Tag: Willie Randolph Page 1 of 2

Spring Training Questions

The pitching staff will be under great scrutiny, with 5th round pick Noah Syndergaard having an outside shot at the rotation.

Last season the Black Yankees were hampered by limited MI flexibility, which will be a concern they want to address.

First Cuts

Things on the mound went much as expected for New York, as Cal Eldred, Don Liddle, Paul Shuey, Frank Viola, Bill Monbouquette, and John Danks all moved on to the minor leagues. Dave Righetti remains in camp, but his control continues to be a concern. On the other side, Lefty Gomez, Noah Syndergaard, and Whitey Ford have all impressed out of the gate.

Darrin Fletcher and Benny Bengough were both reassigned, with the Black Yankees planning to take a look at Ron Pruitt behind the plate as a 4th option. Fred Whitfield and Nick Etten have impressed at 1B, with Ryan Garko being sent to the minors while at 3B Aaron Hill and Elliott Maddox have been stellar (and Héctor López quite good), while Josh Harrison and Red Rolfe were both moved to the minors.

The 2B/SS situation was quite convoluted but poor starts from Mark Grudzielanek, Jess Barbour, Charlie Irwin, and Alcides Escobar have helped clear some space as all four of those IFers were reassigned, with Willie Randolph barely hanging on to a spot in camp.

In the OF, despite there not being much room on the eventual roster, only Bill Lange was moved from the major league camp, although there are doubts as to how long Clyde Milan and Nick Swisher will stick around.

Second Cuts

Other than Jeff Nelson, the pitching has been excellent for the Black Yankees, with nobody else posting an ERA over 3.00. Nelson heads to the minors while New York tries to sort out the rest.

C Gary Alexander was recalled for some depth, and to see if his impressive power holds up against better pitching.

Nick Swisher, Willie Randolph, and Ron Pruitt were sent down as well.

Third Cuts

Lady Baldwin and Vic Raschi were sent down, clearing up the back end of the staff a bit. Whitey Ford and Sparky Lyle are next on the chopping block, depending on what they do over the next week or so.

Eric MacKenzie, Pee Wee Reese, Red Rolfe, and Roger Maris were all sent to AAA. MacKenzie’s demotion keeps Gary Alexander in camp for a while, as much for his defensive flexibility as anything else.

While the IF starters–Tom Herr, Derek Jeter, and Mike Schmidt–are pretty much set, it’s unclear how the reserves will sort out, with Aaron Hill, Héctor López, and Elliott Maddux all making cases for roster spots. Veteran Doug DeCinces looks like he may be done, but he’ll be given another week to turn it around.

Final Cuts

SS Alex Arias was the first to go, in a move that would seem to indicate that Aaron Hill will break camp as the backup infielder for the Black Yankees. That was followed by the demotion of P Dewey Adkins, always considered a long shot to make the opening day roster.

1B Fred Whitfield had a good Spring, but there’s just too much blocking him at 1B, moving him to AAA for the time being.

Gary Alexander was pulled into camp to take some of the load behind the plate. He showed some pop, but little else, and was moved back to AAA as was Hardy Richardson, who was outperformed throughout the Spring by several lesser regarded prospects.

Whitey Ford clearly has the arm to have a future in the WBL, but his time is yet to come as the young lefty will start the season at AAA. He’ll be joined by veteran AJ Burnett, who had a spectacular Spring but was edged out by rookie Noah Syndergaard for the last spot on New York’s staff.

Aaron Hill was sent to AAA, cementing roster spots for Héctor López and Elliott Maddox and, perhaps surprisingly, sending veteran 3B Doug DeCinces (who was adequate as Mike Schmidt‘s backup last season) down as well. Maddox and López were retained partially for their defensive flexibility, pushing both Clyde Milan and recent acquisition Mickey Rivers to the minors.

All of that meant that Spring surprise Nick Etten starts the season with the Black Yankees.

Oh yeah … Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig made the team …

Season Review: New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On December 21, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

81 - 73, .525 pct.
2nd in Effa Manley Division, 5 games behind.

Overall

From pre season championship favorite to missing the playoffs: it was a massively disappointing year in the Bronx, and while most of the blame has been focused on the bullpen, there are other concenrs.

Long term, this is an old franchise; but it is also built to win now, so it has conflicting incentives in terms of getting WBL level help immediately and building depth throughout the organization.

Also, Babe Ruth.

What Went Right

Babe Ruth did Babe Ruth things.

Perhaps no other team offers as dangerous a series of 7 hitters as the Black Yankees, with Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Albert Belle, Thurman Munson, Eric Davis, and Don Mattingly. It is very hard to work more than 6 of them into the lineup at the same time, but still.

Waite Hoyt, Jack Scott, and Red Ruffing were all excellent (Ruffing will miss much of next season through injury, however).

After being blasted for much of the season, the bullpen finally turned the corner with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. Once Chapman arrived, he, Rheal Cormier, and Goose Gossage began to consistently close out games.

The stats wonks insist that Ron Guidry was a top 5 starter this year, so he has that going for him.

ALL STARS
OF Eric Davis; 1B Lou Gehrig; SS Derek Jeter; OF Mickey Mantle; C Thurman Munson; P Red Ruffing; OF Babe Ruth.

