Harry Lyerly and the Denver Brewers of the WPK

[Palaaemon]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Had I told you, at the beginning of the 1976 season, that a player on the Brewers team would have a slash line of .261/.338/.382 on June 12th, and asked you to name that player, who would you have guessed?

Perhaps utility infielder Joe Willemse? Nope. Little Joe, getting more starts due to the injury to Bobby Erbakan, is sitting at .306/.355/.378.

Maybe one of our catchers, who so clearly over-performed at the plate in 1975. Well, Zacarias Martell is hitting .294/.379/.413 and Kirk Patnode .310/.333/.352. So it isn't one of those guys.

How about slick fielding shortstop Rich White, who hadn't yet proved heading into the 1976 season that he could hit well at the big league level? Well, all Rich is doing, in addition to providing Gold Glove defense, is hitting .328/.372/.495. It's not him.

Brett Taranto is playing regularly for the first time in his big league career and though he hit well in limited action in 1975 it wouldn't be surprising if he had reverted to the mean a bit this year. But no- Taranto is hitting a blistering .366/.406/.508 and is pretty clearly the best hitter on the team so far in 1976.

Maybe Josh Schaeffer's notoriously bad work habits are finally catching up with him? Well, Josh has a pretty typical, for him, slash line of .286/.429/.351. So it's not Josh.

Okay, who the heck is it then?
Only the supposed best player on the team, Joe McPhillips, the man who was the MGL MVP in 1974 and the first runner up for the award in 1975.
What is going on with Joe? There is nothing from our scouting staff to indicate an obvious problem. Home runs are down league wide so his power drop is not terribly surprising. And with his great defense and terrific running he is still on pace for a 4.7 WAR season, which isn't too shabby. Still, he's got to get hot at the plate sometime, right? (Okay, his BABIP of .258 would indicate a strong degree of unluckiness, which can't last forever. We hope.)

And with Bobby Erbakan still out for at least a few more weeks and the Brewers currently playing their worst baseball of the season, Brewers fans hope that Joe snaps out of it sooner rather than later.

Dr. Palaaemon is writing a prescription for all Brewer fans and anyone associated with the team to take a DEEP breath, (making sure to exhale of course) and take a night to do something enjoyable with your friends and/or family to relax and take your mind off of recent events after you listen to this Buttercup!!!!

Denver has been playing great baseball all season except for a minor hiccup just now, it happens. Let us put this in perspective. You guys cause these hiccups to other teams all the time (not all of them minor), but when it happens to you, oh boohoo, the sky is falling.

Kawasaki has been unlucky so far these first two months. He is too damned good of a pitcher for this to continue. Expect for him to start to pitch better in June and continue to get better. He will right the ship.

If you remember last year, Bobby came back off of rehab and gave a boost to the team. I believe they went on a roll and I know the defense solidified (and he was at first base then). Keep a positive mindset that this will happen again this year. Expect when he comes back to the lineup from rehab that he and Joe will benefit from each others presence, (along with everyone else) and if joe has not picked it up by then (which I think he may just bust out before) he certainly will in no time.

The rest of the season will not be smooth sailing. Challenges will abound. Hiccups will occur. When that happens just remember that Dr. Palaaemon is here for all fans, players and associates of the Denver Brewers!

Have a Great day! 👍

Dr. Palaaemon

[BirdWatcher]

Well, yes, it is early and this isn't exactly a prolonged slump (yet.)

But that Brooklyn team really is very, very talented.
And they have seen ace, and best pitcher in the game, Aaron McNally under-perform so far.

Denver is a good team, in spite of the way we have played lately. (But please, please, Joe McPhillips, start hitting again!)

But are we good enough to not finish in 2nd place again as we did last year? That is what time will tell. (I fear we might not be.)

[BirdWatcher]

So this little list is very telling.


Four of the greatest starting pitchers in WPK history in these early years (two sure HOF'ers in Harris and Lee and a two possible HOF'ers) and then there is that guy at #2. Jamel McNeil, who has started exactly 1 game in his career.

