Going for it all.... in Montreal!

[Big T]

Its a warm summers day in Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park this 23rd day of July in 1973. The Expos find themselves down 11-9 to the Phillies after 7 innings and are running out of games with only 10 left after tonight's tilt. Its been a real strange game with the lead going back and forth. The Phils scored 6 in the bottom of the 3rd to take a 9-5 lead but Montreal tied it up with runs in the 4th and 5th, but the Philadelphia got 2 more in the 6th to take the lead again.

Montreal will lead off the top of the 8th with veteran LF Joe Woodbury. After a terrible start to the season struggling to hit .200 he has had 10 multiple hit games in his last 13 and has brought his batting average from .199 to .250 and has been the NL Player of the Week for 2 straight weeks. The left hitting Woodbury is facing the lefty RP of the Phillies David Meissner, but Montreal manager Rich Holden has not even considered pinch hitting for the "on fire" Woodbury. Woodbury does not disappoint and slaps a 2-1 pitch past the second baseman into RF for a lead off Single.

The Phillies counter with a RH pitcher in Rusty Dettlinger to face 32 year old C Nate Samms. The 6' 2" 230 lbs Samms is having a much better season in 1973. In the 5 years of the leagues existance, Samms has played all 5 seasons with the Expos but struggled mightly in 1972 with only 9 HRs and a less then stellar .219 batting average. Samms already has 2 hits in the game and is 1-1 in the count with Dettlinger who can bring the heat topping off around 100 mph. Samms makes strong contact and watches the ball leave the yard, some 423 feet away in straight away LF for his 14th HR of the year. The Expos have tied it up 11-11.

Next up for the Expos is 30 year old Fernando Martinez, the left handed hitting 2B has just signed a 3 year extension that will see him with the Expos until at least 1976. Martinez has been a successful contact hitter who comes into the game with a career .308 batting average over 5 Major League seasons and comes into the game hitting .291 but is 0 for 4 so far in this one. Dettlinger and Martinez battle as the lefty fouls of 3 straight pitches, but finally on the 8th pitch Martinez lines a trademark ball into CF for a Double.

SS Ryan Maynard is having his best season to date and it would have a hell of lot better had he not missed 4 weeks with a torn ligament in his thumb. Maynard came to the Expos via trade in July of 1971 along with MR Carl Mathieu. Maynard hit his career high 5th HR earlier in the game but is hit with a 3-2 pitch to put runners on 1st and 2nd for Gene Watkins and still no outs.

About the same time the Expos acquired Maynard, they made a trade to get Watkins. The versatile 3B had just come off being named the Rookie of the Month in the NL for June 1971 and the Expos were looking for some consistancy at the position. Now 27, Watkins has blossomed into the Expos every day 3B and he has been having a pretty good season hitting .276 with 10 HRs, but he has not hit a HR in 17 games since back on July 4th. After getting ahead at 3-0, Dettlinger gets a called strike and then forces Watkins to foul off 2 pitches to bring the count full. Watkins drills the next pitch just outside the LF wall for a 3-run HR, his 11th of the season and the Expos have another lead 14-11.

The Expos next 3 hitters, RF Jon Sullivan, CF Matt Healy and MR Juan Barrios go down in order, but the Expos have a critical lead and an opportunity to close the gap on the 1st place St Louis Cardinals.

Expos manager Rich Holden left Barrios to hit in the 8th as the Expos pen has struggled the last few games and Barrios got the first 3 batters he faced in the 7th and was still fresh. The 31 year old Barrios came over to the Expos in a May 15th, 1973 trade but had lots of rest only pitching 2 innings since his disasterous outing on July 10th when he gave up 5 ERs in just 1.2 innings. Holden's risk paid off as the Barrios got Phillies 1-2-3 in the 8th.

The Expos had another run in the top of the 9th as Willie Garcia led off with a Single, then with 1-out stole 2nd and reached 3rd on the Phillies C throwing error. For Garcia that was his 22nd SB and he now leads his teammate Joe Woodbury by 1. With Nate Samms at the plate and the count 3-1, Samms hits a fly ball to CF that Garcia easily scores on.

Holden sends out Barrios for the bottom of the 9th with a 4-run lead. Barrios gets Henry Richardson to ground out to 1B, and PH Tyler McArthur to strikeout looking to get 2 quick outs and what should be a pretty easy 9th. But hold the phones........
Philadelphia CF Andy Miller gets hit by a Barrios 0-1 pitch, followed by a walk to speedster Jimmy Kirchner bringing up light hitting 3B Ray Skiffington. Now the 32 year old Skiffington has 1 career Major League HR in 103 at bats........make that 2 as he takes the Barrios 1-1 offering into the LF bleachers with a 3-run HR and the Expos now are leading by the slimmest of margins, 15-14.

A few minutes ago, Left handed Closer Charlie Rancourt had no expectations of seeing any action in this ball game and pitch for the 3rd straight night. He had just pitched last night throwing 18 pitches and got his 22nd save of the season against these same Phillies in a 6-3 win and his 21st save against the Phillies the night before that, albeit he needed only 8 pitches that night. The 28 year from Salmon Arm, BC became the Closer for the Expos in 1972 as the veteran LH closer Adam Larson began to lose his edge and it appeared he would need to steady the nerves of manager Rich Holden and the rest of the Expos that have recently found themselves back in the pennant chase the last few weeks.

The Expos were 7 1/2 games back on July 1st with a 33-36 record and had decided they could not afford to resign the reigning Cy Young Award winning SP Aaron Cregg. The Expos were forced to trade the Expos winningest pitcher in his prime on July 5th with hope of a better future and likely at the expense of the 1973 season, but the Expos prevailed. Back to the game.....

Rancourt is about to face the switch hitting LF Ron Cacciapaglia. Cacciapaglia came into the game after the Phillies lead off hitter, Leo Valderrama left the game while running the bases in the 1st. For the 24 year old Cacciapaglia, he was appearing in his 1st Major league game and was 0 for 4 on the day so far. The kid fouls off the 1st Rancourt offering, looks at strike two before evening the count to 2-2. He gamely fouls of the next pitch before the veteran Rancourt puts him away for the strikeout................ The Expos are just 2 games back with 10 to play and for the first time this season are 2 games above .500 at 46-44.

[Big T]

I started this dynasty shortly after the purchase of OOTP 17 and retired a few of the ones I had on previous versions. I wanted to do a dynasty where I could play out the games, but I felt 162 games was too long to keep interested and would move too slow. The set up was completely a fictional game based on the 1969 24 team league with a couple of exceptions. I manage the game and act as a GM although I do allow a AI manager (Rich Holder) to take the credit, as well as set up the rotation and make the defensive and pitching decisions during the game leaving the substitions and offense to me.

The MLB season starts roughly April 15th and goes for 100 games with a trade deadline and expanded rosters at roughly 80 games. I also have 3 levels of minors AAA (90 games) AA (80 games) and A (70 games) with reduced schedules. Unlike the RL Majors, the draft takes place in the off-season.

The league was initiated with a draft which I let the AI handle, too much work for me and the very first season as previously mentioned was 1969. The structure is very close to the 1969 MLB structure except that AL East has the Toronto Blue Jays and the AL West has the Seattle Mariners. Each division will produce a pennant champion and then a World Series thus mimicking the 1969 playoff structure.

So as we finalize the 5th season of play, we have had different 3 World Series winners over 4 seasons.

San Francisco Giants 1969
Chicago White Sox 1970
Chicago White Sox 1971
Los Angeles Dodgers 1972

We will cover some of the MLB leaders and record holders at the end of this season...

Next up.......... The history of the Montreal Expos.

[Big T]

The History that led us to this point....................



1969

The 1969 Expos, like 23 other teams were all unsure of what they had and where they stood. The Expos 1st season was quite a struggle, finishing 5th in the NL East with a 40-60 record. The Expos were led offensively by 2B Joel McNally. As 32 years of age, McNally hit .309 with 3 HRs and 24 RBIs but missed the first 3 weeks of the season due to injury and was limited to 81 games. The Expos also were quite excited about the young 26 year old SP Aaron Cregg. Although Cregg had a 6-8 record he had 146 Ks in just 139 innings over 21 starts.







Some key transactions in 1969 were...........

C Nate Samms Extension Signed, 6 years $22.8 M
RF Henry Rosberg, Extension Signed 4 years $21.6 M
Acquired RF Jason Barnett and CF Matt Healy in a trade with the Yankees
Acquired 3B Mark Cornelison and C Max Burton in a trade with the Blue Jays
Acquired C Malik Mask in the Rule 5 draft
Drafted SP Eric Marks in Round 1, 7th overall
Drafted SS David Sanchez in Round 5 103rd overall

[Big T]

1970.................

Well the Expos with the aide of some young arms in the rotation not only win the NL East Pennant, but go on to the World Series. The are swept by the (64-36) Chicago White Sox but get the fans in the seats in an exciting season.

