Tag: Randy Johnson Page 2 of 3

Series Preview here.

Game 1: Tim Wakefield @ Jim Clancy

Claude Ritchey has been quite a find for Memphis, posting on OPS over .800 since taking over at 2B earlier in the season. He opened the scoring in this game with a long homerun in the top of the 2nd inning. Francisco Lindor singled home a 2nd run, a 3rd scored on a wild pitch from Jim Clancy, and Lindor was plated on a single by Reggie Smith, making it 4-0 and chasing Clancy from the game.

Tim Wakefield was pitching well, allowing only 3 hits through 4 innings until Álex Rodríguez took him deep in the fifth. He would last until Tim Raines singled home Ottawa’s second run in the bottom of the 7th. Eddie Cicotte relieved Wakefield with Memphis up 6-2.

Which is how it ended. The game was more a failure of Ottawa to get the timely hits, as the Mounties finished with 11 hits, leaving 10 runners on base.

Wade Boggs and David Justice had 3 hits each for Memphis while Rains had 3 for Ottawa.

MEM 6 (Wakefield 4-6) @ OTT 3 (Clancy 5-5)
HRs: MEM – Ritchey (6); OTT – Rodríguez (9).
Box Score

Game 2: Jon Lester @ Clark Griffith

With scheduled starter Johnny Podgajny not quite ready, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith in game 2, facing off against Memphis’ Jon Lester. Griffith has struggled mightily in several stints with Ottawa, sporting an ERA north of 8.00.

It was, however, Ottawa that scored first, with Rusty Staub scoring on a groundout by George Van Haltren. Van Haltren and Carlos Beltrán (who had doubled) came home on a single by Tim Raines. Raines stole second and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a single from Larry Walker. Then, Walker and Larry Parrish scored on a homerun from Gary Carter, making it 7-0 and chasing Lester from the mound.

Griffith, meanwhile, had a shutout through 6, only faltering in the 7th when a Ted Williams single brought home the Red Sox’s first run. Bill White would plate another on a groundout, but Memphis still trailed, 7-2.

A Mookie Betts triple scored Williams, making it 7-3, but that was it, and the series was even at a win apiece. Griffith lowered his ERA by nearly a full run with the victory.

MEM 3 (Lester 8-9) @ OTT 7 (Griffith 2-5)
HRs: OTT – Carter (11).
Box Score

Game 3: Stubby Overmire @ Johnny Podgajny

Game 3 would pit Memphis’ Stubby Overmire against Ottawa’s Johnny Podgajny (now fully rested), with Overmire still looking to show his new club something after his acquisition from Houston over the all-star break.

Two errors by Memphis (one by Wade Boggs, the other by Billy Bryan) loaded the bases in the bottom of the 2nd, but Overmire induced a double-play from Jim Stephens. It scored a run, but the damage was far less than it could have been.

Boggs would get the Red Sox’s first hit in the top of the 4th, but was left stranded.

Overmire looked good until, with 2 outs in the 4th and 2 runners on base, Carlos Beltrán took a delivery deep into the stands for the first homerun of his career, extending Ottawa’s lead to 4-0. The pitching duel was evidently over, as Podgajny surrendered 3 consecutive hits to start the 5th, including an RBI double from Vern Stephens that drove in Memphis’ first run. Iván de Jesus plated another with a sacrifice fly, and Reggie Smith chased Podgajny from the game with an RBI double.

Boggs greeted Monk Dubiel with an RBI single, and Memphis ended the 5th having come all the way back to tie the game at 4.

Two hits in the bottom of the frame–Álex Rodríguez‘ 3rd of the game, and a single by Roy Sievers–chased Overmire. Eddie Cicotte looked to have gotten out of the inning, but Rusty Staub beat out a slow roller for an infield hit, giving the lead back to the Mounties. Beltrán would extend it to 6-4 with his second homerun of the game.

Bill White would get one back, but Ottawa’s bullpen held on for the 6-5 win. Beltrán finished with 4 RBIs, and Rodríguez with 3 hits.

MEM 5 (Overmire 1-3) @ OTT 6 (Dubiel 3-2; Bowsfield 2 Sv; Leroux 3 H)
HRs: OTT – Beltrán 2 (2).
Box Score

Game 4: Dean Chance @ Old Hoss Radbourn

Ottawa will turn to one of the hottest pitchers in the league, Old Hoss Radbourn, in an attempt to win the series, while Memphis will hope Dean Chance can even it out at 2 games apiece.

Memphis draws first blood as Francisco Lindor delivered a 2-run double with 2 outs in the top of the second, and Reggie Smith added a 2-run single in the 4th. Lindor’s 3rd hit of the game–a single with 1 out in the top of the 6th–chased Radbourn from the game.

