Whirled Ball: The Way Baseball Never Was

[Makonnen]

July 10th

Looking Back at the All Star Trades

We're a month(ish) on from the all-star break, seemed a good time to look back at the trades and see how they are working out in the early days.

Boom Shaka Laka

The Los Angeles Angels and the Ottawa Mounties swapped 8 players, with early returns making the Angels--by far--the winner in the exchange as veteran 1B Carlos Delgado is slashing 344/400/547 since the trade, providing what may be the final piece to the Angels' puzzle. While Rusty Staub has done OK for Ottawa, none of the rest of the pieces have shown much at all. Wally Moon, who the Angels picked up from San Francisco, has been impressive as well, slashing 354/458/458 since the break. Two of the pieces the Angels gave up for Moon--C Brian Downing and P Dave LaRoche--have done well for San Francisco (Downing at AAA, LaRoche with the Sea Lions themselves), so this deal may work out for both sides.

Encouraging

The New York Gothams gave up a haul for Don Sutton, and so far it looks OK: Sutton looks to join the Gothams' rotation shortly, posting a 2.70 ERA in 8 relief appearances. For Brooklyn, two of the prospects received are doing quite well: OF Don Mueller is slashing 387/395/653 and P Lew Krausse, Jr. has started his career with his new organization with some strong outings on the mound.

All-Star Ron Reed has just continued his strong year having moved from Philadelphia to Cleveland, with an ERA of 0.75 over his first half-dozen games with the Spiders. Even more importantly for Cleveland's playoff push, OF Lance Berkman looks to have blossomed with the change in scenery, slashing 276/417/500 with 4 HRs since coming over from Houston--a jump of of over 200 points to his OPS. The Spiders gave up 7 players across those 2 deals, none of which have earned significant playing time with their new clubs, although both Jap Payne (sent to Philadelphia) and Harry Stovey (to Houston as part of the Berkman deal) have hit well in limited appearances).

The Chicago American Giants brought in 4 pitchers, with encouraging returns from Dick Rudolph (acquired from Miami) and Hoyt Wilhelm (from Birmingham). The best prospect the American Giants gave up--Minnie Miñoso to the Cuban Giants--has been injured, so the jury is still out on this deal in general, but it looks alright so far, even if Don Newcombe has struggled mightily, and may have been overvalued at the trade deadline. Perhaps as importantly, the American Giants seem to have solved their SS question, as all-star Freddy Parent has continued his strong form since joining them from Ottawa.

Birmingham's fire sale went well. We'll cover some of those below, but both Curt Flood and Manny Trillo--picked up in the trade of Frank Isbell (who has been alright) to Brooklyn--are both tearing up AAA.

Meh

The Baltimore Black Sox have to be pleased with Manny Machado's performance so far, as he's slotted quite comfortably as their everyday 3B. But the Miami Cuban Giants can't really complain, as they aren't going to compete for a while and Joe Dugan is tearing up AAA while Chris Hoiles has established himself as a C at the big league level. The Black Sox also brought in Joe Beggs from Memphis to solidify the end of their bullpen. Results have been mixed so far.

Memphis' fan base was quite critical of a few of their moves, and Roger Clemens' short-term success in Houston has only increased their fury. But Stubby Overmire has added some depth to their staff and perhaps more importantly, 2B DJ LeMahieu and P Jim Kaat look to be strong prospects for Memphis' future.

Disappointing

Portland hoped picking up Rogers Hornsby from Kansas City would spark their offense for a playoff push, and while he's better than Greg Litton, his .648 OPS is actually pretty Littonish, and a far cry from his .853 mark over the first half of the season.

Tim Hudson was supposed to solidify San Francisco's rotation, but was roughed up in his first few starts. While he's shown signs of coming around, the 36 year old is only 1-3 with an ERA north of 5 since his move to the Left Coast. Rube Melton, one of the pieces the Sea Lions gave up for Hudson, has excelled at AAA for Birmingham, and looks to be a nice pickup for the Black Barons.

Another one who took a bit to find his footing, Tom Herr, is finally showing some life for the New York Black Yankees. Still, a 228/267/298 slash is not what the New York faithful had hoped to see from their All-Star acquisition. The Black Yankees' other significant acquisitions--Jamie Moyer and Gary Lavelle--have struggled as well, although Lavelle has been installed as their closer, which is more a comment on the other options than a compliment to him. Several of the prospects they gave up--Bill Buckner and Charlie Keller for Birmingham and Dick Bartell and Sam Thompson for Ottawa--are performing very well for their new organizations, so these trades may come back to haunt New York.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Reggie Jackson's triple crown hunt is back on! And Babe Ruth's dominance just continues unabated.

Dick Allen (CAG). 298/368/550. 9 3B.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 335/410/646. 1.056 OPS. 26 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 295/362/480. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 336/379/533.
Eric Davis (NYY). 277/337/528. 4.1 WAR.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/441/539.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 253/389/342. 67 BB, 64SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 301/370/582. 26 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 337/449/610. 1.059 OPS.
Willie Mays (NYG). 316/373/523. 112 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 331/390/585. 115 H, 31 2B.
Doug Radar (LAA). 316/373/523. 112 H, 88 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/454. 66 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 314/424/656. 1.080 OPS. 29 HR, 88 RBI, 73 R, 66 BB, 5.0 WAR.
Mike Trout (LAA). 318/390/455. 112 H.

Pitchers

It's just all over the place, once you move past the dominant performances by Ned Garvin (BAL) and Gerrit Cole (LAA).

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 9-2, 3.29.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-3, 3.66. 128 IP.
Gene Conley (CLE). 10-2, 3.17.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.84. 135 K.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.15. 135 K.
Waite Hoyt (NYY). 8-2, 3.29. 1.15 WHIP.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.60. 3.2 WAR.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.96.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Red Ruffing (NYY). 10-4, 3.55.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.84. 129 IP.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.23. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.67. 23 Sv.
Ken Howell (SFS). 3-3, 1.14. 3 Sv, 7 H.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (CLE). 0-2, 2.26. 3 Sv, 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.58. 12 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.24. 4 Sv, 12 H.
Billy Wagner (HOU). 0-2, 3.63. 11 Sv, 2 H, 0.90 WHIP.

Streaks

Not a lot of interesting active streaks. Brooklyn's Beals Becker--who has the league record for consecutive games with a HR with 5--has a 25 game streak of getting on base. It's no Thurman Munson, but it's something. Becker is slashing 382/432/853 over his last 10 games. Gary Pettis, once considered a liability at the plate, is slashing 600/667/1050 over his last 15 games (because of Pettis' utility as a defensive replacement, those 15 games cover only 24 ABs).

Christy Mathewson (NYG) hasn't allowed a hit in over 8 innings.

Baltimore's entire staff is on fire: Bill Byrd, Ned Garvin, Sean Marshall, Mike Mussina, and Jim Palmer are all on hot streaks on the mound. The most impressive is Byrd, who has a 1.07 WHIP and 2.38 ERA over his last 10 games.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Cleveland over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIII

Baltimore over Brooklyn
Birmingham over Los Angeles
Houston over Chicago
Detroit over Portland
Kansas City over Philadelphia
New York Black Yankees over Ottawa

Splitting Series XXIII

Homestead @ San Francisco
House of David @ Memphis
Miami @ New York Gothams

[Makonnen]

#Detroit Wolverines

3 hits from Ty Cobb, including his 11th homerun of the year, led Detroit to a 4-0 win over Portland. Johnny Marcum and Mike Henneman combined on the 6-hit shutout, with Marcum moving to 8-2 on the year.

Another combined shutout would close out the series as Gene Conley continued his dominance, moving to 10-2 on the year with 7 strong innings. Buddy Napier and John Hiller helped to close out the 7-0 victory. Bill Carrigan had 3 hits and drove in 3 for the Wolverines and Robby Thompson added his 2nd homerun of the year.

#Los Angeles Angels

Anthony Young was sent to AAA, with Mike Smith being recalled for a start.

The Angels trailed 2-0 late, but a Mike Trout homerun in the 8th and George Wright's 12th of the year in the top of the 9th sent LA past the House of David 3-2. Pud Galvin got the win in a game that saw another impressive start--6 shutout innings--from Nolan Ryan.

#Memphis Red Sox

Francisco Lindor's first career homerun was one to remember: a walkoff blast in the bottom of the 11th, giving Memphis a 6-5 victory over the House of David. Wade Boggs had 3 hits for the Red Sox, including the game-tying single in the bottom of the 9th. Norwood Gibson and Heath Bell combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief, with Bell improving to 7-3 on the year.

