Overall

Wow. From first place to a very, very distant last place in a single season.

Portland is a young team with a lot of good talent, but they remain a few years away from really coming together. There are some pieces that are good enough that, if they take leaps forward, could carry the entire team (Walter Johnson and Ken Griffey, Jr come to mind), but the most likely thing is another year of slogging as they figure it out.

Johnson, Griffey, Jr, Joseíto Muñoz, Bert Blyleven, Joe Mauer, and Johan Santana are all 23 or younger, so there is some real hope here.

Most of the issues are on the offensive side, where the Sea Dogs were dead last in most measures and where it was a challenge to find much optimism beyond Kent Hrbek, Mauer, and Griffey Jr.

What Went Right

Those three. Hrbek hit for power and led the team with 96 RBIs; Griffey, Jr had as good a year as good have been hoped for, slashing 292/326/568; and Mauer posted an .823 OPS as an everyday catcher.

The acquisition of Bobby Abreu looks solid, as the young OFer slashed 257/389/527 in a late season callup.

And that’s about it on the offensive side.

The rotation has all the potential in the world, with a front four of Walter Johnson, Walter Ball, Joseíto Muñoz, and Bert Blyleven. Of those, however, only Ball had an actually solid year, and he missed half the season with injuries.

And … yeah … that’s about it.

ALL STARS

Rogers Hornsby (Subsequently traded)
Joe Mauer

MAJOR AWARDS

Buddy Bell: AL 3B Gold Glove
Bert Blyleven: AL P Gold Glove

RECOGNITIONS

Kiki Cuyler: AL Over 30 Team
Ken Griffey, Jr: AL 21 & Under Team
Walter Johnson: AL 21 & Under Team
Joseíto Muñoz: AL 21 & Under Team

ORGANIZATIONAL AWARDS

Joe Mauer, MVP
Walter Ball, Pitcher of the Year
Walter Johnson, Heart & Soul
Joseíto Muñoz, Fan Favorite

Joe Coleman, Minor League Pitcher of the Year
Chuck Klein, Minor League Player of the Year

What Went Wrong

Bobby Murcer, Gil Hodges, Kiki Cuyler, and Cliff Lee each posted negative WAR’s in over 125 PAs. Hodges managed that while leading the team in homers with 38, which means he did, essentially, nothing else.

The middle infield was a mess for most of the year, with Paul Molitor–who clearly doesn’t belong at 2B–leading a weak group. Hughie Jennings, Eddie Yost, Elvis Andrus, and Willie Randolph all struggled mightily after being given a shot, and it’s all pretty wide open.

The bullpen was a mess all year, with Trevor Hoffman struggling as the closer, John Wetteland being horrible after his acquisition, and a rotating crew of Frank Williams, Elmer Brown, Dick Jones, and a few others being unable to hold their spot.

Dizzy Trout and Jerry Koosman both struggled a bit as starters.

Transactions

March

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

It’s a lot to give up, but Griffey, Jr delivered this year. Ultimately, the deal will be judged by the pick and Beltré, but you can’t argue too much against it.

C Iván Rodríguez, P Jon Matlack, OF Adolis García, OF Al Oliver, 1st Round Pick, & 4th Round Pick to MCG for IF Paul Molitor, OF Vladimir Guerrero, C Alan Ashby, & 2nd Round Pick.

This was a blockbuster, but it makes sense: the Sea Dogs were committed to Mauer and the rest was about equaling out potential value. A lot hinges on whether Molitor is able to find a position. With Guerrero still a year or 2 away and the picks involved, it will take a while to evaluate this one.

July

P Mike Cuellar to BAL for P John Wetteland & 4th Round Pick.

Wetteland was so bad after his arrival that this has to be considered a loss at this point.

IF Rogers Hornsby & P Pascual Pérez to NYY for IF Willie Randolph, P Jake Peavy, P Bill Monbouquette, & 1st Round Pick.

Assuming Peavy stays healthy and the Sea Dogs don’t fumble the pick, this is a win given how far away from contention Portland is and Hornsby’s advancing age.

August

IF Rafael Palmiero, P Mark Melancon, IF Jim Fregosi, & OF Harry Hooper to PHI for P LaTroy Hawkins, P Dave Stieb, IF Pat Meares, P Jaret Wright, OF Bobby Abreu, & 2nd Round Pick.

This trade kept getting bigger and bigger, and ended up doing a lot of things at once. Palmiero and Abreu were each blocked in their organizations, so that part makes sense; the rest was a fire sale as Philadelphia cemented their playoff drive. If Stieb and/or Hawkins can deliver at the WBL level, this is probably a win for Portland.

Positional Overview

C

Joe Mauer had better not get hurt … last year it felt like Cliff Lee would be a solid backup, but Lee flopped, and the backup job is up for grabs, with Ernie Krueger having the inside track on it, although Alan Ashby will also be given a look in Spring Training.

