Overall

So much offense. Like … so much.

But only 2 pitchers had ERAs under 5.00. OK, 3 if you count Billy Koch‘s 3 innings. So that’s the issue.

But 7 players hit over 30 homeruns (and Rusty Staub 29), 6 full time (or nearly so) players had OPS’ over .850, and the peaks–Gary Carter, Roberto Alomar, Larry Walker, all 3 of whom both drove in and scored over 100 runs–were shockingly high.

So the question for Ottawa is relatively simple: how does a franchise maintain the offensive performance and get something approaching league average pitching.

What Went Right

Virtually everything related to the offense. We can take this by position.

Gary Carter was the 2nd best catcher in baseball.

Roberto Alomar was the best 2B in baseball.

Álex Rodríguez hit 46 homeruns as a 22 year old SS.

Tim Raines stole 115 bases and scored 119 runs.

Carlos Beltrán hit 35 homeruns, posted an .865 OPS, and went 42-3 in steals.

Larry Walker hit 54 homeruns with a .998 OPS and 126 RBIs.

And that doesn’t even mention the Rick Monday conundrum: Monday slashed 272/364/604 and just relentlessly demanded more and more playing time, most at DH. There is really no space for Monday in Ottawa, but how do you ignore that level of performance?

In 100 PAs, Josh Donaldson was similar: a 269/366/718 slash line, but somewhat blocked.

And then we have the pitching. Um … yeah.

Roy Halladay is quite good, and his 15-9 record and 1.26 WHIP are more reflective of his performance than his 5.17 ERA.

Bill Smith was every bit as good as Halladay while missing some time through injury, finishing with a 10-3 record and a stellar 3.77 ERA.

Tom Henke had a bumpy return from injury, but overall established himself as the closer for the team.

And that’s about it. Johnny Podgajny ate up innings and BJ Ryan was reasonably effective from the pen.

ALL STARS

Roberto Alomar
Álex Rodríguez
Larry Walker

MAJOR AWARDS

Roberto Alomar, NL All-Rounder Award; NL 2B Silver Slugger
Larry Walker, NL RF Silver Slugger

RECOGNITIONS

Gary Carter, Mel Trench Award 3rd Place; All NL 2nd Team; NL 25 & Under Team
Josh Donaldson, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Rick Monday, All NL 3rd Team; NL 25 & Under Team
Álex Rodríguez, All NL 3rd Team
Rusty Staub, NL 23 & Under Team; NL 21 & Under Team
Sam Thompson, NL All Rookie 2nd Team
Larry Walker, All NL 2nd Team; NL 25 & Under Team; NL 23 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Roberto Alomar, MVP
Roy Halladay, Pitcher of the Year
Roberto Alomar, Heart & Soul
Gary Carter, Fan Favorite

Billy Koch, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
John Olerud, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

The Mounties used twenty-four pitchers. Twenty-four. And while there were injuries a plenty (only Halladay had more than 30 starts, only Podgajny more than 20), there were also an overwhelming number of poor performances. Some of the lowlights:

Randy Johnson continues to struggle, posting an ERA over 8 in just over 100 innings. Johnson’s stuff is electric, but something has to shift or Ottawa needs to give up on him.

Atlee Hammaker was pummeled, allowing 40 homeruns in 89 innings. Read that again. That made Hammaker one of six Ottawa hurlers who averaged giving up at least 4 homeruns per 9 innings. Five pitchers averaged over 5 walks per 9. Max Scherzer did both.

I could go on, but it just hurts so much.

You may have noticed that 1B and 3B weren’t mentioned in the what went right review. Rusty Staub and Adrían Beltré weren’t bad, but they also were below league average for sure.

Roy Sievers and Bob Watson were bad, with each of them unable to get close to .700 OPSs.

Transactions

March

OF Ken Griffey, Jr & 4th Round Pick to POR for IF Adrián Beltré, OF Denard Span, P Atlee Hammaker, P Pedro Ramos, & 2nd Round Pick.

Portland looks to have won this on pure talent, but you have to remember this also allowed Carlos Beltrán to be the everyday CF, and Beltrán was excellent.

July

The Mounties stood pat at the All Star Break, as much for a lack of partners than a lack of desire.

August

The Mounties wanted to do something here, but their valuable pieces are too young–this nucleus holds promise, but may need to be broken up in the quest for pitching.

Positional Overview

C

No idea if Gary Carter can keep doing this, but what a treat The Kid was this year. Look for Emil Gross to return as his backup.

Milt May holds some long-term promise (but of course, it should be remembered that, at 21, is only 1 year younger than Carter and Gross).

1B

The Mounties have a lot of talent here, and its not clear what the right move is. It’s tempting to move Larry Walker here and deal with the surplus in the OF. In the meantime, look for John Olerud to be given every opportunity to seize this role in Spring Training.

But John Mayberry, Rusty Staub, Bob Watson, and Tino Martinez all have their supporters, and are likely to be useful WBL players at some point, either here or elsewhere.

2B

Very few people had Roberto Alomar supplanting Eddie Collins as the best 2B in the WBL, but that happened. Especially with that development, look for Tim Raines‘ occasional forays into the infield to become more and more rare.

Jimmy Dykes and Joey Cora each hold some promise in the system.

