Your Expansion Seattle Mariners!!!

[BoilerRocketScientist]

CatKnight, that's essentially what I do. I'll let the AI auto-sim if I'm doing well but I tend to take the wheel if we're close or behind. I do get annoyed when my starter gets shelled in the second inning and the AI inserts my setup reliever to pitch.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

This game (the first playoff game in the history of the Seattle franchise) features a matchup between the Yankees’ Ron Guidry (21-7, 2.95) and Floyd Bannister (14-10, 3.88).

The game got off to a rocky start as Bannister gave up 2 runs in the top of the first to New York. After retiring the first 2 batters, Bannister gave up a walk to Don Money followed by 3 straight singles to Mike Schmidt, Carlton Fisk (1 RBI), and Joe Wallis (1 RBI). We responded in the bottom of the first when Bill Buckner’s 2-out double scored Paul Molitor who led off the game with a single.

A leadoff single by Don Money in the 5th followed by a 2-run homer by Mike Schmidt gave New York a 4-1 lead going into the bottom of the 5th inning. But, Seattle responded in the bottom of the 5th when a 2-out double by Dave Stapleton scored John Stearns to reduce New York’s lead to 4-2 after 5 innings. In the top of the 6th, Steve Foucault came in after Bannister (5.1, 9 hits, 4 runs, 6 K’s, 2 BB’s, 1 HR) gave up a 1-out single to Ken Reitz. Foucault got into trouble after a single and a walk brought up Mike Schmidt with the bases loaded and 2 out. Disaster was averted as Schmidt grounded out to Dave Stapleton to get Foucault out of the jam.

Seattle tied it up 4-4 in the bottom of the 6th when Ron Guidry gave up a lead-off homer to Richie Zisk followed by a 1-out homer by Dave Winfield. Then, the Mariners were able to knock Guidry out of the game in the bottom of the 7th when they scored 2 runs to take a 6-4 lead. John Stearns led off the 7th with an opposite field homer run just over the fence in right field. Later, Ruppert Jones singled with one out to plate Paul Molitor who had doubled earlier. Jones’ double sent Guidry (0-1, 6.1 innings, 10 his, 6 runs, 5 K’s, 1 BB, 3 HR’s) to the showers and brought in left-hander Dave Rucker to finish out the 7th.

The Yankees got the score to 6-5 by scoring 1 run in the top of the 8th. Rich Gossage came in with 1 out and Ken Reitz on first and proceeded to give up a pair of 2-out singles to Don Money and Mike Schmidt, the second of which scored Reitz. With 2 on and 2 out, Gossage coaxed Carlton Fisk to ground out to Tim Wallach to end the game.

In the top of the 9th, Seattle brought in rookie closer Tom Gorman (3-2, 0.88, 32 saves) to close out the game. After a Joe Wallis ground out, right fielder George Vuckovich doubled to put the tying run in scoring position with 1 out. Gorman got Jim Norris to fly out to right field for out number 2 and then Ken Reitz popped up to shortstop Dave Stapleton for the final out giving Seattle a 1-0 lead in the ALCS!!!!

Player of the game goes to Yankee Mike Schmidt whose 3/5, 3 RBI’s (2 runs, 1 HR) effort wasn’t enough to overcome the balanced effort from Seattle. The Yankees scored their 5 runs on 15 hits and 3 walks off of 4 Seattle pitchers. On the other side, the Mariners scored their 6 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks with 6 different players earning RBI’s. Paul Molitor (2/5, 2 runs), Dave Stapleton (2/3, 1 RBI), and John Stearns (2/3, 1 RBI, 2 runs, 1 BB) led the way for the Seattle offense. Steve Foucault (1-0) earned the win pitching 2 innings of relief giving up 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 1. Rookie Tom Gorman earned the save (1) after pitching the 9th giving up 1 hit.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Game 2 features a matchup between New York’s Bill Bonham (16-13, 3.33) and Seattle’s Don Gullet (21-8, 3.38). After the slugfest of Game 1, both pitchers were on their game early as the first hit didn’t occur until a 2-out Ruppert Jones single in the bottom of the 4th inning.

