The Sea Lions were pretty disappointing last season, and it wasn’t really clear what to expect from them. Right now, things are going just about as well as could be hoped.

San Francisco inherits players from all the Athletics: Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Oakland.

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San Francisco is pulling away from the Cum Posey Division, playing .615 ball and holding a 6-7 game lead over Miami and Chicago. At this point, expectations have been raised to certainly making the playoffs and even making some noise once there.

THE OFFENSE

A balanced offense, with a lot of power and a ton of speed. There are some holes, but more has gone well than not.

#What’s Going Right

Almost everything.

Let’s start with the surprises. C Mickey Cochrane has exploded in a big way, slashing 318/408/581 after a very difficult rookie season. Turkey Stearnes, the 7th pick in last season’s draft, has exceeded all expectations, locking down the CF job and posting an OPS over .950. And, finally, Jimmie Foxx, while still a bit of an enigma, is showing he has at least one spectacular skillset, leading the team with 21 homeruns.

One strength of San Francisco last season was the OF trio of Bobby Bonds, Jack Clark, and Reggie Jackson. Two of them continue to deliver: while Jackson isn’t contending for the triple crown as he did for a lot of last season, he is second on the team in homeruns with 18 and first in RBI with 52. And Clark is just consistent: 259/382/569 with 17 homeruns.

The emergence of Stearnes and Foxx has triggered some changes here, as Clark has shifted to play mostly at 1B with Bonds seeing his playing time drop slightly.

The combination of Rickey Henderson and Dick Lundy put a ton of pressure on the other team: the 2 have combined for 74 steals (against 20 CS), with each of them having an OBP over .350.

#What’s Not Going Right

Bobby Bonds has regressed slightly (although his OPS is still around .875).

And then there is the rest of the IF. Jimmy Bloodworth started the season as the incumbent at 2B, but struggled before being shelved with an injury (Bloodworth may be back within a week or two) while at 3B Sal Bando is adequate at best (he’s hitting for more power than last year, but his other stats are down). The other options so far have struggled: Phil Garner has been downright bad, Roy Hartzell demoted, and the jury is still out on the latest to be given opportunities, Denny Walling and Royce Clayton. Lundy’s flexibility gives the Sea Lions a lot of options here, but a MI seems to be a strong need for the team, assuming Foxx is given more and more time at 3B.

THE PITCHING

Last week, this would be described as going perfectly, but Ron Robinson‘s injury has a shot at disrupting what has been an excellent staff, top to bottom.

#What’s Going Right

Lefty Grove (7-4, 3.26) and Eddie Plank (8-3, 3.51) are as good a top two as any staff in the league can claim. Both are likely all-stars.

After them, nobody has excelled, but nobody has really struggled either, with Bump Hadley, Watty Clark (now a fulltime starter), and Tommy Bridges all pitching quite well in the rotation, with Jim Devlin, Mel Stottlemyre Sr, and the surprising Tom Brewer all filling in quite admirably when needed.

And the back of the pen–Rod Beck, Ken Howell and the now-missing Robinson–has been lights out, with Beck recording 15 saves and Howell sporting a 1.23 ERA.

#What’s Not Going Right

It’s more an issue of the question marks: Dennis Eckersley continues to tempt with potential, but really be quite average, and asking Huston Street and Brewer to step in for Robinson might be far too much of a reach.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

It’s really hard to complain about a system that added Stearnes.

But there’s not a lot behind him. John Beckwith–currently sidelined with injury–is starting to show his offensive strength, but at 19 may be a year or two away. Beckwith is also blocked, as his defensive skills are really somewhat identical to Foxx’s.

Red Ehret is heralded as a pitcher, but doesn’t really pass the eye test. Dario Lodigiani may be a long term solution at 2B, but he’s a ways away. OF Jules Thomas and P Steve Ontiveros look good, but are also a few years away.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The pitching needs to continue to excel, with the largest challenge being how to cover for Robinson in the bullpen. If the IF can be resolved, the lineup will be truly scary 1 through 9, always a goal.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• On a team full of logjams, who steps forward? Strikes me as a pretty lame question, honestly. The issue was really solved with the trade of Pedro Guerrero to Brooklyn, with Watty Clark being the key piece coming back. That, and Foxx really jumping Bando in the pecking order at 3B.

FEATURED SERIES

The Sea Lions open with 4 games hosting Baltimore; given that the Black Sox are beginning to show signs of life, seemed a good series to focus on.

Projected Starters

Baltimore starter listed first.

