Tag: Paul Blair Page 4 of 5

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Jack Taylor @ Dennis Martinez

Pete Browning‘s return from the DL began with a single to left off Dennis Martinez in the first inning, sending George Stone to second base. But Martinez was able to get out of the inning without giving up a run.

The Black Sox took the lead in the bottom of the 3rd on a 3-run shot by Frank Robinson.

An RBI single by Stone got one back for the House of David in the top of the 4th.

In the top of the 5th, with Martinez struggling, Baby Doll Jacobson made a mark on his WBL debut by throwing out Elrod Hendricks at home. Martinez would give up only the 1 run in his 5 innings, despite surrendering 8 hits.

And that was it: Bob Welch, Sean Marshall, and Gregg Olson shut down the House of David the rest of the way, and the Black Sox took the opening game of the series.

HOD 1 (Taylor 4-6) @ BAL 3 (Martinez 8-2; Olson 1 Sv; Welch 1 H; Marshall 4 H)
HRs: BAL – Robinson (15)
Box Score

#Game 2: Wade Miley @ Jim Palmer

Elrod Hendricks took Jim Palmer deep in the top of the first, giving the House of David a 3-0 lead. Dan McGann got one back for Baltimore, taking Wade Miley down the left field line for his 9th homerun of the season.

The long balls kept coming: George Stone hit a solo shot in the top of the 2nd and Baby Doll Jacobson, making his first start after his recent recall from AAA, launched a 2 run shot in the bottom of the frame for his first WBL hit.

Dan Ford–who has cemented himself as the House of David’s regular RFer–went deep in the top of the 5th, making the score 5-3.

Miley couldn’t complete the 5th, leaving after back-to-back 2-out walks in favor of Dick Tidrow, who fanned Frank Robinson to preserve the lead and strand the two baserunners. Palmer lasted a little longer, surrendering to Mike Mussina when he gave up a walk to open the 6th inning.

Mussina finally ran out of gas in the top of the 9th, giving up hits to Ryne Sandberg and Mark McGwire before giving way to Buddy Groom, who allowed an RBI single to pinch-hitter Ron Santo. Groom struck out Stone, but the ball got away from Curt Blefary, and his throw to first sailed into the outfield, scoring another run.

That made it 7-3, House of David, heading to the bottom of the 9th. Larry Gardner led off with a single, but Rollie Fingers induced a double play from Bobby Wallace. A single from McGann chased Fingers, bringing in Bruce Sutter to face Robinson, who singled. Sutter got Ken Singleton to ground out to end the game, evening the series at a game apiece.

HOD 7 (Tidrow 3-4; Smith 1 H; Fingers 3 H) @ BAL 3 (Palmer 4-6)
HRs: HoD – Hendricks (12), Stone (13), Ford (3); BAL – McGann (9), Jacobson (1)
Box Score

#Game 3: Frank Sullivan @ Bill Byrd

Baltimore would turn to Bill Byrd to try to change their fortunes in game three.

Byrd would give up a leadoff triple to George Stone, who scored on a groundout from Dan Ford. Baltimore would get the first singles from their first two batters, but were unable to score, and we ended the first inning with the House of David ahead, 1-0.

Byrd would give up a solo shot to Elrod Hendricks in the top of the 4th, doubling the lead to 2-0 in favor of the House of David.

Frank Sullivan was sailing along until the bottom of the 5th, when Bryce Harper led off with a walk and Cal Ripkin, Jr. followed with a double to straight away CF. Paul Blair brought home Harper with a sacrifice fly, but that was all Baltimore could manage, and the 5th inning ended with the score 2-1.

Harper tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 6th.

Baltimore’s Sean Marshall worked in and out of trouble in the top of the 8th, putting two runners on base, but inducing a double-play and a soft popout to maintain the tie.

A scoreless ninth ensued, and we were heading to extra innings.

Ryne Sandberg triple with one out in the top of the 10th, and scored on a single by Richie Hebner. Stone would follow with his 2nd three-bagger of the day, scoring Hebner and making it 4-2 in favor of the House of David.

Bruce Sutter gave up a walk, but worked around it to seal the victory, putting the House of David up, two games to one.

Hendricks ended the day with four hits.

HOD 4 (Sutter 2-0) @ BAL 2 (Bessent 1-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: HOD – Hendricks (13)
Box Score

#Game 4: @ Johnny Sain @ CC Sabathia

Two of the coldest arms in the WBL face-off in game four. Baltimore’s Johnny Sain sits at 5-4 with an ERA well over 5.00 while the House of David’s CC Sabathia is 5-5 with an ERA about a run lower. But neither have thrown well in a while.

The House of David’s best hitters generated their first run: Pete Browning singled, stole second, and scored on an RBI single by Elrod Hendricks.

The Black Sox tied the game in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from Frank Robinson, and took the lead when Richie Hebner made a throw that sailed over Mark Grace‘s head at first. Bryce Harper followed with a double into the right field corner, and when Sabathia finally got out of the inning, Baltimore was in front, 5-1.

Hendricks drove in Dan Ford with a single in the top of the third, but a great throw from Paul Blair nailed Browning at home to limit the damage.

Ramon Hernandez made it 7-2 with a homerun in the bottom of the frame.

Browning’s third hit of the game was a long shot to left-center, making the score 7-3 and generating activity in the Black Sox bullpen.

Both bullpens actually did well, and the game was scoreless across the final four frames. Hendricks ended with 4 hits for the House of David, while Harper had 3 for Baltimore.