The emergence of a few new players including 25 year old rookie Cory Carlson. Carlson hit .293 with 11 HRs and 58 RBIs while starting in 96 games, mostly at 1B. His season won him the Rookie of the Year award for the NL in 1970. C Nate Samms really made his mark with a .279 batting average with 18 HRs and 63 RBIs that season as well. He also added the NL League Championship MVP award to his resume. Most impressive was the Expos starting rotation.

Aaron Cregg 11-3 with a 2.06 ERA in 21 starts
Eric Stuart 11-5 with a 2.69 ERA in 20 starts
Trent Lyons 6-5 with a 2.68 ERA in 19 starts
Brendan Archer 5-7 with a 3.52 ERA in 16 starts
Mario Romero 9-9 with a 4.08 ERA in 21 starts







Some key transactions in 1970 were.......

SP Trent Lyons Free Agent signing, 2 years, $17.2 M
SP Scott Turner Waivers claim
CF Casey Steffan, trade with the Twins
CL Robby Jones trade with the Phillies
CL Ian Daniel trade with the Padres for RF Tommy Cook
CF Casey Steffan, extension signed 3 years, $6.0 M
SP Brendan Archer, leaves as a free agent
2B Joel McNally leaves as a free agent
2B Fernando Martinez, Free agent signing, 3 years, $9.0 M
SP Jason Umoh, Free agent signing, 4 years, $19.6 M
SS Eric Forristall, drafted 6th Round, 142nd overall.

[Big T]

1971...............................

Hard to argue that it wasn't a better season for the Expos if it was for those damned Cubs. The Expos and Cubs fought all season long but in the last 20 games Chicago slowly pulled away. The Cubs met their match in the World Series though, losing to the cross town White Sox.

Expos 1B Cory Carlson started in all 100 games for the Expos hitting .331 with 10 HRs and 45 RBIs. He also made the NL All-Star team in 1971. C Nate Samms saw his batting average slip to .238 but still managed 16 HRs and 58 RBIs. Concerned with SS Kevin Parent's defensive short comings, the Expos acquired SS Casey Steffan in 1970, the 31 year old proved he could hit as well going .271 with 3 HRs and 25 RBIs.

SP Aaron Cregg led the way again going 13-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 21 starts. Again the starters were the strength of the team with Mario Romero (8-10 2.78 ERA), Trent Lyons (9-4 2.47 ERA) Jason Umoh (7-6 2.99 ERA) and Eric Stuart (12-4 2.99 ERA)







Key transactions in 1971.........................

RF Harry Rosberg, Released
SS Ryan Maynard, MR Carl Mathieu trade with the Cardinals
3B Gene Watkins, trade with the Reds
SS Kevin Parent traded to the Pirates
RF Billy Buchholz trade with the Blue Jays
CF Willie Garcia, extension signed 5 years, $15.4 M
RF Jason Barnett leaves as a free agent
SP Trent Lyons leaves as a free agent
LF Joe Woodbury, Free agent signing, 5 year, $11.0 M

[Big T]

1972............................

The 1972 edition of the Expos was a bit of a disappointment. Injuries were a key factor as ......
CF Willie Garcia on the DL twice total of 5 weeks
1B Cory Carlson on the DL for 7 weeks
2B Fernando Martinez on the DL for 2 months
SP Jason Umoh injured in May out for 10 months

As was poor offensive performance..............

The Expos only hit .238 as a team and were 9th offensively with 356 runs scored, 11th in HRs with only 65.

On the postive side, the Expos did have strong pitching again this season, including Cy Young Award winning SP Aaron Cregg. Cregg was 10-8 with a 2.27 ERA in 21 starts. Eric Stuart (6-9 4.16 ERA) Mario Romero (11-6 2.62 ERA) Scott Turner (6-4 3.34 ERA) Motohiro Kodama (2-5 3.81 ERA)

LF Joe Woodbury had 29 SBs and hit .270 with 13 HRs and 42 RBIs to lead the Expos offensively. New comer 3B Gene Watkins at age 26 hit .276 with 7 HRs and 35 RBIs while SS Ryan Maynard hit 248 with 2 HRs and 36 RBIs, but was stellar defensively.







Key transactions in 1972............

3B Andrew Hall acquired via trade with the Tigers for SS Casey Steffan
RF Jon Sullivan acquired via trade with the Royals for 3B Mark Cornelison.
RF Jason Barnett re-acquired via trade with the Royals for T J Mauriello.
CL Ian Daniel signs extension, 4 years, $24.0 M
SS Ryan Maynard signs extension 3 years, $6.6 M
3B Andrew Hall leaves as a free agent
SP Mario Romero leaves as a free agent
RF Jason Barnett leaves as a free agent
CL Adam Larson leaves as a free agent

Just some history.....
SP Mario Romero was looking for a more money than the Expos could afford, he signed for $78 M over 6 years with the Mariners. Romero continued to improve for the Expos, winning 35 games over 4 years while staying healthy missing only 1 start during that time. His last season with the Expos was his best but he is putting up some fine numbers with the Mariners this season (8-6 2.91 ERA 1.01 Whip) in 20 starts.

CL Adam Larson spent 4 seasons with the Expos, 2 of those years as a closer before losing his job to Ian Daniels and finally Charlie Rancourt. The Expos felt that he was starting to lose his effectiveness as his ERA went up to 2.49 from 1.59 in 1970 and 1.72 in 1971. His BB/9 and his Whip were also heading Northward. He had 46 saves for the Expos but only 9 of them were in the last 2 years.

[Big T]

How we got here, July 24th, 1973

After coming out of the gate to start the season at 7-3, the Expos hit the hard reality of a team that just might not have enough offense to win themselves many ball games. In the 12 losses to start the season to May 4th, the Expos scored 2 or less runs in all of them. In 4 the Expos were shut out and in 6 they only scored 1 run. The Expos were sucking so bad at the plate, someone had to pay an it was Hitting Coach Jeremiah Pigram that got fired on May 5th.



The Expos hired a new hitting coach on May 7th, Brendan Ward. The 47 year old had a good reputation as a hitting coach. The Expos club house needed some fine tuning as well. With the Expos on the skids the rats showed their faces. The Expos made a few moves to clean up the room. First to go was CL Ian Daniel and SP Jason Umoh. Both known to be less then stellar team mates got moved to the Orioles in exchange for prospects RF David Haynes (75th ranked in MLB) and 2B Chris Nichols (63rd ranked in MLB in 1970) were the prominent pieces coming back. A few days later it was C Max Burton's turn to go, Burton had a reputation of being a me-first kind of guy. The Expos got a back up for 1B Carlson in 34 year old Juan Chapa. Chapa had 48 career HRs since 1969 in the MLB and will be used mostly as a pinch hitter and give Carlson some days off. Last but not least they got rid of SS DJ Martinez, who some times looked a little lazy for the Expos. They got back a solid MR in Juan Barrios. Although the Expos made some moves to improve the hitting and clubhouse by May 29th they were in last place in the NL East.



The Expos hitting slightly improved over the next month or so and by the beginning of July .500 ball was in sight, aided by a 9 game winning streak. The Expos went out and extended 1B Cory Carlson to a 3 year deal worth $16.5 M but it became very apparent that the Expos were not going to be resigning the prized possession, SP Aaron Cregg. Cregg is looking for about $25 M per season over 8 years and that is too rich for the Expos coffers. The count down of Cregg's last days was on......



The day the Expos faithful were hoping that could be avoided finally came. On July 5th, the Expos consumated a deal with the Padres that would send SP Aaron Cregg in exchange for SP Jamari Taft, and 3 young minor league prospects. Cregg was on his way to perhaps his best season of his career. He was 9-4 with a 1.66 ERA in 16 starts. The piece that the Expos got back is a potential 1st or 2nd man in the rotation, 25 year old Taft. Our scout thinks he is a potential superstar, he has 4 quality pitches and can tap the radar gun at around 97 mph. In April he was named the 7th overall prospect in the MLB. On July 12th the Expos extended 2B Fernando Martinez to a 3 year, $18.0 M deal. The Expos bats began to warm up and they had a 19 and 20 hit game in July so far. The Expos spend most of the season in last place in runs scored, HR's and batting average but find themselves in 10th for runs scored, 7th for batting average and 7th for HRs. The Expos did take 2 out of 3 head to head with the Cardinals and won the first 2 by scores of 7-2 and 14-1 last week.



So the Expos are 2 games back with 10 games to go......but have no head to head games left with any of the teams ahead of them. Here we go...........

[Sizeman21]

Dude this is really cool! Keep up the good work!

