Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

[BirdWatcher]

With the amateur draft coming up tomorrow the Brewers leadership finds themselves thinking about current trends on the team and about what the future might hold.

Starting rotation: This season sees a rotation that features the last three MGL Pitchers of the Year (Harry Lyerly, Cheol-han Lee, and Erik Sloan) along with a pitcher, Steve Green, who consistently puts up good peripheral numbers but just hasn't quite yet lived up to his well above average potential. And with a legendary pitching coach and a history of often having one of, if not the, best rotations in the league, this year they have significantly under-performed.
Some of the best performances have come from the least heralded members of the staff- Eric Johnson and Matt Helm.
So what are the indications for the future?
Well, ace Cheol-han Lee is 32 now but should have several more years as one of the better pitchers in the league, even if he is unlikely to add to his 3 Pitcher of the Year award total. Lee is durable and signed through 1976, though the team has an option on the last year of his contract.
Erik Sloan is the top southpaw in the rotation. He turns 30 later this month and is having an off and on season, but his contract goes through 1975 and he'll almost surely be in a Brewers uniform at least until then.
Harry Lyerly, at age 25, might never reach the levels he did in 1970 when he was the MGL Pitcher of the Year, but he has proven to be a reliable middle of the rotation arm. I sometimes wonder if I might have over-worked the high stamina (but not particularly durable) Lyerly in his first few WPK seasons and if his potential has been stunted a bit as result. But maybe this was just his career destiny and so long as he maintains his current production he's a valuable member of the rotation. He is arbitration eligible for a few more years and we will see what happens after that.
And what of Steve Green? At 26 it is about time for him to start living up to his potential. This year he has regressed, at least in terms of results, quite a lot. There is still a lot of season left and the hope is that he turns things around. He's still under team control through 1977 so he will likely be given time to prove himself.

Matt Helm is the team captain and the only other lefty in the rotation. So while he isn't likely to ever become a star pitcher he should have a spot in the rotation for at least a few more years (he could be a free agent at the end of the 1975 season.)
Eric Johnson profiles as a back end of the rotation starter at best. Thus far in 1973 he has been better than that, and at times spectacular. He earns high praise for his intelligence but less so for his work ethic. Time will tell if the 26-year old righty has a future in the rotation.

The Brewers have several capable arms in the minors but not a one who looks like a future ace. The best of the bunch is likely 20-year old John Weaver, who at this time looks like a future middle of the rotation guy.

The bullpen: Jose de los Santos is on the way down at age 36. His contract only extends one more season and the Brewers have an option on 1974 so it is hard to know if he will be back after this year.
Jaden Francis, the team's first round draft pick in the 1965 draft, at age 26, seems to be coming in to his own this season and has been the most stable member of the 'pen. He doesn't exactly profile as a dominant late-inning guy but he has the stamina to work multiple innings and he's not the worst guy to have out there in high leverage situations. Jaden will not be free agency eligible until after the 1976 season.
27-year old Liann-wei Hua is the lone lefty currently in the pen and remains a talented set-up man. He has two more years of arbitration eligibility but some expect that the team will try to sign him to a medium length contract before he hits the free agency list.
As for Dave Duncan, Sam Pruiett, and Jordan Stephens, well, the jury is still out regarding their future. Duncan, who struggles with control issues but has the best stuff of the lot, has not done well this year and is at risk of being sent to AAA to get his head straight. Pruiett has been okay overall but isn't a lock for the future. Stephens probably is in the best position to stick around, partly because his potential for development, even at age 25, is still tantalizing but most especially because of his two-way skills and power bat. Particularly with Mike Foster experiencing some regressing with his bat this season, Stephens ability to play third base gives him added value.

In the future, likely we will see Mike Lizarraga taking on an important role, possibly even becoming the anchor of the 'pen. And left-hander Jeremy Walker seems to be finally living up to his promise and is likely to earn a promotion from AAA Chester soon.

Okay, I realize that I'm becoming a bit wordy with all of this. Sorry. Let me try to speed it up a bit.

Catchers: Kevin Curtis is one of the team leaders, he's a 3-time Gold Glover and will likely win another this year. Although his bat has regressed to the norm after a hot start, he remains one of the better catchers in the league, a fan favorite in Denver, and is in no danger of losing his job. Curtis is signed through 1976.
As previously mentioned, Zacharias Martell is a good bet to become Curtis back-up soon and might eventually take the starting job if and when Curtis leaves (or his talent diminishes.)

First base: There is no reason to think that Bobby Erbakan won't own this position at least through the 1979 season, when his contract expires. Erbakan, at age 26, hasn't yet quite lived up to his great potential, but even if all he does is continue to play at his current level for several more years, he will have put together a fine, if not nearly HOF-level, career. But the hope is that his best years are still ahead of him.
There are several decent first base prospects in the system. They will probably have to find their future elsewhere.

Second base: Is the Jonathan Koch of 1973 so far the real Jonathan Koch? If so, well, we are all set here. Koch is an extremely gifted defender who this year has turned into one of our best hitters, and our best power hitter. It's too early to know if this is a fluke or just the development of a young star in the making. Even with some offensive regression, Koch, with his defensive speed and decent power, is a big league starter. But the team does have at least a few quite good prospects (David Bennett, Tim Leinen, especially) in the minors so if Koch regresses too much he could have competition.

Third base: Mike Foster in 1973 is not the hero he was in 1972. But there have been some signs of life with his bat of late. His defense is adequate, not great, and he has been too error prone thus far in 1973. There aren't a lot of candidates to take his place, so for now the strength of his '72 campaign has earned him some time.

