The W.P. Kinsella League random update thread

[BirdWatcher]

Apparently it took something pretty extreme to get me to post about the W.P. Kinsella League again, but the Denver Brewers first no-hitter, which was also a Perfect Game, in history qualifies.

So for those of you who have followed along with the WPK and the Denver Brewers in the past, here are a few updates, starting with the Perfecto. And for anyone unfamiliar with the back story here, you can find most anything you would wish to know (and so much you probably wouldn't) in the links below in my signature.

Jim Atwell's Perfecto No-No:





The Brewers staff ace, Jim Atwell, the reigning MGL (Moonlight Graham League, for the uninitiated) Pitcher of the Year, had hurled a pair of 1-hitters in his big league career but yesterday he tossed the very first no-hitter in franchise history. And with solid defense behind him and having not allowed a single base runner, he also threw the 4th Perfect Game in WPK history. As with pretty much every no-hitter, there was at least one moment in the game when a defender made a catch on a ball that looked like it was going to land safely to spoil things. In this case it was 2-time reigning MGL MVP right fielder Antonio Acuna who made a diving catch in the late innings to preserve the perfect game.
The Denver Brewers had been on the wrong end of 3 no-hitters in their history, including being the victims in Mike Hiatt's 2nd no-hitter of his career, a Perfect Game on July 15th of 1972.

This was the 4th no-hitter thrown in the WPK this season, tying 1972 for most in a single season. The upstart Portland Wild Things hurled the first two of the 1981 season: Matt Jenkins, a 25-year old lefty who isn't considered anything special but who does possess a decent 6-pitch arsenal (including an elite changeup and circle change), no-hit the Montreal Royals in his third start of the season, while his much more celebrated staff mate Joe Barbour, threw the second no-hitter of his still young career on August 1st. Barbour, the Wild Things team captain and a strong candidate for this year's Pitcher of the Year award, became just the second pitcher in league history to have multiple no-hitters, joining Mike Hiatt, who also has 2 career no-hitters. Then, just a few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Mud Hens 24-year old lefty Ron Carmouche no-hit the Houston Cavaliers. Carmouche pitched mostly out of the bullpen in his rookie season of 1980 and has gone 14-10 with a 3.03 ERA as a full-time member of the rotation this season. With a bit more polishing of his change-up, Carmouche has the potential to be one of the best young hurlers in the game but there are questions about his durability profile.

[BirdWatcher]

Heading into the home stretch of the 1981 regular season, there are a few interesting pennant races to follow, with the most intense being that of the MGL West where your Denver Brewers now trail those surprising Portland Wild Things by 1/2 a game.

The SJL West has been the weakest division in the WPK this year, with the El Paso Dawgs having led most of the way but limping a bit towards the finish line while the reigning WPK champion San Antonio Keys, led as always by future Hall of Fame shortstop Bud Lindsay (starting to show his age and hampered by a career-long propensity for injuries), have recently risen from mid-standings to even briefly take over first in the past week. The Dawgs have since returned to the top spot, but are barely hanging on.

Over in the SJL East, the Pittsburgh Road Runners are looking to repeat, having won the very first SJL East pennant in 1980 when divisional play was introduced to the WPK. The Road Runners are led by the best player in the game (having taken over that mantle from Bud Lindsay last year), reigning SJL MVP Matt Van der Heyden. Van der Heyden has put up 12.4 WAR thus far in 1981, easily the best in the WPK with the next best being 8.7 for Portland's ultra-talented young shortstop Willie Romero (now the consensus best defensive player in the game). The Washington Night Train got off to a great start and unexpectedly have held on all season to post a respectable record largely on the strength of a surprisingly good offensive attack, keyed by two young South Korean players, 25 year old second baseman Ki-moon Kym and 23 year old right fielder Myon-ki Choi.
The Columbus Whalers continue to have one of the best rotations in the game (led by youngsters Bill Thompson and Jay Crosby) but it certainly doesn't look like it will be enough to catch the powerhouse Road Runners.

Over in the MGL East, the Brooklyn Aces hold the edge with the Baltimore Lords almost surely being the only team left that could challenge them. But it looks like this one is the Aces to lose. The Aces are, unlike often in the past, an offense first team, led primarily by young center fielder Chris Caldwell and veteran slugging first baseman Danny Salvador (who will probably end up with career numbers shy of Hall of Fame level, but certainly has had a distinguished run). The Aces are only 9th in the league in runs allowed but if they can get into the late innings with a lead, they do have one of the most dynamic young closers in the business in 21-year old lefty Micheal Tucker, who saved 28 games in his rookie season at the tender age of 20 and now has 36 saves and an impressive 2.17 ERA this season.