In the top of the 6th, Yankee left fielder became the first runner to reach scoring position when he led off the inning with a walk and stole second. Unfortunately for Seattle, Don Gullet left the game with an undisclosed injury after giving up the walk to Henderson. After Dave Geisel got the first out, Enrique Romo came to get Don Money for out #2 but gave up a single to Mike Schmidt which scored Henderson for the first run of the game.

Seattle bit back in the bottom of the 7th and took a 2-1 lead thanks to a pair of solo homers from Richie Zisk and Tim Wallach. Ken Reitz led off the 8th for the Yankees with a single but Seattle brought in Rich Gossage to counter and a strikeout followed by a tailor-made 4-6-3 ended the threat by New York.

In the bottom of the 8th, Seattle increased their lead when Paul Molitor tripled after a John Stearns single to make the score 3-1. Paul Molitor scored the 4th Seattle run when Don Money muffed a grounder by Richie Zisk.

Down 4-1, New York started the 9th with 2 straight walks to chase Rich Gossage in favor of closer Tom Gorman. The lefty Gorman promptly gave up a double to pinch-hitter Darrell Evans scoring Don Money and putting men on 2nd & 3rd with no outs! A strike out of Joe Wallis followed by a pop out of George Vuckovich brought up Jim Norris with men on 2nd & 3rd with 2 outs. Tom Gorman slipped a 3-2 fastball by Norris to preserve the win and give Seattle a big 2-0 lead as we head to New York for Game!

Tom Gorman wins the player of the game earning the save (2) by getting out of the big 9th inning jam to give Enrique Romo (1-0) the win in relief. Bill Bonham (8 IP, 6 hits, 4 runs, 4 K’s,2 BB’s) earns the loss (0-1). What remains to be seen is how serious the injury to Don Gullet is and if he’ll be out for a significant amount of time.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Game 3 moves the series to the Bronx as the Seattle Mariners take a 2-0 lead over the New York Yankees and hope to close out the series. On the hill for Seattle will be Burt Hooton (10-15, 4.84) who Seattle obtained in July from Atlanta. Since joining the Mariners, Hooton went 8-8 with a5.19 ERA. Opposing him, New York sends Luis Leal who had a successful rookie campaign earning 12-4 record with a 3.14 ERA in 23 starts.

Seattle struck first in the 2nd scoring 2 runs after loading the bases with zero outs off of Leal who was lucky to get out the jam giving up only the pair of runs. Seattle advanced the lead to 6-0 after scoring 4 more runs in the top of the 3rd while knocking Leal out of the game. Leal had problems finding the strike zone giving up 4 walks in addition to 6 hits in his 2.2 innings of work.

New York got on the board in the bottom when Carlton Fisk homered for the first Yankee hit and run making the score 6-1. In the 4th, George Vuckovich gave New York their 2nd hit and run when he led off with a solo homer off of Hooton who had a penchant for giving up the long ball giving up 28 for the season.

In the top of the 6th, Seattle again loaded the bases with no outs off of reliever Mike Jones. After a Dave Stapleton single scored 2 runners and a Ruppert Jones walk re-loaded the bases, Richie Zisk cracked a liner over the left-field wall for a GRAND SLAM raising the score to 12-2!!! An additional run in the 6th gave Seattle a huge 13-2 lead.

New York managed a pair of runs off of Burt Hooton in the bottom of the 6th but they didn’t have enough offense. So, with Barry Bonnell closing his mitt on a soft fly ball to left from Joe Morgan, Seattle advances to their first World Series in their 5th year in the league!!! The offense was huge scoring 13 runs on 12 hits but were able to coax 8 walks off of 4 New York pitchers. Burt Hooton (1-0) got the win giving up 4 runs on 5 hits in his 6 innings of work. Relievers Sheldon Burnside, Brian Kingman, and Dave Geisel finished the game.