SS

Nobody is wishing Ottawa kept Freddy Parent now … Álex Rodríguez is not very far from being the best SS in the league: 46 homers at 22 will do that.

The system is pretty barren after that, with Henry Easterday and Dick Bartell offering some defensive options, but little else.

3B

Adrian Beltré has some detractors, but he’ll be here for a while, although Josh Donaldson is giving him some competition. Larry Parrish and Art Devlin are the most likely options if needed while Kyle Seager will push for playing time at some point.

It’s assumed that, eventually, Rodríguez will shift here, but that’s a problem for a future day.

LF/RF

Tim Raines in left and Larry Walker in right feel very set, although Walker’s continued injury struggles are worrisome (and part of why the move to 1B could be attractive).

There are options: Wee Willie Keeler is turning heads throughout the system; Rusty Staub, while slow, isn’t too slow for the outfield yet; and Sam Thompson has done nothing but hit when given the opportunity.

And that’s ignoring Ryan Klesko, Jackie Jensen, Terry Puhl, Jason Heyward, Warren Cormartie …

CF

Giving Carlos Beltrán the fulltime job was a great decision in hindsight. But it does nothing to help Ottawa figure out what to do with Rick Monday, who will be taking as many reps in RF as possible during Spring Training.

Others can play the position, but the only dedicated CF worth noting in the system is 20 year old Denard Span.

DH

Rick Monday, we guess?

SP

Health is such a cruel mistress.

In a perfect world, Ottawa would go with Roy Halladay and Bill Smith; Old Hoss Radbourn would step up, becoming more than an innings eater; Bill Smith or Bob Moose or Bob Brown or Gary Peters or Dupee Shaw or Max Scherzer or, well, anyone, would step up; and, most fantastically, the immense talent of Randy Johnson would show up, like, at all.

It could be a bizarre Spring.

RP

There is reason for optimism, as the closing trio of Tom Henke, BJ Ryan, and Billy Koch could be quite good.

Beyond those three, look for the fallout of the starting competition to end up here. Greg Holland, Rick Camp, and Mark Eichhorn all have potential to help, but may be a bit far from the WBL at this point.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

1st Round: 1
2nd Round: 2
3rd Round: 1
4th Round: 0
5th Round: 1

Look for … how many picks do they have? 4? … four pitchers to be selected.

This list includes both players who were closers all year and those who moved in or out of that role for a significant part of the year.

Our usual practices prevail: bold for top 3 and italics for bottom 3. Pitchers with below 162 IP aren’t included in the top/bottom markers.

#S Tier

These were the dominant closers all year, with Eric Gagne being the better of the 2, but only barely. And some would argue that Rod Beck, by virtue of being 3 years younger, holds more value.

#A Tier

An interesting group. Bob Howry, much maligned last season, bounced back in a big way despite an injury, while Josh Lindblom was just effective all year, perhaps the only truly dependable arm on Homestead’s staff.

And then there’s Craig Kimbrel, who was essentially unhittable after being moved into the closer spot for Kansas City, where he’ll start next season.

#B Tier

Brian Wilson and Harley Young could belong a tier or 2 above, but Wilson missed a fair bit of the season due to injury while Young wasn’t named the closer for Birmingham until well into the year. Goose Gossage was effective after being made the Black Yankees’ closer, but if you compare him to Young, Young clearly had the better year.

#C Tier

These are either useful arms at the end of the bullpen (Terry Adams, Jonathan Papelbon) or a surprising success in a limited time as a closer (Buddy Groom). Groom’s peripherals indicate this may be a mirage, but he was the best closer the Black Sox had all season.

#D Tier

Everyone has some issues here, from Tom Henke‘s tendency to give up the longball to Mike Henneman‘s injury absence, to the inability of Sparky Lyle and Tug McGraw to really gel in Houston. But none of these are in danger of being forced out of the league, and many of them will return as closers next season.

#F Tier

This group struggled, but are on a variety of paths: Francisco Rodríguez may actually start next season as the Angels’ closer and Trevor Hoffman will get another shot in Portland. But Jeff Pfeffer is likely done as a closer, and Juan Rincón pitched himself right out of the league. Aroldis Chapman remains an elite power arm, but without a little more control is probably destined to bounce around a bit.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Odd how much optimism can be generated by a team whose record isn’t very good.

THE OFFENSE

It’s all good here, end to end. When the only offensive black hole is your backup catcher, your offense is doing OK. Ten–TEN–Mounties are in double digit homeruns, from Tim Raines at 14 to Larry Walker‘s 38.

#What’s Going Right

Gary Carter and Larry Walker are among the best in the league at their positions, with Walker leading the team in HR and RBI.

Roberto Alomar has blossomed, and leas the team in H with an OPS in the .950s, which is incredibly strong for a middle infielder. His partner at SS, Álex Rodríguez, has finally begun to deliver on his promise, validating Ottawa’s decision to retain him last season.

The rest of the lineup is solid, with everyone delivering OPS’ between .800 and .850. It’s a fairly consistent model–mediocre BAs, a decent OBP, and a ton of power. Tim Raines–2nd in the WBL in SB by 1 at 68–is the exception to the model, but his value remains clear.

