The W.P. Kinsella League random update thread

[BirdWatcher]

The Detroit Falcons yesterday clinched the MGL East title for the first time in franchise history and will finally make their first post-season appearance.



Granted, it is the weakest division in the WPK, but congratulations are still in order and once a team makes it to the post-season, well, anything can happen.

Current standings as of September 26th, 1986:



The Chicago Fire are most likely to be the next team to clinch a playoff spot, with only the Houston Cavaliers even having a mathematical chance of catching them in the SJL West.
Jacksonville is playing flat as they try to hold off a recently surging Washington club and the Boston Berserkers who just won't quite go away.

And having swept the Denver Brewers in Phoenix, the Speed Devils now lead the MGL West with the struggling Brewers and the still dangerous San Francisco Velocity jockeying for position and trying to overtake Phoenix.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers get trounced in game 1 of 3 in San Francisco against the 3rd place, but likely soon to be 2nd place, Velocity.
The Brewers have now lost 5 straight and 7 of their last 9.



This in spite of Jerry Lillie (.285/.391/.601) being hot lately, having hit 3 homers in the past 2 games and now just a couple of home runs shy of the franchise single-season record of 40, set by Jamison Bash in 1971.

[BirdWatcher]

The Chicago Fire have earned the chance to defend their WPK title as they clinched the SJL West division pennant yesterday with a 6-4 win over their only remaining challenger, the Houston Cavaliers.



Meanwhile, the Denver Brewers lose again, in dramatic extra innings fashion, and now sit in 3rd place in the MGL West. With only 8 games remaining on the schedule it is not looking good for the Brewers, who came into the month of September in 1st place in the MGL West.

[BirdWatcher]

Here are the updated standings as we head into the month of October and the last handful of regular season games:




Two of the four division races are settled, with Chicago headed off to the SJL Championship series to begin the defense of their WPK champion title, and the Detroit Falcons going to the post-season for the first time in their history, representing the lowly MGL (L)East.

It certainly appears as though the Jacksonville Wolf Pack will prevail in the SJL East, with Boston and Washington battling it out for second place.
And in what probably doesn't quite qualify as an epic collapse, but certainly is a turn of fortunes in the wrong direction, the Denver Brewers, who entered September with a 2 1/2 game lead over Phoenix and a whopping 9 game lead over San Francisco, now find themselves tied with San Francisco, 3 games behind the leading Phoenix Speed Devils, having gone 10-18 in the month of September.


Batters of the Month:


Shoeless Joe League:



George Brown was the 2nd overall pick in the 1978 draft out of South Florida Community College. During his rise to the big leagues he was ranked as high as #5 on the top prospects list. But thus far his WPK career has been pretty modest, with only one All-Star appearance and his best WAR in a season being 5.3, which he accomplished in 1984. At age 30 Brown is considered injury prone (fragile).
But setting aside high expectations, Brown is a valuable role player on a great team. He plays solid defense both at third base and in right field, he's a good all-around hitter with a career OPS+ of 130. He'll never hit for a high average but he gets on base at a good rate (career OBP of .363) and has decent power (averaging 18 homers per season). When healthy he contributes and it is greedy to ask for much more than that from any player.
And in the month of September, as his team was in the push towards back-to-back division wins, Brown shone.

Moonlight Graham League:




What more can we say about Hyeong-uk Chun? Yes, he has shattered the single-season WPK home run record as a rookie with 66 bombs and counting. Yes, his 11.2 WAR is by far the best in the WPK this season. Yes, he has driven in a WPK-best 143 runs, has an ISO of .409, an OPS+ of 186, and his 94 extra base hits is more than 20 higher than his nearest competitor.
But what might be missed with all of this offensive production is that he not only plays center field, but plays a pretty fine center field, with a ZR of +6.6 and 13 outfield assists. He can run a little too, having stolen 14 bases (granted, being caught 8 times also) and he has a UBR of 3.9 and a BsR of 3.0.
He is the MGL Batter of the Month for the 3rd time this year (and the Rookie of the Month for the 5th time) but let's face it, that's small fry in comparison to the seasonal awards hardware he will walk away with after this, his rookie season. He is the sure thing Rookie of the Year and MGL MVP, among other honors, and might still lead his team to a WPK championship.


Pitchers of the Month:

Shoeless Joe League:



Jacksonville's success is multifaceted, but give a lot of credit to their 1-2 combination of young aces at the top of the rotation in Casey Van Fossen and David Parker.
Van Fossen is not only the September Pitcher of the Month in the SJL but will almost surely be the Harris/Lee Award winner this year in the SJL at the end of the season. And he hopes to lead his team to the 4th championship in the franchise's history, what would be their first since 1973.


Moonlight Graham League:



After an impressive 1985 season, his first in the St. Louis rotation, Greg Grieve has been a bit more inconsistent this season while rotation mates Dan Clark and Greg Kratochvil have outshone him most of the season. But Greive has been good down the stretch even as his team was being eliminated from contention once again and he well deserves the September MGL Pitcher of the Month honors.


It should also be mentioned that the Rookie of the Month in the SJL was Milwaukee left-handed starting pitcher Malik Miller, who is still developing at age 24, but has a nasty curveball, a plus forkball, and an above average fastball. Since joining the big league club on July 23rd he has gone 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. While Miller doesn't profile as a future ace he certainly looks like he could be a solid mid-rotation arm for many years to come.

[BirdWatcher]

Some of the stuff:








Now let's break things down in a bit more detail as we approach the end of the regular season, one which it appears will end with the Brewers outside of the post-season mix in spite of having led the MGL West for much of the season.


Starting Pitching:

The rotation has been a mixed bag this season, with stretches during the middle of the season where it looked very strong, but limping towards the finish line collectively.

Eric Maisch: Maisch, who won the MGL Harris/Lee award (best pitcher) back in 1982 as a 22-year old, got off to a horrid start in 1986. But then, around mid-May, he seemed to get his groove back and heading into September it looked like he would be a strong Harris/Lee candidate again this season. But we all know what the month of September was like for the Brewers, and maybe for Maisch more than most. Actually, Maisch lost his last two starts in August also, but then was winless in September, seeing his ERA rise from 3.12 to 3.74. It is hard to pinpoint what goes wrong with Maisch, who on paper is one of the most talented arms in the game. Although his MGL-high 36 homers allowed is certainly a large factor. (He is a groundball pitcher with 6 movement on a 1-10 scale. Him giving up home runs isn't that surprising but the rate at which he does so seems to indicate that he is a soft 6 in movement.) His 3-pitch repertoire may leave him a bit more vulnerable than a starter with another offering or two, but the three pitches he has are all considered elite quality (changeup, curveball, fastball). He is second in the MGL in strikeouts with 203, first in K/BB at 4.5, fourth in K/9 with 7.8, and fifth in WHIP with 1.16. His FIP is 3.83 and FIP- is 87. He is a good pitcher. He just can't seem to sustain excellence.

