Jim Pagliaroni went deep twice and Birmingham got a good start from Lefty Gomez in a 6-4 win over the Gothams.
Troy Tulowitzki drove in 6 runs in a 9–2 win over the Gothams where Greg Maddux was solid for 7 innings, improving his record to 6-8.
Albert Belle hit 2 homeruns, but Birmingham’s bullpen struggled–again–and the Black Barons dropped to the House of David, 5-4.
#Houston Colt 45’s
Needing a starter, the Colt 45’s sent struggling flamethrower Billy Wagner to AAA, recalling Rick Wise from AA. Wise came through with a solid outing, and Jeff Bagwell went deep twice as Houston walked over Ottawa, 13-3.
Craig Biggio reached double digits in homeruns on the season with 2 deep shots and Houston blew away Indianapolis, 19-1. Carlos Correa drove in 6 and Biggio 5 in the rout, and Pete Hill scored 4 times. Roger Clemens improved to 9-4 with a solid 6 innings.
Stephen Strasbourg finally got his first win of the season, combining with John Franco and Tug McGraw on a 3-hit blanking of Indianapolis. Strasbourg fanned 10 in 7 innings of work and Bagwell hit his 18th homer of the year in the 2-0 victory.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Gorham Leverett was returned to the minors, with the ABC’s preferring a long reliever who can also start if needs be. They promoted Eppa Rixey, who fits the bill.
With Bob Bescher ready for recall from a rehab assignment, Emil Frisk‘s increased comfort at the WBL level was enough for the ABC’s to send Dave Henderson to AAA in an attempt to revive the veteran’s swing.
#Kansas City Monarchs
Albert Pujols hit 2 out, leading the Monarchs to a 4-3 win over Philadelphia.
Ted Simmons did Pujols 1 better, blasting 3 in an 11 inning, 12-6 win over Ottawa. Simmons drove in 6, with the win going to Craig Kimbrel who improved his record to 2-1 and lowered his ERA to a blistering 1.14.
Simmons hit another 2 (giving him 14 on the season) and Kansas City again beat the Mounties, this time 6-4.
#Wandering House of David
George Gore hit 2 out and the House of David came from behind to beat Indianapolis, 5-4.
Ryne Sandberg went deep twice, reaching 28 on the year, and carried the House of David to a 2-1 win over Birmingham. Kyle Peterson was excellent in his first start, but wasn’t involved in the decision, with the win going to Karl Spooner and Lee Smith picking up his 5th save.
Anthony Rizzo will miss about a month with a fractured finger, prompting the House of David to recall Jung Ho Kang from AAA.
Today, we’ll check in on last year’s all stars from the National League, and next week review the candidates for this year’s midseason classic.
#Awards
Baltimore is starting to make some noise, led by Frank Robinson, who was the AL Player of the Week after hitting .409 with 3 homeruns. Boog Powell of the Kansas City Monarchs hit .522 with 4 homers, earning honors over in the NL.
#Team Performance
Other than a bit of separation in the Effa Manley Division, not a lot has changed.
The New York Black Yankees still lead the Bill James Division, but Cleveland has closed to within 4. San Francisco, tied with the Black Yankees for the best record in the league, is beginning to run away with the Cum Posey Division, leading Chicago (the only 2nd place team under .500) by 9.5 games.
Brooklyn tops the Effa Manley Division, but it’s still tight, with Homestead 2 and the New York Gothams 3.5 games back. A 2-8 record in their last 10 games has dropped Ottawa 7.5 games behind.
Finally, the Indianapolis ABC’s and the Kansas City Monarchs are in a dead heat in the Marvin Miller Division.
The Birmingham Black Barons retain the dubious honor of having the worst record in the league at 30-46.
#Player Performance
Batters
Detroit‘s Ty Cobb had fallen under .400, but a torrid streak has him back on top of the league in batting average at .409, edging in front of Houston‘s Tony Gwynn who sits at .404.
Cobb’s performance really deserves some attention: it’s not just the .409 average, it’s the league leading .861 SLG, driven by 36 doubles and 23 homers. He’s clearly the best hitter in the league so far, although Detroit’s overall performance may reduce his standing in the MVP race.
Roberto Alomar (OTT). 324/405/617. 67 R. José Canseco (MCG). 256/374/740. 33 HR. Oscar Charleston (IND). 330/381/642. 9 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 409/460/861. 106 H, 36 2B, 5.1 WAR. Josh Gibson (HOM). 391/471/744. 4.7 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 404/436/632. 110 H. Pete Hill (HOU). 280/366/477. 9 3B. Joe Jackson (CAG). 372/416/613. 36 2B. Stan Musial (KCM). 329/392/573. 37 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 293/417/759. 36 HR, 85 RBI, 73 R. Larry Walker (OTT). 296/369/727. 33 HR, 77 RBI.