Meanwhile, Chance was sailing along, allowing only 1 hit through 5 innings. The 6th was rockier, but Chance preserved the shutout with Memphis ahead 4-0. He lasted until there were 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, when Heath Bell was brought in with runners on 1st and 3rd. Bell got a groundout to end the inning.

Ottawa has to be encouraged by the recent outings from Randy Johnson: the big lefthander brought his ERA under 6 with 2.2 innings of hitless relief. The story has been less positive for Greg Holland, who gave up 2 runs in the 9th, extending the lead for the Red Sox to 6-0.

This was probably Chance’s best start of the year, combining with Bell on the 3-hit shutout.

MEM 6 (Chance 7-7; Bell 1 Sv) @ OTT 0 (Radbourn 7-8)
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Series Notes

The split has to be a bit of a disappointment to both teams, given how the series played out.

For Memphis, Wade Boggs went 7-13 and, most surprisingly, Francisco Lindor had 5 hits in his 8 at-bats in his 2 starts. Nobody for Ottawa had more than 4 hits over the 4 games … so, yeah.

Series XXIV Preview: Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On December 19, 2022

In Series Previews

Two teams struggling to impress … we last saw Memphis in Series XIII and Series III while Ottawa was featured in Series XII and Series VII.

#Memphis Red Sox

Memphis is 20 games below .500, languishing in last place in the Bill James Division, 15 games behind the leaders. So, yeah, this year is pretty much done.

As a team, Memphis does nothing well. Well, other than run the bases. They do that well. For all it matters. Individually, however, there are at least some signs of life.

The class of the team is clearly Reggie Smith, who is slashing 310/379/537 and playing strong defense in CF. Ted Williams (259/345/500) has slumped over the past few months, but leads the team in HR (18) and RBI (65). And … that’s it. Claude Ritchey and Wade Boggs get on base a bit, Bill White has some power … but, yeah. If there are some disappointments here, they are OFs Mookie Betts and Manny Ramírez, both of whom are stuck with OPS’ in the low 700s.

Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) has been their best starter, although Len Barker‘s return from injury is encouraging. Barker has a 3.31 ERA, but is still looking to establish himself as a starter. The bullpen is suspect, with closer Jonathan Papelbon struggling of late although he still leads the team in saves with 7.

#Ottawa Mounties

The Mounties are 14 games behind in the Cum Posey Division, so while they have a better record than Memphis (43 wins to 37), they are really in similar positions. But, somehow, Ottawa is just a little more intriguing–perhaps due to a near constant player churn that is generating some interesting questions. First, though, an overview.

The Mounties’ best players, by some distance, are Tim Raines (298/373/454 with a league-leading 66 SB) and Larry Walker (287/373/581). Walker has struggled to stay healthy, playing in only 34 games so far, but he is still tied for the team league in homeruns with 10 (along with Raines and Gary Carter, who also leads in RBIs with 40).

Carter has been on a tear recently, validating the Mounties’ choice to make him their everyday catcher. The team has a challenge with what to do with Roberto Alomar, who has started his WBL career at a 308/357/442 clip, and may push Raines into LF fulltime. Finally, while not as impressive as Carter’s run, SS Álex Rodriguez has raised his OPS about 100 points over the last few weeks.

The Mounties’ pitching corps seems to be in continual disarray, but one constant has been Old Hoss Radbourn, who is 7.7 with a 3.99 ERA. Jim Clancy and Monk Dubiel have been solid as well, and Clayton Richard‘s return from the DL could even give them an adequate top 4 hurlers. The challenge is, and then what? Ryan Dempster seems to be moving into the role of closer, but getting to him is a challenge. Greg Holland was absolutely torched earlier in the season, but is doing better having been recalled.

And then there is Randy Johnson, whose overall numbers are still pretty ugly, but has dropped his ERA by 2 1/2 runs since returning to the WBL in late June.

#Pitching Matchups (Memphis starter listed first)

Tim Wakefield (3-6, 5.44) @ Jim Clancy (5-4, 4.52)
Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) @ Johnny Podgajny (1-2, 4.68)
Stubby Overmire (3-5, 3.79) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (7-7, 3.99)
Dean Chance (6-7, 4.24) @ Joe Mays (1-1, 5.52)

#Series Predictions

A split. I would root for Ottawa, but there’s so little to choose from between these two, gotta’ go for the split. The Overmire – Radbourn matchup is the most interesting.

TWIWBL 30.2: Series XXIII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On December 14, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin continues to be essentially unhittable, allowing 1 unearned run in over 6 innings of work, increasing his record to 8-3 on a 4-1 win over Brooklyn. Manny Machado had 3 hits and Don Bessent picked up his 14th save.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Casey Stengel heads to the DL after spraining his elbow diving for a ball in the series opener against Chicago. Hunter Pence was recalled from AAA San Antonio to take his place on the roster.

