Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

[BirdWatcher]

You know how sometimes a team just seems to forget how to win (see the current Colorado Rockies for an example)?
Well, right now the Denver Brewers seem to have completely forgotten how to lose. In fact, they don't even seem capable of losing.
That's how crazy things are right now in the MGL.

So- three games against the ever tough Brooklyn Aces.

Game 1: Denver-8, Brooklyn-6. The game goes into the bottom of the 7th inning with the Brewers losing 6-1. Brooklyn has one of the most talented bullpens in the league. Looks like the winning streak is over. Wait. Not so fast. Brewers plate 7 runs in the 7th. Another crazy win. Erik Sloan didn't pitch very well- giving up 6 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings pitched- but the offense gives him a win anyway and he improves to 3-2 with a 4.93 ERA. The bullpen continues to be great and wraps it up- Jordan Stephens getting his 1st hold and Liann-wei getting his 2nd save (1.08 ERA.) The Brewers scored their 8 runs on just 8 hits but they drew 10 walks in the game. Mike Foster (.365/.421/.625) hit his 11th double of the season and Joe McPhillips (.301/.368/.534) hit his 7th.


Game 2: Denver-4, Brooklyn-3. It took 11 innings but of course Denver prevailed in the end. Because, well, that's what they do. Steve Green pitched another great game although he didn't get the decision. He worked 8 innings, scattering 9 hits but allowing just 2 runs while striking out 7 and walking none. His ERA improves to 2.64. Mike "Hero" Foster (.376/.429/.624) continued his great campaign, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI, hitting the walk off single in the 11th that won it. Sam Pruiett got the win in relief and is now 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA. And Joe McPhillips, who might not have the gaudiest numbers on the team but in many ways has probably been the team MVP with his all-around play, went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored, and hit his 6th HR of the season. He also threw out the speedy Felix Lopez at home plate, a play which directly contributed to the game going into extra innings. Bobby Erbakan (.310/.369/.550) went 2 for 5, both of his hits doubles to get him to 10 for the season. Basically, the Brewers own the leader boards in the MGL in this category.


Game 3: Denver-8, Brooklyn-6. The Brewers trailed 6-3 at mid-way point of this game. And naturally clawed their way back to tie it up at 6-6 before scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to get the win. They did get a big scare in this one as the captain, Matt Helm, off to a great start, had to leave the game due to injury in the 4th inning. Fortunately, the sore elbow he is experiencing is not thought to be serious and is expected to sideline him only a few days. Eric Johnson gave up a big 3-run HR in relief of Helm but the Brewers offense fought back and Jordan Stephens gave the team a solid 2 1/3rd innings of work to get the victory, improving to 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA. Stephens also went 2 for 2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI. Liann-wei Hua came on to get the final 2 outs and gets his 3rd save (1.00 ERA). Joe McPhillips (.315/.378/.586) was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and hit his 7th HR of the season to give the Brewers the lead in the 8th, the hit that would prove to be the game winner. Professional hitter Andrew Kennedy (.383/.398/.522) was 4 for 5 in the game and hit 2 doubles to get to 11 for the season. Bobby Erbakan (.314/.371/.571) hit his 5th HR of the season, went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI.


Okay, this is just getting insane! But boy is it fun right now.

The only thing keeping the Brewers from completely running away from the pack in the MGL is the continued fine play of the Charlotte Sting, who at 19-12 are 5 1/2 games behind Denver. After that the best team is Phoenix at 15-15 and 9 games out.

[pauwoo]

That 7 run 7th was pure magic. Great run for the Brew Crew.

[Palaaemon]

Test 'em! Test them all!!!!

Now we return you to the Mitchell Report.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

That 7 run 7th was pure magic. Great run for the Brew Crew.

Yeah, this whole stretch is pretty much pure magic. Though it also makes me appreciate even more just how spectacular that 35-5 start was for the 1984 Tigers. I feel like this is unreal and nearly impossible and it still isn't as good as what that team did.

