Tag: Roy Sievers Page 1 of 2

TWIWBL 56.17: Spring Training Notes – Ottawa Mounties

On March 5, 2024

Spring Training Questions

1st and 2nd round picks Max Scherzer and Al Orth will be given the opportunity to make the opening day staff, and the bullpen behind presumed closer Ryan Dempster is wide open.

While Carlos Beltrán goes in as the presumed starter in CF, Ken Griffey Jr will again be given a long look.

First Cuts

Ottawa’s pitching staff is a bit clearer, as there have been some horrible performances. Jesse Crain, Max Scherzer, Kid Camp, Dan Haren, Mike Minor, and Al Orth have all moved to the minors. That leaves only 15 arms in camp, so look for some recalls if others in camp struggle or face injuries. Chuck Taylor, Dupee Shaw, and Dave Gregg have all been pleasant surprises so far.

The starting C job belongs to Gary Carter. But Emil Gross and Brad Ausmus are pushing Jim Stephens for the backup role, with Milt May and Einar Díaz both leaving camp.

1B and 3B are wide open, with Bob Watson‘s fast start (combined with his solid debut last season) making him an early favorite at 1B and Art Devlin and Ryon Healy making arguments at the hot corner. 3B Josh Donaldson and 1Bs John Mayberry, Tino Martinez, and Nick Johnson all hit the minors.

In the middle of the infield, the Mounties have gone with a very aggressive approach, sending Julio Gotay, Everett Scott, Jose Vidro, Bernie Allen, and Dick Bartell all to the minors. That leaves them with only 6 2B/SS, making this another position where later recalls are possible. Jimmy Dykes, Henry Easterday, and Mike Dorgan have all impressed, although this moves seems to indicate more than anything else that Álex Rodríguez will be the opening day SS, even though some believe his eventual position will be at third.

Rick Monday and Sam Thompson have impressed in the OF, with Wee Willie Keeler and Jackie Jensen the only early casualties. This will be a clear focus for Ottawa, as a leading priority for them is sorting through their options in the OF and, perhaps most of all, figuring out what to do with Ken Griffey Jr, who continues to struggle mightily in CF.

Second Cuts

The Mounties had made such deep cuts earlier that only one arm was moved this time, with Rick Honeycutt heading to the minors. That’s not to say the rest have done well: Bob Brown and Bob Moose–both of whom were supposed to contend for rotation spots–have struggled, as has presumed closer Ryan Dempster.

The competition at 1B is thick, prompting Ottawa to send Roy Sievers, who spent most of last season in the WBL, to their minor league camp.

Third Cuts

With only 14 arms in camp, the pitching staff remains unchanged. There is concern over Bob Brown and Old Hoss Radbourn, two of last year’s bright spots, who are struggling mightily this Spring.

John Olerud, Henry Easterday, and Jason Heyward head to AAA. Easterday’s demotion leaves only two SS in camp: Álex Rodríguez and the surprising Mike Dorgan.

Gary Carter is the starting C for sure, but the battle to back him up is running tight between Jim Stephens, Brad Ausmus, and Emil Gross.

The OF is a total mess, with rumors emerging that the Mounties are shopping the immense talent of Ken Griffey, Jr in the hope that a change of scenery might unlock his bat. George Burns is only in camp due to a strong season last year, but he’s on the edge for sure. Rick Monday, Jesse Burkett, Terry Puhl, Sam Thompson, and Bill O’Neill are all hitting well enough to warrant consideration for 2 or 3 reserve spots.

Final Cuts

3B Ryon Healy was tearing up Spring Training for a while, but has since come back to earth. With the arrival of Adrián Beltré, Healy’s future for the start of the season is in the minors, as is CF Bill O’Neill‘s. They are joined by Tino Martinez: 1B was always pretty blocked for the Mounties and Martinez hasn’t shown enough to add his name to the list.

Pedro Ramos had a brief stint with the big league team before heading off to AAA. Dan Collins was placed on IR and Chuck Taylor (also injured) was sent to AAA, preserving the spot on the 40 man roster. That left the Mounties with 3 players to go to get to 30. One was Emil Gross, leaving 3 catchers in camp (4 if you count Mike Dorgan), the second was 2B Jimmy Dykes, who turned a lot of heads with his Spring performance, and the last was veteran OF Jesse Burkett.

