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OOTP 20 - Fictional Simulations Discuss fictional simulations and their results in this forum.

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Old 10-08-2019, 12:27 PM   #561
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July 5-7, 1974, at Los Angeles

The Brewers last series leading up to the All-Star break is against the always dangerous, but lately scuffling, Los Angeles Spinners. The Spinners lost 6 straight to end June and have only won 2 of their last 10 games coming into this series. They have a middling offense but very good pitching. Their starting rotation is their greatest strength, with potential HOF'er Jose Santos, 1969 Pitcher of the Year Jason Wilson, and All-Stars Kerry Krieg (leading the MGL in ERA) and Jesse Hartong (2nd in ERA in the MGL), and Captain John Tegel a solid #5.

Brewers head scout Nick Meskill categorizes L.A.'s Avalon Park as being neutral, but to my eyes it looks like it at least somewhat favors pitching over hitting.

In game 1 it certainly looked that way, as the Brewers barely managed to eek out a 3-2 victory. Harry Lyerly struggled with a lack of control, walking 7 batters, but largely worked out of serious trouble, giving up 2 runs on just 2 hits in his 5 innings pitched. He got the win to improve to 6-6 and now has a more respectable 4.16 ERA. Lyerly also doubled in one of the Brewers 3 runs. The bullpen was once again spectacular- both Sam Pruiett and Jordan Stephens working 2 scoreless innings, with Pruiett getting his 2nd hold of the season (2.23 ERA) and Stephens his 6th save (2.72 ERA.) Bobby Erbakan (.317/.383/.500) was 3 for 5 in the game, scoring twice, and picking up his 6th stolen base of the season.
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Game 2 was another low scoring affair, with the Spinners prevailing 3-1. Matt Helm didn't have a bad game- giving up 3 runs on 5 hits in 6 1/3rd innings, but took the loss to drop to 7-5 with a 2.84 ERA. The bullpen was excellent again but the offense couldn't get it going, collecting just 3 hits in the game.
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More of the same in the rubber match as the Brewers lose 3-2 when the Spinners score a walk-off run in the 9th to break the 2-2 tie. Erik Sloan pitched a fine game for the visitors, lasting 7 innings, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits. Jaden Francis took the loss in relief, dropping to 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.319/.383/.500) went 2 for 4 in the loss and hit his 19th double of 1974. Josh Schaeffer (.307/.424/.406) also was 2 for 4 in the game.
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With the Charlotte Sting remaining hot, the Brewers enter the All-Star break with just a 1 1/2 game lead. Brooklyn is also playing well and sits 6 games back in 3rd place, while L.A. is 9 games back in 4th place.
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Old 10-09-2019, 09:16 AM   #562
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Yet another injury for the Roadrunners.

The Pittsburgh Roadrunners have been the most injury plagued team in the WPK this season and the injury bug struck again as they will be without the services of their young, slugging right fielder Bill Winchester for roughly the next month as he battles elbow inflammation.
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Old 10-13-2019, 10:18 AM   #563
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SJL wins 1974 WPK All-Star game

Brewers reliever Jordan Stephens, in his first All-Star game appearance, gave up a solo HR to the first batter he faced- Boston slugger Joe Black- and although he then retired the next six batters he faced the damage had been done and the SJL won 4-3, with Stephens taking the loss.
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Cheol-han Lee pitched a perfect first inning. Bobby Erbakan went 1 for 3 and drove in 2 of the MGL runs with his 5th inning single. Zacarias Martell would pinch hit for Erbakan in the 8th inning and the rookie catcher singled in his first All-Star at-bat. Ryan Rodgers also went 1 for 3 in the game and walked once. Joe McPhillips was held hitless in his two plate appearances. Mike Foster also failed to get a hit in his one late-game pinch-hit at-bat.
And Sam Pruiett, the other Brewer pitcher to appear in the game, earned a blown save when he allowed 1 run on 2 hits and a walk in the 6th inning.
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Old 10-17-2019, 11:06 PM   #564
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July 11-13, 1974, versus Brooklyn

The Denver Brewers come back from the All-Star game to start a 12-game home stand with 3 against the recently hot Brooklyn Aces.

