Tag: José Cruz

TWIWBL 67.2 Spotlight on the Birmingham Black Barons

On October 9, 2024

Ouch.

The Black Barons were the darlings of the league last season, using a late season charge to edge into the playoffs. They were masters of the in-season trade periods, and then claimed to won the off-season as well, trading ace Andy Pettitte (because they had a surplus of arms) to add some power in the form of Albert Belle.

And nothing has worked since as Birmingham has plummeted towards a WBL worst record.

Birmingham inherits players from all the Braves (Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta).

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Sitting 13 games behind in the Marvin Miller Division, anything that brought them within shouting distance of .500 would be a miracle. For some, this year is proof that last year was a mirage, for others, this year is just a long parade of poor fortune: how far the Black Barons recover will help the final evaluation of which is more accurate.

THE OFFENSE

Birmingham’s weakness last year was a total lack of power. They’ve addressed that with 6 players in double digits, led by Hank Aaron with 19 and Curtis Granderson and Eddie Mathews with 17 each. But everything else has plummeted: both Granderson and Mathews are hitting below .200, only 3 players have OBPs over .350.

#What’s Going Right

Jim Pagliaroni has blossomed into one of the better offensive catchers in the league, at least over the first few months, leading Birmingham in OPS at .927, powered by 14 dingers. Aaron is sporting an OPS just over .900, leading the team in runs and RBI’s as well. Mathews has seized the 3B spot, and Bob Nieman continues to be a solid contributor in the OF.

Then, at a lower pitch, JP Arencibia–while he’s fallen off significantly from his blistering start–is still hitting with a ton of power; Cupid Childs is getting on base at a good clip at the top of the order, and Belle, while currently mired in a bit of a slump, has produced some power, with 14 homeruns of his own.

#What’s Not Going Right

It’s homers or nothing for this team: only Nieman, Childs, Herman Long, and Aaron are in double digits in doubles, and there are some very odd distributions elsewhere (Pagliaroni has 1 double, Mathews 4, and Granderson 2 despite all having at least 14 homers).

Only two players (Aaron and Troy Tulowitzki, who has supplanted Long at SS) are hitting over .260.

Adrián González has seen his role reduced essentially to a platoon at 1B with Arencibia.

The team does not run well, with Childs having a whopping 15 CS to go along with 17 steals.

THE PITCHING

There are a few bright spots here, but, overall, more disappointments than pleasant surprises.

#What’s Going Right

Greg Maddux (5-5, 4.97) and Alejandro Peña (2-4, 5.23) have both pitched better than their ERA’s might suggest, and both continue to show front of rotation ability. They’ve been joined by Jim Whitney (1-1, 2.41), who has been a fantastic surprise, forcing his way into the rotation.

Harley Young (1-0, 1.80, 1 Sv, 3 H) seems to have made a full recovery from injury, and is pushing himself into the conversation at closer. Some other arms–notably Charlie Morton and John Malarkey–have done well in limited appearances.

#What’s Not Going Right

Lefty Gomez (3-6, 5.80) and Sam Streeter (1-7, 5.80–yes they both have the same poor ERA), who looked strong coming out of Spring Training, have struggled, and are in danger of losing their rotation spots.

Juan Ríncón has 6 saves, but he and Bruce Chen have both been hit very hard. Those two, along with Young, were a key trio in last year’s success, and the weakening of the back end of the bullpen has certainly been noticeable.

None of the other young talent on the mound–most notably Vic Willis, Warren Spahn, and Frank Viola–have come through.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

The future does look bright, with 7 prospects listed in the WBL top 50 in OFs Jess Barbour and Curt Flood, IF Marcus Giles and Trea Turner, C Joe Torre, and Ps Rube Melton and Alex Malloy. There’s a fair bit of talent off the WBL rankings radar as well, from P Steve Avery to the power of Nate Colbert and Gary Matthews to the OF skills of Ron Fairly, Melky Cabrera, and José Cruz.

So there are some options.

Of that group, Melton, Torre and Fairly are doing well at AAA while Flood is struggling a bit at that level.

WHAT’S NEEDED

Birmingham is underperforming, winning 2 fewer games than their runs scored/runs allowed numbers would indicate. But that’s only 2 games. So there are some deep underlying needs.

