To Puente or not to Puente
 

Now that the Brewers have traded away long-time second baseman Tanner Yurek and veteran third baseman Jamison Bash, one of the big remaining questions this season is whether they will trade away veteran right fielder Antonio Puente prior to the trading deadline (or in the upcoming off-season.)

Puente was one of the team's first stars and was the first player signed to a long-term contract (which doesn't expire until the end of the 1974 season.) He is the career franchise leader in home runs (175), RBI (570), walks (524), slugging percentage (.439), and WAR (33.4), second in runs scored (478), and hits (802). On the other hand, he also is the career leader in strikeouts (815.)

Puente has that valuable combination of speed and power and also is a very gifted outfielder. In fact, now that he has settled full-time in right field (he was a left fielder early in his career and the past few years has seen quite a bit of time in center field as well as both corners), his defensive numbers this year should make him a strong candidate to win his first Gold Glove award. In his career he has been very good at drawing walks but is also very prone to striking out. But his contact skills, which were never great, have diminished much over the years. He has a career batting average of .237 and is struggling to stay above .220 this season. He is trending in the wrong direction in terms of walk percentage and strikeout percentage. And while he remains the team's most likely power threat, he is only on pace to hit 15 HR's this season. His OPS is only 7th among Brewers batters this season and his OBP is a dismal .318. Largely due to his excellent defense and his power hitting he is still third on the team among position players in WAR (behind Bobby Erbakan and Chad Brown.)

Puente's salary of 140K per season for the remainder of the term isn't unreasonable. But with so many other outfield options on the teams it is likely that the Brewers could scrape together performance near his for much less money.
Veteran superstar Ryan Rodgers is now recovered from his earlier (bar arm wrestling) injury and is currently in the midst of a rehab assignment at AAA Chester. When he returns it is likely that Paul Mackins will be sent back down to Chester. Mackins has been very solid for the Brewers off the bench with great left-field defense, top of the line speed and base-stealing ability, and a respectable slash line of .291/.310/.345. All at the league minimum salary ($19,840) of course.
Although his batting average has dipped quite a bit lately, rookie Joe McPhillips is clearly the future center fielder and shows signs of becoming a star in the league. His slash line of .223/.342/.404 still gives him one of the better OPS on the team (much better than Puente's), he has Gold Glove caliber defensive skills and is a great on the base paths.
And Andrew Kennedy, signed to a 6-year extension earlier this season, is probably the team's best pure hitter not named Ryan Rodgers. Kennedy doesn't have great power, but will hit a high number of doubles, spraying line drives around the field at will and rarely striking out, and is a solid defender in the outfield corners and at first base where can provide good coverage when Erbakan needs a breather.
That leaves Pat Rondeau, a premium defender at all 3 outfield positions, a speed demon on the bases, and a good little hitter (.296/.313/.356). Rondeau has one year of arbitration eligibility left and it is estimated that he could be re-signed for 1973 at a cost of about $95 K.
And this is not even to mention the several good young outfielders still waiting in the wings in the minors, at least one of whom (Josh Schaeffer) is thought to be a potential above average big league starter in right field.

So while it is not the worst dilemma to have, it is a dilemma nevertheless. What to do about Antonio Puente?

Team chemistry
 

This is fascinating to me: not that team chemistry is as great as it is right now, in spite of the fact that our record still isn't that great, we have been playing better of late. And we did recently trade away the only unmotivated player we had (Jamison Bash.)
But what fascinates me is that with our long-time captain Abel Pennington on the injured list and out for the season with a ruptured bicep tendon, it is not Matt Helm, who also is considered a captain, who our great team chemistry is being attributed to primarily, but rather Kevin Curtis.
Not that I'm complaining, but it does make me wonder what the algorithm is here that causes this to happen.
Curtis has been on the team longer than Helm and is our starting catcher and a fan favorite while Helm bounces from bullpen to rotation.
I sense perhaps a captain title classification is coming to Curtis before long.

June 30- July 2, 1972, versus Charlotte
 

Next on the schedule is a 3-game series against the 1st place Charlotte Sting at Centennial Stadium

In game 1 the Sting dominate behind the excellent pitching of Mike Hiatt. Hiatt, who was the 15th player chosen overall in the 1967 draft and who pitched a no-hitter against the L.A. Spinners in 1970, allowed just 2 hits to the Brewers in this game, while striking out 6 and walking 5. The Sting win 6-0 as Cheol-han Lee has one of his weakest outings of the season, giving up 5 runs on 11 hits in just 5 1/3rd innings pitched. Lee falls to 9-3 with a 2.04 ERA. And of course, Jamison Bash, who was hitting so poorly for the Brewers this season before being traded to Charlotte, went 4 for 5 with 2 doubles in his first game back at Centennial Stadium against his former club.

Game 2 gave another glimpse of the potential of the youth movement for the Brewers, as they won 6-3 in 11 innings thanks to a Jonathan Koch (.264/.310/.453) grand-slam HR, his 3rd HR in 114 plate appearances in this his rookie season. A former Brewer once again shone- this time starting pitcher Adam Getchell, who allowed just 1 run (unearned) on 3 hits in 7 innings pitched while striking out 10 Brewer hitters and walking none. Another solid start from Erik Sloan helped keep the Brewers in the game and the score was 1-1 at the end of 9 innings. Miguel Solis gave up 2 runs to the Sting in the top of the 11th setting up the heroics in the bottom of the 11th by youngster Koch.

Following the script of the series, it was the turn of another former Brewer to come up with the big game- this time it was Tanner Yurek, who had not hit a HR in a Brewers uniform this season but belted a 3-run job against Harry Lyerly to get things off to a good start for the Sting offense in what would prove to be a 5-2 victory for the visitors. Lyerly gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings pitched and drops to 6-4 with a 3.25 ERA. Paul Mackins (.291/.310/.345) had a nice day for the losing side, going 2 for 4 in the lead-off slot, hitting his 4th double of the season.

With the series loss against the first place Sting, the Brewers drop to 8 1/2 games out but remain in 4th place.

Puente started off his career like he was going to be a world class player; Curiously, he sort of tailed off (age 24) about the time you would have thought he'd take the next step forward.

Indeed. It really seemed to come down to his failure to make consistent contact and his propensity to strike out. When he was younger he also drew a great many walks though so at least he had decent to very good OBP and he does have good speed and base-stealing ability. So that made him more useful. His ratings would seem to indicate that his HR power hasn't really declined, but he doesn't make contact regularly enough to keep the HR totals up. Oddly, he is 5th in the MGL this season in Win Probability Added. He is having a tremendous year in the field as our starting right fielder.

If I had to guess right now, I believe Puente will remain on the team for the rest of this season but might well be traded in the off-season. I'll be giving Ryan Rodgers a few more days worth of PA's down at AAA before bringing up back to the club. Paul Mackins, who has done a fine job filling in, will head back to AAA. But it will be important to get enough playing time for both Andrew Kennedy and Pat Rondeau. So Puente might be sitting more often the rest of 1972.

Plus, I've reached the mid-point of the season and while the Brewers certainly have plenty of time to get back into contention they have shown few signs of getting on a sustained roll. So I'm leaning towards going pretty much full on youth movement in terms of position players, at least.

July 3-6, 1972, versus Phoenix
 

The Brewers take on the Phoenix Speed Devils for a 4-game series. The Speed Devils, who were the pre-season favorite to be the best team in the WPK, come into the series with a very disappointing 36-43 record in 6th place in the MGL.

The Brewers won the first game in 12 innings thanks once again to a walk-off hit by rookie Jonathan Koch (.270/.317/.443), who went 2 for 6 in the game, which the Brewers won 3-2. Lefty Matt Helm was solid in the start, lasting 6 2/3rds, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits but also striking out 5 while walking none. The bullpen then combined for 5 1/3rd scoreless innings, with Dave Duncan, who is having a wonderful season, getting the win to improve to 2-2 with a 1.04 ERA. Rookie third sacker Mike Foster (.290/.324/.387) also collected 2 hits in the game (in 5 AB).

In game 2 the Brewers plated one run in the bottom of the first inning and that was it for the scoring. Steve Green got the victory, working 6 innings, giving up 3 hits while striking out 8 and walking 2. Green improves to 5-4 with a 3.13 ERA. The Brewers bullpen, which was struggling earlier in the season, has been terrific of late and they were once again in this game. Three relievers combined to preserve the narrow 1-0 victory with Jordan Stephens getting the save, his first in a Brewers uniform and dropped his ERA to 1.08. Chad Brown (.296/.320/.386) went 2 for 4 in the game, hitting his 16th double and scoring the game's lone run.

In game 3 both teams offenses remained quiet. The Brewers again got off to an early 1-0 lead but this time they could not hold it and the Speed Devils tied it in the 5th and scored a run in the top of the 9th to win 2-1. It was a tough loss for Brewer's ace Cheol-han Lee, who allowed 1 run on 6 hits over 7 innings pitched, striking out 7 and walking 1. Miguel Solis took the loss, dropping to 2-2 with a 1.27 ERA.

Rookie Justin Peacock had a rocky start in game 4, allowing 6 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits in 4 innings pitched. It didn't help that the defense got very sloppy, committing 3 errors in the game, all in the 4th inning when they gave up 4 runs. The Brewers fought back and came close to tying it in the bottom of the 9th but with runners on 2nd and 3rd Andrew Kennedy hit a routine ground out to end the game with the Brewers losing 6-4. Peacock drops to 3-4 with a 2.27 ERA.

July 7-9, 1972, versus Oklahoma City
 

The Brewers finish their home-stand leading up to the All-Star break with a 3-game series against the 6th place Oklahoma City Diamond Kings.

And the Brewers head into the All-Star break on a high note with a 3-game sweep.

Game 1 saw newcomer Erik Sloan pitch a gem, getting the complete game victory, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 12 and walking none in the 6-1 victory. Sloan improves to 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA for the Brewers and 10-3 with a 1.97 ERA overall on the season. Another good game for Mike Foster (.289/.313/.378), who went 2 for 4 and hit his first big league double. Chad Brown (.299/.325/.398) was also 2 for 4 and hit his 2nd HR of 1972.

In game 2 it was Harry Lyerly's turn to shine. Lyerly allowed no runs on just 3 hits in 7 1/3rd innings, striking out 11 and walking 3. Four relievers were pretty much perfect in preserving the shutout, as the Brewers won 4-0. Lyerly improves to 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.287/.359/.403), who has been scuffling a bit at the plate, was one of the hitting stars, going 2 for 4 and hitting his 19th double.