HOD 3 (Sabathia 5-6) @ BAL 7 (Sain 6-4)
HRs: HOD – Browning (6); BAL – Hernandez (2)
Box Score

Series Overview

So, a split, a result that will disappoint Baltimore, and give the House of David some hope.

For the House of David, Elrod Hendricks was on fire, going 11-for-15 in the four games with 2 homeruns and 6 RBIs. The problem was nobody else did much of note.

The hitting star for Baltimore was Bryce Harper, who went 7-for-13, raising his average nearly 20 points. Again, though, it was pretty much a one man show.

TWIWBL 18.0: Series XV Notes

By mknn

On November 1, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 3

We’re roughly 60 games into the season. The Baltimore Black Sox have been caught by the Portland Sea Dogs for the best record in the league, with each team sporting a 38-24 record to lead their divisions. They’re the only two teams playing above .600, although the New York Black Yankees, at .597 (37-25) are right there, too.

You can see some of the reason for Portland’s surge in the Relievers listed below, with three members of their bullpen making the list.

Performance

We’re going to look at two things before our usual lists.

Great Performances

Series XV had two standout performances, the first occurrence of each in the league, one on the mound and one at the plate.

First, Sandy Koufax of the Brooklyn Royal Giants threw the WBL’s first one-hitter, walking 2 and striking out 8 in a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. Koufax started the year in AAA, was impressive in Brooklyn’s bullpen, and now has cemented a spot in their rotation, improving to 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA on the season.

Then, the Miami Cuban Giants saw the first cycle of the year, with Alejandro Oms going 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs to lead Miami to a 9-6 victory over the Indianapolis ABCs. Oms homered, tripled, and singled in his first 3 at-bats, and then was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in his final time up–giving him an unusual completion of the cycle.

Improving?

Some of the storylines of the early season have, of course, focused on batters who have struggled, but for whatever the reason were kept in their lineups despite little to no offensive contribution. Let’s check in on how three of them are doing.

Baltimore’s Paul Blair bottomed out about a month ago, with an OPS under .550. But (a) the Black Sox were winning all the time and (b) he still contributed great defense. Since then, he’s added about .025 to his batting average, as well as some power. He’s reverted, going 4-for-24 in his last few games, leaving him at 214/273/358. Not good, and still in danger, but trending in the right direction.

The Cleveland Spiders hoped Larry Doby would be a key part of their offense, instead, he’s struggled all year. At one point, he had added about .100 points of OPS, peaking in the .650s. Like Blair, though, he’s faded from that, going 2-20 to currently sit at 205/304/310. Cleveland is playing well, but Doby is likely to lose some significant playing time after the lineup adjustments following this series.

If any team could carry a low producing offensive player, it is the Black Yankees, who have patiently waited for Willie Randolph to contribute at the plate. It’s starting to pay off, as Randolph is hitting as well as he has all year, improving to 205/339/282. Clearly, the OBP is the key stat here, and as long as Randolph gets on base, he will probably stay in the 9th position in their lineup.

Two teams have two players each who continue to struggle mightily. The Ottawa Mounties really needs to do something about the combination of Ken Griffey, Jr. (224/273/295 for the lowest OPS of any batting qualifier in the league) and Alex Rodriguez (206/251/333). With Freddy Parent on the edges of the all star discussions at SS, Rodriguez may be sent to AAA to try to work it out offensively.

The House of David has run out of patience with OF Sammy Sosa, who is limping along at 177/231/344.The power potential is clearly there, but the overall production is just far too weak. Mark McGwire is perhaps a more interesting case, hitting 167/314/203. A 150 point gap between BA and OBP is usually indicative in a player who will turn things around, but those are just putrid numbers for the big redhead.

Leading Performers

Note that Babe Ruth has tied teammate Eric Davis for the league lead in RBI, something Davis had a large lead in for most of the season. Ruth continues to dominate the leaderboards, topping the lead in 5 categories, and sitting 2nd in another, while San Francisco’s Reggie Jackson continues to lead in both BA and OBP.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin now qualifies for the rate stats, and tops the leaderboard in ERA and WHIP, and is second in BA against. Garvin is the only starting pitcher to lead the league in more than one category, although Portland’s Walter Johnson is close. The Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry still leads the league in strikeouts, but has slumped elsewhere.

Both Joseito Munoz (Portland) and Koufax are likely to join Garvin on the leaderboards as they accumulate more starts.

Best Batters

Rico Carty (PHI) 316/377/505, 22 2B
Eddie Collins (CAG) 329/440/551
Eric Davis (NYY) 283/337/557, 19 HR, 59 RBI
Bobby Grich (LAA) 292/369/475, 22 2B
Rickey Henderson (SFS) 254/402/348, 50 BB, 44 SB
Joe Jackson (CAG) 352/436/648, 50 R, 3.4 WAR
Reggie Jackson (SFS) 368/469/637
Willie Mays (NYG) 351/404/569, 84 H
Babe Ruth (NYY) 318/426/682, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 53 R, 43 BB, 3.5 WAR
Louis Santop (CLE) 312/342/482, 8 3B
Frank Thomas (CAG) 352/432/591, 81 H

