The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

Five Legacies this year, including two of the great OFs from this era.

These are the Legacy Players for the 1979 Season:

Detroit Tigers: Kirk Gibson (38.4; 1177)
Kansas City Royals: Dan Quisenberry (24.6 conceded; 674 G)
Montreal Expos: Tim Raines (69.4; 1452)
Oakland Athletics: Rickey Henderson (111.2; 1704)
Toronto Blue Jays: Dave Stieb (56.4; 412 GS)

There are 124 rookies for this season, and the Draft will consist of 4 rounds.

The Draft order will be as follows (winning percentage from 1979 IRL season in brackets; bold indicates Legacy Pick in 1st Round):

Round 1

1. Oakland Athletics (426; dice roll)
2. Montreal Expos (469)
3. Toronto Blue Jays (366)
4. Detroit Tigers (531)
5. Kansas City Royals (568)
6. Seattle Mariners (350)
7. New York Mets (407)
8. Atlanta Braves (426; dice roll)
9. St. Louis Cardinals (426; dice roll)
10. Cleveland Indians (434)
11. Chicago White Sox (441)
12. Minnesota Twins (451)
13. Houston Astros (457)
14. Chicago Cubs (488)
15. San Diego Padres (519)
16. California Angels (537; dice roll)
17. Texas Rangers (537; dice roll)
18. Pittsburgh Pirates (547)
19. San Francisco Giants (549)
20. Philadelphia Phillies (556)
21. Baltimore Orioles (559)
22. Cincinnati Reds (571)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (574)
24. Los Angeles Dodgers (586)
25. Boston Red Sox (607)
26. New York Yankees (613)


Rounds 2 thru 4

1. Seattle Mariners (350)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (366)
3. New York Mets (407)
4. Atlanta Braves (426; dice roll)
5. Oakland Athletics (426; dice roll)
6. St. Louis Cardinals (426; dice roll)
7. Cleveland Indians (434)
8. Chicago White Sox (441)
9. Minnesota Twins (451)
10. Houston Astros (457)
11. Montreal Expos (469)
12. Chicago Cubs (488)
13. San Diego Padres (519)
14. Detroit Tigers (531)
15. California Angels (537; dice roll)
16. Texas Rangers (537; dice roll)
17. Pittsburgh Pirates (547)
18. San Francisco Giants (549)
19. Philadelphia Phillies (556)
20. Baltimore Orioles (559)
21. Kansas City Royals (568)
22. Cincinnati Reds (571)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (574)
24. Los Angeles Dodgers (586)
25. Boston Red Sox (607)
26. New York Yankees (613)



Eligible PIT players: 2 position players + 3 pitchers = 5.


Absolutely no chance of us moving the needle for 1979 here, with just 5 eligible players on offer and the only one of those who we could potentially have used a guarateed top-10 pick, which is well in advance of our entry into proceedings. So we’ll do our usual trick of either grabbling the best eligible guys we can or otherwise those we feel will have the best flipping cachet in a year’s time.

We select the following players:

1. C Brian Harper, 19

• A nice pickup, all things considered, but definitely one for the longer-term rather than the here and now.

2. P Jerry Don Gleaton, 21

• Possibly would still have been available in a round’s time but with few other worthy candidates by this stage we opted not to risk it. More a warm body type than anything else.

3. 2B Danny Ainge, 19 (ineligible)
4. OF Tom Wiedenbauer, 20 (ineligible)

• AAA depth.

The squad pickup basketball games should at least be a bit more interesting now…

Not the utter waste of time we expected it to be.

FULL DRAFT LOG

[luckymann]

Well the circle is complete: Mickey and Willie came in together, left together and are now immortalised together, along with Killer Killebrew - that's 1 (for now, at least), 7 and 11 on the "pop" chart, with 1698 career homers between them! Willie gets some bragging rights with the highest return of ballots of the three.

[luckymann]

We use two of our 1979 trade tickets early in the piece in a way that gets us some of the players we need now but also stuffs some cash into the coffers by offloading some guys we don't need.

First off, we head back across the northern border for a raid:




Ed - who played for us IRL from 1977-79 and is on the min with two arb years after that - will slot into the middle of our rotation somewhere and allows us to push Jerry Reuss into the BP. There just aren't many eligible LHRP in the league and even fewer that we want, so we're going to try it this way.




Then we head to Boston for this deal:




UL (IRL 1986-87, on the min with full arb program to follow that) reverts to being just a SS pretty soon so his tenure with us might be a short one but for '79 he improves our IF depth immensely.




That pretty much cleans the decks personnel-wise and leaves us with just one trade ticket and our FA buy-in. But I now feel we have as many contingencies covered as one can reasonably expect to.

I had to laugh because now with that $700k cash injection we could have afforded Carlton, who has since signed with the Cubs on a 5-year deal that tops out at 2m. Doesn't change what I said earlier, but still made me giggle uncomfortably.

[luckymann]

Well if you don’t know how 1979 played out by now then you haven’t really been paying attention, I’d say. Three words, sing along if you know them: We. Are. Fa-mi-ly.


AL EAST / WEST CHAMPIONS: Baltimore Orioles (102-57) / California Angels (88-74)
NL EAST / WEST CHAMPIONS: Pittsburgh Pirates (98-64) / Cincinnati Reds (90-71)
ALCS: Orioles 3, Angels 1
NLCS: Pirates 3, Reds 0
WORLD SERIES: Pirates 4, Orioles 3

Pittsburgh Pirates: 98-64, 1st in NL East, WORLD CHAMPIONS

AL MVP: Don Baylor (Angels)
NL MVP: Willie Stargell (Pirates) / Keith Hernandez (Cardinals) tied

AL CYA: Mike Flanagan (Orioles)
NL CYA: Bruce Sutter (Cubs)

AL RoY: John Castino (Twins) / Alfredo Griffin (Blue Jays) tied
NL RoY: Rick Sutcliffe (Dodgers)


Top Ten Lists (courtesy of thisgreatgame.com)

NL Hitters

1. KEITH HERNANDEZ, ST. LOUIS

• Key Numbers: .344 average, 116 runs, 210 hits, 48 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs, 105 RBIs, 80 walks, 11 stolen bases.
• Hernandez was that “other guy” who the shared the NL MVP with Willie Stargell—not for his inspiration but, instead, for outright performance.

2. DAVE WINFIELD, SAN DIEGO

• Key Numbers: .308 average, 97 runs, 184 hits, 27 doubles, 10 triples, 34 home runs, 118 RBIs, 85 walks, 24 intentional walks, 15 stolen bases.
• Trusting the calculations of Winfield’s complete All-Star effort on the WAR (wins above replacement) front, the Padres would have had the NL’s worst record (60-101) if they had played the replacement all year.

3. MIKE SCHMIDT, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: .253 average, 109 runs, 25 doubles, 45 home runs, 114 RBIs, 120 walks, 9 sacrifice flies.
• After a most disappointing (21 home runs, 78 RBIs) 1978 campaign, Schmidt quickly ascended toward his career peak period by doubling his HR count; 29 of them came away from Veterans Stadium.