Special mention has to be made of Rick Monday. Not really thought of as a significant prospect, Monday has flourished, slashing 302/385/755 closing in on 200 PAs. A CF by trade, Monday’s future is uncertain as his current performance clearly exceeds a role as Carlos Beltrán‘s backup, but with Walker in RF and Raines in LF, it’s not clear where he can move to.

#What’s Not Going Right

Brad Ausmus has already announced his retirement at the end of the season. He’s being kept around for his, um, veteran leadership at this point.

I mean … that’s about it. Bob Watson struggled and was sent to AAA, and Mike Dorgan is back to being a useful utility player instead of a world-beater.

It’s been a good year at the plate in Ottawa so far. However …

THE PITCHING

Yoikes. Yoikes, yoikes, and yoikes.

#What’s Going Right

Roy Halladay continues to tantalize, showing flashes of ace-ish potential. Halladay sits at 10-6 with an ERA under 5.00, and has yet to put it all together for an extended length of time, but the potential is there.

Bill Smith has pitched excellently when healthy, sitting at 8-2 with a 3.225 ERA.

Atlee Hammaker struggled initially, but has pitched very well out of the bullpen, far better than his 6+ ERA would indicate.

Old Hoss Radbourn continues to oscillate between excellence and … other things. At worst, he’s a solid innings eater.

#What’s Not Going Right

Nobody else has succeeded as a starter, and the back 3 spots in the rotation have essentially been a revolving door, a situation that has surely been hurt by Bob Brown, Bob Moose, and Gary Peters all being on the DL for extended lengths of time (Moose and Peters are out well into next year). The whole staff has been mediocre at best, but there are some lowlights …

Randy Johnson is … perhaps the most frustrating bundle of talent in the WBL? Johnson has been sent to the minors after struggling mightily, but the Mounties hope he returns soon. Ish.

Tom Henke came back from a long term injury to provide an ERA over 7.00 in the closer role.

Jesse Crain, who looked promising initially, is on the verge of being sent back down as his ERA has ballooned over 7.00.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There might be help here, but there isn’t much high end talent. As an example, Otto Briggs, Warren Cromartie, Willie Upshaw, Leon Roberts, and Denard Span could all see time, but all are in A ball. Wee Willie Keeler is closer, and perhaps likely to make an impact.

But the Mounties need arms … and there’s just not a ton there. Dan Haren, Mark Eichhorn, Max Scherzer, and Billy Koch all have live arms, but are all at A ball.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The bottom of the lineup to step forward, and the pitching overall to improve a shade across the board.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• Can the staff both deliver and stay healthy? No.
• Who is the bullpen? Who the hell knows.
• How the young talent sorts itself out. This one is working out OK. Walker, Carter, Raines, Staub, and Rodríguez are all 23 or younger.

FEATURED SERIES

The Mounties host Homestead for 3 to start the week.

Projected Starters

Homestead’s starter listed first.

Francisco Liriano (6-7, 5.24) @ Roy Halladay (10-6, 4.60)
Doug Drabek (4-5, 4.89) @ Bill Smith (8-2, 3.25)
Cliff Lee (5-2, 6.00) @ Johnny Podgagny (3-3, 4.61)

If the starters take their spots as planned, this may be the rare chance for the Mounties to rely on their mound work. If that happens, I think they take 2 out of 3.

Before this series began, the Mounties named Atlee Hammaker to the 5th spot in their rotation, although it’s not clear when his turn will come around.

Game One

Turns out Atlee Hammaker‘s turn is immediately available, with Roy Halladay not quite recovered from his prior outing. He’ll face Homestead’s Francisco Liriano, who has pitched very well of late, in this one.

The legend of Josh Gibson just continues … Homestead’s offensive juggernaut took Hammaker deep in the first with Judy Johnson on to give the Grays an early 2-0 lead. Tim Raines started the game for Ottawa with a solo shot, halving the deficit and then Larry Walker launched his 39th of the year, tying the game at 2.

Hammaker allows 2 baserunners in the 2nd, but he got out of it, having gotten 5 of the 6 outs in the game so far via the strikeout. Liriano is faring worse: Adrián Beltré launched a solo shot in the 2nd, and the Mounties scored another on a hit from Sam Thompson.

But Gibson and Rick Reichardt launched back to back shots in the 3rd, tying the game once again until, in the 4th, Willie Stargell hit his 29th, giving the Grays a 5-4 lead. That was it for Hammaker–4 innings and 7 K’s, but also 4 homeruns allowed.

Bryn Smith allowed a hit to Johnson, and then Gibson did it once again–his 3rd homerun of the game, launched to deep center.

Liriano made it into the 6th, but hits from Thompson and Mike Dorgan chased him.

Gibson had a chance to become the first player in WBL history to hit 4 out in a game, but had to settle for a double off the CF wall.

But there was one more twist in the game: with 2 runners on in the bottom of the 9th, Ottawa turned to Rick Monday who continued his shocking campaign with a 3-run shot off Michael Jackson to tie the game at 7. That was followed by Dorgan’s 2nd homer of the game, and Ottawa had seized the lead, which they doubled on a an RBI double from Beltrán.

