Tag: Los Angeles Angels Page 3 of 8

TWIWBL 42.2: Series XXXIV Notes – Bill James Division

On July 12, 2023

#Detroit Wolverines

Charlie Root improved to 3-1 with an ERA in the low 2.00’s after being acquired by the Wolverines with just over 8 innings of 3-hit, 1-run work on the mound. Mike Henneman got the final 2 outs for his 35th save of the season in the 4-1 victory over Los Angeles, and Ty Cobb, Al Kaline, and Ed Bailey each went deep.

Kaline is quickly arguing for more and more playing time as the 20 year old is slashing 308/368/677 over his first 20 games.

Tony Phillips was welcomed back from the DL, with Jody Gerut‘s cup of coffee in the WBL ending after 2 at-bats (and with a .500 average).

#Los Angeles Angels

Brett Anderson‘s return pushes Nolan Ryan out of the Angels’ rotation. OF Spud Johnson was waived.

#Memphis Red Sox

Stubby Overmire struggled with control, but still threw over 6 innings of shoutout ball, combining with Lance Broadway (his WBL debut), Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon on a 4-hit shutout defeat of Philadelphia. A solo homerun by Billy Bryan and a 2-run single from Reggie Smith helped the Red Sox to the 4-0 victory.

#New York Gothams

4 RBI’s and 3 hits from Joe Adcock led the Gothams to a 10-2 win over the House of David. Buster Posey scored 3 times and Juan Marichal improved his record to 11-8.

The Gothams had 14 hits but only scored 5 runs in a loss to the House of David. The red-hot Pete Runnels had 4 hits and Willie Mays had 3, including his 23rd homer of the season in the 11-5 defeat.

#Wandering House of David

Bruce Sutter made it interesting, but he held on to pick up his 22nd save in a 3-2 win over the Gothams. Jack Taylor improved to 15-9, allowing 1 run in 7+ innings. Ernie Banks had 2 hits, including a 503 foot bomb for his 24th homerun of the season.

The House of David used 3 homeruns from their stars–Elrod Hendricks‘ 34th, Ernie Banks‘ 25th, and Pete Brownings’s 24th of the season–in an 11-5 victory over the Gothams. Browning and Ryne Sandberg had 3 hits and Browning drove in 4 in support of CC Sabathia, who improved to 12-11 on the year.

Series XXXIV Best Games

By mknn

On July 3, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

A good collection of games overall … a few pitching duels, a few intriguing games.

We’ll start with two games from the series between San Francisco and the New York Black Yankees–first a great pitching matchup, then a bit of a see-saw.

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ New York Black Yankees, Games 2 and 4

The opening game of the series saw a great pitching matchup where, honestly, the better performance lost. Ron Guidry continued a bit of a hard-luck season, falling to 7-11 on the year despite allowing only 2 hits in 7 innings while striking out 9. But an error by Eric Davis (1 of 2 on the day by the Black Yankees’ CF) led to a run in the 6th and a solo shot by Sal Bando in the 7th put the Sea Lions up, 2-0. That was all San Francisco’s starter, Eddie Plank, needed, as San Francisco’s starter allowed 4 hits and 0 runs in his time. Plank improved to 11-6 on the season with Rod Beck picking up his 29th save.

SFS 2 (Plank 11-6; Beck 29 Sv) @ NYY 0 (Guidry 7-11)
HRs: None.
Box Score

San Francisco, powered by key hits from Bob Cerv and Pedro Guerrero, held a 5-3 edge going into the bottom of the 7th inning (Babe Ruth‘s 43rd and 44th homeruns of the year, both off Lefty Grove, had kept the Black Yankees in the game). Late season call-up Roger Maris started New York off with a pinch hit single. Maris was replaced at first by Tommy Herr, who, along with Thurman Munson, scored on a single by Mickey Mantle to tie the game. Mike Schmidt followed with a 2-run shot to put New York up, 8-5.