Bob Moose, Bob Brown, Ryan Dempster, and Hoss Radbourn were among the few bright spots on the mound for Ottawa last season. They are among the worst performers this Spring, making all of the roster choices all that much more difficult. Brown’s wildness was inescapable, and he was moved to AAA to see if he could work it out. That left a dozen arms in camp, but with so many of them–Atlee Hammaker, Dupee Shaw, Dave Gregg, BJ Ryan–being essentially unproven, the Mounties would like to open the season with a larger staff than most teams will carry.

Gary Carter remains the starting catcher, but Brad Ausmus‘ fantastic Spring moved him ahead of Jim Stephens as Carter’s backup with Stephens heading to the minors along with OFs George Burns and Terry Puhl. The final cut was a hard one, as Art Devlin was among the most impressive Spring performers. But Devlin was likely blocked at Ottawa, so he heads down to AAA to start the season, keeping both Bob Watson and Sam Thompson on the WBL roster to open the season.

Series XXXIII Best Games

By mknn

On June 13, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We have more good pitching than usual in the best games of Series XXXIII.

We’ll start with the opening and closing game from a series with potentially massive playoff implications.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams, Games 1 and 5

Birmingham’s Greg Maddux wasn’t bad: just over 6 innings and only 2 runs allowed. The problem was the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson was stellar, picking up his league-leading 16th win of the season by throwing a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings. Maddux left the game after allowing an RBI single to Will Clark, replaced by Kent Mercker who gave up a deep flyball to the pinch-hitting Carl Furillo, scoring another run.

Hank Aaron took Robb Nen deep in the 8th to cut the lead in half, but Mike Norris (pushed into service due to Brian Wilson‘s injury) picked up his 6th save of the year, allowing only a walk in the 9th.

BBB 1 (Maddux 4-5) @ NYG 2 (Mathewson 16-7; Norris 6 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (25); NYG – none.
Box Score

The Gothams turned to Don Sutton for a spot start, and the 24 year old was simply brilliant … but it wasn’t enough. Sutton gave up 1 run–a solo shot by Aaron–through 7 innings, and while New York’s bullpen beckoned, Sutton was still well under 90 pitches. But with 2 outs in the 8th, Cupid Childs took him deep and Aaron launched his second of the game, edging Birmingham in front, 3-2.

Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón, allowed only 1 hit in the 9th, closing out the victory for the Black Barons.

NYG 2 (Sutton 2-4) @ BBB 3 (Whitney 1-2; Rincón 22 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Higgins (13); BBB – Aaron 2 (27), Childs (4).
Box Score

Two more good games with good pitching!

#Memphis Red Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

Through six innings, the only score was a solo shot from Memphis’ Manny Ramírez. That was one of only 2 hits allowed by Detroit’s Gene Conley over his 7 innings, further cementing Conley’s adaptation from reliever to starter over the season. Buddy Napier gave up an unearned run in the top of the 8th, putting the Red Sox in front, 2-0.

Memphis’ Stubby Overmire was nearly as good: a shutout through 6, a single run in the 7th on an RBI single from Chili Davis, and finally being chased in the 8th after giving up 2 hits and a walk. Overmire’s relief, Tim Wakefield, gave up a sacrifice fly to Hank Greenberg tying the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when Memphis’ Claude Ritchey took John Hiller deep. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the frame, fanning Greenberg to end the game.

MEM 3 (Wakefield 6-7, 2 B Sv; Papelbon 13 Sv) @ DET 2 (Hiller 3-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: MEM – Ramírez (15), Ritchey (8); DET – none.
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 3

Baltimore’s pitching is just hard to gain traction against: Connie Johnson, John Wetteland, and the suddenly resurgent Buddy Groom limited Indianapolis to 5 hits, 2 of which were solo homers by the ABC’s Danny Hoffman. Indianapolis got a good start from Willie Mitchell (2 runs in 6.2 innings), but in the end superstars gonna’ superstar: Frank Robinson took Rob Dibble deep in the top of the 9th with a 2-run shot, his 33rd of the year, to provide the winning margin for Baltimore.