#New York Gothams

Pete Donohue moved to 4-0 on the year with just over 7 scoreless innings in a 3-1 win over Houston. Mike Norris picked up his 10th hold and Brian Wilson closed with his 17th save despite giving up a run in the 9th. Buster Posey and Eugenio Suárez had 3 hits each for New York.

#Wandering House of David

The House of David has finally given up on Rollie Fingers for a while, sending the reliever to AAA and recalling Kerry Wood to the WBL for a debut start. In a somewhat surprising move, 27 year old Mark Grace was waived to make room for Wood. Grace, essentially the starting 1B for most of the season, managed only a 236/312/339 slash line. Fred Lynn was sent to AAA, with Jim Edmonds returning to the House of David, presumably because of his ability to also fill in at 1B behind the new starter, Anthony Rizzo.

Early returns were positive: Wood threw a strong 6 innings, with the starter he replaced--Bob Rush--adding a scoreless final 3 for his first save of the year and Rizzo hit his 6th homerun (in 32 ABs) of the season in a 7-2 win for the House of David.

Phil Regan was waived, with Eddie Rommel being recalled for an emergency start, which went fantastically: Rommel allowed 4 hits and no earned runs in 6 innings in a 12 to 2 drubbing of Memphis. Dan Ford and Ron Santo each had 3 hits including a homerun with Santo driving in 4 on the day.

[Makonnen]

#Baltimore Black Sox

Ned Garvin continues to be essentially unhittable, allowing 1 unearned run in over 6 innings of work, increasing his record to 8-3 on a 4-1 win over Brooklyn. Manny Machado had 3 hits and Don Bessent picked up his 14th save.

#Houston Colt 45's

Casey Stengel heads to the DL after spraining his elbow diving for a ball in the series opener against Chicago. Hunter Pence was recalled from AAA San Antonio to take his place on the roster.

It was worse news for Bret Saberhagen, as a partially torn labrum will end the RHPs season. Dock Ellis will return to Houston, attempting to improve on his rough showing earlier in the season.

Andrés Galarraga delivered the first 3 hits of his WBL career including a 3-run homerun to help the Colt 45's to an 11-5 win in game 3 of their series against Chicago. HR Johnson, George Brett, and Pete Hill also chipped in 3 hits and Stephen Strasburg tossed 6 strong innings to improve his record to 6-5.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Willie McGee and Boog Powell combined for 6 hits, 6 runs, and 7 RBIs in a 16-7 win for the Monarchs over Philadelphia. The win went to Andy Pettitte, who moved to 6-4 with 6 strong innings.

#Ottawa Mounties

Gary Peters will miss about 2 weeks, prompting the Mounties to recall P Clark Griffith from Ottawa while Peters heads to the DL.

There is some cause for hope on the year-long project that is Randy Johnson. The Big Unit put in his best performance of the year with 5 shutout innings against the Black Yankees. Unfortunately, the Mounties' bullpen couldn't hold an early 1-0 lead, and Ottawa dropped the game, 5-3.

[Makonnen]

#Cleveland Spiders

Stan Coveleski moved to 9-2 with over 6 innings of scoreless ball as the Grays beat the ABC's 6-1. Ron Blomberg homered twice, giving him 26 for the season and Jake Stahl added 3 hits.

#Homestead Grays

Hal Carlson, Ray Brown, and Frank Linzy allowed 1 hit each, and Michael Jackson pitched a perfect 9th to earn his 6th save. Carlson moved to 5-3 in the 4-3 victory over San Francisco in which Andy Van Slyke had 3 hits.

Where has this pitching been all year? The Grays lost Earl Hamilton for 6 weeks, but he, Carlos Zambrano, Josh Lindblom, and Jackson combined to allow only 3 hits in a 2-1 win over the Sea Lions. The win went to Lindblom, now 1-4, and Jackson picked up save number 7. Chief Wilson broke a 1-1 deadlock with his 6th homerun of the year, a solo shot in the top of the 9th.

Van Slyke had 5 hits to fuel an impressive comeback by the Grays that fell just short, as they fell to the Sea Lions 10-9 in the series closer, despite trailing 9-1 heading into the 7th inning. Mike Epstein drove in 5, and Bob Friend put in nearly 5 innings of solid relief after Francisco Liriano was rocked as the starter. Liriano didn't make it out of the 2nd inning, falling to 5-4 on the season.

#Indianapolis ABC's

Joe Morgan is back on the DL, pulling a hamstring while legging out a triple in a 6-1 loss to Cleveland. Doc Hoblitzell was called up from AAA.

#New York Black Yankees

Ron Guidry put in his best work in a while, allowing 1 earned run in 7 innings against Ottawa. Guidry wasn't part of the decision, as Ralph Citarella surrendered the lead before the Black Yankees came back for the victory. Gary Lavelle, elevated to closer earlier in the day, picked up his first save for New York.

[Makonnen]

#Birmingham Black Barons

Birmingham recalled Gene Tenace from his rehab assignment, sending Earl Battey to AAA.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Frank Isbell will miss about a week with an elbow injury, prompting a trip to the DL with Art Griggs getting called up to the WBL for the first time. After the series, both Davey Lopes and Michael Brantley headed down to AAA, with Ray Dandridge and Trevor Hildenberger joining Brooklyn.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Wade Miller moved to 8-0 on the season in a 15-2 trouncing of Detroit. The top of the lineup--Gary Pettis, Iván Rodríguez, and Kent Hrbek--went 9-for-16 in the game and Gil Hodges drove in 5 and Buddy Bell 4. Heck, even Greg Litton chipped in 2 hits.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

San Francisco is so happy to have Dick Lundy back ... Lundy and Rickey Henderson combined to steal 5 bases and Bob Cerv added 3 hits as the Sea Lions beat the Grays 10-9. Tim Hudson finally turned in a quality start for his new team, winning his first game as a Sea Lion, despite the best efforts of relivers Tommy Bridges, Chad Bradford, and Dave LaRoche to give the game away. That trio gave up 7 runs in 1 1/3 innings, but Ron Robinson and Rod Beck were able to close it out, with Beck picking up his 19th save of the season.

[Makonnen]

Two teams struggling to impress ... we last saw Memphis in Series XIII and Series III while Ottawa was featured in Series XII and Series VII.

#Memphis Red Sox

Memphis is 20 games below .500, languishing in last place in the Bill James Division, 15 games behind the leaders. So, yeah, this year is pretty much done.

As a team, Memphis does nothing well. Well, other than run the bases. They do that well. For all it matters. Individually, however, there are at least some signs of life.

The class of the team is clearly Reggie Smith, who is slashing 310/379/537 and playing strong defense in CF. Ted Williams (259/345/500) has slumped over the past few months, but leads the team in HR (18) and RBI (65). And ... that's it. Claude Ritchey and Wade Boggs get on base a bit, Bill White has some power ... but, yeah. If there are some disappointments here, they are OFs Mookie Betts and Manny Ramírez, both of whom are stuck with OPS' in the low 700s.

Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) has been their best starter, although Len Barker's return from injury is encouraging. Barker has a 3.31 ERA, but is still looking to establish himself as a starter. The bullpen is suspect, with closer Jonathan Papelbon struggling of late although he still leads the team in saves with 7.

#Ottawa Mounties

The Mounties are 14 games behind in the Cum Posey Division, so while they have a better record than Memphis (43 wins to 37), they are really in similar positions. But, somehow, Ottawa is just a little more intriguing--perhaps due to a near constant player churn that is generating some interesting questions. First, though, an overview.

The Mounties' best players, by some distance, are Tim Raines (298/373/454 with a league-leading 66 SB) and Larry Walker (287/373/581). Walker has struggled to stay healthy, playing in only 34 games so far, but he is still tied for the team league in homeruns with 10 (along with Raines and Gary Carter, who also leads in RBIs with 40).

Carter has been on a tear recently, validating the Mounties' choice to make him their everyday catcher. The team has a challenge with what to do with Roberto Alomar, who has started his WBL career at a 308/357/442 clip, and may push Raines into LF fulltime. Finally, while not as impressive as Carter's run, SS Álex Rodriguez has raised his OPS about 100 points over the last few weeks.

