Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

[BirdWatcher]

To paraphrase Thomas Paine, these are times that try manager's souls.

Even the wins, as rare as they are right now, are struggles. The Brewers remain the best hitting team in the MGL in nearly every category that doesn't involve running (though we are 3rd in HR's) but are very middle of the road in starting pitching and runs allowed. And while the bullpen still has the best ERA in the league, that is a bit deceiving as we have been horrible in not allowing inherited runners to score of late.

So, three games against the 5th place Lords with their potent left-handed dominated lineup.

In the first game the Brewers manage to get a walk-off extra inning win, though it wasn't pretty. Thanks largely to the exploits of the very hot Joe McPhillips (.294/.383/.535) the Brewers are able to survive very bad pitching to hang in this one long enough to steal a not terribly well-deserved victory. McPhillips was 3 for 6, scoring twice, driving in 4 runs, hitting his 17th double and 21st HR of the season. Mike Foster's (.323/.367/.465) lone hit of the game (and, as it turned out, of the series) was a big one- a game-winning double (27) in the 10th. It was a rough start for Erik Sloan, who gave up 7 runs (3 earned) on 10 hits in his 5 2/3rds innings pitched. The bullpen was mostly pretty good in this one and Jeremy Walker earned the save pitching a fine 10th inning. Walker has been quite good in his stints with the Brewers this year and improves to 3-0 with a 2.12 ERA. Chad Brown (.307/.326/.416) continues his hot hitting and extended his consecutive game hitting streak to 18 in this one by going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and a walk.


Game 2 looked a lot like game 1 except this time the Brewers could not plate enough runs to overcome bad pitching and take an 8-5 loss. Steve Green gave up 6 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings pitched. He falls to 12-7 with a 4.44 ERA. Joe McPhillips (.298/.385/.544) stays hot, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and hit his 22nd HR of the season. Zacarias Martell (.288/.383/.362) has seen his offensive numbers decline a bit from earlier in the season but he had a 2 for 3 game in this one, scoring once and walking once.


Things were looking hopeful for the Brewers in the rubber match going into the 8th inning as Cheol-han Lee was hurling a shutout and the Brewers held the 1-0 advantage. Then, the Brewers manager making the mistake of keeping Cheol-han in one too many batters, veteran slugger Bob Hernandez knocked an 0-2 pitch into the right field seats to tie the game. Cheol-han gave way to Liann-wei Hua, who got the Brewers through the inning with no further damage. The Brewers go meekly in the bottom of the 8th. The Lords in the top of the 9th- not so much! Sam Pruiett, Ben Flynn, and Eric Marino combine to allow 6 runs. The Lords win easily 7-1. It was at least a good day for Denver's erstwhile starting catcher, now the backup to young Zacarias Martell, Kevin Curtis. Curtis (.212/.349/.307) drove in the lone Brewer run with his 2nd inning double (7th of the season). But more importantly, he threw out 5 of the runnin' Lords runners on the base-paths, though two others were successful in their steal attempts. The other offensive star for the Brewers was outfielder John Flores (.348/.385/.621) who tripled twice in 2 at-bats. He had to leave the game early when he pulled a groin muscle while being thrown out at home plate. Fortunately, it was a minor pull and he is expected to be available to play immediately.


Fortunately, the slumping Brewers finally have a day off to clear their heads before they head on the road again. They reach mid-August with a dwindling 5 1/2 game lead over Brooklyn, 7 1/2 over Charlotte, and 8 1/2 over L.A.

[BirdWatcher]

Having been swept by the last place San Francisco Velocity recently in Denver, the Brewers now travel to San Fran to see if they can't take some revenge on the last-place Velocity.

While the outcome in the 4 games in 3 days was largely favorable for our Brewers it felt like impending disaster was looming nearly the whole time.

In game 1, for instance, the Brewers saw an early 5-0 lead evaporate and needed 13 innings to get a 7-6 win. Harry Lyerly certainly deserved better in this one as he not only gave up just 3 runs- only 1 earned- on 6 hits in 7 innings pitched, but also drove in the first 3 runs the team scored with a pair of doubles. Sadly the bullpen let him down and he got a no-decision. Eventually the difference-maker offensively was a solo HR in the 13th off the bat of Kevin Curtis. It was Curtis' 13th long ball of the season. Sam Pruiett pitched a flawless final two innings to get the win and improves to 7-5 with a 3.98 ERA. The Brewers hit 6 doubles in the game including Mike Foster's 28th, Bobby Erbakan's 26th, and two for Andrew Kennedy to get him to 23 on the season.