4. DAVE PARKER, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: .310 average, 109 runs, 193 hits, 45 doubles, 7 triples, 25 home runs, 94 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, 9 sacrifice flies.
• Another strong year for the reigning NL MVP, but the pressure of a lucrative new contract and intensifying friction with Pirates fans began to take its toll on a man who once told Sports Illustrated: “There’s only thing bigger than me, and that’s my ego.”

5. DAVE KINGMAN, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: .288 average, 97 runs, 19 doubles, 5 triples, 48 home runs, 115 RBIs, 131 strikeouts, .613 slugging percentage.
• The all-or-nothing slugger not only set a career high in home runs, but actually did it with a respectable batting average. Three of his blasts—including a monster 550-foot shot that landed in the porch of the third house away from Wrigley Field—came on a single day in a 23-22 loss to the Phillies.

6. DAVEY LOPES, LOS ANGELES

• Key Numbers: .265 average, 109 runs, 20 doubles, 6 triples, 28 home runs, 73 RBIs, 97 walks, 44 stolen bases, 4 caught stealing.
• Lopes powered up in the leadoff spot with a career-high spike in home runs, while continuing to be the toughest guy to catch stealing.

7. GARY MATTHEWS, ATLANTA

• Key Numbers: 162 games, .304 average, 97 runs, 192 hits, 34 doubles, 5 triples, 27 home runs, 90 RBIs, 18 stolen bases.
• In his third year with the Braves, Matthews finally had the kind of year Atlanta owner Ted Turner had in mind when he did all he could—including illegal tampering, leading to a year-long suspension—to secure him to a big contract.

8. GEORGE FOSTER, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 121 games, .302 average, 30 home runs, 98 RBIs.
• Though some look at the back of the baseball card and see continued dwindling production from Foster, the fact is he would have roughly matched his 1978 totals (40 home runs, 120 RBIs) had he not missed some 35-40 games due to injury.

9. PETE ROSE, PHILADELPHIA

• Key Numbers: 163 games, .331 average, 90 runs, 208 hits, 40 doubles, 5 triples, 4 home runs, 59 RBIs, 95 walks, 20 stolen bases, .418 on-base percentage.
• After 16 years in Cincinnati, a change of scenery did not affect Rose in his first campaign at Philadelphia; in some ways, it actually enlivened him—stealing a career-high 20 bases at age 38.

10. LEE MAZZILLI, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: .303 average, 78 runs, 181 hits, 34 doubles, 15 home runs, 79 RBIs, 93 walks, 34 stolen bases.
• The Brooklyn native attracted male Mets fans for his hitting—and female ones for his good looks.

AL Hitters

1. FRED LYNN, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: 147 games, .333 average, 116 runs, 177 hits, 42 doubles, 39 home runs, 122 RBIs, 82 walks, .423 on-base percentage, .637 slugging percentage.
• Four years after his memorable breakout 1975 season followed by three years of statistical ennui, Lynn easily had his most prodigious set of numbers—and became the first AL batting champ to represent the Eastern Division since the league split geographically in 1969. His 28 home runs at Fenway Park alone was a record for a left-handed batter.

2. JIM RICE, BOSTON

• Key Numbers: .325 average, 117 runs, 201 hits, 39 doubles, 6 triples, 39 home runs, 130 RBIs.
• In a superb follow-up to his monster 1978 MVP feat, Rice all but matched Lynn in almost every key offensive category—even in the home splits, as he too hit the majority of his home runs at Fenway (27, to go with a .369 average).

3. DON BAYLOR, CALIFORNIA

• Key Numbers: 162 games, .296 average, 120 runs, 186 hits, 33 doubles, 36 home runs, 139 RBIs, 11 hit-by-pitches, 22 stolen bases.
• It was all about the runs for Baylor, who led the AL in both runs and RBIs and never knocked in more than 100 in any of 18 other seasons; fittingly, he had the most ribbies in a single game, with eight against Toronto on August 25.

4. GEORGE BRETT, KANSAS CITY

• Key Numbers: .329 average, 119 runs, 212 hits, 42 doubles, 20 triples, 23 home runs, 107 RBIs, 17 stolen bases.
• Brett became the first player to go 20-20-20 (doubles-triples-home runs) since 1957; it therefore only made sense that he hit for his first career cycle.

5. SIXTO LEZCANO, MILWAUKEE

• Key Numbers: 138 games, .321 average, 84 runs, 29 doubles, 28 home runs, 101 RBIs, 77 walks.
• One of three players with 100-plus RBIs in a rapidly potent Brewers lineup, the 25-year-old Puerto Rico native justified his rare upgrade from part-time duty with a helluva year; he hit .411 against lefties.

6. DARRELL PORTER, KANSAS CITY

• Key Numbers: .291 average, 101 runs, 23 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs, 112 RBIs, 121 walks, 13 sacrifice flies.
• Porter became the first AL catcher with 10 triples since 1935, and for the only time in his career surpassed 100 in RBIs, runs and walks.

7. KEN SINGLETON, BALTIMORE

• Key Numbers: .295 average, 93 runs, 29 doubles, 35 home runs, 111 RBIs, 109 walks, 16 intentional walks.
• The underrated Singleton got attention from MVP voters by finishing a distant second behind Don Baylor in the final count.

8. STEVE KEMP, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: 134 games, .318 average, 88 runs, 26 doubles, 26 home runs, 105 RBIs.
• After a couple noteworthy seasons to begin his career, Kemp hit peak form and especially lived for daytime baseball—hitting .420 in 38 midday games.

9. CECIL COOPER, MILWAUKEE

• Key Numbers: .308 average, 83 runs, 182 hits, 44 doubles, 24 home runs, 106 RBIs, 15 stolen bases.
• After early-career frustration in Boston, Cooper continued to enjoy life in Milwaukee—hitting over .300 for a third straight year for the Brewers—and better yet, began to ramp up his power production.

10. GORMAN THOMAS, MILWAUKEE

• Key Numbers: .244 average, 97 runs, 29 doubles, 45 home runs, 123 RBIs, 98 walks, 175 strikeouts.
• While Cubs fans embraced Dave Kingman, Brewers fans just 90 miles up the road in Milwaukee were enjoying the similar exploits of the brawny, mustached Thomas.

NL Pitchers

1. J.R. RICHARD, HOUSTON

• Key Numbers: 2.71 ERA, 18 wins, 13 losses, 38 starts, 292.1 innings, 98 walks, 313 strikeouts, 19 wild pitches, 28 stolen bases allowed.
• With 313 strikeouts, Richard broke his own NL record among right-handers of a year earlier; by not allowing a run over his last 25.1 innings, he captured the first ERA title ever earned by an Astro.

2. JOE NIEKRO, HOUSTON

• Key Numbers: 3.00 ERA, 21 wins, 11 losses, 38 starts, 5 shutouts, 264 innings, 107 walks, 19 wild pitches, 31 stolen bases allowed, 27 grounded into double plays.
• Niekro was happy to tie his brother, Phil Niekro, in victories—and even happier not to tie him in defeats.

3. KEN FORSCH, HOUSTON

• Key Numbers: 3.04 ERA, 11 wins, 6 losses, 24 starts, 177.2 innings, 35 walks.
• Forsch’s season got off to a great start by throwing a no-hitter in his first appearance—joining brother Bob, who threw a no-no in his second start of 1978.