The Mounties' pitching corps seems to be in continual disarray, but one constant has been Old Hoss Radbourn, who is 7.7 with a 3.99 ERA. Jim Clancy and Monk Dubiel have been solid as well, and Clayton Richard's return from the DL could even give them an adequate top 4 hurlers. The challenge is, and then what? Ryan Dempster seems to be moving into the role of closer, but getting to him is a challenge. Greg Holland was absolutely torched earlier in the season, but is doing better having been recalled.

And then there is Randy Johnson, whose overall numbers are still pretty ugly, but has dropped his ERA by 2 1/2 runs since returning to the WBL in late June.

#Pitching Matchups (Memphis starter listed first)

Tim Wakefield (3-6, 5.44) @ Jim Clancy (5-4, 4.52)
Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) @ Johnny Podgajny (1-2, 4.68)
Stubby Overmire (3-5, 3.79) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (7-7, 3.99)
Dean Chance (6-7, 4.24) @ Joe Mays (1-1, 5.52)

#Series Predictions

A split. I would root for Ottawa, but there's so little to choose from between these two, gotta' go for the split. The Overmire - Radbourn matchup is the most interesting.

{ And with that, I wish everyone a fantastic end of the year. I'll be back in 2023! }

[Makonnen]

The theme this time out is surprising bullpen collapses, as a range of usually dependable closers struggled to hold on to victories.

New York Black Yankees @ Homestead Grays, Game 2.

As the game began, the Black Yankees were encouraged by Ron Guidry's return to form, allowing only 3 hits--although 2 runs--in 5 innings of work. But Homestead's Stan Bahnsen was almost as good, settling down after giving up Mickey Mantle's 16th homerun of the year in the first inning. Bahnsen was chased from the game in the 6th, as consecutive singles from Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Eric Davis put the Black Yankees up by 1. An inning later, a sacrifice fly by Don Mattingly made it 4-2, with the Black Yankees looking safe to take their expected victory ... but then New York's weakness showed up big time, as Sparky Lyle imploded in the 8th, giving up 2 run single to Pops Stargell (his 3rd hit of the day) to tie the game. Ralph Citarella pitched OK, but was saddled with the loss when midseason acquisition Gary Lavelle--sporting a gaudy 9.39 ERA since joining New York--gave up the game-winning single to Mike Epstein for a 5-4 win for the Grays.

NYY 4 (Citarella 2-5; Moyer 2 H; Lyle 4 B Sv) @ HOM 5 (Lindblom 2-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYY - Mantle (16).
Box Score

Los Angeles Angels @ Wandering House of David, Game 3

Tom Seaver had been rocked in his first few appearances, but here the 22 year old showed some of his promise, allowing 2 runs in the first and nothing thereafter over 5-plus innings. Doug Radar drove in 2 with a homerun in the 3rd and another with a single in the 5th as the Angels held a 4-2 lead. Solid relief work from Jonny Venters and Pud Galvin took the game to Los Angeles' closer, Joe Nathan, who got 2 quick outs before a single from Richie Hebner setup a 2 run, game-tying homerun from Jim Edmonds. Hebner would win the game for the House of David in the bottom of the 11th with a solo shot, his 9th of the season. Mike Trout had 3 hits in the Angels' losing effort.

LAA 4 (Rodríguez 3-1; Nathan 7 B Sv; Galvin 2 H; Venters 13 H) @ HOD 5 (Rommel 2-0) [11 Innings]
HRs: LAA - Radar (14); HOD - Edmonds (3), Hebner (9).
Box Score

New York Gothams @ Houston Colt 45's, Game 4

This one was a great pitching duel with the Gotham's Christy Mathewson and Houston's Stephen Strasburg matching arms through 6 innings. Before leaving with an injury, Strasburg's only blemish was a solo homerun by Willie Mays in the 1st inning while Matty sailed along until the bottom of the 5th when Houston picked up 2 runs, one on a Craig Biggio double, the other an RBI groundout from HR Johnson. The Colt 45's 2-1 lead held until the top of the 9th, when their closer, Billy Wagner, came in the game. Wagner gave up a 2-out double to Eugenio Suárez, scoring Yasiel Puig and tying the game. New York's Mike Norris--fantastic all season--was asked to stretch beyond his usual single inning, allowing a leadoff triple to Johnson in the bottom of the 10th. After 2 intentional walks to load the bases, Norris gave up a single to George Brett (his 3rd hit of the day), winning the game for Houston. Jimmy Sheckard had 4 hits for New York in the contest.

NYG 2 (Norris 3-2) @ HOU 3 (Ely 1-0; Wagner 5 B Sv; Hoffman 5 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYG - Mays (16).
Box Score

Chicago American Giants @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago, with Jackson hitting his 21st long ball of the year, but it wasn't enough as Detroit used Oscar Gamble's 21st dinger to stay in the game, winning it in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch from the usually reliable Hoyt Wilhelm.

CAG 4 (Wilhelm 2-2) @ DET 5 (Hart 3-3; Hiller 1 B Sv)
HRs: CAG - Jackson (21); DET - Gamble (21).
Box Score

[Makonnen]

Series Preview here.

Game 1: Tim Wakefield @ Jim Clancy

Claude Ritchey has been quite a find for Memphis, posting on OPS over .800 since taking over at 2B earlier in the season. He opened the scoring in this game with a long homerun in the top of the 2nd inning. Francisco Lindor singled home a 2nd run, a 3rd scored on a wild pitch from Jim Clancy, and Lindor was plated on a single by Reggie Smith, making it 4-0 and chasing Clancy from the game.

Tim Wakefield was pitching well, allowing only 3 hits through 4 innings until Álex Rodríguez took him deep in the fifth. He would last until Tim Raines singled home Ottawa's second run in the bottom of the 7th. Eddie Cicotte relieved Wakefield with Memphis up 6-2.

Which is how it ended. The game was more a failure of Ottawa to get the timely hits, as the Mounties finished with 11 hits, leaving 10 runners on base.

Wade Boggs and David Justice had 3 hits each for Memphis while Rains had 3 for Ottawa.

MEM 6 (Wakefield 4-6) @ OTT 3 (Clancy 5-5)
HRs: MEM - Ritchey (6); OTT - Rodríguez (9).
Box Score

Game 2: Jon Lester @ Clark Griffith

With scheduled starter Johnny Podgajny not quite ready, Ottawa turned to Clark Griffith in game 2, facing off against Memphis' Jon Lester. Griffith has struggled mightily in several stints with Ottawa, sporting an ERA north of 8.00.

It was, however, Ottawa that scored first, with Rusty Staub scoring on a groundout by George Van Haltren. Van Haltren and Carlos Beltrán (who had doubled) came home on a single by Tim Raines. Raines stole second and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a single from Larry Walker. Then, Walker and Larry Parrish scored on a homerun from Gary Carter, making it 7-0 and chasing Lester from the mound.

Griffith, meanwhile, had a shutout through 6, only faltering in the 7th when a Ted Williams single brought home the Red Sox's first run. Bill White would plate another on a groundout, but Memphis still trailed, 7-2.

A Mookie Betts triple scored Williams, making it 7-3, but that was it, and the series was even at a win apiece. Griffith lowered his ERA by nearly a full run with the victory.

MEM 3 (Lester 8-9) @ OTT 7 (Griffith 2-5)
HRs: OTT - Carter (11).
Box Score

Game 3: Stubby Overmire @ Johnny Podgajny

Game 3 would pit Memphis' Stubby Overmire against Ottawa's Johnny Podgajny (now fully rested), with Overmire still looking to show his new club something after his acquisition from Houston over the all-star break.

Two errors by Memphis (one by Wade Boggs, the other by Billy Bryan) loaded the bases in the bottom of the 2nd, but Overmire induced a double-play from Jim Stephens. It scored a run, but the damage was far less than it could have been.

Boggs would get the Red Sox's first hit in the top of the 4th, but was left stranded.

Overmire looked good until, with 2 outs in the 4th and 2 runners on base, Carlos Beltrán took a delivery deep into the stands for the first homerun of his career, extending Ottawa's lead to 4-0. The pitching duel was evidently over, as Podgajny surrendered 3 consecutive hits to start the 5th, including an RBI double from Vern Stephens that drove in Memphis' first run. Ivan DeJesus plated another with a sacrifice fly, and Reggie Smith chased Podgajny from the game with an RBI double.

Boggs greeted Monk Dubiel with an RBI single, and Memphis ended the 5th having come all the way back to tie the game at 4.