[Big T]

July 24th, 1973

The Expos embark on the final 10 games with a 3-game set in San Francisco and the Giants. The Giants are playing out the string in the role of spoilers with the playoff chances long gone. We will be facing 27 year old Sal Gonzalez who in 15 starts is 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA. We will counter with our new addition RHP Jamari Taft who is 2-1 with a 3.26 ERA but has only 1 start so far this season. He spent most of his time in the Padres bullpen this year before THE TRADE. The Expos could really use Taft to go deep into this game as the arms in the pen could use some rest. Its a clear cool evening in San Fran, hopefully Taft can do the same to the Giants bats.

Well it was a great start for the Expos, Cory Carlson hits a 1-out HR to RCF, his 5th of the season to get things going. The Expos lead 1-0 after the top of the 1st.

The Giants get that right back after LF Sean Linde hits a ground rule Double to CF, 3B Mike Leland hits a HR to LCF and the Giants are up 2-1.

The Expos get a rally going in the top of the 3rd, Taft leads off with a walk followed by a Single past the SS for lead off hitter RF David Haynes. Cory Carlson hits into a fielders choice out at 2nd and leaving the Expos with runners on the corners with 1-out. 2B Fernando Martinez cashes in Taft with a Single to LF and after a fielding error by the Giants the Expos are tied 2-2 with runners at 2nd and 3rd. SS Ryan Maynard walks to load the bases. CF Matt Healy then lines a Double to the wall in RCF and the Expos score 2 more and lead 4-2. Still with only 1-out. C Malik Mask is giving Nate Samms the day off, grounds out 6-3 but enables Maynard to score from 3rd, 5-2 Expos. 1B Jon Sullivan then walks bringing up veteran CF Willie Garcia. Garcia watches strike 3 but the Expos lead 5-2.

The Giants get one back in the bottom half of the 3rd when 1B Adam Watson hits a solo shot off of Taft. The Expos still lead 5-3 after 3 innings.

Both pitchers settle in until Giants SS Stephen Harrison leads off the the bottom of the 7th with a HR to CF, his 5th of the season and the Expos hold a slim 5-4 lead. Taft gives up a Single to the very next Giant hitter 2B Mike Wilson and the Expos skipper has seen enough. Taft with 101 pitches goes 6 innings with 9 hits 4 ERs 0 BBs and 4 Ks. The Expos will summon in RHP Dan Bevilacqua, the 26 year old is 2-1 with a 1.93 ERA in 18 games of relief this year. Bevilacqua gets Linde to ground out 4-3 moving the runner to 2nd with 1-out. He then walks Adam Watson on 4 pitches. The Giants then successfully pull of a double steal moving the runners up 90 feet. But it wouldn't matter as 3B Mike Leland hits a 3-run HR to LF, his 2nd of the game and the Giants now lead 7-5. Bevilacqua gets out of the inning, but the damage has been done.

The Expos go down in order in the 8th, as do the Giants in their half. The Expos have 3-outs left.

3B Jon Sullivan will lead off the 9th against LHP Dave Doetsch, the 6'5" Doetsch has 17 saves this season to go along with his 4.17 ERA. Sullivan has had success against LHP his whole career hitting .280 and an impressive .836 OPS. He makes some noise with a loud fly out to deep LF. Willie Garcia is next and he as well has had success against lefties, and he as well hits one deep.... to the CFer for the 2nd out. The pitchers spot is up next and although its his day off, Nate Samms makes his way out of the dugout as he is the best hitter the Expos have against LHP. Samms strikes out swinging and the Giants put this one in the books.

Giants 3B Mike Leland was the star of the game, he was 2 for 4 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs. The Expos got out hit 11 to 5 in the game while Dan Bevilacqua (2-2) took the loss and his 1st blown save.

The St Louis Cardinals needed 14 innings to beat the Braves 4-2 while the Pirates beat the Padres 6-3 to keep pace as the Expos lose some ground today. Meanwhile the Chicago White Sox locked up the AL East Pennant today. They are looking for the 3rd World Series win.

[Big T]

July 25th, 1973

We are San Francisco for game 2 of a 3 game set. Today we will be facing 33 year old Tyler Crockett. The LHP is 7-3 with a 4.45 ERA in 16 starts. The Expos are 7-9 this season against lefties and desperately need win number 8. The Expos will sent 27 year old Scott Turner to the bump, he is 7-8 with a 4.90 ERA in 18 starts. Turner has not been the same Turner of 1972. He has a 1.49 Whip vs 1.12 in 1972 and both his BB/9 and K/9 have gotten worse. Its partly cloudy and cool down by the Bay.

The Expos threaten first when 3B Gene Watkins hits a 1-out Double in the top of the 2nd. CF Willie Garcia follows with a walk. 2B Jon Sullivan then strikes out swinging, his 60th strikeout of the year. 1B Juan Chapa does the same and the Expos come up empty.

The Giants 1B Adam Watson leads off the bottom of the 2nd with a solo HR to LF and the Giants are up 1-0. Former Expos, 2B Joel McNally follows with a Double into RF. Turner gets CF Adam Croyle to strikeout looking for the 1st out. SS Stephen Harrison then grounds out 6-3 moving McNally to 3rd. C Jason Arrendono hits a lazy fly ball to RF where David Haynes makes the play to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 3rd with 1-out, Turner gives up back to back walks to LF Sean Linde and 3B Mike Leland. RF Dave Bayles then lines a Single into RF cashing in Linde. Watson then pops out to Chapa at 1B for the 2nd out and Turner gets McNally to strikeout swinging, Giants are now up 2-0.

Willie Garcia leads off the top of the 5th inning with a Single and steals 2B as Sullivan strikes out for the 1st out. Chapa then pops up to the SS for the 2nd out. The next man up is the SP Turner and he strikes out on 4 pitches to end the threat. Giants remain in the lead 2-0.

In the bottom of the 5th with 1-out, Linde hits a Triple into LCF. Its 3-0 after Leland lines a Single into LF. The Giants on slaught continues as RF Dave Bayles then hits his 14th HR of the year to make it 5-0 as Scott Turner's struggles continue. The Expos go to the pen and bring in LHP Kevin Pierce. Pierce was brought up at the roster expansion. Last year his career as an Expo was in question. After an outing he got into a outburst with a fan, the Expos promptly sent him to the minors where he remained until July 12th. He has pitched 2 innings since being recalled, giving up 0 hits, 1 BB and 2 Ks. Pierce gets both batters he faces in the 5th, but its 5-0 for the Giants.

The Expos go down in order in the 6th, but not the Giants. Pierce walks both Croyle and Harrison to lead off the bottom half of the inning. He does get C Jason Arredondo to strike out swinging for the 1st out bring up the SP Tyler Crockett. Crockett bunts in what should be a SAC bunt, but Chapa can't get a handle and throws it away. Croyle scores and Harrison reaches 3rd. Linde then hits a SAC fly to CF scoring Harrison. Leland grounds out 6-3, the Giants now lead 7-0.

The Expos get something going in the 7th. SS Ryan Maynard leads off with a walk, after 3B Gene Watkins fly's out CF, CF Willie Garcia Singles into LF. Jon Sullivan walks to load the bases for 1B Juan Chapa. Chapa gets called back to the dugout and is replaced by Malik Mask. Mask has hit LHP over his career for a .328 batting average and a .828 OPS. He call also play 1B. Mask hits a long flyout to deep CF, enough to score Maynard and move Garcia to 3rd with 2-out. The pitchers spot is next and Holder will send out Fernando Martinez to hit. An odd move as it will be lefty vs lefty, but Martinez hits lefties real well....... well not this time as he grounds out 4-3 to end the inning.... Giants 7 Expos 1 RHP Jason Bering comes strolling out from the bull-pen. Bering has been waiting for an opportunity to reach the MLB. He has spend 4 years in AAA where he has 5-14 record with a 4.76 ERA in 28 starts (32 in relief) The Expos have used him since his July call-up in 2 relief appearances, he has not impressed with a 7.71 ERA and 2.14 Whip.

Well Bering does his job in the bottom half of the 7th going 1-2-3 and bringing in the lead off spot for the Expos in the 8th. David Haynes strikes out swinging. LF Joe Woodbury slaps a Single up the middle before Nate Samms hits a 5-3 groundout moving Woodbury to 2nd. SS Ryan Maynard strikes out swinging to end the inning. Expos still down 7-1.

Bering gets the 1st 2 hitters he faces in the bottom of the 8th, but then gives up a Double into RCF to Arredondo. The Giants send up a PH for the pitcher in Tommie Dallavalle, he hits a Single into CF that plates Arredondo. Bering gets the final out but it is now 8-1.

