California Angels 1970

[sharknut]

Just 5-5 in the next 10 games, but the Expos have fallen apart, our lead is up to 12 games. They lost Belle after 50 games and they hung in for a while and he just came back, but a really bad 40 game stretch had our lead go from 2 to 12 games.

1st in runs, 1st in runs allowed, 2nd in defense, 1st in home runs has us 74-36 and 5 games better than any other team. We are remarkably healthy, not a single player has been on the DL this year, though our minor leagues teams have an average of 5 players each, they have all been decimated.

Paul Wilson continues to be very good. He won Rookie of the Month the 2nd month running and is now 3rd in the NL in ERA at 2.94 and leads the league in shutouts with 3. Jefferies continues to lead the league in hitting and is up to 3rd in WAR.

We are going to win the division, so I think if we somehow win the World Series, I will retire at the end of the year at age 72.

[sharknut]

Another 5-5 run of games and the lead is "down" to 10. Still 1st in offense and home runs but our pitching is down to 4th, we had 2 games where we gave up more than 10 runs. We made a minor trade for Greg McMichael before the deadline.

Looking around the league with 40 games to go, the Cubs are 2 games up on the Pirates and the Giants and Padres are tied for 1st out West. There are 6 teams within 5 games of the wild card and that should go down to the wire

The Orioles have a 10 game advantage over the Yankees and the Royals are 6 games up on the Twins. The only division up in the air is out west where the Angels are 2 games up on the Rangers. The Rangers or A's will the wild card and the Rangers are up 2

[sharknut]

Really struggling now, 4-6 make us 14-16 in our last 30 games and the lead is now 8 with 32 games to play. We are 2nd in runs and pitching now and defense is 3rd. We still have the best record in the league, 3 better than the Rangers. We lost 6 in a row, but are currently on a 4 game win streak, so maybe we are getting out of the slump

Jefferies is 1st in batting, 3rd in WAR, 5th in hits and 5th in OPS+
Frias is 3rd in HR, 5th in slugging
Williams is 4th in OPS, 3rd in slugging, 4th in OPS+
Baerga is 2nd in hits
Cedeno is 6th in steals
Wilson is 4th in ERA, 1st in shutouts, 3rd in CG, 3rd in WHIP
Cain is 2nd in saves

[sharknut]

6-4 gets us back on track a bit and we still have an 8 game lead with 22 to go. We have lost Dion James for the rest of the regular season with a muscle injury, but other than that, we have a healthy team

The Orioles, Royals and Ranges all seem to have their divisions wrapped up with the A's and Angels fighting over the wild card.

The Cubs have a 1/2 game lead over the Pirates and the Giants are 2 up on the Padres. The Pirates have passed all the Eastern clubs and have a 1/2 game lead in the wild card over the Expos with the Braves 2 back

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by sharknut

We sent down our rookie star of last year, Roosevelt Brown as he was struggling at .242 and just 1 HR. I called up Hayman, our surprise star at AAA and so far he's hitting .263 with 1 HR in 19 AB.

Sometimes a player is a flash in the pan and sometime they need to struggle a bit. After recalling Brown on July 18th, he has hit .364 with 17 home runs and 9 steals in 72 games. He took off when I moved him from 7th to 1st in the order and now we roll with

Brown
Erstad
Jefferies
Frias
Williams
Baerga
Higginson
Cedeno

Brown just had a 3 homer game in Colorado as we hit 8 in total as we are tied for 1st in homers.

[sharknut]

Yet another 5-5 run of games and we go into the last 12 games scoring 1 run in our last 3 games. 3 games of 12 runs and 4 of 0 or 1 run, we have to find some consistency before we get to the playoffs. Dion James has had an injury setback and will miss at least the 1st round of the playoffs.

[sharknut]

It's worrying that in our last 3 months we went 41-39. 53-29 in the 1st half and essentially .500 in the 2nd half. We still won the division by 6 and have home field in the playoffs. We were 6-6 against the Braves, but rookie Paul Wilson was 2-1 in 3 starts and a 1.63 ERA so he will get game 1 against Chuck Finley.