1B

Kent Hrbek has this locked down, and while the Sea Dogs wish the big guy would take that slight step forward, he remains a solid choice.

Gil Hodges will be Hrbek’s primary backup unless Portland moves on from him, in which case Mickey Vernon or veteran Don Baylor seem the most likely call-ups.

2B

The question is how long can Portland accept Paul Molitor‘s defensive deficiencies. Assuming it’s a while more, Portland is likely to keep a glove-first option as a backup infielder, likely Wayne Garrett or Tom Satriano or, if they are still just looking for memes, Greg Litton.

SS

The Sea Dogs really wanted Hughie Jennings to make a claim here, but he didn’t, not really. So that opens up some competition with Cobe Jones and Elvis Andrus.

3B

Buddy Bell was quite bad over the first few months, but rebounded well, and remains the favorite here, although Eddie Yost has his supporters in the organization, as does, despite his significant WBL struggles, Miguel Sanó.

LF/RF

Bobby Murcer struggled a bit this year, but remains the incumbent. At the other corner, it’s far more open: Bobby Abreu will get a long look, but Ruben Sierra and the massively disappointing Kiki Cuyler also have a shot, as does, perhaps, young Chuck Klein.

Two 20 year olds are the future here: Vladimir Guerrero and Hugh Duffy need some more time, but are both slated as WBL starters.

CF

This is Ken Griffey, Jr‘s spot. Heck, this is essentially Griffey, Jr’s team, given fellow youngster Walter Johnson‘s comparative reticence.

Gary Pettis will always make an argument as a defensive option, and Lloyd Moseby has some legitimate WBL talent.

DH

I guess this is Gil Hodges, but he really was poor this season. Don Baylor and Ruben Sierra have a chance to make the team here, and maybe it’s actually just where Molitor ends up?

SP

Nothing is more promising or more likely to disappoint than young pitchers, right?

Joseíto Muñoz is 20, Walter Johnson and Bert Blyleven 21, and rookie Walter Ball the old man of the staff at 26. But there is so much talent in those 4, and if either Jake Peavy or Johan Santana can step forward, it has the potential to be as good a rotation as there is in the WBL.

It also has the potential to be profoundly average with long stints on the DL. So.

Dizzy Trout and Joe Coleman are worthwhile as long-term projects as well.

RP

This is ugly. Trevor Hoffman cannot find a decent performance level, John Wetteland was miserable, and the people pulled in for trials–Frank Williams, Elmer Brown, Dick Jones–were equally bad.

Hoffman and Wetteland have elite stuff, but just seem overmatched at this point, They’ll get another year to try, though.

Draft Outlook

DRAFT PICKS

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

A big draft for the Sea Dogs, with 6 picks in the first 3 rounds. There are a few WBL ready arms, aside from that, the lower end of the farm system could just be upgraded across the board.

#WBL All Rookie First Team

Rookies are interesting.

We run the full gamut here, from the MVP possibilities of Turkey Stearnes to players who ended the year in the minors, or, like César Hernández, project as fringe players at best. Tom Haller, Juan Beníquez, and Joe Harris are all on the wrong side of 30.

The spread of talent makes some comparisons misleading: you would much rather be San Francisco with Jimmie Foxx, Stearnes, and Bump Hadley than Indianapolis with Chris Sabo, Adam Dunn, and George Foster.

#WBL All Rookie Second Team

Note Bullet Joe Rogan‘s well warranted appearance at 2 positions.

David Ortiz, Julio Rodríguez, Rogan, and Ice Box Chamberlain were the class of this group. Those 4, Frank Grant, Dobie Moore, Freddie Lindstrom, Ichiro Suzuki, and Tom Seaver are the most likely to be future stars–that’s a lot of potential over there in the American League.

This is everyone who qualified for the ERA crown, plus a heaping handful of others who made at least 10 starts during the season. If a player had less than 162 innings, they are (a) probably knocked down a tier and (b) their name is prefaced by a * and italicized.

We’ve leaned on valuing IP in these rankings, perhaps a bit too much. But these are your starters, and they need to show up, game after game. It also means the Tiers are a little different: there are D-Tier pitchers here that you would welcome at the back end of your rotation, and it’s really only some of them, and the F Tier, that are truly an issue.

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

Just look at all that bold.

It’s been these 3 all year, and there’s a hair’s breadth between them. The analytics like Toad Ramsey, but Luis Padrón‘s record is stunning and while his ERA crown came by the absolute thinnest of margins, it did come.

Knuckleballers are always a bit unpredictable season-to-season, and it may very well be that A. Rube Foster has the best career of these three. But great things are expected of each of them.

#A Tier

Lefty Grove and Smokey Joe Williams each have an argument to move up a tier, but are held back, Grove’s instance by his ERA, in Williams’ by his record. Still, they are the class of this group.