Shortstop: Chad Brown is 26 years old and already a 3-time All-Star. He is signed through 1979. He is a well above average defender though he might never earn a gold glove. He is a good hitter with gap power and while he rarely walks he also rarely strikes out. He is one of the faster players in the league and a force on the base paths. Will Chad end up in the Hall of Fame? Probably not. But with his great durability and having started his career at such a young age, if he can continue to produce at his current level for another decade or so, well, he just might sneak in on the strength of longevity and an accumulation of stats. I wouldn't put it past him.


Left field: Ryan Rodgers is likely a Hall-of-Famer. Currently in second in batting average in the MGL, by a hair, Rodgers is showing no signs of slowing down at age 34. He is signed to a contract through the 1977 season, though he does have an opt out at the end of this season. I doubt he will use it, but he isn't totally happy about his role on the club (what with too many talented outfielders.)
Andrew Kennedy has a sweet swing. And that swing produces line drive after line drive, scattered around the field and often into the gaps. He is a tremendous hitter. And one of my favorite players. He's no gold glover, but he's above average in left field, adequate in right, and solid at first base, where he provides a left-handed hitting back-up for righty Erbakan. Kennedy is signed through 1978. I hope he continues to be an important member of the club at least that long.

Center field: Joe McPhillips looks to be on the verge of becoming one of the bigger stars in the WPK. Hopefully his current injury isn't an indication of some future injury proneness starting to manifest itself. But if he can stay healthy, and on track with his current progress, the future looks bright indeed for the 5-tool player.

Right field: Is this Josh Schaeffer's job to earn? So far, between a short stint in September of 1972, and parts of this season, Schaeffer has impressed. He is a fine defensive right fielder with a very strong arm. He has shown the ability to hit, even with a bit more power than might have been expected, and he has a great eye at the plate. His work ethic is a concern. But if he keeps producing that will be happily overlooked.

And then we will just have to wait and see how prospects like Jorge Gonzalez and Val Guzman progress.

If the future plays out something like discussed above, the pitching staff might need an infusion of new talent at some point in the next 4 years or so. The defense should continue to be a strength for the team, especially up the middle. This team should hit very well and run the bases with great skill. Power will continue to be an issue. While we have nobody in the mix who looks like they could contend for a HR crown, if Bobby Erbakan would return to the level he was at a few season ago, when he hit 21 HR's, and if Jonathan Koch's power turns out to be for real and he is a consistent 15-20 HR a year guy, and if Joe McPhillips lives up to his potential and becomes a 25-30 a year guy and a few others with roughly average power potential- Mike Foster, Josh Schaeffer, Kevin Curtis- can chip in with low double figure numbers, then it could be enough. But that's still a lot of ifs.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers begin the month of June with a 3-game series in Denver against the Detroit Falcons, who enter the game in a virtual tie for 4th place with the Brewers.

In game 1 the Brewers starting rotation woes continue when Erik Sloan allowed 7 runs on 8 hits in just 5 2/3rds innings pitched and the Falcons won 7-4. Sloan falls to 5-4 with a 4.22 ERA. In spite of his team being on the losing side, Brewers second baseman Jonathan Koch (.337/.348/.497) was named the Player of the Game with his 2 for 4, 3 RBI game. Koch hit his 10th double and 5th HR in the loss. Mike Foster (.257/.303/.326) also had a good game at the plate, collecting 3 hits in 4 at-bats.



With the Brewers desperately needing a good performance from a member of the starting rotation, their 25-year old captain, Matt Helm, gave them just that. Helm got the complete game victory, allowing 2 runs, only 1 of them earned (and that one a 9th inning solo HR), on only 4 hits, striking out 3 and walking just 1. Helm improves to 3-2 with a 3.79 ERA as the Brewers win 6-2. Backup catcher Spencer Wilson (.268/.339/.464) had a big game at the plate, going 3 for 3 with 1 run scored, 1 RBI, and a walk. Pat Rondeau (.406/.419/.490) not only went 2 for 4 with a run scored in the game, but for the second day in a row he recorded an outfield assist. Rondeau now has 5 outfield assists on the season.



Perhaps inspired by the Helm performance, Cheol-han Lee gave the home team their second fine start in a row. Lee held the Falcons to 2 runs on 7 hits over 8 innings pitched, striking out 7 and walking just 1. (Cheol-han also went 2 for 2 at the plate.) The Brewers offense ratcheted things up another notch in this rubber match, scoring 9 runs, and Lee got the win to improve to 6-4 with a 3.12 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.298/.353/.463) was 2 for 4 in the game, hitting his 7th double and 3rd HR, driving in 3 runs. Erbakan was just one of four Brewers to hit a bomb in this one, a rare event indeed for the team that came into the game in last place in HR's in the MGL. (They are now tied for 9th.) Jonathan Koch (.339/.349/.508) continued his great season, going 2 for 4 and hitting HR #6. John Flores (.176/.300/.412), brought up from AAA before the game to provide some right handed power did just that in the 8th inning, when after going 0 for his first 3 AB's, he slammed a 2-run HR into the left field seats. A few batters later, veteran Billy Turner came to the plate as a pinch-hitter, specifically because of his ability to hit the ball over the fence, and boy did he do that- when he crushed a ball 414 feet also into the left field stands for a 2-run shot.


The Brewers get a series victory to start the month of June.

[BirdWatcher]

To follow up a bit on an earlier post regarding 5 of the most highly rated players in the draft: http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...&postcount=278

Sure enough, St. Louis College shortstop Justin Ficklin was the first player chosen overall, by the Portland Wild Things. The Wild Things once again find themselves in the bottom portion of the league and need an infusion of young talent. Perhaps Ficklin will prove to be a big part of a resurgence for the Wild Things in a few years.