John Tudor (2-3, 4.75) @ Bump Hadley (8-4, 4.15)
Dennis Martínez (6-3, 4.55) @ Watty Clark (3-2, 4.50)
Ned Garvin (3-2, 5.03) @ Lefty Grove (7-4, 3.26)
Mike Mussina (3-3, 4.83) @ Tommy Bridges (1-2, 5.59)

Game One

Baltimore’s John Tudor had to leave early via injury, and Phil Garner, whose struggles were mentioned above, took Tudor’s relief, Connie Johnson, deep in the 3rd for a 1-0 lead for the Sea Lions. Turkey Stearnes went deep in the 4th and Johnson was chased as San Francisco added another in the the 5th for a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Bump Hadley had a shutout through 6, allowing the Black Sox only 2 hits. A pair of 2 out walks led to Hadley exiting the game in the 8th, but Ken Howell closed the inning out and Rod Beck pitched a perfect 9th for the combined shutout.

BAL 0 (Johnson 4-5) @ SFS 3 (Hadley 9-4; Beck 16 Sv; Howell 3 H)
HRs: BAL – none; SFS- Garner (2); Stearnes (16).
Box Score

Game Two

The Sea Lions took the early 3-0 lead on Reggie Jackson‘s 19th homer of the year and a an RBI single from Phil Garner. But Baltimore came back in similar fashion–a solo shot from Manny Machado and a 2 run single from Paul Blair. Both Dennis Martínez for Baltimore and Watty Clark for San Francisco looked strong, and the game remained 3-3 until the top of the 8th.

And here we see the potential impact of Ron Robinson‘s absence. Instead, San Francisco turned to Tom Brewer–who has been excellent so far, but has nowhere near the track record of Robinson. Brewer gave up a hit and a walk and a runner reached on an error, loading the bases and summoning Ken Howell from the Sea Lions’ bullpen. Curt Blefary singled in 2 and a 3rd scored on a sacrifice fly from Cal Ripken, Jr. giving Baltimore a 3 run lead heading to the bottom of the 8th.

Gregg Olson gave up a leadoff walk to Rickey Henderson and a double to Dick Lundy, bringing in Justin Hampson from the Black Sox bullpen to face a couple of lefties. Both Mickey Cochrane and Jackson delivered sacrifice flies, making it a 6-5 game.

Machado’s 2nd of the game and 20th of the year pushed the cushion back up to 2. Joe Beggs closed it out in what felt like a bit of a disappointing loss that evened the series.

BAL 7 (Martínez 7-3; Beggs 11 Sv; Hampson 5 H) @ SFS 5 (Brewer 0-1)
HRs: BAL – Machado 2 (20); SFS – Jackson (19).
Box Score

Game Three

Baltimore’s Ned Garvin was solid, allowing only a 2 run HR to Reggie Jackson in the bottom of the first over his 6 innings of work. But Lefty Grove was better, striking out 10 in his 8 innings of work. Grove was chased leading 3-1 after a pinch-hit homerun from Gavvy Cravath, but Baltimore could get no closer, with Rod Beck tossing a perfect 9th for the save, his second of the series.

BAL 2 (Garvin 3-3) @ SFS 3 (Grove 8-4; Beck 17 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Blefary (14), Cravath (20); SFS – Jackson (20).
Box Score

Game Four

Tommy Bridges has been a bit rough since his return from injury, but he was magnificent today, with 7 shutout innings before giving up a longball to Manny Machado in the 8th. Meanwhile, the heart of the Sea Lions’ order (Dick Lundy, Reggie Jackson, and Turkey Stearnes) went 8-for-12 including Stearnes’ 17th homer of the year, building a 5 run lead.

After Bridges’ departure, the mystery that is Dennis Eckersley surrendered a shot to Bryce Harper, making it a 1 run game, but again Rod Beck closed out the victory.

BAL 4 (Byrd 3-3) @ SFS 5 (Bridges 2-2; Beck 18 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Machado (21), Harper (14); SFS – Stearnes (17).
Box Score

A strong series for the Sea Lions, as they took 3 out of 4 from the defending champs. The wins encapsulated San Francisco’s success so far this year: excellent starting pitching, Rod Beck closing out each of the 3 victories, and a highly productive offense with Stearnes and Jackson each hitting 2 out in the 4 games.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels recalled John Stearns from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Gary Sheffield was the key in a back-and-forth game that resulted in a 13-11 win for the Cuban Giants over Portland. Sheffield had 4 hits, 2 homeruns, scored 4, and drove in 7 for Miami.

Julio Rodríguez and José Canseco each went yard twice as the Cuban Giants built a lead and held on for dear life in a 9-8 win over Baltimore.

The same pair–Rodríguez and Canseco–did it again, this time in a wild, 12 inning, back and forth affair won by the Cuban Giants, 12-11. Miami needed homeruns in the bottom of the 9th and 10th to tie the game, and Canseco sent a solo shot out to win it in the 12th.