If José Méndez hadn’t led the league in innings, he would probably drop down a level, but we’re nitpicking: these are staff aces on most teams. Note that Miami, Brooklyn, and Kansas City already have 2 pitchers each on this list.

#B Tier

Hardie Henderson, Roger Clemens, and perhaps Eddie Plank (but that would be giving an awful lot of weight on 20 victories) could all be nudged up, but I’m comfortable with this. These are all front of rotation hurlers, with the only real surprise being Brett Anderson, who quietly excelled in a difficult year for Los Angeles. Ed Walsh, last year’s Rookie of the Year, avoided the sophomore slump entirely.

If you’re looking for skepticism, both Ice Box Chamberlain (due to age) and Kyle Peterson (due to coming out of nowhere) are decent bets to regress.

#C Tier

Gaylord Perry and JM Ward were perhaps the unluckiest pitchers in the league this year: a bit of good fortune, and either could be several tiers above. If anyone is ranked too highly, it’s probably Bill Steen. There are a lot of names here that could easily take a step forward–Steve Carlton, Don Drysdale, and Walter Johnson especially.

Sandy Koufax blossomed in the bullpen after losing his rotation spot, but Brooklyn is likely to try him again as a starter next season.

Joe Rogan is just a remarkable talent. Everyone else here has great value solely from being on the mound: add Rogan’s bat and … yoikes.

#D Tier

There are some absolute conundrums here. Greg Maddux‘s issues are obvious in the final column: his BABIP is top-3 in the league, showing just how good his stuff is. But he has to keep the ball in the ballpark. At least once in a while.

Christy Mathewson and Cy Young seem like they could do more than be massive inning eaters, but they need to be harder to hit to make the jump forward. But pitching is weird: Jack Taylor and Gerrit Cole (see below) were among the best on the mound last season, and struggled mightily this.

Bob Feller would warrant a bump as well with a few more solid starts.

#F Tier

Most of these issues are clear: too many homeruns, too many walks, way too many runners on the basepaths. Maybe Old Hoss Radbourn could argue to be one tier up. Maybe.

Other than that, it must be said there is a ton of talent here: Roy Oswalt, Tom Seaver, and Justin Verlander jump out as most likely to bounce back next year.

It must be said there are probably 2 dozen more names that could be listed in the F Tier. Check out the individual team maps as they are published for those, but suffice to say that, when a pitcher goes down in flames in the WBL, they burn awfully bright.

#Chicago American Giants

George Grantham hit 2 homeruns and scored 4 times as the American Giants topped Cleveland 8-7 in 15 innings, as Chicago continued to play spoiler to the teams vying for postseason spots.

#Los Angeles Angels

Scott Rice, who has been useful as a lefty from the pen, is done for the season, heading to the DL with a strained shoulder. Ross Reynolds was recalled from a rehab assignment to take his place.

Eddie Joost hit a walkoff homerun as the Angels edged Baltimore, 4-3. But the real story was Julio Teheran who allowed only 3 hits over 7 innings in his first career start.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Gary Sheffield was activated from the DL as Miami makes an improbable push for the final AL Wild Card spot.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Walter Ball looks to be fully recovered, combining with Johan Santana and Dick Jones on a 4-hit shutout of San Francisco. The Sea Dogs were led by 3 hits and 3 RBI’s from Ken Griffey, Jr. in the 7-0 win.

Elvis Andrus‘ time in the WBL came to an end with Hughie Jennings‘ return from the DL.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

With San Jose knocked out of the playoffs at AAA, the Sea Lions were able to fully expand their roster, recalling P Red Ehret, OF Josh Reddick, 1B Wally Joyner, and C Gene Oliver.

With expectations high for the postseason, look for the Sea Lions to limit the remaining starts of their big 3 of Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, and Bump Hadley.

Oliver hit 2 out, helping Plank win his 19th game of the season as San Francisco topped Detroit, 9-5.

Turkey Stearnes went deep twice, but the Sea Lions fell to Detroit, 5-4. The loss left San Francisco sitting on 99 victories on the year, with a week left to see how far over a century they can go.

#Chicago American Giants

Waite Hoyt was excellent in his first start for Chicago, blanking his old team 4-0. Hoyt combined with Herb Pennock and AJ Minter on the 5 hit shutout of the New York Black Yankees.

The American Giants recalled Rocky Colavito, Luke Appling, Freddie Lindstrom, and Michael McKenry along with pitchers Gavin Floyd, Joe Horlen, and Scott Radinsky. Ben Sheets was removed from the rotation as Chicago will use a committee approach at the end of their rotation.

Joe Jackson drove in 6 on 2 homeruns and 2 doubles and Eddie Collins added 4 hits of his own and scored 4 times as Chicago beat San Francisco 11-6. The offense continued to produce, this time with Frank Thomas driving in 6 and scoring 4 times in a 12-6 win over the Sea Lions. Collins again scored 4 times and McKenry went deep in his first WBL game in the victory.