Game 2 was scoreless until the bottom of the 7th inning when the Velocity scratched across a run against Denver starter Hector Hard. And that would be it. San Francisco wins 1-0. Hard gave up just the 1 run on 5 hits in 6 2/3rds innings pitched. He drops to 2-2 with a 2.52 ERA as a Brewer and 13-9, 3.52 on the season. Chad Brown (.306/.326/.411) collects 2 of the Brewers 5 hits in the game and extends his hitting streak to 21 straight games.


The teams then play a Sunday doubleheader to conclude the series. In game 1, the Brewers hold on for a 4-1 win. It was a fine start for Erik Sloan, who worked 7 1/3rd, giving up the 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 6 and walking none. He improves to 11-6 with a 3.45 ERA. Jordan Stephens pitches the final 1 2/3rds for his 10th save and has an ERA of 2.71. Chad Brown went 2 for 5 with an RBI to extend his hitting streak to 22 games. Joe McPhillips went 2 for 5 and hit his 18th double.


The night-cap was close until late when the Brewers finally broke through offensively to take what ended up being a rather lopsided 9-2 victory. Steve Green was solid, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits in 7 1/3rd innings pitched. He improves to 13-7 with 4.34 ERA. Joe McPhillips (.298/.383/.532) continues to shine and had a 3 for 6, 2 runs scored game. Bobby Erbakan (.325/.389/.509) was 3 for 3, scored 2 runs, drove in 2 runs, walked twice, and hit his 8th triple of the season. Ryan Rodgers (.373/.495/.460) continued his MVP candidate season with a 2 for 5, 4 runs scored game in which he hit his 22nd double and 5th triple of the season. John Flores (.355/.393/.623) continues to be an invaluable member of the Brewers bench and went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI and his 5th double in the victory. And Chad Brown (.305/.325/.407) only went 1 for 6 but his single in his last at-bat of the game kept his hitting streak alive at 23 consecutive games.


With the series victory, the Brewers remain 5 1/2 games ahead of the surging Brooklyn Aces, and 9 1/2 and 10 games ahead of the respectively slumping Charlotte Sting and L.A. Spinners.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers long-time shortstop, Chad Brown, who has re-gained his hold on the starting job with a good couple of months of play after a very slow start to 1974, had his consecutive game hitting streak come to an end today, just shy of 25 straight games. The 24 straight games with at least one hit ties him with Pat Rondeau for longest hitting streak in team history. Rondeau accomplished this just last season and Brown himself had a 21-game streak in 1973.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brooklyn Aces' 23-year old staff ace, Aaron McNally, became the first pitcher to 20 wins this season, and with well over a month left on the regular season schedule.


McNally is having a break-out campaign and looks to be emerging as one of the heirs apparent to first generation aces Cheol-han Lee and Jake Harris. McNally struggled last year with his control, walking a league leading 134 batters but seems to have harnessed his pitches much better this year and is certainly the main contender for the Pitcher of the Year award as things stand currently. He possesses a fantastic fastball and a devastating forkball and if his cutter develops a bit more as is projected, these three pitches combined with his above average change-up make him a formidable force. He also profiles as durable and with good make-up. The future should be very bright indeed for the young righty.



Aaron McNally was chosen by the Aces with the second pick overall in the 1969 amateur draft. German knuckleballer Lienhart Brown was chosen just ahead of him at 1-1 by the Charlotte Sting and while Brown looked to be the more dynamic talent he has proven to be injury prone and there are concerns that he will never live up to his potential. Brooklyn was probably lucky to not have the first pick and feel the pressure to take the highly regarded Brown, as in McNally it appears they got the better deal. He is a huge factor in Brooklyn's maintaining a close enough distance to the Brewers to hope to close the gap before the end of the season.

[BirdWatcher]

Having concluded a brief west coast trip the Brewers return home to take on the Detroit Falcons. Although they are having a rough season, the Falcons come into this series with a slight advantage in their season series with the Brewers, having won 6 of 11 games.

