Baseball The Way It Never Was

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TWIWBL 60.1: Year 2 – Week 3

April 16

#Team News

The best record in the league falls to the Kansas City Monarchs, who have won 9 in a row and sit atop the Marvin Miller Division at 10-2. The Chicago American Giants are 9-3.

At the other end, the Portland Sea Dogs are off to a rough start at 4-10, and Birmingham and defending Whirled Champion Baltimore are barely better at 4-9. Very early days, of course.

#Player News

Kansas City’s Albert Pujols was the NL Player of the Week, hitting .500 (10 for 20) with 2 homers over the span. Miami‘s Jim Thome took home the honors in the AL, hitting .458 with 6 homeruns and 12 RBI for the week.

Some fun stat lines from the early going:

Gary Carter (OTT). 412/500/941. 5 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 510/527/804. 26 H; 1.2 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 510/547/878. 12 2B; 17 R; 1.2 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 465/478/1.093. 8 HR. 18 RBI.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 435/527/739.
Jim Thome (MCG). 372/500/884.

In case you missed it there, Sandberg’s SLG is over 1.000 at the moment.

On the mound, Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) hasn’t allowed an earned run and MemphisJon Lester has an ERA of 0.75. Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin, Waite Hoyt of the New York Black Yankees, and Jack Taylor of the House of David each have 3 wins, and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck and Detroit‘s Mike Henneman have 5 saves each.

#Injury Watch

A few important ones over the first couple weeks (only considering injuries that will last a couple of weeks at minimum):

  • Once more the House of David is without their offensive leader, as Pete Browning will miss about a month.
  • San Francisco’s Tim Hudson may have suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury; at a minimum he’ll miss about 4 months.
  • Miami’s Julio Rodríguez is out for 2 more weeks, as is Portland’s 2B Rogers Hornsby.
  • Joe Morgan of the Indianapolis ABC’s will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

Some players are, of course, healing, with Baltimore’s Ned Garvin–the most dominant pitcher in the league when he went down last year–likely to begin a rehabilitation assignment sometime this week. Philadelphia‘s promising stud Aaron Judge should return this week, as will Portland’s young hurler, Walter Ball.

#Featured Series

This time we’re going to go with a 3 game set between the 6-5 Ottawa Mounties visiting the 10-2 Kansas City Monarchs.

We picked this series because the Monarchs have won 9 in a row and Ottawa is a shock in the young season, carrying a team OPS of 1.001–their overall slash line as a unit is 343/406/595, figures that easily lead the league (it’s not like the Monarchs are struggling at the plate, posting a 329/370/566 line as a team).

Ottawa was horrible on the mound last year, and really haven’t been much better so far, with a 6.14 team ERA while Kansas City’s hurlers have been, as you may guess from their record, excellent as a unit, one of only 2 teams with a sub-4.00 ERA at 3.83.

Probable Matchups:

Ottawa hurler listed first.

Bob Moose (1-0, 6.52) @ José Rijo (1-1, 8.68)
Randy Johnson (1-0, 7.71) @ Smokey Joe Wood (2-0, 0.00)
Old Hoss Radbourn (2-1, 2.61) @ Frank Castillo (2-0, 3.38)

Game One

The one game that seemed least likely to be a pitching duel was, in fact, a pitching duel. Both Ottawa’s Bob Moose (2 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings) and Kansas City’s José Rijo (4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings) were excellent, but Ted Simmons‘ second 500 foot plus moon shot of the year was a 2-run walkoff blast, propelling the Monarchs to victory in the opening game of the series.

OTT 2 (Hammaker 0-2) @ KCM 4 (DiPino 1-0)
HRs: OTT – Carter (6); KCM – Murphy (3), Simmons (4).
Box Score

Game Two

It didn’t take long for Ottawa to score off Smokey Joe Wood: Tim Raines doubled to lead off the game, stole third, and scored on a sac fly from Roberto Alomar, events made noteworthy as it was the first run off Wood all season. Ottawa would add 2 more in the inning, and then 3 more in the top of the 3rd behind a double from Larry Walker, a triple from Carlos Beltrán, and an inside the park homerun from Sam Thompson.

Randy Johnson was slated to start the game for the Mounties, but when he was unable to go, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith. Griffith gave up a 3 run shot to Boog Powell in the bottom of the 3rd, halving Ottawa’s lead. Griffith didn’t pitch poorly, allowing only 5 hits in 5 innings, but the Monarchs have been masters of timely offense so far, converting those 4 hits into 5 runs.

Dupee Shaw relieved Griffith, giving up a long RBI double to Robinson Canó to tie the game.

An Adrian Beltré homerun off Bob Shawkey put Ottawa back in front, 8-6.

There was some more scoring–a solo shot from Walker in the 9th and Powell’s second of the game in the bottom of the frame–but Ottawa held on for the 10-7 win, evening the series.

Walker went 4 for 4 and scored 3 times and Thompson finished with 3 RBIs for Ottawa while Powell drove in 5 on 3 hits for the Monarchs.

OTT 10 (Shaw 1-1, 1 B Sv; Ryan 1 H; Dempster 2 Sv) – KCM 7 (Shawkey 1-1)
HRs: OTT – Thompson (3), Beltré (3), Walker (5); KCM – Powell 2 (4), Smith (1).
Box Score

Game Three

This is what Ottawa hoped for from Randy Johnson: 6 fairly dominant innings with 6 strikeouts and only 2 runs allowed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as some timely hitting from the Monarchs–a 2 run double from Willie McGee, a homerun from Ducky Medwick, and Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith scoring 3 runs from the bottom of the lineup as Kansas City took the rubber match, 4-2.

Frank Castillo was even better than Johnson, allowing only 3 hits in almost 7 innings, with Dustin Hermanson, Craig Kimbrel, and Jeff Pfeffer combining to allow a single hit in 2.1 innings of relief.