The Pirates ended up 2 games up on the Cubs and they will go to San Francisco and in the AL, the Rangers blew past us and ended up with the best record in baseball and will host the Angels who won in game 162 to get the wild card and Orioles will host the Royals.

So the same 4 teams made the playoffs in the NL, the only difference is we won the East and the Braves are the wild card while in the AL, only the Angels are back.

[sharknut]

In game 1, Paul Wilson gave up a 1 out single in the 1st to Brian Giles but promptly picked him off and then sailed through 3 allowing that 1 hit while striking out 4. Erstad hit a 1 out double off Finley in the bottom of the 1st but was stranded on 3rd when Frias struck out. That was the only hit Finley allowed through 3 as he struck out 5.

In the 4th, Jeff Blauser led off with a walk and stole 2nd with 1 out. Giles got his 2nd hit of the night to move Blauser to 3rd and then Charles Johnson doubled them both in to give the Braves a 2-0 lead. Cirillo then singled Johnson to 3rd, but Travis Fryman hit into a double play to end the threat.

With 1 out in the 5th, Baerga singled and with 2 outs, Cedeno singled Baerga to 3r. However, that bought up pitcher Wilson who struck out.

Brown led off the 6th with a double off Finley, and after a Erstad flyout, Jefferies drew a walk to give us a threat, but Frias struck out and Drew Williams grounded out to end it. Baerga led off the 7th with a double and Higgenson walked to give us 2 on and none out, but Cedeno popped out and pinch hitter Ed Taubensee grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Dion James is our #1 pinch hitter, but he's been out 5 weeks and would have loved to have him available.

We went out 1-2-3 in the 8th and Braves closer Paul Swingle did the same in the 9th and the Braves took game 1 2-0

[sharknut]

Game 2 saw Kenneth Pellien face 17 game winner Andy Baker of the Braves and each team wasted some early opportunities to score as Blauser doubled to lead off the game but was stranded and in the 2nd inning, both pitchers struck out the other with 2 runners on and 2 out to end threats.

In the 4th, Pellien hit Jeff Cirillo to lead off and then Fryman and former Marlin Kevin Reimer singled to load them up. Glenn Braggs followed that for a 3rd straight hit and then the pitcher Baker doubled in 2 more and then Blauser singled in Braggs and in 5 hitters it went from 0-0 to 4-0. A fielders choice made it 5-0, and we are in trouble.

In the bottom of the 5th and Cedeno on 2nd, Brown doubled him in and an Erstad single got us to 5-2. But in the top of the seventh, Greg McMichael got the 1st 2 outs, then walked Cirillo, a double to Fryman and then a 2-run double by Reimer and the lead was back up to 5, 7-2.

Those runs were important as we added a single in the 8th and pinch hitter Taubensee hit a 2-run homer in the 9th, but we dropped game 2 7-5 and we are a game away from going out.

[sharknut]

We sent 35 year old Danny Jackson out in Atlanta to try to salvage the season. After each team went 1-2-3 in the 1st, Williams hit a 1-out double and after an error by Cirillo, Cedeno singled in Williams and it was 1-0 after 2

In the bottom of the 3rd, Jackson surrendered a home run to pitcher Mike Roesler to tie it at 1. How are the pitchers killing me at the plate?

Neither team had a baserunner in the 4th or 5th, but in the top of the 6th after an Erstad single, Frias hit a 460 foot bomb to give us a 3-1 lead. Jackson retired 12 in a row until surrendering a 2-out single to Fryman in the 7th where he was stranded.

After a 1-2-3 8th, I decided keep Jackson in, but got the bullpen going after a leadoff double by Bragg. After a fly ball to right, Jackson struck out Fryman and Spezio to end the game 3-1. We are alive.