Rickey Henderson (San Francisco) and Tim Raines (Ottawa) continue to be 1-2 in the league in steals, 55 to 46.
Two batters (Indianapolis’ Adam Dunn and the Black Yankees’ Mickey Mantle) have struck out over 100 times, but with 16 others already over 80, they won’t be alone in the century club for long.
Pitchers
Starters
Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón continues to lead the league in wins with 11. The three other starters with double-digit wins are also included below.
Two interesting newer names here: Rube Foster (Andrew Rube, not Rube) has just been impossible to hit, and now that he is safely over the IP threshold to qualify, it will be interesting to see how long he stays on the leaderboards. Brooklyn‘s Smokey Joe Williams has pitched excellently, despite a sub .500 record to show for it.
A. Rube Foster (KCM). 5-0, 2.22. 0.89 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.54. 114 IP. Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-4, 3.77. 136 K, 3.1 WAR. Bump Hadley (SFS). 10-4, 4.34. 3.49 FIP. Luis Padrón (IND). 11-2, 4.22. Eddie Plank (SFS). 10-3, 3.57. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 10-4, 2.87. 116 IP, 145 K, 0.90 WHIP, 2.72 FIP, 5.0 WAR. Smokey Joe Williams (BRK). 6-7, 3.29. 3.1 WAR.
Relievers
We’ve listed the top 3 relievers in saves. We’re getting some separation here, but it’s still hard to really point to anyone–other than Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel–as being lights-out dominant.
17 IP minimum.
Rod Beck (SFS). 3-2, 3.80. 19 Sv. Eric Gagne (BRK). 1-1, 3.18. 17 Sv. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.32. 1 Sv, 4 H. Bob Howry (PHI). 3-1, 3.60. 10 Sv, 0.775 WHIP. Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-3, 3.62. 1 Sv, 10 H. Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-1, 1.31. 2 Sv, 10 H. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 4-2, 3.45. 20 Sv. Rob Murphy (IND). 1-1, 3.09. 1 Sv, 11 H. Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 2.97. 3 Sv, 6 H, 0.73 WHIP.
#Injury Report
The biggest injury to hit in a while is Kansas City’s Stan Musial, who will miss about a week.
Homestead’s Owen Wilson, Memphis‘ Skel Roach, and Miami‘s Al Oliver are all due to start rehab assignments this week.
#Last Year’s NL All-Stars
As we ramp up to this year’s all-star game, seemed a good time to check in on last year’s designees. This week, we’ll take a look at (what was last year) the AL.
#OBV
Rod Beck (SFS). Second in the league in saves, despite some rough other numbers. Should be enough.
José Canseco (MCG). A .256 average ain’t great … but 33 homers and a nearly 1.100 OPS is.
Lou Gehrig (NYY). A borderline choice last year, Gerhig has upped the power a notch this year.
Josh Gibson (HOM). Gibson has blossomed this year with an OPS over 1.200. He’s probably the best backstop in the WBL at 21 years old.
Lefty Grove (SFS). Doing even better than last season.
Ken Howell (SFS). Continues to be dominant in a support role.
Joe Mauer (POR). Mauer has a 302/383/502 slash line. Nuff said.
Scott Rolen (PHI). Rolen continues to deliver for the Stars.
Babe Ruth (NYY). Still leading the league in key categories, most notably HR and RBI.
#Mebbe
Terry Adams (CLE). A decent shot, sitting 5th in the league in saves with solid peripheral numbers.
Johnny Bench (IND). Bench was probably the best C in the league last season; this year he’s picked it up as of late, but still has fallen far short of last year’s levels.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 1B is so hard … Blomberg has 27 homers and an OPS just shy of 1.000, yet may not make the midsummer classic.
Mike Epstein (HOM). See Blomberg above. Epstein has an OBP near .400 and a SLG near .600, and may be on the fringes as well.
Jim Fregosi (POR). Is an .800 OPS enough at SS? Maybe …
Rickey Henderson (SFS). A borderline choice last year as well … but a .400 OBP and over 50 SBs at the season midpoint is compelling.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). Jackson is no longer threatening the triple crown, but he’s still sporting an OPS of about .980. So mebbe.
Mickey Mantle (NYY). Mantle has an OPS just over 1.000, but the CF contenders are pretty thick. So we’ll see if it gets him in.
#Meh
Kent Hrbek (POR). A fringe MVP candidate last year, Hrbek has fallen to the ranks of the thoroughly average this year.
Derek Jeter (NYY). Jeter has more power this year, but is hitting under .250, moving him behind other contenders.
Thurman Munson (NYY). Munson may belong in the level below, having fallen dramatically from last year’s heights.