Jim Atwell:
The veteran workhorse of the staff, who is an Iron Man, almost always seems to have better underlying stats than his back of the baseball card numbers. Atwell is 2nd in the MGL in (f)WAR at 5.9. He is 6th in FIP at 3.47 and his FIP- is 79. And yet he is only 12-14 with a 3.75 ERA this season. At age 33 he is an innings eater and a much better pitcher than those raw, basic stats make it appear. If he could just get a bit more support from his teammates in his starts he could contend for his second Harris/Lee award (he won it in 1980) before his fine career ends.

Stephen Brooks:
Brooks, the Brewers first round pick in the 1979 draft, was a top 20 prospect prior to joining the rotation, and at age 25 is still coming into his own. He needs to hone his control skills, as his 108 bases on balls allowed is the 2nd most in the MGL. But he has great stuff and is an extreme groundball pitcher with 4 great to elite offerings. His 4.30 FIP and 98 FIP- don't indicate that his luck has been particularly good or bad this season. His numbers are what they are. But the future still looks pretty bright for the young righty, particularly if he can harness his control a bit more.

Eric Fehrenbacher:
Fehrenbacher's biggest weakness as a prospect was always considered his below average movement. But the 27-year old right-hander has made solid strides in that area and although he remains somewhat home run prone (26 HR allowed in 185 IP this season), his movement is now solidly above average. With an elite changeup and a pair of other solid pitches (fastball, cutter) and a durable arm profile, not to mention a great work ethic, Fehrenbacher should be a valuable middle-to-back-end of the rotation arm for the foreseeable future.

Austin Bond:
The veteran left-hander with great work habits and a high baseball IQ has over-performed his perceived talents for years. But age and declining stuff may have finally caught up with him in 1986. Although he overcame a disastrous start to the season to have some quality starts as the season wore on, his 9-6 record is a bit generous given his 5.31 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, and poor 3.4 K/9. Then again, his FIP is 4.31 and FIP- is 98 and his BABIP against is .336, significantly higher than his career number of .289. What sort of role Bond will have on the team next season depends a great deal upon the health and development of the team's younger pitchers, but he is signed for a few more seasons and is the lone lefthanded starter the Brewers have at this time, so he surely will be on the active roster in some capacity.

Bernie Lopez:
At age 24 and having pretty fully conquered minor league hitters, there doesn't seem to be much point in having Lopez, who was a scouting discovery for the Brewers out of the Dominican Republic when he was a youngster back in 1978, in the minors any longer. His first start this season for the Brewers was tremendous. And then things got rocky for the kid, leading to his 6.86 ERA and 1.76 WHIP over the course of 9 games (7 starts) in a Brewers uniform this season. His most recent start, just a few days ago, was hopeful, as he went 6 1/3rd giving up just 2 runs on 7 hits, not walking anyone and striking out 4. Lopez will be given every chance to prove he belongs in the rotation in 1987. (He is durable, has 5 pitches, 3 of them elite, and if his control develops to full potential, should be at least a strong mid-rotation arm.)

The Bullpen:

The bullpen was a strength early in the season but has scuffled a bit, like the rest of the team, down the stretch.

Dan Folk:
If only the Brewers actually had played many games this last month where a closer was needed, Folk would likely have far more than his already impressive 33 saves. Folk is a dominant stuff reliever with two wicked offerings (fastball, changeup). He can work multiple innings, is smart and a very hard worker, is durable, and induces groundballs. He is the anchor of the bullpen and at age 25 should be for many years to come.

Paul Johnson:
Johnson was a Rule 5 pick for the Brewers back in 1979 and he has been a wonderful acquisition. He might not ever stand out as spectacular but he has provided consistent quality out of the 'pen, with multi-inning stamina, high baseball IQ, plus plus stuff, and a knack for inducing the groundball out. He is also considered an Iron Man and is a steadying influence in the Brewers bullpen. He's only 28 and the hope is that he remains a valuable part of the Brewers 'pen for years to come.

Diego Lopez:
Lopez is another guy the Brewers picked up through the Rule 5 draft, in this case in 1982. The 29-year old left-hander has a great cutter but a below average curveball is his only other offering. He is a groundball pitcher and controls the running game well. There is some fear that a crash in performance isn't far away. But so far Lopez has been a pretty consistent performer for the Brewers and the thought is that he will be the primary lefty out of the 'pen next season, pending the development of top relief prospect Sharaf Sanchez.

Rand Pinti:
Pinti, the other lefty in the 'pen these past several years, in spite of being a fan favorite and some really good seasons in a Brewers uniform, looks like he might be gone soon. At age 31, he is having a disappointing season. Truthfully though, as a 1-pitch pitcher (plus plus sinker, horrible, useless, no-good changeup), he has always been inconsistent. But his contract is up at the end of this season and it is unlikely he will be returning for 1987.

Willie Ramirez:
Theoretically, Ramirez is the closer-in-waiting. Though in truth he is the same age as Dan Folk and not quite a good, so he will mostly serve as a set-up man, assuming he starts to show more consistency. He has disappointing numbers this year after a good start to his career the previous two seasons. His makeup is a plus, as he is a strong leader with high intelligence. His slider is elite and he pairs it with a mid-to-upper 90's fastball. He is durable and can work multiple innings. He isn't going anywhere but it is up to him and his performance to dictate just what sort of leverage situations he will be used in next season.

B.J. Adams and Cesar Perez:
We will lump the kids together as the 22-year old Adams and the 23-year old Perez were both up and down between Denver and AAA Chester this season and have yet to prove themselves as legit big league relievers. Having said that, they both have relatively high ceilings (Adams, especially), with nasty stuff (both have wicked curveballs as their best pitch), and both can work multiple innings out of the 'pen. They will likely both be given ample chances to prove they belong in the WPK next season.

As this is getting pretty long, I'll continue this deeper dive in the next post, switching to position players.

[BirdWatcher]

Continuing our deeper dive look at the Denver Brewers as we approach the end of the 1986 regular season, turning now to position players.


Catchers:

Willie Ortega:
Ortega (.242/.271/.363, 0.6 WAR) is a defense-first backstop. Although he isn't much of a hitter he does have his moments and has hit 15 doubles this season as well as tying his career high home run total with 10. But mostly Ortega is a rock behind the plate. He might not be the best defender in the league but he certainly is among the best. At age 30 he is the established starter at this point, is a hard worker, and is already signed for next season with one more year of arbitration eligibility after that.

Omari Williams:
The 27-year old Williams (.336/.362/.400, 0.6 WAR), on the other hand, is a bat first catcher. His defense is above average at best, but no better than that. But he can hit and certainly has done so this year. He doesn't have any power but is a very good contact hitter who will rarely strike out. He does appear to have some injury-proneness issues.

Rich Fugate:
And because of Williams injury proneness, Rich Fugate (.278/.263/.333, 0 WAR), the Brewers top catching prospect, finally got to the big league club this season, at age 26. Fugate kind of splits the difference between Ortega and Williams. He is a better defender than Williams, but not as good as Ortega. And he is a better hitter than Ortega, but not as good as Williams. Fugate likely starts 1987 in AAA as the #1 injury replacement option.