The Black Yankees bullpen continues to be weak, with Ralph Citarella giving up 2 runs (one one on a solo shot by Gene Oliver, the other on an RBI from Jack Clark) in the 8th. Aroldis Chapman had a rough 9th, but did survive to earn his 10th save with the Black Yankees and 30th overall.

Mantle had 3 hits on the day, Ruth scored 3 times, and Schmidt drove in 3.

After the game, San Francisco’s Mickey Cochrane hit the DL, with the Sea Lions recalling Brian Downing.

SFS 8 (Howell 4-5, 4 B Sv; Shields 2 H) @ NYY 9 (Lavelle 1-3; Chapman 10 Sv; Citarella 11 H; Cormier 3 H)
HRs: SFS – Oliver (2); NYY – Ruth 2 (44), Mantle (24), Schmidt (21).
Box Score

Let’s look at a few other games with fantastic efforts by the starting pitchers, starting with Miami‘s visit to Indianapolis then heading to Kansas City, where the Monarchs, and one of the most mercurial arms in the league, hosted Brooklyn.

#Miami Cuban Giants @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 2

Johnny Cueto and José Méndez each delivered their best start of the year, with Cueto’s 7 scoreless innings topped by Méndez’ 8 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball. Neither would figure in the decision. Cookie Rojas put Miami ahead with a solo shot in the top of the 9th, but Indianapolis tied it on an Ed Charles single in the bottom of the frame. The ABC’s walked off in the bottom of the 10th on a Jake Stenzel single, with Octavio Dotel earning the victory with an inning of scoreless relief.

MCG 1 (López 3-2; Looper 2 B Sv) @ IND 2 (Dotel 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG – Rojas (2); IND – none.
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Kansas City Monarchs, Game 4

Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin is one of the more frustrating pitchers in the league. He turned in his 3rd start with a Game Score over 80 in this one, allowing only 3 hits over 9 innings. But he also has four starts this year with a Game Score below 30. And it’s hard to build a rotation around someone that mercurial: the 87 pitch gem he threw today merely improved his record to 9-12 with an above-league-average 4.80 ERA.

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss was the hard-luck loser here, giving up a single to Stan Musial to lead off the bottom of the 9th. Knauss was replaced by Trevor Hildenberger, who surrendered a deep fly to Ducky Medwick, scoring Jack Rowe, who had pinch-run for Musial.

BRK 0 (Knauss 11-5) @ KCM 1 (Hamlin 9-12)
HRs: none.
Box Score

Two more season finales of note.

#Philadelphia Stars @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 4

Memphis‘ Bill Doak turned in a strong start, but Philadelphia used a late comeback to force extra innings in this one. The game entered the 9th inning tied at 2, but a homerun by one of the few bright spots for Philadelphia, young RF Aaron Judge, gave the Stars a 1 run lead.

It wouldn’t last, as Memphis’ Claude Ritchey followed up a Vern Stephens sacrifice fly with a 2-run triple, putting the Red Sox up, 5-3 with their closer, Jonathan Papelbon taking the mound in the top of the 9th. Papelbon was hit hard: a single by Juan Samuel was followed by a triple from Willie Davis and a double from Bobby Abreu, tying the contest at 5.

Sammy Sosa–who is playing fantastically for Memphis after being brought over from the House of David–singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th and eventually scored the winning run on a Manny Ramírez double.

PHI 5 (Howry 3-7; Rojas 2 B Sv) @ MEM 6 (Farrell 3-4; Papelbon 5 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Freeman (17), Judge (4); MEM – none.
Box Score

#Detroit Wolverines @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 4

Homeruns by Mike Trout and Steve Garvey helped the Angels to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th, but a 2-out rally fueled by 2 walks, a wild pitch, and a 2 run single by Ty Cobb pulled Detroit back into the lead, 5-4. A sacrifice fly from Los Angeles’ Elmer Valo tied the game in the 8th, and the bullpens took over from there.