Just another bit of evidence for why he will be the first relief pitcher to enter the WPK Hall of Fame in Dubuque before too long. And likely will be the standard for relievers to try to live up to for the rest of WPK history.
(Will the Reliever of the Year award be renamed the Jamel McNeil award someday? It wouldn't be surprising.)

[BirdWatcher]

Left-handed reliever Jason Gottula has been one of the primary stabilizing influences in the Brewers bullpen this season and today he was rewarded for that when he signed a 3-year extension with the club.

[BirdWatcher]

In the midst of a breakout season, and probably one in which he has been the most valuable player on the team, shortstop Rich White is forced to the IL with a strained back.


In his place, the Brewers bring up 24-year old fire-balling reliever Walter Hackler.


Joe Willemse will likely get the lion's share of the starts at shortstop in White's absence, with Brad Sherman taking over at second base, at least until Bobby Erbakan's return, which is likely at least 3 to 3 1/2 weeks away, given that he will probably get at least a bit of a rehab stint at AAA Chester.

[BirdWatcher]

Nate Bennett, the 36-year old first baseman for the Philadelphia Mud Hens who is the most prolific slugger in WPK history thus far, has now become just the 6th man to reach the 2000 career hit mark.



The quiet and well-liked Bennett isn't off to his best start this season but most scouts agree that he still has great skills at the plate, even if his defense is something of a liability at this stage of his career. His next personal goal in terms of hitting milestones is to be the first WPK player to hit 400 HR's, and he is still 23 shy of that level and likely won't make it this season, at least at the pace he is on.

[BirdWatcher]

Brewers record: 5-1 (week), 42-22, 1st place, MGL (season).

June 13-14, at Charlotte: 6-3, 7-0.

Having lost the first of three at Charlotte to end the preceding week, the Brewers bounce back in game 2 by scoring 5 7th inning runs to erase a 3-0 deficit. The big hit was a bases-loaded, and bases-clearing, two-out double off the bat of Joe McPhillips. It was Joe's 9th double of the season. Erik Sloan (7-3, 2.69) went the distance for the win, giving up 3 runs (only 1 earned) on 7 hits. Josh Schaeffer hit his 3rd homer of the season.

The Brewers take the series with a 7-0 shutout behind Cheol-han Lee. Lee (7-1, 3.65) pitched his finest game of the season, giving up just a pair of hits (both singles) while walking 1 and striking out 3. Zacarias Martell collected 1 hit in 2 at-bats, driving in 3 runs with his 10th double of the season. RodRod went 2 for 5, scored twice, and hit his 13th double. And Rich White hit double number 18 but then had to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a strained back. It has landed him on the IL and he's expected to miss about a month of action.


June 16-18, versus Baltimore: 3-6, 16-1, 7-3.

The Brewers come back home to Denver to take on the Lords for three games. In the first game they lose as Sekien Hamasaki (5-2, 3.18) gives up 5 runs on 9 hits over 7 innings. Brett Taranto went 2 for 4 in the loss and hit his 2nd home run of 1976.

Then the offense just completely exploded in game 2, led by Brad Sherman who went 5 for 5 with 3 runs scored, 8 driven in, hitting 3 doubles and a 7th inning Grand Slam HR! Hitting right ahead of him in the order (in the 6 hole), Little Joe Willemse went 3 for 4, scoring 5 times and driving in a pair of runs. Joe hit his 2nd triple of the season. Joe McPhillips and Brad Tesh each collected 3 hits in the win.
Not that he needed to pitch a good game at all to get a win in this laugher, but Steve Green did just that nevertheless. Green (6-4, 2.13) allowed 1 run on just 2 hits over his 8 innings pitched.




The Brewers then also took the rubber match in game 3, led on offense by Brett Taranto, who 3 for 4, and Andrew Kennedy, who was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI and hit his 1st HR of 1976. Matt Helm (4-0, 2.60) got the win, giving up 3 runs on 11 hits over 6 innings pitched.

June 19, at Detroit: 6-3.