Anyway, clearly we are playing way over our heads right now and eventually will return to earth. We can't expect Steve Green, Matt Helm, or even Cheol-han Lee, as great as he is, to keep up this pace. And of course the great starts by Jonathan Koch and Mike Foster are unsustainable. And although Ryan Rodgers remains a superstar in terms of ratings, as great as he is the numbers he has put up this year are cartoonish and a reversion to the mean, even if for him that is still very good, is inevitable.
Then again, there are Brewers who are under-performing compared to their career averages: Chad Brown, Kevin Curtis, Harry Lyerly, and Erik Sloan. And others who are performing pretty close to expected norms for them: Bobby Erbakan, Joe Willemse, Josh Schaeffer. While the bullpen has been very good, it doesn't seem that far out of line from what one would expect from this group.

Again, as I mentioned above, to me the biggest difference is the guy manning center field: Joe McPhillips. He is finally coming into his own this year and nothing that he is doing seems out of line with his ratings and the potential that has been foretold for him for awhile. He is a true 5-tool player and has shown them all this season. If the Brewers do end up winning the MGL and even possibly their second WPK Championship, I suspect the biggest reason will be the maturation of this young budding superstar.

[BirdWatcher]

With the excitement of the now 13-game winning streak for Denver, I've fallen a bit behind in reporting news around the league.

Let's start with the fact that the past two weeks a different member of the Denver Brewers has been named the MGL Player of the Week.
First, two weeks ago, it was outfielder Ryan Rodgers.
Then, this past week, his fellow left fielder Andrew Kennedy.



I guess when a team is this hot it shouldn't be a surprise that there are players putting up impressive numbers.

[BirdWatcher]

Veteran Charlotte Sting hurler Eduardo Amaro has announced that he will call it quits on his professional baseball career at the end of the current season.


Amaro, currently working out of the Charlotte bullpen, much to his dismay, has had a checkered, but fascinating WPK career. Twice the soft-spoken (some would say introverted) Amaro has led the league in losses and he has always been prone to giving up the long-ball, leading the SJL in that dubious category in 1970 when he allowed 35 homers. He also led the league in walks allowed that year with a whopping 128.
On the other hand, for three seasons- from 1966 through 1968- it could be argued he was one of the more dominant starting pitchers in the game. He went 21-11 with a 2.89 ERA in 1967 as the clear ace of the 4th place Pittsburgh Roadrunners. He followed that up with a 18-12, 2.23 performance in 1968. (Admittedly, this was a year of dominant pitching, but his numbers are still not to be sneered at.) Amaro led the league in strikeouts in 1966 and was among the leaders the following 2 years as well, with his highest total coming in 1968 when he fanned 219 batters.



He has also been one of the best hitting pitchers in the game, having won 6 Silver Slugger awards in his 10 WPK seasons. In 1972 he put up a slash line of .296/.345/.383 in 94 plate appearances. And his 3 Gold Glove awards testify to his overall athleticism.

Although Amaro appears to be limping towards the finish line of his career, with 10 years in the bigs and a WAR of 21.5 he can certainly say he accomplished far more than most who have the honor of playing the great game of baseball for a living.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, all good things must come to an end eventually. Even, and maybe especially, 13 game winning streaks in the WPK.
It's just unfortunate that this one came to an end with such a resounding thud.
The Brewers came to Charlotte the owners of a 13-game win streak to face the 2nd place Sting who themselves had won 3 straight. And the Brewers leave Charlotte having helped the Sting extend their streak to 6 in a row.

Early season winning streaks can be awfully fun but this is a lesson in just how quickly the advantage they afford a team can melt away. The Brewers now lead the Sting by only 2 1/2 games in the suddenly once again very competitive MGL.

Of course, losses can be instructive too, and hopefully the Brewers will learn from being on the wrong end of this series sweep. And as often is the case, there were silver linings to these clouds as well. More about that below.

So, in game 1 Cheol-han Lee suffered his first loss of the 1974 season. The unheralded but rather potent Sting lineup- led by Rule 5 pick up Bill Burkart, talented rookie right fielder Tom Williams, young budding superstar center fielder Jose Gutierrez, and veteran second baseman Amari Williams- got to the Brewers ace for 4 runs on 8 hits in his 6 innings pitched as the Sting prevailed 4-1. Lee drops to 5-1 on the season with a 2.38 ERA. Jonathan Koch (.357/.385/.482) was the only Brewer who managed to get more than a single hit, as he collected 2 singles in 4 at-bats.