#Los Angeles Angels

Mark Ellis was recalled from his rehab assignment and Nolan Ryan was recalled from AA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Phenomenal Smith–who really was phenomenal last year in limited appearances–began a rehab assignment after a major injury.

Gary Sheffield and Jim Thome each had 2 dingers as the Cuban Giants edged Portland, 7-6.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Jeff Burroughs went deep twice, leading Portland to an 8-1 win over Memphis.

An error in the 9th opened the door for Joseíto Muñoz to face one more batter and, with that, he struck out his 15th batter of the night, setting a new WBL record. Muñoz got the win in the 8-2 triumph over Memphis, allowing 3 hits and walking 1. Gil Hodges had 3 hits and 5 RBIs for the Sea Dogs.

Walter Ball was recalled from his rehab assignment, replacing Jerry Koosman in the Sea Dogs’ rotation. Ps Harry Matuzak and Johan Santana–now fully committed to his long-term role as a starter–were recalled, along with Ernie Krueger, Miguel Sanó, Bobby Abreu, and Elvis Andrus.

Ken Griffey, Jr. hit 2 out, but Portland fell to Miami, 7-6.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove will miss a couple starts, headed to the DL with a viral infection. The Sea Lions recalled Tim Hudson–out for many months–from a rehab assignment to see what the veteran has left in the tank.

Brian Downing hit his first 2 homeruns of the year, but the Sea Lions bullpen gave up the game in a 9-7 loss to Detroit. A few games later, Jack Clark also hit 2 out, giving him 42 on the year, but the Sea Lions fell to Chicago, 12-6.

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago’s season is done at this point, so they have turned their focus to next year. The immensely talented Chino Smith was recalled from AAA. While Smith won’t unseat Eddie Collins at 2B, it’s hoped that, by shifting Joe Jackson to LF, the American Giants can see what they have in Smith in RF.

Despite his obvious power, Rocky Colavito was sent to AAA to clear room for Smith.

Chicago also recalled Danny Murtaugh from AA, sending Damian Jackson down, giving them a chance to see what the young IF can do, both at SS and as Dick Allen‘s backup at 3B.

Jackson tied the game with a 2 run pinch-hit shot in the 9th and won it with another 2 run homerun in the 11th as the American Giants beat Memphis, 8-6 in 11 innings.

The American Giants exploded for 15 runs over the last 3 innings, turning a 5-5 tie into a 20-6 rout of Los Angeles. Kevin Mitchell had 3 homeruns and Paul Konerko and Duffy Lewis each hit grandslams in the game, with Konerko driving in 8–the most in the WBL this season–and Mitchell 6. Collins, Konerko, and Mitchell each scored 4 times.

#Los Angeles Angels

John Stearns was sent to AAA with AJ Pierzynski returning from his rehab assignment. With Ron Hassey‘s strong showing, look for Pierzynski to be more in a backup role than a platoon.

Doug Rader and Carlos Delgado each hit 2 homeruns and Doc Gooden put in a solid start as the Angels trounced Portland, 11-2.

Kal Daniels is having himself a season. Los Angeles, unfortunately, isn’t, and his 5 hits weren’t enough as the Angels fell to the Sea Dogs, 10-6 in 10 innings. Things got a little worse for the Angels after the game as Ross Reynolds–perhaps the most dependable arm in their bullpen all year–will miss about a week with a stiff back. John Lackey was recalled from AAA.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Julio Rodríguez hit two homeruns, giving him 30 on the year, but the Cuban Giants’ bullpen imploded in a 14-7 loss to the Black Yankees. The next day, Rodríguez did it again: 2 homeruns in another loss to New York, this one by a 14-5 tally.

Jim Whitney continued to shine as a trade acquisition for the Cuban Giants, twirling a 2-hitter against the Black Yankees in a 4-0 victory. Helped by homeruns from Yasiel Puig and Gary Sheffield, Whitney improved to 3-1 for Miami, whiffing a dozen and walking 2 in the complete game effort.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Art Fowler was sent to AAA with Tom Zachary being recalled from his rehab assignment. The next day, Walter Ball was forced from his start and will miss about a week with inflammation. Ball hits the DL with Fowler being immediately recalled. And then Fowler was injured; however, as he will miss about 3 months, the yo-yo stops here. Bill Monbouquette was recalled for his WBL debut.

Gil Hodges hit 2 out of the park, giving him 30 on the year, as the Sea Dogs held on for a 10-7 win over Memphis.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Watty Clark was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Bobby Seay being returned to AAA. With Tom Brewer‘s impressive start, for now, Clark will work out of the bullpen.