And then it was Jim Thome‘s turn to hit 2 out (Canseco, Rodríguez, Sheffield, and Ryan Braun also went deep) as Miami topped Baltimore, 10-3 behind a solid outing from Cole Hamels.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Jim Fregosi went deep twice, leading the Sea Dogs to a 5-3 win over Miami. Dizzy Trout evened his record at 3-3 with 6 strong innings.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions saw enough of Roy Hartzell, jettisoning the backup SS and reaching all the way down to AA to bring up Royce Clayton, presumably for his glove as Dick Lundy’s backup.

Lefty Grove is putting it all together, with his latest outing being a 2-hit whitewash of Cleveland. Grove improved to 6-4, striking out 12 in the complete game, with Clayton being the hitting star with 3 RBI’s including his first homerun of his career. Jimmie Foxx and Rickey Henderson also went deep for the Sea Lions.

Turkey Stearnes went deep twice in a losing effort, as the Sea Lions fell to Los Angeles, 8-3.

While Turkey Stearnes will receive a lot of attention during the spring, how roles fall out between Sal Bando, Pedro Guerrero, Dick Lundy, and Roy Hartzell will see some focus as well–someone in that group is likely to end up at SS, and none of them are really naturals at that position.

Injuries

Carl Erskine was a long shot to make the roster; a shoulder injury costing him most of spring training confirmed he will start the season in the minors.

First Cuts

A host of arms were sent down: Red Ehret, Diego Seguí, Frank Barberich, James Shields, Charlie Ferguson and Rube Walberg all hit the minors, clearing quite a bit of space as the Sea Lions try to work out their staff.

Behind the plate, Mickey Cochrane has moved into the lead for the starting spot, with only Jack Warner being sent to the minors. That leaves only 3 full-time backstops in camp, which may mean that San Francisco continues to want to give John Beckwith a longer look. IF Bobby Bragan can also fill in at C if necessary.

With the Sea Lions committed to both John Beckwith and Jimmie Foxx, Don Money, Sid Bream, Bill Sweeney, and Wayne Gross found themselves with tickets to minor league camp, despite performances no worse than Beckwith’s or Foxx’s.

Denny Hocking and Ted Sizemore head to the minors, but that’s not really enough to sort out the middle infield, where Dick Lundy, Ron Hunt, and Roy Hartzell have been quite strong.

The OF is a little clearer as Turkey Stearnes has absolutely blown the cover off the ball, justifying his draft position. Eddie Murphy, Mookie Wilson, Del Unser, Jules Thomas, Darrell Brown, and Patsy Donovan were all sent to the minors while Bob Cerv remains, despite early struggles.

Second Cuts

Dave LaRoche is in danger of being sent to the minors, but for now the Sea Lions staff stays stable.

Just about the only clear message from camp so far is that Turkey Stearnes is for real and, at this point, the 22 year old rookie looks likely to start the season in CF for the Sea Lions. Aside from that … it’s all muddled. Reggie Jackson, Bobby Bonds, and Pedro Guerrero can’t hit a lick; neither Bobby Bragan nor Royce Clayton deserve to stay in camp, but with the team very thin in the MI, both do; Mickey Cochrane is making a play for the starting C spot, but both Brian Downing and Gene Oliver are refusing to claim the backup slot. So it goes.

Teenager John Beckwith heads to AAA for a bit more seasoning, and IF Jack Farrell heads down as well.

Third Cuts

Mickey Cochrane has edged ahead of the struggling Gene Oliver and even more struggling Brian Downing as the likely opening day C for the Sea Lions.

IFs Bobby Bragan and Royce Clayton were sent to AAA, but San Francisco still has some issues to sort out on the infield: too many 1B are mashing the ball (Jimmie Foxx, Jack Clark, Jason Giambi), Roy Hartzell, who finished last season as the presumptive starter at SS, has struggled, and both Phil Garner and Dick Lundy are playing well enough to demand more time.

Walt Williams has hit well, but the Sea Lions OF is pretty crowded and the trio of Frank Howard, Bob Cerv, and Josh Reddick have all hit better, so Williams is off to AAA.

It’s not clear what San Francisco does here: rookie phenom Turkey Stearnes has exceeded all expectations and looks set to play CF, leaving Rickey Henderson, Pedro Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Reggie Jackson competing for the corner OF and DH spots.

Final Cuts

Jair Jurrjens had raised some eyebrows in an attempt to make the roster as a swing starter, but it was always unlikely, and a couple late rough outings sealed his fate as Jurrjens heads to AAA. Josh Reddick was sent down along with slick fielding SS Eddie Miller. Miller’s demotion answers several other questions: Dick Lundy looks to be the everyday SS, with Roy Hartzell his backup, clearing the way for Sal Bando at 3B.