The Game 1 Silver Lining: Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch- but interestingly starter Cheol-han Lee and reliever Jordan Stephens, who pitched the last 2 innings, end the game with identical ERA's (2.38). So maybe there is the silver lining, regarding Stephens. After a rather rough outing several weeks ago his ERA had inflated quite a bit but with another strong couple of innings in this one he seems to have returned to the form we have become accustomed to.


Game 2 was a pitching duel between Harry Lyerly and the talented young Charlotte knuckleballer Lienhart Brown. The game went to the bottom of the 9th tied 0-0 (Jamel McNeil having replaced Brown in the 7th inning before giving way to former Brewer Josh Morrow in the 9th). Harry Lyerly, having plenty left in the tank, was still on the mound in the 9th and got the lead-off hitter to bounce into a harmless grounder- well, harmless enough until it was mis-played by shortstop Chad Brown. The next hitter laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second and Lyerly gave way to left handed reliever Liann-wei Hua to face the tough lefty hitter Tom Williams. Perhaps Lyerly should have stayed in the game. Hua threw a wild pitch with a 2-2 count to move the runner to third, and then gave up the game-winning single.
Oh, and the Brewers managed only 1 hit in the game- a Ryan Rodgers single in the 6th inning.

The Game 2 Silver Lining: This one should be obvious. Harry Lyerly took the loss, one he really didn't deserve. But he pitched by far his best game of the season yet, against a very fine hitting team in a hitter's park. Lyerly gave up no earned runs in his 8 1/3rd innings pitched, allowing just 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the season.


Veteran left-handed starter Erik Sloan continues his early struggles as he allows Charlotte to score 5 runs in the 2nd inning and another in the 3rd. Sloan gives up the 6 runs on 7 hits in his 5 innings pitched. Sloan, normally known for his great control, also walked 6 batters while striking out just 4. Sloan takes the loss and moves to 3-3 on the year with an ugly 5.55 ERA. Ryan Rodgers (.448/.560/.540) continues his fine season with a 2 for 4 day at the plate and an outfield assist, throwing out Matt Sisk at home plate from his spot in left field. Bobby Erbakan (.299/.352/.530) also went 2 for 4 in the loss.

The Game 3 Silver Lining: Eric Johnson, who hasn't pitched much yet this season but has been hit hard in his two previous appearances, pitched a strong 3 innings in this one. His ERA drops from 12.46 to a somewhat less horrible 7.36.

[BirdWatcher]

The Charlotte Sting, who just defeated the Brewers in 3 straight games, should be an interesting club this season. Pre-season predictions had them in the middle of the pack at .500.
But there is certainly the possibility of them exceeding this by a good deal.
As mentioned previously, they made a shrewd decision to pick up outfielder Bill Burkart in the Rule 5 draft this past off-season and he is providing great value (.306/.352/.433) in the middle of their order. He also gives them another sparkplug on the field (along with third baseman Ryan Martin.) 25-year old Tom Williams is having a fine rookie season (.327/.377/.434) and is a strong-armed fielder who rarely makes mistakes even is his range isn't spectacular. And speedy, toolsy 22-year old center field Jose Gutierrez is already established as the team captain. The only thing that keeps him from being a true 5-tool superstar is his weak throwing arm (though his HR power potential is probably only slightly above average as well.)



With spectacular middle infielders Mike Potter (shortstop) and David Flesh (second baseman, but who has won 2 Gold Gloves, 1 at second and 1 playing shortstop), they are a solid defensive team.

And they have a talented and pretty deep starting rotation. Durable 25-year old Mike Hiatt has shown that on his best days he is un-hittable, as he has 2 no-hitters already in his career, one of them a Perfect Game. And 27-year old Jalen Cotton is off to a great start this season. Other than indications that he might be a bit of a jerk, the biggest weakness for Cotton is that his 3rd pitch is a rather undeveloped curveball. The wild card for the Sting rotation is ace Lienhart Brown. The 23-year old native of Germany, who was the 1st overall pick in the 1969 draft, is extremely gifted but also, unusually for a knuckleballer, is very injury prone. A serious injury to Brown (or also fragile 5th starter Dean Olson, who is pitching very well) could change the complexion of the Sting season entirely.