It was worse news for Bret Saberhagen, as a partially torn labrum will end the RHPs season. Dock Ellis will return to Houston, attempting to improve on his rough showing earlier in the season.

Andrés Galarraga delivered the first 3 hits of his WBL career including a 3-run homerun to help the Colt 45’s to an 11-5 win in game 3 of their series against Chicago. HR Johnson, George Brett, and Pete Hill also chipped in 3 hits and Stephen Strasburg tossed 6 strong innings to improve his record to 6-5.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Willie McGee and Boog Powell combined for 6 hits, 6 runs, and 7 RBIs in a 16-7 win for the Monarchs over Philadelphia. The win went to Andy Pettitte, who moved to 6-4 with 6 strong innings.

#Ottawa Mounties

Gary Peters will miss about 2 weeks, prompting the Mounties to recall P Clark Griffith from Ottawa while Peters heads to the DL.

There is some cause for hope on the year-long project that is Randy Johnson. The Big Unit put in his best performance of the year with 5 shutout innings against the Black Yankees. Unfortunately, the Mounties’ bullpen couldn’t hold an early 1-0 lead, and Ottawa dropped the game, 5-3.

Series XXII Best Games

By mknn

On July 22, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

New York Black Yankees @ House of David, Game 3

This was just your classic see-saw slugfest. Looking only at the score at the end of half-innings, the lead changed hands 8 times in the game–2-0; 3-2; 7-2; 8-7; 10-8; 12-8; 13-12; and finally 15-13 (and it was tied at 7, 8, and 12).

Things started well for New York, as Eric Davis singled, stole 2 bases, and scored on a sac fly before a solo shot from Lou Gehrig made it 2-0 in their favor. Cole Hamels took the mound for the Black Yankees, trying to earn his spot in the starting rotation. Didn’t go so well: Hamels didn’t get out of the 4th inning, leaving the game with the House of David leading, 7-2. He gave up homeruns to Pete Browning and Gabby Hartnett, and two to Anthony Rizzo.

The House of David’s Frank Sullivan was sailing at that point, but the top of the 5th would be his undoing as New York put together 3 hits and 2 walks to start the inning, then greeted Sullivan’s replacement, Phil Regan, with RBI doubles from Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter. By the end of the frame, New York was ahead, 8-7.

Browning’s second homerun of the game tied it up in the 5th, with the Black Yankees’ taking the lead back on a solo shot from Babe Ruth and an RBI single from Jeter. At this point, it looked like New York’s game, especially once they doubled their lead on a 2-run double from Ruth in the top of the 7th. It was now 12-8 in favor of the Black Yankees.

But the New York bullpen has been their Achilles’ heel all year, and today proved no exception. Ralph Citarella came in and loaded the bases twice (a great throw by Ruth nailed Browning at the plate, preventing a run from scoring) before giving up a grand slam to Hartnett, tying the game at 12.

Thurman Munson immediately restored New York’s lead with his 10th homerun of the season. Sparky Lyle had a rare effective outing, and gave way in the bottom of the 9th to Gary Lavelle, newly appointed as the Black Yankees’ closer. Singles by Dan Ford and Hartnett brought up George Stone with 2 outs … and Stone neatly deposited Lavelle’s first pitch into the leftfield stands, for a walk-off 3 run homer.

Jack Taylor, forced into the game as a reliever, got the victory. Rizzo and Hartnett combined for 6 hits in 6 at bats with 9 RBIs and 6 runs scored, and Ford had 4 hits and 4 runs scored for the House of David. Ruth drove in 5 for New York.

NYY 13 (Lavelle 0-2, 2 B SV) @ HOD 15 (Taylor 7-8)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (17), Ruth (28), Munson (10); Browning 2 (13), Rizzo 2 (5), Hartnett 2 (4), Stone (21).
Box Score

Other Games of Note

In pretty much the exact opposite game, Houston’s Stephen Strasburg and Portland’s Joseito Muñoz faced off in one of the best-pitched games of the year. Muñoz gave up only 3 hits over 8 innings, with a Jorge Posada double accounting for Houston’s only run. But Strasburg was even better, taking a 1-hitter into the 9th inning. He needed help at the end from Billy Wagner, but the two Colt 45 pitchers combined for a 3-hit shutout in the 1-0 win.