In game 1 of the 4 day series the Brewers even the season series with a 5-2 win behind the terrific pitching of Matt Helm, who just came off the 10-day IL. Helm didn't give up a run in his 7 2/3rds innings pitched, allowing just 3 hits and 4 walks while striking out 4 batters. Mike Lizarraga gave up the 2 runs but then gave way to Liann-wei Hua who got the final 2 outs for his 7th save of the season. (Hua also leads the league in Holds with 16 and has a 1.51 ERA.) For Helm it was win #11 to go with 5 losses and a 2.70 ERA. Ryan Rodgers (.375/.496/.461) went 2 for 4 in the lead-off slot, scoring 2 runs and walking once. Bobby Erbakan (.327/.390/.510) went 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.


Cheol-han Lee wasn't sharp early in the second game and gave up 4 runs in the first two innings but he settled down and the Brewers chipped away at the lead and then went ahead with 3 runs in the 7th inning to win 6-4. Cheol-han improves to 12-5 with a 2.94 ERA. Jaden Francis worked the 9th to get his 17th save (1.81 ERA.) Bobby Erbakan (.330/.393/.513) stays hot, going 2 for 3, scoring twice, and hitting his 27th double.


In game 3, the recently hot Bobby Erbakan went full flame, going 2 for 3, scoring twice, hitting a pair of HR's and collecting 6 RBI. This gets Erbakan to 15 HR's and 97 RBI on the season. But to be honest, the balls were flying at Centennial Stadium on this day. Fortunately, most of them came off the bats of Brewers batters. Jonathan Koch hit his 8th and Kevin Curtis his 4th. Harry Lyerly was mostly sharp in this one but did allow a pair of HR's to Detroit catcher Chad Krutchen. Lyerly worked the complete game, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits, striking out 4 and walking none. He improves to 8-9 with a 4.10 ERA. John Flores (.352/.390/.621), hit his 8th triple of the season, in just 161 plate appearances. Anyway, upshot is, Brewers win 11-4.


With a series sweep on the line, both teams struggle to score early in the final game. The Brewers break through with 2 runs in the 4th inning and hold the 2-0 lead into the 7th. Brewer starter Hector Hard was long gone before that though as he had to leave the game in the 5th inning with a forearm cramp. Justin Peacock came in and was fantastic for 2 1/3rds innings, striking out 4, walking none, giving up just 1 hit and keeping the score at 2-0. And then the Brewers erupted for 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th, highlighted by a Bobby Erbakan (.336/.399/.536) grand slam home run. Erbakan went 3 for 4 in the game and now has 16 HR's and 101 RBI- he is the first player in the MGL to 100 RBI this season. Justin Peacock gets the win to improve to 6-1 with a 4.48 ERA.


Having swept the Falcons, the Brewers maintain a 7 game lead in the MGL over Brooklyn, with the 3rd place Charlotte Sting (the Brewers next opponent) now 11 1/2 games out, and Baltimore and the slumping L.A. Spinners now tied at 14 games out.

[BirdWatcher]

With just a week left in the month of August and roster expansion approaching, the Brewers brain trust finds themselves looking ahead a bit (though not too much- the Brewers might have a nice lead in the MGL right now but there is a lot of season left) at what the roster might look like after September 1st and what difficult decisions might be in the not too distant future after that.

But let's start with the givens first, shall we.
The starting rotation is pretty much set, barring injury, for the 1975 season. It's after that things become a bit murky. Erik Sloan will probably be lost to free agency at the end of the 1975 season. The team will have to decide whether to extend Hector Hard, who is in his early 30's, but at least have control of him for several more seasons should they wish to keep him around. Cheol-han Lee could exercise an option and leave the team before next season, but that's unlikely. Then the team has an option on 1976. Anyway, we've talked about this all before. Short term all is set, but before long moves will need to be made in this area.

At catcher, Zacarias Martell has seen his offensive numbers decline a bit in the second half but still has a strangle-hold on the starter job. Obviously there is no question about who's on first. Erbakan is the non-funny, but reassuring, answer. Chad Brown is still pretty solidly in control of shortstop, if for no other reason than that there is no real great option to replace him as starter. (Though he could once again lose playing time to guys like Joe Willemse and Oscar Vargas.) Andrew Kennedy has a job, mostly in left field, but also backing up Erbakan at first. Joe McPhillips is our center fielder. And Ryan Rodgers, unless he shows sudden sharp decline soon (he is 35) will be in the lineup as much as possible, playing the corner outfield positions.