It required a 4-run rally late (bottom of the 8th) but the Brewers got the series sweep by winning the 3rd game 4-2. Daniel Torres pitched pretty well in the start- giving up 1 run on 7 hits in 6 innings pitched (4 K, 4 BB), lowering his ERA to 3.64 in the no-decision. Jose de los Santos got the win, improving to 4-5 with a 1.93 ERA. Miguel Solis got the save, his 6th, and dropped his ERA to 1.50. Rookie third baseman Mike Foster (.313/.333/.396) had another good day at the plate, going 2 for 3.

1972 All-Star Final Voting, Squads revealed
 

The top two starting pitchers in the voting for the MGL All-Star team are the Brewers twin aces, Cheol-han Lee and Erik Sloan. Lee is the only Brewer voted in as an All-Star starting player but six Brewer players make the squad.

For catcher Kevin Curtis, who was second in the voting at his position, this is his first time being named to an All-Star squad.
The same is true for first baseman Bobby Erbakan, as he joins fellow Gold Glove winner Curtis among the All-Star reserves.

Chad Brown, who finished second at shortstop in the voting, is named to his 3rd All-Star team, the second in a row.

Reliever Miguel Solis, having had his consecutive All-Star selections stop at 5 when he was not named to last year's team, gets named to his 6th with this year's inclusion.

Erik Sloan receives his 2nd All-Star selection while Cheol-han Lee is named to an All-Star team for his 7th time, his 3rd as a Brewer.

Rodgers rejoins Brewers, Mackins back to AAA Chester
 

Having recovered a few weeks ago from his self-inflicted injury (arm wrestling in a local bar), superstar left fielder Ryan Rodgers, having spent a bit of time down at AAA Chester tuning up his bat, returns to join the Brewers lineup following the All-Star break.

To make room for Rodgers, Paul Mackins is returned to AAA Chester. Mackins may or may not have a future in Brewers purple, but he did work his heart out in his time with the big league club the first half of this season, providing excellent defense some timely hitting, even if his overall stats weren't that good.

WPK Standings at All-Star Break
 

Let's take a look at the WPK standings as we head into the (symbolic) second half of the season and just a bit after he actual middle-point of the season.

In the SJL, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack hold onto first place by 4 games over the Columbus Whalers. Pre-season predictions had these two teams tied for 2nd in the SJL behind the reigning WPK champs, the Washington Night Train. But the Night Train have thus far under-achieved and sit at a game under .500 in 6th place.

The Charlotte Sting continue to be the biggest surprise in the WPK, leading the MGL by 4 games over the also fairly surprising Brooklyn Aces. Charlotte was expected to be improved this year, after being basically the bottom feeders of the league for years, but not this much improved. The team many expected to win the league, Phoenix, has been playing better lately, but remain 4 games under .500 in 6th place. The Brewers, expected to finish in 2nd place according to pre-season predictions, are now in 3rd place, 9 1/2 games behind Charlotte. The L.A. Spinners, who got off to a great start this season, have been scuffling lately and have now fallen into 4th place.

MGL victorious in annual All-Star game
 

The MGL held on for a 6-4 victory in the annual All-Star game, played this year in front of a full-house (52,800) at Bank of the West Ballpark in San Francisco.

The Brewers made some nice contributions to the win. Cheol-han Lee pitched a flawless first inning for the MGL. Bobby Erbakan went 2 for 3 and drove in one of the MGL runs. And Miguel Solis pitched the final 2 innings for the save.
Kevin Curtis and Chad Brown each went 0 for 2 in the game.

Schardein hurls first Perfect Game in WPK history!
 

Veteran starting pitcher Jaime Schardein has had many accomplishments in his WPK career but none more impressive than what he did today. The 36-year old Schardein, heading into the twilight of his career, did what no other WPK pitcher ever has: pitched a Perfect Game!

Schardein, who has won two Pitcher of the Year awards, been an All-Star four times, led the league in wins twice, strikeouts three times, and ERA once, has been one of the more celebrated pitchers of the first seven and a half years of the W.P. Kinsella League. And while there may not be many more glorious achievements left in his future, this latest one certainly does cement his place in the WPK record books.

Excellent Dynasty!
 

I just finished reading Ruben "Streak" Souffront and now up to where you have left off with Harry Lyerly. I have to tell you that I have read a lot of dynasties, reports, stories, etc. here on OOTP forums and of the hundred or more that I have read yours is in my top five.

I enjoy the fact that you give more than just stats. Stats are fine to a point as they give feedback on how well players, teams, and even the league is doing, but a dynasty needs much more than stats. Like stories inside the league (players, teams, events, etc.) and much more. I love getting tidbits of flavor.

A couple of my favorite players are 1B Bobby Erbakan and SS Chad Brown. I believe that Bobby is on the cusp of becoming a superstar if he continues to work hard. He is an all-around player. Chad seems to continue to improve yearly. It's hard to see him becoming a true consistent star in the league with the amount of errors he has each year. I continue to hold out hope for him to improve, we shall see.

Puente has been a force early on for Denver (when he wasn't hurt) but his contributions have seriously declined year by year. It might be best for him and the organization if he was given an opportunity elsewhere (for the many reasons you gave in your post about him).

Something that I really like that you do is hold on to players and stay loyal to them and give them a chance to develop. Way too often I see dynasties from the beginning enter into mass trading, unfair trades, and treating players like yesterday's treat to be moved today. Players become a stock. The game becomes about winning at all costs. People have a right to play their game the way they want, it's just something I don't like and your dynasty is more enjoyable because you have a real reason for trading players.

Question: Have you taken a long look at your personnel? Not only in Denver but in your minors also? I am curious about something and want to start there.

I am sure I have more to say and ask but I need to go for now. Keep up the great work Bird! Can I call you Bird? lol. Have a great night.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate all of this feedback and your kind words.

I'm very high on Erbakan's future also. He's cooled down a bit here mid-season and his home run total looks like it will be way down again after he hit a career-high 21 last season. But overall he is turning into a star on the team and in the league and I think the future for him is bright.
Chad Brown seems to be turning into a consistent hitter at this stage of his career, though he will never be a great OBP guy with his lack of walks, and is the team's best base-stealer and one of the best base runners. He seems to be cutting down on the errors a bit this season also, though he's had a few more of late. I really thought that Brown was going to win some gold glove awards along the way but that is looking less and less likely. There are some premium defensive shortstops in the league ahead of him. But he's very solid with the glove (other than the miscues) and is generally at least a top 5 in the league guy in terms of range/zone rating.

I do like to stick with guys and will certainly form favorites. It was difficult for me to finally part with Souffront (and will be the same with Puente, should I decide to trade him). Sometimes my loyalties in this regard might cause me to make bad decisions but I really don't find it interesting to just play to win (to beat the game), while the story is everything for me.

So, about personnel.
I have to admit that I haven't paid nearly enough attention to this at the minor league level. A few times I've started to focus on that and try to figure out what I should do but then I generally make a move or two and then back off. I don't have very good coaches at the minor league level and my minor league teams- especially at the lower levels- tend to lose a lot. This is something I need to address soon especially as I enjoy developing home-grown talent.
At the big league level I pay a lot more attention. The head scout, Nick Meskill, has a great reputation. Our head trainer is also very, very good. And over time our pitching coach has developed an excellent reputation. These three have been with the team since it's inception.
Hitting has been an area of inconsistency for the team and our current hitting coach seems to be seeing his reputation head in the wrong direction.
The Bench Coach has a good reputation. The Assistant G.M., who is pretty new to the team, I believe is rated average. But really, what does it matter? ;)

So, as for calling me Bird, absolutely. When I was a kid, and the Bird was my favorite player, one of my best friends (Mike Ratkowski, who I liked to call Rat-a-tat-kowski) had a little sister who called me Bird because I was lanky and had curly blonde hair and I reminded her of Fidrych.

Thanks for following along and feel free to ask me any question about the WPK and the Denver Brewers and I will be more than happy to answer.

Reputations and Personnel
 

Thanks for your quick reply Bird!


I don't believe reputation means what I think you think it means. Reputation affects the personnel's attractiveness to organizations and the amount of salary that the personnel wants to do the job. E.g. Let's say that Bill and Sam are both managers. Bill has a Good reputation and Sam has a Great reputation. For sake of this thought experiment they both are identical in terms of their abilities and both have 10 years of experience. Why does this matter? This is where reputation comes into play here. Earning potential. When personnel are negotiating contracts, their reputation is a economic lever. In our scenario if Bill and Sam are being recruited for the same job and everything being equal (except their reps) then Sam will be given a larger salary because he has a better reputation. Then start to consider when you start increasing their years of experience and imagine what that does to their earning power. Make sense?

As stated in the OOTP 20 Manual :



"Reputations are determined primarily by experience and results. Managers start out as 'greenhorns' and can grow through ten other ranks. A manager's reputation is calculated using factors such as experience, lifetime record, playoff appearances, championships, and more. Your reputation affects your attractiveness to potential employers and is a definite factor when you are unemployed and looking for work. For example, a very experienced manager with an excellent lifetime record will be much more attractive to a team than a greenhorn or a manager with a poor track record.

In addition to the hard facts about your candidacy, other events in the game world can also affect how teams feel about you, even though these might not necessarily be reflected in your reputation rank. For example, quitting a job in the middle of the season can adversely affect how other ownership teams view you."


As far as revamping your organizations personnel top to bottom, I would like to help you if you want me to. We can talk more about it if you wish in some PMs or however you wish. I am also available to help answer questions for you if you need any help with anything, but you seem pretty knowledgeable so who knows?


Gotta run...cya later Bird!

I probably over-simplified in my earlier response regarding the team's personnel. I do completely understand that reputation is more about team success and not necessarily an indication of any talent on the part of the coach/manager/etc.
But I will share screenshots now that I'm actually in front of the game to show the actual ratings of the major league staff (or the important parts of it, anyway.)
As you can see, our head scout has quite good scouting ratings all around. And the team trainer, whose focus is on recovery, is also good or better in all areas.
The pitching coach specializes in groundball pitchers and I try to have plenty of those on the staff with very good infield defense. So his Outstanding reputation might not have much to do with any skill on his part, but our success in this area does seem to indicate that his approach with our staff and defense has been a good fit.