So, the top of the 9th was set, with Ottawa’s closer Tom Henke destined to face Gibson. Homestead is hard to close out: Andy Van Slyke led off the inning with a homerun. Johnson may have shown his youth, getting thrown out at send trying to stretch a single into a double–an especially poor choice, given Gibson being the next batter.

Henke was very careful, and while it won’t go down as an intentional walk, it was as close as can be. Henke wrapped 2 strikeouts around a hit batsman, closing out the game for a surprising win for Ottawa.

Gibson was clearly magnificent, but Johnson and Stargell added 3 hits each, while Mike Epstein whiffed 5 times for the Grays. 11 homeruns in the game highlighted the challenge both teams have with their staffs.

HOM 8 (Jackson 1-5, 5 B Sv; Kemmerer 2 H) @ OTT 9 (Crain 1-2; Henke 9 Sv)
HRs: HOM – Gibson 3 (29), Reichardt (26), Stargell (20), Van Slyke (12); OTT – Raines (15), Walker (39), Beltré (24), Monday (22), Dorgan (2).
Box Score

Game Two

Game 2 will see Roy Halladay face off against Homestead’s Doug Drabek.

These teams cannot stop hitting the ball out of the park. Homestead’s Mike Epstein and Rick Reichardt went back-to-back in the top of the first.

Drabek had to leave the game in the 3rd with back tightness, bringing in newly promoted Bartolo Colón for his WBL debut. Colón gave up a seeing-eye 2 run single to Gary Carter that tied the game at 3, but Owen Wilson launched his 2nd of the year to put the Grays back on top, 5-3.

Both bullpens locked in at that point: Colón was followed by Rick Ownbey and Ricardo Rincón, turning the ball over to closer Josh Lindblom for the bottom of the 9th. But this Ottawa team is tough: Carter greeted Lindblom with his 35th homer of the year, making it a 1 run game.

Rusty Staub managed a bloop hit, and was replaced at first by Tim Raines, representing the tying run. Raines stole 2nd (his 70th of the year, giving him, at least for the moment, the league lead) and moved to 3rd on a groundout from Carlos Beltrán. A single from Adrián Beltré tied the game, and off to extra innings we went.

Andy Van Slyke walked, stole second, and move to 3rd on a single form Judy Johnson. Josh Gibson was plunked by Clark Griffith to load the bases. Griffith walked in a run, but that was it, and Homestead stuck with Lindblom for the bottom of the 10th. Despite an error in the frame, Lindblom closed out the game.

HOM 6 (Lindblom 5-3, 3 B Sv; Ownbey 5 H; Rincón 2 H) @ OTT 5 (Gregg 0-3)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (27), Epstein (27), Wilson (2); OTT – Carter (35).
Box Score

After the game, Homestead moved Drabek to the DL, recalling Brickyard Kennedy from AAA.

Game Three

So, 2 one-run games and an even split.

The rubber match would see Homestead’s Cliff Lee take on Ottawa’s Bill Smith–which should be a fairly significant edge for the Mounties.

And yet … Andy Van Slyke led the game off with homer against Smith for an early 1-0 lead for the Grays. In the 4th, a double from Honus Wagner, a homer from Napoleon Lajoie, and RBI singles from Josh Gibson and Rick Reichardt made it 6-0 and chased Smith.

The Mounties finally got on the board when Tim Raines stole home (!) for his 72nd swipe of the season.

But Lee was dealing until he was forced from the game in the 7th through injury. At that point, he had a -1 lead, having surrendered only 2 hits. Ray Brown replaced Lee and gave up 2 runs, but the Grays were still up, 7-3 heading into the final 2 frames.

In the bottom of the 9th, Sam Thompson knocked in 2, closing the game to 7-5. The Mounties sent up Rick Monday as a pinch-hitter–could the legend grow? Temporarily, at least! Monday greeted Michael Jackson with a double, making it a 1-run game, 7-6.

Jackson walked Raines … and gave up a walk-off, 3 run shot to Roberto Alomar, as Ottawa once again rode their offense to a win, both for the game and the series.

HOM 7 (Jackson 1-6, 6 B Sv) @ OTT 9 (Smith, Bry 1-1)
HRs: HOM – Van Slyke (13), Lajoie (8); OTT – Alomar (22).
Box Score

In many ways, this is who Ottawa is: can they hold on by their fingernails on the mound until they find a way to score more runs than you. They hit 7 homers in the 5 games, and Tim Raines swiped 5 bases.

Some recognition does need to go to Josh Gibson, who finished the 3 game series with 3 homers, 7 RBI’s and 6 hits in 10 ABs.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

The Stars clearly need to keep adding talent: the gap between the leaders of the team–Aaron Judge, Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, Hardie Henderson–and the end of the roster is just too great. But it’s a start.

THE OFFENSE

Philadelphia’s problem, simply, is its offense. They don’t hit for average, they don’t get on base, and they don’t hit for power. Not sure what else there is … they do run the bases decently.

#What’s Going Right

Aaron Judge, an extra part in the Bill Dickey/Mike Schmidt trade, has absolutely exploded on the scene, with an OPS just under 1.00 and leading the team in HR and RBI.

Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan is far better offensively than anticipated, sporting the 2nd highest OPS on the team and leading the Stars in SLG at .615 and BA at .295. Rogan is playing all over the place, but seeing most of his time in the OF.

