Birmingham’s lineup, and Gamble and Rader are clearly everyday players.
Pitchers
Starters
With a rain-shortened CG on Sunday, Houston’s Toad Ramsey became the first 8 game winner in the league. I’ve also included the four 7-game winners in the list, as well as the two other hurlers with sub 3.00 ERAs.
If you go by black ink, it remains Ramsey’s season.
Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-3, 2.86. Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-1, 3.62. Roger Clemens (HOU). 6-1, 3.63. 1.01 WHIP. Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.73. Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-3, 2.59. Lefty Grove (SFS). 6-4, 3.08. 3.36 FIP, 2.5 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 7-1, 3.52. 82 K. Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-3, 2.78. Luis Padrón (IND). 7-1, 3.45. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 8-2, 2.73. 94 K; 0.97 WHIP; 2.76 FIP; 3.4 WAR.
Relievers
Homestead‘s Josh Lindblom and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck continue to lead the league in saves with a dozen each, although Brooklyn‘s Eric Gagne (11 saves) has probably been more effective overall.
12 IP minimum.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 5.40. 12 Sv. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 2.70. 8 H. Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 1-0, 1.06. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.65 WHIP. Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 3.18. 11 Sv. Mike Henneman (DET). 4-0, 1.02. 8 Sv. Lefty James (IND). 1-0, 3.55. 1 Sv, 7 H. Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.18. 2 Sv, 7 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-1, 4.00. 12 Sv. Lee Smith (HOD). 1-0, 1.80. 1 Sv, 5 H, 0.60 WHIP.
#Injury Report
Kansas City’s Bob Gibson should start a rehab assignment later this week, as should Philadelphia‘s Jack Meyer, who has missed over a year of action.
#AA Check In
This week, it’s a look at AA, looking at both the best performers and the best prospects (24 and under) roughly 1/4 of the way through the season. 100 AA PA minimum for batters.
Pos
25+
< 25
C
Kelly Shoppach (28, BRK). 305/362/537.
Bill Dickey (22, PHI). 387/416/639.
1B
Del Bissonette (27, BBB). 337/456/675.
John Mayberry (20, OTT). 349/476/771).
2B
Steve Sax (25, CLE). 398/438/508.
Dario Lodigiani (20, SFS). 363/471/516.
SS
Jhonny Peralta (26, IND). 244/338/472.
Xander Bogaerts (23, LAA). 359/432/538.
3B
Brook Jacoby (29, CLE). 319/393/553.
Ryon Healy (20, OTT). 330/365/637.
LF
Earl Webb (28, POR). 322/386/644.
Andrew Benintendi (22, MEM). 340/447/551.
CF
Keon Broxton (26, CAG). 291/413/563.
Cool Papa Bell (21, KAN). 368/429/747.
RF
Roger Maris (27, NYY). 312/425/720.
Chuck Klein (22, POR). 282/339/602.
SP
Whitey Ford (25, NYY). 5-2, 2.92. 1.6 WAR. George Winter (27, HOU). 5-0, 2.34. 1.4 WAR.
Gary Lucas (24, HOM). 3-2, 3.42. 1.6 WAR. Masahiro Tanaka (24, NYG), 6-4, 4.40. 1.4 WAR.
RP
Rob Wooten (26, MEM). 2-2, 3.00. 11 Sv.
Oad Swigert (23, IND). 0-2, 3.45. 10 Sv.
Lots and lots of talent here, as to be expected. Dickey–part of the haul Philadelphia got for Mike Schmidt–may be recalled shortly, but most of the rest of these hitters are either blocked positionally (trade bait?) or need a year or 2 more in the minors before making their case for WBL time. Dickey, Bell, Klein, and Ford are probably the best long-term prospects.
Miami Cuban Giants OF Ryan Braun, who hit 6 homeruns with a .417 average, was the AL Player of the Week and Mike Epstein of the Homestead Grays took home the NL Player of the Week. Epstein hit .556 with 5 homeruns.
#Team Performance
It’s still far too early, of course, but there is a sliver of daylight emerging in 3 of the 4 divisions.