In game 1 the Aces stay hot and beat the Brewers, 11-4. It was actually much closer than that most of the way but the Aces scored 5 runs in the 9th inning to run away with this one. Steve Green got the start for the hometown team and gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in his 5 2/3rds innings pitched. Green drops to 8-6 with a 4.34 ERA with the loss. Sam Pruiett, coming off his first All-Star game appearance, was not sharp as he allows 4 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in his 2/3rds of an inning in the 9th. Joe Willemse (.277/.315/.335) went 2 for 5 and drove in a run and has been getting the majority of the starts at second base in Jonathan Koch's absence (expected to be out another 3 weeks as he recovers from a fractured tibia). Bobby Erbakan (.318/.383/.497) collected just 1 hit in 4 at-bats but drove in 2 runs, walked once, and stole 2 bases to get to 8 on the season.
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The Brewers bounced back in game 2 behind veteran ace Cheol-han Lee. Lee went the distance getting a complete game victory, allowing 2 runs on 9 hits, while striking out 3 and walking none. He improves to 9-4 with a 2.66 ERA. And with the Brewers offense struggling a bit to score runs of late, Lee also took it upon himself to add to his run support when he hit a big 2-out run scoring double in the 6th inning. Cheol-han isn't known for his bat, but it was his 3rd double of the season. Young center fielder Joe McPhillips (.281/.359/.485) entered the game in a bit of a slump at the plate. But a 2 for 3 performance with 1 RBI and his 12th double pretty much broke the slump. Chad Brown (.298/.316/.418) continued the rehabilitation of his season after a horrible start to 1974, going 2 for 4 in this one with an RBI and hitting his 4th triple.
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After blowing an early lead and seeing the bullpen fail to protect what should have been a win for starter Harry Lyerly, it took extra innings and a walk-off homer but the Brewers managed to win the rubber match 7-5 and take the series. Lyerly gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits in his 7 innings pitched, striking out 6 and walking 1. And he was actually even better than that as he got into a bit of trouble in the 8th inning, giving up a lead-off single and then committing an error on a grounder right back to the mound, but relievers Liann-wei Hua and Jaden Francis allowed not only both of those runners to score but threw in a 3rd run allowed for good measure. The score then remained 5-5 into the bottom of the 11th inning. Ian Dube, just brought up from AAA Chester to take the place of RodRod (Rodrigo Rodriguez) who went on the 10-day IL with a knee contusion, came in to pinch-hit and singled sharply to right on the 1-0 pitch. Chad Brown hit into a force-out to take Dube's place at 1st base. But then Joe McPhillips worked a full-count and then hit the 8th pitch he saw into the right-field stands to give the Brewers the walk-off victory. McPhillips (.286/.362/.504) went 3 for 6 in the game, scoring twice, driving in 3 runs, hitting his 3rd triple to go along with his team-leading 14th HR and stole his 11th base of the season. Oscar Vargas (.220/.303/.339) also homered, his 1st of 1974, in a 2 for 5, 2 RBI game.
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The Charlotte Sting remain hot and the Brewers lead over them is still just a game and a half, even after the series victory against the ever-tough Brooklyn club. Brooklyn is in 3rd place, but 7 games back, and the L.A. Spinners are in 4th at 9 games off the pace. Meanwhile the Portland Wild Things have lost 9 in a row and they are the next opponent for the Brewers at Centennial Stadium.
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Old 10-17-2019, 11:50 PM   #565
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The Best of the Best in the WPK

Over the All-Star Break (and while still on vacation) I thought it might be interesting to see who the current superstars are at (more or less) mid-season of the 1974 WPK campaign.

The method I used to accomplish this is to look at overall ratings as seen by the OSA and by the Denver Brewers scouting staff (as Head Scout Nick Meskill communicated this.) I should probably explain that this means we are not necessarily talking about the player's playing the best in 1974 or even the player's who might objectively be considered the most talented currently. But rather what we are looking at is what players, at this point in time, are most likely to have the reputation of being the best in the game. And to make this short list a player needed to be rated 5 star overall by both the OSA and our scouting staff.

Six players made the cut:
1) Reigning SJL MVP, Joe Brodeur, left fielder for the San Antonio Keys,
2) Bud Lindsay, the San Antonio shortstop and team Captain, who is currently on the IL and out for the season with a ruptured MCL,
3) Jared Hancock, the Key's 27-year old second baseman,
4) Jamel McNeil, the still dominant bullpen force at age 33, playing for Charlotte this season,
5) Chris Tobin, the 27-year old shortstop for the Portland Wild Things, and
6) the Brewers own Ryan Rodgers, at age 35 leading the MGL in batting average and OPS.

But to expand on this idea a bit I thought it might also be good to look position by position to see what players the OSA and the Brewers scouting staff think are the current best at their position.

This is how that looks:
Starting Pitchers: No surprise here. Both the OSA and the Brewers scouting staff agree that the two best starters in the game are the Brewers Cheol-han Lee and the Columbus Whalers Jake Harris. The two sure-thing HOF'ers in the WPK at this position.

Relief pitchers: Both the OSA and the Brewers scouting staff agree that Jamel McNeil is the best in the biz. But Nick Meskill and company believe that Phoenix' reliever Kee Han is also a 5-star reliever.

Catchers: Erik Buonpane, the 27-year old backstop for the San Antonio Keys, is the consensus best in the game at his position.

First basemen: He has long been considered the best glove-man at the position, but at age 27 the Brewers Bobby Erbakan has now emerged as the consensus best first baseman in the WPK.