And back to the MGL West, where our Brewers have led most of the way since taking over from the San Franciso Velocity, who got off to a torrid start but have had a poor second half, in mid-May. Those young Portland Wild Things, led by ace Joe Barbour, defensive marvel (and decent power hitting) shortstop Willie Romero, breakout star first baseman Will Masiello (hitting .339/.377/.517 with a 6.3 WAR in his first full season of play) and rookie center fielder Quincy Schultz (younger brother to long-time star WPK first baseman Josh Schultz), who likely will have a trophy case full of Gold Gloves before his career ends, just kept hanging around all season and recently have moved into first place. The Brewers, who won the MGL West last year with the best record (110-52) in the WPK, only to lose in the first ever MGL Division Championship series to the expansion Montreal Royals, who won the woeful MGL East with an 82-80 mark, find themselves in the unusual position of looking up at first place down the stretch run. This is of course more about how well the Wild Things have played than any mark against the Brewers, who still have the second best record in all of the WPK at this stage of the season. The Brewers rotation, almost completely homegrown through the draft at this point, remains one of the strongest in the game, and the bullpen has been surprisingly good, deep, and balanced. First baseman Brett Taranto (.353/.400/.508, 5.9 WAR) is having a come-back season after two decent but somewhat disappointing seasons in a row, and it appears he will claim the third batting title of his career. Right fielder Antonio Acuna has won the MGL MVP award the past two seasons and with a very strong first half it appeared he might claim a third consecutive, but he has worn down a bit in the second half while still remaining a force (.326/.357/.502, 7.0 WAR, and a strong candidate for his first Gold Glove- 16.4 ZR, 19 outfield assists). The outfield remains a strength for the club, with 4 solid starters, including veteran center fielder Joe McPhillips (.263/.354/.398, 4.1 WAR), left fielders Val Guzman (.299/.361/.439, 2.5 WAR) and Matt Catlett (who also has often played center to give the aging and fragile McPhillips breathers) (.308/.354/.447, 4.0 WAR), who went to his first All-Star game earlier in the year.
The infield, aside from Taranto at first, is far more unsettled, with three fragile veterans and a rotating cast of others fighting for time and trying to make an impression. Shawn York has shared shortstop duties with veteran Rich White, but while York has been very impressive with the glove his bat remains somewhat disappointing (.236/.271/.297, 2.2 WAR on the strength largely of his 15.5 ZR). Third baseman Jake DiCesare has continued to play well when healthy (.323/.359/.430, 2.0 WAR) but he is often injured and there are indications that this might be starting to take a toll of his skills as well. One young player who looks like he might take advantage of the Brewers aging and injury-prone infield situation is Russell Fleming (.287/.316/.421 in 174 PA). While Fleming does not profile as a starter and his defense is mostly just adequate (he does have a very strong arm so third base is his best fit) he has a decent hit tool and can also play the outfield pretty well (in fact, he could be an elite defensive right fielder, except of course we already have one of those in Acuna). But Fleming's positional versatility along with above average contact hitting skills and a fine makeup (high loyalty and work ethic) make him the prime candidate for a super-sub position on the team going forward.

[BirdWatcher]

As we approach the end of the 1981 regular season in the WPK, let's take a quick look at the Denver Brewers team over a few posts.

Starting with the pitching staff. Here is the current starting rotation:



Not much needs to be said about Jim Atwell except that he is one of the top aces in the game at this stage of his career. He is the reigning MGL Pitcher of the Year and should be in strong contention again this year. And of course, in his most recent start he threw a Perfect Game! Atwell is 4th in wins in the MGL and 7th in ERA, but he leads in WAR by quite a bit and is second in rWAR by just a slim margin behind Baltimore ace Sako Zakian. Atwell is the only qualifying pitcher with a WHIP under 1 (0.90), he has the best FIP (2.37, just barely ahead of teammate Sadahige Kawasaki, who has a 2.38), he has the best K to BB rate in the MGL and is second in K/9 and 1st in BB/9. He also has the best win percentage in the MGL. Atwell is under team control (just entered his arbitration years) through 1984.