Turkey Stearnes launched 2 out of the ballpark, but Miami prevailed over the Sea Lions, 6-4. Different day, same song: Jack Clark hit 2 out but again Miami triumphed over the Sea Lions, this time 9-7.

Portland features players from the Washington Senators, Minnesota Twins, and Texas Rangers.

HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS

Feels like virtually everyone on the roster is underperforming compared to last year. Not great.

THE OFFENSE

Lots of struggle here.

#What’s Going Right

Rogers Hornsby, last year’s prize trade acquisition, continues to star at age 34, leading the team in BA and OBP, with a .536 SLG to boot.

C Joe Mauer continues to be an elite backstop, slashing 302/383/502.

Gil Hodges leads the team in HR with 21 and RBI with 52 despite an OPS under .800. This actually probably belongs below: only 4 other hitters are in double digits in homeruns for a team having a hard time with power.

The Sea Dogs gave up a lot for Ken Griffey, Jr., whose talent remains undeniable. After struggling mightily with Ottawa last season, The Kid is doing significantly better, with a 278/332/546 slash line. So it’s not exactly setting the world on fire, but at 20 years old, it’s something.

Kiki Cuyler and Jeff Burroughs have been quite good as reserves, pushing hard for more playing time.

#What’s Not Going Right

Buddy Bell has been mired in a major slump, with a recent rebound leaving him still slashing 245/268/401, which is pretty miserable.

Bobby Murcer and Jim Fregosi have been thoroughly meh after each being among the best in the league at their positions last season.

Paul Molitor has been tantalizing but ultimately not very effective.

Harry Hooper has been among the worst OFers in the league, falling far, far short of last year’s solid contributions.

Cliff Lee–perhaps the best C prospect in the minors last year–has been horrible as Mauer’s backup this season, probably warranting a return to AAA in the near future.

THE PITCHING

The bullpen–a strength of the Sea Dogs last year–has been anything but this time around.

#What’s Going Right

Walter Johnson is Walter Johnson. He’s not as dominant as he was for periods last year, but he still leads the staff in wins and the starters in ERA.

Trevor Hoffman has excelled since being named the team’s closer.

Rookie Walter Ball has been quite good, with the best WHIP on the staff. For a 2nd round pick, that’s exceeding reasonable expectations.

Mike Cuellar continues to be among the best long relievers in the league.

#What’s Not Going Right

Johan Santana came back from long term injury and stepped back into his closer role–remember, he made the All-Star game last year leading the league in saves before getting hurt. So he came back and … something was dramatically wrong. So wrong that Santana is now in the minors being converted into a starter.

Dizzy Trout and Pascual Pérez have been mediocre at best, which is far from an indictment but also far from their performance last year.

But probably the biggest issue has been the rest of the bullpen. Mark Melancon–and his 5.00+ ERA–has been the best of them, and the rest of the relievers have had a full turnover, with the current bunch–Scott Terry, Tom Zachary, and Art Fowler–not looking any better.

THE FARM SYSTEM

TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM

There is some talent here, especially in the OF, where Vladimir Guerrero, Hugh Duffy and Chuck Klein all look like WBL talents. It gets a little thinner after that: Hughie Jennings at SS seems good, but on the mound there’s not a ton. Maybe Harry Harper, maybe Joaquin Benoit, maybe Willard Schmidt?

WHAT’S NEEDED

The offense to recover a little bit and the pitching staff to recover a lot.

That pretty much sums it up.

Storylines to Watch

Key Questions from Spring Training

• How will the Sea Dogs compensate for the loss of Cravath? The hope was that Hooper and Murcer would keep producing, and that, combined with Ken Griffey, Jr. would provide enough to make up for the loss of Cravath. Not so much.
• Who joins the OF? Griffey, Jr. But … yeah, see above.

Notice that pitching wasn’t mentioned in the questions … so this was quite a shock for the Sea Dogs.

FEATURED SERIES

Portland is visiting its West Coast neighbors this week, and we’ll feature their opening series, 3 games against the Los Angeles Angels.

Projected Starters

Portland starter listed first.

Bert Blyleven (3-5, 4.73) @ Pud Galvin (1-9, 5.10)
Dizzy Trout (5-5, 4.44) @ Tom Seaver (3-5, 4.76)
Walter Johnson (8-4, 4.13) @ Brett Anderson (6-2, 4.28)

Game One

Kent Hrbek singled home a run in the top of the first and Bobby Murcer hit his first of the game (foreshadowing confirmed) in the top of the 4th, putting the Sea Dogs up, 2-0. Bert Blyleven looked solid, but a 2-run shot from LA’s Ichiro Suzuki tied up the game.

But the Sea Dogs looked more like their old selves from then on out, with Murcer hitting a grandslam in the fifth, making it 7-3. The game was over at that point, despite a 3 run homer from Mike Trout in the 9th.