POR 0 (Muñoz 3-3) 0 @ HOU 1 (Strasburg 5-5; Wagner 9 Sv) 1
HRs: None.
Box Score

This was a fun one that went down to the wire. If you look at the box score, you might think that LA’s Doc Gooden and Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell (making his first start of the year after spectacular performances in relief) were hit hard, but the real story was the inability of either Pud Galvin or Clay Carroll to help them get out of a jam. LA took an early lead on an RBI double from Derrek Lee, but the real drama was in the late innings as the lead changed hands 3 times. An RBI single from Jake Stenzel off the Angels’ closer, Joe Nathan, tied the game, and Ed Charles‘ fly deep to CF was snagged by a great catch from Mike Trout, but allowed Danny Hoffman to stroll home from third with the winning run. Carlos Delgado (slashing 375/423/562 since arriving in LA) had 2 hits, and Stenzel and Dave Henderson had 4 each for Indianapolis, with Henderson driving in 4.

LAA 6 (Nathan 3-5, 5 B Sv; Venters 10 H) @ IND 7 (Faber 6-5, 2 B Sv; Carroll 1 B Sv)
HRs: LA – Grich (7).
Box Score

When Álex Rodríguez took San Francisco closer Rod Beck deep in the bottom of the 9th for a walkoff homerun, it consigned the Sea Lions to their 7th straight loss. Ottawa’s Rusty Staub, hitting .346 since coming to the Mounties in a trade, had 2 hits, as did Anthony Rendon, helping the team overcome 3 errors in the victory. In perhaps his best outing of the year, Randy Johnson gave Ottawa 3+ innings of hitless relief, fanning 6.

SFS 4 (Beck 1-3, 4 B Sv; Howell 5 H; Robinson 10 H) @ OTT 5 (Holland 3-1)
HRs: Ott – Walker (9), Alomar (1), Rodríguez (8).
Box Score

Series XXI Best Games

By mknn

On June 29, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Five games made the list for Series XXI. We’ll give the detailed treatment to a great comeback, but the others all have some noteworthy moments.

#Indianapolis @ Memphis, Game 2

Just another see-saw …

A solo homerun by Mookie Betts and a 2 run shot by Ted Williams were the key hits as the Red Sox jumped out to a 7-0 lead. A 2-run homerun by Danny Hoffman and a triple from Oscar Charleston made it 7-3, and then, in the 7th inning, another homerun from Hoffman and a key, 2-0ut, 2-run shot from Johnny Bench brought the ABC’s within 1 run at 7-6. Reggie Smith added a solo shot off Lefty James, making it 8-6 heading to the top of the 9th.

Memphis brought in Jonathan Papelbon to close it out, which was certainly a reasonable choice. Tommy Helms led off the inning with a single, but a groundout by Hoffman seemed to set Memphis on the road to victory.

And then, Edd Roush and Charleston singled to load the bases and Bench cleared them with a double. A single by Dave Henderson scored Bench, and another by Denis Menke chased Papelbon from the game with Indianapolis having come all the way back to take the lead 10-8. Rob Dibble dominated the bottom of the frame, and the ABC’s had a great comeback win under their belt.

IND 10 (James 5-1, Dibble 16 Sv) @ MEM 8 (Papelbon 0-4, 2 BSv; Cicotte 1 H; Farrell 3 H)
HRs: IND – Hoffman 2 (11), Bench (17); MEM – Betts (6), Williams (18), Smith (11).
Box Score

#Ottawa @ Philadelphia, Game 2

A mismatch on paper as a tough Philadelphia lineup faces Joe Mays in his WBL debut. Tim Raines opened the game with homerun for Ottawa, but after that it went pretty much according to form, with Mays surrendering back-to-back-to-back homeruns in the 1st (José Ramírez, Rico Carty, and Scott Rolen) and then being chased from the game by back-to-back doubles in the 4th. Ottawa turned to Randy Johnson in relief, and the Big Unit delivered with a couple effective innings. Ottawa scored 7 runs in 2 innings to take the lead in a game with decimated bullpens. It was dicey throughout–Greg Holland, just recalled from AAA, had been hammered at the WBL level earlier in the year. But he gave the Mounties a good inning, and was followed by Ryan Dempster, asked to close the game. Dempster did so, but only when Raines threw out J.M. Ward at home for the final out. Larry Walker finished with 3 hits including his 8th homerun for the Mounties.

OTT 8 (Johnson 2-4; Dempster 2 Sv; Holland 3 H) @ PHI 7 (Cormier 4-1, 3 BSv; Laskey 1 H)
HRs: OTT – Raines (10), Walker (8); Ramírez (4), Carty (9), Kluszewski (14), Davis (14).
Box Score

#New York Gothams @ Brooklyn, Game 2

A tight pitching duel: Brooklyn’s Dick Redding was as good as the Gotham’s Christy Mathewson, but New York managed a sacrifice fly and a well-timed single by Eugenio Suárez to lead, 2-0. It was enough: Mathewson allowed 7 hits through 7 innings, but was dominant, fanning 11 and allowing only a solo shot from Duke Snider. Robb Nen and Brian Wilson slammed the door in relief to preserve the narrow victory.