Veteran Sadahige Kawasaki, the lone member of the staff who did not come up through the Brewers system after having been drafted (Kawasaki was signed as a free agent out of Japan prior to the 1975 season), is a 2-time MGL Pitcher of the Year but is having a frustrating 1981. His FIP and FIP- (66) indicate that he has pitched much better than his baseball card stats would indicate. He hardly ever allows the long ball (0.2 HR/9- he's allowed just 4 HR's in 29 starts this year) and has great control but his stuff is just a bit above average at age 33. He remains a very fine pitcher but does appear to be slightly in decline and Atwell has clearly taken over as the #1 in this rotation. Sadahige is under contract through the 1987 season.

Bryant Cox was selected in the 7th round of the 1975 amateur draft, two rounds after his staff mate Jim Atwell. And both have far exceeded their draft placement. Cox is an extreme groundball pitcher who has a very strong infield behind him and this has likely helped his BABIP (.262) to stay very low. Like Kawasaki, he has excellent movement but his control is just a bit above average. Still, with an elite slider, excellent 94-96 mph fastball, and well above average sinker, his stuff plays up and his 1.13 WHIP is his career best thus far. Cox is a strong middle of the rotation arm, though he is not exactly an innings eater with unimpressive stamina. Cox is a steal though at league minimum and isn't arbitration eligible until the end of next season and is under team control through 1986.

If anyone is going to challenge Atwell for the top spot in the rotation in the near future it is Eric Maisch, the top prospect for the Brewers and currently the #3 prospect in all of the WPK. Maisch will be turning 22 soon and in his second go-round with the club (he started 4 games after a September 1st call-up in 1980 with a 5.18 ERA) he is looking anything but over-matched. While not a hard thrower (91-93 mph) with his elite level changeup, excellent curveball, and way above average fastball, he is projected to have some of the best stuff in the league before long to go along with still developing but potentially elite control. His 2.69 FIP and 74 FIP- seem to indicate that he has been even better than his raw numbers would suggest and it may not be long before he joins Atwell to form a great dual ace situation at the top of the rotation. And the young man is under team control through the 1988 season.

Lefty Austin Bond was last year's surprise as he went 19-6 as a true rookie. He lost more than a month of playing time this summer due to a chronic back soreness (he is considered durable) which complicated his sophomore year, but he remains a valuable and well-liked (Sparkplug) back end of the rotation arm and is the lone left-hander in the current rotation. There is little that stands out about Bond as a pitcher (not counting his great work ethic, high intelligence, and great adaptability) but also few holes in his game. As he approaches his 25th birthday there is still a little room for growth and on many staffs he would be at least a #3 if not a solid #2 but with the Denver depth in starting pitching, he likely remains a #4 or 5 while in Brewers purple. He is under team control through 1986.


The bullpen:



Veteran closer Tim Shore is not the best reliever of his generation (that would be the now retired future HOF'er Jamel McNeil) but he is at this point of WPK history the career saves leader with 337 (McNeil is 2nd at 280). And while Shore has had a few rough outings this season, especially in the early going, he continues to rack up the saves and has mostly anchored the strong Brewers bullpen quite well. He is signed through next season (though the team has an option on the final year of his contract) and it is unclear how much longer he will be a member of the Brewers but for the time being he is mostly rock solid.

Left-hander Rand Pinti is a fan favorite, has great stamina out of the 'pen, induces groundball outs with the best of them, and is basically a 1-pitch pitcher (nasty sinker.) This year it has served him well but with a .248 BABIP it is hard to say how sustainable that is. Then again, his 2.86 FIP and 79 FIP- might indicate that his success isn't completely unfounded. Perhaps best of all, his handedness splits aren't that extreme and he is no pushover for right-handed batters. Pinti is under team control through 1986.

Walter Hackler, on the other hand, has severe splits issues, as this right-handed flame throwing sidearmer can be hit hard by left-handed batters. Still, if you need a strikeout and especially with a tough right-handed batter at the plate, this is the guy you want to call in from the 'pen. He has entered his arbitration years and is under team control just through 1983.

Left-handed 22-year old Chris Hawley came over to the club in an off-season trade with Charlotte (which sent slugging outfielder Eric Hammock to the Sting and also netted the Brewers defensive specialist shortstop Shawn York). Hawley was considered more of an after-thought, a depth piece, but he has surprised and been consistently very fine this season. He is durable, has an excellent slider, induces groundballs, and has great stamina. His control is expected to be his calling card going forward with just above average stuff and movement. He is under team control through 1987.