Best Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA) 9-3, 4.23 ERA
Ned Garvin (BAL) 5-2, 2H, 2.76 ERA, .201 BAa, 0.93 WHIP
Lefty Grove (SFS) 6-2, 3.45 ERA, .198 BAa
Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 97 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR) 7-2, 3.61 ERA, 83 Ks,2.8 WAR
Johnny Marcum (DET) 6-2, 1H, 2.76 ERA
Dennis Martinez (BAL) 7-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Andy Petitte (KCM) 5-3, 3.13 ERA, 2.3 WAR
Toad Ramsey (HOU) 5-5, 4.52 ERA, 91.2 IP
Red Ruffing (NYY) 7-1, 4.12 ERA
Cy Young (CLE) 5-2, 3.65 ERA, 93.2 IP, 2.3 WAR

Best Relievers

Terry Adams (CLE) 0-3, 3.20 ERA, 14 Sv
Rod Beck (SFS) 0-1, 1.84 ERA, 14 Sv, 1 H
Elmer Brown (POR) 2-3, 2.33 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H, .160 BAa
Ken Howell (SFS) 3-2, 1.38 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H
Bob Howry (PHI) 1-2, 4.35 ERA, 15 Sv
Sandy Koufax (BRK) 2-2, 3.58 ERA, .132 BAa
Mark Melancon (HOU) 6-1, 2.86 ERA
Joseito Munoz (POR) 2-1, 0.77 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.94 WHIP
Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 2 Sv, 11 H
Johan Santana (POR) 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 19 Sv
Doc White (IND) 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 1 Sv, 2 H, 0.65 WHIP

Streaks

The Homestead Grays are winning the race to the bottom, with only 1 victory in their last 10 games, leaving them with the worst record in the WBL at 23-39.

Miami and the Philadelphia Stars have only won 3 of their last 10, while at the other end, the Memphis Red Sox, Ottawa, the San Francisco Sea Lions, and the Birmingham Black Barons have all won 7 of their last 10 games. Memphis, Ottawa, and Birmingham were all among the worst teams in the league by winning percentage, so the tables are once again tightening up.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks has the most prolonged hot streak in the league, slashing 390/422/976 with 6 homeruns over his last 11 games. The miracle that is Birmingham’s Tom Herr isn’t far behind, hitting 424/500/758 over his last 9 contests.

At the other end, Sammy Sosa‘s struggles were mentioned above. The House of David OF is at 098/098/220 over his last 41 at-bats. Once among the hottest in the league, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has had a rough 10 games, managing only a 132/154/211 line in that time.

Series XV Results

By far the shock of Series XV was Birmingham taking 3-out-of-4 from Baltimore. Nobody saw that coming.

Series XV Sweeps

Brooklyn over Kansas City

Taking 3 Out of 4 in Series XV

Birmingham over Baltimore
Detroit Wolverines over Los Angeles Angels
Portland over Homestead
Memphis over Philadelphia

Series XV Splits

Chicago American Giants @ Ottawa
Cleveland @ Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis @ Miami
Black Yankees @ San Francisco
New York Gothams @ House of David

TWIWBL 16.2: Series XIII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On September 5, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin blanked the Cleveland Spiders on 4 hits as Baltimore rolled to an 8-0 win behind 3 hits from Bobby Wallace and Ramon Hernandez‘ first homerun of the year. Garvin walked none and struck out 3, improving his record to 5-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.09.

Despite a subpar outing, Dennis Martinez joined the list of 7 game winners, moving to 7-1 as the Black Sox came from behind to blow out Cleveland, 10-4. Ken Singleton went 5-for-5, Dan McGann added 3 hits, and Paul Blair–yes, Paul Blair–added 2 homeruns as every Baltimore starter got at least 1 hit.

The Black Sox just find a way to win … down 4-0 after 6, and 5-4 heading into the 9th, Larry Gardner sent the fans home happy with a 2-run walkoff single. Curt Blefary hit 2 homeruns to give him 16 on the year. The win went to Buddy Groom, his first of the year.

#Chicago American Giants

Behind a strong start from Ben Sheets and 3 homeruns from Duffy Lewis, Chicago took apart Birmingham, 12-3. Allowing only 1 run on 3 hits over 7 innings, Sheets improved his record to 5-3. Lewis drove in 4 and Eddie Collins went 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs.

Ed Walsh lasted 8 pitches before having to leave the game with an apparent hamstring injury. The American Giants recalled Fernando Rodney from AAA to take Walsh’s place, and his starts should go to Joe Horlen or Frank Smith.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Trevor Hoffman‘s return from the DL moved Bones Ely back to AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Robinson Cano hit 2 homeruns and drove in 4, leading the Monarchs to a 7-3 victory over Ottawa. Andy Pettite got his 4th victory of the year with 7 scoreless innings and Craig Kimbrel picked up his 8th hold. Ted Simmons also had 2 hits in a game that was a pitcher’s duel until the Monarchs exploded for 4 runs in the top of the 7th.

Willie McGee hit 2 homeruns and Frank Castillo allowed only 1 hit before running out of steam in the 8th inning as the Monarchs won the second game of the series, 9-2. McGee drove in 4, and Albert Pujols went 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs as Castillo moved to 3-4 on the year.

#Ottawa Mounties

The news was not good on Bob Brown: the Mountie’s best starter all season will miss 4-5 months with a shoulder injury. Clayton Richard, 6-1 with a 3.65 at AAA Montreal, was recalled.

Ted Bowsfield threw 1 pitch in the 9-2 loss to Kansas City before having to leave the game. He was placed on the DL with the Mounties recalling Clark Griffith.

