This team really should be better than this. But if you really look at the talent on the roster, their struggles make sense.
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This is what happens when you struggle to hit with mediocre pitching. While a monstrous close to the season could maybe possibly see the Gothams edging into the playoffs, really, this year is toast for them.
THE OFFENSE
There are a few very high end highlights, and a couple feel-good stories. But … it needs to get better across the board.
#What’s Going Right
Willie Mays is a spectacular talent: power, speed, defense, and at 24, coming into his prime. He leads the Gothams in homeruns, RBI, R, and (for batting qualifiers) OPS.
Buster Posey‘s raw numbers trail Mays, but he’s a catcher, and an OPS over .900 from a solid backstop is remarkable. He’s backed up by Dick Dietz, who may be the best offensively performing backup catcher in the league.
Last years AAA MVP, Benny Kauff, has stepped right into a WBL role, sitting 2nd on the team in most offensive rates.
Will Clark has emerged as an excellent 1B, with an OPS around .950.
Larry Doyle has exploded this year, outpacing even Mays with most of his rate stats. Doyle is 35, so he may not be a long-term solve there, but he’s been a revelation.
3B has been an issue for the Gothams all year, but it feels like Jim Ray Hart may have claimed it moving forward.
#What’s Not Going Right
The rest of the lineup is essentially a mess. LF and SS are weak, and the people that have been run through those, plus 2B and 3B before the emergence of Doyle and Hart, have been ridiculously bad. Jo-Jo Moore, Terry Turner, Pete Runnels, Eugenio Suárez, George Van Haltren, Ryan Zimmerman, Steve Kemp, Carl Furillo … none of them could stick with the WBL club.
THE PITCHING
There was such potential here. You have the rotation anchored by Christy Mathewson, Gaylord Perry, and Don Sutton, and one of the best bullpens in the league, led by Brian Wilson, but also featuring Mike Norris.
It didn’t work out: Mathewson has been shockingly mediocre, Perry and Sutton merely good, Norris is showing signs of age, and Wilson spent a fair bit of time on the DL.
#What’s Going Right
Brian Wilson is excellent, a true shutdown closer at the end of the bullpen, and he looks fully recovered from his earlier injury.
Mike Norris, while not as incandescent as last year, has been excellent behind Wilson.
Gaylord Perry has excellent peripheral numbers despite a mediocre win/loss record and ERA.
#What’s Not Going Right
Mathewson hasn’t been outright bad, and, as always, he chews up innings. But a 7-14 record and an ERA in the mid 5.00’s is not what the Gothams expect from him.
The back end of the rotation has been a mess, with Rube Waddell, Carl Hubbell, and others all sort of stumbling through their opportunities.
The much traveled Kent Tekulve has done well with the Gothams, but is insisting on pursuing free agency, so his signing ends up not mattering much for the team overall.
THE FARM SYSTEM
TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
The system is ranked dead last, but may not actually be that bad. There is some high level talent, especially in OF Kyle Tucker and 3B Howard Johnson and Sean Burroughs. On the mound, William VanLandingham and Masahiro Tanaka have some upside as well.
OK, maybe it is that bad.
WHAT’S NEEDED
A general upgrade of talent to surround the stars and the stars–especially Mathewson–stepping forward.
Storylines to Watch
Key Questions from Spring Training
- Like so many other teams, the rotation is key. Yes.
- The infield feels fragile, so how that plays out will bear watching. Yes. Fragile is an interesting word–they certainly broke apart.
- How will the Gothams get PA’s for Benny Kauff? Quite easily as the fulltime DH became the answer.
FEATURED SERIES
We’ll focus on the 3 game matchup with the House of David, only becuase, if the Gothams can sweep this series, they may actually have some Wild Card hopes.
Projected Starters
House of David starter listed first.