What Went Wrong

The Black Yankees came out of the break with all-stars at both 2B (Tom Herr, acquired from Birmingham) and SS (Derek Jeter). Both struggled the rest of the season. Nothing worked in the middle infield all year: Willie Randolph was replaced by Herr, neither Hardy Richardson nor Red Rolfe did anything of note, and New York even turned to Pee Wee Reese, released earlier by Brooklyn. 2B/SS remains several notches below the level of the rest of the team.

So much ink has been spilled about their bullpen struggles, but it has to be mentioned. Suffice to say that Sparky Lyle and Dave Righetti pitched themselves right down to AAA, Ralph Citarella was pretty poor all season, and Gossage struggled until Chapman’s arrival.

The naked eye would insist that Guidry–their #1 starter going into the season–struggled. Plenty of strikeouts, but an 8-12 record and a 4.35 ERA are not what was expected.

Transactions

March

C Bill Dickey, OF Aaron Judge & 1B Prince Fielder to Philadelphia for 3B Mike Schmdit & P Cole Hamels

Right now, looks like a steal for New York, but the jury is still very much out.

June

IF Reddy Mack, OF Bill Buckner, P Heathcliff Slocumb, OF Charlie Keller, 1B Moose Skowron & 10th Round Pick to Birmingham for 2B Tom Herr

Birmingham got as much as they could from the deal and, given Herr’s struggles in New York, probably got the best of it.

IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick to Ottawa for P Gary Lavelle and P Jamie Moyer

Meh. Given that both Lavelle and Moyer are in the twilights of their careers, you have to give Ottawa the edge here if any of the players turn into anything.

July

C Smoky Burgess & P Cole Hamels to Miami for P Aroldis Chapman & 3rd Round Pick {Brett Gardner}

A win for New York, even if Hamels develops as expected.

P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick to House of David for P Dick Tidrow & 8th Round Pick {Elliott Maddox}

Tidrow was wildly inconsistent, so who knows.

P LaTroy Hawkins, P Fritz Coumbe, IF Mike Bordick & 3rd Round Pick to Philadelphia for P Rheal Cormier & 4th Round Pick {Mark Grudzielanek}

Meh. All of these deals were made to win now, and since that didn’t happen, have to be judged somewhat harshly.

Looking Forward

SP

Should be strong. Ron Guidry, Waite Hoyt, Whitey Ford, and Lefty Gomez will be supported by Vic Raschi, Frank Viola, and Dave Righetti long term. That’s a solid bunch.

RP

There is depth here, but not a lot of confidence. For now, Aroldis Chapman and Goose Gossage will close out games, but Sparky Lyle and David Robertson are both available as reinforcements.

C

Thurman Munson had a magnificent season.

1B

Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly should have this–and DH–locked down for quite some time.

2B

The Black Yankees still hope that Willie Randolph comes around. But there’s a decent chance they are in the market for a 2B.

3B

Mike Schmidt should have a lot of good years left, although there is very little talent behind him.

SS

There is a lot of optimism about Derek Jeter, but so far it seems to have been misplaced.

LF

Ruth forever, some Albert Belle sprinkled in for now.

CF

A mixture of Mickey Mantle and Eric Davis.

RF

Ruth, Mantle, and Belle–essentially the Black Yankees have 4 starting OFers to go along with their 2 starting 1Bs.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

What the Black Yankees need most–immediate help in the bullpen and depth at the big league level–won’t come through the rookie draft. As such, they are guided here by a desire to grab the best, youngest talent available. In the first round, that meant 19 year old David Cone, who has the advantage of being a franchise player as well.

With the 2nd pick of the 3rd round, they added another franchise selection in CF Brett Gardner and with the first choice of the 4th round, tried to fill in some MI depth with Mark Grudzielanek.

Rounds 5-8

The Black Yankees took a high risk/high reward flyer on P Noah Syndergaard, who could contribute in the next year or so, but also looks unlikely to stay healthy for very long, and then picked U player Jess Barbour in the 6th. Carlos Rodón is a bit of a project, but he becomes the final exception for the Black Yankees in round 7.

From here on out, it’s best talent with a slight preference for young position players, as their A level is pretty empty. That starts with young SS Anthony Volpe followed by IF/OF Elliott Maddox.

Rounds 9-12

OF Aaron Hicks; P Scott Kamieniecki; IF Charlie Irwin.

They were unable to come to terms with their first round pick, P David Cone.

TWIWBL 43.3: Series XXXV Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On July 28, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Homestead Grays

Andrew McCutcheon had 4 hits and Roberto Clemente and Davey Johnson had 3 each leading a 10-6 victory over Chicago. McCutcheon and Clemente both went deep, and John Candelaria, Dave Giusti, and Josh Lindblom combined for 3 innings of 1-hit relief to cement the victory, which went to Carlos Zambrano, who leveled his record at 6-6 on the year.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

With its minor league teams finishing their seasons, the ABC’s recalled Pete Rose, Robin Ventura, and Virgil Trucks from AAA.

The ABC’s lashed 13 hits in an 8-2 win over Houston. Joey Votto and Ed Charles had 3 hits each, with Votto driving in 3 runs, 2 coming on his 6th homerun of the season. Willie Mitchell put in a solid 6-plus innings for the win, and Francisco Cordero and Lefty James closed out the game with hitless relief for Indianapolis.

