"Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties - Page 4

jksander · 09-16-2024, 03:37 PM

April 16, 1957: It’s opening day, and 17,725 fans came out to see what’s happening at the ballpark. Juan Pizarro pitched against Detroit’s Billy Hoeft, and he’s ready to show he can be much better than last year’s 8-20 record. Danny O’Connell hit a triple in the bottom of the first, coming around to score and give us our first lead of the season with an RBI single by Catfish Metkovich, but Detroit quickly tied it up with an RBI single by Don Blasingame in the top of the second. Pizarro got into the sixth inning, but with two outs and loaded bases, Lee Walls batted in the go-ahead for the Tigers, and Bob Miller came in to relieve him and get the final out. The 18-year-old had ice-water running through his veins, facing those loaded bags and getting Al freakin’ Kaline out on a grounder to first. Bob Lillis came in to pinch hit, getting a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, but he got greedy and was picked off trying to steal second. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth, Chris Cannizzaro came in to pinch-hit for Gorman and was hit by a pitch to push Paddock into scoring position with two outs. Unfortunately Harry Walker struck out swinging, but Drabowsky came out and got us up to hit again in the bottom of the ninth with their lead still just one run. Our bats just had nothing to give, and we lost this one 2-1.

Pizarro started his season out with an 0-1 record and a 3.18 ERA, allowing eight hits with four walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs, and our bullpen was perfect in working to keep us within range of a comeback -- but if this is going to be our normal, our pitchers are going to need to be superhuman this year to make up for an expected lack of run support. Detroit outhit us 11-4, Metkovich batting in a run with a sac-fly and O’Connell scoring with his triple.

April 17, 1957: Milt Pappas made his major league debut just a couple weeks before his upcoming 18th birthday, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw, age 23, who went 10-14 last year in his rookie campaign. Detroit took the lead in the top of the second off an RBI single by Irv Noren, but Pappas held his ground, and in the bottom of the sixth he hit a solo homer to tie things up! Andy Pafko added an RBI single, and Walker batted in a run with a single of his own to give us a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Pappas got us into the stretch with that lead still safe, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, giving up an RBI single to Lee Walls, cutting our lead in half. Moe Drabowsky came out with one out and a man on second, getting two quick strikeouts to end the inning, and Joe DeMaestri batted in a run with a single to get the lead back to two. Drabowsky stayed out and shut them down in the top of the ninth, and we won the game 4-2 to split the short series!

Milt Pappas got his career started on the right track, pitching seven innings with six hits, three strikeouts and a single earned run to start out 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. After Gorman’s one out, Drabowsky came out to get the last five, striking out four batters without a baserunner ... he now has 2.2 innings under his belt without a run scoring. We outhit Detroit 10-8, led by Metkovich (two hits and a run) and DeMaestri (two hits and an RBI).

Tomorrow we head to Chicago for the first of three against the White Sox, with an off day Friday to break up the weekend series. We’ll then play two games in Detroit before returning to Kansas City for 14 home games in a row.

April 18, 1957: Today for our first of three games against the White Sox, Don “The Sphinx” Mossi got to start -- last year he went 6-5 in Cleveland and 9-7 here in Kansas City, finishing with a 15-12 record and 3.23 ERA overall, and the former Cy Young winner is the veteran leader of this young rotation. He pitched against Dick Donovan, who went 10-11 last year for Chicago and finished one out shy of 200 innings pitched. Andy Pafko got us an early lead in the top of the first with a sac-fly to center, but it was the top of the fifth when we really let fly ... Metkovich batted in a run with a single, aided by an E8 error, O’Connell hit an RBI single to add on, and then Del Crandall hit an RBI single that scored two more to give us a 5-0 lead! Mossi held on to complete the shutout from there, barely letting anything out of the infield, as we won 5-0! He allowed just six hits in the complete game, striking out three and walking nobody, while we picked up 11 hits ourselves ... Crandall led the way with two hits and two RBIs, while Metkovich added two hits, two runs and an RBI.

April 20, 1957: The day off gave our guys a chance to get out and enjoy the city of Chicago, and we came out this afternoon ready to show the Sox that yesterday was no fluke. Carl Erskine came out as our starter -- he was 5-5 last year with three saves and a 3.44 ERA through 149 innings, and wants to show that the 16 starts he made last year were no fluke; he’d like to have a year like in ’54 in Brooklyn, when he pitched 260 innings and started 37 games. Today he faced Bob Rush, the White Sox veteran who went 14-7 last year with a 2.98 ERA through 202.1 innings. And ol’ Oisk was on point early, though they picked up a run in the bottom of the third off an RBI single by Luis Aparicio, Jim Rivera scoring off an earlier walk. He’s been here long enough to be used to not having run support, so Erskine settled into the duel and just did his job. He got us through eight innings just trailing by the one run, but our lack of offense completely screwed him, and we lost 1-0. Erskine only had five hits and two walks in the complete game, striking out a pair and allowing just the one earned run, giving him an 0-1 record and a 1.12 ERA in his first start. We outhit them 7-5 in the game but couldn’t string enough together for a rally, though Metkovich sure tried -- he had three hits in his four at-bats, and has hit .438 so far in the leadoff spot this year.

I’d like to say we could hit the trade market and find a bat or two to bolster this lineup, but at this point we’re the chum in the water for bigger teams who, if they would offer up a useful bat, would want us to trade our best youth, and that’s not going to happen. We’re going to have to gel as a team as-is, and hope that we keep developing throughout the season.

April 21, 1957: Larry Jansen got his first start of the year against Chicago’s Billy Pierce this afternoon at Comiskey Park. Pierce was on fire last year, finishing 20-11 with a 2.46 ERA, his best ever, with 193 K’s in 282 innings, finishing second in the Cy Young voting behind Vinegar Bend Mizell. Jansen, meanwhile, went 5-10 with a 4.63 ERA and, at nearly 37 years old, is looking to prove he still has the goods to be a major league starter. Pafko hit another first inning sac-fly to put us up 1-0, again batting in Metkovich from third ... and Jansen looked quite good early on, pitching around a lead-off double by Larry Doby to get us out of the second inning unscathed. He loaded the bases in the bottom of the third but stranded them all, and this one turned into a real duel ... but with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, George Kell hit an RBI triple that tied it all up at one run each, though Jansen stranded him there as we went into the top of the seventh. With two outs and Jim Rivera on third in the bottom of the seventh, Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch, getting Nellie Fox to ground out to first harmlessly and keeping the score knotted up. Del Crandall batted in Metkovich to score the go-ahead in the top of the eighth with an RBI single, Drabowsky held it in the bottom of the eighth, and with no insurance runs forthcoming he stayed out in the ninth, shutting them down mercilessly as we won 2-1!

Jansen did a great job, lasting 6.2 innings with five hits, four walks, four strikeouts and one earned run ... cut those walks down a bit and he could have gone the distance. But Drabowsky picked up the mantle, lasting the final 2.1 innings with a hit and a strikeout through 31 pitches, earning the win. We outhit Chicago 8-6, led by Pafko with two hits and an RBI and Crandall with a hit and an RBI. Two more road games upcoming against Detroit (2-3) and then we get to go back to Kansas City and really heat things up in front of our hometown faithful fans!

April 22, 1957: Juan Pizarro (0-1, 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.12 WHIP) pitched his second start of the year, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw (0-1, 2.25 ERA, 8.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.38 WHIP). He struck out two in the bottom of the first, already on firmer footing than in his debut, but he threw a lot of pitches in the first four innings to keep them scoreless, and without our bats waking up he looked unlikely to get through a fifth. Andy Pafko bought him some time with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, driving in O’Connell for the go-ahead run, and he got three quick outs in the bottom of the inning to get us quickly back up to bat. DeMaestri hit a one-out double in the top of the sixth, but we couldn’t get him anywhere to add on. Pizarro stayed out for the bottom of the inning and that may have been a mistake ... he gave up two quick hits, and we had to bring Tom Gorman out to protect the lead. Luckily he got Lee Walls to hit into a double play, sending Al Kaline over to third, and Irv Noren popped straight up to Gorman for the third out, stranding Kaline there ... three pitches, three outs. Beautiful! Bob Miller came out with Harvey Kuenn on first, two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and Irv Noren popped out to center to bring us up still leading by a run in the top of the ninth. Don Bessent came out in the bottom of the inning to close things out, but with two outs he let Don Blasingame hit a two-run walkoff homer to steal this one 2-1. That’s goddamned brutal.

Pizarro had a solid start, five innings with three hits, four walks and five strikeouts, but his walks remain too high, it’s going to keep him from being able to consistently control how a close game plays out. His ERA is at 1.69, but with eight walks against seven strikeouts, he’s going to remain a question-mark, but at age 20 that’s going to be a thing. Gorman picked up a 2.2 inning hold, allowing three hits and a strikeout, and Miller got the out we needed him to get ... but perhaps he deserved a shot at the save as well. Bessent had a hit, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs ... and a lot of bad luck. We picked up seven hits in the game to match them, led by Pafko with two hits and an RBI.

April 23, 1957: Milt Pappas (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 0.86 WHIP) pitched against Jim Bunning (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 K’s, 0.44 WHIP), the owner of a three-hit shutout against Cleveland in his season debut. But we blew him up early, Thomas Paddock hitting a two-run single in the top of the first, giving Pappas a good position to start from. DeMaestri helped add on in the top of the third when he reached first on an E3 dropped throw by their shorstop, Daryl Spencer scoring to put us up 3-0. But Pappas hit a rough patch starting the bottom of the fourth ... two singles and a walk loaded the bases, no outs, and a run scored off a wild pitch. With bullpen arms warming, Irv Noren hit a single that drove in another pair, and just like that we were knotted up 3-3. What a waste! Pappas got out of the inning without giving up a lead to the Tigers, but that was as “blown” as an opportunity can get. Pappas was only at 66 pitches, so we kept him out there for the fifth inning, and it did not go well. Harvey Kuenn hit a two-run line-drive single and put Detroit up 5-3 as we came up to hit in the top of the sixth. Sam Jones came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and he got us through the eighth, with our guys trailing by two heading into the top of the ninth. Bunning shut us down quickly and we lost 5-3.

Pappas fell to 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, allowing six hits, walking three and giving them five earned runs, all of them in the fourth and fifth. He threw 91 pitches and struck out a pair, but hopefully he’ll learn some things from how he handled the high leverage situations. Sam Jones walked five in his three innings of work, but only allowed one hit and his stuff was on point in his bullpen debut. We outhit the Tigers 9-7 and still lost, which is not excuseable with our offensive disadvantages. We can’t afford to cough up leads on the road. Daryl Spencer had three hits and a pair of runs, while Paddock had a hit and two RBIs.

We’ll take a 3-4 record into our upcoming home stretch, which will feature two against Cleveland (3-3), three against Chicago (3-3), two each against Boston (2-4) and New York (5-1), three against Washington (5-3) and two against Baltimore (2-6), which will get us through May 8th.

jksander · 09-16-2024, 07:22 PM

April 24, 1957: Don Mossi (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 3 K’s, 0.67 WHIP) took on Cleveland’s Johnny Sain ... hey, that guy sounds familiar! They picked him up on a minor league contract on April 2 and he’s making his debut. This was a duel early, but we broke through against Sain in the bottom of the third, Pafko hitting a two-run homer out of right to give us the lead. But Cleveland got a run back in the top of the fourth off a flyball double by Al Rosen, and George Crowe hit an RBI double that drove in Roger Maris and Al Rosen to shoot them into the lead. They added on in the top of the fifth, bases loaded, with a sac-fly by Rosen, but Mossi got us through. Pafko hit an RBI double to cut into their lead in the bottom of the inning, and with two outs and Les Moss at first in the top of the sixth we brought in Bob Miller who immediately let Al Smith hit an RBI triple ... Jesus! Drabowsky came out in the top of the eighth still trailing by two runs, and he kept the game from getting any worse. But we’re not a team that can blow big leads and expect to pick up late-innings runs. We went down quietly with three quick outs in the bottom of the inning to lose this one 5-3. Mossi took the loss, falling to 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA, allowing just five hits with three walks, three strikeouts and five runs (three earned), but Sain was in control as well, allowing five hits, three walks, three strikeouts and three runs (all earned). They just have the best young bats, and they made the most of their baserunners -- Pafko hit twice for three RBIs to lead ours, giving him a .367 average and seven RBIs.

April 25, 1957: Carl Erskine (0-1, 1.12 ERA, 8.0 IP, 2 K’s, 0.75 WHIP) pitched against Early Wynn (1-0, 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6 K’s, 1.62 WHIP). The first three innings were a merciless duel between the two, but we broke it open with a killer bottom-of-the-fourth, Crandall hitting a two-run homer and DeMaestri batting in two more with a flyball double to put us up 4-0. But could we hold it? Erskine gave up a lead-off homer to Dale Long to start the fifth, and with two outs he let Bobby Avila hit a two-run blast out of left, and this one was starting look like our usual ... Erskine got out of it with a strikeout by Roger Maris, but we’d turned a four one lead into a one run lead in the blink of an eye. Bobby Miller came out with one out and men on first and second in the top of the sixth, getting out of it on a double play to keep the lead, and in the bottom of the inning we added on with a solo homer by Thomas Paddock to extend our lead to two runs, his first four-bagger of the season! Walt Bond added on with a single that, thanks to an E8 error at third base allowed DeMaestri to score from first base, and we went into the top of the seventh leading 6-3. Miller got three quick outs in the seventh, giving him five outs off 11 pitches, and he got two more outs in the eighth, Tom Gorman coming out to pitch with two outs and men on the corners. Stan Lopata hit into a fielder’s choice, keeping our lead intact, and Gorman stayed out to pitch in the top of the ninth, pitching around a precarious pair of baserunners to get us the 6-3 victory.

Carl Erskine got the win, improving to 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA thanks to 5.1 innings with six hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. Our 18-year-old third round pick, Bobby Miller, came out for 2.1 innings and a hold, allowing a pair of hits and a strikeout off 24 pitches, and Gorman picked up a save with four outs, allowing just one hit and one walk. Cleveland outhit us 9-8, but today our offense was potent ... DeMaestri hit twice with a run and two batted in, and Paddock hit twice (including his homer) for two runs and an RBI.

In other news, we had an opportunity to pick up an incredible player off waivers, but needed to make cash room for his contract. So we made a deal with the Washington Senators, sending them Walt Craddock and Martin Rosell, in exchange for 26-year-old starting pitcher Dean Stone with 40 percent of his contract being retained by the Senators. That increases our cash reserves to just shy of $37,000, a move that allowed us to claim veteran outfielder Chuck Diering from the Milwaukee Braves and still afford his $30,000 contract. Diering is exactly what we’ve been looking for ... a player who can hit consistently for contact, with fluid swing mechanics and an uncanny ability to avoid striking out. He’s also one of the best defenders in the league at every outfield position, with a cannon for an arm and above average baserunning skills to boot. He wasn’t getting any playing time on Milwaukee’s stacked team, and once he clears waivers in three days, he’s ours.

That leaves us needing to make some roster moves in the interim. We need a backup middle-infielder, so we’re calling up William Cottrell, last year’s 21st round pick, to have a few days at the MLB level in case of an urgent need. The 20-year-old will be avalable to cover second or third in a pinch, and is excited to get the opportunity -- he’s hitting .271 so far this year at AAA with a double, a triple and seven runs batted in. Stone, meanwhile, who we basically acquired as a move to free up cash, needs to go to AAA but will first have to clear waivers as he’s out of minor league options. We’ll know in three days if he gets claimed or if he’s moving into the minors.

April 26, 1957: The White Sox are in town for the first of three weekend games, and right now they have a half game lead on us at 4-4 and in fourth place (we’re 4-5 and in sixth place). Larry Jansen (0-0, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) got the start for us tonight, facing Billy Pierce (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) who has pitched two complete games this year, giving up just 13 hits and three earned runs. Nellie Fox hit a solo homer in the top of the third to give the Sox a lead, and our bats stayed silent but Jansen kept us in the game from there, getting us into the seventh inning stretch still trailing just by one run. Joe DeMaestri got them with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, tying this game up, and Juan Pizarro got himself a pinch-hit two-run homer to add on, giving us a two run lead! Moe Drabowsky came out to protect it in the top of the eighth, and Don Bessent came out in the ninth to finish them off, getting three quick outs as we held on to win 3-1! Jansen took the win, improving to 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA, allowing five hits, two walks and an earned run while striking out five through seven innings. Drabowsky picked up a hold with a one walk, one strikeout inning, and Bessent earned a save, improving his ERA to 10.80 thanks to three pop-outs without a baserunner. We outhit Chicago in the duel 6-5, led by DeMaestri who had two hits, a walk and a run.

April 27, 1957: Juan Pizarro (0-1, 1.69 ERA, 10.2 IP, 7 K’s, 1.78 WHIP) started our second game in the series, facing Jack Harshman (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Nellie Fox got injured on the second play of the game with a bruised thigh on a slide into second that took him out of the game. But it didn’t matter ... our bats remained cold, our defense was piss-poor (two errors in the first three innings) and Chicago took the lead in the top of the third with a one-out RBI double by Luis Aparicio. But Daryl Spencer hit a single up the gap that loaded the bases for us with one out in the bottom of the inning, and we tied it up off a wild pitch, and DeMaestri dropped a single into left field that drove in two more, taking second as the trailing runner. A passed ball allowed him to take third, and Walt Bond singled him home, and Pizarro hit a two-run slam out of left to make it 6-1 A’s and driving Harshman out of the game. Tom Gorman came out with men on the corners and two outs in the top of the eighth, and with the bases loaded he gave up a two-run single to Rich Boyd but got us out of the inning without any further damage. Don Bessent came out to close things out, but he faced three batters and gave up two singles against a strikeout, and we brought out Drabowsky with one out and men on first and second. He got Aparicio to ground into a U5-3 double play, and we won this one 6-3!

Juan Pizarro had a really good game once we gave him a six-run confidence booster in the bottom of the third; he finished with 7.2 innings and just five hits, three walks and three runs (two earned) against him, striking out a pair as he improved to 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Our bullpen then went 2.1 innings with three hits, a walk and a strikeout, with Drabowsky earning his second save. Through six appearances and 8.2 innings, the 21-year-old has a 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts against three walks and an 0.58 WHIP, all significant improvements on his rookie campaign. We outhit the White Sox 12-8, led by DeMaestri with two hits, a run and two RBIs, while Spencer added two hits and a run. The win moves us up to third place, half a game behind Cleveland and three back in the way-too-early pennant race against the 8-1 Yankees.

April 28, 1957: Our waiver claim on Diering is now complete, and he is joining our roster effective immediately -- he’ll step into our lineup in the seven spot as our left fielder and as center fielder whenever Metkovich is tired. Andy Pafko is going to move over into right field, with Paddock and Walt Bond as our backups there. With one roster addition our outfield situation is now dramatically improved defensively!

Attendance so far has improved dramatically as fans are starting to figure out how our young, scrappy team is going to look this season. More than 11,300 fans came out today to watch us go for the sweep against the White Sox, with Milt Pappas (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) pitching against Dick Donovan (0-2, 6.00 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). But Chicago struck first and struck hard ... George Kell hit an RBI double that drove in two in the top of the first, digging us a nice hole for Pappas to pitch his way out of. Pappas reached on an error with two outs in the bottom of the third, getting over to third thanks to a single by Metkovich, but Bob Lillis couldn’t get him home. But Chuck Diering batted in a run in the bottom of the fourth, bringing Pafko in to score and cutting their lead in half. Pappas stayed out through the seventh inning, and with Diering on second and two outs in the bottom of the inning, we brought out Juan Pizarro to pinch hit, but this time he struck out swinging. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, getting three quick outs and bringing us back up at the top of our lineup. With two outs against us, Pafko hit a single into right, and then Del Crandall hit a two-run bomb out of left field to shoot us into the lead! Drabowsky stayed out and closed it out himself and we won 3-2, stealing a series sweep from the White Sox!

Milt Pappas did well, pitching seven innings but walked too many guys -- he had five hits, five walks and six strikeouts to go with his two earned runs. But Drabowsky is looking like a real stud in the bullpen, a walk and a strikeout all he had in two innings as he improved to 2-0 with a still-perfect 0.00 ERA through 10.2 innings. We outhit the White Sox 7-5, led by Pafko with two hits and a run and by newcomer Chuck Diering with two hits and an RBI.

We’re now 7-5 and tied for second place in the American League, just three games back of the 9-1 Yankees. After a day off tomorrow, we have two games up next against the last place Red Sox (3-8) and then we’ll get our shot against the Bronx Bombers here in KC.

April 30, 1957: Don Mossi (1-1, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 6 K’s, 0.95 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) in our first game of the year against Boston, but it was cold for the 8:05 p.m. first pitch, barely in the 40s, with intense 17 mile per hour winds blowing out to left, conditions which kept our attendance at just over 9,000. Mossi’s used to this kind of weather, having started his career in Cleveland, and he kept us in a good position through the early innings though neither team’s batters were finding much to go after. But Joe DeMaestri got a good handle on a fastball in the bottom of the fifth and was able to bat in a run, and Catfish Metkovich hit a line drive into left that drove in another with a single! Danny O’Connell singled in a third, and we went into the top of the sixth leading 3-0! Del Crandall batted in another run with a flyball triple in the bottom of the seventh, and Mossi got through the eighth stranding a runner on third with nobody scoring. Mossi only had two hits heading into the top of the ninth, so he wanted to stay out and protect his own shutout, but with Ted Williams on second and Willie Jones on first with just one out, we brought Bessent out to close. With the bases loaded, he got two high leverage outs in the infield and we won this one 4-0!

Mossi was on fire tonight, throwing 114 pitches through 8.1 innings with just three hits, walking six and striking out four, improving to 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA through three starts. Bessent then walked one but got the two outs we needed, saving his second game and bringing his ERA down to 6.75 through 2.2 innings. We outhit the Red Sox 11-3, led by Metkovich (two hits, a run and an RBI) and Crandall (two hits and an RBI) as we improved to 8-5, the best start since the team came to Kansas City!

May 1, 1957: We start the month of May alone in second place, winners of four games in a row, and knowing that Vinegar Bend Mizell’s pitching for the Yanks this afternoon, we know we’ll get to avoid the Cy Young-winning juggernaut in our upcoming pair of games. So Carl Erskine (1-1, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 5 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) started as scheduled today against Boston’s Frank Baumann (1-2, 4.76 ERA, 17.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.53 WHIP), leaving our biggest guns to face the Yankees. Nearly 11,000 fans came out on a cloudy afternoon, and Erskine gave us the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single into right! In the bottom of the third Daryl Spencer hit into a fielder’s choice, and Walker, trying to slide into second, wrenched his back and had to be pulled from the game -- with him batting cleanup, we decided to bring Pizarro in to play first base and replace him as a power hitter. Chuck Diering drove in a run with a sac-fly to center, and we went into the top of the fourth leading 2-0.

Boston got a run back in the top of the seventh off an RBI single by Billy Goodman, and we brought Drabowsky out with Goodman on second, two outs, Dick Gernert popping harmlessly out to left to end the inning. O’Connell got us an insurance run with a solo homer on one out in the bottom of the seventh, Pafko hit a single through the gap, and they hit Daryl Spencer with a pitch to put a runner in scoring position with two outs, but we had to settle for taking a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning when Diering popped out harmlessly in the infield. Drabowsky got two quick outs in the eighth, but Ted Williams jacked one out of the park in left field to get them back within a run. But he got out of a bases loaded jam and got the final out, and in the bottom of the ninth Don Bessent came out to close with a one-run lead. Milt Bolling led off with a single, but Gene Stephens popped out to center, Jim Piersall popped out to right, and with Jackie Jensen at the plate, the count 1-1, Bessent picked off Bolling trying to steal second and we won this one 3-2!

Erskine lasted 6.2 innings with four hits, a walk, two strikeouts and an earned run, improving his record to 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA. Drabowsky picked up his second hold, but he gave up his first run of the year ... he allowed three hits, two walks and the earned run with a strikeout, his ERA now settled at 0.75. Bessent, meanwhile, got his third save, and his ERA has improved to 4.91, pitching in four consecutive appearances without an earned run, that opening game against Detroit looking more and more like an aberration. We outhit Boston 11-8 today, led by Andy Pafko with two hits and a run scored. Walker will be day to day for at least a week, but we can keep him in the lineup for now.

In big news, the Yankees lost their game this afternoon, as Mizell got shelled in the eighth inning ... Detroit scored 11 RUNS on them that inning, as the Tigers came from behind 7-0 to win 11-7 ... that’s wild! Seven of those runs were earned by Mizell, off 11 hits with four walks. What it means for us is we get to catch the Yanks coming into town after a tough road loss, and we hold a six-game winning streak and a chance to really get into this race -- at 9-5 we now just trail the 10-2 Yankees by a pair.

jksander · 09-16-2024, 10:58 PM

May 2, 1957: We’ve decided to bench Harry Walker for a few days to see if his back problems abate; Walt Bond will start, with Cannizzaro as his backup. Tonight we lured nearly 12,500 fans out to see us take the Yanks on, with Juan Pizarro (1-1, 1.96 ERA, 18.1 IP, 9 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) pitching against 40-year-old Sal Maglie (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) in a battle of old guard versus vanguard. The wind was clearly going to be an issue early, though, as Gil McDougald hit a leadoff double and then a triple by Mantle pushed the Yankees into the lead just a few minutes in. Pizarro got the outs to strand him there, however, and we were ready for a fight. But that stiff wind out to left was trouble for Pizarro as the game went on ... Yogi Berra hit a double in the top of the second and Tony Klubek batted him home with one of his own as they extended their lead. Andy Carey added a solo homer out of right in the fourth inning and we went into the top of the fifth trailing 3-0. Bob Miller came out to pitch with one out and men on first and second in the top of the sixth, pulling off a 1-4-3 double play to get safely out of the inning. But the Yankees added on in the top of the seventh, five runs scoring as Miller was incapable of getting a third out. Sam Jones had to come in with a runner on third to get it, stranding a pair as we went into the stretch losing 8-0. Jones handled his mop-up duty just fine, giving up just one run in the top of the ninth, but our offense let everybody down, losing 9-0 and showing just how far we need to come to be able to legitimately contend with New York.

Pizarro took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA, allowing eight hits, two walks and three earned runs while striking out seven. But we were outhit 15-2 and only had two baserunners the entire game, so there was no way he or any of our pitchers were going to overcome that. Miller had a bad night with five hits, a walk, a strikeout and five earned runs, but it was a thankless job we put him in. What a bummer of a way to snap our winning streak.

May 3, 1957: Milt Pappas (1-1, 3.79 ERA, 19.0 IP, 11 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) pitched against Mike McCormick (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 IP, 17 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) in front of another large group of Kansas City fans, and they were rewarded when, in the bottom of the third with two outs, Del Crandall hit an RBI single that drove Pappas in from third! But Mantle tied it up off a single by Hank Bauer, scoring from second in the top of the fourth. Yogi Berra hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to put them up a run, but Chuck Diering hit an RBI double to tie it back up, and Thomas Paddock hit an RBI single to push us back into the lead in the bottom of the inning! Tom Gorman came out with two outs in the top of the seventh, nobody on, getting us into the stretch with the lead still at one run in our favor, and he got us through the eighth as well ... and when we didn’t add any insurance runs, he stayed out and finished the game and held that lead, our A’s managing to hold off the mighty Yankees 3-2!

Milt Pappas got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA thanks to 6.2 innings with five hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two runs (one earned). Gorman then held tough with the 2.1 inning save, allowing just a hit and two strikeouts as he improved his ERA to 1.00 through nine innings and six bullpen appearances. We outhit New York today 7-6, led by Diering’s hit, walk, run and RBI, the win maintaining our position in second place in the AL, still two games back but half a game up on Cleveland (9-6). We have five games left in this homestand -- three against Washington (8-10) and two against Baltimore (5-11) before we hit the road next weekend for four (including a doubleheader) against the Guardians as we start a two-week road trip.

May 4, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-0, 1.32 ERA, 13.2 IP, 9 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Washington’s Art Houtteman (1-0, 3.68 ERA, 7.1 IP, 4 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) this evening in front of another robust crowd of around 11,500. Washington took the lead with an RBI double by Eddie Yost in the top of the third, and with an out and men on second and third in the top of the sixth we brought out Bob Miller to try to keep the game in reach. Ed Fitz Gerald batted in a run with a sac-fly, and a groundout to first ended the inning though we were going to need to find a way to hit SOMETHING ... Chuck Diering hit an RBI double in the bottom of the inning to cut their lead in half, and in the bottom of the seventh we found the cracks in their armor, Thomas Paddock hitting an RBI single to tie it up and Walt Bond hitting another to shoot us into the lead in the bottom of the seventh! Moe Drabowsky came out with one out and a man on first in the top of the eighth, getting Ken Aspromonte to hit into a U6-3 double play to preserve the lead. Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to add on, and Drabowsky shut them down in the ninth as we won 4-2.

Jansen did well enough to keep us in the game, allowing four hits, three walks and two earned runs through 5.1 innings with just one strikeout. But it was the rookie Bob Miller who got the win, improving to 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA, with just a hit, a walk and a strikeout through two innings. Drabowsky then came in for the save, his third, getting five outs with two strikeouts as his ERA improved to 0.66 through 13.2 innings. We outhit them 8-5, led by Spencer (two hits and a run) and Paddock (two hits and an RBI).

May 5, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.17 ERA, 23.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) pitched against Chuck Stobbs (1-3, 7.46 ERA, 25.1 IP, 18 K’s, 1.82 WHIP) this afternoon, and we took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Joe DeMaestri. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single with no outs in the botom of the fifth, Crandall hit an RBI single to pile on, and Diering wound up scoring on another DeMaestri RBI single to give us a commanding 4-0 lead! But the Senators got two back in the top of the sixth with a two-out RBI double by Elston Howard. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, two outs and men on first and second, and an error at short and an inopportune walk got them another run back with the bases still loaded ... but a pop fly to center ended the inning with us still up 4-3 heading into the stretch. Gorman stayed out and immediately gave up a triple to Howard, and we had to bring out Drabowsky who got him out at home plate on a fielder’s choice that put Russ Snyder on first. With two outs, Snyder on third, Sam Dente struck out swinging ... but Crandall muffed the catch, Snyder scored and Dente wound up on first as this one turned into a tie game ... Crandall deserves the blown save on that one! But Drabowsky struck out Bob Allison to get out of there, and we simply had more work to do. Catfish Metkovich came up big with a sac-fly to deep left that drove in Paddock from third to put us up a run, and Don Bessent came out to close in the ninth, and he pitched around a pair of baserunners to get us the outs we needed to win 5-4.

Moe Drabowsky blew the save but got the win, improving to 3-0 with an 0.61 ERA, the run against him unearned. Mossi had set us up nicely with 6.2 innings and just five hits, three runs (one earned) a walk and three strikeouts, and Gorman got his third hold, though it took him two hits and a walk before he got his out. Bessent saved his fourth game, a hit and a walk helping get his ERA down to 3.86. We matched them with nine hits, led by Crandall (three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI) and DeMaestri (two hits, two RBIs).

May 6, 1957: Carl Erskine (2-1, 2.25 ERA, 20.0 IP, 7 K’s, 0.95 WHIP) went up against Walt Masterson (1-2, 12.41 ERA, 12.1 IP, 5 K’s, 2.59 WHIP) as we went for, potentially, our full-series sweep of the season. Danny O’Connell batted a run in with a single in the bottom of the third to put us in the lead, and Erskine had a perfect game going until the top of the fourth, when he walked Pete Runnels. They broke up his no-no in the top of the fifth with a hit by Elston Howard, but he got nowhere, and in the bottom of the inning we added on with an RBI single by Chuck Diering to go up 2-0. Crandall batted in a run with a single in the bottom of the seventh, but a groundout by Willie McCovey in the top of the eighth drove in a run for the Senators and spoiled the shutout. Catfish Metkovich hit an RBI double to drive in two more runs for us in the bottom of the eighth, and Chuck Diering helped pile on with an RBI single, sending us into the top of the fifth with a five run lead. Erskine held tough from the mound and we won this one 6-1, behind his three-hit complete game shutout. He improved to 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA, walking two, striking out two and allowing just the one run. We outhit them 15-3, led by Diering who hit four times with two RBIs! He has a .379 average since coming to Kansas City, and is quickly becoming a popular player for autographs after each game.

May 7, 1957: Juan Pizarro (1-2, 2.86 ERA, 23.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) pitched today in game one against the Orioles’ Don Johnson (1-1, 4.26 ERA, 12.2 IP, 5 K’s, 1.66 WHIP). Pizarro scored off a groundout by Danny O’Connell in the bottom of the third, giving us a 1-0 lead on the Orioles, but with two outs in the top of the sixth Don Johnson batted in a run with a single, tying it up ... two pitchers each propelling their team’s offense. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, and he got three outs off just four pitches, so he stayed out and did it again in the eighth. Moe Drabowsky came out in the top of the ninth with one out and Carroll Hardy on second, intentionally walking Charlie Maxwell and then getting two quick popouts to keep it tied into the bottom of the inning. Chris Cannizzaro then walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as we stole this one 2-1! We remain one of only four teams to not have an extra-innings game yet this year, along with Cleveland, Brooklyn and the Chicago Cubs. Drabowsky improved to 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA, walking one batter while getting his two outs. Pizarro lasted six innings with seven hits, four walks, six strikeouts and one earned run, and Miller got seven outs off two hits and 26 pitches, getting his ERA down to 4.50. They outhit us 9-8 and we didn’t blink, our rookie backup catcher Chris Cannizzaro batting in the run to win it, while Paddock hit twice and kept his average at .304 for the year.

May 8, 1957: Milt Pappas (2-1, 3.16 ERA, 25.2 IP, 15 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) started against Jim McDonald (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in today’s final home game of our current stretch, with 11,300 fans on hand to watch with us on another five-game winning streak. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single to get us on the board in the bottom of the first, but Pappas was wild in the third and gave up a double to Lenny Green, pushing Washington up by a run. They added an RBI single by Brooks Robinson, and we trailed 3-1 heading into the top of the fourth with Pappas nearing his 70th pitch. They added on with a run scored off a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, and Pappas gave up another via an RBI single by Wes Covington and I had to give him the hook. Sam Jones came in trailing by four with a runner on first and one out, and it started to feel like we were cursed in this one ... by the time he got us the two outs we were in a 7-1 hole and fading fast. Walt Bond hit a sac-fly to get us a run back in the bottom of the fourth, and Bob Miller came out for the top of the fifth, giving us two solid innings before Tom Gorman came out in the seventh to hopefully get us through the remainder. He gave them a run back in the seventh, and an RBI triple in the eighth without an out. We brought out Don Bessent, who did get six clean outs over the final two innings to get us out of there. But the runs weren’t coming our way and we lost badly 9-3.

Pappas took the loss and fell to 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA, with six earned runs against him through just 3.1 innings. The bullpen held together alright from there, but we were outhit 15-11 and it felt like much worse. Walt Bond led with two hits and an RBI, and Metkovich and Lillis each hit twice as well. Too bad we’re about to embark on a brutal road stretch, with 13 road games over a two week stretch (including our first two doubleheaders of the season). Our 14-7 record has us in second place in the AL, two games back of the 15-4 Yankees. During this stretch we’ll face Cleveland (12-8, 3.5 GB) for four games, the Yankees and Boston (8-13, 8 GB) for a pair, Baltimore (6-15, 10 GB) for three games in two days, and then Washington (11-13, 6.5 GB) for a pair. We then come home to play three against Detroit (11-12, 6 GB) and then face the White Sox (8-13, 8 GB) for two and Detroit on the road for three in two days. We’ll then return to Kansas City for 16 games at home as we get into June.

jksander · 09-23-2024, 04:21 PM

May 10, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.21 ERA, 29.2 IP, 13 K’s, 0.98 WHIP) pitched against Early Wynn (2-2, 4.45 ERA, 32.1 IP, 20 K’s, 1.58 WHIP) in our first of four in Cleveland, with Walker and Pafko still day to day and, for now, unavailable. Mossi pitched around runners on second and third to get out of the second inning without a score, and a Paddock RBI single scored Diering to give us a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. But they tied it up in the bottom of the inning with an RBI triple by Stan Lopata on two outs, though Mossi kept him stranded there to keep it tied. Danny O’Connell hit a solo homer out of right to put us back up 2-1, and with two outs and men on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, Tom Gorman came out to pitch, getting George Strickland to pop out to Crandall and get us safely into the seventh. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh, and despite a botched two-out pick off play, Gorman got us through the bottom of that inning safely as well. Moe Drabowsky came out in the eighth, but after a runner reached first on error, Stan Lopata hit a two run homer to tie the game up. Moe got us out of the inning without letting them take the lead, and still tied in the bottom of the ninth, we brought Bob Miller out, and he was looking good, but with two outs Dale Long hit a two-run walk-off homer as Cleveland came from behind to win this one 5-3.

Mossi had a decent start, with five hits, three walks, two strikeouts and one earned run in 5.2 innings. But Drabowsky blew the save and Miller took the loss, dropping to 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA ... bad luck with the long ball, which has been a problem for us in the past, particularly in this ballpark. We outhit the Guardians 11-9, led by Diering who hit three times with a run and an RBI. He’s hitting .400 so far this year in 40 at-bats, with three doubles and nine RBIs.

May 11, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-1, 1.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 9 K’s, 0.83 WHIP) started today against Herb Score (0-2, 4.34 ERA, 18.2 IP, 9 K’s, 1.71 WHIP). Cleveland took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double by Bobby Avila, and Al Rosen added on with an RBI single, and George Crowe belted a two run homer out of right ... which Stan Lopata followed with a solo blast to put the Guardians up 5-0. Erskine came into the inning with a no hitter going, and four hits later we’re drowning. He got us out of the inning but was definitely shaken. We got a pair of runs back in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Metkovich that scored Bond and Erskine, and Thomas Paddock hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to drive home Crandall and cut their lead to two. But Erskine gave up a leadoff homer to Crowe in the bottom of the sixth, his second of the game, and Bobby Miller came out to take over. Lopata immediately hit him with a solo homer, HIS second of the game, and Norm Cash made it homer-homer-homer with a solo to make it a five run lead ... what more can you do? Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the seventh trailing by five, staying out to the end as we would go on to lose this one 9-3. We get a doubleheader against them tomorrow, and if we get bombed like this, I’m not sure we have an answer. Should be interesting at least ...

May 12, 1957: Time for our first doubleheader of the season! Larry Jansen (1-0, 1.89 ERA, 19.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) got the start in game one against Cleveland’s Tom Cheney (3-1, 1.31 ERA, 34.1 IP, 24 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). And he had a great start, but our bats weren’t giving him anything in support. Cleveland broke it open in the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff solo homer by Al Smith to put them up 1-0, but he got through the inning leaving two more runners stranded on base. They added a run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Cheney, and another with an RBI single by Smith, giving the home team a commanding lead considering our inexcusable complete lack of offense. Sam Jones came out in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases but getting us into the top of the ninth with a strikeout and no runs added on. We’d lose this one 3-0 while being outhit 8-4. Cleveland has outplayed us through these three games completely, outscoring us 17-6, and we get the fun of playing a second game against them today. Jansen did what he could, lasting seven innings with eight hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs, and O’Connell (a hit and a walk) and Diering (two walks) did what they could but nobody was able to string hits together.

Juan Pizarro (1-2, 2.43 ERA, 29.2 IP, 22 K’s, 1.62 WHIP) is up for game two, facing Johnny Sain (3-0, 3.38 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). We got going in the first inning, as Harry Walker hit a two-run homer to bat him and Andy Pafko around. But Pizarro had a really, really bad bottom-of-the-first, digging himself a hole with three hits in a row, including an RBI single by Rocky Colavito to put the Guardians on the board, no outs. His fourth hit then tied it up with an RBI single by Roger Maris, and with one out and runners on the corners, Jim Finigan hit an RBI double that scored a third. It was nice having a lead for twenty minutes ... a no-throw by O’Connell let a fourth run score without even trying for an easy out at first, and by the time we got out of the inning we were in a 4-2 hole with Pizarro at 31 pitches and looking completely shook. George Crowe hit a solo homer in the third to make it a three-run lead for Cleveland, and though Pizarro did his best to stay calm, the team as a whole did ourselves in with generally poor, uninspired play. We got a run back in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by O’Connell paired with an E8 throwing error, and Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch following the seventh inning stretch, trailing by two runs. He pitched well for the remainder of the game, but Cleveland stifled us and we lost 5-3, our fifth loss in a row.

Pizarro took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 3.03 ERA ... he finished six innings with eight hits, a walk, six strikeouts and five runs (four earned), a winning performance marred by an absolutely ridiculous start. We matched them with nine hits, led by Walker with a hit and two RBIs, whle Pafko and Pizarro each hit once for a run scored.

The poor showing in Cleveland has turned a 14-6 start into a 14-10 record heading into a pair of games at Yankee Stadium ... we’re in third place still, half a game up on Detroit, but the Yankees (15-7) are tied with the Guardians (16-8), still 2.5 games up on us. So we could really use a strong pair of games in the house that Ruth built to re-seed our confidence.

May 14, 1957: Milt Pappas (2-2, 4.66 ERA, 29.0 IP, 19 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) started tonight’s game against Mike McCormick (1-2, 3.76 ERA, 36.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a solo homer in the top of the first to get us on the board, but we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Mantle. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, one out, man on first, still tied at 1-1, getting Gil McDougald to ground into a double play to keep it that way. But Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer out of left to put them up 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, and with two outs Yogi Berra hit one out of center to pile on. We lost in the end 3-1, unable to score after the one homer in the first inning.

Drabowsky took the loss, falling to 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA, allowing two hits and two earned runs in his 1.2 innings of work, while Pappas had lasted 6.1 innings with seven hits, two walks, two strikeouts and a single earned run. New York outhit us 9-3, however, our offense remaining inconsistently streaky. Only Pafko’s homer kept us from being completely embarrassed.

May 15, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.27 ERA, 35.1 IP, 15 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) started game two, going up against Vinegar Bend Mizell (4-1, 2.79 ERA, 48.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.10 WHIP). Del Crandall batted in a run with a single in the top of the first, and like clockwork we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning, Mantle again batting one in with a groundball single. Woodie Held then hit an RBI triple to get them the lead, and we trailed by a pair heading into the second. Gorman came out to pitch in the seventh inning, and again we couldn’t muster any fight after getting, and then losing, a first inning lead -- New York cruised to an easy 3-1 win as this team already looks like it’s falling apart. Mossi fell to 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA, allowing five hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts in his six innings. We had seven hits, same as the Yankees, but only Crandall (two hits, one RBI) managed to do anything with his.

Next up: a pair in Boston at Fenway, our 14-12 A’s taking on the 13-14 Red Sox, who have won six of their last seven.

May 17, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-2, 3.18 ERA, 34.0 IP, 11 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) started against Boston’s Frank Sullivan (1-3, 6.96 ERA, 32.1 IP, 18 K’s, 2.07 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a two-run homer in the top of the first, his third homer of the season, and with one out in the bottom of the inning Frank Malzone hit a double that drove in two to tie it up. Jesus! They took the lead moments later on a triple by Billy Klaus, and we were in a 4-2 hole by the end of the inning. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the sixth trailing 6-2, and Sam Jones came out in the eighth and gave them two more runs just for fun as we lost this one 8-2. Erskine fell to 3-3 with a 4.15 ERA, allowing six earned runs off eight hits with two strikeouts in his five innings, while we got ourselves outhit 10-3. That’s eight losses in a row, and just like that we’re back to .500 and fading fast, six games remaining in this road trip from Hell. Pafko had a hit, a run and two RBIs thanks to his homer and is hitting .278, one of our few bright spots offensively ... but even he can’t seem to find ways to spark rallies late. We can’t just score a run or two in the first and then expect to coast the rest of the damned game.

May 18, 1957: We’ve called Art Ditmar up from AAA to serve as an extra long-reliever / spot starter option with the Baltimore doubleheader coming up on Sunday, sending Russ Sullivan back down to the minors in the process. Larry Jansen (1-1, 2.42 ERA, 26.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) pitched today against Mike Fornieles (1-3, 6.52 ERA, 29.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) in our second game in Boston, and in the top of the second Joe DeMaestri hit an RBI single to give us a 1-0 lead. They waited until the bottom of the fourth to steal the lead back, this time off a two-run homer over the monster by Johnny Blanchard, and Jackie Jensen hit a two-run blast out of right moments later to blow this one open. We went into the top of the fifth trailing 4-1, getting a run back off the bat of Metkovich, who pulled off a double to cut their lead to two. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, still trailing by a pair, and the game fell apart from there ... he gave up an RBI single to Piersall without an out, loaded the bases, and another run scored off a sac-fly to center. Ditmar came out of the pen with two outs, men on the corners, and got us out of the inning trailing by four and long out of the game. He stayed out the remainder of the afternoon as we lost this one 7-4. Jansen fell to 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing four earned runs off seven hits and three walks, striking out a pair while we were outhit 13-8. Crandall hit twice with a run and two batted in to lead the offense.

May 19, 1957: We head to Baltimore (11-18) today for a doubleheader to open a three-game series, our team looking down the barrel of a potential double-digit losing streak if we can’t get a win in the first game. Juan Pizarro (1-3, 3.03 ERA, 35.2 IP, 28 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) got the start in game one against Jim McDonald (2-1, 2.79 ERA, 38.2 IP, 10 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Del Crandall got us the lead in the top of the first with an RBI triple, and in the top of the fourth Chuck Diering got a double, batting in Harry Walker to give us a 2-0 lead! Baltimore got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Pizarro got into some trouble, a groundout by Wayne Causey batting in a run. Brooks Robinson reached on an E6 error, giving them runners on the corners, one out, and they tied it up when Jerry Kindall hit into a fielder’s choice, giving us the out at second. They got the lead back off a triple by Lenny Greene, and Pizarro’s night was over after five innings. Our bats gave him a gift though in the top of the sixth inning, Chuck Diering driving in a run with a walk to tie it up and Joe DeMaestri hitting an RBI single to push us into the lead 4-3 as Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the frame. Crandall hit an RBI double to score in the top of the seventh, and a Chuck Diering single made it a 6-3 lead for us heading into the stretch. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, still leading by three runs, and Don Bessent came out to close in the bottom of the ninth, shutting them down nicely as we snapped the streak and beat Baltimore 6-3. Pizarro had a really good night, giving us five innings with four hits, two walks, three strikeouts and two earned runs. We need to build his confidence up, so we avoided pushing him out there for the sixth inning just because he’d have a lead, trusting the bullpen -- Gorman, Drabowsky and Bessent combined for four innings with four hits, one walk and two strikeouts, with Bessent picking up his fifth save and improving his ERA to 2.35. We outhit the Orioles 11-8, led by Crandall who had three hits, two runs and two RBIs, improving his average to .261.

Milt Pappas (2-2, 4.08 ERA, 35.1 IP, 21 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) pitched in our second game of the afternoon, facing Ruben Gomez (1-4, 2.25 ERA, 44.0 IP, 16 K’s, 1.52 WHIP). Harry Walker hit an RBI single in the top of the first to give us a lead, and though Pappas got into a dangerous bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the second with two outs, he got through it with a pop-fly to left and we kept our lead. Danny O’Connell hit an RBI single to score Metkovich in the top of the third inning after four foul balls in a row, and we added on in the top of the fourth when Catfish Metkovich hit an RBI double that scored two more, though he wrenched his back sliding into second and had to be pulled from the game (Walt Bond came in at left field, replacing him as a pinch runner, and Chuck Diering moved over to center). Danny O’Connell hit an RBI double to bring Bond home, and we went into the bottom of the inning leading 5-0. Baltimore got on the board in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Willie Miranda on two outs, but but Ruben Gomez grounded into a fielder’s choice, with DeMaestri making an unassisted out at seocnd base. Diering hit an RBI single and DeMaestri grounded into a run-scoring double play as we added on in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom of the sixth Pappas got three quick outs around a triple by Brooks Robinson to keep our lead, 7-1. Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the seventh, and with two outs and the bases loaded, Sam Jones came out to pitch, getting a pop-out to end the inning without further damage. We added on three runs in the top of the eighth, and Jones stayed out the remainder of the game as we shut them down in a 10-2 blowout win.

Milt Pappas gave us 6.2 innings with eight hits, six walks, five strikeouts and just two earned runs, improving to 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA. Jones then earned a 2.1 inning save with a walk and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 3.48 through 10.1 innings. We outhit the Orioles 17-8, led by O’Connell (two hits, three RBIs), Metkovich (two hits, a run, two RBIs) and Walt Bond (a hit, a run and two RBIs). Metkovich’s injury will leave him as a day-to-day option for the next few days, but does not look to be too serious for the 36-year-old. We’ll get a chance to go for a sweep against Baltimore tomorrow afternoon, something which seemed impossible a few hours ago when we came in on a nine-game losing streak.

May 20, 1957: Don Mossi (2-2, 1.74 ERA, 41.1 IP, 18 K’s, 1.02 WHIP) pitched against Roger Craig (2-3, 4.93 ERA, 42.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.26 WHIP). Joe DeMaestri hit a two run homer in the top of the second, his first of the year, but Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI single by Wayne Causey, their third single of the inning. They tied it up on their fourth, a single by Brooks Robinson that sent Causey over to third, just one out against them, and with the bases loaded Eddie Waitkus hit a weak squib that bounced everywhere but where we needed it to, and he beat out the throw from second to give up the lead and keep the bases loaded -- Mossi was falling apart completely! By the time Bob Miller got warmed up and took the mound with two outs and men on first and second, we’d given up five more runs (including a three-run homer by Hal Smith) and dug an 8-2 hole, all the runs coming in the bottom of the fourth, but Miller did at least bring the inning to a merciful end with a quick groundout. Moe Drabowsky came out in the bottom of the seventh with an out and a man on second, getting two quick outs to prevent the Orioles from adding on, but this game had long since become out of reach. Baltimore beat us 8-2 completely on the strength of that absolutely crazy fourth inning slugfest.