Two hits in the bottom of the frame--Álex Rodríguez' 3rd of the game, and a single by Roy Sievers--chased Overmire. Eddie Cicotte looked to have gotten out of the inning, but Rusty Staub beat out a slow roller for an infield hit, giving the lead back to the Mounties. Beltrán would extend it to 6-4 with his second homerun of the game.

Bill White would get one back, but Ottawa's bullpen held on for the 6-5 win. Beltrán finished with 4 RBIs, and Rodríguez with 3 hits.

MEM 5 (Overmire 1-3) @ OTT 6 (Dubiel 3-2; Bowsfield 2 Sv; Leroux 3 H)
HRs: OTT - Beltrán 2 (2).
Box Score

Game 4: Dean Chance @ Old Hoss Radbourn

Ottawa will turn to one of the hottest pitchers in the league, Old Hoss Radbourn, in an attempt to win the series, while Memphis will hope Dean Chance can even it out at 2 games apiece.

Memphis draws first blood as Francisco Lindor delivered a 2-run double with 2 outs in the top of the second, and Reggie Smith added a 2-run single in the 4th. Lindor's 3rd hit of the game--a single with 1 out in the top of the 6th--chased Radbourn from the game.

Meanwhile, Chance was sailing along, allowing only 1 hit through 5 innings. The 6th was rockier, but Chance preserved the shutout with Memphis ahead 4-0. He lasted until there were 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th, when Heath Bell was brought in with runners on 1st and 3rd. Bell got a groundout to end the inning.

Ottawa has to be encouraged by the recent outings from Randy Johnson: the big lefthander brought his ERA under 6 with 2.2 innings of hitless relief. The story has been less positive for Greg Holland, who gave up 2 runs in the 9th, extending the lead for the Red Sox to 6-0.

This was probably Chance's best start of the year, combining with Bell on the 3-hit shutout.

MEM 6 (Chance 7-7; Bell 1 Sv) @ OTT 0 (Radbourn 7-8)
HRs: none.
Box Score

#Series Notes

The split has to be a bit of a disappointment to both teams, given how the series played out.

For Memphis, Wade Boggs went 7-13 and, most surprisingly, Francisco Lindor had 5 hits in his 8 at-bats in his 2 starts. Nobody for Ottawa had more than 4 hits over the 4 games ... so, yeah.

[Makonnen]

July 14th

Early Pennant Race Update

Look, it's July. Not even late July. Mid July. It's far too soon to talk pennant races, right?

Never.

Bill James Division

The Detroit Wolverines and the New York Gothams are neck and neck, separated by a single game. Both the Wandering House of David and the Los Angeles Angels are close enough--5 games back--to make a move, but they can't let too much more separation occur between them and the league leaders.

Cum Posey Division

The Baltimore Black Sox--with the best record in baseball--just can't shake the Chicago American Giants, who are 5 games back. The rest of the division would need to make a significant move to change this from a two team race, with the Houston Colt 45's--9 games back--the closest.

Effa Manley Division

The Cleveland Spiders are writing a great story, having overtaken the dominant favorite New York Black Yankees, who they now lead by 3.5 games. Everyone expects the Black Yankees to catch up, but they also never expected Cleveland to be where they are. The Indianapolis ABC's sit 8.5 games back.

Marvin Miller Division

The Portland Sea Dogs leads the division by 5.5 games, but the story here is really the sudden resurgence of the Birmingham Black Barons, who have ridden a great streak to pull within 5.5 games. The Brooklyn Royal Giants sit 7 games back.

Performance

As usual, top 2 performers in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

Batters

Everything is tightening up: 6 batters sit between .336 and .339 for the league lead in BA, but the Black Yankees' Babe Ruth continues to be the dominant offensive force in the league. It's still a long list, though.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/374/557. 9 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 301/420/585. 4.5 WAR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 289/361/469. 34 2B.
Willie Davis (PHI). 283/336/509. 9 3B.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 336/439/544.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 257/394/351. 72 BB; 64 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 308/375/593. 27 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 339/422/598. 74 R.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 339/410/646. 27 HR.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 336/447/610.
Willie Mays (NYG). 325/382/536. 119 H.
Stan Musial (KCM). 337/396/591. 121 H; 34 2B.
Doug Radar (LAA). 325/378/542. 92 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 298/373/447. 69 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 321/431/659. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 78 R; 69 BB; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 311/345/467. 9 3B.

Pitchers

There are 5 other pitchers tied with Bill Byrd with 10 victories; other than that the top 3 in each category are listed with the league leader in bold. No idea why Alejandro Peña is so highly rated in WAR.

Starters

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.20. 1.19 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.03.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 8-3, 2.64. 1.14 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 9-6, 3.86. 142 SO.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 4.13. 138 SO.
Roy Halladay (OTT). 3-9, 4.13. 1.19 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 8-3, 3.57. 3.4 WAR.
Johnny Marcum (DET). 9-2, 3.33.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 10-6, 3.91.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.77. 3.5 WAR.
Jack Scott (NYY). 10-4, 4.10.
Cy Young (CLE). 8-4, 3.81. 3.2 WAR.

Relievers

20 IP minimum for rate stats. Top 2, leaders in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.60. 23 Sv.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.54. 24 Sv.
Trevor Hildenberger (BRK). 3-0, 2.18. 0.92 WHIP.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.08. 16 Sv, 0.88 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI). 0-3, 2.52. 16 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.15. 13 H.
Brian Wilson (NYG). 1-0, 1.23. 18 Sv.

Streaks

There are 4 active on-base streaks of note, led by Brooklyn's Beals Becker (30 games). Iván Rodríguez (POR, 27 G), Don Buford (LAA, 26), and Boog Powell (KAN, 25) are also live. Not much else: George Stone of the Wandering House of David has delivered 4 straight pinch-hits.

Series Results

Series XXIII Sweeps

Kansas City Monarchs over San Francisco Sea Lions

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXIV

Indianapolis over Brooklyn
Detroit over Chicago
Homestead Grays over New York Black Yankees
House of David over Los Angeles
Portland over Philadelphia Stars

Splitting Series XXIV

Baltimore @ Miami Cuban Giants
Cleveland @ Birmingham
New York Gothams @ Houston
Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

[Makonnen]

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bill Byrd improved to 10-2 on the year, allowing 1 run in 6 innings in a 6-5 win over Miami. Bryce Harper had 3 hits for Baltimore, and the bullpen did barely enough to hold onto the victory.

Dennis Martínez joined Byrd as a 10 game winner, carrying a no-hitter through 6 innings in an 8-2 victory. Bobby Wallace had 3 hits and Frank Robinson drove in 3 runs for the Black Sox.

Looking to strengthen their bench, the Black Sox recalled Brooks Robinson from AAA, where he seems to have found his stroke, sending Cal Ripken, Jr. down.

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago pounded out 20 hits and 15 runs in demolishing Detroit, 15-1. Dick Allen, Duffy Lewis, Magglio Ordóñez, and Cristóbal Torriente each had 3 hits, with Ordóñez scoring 3 times and Allen driving in 5 (4 coming on a grandslam). Mike Fiore had 2 homeruns, and Jack Doyle went deep as well. Dick Rudolph went to 3-1 on the year with a strong 6 innings before exiting the game after a short rain delay.

Hoyt Wilhelm hurt his thumb and will be out for at least 10 days, with Scott Radinsky recalled to take his place.

#Houston Colt 45's

With Bret Saberhagen out for the year, Bones Ely moves into the starting rotation for Houston.

#Kansas City Monarchs

With their season plummeting, the Monarchs sent Rube Marquard to AAA. Bob Gibson--11 years Marquard's junior--comes up from St. Louis and replaces him in the rotation.

#Ottawa Mounties

The struggle continues ... Greg Holland and Clark Griffith head to AAA, with Clayton Richard coming back from a rehab assignment and Steve Howe returning from Montréal. Richard rejoins the rotation, which remains a bit of a mess overall. Ryan Dempster has been officially named the Mounties' closer.

[Makonnen]

{ Yes, this is out of order--31.2 got published before 31.1 for those keeping score at home. }

#Detroit Wolverines

Six strong innings from Hal Newhouser led Detroit to a narrow 3-2 win over Chicago. 3 hits from Ty Cobb, including his 12th homerun of the year, helped Newhouser improve to 5-3, with John Hiller earning his 10th hold and Mike Henneman his 24th save.