#New York Black Yankees

The Black Yankees filled out their 32 man roster by recalling 2B Willie Randolph.

TWIWBL 25.3: Series XIX Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On June 9, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

The Spiders’ two main acquisitions at the break should both see quite a bit of action, Ron Reed out of the bullpen and Lance Berkman at 1B, LF, and DH. Whether Berkman can shake the offensive slump that plagued him in Houston is another question altogether.

#Homestead Grays

Bill Mazeroski moves up to the WBL to provide depth at second base.

Four Grays–Roberto Clemente, Josh Gibson, Arky Vaughan, and Chief Wilson–drove in 3 runs each with Wilson and Andy Van Slyke rapping out 3 hits apiece in a 17-6 drubbing of Miami.

#New York Black Yankees

After refusing a demotion to AAA, SP Jack Chesbro was released. Newcomer Jamie Moyer moves into the starting rotation, and Gary Lavelle heads to the back of the bullpen with Dellin Betances heading to the minors. Sparky Lyle retains his closing role, but that may be in jeopardy rather quickly in the second half of the season.

With Tom Herr‘s arrival, Willie Randolph is the odd man out, heading back to AAA, and–somehow–preserving Craig Counsell‘s role on the team. Veteran OF Joe Harris comes up as a reserve OF.

#Philadelphia Stars

Claude Jonnard comes up to Philadelphia to replace Ron Reed‘s very large shoes, and Cecil Cooper is brought up to add another bat from the bench.

Willie Davis went 0-for-4, ending his 17-game hitting streak as the Stars lost their first game of the second half, 7-3 to Birmingham.

Ray Collins and Rheal Cormier combined on a 5-hit shutout of Birmingham. José Ramírez and Davis went deep in the 7-0 Stars’ victory.

Scott Rolen capped a come-from-behind victory with a 2-run walk-off homerun as the Stars took the third game of the series with Birmingham, 9-7. Rico Carty had 4 hits including 3 doubles, and Rolen drove in 3.

Looking to break out of a brutal slump, Chase Utley delivered a walk-off single to win the final game of the series with Birmingham. Buck Freeman and George Hendrick had 2 hits each, and perhaps more importantly, John Montgomery Ward threw a strong 7 innings, although he didn’t figure in the decision, with the win going to Bill Laskey.

TWIWBL 24.13: Mid-Season Reviews – New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On March 28, 2022

In Team News, TWIWBL

Summary

The Black Yankees are one of the dominant teams in the league, although some cracks have appeared, especially on the mound.

What’s Gone Right

Quite Offensive. The Black Yankees are top 3 in most offensive categories, and are 1st in most of those. They hit for power, they take walks, and the lineup is deep, deep, deep.

The MVP(s). Look, this Babe Ruth kid can hit, but the real MVP of the Black Yankees has been Thurman Munson, who heads into the break having reached base in over 30 straight games.

The 900 Club. Five hitters have an OPS over .890 (I rounded up). Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Munson, Albert Belle, and Eric Davis are a fearsome … dare I say it … Murderer’s Row.

What’s Gone Wrong

The Middle Infield. Derek Jeter is doing alright, but 2B has been a real struggle. Willie Randolph has been much better of late, and still has an OPS around .650, and the less said about Craig Counsell‘s performance, the better.

Back of the Bullpen. Ralph Citarella has been quite good, but both Sparky Lyle and Goose Gossage have struggled.

Guidry’s Fall. Ron Guidry looked like one of the best pitchers in the league for the first few months; while he still leads the WBL in strikeouts, his overall performance has suffered, with only a 5-6 record and an ERA over 4.00.

Key Storylines

The Black Yankees look likely to sit pat: they have the talent to compete just as they are, although pitching is always welcome.

There are some things to watch for in the second half, from whether Ruth’s slight slump is anything to worry about to whether they can continue to carry both 2B as a position and, to a lesser degree, Don Mattingly at 1B.

The most likely thing here is that some of these things break well and some don’t, and overall the team remains a powerhouse.

Trading Outlook

BUYING.

But it’s not clear what they need. Bullpen help for sure, and a solve to 2B could be useful as well.

AAA Shuttle

They haven’t used it a lot. Cole Hamels and Sam Thompson have been fine.

Midseason Changes

Cole Hamels joins the rotation.

Awards

All Stars: Eric Davis (CF); Lou Gehrig (1B); Derek Jeter (SS); Mickey Mantle (RF); Thurman Munson (C); Red Ruffing (P); Babe Ruth (LF).

Player of the Month: Babe Ruth (April)

Offensive MVP: Babe Ruth (OF)
Pitching MVP: Red Ruffing (SP)

Down on the Farm

AAA: Newark Eagles

Next to the Show: SP AJ Burnett & Jake Peavy, RP Bryan Hickerson, OF Joe Harris.

Prospects: SP Jake Peavy (23), C Smoky Burgess (22), 3B Chris Brown (22).

Projects: SP Whitey Ford (24), OF Sam Thompson (26), OF Nick Swisher (29), RP Bryan Hickerson (27), 1B Hal Chase (27), SP Jim Clinton (25).

Suspects: 1B Moose Skowron (29), OF Hank Bauer (31), IF Aaron Hill (23), OF Charlie Keller (33), RP Fritz Coumbe (24).

AA: Hudson Valley Renegades

Prospects: 2B Dick Bartell (20).