OTT 2 (Gregg 0-1) @ KCM 4 (Hermanson 1-0; Pfeffer 5 Sv; Kimbrel 4 H)
HRs: KCM – Medwick (1).
Box Score



TWIWBL 59.1: Year 2 – Week 2

Welcome to the first general issue of TWIWBL for Season 2!

April 9th

#Team Starts

3 teams have a single loss–Chicago, Brooklyn, and the House of David, each at 4-1–and 3 teams have a single victory on the year (Los Angeles is 1-4 while both Philadelphia and Houston are 1-6).

#Individual Starts

Nobody comes close to matching House of David 2B Ryne Sandberg, whose slash line is a ridiculous 455/458/1.273, and he leads the league in homeruns (6) and RBIs (15). Ottawa‘s Larry Walker (11) and Birmingham‘s Albert Belle (10) are the other batters in double digits in RBI.

Houston’s Tony Gwynn is the sole player with a BA over .500, at .552. That’s only good enough to put Gwynn 3rd in the OBP rankings, behind Portland’s Harry Hooper (.577) and IndianapolisJoey Votto (.571).

#Featured Series

Each week we’ll take a look at single series, preferring 4-game sets and teams we haven’t taken a close look at before.

This week, we’ll be focusing on Indianapolis’ visit to Brooklyn. The Royal Giants are 4-1, and the ABC’s started the season 5-0 before losing their last 2 contests.

For Brooklyn, Duke Snider, John Briggs, and Roy White have all started the season with OPS’ over 1.000 while offseason acquisition Pedro Guerrero is scuffling with a slash line of 143/250/214.

Bob Bescher and Joey Votto have been mashing the ball for the ABC’s while Ed Charles is still trying to get some traction going, slashing 190/308/238 over the opening half-dozen games.

Projected Starting Pitchers:

Johnny Cueto (1-0, 0.00) @ Frank Knauss (1-0, 3.38)
Luis Padrón (1-0, 0.00) @ Orel Hershiser
Sad Sam Jones (0-0, 6.75) @ Smokey Joe Williams (1-0, 1.50)
Rube Foster (1-0, 3.00) @ Sandy Koufax (0-1, 2.45)

Game One

Both Johnny Cueto and Frank Knauss had good starts, but while Cueto blinked first (Maury Wills walked, stole a base, and scored on a John Briggs double), Knauss was hit harder, giving up a 2 run shot to Oscar Charleston in the 6th before an Ed Charles double chased him in the 7th. Burleigh Grimes relieved Knauss and gave up RBI doubles to Denis Menke and Joe Morgan.

Lefty James and Rob Dibble followed Cueto with just over 2 innings of hitless relief to seal the deal for Indianapolis. Johnny Bench had 3 hits for the ABC’s.

IND 4 (Cueto 2-0; Dibble 2 Sv; James 2 H) @ BRK 1 (Knauss 1-1)
HRs: IND: Charleston (1).
Box Score

Game Two

Pedro Guerrero launched a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 1st, but the Royal Giants couldn’t hold it with RBIs from Oscar Charleston and Jake Stenzel tying the game at 4 in the top of the 5th. After a brief rain delay in the bottom of the 8th, Mike Piazza and Ray Dandridge singled runs home, allowing Brooklyn to bring in their closer, Eric Gagne, with a 6-4 lead. Gagne set the side down in order, and Brooklyn evened up the series, 1-1.

IND 4 (Tidrow 0-1) @ BRK 6 (Mateo 1-0; Gagne 2 Sv)
HRs: IND – Menke (1); BRK: Guerrero (1).
Box Score

Game Three

We had a pitchers’ duel in game 3 of the series as Luis Padrón and Smokey Joe Williams were each excellent, but a bit unlucky: despite giving up only 1 earned run in over 6 innings, Williams took the loss and Padrón did not get the win, despite 5 scoreless. Joe Morgan went deep for the ABC’s.

IND 2 (Nolan 1-0; Dibble 3 Sv; James 3 H; Billingham 2 H) @ BRK 1 (Williams 1-1)
HRs: IND – Morgan (2).
Box Score

Game Four

It sure looked like the ABC’s would take the series: after scoring 6 in the 6th, they had surged to a 8-3 lead heading to the bottom of the 7th. But Art Griggs hit a key 2-run double in that frame, and the Royal Giants were able to rough up Indianapolis’ closer, Rob Dibble, in the bottom of the ninth, scoring runs on a sacrifice fly from Jackie Robinson, an RBI single from Pedro Guerrero, and a game-winning sac fly from Duke Snider.

Robinson hit his first homerun of the year and drove in 4 on the day, and Guerrero, Mike Piazza, and Beals Becker each had 2 hits. Both Brooklyn starter Sandy Koufax and the ABC’s Doc White pitched better than their scorelines represent, but the key was Dibble’s implosion (2 walks and 3 hits in 1/3 of an inning) and Brooklyn’s Darren Dreifort chipping in with 2 scoreless innings for the win.

Of concern for the ABC’s, 2B Joe Morgan had to be lifted for a pinch runner with an apparent elbow injury, but so far no further information is available as to his status.

IND 8 (Dibble 0-1, 1 BSv; Carroll 1 H) @ BRK 9 (Dreifort 1-0; Valenzuela 1 BSv)
HRs: IND – Dunn (1); BRK – Robinson (1).
Box Score

TWIWBL 58.5: Effa Manley Division

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

It was not good news for the Royal Giant as as Dave Von Ohlen, a bullpen stalwart for them last season, was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will miss about 3 months. Dutch Leonard was recalled.

In slightly better news, both Germany Smith and Trevor Hildenberger were sent to AAA on rehab assignments as they make their way back from their injuries.

Hildenberger was recalled as Terry Forster was placed on the 10 day DL.

#Homestead Grays

Chris Sabo hit a pinch-hit, walk-off 3-run homerun to lead the Grays to a wild 12-11 victory over Ottawa. Honus Wagner had 4 hits and Rick Reichardt and Andy Van Slyke 3 each in a game where the Grays pounded out 4 homeruns, with Willie Stargell, Reichardt, and Del Crandall joining Sabo.