Mossi was not sharp at all tonight, lasting 3.2 innings with seven hits, five walks and eight earned runs, striking out two and falling to 2-3 with a 3.20 ERA through his first seven starts. Miller had a great 2.2 inning effort, allowing two hits through 29 pitches, and Drabowsky got the remaining five outs with a hit and a strikeout. But we were outhit 10-7, six of those coming in the bottom of the fourth. DeMaestri led the team with two hits, a run and two RBIs as we fell back to .500, as we’ll take our 16-16 record to Washington to take on the 14-21 Senators. We’ll then return home for three against Detroit (18-15), followed by five more road games, two against the White Sox (13-18) and three against the Tigers.

jksander · 10-07-2024, 12:00 PM

May 21, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-3, 4.15 ERA, 39.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) pitched against Walt Masterson (1-5, 9.49 ERA, 30.1 IP, 14 K’s, 2.21 WHIP) in our first of two games on the Senators’ home field. Del Crandall got us into the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the season, and we added on in the second with a sac-fly by DeMaestri and a Catfish Metkovich RBI double. Washington got on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple by Willie McCovey, and he scored thanks to a sac-fly by Jim Busby. But Crandall was on fire today, hitting his second two-run blast of the evening in the top of the fifth, and we piled on with four more runs in the top of the sixth, including a three-run triple by O’Connell! From there on, it was a total rout -- Erskine stayed out to complete his game, and we won easily 13-2. With the complete game eight-hitter, Erskine improved to 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA, walking two, striking out one and allowing just two earned runs. We outhit the Senators 15-8, led by Crandall with three hits, two runs and four RBIs, while Harry Walker added three hits, three runs and an RBI, and Joe DeMaestri hit twice for a run and two RBIs. Crandall is hitting .280 and slugging .560 thanks to four doubles, three triples and six homers, and he already has 1.4 WAR, off to the best start of his career.

May 22, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-2, 3.19 ERA, 31.0 IP, 15 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) pitched in our second game against the Senators, facing Camilo Pascual (6-1, 2.18 ERA, 70.1 IP, 41 K’s, 1.12 WHIP), who so far this season looks to have harnessed his control issues at age 23. Washington took the lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-run homer by Jim Lemon, but Catfish Metkovich hit one himself in the top of the fifth to tie it up, his first homer of the season. Martin Rosell hit a solo blast out of right to put Washington back on top 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, and they piled on with a three-run blast to pretty much the same spot ... a mini jet stream going out over that wall! ... by Ken Aspromonte to make it a 6-2 lead. Both homers came with two outs, and Jansen struggled mightly before finally getting the third without any more runs scoring. But he was definitely done for the day. Art Ditmar came out in the bottom of the sixth and got us through the remainder of the game, but we lost this one 6-2, never finding a way back in after the brutal bottom-of-the-fifth. Jansen fell to 1-3 with a seven hit, two walk, three strikeout, six run game, his ERA exploding to 4.25 after the five inning effort. But Ditmar looked solid through three innings, just one walk and one strikeout as he dropped his ERA to 1.69 through 5.1 innings. We outhit them 8-7, led by Metkovich, who hit twice with a run and two RBIs.

May 24, 1957: We’re back at home for three against Detroit, and just shy of 11,000 fans came out to watch game one, Juan Pizarro (2-3, 3.10 ERA, 40.2 IP, 31 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) pitching against Jim Bunning (4-2, 3.39 ERA, 58.1 IP, 38 K’s, 1.13 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a two-run homer for us in the bottom of the first, his fourth of the year, and in the bottom of the second we bought Pizarro a lot more breathing room thanks to RBI singles by Metkovich, Pafko and Crandall, plus a fourth run batted in when Harry Walker was hit with a pitch. They got a run back in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Red Wilson, but Pizarro pitched well through the sixth and DeMaestri hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to put us back ahead 7-1. Pizarro got us into the stretch, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the eighth. With two outs in the top of the ninth Harvey Kuenn hit a solo homer to get them a second run, but Miller handled his business and we won this one 7-2. Pizarro improved to 3-3 with a 2.83 ERA, allowing four hits, two walks, two strikeouts and one earned run in his seven innings, while Miller had two hits, two strikeouts and an earned run in his two. We outhit Detroit 11-6, led by Pafko who hit twice with two runs and three RBIs.

May 25, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-2, 3.86 ERA, 42.0 IP, 26 K’s, 1.57 WHIP) pitched against Robin Roberts (4-2, 1.74 ERA, 51.2 IP, 20 K’s, 0.91 WHIP). In the top of the second Robin Roberts struck out swinging and should have ended the inning, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first and drive in a run to put Detroit up 1-0. Pappas was wild in the third inning and another run scored thanks to a single by Rocky Bridges that paired with an E9 error, though he again got out of a bases loaded situation without a major disaster happening. O’Connell batted in a run to get us back within one in the bottom of the third, and Pappas put up two clean innings to keep the game close. We brought out Tom Gorman in the top of the sixth, and a Pafko solo homer in the bottom of the inning tied us up at two! Detroit retook the lead in the top of the eighth with a sac-fly by Red Wilson, and Moe Drabowsky came out and got three quick outs in the top of the ninth to keep us in the game. With two outs and a man on third base, Catfish Metkovich singled into center to tie this one up, but to win was going to require extra innings. Drabowsky stayed out and got us safely through the top of the 10th, and Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 11th. With two outs in the bottom of the 12th, Del Crandall hit a hard one into left field and drove O’Connell around to score from third with a walkoff single, as we won this one 4-3!

Pappas lasted five innings with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and two runs (one earned), and then our bullpen put in seven innings with four hits, three walks, four strikeouts and an earned run to keep us in the game long enough to win it. Bessent improved to 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA, lasting two innings with a hit, a walk and two strikeouts in his two innings’ work. We outhit Detroit 13-8, led by Metkovich, who hit four times with a run and an RBI, while Crandall hit twice and batted in the winning run.

May 26, 1957: We came into today’s game just half a game back on Detroit, with a chance to sweep and leapfrog them into third place in the AL. Don Mossi (2-3, 3.20 ERA, 45.0 IP, 20 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) got the start against Billy Hoeft (4-2, 2.83 ERA, 54.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) and he’s really needing a solid outing, as he’s been ice cold in his last two starts. Metkovich hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first to give us an early lead, Two errors at first put Mossi in a real jam in the top of the second, but a pop-out to short got him out of it and kept the lead. He struck out the side in the top of the third, gaining confidence, and DeMaestri batted in two runs with a double in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-0 lead. Bob Miller came out in the top of the seventh, still leading by three, and he was going to stay out in the eighth too, but a 30 minute rain delay forced us to bring out Don Bessent, who handled business well. He got us through the remainder of the game as we held tough to win 3-0 as we won our 20th game of the season.

Don Mossi improved to 3-3 with a 2.82 ERA, allowing three hits, a walk and striking out five in six scoreless innings. Miller earned his third hold with a just a strikeout in his one inning, and Bessent picked up his sixth save with two innings and just a walk and a strikout. He now has a 1.54 ERA through 11.2 innings. We won the duel by outhitting them 4-3, led by DeMaestri who hit two of those with two runs batted in.

We’re now in third place in the AL again, four games in back of Cleveland and 4.5 behind the league-leading Yankees. We’ve got two games against Chicago (15-22) on Monday and Tuesday, and then three games in two days against the Tigers (20-18) in Detroit ... we’ll then return home for 16 games in two and a half weeks at home against Cleveland (24-13), Baltimore (14-24), Boston (18-20), Washington (16-25) and New York (23-11).

jksander · 10-07-2024, 02:31 PM

May 27, 1957: Carl Erskine (4-3, 3.75 ERA, 48.0 IP, 14 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) pitched against Jack Harshman (1-4, 5.56 ERA, 43.2 IP, 27 K’s, 1.65 WHIP). And this one quickly became a blowout ... but for us! Metkovich doubled and Del Crandall hit a single to bat him around to score our first run, and then Spencer hit a double that scored Crandall, but we were just getting started! Walker was hit by a pitch, Chuck Diering walked, and Joe DeMaestri hit a single that scored Spencer and Walker, putting us up 4-0. Carl Erskine hit an RBI single, Metkovich singled in two more, and Danny O’Connell hit an RBI double, Pafko striking out swinging to finally end the top of the inning with us leading by eight runs! Daryl Spencer hit a solo homer in the top of the second to add on, but Erskine didn’t get a shutout tonight -- Walt Dropo hit an RBI single to get the White Sox on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The huge lead allowed us to give Erskine a bit more rope, and he gave our bullpen a break, getting us through 7.1 innings before Bob Miller came out to replace him in the bottom of the eight with Minoso on first. Minoso was injured sliding into first with two outs, and Chicago was unable to score the runner, but in the bottom of the ninth they did get two runs back thanks to a homer by pinch-hitter Earl Battey. Bob Miller locked in from there, however, and we were able to close out the 9-3 win without any real threat from the White Sox.

Erskine took the win and improved to 5-3, allowing six hits, two walks and one earned run, striking out a pair. Miller handled the remainder, getting five outs with four hits, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs. We outhit them 11-10, led by Metkovich and Spencer, who each had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while DeMaestri added two hits, a run and two RBIs.

May 28, 1957: We’ve gone from a nine-game losing streak to a four game winning streak, with wins in seven of our last ten games. Larry Jansen (1-3, 4.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 18 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) pitched today against Billy Pierce (4-5, 3.39 ERA, 71.2 IP, 40 K’s, 1.31 WHIP). Jansen had two good innings and then got into a jam in the third, an RBI single by Larry Doby putting Chicago on the board first, with an E9 throwing error pushing runners into scoring position with just one out. Jim Rivera singled in another run, and this time the White Sox took advantage and started piling on. Bob Boyd doubled in two runs to make it a four-run lead, and Jansen looked shellshocked ... he’s been ice cold lately, and does not look ready to be a major league pitcher at this level. Tonight we pulled him for Bob Miller with one out, men on second and third, and the score 5-0 Chicago. Miller got two quick outs to strand the runners, but the damage was severe. They added on a run in the fourth, and Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, trailing by six, and it would appear our offense took the night off completely. Ditmar got us through the remainder of the game, and though Del Crandall hit an RBI single that scored Ditmar in the bottom of the ninth, we still lost this one 6-1 without any real fight in our performance. Ditmar gave us four innings with a hit, two walks and a strikeout, and he had a hit himself and scored our only run. Beyond that, the game was a mess, our boys being outhit 10-6.

May 29, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-3, 2.83 ERA, 47.2 IP, 33 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) started today against Detroit’s Jim Bunning (4-3, 3.55 ERA, 63.1 IP, 42 K’s, 1.20 WHIP). Detroit got on the board in the bottom of the third with a two-run triple by Don Blasingame, and an RBI triple by Bill Virdon added on a run in the bottom of the fifth, with our batters giving Pizarro zero support. Fred Hatfield doubled Virdon home, and we went into the top of the sixth trailing 4-0. Sam Jones came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, our team still scoreless, and in the top of the seventh we finally got something going when Harry Walker hit a two-run homer to get us on the board heading into the stretch. But Virdon hit his second RBI triple in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a groundout by Hatfield to get them both runs back. Tom Gorman came out with one out and men on first and second in the bottom of the eighth, getting us out of the inning without any further scoring against us, but it didn’t matter. We lost this one 6-2 and never looked like we were remotely ready to compete offensively. We’re definitely a hot or cold team on the road, and this season’s gonna come down to how dominant we can be on our home field.

Pizarro took the loss, falling to 3-4 with a 3.25 ERA, allowing seven hits with three walks, two strikeouts and four earned runs in his five innings. They outhit us again 11-7, Spencer hitting three times and scoring a run, while Walker had a hit, a run and two RBIs. The loss drops us to 21-19 overall, good for third place in the AL and just half a game up on Detroit, with a doubleheader on the books tomorrow against the Tigers as we complete this road trip.

May 30, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-2, 3.64 ERA, 47.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) started game one of today’s doubleheader, facing Robin Roberts (4-2, 1.90 ERA, 61.2 IP, 26 K’s, 0.96 WHIP). Pappas got into a rough spot in the bottom of the fourth, bases loaded, and a run scored off a fielder’s choice to give us one out. Another fielder’s choice allowed a run to score, and then Hatfield hit one straight to Spencer at third to get us out of the inning trailing 2-0. Pappas took it into his own hands, hitting an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get us on the board, and he got us through the fifth ... and then the sixth ... safely, but threw 106 pitches to get us there. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, still trailing by a run, and he immediately gave up a double to Robin Roberts, but got through the inning without a run scoring, getting Roberts out on a 5-4 double play to end the inning. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth with one out and a man on first, getting the outs we needed off a pair of pop flies to the outfield. In the top of the ninth, Catfish Metkovish hit a single with one out, but Juan Pizarro hit into a fielder’s choice that got him to first but elminated Metkovich sliding into second. Bill Wilson popped out to center and ended this one as a 2-1 loss, our bats continuing to slump all at once.

Milt Pappas completely got screwed, his six inning four hit effort leading to two earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts, while he hit twice and batted in our only run. We outhit them 8-6 and yet got almost nothing out of it, a real lack of effort on the behalf of pretty much everyone.

We gave Art Ditmar (0-0, 0.96 ERA, 9.1 IP, 3 K’s, 0.86 WHIP) a bullpen start in game two, going up against Billy Hoeft (4-3, 2.90 ERA, 62.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.06 WHIP). Ditmar loaded the bases on two outs in the bottom of the second, and Lee Walls hit a two-run double to get the Tigers on the board. They added a pair of two-run homers (both also on two outs) in the bottom of the third, and this turned into a complete embarassment. Ditmar loaded the bases, but FINALLY got the third out, and we went into the top of the fourth trailing 6-0 with Sam Jones warming up to come in. Jones took over in the fourth, and Gorman relieved him in the eighth, giving up another run as we’d go on to lose 7-0.

Ditmar gave up 10 hits in three innings with two walks, three strikeouts and six earned runs, but Jones was surprisingly solid through his four innings (three hits, a walk and two strikeouts), improving his ERA to 3.24 through 16.2 innings of bullpen work. We were outhit 15-5, however, and this continued slump makes it impossible for our pitchers to do anything but pray that they can pitch perfect games.

We return to Kansas City with a 21-21 record, good for fourth place in the AL. At this point we’ve had nine-game and four-game losing streaks this month to go with five-game and four-game winning streaks. When our bats are hot we can do well, and we’ve got a good young pitching core ... but when we slump, we slump HARD. This upcoming 16-game home stretch is going to be critical, we really need to do well and build ourselves a lead back, because after that we have 17 of our last 20 games before the All Star break on the road. This upcoming stretch will feature series against Cleveland (28-14), Baltimore (17-25), Boston (20-23), Washington (16-29) and New York (27-12).

jksander · 10-08-2024, 09:02 PM

June 1, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.42 ERA, 55.1 IP, 16 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) went up against Mike “The Big Bear” Garcia (6-3, 1.89 ERA, 71.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.09 WHIP), and Erskine pitched six scoreless innings, but our bats gave us nothing once again. Tom Gorman came out with one out and a man on second in the top of the seventh, getting Al Rosen to pop out to right and then striking out Rocky Colavito to get us out of the inning with the game still knotted at zero. Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, Harry Walker hit a double that drove in two, and we took our first lead in what seemed like ages, snapping the scoreless streak in its 30th inning. But Gorman gave up an RBI single to Norm Cash in the top of the eighth on a play where we showed a complete lack of hustle ... it should have been an easy out at first! Don Bessent came in a few minutes later with runners on first and second, just one out, and was able to keep the runners from scoring as we went into the bottom of the eighth clinging to a one-run lead. Bessent came back out in the top of the ninth, getting Al Smith to pop out to left, but Al Rosen hit a single into center. Rocky Colavito popped out to Metkovich in center for our second out, but Roger Maris hit a solid shot to deep center ... it landed, and Rosen took second, Metkovich’s throw reaching O’Connell, who whipped it to Cannizaro at third ... OUT! We won this one on an 8-6-5 play, beating the Guardians 2-1!

Erskine had a great night, lasting 6.1 innings with six hits and two walks, no runs. But the win went to Gorman, who improved to 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA with just three hits, a walk, a strikeout and an earned run in an inning of work. Bessent picked up his seventh save while getting five outs with just two hits against him. They outhit us 11-4, but Andy Pafko hit twice and scored a run, and Diering’s one hit got us two RBIs.

June 2, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-4, 3.25 ERA, 52.2 IP, 35 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) pitched against Tom Cheney (6-3, 2.07 ERA, 74.0 IP, 50 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) in our third game in the series against Cleveland. Rocky Colavito hit a solo homer to put the Guardians up in the top of the fourth, but Del Crandall hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth that drove Danny O’Connell in to tie it up at 1-1. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the ninth, the score still knotted at one, and he was able to keep it that way, but our anemic offense couldn’t step up and this one went into extra innings. Drabowsky got us safely through the top of the 10th inning, and Bob Lillis pinch-hit for him to lead off in the bottom of the inning, hitting a solid single into left, and he stole second with two outs. Pafko hit a single that moved Lillis to third, and he should have stayed there, but he got greedy and they got him out on a 9-4-2 play to force us to continue. Don Bessent came out to pitch, and with two outs secured, he allowed Rocky Colavito to hit an RBI single that scored the go-ahead for Cleveland. With two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Harry Walker singled, Chuck Diering hit a line drive into right to move him to second, and George Wilson walked them both into scoring position as he loaded the bases. Joe DeMaestri came in to pinch hit, but he grounded out into a fielder’s choice, shorstop to second and it was all over as we lost 2-1.

Pizarro lasted eight innings with just four hits, a walk, four strikeouts and the earned run, and Drabowsky made it through two more innings with just two hits. But Bessent took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 1.88 ERA, allowing two hits and an earned run while striking out a batter. We outhit them 9-8, but couldn’t make anything happen. Diering was our only player to hit twice, and he got nowhere. O’Connell hit once and walked twice, scoring our only run, which Crandall (who had a hit and a walk) batted in.

June 4, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-3, 3.57 ERA, 53.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) started against Baltimore’s Jim McDonald (4-2, 2.72 ERA, 56.1 IP, 17 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Pappas got through multi-baserunner jams in the second, third and fourth innings, and then struck out the side in the fifth, but our bats again gave him absolutely no support. He held his ground through the eighth inning without letting a runner score, and in the bottom of the eighth he hit a solo homer to put us up 1-0 because why not? The rest of your team won’t hit so why not try and win singlehanded? But he stayed out too long, and Drabowsky, coming in with one out and men on second and third, gave up a single to Carroll Hardy that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, erasing everything ... that’s on me for listening to Pappas and letting him go for the complete game in a tight situation. We came up in the bottom of the ninth, now needing at least a run to survive, and we got one from Del Crandall -- a powerful homer out of left field to tie the score at 2-2 with one out. With two outs, Walker and Diering hit back to back singles, but DeMaestri grounded out to first and sent this one into extra innings.

Bob Miller came out with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the 10th, getting Carol Hardy to pop one straight to Walker at first for the final out. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Metkovich doubled into deep center, and Pafko walked, but Del Crandall struck out to end the inning. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 11th, striking out the side, and with two outs in the bottom of the inning he walked the bases loaded. Metkovich came up to the plate and popped out to short ... we’re gonna keep playing! Tom Gorman came out with one out and men on first and second in the top of the 12th, but Wayne Causey got a great hit off him, driving in a run with a double that put two runners in scoring position. Willy Miranda hit into a fielder’s choice and we took the out at home plate ... but Ray Katt singled in the runner at third to make it a two-run Baltimore lead as we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning. O’Connell took a leadoff walk, but Pafko hit into a double play that cleared the bases, and Del Crandall popped out to left, game over. We lost this one 4-2 and much of the blame will fall directly on me for not putting Drabowsky in for the ninth inning with the 1-0 lead.

Milt Pappas had a great night with five hits, five walks, eight strikeouts and two earned runs through 8.1 innings. Drabowsky wound up with his third blown save, and Bessent took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA ... he lasted 1.1 innings with a hit, a walk, three strikeouts and an earned run. They outhit us 10-7, with Pappas and Crandall’s homers giving us hope enough to keep this one going for just over four hours before we finally lost.

June 5, 1957: Don Mossi (3-4, 2.59 ERA, 59.0 IP, 27 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) pitched against Harry Byrd (2-4, 5.40 ERA, 46.2 IP, 26 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) in our second game against the Orioles in this series. Don Mossi hit a single in the bottom of the second that, thanks to an E9 error, allowed DeMaestri to score and give us the early lead. Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third, his eighth of the season, but the Orioles got on the board in the top of the fourth when Brooks Robinson grounded out to first and drove in a run. They tied it up moments later on a wild pitch, and they added on with an RBI double by Harry Byrd that gave them a 3-2 lead. But Daryl Spencer hit a groundball double in the bottom of the fifth that drove in Pafko and Crandall, slingshotting us back into the lead. Mossi got us through the sixth inning, and Tom Gorman came out to replace him to start the seventh inning, getting us into the stretch still leading by a run. He got us through the eighth as well, and in the bottom of the inning we got a fifth run when Gorman tripled and then tagged up to score on a sac-fly by O’Connell. Bob Miller came out to close in the top of the ninth, pitching around runners on the corners to get Charlie Maxwell out on a pop-fly to left ... we held tough to win this one 5-3!

Don Mossi got the win, improving to 4-4 with a 2.77 ERA, thanks to a six inning performance with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Gorman had a two-inning hold without allowing a baserunner, and the 18-year-old Miller saved his first game ever, with a hit and a walk ... he’s now got a 4.82 ERA through 28 innings over 20 bullpen appearances in his rookie season. We outhit Baltimore 12-5, led by Crandall who hit twice with two runs and an RBI.

June 6, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.06 ERA, 61.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) started against Don Johnson (1-3, 5.79 ERA, 32.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.68 WHIP). Baltimore got on the board quickly with a solo homer by their second batter of the game, Hal Smith, but we tied it up in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Del Crandall. Baltimore answered with an RBI single by Jerry Kindall in the top of the second on two outs to retake the lead, but Metkovich hit a homer in the bottom of the third to even things up again, his third of the season. They again took the lead in the top of the fourth, this time off an RBI single by Wayne Causey, and again we found an answer, Pafko batting Metkovich home with a double in the bottom of the fifth, but we were unable to take a lead. Erskine got us safely through the seventh and into the stretch still tied up at 3-3, and he stayed out for the eighth inning as well to keep us knotted up. But we went to Drabowsky with one out in the top of the ninth, Johnny Pesky on first, and he got the outs we needed, bringing us up to hit in the bottom of the inning with a chance to walk things off. But unable to get a hit, this game headed into extra innings once again. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 10th, and he got two quick outs, and then Larry Green doubled one into center field and Charlie Lau singled into right, driving him home. Another single into right by Wayne Causey made it a two-run Baltimore lead before finally he got the third out. The top of our order was a letdown and we lost 5-3.

Erskine had a great night with 8.1 innings and just eight hits, two walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Drawbowsky got two outs on seven pitches with a walk and no hits, but couldn’t stay out in the tenth because we tried to go for the win with a pinch-hitter and failed. Bessent wound up taking the loss, falling to 1-4 with a 3.24 ERA, allowing three hits with two earned runs. They outhit us 11-10, Pafko leading the way with three hits and an RBI. Metkovich also had two hits, a run and two RBIs.

We’ve picked up outfielder Pete Whisenant off waivers from St. Louis -- the 27-year-old has barely been used by the Cardinals, but has great gap power and above average ability to hit for homers as well, with defensive ability at both left and right (with passable range for center field as well). We’ve sent Bill Wilson back down to AAA to make room for him on the 25-man roster where he’ll be our primary utility outfield backup.

June 7, 1957: Boston’s in town for a four-game series, and for game one we went with Juan Pizarro (3-4, 2.97 ERA, 60.2 IP, 39 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) against Frank Sullivan (4-5, 5.61 ERA, 67.1 IP, 33 K’s, 1.65 WHIP), and right away poor defense at shortstop led to a rough first inning for him -- Jackie Jensen reached first on an E6, and then a double by Ted Williams put both runners in scoring position with just one out. Willie Jones hit a double to drive in a pair, and Pizarro’s insanely poor luck continued as we landed in a 2-0 hole. Jensen hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth to add on, and Bob Miller came out in the top of the sixth trailing by four runs. Boston added on a run in the top of the seventh, and our bats did literally nothing all night as we got humiliated once again in a 5-0 shutout loss. Pizarro fell to 3-5 despite a solid night ... four hits, two walks, six strikeouts and four runs (three earned) in his five innings. We were outhit 9-5, and our five hits were all ticky tack ones that got runners nowhere. It’s honestly depressing as hell to see our young pitchers going out and showing improvement but for a team with little or no offensive consistency. How long can their morale stay up?

June 8, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-3, 3.38 ERA, 61.1 IP, 38 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) faced off against Tom Wills (2-1, 2 SV, 1.89 ERA, 38.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) in the series’ second game. Boston went up quickly with an RBI single by Frank Malzone in the top of the first, and Ted Lepcio singled in another in the top of the second. Their pitcher, meanwhile, was unhittable through the first six innings, with just two of our players getting on base via walks. We brought Bob Miller out in the top of the seventh with one out and men on the corners, and he got us out of the inning with a flyout to right by Frank Malzone and a quick thinking throw to home plate to make it a 9-2 double play. We broke up the no-no in the bottom of the seventh with a single by Chuck Diering, and Diering would end up scoring off a groundout by Chris Cannizzaro to cut the lead to one run. Miller got us through the top of the eighth without incident, and he got us through the ninth as well ... but could we find a way to get some damned hits? Nope. Absolutely not. The best hitters in our order went down 1-2-3 and we lost 2-1. Milt Pappas took the loss, having allowed 11 hits with two walks, a strikeout and two earned runs in his 6.1 innings. Miller then finished the game, throwing 33 pitches and getting our last eight outs with just a hit and a strikeout. They outhit us 11-3, and I’m damned close to firing our entire starting lineup for complete not giving a s---. But ownership refuses to give us the money we’d need to be able to make real improvements to this team, and others in the league aren’t willing to give us an inch unless we break up our pitching rotation which is simply not a smart move to make at this time. So we’re stuck spinning our wheels. The fact that our run differential all year is only -15 speaks to how good our pitching has been, because it feels like we’ve been getting hammered by teams nonstop.

June 9, 1957: Don Mossi (4-4, 2.77 ERA, 65.0 IP, 29 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (4-4, 3.68 ERA, 71.0 IP, 48 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) and just 8,200 fans showed up to watch us. Boston took the lead in the top of the fourth off a Billy Klaus double that scored Frank Malzone all the way from first -- thanks to uninspired, slow-poke fielding in the outfield that let him leg that out. But our bats awoke in the bottom of the inning, Chuck Diering getting us on the board with a sac-fly that scored Crandall from third, and we took the lead thanks to an RBI single by DeMaestri. DeMaestri hit himself a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to add on some insurance, and we brought Tom Gorman out to pitch in the top of the eighth, still leading by three runs. Daryl Spencer hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth and Gorman stayed out to close things down in the ninth as we won 5-1. Don Mossi improved to 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA, allowing just four hits with a walk, five strikeouts and a single earned run, while Gorman picked up a two-inning save with two strikeouts ... no hits, no walks. It was his third save and his 19th appearance out of the bullpen this season. In a rare event, we outhit the Red Sox 10-4, led by Joe DeMaestri who hit three times with a run and three batted in, while Harry Walker added three hits and a run.

June 10, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.09 ERA, 70.0 IP, 18 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) got the start in our final game against Boston, facing Mike Fornieles (3-5, 4.76 ERA, 51.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.53 WHIP). It was rainy, windy, and Boston got on the board via their first at-bat, a solo homer by Piersall. Harry Walker tied it up in the bottom of the third with an RBI single, and we took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Chuck Diering. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh we unleashed our bats, Drabowsky hitting a two-run homer and O’Connell hitting an RBI triple as we turned a tight game into a four-run lead! Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, and we brought Bob Miller out in the top of the ninth with one out and men on first and second. His only batter faced, Floyd Robinson, grounded out into a 3-6-3 double play and we were able to get out of there with the 5-1 win to split the series and get back to within two games of .500.

Carl Erkine got the win, improving to 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing just one hit and an earned run with two walks and three strikeouts through five innings. Drabowsky picked up a two-inning hold, his fourth, and Bessent went 1.1 innings with two hits and a walk, but Miller took the save (his second) as the rookie improved his ERA to 4.28 and got us out of a risky jam to avoid giving the Red Sox late-innings life. We outhit the Red Sox 11-4, led by Harry Walker with three hits, a run and an RBI, while Drabowsky added two RBIs thanks to just the second homer of his career.

Here’s hoping we can keep moving in this direction, as our next three are against Washington (17-37), after which we host the Yankees (32-18) who trail the Guardians in the pennant chase by four games. We’re currently 25-27 and sitting firmly in fifth place.

jksander · 10-09-2024, 04:00 PM

June 11, 1957: Sam Jones (0-0, 3.12 ERA, 17.1 IP, 10 K’s, 1.85 WHIP) got the start against Washington in game one, facing Mickey McDermott (4-4, 3.95 ERA, 68.1 IP, 34 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) ... our fifth starter spot is, right now, going to be a mix of Jones, Jansen and (potentially) Art Ditmar, though right now I’d like to start grooming Ditmar to get more frequent appearances as a stopper out of the bullpen. Tonight we took the lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a solo home run by Pete Whisenant, his first of the season ... but the Senators got back in quickly with an RBI triple by Jim Busby that scored two, slingshotting them into the lead in the top of the third. He then tagged up and scored off a sac-fly by Eddie Yost to dig us a two run hole by the time we came back up to hit. Jones got us into the stretch with the margin unchanged, but our bats remained silent and Ditmar came out to pitch in the eighth, still trailing by two. He got us through the eighth and ninth, but we went down quietly in the bottom of the inning and lost this one 3-1. Jones fell to 0-1 with a 3.33 ERA, but had an excellent night ... just three hits, four walks and four strikeouts that, unfortunately, contributed to three earned runs in seven innings. Ditmar had a walk and two strikeouts in his two innings of work, improving his ERA to 4.11 through 15.1 innings. We outhit them 5-3, but couldn’t make anything happen beyond Whisenant’s homer, though Bob Lillis also hit twice, getting nowhere.

June 12, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-5, 3.15 ERA, 65.2 IP, 45 K’s, 1.37 WHIP) pitched against Camilo Pascual (7-5, 2.30 ERA, 113.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) in our second game against the Senators. Walt Bond hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third to give us a 1-0 lead, but they got it back in the top of the fifth on two outs when Pete Runnels hit an RBI single, and they took the lead with an RBI single by Jim Busby that drove in two more ... Pizarro is just mentally incapable of holding a lead in these situations, which is frustrating to no end. Moe Drabowsky came in to pitch in the sixth, trailing by two runs, and he got us into the eighth where Bob Miller took over, still trailing by the same. With one out, Ken Aspromonte hit a two run homer to stick the dagger in our necks, but we got those runs back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a two-run single by DeMaestri that again pulled us within two. Miller got us through the top of the ninth without further damage, but we went down without any fight, losing 5-3. Pizarro fell to 3-6 with a 3.31 ERA, allowing five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. They outhit us 9-5, our team led by Bond who had two hits and a walk including his homer. DeMaestri added two RBIs, but they only came after we’d dug a four-run hole for ourselves, and they didn’t spark a rally.

Ownership has been down my throat about our lack of offense, and I’ve been told my job is on the line if moves cannot be made. We’ve been involved in talks for Frank Thomas with Pittsburgh, but to get him they’d want both Don Mossi AND Moe Drabowsky, which seems insane to me. However, the Chicago Cubs have been very interested in Juan Pizarrro, and had offered up Ernie Banks in the past ... they’ve updated their offer to include $115,000 cash, and Richard Doyle has put his stamp of approval on the deal. At this point, either we win games and remain competitive, or I’ll wind up out on my ass anyway, so I don’t see a real downside to trading for a Gold Glove and (two-time) Platinum Stick winner, so we’ve agreed to the deal. Banks has hit .263 so far this season with seven doubles, 12 homers and 31 RBIs, and he should arrive in time to join the roster for tomorrow’s game against the Senators.

jksander · 10-09-2024, 06:04 PM

June 13, 1957: Don Mossi (5-4, 2.62 ERA, 72.0 IP, 34 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) takes over in our top pitching spot in the rotation, and faced off today against Washington’s Walt Masterson (1-7, 7.38 ERA, 53.2 IP, 25 K’s, 1.84 WHIP). Washington took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second with a two-run homer by Bob Allison, his first of the season, but Chris Cannizzaro hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to get one of those runs back. Elston Howard hit an RBI single on two outs in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to two runs, and Mossi then gave up a three-run homer to Jim Lemon to dig our hole to five runs. Art Ditmar came out in the top of the sixth, trailing 6-1, and in the bottom of the inning we cut slightly into the lead with an RBI single by Thomas Paddock that allowed Ernie Banks to score his first run as a member of our Athletics. Ditmar held firm through the rest of the game, but our bats did nothing further to help and we lost 6-2. Mossi fell to 5-5 with a 3.16 ERA, allowing six hits, three walks and six earned runs with just three strikeouts. Ditmar then pitched four innings with just four hits and a walk, but we were outhit 10-8 and were unable to sustain any rallies. Banks had a hit and a run in his debut, and Cannizzaro hit twice for an RBI, while George Wilson added two hits and a run.

We’re now on a three-game losing streak thanks to the sweep against the worst team in the league ... and now we get to host the 35-18 Yankees for three before hitting the road for 16 of our last 20 “pre-All Star” games. And at 25-30 ourselves, it’s starting to look grim for us keeping this season as a close-to-.500 endeavor.

June 14, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-4, 3.33 ERA, 67.2 IP, 39 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) pitched against the Yankees’ Don Larsen (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 35.0 IP, 16 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). We took the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run homer by Del Crandall, but the Yankees got on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Tony Kubek. But we really unleashed in the bottom of the fifth -- Milt Pappas hit a solo homer to lead off, Crandall had an RBI single to drive in Metkovich, Andy Pafko batted in Crandall and Banks with an RBI double, and Andy Pafko later scored as Diering reached first on an E3 error, giving us a 7-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth! Pappas got us through the sixth inning, and with one out in the top of the seventh we brought out Bob Miller. Yogi Berra hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth to get the Yankees back within five, and Hank Bauer followed him with one of his own out of left to cut our lead to four ... both coming on two outs for Miller, but he got us the out we needed without letting the Bronx Bombers get close. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the ninth, getting one out but then loading the damned bases ... we had to bring out Don Bessent, who got Mickey Mantle to pop out to left, conceding a run, which brought up Roy Sievers in a still-dangerous situation. But Sievers hit into a fielder’s choice, we took the out at second, and were able to get out of here with a 7-4 win!

Milt Pappas earned the win, improving to 4-4 with a 3.16 ERA, allowing seven hits, a walk, two strikeouts and one earned run through 6.1 innings. Bessent, coming in for the highest of high leverage situations against the top of the Yankee order, got two outs on four pitches to earn his eighth save and preserve the win. They outhit us 12-8, but Del Crandall was on fire with two hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Pafko hit two times for a run and two RBIs.

June 15, 1957: Carl Erskine (6-3, 3.00 ERA, 75.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) started this evening against Duke Maas (3-1, 3.75 ERA, 36.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.36 WHIP). The Yankees have been at a disadvantage since losing Vinegar Bend Mizell (torn labrum, May 28th), with Billy O’Dell already out since last September with a ligament issue that could sideline him all year. But even with a short-handed rotation, their bats have kept them in the pennant race at least for now. But with a team as good as theirs, any chinks in the armor are worth exploiting if a team like ours can. But Erskine did not do a great job in this one ... in the second inning he loaded the bases on one out and walked in a run via Maas, though thankfully he limited the damage with a strikeout and a popup to get us out of the inning. He loaded them AGAIN in the bottom of the third, also on one out, but escaped safely thanks to Bill Skowron grounding into a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning. His night was in danger of being over early, but we got hot in the bottom of the third ... Crandall hit an RBI single to tie it up, Banks hit an RBI single to get us the lead, Pafko hit an RBI double to score Crandall and Banks, and Daryl Spencer hit an RBI triple to put us up 5-1! Erskine had clean innings in the fourth and fifth, and we brought Ditmar out to pitch in the top of the sixth still leading by four.

With one out, New York got a run back with an RBI single by Andy Carey, and Maas hit himself a double to drive in another, pushing Carey over to third as our lead became precarious at best. Don Bessent took over and struck out Gil McDougald, and Woodie Held hit one straight to Metkovich to keep our lead safe into the bottom of the inning. We had to bring Moe Drabowsky out in the top of the seventh with two outs and men on the corners, with Skowron again in a situation to cause us pain. He hit a double, driving in a run, but Hank Bauer tried to tie it up and failed at the plate, allowing us to get into the stretch still leading 5-4. Ernie Banks came through in the bottom of the inning, hitting an RBI single that drove home Catfish Metkovich from second base to extend our lead to two runs. Drabowsky stayed out into the top of the ninth, shutting down the top of their order as we were able to win this one 6-4!

Carl Erskine recovered from a rough start to earn the win, lasting five innings with five hits, four walks, four strikeouts and one earned run ... he’s now 7-3 with a 2.92 ERA through his first 12 starts. Bessent picked up a 1.1 inning hold, his second, and Drabowsky pitched 2.1 innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout as his ERA improved to 0.98 through 36.1 innings, with his fourth save ... he has only had four earned runs against him all season through 25 appearances, and he hasn’t had any scoring against him since giving up two runs on May 14th. The Yankees again outhit us 11-9, but we made our baserunners count ... Ernie Banks hit twice with a run and two batted in, while Pafko hit once for a run and two RBIs and Metkovich hit once and scored two.

June 16, 1957: It’s our final home game until July, and we brought out Don Mossi (5-5, 3.16 ERA, 77.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) to go against Mike McCormick (6-4, 3.00 ERA, 90.0 IP, 65 K’s, 1.08 WHIP). New York took the lead in the top of the third with a two run homer by Mickey Mantle, but an Ernie Banks RBI double got us on the board in the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the fourth Joe DeMaestri hit an RBI single, and Chuck Diering scored on a groundout by Metkovich to push us into a 3-2 lead! Mossi got two outs in the sixth and then gave up back to back hits, the second of which was an RBI triple by Woodie Held that tied the score. He smartly walked Skowron, and then got Tony Kubek to pop out to center to keep the score tied into the bottom of the frame. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, getting through the most brutal portion of their batting order safely, and Bob Miller came out in the eighth to get three quick outs as well, and he did it again in the ninth to keep us in the game. But our bats stayed silent and this one went into extra innings. Don Bessent came out in the top of the tenth with one out and a man on first, and though he got the second out, the sac fly by Woodie Held allowed a run to score from third to put New York ahead. Bessent got sloppy from there and walked the bases loaded, but Joe Black struck out to bring us up trailing by a run. Pafko hit a single into right on two outs to bring up Ernie Banks, who hit a double that allowed Pafko to score the tying run, Banks advancing safely to third ahead of the throw from center field. But Del Crandall struck out swinging and this one kept going. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch with two outs and nobody on in the top of the 11th, getting the out we needed, and Ditmar came out to replace him in the top of the 12th, and in the bottom of the inning Ernie Banks hit a walk-off double on one out to drive in the goahead and get us the 4-3 win and the sweep against the highly touted Yankees!

Banks has made himself right at home, hitting three times tonight with a walk and three runs batted in ... he’s hitting .412 since coming to Kansas City! Ditmar got the win, improving to 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA through 20.2 innings, and he knew he was going to have to stay out there for the duration as we’d used all our bullpen arms to set him up for it. New York outhit us 12-11, but thanks to Banks and Joe DeMaestri, who hit four times with an RBI, and Andy Pafko who hit three times and scored three runs, we were able to outlast their attack.

The three wins in a row get us back to within two games of .500, at 28-30 for the season. But we’ve got a tough stretch ahead ... after a day off tomorrow, we’ll face Washington (22-39) for three, Boston (31-28) for four, Baltimore (23-37) for two, the Yankees (35-21) for four, and Cleveland (40-19) for a game on July 1st. We then host the White Sox (24-36) for three, including a July 4th doubleheader, and then finish out the pre-All Star season with three games in Detroit (33-26).

jksander · 10-10-2024, 05:07 PM

June 18, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-4, 3.16 ERA, 74.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.51 WHIP) started against Washington’s Walt Masterson (2-7, 6.68 ERA, 62.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.79 WHIP) in the first game of our road trip. Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the top of the first off two outs, his 10th homer of the season, to put us quickly into the lead. But in the bottom of the fifth they got the run back with an RBI single by Walt Masterson, and with the bases loaded and just one out, Eddie Yost walked in a run to give them the lead. With two outs, Jim Lemon hit an RBI triple that drove in three runs and this game was quickly getting out of control. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and we made a furious comeback bid in the top of the eighth -- Ernie Banks hit a double that drove in two runs, and Daryl Spencer hit another double that drove Banks home ... but he was injured on the slide into second, and his injury is undetermined at the moment. Ditmar stayed out in the bottom of the eighth, trailing by just one run, getting three quick outs to send us into the top of the ninth with a chance. Unfortunatley we couldn’t buy a hit in the final frame and we lost this one 5-4. Milt Pappas fell to 4-5 with a 3.53 ERA, allowing five hits, five walks and five earned runs in his five innings -- that fifth inning was the disaster, until then he was looking as good as he ever has. Ditmar got through three innings without a single baserunner, but despite outhitting them 8-5 we couldn’t get enough from that eighth inning rally to flip the script. Spencer had three hits and an RBI before his injury, and Banks had a hit, a run and two RBIs. Crandall added a hit, a walk, two runs and an RBI as well including his homer.

June 19, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-3, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) has been consistent for us all season, and he faced Chuck Stobbs (1-9, 5.61 ERA, 85.0 IP, 38 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) as we looked to find a way to win against the Senators -- who have somehow had our number all year despite being the worst team in baseball. They got on the board first in the bottom of the second with a solo blast out of left by Ken Aspromonte, his sixth of the year, and they added on in the third with an RBI single by Pete Runnels and a sac-fly by Jim Lemon. Erskine gave up two more runs off a homer by Elston Howard in the bottom of the eighth, but by then the game was a lost cause anyway. Our bats gave us absolutely nothing once again and we lost 5-0. This is getting to be embarrassing. Erskine pitched a complete game with nine hits, a walk, five strikeouts and five earned runs, and they outhit us 9-5, only O’Connell managing to get more than one hit, while they blanked Banks.

We got good news about Daryl Spencer’s injury from yesterday’s game ... it’s just knee soreness, and he’s not going to have to miss any real time.

June 20, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-4, 5.17 ERA, 38.1 IP, 19 K’s, 1.59 WHIP) pitched against Art Houtteman (3-3, 3.73 ERA, 60.1 IP, 26 K’s, 1.41 WHIP). Jansen had three solid innings to start the game, despite two infield errors, and we got the lead in the top of the fourth when Pafko hit an RBI single that allowed Ernie Banks to score thanks to an E8 error by the Senators. DeMaestri then added on with an RBI single that scored Pafko, giving us a solid 2-0 lead. But Jansen’s luck didn’t continue. He gave up two hits in a row to start the botom of the fourth, including an RBI single by Lemon, though he was able to get us out of the inning with a 3-6-3 double play off a grounder by Bob Allison to keep us in the lead. In the top of the fifth we got the run back thanks to an RBI single by Del Crandall, but in the bottom of the inning they got a two-run homer from Jim Busby to tie it up -- and only one of the runs was earned, thanks to an error earlier in the inning by Danny O’Connell, our third of the game. With two outs, they got another two-run blast, this time by Lemon, and just like that they were back firmly in control. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the sixth, trailing by two, and with two outs he gave up a triple to Elston Howard with the bases loaded and this one was officially a rout. We trailed by five heading into the stretch, and though we got a pair of runs back in the top of the ninth, it wasn’t enough. We lost this one 8-5 but were never in it after losing the lead in the fifth. Jansen took his fifth loss of the year with six hits, two walks, a strikeout and five runs (only two of which were earned). We actually outhit them 11-10, which is maddening, considering our lack of follow-through when trying to hold onto a lead. Banks was solid with two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs, and we had five players who each hit twice. But we’ve now lost six games in a row to the Senators, and any real chance of this becoming a competitive team this year is clearly a mirage.

June 21, 1957: Sam Jones (0-1, 3.33 ERA, 24.1 IP, 14 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) got the start today in Boston against Frank Baumann (8-6, 3.22 ERA, 89.1 IP, 56 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Don Mossi was scheduled to start, but we’re at work on a potential trade that, should it go through, he’d need to be ready to move on short notice ... so Jones gets his shot. We took the lead in the top of the second as Daryl Spencer batted Banks in with a single, and the next batter, Diering, singled in Crandall to make it 2-0. Frank Baumann grounded out to first in the bottom of the inning but drove in a run in the process, and they tied it up in the bottom of the third with a groundout by Willie Jones. They took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a Baumann double, and Art Ditmar came out to pitch with one out and men on first and second. He got out of a bases loaded jam to avoid any further scoring, and he got us through the seventh inning with us still within a run. Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the eighth, getting three quick outs to keep us in the fight, and in the top of the ninth Chuck Diering led off by reaching second on an E6 error! DeMaestri hit a single into left that pushed him over to third, but Catfish Metkovich hit into a double play that ended the game as a 3-2 loss. We were so close in that one you could taste it ... Jones took the loss and fell to 0-2 with a 3.90 ERA, allowing six hits with three walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs in his 3.1 innings. Ditmar then got through 3.2 innings with just a hit, two walks and three strikeouts, and Gorman struck out a pair in his inning. We just couldn’t get it done in the clutch situation in the ninth. We outhit the Red Sox 10-7, led by Ernie Banks with three hits and a run.

The rumored trade went through shortly after the game ended ... we’re sending Don Mossi and Moe Drabowsky to the Yankees in exchange for power hitting left fielder Roy “Squirrel” Sievers. Sievers has hit .271/.327/.479 this year with 11 doubles and 12 homers, putting up 2.2 WAR thanks to his excellent defensive skills (he’s got 134 putouts in 135 chances so far this season, giving him a +6.7 zone rating). We’re giving up a lot, but we’re bringing in a much-needed bat to help give Banks some support in the lineup. The Yankees also included $14,000 cash, which will cover most of Sievers’ contract for the remainder of the season. We’ve called up Charlie Rabe (4-5, 3.45 ERA, 88.2 IP, 37 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) from AAA to fill the open spot in our starting rotation ... we acquired him last May in a trade with the Redlegs, and this will be the 25-year-old’s first chance to prove himself as a member of our Athletics.

Our starting lineup will now include O’Connell, Diering, Banks, Sievers, Crandall, Pafko, Spencer and DeMaestri ... if we can’t start putting runs together with that lineup, there’s no hope for us.

June 22, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-5, 3.53 ERA, 79.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) is now our ace by default, with an assist from Carl Erskine, so he’s going to get a lot more critical starts as the season progresses. Today he pitched against Boston’s Eli Grba (2-0, 3.25 ERA, 44.1 IP, 25 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) as folks get the first look at our revamped lineup. Frank Malzone grounded into a U5-3 double play to push in Boston’s first run in the bottom of the first, but we got the lead back in the top of the second when DeMaestri hit an RBI double that scored Sievers and Spencer. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the third, and Chuck Diering hit one in the top of the fifth to give us a three-run advantage! Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to add on, and Pappas remained razor sharp from the mound, until the bottom of the eighth when he gave up three hits in a row to load the bases. He got Frank Robinson to pop out to third base for our first out, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch, bases still loaded ... Jackie Jensen popped out to DeMaestri at short, but Ted Williams got a hit into left field to drive in a run with a single. Gorman got us out of the jam, though, and we went into the top of the ninth still leading by a pair. Gorman got us two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but then Dick Gernert hit an RBI single that drove in a run and put runners on the corners. Bob Miller came out for the high leverage opportunity, and unfortunately Sammy White drove in the tying run with a single into right. Jackie Jensen walked the bases loaded, but Ted Williams grounded out to first and this one went into extra innings, tied up 5-5. And Boston walked it off in the bottom of the 10th with a single by second baseman Milt Bolling to beat us 6-5 in yet another game we should have won. Bob Miller took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 5.27 ERA, blowing his first career save. He allowed three hits, a walk and a run in his inning of work. Pappas set us up for success with a 7.1 inning four-hitter, walking two and allowing three runs (two earned), but we just couldn’t hold the lead. Boston only outhit us 10-9, with Ernie Banks leading the way with three hits and two RBIs. Sievers debuted with a walk and a run scored.

We’ve now lost five in a row and are seven games under .500, and though we’re still in fifth place in the AL, we’re only five games out of last place.

June 23, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-4, 3.17 ERA, 88.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) pitched in the first game of this afternoon’s doubleheader, facing Frank Sullivan (5-6, 4.97 ERA, 88.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.52 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit a solo homer to give us the lead in the top of the first, his 14th homer of the season, but they got the run back in the bottom of the second thanks to a sac-fly by Billy Klaus. Milt Bolling put them into the lead with an RBI double that damned near gave me a stroke when the runner on was able to score thanks to an inexplicable no-throw by Pafko in right field. Defense, damn it, defense! Another poor throw by Pafko allowed a third run in, and we went into the top of the sixth trailing 3-1. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, still trailing by two, and we got a run back in the top of the eighth when Del Crandall hit a solo homer, his 11th of the year, to get us back within a run. He got us through the eighth inning as well, but our bats were silent once again and we lost 3-2. Erskine took the loss, his second in a row, falling to 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA -- he allowed seven hits and three earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts through six innings, while Ditmar had a strikeout and didn’t allow a single baserunner in his two innings. We were outhit 7-6, Crandall hitting twice including his homer to lead our offense.

Charlie Rabe made his A’s debut in game two, facing Willard Nixon (4-6, 4.00 ERA, 90.0 IP, 59 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the second with a two-run triple by Johnny Blanchard, and that opened the hitting floodgates. Rabe eventually loaded the bases, but got the final out without letting the game become a total rout, but we had dug ourselves a 3-0 hole before we came up to hit in the top of the third. Our bullpen, with the exception of Bessent, is worn out, so he had to stay out and see if he could truly handle adversity. Joe DeMaestri got us on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI single, but the Sox got it back in the bottom of the inning with a groundout to first by Jim Piersall, and they added on with an RBI double by Ted Williams. Rabe tried to get through the fifth and failed ... Johnny Blanchard drove in another run with a single, and with the score 6-1 Sox, Art Ditmar came out with one out and men on first and second to get us the outs we needed. Don Bessent came out with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, notching back to back strikeouts to keep them from adding on. Roy Sievers hit his first homer as an Athletic in the top of the eighth, but Ted Williams hit one over the center field wall in the bottom of the inning to negate it, and Milt Bolling kicked us in the balls with a three-run homer to add to the humiliation. Diering hit into a fielder’s choice in the ninth to get us a run in garbage time, but it didn’t matter ... we lost badly 10-2, and our losing streak now seems like it may never end. Rabe lasted 4.1 innings in his debut, allowing nine hits, five walks and six earned runs, striking out one batter. His ERA now stands at 12.46, and we’ll have to hope he can develop some consistency in future outings. Boston outhit us 14-11, DeMaestri leading the way with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI.