In the AL, we had 2 sweeps. The Angels swept the best team in baseball, Texas in a tight-tight series. Angels won 5-3, 4-2 and 3-2 to knockout the favorites while the Orioles scored 25 runs in an easy 3-0 series sweep of the Royals.

The Giants took the 1st 2 games against the defending champion Pirates, but just like us Pittburgh stayed alive on the road with a 5-1 win

[sharknut]

We sent Jon Lieber to save the season against 2-time Cy Young winner William Jester. Leiber started the year 11-0, but ended up 14-6, really struggling in the 2nd half.

James led off the game with a double and with 1 out, Erstad doubled him in and we were up 1-0, but in the bottom half, Giles hit a 401 foot homer and just like that it was 1-1

In the bottom of the 2nd, the Braves filled the bases with 2 outs but Blauser struck out to keep the game 1-1. With 1 out in the 3rd, Grudzielanek singled and after stealing 2nd, he scored on a Giles single to give the Braves a 2-1 lead.

After a Jefferies double Cirillo made his 2nd error of the series throwing it into the seats and the game was tied 2 after 4. That didn't last long at Higgenson led off the 5th with a full count home run. We had a chance to add more, but Jefferies popped up with 2 on and 2 outs.

The 5th, 6th and 7th passed without anyone in scoring position, and with 1 out in the 8th, Erstad hit another double and then Jefferies and Frias walked to load them up. Michael Carlsen then drew a 3rd straight walk to give us a 3-2 lead. Baerga hit a sac fly to score Jefferies and passed ball scored Frias to give us an unglamorous but big 5-2 lead.

BJ Ryan came in to get the last 6 outs in order and we tied this up, 2 games each.

So did the Pirates.......they are tied as well at 2

[sharknut]

It was a rematch of game 1 starters Wilson vs Baker and after a 1-2-3 top of the 1st, Jefferies and Erstad hit 1-out singles and after a Frias strikeout, Drew Williams took a 2-2 fastball deep to dead center and the stadium erupted as we took a 3-0 lead for our 1st lead of the series.

I could try to make the rest of the game interesting, but Wilson threw a 4-hit shutout striking out 6, Brown added a solo and 2-run homer later and we won the 1st round series 3-2 coming back from 0-2 down

We will face the Giants as the road team won every game of their series against Pittsburgh.

[sharknut]

It was Pelltier vs. 2-time All Star Carl Randle to open the NLCS and after a quiet 1st inning, Giant 3B Julio Lugo committed a 1-out error and after Higginson singled him home to give us a 1-0 and Andujar Cedeno immediately doubled in Higginson to extend the lead to 2-0.

With 2 outs in the 4th, Sheffield doubled home Lugo to slice the lead in half and then an inning later, another 2 out hit, this time by Ruben Rivera tied this up at 2. The 5th passed without any action but we regained the lead in the bottom of the 6th on a Williams sac fly.

Bret Boone drew a leadoff walk in the 7th and then Frias made a throwing error when Troy O'Leary tried to bunt Boone over to 2nd and the Giants had runners on 2nd and 3rd and nobody out. Dan Wilson followed that up with an opposite field double and just like that, the Giants had a 4-3 lead. Marvin Bernard hit a 2-out single to score Wilson and it was 5-3.

In the bottom half, Higginson singled and pinch hitter Dion James walked, but Brown hit into an innings ending double play to end that threat. The Giants loaded the bases off McMichael in the 8th with Young and Boone singling and an O'Leary walk, but Trey Salinas grounded into a double play to end that.

The Giants sent Mark Gubicza out in the 8th and Brown met him with a lead off single. After retiring Jefferies and Erstad, Frias hit an opposite field 2-run homer just over the wall and we had ourselves a 5-5 game.