Whitey Wilshire will miss a couple weeks with a shoulder injury. Mickey Lolich was recalled from AAA to take Wilshire's place, while 20 year old Al Kaline will get his first taste of the big leagues as the Wolverines sent Greg Brock to AAA.

#Los Angeles Angels

Five RBIs on two doubles and a homerun from Bobby Grich weren't enough, as the Angels fell to the House of David.

#New York Gothams

Don Sutton, impressive since his acquisition from Brooklyn at the all-star break, replaces the struggling Sad Sam Jones in the Gothams' rotation.

#Wandering House of David

Jack Taylor evened his record at 8-8 with 7 innings of shutout ball, combining with Scott Downs and Kerry Wood on the 5-hit shutout of Los Angeles. George Stone drove in 3 with 2 hits, including his 22nd homerun of the year and Richie Hebner went deep for the 8th time this season in the 8-0 victory.

Anthony Rizzo continues to impress: 3 hits raised his average to .340 in a 9-7 victory over Los Angeles. Rizzo is now officially the fulltime 1B, with Mark Grace being sent to AAA and Jung Ho Kang being recalled for another stint with the big league club.

[Makonnen]

#Cleveland Spiders

Pat Malone improved to 10-5 on the year, allowing 3 runs in just over 7 innings in a 4-3 win over Birmingham. Terry Adams earned his 23rd save in a game where Lance Berkman and Evan Longoria had 2 hits.

Longoria plays reasonable defense, but his struggles at the plate earned him a trip back to AAA, with Tris Speaker--injured since Spring Training, but slashing 295/392/636 at AAA on a rehab assignment--being recalled to backup Kenny Lofton in CF. There's more help at AAA, with both Larry Doby and Nap Lajoie blossoming since their early-season major league struggles.

#Homestead Grays

The Grays roared out to a 9-0 lead over the Black Yankees, then held on for dear life for a 12-9 victory. Andrew McCutcheon had 3 hits, including his 12th homerun of the year, and scored 4 runs. Rick Reichardt had 3 RBI's and Josh Gibson 3 hits in support of Vean Gregg, who pitched 6 solid innings for his 8th win of the year.

Hal Carlson and Frank Linzy combined to allow only 3 hits and 1 run in a 5-1 victory over the Black Yankees. Andy Van Slyke and Willie Stargell had 3 hits each, with Stargell and Chief Wilson driving in two in the Grays' victory.

Earl Hamilton was placed on the DL, and isn't expected back until late August. Bob Friend will move into the rotation as the Grays shake up a lot of their pitching, with Ray Brown and Linzy heading to AAA, replaced by Billy Pierce, Dave Giusti, and--after some waiver wire activity--Rick Ownbey.

#Indianapolis ABC's

Red Faber was sent down to AAA, with Virgil Trucks being recalled to the WBL. Trucks' stay lasted one poor start, replaced by Eppa Rixey, who was also immediately returned to AA with Paul Derringer coming up for a start.

Even with all that, the ABC's stick with a 6-man rotation--which boils down to a search each day for the most rested arm out of Dolf Luque, Rube Foster, Doc White, Johnny Cueto, David Price, and Willie Mitchell.

While Barry Larkin and Pete Rose are both struggling--neither have an OPS over .600--for now they both retain their MLB spots, although that should change when Oscar Charleston and Joe Morgan return from the injured list.

#New York Black Yankees

Babe Ruth closed out the series against Homestead with his league-leading 30th homerun of the year, as the Black Yankees hammered the Grays, 13-3. Ruth, Mickey Mantle, and Mike Schmidt had 3 hits each as Jack Scott improved to 10-4 with 7 solid innings of work.

The Black Yankees continue to struggle with their middle infield. Derek Jeter and Tom Herr are established as the starters, but the experiment of the two Reds seems over, as Red Schoendienst, hitless in 10 ABs at the WBL level, was returned to AAA, giving Hardy Richardson a crack at the backup role. Red Rolfe remains with the Black Yankees. For now: Pee Wee Reese, picked up after being cut by Brooklyn, has been playing decently at AAA, and may replace Rolfe soon.

#Philadelphia Stars

Scott Rolen went 4-for-5, tying the WBL record for a single game with 3 doubles, but it wasn't enough as the Stars fell to the Sea Dogs, 3-2 in extra innings as closer Bobby Howry was unable to hold a late lead.

Needing a spot starter, the Stars sent 1B Cecil Cooper back to AAA in exchange for Bill Laskey. Laskey was pretty rough, and sent back after the start, with Bobby Abreu being recalled. In the game itself, Willie Davis (who led off the game with his 16th homerun), Gavvy Cravath, and Rolen combined to go 8-for-11 in the game itself, scoring 7 runs and driving in 6 as the Stars prevailed, 9 to 7.

The shuttle got busier after their series, as, in search of some relief on the mound, Fred Talbot was sent to AAA and Don Carman was placed on waivers with an eye toward doing the same. Larry Jackson was recalled, as was, once Carman cleared waivers, Tom Sturdivant.

[Makonnen]

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons just keep on doing their thing since the All-Star break. against Cleveland, 3 hits from Adrián González and a key homerun from Eddie Mathews sparked a comeback from a 5-0 deficit. Bruce Chen got the win and Juan Rincón picked up his 15th save in the 6-5 victory.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Ralph Branca was recalled from AAA to start in Brooklyn's doubleheader with Dick Redding being sent down, most likely just for the one day. Indeed, after giving up 5 runs in 4 innings, Branca was immediately sent back down to AAA. Jermaine Dye was waived, and Nap Rucker and Michael Brantley joined the big leagues.

Beals Becker tied the WBL record with 5 hits (all singles) in a 6-3 win over Indianapolis. Roy White had 3 hits and 4 RBIs in the game, but not all the news was good for the Royal Giants, as Ray Dandridge headed back to the DL after spraining his knee in the first inning. Davey Lopes was waived and Todd Walker promoted to the big leagues.

Both Dye and Lopes cleared waivers, rejoining the franchise with AAA Queens. Tommy Hansen has earned a shot at the #5 spot in the Royal Giants' rotation.

#Miami Cuban Giants

José Canseco almost brought the Cuban Giants back single-handedly, hitting a pinch-hit homerun in the 7th and another in the 9th to give him 5 RBI's on the day. It wasn't quite enough, as Miami fell to Baltimore, 6-5.

The Cuban Giants did salvage the final game of the series, as Roenis Elías, Phenomenal Smith, Ed Bauta, and Aroldis Chapman combined on a 5-hit shoutout. Gary Sheffield went deep and Miami won, 2-0, with Elías improving to 4-3 on the year and Chapman picking up his 15th save.

Prize acquisition Minnie Miñoso came off the DL, and was sent to AAA on a short rehab assignment before being recalled to the big league club, along with infielder Alexei Ramírez. Sandy Amorós moved to AAA, along with struggling slugger Jim Thome with more moves expected as Paul Molitor and Carlos Morán return from the DL this week.

On the mound, Steve Brown--hammered in his WBL stay--moved to AAA, along with once-WBL-darling Marcelino López. Ramón Martínez was brought back from a rehab assignment, nudging José Méndez out of the rotation with his return. Braden Looper will be brought up once space is cleared on the 40-man roster.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Joe Mauer will be out a couple weeks, but the Sea Dogs have a stellar replacement as Pudge Rodríguez takes over slashing 347/364/533. Cliff W. Lee, one of the best young catchers in the minor leagues, was recalled for a taste of the show.

Somehow, against all odds, Greg Litton still has a roster spot: playing 6 positions, no matter how badly you hit, has its benefits. But his offensive woes do continue to lessen his projected playing time.

[Makonnen]

Two teams in the same division make for an intriguing mid-season matchup.

The Baltimore Black Sox, who we saw in Series IX and XVI, have the best record in the league, led by a stellar pitching staff and a solid top-to-bottom offense, and lead the Cum Posey Division by 5 games. The Houston Colt'45's sit in 3rd place, 9 games back and 2 games over .500. We kicked the season off with Houston in Series I and saw them again in Series XIII.

#Baltimore Black Sox

The dominant story for the Black Sox is on the mound, where Ned Garvin (8-3 with a league leading 2.64 ERA), Bill Byrd (10-2, 3.20), and Dennis Martínez (10-5, 3.52) form the best trio in the league. Add in the emergence of Mike Mussina (3-1, 2.97) and the Black Sox starting rotation is unrivaled int he WBL. The Don Bessent / Bob Miller closer duo remains in place, with the 2 combining for 20 saves, but the key is the trio of Sean Marshall, all-star acquisition Joe Beggs, and Buddy Groom getting them the ball.