Scott Rolen leads the team in WAR with an OPS around .950.

At 37, Rico Carty is still useful. He can’t move, can’t field much, but he can hit, even with occasional power.

#What’s Not Going Right

Everything else?

C continues to be a black hole, with Mike Scioscia slightly more effective than Butch Wynegar and Sherm Lollar.

Willie Davis, a leader on the team last year, is slashing 233/290/373 this season, which is quite a plummet.

Ted Kluszewski has a little power, but little else: a SLG barely over .400 just won’t cut it.

But Kluszewski’s OPS is over 100 points higher than Jimmy Rollins, who has essentially lost the job to Art Fletcher.

While Rogan is doing unprecedented things as a 2-way player, JM Ward is not, to the point the team has decided they have better options at DH when he’s on the mound.

THE PITCHING

And now the good news.

#What’s Going Right

The starting pitching is strong, led by Hardie Henderson, who is 10-6 with a 3.05 ERA at the break.

Rogan and JM Ward don’t have great records (5-8 for Rogan, 4-4 for Ward), but they’ve got fantastic peripherals led by Ward’s 1.05 WHIP.

Behind them, Steve Carlton has been solid enough.

Fred Cambria, Ted Kennedy, and Brad Kilby have been fantastic getting the ball to Bob Howry. That trio has 7 saves and 21 holds, and Howry has a 0.82 WHIP and a dozen saves.

#What’s Not Going Right

The back end of the rotation is still a bit rough. Ray Collins is in the 5th spot now, but neither he nor Robin Roberts nor Larry Jackson have really seized the opportunity.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is hope for the future here. I mean, prospects flame out and all that, but there is hope.

Bill Gatewood is the highest ranked prospect, and probably the best arm in the system, but Jack Kralick, Jack Easton, LaTroy Hawkins, and perhaps even Scott Garrelts and Luke Weaver all have some upside.

Bill Dickey is likely to be recalled at the all star break and Harmon Killebrew and Bobby Abreu will probably see time with the Stars this year as well. Behind them, it does thin out a little, but Richie Ashburn, Andrew Payne, and Prince Fielder all have significant value.

WHAT’S NEEDED

The offense to become league average or better, preferably led by some of the prospects stepping forward. And, of course, the pitching to not regress.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• What does the bullpen look like? Fairly well answered, as most teams would welcome the combined performance of Kennedy, Cambria, Kilby, and Howry.
• How does the OF resolve, and most importantly how much of Aaron Judge‘s debut performance was a mirage? The latter first: very little, evidently. This remains a question, but not as anticipated–the Stars never anticipated CF being an open question, but with Willie Davis’ loss of form, it is.
• Can the flashes of talent on the IF shown last year from Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh deliver over a full season? Yoikes. No, no they cannot; in fact, neither is in the WBL and SS continues to be a bit of a mess.

FEATURED SERIES

Philadelphia opens the second half of the season with 3 games at Ottawa.

Projected Starters

Philadelphia’s starter listed first.

Steve Carlton (7-9, 5.62) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (9-6, 6.13)
Charles Rogan (5-8, 4.46) @ Roy Halladay (8-6, 4.92)
Ray Collins (2-4, 5.08) @ Bill Smith (6-2, 3.57)

Game One

Both teams are in an odd spot where their #1 starter is not their best, with the opening game matching Steve Carlton against Old Hoss Radbourn.

The much-maligned Willie Davis led the game off with a solo shot to right, giving the Stars a 1-0 lead. Tim Raines matched him, leading off the bottom of the frame with his 12th homer of the year to tie the game. Rusty Staub took Carlton deep with a runner on in the 2nd, but Carlton induced an inning-ending double play from Roberto Alomar to limit the damage.

After Davis doubled in the 3rd, Aaron Judge went deep to tie the game, then, in the 5th Davis (who has been stung by the criticism, it must be said) homered again.

Larry Walker tied it up with a 2-out double in the bottom of the 5th, but the Stars broke the deadlock immediately, as Judge tripled and Rico Carty chased Radbourn from the game with an RBI double.

Carlton got the first out in the 7th, but his relief, Ted Kennedy, was greeted with a solo shot from Adrián Beltré to once again tie the contest. Kennedy–helped by Art Fletcher gunning down Raines at home and the just-recalled Bill Dickey throwing out Alomar on a steal attempt–got out of the inning without further damage.

George Hendrick hit a 2-run shot in the 8th: 7-5 Stars. But it was never going to be that easy: Gary Carter sent a Brad Kilby pitch over the wall in left with Walker on, tying us up once again.

It ended with a walkoff dinger, of course: Alomar taking Pedro Feliciano deep in the bottom of the 9th.

Davis and Judge had 3 hits for the Stars.

PHI 7 (Feliciano 0-1; Kennedy 6 BSv; Kilby 2 BSv) @ OTT 9 (Ryan 2-2)
HRs: PHI – Davis 2 (8), Judge (27), Hendrick (9); OTT – Raines (12), Staub (15), Carter (32), Alomar (19).
Box Score

Game Two

The Stars gave Hardie Henderson the start in game 2; he would face the Mounties’ Roy Halladay.