First base:

Chris Romines:
Romines (.316/.352/.418, 2.1 WAR), while not having nearly as good a season as he did in his breakthrough campaign last season, is a reliable offensive and defensive contributor. He continues to be a good gap hitter with 32 doubles this season. He is certainly an above average, or better, defensive first baseman. He runs the base paths well for a guy with roughly average raw foot speed (3.8 UBR, 3.6 BsR). And he is an uncomplicated presence in the clubhouse. The position is his at least until a better option is found.

Second base:

Justin Banks:
Banks (.303/.342/.442, 4.2 WAR) has long been a favorite of the Brewers front office, well before he joined the club. And he's been a fine addition since putting on the Brewers purple and gold. He is second among batters on the club in WAR this season. He has stolen 39 bases while being caught only 6 times. He won't hurt you defensively (0.9 ZR). He's a very hard worker. He's also 30 years old, eligible for free agency at the end of this season, and indications are that he will be looking for a big money contract. And the Brewers have some fine prospects at this position. So likely Banks will be moving on in the off-season, though not without the Brewers front office feeling some regret about not trying harder to keep him.

Nick Mull:
Mull (.229/.325/.300) has been one of the top position player prospects in the Brewers system for a few years now. He is a plus defender at second base and has tremendous speed and running abilities, as well as being a great bunter. What he hasn't shown yet is an ability to hit at the big league level. He does have good discipline at the plate and is perceived as having the potential for at least average to slightly above average big league contact hitting and even a bit of over-the-fence power. But it is his defense and running that will make him a big league starter, if indeed that is what he proves to be.

Mike Garcia:
If you combined Garcia's (.257/.309/.385) hit tool with Mull's defense and speed you might have a pretty good approximation of Justin Banks. Not that Garcia has hit that well at the big league level this season, but he has all the tools to be at least an above average big league batter. His defense isn't bad, and in fact he is better on the pivot than Mull, but he won't be winning any Gold Glove awards. There are some questions about his baseball IQ.

Third base:

Ryan Campbell:
Campbell (.282/.380/.429, 3.0 WAR) came to the Brewers in the offseason prior to the 1985 season with the reputation of being one of the stars of the league. And indeed he did have some star seasons as a member of the San Antonio Keys, including putting up 7.8 WAR in 1984. He has largely been a disappointment as a Brewer. He did have a strong second half last season to get to 5.5 WAR on the season, so it's not like he is a poor player. But for a guy who was expected to provide power in the middle of the lineup he only hit 16 homers last season and only has 12 this season with only a handful of games remaining. His defense has improved this season, but his 1.0 ZR and 17 errors aren't going to win him any Gold Gloves. He still has 2 years of arbitration eligibility but the Brewers have a younger, cheaper option in Jeremy Beeson and rumor has it that they will be looking to trade Campbell this offseason.

Jeremy Beeson:
Beeson (.384/.392/.493, 0.4 WAR) can flat out hit. He doesn't have much power, but then again, neither it turned out did Ryan Campbell, in spite of his reputation as a slugger. Beeson has the kind of contact hit tool that might win him a batting title or two. And although his range is only average he has a very strong arm and shouldn't commit many errors which should make him a capable defender at the least. He's not going to be mistaken for a clubhouse leader (on the loner side) but he has high baseball IQ and low greed. Odds are that he gets the chance to prove he is the starting third baseman of the future for the Brewers starting on Opening Day 1987 (he will have recently turned 24 at that point).

Shortstop:

Willie Romero:
It is probably not a coincidence that the Brewers collapse this season mostly happened after shortstop Willie Romero (.268/.297/.438, 3.5 WAR) went on the IL with a fractured shoulder blade. Romero might be the best fielding shortstop in the history of the WPK (17.0 ZR this season, at age 28 he has a career ZR of 228.6). He is a below average hitter but does have power (20 homers this season) and although his raw foot speed is minimal he is a savvy base runner. He was signed to a long-term and lucrative contract by the team prior to this season and we need him to stay healthy as he is the anchor of our defense and one of our most valuable players.

Brandon Singer:
If there is a bit of a silver lining to the Romero injuries this season (he also had a sore ankle that sidelined him for about a week early in the season) it is that 25-year old Brandon Singer (.283/.346/.462) finally got a chance to show his stuff at the big league level. The kid has impressed, particularly by showing more power than was expected. He is a strong defender who can certainly adequately back up Romero at short but can also play a fine third base and with some experience should also be a good second baseman. (In fact, with a bit of playing time, he could also be an adequate backup corner outfielder.) He has plus plus speed and even better savvy as both a base stealer and base runner. Singer has emerged as the leading contender for a super-utility role on the team and could quite capably serve as the starter when needed at multiple positions.

Utility infielders:

Jared Hancock:
Mostly created this category because I didn't want to neglect talking about veteran late-season acquisition Jared Hancock (.333/.375/.700). Although it has been lost in the midst of the Brewers late-season struggles, the 39-year old borderline Hall of Famer has been pretty terrific in his limited plate appearances, hitting 3 home runs and 2 doubles, scoring 7 runs and driving in 3 and even stealing a base. If the rest of the team was playing better the narrative here would be very different and Hancock could have been seen as the veteran great who helped push the team over the top in their quest for another WPK championship. But, alas, though Hancock did his part, it appears this was not meant to be.

Matt Enders:
And it would be good to mention Enders (.250/.250/.250), who was recently brought up after his AAA Chester club lost in the King Bedlecom Championship series to the Chula Vista Warbirds (Detroit Falcons affiliate). The most important fact to know about Enders is that in just the short time the 23-year old Enders has been with the big league club he is already emerging as potentially the biggest leader in the clubhouse (a potential captain in the making.) Enders is probably a utility player at best, but he does have very strong defensive skills, especially at third base, is another tremendously fast guy with great base running and stealing skills, and could hit well enough (only just well enough) to play a role as a backup/utility guy. And his great makeup ("managers love Enders. There's no quit in him.") is what would likely put him over the top for a big league spot on the roster next season.

Left field:

Javier Hernandez:
Hernandez (.274/.350/.400, 2.0 WAR), who some refer to as the poor man's Val Guzman, has had another fine little season. He's not a great defender but he won't hurt you much out there. He probably has the best speed/running tool kit on the team though he needs to improve on his 22 stolen base, 11 caught stealing ratio. His UBR (7.7) and BsR (7.4) speak to his elite base running skills. He knows how to get on base to take advantage of that speed, he is smart and a real sparkplug, but he's also injury prone and probably just a place-holder until a better option comes along at this position. But for now he certainly should have a role on the team next season.