Most of all, the offense needs to become more than a threat of solo homeruns, which are just not enough to carry the team. The bullpen needs to settle, which may require some roster movement if Rincón and Chen can’t recover their form.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

How will some key pieces for last season–Pettitte, Rincón, Adrián González, Cupid Childs, Jim Pagliaroni–perform over the course of a full year? Overall, the answers here revealing: Pettitte is gone, Rincón and González are struggling, Childs is doing OK, and of that group, only Pagliaroni is excelling.
With Andy Pettitte traded, how does the rotation respond and does Albert Belle perform at a level that makes it worthwhile? Meh. The rotation has not really responded, and the Black Barons certainly feel the lack of a clear ace at the front of the rotation. Belle has hit a slump, but is still contributing with power. Meh.
Who will fill out the roster? Still a bit of a concern, although Arencibia’s ultra hot start was a great plus and Andy Pafko has been quite solid.

FEATURED SERIES

The Black Barons start the week with 3 games in Pittsburgh to take on Homestead and since we just talked about the Grays, it seemed like a good focus series.

Projected Starters

Birmingham starter listed first.

Jim Whitney (1-1, 2.41) @ Bob Friend (3-2, 4.75)
Alejandro Peña (2-4, 5.23) @ Doug Drabek (2-1, 3.50)
Greg Maddux (5-5, 4.97) @ Francisco Liriano (3-5, 5.12)

Game One

With Bob Friend still fatigued, Homestead went with Ray Brown. Jim Whitney struggled early, giving up 4 runs in the bottom of the first including back to back longballs to Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell.

And then the rains came …

After the tarps were on, the game was called, to be completed the following day with the Grays up 4-0, and guaranteeing impact on the two team’s bullpens.

The following day, Fred Fussell would take the ball for Birmingham for the bottom of the 3rd while Brickyard Kennedy took over for Homestead in the top of the 4th. Whitney stayed in the game as the DH, and doubled in the 5th, scoring on a homerun from Herman Long that closed the game to 4-2.

That was effectively it as the bullpens were excellent. The Grays would add one more run as Birmingham was held to 5 hits on the day.

BBB 2 (Whitney 1-2) @ HOM 5 (Kennedy 3-0; Lindblom 16 Sv; Lee 3 H; Jackson 8 H)
HRs: BBB – Long (4); HOM- Stargell (18), Reichardt (20).
Box Score

Game Two

Homestead’s Bob Friend gets his chance here, facing off against Alejandro Peña.

The game was scoreless until the top of the 5th when a double by Albert Belle drove in Curtis Granderson. After a walk to Gene Tenace, Troy Tulowitzki hit his first homer of the season, and it was 4-0 Birmingham, with Peña yet to allow a hit.

Nap Lajoie broke up the no-no in the bottom of the frame, but that was all the drama for a while–Belle and Cupid Childs went deep, and the Black Barons were sailing along 7-0 until Roberto Clemente touched Peña for a long 3 run shot in the bottom of the 7th.

The Grays made it close enough for Juan Ríncón to earn a save, but that was it as the Black Barons evened up the series.

BBB 8 (Peña 3-4; Rincón 7) @ HOM 5 (Friend 3-3)
HRs: BBB – Tulowitzki (1), Belle (15), Childs (2); HOM – Clemente (6).
Box Score

Game Three

An intriguing pitching matchup: Greg Maddux seems perpetually on the verge of becoming a front of the rotation guy for Birmingham, while Doug Drabek is trying to solidify a claim to a rotation spot for the Grays.

Both hurlers were good through three, and then the wheels fell off. Birmingham exploded for 7 runs in the top of the 4th, led by homeruns from Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, and JP Arencibia; but Maddux collapsed as well, allowing 7 runs to Homestead in the bottom of the frame.

So, tied until Mathews went deep for the 2nd time in the following inning, and Herman Long added a 2 run shot to give Birmingham a 10-7 lead. They added 2 more in the top of the 8th, making it 12-8 and then survived Stargell’s second of the game as Juan Ríncón closed it out for a 12-11 victory.

Cupid Childs had 4 hits and 3 doubles in the victory and Long and Arencibia drove in 3 each.

BBB 12 (Malarkey 2-1; Rincón 9 Sv) @ HOM 11 (Pierce 4-4)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (20), Mathews 2 (19), Arencibia (6), Long (5); HOM – Stargell 2 (20).
Box Score

A series win is a series win, and this one showed the offense doing more for sure. But there is something a bit unconvincing in the bullpen–especially when called upon in the middle of the game, and the questions remain.

Season Review: Birmingham Black Barons

By mknn

On December 27, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

84 - 71, .541 pct.
2nd in Marvin Miller Division, 1 game behind.
Lost in Wild Card Round to Detroit

Overall

The media darling of the year: from a dozen games below .500 and clearly selling top end talent to a one game playoff with Portland to determine the division title. Birmingham navigated the trade periods with a skill unmatched in the league, adding and removing talent in a way that seemed to always hit the right balance, leaving the team both better and better positioned for the future.