BBB 4 (Wetteland 3-0, 2 B Sv; Groom 5 Sv) @ IND 2 (Mullane 1-1)
HRs: Robinson (33); Hoffman 2 (15).
Box Score

And now back to our usual see-saw slugfests.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

The scoring started fairly innocuously: Ottawa’s Tim Raines led off the bottom of the first with a single, was bunted to second, then scored on a Roy Sievers single (helped along by an error).

Portland took the lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by Gavvy Cravath, then Ottawa took it back, scoring twice on back-to-back doubles from Rusty Staub and Sievers, giving the Mounties a 3-2 edge. A George Burns double drove in 2, extending it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th.

But, Portland roared back: a 2 run single from Jeff Burroughs chased Ottawa’s starter, Kirk Reuter, from the game, and Jim Fregosi drove in 2 more later in the inning, putting the Sea Dogs back on top, 6-5. The lead would reach 9-5 on Cravath’s 2nd homerun of the day and RBI’s from Buddy Bell (a bases loaded walk) and Gil Hodges (a sacrifice fly).

But Ottawa had also caught on to the utility of the long ball: Larry Parrish and Roberto Alomar both went deep in the bottom of the 6th, cutting the gap to 9-8.

Portland added 2 in the following inning via 2 hits and a walk, but Ottawa was unleashed: Sievers scored on an unlikely triple by Gary Carter and a 2-run shot from Carlos Beltrán. Suddenly, we were tied at 11.

Tired of running, Carter ended the game with a walkoff homerun leading off the bottom of the 9th.

Burroughs had 4 hits and he and Cravath drove in 3 each for Portland. Burns had 4 hits for Portland, and Sievers added 3.

POR 11 (Porterfield 3-1; Hammaker 2 B Sv) @ OTT 12 (Holland 6-2)
HRs: POR – Cravath 2 (6); OTT – Parrish (6), Alomar (3), Beltrán (10), Carter (17).
Box Score

#Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 2

With Harry Howell sailing along on the mound, the Angels had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with the key hit being a solo homerun by Mike Trout. Houston scored 1 in the inning, but Tom Seaver and Jonny Venters were excellent in relief of Howell, allowing Los Angeles to send out their closer, Joe Nathan, for the bottom of the 9th.

Nathan was rough: Casey Stengel walked as a pinch-hitter, Tony Gwynn singled, Jim Wynn doubled in a run, and Jeff Bagwell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, sending us to extra innings.

José Reyes drove in a run in the top of the 11th, but Pete Hill singled in Gwynn, who had doubled, in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going. Which it did, until the 14th, when Bagwell was hit by a pitch. HR Johnson pinch-ran, stole second, and scored on a walk-off single by George Brett.

Trout, Gwynn, and Wynn each had 3 hits in the game, which was rough for Houston’s staff, as both Bones Ely and Tug McGraw were forced to leave with injuries. McGraw’s was especially unfortunate, as the young lefthander was on the brink of being named the Colt 45’s closer for the rest of the season.

The game also saw Los Angeles’ Wally Backman get a hit in his first WBL at-bat.

LAA 4 (Vargas 1-2; Seaver 1 H; Venters 15 H; Nathan 8 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 4-1) [14 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (17); HOU – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 39.2: Series XXXI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On May 9, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

Joe Jackson reached base 6 times in 7 late appearances with 3 walks and 3 hits to lead the American Giants to a 7-5 victory of Indianapolis in 12 innings. A rare poor outing by AJ Minter allowed the ABC’s to tie the game, but Akinori Otsuka pitched well in the extra frames to improve to 4-5 on the year.

José Abreu‘s continued struggles netted him a return to AAA with Cristóbal Torriente coming of the DL.

#Houston Colt 45’s

3 hits from George Brett, including a go-ahead triple in the 8th inning, powered Houston to a 6-4 victory over the Black Yankees. Luke Gregerson pitched 2 scoreless innings for the victory and Billy Wagner notched his 19th save despite a shaky 9th inning.

With their bullpen greatly fatigued, Toad Ramsey put in a masterful performance, allowing only 1 unearned run in a 2-1 victory over the Black Yankees. Andrés Galarraga had 3 hits, raising his average to .336 in the game which saw Ramsey even his record at 11-11 with his league leading 4th complete game of the season.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Stan Musial had 2 homeruns giving him 23 on the year. He and Willie McGee had 3 hits each, but it wasn’t enough as the Monarchs fell to the House of David, 8-4.