Heading to Detroit next, the Brewers wrap up the week with a 6-3 victory in the first of three in the motor city. Sadahige Kawasaki (4-5, 2.77) wasn't at his best, giving up 3 runs on 10 hits in 6 2/3rds innings, but he got the win. Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 9th save. Andrew Kennedy led the way on offense, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI. Joe McPhillips went 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and hit his 10th double. Josh Schaeffer picked up his 12 stolen base, his 5th outfield assist, and walked 3 times in the victory.


Notes from around the league:
The Columbus Whalers (42-22) continue to hold onto 1st place in the SJL, 2 games ahead of the El Paso Dawgs (40-24). The Washington Night Train (35-29) are now 7 games back in 3rd place.
The Brewers have extended their lead on the 2nd place Brooklyn Aces (36-28) back to 6 games. Charlotte (35-29) is 7 out in 3rd and the streaking Los Angeles Spinners (34-30) have now moved into 4th place, 8 games back. Brett Taranto once again narrowly leads the MGL in batting average at .369, with Brooklyn second baseman Chris Murphy right behind him at .368 and Ruben Souffront in 3rd at .358.

[BirdWatcher]

Rumors abound.

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers second baseman Brad Sherman, getting a chance to start in the absence of the Brewers usual starting middle infielders Bobby Erbakan and Rich White, took full advantage of the opportunity last week and earned the MGL Player of the Week honors.


And down at AAA Chester, first base prospect Mike Lovett, who has been slowly heating up as the season progresses, took the same honors for his league. The only problem for the power hitting Lovett is that the Brewers new first baseman this season, Brett Taranto, is in the midst of a breakout season, likely slowing down Lovett's rise to the bigs a bit.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, that's not optimal:

[BirdWatcher]

Brewers record: 3-4 (week), 45-27, 1st place, MGL (season).

June 20-21, at Detroit: 6-2, 5-1.

Having won the first of three in Detroit to end the preceding week, the Brewers stay hot by winning game 2 behind a strong start from Erik Sloan (8-3, 2.65), who allows 2 runs on 6 hits over 7 innings, and a balanced offensive attack led by backup catcher Kirk Patnode, who went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Brett Taranto hit his 3rd HR of the season in the victory.

The Brewers get the series sweep by taking game 3 with another strong start from veteran ace Cheol-han Lee (8-1, 3.44). Lee allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 7 2/3rds innings. He also hit his 7th double of the season. What has gotten into the normally very poor hitting Lee at the plate this season is anybody's guess. Brett Taranto went 4 for 4, driving in a pair of runs and hitting his 15th double.

June 22-24, at Portland: 1-2, 1-4, 1-8.

Denver stays on the road, heading next to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Portland Wild Things. After a sweep at Detroit, things don't go so well in Stumptown.
In game 1, the Brewers waste a fine start by rookie John Weaver, who allowed just 1 run on 7 hits over 8 innings pitched. He gets no run support as the team only manages to scratch out 4 hits and 1 run against Wild Things starter Brad Evans and a pretty good bullpen. And then Tim Shore (1-2, 1.65) only is able to record a single out in the bottom of the 9th before giving up the winning run to take the loss.

More of the same in game 2. This time Sekien Hamasaki (5-3, 3.10) deserves a better fate after giving up just 2 runs on 8 hits over 7 innings. But the Brewers again score just a single run and reliever Ben Flynn gives up 2 runs in his 1 inning to let things give Portland a nice cushion they would not relinquish. Joe McPhillips did hit his 3rd triple of the season in the loss.

And the boys in purple are swept when they get handled easily in game 3. It was a 1-1 tie going into the bottom of the 8th, but then the Wild Things exploded for 7 runs, 4 off starter Steve Green (6-5, 2.49) and 3 more off reliever Ben Flynn, who sees his ERA rise to 7.04 and is once again sent down to AAA Chester after the game. Brett Taranto hit his 16th double in the loss.

June 25-26, versus Los Angeles: 9-5, 2-3.

Finally back in Denver, the Brewers look to bounce back against the recently surging Los Angeles Spinners, the reigning MGL champs.