The Giants send RHP Robbie Frankel to the mound. Frankel is in his 1st season of MLB pitching and is expected to mop up the game for the Giants. The first Expos he faces is Watkins, the switch hitting 3B is hitting .285 with 11 HRs and 45 RBIs this year. He grounds out 4-3. Garcia is scheduled next, he is 2 for 2 so far but he grounds out 5-3. Jon Sullivan keeps the Expos faint hope alive with a Single up the middle. Cory Carlson is called to pinch hit for Mask and he rips a Single into RF moving Sullivan to 3rd. Bering is scheduled to hit next so the Expos go to the bench again and bring in Anthony Stapleton. Stapleton has not done much this season but surprised alot of folks when he hit .297 last season for the Expos in 49 games. He has not been able to duplicate that this season in 18 games for the Expos. The first pitch Stapleton faces is a wild pitch and Sullivan scores while Carlson moves to 2nd. Stapleton then walks bringing up the lead off hitter David Haynes. Haynes goes down swinging and the Expos lose 8-2.

Giants SP Tyler Crockett was the POG with a 6.2 inning effort allowing 1 run on just 3 hits with 7 strikeouts. He is now 8-3. Turner takes the loss, he is now 7-9 with his ERA climbing to 5.12 after giving up 5 ERs on 6 hits over just 4.1 innings.

The news gets no better with the Cardinals beating the Braves 5-4. The Pirates lost 4-3 to the Padres, but also lost closer Cory Hernandez for the remainder of the year. The 35 year old Hernandez is 3-1 with a 1.60 ERA in 33 games with 17 saves.

The Cubs have been officially eliminated from the playoffs...

[Big T]

July 26th, 1973

Well after losing the first two games in San Fran, it looks like unless St Louis and Pittsburgh fold their tents, we would have to at the very least win 7 or all 8 of our final games. We will be facing veteran RHP Danny Reese, he is 9-8 on the year with a respectable 3.89 ERA in 19 starts. Reese was the 64th overall prospect in the MLB when the league started in 1969. He was with the Braves then but was later traded to the Reds for a young then SS prospect Gene Watkins. Yes the same Gene Watkins now wearing the Red, White and Blue of the Expos. We will be sending 25 year old Eric Marks to the hill. Marks is in his rookie season with Montreal and was our 1st round, 7th overall pick in the 1969 draft. Marks made his way through the Expos minor league system and started the season in AAA where he was respectable for the past 2 seasons. Since being recalled he has had 9 starts with a 3-2 record and 2.44 ERA but a impressive 1.16 Whip.

There are 27141 butts in the stands all hoping for the Giants to put another nail in the 1973 Expos season coffin. Its a warm evening and we have a 21 mph wind blowing in from the bay which should keep the righties honest tonight.

The Expos make some noise in the 1st. RF Joe Woodbury walks with 1-out and steals 2B for his 22nd SB of the year. C Nate Samms is at the plate. Samms goes down looking for the 2nd out. 2B Fernando Martinez the grounds out 4-3 to end the inning.

We now move to the bottom of the 4th, Eric Marks has been sharp and with 2 outs in the inning gives up his 1st hit, a Single to RF Dave Bayles. 1B Adam Watson follows with a hit to into RF that moves Bayles to 3rd bringing up former Expo, 2B Joel McNally. Marks induced a ground ball 4-3 out to end the threat. 4 innings, 40 pitches.... Marks has worked efficiently.

The Expos have something going in the 6th. Eric Marks leads off with a walk and we are looking for CF Willie Garcia to lay down the Sac bunt, unfortunately the pitcher fields it and throws Marks out at 2nd. Garcia does make amends and steals 2nd, his 24th swipe of the year. Woodbury follows up next and hits a liner for a Single into LF, Garcia scores and the Expos are on the board. Woodbury follows Garcia's lead and steals 2nd with Samms at the plate and just 1-out. Samms follows suit and Singles into LF as well scoring Woodbury and its now 2-0 for Montreal. Martinez flys out to RF for the 2nd out as does 3B Gene Watkins but the Expos have the lead.

We go to the bottom of the 9th, Marks has been cruising along and is at only 91 pitches. He has allowed just 3 hits but is facing the top of the order. His fate will be set on how he does with LF Sean Linde.... and he walks him. The Expos don't waste any time as Holder calls for the Closer, Charlie Rancourt. Rancourt has not given up a run in his last 4 appearances, all of them saves. He is looking for his 24th save of the year. It doesnt start well, with a Single to 3B Mike Leland, now runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Bayles fly's out to deep CF, moving Linde to 3rd. Watson ties it up with a drive into LCF for a Double. McNally drives one to RF for the 2nd out moving Watson to 3rd. All of this happening on just 9 Rancourt pitches. SS Stephen Harrison fly's out to CF and we are going into overtime.

The Expos go down quietly in the top of the 10th, 1-2-3. The Giants do the same. The Expos will face LHP Dave Doetsch again and with Rancourt scheduled to bat, go to the bench for a RH bat. Jon Sullivan gets the nod and he comes to the plate looking to improve on his .201 batting average, but 9 HRs this season. Sullivan is issued a walk bringing up the lead off hitter Garcia. Garica is 0-4 so far. The Expos put the hit and run on and Garcia moves Sullivan to 2nd with a 6-3 ground out. Woodbury hits a lazy fly ball to LF for the 2nd out. The Giants want no part of Nate Samms in this situation and give him 4 wide ones. They would rather face the lefty on lefty situation with Martinez. Martinez hits LHP well and Holder is OK with the match up as well. Doetsch loses him on a 3-1 count and walks the bases loaded for Gene Watkins. Watkins unfortunately grounds out 6-3 to leave the bases juiced.

LHP Robby Jones comes into the game to face the Giants. He has been exceptional this season. 3-1 with a 2.18 ERA and a stellar 0.77 Whip. He hasn't pitched since that exciting night in Philadelphia. Well it didn't start well for him, he gives up a lead off Single to Linde, then walks PH Zachery Langone, followed by another walk to Bayles and the bases are loaded.... with no outs. Holder has seen enough, with 6 straight RHB's scheduled RHP Carl Mathieu is up next for Montreal. Mathieu is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA and 4 saves in 9 games this season. He has his work cut out for him. Well he needed only 2 pitches before Watson sends the croud into a frenzy with a GW RBI Single. Giants 3 Expos 2.

Rancourt gets his 5th blown save of the season while Jones takes the loss and falls to 3-2 as the Expos get swept by the Giants. The Expos fall to 1 game below .500 and it appears that the playoffs are going to be out of reach. The Cardinals held off the Braves 7-6 but nearly blew a 7-3 lead in the 9th while the Pirates used a 5 run 7th to beat the Padres 11-5. The Expos fall to 5 games back and have a day off tomorrow to lick their wounds.

July 27th, 1973

The Expos have the day off and there is only one scheduled game in the MLB, the Giants and the Cardinals. Well the Giants did to the Cards what they did to the Expos, beat the Cardinals in extra innings 6-5 and the Expos get a bit of good news.

[Big T]

July 28th, 1973

So if you asked the brain trust on May 29th that the Expos would still be in contention (albeit slim) for the NL East Pennant, we would have been thrilled. At that point we knew it was going to be a tough season and even a tougher sell to the fans that we had to move our best player in a trade because we cannot afford to keep him. The run for the Pennant will at least take the sting out of the loss of Aaron Cregg, but we will be a much different team in 1974 regardless how this all ends.

We now head back home to face the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately there is only 1 SP with a better ERA in the Majors then Aaron Cregg and its Robbie Morris. He is the scheduled starter in game 3 of this series, but depending what we do in the first 2 games, it may not matter. Today we face RHP Jim Reel. The 29 year old Reel is 10-6 with a 3.64 ERA in 19 starts. Reel has won 10 for the first time in his career breaking a previous high of 8 in 1971. The Expos will start LHP Eric Stuart. Stuart is currently 4-6 with a 3.67 ERA in 20 starts. It has been stated that he is currently the Expos number 1 starter. Stuart had 6 straight Quality Starts before getting shelled in that 15-14 win over the Phillies in his last start. He has a 3 game winning streak despite having only 3 decisions in his last 7 starts.

Its a cool evening in Montreal and the wind is blowing out to the right at 10 mph. The Expos have 28111 faithful in the stands and a rested bull-pen to see if they can get back on the winning track.

Both pitchers put zeros on the board after the first 3 innings and the only hit of the game belonged to RF Jon Sullivan, but the Braves got two Singles in the top of the 4th and now had runners and 1st and 2nd with 2-out. RF Sean Betts sliced a Double into the LF corner to score both runners and a 2-0 Giants lead. C Mark Inge flew out to CF, but the damage was done.

In the top off the 5th, after giving up a lead off Single to 2B Paulo Dubois, Stuart got LF Alex de la Rosa to ground out 5-3 moving Dubois into scoring position. SP Jim Reel then flew out to CF and lead off hitter CF Dave Miller struck out swinging, the Expos still trail 2-0.

With 2 out in the top of the 6th, Andrew Hall Singles and moves to 2nd on a Stuart wild pitch. Stuart gets Betts to line out to LCF that CF Matt Healy chased down for the 3rd out. The score remains 2-0 Giants.