John Hemmah, one of a good number of talented prep outfielders in the draft, went to the Detroit Falcons at #4 in the draft.

Shortstop T.J. Williams, a mature 18-year old who shows great leadership potential, was chosen at #12 by the San Francisco Velocity.

The Boston Berserkers, battling with the Jacksonville Wolf Pack thus far this year not only for the SJL title but also for best record in the WPK, chose Las Vegas College first baseman Mike Lovett with their 1st round pick, at #8 overall. This looks like a great pick. Lovett is a marginal defender but is already an advanced hitter with great power potential. He should move up the minor league system rapidly and could be in the bigs as early as late in the 1974 season. There is every reason to believe that this pick will help make the Berserkers a contender for the foreseeable future.

Another prep outfielder, Cameron Olsen, was taken by the San Francisco Velocity with the 6th pick of the 1st round. With their 2 picks in this round the Velocity come up with 2 of the more talented players in the draft. The big question with the 18-year old Olsen is his lack of maturity. He is not known for his baseball smarts or his hard work. Olsen has potential for greatness but also has potential bust written all over him.

More about the Brewers picks thus far later (the draft is completed through the 9th round), but suffice it to say that it was a bit of a disappointing draft for the organization though they are hopeful that a few of the youngsters they took a chance on may exceed current expectations.

[stevem810]

They all look like #1's.

[BirdWatcher]

It was a top-heavy draft, definitely. Had we been a bit higher in the draft order (our first pick was at #18) we could have gotten a potential star.
I think overall (we will see how it plays out eventually) that this was a stronger draft class then the last few. So a decent number of mid-level prospects also.
We got a few of those. And took a chance on some very under-developed youngsters with potential for growth. Who might also completely fail.

But honestly, I love the draft process.
Will try to finish the rest of this year's draft tonight and will report on some of the Brewers picks also.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers had the 18th pick in the first round of the 1973 amateur draft, and they chose 18-year old Jose Figueroa. Figueroa comes out of USC having played everywhere in the infield other than first and all three outfield positions, but the team has already signaled their intention to have him focus on learning third base for now.
Figueroa profiles as having the potential to be an above average contact hitter with slightly above average power. He will probably only draw an average number of walks and his speed is mostly average to below average. But he has a strong arm in the infield and should be able to become a strong third baseman defensively and has the ability to be an above average corner outfielder as well. He is young and a hard worker and could develop into a starting third baseman in the league but some in the organization see him as being more suited to a super-sub role in the WPK.



In the second round the team chose a bat-first power hitting first baseman, Richard Escamilla out of Manitowoc Lutheran High School in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Escamilla will never wow anyone with his glove or his legs, but he has the potential to turn into a big league slugger with decent contact skills and a decent eye.



Third round pick Bobby Stewart profiles quite similarly to Escamilla. While Stewart will be given a chance as a corner outfielder many believe that his ultimate home is first base as well, where he has the chance to be at least average defensively. Stewart is slow and his plate approach is questionable, but he is known for his great baseball smarts and as another 18-year old the hope is that he might develop over time to be a useful big league power hitter.



In the fourth round the Brewers chose their first pitcher, in a weak draft for pitching. 18-year old Mike Blackstone has the stamina and durability to be a starter but will likely be relegated to the 'pen should he ever reach the bigs due to being essentially a two-pitch pitcher. But his curveball projects to have the potential to be elite and should be paired with a solid cutter. He has a poor change-up that is never expected to be anything but sub-par. Still, his stuff has a chance to be above average, his movement is already pretty well developed towards above average, and his control has the potential to be acceptable. He is a ground ball pitcher which fits into the organizational pitching philosophy.



With their fifth round pick, the Brewers selected 21-year old Glendale College right fielder Justin Hawes. Hawes is a speedy player with good base stealing and running skills, a great bunter, and profiles as a solidly above average defensive outfielder with a strong arm. He is unlikely to ever hit for power the way one would expect from a corner outfielder but he could be a decent contact hitter with an above average eye at the plate. He comes to the organization pretty well developed with a ceiling that isn't that great but a floor that isn't particularly low either. There is a good chance he will eventually earn at least a small role in the WPK.


Overall the Brewers selected 6 pitchers- all starters at this point though surely some will be transitioning into relief work. They picked 5 shortstops, though as previously mentioned at least one will be moving to third base. They chose 4 first baseman and 4 right fielders in a draft that featured an inordinate number of power hitting but defensively challenged players. They drafted 3 center fielders, a smaller number than usual for the Brewers. And just 2 catchers. Only 1 third baseman was drafted, though that number has already doubled with the move of Figueroa from short. And just 1 left fielder was chosen. Not a single player who was primarily a second baseman was picked, though positional changes could surely still be in the works.
It should be noted too that one of the players they selected is a two-way player, Ron Bates, who plays first base while also being a starting pitcher. He is unlikely to have the talent at either position to make the big leagues, but he's a smart guy and durable and should at least be an asset at the minor league levels.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers are off to OKC for 4 games against the 7th place Diamond Kings.
The Monday game is called off due to bad weather and re-scheduled as the first game of a Tuesday double-header.

(Okay, a little note outside the reality of the WPK. The first game of this series was not originally postponed. In fact, the Brewers were leading it 9-2 in the 8th inning when the game just froze on me. Couldn't get it back. Had to sacrifice the game. I wasn't very happy to lose an almost sure win. On the other hand, Bobby Erbakan had to leave the game with an injury mid-game (having homered earlier) and I didn't of course know how serious the injury was or if we might lose him for an extended time. Still, Harry Lyerly was also pitching a good game and the way this season was going I was sure in a re-do he would get shelled. I was wrong. All's well that ends well.)