4. TOM SEAVER, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 3.14 ERA, 16 wins, 6 losses, .727 win percentage, 32 starts, 5 shutouts, 215 innings, 27 stolen bases allowed.
• Back issues doomed Seaver with a rough start, but he recovered to star form—going 14-1 with a 2.42 ERA from June 9 to the end of the year.

5. KENT TEKULVE, PITTSBURGH

• Key Numbers: 2.75 ERA, 10 wins, 8 losses, 31 saves, 94 appearances, 134.1 innings, 20 intentional walks.
• One of the oddest-looking characters who’d ever see on the field, the lanky, thin submariner with tinted glasses that looked to have been purchased off a rotating grocery store display emerged as a top closer, saving 31 games for a second straight season.

6. BURT HOOTON, LOS ANGELES

• Key Numbers: 2.97 ERA, 11 wins, 10 losses, 29 starts, 212 innings.
• Wins were hard to come by for the Dodgers’ best pitcher on the year; nine of the 19 games he didn’t get a win in were decided by a single run.

7. TOM HUME, CINCINNATI

• Key Numbers: 2.76 ERA, 10 wins, 9 losses, 17 saves, 57 appearances, 12 starts, 163 innings, 33 walks.
• The home-grown Red was a then-rare case of a starter being converted to relief, and for the better; once permanently moved into the closer role in late August, he saved 15 games, won four others, sported a nifty 1.45 ERA—and was key to the Reds going 37-22 down the stretch to win the NL West.

8. GAYLORD PERRY, SAN DIEGO

• Key Numbers: 3.06 ERA, 12 wins, 11 losses, 32 starts, 232.2 innings.
• Likely emboldened by his pedigree and age (40), Perry was not only afraid to criticize Padres players and coaches, but also to bolt the team in early September as he demanded a trade back to Texas—which he eventually got.

9. PHIL NIEKRO, ATLANTA

• Key Numbers: 3.39 ERA, 21 wins, 20 losses, 44 starts, 23 complete games, 342 innings, 113 walks, 18 wild pitches, 11 hit-by-pitches, 40 stolen bases allowed, 25 grounded into double plays.
• Niekro became the first major leaguer to lead his league in both wins and losses in the same year.

10. BRUCE SUTTER, CHICAGO

• Key Numbers: 2.22 ERA, 6 wins, 6 losses, 37 saves, 10 blown saves, 62 appearances, 101.1 innings.
• Sutter became the third full-time NL reliever (after Jim Konstanty and Mike Marshall) to win Cy Young Award honors, and barely—finishing just ahead of Joe Niekro.

AL Pitchers

1. TOMMY JOHN, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 2.96 ERA, 21 wins, 9 losses, .700 win percentage, 36 starts, 276.1 innings, 11 wild pitches, 45 grounded into double plays.
• Goodbye L.A., hello New York: John took his amazing post-Tommy John surgery act to the Big Apple and only got better.

2. JIM KERN, TEXAS

• Key Numbers: 1.57 ERA, 13 wins, 5 losses, .722 win percentage, 29 saves, 9 blown saves, 71 appearances, 143 innings.
• A year it all came together for the tall, scruffy and often wacky Kern, who definitely earned the nickname “Emu”; he would leverage the brand to a post-baseball life running an outdoorsman adventure company called the Emu Outfitting Company.

3. MIKE FLANAGAN, BALTIMORE

• Key Numbers: 3.08 ERA, 23 wins, 9 losses, .719 win percentage, 38 starts, 5 shutouts, 265.2 innings, 29 grounded into double plays.
• Flanagan became the latest in a string of Orioles hurlers who rose to flash-in-the-pan prominence amid a career of average results (see also Wayne Garland, Rudy May and Steve Stone); he was a near-unanimous choice for the AL Cy Young.

4. RON GUIDRY, NEW YORK

• Key Numbers: 2.78 ERA, 18 wins, 8 losses, .692 win percentage, 2 saves, 33 appearances, 30 starts, 236.1 innings, 24 grounded into double plays.
• Though his ERA rose by nearly a run over his brilliant 1978 figure, it was still enough to earn a second straight title in the category.

5. JERRY KOOSMAN, MINNESOTA

• Key Numbers: 3.38 ERA, 20 wins, 13 losses, 36 starts, 263.2 innings, 16 caught stealing/picked off, 29 grounded into double plays.
• After going 11-35 despite a fair 3.60 ERA with the derelict Mets over the previous two years, Koosman found both refuge and support in Minnesota.

6. MIKE CALDWELL, MILWAUKEE

• Key Numbers: 3.29 ERA, 16 wins, 6 losses, .727 win percentage, 31 starts, 235 innings, 39 walks, 26 grounded into double plays.
• A subdued yet still effective follow-up to his prodigious comeback of 1978, Caldwell ran his record up to 38-15 over two seasons—after going just 13-28 through the three years before that.

7. GEOFF ZAHN, MINNESOTA

• Key Numbers: 3.57 ERA, 13 wins, 7 losses, 24 starts, 169 innings, 41 walks, 26 grounded into double plays.
• The 33-year-old southpaw dealt with shoulder issues but managed to maintain a steady level of quality pitching throughout the season, as opponents had a hard time trying to make solid contact off of him.

8. MIKE MARSHALL, MINNESOTA

• Key Numbers: 2.66 ERA, 10 wins, 15 losses, 32 saves, 10 blown saves, 90 appearances, 1 start, 142.2 innings, 21 grounded into double plays.
• Marshall finally re-approached the heights of his tireless (106 appearances) 1974 campaign, and his eight wins by the end of May had people wondering if he’d be the first full-time reliever to win 20; alas, he only grabbed two more victories the rest of the year, and then did a quick fade—exacerbated, he claims, by being blackballed for his role as a player rep and confrontational thorn in management’s side.

9. JIM PALMER, BALTIMORE

• Key Numbers: 3.30 ERA, 10 wins, 6 losses, 22 starts, 156.2 innings.
• The 33-year-old Orioles ace threw well despite numerous sore spots in his back, arm, elbow—and feelings, as some theorized that he was playing up the pains to forge a better contract.

10. AURELIO LOPEZ, DETROIT

• Key Numbers: 2.41 ERA, 10 wins, 5 losses, 21 saves, 61 appearances, 127 innings.
• After failing to make a go of it in Kansas City and St. Louis, the 20-year old from Mexico found his calling in Detroit, saving 21 games for the first of two straight years while becoming a mainstay in Tigers bullpen through 1985.

[luckymann]

There seems to be a huge influx of money into the league these past couple seasons, even more than is needed to keep up with escalating player salaries. The Yanks have a payroll of $11m but still have almost as much room as our entire budget, which at $8.8m remains the league's lowest. No surprises then that is the pointy end of town that again features prominently in the offseason trade log.