So that leaves the Effa Manley Division, where all 5 teams are separated by only 5 games from the Grays on top to the Philadelphia Stars at the bottom. Here’s how it stacks up:
Team
W/L
PCT
GB
Homestead Grays
26-19
.578
–
Brooklyn Royal Giants
24-19
.558
1
New York Gothams
23-22
.511
3
Ottawa Mounties
22-22
.500
3.5
Philadelphia Stars
21-24
.467
5
Marvin Miller Division Standings
#Player Performance
Batters
Returning to normalcy: all the bold next to Babe Ruth.
But there are a ton of new storylines here as well: is Ty Cobb for real? Just how many doubles can he hit? Ruth tied for the league lead in homeruns isn’t news, but being joined by Ryan Braun and Larry Walker is (similarly, Ruth leading with 50 RBI’s is familiar; Walker joining him is not).
Also, Tony Gwynn hitting .421 is fun.
League leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.
Ryan Braun (MCG). 320/366/765. 20 HR. Ty Cobb (DET). 404/462/861. 61 H; 25 2B; 3.2 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 421/456/679. 67 H; 40 R. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 271/377/484. 34 SB. Pete Hill (HOU). 286/356/539. 8 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 365/416/591. 22 2B. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 312/398/659. 40 R. Babe Ruth (NYY). 316/443/770. 20 HR; 50 RBI; 43 R; 37 BB; 3.2 WAR. Joey Votto (IND). 295/442/508. 31 BB. Larry Walker (OTT). 342/423/770. 20 HR; 50 RBI. Bobby Wallace (BAL). 250/387/342. 31 BB.
Pitchers
Starters
6 pitchers have 6 wins, but only 2 have 7 and of those only Kansas City’s Frank Castillo is undefeated.
Houston‘s Toad Ramsey has come back to the pack some, but all that bold shows just how far ahead of them he had gone. It’s no longer clear who the best starter in the league is at the moment, although Castillo certainly has a decent argument. But Ramsey’s teammate Roger Clemens is in there, as is Indianapolis’ Johnny Cueto, and it’s hard to ignore the ERA leader, Chicago’s Mark Buehrle.
League leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.
Mark Buehrle (CAG). 5-2, 2.42. Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-0, 2.85. Watty Clark (SFS). 2-0, 5.21. 3.24 FIP. Roger Clemens (HOU). 6-0, 3.47. 0.98 WHIP. Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.51. Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-3, 2.60. Lefty Grove (SFS). 5-4, 3.49. 67 IP. Ron Guidry (NYY). 6-1, 3.52. 75 K; 2.0 WAR. Walter Johnson (POR). 4-4, 2.94. 67.1 IP; 2.0 WAR. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 6-2, 2.60. 81 K; 2.9 WAR; 0.88 WHIP; 2.52 FIP.
Relievers
Brooklyn‘s Trevor Hildenberger is probably the hottest reliever in the league, but really nobody is truly dominant from the pen so far, other than his teammate, Fernando Valenzuela, whose future is almost certainly as a starter.
12 IP minimum; league leaders in bold, top 2 for most categories listed.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 5.40. 12 Sv. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 3.38. 7 H. Trevor Hildenberger 1-0, 1.20. 1 Sv, 5 H; 0.60 WHIP. Ted Kennedy (PHI). 2-2, 3.48. 2 Sv, 7 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-0, 2.55. 12 Sv. Lee Smith (HOD). 1-0, 2.04. 1 Sv; 5 H; 0.57 WHIP. Fernando Valenzuela (BRK). 2-0, 1.16. 4 H.
#Injury Report
Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson is expected back this week, as is Detroit‘s SS George Davis.
The New York Black Yankees hope to send Red Ruffing–out for nearly a year–on a rehab assignment later in the week.
#AAA Check In
We’ll take a little look at AAA, both in terms of the best performers and the best prospects (24 and under) roughly 1/4 of the way through the season.
Pos
25+
< 25
C
John Stearns (26, LAA). 266/380/587.
Darrin Fletcher (23, NYY). 383/408/742.
1B
Fred Luderus (32, PHI). 336/375/734.
Eddie Murray (22, BAL). 321/389/629).
2B
DJ LeMahieu (28, MEM). 377/417/521.
Jorge Orta (23, CAG). 216/250/405.
SS
Bill Dahlen (34, CLE). 250/325/519.
Travis Jackson (22, HOU). 331/358/559.
3B
Jung Ho Kang (29, HOD). 313/361/701.
Chris Brown (23, HOD). 346/452/731.
LF
Lefty O’Doul (26, MEM). 385/416/644.
