Your Expansion Seattle Mariners!!!

[BoilerRocketScientist]

With the first pick in the 1981 MLB draft, the Cleveland Indians take Tony Phillips, SS. And with those words, the 1981 draft begins. Here's the rundown of the first round.

1. Cleveland: Tony Phillips, SS
2. Toronto: Mike Smithson, SP
3. Atlanta: Jim Gott, SP
4. Milwaukee: Frank Viola, SP
5. Pittsburgh: Wade Boggs, 3B
6. Boston: Storm Davis, SP
7. Philadelphia: Julio Franco, SS
8. Cleveland: Oil Can Boyd, SP
9. Texas: Chili Davis, CF
10. Chicago (NL): Mike Moore, SP
11. St. Louis: Ken Dayley, SP
12. San Diego: Bill Laskey, SP
13. New York (NL): Tony Gwynn, RF
14. Detroit: Brett Butler (CF)
15. Los Angeles: John Stuper (SP)
16. Oakland: Walt Terrell (SP)
17. Baltimore: Dave Dravecky (SP)
18. San Francisco: Chris Codiroli (SP)
19. Montreal: Lee Tunnell (SP)
20. Los Angeles: Doug Jones (MR)
21. Minnesota: Don Mattingly (1B)
22. Baltimore: Neal Heaton (SP)
23. St. Louis: Gary Redus (LF)
24. Cincinnati: Howard Johnson (3B)
25. Montreal: Tom Henke (MR)
26. Houston: Willie McGee (CF)
27. California: Carlos Diaz (MR)
28. Seattle: Greg Walker (1B)

So, I get a future first baseman and a left-handed bat as well. I wish I could've grabbed a starting pitcher ... but there wasn't much left.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

I managed to get some depth in my minor leagues with this draft.

R1, #28: Greg Walker, 1B
R1, Sup, #43: Tom O’Malley, 3B
R2, #61: Andy Hawkins, SP
R2, #81: Brad Lesley, MR
R3, #109: Joe Cowley, MR
R4, #137: Ricky Adams, SS

Walker may make the club in the Spring. Lesley has some stud MR numbers and he may make it too ... the AI completely devalues the MR position in both the draft and as trade value. Everyone else will likely stay in the minors. It will be nice if Hawkins can provide some starting innings in the future. We'll see.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The 1982 AL award winners were ...

MVP: Mike Schmidt (NYY) - .269/.374/.499, 34 HR, 85 RBI's, 55.2 VORP
CyYoung: Scott Sanderson (BAL) - 23-8, 2.45 ERA, 287.0 IP, 177 K, 43.5 VORP
ROY: Charlie Puleo (OAK) - 18-13, 3.17 ERA, 258.0 IP, 140 K, 51.1 VORP

And, Mike Schmidt wins his 4th straight MVP since coming over to the Yankees as a free agent from Philadelphia.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The 1982 NL award winners were ...

MVP: Oscar Gamble (HOU) - .290/.380/.587, 41 HR, 120 RBI's, 76.4 VORP
Cy Young: Joe Niekro (HOU) - 20-9, 2.63 ERA, 263.0 IP, 112 K, 54.5 VORP
ROY: Kent Hrbek (NYM) - .287/.345/.457, 25 HR, 92 RBI's, 44.7 VORP

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Yankees Land Free Agent Prize

In a move that surprised nobody, the New York Yankees announced that they had signed George Brett to the richest free agent contract in MLB history. The Yankees backed up the Brinks truck to the tune of $5.57M over 6 years and nearly made Brett a million dollar man.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

I stayed away from all the Type A free agents and am trying to be smart. Here's my small moves leading up to Spring Training.