Josh Gibson‘s first homerun of the season was a doozy: a grand slam to give the Grays another walk-off win over Ottawa, this one 8-5. Roberto Clemente had 3 hits and rookie Doug Drabek continued his strong start to the season with a couple 1-hit innings in relief.

#Ottawa Mounties

Old Hoss Radbourn started the Mounties’ season off strong, allowing only 2 hits and 1 run over 7 innings in a 10-1 drubbing of Philadelphia. Larry Walker drove in 4 and Bob Watson had 3 hits for Ottawa.

The Mounties pounded out 25 hits, scored 11 runs, and held leads in the 8th, 9th, and 10th innings. And, lost 12-11 in 10 innings to Homestead. Walker had 4 hits and Gary Carter drove in 3 in a game where Ottawa’s hurlers gave up 4 homeruns, including a walk-off shot.

Gary Peters will miss about a year with an elbow injury. Bob Brown was recalled from AAA, although for now at least it’s not clear who will take Peters’ spot in the rotation.

#Philadelphia Stars

The Stars may not win many games this year, but there is some talent on this team that should be fun to watch. To wit, OF Aaron Judge obliterated the record for the longest homerun in the history of the WBL, launching a pitch from Homestead’s Bob Friend 558 feet for his first dinger of the year.

Ray Collins lasted 2 innings in his debut before having to be removed with back spasms. Collins will be out a couple of weeks, and the Stars have once again turned to veteran Robin Roberts, giving the 33 year old what may be his final chance at the WBL. The next day, Judge went down with a strained muscle, and the Stars decided to continue to try to reinforce their mounds corps, recalling hard throwing Brad Kilby.

WBL Year II Statistics

I needed a place to hold statistics that aren’t easily displayed in OOTP. Most of these are game-level performances.

For complete statistics, poke around on the WBL Stats Page.

Batting Statistics

2+ 3B Games

2. Bob Bescher (IND); Craig Biggio (HOU), Ty Cobb (DET); Willie McGee (KCM); Tim Raines (OTT).

3+ 2B Games

4. Chuck Knoblauch (CLE).
3. Craig Biggio (HOU); Ron Cey (BRK); Cupid Childs (BBB); Ty Cobb (DET); Gavvy Cravath (BAL); Josh Gibson (HOM); Hank Greenberg (DET); Joe Jackson (CAG); Joe Morgan (IND); Frank Robinson (BAL); Pete Runnels (NYG); Reggie Smith (MEM); Mike Trout (LAA).

3+ HBP Games

3. Jack Doyle (CAG).

3+ HR Games

3. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ernie Banks (HOD); Carlos Beltrán (OTT); Lance Berkman (CLE); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Ryan Braun (MCG); José Canseco (MCG); Stan Musial (KCM); Álex Rodríguez (OTT); Mike Trout (LAA); Larry Walker (OTT).

3+ OF Assists

4+ BB Games

4. Ed Bailey (DET); Eddie Collins (CAG); Mike Epstein (HOM); Willie McGee (KCM); Andrew McCutchen (HOM), Joey Votto (IND).

4+ CS Games

4. Johnny Bench (IND); Gabby Hartnett (MEM); Jorge Posada (HOU).

4+ Run Games

5. Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Tris Speaker (CLE).
4. Roberto Alomar (OTT); Jeff Bagwell x2 (HOU); Bob Bailey (DET); Ed Bailey (DET); Johnny Bates (CLE) x2; Albert Belle (BBB); Curt Blefary (BAL) x2; Ron Cey (BRK); Mike Epstein (HOM); Benny Kauff (NYG); Willie McGee (KCM); Billy Nash (DET); Babe Ruth (NYY); Gary Sheffield (MCG); Jim Wynn (HOU).

4+ SB Games

6. Rickey Henderson (SFS).
4. Frank Chance (HOD); Dick Lundy (SFS).

5+ Hit Games

5. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Don Buford (LAA); Joe Jackson (CAG); Chuck Knoblauch (CLE); Mike Trout (LAA).

5+ SO Games

5. Beals Becker (BRK); Ron Cey (BRK); Larry Doby (CLE); Héctor López (NYY); Dale Murphy (KCM).

6+ RBI Games

7. Jeff Bagwell (HOU); Ron Blomberg (CLE); Charlie Gehringer (DET); Gary Sheffield (MCG).
6. Bob Bailey (DET); Ernie Banks (HOD); Johnny Callison (NYG); Chili Davis (DET); Josh Gibson (HOM); Mickey Mantle (NYY); Babe Ruth x2 (NYY); Ryne Sandberg (HOD); Roy White (BRK).

Longest HRs

{Note: OOTP clearly has something weird happening with overpowered HRs. It’s getting better, and, at some point, I’m going to reduce these by roughly 10%, which would leave the list at only 3 at 500 ft+ for the season so far, which seems much more realistic to me, but am waiting to see if I get any additional info/guidance from the game dev’s.}