Healy leads off the bottom of the 6th with a Single up the middle and up next is Stuart. The Expos get a break when Reel misplays the bunt attempt and both runners are safe. 1B Cory Carlson then lines a sharp Single to RF, but too sharp to take a chance to score.... the bases are loaded without any outs. LF Joe Woodbury is the next batter and he sends the Montreal fans to their feet as he rips a 3-run Double to CF. The Expos get the lead. C Nate Samms keeps it going with a Double and the Expos are now up by two.... and still no outs. Reel issues 2B Fernando Martinez a free pass in an attempt to set up the twin kill. SS Ryan Maynard falls into the trap hitting into the 6-4-3 double play, Samms moves onto 3rd. The Expos get another Double and run when 3B Gene Watkins cashes in Samms. Thats it for Jim Reel. The Braves go to the pen. Keith Guzman comes on at starts Jon Sullivan with a wild pitch, Watkins moves to 3rd. Guzman eventually gets Sullivan swinging for the K, but the Expos put up a crooked number, a 5-spot and lead 5-2.

The Expos add a run in the bottom of the 7th, 1B Cory Carlson sends one over the RF fence for his 6th HR of the year, a solo shot off of Guzman.

C Nate Samms leads off the bottom of the 8th with a Double after Stuart goes through another 1-2-3 inning. For Samms that is his 3rd hit of the game, his 2nd Double. The Braves give Martinez his 2nd free pass of the evening hoping Maynard hits into another DP. But instead RHP Aaron Medina walks him on 4 pitches to load the bases. Gene Watkins hits into a fielders choice at 2nd going 3-6, Samms scores. Jon Sullivan follows with a loud Sac fly taking the CF deep, Martinez scores. Matt Healy fly's out to RF but the Expos increase their lead to 8-2.

Eric Stuart come out for the 9th, he is at 97 pitches and has given up just 5 hits. 2 out of the next 3 hitters are lefties so he will get a chance for a complete game. 1B Steve Masse has 12 HRs so far this season and is hitting .344, he is 0 for 3 so far and Stuart makes him 0 for 4 with a fly ball to CF. Former Expos, 3B Andrew Hall is next. The Expos got him last year for some hitting depth, but at age 36 was not really in the Expos long range plans. Hall lines out to the SS Maynard. RF Sean Betts is next, Stuart is up to 105 pitches and looking a little tired but the Expos would love to give the pen another days rest. Betts fly's out to LF, the Expos win big.

Eric Stuart improves to 5-6 with his 5 hit, 5 strikeout complete game win. The Expos got 3 hits from both 1B Cory Carlson and C Nate Samms in the win. Hopefully they get some help on the out of town score board.

Well the Expos do not get the help they need. St Louis scores in the 8th and 9th innings to come back to beat the Reds 3-2, but the Pirates fall to the Dodgers 8-0. BNN ranks the Expos chances at less then 1% as the are still 4 1/2 games back with only 6 to go. The Cardinals magic number is 3 on the Pirates.

[Big T]

July 29th, 1973

Well the Expos certainly won't have many bets placed on their chances to make the post season, but as long as the math works.. we still have a chance. The Cardinals are facing the Reds today and we will be cheering for Reds SP Nick Grace who is 3-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 13 starts. The 24 year old has been a top prospect since being drafted 4th overall in 1969. As far as our game today, The Braves have moved SP Robbie Morris up in the rotation. He was originally scheduled for tomorrow. Morris's counterpart on the mound will be RHP Javier Trevino. Trevino is 8-8 with a 3.15 ERA. The 27 year old has been impressive in his 1st season as a starter. He has a clean 1.15 Whip and gives the Expos some hope that with Stuart (29) Marks (25) and Taft (25) that they will have a strong young rotation for a few years.

Its a warm evening in Montreal, partly cloudy and some 27761 fans here to see if the Expos can stay alive in the NL East.

The Expos strike first in this one, after 3B Gene Watkins reached base on a fielders choice, with 2 outs 1B Cory Carlson hits his 7th HR of the year into RCF. For Carlson that's 2 HRs in 2 games and 3 in his last 5. For the Expos, it was important to get to Morris early. He is at 30 pitches in only the 2nd inning. CF Willie Garcia grounds out to short to end the inning, but the Expos are up. The news out of St Louis is not good though.... St Louis beat the Reds 6-3.

With 2-out in the bottom of the 3rd and no one on, LF Joe Woodbury hits a solo shot to LCF for his 14th HR of the year and its 3-0. C Nate Samms follows with a fly out to CF and the Expos are up after 3 innings.The Expos have only 2 hits, but they were big ones.

2B Fernando Martinez leads off the bottom of the 4th with a ground ball to 1st, 1B Steve Masse misplays the throw and Martinez gets to 2nd on the error. SS Ryan Maynard follows with a Single in CF, Martinez moves to 3rd. 3B Gene Watkins strikes out looking at the 1-2 pitch for the 1st out. 1B Cory Carlson gets his 3rd RBI of the game when he hits into a fielders choice at 2nd the scores Martinez. CF Willie Garcia fly's out to LF but the Expos are now up 4-0.

In the top of the 5th with 1-out, SS Paulo Dubois is hitting a mere .200 on the season but improves on that with a Double just out of the reach of 3B Gene Watkins. For the Braves, it is their 4th hit of the game. SP Robbie Morris is up next and he gets his 5th hit of the season, a Single into RF that scores Dubois, the Braves are on the board. Lead off hitter RF Sean Betts hits a long fly out to CF for the 2nd out followed by 2B Alex de la Rosa's ground out 5-3. The Braves creep closer its now 4-1.

2B Fernando Martinez leads of the bottom of the 6th with a Double to RF. It's Martinez's 24th Double of the year. SS Ryan Maynard grounds out 5-3 moving Martinez into 3rd. 3B Gene Watkins hits a fly ball in CF, but too short for Martinez to score for the 2nd out. 1B Cory Carlson is up next, for Carlson who is swinging a hot bat right now struggled coming out of the gate this season hitting under .200 for the first 3 weeks of the season. Carlson grounds out 4-3 to end the inning and stranding Martinez at 3rd. The Expos still lead 4-1.

We are now in the top of the 8th. SP Javier Trevino is at 97 pitches allowing 6 hits and striking out 5. He is facing the top of the order with the hard hitting lefties in the 3rd and 4th spot of the order. The first hitter he faces is RF Sean Betts. Betts hits his 3-1 pitch into RCF for a Double. He now faces the RHB Alex de la Rosa who hitting .167 this year in 42 at bats. The 31 year old 2B goes 0 for 7 in the series with a weak pop up to CF. With the 2 lefties coming up, Holder goes to LHP Robbie Jones. Jones strikes out Steve Masse for out number 2. CF Dave Miller is next and he has 8 HRs this season. Holder played the percentages and it work as Jones gets Miller to strike out. Expos still up 4-1.

Surprizingly at 100 pitches, Morris is still in the game for Atlanta. He gets the first two outs of the bottom of the 8th, but gives up back to back Singles to Fernando Martinez and Ryan Maynard. He is now at 116 pitches facing Gene Watkins. A quick check of Morris's season says that he has reached 115 pitches in 5 of his previous 20 starts this season. Watkins hits into the inning ending 3-1 ground out. The Expos are still up 4-1.

Robbie Jones comes out for the 9th with Charlie Rancourt warming up in the pen should he get in any trouble. Jones walks 3B Andrew Hall to start the inning but gets C Mark Inge to hit into the 1-6-3 double play. He plunks LF Jeremy Bussell with his 0-1 pitch. A quick check shows that they were from different area's of the US so I doubt that was about an old girlfriend they shared. Jones gets SS Paulo Dubois to fly out to RF to end the game. Expos 4 Braves 1

Expos SP Javier Trevino is named the player of the game. He allowed 1 run on 7 hits with 5 strikeouts over 7.1 innings in improving to 9-8. Robby Jones gets his 1st save of the season.

As mentioned earlier, the Cardinals won their game and the Pirates scored 9 runs in the final 2 innings to come back to beat the Dodgers 11-4. The Expos gain no ground on anyone and must hope for Cardinal and Pirate losses the rest of the way while winning their final 5 games.

The MLB has announced that Montreal Expos 1B Cory Carlson was named the NL Player of the Week. The 28 year old Carlson is hitting .270 with 7 HRs and 32 RBIs in 91 games this season. Over the past week he was 9 for 19 with 4 HRs and 8 RBIs.

[Big T]

July 30th, 1973

The Expos are down to their final 5 games and need pretty much a miracle to make the post season for the 2nd time in the 5 years the league has been established. The will require the Cardinals to lose their remaining 6 games while the Expos win all 5 of theirs. And that is assuming that the Pirates don't sneak in their first. The Expos are down to their final 2 home games before finishing with 3 on the road. They will be facing Braves SP Ryan Hinton. The 30 year old Hinton is 3-8 with a 4.70 ERA in 15 starts this season. Hinton has predominately been a starter his last 3 seasons and has 51 starts in the last 3 years. The Expos will be counting on their number 5 starter, 27 year old Scott Turner. Turner is 7-9 with a 5.12 ERA in 19 starts. He has lost his last 2 starts giving up 10 ERs in 5 innings combined. Turner needs a strong final start of his season as his spot in the rotation is likely up for graps next season.