The bullpen isn't great, but it is anchored by almost sure future HOF'er Jamel McNeil. McNeil is off to a bad start but has pitched well of late and when he gets into a groove he can be a shut-down multi-inning stopper. But he is also disruptive as heck.

So, if Charlotte can stay healthy and if they don't succumb to the potential for dissension with one of the most disruptive clubhouse influences in the game (McNeil) and a few other potentially troublesome (outspoken) players (Cotton, 4th starter Nick McDermott) and the selfish reliever Bill Campbell, as well as a few likable players who are known to not be very bright (David Flesh, Amari Williams, catcher Jessie Parsons), the Sting could be very good this year and into the future.
Then again, if injury strikes and morale sinks, so could this team.

[stevem810]

Brewers...on fire.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

Brewers...on fire.

Well, they were. Until they suddenly went cold.
More to report soon of a mixed nature.
But might be a few days as I have come down with a bad cold that has my brain pretty fuzzy and I want to pause a bit and take a deeper look at the recently announced draft class.

[BirdWatcher]

Perhaps a 3-game series in Detroit against the 9th place Falcons will get the Brewers back on the winning track.

In game 1, not so much. The Brewers do score 2 runs in the top of the 9th to turn a 4 run deficit into a 2 run deficit, but it ends there with Detroit taking the game 5-3. This loss certainly can't be laid at the fleet feet of center fielder Joe McPhillips (.304/.371/.568) who went 3 for 4 in the game with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI and hit his 8th HR of the season. McPhillips also picked up his 6th stolen base of 1974. Starting pitcher Steve Green gave up 5 runs on 8 hits (including 2 HR's) in 7 2/3rds innings and took the loss to drop to 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA.



The Brewers offense came to life again in game 2, especially in the final 2 innings when they plated 3 and 4 runs respectively. The first four batters in the Brewers lineup in this one- Josh Schaeffer (4 for 4), Joe McPhillips (2 for 4), Bobby Erbakan (3 for 6) and Jonathan Koch (2 for 5)- combined to go 11 for 19 on the day with 9 runs scored and 9 RBI. Erbakan (.313/.360/.555) hit his 6th HR, and 3rd Grand Slam, of the season. Jonathan Koch (.331/.360/.446) drove in 4 runs and hit his 6th double. Captain Matt Helm continues to have a great season as he worked 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 2. He improves to 4-1 with a 2.17 ERA. Brewers win 12-2.



Having snapped a 4-game losing streak with a convincing game 2 victory, the Brewers are unable to get the series victory as they fall in extra innings in the rubber match of the series. The Brewers scored 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning to erase a 3-0 deficit and the game heads to extras tied 3-3. The Brewers put together a rally in the top of the 10th, with some help from the Detroit defense, to take a 4-3 lead. But then the normally steady Denver bullpen is unable to close things out in the bottom the inning as Eric Marino gives up the tying run and then Sam Pruiett allows the only batter he faces, Shawn Hanl, to triple in the game-winning tally. Brewers lose 5-3. They ruined an excellent start by Justin Peacock in the process. Peacock went 7 innings, giving up 3 runs but only 1 earned, on 4 hits while striking out 5 and walking none. He gets a no-decision but has an excellent 2.00 ERA on the season thus far. Joe McPhillips (.306/.377/.560) was only 1 for 5 in the game but his one hit was his 8th double of the season and tied the game at 3-3 when he drove in 2 runs.



In spite of losing the series, the Brewers get a bit of a break in the standings as Charlotte loses 3 straight and now trails the Brewers by 3 games. On the other hand, both Brooklyn and L.A. are streaking a bit again and are in a tie for 4th place, 6 games back.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers return home to Denver and start their 9-game home stand with 3 against the Portland Wild Things.