The two homeruns gave Murcer 18 on the year and, as importantly for Portland, Hrbek added 3 hits as he showed more signs of rebounding towards last year’s performance. Blyleven was good enough, and Tom Zachary added a scoreless 1.2 innings in relief.

POR 8 (Blyleven 4-5) @ LAA 6 (Seaver 3-6)
HRs: POR – Murcer 2 (18); LAA – Suzuki (5), Trout (15).
Box Score

Game Two

A day off before this series has shifted the matchups some, with game two now featuring Walter Johnson for the Sea Dogs and the Angels keeping with their originally scheduled hurler, Pud Galvin.

LA took the lead in the 4th as Mike Trout doubled, stole 3rd, and scored on a groundout from Doug Rader. Carlos Delgado added his 13th of the year, and the Angels had a 2-0 lead.

The Angels are never sure which version of Galvin they’ll get: today, unfortunately for the Sea Dogs, it’s the one twirling a perfect game through 5 innings. That was spoiled by a couple of walks, and then the no-no went away when Rogers Hornsby singled in the top of the 7th.

A single from Paul Molitor and a walk to Gil Hodges chased Galvin in the top of the 8th, but Francisco Rodríguez and Joe Nathan were perfect in relief, completing the 2-hit shutout and evening the series at 1 game each.

POR 0 (Johnson 8-6) @ LAA 2 (Galvin 2-9; Nathan 11 Sv; Rodríguez 6 H)
HRs: POR – none; LAA – Delgado (13).
Box Score

Game Three

Portland’s Dizzy Trout and Los Angeles’ Brett Anderson are both pitching excellently at the moment, making the rubber game matchup pretty appealing.

Don Buford and Kal Daniels hit back-to-back homers to leadoff the bottom of the first, giving the home team an early 2-0 lead. Carlos Delgado added his 14th of the year, a 2-run shot, doubling the lead. Trout didn’t make it out of the 5th, leaving after loading the bases.

Meanwhile, Anderson was sailing along, allowing only 2 hits through 6 shutout frames.

The Angels would add some more–2 in the 6th and 4 in the 8th–but the story was Anderson, who was pulled after allowing 2 hits in the 9th, combining with Ross Reynolds on the 4-hit shutout.

Delgado had 4 hits on the day and drove in 3.

POR 0 (Trout 5-6) @ LAA 10 (Anderson 7-2)
HRs: POR – none; LAA – Daniels (14), Buford (16), Delgado (14).
Box Score

So, back to back shutouts ain’t great. There is much to be done in Portland this season, but it would seem the immediate challenge is to successfully participate in the midseason trade market as a seller.

Ed Walsh allowed only 2 hits through 8 innings–both to Miami’s Julio Rodríguez as the American Giants blanked the Cuban Giants, 6-0. A rain delay forced Walsh, who improved to 3-1, out of the game in the 8th, but Tom Williams pitched a perfect 9th to preserve the shutout. Much ridiculed Jack Doyle was hit by a pitch 3 times in the game, which is, you know, something.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Lou Fette headed back to AAA with Braden Looper‘s activation from the DL. The promising Kenshin Kawakami will miss over a month with a sprained ankle, with Steven Wright recalled from AAA.

Ryan Braun went deep twice–giving him 20 on the year–as the Cuban Giants came from behind to beat Chicago, 4-3. José Méndez was fantastic, but didn’t figure in the decision while Sandy Consuegra was roughed up, but got the win with Ricky Nolasco earning his 7th save of the season.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Two homeruns from Gil Hodges and an excellent start from Walter Ball led Portland to an 11-1 win over the Black Yankees.

Last year’s reserve darling, Gary Pettis, was sent to AAA. No matter your speed and no matter your glove, a .400 OPS can do that. Jeff Burroughs was recalled from a rehab stint.

Rogers Hornsby and Bobby Murcer went deep twice as the Sea Dogs trounced the Angels, 11-4. Ken Griffey, Jr., Jim Fregosi, Kent Hrbek, and Joe Mauer also went deep for the Sea Dogs as Bert Blyleven improved to 2-1 on the year despite being roughed up for 9 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Reggie Jackson hit 2 homeruns and Denny Walling went 4 for 5 with a dinger in his WBL debut as the Sea Lions pounded out a 15-4 victory over the Wolverines. San Francisco had 6 homeruns among their 21 hits, with Jimmie Foxx, Mickey Cochrane, and Turkey Stearnes joining Walling and Jackson.

Not to be outdone, Jack Clark went deep 3 times, but it wasn’t enough as the Sea Lions fell to Detroit, 7-6.

Lefty Grove put it all together with a complete game, 4 hit shutout of Memphis, striking out 9 and improving his record to 5-4. The Sea Lions also only managed 4 hits, but managed to score twice, once on a 2-out RBI from Clark and once on a solo shot from Bobby Bonds to win the game, 2-0.