Bobby Murcer (POR). Murcer hasn’t been bad, with a 262/327/496 slash line. But it’s not all star material.
Ron Reed (CLE). Reed is effective this year, but not all-star material.
Cy Young (CLE). Still a workhorse, but not nearly as effective as last season.
#What Happened?
Buddy Bell (POR). Bell has been on fire as of late … which has raised his OPS to a not-so-robust .669.
Don Drysedale (BRK). From one of the better aces in the league to an ERA well over 6.00.
Tom Herr (NYY). Herr rode an all-star first half of last season to a trade to a contender, but has struggled since then, including a .655 OPS this year.
Chuck Knoblauch (CLE). Another hard collapse, with Knoblauch falling to a little below Tom Herr levels.
Charlie Root (DET). Made it as a reliver last year, now a full time starter and being no more than adequate.
#Other
Eric Davis (NYY). Solid, but missed too much time through injury.
Tim Hudson (SFS). Injured, and not doing well when not.
Red Ruffing (NYY). Doing well since his return from injury, but has only gotten a handful of starts.
Johan Santana (POR). No longer in the WBL after a horrifically ineffective return from long-term injury.
John Malarkey replaced Sam Streeter in the rotation for Birmingham.
Jim Whitney had easily his best outing of the year with a 4 hit shutout of Houston. He improved to 3-2 with the 1-0 victory, lowering his ERA to 3.55. Whitney followed that up with a masterful 8+ in a 5-1 win, again over Houston, adding another victory and shaving another 0.20 from his ERA.
#Houston Colt 45’s
Bones Ely heads to AAA with Ice Box Chamberlain coming back up for another stint. Johnny Damon was also sent down and while the Colt 45’s strongly considered recalling Roberto Osuna to help their bullpen, they settled instead on veteran OF Luis Gonzalez.
Toad Ramsey struck out 11 and allowed only 1 hit–that a homerun–in a 4-1 victory over Birmingham. The Colt 45’s scored 4 in the top of the 9th–2 on solo shots from George Brett and Jimmy Wynn and 2 on a double by Pete Hill–to help Ramsey improve to 10-4.
#Indianapolis ABCs
Emil Frisk was returned to AAA as Ed Charles was recalled from his rehab assignment.
Johnny Bench continues to emerge from a season long sense, hitting 2 out in an 8-6 loss to Brooklyn, giving him 17 on the year.
Jake Stenzel will miss about a week, warranting a trip to the DL with Frisk coming back up.
The Only Nolan put in his best start of the year, allowing 1 run in 8 innings and striking out 11 in an 8-2 win over the Gothams.
#Kansas City Monarchs
Boog Powell hit 2 out, but those were the only runs the Monarchs could manage in a 10-2 loss to Homestead.
A. Rube Foster was magnificent, spinning a 2-hit shutout in a 10-0 win over Homestead. Ted Simmons had 3 doubles and Powell and Lou Brock each went deep in the victory.
The Monarchs’ best hitter, Stan Musial, will miss about a week as a strained groin will send him to the DL. Jim King was called up from AAA.
#Wandering House of David
Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith swapped roles, with Smith becoming the designated closer for the House of David.
Ernie Banks went deep twice and drove in 5 as the House of David pounded Ottawa, 15-4. Anthony Rizzo, Joe Harris, and Frank Grant also went deep for the home team.
We’re rounding the corner towards the selection of this year’s All-Star teams. Today, we’ll check in on last year’s all stars from the AL.
#Awards
Duke Snider hit .444 with 5 homeruns last week, earning the Brooklyn OFer the NL Player of the Week Award. In the other league, Detroit‘s irrepressible Ty Cobb was named AL Player of the Week. Cobb moved his average back over .400, finishing the week at .411 after hitting .579 with 5 homers.
And, over in the Effa Manley Division, 5.5 games separate Brooklyn in first and Ottawa at the bottom.
Memphis and Brooklyn have gone 8-2 over their last 10 games, while Miami has done the inverse, finishing 2-8 over their last week and a half.
#Player Performance
Batters
Someone poked Babe Ruth, insinuating that the Black Yankees’ OF might not be the dominant player in the league. Since then, he has been on fire, retaking the league lead in his usual categories.
Three batters sit over .400: Houston‘s Tony Gwynn at .427, Ty Cobb at .411, and Homestead‘s Josh Gibson at .402. Gwynn, predictably, is the only batter with over 100 hits so far in the season.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 328/380/626. 9 3B. Ty Cobb (DET). 411/462/864. 97 H; 34 2B; 4.9 WAR. Josh Gibson (HOM). 402/480/776. 4.5 WAR. Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/460/668. 108 H. Joe Jackson (CHI). 368/417/611. 35 2B. Stan Musial (KCM). 329/394/573. 35 2B. Babe Ruth (NYY). 297/420/768. 34 HR; 81 RBI; 67 R; 55 BB. Larry Walker (OTT). 321/390/782. 32 HR; 73 RBI. Ted Williams (MEM). 306/425/624. 60 R; 48 BB.