• P Steve Carlton: Cubs, 5 years / $9700000
• OF Fred Lynn: Yankees, 4 years / $7440000
• OF Sixto Lezcano: Phillies, 5 years / $6504000 (extension)
• OF Larry Hisle: Orioles, 5 years / $6500000
• OF Ron LeFlore: Twins, 4 years / $4870000 (extension)
• 3B Roy Howell: Indians, 3 years / $4060000
• 3B Graig Nettles: Tigers, 4 years / $3620000
• OF Jeff Burroughs: White Sox, 3 years / $2840000
• 1B Enos Cabell: White Sox, 4 years / $2792000 (extension)
• P Pete Vuckovich: White Sox, 5 years / $2650000 (extension)
• C John Stearns: Twins, 3 years / $2630000 (extension)
• P John Montefusco: Brewers, 3 years / $2560000
• 1B Dan Driessen: Expos, 2 years / $2460000
• OF Richie Zisk: Cardinals, 3 years / $2080000
• 1B John Mayberry: Padres, 2 years / $1880000
• OF Bobby Murcer: Brewers, 2 years / $1780000
• 1B Willie McCovey: Brewers, 1 year / $720000 (more on which later…)

• OF Miguel Dilone and SS Rance Mulliniks from Cubs to Mariners for P Jim Willoughby and OF Jeffrey Leonard
• OF Ken Landreaux from Phillies to Tigers for OF Don Baylor
• P Scott McGregor and 1B Davey Johnson from Yankees to Astros for P Mark Fidrych and P Ken Kravec
• 3B Wayne Gross and OF Jerry Turner from Giants to White Sox for P Burt Hooton
• 3B Sal Bando and OF Clint Hurdle from White Sox to Padres for OF Gary Matthews
• P Rollie Fingers from A’s to Astros for 1B Chris Chambliss (retaining 60%)
• OF Bill North from Brewers to Reds for 2B Domingo Ramos
• 3B Buddy Bell from Cardinals to Astros for 2B Ron Oester and SS Jim Anderson
• 3B Don Money and P Dave Stewart from Astros to Angels for C Ron Hassey

ALL TRANSACTIONS

We go 10-8 for Spring Training with just a virus for Lee Lacy and he’ll be fine for OD.

The evenness will continue if BNN is to be believed, with two super tight and two fairly tight races on the cards. They are tipping us to finish on top, 7 clear of the Expos (!?) with a 93-69 record, with the other division going to the Tigers, White Sox and Padres.

Stretch McCovey fractures his ankle in ST and won't make his first appearance for the year until August at the earliest. Talk about ratcheting up the drama!


FULL PRESEASON PREDICTIONS

[luckymann]

I’ll readily admit that to put so much focus and heightened expectations on this season is completely out of character for me. When I began this save I was merely hoping to outdo the IRL club by a factor of two, which would have been 10 titles.

We enter this season with 27 to our name.

I’ll also admit that taking this course of action could be viewed as hubristic in the extreme. This I refute, although I gladly cede the point. It is more about keeping things interesting for myself and for those following along. As any of you who have attempted one of these long saves will know, they are HARD WORK. A real slog. Exercise such as this keep things fresh for all concerned. At least they do for me.

So you have already seen the moves we’ve made. Now for how all the pieces are supposed to fit together.

LET'S DO THIS! GO BUCCOS!

[luckymann]

No pressure, then...

[luckymann]

At this stage - and I'll be the first to admit I've not really given this much thought yet - Woodie Fryman, Ken Brett and Dave Roberts will not be returning unless it's on an extremely friendly deal.

We have a $550k / $60k buyout option for Bill Robinson for '80 and will see where we're at before deciding whether to exercise or void it.

Bill Madlock is on $1m in this his walk year and so I doubt we'll be forking out that kind of money to keep him. That might save Jangles Robinson.

Goose Gossage will also most likely be too rich for our blood from here on in.

I'd suggest we will exercise Lee Lacy's 1980 option for $370k as that is super cheap.

Scoop Oliver will be retained if at all possible.

I doubt Derrel Thomas will be retained, although we all know what a sucker I am for a multi-positional player. Him being a ringer does him no favours, plus he's already on $500k+ if you ignore the retention.

Andy Hassler and Bruce Kison will be price-dependent, as will Gene Garber.

Not much insight there because we are really going to play it as it lies come the end of this season and the plan is for a rebuild to follow this year. Still plenty of good guys in the group on long-term deals and we'll be looking to work around them moving forward.

[luckymann]

Which active pitchers are leading the MLB in career wins?

• Jim Kaat, -, 250
• Gaylord Perry, CIN, 249
• Steve Carlton, CHC, 216
• Phil Niekro, CWS, 216
• Fergie Jenkins, CAL, 211

Now with Sandy K gone, will any of these guys be the next to 300?

[luckymann]

This is Don's first no-no in this timeline, one more than he threw IRL.

[luckymann]

A bit of a nervy start as Ed Whitson opens his Pittsburgh career with a pair of shockers. The hook this year is about the length of a baseball bat so he’s under close scrutiny already. That bottom half of our rotation is clearly the biggest vulnerability we have and I won’t hesitate to mix things up early either within the many options we have in the group or even use that final trade ticket if needed. Even though I have promised myself not to start micromanaging at this late juncture, I will not have died wondering over the course of this season—that I can promise you. To Ed’s credit, he bounces back and wins his next three starts handily.

Cobra, Henny, Big Wheel Parrish and Pops, on the other hand, fly out of the blocks and our offence begins strongly on the back of their performances. Pops in particular is red-hot early, with 9 HR in the first 14 games! George, Dave and he in fact win the first three weekly player awards and Pops goes on to take out the April monthly batter prize as well.

It is, overall, a very up-and-down April and we finish it having split our 20 games right down the middle. At this point just two games separate top from bottom in our division and we are smack bang in the middle of the diddle.

We just seems to be gathering momentum when we lose Scoop for three weeks to a concussion and in the same game Gary Alexander picks up a niggle but it looks like he’ll be able to play through it. Nice to have Kong Kingman in the wings to take over at LF while Al recuperates.

The boys just look downright flat, there’s no two ways about it, and are lucky to escape a home sweep by the Reds with Willie getting us a walkoff 4-3 win in the final game with a 12th-inning single. We are getting next to nothing from our bench guys and that’s not helping one bit. No room for passengers on this bus.

We string together some scratchy wins – four on the trot by one run, to be precise – and once again our divisional rivals go easy on us with none of them making a move so that we remain at or near the top of the standings throughout.

A terrible series in New York sees us lose all four games – three late – to continue our messy first section, which ends with us at 24-24, two off the pace and looking anything but a serious contender.





Everything just a couple notches under where it should be. That BB / OBP metric is a real concern and goes a long way to explaining why we sit 8th in runs scored.




As mentioned earlier, the big boys are all doing their bit and then some but we have too many hop-ons for us to gather speed.




No doubt we've been unlucky to a certain degree but that also shows a lack of bearing down when necessary.


We start planning for beyond this season by retaining Scoop Oliver on a 3+1/6000 deal. Big money but I feel we can remain coimpetitive through the transition phase and he’ll hopefully be a big part of that. We are so fortunate to have so many key guys locked down long-term on bargain rates – Guidry, for example thru ’84 and never for more than $500k – that we can afford some largesse in this regard, especially with in excess of $2m in payroll falling off the books at season-end.
Goose Gossage – who is looking for c850k per – won’t be hanging around, so we extend Kent Tekulve on a 1/180 deal and he’ll be the Closer next season, or at least that’s the plan at the moment. We also reload with Ed Whitson for a year @ $230k but Andy Hassler wants nearly a half-million and Bruce Kison 4/4000 so neither of them will be at our club in 1980 unless something changes dramatically. The latter could well be a trade piece, given the larder is fairly bare in this regard.