Seattle scored 23 runs in the 3-game sweep of New York with Richie Zisk earning the ALCS MVP by going 6/13, 3 HR’s, 7 RBI’s, and scoring 5 runs. Zisk has considered retirement after enduring a torn labrum during the 1980 season but Seattle GM Woody Tobias was able to coax him back to the majors and he had a banner season and will play in his first World Series!

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Seattle's enjoyment of their first World Series is short-lived as they got bad news on injured ace Don Gullet. Team doctor Virgil Erayes gave the team the bad news as he reported on bone-chips in Gullet's throwing elbow. Gullet will be out for the remainder of the playoffs and not available until spring training. Don Gullet was the ace of the staff with a 21-8 record and a 3.38 ERA. His spot in the rotation will likely be taken by Alan Wirth (10-9, 5.17). Wirth pitched better in September but has gone 0-4 in his last 7 starts and hasn't earned a win since August 4th.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The St. Louis Cardinals held off a 3-run Houston rally in the bottom of the 9th to win Game 5 by the score of 5-4 winning the NLCS and advancing to the World Series!!! Second baseman Steve Sax earned the NLCS MVP hitting .455 (10/22) with 6 RBI’s and scoring 5 runs in the 5 games.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Here's a quick look at the Seattle Mariners as they enter the 1981 World Series.

Offense: We've got a nice balanced lineup. AS the "home team", we'll benefit from hosting the first 2 games and can make use of the DH. So, we won't have a strategic decision until we go to St. Louis for Game 3. I'm likely to sit Winfield against a right-hander, move Zisk to RF, and insert Buckner in LF. Against lefties, Buckner will sit.

Pitching: The loss of Gullet is huge. Floyd Bannister will move into the #1 spot, Hooton moves up to #2, and I've decided to make rookie Greg Harris my #3 starter. Harris had a rough start to the season and was sent down to AAA in the Spring. He made it back up to the bigs towards the end of the year and had a great September going 4-1 with a 0.99 ERA in 5 games (4 starts). I'm just hoping that my starters can give my 6 solid innings and allow my bullpen (Romo, Burnside, Foucault, Gossage, and Gorman) to close things out.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Here's a quick look at the St. Louis Cardinals as they enter the 1981 World Series.

Offense: Despite their statistics, the St. Louis Cardinals ratings are consistently higher than my offensive numbers. They're also an exceptionally speedy bunch.

Defense: Their starting pitching is no better rated than my pitchers but the results are much better.

It's going to come down to whose hitters can perform better.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Here's a quick look at comparing some team statistics. We scored 126 more runs than St. Louis over the year while our pitching staff gave up 56 more runs ... advantage Seattle. Our lineup has some more pop than St. Louis but both of those statistics are likely the result of the DH more than anything else. I was interested to see that St. Louis stole over 200 bases, almost twice as many bases as we did.

It will be an interesting series.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Seattle Mariners Take a 1-0 Lead in Series Over St. Louis Cardinals

Seattle’s Kingdome will be the site of Game 1 featuring the St. Louis Cardinals against the Seattle Mariners. St. Louis will be sending right-hander Rick Wise (15-9, 2.48) against southpaw Floyd Bannister (14-10, 3.88). This game features two starting pitchers who got roughed up in their playoff appearances. Wise had two tough outings in the NLCS, going 0-2 with a 5.06 ERA in his 2 playoff starts while Bannister got a no-decision in his only playoff start while giving up 4 runs in his 5.1 innings in Game 2 of the ALCS.

Seattle got on the board first in a big way scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning. A pair of singles by Paul Molitor and Dave Stapleton was followed by a successful double steal. A Ruppert Jones single scoring both runners was followed by a Richie Zisk triple, scoring Jones. A sacrifice fly by Bill Buckner ended the scoring by Seattle who took an early 4-0 lead.