Projects: P Joba Chamberlain (25), P LaTroy Hawkins (22), P Art Ditmar (26), OF Roger Maris (26), OF Héctor López (25), Kevin Pillar (27).

Suspects: None, really.

Series XVIII: Featured Game – New York Black Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels

By mknn

On January 20, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Series XVIII was a little light on compelling games. The best of the series was the second game of the New York Black Yankees visit to the Los Angeles Angels.

The Yankees’ Jack Scott would get the start with Ron Romanick making his WBL debut for the Angels. Not a lot is expected of Romanick–Los Angeles would be thrilled to get 5 decent innings from him before he heads back to AAA.

Romanick got through the top of the first without incident, and when Doug Rader took Scott deep with Don Buford and Mike Trout on base for a 3-0 lead, the Angels could begin to feel a little optimistic. Romanick got the first two batters in the second, but RBIs from Doug DeCinces and Willie Randolph made it 3-2, and then homeruns by Don Mattingly and Eric Davis in the 3rd but New York ahead, 5-3.

It turns out Scott was the first starter to leave, as 6 hits and a walk in the bottom of the 3rd chased him from the mound. The innings started with doubles by Buford and Kal Daniels. Rader, Elmer Valo, and Ron Hassey singled in runs, bringing in Cole Hamels from the Yankees’ bullpen.

Hamels gave up hits to Tim Wallach and Buford, and the inning ended with Los Angeles putting up 6, and now leading 9-5.

Babe Ruth would take Romanick deep in the 4th for a 2-run shot, and Romanick would finally leave the game in the top of the 5th after giving up a leadoff single to Davis. He stole second and third, and scored on a wild pitch by Romanick’s replacement, Doc Gooden. That reduce the league to a single run, 9-8.

Davis would tie it in the top of the 7th with his second homerun of the game.

And we would stay that way until the top of the 12th inning, when Mike Schmidt would take Pud Galvin deep for an 11-9 lead for the Black Yankees.

Note that we haven’t mentioned any offense for Los Angeles after their 6 run burst. That’s because New York’s bullpen provided over 9 innings of scoreless relief, with Hamels, Dellin Betances, Ralph Citarella, and Goose Gossage combining to allow only 4 hits for the rest of the game.

It’s not like the Angels’ pen was bad: Gooden, Francisco Rodríguez, and Joe Nathan allowed one run in 7 innings before handing it over to Galvin in the 12th.

Davis scored 3 times and drove in 3 to lead New York. Trout and Buford had 3 hits each and Rader had 4 RBIs for Los Angeles.

NYY 11 (Gossage 4-3) @ LAA 9 (Galvin 2-5) [12 innings]
HRs: NYY – Mattingly (12), Davis 2 (22), Ruth (24); LAA – Rader (11)
Box Score

Other Games of Note

Both Diego Seguí of the San Francisco Sea Lions and the Cleveland Spiders‘ Pat Malone came into the game pitching well. Instead, the offenses dominated with the Spiders’ Johnny Bates driving in the winning run–his 3rd RBI on the day–in the bottom of the 9th for an 8-7 victory for Cleveland. The Sea Lions’ John Beckwith went 3-for-3 with a homerun in the losing cause.

SFS 7 (Bradford 1-5, 4 BSv; Devlin 1 BSv) @ CLE 8 (Gearrin 1-4)
HRs: SFS – Beckwith (5); CLE – Knoblauch (4)
Box Score

TWIWBL 18.0: Series XV Notes

By mknn

On November 1, 2021

In TWIWBL

June 3

We’re roughly 60 games into the season. The Baltimore Black Sox have been caught by the Portland Sea Dogs for the best record in the league, with each team sporting a 38-24 record to lead their divisions. They’re the only two teams playing above .600, although the New York Black Yankees, at .597 (37-25) are right there, too.

You can see some of the reason for Portland’s surge in the Relievers listed below, with three members of their bullpen making the list.

Performance

We’re going to look at two things before our usual lists.

Great Performances

Series XV had two standout performances, the first occurrence of each in the league, one on the mound and one at the plate.

First, Sandy Koufax of the Brooklyn Royal Giants threw the WBL’s first one-hitter, walking 2 and striking out 8 in a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Monarchs. Koufax started the year in AAA, was impressive in Brooklyn’s bullpen, and now has cemented a spot in their rotation, improving to 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA on the season.

Then, the Miami Cuban Giants saw the first cycle of the year, with Alejandro Oms going 4-for-5 with 3 runs scored and 4 RBIs to lead Miami to a 9-6 victory over the Indianapolis ABCs. Oms homered, tripled, and singled in his first 3 at-bats, and then was thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple in his final time up–giving him an unusual completion of the cycle.

Improving?

Some of the storylines of the early season have, of course, focused on batters who have struggled, but for whatever the reason were kept in their lineups despite little to no offensive contribution. Let’s check in on how three of them are doing.

Baltimore’s Paul Blair bottomed out about a month ago, with an OPS under .550. But (a) the Black Sox were winning all the time and (b) he still contributed great defense. Since then, he’s added about .025 to his batting average, as well as some power. He’s reverted, going 4-for-24 in his last few games, leaving him at 214/273/358. Not good, and still in danger, but trending in the right direction.