The Twins are looking strong, while the Yanks are in the mix again. Our division is dangerously close, upping the potential for randomness come the pointy end.


Monthly Award Winners

April

American League

• Batter – Bruce Bochte (Tigers): 392 / 3 HR / 17 RBI
• Pitcher – Scott Sanderson (Indians): 6-0 / 1.75 / 29 K / 46.1 IP
• Rookie – John Fulgham (Blue Jays): 1-0 / 1.98 / 4 SV / 4 K / 13.2 IP

National League

• Batter – Willie Stargell (Pirates): 319 / 11 HR / 16 RBI
• Pitcher – Joe Niekro (Astros): 4-0 / 2.25 / 15 K / 40 IP
• Rookie – Frank Pastore (Braves): 3-1 / 2.48 / 17 K / 36.1 IP

May

American League

• Batter – Ken Singleton (Orioles): 392 / 6 HR / 20 RBI
• Pitcher – Bart Johnson (Mariners): 5-0 / 1.90 / 19 K / 42.2 IP
• Rookie – Bill Caudill (Yankees): 4-2 / 1.64 / 7 SV / 12 K / 22 IP

National League

• Batter – John Mayberry (Padres): 330 / 6 HR / 19 RBI
• Pitcher – Mike Marshall (Padres): 4-1 / 2.35 / 5 SV / 6 K / 15.1 IP
• Rookie – Pedro Guerrero (Dodgers): 347 / 7 HR / 23 RBI

News and Leaders






Milestones and Observations of Note

• 250 Wins: Gaylord Perry
• 200 Wins: Luis Tiant
• The O’s will be without Jim Plamer thru mid-June thanks to a herniated disc in his back, while Brewers Catcher Jose Morales gets knocked out for the season by an elbow break.
• We certainly seem to have dodged a bullet letting Terry Forster walk. On top of his major implosion in last year’s playoffs, he will now miss the rest of this season due to shoulder inflammation. That’s $210k well not spent, in my books.

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[luckymann]

Sometimes ya gotta risk it to get the biscuit. Fair to say this trade adheres to that philosophy.




Look, I'm not really all that sure we're risking that much. Garner, who played for us IRL 1977-81, is a gamer who slightly upgrades us defensively at 3B (while even better at 2B, where he'll almost certainly play from 1980 onward) and isn't too steep a downgrade from Mads with the bat, while Langford (PIT IRL 1976) for Kison is as close to a straight swap as you can get. If Moose or Brye had seen action at the big club this year then I suggest that means our season was already in the toilet and Burns is an ineligible.

What it does do, however, is improve us beyond 1979, with Scrap Iron under contract thru '81 and Langford thru '82, whereas both Madlock and Kison were set to walk.







I guess we'll have to see if I've traded away our chances for this year to get us that better mid-term positioning. Therein lieth the hopefully biscuit-procuring risk. One big factor in deciding this will be Rick Rhoden, who we'll now promote up to SP3. He has looked better in the second half of last year and so far in this, we need his improvement to hold or, preferably, continue. He's a Legacy so he ain't going nowhere.

[luckymann]

Four in for us this year.

American League

• SP Danny Coombs (KC) - 8-3, 2.81 ERA, 121.2 IP, 1.23 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.5 WAR
• SP Ken Forsch (MIN) - 10-2, 2.61 ERA, 151.2 IP, 1.13 WHIP, 3.0 K/9, 3.1 WAR
• SP Gary Nolan (MIN) - 11-5, 3.46 ERA, 148.1 IP, 1.15 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 2.9 WAR
• SP Nolan Ryan (NYY) - 10-6, 3.59 ERA, 173.0 IP, 1.47 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.2 WAR
• SP Scott Sanderson (CLE)* - 11-5, 3.21 ERA, 162.2 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 3.2 WAR
• SP Frank Tanana (DET) - 10-4, 3.29 ERA, 150.2 IP, 1.26 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 2.6 WAR
• CL Bill Campbell (TEX) - 7-2, 13 SV, 2.58 ERA, 59.1 IP, 1.50 WHIP, 3.6 K/9, 1.3 WAR
• CL Barry Cort (OAK) - 3-5, 22 SV, 3.23 ERA, 61.1 IP, 1.43 WHIP, 4.5 K/9, 1.4 WAR
• CL Charlie Leibrandt (MIN) - 5-7, 3.62 ERA, 102.0 IP, 1.29 WHIP, 3.7 K/9, 1.4 WAR
• CL Monty Montgomery (BOS)* - 0-2, 16 SV, 1.31 ERA, 34.1 IP, 1.19 WHIP, 3.7 K/9, 1.2 WAR
• C Brian Downing (CAL) - .313/.418/.433, 233 AB, 5 HR, 2 SB, 143 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
• C Darrell Porter (DET)* - .293/.415/.478, 232 AB, 11 HR, 2 SB, 147 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
• 1B Willie Aikens (CWS)* - .349/.421/.620, 321 AB, 19 HR, 185 wRC+, 4.2 WAR
• 1B Rod Carew (MIN) - .369/.420/.481, 314 AB, 3 HR, 20 SB, 147 wRC+, 3.1 WAR
• 1B Eddie Murray (BAL)* - .345/.420/.580, 333 AB, 17 HR, 8 SB, 175 wRC+, 4.3 WAR
• 1B Pete Rose (BOS) - .348/.415/.446, 345 AB, 1 HR, 6 SB, 144 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
• 2B Bobby Grich (CAL)* - .300/.423/.529, 280 AB, 15 HR, 1 SB, 165 wRC+, 5.1 WAR
• 3B George Brett (KC)* - .332/.391/.556, 313 AB, 8 HR, 13 SB, 157 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
• 3B Larry Parrish (BAL) - .319/.364/.526, 329 AB, 14 HR, 1 SB, 150 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
• SS Roy Smalley (MIN)* - .284/.354/.435, 310 AB, 12 HR, 3 SB, 123 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
• LF Steve Kemp (MIN) - .307/.419/.480, 296 AB, 11 HR, 2 SB, 144 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
• LF Jim Rice (BOS)* - .315/.375/.528, 305 AB, 14 HR, 2 SB, 149 wRC+, 2.5 WAR (Injured)
• CF Ron LeFlore (MIN)* - .288/.344/.429, 354 AB, 3 HR, 59 SB, 100 wRC+, 3.2 WAR
• CF Fred Lynn (NYY) - .310/.399/.533, 319 AB, 17 HR, 2 SB, 158 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
• RF Reggie Jackson (OAK)* - .337/.420/.613, 297 AB, 21 HR, 6 SB, 184 wRC+, 4.4 WAR
• RF Ellis Valentine (NYY) - .319/.375/.561, 326 AB, 18 HR, 14 SB, 159 wRC+, 3.3 WAR