In game 1, in spite of some strong pitching by ace Cheol-han Lee, things aren't looking good for the Brewers heading into the bottom of the 8th as they trail 2-0. But then they manage to scrape together a walk and 3 singles with a few productive outs (yes, probably a misnomer, but let's go with it) to score 3 runs and they hold on to win 3-2. Cheol-han doesn't get the decision but only allows 2 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings, striking out 6 and walking none. His ERA now stands at 2.40. Jordan Stephens pitches 2 effective innings to get the win and improves to 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.331/.375/.564) went 3 for 4 with an RBI. And Mike Foster (.357/.418/.563) hit his 12th double of the season.


The Brewers bats really came alive in the second game, especially in the 6 run 4th inning, and they won easily, 13-4. Kevin Curtis (.167/.293/.271) has seen his playing time reduced dramatically with the good start by young Zacarias Martell, but Curtis got the start in this one and made it pay off by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored, 4 RBI, hitting his first 2 doubles of the season and his first HR, a 4th inning Grand Slam. Erik Sloan once again wasn't particularly sharp- allowing 4 runs on 8 hits over 7 2/3rds innings pitched, although he did strike out 9 batters and leads the league in that category. He got the win and improves to 4-3 with a 5.43 ERA. Veteran outfielder Ryan Rodgers (.441/.548/.514) continues his assault on MGL pitching and went 3 for 6 in the game with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI (he maintains a healthy lead in the batting average race in the MGL). Mike Foster (.369/.432/.592) also stays hot, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored, hitting his 2nd triple of the season and 13th double.


Unfortunately, after he had his best outing of the season in his last start, Harry Lyerly's 1974 struggles return in game 3 as he gives up 6 runs on 7 hits (2 HR's, both by Portland star slugger Chris Tobin) and the Brewers go down by a score of 6-4. Lyerly falls to 3-4 with a 5.32 ERA. Chad Brown (.239/.276/.315), who like Kevin Curtis is off to a very poor start and finds himself getting far less playing time than he is accustomed to, had a decent game, going 2 for 4, scoring 2 runs, and hitting his 2nd triple of the season.


After taking 2 of 3 from the lowly Wild Things, the Brewers are now 3 games ahead of second place Charlotte and 6 1/2 ahead of third place Brooklyn.

[BirdWatcher]

Next up for the Brewers at home: the 7th place Detroit Falcons.

And game one of this series is probably a prime example of a truth that is becoming more and more evident as this season proceeds: if the Brewers don't win the MGL this season it will almost surely be because the starting pitching let them down.
In this game, Steve Green let the Falcons score 5 times before even recording a single out (though the 5th run was due to an error, so it wasn't all on him.) Before the top of the 1st was over the Brewers were already down 7-0. Green got off to about the same kind of start in the 2nd and was pulled before recording an out in that frame, having allowed 10 runs- 7 of them earned- in 1 official inning pitched, on 7 hits (2 HR's) and 4 walks. His replacement, Justin Peacock, would give up 3 more runs in 2 innings pitched. After that the bullpen was mostly quite good. And the Brewers battled back and finished the game with the tying run at the plate. The final score was Detroit- 14, Denver- 12. Mike Foster (.377/.439/.609) was one of the hitting stars for the Brewers in the loss, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 4 driven in and hitting his 5th HR of the season. Ryan Rodgers (.451/.547/.531) contributed a 4 for 6 game and hit his 5th double of the season.


The Brewers bounce back with much better pitching, and still quite a bit of offense, in the second game of the series. Matt Helm works the first 5 innings before needing to leave the game with a tired arm, but any problem he was having wasn't evidence in his performance, as he allowed just 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 4 and walking none. The Brewers gave him early run support as they scored 5 times in the 1st and went on to win 8-1. Helm improves to 5-1 with a 2.13 ERA. Fortunately he is expected to be fully recovered in time for his next scheduled start. Eric Johnson came in to pitch the final 4 innings and did a fine job, allowing just a single hit and 1 walk while shutting down the opposition. He gets his 1st save of the season and dropped his ERA down to 3.95. Outfielder John Flores (.360/.385/.600) got a rare start and made the most of it, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI and hitting his 2nd HR of the season. Joe McPhillips (.302/.367/.528) went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and hit his 10th double of 1974.