Ottawa’s 4-1 victory over the Monarchs to close out their series was costly, as Tom Henke had to leave with an apparent arm injury. A strong start from Old Hoss Radbourn improved his record to 4-3 and Johnny Podgajny made his WBL debut to relieve Henke and pickup the save. Tim Raines had 2 hits and Anthony Rendon 2 RBIs for the Mounties.

TWIWBL 15.2: Series XII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 24, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin kept Los Angeles’ Gerrit Cole from becoming the first 7 game winner in the WBL, spinning a brilliant 8 innings, allowing only 2 runs in a 4-2 Black Sox victory. Garvin moved to 4-1 on the year, and Bob Miller picked up his 4th save. Curt Blefary hit his 14th and Harlond Clift his 8th homerun of the year.

In the next game, Dennis Martinez moved to 6-1 on the year, allowing only 3 hits and 1 run in 7.2 innings. Bryce Harper drove in 2, and Harper, Ken Singleton, and Dan McGann all chipped in with 2 hits.

Bill Byrd pitched 8.1 innings of shutout ball before being relieved by Don Bessent, who finished the job in a 5-0 win for the Black Sox. Byrd brought his ERA under 4.00 and improved his record to 4-2, helped by 3 hits from Bobby Wallace and the suddenly resurgent Paul Blair, who even hit his 4th homerun of the year in the game.

Clearly not a fan of the if it ain’t broke school of thought, the team with the best record in the WBL shook its roster up some on the day off, demoting P Mark Baldwin, 3B Brooks Robinson, and SS Mark Belanger to AAA. Baldwin and Robinson had done very little in their opportunities, and Belanger had only played in 7 games all season. P Bob Welch, and IFs Cal Ripken, Jr. and Brian Roberts were recalled to the big league club.

#Chicago American Giants

Frank Thomas went 3-for-4 and Dick Allen had 3 RBI’s to lead Chicago to a 5-4 victory over Indianapolis. Herb Pennock survived 6 rocky innings to pick up his 2nd win, with AJ Minter pitching a perfect 9th for his 6th save.

Adrian Gonzalez was sent to AAA, ending his nightmare of a year so far in the majors; with Joe Horlen being promoted to fill out the bullpen and C Pop Snyder being waived.

All of that will result in Cristobal Torriente and Avisail Garcia seeing more time in the American Giants’ OF.

#Houston Colt 45s

Behind 3 hits and 3 RBIs from George Brett, including his 5th homerun of the year, the Colt 45s put away the Black Yankees, 9-4. It could be a difficult game for Houston, as Bret Saberhagen and Casey Stengel (who also hit his 5th homerun) both had to leave with injuries.

Bones Ely was recalled, and if you ignore a 499 foot homerun to Babe Ruth and one nearly as long to Lou Gehrig, he did alright, earning the save with 3 innings of work in a 13-5 blowout win. Craig Biggio drove in 4 and HR Johnson and Lance Berkman 3 each in support of Roy Oswalt, who moved to 5-2 on the year.

Brad Lidge was replaced by Billy Wagner as Houston’s closer, with Mike Hartley being sent to AAA. Carney Lansford was recalled from the minors to add another bat off the bench.

#Kansas City Monarchs

2 homeruns from Stan Musial helped the Monarchs overcome a 90 minute rain delay in an 11-5 win over the House of David. Musial drove in 4, and the win went to Connie Johnson, who pitched 3 scoreless innings after the rains came down.

Who knows what to make of Luke Hamlin? He seems to mix mediocre starts with absolute gems. This was one of the latter, as Hamlin had a no-hitter into the 7th and ended up with a 2-hit, complete game shutout to level his record at 3-3. 5 pitchers had thrown 3-hit shutouts, but this was the first game to go below that, and it was the 3rd best game score of the season at 86.

Willie McGee was 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in the 6-0 victory. Hamlin’s performance was especially welcome, as the Monarchs’ bullpen was fairly decimated.

Jose Rijo lost his spot in the starting rotation in favor of Adam Wainwright, and McGee–who had been in a platoon with Fielder Jones–has become the everyday CF for the Monarchs.

#Ottawa Mounties

Greg Holland was sent to AAA with Ryan Dempster coming back the other way. Josh Donaldson–0-for-15 in his time in the big leagues–was returned to AAA as well, with Steve Garvey coming off the DL to return to Ottawa. The Mounties would like to promote Larry Parrish, who is playing very well at 3B, but haven’t found a corresponding move to free up room on the 40-man roster.

TWIWBL 13.2: Series XI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 8, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Paul Blair has been the subject of much skepticism lately, mired in a horrendous slump for most of the season Still, the Baltimore center fielder has provided solid defense, and may be showing signs of finally coming around at that plate. Blair went 3-for-4 including a walkoff homerun as the Black Sox edged Memphis 3-2, bringing his batting average, at long last, over .200. More impressively, the hit came off Jonathan Papelbon, one of the best relievers in the league so far. Papelbon dropped to 0-2. Bill Byrd put in a good start, but wasn’t involved in the decision, which went to Don Bessent, who improved to 1-1.

Dennis Martinez continues to impress with 7 strong innings. He was actually outpitched by Memphis’ Roger Clemens, but the Black Sox jumped all over Turk Farrell en route to a 6-2 victory, led by Larry Gardner‘s 3 hits and 2-RBI games from Gardner, Bobby Wallace, and Dan McGann. Martinez allowed 5 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, improving his record to 5-1, and Buddy Groom and Bessent combined to allow only 1 walk over the final 2 innings.