Val Guzman:
Guzman (.220/.289/.345, -0.4 WAR) has long been a favorite in these parts and has been one of the team's clubhouse leaders. But sadly it appears we have reached the end of the line in terms of his Brewers career. He is under contract for next season but the club has an option to buy out his contract at the end of this season and likely will. It isn't that all of Guzman's raw skills seem to have vanished. He is still, theoretically at least, a fine fielder. He is still a strong and fast runner and has swiped 12 bases this season while only being caught trying once. His approach at the plate remains solid even if he isn't a great contact hitter. But at age 33 and with his horrible production this season it is probably time for both the team and Val to move on. We can only hope he has a career resurgence elsewhere.

Center field:

Danny Hendricks:
Hendricks (.260/.354/.346, 1.6 WAR) had a good first half of the season and certainly was one of the stabilizing influences defensively. Although he has hit a bit better than might have been expected he doesn't hit well enough to justify playing him every day. At age 30 (he turned 30 yesterday!) although he remains a good defensive center fielder his 4.7 ZR is the lowest of his career since he became a regular. And it isn't that much better than Myles Ford's ZR in center. The Brewers also have top outfield prospect John Bittner nearly big league ready. Hendricks is arbitration eligible at the end of this season, his last year of eligibility, and when the team tried to negotiate with him earlier in the summer it didn't go well. The expectation is that the Brewers will allow him to move along.

Myles Ford:
Much like Javier Hernandez, Myles Ford (.282/.337/.481, 1.6 WAR) has exhibited some injury-proneness issues and is likely a placeholder until a true center field starter (possibly the aforementioned John Bittner) arrives. But for the time being he is an adequate defensive center fielder (1.1 ZR in 70 games at the position this year), a decent hitter with some pop, and very speedy though lacking polish as a base stealer or base runner. He's a good guy and a solid all-around player. Surely not a star, but can be a useful starter for the time being.

Right field:

Jerry Lillie:
It's already well known that Jerry Lillie (.285/.388/.594, 4.5 WAR) is the biggest positive surprise and best hitter on the team this season. As a 25-year old rookie (he turned 26 in late July) he went from being something of a throw-in in the trade with Portland that also brought the Brewers Willie Romero to the dominant force in the middle of the lineup and the best power hitter the Brewers have had in many years. Lillie's defense isn't very good (-8.2 ZR) though he does have a strong arm (10 outfield assists). He's also pretty slow although a savvy base runner and he will strike out a lot (121). But he has enough contact skills to get to his prodigious raw power and his 38 homers and 30 doubles have helped him approach 100 RBI (98) and runs scored (95). He is durable, a bit boring but at least not problematic in the clubhouse, and probably never going to be a superstar. But for now he does give the Brewers the power bat in the middle of the lineup that they have been missing and that they were hoping they would get in the much more heralded Ryan Campbell.

Antonio Acuna:
What a crazy career trajectory for Acuna (.213/.250/.343, -0.7 WAR). He went from being a 5th round draft pick (by Portland) to the 93rd best prospect in the WPK (highest he ever ranked as a prospect and only top 100 ranking for him) to a breakout player with Denver at age 26, winning his first of 3 straight MGL MVP awards. And in the last of those 3 MVP seasons he won the first of 3 straight Gold Glove awards in right field. He won a batting title in 1979, hitting .368. In his big league career he has a slash line of .314/.353/.514 with 36.4 WAR.
And now, at the age of 33, he is a below replacement level player. Every bit of his game, other than his base stealing and base running skills, has diminished. He has gone from a Gold Glove fielder to a liability in the field. He can't hit anymore, though he still has a bit of power.
Can a 3-time league MVP not be a Hall of Famer? If that is possible, then Acuna is the guy to do it.
Oddly, in spite of his earlier great successes and his reputation for being outspoken, Acuna seems to be well aware of his present limitations and is quite happy being a bench player. He is in the middle of a lucrative 10-year contract and has a player option at the end of this season. It is hard to see why he would take it, although the front office is secretly hoping he does. Assuming he doesn't, the thought is that the club has little option but to release him and eat that salary for the next 5 years.
What an odd trip this one has been!

Designated Hitter:

Gene "Basher" Brasher:
The 25-year old power hitter Brasher (.272/.316/.501, 1.1 WAR) finally got a chance to earn a big league role when the WPK instituted a designated hitter rule this season. And he got off to a strong start in the first half of the season, earning (?) an All-Star roster spot. But then the league seemed to figure him out and began exploiting the obvious holes in his approach. During the second half he found himself getting pushed out of starts at DH by several other players and struggled to get things going at the plate. He can play an adequate first base (mostly because of his 6'4'' frame) but he's as slow as a WPK player gets (-2.8 UBR and BsR) and if he isn't hitting homers he has no value to a team. He might or might not be the primary DH for the team next year but almost surely he is just keeping the spot warm for the Brewers top hitting prospect, Jonathan Murphy, who looks like he might move up the ladder quickly and has the potential to be an offensive force in the WPK before long.

[BirdWatcher]

The Detroit Falcons are headed to the first post-season in team history and they found out yesterday that they will be doing it without the services of their great young closer Mike Brown, who is dealing with inflammation in his pitching shoulder.



Brown is not only one of the best players on the team but also one of the smartest and hardest working. For a team that will automatically be an underdog in these playoffs to begin with this is a serious blow.

The Washington Night Train got even worse news regarding the upcoming post-season: they won't be in it. Washington had won the SJL East the past four seasons but this year they won't stretch that streak to five.



Although the division hasn't been wrapped up yet, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack just need one win to clinch it, or even just one loss by their nearest opponent, the Boston Berserkers.


Meanwhile, the Brewers collapse continues, as they drop 3 straight in L.A. and they now see the Phoenix Speed Devils also with a magic number of 1 in the MGL West.



Can't blame veteran Jared Hancock for this latest loss as he went 2 for 4, hit his 4th home run of the season (in just 39 PA) and is now hitting .353/.389/.765 since joining the club on September 1st. And young budding leader (and possible 1987 utility man with the team) Matt Enders also went 2 for 4 and hit his first big league home run in the loss.

[BirdWatcher]

The playoff matchups are all in order now, and they won't include the Denver Brewers once again.




The Brewers get swept in their final home series of the year, a 4-game disaster against the L.A. Spinners and with Phoenix winning against Portland the Speed Devils clinch the MGL West title for 1986.



Over in the SJL East, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack are headed back to the postseason for the first time since 1974.



The Denver Brewers now play out the string on another lost season with a 3-game series in Portland to end the regular season.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, it took 13 innings, a pair of home runs by center fielder Myles Ford, a 3 for 6 day by rookie third baseman Jeremy Beeson, and some heroic relief pitching, but the Brewers finally won again, just their second win in the last thirteen games.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers got an easy victory in Portland on the final day of the regular season to finish with 95 wins but still find themselves finishing in 3rd place behind Phoenix and San Francisco in the strongest division in the WPK.

Given that they were predicted, prior to the season, to finish in last place, this could be considered a very successful season. On the other hand, they led the way in the MGL West for most of the second half of the season, and a September swoon devastated them. So naturally Brewers fans, players, and the front office are quite disappointed with how things turned out.