National League

• SP John Candelaria (PIT) - 8-6, 2.49 ERA, 144.2 IP, 1.04 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 3.5 WAR
• SP Steve Carlton (CHC) - 9-7, 3.27 ERA, 151.1 IP, 1.09 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 2.9 WAR
• SP Dave Goltz (CIN) - 8-8, 3.24 ERA, 155.2 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 5.5 K/9, 2.1 WAR
• SP David Palmer (NYM) - 5-5, 2.07 ERA, 148.0 IP, 1.08 WHIP, 5.2 K/9, 3.8 WAR
• SP J.R. Richard (HOU)* - 8-4, 2.11 ERA, 157.2 IP, 1.25 WHIP, 8.9 K/9, 4.9 WAR
• SP Don Robinson (SD) - 6-7, 2.45 ERA, 146.2 IP, 1.08 WHIP, 6.0 K/9, 2.9 WAR
• RP Geoff Zahn (PHI) - 3-2, 2.10 ERA, 51.1 IP, 1.03 WHIP, 4.2 K/9, 0.7 WAR
• CL Rich Gossage (PIT) - 4-5, 18 SV, 1.54 ERA, 35.0 IP, 0.86 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 0.5 WAR
• CL Tippy Martinez (SD) - 3-2, 1.59 ERA, 51.0 IP, 1.27 WHIP, 5.6 K/9, 1.2 WAR
• CL Bruce Sutter (PHI)* - 2-3, 25 SV, 2.56 ERA, 38.2 IP, 1.24 WHIP, 7.0 K/9, 1.7 WAR
• C Johnny Bench (CIN)* - .255/.327/.519, 239 AB, 18 HR, 1 SB, 128 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
• C Gary Carter (MON) - .262/.304/.457, 282 AB, 14 HR, 5 SB, 111 wRC+, 2.2 WAR
• 1B Keith Hernandez (STL) - .308/.396/.480, 331 AB, 7 HR, 6 SB, 138 wRC+, 2.4 WAR
• 1B Willie Stargell (PIT)* - .308/.369/.602, 289 AB, 25 HR, 169 wRC+, 2.6 WAR
• 2B Pedro Guerrero (LAD)* - .319/.349/.532, 235 AB, 13 HR, 2 SB, 138 wRC+, 1.6 WAR
• 3B Ron Cey (LAD)* - .315/.409/.561, 289 AB, 17 HR, 173 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
• 3B Bob Horner (ATL) - .256/.321/.568, 324 AB, 28 HR, 1 SB, 135 wRC+, 2.8 WAR
• SS Dave Concepcion (CIN) - .301/.359/.428, 306 AB, 5 HR, 13 SB, 121 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
• SS Garry Templeton (SD)* - .313/.336/.468, 374 AB, 7 HR, 20 SB, 121 wRC+, 2.9 WAR
• LF George Foster (CIN)* - .266/.330/.474, 327 AB, 18 HR, 119 wRC+, 1.9 WAR
• LF Mike Hargrove (ATL) - .346/.462/.517, 292 AB, 9 HR, 3 SB, 171 wRC+, 4.3 WAR
• LF Gene Richards (SF) - .357/.402/.501, 345 AB, 5 HR, 28 SB, 153 wRC+, 3.6 WAR
• CF Terry Puhl (HOU)* - .328/.391/.433, 326 AB, 4 HR, 37 SB, 136 wRC+, 4.1 WAR
• RF Bobby Bonds (SF) - .300/.384/.512, 287 AB, 16 HR, 34 SB, 152 wRC+, 3.8 WAR
• RF Dave Parker (PIT)* - .320/.376/.454, 291 AB, 4 HR, 8 SB, 133 wRC+, 2.1 WAR

Reggie Jackson becomes just the fourth dual HR Derby-winner, beating Don Baylor 7-6 in the final. The AL wins its third straight ASG, this one by a score of 3 to 2 to make it 23 games apiece, with Gary Carter named MVP in a losing cause.

[luckymann]

First move for the new month is to recall Scoop from AAA after a short rehab. To protect him a bit we’ll use Kong at LF against LHP for the foreseeable future.

While he doesn’t contribute much in the box scores, it’s no coincidence that the first two games with Scrap Iron in the lineup are walkoff wins. He’s that sort of guy. He wins the game award in his thir appearance, which is also Rick Langford’s first start for us and the first time he’s had to hit in the MLB. He goes 2-4 with a solo shot—gotta love a good omen!

We win 9 straight. Which, while it doesn’t shake off our nearest competitors it certainly strings the division out a bit. The Mets, in fact, move into the lead when we plateau just a bit and this one looks like it is going to be along the lines of last season with every team a chance.

We hit the double in June with regard to player awards as pops and Candy take the gongs, and enter July at 42-32 and 2½ clear of the Mets with the field still bunched.

A nifty stretch of wins gets us 5 clear at the midpoint and you just feel another run like that might well break it open. Instead, some tentative performances and continued problems at the bottom of the rotation see us lose 8 straight including 4 of 4 against the Reds.

Meanwhile the Cubs are coming hard and briefly catch us, with the Phils and Mets also having nearly caught up. We reach the All-Star Break at 49-41, just a game clear.

So much for Phil Garner toughening us up in the clinch—he’s hitting just 237 with us and doing little by way of contribution. We send him down to the 7 slot in favour of Lee Lacy to see if that gets us moving in the right direction.

The lads bounce back strongly after the break, winning six straight before the Reds come to Pittsburgh and give us a nice 15-3 touch-up, just pummelling Ron Guidry who is having a very up-and-down season indeed. Boy am I glad that’s all we’ll be seeing of them this season, they have pounded us 12-2 head-to-head.

Then we put in an absolute shocker at Montreal, losing all three and having just 14 hits all told, and I have to admit I’m starting to worry that this bunch simply doesn’t have what it takes. These long slumps are just killing us and show a poor mindset has taken hold, a straight-up lack of application and – dare I say it – heart.

We finish the month at 59-46, a game and a half ahead of the Cubs.





Continuing the trend from last year, our road form is of particular concern, with us currently 20-31 away from home.




Foil having another surprisingly productive year with the bat.




Lots of soft wins for Guidry, but tellingly he's not even in the top 30 for rWAR at this point.


All four races still very much up for grabs.




As if the AL East wasn’t fascinating enough with the Red Sox, Yanks and Tigers swaping the top three spots almost daily, the O’s come storming into contention with an unbroken 12-game win streak and that one looks set to be hectic to the very end. We could do with one of those runs ourselves.