• Good news came over the wire when I heard that free agent Steve Braun was signed although it stung a bit when I heard that it was division rival Minnesota that was the beneficiary. While we lost a good player this year we will benefit next year when we get our Type A compensation – Minnesota’s 1st round pick as well as a pick in the supplementary round.
• Took a flyer on right fielder Dick Davis as a Type 5 free agent.
• Added a left-handed reliever to my bullpen when I signed Buddy Schultz to a 3-year, $600K contract.
• Signed Bruce Kison to a 2-year, $575K contract with Seattle. I'm hoping he will step into the starting rotation.
• Traded minor leaguers Lauce Rautzhan (CL) and Luis Aguayo (SS) to Philadelphia for Cal Ripken (SS). I’m going to give him a chance to take the third basemen job.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Angels Strengthen Rotation

The California Angels have shown they're gunning for the the defending champion Seattle Mariners by dipping their toe heavily into the free agent pool with a pair of starting pitcher signings. First, they signed Dennis Eckersley (averaged 15 wins over the past 2 years with a 3.50 ERA) to a 4-year, 2.5 million dollar contract. They then followed that up by winning the bidding war for starter Rick Reuschel who had an off-year in 1981 (9-17, 3.62 for bad Cubs team) after averaging 19 wins a season from 1977 - 1980. Reuschel signed for 3 years and 2.4 million dollars. Eckersley and Reuschel will join Rich Gale and Frank Tanana to give the Angels likely the strongest rotation on paper in the AL. But as we know, they don't play their games on paper, they play them on my computer and we'll see if the Angels spent their 5 million dollars wisely.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

We end Spring Training with a 15-9 record, tied for best in the AL and 1 game back of the Chicago Cubs for the best spring in the majors. Richie Zisk picked right back up where he left off in October hitting .310 leading all batters in the spring with 8 HR’s and 21 RBI’s. Bill Buckner (.368, 2 HR’s, 9 RBI’s) and Andre Thornton (.286, 4 HR’s, 10 RBI’s) also had good springs. On the pitching staff, we got surprise good pitching from Bruce Kison (1-2, 2.81) and Brian Kingman (1-1, 1.50). The biggest surprise was from converted reliever Rich Gossage who went 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his 4 starts. I can’t rely on him for complete games but it he can give me a strong 6 innings every 5th day then we’ll be thrilled. Other starters Don Gullet, Floyd Bannister, and Burt Hooton posted ERA’s over 4.50. I’ll need to choose 5 from that group for my starting rotation. As usual, I have a surplus of good relievers so some will head back down to the minors.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The annual pre-season predictions came out and surprisingly the pundits have pegged Seattle for a 80-82 record. However, the entire AL West is a logjam with only 8 games separating first from last. So, it really is anyone's title to take for the West. The official predictions have the Brewers taking the AL East, the A's taking the AL West, the Pirates taking the NL East and the Reds taking the NL West.

Seattle owner Alex Watkins informed me that he expects a playoff appearance at the end of the season. The Mariners are ready to go for a repeat but it will likely come down to how well the pitching staff holds up.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The Seattle Mariners begin the defense of their World Series crown with a sound thrashing of perpetual rival Minnesota. The Seattle offense started by scoring 6 runs in the top of the 1st and kept didn't stop en route to a 14-5 victory. Seattle was led by Paul Molitor (4/5, 3 runs), Dave Stapleton (3 RBI's), Al Woods (2/5, 3 RBI's, 1 HR), and John Stearns (3/5, 3 RBI's, 1 HR). Don Gullet (1-0) earned the win despite giving up 5 runs in 6 innings while giving up 5 hits and an uncharacteristic 7 walks. All five of the Minnesota runs came off of 2 home runs a 2-run shot by Mark Corey in the 1st and a 3-run shot by Mike Cubbage in the 2nd. Minnesota starter Dave Goltz (0-1) took the loss as he didn't make it out of the 1st inning giving up 6 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 0.2 innings.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

After a 3-3 start, the team came together to go 14-4 for the remainder of the month and finish April at 17-7 with a 2-game lead over the White Sox in the AL West.