#Team News

The best record in the league falls to the Kansas City Monarchs, who have won 9 in a row and sit atop the Marvin Miller Division at 10-2. The Chicago American Giants are 9-3.

At the other end, the Portland Sea Dogs are off to a rough start at 4-10, and Birmingham and defending Whirled Champion Baltimore are barely better at 4-9. Very early days, of course.

#Player News

Kansas City’s Albert Pujols was the NL Player of the Week, hitting .500 (10 for 20) with 2 homers over the span. Miami‘s Jim Thome took home the honors in the AL, hitting .458 with 6 homeruns and 12 RBI for the week.

Some fun stat lines from the early going:

Gary Carter (OTT). 412/500/941. 5 HR.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 510/527/804. 26 H; 1.2 WAR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 510/547/878. 12 2B; 17 R; 1.2 WAR.
Ryne Sandberg (HOD). 465/478/1.093. 8 HR. 18 RBI.
Frank Thomas (CAG). 435/527/739.
Jim Thome (MCG). 372/500/884.

In case you missed it there, Sandberg’s SLG is over 1.000 at the moment.

On the mound, Smokey Joe Wood (KCM) hasn’t allowed an earned run and Memphis‘ Jon Lester has an ERA of 0.75. Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin, Waite Hoyt of the New York Black Yankees, and Jack Taylor of the House of David each have 3 wins, and San Francisco‘s Rod Beck and Detroit‘s Mike Henneman have 5 saves each.

#Injury Watch

A few important ones over the first couple weeks (only considering injuries that will last a couple of weeks at minimum):

• Once more the House of David is without their offensive leader, as Pete Browning will miss about a month.
• San Francisco’s Tim Hudson may have suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury; at a minimum he’ll miss about 4 months.
• Miami’s Julio Rodríguez is out for 2 more weeks, as is Portland’s 2B Rogers Hornsby.
• Joe Morgan of the Indianapolis ABC’s will miss about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

Some players are, of course, healing, with Baltimore’s Ned Garvin–the most dominant pitcher in the league when he went down last year–likely to begin a rehabilitation assignment sometime this week. Philadelphia‘s promising stud Aaron Judge should return this week, as will Portland’s young hurler, Walter Ball.

#Featured Series

This time we’re going to go with a 3 game set between the 6-5 Ottawa Mounties visiting the 10-2 Kansas City Monarchs.

We picked this series because the Monarchs have won 9 in a row and Ottawa is a shock in the young season, carrying a team OPS of 1.001–their overall slash line as a unit is 343/406/595, figures that easily lead the league (it’s not like the Monarchs are struggling at the plate, posting a 329/370/566 line as a team).

Ottawa was horrible on the mound last year, and really haven’t been much better so far, with a 6.14 team ERA while Kansas City’s hurlers have been, as you may guess from their record, excellent as a unit, one of only 2 teams with a sub-4.00 ERA at 3.83.

Probable Matchups:

Ottawa hurler listed first.

Bob Moose (1-0, 6.52) @ José Rijo (1-1, 8.68)
Randy Johnson (1-0, 7.71) @ Smokey Joe Wood (2-0, 0.00)
Old Hoss Radbourn (2-1, 2.61) @ Frank Castillo (2-0, 3.38)

Game One

The one game that seemed least likely to be a pitching duel was, in fact, a pitching duel. Both Ottawa’s Bob Moose (2 hits and 1 earned run in 6 innings) and Kansas City’s José Rijo (4 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings) were excellent, but Ted Simmons‘ second 500 foot plus moon shot of the year was a 2-run walkoff blast, propelling the Monarchs to victory in the opening game of the series.

OTT 2 (Hammaker 0-2) @ KCM 4 (DiPino 1-0)
HRs: OTT – Carter (6); KCM – Murphy (3), Simmons (4).
Box Score

Game Two

It didn’t take long for Ottawa to score off Smokey Joe Wood: Tim Raines doubled to lead off the game, stole third, and scored on a sac fly from Roberto Alomar, events made noteworthy as it was the first run off Wood all season. Ottawa would add 2 more in the inning, and then 3 more in the top of the 3rd behind a double from Larry Walker, a triple from Carlos Beltrán, and an inside the park homerun from Sam Thompson.

Randy Johnson was slated to start the game for the Mounties, but when he was unable to go, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith. Griffith gave up a 3 run shot to Boog Powell in the bottom of the 3rd, halving Ottawa’s lead. Griffith didn’t pitch poorly, allowing only 5 hits in 5 innings, but the Monarchs have been masters of timely offense so far, converting those 4 hits into 5 runs.

Dupee Shaw relieved Griffith, giving up a long RBI double to Robinson Canó to tie the game.

An Adrian Beltré homerun off Bob Shawkey put Ottawa back in front, 8-6.