The Cleveland Spiders hoped Larry Doby would be a key part of their offense, instead, he’s struggled all year. At one point, he had added about .100 points of OPS, peaking in the .650s. Like Blair, though, he’s faded from that, going 2-20 to currently sit at 205/304/310. Cleveland is playing well, but Doby is likely to lose some significant playing time after the lineup adjustments following this series.

If any team could carry a low producing offensive player, it is the Black Yankees, who have patiently waited for Willie Randolph to contribute at the plate. It’s starting to pay off, as Randolph is hitting as well as he has all year, improving to 205/339/282. Clearly, the OBP is the key stat here, and as long as Randolph gets on base, he will probably stay in the 9th position in their lineup.

Two teams have two players each who continue to struggle mightily. The Ottawa Mounties really needs to do something about the combination of Ken Griffey, Jr. (224/273/295 for the lowest OPS of any batting qualifier in the league) and Alex Rodriguez (206/251/333). With Freddy Parent on the edges of the all star discussions at SS, Rodriguez may be sent to AAA to try to work it out offensively.

The House of David has run out of patience with OF Sammy Sosa, who is limping along at 177/231/344.The power potential is clearly there, but the overall production is just far too weak. Mark McGwire is perhaps a more interesting case, hitting 167/314/203. A 150 point gap between BA and OBP is usually indicative in a player who will turn things around, but those are just putrid numbers for the big redhead.

Leading Performers

Note that Babe Ruth has tied teammate Eric Davis for the league lead in RBI, something Davis had a large lead in for most of the season. Ruth continues to dominate the leaderboards, topping the lead in 5 categories, and sitting 2nd in another, while San Francisco’s Reggie Jackson continues to lead in both BA and OBP.

On the mound, Baltimore’s Ned Garvin now qualifies for the rate stats, and tops the leaderboard in ERA and WHIP, and is second in BA against. Garvin is the only starting pitcher to lead the league in more than one category, although Portland’s Walter Johnson is close. The Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry still leads the league in strikeouts, but has slumped elsewhere.

Both Joseito Munoz (Portland) and Koufax are likely to join Garvin on the leaderboards as they accumulate more starts.

Best Batters

Rico Carty (PHI) 316/377/505, 22 2B
Eddie Collins (CAG) 329/440/551
Eric Davis (NYY) 283/337/557, 19 HR, 59 RBI
Bobby Grich (LAA) 292/369/475, 22 2B
Rickey Henderson (SFS) 254/402/348, 50 BB, 44 SB
Joe Jackson (CAG) 352/436/648, 50 R, 3.4 WAR
Reggie Jackson (SFS) 368/469/637
Willie Mays (NYG) 351/404/569, 84 H
Babe Ruth (NYY) 318/426/682, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 53 R, 43 BB, 3.5 WAR
Louis Santop (CLE) 312/342/482, 8 3B
Frank Thomas (CAG) 352/432/591, 81 H

Best Starting Pitchers

Gerrit Cole (LAA) 9-3, 4.23 ERA
Ned Garvin (BAL) 5-2, 2H, 2.76 ERA, .201 BAa, 0.93 WHIP
Lefty Grove (SFS) 6-2, 3.45 ERA, .198 BAa
Ron Guidry (NYY) 5-5, 3.74 ERA, 97 Ks
Walter Johnson (POR) 7-2, 3.61 ERA, 83 Ks,2.8 WAR
Johnny Marcum (DET) 6-2, 1H, 2.76 ERA
Dennis Martinez (BAL) 7-2, 3.15 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Andy Petitte (KCM) 5-3, 3.13 ERA, 2.3 WAR
Toad Ramsey (HOU) 5-5, 4.52 ERA, 91.2 IP
Red Ruffing (NYY) 7-1, 4.12 ERA
Cy Young (CLE) 5-2, 3.65 ERA, 93.2 IP, 2.3 WAR

Best Relievers

Terry Adams (CLE) 0-3, 3.20 ERA, 14 Sv
Rod Beck (SFS) 0-1, 1.84 ERA, 14 Sv, 1 H
Elmer Brown (POR) 2-3, 2.33 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H, .160 BAa
Ken Howell (SFS) 3-2, 1.38 ERA, 3 Sv, 3 H
Bob Howry (PHI) 1-2, 4.35 ERA, 15 Sv
Sandy Koufax (BRK) 2-2, 3.58 ERA, .132 BAa
Mark Melancon (HOU) 6-1, 2.86 ERA
Joseito Munoz (POR) 2-1, 0.77 ERA, 3 Sv, 0.94 WHIP
Ron Reed (PHI) 0-2, 3.00 ERA, 2 Sv, 11 H
Johan Santana (POR) 1-1, 2.76 ERA, 19 Sv
Doc White (IND) 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 1 Sv, 2 H, 0.65 WHIP

Streaks

The Homestead Grays are winning the race to the bottom, with only 1 victory in their last 10 games, leaving them with the worst record in the WBL at 23-39.

Miami and the Philadelphia Stars have only won 3 of their last 10, while at the other end, the Memphis Red Sox, Ottawa, the San Francisco Sea Lions, and the Birmingham Black Barons have all won 7 of their last 10 games. Memphis, Ottawa, and Birmingham were all among the worst teams in the league by winning percentage, so the tables are once again tightening up.