A grand slam by Harlond Clift, 4 runs scored by McGann, and 3 hits from McGann and Frank Robinson powered the Red Sox to a 12-4 victory. McGann hit his 5th homerun of the year, and Robinson drove in 4. The win went to Mike Mussina–his first of the year–who pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief of a labored Johnny Sain.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Toad Ramsey continues to befuddle. Impress, but also befuddle. This time, it was a complete game effort against San Francisco, allowing only 6 hits and 2 runs. But the Colt 45’s didn’t score, so Ramsey’s effort resulted in his 4th loss of the year.

#Ottawa Mounties

Roy Halladay pitched a complete game against Brooklyn, allowing only 1 run and 5 hits in a 7-1 victory for the Mounties. He gave up 3 hits to Beals Becker and 2 to Roy White, and that was it. Anthony Rendon and Ken Griffey, Jr. each had 3 hits for Ottawa, with Roy Sievers delivering a key pinch-hit and Freddy Parent going yard for the 5th time this year.

TWIWBL 11.0: Series IX Notes

By mknn

On July 11, 2021

In TWIWBL

May 8th

Awards

Duffy Lewis of the Chicago American Giants won the Player of the Week Award, hitting .448 with 5 homeruns–doubling his HR total on the year.

Performance

Given that we’re in early May, standings still don’t mean a whole lot. Portland and the New York Black Yankees have the best record in the league at 25-13, with the Chicago American Giants close behind as 23-15.

Homestead has the worst record at 12-26, already 13 games behind the Black Yankees.

League Standings | League Statistics

Walter Johnson moved to 6-0, becoming the only six-game winner in the league during Series IX. Babe Ruth slugged his 13th homerun of the year–a game-winner to boot–to regain the league lead.

More interestingly, the leaderboards are beginning to diversify. The lists below contain the top 2 performers in most categories, and while Ruth and Johnson still dominate, there a lot of different players there.

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR) 6-0, 3.07 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 1.9 WAR; Ron Guidry (NYY) 4-2, 3.23 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 65 Ks; CC Sabathia (HOD) 5-2, 2.79 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 3.13 FIP, 1.8 WAR; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-1, 1.80 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, Gerrit Cole (LAA) 5-2, 4.45 ERA; Lefty Grove (SFS) 4-1, 3.30 ERA, 54 K; Camilo Pascual (MCG) 4-1, 2.36 ERA.

Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR) 0-1, 3.48 ERA, 13 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 0-2, 6.59 ERA, 10 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-1, 2.37 ERA, 2 Sv, 8 H; Joe Beggs 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 Sv; Tom Niedenfuer 0-0, 9.90 ERA, 7 Sv, 1 H; Craig Kimbrel (KAN) 0-1, 2.65 ERA, 6 H.

Leading Batters: Buster Posey (NYG) 394/463/685, 2.4 WAR; Reggie Jackson (SFS) 384/503/670; Babe Ruth (NYY) 371/461/734, 13 HR, 40 R, 2.6 WAR; Willie Mays (SFS) 352/394/509 56 H; Stan Musial (KAN) 380/448/570, 54 H; Rico Carty (PHI) 347/404/562, 14 2B, Kal Daniels (LAA) 289/413/485, 13 2B, Terry Puhl (OTT) 264/311/438, 5 3B; Curt Blefary (BAL) 295/420/676, 12 HR; Eric Davis (NYY) 306/342/571, 46 RBI; Doug Rader (LAA) 331/373/536, 45 RBI; Shoeless Joe Jackson (CAG) 370/458/688, 31 R, 2.5 WAR; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 286/442/397, 34 BB, 32 SB; Mickey Mantle (NYY) 293/414/444, 28 BB.

Streaks

Streaks are hard.

Chicago’s Luke Appling has the longest active hitting streak at 14 games, and Appling, Rico Carty (PHI), and Albert Pujols (KAN) have reached base in 16 straight.

San Francisco‘s Rickey Henderson has stolen 21 straight bases.

Sad Sam Jones of the New York Gothams and Houston‘s Toad Ramsey have each tossed 15 straight scoreless innings, and Baltimore‘s Ned Garvin hasn’t allowed a hit in 9 innings.

The hottest hitters in the league are Baltimore’s Curt Blefary (343/489/829 over 13 games), Cleveland‘s Ron Blomberg (486/488/838 over 11 games), and Indianapolis‘ Johnny Bench (382/493/764 over 16 games). Portland’s Kent Hrbek and Chicago’s Duffy Lewis each have 5 homeruns over their past 7 games.

Baltimore needs to make a choice soon, as Paul Blair continues to be totally overmatched, hitting 113/203/155 over 23 games.

Series Results

Series IX Sweeps

Cleveland over Kansas City

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series IX

Baltimore over San Francisco
Ottawa over Birmingham
Brooklyn over House of David
Houston over Detroit

Series Splits in Series IX

Chicago v Memphis
Homestead v Indianapolis
Los Angeles v Portland
Miami v Philadelphia
NY Black Yankees v NY Gothams

Series IX Featured Series: San Francisco Sea Lions @ Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On July 9, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Eddie Plank @ Bill Byrd

Eddie Joost is a mystery to San Francisco–and to most fans of the WBL. His batting average sits under .150, but he draws enough walks to have an OBP over 100 points higher, and while he doesn’t hit with much power, when he does, the ball leaves the ballpark. In early April, that meant his slash line was 267/333/567. A month later, he’s at 131/277/250.