News, Leaders and Top 20s











Monthly Award Winners

June

American League

• Batter – Bobby Grich (Angels): 322 / 7 HR / 26 RBI
• Pitcher – Dennis Martinez (Orioles): 5-1 / 1.80 / 23 K / 50 IP
• Rookie – La Marr Hoyt (White Sox): 4-2 / 3.12 / 17 K / 52 IP

National League

• Batter – Willie Stargell (Pirates): 341 / 7 HR / 23 RBI
• Pitcher – John Candelaria (Pirates): 5-0 / 0.73 / 25 K / 49 IP
• Rookie – Bill Gullickson (Cardinals): 5-1 / 1.47 / 35 K / 49 IP

July

American League

• Batter – Larry Hisle (Orioles): 444 / 8 HR / 23 RBI
• Pitcher – Gary Lavelle (Orioles): 3-1 / 0.81 / 6 SV / 6 K / 22.1 IP
• Rookie – Britt Burns (White Sox): 2-0 / 0.99 / 28 K / 45.1 IP

National League

• Batter – Oscar Gamble (Dodgers): 342 / 5 HR / 21 RBI
• Pitcher – Doug Rau (Cubs): 5-0 / 1.34 / 18 K / 47 IP
• Rookie – Randy Scarbery (Expos): 3-1 / 0.87 / 6 SV / 8 K / 20.2 IP

Milestones and Observations of Note

• 2500 Hits: Carl Yastrzemski
• 200 Wins: Mickey Lolich
• The Twins lose reliever Rusty Gerhardt for the year with a back injury, while San Diego’s Dan Petry will miss nearly a full year after tearing his UCL. The same injury knocks KC reliever Mike Marshall out for a similar amount of time, while both Sixto Lezcano of the Phillies (biceps, 5 weeks) and Detroit’s Alan Trammell (hamstring, a month) are also a bit banged up.
• Mets 3B Steve Ontiveros misses 6 weeks with a labrum tear, while Dodgers catcher Carlton Fisk is done for the year after suffering a fractured finger.
• The Yanks and Phillies will be sweating on news from their medical staff with both Fred Lynn and Andre Thornton hurt and awaiting prognoses.
• And sad to report Willie McCovey won’t be back at all this year after suffering a setback in his rehab. Will he come back at all?
• Finally, some Deadline trades of note:

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[luckymann]

Seems as if Pete has made up a little bit of ground on his IRL progress, with his historical total sitting at 3372 thru the end of the 1979 season. It will mainly come down to how long the game lets him play as to whether he can catch Ty in this timeline.

[luckymann]

A truly riveting end to the AAA regular season, with the Denver Bears stringing together an unbelievable run of 21 straight wins before eventually coming up well short of North Platte. As do our Links by two games, despite a withering final run that sees them win their last 16 games.

The decider, in comparison, is a bit anticlimactic with Evansville talking out their first Championship in 4 over Eugene.

[luckymann]

We start the stretch run with some nervy performances but manage to scrape through most of them with wins to keep our noses in front of the Cubs, who don’t look like they’re going anywhere.

The gap remains 1½ games when we head to Wrigley for three early in August. The 9 games we have still to play against them will, one has to assume, be key to the final result.

Once again the group’s ill-discipline costs us and we are lucky to escape a sweep with a messy win in the final game. That said, I know I’ve been almost incessant in my bitching about how we are playing, but the lads do buckle down during August as we go virtually win for win and loss for loss with the Cubs, who show resolve we’ve not seen from them in previous seasons and wear us like a glove throughout.

We get away with continued late-innings sloppiness as the Cubs hit the wall a bit but it also means we miss a chance to put some distance between us and them, and this just isn’t how we usually go about things.

It feels almost inevitable when we lose our way yet again, nearly being swept at the last-placed Giants on the back of some woeful pitching and insipid hitting and, whatever its outcome, this will go down among the most incompetent regular-season campaigns we have ever put together.

With 15 games to go – including the six that remain between the two clubs – we lead the Cubs by one.

We drop both of two at home to the Mets to fall out of first but then wrest control back by winning both games at Montreal while the Cubs lose theirs.

And so on and so forth.

By the time we head to Wrigley for the first of those six remaining games – separated by a two-game homestand against the Expos – we are a half-game ahead.

The lads hold their nerve and take all three to give us a chance to render that final series moot if the results fall our way, leading by 3 with our magic number the same amount.

A pair of nail-biting 5-4 wins over Montreal take us to 6 in a row and when news filters through that the Cubs have lost to the Mets, we are home. A final series sweep puts an exclamation mark on a courageous win by the lads despite never going close to hitting their straps.





The last part of the stretch run has been carnage on the playing group.

Lee Lacy, who has been huge in this final push, might be back late in the LCS after hurting his wrist. Sadly, there’s no such luck for Dave Kingman, who is done for the year with an ankle sprain. Even though he’s been playing mainly off the bench, all the same it is a huge loss. We’ve got nobody to step in, either.




Impossible to say for sure what the overall effect of the Garner - Madlock swap ended up being. Phil was OK in the end, and I doubt Mads would have given us more. What we do know is that the deal is beneficial to us on a nett basis for the next couple years.




Ron Guidry stood up when we needed him to, going 4-1 / 2.40 in September, and it's good to finally have Jerry Reuss performing how we've always expected him to.


After discussions with Gene Garber regarding an extension give us some new perspective, we do re-up with Rich Gossage on a 2+1/2200 deal – a decision greatly assisted by a fair reduction in his demands from previously.


The O’s run that win streak to 13 but the Red Sox respond with a 10-game runs of wins in late-August and in the end all three of the other races are non-events.




Batting titles to Rod Carew (his 4th) and Garry Templeton (1st). Bob Horner's 43 dingers top the list, as do Willie Aikens' 124 RBI.

Rickey Henderson wastes no time stepping into the spotlight, swiping 120 bases to nearly break runner-up Willie Wilson's record of a season ago.

Len Barker leads all pitchers with 21 wins as only he and Dennis Martinez get 20 or more. JR Richard leads the MLB with his 2.15 ERA and 273 strikeouts, and he is a heavy favourite for the NL Johnson-Waddell this year. Rich Gossage's 39 Saves are the highest.


Final Top 20s and Leaders








Monthly Award Winners

August

American League

• Batter – Jim Rice (Red Sox): 429 / 5 HR / 24 RBI
• Pitcher – Rudy May (Red Sox): 5-1 / 3.72 / 39 K / 48.1 IP
• Rookie – Brian Kingman (Red Sox): 4-0 / 2.53 / 18 K / 42.2 IP

National League

• Batter – Jack Clark (Giants): 386 / 4 HR / 20 RBI
• Pitcher – Burt Hooton (Giants): 5-0 / 1.60 / 32 K / 45 IP
• Rookie – Bill Gullickson (Cardinals): 4-2 / 5.56 / 30 K / 45.1 IP

September

American League

• Batter – Reggie Jackson (A’s): 287 / 11 HR / 22 RBI
• Pitcher – Phil Niekro (White Sox): 5-0 / 3.20 / 43 K / 50.2 IP
• Rookie – Dave Stieb (Blue Jays): 4-1 / 2.42 / 27 K / 48.1 IP

National League

• Batter – George Foster (Reds): 353 / 10 HR / 22 RBI
• Pitcher – John Boyle (Padres): 5-1 / 1.31 / 30 K / 41.1 IP
• Rookie – Bill Gullickson (Cardinals): 4-1 / 2.13 / 27 K / 42.1 IP

Milestones and Observations of Note

• 2500 Hits: Willie Stargell
• 200 Wins: Jim Palmer, Nolan Ryan
• 2000 Hits: George Scott
• Andre Thornton does miss a month, while Fred Lynn gets the all clear.
• The Halos lose outfielder Mickey Rivers for the season to a back injury, while Jim Palmer is hurt late as well to curtail his season.

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[luckymann]

American League
Minnesota Twins (101-61) v Boston Red Sox (95-67)

The Twins look the side to beat this year and, while they have few superstars they have even fewer weaknesses. Just a good, solid squad right through.

On their day, the Red Sox can match them but are prone to a touch of what I’m calling “Pirate-itis” whereby they completely lose their way with some regularity. If they can avoid that fate, however, this should be a really close-run thing.