NYG 2 (Mathewson 9-6; Wilson 13 Sv; Nen 4 H) @ BRK 1 (Redding 0-3)
HRs: BRK – Snider (19).
Box Score

#Miami @ Portland, Game 2

Portland only managed 2 hits, but leveraged 3 Miami errors and 10 walks by Cuban Giant hurlers to score 5 runs. Four of the runs scored off a chain of 2 walks, a double by Rogers Hornsby, and then 2 more walks and a wild pitch. The winning run in the bottom of the 9th was scored on a sacrifice fly from Joe Mauer after Adrián Beltré delivered a pinch-hit single. Eustaquio Pedroso‘ pitching line wasn’t pretty, but he was really let down by Phenomenal Smith‘s wildness, and Pedroso’s start was actually a source of some encouragement for Miami.

MCG 4 (Bauta 1-4; Smith 1 BSv) @ POR 5 (Williams 2-1)
HRs: MCG – Braun (11), Sheffield (3).
Box Score

#Birmingham @ New York Black Yankees, Game 4

We had to put something in here for the shocking performance of the Black Yankees in this series, who came into the final game desperately trying to avoid a sweep by the Black Barons having only scored 3 runs total over the first 3 games.

New York took the lead in the bottom of the 1st on a 2-run shot by Don Mattingly and extended it to 3-0 on a solo shot by Manny Sanguillén in the 5th. And that seemed plenty as Ron Guidry was dominant in his best start since early in the season, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk through 7 innings while striking out 7.

But then came the 8th. Guidry gave up back to back walks and a single to load the bases and was clearly out of gas, relieved by Ralph Citarella, who let the wheels fall of: an error and a wild pitch scored runs, and then RBI singles from Curtis Granderson, Bob Nieman, and Pie Traynor chased Citarella with Birmingham holding a 6-3 lead.

Granderson added a 2-run inside-the-park-homerun in the 9th, giving plenty of cushion even when Albert Belle got 2 runs back in the final frame with his 10th homerun of the year. Vic Willis continued the strong start to his career, striking out 9 in 6 innings despite not factoring in the decision and Bruce Chen was nearly perfect over 2 innings in relief for the win, sealing the most surprising series sweep of the season.

BBB 8 (Chen 1-0) @ NYY 5 (Citarella 1-4; 3 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (10); NYY – Mattingly (17), Sanguillén (2), Belle (10).
Box Score

Series XX Best Game: New York Black Yankees @ Indianapolis ABC’s

By mknn

On June 16, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The New York Black Yankees opened their series in Indianapolis with Jack Scott taking the mound while the ABC’s countered with David Price.

Indianapolis took the lead in the bottom of the first, with doubles from Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, and Jake Stenzel (one run scored on Stenzel’s double, the other on a double-play ball from Oscar Charleston).

The 2-0 lead lasted until the top of the 3rd when Babe Ruth launched his 26th homerun of the year, and Mike Schmidt followed with a moon shot of his own. Both homers were 2-run jobs, moving New York ahead, 4-2.

Danny Hoffman scored on an unlikely event–a Hal Morris triple–in the bottom of the 4th, closing the game to 4-3.

Both starting pitchers left after 5 innings, but Schmidt greeted Price’s replacement, Clay Carroll, with his 2nd homerun of the day (an inside-the-park job at that!), re-establishing a 2-run lead for the Black Yankees.

Scott would likely have stayed in the game, but rain began to fall, delaying the bottom of the 5th nearly 90 minutes. This is an issue for New York, as their bullpen has struggled all year. Goose Gossage replaced Scott, giving up a homerun to Joey Votto (the first of his career) in the bottom of the 7th. Gary Lavelle–brought in specifically to help their bullpen–relieved Gossage and immediately got into trouble, walking 2 and giving up a single to Charleston to load the bases. Bench singled, driving in 2, giving Indianapolis their first lead and chasing Lavelle.

Willie Mitchell–stellar so far this season–shut down the Black Yankees while Ralph Citarella didn’t do much better than Gossage and Lavelle, giving up a 2-RBI double to Edd Roush in the bottom of the 8th to push the score to 8-5.

Rob Dibble closed it out, making the game really a battle of the bullpens: New York’s gave up 5 runs in 3 innings while Indianapolis’ only 1 run on 2 hits in 4.