The hitting coach, on the other hand, came to the team with a good reputation, clearly based upon the success of his previous team, but that has slid back to an average reputation now. His focus is general and I hoped that he might do better than our previous hitting coach. But that clearly isn't happening. Ultimately, I guess I believe the influence of the pitching and hitting coaches (at the big league level, at least) isn't really that great and that if I have good hitters they will hit well.

I'm always open to learning from other OOTP'ers and appreciate any tips and guidance you can give me. But the essential reality is that I just haven't prioritized this yet in terms of the minor league teams. It's one of those things I'm always saying to myself that I will get around to soon. Just haven't yet.

July 13-14, 1972, at Charlotte
 

The Brewers first series coming out of the All-Star break is three games at Charlotte against the first place Sting.
A perfect chance to gain a little ground.
Or fall farther behind.

For reasons that will become apparent with the next post, I am going to report just the first two games of the series here first.

In game 1, the Brewers were once again handed a loss largely due to the efforts of a former Brewer, in this case starting pitcher Adam Getchell. Getchell allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 8 1/3rd innings pitched, and that run wasn't scored until the 9th inning. Erik Sloan pitched a great game against his former team, also, which kept the Brewers in the game up to the end. Sloan takes the loss to drop to 2-1 as a Brewer (10-4 overall) but allowed just 2 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings pitched as the Sting won 2-1. The Brewers stranded a runner at third base as another former (briefly) Brewer, Jamel McNeil, came in with 1 out and struck out the two batters he faced to finish the game.

Game 2 saw the Brewers bats once again silenced by the Sting. The big hero for the Sting was naturally former Brewer Brian Coppola. Coppola, an 8th round draft pick by the Brewers in the 1968 draft, was considered a throw-in in the trade which brought Erik Sloan to Denver and sent Jamison Bash and Tanner Yurek to Charlotte. But in this game Coppola was anything but an after-thought, going 3 for 4 in the lead-off slot, hitting a 2-run HR in the 3rd inning, his first big league HR. Cheol-han Lee suffered the loss for the Brewers, dropping to 9-4 with a 2.03 ERA after giving up 3 runs (2 earned) over 7 innings.

Surely in the final game of the series the Brewers bats would wake up a bit, especially given that Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark is a good hitters park.
Well, maybe not......

Hiatt hurls Perfect Game against Brewers!
 

...and then there were none.
As in no runs, no hits, no walks, no errors, etc..
Just two days after the first ever WPK Perfect Game was recorded by veteran Jaime Schardein, 23-year old Mike (Don't Call Me John) Hiatt hurled the second. And against our Brewers.

Hiatt might have been beaten to the punch slightly by Schardein, but he does become the first pitcher in WPK history to have recorded two no-hitters in his big league career. Hiatt no-hit the L.A. Spinners on June 21st, 1970, in his first season in the WPK. And that was a near perfect game except that he walked one batter.

Tough break for Harry Lyerly, who pitched a fine game himself, allowing no runs in his 7 1/3rd innings pitched, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 9 and walking 3. The game went into the bottom of the 9th as a scoreless tie but the Sting were able to string together a pair of walks, a hit-by-pitch, and a single to get the walk-off 1-0 win.

Lyerly inks extension for '73 season
 

Wanting to get any tension out of the way with Harry Lyerly arbitration eligible at the end of the season (his first year of eligibility), the Brewers management and the young righty sat down during the All-Star break to discuss an extension and it was announced today that they came to an agreement for a 1-year extension for 1973 at $71,500 with a few potential bonuses for a Pitcher of the Year award season (he has one already) and/or an All-Star game appearance (same).

Lyerly has become very popular with the local fans and the move was hailed by the Denver faithful.

WPK Franchise Report: the Jacksonville Wolf Pack (SJL)
 

I thought it might be a good idea at this stage of things to provide some periodic franchise reports to give you a better feel for the various teams in the WPK.

Let's start with the power-house of the Shoeless Joe League: the Jacksonville Wolf Pack.

History/Overview: The Wolf Pack are the winning-est team in SJL history thus far, having never finished below 3rd place and with an overall winning percentage of .593. They were the winners of the the first two WPK World Series and also represented the SJL in the 1970 World Series when they lost to your Denver Brewers. They were predicted to finish in a tie for 2nd place this season but enter the second half of the season once again on the top of the SJL standings. Jacksonville is considered a below average sized market but the Wolf Pack fan base is a quite loyal one and with the consistent winning track record of their team fan interest is high. Owner Tim Cook is considered a tolerant, hands-off boss but in fiscal areas can be quite controlling.

The Park: The Wolf Pack have a new ballpark this year: Fidelity Financial Stadium. FFS holds 43,800 fans at capacity and plays as slightly favoring hitters. It is a particularly good park for power hitters, especially those who bat from the right-hand side.

The Face of the Franchise: The Wolf Pack have several premium players, but probably the face of the franchise currently is 30-year old third baseman Jesus Casiano. Casiano has played his entire career with the Wolf Pack and is in his 8th season as a big leaguer. He won the SJL MVP award in 1970, has appeared in 6 All-Star games, has collected 5 gold glove awards and 4 silver slugger awards. His current contract extends through the 1973 season.

Greatest former player: Arguments could be made for several players. Among them would be superstar left fielder Travis Johnson, who is the still the career leader in several offensive categories for the Wolf Pack. But Johnson started his career in Pittsburgh, played for Jacksonville for 4 seasons, and now has been an L.A. Spinner for the past 3 seasons (including this one). So I'll go with Jose Foskey, the winning-est pitcher in Jacksonville history, who pitched his first five seasons in Jacksonville. At age 32, and now pitching for Washington, Foskey's career is in decline and surely his best seasons were in a Wolf Pack uniform. Foskey is an extremely popular player who always shows great effort and is considered a loyal and adaptable teammate.

That's what I love about baseball...impossible to predict what will happen on any given day. Scharden throwing a perfect game was not much of a surprise to anyone but Hiatt throwing the second one at this stage of his career...no one could have seen that coming.

Good stuff going on here. Nice!

July 16-17, 1972, at Phoenix
 

After the humiliation in Charlotte, the Brewers head down to Phoenix to take on their historic arch-rivals. This is a match-up, of course, of the the two teams who were expected to duke it out for MGL honors this season, but who have thus far disappointed.

In game 1, the Brewers bats wake up again and they take out a bit of their frustrations from the last 3 games against the Sting. Chad Brown (.292/.318/.390) led the way, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI in the lead-off slot. Brown hit 2 doubles to get to 19 for the season. Another nice game from rookie third baseman Mike Foster (.302/.318/.413) who went 2 for 5 and hit his 2nd HR. Steve Green got the start the Brewers and went 7 1/3rd innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. With the Brewers easily prevailing 7-2, Green improves to 6-4 with a 3.09 ERA. He also went 2 for 3 at the plate, hitting his first 2 doubles of the season.

The Brewers prevail 5-4 in the second game to win the short series. Matt Helm got the start for the Brewers and pitched quite well- giving up 2 runs (unearned) on just 2 hits while striking out 7 and walking 5. Helm improves to 4-3 with a 2.61 ERA. Andrew Kennedy (.288/.317/.385) went 3 for 4 with an RBI and hit his 17th double of the season. Bobby Erbakan (.280/.354/.393) went 2 for 5 and hit his 20th double. Dave Duncan gave up a few runs late, bending but not breaking, pitching 2 innings and getting the save, his 1st of the season.

The Charlotte Sting remain hot and the Brewers, now in 3rd place behind only Charlotte and the Brooklyn Aces, remain 12 games out of 1st place. Phoenix, meanwhile, is 7 games under .500, sitting in 6th place, 19 1/2 games out.

Portland acquires prospect Rains in exchange for Graus
 

With the trading deadline approaching and things heating up on that front in the WPK, one of the more interesting trades happened today between the two last place teams in their respective leagues.

And if you ask me, the MGL's Portland Wild Things definitely got the better of this deal with the Boston Berserkers. Boston gets an established 26-year old starting pitcher in Brad Graus, one who is having a pretty good season for a losing club. On the other hand, there are serious questions about Graus durability as well as his character. Rumor has it that he is highly unmotivated, neither terribly smart nor a hard worker.
The Portland club, meanwhile, gets a young man who should be a solid big league second baseman in Aaron Rains. Granted, Rains has been putting up his gaudy minor league numbers at a more advanced age than most of the players around him, having been picked in the 1971 draft as a 21 year old collegiate star in the supplemental 1st round (26th overall). But with his great speed and good overall tools combined with a reputation as a hard worker who is very adaptable, Rains should move up the Wild Things system quickly and could well be their starting second baseman within the next two seasons, if not sooner.

July 18-20, 1972, at Oklahoma City
 

The Brewers next take on the 7th place Oklahoma City Diamond Kings in a 3-game series in OKC.

The Brewers rally for 5 8th inning runs in game 1 to get a narrow 5-4 victory. Justin Peacock wasn't great in the start, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings. But the offense and the bullpen bailed him out. Chad Brown (.295/.320/.399), on fire at the plate of late, was 3 for 5 in the game with 2 RBI and hit his 20th double of the season. The also hot Andrew Kennedy (.295/.326/.391) went 3 for 4 in the game. Jordan Stephens worked a solid 2 innings for the win, his 1st of the season against no losses, and improves his ERA to 0.73. Miguel Solis pitched the 9th for his 7th save (1.71 ERA.)

With southpaw ace Erik Sloan on the bump in game 2, things were a bit easier for the Brewers as they prevailed 5-1. Sloan, now 3-1 in a Brewers uni and 11-4 overall, worked 8 innings, giving up the 1 run on 7 hits, striking out 5 and walking 1. He got in a bit of a jam in the 9th and was pulled with runners on 2nd and 3rd having not recorded an out, but Jose de los Santos came on and struck out the next 3 batters to earn his 11th save (1.99 ERA.) Ryan Rodgers (.293/.408/.366), having recently returned from the IL and a rehab assignment at AAA Chester, had a nice game, going 3 for 4 with a walk and his 4th double of the season. Gold Glove catcher Kevin Curtis (.194/.329/.325) also contributed at the plate, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and hitting his 14th double of 1972.

Game 3, more of the same. Cheol-han Lee took the hill on this day and the Brewers hitters were even more potent as the visitors win easily, 8-2. Cheol-han improves to 10-4 with a 2.03 ERA. Joe McPhillips (.223/.338/.376), who has been on a prolonged slump at the plate, had a good game, going 2 for 5 with 2 RBI and an outfield assist (threw runner out at 3rd base.)