San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson continues to lead the league in steals with 51, but Ottawa’s Tim Raines has recovered a bit offensively, and being on base more has allowed him to close the gap a bit, now sitting with 44 on the year.
Pitchers
Starters
Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón and San Francisco’s Bump Hadley are the only hurlers in double digits for wins. The three pitchers with 9 victories are also included below, as well as the usual statistical leaders. Of note is the appearance of Kansas City’s A. Rube Foster, who now has (barely) enough IP to qualify here.
The dominance of Kansas City and San Francisco is worth mentioning as well.
Frank Castillo (KCM). 9-1, 4.01. A. Rube Foster (KCM). 4-0, 2.44. 0.86 WHIP. Lefty Grove (SFS). 8-4, 3.19. 107 IP; 3.1 WAR. Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-3, 3.68. 116 K. Bump Hadley (SFS). 10-4, 3.81. 3.29 FIP. Luis Padrón (IND). 10-2, 3.90. Eddie Plank (SFS). 9-3, 3.65. Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-4, 3.03. 107 IP; 134 K; 0.94 WHIP; 2.72 FIP; 4.6 WAR.
Relievers
Five relievers have 9 Holds at this point, and all of them are listed, making this a bit of a larger group than usual.
16 IP minimum.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 3.79. 19 Sv. Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-1, 3.72. 9 H. Ken Howell (SFS). 4-1, 1.46. 3 H. Michael Jackson (HOM). 1-3, 3.55. 1 Sv; 9 H. Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 0.92. 2 Sv; 9 H; 0.71 WHIP; 2.07 FIP. Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-2, 4.01. 18 Sv. Rob Murphy (IND). 1-1, 2.70. 1 Sv; 9 H. Ross Reynolds (LAA). 2-0, 1.93. 1 Sv; 1 H; 2.02 FIP. BJ Ryan (OTT). 1-2, 4.85. 1 Sv; 9 H. Lee Smith (HOD). 4-1, 2.97. 3 Sv; 6 H; 0.73 WHIP.
#2 Way Players
It’s been a while, so figured we should check back in on these guys. Here’s the list:
Name
Team
Batting
Pitching
Total WAR
Charles Rogan
PHI
311/356/605. 1.8 WAR.
4-5, 4.55. 1.8 WAR.
3.6
Luis Padrón
IND
252/331/390. 0.1 WAR.
11-2, 3.90. 2.9 WAR.
3.0
Smokey Joe Wood
KCM
263/364/526. 0.1 WAR.
8-3, 3.41. 2.1 WAR.
2.2
JM Ward
PHI
158/186/246. -0.7 WAR.
3-2, 3.68. 1.8 WAR.
1.1
Jim Whitney
BBB
140/178/256. -0.4 WAR.
2-2, 4.00. 1.1 WAR.
0.7
Elmer Smith
LAA
323/462/387. 0.2 WAR.
0-1, 6.46. -0.1 WAR.
0.1
Eustaquio Pedroso
MIA
210/312/296. -0.3 WAR.
2-1, 6.11. -0.2 WAR.
-0.5
Wood has received very little time in the field, so we’ll see how he does as that expands. It looks like Ward should stay on the mound, and that really, it’s only Rogan and Padrón as truly valuable 2-way talents.
#Injury Report
Cleveland’s Mel Harder, Detroit’s Hal Newhouser, Miami’s Kenshin Kawakami and perhaps most importantly, Portland’s Joséito Muñoz should all start injury rehabs later this week. Should those go well, all four teams should receive rotation boosts in the near future.
#Last Year’s All-Stars
As we ramp up to this year’s all-star game, seemed a good time to check in on last year’s designees. This week, we’ll take a look at (what was last year) the AL.
#OBV
Bob Bailey (3B, DET). Just a dependable offensive machine at the hot corner.
Rod Beck (RP, SFS). Still racking up the saves, and doing better than last season otherwise.
Hank Greenberg (1B, DET). Keeps pounding the ball.
Mike Henneman (RP, DET). Remains dominant from the bullpen.
Rogers Hornsby (2B, POR). Keeps rolling along with better numbers than last season.
Joe Jackson (OF, CAG). This year’s version is a doubles machine without nearly the homerun power, but still maintaining on OPS over 1.000.
Craig Kimbrel (RP, KCM). Dominant, and really making the argument to be moved into the closer slot for Kansas City.
Willie Mays (OF, NYG). Somehow underappreciated despite his stellar performance.
