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Tag: Paul Molitor

TWIWBL 17.4: Series XIV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On September 20, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Miami Cuban Giants

Martin Dihigo, who has struggled since his return from his first stint on the DL, is back there with elbow inflammation, and expected to miss about 3 weeks. Paul Molitor, who hit well in his time at AAA, was recalled to take his place.

Needing a starter, Dontrelle Willis‘ stay at Miami was cut short, as the lefty was sent back to AAA after only 1/3 of an inning. Roenis Elias was recalled, with John Munyan–who started the year in Miami but struggled–being released.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson looked virtually unhittable, and in one sense he was, allowing only 3 hits over 6+ innings. But he also gave up 6 walks, a balk, and hit a batter, giving up 4 runs in a 6-3 loss to Ottawa, falling to 6-2 on the season.

Series XI Preview: New York Black Yankees @ Miami Cuban Giants

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On July 27, 2021

In Featured Series, Series Previews

The Cuban Giants and the Black Yankees were the only two remaining teams that hadn’t been previewed. And somehow they played each other in Series XI!

New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees lead the Effa Manley Division by 3 games with a record of 25-17. That’s pretty good, but a few weeks ago, they looked poised to run away from the league, but they have gone 7-13 in their last 20 games.

But don’t be fooled: they are still the best offensive team in the league, and still have the best starters ERA. The offense is, of course, led by the best player in the league right now, Babe Ruth (357/451/732 with 15 homeruns). But it’s not like the Babe is doing it alone. Lou Gehrig is at 358/462/692 and Albert Belle at 337/395/615.

The challenge for the Black Yankees on offense is finding playing time for Belle, Mickey Mantle (297/411/434), and Eric Davis (296/337/537) in the OF and both Gehrig and Don Mattingly (309/359/525) at 1B. With the DH, 5 of those 6 can play each game, but only Ruth (along with SS Derek Jeter at 291/339/395 have played at least 40 games).

Their only real issue is at 2B, where starter Willie Randolph is struggling mightily at 179/312/265. His (and Jeter’s) backup, Craig Counsell, is doing even worse.

Ron Guidry leads the starting pitchers at 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA and a league-leading WHIP. Red Ruffing sits at 4-0, 3.74. If the Black Yankees have an Achilles’ heel, it could be the bullpen. Sparky Lyle has been solid as the closer, with 4 saves and a 3.60 ERA, and David Robertson has been excellent, with a 2.08 ERA in 13 appearances. But Goose Gossage and Dellin Betances have both struggled at times.

Miami Cuban Giants

Simply, Miami needs to improve. The Cuban Giants sit at 18-24, 9 games back in the Marvin Miller Division.

The two Jose’s–Canseco and Cardenal–have been the best performers for Miami, with Canseco slashing 313/383/497 and Cardenal 323/351/465. Will Clark leads the team with 9 HRs and 30 RBIs.

The Cuban giants have already made some moves with hopes of changing it up: John Munyan, Paul Molitor, and Tony Gonzalez have been sent to AAA Orlando, replaced at the big league level by Gary Sheffield, Alan Ashby, and Alexei Ramirez.

Jim Thome is hitting 429/478/905 over his last 8 games … which has only brought his season numbers up to 186/293/372. Which is pretty amazing.

The pitching has been a bit better, and has some interesting possibilities. Camilo Pascual leads the way at 4-1 with a league-leading 2.26 ERA. Tommy Bridges missed a start, but is still 3-0 with a 2.87 ERA and Rube Waddell has pitched far better than his 2-3 record, with a 3.19 ERA.

Aroldis Chapman has been a bit of an adventure in the bullpen, allowing 11 hits and 11 walks in 11.2 innings … and somehow maintaining a 0.00 ERA so far, with 9 saves. But getting to Chapman has been hard, with only Ed Bauta (0-1, 3.32 ERA with 5 holds) being dependable to date.

#Series Matchups

New York pitcher first: Red Ruffing (4-0, 3.74) @ Tommy Bridges (3-0, 2.87); Dave Righetti (2-3, 5.18) @ Camilo Pascual (4-1, 2.26); Waite Hoyt (3-1, 4.17) @ Rube Waddell (2-3, 3.19); Ron Guidry (4-3, 3.41) @ Don Newcombe (0-4, 5.79).

Clearly, the Ruffing v. Bridges matchup is intriguing, and you could even see the matchups favoring Miami for the first 3 games.

TWIWBL 12.4: Series X Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On July 25, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Tim Hudson‘s first start was a good one: five innings, five hits, and 2 earned runs. Hudson improved to 2-0, and the Black Barons used good days from Eddie Mathews (2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored) and Bob Nieman (3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s) to beat the Grays, 7-3.

#Miami Cuban Giants

With 17-year old Martin Dihigo healthy again, the Cuban Giants were faced with a difficult roster choice, given Alexei Ramirez‘ strong performance (333/385/542 in 9 games). Wanting to give Gary Sheffield, who has only played in 1 game, a longer look, Miami sent Paul Molitor, who had been scuffling along at 254/289/338, to AAA to make room for Dihigo.