With the Expos chances slim to none, only 24508 show up today on a beautiful evening in historic Mount Royale.

Turner does not get the start he is looking for, he gives up two Singles to the first 3 batters he faces and has runners on the corners with just 1-out. He gets CF Dave Miller to pop out to the C Nate Samms for the 2nd out but 3B Andrew Hall slams a Single up the middle to score a run and move 1B Steve Masse to 3rd. Turner gets C Mark Inge to strike out, but the Braves score in the top of the 1st and lead 1-0.

The Expos answer back in the bottom of half of the 1st. With 2-out C Nate Samms takes Hinton's 1-0 pitch into the Montreal sky and over the LF wall for his 15th HR, a solo shot. 2B Fernando Martinez lines out to 2nd to end the inning. The game is tied 1-1 after 1.

The Expos are back in business in the 2nd after SS Ryan Maynard reaches 1st on an infield Single and 3B Gene Watkins lines a Double into LF. With runners and 2nd and 3rd an no outs, CF Matt Healy is next up sporting a .268 average with 0 HRs and 11 RBIs. Healy has only played 60 games this season, mostly in AAA as a result of 5 different injuries and one illness. He was the regular CF in 1972 when he started 93 games but hit so poorly the Expos had him start this season in AAA. Healy is a 2-time Gold Glover in CF which can off-set his lack of production at the plate. Well there will be no lack of production in this at bat, Healy hits his 1st HR of the year, a 3-run shot to LCF. 1B Cory Carlson fly's out to RF for out number 1. SP Scott Turner hits a comebacker to Ryan Hinton for out number 2 and RF David Haynes hits a grounder for the 6-3 out, the Expos now lead 4-1 after 2.

SP Scott Turner gets into some trouble again in the 3rd. After an 1-out Single by SS John Uhler, 1B Steve Masse Singles to CF moving Uhler to 3rd. CF Dave Miller hits into a fielders choice at 2nd, but Masse scores. Trying to get into scoring position, Dave Miller takes off for 2B but a good throw by C Nate Samms throws him out for the 3rd out. Expos 4 Braves 2.

3B Fernando Martinez hits a 2-out Triple in the bottom half of the 3rd but SS Ryan Maynard cannot cash him in as he grounds out 6-3 for the 3rd out. Good new from St Louis though.... after 2 1/2 innings it 5-0 for the Reds and after 3 in Pittsburgh, the Pirates are up 4-1.

The Braves threaten in the top half of the 6th. With 2 out and Turner suddenly cruising. 3B Andrew Hall hits a Single. The next batter is C Mark Inge and he hits a Single to RF which Hall is trying to stretch to 3B but young RF David Haynes throws Hall out easily at 3B for the 3rd out. Turner survives the threat and the Expos hold onto a 4-1 lead. A quick check of the out of town scoreboard shows the Reds still up 5-0 on the Cards after 5 1/2 and the Dodgers scored 3 in the top of the 5th and have tied the Pirates 4-4.

The Expos again are in business in their half of the 6th. 2B Fernando Martinez extends his hitting streak to 12 with a Single to RF and SS Ryan Maynard follows with a Single between the SS and 3B with none out. 3B Gene Watkins strikes out swinging, and CF Matt Healy hits into the 4-6-3 double play to end the threat. The Expos are still up 4-2. The Pirates took the lead 5-4 on the Dodgers in the bottom of the 6th.

Scott Turner gets the first 2 outs in the top of the 7th but gives up a Double to RF to PH Sean Betts batting in replacement of the pitcher. Turner is now at 101 pitches and the Expos have a rested pen. With RHB RF Matt Varner coming up the Expos go to RHP Carl Mathieu. Varner is hitting 255 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs in 94 at bats. The 33 year old from Ottawa, Ontario has been a starter in RF for most of his career until this season for the Braves. Mathieu gets him to ground out to Maynard at SS for the 3rd out. It's still 5-0 Reds over the Cards after 6 in St Louis while the Dodgers and Pirates go back and forth, its now 6-5 for the Dodgers after a 2-run HR by the Dodgers with 2 out in the top of the 6th.

The Expos threaten in the 7th themselves. RF David Haynes hits a 2-out Single followed by a Single to RCF by Joe Woodbury that moves Haynes to 3rd. Nate Samms pops up to the 2B for the 3rd out. The Expos are still up 4-2.

Carl Mathieu stays to pitch the 8th, after a pair of Singles he has Steve Masse at 2nd, Dave Miller at 1st and 1-out. 3B Andrew Hall is up next and he is 4 for 10 so far in this series. The former Expos pops up to RF for the 2nd out. The next hitter is switch hitting C Mark Inge. His numbers are not as good against lefties as righties so Rich Holder makes the switch to a lefty, closer Charlie Rancourt. Rancourt does the job striking out Inge to end the inning. The Expos are still up 4-2. The Cards still trail the Reds 5-0 in the bottom of the 7th while the Dodgers and Pirates continue to flip flop as Pittsburgh scored 3 in the bottom half of the 6th for a 8-6 lead.

The Expos go 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the 9th and Charlie Rancourt will come back out in an attempt to get his 24th save of the season. LF Steve Bussell leads off with a Single back up the middle. Bussell steals 2nd on the 1st pitch to PH Chris Aven. Aven pops up to 2B Fernando Martinez for the 1st out. PH Paulo Dubois pops out to CF Matt Healy for out number 2. RF Matt Varner will not let the Braves quite give up and he hits a Double into the LF corner to score Bussell. The Expos are still up 4-3 with 2 outs. Rancourt will now face SS John Uhler. Uhler is hitting .216 with 1 HR and 24 RBIs in 88 games this year. Rancourt strikes him out looking to secure the win, a sweep of the Braves and some more scoreboard watching.

The Expos SP Scott Turner was named the player of the game, he allowed 2 runs on 8 hits with 6 strikeouts to improve to 8-9 and bring his ERA under 5.00 (4.98). Rancourt gets his 24th save in the win.

The Reds went on to beat the Cardinals 6-0 while the Pirates held on to beat the Dodgers 9-7 to tighten up the race a little.

[Big T]

July 31st, 1973

The Expos are down to their final home game, a one game set with Cincinnati then 3 more in Cincinnati to finish of the season. The Reds are 44-52 coming into the game and will send 29 year old Robert Mendoza to the mound. Mendoza is 6-9 with a 3.69 ERA in 21 starts. A winner in only 1 of his last 5 starts but over his career he has been consistant with his ERA waivering between 2.99- and 3.74 in his 5 seasons as a starter for the Reds. For the Expos it is Eric Marks turn in the rotation. He last pitched in the 3-2 loss to the Giants on July 26th, but was deserving of a much better fate when the bull-pen let him down. Marks has had 7 straight Quality Starts but is only 2-2 in those games.

Its a warm summer evening in Montreal on this final day of July and the final regular season home game. Even the most die-hard fans know this is very likely that last ball game in Montreal until next spring.

Both pitchers face the minimum after 3 innings with zero's all around. Marks has used 32 pitches after 3 while Mendoza has only used 18. St Louis and Pittsburgh are playing head to head and it is 2-1 for the Pirates going into the in the top of the 3rd in Pittsburgh. (Editors note... I just realized with the Pittsburgh and St Louis going head to head, it is impossible for us to even tie for the Pennant. A quick glance at the Pennant Chase window confirms it, we were eliminated last night) Someone's got some splaining to do. Lol

The first hit of the ball game is a Single into LF by CF Josh Massey, followed by a Single by C Mike Skinner into LF for runners on 1st and 2nd and 1-out. Marks induced a ground ball 6-4-3 double play by SS Alfredo Gomez to end the threat.

In the bottom half of the 4th, the Expos counter with a Single by RF Joe Woodbury which extends his hitting streak to 13 games and a Single by 2B Fernando Martinez to give the Expos runners at 1st and 2nd with 2-out. SS Ryan Maynard Singles up the middle to score Woodbury and Martinez moves to 3rd while Maynard moves to 2nd on the throw attempt home. 3B Gene Watkins is issued a walk to load the bases. 1B Cory Carlson watches ball four on his full count and everyone moves up 90 feet as Martinez scores. CF Matt Healy grounds out to 1st for the 3rd out, but Montreal lead 2-0.

In the bottom of the 6th, SS Ryan Maynard hits another Single up the middle and moves to 2nd on 3B Gene Watkins soft ground out 4-3 for the 2nd out. 1B Cory Carlson hits a soft fly ball into CF for the 3rd, Expos still lead 2-0. A quick check on the Pirates and Cardinals shows the Pirates up 5-3 in the top of the 6th.