Second basemen: Agreement here as well- Jared Hancock of San Antonio is the best second sacker in the game.

Third basemen: He may be 33-years old but L.A.'s Jesus Hernandez is still seen as the best in the game at the hot corner by both the OSA and the Brewers scouts. The OSA though also sees Pittsburgh All-Star game MVP Trevor Leach as tied with Hernandez as best in the game at third.

Shortstops: No surprise here, as listed above, Bud Lindsay and Chris Tobin are the consensus best.

Left fielders: Joe Brodeur is not only the best left fielder in the business, but a very good case could be made that he is the best player in the game today.

Center fielders: The OSA and the Brewers scouts agree here too- the two best in the game (ratings tie) are the Washington Night Train's Lazaro Lowndes and the Brewers Joe McPhillips.

Right fielders: The OSA and Brewers scouts agree about the greatness of Brewers veteran Ryan Rodgers. But interestingly, the Brewers scouting staff also sees Boston's 26-year old Justin Vargas as equally great.


A few notes about the above:
1) Look at those San Antonio Keys! They have 3 of the 6 most highly regarded players in the game and on top of the that the best catcher in the business. And they are in 4th place in the SJL, 6 games over .500. Granted, Bud Lindsay is out for the rest of the season but with a lineup featuring Brodeur, Hancock, and Buonopane, along with veteran slugger Nick Haran, and 26-year old Tony Knighton playing great in place of Lindsay at short, if only they had a bit of pitching. Oddly, while they are 9th in the league in runs allowed that is in spite of 31-year old veteran Mike Girard having probably the best stretch of his career, off to a 13-0 start with a 2.59 ERA. And in the absence of Gold Glover Lindsay, they are a pretty bad defensive team too.
2) Of the 6 consensus super-stars of the league, 2 are just 23 years old (Brodeur, Lindsay), 2 are in their prime at age 27 (Hancock, Tobin) and 2 are arguably in the twilight of their careers (McNeil at 33, Rodgers at 35.)
3) Among the positional best the starting pitchers are both grizzled veterans showing little sign of slowing down. Several position players are between 25 and 27 years of age (McPhillips, Erbakan, Buonopane, Hancock, Tobin, Lowndes, Vargas.) Then there are the heralded veterans, (in addition to Lee and Harris), in relievers McNeil and Han, third basemen Hernandez and Leach, and the Brewers outfielder Ryan Rodgers, who at age 35 is the oldest on the list, though only one day older than Jake Harris.

Last edited by BirdWatcher; 10-18-2019 at 06:58 PM.
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Old 10-18-2019, 11:47 PM   #566
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Old man Billy Turner to call it quits on WPK career

Veteran third baseman Billy Turner, who turned 44 years old 11 days ago, has decided this is his last season as a professional ballplayer.
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A two-time All-Star, the hard-working and well-liked Turner fashioned a fine career in the WPK, including providing value as a member of the Brewers last season at the age of 43. He entered the 1974 season without a team but was signed to a minor league contract a little less than a month ago by the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings. He has played sparingly though thus far for their AAA affiliate, the Chelsea Air Raiders.
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The often injured veteran is rumored to still have hopes of at least once more stepping foot on a WPK ball diamond before the curtain comes down on his baseball career this coming Fall.
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Old 10-19-2019, 12:09 AM   #567
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Vargas earns MGL Player of the Week honors

Oscar Vargas came to the Denver Brewers in a big 8-player deal with the San Antonio Keys in early July of 1967 and has been a mainstay of the team ever since as a slick fielding (understatement, that) backup infielder.
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(A quick note about that trade: the Brewers sent their veteran star third baseman A.J. White, one of the early fan favorites for the team, to the Keys along with two not great prospects who since have retired having never played an inning of big league ball and another, Rafael Betancur, a shortstop who at age 32 is still knocking around at AA having had cups of coffee in the WPK with 4 different organizations. In return, they got a decent left-handed starting pitcher in Ricky Diaz, who gave the Brewers 15 solid starts before leaving as a free agent. But more importantly, they got minor leaguers Kevin Curtis, Jonathan Koch (at the time a first baseman), and the aforementioned Vargas. A pretty good haul for the Brewers!)

The primary thing about Vargas that has kept him from being a starting player is his relative inability to get bat on ball consistently. As mentioned already, with enough starts at any of three infield positions, he could easily win a Gold Glove. And when he does make contact at the plate, he can do some damage, with decent gap power and the ability to hit the ball out of the park not that infrequently. He also has a great approach at the plate, drawing a decent number of walks while not striking out often. While he seems to have lost a step this year, his raw speed has always been decent and he can steal a base or two. But with his poor contact skills, he is relegated to a backup, utility infielder role.