In the opening game of the double-header Harry Lyerly pitched his best game of the 1973 season. Lyerly pitched 8 great innings, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 11 batters and walking 3. (I realized finally that I was letting him throw way too many pitches and got him out of there.) The top of the lineup provided him with all the offense he would need and more. Chad Brown (.329/.339/.427) was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored from the lead-off slot. Pat Rondeau (.412/.424/.510), hitting in the two hole, was also 3 for 5, scoring twice and driving in 2 runs, hitting his 11th double and 2nd triple. With the 5-0 win Lyerly improves to 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA.



Unfortunately, the Brewers see Steve Green continue his struggles in the night cap. Green allows 6 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits in just 4 1/3rd innings pitched. The Brewers lose 6-2 and Green falls to 3-5 with a 5.06 ERA. Pat Rondeau continues his amazing season, going 2 for 5 and picking up his 8th stolen base in the loss. Andrew Kennedy (.321/.353/.430) went 2 for 4 and hit his league leading 16th double.



Game 3 of the series makes me want to sing a song in praise of sloth. The two Brewers who are most often singled out for their poor work ethics- starting pitcher Eric Johnson and right fielder Josh Schaeffer- combined to get the Brewers back on the winning track. Johnson, who has been the best pitching surprise for the team this year, was once again masterful. Over 8 innings, he held the Diamond Kings to 2 runs on only 3 hits. And Josh Schaeffer (.306/.414/.633) went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, hit his 3rd HR (he crushed it!), his 1st double, drew a walk, and continued to play excellent defense in right field. Jonathan Koch (.341/.350/.503) went 3 for 4 in the narrow 3-2 victory. Johnson got the win, improving to 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA. Which basically means that the 6th starter on the staff is having the best year of all so far.



Let's talk more about Jonathan Koch. What the heck has gotten into this kid this season? Game 4 saw the young second baseman almost single handedly power the offense to a 4-0 victory. And power being the operative word as Koch drilled his team-leading 7th HR while going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. And with the exception of Steve Green, you have to like what you are starting to see from the starting rotation. It was Erik Sloan's turn in this game, and while he was playing with fire much of the game (the Diamond Kings had runners in scoring position in more innings than not) he somehow managed to get the shutout, allowing 6 hits over his 9 innings, striking out 3 and walking 2. Chad Brown (.333/.344/.432) is really hitting lately, and after having a 21 game hitting streak earlier in the season he is now up to 12 straight currently. In this game he went 2 for 5 with a run scored and hit his 10th double of the season.



With the 3-1 series win the Brewers climb back into a tie for 2nd place with Brooklyn, 1 game behind the Los Angeles Spinners.
Jonathan Koch is now leading the MGL in batting average at .344 as L.A. star Travis Johnson has been in an extended slump that has seen his average drop from .406 as recently as May 19th to .338 today. Ryan Rodgers is in second, just ahead of Johnson, at .339.

[BirdWatcher]

I probably should mention that 3 of the top 5 batting averages in the MGL currently belong to Brewers players. And a 4th belongs to former Brewer Ruben Souffront.


While Ruben is still only projected to finish the season with a 1.8 WAR, he is having quite the comeback season with Charlotte.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers then head up to Portland where they hope to keep things going against the rebuilding 7th place Wild Things.

And in game 1 they carry a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th, having received another fine start from Matt Helm, who worked 7 innings giving up the 2 runs on 8 hits. But Jaden Francis, who has been the most stable member of the Brewers bullpen this year, couldn't hold the lead in the 9th and the Wild Things sent the game to extras. Then, in the 11th inning, Liann-wei Hua, who had been sailing along for 2 1/3rd innings, needed one more out to send the game to the 12th. But the Wild Things superstar shortstop Chris Tobin, who had entered the game as pinch-hitter in the 9th and hit the triple that tied the game, now topped that by drilling the 1-1 pitch 450 feet into the left-center seats to give the Wild Things a walk-off victory. Josh Schaeffer (.333/.429/.648), continuing to rake in his short WPK career, went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and hit his 2nd double in the loss.




The Brewers got another good start from their veteran ace Cheol-han Lee in the second game and held on for a narrow 3-2 win. Cheol-han worked 8 innings, giving up 1 run on 5 hits to improve to 7-4 with 2.94 ERA. Jose de los Santos gave up a run in the 9th but worked out of a jam to get his 6th save (3.14 ERA.) Bobby Erbakan (.302/.368/.453) went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and hit his 8th double in the win. 42-year old Billy Turner (.314/.340/.490) was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI.



Steve Green gave the Brewers perhaps his best start of the season in the rubber match, but the offense and bullpen let him down and the Brewers lost, again on a walk-off, 2-1. Green allowed just 1 run on 6 hits in 8 innings pitched, striking out 8 and walking just 1. His ERA improves to 4.59. Sam Pruiett pitched the bottom of the 9th and got the first two outs pretty quickly, and against the Wild Things two most dangerous hitters (Chris Tobin and the power-hitting right fielder Alex Reyes.) But then he gave up a 2-out double to former Brewer Jose Careaga, Careaga's second straight double of the game, and then Portland's first baseman Matt Sherman singled Careaga home to end the game and give the home club the series victory. On the plus side, Chad Brown (.331/.340/.424) did pick up 1 hit in 4 at-bats to extend his current hitting streak to 15 games.