RP Dave LaRoche was sent to AAA along with Carl Erskine, which may virtually solidify the pitching staff for the Sea Lions, leaving only 13 arms in camp. Brian Downing continues to look good enough for the WBL until he’s actually given a chance: he’ll head to AAA, with catching duties for San Francisco falling to Mickey Cochrane and Gene Oliver in a likely platoon. Ron Hunt does have a knack for getting clipped by pitches, but that’s just not enough to justify a roster spot: he’ll start the year in AAA as well.

Jim Devlin was the final arm moved out of camp.

Jason Giambi was sent down despite his obvious power, as were Bob Cerv and Matt Holliday. Cerv refused his demotion, and was made a free agent.

That made the final cut a choice between OF Frank Howard, incumbent 2B Jimmy Bloodworth (who has struggled all Spring), and light hitting IF Roy Hartzell (which would leave the Sea Lions without a real reserve at SS). Given the OF depth on the roster, it wasn’t terribly surprising that Howard was the final cut from camp.

Overall

What a disappointing season. There is talent here, they were in the mix at the all-star break, and then just totally collapsed throughout all of July. Much more is expected in Year II.

What Went Right

Reggie Jackson was an elite offensive force, finishing the year with an OPS over 1.000 and while there was a gap between him and the Sea Lions’ next best hitters, Bobby Bonds, Pedro Guerrero, and Rickey Henderson all look like they are set for quite some time.

Similarly, the top end of the rotation–Eddie Plank and Lefty Grove–look quite good, and both Nick Altrock and Bump Hadley impressed in limited starts. Ken Howell, Ron Robinson, and Rod Beck were excellent at the back of the bullpen.

ALL STARS
RP Rod Beck; P Lefty Grove; OF Rickey Henderson; RP Ken Howell; OF Reggie Jackson, P Charlie Root

What Went Wrong

The MI was never really settled. Jimmy Bloodworth was fine at 2B, Dick Lundy spent as much time injured as showing flashes of potential, and the SS job was eventually claimed by Roy Hartzell.

Gene Oliver ended up the primary backstop, which speaks to just how much Mickey Cochrane and Brian Downing struggled. John Beckwith couldn’t stick with the big league club, but at 18 he can be forgiven.

Tim Hudson imploded after being acquired from Birmingham, although he recovered a bit towards the end of the season. Nobody else really stepped up on the mound, with Dennis Eckersley and Dave LaRoche being especially disappointing.

Trade Evaluations

March

OF Pete Browning, P Rollie Fingers, SS Bert Campaneris, P Eddie Rommel & IF Mark McGwire to House of David for IF Dick Lundy, OF Bobby Bonds & P Nick Altrock

A true blockbuster with impact on both sides. As San Francisco got 3 players who spent most of the year as WBL contributors, they have to be happy with the deal, even with Browning’s performance.

June

P Rube Melton, OF Derrick May & 3rd Round Pick to Birmingham for P Tim Hudson

Hudson’s struggles make this look bad, but it still feels like a worthwhile gamble to have taken.

IF Steve Hertz & 2nd Round Pick to Homestead for IF Phil Garner

They wish they had the pick now.

OF Wally Moon, OF Dwayne Murphy, 4th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to Los Angeles for C Brian Downing, IF Kurt Stillwell & P Dave LaRoche

Downing was supposed to solve the issues at C for San Francisco. He didn’t.

P Shawn Estes, P Turk Wendell & 5th Round Pick to Miami for P Tommy Bridges

Meh. I mean at this point the Sea Lions were still in playoff contention, and Bridges looked solid. Still. Meh.

July

P Charlie Root & P Chad Bradford to Detroit for IF Charlie Gehringer, P Red Ehret, IF Bill Sweeney & 4th Round Pick {Charlie Ferguson}

Oof. Root and Bradford helped Detroit to the Whirled Series, Gehringer was eventually released. A clear loss for San Francisco in this one.

Looking Forward

SP

Grove, Plank, and Eckersley are a solid top 3. One of the few teams with a decent amount of mound talent.

RP

Set for now, and this may be where Eckersley ends up, long term.

C

Mickey Cochrane is supposed to be the answer here, but he has to hit over .200. Some good young talent (Dave Duncan, John Mizerock), so there are options.

1B

Jack Clark will play here, but he’s really just waiting on Jimmie Foxx to come into his own. John Beckwith will factor in eventually, and newcomer Sid Bream looks impressive as well.

2B

Who knows. Keith Ginter was great at AAA, Dick Green has shown some talent, and Dick Lundy can play here when healthy.

3B

For now, Pedro Guerrero will see some time here, but it really looks like Sal Bando is the answer for a while.

SS

If Lundy can stay in the lineup, he should be here.

LF

When Rickey Henderson was hitting .230 he had some value; as he raised his average to .270, he locked this position down long-term.