The House of David’s Elrod Hendricks has the most prolonged hot streak in the league, slashing 390/422/976 with 6 homeruns over his last 11 games. The miracle that is Birmingham’s Tom Herr isn’t far behind, hitting 424/500/758 over his last 9 contests.

At the other end, Sammy Sosa‘s struggles were mentioned above. The House of David OF is at 098/098/220 over his last 41 at-bats. Once among the hottest in the league, Philadelphia’s Chase Utley has had a rough 10 games, managing only a 132/154/211 line in that time.

Series XV Results

By far the shock of Series XV was Birmingham taking 3-out-of-4 from Baltimore. Nobody saw that coming.

Series XV Sweeps

Brooklyn over Kansas City

Taking 3 Out of 4 in Series XV

Birmingham over Baltimore
Detroit Wolverines over Los Angeles Angels
Portland over Homestead
Memphis over Philadelphia

Series XV Splits

Chicago American Giants @ Ottawa
Cleveland @ Houston Colt 45’s
Indianapolis @ Miami
Black Yankees @ San Francisco
New York Gothams @ House of David

Series XV Featured Matchup: New York Black Yankees @ San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On October 12, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Preview here.

#Game One: Dave Righetti @ Lefty Grove

Despite a few superb outings, New York‘s Dave Righetti comes into this game with a losing record (3-4) and a poor ERA (5.43). San Francisco will start one of the more dependable arms so far in the league, Lefty Grove, who sits at 5-2 with a sparkling 3.23 ERA.

Derek Jeter led off the game against Grove with a grounds-rule double, but was left stranded at 2B. San Francisco’s leadoff hitter, Rickey Henderson, walked and, as he is wont to do, stole second while Bobby Bonds and Reggie Jackson were striking out. But Pedro Guerrero singled to left, and Henderson scored easily, putting the Sea Lions up, 1-0.

It didn’t last long: Lou Gehrig took Grove deep in the top of the 2nd to tie the game. Willie Randolph–continuing to keep his average over .200–added an RBI single to give the Black Yankees the lead, but it could have been much worse for Grove, as Bonds caught a fly ball by Don Mattingly in shallow centerfield for the 2nd out and nailed Thurman Munson, trying to score from 3rd, to end the inning.

Again the lead barely lasted: Jimmy Bloodworth took Righetti deep to lead off the bottom of the 2nd. Later in the inning, a Henderson single scored Cy Perkins to edge San Francisco in front, 3-2.

It was a sloppy game through 3 innings with each team committing 2 errors (Randolph and Babe Ruth for New York, Dick Lundy and Jack Clark for the Sea Lions), Righetti walking 2 and Grove walking 3.

Mattingly would tie the game with homerun in the top of the 4th, and Jeter would drive in a run in the top of the 6th, giving the lead back to New York, 4-3. Again though: a lead with a short life. Perkins chased Righetti from the game with a 3-run shot in the bottom of the frame, with the Black Yankees bringing in Dellin Betances who got out of the inning without any further damage and a 6-4 lead for San Francisco.

The Black Yankees got one run back when Eric Davis singled, stole second and third, and scored on a base hit by Albert Belle.

San Francisco added 2 in the bottom of the 7th on Randolph’s second error of the game, an errant throw that allowed both Henderson and Bonds to score.

But this New York team is hard to put away: Davis led off the top of the 9th with a single against Ron Robinson, and after Gehrig whiffed, Belle walked and Munson doubled, scoring Davis to make it a 2-run game, 8-6. Ken Howell relieved Robinson and promptly fanned Doug DeCinces and got pinch-hitter Mike Schmidt to groundout weakly in front of the plate to end the game.

NYY 6 (Righetti 3-5) @ SFS 8 (Grove 6-2; Howell 3 Sv; Street 1 H; Devlin 2 H; Robinson 8 H)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (14), Mattingly (10); SFS – Perkins (3), Bloodworth (10)
Box Score

#Game Two: Waite Hoyt @ Eddie Plank

This one started out as a pitching duel, with New York’s Waite Hoyt and San Francisco’s Eddie Plank each only allowing a single hit through 4 innings.

New York added 2 hits in the 5th–a double by Mike Schmidt and a single by Willie Randolph–but Plank fanned Derek Jeter and Don Mattingly to get out of the inning.

Dick Lundy opened the scoring in the bottom of the 5th when Lundy singled home Bob Cerv. Lundy would score in a hit by Rickey Henderson, and the Sea Lions took the lead, 2-0.

Plank held the shutout through the 6th, then gave up a single to Thurman Munson and a walk to Schmidt to lead off the 7th. That was it for him, as San Francisco brought in Chad Bradford from the pen with 2 on and no outs. New York would counter by bringing Lou Gehrig out to pinch-hit for Randolph. Gehrig was retired, but Bradford allowed one run before getting Babe Ruth to end the inning on a flay to deep center.

That narrowed the game to a 2-1 lead for San Francisco, which is where it stayed heading to the top of the 9th, where the Sea Lions turned to their closer Rod Beck.

The first batter was Munson, who immediately added to his incredible few weeks by taking Beck into the left field seats to tie the game. Schmidt would walk, followed by an infield single from Gehrig, and it suddenly felt like New York might blow the game open. Instead, Jeter grounded into a double play, and with the hugely ineffective Craig Counsell up, San Francisco seemed in decent shape … until Beck’s 2-2 pitch was wild, bouncing past Mickey Cochrane and allowing Schmidt to score. Counsell flew out to left, but the Black Yankees were ahead, 3-2.