With the 3-game sweep the Brewers have now won 5 straight, and with the Charlotte Sting suddenly struggling a bit (4 straight losses), the Brewers have narrowed the gap to single digits at least, as they remain in 3rd place but now are 9 games behind Charlotte and 5 games behind the second place Brooklyn Aces.

Brewers deal prospects for prospects
 

Rumor has it that the Denver Brewers have made it clear that they are willing to entertain offers for their veteran right fielder Antonio Puente and that chances are pretty good they might try to trade him prior to the trading deadline, which is coming up in a little over a week.

So when an announcement of a multi-player trade involving the Brewers came out today many thought it might be a block-buster trade involving Puente.
It wasn't.
Instead it was all about minor leaguers, with the Brewers sending 3 to Pittsburgh for 3 others.
For the Brewers the main goal was to give 24-year old first baseman Adam Hall a chance to play in the bigs, given that he was completely blocked by Bobby Erbakan on the Brewers roster and was extremely unhappy playing at AAA Chester. Hall is a very good defensive first baseman (actually, he would probably make an excellent third baseman and could be an acceptable middle infielder as well) with a very good eye at the plate and a borderline hit tool.
In addition to Hall, the Brewers sent starting pitchers Tomas Lara and Bryan Coupal to Pittsburgh. Lara was at one time a catching prospect for the Brewers, having been chosen in the 3rd round of the 1966 draft. But he also had some pitching skills and it did not appear that he was ever going to be able to improve his contact skills enough to ever become a big league hitter, so he was moved to the bullpen and eventually moved into minor league rotations. He has an excellent change-up and a solid fastball to go with a mediocre curve-ball. It is thought he will develop very good control but his stuff is thought likely to never be anything more than average and he should give up a lot of home runs. Lara has also long had the reputation of being unmotivated. He was not thought to have any hope of ever making the Brewers roster. The 21-year old Coupal was having a fine season at A Bainbridge but isn't expected to ever develop the movement or control needed to pitch at the WPK level. He is a very knowledgeable young man though and might surprise, but the Brewers decided to let him try elsewhere.

In return the Brewers received 23-year old John Conner, who profiles similarly to Coupal but might benefit from a change of scenery. At the very least he is considered durable, has good stamina, and is a humble, likable guy who should add to clubhouse cohesion.
The Brewers also got 22-year old center fielder Chris Kim. Kim was a 4th round draft pick by Pittsburgh in last year's draft. He has great range, a decent arm, but is a bit error prone in the field. He has plus speed and is a good base-stealer. And he has a decent hit tool with possible above average power potential.
The best of the 3 players the Brewers picked up, as our scouting staff sees it, is first baseman Jacob Kieft. The 23-year old Kieft was the 2nd round pick of the Road Runners in the 1971 draft. Kieft is just an average (at best) defender at first and does not have the defensive skills to play any other position. But he has a great hit tool with already well developed contact and gap power abilities and above average potential to develop home run hitting ability. He takes a very good approach at the plate and is expected to draw a good number of walks and strike out at least a big less than average. Of course, Kieft is up against the same problem Hall was. That would be Bobby Erbakan. But Kieft was playing at single A for Pittsburgh and has been assigned to AA Nashville by the Brewers, so at least there is a little time to let him develop a bit more before any big decision must be made. It is always possible that Erbakan may be moved to another position, with his great skills set, or at the very least Kieft's stoc may rise making him very attractive trade bait in the next few years.

As for Puente? Well, time will tell.

Aces acquire veteran closer Heregger, 2B-man Murphy
 

The surprising Brooklyn Aces, currently in 2nd place in the MGL and trailing the recently slumping Charlotte Sting by just 3 games, made a trade today that should enhance their chances of over-taking Charlotte and winning the league pennant for the first time in franchise history.

Brooklyn sent 25-year old catcher Joe Merritt and 21-year old minor league pitcher Bobby Radin, who in spite of an above average fastball is thought to be a long-shot to ever make the big leagues, to Phoenix for veteran closer Benni Heregger, one of the best relief pitchers in the WPK and the career leader in ERA in WPK history with a sparkling 1.47 ERA in 7 1/2 seasons. In addition, the Aces also received 23-year old second baseman Chris Murphy who is renowned for his leadership skills, even at his young age, and who looks like he could turn into a very fine WPK player.

It's hard to see what Phoenix beyond freeing up some payroll space, but given that it is almost impossible at this point (the Speed Devils are 44-52, 17 games out of 1st place in 7th place) that they will achieve the success predicted for them this year, that may have been the entire point as they look forward to 1973.
As for Brooklyn, this looks like a strong move for a team doing its best to contend this year, and beyond.

Agree with you on the Rains/Graus deal. It brings into question notion of 'the improved A.I.' Looks one way to me.

I have to admit, though, that to a certain extent it comforts me when there are imbalanced trades between AI teams. It makes me feel a bit less guilty that some of the trades I pull off might be a bit imbalanced in our favor. :D

Plus, there is always the question of what the scouting teams of each team see when they look at the players involved. I am, of course, basing my opinions upon my own scouting staff's perception of these players.

July 21-23, 1972, versus Los Angeles
 

The Brewers return home to Denver to take on the 4th place Los Angeles Spinners in a 4-game, 3-day set.

Game 1 was another fine outing for Harry Lyerly, who gave up just 1 run on 3 hits (he had a no-hitter through 6 innings) in 7 1/3rd innings pitched, striking out 6, walking 4, and once again not giving up any HR's. The Brewers won 4-1 and Lyerly improved to 8-4 with a 2.77 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.280/.352/.390) went 2 for 4. Andrew Kennedy (.294/.325/.390) went 1 for 2 with a walk and his 18th double. The Brewers scored all of their runs in the bottom of the 7th, the big hit being Pat Rondeau's (.290/.313/.353) 2 RBI double. Miguel Solis pitched the 9th and got his 8th save (1.65 ERA.)

The score was reversed in game 2, the Brewers losing 4-1. Steve Green wasn't bad in the start- working 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 8 and walking none- but the Brewers bats were shut down by Spinners' ace Jason Wilson. With the loss Green falls to 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA. Bobby Erbakan finally hit his 5th HR of the season after a long homer-less drought. Chad Brown (.296/.323/.401) went 2 for 3 in the loss, hitting his 22nd double.

The Brewers also failed to get much offense in the first game of the Sunday doubleheader, spoiling a fine start by young lefty Matt Helm, who worked 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits (6 K, 2 BB). The Brewers lost 2-1 and Helm dropped to 4-4 but with a very respectable 2.58 ERA.

Rookie third baseman Mike Foster helped the team get a narrow victory in the night-cap to secure a series split. Foster (.310/.330/.393), who has been very impressive at the plate and solid in the field, went 3 for 4 in the game and drove in 2 runs. Chad Brown continued his hot hitting, going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, hitting his 23rd double, and also stole 2 bases to put his season total at 16 (with 7 CS.) Brown, who turns 26 in about a month, is on pace to have his best big league season.

With the series split the Brewers stay in 3rd place, 7 1/2 games behind the Charlotte Sting, who have dropped 7 straight, and 4 1/2 behind the Brooklyn Aces.

Quick Ruben Souffront update: Ruben started the 2nd game of the Sunday doubleheader against his former team, but went 0 for 3 (though he did draw 1 walk) and made a big throwing error that allowed 1 run to score and contributed to a 3-run 2nd inning for the Brewers. Ruben isn't playing much for the Spinners and his numbers are not good. He is only signed for this season and perhaps will get a chance to try to resurrect his career with another team in 1973.

The Brewers are now 2nd in the league in runs scored and 2nd in runs allowed. Their current run differential of +62 is now the best in the MGL, just ahead of Charlotte at +60 and Brooklyn at +56. There is a lot of season left and the feeling in the Brewers clubhouse is that a 4th straight MLG pennant is still well within reach.

Some mid-season random thoughts, looking ahead to 1973
 

With the trading deadline coming up in just a few days and with the Brewers showing signs of being able to contend this season (will report on later, but most recently the Brewers took 2 of 3 from 2nd place Brooklyn to narrow the gap a bit more, and Charlotte continues to struggle), there are a number of big questions the team needs to answer for this season and especially for next season.

Let's start with the veteran players who might be gone next year (or sooner.)
1- Antonio Puente, right fielder. I've detailed this one pretty well already but just a few more facts to consider. First of all, one of the owner's requests this year was to upgrade at right field. And thus far, with all of his struggles at the plate, somehow Puente is ranked among the top 4 right fielders in the league. Which makes the owner happy. Do I keep him until the end of the season just to appease the owner and then unload him? Possibly. On the other hand, he continues to not hit home runs (which is his best skill as a hitter, presumably) and to strike out way too often. With Ryan Rodgers having returned from the injured list, I'm finding myself sitting Puente more and more just to get playing time for Andrew Kennedy, Pat Rondeau (both of whom are having fine seasons) and youngster Joe McPhillips. Would it be better to just unload Puente now and give Rondeau the starting right field job for the remainder of 1972? Maybe.

2- Miguel Solis, closer. Solis, now considered a fragile pitcher and age 32, missed most of the second half of the last two seasons due to serious arm injuries. And yet, he's pitching fantastic again this year, as he always has in a Brewers uniform. As team prankster he also helps keep the clubhouse loose. His contract expires at the end of this season. We have a plethora of good relief pitching prospects hanging around at AAA and AA, several of whom have been bouncing back and forth between Denver and Chester (AAA). I've been finding myself throwing him out there as often as possible just to see if he might suffer another major arm injury (not really wanting it to happen, of course) that would make the decision for me. We'll probably let him walk at the end of the season. But it's a tough decision to make.

3- Daniel Torres, starting pitcher. Torres, the winner of the last two ERA titles in the MGL and one of the most consistently good pitchers in Brewers history, is 37 years old and looking much diminished this year. He is under contract for one more season but the team has a buy-out option for 1973. We'll probably use it. Reluctantly. He is a team leader and one of the early rocks of the franchise. He will be missed.

4- Abel Pennington, starting pitcher. Pennington has been the Captain of the team for years. And a decent pitcher, as a number 4 or 5 guy. He was lost early this season to a serious arm injury and not expected to be healed until the off-season. This is his last year of arbitration eligibility. Catcher Kevin Curtis seems to be doing a great job taking over as the team leader, and young lefty pitcher Matt Helm is considered a captain. With Andrew Kennedy also a strong leader, Pennington is probably expendable at this point. Likely he will be non-tendered and allowed to test free agency.