Starling Marte (24, HOM). 341/410/609.
CF
Kenny Lofton (26, CLE). 354/424/599.
Jack Gleason (23, LAA). 257/361/478.
RF
Elmer Valo (35, LAA). 397/484/733.
Tony Conigliaro (23, HOD). 299/361/649.
SP
Cliff Lee (29, HOM). 3-2, 1.67. 1.8 WAR. George Bechtel (28, DET). 402, 2.38. 2.2 WAR.
Dick Redding (21, BRK). 6-2, 2.93. 2.6 WAR. Kyle Peterson (22, HOD). 4-3, 3.38. 1.8 WAR.
RP
Roberto Osuna (22, HOU). 1-1, 3.86. 8 Sv.
George Jeffcoat (26, NYG). 0-1, 2.57. 9 Sv.
For the batters, the dominance of players from Las Vegas (Los Angeles‘ AAA franchise) and Columbus (the AAA home for the House of David) is striking. Of these, Stearns may get a look soon given the Angels’ current struggles behind the plate and Valo’s performance may force himself back to the WBL. With both Kang and Brown blocked by Ron Cey–having a great season with the House of David–perhaps those 2 end up as trade bait?
Pitchers are highly unpredictable, of course. Redding and Peterson are doing excellently and seem destined for great things; at the same time, both Lee and Bechtel have struggled with their big league clubs.
Desperate to address a disaster zone of a bullpen, the Black Barons sent Vic Willis and Warren Spahn to AAA, hoping they can get on track and/or their replacements, Fred Fussell and Charlie Morton, can step in with more effectiveness.
#Houston Colt 45’s
Jason Castro‘s horrid start to the season has led to Houston swapping out backup catchers, with the much-maligned Jim O’Rourke being recalled from AAA. O’Rourke’s first longball of the year was a walkoff job, as 2 homeruns from Tony Gwynn helped the Colt45’s complete the comeback before O’Rourke finished the job in a 10-8 victory over Ottawa.
Roger Clemens twirled a complete game gem as Houston topped Ottawa 7-1. Clemens improved his record to 6-0, allowing only 2 hits and a single unearned run and Andrés Galarraga delivered a key homerun. Pete Hill had 3 hits in the game, which also saw George Brett return to the DL with a hamstring issue.
OF Johnny Damon was recalled from AAA.
Damon delivered with 2 hits and a homerun in his WBL debut, but the game was carried by Jeff Bagwell, who went deep twice, scored 4 times, and drove in 5 as Houston demolished Ottawa 14-5.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Lefty James and Joe Morgan were recalled from their injury rehab assignments, with Lynn Breton and Denis Menke heading to AAA. The last was a bit of a surprise, but forced by Tommy Helms‘ fantastic performance with the ABC’s.
Despite a rough outing, Johnny Cueto became the first 7 game winner in the league, improving to 7-1 in a 9-8 victory over the Gothams. The Only Nolan, James, Jack Billingham, and Rob Murphy did enough in relief to preserve the win as Bob Bescher, Morgan, Joey Votto, and Jake Stenzel each went yard.
#Kansas City Monarchs
Boog Powell and Ducky Medwick each went yard twice as the Monarchs used a 6 run 8th to power an 11-4 win over Birmingham. Frank Castillo wasn’t very good, but he was good enough to hold on for the victory, improving to 6-0 on the season.
Later in the week, Castillo improved to 7-0 with a 4 hit shutout, striking out 14 (the most in the WBL this season) and walking none in a brilliant performance. Ozzie Smith and Medwick went deep in support of Castillo.
The season is beginning to hit its stride, very rapidly approaching the quarter-pole. Clearly, the time from now through the all-star break is vital in defining how things fall out.
#Awards
Albert Pujols of the Kansas City Monarchs hit .650 for the week, winning the NL Player of the Week Award while Babe Ruth took home the AL Player of the Week, hitting .522 with 5 homeruns.
Pujols beat out the House of David‘s Ernie Banks, who had 7 homeruns and drove in 14, and Scott Rolen of the Philadelphia Stars who posted a 1.997 OPS, hitting .474 with 6 dingers and 8 RBIs.