José Rijo threw a 5-hit complete game shutout, and four Monarchs–Steve Evans, Ducky Medwick, Frankie Frisch, and Robinson Canó–went deep as Kansas City beat the House of David 7-0.

Bill Singer, quite effective since being recalled, was injured in the opening game. It took a couple days, but it looks like Singer will miss about a month, prompting the Monarchs to recall Jock Menefee from AAA.

#Ottawa Mounties

Roy Sievers went deep twice and the newly recalled Sam Thompson hit his first career dinger, but it wasn’t enough as the Mounties fell to Homestead 8-6.

Series XXXI Best Games

By mknn

On May 2, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

This time, we have two see-saw games and two series that deserve a little focus.

Let’s do the one-offs first.

#Homestead Grays @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

This one got wild. Ottawa took the lead on Larry Walker‘s 18th homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. Hits from Davey Johnson and Roberto Clemente got a run back for Homestead, but Ottawa scored 2 on a single from Roberto Alomar to increase their lead to 4-1. Homestead’s Rick Reichardt sent a pitch from Clayton Richard into the stands to tie the game in the top of the 3rd, so, we’re back to all square at 4-4.

The game continued to swing back and forth: a sacrifice fly from Johnson offset a solo shot from Roy Sievers, but an RBI double from Andy Van Slyke put Homestead back on top momentarily: a 2-run double from Sievers and a single from Bernie Allen gave Ottawa a 2-run lead, 8-6.

And then the 9th. Ted Bowsfield started the inning for Ottawa, walking Mike Epstein and giving up a single to Van Slyke. Bowsfield grabbed his elbow after the hit, and the Mounties brought in their closer, Ryan Dempster. Dempster retired 2 and walked one, loading the bases with Johnson at the plate. He singled to right, driving in 2. Perhaps more importantly for Ottawa, their star RF, Walker, was forced out of the game after the throw. But, the game was tied.

Tied, that is, until a single from Rusty Staub scored Carlos Beltrán to give the Mounties a walk off victory.

Nobody pitched particularly well, but Ottawa’s Monk Dubiel and Dempster did manage to escape without being scored on.

Both Bowsfield and Walker were sent to the DL after the game, with Chris Leroux and Sam Thompson being recalled from AAA.

HOM 8 (Ownbey 1-3; Brown 1 B Sv) @ OTT 9 (Dempster 4-1, 2 B Sv; Bowsfield 7 H)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (21); OTT – Walker (18), Sievers (7).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 2

This one had everything except good pitching (Mickey Lolich‘s 2 innings of clean relief for Detroit notwithstanding).

San Francisco kicked off the game with a bang: a leadoff homerun from Rickey Henderson, a 2 run shot from Reggie Jackson, and an RBI groundout from Phil Garner made it 4-0 Sea Lions before Diego Seguí threw his first pitch.

But the Bailey Boys got to him the following inning: Ed Bailey launched a 3 run shot and Bob Bailey added an RBI groundout to score Sparky Adams, who had doubled, tying the game at 4. Momentarily: Garner went deep and another run scored on a Sal Bando single, putting San Francisco back on top, 7-4. A solo shot from Hank Greenberg clawed one back, but a 2-run single from San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero made it 9-5 heading into the 6th, when Detroit chased Seguí and hammered his replacement, James Shields, who only lasted 4 batters. Al Kaline singled home one run and Tony Phillips brought in another with a double. By the time it was all done, San Francisco’s lead was slashed to a single run, 9-8. Kaline would put the Wolverines in front with a 3-run shot in the 7th, and a Bob Bailey triple scored Phillips, who was hit by a pitch. Suddenly, Detroit was up, 12-9.

Their closer (and the WBL leader in saves), Mike Henneman, struggled in the 9th, facing 8 batters and giving up 2 runs (one on a solo shot by Jimmie Foxx, the other on a single by Guerrero). But he got Jack Clark to ground out with 2 batters on to preserve the victory.

SFS 11 (LaRoche 1-1, 1 B Sv; Hadley 2 H) @ DET 13 (Bradford 2-0)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (25), Henderson (6), Foxx (2); DET – E. Bailey (6), Greenberg 2 (24), Kaline (5).
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ Miami Cuban Giants, Games 1 & 3

This series is a battle of basement teams, but that doesn’t keep the games from being entertaining.