They brought in their closer, Sparky Lyle, who set the side down in order, striking out Bobby Bonds to end the game.

Munson ended the day 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored as all 6 of the Black Yankees’ hits came from the bottom 3 slots in their lineup.

NYY 3 (Hoyt 5-1; Lyle 7 Sv) @ SFS 2 (Beck 0-1, 1 B Sv; Bradford 2 H)
HRs: Munson (7)
Box Score

#Game 3: Ron Guidry @ Cy Falkenberg

Rickey Henderson led off the bottom of the first with a long fly that sliced down the right field line, and barely stayed fair for a leadoff homerun off Ron Guidry and a 1-0 Sea Lions lead.

Leading off the bottom of the 3rd, it was Henderson again, this time with a double. He scored on an RBI single from Pedro Guerrero, making it 2-0. And, while Henderson led off the bottom of the 5th with a strikeout, the Sea Lions did add to their league on singles from Guerrero, Bobby Bonds, and Jimmy Bloodworth.

Through 5 innings, Cy Falkenberg had easily outmatched Guidry, allowing only 1 hit and 2 walks while strikeout out 5. But the top of the 6th began with a leadoff walk to Mickey Mantle, followed by Babe Ruth‘s 20th homerun of the year, cutting the lead to 3-2. Falkenberg walked Lou Gehrig and Albert Belle, and Thurman Munson dinked a little looper into right to load the bases. Don Mattingly tied the game with a sacrifice fly, but Falkenberg was able to escape the inning without further damage.

So, Guidry got a reprieve, having given up 8 hits through 5 innings while striking out 6. He struck out John Beckwith and Eddie Joost to lead off the 6th, but Dick Lundy doubled to deep left-center, chasing Guidry from the game in favor of Cole Hamels, who was able to retire Henderson to maintain the tied score.

Rick Langford may have pitched himself to AAA, allowing homeruns to Mantle and Gehrig, giving the Black Yankees a 6-3 lead.

Henderson would plate 2 in the bottom of the 8th with a double, scoring Beckwith and Lundy, and pulling San Francisco to within 1 run.

Ralph Citarella relieved Hamels, and promptly surrendered a ground-rule double to Guerrero, tying the game once more. Left in to pitch the bottom of the 9th, Bloodworth took Citarella deep to win the game for San Francisco.

Guerrero had 4 hits in the victory and Henderson 3 hits, driving in 3 and scoring 3 times.

NYY 6 (Citarella 1-3, 1 B Sv) @ SFS (Howell 3-2)
HRs: NYY – Ruth (20), Mantle (8), Gehrig (15); SFS – Henderson (3), Bloodworth (11)
Box Score

#Game 4: Jack Scott @ Diego Segui

Ah, the pitching duel we all expected … Diego Segui has been one of the shocks of the season, with an ERA near 2.00 since being recalled from AAA. He delivered here, allowing only 1 hit through 5 innings while the Black Yankees’ Jack Scott did him one better, with a no-hitter through 5.

Manny Sanguillen took Segui deep for his first homerun of the year in the top of the 6th and from there the wheels sort of fell off: Mickey Mantle drove in 1 run, then Babe Ruth hit his 21st homerun of the year with a couple runners on, making it 5-0 New York.

A single by John Beckwith broke up the no-no, but Scott kept the shutout intact for another inning, until Reggie Jackson sent a line drive into the rightfield stands, cutting the lead to 5-1.

An Eddie Joost homerun closed it to 5-2, and Sparky Lyle seemed to close the door, easily retiring the first 2 Sea Lions in the bottom of the 9th. But singles by Jimmy Bloodworth and Wally Moon were followed by a pinch-hit double from Bob Cerv, bringing the winning run to the plate in the form of the conundrum that is Joost.

Lyle struck him out on a slider, preserving the win for New York and splitting the series at 2.

Derek Jeter was 3-for-4 for New York.

NYY 5 (Scott 6-3; Lyle 8 Sv; Gossage 4 H) @ SFS (Segui 2-3)
HRs: NYY – Sanguillen (1), Ruth (21); SFS – Jackson (11), Joost (6)
Box Score

#Series Notes

So, a split in a close series with some excellent baseball on both sides.

Babe Ruth hit 2 homeruns, driving in 5 for New York, but those were his only 2 hits in the series. Other than the unstoppable Thurman Munson–who went 6-for-11, lifting his average to .320 on the year– and Derek Jeter (6-for-18) the Black Yankees offense was kept largely in check.

For San Francisco, Jimmy Bloodworth went 6-for-17 with 2 homeruns and Pedro Guerrero 5-for-17. Perhaps more importantly for the Sea Lions, Rickey Henderson showed signs of breaking out of his slump, going 5-for-10 while scoring 5 runs and driving in 5.

Series XV Preview: New York Black Yankees @ San Francisco Sea Lions

By mknn

On September 21, 2021

In Series Previews

It hasn’t been too long since we visited these two teams: the San Francisco Sea Lions were featured in series IX and the New York Black Yankees in Series XI.

#New York Black Yankees

Really, not a lot has changed. The Black Yankees are still in first place, they still look like a dominant team, and they still have no idea what to do at 2B.