Offensively, the team is just solid top to bottom. Curt Blefary (265/383/541) leads the team with 21 HR and a 925 OPS, but the offense really revolves around Frank Robinson (298/367/501) who trails Blefary by 1 HR and whose 67 RBIs leads him by 7. Larry Gardner and Bobby Wallace both sport OBPs over .400, and Dan McGann, Ken Singleton, and Manny Machado (picked up via a midseason trade) each are in double digits in HRs.

#Houston Colt 45's

The Colt 45's are intriguing. They have a lot of talent, are the most flexible team in the league (in terms of players able to handle multiple defensive positions), and can't hit homeruns to save their life.

Their starting pitching has been good, if a bit uneven, a situation exacerbated with Bret Saberhagen out for the rest of the year and Stephen Strasburg unavailable for at least a start. The back of the rotation is improving, as mid-season acquisition Roger Clemens has pitched better for Houston than he did for Memphis, and Bones Ely looks to have staked claim to the final rotation spot.

Offensively there are a lot of nice pieces, but, across the board, not enough power. Jim Wynn leads the team in HR and SLG (13 and .453) and Jeff Bagwell (272/364/418) is the only other regular in double digit homeruns with 10. Andrés Galarraga and teen phenom Pete Hill have shown more pop in limited appearances.

#Predictions

I have a soft spot for this Houston team, but facts is facts: Baltimore is better. I'd love to see a Colt 45's sweep to tighten up the playoff race, but I think the Black Sox take 3 out of 4.

[Makonnen]

Some very nice see-saw rides in series XXV.

San Francisco Sea Lions @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4

The conclusion of the clash of the sea creatures did not disappoint ...

The Sea Lions scored in the first in typical fashion: Rickey Henderson bunted for a base hit, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Guerrero. The 1-0 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers Hornsby scored Kent Hrbek with a double into the gap.

Guerrero scored Bonds for a 2-1 lead, but it was short-lived, as a Bobby Murcer triple scored Harry Hooper and Iván Rodríguez, putting Portland up, 3-2. Portland looked in good shape at that point, good enough that Gary Pettis replaced Murcer in CF for better defense. Well, perhaps not only defense: after a horrid start to the year, Pettis has pushed his average well over .300.

San Francisco would tie the game in the top of the 9th in a decidedly unexpected way. With one out, John Beckwith, who is barely retaining his spot on the roster, pinch hit for Jimmy Bloodworth and singled. Phil Garner pinch ran for Beckwith and, after a walk to Sal Bando, light-hitting Miguel Cairo, forced to remain in the game for defensive purposes, doubled home the tying run off Portland's Elmer Brown.

And there it stayed, until the 15th inning. San Francisco had turned the game over to Charlie Root, Portland to José Muñoz, and each were excellent. Mickey Cochrane--much maligned and in danger of losing his job--singled to lead off the 15th. Portland had nobody on the bench to pinch-run--or catch in the bottom of the frame--so Cochrane stayed in the game, moving to 2nd on a wild pitch by Muñoz and to third on a groundout. He scored on a single from Garner, and Root closed it out.

SFS 4 (Root 5-4) @ POR 3 (Muñoz 3-5; Brown 1 BSv; Cuellar 8 H) [15 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

Homestead Grays @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Willie Stargell led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun to kick off the scoring and while a 2-RBI double from Billy Bryan put Memphis ahead briefly, Stargell would do the same in the 4th, leading off with a homerun which, combined with an RBI groundout from Arky Vaughan that scored Chief Wilson, tied the game at 3. The teams would trade runs until, in th ebottom of the 5th, Ted Williams sent one deep to put Memphis up by 2, 6-4.

And then the Grays exploded, with a bases-clearing double from Stargell and a 2-run shot from Wilson putting Homestead up, 10-6. Each team would add a run, and Homestead would head to the bottom of the 9th, up 11-7. Should be safe, right? Especially with their closer, Michael Jackson, on the mound.

Wade Boggs doubled to start the inning, Williams walked, and Bill White doubled, scoring Boggs. Josh Lindblom promptly uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Williams and, when David Justice reached on an error from Homestead's CF, Andrew McCutcheon, scoring White, the score was 11-10 with no outs. Manny Ramírez singled, but a fantastic throw from Rick Reichardt nailed Justice at the plate. Lindblom retired Bryan and Reggie Smith on flyouts, and the Grays squeaked through with a game that looked well in hand.

Boggs, Stargell, and Wilson each had 4 hits, with Pops driving in 5 and scoring 4.

HOM 11 (Pierce 1-2; Giusti 1 H) @ MEM 10 (Gibson 0-1; Callahan 1 BSv)
HRs: HOM - Stargell 2 (18), Wilson (8); MEM - Williams (19)
Box Score

Kansas City Monarchs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

New York's Ron Guidry keeps putting in good performances to little results: in this one, he went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run. He was matched by a trio of Monarchs' arms as Smokey Joe Wood (injured in the 4th), Joe Blong, and Trevor Rosenthal combined to also allow 1 run through 7.

And then the bullpens collapsed--expected for the Black Yankees, but a surprise for Kansas City. First, New York's Goose Gossage and Gary Lavelle combine to give up 3 runs in the top of the 8th, with the key hits being 2-out RBI's from Stan Musial and Ducky Medwick. But Craig Kimbrel was equally weak for the Monarchs, giving up back-to-back doubles to Eric Davis and Thurman Munson to start the frame, and a 2-run homerun to Don Mattingly to give the Black Yankees a 5-4 lead.

But no lead is safe for New York: Lavelle gave up a single, a walk, and an error to tie the game, and Ralph Citarella gave up a go-ahead single to Albert Pujols. Kansas City's Jeff Pfeffer had no such struggles, picking up his 12th save in closing the game out.

KCM 6 (Kimbrel 3-2, 2 BSv; Pfeffer 12 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lavelle 0-3)
HRs: KCM - none; NYY - Mattingly (20).
Box Score

Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

A successful suicide squeeze from Jim Stephens scored Anthony Rendon for Ottawa, tying the game at 1 in the top of the 4th. In the next inning, Rendon would single in a run before Larry Parrish went deep with a 3-run blast to put the Mounties up, 5-1. The Angels would roar back, taking a 7-5 lead behind RBI hits from Don Buford, Bobby Grich, Mike Trout, and Carlos Delgado.

But Ottawa doesn't fold as easily as they did earlier in the season, with George Van Haltren sending Francisco Rodríguez' 4th pitch of the ballgame into the bleachers for a 3-run homerun, putting the Mounties back on top, 8-7. Ted Bowsfield, Steve Howe, and Ryan Dempster closed the game out with 3.1 hitless innings.

OTT 8 (Bowsfield 5-2; Dempster 4 Sv; Dubiel 2 BSv; Howe 4 H) @ LAA 7 (Rodríguez 3-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: OTT - Parrish (2), Van Haltren (2); LAA - none.
Box Score

Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn's Frank Knauss has been great all year. Miami's Roenis Eliás less so. But they matched frame for frame in this one, each tossing 7.1 IP while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The game remained tied at 1 into the 10th, when Miami's closer Aroldis Chapman was left in to pitch a second inning. He gave up a walk to Art Griggs, a single to Duke Farrell, and a walk to Al López. That brought José Méndez in from the pen for the Cuban Giants ... who promptly gave up a walkoff, grand slam shot to Beals Becker.

MCG 1 (Chapman 4-3) @ BRG 5 (Gagne 4-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG - Canseco (24); BRG - Becker (16).
Box Score

[Makonnen]

Series preview here.

#Game 1: Roger Clemens @ Ned Garvin

Ned Garvin--probably the best hurler in the league so far--opens the series for Baltimore, with Houston countering with All Star break acquisition Roger Clemens.

Ken Singleton would take Clemens deep for a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 2nd for an early Black Sox lead, but Houston got one back on an RBI double from Jim Wynn, scoring Lance Blankenship, in the top of the 3rd.

Singleton and Bryce Harper would add RBI singles, but again Wynn would get something back for the Colt 45s with another double. An error by Bobby Wallace allowed Wynn to score, leaving Baltimore with a 1 run lead, 4-3.