So what are the big questions?
The bullpen: the question here is just who the odd men out are. The bullpen's been a little less stellar in the past month or so, but that is largely a product of over-use and the shuttling in and out of less experienced arms. But the reality is, we just have more arms than we can use. And the quality arms we have that aren't already playing for the Brewers are at AAA and mostly ready to move up. It's not a bad problem to have, but the roster expansion will fill up the 'pen and we will have some tough decisions to make for 1975.

Backup catcher: Kevin Curtis is a 3-time gold glover, a team leader, and a fan favorite. And now a not terribly valuable back-up catcher. Kirk Patnode is waiting down at AAA and getting impatient. If the scouts are to be believed he makes both Curtis and Martell look like mediocre defenders. Guy is off the charts behind the plate and has a great arm. And it looks like he should be able to hit at least as well as Curtis is. Plus, he's another great leader. Is this Curtis last season in Brewer purple? If so, the fans will be livid. But it could be true.

Second base: This one probably is a little less in doubt, but David Bennett did have a fine showing in his time with the Brewers this season after several great minor league seasons. Critics would say that he is Jonathan Koch lite. Maybe so. Koch is likely to be a bit of a better contact hitter. They both have some pop in their bats, but Koch is the more established big league hitter in this regard. Neither will draw many walks. But Bennett might have a slight edge there. Bennett is a better base stealer, Koch has a bit more raw speed, neither are tremendous base runners. They are probably pretty evenly matched defensively. It's Koch's job to lose. But there is some pressure with Bennett breathing down his neck.

Third base: Mike Foster had one of the best first halves in the WPK this season. It was inevitable that he would come back to earth some and that is happening now. But he's been solid defensively and has a cannon arm, can hit at least a handful of balls in the seats a season, is a good gap hitter and a good guy. He can't run. He shouldn't even try. And like Koch, he won't work many walks. And his potential replacement, Rodrigo (RodRod) Rodriguez, unlike Bennett, is not just a slight variation on a theme. RodRod can pure hit! He could be a future batting champ. He has great contact skills, will almost never strike out, can spray line drives around the field, and especially into the gaps, with the best of them. He even has a bit of power, though a bit less than Foster. He won't walk much, but maybe a bit more than Foster. His arm isn't quite as tremendous as Foster's but plenty strong for the position. And his range is better. The catch- he might make a ton of errors. Unlike Foster, RodRod can run and even should steal a decent number of bases. Foster is a right-handed hitter, RodRod a lefty. A good platoon team for 1975, perhaps. But eventually something's gotta give.

Corner outfielders: Kennedy and Rodgers are givens. It's just about how to get them both as much playing time as they want and deserve and where to play them when. So then the real questions are around left-handed hitter Josh Schaeffer and right-handed hitter John Flores. And the wild-card in this decision is Schaeffer's reputation for lethargy. Up until recently it hasn't been an issue because the kid has done a great job, both at the plate, where he is one of the best on the team at working a walk, and in the field, where he has a strong arm and decent range. But Flores, in a limited role, has been amazing for the Brewers this season. He is happy with his role for now, but at some point he will want, and deserve, more playing time. Granted, he has played mostly against left-handed pitchers, and that might have protected him a bit. His contact skills are decent but not premium. Schaeffer's are a bit better and he has mostly hit for a good average. And Flores won't have Schaeffer's on-base skills. But although Schaeffer has some decent pop in his bat, Flores is certainly the better power hitter, both in terms of gapping a pitch and reaching the seats. They can both run and steal a base. Schaeffer is a natural right fielder and Flores is better in left, but he has the chops to play right too. So the ultimate question probably is, if Schaeffer's recent slump continues much longer will his poor work ethic start to impact the team and lead to a more sustained decline in production?


To wrap up, the main questions then (setting aside the multiple bullpen questions) are:
Curtis or Patnode? Leaning towards Patnode but this is a hard call.
Koch or Bennett? Almost surely Koch for now, but he better stay healthy and play well.
Foster or RodRod? Oh, man. I have no idea. I guess we'll see how RodRod does after September 1st (he will surely rejoin the team then if not before.) And see how much Foster's first half was a fluke.
Schaeffer or Flores? I'll admit, as he was coming up through the minors, Schaeffer was never a favorite of mine. I don't usually keep guys around with his character profile. I mean, don't get me wrong, he isn't considered a trouble-maker. Just a guy who is trending toward being unmotivated. Flores has raked this year. Are his numbers, in what is still a pretty small sample, indicative of his true talent? Nah, probably not. Given more time and more AB's against right-handers surely his numbers would drop quite a bit. Likely they will both be out there fighting for time when 1975 rolls around. Beyond that, who knows?