Thank God for the day off tomorrow (we also have one on Thursday this week) because we need to stop, breathe, and figure out how we’re going to tackle the remainder of this road trip to avoid completely free-falling. We’re dropping our ticket prices significantly to attempt to bring in fans and keep us on track for our attendance goals, and hopefully the lure of Banks and Sievers will draw people in even as we flounder once again. This week we have a pair of games in Baltimore (24-43) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a four-game set in New York (42-21) that includes a Sunday doubleheader. We’ll then face Cleveland (44-22) for a game, take the day off on Tuesday, and then return to Kansas City for a series against the White Sox (26-41) that includes a July 4th doubleheader.

jksander · 10-10-2024, 11:24 PM

June 25, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-5, 3.44 ERA, 86.1 IP, 41 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) pitched against Harry Byrd (3-7, 4.42 ERA, 75.1 IP, 40 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) in our first of two games against the last place Orioles. Baltimore scored first in the bottom of the second off a Wayne Causey RBI single, but Pappas pitched well through the sixth inning to keep their lead at one run. In the top of the seventh, Pappas hit the RBI double that tied us up, and Chuck Diering batted him home with a line drive single to give us the lead. Ernie Banks then hit an RBI single that, thanks to an E8 throwing error, allowed O’Connell and Diering to score, giving us a 4-1 lead heading into the stretch! Pappas got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, however, loading the bases and letting Charlie Maxwell walk in a run ... but Johnny Pesky lined into a 1-3 double play and we got out of the jam with our lead still at two runs. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, and immediately he gave up a solo homer to Wes Covington to cut our lead to one run, but he got three quick outs from there to keep us on top. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by a run, and he got two quick outs, only to then give up back to back singles to Vern Stephens and Charlie Maxwell. Don Bessent came in with two outs and men on the corners, walking Ray Katt to load the bases ... but Covington grounded out to first and we were able to escape with a 4-3 road win.

Milt Pappas improved to 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA, allowing seven hits, three walks and two earned runs with seven strikeouts in his seven innings of work. Gorman picked up his eighth hold and Miller his fourth, and though he only had to get one out, Bessent came through in a high leverage pinch, picking up his ninth save of the year. We outhit them 11-10, led by Danny O’Connell with three hits and a run, while Banks and Spencer each hit twice.

June 26, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-5, 3.26 ERA, 94.0 IP, 33 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) started against Ruben Gomez (4-8, 3.33 ERA, 108.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.43 WHIP). Baltimore got on the board with an RBI single by Lenny Green in the bottom of the first, and they added another thanks to a single by Gus Triandos in the bottom of the third. Wes Covington hit a two-run blast out of center in the fifth to make it a 4-0 Oriole lead, and then we finally got on the board with an RBI double by Banks in the top of the sixth. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and we picked up two more runs in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Danny O’Connell! Dick Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, and he pitched around a walk by Covington to keep us within a run. We then completely unleashed on them in the top of the eighth -- Andy Pafko hit an RBI single to tie it up, DeMaestri hit a single that drove in the go-ahead, and Don Bessent hit himself a RBI single that scored another pair to give us a 7-4 lead! Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, and after we added a run via a solo homer by Banks in the top of the ninth, he stayed out to finish things. He handled it perfectly, not allowing a single baserunner in his two innings of work, and we won big 8-4!

Dick Bessent came out and got the win, improving to 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA with a walk and two strikeouts, and Ditmar earned his first save with two innings and two strikeouts. We outhit the Orioles 9-7, led by Ernie Banks, who hit three times with two runs and two RBIs, giving him a .418 average, three homers and 15 RBIs since the trade two weeks ago. We get a day off for travel and to enjoy the wins, but then we’ll have four games in three days against the Yankees.

June 28, 1957: Milt Pappas (5-5, 3.38 ERA, 93.1 IP, 48 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) is durable and was ready to go tonight against the Yankees’ Saul Rogovin (8-3, 3.55 ERA, 106.1 IP, 45 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) on three days’ rest. The Yanks took the lead with a Mantle homer out of right in the bottom of the first, his 22nd of the season, but we tied it up in the top of the fifth with a Del Crandall homer, and Spencer hit a sac-fly that scored Pafko from third on a no-throw by Hank Bauer. Roy Sievers hit a homer for us in the top of the seventh and drew a loud chorus of boos from the Yankees, who were unaccustomed to seeing him hit for the opposing team, giving us some insurance. Pappas got us through the sixth, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run lead to protect. Roy Sievers hit a second solo homer in the top of the eighth to add to our lead, and the game had to be briefly halted by the umpire as the fans were throwing trash onto the field in frustration. Joe Collins hit an RBI triple for the Yanks in the bottom of the eighth, and we brought out Art Ditmar with a two-run lead, two outs and the runner on third, getting the out to get us safely into the ninth. He then got three whip-quick outs in the bottom of the ninth as we stunned the Yankees at home 4-2!

Milt Pappas got the win, improving to 6-5 with a 3.26 ERA, allowing seven hits through six innings with two walks, five strikeouts and one earned run. Tom Gorman got his ninth hold of the year, lasting 1.2 innings with two hits and a run, and Ditmar saved his second game with a strikeout, getting four outs without a baserunner. We outhit the Yankees 10-9, led by Roy Sievers who had two homers to help rile up the fans and keep our team pumped. Crandall added two hits including a homer, and Andy Pafko hit three times with a run scored.

June 29, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-5, 3.45 ERA, 99.0 IP, 36 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) pitched against Duke Maas (3-2, 3.65 ERA, 49.1 IP, 27 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) in our second game at Yankee Stadium in this series. The Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second with a single by Charlie Sivera that drove in a pair of runs, but we got on the board in the top of the third with a Chuck Diering solo homer to cut their lead to one. Erskine got two outs in the bottom of the fifth but then allowed an RBI single by Bill Skowron that got their lead back to two runs. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to get us back within a run, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, trailing 3-2, but that was as good as it got ... in the bottom of the inning Woodie Held hit a grand slam homer to put the Yanks up by five, and Don Bessent came out in the seventh. We kept fighting but were never in it from there, losing this one 10-4. Erskine fell to 7-6 with a 3.55 ERA, allowing six hits with three walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs in his five innings, while Miller then gave up two hits, two walks and four earned runs in his one. Bessent got us through the remainder with three hits, a walk, a strikeout and three earned runs in his two innings ... we were only outhit 11-8, but Held had two homers and batted in seven runs. It’s hard to overcome that. Chuck Diering led the way for us with three hits, three runs and an RBI, while Ernie Banks added two hits and two RBIs. We’ve got the doubleheader tomorrow, and I’m hoping we can avoid beating ourselves up too much as the month comes to an end.

June 30, 1957: Charlie Rabe (0-1, 12.46 ERA, 4.1 IP, 1 K, 3.23 WHIP) started the first game of the doubleheader, facing Sal Maglie (10-3, 2.10 ERA, 103.0 IP, 43 K’s, 0.99 WHIP), and the Yankees quickly went ahead with an RBI single by Woodie Held in the bottom of the first. A sac-fly by Yogi Berra added on, Bill Skowron batted Held home with a line drive single, and just like that we trailed 3-0 after just one inning. Larry Jansen came out to pitch in the bottom of the fourth, still trailing by three runs, and he looked good for two quick outs, but then allowed a two-run homer by Mantle (#23) to turn this one into a rout. Jansen stayed out the remainder of the game, taking one for the team to protect the bullpen as we were never in this one ... our bats were silent all day and we lost 10-0. Ugly, ugly ugly. Rabe took the loss, falling to 0-2 with three innings and six hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. Jansen, meanwhile, lasted five innings but allowed 12 hits and seven earned runs with three walks and four strikeouts, and we were outhit 18-4, nothing offensively warranting a mention.

Sam Jones (0-2, 1 SV, 3.90 ERA, 27.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.73 WHIP) got the start in game two, facing Mike McCormick (8-4, 2.79 ERA, 113.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.05 WHIP). We came out fired up, and Ernie Banks hit a three-run homer in the top of the first to give us an early lead, his 16th homer of the season. But the Yankees were quick to answer -- Mickey Mantle batted in a run with a double, and Mantle scored when Bob Cerv grounded out to first for their second out. They tied it up in the bottom of the second with a groundout by Hank Bauer, but Diering hit a triple in the top of the fourth and Banks batted him home with a groundout to first to give us back a tenuous lead. Mantle hit a triple to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, but we stranded him there and maintained our slim lead thanks to a strikeout by Held and a 6-4-3 double play off a weak grounder by Skowron. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and he got us through three innings with the score unchanged. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by a run, and he got quick pop-outs from Yogi Berra, Billy Martin and Gil McDougald to get us out of there with a 4-3 win ... we’ll take the split, considering how poorly the middle games went. Sam Jones had just three hits against him with five walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs, getting out of here with a win as he improved to 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA. Gorman picked up a three-inning hold, his 10th of the year, allowing two hits, a walk and two strikeouts to improve his ERA to 3.13 through 37.1 innings, while Ditmar saved his third game with an exceptional ninth under pressure ... he now has a 2.27 ERA through 35.2 innings.

We’ve got an off day tomorrow and then will play one game in Cleveland to open the month of July.

July 1, 1957: Milt Pappas (6-5, 3.26 ERA, 99.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) got the start in Cleveland against Tom Cheney (8-6, 2.09 ERA, 120.1 IP, 76 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit an RBI triple in the top of the sixth to break the game’s long stalemate, and Roy Sievers hit a flyball double that brought Banks home to give us a 2-0 lead. Milt Pappas got us into the ninth inning, but after two outs he gave up two hits, putting runners in scoring position so we had to go to Art Ditmar in a high pressure situation. But pinch-hitter Bobby Avila popped out to second and we were able to complete the 2-0 shutout win! Pappas got the win, improving to 7-5 with a 3.00 ERA thanks to 8.2 innings with five hits, two walks and five strikeouts, while Ditmar got his fourth save for securing the final out. We outhit Cleveland 8-5, led by Banks with two hits including his RBI triple that got us the lead in the first place.

The loss drops the Guardians out of the tie they’d held with the Yankees, as those two continue to jockey for position atop the AL. We, meanwhile, return to Kansas City with a 33-39 record, having won five of our last seven after starting this road trip off with a seven-game losing streak. Chicago (29-46) comes to town after an off day tomorrow, and we’ll play three games against them in two days, followed by a three-game trip to Detroit (41-33) to wrap up the first half of the season.

jksander · 10-12-2024, 05:21 PM

July 3, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-6, 3.55 ERA, 104.0 IP, 39 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) pitched against Billy Pierce (6-8, 3.10 ERA, 139.1 IP, 84 K’s, 1.31 WHIP) in front of a crowd of 11,668 fans who were excited to see Ernie Banks and Roy Sievers go up against Chicago’s big bats. And they got a show from us early! In the bottom of the first, Banks batted in O’Connell with a groundout to first, putting us into the lead, and then Crandall hit a double that scored two more runs! He would go on to score from second off a single by Daryl Spencer, and we went into the top of the second leading 4-0. O’Connell hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the second, and with one out Sievers hit himself a single that scored O’Connell, extending our lead to six as the fans roared their approval! Del Crandall batted in two more in the bottom of the fourth with a line drive single, and Daryl Spencer loaded the bases with a single but had to be pulled for an undisclosed injury after tagging up ... Chris Cannizzaro came in to replace him on base and at third on defense. We went into the top of the fifth leading by eight, and Banks added an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to add on. Erskine got us through eight innings and threw 123 pitches, handing the ball off to Bob Miller for the ninth inning. Miller allowed a two-run blast by Larry Doby to spoil the shutout, but he got the outs we needed as we cruised to a 9-2 win.

Erskine improved to 8-6 with a 3.29 ERA, allowing just two hits, three walks and five strikeouts in his eight innings of work. Miller then allowed three hits and a pair of earned runs, giving him a 6.02 ERA through 46.1 innings. We outhit Chicago 15-5, led by Crandall who had three hits, a run and four RBIs, while Banks hit twice for a run and two RBIs and Sievers added two hits, a run and an RBI.

Spencer has a mild oblique strain but will be going on the 15-day IL to avoid making it worse. We’re going to move Cannizzaro over to third for the time being, and have called up Joe Astroth as a backup at catcher.

July 4, 1957: Happy Independence Day, A’s fans! Ernie Banks is happy because the the weather’s great and we get to play two! Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.00 ERA, 108.0 IP, 58 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) pitched in game one, facing Chicago’s Bob Rush (5-6, 4.10 ERA, 105.1 IP, 59 K’s, 1.46 WHIP). We were fired up again from the start, with Del Crandall hitting a two run single that Andy Pafko followed with an RBI single of his own to give us a 3-0 lead after one inning! DeMaestri hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, but the White Sox got on the board with a solo blast out of left in the top of the fourth by Minnie Minosa that was the first hit against Pappas all game. In the top of the sixth Luis Aparicio hit an inside the park homer that was made possible by Chuck Diering missing the cutoff man to keep him at third, and suddenly our lead was down to two. In the top of the seventh Jim Rivera grounded out to first but allowed a run to score, cutting the lead to one, and we had to bring out Tom Gorman with a man on second with one out. And that’s when the wheels fell off ... with the bases loaded, Aparicio hit a double that drove in two runs to flip Chicago into the lead, and we were going to get to see what this team is made of, trailing 5-4 as we went into the seventh inning stretch.

In the bottom of the inning we got a run back, tying it up with an RBI single by Diering, but we gave it right back with two outs in the top of the eighth when Bob Boyd hit a solo blast out of right. Art Ditmar came out in the ninth with us still trailing by a run, and he did not have a great inning ... Nellie Fox hit an RBI single on one out, and we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning trailing now by a pair. But Ernie Banks kept the fireworks going, hitting a two-run blast out of center to tie it up and force extra innings! Ditmar got through the 10th with a couple solid strikeouts, and Don Bessent came out to relieve him in the 11th ... and in the bottom of that inning, with one out, Banks played the hero once again with a walk-off single to win the game for us 8-7! Bessent took the win, improving to 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA, and we outhit the White Sox 15-9 in this one, led by Banks with three hits, two runs and three RBIs.

The fact that game one went into extra innings put us in a bit of a pitching crunch, since aside from Pappas and Erskine, our remaining starters have all been “bullpen start” fodder at times. We went with Sam Jones (1-2, 4.13 ERA, 32.2 IP, 18 K’s, 1.78 WHIP) against Jack Harshman (4-8, 5.74 ERA, 94.0 IP, 50 K’s, 1.57 WHIP) in the end. Roy Sievers hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to put us in the lead, but they tied it up in the top of the second with an RBI single by Harshman. DeMaestri hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, and an E9 error allowed Joe Astroth to score, putting us back up by a run, but Jones was as wild as ever and he gave up an RBI double to Earl Battey in the top of the third that let two runs score, flipping them into the lead -- we’re gonna need to score a lot of runs to win this one. Jones got us through the fifth without any further damage, and in the bottom of the fifth Banks hit a solo homer to tie it up at 3-3 ... Jones kept the ball in the sixth and got three quick outs, and we brought out Bob Miller to pitch in the seventh, still knotted at three apiece. Miller was incredible, shutting them down in the seventh and eighth innings with just one baserunner, and with the score still knotted heading into the ninth, he got three more outs to get us into the bottom of the inning with a real chance ... but our bats stayed silent and, for the second time today, the game went into extra innings! Miller stayed sharp with three quick outs around a walk by Jackie Robinson in the top of the 10th, and we brought Don Bessent out in the 11th. He got six outs in a row, and in the bottom of the 12th inning, with two outs against us, Chuck Diering reached first on an E5 groundball error and Chris Cannizzaro scored from third ... we won this one 4-3, and the fans went insane!

Jones recovered from a poor start to last six innings with seven hits, three walks, four strikeouts and three earned runs, but it was the rookie Miller who really shined today ... he threw 44 pitches over four innings with one hit, two walks and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 5.54 and showing he really can come through when we need him to! Bessent then took the win, improving to 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA without a single baserunner through two innings of work. We outhit Chicago 9-8, led by DeMaestri with two hits and an RBI, and by O’Connell who had two hits, two walks and a run scored.

I think it’s safe to say we’re officially on a tear ... 4-0 in the month of July, with just three games left before the All Star break. We’ve won five in a row and eight of our last ten games. A lot has been luck ... our run differential is still -25, and our 36-39 record is at least two games ahead of expectations. And now we get to go to Detroit for three, to face the unluckiest team in baseball -- they’re 42-35 despite a +95 run differential, performing eight games behind their expected record. Can we keep the streak alive? They should be in the pennant chase with New York (49-26) and Cleveland (49-27), but they’ve struggled to set themselves apart from the crowd and have lost six of their last ten.

July 5, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-5, 5.77 ERA, 48.1 IP, 24 K’s, 1.74 WHIP) started against Billy Hoeft (8-5, 2.19 ERA, 123.1 IP, 84 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) for our first of three games against the Tigers. They went up quickly in the bottom of the first with a sac-fly by Virdon, and a single by Randy Jackson drove in another as our infield defense was absolutely putrid. But our bats showed signs of life in the top of the third -- Cannizzaro walked, DeMaestri hit a single, Larry Jansen sac-bunted them into scoring position, Danny O’Connell walked the bases loaded, and then Ernie Banks hit a grand slam homer to put us up 4-2! DeMaestri hit an RBI single to add a run in the top of the fourth. Jansen tried to stay out through the fifth, but with two outs and men on second and third, we had to bring out Art Ditmar to get the final out safely against Randy Johnson, who grounded out to first, ending the inning safely. Danny O’Connell batted in a run in the top of the sixth to increase our lead to four runs, and we piled on in the seventh -- Ernie Banks led off with a single, stole second AND third on one out, and then Pafko hit a single that drove him in to score. A few minutes later we added on with another RBI single by DeMaestri to make the score 8-2 heading into the stretch. We got sloppy in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and walking in a run for the Tigers, and Tom Gorman came out with two outs and the bags still loaded, getting Lee Walls to pop out to second ... the lead stayed secure, at five runs. Gorman got out of another bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth thanks to Bill Tuttle grounding into a 6-4-3 double play, and we brought Bessent out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, pitching around a single baserunner to get us out of there with a stunning 8-3 win!

This was essentially a bullpen game we had no business winning, but Larry Jansen did his best to keep us in it, lasting 4.2 innings with eight hits, three strikeouts and two earned runs. Ditmar took the win, improving to 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA, allowing three hits in two innings with a walk, a strikeout and an earned run. Gorman then earned his 11th hold of the year with 1.1 innings of one hit, two walk baseball, and Bessent came out for the non-save opportunity, allowing just a hit and a walk himself. We were outhit by Detroit 13-12, but Joe DeMaestri hit four times with two runs and two RBIs, and Ernie Banks backed him up with two hits, two runs and four RBIs.

July 6, 1957: Our bullpen is completely worn down, and we’ve got Carl Erskine (8-6, 3.29 ERA, 112.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) starting on three days’ rest against Jim Bunning (9-6, 3.08 ERA, 131.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.07 WHIP), hoping he can pitch deep into this one and give our bench arms some rest. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the first to help us out in that regard, his 20th homer of the season, and Joe DeMaestri hit one in the top of the second (his fifth of the year) to put us up 2-0! But the Tigers got us back in the bottom of the third, Don Blasingame getting them on the board by hitting into a fielder’s choice, and Bill Tuttle singled in Red Wilson to tie it up. Whitey Lockman hit a sac-fly to deep left to get them the lead, and just like that we were in a dogfight. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a man on first, still just trailing by a run, and he got us out of there by striking out Fred Hatfield. With two outs and men on the corners in the bottom of the eighth, Tom Gorman came out to face Don Blasingame, getting him to pop out to center to end that inning safely as well. It all came down to the top of the ninth -- Crandall led off with a double, but Pafko and Cannizzaro couldn’t get him around, and Joe DeMaestri popped out harmlessly in the infield as we lost this one 3-2. Erskine fell to 8-7, but got through 6.2 innings with just eight hits, three walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs, so when we went to the bullpen we still had a chance. They outhit us 10-7, our team led by DeMaestri with two hits, a run and an RBI ... he just didn’t have another walkoff hit in him to keep the steak alive.

We’ve got one game left tomorrow night here in Detroit, and then we can rest a few days while the All Star festivities happen. Ernie Banks and Roy Sievers will be our only All Stars this year.

July 7, 1957: Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.15 ERA, 114.1 IP, 61 K’s, 1.40 WHIP) started against Billy Hoeft (8-6, 2.47 ERA, 127.1 IP, 86 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in our final game in Detroit. Thomas Paddock hit a solo homer in the top of the second to give us a 1-0 lead, just his second homer of the year, but they tied us up in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Harvey Kuenn. Tom Gorman came out to pitch with two outs and men on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, getting Bill Tuttle to ground out to first, keeping it tied heading into the top of the eighth. He got us out of the eighth on a fantastic double play, and with one out and a man on first Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, getting the second out ... but Detroit got an RBI single by Red Wilson to walk it off, beating us 2-1. Tom Gorman (1-1, 3.40 ERA) took the loss with two hits, a run and two strikeouts in his 1.2 innings, after Pappas threw 103 pitches and allowed just five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and an earned run in his 6.2 innings. They simply outhit us 8-3, and that’s tough for anyone to overcome -- Paddock’s homer was our only offense, and though we kept it close all the way to the end, we couldn’t create enough opportunities to find the way to win.

Nothing to be down about here, we’ve played damned hard down the stretch to be in a far better position than we were in mid-June -- Since June 25 we’ve gone 9-4 and have gotten ourselves to within four games of .500, and we’ll play our first 13 games after the All Star break on our turf, against the Yankees (52-26), Washington (30-50), Boston (47-32) and Baltimore (26-53).

July 9, 1957: Our own Municipal Stadium hosted the All Star game this year, and the AL took a huge lead in the bottom of the first, with an RBI single by Rocky Colavito and a three-run homer off the bat of Stan Lopata. But the NL took over from there, in what became a wild night of slug-it-out baseball. They scored three runs in the top of the second thanks to a three-run double by Lindy McDaniel, and though Jackie Jensen hit a solo homer for us in the bottom of the inning, the NL tied us in the top of the third thanks to RBI singles by Bill Mazeroski and Ed Bailey. An RBI triple by Bill White and a sac-fly by Wally Post gave them a 7-5 lead midway through the fourth, and Johnny Logan hit a homer in the top of the sixth to make it a three-run NL lead. But our own Ernie Banks got the AL back into the game in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer of his own to tie it up at 8-8. Unfortunately that was our last offensive gasp of the evening, and Hank Aguirre batted in a run with a single in the top of the ninth to win the game for the National League 9-8. Bill White was named the player of the game, hitting twice and walking once with three runs and an RBI. On the AL side, Ernie Banks led the way with his three RBIs, and Rocky Colavito had two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

jksander · 10-12-2024, 05:23 PM

Here's a state of the league update

jksander · 10-13-2024, 07:41 PM

July 11, 1957: We’ve got three against the Yankees to get this post-All Star half of the season started, and 11-games into the season series we actually have a 6-5 record against them this year, which is insane considering we’re 37-41 overall and sitting in fifth place in the AL. Our ace, Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.05 ERA, 121.0 IP, 64 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) was good to go against former-Athletic pitcher Don Mossi (7-7, 3.41 ERA, 108.1 IP, 56 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) in the first game of the series. Joe DeMaestri hit a two-run single in the bottom of the second to put us on the board, and he would score moments later from third off a balk call while Danny O’Connell was at the plate. Woodie Held batted in a run for the Yanks with two outs in the top of the third, and Yogi Berra tripled to drive in another, but Pappas got Skowron to strike out to keep our lead safe for now. The Yankees tied it up, however, in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI double by Held. Ernie Banks got an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth, driving home Catfish Metkovich who had pinch hit for Pappas, and we brought out Bob Miller in the sixth to pitch with the lead at 4-3. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the seventh with one out and a man on second, and he immediately gave up a flyball double to Mantle, which tied us back up, but we got out of the inning without giving them a lead. Art Ditmar came out with two outs and a man on first in the top of the eighth, and Andy Pafko made a horrendous throw off a hit by Gil McDougald that allowed him to turn a double into a run-scorer to give the Yankees the lead. Mantle then hit a three-run homer and this one went from competitive to a nightmare. We pretty much threw our hands up from there, and we lost this one 8-4.

Pappas had just four hits and three earned runs in his five innings, but he’d walked five with four strikeouts and we had to go for the pinch-hitting option in that situation. Unfortunately our bullpen blew it this time, because we’d outhit the Yankees 11-8 ... too bad Mantle blew us up for two hits, two walks, three runsa and four RBIs. DeMaestri led the way for us with two hits, a run and two RBIs.

July 12, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-7, 3.34 ERA, 118.2 IP, 47 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) pitched against Saul Rogovin (10-4, 3.57 ERA, 131.0 IP, 59 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) in the second game of the series. Roy Sievers hit an RBI single to put us up in the bottom of the first, but the Yankees led off with a triple in the top of the second (thanks, Woodie Held), and Yogi Berra batted him in with a single to tie the game in the top of the second. With one out in the top of the third Hank Bauer batted in the go-ahead with a single, and they added another in the fourth off a sac-fly by Bob Cerv. Berra hit a solo homer in the sixth, and Dick Bessent came out to pitch from there, one out and nobody on, getting us out of the inning trailing 4-1. Down by five in the bottom of the eighth we tried to make a comeback, with a homer by O’Connell and a two-run blast by Banks, but McDougald hit them a homer in the top of the ninth and we lost this one 7-4. Erskine fell to 8-8 with a 3.48 ERA, allowing eight hits and four earned runs with four strikeouts in his 5.1 innings, but Bessent and Gorman couldn’t keep the Yankees from adding on and we were never really in it though we matched them on hits, with twelve. Banks hit three times with a run and two RBIs, but we’re coming out weakly after the break, same as we’ve done in our past two seasons -- we fight hard up to the start of July and then fizzle like a wet sparkler.

July 13, 1957: Sam Jones (1-2, 1 SV, 4.19 ERA, 38.2 IP, 22 K’s, 1.76 WHIP) started our final game against the Yankees this series, facing Duke Maas (5-2, 3.25 ERA, 63.2 IP, 35 K’s, 1.26 WHIP). Chuck Diering hit an RBI single to put us up 1-0 in the bottom of the third, but Mantle hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth to negate it, just their second hit of the game. Jones was on fire early, setting a season high in strikeouts midway through the fourth inning, and he wound up giving us a quality start and then some, getting us into the stretch still knotted at 1-1. But our bats gave him absolutely no support, and with Jones at 115 pitches we had to pull him for Art Ditmar heading into the top of the eighth. That’s when Slaughter put the Yankees back on top thanks to a two-run homer, and Woodie Held hit a two-run blast just minutes later to kick us square in the balls. Bob Miller came out (still no outs!), and with two outs and a man on third, Andy Carey hit a two-run homer that made it a seven-run lead for the Yankees. That’s when our bats woke up -- Banks hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Pafko hit an RBI single to cut their lead to four. But it was too little, too f---ing late. Miller stayed out and didn’t give up any more runs in the ninth, but our bats didn’t get any more back in the bottom either, losing to the Yankees 8-4. Ditmar (2-2, 3.40 ERA) took the loss, allowing two hits, a walk and four runs (three earned) without a single out, and the Yankees outhit us 11-8, squandering a seven inning start for Jones that featured five hits, three walks, seven strikeouts and one earned run. Banks led the offense with two hits, a run and two RBIs.

July 14, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-5, 5.60 ERA, 53.0 IP, 27 K’s, 1.74 WHIP) started against Camilo Pascual (11-7, 2.45 ERA, 161.1 IP, 113 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) as the Senators came to town for a game today and a doubleheader tomorrow. Elston Howard hit a two-run homer to get them going in the top of the first, but Jansen held his own from there, and we were able to tie it up in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run homer by Pete Whisenant! With the score 4-3 Senators in the top of the eighth, Art Ditmar came out to pitch, but we weren’t able to fight our way back in offensively and we wound up losing this one 5-3. Jansen fell to 1-6 with a 5.55 ERA, allowing 11 hits with four earned runs and two strikeouts through seven innings, and we were outhit 15-6 so this one was never really in doubt. Chris Cannizzaro had two hits and a run to lead our offense alongside Whisenant with his two-run homer.

July 15, 1957: Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.14 ERA, 126.0 IP, 68 K’s, 1.40 WHIP) pitched against Art Houtteman (4-4, 4.24 ERA, 85.0 IP, 38 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) in the first game of today’s doubleheader, and a two-run triple by Pafko put us up 2-0 after one inning. Astroth and DeMaestri each hit RBI singles in the bottom of the fourth to add on, and it wasn’t until the top of the eighth when they got on the board with a solo homer by Mickey Vernon to ruin Pappas’ shutout bid. Pappas threw 118 pitches and wanted his complete game, but with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Dick Bessent came out ... he got Russ Snyder to hit into a fielder’s choice, taking the out at second and giving up a run, but that was all the Senators were gonna get. Julio Becquer hit into another fielder’s choice, and we got out of here with a 5-2 win to snap the losing streak at four games. Pappas improved to 8-5 with a 3.08 ERA, allowing just three hits and two earned runs with three walks and five strikeouts through 8.1 innings, while Bessent earned his 10th save by getting the two critical outs. We outhit the Senators 10-3, led by Andy Pafko who had four hits, a run and two RBIs.

Art Ditmar (2-2, 4 SV, 3.45 ERA, 44.1 IP, 26 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) started game two of the doubleheader, going up against Chuck Stobbs (3-10, 4.76 ERA, 121.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) so that Erskine could stick with his original plan of starting tomorrow and avoiding short rest. But while the game was close, we got brutalized by injuries ... Chuck Diering went down with an undisclosed injury in the bottom of the first, and Catfish Metkovich, his replacement at center field, sprained his knee in the bottom of the fourth and will miss at least two weeks. Pete Whisenant came out to play backup to our backup with the game still scoreless in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom of the inning we broke the logjam with a sac-fly by Ditmar to put ourselves up 1-0. Del Crandall reached first on an E5 error in the bottom of the sixth to bat in another run, and having thrown 101 pitches through seven innings, Ditmar handed the ball off to Tom Gorman, confident that he’d done all he could. Gorman pitched the last two innings with finesse and we were able to hold onto the 2-0 bullpen victory, though our injury situation in the outfield is now bordering on a crisis depending on how bad Diering’s injury turns out to be. Ditmar improved to 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA, allowing just two hits in seven innings with five walks and four strikeouts, while Gorman saved his fourth game with two hits, a walk and a strikeout through two innings, giving him a 3.40 ERA through 47.2 innings. We outhit the Senators 5-4 in the duel, led by Banks who hit twice and scored one of our runs.

July 16, 1957: The news is bad ... Chuck Diering’s out at least three weeks with a strained muscle in his rib cage, so now both our best center fielders are on the IL. Whisenant is a capable starter for now, but we’ve had to call up David Shea, age 23, from AAA Buffalo, and while he’ll be a passable defensive sub, his bat leaves a great deal to be desired. We’ve also called up Arnie Portocarrero from AAA for additional pitching depth, though he’s only a stopgap solution. Honestly, our moves to buy offense have left us in a precarious pitching spot this season, with a dangerous lack of starter depth going down into our minors. And that’s on me. Only time will tell if we can get through the remainder of the seaosn without backsliding too much.

Tonight we played our first of three against Boston, with Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.48 ERA, 124.0 IP, 51 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) going up against Frank Baumann (10-7, 3.55 ERA, 119.0 IP, 82 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). Boston went up quickly with a solo homer by Jackie Jensen in the top of the first, but David Shea, today’s center field callup, stunned everyone with a two-run blast in the bottom of the fifth that put us into the lead! Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the seventh and he did well in that inning but, in the bottom of the eighth on two outs, Ted Williams hit a two-run blast off him to put Boston back on top. Don Bessent came out in the ninth and kept it from getting worse, but we had no comeback in us today, losing this one 3-2. Bob Miller (1-3, 5.50 ERA) blew the save and took the loss. We outhit them 7-6, led by Shea’s two-run homer in his major league debut.

July 17, 1957: Arnie Portocarrero made his first start for our team this season in tonight’s game, facing Frank Sullivan(10-6, 4.43 ERA< 128.0 IP, 67 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). He gave up six runs in the first and fourth combined, and with the game already a rout, we brought out Charlie Rabe to see if he could have more luck out of the pen than he’d had starting. He gave up a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but settled in nicely from there and though our bats didn’t do a damned thing all night, I guess at least we can say they didn’t get into double digits -- we lost badly, however, 8-0. Portocarrero started out with six hits and six earned runs in four innings, walking four against one strikeout, taking the loss, while Rabe pitched the remaining five innings and allowed five hits, six walks and two earned runs, striking out three ... his ERA is now 8.03 through 12.1 innings. We were outhit 11-3, however, so once we gave up the runs in the first inning it was pretty much all over.

July 18, 1957: Sam Jones (1-2, 1 SV, 3.74 ERA, 45.2 IP, 29 K’s, 1.66 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (6-8, 4.02 ERA, 118.2 IP, 77 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) in our third game against the Red Sox. Ted Williams hit an RBI single in the top of the third to get them on the board, but we answered with an RBI single by Crandall in the bottom of the inning, and Ernie Banks put us into the lead with a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth. Boston took the lead back in the top of the sixth with a two-run single by Milt Bolling, and Bob Miller took over with two outs and men on second and third as we trailed by a run. He got us into the stretch with the score unchanged, and got two quick outs in the eighth before Billy Klaus hit a solo homer out of center to make it a two-run lead. Tom Gorman came out from there, and we went on to lose this one 5-2. Jones had another solid night, six hits and three earned runs with five walks and two strikeouts through 5.2 innings ... his wildness will be what keeps him from reaching his potential. He’s now 1-3 with a 3.86 ERA, but has shown signs that he could be better than he’s been. We were outhit 9-6, led by Bob Lillis with three hits and a run in the leadoff spot.

July 19, 1957: Baltimore is in town today for the first of four games this weekend before we hit the road for the rest of the month, and we’re essentially in free-fall, having lost seven of our first nine games since returning from the All Star break. Walt Bond has gone back down to AAA to make room for Daryl Spencer, who is returning from the IL having recovered from his strained oblique. Milt Pappas (8-5, 3.08 ERA, 134.1 IP, 73 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) pitched against Jim McDonald (4-6, 3.86 ERA, 98.0 IP, 39 K’s, 1.49 WHIP). This should have been a game we could win, but Baltimore took control in the third inning and never let go ... Ditmar took over with two outs and a man on first in the top of the seventh trailing by four runs to none, and they slammed us from there with three more runs before he could get us out of the inning. Bob Miller got us through the final two frames without any more damage, and Daryl Spencer hit a solo homer in the bottom of the ninth, but that was it for us. We lost 7-1 and looked completely imcompetant against the worst team in the majors. They outhit us 12-7, and Pappas fell to 8-6 with a 3.26 ERA, allowing eight hits, four walks and five earned runs with five strikeouts through 6.2 innings and 132 pitches.

July 20, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.39 ERA, 130.0 IP, 55 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) pitched against Don Johnson (3-6, 4.86 ERA, 70.1 IP, 29 K’s, 1.56 WHIP), and Spencer gave us a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single. But Baltimore tied it up in the top of the sixth with an RBI single by Gus Triandos coupled with an E9 throwing error. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the eighth with the score still tied, and he got us into extra innings but we seemed incapable of getting the go-ahead run. Art Ditmar came out in the top of the 10th and Bob Miller took over in the 12th ... it looked like it might be over when Wes Covington hit a solo bomb out of left in the top of the 13th, but Miller got the remaining outs and got us into the bottom of the inning, at which point the Orioles melted down. Banks reached on an E4 error, advanced to second with a walk for Sievers, and then Spencer reached on an E6, loading the bags. Joe Astroth walked in the tying run, and Joe DeMaestri hit a walkoff single to win it 3-2! Erskine set us up nicely, pitching seven innings with four hits, a walk, six strikeouts and one earned run, and Gorman, Ditmar and Miller got us through six more innings. Miller got the win, improving to 2-3 thanks to two innings with three hits, three strikeouts and an earned run, our pitching helping us win despite being outhit 10-7. Sievers led the way with two hits, two walks and a run, but DeMaestri’s one hit came at the right time to win it for us.

July 21, 1957: Today’s a doubleheader day, which with our pitching depth (or lack thereof) always seems like a nightmare scenario. Larry Jansen (1-6, 5.55 ERA, 60.0 IP, 29 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) started against Ruben Gomez (4-12, 3.53 ERA, 140.1 IP, 51 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) in game one, and in the bottom of the second we took the lead off an RBI single by DeMaestri. Andy Pafko batted in another run with a single in the bottom of the fifth, and Roy Sievers followed him with a two-run homer to give us a four-run advantage as we went into the top of the sixth. Art Ditmar took over for Jansen in the top of the seventh with one out and runners on the corners, the Orioles having scored off an RBI double by Wayne Causey and a failed fielder’s choice attempt off a hit by Jerry Lumpe to pull them within a pair ... and Ditmar failed miserably at getting out of the jam. Ray Katt hit an RBI single, Vern Stephens hit another, and Carroll Hardy got one on two outs that put them up 5-4. Arnie Portocarrero came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, and Banks tied us up with a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth! Portocarrrero got us through the top of the ninth, and when the game went into extra innings he kept it going ... in the bottom of the 10th inning we then walked it off with a three-run blast by Banks, his second homer of the day and 26th of the season, to give us an incredible 8-5 win!

Portocarrero was much improved tonight in his three innings of relief, walking just one batter in that stretch (no hits!) to improve to 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA through seven innings. We outhit the Orioles 14-6 in our second extra innings game in a row, led by Banks who had three hits (two of them homers) with two runs and four RBIs! He has hit .353 and batted in 44 runs including 14 homers since we traded for him barely six weeks ago.

Our bullpen’s going to be in a tough spot for the second game ... we’ll have Bessent and Rabe fully rested, and Gorman’s at half strength, so definitely not an optimal situation for getting multiple bullpen innings if the starter gets shelled. We went with Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 3.86 ERA, 53.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) against Baltimore’s Ted Wills (6-2, 2 SV, 2.64 ERA, 78.1 IP, 55 K’s, 1.25 WHIP). We took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI triple by Daryl Spencer and an RBI double by Roy Sievers. But Jones got shelled in the top of the fifth, giving back four runs to shoot the Orioles into the lead, and Don Bessent came out to pitch with two outs and a man on third. But we came out hard in the bottom of the eighth and tied it up with a two run triple by Danny O’Connell, and then Spencer hit a two-run blast to shoot us back into the lead! Bessent got us through the seventh, and Gorman came out to pitch in the eighth, but he got the crap knocked out of him, giving up three runs without an out as we rushed to warm up Rabe, the one guy nobody wanted to have to see in a tight situation.

Rabe came out to the mound with no outs, men on the corners, trailing by a run ... and he got three quick outs to keep the runner stranded, giving us a chance! That’s high pressure right there. He then came out with icewater in his veins and got three quick outs in the top of the ninth, giving us a sliver of a chance still trailing by a run. O’Connell came out to start the bottom of the inning, and he slammed a homer out of right field to tie it up! Daryl Spencer hit a double, they walked Sievers, and Pafko hit into a double play that advamced Spencer to third ... Ernie Banks came out to replace Henry Walker, and they walked him to load the bases, putting it all on Joe Astroth, who struck out swinging ... for the THIRD GAME IN A ROW we were headed for extra innings, with our bullpen completely gassed. Rabe, who has the stamina of a starter if not always the control of one, stayed out for extras out of necessity, but by this point the fans were completely behind him as he struck out Larry Sherry, got Lenny Green to pop out to center, and then pitched around a pair of baserunners to get out of the inning unscathed. And in the bottom of the inning, Danny O’Connell hit a walkoff single into center left, driving in the winning run as we got out of here with a stunning 8-7 victory!

Rabe earned every bit of this win, improving to 1-2 with a 6.46 ERA as he went three innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout to keep us in the game. We outhit the Orioles 12-11, led by O’Connell (four hits, a walk, three runs and four RBIs) and Spencer (three hits, two runs, three RBIs). But it was O’Connell who had the best night, as he hit for the cycle ... he doubled in the first, walked in the third, grounded out in the fifth, hit a two-run triple in the sixth, hit a solo shot off Larry Sherry in the ninth, and then got the RBI single he needed in the 10th to complete the difficult feat!

We beat the Orioles three games out of four and showed incredible grit under pressure, though now after a day off tomorrow, we’ll have to hit the road to play Boston (55-35), Washington (35-58), New York (62-28), Baltimore (28-63), Chicago (39-53) and Cleveland (55-36), playing 20 games in 20 days including three doubleheaders.

jksander · 10-14-2024, 08:01 PM

July 23, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.26 ERA, 141.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) pitched against Boston’s Willard Nixon (7-8, 3.88 ERA, 127.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) in our first of three at Fenway to start this road trip. But our plans for Pappas to pitch deep into this game hit a snag for us in the third inning, when we had to pull Pappas because of a finger blister. We had to bring Charlie Rabe out with one out and a man on first without a lot of time to prep him, but he did the job and kept us in the game, and he pitched well in the fourth and fifth innings as well to keep us in this scoreless battle. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh Boston took over, Ted Lepicio hitting a three-run homer over the Monster, and by the time we got the final out we were down 4-0 heading into the eighth inning. Portocarrero came out for the bottom of the eighth, giving up another pair of runs, and we lost what had been a razor-sharp battle by a 6-0 margin. Gorman took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA, allowing four hits and four runs (two earned). We were outhit 9-6, but our batters did nothing to actually further the goal of scoring runs. David Shea led the team with two hits, but couldn’t get anywhere once on base.

Pappas is supposed to be day to day for at least four days, and we’re hoping the blister subsides before his next time up in the rotation.

July 24, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.28 ERA, 137.0 IP, 61 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Mike Fornieles (6-5, 3.89 ERA, 74.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Ernie Banks got us a lead in the first inning with a two-run single, but we gave both runs back in the bottom of the second when Ted Lepicio hit a homer again out of left. DeMaestri hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth to put us back into the lead, and we started trading runs from there. Del Crandall put us up 4-3 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, and we added on in the seventh with an RBI double by Crandall and when David Shea reached on an error, driving home Crandall to put us up 6-3 going into the stretch. Art Ditmar came out in the bottom of the inning and Miller in the eighth, but Miller gave up an RBI single to Sammy White and, with two outs and men on first and second, Bessent came out to try and shut the rally down. He struck Willie Kirkland out and got us into the top of the ninth still leading by a pair. But with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he gave up a two-run homer to Willie Jones, and we were knotted up at six each. Bessent got us out of the inning but it meant heading into extras for the fourth time in five games. Portocarrero came out in the bottom of the 10th, still tied up, and he got us into the 11th, but with two outs in the bottom of that inning Johnny Blanchard reached first on an E6 error that allowed Ted Williams to walk it off and lose it for us 7-6. Portocarrero took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA, and we matched them 12-12 on hits, led by Banks with three hits, two runs and two RBIs.

July 25, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-6, 5.56 ERA, 66.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched today against Frank Baumann (11-8, 3.64 ERA, 131.0 IP, 88 K’s, 1.21 WHIP). Boston took the lead with a solo homer by Frank Malzone in the bottom of the second, but we answered with an RBI single by O’Connell that tied the game. Boston would retake the lead for good in the top of the sixth, thanks to an RBI double by Ted Williams and a sac-fly by Malzone, but Jansen pitched a complete game, and though we lost 3-1, this time it couldn’t be blamed on anything but our inability to turn base hits into runs. Jansen fell to 1-7 with a 5.33 ERA, allowing seven hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts, and we were outhit 7-5, O’Connell batting in our only run and newcomer David Shea scoring it.

July 26, 1957: Onward to Washington, where today Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 4.18 ERA, 33 K’s, 1.73 WHIP) pitched against Mickey McDermott (7-6, 3.36 ERA, 128.2 IP, 57 K’s, 1.27 WHIP). Washington took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Bob Allison, but Del Crandall hit an RBI double in the top of the fourth to tie us back up. Bob Miller took over for Jones in the bottom of the sixth, and in the top of the seventh Danny O’Connell hit an RBI single that put us up 2-1, but we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Russ Snyder and an RBI single by Mickey McDermott to put the Senators back on top. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but our bats couldn’t get us back into this one and we lost in the end 3-2. Miller took the loss, falling to 2-4 with a 5.46 ERA, and we lost despite outhitting them 8-5 ... Del Crandall leading the way with two hits, a walk and an RBI.

July 27, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.20 ERA, 143.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.36 WHIP) was good to go today against Art Houtteman (4-5, 3.92 ERA, 98.2 IP, 41 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Eddie Yost batted in a run for the Senators in the first inning, and Sam Dente batted in another in the bottom of the fourth to give them a 2-0 lead. But Daryl Spencer hit a two-run blast in the top of the fifth to tie the game up, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run blast in the top of the sixth to give us a 4-2 lead! But Daryl Spencer re-injured his oblique in the top of the seventh and had to be pulled from the game after sliding into second with no outs ... DeMaestri made it count with a two-run homer with Cannizzaro the pinch-runner (and future third base replacement) at second. But Spencer has been a sparkplug for us all year, and losing him again just seems like another kick in the balls. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh leading by four runs, and Gorman hit a sac-fly to drive in another run in the top of the ninth to seal the deal ... even with the Senators loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, he didn’t blink, staying out to keep them from adding on as we won 7-2. Pappas earned the win, improving to 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing six hits and two earned runs with three walks and a strikeout in his six innings. Gorman, meanwhile, picked up a three-inning save (his fifth save of the year) with four hits a walk and a strikeout. We outhit them 11-10, led by Andy Pafko with three hits and a run, and by Spencer with two hits, a run and two RBIs. Spencer’s out at least for three weeks and has been placed in the IL, joining Metkovich and Diering who we hope will be able to return in a few days, so we’ve brought up minor leaguer Phil Jantze to give us a backup at third while Cannizzaro takes over in the starting lineup.

July 28, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.34 ERA, 143.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) faced off against Walt Masterson (4-9, 5.62 ERA, 107.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) in the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Senators. The game was a deadlock until the top of the seventh, when Thomas Paddock hit an RBI double that gave us a 1-0 lead on Washington. But the Senators got it back in the bottom of the eighth when Ken Aspromonte grounded out to first, allowing a runner in from third to tie us back up. Erskine got us out of the inning without giving them a lead, and Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth and got the outs we needed to send this into extra innings yet again. He stayed out through the 10th inning, and in the top of the 11th Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer to give us the lead! Art Ditmar came out for the bottom of the inning, getting three quick outs to shut them down as we won game one 3-1! Erskine lasted eight innings with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and one earned run, but it was Bessent (5-4, 3.89 ERA) who got the win, going two innings with a strikeout and no baserunners. Ditmar then picked up his fifth save of the year, striking out one without a baserunner himself and improving his ERA to 3.20 through 56.1 innings. We outhit Washington 9-4, led by Thomas Paddock with two hits, a walk and an RBI.

Jansen and Jones would be pitching on far too short rest, so we gave Charlie Rabe (1-2, 5.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 9 K’s, 2.11 WHIP) a chance in game two knowing we were going to have him on a short leash and depend heavily on the depth of our bullpen. He faced off against Camilo Pascual (14-7, 2.71 ERA, 195.2 IP, 129 K’s, 1.15 WHIP), so it was hardly a matchup on paper that inspired much hope. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to get us a lead in the top of the first, however, so at least we got going on a good note. But in the bottom of the third, Eddie Yost hit a single that, coupled with an E9 error, allowed both Pete Runnels and Ken Aspromonte to score, giving them the lead back. Joe DeMaestri strained his groin sliding into second in the top of the fifth with one out, and we had to sub in George Wilson as a pinch-runner ... and we were unable to get him around to score. Banks batted in another run in the top of the sixth, however, cutting their lead to one run, and we brought Arnie Portocarrero out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Bob Miller came out in the eighth with no outs and men on first and second, and he got two quick outs before Fred Valentine batted one of the runners in with a single, getting us into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair with time running out. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get anything going and we lost this one 4-2. But we’d been more competitive than I’d expected based on our pitching struggles. Rabe lasted five innings with five hits, a walk, four strikeouts and three earned runs, taking the loss as he fell to 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA. We outhit them 8-7, led by O’Connell with two hits and two runs, and by Banks with a run and an RBI (his 48th since joining our team).

DeMaestri is joining our growing list of injured players, with George Wilson starting in his place for at least the next couple weeks due to the groin injury. We’ve got a day off tomorrow, and then will play the Yankees (68-29) for three, including a Wednesday doubleheader. We then have Thursday off and travel to Baltimore (30-67) for three, with an additional day off the following Monday. Wednesday is also the trade deadline, though nothing looks likely to happen on our end as we’re not in a position for move-making. We’re 44-54 and in fifth place in the AL ... unlikely to fall to the bottom of the league, but 24.5 games out of pennant contention. So far our owner is happy with our attendance improvements this year, and unless we do completely crash and burn I think my job is safe into next year ... but his patience will wear thin if I can’t find ways to get this team to gel into a much more competitive unit as we near the decade’s end.

July 30, 1957: Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 3.98 ERA, 61.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) started in game one against the Yankees, facing Mike McCormick (10-6, 3.06 ERA, 158.2 IP, 115 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to give the Yankees the lead, and they added a pair in the bottom of the fifth to extend it. Tom Gorman came out to pitch trailing by three in the bottom of the seventh, and he got us through the remainder, but we lost this one 3-0 regardless. Jones fell to 1-4 with a 4.03 ERA, allowing five hits with five walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs in his six innings, and we were outhit 7-2.

We got an unexpected offer from St. Louis this afternoon, and with our pitching crunch what it is we had to consider it. They asked for Joe DeMaestri in exchange for 35-year-old starter Bill “Lefty” Wight, retaining 75% of his remaining contract on the season plus $25,000 in cash. Wight has started in 16 games this season and has a 5-6 record, a 4.21 ERA and 54 K’s, through 104.2 innings, giving him 1.6 WAR on the year. It’s an offer I simply can’t refuse in the situation we’re in, so we’ve accepted. Wight will join us in Baltimore, where he’ll pitch for us in the first game of that series.

July 31, 1957: David Shea dropped down to AAA today to make room for Catfish Metkovish, who returned from his injury and rejoined the lineup for today’s doubleheader. Milt Pappas (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 149.1 IP, 80 K’s, 1.37 WHIP) started in the first game against Billy O’Dell (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 8 K’s, 1.09 WHIP), who has only pitched in two starts since returning from his stretched elbow ligament from last September. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the first to get us on the board, and Roy Sievers hit one in the top of the fourth to extend the lead. Banks hit an RBI double in the top of the sixth to make it a three-run shutout lead as Pappas quietly pitched his best start of the season. He stayed out and finished the complete game shutout as we won the game 3-0! In his first complete game of any kind, Pappas only allowed four hits all game, with two walks and two strikeouts, showing just how good he can be when he’s locked in -- he also improved to 10-6 with the win, his ERA at 3.01 through nearly 160 innings. We outhit the Yankees 6-4, led by Ernie Banks with two hits and two RBIs, while Roy Sievers added three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI.

Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.22 ERA, 151.0 IP, 68 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Sal Maglie (14-4, 1.95 ERA, 152.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in the day’s second game, and the Yankees wasted no time getting the lead, scoring off a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. But Erskine hit a sac-fly that drove in George Wilson to tie it up in the top of the third, at which point we started trading runs ... Tony Kubek hit an RBI single for the Yanks in the bottom of the third, and we tied it up in the top of the sixth with a solo homer by Ernie Banks. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 2-2, and with one out and the bases loaded we had to go to Ditmar, who allowed a run to score with a sac-fly by Earl Torgeson, getting us out of the inning with a strikeout by Charlie Silvera. We were unable to get anyone to score in the top of the ninth and lost this one in the end 3-2. Miller (2-5, 5.48 ERA) took the loss, getting only one out for us and negating Erskine’s seven innings with eight hits, two walks, 11 strikeouts and two earned runs. But we were outhit 9-3, so in the end it was our lack of offense that let us down. Banks led the way with his homer, his 17th since joining our team and his 29th of the season as a whole.

The trade deadline has now passed, and any further moves that can be made will depend on any fortuitous players being put on waivers. Milt Pappas was named July’s AL Rookie of the Month, starting nine times in July with a 4-1 record, a 2.59 ERA and 29 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a stingy .186 average.

August 2, 1957: Bill Wight (5-6, 4.21 ERA, 104.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) made his debut for us in tonight’s game in Baltimore, facing Ted Wills (6-3, 2 SV, 3.45 ERA, 65 K’s, 1.32 WIHP). And he pitched extremely well for us in a game with no offense. But in the bottom of the seventh with two outsm the Orioles got on the board with an RBI single from Hal Smith, and they added a two-run single by Gus Triandos just moments later to suddenly turn a tight game into a rough jam. Tom Gorman came out with two outs and a man on, and by the time we got the final out we were in a 4-0 hole we would not get out of despite Gorman pitching well the rest of the way. We were outhit 11-8, and after six great innings, Wight wound up with four earned runs from the seventh, turning a good start into a terrible one in the blink of an eye.

August 3, 1957: Sam Jones (1-4, 1 SV, 4.03 ERA, 67.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) pitched against Roger Craig (6-10, 4.40 ERA, 131.0 IP, 71 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) in the second game in Baltimore, and our bats got us a good lead in the top of the second, thanks to a three-run homer by George Wilson, his first of the year! But the Orioles got three runs back in the bottom of the second and bottom of the fourth combined, and we were back into a battle. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get us a slim lead back, but Jones allowed Triandos to hit a two-run double to push them back on top in the bottom frame. Sam Jones then hit an RBI single to tie it back up and save himself from getting another loss, as we brought out Arnie Portocarrero in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 5-5. We held our own from there, and in the top of the eighth Portocarrero hit an RBI single to get us into the lead, with Metkovich doubling to bring him home. Metkovich would score off a sac-fly by Banks, and we led by three heading into the bottom of the eighth with Art Ditmar coming out to pitch. Baltimore got a run back with a run that scored despite Jimmy Kindell hitting into a 4-6-3 double play, and Don Bessent came out in the bottom of the ninth, shutting them down as we won 8-6! Arnie Portocarrero (2-2, 5.27 ERA) went two innings with just a hit and a walk, and Ditmar picked up his second hold to set up Bessent for his 11th save as we held tough to win tonight. We outhit the Orioles 12-10 in the slugfest, led by Wilson with two hits, a walk, three runs and three RBIs.

August 4, 1957: Charlie Rabe (1-3, 5.48 ERA, 23.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.91 WHIP) started our final game in Baltimore, facing Glen Hobbie (2-6, 6 SV, 4.17 ERA, 69.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.67 WHIP). Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI triple by Wes Covington and a sac-fly by Brooks Robinson, but we tied it up in the top of the sixth with RBI singles by Sievers and Crandall. In the top of the seventh we took the lead when O’Connell hit an RBI single, and Banks batted in another to make it a two-run lead going into the stretch. Tom Gorman came out with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth the Orioles got a run back with a homer out of right by Lenny Green. Art Ditmar came out with a man on second and one out, getting us out of the jam and into the ninth with a one run lead. Ditmar stayed out and got the three outs we needed in the bottom of the ninth to hold them off 4-3! Rabe improved to 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA, allowing just two hits, three walks and six strikeouts with two earned runs in his 6.1 innings, and Gorman picked up his second hold, Ditmar then saving his sixth game of the season with 1.2 innings, a walk and two strikeouts. We outhit Baltimore 9-4, led by O’Connell with three hits, one walk and one RBI.

We’ve got one week left on this road trip, after which we’ve got a three week stretch of home games. After a travel day tomorrow we’ll face Chicago (46-59) for three games and then Cleveland (61-43) for a four-game weekend series.

jksander · 10-15-2024, 03:00 AM

August 6, 1957: Milt Pappas (10-6, 3.01 ERA, 158.1 IP, 82 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) started against Billy Pierce (10-9, 3.07 ERA, 187.2 IP, 116 K’s, 1.33 WHIP). Pappas put us into the lead with an RBI single in the top of the second, and O’Connell hit an RBI double that drove in two more to give us a 3-0 lead midway through the inning. They got one back thanks to a homer by Stan Jok in the bottom of the second, but Ernie Banks hit one for us in the top of the fifth to make it a three-run lead again. Still leading by three in the bottom of the ninth, Tom Gorman came out to pitch, pitching around a single baserunner to get us out of there with a 4-1 win! Pappas won his third game in a row, improving to 11-6 with a 2.92 ERA, allowing just four hits with two walks, four strikeouts and one earned run in eight innings of work, while Gorman saved his sixth game, allowing one hit as his ERA improved to 3.62 through 61.1 innings. We outhit the White Sox 9-5, led by O’Connell with one hit and two RBIs ... everybody got a hit in the lineup today except Gorman, who never got an at-bat.

August 7, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.19 ERA, 158.0 IP, 79 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) pitched against Chicago’s Jack Harshman (6-10, 4.63 ERA, 140.0 IP, 76 K’s, 1.47 WHIP). This game was deadlocked hopelessly until the bottom of the seventh when Chicago scored three runs thanks to a sac-fly by Maury Wills, a wild pitch and a single by Bob Boyd. Carl Erskine hit a two-run double in the top of the eighth to keep us in the game, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, but his night went badly, allowing three more runs to put this one well out of reach as we lost 6-2. Erskine took the loss, falling to 8-9 with a 3.22 ERA thanks to seven hits, two walks and three earned runs with five strikeouts through seven innings. Gorman fared worse, however, allowing three hits and three runs in his one inning, and we were outhit 10-6. Erskine can say he provided all our offense as well, hitting twice with two RBIs.

August 8, 1957: Bill Wight (5-7, 4.28 ERA, 111.1 IP, 58 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) pitched against Chicago’s Bob Rush (5-9, 4.76 ERA, 138.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.58 WHIP) in the series’ rubber match. Roy Sievers batted in a run to put us up in the top of the first, and we scored a second via a balk call to lead 2-0 in the middle of the inning. But Wight gave them three of their own in the bottom of the inning. We tied it up with a solo homer by Sievers in the top of the fifth, and Bob Miller took over with one out and a man on first in the bottom of the sixth. Miller hit an RBI double in the top of the eighth to give us a lead again, and Bessent came out to protect it in the bottom of the ninth, pitching around a walk to get us out of Chicago with a 4-3 win and the series victory. Bob Miller (3-5, 5.27 ERA) got the win, pitching 2.2 innings without a single baserunner, and Bessent had just his one walk as he got through the final frame to earn his 12th save of the year. We outhit Chicago 13-5, so the score was closer than I’d have liked, but he were hitting well -- Roy Sievers led the way with four hits, a run and two RBIs.

August 9, 1957: Cleveland’s fallen out of the pennant chase, their 62-45 record putting them 6.5 games back of Boston (67-39) and 13 back of the Yankees (75-32) who have recovered from their pitching troubles to retake their position as the most dominant AL team of the last decade. But we’re not taking the Guardians lightly. They’re always a tough team to stop, having beaten us seven out of ten times this year. Milt Pappas (11-6, 2.92 ERA, 166.1 IP, 86 K’s, 1.30 WHIP) started against Mike Garcia (13-7, 2.15 ERA, 179.2 IP, 94 K’s, 1.10 WHIP), and we drew first blood with an RBI single by Andy Pafko in the top of the second. Then we unleashed the dragon in the top of the third, Pappas hitting an RBI single that scored Cannizzaro all the way from first ... Sievers then hit an RBI double that scored two, followed by an RBI single by Crandall that gave us a 5-0 lead midway through the inning. Pappas was locked in from there, pitching a complete game as we won 7-2! He only allowed five hits, with a walk, four strikeouts and two earned runs, and we outhit Cleveland 9-5, led by Roy Sievers who had two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Pappas is now 12-6 with a 2.87 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP and 3.9 total WAR as he continues to make a strong case for Rookie of the Year.

August 10, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-9, 3.22 ERA, 165.0 IP, 84 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Johnny Sain (9-6, 4.30 ERA, 127.2 IP, 57 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) and the less said about this game the better. Cleveland went up 3-0 in the first inning, added four more in the sixth, and cruised to win 8-1. Erskine had one of his worst outings of the year, falling to 8-10 with eight hits and seven earned runs in 5.2 innings of work ... he walked five batters and didn’t get any strikeouts as his ERA fell to 3.48. Arnie Portocarrero got through 2.1 innings with three hits, a walk and an earned run, and we were outhit 11-8, Portocarrero getting an eighth inning homer as our only offense of the night.

August 11, 1957: Doubleheader day, and with our big guns’ chambers emptied, expectations were low going in. Bill Wight (5-7, 4.32 ERA, 116.2 IP, 60 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) got the start in game one against Early Wynn (10-9, 4.02 ERA, 170.0 IP, 86 K’s, 1.48 WHIP). We scored two in the top of the first thanks to an Ernie Banks homer, but Cleveland scored one each in the first three innings to steal the lead back quietly. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the sixth inning, and we woke up in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer by Sievers, Dick Bessent coming out to protect the one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth. He held on through the eighth and ninth, helping us hold off the Guardians and taking the 4-3 win. Gorman (2-3, 3.92 ERA) took the win, and Bessent got his 13th save, the two of them combining for four innings with three hits, a walk and three strikeouts.

Sam Jones (1-4, 1 SV, 4.38 ERA, 72.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.71 WHIP) started game two, facing Tom Cheney (11-10, 2.46 ERA, 175.1 IP, 109 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). Ernie Banks again got us going with a two-run homer in the top of the first, his 32nd homer of the season, and George Wilson batted in a run with a single in the top of the fourth to add on. Roger Maris hit a solo bomb in the bottom of the inning to get Cleveland on the board with his 14th four-bagger this year, and they tied it up in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run blast by Al Smith. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, still tied at three, and George Wilson hit an RBI single to put us back into the lead 4-3 in the top of the eighth inning. But Les Moss hit an RBI double that scored two in the bottom of the eighth to shoot them back into the lead, giving us whiplash and sending us into the top of the ninth on a mission. Ernie Banks hit his 33rd homer, a two-run blast, with two outs to put us in the lead again, and Roy Sievers hit one immediately after, giving him his 23rd and us a two-run lead heading into the bottom of the ninth. Bob Miller came out to pitch, and though it didn’t come easy, he pitched around two baserunners to hold on to the lead as we won 7-5, taking the series three games to one!

Art Ditmar (4-2, 3.36 ERA) got the win, pitching two innings with two hits, two walks and two earned runs, while Miller earned his third save and got us out of a shootout safely. We outhit Cleveland 11-7, led by Ernie Banks with two homers for three RBIs, while Sievers added two homers of his own to match him in the power department. We finished out the road trip with a 10-10 record, way better than anyone had expected, and we’ll go into our 19-game three week homestand with a real chance to get back to a .500 season if we can keep playing sharp baseball.

August 13, 1957: For this homestand we’ve got the following upcoming: three against Detroit (56-55), four against Cleveland (63-48), three against New York (77-33), two against Baltimore (33-76), two against Boston (70-40), two against Washington (43-70) and three against Chicago (49-62). We need to do well in this stretch, because of our last 24 games after that, 17 of them are on the road. Tonight Milt Pappas (12-6, 2.87 ERA, 175.1 IP, 90 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) started against Detroit’s Jim Bunning (12-10, 3.27 ERA, 184.1 IP, 113 K’s, 1.13 WHIP), and he pitched a gem, six scoreless innings before we finally got the lead in the bottom of the sixth off a two-run homer by Sievers! Don Bessent came out in the top of the ninth with the lead still at two runs, and he held on to the shutout as we beat the Tigers 2-0! Pappas has been on fire of late, and tonight he had a five-hit shutout through eight innings, with four walks and five strikeouts. Bessent got through the ninth without a baserunner, earning his 14th save of the season. Each team hit five times, ours led by Sievers, whose homer was the only real offense for anyone in the game.

August 14, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-10, 3.48 ERA, 170.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) pitched against Robin Roberts (10-8, 2.73 ERA, 171.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.04 WHIP). Detroit got out to an early lead, outscoring us by four runs in the first three innings, until the bottom of the third when we picked up three runs (thanks to an RBI single by Erskine, a sac-fly by Banks and an RBI single by Sievers. Andy Pafko hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put us in the lead, and Tom Gorman came up to pitch in the top of the seventh. Don Bessent came out to pitch again in the top of the ninth leading still by a single run, and he pitched around a single runner as we won yet another tight battle, this time by a 5-4 margin! Erskine stayed out six innings with seven hits, two walks, two strikeouts and four runs (three earned), improving to 9-10 with a 3.52 ERA. Gorman earned his 13th hold of the year and Bessent saved his 15th game, the two of them combining for three innings with two hits, a walk and a strikeout. We outhit Detroit again tonight 10-9, led by Andy Pafko who hit three times with a run and two RBIs.

August 15, 1957: Chuck Diering came off the IL today in time for our third game against Detroit, with Pete Whisenant having to be put on waivers before we can send him back down to AAA. So far in August we’ve gone 9-3, and for the first time there’s starting to be real buzz about this team here in Kansas City. More than 11,800 fans came out to see Bill Wight (5-7, 4.36 ERA, 121.2 IP, 60 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) pitch against Billy Hoeft (8-11, 3.62 ERA, 171.2 IP, 107 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) in our final game of the series against Detroit. Once again Detroit got out to an early lead, scoring off a single by Kuenn and a double by Virdon to go up 2-0 in the middle of the first. Roy Sievers got us on the board in the bottom of the inning, but Detroit added an RBI triple by Kaline and a run-scoring groundout by Kuenn to put themselves up by three. Our team has built up real confidence, however, and we were not fazed by this development. In the bottom of the fourth Sievers hit an RBI double and Paddock ground out to first but drove in Sievers to get us back within a run ... and in the bottom of the fifth, Del Crandall drove in two more with a flyball double, pushing us into the lead 5-4! Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, still leading by a run, and Arnie Portocarrero took over in the top of the eighth, both of them keeping hold of our lead. In the top of the ninth Bob Miller came out to pitch, but was not so lucky ... Al Kaline hit a sac-fly to drive in the tying run, and we went into the bottom of the ninth needing to score to win, with Gorman warming up in the pen. Amazingly, we had a rabbit left to pull from the hat ... Cannizzaro walked, O’Connell bunted him into scoring position for our second out, Diering walked, and then Ernie Banks had a great hero moment, walking it off with a groundball single to win this 6-5! We got the series sweep for our fifth win in a row, and the fans loved every heart-pounding minute of it.

Wight had another solid start, lasting six innings with five hits, a strikeout and four runs, only two of which were earned. He left with the lead, and Ditmar and Portocarrero each held it, but Miller blew his third save of the year and thus wound up with the win, improving to 4-5 with a 5.25 ERA through 70.1 innings as a rookie. We outhit the Tigers 9-8, led by Banks who hit three times, walked once and added three runs and an RBI. This win gave us a 55-59 record and pulled us to within a game of the fourth place Tigers as we head into a four-game series against the third-place Guardians (65-49). Of the 14 games we’ve played against Cleveland they’ve won eight, but we’ve been on fire lately, and there’s no reason to think we can’t find a way to keep this going.

August 16, 1957: Milt Pappas (13-6, 2.75 ERA, 183.1 IP, 95 K’s, 1.26 WHIP) got the start against Cleveland’s Tom Cheney (11-10, 2.53 ERA, 181.2 IP, 115 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) in front of a home crowd of more than 14,800, the largest crowd we’ve seen since opening day! Cleveland took the lead in the top of the fifth with an RBI double by Al Smith, and in the top of the seventh, still trailing by the one run, we brought Tom Gorman out to pitch from the bullpen. Doc Bessent came out in the top of the ninth, still trailing by a run, and he got us into the bottom of the ninth in a nailbiter of an opportunity. And with one out we pulled another miracle finish, as Roy Sievers hit a flyball double that drove in two runs, walking off yet another close win by a 2-1 margin! Bessent’s record improved to 6-4, allowing one walk and striking out a batter as he improved his ERA to 3.33!

August 17, 1957: Carl Erskine was supposed to be next up in the rotation, but he’s been diagnosed with a case of gout, and will be out for at least four days. So Charlie Rabe (2-3, 4.91 ERA, 29.1 IP, 19 K’s, 1.67 WHIP) got the spot start, facing Early Wynn (10-10, 4.02 ERA, 179.0 IP, 94 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) with a crowd of just over of 15,000 looking on. This one was a back and forth battle with plenty of scoring ... Cleveland went up early with a two-run homer by Rocky Colavito in the top of the first, but in the bottom of the third O’Connell hit an RBI single and then Roy Sievers hit a three-run homer to make it 4-2 A’s. Roger Maris hit a two-run blast that tied it up in the top of the sixth, and Arnie Portocarrero took over for us on the mound in the top of the seventh. With the score still tied up, Art Ditmar came out in the eighth, and Colavito hit his second homer of the game to put them up 5-4. Don Bessent came out in the top of the ninth and his luck ran out, giving up two more runs as we dug a three-run hole heading into the bottom of the inning. No miracle finish tonight, we lost this one 7-4 to snap our streak at six games. Ditmar took the loss, falling to 4-3 with a 3.39 ERA, and they outhit us 9-5 though we managed to stay in the game thanks to our solid power hitting, led by Sievers’ three-run homer.

August 18, 1957: The fans weren’t deterred by yesterday’s loss ... 15,265 fans came through the turnstiles this afternoon to watch our third game against Cleveland, as Bill Wight (5-7, 4.30 ERA, 127.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) took on Dave Sisler (6-5, 3.64 ERA, 123.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). We were sailing along in the top of the fifth when Rocky Colavito hit a three-run homer to put the Guardians up 3-0 in the blink of an eye. Joe Astroth hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth, and Bob Miller took over on the mound in the sixth, Pafko hitting a sac-fly to cut the lead to one heading into the seventh. Tom Gorman came out in the top of the eighth and a Vic Power RBI double and a Les Moss RBI single extended Cleveland’s lead to three runs. But George Wilson hit a two-run double to cut the lead to one, and with one out, Cannizzaro hit a sac-fly to tie the game up heading into the ninth inning! Gorman stayed out to get us through the top half of the inning, and in the bottom of the ninth, no outs, a man on first, Chuck Diering walked this one off with a clutch double to win the game for us 6-5! We’ll go into tomorrow’s game with a chance to win another series against a tough opponent. Gorman (3-3, 3.84 ERA) got us through two innings with two hits, two walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs to earn the win as we scored four unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth to come from behind once again. We outhit Cleveland 12-8, led by O’Connell with three hits and a run, and by George Wilson who hit twice with two RBIs.

August 19, 1957: Sam Jones (1-4, 4.38 ERA, 78.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) started our final game in the series against the Guardians, facing Mark Garcia (14-8, 2.39 ERA, 192.1 IP, 103 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Cleveland took control of this one early, with three runs in the first two innings, and we were never able to make up that ground, losing today by a 5-3 margin. Jones fell to 1-5, lasting six innings with seven hits, three walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs, and they outhit us 8-7. We were led by Chuck Diering, who had two hits and two runs. We’ll face the Yankees for three starting tomorrow with Pappas on the mound, and we’re hoping to have Erskine back for game two.

August 20, 1957: It was rainy and nasty this evening at first pitch as Milt Pappas (13-6, 2.66 ERA, 189.1 IP, 97 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) pitched against Mike McCormick (14-6, 2.77 ERA, 191.2 IP, 137 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) in game one against the Yankees. Only about 10,000 fans showed up to support us in the poor weather conditions, but the ones who were here were LOUD ... the roar was intense when Roy Sievers hit an RBI single that scored Banks from second in the bottom of the first inning to put us up 1-0, and with the Yankees leading 2-1 in the bottom of the third, Sievers batted in another two runs with a double to put us back in the lead, and Del Crandall batted him home to make it 4-2 A’s heading into the fourth. We added another pair in the bottom of the sixth, when O’Connell hit an RBI double that Ernie Banks followed with an RBI single, and we brought out Arnie Portocarrero to pitch in the top of the eighth still leading the Yankees 7-5. He got two outs in the ninth inning, and then Woodie Held hit a two-run blast out of right field to tie us up at seven. Don Bessent came out and got the final out, and in the bottom of the ninth George Wilson brought this place to its feet, leading off with a walk-off homer to win this one 8-7! Pappas gave us seven innings with seven hits, five earned runs, four walks and four strikeouts but was still in position for a win, when Portocarrero blew the save. So Bessent improved to 7-4 by throwing a single pitch to get the last out of the ninth inning and set us up to walk it off. We outhit the Yankees 15-9, led by Danny O’Connell with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Roy Sievers added two hits, a walk, a run and three RBIs.

August 21, 1957: Carl Erskine (9-10, 3.52 ERA, 176.2 IP, 86 K’s, 1.22 WHIP) pitched against Sal Maglie (17-5, 2.01 ERA, 183.2 IP, 76 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) in front of 14,000 screaming A’s fans. Ernie Banks hit a solo blast out of left, his 34th, in the bottom of the first, and Bob Lillis hit an RBI single to add a run in the bottom of the second. The Yankees got the lead back thanks to a two-run Skowron homer in the top of the fourth, but Ernie Banks got it back with #35 in the bottom of the fifth, driving in two runs to give us back a 4-3 lead. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, but the Yankees struck back in the top of the eighth with an RBI single by Bauer and doubles by Mantle and Held to score three and take a 6-4 lead midway through the inning. Bessent got us through the ninth without any more damage, but our scoring was done for the night and the Yankees got out of here by beating us 6-4. Gorman blew his fourth save and fell to 3-4, allowing four hits and three runs (two earned) in his two innings, and we were outhit 9-8. Banks led the way with three hits, two runs and three RBIs, including his two homers that kept us in this one.

August 22, 1957: Bill Wight (5-7, 4.34 ERA, 132.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.46 WHIP) started our final game against the Yankees, facing down Saul Rogovin (16-5, 3.42 ERA, 189.1 IP, 95 K’s, 1.25 WHIP). Banks hit homer #36 in the bottom of the first to give us another early lead, and we brought out Portocarrero to pitch with the lead unchanged in the top of the seventh. We came out of the seventh inning stretch on fire, and Ernie Banks hit a grand slam (#37!) to turn this into a beatdown! Art Ditmar came out in the eighth and got us through the remainder as we shut them out 5-0 to take the series win! Wight earned his first win as a member of the A’s, lasting six innings with just one hit, but he walked four batters against five strikeouts so we couldn’t risk leaving him out there. Luckily Portocarrero and Ditmar combined for three innings with no hits, no walks and two strikeouts, and we outhit the Yankees 6-1! Ernie Banks has been ON FIRE lately, and today he added two homers for five RBIs, giving him 103 RBIs for the season across his time in Chicago and for us.

August 23, 1957: Baltimore’s in town for a pair, and at 36-82 they’ve already been eliminated from any form of contention, trailing the seventh place Senators (also eliminated) by ten games. Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.50 ERA, 84.0 IP, 47 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) took on Roger Craig (7-11, 4.50 ERA, 154.0 IP, 80 K’s, 1.35 WHIP), The game went back and forth early, with several lead changes, but when we went to Bob Miller in the top of the seventh the score was knotted up at 4-4. But it didn’t stay that way for long ... we put up SIX RUNS in the bottom of the seventh, batting around and then some, and Miller stayed out the rest of the way as we clobbered the Orioles 10-4, earning our 60th win of the season and getting to within a pair of .500. Jones had been solid, with seven hits, a walk, four strikeouts and four earned runs in his six innings, but Miller earned this win, pitching three innings with just a hit and three strikeouts as he improved to 5-5 with a 4.71 ERA. We outhit Baltimore 12-8, led by Roy Sievers with two hits, a run and two RBIs. While Phil Jantze, a 22-year-old backup at 3B making his major league debut, added two hits, a walk, a run and two RBIs.

August 24, 1957: Milt Pappas (13-6, 2.80 ERA, 196.1 IP, 101 K’s, 1.26 WHIP) started this afternoon against Don Johnson (3-9, 5.14 ERA, 96.1 IP, 38 K’s, 1.56 WHIP). The Orioles took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI single by Wayne Causey, but Harry Walker batted in a run for us in the bottom of the fourth to tie it up at one apiece. We again broke it open in the bottom of the fifth, taking the lead with an RBI single by Pafko, which was immediately followed by a Del Crandal grand slam to put us up 6-1! Pappas held tough and pitched a complete game as we would go on to beat the Orioles 6-2. He allowed seven hits, three walks and two earned runs with six strikeouts, and they outhit us 7-6 but couldn’t make up for that grand slam, Crandall’s four RBIs proving to be the difference-maker.

August 25, 1957: Darryl Spencer came off the IL today, so Phil Jantze went back down to AAA after his brief cup of coffee at he major league level, rejoining the roster just in time to play a pair against the 75-46 Red Sox, who currently trail the Yankees in the pennant race by 9.5 games. For tonight’s game, more than 16,000 fans showed up, just 1,700 shy of our opening day numbers, as Carl Erskine (9-10, 3.55 ERA, 182.2 IP, 89 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Boston’s Frank Baumann (12-10, 3.50 ERA, 174.2 IP, 118 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first to put us into the lead, and we added two more with a double by George Wilson and a single by Erskine in the bottom of the second. Andy Pafko hit a two-run double in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 5-0 lead, and it became a rout in the bottom of the seventh when Banks hit his second homer of the night, his 39th of the season, to drive in two more! Arnie Portocarrero got us through the last two innings as we crushed the Red Sox 7-0 and officially reached the .500 mark!

Carl Erskine improved to 10-10 with a 3.42 ERA, allowing just two hits, two walks and a strikeout in his seven innings, with Portocarrero finishing the game with a hit and two strikeouts in his two innings. We outhit Boston 12-3, led by Ernie Banks, who had two hits, a walk, three runs and three RBIs. He’s hit .325 with 27 homers and 76 RBIs since coming to Kansas City, and for the season as a whole he’s got a .298 average with 20 doubles, four triples, 39 homers and a .594 slug, giving him 5.3 WAR and a real shot at the homerun crown (he only trails Mantle now by four homers!) Mickey Mantle may be the runaway MVP at this point (.352/.464/.735 with 21 doubles, nine triples, 43 homers and 119 RBIs to go with 14 stolen bases, giving him 10.3 WAR) but Banks has easily been OUR most valuable player, and even having had to give up Juan Pizarro to the Cubs to get him, it’s looking like a win-win move in retrospect.

August 26, 1957: Bill Wight (6-7, 4.15 ERA, 138.2 IP, 66 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) pitched in our second game against the Red Sox, facing Frank Sullivan (14-7, 4.09 ERA, 180.1 IP, 100 K’s, 1.36 WHIP). The weather was rainy and windy, blowing out to left, and Ernie Banks quickly got going with a two-run blast in the bottom of the first to give him his 40th! Andy Pafko followed with a two run bomb of his own and just like that we were up 4-0 just an inning in. Banks hit an RBI triple that scored two more runs in the bottom of the second, and Sievers hit his 27th homer of the season to mak it a seven run lead in the bottom of the fifth. Larry Jansen came out to pitch in the top of the seventh leading by five, and he stayed out the rest of the way as we held firm to beat the Red Sox 7-3! Wight improved to 2-1 since joining our team, pitching six innings with five hits, three walks and two earned runs, while Jansen earned his first save, pitching three innings with four hits, two strikeouts and an earned run. They matched us nine hits for nine, but they didn’t have Banks, who led the way with two hits, a run and four RBIs.

August 27, 1957: The seventh-place Senators (47-77) are in town for a pair, and then after a day off on Friday we’ll host Chicago (51-72) for three games before hitting the road for the homestretch in September. Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.60 ERA, 90.0 IP, 51 K’s 1.67 WHIP) pitched against Camilo Pascual (17-10, 2.86 ERA, 242.1 IP, 165 K’s, 1.18 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit an RBI single to put us up 1-0 in the bottom of the second, but Pascual batted in one with a sac-fly in the top of the fifth to tie it up. Ernie Banks hit a solo blast in the bottom of the sixth (#41!) to put us back on top, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, the Senators again tying the score with a solo homer by Fred Valentine in the top of the eighth. Don Bessent came out in the top of the ninth and kept them from taking the lead, but this one was destined for extra innings, so he got us through the 10th and 11th as well. And in the bottom of the 11th, Banks led off and slammed his 42nd homer out of the park to give us a 3-2 win! Bessent got the win, improving to 8-4 with three innings without a hit, striking out one, giving him a 3.33 ERA through 54 innings of relief pitching. They outhit us 8-7, but Banks hit two solo homers to lead the way for us in a tight contest. Banks has closed the gap with Mantle, who only has six homers in the month of August. Banks, meanwhile, has homered in five of his last seven games and has hit 13 bombs in August alone. That’s as red hot as red hot gets!

August 28, 1957: It was another rainy, windy day with the wind again blowing out hard to left, and Charlie Rabe (2-3, 5.09 ERA, 35.1 IP, 20 K’s, 1.61 WHIP) got the start against Mickey McDermott (9-10, 3.72 ERA, 162.0 IP, 75 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). The game was knotted up 0-0 in the third inning when it was suspended due to heavy rainfall. It has been scheduled to resume on September 13th as part of a split doubleheader instead of doing the logical thing and playing the game tomorrow, while both of us had days off on the calendar. I’m absolutely livid about this, and it will only add to our rough stretch of games in September, but that is what it is. Our job is to win them when we play them, and so far we’ve been doing that well. We’ll have tomorrow off and then the three game set against the White Sox as we look to keep our six-game win streak going.

jksander · 10-19-2024, 01:13 AM

August 30, 1957: Milt Pappas (14-6, 2.76 ERA, 205.1 IP, 107 K’s, 1.26 WHIP) pitched against Bob Rush (6-12, 4.62 ERA, 169.1 IP, 96 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) in the first of our three games against Chicago. And this one was a nailbiter from the start ... Pappas threw 103 pitches through seven innings and only allowed six baserunners, but Chicago was just as miserly with their pitching, and we went into the top of the eighth knotted at zero-all. Tom Gorman took over at that point, and he got through the inning with THREE PITCHES ... getting Aparicio, Fox and Minoso to ground out 4-3, 6-3, 6-3 ... and in the bottom of the eighth we took the lead off an RBI single by Danny O’Connell! With two outs in the top of the ninth, Bob Boyd got on base with a single, but Gorman shut them down by getting Jim Rivera to ground out and we won this one 1-0! Each team had four hits tonight, ours led by Darryl Spencer who hit twice and scored a run. Pappas lasted seven innings with three hits, three walks and six strikeouts, and Gorman took the win, improving to 4-4 with just one hit in two innings, throwing just 14 pitches to do it.

August 31, 1957: Carl Erskine (10-10, 3.42 ERA, 189.2 IP, 90 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) pitched against Jack Kralick (4-6, 4.29 ERA, 71.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Nellie Fox hit a solo homer to put Chicago on the board in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the fourth we went absolutely buck wild offensively, starting with a Chuck Diering homer that tied the score. Ernie Banks got us the lead on an error that put Daryl Spencer on base, Crandall hit an RBI single, Paddock hit an RBI double, O’Connell hit an RBI single, and Diering, having already homered in the inning, batted in two more with a single that was assisted by an E8 error. We put the icing on the cake with a sac-fly by Banks that scored O’Connell from third, and just like that we went into the fifth inning leading 8-1! Arnie Portocarrero took over in the top of the eighth still leading by six, and though he gave up three runs in the eighth, he got us through the remainder of the game and we held on to win 8-5. Erskine improved to 11-10 with a 3.39 ERA, getting through seven innings with five hits, a walk, five strikeouts and two earned runs, while Portocarrero pitched two innings with two hits, five walks and three earned runs. We outhit Chicago 10-7, led by Diering who had two hits, a walk, a run and three RBIs.

We’ll head into the month of August with a 66-62 record, a game and a half up on the Tigers and now in fourth place in the AL. Our winning streak still stands at eight games, by far our best streak of the season, and we were 21-6 in the month of August, putting it all together too late to be a pennant contender but showing the signs of hope for the future that we’d only hinted at earlier in the season. Tomorrow we’ll finish the series with Chicago (52-76), and then we play a doubleheader on Monday against the Guardians (77-53). We then get three days off to rest, before playing three at Chicago, three at Baltimore (39-88), three at Washington (47-80), a doubleheader against the Yankees (90-39) in New York, and a pair against Boston (77-51) at Fenway. We then return to KC for our last three home series, against Detroit (65-64), Chicago and Cleveland, followed by a final road series in Detroit.

Milt Pappas was named Rookie of the Month for the second month in a row, going 4-0 through seven starts with 31 K’s against 18 walks and a 1.67 ERA through 54 innings. He’s put up a 14-6 record and 2.67 ERA through 212.1 innings, striking out 113 with a 1.24 WHIP and 4.7 WAR, and we’re hopeful he’ll be the lynchpin of our rotation for years to come. Ownership is satisfied with how the season has gone thus far ... we’re above .500, and had only expected to stay as close to that mark as possible, and our attendance is averaging 11,231 per game, beating our goal of 11,000 that we’d hoped to meet next season. His hopes for a top three farm are bat**** crazy, and reaching the World Series by 1959 may still be a pipe dream. But I’ve done everything in my power to keep him happy and give us the chance to keep building this program.

September 1, 1957: Bill Wight (7-7, 4.11 ERA, 144.2 IP, 66 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) pitched against Billy Pierce (10-14, 3.33 ERA, 227.1 IP, 144 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in the final game against the White Sox this series, and while it was close early, we took the lead with RBI singles by Pafko and Crandall to go up 2-0 heading into the top of the sixth. Art Ditmar took over in the eighth inning and Earl Battey hit a solo homer that inning to cut our lead to one. In the top of the ninth, Dick Bessent came out to close things out, and he held his ground on the mound as we beat the White Sox 3-0 to complete the sweep! We’ll go into the road series with a nine-game winning streak in hand. Bill Wight is now 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA since coming to Kansas City, lasting seven innings with one hit, two walks and four strikeouts, while Ditmar earned his fourth hold and Bessent his 16th save of the season. We outhit them 6-3, led by O’Connell with a hit and a run and by Sievers who had two walks and scored a run.

September 2, 1957:In the first game of today’s doubleheader in Cleveland, Milt Pappas (14-6, 2.67 ERA, 212.1 IP, 113 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) pitched against Dave Sisler (7-5, 3.51 ERA, 136.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Pappas pitched a complete game, but Cleveland took control with runs in the second, third and seventh inning as they shut us out 3-0 to end the winning streak. Pappas fell to 14-7 with the loss, but he allowed just five hits, a walk, five strikeouts and the three earned runs, keeping his ERA at 2.70. We were outhit 5-4 in the pitching duel, with Diering and Sievers each hitting once and walking once but getting nowhere.

Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.41 ERA, 96.0 IP, 53 K’s, 1.66 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Tom Cheney (13-12, 2.54 ERA, 212.2 IP, 141 K’s, 1.16 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit an RBI single to put us in the lead in the top of the fourth, but they tied it in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by George Crowe. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the seventh and in the top of the ninth we put up three runs, thanks to a two-run single by Spencer and an RBI single by Astroth. Tom Gorman came out to close things out and though Dale Long hit a solo bomb, that’s all they had as we beat them 4-2! Bob Miller (6-5, 4.59 ERA) got the win with two innings and no baserunners, and Gorman saved his seventh game with a hit and an earned run. We were able to outhit them 7-6, led by two hits, a run and an RBI by Pafko. We improved to 68-63 but were officially mathematically eliminated from pennant contention with the loss. But the Yankees have the AL pretty much sewn up at this point anyway, with a 14.5 game leadon Boston. The real race right now is in the NL, where Milwaukee (82-48) has a 6.5 game lead over Pittsburgh (77-56), with the Dodgers (73-59) ten games back but on a six game winning streak. It’d be crazy if they fight their way back and make it to the series in their final year in New York ... the league has approved them moving to Los Angeles in the coming season.

September 6, 1957: Milt Pappas (14-7, 2.70 ERA, 220.1 IP, 118 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) is on four days’ rest following the three-day Labor Day break, so he pitched today against Billy Pierce (10-15, 3.29 ERA, 235.1 IP, 148 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in Chicago. Daryl Spencer hit an RBI triple to put us in the lea in the top of the second, and Pappas batted in a run to add on, giving us a 2-0 lead midway through the inning. But Chicago answered back in the bottom frame, scoring off singles by Jim Rivera and Billy Pierce, to tie it back up. Tom Gorman came out in the top of the eighth with the score still tied up 2-2, and he got us into extra innings. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th, his 43rd of the year, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, getting the outs we needed to win 3-2! Pappas went seven innings with just four hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two earned runs, and Gorman came out to get the win, improving to 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA, allowing just a hit and a walk. Miller picked up his fourth save as a rookie, allowing one hit in 12 pitches to get us through. We outhit Chicago 7-6, led by Daryl Spencer who had a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI, and by Banks with his game-winning homer.

September 7, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-10, 3.39 ERA, 196.2 IP, 95 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Jack Harshman (8-12, 4.22 ERA, 187.2 IP, 96 K’s, 1.41 WHIP), and he’s about to break past the 200-innings mark for the first time since we snagged him off the waiver wire from Brooklyn! He pitched a complete game, but Chicago led the entire way, scoring in the third, sixth and eighth innings. We rallied a little too late in the top of the ninth, Thomas Paddock hitting an RBI single that scored Banks and George Wilson hitting into a fielder’s choice to score Roy Sievers, and we lost this one 3-2. Erskine only allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) but walked six batters during his eight innings. Chicago outhit us 6-5, led by Erskine with two hits, while Paddock had a hit, a walk and an RBI.

September 8, 1957: Bill Wight (8-7, 3.92 ERA, 151.2 IP, 70 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) pitched against Bob Rush (6-13, 4.32 ERA, 185.1 IP, 109 K’s, 1.46 WHIP), and this game was not a good one in any way. Chicago scored five off us in the third to take a 6-2 lead, and they added two more in the sixth and four in the seventh to clobber us 12-3. Wight took the loss with seven hits and six earned runs in 2.2 innings, and our bullpen wasn’t capable of holding them off enough for a comeback when our bats weren’t making good contact. We were outhit 15-10, led by Banks with two hits, two runs and an RBI, including a third-inning solo homer that gives him 44 on the season, trailing Mantle by a pair and only one up on Brooklyn’s Duke Snider.

September 10, 1957: Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.15 ERA, 102.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.64 WHIP) pitched against Baltimore’s Ruben Gomez (7-16, 3.70 ERA, 214.1 IP, 80 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). Gomez hit a homer for the Orioles in the bottom of the third to put them into the lead and Gus Triandos hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to add on, but in the top of the sixth George Wilson hit a two-run blast to tie the score 2-2. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the sixth, and Del Crandall hit a solo homer to push us into the lead, up 3-2 heading into the stretch. Tom Gorman took over in the bottom of the eighth, and with the lead still at one run, Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, holding them off as we won 3-2, earning our 70th win of the season! Bessent improved to 9-4 with the win, improving his ERA to 3.16 with a two-inning no-baserunner effort. Gorman got a hold, his 14th, and Miller saved his fifth game as we outhit Baltimore 6-4. Paddock led the way with a hit, two walks and a run, while Wilson’s two run homer got us back in this one.

September 11, 1957: Charlie Rabe (2-3, 4.70 ERA, 38.1 IP, 22 K’s, 1.51 WHIP) started game two against the Orioles, facing Ted Wills (8-7, 3.70 ERA, 136.1 IP, 95 K’s, 1.32 WHIP). He got shelled for four runs in the bottom of the first with just one out, so Larry Jansen took over as a desperation spot starter. He made it into the fourth inning and got two outs, before this became a game of bullpen musical chairs. We wound up getting shut out 6-0, the Orioles outhitting us 7-2. Rabe (obviously) took the loss, getting one out with four hits, two walks and four earned runs while Diering and Sievers got our only hits of the game, George Wilson walking twice.

September 12, 1957: Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.37 ERA, 66.2 IP, 41 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) pitched against Baltimore’s Roger Craig (7-13, 4.66 ERA, 179.2 IP, 91 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit his 45th homer, a two-run blast in the top of the first, and Thomas Paddock hit one in the top of the second to give us a 3-0 lead. Tom Gorman took over in the bottom of the seventh with a 3-1 lead, but got shelled in the eighth as Baltimore roared back with four runs. Don Bessent came out with bases loaded and two outs to get the final strikeout, and we went into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair ... and that’s how it stayed, our team losing 5-3. Gorman blew the save (his sixth) and took the loss (his fifth), and we were outhit 7-5 ... Ditmar had lasted six innings with five hits, three strikeouts and an earned run but we weren’t able to hold on.

September 13, 1957: Today we have a doubleheader in Washington, and our first game is the (formerly home) game where we were deadlocked at zero heading into the fourth inning. This was Charlie Rabe’s start, so he came out today and pitched the fourth and fifth innings, keeping them scoreless as we took the lead with an RBI single by Daryl Spencer in the fourth and an RBI double by Sievers in the fifth. Bill Wight came out to pitch in the sixth, and Bob Lillis batted in a run with a triple to give us a 3-0 lead. Wight held tough and got us through the rest of the game as we beat the Senators 3-1. Rabe got the win, finishing with five innings and two hits with three strikeouts, while Wight earned a four-inning save, allowing three hits, two walks and an earned run with five strikeouts. We outhit them 8-5, led by Lillis with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI.

Milt Pappas (14-7, 2.69 ERA, 227.1 IP, 122 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Walt Masterson (5-13, 5.48 ERA, 151.0 IP, 76 K’s, 1.68 WHIP). Crandall hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the top of the second, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run triple in the second to make it a 3-0 lead. Pappas pitched the rest of the game, having had plenty of rest days, and we won easily 3-1! He had seven hits, a walk, four strikeouts and one earned run in the game, giving him a 15-7 record and 2.63 ERA. Both teams had seven hits each, ours led by Sievers with two hits, a run and two RBIs.

jksander · 10-19-2024, 01:20 AM

September 14, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-11, 3.34 ERA, 204.2 IP, 96 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) faced off against Cal McLish (1-3, 2 SV, 4.68 ERA< 42.1 IP, 12 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) in today’s game against the Senators, and Fred Valentine put them up quickly in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer. George Wilson answered with a two-run triple in the top of the second, and in the top of the fourth Thomas Paddock scored off a wild pitch to give us the lead. Erskine gave up three unanswered runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. Bob Lee pitched well in the sixth but gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Dean Stone, a fellow September call-up, got us through the eighth trailing by four runs, and then we unleashed on the Senators in the top of the ninth -- with the bases loaded, Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to score Stone, Sievers reached base on an E3 error to score O’Connell, Spencer hit a two-run double to tie the game, and Joe Astroth hit a sac-fly that sent Roy Sievers around to score from third to push us into the lead! Don Bessent came out for the save attempt in the bottom of the ninth, and he shut them down as we won 8-7 to complete the sweep! Dean Stone, who Washington traded to us back in April for Walt Cradock and Martin Rosell, came through and earned the win, improving to 1-1 on the season with a 6.75 ERA, allowing one hit and two runs (one earned) with four walks, and Bessent saved his 17th game, bringing his ERA down to 2.98 through 60.1 innings in 49 appearances. We outhit Washington 11-5, led by Astroth with three hits, a walk and a run, and by Spencer with two hits, a walk and two RBIs.

September 15, 1957: Today’s a doubleheader day in New York, as we play our final two games against the Yankees this season. They’ve already clinched a World Series spot, where they’re going to get a rematch against last year’s champs the Milwaukee Braves. In game one of the afternoon we started Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.22 ERA, 72.2 IP, 44 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) against Billy O’Dell (6-4, 2.41 ERA, 86.0 IP, 57 K’s, 1.08 WHIP). New York went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI single by Yogi Berra, but the game stayed a real battle from there. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth still trailing by the one run, but in the top of the seventh Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer out of right and put us into the lead by a run! Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by the same margin, and he held on as we beat the Yanks 2-1! Gorman took the win, improving to 6-5 with a 3.81 ERA thanks to three innings with four hits and a strikeout, while Miller saved his sixth game by throwing a dozen pitches without a baserunner. They outhit us 7-5, but we played smart baseball, led by Sievers with two hits, a run and two RBIs, and by Diering who hit twice and scored a run.

Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.12 ERA, 107.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Duke Maas (7-3, 1 SV, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Bill Skowron scored for the Yankees in the bottom of the third off a groundout by McDougald, but in the top of the fifth we loaded the bases and George Wilson reached on an E6 error to drive in the tying run, no outs. Jones almost pulled off a squeeze bunt, but they got the runner out at the plate, though the bases stayed loaded ... and with the one out, Danny O’Connell got a shot into right field to put us in the lead! Jones tried to stay out for the sixth inning but failed miserably, loading the bases and forcing us to start warming up bullpen arms. With one out, Charlie Maxwell drove in the tying run with a single, and Bob Miller came out to pitch, bases loaded. Tony Kubek hit a single that drove in two, but Miller got us out of the jam without it becoming a rout. Bob Lee came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, still trailing by a pair, and he got us through the inning safely, but our bats were silent the remainder of the way and we lost 4-2. Jones took the loss, going 5.1 innings with four hits, three walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs, falling to 1-6 with a 4.25 ERA, and we were outduelled 5-4 offensively ... Daryl Spencer hit twice and O’Connell, with a hit and a walk, batted in a run.

September 17, 1957: We’re in the homestretch now, just a dozen games left, seven at home and five on the road. Tonight we’re in Boston to face the Red Sox for our last two-game series of the year. We’re 74-68 and in fourth place, a game and a half up on Detroit, and they’re 85-58 and in second place, 12.5 back of the Yankees. For us it’s been a good finish to the year, but the Sox are still stinging over the Yankees heading to another Fall Classic. Milt Pappas (15-7, 2.63 ERA, 236.1 IP, 126 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (11-10, 3.37 ERA, 211.0 IP, 144 K’s, 1.45 WHIP), and in this one Boston took control with runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh, and though we got a run in the top of the ninth it wasn’t enough. We lost 3-1, Pappas taking the loss with a seven inning five hit, five walk, five strikeout, three run game. Lots of fives, including five hits each for our teams, ours led by Sievers who hit twice with a run and an RBI thanks to his ninth inning solo homer, his 29th of the season.

September 18, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-11, 3.48 ERA, 209.2 IP, 97 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Mike Fornieles (11-6, 4.02 ERA, 134.1 IP, 78 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). Alas, Erskine’s night started off badly, giving up four runs to the Sox in the first inning, but we got back into it in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by O’Connell, an RBI single by Diering and and RBI double by Banks to cut their lead to one! Boston got a run back in the bottom of the inning, and Larry Jansen came out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, still trailing by a pair, but we never got back into it offensively. The Red Sox went on to win this one 7-4, Erskine taking the loss with a nine hit, three walk, three strikeout, five earned run game through his four innings. They outhit us 10-9, our team led by Banks with two hits and an RBI, while O’Connell added a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI.

September 20, 1957: We’re back at home for our final three series ... the first of which brings Detroit (73-72) to face our 74-70 A’s, with the chance for us to shore up our position as the fourth best team in the AL. Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.13 ERA, 77.2 IP, 45 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) faced off against Jim Bunning (16-14, 3.42 ERA, 250.1 IP, 152 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, and in the bottom of the fourth we got a three-run homer off the bat of George Wilson to add on. Red Wilson got Boston on the board with an RBI double, but we got that run back in the bottom of the inning with a sac-fly by Daryl Spencer. Dean Stone took over in the sixth, and he gave up a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh as the Tigers ate away our lead. Tied up 5-5 with two outs and no one on, Don Bessent came out and he didn’t fare any better. We went into the stretch trailing 7-5, but we put up four runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to a grand slam by Spencer, his second homer of the game! Tom Gorman came out in the eighth leading by two, and the damned Tigers hit back to back homers (Kaline and Kuenn) to tie it up again ... Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to put us up again in the bottom of the eighth, and Bob Miller came out to try and finish it for good in the top of the ninth, and was able to do it with three quick outs around a double by Bill Virdon, as we won the game 10-9. It was a marathon slugfest, and Tom Gorman blew the save (his seventh) but got the win, improving to 7-5 with a 3.93 ERA thanks to two hits, a strikeout and two earned runs. Miller got the save, his seventh, and we outhit the Tigers 13-10, led by Del Crandall with two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

September 21, 1957: Bill Wight (8-8, 4.15 ERA, 158.1 IP, 75 K’s, 1.41 WHIP) pitched against Robin Roberts (10-12, 3.12 ERA, 225.1 IP, 102 K’s, 1.03 WHIP). But we got shelled tonight, trailing 8-0 when Arnie Portocarrero came out to pitch in the top of the sixth with one out and a man on second. It didn’t get any better from there, and we were shut out 9-0 in the end as the Tigers evened the series. They outhit us 16-8, with Portocarrero (who hit twice while pitching 3.2 innings with three hits, three walks, three strikeouts and an earned run) led the way.

September 22, 1957: Sam Jones (1-6, 1 SV, 4.25 ERA, 112.1 IP, 60 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) pitched in this afternoon’s game, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw (12-10, 3.14 ERA, 226.2 IP, 121 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). And he got blown up, giving up seven runs in the first two innings combined. We’d go on to lose 10-6 in a game with a lot of scoring that never saw us get closer than the four runs we lost by. Jones took the loss, falling to 1-7 with a 4.64 ERA, giving up five hits and seven runs (six earned) in two innings. We were outhit 13-4, wasting a great night for Banks, who had three hits and two runs.