Andy Pettitte (SP, NYY). Just keeps rolling. Like the whole league, his ERA is a little higher, but his peripheral numbers are strong.
Buster Posey (C, NYG). More power than last year, a little less of everything else, but still elite.
Frank Thomas (1B, CAG). Significantly better offensively across the board, which is a truly frightening statement.
Ted Williams (OF, MEM). A borderline selection last year, he’s upped his game significantly this season, with an OPS of 1.049.
#Mebbe
Curt Blefary (C, BAL). Nowhere near as good as last season, but still a good offensive player, showing both power and control of the strike zone.
Eddie Collins (2B, CAG). Power output has fallen off, and while he’s still a top performer, is not the MVP candidate of last season.
Mike Epstein (1B, HOM). The shape of his production has changed, as his BA has dropped 80 points. But he’s slugging .570 and his OPS is virtually the same as last season.
Dan McGann (1B, BAL). At 37, he’s performing better than last season, but remains under the radar for some reason.
Stan Musial (OF, KCM). He’s hitting almost exactly the same as he did last year, but has struggled with the longball. That may be enough to nudge him off the team, unfair as that may be.
#Meh
Dick Allen (3B, CAB). Not doing badly, but clearly a long wasy from an all star at this point.
Gerrit Cole (SP, LAA). May be pitching better than last season, but without the dominant W/L record, should fall far short of the all-star game.
Mark Melancon (RP, POR). Perhaps a stretch choice last year due to a ridiculous number of wins for a reliever, is doing fine this year, but far from all-star levels.
AJ Minter (RP, CAG). Still the American Giants’ closer, but no longer among the best in the league.
Reggie Smith (OF, MEM). Other than a boost in power, struggling a bit across the board.
Bobby Wallace (SS, BAL). Injured and not performing nearly as well regardless, Wallace is still an on base machine, and clearly has value.
Brian Wilson (RP, NYG). Injured and limited to 13 games so far, but dominant in those appearances, so there’s a chance.
#What Happened?
Bill Byrd (SP, BAL). Well below average so far this season.
Elrod Hendricks (C, HOD). Last year’s magnificent performance looks more and more like a mirage. Hendricks still has power, but is no longer elite among league backstops.
Duffy Lewis (OF, CHI). Struggling, especially in the power department.
Tricky Nichols (SP, CAG). An ERA over 6.00 and a ton of HR’s allowed.
Freddy Parent (SS, CAG). Parent rode his All Star selection–deserved at the time–to a trade to a contender, and then lost the ability to hit for power at all. Without that, he’s a mediocre SS.
Doug Rader (3B, LAA). A stunningly productive 2000 has been followed with … very little.
George Stone (OF, HOD). Significantly worse across the board. Stone looked like a budding star last year, now he looks like a decent 4th OFer.
#Other
Ned Garvin (SP, BAL). Garvin was the dominant pitcher in the league last year when he got injured. He’s been fine since his return, but has yet to find the same level.
Sean Marshall (RP, BAL). Hit by a long-term injury, Marshall is due to return to Baltimore’s bullpen by the all-star game.
Andy Pafko went deep twice, reaching 11 on the year, but those were the only runs Birmingham could manage as they fell, 3-2 to Brooklyn in 14 innings.
Hank Aaron hit 2 out, giving him 24 on the year, and the Black Barons beat Homestead 9-4. Aaron drove in 5, and Curtis Granderson and Eddie Mathews each hit their 22nd dinger of the year in support of Sam Streeter.
#Houston Colt 45s
Tony Gwynn went had 3 hits, pushing his season total over 100 and raising his average to .429 in a 7-2 victory over Philadelphia. Roger Clemens improved to 8-2 with a strong 7 plus innings.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
The ABC’s will be without their sparkplug, as Bob Bescher heads to the DL with a bruised knee. Emil Frisk was recalled from AAA. They also exchanged the struggling Sad Sam Jones for the return of Gorham Leverett from a rehab assignment.
Oscar Charleston went deep twice, leading the ABC’s to a 7-5 win over Kansas City.
Luis Padrón increased his win total to a league-leading 11 in an 8-2 victory over Kansas City. Padrón was solid through 7-plus, moving to 11-2 on the year and lowering his ERA to 3.90 while Joey Votto went deep twice for the ABC’s.
#Kansas City Monarchs
Jock Menefee, who had pitched well over a half-dozen appearances, will miss 3-4 months with a shoulder injury. Mike Kume was recalled from AAA.
Dale Murphy went deep twice as the Monarchs pounded out 20 hits in a 17-3 win over Indianapolis. Frank Castillo improved to 9-1, striking out 10 in 7 solid innings of work.
#Wandering House of David
The House of David shook up their staff, sending Wade Miley and Kerry Wood to AAA, and moving Rick Reuschel out of the rotation. Kyle Peterson and Jim Clinton were recalled from the minors.