The 11th was eventful, as Oscar Gamble touched Francisco Rodríguez for a solo shot, giving Detroit a 1 run lead. The Wolverines turned to the league leader in saves, Mike Henneman, who promptly blew the game, allowing a single and 2 walks to load the bases, followed by a sharp single from Trout that allowed the winning run to score when Chili Davis‘ throw was wildly errant.

Gamble and Cobb had 3 hits each for Detroit; Trout and John Stearns had 3 hits for the Angels, with Trout driving in 4.

DET 6 (Henneman 1-6, 5 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ LAA 7 (Venters 5-3; Smith 2 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: DET – Gamble (26); LAA – Trout (18), Garvey (3).
Box Score

TWIWBL 41.1: Series XXXIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Olmedo Sáenz now has 10 hits in first 20 at-bats in the WBL for a cool .500 average. Clearly unsustainable, but it has been useful for the Wolverines as they push towards the pennant. Saenz had 3 hits, Ty Cobb launched his 19th homerun of the year, and Hal Newhouser put in another solid outing as Detroit topped Memphis, 4-3. Newhouser is now 8-3, and Mike Henneman picked up his 34th save in the victory.

#Los Angeles Angels

Needing a spot starter, the Angels sent Larry Anderson to AAA, recalling Mike Smith, who might also be able to help with his bat.

#New York Gothams

The late season surge of the Gothams should get some help, as both Carl Hubbell and Carson Smith started rehab assignments this week. Smith–sporting a sub-2.00 ERA before his injury–will especially be welcomed back.

Rube Waddell was placed on the DL as the Gothams needed a starter. Various roster complications prevented them from recalling more preferable options, so the start fell to Mickey Welch who was already on the 40 man roster. It worked well as Welch pitched 7 strong in a 5-2 victory.

Two homeruns from Joe Adcock and 3 hits from Pete Runnels weren’t enough as Pete Donohue couldn’t make it out of the first inning (and was injured to boot) in a 12-8 loss to Birmingham.

Series XXXIII Best Games

By mknn

On June 13, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We have more good pitching than usual in the best games of Series XXXIII.

We’ll start with the opening and closing game from a series with potentially massive playoff implications.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams, Games 1 and 5

Birmingham’s Greg Maddux wasn’t bad: just over 6 innings and only 2 runs allowed. The problem was the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson was stellar, picking up his league-leading 16th win of the season by throwing a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings. Maddux left the game after allowing an RBI single to Will Clark, replaced by Kent Mercker who gave up a deep flyball to the pinch-hitting Carl Furillo, scoring another run.

Hank Aaron took Robb Nen deep in the 8th to cut the lead in half, but Mike Norris (pushed into service due to Brian Wilson‘s injury) picked up his 6th save of the year, allowing only a walk in the 9th.

BBB 1 (Maddux 4-5) @ NYG 2 (Mathewson 16-7; Norris 6 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (25); NYG – none.
Box Score

The Gothams turned to Don Sutton for a spot start, and the 24 year old was simply brilliant … but it wasn’t enough. Sutton gave up 1 run–a solo shot by Aaron–through 7 innings, and while New York’s bullpen beckoned, Sutton was still well under 90 pitches. But with 2 outs in the 8th, Cupid Childs took him deep and Aaron launched his second of the game, edging Birmingham in front, 3-2.

Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón, allowed only 1 hit in the 9th, closing out the victory for the Black Barons.

NYG 2 (Sutton 2-4) @ BBB 3 (Whitney 1-2; Rincón 22 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Higgins (13); BBB – Aaron 2 (27), Childs (4).
Box Score

Two more good games with good pitching!

#Memphis Red Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

Through six innings, the only score was a solo shot from Memphis’ Manny Ramírez. That was one of only 2 hits allowed by Detroit’s Gene Conley over his 7 innings, further cementing Conley’s adaptation from reliever to starter over the season. Buddy Napier gave up an unearned run in the top of the 8th, putting the Red Sox in front, 2-0.

