Tag: Portland Sea Dogs Page 9 of 10

TWIWBL 7.4: Series VI Notes – Marvin Miller Division

On June 8, 2021

{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.}

#Birmingham Black Barons

Omar Infante‘s first HR of the season was dramatic: a walk-off drive to LF off Indianapolis’ Rob Dibble that gave the Black Barons a 5-4 victory in 11 innings.

Birmingham totally overhauled its pitching staff, sending John Clarkson, Warren Spahn, and Jim Whitney to AAA Atlanta and bringing Larry Benton, Tim Hudson, and Vic Willis back the other way. Ken Griffery, Sr. was waived to make room for Benton on the 40-man roster.

Sam Streeter and Dick Rudolph have been named to the starting rotation, joining Alejandro Pena and Scott Baker, leaving one spot still up for grabs.

The Black Barons would love to send Dale Murphy (059/179/059) down, but the only C doing anything in their farm system is Earl Battey at AA. Murphy stays in the WBL for now, but Battey has been promoted to AAA, and is likely to come up if he shows much of anything there. Ginger Beaumont was demoted, with Bob Nieman coming up to the big leagues. 2B Tommy Herr and OF Curtis Granderson have moved into the starting lineup.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Dave Von Ohlen has been a bright spot in the Royal Giants’ bullpen, with 2 holds and an ERA of 2.02. He has a tight back now, and given the general bullpen pressure, Brooklyn will put him on the DL, even though he’s likely to be ready to go in under ten days. 20 year old Sandy Koufax was recalled from AAA in the meantime.

Don Drysedale may be the best pitcher in the league right now: he moved to 4-0 on the year with a complete game victory over Miami, allowing only 1 run in his 9 innings, maintaining his 1.00 ERA on the season.

Dick Redding will lose his spot in the rotation to Frank Knauss. OF Hi Myers and Jermaine Dye are tearing up AAA for Queens, but there’s really no room in the Brooklyn OF at this time.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Camilo Pascual delivered one of the better performances of the year with a 6-hit shutout of Brooklyn, improving his record to 3-1. Pascual struck out 9 while walking 3.

Miami’s bullpen has suffered, but it’s not clear who at AAA can help. Ryota Igarashi was demoted, with Jose Mendez recalled. Gary Sheffield is tearing up AAA, but the Cuban Giants are going to give struggling Jim Thome (149/270/257) a little more time before pulling the plug.

#Portland Sea Dogs

OF Jeff Burroughs (178/245/211) will head to AAA with 19 year-old P Joseito Munoz coming up to the big leagues to bolster the back end of the bullpen.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Just recalled from AAA, Diego Segui was pressed into service, making his WBL debut and facing off against Portland’s Jerry Koosman. Segui was terribly impressive, and the game was one of the better pitching duels on the young season, but despite allowing only 2 hits and 2 runs in 7 innings, Segui was tagged with the loss. Still, it was enough that he should stick around.

The Sea Lions expect Dennis Eckersley to come off the DL tomorrow, so they cleared room for his arrival by sending Jim Shields down to AAA. Eddie Plank was moved into the rotation. Gene Oliver and Ron Hunt were both sent down to San Jose as well (John Beckwith at 182/258/291 and Eddie Joost at 162/287/309 are on the edge as well). Cy Perkins and Pedro Guerrero come back the other way (Bob Cerv has hit better than Guerrero, but there’s no room for him in LF in San Francisco).

Rain, Rain Go Away …

By mknn

On June 2, 2021

In Game Recaps

April 23rd saw the first suspended game in WBL history (we’ve had a couple of rainouts). The skies began to empty in San Francisco in the 8th, with Portland ahead 3-2.

The game was finished on the 24th, with the scoreline unchanged. Bert Blyleven got the win, moving to 3-1 on the year, and Johan Santana picked up his 10th save of the season, while Jim Devlin–despite a solid showing–took the loss, falling to 0-2 on the young season.