Surprisingly, the pitching has been at the forefront of the April surge. Our team ERA is 2nd in the AL and our staff leads the AL in strikeouts while being 3rd in allowing the fewest walks – a great combo. The starting rotation of Don Gullet (3-1, 4.84), Mike Witt (2-2, 4.20 after joining the team via a trade prior to opening day), Floyd Bannister (2-2, 3.49), Burt Hooton (2-2, 1.89), and Bruce Kison (3-0, 4.10) have performed better than expected. Gullet has posted a 14-strikeout game while Bannister has pitched the gem of the season so far – a 2-hit shutout with 7 K’s and 0 walks. The relief corps has the second best ERA in the AL with every member having a sub 2.00 ERA with the exception of Rich Gossage.

The offense has done well being near the top of the AL in runs scored and home runs despite a disappointing start from starters Richie Zisk (.216), John Stearns (.224), and Ruppert Jones (.250). On the positive side, Andre Thornton (.319, 2 HR’s, 11 RBI’s) and Paul Molitor (.305, 21 runs, 11 SB’s) have played well to lead the way. However, the heavy lifting has been done by Bill Buckner (6 HR’s, 22 RBI’s) and Dave Stapleton (4 HR’s, 18 RBI’s). Al Woods (.293, 1 HR, 11 RBI’s) has been a pleasant surprise as he’s another player coaxed out of early retirement by GM Woody Tobias.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Again, the team started the new month in a rough manner losing 3 straight games but then responded by winning 18 of the next 25 and at the end of the month held a 4-game lead in the AL West over the California Angels.

Surprisingly, the pitching staff remains the bright spot for the team as we lead the MLB with a team ERA of 3.02! The starters ERA of 3.37 leads the league as well and while second in the AL, the relief corps is sporting a 1.96 ERA. Three starter (Mike Witt, Burt Hooton, and Bruce Kison) are tied with a team leading 6 wins and each has an ERA below 3.00. Kison and Hooton were each 4-1 for the month and Kison helped out the bullpen by throwing 3 complete games, including a shutout.

On the offensive side, the team remains near the middle of the pack in most categories but they lead the AL in runs scored and are 2nd in home runs. Bill Buckner continues to surprise with an uncharacteristic 12 home runs so far this year (along with a .330 average and 41 RBI’s). Andre Thornton is right behind him with 11 homers, 9 of which he slugged in May. Shortstop Dave Stapleton led the team in May with a .392 batting average. Paul Molitor, after winning the batting title last year, continues to struggle, hitting only .160 for the month and .231 overall. The coach is sure he’ll find his stroke soon but a fourth consecutive .300 season might be in jeopardy. The team lost Dave Winfield for 3 weeks with a sprained knee and he was replaced by rookie Greg Walker who has 1 hit in his 6 at-bats so far.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Schadenfreude is the word of the day for Yankee haters as New York is languishing in the AL East cellar after making the big off-season free agent signing of George Brett. I'll have to take a look at why things aren't going well.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

I just checked on the Yankees woes. They're batting rankings are near no better than 12 in most offensive categories and their pitching rankings are the same. On the offensive side, they're currently without Craig Nettles and 4-time MVP Mike Schmidt. Meanwhile, the team has lost closer Gene Garber who posted 42 saves last season. As for their starters ... their ratings are better than most so I think they're just in a bad stretch. We'll see how the season progresses.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

JUNE (16-10): For the third straight month, the team got off to a slow start losing the first 2 out of 3 games and made it to mid-June going 6-8 for the month. Then, we got hot again and won 10 of the next 12 games. Over that time we had increased our lead to as much as 8 games over the White Sox before settling for a 7-game lead as we head into July. Like NL West leading Cincinnati, we’ve managed to avoid the injury bug for the season.

The pitching staff still leads the entire majors with a 3.04 team ERA (Starters: 3.38, Relievers: 2.00). The pitching staff was strong across the board with 8 different pitchers earning wins and 4 different pitchers earning saves. The only low point was starter Burt Hooton who appears to have come back to Earth with a 2-2 record and a 5.93 ERA in 5 starts.