Memphis’ Stubby Overmire was nearly as good: a shutout through 6, a single run in the 7th on an RBI single from Chili Davis, and finally being chased in the 8th after giving up 2 hits and a walk. Overmire’s relief, Tim Wakefield, gave up a sacrifice fly to Hank Greenberg tying the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when Memphis’ Claude Ritchey took John Hiller deep. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the frame, fanning Greenberg to end the game.

MEM 3 (Wakefield 6-7, 2 B Sv; Papelbon 13 Sv) @ DET 2 (Hiller 3-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: MEM – Ramírez (15), Ritchey (8); DET – none.
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 3

Baltimore’s pitching is just hard to gain traction against: Connie Johnson, John Wetteland, and the suddenly resurgent Buddy Groom limited Indianapolis to 5 hits, 2 of which were solo homers by the ABC’s Danny Hoffman. Indianapolis got a good start from Willie Mitchell (2 runs in 6.2 innings), but in the end superstars gonna’ superstar: Frank Robinson took Rob Dibble deep in the top of the 9th with a 2-run shot, his 33rd of the year, to provide the winning margin for Baltimore.

BBB 4 (Wetteland 3-0, 2 B Sv; Groom 5 Sv) @ IND 2 (Mullane 1-1)
HRs: Robinson (33); Hoffman 2 (15).
Box Score

And now back to our usual see-saw slugfests.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

The scoring started fairly innocuously: Ottawa’s Tim Raines led off the bottom of the first with a single, was bunted to second, then scored on a Roy Sievers single (helped along by an error).

Portland took the lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by Gavvy Cravath, then Ottawa took it back, scoring twice on back-to-back doubles from Rusty Staub and Sievers, giving the Mounties a 3-2 edge. A George Burns double drove in 2, extending it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th.

But, Portland roared back: a 2 run single from Jeff Burroughs chased Ottawa’s starter, Kirk Reuter, from the game, and Jim Fregosi drove in 2 more later in the inning, putting the Sea Dogs back on top, 6-5. The lead would reach 9-5 on Cravath’s 2nd homerun of the day and RBI’s from Buddy Bell (a bases loaded walk) and Gil Hodges (a sacrifice fly).

But Ottawa had also caught on to the utility of the long ball: Larry Parrish and Roberto Alomar both went deep in the bottom of the 6th, cutting the gap to 9-8.

Portland added 2 in the following inning via 2 hits and a walk, but Ottawa was unleashed: Sievers scored on an unlikely triple by Gary Carter and a 2-run shot from Carlos Beltrán. Suddenly, we were tied at 11.

Tired of running, Carter ended the game with a walkoff homerun leading off the bottom of the 9th.

Burroughs had 4 hits and he and Cravath drove in 3 each for Portland. Burns had 4 hits for Portland, and Sievers added 3.

POR 11 (Porterfield 3-1; Hammaker 2 B Sv) @ OTT 12 (Holland 6-2)
HRs: POR – Cravath 2 (6); OTT – Parrish (6), Alomar (3), Beltrán (10), Carter (17).
Box Score

#Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 2

With Harry Howell sailing along on the mound, the Angels had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with the key hit being a solo homerun by Mike Trout. Houston scored 1 in the inning, but Tom Seaver and Jonny Venters were excellent in relief of Howell, allowing Los Angeles to send out their closer, Joe Nathan, for the bottom of the 9th.

Nathan was rough: Casey Stengel walked as a pinch-hitter, Tony Gwynn singled, Jim Wynn doubled in a run, and Jeff Bagwell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, sending us to extra innings.

José Reyes drove in a run in the top of the 11th, but Pete Hill singled in Gwynn, who had doubled, in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going. Which it did, until the 14th, when Bagwell was hit by a pitch. HR Johnson pinch-ran, stole second, and scored on a walk-off single by George Brett.