Brandon Veach joined the Brewers organization as a minor leaguer in a trade with Pittsburgh back in 1976 and slowly worked his way up the ladder. He is another multi-inning arm with an excellent slider and a groundball profile. He has a great work ethic but questionable baseball mind. He is durable and dependable. Nothing special, but a valuable arm in middle relief. He remains in team control through 1985.

Ben Flynn is the team captain and a veteran two-way player with perhaps the best power bat on the club. He's never proven to be much of a pitcher and he is mostly used in blow-outs at this point while also subbing at first base for Brett Taranto on occasion. He is the bat you bring off the bench in the late innings when you need someone to hit the longball. Ben is signed through 1984, when he will be 34 years old.

If there is a likely replacement for Tim Shore's role as the team closer it is 23-year old Paul Johnson, who was a Rule 5 draft pick in the offseason prior to the 1980 season. With good stamina, Johnson may be even more suited to a stopper role in the future. He is durable, he has an elite slider and a very good sinker, he possesses great baseball knowledge and is known to be a very loyal teammate, and as a former 2-way player he can even hit a bit. (He is the emergency catcher for the club, with excellent catcher ability but no experience and a surprisingly weak arm behind the plate.) Johnson is under team control through 1986 and is likely to be a mainstay in the Brewers bullpen long after that.

Taylor Blair and Terry Dubiel are starting pitchers who have made their way back-and-forth from Denver to AAA Chester during the course of the season, and whenever given a chance at the big league level have done very well. On most teams these two would already be established members of the rotation (they are both in their mid-20's). Likely before long they will get that opportunity in other organizations. The biggest question is whether the Brewers will find a way to use Dubiel in the rotation on a regular basis given that they have almost no left-handed pitching prospects in the pitching-rich system. He is considered the better pitcher of these two, is durable and has good stamina. On the other hand, Blair, who is also durable, has a far better reputation for his makeup, with a strong work ethic and great loyalty and low greed.


The Denver Brewers farm system is considered the 7th best in the WPK and this is almost exclusively on the basis of pitching prospects. This year's first round draft pick, Mike Costa, has moved up the system quickly and is basically big league ready right now, though there are some in the organization who question whether his movement and control will play at the WPK level (his stuff is nasty!) and there are a handful of other starting pitching prospects in the farm system who look to be future mid-rotation starters at least and perhaps even better than that. The Brewers have been pretty horrible at developing relievers but with so many talented arms coming up it is certainly possible that some will end up in the Denver 'pen eventually.

[BirdWatcher]

In the history of the Denver Brewers, the past several years has been the most stable period in terms of a catching tandem, as Zacarias Martell took over as the primary catcher back in 1974, and was an All-Star that year and the following two seasons while being an important part in bringing three championships to Denver. His backup since 1975 has been defensive specialist and team leader Kirk Patnode.




But all good things must come to an end eventually and with Martell recently having turned 31 and Patnode turning 33 in the off-season, the Brewers front office is thinking about their options for change, a plan for the future at this position.

Rumor is that there is some disagreement in the Brewers front office about what the next step should be. Some believe that given that Martell's contract expires at the end of next season and that the team has a buyout option for him for next season, it might be time to let him explore the free agency market early. Martell remains a solid defender and an excellent presence in the clubhouse, but his batting skills are greatly diminished. Although Martell's salary of just a bit over 208K is certainly not breaking the bank for the organization, they are also on the hook for 220K for Patnode next year, and given that his defensive skills are greater and his bat close to the same as Martell's, it might make most sense to keep Patnode and let a younger (league minimum salary) player serve as his backup. Then again, Martell remains very popular, both with the fans and in the clubhouse, so there will be a price to be paid if he is allowed to walk away.

So next season the most likely inexpensive backup option, if Martell is no longer with the club, is Joey Mendiola, who is currently in his third cup of coffee assignment with the big league club in the past three seasons, and who is, like Patnode, a switch-hitter with tremendous defensive skills behind the plate.



In the next few seasons the most likely outcome is that youngster Jesse Cooper takes over as the starter at this position for the Brewers. Cooper is the top ranked position player in the Brewers organization, which says far more about the quality of position player prospects in the system at this time than it does about Cooper. (There are 13 pitchers ahead of him on the organization prospect list.) Cooper is another strong defender (though with a weak throwing arm) who also profiles as having a decent, if unspectacular, hit tool. He's durable and while he won't be the plus in the clubhouse that both Patnode and Martell have been, he shouldn't cause any problems.