And in game 1 they do on the strength of an offense glad to be back at Centennial Stadium. Little Joe Willemse was one of the heroes, going 3 for 3 with 2 RBI. Andrew Kennedy went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI. Brett Taranto, arguably the team MVP of the first half of the season, went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, 2 walks, and hit his 17th double. Matt Helm (5-0, 2.74) got the start and the win, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits over his 6 1/3rd innings. Eric Marino pitched the last 1 2/3rds for his 1st save of the season. Joe McPhillips and Josh Schaeffer each picked up his 13th stolen base of 1976.

But the offensive struggles return in game 2 and the Brewers suffer a 1-run loss. More bad luck for Sadahige Kawasaki, who gets a no-decision in spite of allowing just 2 runs on 8 hits over his 7 2/3rds innings pitched. Jason Gottula (1-2, 2.04) takes the loss in relief. Josh Schaeffer went 2 for 3 in the loss, hitting his 7th double, walking twice, and swiping his 14th bag.

Notes from around the league: The Columbus Whalers and El Paso Dawgs (!) end the week tied for 1st in the SJL with matching 45-26 records. The Milwaukee Cadets are now in 3rd place at 40-31, 5 games back.
The Brewers are lucky that the Brooklyn Aces aren't playing particularly well right now either as Denver maintains a 5 game lead over the 40-31 Aces. L.A. is in 3rd, 7 games back at 38-33.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers will keep veteran right-handed reliever Tim Shore around for at least one more season.

[BirdWatcher]

With the 1976 All-Star game fast approaching, I wanted to step back a moment and say a few words about the selection process and how I interact with this.

To begin with, I always cast my ballot a few days before the announcement of the rosters. Mostly this is because I want to see where things are as close to the game as possible in terms of player performance thus far in the season.
When voting I try to do my best to strike a balance between a biased, Denver Brewer fan perspective and a more objective, knowledgeable WPK aficionado perspective. In other words, when a player on the Brewers is very close to being the best at a position, even if he is not categorically the best, I'll likely vote for him. But if not, I'm going to try to choose the most worthy candidate at every position. All other things being equal, I will likely choose the celebrated player when there is something like a virtual tie. This is the nature of the All-Star after all. Fans want to see well-known players.
So, for instance, this year it means that I voted for both Jake Harris (in the SJL) and Cheol-han Lee (in the MGL) among the 3 starting pitchers in each league, even though it could have been argued that there were 1 or 2 lesser known pitchers who have been better than these two (even including our own Steve Green and Sadahige Kawasaki.) But Harris and Lee still have overall very good numbers and they are the two greatest pitchers of their generation.
On the other hand, if there is an exciting young player taking the league by storm this year and playing at a position where there are other more well-known players with similar results, but not HOF-level players like Harris and Lee, I do like to pick the young phenom. This was true with two outfield positions in the SJL this season, where El Paso leftfielder Pete Wiederkehr is having a ROY season and the San Antonio Keys Zach McClelland, in his 4th full season at age 24, is having a breakout campaign, after being solid up to now. I voted for both of these guys over more well-known options.

Sometimes my decision is easy, such as this year when the Brewers unheralded first baseman Brett Taranto easily leads MGL first baseman in WAR and yet up to this point was not getting the votes. And other times it is more complicated, such as right field in the MGL, where our own Josh Schaeffer is once again among the leaders in WAR and deserving of a spot on the roster but former Brewer Ruben Souffront is having a career year at age 31 and leads at the position in WAR. I voted for Ruben.

And finally I just want to say that I love this process, even if the AS game is a meaningless exhibition. It's a great time to pause and reflect a bit on the season thus far and the voting process itself helps me spot things I might have missed (for instance, two former Brewer catchers, Kevin Curtis and Spencer Wilson, are at the top of the SJL in WAR at their position), especially the performance of players in the SJL, which I try to pay some attention to but don't know the way I know I our own MGL.

[BirdWatcher]

The great Jaime Schardein, two-time Pitcher of the Year and five-time All-Star, was lost for the season today having suffered a torn meniscus in his knee.


At age 40, Schardein has continued to be a valuable hurler with elite control and workhorse stamina and was helping the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings stay in contention in the MGL.