September 23, 1957: Charlie Rabe (3-4, 5.31 ERA, 40.2 IP, 23 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) pitched against Chicago’s Bob Rush (7-14, 4.20 ERA, 203.2 IP, 124 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Sievers hit an RBI single to get us on the board in the bottom of the first, and we added on seven runs in the bottom of the second, turning this one into a blowout quite qiuckly ... until Rabe, in the top of the fourth, gave back five of them with just one out, including a Morrie Martin grand slam. Larry Jansen came out and got us into the bottom of the inning still leading by three, and Sievers hit a solo homer to make it a four-run game as we went into the fifth. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the sixth, and Tom Gorman came out two innings later holding a six-run lead. We’d go on to add three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, cruising to a 14-6 victory. Jansen (2-7, 4.47 ERA) got the win, pitching 1.2 innings with just a single walk, and we outhit the White Sox 12-6, led by Sievers with three hits, two runs and four RBIs. In the sixth inning Banks hit a two-run homer to give him his 46th of the year, tying his career high set just last season! It was his 148th career homer at age 26.

September 24, 1957: Milt Pappas (15-8, 2.66 ERA, 243.1 IP, 131 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) started against Jack Kralick (4-7, 5.22 ERA, 81.0 IP, 35 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) in what will likely be his final start of the season. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to give us the first run of the game, and in the top of the eighth, still leading by the one run, Bessent came out to close things out. He shut them down nicely, and we won 1-0! Pappas finished his season with a 16-9 record and a 2.59 ERA through 250.1 innings, pitching a three-hitter through seven innings tonight while Bessent picked up his 18th save of the year. We outhit Chicago 6-4, earning our 77th win of the season which ensures we cannot finish below .500 this year!

September 25, 1957: Cleveland’s in town for their last two games against us this season. Carl Erskine (11-12, 3.62 ERA, 213.2 IP, 100 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) pitched against Dave Sisler (9-6, 3.53 ERA, 150.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Cleveland dominated this one, building a 5-1 lead on us before we pulled Erskine, bringing in Portocarrero to pitch with one out and nobody on in the top of the sixth. Banks got us back within a pair thanks to a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, his second of the game (he’d hit a solo blast in the fourth to get us on the board), and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the eighth trailing by three. In the bottom of the eighth Spencer scored off a sac-fly, and then George Wilson tied the game up at six each with a two run double! The game wound up going into extra innings, but Gorman stayed out and kept kicking ass. Don Bessent came out in the top of the 11th, and Dale Long hit a solo homer for the Guardians that put them up by a run. But with Miller and Wight warming in the bullpen, Astroth hit a double to lead off and George Wilson hit a two-run blast to walk it off in the bottom of the 11th as we won 8-7! That game had EVERYTHING ... Bessent won his 10th game of the year, improving to 10-4 with a 3.25 ERA, allowing two hits and an earned run, but it was Gorman whose three innings set us up for success, one strikeout, no hits, no runs, 35 pitches. Cleveland outhit us 13-11, but we were led by Ernie Banks who hit two homers and walked twice, scoring three times and batting in three. He’s rocketed himself right back into the home run race with three homers in two days, trailing Mantle by just one dinger with four games left!

September 26, 1957: Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.05 ERA, 82.2 IP, 46 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) pitched against Mike Garcia (18-8, 2.58 ERA, 248.0 IP, 136 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) in our final game against Cleveland. The Guardians got out to a huge lead early, up 6-0 midway through the fourth, but, trailing by seven heading into the middle of the fifth, we put up four runs in the bottom frame, including a two-run double for Ernie Banks. But we weren’t getting back in this one -- they kept putting up hits, and we lost the game 9-6. Ditmar (4-4, 3.54 ERA) allowed seven hits and six earned runs in just 3.2 innings, but Portocarrero and Bob Miller combined for 5.1 innings with six hits, two walks, a strikeout and three earned runs to keep it from being a total slaughter. They outhit us 13-10, our team led by Daryl Spencer who hit three times with a run and two RBIs.

September 27, 1957: We’re down to our final series of the year, on the road ... our 78-73 A’s up against the Detroit Tigers (75-76). Tonight Bill Wight (8-9, 1 SV, 4.45 ERA, 163.2 IP, 78 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) pitched against Bob Shaw (12-10, 3.12 ERA, 231.0 IP, 124 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Ernie Banks hit a two-run homer to put us within a run when he batted in the top of the sixth. Dean Stone came out in the bottom of the inning with an out and a man on first, getting the two outs we needed, and Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the seventh still trailing by a run. In the top of the eighth, Sievers hit a solo homer and Crandall knocked a two-run blast out of left, shooting us into the lead! We never looked back, rolling to a 7-4 win, ensuring we’ll finish fourth in the AL, in the upper division for the first time in years. Gorman improved to 8-5 with a 3.69 ERA, allowing a hit and an unearned run with a strikeout in his three innings of work. We outhit the Tigers 13-7, led by Sievers with three hits a run and an RBI, and by Banks who batted in three runs with a hit and a run scored. Banks and Mantle are now tied at 49 homers each, and we each have two games left.

September 28, 1957: Milt Pappas (16-8, 2.59 ERA, 250.1 IP, 135 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) was rested and wanted one more start this season, so we put him out there against Billy Hoeft (10-16, 3.74 ERA, 228.1 IP, 144 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). And in the top of the fourth he hit a two-run double to give us the lead, proving pitchers can be a real catalyst even with a bat in hand! In the bottom of the sixth a double by Kaline, and back to back walks by Kuenn and Hatfield put us into a real jam, but Pappas got out of it when Bill Virdon hit into a 6-4-3 TRIPLE PLAY to get us out of there ... and in the top of the seventh, Wally Westlake, a 36-year-old veteran player who had only played eight games for us all year, hit a two-run blast to make it a four-run lead! Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the seventh to make sure we got out of here with the win in hand. Don Bessent took over with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the eighth and still leading by three runs, and he got us through the remainder as we won 4-1! Pappas improved to 17-8 with a 2.53 ERA, allowing three hits in six innings with six walks and a strikeout, while we outhit Detroit 8-5. Westlake led the way with two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs, while Pappas had his hit with two RBIs.

September 29, 1957: Mantle and Banks remain tied in the home run race with one game left each ... us against Detroit on the road, the Yankees facing Boston at Fenway. Larry Jansen (2-7, 1 SV, 4.47 ERA, 92.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) took our final start, going up against Bob Kuzawa (3-5, 2.79 ERA, 71.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Astroth and Diering hit RBI singles to make it 2-0 midway through the second inning, but Detroit got four runs in the bottom of the third to take the game over. Charlie Rabe came out in the bottom of the sixth to mop things up, as we trailed by five, and they’d go on to beat us 8-2 in the end. Banks walked once, but the Tigers refused to give him anything to hit. Jansen finished his season with a rough game, nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings with two walks and a strikeout, and we were outhit 12-7. Diering led the way with three hits, a walk and an RBI.And Mantle did get a homer in his final game of the season, so he takes the crown with 50 ... but he missed out on a TRIPLE CROWN by just .003 worth of batting average, as Hank Aaron finished with .346.

All in all we can’t complain ... we were 8-5 in April but went 37-51 May through July, only to put up a 21-6 record in August and a 14-12 run in September to finish with an 80-74 record. This was our team’s best record since going 81-73 in 1949 back in Philadelphia. We still haven’t made the World Series since 1931, but it’s hard to not be happy with a 17-win improvement over last season and our first top-half finish since 1952 ... in fact it’s only our fourth top-half finish in the last 25 years!

The World Series rematch between the 106-48 Yankees and the 110-54 Braves will take place starting October 2nd in New York.

jksander · 10-19-2024, 05:29 AM

I accidentally simmed the first three games of the World Series, so I don’t have game logs .. for some reason the game logs got mixed up with some minor league teams or something. No matter, it wasn’t exactly a nailbiting series early on ... until it was. see below!

October 6, 1957: Even though they didn’t have home field advantage, last year’s World Champion Milwaukee Braves didn’t even blink under pressure. They came back from down 3-0 in the first inning in game one to score FIVE RUNS in the top of the seventh, coasting to a 5-4 win. Then in game two, still in New York, they broke a tie in the top of the third with three runs and never looked back, cruising to win again 7-4. They took the series back to Milwaukee, and in a must-win situation, the Yankees fought hard in a back and forth battle, scoring three in the top of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. But the Braves answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning and that was all they needed to beat New York 5-4 and go up three games to none.

In tonight’s game four, New York’s Sal Maglie got the start against Milwaukee’s Warren Hacker. The Yankees went up 1-0 in the top of the third thanks to a wild pitch that scored Tony Kubek from third. And they held tough through several rally attempts by the Braves, going into the top of the ninth leading by just one run. Mickey Mantle hit a solo insurance homer in the top of the ninth, and the Yanks held on to win 4-2 ... there WILL be a game five, but can they get it back to New York?

October 7, 1957: It’s game five time, the last chance for Milwaukee to cap a repeat title run on their home field. They started Connie Johnson against New York’s Billy O’Dell, and in the bottom of the second Eddie Mathews hit a solo homer to put them in the lead as the crowd went crazy! Yogi Berra tied it up for the Yanks in the top of the fourth with a sac-fly that scored Mantle from third, and New York again struck in the top of the ninth, getting a two-run homer off Charlie Maxwell to put them up 3-1! But Joe Adcock saved the Braves’ chances, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it up and force extra innings. In the top of the 13th, Woodie Held hit a two-run blast out of right to put the Yanks up again by two, and that was enough ... the Yankees won 5-3 and would bring the series back to the Bronx for game six.

October 9, 1957: Mike McCormick started for the Yankees in game six, facing down Milwaukee legend Warren Spahn in front of 55,000+ crazed fans. Jimmy Logan hit a solo homer for Milwaukee to take the lead in the top of the third, but the Yankees took all the momentum in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer by Hank Bauer, an RBI double by Held and an RBI single by Berra to take a 4-1 lead. They added on three runs in the seventh and cruised to win 7-1, Milwaukee now on the ropes ... after leading three games to none, they’ll now face a must-win game seven for all the marbles!

October 10, 1957: Milwaukee’s Ray Crone faced off against New York’s Don Mossi in the all-deciding game seven, and Milwaukee struck HARD in the top of the first with seven runs ... an RBI single by Hank Aaron that got it started, followed by a three-run homer for Eddie Mathews and a three-run homer by Joe Adcock! The Yankees fans in attendance were at a complete loss for words, I’ve never seen Yankee Stadium so quiet watching on my television. But they came up to hit in the bottom of the fourth, trailing 8-2, and after Tony Kubek scored off a walk by Mantle with the bases loaded, Yogi Berra hit a grand slam homer to put the Bronx Bombers back within a run, trailing just 8-7! So Eddie Mathews, in the top of the fifth, hit ANOTHER three-run homer to keep the Braves ahead in the race ... but their lead evaporated as the Yankees just kept hitting. In the bottom of the sixth, trailing by four coming into the inning, they rallied hard ... Held walked in a run, Berra hit an RBI single that scored two, and Woodie Held tied it up on a wild pitch! Kubek hit a sac-fly to center and Berra ran it out and slid safely into home to put the Yankees ahead 12-11. This is absolutely insane! Even then, Milwaukee had an answer ... Norm Siebern batted in Aaron with a single to tie it up, and Clete Boyer hit an RBI single to slingshot them back into the lead. Bad day for pitching, but a great day for fans who want to see runs produced. But that was the last gasp ... Milwaukee held firm from there, keeping New York scoreless after the seventh inning stretch and they went on to win 13-12. Hank Aaron hit five times for three runs and an RBI, setting a new NL playoff record for hits in a game.

The Milwaukee Braves are your REPEAT World Champions, winning four games to three!

jksander · 10-19-2024, 05:31 AM

October 11, 1957: Don Bollweg has announced his retirement from baseball at age 36. He didn’t play at all at the MLB level this season, but hit .321 with 22 doubles, eight triples and 14 homers at the AAA level, with 48 RBIs and 4.3 WAR. He finished his career with just 276 games played, hitting 36 doubles and 22 homers with 92 RBIs and a career average of .247. Eventually everybody hits the wall and has to stop playing this game, but he’ll have the memories for a lifetime.

In this year’s rookie draft we’re not going to have nearly as good a pick as we did the last few years, so though we have our eye on some great players, it’s going to be tough to get one of the power sluggers in the mix (the top three appear to be outfielder Frank Howard, age 21, outfielder Billy Williams, age 19, and first baseman Ron Fairly. I also like first baseman Fred Whitfield, who would not be coming in as ready-to-go as those three, with a lot of the 19-year-old’s potential yet to be met. Shortstop Zolio Versalles, 19, has a great deal of upside as well, both offensively and defensively, where he has Gold Glove potential at short. 19-year-old outfielder Manny Mota also has a ton of potential to become a great hitter for contact. We’re focused on adding offense in the upper rounds of this draft, but there are some pitchers too who would be tough to skip if they fall to us ... most notably 19-year-old Juan Marichal, 19-year-old Gaylord Perry and 20-year-old Jim O’Toole. But there are some lesser-known guys I may be able to pick up in the second or third round, so I’m thinking this is a solid draft we can make good use of. Our scouts are working overtime to find any other diamonds in the rough, and we’ll be drafting on November 15th.

October 19, 1957: The offseason officially began this morning, and right off the bat there was big news, as Chicago’s White Sox and Washington’s Senators fired their GMs. Neither job is considered a good one based on ownership, though at least Chicago has their large market and a bigger budget along with the better farm system, though both of them have top five systems. I got feelers from the White Sox ownership group, but for now I’m happy in Kansas City. We’re on the upswing after adding Banks and Sievers to the lineup, and I think we can continue to make big strides for the fans here in western Missouri. Besides, the cranky owner you know is better than the one halfway across the country who you have no relationship with. I’m in the final year of my contract, however, so I need to have another solid season to keep Richard Doyle happy with our progress so I can continue to stick around.

Our goals for the upcoming season remain to continue to stay at or above .500 and start really focusing on improving our fan interest. We were at a 32-rating when I took over the team three years ago, and now we’re at 47 ... he says he’d like to see that significantly higher by 1961, and he still hopes we can make the playoffs by the end of the decade. Continue to work on winning road games ... this year we were 50-27 here in Kansas City but only 30-47 on the road. And he wants a top three farm system and for us to continue to bring players up quickly to the majors and show immediate results ... those two goals run counterintuitively, and I just have to keep his attention on one or the other.

October 21, 1957: We’ve signed a new team trainer, Bryan Teal, a 62-year-old veteran who is excellent at fatigue recovery, outstanding at preventing leg injuries and legendary for his ability to avoid back injuries. He has 19 years experience, but has been out of the game for a few years while he went back to college to update his training to match the modern knowledge of sports injuries and recovery. We’ve signed him to a four year deal worth $9,500 per year to take over the job.

October 24, 1957: We’ve come to terns with a new pitching coach, Dick Jones! Jones, a 55-year-old with 17 years of experience in the baseball world, is outstanding at developing pitchers and influencing their mechanics, excellent at teaching pitching in general, and good at handling aging. He has a solid reputation overall, and though he only has average relationships with our existing players, Pappas and Erskine recommended him based on what they’d heard about his work with this year’s Los Angeles Angels, who won the league crown with a 105-win record. If he can do that with our pitchers, I’ll be damned happy with him ... he’ll be earning $12,000 a year for the next four years as he looks to put his mark on our pitching corps.

October 27, 1957: The Gold Glove awards have been announced, and we cleaned up! Ernie Banks won at first base, Danny O’Connell won at second, and Roy Sievers won in left field! This was the first for O’Connell and Sievers, but was Banks’ second in a row.

October 29, 1957: Platinum Stick awards were handed out today, and Ernie Banks was our big winner at first base, bringing home his third in a row thanks to this year’s 6.4 WAR season ... he hit .284/.342/.587 with 24 doubles, six triples and 49 homers.

October 30, 1957: Milt Pappas was named the AL’s Rookie of the Year, following a stellar season -- the 18 year old right handed starter had a 17-8 record, a 2.53 ERA and 136 strikeouts through 256.1 innings, putting together 5.5 WAR in his debut! He’s already a fan favorite, and what’s crazy is he hasn’t even come close to his potential either with his overall stuff or his control. He may not be a flamboyant personality off the field, but he’s got the potential to become one of the league’s greats.

We’ve also signed our new hitting coach -- 52-year-old Johnny Hodapp, who’s been involved in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, comes to us from the Pioneer league, where he’s been working with the Billings Mustangs. He’s a legendary hitting coach, who is outstanding about handing aging and excellent when it comes to development and influencing hitting mechanics. He focuses on patience, working with players to maximize their abilities rather than forcing them to make radical changes. He’s agreed to a four year deal worth $13,000 per year. He worked with Roy Sievers back in his early days in St. Louis when he first got signed, and Roy’s been a big booster so far. Here’s hoping he does well in making introductions with the rest of the hitting corps.

November 15, 1957: Draft day has arrived! We’ve got the 10th pick in the first round and the 9th pick in each subsequent round thanks to the Orioles, who due to a comp pick from a non-signing last year get to pick 1st and 3rd in this year’s draft. They wound up taking Billy Williams with the #1 pick, and Washington went with 22-year-old lefty starter Bob Veale, which left a lot of us scratching our heads -- he’d looked like a late-level first rounder at best. Baltimore, happy with their rival’s miscue, took 19-year-old Gaylord Perry, and if you’re thinking the Orioles are going to stink next year I’d guess again, those are two KILLER picks (if they can manage to sign them!) Juan Marichal went to Cincinnati, so at least we won’t have to play against that monster arm ... he should be ready to be their ace on day one. And Frank “Hondo” Howard rounded out the top five, as he’ll head to the Phillies.

Here’s who we wound up getting this year:

ROUND 1, Pick 10 -- 1B Ron Fairly
Bond grades out as a first baseman right now, but the 19-year-old lefty hitter has just as much potential in the outfield as on the right corner. He’d committed to play for Mississippi State, but I love his athletic frame, and he’s got the eye to be an above-average contact hitter to go with above-average power. He has a very promising future, and though he may start out at AAA, there’s a chance this kid’ll be ready to come straight up. His outfield arm is the most impressive, and with above average range, I think he’s got the potential to be a powerful right fielder once fully developed.

ROUND 2, Pick 29 -- SP Dennis Bennett
Dennis Bennett is a 6’5” 205 pound starting pitcher from Oakland California, and the 18-year-old has a biting curveball, an above average change up and a solid fastball. His stuff has explosiveness, and he has a knack for the strike zone. He is expected to develop the tools to propel him into a mid-rotation spot. He won’t be anywhere near ready to come up to the big show, but his potential has me excited to see what he can do when he puts it all together.

ROUND 3, Pick 46 -- CF Jose Tartabull
Tartabull, at 18, has great outfield range and potential to develop into a leading defender at all three outfield positions. The Cuba native projects to be an above .270 hitter, and is a great runner, using his speed to pick up every extra base he can. He is considered an average center fielder at the moment, but his bat and his hustle should make him a frontrunner for a future audition as an outfielder.

ROUND 4, Pick 64 -- RP Jim Duckworth
Duckworth is all raw potential at the moment, but the 18-year-old from National City, California, projects to have a repertoire that includes a looping curve, a nice sinker and a good changeup. Once developed he should be among the league leaders in strikeouts year in and year out. But sometimes he tries too hard and that can get him in trouble with the longball. He’s a power reliever, and he’s always going to rely on his stuff (which is potentially incredible) to mask his well-bel0w-average control.

ROUND 5, Pick 80 -- 1B Gerald Reimer
Another young guy at age 19, Reimer is fast, has above average strike zone judgment, and has great potential to develop as a defender both at first base and in the outfield. But he’s raw, raw, raw. He’ll have to work hard to translate his untapped potential into reality in order to reach his goal of making the major leagues. His gap power is the thing that really drew my attention ... he might not be too far away from the majors if he can put his nose to the grindstone and really put in the work.

Beyond that level everybody we picked is a total crapshoot, like it is in almost every draft. We’re currently overbudget at this point, so I’m not expecting to make a lot of offseason moves at this point ... it’s going to be a matter of seeing what this team can do when it’s together for a full season of play. I don’t see any need to overreact and make moves for the sake of it.

09-16-2024, 03:37 PM	#61
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	April 16, 1957: It’s opening day, and 17,725 fans came out to see what’s happening at the ballpark. Juan Pizarro pitched against Detroit’s Billy Hoeft, and he’s ready to show he can be much better than last year’s 8-20 record. Danny O’Connell hit a triple in the bottom of the first, coming around to score and give us our first lead of the season with an RBI single by Catfish Metkovich, but Detroit quickly tied it up with an RBI single by Don Blasingame in the top of the second. Pizarro got into the sixth inning, but with two outs and loaded bases, Lee Walls batted in the go-ahead for the Tigers, and Bob Miller came in to relieve him and get the final out. The 18-year-old had ice-water running through his veins, facing those loaded bags and getting Al freakin’ Kaline out on a grounder to first. Bob Lillis came in to pinch hit, getting a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth, but he got greedy and was picked off trying to steal second. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth, Chris Cannizzaro came in to pinch-hit for Gorman and was hit by a pitch to push Paddock into scoring position with two outs. Unfortunately Harry Walker struck out swinging, but Drabowsky came out and got us up to hit again in the bottom of the ninth with their lead still just one run. Our bats just had nothing to give, and we lost this one 2-1. Pizarro started his season out with an 0-1 record and a 3.18 ERA, allowing eight hits with four walks, two strikeouts and two earned runs, and our bullpen was perfect in working to keep us within range of a comeback -- but if this is going to be our normal, our pitchers are going to need to be superhuman this year to make up for an expected lack of run support. Detroit outhit us 11-4, Metkovich batting in a run with a sac-fly and O’Connell scoring with his triple. April 17, 1957: Milt Pappas made his major league debut just a couple weeks before his upcoming 18th birthday, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw, age 23, who went 10-14 last year in his rookie campaign. Detroit took the lead in the top of the second off an RBI single by Irv Noren, but Pappas held his ground, and in the bottom of the sixth he hit a solo homer to tie things up! Andy Pafko added an RBI single, and Walker batted in a run with a single of his own to give us a 3-1 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Pappas got us into the stretch with that lead still safe, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, giving up an RBI single to Lee Walls, cutting our lead in half. Moe Drabowsky came out with one out and a man on second, getting two quick strikeouts to end the inning, and Joe DeMaestri batted in a run with a single to get the lead back to two. Drabowsky stayed out and shut them down in the top of the ninth, and we won the game 4-2 to split the short series! Milt Pappas got his career started on the right track, pitching seven innings with six hits, three strikeouts and a single earned run to start out 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA. After Gorman’s one out, Drabowsky came out to get the last five, striking out four batters without a baserunner ... he now has 2.2 innings under his belt without a run scoring. We outhit Detroit 10-8, led by Metkovich (two hits and a run) and DeMaestri (two hits and an RBI). Tomorrow we head to Chicago for the first of three against the White Sox, with an off day Friday to break up the weekend series. We’ll then play two games in Detroit before returning to Kansas City for 14 home games in a row. April 18, 1957: Today for our first of three games against the White Sox, Don “The Sphinx” Mossi got to start -- last year he went 6-5 in Cleveland and 9-7 here in Kansas City, finishing with a 15-12 record and 3.23 ERA overall, and the former Cy Young winner is the veteran leader of this young rotation. He pitched against Dick Donovan, who went 10-11 last year for Chicago and finished one out shy of 200 innings pitched. Andy Pafko got us an early lead in the top of the first with a sac-fly to center, but it was the top of the fifth when we really let fly ... Metkovich batted in a run with a single, aided by an E8 error, O’Connell hit an RBI single to add on, and then Del Crandall hit an RBI single that scored two more to give us a 5-0 lead! Mossi held on to complete the shutout from there, barely letting anything out of the infield, as we won 5-0! He allowed just six hits in the complete game, striking out three and walking nobody, while we picked up 11 hits ourselves ... Crandall led the way with two hits and two RBIs, while Metkovich added two hits, two runs and an RBI. April 20, 1957: The day off gave our guys a chance to get out and enjoy the city of Chicago, and we came out this afternoon ready to show the Sox that yesterday was no fluke. Carl Erskine came out as our starter -- he was 5-5 last year with three saves and a 3.44 ERA through 149 innings, and wants to show that the 16 starts he made last year were no fluke; he’d like to have a year like in ’54 in Brooklyn, when he pitched 260 innings and started 37 games. Today he faced Bob Rush, the White Sox veteran who went 14-7 last year with a 2.98 ERA through 202.1 innings. And ol’ Oisk was on point early, though they picked up a run in the bottom of the third off an RBI single by Luis Aparicio, Jim Rivera scoring off an earlier walk. He’s been here long enough to be used to not having run support, so Erskine settled into the duel and just did his job. He got us through eight innings just trailing by the one run, but our lack of offense completely screwed him, and we lost 1-0. Erskine only had five hits and two walks in the complete game, striking out a pair and allowing just the one earned run, giving him an 0-1 record and a 1.12 ERA in his first start. We outhit them 7-5 in the game but couldn’t string enough together for a rally, though Metkovich sure tried -- he had three hits in his four at-bats, and has hit .438 so far in the leadoff spot this year. I’d like to say we could hit the trade market and find a bat or two to bolster this lineup, but at this point we’re the chum in the water for bigger teams who, if they would offer up a useful bat, would want us to trade our best youth, and that’s not going to happen. We’re going to have to gel as a team as-is, and hope that we keep developing throughout the season. April 21, 1957: Larry Jansen got his first start of the year against Chicago’s Billy Pierce this afternoon at Comiskey Park. Pierce was on fire last year, finishing 20-11 with a 2.46 ERA, his best ever, with 193 K’s in 282 innings, finishing second in the Cy Young voting behind Vinegar Bend Mizell. Jansen, meanwhile, went 5-10 with a 4.63 ERA and, at nearly 37 years old, is looking to prove he still has the goods to be a major league starter. Pafko hit another first inning sac-fly to put us up 1-0, again batting in Metkovich from third ... and Jansen looked quite good early on, pitching around a lead-off double by Larry Doby to get us out of the second inning unscathed. He loaded the bases in the bottom of the third but stranded them all, and this one turned into a real duel ... but with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, George Kell hit an RBI triple that tied it all up at one run each, though Jansen stranded him there as we went into the top of the seventh. With two outs and Jim Rivera on third in the bottom of the seventh, Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch, getting Nellie Fox to ground out to first harmlessly and keeping the score knotted up. Del Crandall batted in Metkovich to score the go-ahead in the top of the eighth with an RBI single, Drabowsky held it in the bottom of the eighth, and with no insurance runs forthcoming he stayed out in the ninth, shutting them down mercilessly as we won 2-1! Jansen did a great job, lasting 6.2 innings with five hits, four walks, four strikeouts and one earned run ... cut those walks down a bit and he could have gone the distance. But Drabowsky picked up the mantle, lasting the final 2.1 innings with a hit and a strikeout through 31 pitches, earning the win. We outhit Chicago 8-6, led by Pafko with two hits and an RBI and Crandall with a hit and an RBI. Two more road games upcoming against Detroit (2-3) and then we get to go back to Kansas City and really heat things up in front of our hometown faithful fans! April 22, 1957: Juan Pizarro (0-1, 3.18 ERA, 5.2 IP, 2 K’s, 2.12 WHIP) pitched his second start of the year, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw (0-1, 2.25 ERA, 8.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.38 WHIP). He struck out two in the bottom of the first, already on firmer footing than in his debut, but he threw a lot of pitches in the first four innings to keep them scoreless, and without our bats waking up he looked unlikely to get through a fifth. Andy Pafko bought him some time with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, driving in O’Connell for the go-ahead run, and he got three quick outs in the bottom of the inning to get us quickly back up to bat. DeMaestri hit a one-out double in the top of the sixth, but we couldn’t get him anywhere to add on. Pizarro stayed out for the bottom of the inning and that may have been a mistake ... he gave up two quick hits, and we had to bring Tom Gorman out to protect the lead. Luckily he got Lee Walls to hit into a double play, sending Al Kaline over to third, and Irv Noren popped straight up to Gorman for the third out, stranding Kaline there ... three pitches, three outs. Beautiful! Bob Miller came out with Harvey Kuenn on first, two outs in the bottom of the eighth, and Irv Noren popped out to center to bring us up still leading by a run in the top of the ninth. Don Bessent came out in the bottom of the inning to close things out, but with two outs he let Don Blasingame hit a two-run walkoff homer to steal this one 2-1. That’s goddamned brutal. Pizarro had a solid start, five innings with three hits, four walks and five strikeouts, but his walks remain too high, it’s going to keep him from being able to consistently control how a close game plays out. His ERA is at 1.69, but with eight walks against seven strikeouts, he’s going to remain a question-mark, but at age 20 that’s going to be a thing. Gorman picked up a 2.2 inning hold, allowing three hits and a strikeout, and Miller got the out we needed him to get ... but perhaps he deserved a shot at the save as well. Bessent had a hit, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs ... and a lot of bad luck. We picked up seven hits in the game to match them, led by Pafko with two hits and an RBI. April 23, 1957: Milt Pappas (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 0.86 WHIP) pitched against Jim Bunning (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 K’s, 0.44 WHIP), the owner of a three-hit shutout against Cleveland in his season debut. But we blew him up early, Thomas Paddock hitting a two-run single in the top of the first, giving Pappas a good position to start from. DeMaestri helped add on in the top of the third when he reached first on an E3 dropped throw by their shorstop, Daryl Spencer scoring to put us up 3-0. But Pappas hit a rough patch starting the bottom of the fourth ... two singles and a walk loaded the bases, no outs, and a run scored off a wild pitch. With bullpen arms warming, Irv Noren hit a single that drove in another pair, and just like that we were knotted up 3-3. What a waste! Pappas got out of the inning without giving up a lead to the Tigers, but that was as “blown” as an opportunity can get. Pappas was only at 66 pitches, so we kept him out there for the fifth inning, and it did not go well. Harvey Kuenn hit a two-run line-drive single and put Detroit up 5-3 as we came up to hit in the top of the sixth. Sam Jones came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and he got us through the eighth, with our guys trailing by two heading into the top of the ninth. Bunning shut us down quickly and we lost 5-3. Pappas fell to 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA, allowing six hits, walking three and giving them five earned runs, all of them in the fourth and fifth. He threw 91 pitches and struck out a pair, but hopefully he’ll learn some things from how he handled the high leverage situations. Sam Jones walked five in his three innings of work, but only allowed one hit and his stuff was on point in his bullpen debut. We outhit the Tigers 9-7 and still lost, which is not excuseable with our offensive disadvantages. We can’t afford to cough up leads on the road. Daryl Spencer had three hits and a pair of runs, while Paddock had a hit and two RBIs. We’ll take a 3-4 record into our upcoming home stretch, which will feature two against Cleveland (3-3), three against Chicago (3-3), two each against Boston (2-4) and New York (5-1), three against Washington (5-3) and two against Baltimore (2-6), which will get us through May 8th. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

09-16-2024, 07:22 PM	#62
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	April 24, 1957: Don Mossi (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 3 K’s, 0.67 WHIP) took on Cleveland’s Johnny Sain ... hey, that guy sounds familiar! They picked him up on a minor league contract on April 2 and he’s making his debut. This was a duel early, but we broke through against Sain in the bottom of the third, Pafko hitting a two-run homer out of right to give us the lead. But Cleveland got a run back in the top of the fourth off a flyball double by Al Rosen, and George Crowe hit an RBI double that drove in Roger Maris and Al Rosen to shoot them into the lead. They added on in the top of the fifth, bases loaded, with a sac-fly by Rosen, but Mossi got us through. Pafko hit an RBI double to cut into their lead in the bottom of the inning, and with two outs and Les Moss at first in the top of the sixth we brought in Bob Miller who immediately let Al Smith hit an RBI triple ... Jesus! Drabowsky came out in the top of the eighth still trailing by two runs, and he kept the game from getting any worse. But we’re not a team that can blow big leads and expect to pick up late-innings runs. We went down quietly with three quick outs in the bottom of the inning to lose this one 5-3. Mossi took the loss, falling to 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA, allowing just five hits with three walks, three strikeouts and five runs (three earned), but Sain was in control as well, allowing five hits, three walks, three strikeouts and three runs (all earned). They just have the best young bats, and they made the most of their baserunners -- Pafko hit twice for three RBIs to lead ours, giving him a .367 average and seven RBIs. April 25, 1957: Carl Erskine (0-1, 1.12 ERA, 8.0 IP, 2 K’s, 0.75 WHIP) pitched against Early Wynn (1-0, 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 6 K’s, 1.62 WHIP). The first three innings were a merciless duel between the two, but we broke it open with a killer bottom-of-the-fourth, Crandall hitting a two-run homer and DeMaestri batting in two more with a flyball double to put us up 4-0. But could we hold it? Erskine gave up a lead-off homer to Dale Long to start the fifth, and with two outs he let Bobby Avila hit a two-run blast out of left, and this one was starting look like our usual ... Erskine got out of it with a strikeout by Roger Maris, but we’d turned a four one lead into a one run lead in the blink of an eye. Bobby Miller came out with one out and men on first and second in the top of the sixth, getting out of it on a double play to keep the lead, and in the bottom of the inning we added on with a solo homer by Thomas Paddock to extend our lead to two runs, his first four-bagger of the season! Walt Bond added on with a single that, thanks to an E8 error at third base allowed DeMaestri to score from first base, and we went into the top of the seventh leading 6-3. Miller got three quick outs in the seventh, giving him five outs off 11 pitches, and he got two more outs in the eighth, Tom Gorman coming out to pitch with two outs and men on the corners. Stan Lopata hit into a fielder’s choice, keeping our lead intact, and Gorman stayed out to pitch in the top of the ninth, pitching around a precarious pair of baserunners to get us the 6-3 victory. Carl Erskine got the win, improving to 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA thanks to 5.1 innings with six hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. Our 18-year-old third round pick, Bobby Miller, came out for 2.1 innings and a hold, allowing a pair of hits and a strikeout off 24 pitches, and Gorman picked up a save with four outs, allowing just one hit and one walk. Cleveland outhit us 9-8, but today our offense was potent ... DeMaestri hit twice with a run and two batted in, and Paddock hit twice (including his homer) for two runs and an RBI. In other news, we had an opportunity to pick up an incredible player off waivers, but needed to make cash room for his contract. So we made a deal with the Washington Senators, sending them Walt Craddock and Martin Rosell, in exchange for 26-year-old starting pitcher Dean Stone with 40 percent of his contract being retained by the Senators. *That increases our cash reserves to just shy of $37,000, a move that allowed us to claim veteran outfielder Chuck Diering from the Milwaukee Braves and still afford his $30,000 contract.* Diering is exactly what we’ve been looking for ... a player who can hit consistently for contact, with fluid swing mechanics and an uncanny ability to avoid striking out. He’s also one of the best defenders in the league at every outfield position, with a cannon for an arm and above average baserunning skills to boot. He wasn’t getting any playing time on Milwaukee’s stacked team, and once he clears waivers in three days, he’s ours. That leaves us needing to make some roster moves in the interim. We need a backup middle-infielder, so we’re calling up William Cottrell, last year’s 21st round pick, to have a few days at the MLB level in case of an urgent need. The 20-year-old will be avalable to cover second or third in a pinch, and is excited to get the opportunity -- he’s hitting .271 so far this year at AAA with a double, a triple and seven runs batted in. Stone, meanwhile, who we basically acquired as a move to free up cash, needs to go to AAA but will first have to clear waivers as he’s out of minor league options. We’ll know in three days if he gets claimed or if he’s moving into the minors. April 26, 1957: The White Sox are in town for the first of three weekend games, and right now they have a half game lead on us at 4-4 and in fourth place (we’re 4-5 and in sixth place). Larry Jansen (0-0, 1.35 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) got the start for us tonight, facing Billy Pierce (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) who has pitched two complete games this year, giving up just 13 hits and three earned runs. Nellie Fox hit a solo homer in the top of the third to give the Sox a lead, and our bats stayed silent but Jansen kept us in the game from there, getting us into the seventh inning stretch still trailing just by one run. Joe DeMaestri got them with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, tying this game up, and Juan Pizarro got himself a pinch-hit two-run homer to add on, giving us a two run lead! Moe Drabowsky came out to protect it in the top of the eighth, and Don Bessent came out in the ninth to finish them off, getting three quick outs as we held on to win 3-1! Jansen took the win, improving to 1-0 with a 1.32 ERA, allowing five hits, two walks and an earned run while striking out five through seven innings. Drabowsky picked up a hold with a one walk, one strikeout inning, and Bessent earned a save, improving his ERA to 10.80 thanks to three pop-outs without a baserunner. We outhit Chicago in the duel 6-5, led by DeMaestri who had two hits, a walk and a run. April 27, 1957: Juan Pizarro (0-1, 1.69 ERA, 10.2 IP, 7 K’s, 1.78 WHIP) started our second game in the series, facing Jack Harshman (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 6 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Nellie Fox got injured on the second play of the game with a bruised thigh on a slide into second that took him out of the game. But it didn’t matter ... our bats remained cold, our defense was piss-poor (two errors in the first three innings) and Chicago took the lead in the top of the third with a one-out RBI double by Luis Aparicio. But Daryl Spencer hit a single up the gap that loaded the bases for us with one out in the bottom of the inning, and we tied it up off a wild pitch, and DeMaestri dropped a single into left field that drove in two more, taking second as the trailing runner. A passed ball allowed him to take third, and Walt Bond singled him home, and Pizarro hit a two-run slam out of left to make it 6-1 A’s and driving Harshman out of the game. Tom Gorman came out with men on the corners and two outs in the top of the eighth, and with the bases loaded he gave up a two-run single to Rich Boyd but got us out of the inning without any further damage. Don Bessent came out to close things out, but he faced three batters and gave up two singles against a strikeout, and we brought out Drabowsky with one out and men on first and second. He got Aparicio to ground into a U5-3 double play, and we won this one 6-3! Juan Pizarro had a really good game once we gave him a six-run confidence booster in the bottom of the third; he finished with 7.2 innings and just five hits, three walks and three runs (two earned) against him, striking out a pair as he improved to 1-1 with a 1.96 ERA. Our bullpen then went 2.1 innings with three hits, a walk and a strikeout, with Drabowsky earning his second save. Through six appearances and 8.2 innings, the 21-year-old has a 0.00 ERA, eight strikeouts against three walks and an 0.58 WHIP, all significant improvements on his rookie campaign. We outhit the White Sox 12-8, led by DeMaestri with two hits, a run and two RBIs, while Spencer added two hits and a run. The win moves us up to third place, half a game behind Cleveland and three back in the way-too-early pennant race against the 8-1 Yankees. April 28, 1957: Our waiver claim on Diering is now complete, and he is joining our roster effective immediately -- he’ll step into our lineup in the seven spot as our left fielder and as center fielder whenever Metkovich is tired. Andy Pafko is going to move over into right field, with Paddock and Walt Bond as our backups there. With one roster addition our outfield situation is now dramatically improved defensively! Attendance so far has improved dramatically as fans are starting to figure out how our young, scrappy team is going to look this season. More than 11,300 fans came out today to watch us go for the sweep against the White Sox, with Milt Pappas (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) pitching against Dick Donovan (0-2, 6.00 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). But Chicago struck first and struck hard ... George Kell hit an RBI double that drove in two in the top of the first, digging us a nice hole for Pappas to pitch his way out of. Pappas reached on an error with two outs in the bottom of the third, getting over to third thanks to a single by Metkovich, but Bob Lillis couldn’t get him home. But Chuck Diering batted in a run in the bottom of the fourth, bringing Pafko in to score and cutting their lead in half. Pappas stayed out through the seventh inning, and with Diering on second and two outs in the bottom of the inning, we brought out Juan Pizarro to pinch hit, but this time he struck out swinging. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, getting three quick outs and bringing us back up at the top of our lineup. With two outs against us, Pafko hit a single into right, and then Del Crandall hit a two-run bomb out of left field to shoot us into the lead! Drabowsky stayed out and closed it out himself and we won 3-2, stealing a series sweep from the White Sox! Milt Pappas did well, pitching seven innings but walked too many guys -- he had five hits, five walks and six strikeouts to go with his two earned runs. But Drabowsky is looking like a real stud in the bullpen, a walk and a strikeout all he had in two innings as he improved to 2-0 with a still-perfect 0.00 ERA through 10.2 innings. We outhit the White Sox 7-5, led by Pafko with two hits and a run and by newcomer Chuck Diering with two hits and an RBI. We’re now 7-5 and tied for second place in the American League, just three games back of the 9-1 Yankees. After a day off tomorrow, we have two games up next against the last place Red Sox (3-8) and then we’ll get our shot against the Bronx Bombers here in KC. April 30, 1957: Don Mossi (1-1, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 6 K’s, 0.95 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (1-0, 1.80 ERA, 15.0 IP, 12 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) in our first game of the year against Boston, but it was cold for the 8:05 p.m. first pitch, barely in the 40s, with intense 17 mile per hour winds blowing out to left, conditions which kept our attendance at just over 9,000. Mossi’s used to this kind of weather, having started his career in Cleveland, and he kept us in a good position through the early innings though neither team’s batters were finding much to go after. But Joe DeMaestri got a good handle on a fastball in the bottom of the fifth and was able to bat in a run, and Catfish Metkovich hit a line drive into left that drove in another with a single! Danny O’Connell singled in a third, and we went into the top of the sixth leading 3-0! Del Crandall batted in another run with a flyball triple in the bottom of the seventh, and Mossi got through the eighth stranding a runner on third with nobody scoring. Mossi only had two hits heading into the top of the ninth, so he wanted to stay out and protect his own shutout, but with Ted Williams on second and Willie Jones on first with just one out, we brought Bessent out to close. With the bases loaded, he got two high leverage outs in the infield and we won this one 4-0! Mossi was on fire tonight, throwing 114 pitches through 8.1 innings with just three hits, walking six and striking out four, improving to 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA through three starts. Bessent then walked one but got the two outs we needed, saving his second game and bringing his ERA down to 6.75 through 2.2 innings. We outhit the Red Sox 11-3, led by Metkovich (two hits, a run and an RBI) and Crandall (two hits and an RBI) as we improved to 8-5, the best start since the team came to Kansas City! May 1, 1957: We start the month of May alone in second place, winners of four games in a row, and knowing that Vinegar Bend Mizell’s pitching for the Yanks this afternoon, we know we’ll get to avoid the Cy Young-winning juggernaut in our upcoming pair of games. So Carl Erskine (1-1, 2.70 ERA, 13.1 IP, 5 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) started as scheduled today against Boston’s Frank Baumann (1-2, 4.76 ERA, 17.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.53 WHIP), leaving our biggest guns to face the Yankees. Nearly 11,000 fans came out on a cloudy afternoon, and Erskine gave us the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single into right! In the bottom of the third Daryl Spencer hit into a fielder’s choice, and Walker, trying to slide into second, wrenched his back and had to be pulled from the game -- with him batting cleanup, we decided to bring Pizarro in to play first base and replace him as a power hitter. Chuck Diering drove in a run with a sac-fly to center, and we went into the top of the fourth leading 2-0. Boston got a run back in the top of the seventh off an RBI single by Billy Goodman, and we brought Drabowsky out with Goodman on second, two outs, Dick Gernert popping harmlessly out to left to end the inning. O’Connell got us an insurance run with a solo homer on one out in the bottom of the seventh, Pafko hit a single through the gap, and they hit Daryl Spencer with a pitch to put a runner in scoring position with two outs, but we had to settle for taking a 3-1 lead into the eighth inning when Diering popped out harmlessly in the infield. Drabowsky got two quick outs in the eighth, but Ted Williams jacked one out of the park in left field to get them back within a run. But he got out of a bases loaded jam and got the final out, and in the bottom of the ninth Don Bessent came out to close with a one-run lead. Milt Bolling led off with a single, but Gene Stephens popped out to center, Jim Piersall popped out to right, and with Jackie Jensen at the plate, the count 1-1, Bessent picked off Bolling trying to steal second and we won this one 3-2! Erskine lasted 6.2 innings with four hits, a walk, two strikeouts and an earned run, improving his record to 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA. Drabowsky picked up his second hold, but he gave up his first run of the year ... he allowed three hits, two walks and the earned run with a strikeout, his ERA now settled at 0.75. Bessent, meanwhile, got his third save, and his ERA has improved to 4.91, pitching in four consecutive appearances without an earned run, that opening game against Detroit looking more and more like an aberration. We outhit Boston 11-8 today, led by Andy Pafko with two hits and a run scored. Walker will be day to day for at least a week, but we can keep him in the lineup for now. In big news, the Yankees lost their game this afternoon, as Mizell got shelled in the eighth inning ... Detroit scored 11 RUNS on them that inning, as the Tigers came from behind 7-0 to win 11-7 ... that’s wild! Seven of those runs were earned by Mizell, off 11 hits with four walks. What it means for us is we get to catch the Yanks coming into town after a tough road loss, and we hold a six-game winning streak and a chance to really get into this race -- at 9-5 we now just trail the 10-2 Yankees by a pair. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