5- Eric Singer, relief pitcher. Singer is a fan favorite and still a very talented reliever, even at age 34, and is under contract for the next 2 seasons, though the club has a buy-out option for 1974. On the other hand, Singer hasn't performed that well this year, was out with an injury for awhile, and is just now finishing up a rehab stint at AAA Chester. Most importantly, as mentioned above, we have a bunch of solid relief pitchers waiting for their chance to shine. Singer makes 200K per year. We could probably get about the same results out of 3 or 4 of our young guys making 20K. Seems silly to keep Singer at this point.


Having said all of that, here is one possible vision of what the roster looks like in 1973.

Starting rotation: Cheol-han Lee, Erik Sloan, Harry Lyerly, Steve Green, Matt Helm and/or Justin Peacock.
That gives us two bonafide aces, one righty (Lee) and one lefty (Sloan.) Lyerly, if he keeps doing what he's doing is a pretty great #3 guy. Green shows signs of potentially developing into a top of the rotation guy but is still a bit inconsistent at this stage of his career. His biggest weakness seems to be the long ball, which is odd given that all indications are that he should be solid in this area and that his teammate Harry Lyerly, who should give up a ton of HR's has been pretty darn good in that area this season. The young lefty Helm has shown good potential this year and likely would be the primary back-end of the rotation guy. But rookie Justin Peacock, with his 5-pitch repertoire, has at times been very good too and should be given a chance to compete for a rotation slot and/or settle into a long-relief role in the 'pen.

Bullpen: Jose de los Santos, Liann-wei Hua, Dave Duncan, Jaden Francis, Sam Pruiett, Jordan Stephens.
With the exception of closer/stopper de los Santos (who has been really mowing them down of late), this is a largely young and inexperienced group, but with good potential. Lefty Hua is quickly emerging as another potential stopper and at the least a very good set-up man. Jaden Francis, having been sent down to AAA earlier in the season after getting off to a horrible start, has returned and is doing a very fine job. Dave Duncan, in his limited opportunities last year, and in the 'pen all year thus far in 1972, has pretty much wowed with his great stuff and ability to avoid the long-ball. He struggles with control at times, but thus far it hasn't really hurt him. Pruiett has been waiting far too long for his opportunity, having had just a few brief periods of time on the active roster. Pruiett looks like he might be potentially the most talented of this group (other than de los Santos and Hua) and has been the name most often mentioned in trade proposals received leading up to the deadline. (Andrew Kennedy's name has come up quite a bit too.) Stephens is probably the least developed of this group but does have great potential should he develop his curveball to the extent thought possible. But perhaps more to the point is that Stephens is a fine hitter with some of the better HR power potential on the team and can play an acceptable third base. This makes him a very versatile component and greatly increases his chances of sticking.

Catchers: Likely nothing will change here. Multiple Gold Glove award winner Kevin Curtis (almost surely will get another at the end of this season) and Spencer Wilson make a fine combo. Wilson isn't quite the defender Curtis is, but he's no slouch in that area and is a better hitter overall. But they both can draw walks, both have good gap power and will hit their share of doubles, both are great character guys. Curtis is quickly emerging as the primary team leader and is a real fan favorite. Should anything happen to either of these two, we have several catchers at the higher levels of the system who could step in and likely do a good enough job, including AAA catcher Alex Hernandez, and Zacarias Martell, currently at AA and probably our best prospect at this position.

Infield: 1B- Bobby Erbakan, 2B- Jonathan Koch, 3B- Mike Foster, SS- Chad Brown. Utility/defensive specialist: Oscar Vargas.
The rookies- Koch and Foster- have shown great potential this season. Koch is a premium defender at second base and while his hitting has tailed off a bit after a good start, he still shows good skills and should at least be a useful bottom of the order bat. Foster, meanwhile, has surprised with the bat, hitting much better than could have been hoped at this stage of his development. He has good contact skills, good gap power, and flashes some above average HR power as well. His defense, especially given his cannon arm, is a plus too. Erbakan and Brown, of course, are pretty much the best position players on the team, great in the field and at the plate. Vargas remains a defensive wizard and while he is not much of a contact hitter he has good speed, good gap power, and will hit the occasional dinger.

Outfield: LF-Ryan Rodgers and Andrew Kennedy, CF- Joe McPhillips, RF-Pat Rondeau (and Andrew Kennedy).
Rodgers is the true superstar of the team and still very talented at age 33, but missed much of the first half of the season and hasn't really produced that much since. He does remain a very gifted defensive outfielder. Kennedy is a pure hitter with great gap power and just a little occasional pop. He is a solid defender both in left field and at first base and can play an acceptable right field as well though his arm is a bit weak for that position. McPhillips has often struggled at the plate this season, but is a premium defender, possesses great speed and running skills, and shows flashes of being a very dangerous hitter once he cuts down on his strikeouts and increases his contact skills a bit. He's young, he's learning, and he's a potential superstar in the making. Rondeau is arbitration eligible at the end of the season for the last time (rumor has it that a contract extension for 1973 is in the works as we speak). He is a great fielder, a great runner, a good contact hitter who can spray hits into the gaps and run all day. He won't hit many home runs that aren't of the inside-the-park variety. And he won't walk often. He's not a long-term answer as a starter and likely won't be with the team beyond 1973. But for now he is a valuable role-player.

As laid it out here that leaves a few roster spots up for grabs.
Likely this would mean one more back-up infielder and a fifth outfielder. If there is one thing the Brewers have plenty of it is young outfielders who could play at the big league level right now. Paul Mackins, who filled in for Rodgers the first half of this season, could be back. Josh Schaefer, the highest rated prospect among outfielders in the system, and a natural right fielder could certainly earn his first chance in Brewers purple. Troy bin Nadeem, who has had such a great season at AAA this year, certainly has at least earned a September call-up this year to show what he can do and audition for 1973. And, honestly, there are at least 3-5 more who could qualify.
As for another infielder, the guy who has earned it the most is third baseman Jose Careaga. He probably isn't going to be able to jump over Foster as our starter at this point, but he could be a starter on many WPK teams. He is a solid defender with a strong arm, an average hitter but one with a great eye and approach at the plate and a bit of pop in his bat, and a very hard worker. But he really only can play third and with Vargas very good at that position and reliever Jordan Stephens also a good option to fill in for Foster it is hard to see how Careaga fits. As far as versatility, minor leaguer Joe Willemse shows great promise as a tremendous defensive player at all infield positions other than first (just too short) and above average defensively in the outfield as well. Willemse is also very fast but unfortunately not a good base-stealer and just a slightly above average base runner. But he is also potentially a very good contact hitter (albeit, basically a singles only guy) who will rarely strike out. While Willemse profiles as a potential second-division starter he would likely be a very valuable super-sub and might eventually take over the role Vargas currently holds on the team.

So, that is what the team could look like without the 5 players listed above. It would certainly be a cheaper way to go but, depending particularly upon how McPhillips develops and whether Koch and Foster can build on what they have done thus far in 1972, it could be a very competitive team again. Not that we really need the cost reduction. The finances are fine, even if not unlimited. But it would help refresh and reload the team without, hopefully, the necessity of going into rebuild for the foreseeable future.

Tough decisions. But that's part of the fun.

Just a brief follow-up on the previous post.
As I think about this it strikes me that one option right now might be to see what kind of block-buster trade I can make by packaging Singer and Puente.
Given that we are still in contention this year and that youngsters like Koch, Foster, and McPhillips are still getting a feel for the bigs (and don't really expect starting jobs yet) it might not be the worst thing in the world to take advantage of a rent-a-player for the rest of the season. Someone with great skill and a big contract that expires at the end of the season. We can afford the extra salary this year, if we even need to as Singer and Puente's salary should off-set most any large contract (could eat a bit of their salaries and it wouldn't hurt much, too.) Probably means targeting a power hitting right fielder or third baseman or a very high offensive value second baseman.
Again, not looking for a long-term commitment, but if someone wants to unload a high-priced soon to be free agent, that might work for us.

July 24-26, 1972, versus Brooklyn
 

The Brewers finish off their home stand with a 3-game series against the 2nd place Brooklyn Aces.

In game 1 the Brewers fall short in spite of a fine start by Erik Sloan. Sloan got a complete game loss, giving up just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk but the team lost 2-1. Sloan falls to 3-2 as a Brewer (11-5 overall) in spite of a 1.29 ERA since joining the club (1.90 overall.) Chad Brown (.301/.329/.411) was once again the bright spot on offense for Denver, going 2 for 4 with 2 doubles to raise his season total to 25.

It was another low-scoring pitching duel in game 2, but this time the Brewers came out on top, 3-1. Cheol-han Lee lasted 8 innings for the win, giving up just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 5 and walking none. Lee improves to 11-4 with a 1.98 ERA. Liann-wei Hua pitched the 9th for his 1st save of the season (0.74 ERA.) Rookie center fielder Joe McPhillips (.222/.333/.370) had a nice game, going 2 for 3 and hitting his 10th double. Fellow rookie Jonathan Koch (.233/.269/.375) had one of the game's biggest hits, a run scoring triple (his 4th) in the 2-run 7th inning.

Game 3 ended with the same result- a 3-1 Brewers victory. This time it was Harry Lyerly's term to dominate. Lyerly didn't allow a hit until the 5th inning and didn't allow a run until the 8th, when he gave up a solo HR to Greg Alwardt. Lyerly ended up working 8 1/3rd innings, giving up the 1 run on just 3 hits, striking out 9 and walking none. He improves to 9-4 with a 2.67 ERA. Jose de los Santos comes in with 1 out and a runner on in the 9th and retires the last two batters of the game get his 13th save (1.93 ERA.) Chad Brown (.304/.333/.413), naturally, is one of the hitting heroes, as he goes 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and a walk and picks up his 17th stolen base. Pat Rondeau (.285/.308/.353) went 2 for 3 and hit his 5th triple of the season.

With the series victory the Brewers pull to within 3 1/2 games of Brooklyn and are 7 games behind the first place Charlotte Sting.

Veteran stars Flaim, Ackland swapped
 

In a one-for-one trade of aging WPK stars, former MVP and 4-time All-Star Chris Flaim gets traded from Milwaukee, who signed him to a 1-year contract in the off-season, to Philadelphia for 5-time All-Star slugging right fielder Josh Ackland.