With C Nate Samms at 1st after his Single and 1-out, 2B Fernando Martinez Doubles into RCF moving the slow running Samms into 3rd. SS Ryan Maynard batting 2 for 3 on the night cannot cash them as he hits a comebacker to the pitcher for the 2nd out... but 3B Gene Watkins does, he hits a 2-RBI Single into RF to score both runners. 1B Cory Carlson keeps things going with a Single to RCF but CF Matt Healy grounds out to 1st for the 3rd out. Expos 4 Reds 0.

SP Eric Marks comes out to start the 9th, he is at 93 pitches and has only allowed 2 hits so far. The first batter he faces 2B Ryan Kane hits a Single into RF. CF Josh Massey helps Marks out with a grounder to 3B and Watkins starts the 5-4-3 double play for 2-outs. Marks strikes out C Mike Skinner to put an explanation mark on the complete game shutout.

Eric Marks was the player of the game, he allowed just 3 hits and struck out 4 with 2 walks and needed 100 pitches for the win. He is now 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA in 11 starts.

The Cardinals came back and beat the Pirates in 11 innings 7-5 to clinch the NL East division. The National League also announced that Expos LF Joe Woodbury was named the NL Player of the Month. The 29 year old Woodbury is hitting .255 with 14 HRs and 46 RBIs in 88 games. Woodbury hit .413 with 7 HRs and 21 RBIs in July.

On a side note, interesting enough I got a message today that the Expos were eliminated after the July 31st games. So I don't feel so bad for not figuring that out earlier.

[Big T]

August 1st, 1973

Well the Expos are playing for jobs and an for the management, an opportunity to get to see some of the younger players. We will continue to start our regulars but the some of the roster expansion call ups will come into the games in the later innings. Today we play a double header with the Reds.

Expos will send LHP Jamari Taft to the hill, he is 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA since being traded to the Expos for Aaron Cregg. He will be facing 25 year old Matt Peeples, the RHP is having a terrific season and is 11-8 with a 3.23 ERA in 20 starts.

In the top of the 1st C Nate Samms hits his 16th HR of the season, a solo shot for a 1-0 lead. 2B Fernando Martinez followed with a 2-out Double. SS Ryan Maynard cashed him in with a RBI Single and a 2-0 lead.

In the top of the 6th, SS Ryan Maynard hit a 2-out Single and moved to 3rd on 3B Gene Watkins Single. Maynard scored on a passed ball to make it 3-0.

The Expos pulled Jamari Taft after 6 innings and a 3-0 lead. He allowed 5 hits and struck out 9 but the Expos wanted to get some of the other arms they may need to count next season in the game. RHP Terry Sutt came into the game, he is 0-3 with a 5.53 ERA so far in 27 innings. He maybe an option for the 5th starter next season. He doesn't start out good for him, after getting the 1st out and giving up back to back Singles, RF David Haynes air mails a throw to 3rd base and the Reds score. Another 1-out Single makes the score 3-2 before he gets out of the inning.

Its top of the 7th and the Expos have a few of the young guns coming to bat. SS Eric Forristall leads of with a Single, followed by a Single by 3B Gene Watkins before LF Chris Proudfoot comes into the game sporting a 0-7 start to his MLB career. Proudfoot makes it 1-8 with a 3-run HR and a 6-2 lead.

In the 9th RF David Haynes had a Single followed by a 1-out Double by 2B Vladik Aleev, his 1st career MLB hit moves Haynes to 3rd. SS Eric Forristall hits into a fielders choice scoring Haynes. Its now 7-2.

Terry Sutt is at 32 pitches and Expos want him to finish the game. He gives up a lead off HR to to start the 9th but gets the final 3 outs to end the game. Expos 7 Reds 3

For the Expos it was the 5th straight win. 3B Gene Watkins had 3 hits while Jamari Taft improved to 3-1 with a 3.35 ERA. Terry Sutt got his 1st save despite giving up 3 runs in 3 innings.

[Big T]

August 1st, 1973

Game two of the twin-bill will see LHP Eric Stuart make his final start of the season. The 29 year old Stuart is 5-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 20 starts. He will face fellow Lefty, Ted Slade. The 24 year old sports a 0-1 record with 17 saves and a 3.50 ERA. Slade is making his 1st start of the season as the Reds appear to be converting the minor league starting pitcher back to a starting role.... or the ran out of starting pitching.

SP Eric Stuart gives up a run on a fielders choice after back to back Singles to start the bottom of the 1st. He survives the 1st on 20 pitches but the Reds lead 1-0.

After giving up a lead off Double in the 2nd, Eric Stuart gets the next 2 outs before giving up a run scoring Single. The Reds lead 2-0 after the 2nd.

The Expos ended SP Eric Stuart's season after 5 innings, he had allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 5 strikeouts. The bring in 26 year old RHP Carl Mathieu who is 1-0 with 4 saves, a 3.09 ERA in 11 innings this season. Mathieu is expected to be a regular with the Expos in 1974. Mathieu sits the Reds down 1-2-3, in the inning. Reds still lead 2-0.

The Expos use a PH for Carl Mathieu in the 8th and so RHP Dan Bevilacqua comes out for the bottom half to pitch. Bevilacqua is 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 25 innings. The 26 year old was very effective this season. He gives up a pair of hits in the inning but gets a critical double play and the Reds still lead 2-0 going into the top of the 9th.

C Nate Samms leads off with a Single. 2B Vladik Aleev strikes out looking. Samms moves to 2nd on a passed ball. SS Eric Forristall walks. 3B Gene Watkins loads the bases with his 1-out Single. CF Matt Healy fly's out to CF, but not deep enough for the slow-footed Samms. 1B Cory Carlson legs out a Single hit to the 1st baseman, Samms scores. LH hitting Juan Chapa comes in to PH for the pitcher, he lines out to 3B and the Expos lose 2-1.

Reds SP Ted Slade goes 8 innings allowing just 2 hits and striking out 4. The Expos were able to get 3 hits against RHP Erik Rooney, but it was not enough. SP Eric Stuart fell to 5-7 on the year.

[Big T]

August 2nd, 1973- End of the Regular Season

The Expos will finish off their 1973 season with Reds in Cincinnati. Despite not making the playoffs, the Expos have to be pleased with their 15-11 record after THE TRADE that sent SP Aaron Cregg packing. As well they stayed in the Pennant chase for 95 games even after such a rocky start to the season. Today the Expos will send 27 year old RHP Javier Trevino to the bump. In his 1st full season as a starter for the Expos, he is 9-8 with a 3.05 ERA in 20 starts. He is expected to challenge Eric Stuart for the number 1 spot in the rotation in 1974. He will be challenged by Red's 28 year old RHP Chris Marczyk. Marczyk is 2-2 with a 2.38 ERA and is making his 1st start as well after 31 relief appearances. A quick check of the Reds SP situation shows that 33 year old Kelly Etzler is out for the season after 21 starts this year and 25 year old Walt O'Malley is out with a strained back, he made 19 starts for the Reds.

LF Joe Woodbury hits a solo HR with 1 out in the 1st to give the Expos an early lead. For Woodbury it is his 15th HR. The Expos lead 1-0 after the top of the 1st.

SP Javier Trevino gives up his 1st hit, a Triple to lead off the bottom of the 3rd. He strikes out the next two before giving up an RBI Double. He then strikes out former Expos RF Nick McCormick to end the inning. Its tied 1-1 after 3 innings.

SP Javier Trevino is doing everything he can do to get the win, he hits a 1-out Single in the top of the 5th, his 2nd hit of the game. 1B Cory Carlson hits a Double and moves Trevino to 3rd. LF Joe Woodbury collects his 48th and 49th RBIs of the season with a Single that scored both based runners. Woodbury steals 2nd with still 1-out. 2B Fernando Martinez follows with an RBI Double. SS Ryan Maynard fly's out to RF for the 2nd out. 3B Gene Watkins then grounds out 5-3 to end the threat, but the Expos now lead 4-1.

SP Javier Trevino gets into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the 8th with runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2-out, but he gets out of it and gets replaced with a PH in the 9th. LHP Charlie Rancourt comes into to close, he has not pitched since July 30th when he got his 24th save in a 4-3 win over the Braves. Rancourt does his job in the 9th, the Expos win 4-1 to end the season 52-48.

SP Javier Trevino allowed 5 hits and struck out 7 over 8 innings to improve to 10-8 and a 2.94 ERA. Trevino was the Expos only 10 game winner this season. The Expos will be packing their bags and saying their good byes while the Cardinals, Dodgers, White Sox and Twins will all be getting ready for the playoffs.

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The 1973 MLB Playoffs

Before we join the playoffs lets introduce some of the star players that lead in individual categories.