TWIWBL 6.4: Series V Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On May 26, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

John Clarkson fell to 1-2 with a miserable outing against the Cleveland Spiders, giving up 7 earned runs in under 3 IP and sending his ERA to 12.74. Jim Whitney was ineffective in relief, and Dick Rudolph‘s 2.2 scoreless IP may have been enough to slide him into the rotation. With only three rotation spots settled, look for those three, Greg Maddux, and Sam Streeter to get opportunities starting for Birmingham.

OF Al Schweitzer, who had a solid start to the season slashing 267/389/422 will be out over a month with a hamstring strain, with Curtis Granderson being promoted to Birmingham to take his roster spot.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Jackie Robinson‘s first HR of the year was a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 7th against Indianapolis, providing the winning margin in a 3-1 victory for the Royal Giants.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Rube Waddell, Eustaquio Pedroso, Ed Bauta, and Aroldis Chapman combined for a 6-hit shutout of the Baltimore Black Sox, with Waddell moving to 1-1 on the year with the 4-0 Cuban Giants victory.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Gil Hodges became the first player in the WBL to swat 3 HRs in a single game, sending 3 balls out of the park against Philadelphia‘s Pete Alexander in a 7-4 win for the Sea Dogs.

Walter Johnson threw 8 strong innings to become the league’s first four game winner, leading the Sea Dogs over Philadelphia 4-1.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Wally Moon may have defined Moonshot, sending a pitch from Kansas City‘s Luke Hamlin 502 feet into the night, helping San Francisco eke out a 7-6 victory.

Capping a 3-for-4 day, Reggie Jackson tagged Kansas City’s Frank DiPino with his first earned runs of the year with a 2-out, 2-run HR, 9th inning HR to give the Sea Lions a 3-2 lead. Rick Langford debuted with three innings of scoreless relief for the victory, and Rod Beck pitched a perfect bottom of the 9th for his 6th save of the season.

TWIWBL 5.6: Series IV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On May 16, 2021

In TWIWBL

Brooklyn leads the division, with San Francisco and Portland close on their heels. Even this early, a bit of a gap appears between those three teams and Miami and Birmingham at the bottom of the division.

Leading Starters: Don Drysedale, BRK, 3-0, 1.27 ERA, 1.03 WHIP; Walter Johnson, POR, 3-0, 2.54 ERA, 1.16 WHIP; Lefty Grove, SFS, 2-0, 1.57 ERA, 0.78 WHIP.
Leading Relievers: Johan Santana, POR, 7 SV, 1.69 ERA, 1.31 WHIP; Dave Von Ohlen, BRK, 2-0, 2 H, 2.19 ERA.
Leading Batters: Reggie Jackson, SFS, 396/500/679; Bobby Bonds, SFS, 364/432/697; Will Clark, MCG, 211/234/493, 6 HR, 19 RBI; Beals Becker, BRK, 293/408/379, 9 SB; Rickey Henderson, SFS, 250/424/359, 9 SB.

#Birmingham Black Barons

OF Al Schweitzer–one of the better performers for the Black Barons in the early season with a 267/389/422 line–is injured; depending on the duration, a roster move might be looming, with both Dale Murphy (038/194/038) and Chipper Jones (088/238/206) possibly being sent to AAA as part of the transaction.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

It was an unkind week for the Royal Giants, with both SP Orel Hershiser and 3B Jim Delahanty hitting the injured list. Hershiser will miss close to 2 months with an oblique strain, moving Dick Redding into the rotation. Lefty Frank Knauss was recalled from AAA to take Redding’s slot in the bullpen. Delahanty will be out close to a year, and Duke Farrell was recalled to take his spot, also clearing room for phenom SS/3B Ray Dandridge to move to AAA.

RP Jeff Montgomery–released by Houston–was signed to a minor league contract.

#Miami Cuban Giants

An 0-4 day at the plate against the New York Giants ended Will Clark‘s 10 game RBI streak.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dennis Eckersley was put on the 10-Day IL and Carlos Carrasco was demoted to AAA to help address some pitching issues. If, as expected, Eddie Plank is available in a day, the Sea Lions should be fine with the addition of Ps Rick Langford and Diego Segui from AAA.