The Red Sox scored 4 runs early with the RBIs coming on a sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk, and an error by Miami’s shortstop, Robin Yount. Miami took a more conventional route back: a walk and 4 singles scored 3 runs in the 4th. But they followed Memphis’ lead to tie the game, as a sacrifice fly from José Cardenal plated Ryan Braun. The Cuban Giants then took the lead on a solo shot from their best player, José Canseco.

Wade Boggs finally brought home a conventional run for Memphis in the 8th with a single, but the Red Sox immediately reverted to form, with a bases-loaded walk and another sacrifice fly giving them a 7-5 lead. Three perfect relief innings from Turk Farrell, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon, closed the game out.

Ted Williams and Bill White finished the game with 3 hits each for Memphis; Cookie Rojas had 3 for Miami.

MEM 7 (Farrell 2-3; Papelbon 11 Sv; Bell 5 H; Callahan 4 B Sv) @ MCG 5 (Consuegra 0-4)
HRs: MEM – none; MCG – Canseco (30).
Box Score

In Game 3, Memphis was up 6-0, and then 8-5, powered by a grandslam from David Justice and 2 homers from Billy Bryan. It wasn’t enough: Minnie Miñoso broke out of his funk with 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Cookie Rojas, Gary Sheffield, and Chris Hoiles each drove in 2. As importantly for Miami, Eustaquio Pedroso, Sandy Consuegra, Ricky Nolasco, and Braden Looper combined for 4 innings of 1-hit relief of an ineffective Ramón Martínez.

MEM 8 (Callahan 5-10) @ MCG 11 (Pedroso 7-6; Looper 3 Sv; Consuegra 2 H; Nolasco 2 H)
HRs: none.
Box Score

New York Black Yankees @ Houston Colt 45’s, Games 2 and 4

In Game 2, Houston had a 6-3 lead heading to the 9th inning. The Colt 45’s got 2-run shots from Jim O’Rourke and Tony Gwynn and a solo dinger from Jorge Posada to take the lead.

The problem was their closer, Billy Wagner, was tired, leaving them turning to Brad Lidge, who had been solid since his recall, but here reverted to his old form: an RBI groundout from Tom Herr and a 3-run shot from Don Mattingly put the Black Yankees up 7-6.

Andrés Galarraga singled home a run in the bottom of the 9th, sending us to extra innings. Mattingly and Eric Davis homered in the 10th to put New York up 11-7, which seemed safe until you remembered the fragility of the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Here, Ralph Citarella and Rheal Cormier gave up RBI’s to Jim Wynn and Craig Biggio, but Cormier fanned Galarraga with the tying run on third base to close it out.

NYY 11 (Chapman 1-0, 1 B Sv; Cormier 1 Sv) @ HOU 10 (Kern 0-2; Chamberlain 1 H; McGraw 7 H; Lidge 4 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: Mattingly 2 (26), Davis (31); HOU – O’Rourke (6), Gwynn (8), Posada (7).
Box Score

Game 4 of the series was a similar story: a Houston comeback that just fell short. Mattingly had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Mike Schmidt hit his 17th homerun for the Black Yankees, who also got 3 brilliant innings from Goose Gossage. They did have to withstand a horrible outing from the heretofore solid Dick Tidrow, who surrendered 4 hits (2 to pinch hitters Jim O’Rourke and Harry Stovey) and 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Andrés Galarraga had 4 hits and Casey Stengel and Jorge Posada had 3 each for Houston. Tug McGraw closed the game for the Colt 45’s, and has yet to surrender a run in his first 10 innings at the WBL level.

NYY 8 (Gossage 5-4; Chapman 5 Sv; Citarella 10 H) @ HOU 7 (Strasburg 7-7)
HRs: NYY – Schmidt (17); HOU – Stengel (9), Biggio (7).
Box Score

Series XXVIII Best Games

By mknn

On March 9, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Four games this time out, without a clear theme, so we’ll just take them in the order they happened.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Wandering House of David, Game 1

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss and the House of David’s Bob Rush came into this one as two of the hottest arms in the league … so naturally, they lasted under 5 innings combined, giving up 7 runs each. Brooklyn got a 2-run homerun from Beals Becker and a 2-run hit from Pete Browning en route to its touchdown while the House of David benefitted from a 3-run shot from Elrod Hendricks and a 2-run blast from Duke Snider.