595 ft. Dale Murphy (KCM).
558 ft. Aaron Judge (PHA).
555 ft. Albert Pujols (KCM).
551 ft. Eddie Mathews (BBB).
550 ft. Lance Berkman (CLE).
544 ft. Eddie Mathews (BBB).
542 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE); Evan Longoria (CLE).
539 ft. Johnny Bates (CLE); Craig Biggio (HOU).
538 ft. Josh Gibson (HOM), Pete Hill (HOU); Buster Posey (NYG).
535 ft. Buster Posey (NYG).
534 ft. Robinson Canó (KCM).
530 ft. Dale Murphy (KCM).
528 ft. Johnny Callison (NYG); Willie Mays (NYG).
527 ft. Joe Adcock (NYG).
525 ft. Bullet Joe Rogan (PHI).
522 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE).
519 ft. Babe Ruth (NYY).
518 ft. Willie Mays (NYG).
516 ft. Hank Aaron (BBB); Bob Nieman (BBB).
514 ft. Ron Cey (BRK); Oscar Gamble (DET).
512 ft. Tony Gwynn (HOU).
511 ft. Lance Berkman (CLE); Dan Brouthers (BRK).
510 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE).
509 ft. Johnny Callison (NYG); Jack Clark (SFS); Bryce Harper (BAL); Ted Simmons (KCM).
508 ft. Ron Blomberg (CLE); Travis Shaw (MEM).
507 ft. Ted Simmons (KCM).
505 ft. Lou Gehrig (NYA).
503 ft. Larry Doyle (NYG); Ryne Sandberg (HOD); Oscar Gamble (DET).
502 ft. Ernie Banks (HOD); Albert Belle (BBB); Robinson Canó (KCM); Mike Epstein (HOM).
501 ft. Derek Jeter (NYA).
500 ft. Andrew McCutchen (HOM).

Pitching Statistics

80+ Game Scores

99. José Rijo (KCM).
97. JM Ward (PHI).
93. Frank Castillo (KCM); Lefty Grove (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
92. Bump Hadley (SFS).
91. Frank Knauss (BRK); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Toad Ramsey (HOU)
90. Alejandro Peña (BBB); Joe Rogan (PHI).
89. Smokey Joe Wood (KCM).
88. Luis Padrón (IND); Justin Verlander (DET).
87. Roger Clemens (HOU); Lefty Grove (SFS); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL).
86. Doc Gooden (LAA).
85. Roger Clemens (HOU); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Jameson Taillon (MEM); Ed Walsh (CAG).
84. Frank Castillo (KCM); Ron Guidry (NYY); Ed Walsh (CAG).
83. Bob Friend (HOM).
82. Mark Buehrle (CAG); Bill Doak (MEM); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
80. Walter Johnson (POR); Andy Pettitte (NYY); Toad Ramsey (HOU).

10+ Strikeout Games

14. Frank Castillo (KCM); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
13. Ron Guidry (NYY); Charlie Root (DET).
12. Johnny Cueto (IND); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Toad Ramsey (HOU) x2; José Rijo (KCM); JM Ward (PHI).
11. Johnny Cueto (IND); Ron Guidry (NYY); Connie Johnson (BAL); Walter Johnson (POR); Frank Knauss (BRG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Old Hoss Radbourn (OTT); Toad Ramsey (HOU); Don Sutton (NYG); Justin Verlander (DET); Smokey Joe Williams (BRK).
10. Watty Clark (SFS); Bob Friend (HOM); Doc Gooden (LAA); Ron Guidry (NYY); Hardie Henderson (PHI); Orel Hershiser (BRK); Frank Knauss (BRK); Don Sutton (NYG).

8+ Walk Games

8. Ed Brandt (MCG); Hardie Henderson (PHI).
9. Randy Johnson (OTT).

Shutouts

NO HITS. José Rijo (KCM).
1 Hit. Luis Padrón (IND); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
2 Hits. Lefty Grove (SFS); Bump Hadley (SFS); Frank Knauss (BRK); Francisco Liriano (HOM); Dennis Martínez (BAL); Joe Rogan (PHI).
3 Hits. Frank Castillo (KCM); Roger Clemens (HOU); Lefty Grove (SFS); Carl Hubbell (NYG); Christy Mathewson (NYG); Toad Ramsey (HOU).
4 Hits. Frank Castillo (KCM); Gerrit Cole (LAA); Doc Gooden (LAA); Lefty Grove (SFS).

Shutouts (Combined)

1 Hit. Justin Verlander / Mike Henneman (DET).
2 Hits. Jameson Taillon / Skel Roach / Andrew Miller (MEM); Ed Walsh / Tom Williams (CAG).
3 Hits. Hardie Henderson / Robin Roberts (PHI).
4 Hits. Toad Ramsey / Bones Ely (HOU); Hardie Henderson / Brad Kilby / Tim Belcher / Ted Kennedy (PHI); Dwight Gooden / Francisco Rodríguez (LAA); Bump Hadley / Jim Devlin / Ken Howell / Rod Beck (SFS); Greg Maddux / John Malarkey / Bruce Chen / Juan Rincón (BBB).
5 Hits. Kenshin Kawakami / Barry Latman / Ed Brandt / Sandy Consuegra (MCG); Len Barker / David Bush / Andrew Miller (MEM); Johnny Cueto / Sad Sam Jones / Rob Murphy / Rob Dibble (IND).

Season Review: Ottawa Mounties

69 - 85, .448 pct.
4th in Cum Posey Division, 22 games behind.

Overall

With low expectations come limited success, or some such.

Ottawa has some interesting pieces, a ton of raw talent, and very little to show for it all. Future success hinges on the development of that talent–Ken Griffey, Jr, Álex Rodríguez, and Randy Johnson, I’m looking at you.

As is often the case with teams that struggle, there were some decent high spots on offense but a bit of a mess on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot.

Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter each established themselves as legitimate WBL players, although each of them are just outside the upper tier at their position in the league (Walker only through seemingly being injury prone).

Carlos Beltrán did enough to put himself on the roster next year, and Rusty Staub hit well for Ottawa after being acquired in trade.

Old Hoss Radbourn and, before getting injured, Roy Halladay both look like front of rotation arms for Ottawa. Ryan Dempster stepped into the absence created by Tom Henke‘s injury quite well. Some other starters–Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Clayton Richard especially–flashed some potential in limited innings, going 14-6 over a combined 30 starts.

The Mounties are an incredibly young organization: in one sense, merely surviving went right if 7 of your starters are 23 or under.

ALL STARS
SS Freddy Parent

What Went Wrong

Roberto Alomar faded and neither Álex Rodríguez nor Ken Griffey, Jr. did anything to live up to their massive potential. Across the board, it seemed like the best players could do was meh offensively.