Trout, Gwynn, and Wynn each had 3 hits in the game, which was rough for Houston’s staff, as both Bones Ely and Tug McGraw were forced to leave with injuries. McGraw’s was especially unfortunate, as the young lefthander was on the brink of being named the Colt 45’s closer for the rest of the season.

The game also saw Los Angeles’ Wally Backman get a hit in his first WBL at-bat.

LAA 4 (Vargas 1-2; Seaver 1 H; Venters 15 H; Nathan 8 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 4-1) [14 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (17); HOU – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 40.1: Series XXXII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On June 2, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey hit the 10 Day DL with a hamstring issue, prompting the Wolverines to reach all the way down to AA to recall Olmedo Sáenz, mostly for his ability to play both infield corner spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Wally Moon was recalled from a rehab assignment, with Spud Johnson heading back to the minors.

Harry Howell tossed a 5-hit shutout as the Angels beat Miami 5-0. After the 140 pitch, 9 strikeout performance, Howell’s record improves to 5-6 on the season. Bobby Grich was injured in the game, sending him to the DL for at least 2-3 weeks. 22 year old Wally Backman has been tearing up both AA and AAA, and now gets his chance with the big league club.

José Reyes and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each and Mike Trout drove in 4, leading the Angels to an 8-2 win over Miami. Pud Galvin improved to 5-7, allowing 4 hits and 1 earned run over 7 innings.

#New York Gothams

Johan Camargo was promoted to the WBL with Mark Loretta being sent down in an exchange of bench pieces for the Gothams.

Christy Mathewson continued his run of form, becoming the first 15 game winner in the league as he and 3 relievers combined to shutout Indianapolis despite allowing 10 hits. Pete Runnels had 3 hits and Wes Westrum hit a key homerun to give the Gothams the win.

The pitching continued to dominate as Pete Donohue improved to 6-2 with a 3-hit blanking of the ABC’s, walking 2 and fanning 8. Light-hitting Brandon Crawford had 3 hits and Will Clark, George Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison drove in 2 rusn each in the 7-0 victory.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor continues to roll, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits over 7 innings en route to his 14th victory of the season. Taylor lowered his ERA to a league-leading 2.99, and Bruce Sutter picked up his 19th save with a perfect 9th. George Stone hit his 25th homerun in the 8th, giving the House of David the 2-1 victory over Portland. Sutter was hurt in his outing, but looks likely to only be out for a few days.

Pete Browning and Frank Chance had 3 hits each and Ryne Sandberg hit his 20th homerun of the year, leading the House of David to a 6-2 win over Portland. CF Jim Edmonds had 3 kills on the day, throwing out a runner at each base (other than first).

TWIWBL 38.1: Series XXX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On April 21, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Whitey Wilshere‘s return from a rehab stint means Jason Schmidt‘s stay with Detroit is very fleeting.

#Los Angeles Angels

Sid Fernandez had some good innings, but his tendency to add some truly horrid ones left him with a 13.50 ERA, and a trip back to AAA. His replacement is Ron Romanick–who sports an ERA of 15.12 himself in 2 games in the bigs–was called up for the start.

Romanick dropped his ERA by almost 5 runs, but still headed back to AAA with Tom Seaver being recalled for another shot at the WBL.

#Memphis Red Sox

Bill Doak‘s success in the bullpen has moved him into the starting rotation as Memphis struggles to find something to salvage the season: they know what they have in Tim Wakefield, they might as well find out more about what Doak can do.

After losing the lead in the 7th, Memphis used clutch hits from Claude Ritchey and Ted Williams for a walk-off victory over Baltimore. Sammy Sosa–who may finally be justifying his repeated chances at the WBL for 2 separate teams–went deep for the Red Sox, as did the slumping Francisco Lindor.

#Wandering House of David

Eddie Rommel was returned to AAA with Tom Niedenfuer‘s rehab assignment ending.