NYY 5 (Lavelle 0-1, 1 BSv; Gossage 5 H) @ IND 8 (Mitchell 4-2; Dibble 14 Sv)
HRs: NYY – Schmidt 2 (12), Ruth (26); IND – Votto (1).
Box Score

#Other Games of Note

In the second game of the series between Portland and Baltimore, the Sea Dogs scored 5 runs in the last 2 innings to grab a come-from-behind 7-4 victory. Kent Hrbek hit 2 homeruns, giving him 25 for the season (2nd in the league), and Bobby Murcer hit a 3-run pinch-hit HR in the 9th to fuel the comeback. Baltimore’s Baby Doll Jacobson is slowly adjusting to WBL pitching after dominated AAA, homering twice and driving in 4 in the game in the losing effort.
POR 7 (Cuellar 6-4; Santana 23 Sv) @ BAL 4 (Miller 2-1; Bessent 2 BSv; Marshall 6 H)
HRs: POR – Hrbek 2 (25), Murcer (14); BAL – Jacobson 2 (4).
Box Score

Gary Peters, recalled from AAA earlier in the day, gave Ottawa 5 shutout innings in their series finale with Detroit, leaving with the Mounties up 5-0 thanks to 3 homeruns in the 3rd inning (Carlos Beltrán, Larry Walker, and Anthony Rendon). It didn’t last, as Detroit scored 4 times in the 7th and twice in the bottom of the 9th to send the game into extra innings tied at 6. In the top of the 11th, George Van Haltren (0-15 at that point), hit a game-winning homerun, and two starters–the much maligned Randy Johnson and the surprisingly effective Jim Clancy–closed it out in the bottom of the frame. Detroit’s Chili Davis tied a league record with 5 hits.

OTT 8 (Dempster 1-0, 1 B Sv; Clancy 1 Sv; Bowsfield 6 H; Johnson H 1) 8 @ DET 6 (Wilshere 6-6) [11 Innings]
HRs: Beltrán (1), Walker (7), Rendon (6), Van Haltren (1).
Box Score

TWIWBL 25.2: Series XIX Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 8, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Despite a stellar showing, Bob Welch is sent to AA A to clear room on the roster for the arrival of Joe Beggs. Manny Machado steps into the starting lineup at 3B, sending Brooks Robinson back to AAA.

#Chicago American Giants

The pitching staff was overhauled in a big way, with Frank Smith, Ken Sanders, and Joe Horlen heading to AAA to clear room for newcomers Don Newcombe, Dick Rudolph, Clay Condrey, and Hoyt Wilhelm, with Newcombe and Rudolph joining the rotation. Freddy Parent steps right into the SS role, sending Luis Aparicio to AAA and clearing space on the roster for José Abreu, who looks to see a fair bit of time at 1B against lefties.

The new guys were good in their first game: Parent hit a homerun and Wilhelm was effective in relief. But it was the old guard who won the game, with Frank Thomas hitting a homerun and Dick Allen getting 3 hits in a 7-2 victory over Brooklyn to start the second half for the American Giants. After the game, Tom Brookens was promoted to Chicago as Jack Doyle was placed on the DL.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Everyone can play everywhere … which isn’t as big a deal as you might think. But, 17 year old Pete Hill, Paul Goldschmidt, and Lance Blankenship all move to Houston to fill out the roster. Roger Clemens slides directly into the rotation with Brad Lidge heading to AAA.

Hill hit a go-ahead homerun in his first start, helping Houston to a 4-3 win over Ottawa. Trevor Hoffman moved to 5-0, and Billy Wagner picked up his 5th save of the year.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Steve Evans and Frankie Frisch join the big league club. The pitching situation is a bit more interesting: Bob Gibson remains at AAA due to the arrival of Smoky Joe Wood and the return of Andy Pettitte from the DL.

#Ottawa Mounties

The Mounties have essentially tossed in the towel, looking to sort through some of their young talent with an eye towards next year. This means a return to the rotation for Johnny Podgajny, a return to Ottawa for Randy Johnson, and a debut for RP Bobby Castillo.

A similar bunch of changes offensively: Jim Stephens takes over for Emil Gross as the backup catcher, Rusty Staub moves into a platoon at 1B, Álex Rodríguez gets another shot as the full time SS, and Carlos Beltrán tries to solve the ongoing woes at CF for Ottawa.

Roberto Alomar had 4 hits and 5 RBIs and Rodriguez scored 4 times with 3 hits and 3 RBIs leading the Mounties in a 14-5 rout of Houston in the first game of a doubleheader. Rodriguez and Roy Sievers went deep and Clayton Richard put in a strong 7 innings for his second win.

TWIWBL 24.15: Mid-Season Reviews – Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On April 26, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

Ottawa is a team in constant struggle without enough talent to maintain much optimism for the second half.

What’s Gone Right

When It Raines. Tim Raines was probably the most egregious omission from the all-star game, hitting over .300 and leading the league in steals.

The Corners. Carlos Delgado and Anthony Rendon have been quite solid at the corners, even with a slump from Rendon towards the end of the first half.

Top Two, Eventually. Roy Halladay has been consistent from the get-go, but it took a while for the Mounties to realize what they had in veteran Jamie Moyer. Now, the two of them form a solid top of the rotation for a pitching staff that has struggled otherwise.