Most of the pitching was horrible, and when not poor, greatly inconsistent (with Randy Johnson being the best example). Jim Clancy–whose 0.0 WAR was an accurate representation of his quality–was the only pitcher other than Radbourn and Halladay with over 100 IP.

Overall, there was just an absence of quality for the Mounties.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Steve Garvey, OF Spud Johnson, 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles for OF Rusty Staub, P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan

Seems fine–Delgado’s loss this year hurt, but Staub (a franchise player) and Beltrán offer a lot of future value.

IF Freddy Parent to Chicago for IF Sibby Sisti, OF Bob Watson, and IF Rickie Weeks

Parent was Ottawa’s only all star, so the drop in quality hurt. But it does clear the way for Á-Rod (which may or may not be a good thing if his performance doesn’t pick up), and Watson looks promising.

RP Gary Lavelle & P Jamie Moyer to Black Yankees for IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick {Mark Eichhorn}

Seems fine, maybe a little light if neither Bartell nor Thompson see WBL time.

July

P Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren, 5th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Jeremy Affeldt, P Bob Moose, OF George Burns, IF Art Devlin & 3rd Round Pick

All reasonable, as both Moose and Burns have some promise.

Looking Forward

SP

Radbourn and Halladay should be solid for years to come, and there is great excitement over the potential of Randy Johnson. Beyond that, it’s a lot of question marks.

RP

If Henke can bounce back from injury, he and Dempster should be solid here, and there are some decent arms behind them.

C

Carter should have this locked up for quite a while.

1B

Long term, a mixture of John Olerud and John Mayberry should handle this, but there are no great immediate options, unless Staub and Bob Watson can handle it.

2B

Even with his late season fade, this should be Roberto Alomar‘s position, especially as Raines shifts permanently to the outfield.

3B

An area of need, as neither Anthony Rendon nor Larry Parrish impressed.

SS

It’s assumed that Rodríguez will hold this down.

LF

Raines should play here more and more.

CF

This gets more interesting, as either Betrán or Griffey, Jr. could be here long term, with the other moving to a corner OF position.

RF

Walker as long as he’s healthy, with others, including Staub, filling in.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are some tempting choices out there, but Max Scherzer being a franchise selection who looks almost ready for the majors makes him the choice. The 2nd round was a much harder selection, but the Mounties eventually settled on Al Orth, partially because he should be able to help out at the major league level somewhat immediately.

1B is a bit unsettled for the franchise, so Elbie Fletcher made sense in the 3rd round. Fletcher is a ways away from helping at the WBL level, but he could be in the mix eventually. In the last part of that round, they took another arm: 22 year old Dan Haren.

In the 4th round, the Mounties took 2B Jimmy Dykes with their final franchise exemption and rubber armed reliever Mark Eichhorn with their other pick that round.

Rounds 5-8

Ottawa needs quality across the board, but being limited to franchise selections may make that challenging. They start in the 7th round with OF Warren Cromartie and follow that in the 8th with SP Dupee Shaw.

Rounds 9-12

IF Joey Cora; OF Leon Roberts; P Billy Koch; and P Chuck Taylor.

TWIWBL 51.5: The Awards – Rookie of the Year Award

So this is a strange one … according to OOTP, everyone (well, virtually everyone) in the league is a rookie. So we’re instead giving it out to the best performing players who did not qualify for the league leaderboards–essentially mid or late season call ups.

Here are the position players under consideration

NameTmPosGBAOPSSLGWAR
John BriggsBRKOF393224155290.9
Jim EdmondsHODOF712933485762.0
Al KalineDETOF343013745730.9
Andy Van SlykeHOMU693213735582.5
Larry WalkerOTTOF792823755892.9

And, the pitchers

NameTmRecordGGSSvHWAR
Bob FellerCLE8-4, 3.892411001.8
Greg MadduxBBB6-7, 3.532718021.8
Joseíto MuñozPOR5-5, 2.57249321.8
Mike MussinaBAL16-7, 4.082916111.9
Bret SaberhagenHOU4-7, 4.021717001.8
Ed WalshCAG8-3, 3.263511053.2

I’m going to push Walker out of the running, as his limited time was almost exclusively through injury.

Muñoz is probably the most impressive performer over the small sample size. But it is a small sample size. We’ll go with Walsh, Van Slyke, and Muñoz.

TWIWBL 51.1: The Awards – Gold Gloves

In addition to the winners, wanted to track the 2 next runner ups, for posterity and what-not.

We’ll go in order of how the awards are announced, beginning with the Gold Gloves. I’ve used 600 innings as a rough qualification minimum.

One thing that jumps out at me here is just how phenomenal the New York Gothams were defensively: two Gold Glove winners, 3 others mentioned.

#P

It’s a challenge because pitchers overall get so few chances. At the end of the day, you have to go with who makes the most plays.

NameTmInnZRTCEA
Jack TaylorHOD2052.932115
Ray CollinsPHI1940.739221
Old Hoss RadbournOTT1983.927021
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#C

Catchers are so hard … do you value cERA, which gives an unfair advantage to backstops blessed with better staffs? What about throwing out runners, where virtually everyone is within a few percentage points of each other? Are errors worse than passed balls or vice-versa?

Who knows. It’s clear that Cleveland’s Louis Santop dominates the numbers here (even if his FRM is some lucky fluke), and that Indianapolis’ Johnny Bench is damn good. Also, Brooklyn’s Duke Farrell, Portland’s Iván Rodríguez, and Miami’s Alan Ashby all look like real contenders if they were to ever earn enough playing time.

NameTmInnZRERTO%PBcERAFRM
Louis SantopCLE9213.4332.634.235.4
Johnny BenchIND9713.4834.654.491.8
Thurman MunsonNYY10712.4532.054.711.2
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / E = Errors / RTO% = Runners Thrown Out % / PB = Passed Balls / cERA = Catchers’ ERA / FRM = Runs Gained through Pitch Framing

#1B

While the Gothams’ Will Clark and Baltimore’s Dan McGann are pretty indistinguishable, Clark covered more ground. Note that for 1B we’ve listed assists over double plays, as they are a more reliable indicator for the position.