[BirdWatcher]

Well-traveled veteran reliever Jose de los Santos, who pitched for the Brewers in 1972-1973, has announced that this season will be his last. The 37-year old righty has remained remarkably durable (he's never suffered an injury in his career!) and still has the physical ability to pitch but the stuff just isn't there for him anymore. He's used to pitching at a high level- he is tied for 4th all-time in the WPK for saves and 3rd in career ERA (behind Benni Heregger and future HOF'er Jamel McNeil). He still put up decent numbers last season for the Brewers but the Denver scouting staff saw the writing on the wall and the front office opted out of the last year of his contract (our owner is still mad at us for not offering him an extension.)
The way things have gone for de los Santos this season- starting the season with Philly and putting up an ERA of 6.87 before being released on June 8th, signed by Boston on June 12th, and thus far posting an ERA of 5.97 in their bullpen- seems to indicate we made the right decision.




It is sad to see such a formerly great pitcher brought so low but also understandable that he is ready to step away from the game he played at such a high level for a long time.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers carry a 6-game winning streak into their 3-game series against the third place Charlotte Sting.

The Brewers score six times in the bottom of the 2nd inning and never look back, winning game 1 by a final score of 9-4. The score makes the game sound closer than it was as starter Erik Sloan gave up a few 8th inning runs and reliever Jordan Stephens gave up another before finally settling down and closing things out. Sloan worked 7 1/3rd, giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts and no walks and improves to 12-6 with a 3.41 ERA. The middle of the order is impressive in this one for the Brewers and Bobby Erbakan, Joe McPhillips, Andrew Kennedy, and Mike Foster combine to go 10 for 16 with 5 runs scored and 7 driven in. Foster (.321/.365/.458) hits his 30th double and drives in 3 runs. Erbakan (.338/.401/.539) hits his 28th double. Kennedy (.329/.363/.422) hits triple #3. And McPhillips (.300/.387/.533) hit HR #23.


It looked like the winning streak would come to an end in the second game of the series when the Brewers fell behind 5-0 heading into the 7th inning. But then the Brewers start to climb back into the game against starter Jalen Cotton. Naturally the Sting bring in dominant closer Jamel McNeil to put a stop to that. Now there are no good explanations for this, but for some reason the Brewers often seem to hit McNeil, a future HOF'er, quite well. This game was no exception. By the time all was set and down McNeil had taken the loss and the Brewers had extended their winning streak to 8 games with a 6-5 walk-off win. The bottom of the 9th started with Chad Brown hitting his 21st double of the season (he also hit his 8th triple of 1974 in the game) followed by walks to Joe McPhillips and Ryan Rodgers. Bobby Erbakan hit a grounder straight back to McNeil who threw home to get Brown. Bases loaded, 1 out now. The dramatic moment was set for John Flores, who has been so good offensively for the Brewers this year. And he hit a fly ball to left center. Oh, well, deep enough for the speedy McPhillips to score from third. Not the most exciting walk-off but a win is a win. And speaking of wins, this one went to Jaden Francis, who is now 3-3 with a 1.77 ERA. (Rumors are that the Brewers are in talks with Jaden to extend his contract and avoid arbitration at the end of the season.) Mike Foster (.324/.368/.467) went 2 for 3 in the game and hit his 10th HR.


But all good things must come to an end eventually and in the final game of the series the Brewers winning streak ended as Charlotte prevailed, 4-1. Matt Helm took the loss, though he really wasn't horrible, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits over 6 innings pitched. He falls to 11-6 with a 2.78 ERA. Ryan Rodgers continues to lead all of the WPK, rather easily, in batting average (.381) and OBP (.506) and in this one went 2 for 2 with 2 walks. Andrew Kennedy, currently 4th in the MGL in batting average at .332, went 2 for 3 with 1 run scored and 1 walk. Who is ahead of him in BA- teammates Rodgers and Erbakan (.335) and L.A.'s future Hall-of-Famer Travis Johnson.


With the series victory the Brewers retain a good lead in the MGL: 8 games ahead of Brooklyn, 12 1/2 ahead of Charlotte, and 14 ahead of L.A.

And speaking of Brewers teammates at the top of the statistical leader boards, let's talk about these three: Ryan Rodgers, Bobby Erbakan, and Joe McPhillips. Not only are the 1-2-3 in OPS in the MGL (in the order stated above) but also 1-2-3 (same order) in batter WAR (6.2, 5.9, 5.5, respectively.)