I brought in BJ Ryan to pitch the 9th and after 9 pitches to Rivera leading off the inning, Ryan surrendered a solo home run to give the Giants a 6-5 lead. The Giants brought in Andrew Conter to close it out, and he struck out Higginson, Cedeno and pinch hitter Carlsen to end it and the Giants had a 1-0 series lead

[sharknut]

It was Danny Jackson vs Jose Rijo in game 2 Jackson struck out Boone with 2 on and 2 out in the 1st to end that threat and in the bottom half Erstad hit a solo shot to give us the 1-0 lead and that was the score after 2.

In the top of the 2nd, Rijo led off with a single and Bernard doubled him to third. Lugo grounded out scoring Rijo and then Kevin Young hit a 2-run homer to make it 3-1 Giants.

With 1 out in the 3rd, Brown singled and stole second, which become moot when Jefferies hit a 2-tun homer followed by Erstad's 2nd homer of the game and we raced back in front 4-3.

We left 2 on in the 4th and we each left 2 on the 5th before Sheffield led off the 6th with a solo shot to tie it at 4. Following 2 more hits we brought in Jeff Neely, but he walked Rivera and then allowed a 2-run single to Salinas and then a 2-run double to Bernard and we found ourselves behind 8-4.

Carlsen walked to lead off the 7th and with 2 outs Erstad was hit by a pitch and Frias knocked in Carlsen to get us to 8-5. In the 8th Baerga led off with a single and after a Higginson strikeout Cedeno walked and pinch hitter Carlsen singled to load them up. Brown struck out but then Jefferies singled to center scoring Baerga and Cedeno to get us to 8-7. Erstad then walked to bring up cleanup hitter Frias and he lined out to center to end the 8th

In the 9th Baerga singled with 1 out but Higginson rolled into a 4-6-3 double play and once again we find ourselves down 2-0

[sharknut]

In the AL, the Angels scored 2 in the 9th to win game 1 4-2 and in game 2, Joey Cora knocked in 6 for the Orioles in an 13-11 win that lasted 3:45 minutes,

[sharknut]

We flew across the country and started out well, Brown with a leadoff double followed by an RBI single by Erstad and we were up 1-0 after 3 pitches. In the bottom half, Bernard and Lugo singled to start the inning, but a strikeout by Sheffield and double play grounder by Boone ended the inning.

With 1 out in the 2nd Higginson bombed a 428 foot homer to right center to put us up 2-0. Paul Wilson got through the Giants once without harm, but with 1 out in the 3rd, he walked Lugo and with 2 outs, allowed a single to Sheffield and then a 2 run double by Boone to tie things up at 2

The 4th and 5th passed without runs, though each team has made several nice plays in the field. In the 6th, Carlsen hit a 408 foot homer to dead center to put us up 3-2. Wilson got the first 2 outs of the 7th, when after a Bernard single, Wilson threw wildly on a pickoff attempt, and then Lugo singled him in and back to a tie at 3

With Gubicza on the mound in the 8th, Jefferies singled with 1 out and Frias hit a 408 foot homer to left to put us up 5-3 after 8. We brought in Cain for the 9th and after a Dan Wilson ground out, Rivera and pinch hitter Jose Cruz, Jr doubled to bring the Giants to within 5-4. Cain proceeded to walk the bases loaded by walking Bernard and Lugo to bring up Kevin Young. Young hit a fly to center where Erstad threw a missile to home cutting down pinch runner Matt Howard at home to end the game!

We are alive, what a game

[sharknut]

Leading off a scoreless 2nd, Baerga singled, stole 2nd and then 3rd off Iggy Duran. It was moot because Higginson followed with a 2 run homer to left and we led 2-0

In the 3rd and 1 out, Erstad doubled, Frias doubled him home and after a Williams grounder, Baerga singled home Frias and we led 4-0. Higginson stayed hot slicing a triple to the gap in left to score Baerga and we led 5-0.

Lieber was sailing, holding the Giants scoreless through 5 and after Brown hit a solo shot in the 6th, we led 6-0. In the bottom they finally goto to Lieber as Sheffield and Young went back to back and we had a 6-2 lead after 6.