CF

There really aren’t any natural CF’s here, so look for Bobby Bonds to continue to cover best he can.

RF

Everyone ends up here: Reggie Jackson for now, but it’s also the more natural position for both Bonds and Guerrero.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

The Sea Lions only have 8 picks in the draft, and in the early rounds only 3 in the first 7 rounds (a 1st, a 4th, and a 7th). So there is a ton of pressure on their initial pick.

They reached deep for it, taking unheralded CF Turkey Stearnes. The pick thrilled many experts, even if it meant bypassing more highly touted CFers (Al Simmons, Earl Averill).

And then the Sea Lions did … nothing … until the 19th pick of the 4th round, where they picked up a project in SP Charlie Ferguson.

Rounds 5-8

And then nothing until the 7th round. The Sea Lions will be focusing on 1B, OF, and pitching, pitching, pitching from here on out, beginning with Pete Harnisch. Franchise pick Jed Lowrie proved too tempting in the 8th, even though IF isn’t an area of need, strictly speaking.

Rounds 9-12

OF Jules Thomas (final exemption); P Steve Ontiveros; P Dave Lemanczyk; and IF Nick Allen.

Albert Belle went deep twice t0 keep the New York Black Yankees hopes alive, driving in all 4 runs in a 4-2 victory over Cleveland. Rheal Cormier earned his first win as a member of the much maligned New York bullpen, and Goose Gossage ended the game for his 3rd save of the year.

NYY 4 (Cormier 1-0; Gossage 3 Sv) @ CLE 2 (Porter 4-5)
HRs: NYY – Belle 2 (19); CLE – Speaker (5).
Box Score

In the end, it didn’t matter: Birmingham’s Cupid Childs brought home Billy Southworth in the bottom of the 10th, beating Philadelphia 4-3 and securing the final playoff spot for the Black Barons. It was Childs’ 3rd RBI of the day, and he and Southworth had 2 hits each.

PHI 3 (Howry 3-8) @ BBB 4 (Gunderson 2-0; Malarkey 2 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Freeman (21); BBB – Mathews (26).
Box Score

With that, the playoff teams are set, with Birmingham sealing the final spot.

#Playoff Seeding

Baltimore’s 6-1 win over Kansas City settled the Cum Posey Division, with the Black Sox clinching first place (and the best record in baseball). Curt Blefary had 3 hits and Chick Stahl hit his 3rd homerun since being recalled a few weeks ago in support of a strong 5 innings from Connie Johnson.

A come from behind, walkoff victory for the New York Gothams finalized the standings in the Bill James Division. Wes Westrum‘s 2nd hit of the day brought in the winning run for New York with Brian Wilson getting the win despite allowing 3 hits and a run in his inning of work. With the win, Detroit will win the division and the House of David will finish in 3rd, with the Gothams safely through to the post-season in second place.

#Other Games

There has been very little encouraging about Miami’s pitching this year. But the Cuban Giants may have something in trade acquisition Freddie Fitzsimmons. Fitzsimmons allowed 1 run in 4 hits in a complete game victory over Homestead, improving his record to 3-1 while lowering his ERA to 1.57. Jim Thome hit a bomb just shy of 500 feet in the win, one of 3 hits on the day for him.

Continuing to make a strong argument for extended playing time next year, Roy Hartzell had 4 hits and 4 RBIs as San Francisco blew out Indianapolis, 11-3.

Gary Carter had 5 RBI on 3 hits, Álex Rodríguez had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Larry Walker add 3 hits as Ottawa downed Houston, 8-5.

Frank Smith got a spot start for Chicago as the American Giants had nothing left to play for, and promptly delivered a 2-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Brooklyn. Carlton Fisk hit his 14th homerun to seal the victory.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks went deep twice, giving him 41 on the year (and making him the 3rd batter to surpass the 40 homerun mark), but it wasn’t enough as Detroit won 4-2 behind a strong effort from Justin Verlander and Hank Greenberg‘s 31st longball of the season. Verlander reached double digits in wins at 10-4 and Mike Henneman picked up his 38th save despite giving up 3 hits in his inning of work.

Jim Whitney replaced Sam Streeter at the back end of the Black Barons’ rotation.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Make no mistake, Germany Smith is on a WBL roster because of his glove at SS. But once in a while, he can do somethings with the bat, like drive in 4 runs with 3 hits in a 5-3 victory over Homestead. Jackie Robinson had 3 hits as well in a game that saw Watty Clark earn his 22nd save.