Blyleven outduels May in the opener, which the Twins win 2-1, but 3 RBI from Rice help the Sox level things up with a 6-3 Game 2 win and they win again at home to really put the Twins under the pump.

Game 4 is a beauty, with the lead changing a number of times but the Sox put them away 6-5 and progress to another appearance at the Big Dance.

Jim Rice is named MVP.




National League
Houston Astros (95-67) v Pittsburgh Pirates (94-67)

That spiffing final spurt of wins not only got us here but almost pinched home-field advantage, but we missed by a game and can add it to the list of challenges we face against this fine Astros group.

We’ve kept Lee Lacy in the squad so he can come straight back in as soon as the medics clear him to, with Derrell Thomas the starting 2B until that happens.

We lose the opener as the Astros grind Candy down and go on to win it 5-2 with the bats ineffectual but bounce back strongly to take out Game 2 by 8 to 2 behind a dominant Ron Guidry.

Back in Pittsburgh now, Reuss is a bit wobbly early on but settles down and pitches a fine game as we finish over the top of them for a 7-2 final, with Garner’s 3 hits including a double and a 3-run homer leading the way on offence and Oliver also cracking a 3-run jack.

Young Ed Whitson gets the biggest assignment of his career to date in Game 4 against impressive second-year player Mike Parrott. They pitch like two grizzled veterans with it tied 1-1 thru 5 but then we break it open thanks to a 4-run 6th with a 3-run bomb by Pops the big blow and book our spot in the WS with a fantastic 7-2 win.

Whitson goes the distance, while Pops has 2 homers for the game and drives in 5 but it is that man Garner who makes me look good by winning the MVP by hitting 412 for the series.

[luckymann]

Boston Red Sox v Pittsburgh Pirates
Best-of-seven, Red Sox with the home-field advantage.


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And so, somewhat unexpectedly if I’m being totally honest, the two most successful MLB clubs, with 65 Pennants and 37 Championships between them, get to add another chapter to the game’s most storied rivalry.

Our presence is to me the more unlikely of the two. As I’ve said plenty of times we just haven’t looked the goods at any stage of the season other than the very end—which really, as long as you’re in the mix, is the most important time of any.

We’ll miss Kong’s big bat off the bench but I think we’ve got the guys to at least partway deaden the impact and, for mine, Jerry Reuss is one of the keys. If he can keep his good form going and the others hold theirs then we’re right in this. He’ll be on the hill if it goes the distance, as well, and it would be at Fenway—a big ask in all regards.

But to think that far ahead is getting ahead of ourselves. Given all the history between the clubs, I don’t think there is any chance of our guys doing that or underestimating theirs. They seem ready for the anticipated long series and more focused than at any point in the season so far.

We are family!

[luckymann]

Game 1 in Boston

Rudy May (15-9, 3.78) v Ron Guidry (19-7, 3.12)

Lee Lacy is back and, while he’s still a week away from returning, Dave Kingman has completed his IL stint and so we’ve included him in the squad just in case he can be used if it goes the distance – especially with those final two games set to feature the DH. Bill Robinson will take that role until then.

Ron Guidry gets first crack at them, taking on crafty veteran and fellow southpaw Rudy May. Be nice to take one of these first two at the Fen, at least.

It doesn’t happen here, as we lose 8-6 in a messy game in which the lead changes throughout. May is the better of the two pitchers but it is the offences’ day, with Jim Rice the eventual difference.

Game 2 in Boston

Ron Reed (16-12, 3.26) v John Candelaria (14-11, 2.98)

Red Sox lead series 1-0

Another experienced campaigner going for them in Ron Reed and it’s up to Candy to get us back on level terms.

No dice again, as Candy does his bit but Reed is better and they lead from start to finish for a 3-2 final. Reed goes the full distance for the win and we head home with a lot of work to do.

Game 3 in Pittsburgh

Jerry Reuss (9-3, 2.40) v Lynn McGlothen (17-10, 4.25)

Red Sox lead series 2-0

My earlier comments about Jerry notwithstanding, this was always the big concern for us in this series with the two road games kicking off proceedings. Now it is up to the lower half of our rotation to keep us alive, and that could clearly go either way. We haven’t played badly so far, just not as well as our opponents, but our room for erroe is almost nonexistent from this point on. Righty Lynn McGlothen going for them and, while he’s not considered anywhere near elite, neither is he a pushover.

It's another messy one and, unfortunately, another loss for us to put us in a deep, deep hole. They have so many big bats and today it was Dewey Evans’ turn to shine, going 3-for-5 and knocking in 2. The bats try hard, getting us briefly back to 5-5 after we fall behind early, but they hammer away at us as Tekulve struggles for a second straight game and they take it out 8-5 with a couple late scores.

Game 4 in Pittsburgh

Ed Whitson (12-10, 3.46) v Brian Kingman (16-7, 4.01)

Red Sox lead series 3-0

You always go into these series aware of the possibilty of coming out on the losing side, but to be swept would be unfathomable. Ed Whitson stands in the way of us being so, with Brian Kingman endeavouring to turn that into a harsh reality. The long road back starts with just one win.

We get it, but only just as the Red Sox keep at us the whole way through after we take an early lead. Gene Tenace nearly single-handedly seals it for them but our BP holds fast and we get a tough 5-4 victory.

Game 5 in Pittsburgh

Ron Guidry (1-0, 4.20) v Rudy May (0-1, 3.55)

Red Sox lead series 3-1

Our final home game for the season, but will it be our final game? If Ron Guidry can just give us one of his specials then we’ll take this series back to Boston with some momentum having been regained. Another one like the opening game and we are surely toast.

Well it ain’t pretty, but once again we get past them to keep the contest going. Guidry struggles again, giving 3 runs back in the top 8th after we break it open with a 5-spot the previous frame as Parker puts one in the seats with a couple on. The value of Gossage shines through as he closes it out for a 7-5 final.

Where there’s light, there’s hope.

Game 6 in Boston

Ron Reed (2-0, 2.30) v John Candelaria (0-2, 4.91)

Red Sox lead series 3-2

We deploy Kong at DH after he gets the all-clear to play, but Lee Lacy is banged up again and we decide to go with Derrell Thomas at 2B instead. A huge chance for Candy to make up for what has been a poor post-season, but Reed is in top form and will once again be tough to get past. Pops has been very quiet and we need him to turn it around if we are to do so.

It isn’t to be as our season comes to an end in appropriately wild fashion in a game that will get plenty of airtime on the highlight reels for years to come.

They get to Candy early with a 4-run 2nd but the bats explode with 8 over the next three frames and it looks like we are off to the races. Sadly, it just isn’t Candy’s year and he is chased in the 5th as they pile on 7 runs to take an 11-8 lead going into the 7th.

We somehow climb up off the canvas and have it back to 11 by the middle 8th, only for Andy Hassler to give up the lead and this time they make no mistake, with Montgomery closing it out for a 12-11 final.

Look, I’ve said it ad nauseam this year, we just weren’t our usual ruthless selves all season and that’s how we played here. Congratulations to the Sox, who thoroughly outplayed us in a series that was never as close as it might look in the box scores. Sometimes, family simply isn’t enough.

Dwight Evans is named MVP.

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