But every once in awhile he gets hot when given a bit more of a chance to play. This is one of those times! And though it was a relatively short week, coming off the All-Star break, it was still impressive and earned Oscar the very first big league Player of the Week accolades of his career. He is arbitration eligible for just one more season and there has been some speculation that with the emergence of Joe Willemse in a similar role, the Brewers might decide to part company with the 28-year old defensive specialist. Apparently Oscar want's to stay put and decided he better remind the Brewers brain-trust of what a valuable member of the club he can be.
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Old 10-19-2019, 12:49 AM   #568
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July 14-15, 1974, versus Portland

The Portland Wild Things came into this 2-day, 3-game series with the Brewers having lost 9 straight games.They left Denver with a 12-game losing streak.

In game 1 of the Sunday double-header the Brewers got a fine complete game performance from veteran lefty starter Erik Sloan. Sloan gave up 2 runs on 8 hits as the Brewers won 7-2. His record improves to 8-6 with a 3.85 ERA. Chad Brown (.302/.318/.426) continuing his recent success at the plate, went 3 for 4 in the lead off slot, collecting his 5th triple and driving in 1 run. Oscar Vargas went 3 for 4 in the game and hit his 5th double. John Flores (.381/.410/.718) continued his fine season as the 5th outfielder, hitting his 6th HR and driving in a pair of runs.
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In the night-cap the Brewers took an early lead, nearly coughed it up late in the game but then rallied for 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th to earn a 16-9 victory. Matt Helm wasn't great- giving up 4 runs on 8 hits in his 6 1/3rd innings pitched. Eric Johnson, in relief of Helm, was worse, allowing 5 runs in just an inning and a third. On the other hand, Oscar Vargas (.284/.360/.463) was once again terrific, going 3 for 4, scoring 3 runs and driving in 4, hitting his 6th double and 2nd HR. There were many offensive heroes for the Brewers in this one as the first 4 hitters (Josh Schaeffer, Joe Willemse, Ryan Rodgers, and Joe McPhillips) combined to go 10 for 17 with 8 runs scored and 6 RBI. (Willemse stole his 1st base of the season while McPhillips swiped base number 12. Rodgers (15), Willemse (9), and McPhillips (13) all doubled, while Schaeffer hit his 2nd triple of 1974). And what about the wonderful rookie catcher Zacarias Martell? Martell (.304/.404/.380) chipped in with a 3 for 5 game in the 8 hole, hitting his 11th double.
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In the final game of the series the Brewers hitters continued to show how much they love hitting at Centennial Stadium, as they pounded 20 hits on the way to an 11-4 win and a sweep of the lowly Wild Things. Justin Peacock got the start for the Brewers and wasn't fantastic, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits in his 5 innings pitched, but with all that run support he improved to 4-1 on the season with a 4.33 ERA. Jordan Stephens pitched a solid 2 2/3rds behind him to cool off the Wild Things bats and help make this an easy victory. And continuing his season long trend he picked up a hit in his lone at-bat and now has a slash line of .469/.528/.656. Ryan Rodgers (.393/.505/.473), getting hot at home finds his batting average creeping back up towards .400 once again. He went 3 for 3 with 2 runs and 2 walks in this one. Joe Willemse (.291/.329/.350) continues to impress as he gets more playing time with Jonathan Koch on the IL, and in this one Willemse goes 3 for 6 with a run and a RBI. And Mike Foster (.356/.405/.511) continues his break-out season with a 2 for 4, 3 RBI game and hit his 8th HR. And okay, I guess I better give some love to Bobby Erbakan too. Erbakan (.317/.377/.491) was 3 for 5, drove in 3 runs to bring his team-best total thus far to 65, tied for 2nd in the MGL, and stole his 9th base of the season. (A quick note about the continuing maturation of Erbakan at the plate. In 1968, his first full season in the bigs, at the age of 21, Erbakan walked 16 times and struck out 121 times. And while those numbers have improved each year since, for the first time last season he walked more times (44) than he struck out (33). While he isn't on target for quite as big a differential this season, he is once again walking more than striking out (29 to 28.))
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With the 3-game sweep of Portland and Charlotte dropping 2 of 3 versus Phoenix the Brewers expand their lead to 3 1/2 games over the Sting, 8 1/2 ahead of Brooklyn and 10 1/2 better than L.A. And this home cooking has the Brewers league leading team batting average over .300 once again (.301).