Brooklyn’s John Briggs homered in the top of the 5th for an 8-7 lead for Brooklyn, but the House of David came back with 5 in the bottom of the 8th, keyed by Ernie Banks‘ 3-run shot and a solo shot from Joe Harris in his first WBL start. That made it 12-8 and set the stage for an entertaining 9th inning.

2 singles and a walk loaded the bases and brought in the House of David’s closer, Bruce Sutter. Sutter was off, giving up hits to Becker and Roy White, but escaped by getting the final 2 outs with the bases loaded.

Ed Bauta got rocked in his debut for the House of David and Trevor Hildenberger‘s collapse overshadowed good work by Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca and Orel Hershiser, who combined for 6 innings of 1-hit relief.

Briggs had 4 hits and scored 4 times while Ray Dandridge and Becker had 3 hits each, with Becker driving in 4. For the House of David, Banks had 3 hits and everybody else had at least one in a balanced onslaught.

BRK 11 (Hildenberger 3-1, 1 B Sv) @ HOD 12 (Downs 2-1, Sutter 16 Sv)
HRs: BRK – Becker (17), Snider (25), Briggs (3); HOD – Hendricks (27), Harris (1), Banks (19).
Box Score

#Indianapolis ABC’s @ Homestead Grays, Game 1

Indianapolis’ Doc White has wobbled a little since being inserted into the rotation, but here he was brilliant, with a 4-hit shutout through 8 innings. Surprisingly, though, Homestead’s pitching was nearly matching them: Bob Friend gave up only a single unearned run through 6 innings–a solo homerun by Joey Votto after a dropped foul ball–and the duo of Dave Giusti and Rick Ownbey–fantastic since their joint recall from AAA–chipped in with 5 innings of 2-hit relief.

Which, for those of you paying attention, means we went into extra innings.

A walk to Josh Gibson in the top of the 9th chased White from the game. Rob Dibble came in, walked Davey Johnson, and gave up a game-tying double to Roberto Clemente to tie the game.

And that’s where we stayed until the top of the 12th, when Ownbey gave up a single to Danny Hoffman and a pinch-hit, inside-the-park-homerun to Bob Bescher. Clay Carroll was perfect through 2 1/3, picking up the victory for the ABC’s.

Andy Van Slyke went 2-for-5, keeping his average above the .400 mark.

IND 3 (Carroll 2-3; Dibble 4 B Sv) @ HOM 1 (Lindblom 2-5)
HRs: IND – Votto (4), Bescher (13); HOM – none.
Box Score

#Houston Colt 45’s @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Detroit’s Hal Newhouser and Houston’s Bones Ely were both strong. Ely had a 1-hit shutout through 6, but 6 walks drove his pitch count way up, chasing him from the game while Newhouser allowed 2 runs over the same span on RBI singles by Tony Gwynn and Jeff Bagwell before exiting.

2 homeruns in the 8th put Detroit in front: a 3-run shot from Oscar Gamble and a 2-run dinger from Ernie Lombardi. Both came against Houston’s Brad Lidge who had, until this outing, looked better in his return to the WBL.

The Colt 45’s made it close: with 2 outs, Craig Biggio singled and Bagwell walked, bringing Pete Hill–recently and somewhat controversially installed as the cleanup hitter–to the plate. Hill promptly tripled, making it a 1 run game at 5-4, but John Hiller was able to get Gwynn to ground out weakly to end the game.

HOU 4 (Lidge 1-5, 3 B Sv; McGraw 3 H; Qualls 1 H) @ DET 5 (Bradford 1-0; Hiller 2 Sv; Napier 7 H)
HRs: HOU – none; Gamble (22), Lombardi (3).
Box Score

#Birmingham Black Barons @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 4

Birmingham just keeps rolling. This game is illustrative of their sweep of Ottawa: here, the Mounties’ Bob Moose was excellent in his first start for the team, allowing only 1 earned run through 7 innings. Birmingham’s Vic Willis was solid, and each team had fielding miscues that contributed to runs, but we ended the 7th with Ottawa leading, 5-3, with Ottawa’s Roy Sievers and Birmingham’s Jim Pagliaroni going deep.