And maybe more to the point is that with all of those pitching prospects in the system, at some point it might make sense to leverage that strength to acquire a more suitable starting catcher. Then again, there are likely a few other weakness (particularly in the infield) that the Brewers also might want to address with more urgency.

[Palaaemon]

Bird,

It's GREAT to see you posting again, even if it is just off and on. . I have so many damn questions and observations! First though congrats to Atwell for pitching a nono. He has turned into an ace for you. I see a youth movement in the rotation. What happened to Hamasaki? Did he become a free agent and you let him go or did you trade him? I suspect the latter although I suspect he may be in the bullpen or injured. So many possibilities! Inquiring minds want to know. I saw that the Montreal Royals beat you in the MGL league championship last year (what a feat for an expansion team to win their division their first year and then win the league championship, simply amazing)! Who won the SJL league championship to face the aforementioned Montreal team and then who won the KCS (Kinsella Classic Series) not to be confused with the KFC (Kinsella Fall Classic)?

I will leave it here for now so as to not overwhelm you. It is really good to see you posting.

Have a Great morning

Palaaemon

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Bird,

It's GREAT to see you posting again, even if it is just off and on. . I have so many damn questions and observations! First though congrats to Atwell for pitching a nono. He has turned into an ace for you. I see a youth movement in the rotation. What happened to Hamasaki? Did he become a free agent and you let him go or did you trade him? I suspect the latter although I suspect he may be in the bullpen or injured. So many possibilities! Inquiring minds want to know. I saw that the Montreal Royals beat you in the MGL league championship last year (what a feat for an expansion team to win their division their first year and then win the league championship, simply amazing)! Who won the SJL league championship to face the aforementioned Montreal team and then who won the KCS (Kinsella Classic Series) not to be confused with the KFC (Kinsella Fall Classic)?

I will leave it here for now so as to not overwhelm you. It is really good to see you posting.

Have a Great morning

Palaaemon

Palaaemon! So great to see you here again and thanks, as always, for taking an interest in the WPK.
Just a few quick answers to your questions now (don't have the game open and need to leave soon to get a few things done at the office this morning) and I will give more details later. (My next post will dive a bit more deeply into the current infield picture for the Brewers.)

Hamasaki was traded earlier this season having gotten off to a poor start and with Eric Maisch being more than ready to move into the rotation full-time. Off the top of my head I want to say he might have been part of the deal with Charlotte that brought over shortstop Shawn York and reliever Chris Hawley and sent outfielder Eric Hammock to the Sting, but I'll have to confirm that later. I know that it has been a mediocre season for Hamasaki overall (while Hammock, who still has great bat and power potential, suffered a season ending injury not long after being traded.)

In 1980 the SJL championship series saw the Pittsburgh Roadrunners lose to the San Antonio Keys (though I can't recall right now how many games it went) and then, of course, San Antonio pretty much demolished the over-matched Montreal Royals in the KCS.

Currently, with 9 games left for the Brewers and 10 for the upstart Portland Wild Things, the Brewers have once again taken a very narrow lead in the MGL West, 1/2 game up over Portland. The next series on the schedule is a 3-game set in Denver against those Wild Things, so it is probably the most important series of the season for both teams. (The Brewers then travel to Los Angeles and Phoenix to end the regular season.) The Brooklyn Aces have all but clinched the MGL East, with only the Baltimore Lords having the slimmest chance of still overtaking them. The Pittsburgh Roadrunners will almost surely repeat as SJL East pennant winners. And the San Antonio Keys are once again just barely ahead of the El Paso Dawgs for the SJL West title, with every other team in that division having now been mathematically eliminated.

Stay tuned for more.

[BirdWatcher]

(So this one is mostly for Palaaemon.)

Earlier I indicated that veteran right-handed starting pitcher Sekien Hamasaki, who was a member of the Brewers starting late in the season 1974 (didn't really pitch significant innings on the big league club until 1976) was traded earlier this season. I mistakenly was thinking it might have been as part of the trade the Brewers made with Charlotte that netted shortstop Shawn York and relief pitcher Chris Hawley. But that was incorrect.

Hamasaki was dealt to the Baltimore Lords on July 19th of 1981 (current season) along with a minor league reliever (Bobby Beggs) who is currently in the Lords bullpen, and minor league starting pitcher Matt Thomas, who has very little chance of ever making the big leagues. In return the Brewers got minor league catching prospect Jesse Cooper, who was featured in a post above, minor league starting pitcher Nick Knips (like Thomas, not likely to ever pitch in the WPK) and 26-year old infielder Craig Hoover. We will talk more about Hoover in a post to come about the Brewers infield, but for now suffice it to say that he is an excellent defender at both second and third base and has a bit of power in his bat but mostly hasn't hit much yet (though he has been heating up down the stretch.)