In the final game of the season, they did get some nice performances by young players who are expected to play larger roles in the 1987 season.
Jeremy Beeson, the likely starter at third base next year, went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 2 driven in, and hit his 6th double. He finishes his first WPK season with a slash line of .376/.389/.473 and 0.7 WAR over the course of just 96 PA's. Brandon Singer, likely to be the most used utility player next season, went 2 for 6, driving in a pair of runs and finishes with a slash line of .280/.340/.449, having hit 9 doubles, 2 triples, and 9 home runs in 263 PA's for 0.8 WAR. Mike Garcia, who will likely be part of a platoon tandem at second base and also get time playing DH in 1987, went 2 for 4, scoring twice and drawing a walk, and finishes .262/.317/.388 in 199 PA's but has potential to be a much better hitter than that. And catcher Rich Fugate, who will almost surely get some big league playing time next year, particularly given how injury-prone Omari Williams is, had the best game of all, going 4 for 5, scoring twice, driving in 4 runs, and hitting his second big league double. He only had 31 PA's with the Brewers this year but with this big last game his slash line was .321/.333/.393 and he got 0.2 WAR.

Veteran starting pitcher Jim Atwell finished on a strong note with a complete game shutout victory, having allowed only 5 hits, striking out 6 and walking 2.

[BirdWatcher]

Casey Van Fossen, the 23-year old ace of the Jacksonville Wolf Pack starting rotation, certainly made his mark during the 1986 season and will almost surely win the Harris/Lee award for the season he just had. In being the only pitcher in all of the WPK to win 20 games, and having easily led both leagues in strikeouts with 267, and also leading the SJL in ERA (2.94, just slightly higher than MGL ERA champ Matt Greene's 2.91), Van Fossen becomes the first WPK pitcher to win a Triple Crown since Aaron McNally did it in back-to-back seasons in 1974 and 1975.
His 267 strikeouts is the second highest single season total in WPK history, after Joel Travino's 285 in 1977.



The SJL batting title for 1986 goes to Boston's Kyle Adams, who is also a favorite to win the league MVP award this season. Adams not only had a slash line of .355/.431/.581 but with a pair of homers a few days before the end of the season he got to 30 (his 4th season with at least 30 homers), and he finished the season having scored 108 runs, driven in a league best 121, and with the highest WAR among SJL batters with 8.3.




The MGL batting titlist is San Francisco left fielder Ryan Frommeyer. The most impressive thing about this accomplishment is that Frommeyer plays his home games in one of the best pitcher's parks in the MGL. Surprisingly, his home/road splits were nearly identical: he hit .342/.375/.425 at home and ..348/.382/.448 on the road. He is a solid fielder too, with 8.5 ZR in left and 12 outfield assists.



But ultimately it was the Year of Chun! As in, Phoenix rookie phenom Hyeong-uk Chun. Chun absolutely shattered the WPK single-season home run mark with 70 (previous high was 54), including hitting a pair in the final regular season game for Phoenix. And in case one might be inclined to think that this might have been in the context of a rabbit-ball season, no other player in the WPK even got to 40 home runs this season. (Granted, Chun does play in a great hitter park that favors power hitters, but even on his own team the next best HR total was 30, by former MVP Luis Olivez.)
Chun also set new single-season highs in SLG (.741, previous high was .667 set by Bud Lindsay in 1979), OPS (1.145, previous high was 1.126 by Matt Van der Heyden in 1980), and Total Bases (435, previous high was 417 by Jesus Casiano in his Triple Crown season of 1970).

[BirdWatcher]

The 1986 Playoffs are upon us:





Let's take a look at the matchups in the Shoeless Joe League first, starting with the reigning WPK Champs.


The Chicago Fire:





They are the current holders of the WPK Crown and therefore the team to beat in this post-season.
Chicago is a strong all-around team who in spite of playing their home games in an extreme pitcher's park still had an offense that ranked in the top 5 in the league in most categories other than home runs. That offense is led by 25-year old superstar shortstop Pat Thompson (.331/.378/.434, 8.5 ZR, 6.1 WAR) who is an MVP candidate. They also got strong seasons from Gold Glove center fielder Kyle Hanly (.255/.319/.429, 19.1 ZR, 5.5 WAR) and 28-year old fan favorite left fielder Alex Martinez (.272/.329/.459, 1.4 ZR, 24 stolen bases, 3.5 WAR). But mostly the Fire are a team that wins with a balanced lineup with few weak links, strong defense, and an excellent pitching staff. If anything, a few of their starters (Mike Low, Bill Johnson) somewhat underperformed their talent this season, but the rotation is deep and strong and 23-year old closer Tyler Criss had an excellent first full season in the bullpen.
The Chicago Fire come into the playoffs with no significant injuries and few weaknesses and remain the team to beat.


The Jacksonville Wolf Pack:




Probably the thing that most makes the Wolf Pack a threat in the post-season is the young 1-2 combo at the top of their rotation. Not only do they have Triple Crown winner and almost sure Harris/Lee Award winner Casey Van Fossen but right behind him is 23-year old 2-time All-Star David Parker, who went 19-12 with a 3.73 ERA and 1.21 WHIP while holding opposing batters to a slash line of .240/.295/.385. If he has a weakness it is a propensity to allow home runs (26 given up, 0.9 HR/9) but that will likely be more of an issue if Jacksonville gets by Chicago and if they have to face off with Phoenix in the KCS.
And after these two they have veteran Jose Mendoza, their only starter with any post-season experience, and another talented youngster in Manny Bell.
But they are the reverse of Chicago in some ways, with very poor defense, and an offense that is mostly driven by home runs and is mostly below average. They are also missing one of their big power hitters in Chris Brynteson. Veteran right fielder/DH Tim Evans remains the glue of the offense and 27-year old rookie catcher Marty Stewart (no, not Marty Stuart) was really impressive after being called up in late July.
But what it will come down to, almost surely, is how well the young and inexperienced, but very talented, starting rotation for Jacksonville fares in the playoffs. If they are up to the task, this team could be very dangerous.

[BirdWatcher]

Switching now to the MGL:


Phoenix Speed Devils:




As has often been noted here, the Phoenix Speed Devils play in the most extreme hitter's park in the WPK in the form of Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
And so some of their offensive numbers should probably be taken with a grain of salt. On the other hand, the pitching staff is probably underrated as a result. Young starting pitchers like Jonathan Riechman, Rick Smiley, and even team captain Bobby Ratcliff, who at age 26 was acquired from Milwaukee in a trade prior to mid-season and pitched much better for Phoenix than he had for the Cadets, are all quite talented.
On the downside, the Speed Devils are without the services of a pair of pretty good starters in Kyle Elkins (who won 17 games a few seasons ago) and Ricardo Becerra (who was 14-12 with a 3.35 ERA last season) as well as their 1983 1st overall draft pick and former #1 rated prospect in the WPK Colin Radke.
The fact is that the biggest challenge the Speed Devils probably have entering the post-season is the large number of injured players they have, including starting third baseman Jason Puglisi, who led the league in home runs two seasons ago, and is dealing with a sprained knee that has him listed as day-to-day for 2 weeks or so.
But great hitting ballpark or not, the Phoenix lineup between 2 and 5 is possibly the most dangerous heart of an order in the game. And while the bullpen is mostly weak, if they can get it to the closer Steve Hensgens with a lead late they are in good hands.

