OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

BirdWatcher · 03-17-2019, 01:09 PM

And now a quick look at the Brewers opponent in the 1971 WPK World Series: the Washington Night Train.

The Night Train have been a bit inconsistent thus far in their history but they have never finished below fifth place (out of ten) in the SJL and this is their second SJL title. The first time they won the SJL was in 1967 (when they went 96-66) and that year they defeated the Portland Wild Things in the World Series, 4 games to 3.

The Night Train are led by a veteran starting pitching staff that could well give the Brewers fits. Ace Chris Hernandez is tied with Jake Harris for second among WPK pitchers in career WAR, behind the Brewers Cheol-han Lee. Bobby Cruz, the teams' captain, had one of his best seasons at age 32 and is great at inducing the groundball out. 24-year old Jose Casillas is on the rise and has nasty stuff in addition to also being able to induce a good deal of grounders. And with the ever-popular veteran Jose Foskey as their 4th starter, a real control specialist, the Night Train has a deep and talented staff.

Their bullpen is solid but the loss of their veteran reliever Julio Alvarez earlier in the season has left a bit of a gap. Alvarez appeared in 80 games in 1970 and led the league with 25 saves that season, but he went down with a torn UCL in early August of this season and at age 38 his career may be nearing its expiration date.

While the Night Train have some offensive stars the lineup isn't terribly imposing top to bottom and they are a bit under-powered. Youngsters Lazaro Lowndes and Eric Taylor lead the way and both provide speed and good contact hitting. Lowndes real weakness, other than a basic lack of homerun power, is that for all of his speed and base-stealing ability, he thus far has not been able to avoid a low stolen base success rate, generally being among the league leaders in both bases stolen and times caught stealing. This year he even took a step backwards in that regard as he stole 37 bases but was also caught an astounding 35 times.
Veteran rightfielder Eric Canova is the main power threat in the lineup, but at age 36 he is starting to show some decline and had an OBP of only .316 this season (after posting a fine .369 the previous year.)

Although the team doesn't have many true defensive standouts, with the possible exceptions of centerfielder Lowndes and shortstop Jeremy Patterson (the team's sparkplug), they also don't have any real weaknesses in this area and aren't likely to beat themselves with defensive lapses.

All in all, it should be a good match-up and it will likely come down to which great starting pitching rotation is sharpest and/or which team can capitalize on what might likely be rare scoring opportunities. (The Brewers can also hope that their power hitting game carries through into the post-season and that this gives them an advantage.)

03-17-2019, 01:09 PM	#867
BirdWatcher Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Location: Denver, Colorado Posts: 4,262	The Washington Night Train And now a quick look at the Brewers opponent in the 1971 WPK World Series: the Washington Night Train. The Night Train have been a bit inconsistent thus far in their history but they have never finished below fifth place (out of ten) in the SJL and this is their second SJL title. The first time they won the SJL was in 1967 (when they went 96-66) and that year they defeated the Portland Wild Things in the World Series, 4 games to 3. The Night Train are led by a veteran starting pitching staff that could well give the Brewers fits. Ace Chris Hernandez is tied with Jake Harris for second among WPK pitchers in career WAR, behind the Brewers Cheol-han Lee. Bobby Cruz, the teams' captain, had one of his best seasons at age 32 and is great at inducing the groundball out. 24-year old Jose Casillas is on the rise and has nasty stuff in addition to also being able to induce a good deal of grounders. And with the ever-popular veteran Jose Foskey as their 4th starter, a real control specialist, the Night Train has a deep and talented staff. Their bullpen is solid but the loss of their veteran reliever Julio Alvarez earlier in the season has left a bit of a gap. Alvarez appeared in 80 games in 1970 and led the league with 25 saves that season, but he went down with a torn UCL in early August of this season and at age 38 his career may be nearing its expiration date. While the Night Train have some offensive stars the lineup isn't terribly imposing top to bottom and they are a bit under-powered. Youngsters Lazaro Lowndes and Eric Taylor lead the way and both provide speed and good contact hitting. Lowndes real weakness, other than a basic lack of homerun power, is that for all of his speed and base-stealing ability, he thus far has not been able to avoid a low stolen base success rate, generally being among the league leaders in both bases stolen and times caught stealing. This year he even took a step backwards in that regard as he stole 37 bases but was also caught an astounding 35 times. Veteran rightfielder Eric Canova is the main power threat in the lineup, but at age 36 he is starting to show some decline and had an OBP of only .316 this season (after posting a fine .369 the previous year.) Although the team doesn't have many true defensive standouts, with the possible exceptions of centerfielder Lowndes and shortstop Jeremy Patterson (the team's sparkplug), they also don't have any real weaknesses in this area and aren't likely to beat themselves with defensive lapses. All in all, it should be a good match-up and it will likely come down to which great starting pitching rotation is sharpest and/or which team can capitalize on what might likely be rare scoring opportunities. (The Brewers can also hope that their power hitting game carries through into the post-season and that this gives them an advantage.) Attached Images