The Brewers got the series victory with a 5-2 win behind staff ace Cheol-han Lee in the rubber match. Cheol-han lasted 8 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 7 and walking none. Liann-wei Hua gave up a HR in his 1 inning pitched but then shut things down to preserve the victory for Cheol-han. Lee improves to 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA. He also went 2 for 3 at the plate and hit his 2nd double of the season. Joe McPhillips (.307/.370/.546) was 2 for 4 and hit his team-leading 9th HR, this one of the inside-the-park variety. Mike Foster (.384/.442/.623) was also 2 for 4 and hit his 6th HR of the 1974 season.


The Brewers remain 3 1/2 games ahead of Charlotte and 5 1/2 ahead of Brooklyn. They next face the L.A. Spinners, who currently sit in 4th place, 6 games behind Denver.

[BirdWatcher]

As his terrific start to the 1974 season continues, Brewers third baseman Mike Foster once again gets MGL Player of the Week honors.


While it is highly unlikely that Foster can keep this up all season long, it is pretty impressive that here we are just a few days away from the start of the month of June and Foster is second in the MGL to teammate Ryan Rodgers in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He leads the league in Slugging at .599 with his 6 home runs and 2nd best in the MGL 13 doubles. He leads the Brewers and is 3rd in the MGL in hits with 59. He is 4th in ISO and 4th in WAR (2 of the 3 players ahead of him are also Brewers- Ryan Rodgers in 1st and Bobby Erbakan in 3rd.)

[BirdWatcher]

The Milwaukee Cadets, currently sinking towards the bottom of the SJL standings, suffer a real blow when their talented young closer Antonio Gonzalez is lost for the season due to a torn rotator cuff.
Gonzalez was originally drafted by the L.A. Spinners in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 1971 draft and was traded to the Cadets in the off-season along with defensive specialist infielder Juan Moreno for veteran shortstop Alvin Delgado.


It is a deal that could still pay off handsomely for the Cadets in the future, but for now they will have to wait to see if the 21-year old closer can come back strongly in 1975 and avoid serious injury in the future.

[BirdWatcher]

In a tough blow for the reigning WPK champion Jacksonville Wolf Pack, their 27-year old first baseman, off to a great start this season and leading the SJL in batting average at .401- second best in all of the WPK to Denver's Ryan Rodgers- is suffering with a strained abdominal muscle and is expected to be out of commission for up to 5-6 weeks.



Jacksonville is currently in the middle of the pack in the SJL at 4 games over .500 and this injury might further complicate their attempt to repeat as SJL champs.

[BirdWatcher]

Former Denver Brewer Pat Rondeau, who had been scuffling at the plate the first three weeks of May, has been heating up again and had a 5 for 5 day this past week.



In a related note, former Brewer Ruben Souffront has also been hitting well for his new team, the Columbus Whalers, though still mostly not in a starting role. Unfortunately for the Whalers, Souffront's fine hitting hasn't helped them avoid a 15-game losing streak, which is ongoing.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers concluded the 9-game home stand with 3 games against the Los Angeles Spinners.

The Spinners great starting pitching- on this day in the person of Kerry Krieg- shuts down the Brewers offense almost entirely and the Spinners win game 1, 3-0. Krieg gets the complete game shutout while allowing only 5 hits to the Brewers with the only extra base hit being an Oscar Vargas double (his 2nd of the season.) Erik Sloan pitched well enough for a win in this one had he received the usual Brewers run support. He gave them 7 1/3rd innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. He falls to 4-4 with a 5.23 ERA.


Oddly enough the Brewers find their offense again against the Spinners veteran ace, and possible HOF'er, Jose Santos. Santos comes into the game with a 6-3 record and a wonderful 2.48 ERA and then gives up 8 runs on 8 hits in just 1 inning pitched (he lasted into the 2nd inning but didn't get an out in that frame before being pulled). The Brewers win 12-3. Steve Green gets the start, and the win, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 2/3rds inning pitched, with 5 strikeouts and no walks allowed. He improves to 5-3 with a 4.22 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.342/.391/.594) went 2 for 5 in the game with 4 RBI, hitting his 3rd triple and 7th HR of the season. John Flores (.333/.371/.606) getting a few more starts recently (with the Brewers facing a few more left-handed starters) continues to shine. He went 2 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI and hit his 3rd HR of 1974. Ryan Rodgers (.452/.550/.532) continues to roll as he went 2 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 2 walks in the game.