Fortunately for the Brewers two of their main competitors in the division are going through cold spells- L.A. has lost 5 straight and Baltimore has won just 4 of their last 10 games. Brooklyn has, on the other hand, won 4 straight and sit in 1st place, with the Brewers, Baltimore Lords, and L.A. Spinners all 2 1/2 games back. The Brewers are percentage points ahead of the Lords and Spinners.
Meanwhile, in the SJL, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack have rattled off 13 straight wins and now lead the Boston Berserkers, who have also remained pretty hot, by 2 games.

[BirdWatcher]

Perhaps a 3-game series at home against the last place team in the league will get things heading in the right direction for the Brewers.

Spoiler alert: yeah, sometimes things really do work out the way it seems they should.

In game 1, the Brewers get the second straight great start from Harry Lyerly. While Lyerly didn't get into double digits with strikeouts as he had in his previous start, he did get his first complete game shutout of the season, scattering 9 hits, striking out 6 and walking just 1. The Brewers offense didn't give him much run support so it's fortunate that he needed almost none. With a 2-0 win, Lyerly improves to 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA. Andrew Kennedy (.332/.366/.436) went 3 for 5 in the victory.



The second game saw another good pitching performance, this time from Erik Sloan, but also much more offense as the Brewers win 10-2. Sloan gave up just 1 run on 4 hits in 8 innings pitched and improves to 7-4 with a 3.50 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.307/.371/.467) had a good game, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and hitting his 4th HR of the season. Mike Foster (256/.297/.335), who hasn't been getting as much playing time lately, had a big game, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI and hitting his 2nd HR of 1973.



It took 11 innings, but the Brewers get a 6-5 victory in the 3rd game to sweep the series. Bobby Erbakan (.327/.387/.481) collected 5 hits in the game, all singles, and drove in 2 runs. Oscar Vargas (.179/.222/.269) only collected 1 hit in his 6 at-bats, but it was a big one- his 3rd double of the season which drove in Pat Rondeau with the winning run. Rondeau (.383/.398/.474) who has been slumping lately at the plate, scored 3 runs in the game with 2 hits in 6 at-bats and he stole his 9th base of the season. The Brewers got another solid start from Eric Johnson in this one- the young righty did give up 11 hits in 6 innings pitched but only allowed 3 runs while striking out 3 and walking 1. Though he did not get a decision his ERA remains respectable at 3.13. Jordan Stephens got the win and is now 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA.



With the series sweep the Brewers are now alone in 2nd place in the MGL, 1 game behind the Brooklyn Aces.

[BirdWatcher]

Gary Roop was the San Antonio Keys first round draft pick (12th overall) in the 1966 amateur draft. The hard working and likable (though not terribly bright) Roop was in a big league uniform a few years later and had his best season in 1970 when he had a slash line of .284/.376/.461 with a 5.3 WAR and his career best 20 home runs. His career was somewhat curtailed by a series of injuries, the most serious being a ruptured Achilles tendon that put him out of commission for 8 months starting at the end of August in the 1967 season. Then last season he was eclipsed by Bud Lindsay, the 11th pick in the 1969 draft by the Keys, who has emerged as a superstar in the league.



Today it was announced that Roop intends to donate one of his kidneys to his ailing brother. The process will require a good deal of recovery time for both patients and it was further announced that Roop has no intention of returning to the ball diamonds as a professional baseball player once recovered, thus ending his once promising career.

[BirdWatcher]

The Pittsburgh Roadrunners fearless leader, first baseman Bill Lechner, hit for the cycle today against the Philadelphia Mud Hens.




Lechner got the hard ones out of the way early as he homered in the 1st inning and tripled in the 3rd.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers are currently playing great baseball and have won 7 straight, and certainly one of the drivers of that surge is the great hitting of Bobby Erbakan for the past few weeks.


This week Erbakan was named the MGL Player of the Week after hitting a torrid .613 for the week and driving in 10 runs.

[BirdWatcher]

When you are trying to be the best team in the league you need to consistently dominate the weaker teams in the league.
And right now that is exactly what the Brewers are doing.

In a rare 5-game series against the Portland Wild Things in Denver the Brewers get a sweep and have now won 8 straight to move into 1st place in the MGL.

The series started with a Friday double-header. In the opening game the team got another strong start from staff ace Cheol-han Lee. Lee lasted 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits, striking out 5 while walking none. The Brewers won the game 6-4 and Lee got the win to improve to 8-4 with a 2.89 ERA. Andrew Kennedy went 2 for 4 in the win and hit his league leading 18th double.



Andrew Kennedy (.345/.375/.453) continued his hot hitting in the night-cap as he lead the offense with a 4 for 4, 2 run, 1 RBI game and hit his 19th double. Starter Steve Green wasn't great but he was good enough to keep him team in the game. Green allowed 2 runs on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk in 5 innings pitched in the 6-3 victory and earned the win to improve to 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA. Other hitting stars for the Brewers were Ryan Rodgers (.341/.439/.459), who went 3 for 5 with 2 runs, 2 RBI and hit 2 doubles to get to 16 for the season and Bobby Erbakan (.333/.390/.485) who chipped in with a 3 for 5 day. Sam Pruiett pitched 2 good inning at the end of the game to get his 3rd save (3.52 ERA.)



The story of the third game of the series was the pitching performance by the captain, Matt Helm. Helm got the complete game victory, giving up just 1 run on 8 hits, striking out 8 (including striking out side, the dangerous middle of the Wild Things order, in the 9th) and walking none. The Brewers won the game 4-1 and Helm got the win to improve to 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.339/.398/.488, 2 for 3, 1 stolen base) and Andrew Kennedy (.350/.381/.456, 2 for 3) were once again the hitting stars.