EDIT: And I just realized that there are so many significant injuries for the Speed Devils, that I completely forgot to even mention 25-year old righty Jake Greene, who might have the highest ceiling of all of their young starting pitchers.


The Detroit Falcons:




The Detroit Falcons, in their very first post-season appearance, are the clear underdog of the four teams remaining.
But the mostly young rotation is probably under-rated, with Rick Ernst leading the league in K/9 with 8.6 and 23-year old Andrew Carr a team leader and a guy with a high ceiling and great control.
Being without their talented young closer, Mike Brown, is a blow. They do have a veteran presence out there in former starter and 3-time All-Star Jose Hernandes and they also have a promising young future starter in the 'pen in 22-year old Nick Wood.
But the defense behind the pitching staff is below average and the lineup isn't going to scare many opponents. And most of their starting position players are either approaching 30 or already over that age. Their minor league system is ranked 19th out of 24 in the WPK.
The window of opportunity for a Detroit championship is likely very small. And it will likely take some heroics, a bit of magic, and a whole lotta luck for Detroit to claim their first WPK championship.

[BirdWatcher]

This reporter doesn't regularly report on minor league awards voting, but it does seem relevant to bring to your attention that Bobby Mitten, currently on the Jacksonville Wolf Pack's playoff roster, won the KBL MVP award this season.





He got every single first place vote available, and I guess that shouldn't be surprising given his 39 home runs, .329/.419/.722 slash line, 6.3 WAR season. Having accumulated 114 plate appearances at the big league level in 1985, he once again got a late-season callup for 1986, this time racking up 129 PA's. He doesn't profile as being a great WPK player, but with his great power and good eye at the plate and with at least acceptable defense as a corner outfielder, he should have a chance at a larger role with the Wolf Pack in 1987. And for now we will see if he makes any post-season contributions this year.


A pair of Denver Brewer outfielders were 2nd and 3rd in the KBL MVP voting. Matt Turner, who hit .288/.356/.404 in 59 plate appearances with the Brewers this year (.301/.376/.568, 4.2 WAR at AAA Chester), finished 2nd and has a chance to compete for a backup outfield/DH role on next year's club. Dave Wofford finished 3rd in the voting (.361/.410/.500, 4.3 WAR in AAA). Wofford was not as good at the big league level as Turner, finishing with a slash line of .210/.258/.355, -0.2 WAR). At age 27, Wofford is most likely to be trade bait this offseason. He's a pretty good fielder (although error prone) at all 3 outfield positions and an above average contact hitter who should rarely strike out and has excellent speed. He has the potential to be at least an average big league starter or quite valuable 4th outfielder. But he won't likely do it wearing a Brewers uniform.

Other Brewers who got votes for this award for their play at AAA Chester include Sam Beverly (also 27, also likely trade bait), 23-year old outfielder Wayne LaCross, who has been moving up the ladder pretty quickly, hitting at every level, and has a chance to earn the starting left field job in Denver in the next few years, and 27-year old infielder Brad Hardee, who still has option years left and is a useful depth guy but is also eligible for minor league free agency at the end of the season and might be allowed to walk away.

[BirdWatcher]

Yours truly traveled to Chicago's Sears Stadium to watch game 1 of the SJL Championship Series and was treated to a great pitching duel, with the home club Chicago Fire and their starter Bill Johnson eking out a win over the Jacksonville Wolf Pack and their great young starter Casey Van Fossen. The only run scored came in the bottom of the 8th when Chicago third baseman Chris Martin, who hit just 8 regular season homers, led off the inning by hitting the second pitch he saw on a line into the right field seats.




Chicago closer Tyler Criss got himself into a bit of jam in the 9th but his defense helped him out by turning a double play after he allowed the lead-off single, and then after he walked a batter, he got power-hitting Paul Lewis to hit a fly out to right- a hit that looked a bit scary off the bat but fell well short of the wall, into the glove of George Brown, for the final out of the game.




Meanwhile, over in the MGL, a very different kind of game was playing out. Not surprisingly, particularly given that this one was transpiring in Phoenix, it was a slugfest, which the visiting Falcons won 10-8. Former Brewer minor leaguer Victor Oseguera, who has become a mainstay of the Phoenix offense over the past four seasons, hit a pair of home runs and three other Phoenix players also homered in the game, including rookie sensation Hyeong-uk Chun. But Detroit hit 4 homers of their own and scored 4 runs in the 7th inning which put them on top and then added 1 more in the 8th for good measure, holding on to win on the road in their first post-season game in franchise history.


EDIT: Clearly I was a bit tired when I posted this earlier and referred to Phoenix as the victor in this game. That has been changed above now.

[BirdWatcher]

For the next day of the playoffs I travelled out to the desert south west to watch the Phoenix Speed Devils take on the Detroit Falcons and look to even up the series.
And this time it was a more one-sided slug-fest with Phoenix accomplishing their task, knocking Detroit starter Marc Franks out in the 4th inning. Phoenix starter Rick Smiley walked 6 batters but otherwise was terrific, giving up just 2 runs on 2 hits over his 8 innings pitched. In spite of suffering from a sprained knee Jason Puglisi, Phoenix third baseman, clubbed two homers.





Meanwhile, in the Windy City, the reigning WPK champion Chicago Fire extended their series lead to 2-0 when they got to young Jacksonville starter David Parker early, sending him to the showers after just 2 innings pitched. Every batter in the Fire lineup had at least one hit and from 4 through 7 in the lineup, each batter had 2 hits.

[BirdWatcher]

In this post we will take a look at Zone Rating stats for WPK players, particularly by position, as a way of identifying the best defenders in WPK history up to this point.

ZR is not of course a stat that tells the entire story about defense and other factors should be considered, particularly at a position like catcher, but it is a pretty useful single signifier of defense, much like WAR is a useful single tool estimator of overall performance by a position player or pitcher.

Pitchers:

Best career ZR: Mike Hiatt, 17.6

Runners-up: Luis Ramirez, 16.3 and Jose Mendoza, 14.5

Worst career ZR: Reece Vaughan, -24.5

So, honestly, ZR isn't telling us that much about pitchers. Mostly what this seems to measure is longevity, with pitchers with the longest careers who were capable fielders atop the list of positive ZR numbers and pitchers who pitched a long time and didn't field their position well on the opposite end of this list.