[BirdWatcher]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Phoenix Speed Devils might not be a very good team, but with three left-handed sluggers in the middle of their lineup, they can be quite intimidating and can score runs in bunches. To give you an idea, the three- Ju-au Ju, Devin Schwisow, and Mike Wagner have hit 24, 27, and 27 homers this year, respectively. To put that into perspective, the all-time HR king (thus far) in the WPK, Nate Bennett, leads all of the WPK this year with 33 homers. Next on this list- Schwisow and Wagner. And Ju sits in 7th place, in all of the WPK. Largely due to these three players the Speed Devils have a 15 HR lead over the next most prolific team in the WPK. And they are 2nd to the Brewers in the MGL in many offensive categories. Granted, they give up far more runs than they score, to the tune of a -97 run differential.
But they put fear into the hearts of pitching staffs.

Having said that, in game 1 of a brief 2 game series at Centennial Stadium, the Brewers hit 3 homers, the Speed Devils none, and we won easily, 14-3. Cheol-han Lee worked out of jams, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits in 8 innings pitched. He got the win, improving to 13-5 with a 2.96 ERA. And, well, every man in the Brewers lineup had at least 1 hit. We demolished them. There is a whole lotta' praise to go around. But let's at least acknowledge the game Mr. Erbakan had. Bobby Erbakan (.336/.400/.540) went 2 for 4, scoring 3 runs, driving in 4, hitting his 29th double, and his 17th HR. Even more than that, the HR was of the Grand Slam variety, which has become an Erbakan specialty this season. Jonathan Koch (.301/.321/.443) hit his 9th HR and 16th double. And Joe McPhillips (.301/.391/.542) hit HR #24 and drew 2 walks, scoring twice and driving in 2 runs. Oh, and Joe picked up his 15th stolen base of the season. Can you say, five tools player?


So, game 2. Yeah, sometimes you just get on one of those rolls. Brewers only hit 2 HR's in this one to the Speed Devils, well, zero again. (How did that happen?) But we'll settle for an 11-2 thumping. Two of yesterday's heroes homer again today: Joe McPhillips hits his 25th and Jonathan Koch gets to 10. Andrew Kennedy (.337/.373/.430) went 3 for 5 and hit double #24. He moves ahead of teammate Bobby Erbakan for 2nd in the MGL in batting average (behind, of course, teammate Ryan Rodgers.) Chad Brown (.307/.327/.412) hits his 21st double. Hector Hard only lasted 5 2/3rds innings (he isn't known for his great stamina) but didn't allow a run, and scattered 7 hits. He improves to 3-2 with a 1.78 ERA as a Brewer and 14-9, 3.32 for the season. And young lefty Jeremy Walker, in spite of finding himself shuttling back and forth from Denver to AAA Chester, has really come into his own this season. He worked the final 3 innings without allowing a run and earned his first big league save. He has a 2.19 ERA and decent 1.16 WHIP in 20.2 IP for the Brewers in 1974. (His numbers have been correspondingly quite good at AAA this season.)


With 4 days and 5 games left in the month of August, the Brewers hold onto an 8 game lead over the second place Brooklyn Aces. Realistically, they are probably our only true competitors left for the MGL title this season. The third place Charlotte Sting are 13 1/2 games behind, and the scuffling L.A. Spinners have fallen 15 games off the pace.

[BirdWatcher]

Oh, and I totally forgot to mention that Bobby Erbakan just won the Player of the Week honors in the MGL for last week.
And that would be for games prior to the these two against Phoenix in which Erbakan was once again a force. Perhaps he keeps it up and wins the award two weeks running?

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers head out on the road again to conclude the month of August and start in Charlotte where they will take on the 3rd place Sting for three games, starting with a rare Wednesday doubleheader.

In the opening game the Brewers continue their hot hitting and solid pitching to get a 7-1 win. Apparently, rumors of Chad Brown's demise were premature. Boy has he been hitting well lately and in this one he went 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 4 RBI, and hit 2 doubles to get to 24 for the season. Harry Lyerly wasn't always sharp, including loading the bases on walks with two outs in the 3rd inning, but he nearly always managed to work out of trouble in this one, allowing just 1 run on 7 hits and 5 walks (striking out 4) in 6 innings pitched. He got the win to improve to 9-9 with a 4.00 ERA. Jordan Stephens pitched the last 3 innings for his 11th save with a 2.71 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.335/.400/.536) went 2 for 5 with a run scored and 2 RBI and picked up his 15th stolen base of the season (with 5 CS.)