FA OF Mookie Wilson was signed to a minor league contract.

Series IV Featured Matchup – Portland Sea Dogs @ Detroit Wolverines

By mknn

On May 10, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

The Detroit Wolverines (6-8) host the Portland Sea Dogs (8-6) for four games (series preview here).

Game One: Bert Blyleven v Si Johnson

Game one pitted Portland’s Bert Blyleven against Detroit’s Si Johnson. The game was a blowout for a while, with the Sea Dogs leading 8-1 through 7 innings, led by HR’s from Kent Hrbek, Bobby Murcer, and Joe Mauer. Blyleven had easily his best start of the year, with Bob Bailey‘s double in the bottom of the 8th only the 4th hit he allowed. Johnson, on the other hand, was chased after 6 IP, replaced by Gene Conley, who was pretty miserable, giving up 3 runs in 1.2 IP.

In the 8th, Blyleven retired Jimmy Collins, and was then relieved by Frank Williams, who came in to face Chili Davis … who took him deep for a 2 run HR.

Detroit would add 2 more in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn’t enough, and Portland opened the series with a win. Mauer ended the day 3-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, with Harry Hooper, Hrbek, Murcer, and Jeff Burroughs each chipping in with 2 hits apiece. Detroit’s Geoff Jenkins had 2 hits and 2 runs scored.

Blyleven finished with a Game Score of 71 (7.2 IP, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts), upping his record to 2-1 and Johan Santana got the final out for his 7th save.

Game Two: Smokey Joe Wood v Whitey Wilshire

Detroit would look to Whitey Wilshire to even up the series against Smokey Joe Wood. Oscar Gamble would put the Wolverines in front in the bottom of the first, ripping a double that scored Jim Fregosi and Gil Hodges. They would double their lead in the bottom of the 4th when Hank Greenberg took Wood deep for a 2-run HR.

Portland would finally break through in the top of the 5th on back to back singles from Kiki Cuyler and Fregosi. They pulled off a double steal, allowing Cuyler to score on a groundout by Hodges. But Jimmy Collins and Chili Davis would hit back-to-back HR’s in the bottom of the inning, pushing Detroit’s lead to 6-1.

Wilshire was replaced by John Hiller and Kevin Hart, who were pretty rough, giving up 3 runs in the 9th. But it was enough to close out the game with Detroit winning 6-4.

Hodges was the offensive star, finishing the game 2-3 with 4 RBIs. Ivan Rodriguez and Fred Dunlap added 2 hits each. For Detroit, Collins continued his strong start with a 2-3 day, 2 runs, and 1 RBI.

Wilshere did well for the win, allowing only 1 run in 6.2 IP, improving his record to 2-1 while Wood fell to 1-2. Mike Cuellar and Jim Kern were good for Portland in relief of Wood, combining for over 3 IP of scoreless relief.

Game Three: Walter Johnson v Long Tom Hughes

With the series tied 1-1, Portland turned to Walter Johnson, who came into the game with a 2-0 record, against Long Tom Hughes for Detroit. This was an old-fashioned blowout with Portland scoring 13 times on 17 hits. Buddy Bell went 5-6 with 2 runs scored, Bobby Murcer went 2-4 with 4 RBIs, Jeff Burroughs scored 3 times, and Smokey Joe Wood atoned some for his pitching performance the previous day, walloping a 3 run HR as a pinch hitter.

Hughes gave up 6 runs in 3 IP, and while Gene Conley bounced back with a scoreless 3 IP, Justin Verlander–who had been fantastic so far this season–gave up 7 runs (3 earned) in 1.1 IP.

Johnson improved his record to 3-0 with 7.2 dominant IP, allowing only 3 hits while fanning 7.

Game Four: Jerry Koosman v Hank Aguirre

In the final game, Detroit will look to Hank Aguirre (1-2) to even the series against Portland’s Jerry Koosman (1-1). Both starters struggled over 4 innings, but Aguirre managed to skate through, allowing a single run in 4 IP despite walking 4. Koosman was far less effective, given up 10 hits and 6 runs in his time.