NameTmInnZRTCEA
Will ClarkMCG/NYG10713.81082678
Dan McGannBAL10511.61160666
Mike EpsteinHOM10101.610881177
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / A = Assists

#2B

This is incredibly close, and in addition to these three, San Francisco’s Jimmy Bloodworth and Los Angeles’ Bobby Grich could be listed quite easily.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
Eddie CollinsCAG10496.657310106
Cookie RojasNYG/MCG9287.1477571
Rogers HornsbyKCM/POR11564.86241092
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#3B

It’s a bit of a toss up in a traditional defensive choice between the top 2: Philadelphia’s Scott Rolen covered more ground, but Ottawa’s Anthony Rendon made more plays. At the end of the day, it’s the plays that count.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
Anthony RendonOTT11515.3366736
Scott RolenPHI11168.03291032
Mike SchmidtNYY9847.7264419
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#SS

Detroit’s George Davis was absolutely dominant here, despite registering 13 errors. He got to more balls, turned more double plays, and was simply the best defensive SS in the league.

NameTmInnZRTCEDP
George DavisDET119921.96771397
George WrightLAA106714.5562287
Ozzie SmithKCM115915.0586588
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / TC = Total Chances / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#LF

In LF, we have a victory for slow and steady: Brooklyn’s Roy White is far from flashy, and his arm is fair-to-middling at best. But he covers ground, and over nearly 300 chances and 1200 innings, made zero errors.

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Roy WhiteBRK11637.4300
Jimmy SheckardNYG11664.1744
Rickey HendersonSFS9463.4941
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

#CF

The choice between the New York Gothams’ Willie Mays and the Baltimore Black Sox’ Paul Blair is very, very rough. Their ZR’s are essentially identical, Mays has both 2 more kills and 2 more errors over about 200 more innings, as well as a slightly better range rating. Blair’s arm has actually been more effective overall. In the end, it’s Blair by a hair.

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Paul BlairBAL10449.61522
Willie MaysNYG12599.61752
Curtis GrandersonBBB9827.91433
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Mention should be made of Ottawa’s Ken Griffey, Jr., who registered 16 kills in 649 innings, a pretty stunning rate of eliminating baserunners.

#RF

The New York Gothams’ Johnny Callison has, in slightly less than a full-time role, put up spectacular defensive numbers. Perhaps most impressive are the 4 double-plays. Here are the top three:

NameTmInnZRKEDP
Johnny CallisonNYG9108.71124
Roberto ClementeHOM10348.2661
Larry WalkerOTT6413.51131
Inn = Innings Played at Position / ZR = Zone Rating / K = Kills (Assists) / E = Errors / DP = Double Plays

Your Gold Glovers for year 2000 of the WBL:

P: Jack Taylor (HOD)
C: Louis Santop (CLE)
1B: Will Clark (MCG/NYG)
2B: Eddie Collins (CAG)
3B: Anthony Rendon (OTT)
SS: George Davis (DET)
LF: Roy White (BRK)
CF: Paul Blair (BAL)
RF: Johnny Callison (NYG)

TWIWBL 46.2: Series XXXVIII Notes – September 11th (Day 3 of 4)

#The Battle for the Final Spot

Albert Belle went deep twice t0 keep the New York Black Yankees hopes alive, driving in all 4 runs in a 4-2 victory over Cleveland. Rheal Cormier earned his first win as a member of the much maligned New York bullpen, and Goose Gossage ended the game for his 3rd save of the year.

NYY 4 (Cormier 1-0; Gossage 3 Sv) @ CLE 2 (Porter 4-5)
HRs: NYY – Belle 2 (19); CLE – Speaker (5).
Box Score

In the end, it didn’t matter: Birmingham’s Cupid Childs brought home Billy Southworth in the bottom of the 10th, beating Philadelphia 4-3 and securing the final playoff spot for the Black Barons. It was Childs’ 3rd RBI of the day, and he and Southworth had 2 hits each.

PHI 3 (Howry 3-8) @ BBB 4 (Gunderson 2-0; Malarkey 2 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Freeman (21); BBB – Mathews (26).
Box Score

With that, the playoff teams are set, with Birmingham sealing the final spot.

#Playoff Seeding

Baltimore’s 6-1 win over Kansas City settled the Cum Posey Division, with the Black Sox clinching first place (and the best record in baseball). Curt Blefary had 3 hits and Chick Stahl hit his 3rd homerun since being recalled a few weeks ago in support of a strong 5 innings from Connie Johnson.

A come from behind, walkoff victory for the New York Gothams finalized the standings in the Bill James Division. Wes Westrum‘s 2nd hit of the day brought in the winning run for New York with Brian Wilson getting the win despite allowing 3 hits and a run in his inning of work. With the win, Detroit will win the division and the House of David will finish in 3rd, with the Gothams safely through to the post-season in second place.

#Other Games

There has been very little encouraging about Miami’s pitching this year. But the Cuban Giants may have something in trade acquisition Freddie Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons allowed 1 run in 4 hits in a complete game victory over Homestead, improving his record to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.57. Jim Thome hit a bomb just shy of 500 feet in the win, one of 3 hits on the day for him.

Continuing to make a strong argument for extended playing time next year, Roy Hartzell had 4 hits and 4 RBIs as San Francisco blew out Indianapolis, 11-3.

Gary Carter had 5 RBI on 3 hits, Álex Rodríguez had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Larry Walker add 3 hits as Ottawa downed Houston, 8-5.