Clemens wouldn't make it out of the 5th as a double by Larry Gardner was followed by a balk and walks to Curt Blefary and Dan McGann, bringing Mark Melancon into the game with the bases loaded and 1 out. Manny Machado would deliver a double, extending the lead to 7-3 before Melancon could get out of the inning.

Frank Robinson would add 2 homeruns and, although Wynn would tie the league record with 3 doubles, Houston would never really threaten.

HOU 5 (Clemens 2-8) @ BAL 10 (Garvin 9-3; Beggs 11 Sv)
HRs: BAL - Singleton (11), Robinson 2 (22).
Box Score

Game #2: Roy Oswalt @ Dennis Martínez

Houston would score first, as an RBI groundout by Tony Gwynn scored Andrés Galarraga in the top of the 2nd. Dennis Martínez would load the bases (with one coming on a strikeout victim reaching on a passed ball) and give up a sacrifice fly, but that was it as the Colt 45s moved ahead, 2-0.

An RBI groundout by Carlos Correa would up it to 3-0. Meanwhile, Houston's ace, Roy Oswalt, was sailing along with a 1-hit shutout through 5 innings. The shutout would be broken up by an RBI single from Curt Blefary in the 6th, but young phenom Pete Hill made a magnificent catch in deep CF to end the threat, leaving the score 3-1.

A double by Baby Doll Jacobson chased Oswalt from the mound in the bottom of the 6th. Luke Gregerson walked 2 and let a run score on a wild pitch, but still left with the lead, 3-2 in favor of Houston.

Correa took Jim Palmer deep with a 3 run shot in the top of the 8th, giving Houston a little additional cushion at 6-2. Jacobson would drive in a run int he 8th, but Houston's closer, Billy Wagner, would come on to shut the door in the 9th.

HOU 6 (Oswalt 8-6; Wagner 13 Sv; Gregerson 3 H) @ BAL 3 (Martínez 10-6)
HRs: HOU - Correa (7).
Box Score

#Game 3: Toad Ramsey @ Bill Byrd

This one was a pitchers' duel early, with Toad Ramsey and Bill Byrd essentially matching each other frame for frame. Baltimore scored twice in the bottom of the 4th on two walks, a wild pitch by Ramsey, and a 2-run single from Manny Machado, but that was it for either team until the top of the 7th.

Byrd entered the inning having allowed no runs and only 2 hits, but surrendered a leadoff single to Jeff Bagwell. George Brett reached on an error, and Andrés Galarraga scored Houston's first run with a double. Byrd walked Carlos Correa, and the Black Sox went to their bullpen for Sean Marshall who promptly struck out Gentleman Jim O'Rourke and Craig Biggio. But Jim Wynn was able to--just barely--beat out an infield single, scoring Brett and tying the game at 2.

A leadoff single by Bobby Wallace in the bottom of the 8th chased Ramsey from the game. Trevor Hoffman was unable to preserve his good work, surrendering a 2-run shot to Ken Singleton, giving Baltimore the lead, 4-2, heading to the top of the 9th.

Bob Miller of the Black Sox pitched a perfect 9th for the save, with Marshall getting the win. Ramsey was the hard luck loser, despite only allowing 3 hits in 7 innings.

After the game, Houston placed Andrew Chafin on the 60-Day DL with a torn labrum, recalling Brad Lidge, who was strong at AAA after a horrible start in the WBL earlier in the season.

HOU 2 (Ramsey 8-10) @ BAL 4 (Marshall 4-0, 2 BSv; Miller 7 Sv)
HRs: BAL - Singleton (12).
Box Score

#Game 4: Bones Ely @ Johnny Sain

Houston will try to escape with a split by sending Bones Ely--a new addition to their staff--up against the weakest arm in Baltimore's impressive rotation, Johnny Sain. Sain is pitching for his rotation spot, as Jim Palmer is making a strong argument to replace him.

Pete Hill put the Colt 45's in front 1-0 in the top of the 5th with his 3rd homerun of the year. Jorge Posada added a 2-run shot, making it 3-0 in favor of Houston. Baltimore would finally get on the board in the bottom of the 6th when Larry Gardner--who tripled to lead off the inning--scored on a groundout by Baby Doll Jacobson.

A triple by Bryce Harper and a walk to Frank Robinson chased Ely from the game, bringing in Mark Melancon, who promptly surrendered an RBI single to Curt Blefary. Posada let a ball skip through his legs, scoring Robinson and tying the game at 4.

The lead was short-lived: Andrés Galarraga greeted Joe Beggs with a moonshot into the left field seats and a 5-4 edge for Houston. Houston would score another run on a Tony Gwynn sacrifice fly, giving the Colt 45s a 6-4 edge heading to the bottom of the 8th.

Houston brought in Brad Lidge, who delivered a scoreless inning, something he was unable to do when he started the year as Houston's closer. His replacement in that role, Billy Wagner, pitched a perfect ninth, giving us a series split. Melancon continued his life as a vulture, improving to 9-2 out of the pen on the season.

HOU 4 (Melancon 9-2, 2 BSv; Wagner 14 Sv; Lidge 1 H) @ BAL 2 (Beggs 1-3)
HRs: HOU - Hill (3), Posada (5), Galarraga (3).
Box Score

[Makonnen]

July 19th

For this TWIWBL we're going to look at two of my favorite emerging plotlines.

Biggest Surprise

Right now, it's got to be the Birmingham Black Barons. At the end of May, they were 10 games back, a .400 team, and battling Miami for last place in the Marvin Miller Division. Today, they are 7 games over .500, and only 2.5 games behind division-leading Portland. So, what happened?

Birmingham began to turn it around in late May, but their high level of activity at the all-star break has to be mentioned as well. Ultimately, they lost 2 SPs (Dick Rudolph to Chicago and all-star Tim Hudson to San Francisco), a key bullpen piece (Hoyt Wilhelm in the same trade as Rudolph), and two infielders (all-star 2B Tom Herr to the Black Yankees and U Frank Isbell to Brooklyn). They received 10 players and 4 draft picks in return, with only 1B Adrián González making the big leagues immediately.

González' OPS with the Black Barons has been in the high 600's, which isn't great, but is almost 200 points higher than his struggles with Chicago. He is splitting time at 1B with Frank McCormick, and the combo is outperforming Isbell. Hank Aaron is playing more at 2B with Herr gone, allowing Bob Nieman and Curtis Granderson to be joined by a rotating cast of OFers, but overall strengthening the lineup (even if Aaron isn't exactly good defensively at 2B). Additionally, Eddie Mathews and Pie Traynor are in the lineup most days, with Mathews becoming the primary DH.

It's worked: the quartet of Granderson, McCormick, Mathews, and Aaron have all come to life, combining for 27 HRs and 103 RBIs since June 1st. All in all, a team that struggled to score at all is now slowly, very slowly, edging away from the bottom of the pack offensively.

But the real success has been on the mound where, quite surprisingly, the loss of Hudson, Rudolph, and Wilhelm hasn't really been felt. Alejandro Peña has been solid all year, Greg Maddux is finally living up to his hype, and Vic Willis continues to impress in the rotation. Closer Juan Ríncón has 17 saves despite starting the season buried in the bullpen, and the trio of Bruce Chen, Harley Young, and Steve Bedrosian have been fantastic in getting the ball to Rincón.

Rincón got his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th save of the season in consecutive games in late May, about the same time Bedrosian and Willis joined the big league club, with Chen being recalled from AAA in late June.

Look, the Black Barons are still a longshot to make the playoffs--but just being in the conversation has been an unlikely triumph for Birmingham. And it's not all luck: yes, they are outperforming their Pythagorean projection by 2 wins, but that would still leave them above .500 even if they weren't.

Second Biggest Surprise

The New York Black Yankees were supposed to run away and hide atop the Effa Manley Division. But the Cleveland Spiders have other ideas, and currently sit 3.5 games above New York in the standings, with the second best record in baseball.

Cy Young and Pat Malone have led the rotation all year, with ERA's right around 4.00 and excellent peripheral numbers, and the bullpen trio of Chuck Porter, Cory Gearrin, and Ron Reed (who has continued to excel since being acquired from Philadelphia) have been able to consistently get the ball to Terry Adams in good situations. Adams has delivered with 23 saves, despite an 0-5 record.