In the 7th, Drew Williams homered to right to increase our lead to 7-2 which was the score when the Giants added 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but that's all they can muster as we won 7-4 to tie the series at 2

[sharknut]

In the AL, the Angels and Orioles keep trading wins and it's 2-2

[sharknut]

We jumped on Carl Randle right from the 1st pitch, which Brown hit back up the middle for a single. Jefferies singled on the 2nd pitch and then Erstad singled on the 6th pitch and we were up 1-0. On the 7th pitch, Frias doubled down the line to knock in Jefferies and Erstad and we had a 3-0 lead. In the bottom half, Lugo tripled with 1 out and scored on a Young grounder and it was 3-1 after 1

With 1 out in the bottom of the 2nd, O'Leary singled and Wilson doubled him to 3rd. Rivera then lifted a fly ball to center and Erstad unleashed a strike to home to gun down a tagging O'Leary to end the threat.

Get used to it.

In the bottom of the the 3rd, Randle led off with a single (why are pitchers killing me at the plate) and Bernard doubled him to 3rd. Lugo then lifted a fly out to left and Higginson threw out Randle at home and it was still 3-1

In the top of the 4th, Higginson drew a 2-out walk and when Cedeno doubled down the line, Higginson tried to score and....guess what...he was gunned down at home by Troy O'Leary, still 3-1

3 innings, 3 runners thrown out at home

With 2 outs in the 5th, Jacoby and Bernard singled and Lugo made it 3 singles in a row with a hit up the middle. But the Giants haven't learned a thing, they sent Jacoby home and Erstad threw out his 2 runner at home in the game, his 3rd runner thrown out at home in 2 games and the 4th runner thrown out at home in 4 innings.

This is a classic series.

Young and Sheffield singled to lead off the 6th, Boone grounded them to 2nd and 3rd and Metzler walked to load them up. After a Wilson strikeout, Rivera tied it up at 3 with a 2-run single.

We sent out Greg McMichael in the 7th and after Lugo tripled to center with 1 out, Young gave the Giants a 4-3 lead with a sac fly to right. But in the bottom half with 2 outs, Jefferies singled, stole 2nd and scored on Erstads single to tie it at 4.

Not a single baserunner in the 8th, 9th or 10th, but Wilson singled of BJ Ryan in the 11th, stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a Frias throwing error and then scored on a sac fly and the Giants won 5-4 to go up 3-2

[sharknut]

Danny Jackson was sent to the mound for the 2nd in in 10 days in an elimination game, this time facing Jose Rijo. They both got through 2 scoreless innings, the only baserunner was a 1 out triple to Drew Williams in the 2nd, but Baerga struck out looking and Higginson flew out to left.

In the 3rd, the Giants got their 1st baserunner via a Rivera walk, but he went no further. In our half Cedeno led off with a single and after Jackson popped out trying to bunt, Brown flew out to center but Jefferies extended the inning with a single followed by an Erstad RBI single to give us a 1-0 lead.

The Giants finally got a hit with a 2-out double by Lugo but was stranded as Jackson was pitching a nice game. We had a chance in the 5th to add to the lead with runners on 1st and 2nd and no outs, but an Erstad fly out, Frias strikeout and Williams ground out and we were still in a 1-0 game.

Jackson struck out the side in the 6th, but so did reliever Jamie Moyer, but Giants started the 7th with a Sheffield and Young single, but Jackson coerced Wilson to hit into a double play and Sheffield was stranded. With 2 outs in our half, Erstad singled which was followed by a Frias 2-run homer off Moyer to extend our lead to 3-1

Rivera and pinch hitter led off the 8th with doubles, and I brought in Ryan to relieve Jackson. After a Cruz poppup, Ryan walked Lugo and Sheffield lined a single to left where Higginson.....you guessed it.....threw out Howard at home to keep the game at 3-1. We brought in Cain to face Boone and he struck him out to end the 8th

In the 9th, Wilson singled with 1 out, but Rivera and Salinas flew out to left and we will have a game 7