They are, pretty clearly, the best offensive team in the WBL, and while the production of Babe Ruth (1.122 OPS, 19 homeruns, 51 runs, 54 RBIs) and Lou Gehrig (somehow, a quiet 1.033 OPS) was expected, that of Albert Belle (.981 OPS in less than a full time role) and especially Eric Davis (.928 OPS, tied with Ruth for the league lead at 19 homeruns and leading the league with 59 RBIs) was not.

Add in Thurman Munson, who has an argument to be included in the elite catchers of the league and steady production from Mickey Mantle and Don Mattingly, and you have a nightmare for opposing pitchers.

The only black mark are the continued struggles of Willie Randolph (.622 OPS) and Craig Counsell (.577 OPS) at 2B. Randolph has actually been hitting much better of late, raising his OPS about 20 points in the last month. Counsell would be demoted immediately if there were any other options–right now, the minor league system is totally barren in the middle infield.

Ron Guidry (5-5, 3.67 ERA) has struggled a little bit more of late, although he still leads the WBL in strikeouts and remains the ace of the staff. At the other end, Dave Righetti (3-4, 5.43 ERA) seems to have lost his mojo and may actually be facing demotion to the bullpen. The other starters–Red Ruffing, Waite Hoyt, and Jack Scott–have combined for a 16-5 record with solid secondary numbers.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions are, perhaps, more interesting. They trail Portland by 5 games in the Marvin Miller Division, and feel like a team that is underperforming.

Part of the conundrum remains what to do with Rickey Henderson, who leads the WBL in walks (47) and stolen bases (41), but has an OPS barely over .700. He still has an OBP around .400, so he holds on to his leadoff spot, but the choice is much clearer when he’s doing something besides walking to help out at the top of the order.

San Francisco has a frightening big three behind Henderson, led by triple crown contender Reggie Jackson, who is leading the league in batting average and on base percentage with an OPS of 1.134. Bobby Bonds is slashing 331/382/577 and Pedro Guerrero–who started the year at AAA–continues to hack, posting a .933 OPS. Add in 9 homeruns from Jimmy Bloodworth at 2B and 10 homeruns from Jack Clark, as well as the emergence of Dick Lundy as a solid infield presence, and you have a very strong offensive team.

So the problem must be on the mound, right?

It’s certainly not in the bullpen. Rod Beck has 14 saves and an ERA of 0.66, and the rest of the back end–Ron Robinson, Chad Bradford, and Ken Howell–have great numbers.

Lefty Grove hovers just outside the elite starters of the league, at 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA and Diego Segui has been fantastic since he joined the rotation (2-2 with a 2.18 ERA). But beyond that … well. Cy Falkenberg, Jim Devlin, and Eddie Plank have all struggled, with Devlin replaced in the rotation by Charlie Root.

So there it is: if the starters can do their job, the Sea Lions have a shot.

#Projected Starters

Black Yankees starter listed first.

Dave Righetti (3-4, 5.43) @ Lefty Grove (5-2, 3.23)
Waite Hoyt (4-1, 3.84) @ Eddie Plank (4-3, 4.27)
Ron Guidry (5-5, 3.67) @ Cy Falkenberg (3-2, 5.11)
Jack Scott (5-3, 3.75) @ Diego Segui (2-2, 2.18)

It could be a great series, but I think it’s more likely the Black Yankees take 3 of the 4–losing to Grove and winning the rest.

TWIWBL 17.3: Series XIV Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On September 18, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

John Ellis drove in 5 with 2 homeruns, one a grand slam, and Cy Young threw a complete game allowing only 6 hits as the Spiders beat Miami, 6-2. Young improved to 5-2 on the year.

#Homestead Grays

Hal Carlson will miss just over a month with an elbow injury, prompting Homestead to recall Billy Pierce from AAA. More from necessity than a reward for their performance, both Carlos Zambrano and John Candelaria returned to the starting rotation for the Grays.

Francisco Liriano was recalled from his rehab assignment, with Bartolo Colon returning to AAA.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Edd Roush went 4-for-4 and Red Faber threw a solid 6+ innings, improving his record to 4-3 as the ABC’s beat the best team in the WBL, Baltimore, 4-2. Roush hit his 2nd homerun of the season and Joe Morgan his 1st, and Rob Dibble pitched a scoreless 9th for his 7th save.

Johnny Bench hit 2 homeruns, and the ABC’s beat the Black Sox 3-1, with Dolf Luque out-dueling Dennis Martinez. Luque improved to 4-5 with 7 strong innings, and Dibble struck out the side for his 8th save of the season.

#New York Black Yankees

New York’s Waite Hoyt started off their series against Philadelphia with a 4 hit shutout, his best performance of the year. Eric Davis and Don Mattingly hit homeruns, and Thurman Munson, Babe Ruth, and Mattingly had 2 hits each as the Black Yankees won, 4-0.

3 hits from Davis, Lou Gehrig, and most surprisingly of all, Willie Randolph–who got his average up to .200 on the day–led the Black Yankees to a 10-3 win over the Stars. Jack Scott improved to 5-3 with 8 strong innings of work for New York.

#Philadelphia Stars

George Hendrick hit 2 homeruns to lead the Stars to a victory over the New York Black Yankees. Perhaps more importantly for Philadelphia, Jaret Wright only allowed 1 run in 7 innings in leveling his record at 2-2.