Frank Williams and Elmer Brown followed Koosman, with each of them giving up runs as well, while Johnny Marcum and John Hiller combined for 5 innings of 3 hit, shutout ball for Detroit. Marcum got the win, giving the Wolverines the series split.

Bob Bailey and Chili Davis had 3 hits and 3 RBIs each, with Bailey and Ty Cobb hitting HRs. Ivan Rodriguez had 2 hits for Portland.

Previewing Series IV – Portland Sea Dogs @ Detroit Wolverines

By mknn

On October 8, 2020

In Series Previews, TWIWBL

The Portland Sea Dogs (8-6) travel to Detroit to take on the Wolverines (6-8) in a 4 game series.

Game 3 may be the one to watch, as both scheduled starting pitchers head into the contest with records of 2-0. Portland’s Walter Johnson (2-0, 3.05) has pitched far better than Detroit’s Tom Hughes (2-0, 5.19), which would seem to give the Sea Dogs the edge.

Portland is hitting well: their .391 team OBP is 1st in the league, and their .879 OPS is 2nd. The Sea Dogs are led by 3B Buddy Bell (362/444/745 with 5 HRs), C Joe Mauer (353/463/676) and CF Bobby Murcer (378/481/600). Bell and Murcer have 12 RBIs, with 1B Gil Hodges leading the team with 13.

Bert Blyleven–who will start the opening game–has struggled in his 2 starts, sporting an ERA of 10.32. Other than Johnson, all of Portland’s SPs have issues, but the bullpen has been fantastic, with the trio of Johan Santana, Frank Williams, and Elmer Brown combining to allow only 3 ERs in 17 IP. Santana leads the league with 6 saves.

Detroit’s offense has been solid, but their pitching has struggled quite a bit. It is unlikely that Hal Newhouser recovers from his injury in time to start game 4 of the series, so Detroit will try to limit Justin Verlander‘s relief appearances so he can take that start. Verlander has been so dominant out of the bullpen, however, that the start may go to Jason Schmidt instead.

Offensively, OF Oscar Gamble (304/458/609) has been the Wolverines’ best hitter, leading the team with 4 HRs. Ty Cobb–kept on the roster despite a horrid Spring Training–is pushing for more playing time as the 20 year old is now hitting 346/370/538 as a reserve. The Bailey Boys–3B Bob and C Ed–continue to impress, with each maintaining an OPS around .900.

TWIWBL 4.1: Notes from Series III

By mknn

On September 30, 2020

In TWIWBL

The New York Black Yankees saw their 10 game winning streak come to an end in a 4-2 loss to the Wandering House of David. The Black Yankees are tied with the Kansas City Monarchs for the best record in the league at 11-3, with the Brooklyn Royal Giants the only other team with double-digit victories. Those 4 teams–New York, Wandering, Kansas City, and Brooklyn–each lead their divisions.

Two decent hitting streaks are still intact: Babe Ruth has a 14 game streak (see below for a dramatic extension by Ruth) and the Baltimore Black Sox‘s Dan McGann has hit safely in 13 straight games.

Philadelphia‘s Ray Collins and Brooklyn‘s Don Drysedale are the only 3 game winners in the league (both are 3-0), and Portland‘s Johan Santana leads the league with 6 saves.

Houston‘s George Brett hit .538 with 2 HR’s and 7 RBIs to win the WBL Player of the Week.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Orel Hershiser (1-0) gave up only 5 hits while striking out 8 in a complete game victory over Cleveland. Hershiser’s only mistake of the day was a 2-run HR to Evan Longoria as the Royal Giants eased to a 6-2 win.