There was some more scoring–a solo shot from Walker in the 9th and Powell’s second of the game in the bottom of the frame–but Ottawa held on for the 10-7 win, evening the series.

Walker went 4 for 4 and scored 3 times and Thompson finished with 3 RBIs for Ottawa while Powell drove in 5 on 3 hits for the Monarchs.

OTT 10 (Shaw 1-1, 1 B Sv; Ryan 1 H; Dempster 2 Sv) – KCM 7 (Shawkey 1-1)
HRs: OTT – Thompson (3), Beltré (3), Walker (5); KCM – Powell 2 (4), Smith (1).
Box Score

Game Three

This is what Ottawa hoped for from Randy Johnson: 6 fairly dominant innings with 6 strikeouts and only 2 runs allowed. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as some timely hitting from the Monarchs–a 2 run double from Willie McGee, a homerun from Ducky Medwick, and Lou Brock and Ozzie Smith scoring 3 runs from the bottom of the lineup as Kansas City took the rubber match, 4-2.

Frank Castillo was even better than Johnson, allowing only 3 hits in almost 7 innings, with Dustin Hermanson, Craig Kimbrel, and Jeff Pfeffer combining to allow a single hit in 2.1 innings of relief.

OTT 2 (Gregg 0-1) @ KCM 4 (Hermanson 1-0; Pfeffer 5 Sv; Kimbrel 4 H)
HRs: KCM – Medwick (1).
Box Score

#Love ‘Em (Draft Picks Making Opening Day Rosters)

1st Round

Charles “Bullet Joe” Rogan, the overall #1 pick in the draft, makes Philadelphia’s opening day roster, expected to be their 4th OF and provide bullpen support. The Stars’ other first-rounder, Dave Stieb, made their opening day rotation.

Two outfielders were taken with the 7th and 8th picks, and both should be in their team’s opening day lineups, as San Francisco took CF Turkey Stearnes at 7 and Los Angeles RF Ichiro Suzuki at 8.

2nd Round

Miami took Julio Rodríguez with the 2nd pick in round 2 thinking the 19 year old would be a project for the future; instead he breaks camp as their starting CF.

Homestead’s Tim Lincecum makes the opening day roster in their bullpen, and Houston’s César Cedeño will start the season as their reserve OF (although this is expected to only last until George Brett‘s return from injury, but you never know).

Portland drafted 26 year old Walter Ball expecting him to be ready for the WBL, and he delivered, starting the season in their rotation.

Some mention should be made of Kansas City’s Matt Morris, who was expected to make their rotation before tearing his labrum.

3rd Round

Dobie Moore exploded on the scene for Memphis and should see essentially full time usage alternating between SS and 2B.

Philadelphia breaks camp with Bill Gatewood in the bullpen.

5th Round

The New York Black Yankees didn’t expect Noah Syndergaard to make the opening day roster, but he did.

Detroit is even more surprised at the performance and poise from 18 year old Billy Hoeft, who will start the season in their bullpen.

6th Round

Jess Barbour was a throw-in in the Albert Belle/Andy Pettitte trade, but his defensive flexibility and speed kept him around for Birmingham.

8th Round

Ottawa’s staff was essentially open going into Spring Training, so while Dupee Shaw making the team was a surprise, it wasn’t a shock.

The Black Yankees’ bench received a complete overhaul, with Elliot Maddox earning a spot out of the gate.

9th Round

Jack Billingham starts the season in Indianapolis’ bullpen.

12th Round

Indianapolis took Edward “The Only” Nolan with their final pick of the draft. Nolan starts the year on their staff as the WBL’s version if Mister Irrelevant.

#Leave ‘Em (Draft Picks No Longer With Original Organization)

Other than the inexplicable treatment of Chino Smith, this all looks fine. Topsy Hartsel should find a home somewhere, the rest may or may not.

1st Round: Vladimir Guerrero, OF (traded from MCG to POR)

2nd Round: Jon Matlack, P (traded from POR to MCG)

3rd Round: Topsy Hartsel, OF (BAL)

4th Round: Leo Cardenas, IF (IND); Bob Smith, P (BBB); Denard Span (traded from POR to OTT)

7th Round: Cass Michaels, IF (CAG)

8th Round: Ray Blades, OF (KCM); Chino Smith, IF (MEM, now with BAL); Lee Stange, P (POR, now with HOM)

9th Round: Justin Steel, P (HOD)

10th Round: Doug Bair, P (KCM); Greg Pryor, IF (BRK)

11th Round: Nick Allen, IF (SFS); Vern Kennedy, P (CAG); Eddie Solomon, P (BBB)

12th Round: Jeff Ballard, P (BBB); Craig Gentry, OF (CAG); Dave Lemanczyk, P (SFS); José Lopéz, 1B (MCG); Hal Mauck, P (HOD); Connor Seabold, P (MEM)