What’s Gone Wrong

Larry Walker. The fantastically talented outfielder has been a one man wrecking crew, with an OPS around 150 points above the next best on the team (see below). So why is Larry Walker listed here? He’s hit the DL twice, only appearing in 16 games for the Mounties so far.

Backstops. Gary Carter has improved lately, but still the backstop duo of him and Emil Gross has struggled all season.

Cutting Losses. The raw talent of Álex Rodríguez and Ken Griffey, Jr. is obvious to anyone that watches them. But they just aren’t ready for the WBL yet and it took Ottawa a long time to decide to send them to AAA. CF remains an issue for the team, although Freddy Parent has done well at SS.

Key Storylines

Tom Henke‘s injury has opened up the door for Gary Lavelle to serve as a closer for Ottawa–or for someone else.

Two players–Raines and Halladay–are on the verge of establishing themselves as true stars in the league, and with little on the line for the team, individual stories will dominate the second half for Ottawa.

Trading Outlook

SELLING. Selling, selling, selling.

The fire sale is on as the Mounties look to the future. Moyer, Lavelle, and Delgado are the biggest chips they have to cash in, but there are some others, including perhaps all-star shortstop Parent.

AAA Shuttle

Not great. Jackie Jensen did well, but this is a team with revolving doors at a lot of positions.

Midseason Changes

Gary Peters goes back to AAA as Monk Dubiel returns from the injured list.

Roy Sievers, George Cutshaw, and Rick Monday all head to AAA with John Olerud, George Van Haltren, and Roberto Alomar coming up to the big leagues.

Awards

All Stars: Freddy Parent (SS).

Offensive MVP: Tim Raines (2B)
Pitching MVP: Roy Halladay (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Montréal Expos

Next to the Show: OFs Jackie Jensen, George Van Haltren, and Jesse Burkett.

Prospects: 3B Steve Garvey (20), OF Rick Monday (23).

Projects: OF George Van Haltren (26), SS Álex Rodríguez (20), OF Ken Griffey, Jr. (19), OF Jackie Jensen (31), P Randy Johnson (25).

Suspects: C Brad Ausmus (35), OF Spud Johnson (33), C Jeff Reed (21), P Kirk McCaskill (31), RP Juan Cruz (33).

AA: Edmonton Trappers

Prospects: OF Lloyd Moseby (20), 1B John Mayberry (19)

Projects: OF Otto Briggs (26), 1B Tino Martinez (24), RP Joel Hanrahan (30).

Suspects: P Chuck Crim (29), 3B Glenn Williams (27), P Andy Lapihuska (19), RP Doug Henry (28).

Series XII Preview: Ottawa Mounties @ Homestead Grays

By mknn

On August 14, 2021

In Featured Series, Series Previews

Series XII brings us back to two struggling teams we haven’t looked at for a while: the Ottawa Mounties, in last place in the Cum Posey Division at 20-26, 9 games behind Baltimore; and the Homestead Grays, who at 18-28 have the second-worst record in the league.

So the key question here is … what has gone wrong for these two teams?

#Ottawa Mounties

Here’s what’s gone right for Ottawa: they don’t make many errors and Tim Raines steals a lot of bases.

That’s a little harsh. Raines has been excellent, slashing 293/384/475 with 32 steals at 2B and Carlos Delgado (259/385/469 with 9 homeruns) has been pretty consistent in the middle of the lineup. But the Mounties are quite reliant on those two and, after them, there isn’t much: Delgado (9) and Raines (7) lead the team in homeruns, with nobody else having more than 5; they also lead the team in RBIs, 2Bs, BBs, and runs.

The challenges for Ottawa are summarized by their reliance on the quartet of Anthony Rendon, Freddy Parent, Phil Bradley, and Terry Puhl, all of whom have an OPS in the .700s.

If you want to point fingers, clearly both Alex Rodriguez (who has lost his starting job at SS to Parent with a slash line of 214/253/314) and Ken Griffey, Jr. (216/260/259) have been massive disappointments. Both have shown some sign of recovery over the past week or two, but it may be time for a trip to the minors.

Roy Sievers has done well in his two weeks in the WBL, and deserves some more playing time. George Cutshaw has also done well, but he plays the same positions as Raines and, as such, has struggled to force his way into the lineup.

The bullpen has been solid for Ottawa, led by closer Tom Henke (10 saves, 1.02 ERA) and the duo of Ted Bowsfield and Gary Lavelle, who have combined to go 4-1 with a save and 7 holds. But the starting pitching has been rough, exemplified by the long saga leading to Randy Johnson‘s demotion.