#Cleveland Spiders

Cleveland has basically created a fast shuttle between their AAA affiliate in Buffalo and the big leagues. Just across these five games, here’s who used it:

With John Ellis no longer carrying an injury, the Spiders demoted Harry Bemis.
Jim Gantner was called up from AAA to provide some depth at 2B behind Chuck Knoblauch.
Whit Wyatt returned from the DL, sending Sudden Sam McDowell down.
Yordano Ventura was put on the IL even though the Spiders were, at the time, unsure as the extent of his injuries (turns out to have been fine, Ventura is out for 4 months with bone spurs).
With the OF totally gassed and lacking depth, Peanuts Lowrey was called up.

Not all news for Cleveland was injury related: Bob Feller moved to 2-0 with 8 shutout innings against Brooklyn in a 9-1 Spiders’ victory.

#Detroit Wolverines

Phenom Ty Cobb continues to press for more playing time, going 3-for-4 with a HR in a start against Kansas City.

#Homestead Grays

With Corey Kluber still injured, Homestead recalled Cliff Lee for an emergency start. Lee was excellent, leading the Grays to keep him on the roster at the expense of Bill Fischer, who had struggled in a few early season appearances.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bret Saberhagen was still not 100%, so the Colt 45’s did some roster juggling, sending Saberhagen to AAA for a day and recalling David Clyde. Clyde was lit on fire in his start, and sent right back to AAA after the game.

Roy Oswalt (2-1) combined with Trevor Hoffman for a 6 hit shutout against Portland.

#Kansas City Monarchs

The Monarchs’ Luke Hamlin–of all people–threw the best start of the year so far, allowing only 1 hit over 7 innings against Detroit while striking out 11. Neither Frank DiPino nor Jeff Pfeffer allowed a hit in closing the game out for a 1-0 Kansas city win.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Ramon Martinez tied the best game score of the year with a 5-hit complete game shutout of Chicago that took only 94 pitches, earning his first victory of the year.

#New York Black Yankees

With a 12-game hitting streak on the line, Babe Ruth came to the plate as a pinch hitter with his team down 2 in the bottom of the 9th and a runner on first. Ruth deposited Tom Niedenfuer‘s pitch in the left field seats for his 4th HR of the year to tie the game, extending his streak to 13 (New York would lose the game 5-4 in 13 innings).

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove continued his dominant start to the year, pitching 8 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball while striking out 11 against Ottawa to go 2-0 on the season. Grove’s game score of 80 was the best in the league to date (later surpassed by Hamlin).

#Wandering House of David

OF Pete Browning continued his torrid start with a 4-for-4 game against the Black Yankees with a 2B, a 3B, and 2 RBIs to key a 13 inning HoD victory.

TWIWBL 2.1: Notes From The Opening 5 Games

By mknn

On September 4, 2020

In TWIWBL

All 20 teams opened with 5 game series this week. Some notes from around the league.

First, the WBL Player of the Week went to Indianapolis’ Hal Morris, Morris did hit 450/476/1000 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs. Still, Lou Gehrig of the New York Black Yankees (538/600/1154, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs) and the Portland Sea Dog’s Buddy Bell (412/444/1059 with 3 HRs) had to deserve significant consideration as well.

#Birmingham Black Barons

SP Fred Fussell and DH Emil Frisk will both miss about a month with injuries to start the season, with Greg Maddux returning to the WBL to replace Fussell.

The Black Barons’ starter’s ERA of 11.84 is the biggest contributor to their 0-5 start to the season.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Dutch Leonard tossed a 5 hit shutout in his 1st start of the year, and teammates Don Drysdale and Brickyard Kennedy only allowed 1 run in their starts, leading the Royal Giants to a 4-1 start. Dickie Thon–handed the starting SS role despite not playing in Spring Training–hasn’t embarrassed himself, hitting .250 so far.

#Chicago American Giants

Ticky Nichols threw a 3 hit shutout on 111 pitches to start the season.

#Cleveland Spiders

With John Ellis out about a week, the Spiders sent Hardie Henderson to AAA and recalled Harry Bemis to spell Andy Etchebarren at C. Ellis is still on the active roster, but Detroit has a league-leading 7 players on the DL, but Whit Wyatt, Doug Corbett, and Bill Steen should all be back within about a week.