With 2 outs in the top of the 3rd, Joost took Baltimore starter Bill Byrd‘s second pitch over the right field wall for an early 1-0 lead for the Sea Lions.

But the Sea Lions’ Eddie Plank struggled mightily with his command, and after an error by John Beckwith helped load the bases, Plank walked in a run, and then allowed two more to score on a wild pitch and a passed ball.

Curt Blefary tripled home a run in the bottom of the fifth, extending the lead to 4-1.

In the top of the 7th, a single by Mickey Cochrane chased Byrd, who was relieved by Mike Mussina. Beckwith–who has showed some signs of life at the plate recently–singled, bringing up Joost. The Sea Lions decided not to pinch hit, and Joost rewarded them with … a groundball double-play to second base. Cochrane would score on a single by Rickey Henderson, but a great opportunity to get back in the game went by the wayside.

The Black Sox are the only team in the WBL without a designated closer, instead rotating key situations between Bob Miller and Don Bessent. Today was Bessent’s turn, and despite struggling with control a bit, he only allowed a double to Beckwith in the 9th, preserving the victory for Baltimore.

Baltimore scored 4 runs on only 5 hits, with Blefary’s triple and a double from Paul Blair the only extra-base shots. Byrd moves to 3-2 on the year, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings, with Mussina and Bessent combining for 3 innings of 3-hit, scoreless ball.

The Sea Lions saw Beckwith go 3-for-4 in the losing effort, with Henderson stealing 3 bases in a game for the first time this season. Plank evened his record at 2-2 with the loss, despite only allowing 1 earned run in 5 innings.

SFS 2 (Plank 2-2) @ BAL 4 (Byrd 3-2; Mussina 1 H; Bessent 5 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Joost (4).
Box Score

Game 2: Jim Devlin @ Johnny Sain

This may be a make-or-break game for San Francisco’s Jim Devlin, who comes in with an 0-2 record and a 6.57 era, allowing almost 2 baserunners per inning.

Both Devlin and his opposite number, Johnny Sain, gave up runs in the first. For San Francisco, back-to-back doubles by Pedro Guerrero and Reggie Jackson gave the Sea Lions an early 1-0 lead, while the bottom of the first was very Devlin: 2 hits, 1 walk, an HBP, an error … 8 batters faced, 2 runs scored, 1 earned.

But both would settle down. Sain allowed 1 more run, on an RBI double from Charlie Reilly, scoring Wally Moon and Devlin 2 more, on a double from Dan McGann and a sacrifice fly by Brooks Robinson, leaving the score 4-3, Baltimore, after 7 innings.

It would stay that way, with Ned Garvin, Buddy Groom, Gregg Olson, and Bob Miller combining for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to preserve the Black Sox victory.

Garvin finished with a good enough line for him (7 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 earned runs)–perhaps enough to stave off the demotion, but not to preserve his spot in the rotation.

SFS 3 (Devlin 0-3) @ BAL 4 (Sain 4-2; Garvin 2 H; Groom 3 H; Olson 2 H; Miller 2 Sv)
HR: SFS – Bloodworth (4)
Box Score

#Game 3: Cy Falkenberg @ Dennis Martinez

Dennis Martinez has been excellent so far, with a 3-1 record and a sub-4.00 ERA; Cy Falkenberg has been solid: his 2-0 record belies some poor outings leading to a 4.40 ERA.

Helped by a homerun from Eddie Joost, San Francisco was up 2-0 in the 6th, but then the wheels fell off for Falkenberg, with Harlond Clift hitting a grand slam as the Black Sox moved out to a 6-2 lead. A 2-run shot by Larry Gardner in the 8th provided the final margin of 8-2 as Baltimore moved to the verge of sweeping the four game series.

Martinez moved to 4-1, lowering his ERA to 3.42 in his 8 innings of work, while Falkenberg too his first loss of the year.

SFS 2 (Falkenberg 2-1) @ BAL 8 (Martinez 4-1)
HR: SFS – Joost (5); BAL – Clift (5), Gardner (3)
Box Score

#Game 4: Dennis Eckersley @ Mark Baldwin

Dennis Eckersley was absolutely hammered in his first start back from the DL, lowering his record to 1-3 and seeing his ERA balloon to 9.00. He’ll be opposed by Baltimore’s Mark Baldwin, who at 2-4, 6.62 has had his own fair share of struggle.

Both pitchers struggled, but somehow at the end of 5 innings, San Francisco only lead by 1, 3-2. A solo homerun by Jimmy Bloodworth in the 8th extended it to 4-2, and Ron Robinson and Rod Beck each pitched a 1-hit, scoreless inning in relief of Eckersley, who lowered his ERA by well over a run in his 7 innings of work.

Dan McGann and Frank Robinson each had 2 hits in the losing effort.

SFS 4 (Eckersley 2-3; Robinson 4 H; Beck 8 Sv) @ BAL 2 (Baldwin 2-5)
HR: SFS – Bloodworth (5)
Box Score

Series Notes

John Beckwith showed signs of emerging from his season-long slump, going 5-for-11 in the series for San Francisco.

For Baltimore, Dan McGann was 5-for-7 and Ken Singleton 5-for-15 in a series dominated by the pitchers.