Smith really is trying to prove he belongs with another 3 hits and 3 RBIs in the series finale. Duke Farrell and Beals Becker also had 3 hits, with Becker pounding out his 23rd homerun of the year in an easy 8-2 win behind a solid 7 innings from Tommy Hanson, who improved to 3-4 on the year.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Johnson‘s return from the DL forced Frank Williams back to AAA. Mike Cuellar takes Atlee Hammaker‘s place in the Sea Dogs’ rotation. After a few shaky outings, Elmer Brown was replaced by Bob Porterfield as Portland’s closer.

Johnson picked right back up, allowing 1 run in 7 innings to improve to 11-4 on the year. Joe Mauer had 3 hits including his 12th homerun on the year in the 6-2 victory over the House of David.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Dick Lundy‘s season is over, with the young infielder hitting the DL with a sprained shoulder. Glove man extraordinaire Eddie Miller was recalled from AAA to take Lundy’s spot, meaning Roy Hartzell will finish out the year as the Sea Lions’ everyday SS.

#Game One: Pete Alexander @ Nick Altrock

Pete Alexander suffered from what seemed to be a ton of rust on his return from the DL, even have gone through a rehab assignment. Alexander gave up 3 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in under 3 innings before being lifted, with 2 scoring on a double from Jimmie Foxx.

Despite the early lead, the Sea Dogs got some bad news when Dick Lundy had to leave the game with an apparent shoulder injury.

Philadelphia’s first threat came in the top of the 3rd when base hits from Aaron Judge and Ted Kluszewski put runners at the corners with 2 outs. But Nick Altrock was able to get José Ramírez to line out to right field to end the inning.

Pedro Guerrero increased the Sea Lions’ lead to 4-0 with his 22nd homerun of the year in the bottom of the 5th and Bobby Bonds made it 5-0 with an RBI single in the 7th, extending his hitting streak to 17 games.

But the story was Altrock, who finished with a 7-hit shutout, improving his record to 2-1 and lowering his ERA to 2.45.

PHI 0 (Alexander 2-7) @ SFS 6 (Altrock 2-1)
HRs: PHI – none; SFS – Guerrero (22).
Box Score

#Game 2: Steve Carlton @ Lefty Grove

Each team trotted its ace out in the second game of the series, with both Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton and San Francisco’s Lefty Grove carrying ERAs under 4.00.

A Pedro Guerrero sacrifice fly gave the Sea Lions a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. (Bobby Bonds extended his hitting streak to 18 games earlier in the inning.) A homerun from Sal Bando doubled the lead in the next inning, and a Rickey Henderson triple scored Roy Hartzell, making it 3-0.

Grove had a shutout through 5, but got into a bases loaded jam in the 6th. He got one out, but José Ramírez singled in a run to make it 3-1 and chase Grove, who gave way to Diego Seguí. Seguí gave up a sacrifice fly to Roger Peckinpaugh, but escaped with the lead intact, 3-2.

Scott Rolen took Seguí deep in the 7th to tie the game. Meanwhile, Carlton was excellent, blanking the Sea Lions into the 7th, when a single from Henderson chased him. Minnie Rojas relieved Carlton and, after Henderson stole second, gave up a single to Bonds. Reggie Jackson walked, but Rojas gave up a fly ball to LF to score a run, giving the Sea Lions a 4-3 lead.

Ramírez tied it up in the 8th with a fly that just cleared the right field wall.

In the bottom of the 9th, after Henderson singled, Bonds tried to bunt him to second (bad choice, that), but popped the ball to Rolen at third who doubled up Henderson. That effectively sent us to extra innings.

In the top of the 11th, Ramírez did it again: another fly to right that just cleared the fence to put the stars ahead, 5-4. The Stars were helped by an error by Bando, eventually pushing the lead to 7-4.

Which is how it ended: Bob Howry was stretched out, but nicely effective, allowing only 1 run in 3 innings to earn the victory.

PHI 7 (Howry 3-5) @ SFS 4 (Robinson 5-4; Seguí 1 B Sv; Howell 3 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Rolen (17), Ramírez 2 (8); SFS – Bando (2).
Box Score

#Game 3: Hardie Henderson @ Tim Hudson

Sometimes a single big inning wins the game; sometimes it doesn’t.

The Sea Lions touched Hardie Henderson for 6 runs in the bottom of the 2nd: 2 on a double from Mickey Cochrane, 1 on a Roy Hartzell single, and the rest on a 3 run blast from Reggie Jackson. And, despite losing Tim Hudson to injury early in the game, it seemed like it would hold up.

But the Stars slowly closed the gap: 6-1, then 6-3, then 6-4. A wild pitch here, a sacrifice fly there, and an RBI double from Sherm Lollar over there. All of which set the stage for the 7th inning. San Francisco’s bullpen was a bit worn out, which left Dave LaRoche in the game despite clearly tiring. Still, he had gotten 2 outs on strikeouts. But Scott Rolen took him deep to right for a 3-run shot that put the Stars on top, 7-6.