Jack Taylor (10-10, 6.07) @ Christy Mathewson (7-14, 5.36)
Bob Rush (10-7, 5.28) @ Gaylord Perry (11-12, 4.99)
CC Sabathia (5-11, 5.77) @ Don Sutton (15-7, 5.01)
These are unlikely to be the actual starters as both teams are auditioning rotation candidates as the season winds down.
Game One
Game 1 of this series which may determine the fate of the House of David this year. Both teams trot out their struggling aces–Jack Taylor for the House of David and Christy Mathewson for the Gothams.
Anthony Rizzo gave the House of David the lead in the first with his 24th homer of the year. Ernie Banks tripled and scored on a single from Ryne Sandberg, doubling the lead to 2-0. After Jim Edmonds scored on a passed ball, Rizzo did it again, this time with a 3 run shot. Banks followed with a solo shot of his own, making it 7-0.
Davey Johnson plated a run in the bottom of the 2nd, but there was still a long way to go.
Matty didn’t make it out of the 3rd, chased from the mound by Jim Edmonds‘ 18th of the year, replaced by Guy Hecker.
More runs were scored, but this was a rout. The only real drama was if Rizzo–who launched his 3rd of the game earlier–would become the 2nd player in WBL history to hit 4 in a game. He had 2 chances, but neither resulted in a homerun. Still, Rizzo had himself a day: 5 hits, 5 RBIs, and 4 runs scored. Sandberg added 4 hits and 4 RBIs.
Bob Shaw and Karl Spooner were solid in relief of Taylor, while the less said about the Gothams’ efforts from the mound, the better.
HOD 15 (Taylor 11-10) @ NYG 6 (Mathewson 7-15)
HRs: HOD – Rizzo 3(26), Banks (55), Edmonds (18), Sandberg (38), Stone (13); NYG – Thompson (2), Buford (8), Terry (4).
Box Score
Game Two
Bob Rush will take on Gaylord Perry in game 2.
Johnny Callison‘s 32nd homerun of the year put the Gothams in front 1-0 in the bottom of the 2nd, and his 33rd doubled the lead in the 4th.
Perry was sailing into the 5th, until a couple hit batters loaded the bases and Anthony Rizzo delivered a 2 run single to right, tying the game.
New York pulled into the lead again via a 2 run homerun from Buster Posey. A double from Willie Mays chased Rush. His relief, Ferguson Jenkins, got 2 quick outs, but gave up a double to Bill Terry, plating Mays and making it a 5-2 game.
Perry got 2 outs in the 7th before walking Richie Hebner. He had a good outing, fanning 10 and allowing only the 2 runs.
Ben Oglive, mired in one of the worst starts to a WBL career we’ve seen, went deep for his first career homerun for the final margin of victory. So, a split to the series, with a deciding game 3 on tap.
HOD 2 (Rush 10-8) @ NYG 6 (Perry 12-12; Waddell 3 H)
HRs: HOD – none; NYG – Callison 2 (33), Posey (35), Oglivie (1).
Box Score
Game Three
A win for the Gothams would pull them to within 3 games of the Wild Card spot, so there is still a bit to play for here.
CC Sabathia will take the mound for the House of David while New York will turn to Pete Donohue, giving him his 4th start of the season.
Buster Posey, Willie Mays, and Will Clark each took Sabathia deep in the home first, giving New York an early 3-0 lead. Mark McGwire got one back in the 2nd, but Donohue worked out of a jam, escaping with the 3-1 lead.
Robby Thompson launched one in the 2nd with a runner on, extending the edge to 5-1.
Sabathia settled down, but the damage was done. Donohue lasted into the 7th, and the combination of Aaron Loup, Santiago Casilla, and Brian Wilson kept the House of David under wraps.
HOD 2 (Sabathia 5-12) @ NYG 5 (Donohue 3-1; Wilson 19 Sv; Loup 1 H)
HRs: HOD – McGwire (21); NYG – Posey (36), Mays (45), Clark (30), Thompson (3).
Box Score
While a sweep would have been nice, taking 2 out of 3 keeps New York in the running for the Wild Card, leaving that position no clearer than before.