Unfortunately for the home crowd, the Brewers offense was once again slowed to a crawl by a Spinner starter- this time the unheralded 5th starter, John Tegel- and they lose to L.A. by a score of 2-1. The game went into the 9th with L.A. leading 1-0 but reliever Jordan Stephens gave up a solo HR to Spinners left fielder Alex Meza. While the Brewers got a run back in the bottom of the 9th thanks to Joe McPhillips hitting his team-leading 10th HR, that was all they could manage and they drop a series to the oncoming Spinners, who are now just 5 games behind Denver. What a tough loss for Brewers starter Harry Lyerly, who bounced back well in this one, allowing just 1 run on 7 hits while striking out 7 and walking 2. Lyerly takes the loss and drops to 3-5 with a 4.86 ERA. It was only the 2nd start of the season for Lyerly in which he hasn't allowed a single HR. Ryan Rodgers (.453/.548/.539) is the only Brewers who had multiple hits in the game as he went 2 for 4 and hit his 7th double.

[BirdWatcher]

So here we are in the midst of the 10th season of the WPK and I find myself looking forward to the possible first several Hall of Fame inductions and wondering which of the first wave WPK'ers (players chosen in the inaugural draft who played in the WPK from season 1 (1965)) might merit a place in the Hall.

Now I should say that I haven't exactly decided when the WPK Hall of Fame will be opening and when the first inductees will be enshrined. And it is too early, ten seasons in, to have any firm knowledge of who might qualify.
But some good guesses can start to be made at this point.

Last night I found myself looking at a handful of the most likely candidates (particularly based upon career WAR numbers) and put their careers thus far through the Bill James Hall of Fame Monitor calculations to see how they might measure up.

And the way things look right now it seems clear that starting pitchers Cheol-han Lee and Jake Harris are near locks for the Hall.
While the Brewers Cheol-han has a bit of a lead in WAR over Harris, it is Harris who has the best total in the HOF Monitor calculations, at 138. And actually, it is surely a bit higher than that as I didn't quite dig deep enough to see how many World Series starts or wins he has. Cheol-han was next at 124 1/2. Interestingly the 3rd member of the so-called Big 3 among WPK aces, Chris Hernandez, is sitting at a somewhat underwhelming 78. Given that Hernandez is the oldest of the 3 and showing signs of decline with age, my guess is that he won't quite make the Hall.
Cheol-han is the youngest of the 3 and considered an Iron Man and has shown almost no sign of degradation of skills. So his number will surely grow and he's nearly into sure thing territory as it is.
It will be interesting to see what happens with Jose Santos, the veteran ace of the L.A. Spinners. At the moment his HOF Monitor score sits at 68 but even though he is a bit older than Cheol-han he also remains a durable and valuable pitcher on a very talented team and still has time to raise his total closer to the expected HOF value. In addition, Santos is one of the most revered players in the WPK and this will likely add to his HOF chances if he is on the fence in terms of statistical credentials.

As for position players, I was a bit surprised to find that the speedy Brooklyn centerfielder Felix Lopez had the highest total at 177. Lopez is in his early 30's now and showing some signs of slowing down but still a fine hitter and valuable defender. It should be noted that he gets a big boost from currently having a lifetime batting average over .330 and there is surely no guarantee that will still be true by the time he retires. But even without those points, he is a sure HOF'er.
The next best total belonged to L.A. left fielder Travis Johnson at 159. Johnson also might lose his career .330+ batting average boost, but he is still a star player and there is little chance that he won't end up in the HOF.

Corner infielder Jesus Casiano, currently with the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, is the biggest power hitter among the likely 1st wave HOF'ers. With some good points coming from his RBI's and HR's, he totals 137 at this point and is surely headed towards eventual enshrinement.

Brewers outfielder Ryan Rodgers is at 116, but although he is 35 years old, he remains one of the best contact hitters in the game as well as a fine defender, and it is almost a sure thing that he will be voted into the Hall.