At 37 and 38, respectively, Flaim and Ackland are both clearly on the down slope of their careers. But perhaps a change of scenery will lead to a bit of a resurgence for one or both of these celebrated WPK stars.

Flaim won the MGL MVP award in 1967 as a member of the Phoenix Speed Devils when he led the league with a .360 batting average and in hits with 225. He won a Gold Glove award as a second baseman in 1965 and won Silver Slugger awards his first 3 seasons (1965-1967). And while his 1972 batting statistics are not spectacular, he led the league in doubles (42) in 1971 with a solid slash line of .293/.329/.460 and 2.9 WAR. Although his offensive skills still look to be useful, his defense at this point makes him a liability in the middle of the infield.

The slightly older Ackland, not as celebrated as Flaim, is also a liability in the field, although his arm remains a real weapon. He is, on the other hand, still potentially a prodigious power hitter and also has a very good eye at the plate. Ackland led the league in HR's in 1965 (41) and 1968 (26) and in RBI in 1968 (94). Interestingly, his league-leading 26 HR's in 1968 is his lowest season total thus far in his career with the second lowest being the 29 he hit last season. He has hit only 3 this season, but he's also only had 53 plate appearances thus far.

It should be interesting to see if either of these aging stars can recapture a little lost glory as they head towards clearly imminent retirement.

July 28-30, 1972, at Los Angeles
 

The Brewers headed off to L.A. to face the 4th place Spinners in a 3-game series.

In game 1 the Brewers got a narrow 4-3 victory thanks in part to rookie second baseman Jonathan Koch (.239/.273/.397) who hit a solo HR in the top of the 9th to break a 3-3 tie. Koch went 2 for 4 in the game. Steve Green got the start for Denver and gave up 3 runs in 7 innings, allowing 4 hits, striking out 8 and walking 3. He did not get a decision. The win went to reliever Miguel Solis who pitched the final 2 innings, getting the six outs with just 18 pitches thrown. He improves to 3-3 with a 1.51 ERA.

The kid Koch was a big part of the game 2 win also, as his 8th inning bases-loaded 3-run double to break another 3-3 tie and the Brewers went on to win 7-3. It was Koch's 10th double of the season. Fellow rookie Mike Foster (.290/.308/.380) also had a good game, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and hitting his first triple of the season. Erik Sloan got the start but not the win. He worked 6 innings giving up 2 runs on 8 hits with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. Jaden Francis got the win, pitching an inning but giving up a run on a hit and a walk. Francis is now 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA.

The Brewers won the series but were denied the sweep when the Spinners prevailed in game 3, 5-3. Cheol-han Lee pitched probably his worst start of the season, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits in just 5 1/3rd innings pitched. He falls to 11-5 with a 2.19 ERA. The bullpen was solid after that and the offense tried to rally in the 9th but they fell short.

After winning 2 of 3 the Brewers remain in 3rd place, now 3 games behind Brooklyn and 6 1/2 behind Charlotte heading into the last day July.

Development updates from Nick Meskill and his scouting staff
 

August 1st has rolled around and that means it's time for another set of player development reports from head scout Nick Meskill and his crack team.

In spite of his still underwhelming offensive numbers thus far, in the eyes of Meskill and his staff Joe McPhillips is looking more and more like a future superstar in the WPK. I'd love to see some evidence that he is likely to cut down on his strikeouts soon and improve his contact but our scouting staff believes his above average power potential is about to be realized and that his eye at the plate is approaching great excellence.

Another young outfielder showing increased potential is 19-year old Jorge Gonzalez. The talented young Dominican was signed as an international scouting discovery by Meskill in February of 1970, a bit shy of his 17th birthday. He is a line-drive hitter who sprays the ball around the park but also is expected to develop into an above average power hitter and a very fine contact hitter who won't strikeout too often. While his arm profiles as only average, he should be a fine defensive left-fielder. He's still several years away from being big league ready and has a good distance to go before reaching his full potential, but Gonzalez has a chance to be the future Brewers left fielder playing alongside McPhillips eventually.

Trading deadline passes and Brewers stand pat
 

In what proved to be a very busy period of trading prior to the July 31st deadline, the Brewers toyed with the idea of a blockbuster trade involving Antonio Puente and Eric Singer but in the end kept the club intact as is, for now.
Rumor has it that a deal was nearly finalized with the San Francisco Velocity that would have brought veteran star center fielder Antonio Sosa plus a marginal starting pitching prospect to the Brewers but in the end the Brewers management team pulled the plug on the deal. One thought was that getting Sosa, who has one more year on his contract after the current season, would have given a bit more time for Joe McPhillips to develop without the pressure of being the starting center fielder. But ultimately the Brewers brain-trust decided that it might just slow down his progress and that McPhillips needs the opportunity, sooner rather than later, to make the position his own.

With Singer retained and his allowable time down at AAA on rehab assignment having come to an end, he was brought back to the Brewers bullpen and rookie starting pitcher Justin Peacock was optioned back to AAA Chester for a bit more seasoning.

Whether Puente and Singer will still be members of the Brewers organization come 1973 is very much debatable, but for now they remain to hopefully play their roles in helping the Brewers claim a fourth straight MGL title.

July 31- August 1, 1972, at Brooklyn
 

The Brewers finish up July and get a start on August with a 2-game series in Brooklyn against the 2nd place Aces.

In game 1 veteran lefty Daniel Torres, in only his 3rd start of the month, pitches a very strong 5 2/3rds innings, allowing no runs on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts and no walks and the Brewers prevail 2-0. The Brewers scored the lone runs of the game in the 2nd inning thanks largely to big contributions from the lower portion of the lineup as Jonathan Koch (.241/.277/.395) went 2 for 4 and drove in a run and catcher Kevin Curtis (.189/.324/.311) was 2 for 3 with a walk. Ryan Rodgers (.306/.409/.370), starting to get on a roll at the plate after returning from an extended period on the injured list, went 3 for 4 and hit his 5th double. The bullpen was tremendous again for the last 3 1/3rd innings and Jose de los Santos picked up his 14th save (1.89 ERA.) Torres improves to 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA.

The Brewers start the month of August with a loss, dropping game 2 to the Aces, 4-2. Harry Lyerly once again did not give up any HR's, but did allow 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits over 7 innings (5 K, 3 BB) to get the loss and drop to 9-5 with a 2.66 ERA. The Brewers outhit the Aces 10-7 but stranded far too many runners. Jonathan Koch (.245/.280/.400) went 2 for 5 and hit his 11th double. Pat Rondeau (.285/.306/.357) was also 2 for 5 and hit his 6th triple of the season.

Early August WPK standings update
 

So as we get going in the month of August the Charlotte Sting remain atop the MGL standings but have been showing some vulnerability the last few weeks. They now lead Brooklyn by 4 games and Denver by 7 while the L.A. Spinners have been sliding down the standings. Meanwhile, the team predicted to be the best team in all of the WPK prior to the season- the Phoenix Speed Devils- are starting to show some signs of life and have been the hottest team in the MGL of late. They are still 2 games under .500 and 14 1/2 games off the pace in 5th place but Phoenix fans are starting to sense the possibility that this season isn't totally lost.

In the SJL, two of the perennial powerhouses, Columbus and Jacksonville, are currently tied for 1st, while the surprising San Antonio Keys sit just 1/2 game behind them. The over-achieving (-40 run differential, +8 pythagorean win expectation difference) Seattle Alligators are in hanging in there in 4th place. The pre-season favorite, the Washington Night Train, are a game under .500 and in 5th place, 8 games behind the leaders.

August 2-3, 1972, at San Francisco
 

In an odd (and challenging) bit of scheduling, the Brewers then head all the way to the west coast to take on the San Francisco Velocity in a short 2-game set.

Perhaps it was jet lag, or maybe the effect of playing in the extreme pitcher's park of Bank of the West Ballpark, but whatever the cause the Brewers could not mount any offense in game 1 and lose 2-0. Steve Green pitched a solid game in the loss, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 innings pitched, with 7 strikeouts and 2 walks. He drops to 6-6 with a 3.14 ERA. Chad Brown (.301/.328/.403) continues to have a fine season and goes 2 for 4 with his 19th stolen base in the loss.

Much the same happens in game 2, which the Brewers lose 2-1. Matt Helm pitched a solid 6 innings, not giving up any runs while allowing 5 hits and 3 walks and striking out 5. The Brewers carry a 1-0 lead into the 8th inning but then Liann-wei Hua gave up a 1-out hit and Miguel Solis allowed a 2-run HR to the first batter he faced to take the loss. Solis drops to 3-4 with a 1.64 ERA. Chad Brown (.303/.330/.404) got half of the Brewers hits in the game (2 for 4) and scored the lone Brewers run.

With 3 straight losses to start August the Brewers fall to 9 games out of 1st place, still in 3rd.

August 4-6, 1972, versus Portland
 

The Brewers return to Centennial Stadium for a 10-game home stand starting with 3 against the last place Portland Wild Things.

Game 1 was an absolute heart-breaker. The Brewers and Wild Things fought to a 2-2 tie after 7 innings. Then Portland scored a go-ahead run in the 8th inning on a solo HR off Eric Singer. The Brewers bounced back with 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning thanks to a 2-run HR by Bobby Erbakan (.275/.345/.389), who went 2 for 4 in the game while driving in 3 runs. The HR was his 6th of the season. Singer stayed in the game to try to get the save in the 9th but after getting the first batter to ground out, he was victimized by an Antonio Puente error on what should have been the second out of the inning and then gave up a single and was pulled for stopper Jose de los Santos. He did not have a good outing. He got the first batter he faced but then gave up 2 singles and 2 walks as the Wild Things plated 3 runs. Kevin Curtis (.190/.326/.321) hit his 4th HR with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th but that was the most the Brewers could muster as they lost 6-5.

The Brewers got their first win of August in the middle game of the series with an extra inning win thanks largely to a great start by Cheol-han Lee, some wonderful bullpen work, and the bat of Pat Rondeau. Rondeau (.288/.308/.363) went 3 for 5 in the game but his biggest hit was a two-out game-winning triple in the bottom of the 12th inning, scoring Bobby Erbakan who had earned a two-out base on balls. Jordan Stephens, the last of 3 relievers to pitch in the game for Denver, got the win and improves to 2-0 with a 1.04 ERA. Cheol-han Lee did not get the decision but struck out 11 batters while walking just 1 and giving up 5 hits and 1 unearned run in 8 innings pitched. His ERA drops to 2.09.