Granted, there are no indications yet that this injury will end Schardein's career and while a knee injury can be pretty devastating for a pitcher at least it wasn't an injury involving his throwing arm.
Schardein is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Will he try to return for 1977 and will any team elect to sign a 41-year old coming off a serious injury?


Stay tuned.

[BirdWatcher]

The votes have been tallied and here are the final counts for the SJL for the 1976 All-Star squad:




And the SJL roster for the game:




Jamel McNeil gets named to his 12 All-Star team. Jake Harris is a 10-time All-Star now. Trevor Leach is an All-Star for the 9th time. Left fielder Curtis Horah earns his 7th selection and reigning MVP right fielder Justin Vargas gets his 6th nod.

Perhaps all you really need to know about the Columbus Whalers is that all five members of their starting rotation were named to the team. The Whalers get the most representation with 8 players named. El Paso, currently tied for 1st with Columbus, is next with 5 selections. Boston and San Antonio each see 4 players sent to the game. On the other hand, the once mighty Jacksonville Wolf Pack have only one player selected (though he's legit- the starting shortstop Bruce Heath), and Milwaukee, Philadelphia, and Chicago also only have a single player named to the squad. By far the weakest pick is Chicago's lone representative, starting pitcher Ryan Lamb.

[BirdWatcher]

Final All-Star voting for the MGL:




And the squad:



A pair of future HOF outfielders, both in the Brooklyn outfield this season, lead the way in number of career All-Star selections on this list. Felix Lopez is going to his 10th AS game and Ryan Rodgers to his 8th. Another pair of veteran outfielders- Cody Kane of Portland and Danny Sanchez of San Francisco- are selected for the 7th time. And Denver reliever Tim Shore gets his 5th All-Star honor, though his first in a Brewers uniform.

Among teams, it is not surprising that Denver and Brooklyn lead the way with 7 selections each. L.A. and Portland are next at 4 each. Two teams get just a single selection- Charlotte and Detroit. The players chosen for these two teams are worthy selections regardless.

As for the Brewers other than Shore: for Zacarias Martell this is his 3rd selection at the age of 25- a nice start to his career. All other Brewers selected are first timers. Rich White is voted in as the starter at shortstop but of course is unavailable to play.

[BirdWatcher]

It certainly looks like El Paso rookie left fielder Pete Wiederkehr has a bright future ahead of him in the WPK. His present isn't bad either as he took the SJL honor of Batter of the Month for June.


And the Brewers have received much more than they could have hoped for from slick fielding first baseman Brett Taranto. Like a bat potent enough to earn him the Batter of the Month award for the MGL in the month of June. After such a wonderful month, he now leads the MGL in batting average by 20 points over his nearest rival.

[BirdWatcher]

El Paso hurler Dan Bottom won the SJL Pitcher of the Year award in 1974 at the tender age of 23. He is off to a fine start again this season. The only question mark always with the oft-injured Bottom is whether he can stay healthy for the entire season. Even in his POY campaign his season was shut down in mid-September due to biceps tendinitis.


Jason Wilson of the Los Angeles Spinners is a quiet guy. Some would even say painfully shy. And perhaps partly because of that, and being part of a glitzy rotation in a glitzy town, Wilson often goes unheralded. Sure he won the Pitcher of the Year award back in 1969. And he has three 20-win seasons under his belt. But he's no fan favorite like Jose Santos. Or even less talented teammate Kerry Krieg. And now this year, it's all about Obandomania in L.A. Meanwhile, Wilson just keeps plugging along, putting together a career that could still land him in the WPK Hall of Fame someday. For today it earned him the June MGL Pitcher of the Month honors.

[BirdWatcher]

It should come as no surprise that Pete Wiederkehr took Rookie of the Month honors in the SJL.


In the MGL, it was L.A.'s slick fielding 23-year old shortstop Pat Mercado. Mercado, the 19th pick overall in the 1974 draft, is known not only for his solid defense but also his great baseball smarts. Many consider himself a future big league coach or manager in the making. While he isn't thought to have a huge upside with the bat, he is certainly holding his own in that regard in this his rookie season.

[BirdWatcher]

Brett Taranto heads into the All-Star break with a 20-game hitting streak.