And that’s how it ended. Ray Collins danced through the 8th despite 2 baserunners and Claude Jonnard pitched a perfect 9th for his first save of the season.

Aaron Judge added 3 hits for the Stars, while Rickey Henderson had 4 knocks for the Sea Lions, raising his average to .270.

PHI 7 (Henderson 1-0; Jonnard 1 Sv; Collins 1 H) @ SFS 6 (LaRoche 1-2, 2 B Sv)
HRs: PHI – Rolen (18); SFS – Jackson (26).
Box Score

It looks like Hudson will only be sidelined a few days and should be good for his next start. Still no clarity for the Sea Lions on the status of Dick Lundy.

#Game 4: Larry Jackson @ Diego Seguí

Diego Seguí gets the start for San Francisco, looking to even the series. The Sea Lions considered pro-actively placing Dick Lundy on the DL in exchange for a fully rested starting pitcher, but decided to hold out hop that their young SS’s injury is less serious than feared.

Seguí looked rough at first, giving up hits to Willie Davis and Roger Peckinpaugh to start the game and score a run. But Pedro Guerrero‘s 23rd homerun of the season reset the game in a 1-1 tie. In the bottom of the 3rd, Rickey Henderson was hit by a pitch, stole second (his 84th steal of the year), and scored on a double from Bobby Bonds, which extended Bonds’ hitting streak to 20 games.

The Stars’ Larry Jackson was struggling: a single from Guerrero scored Bonds, and a single from Jack Clark and a walk to Sal Bando loaded the bases. But Jackson got Phil Garner to lift a soft ball into foul territory, where Peckinpaugh grabbed it for the final out.

In the end, the Sea Lions made the same mistake they did in game 3: Seguí was left in one batter too long, surrendering a 2-run shot to Aaron Judge to tie the game in the top of the 6th.

Jackson–who had settled down–was finally chased in the top of the 7th by hits to Roy Hartzell and Henderson. His replacement, Don Carman, induced a double play from Bonds to end the inning. And so we sailed on into extra innings.

Bobby Abreu led off the 10th for Philadelphia with his 3rd hit of the game, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a pinch-hit double from Ted Kluszewski. Klu scored on a sac fly, given the Stars a 2 run edge, 5-3. Their closer, Bob Howry, came in, which is always interesting. Howry has 24 saves, but also sports an ERA over 5.00 … he was facing the top of the Sea Lions’ lineup, and Henderson and Bonds started it off for San Francisco with back to back singles. Howry balked them to 2nd and 3rd, then gave up a deep, deep fly to center from Jackson, scoring Henderson and moving Bonds to third. A double from Guerrero (who ended the day with 3 hits and 3 RBIs) tied the game, and after Howry got the 2nd out of the inning, a single from Bando won it for the Sea Lions.

PHI 5 (Howry 3-6, 6 B Sv) @ SFS 6 (Robinson 6-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Judge (2); SFS – Guerrero (23).
Box Score

These two teams have had disappointing seasons, and while both at one point seemed on the verge of contention–especially San Francisco–they are each now well under .500, with Philadelphia tied for the 2nd-worst record in the WBL.

#Philadelphia Stars

Larry Jackson leads the Stars starters in wins at 10-7, but their best pitcher overall has probably been Steve Carlton, who is only 8-9 despite an ERA just under 4.00. Bob Howry has 24 saves, but an ERA of 5.62. Hardie Henderson has pitched well since being acquired, and has been moved into the starting rotation.

The Stars have some power, with 7 players in double figures in homeruns, led by 1B Ted Kluszewski‘s 21. Rico Carty leads the team in RBI while OF George Hendrick has the highest OPS at .867. The most intriguing thing about Philadelphia right now is probably OF Aaron Judge, who has responded to the opportunities afforded by Gavvy Cravath‘s departure with an .875 OPS to start his WBL career.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

There is talent here for sure: from Reggie Jackson, who is no longer a threat for the triple crown, but does lead the league in OBP, to Rickey Henderson who leads in steals, to Lefty Grove, the WBL leader in strikeouts. But a horrible 6 weeks in June and July have left the Sea Lions well adrift, over a dozen games out of first place.

Jackson leads the team in HR with 25, RBIs (79), and OPS (1.037). But he’s far from alone, with Bobby Bonds (319/382/507) and Pedro Guerrero (304/353/530) forming a formidable OF.

With Dick Lundy‘s return from injury and the early success of Phil Garner and Roy Hartzell, the Sea Lions returned slick fielding (but awful offensively) IF Miguel Cairo to AAA.

Grove is 12-7, and Eddie Plank–who may have pitched better than Grove–is 10-5. Rod Beck has 27 saves, and the Sea Lions’ setup men–Ron Robinson and Ken Howell–have been among the league’s best.