George Gore would not be who you would have picked: he entered the day with only 3 homeruns and ended it having doubled his total to 6. It was not enough, however, as the House of David fell to the Gothams 10-9 in extra frames.
Sammy Sosa hit 3 solo homers, giving him 17 on the season. The last one gave the House of David the lead in the top of 9th, with Lee Smith earning his 2nd save in a 4-3 victory over the Gothams.
Needing a starter, the House of David sent the mightily struggling Frank Sullivan to AAA with Karl Spooner being recalled.
Clinton’s time in the WBL only lasted 2 appearances. He was effective across his 6 innings of work, but came down with a sore shoulder. Bob Shaw was recalled.
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.
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.
83 - 71, .538 pct.
3rd in Bill James Division, 6 games behind.
Lost in Wild Card Round to Baltimore
Overall
The House of David caught fire in June and never looked back. That coincided, unsurprisingly, with Pete Browning‘s return from the DL (and a late season slump coincided with Browning’s cooling off at the tail end of the season). This team revolved around 3 players: Browning, Elrod Hendricks, and Jack Taylor.
On the one hand, it’s an example of how far a few well placed stars can carry you; on the other, it reveals an overall lack of quality that needs to be addressed.
What Went Right
Elrod Hendricks and Pete Browning finished with identical .961 OPS. Browning’s performance, at least, is expected to continue although his health remains a concern.
Jim Edmonds emerged as a legitimate potential star in the league with both his glove and his bat, and Anthony Rizzo did the same, minus the bit about the glove. George Stone was perhaps the most underrated offensive player in the league.
Top to bottom, the House of David were excellent offensively: Ryne Sandberg was very good at 2B and Dan Ford, quite surprisingly, hit well enough to legitimately claim the RF spot. Their worst everyday player–SS Ernie Banks–still posted a .736 OPS with 25 homeruns.
Jack Taylor was excellent, Bob Rush quite good, and both Frank Sullivan and CC Sabathia serviceable in the rotation. The bullpen trio of Tom Niedenfuer, Lee Smith, and Bruce Sutter was above average, although both Smith and Sutter faded a bit at the end of the season.
ALL STARS
C Elrod Hendricks; OF George Stone
What Went Wrong
Many of the players who were expected to fill roles struggled: Sammy Sosa (who was traded), Mark McGwire, Mark Grace, Frank Grant, and Fred Lynn were all given significant chances to impress, and all failed. That is what opened the door for Edmonds and Rizzo, so in the end it worked out.
Browning’s injury was horribly impactful and Hendricks’ performance is most likely a career year. Neither of these things went wrong, technically, but both speak volumes to the House of David’s future.
The rest of the pitching staff struggled, with Frank Sullivan being thoroughly average and Ferguson Jenkins horrible in his 80+ innings. The middle relief was so weak it warranted the acquisition of Ed Bauta–Bauta was good, but when Ed Bauta rescues your bullpen …
Transactions
March
None
June
OF Sammy Sosa & 5th Round Pick to Memphis for OF Tony Conigliaro, OF Fred Lynn & 2nd Round Pick {Bill Lee}
Sosa was terrible for the House of David, so getting anything for him seemed a steal at the time. Given his performance for Memphis, it’s not as clear.
July
IF Bert Campaneris, P Jeff Heathcock & 3rd Round Pick to Miami for P Ed Bauta, 6th Round Pick {Ad Gumbert} & 7th Round Pick {Dave Malarcher}
See above: Bauta was very much needed.
P Dick Tidrow & 7th Round Pick to New York Black Yankees for P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick {Darren Daulton}
Seems fine: Clinton has some potential.
Looking Forward
SP
Taylor and Rush look quite good, and the House of David still believe in Ferguson Jenkins. There is some other talent here as well: Rick Reuschel, Kerry Wood and, although they are still teenagers at this point, Larry Dierker and Joe Nuxhall.
RP
Assuming Bruce Sutter and Lee Smith recover from their late season slumps, this looks good with support from Don Aase, and Rollie Fingers.
C
Something has to give here: Elrod Hendricks is clearly the starter heading into next year, with both Gabby Hartnett and Frank Chance behind him, although Chance’s future is likely not behind the plate.
1B
Anthony Rizzo looks very solid here, although the House of David remain optimistic that, someday, Mark McGwire will start connecting with more pitches. This may get even more crowded as both Chance and Cap Anson are expected to drift across the diamond to first eventually.
2B
Ryne Sandberg has this locked down, but young Billy Herman is turning some heads.
3B
Ron Santo is the starter here, although Anson should see some time over the next few years as well.
SS
Ernie Banks, although his performance this year really needs to be his floor for him to maintain his roster spot.