The Black Barons tied the game in the top of the 8th on a 2 run homerun by Curtis Granderson. And it stayed that way for another 5 innings, until Troy Tulowitzki doubled home 2 runs in the top of the 13th.

Scott Baker, Larry Benton, Steve Bedrosian, and Kent Mercker combined for 7 innings of 2-hit relief and the two staffs combined to whiff 27 batters combined, with Ottawa’s Ryan Dempter fanning 5 of the 7 batters he faced.

The Mounties’ Larry Parrish had 3 hits in the losing cause.

BBB 7 (Bedrosian 3-1; Mercker 2 Sv) @ OTT 5 (Clancy 5-6; Affeldt 1 B Sv; Dubiel 1 H) [13 Innings]
HRs: BBB – Pagliaroni (1), Granderson (14); OTT – Sievers (6).
Box Score

Series XXIV Featured Matchup: Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On January 12, 2023

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

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.

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).

TWIWBL 18.2: Series XV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On November 8, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bill Byrd allowed 3 hits (2 by Tom Herr, who continues to impress) in a complete-game shutout of Birmingham. The 7-0 win moved Byrd to 5-2 and lowered his ERA to a sparkling 3.16. Curt Blefary, Larry Gardner, and Dan McGann had 2 hits each in support of Byrd, with McGann and Bryce Harper driving in 2 each.

The Black Sox finally ran out of patience with Miller Huggins, sending the struggling 2B to AAA in favor of OF Baby Doll Jacobson, who had been absolutely demolishing minor league pitching.

#Chicago American Giants

Shoeless Joe Jackson took Jimmy Key‘s first ever pitch in the WBL out of the ballpark for the first of his 2 homeruns on the day, setting the tone for a blowout victory for the American Giants over Ottawa. Damian Jackson–who started the day hitting .165–went 4-for-5 and six–yes, six–Chicago batters had 3 hits (Shoeless Joe, Frank Thomas, Eddie Collins, Duffy Lewis, Dick Allen, and Carlton Fisk). Thomas drove in 4, and Tricky Nichols improved to 6-2 with 7 solid innings on the mound.

Not all news was good for Chicago, as Cristobal Torriente had to leave the game with a leg injury that landed him on the DL. Rocky Colavito was recalled from AAA in his place.

As the American Giants try to solve their bullpen, Frank Smith was returned to AAA, with Joe Lake coming up to Chicago to compete with Joe Horlen for the final rotation spot. Despite his good day detailed above, The Damian Jackson experiment is clearly on its way out. While Jackson stays with the big league club–someone has to play 2B when Collins is out–Jack Doyle, way down in AA, provides the same defensive flexibility, and cannot hit any worse. Avisail Garcia was also sent down, with Magglio Ordonez coming up to the big leagues. Jim Davenport and Nellie Fox were both released to make room on the 40-man roster.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Mark Melancon picked up his 5th victory from the bullpen when Lance Berkman won the ballgame with a walk-off homerun against Cleveland. Jorge Posada also went deep and Jeff Bagwell and HR Johnson added 2 hits in the 4-3 victory.

Melancon did it again, moving to 6-1 when Jim O’Rourke provided a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 10th. Felipe Alou–perhaps playing to remain in the league–had 3 hits and 2 RBIs and Melancon, Dock Ellis, and Trevor Hoffman combined for 3.2 innings of 2-hit, shutout relief of an effective Stephen Strasbourg.

#Ottawa Mounties

Just another day for Tim Raines: 2 hits, 3 runs scored, 3 stolen bases to lead Ottawa to a 7-2 win over Chicago. Freddy Parent added his 9th homerun of the year and Jim Clancy pitched well, allowing 5 hits and 2 runs in just over 5 innings, moving to 3-2 on the season.

Jimmy Key was waived and Clark Griffiths returned to AAA to make room for Ted Bowsfield and Steve Howe‘s return from injury. More dramatically, the Mounties sent down Steve Garvey, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Alex Rodriguez to AAA in an effort to jump start their offense. Rick Monday, Larry Parrish, and–surprisingly, all the way from AA–Harry Easterday were recalled, with Felix Hernandez being waived. The end result of all this is that Jackie Jensen and Roy Sievers will get a lot of at-bats for a while.

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?