Gary Carter hit his 33rd of the year in the bottom of the first, putting the Mounties up, 2-0, and an RBI double from Álex Rodríguez made it 3-0 in the 2nd, and then the miracle of Rick Monday continued: his 21st homer of the year increased the lead to 4-0.

Jimmy Rollins‘ 1st homer of the year made it 4-1.

Henderson was chased from the game in the 5th by a 2-run shot from Roberto Alomar and an RBI double from Rusty Staub. He was relieved by Robin Roberts who gave up an RBI single to Monday before getting out of the inning with Ottawa ahead, 8-1.

There was some more: homers by Ted Kluszewski and Adrian Beltré, some other stuff. But the outcome was never in doubt, as the Mounties rolled, 14-3.

Monday had 4 hits and 4 RBIs.

PHI 3 (Henderson 10-7) @ OTT 14 (Halladay 9-6)
HRs: PHI – Rollins (1), Kluszewski (12); OTT – Carter (33), Monday (21), Alomar (20), Beltré (23).
Box Score

Game Three

Trying to salvage a game, the Stars would send out J.M. Ward to face Ottawa’s Bill Smith. Ward was recently removed from being used as DH when he pitched: we’ll see if being able to focus solely on his mound duties changes anything for Philadelphia.

The game was scoreless through 5, with Smith allowing 3 hits and Ward only 1. Rusty Staub broke the deadlock in the bottom of the 7th, touching Ward for a 2-run homerun.

Aaron Judge hit his 28th in the top of the 9th, ending Smith’s shutout bid, but, after a single by Ted Kluszewski, Ottawa’s closer, Tom Henke, was able to retire Rico Carty on a popout to center.

Ward was once again a hard luck loser, pitching 7 strong innings.

PHI 1 (Ward 4-5) @ OTT 3 (Smith 7-2; Henke 7 Sv)
HRs: PHI – Judge (28); PHI – Staub (16).
Box Score

Not good. Not only were the Stars swept, they were outscored 26-11. Still, for Philadelphia, it’s all about next year, so there will be bruises in the process.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

The much maligned Pedro Guerrero had himself a day, hitting 3 homeruns and delivering the walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 11th as Brooklyn topped Birmingham, 8-7.

Beals Becker went deep twice and Fernando Valenzuela was fantastic as the Royal Giants beat the House of David, 4-1. Valenzuela improved to 6-1 with the complete game effort, allowing only 2 hits while whiffing 10.

Mike Piazza hit 2 out, giving him 33 on the year, and, in fantastically welcome news for Brooklyn, Don Drysedale put in his best start of the season as the Royal Giants topped the House of David, 9-1.

#Homestead Grays

Reliever Dave Giusti was sent to AAA, with Russ Kemmerer recalled to take his place in the bullpen.

Rick Reichardt hit two homeruns, including a grand slam, and Josh Gibson had 4 hits, raising his average to .399 as we hit the all star break. All in all, the Grays pounded out 23 hits in a 12-4 thumping of Ottawa.

#New York Gothams

Vean Gregg–called into emergency duty as a starter–turned in a great effort, combining with Mike Norris and Brian Wilson on 3-hit shutout of Ottawa. Pinky Higgins delivered all of the runs with a 3-run shot, his 9th of the year and Gregg fanned 9 in his 6+ innings of work. Norris picked up his 7th hold and Wilson his 12th save of the season.

Buster Posey hit 2 homeruns, but the Gothams fell to Ottawa, 7-5. This unfortunate pattern repeated as Larry Doyle hit his 10th and 11th of the year in an 11-9 loss to the Stars.

#Ottawa Mounties

Ottawa firmly believes in the talent of Randy Johnson. But there’s just so many unsuccessful attempts to move his ERA under 9.00 they can stomach. So they’re sending The Big Unit to AAA in hopes he can harness his immense talent. Clark Griffith–not exactly successful historically with the Mounties–was recalled. Bob Watson also headed to AAA after a mostly unsuccessful few months with Roy Sievers returning to WBL action.

The Rick Monday parade continues, with the shocking performance of the rookie continuing with 2 homeruns in a 4-1 win over the Gothams, giving him 18 on the year. As importantly for Mounties’ fans, Roy Halladay turned in a good performance, improving to 8-6, and Tom Henke picked up his 5th save of the season.

Monday did it again, hitting out 2 for 20 on the year and Gary Carter also went yard twice (giving him 30) as the Mounties beat the Gothams, 7-5.

Tim Raines–of all people–went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as Ottawa fell to Homestead, 8-5.

#Philadelphia Stars

Bullet Joe Rogan was masterful, hitting his 16th homerun and tossing a 1 hitter as the Stars beat the Gothams, 3-0. Rogan walked 1 and whiffed 8 in the complete game effort, improving his record to 5-8 on the year.

Chase Utley hit a 2-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the 10th, giving the Stars an 11-9 win over the Gothams. Scott Rolen went deep twice, and Aaron Judge, Rico Carty, Ted Kluszewski, and Mike Sciosia also sent balls over the fence.

Roy White went deep twice, but it wasn’t enough as the Royal Giants gave up a late lead and lost in 12 innings, 6-5, to the Gothams.