There are those games where immediately afterward the manager has to raise his hand high and say, hey, sorry guys. That one's on me. The night-cap to this doubleheader was one of those games. The Sting aren't a great offensive team but if there is one thing they like it's facing a left-handed starter. Almost everyone in their lineup bats from the right side. But the Brewers manager (that's me) didn't plan ahead well and was forced to start lefty Erik Sloan in the night-cap. And with Jalen Cotton on the mound for Charlotte this was not a good recipe for success. Cotton is a fine young starter but he's even much better generally when facing the Brewers. So naturally, the Sting jump out to an early lead which they stretch 9-0 by the end of the 3rd inning. It is only because the Brewers have such great hitters and never stop battling that the final score was 9-7. They were trying to the end, but it was just too big a hill to climb. Sloan falls to 12-7 with a 3.77 ERA after giving up 9 runs on 14 hits in 5 1/3rd innings. Bobby Erbakan had 1 hit in the game but it was his 30th double and he drove in 3 runs to get to 112 RBI. (Erbakan's 92 RBI last season was by far his best season total to date. Obviously he is blowing that number away this season.)


In the series rubber match the Brewers got a fine start from Steve Green and it looked like they would claim another series victory as they held a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 8th inning. And then things fell apart. It started small, really. Green got the first out of the inning. And then it appeared he got the second. Except Mike Foster flubbed an easy ground ball out and the Sting had a runner. Former Brewer Ruben Souffront followed with a single. But when Green got the next batter to hit into a fielder's choice for the second out it seemed like things might work out fine. Jose Gutierrez, one of the best young center fielders in the game not named Joe McPhillips, then singled home the first run for the Sting. No problem. The Brewers still had a 2-run lead and 2 outs in the 8th. And Jaden Francis, who has been spectacular this season, coming to the mound out of the bullpen. First batter he faces works a full count, then singles. 3-2 Brewers, bases full of Sting. And pinch-hitter Blake Reese, ever dangerous, comes up to face Francis. Jaden gets him to hit a weak grounder to the mound. Jubilation. But no! In his hurry to make the third out and hold onto the lead Jaden muffs it. Tying run scores, inning continues. And at that point let's stop with the play-by-play. Suffice it to say, it was all downhill from there. Sting score 5 runs in the inning and hold on to win 5-3 and take the series. Jaden Francis takes the loss and falls to 3-4 with 1.76 ERA. Can't blame any of this on Chad Brown though. Brown (.316/.337/.428) was 2 for 4 and hit 2 doubles to get to 26 for the season. John Flores (.342/.380/.602) only had 1 hit but it was his 7th HR. And Andrew Kennedy (.339/.376/.433) remains hot, going 2 for 4 and hitting his 25th double.


And the Brewers get lucky as Brooklyn has also lost 2 in a row to keep our lead at 8 1/2 games. The Sting get to 12 1/2 back with the Baltimore Lords skipping over L.A. to get to 14 1/2. Poor L.A. is now 15 1/2 back and, in spite of their amazing starting rotation, likely toast.

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers first baseman Bobby Erbakan is building a pretty good case for being a front-runner for the MGL MVP of 1974 and towards that end he is chosen as the MGL Player of the Month for August.
Interestingly the two players most likely to challenge him for the award are teammates: Ryan Rodgers and Joe McPhillips.


As things stand right now, as we enter the final month of the season, it is hard to see anyone but one of the three winning the MVP award. Rodgers is on an almost certain path to win the third batting title of his career and currently leads all players in WAR with 6.6. McPhillips is the best power hitter of the three and is currently 4th in the MGL in HR's, just 2 behind the co-leaders. And like Erbakan he is a five-tool player, but at a far more important defensive position.

There are enough games left in the season for someone to pull away from the pack (or fall back from the pack) or even for a player from another team to emerge as a legitimate contender. But at this point it appears it will be a fascinating 3-man race between teammates.

[BirdWatcher]

So here we are entering the final month of the 1974 season.