LF
George Stone now, Billy Williams later.
CF
Browning for as long as he stays healthy. There is a need for a better long term solution here.
RF
If Dan Ford cannot hold this down, Tony Conigliaro looks decent at AAA, and George Gore was among the better 4th OFers in the league.
The Rookie Draft
Rounds 1-4
With 3 picks in the first two rounds, the House of David is looking to add a fair bit of high end talent. It starts in the 1st round with P Zack Greinke and continues in the 2nd with franchise P Bill Lee. Greinke is a great talent; Lee has a lower ceiling, but could help sooner.
The House of David had back-to-back picks later in the second round. With one, they hope to have solved a long term need at catcher: there are whispers that Hendricks’ year was a fluke and that Frank Chance‘s future may be at 1B . So, while he’s clearly a few years away, they picked up teenager Darren Daulton as a long-term project, and with their final pick of the round, they picked up the highest rated franchise player remaining, Cody Bellinger, who looks eventually to further complicate the CF question, but that’s a challenge for another day.
In the 4th round, the House of David picked up Frank Dwyer, probably the best remaining arm in the draft.
Rounds 5-8
Corner OF, 1B, and pitching should be the focus with these picks for the House of David, starting with a franchise selection, 19 year old pitcher Ad Gumbert. That was followed by their final exemption, P Al Brazle. Their 2 picks in the 7th round were Dave Malarcher and John Peters, both of whom offer some infield depth, but neither of whom have much power potential.
Rounds 9-12
P Justin Steele; OF Mitch Webster; IF Charlie Deal; P Hal Mauck.
13th overall pick Zack Greinke refused the House of David’s offer, and will re-enter the draft next year.
Three teams could clinch today: Detroit, New York, and Baltimore all lead their series 3-0. A victory by Chicago over Portland, however, would even that series at 2 games apiece.
#Portland Sea Dogs v Chicago American Giants, Game 4
Portland leads, 2-1.
The choice for the Sea Dogs comes down to either Pascual Pérez (1-2, 4.92) or Mike Cuellar (13-8, 4.56). Cuellar has been more comfortable coming out of the pen all season, making only 6 starts, which is probably the reason for Pérez getting the nod. There is little controversy for Chicago, where Dick Rudolph takes his scheduled turn.
Adrián Beltré gets the nod at 3B for Portland over Buddy Bell while Rocky Colavito gets the start in LF for Chicago.
The choice of Pérez proved immediately controversial: Eddie Collins took his 4th pitch into the right field stands for a 1-0 Chicago lead. But Pérez quickly settled down, lasting all the way until the 7th, when Dick Allen doubled with one out and Mike Fiore walked. Cuellar was called on, and got the second out of the inning, but Colavito doubled, increasing the lead to 3-0.
Rudolph was even better, not giving up a hit until a Gavvy Cravath single in the top of the 5th inning, then nothing thereafter. The one-hit shutout was still intact after 8, and with Rudolph on only 88 pitches, he headed back out to the mound.
He got the first two outs, but Joe Mauer singled. After a visit to the mound, Rudolph fanned Kent Hrbek, and we had a series tied at 2 games each!
Obviously, this one was all about Rudolph: 2 hits and 5 strikeouts in a complete game, 99 pitch gem.
POR 0 (Pérez 0-1) @ CAG 3 (Rudolph 1-0) HRs: POR – none; CAG – Collins (2). Box Score
And now we move to the win or go home games.
#Detroit Wolverines v Birmingham Black Barons, Game 4
With no need to push things, Detroit will turn to the red hot Hank Aguirre (9-10, 4.34) while Birmingham counters with Vic Willis (4-6, 3.57), but today, and for any future games, all of Birmingham’s staff is down in the pen, ready to go. The Black Barons make 2 tweaks to their lineup, starting Al Schweitzer in CF over the struggling Curtis Granderson, and giving Jim Pagliaroni a day off behind the plate in favor of Gene Tenace.
Schweitzer repaid the faith immediately, singling in the bottom of the first and coming around to score on a hit from Eddie Mathews. Not to be outdone, Tenace doubled to lead off the home second, but was stranded at third.
Willis was sailing until the 4th, when he gave up homeruns to Bob Bailey, Hank Greenberg, and Chili Davis, putting Detroit up 4-1, and ending his afternoon. Andy Pettitte was summoned from the bullpen, hoping to make up for his subpar start in game one of the series.
Aguirre struggled a bit through his five plus innings, giving up 6 hits and a walk, but he surrendered only the single run.