Frank Knauss became the league’s first 6 game winner with a 2 hit shutout, striking out 10 en route to a 2-0 victory over Ottawa. Solo homeruns from Duke Snider and Pedro Guerrero were all Knauss needed to move to 6-1 on the year.

#Homestead Grays

Daniel Hudson and Carlos Zambrano are both struggling mightily, but both hold their roster spots for now. It’s assumed that one will go down when Corey Kluber comes back from injury; it’s likely the other will follow shortly thereafter unless something turns around.

Francisco Liriano tossed a 2-hit shutout, leading the Grays to a 5-0 win over Kansas City. Liriano walked 4 and whiffed 8, and was helped along with homeruns from Mike Epstein and Willie Stargell.

Owen Wilson, struggling to regain his from from last season, will miss about a month and a half with a separated shoulder. OF Goose Goslin was recalled from AAA to take Wilson’s role as lefty OF off the bench.

Doug Drabek–perhaps the Grays’ best hurler in the early going–hit the DL with a sore wrist. Drabek should only miss a couple starts, but still. Brickyard Kennedy was recalled from AAA. Kennedy pitched well for Brooklyn last season in limited opportunities, but at 35, was released by the Royal Giants in February.

#New York Gothams

Brandon Crawford hit the shortest homerun of the day, but it was enough to give the Gothams a 6-5 walkoff victory in 12 innings over Brooklyn. In great news for the Gothams, Brian Wilson saw his first action of the year, giving up 1 hit and striking out 3 in 1.2 innings. The win went to Mike Norris, who improved to 2-0 with 2+ perfect innings.

Willie Mays went deep twice and Carl Furillo might have staved off his release with his first homerun of the year as the Gothams beat the House of David, 7-5.

Benny Kauff went deep twice, giving him 10 on the year, as the Gothams beat the House of David, 7-3.

#Ottawa Mounties

It was assumed that Ryan Dempster would lose his role as closer when Tom Henke returned. The surprise came when the Mounties moved Dempster to AAA, along with Dupee Shaw, as both Henke and Johnny Podgajny were recalled from their rehab assignments.

#Philadelphia Stars

Tim Belcher was sent to AAA with John Burkett being recalled as the Stars try to address their bullpen.

Joe Rogan tossed a complete game, 2-hit shutout as the Stars beat Birmingham, 7-0. He also drove in 2 while Art Fletcher and Willie Davis had 3 hits each, with Fletcher driving in 4.

Rogan was again the star, delivering a walkoff 2 run single to lead the Stars, who scored 6 runs over the final 3 innings, to a 7-6 victory over Birmingham. Ted Kluszewski went deep twice in the game and Burkett was excellent in his debut, delivering 2+ innings of 1 hit relief with the victory going to Ted Kennedy, now 2-1 on the year.

Scott Rolen went deep twice, but the Stars couldn’t hold a lead, falling to Homestead, 7-6.

Terry Forster began a rehab assignment, with an eye towards returning to the active roster later this week.

Ray Dandridge‘s offensive struggles have accelerated Germany Smith‘s return to full time status, with Smith taking over at SS. Dandridge will still see a lot of playing time around the diamond, but he–along with Frank Isbell–are in danger of (not) hitting themselves right out of the league.

Juan Mateo will miss about 4 months of action, clearing space for Forster’s return.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays recalled Corey Kluber from his rehab assignment, sending the struggling Tim Lincecum to AAA.

#New York Gothams

Willie Mays had 4 hits and 3 RBIs and Pinky Higgins went deep twice as the Gothams beat the Mounties, 8-2. Don Sutton improved to 3-1 with 10 whiffs in 7 plus innings of work for New York.

Mays and Benny Kauff each went deep twice as the Gothams poured it on late for an 8-3 win over Philadelphia. Gaylord Perry improved to 2-3 with 7 solid innings of work.

#Ottawa Mounties

With Ryan Dempster‘s struggles, the return of closer Tom Henke after a year away can’t come soon enough. Henke should start a rehab assignment later this week, joining Johnny Podgajny in trying to make their way back to the active roster.

#Philadelphia Stars

With Dave Stieb seemingly massively overmatched, the Stars sent him to AAA, recalling Ray Collins from a rehab assignment. Collins will slot into the bullpen for a while, with Larry Jackson taking Stieb’s spot in the rotation.

Bullet Joe Rogan has been the best hitter for the Stars so far this season, and while he’ll move around a lot, it’s expected that he’ll be out there virtually every day from here on out.

Hardie Henderson continues his great start, combining with Brad Kilby, Tim Belcher, and Ted Kennedy on a 4 hit shutout in a 5-0 win over the House of David. Henderson improved to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 1.64 on the day.

To not suck.

Beyond that, sorting through some of the young talent and making commitments around how is part of the long-term project and who is not would go a long way towards clarifying Ottawa’s future. Staying healthy would go a ways towards this, especially on the mound.

Best Case

Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Roy Halladay all return strong from injuries, joining Old Hoss Radbourn in a decent pitching staff and the core talent sorts itself out, especially in the OF.

Worst Case

The pitching continues to be among the worst in the league and none of the massive potential of Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr or Álex Rodríguez comes to the surface.

Key Questions

• Can the staff both deliver and stay healthy?
• Who is the bullpen?
• How the young talent sorts itself out.