Bump Hadley has replaced Diego Seguí in the rotation.

#Projected Starters

Philadelphia starter listed first.

Steve Carlton (8-9, 3.93) @ Nick Altrock (1-1, 4.15)
Hardie Henderson (1-1, 3.94) @ Lefty Grove (12-7, 3.62)
Larry Jackson (5-6, 5.30) @ Bump Hadley (0-1, 4.91)
Don Carman (1-2, 5.75) @ Tim Hudson (9-6, 4.47)

The arrival of Jim Pagliaroni sent Del Crandall packing (he refused a demotion to AAA), with Gene Tenace being relegated to reserve duty.

Nate Colbert was the odd man out with Andy Pettitte‘s arrival prompting Birmingham to carry 12 pitchers. Colbert will be back when rosters expand if not sooner. Pettitte slides into the rotation, with Larry Benton heading to the bullpen. Optimistically, the trio of Alejandro Peña, Pettitte, and Greg Maddux are on par with any trio of starters in the league, but that depends on Maddux maintaining his current form and all three staying healthy.

Pettitte’s first start was a success: 6 shutout innings, and combining with Steve Bedrosian and Kent Mercker on a 10 hit blanking of Ottawa. The Black Barons turned a league record 6 double plays in the game, and Frank McCormick, Hank Aaron, and Bob Nieman all went deep.

Harley Young will miss about a month, a pretty big blow to the Black Barons bullpen. Jim Whitney was recalled to take Young’s place.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Art Griggs will miss about 2 weeks of action with an oblique strain. The Royal Giants recalled OF Matt Holliday from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Lots of roster juggling here …

Cole Hamels and Freddie Fitzsimmons join the big league roster, with Hamels sliding right into the rotation. José Méndez takes over the final rotation spot, pushing Eustaquio Pedroso back to the bullpen. Once Ozzie Canseco clears waivers, Sandy Consuegra will be recalled from AAA.

The departure of Ed Bauta and Aroldis Chapman leave the Cuban Giants pretty weak at the back end of the pen, so they’re hoping some mix of Brown, Braden Looper, and Ricky Nolasco can handle closing games out.

Willie Kamm was promoted all the way from AA, and Jim Thome recalled from AAA to replace the departed Will Clark.

Fitzsimmons pitched in 2 games and then hit the DL with a hamstring problem, prompting Miami to recall Marcelino López to fill out the bullpen.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Hal Griggs and Frank Williams were sent to AAA to clear room for Trevor Hoffman and Mark Melancon and Dizzy Trout took the final spot in their rotation. Gavvy Cravath‘s arrival sent Ruben Sierra back as well. Cravath slides into RF, most likely reducing both Jeff Burroughs‘ and Greg Litton‘s playing time.

The Sea Dogs hit 6 homeruns in an 11-5 thrashing of Los Angeles, with Harry Hooper (a grandslam), Kent Hrbek (twice), Buddy Bell, Iván Rodriguez, and Rogers Hornsby all sending balls over the fence. Hrbek once again tied for the league lead with his 33rd of the season. Despite extreme wildness, Joséito Muñoz surrendered only 1 run in just over 5 innings, leveling his record at 5-5 on the season.

Walter Johnson will miss about a week, requiring a quick trip to the DL. The Sea Dogs recalled Ray Fontenot from AAA, but Atlee Hammaker is likely to get the nod for Johnson’s next start. Both Pascual Pérez and, more interestingly, Joe Mauer, began rehab assignments at AAA.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Billy Taylor and Nick Altrock were promoted to San Francisco, with Altrock sliding right into the back of the rotation as the Sea Lions try to figure out just what they have in the 28 year old hurler.

Gene Oliver was brought up to platoon with Mickey Cochrane behind the plate, with Cy Perkins being let go. There may be more moves ahead, depending on the status of Dick Lundy‘s injury. San Francisco would really like to move Miguel Cairo down, but it’s not clear who is ready for big league minutes at SS, especially if Lundy is out for any length of time.

Lundy will miss about 2 weeks, prompting the Sea Lions to recall Roy Hartzell from AAA.

Hartzell started his WBL career with a bang, hitting a homerun in his first at-bat. Bobby Bonds and Bob Cerv also went deep, and Tim Hudson seems to have turned the corner in his time in San Francisco as the Sea Lions beat Baltimore, 6-2.

Two homeruns from Pedro Guerrero led the Sea Lions to a 6-5 victory over the Black Sox. Guerrero drove in 5, helping Eddie Plank move to 8-5 on the year with Rod Beck picking up his 22nd save.

Taylor appeared in one game and tore his rotator cuff, putting him out for about 10 months. Bump Hadley was recalled from AAA.