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Old 10-19-2019, 10:19 AM   #569
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Joiner for Kuykendall deal completed

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In a deal between the two worst teams in the MGL, the San Francisco Velocity ship out 27-year old center fielder Kurt Joiner to the Detroit Falcons for veteran (35 year old) first baseman Nate Kuykendall and minor league first baseman Pat Grillo. Kuykendall is a 4-time All-Star and 3-time Silver Slugger who has hit at least 30 homers in a season three times and has led the league in walks once and walked at least 100 times in three seasons. But at 35, his is slow as molasses and a defensive liability. Joiner, on the other hand, has never been a star, but is a fine little contact hitter with great speed and good defensive skills in spite of a weak throwing arm. Grillo doesn't profile as a player with a big league future but he is only 19 years old, is a hard worker, and has strong defensive skills, so there is still time for him to develop into at least a WPK role player eventually.
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Overall, while it isn't a great deal for either team, it is easier to see why the Falcons would want the younger and more talented contact hitter Joiner while it is hard to see how picking up an over-the-hill slugger helps make the last place Velocity any better and it certainly is not a good long-term strategy.
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Old 10-19-2019, 11:55 AM   #570
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Brewers trade Bismark to Jacksonville

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Reliever Justin Bismark was the Brewers 1st round draft pick in the 1966 draft (16th overall) but after a long and only modestly successful stretch in the minors with just a few brief stints on the big league ball club, the Brewers finally decided that the 26-year old righty didn't have a real future in Brewer purple and shipped him, along with 20-year old middle infielder Brian Marinkovich to the Jacksonville Wolf Pack for a pair of minor leaguers.
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The trade is mostly seen as a move to free up a bit of space on the 40-man roster and the two players the Brewers acquired are expected to provide minor league depth at best. While Bismark profiles as a capable big league middle reliever, there are simply too many players ahead of him on the bullpen depth chart for him to get the chance he deserves as a Brewer.
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Old 10-19-2019, 01:49 PM   #571
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Andy "Lemonhead" Wilson to hang up the spikes

The writing has been on the wall for a few seasons now but today Andy Wilson made it official- this season is his last as a professional ballplayer.
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Wilson was arguably the greatest superstar in the WPK in the early years of the league and will pretty surely be one of the first, if not the first, inductees into the WPK Hall of Fame.

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He is a 2-time league MVP, 7-time All-Star, 7-time Silver Slugger, and 2-time Gold Glover. He led the league 4 times in WAR and 3 times in runs scored and OPS. Although he helped lead the Portland Wild Things to two World Series appearances, he was denied a championship ring both times. He currently has a career WAR of 67.2, which is particularly impressive given that he was already 30 years old when the league was formed.

Wilson had a terrific, if somewhat abbreviated, WPK career and will go down in WPK history as an early great who helped popularize the league and paved the way for future WPK stars.
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Old 10-19-2019, 02:28 PM   #572
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Willemse to IL; Bennett gets call-up from AAA

Joe Willemse, who has been doing a fine job filling in for the injured Jonathan Koch at second base, was himself injured in yesterday's game against L.A. and is expected to miss approximately 3 weeks with a strained hamstring. With Koch still out for 2-3 weeks, David Bennett, who has done nothing but hit since joining the organization in a trade with Charlotte nearly 3 years ago, receives his first big league call-up.

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The right-handed hitting Bennett will likely split time with left-handed batter Ian Dube at second base while the Brewers wait for Koch and Willemse to return to action. Bennett profiles as a decent contact hitter with a strong ability to avoid striking out and a bit of pop in his bat. He should be a very solid defensive second sacker who can turn the double play with the best of them.
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Old 10-19-2019, 03:12 PM   #573
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July 16-18, 1974, versus Los Angeles

The Brewers play host to the ever-dangerous L.A. Spinners next for a three game series.

And in game 1 the visiting Spinners win a squeaker, 5-4. Steve Green continues his up and down season with a not terribly sharp start, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 5 1/3rd innings pitched. He does not get a decision though as reliever Sam Pruiett takes the loss, giving up 1 run on 3 hits in 2 innings pitched and he drops to 6-1 with a 3.11 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.319/.378/.494) was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and hit his 20th double in the loss.
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The Brewers win a pitcher's duel in game 2, 2-1, behind ace Cheol-han Lee. Cheol-han gave up 1 run on just 2 hits while striking out 4 and walking none in his 7 1/3rds innings pitched. Jordan Stephens worked the last inning and two thirds for his 7th save of the season (2.65 ERA.) With the win, Cheol-han improves to 10-4 with a 2.59 ERA as he continues to add to his HOF resume. Andrew Kennedy (.319/.356/.396), who has been quietly putting up pretty typical numbers for him, was 3 for 4 in this one and hit his 16th double. Joe Willemse was injured on a collision at second base in this game.
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The Brewers lose the rubber match to L.A. by a score of 6-2. Harry Lyerly was looking pretty good early on but then gave up a 2-run HR to Edwin Ayala in the 6th inning and a solo HR to Jesus Hernandez in the 7th when the Brewers manager ignored his own gut feeling and left Harry in to try to get the third out of the frame. Hernandez would hit a second homer against Jaden Francis (on the first pitch Jaden threw after entering the game) to put the game away for the Spinners. Lyerly drops to 6-7 with a 4.22 ERA. Rookie catcher Zacarias Martell (.310/.404/.385) continues his impressive rookie campaign, collecting a pair of hits in 4 at-bats in this one, though he also struck out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th to end the Brewers best chance at getting back into this one. Joe McPhillips was hit by a pitch in the 4th inning and had to leave the game, giving Brewers fans everywhere a scare, but the report from the trainer's room is that he suffered merely a bruised toe and should only miss a single game.
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In spite of dropping 2 of 3 to L.A. the Brewers remain 3 1/2 games ahead of the second place Charlotte Sting, 8 1/2 ahead of Brooklyn, and 9 1/2 ahead of L.A.
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Old 10-19-2019, 06:04 PM   #574
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July 19-21, 1974, versus Phoenix