TWIWBL 10.0: Series VIII Notes

By mknn

On July 1, 2021

In TWIWBL

{I forgot to finish this out, so a few teams played their first Series IX games before doing so.}

May 4th

Awards

The first monthly awards brought no surprises, as the Brooklyn Royal Giants‘ Don Drysedale won the inaugural Pitcher of the Month in the WBL, notching a 4-0 record and a 1.26 ERA and the New York Black Yankeess‘ Babe Ruth was the Player of the Month, hitting .404 with 10 homeruns, 27 RBIs, and 32 runs scored.

Ron Blomberg of the Cleveland Spiders was the Player of the Week, posting a.688 average over the past 7 days.

Performance

League Standings | League Statistics

The league saw its first two five game winners in Series VIII in Los Angeles‘ Gerrit Cole (5-1) and Portland‘s Walter Johnson (5-0).

Perhaps more noteworthy, a slight slump from the Black Yankees’ Babe Ruth (he was dominant enough in early April that he was still, easily, the strongest offensive force in the league) has reduced his grip on the offensive categories. Ruth still leads the league in SLG, R, and WAR, but is only tied for the HR league at 12 (with Baltimore‘s Curt Blefary).

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR) 5-0, 3.21 ERA, 1.6 WAR; Gerrit Cole (LAA) 5-1, 4.12 ERA; Don Drysedale (BRK) 4-0, 1.26 ERA, 1.09 WHIP; Ron Guidry (NYY) 4-2, 3.31 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 60 K.
Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR) 0-1, 3.48 ERA, 13 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 0-2, 9 Sv, 6.92 ERA; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-0, 2.16 ERA, 2 Sv, 8 H; Tom Niedenfuer (HOD) 0-0, 0.90 ERA, 7 Sv, 1 H; Joe Beggs (MEM) 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.90 WHIP; Jonathan Papelbon (MEM) 0-1, 0.96 ERA, 3 Sv, 2 H, 0.70 WHIP.

Leading Batters: Buster Posey (NYG) 407/471/720, 2.3 WAR; Reggie Jackson (SFS) 392/508/686; Babe Ruth (NYY) 373/462/731, 12 HR, 36 RBI, 38 R, 2.5 WAR; Joe Jackson (CAG) 368/459/692, 37 RBI, 2.4 WAR; Rico Carty (PHI) 330/389/554, 13 2B; Kal Daniels (LAA) 314/413/535, 13 2B; Terry Puhl (OTT) 246/315/412, 5 3B; Louis Santop (CLE) 305/348/475, 5 3B; Curt Blefary (BAL) 297/421/714, 12 HR; Eric Davis (NYY) 292/331/533, 42 RBI; Rickey Henderson (SFS) 292/456/416, 33 BB, 28 SB.

We’re getting to the point where projections begin to return to the world of possibility–Blefary and Ruth are on pace to clear 50 HR; Davis and Doug Rader (LAA) are on pace for over 180 RBI, and Henderson for over 125 SBs. All great marks, for sure, but none that are world-breaking.

Streaks

Memphis‘ Eddie Rosario has a 14 game hitting streak going into Series IX. Brooklyn‘s Beals Becker and Baltimore’s Bobby Wallace have reached base in 16 consecutive games.

San Francisco is just running amok on the base paths, with Henderson stealing 17 straight bases and Bobby Bonds and Dick Lundy successful on their last ten attempts.

Camilo Pascual saw his scoreless streak end at 19 innings, but Houston‘s Toad Ramsey now has a 15 inning streak going.

Detroit‘s Bob Bailey has the most impressive hot streak in the league right now, hitting 403/469/778 over his last 18 games with 7 HRs. Brooklyn’s Duke Snider has 6 HRs in his last 10 games, hitting at a 439/477/878 clip over that span.

Cleveland‘s Cy Young has a 1.89 ERA over his last 5 starts, but has come out of that with only a 2-1 record.

At the other end of the scale, Baltimore is struggling with three of the coldest hitters in the league: Paul Blair is hitting 102/197/136 over 19 games, Miller Huggins is hitless in his last 27 ABs, and Brooks Robinson is at 138/194/138 over 15 games.

Ottawa finally gave up on the Randy Johnson experiment after the Big Unit posted a 9.61 ERA over his last 4 starts. Hopefully some time at AAA might help the big left hander turn it around.

Series Results

Series VIII Sweeps

Houston over Brooklyn

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series VIII

House of David over Birmingham
Detroit over Miami
Indianapolis over Ottawa
San Francisco over New York Gothams

Series Splits in Series VIII

Baltimore v Philadelphia
Chicago v New York Black Yankees
Cleveland v Homestead
Kansas City v Los Angeles
Memphis v Portland

TWIWBL 7.2: Series VI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 6, 2021

In TWIWBL

{With the day off on April 25th, it was a time of roster moves and lineup and pitching adjustments. As such, there are a few more notes for each team than usual.}

#Baltimore Black Sox

P Lindy McDaniel, massively ineffective over 7 appearances, was sent down to AAA with Mike Mussina coming back the other way. Chick Stahl is tearing up AAA, and if Paul Blair–currently slashing 205/287/337–continues to struggle, he may get a call-up in the next few weeks.

#Chicago American Giants

P Lee Meadows was waived and Joe Lake was sent down to AAA Milwaukee, with Sonny Dixon and Frank Smith joining Chicago. Herb Pennock will join the rotation, replacing Lake.