#Detroit Wolverines

OF Oscar Gamble was hot out of the gates, with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs in the 1st 5 games. Hal Newhouser lasted less than 2 innings before his elbow gave out, sidelining him for a couple weeks. With Claude Passeau also injured, it’s not clear who will get Newhouser’s starts between Gene Conley, Johnny Marcum, and Justin Verlander.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Stan Musial is as hot as any player in the league, opening the season at a 455/500/773 clip. Jose Rijo fanned 10 in 8 IP in a strong 1st start.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Camilo Pascual only allowed 3 hits in 8.2 IP in a strong opening start for the Cuban Giants.

#New York Black Yankees

Eric Davis leads the league with 11 RBI. Both Willie Randolph and Mike Schmidt are still looking for the 1st hits on the season.

#New York Gothams

It’s been a rough 5 days to be a Gothams pitcher: Carl Hubbell is out for over a month, Carson Smith for a few weeks, and Al Mays will be out about a week. Mat Latos (freshly returned from the injury list himself), Al Spalding, and Gaylord Perry are on hand to pick up the starts.

Brian Wilson has 2 saves in the Gothams’s 3 wins.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Mike Cuellar is the 1st 2-game winner in the league, picking up 2 victories in relief and Johan Santana leads the league with a save in each of the Sea Dogs’ 3 wins.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove only gave up 3 hits and 1 run in a complete game win in his 1st start of the year. Jack Clark is hitting 417/417/750 with 10 RBI, leading the Sea Lions to a 5-0 record. Newly acquired Dick Lundy proved a sparkplug off the bench for San Francisco, even managing a steal of home in his first appearance.

Season Preview: Portland Sea Dogs

By mknn

On August 20, 2020

In Team News

The Sea Dogs look to have a strong pitching staff, led by Smokey Joe Wood and Dizzy Trout, but their success may have more to do with whether Walter Johnson can cash in on his immense promise sooner rather than later. The offense looks solid end-to-end, but lacks real star power unless someone (Gil Hodges? Bobby Murcer?) really has a breakout season.

Final Roster

SP: Smokey Joe Wood, Walter Johnson, Jerry Koosman, Dizzy Trout, Bert Blyleven.
RP: Wade Miller; Frank Williams & Mike Cuellar; Jim Kern & Elmer Brown; Johan Santana.

C: Joe Mauer & Ivan Rodriguez
1B: Kent Hrbek; Harmon Killebrew
2B: Fred Dunlap; Greg Litton
3B: Buddy Bell
SS: Jim Fregosi
LF: Harry Hooper & Kiki Cuyler
CF: Bobby Murcer; Gary Pettis
RF: Jeff Burroughs
DH: Gil Hodges

Notes

There was virtually nothing to distinguish between Bert Blyleven and Mike Cuellar, with Portland naming Blyleven the 5th starter … there’s a lot of talent being sent to AAA: Connie Ryan hit quite well at 2B and Rafael Palmiero is a legitimate WBL starter at 1B caught in a massive logjam of talent … the final cut ended up being P Ray Fontenot who performed adequately, but was caught in the numbers game … C ends up being a platoon between Joe Mauer and Ivan Rodriguez … at some point, we would expect Portland to go to 12 pitchers, as both Smokey Joe Wood and Walter Johnson can help in pinch-hitting duties.

Portland sports one of the younger rosters in the leauge, with 30 year old P Mike Cueller and 30 year old OF Kiki Cuyler the elders of the roster. Two of the starting rotation–Walter Johnson and Bert Blyleven–are 19 years old.

19 year old Joseito Munoz doesn’t look to stay at AAA for very long. A trio of teenagers at AA hold promise as well: C Frankie Hayes, LF Kenny Hogan, and P Rick Wise.

Getting to 30: Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On August 8, 2020

In 2000 Spring Training, Team News

#Birmingham Black Barons

Alejandro Pena, Fred Fussell, and Scott Baker have rotation slots nailed down, and Greg Maddux and Vic Willis were sent to AAA. The rest is a muddle with John Clarkson, Jim Whitney, Sam Streeter, Warren Spahn, and Dick Rudolph vying for 3, maybe 4, slots.