In the 2nd, a Paul Molitor single scored Andre Thornton to make the score 5-0. St. Louis got on the board in the 3rd when a Billy Sample double scored Keith Hernandez to make the score 5-1. Seattle bumped the score back to 6-1 when a Paul Molitor triple was followed by an RBI-double by Dave Stapleton.

Seattle added 2 insurance runs in the 7th on a 2-run homer to left by Richie Zisk who has remarkably homered in 4 straight playoff games!!!

St. Louis scored 2 in the 8th on a Billy Sample 2-run homer off of Bannister to reduce the score to 8-3. Gary Templeton added a solo homer in the 9th off of Seattle reliever Brian Kingman but that finished the scoring as Seattle won 8-4 to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

Floyd Bannister (1-0) pitched 8 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits (8 K’s, 3 BB’s) to earn the win. Rick Wise (0-3) had a rough outing again giving 7 runs on 8 hits in 6.2 innings to take the loss. Richie Zisk took game MVP honors going 2/4 with 3 RBI’s and 2 runs while homering for his 4th straight playoff game.

[ThatSeventiesGuy]

Weird how Reggie Jackson (I'll assume R. Jackson is Reggie?) ended up on the Cardinals in both our sims.

Looking forward to seeing if both our Mariner teams can win it all in '81.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Yeah, it's Reggie Jackson on St. Louis. It is weird that he moved to St. Louis in both "alternate universes". I also find it weird when I unknowingly add pieces to Seattle when the same thing happened in real life (Floyd Bannister & Richie Zisk).

In all, this whole enterprise is interesting and I feel like Biff Tannen from "Back to the Future 2" who got a "future copy" of baseball results and went to the betting window to clean up!

I've never done a fictional league where I don't have any insight/bias regarding the players I'm taking. I'll have to do that some day.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

St. Louis Runs Out of Luck in Extra Innings, Mariners Take 2-0 Lead in Series

The Game 2 pitching matchup will feature the St. Louis Cardinal’s John Urrea (11-14, 3.71) against Seattle Mariners rookie Greg Harris (5-3, 3.88).

The Cardinals struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the 2nd when a 2-out Jerry Remy single scored Jerry Hairston.

The early story of the game is missed opportunities. St. Louis has touched Mariners starter Greg Harris for 8 hits but have only scored 1 run as they’ve taken themselves out of opportunities being caught stealing 3 times so far this game. Meanwhile, Seattle had been stymied by Urrea having only managed 1 hit and 1 walk through 5 innings. Then, a pair of walks and a balk put Mariners on 2nd & 3rd with none out in the bottom of the 6th. Urrea worked hard but got of the jam forcing a pair of ground-outs and a fly-out to get out of the inning and keep the 1-0 lead after 6 innings.

Seattle finally got on the board in the 7th to tie up the game 1-1 when Dave Winfield scored on an Andre Thornton single. Winfield gave St. Louis some of their own medicine as he got himself in scoring position with an unexpected steal. And, after 9 innings, we headed to extra innings tied a 1 run apiece.

The teams traded goose eggs for the next 2 innings until Seattle broke through with a run in 12th for a 2-1 victory in Game 2! Reliever Dave Schmidt got Buckner and Winfield for the first 2 outs then he got in trouble. A single by Tim Wallach followed by a Barry Bonnell double put men on 2nd & 3rd with 2 outs. Not wanting to bring up Paul Molitor with the bases loaded, St. Louis decided to pitch to John Stearns. And, just like he was doing on from behind the plate, Stearns burned St. Louis with a walk-off single on the first pitch from Schmidt (0-1) to end the game and give Seattle a 2-0 lead.