Frank Smith got a spot start for Chicago as the American Giants had nothing left to play for, and promptly delivered a 2-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Brooklyn. Carlton Fisk hit his 14th homerun to seal the victory.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks went deep twice, giving him 41 on the year (and making him the 3rd batter to surpass the 40 homerun mark), but it wasn’t enough as Detroit won 4-2 behind a strong effort from Justin Verlander and Hank Greenberg‘s 31st longball of the season. Verlander reached double digits in wins at 10-4 and Mike Henneman picked up his 38th save despite giving up 3 hits in his inning of work.

Series XXXVI Best Games

We start with a couple good games, move into a demonstration of a team’s weakness that is directly impacting the playoff hunt, and close with two mid-season acquisitions going in different directions.

#Ottawa Mounties @ Baltimore Black Sox, Game 1

It’s a cliché, but despite being among the worst teams in the league, Ottawa continues to be a tough foe. Their weakness all year has been their pitching, but in their opening game against the best team in the league–the Baltimore Black Sox–an acceptable start from Bob Moose was followed by almost 5 innings of scoreless relief from Clark Griffith, Ted Bowsfield, Chris Leroux, and Ryan Dempster.

It almost wasn’t enough: Dan McGann and Baby Doll Jacobson went deep early, giving the Black Sox a 4-2 lead after 6 innings. But Bernie Allen–who to this point had shown little potential and less power–launched a 2 run shot to tie the game. Carlos Betlrán threw a runner out at home in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the tie, and in the top of the 10th, a Larry Walker homerun put Ottawa on top for good.

The Mounties seem to have found a closer, as Dempster closed it out for his 11th save.

OTT 5 (Leroux 2-1; Dempster 11 Sv) @ BAL 4 (Ryan 0-2; Betancourt 1 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: OTT – Stephens (3), Allen (1), Walker (20); BAL – Harper (13), Machado (9), McGann (15), Jacobson (10).
Box Score

#Philadelphia Stars @ Cleveland Spiders, Game 1

There is little positive to take from the season for Philadelphia, but the emergence of OF Aaron Judge and, to a lesser degree, IF Roger Peckinpaugh certainly count.

Cleveland took a 3-0 lead into the 7th, but Judge launched a 2-run shot and Ted Kluszewski added a solo homer to tie the game, and from there the bullpens took over until the 11th inning.

Peckinpaugh led off with a double and scored on a single from Judge. Juan Samuel–another possible late season gem for the Stars–doubled in Judge, and Philadelphia suddenly was on top, 5-3. It wasn’t enough: MVP candidate Ron Blomberg doubled home 2 to tie the game and then scored on a sacrifice fly from John Ellis for a walk-off win for the Spiders.

Judge drove in 3 and Buck Freeman had 3 hits for the Stars while Blomberg and Arky Vaughan each had 3 for Cleveland.

PHI 5 (Jackson 5-10, 1 B Sv) @ CLE 6 (Feller 8-4; Walker 1 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Judge (6), Kluszewski (25); CLE – none.
Box Score

#New York Black Yankees @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Neither starter–New York’s Jack Scott or Memphis’ Bill Doak–did well. That was, of course, worse news for New York than Memphis, as the bullpen struggles of the Black Yankees have been well documented. A flurry of homeruns had given New York a 5-4 lead after 3 innings (Pee Wee Reese–his first for New York– and Lou Gehrig for the Black Yankees and Reggie Smith, Sammy Sosa, and Dave Justice for the Red Sox).

That lasted until the bottom of the 8th, when Bryan Hickerson was lucky to only allow the tying run: Memphis had 3 hits in the inning with a single from Sosa scoring Mookie Betts, but New York’s Eric Davis nailed Manny Ramírez at the plate. The Black Yankees brought in Ralph Citarella for the bottom of the 9th. Smith led off the frame with a single, stole second, and scored on a single from Claude Ritchey for the walk-off victory.

New York’s relievers gave up 5 hits and 2 runs in 2 innings; Memphis’ 1 hit and 0 runs in just over 4 innings. That was the difference.

NYY 5 (Citarella 4-7, 5 B Sv; Hickerson 2 H) @ MEM 6 (Farrell 4-4)
HRs: NYY – Reese (1), Gehrig (24); MEM – Smith (21), Sosa (6), Justice (3).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 2

Just imagine if Tim Hudson had pitched like this since San Francisco acquired him. Hudson allowed 1 run in over 7 innings while striking out 7 and being generally dominant. He exited with a 2-0 lead, but San Francisco’s closer, Rod Beck, had a very rough appearance, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs in his 1 inning of work.

Mike Trout, who is really coming on as the year winds down and had 3 hits on the day, drove in 1 run in the 8th, then Elmer Valo tied the game with a 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th. John Stearns won it with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th.

SFS 3 (Beck 1-5, 6 B Sv; Shields 3 H) @ LAA 4 (Familia 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Houston Colt 45’s @ Birmingham Black Barons, Game 3

And then we have Andy Pettitte, whose move to Birmingham seems to have transformed him from a good starting pitcher for Kansas City to an absolute ace for the Black Barons. Here, Houston’s Stephen Strasbourg was nearly as good as Pettitte, allowing 1 run in 7 innings while Pettite allowed 2 (but only 1 earned) over 8.

Houston took a 2-1 lead on a homerun by Jeff Bagwell in the top of the 9th, but Jim Kern did Jim Kern things after an error on Lance Blankenship, giving up a 2-out walk and a 2-run double to Gene Tenace. Billy Wagner relieved Kern and gave up an RBI single to Adrián González to give Birmingham a 4-2 lead.

Casey Stengel–a surprising source of power for Houston–led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo shot, but Jorge Posada whiffed with 2 on to end the game.

HOU 3 (Kern 0-3, 1 B Sv) @ BBB 4 (Pettitte 6-0; Bedrosian 1 Sv)
HRs: HOU – Bagwell (15), Stengel (11); BBB – none.
Box Score

Series XXXV Best Games

A mixture of checking in on series that impact the playoffs, the drive towards statistical milestones, and just good old fashioned close games.