The Brewers get the series win by taking game 3 by a score of 6-3. Kevin Curtis (.196/.328/.338) was named Player of the Game as he went 2 for 4 with 5 RBI and hit a big 3-run HR to give the Brewers a 4-0 lead in the 2nd inning. It was Curtis 2nd HR in his past 2 games played and his 5th of the season. Harry Lyerly got the start and the win, striking out 11 and walking just 1 but also giving up 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 2/3rds innings. Lyerly improves to 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA. Lyerly also went 2 for 3 at the plate. Jaden Francis gets his first save of the season and now has an ERA of 3.38.

WPK Franchise Report: the Columbus Whalers (SJL)
 

History/Overview: The Columbus Whalers are second only to the Jacksonville Wolf Pack in team winning percentage in WPK history (your Brewers are 3rd.) Columbus has a .563 winning percentage and has twice won both the SJL pennant and the WPK Championship (1968-1969.) They currently have taken over 1st place in the SJL this season as well. They finished in 8th place in the league's first season (1965) but since then they have never finished below .500, although they did finish as low as 5th place once since (1967.) Columbus ranks as an above average market in the WPK and the Whalers fan base is also thought of as above average in terms of loyalty. Currently though, even with the team in 1st place, fan interest is only good but certainly not as high as it should probably be. The Whalers are blessed with having an owner who is lenient, charitable, and hands-off. His priority is profit and some suspect he might not always inspire the management team to get the most out of the team in terms of winning. But mostly he is reportedly a pleasure to work for.

The Park: Starting this season, the Whalers play at Huntington Park, which holds a maximum of 38,500 fans, which does make it one of the smallest parks in the league. Huntington seems to favor hitters a bit more than pitchers, and is particularly friendly to left-handed hitters.

The Face of the Franchise: While center fielder Brad Tesh may be the most popular Whaler among local fans, starting pitcher Jake Harris is almost surely to be the first WPK Hall-of-Famer representing the franchise. Along with the Brewers Cheol-han Lee and the San Antonio Keys Chris Hernandez, Harris is arguably one of the three best starting pitchers of his generation. He is a 2-time Pitcher of the Year, a 7-time All-Star, and has a career win-loss record of 139-58 with an astounding career ERA of 2.27. At age 33, Harris is showing no signs of slowing down as he is 12-4 with a 2.22 ERA this season. He has led the league in wins 4 times, in ERA once, and in WAR twice. And unlike Lee and Hernandez, Harris has pitched his entire career for the same team and, as he is under contract through the 1976 season, may well never pitch in another uniform.

Greatest former player: Most of the great Whalers in the short history of the franchise thus far still play their home games in Columbus. But right fielder Ricky Salinas, who is now a member of the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, is the career leader in batting average for Columbus (.297) and among the career leaders in several other offensive categories. Salinas played his first 6 seasons as a Whaler and collected 2 Gold Gloves as a member of the team. He was also an important member of both championship teams for Columbus and indeed was the MVP of the 1969 World Series.

August 7-9, 1972, versus Detroit
 

The Brewers next take on the 9th place Detroit Falcons.

The four-game series starts with a Monday double-header.
The Brewers get a narrow 2-1 victory in the opening game behind a very fine performance by veteran lefty Daniel Torres, who allows just 1 run on 6 hits in 6 1/3rd innings pitched, striking out 7 and walking 1. Left fielder Ryan Rodgers (.316/.414/.368) paces the offense with a 2 for 3, 1 RBI game and gets a huge outfield assist, throwing out Falcons third baseman Eddie Siegmund at home plate to end the 4th inning. Eric Singer works the last 2 innings to get the save, his 2nd (3.15 ERA.)

A fine performance by starter Steve Green (7 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 5 HA, 9 K, 2 BB) and a great game at the plate by rookie Joe McPhillips lead the Brewers to a 5-2 victory in the night cap. McPhillips (.228/.326/.374) went 3 for 4, scoring 2 runs and driving in 1, hitting his 11th double and 5th HR of the season. Green improves to 7-6 with a 3.05 ERA. Another rookie, Mike Foster (.276/.306/.366) also homered, his 3rd, while going 2 for 3 and driving in 3 runs.

A disastrous 6-run 3rd inning against Brewers starter Matt Helm proved to be too much for the home team to overcome in game 3 and they lost 7-5. Helm lasted just 4 1/3rd innings, giving up the 6 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits, while striking out 5 and walking 2. Helm drops to 4-5 with a 2.67 ERA. The Brewers fought to climb back into the game behind some good hitting by Bobby Erbakan (.271/.342/.381), who went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI, Andrew Kennedy (.289/.320/.380), who was 3 for 4 and hit his 22nd double, and Joe McPhillips, who hit a monster solo HR in the 8th inning to get the Brewers within 2 runs of the Falcons. But in the end they fell short.

And in the final game of the series the Falcons lefty ace, Colby Muir, handcuffed the Brewers hitters to get a 5-0 victory (with a little help from his bullpen.) The Brewers manage only a single hit in the game (an Andrew Kennedy single) along with a pair of walks drawn by Ryan Rodgers. Erik Sloan, meanwhile, gives up 5 runs (3 earned) over 7 innings pitched to get take the loss (he did strike out 8 while only walking 1.) Sloan falls to 3-3 with a 1.85 ERA with Denver and 11-6, 2.05 for the season.

Having to settle for a series split after such a promising start was a blow for the team, especially at home, and they remain 8 1/2 games behind the first place Charlotte Sting, still in 3rd place.

Wolf Pack lose veteran lefty Diaz for rest of season
 

Tough blow today for the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, who are currently in 3rd place in the SJL, 2 1/2 games off the pace.
Veteran left-handed starter Ricky Diaz, who was having a fine season, suffered a season-ending elbow injury and will need elbow ligament reconstruction surgery which is expected to keep him out of commission for up to a year. Given that he turned 38 recently it is questionable how much of a career he has left after such a serious injury.

(Diaz was briefly a Brewer back in 1967 when he started 15 games in Brewers purple, going 5-3 with a 2.74 ERA.)

August 11-13, 1972, versus Baltimore
 

The home stand concludes with a 3-game series against the 7th place Baltimore Lords.

Sometimes one of those games comes along where all cylinders are firing for your team and you have to wonder what it would look like if they could just put it together like this more consistently. Game 1 of this series was just such a game for the Brewers. Great pitching? Check. Cheol-han Lee pitched a complete game, 2-hit shutout, striking out 8 while walking 4. Great hitting? Check. The Brewers collected 19 hits in the game, including 4 doubles, turning that into 9 runs. Some speed on the bases? Check. Pat Rondeau picked up his 13th stolen base. Defense? Well, in addition to the usual great range at most every position, Pat Rondeau, playing center field, threw out a runner at third base. Lee improves to 12-5 on the season and sees his ERA drop to 1.99. Every batter in the Brewers starting lineup had at least one hit, including Lee who singled twice, scored a run and drove one in as well. Four Brewers batters collected 3 apiece in the game: Chad Brown (.303/.328/.402), Pat Rondeau (.287/.305/.357), Bobby Erbakan (.273/.345/.381), and Andrew Kennedy (.294/.324/.388). Chad Brown hit his 27th double, Andrew Kennedy hit 2 to get to 24 on the season, and Mike Foster hit his 2nd.
Brewers win game 1, 9-0.

Game 2 was much the same- Brewers winning 8-2. Harry Lyerly got the start, and the win, as he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 7 1/3rd innings pitched. Lyerly struggled with his control a bit, walking 6 batters but he also struck out 9. With the win he improves to 11-5 with a 2.69 ERA. Antonio Puente (.209/.306/.342) came through big for the home side as he went 3 for 4 with 2 HR's and 5 RBI. Andrew Kennedy (.299/.329/.392) stays red-hot at the plate as he went 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored. Bobby Erbakan (.275/.346/.390) chipped in with a 2 for 4, 2 run, 1 HR game (his 7th HR.)

The final game of the series required a bit more drama. The Brewers are out-hit by the Lords 12-8 and enter the bottom of the 9th trailing 5-2. Then they really got to work. Kevin Curtis (.188/.323/.322) walked to start the inning. Andrew Kennedy (.299/.331/.392) came in to pinch hit for pitcher Dave Duncan. And he walked. Chad Brown then struck out for the first out of the inning. (After striking out only 11 times the entire 1971 season, Chad has now struck out 30 times in 1972.) But then the recently torrid Pat Rondeau (.291/.311/.360) singled, loading the bases. Ryan Rodgers (.313/.415/.361) followed with a single of his own, driving in Curtis and re-filling the bases. Antonio Puente (.211/.313/.343) then walked in a run. With 1 out and the bases loaded the Brewers now trail 6-4. The Lords bring in a new pitcher, John Velasco, who has great stuff but questionable control. Bobby Erbakan is up. Perfect time for the young budding superstar to come up with the big game-winning hit. Nope. Erbakan strikes out. Last chance, Oscar Vargas, who came into the game as a defensive replacement at third base to begin the 9th, when the score was still 5-2, comes to the plate. With a slash line of .203/.257/.278 he is one of the weakest hitters on the club. It is decided to let him hit anyway. And after working to a 3-2 count, Vargas slashes a line drive to the opposite (right) field. The speedy Pat Rondeau scores easily. Ryan Rodgers rounds third and heads for home. He makes it, easily. And the team comes out to mob Vargas, the ultimate hero of the game.

The Brewers get an exciting sweep of the Lords before heading out on the road for a 13 games in 13 days stretch (after a day off for travel.) That's the good news. The bad news is that the Charlotte Sting are also playing well and the Brewers remain 9 games off the pace.

The Denver Brewers and the K
 

Let's talk about strikeouts.
Let's talk about the Denver Brewers pitching staff and strikeouts, in particular.
Although the team pitching coach specializes in working with groundball pitchers and the Brewers have some fine groundballers who, in conjunction with a great middle infield, get plenty of double play balls, the real strength of the staff is getting opponents out without them making any fair territory contact at all.

The Brewers have struck out 963 batters this season. The next best in the MGL is Charlotte with 837. The best total in the SJL? Jacksonville at 861. So, not that I need to do the math for you, but that means the Brewers pitching staff has recorded 100 more K's than the next best staff (in this category) in all of the WPK. Likely one of the good reasons the Brewers staff leads the MGL in FIP at 2.45.
Meanwhile, Brewers hitters are pretty good at avoiding the whiff as they rank at 3rd best in the MGL in avoiding being struck out.