On the offensive front, it looks like Paul Molitor has broken out of his slump in posting a .336 average in June while scoring 23 runs. Molitor has raised his season average to .268. On the other end, catcher John Stearns has been a disappointment this year hitting .207 (.145 in June), down almost 100 points from his .303 average last year.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Both Seattle and Cincinnati are starting to pull away in their respective Western divisions. Meanwhile, both Eastern races are up for grabs.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

Well, for the 2nd time now, I go to all the trouble of picking out all-stars and I forget to finalize the roster ... crap! So, the AI picked the all-stars. I compared its roster with mine and I did pretty good. The only thing missing was having a representative from every team - which I am strong proponent of.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The 1982 All-Star game will have the American League All-Stars visiting Candlestick Park in San Francisco to face their National League counterparts. The AL will send Fernando Valenzuela (11-5, 2.28, 152 K's) from Boston against J. R. Richard (11-7, 2.43, 144 K's) from Houston. The starting lineups are below.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

The NL jumped out to a 4-run lead in the bottom of the first when they slugged 3 homers off of AL starter Fernando Valenzuela. Julio Franco (PHI) started the onslaught with a lead-off homer. He was followed by a 1-out, solo homer by Jeff Burroughs (CHC) and then a 2-run homer by Kirk Gibson (PIT).

The AL got on the board with a run in the 4th off of Ron Reed (NYM) when Leon Durham (TOR) doubled in Willie Upshaw (MIL) with no outs. Reed got out of the rest inning without further damage.

The AL scored 2 more in the top of the 7th to reduce the NL's lead to 4-3. A Luis Salazar (CHW) double plated Jason Thompson (DET) with one out. Salazar later scored on a fielder's choice by Terry Kennedy (TOR). Both runs were charged to NL pitcher John Fulgham (PHI).

In the top of the 9th, the AL got a leadoff single by Thurman Munson (MIN) off of closer Gary Lucas (HOU). Ken Oberkfell (BAL) then greeted Lucas with a single but Munson was thrown out trying to move from 1st to 3rd by right fielder Bernie Carbo (CIN). Munson's poor judgement was compounded when Luis Salazar grounded into a game-ending 5-4-3 double play giving the win to the NL.

NL pitcher Dave Schmidt (STL) earned the win and Lucas earned the save. The loss went to Valenzuela who gave up all 4 NL runs in the first inning. After the first, 6 AL pitchers held the NL to zero runs giving up only 3 hits in 6 innings.

Kirk Gibson from Pittsburgh earned the All-Star MVP by virtue of his 2-run homer in the first inning. His homer provided the deciding run in this game for the NL.

[BoilerRocketScientist]

After the All-Star break we entered a 4-game series against AL East leading Baltimore in what could be a preview of the ALCS this fall.

Unfortunately, we endured a gut-punch of a loss. Offense was the word for the day and we led the entire game until the last batter. At various times in the game we held leads of 4-0, 4-2, 6-2, 6-3, 6-5, 8-5, and 10-5 going into the bottom of the 7th. The Orioles managed 2 runs in the bottom of the 7th off of starter Mike Witt (who they finally chased) and reliever Buddy Schultz.

Then, we went into the bottom of the 9th with a comfortable 3-run lead. Reliever Sheldon Burnside gave up a lead-off double to Eddie Murray. A pair of 1-out singles by Ken Singleton and Joe Nolan reduced the lead to 10-8 and put men on 1st and 2nd with 1 out. Closer Tom Gorman induced an infield fly from Tony Solaita to get within 1 out of victory. However, after fouling off 3 straight pitches, Kiko Garcia sent a 1-2 fastball out to right field for a 2-run triple to tie the game at 10 apiece. Then, third baseman Kevin Bell took the first pitch from Gorman and deposited in left field scoring Garcia and earning the thrilling win with the 4th run of the inning.

My closer Gorman blew his 6th save of the season and endured his 2nd loss. The loss spoiled a wonderful performance from my rookie 1st baseman Greg Walker who was 4/5 with a double, 2 homers, 4 RBI's, and 4 runs scored. This is definitely not the way I wanted to start things off after the All-Star break.