The home stand concludes with three games against the always dangerous, but also fatally flawed, Phoenix Speed Devils.

What makes the Speed Devils dangerous is the great power in the middle of their lineup and their overall ability to score runs. They are not only 1st in the MGL in HR's but also 1st in runs scored, 2nd in OBP and OPS (behind our Brewers.) Among the many things that make them a flawed club is that most of their best hitters all hit from the left side of the plate or, in the case of talented lead off hitter Norm Howard, who is a switch-hitter, hit best from the left side. Some good left-handed arms can go a long ways to neutralizing that potent offense. The other major flaw with the Speed Devils is well, just some horrible pitching and defense. They are last in the league in runs allowed, team ERA, starters ERA, pitching strikeouts, and defensive efficiency. They are next to last in zone rating and errors. For the past several off-seasons the Phoenix front office has focused on stockpiling talented relievers. And for their efforts they have basically gotten nothing but middle of the pack finishes. This year their bullpen is 6th in ERA. And the fact that it includes two pitchers who are considered disruptive clubhouse influences (Jason Bowman and Steve Fetzer), another who is outspoken (Corey Carpenter), and a talented closer who is a hard worker but none too bright (Kee Han), doesn't help.

So, how did it all work out against the Brewers?

Well, first of all the Brewers started the two left-handers in their rotation- Erik Sloan and Matt Helm- in the first two games of the series. And that didn't work out very well for the visitors.

In game 1, Sloan was once again very strong, getting another complete game victory, giving up 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 7 and walking none. He improves to 9-6 with a 3.65 ERA. And the offense was efficiently robust behind him, scoring 9 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks as the Brewers won 9-1. It was actually a very close game up until the bottom of the 8th inning when the Brewers turned a 2-1 lead into a 9-1 victory by scoring 7 runs, mostly off normally dominant closer Kee Han. Josh Schaeffer (.307/.426/.436) had a big game, going 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, 1 walk, and hitting his 4th triple and 4th HR of the season. Ian Dube (.273/.385/.364) drove in 3 runs with his 1st double of the WPK season in that 7 run 8th.
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Game 2 was a surprisingly low scoring affair, with the Brewers prevailing by a score of 3-1. Matt Helm pitched 7 fine innings, giving up just the 1 run on 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. He improves to 9-5 with a 2.91 ERA. Liann-wei Hua, the dominant lefty out of the Brewers bullpen, got the last six outs of the game, pitching a flawless 2 innings, to get his 6th save (1.50 ERA.) Chad Brown (.291/.306/.418) was 2 for 4 and hit his 15th double of the season, the only extra base hit for the Brewers in the game. Kevin Curtis (.194/.341/.272), getting an increasingly rare start behind the plate, was 3 for 4 at the plate. In his first major league at-bat, David Bennett hit a sharp grounder up the middle for a single. He ended the game 1 for 4 with 1 run scored but also made some very fine plays in the field.
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In the final game of the series the Brewers scored 7 runs in the 1st inning and then nearly let the Speed Devils come all the way back before Jaden Francis shut the door on them to earn his 13th save of the season. Francis worked the last inning and two thirds, allowing just a single hit and no walks while striking out 2 batters. His ERA improves to 1.19 as his career year continues. Steve Green had another poor start- giving up 6 runs on 9 hits in his 5 innings pitched- but his team gave him a victory anyway and he improves to 9-6 with a 4.73 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.324/.388/.501) was 3 for 3 in the game and drove in 3 runs on his 1st inning home run, his 10th long ball of the season. Joe McPhillips (.287/.366/.502) followed that up with a solo blast of his own, his team-leading 15th HR.
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With the 3-game sweep of Phoenix, and with the Charlotte Sting scuffling of late, the Brewers have now stretched their lead in the MGL to 5 games over Charlotte, and 10 games over both L.A. and Brooklyn. The Brewers realize there is a whole lot of season left and they need to keep plugging away day after day, but they are feeling pretty good about how they are playing at this point. Their +128 run differential is fairly easily the best in all of the WPK (next best are the Sting with +88 and after that the under-achieving Pittsburgh Roadrunners- who are in 5th place in the SJL- with a +83.)
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Old 10-19-2019, 06:12 PM   #575
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Erbakan MGL Player of the Week

For the 3rd time in his career, Bobby Erbakan was named MGL Player of the Week.
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Bobby is quietly putting together a career year, on pace for a 7 WAR season.
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Old 10-19-2019, 06:19 PM   #576
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Chester Big Stick outfielder Rojas Player of the Week

Look, there are worse problems to have and it almost seems silly to complain about this. But as always the Brewers system just has too darn many good outfielders.