Stearns would earn the game MVP after providing a walk-off single along with a stellar performance in throwing out 5 of 6 baserunners trying to steal during the game. The much-maligned Seattle staff combined to give up only 1 run while scattering 12 hits in 12 innings, striking out 10 and walking 2. Rich Gossage (1-0) pitched the 12th and earned the win. St. Louis squandered a big opportunity as they finally stopped the juggernaut that is the Seattle offense. The 1-5 hitters for Seattle were hitless in 17 at-bats. The bottom 4 spots in the order provided all the offense accounting for all 6 Seattle hits and the 2 runs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Series moves to St. Louis for Game 3 and I will have to make a decision who to sit as the DH will be out of play. I'm likely to sit Dave Winfield against righties (moving Zisk to RF) and put Bill Buckner in LF. Against lefties, Buckner will sit and my outfield will be my usual lineup of Zisk, Ruppert Jones, and Winfield from left to right.

The Game 3 matchup will have Burt Hooton on the hill for Seattle. Hooton posted a 8-8, 5.19 record after being acquired by Seattle from Atlanta. His overall record for the season was 10-15, 4.84. Before the trade, Hooton didn't face St. Louis earlier this season. Opposing him will be lefty Doug Capilla. During the regular season, Capilla was 9-10 with a 4.12 ERA. During the playoffs, Capilla has pitched very well going 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA in two NLCS starts giving up only 6 hits and 5 walks in 11 innings.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

St. Louis Blasts Way to 7-3 Win, Trails Series 2-1

St. Louis got on the board first taking a 1-0 lead after 2 innings. Surprisingly, it was the Cardinals pitcher Doug Capilla whose single scored the first run but Johnny Wockenfuss ran St. Louis out of the inning when he got thrown out trying to advance to third base. St. Louis added a run in the 3rd off of Hooton but it could have been much worse when St. Louis had runners on 2nd & 3rd with none out. Hooton managed to make it out of the 3rd down only 2-0.

In the 4th, a Richie Zisk homer (his 5th in 6 playoff games) cut the Cardinal lead to 2-1. After a walk to Keith Hernandez, Reggie Jackson made Burt Hooton pay taking his first pitch over the fence to left-center for a 2-run homer and a 4-1 lead after 5 innings. The Mariners scored 2 in the 6th to reduce the St. Louis lead to 4-3. With 1 out, a single by Craig Reynolds (in at SS after Dave Stapleton got ejected in the 1st for arguing balls & strikes) and a walk to Ruppert Jones led to a single by Richie Zisk to score Reynolds. The second run came on a ground out by Dave Winfield. Capilla got out of the jam by striking out Tim Wallach to end the 6th.

St.Louis batters came up big when Reggie Jackson, Gary Templeton, and pinch-hitter Leo Sutherland blasted back to back to back home runs off of reliever Sheldon Burnside. Burnside was brought in specifically to pitch to left-handers but he didn’t have the stuff today and St. Louis took a 7-3 lead into the 9th inning. With a Lee Smith strikeout of pinch-hitter Steve Braun, St. Louis wins Game 3 by a score of 7-3 but Seattle still holds a 2-1 lead in the Series.

Doug Capilla (3-0) earned the win giving up 3 runs on 5 hits & 3 walks in 6 innings pitched while Burt Hooton (1-1) takes the loss (6 IP, 8 hits, 4 runs, 2 K’s, 2 BB’s). The story of the game was St. Louis rapping 12 hits and playing Seattle’s game of long ball, blasting four homers for the game. Reggie Jackson earns the game MVP hitting 2 homers in his 4 at-bats while driving in 3 runs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Seattle Holds Back Cardinals in 9th for Game 4 Victory

The Game 4 matchup features Floyd Bannister from Seattle pitching against Rick Wise from St. Louis in a repeat matchup from Game 1.

After trading goose-eggs for 3 innings, the Mariners got on the board first with a pair in the 4th to take a 2-0 lead. A Ruppert Jones double scored Dave Stapleton who reached base on an error by Johnny Wockenfuss. Jones later scored on a ground out off the bat of Bill Buckner.

Floyd Bannister got out of a jam in the 6th after putting men on 1st & 2nd with only 1 out. But, a ground out by Keith Hernandez followed by and a fly out by Billy Sample ended St. Louis’ first threat of the game, leaving the score 2-0, Seattle, after 6 innings. After a 1-2-3 7th, Bannister was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 8th. Bannister went 7 shutout innings giving up only 3 hits and striking out 1 batter.