#Portland Sea Dogs

In a highly anticipated matchup with Cleveland’s Cy Young, Walter Johnson was denied in his attempt to become the WBL’s first 7-game winner. Johnson gave up 5 runs–3 earned–in 6 innings. The win went to Elmer Brown, now 2-2, who pitched 3.2 innings of hitless relief as, in the bottom of the 11th, Jeff Burroughs, who has raised his OPS about 100 points since being recalled from AAA, sent a pitch from Cory Gearrin over the right-centerfield wall for the walk-off 7-6 victory.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove was delivering one of the better stars of the season–a 3 hit shutout through 7 innings. Then a double from Alejandro Oms and a 2-run homerun from Jose Canseco tied the game against Miami at 3. But Jack Clark hit his second homerun of the game in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off, 4-3 victory for the Sea Lions. The win went to Ken Howell, who allowed 1 hit in 1.1 innings in relief of Grove.

It’s very hard to win a game when you commit 5 errors. But that’s what the Sea Lions did, topping Miami 6-3 behind homeruns by Bob Cerv (his first since his recent recall) and Pedro Guerrero. Cerv was 2-for-4 on the day with 3 RBIs. Diego Segui continued his stellar string of performances, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run in 6 innings. Rick Langford and Howell each earned their 2nd holds of the season, giving up 1 unearned run each, and Rod Beck picked up his 9th save.

Spring Training Preview: Miami

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On June 20, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

  • The final 2 rotation slots are likely to be pulled from Don Newcombe, Ramon Martinez, and Livan Hernandez, but both Jose Mendez and Eustaquio Pedroso have outside shots as well.
    • Rube Waddell has been excellent, but neither Camilo Pascual nor Tommy Bridges as good as expected. As such, there are a lot of open slots. Pedroso has seized 1 of them with some great performances, and Mendez has an edge on the other, while Hernandez has been pretty awful.
      • Hernandez has pitched himself back to AAA, while the front of the rotation has solidifed as Waddell, Pedroso, Martinez, and Bridges.
      • That leaves Willis, Pascual, Newcombe, and Mendez competing for the final rotation spot.
  • In the bullpen, while Aroldis Chapman and Bill Landrum are solid, and Tony Fossas can succeed in a situational role, doubts exist about Dalier Hinojosa and Ed Bauta especially.
    • Unfortunately, Fossas, Bauta, and Sandy Consuegra have had a rough go of it. Miami has recalled Ryota Igarashi, Dontrelle Willis, and Alex Colome to help find some bullpen solutions to get to Chapman and Landrum.
      • Both Bauta and Hinjosa have solidified their roster spots, if not their exact roles, while Fossas has moved to AAA. Igarashi could join him, but deserves another couple of appearances.
  • 2B, 3B, and SS are all up for grabs: Cookie Rojas and Paul Molitor are neck-and-neck at 2B; Evan Longoria, Manny Machado, and Gary Sheffield at 3B; and Robin Yount and Chico Fernandez at SS.
    • Molitor is on the verge of playing himself out of the league behind Rojas (which would clearly open a role for Dihigo, but he hasn’t hit a lick either). But he’s doing better than Longoria, who is literally hitless so far, at the bottom of a muddled pile at 3B, led by the surprising Willie Kamm.
      • Molitor and Longoria were both sent to AAA to work it out, with Tito Fuentes getting a shot in major league camp.
    • Yount has taken control at SS, so there’s that, at least.
  • In the OF, the talents of Alejandro Oms and Martin Dihigo are undeniable, but there are questions about whether they are ready for the WBL.
    • The OF is still crowded, with Jose Cardenal, Ryan Braun, and Eddie Milner all arguing for playing time and Ozzie Canseco being sent to AAA.
      • Oms and Dihigo don’t have to hit much to earn a roster spot due to their versatility and glovework. Milner and Braun, however, are on the bubble.
      • Tony Gonzalez has forced himself into the conversation, and perhaps even into a starting role.
  • C is now an issue as well, as both John Munyan and Alan Ashby are performing on par with expected starter Charlie Bennett.
    • The trio continues to be indistinguishable–if that continues, Bennett will start due to his defense, and a coin flip will pick his backup.
    • At 1B, Joe Adcock and Yonder Alonso are pounding the ball, leaving Edwin Encarnacion‘s roster spot in doubt.
Near DefiniteLikelyPossibleLong Shot
Starting PitchersRube Waddell
Eustaquio Pedroso		Ramon Martinez
Tommy Bridges		Jose Mendez
Camilo Pascual
Don Newcombe
Dontrelle Willis
Middle RelieversAlex Colome
Ed Bauta
Sandy Consuegra		Ryota Igarashi
SetupDalier Hinojosa
Bill Landrum
CloserAroldis Chapman
CCharlie Bennett
John Munyan
Alan Ashby
1BJoe Adcock
Yonder Alonso		Edwin Encarnacion
2BCookie RojasMartin DihigoTito Fuentes
3BWillie KammManny Machado
Gary Sheffield
SSRobin YountChico Fernandez
OFJose CansecoJose CardenalTony Gonzalez
Tommie Agee
Yasiel Puig
Sandy Amoros
Alejandro Oms		Ryan Braun
Eddie Milner

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