Game 4 saw more great starting pitching for the Brewers but also ramped up offensive production. Harry Lyerly, in a nice groove right now, worked 8 effective innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits with 6 strikeouts and 1 walk. With a great deal of run support, the Brewers win 8-2 and Lyerly improves to 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA. Among the hitting stars in the game: Bobby Erbakan (.353/.408/.503), who collected 4 hits in 5 at-bats, driving in a pair of runs and hitting his 10th double of the season. Jonathan Koch (.335/.343/.495) was 3 for 5 in the game and hit his 12th double. Pat Rondeau (.388/.405/.479) contributed a 3 for 4, 1 run, 1 RBI day and hit his 13th double. And Mike Foster (.259/.309/.351) who entered the game in the 5th when veteran Billy Turner had to leave with an injury (a bruised shin which should only sideline him about 4-5 days) hit his 3rd HR of the year in the 7th inning.



And in the final game of the series the offense just kept rolling and the starting pitching remained strong as the Brewers won easily, 10-3. Mike Foster (.268/.316/.374) looked like the Mike Foster of 1972, banging out 3 hits in 5 at-bats, including his second homer in 2 days (4) and driving in 7 runs, which ties the single-game record for the team. Among the many hitting stars for the Brewers, Andrew Kennedy (.349/.382/.455) had another fine game- 2 for 4, 2 runs scored, 1 walk, and his 20th double- and now leads the MGL in batting average. And Bobby Erbakan (.356/.413/.503) keeps rolling, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Erik Sloan get the complete game victory, allowing the 3 Wild Things runs on just 5 hits, striking out 3 and walking 1. Sloan improves to 8-4 with a 3.46 ERA.



As mentioned previously, the Brewers are now in 1st place in the MGL with the 8 straight victories. The Brooklyn Aces remain close behind, trailing by just 1 game. But the Baltimore Lords and Los Angeles Spinners have been slumping and are now 5 1/2 games behind. The suddenly hot Phoenix Speed Devils join them in the 3-way, 3rd place tie.
Although the Brewers remain last in the league in HR's, they are now 2nd in runs scored and first in most every other offensive category (5th in stolen bases, though.) Most impressively, the team batting average is just a tick below .300 at .299. The team OBP is .350. They might not hit many balls over the fences but overall, boy, this team just rakes. And team base running is now at +15.4, best in the MGL.
And with fine performances the past few weeks the starting staff has really bounced back and is now 4th in ERA while the team is now 2nd in runs allowed. The team is 3rd in the league in defensive zone rating.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers conclude their 11-game home stand with 3 against the 9th place Oklahoma City Diamond Kings.

In the first game of the series the Brewers fall behind early as Eric Johnson has one of his worst starts of the season. Johnson gave up 7 runs on 6 hits and was very wild- walking 6 and hitting a batter- and when he left the game after 4 innings pitched the Brewers were trailing 7-5. The bullpen- in this case Jaden Francis for 2 innings and Jordan Stephens for the last 3- did a wonderful job and allowed only 1 more run and the offense continued to roar as the Brewers took the game by a score of 12-8 to extend their winning streak to 9 games. Rookie Josh Schaeffer (.329/.407/.557) helped lead the offense with a 3 for 5, 2 RBI day. Pat Rondeau, who crossed over the threshold to officially be a qualifying hitter and now leads the league in batting average (.387/.403/.487) was 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and hit his 3rd triple of the season. Chad Brown (.317/.333/.399) only collected 1 hit, but he scored 3 runs, and uncharacteristically walked twice, and added 3 stolen bases to his total for the year (12). It was a sloppy game defensively, as the teams committed 9 errors between them, and Brown was credited with his 17th of the season.



Game 2 saw the Brewers winning streak come to an end as Cheol-han Lee struggled through 5 1/3rd innings, giving up 7 runs (5 earned) on 11 hits, though he did record 8 strikeouts with only 2 walks. The Brewers battled back all game but fell short in the end, losing 8-6. Lee took the loss and falls to 8-5 with a 3.18 ERA. Dave Duncan pitched the final 2 innings and allowed a big 9th inning insurance run on a solo HR off the bat of former Brewer Arturo Baca. Duncan's ERA for 1973 is now 6.11 and after the game he was sent down to AAA Chester to try to right himself. Justin Bismark, the Brewers 1966 first round pick, was brought up to replace him in the bullpen. Chad Brown (.319/.335/.403) went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and hit his 11th double but he also committed his 18th error. Andrew Kennedy (.347/.382/.452) picked up his 21st double and also walked in the game. While Kennedy has never been known for drawing a lot of walks, he has been showing a great eye at the plate this season and now has 17 walks with only 15 strikeouts.



The Brewers bounce back in game 3 behind solid pitching from Steve Green and once again a dynamic offense. They win 11-2. Green pitched 8 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 3. He improves to 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.368/.422/.524) continued his hot hitting as he went 4 for 4, scoring 3 runs and driving in 4 and hitting his 5th HR of the season. Jonathan Koch (.345/.353/.494) not only continues to have a great year at the plate, going 4 for 5 in this one, but he also has made some dazzling defensive plays in the past week. Mike Foster (.264/.309/.378) went 2 for 5 in the game and hit his 5th HR. And veteran outfielder Pat Rondeau (.388/.403/.483), who is eligible for free agency at the end of the season, just keeps amazing. In this game he went 2 for 5, scored 2 runs, picked up his 11 stolen base, and threw a man out at third base with an amazing throw from deep center field for his 7th outfield assist of the season.