Steve Foucault pitched the 8th and got the first out in the 9th before giving way to closer Tom Gorman. Keith Hernandez met Gorman with a single bringing up the tying run to the plate. The next batter, Billy Sample kept hope alive when he beat out the relay from second avoiding a game-ending double play. An error by Tim Wallach and a walk to Jerry Hairston loaded the bases with 2 outs. On a 1-0 pitch, Garry Templeton lifted a fly ball to short center which Ruppert Jones tracked down for the final out giving Seattle a 3-1 lead in the series.

Floyd Bannister (W, 2-0) earned the Game MVP with hit 7 innings of 3-hit, shutout pitching. He also had one of the 5 hits by Seattle as well as a sacrifice in his 2 at-bats. Tom Gorman got out of a jam of his own making to earn his 3rd save of the post-season. For St. Louis, Rick Wise pitched a wonderful game giving up only 5 hits and 2 walks in a complete game. The only 2 runs were unearned after a Johnny Wockenfuss error in the 4th inning. Unfortunately, he only earned a loss for his efforts leaving him 0-4 for the playoffs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Zisk Blasts Seattle to World Series Title!!!

For Game 5, Seattle will send rookie Greg Harris to try to clinch the series. Harris was 5-3 with a 3.88 ERA in the regular season and scattered 9 hits while only giving up 1 run in a 6-inning no decision in Game 2. St. Louis pins their hopes on lefty Pete Falcone (15-17, 4.02 ERA) whose only playoff appearance was a disaster against Houston in the NLCS. In that game, Falcone failed to record an out giving up 2 hits and a walk while being charged for 3 runs.

Seattle struck first when Falcone got in trouble by loading the bases with 1 out after a walk and 2 straight hits. A bases loaded single by John Stearns scored Bill Buckner from third but that was it as the next batter was the pitcher Gary Harris who grounded into an inning ending double play.

Seattle pushed the score to 3-0 when Richie Zisk hit a 2-run homer, his 3rd of the Series and 6th of the playoffs. Richie Zisk struck again in the 6th with a solo home run to lead off the inning making the score 4-0 Seattle.

After getting the leadoff hitter in the bottom of the 8th, Manager Darrell Johnson decided to go to the bullpen in relief of starter Greg Harris. Harris pitched a masterful game on 3-days rest pitching 7.1 shutout innings giving up only 3 hits while striking out 3.

Rich Gossage came in for Seattle to finish out the game. After giving up a 1-out hit to Steve Sax, Gossage served up a grounder by Keith Hernandez to Molitor at second. Molitor flipped the ball to Dave Stapleton at shortstop but a hard slide by Sax broke up the double play, keeping the inning alive for St. Louis. Reggie Jackson stepped up to face former his former teammate Gossage with the game on the line. Jackson wasted no time, jumping on the first pitch which he lined into left field … where Richie Zisk closed his glove on the ball for the final out giving the Seattle Mariners the World Series victory!!!!!!!

Rookie Greg Harris gets the game MVP after earning the win with his 7.1 inning, 3-hit shutout performance on the mound. Pete Falcone (0-1) gets the loss giving up 4 runs in 8 innings on 8 hits and 4 walks. The killer hits were the 2 homers to Richie Zisk.

