https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp Baseball The Way It Never Was Fri, 27 Aug 2021 04:23:55 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 178681366 https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp/2020/06/19/spring-training-preview-house-of-david/ Sat, 20 Jun 2020 01:52:03 +0000 https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp/?p=231

The pitching staff is relatively set, although there is competition between Nick Altrock, Lynn Brenton, Wade Miley, and Lee Smith for some bullpen roles.

• Rick Reuschel has been poor and Frank Sullivan, Bob Rush, Fergie Jenkins, and Jack Taylor have been no better than acceptable. So the rotation, other than C.C. Sabathia, is a lot more open now. Altrock has been quite good and should get a shot, as will Kerry Wood, who was called up when Pedro Strop went down injured.
  • Sabathia, Altrock, and Miley seem to have settled rotation spots, with Jenkins and Sullivan a little ahead of Taylor and Rush. Reuschel has been sent to AAA with 15 year old Joe Nuxhall recalled to get a taste of big league camp.
• In the bullpen, Jeff Heathcock, Brenton, and Smith have all suffered, while Joakim Soria and Bruce Sutter have moved up the depth chart.
  • The back 3 of Sutter, Soria, and Tom Niedenfuer has been spectacular. Heathcock, Wood, and Smith are all in danger of missing the opening day roster at this point. Brenton has been sent to AAA with Dick Tidrow and Hector Rondon being called into camp.

C is pretty wide open, with Gabby Hartnett and Elrod Hendricks competing for the starting job. Frank Chance could force himself into the picture as well, although it is doubtful his future is behind the plate.

• So far, Hendricks has been crushing the ball, while Hartnett is yet to really get going.

Anthony Rizzo, Mark Grace, and Dave Altizer are in open competition at 1B, as are Dick Lundy and Ernie Banks at SS.

• Banks has moved well ahead of Lundy at SS.
• Altizer and Cap Anson are struggling mightily to contribute, and may miss the roster.

Dan Ford, Danny Green, or Sammy Sosa need a great Spring to force themselves into the OF picture.

• The Philadelphia OF has been on fire all Spring, but Ford is certainly in the conversation, and Green has played himself back to AAA.
  • Patsy Dougherty is struggling, but overall this group is smashing the ball. Olaf Henriksen has been recalled for some more OF flexibility.

Robinson Cano and Frank Grant have been crushing the ball at 2B, casting doubts on Ryne Sandberg as the starter. Similarly, Richie Hebner and Jung Ho Kang are outperforming Ron Santo at 3B.

• Competition at 2B has tightened up between the 3 of them.
• Kang has gone ice cold, earning himself a trip to AAA.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers	CC Sabathia	Nick Altrock Wade Miley	Ferguson Jenkins Bob Rush Frank Sullivan Jack Taylor	Kerry Wood
Middle Relievers			Lee Smith Jeff Heathcock	Pedro Stroup Hector Rondon Dick Tidrow Joe Nuxhall
Setup	Joakim Soria Bruce Sutter
Closer	Tom Niedenfuer
C		Gabby Hartnett Elrod Hendricks	Frank Chance
1B		Anthony Rizzo Mark Grace		Dave Altizer Cap Anson
2B			Ryne Sandberg Robinson Cano Frank Grant
3B		Ron Santo Richie Hebner
SS		Ernie Banks	Dick Lundy
OF		Patsy Dougherty George Gore Bobby Bonds Jerry Mumphrey Dan Ford	George Stone	Sammy Sosa Olaf Henriksen

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