Let's look at where things stand, starting with the SJL:


It continues to be a really good 4-team race in the SJL. For much of the season the surprise Philadelphia Mud Hens and the returning WPK champs, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack, have traded places at the top of the standings. But the very talented San Antonio Keys are hanging in there (admittedly, way over-performing their pythagorean win expectancy) and the always strong Washington Night Train (with the best run differential in the SJL) are still in the hunt as well. Although no teams have been mathematically eliminated in the SJL, those are the only 4 with a realistic hope to win the pennant.

What about the MGL?:


Okay, we really are trying very hard not to get over-confident. But the Brewers now head into September with a 10 1/2 game lead over their nearest competitor. And our run differential of +222 is more than 100 runs better than the next best, with is the Brooklyn Aces, who happen to be the team we lead by 10 1/2 games. We try to keep reminding ourselves that it "ain't over 'til it's over", but let's face it, for all intents and purposes, barring an historic collapse, it is pretty much over. At this point the statisticians have estimated that the Brewers have a 99.7% chance of winning the MGL. Good enough for me.

[Palaaemon]

Bobby for mvp!

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Bobby for mvp!

I thought you might like this!

Definite possibility. In so many categories he and Ryan Rodgers and Joe McPhillips are battling for MGL supremacy. Oddly, when I looked over the defensive stats for the MGL the other day it isn't entirely clear that Bobby will get another Gold Glove award. He should be one of the main finalists but there was at least one other MGL first baseman with some crazy good defensive stats.
(Off subject a bit, but the Brewer who looks most likely to get a Gold Glove this year is catcher Zacarias Martell. Of course that award has been won by a Brewer the past few seasons- Kevin Curtis. Hard to say whether the rookie Martell will be given the honor but looking at a number of defensive stats he currently looks like the most worthy catcher.)

[Palaaemon]

Bird,

Would you mind (when you have the time of course) posting the "would be" challenger's profile? Also please post both Bobby and his defensive stats together along with any other possible first base Gold Glove challengers.

Once again thank you!

Palaaemon

PS Good luck to Zacarias Martell in his drive for the Gold! Also luck to Ryan Rodgers quest for another batting title! Also I believe Joe McPhillips is in contention for home run king...Crush on Joe! To anyone else that I have neglected that may be in the running for an award, continue to draw on that collective team Brewer Power to help you not only individually but as a team as you have all year and bring home that CHAMPIONSHIP!

[stevem810]

The Crew look unstoppable at this point. Clearly, the class of the league.

Like that knuckleballer, McNally. Looks like a good one.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by stevem810

The Crew look unstoppable at this point. Clearly, the class of the league.

Like that knuckleballer, McNally. Looks like a good one.

Hey, don't jinx us!

But yeah, things do seem to be coming together pretty well this season, even though our pitching has been a bit erratic and might be a problem in a 7-game series.

Regular season? We are pretty surely the best.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Bird,

Would you mind (when you have the time of course) posting the "would be" challenger's profile? Also please post both Bobby and his defensive stats together along with any other possible first base Gold Glove challengers.

Once again thank you!

Palaaemon

PS Good luck to Zacarias Martell in his drive for the Gold! Also luck to Ryan Rodgers quest for another batting title! Also I believe Joe McPhillips is in contention for home run king...Crush on Joe! To anyone else that I have neglected that may be in the running for an award, continue to draw on that collective team Brewer Power to help you not only individually but as a team as you have all year and bring home that CHAMPIONSHIP!

Absolutely (later, of course, when I'm in front of the game.) So, you mean the challengers for the MVP, yes? Rodgers and McPhillips?
Or did you mean Brooklyn?

Joe has certainly helped add a better HR power dimension to the team. We have gone from being 8th in the league (of 10) in HR's last season to currently 3rd (and recently as high as 2nd.) Actually, I keep forgetting to post this, but I'm pretty sure this is the first season in Brewers history where we have 4 players in double digits in HR's. (McPhillips, Erbakan, Foster, and Koch.) And a few others who could still get there (Flores, Schaeffer, especially.)

[Palaaemon]

Bird,

I really should have been more clear what I was refering about.

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

I thought you might like this!

Definite possibility. In so many categories he and Ryan Rodgers and Joe McPhillips are battling for MGL supremacy. Oddly, when I looked over the defensive stats for the MGL the other day it isn't entirely clear that Bobby will get another Gold Glove award. He should be one of the main finalists but there was at least one other MGL first baseman with some crazy good defensive stats.

I hope this clears the confusion up that I was refering to the other MGL first baseman you brought up. Or any others that may be in the mix. Make sense now?

Palaaemon