Trade Bait

Not really. Radbourn has some value, but he also was the only quasi reliable arm for the Mounties last season.

Well, that was interesting: Griffey, Jr. was moved on, netting Adrián Beltré plus.

Roster Evaluation

Over half the roster is either unknown or was pretty horrible last year. Hence the goal being merely not to suck.

Talent Ratings

Best In The Minors

It’s not a bad system, but it lacks–beyond the top arms–top end potential. Watson and Shaw both start the season with the Mounties.

Overall

With low expectations come limited success, or some such.

Ottawa has some interesting pieces, a ton of raw talent, and very little to show for it all. Future success hinges on the development of that talent–Ken Griffey, Jr, Álex Rodríguez, and Randy Johnson, I’m looking at you.

As is often the case with teams that struggle, there were some decent high spots on offense but a bit of a mess on the mound.

What Went Right

Not a lot.

Larry Walker, Tim Raines, and Gary Carter each established themselves as legitimate WBL players, although each of them are just outside the upper tier at their position in the league (Walker only through seemingly being injury prone).

Carlos Beltrán did enough to put himself on the roster next year, and Rusty Staub hit well for Ottawa after being acquired in trade.

Old Hoss Radbourn and, before getting injured, Roy Halladay both look like front of rotation arms for Ottawa. Ryan Dempster stepped into the absence created by Tom Henke‘s injury quite well. Some other starters–Bob Moose, Bob Brown, and Clayton Richard especially–flashed some potential in limited innings, going 14-6 over a combined 30 starts.

The Mounties are an incredibly young organization: in one sense, merely surviving went right if 7 of your starters are 23 or under.

ALL STARS
SS Freddy Parent

What Went Wrong

Roberto Alomar faded and neither Álex Rodríguez nor Ken Griffey, Jr. did anything to live up to their massive potential. Across the board, it seemed like the best players could do was meh offensively.

Most of the pitching was horrible, and when not poor, greatly inconsistent (with Randy Johnson being the best example). Jim Clancy–whose 0.0 WAR was an accurate representation of his quality–was the only pitcher other than Radbourn and Halladay with over 100 IP.

Overall, there was just an absence of quality for the Mounties.

Trade Evaluations

March

None

June

IF Steve Garvey, OF Spud Johnson, 1B Carlos Delgado to Los Angeles for OF Rusty Staub, P Dave Bennett, OF Carlos Beltrán, C Jim Stephens & P Sean O'Sullivan

Seems fine–Delgado’s loss this year hurt, but Staub (a franchise player) and Beltrán offer a lot of future value.

IF Freddy Parent to Chicago for IF Sibby Sisti, OF Bob Watson, and IF Rickie Weeks

Parent was Ottawa’s only all star, so the drop in quality hurt. But it does clear the way for Á-Rod (which may or may not be a good thing if his performance doesn’t pick up), and Watson looks promising.

RP Gary Lavelle & P Jamie Moyer to Black Yankees for IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick {Mark Eichhorn}

Seems fine, maybe a little light if neither Bartell nor Thompson see WBL time.

July

P Steve Howe, OF George Van Haltren, 5th Round Pick & 6th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Jeremy Affeldt, P Bob Moose, OF George Burns, IF Art Devlin & 3rd Round Pick

All reasonable, as both Moose and Burns have some promise.

Looking Forward

SP

Radbourn and Halladay should be solid for years to come, and there is great excitement over the potential of Randy Johnson. Beyond that, it’s a lot of question marks.

RP

If Henke can bounce back from injury, he and Dempster should be solid here, and there are some decent arms behind them.

C

Carter should have this locked up for quite a while.

1B

Long term, a mixture of John Olerud and John Mayberry should handle this, but there are no great immediate options, unless Staub and Bob Watson can handle it.

2B

Even with his late season fade, this should be Roberto Alomar‘s position, especially as Raines shifts permanently to the outfield.

3B

An area of need, as neither Anthony Rendon nor Larry Parrish impressed.

SS

It’s assumed that Rodríguez will hold this down.

LF

Raines should play here more and more.

CF

This gets more interesting, as either Betrán or Griffey, Jr. could be here long term, with the other moving to a corner OF position.

RF

Walker as long as he’s healthy, with others, including Staub, filling in.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

There are some tempting choices out there, but Max Scherzer being a franchise selection who looks almost ready for the majors makes him the choice. The 2nd round was a much harder selection, but the Mounties eventually settled on Al Orth, partially because he should be able to help out at the major league level somewhat immediately.

1B is a bit unsettled for the franchise, so Elbie Fletcher made sense in the 3rd round. Fletcher is a ways away from helping at the WBL level, but he could be in the mix eventually. In the last part of that round, they took another arm: 22 year old Dan Haren.

In the 4th round, the Mounties took 2B Jimmy Dykes with their final franchise exemption and rubber armed reliever Mark Eichhorn with their other pick that round.

Rounds 5-8

Ottawa needs quality across the board, but being limited to franchise selections may make that challenging. They start in the 7th round with OF Warren Cromartie and follow that in the 8th with SP Dupee Shaw.

Rounds 9-12

IF Joey Cora; OF Leon Roberts; P Billy Koch; and P Chuck Taylor.

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).