With the series victory the Brewers retain 1st place in the MGL and now have a 3 game lead on the Brooklyn Aces and 4 1/2 on the 3rd place Phoenix Speed Devils. They also have the top 3 hitters by batting average in the league: Pat Rondeau at .388, Andrew Kennedy at .346, and Jonathon Koch at .345. And of course Bobby Erbakan is hitting .368 but due to time missed with an injury earlier in the season he doesn't quite have enough plate appearances to qualify. Then there is Ryan Rodgers in 5th at .343. And who is in 4th place in hitting? Former Brewer Ruben Souffront with a .344 batting average.

The Brewers- as a team- are batting .301.
Let me say that again.
Brewers team batting average: .301 !!!!!
And yes, it is a good year for hitting in the WPK. But consider that the next highest team average belongs to the San Antonio Keys and they are at .281. The league batting average in the MGL is .263.
These Brewers hitters are just unconscious right now.

[BirdWatcher]

The 26-year old corner outfielder and first baseman Andrew Kennedy is having something of a breakout season for the Brewers in 1973.
He is currently 5th in the MGL in batting average and hits and 1st in doubles. He is on pace for a WAR of 4.3. His previous high, in 1970, was 2.1.




Andrew Kennedy was originally drafted by the Philadelphia Mud Hens out of Brooklyn, NY Automotive High School in the 7th round of the 1965 draft. He joined the Brewers organization as a throw-in player in a May 1966 trade in which the principle players were veteran outfielder/first baseman Pablo Gonzales going to Philadelphia in exchange for left-handed pitcher Joey Brown. It ended up being a good trade for the Brewers, but even more so with the development of Kennedy. Gonzalez played in 58 games, with mostly poor results, for Philly in 1966 and then retired. Brown provided some pitching depth for the Brewers rotation in 1966 before leaving at the end of the season via free agency. Eventually he would return to Philadelphia and give them 2 very good season, including a 20-win campaign in 1969. At age 39, he is currently working out the Phoenix Speed Devils bullpen and though he is considered fragile at this stage and his stuff is sub-par he remains a useful player with his great control and good movement.

All of the other players involved in this trade, with the exception of Andrew Kennedy, either had very short-lived WPK careers (though Andy Wing, with his great defensive skills in the outfield, did play in parts of 5 seasons) and are either retired or currently playing in the minors with little hope to ever make the bigs.
But while Andrew Kennedy has never been a top prospect, even in the eyes of the Brewers scouting team, he has long been a favorite of the Brewers GM/Manager. (That would be me, of course.) With his sweet left-handed swing that produces a great deal of line drives, his tendency to hit balls solidly into the gaps, and his great ability to avoid being struck out, it was always felt that Kennedy could be a big league hitter. While the Brewers scouting staff saw his ceiling likely being that of a bench player, others in the organization saw him as having starter, and maybe even star, potential.

Granted, Kennedy will never win a gold glove. And he's pretty slow. But thus far he has proven to be capable enough in left field and quite solid at first base. And although he won't win any track races, he is a smart base-stealer and at least an average base runner.




In his earlier days Kennedy was considered a strong team leader and though he seems to have taken a bit of a back-seat in that area over time he remains a very good and well-liked teammate.

Kennedy signed a long-term contract with the team in May of last season and is signed through 1978. With the over-abundance of talented outfielders in the Brewers organization it will continue to be a challenge to find ample playing time for all of them, but so long as Andrew Kennedy keeps producing anywhere near his current levels it is almost guaranteed that he will be an important part of the team mix.

[BirdWatcher]

There is nothing like a trip to San Francisco's Bank of the West ballpark to cool down a hot hitting team.

And the WPK's worst hitting park did just that to the recently streaking Brewers.

In game 1 of a 3 game series the Brewers jumped out to an early 3 run lead in the top of the 1st inning, largely on the strength of 3 consecutive bases loaded walks, but then failed to score the rest of the game and lost 4-3. Matt Helm pitched well enough for 7 innings and got a no-decision. He allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and his ERA is now 3.27. Jordan Stephens took the loss, giving up 2 hits in just 2/3rds of an inning pitched, but the run credited to him was unearned as it scored on an error by his successor, Liann-wei Hua. Bobby Erbakan (.370/.427/.524) went 2 for 4 in the game and Andrew Kennedy (.347/.383/.452) was 2 for 5 and picked up his 2nd stolen base of the season.



Having narrowly lost the first game of the series to see their winning streak come to an end, game 2 is a complete disaster for the Brewers. After it was announced earlier in the day that the team and starting pitcher Harry Lyerly had reached agreement on a contract extension for the 1974 season (he would have been arbitration eligible but instead signed up for another season at $102,500), Lyerly pitched one of his worst games of the season. He allowed 8 runs (though only 2 were of the earned variety) on 8 hits while walking 4 and striking out 6 in 5 2/3rds innings pitched. And with the Brewers offense failing to score and getting only 5 hits off lefty Sandy Navarro, pitching his first WPK game since suffering a ruptured UCL a little less than a year ago, the Velocity won 9-0. The Brewers also committed 2 errors (another one by Hua and gold glove catcher Kevin Curtis' 6th of the season) and were caught stealing 3 times.



The Brewers suffer the indignity of a sweep at the hands of the last place Velocity when they narrowly lose the final game 3-2. Erik Sloan wasn't terribly sharp- allowing 3 runs on 11 hits, though also striking out 7 and walking just 1- but it was a lack of run support that doomed him to another loss. His record drops to 8-5 and he has an ERA of 3.50. Pat Rondeau (.383/.397/.482) did his part as he went 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI and hit his 4th triple of the season. The somewhat resurgent Mike Foster (.269/.312/.378) also went 2 for 4 in the loss.