Carlos Diaz has struggled as the closer, but he’s still there, with Harley Young and Hoyt Wilhelm working behind him.

Omar Infante has impressed enough to stick around, especially given his defensive versatility. Bob Nieman‘s inability to hit opens up some possibilities for him in LF, and given how little either Troy Tulowitzki or Herman Long have hit, he may see some more time at SS as well.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Smokey Joe Williams, Frank Knauss, and Dick Redding are fighting over the final 2 rotation spots. As a 19 year old, it may make sense for Redding to get some more work at AAA in before a longer stint in the bigs.

The rest of the pen looks set, with the quartet of Terry Forster, Trevor Hildenberger, and Eric Gagne setting up Watty Clark looking to be one of the best in the league.

Despite Pee Wee Reese‘s struggles, he stays as Tommy Corcoran‘s backup at SS. Davey Lopes has burst onto the scene, to the point that Hobe Ferris–the presumptive starter–will head to AAA (while note great defensively, Jackie Robinson, Todd Walker, and Corcoran can all spell Lopes as needed).

Neither John Briggs nor Duke Snider have impressed, but Briggs was worse, and heads to the minors. What’s not clear is if Snider starts the year at CF, or if newcomer Raul Mondesi forces himself into the picture.

#Miami Cuban Giants

With Alex Colome and Dalier Hinojosa sent to AAA, the pitching staff is coming into focus. The remaining competition is between Dontrelle Willis, Don Newcombe, Tommy Bridges, and Jose Mendez for the final starting role and 2 bullpen slots. Mendez is a long shot at this point.

Perhaps as expected, Willie Kamm has cooled off dramatically, moving Manny Machado back into the starting position at 3B. His performance does, however, keep him in camp at the expense of Gary Sheffield, who was quite a disappointment all Spring.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Dizzy Trout has seized the #4 starter slot, leaving the final 3 slots up for grabs. This is all a little controversial, as others have pitched better than Walter Johnson, but the Sea Dogs remain convinced of the 19 year old’s potential, despite a growing sense from fans that he would be better served by starting the year in AAA. Still, the staff have the final say, leaving Ray Fontenot, Bert Blyleven, Mike Cuellar, and Wade Miller in competition, with Pascual Perez and Atlee Hammaker already moved down to the minors.

The good news is the back end of the bullpen is set, with the trio of Elmer Brown, Jim Kern, and Johan Santana looking almost unhittable.

Don Baylor and Kirby Puckett‘s demotions surprised some, but quite a few of Portland’s OFers hit well during the Spring, leaving those 2 out in the cold. On the infield, too many people hit well to make the choices easy. Greg Litton came to camp late, but has hit well and, more importantly, provides some needed defensive flexibility. The choice ended up being unorthodox, as with Marty Cordova being sent to AAA, they lack a true LF on the roster, relying on Kiki Cuyler, Harry Hooper and, yes, Litton there.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The pitching staff has gotten some astounding performances, led by Cy Falkenberg, James Shields, and Dennis Eckersley. That leaves Eddie Plank, Jim Devlin, Carlos Carrasco, Charlie Root, and Lefty Grove in contention for 2 starting spots and 2 bullpen roles. Grove has struggled with his control, Devlin has been hit pretty hard, and Plank–despite the best WHIP of the bunch–has an ERA over 7.

That’s really all that is up for grabs as the back end of the bullpen, anchored by Rod Beck and Chad Bradford, looks pretty solid.

The position cuts were all a bit surprising: Mark McGwire couldn’t move through the logjam at 1B, Bert Campenaris couldn’t hit enough to warrant keeping his defensive versatility, and Pedro Guerrero was at the bottom of the OF list. The biggest shock was the failure of highly touted 20 year old Jimmie Foxx to earn a roster spot, although he’s expected to return in pretty short order.