Philadelphia Phillies LF Luke Nugent led the NL in batting average this season. The 31 year old Nugent hit .351 with 6 HRs and 42 RBIs over 83 games. Nugent has been in the MLB since 1969 playing 421 games over 5 years hitting .313 with 36 HRs and 165 RBIs. Philadelphia is his 3rd MLB team but he has been with the Phillies since a trade in July 1970 that send him from Seattle.

Seattle Mariners 3B Ted Burrows won the AL batting crown. The 37 year old Burrows hit .372 with 8 HRs and 56 RBIs in 97 games this season. This is the 1st time Burrows won the batting title, but he has hit over .300 in all of his past 5 seasons including 1971 when he hit .366. Burrows signed as a Free agent with Seattle after 3 years with the White Sox. he has played in 489 of the 500 games available the past 5 years. Burrows is a 2-time World Champion and a 3 time All-Star.

Los Angeles Dodgers C Julio Guerrero led the NL with 29 HRs this season. The 31 year old Guerrero also hit .294 with 70 RBIs in 90 games. For Guerrero, 29 HRs is a career high besting the 22 he had with the Dodgers in 1970. Guerrero has been a Dodger in all 5 seasons of MLB. He is 5 HRs shy of 100 for his career. Guerrero is a 4 time All-Star and won a World Championship with the Dodgers in 1972.

Toronto Blue Jays LF Bryce Hogue led the AL in HRs this season. The 30 year old Hogue hit .311 with 31 HRs and 77 RBIs in 96 games this year. In his 1st year as a Blue Jay after signing as a free agent, Hogue's previous high for HRs was 19 in 1972 for Houston. He has 86 career HRs. The 3-time All Star has 1 career Grand Slam, vs the Cardinals while he was playing for the Astros in 1970.

Los Angeles Dodgers RF Dustin Berube led the NL in RBIs for 1973. The 32 year old Berube hit .299 with 27 HRs and 83 RBIs in 96 games this past season. Berube is currently on contract to the Dodgers until 1975 at $34.0 M per season. Berube led the NL in 1972 with 30 HRs and 128 to his career so far. Berube is a 5-time All-Star and won the World Championship with the Dodgers.

Chicago White Sox SS Tony McCracken won the RBI title for the AL in 1973. The 33 year old McCracken hit .272 with 31 HRs and 103 RBIs during 96 games in 1973. McCracken spent the first 2 years of his career with the Mets where he raised havoc with NL pitchers including the Expos. McCracken also led the AL in 1971 with 94 RBIs. McCracken is a 5-time All-Star and won a World Championship with the White Sox in 1971.

Atlanta Braves SP Robbie Morris won the ERA title in the NL this season. The 31 year old Morris finished 8-7 with a 1.52 ERA in 21 starts. For Morris, this is his 2nd stint with the Braves. He originally started with the Braves in 1969 before signing with the Angels. He opted out with the Angels after just 2 seasons to go back to Atlanta. Morris is 49-38 with a 2.94 ERA over 107 starts in 5 seasons. He also led the NL in IPs with 160 and Ks with 166. Morris is a 2 time All-Star.

Oakland Athletics SP Nate Joubert had the lowest qualifying ERA in the AL. The 30 year old Joubert was 12-6 with a 2.85 ERA in 22 starts this past year. Joubert has twice won 16 games in a season. He was 16-4 in 1971 and 16-2 in 1972, both times with the A's. Despite the wins, he has only place 3rd once in the Cy Young voting, in 1972. Joubert has a career 63-28 record with 3.31 ERA in 108 starts.

Los Angeles Dodgers SP Pat Quinn led the NL in Wins in the 1973. The 28 year old Quinn was 15-2 with a 2.00 ERA in 22 starts for the Dodgers. Quinn had a career high in wins in 1973, his previous high was 11 in 1972. Quinn has won 26 games and lost only 9 since missing the 1971 season with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. Quinn won the 1969 rookie of the year Award and was a World Champion with the Dodgers in 1972.

Atlanta Braves CL Kevin Barnard led the NL in saves for 1973. The 41 year old Barnard was 2-3 with 26 saves, a 1.98 ERA in 41 IPs this year. The pending free agent is with his 3rd MLB team, he was previous with the Dodgers and Royals. Although he had 26 saves, his career high is actually 31 with the Dodgers in 1969, he also had 29 with the Dodgers in 1970. He won the 1970 Relief of Year award for the NL.

Seattle Mariners CL Eric Blankman led the AL in saves. The 29 year old Blankman was 2-6 with 28 saves, a 2.86 ERA in 50 innings. Blankman is back with the Mariners for the 2nd time, he was traded by the Mariners to the Orioles in 1969. Blankman's previous high for saves was 10, he achieved that in 1969. He participated in his 1st All-Star game this season.

The St Louis Cardinals (55-45) will face the Los Angeles Dodgers (69-31) in the first round of the NL League Championship.

St Louis 5 Los Angeles 1
Los Angeles 8 St Louis 2
St Louis 4 Los Angeles 1
Los Angeles 6 St Louis 5
St Louis 5 Los Angeles 3
St Louis 7 Los Angeles 5 (14)

The St Louis Cardinals win the series 4 games to 2. SP Allen Baker was named the MVP of the Series. The 32 year old Baker was 7-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 21 starts during the season, he was 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA in 2 starts during the series.

The Chicago White Sox (60-40) will face the Minnesota Twins (61-39) in the first round of the AL League Championship.

Chicago 7 Minnesota 0
Chicago 6 Minnesota 2
Minnesota 4 Chicago 3
Chicago 3 Minnesota 0
Chicago 5 Minnesota 1

The Chicago White Sox win the series 4 games to 1. White Sox SP Robby Green was named the Series MVP. Green was 12-3 with a 2.99 ERA in 19 starts during the regular season and was 2-0 with a 0.51 ERA in 2 starts in the series.

The 1973 World Series, the St Louis Cardinals will face the Chicago White Sox.

St Louis 12 Chicago 6
Chicago 5 St Louis 4
Chicago 4 St Louis 2
St Louis 5 Chicago 2
St Louis 6 Chicago 5
Chicago 3 St Louis 2 (11)
Chicago 12 St Louis 2

The Chicago White Sox has won the 1973 World Series, their 3rd in 5 years. LF Abel Kerns was named the World Series MVP. The 31 year old Kerns hit .321 with 5 HRs and 45 RBIs in 99 games during the season, hit 300 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs in 12 playoff games.

[Big T]

The 1973 Montreal Expos Stats



The 1973 Expos started the season with Cy Young Award Winner Aaron Cregg, but there was no chance to sign him and were forced to make a trade. The Expos got SP Jamari Taft and he filled in rather well in the rotation. In fact the rotation should not look much different in 1974 then it ended in 1973. With only the 5th spot in question.

1) RHP Javier Trevino
2) LHP Eric Stuart
3) RHP Eric Marks
4) LHP Jamari Taft

The 5th spot will be either RHP Scott Turner or RHP Motohiro Kodama. Kodama missed much of 1973 with a hamstring strain that limited him to a 1-0 record with a 3.58 ERA in 6 AAA starts. Kodama does have a 2-5 career MLB record with 3.98 ERA in 10 starts for the Expos.



The battle for the bull-pen spots should be interesting next season. A couple RHP's in Carl Mathieu and Mark Holmgren could sneak in. Holmgren is 25 years old and pretty good in AAA last year. He was 2-4 with 8 saves, a 2.16 ERA in 41 innings. He was the main piece in a trade with the Pirates in 1971. The 26 year old Mathieu is no stranger to the Expos, before being called up to the big league club last year he was 0-0 with 13 saves, a 0.38 ERA in 23 AAA innings. But Mathieu has 40 innings of MLB experience with the Expos with a 1.34 ERA and 0.99 Whip. A LHP that will get a look in the Spring will be 26 year old Dave Marland. Marland came over from the Blue Jays in a 1971 trade, last season in AAA he was 4-1 with 6 saves, a 3.31 ERA in 35 innings.



24 year old Ricky Shvartsman will get a look to back up Nate Samms in the spring. Shvartsman hit .252 with 9 HRs and 38 RBIs in 79 AAA games in 1973. Originally drafted by the Reds as a 3rd round, 68th overall pick in 1969, he was part of a trade with the Reds in 1971 that also brought 3B Gene Watkins to the Expos.



Another young guy that will get a look in the 1974 will be 22 year old 1B Jon Scott. Scott was a 4th round, 88th overall pick of the Mariners in 1969 and got his first taste of AAA this past year where he hit .329 with 3 HRs and 15 RBIs in 21 games after spending much of the season in AA. Although his role would be limited to giving Cory Carlson the odd day off, he maybe needing another year in AAA first.



Don't see too many changes to the OF in 1974. It will be interesting to see how RF David Haynes will react to a full season and can he handle the every day workload.