Offensively, Ron Blomberg is in the argument for the MVP, slashing 334/402/638 with 28 homeruns and 76 RBIs, but the key to the team may have been finding a way to get John Ellis in the lineup almost every day, as the C/1B/DH has an OPS over .900, ranking second to Blomberg in most offensive stats. Add in a great season from Louis Santop behind the plate, solid contributions from Jake Stahl, Chuck Knoblauch, and Johnny Bates and the surprising turnaround from midseason acquisition Lance Berkman (whose OPS is over 300 points above where it was for Houston), and the Spiders have a dangerous lineup, top to bottom.

Can they hold off the Black Yankees? If New York's bullpen continues to be absolutely porous, yes, yes they can. Will they? That's another question entirely.

Performance

Awards

I feel like I've missed these for a little while, so I'm going to list the last few Players of the Week as well as June's Players of the Month.

Player of the Month

In an unusual occurence for a reliever, Willie Mitchell of the Indianapolis ABC's was the Pitcher of the Month for June. Mitchell was 4-0 with a 0.95 ERA out of the bullpen, prompting him to be added to the ABC's rotation.

The Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout took the Batter of the Month award, by hitting .381 for June. Trout is still looking to add some power to his results, but it moved him firmly into the conversation of elite hitters in the game.

Player of the Week

Willie Stargell of the Homestead Grays was the PotW for the week ending 7/17, hitting .565 with 3 HRs and 9RBIs in the span.

Babe Ruth has recovered from a mini-slump with a vengeance, taking home the PotW award for the week ending 7/10, hitting .500 with 3 homeruns and 12 RBI's.

Before Ruth, the award went to Brooklyn's Beals Becker, who raised his season average to a cool .300 with a .478, 3 HR showing during the week.

Batters

Top 2 in all categories, with the WBL leader in bold.

It's been the Babe Ruth show since Reggie Jackson's triple crown run fell apart, but we're seeing some others, most notably Kansas City's Stan Musial, edge into the MVP discussion.

Dick Allen (CAG). 307/375/553. 10 3B.
Johnny Bench (IND). 295/411/564. 4.4 WAR.
Ron Blomberg (CLE). 334/402/638. 28 HR.
Rico Carty (PHI). 287/360/461. 34 2B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 350/392/559. 124 H.
Mike Epstein (HOM). 332/432/535.
Mike Fiore (CAG). 249/405/415. 70 BB.
Rickey Henderson (SFS). 252/388/341. 74 BB; 69 SB.
Kent Hrbek (POR). 309/379/591. 28 HR.
Joe Jackson (CAG). 340/422/593. 76 R.
Reggie Jackson (SFS). 327/439/587.
Stan Musial (KCM). 340/396/602. 129 H; 36 2B.
Doug Radar (LAA). 324/382/532. 94 RBI.
Tim Raines (OTT). 290/365/433. 71 SB.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 313/421/643. 30 HR; 91 RBI; 80 R; 5.3 WAR.
Louis Santop (CLE). 312/344/470. 10 3B.

Pitchers

Starters

Top 3 in each category, with the league leader in bold. No fewer than nine hurlers have 10 victories each, so only the top two in wins--Cole and Mathewson--are listed.

Bill Byrd (BAL). 10-2, 3.12. 1.18 WHIP.
Gerrit Cole (LAA). 12-4, 4.10.
Don Drysedale (BRK). 6-3, 3.49. 1 H; 1.17 WHIP.
Ned Garvin (BAL). 9-3, 2.66. 2 H; 1.15 WHIP.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 10-6, 3.72. 150 Ks.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 5-8, 3.99. 144 Ks; 3.4 WAR.
Walter Johnson (POR). 9-3, 3.54. 3.3 WAR.
Frank Knauss (BRK). 10-4, 3.19. 1 Sv.
Christy Mathewson (NYG). 11-6, 3.78. 123 Ks.
Alejandro Peña (BBB). 8-6, 3.65. 3.6 WAR.

Relievers

Detroit's Mike Henneman has finally passed theinjured Johan Santana for the league lead in saves.

22 IP for rate stats; top 2, leader in bold.

Terry Adams (CLE). 0-5, 3.48. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Watty Clark (BRK). 3-1, 1.20. 17 Sv.
Mike Henneman (DET). 1-4, 3.41. 25 Sv.
AJ Minter (CAG). 1-0, 2.22. 18 Sv, 0.86 WHIP.
Chuck Porter (CLE). 4-3, 2.04. 1 Sv; 10 H; 0.86 WHIP.
Ron Reed (PHI/CLE). 0-3, 2.59. 3 Sv; 16 H.
Ron Robinson (SFS). 4-2, 3.35. 13 H.
Johan Santana (POR). 1-1, 2.78. 23 Sv; 1 H.
Jonny Venters (LAA). 3-3, 3.35. 5 Sv; 13 H.
Brian Wilson (SFS). 1-0, 1.15. 20 Sv.

Streaks

Beals Becker's on-bas streak ended at 32 games, but Boog Powell's is still alive at 29 and counting. Other active streaks of note include Brian Wilson's 18 consecutive saves and Bill Byrd's 14 starts without a loss, as well as Harley Young's 12 scoreless innings in relief.

Series Results

Series XXV Sweeps

Birmingham over Indianapolis

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series XXV

Chicago over Philadelphia
House of David over Cleveland
Kansas City over New York Black Yankees
San Francisco over Portland

Series XXV Splits

Houston Colt 45's @ Baltimore Black Sox
Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn
Detroit Wolverines @ New York Gothams
Homestead @ Memphis Red Sox
Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles

[Makonnen]

#Detroit Wolverines

Ty Cobb tied the league record with 5 hits, leading the Wolverines to a 6-2 win over the New York Gothams. Detroit was actually pretty wasteful in the game, leaving a whopping 15 runners on base. Ed Bailey and George Davis had 3 hits each, with Bailey also driving in 3.

#New York Gothams

Christy Mathewson moved to 11-6 on the year with 7 strikeouts in just over 6 strong innings as the Gothams beat the Wolverines, 4-2. Carson Smith got New York out of a jam in the 7th, and Brian Wilson picked up his 19th save, despite allowing 2 baserunners in the 9th.

#Memphis Red Sox

A solo shot by Reggie Smith in the bottom of the 8th put the Red Sox on top, 2-1 over Homestead. Stubby Overmire put in his best start since arriving in Memphis, but the victory went to Norwood Gibson, with Jonathan Papelbon picking up the save.

#Los Angeles Angels

Doc Gooden and Mike Smith combined on a 4-hit shutout as the Angels triumphed over Ottawa, 7-0. Gooden improved to 4-7 on the year, striking out 6 in 6 1/3 innings. Bobby Grich and Steve Garvey had 3 hits each for Los Angeles.

#Wandering House of David

CC Sabathia evened his record at 9-9 with a strong showing to lead the House of David to an 8-3 win over Cleveland. Ryne Sandberg drove in 4 runs in the game.

[Makonnen]

#Kansas City Monarchs

Smoky Joe Wood was placed on the DL, with Adam Wainwright being recalled from his rehab assignment at AAA.

#Ottawa Mounties

Gary Carter had 3 hits--including a grand slam homerun--and drove in 5, leading Ottawa to a 10-8 victory over Los Angeles. Larry Walker, Tim Raines, Terry Puhl, and Phil Bradley each had 2 hits, and the victory went to Randy Johnson who, despite a subpar appearance, moved to 3-4 on the season.

[Makonnen]

#Cleveland Spiders

Whit Wyatt lasted one batter in his start against the House of David before leaving the game with an apparent hand injury. Bill Steen relieved him and delivered a solid 6 innings, improving his record to 8-2 as the Spiders won, 8-4. Ron Blomberg had 3 hits and Peanuts Lowery drove in 3, including his first homerun of the year.

The series saw another twist in the CF saga for the Spiders. Tris Speaker was injured early in Spring Training, leaving a bit of a void, eventually filled by the speedy, and productive, Kenny Lofton. Speaker is back now, and while Lofton has the starting job locked down, Speaker's talent is undeniable. In this game, he hit his first career homerun.

#Indianapolis ABC's

Sometimes six starters isn't enough ... with no rested starters available among the half-dozen, the ABC's waived Paul Derringer and recalled Red Faber for a single start. Faber did not pitch well enough to stick around, with Virgil Trucks--dominant at AAA after struggling with Indianapolis earlier in the year--rejoining the big league club after the game.

#Philadelphia Stars

Pete Alexander hit the DL (again) with a hand injury, bringing Wayne Gomes up to the WBL for the first time.