#New York Gothams @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

Oh what could have been … Christy Mathewson headed into the bottom of the 8th inning with 16 wins on the year, a 3-hit shutout in the works, and a 7-0 lead. The Gothams had been propelled to that lead via homeruns from Buster Posey and Will Clark and 3 hits from Wes Westrum. Matty walked Bernie Allen and gave up a single to Tim Raines, which brought in Mike Norris from New York’s bullpen.

Norris was less than his stellar self, giving up a double to Jim Stephens that scored 2 runs and allowing a 3rd to score on a wild pitch. Still, that left the Gothams with a 4-run lead, 7-3, with perhaps the most effective closer in the league, Brian Wilson, taking the mound in the bottom of the 9th.

Wilson surrendered 4 consecutive hits including a 2-run triple from Roberto Alomar, closing it to a 1-run game. Robb Nen came on in relief of Wilson and promptly gave up a double to Larry Walker and a game-ending single to Stephens, scoring Walker and Rusty Staub and giving Ottawa a highly improbably 8-7 walk off win.

Mathewson should have come out of this with 17 wins, an outside shot at 20, and a strong argument for being the best starter in the WBL. Instead, the Gothams bullpen collapsed, a clear warning sign for their postseason ambitions.

NYG 7 (Nen 3-5, 3 B Sv) @ OTT 8 (Leroux 1-1)
HRs: NYG – Posey (11), Clark (4); OTT – none.
Box Score

#Baltimore Black Sox @ Wandering House of David, Games 2 and 4

Baltimore’s series against the House of David was perhaps the best matchup of Series XXXV, with both teams seemingly safe in their postseason ambitions.

It opened with a 15 inning classic, with Baltimore’s Johnny Sain twirling a shutout over 7+ innings, allowing only 3 hits. Singles from Ken Singleton and Ramón Hernández, helped by an error by House of David RF Dan Ford, put the only run of the game on the board in the 4th. But Baltimore’s current closer, Buddy Groom, couldn’t shut the door in the 9th, allowing a solo homerun to Jim Edmonds, his 17th of the season, to send the game into extra innings.

Baltimore’s bullpen took over form there, with a dominant outing from John Wetteland, a shaky one from Gregg Olsen, and a solid one from Don Bessent combing for 6 shutout frames. Singleton, who finished the day 3-for-6, launched a 3-run shot in the top of the 15th, giving the Black Sox a 4-1 victory.

BAL 4 (Bessent 2-7) @ HOD 1 (Smith 0-1) [15 Innings]
HRs: BAL – Singleton (17); HOD – Edmonds (17).
Box Score

The House of David would win the next 2 games, setting up a confrontation in the final match between Baltimore’s Connie Johnson and the Hosue of David’s ace Jack Taylor. What looked like a great pitching matchup on paper sizzled out a bit, with each starter allowing 4 runs over the first 6 innings.

Baltimore was able to pull away, scoring in the 7th, 8th, and 9th en route to the 7-4 victory for the series split. Bryce Harper (who had 3 hits), Manny Machado, and Frank Robinson all went deep for the Black Sox. The House of David left 13 runners on base, meaning Edmonds’ 4 hits, Browning’s 3, and Elrod Hendricks‘ 35th homerun of the year were all for naught.

Baltimore’s bullpen was stellar again, as Rafael Betancourt, Lindy McDaniel, Bessent, Joe Beggs, and Groom combining for just over 4 scoreless innings in relief of Johnson.

BAL 7 (McDaniel 1-0; Bessent 2 H; Beggs 10 H) @ HOD 4 (Niedenfuer 0-2)
HRs: BAL – Robinson (35), Machado (8), Harper (12); HOD – Hendricks (35).
Box Score

#New York Black Yankees @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn still has a slim chance at the postseason, so every game counts. Which is why wasting a great start from their ace, Don Drysedale, is such a shame. Drysedale had 8 shutout innings allowing only 3 hits, and the Royal Giants were riding a pinch-hit RBI from John Briggs to a 1-0 lead. And then, the 9th …

Babe Ruth singled, but Drysedale induced a horrible bunt from Tommy Herr, caught by a hard-charging Ray Dandridge at 3B. Eric Davis doubled home Ruth to tie the game and bring Brooklyn’s closer, Watty Clark, from the bullpen. Clark gave up RBI singles to Mickey Mantle, Mike Schmidt, and Don Mattingly for a 4-1 lead. Aroldis Chapman had a perfect 9th for his 12th save for the Black Yankees.

Still, Brooklyn took 3 of the 4 games in the series, keeping their postseason hopes alive.

NYY 4 (Lavelle 2-3; Chapman 12 Sv) @ BRK 1 (Drysedale 8-9)
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ San Francisco Sea Lions, Game 4

Just because teams are out of the playoffs doesn’t mean they can’t play good games …

Each team had their presumptive ace on the mound (Jon Lester for Memphis, Lefty Grove for San Francisco), but neither were terribly impressive. We pick up the action with Memphis leading, 4-3, heading into the bottom of the 6th, where a 2 RBI single from Pedro Guerrero and a 3 run shot from Reggie Jackson put San Francisco up, 8-4.

Bill White would double in 2 to cut the lead in half in the top of the 7th, and then Ron Robinson, usually reliable this year, gave it all back in the top of the 8th on a 3 run homer from Reggie Smith. Tim Wakefield, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon were excellent in relief, allowing only 1 hit in over 3 innings out of the pen.

Gene Oliver had 3 hits for the Sea Lions and Jackson drove in 4 while Memphis got 2 hits each from Smith, White, Mookie Betts, and Iván de Jesus.

MEM 9 (Wakefield 7-7; Papelbon 14 Sv; Bell 8 H; Cicotte 2 B Sv) @ SFS 8 (Robinson 6-5, 3 B Sv)
HRs: MEM – Smith (20); SFS – Bonds (19), Oliver (3), Jackson (30).
Box Score

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