Johnny Marcum relieved Aguirre and got into some trouble in the bottom of the 7th: Tenace walked, and Granderson pinch-ran and promptly stole second. Then, Adrián González, pinch-hitting for Herman Long, was granted first on catcher’s interference. After an out, Marcum walked Bob Nieman to load the bases. That fetched Buddy Napier from the Wolverines’ bullpen to face Schweitzer, who lifted a fly to shallow center. Chili Davis made the catch and nailed the runner at home to end the inning.
And so we made our way to the bottom of the 9th with Birmingham trailing 4-1 and the Wolverines’ closer, Mike Henneman, on the mound. Three up, three down, and Detroit were through to the next round!
Yeah, Willis gave up the three homers, but Birmingham knew it would need to tally more than a single run to have a chance. At the end of the day, the fault has to be laid at the feet of their offense, who managed only a single homerun in the 4 games. Mention should be made of Pettitte’s effort as well: 3.2 scoreless innings and, clearly tiring, getting Ty Cobb to end the 7th with his final pitch.
DET 4 (Aguirre 1-0; Henneman 1 Sv; Marcum 1 H; Napier 1 H) @ BBB 1 (Willis 0-1) HRs: DET – B. Bailey (1), Greenberg (2), C. Davis (1); BBB – None. Box Score
Hank Greenberg was declared the MVP of the series, hitting .438 with 2 homeruns and 7 RBIs.
#Cleveland Spiders v New York Gothams, Game 4
This one surprised quite a few people, but the Gothams are just a solid team. The Spiders will turn to Stan Coveleski in what could be their final game of the season, while New York has the luxury of giving the mercurial Rube Waddell a game.
Lance Berkman gets the start at first for Cleveland, with John Ellis sliding behind the plate in place of the slumping Louis Santop.
The Spiders would clearly not go quietly: Kenny Lofton beat out an infield hit to start the game, moved to second on a walk to Tris Speaker, and scored on a soft single to right by Jake Stahl. A 2-out double by Chuck Knoblauch plated them both, giving the Spiders an early 3-0 lead.
Benny Kauff continues to impress: after a leadoff double from Willie Mays, Kauff took a pitch from Coveleski off the wall in centerfield, putting the Gothams on the board. Without another hard hit ball, New York loaded the bases and scored on a soft topper by Jimmy Sheckard that didn’t make it past the mound. Another infield hit–this one by Pete Runnels–tied it up.
Both pitchers recovered, but were beginning to tire. Coveleski didn’t make it out of the 5th: a walk to Buster Posey and a single from Mays chased him. Cleveland turned to Ron Reed, looking to prove he was worth his mid-season acquisition: the jury is out, as Reed walked Kauff and surrendered a bases-clearing double to Will Clark for a 6-3 lead for the Gothams.
That took the wind out of Cleveland’s sails, and when New York added 2 more on a double from Runnels and sacrifice hit from Mays.
New York rode its bullpen, like it’s done all year, right into the next round.
Nobody hit for Cleveland, other than Lofton. But Ron Blomberg‘s 1-for-16 performance jumps off the page–that ain’t no MVP performance, that’s for sure.
Willie Mays won the MVP hitting .438 for the series, but Will Clark rediscovering his stroke and the contributions of Benny Kauff deserve some recognition as well. And if you could, the MVP award really could go to the entire Gothams bullpen, who allowed 4 runs in 11 effective innings.
#Baltimore Black Sox v Wandering House of David
Baltimore leads, 3-0.
Can any of the teams with their backs against the wall gain any breathing room? The House of David will turn to CC Sabathia (13-13, 4.83), with a full bullpen behind him, while Baltimore will counter with Mike Mussina (7-4, 4.08).
Jim Edmonds slides over to 1B, with George Gore taking over in CF for the House of David.
A sacrifice fly from Edmonds scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, and Richie Hebner and George Stone took Mussina deep with back to back jacks in the next inning. That made it 3-0, but Dan McGann hit his second homerun of the series with a man on to close the score to 3-2.
Mussina gave up another shot to Stone in the 5th, and was relieved by Jim Palmer, who let in another run. The House of David had hope, a 5-2 lead, and a cruising Sabathia. He was replaced by Ed Bauta in the 7th, then Lee Smith in the 8th, and Bruce Sutter in the 9th.
Each team added runs, but the outcome was secured: we will have a game 5!
Stone and Gore had 3 hits each for the House of David, and Elrod Hendricks even had his first hit of the series–a weak single to right, but still, a hit.
Things just got worse for Baltimore: Larry Gardner was forced out of the game in the bottom of the 7th with an apparent rib injury.
BAL 3 (Mussina 0-1) @ HOD 8 (Sabathia 1-0) HRs: BAL – McGann (2); HOD – Stone 2 (2), Hebner (1), Gore (1). Box Score
News on Gardner was better than feared: he’ll be day-to-day for about a week, so Baltimore will hold off on roster moves for now.