August 15-17, 1972, at Portland
 

To begin their long road-trip, the Brewers fly to Portland to take on the last place Wild Things for 3 games.

The Brewers extend their winning streak to 4 games behind the pitching of Erik Sloan as they win 5-1 in game 1 of the series. Sloan gets the complete game win, allowing the single run on just 4 hits while striking out 7 and walking 1. He improves to 4-3 with a 1.75 ERA for Denver and 12-6 with a 2.00 ERA for the season. Chad Brown (.298/.322/.394) paces the offense with a 2 for 5 game, scoring a run and driving in another. He also picks up his 21st stolen base, 3rd most in the MGL.

The winning streak comes to an end in game 2 as Portland starter Orlando Vidal, in the midst of a nice rookie campaign, shuts out the Brewers on 5 hits. Vidal was the Wild Things first round draft pick (5th overall) in the 1971 draft. In this game he out-dueled likely future Hall-of-Famer Cheol-han Lee for the 2-0 victory. Lee also went the distance, allowing the 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 8 and walking none. He drops to 12-6 with a 2.00 ERA. (Yes, that's right- Lee and Sloan now have not only identical records, but identical ERA's as well. Spooky.) Jonathan Koch (.233/.265/.359), who went 2 for 4 the day before, fared best against Vidal with a 2 for 3 day at the plate and his first stolen base of the season. Chad Brown hit his 28th double of 1972 in the loss. Brown is 2nd in the MGL in doubles and batting average, in both cases trailing Brooklyn's Felix Lopez by a good margin.

In the game 3 rubber match the Brewers carry a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the 7th inning. And then the wheels fall off. Harry Lyerly, who was pitching a shutout in spite of some control issues, sees the first batter he faces in the bottom of the 7th reach on a error by Chad Brown. He then strikes out the next batter. The opposing pitcher is up next and Lyerly inexplicably walks him. After giving up a run-scoring single to the next batter, Lyerly is lifted for reliever Jaden Francis. The Brewers still lead 2-1 at this point. But not for long. Francis gives up another single which loads the bases. Then gets the very dangerous Chris Tobin to fly out to center, not deep enough to advance any runners. Almost out of the jam with the lead preserved. But a 2-out single scores 2 runs. The lead is gone as is Francis, though not before walking the bases loaded again. Liann-wei Hua comes in to face a tough lefty in Jay Ebersole. And allows a single scoring 2 more runs. And, well, you get the picture. Before the final out was recorded the Wild Things had scored 6 times.The Brewers lose the game 6-2 and drop 2 of 3 in the series. Lyerly falls to 11-6 though his ERA also drops, having not allowed any earned runs, and is now 2.59. He struck out 5 but also walked 5, though he only gave up 4 hits in his 6 1/3rd innings pitched. Although only scoring 2 runs, the Brewers managed to collect 4 doubles in their 8 hits on the evening. Andrew Kennedy collects double #25, Kevin Curtis #16, Jonathan Koch #12, and Mike Foster (.277/.304/.365), who went 2 for 3 in the game, gets his 3rd double of 1972.

With the series loss the Brewers once again fall behind the suddenly again hot Charlotte Sting by double digits (10 games behind.) With September no longer that far away it is looking more and more like the Brewers will not be able to catch the front-runners to earn their 4th straight MGL pennant.

First round draft pick progress report: 1965
 

One of the many things I like to monitor about the WPK is the progress of players chosen in the first rounds of the annual amateur draft.
I keep spreadsheets to track every player chosen with one of the first 20 picks- the first round proper at this point of league development, not counting any players chosen in the supplemental first round.

And I will henceforth periodically provide updates on how these players have fared.

Let's start today with the very first amateur draft held in the WPK, which occurred during the inaugural 1965 season.

An overview: Three of the first five players chosen in the 1965 draft were starting pitchers. And the last nine players in the round were also staring pitchers. Altogether, 15 of the 20 players chosen were starting pitchers. Though, admittedly, some of these players, like the Brewers own Jaden Francis, become relief pitchers while still in the minors. Two other pitchers were chosen as relief pitchers. Leaving just three position players: 2 center fielders and 1 shortstop.
Of the 20 players chosen in the first round of the 1965 draft, 2 retired from professional baseball having never made it to the majors (More on that below.) Two others have made it as high as AAA but have not yet played at the WPK level. Of the remainder most have had marginal impacts at the big league level thus far, with a few exceptions.


The Stars: The two primary exceptions are two of the three position players. Almost certainly the biggest star of the class thus far is Seattle Alligator shortstop Mike Silveira. Silveira is in his 4th big league season and is already a 4-time All-Star and won the Silver Slugger award last season. He hit over .300 his first three seasons but is having a bit of down year in 1972 with a slash line currently at .243/.288/.361. He is a well-above average defender with great speed and excellent gap power (he led the league in triples in 1971 with 16.) At 25 years of age, he should have many fine seasons ahead of him. Silveira was chosen 10th overall.

The other star thus far is Jacksonville first baseman Hector Alvares. Alvares is a one-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner in right field. (Alvares really should be in the outfield, but currently is blocked by Ricky Salinas in right field, Greg Koenig in center, and Kurt Penn, the weak link, in left.) In the 1971 season he led the league in both runs scored and walks. He has been a regular starter since 1970 but has played at least part of seasons in the WPK since 1967. Alvares is a speedy player who likely will find himself in the outfield once again in the future as his talents are really being wasted at first. Alvares was the 5th pick overall in the 1965 draft.

The Busts: Rich Sharpe was chosen by the Baltimore Lords with the 12th pick of the 1965 draft. While he was selected as a starting pitcher he also played first base a bit when not on the mound. Although he put up some decent numbers as a pitcher in his age 21 season in A ball, he never made it to his age 22 season. He was released by the Lords in April of 1969 and quietly retired from baseball in the Autumn of that same year. He was a 1-time All-Star at the minor league level but could never develop the control needed to become a big league hurler.

Lefty Ivan Figueredo, chosen with the 14th pick by the Detroit Falcons, lasted a bit longer but also never made it above AA before retiring at the end of the 1971 season. He suffered a series of mostly not very serious injuries over his minor league career which may have contributed to his inability to fulfill his early promise. Oddly, for a pitcher not known for his skills at the plate, his biggest accomplishment in his minor league career was a 5-hit, 3-RBI game in the Rookie League on July 5th, 1967.

One to watch: Starting pitcher Gibson Fiedler of the San Francisco Velocity, chosen with the 19th pick, has been trending in the right direction and has the best big league WAR thus far among the pitchers chosen in the first round of this draft. Fielder has been a full-time starter since 1970 and pitched out of the bullpen for parts of the two seasons prior to that at the WPK level. He was in his first All-Star game earlier this season and is putting up great numbers in 1972. On the other hand, many fear he may prove to be too fragile for an extended big league career and he also has a reputation as a selfish player.

As alluded to above, the Brewers pick in this draft was Jaden Francis, chosen originally as a starting pitcher but now a member of the Brewers bullpen, off and on, since 1968. Jaden was chosen 16th overall in the 1965 draft. He is not a star but with his excellent curve ball and solidly above average stuff, movement, and control he should be a valuable member of the pen for the foreseeable future.

August 18-20, 1972, at Detroit
 

In the first game of 3-game set at Detroit, veteran lefty Daniel Torres pitches a good game but the Brewers offense fail to score even once and they lose 2-0. Torres worked 7 innings, giving up 1 run on just 3 hits. He falls to 6-6 with a 3.39 ERA. Rookie third baseman Mike Foster (.282/.309/.368) gets half of the Brewers hits in the game, going 2 for 4.

The Brewers hold on to an early lead to get a narrow 4-3 victory in the middle game of the series. Steve Green gets the win with a 7 inning, 3 runs allowed (but none earned), 5 hits allowed, 6 strikeout and 3 walks allowed performance. Green improves to 8-6 with a 2.96 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.275/.347/.386) led the Brewers offense with a 3 for 4, 3 RBI game, hitting his 22nd double. Jose de los Santos picked up his 15th save of the season (1.84 ERA.)

In the rubber match, the Brewers took a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 8th with lefty ace Erik Sloan on the mound. A series win seemed nearly assured. And then disaster struck. Sloan allowed a pair of singles to start the inning. Then he got the dangerous Shawn Hanl to fly out harmlessly to right field. The next batter, however, also singled, loading the bases. Sloan's night was done and long-time Brewers closer Miguel Solis came in to put out the fire. He would face the Falcons power-hitting first baseman Nate Kuykendall first. His first pitch to Kukendall was a ball. The second pitch wasn't. With an exit velocity of 106.3 mph it sailed into the left field stands for a Grand Slam. Game tied, 5-5. Solis limps off the field with a pulled hamstring. Perhaps he moved a bit too quickly to turn around and watch that one leave the yard? Dave Duncan comes in and gets the final two outs to preserve the tie. But the momentum has clearly shifted.
In the bottom of the 9th Duncan strikes out the first batter he faces, but then allows a double to the next batter. On a 2-2 count to pinch-hitter James Watson, Duncan uncorks a wild pitch. Runner to third. Duncan throws a ball to the next batter. And then. Another wild pitch. Game over.

With the series loss the Brewers drop to 10 1/2 games behind the first place Sting. While they hold onto 3rd place for now, the Los Angeles Spinners are gaining ground and are 3 games behind Denver in 4th place. The Phoenix Speed Devils, meanwhile, are once again slumping and while they are tied with the San Francisco Velocity for 5th place, at 4 games under .500 and 19 games off the pace any hopes for a first place finish are basically extinguished at this point for the pre-season favorites.

Koch lost for at least a month, Dube promoted from AAA
 

The Brewers might need to prioritize pre-game stretches a big more as in the same game in which reliever Miguel Solis exits with a mild hamstring strain (only expected to be out of commission for a day), rookie second baseman Jonathan Koch suffers a more serious hamstring strain which will keep him out of action for a least a month, according to the training staff.

Koch is placed on the 10-day injured list and long-time Brewer farmhand Ian Dube (selected by the team in the 4th round of the 1967 draft) is promoted to the big league club for the first time. Dube won't bring the defensive excellence to the position that Koch does, but he's quite acceptable in the field. As a hitter Dube is a borderline big leaguer. On the plus side, Dube has a great clubhouse reputation and is heralded for both his baseball smarts and his strong work ethic. As a left-handed hitter Dube will likely split time at second with veteran utility infielder Oscar Vargas.