09-16-2024, 10:58 PM	#63
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	May 2, 1957: We’ve decided to bench Harry Walker for a few days to see if his back problems abate; Walt Bond will start, with Cannizzaro as his backup. Tonight we lured nearly 12,500 fans out to see us take the Yanks on, with Juan Pizarro (1-1, 1.96 ERA, 18.1 IP, 9 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) pitching against 40-year-old Sal Maglie (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 15.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) in a battle of old guard versus vanguard. The wind was clearly going to be an issue early, though, as Gil McDougald hit a leadoff double and then a triple by Mantle pushed the Yankees into the lead just a few minutes in. Pizarro got the outs to strand him there, however, and we were ready for a fight. But that stiff wind out to left was trouble for Pizarro as the game went on ... Yogi Berra hit a double in the top of the second and Tony Klubek batted him home with one of his own as they extended their lead. Andy Carey added a solo homer out of right in the fourth inning and we went into the top of the fifth trailing 3-0. Bob Miller came out to pitch with one out and men on first and second in the top of the sixth, pulling off a 1-4-3 double play to get safely out of the inning. But the Yankees added on in the top of the seventh, five runs scoring as Miller was incapable of getting a third out. Sam Jones had to come in with a runner on third to get it, stranding a pair as we went into the stretch losing 8-0. Jones handled his mop-up duty just fine, giving up just one run in the top of the ninth, but our offense let everybody down, losing 9-0 and showing just how far we need to come to be able to legitimately contend with New York. Pizarro took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA, allowing eight hits, two walks and three earned runs while striking out seven. But we were outhit 15-2 and only had two baserunners the entire game, so there was no way he or any of our pitchers were going to overcome that. Miller had a bad night with five hits, a walk, a strikeout and five earned runs, but it was a thankless job we put him in. What a bummer of a way to snap our winning streak. May 3, 1957: Milt Pappas (1-1, 3.79 ERA, 19.0 IP, 11 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) pitched against Mike McCormick (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 23.1 IP, 17 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) in front of another large group of Kansas City fans, and they were rewarded when, in the bottom of the third with two outs, Del Crandall hit an RBI single that drove Pappas in from third! But Mantle tied it up off a single by Hank Bauer, scoring from second in the top of the fourth. Yogi Berra hit a solo homer in the top of the sixth to put them up a run, but Chuck Diering hit an RBI double to tie it back up, and Thomas Paddock hit an RBI single to push us back into the lead in the bottom of the inning! Tom Gorman came out with two outs in the top of the seventh, nobody on, getting us into the stretch with the lead still at one run in our favor, and he got us through the eighth as well ... and when we didn’t add any insurance runs, he stayed out and finished the game and held that lead, our A’s managing to hold off the mighty Yankees 3-2! Milt Pappas got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 3.16 ERA thanks to 6.2 innings with five hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two runs (one earned). Gorman then held tough with the 2.1 inning save, allowing just a hit and two strikeouts as he improved his ERA to 1.00 through nine innings and six bullpen appearances. We outhit New York today 7-6, led by Diering’s hit, walk, run and RBI, the win maintaining our position in second place in the AL, still two games back but half a game up on Cleveland (9-6). We have five games left in this homestand -- three against Washington (8-10) and two against Baltimore (5-11) before we hit the road next weekend for four (including a doubleheader) against the Guardians as we start a two-week road trip. May 4, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-0, 1.32 ERA, 13.2 IP, 9 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Washington’s Art Houtteman (1-0, 3.68 ERA, 7.1 IP, 4 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) this evening in front of another robust crowd of around 11,500. Washington took the lead with an RBI double by Eddie Yost in the top of the third, and with an out and men on second and third in the top of the sixth we brought out Bob Miller to try to keep the game in reach. Ed Fitz Gerald batted in a run with a sac-fly, and a groundout to first ended the inning though we were going to need to find a way to hit SOMETHING ... Chuck Diering hit an RBI double in the bottom of the inning to cut their lead in half, and in the bottom of the seventh we found the cracks in their armor, Thomas Paddock hitting an RBI single to tie it up and Walt Bond hitting another to shoot us into the lead in the bottom of the seventh! Moe Drabowsky came out with one out and a man on first in the top of the eighth, getting Ken Aspromonte to hit into a U6-3 double play to preserve the lead. Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning to add on, and Drabowsky shut them down in the ninth as we won 4-2. Jansen did well enough to keep us in the game, allowing four hits, three walks and two earned runs through 5.1 innings with just one strikeout. But it was the rookie Bob Miller who got the win, improving to 1-0 with a 5.87 ERA, with just a hit, a walk and a strikeout through two innings. Drabowsky then came in for the save, his third, getting five outs with two strikeouts as his ERA improved to 0.66 through 13.2 innings. We outhit them 8-5, led by Spencer (two hits and a run) and Paddock (two hits and an RBI). May 5, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.17 ERA, 23.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) pitched against Chuck Stobbs (1-3, 7.46 ERA, 25.1 IP, 18 K’s, 1.82 WHIP) this afternoon, and we took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Joe DeMaestri. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single with no outs in the botom of the fifth, Crandall hit an RBI single to pile on, and Diering wound up scoring on another DeMaestri RBI single to give us a commanding 4-0 lead! But the Senators got two back in the top of the sixth with a two-out RBI double by Elston Howard. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, two outs and men on first and second, and an error at short and an inopportune walk got them another run back with the bases still loaded ... but a pop fly to center ended the inning with us still up 4-3 heading into the stretch. Gorman stayed out and immediately gave up a triple to Howard, and we had to bring out Drabowsky who got him out at home plate on a fielder’s choice that put Russ Snyder on first. With two outs, Snyder on third, Sam Dente struck out swinging ... but Crandall muffed the catch, Snyder scored and Dente wound up on first as this one turned into a tie game ... Crandall deserves the blown save on that one! But Drabowsky struck out Bob Allison to get out of there, and we simply had more work to do. Catfish Metkovich came up big with a sac-fly to deep left that drove in Paddock from third to put us up a run, and Don Bessent came out to close in the ninth, and he pitched around a pair of baserunners to get us the outs we needed to win 5-4. Moe Drabowsky blew the save but got the win, improving to 3-0 with an 0.61 ERA, the run against him unearned. Mossi had set us up nicely with 6.2 innings and just five hits, three runs (one earned) a walk and three strikeouts, and Gorman got his third hold, though it took him two hits and a walk before he got his out. Bessent saved his fourth game, a hit and a walk helping get his ERA down to 3.86. We matched them with nine hits, led by Crandall (three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI) and DeMaestri (two hits, two RBIs). May 6, 1957: Carl Erskine (2-1, 2.25 ERA, 20.0 IP, 7 K’s, 0.95 WHIP) went up against Walt Masterson (1-2, 12.41 ERA, 12.1 IP, 5 K’s, 2.59 WHIP) as we went for, potentially, our full-series sweep of the season. Danny O’Connell batted a run in with a single in the bottom of the third to put us in the lead, and Erskine had a perfect game going until the top of the fourth, when he walked Pete Runnels. They broke up his no-no in the top of the fifth with a hit by Elston Howard, but he got nowhere, and in the bottom of the inning we added on with an RBI single by Chuck Diering to go up 2-0. Crandall batted in a run with a single in the bottom of the seventh, but a groundout by Willie McCovey in the top of the eighth drove in a run for the Senators and spoiled the shutout. Catfish Metkovich hit an RBI double to drive in two more runs for us in the bottom of the eighth, and Chuck Diering helped pile on with an RBI single, sending us into the top of the fifth with a five run lead. Erskine held tough from the mound and we won this one 6-1, behind his three-hit complete game shutout. He improved to 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA, walking two, striking out two and allowing just the one run. We outhit them 15-3, led by Diering who hit four times with two RBIs! He has a .379 average since coming to Kansas City, and is quickly becoming a popular player for autographs after each game. May 7, 1957: Juan Pizarro (1-2, 2.86 ERA, 23.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) pitched today in game one against the Orioles’ Don Johnson (1-1, 4.26 ERA, 12.2 IP, 5 K’s, 1.66 WHIP). Pizarro scored off a groundout by Danny O’Connell in the bottom of the third, giving us a 1-0 lead on the Orioles, but with two outs in the top of the sixth Don Johnson batted in a run with a single, tying it up ... two pitchers each propelling their team’s offense. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, and he got three outs off just four pitches, so he stayed out and did it again in the eighth. Moe Drabowsky came out in the top of the ninth with one out and Carroll Hardy on second, intentionally walking Charlie Maxwell and then getting two quick popouts to keep it tied into the bottom of the inning. Chris Cannizzaro then walked it off with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as we stole this one 2-1! We remain one of only four teams to not have an extra-innings game yet this year, along with Cleveland, Brooklyn and the Chicago Cubs. Drabowsky improved to 4-0 with a 0.59 ERA, walking one batter while getting his two outs. Pizarro lasted six innings with seven hits, four walks, six strikeouts and one earned run, and Miller got seven outs off two hits and 26 pitches, getting his ERA down to 4.50. They outhit us 9-8 and we didn’t blink, our rookie backup catcher Chris Cannizzaro batting in the run to win it, while Paddock hit twice and kept his average at .304 for the year. May 8, 1957: Milt Pappas (2-1, 3.16 ERA, 25.2 IP, 15 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) started against Jim McDonald (1-1, 3.00 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in today’s final home game of our current stretch, with 11,300 fans on hand to watch with us on another five-game winning streak. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single to get us on the board in the bottom of the first, but Pappas was wild in the third and gave up a double to Lenny Green, pushing Washington up by a run. They added an RBI single by Brooks Robinson, and we trailed 3-1 heading into the top of the fourth with Pappas nearing his 70th pitch. They added on with a run scored off a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, and Pappas gave up another via an RBI single by Wes Covington and I had to give him the hook. Sam Jones came in trailing by four with a runner on first and one out, and it started to feel like we were cursed in this one ... by the time he got us the two outs we were in a 7-1 hole and fading fast. Walt Bond hit a sac-fly to get us a run back in the bottom of the fourth, and Bob Miller came out for the top of the fifth, giving us two solid innings before Tom Gorman came out in the seventh to hopefully get us through the remainder. He gave them a run back in the seventh, and an RBI triple in the eighth without an out. We brought out Don Bessent, who did get six clean outs over the final two innings to get us out of there. But the runs weren’t coming our way and we lost badly 9-3. Pappas took the loss and fell to 2-2 with a 4.66 ERA, with six earned runs against him through just 3.1 innings. The bullpen held together alright from there, but we were outhit 15-11 and it felt like much worse. Walt Bond led with two hits and an RBI, and Metkovich and Lillis each hit twice as well. Too bad we’re about to embark on a brutal road stretch, with 13 road games over a two week stretch (including our first two doubleheaders of the season). Our 14-7 record has us in second place in the AL, two games back of the 15-4 Yankees. During this stretch we’ll face Cleveland (12-8, 3.5 GB) for four games, the Yankees and Boston (8-13, 8 GB) for a pair, Baltimore (6-15, 10 GB) for three games in two days, and then Washington (11-13, 6.5 GB) for a pair. We then come home to play three against Detroit (11-12, 6 GB) and then face the White Sox (8-13, 8 GB) for two and Detroit on the road for three in two days. We’ll then return to Kansas City for 16 games at home as we get into June. Attached Images __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