Jack Taylor just keeps rolling, tossing a 4-hit shutout against Homestead that improved his record to 12-8 and lowered his ERA to a shade under 3.00.

Ryne Sandberg‘s streak of consecutive games scoring a run ended at 15 in a 10-2 loss to Homestead.

Pete Browning–who seems poised to take over the league lead in batting if he can stay healthy–had 3 hits and 5 RBIs in the House of David’s 13-4 victory. Browning had 2 homeruns and a triple and Dan Ford added 3 hits as well in the victory. Bunny Downs injured his hamstring running the bases and was placed on the DL after the game with Skeeter Barnes called up to take his place.

TWIWBL 37.1: Series XXIX Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On April 4, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Kevin Hart will be out about 4 weeks, meaning a trip to the DL is in order. Mickey Lolich was recalled–again.

Oscar Gamble went deep twice, giving him 25 on the season, and drove in 4, leading Detroit to a 6-4 win over Brooklyn. Ty Cobb added 3 hits, including his 18th dinger of the season, and 7 decent innings from Hank Aguirre (now 5-9) set the stage for Mike Henneman‘s league-leading 32nd save of the season.

#Los Angeles Angels

2 homeruns and 5 RBIs from Don Buford led Los Angeles to an 11-4 thrashing of Chicago. Doug Rader had 3 hits and upped his league leading RBI total to 109 with 4. Jason Vargas–knocked around in his first few appearances–picked up the win with 4.1 innings of 2-hit ball.

Gerrit Cole finally got his 13th win of the year as the Angels shellacked the American Giants, 12-3. Carlos Delgado had a grand slam and a ground rule double for 6 RBIs and Ron Hassey added 3 hits as Cole improved to 13-6.

#Memphis Red Sox

Norwood Gibson, ineffective all year, was sent to AAA with Nixey Callahan (also, you know, ineffective all year) brought back up for the start.

Sammy Sosa‘s talent has been undeniable–the ball just explodes off the 24 year old’s bat. But he hasn’t put much together, and while he’s hitting more with Memphis than he did with the House of David, he’s still not doing much. So perhaps his 3 hit game with a double and a homerun in an 8-6 win over the Gothams is the start of something for Sosa.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson became the WBL’s first 13 game winner, allowing 1 unearned run over 6+ innings in a 10-1 victory over Memphis.

#Wandering House of David

Bob Rush was masterful, tossing a complete game, 3-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over Ottawa. Pete Browning had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Dan Ford and Richie Hebner added 3 hits each.

Elrod Hendricks went deep twice, giving him 31 on the year, but it wasn’t enough as the House of David lost 8-5 to Ottawa.

TWIWBL 36.1: Series XXVIII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 16, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

The Wolverines welcome Charlie Root and Chad Bradford to their staff, but perhaps the return of Tony Phillips is even more important for Detroit’s push down the stretch. Mickey Lolich and Si Johnson were sent to AAA, although both pitched decently. Robby Thompson was sent down on Phillips’ return.

Mike Henneman was the first in the league to notch 30 saves, reaching the milestone in a 7-6 victory over Houston. Sparky Adams and Ed Bailey each had 2 doubles in the contest.

An injury to Buddy Napier forced Detroit to put the effective reliever on the DL for 10 days, recalling Jason Schmidt.

#Los Angeles Angels

Pud Galvin and Harry Howell moved into the Angels’ rotation.

#Memphis Red Sox

Jim Paglioroni‘s departure cleared the way for young Kurt Suzuki‘s promotion to Memphis, where he’ll platoon with Billy Bryan behind the plate. Nixey Callahan was returned to AAA to make room for Turk Farrell‘s return from a rehab assignment.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg and Steve Howe lengthen the Gothams’ bullpen, and Rube Waddell replaces Don Sutton in the rotation. But the real changes have occurred offensively. 38 year old Joe Adcock is pounding the ball, and will become the full-time DH. Pete Runnels and Will Clark step right into the lineup. Overall, New York is worse off defensively, but may generate more consistent offense. A lot depends on whether Adcock and fan favorite Wes Westrum can continue their levels of production. George Van Haltren will lose playing time coming to the Gothams to serve as a reserve OFer, but he is now in the midst of a pennant race instead of languishing in Ottawa, so there’s that.