Still, unless some serious issues with the offense are resolved, it’s not clear how far the superlative pitching can actually carry them next season.

What Went Right

Honestly, not a lot in terms of offense. Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron showed the potential to be stars, but at the end of the day, had fairly pedestrian seasons, especially for their positions. Bob Nieman was a pleasant surprise, and Cupid Childs and Jim Pagliaroni both came in late in the season (Childs from the minors, Paglioaroni via trade) and did well at 2B and C respectively.

The Black Barons seemed to survive on always having someone who was hot enough to carry them: 3B Pie Traynor started off mashing the ball before fading dramatically at the end of the season; both Herman Long and Curtis Granderson took their turns, and Adrián González, whose overall numbers look pretty anemic, was actually quite good for Birmingham after a horrid start to the season with Chicago.

Most of what went right for Birmingham happened on the mound, where Alejandro Peña and mid-season acquisition Andy Pettitte were magnificent, combining with Scott Baker, Vic Willis, and Greg Maddux to form a very impressive rotation, rivalling Baltimore’s in quality top to bottom.

After being named the closer, Juan Rincón did an excellent job, and Harley Young, Steve Bedrosian, and Bruce Chen were solid getting to Rincón.

But you really can’t say enough about Peña and Pettitte, who accounted for nearly 400 quality innings over the course of the season.

Finally, see the Transactions section: somehow Birmingham got rid of their two all-stars as well as some other top end talent, and got better.

ALL STARS
2B Tom Herr; SP Tim Hudson

What Went Wrong

In summary: nobody was great, and few were good.

Lots of players were given plenty of opportunity: Traynor, Al Schweitzer, Troy Tulowitzki, Omar Infante, and Ginger Beaumont all had at least 30 games to show their stuff, and none did anything of note, leaving the MI and one OF position up in the air for far too long.

Hmmm … not much went wrong on the mound. Carlos Diaz only lasted 14 games as closer and Warren Spahn did quite poorly in about 60 innings, indicating that for all his talent, another year in the minors may be needed.

Transactions

March

None

June

P Tim Hudson to San Francisco for P Rube Melton, OF Derrick May & 3rd Round Pick {Gary Matthews}

Given Hudson’s immediate implosion, seems fine, although given Birmingham’s resurgence, perhaps he would have been “the difference.”

P Hoyt Wilhelm & P Dick Rudolph to Chicago for OF Melky Cabrera, P A. Rube Foster, 1B Adrián González & 2nd Round Pick {Trea Turner}

Seems like a win long term for sure, and even this year, González was key for the Black Sox.

2B Tom Herr to New York Black Yankees for IF Reddy Mack, OF Bill Buckner, P Heathcliff Slocumb, OF Charlie Keller, 1B Moose Skowron & 10th Round Pick

It’s a lot of bodies for sure, but it’s also not clear any of them have a better year than Herr did, and usually the team that gets the best player wins the trade. So, unknown.

IF Frank Isbell to Brooklyn for OF Curt Flood, IF Manny Trillo & 6th Round Pick {Steve Avery}

All depends on how Flood develops, but seems fine, especially with the González deal earlier.

July

SS Woody English & 3B Candy Jim Taylor to Memphis for C Jim Pagliaroni & 4th Round Pick {Adam Kennedy}

Pagliaroni was great for Birmingham; even with that, Taylor may end up being a star, so they may have overpaid here.

C Dale Murphy, P A. Rube Foster, 4th Round Pick & 2nd Round Pick to Kansas City for P Andy Pettitte

It would be a shock of Birmingham didn’t regret this in a few years. It was still a good trade, as without Pettitte, they never make the postseason.

Looking Forward

SP

Pitching should continue to be the hallmark of this club. Even with Peña and Pettitte aging out at some point, a future rotation of Greg Maddux, Vic Willis, Sam Streeter, Jim Whitney, and Warren Spahn looks quite impressive.

RP

Juan Rincón is the presumed closer, and even if both Bruce Chen and Harley Young prove to be short-term solutions, both Steve Bedrosian and minor leaguer Rick Camp look capable of anchoring a deep bullpen into the future.

C

Right now this is Jim Pagliaroni and Gene Tenace, but it’s an area of long term need.

1B

There is a transition here from Frank McCormick to Adrián González to the potential of Nate Colbert. None of those project as stars, so an upgrade could be in order.

2B

Cupid Childs filled in well for Tom Herr, but there really isn’t a long term solution here.

3B

The question is if Eddie Mathews is solid, or if he develops into a star, but this is Mathews’ position.