Old Hoss Radbourn (3-3, 4.94 ERA) and Roy Halladay (2-3, 4.52 ERA) have been the best of the group, and newcomers Jim Clancy (1-1, 4.44 ERA) and Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.71 ERA) have both been useful, but this is clearly an area of need for the Mounties.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays may not have been projected to be contenders, but they weren’t supposed to be this bad.

Offensively, the team is solid, with a trio of very strong performers in Mike Epstein (360/448/596), Andrew McCutchen (304/379/494) and Josh Gibson (316/404/463). Sure, they could do with a little more power (Epstein leads the team with 8 homeruns, and McCutcheon and Pops Stargell have 6), but who couldn’t?

Of the regulars, only Arky Vaughan (192/330/322) is in danger of losing his job, but ultimately he probably draws enough walks to remain useful, especially when his defense is taken into consideration.

Which brings us to the pitching … which has been rough at best. Ray Brown, Hal Carlson, and Vean Gregg have 3 victories each, with Carlson (3.20 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) being the most dependable. Stan Bahnsen (1-0, 2 saves, 2 holds, 3.12 ERA) has been very impressive since being recalled, and has earned his place in the rotation.

The best arm out of the bullpen has a 5.79 ERA, which just about sums it up: Kent Tekulve has a team-leading 1.18 WHIP, but has been hit hard at times. Josh Lindblom remains the closer, with 5 saves, but he has a WHIP of 1.86 and has struggled at times.

#Series Matchups

Ottawa’s hurler listed first: Jamie Moyer (1-1, 4.71) @ Ray Brown (3-2, 5.21); Jim Clancy (1-1, 4.44) @ Hal Carlson (3-2, 3.20); Old Hoss Radbourn (3-3, 4.94) @ Vean Gregg (3-4, 4.81); Bob Brown (2-3, 3.91) @ Stan Bahnsen (1-0, 3.12).

None of the matchups are terribly compelling, although there are active questions–can Moyer, Clancy, and Bahnsen continue to contribute? Can Radbourn and Carlson cement their spots at the front of their respective rotations?

And, of course, will anyone show up in the stands?

TWIWBL 10.2: Series VII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 4, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin shut out Philadelphia on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out 4, improving his record to 2-1 in easily his best performance of the year.

A pinch-hit grand slam from Frank Robinson helped power the Black Sox past the Stars in the second game. Dennis Martinez had another strong outing, improving to 3-1 and Ken Singleton also went deep.

#Chicago American Giants

Frank Thomas hit 2 homeruns, leading Chicago past the New York Black Yankees, 8-4. Ben Sheets moved to 4-1 on the year with a strong effort, and Carlton Fisk and Joe Jackson also went deep.

In game two of the series, down 4-2 in the top of the 7th, the American Giants responded with 6 runs, shocking the Black Yankees and providing the final score in the 8-4 victory. The inning started with hits from Luke Appling and Dave Nilsson, chasing New York’s starter, Jake Scott, from the game. He was relieved by A.J. Burnett, who allowed a run to score on a wild pitch, then surrendered a single to Jackson to tie the game … and then things got rough, with Dick Allen hitting a 2 run homerun and Mike Fiore scoring on a fielders’ choice. Thomas went 3-for-5, and both Adrian Gonzalez and Duffy Lewis hit homers as well. The win went to Ed Walsh, who struggled through 126 pitches over 7 innings, allowing 4 runs. Akinori Otsuka and A.J. Minter combined for 2 scoreless innings in relief.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Stubby Overmire got a spot start and made the most of it, allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings against Brooklyn in a game Houston eventually won in the bottom of the 9th, with the victory going to Andrew Chafin, who evened his record at 1-1.

Jeff Bagwell went deep twice–perhaps an indication he’s finding his swing at last–to lead Houston to a 6-2 victory in the 2nd game, with Tony Gwynn adding 3 RBI’s as well. Trevor Hoffman moved to 3-0 on the year, after a decent effort from Stephen Strasburg.

#Ottawa Mounties

Jamie Moyer‘s WBL debut was a thing of beauty: 7.2 innings, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts, and a single earned run. Tom Henke‘s total meltdown was not–4 runs on three hits in the 9th inning, turning a 2-1 lead into a 5-2 defeat to Indianapolis.

The question of what it would take for Ottawa to give up on Randy Johnson–at least for a while–was answered: 1-4 with an ERA approaching 9 and a WHIP over 2. It’s unclear what the long term plans are in Ottawa: for now, Monk Dubiel gets a start and a likely quick hook, with Greg Holland called up to the bullpen.

Holland did well: 3.1 innings in relief of Dubiel (who gave up 4 runs in 3 innings), allowing only 1 run. It was enough, as Ottawa took advantage of a total implosion by Rob Murphy that included 2 bases-loaded walks and a grand slam by the suddenly red-hot Freddy Parent. It all added up to an 8-5 victory for the Mounties.