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This week Frank Rojas, who was with the big league club briefly earlier in the season, won his league's Player of the Week honors for his play with Denver AAA club, the Chester Big Stick.
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With the continued great play by veterans Ryan Rodgers and Andrew Kennedy, and youngsters Joe McPhillips and Josh Schaeffer, not to mention the emergence of John Flores as a great power bat off the bench this season, there is just no room at the big league level in Denver for Rojas.

The trading deadline is approaching and it likely wouldn't come as a shock to astute observers if the Brewers tried to package Rojas in a deal, preferably for a starting pitching prospect, though that is likely too much to hope for.
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Old 10-19-2019, 09:50 PM   #577
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Brewers and Falcons engineer trade of prospects

While the Brewers are playing in Detroit against the Falcons a conversation developed between key members of the two front offices that resulted in a 4-player trade which was announced after the second of third games between the two.
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The Brewers, as anticipated, trade outfielder Frank Rojas along with first baseman Greg Tietz. It appears that the rebuilding Falcons will be giving both of these players a look at the big league level immediately. The Falcons sent the Brewers two starting pitchers in return- Japanese right hander Sekien Hamasaki, who faced the Brewers earlier in the day out of the Detroit bullpen, and 24-year old power pitcher Miguel Rodriguez. Hamasaki has been assigned to AAA Chester after having put up poor numbers thus far for the Falcons this year while Rodriguez joins the AA Nashville Red Wings staff. The move freed up one spot on the Brewers 40-man roster while also bringing them more pitching depth at the upper levels of the minor leagues.
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Old 10-20-2019, 12:01 AM   #578
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July 23-25, 1974, at Detroit

The Brewers head out on the road and start with 3 games in Detroit against the 9th place Falcons.

Thus far this season the Brewers don't seem to bring their A-game against the Falcons.

And in game 1, sure enough, the Falcons scored 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th to overcome a 3-2 deficit and held on to win 4-3. Cheol-han Lee pitched well- allowing 2 runs on 9 hits in 6 1/3rd innings and did not figure in the decision. Sam Pruiett, who has been struggling of late, was saddled with the loss having given up the 2 runs in the 8th while recording just a single out. He falls to 6-2 with a 3.43 ERA. John Flores (.375/.398/.667) went 2 for 4 and was the only Brewer with more than 1 hit in the game. He also picked up his 2nd stolen base of the season. David Bennett's (.200/.200/.500) lone hit was also his first big league home run.
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It was the Brewers turn for a comeback win in game 2. After having taken a 6-5 lead by scoring 3 runs in the 8th inning, they gave up a run to the Falcons in the bottom of the 9th which forced extra innings. Joe McPhillips (.288/.370/.508) is starting to get a reputation for hitting homers at the most opportune times and he did it again in this one, belting a 3-run HR in the top of the 10th inning and the Brewers held on to win 9-6. It was McPhillips 16th HR of the season. Josh Schaeffer (.310/.423/.432), who come up through the minors with McPhillips, was also a hero in this one as he went 3 for 6 with 4 runs scored and an RBI. Chad Brown (.291/.310/.415) continues his resurgence and has a 3 for 5, 2 RBI game and hits his 16th double of 1974. He also started a pair of double plays on defense and stole his 3rd base of the season. Harry Lyerly started for the Brewers and allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 7 hits in 6 innings pitched. Jeremy Walker, who has pitching pretty well since brought back to the big league 'pen on July 1st, got the win and now is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA. Jaden Francis got the save, his 14th to go along with his fine 1.15 ERA. He is now tied for 2nd in saves in the MGL.
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The Falcons win the rubber match 6-4. Erik Sloan got the start for the Brewers and allowed 4 runs on 10 hits in 7 innings pitched but it was Jordan Stephens who took the loss in relief, dropping to 3-2 with a 2.51 ERA. Mike Foster (.338/.385/.477), who has been slumping for over a week, got his swing back in this one and went 2 for 4 with an RBI. Chad Brown and Ryan Rodgers each hit his 17th double of the season, although Brown also committed his 17th error.
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Having dropped 2 of 3 in Detroit the Brewers now head to Charlotte to take on the Sting, who they lead by 3 1/2 games. L.A. is 8 1/2 games back and Brooklyn 9.
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Old 10-20-2019, 01:41 PM   #579
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Trading heats up as deadline approaches

A pair of interesting trades were announced today, both involving the Milwaukee Cadets of the SJL.