09-23-2024, 04:21 PM	#64
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	May 10, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.21 ERA, 29.2 IP, 13 K’s, 0.98 WHIP) pitched against Early Wynn (2-2, 4.45 ERA, 32.1 IP, 20 K’s, 1.58 WHIP) in our first of four in Cleveland, with Walker and Pafko still day to day and, for now, unavailable. Mossi pitched around runners on second and third to get out of the second inning without a score, and a Paddock RBI single scored Diering to give us a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth. But they tied it up in the bottom of the inning with an RBI triple by Stan Lopata on two outs, though Mossi kept him stranded there to keep it tied. Danny O’Connell hit a solo homer out of right to put us back up 2-1, and with two outs and men on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, Tom Gorman came out to pitch, getting George Strickland to pop out to Crandall and get us safely into the seventh. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh, and despite a botched two-out pick off play, Gorman got us through the bottom of that inning safely as well. Moe Drabowsky came out in the eighth, but after a runner reached first on error, Stan Lopata hit a two run homer to tie the game up. Moe got us out of the inning without letting them take the lead, and still tied in the bottom of the ninth, we brought Bob Miller out, and he was looking good, but with two outs Dale Long hit a two-run walk-off homer as Cleveland came from behind to win this one 5-3. Mossi had a decent start, with five hits, three walks, two strikeouts and one earned run in 5.2 innings. But Drabowsky blew the save and Miller took the loss, dropping to 1-1 with a 4.97 ERA ... bad luck with the long ball, which has been a problem for us in the past, particularly in this ballpark. We outhit the Guardians 11-9, led by Diering who hit three times with a run and an RBI. He’s hitting .400 so far this year in 40 at-bats, with three doubles and nine RBIs. May 11, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-1, 1.86 ERA, 29.0 IP, 9 K’s, 0.83 WHIP) started today against Herb Score (0-2, 4.34 ERA, 18.2 IP, 9 K’s, 1.71 WHIP). Cleveland took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI double by Bobby Avila, and Al Rosen added on with an RBI single, and George Crowe belted a two run homer out of right ... which Stan Lopata followed with a solo blast to put the Guardians up 5-0. Erskine came into the inning with a no hitter going, and four hits later we’re drowning. He got us out of the inning but was definitely shaken. We got a pair of runs back in the top of the fifth thanks to an RBI single by Metkovich that scored Bond and Erskine, and Thomas Paddock hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to drive home Crandall and cut their lead to two. But Erskine gave up a leadoff homer to Crowe in the bottom of the sixth, his second of the game, and Bobby Miller came out to take over. Lopata immediately hit him with a solo homer, HIS second of the game, and Norm Cash made it homer-homer-homer with a solo to make it a five run lead ... what more can you do? Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the seventh trailing by five, staying out to the end as we would go on to lose this one 9-3. We get a doubleheader against them tomorrow, and if we get bombed like this, I’m not sure we have an answer. Should be interesting at least ... May 12, 1957: Time for our first doubleheader of the season! Larry Jansen (1-0, 1.89 ERA, 19.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) got the start in game one against Cleveland’s Tom Cheney (3-1, 1.31 ERA, 34.1 IP, 24 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). And he had a great start, but our bats weren’t giving him anything in support. Cleveland broke it open in the bottom of the sixth with a leadoff solo homer by Al Smith to put them up 1-0, but he got through the inning leaving two more runners stranded on base. They added a run in the bottom of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Cheney, and another with an RBI single by Smith, giving the home team a commanding lead considering our inexcusable complete lack of offense. Sam Jones came out in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases but getting us into the top of the ninth with a strikeout and no runs added on. We’d lose this one 3-0 while being outhit 8-4. Cleveland has outplayed us through these three games completely, outscoring us 17-6, and we get the fun of playing a second game against them today. Jansen did what he could, lasting seven innings with eight hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs, and O’Connell (a hit and a walk) and Diering (two walks) did what they could but nobody was able to string hits together. Juan Pizarro (1-2, 2.43 ERA, 29.2 IP, 22 K’s, 1.62 WHIP) is up for game two, facing Johnny Sain (3-0, 3.38 ERA, 24.0 IP, 8 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). We got going in the first inning, as Harry Walker hit a two-run homer to bat him and Andy Pafko around. But Pizarro had a really, really bad bottom-of-the-first, digging himself a hole with three hits in a row, including an RBI single by Rocky Colavito to put the Guardians on the board, no outs. His fourth hit then tied it up with an RBI single by Roger Maris, and with one out and runners on the corners, Jim Finigan hit an RBI double that scored a third. It was nice having a lead for twenty minutes ... a no-throw by O’Connell let a fourth run score without even trying for an easy out at first, and by the time we got out of the inning we were in a 4-2 hole with Pizarro at 31 pitches and looking completely shook. George Crowe hit a solo homer in the third to make it a three-run lead for Cleveland, and though Pizarro did his best to stay calm, the team as a whole did ourselves in with generally poor, uninspired play. We got a run back in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by O’Connell paired with an E8 throwing error, and Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch following the seventh inning stretch, trailing by two runs. He pitched well for the remainder of the game, but Cleveland stifled us and we lost 5-3, our fifth loss in a row. Pizarro took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 3.03 ERA ... he finished six innings with eight hits, a walk, six strikeouts and five runs (four earned), a winning performance marred by an absolutely ridiculous start. We matched them with nine hits, led by Walker with a hit and two RBIs, whle Pafko and Pizarro each hit once for a run scored. The poor showing in Cleveland has turned a 14-6 start into a 14-10 record heading into a pair of games at Yankee Stadium ... we’re in third place still, half a game up on Detroit, but the Yankees (15-7) are tied with the Guardians (16-8), still 2.5 games up on us. So we could really use a strong pair of games in the house that Ruth built to re-seed our confidence. May 14, 1957: Milt Pappas (2-2, 4.66 ERA, 29.0 IP, 19 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) started tonight’s game against Mike McCormick (1-2, 3.76 ERA, 36.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a solo homer in the top of the first to get us on the board, but we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Mantle. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, one out, man on first, still tied at 1-1, getting Gil McDougald to ground into a double play to keep it that way. But Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer out of left to put them up 2-1 in the bottom of the eighth, and with two outs Yogi Berra hit one out of center to pile on. We lost in the end 3-1, unable to score after the one homer in the first inning. Drabowsky took the loss, falling to 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA, allowing two hits and two earned runs in his 1.2 innings of work, while Pappas had lasted 6.1 innings with seven hits, two walks, two strikeouts and a single earned run. New York outhit us 9-3, however, our offense remaining inconsistently streaky. Only Pafko’s homer kept us from being completely embarrassed. May 15, 1957: Don Mossi (2-1, 1.27 ERA, 35.1 IP, 15 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) started game two, going up against Vinegar Bend Mizell (4-1, 2.79 ERA, 48.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.10 WHIP). Del Crandall batted in a run with a single in the top of the first, and like clockwork we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning, Mantle again batting one in with a groundball single. Woodie Held then hit an RBI triple to get them the lead, and we trailed by a pair heading into the second. Gorman came out to pitch in the seventh inning, and again we couldn’t muster any fight after getting, and then losing, a first inning lead -- New York cruised to an easy 3-1 win as this team already looks like it’s falling apart. Mossi fell to 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA, allowing five hits and three earned runs with three strikeouts in his six innings. We had seven hits, same as the Yankees, but only Crandall (two hits, one RBI) managed to do anything with his. Next up: a pair in Boston at Fenway, our 14-12 A’s taking on the 13-14 Red Sox, who have won six of their last seven. May 17, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-2, 3.18 ERA, 34.0 IP, 11 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) started against Boston’s Frank Sullivan (1-3, 6.96 ERA, 32.1 IP, 18 K’s, 2.07 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a two-run homer in the top of the first, his third homer of the season, and with one out in the bottom of the inning Frank Malzone hit a double that drove in two to tie it up. Jesus! They took the lead moments later on a triple by Billy Klaus, and we were in a 4-2 hole by the end of the inning. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the sixth trailing 6-2, and Sam Jones came out in the eighth and gave them two more runs just for fun as we lost this one 8-2. Erskine fell to 3-3 with a 4.15 ERA, allowing six earned runs off eight hits with two strikeouts in his five innings, while we got ourselves outhit 10-3. That’s eight losses in a row, and just like that we’re back to .500 and fading fast, six games remaining in this road trip from Hell. Pafko had a hit, a run and two RBIs thanks to his homer and is hitting .278, one of our few bright spots offensively ... but even he can’t seem to find ways to spark rallies late. We can’t just score a run or two in the first and then expect to coast the rest of the damned game. May 18, 1957: We’ve called Art Ditmar up from AAA to serve as an extra long-reliever / spot starter option with the Baltimore doubleheader coming up on Sunday, sending Russ Sullivan back down to the minors in the process. Larry Jansen (1-1, 2.42 ERA, 26.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) pitched today against Mike Fornieles (1-3, 6.52 ERA, 29.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) in our second game in Boston, and in the top of the second Joe DeMaestri hit an RBI single to give us a 1-0 lead. They waited until the bottom of the fourth to steal the lead back, this time off a two-run homer over the monster by Johnny Blanchard, and Jackie Jensen hit a two-run blast out of right moments later to blow this one open. We went into the top of the fifth trailing 4-1, getting a run back off the bat of Metkovich, who pulled off a double to cut their lead to two. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, still trailing by a pair, and the game fell apart from there ... he gave up an RBI single to Piersall without an out, loaded the bases, and another run scored off a sac-fly to center. Ditmar came out of the pen with two outs, men on the corners, and got us out of the inning trailing by four and long out of the game. He stayed out the remainder of the afternoon as we lost this one 7-4. Jansen fell to 1-2 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing four earned runs off seven hits and three walks, striking out a pair while we were outhit 13-8. Crandall hit twice with a run and two batted in to lead the offense. May 19, 1957: We head to Baltimore (11-18) today for a doubleheader to open a three-game series, our team looking down the barrel of a potential double-digit losing streak if we can’t get a win in the first game. Juan Pizarro (1-3, 3.03 ERA, 35.2 IP, 28 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) got the start in game one against Jim McDonald (2-1, 2.79 ERA, 38.2 IP, 10 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Del Crandall got us the lead in the top of the first with an RBI triple, and in the top of the fourth Chuck Diering got a double, batting in Harry Walker to give us a 2-0 lead! Baltimore got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Pizarro got into some trouble, a groundout by Wayne Causey batting in a run. Brooks Robinson reached on an E6 error, giving them runners on the corners, one out, and they tied it up when Jerry Kindall hit into a fielder’s choice, giving us the out at second. They got the lead back off a triple by Lenny Greene, and Pizarro’s night was over after five innings. Our bats gave him a gift though in the top of the sixth inning, Chuck Diering driving in a run with a walk to tie it up and Joe DeMaestri hitting an RBI single to push us into the lead 4-3 as Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the frame. Crandall hit an RBI double to score in the top of the seventh, and a Chuck Diering single made it a 6-3 lead for us heading into the stretch. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, still leading by three runs, and Don Bessent came out to close in the bottom of the ninth, shutting them down nicely as we snapped the streak and beat Baltimore 6-3. Pizarro had a really good night, giving us five innings with four hits, two walks, three strikeouts and two earned runs. We need to build his confidence up, so we avoided pushing him out there for the sixth inning just because he’d have a lead, trusting the bullpen -- Gorman, Drabowsky and Bessent combined for four innings with four hits, one walk and two strikeouts, with Bessent picking up his fifth save and improving his ERA to 2.35. We outhit the Orioles 11-8, led by Crandall who had three hits, two runs and two RBIs, improving his average to .261. Milt Pappas (2-2, 4.08 ERA, 35.1 IP, 21 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) pitched in our second game of the afternoon, facing Ruben Gomez (1-4, 2.25 ERA, 44.0 IP, 16 K’s, 1.52 WHIP). Harry Walker hit an RBI single in the top of the first to give us a lead, and though Pappas got into a dangerous bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the second with two outs, he got through it with a pop-fly to left and we kept our lead. Danny O’Connell hit an RBI single to score Metkovich in the top of the third inning after four foul balls in a row, and we added on in the top of the fourth when Catfish Metkovich hit an RBI double that scored two more, though he wrenched his back sliding into second and had to be pulled from the game (Walt Bond came in at left field, replacing him as a pinch runner, and Chuck Diering moved over to center). Danny O’Connell hit an RBI double to bring Bond home, and we went into the bottom of the inning leading 5-0. Baltimore got on the board in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Willie Miranda on two outs, but but Ruben Gomez grounded into a fielder’s choice, with DeMaestri making an unassisted out at seocnd base. Diering hit an RBI single and DeMaestri grounded into a run-scoring double play as we added on in the top of the fifth, and in the bottom of the sixth Pappas got three quick outs around a triple by Brooks Robinson to keep our lead, 7-1. Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the seventh, and with two outs and the bases loaded, Sam Jones came out to pitch, getting a pop-out to end the inning without further damage. We added on three runs in the top of the eighth, and Jones stayed out the remainder of the game as we shut them down in a 10-2 blowout win. Milt Pappas gave us 6.2 innings with eight hits, six walks, five strikeouts and just two earned runs, improving to 3-2 with a 3.86 ERA. Jones then earned a 2.1 inning save with a walk and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 3.48 through 10.1 innings. We outhit the Orioles 17-8, led by O’Connell (two hits, three RBIs), Metkovich (two hits, a run, two RBIs) and Walt Bond (a hit, a run and two RBIs). Metkovich’s injury will leave him as a day-to-day option for the next few days, but does not look to be too serious for the 36-year-old. We’ll get a chance to go for a sweep against Baltimore tomorrow afternoon, something which seemed impossible a few hours ago when we came in on a nine-game losing streak. May 20, 1957: Don Mossi (2-2, 1.74 ERA, 41.1 IP, 18 K’s, 1.02 WHIP) pitched against Roger Craig (2-3, 4.93 ERA, 42.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.26 WHIP). Joe DeMaestri hit a two run homer in the top of the second, his first of the year, but Baltimore got a run back in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI single by Wayne Causey, their third single of the inning. They tied it up on their fourth, a single by Brooks Robinson that sent Causey over to third, just one out against them, and with the bases loaded Eddie Waitkus hit a weak squib that bounced everywhere but where we needed it to, and he beat out the throw from second to give up the lead and keep the bases loaded -- Mossi was falling apart completely! By the time Bob Miller got warmed up and took the mound with two outs and men on first and second, we’d given up five more runs (including a three-run homer by Hal Smith) and dug an 8-2 hole, all the runs coming in the bottom of the fourth, but Miller did at least bring the inning to a merciful end with a quick groundout. Moe Drabowsky came out in the bottom of the seventh with an out and a man on second, getting two quick outs to prevent the Orioles from adding on, but this game had long since become out of reach. Baltimore beat us 8-2 completely on the strength of that absolutely crazy fourth inning slugfest. Mossi was not sharp at all tonight, lasting 3.2 innings with seven hits, five walks and eight earned runs, striking out two and falling to 2-3 with a 3.20 ERA through his first seven starts. Miller had a great 2.2 inning effort, allowing two hits through 29 pitches, and Drabowsky got the remaining five outs with a hit and a strikeout. But we were outhit 10-7, six of those coming in the bottom of the fourth. DeMaestri led the team with two hits, a run and two RBIs as we fell back to .500, as we’ll take our 16-16 record to Washington to take on the 14-21 Senators. We’ll then return home for three against Detroit (18-15), followed by five more road games, two against the White Sox (13-18) and three against the Tigers. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-07-2024, 12:00 PM	#65
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	May 21, 1957: Carl Erskine (3-3, 4.15 ERA, 39.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) pitched against Walt Masterson (1-5, 9.49 ERA, 30.1 IP, 14 K’s, 2.21 WHIP) in our first of two games on the Senators’ home field. Del Crandall got us into the lead with a two-run homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the season, and we added on in the second with a sac-fly by DeMaestri and a Catfish Metkovich RBI double. Washington got on the board in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple by Willie McCovey, and he scored thanks to a sac-fly by Jim Busby. But Crandall was on fire today, hitting his second two-run blast of the evening in the top of the fifth, and we piled on with four more runs in the top of the sixth, including a three-run triple by O’Connell! From there on, it was a total rout -- Erskine stayed out to complete his game, and we won easily 13-2. With the complete game eight-hitter, Erskine improved to 4-3 with a 3.75 ERA, walking two, striking out one and allowing just two earned runs. We outhit the Senators 15-8, led by Crandall with three hits, two runs and four RBIs, while Harry Walker added three hits, three runs and an RBI, and Joe DeMaestri hit twice for a run and two RBIs. Crandall is hitting .280 and slugging .560 thanks to four doubles, three triples and six homers, and he already has 1.4 WAR, off to the best start of his career. May 22, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-2, 3.19 ERA, 31.0 IP, 15 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) pitched in our second game against the Senators, facing Camilo Pascual (6-1, 2.18 ERA, 70.1 IP, 41 K’s, 1.12 WHIP), who so far this season looks to have harnessed his control issues at age 23. Washington took the lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a two-run homer by Jim Lemon, but Catfish Metkovich hit one himself in the top of the fifth to tie it up, his first homer of the season. Martin Rosell hit a solo blast out of right to put Washington back on top 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth, and they piled on with a three-run blast to pretty much the same spot ... a mini jet stream going out over that wall! ... by Ken Aspromonte to make it a 6-2 lead. Both homers came with two outs, and Jansen struggled mightly before finally getting the third without any more runs scoring. But he was definitely done for the day. Art Ditmar came out in the bottom of the sixth and got us through the remainder of the game, but we lost this one 6-2, never finding a way back in after the brutal bottom-of-the-fifth. Jansen fell to 1-3 with a seven hit, two walk, three strikeout, six run game, his ERA exploding to 4.25 after the five inning effort. But Ditmar looked solid through three innings, just one walk and one strikeout as he dropped his ERA to 1.69 through 5.1 innings. We outhit them 8-7, led by Metkovich, who hit twice with a run and two RBIs. May 24, 1957: We’re back at home for three against Detroit, and just shy of 11,000 fans came out to watch game one, Juan Pizarro (2-3, 3.10 ERA, 40.2 IP, 31 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) pitching against Jim Bunning (4-2, 3.39 ERA, 58.1 IP, 38 K’s, 1.13 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit a two-run homer for us in the bottom of the first, his fourth of the year, and in the bottom of the second we bought Pizarro a lot more breathing room thanks to RBI singles by Metkovich, Pafko and Crandall, plus a fourth run batted in when Harry Walker was hit with a pitch. They got a run back in the top of the fifth with an RBI single by Red Wilson, but Pizarro pitched well through the sixth and DeMaestri hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to put us back ahead 7-1. Pizarro got us into the stretch, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the eighth. With two outs in the top of the ninth Harvey Kuenn hit a solo homer to get them a second run, but Miller handled his business and we won this one 7-2. Pizarro improved to 3-3 with a 2.83 ERA, allowing four hits, two walks, two strikeouts and one earned run in his seven innings, while Miller had two hits, two strikeouts and an earned run in his two. We outhit Detroit 11-6, led by Pafko who hit twice with two runs and three RBIs. May 25, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-2, 3.86 ERA, 42.0 IP, 26 K’s, 1.57 WHIP) pitched against Robin Roberts (4-2, 1.74 ERA, 51.2 IP, 20 K’s, 0.91 WHIP). In the top of the second Robin Roberts struck out swinging and should have ended the inning, but a wild pitch allowed him to reach first and drive in a run to put Detroit up 1-0. Pappas was wild in the third inning and another run scored thanks to a single by Rocky Bridges that paired with an E9 error, though he again got out of a bases loaded situation without a major disaster happening. O’Connell batted in a run to get us back within one in the bottom of the third, and Pappas put up two clean innings to keep the game close. We brought out Tom Gorman in the top of the sixth, and a Pafko solo homer in the bottom of the inning tied us up at two! Detroit retook the lead in the top of the eighth with a sac-fly by Red Wilson, and Moe Drabowsky came out and got three quick outs in the top of the ninth to keep us in the game. With two outs and a man on third base, Catfish Metkovich singled into center to tie this one up, but to win was going to require extra innings. Drabowsky stayed out and got us safely through the top of the 10th, and Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 11th. With two outs in the bottom of the 12th, Del Crandall hit a hard one into left field and drove O’Connell around to score from third with a walkoff single, as we won this one 4-3! Pappas lasted five innings with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and two runs (one earned), and then our bullpen put in seven innings with four hits, three walks, four strikeouts and an earned run to keep us in the game long enough to win it. Bessent improved to 1-1 with a 1.86 ERA, lasting two innings with a hit, a walk and two strikeouts in his two innings’ work. We outhit Detroit 13-8, led by Metkovich, who hit four times with a run and an RBI, while Crandall hit twice and batted in the winning run. May 26, 1957: We came into today’s game just half a game back on Detroit, with a chance to sweep and leapfrog them into third place in the AL. Don Mossi (2-3, 3.20 ERA, 45.0 IP, 20 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) got the start against Billy Hoeft (4-2, 2.83 ERA, 54.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) and he’s really needing a solid outing, as he’s been ice cold in his last two starts. Metkovich hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first to give us an early lead, Two errors at first put Mossi in a real jam in the top of the second, but a pop-out to short got him out of it and kept the lead. He struck out the side in the top of the third, gaining confidence, and DeMaestri batted in two runs with a double in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-0 lead. Bob Miller came out in the top of the seventh, still leading by three, and he was going to stay out in the eighth too, but a 30 minute rain delay forced us to bring out Don Bessent, who handled business well. He got us through the remainder of the game as we held tough to win 3-0 as we won our 20th game of the season. Don Mossi improved to 3-3 with a 2.82 ERA, allowing three hits, a walk and striking out five in six scoreless innings. Miller earned his third hold with a just a strikeout in his one inning, and Bessent picked up his sixth save with two innings and just a walk and a strikout. He now has a 1.54 ERA through 11.2 innings. We won the duel by outhitting them 4-3, led by DeMaestri who hit two of those with two runs batted in. We’re now in third place in the AL again, four games in back of Cleveland and 4.5 behind the league-leading Yankees. We’ve got two games against Chicago (15-22) on Monday and Tuesday, and then three games in two days against the Tigers (20-18) in Detroit ... we’ll then return home for 16 games in two and a half weeks at home against Cleveland (24-13), Baltimore (14-24), Boston (18-20), Washington (16-25) and New York (23-11). __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-07-2024, 02:31 PM	#66
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	May 27, 1957: Carl Erskine (4-3, 3.75 ERA, 48.0 IP, 14 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) pitched against Jack Harshman (1-4, 5.56 ERA, 43.2 IP, 27 K’s, 1.65 WHIP). And this one quickly became a blowout ... but for us! Metkovich doubled and Del Crandall hit a single to bat him around to score our first run, and then Spencer hit a double that scored Crandall, but we were just getting started! Walker was hit by a pitch, Chuck Diering walked, and Joe DeMaestri hit a single that scored Spencer and Walker, putting us up 4-0. Carl Erskine hit an RBI single, Metkovich singled in two more, and Danny O’Connell hit an RBI double, Pafko striking out swinging to finally end the top of the inning with us leading by eight runs! Daryl Spencer hit a solo homer in the top of the second to add on, but Erskine didn’t get a shutout tonight -- Walt Dropo hit an RBI single to get the White Sox on the board in the bottom of the fourth. The huge lead allowed us to give Erskine a bit more rope, and he gave our bullpen a break, getting us through 7.1 innings before Bob Miller came out to replace him in the bottom of the eight with Minoso on first. Minoso was injured sliding into first with two outs, and Chicago was unable to score the runner, but in the bottom of the ninth they did get two runs back thanks to a homer by pinch-hitter Earl Battey. Bob Miller locked in from there, however, and we were able to close out the 9-3 win without any real threat from the White Sox. Erskine took the win and improved to 5-3, allowing six hits, two walks and one earned run, striking out a pair. Miller handled the remainder, getting five outs with four hits, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs. We outhit them 11-10, led by Metkovich and Spencer, who each had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while DeMaestri added two hits, a run and two RBIs. May 28, 1957: We’ve gone from a nine-game losing streak to a four game winning streak, with wins in seven of our last ten games. Larry Jansen (1-3, 4.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 18 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) pitched today against Billy Pierce (4-5, 3.39 ERA, 71.2 IP, 40 K’s, 1.31 WHIP). Jansen had two good innings and then got into a jam in the third, an RBI single by Larry Doby putting Chicago on the board first, with an E9 throwing error pushing runners into scoring position with just one out. Jim Rivera singled in another run, and this time the White Sox took advantage and started piling on. Bob Boyd doubled in two runs to make it a four-run lead, and Jansen looked shellshocked ... he’s been ice cold lately, and does not look ready to be a major league pitcher at this level. Tonight we pulled him for Bob Miller with one out, men on second and third, and the score 5-0 Chicago. Miller got two quick outs to strand the runners, but the damage was severe. They added on a run in the fourth, and Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, trailing by six, and it would appear our offense took the night off completely. Ditmar got us through the remainder of the game, and though Del Crandall hit an RBI single that scored Ditmar in the bottom of the ninth, we still lost this one 6-1 without any real fight in our performance. Ditmar gave us four innings with a hit, two walks and a strikeout, and he had a hit himself and scored our only run. Beyond that, the game was a mess, our boys being outhit 10-6. May 29, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-3, 2.83 ERA, 47.2 IP, 33 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) started today against Detroit’s Jim Bunning (4-3, 3.55 ERA, 63.1 IP, 42 K’s, 1.20 WHIP). Detroit got on the board in the bottom of the third with a two-run triple by Don Blasingame, and an RBI triple by Bill Virdon added on a run in the bottom of the fifth, with our batters giving Pizarro zero support. Fred Hatfield doubled Virdon home, and we went into the top of the sixth trailing 4-0. Sam Jones came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, our team still scoreless, and in the top of the seventh we finally got something going when Harry Walker hit a two-run homer to get us on the board heading into the stretch. But Virdon hit his second RBI triple in the bottom of the inning, scoring on a groundout by Hatfield to get them both runs back. Tom Gorman came out with one out and men on first and second in the bottom of the eighth, getting us out of the inning without any further scoring against us, but it didn’t matter. We lost this one 6-2 and never looked like we were remotely ready to compete offensively. We’re definitely a hot or cold team on the road, and this season’s gonna come down to how dominant we can be on our home field. Pizarro took the loss, falling to 3-4 with a 3.25 ERA, allowing seven hits with three walks, two strikeouts and four earned runs in his five innings. They outhit us again 11-7, Spencer hitting three times and scoring a run, while Walker had a hit, a run and two RBIs. The loss drops us to 21-19 overall, good for third place in the AL and just half a game up on Detroit, with a doubleheader on the books tomorrow against the Tigers as we complete this road trip. May 30, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-2, 3.64 ERA, 47.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) started game one of today’s doubleheader, facing Robin Roberts (4-2, 1.90 ERA, 61.2 IP, 26 K’s, 0.96 WHIP). Pappas got into a rough spot in the bottom of the fourth, bases loaded, and a run scored off a fielder’s choice to give us one out. Another fielder’s choice allowed a run to score, and then Hatfield hit one straight to Spencer at third to get us out of the inning trailing 2-0. Pappas took it into his own hands, hitting an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get us on the board, and he got us through the fifth ... and then the sixth ... safely, but threw 106 pitches to get us there. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, still trailing by a run, and he immediately gave up a double to Robin Roberts, but got through the inning without a run scoring, getting Roberts out on a 5-4 double play to end the inning. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth with one out and a man on first, getting the outs we needed off a pair of pop flies to the outfield. In the top of the ninth, Catfish Metkovish hit a single with one out, but Juan Pizarro hit into a fielder’s choice that got him to first but elminated Metkovich sliding into second. Bill Wilson popped out to center and ended this one as a 2-1 loss, our bats continuing to slump all at once. Milt Pappas completely got screwed, his six inning four hit effort leading to two earned runs with four walks and two strikeouts, while he hit twice and batted in our only run. We outhit them 8-6 and yet got almost nothing out of it, a real lack of effort on the behalf of pretty much everyone. We gave Art Ditmar (0-0, 0.96 ERA, 9.1 IP, 3 K’s, 0.86 WHIP) a bullpen start in game two, going up against Billy Hoeft (4-3, 2.90 ERA, 62.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.06 WHIP). Ditmar loaded the bases on two outs in the bottom of the second, and Lee Walls hit a two-run double to get the Tigers on the board. They added a pair of two-run homers (both also on two outs) in the bottom of the third, and this turned into a complete embarassment. Ditmar loaded the bases, but FINALLY got the third out, and we went into the top of the fourth trailing 6-0 with Sam Jones warming up to come in. Jones took over in the fourth, and Gorman relieved him in the eighth, giving up another run as we’d go on to lose 7-0. Ditmar gave up 10 hits in three innings with two walks, three strikeouts and six earned runs, but Jones was surprisingly solid through his four innings (three hits, a walk and two strikeouts), improving his ERA to 3.24 through 16.2 innings of bullpen work. We were outhit 15-5, however, and this continued slump makes it impossible for our pitchers to do anything but pray that they can pitch perfect games. We return to Kansas City with a 21-21 record, good for fourth place in the AL. At this point we’ve had nine-game and four-game losing streaks this month to go with five-game and four-game winning streaks. When our bats are hot we can do well, and we’ve got a good young pitching core ... but when we slump, we slump HARD. This upcoming 16-game home stretch is going to be critical, we really need to do well and build ourselves a lead back, because after that we have 17 of our last 20 games before the All Star break on the road. This upcoming stretch will feature series against Cleveland (28-14), Baltimore (17-25), Boston (20-23), Washington (16-29) and New York (27-12). __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-08-2024, 09:02 PM	#67
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	June 1, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.42 ERA, 55.1 IP, 16 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) went up against Mike “The Big Bear” Garcia (6-3, 1.89 ERA, 71.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.09 WHIP), and Erskine pitched six scoreless innings, but our bats gave us nothing once again. Tom Gorman came out with one out and a man on second in the top of the seventh, getting Al Rosen to pop out to right and then striking out Rocky Colavito to get us out of the inning with the game still knotted at zero. Finally, in the bottom of the seventh, Harry Walker hit a double that drove in two, and we took our first lead in what seemed like ages, snapping the scoreless streak in its 30th inning. But Gorman gave up an RBI single to Norm Cash in the top of the eighth on a play where we showed a complete lack of hustle ... it should have been an easy out at first! Don Bessent came in a few minutes later with runners on first and second, just one out, and was able to keep the runners from scoring as we went into the bottom of the eighth clinging to a one-run lead. Bessent came back out in the top of the ninth, getting Al Smith to pop out to left, but Al Rosen hit a single into center. Rocky Colavito popped out to Metkovich in center for our second out, but Roger Maris hit a solid shot to deep center ... it landed, and Rosen took second, Metkovich’s throw reaching O’Connell, who whipped it to Cannizaro at third ... OUT! We won this one on an 8-6-5 play, beating the Guardians 2-1! Erskine had a great night, lasting 6.1 innings with six hits and two walks, no runs. But the win went to Gorman, who improved to 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA with just three hits, a walk, a strikeout and an earned run in an inning of work. Bessent picked up his seventh save while getting five outs with just two hits against him. They outhit us 11-4, but Andy Pafko hit twice and scored a run, and Diering’s one hit got us two RBIs. June 2, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-4, 3.25 ERA, 52.2 IP, 35 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) pitched against Tom Cheney (6-3, 2.07 ERA, 74.0 IP, 50 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) in our third game in the series against Cleveland. Rocky Colavito hit a solo homer to put the Guardians up in the top of the fourth, but Del Crandall hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth that drove Danny O’Connell in to tie it up at 1-1. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the ninth, the score still knotted at one, and he was able to keep it that way, but our anemic offense couldn’t step up and this one went into extra innings. Drabowsky got us safely through the top of the 10th inning, and Bob Lillis pinch-hit for him to lead off in the bottom of the inning, hitting a solid single into left, and he stole second with two outs. Pafko hit a single that moved Lillis to third, and he should have stayed there, but he got greedy and they got him out on a 9-4-2 play to force us to continue. Don Bessent came out to pitch, and with two outs secured, he allowed Rocky Colavito to hit an RBI single that scored the go-ahead for Cleveland. With two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, Harry Walker singled, Chuck Diering hit a line drive into right to move him to second, and George Wilson walked them both into scoring position as he loaded the bases. Joe DeMaestri came in to pinch hit, but he grounded out into a fielder’s choice, shorstop to second and it was all over as we lost 2-1. Pizarro lasted eight innings with just four hits, a walk, four strikeouts and the earned run, and Drabowsky made it through two more innings with just two hits. But Bessent took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 1.88 ERA, allowing two hits and an earned run while striking out a batter. We outhit them 9-8, but couldn’t make anything happen. Diering was our only player to hit twice, and he got nowhere. O’Connell hit once and walked twice, scoring our only run, which Crandall (who had a hit and a walk) batted in. June 4, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-3, 3.57 ERA, 53.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) started against Baltimore’s Jim McDonald (4-2, 2.72 ERA, 56.1 IP, 17 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Pappas got through multi-baserunner jams in the second, third and fourth innings, and then struck out the side in the fifth, but our bats again gave him absolutely no support. He held his ground through the eighth inning without letting a runner score, and in the bottom of the eighth he hit a solo homer to put us up 1-0 because why not? The rest of your team won’t hit so why not try and win singlehanded? But he stayed out too long, and Drabowsky, coming in with one out and men on second and third, gave up a single to Carroll Hardy that drove in the tying and go-ahead runs, erasing everything ... that’s on me for listening to Pappas and letting him go for the complete game in a tight situation. We came up in the bottom of the ninth, now needing at least a run to survive, and we got one from Del Crandall -- a powerful homer out of left field to tie the score at 2-2 with one out. With two outs, Walker and Diering hit back to back singles, but DeMaestri grounded out to first and sent this one into extra innings. Bob Miller came out with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the 10th, getting Carol Hardy to pop one straight to Walker at first for the final out. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Metkovich doubled into deep center, and Pafko walked, but Del Crandall struck out to end the inning. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 11th, striking out the side, and with two outs in the bottom of the inning he walked the bases loaded. Metkovich came up to the plate and popped out to short ... we’re gonna keep playing! Tom Gorman came out with one out and men on first and second in the top of the 12th, but Wayne Causey got a great hit off him, driving in a run with a double that put two runners in scoring position. Willy Miranda hit into a fielder’s choice and we took the out at home plate ... but Ray Katt singled in the runner at third to make it a two-run Baltimore lead as we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning. O’Connell took a leadoff walk, but Pafko hit into a double play that cleared the bases, and Del Crandall popped out to left, game over. We lost this one 4-2 and much of the blame will fall directly on me for not putting Drabowsky in for the ninth inning with the 1-0 lead. Milt Pappas had a great night with five hits, five walks, eight strikeouts and two earned runs through 8.1 innings. Drabowsky wound up with his third blown save, and Bessent took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA ... he lasted 1.1 innings with a hit, a walk, three strikeouts and an earned run. They outhit us 10-7, with Pappas and Crandall’s homers giving us hope enough to keep this one going for just over four hours before we finally lost. June 5, 1957: Don Mossi (3-4, 2.59 ERA, 59.0 IP, 27 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) pitched against Harry Byrd (2-4, 5.40 ERA, 46.2 IP, 26 K’s, 1.56 WHIP) in our second game against the Orioles in this series. Don Mossi hit a single in the bottom of the second that, thanks to an E9 error, allowed DeMaestri to score and give us the early lead. Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third, his eighth of the season, but the Orioles got on the board in the top of the fourth when Brooks Robinson grounded out to first and drove in a run. They tied it up moments later on a wild pitch, and they added on with an RBI double by Harry Byrd that gave them a 3-2 lead. But Daryl Spencer hit a groundball double in the bottom of the fifth that drove in Pafko and Crandall, slingshotting us back into the lead. Mossi got us through the sixth inning, and Tom Gorman came out to replace him to start the seventh inning, getting us into the stretch still leading by a run. He got us through the eighth as well, and in the bottom of the inning we got a fifth run when Gorman tripled and then tagged up to score on a sac-fly by O’Connell. Bob Miller came out to close in the top of the ninth, pitching around runners on the corners to get Charlie Maxwell out on a pop-fly to left ... we held tough to win this one 5-3! Don Mossi got the win, improving to 4-4 with a 2.77 ERA, thanks to a six inning performance with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Gorman had a two-inning hold without allowing a baserunner, and the 18-year-old Miller saved his first game ever, with a hit and a walk ... he’s now got a 4.82 ERA through 28 innings over 20 bullpen appearances in his rookie season. We outhit Baltimore 12-5, led by Crandall who hit twice with two runs and an RBI. June 6, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.06 ERA, 61.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) started against Don Johnson (1-3, 5.79 ERA, 32.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.68 WHIP). Baltimore got on the board quickly with a solo homer by their second batter of the game, Hal Smith, but we tied it up in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single by Del Crandall. Baltimore answered with an RBI single by Jerry Kindall in the top of the second on two outs to retake the lead, but Metkovich hit a homer in the bottom of the third to even things up again, his third of the season. They again took the lead in the top of the fourth, this time off an RBI single by Wayne Causey, and again we found an answer, Pafko batting Metkovich home with a double in the bottom of the fifth, but we were unable to take a lead. Erskine got us safely through the seventh and into the stretch still tied up at 3-3, and he stayed out for the eighth inning as well to keep us knotted up. But we went to Drabowsky with one out in the top of the ninth, Johnny Pesky on first, and he got the outs we needed, bringing us up to hit in the bottom of the inning with a chance to walk things off. But unable to get a hit, this game headed into extra innings once again. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the 10th, and he got two quick outs, and then Larry Green doubled one into center field and Charlie Lau singled into right, driving him home. Another single into right by Wayne Causey made it a two-run Baltimore lead before finally he got the third out. The top of our order was a letdown and we lost 5-3. Erskine had a great night with 8.1 innings and just eight hits, two walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Drawbowsky got two outs on seven pitches with a walk and no hits, but couldn’t stay out in the tenth because we tried to go for the win with a pinch-hitter and failed. Bessent wound up taking the loss, falling to 1-4 with a 3.24 ERA, allowing three hits with two earned runs. They outhit us 11-10, Pafko leading the way with three hits and an RBI. Metkovich also had two hits, a run and two RBIs. *We’ve picked up outfielder Pete Whisenant off waivers from St. Louis* -- the 27-year-old has barely been used by the Cardinals, but has great gap power and above average ability to hit for homers as well, with defensive ability at both left and right (with passable range for center field as well). We’ve sent Bill Wilson back down to AAA to make room for him on the 25-man roster where he’ll be our primary utility outfield backup. June 7, 1957: Boston’s in town for a four-game series, and for game one we went with Juan Pizarro (3-4, 2.97 ERA, 60.2 IP, 39 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) against Frank Sullivan (4-5, 5.61 ERA, 67.1 IP, 33 K’s, 1.65 WHIP), and right away poor defense at shortstop led to a rough first inning for him -- Jackie Jensen reached first on an E6, and then a double by Ted Williams put both runners in scoring position with just one out. Willie Jones hit a double to drive in a pair, and Pizarro’s insanely poor luck continued as we landed in a 2-0 hole. Jensen hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth to add on, and Bob Miller came out in the top of the sixth trailing by four runs. Boston added on a run in the top of the seventh, and our bats did literally nothing all night as we got humiliated once again in a 5-0 shutout loss. Pizarro fell to 3-5 despite a solid night ... four hits, two walks, six strikeouts and four runs (three earned) in his five innings. We were outhit 9-5, and our five hits were all ticky tack ones that got runners nowhere. It’s honestly depressing as hell to see our young pitchers going out and showing improvement but for a team with little or no offensive consistency. How long can their morale stay up? June 8, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-3, 3.38 ERA, 61.1 IP, 38 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) faced off against Tom Wills (2-1, 2 SV, 1.89 ERA, 38.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) in the series’ second game. Boston went up quickly with an RBI single by Frank Malzone in the top of the first, and Ted Lepcio singled in another in the top of the second. Their pitcher, meanwhile, was unhittable through the first six innings, with just two of our players getting on base via walks. We brought Bob Miller out in the top of the seventh with one out and men on the corners, and he got us out of the inning with a flyout to right by Frank Malzone and a quick thinking throw to home plate to make it a 9-2 double play. We broke up the no-no in the bottom of the seventh with a single by Chuck Diering, and Diering would end up scoring off a groundout by Chris Cannizzaro to cut the lead to one run. Miller got us through the top of the eighth without incident, and he got us through the ninth as well ... but could we find a way to get some damned hits? Nope. Absolutely not. The best hitters in our order went down 1-2-3 and we lost 2-1. Milt Pappas took the loss, having allowed 11 hits with two walks, a strikeout and two earned runs in his 6.1 innings. Miller then finished the game, throwing 33 pitches and getting our last eight outs with just a hit and a strikeout. They outhit us 11-3, and I’m damned close to firing our entire starting lineup for complete not giving a s---. But ownership refuses to give us the money we’d need to be able to make real improvements to this team, and others in the league aren’t willing to give us an inch unless we break up our pitching rotation which is simply not a smart move to make at this time. So we’re stuck spinning our wheels. The fact that our run differential all year is only -15 speaks to how good our pitching has been, because it feels like we’ve been getting hammered by teams nonstop. June 9, 1957: Don Mossi (4-4, 2.77 ERA, 65.0 IP, 29 K’s, 1.09 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (4-4, 3.68 ERA, 71.0 IP, 48 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) and just 8,200 fans showed up to watch us. Boston took the lead in the top of the fourth off a Billy Klaus double that scored Frank Malzone all the way from first -- thanks to uninspired, slow-poke fielding in the outfield that let him leg that out. But our bats awoke in the bottom of the inning, Chuck Diering getting us on the board with a sac-fly that scored Crandall from third, and we took the lead thanks to an RBI single by DeMaestri. DeMaestri hit himself a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to add on some insurance, and we brought Tom Gorman out to pitch in the top of the eighth, still leading by three runs. Daryl Spencer hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth and Gorman stayed out to close things down in the ninth as we won 5-1. Don Mossi improved to 5-4 with a 2.62 ERA, allowing just four hits with a walk, five strikeouts and a single earned run, while Gorman picked up a two-inning save with two strikeouts ... no hits, no walks. It was his third save and his 19th appearance out of the bullpen this season. In a rare event, we outhit the Red Sox 10-4, led by Joe DeMaestri who hit three times with a run and three batted in, while Harry Walker added three hits and a run. June 10, 1957: Carl Erskine (5-3, 3.09 ERA, 70.0 IP, 18 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) got the start in our final game against Boston, facing Mike Fornieles (3-5, 4.76 ERA, 51.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.53 WHIP). It was rainy, windy, and Boston got on the board via their first at-bat, a solo homer by Piersall. Harry Walker tied it up in the bottom of the third with an RBI single, and we took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Chuck Diering. Drabowsky came out to pitch in the top of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh we unleashed our bats, Drabowsky hitting a two-run homer and O’Connell hitting an RBI triple as we turned a tight game into a four-run lead! Don Bessent came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, and we brought Bob Miller out in the top of the ninth with one out and men on first and second. His only batter faced, Floyd Robinson, grounded out into a 3-6-3 double play and we were able to get out of there with the 5-1 win to split the series and get back to within two games of .500. Carl Erkine got the win, improving to 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing just one hit and an earned run with two walks and three strikeouts through five innings. Drabowsky picked up a two-inning hold, his fourth, and Bessent went 1.1 innings with two hits and a walk, but Miller took the save (his second) as the rookie improved his ERA to 4.28 and got us out of a risky jam to avoid giving the Red Sox late-innings life. We outhit the Red Sox 11-4, led by Harry Walker with three hits, a run and an RBI, while Drabowsky added two RBIs thanks to just the second homer of his career. Here’s hoping we can keep moving in this direction, as our next three are against Washington (17-37), after which we host the Yankees (32-18) who trail the Guardians in the pennant chase by four games. We’re currently 25-27 and sitting firmly in fifth place. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-09-2024, 04:00 PM	#68
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	June 11, 1957: Sam Jones (0-0, 3.12 ERA, 17.1 IP, 10 K’s, 1.85 WHIP) got the start against Washington in game one, facing Mickey McDermott (4-4, 3.95 ERA, 68.1 IP, 34 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) ... our fifth starter spot is, right now, going to be a mix of Jones, Jansen and (potentially) Art Ditmar, though right now I’d like to start grooming Ditmar to get more frequent appearances as a stopper out of the bullpen. Tonight we took the lead in the bottom of the second thanks to a solo home run by Pete Whisenant, his first of the season ... but the Senators got back in quickly with an RBI triple by Jim Busby that scored two, slingshotting them into the lead in the top of the third. He then tagged up and scored off a sac-fly by Eddie Yost to dig us a two run hole by the time we came back up to hit. Jones got us into the stretch with the margin unchanged, but our bats remained silent and Ditmar came out to pitch in the eighth, still trailing by two. He got us through the eighth and ninth, but we went down quietly in the bottom of the inning and lost this one 3-1. Jones fell to 0-1 with a 3.33 ERA, but had an excellent night ... just three hits, four walks and four strikeouts that, unfortunately, contributed to three earned runs in seven innings. Ditmar had a walk and two strikeouts in his two innings of work, improving his ERA to 4.11 through 15.1 innings. We outhit them 5-3, but couldn’t make anything happen beyond Whisenant’s homer, though Bob Lillis also hit twice, getting nowhere. June 12, 1957: Juan Pizarro (3-5, 3.15 ERA, 65.2 IP, 45 K’s, 1.37 WHIP) pitched against Camilo Pascual (7-5, 2.30 ERA, 113.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) in our second game against the Senators. Walt Bond hit a solo homer in the bottom of the third to give us a 1-0 lead, but they got it back in the top of the fifth on two outs when Pete Runnels hit an RBI single, and they took the lead with an RBI single by Jim Busby that drove in two more ... Pizarro is just mentally incapable of holding a lead in these situations, which is frustrating to no end. Moe Drabowsky came in to pitch in the sixth, trailing by two runs, and he got us into the eighth where Bob Miller took over, still trailing by the same. With one out, Ken Aspromonte hit a two run homer to stick the dagger in our necks, but we got those runs back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a two-run single by DeMaestri that again pulled us within two. Miller got us through the top of the ninth without further damage, but we went down without any fight, losing 5-3. Pizarro fell to 3-6 with a 3.31 ERA, allowing five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. They outhit us 9-5, our team led by Bond who had two hits and a walk including his homer. DeMaestri added two RBIs, but they only came after we’d dug a four-run hole for ourselves, and they didn’t spark a rally. Ownership has been down my throat about our lack of offense, and I’ve been told my job is on the line if moves cannot be made. We’ve been involved in talks for Frank Thomas with Pittsburgh, but to get him they’d want both Don Mossi AND Moe Drabowsky, which seems insane to me. However, the Chicago Cubs have been very interested in Juan Pizarrro, and had offered up Ernie Banks in the past ... they’ve updated their offer to include $115,000 cash, and Richard Doyle has put his stamp of approval on the deal. At this point, either we win games and remain competitive, or I’ll wind up out on my ass anyway, so I don’t see a real downside to trading for a Gold Glove and (two-time) Platinum Stick winner, so we’ve agreed to the deal. Banks has hit .263 so far this season with seven doubles, 12 homers and 31 RBIs, and he should arrive in time to join the roster for tomorrow’s game against the Senators. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-09-2024, 06:04 PM	#69
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	June 13, 1957: Don Mossi (5-4, 2.62 ERA, 72.0 IP, 34 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) takes over in our top pitching spot in the rotation, and faced off today against Washington’s Walt Masterson (1-7, 7.38 ERA, 53.2 IP, 25 K’s, 1.84 WHIP). Washington took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second with a two-run homer by Bob Allison, his first of the season, but Chris Cannizzaro hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning to get one of those runs back. Elston Howard hit an RBI single on two outs in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to two runs, and Mossi then gave up a three-run homer to Jim Lemon to dig our hole to five runs. Art Ditmar came out in the top of the sixth, trailing 6-1, and in the bottom of the inning we cut slightly into the lead with an RBI single by Thomas Paddock that allowed Ernie Banks to score his first run as a member of our Athletics. Ditmar held firm through the rest of the game, but our bats did nothing further to help and we lost 6-2. Mossi fell to 5-5 with a 3.16 ERA, allowing six hits, three walks and six earned runs with just three strikeouts. Ditmar then pitched four innings with just four hits and a walk, but we were outhit 10-8 and were unable to sustain any rallies. Banks had a hit and a run in his debut, and Cannizzaro hit twice for an RBI, while George Wilson added two hits and a run. We’re now on a three-game losing streak thanks to the sweep against the worst team in the league ... and now we get to host the 35-18 Yankees for three before hitting the road for 16 of our last 20 “pre-All Star” games. And at 25-30 ourselves, it’s starting to look grim for us keeping this season as a close-to-.500 endeavor. June 14, 1957: Milt Pappas (3-4, 3.33 ERA, 67.2 IP, 39 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) pitched against the Yankees’ Don Larsen (2-1, 3.86 ERA, 35.0 IP, 16 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). We took the lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run homer by Del Crandall, but the Yankees got on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Tony Kubek. But we really unleashed in the bottom of the fifth -- Milt Pappas hit a solo homer to lead off, Crandall had an RBI single to drive in Metkovich, Andy Pafko batted in Crandall and Banks with an RBI double, and Andy Pafko later scored as Diering reached first on an E3 error, giving us a 7-1 lead heading into the top of the sixth! Pappas got us through the sixth inning, and with one out in the top of the seventh we brought out Bob Miller. Yogi Berra hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth to get the Yankees back within five, and Hank Bauer followed him with one of his own out of left to cut our lead to four ... both coming on two outs for Miller, but he got us the out we needed without letting the Bronx Bombers get close. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the ninth, getting one out but then loading the damned bases ... we had to bring out Don Bessent, who got Mickey Mantle to pop out to left, conceding a run, which brought up Roy Sievers in a still-dangerous situation. But Sievers hit into a fielder’s choice, we took the out at second, and were able to get out of here with a 7-4 win! Milt Pappas earned the win, improving to 4-4 with a 3.16 ERA, allowing seven hits, a walk, two strikeouts and one earned run through 6.1 innings. Bessent, coming in for the highest of high leverage situations against the top of the Yankee order, got two outs on four pitches to earn his eighth save and preserve the win. They outhit us 12-8, but Del Crandall was on fire with two hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Pafko hit two times for a run and two RBIs. June 15, 1957: Carl Erskine (6-3, 3.00 ERA, 75.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) started this evening against Duke Maas (3-1, 3.75 ERA, 36.0 IP, 21 K’s, 1.36 WHIP). The Yankees have been at a disadvantage since losing Vinegar Bend Mizell (torn labrum, May 28th), with Billy O’Dell already out since last September with a ligament issue that could sideline him all year. But even with a short-handed rotation, their bats have kept them in the pennant race at least for now. But with a team as good as theirs, any chinks in the armor are worth exploiting if a team like ours can. But Erskine did not do a great job in this one ... in the second inning he loaded the bases on one out and walked in a run via Maas, though thankfully he limited the damage with a strikeout and a popup to get us out of the inning. He loaded them AGAIN in the bottom of the third, also on one out, but escaped safely thanks to Bill Skowron grounding into a 5-2-3 double play to end the inning. His night was in danger of being over early, but we got hot in the bottom of the third ... Crandall hit an RBI single to tie it up, Banks hit an RBI single to get us the lead, Pafko hit an RBI double to score Crandall and Banks, and Daryl Spencer hit an RBI triple to put us up 5-1! Erskine had clean innings in the fourth and fifth, and we brought Ditmar out to pitch in the top of the sixth still leading by four. With one out, New York got a run back with an RBI single by Andy Carey, and Maas hit himself a double to drive in another, pushing Carey over to third as our lead became precarious at best. Don Bessent took over and struck out Gil McDougald, and Woodie Held hit one straight to Metkovich to keep our lead safe into the bottom of the inning. We had to bring Moe Drabowsky out in the top of the seventh with two outs and men on the corners, with Skowron again in a situation to cause us pain. He hit a double, driving in a run, but Hank Bauer tried to tie it up and failed at the plate, allowing us to get into the stretch still leading 5-4. Ernie Banks came through in the bottom of the inning, hitting an RBI single that drove home Catfish Metkovich from second base to extend our lead to two runs. Drabowsky stayed out into the top of the ninth, shutting down the top of their order as we were able to win this one 6-4! Carl Erskine recovered from a rough start to earn the win, lasting five innings with five hits, four walks, four strikeouts and one earned run ... he’s now 7-3 with a 2.92 ERA through his first 12 starts. Bessent picked up a 1.1 inning hold, his second, and Drabowsky pitched 2.1 innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout as his ERA improved to 0.98 through 36.1 innings, with his fourth save ... he has only had four earned runs against him all season through 25 appearances, and he hasn’t had any scoring against him since giving up two runs on May 14th. The Yankees again outhit us 11-9, but we made our baserunners count ... Ernie Banks hit twice with a run and two batted in, while Pafko hit once for a run and two RBIs and Metkovich hit once and scored two. June 16, 1957: It’s our final home game until July, and we brought out Don Mossi (5-5, 3.16 ERA, 77.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.10 WHIP) to go against Mike McCormick (6-4, 3.00 ERA, 90.0 IP, 65 K’s, 1.08 WHIP). New York took the lead in the top of the third with a two run homer by Mickey Mantle, but an Ernie Banks RBI double got us on the board in the bottom of the inning. In the bottom of the fourth Joe DeMaestri hit an RBI single, and Chuck Diering scored on a groundout by Metkovich to push us into a 3-2 lead! Mossi got two outs in the sixth and then gave up back to back hits, the second of which was an RBI triple by Woodie Held that tied the score. He smartly walked Skowron, and then got Tony Kubek to pop out to center to keep the score tied into the bottom of the frame. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the top of the seventh, getting through the most brutal portion of their batting order safely, and Bob Miller came out in the eighth to get three quick outs as well, and he did it again in the ninth to keep us in the game. But our bats stayed silent and this one went into extra innings. Don Bessent came out in the top of the tenth with one out and a man on first, and though he got the second out, the sac fly by Woodie Held allowed a run to score from third to put New York ahead. Bessent got sloppy from there and walked the bases loaded, but Joe Black struck out to bring us up trailing by a run. Pafko hit a single into right on two outs to bring up Ernie Banks, who hit a double that allowed Pafko to score the tying run, Banks advancing safely to third ahead of the throw from center field. But Del Crandall struck out swinging and this one kept going. Moe Drabowsky came out to pitch with two outs and nobody on in the top of the 11th, getting the out we needed, and Ditmar came out to replace him in the top of the 12th, and in the bottom of the inning Ernie Banks hit a walk-off double on one out to drive in the goahead and get us the 4-3 win and the sweep against the highly touted Yankees! Banks has made himself right at home, hitting three times tonight with a walk and three runs batted in ... he’s hitting .412 since coming to Kansas City! Ditmar got the win, improving to 1-1 with a 3.92 ERA through 20.2 innings, and he knew he was going to have to stay out there for the duration as we’d used all our bullpen arms to set him up for it. New York outhit us 12-11, but thanks to Banks and Joe DeMaestri, who hit four times with an RBI, and Andy Pafko who hit three times and scored three runs, we were able to outlast their attack. The three wins in a row get us back to within two games of .500, at 28-30 for the season. But we’ve got a tough stretch ahead ... after a day off tomorrow, we’ll face Washington (22-39) for three, Boston (31-28) for four, Baltimore (23-37) for two, the Yankees (35-21) for four, and Cleveland (40-19) for a game on July 1st. We then host the White Sox (24-36) for three, including a July 4th doubleheader, and then finish out the pre-All Star season with three games in Detroit (33-26). __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-10-2024, 05:07 PM	#70
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	June 18, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-4, 3.16 ERA, 74.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.51 WHIP) started against Washington’s Walt Masterson (2-7, 6.68 ERA, 62.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.79 WHIP) in the first game of our road trip. Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the top of the first off two outs, his 10th homer of the season, to put us quickly into the lead. But in the bottom of the fifth they got the run back with an RBI single by Walt Masterson, and with the bases loaded and just one out, Eddie Yost walked in a run to give them the lead. With two outs, Jim Lemon hit an RBI triple that drove in three runs and this game was quickly getting out of control. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and we made a furious comeback bid in the top of the eighth -- Ernie Banks hit a double that drove in two runs, and Daryl Spencer hit another double that drove Banks home ... but he was injured on the slide into second, and his injury is undetermined at the moment. Ditmar stayed out in the bottom of the eighth, trailing by just one run, getting three quick outs to send us into the top of the ninth with a chance. Unfortunatley we couldn’t buy a hit in the final frame and we lost this one 5-4. Milt Pappas fell to 4-5 with a 3.53 ERA, allowing five hits, five walks and five earned runs in his five innings -- that fifth inning was the disaster, until then he was looking as good as he ever has. Ditmar got through three innings without a single baserunner, but despite outhitting them 8-5 we couldn’t get enough from that eighth inning rally to flip the script. Spencer had three hits and an RBI before his injury, and Banks had a hit, a run and two RBIs. Crandall added a hit, a walk, two runs and an RBI as well including his homer. June 19, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-3, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) has been consistent for us all season, and he faced Chuck Stobbs (1-9, 5.61 ERA, 85.0 IP, 38 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) as we looked to find a way to win against the Senators -- who have somehow had our number all year despite being the worst team in baseball. They got on the board first in the bottom of the second with a solo blast out of left by Ken Aspromonte, his sixth of the year, and they added on in the third with an RBI single by Pete Runnels and a sac-fly by Jim Lemon. Erskine gave up two more runs off a homer by Elston Howard in the bottom of the eighth, but by then the game was a lost cause anyway. Our bats gave us absolutely nothing once again and we lost 5-0. This is getting to be embarrassing. Erskine pitched a complete game with nine hits, a walk, five strikeouts and five earned runs, and they outhit us 9-5, only O’Connell managing to get more than one hit, while they blanked Banks. We got good news about Daryl Spencer’s injury from yesterday’s game ... it’s just knee soreness, and he’s not going to have to miss any real time. June 20, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-4, 5.17 ERA, 38.1 IP, 19 K’s, 1.59 WHIP) pitched against Art Houtteman (3-3, 3.73 ERA, 60.1 IP, 26 K’s, 1.41 WHIP). Jansen had three solid innings to start the game, despite two infield errors, and we got the lead in the top of the fourth when Pafko hit an RBI single that allowed Ernie Banks to score thanks to an E8 error by the Senators. DeMaestri then added on with an RBI single that scored Pafko, giving us a solid 2-0 lead. But Jansen’s luck didn’t continue. He gave up two hits in a row to start the botom of the fourth, including an RBI single by Lemon, though he was able to get us out of the inning with a 3-6-3 double play off a grounder by Bob Allison to keep us in the lead. In the top of the fifth we got the run back thanks to an RBI single by Del Crandall, but in the bottom of the inning they got a two-run homer from Jim Busby to tie it up -- and only one of the runs was earned, thanks to an error earlier in the inning by Danny O’Connell, our third of the game. With two outs, they got another two-run blast, this time by Lemon, and just like that they were back firmly in control. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the sixth, trailing by two, and with two outs he gave up a triple to Elston Howard with the bases loaded and this one was officially a rout. We trailed by five heading into the stretch, and though we got a pair of runs back in the top of the ninth, it wasn’t enough. We lost this one 8-5 but were never in it after losing the lead in the fifth. Jansen took his fifth loss of the year with six hits, two walks, a strikeout and five runs (only two of which were earned). We actually outhit them 11-10, which is maddening, considering our lack of follow-through when trying to hold onto a lead. Banks was solid with two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs, and we had five players who each hit twice. But we’ve now lost six games in a row to the Senators, and any real chance of this becoming a competitive team this year is clearly a mirage. June 21, 1957: Sam Jones (0-1, 3.33 ERA, 24.1 IP, 14 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) got the start today in Boston against Frank Baumann (8-6, 3.22 ERA, 89.1 IP, 56 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Don Mossi was scheduled to start, but we’re at work on a potential trade that, should it go through, he’d need to be ready to move on short notice ... so Jones gets his shot. We took the lead in the top of the second as Daryl Spencer batted Banks in with a single, and the next batter, Diering, singled in Crandall to make it 2-0. Frank Baumann grounded out to first in the bottom of the inning but drove in a run in the process, and they tied it up in the bottom of the third with a groundout by Willie Jones. They took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a Baumann double, and Art Ditmar came out to pitch with one out and men on first and second. He got out of a bases loaded jam to avoid any further scoring, and he got us through the seventh inning with us still within a run. Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the eighth, getting three quick outs to keep us in the fight, and in the top of the ninth Chuck Diering led off by reaching second on an E6 error! DeMaestri hit a single into left that pushed him over to third, but Catfish Metkovich hit into a double play that ended the game as a 3-2 loss. We were so close in that one you could taste it ... Jones took the loss and fell to 0-2 with a 3.90 ERA, allowing six hits with three walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs in his 3.1 innings. Ditmar then got through 3.2 innings with just a hit, two walks and three strikeouts, and Gorman struck out a pair in his inning. We just couldn’t get it done in the clutch situation in the ninth. We outhit the Red Sox 10-7, led by Ernie Banks with three hits and a run. *The rumored trade went through shortly after the game ended ... we’re sending Don Mossi and Moe Drabowsky to the Yankees in exchange for power hitting left fielder Roy “Squirrel” Sievers.* Sievers has hit .271/.327/.479 this year with 11 doubles and 12 homers, putting up 2.2 WAR thanks to his excellent defensive skills (he’s got 134 putouts in 135 chances so far this season, giving him a +6.7 zone rating). We’re giving up a lot, but we’re bringing in a much-needed bat to help give Banks some support in the lineup. The Yankees also included $14,000 cash, which will cover most of Sievers’ contract for the remainder of the season. We’ve called up Charlie Rabe (4-5, 3.45 ERA, 88.2 IP, 37 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) from AAA to fill the open spot in our starting rotation ... we acquired him last May in a trade with the Redlegs, and this will be the 25-year-old’s first chance to prove himself as a member of our Athletics. Our starting lineup will now include O’Connell, Diering, Banks, Sievers, Crandall, Pafko, Spencer and DeMaestri ... if we can’t start putting runs together with that lineup, there’s no hope for us. June 22, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-5, 3.53 ERA, 79.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.54 WHIP) is now our ace by default, with an assist from Carl Erskine, so he’s going to get a lot more critical starts as the season progresses. Today he pitched against Boston’s Eli Grba (2-0, 3.25 ERA, 44.1 IP, 25 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) as folks get the first look at our revamped lineup. Frank Malzone grounded into a U5-3 double play to push in Boston’s first run in the bottom of the first, but we got the lead back in the top of the second when DeMaestri hit an RBI double that scored Sievers and Spencer. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the third, and Chuck Diering hit one in the top of the fifth to give us a three-run advantage! Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to add on, and Pappas remained razor sharp from the mound, until the bottom of the eighth when he gave up three hits in a row to load the bases. He got Frank Robinson to pop out to third base for our first out, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch, bases still loaded ... Jackie Jensen popped out to DeMaestri at short, but Ted Williams got a hit into left field to drive in a run with a single. Gorman got us out of the jam, though, and we went into the top of the ninth still leading by a pair. Gorman got us two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but then Dick Gernert hit an RBI single that drove in a run and put runners on the corners. Bob Miller came out for the high leverage opportunity, and unfortunately Sammy White drove in the tying run with a single into right. Jackie Jensen walked the bases loaded, but Ted Williams grounded out to first and this one went into extra innings, tied up 5-5. And Boston walked it off in the bottom of the 10th with a single by second baseman Milt Bolling to beat us 6-5 in yet another game we should have won. Bob Miller took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 5.27 ERA, blowing his first career save. He allowed three hits, a walk and a run in his inning of work. Pappas set us up for success with a 7.1 inning four-hitter, walking two and allowing three runs (two earned), but we just couldn’t hold the lead. Boston only outhit us 10-9, with Ernie Banks leading the way with three hits and two RBIs. Sievers debuted with a walk and a run scored. We’ve now lost five in a row and are seven games under .500, and though we’re still in fifth place in the AL, we’re only five games out of last place. June 23, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-4, 3.17 ERA, 88.0 IP, 30 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) pitched in the first game of this afternoon’s doubleheader, facing Frank Sullivan (5-6, 4.97 ERA, 88.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.52 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit a solo homer to give us the lead in the top of the first, his 14th homer of the season, but they got the run back in the bottom of the second thanks to a sac-fly by Billy Klaus. Milt Bolling put them into the lead with an RBI double that damned near gave me a stroke when the runner on was able to score thanks to an inexplicable no-throw by Pafko in right field. Defense, damn it, defense! Another poor throw by Pafko allowed a third run in, and we went into the top of the sixth trailing 3-1. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, still trailing by two, and we got a run back in the top of the eighth when Del Crandall hit a solo homer, his 11th of the year, to get us back within a run. He got us through the eighth inning as well, but our bats were silent once again and we lost 3-2. Erskine took the loss, his second in a row, falling to 7-5 with a 3.26 ERA -- he allowed seven hits and three earned runs with a walk and three strikeouts through six innings, while Ditmar had a strikeout and didn’t allow a single baserunner in his two innings. We were outhit 7-6, Crandall hitting twice including his homer to lead our offense. Charlie Rabe made his A’s debut in game two, facing Willard Nixon (4-6, 4.00 ERA, 90.0 IP, 59 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). The Red Sox took the lead in the bottom of the second with a two-run triple by Johnny Blanchard, and that opened the hitting floodgates. Rabe eventually loaded the bases, but got the final out without letting the game become a total rout, but we had dug ourselves a 3-0 hole before we came up to hit in the top of the third. Our bullpen, with the exception of Bessent, is worn out, so he had to stay out and see if he could truly handle adversity. Joe DeMaestri got us on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI single, but the Sox got it back in the bottom of the inning with a groundout to first by Jim Piersall, and they added on with an RBI double by Ted Williams. Rabe tried to get through the fifth and failed ... Johnny Blanchard drove in another run with a single, and with the score 6-1 Sox, Art Ditmar came out with one out and men on first and second to get us the outs we needed. Don Bessent came out with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the seventh, notching back to back strikeouts to keep them from adding on. Roy Sievers hit his first homer as an Athletic in the top of the eighth, but Ted Williams hit one over the center field wall in the bottom of the inning to negate it, and Milt Bolling kicked us in the balls with a three-run homer to add to the humiliation. Diering hit into a fielder’s choice in the ninth to get us a run in garbage time, but it didn’t matter ... we lost badly 10-2, and our losing streak now seems like it may never end. Rabe lasted 4.1 innings in his debut, allowing nine hits, five walks and six earned runs, striking out one batter. His ERA now stands at 12.46, and we’ll have to hope he can develop some consistency in future outings. Boston outhit us 14-11, DeMaestri leading the way with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI. Thank God for the day off tomorrow (we also have one on Thursday this week) because we need to stop, breathe, and figure out how we’re going to tackle the remainder of this road trip to avoid completely free-falling. We’re dropping our ticket prices significantly to attempt to bring in fans and keep us on track for our attendance goals, and hopefully the lure of Banks and Sievers will draw people in even as we flounder once again. This week we have a pair of games in Baltimore (24-43) on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a four-game set in New York (42-21) that includes a Sunday doubleheader. We’ll then face Cleveland (44-22) for a game, take the day off on Tuesday, and then return to Kansas City for a series against the White Sox (26-41) that includes a July 4th doubleheader. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-10-2024, 11:24 PM	#71
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	June 25, 1957: Milt Pappas (4-5, 3.44 ERA, 86.1 IP, 41 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) pitched against Harry Byrd (3-7, 4.42 ERA, 75.1 IP, 40 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) in our first of two games against the last place Orioles. Baltimore scored first in the bottom of the second off a Wayne Causey RBI single, but Pappas pitched well through the sixth inning to keep their lead at one run. In the top of the seventh, Pappas hit the RBI double that tied us up, and Chuck Diering batted him home with a line drive single to give us the lead. Ernie Banks then hit an RBI single that, thanks to an E8 throwing error, allowed O’Connell and Diering to score, giving us a 4-1 lead heading into the stretch! Pappas got into trouble in the bottom of the seventh, however, loading the bases and letting Charlie Maxwell walk in a run ... but Johnny Pesky lined into a 1-3 double play and we got out of the jam with our lead still at two runs. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, and immediately he gave up a solo homer to Wes Covington to cut our lead to one run, but he got three quick outs from there to keep us on top. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by a run, and he got two quick outs, only to then give up back to back singles to Vern Stephens and Charlie Maxwell. Don Bessent came in with two outs and men on the corners, walking Ray Katt to load the bases ... but Covington grounded out to first and we were able to escape with a 4-3 road win. Milt Pappas improved to 5-5 with a 3.38 ERA, allowing seven hits, three walks and two earned runs with seven strikeouts in his seven innings of work. Gorman picked up his eighth hold and Miller his fourth, and though he only had to get one out, Bessent came through in a high leverage pinch, picking up his ninth save of the year. We outhit them 11-10, led by Danny O’Connell with three hits and a run, while Banks and Spencer each hit twice. June 26, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-5, 3.26 ERA, 94.0 IP, 33 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) started against Ruben Gomez (4-8, 3.33 ERA, 108.0 IP, 41 K’s, 1.43 WHIP). Baltimore got on the board with an RBI single by Lenny Green in the bottom of the first, and they added another thanks to a single by Gus Triandos in the bottom of the third. Wes Covington hit a two-run blast out of center in the fifth to make it a 4-0 Oriole lead, and then we finally got on the board with an RBI double by Banks in the top of the sixth. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and we picked up two more runs in the top of the seventh thanks to an RBI single by Danny O’Connell! Dick Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, and he pitched around a walk by Covington to keep us within a run. We then completely unleashed on them in the top of the eighth -- Andy Pafko hit an RBI single to tie it up, DeMaestri hit a single that drove in the go-ahead, and Don Bessent hit himself a RBI single that scored another pair to give us a 7-4 lead! Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, and after we added a run via a solo homer by Banks in the top of the ninth, he stayed out to finish things. He handled it perfectly, not allowing a single baserunner in his two innings of work, and we won big 8-4! Dick Bessent came out and got the win, improving to 2-4 with a 3.91 ERA with a walk and two strikeouts, and Ditmar earned his first save with two innings and two strikeouts. We outhit the Orioles 9-7, led by Ernie Banks, who hit three times with two runs and two RBIs, giving him a .418 average, three homers and 15 RBIs since the trade two weeks ago. We get a day off for travel and to enjoy the wins, but then we’ll have four games in three days against the Yankees. June 28, 1957: Milt Pappas (5-5, 3.38 ERA, 93.1 IP, 48 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) is durable and was ready to go tonight against the Yankees’ Saul Rogovin (8-3, 3.55 ERA, 106.1 IP, 45 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) on three days’ rest. The Yanks took the lead with a Mantle homer out of right in the bottom of the first, his 22nd of the season, but we tied it up in the top of the fifth with a Del Crandall homer, and Spencer hit a sac-fly that scored Pafko from third on a no-throw by Hank Bauer. Roy Sievers hit a homer for us in the top of the seventh and drew a loud chorus of boos from the Yankees, who were unaccustomed to seeing him hit for the opposing team, giving us some insurance. Pappas got us through the sixth, and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh with a two-run lead to protect. Roy Sievers hit a second solo homer in the top of the eighth to add to our lead, and the game had to be briefly halted by the umpire as the fans were throwing trash onto the field in frustration. Joe Collins hit an RBI triple for the Yanks in the bottom of the eighth, and we brought out Art Ditmar with a two-run lead, two outs and the runner on third, getting the out to get us safely into the ninth. He then got three whip-quick outs in the bottom of the ninth as we stunned the Yankees at home 4-2! Milt Pappas got the win, improving to 6-5 with a 3.26 ERA, allowing seven hits through six innings with two walks, five strikeouts and one earned run. Tom Gorman got his ninth hold of the year, lasting 1.2 innings with two hits and a run, and Ditmar saved his second game with a strikeout, getting four outs without a baserunner. We outhit the Yankees 10-9, led by Roy Sievers who had two homers to help rile up the fans and keep our team pumped. Crandall added two hits including a homer, and Andy Pafko hit three times with a run scored. June 29, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-5, 3.45 ERA, 99.0 IP, 36 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) pitched against Duke Maas (3-2, 3.65 ERA, 49.1 IP, 27 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) in our second game at Yankee Stadium in this series. The Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second with a single by Charlie Sivera that drove in a pair of runs, but we got on the board in the top of the third with a Chuck Diering solo homer to cut their lead to one. Erskine got two outs in the bottom of the fifth but then allowed an RBI single by Bill Skowron that got their lead back to two runs. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to get us back within a run, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, trailing 3-2, but that was as good as it got ... in the bottom of the inning Woodie Held hit a grand slam homer to put the Yanks up by five, and Don Bessent came out in the seventh. We kept fighting but were never in it from there, losing this one 10-4. Erskine fell to 7-6 with a 3.55 ERA, allowing six hits with three walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs in his five innings, while Miller then gave up two hits, two walks and four earned runs in his one. Bessent got us through the remainder with three hits, a walk, a strikeout and three earned runs in his two innings ... we were only outhit 11-8, but Held had two homers and batted in seven runs. It’s hard to overcome that. Chuck Diering led the way for us with three hits, three runs and an RBI, while Ernie Banks added two hits and two RBIs. We’ve got the doubleheader tomorrow, and I’m hoping we can avoid beating ourselves up too much as the month comes to an end. June 30, 1957: Charlie Rabe (0-1, 12.46 ERA, 4.1 IP, 1 K, 3.23 WHIP) started the first game of the doubleheader, facing Sal Maglie (10-3, 2.10 ERA, 103.0 IP, 43 K’s, 0.99 WHIP), and the Yankees quickly went ahead with an RBI single by Woodie Held in the bottom of the first. A sac-fly by Yogi Berra added on, Bill Skowron batted Held home with a line drive single, and just like that we trailed 3-0 after just one inning. Larry Jansen came out to pitch in the bottom of the fourth, still trailing by three runs, and he looked good for two quick outs, but then allowed a two-run homer by Mantle (#23) to turn this one into a rout. Jansen stayed out the remainder of the game, taking one for the team to protect the bullpen as we were never in this one ... our bats were silent all day and we lost 10-0. Ugly, ugly ugly. Rabe took the loss, falling to 0-2 with three innings and six hits, two walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs. Jansen, meanwhile, lasted five innings but allowed 12 hits and seven earned runs with three walks and four strikeouts, and we were outhit 18-4, nothing offensively warranting a mention. Sam Jones (0-2, 1 SV, 3.90 ERA, 27.2 IP, 16 K’s, 1.73 WHIP) got the start in game two, facing Mike McCormick (8-4, 2.79 ERA, 113.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.05 WHIP). We came out fired up, and Ernie Banks hit a three-run homer in the top of the first to give us an early lead, his 16th homer of the season. But the Yankees were quick to answer -- Mickey Mantle batted in a run with a double, and Mantle scored when Bob Cerv grounded out to first for their second out. They tied it up in the bottom of the second with a groundout by Hank Bauer, but Diering hit a triple in the top of the fourth and Banks batted him home with a groundout to first to give us back a tenuous lead. Mantle hit a triple to lead off the bottom of the fifth inning, but we stranded him there and maintained our slim lead thanks to a strikeout by Held and a 6-4-3 double play off a weak grounder by Skowron. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and he got us through three innings with the score unchanged. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by a run, and he got quick pop-outs from Yogi Berra, Billy Martin and Gil McDougald to get us out of there with a 4-3 win ... we’ll take the split, considering how poorly the middle games went. Sam Jones had just three hits against him with five walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs, getting out of here with a win as he improved to 1-2 with a 4.13 ERA. Gorman picked up a three-inning hold, his 10th of the year, allowing two hits, a walk and two strikeouts to improve his ERA to 3.13 through 37.1 innings, while Ditmar saved his third game with an exceptional ninth under pressure ... he now has a 2.27 ERA through 35.2 innings. We’ve got an off day tomorrow and then will play one game in Cleveland to open the month of July. July 1, 1957: Milt Pappas (6-5, 3.26 ERA, 99.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) got the start in Cleveland against Tom Cheney (8-6, 2.09 ERA, 120.1 IP, 76 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit an RBI triple in the top of the sixth to break the game’s long stalemate, and Roy Sievers hit a flyball double that brought Banks home to give us a 2-0 lead. Milt Pappas got us into the ninth inning, but after two outs he gave up two hits, putting runners in scoring position so we had to go to Art Ditmar in a high pressure situation. But pinch-hitter Bobby Avila popped out to second and we were able to complete the 2-0 shutout win! Pappas got the win, improving to 7-5 with a 3.00 ERA thanks to 8.2 innings with five hits, two walks and five strikeouts, while Ditmar got his fourth save for securing the final out. We outhit Cleveland 8-5, led by Banks with two hits including his RBI triple that got us the lead in the first place. The loss drops the Guardians out of the tie they’d held with the Yankees, as those two continue to jockey for position atop the AL. We, meanwhile, return to Kansas City with a 33-39 record, having won five of our last seven after starting this road trip off with a seven-game losing streak. Chicago (29-46) comes to town after an off day tomorrow, and we’ll play three games against them in two days, followed by a three-game trip to Detroit (41-33) to wrap up the first half of the season. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-12-2024, 05:21 PM	#72
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	July 3, 1957: Carl Erskine (7-6, 3.55 ERA, 104.0 IP, 39 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) pitched against Billy Pierce (6-8, 3.10 ERA, 139.1 IP, 84 K’s, 1.31 WHIP) in front of a crowd of 11,668 fans who were excited to see Ernie Banks and Roy Sievers go up against Chicago’s big bats. And they got a show from us early! In the bottom of the first, Banks batted in O’Connell with a groundout to first, putting us into the lead, and then Crandall hit a double that scored two more runs! He would go on to score from second off a single by Daryl Spencer, and we went into the top of the second leading 4-0. O’Connell hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the second, and with one out Sievers hit himself a single that scored O’Connell, extending our lead to six as the fans roared their approval! Del Crandall batted in two more in the bottom of the fourth with a line drive single, and Daryl Spencer loaded the bases with a single but had to be pulled for an undisclosed injury after tagging up ... Chris Cannizzaro came in to replace him on base and at third on defense. We went into the top of the fifth leading by eight, and Banks added an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to add on. Erskine got us through eight innings and threw 123 pitches, handing the ball off to Bob Miller for the ninth inning. Miller allowed a two-run blast by Larry Doby to spoil the shutout, but he got the outs we needed as we cruised to a 9-2 win. Erskine improved to 8-6 with a 3.29 ERA, allowing just two hits, three walks and five strikeouts in his eight innings of work. Miller then allowed three hits and a pair of earned runs, giving him a 6.02 ERA through 46.1 innings. We outhit Chicago 15-5, led by Crandall who had three hits, a run and four RBIs, while Banks hit twice for a run and two RBIs and Sievers added two hits, a run and an RBI. Spencer has a mild oblique strain but will be going on the 15-day IL to avoid making it worse. We’re going to move Cannizzaro over to third for the time being, and have called up Joe Astroth as a backup at catcher. July 4, 1957: Happy Independence Day, A’s fans! Ernie Banks is happy because the the weather’s great and we get to play two! Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.00 ERA, 108.0 IP, 58 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) pitched in game one, facing Chicago’s Bob Rush (5-6, 4.10 ERA, 105.1 IP, 59 K’s, 1.46 WHIP). We were fired up again from the start, with Del Crandall hitting a two run single that Andy Pafko followed with an RBI single of his own to give us a 3-0 lead after one inning! DeMaestri hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, but the White Sox got on the board with a solo blast out of left in the top of the fourth by Minnie Minosa that was the first hit against Pappas all game. In the top of the sixth Luis Aparicio hit an inside the park homer that was made possible by Chuck Diering missing the cutoff man to keep him at third, and suddenly our lead was down to two. In the top of the seventh Jim Rivera grounded out to first but allowed a run to score, cutting the lead to one, and we had to bring out Tom Gorman with a man on second with one out. And that’s when the wheels fell off ... with the bases loaded, Aparicio hit a double that drove in two runs to flip Chicago into the lead, and we were going to get to see what this team is made of, trailing 5-4 as we went into the seventh inning stretch. In the bottom of the inning we got a run back, tying it up with an RBI single by Diering, but we gave it right back with two outs in the top of the eighth when Bob Boyd hit a solo blast out of right. Art Ditmar came out in the ninth with us still trailing by a run, and he did not have a great inning ... Nellie Fox hit an RBI single on one out, and we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning trailing now by a pair. But Ernie Banks kept the fireworks going, hitting a two-run blast out of center to tie it up and force extra innings! Ditmar got through the 10th with a couple solid strikeouts, and Don Bessent came out to relieve him in the 11th ... and in the bottom of that inning, with one out, Banks played the hero once again with a walk-off single to win the game for us 8-7! Bessent took the win, improving to 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA, and we outhit the White Sox 15-9 in this one, led by Banks with three hits, two runs and three RBIs. The fact that game one went into extra innings put us in a bit of a pitching crunch, since aside from Pappas and Erskine, our remaining starters have all been “bullpen start” fodder at times. We went with Sam Jones (1-2, 4.13 ERA, 32.2 IP, 18 K’s, 1.78 WHIP) against Jack Harshman (4-8, 5.74 ERA, 94.0 IP, 50 K’s, 1.57 WHIP) in the end. Roy Sievers hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to put us in the lead, but they tied it up in the top of the second with an RBI single by Harshman. DeMaestri hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning, and an E9 error allowed Joe Astroth to score, putting us back up by a run, but Jones was as wild as ever and he gave up an RBI double to Earl Battey in the top of the third that let two runs score, flipping them into the lead -- we’re gonna need to score a lot of runs to win this one. Jones got us through the fifth without any further damage, and in the bottom of the fifth Banks hit a solo homer to tie it up at 3-3 ... Jones kept the ball in the sixth and got three quick outs, and we brought out Bob Miller to pitch in the seventh, still knotted at three apiece. Miller was incredible, shutting them down in the seventh and eighth innings with just one baserunner, and with the score still knotted heading into the ninth, he got three more outs to get us into the bottom of the inning with a real chance ... but our bats stayed silent and, for the second time today, the game went into extra innings! Miller stayed sharp with three quick outs around a walk by Jackie Robinson in the top of the 10th, and we brought Don Bessent out in the 11th. He got six outs in a row, and in the bottom of the 12th inning, with two outs against us, Chuck Diering reached first on an E5 groundball error and Chris Cannizzaro scored from third ... we won this one 4-3, and the fans went insane! Jones recovered from a poor start to last six innings with seven hits, three walks, four strikeouts and three earned runs, but it was the rookie Miller who really shined today ... he threw 44 pitches over four innings with one hit, two walks and a strikeout, improving his ERA to 5.54 and showing he really can come through when we need him to! Bessent then took the win, improving to 4-4 with a 4.15 ERA without a single baserunner through two innings of work. We outhit Chicago 9-8, led by DeMaestri with two hits and an RBI, and by O’Connell who had two hits, two walks and a run scored. I think it’s safe to say we’re officially on a tear ... 4-0 in the month of July, with just three games left before the All Star break. We’ve won five in a row and eight of our last ten games. A lot has been luck ... our run differential is still -25, and our 36-39 record is at least two games ahead of expectations. And now we get to go to Detroit for three, to face the unluckiest team in baseball -- they’re 42-35 despite a +95 run differential, performing eight games behind their expected record. Can we keep the streak alive? They should be in the pennant chase with New York (49-26) and Cleveland (49-27), but they’ve struggled to set themselves apart from the crowd and have lost six of their last ten. July 5, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-5, 5.77 ERA, 48.1 IP, 24 K’s, 1.74 WHIP) started against Billy Hoeft (8-5, 2.19 ERA, 123.1 IP, 84 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) for our first of three games against the Tigers. They went up quickly in the bottom of the first with a sac-fly by Virdon, and a single by Randy Jackson drove in another as our infield defense was absolutely putrid. But our bats showed signs of life in the top of the third -- Cannizzaro walked, DeMaestri hit a single, Larry Jansen sac-bunted them into scoring position, Danny O’Connell walked the bases loaded, and then Ernie Banks hit a grand slam homer to put us up 4-2! DeMaestri hit an RBI single to add a run in the top of the fourth. Jansen tried to stay out through the fifth, but with two outs and men on second and third, we had to bring out Art Ditmar to get the final out safely against Randy Johnson, who grounded out to first, ending the inning safely. Danny O’Connell batted in a run in the top of the sixth to increase our lead to four runs, and we piled on in the seventh -- Ernie Banks led off with a single, stole second AND third on one out, and then Pafko hit a single that drove him in to score. A few minutes later we added on with another RBI single by DeMaestri to make the score 8-2 heading into the stretch. We got sloppy in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases and walking in a run for the Tigers, and Tom Gorman came out with two outs and the bags still loaded, getting Lee Walls to pop out to second ... the lead stayed secure, at five runs. Gorman got out of another bases loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth thanks to Bill Tuttle grounding into a 6-4-3 double play, and we brought Bessent out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, pitching around a single baserunner to get us out of there with a stunning 8-3 win! This was essentially a bullpen game we had no business winning, but Larry Jansen did his best to keep us in it, lasting 4.2 innings with eight hits, three strikeouts and two earned runs. Ditmar took the win, improving to 2-1 with a 2.25 ERA, allowing three hits in two innings with a walk, a strikeout and an earned run. Gorman then earned his 11th hold of the year with 1.1 innings of one hit, two walk baseball, and Bessent came out for the non-save opportunity, allowing just a hit and a walk himself. We were outhit by Detroit 13-12, but Joe DeMaestri hit four times with two runs and two RBIs, and Ernie Banks backed him up with two hits, two runs and four RBIs. July 6, 1957: Our bullpen is completely worn down, and we’ve got Carl Erskine (8-6, 3.29 ERA, 112.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) starting on three days’ rest against Jim Bunning (9-6, 3.08 ERA, 131.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.07 WHIP), hoping he can pitch deep into this one and give our bench arms some rest. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the first to help us out in that regard, his 20th homer of the season, and Joe DeMaestri hit one in the top of the second (his fifth of the year) to put us up 2-0! But the Tigers got us back in the bottom of the third, Don Blasingame getting them on the board by hitting into a fielder’s choice, and Bill Tuttle singled in Red Wilson to tie it up. Whitey Lockman hit a sac-fly to deep left to get them the lead, and just like that we were in a dogfight. Art Ditmar came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and a man on first, still just trailing by a run, and he got us out of there by striking out Fred Hatfield. With two outs and men on the corners in the bottom of the eighth, Tom Gorman came out to face Don Blasingame, getting him to pop out to center to end that inning safely as well. It all came down to the top of the ninth -- Crandall led off with a double, but Pafko and Cannizzaro couldn’t get him around, and Joe DeMaestri popped out harmlessly in the infield as we lost this one 3-2. Erskine fell to 8-7, but got through 6.2 innings with just eight hits, three walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs, so when we went to the bullpen we still had a chance. They outhit us 10-7, our team led by DeMaestri with two hits, a run and an RBI ... he just didn’t have another walkoff hit in him to keep the steak alive. We’ve got one game left tomorrow night here in Detroit, and then we can rest a few days while the All Star festivities happen. Ernie Banks and Roy Sievers will be our only All Stars this year. July 7, 1957: Milt Pappas (7-5, 3.15 ERA, 114.1 IP, 61 K’s, 1.40 WHIP) started against Billy Hoeft (8-6, 2.47 ERA, 127.1 IP, 86 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in our final game in Detroit. Thomas Paddock hit a solo homer in the top of the second to give us a 1-0 lead, just his second homer of the year, but they tied us up in the bottom of the third with an RBI single by Harvey Kuenn. Tom Gorman came out to pitch with two outs and men on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, getting Bill Tuttle to ground out to first, keeping it tied heading into the top of the eighth. He got us out of the eighth on a fantastic double play, and with one out and a man on first Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, getting the second out ... but Detroit got an RBI single by Red Wilson to walk it off, beating us 2-1. Tom Gorman (1-1, 3.40 ERA) took the loss with two hits, a run and two strikeouts in his 1.2 innings, after Pappas threw 103 pitches and allowed just five hits, two walks, three strikeouts and an earned run in his 6.2 innings. They simply outhit us 8-3, and that’s tough for anyone to overcome -- Paddock’s homer was our only offense, and though we kept it close all the way to the end, we couldn’t create enough opportunities to find the way to win. Nothing to be down about here, we’ve played damned hard down the stretch to be in a far better position than we were in mid-June -- Since June 25 we’ve gone 9-4 and have gotten ourselves to within four games of .500, and we’ll play our first 13 games after the All Star break on our turf, against the Yankees (52-26), Washington (30-50), Boston (47-32) and Baltimore (26-53). July 9, 1957: Our own Municipal Stadium hosted the All Star game this year, and the AL took a huge lead in the bottom of the first, with an RBI single by Rocky Colavito and a three-run homer off the bat of Stan Lopata. But the NL took over from there, in what became a wild night of slug-it-out baseball. They scored three runs in the top of the second thanks to a three-run double by Lindy McDaniel, and though Jackie Jensen hit a solo homer for us in the bottom of the inning, the NL tied us in the top of the third thanks to RBI singles by Bill Mazeroski and Ed Bailey. An RBI triple by Bill White and a sac-fly by Wally Post gave them a 7-5 lead midway through the fourth, and Johnny Logan hit a homer in the top of the sixth to make it a three-run NL lead. But our own Ernie Banks got the AL back into the game in the bottom of the eighth with a three-run homer of his own to tie it up at 8-8. *Unfortunately that was our last offensive gasp of the evening, and Hank Aguirre batted in a run with a single in the top of the ninth to win the game for the National League 9-8.* Bill White was named the player of the game, hitting twice and walking once with three runs and an RBI. On the AL side, Ernie Banks led the way with his three RBIs, and Rocky Colavito had two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-12-2024, 05:23 PM	#73
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	Here's a state of the league update Attached Images __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-14-2024, 08:01 PM	#75
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	July 23, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.26 ERA, 141.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) pitched against Boston’s Willard Nixon (7-8, 3.88 ERA, 127.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) in our first of three at Fenway to start this road trip. But our plans for Pappas to pitch deep into this game hit a snag for us in the third inning, when we had to pull Pappas because of a finger blister. We had to bring Charlie Rabe out with one out and a man on first without a lot of time to prep him, but he did the job and kept us in the game, and he pitched well in the fourth and fifth innings as well to keep us in this scoreless battle. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh Boston took over, Ted Lepicio hitting a three-run homer over the Monster, and by the time we got the final out we were down 4-0 heading into the eighth inning. Portocarrero came out for the bottom of the eighth, giving up another pair of runs, and we lost what had been a razor-sharp battle by a 6-0 margin. Gorman took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA, allowing four hits and four runs (two earned). We were outhit 9-6, but our batters did nothing to actually further the goal of scoring runs. David Shea led the team with two hits, but couldn’t get anywhere once on base. Pappas is supposed to be day to day for at least four days, and we’re hoping the blister subsides before his next time up in the rotation. July 24, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.28 ERA, 137.0 IP, 61 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Mike Fornieles (6-5, 3.89 ERA, 74.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Ernie Banks got us a lead in the first inning with a two-run single, but we gave both runs back in the bottom of the second when Ted Lepicio hit a homer again out of left. DeMaestri hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth to put us back into the lead, and we started trading runs from there. Del Crandall put us up 4-3 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, and we added on in the seventh with an RBI double by Crandall and when David Shea reached on an error, driving home Crandall to put us up 6-3 going into the stretch. Art Ditmar came out in the bottom of the inning and Miller in the eighth, but Miller gave up an RBI single to Sammy White and, with two outs and men on first and second, Bessent came out to try and shut the rally down. He struck Willie Kirkland out and got us into the top of the ninth still leading by a pair. But with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he gave up a two-run homer to Willie Jones, and we were knotted up at six each. Bessent got us out of the inning but it meant heading into extras for the fourth time in five games. Portocarrero came out in the bottom of the 10th, still tied up, and he got us into the 11th, but with two outs in the bottom of that inning Johnny Blanchard reached first on an E6 error that allowed Ted Williams to walk it off and lose it for us 7-6. Portocarrero took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA, and we matched them 12-12 on hits, led by Banks with three hits, two runs and two RBIs. July 25, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-6, 5.56 ERA, 66.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched today against Frank Baumann (11-8, 3.64 ERA, 131.0 IP, 88 K’s, 1.21 WHIP). Boston took the lead with a solo homer by Frank Malzone in the bottom of the second, but we answered with an RBI single by O’Connell that tied the game. Boston would retake the lead for good in the top of the sixth, thanks to an RBI double by Ted Williams and a sac-fly by Malzone, but Jansen pitched a complete game, and though we lost 3-1, this time it couldn’t be blamed on anything but our inability to turn base hits into runs. Jansen fell to 1-7 with a 5.33 ERA, allowing seven hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts, and we were outhit 7-5, O’Connell batting in our only run and newcomer David Shea scoring it. July 26, 1957: Onward to Washington, where today Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 4.18 ERA, 33 K’s, 1.73 WHIP) pitched against Mickey McDermott (7-6, 3.36 ERA, 128.2 IP, 57 K’s, 1.27 WHIP). Washington took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Bob Allison, but Del Crandall hit an RBI double in the top of the fourth to tie us back up. Bob Miller took over for Jones in the bottom of the sixth, and in the top of the seventh Danny O’Connell hit an RBI single that put us up 2-1, but we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Russ Snyder and an RBI single by Mickey McDermott to put the Senators back on top. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but our bats couldn’t get us back into this one and we lost in the end 3-2. Miller took the loss, falling to 2-4 with a 5.46 ERA, and we lost despite outhitting them 8-5 ... Del Crandall leading the way with two hits, a walk and an RBI. July 27, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.20 ERA, 143.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.36 WHIP) was good to go today against Art Houtteman (4-5, 3.92 ERA, 98.2 IP, 41 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Eddie Yost batted in a run for the Senators in the first inning, and Sam Dente batted in another in the bottom of the fourth to give them a 2-0 lead. But Daryl Spencer hit a two-run blast in the top of the fifth to tie the game up, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run blast in the top of the sixth to give us a 4-2 lead! But Daryl Spencer re-injured his oblique in the top of the seventh and had to be pulled from the game after sliding into second with no outs ... DeMaestri made it count with a two-run homer with Cannizzaro the pinch-runner (and future third base replacement) at second. But Spencer has been a sparkplug for us all year, and losing him again just seems like another kick in the balls. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh leading by four runs, and Gorman hit a sac-fly to drive in another run in the top of the ninth to seal the deal ... even with the Senators loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, he didn’t blink, staying out to keep them from adding on as we won 7-2. Pappas earned the win, improving to 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing six hits and two earned runs with three walks and a strikeout in his six innings. Gorman, meanwhile, picked up a three-inning save (his fifth save of the year) with four hits a walk and a strikeout. We outhit them 11-10, led by Andy Pafko with three hits and a run, and by Spencer with two hits, a run and two RBIs. Spencer’s out at least for three weeks and has been placed in the IL, joining Metkovich and Diering who we hope will be able to return in a few days, so we’ve brought up minor leaguer Phil Jantze to give us a backup at third while Cannizzaro takes over in the starting lineup. July 28, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.34 ERA, 143.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) faced off against Walt Masterson (4-9, 5.62 ERA, 107.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) in the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Senators. The game was a deadlock until the top of the seventh, when Thomas Paddock hit an RBI double that gave us a 1-0 lead on Washington. But the Senators got it back in the bottom of the eighth when Ken Aspromonte grounded out to first, allowing a runner in from third to tie us back up. Erskine got us out of the inning without giving them a lead, and Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth and got the outs we needed to send this into extra innings yet again. He stayed out through the 10th inning, and in the top of the 11th Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer to give us the lead! Art Ditmar came out for the bottom of the inning, getting three quick outs to shut them down as we won game one 3-1! Erskine lasted eight innings with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and one earned run, but it was Bessent (5-4, 3.89 ERA) who got the win, going two innings with a strikeout and no baserunners. Ditmar then picked up his fifth save of the year, striking out one without a baserunner himself and improving his ERA to 3.20 through 56.1 innings. We outhit Washington 9-4, led by Thomas Paddock with two hits, a walk and an RBI. Jansen and Jones would be pitching on far too short rest, so we gave Charlie Rabe (1-2, 5.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 9 K’s, 2.11 WHIP) a chance in game two knowing we were going to have him on a short leash and depend heavily on the depth of our bullpen. He faced off against Camilo Pascual (14-7, 2.71 ERA, 195.2 IP, 129 K’s, 1.15 WHIP), so it was hardly a matchup on paper that inspired much hope. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to get us a lead in the top of the first, however, so at least we got going on a good note. But in the bottom of the third, Eddie Yost hit a single that, coupled with an E9 error, allowed both Pete Runnels and Ken Aspromonte to score, giving them the lead back. Joe DeMaestri strained his groin sliding into second in the top of the fifth with one out, and we had to sub in George Wilson as a pinch-runner ... and we were unable to get him around to score. Banks batted in another run in the top of the sixth, however, cutting their lead to one run, and we brought Arnie Portocarrero out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Bob Miller came out in the eighth with no outs and men on first and second, and he got two quick outs before Fred Valentine batted one of the runners in with a single, getting us into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair with time running out. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get anything going and we lost this one 4-2. But we’d been more competitive than I’d expected based on our pitching struggles. Rabe lasted five innings with five hits, a walk, four strikeouts and three earned runs, taking the loss as he fell to 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA. We outhit them 8-7, led by O’Connell with two hits and two runs, and by Banks with a run and an RBI (his 48th since joining our team). DeMaestri is joining our growing list of injured players, with George Wilson starting in his place for at least the next couple weeks due to the groin injury. We’ve got a day off tomorrow, and then will play the Yankees (68-29) for three, including a Wednesday doubleheader. We then have Thursday off and travel to Baltimore (30-67) for three, with an additional day off the following Monday. Wednesday is also the trade deadline, though nothing looks likely to happen on our end as we’re not in a position for move-making. We’re 44-54 and in fifth place in the AL ... unlikely to fall to the bottom of the league, but 24.5 games out of pennant contention. So far our owner is happy with our attendance improvements this year, and unless we do completely crash and burn I think my job is safe into next year ... but his patience will wear thin if I can’t find ways to get this team to gel into a much more competitive unit as we near the decade’s end. July 30, 1957: Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 3.98 ERA, 61.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) started in game one against the Yankees, facing Mike McCormick (10-6, 3.06 ERA, 158.2 IP, 115 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to give the Yankees the lead, and they added a pair in the bottom of the fifth to extend it. Tom Gorman came out to pitch trailing by three in the bottom of the seventh, and he got us through the remainder, but we lost this one 3-0 regardless. Jones fell to 1-4 with a 4.03 ERA, allowing five hits with five walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs in his six innings, and we were outhit 7-2. We got an unexpected offer from St. Louis this afternoon, and with our pitching crunch what it is we had to consider it. *They asked for Joe DeMaestri in exchange for 35-year-old starter Bill “Lefty” Wight, retaining 75% of his remaining contract on the season plus $25,000 in cash.* Wight has started in 16 games this season and has a 5-6 record, a 4.21 ERA and 54 K’s, through 104.2 innings, giving him 1.6 WAR on the year. It’s an offer I simply can’t refuse in the situation we’re in, so we’ve accepted. Wight will join us in Baltimore, where he’ll pitch for us in the first game of that series. July 31, 1957: David Shea dropped down to AAA today to make room for Catfish Metkovish, who returned from his injury and rejoined the lineup for today’s doubleheader. Milt Pappas (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 149.1 IP, 80 K’s, 1.37 WHIP) started in the first game against Billy O’Dell (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 8 K’s, 1.09 WHIP), who has only pitched in two starts since returning from his stretched elbow ligament from last September. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the first to get us on the board, and Roy Sievers hit one in the top of the fourth to extend the lead. Banks hit an RBI double in the top of the sixth to make it a three-run shutout lead as Pappas quietly pitched his best start of the season. He stayed out and finished the complete game shutout as we won the game 3-0! In his first complete game of any kind, Pappas only allowed four hits all game, with two walks and two strikeouts, showing just how good he can be when he’s locked in -- he also improved to 10-6 with the win, his ERA at 3.01 through nearly 160 innings. We outhit the Yankees 6-4, led by Ernie Banks with two hits and two RBIs, while Roy Sievers added three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI. Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.22 ERA, 151.0 IP, 68 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Sal Maglie (14-4, 1.95 ERA, 152.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in the day’s second game, and the Yankees wasted no time getting the lead, scoring off a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. But Erskine hit a sac-fly that drove in George Wilson to tie it up in the top of the third, at which point we started trading runs ... Tony Kubek hit an RBI single for the Yanks in the bottom of the third, and we tied it up in the top of the sixth with a solo homer by Ernie Banks. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 2-2, and with one out and the bases loaded we had to go to Ditmar, who allowed a run to score with a sac-fly by Earl Torgeson, getting us out of the inning with a strikeout by Charlie Silvera. We were unable to get anyone to score in the top of the ninth and lost this one in the end 3-2. Miller (2-5, 5.48 ERA) took the loss, getting only one out for us and negating Erskine’s seven innings with eight hits, two walks, 11 strikeouts and two earned runs. But we were outhit 9-3, so in the end it was our lack of offense that let us down. Banks led the way with his homer, his 17th since joining our team and his 29th of the season as a whole. The trade deadline has now passed, and any further moves that can be made will depend on any fortuitous players being put on waivers. Milt Pappas was named July’s AL Rookie of the Month, starting nine times in July with a 4-1 record, a 2.59 ERA and 29 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a stingy .186 average. August 2, 1957: Bill Wight (5-6, 4.21 ERA, 104.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) made his debut for us in tonight’s game in Baltimore, facing Ted Wills (6-3, 2 SV, 3.45 ERA, 65 K’s, 1.32 WIHP). And he pitched extremely well for us in a game with no offense. But in the bottom of the seventh with two outsm the Orioles got on the board with an RBI single from Hal Smith, and they added a two-run single by Gus Triandos just moments later to suddenly turn a tight game into a rough jam. Tom Gorman came out with two outs and a man on, and by the time we got the final out we were in a 4-0 hole we would not get out of despite Gorman pitching well the rest of the way. We were outhit 11-8, and after six great innings, Wight wound up with four earned runs from the seventh, turning a good start into a terrible one in the blink of an eye. August 3, 1957: Sam Jones (1-4, 1 SV, 4.03 ERA, 67.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) pitched against Roger Craig (6-10, 4.40 ERA, 131.0 IP, 71 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) in the second game in Baltimore, and our bats got us a good lead in the top of the second, thanks to a three-run homer by George Wilson, his first of the year! But the Orioles got three runs back in the bottom of the second and bottom of the fourth combined, and we were back into a battle. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get us a slim lead back, but Jones allowed Triandos to hit a two-run double to push them back on top in the bottom frame. Sam Jones then hit an RBI single to tie it back up and save himself from getting another loss, as we brought out Arnie Portocarrero in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 5-5. We held our own from there, and in the top of the eighth Portocarrero hit an RBI single to get us into the lead, with Metkovich doubling to bring him home. Metkovich would score off a sac-fly by Banks, and we led by three heading into the bottom of the eighth with Art Ditmar coming out to pitch. Baltimore got a run back with a run that scored despite Jimmy Kindell hitting into a 4-6-3 double play, and Don Bessent came out in the bottom of the ninth, shutting them down as we won 8-6! Arnie Portocarrero (2-2, 5.27 ERA) went two innings with just a hit and a walk, and Ditmar picked up his second hold to set up Bessent for his 11th save as we held tough to win tonight. We outhit the Orioles 12-10 in the slugfest, led by Wilson with two hits, a walk, three runs and three RBIs. August 4, 1957: Charlie Rabe (1-3, 5.48 ERA, 23.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.91 WHIP) started our final game in Baltimore, facing Glen Hobbie (2-6, 6 SV, 4.17 ERA, 69.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.67 WHIP). Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI triple by Wes Covington and a sac-fly by Brooks Robinson, but we tied it up in the top of the sixth with RBI singles by Sievers and Crandall. In the top of the seventh we took the lead when O’Connell hit an RBI single, and Banks batted in another to make it a two-run lead going into the stretch. Tom Gorman came out with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth the Orioles got a run back with a homer out of right by Lenny Green. Art Ditmar came out with a man on second and one out, getting us out of the jam and into the ninth with a one run lead. Ditmar stayed out and got the three outs we needed in the bottom of the ninth to hold them off 4-3! Rabe improved to 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA, allowing just two hits, three walks and six strikeouts with two earned runs in his 6.1 innings, and Gorman picked up his second hold, Ditmar then saving his sixth game of the season with 1.2 innings, a walk and two strikeouts. We outhit Baltimore 9-4, led by O’Connell with three hits, one walk and one RBI. We’ve got one week left on this road trip, after which we’ve got a three week stretch of home games. After a travel day tomorrow we’ll face Chicago (46-59) for three games and then Cleveland (61-43) for a four-game weekend series. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-19-2024, 01:13 AM	#77
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	August 30, 1957: Milt Pappas (14-6, 2.76 ERA, 205.1 IP, 107 K’s, 1.26 WHIP) pitched against Bob Rush (6-12, 4.62 ERA, 169.1 IP, 96 K’s, 1.53 WHIP) in the first of our three games against Chicago. And this one was a nailbiter from the start ... Pappas threw 103 pitches through seven innings and only allowed six baserunners, but Chicago was just as miserly with their pitching, and we went into the top of the eighth knotted at zero-all. Tom Gorman took over at that point, and he got through the inning with THREE PITCHES ... getting Aparicio, Fox and Minoso to ground out 4-3, 6-3, 6-3 ... and in the bottom of the eighth we took the lead off an RBI single by Danny O’Connell! With two outs in the top of the ninth, Bob Boyd got on base with a single, but Gorman shut them down by getting Jim Rivera to ground out and we won this one 1-0! Each team had four hits tonight, ours led by Darryl Spencer who hit twice and scored a run. Pappas lasted seven innings with three hits, three walks and six strikeouts, and Gorman took the win, improving to 4-4 with just one hit in two innings, throwing just 14 pitches to do it. August 31, 1957: Carl Erskine (10-10, 3.42 ERA, 189.2 IP, 90 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) pitched against Jack Kralick (4-6, 4.29 ERA, 71.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Nellie Fox hit a solo homer to put Chicago on the board in the top of the second, but in the bottom of the fourth we went absolutely buck wild offensively, starting with a Chuck Diering homer that tied the score. Ernie Banks got us the lead on an error that put Daryl Spencer on base, Crandall hit an RBI single, Paddock hit an RBI double, O’Connell hit an RBI single, and Diering, having already homered in the inning, batted in two more with a single that was assisted by an E8 error. We put the icing on the cake with a sac-fly by Banks that scored O’Connell from third, and just like that we went into the fifth inning leading 8-1! Arnie Portocarrero took over in the top of the eighth still leading by six, and though he gave up three runs in the eighth, he got us through the remainder of the game and we held on to win 8-5. Erskine improved to 11-10 with a 3.39 ERA, getting through seven innings with five hits, a walk, five strikeouts and two earned runs, while Portocarrero pitched two innings with two hits, five walks and three earned runs. We outhit Chicago 10-7, led by Diering who had two hits, a walk, a run and three RBIs. We’ll head into the month of August with a 66-62 record, a game and a half up on the Tigers and now in fourth place in the AL. Our winning streak still stands at eight games, by far our best streak of the season, and we were 21-6 in the month of August, putting it all together too late to be a pennant contender but showing the signs of hope for the future that we’d only hinted at earlier in the season. Tomorrow we’ll finish the series with Chicago (52-76), and then we play a doubleheader on Monday against the Guardians (77-53). We then get three days off to rest, before playing three at Chicago, three at Baltimore (39-88), three at Washington (47-80), a doubleheader against the Yankees (90-39) in New York, and a pair against Boston (77-51) at Fenway. We then return to KC for our last three home series, against Detroit (65-64), Chicago and Cleveland, followed by a final road series in Detroit. Milt Pappas was named Rookie of the Month for the second month in a row, going 4-0 through seven starts with 31 K’s against 18 walks and a 1.67 ERA through 54 innings. He’s put up a 14-6 record and 2.67 ERA through 212.1 innings, striking out 113 with a 1.24 WHIP and 4.7 WAR, and we’re hopeful he’ll be the lynchpin of our rotation for years to come. Ownership is satisfied with how the season has gone thus far ... we’re above .500, and had only expected to stay as close to that mark as possible, and our attendance is averaging 11,231 per game, beating our goal of 11,000 that we’d hoped to meet next season. His hopes for a top three farm are bat** crazy, and reaching the World Series by 1959 may still be a pipe dream. But I’ve done everything in my power to keep him happy and give us the chance to keep building this program. September 1, 1957: Bill Wight (7-7, 4.11 ERA, 144.2 IP, 66 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) pitched against Billy Pierce (10-14, 3.33 ERA, 227.1 IP, 144 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in the final game against the White Sox this series, and while it was close early, we took the lead with RBI singles by Pafko and Crandall to go up 2-0 heading into the top of the sixth. Art Ditmar took over in the eighth inning and Earl Battey hit a solo homer that inning to cut our lead to one. In the top of the ninth, Dick Bessent came out to close things out, and he held his ground on the mound as we beat the White Sox 3-0 to complete the sweep! We’ll go into the road series with a nine-game winning streak in hand. Bill Wight is now 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA since coming to Kansas City, lasting seven innings with one hit, two walks and four strikeouts, while Ditmar earned his fourth hold and Bessent his 16th save of the season. We outhit them 6-3, led by O’Connell with a hit and a run and by Sievers who had two walks and scored a run. September 2, 1957:In the first game of today’s doubleheader in Cleveland, Milt Pappas (14-6, 2.67 ERA, 212.1 IP, 113 K’s, 1.24 WHIP) pitched against Dave Sisler (7-5, 3.51 ERA, 136.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Pappas pitched a complete game, but Cleveland took control with runs in the second, third and seventh inning as they shut us out 3-0 to end the winning streak. Pappas fell to 14-7 with the loss, but he allowed just five hits, a walk, five strikeouts and the three earned runs, keeping his ERA at 2.70. We were outhit 5-4 in the pitching duel, with Diering and Sievers each hitting once and walking once but getting nowhere. Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.41 ERA, 96.0 IP, 53 K’s, 1.66 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Tom Cheney (13-12, 2.54 ERA, 212.2 IP, 141 K’s, 1.16 WHIP). Andy Pafko hit an RBI single to put us in the lead in the top of the fourth, but they tied it in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single by George Crowe. Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the seventh and in the top of the ninth we put up three runs, thanks to a two-run single by Spencer and an RBI single by Astroth. Tom Gorman came out to close things out and though Dale Long hit a solo bomb, that’s all they had as we beat them 4-2! Bob Miller (6-5, 4.59 ERA) got the win with two innings and no baserunners, and Gorman saved his seventh game with a hit and an earned run. We were able to outhit them 7-6, led by two hits, a run and an RBI by Pafko. We improved to 68-63 but were officially mathematically eliminated from pennant contention with the loss. But the Yankees have the AL pretty much sewn up at this point anyway, with a 14.5 game leadon Boston. The real race right now is in the NL, where Milwaukee (82-48) has a 6.5 game lead over Pittsburgh (77-56), with the Dodgers (73-59) ten games back but on a six game winning streak. It’d be crazy if they fight their way back and make it to the series in their final year in New York ... the league has approved them moving to Los Angeles in the coming season. September 6, 1957: Milt Pappas (14-7, 2.70 ERA, 220.1 IP, 118 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) is on four days’ rest following the three-day Labor Day break, so he pitched today against Billy Pierce (10-15, 3.29 ERA, 235.1 IP, 148 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) in Chicago. Daryl Spencer hit an RBI triple to put us in the lea in the top of the second, and Pappas batted in a run to add on, giving us a 2-0 lead midway through the inning. But Chicago answered back in the bottom frame, scoring off singles by Jim Rivera and Billy Pierce, to tie it back up. Tom Gorman came out in the top of the eighth with the score still tied up 2-2, and he got us into extra innings. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the 10th, his 43rd of the year, and Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, getting the outs we needed to win 3-2! Pappas went seven innings with just four hits, two walks, four strikeouts and two earned runs, and Gorman came out to get the win, improving to 5-4 with a 3.86 ERA, allowing just a hit and a walk. Miller picked up his fourth save as a rookie, allowing one hit in 12 pitches to get us through. We outhit Chicago 7-6, led by Daryl Spencer who had a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI, and by Banks with his game-winning homer. September 7, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-10, 3.39 ERA, 196.2 IP, 95 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against Jack Harshman (8-12, 4.22 ERA, 187.2 IP, 96 K’s, 1.41 WHIP), and he’s about to break past the 200-innings mark for the first time since we snagged him off the waiver wire from Brooklyn! He pitched a complete game, but Chicago led the entire way, scoring in the third, sixth and eighth innings. We rallied a little too late in the top of the ninth, Thomas Paddock hitting an RBI single that scored Banks and George Wilson hitting into a fielder’s choice to score Roy Sievers, and we lost this one 3-2. Erskine only allowed six hits and three runs (two earned) but walked six batters during his eight innings. Chicago outhit us 6-5, led by Erskine with two hits, while Paddock had a hit, a walk and an RBI. September 8, 1957: Bill Wight (8-7, 3.92 ERA, 151.2 IP, 70 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) pitched against Bob Rush (6-13, 4.32 ERA, 185.1 IP, 109 K’s, 1.46 WHIP), and this game was not a good one in any way. Chicago scored five off us in the third to take a 6-2 lead, and they added two more in the sixth and four in the seventh to clobber us 12-3. Wight took the loss with seven hits and six earned runs in 2.2 innings, and our bullpen wasn’t capable of holding them off enough for a comeback when our bats weren’t making good contact. We were outhit 15-10, led by Banks with two hits, two runs and an RBI, including a third-inning solo homer that gives him 44 on the season, trailing Mantle by a pair and only one up on Brooklyn’s Duke Snider. September 10, 1957: Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.15 ERA, 102.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.64 WHIP) pitched against Baltimore’s Ruben Gomez (7-16, 3.70 ERA, 214.1 IP, 80 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). Gomez hit a homer for the Orioles in the bottom of the third to put them into the lead and Gus Triandos hit an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth to add on, but in the top of the sixth George Wilson hit a two-run blast to tie the score 2-2. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the sixth, and Del Crandall hit a solo homer to push us into the lead, up 3-2 heading into the stretch. Tom Gorman took over in the bottom of the eighth, and with the lead still at one run, Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, holding them off as we won 3-2, earning our 70th win of the season! Bessent improved to 9-4 with the win, improving his ERA to 3.16 with a two-inning no-baserunner effort. Gorman got a hold, his 14th, and Miller saved his fifth game as we outhit Baltimore 6-4. Paddock led the way with a hit, two walks and a run, while Wilson’s two run homer got us back in this one. September 11, 1957: Charlie Rabe (2-3, 4.70 ERA, 38.1 IP, 22 K’s, 1.51 WHIP) started game two against the Orioles, facing Ted Wills (8-7, 3.70 ERA, 136.1 IP, 95 K’s, 1.32 WHIP). He got shelled for four runs in the bottom of the first with just one out, so Larry Jansen took over as a desperation spot starter. He made it into the fourth inning and got two outs, before this became a game of bullpen musical chairs. We wound up getting shut out 6-0, the Orioles outhitting us 7-2. Rabe (obviously) took the loss, getting one out with four hits, two walks and four earned runs while Diering and Sievers got our only hits of the game, George Wilson walking twice. September 12, 1957: Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.37 ERA, 66.2 IP, 41 K’s, 1.32 WHIP) pitched against Baltimore’s Roger Craig (7-13, 4.66 ERA, 179.2 IP, 91 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit his 45th homer, a two-run blast in the top of the first, and Thomas Paddock hit one in the top of the second to give us a 3-0 lead. Tom Gorman took over in the bottom of the seventh with a 3-1 lead, but got shelled in the eighth as Baltimore roared back with four runs. Don Bessent came out with bases loaded and two outs to get the final strikeout, and we went into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair ... and that’s how it stayed, our team losing 5-3. Gorman blew the save (his sixth) and took the loss (his fifth), and we were outhit 7-5 ... Ditmar had lasted six innings with five hits, three strikeouts and an earned run but we weren’t able to hold on. September 13, 1957: Today we have a doubleheader in Washington, and our first game is the (formerly home) game where we were deadlocked at zero heading into the fourth inning. This was Charlie Rabe’s start, so he came out today and pitched the fourth and fifth innings, keeping them scoreless as we took the lead with an RBI single by Daryl Spencer in the fourth and an RBI double by Sievers in the fifth. Bill Wight came out to pitch in the sixth, and Bob Lillis batted in a run with a triple to give us a 3-0 lead. Wight held tough and got us through the rest of the game as we beat the Senators 3-1. Rabe got the win, finishing with five innings and two hits with three strikeouts, while Wight earned a four-inning save, allowing three hits, two walks and an earned run with five strikeouts. We outhit them 8-5, led by Lillis with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI. Milt Pappas (14-7, 2.69 ERA, 227.1 IP, 122 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Walt Masterson (5-13, 5.48 ERA, 151.0 IP, 76 K’s, 1.68 WHIP). Crandall hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the top of the second, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run triple in the second to make it a 3-0 lead. Pappas pitched the rest of the game, having had plenty of rest days, and we won easily 3-1! He had seven hits, a walk, four strikeouts and one earned run in the game, giving him a 15-7 record and 2.63 ERA. Both teams had seven hits each, ours led by Sievers with two hits, a run and two RBIs. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties** -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-19-2024, 01:20 AM	#78
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	September 14, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-11, 3.34 ERA, 204.2 IP, 96 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) faced off against Cal McLish (1-3, 2 SV, 4.68 ERA< 42.1 IP, 12 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) in today’s game against the Senators, and Fred Valentine put them up quickly in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer. George Wilson answered with a two-run triple in the top of the second, and in the top of the fourth Thomas Paddock scored off a wild pitch to give us the lead. Erskine gave up three unanswered runs in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings. Bob Lee pitched well in the sixth but gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the seventh. Dean Stone, a fellow September call-up, got us through the eighth trailing by four runs, and then we unleashed on the Senators in the top of the ninth -- with the bases loaded, Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to score Stone, Sievers reached base on an E3 error to score O’Connell, Spencer hit a two-run double to tie the game, and Joe Astroth hit a sac-fly that sent Roy Sievers around to score from third to push us into the lead! Don Bessent came out for the save attempt in the bottom of the ninth, and he shut them down as we won 8-7 to complete the sweep! Dean Stone, who Washington traded to us back in April for Walt Cradock and Martin Rosell, came through and earned the win, improving to 1-1 on the season with a 6.75 ERA, allowing one hit and two runs (one earned) with four walks, and Bessent saved his 17th game, bringing his ERA down to 2.98 through 60.1 innings in 49 appearances. We outhit Washington 11-5, led by Astroth with three hits, a walk and a run, and by Spencer with two hits, a walk and two RBIs. September 15, 1957: Today’s a doubleheader day in New York, as we play our final two games against the Yankees this season. They’ve already clinched a World Series spot, where they’re going to get a rematch against last year’s champs the Milwaukee Braves. In game one of the afternoon we started Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.22 ERA, 72.2 IP, 44 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) against Billy O’Dell (6-4, 2.41 ERA, 86.0 IP, 57 K’s, 1.08 WHIP). New York went up 1-0 in the bottom of the first thanks to an RBI single by Yogi Berra, but the game stayed a real battle from there. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth still trailing by the one run, but in the top of the seventh Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer out of right and put us into the lead by a run! Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the ninth, still leading by the same margin, and he held on as we beat the Yanks 2-1! Gorman took the win, improving to 6-5 with a 3.81 ERA thanks to three innings with four hits and a strikeout, while Miller saved his sixth game by throwing a dozen pitches without a baserunner. They outhit us 7-5, but we played smart baseball, led by Sievers with two hits, a run and two RBIs, and by Diering who hit twice and scored a run. Sam Jones (1-5, 1 SV, 4.12 ERA, 107.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Duke Maas (7-3, 1 SV, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Bill Skowron scored for the Yankees in the bottom of the third off a groundout by McDougald, but in the top of the fifth we loaded the bases and George Wilson reached on an E6 error to drive in the tying run, no outs. Jones almost pulled off a squeeze bunt, but they got the runner out at the plate, though the bases stayed loaded ... and with the one out, Danny O’Connell got a shot into right field to put us in the lead! Jones tried to stay out for the sixth inning but failed miserably, loading the bases and forcing us to start warming up bullpen arms. With one out, Charlie Maxwell drove in the tying run with a single, and Bob Miller came out to pitch, bases loaded. Tony Kubek hit a single that drove in two, but Miller got us out of the jam without it becoming a rout. Bob Lee came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, still trailing by a pair, and he got us through the inning safely, but our bats were silent the remainder of the way and we lost 4-2. Jones took the loss, going 5.1 innings with four hits, three walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs, falling to 1-6 with a 4.25 ERA, and we were outduelled 5-4 offensively ... Daryl Spencer hit twice and O’Connell, with a hit and a walk, batted in a run. September 17, 1957: We’re in the homestretch now, just a dozen games left, seven at home and five on the road. Tonight we’re in Boston to face the Red Sox for our last two-game series of the year. We’re 74-68 and in fourth place, a game and a half up on Detroit, and they’re 85-58 and in second place, 12.5 back of the Yankees. For us it’s been a good finish to the year, but the Sox are still stinging over the Yankees heading to another Fall Classic. Milt Pappas (15-7, 2.63 ERA, 236.1 IP, 126 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Willard Nixon (11-10, 3.37 ERA, 211.0 IP, 144 K’s, 1.45 WHIP), and in this one Boston took control with runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh, and though we got a run in the top of the ninth it wasn’t enough. We lost 3-1, Pappas taking the loss with a seven inning five hit, five walk, five strikeout, three run game. Lots of fives, including five hits each for our teams, ours led by Sievers who hit twice with a run and an RBI thanks to his ninth inning solo homer, his 29th of the season. September 18, 1957: Carl Erskine (11-11, 3.48 ERA, 209.2 IP, 97 K’s, 1.20 WHIP) pitched against Mike Fornieles (11-6, 4.02 ERA, 134.1 IP, 78 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). Alas, Erskine’s night started off badly, giving up four runs to the Sox in the first inning, but we got back into it in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by O’Connell, an RBI single by Diering and and RBI double by Banks to cut their lead to one! Boston got a run back in the bottom of the inning, and Larry Jansen came out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, still trailing by a pair, but we never got back into it offensively. The Red Sox went on to win this one 7-4, Erskine taking the loss with a nine hit, three walk, three strikeout, five earned run game through his four innings. They outhit us 10-9, our team led by Banks with two hits and an RBI, while O’Connell added a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI. September 20, 1957: We’re back at home for our final three series ... the first of which brings Detroit (73-72) to face our 74-70 A’s, with the chance for us to shore up our position as the fourth best team in the AL. Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.13 ERA, 77.2 IP, 45 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) faced off against Jim Bunning (16-14, 3.42 ERA, 250.1 IP, 152 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Del Crandall hit a solo homer in the bottom of the second, and in the bottom of the fourth we got a three-run homer off the bat of George Wilson to add on. Red Wilson got Boston on the board with an RBI double, but we got that run back in the bottom of the inning with a sac-fly by Daryl Spencer. Dean Stone took over in the sixth, and he gave up a run in the sixth and three more in the seventh as the Tigers ate away our lead. Tied up 5-5 with two outs and no one on, Don Bessent came out and he didn’t fare any better. We went into the stretch trailing 7-5, but we put up four runs in the bottom of the inning thanks to a grand slam by Spencer, his second homer of the game! Tom Gorman came out in the eighth leading by two, and the damned Tigers hit back to back homers (Kaline and Kuenn) to tie it up again ... Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to put us up again in the bottom of the eighth, and Bob Miller came out to try and finish it for good in the top of the ninth, and was able to do it with three quick outs around a double by Bill Virdon, as we won the game 10-9. It was a marathon slugfest, and Tom Gorman blew the save (his seventh) but got the win, improving to 7-5 with a 3.93 ERA thanks to two hits, a strikeout and two earned runs. Miller got the save, his seventh, and we outhit the Tigers 13-10, led by Del Crandall with two hits, a walk, two runs and an RBI. September 21, 1957: Bill Wight (8-8, 4.15 ERA, 158.1 IP, 75 K’s, 1.41 WHIP) pitched against Robin Roberts (10-12, 3.12 ERA, 225.1 IP, 102 K’s, 1.03 WHIP). But we got shelled tonight, trailing 8-0 when Arnie Portocarrero came out to pitch in the top of the sixth with one out and a man on second. It didn’t get any better from there, and we were shut out 9-0 in the end as the Tigers evened the series. They outhit us 16-8, with Portocarrero (who hit twice while pitching 3.2 innings with three hits, three walks, three strikeouts and an earned run) led the way. September 22, 1957: Sam Jones (1-6, 1 SV, 4.25 ERA, 112.1 IP, 60 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) pitched in this afternoon’s game, facing Detroit’s Bob Shaw (12-10, 3.14 ERA, 226.2 IP, 121 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). And he got blown up, giving up seven runs in the first two innings combined. We’d go on to lose 10-6 in a game with a lot of scoring that never saw us get closer than the four runs we lost by. Jones took the loss, falling to 1-7 with a 4.64 ERA, giving up five hits and seven runs (six earned) in two innings. We were outhit 13-4, wasting a great night for Banks, who had three hits and two runs. September 23, 1957: Charlie Rabe (3-4, 5.31 ERA, 40.2 IP, 23 K’s, 1.60 WHIP) pitched against Chicago’s Bob Rush (7-14, 4.20 ERA, 203.2 IP, 124 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Sievers hit an RBI single to get us on the board in the bottom of the first, and we added on seven runs in the bottom of the second, turning this one into a blowout quite qiuckly ... until Rabe, in the top of the fourth, gave back five of them with just one out, including a Morrie Martin grand slam. Larry Jansen came out and got us into the bottom of the inning still leading by three, and Sievers hit a solo homer to make it a four-run game as we went into the fifth. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the top of the sixth, and Tom Gorman came out two innings later holding a six-run lead. We’d go on to add three more runs in the bottom of the eighth, cruising to a 14-6 victory. Jansen (2-7, 4.47 ERA) got the win, pitching 1.2 innings with just a single walk, and we outhit the White Sox 12-6, led by Sievers with three hits, two runs and four RBIs. In the sixth inning Banks hit a two-run homer to give him his 46th of the year, tying his career high set just last season! It was his 148th career homer at age 26. September 24, 1957: Milt Pappas (15-8, 2.66 ERA, 243.1 IP, 131 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) started against Jack Kralick (4-7, 5.22 ERA, 81.0 IP, 35 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) in what will likely be his final start of the season. Chuck Diering hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to give us the first run of the game, and in the top of the eighth, still leading by the one run, Bessent came out to close things out. He shut them down nicely, and we won 1-0! Pappas finished his season with a 16-9 record and a 2.59 ERA through 250.1 innings, pitching a three-hitter through seven innings tonight while Bessent picked up his 18th save of the year. We outhit Chicago 6-4, earning our 77th win of the season which ensures we cannot finish below .500 this year! September 25, 1957: Cleveland’s in town for their last two games against us this season. Carl Erskine (11-12, 3.62 ERA, 213.2 IP, 100 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) pitched against Dave Sisler (9-6, 3.53 ERA, 150.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Cleveland dominated this one, building a 5-1 lead on us before we pulled Erskine, bringing in Portocarrero to pitch with one out and nobody on in the top of the sixth. Banks got us back within a pair thanks to a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, his second of the game (he’d hit a solo blast in the fourth to get us on the board), and Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the eighth trailing by three. In the bottom of the eighth Spencer scored off a sac-fly, and then George Wilson tied the game up at six each with a two run double! The game wound up going into extra innings, but Gorman stayed out and kept kicking ass. Don Bessent came out in the top of the 11th, and Dale Long hit a solo homer for the Guardians that put them up by a run. But with Miller and Wight warming in the bullpen, Astroth hit a double to lead off and George Wilson hit a two-run blast to walk it off in the bottom of the 11th as we won 8-7! That game had EVERYTHING ... Bessent won his 10th game of the year, improving to 10-4 with a 3.25 ERA, allowing two hits and an earned run, but it was Gorman whose three innings set us up for success, one strikeout, no hits, no runs, 35 pitches. Cleveland outhit us 13-11, but we were led by Ernie Banks who hit two homers and walked twice, scoring three times and batting in three. He’s rocketed himself right back into the home run race with three homers in two days, trailing Mantle by just one dinger with four games left! September 26, 1957: Art Ditmar (4-3, 6 SV, 3.05 ERA, 82.2 IP, 46 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) pitched against Mike Garcia (18-8, 2.58 ERA, 248.0 IP, 136 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) in our final game against Cleveland. The Guardians got out to a huge lead early, up 6-0 midway through the fourth, but, trailing by seven heading into the middle of the fifth, we put up four runs in the bottom frame, including a two-run double for Ernie Banks. But we weren’t getting back in this one -- they kept putting up hits, and we lost the game 9-6. Ditmar (4-4, 3.54 ERA) allowed seven hits and six earned runs in just 3.2 innings, but Portocarrero and Bob Miller combined for 5.1 innings with six hits, two walks, a strikeout and three earned runs to keep it from being a total slaughter. They outhit us 13-10, our team led by Daryl Spencer who hit three times with a run and two RBIs. September 27, 1957: We’re down to our final series of the year, on the road ... our 78-73 A’s up against the Detroit Tigers (75-76). Tonight Bill Wight (8-9, 1 SV, 4.45 ERA, 163.2 IP, 78 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) pitched against Bob Shaw (12-10, 3.12 ERA, 231.0 IP, 124 K’s, 1.22 WHIP). Detroit took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, but Ernie Banks hit a two-run homer to put us within a run when he batted in the top of the sixth. Dean Stone came out in the bottom of the inning with an out and a man on first, getting the two outs we needed, and Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the seventh still trailing by a run. In the top of the eighth, Sievers hit a solo homer and Crandall knocked a two-run blast out of left, shooting us into the lead! We never looked back, rolling to a 7-4 win, ensuring we’ll finish fourth in the AL, in the upper division for the first time in years. Gorman improved to 8-5 with a 3.69 ERA, allowing a hit and an unearned run with a strikeout in his three innings of work. We outhit the Tigers 13-7, led by Sievers with three hits a run and an RBI, and by Banks who batted in three runs with a hit and a run scored. Banks and Mantle are now tied at 49 homers each, and we each have two games left. September 28, 1957: Milt Pappas (16-8, 2.59 ERA, 250.1 IP, 135 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) was rested and wanted one more start this season, so we put him out there against Billy Hoeft (10-16, 3.74 ERA, 228.1 IP, 144 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). And in the top of the fourth he hit a two-run double to give us the lead, proving pitchers can be a real catalyst even with a bat in hand! In the bottom of the sixth a double by Kaline, and back to back walks by Kuenn and Hatfield put us into a real jam, but Pappas got out of it when Bill Virdon hit into a 6-4-3 TRIPLE PLAY to get us out of there ... and in the top of the seventh, Wally Westlake, a 36-year-old veteran player who had only played eight games for us all year, hit a two-run blast to make it a four-run lead! Bob Miller came out in the bottom of the seventh to make sure we got out of here with the win in hand. Don Bessent took over with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the eighth and still leading by three runs, and he got us through the remainder as we won 4-1! Pappas improved to 17-8 with a 2.53 ERA, allowing three hits in six innings with six walks and a strikeout, while we outhit Detroit 8-5. Westlake led the way with two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs, while Pappas had his hit with two RBIs. September 29, 1957: Mantle and Banks remain tied in the home run race with one game left each ... us against Detroit on the road, the Yankees facing Boston at Fenway. Larry Jansen (2-7, 1 SV, 4.47 ERA, 92.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) took our final start, going up against Bob Kuzawa (3-5, 2.79 ERA, 71.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Astroth and Diering hit RBI singles to make it 2-0 midway through the second inning, but Detroit got four runs in the bottom of the third to take the game over. Charlie Rabe came out in the bottom of the sixth to mop things up, as we trailed by five, and they’d go on to beat us 8-2 in the end. Banks walked once, but the Tigers refused to give him anything to hit. Jansen finished his season with a rough game, nine hits and seven earned runs in five innings with two walks and a strikeout, and we were outhit 12-7. Diering led the way with three hits, a walk and an RBI.And Mantle did get a homer in his final game of the season, so he takes the crown with 50 ... but he missed out on a TRIPLE CROWN by just .003 worth of batting average, as Hank Aaron finished with .346. All in all we can’t complain ... we were 8-5 in April but went 37-51 May through July, only to put up a 21-6 record in August and a 14-12 run in September to finish with an 80-74 record. This was our team’s best record since going 81-73 in 1949 back in Philadelphia. We still haven’t made the World Series since 1931, but it’s hard to not be happy with a 17-win improvement over last season and our first top-half finish since 1952 ... in fact it’s only our fourth top-half finish in the last 25 years! The World Series rematch between the 106-48 Yankees and the 110-54 Braves will take place starting October 2nd in New York. Attached Images __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-19-2024, 05:29 AM	#79
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	I accidentally simmed the first three games of the World Series, so I don’t have game logs .. for some reason the game logs got mixed up with some minor league teams or something. No matter, it wasn’t exactly a nailbiting series early on ... until it was. see below! October 6, 1957: Even though they didn’t have home field advantage, last year’s World Champion Milwaukee Braves didn’t even blink under pressure. They came back from down 3-0 in the first inning in game one to score FIVE RUNS in the top of the seventh, coasting to a 5-4 win. Then in game two, still in New York, they broke a tie in the top of the third with three runs and never looked back, cruising to win again 7-4. They took the series back to Milwaukee, and in a must-win situation, the Yankees fought hard in a back and forth battle, scoring three in the top of the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. But the Braves answered with a pair in the bottom of the inning and that was all they needed to beat New York 5-4 and go up three games to none. In tonight’s game four, New York’s Sal Maglie got the start against Milwaukee’s Warren Hacker. The Yankees went up 1-0 in the top of the third thanks to a wild pitch that scored Tony Kubek from third. And they held tough through several rally attempts by the Braves, going into the top of the ninth leading by just one run. Mickey Mantle hit a solo insurance homer in the top of the ninth, and the Yanks held on to win 4-2 ... there WILL be a game five, but can they get it back to New York? October 7, 1957: It’s game five time, the last chance for Milwaukee to cap a repeat title run on their home field. They started Connie Johnson against New York’s Billy O’Dell, and in the bottom of the second Eddie Mathews hit a solo homer to put them in the lead as the crowd went crazy! Yogi Berra tied it up for the Yanks in the top of the fourth with a sac-fly that scored Mantle from third, and New York again struck in the top of the ninth, getting a two-run homer off Charlie Maxwell to put them up 3-1! But Joe Adcock saved the Braves’ chances, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it up and force extra innings. In the top of the 13th, Woodie Held hit a two-run blast out of right to put the Yanks up again by two, and that was enough ... the Yankees won 5-3 and would bring the series back to the Bronx for game six. October 9, 1957: Mike McCormick started for the Yankees in game six, facing down Milwaukee legend Warren Spahn in front of 55,000+ crazed fans. Jimmy Logan hit a solo homer for Milwaukee to take the lead in the top of the third, but the Yankees took all the momentum in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer by Hank Bauer, an RBI double by Held and an RBI single by Berra to take a 4-1 lead. They added on three runs in the seventh and cruised to win 7-1, Milwaukee now on the ropes ... after leading three games to none, they’ll now face a must-win game seven for all the marbles! October 10, 1957: Milwaukee’s Ray Crone faced off against New York’s Don Mossi in the all-deciding game seven, and Milwaukee struck HARD in the top of the first with seven runs ... an RBI single by Hank Aaron that got it started, followed by a three-run homer for Eddie Mathews and a three-run homer by Joe Adcock! The Yankees fans in attendance were at a complete loss for words, I’ve never seen Yankee Stadium so quiet watching on my television. But they came up to hit in the bottom of the fourth, trailing 8-2, and after Tony Kubek scored off a walk by Mantle with the bases loaded, Yogi Berra hit a grand slam homer to put the Bronx Bombers back within a run, trailing just 8-7! So Eddie Mathews, in the top of the fifth, hit ANOTHER three-run homer to keep the Braves ahead in the race ... but their lead evaporated as the Yankees just kept hitting. In the bottom of the sixth, trailing by four coming into the inning, they rallied hard ... Held walked in a run, Berra hit an RBI single that scored two, and Woodie Held tied it up on a wild pitch! Kubek hit a sac-fly to center and Berra ran it out and slid safely into home to put the Yankees ahead 12-11. This is absolutely insane! Even then, Milwaukee had an answer ... Norm Siebern batted in Aaron with a single to tie it up, and Clete Boyer hit an RBI single to slingshot them back into the lead. Bad day for pitching, but a great day for fans who want to see runs produced. But that was the last gasp ... Milwaukee held firm from there, keeping New York scoreless after the seventh inning stretch and they went on to win 13-12. Hank Aaron hit five times for three runs and an RBI, setting a new NL playoff record for hits in a game. *The Milwaukee Braves are your REPEAT World Champions, winning four games to three!* __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty

10-19-2024, 05:31 AM	#80
jksander All Star Reserve Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 922	October 11, 1957: Don Bollweg has announced his retirement from baseball at age 36. He didn’t play at all at the MLB level this season, but hit .321 with 22 doubles, eight triples and 14 homers at the AAA level, with 48 RBIs and 4.3 WAR. He finished his career with just 276 games played, hitting 36 doubles and 22 homers with 92 RBIs and a career average of .247. Eventually everybody hits the wall and has to stop playing this game, but he’ll have the memories for a lifetime. In this year’s rookie draft we’re not going to have nearly as good a pick as we did the last few years, so though we have our eye on some great players, it’s going to be tough to get one of the power sluggers in the mix (the top three appear to be outfielder Frank Howard, age 21, outfielder Billy Williams, age 19, and first baseman Ron Fairly. I also like first baseman Fred Whitfield, who would not be coming in as ready-to-go as those three, with a lot of the 19-year-old’s potential yet to be met. Shortstop Zolio Versalles, 19, has a great deal of upside as well, both offensively and defensively, where he has Gold Glove potential at short. 19-year-old outfielder Manny Mota also has a ton of potential to become a great hitter for contact. We’re focused on adding offense in the upper rounds of this draft, but there are some pitchers too who would be tough to skip if they fall to us ... most notably 19-year-old Juan Marichal, 19-year-old Gaylord Perry and 20-year-old Jim O’Toole. But there are some lesser-known guys I may be able to pick up in the second or third round, so I’m thinking this is a solid draft we can make good use of. Our scouts are working overtime to find any other diamonds in the rough, and we’ll be drafting on November 15th. October 19, 1957: The offseason officially began this morning, and right off the bat there was big news, as Chicago’s White Sox and Washington’s Senators fired their GMs. Neither job is considered a good one based on ownership, though at least Chicago has their large market and a bigger budget along with the better farm system, though both of them have top five systems. I got feelers from the White Sox ownership group, but for now I’m happy in Kansas City. We’re on the upswing after adding Banks and Sievers to the lineup, and I think we can continue to make big strides for the fans here in western Missouri. Besides, the cranky owner you know is better than the one halfway across the country who you have no relationship with. I’m in the final year of my contract, however, so I need to have another solid season to keep Richard Doyle happy with our progress so I can continue to stick around. Our goals for the upcoming season remain to continue to stay at or above .500 and start really focusing on improving our fan interest. We were at a 32-rating when I took over the team three years ago, and now we’re at 47 ... he says he’d like to see that significantly higher by 1961, and he still hopes we can make the playoffs by the end of the decade. Continue to work on winning road games ... this year we were 50-27 here in Kansas City but only 30-47 on the road. And he wants a top three farm system and for us to continue to bring players up quickly to the majors and show immediate results ... those two goals run counterintuitively, and I just have to keep his attention on one or the other. October 21, 1957: We’ve signed a new team trainer, Bryan Teal, a 62-year-old veteran who is excellent at fatigue recovery, outstanding at preventing leg injuries and legendary for his ability to avoid back injuries. He has 19 years experience, but has been out of the game for a few years while he went back to college to update his training to match the modern knowledge of sports injuries and recovery. We’ve signed him to a four year deal worth $9,500 per year to take over the job. October 24, 1957: We’ve come to terns with a new pitching coach, Dick Jones! Jones, a 55-year-old with 17 years of experience in the baseball world, is outstanding at developing pitchers and influencing their mechanics, excellent at teaching pitching in general, and good at handling aging. He has a solid reputation overall, and though he only has average relationships with our existing players, Pappas and Erskine recommended him based on what they’d heard about his work with this year’s Los Angeles Angels, who won the league crown with a 105-win record. If he can do that with our pitchers, I’ll be damned happy with him ... he’ll be earning $12,000 a year for the next four years as he looks to put his mark on our pitching corps. October 27, 1957: The Gold Glove awards have been announced, and we cleaned up! Ernie Banks won at first base, Danny O’Connell won at second, and Roy Sievers won in left field! This was the first for O’Connell and Sievers, but was Banks’ second in a row. October 29, 1957: Platinum Stick awards were handed out today, and Ernie Banks was our big winner at first base, bringing home his third in a row thanks to this year’s 6.4 WAR season ... he hit .284/.342/.587 with 24 doubles, six triples and 49 homers. October 30, 1957: Milt Pappas was named the AL’s Rookie of the Year, following a stellar season -- the 18 year old right handed starter had a 17-8 record, a 2.53 ERA and 136 strikeouts through 256.1 innings, putting together 5.5 WAR in his debut! He’s already a fan favorite, and what’s crazy is he hasn’t even come close to his potential either with his overall stuff or his control. He may not be a flamboyant personality off the field, but he’s got the potential to become one of the league’s greats. We’ve also signed our new hitting coach -- 52-year-old Johnny Hodapp, who’s been involved in baseball for as long as anyone can remember, comes to us from the Pioneer league, where he’s been working with the Billings Mustangs. He’s a legendary hitting coach, who is outstanding about handing aging and excellent when it comes to development and influencing hitting mechanics. He focuses on patience, working with players to maximize their abilities rather than forcing them to make radical changes. He’s agreed to a four year deal worth $13,000 per year. He worked with Roy Sievers back in his early days in St. Louis when he first got signed, and Roy’s been a big booster so far. Here’s hoping he does well in making introductions with the rest of the hitting corps. November 15, 1957: Draft day has arrived! We’ve got the 10th pick in the first round and the 9th pick in each subsequent round thanks to the Orioles, who due to a comp pick from a non-signing last year get to pick 1st and 3rd in this year’s draft. They wound up taking Billy Williams with the #1 pick, and Washington went with 22-year-old lefty starter Bob Veale, which left a lot of us scratching our heads -- he’d looked like a late-level first rounder at best. Baltimore, happy with their rival’s miscue, took 19-year-old Gaylord Perry, and if you’re thinking the Orioles are going to stink next year I’d guess again, those are two KILLER picks (if they can manage to sign them!) Juan Marichal went to Cincinnati, so at least we won’t have to play against that monster arm ... he should be ready to be their ace on day one. And Frank “Hondo” Howard rounded out the top five, as he’ll head to the Phillies. Here’s who we wound up getting this year: ROUND 1, Pick 10 -- 1B Ron Fairly Bond grades out as a first baseman right now, but the 19-year-old lefty hitter has just as much potential in the outfield as on the right corner. He’d committed to play for Mississippi State, but I love his athletic frame, and he’s got the eye to be an above-average contact hitter to go with above-average power. He has a very promising future, and though he may start out at AAA, there’s a chance this kid’ll be ready to come straight up. His outfield arm is the most impressive, and with above average range, I think he’s got the potential to be a powerful right fielder once fully developed. ROUND 2, Pick 29 -- SP Dennis Bennett Dennis Bennett is a 6’5” 205 pound starting pitcher from Oakland California, and the 18-year-old has a biting curveball, an above average change up and a solid fastball. His stuff has explosiveness, and he has a knack for the strike zone. He is expected to develop the tools to propel him into a mid-rotation spot. He won’t be anywhere near ready to come up to the big show, but his potential has me excited to see what he can do when he puts it all together. ROUND 3, Pick 46 -- CF Jose Tartabull Tartabull, at 18, has great outfield range and potential to develop into a leading defender at all three outfield positions. The Cuba native projects to be an above .270 hitter, and is a great runner, using his speed to pick up every extra base he can. He is considered an average center fielder at the moment, but his bat and his hustle should make him a frontrunner for a future audition as an outfielder. ROUND 4, Pick 64 -- RP Jim Duckworth Duckworth is all raw potential at the moment, but the 18-year-old from National City, California, projects to have a repertoire that includes a looping curve, a nice sinker and a good changeup. Once developed he should be among the league leaders in strikeouts year in and year out. But sometimes he tries too hard and that can get him in trouble with the longball. He’s a power reliever, and he’s always going to rely on his stuff (which is potentially incredible) to mask his well-bel0w-average control. ROUND 5, Pick 80 -- 1B Gerald Reimer Another young guy at age 19, Reimer is fast, has above average strike zone judgment, and has great potential to develop as a defender both at first base and in the outfield. But he’s raw, raw, raw. He’ll have to work hard to translate his untapped potential into reality in order to reach his goal of making the major leagues. His gap power is the thing that really drew my attention ... he might not be too far away from the majors if he can put his nose to the grindstone and really put in the work. Beyond that level everybody we picked is a total crapshoot, like it is in almost every draft. We’re currently overbudget at this point, so I’m not expecting to make a lot of offseason moves at this point ... it’s going to be a matter of seeing what this team can do when it’s together for a full season of play. I don’t see any need to overreact and make moves for the sake of it. __________________ "Ain't Gonna Work As Topping's Farm No More" -- A's Baseball in a Reimagined Fifties -- An OOTP 25 Dynasty