SS

Herman Long was impressive, but hit a very deep slump at the end of the season. For now, he will continue with Troy Tulowitzki as his backup.

LF

This is all very patchwork: Bob Nieman for now with some constant mixture of Joe Rudi, Billy Southworth, and perhaps eventually, Alfonso Soriano.

CF

Curtis Granderson is good enough for now, but eventually they will have to figure out what to do with him and Curt Flood.

RF

See the comment about Mathews, but there is more optimism that Hank Aaron becomes a star.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

With 6 selections in the first four rounds, Birmingham hopes to restock its system with offensive production. They start with a franchise pick that may fill an areas of need long term, drafting C Joe Torre. Their 2nd round pick’s future is less clear, but whether Trea Turner ends up on the infield or CF, he should help in a year or two. Gary Matthews, their first of two picks in the 3rd round, should arrive earlier, but doesn’t have Turner’s ceiling.

At some point, long term potential just starts to overshadow concerns about fit: that was the case with José Cruz, with the 22 year old joining Birmingham with their 2nd pick in the 3rd round. Cruz may never develop enough power to be a star, but he has a pure stroke and has been on the board far longer then he should have.

The Black Barons used their final franchise exception on MI Adam Kennedy with their first pick in the fourth round and picked up a late bloomer, 27 year old SP Bob Smith, later in the round.

Rounds 5-8

The Black Barons have decent depth, so they can really take the best available talent. At some point, they need to pickup a 1B and a C, but in the 6th round it was lefty Steve Avery followed by 2B Marcus Giles–Giles is just too much better than the rest of their franchise selections to risk losing. George H. Stone was their 7th round selection and C Greg Olson their 8th.

Rounds 9-12

P Bill James, P Kerry Ligtenberg; P Eddie Solomon; P Kid Madden; 1B Del Bissonette.

TWIWBL 53.3: The Rookie Draft

By mknn

On November 30, 2023

In TWIWBL

These are covered in the Season Reviews as well, but figured a list of the first three rounds of the draft would be of interest.

Round One

P Bullet Joe Rogan (Philadelphia)
OF Vladimir Guerrero (Miami)
P Hilton Smith (Kansas City)
P Clayton Kershaw (Homestead)
P Max Scherzer (Ottawa)
OF Carl Yastrzemski (Memphis)
OF Turkey Stearnes (San Francisco)
OF Ichiro Suzuki (Los Angeles)
P Tom Glavine (Indianapolis)
IF Ed Delahanty (Brooklyn)
IF Edgar Martinez (Houston)
P David Cone (New York Black Yankees)
P Zack Greinke (House of David)
C Joe Torre (Birmingham)
P Dave Stieb (Philadelphia)
OF Ralph Kiner (Homestead)
OF Al Simmons (Brooklyn)
P Jacob deGrom (Chicago)
C Bill Freehan (Detroit)
OF Chuck Klein (Portland)

Supplemental Round 1

P Jon Matlack (Portland)

Round Two

OF Hugh Duffy (Portland)
OF Julio Rodríguez (Miami)
OF Earl Averill (Kansas City)
P Tim Lincecum (Homestead)
P Al Orth (Ottawa)
P Bill Lee (House of David)
3B Judy Johnson (Homestead)
OF Babe Herman (Los Angeles)
P Jim Maloney (Indianapolis)
P Dazzy Vance (Brooklyn)
OF César Cedeño (Houston)
C Darren Daulton (House of David)
1B Cody Bellinger (House of David)
P Matt Morris (Kansas City)
P Walter Ball (Portland)
P Howard Ehmke (Cleveland)
P Josh Beckett (Miami)
2B Trea Turner (Birmingham)
3B Matt Chapman (Indianapolis)
P Jack Quinn (Kansas City)

Round Three

P Bruce Hurst (Philadelphia)
OF Brett Gardner (New York Black Yankees)
IF Carlos Baerga (Kansas City)
IF Justin Turner (Cleveland)
1B Elbie Fletcher (Ottawa)
SS Dobie Moore (Memphis)
OF Gary Matthews (Birmingham)
IF Marcus Semien (Los Angeles)
P Bob Ewing (Indianapolis)
OF George Selkirk (Brooklyn)
C Will Smith (Houston)
P Bill Gatewood (Philadelphia)
OF Roy Thomas (Miami)
OF José Cruz (Birmingham)
P Harry Staley (Houston)
IF Garry Templeton (Houston)
P Dan Haren (Ottawa)
OF Lenny Dykstra (Chicago)
P Frank Lary (Detroit)
OF Topsy Hartsel (Baltimore)