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First of all, they traded 27-year old starting pitcher Chris Martin, originally drafted by the Denver Brewers in the WPK inaugural draft, to the Washington Night Train for 27-year old shortstop Rob Bello. Martin is an interesting case- a very talented pitcher who has had many ups and downs in his big league career, perhaps because of the lack of a well-developed third pitch. He has had a poor 1974 with a 6-10 record and a 5.68 ERA but is a 2-time All-Star who put up 6.2 WAR in 1971 and more than 4 WAR the past 2 seasons. And he has been pitching for a last place club in the Cadets. He should help solidify the Washington staff as they try to stay in contact with the two front-runners in the SJL- Jacksonville and Philadelphia. Washington is currently in 3rd place, 5 games off the pace. It's hard to see how this helps the last place Cadets much, but Bello is a much cheaper player so it does free up some salary space and while Bello isn't a great player he is a fine defender and a hard worker who is very popular with his teammates.

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Milwaukee then worked out a deal with Phoenix to get veteran closer Kee Han and a minor league outfielder of questionable value for 29-year old shortstop Melvin Mendez. Of Han's last five appearances, three (including one against the Brewers) have been unmitigated disasters. Han is one of the most talented closers in the game and his 7.64 ERA is a shock but then it also must be considered how few innings he has pitched this season (17.2) and that the defense behind him in Phoenix was pretty bad. One has to believe that a change of scenery will do him good. Though how the addition of a veteran closer, even one as talented as Han, helps the last-place Cadets, is up for debate. Mendez is a solid veteran player with good speed, good contact skills, and decent basic defensive talent, though it would be perhaps wise for someone to consider moving him off short and over to third base. He can't really hurt the 7th place Speed Devils, but he won't likely help them that much either.
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While these trades feel essentially neutral for both Milwaukee and Phoenix, it seems like Washington could be the real winner here.

Last edited by BirdWatcher; 10-20-2019 at 01:45 PM.
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Old 10-20-2019, 04:27 PM   #580
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July 26-28, 1974, at Charlotte

It is very possible that the Denver Brewers were highly motivated to make a statement in the first game of a three game series against their pesky 1974 rivals, the Charlotte Sting. Or maybe they were just focused on continuing to play good ball and not worry about who the opponent was.
Either way, in game 1 of the series, a statement was made.

The Brewers, not a particularly good road team this season, came into Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark and walked away with a series opening 11-1 victory. Young Joe McPhillips (.293/.374/.521), said afterwards "I thought we played a nice game." Talk about your understatements. McPhillips, for instance, went 3 for 4, scoring twice, driving in 2 runs, hitting his 15th double of the season and his 17th home run. Chad Brown (.298/.316/.421) was 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, and stole his 4th base of the season. RodRod (Rodrigo Rodriguez) finally got his first WPK hit in the game, and then his second, and his third, as he finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI, hitting his first double and first triple in the game. Steve Green had a fine start, lasting 7 innings, giving up just the 1 run on 5 hits. He improves to 10-6 with a 4.54 ERA. The Brewers did nearly everything right and made the home team look silly.
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And then, in game 2, it was back to business as usual. Brewers won, 6-2. It was actually a very close game until the Brewers broke out for 3 runs in the top of the 9th- against Jamel McNeil, of all people. Matt Helm had another fine start in what is becoming a career year for him. The Brewers captain worked 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on just 4 hits. He improves to 10-5 with a 2.88 ERA. Jordan Stephens worked the last 2 innings for his 8th save (2.43 ERA.) Josh Schaeffer (.303/.419/.432) was 2 for 5 from the lead off slot and hit his 5th HR of the season. Andrew Kennedy (.328/.366/.413) went 3 for 5 and hit his 18th double.
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The Sting made a statement of their own in the last game of the series. And while it wasn't as deafening as the one the Brewers made in game 1, it was effective. It said, don't think we're beaten yet. We're a gutsy little team. And to make this statement they had to overcome an early 4-0 deficit with future HOF'er Cheol-han Lee on the mound. Cheol-han was humming along until the 5th inning, when he gave up 3 runs and then he, with a little help from the bullpen, gave up 4 more in the 7th. The Sting prevailed 7-5 and Lee dropped to 10-5 with a 2.78 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.323/.389/.493) went 2 for 5 in the loss and picked up his 11th stolen base. Andrew Kennedy (.327/.365/.421) only picked up 1 hit in his 4 at-bats, but it was his 2nd HR of the season and drove in 3 runs. Chad Brown hit his 7th triple of 1974 in the loss.
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With the series victory the Brewers now lead Charlotte by 4 1/2 games and have an 8 game lead on both Brooklyn and L.A.
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