Catchers:

Best Career ZR: Elvis Iniguez, 44.8

Runners-up: Tim Parades, 27.2 and Kevin Curtis, 25.4

Worst Career ZR: Tanner Rogers, -13.1

While there are other stats that need to be considered when it comes to catchers, like RTO% (Ricky Ruiz, with his 49.3% RTO ranks best among catchers with at least 200 games played at the position), CERA, etc., this one does pass the eye test. Elvis Iniguez is an 8-time Gold Glover and for most WPK observers and experts would be considered the best defender at his position in this era. Tim Parades has just 1 Gold Glove but given how weak his bat is, his 15 at least partial WPK seasons speaks to how valued his defensive skills have been. And former Brewer Kevin Curtis, who retired in 1983, played 13 seasons in the WPK, with a slash line of .213/.314/.322, 3 Gold Glove awards, a pair of championship rings, and nearly 1,300 starts at the position over his big league career. He now manages the AA Greenwich Battle Wings in the Portland organization.
On the other hand, Tanner Rogers had a career OPS+ of 104 with a stretch from age 26 through 29 when he was one of the best hitting catchers in the game.

First basemen:

Best Career ZR: Josh Schultz, 90.5

Runners-up: Byron Whitehead, 76.3 and Bobby Erbakan, 74.7

Worst Career ZR: Drew Johnson, -202.5 (!)

Schultz, who was originally a right fielder, won 2 Gold Gloves at first over the course of his long career. He is thought of more as a hitter but he has provided consistently great defense for most of his career. Whitehead has won 7 Gold Glove awards and is a current member of the Chicago Fire at age 35, still a premium defender and excellent contact hitter. And Bobby Erbakan, who played his entire career in Denver before retiring in 1985, won 6 Gold Gloves at first before moving to second base in the second half of his career, where he also put up good defensive numbers.
Drew Johnson hit 289 career home runs with a slash line of .290/.367/.466 and a career OPS+ of 135. In the pre-DH era he had to play somewhere for that bat to get into the lineup. So he played first base. Sort of.

Second basemen:

Best Career ZR: John Mussaw, 154.8

Runners-up: Bryan Perry, 94.0 and Bill Whetsel, 70.9

Worst Career ZR: Andres Gonzalez, -88.2

Mussaw is just a sure Hall of Fame first ballot inductee who likely would have been a career shortstop had he not played his entire career on the San Antonio Keys, where there is a guy at short named Bud Lindsay, the epitome of first ballot Hall of Famers. Mussaw has 8 Gold Glove awards in his trophy cabinet, along with his 2 SJL MVP awards, 3 Silver Sluggers, 1 Kinsella Classic Series MVP, not to mention being an All-Star 7 times and being the owner of 3 championship rings. At age 32, he is legitimate MVP candidate again this season. Bryan Perry, now playing in the independent Iowa Baseball Confederacy, won 7 Gold Gloves in the WPK, all of them as a member of the Los Angeles Spinners. And Bill Whetsel never won a Gold Glove, almost entirely because his career started the same season as Mussaw's and he also played in the SJL. He retired in 1984 after spending 7 seasons with the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, playing a slick second base but only putting up an OPS+ of 75.
On the negative end of the ZR spectrum, Andres Gonzalez was already 31 when the league began in 1965 so this stat might not be indicative of his peak-level defensive skills. He was a good enough hitter (career OPS+ of 112) that he hung around through his age 37 season and retired in 1972.

Third basemen:

Best Career ZR: Juan Mendoza, 109.9

Runners-up: Pat Crews, 77.8 and Greg Alwardt, 59.6

Worst Career ZR: Kasey O'Neil, -56.7

While Juan Mendoza is far from the best third baseman in WPK history (that would be one of the Jesus's- Hernandez or Casiano) there would be little controversy around handing him the title of best fielder at the position of his generation. At age 39, he played this past season with Portland and it won't be a surprise if that is his swan song. But over his 14 plus seasons in the WPK he has won 9 Gold Gloves and in spite of having a career OPS+ of just 81 he has put up 22.4 career WAR. Pat Crews is still a pretty fine player at age 33 and is currently a member of the Washington Night Train. He has 5 Gold Glove awards and remains a plus plus defender with a league average bat. And Greg Alwardt is still trying to hang around at age 37 and with a wrecked body. He has spent the past 3 seasons as a member of the independent league Wichita Outlaws. But at one time he was one of the stars of the game as a member of the Brooklyn Aces and he won 5 Gold Gloves, though the first of those was as a second baseman.
Kasey O'Neil was a potent batsman with 232 career homers, 457 career doubles, a 118 career OPS+, and 59.8 WAR over the course of 16 seasons in the WPK. He retired in 1985. His bat made up for his poor defense at the hot corner.

Shortstops:

Best Career ZR: Willie Romero, 211.6

Runners-up: Bud Lindsay, 180.3 and Curtis Przybylski, 105.3

Worst Career ZR: Kurt Joiner, -135.7

Current Denver Brewer shortstop Willie Romero is arguably the second best defensive player, at any position, in WPK history. Then again he is only 28 years old so how well he can sustain that level playing such a challenging position is yet to be established. On the other hand, at age 35, Bud Lindsay's reputation as the GOAT is solidified. In addition to all of his (too numerous to mention here) honors, Lindsay is a 7-time Gold Glover. (Romero has 5, so far.) Curtis Przybylski, who was briefly a Denver Brewer, is the proto-typical good field no hit middle infielder. He hasn't won any Gold Gloves but that is mostly because of more well-known competitors winning awards for which Przybylski was also a strong candidate.
Kurt Joiner led the league in doubles twice and triples once and put up a career OPS+ of 112 over 10 plus seasons in the WPK (he retired in 1981). He was an average center fielder and also played some left field and second base but the position he played most was shortstop, where he wasn't very good, obviously.

Left fielders:

Best Career ZR: Curtis Horah, 326.0

Runners-up: Matt Fleischman, 59.0 and Francis Estrada, 57.6

Worst Career ZR: Cody Kane, -163.7

Curtis Horah is the gold standard of defense in the WPK. The winner of 13 Gold Gloves, Horah took a relatively defensively unimportant position and worked pure magic to have an outsized impact on the game. He was also a pretty fine hitter with a career OPS+ of 122 and stole 424 bases. He finished his illustrious career with 88 WAR and while there are several Hall of Fame metrics in which he didn't score that well (87 HOF Monitor, 28 HOF Standards, 4 Black Ink points), he should go to the Hall if for no other reason than that he is the outlier of outliers when it came to defense. Horah is so much better than his nearest competitors at the position that there isn't much to say about them, although to be fair to Francis Estrada, he did win 4 Gold Gloves as a member of the Charlotte Sting in the 1960's.
Cody Kane is also a borderline Hall of Famer, but is something of the opposite of Horah, with a 140 OPS+, 344 career home runs, and a career slash line of .303/.350/.490, all of which, combined with his great leadership skills, help to gloss over his less than stellar defense.