#Houston Colt 45’s

The final slot in the Colt 45’s rotation remains a mystery, with the team hoping someone from Stubby Overmire, Leon Day, and Dock Ellis steps forward.

Larry Hisle‘s continued struggles (194/275/222) sent him down to AAA San Antonio. 37 year-old Ken Caminiti was waived to make room for DJ LeMahieu‘s promotion to Houston.

Paul Goldschmidt‘s 176/300/265 line sees him likely getting much less playing time in the near future.

#Kansas City Monarchs

After a heart-breaking loss to the Black Yankees, the Monarchs had to do some roster juggling, both to help with bullpen fatigue and to bring in some help for Ozzie Smith at SS. Bob Gibson was sent back to AAA and Bill Doak was waived to free up roster space for RP Adam Russell and SS Jack Rowe.

But the Monarchs fought back, defeating the Black Yankees, first 8-3 and then on a walk-off 5-4 victory powered by Boog Powell‘s 2 HRs and Stan Musial‘s 4 hits in 4 at-bats.

The Monarchs ended up splitting the four game set with the Black Yankees–no mean feat.

1B Andre Thornton‘s slow start (139/333/250) earned him a trip to AAA St. Louis with 2B Robinson Cano, who was tearing up the league at 423/461/634 coming up to Kansas City. The roster still needed a RH OF, so Russell was sent back down after only a few days with the big league team in favor of Ducky Medwick.

#Ottawa Mounties

Randy Johnson may have done just enough–barely–to stay in the big leagues with a decent 5 inning performance against Los Angeles. After the game, RP Greg Holland hopped back on the AAA express, with the Mounties in desperate need for depth at 2B. They recalled George Cutshaw to help there (Cutshaw would have a nice debut, going 1-for-3 with a grand slam HR).

Freddy Parent delivered a 2-0ut, 2-run single that scored Carlos Delgado and Terry Puhl, giving Ottawa a walk-off victory against Los Angeles’ closer Joe Nathan, who fanned the first two batters before collapsing and giving up a three run lead.

Recently recalled Jim Clancy was called into duty as an emergency starter, and the jury is still out. On the one hand, 5 innings, only 1 run, and the victory in a 5-1 win over Los Angeles is great; on the other hand, the traffic on the basepaths was nonstop, with Clancy giving up 10 hits and 2 walks in the 5 innings. Gary Lavelle pitched 2.2 scoreless innings for his second hold, and Tom Henke finished it out for his 7th save.

The Mounties pitching staff is a mystery. They are committed to Johnson, despite the 25 year-old’s 7.27 ERA, as well as to 19 year-old Ken Griffey, Jr, who is only slashing 205/253/217 to date. Gary Peters has been very ineffective, and will spend some time at AAA trying to work out his kinks, joining John Olerud in Montreal with veteran 1B/OF Roy Sievers and P Jamie Moyer heading to the big time (Terry Mulholland was waived to make room for Moyer).

The fifth rotation slot is still unsettled, with Moyer, Clancy, and Monk Dubiel all in play.

Season Preview: Baltimore Black Sox

By mknn

On August 18, 2020

In Team News

It’s hard to see Baltimore as contenders although, like many teams, the pitching will determine how far they go. The rotation could be quite strong, anchored by Johnny Sain and Mark Baldwin. The team is quite strong defensively; the question is if players like Bobby Wallace and Paul Blair will hit enough to keep their gloves on the field.

Final Roster

SP: Johnny Sain, Mark Baldwin, Dennis Martinez, Jim Palmer, Rube Foster.
RP: Bill Byrd & Ned Garvin; Buddy Groom, Lindy McDaniel & Gregg Olson; Don Bessant & Bob Miller.

C: Ramon Hernandez & Curt Blefary
1B: Dan McGann
2B: Brian Roberts & Larry Gadner
3B: Harlond Clift; Brooks Robinson
SS: Bobby Wallce; Mark Belanger
LF:Frank Robinson
CF: Paul Blair
RF: Bryce Harper
DH: Ken Singleton

Notes

All Milt Pappas had to do was be mediocre, and he would have a roster spot sewn up. Instead, he was pounded, as was Don Aase, leaving the Black Sox with only 10 pitchers deserving of WBL slots … Bill Byrd looks to be back from injury before opening day, so he’ll claim a spot. The other goes to veteran Buddy Groom, recalled from AAA to add some depth to the bullpen … Don Bessent and Bob Miller look to split the closer duties, with Bessant being slightly more effective at the moment … a few of the final cuts were determined more by age than performance: 21 year old Cal Ripken, Jr. and 22 year old Bill Sweeney each performed well enough to earn a roster spot, but will start the season in AAA … 19 year old Bryce Harper was just brought to camp to get a taste of it. Instead he hit 375/432/775 and will start the season in RF … Harper’s success prevents the Black Sox from keeping 3 Cs, leaving Tom Haller–who hit .412 in Spring Training–on the outside looking in behind both Ramon Hernandez and Curt Blefary on the depth chart … Harlond Clift edges out Brooks Robinson for the starting job at 3B

36 year old 1B Dan McGann is the oldest player on the opening day roster, with 19 year old OF Bryce Harper the youngest (Frank Robinson is 20).

Eddie Murray and Mike Mussina were both expected to make the opening day roster: the pair of 21 year olds are still expected to return to Baltimore quickly after starting the season at AAA. There’s not a lot of talent at AA: perhaps the best is 2B Asdrubal Cabrera.