Christy Mathewson, helped by a perfect 1.2 IP of relief from Mike Norris, improved to 12-6 on the season in an 8-4 victory over their crosstown rivals. Norris picked up his 4th save, and Jimmy Sheckard, Johnny Callison, and Willie Mays each went deep for the Gothams.

#Wandering House of David

Tweak, tweak, tweak.

Bunny Downs can’t hit any worse than Craig Reynolds and Jung Ho Kang have, and by adding him to the roster, the House of David could also promote veteran Joe Harris as a bat off the bench.

Jack Taylor twirled a 3-hit, complete game shutout as the House of David beat Brooklyn 6-0. Elrod Hendricks went deep twice and drove in 5 in support of Taylor, who improved to 11-8 on the season while lowering his ERA to 3.15, good for tops in the WBL.

TWIWBL 34.1: Series XXVII Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On March 1, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have been desperate for starting pitching for a while, behind the hard-throwing duo of Gerrit Cole and Nolan Ryan. In a somewhat desperate move, they sent Chuck Finley, Tom Seaver, and Mike Smith to AAA, bringing back up Harry Howell, Sid Fernandez, and Jason Vargas.

Homeruns from Mike Trout and Carlos Delgado powered the Angels to a 12-1 victory over Kansas City in a game which, perhaps more importantly, both Doc Gooden and Fernandez pitched well.

#Memphis Red Sox

Wade Boggs hit a mammoth homerun to lead off the bottom of the 10th giving the Red Sox a 6-5 win over Portland.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams hit 5 homeruns in a 16-7 rout of San Francisco. Joe Adcock started it with a grandslam, and Jimmy Sheckard, Willie Mays, Eugenio Suárez, and Johnny Callison all going deep as well. Mays and Callison had 4 hits each; Adcock and Callions each drove in 4, and Mays scored 4 times as New York pounded out 21 hits in helping Juan Marichal improve to 9-6.

#Wandering House of David

Dan Ford had 4 hits–2 of which were homeruns–and 5 RBI, leading the House of David to a 9-5 victory over surging Birmingham. Ryne Sandberg also had 4 hits, including his 16th homerun of the year, as Bob Rush threw 7 strong innings moving to 9-5 on the year.

TWIWBL 33.1: Series XXVI Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On February 15, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Hal Newhouser improved to 7-3 with a strong start (6.2 IP, 1 run, 8 Ks), and homeruns by Robbie Thompson and Ty Cobb drove the offense as the Wolverines beat Baltimore, 6-1.

#Los Angeles Angels

OF Wally Moon will miss a couple weeks, prompting the Angels to recall Spud Johnson from AAA.

Doug Rader had 4 hits (including a league-record tying 3 doubles) and Steve Garvey, who is hitting nearly .370 since joining the Angels, had 3, but it wasn’t enough as Gerrit Cole struggled and Los Angeles fell to the Grays, 7-5.

Rader drove in his 100th run of the season with a sacrifice fly in a 10-5 loss to Homestead. Rader finished the game with 2 hits, but it wasn’t enough.

#New York Gothams

Carson Smith, a key member of the Gothams’ dominant bullpen, will be out close to a month. With a 1.80 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP, Carson will surely be missed. Jeremy Affeldt, almost as good at AAA as Smith was in the WBL, was recalled.

Pinky Higgins had 4 hits and both scored 3 runs and drove in 3 to lead the Gothams to an 11-5 demolition of Philadelphia. Carl Furillo added 3 hits and Brandon Crawford drove in 4 for New York.