The Brewers, in spite of being swept, maintain a narrow 1/2 game lead over Brooklyn and a 2 game lead over the red-hot Phoenix Speed Devils.

[BirdWatcher]

Avalon Park, the home of the Los Angeles Spinners, isn't exactly a hitters paradise, but it is at least more friendly than Bank of the West Ballpark.

And in the first game of a three game series against the recently faltering Spinners, the Brewers bats came alive again in a big way as they took game 1 by a score of 10-1. The Brewers clubbed 18 hits, 6 of them doubles. Jonathan Koch (.340/.356/.488) hit 2 of the doubles to get to 14 for the season and went 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored in the game. (Every time I think the young second baseman is heading in the wrong direction after his very strong start to the season, he starts doing this again. He just might be for real.) Ryan Rodgers (.344/.458/.464) also went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and hit his 19th double of the season. Cheol-han Lee got the victory, pitching 8 innings, giving up just the 1 run on 6 hits with 4 strikeouts and 1 walk. Lee improves to 9-5 with a 3.03 ERA.



The offense is much more quiet in game 2, but fortunately the Brewers get one of the stronger starts of the year from Steve Green and get a 3-1 win. Green tossed 7 innings of 4-hit ball, giving up the 1 run on a 2nd inning solo HR off the bat of Spinners veteran slugger Jesus Hernandez, who has hit the 6th most HR's in league history. With the victory Green improves to 6-5 with a 4.05 ERA. Andrew Kennedy (.347/.387/.459) led the way offensively, going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and hitting 2 doubles to get his league leading total to 24. Josh Schaeffer (.333/.422/.552) continues his strong start to a big league career and has a 1 for 2, 2 runs scored, 2 walks game. Schaeffer, at the age of 24, is particularly impressive for his advanced eye at the plate. Jose de los Santos works the 9th for his 8th save (3.31 ERA.)



The Brewers are shutout in the final game of the series by Kerry Krieg and lose 2-0. It was another strong start from Matt Helm- 7 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 5 K, 2 BB- but without any run support he is saddled with the loss and falls to 4-3 with a 3.20 ERA. The Brewers threatened in the 9th, loading the bases with 1 out, but Krieg got Andrew Kennedy to hit a harmless fly out to left and then got Jonathan Koch, first ball swinging, to ground out to third to end the potential rally and the game.



With the series victory the Brewers increase their lead over the Brooklyn Aces by 1 1/2 games and Phoenix by 2.

[alphington]

I have imported new ballparks into the game for all the WPK big league teams.
Thanks again to folks like Silvam and Adion, eriqjaffe, and nielsoncp for their wonderful creations.
I had been using current MLB parks 3D images for all my WPK teams, just trying to align as best I could with the city/region they are in (so, of course, Coors Field for my Brewers) but keeping all of the ballpark names/dimensions/factors/etc. from the creation of the league.

Hi, apologies for referencing an older post but I have created a twenty team 2 division fictional league having been inspired by this thread. I would like to import ballparks to replace the generic OOTP park that all teams currently have as a result of the game creation. I will also plan to play out many games and so playing in different ballparks will greatly add to immersion.

However, I'd like to know that I'm not starting off wrong - if I understand correctly i will need to write down the values for all twenty team ballparks created by the game in terms of the factors, weather, capacity etc. I then import a different ballpark (I'm thinking of using fictional ballparks by Silvam) for each team.

I then have to edit each imported ballpark factors, weather etc. with the data I copied that was created originally be the game. I do this for all 20 teams. Is this correct?

Many thanks, I'm slightly confused over this!

Finally, let me say congrats and thanks for a great thread!

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by alphington

I have imported new ballparks into the game for all the WPK big league teams.
Thanks again to folks like Silvam and Adion, eriqjaffe, and nielsoncp for their wonderful creations.
I had been using current MLB parks 3D images for all my WPK teams, just trying to align as best I could with the city/region they are in (so, of course, Coors Field for my Brewers) but keeping all of the ballpark names/dimensions/factors/etc. from the creation of the league.

Hi, apologies for referencing an older post but I have created a twenty team 2 division fictional league having been inspired by this thread. I would like to import ballparks to replace the generic OOTP park that all teams currently have as a result of the game creation. I will also plan to play out many games and so playing in different ballparks will greatly add to immersion.

However, I'd like to know that I'm not starting off wrong - if I understand correctly i will need to write down the values for all twenty team ballparks created by the game in terms of the factors, weather, capacity etc. I then import a different ballpark (I'm thinking of using fictional ballparks by Silvam) for each team.

I then have to edit each imported ballpark factors, weather etc. with the data I copied that was created originally be the game. I do this for all 20 teams. Is this correct?

Many thanks, I'm slightly confused over this!

Finally, let me say congrats and thanks for a great thread!

The good news is that it isn't nearly that difficult.
If you import Silvam's ballparks correctly (and I believe there are instructions in the same thread where you will find the ballparks) then all of the ballpark factors will also import.
Hmm, but weather? I just realized I never really thought about that.
I'll have to take a closer look at my ballparks and weather. But generally I tried to match the parks up with the same city as my WPK fictional team and if not then at least something very close geographically. So I'm hoping/trusting that the weather factors match up pretty well. Not sure it will make a great deal of difference either way, other than rained out games maybe not always making sense for the location and wind effects maybe not always making sense either.
Seating capacity also imports but I altered a few to make sense in the context of my league.
Good luck setting up your league and I hope to be reading reports about it here soon!

And thanks for the kind words.