For his efforts, Zisk earns the World Series MVP. In the 5 games against St. Louis, Zisk went 6/20 with 1 3B and 4 HR’s including 2 in the clinching game. He added 5 runs and 8 RBI’s.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

General Manager Woody Tobias took a risk in coaxing Richie Zisk out of retirement 2 years ago. Zisk had decided to hang up his cleats after suffering a labrum tear which ended his season with Atlanta in 1979. Tobias thought that Zisk could help his young team but no one could have predicted this. In his second season in Seattle Zisk led the team with 21 HR's while hitting .260 and knocking in 92 runs. Then in 8 post-season games, Zisk was 12/33 (.364) with 1 3B and 7 HR’s knocking in 15 runs while scoring 10. Zisk slugged at a 1.061 pace with a 1.462 OPS! Zisk earned his $375K for the season and will never have to buy a drink in Seattle for the rest of his life!!! Other than Zisk, John Stearns (.370/.433/.952) was the only other batter who hit over .300 for the series. All the other starters struggled - AL Batting Champ Paul Molitor (.171/.216/.531), Bill Buckner (.074/.161/.309), Dave Winfield (.174/.269/.574), Andre Thornton (.200/.286/.526), Ruppert Jones (.233/.361/.628), Dave Stapleton (.241/.333/.644), and Tim Wallach (.267/.333/.733). Seattle hitters did manage to earn 31 walks in their 8 playoff games.

What won the day was the pitching. The much maligned staff finished near the bottom of most major pitching categories in the AL but managed a 2.93 ERA in the playoffs including shutting out the Cardinals in the final 2 games of the World Series. The excellent work in the World Series was done against the backdrop of losing ace Don Gullet for 4 months in Game 2 of the ALCS. Seattle starters came up strong with Floyd Bannister (2-0, 1.80 ERA, 9 K’s in 15 innings) and rookie Greg Harris (1-0, 0.68 ERA, 7 K’s, 0 BB’s in 13.1 innings) saving their best performances when they were needed most.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Team Options
I enter the off-season and will happily execute our team options for outfielders Richie Zisk and Dave Winfield.

Free Agents
I also decided to make an offer to Burt Hooton for $740K for 2 years. I’ll need someone to eat some innings in the starting rotation. We’ll see if he accepts that offer or decided to go into free agency. He’s a Type A free agent so I wouldn’t cry too much if he leaves and someone takes him. Hooton decides to take me up on our offer so we have one pitcher set for our rotation.

Despite serving as an original Mariner, we’ve decided not to make a free agent offer to third baseman Steve Braun. In 10 seasons (5 with Seattle), Braun is a career .270/.374/.723 hitter but missed most of this past season with concussion symptoms. Braun leaves the team at or near the top of several statistical categories.

• OB%: Season, .386 (4th); Career, .372 (2nd)
• OPS: Career, .728 (10th)
• Games: Career, 612 (3rd)
• At-Bats: Career, 2160 (4th)
• Runs: Season, 104 (8th) Career, 336 (3rd)
• Hits: Career, 550 (4th)
• Doubles: Season, 38 (4th), Career, 133 (3rd)
• RBI’s: Career, 224 (5th)
• Walks: Season 109 (1st), Career, 404 (2nd)

He’s also a Type A free agent so I hope someone picks him up so I can get some compensation.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Looking forward in the draft, I earn the #28 spot … the reward for winning the World Series. After that, pick #43 (#15 in the Supplemental 1st round), #61 (R2, Pick 6 … from Boston), and #83 (R2, Pick 28 … my 2nd rounder). So, 4 picks in the first 83 is much better than I have had in the past. I’ll need to add some depth to my starting pitching followed by some depth … I’ll take the best available but I’m looking for a first baseman to take over for Andre Thornton in the future.

Top players in the draft include the following.

• SP: Storm Davis, Mike Smithson, Walt Terrell, Jim Gott, Andy Hawkins, Oil Can Boyd, Mike Moore, Frank Viola, & Dave Dravecky
• MR: Tom Henke, Cecilio Guante
• C: Don Slaught
• 1B: Greg Walker, Greg Brock, Don Mattingly, Pete O'Brien, Randy Bush
• 2B: Tony Phillips, Brian Giles
• 3B: Wade Boggs, Howard Johnson
• SS: Julio Franco
• OF: Chili Davis, Brett Butler, Tony Gwynn, Gary Redus, Jim Eisenreich, Gary Pettis, Ron Kittle, Willie McGee, Kevin Bass

We'll see who's around when I choose at #28.