An interesting case is that of middle infielder Andy "Lemonhead" Wilson. Wilson was already in the prime of his career when the WPK formed and he was clearly the premiere superstar of the league in the early years. Wilson is now in serious decline and retirement looks to be on the near horizon. His HOF Monitor score is 110. HOF material, but on the low end of the spectrum in terms of being a sure thing. Still, my sense is that a WPK Hall of Fame without Andy Wilson would be a bit of a sham and he should end up safely enshrined as one of the WPK 1st wave greats.

I didn't get around to adding up the numbers for closer Jamel McNeil. But given that he is probably the reliever who all future WPK relievers will be measured against, I'm sure he's in as well.

Much can happen still and all of this is speculation, but given the evidence at hand it appears quite likely that the group above will be part of, if not the entirety of, the earliest WPK players to reach the pinnacle of success and earn their spot in the WPK Hall of Fame.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers end the month of May and step into June with a 3-game series at Phoenix against the power hitting Speed Devils.
Early in the history of the Phoenix franchise the nickname Speed Devils was appropriate, as they did indeed swipe a lot of bases and possess a great deal of speed. But the Phoenix club of the past several years would probably be more properly called the Phoenix Punishers for the way they punish baseballs left too fat or flat in the zone.
They really aren't that talented a team, but boy can they mash. And with the majority of their power coming from the left-side of the plate, it is common that you find yourself out of left-handed pitchers late in the game, knowing that almost no lead is safe and with a parade of power hitting lefties due up.

Which is all to say, this wasn't a very comfortable series for the Brewers manager, his players, or Denver fans everywhere.
But in the end, it was not a bad series either. With one big caveat, to be revealed below.

In game 1, the Speed Devils hit just a pair of home runs- both of Brewers ace Cheol-han Lee, who is normally so good at keeping balls in the park- and scored 4 runs but their 30-year old rookie, signed in the off-season out of Cuba, Hector Hard, shut down the Brewers and the Speed Devils won 4-1. Lee drops to 6-2 but his ERA stays an impressive 2.18 as only 1 of the 4 runs he allowed was earned. Joe McPhillips (.310/.372/.563) collected 2/3rds of the Brewers hits in the game, going 2 for 4, scoring the lone Brewer run, and hitting his 2nd triple of the season. He also threw out a runner at home plate.


The Brewers got a narrow victory in a back and forth game 2 and won 7-6. Matt Helm struggled with his control in this one, walking 6 batters in his 5 innings, giving up 4 runs on 5 hits and sees his ERA rise to 2.59. Young left-handed reliever Jeremy Walker, recently called up from AAA to take the place of fellow lefty Eric Marino, who had to go on the 10-day IL with a strained back, got an undeserved win in this one, in spite of 2 runs on 3 hits in an inning and 2/3rds. He improves to 1-0 but has an ERA of 7.71. Jaden Francis pitches the final 2 innings brilliantly to earn his 5th save and improve his ERA to 0.64. Bobby Erbakan (.335/.385/.587) hit his 8th HR of the season and went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and a walk. Young catcher Zacarias Martell (.258/.393/.337) continues to have a solid rookie season both at the plate and behind it and went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and hit his 4th double.


Game 3 is much like the game preceding it: back-and-forth, high scoring, and ends with the Brewers holding on to a narrow victory, 8-6. Erik Sloan got the start for the Brewers, worked 6 innings giving up 4 runs, though none earned, on 9 hits, and got a no-decision. Sam Pruiett, who came on for the final inning and a third and pitched well, got the win and improves to 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA. Mike Foster (.376/.434/.582), showing no signs of slowing down with the calendar having flipped to June (he was 2 for 5 the day before), went 3 for 5 in the game. Joe McPhillips (.308/.374/.549) collected just a single hit but scored 3 times, drove in 2 runs, and earned his 18th walk of the season. Unfortunately, (and here is the biggest loss of the series), he also had to leave the game after injuring himself running the bases. He has been diagnosed with an oblique strain and is expected to miss 2 weeks. Joe Willemse (.291/.333/.388) had a nice couple of games in the series and in this one went 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 2 RBI.


With the series victory the Brewers are now 4 games ahead of the 2nd place Charlotte Sting, and have a 6 game lead on Oklahoma City, Phoenix, and L.A.