Center fielders:

Best Career ZR: Quincy Schultz, 96.6

Runners-up: Heath Zwieg, 85.7 and Kyle Hanlon, 63.9

Worst Career ZR: John Hemmah, -94.8

The Schultz brothers both end up prominently featured in this post. The younger Schultz, Quincy is just 26 and is very injury prone. He remains a great fielder and already has 5 Gold Gloves as well as an MGL MVP award. But how well his body will hold up is questionable so this number may suffer hits eventually unless he is moved off the position. Heath Zwieg, at age 35, has only won 1 Gold Glove award but he's been a remarkably consistent player and a solid defender in center for the L.A. Spinners for the past decade plus. And Kyle Hanlon won 2 Gold Gloves as a member of the Portland Wild Things in the mid-70's but is now in the independent Iowa Baseball Confederacy and at age 35 looks unlikely to earn a return to the WPK before he retires.
John Hemmah is an excellent batter and an elite base stealer and runner who has led the league in stolen bases in 7 of his 10 seasons as a member of the Detroit Falcons. He probably stayed in center too long and is now primarily a right fielder, where he had a respectable 4.3 ZR this season.

Right fielders:

Best Career ZR: Pat Davis, 85.8

Runners-up: Jeremy Brigatti, 60.5 and Anthony Schaer, 55.4

Worst Career ZR: Bill Winchester, -167.1

Pat Davis, who retired in 1981, was an excellent fielder in left field as well (20.3 ZR over 380 games) and a decent center fielder, but made his mark mostly in right where he won 3 Gold Gloves. He was pretty much a league average hitter but it was his glove that kept him in the league for over a decade. Jeremy Brigatti could fly, leading the league in stolen bases 4 times, and he also put up 39.6 ZR in 914 games in left and 3.7 ZR in 34 games in center. The native of Melbourne, Australia retired in 1983 after a 13 year big league career, most of it with the Brooklyn Aces, where he often plagued the Denver Brewers. He also won 3 Gold Gloves, though the last one was for his play in left field. And Anthony Schaer, winner of 4 Gold Gloves, couldn't hit at the big league level (86 OPS+) but his defensive prowess allowed him to play parts of 10 WPK seasons.
Bill Winchester could flat out rake in his prime, leading the league in OPS twice, in RBI twice, in doubles twice, in runs scored and home runs once. Good thing too, since he was a lousy fielder. (Well, still is- he's trying to hang around in the minors at age 36.)


There are other defensive metrics we could spend some time on (like outfield assists) but those will need to wait for another post.


But I would like to conclude by listing the top 10 career ZR's in WPK history, which helps to capture some truths also about multi-positional players.


1- Curtis Horah, (LF/1B/CF/2B/RF), 323.5
2- Willie Romero, (SS/3B/LF/RF), 210.4
3- Bud Lindsay, (SS/CF), 180.3
4- John Mussaw, (2B/SS), 166.8
5- Bobby Erbakan, (1B/2B/3B/LF/CF), 123.7
6- Pat Davis, (RF/LF/CF/1B), 109.0
7- Curtis Przybylski, (SS/3B), 105.1
8- Juan Mendoza, (3B/SS), 104.4
9- Jeremy Brigatti, (LF/RF/CF), 103.5
10- David Flesh, (SS/2B/3B/CF), 103.5

[BirdWatcher]

This reporter took a flight east from Phoenix, Arizona to Jacksonville, Florida during the off-day in the playoff schedule.
And in a Saturday evening game in Fidelity Financial Stadium, the Chicago Fire moved one step closer to their second straight Kinsella Classic Series and the chance to defend their title.
Starter Mike Low scattered 10 hits over his 9 innings pitched, working out of several jams, particularly in the early innings (including working out of a bases loaded with one out situation in the bottom of the 1st inning), with some help from the terrific defense behind him, allowing just a single run in the game. Meanwhile, he was getting plenty of run support as the Fire opened the game with a pair of runs and then added 5 more in 6th inning and topped it off with 3 in the 7th to run away with the game and put themselves within a win of moving ahead. Pat Thompson and Alex Martinez both went 3 for 5 in the win for the visiting Fire.





Over in the MGL, and now up in Detroit, the underdog Detroit Falcons shut down the Phoenix offense (much better pitching environment in Detroit) to go up 2 games to 1 over the favored Speed Devils. Great start by young Andrew Carr in his first post-season appearance at the tender age of 23. Detroit had a balanced offensive attack with veteran catcher Zach D'Amico, a 6-time All-Star, contributing a 2 for 3 game with a double and an RBI.

[BirdWatcher]

Stayed in Jacksonville with Game 4 being a possible elimination game but apparently the Wolf Pack weren't prepared to just roll over and play dead. They jumped on Chicago starter Mike Fritzsche to the tune of 5 runs on 8 hits driving in out of the game before he completed the 2nd inning. Veteran second baseman Blake Muller led the way for Jacksonville with a 4 for 5 game and hit his 2nd homer of the series.
Chicago's offense did their best to stage a comeback, with veteran first baseman Jose Flores going 3 for 5 and hitting a home run and superstar shortstop Pat Thompson was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, but in the end the Fire fell just short and will have to wait at least one more day to clinch the series and continue their quest for a repeat championship.




Meanwhile, we are now facing a possible elimination game in the MGL also, with the surprising underdog Detroit Falcons now leading 3 games to 1. This was another great pitching matchup and it took a solo homer by veteran outfielder Eric Dougherty to walk it off for the Falcons in the bottom of the 12th inning. Dougherty's homer followed a one-out single by Travis Merrill but Merrill was caught stealing on the first pitch to Dougherty. Former Brewer (okay, let's face it, everyone in this paragraph so far is sort of a former Brewer, with Merrill having spent time in our minor league system) lefty starter Terry Dubiel was excellent in 7 innings for the no-decision and Phoenix starter Homare Matsumoto was nearly as good in 8 innings pitched.
In spite of being on the verge of moving on to the KCS, Detroit has a measure of pressure on them to win the next game, the final one in Detroit in this series, before returning to that hitter's paradise in Phoenix where the Speed Devils probably regain the advantage.

[BirdWatcher]

This reporter headed north to Detroit with the possibility of seeing the Falcons make more franchise history by advancing to their first Kinsella Classic Series. And sure enough, they got the job done in front of the home town fans.
Things got a bit dicey in the 8th inning when a 4-0 lead dwindled down to a narrow 1-run margin following a 3-run Hyeong-uk Chun home run, his 4th bomb of the series. But with Detroit's regular season closer Mike Brown on the IL, it was 22-year old Nick Wood who came through hugely for the Falcons, as he pitched the final inning and two thirds, striking out the side in the 9th to preserve the win and send the Falcons on to the KCS and the Speed Devils back to the desert, defeated.




Down in Jacksonville, in Game 5 of the SJL Championship Series, the Wolf Pack's ace Casey Van Fossen was excellent for 5 innings but had to leave the game with what later was identified as a minor abdominal strain. Great credit goes to veteran relief pitcher Zach Boris, not a guy used to being in the spotlight, who preserved the shutout with 4 innings of 2 hit ball (Van Fossen was hurling a no-hitter when he was forced to exit). Jacksonville also got offensive production from an unusual source in 29-year old shortstop Erik Sams, who went 3 for 4 and hit his first post-season homer.



The series will now return to Chicago with the Fire still holding a 3 games to 2 lead but having lost 2 straight.