#Team Performance
The New York Black Yankees (Bill James Division) and the Kansas City Monarchs (Marvin Miller Division) continue to be the only teams above .600, while Birmingham (in the basement of the Marvin Miller Division) and defending champs Baltimore are both at 13-26, tied for the worst record in the league, and a 1-9 record in their last 10 games has seen the Memphis Red Sox (in the Bill James Division along with Baltimore) plummet to a .378 percentage.
Usual stuff here–top 2 in most categories, league leaders in bold. Ruth’s performance is expected, but Detroit‘s young star, Ty Cobb, is far exceeding expectations at this point.
Lance Berkman (CLE). 326/393/803. 17 HR. Ty Cobb (DET). 400/463/846. 22 2B; 2.8 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 402/441/621. 53 H. Rickey Henderson (SFS). 294/386/515. 31 SB. Pete Hill (HOU). 273/356/531. 7 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 386/427/636. 54 H; 21 2B. Reggie Jackson (SFS). 308/386/664. 38 RBI; 34 R. Babe Ruth (NYY). 326/440/770. 17 HR; 42 RBI; 37 R; 28 BB; 2.7 WAR. Larry Walker (OTT). 357/431/754. 38 RBI. Bobby Wallace (BAL). 233/385/341. 30 BB.
Pitchers
Starters
Just look at that Toad go! Ramsey has been magnificent for the Houston Colt 45’s, although he’s struggled a little in his most recent starts. There are a few more pitchers with 6 wins, I’ve only included the two sitting at 6-1, plus Ramsey.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 6-1, 2.85. 0.91 WHIP. Doc Gooden (LAA). 4-2, 1.72. 2.80 FIP; 1.8 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-1, 3.79. 66 K. Walter Johnson (POR). 4-3, 2.82. 60.2 IP; 1.8 WAR. Frank Knauss (BRK). 6-1, 2.19. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 6-2, 1.63. 60.2 IP; 74 K; 0.77 WHIP; 2.31 FIP; 2.9 WAR.
Relievers
12 IP Minimum.
None of the closers have really been dominant–Gagne had been, but his ERA has risen over the past few weeks.
Rod Beck (SFS). 1-2, 5.84. 12 Sv. Jack Billingham (IND). 0-1, 2.25. 2 H; 0.62 WHIP. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 3.29. 6 H. Eric Gagne (BRK). 0-0, 2.51. 12 Sv. Bob Howry (PHI). 2-1, 3.29. 8 Sv; 0.51 WHIP. Kenshin Kawakami (MCG). 2-0, 1.02. Tim Lincecum (HOM). 0-0, 9.00. 1 H; 1.19 FIP. Ross Reynolds (LAA). 1-0, 0.75. 1 Sv; 1 H. Ron Robinson (SFS). 1-0, 1.38. 1 Sv; 3 H; 1.96 FIP.
2 Way Players
Not a ton of change here. Most of these guys are clearly contributing significantly more one side or the other, with only Luis Padrón of the Indianapolis ABC‘s and Philadelphia’s Joe Rogan really manifesting as 2-way contributors (indeed, those are the only players with positive WARs each way). Chicago’s Cristóbal Torriente saw his first time on the mound in a blowout, but has a ways to go before being listed here.
Player
Pitching
Batting
pWAR
bWAR
WAR
Luis Padrón (IND)
5-1, 4.04 (42 IP, 6 GS)
365/441/596 (59 PA)
1.2
0.6
1.8
Joe Rogan (PHI)
3-3, 4.50 (46 IP, 7 GS)
288/328/504 (134 PA)
0.4
0.5
0.9
J.M. Ward (PHI)
0-1, 3.43 (42 IP, 7 GS)
207/233/379 (30 PA)
0.7
-0.2
0.5
Jim Whitney (BBB)
1-0, 2.19 (37 IP, 16 G)
100/143/150 (21 PA)
0.8
-0.4
0.4
Eustaquio Pedroso (MCG)
0-0, 4.24 (23 IP, 13 G)
222/344/222 (32 PA)
0.1
-0.1
0.0
#Injury Report
Chicago’s Akinori Otsuka is out for about 2 weeks, weakening the American Giants’ bullpen significantly.
Detroit lost both Hal Newhouser and Johnny Marcum from their rotation this week.
Memphis may get some help on the mound this week, as both Shane Bieber and Skel Roach may return from injury.
Jimmy Bloodworth is out for over a month for San Francisco, which is not all bad news for the Sea Lions as it opens more playing time for the irrepressible Dick Lundy.