Hamasaki was 9-8 with a 4.52 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in his 19 starts with Denver this season and has now gone 3-6 with a 3.87 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 13 starts for Baltimore.

[pauwoo]

Great stuff as always, Bird!

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by pauwoo

Great stuff as always, Bird!

Thanks pauwoo! And so happy to see you following along a bit as well again.

[BirdWatcher]

So now let's take a bit of a look at the Denver Brewers current infield and talk a bit about what the future might look like, or what the big questions for the future are.

First base:



Brett Taranto has been the Brewers starting first baseman since 1976, having taken over there for long-time Brewer Bobby Erbakan, who won six Gold Gloves at the position prior to himself moving over to second base to give way to Taranto at first. Although Taranto isn't quite the defender Erbakan was, he is quite good and himself has won one Gold Glove award (1977). But more importantly, he has basically raked in his six plus (came to the team in the middle of the 1975 season) years with Denver, putting up a slash line of .339/.381/.501 with a WAR of 31.8, earning two MGL batting titles (1977-1978), and winning the 1978 MGL MVP award. Although his past 2 seasons were a bit of a step back from that MVP campaign (3.5 and 3.2 WAR respectively), he is on pace to once again win the batting title, contend for the MVP, and sits at 6.1 WAR as we head into the final stretch of the regular season.
So, Taranto is solidly entrenched at first base, right? Well, probably. That will likely be up to him. Having reached the final year of arbitration eligibility, the team and Taranto came to agreement on a one year deal for 1982 that will earn him $985,000, which at the moment would make him the highest paid player in the game, and rumor has it that his initial ask would have made him the first million dollar man in WPK history (in terms of a single season salary.) Although he is turning 31 in the offseason, he remains a very durable player (his lone IL time being due to a sprained elbow last season, which sidelined him for 3 weeks). The feeling is that the club would love to keep him, but in addition to his great work ethic (Sparkplug) he is reportedly a player who insists on being paid commensurate with his production (high greed) and it remains to be seen whether he and the team can settle on a mutually agreeable extension before he becomes a free agent at the end of next season.

For this season his primary backup (he doesn't need many breathers) is two-way player Ben Flynn, who is the team captain, a capable enough defender (his 6'4" frame helps), and who has perhaps the best pure power bat on the club. Flynn has hit just .275/.336/.542 but has 9 home runs in just 146 plate appearances. Ben is from nearby Longmont, Colorado, is popular with the Denver fans, is considered an Iron Man, and is signed through 1984, at a pretty reasonable rate (then again, he's not a very good relief pitcher.)

Second base:



As mentioned above, after serving at the Brewers primary first baseman for 8 seasons, Bobby Erbakan then moved over to second base, where he has continued to flash the leather for 5+ years, though he has not added to his Gold Glove total of 6 since making the move. Bobby is the lone original Brewer remaining (the only player on the team who was chosen in the inaugural WPK draft- well, okay, not really, but the only one who has remained on the team since that time: spoiler alert, an old friend returned for a last go-round with the club this season). He is extremely popular, both locally and nationally, is a 4-time All-Star, 2-time Silver Slugger award winner, was the MVP of the 1979 Kinsella Classic Series (the WPK's version of the World Series, for the uninitiated), and has earned 4 championship rings with the lone club of his big league career. He's almost surely not a future Hall of Famer, but at age 34 he has had a distinguished WPK career and is the career leader for the Brewers in WAR (54.8), games played (1745), at-bats (6628), runs scored (940), hits (1951), doubles (309), home runs (189), RBI (998), and hit by pitch (106, this is a specialty for Bobby and might have contributed to his propensity for injury (fragile).
But at this stage of his career Bobby is clearly in the decline phase and there are also some questions about his commitment to maintaining his skills as he ages (low work ethic). He still fields very well (7.1 ZR, 4th best in MGL) and he hasn't been a disaster at the plate (.273/.345/.424, 2.5 WAR in 340 PA's) but he continues to have a creaky back which sidelined him for a bit over a month in the middle of the season and there is clearly more career in his rear view mirror than still ahead of him. He is signed through the 1985 season (though the team also has a buy-out option for that last season.)

There is no clear cut successor for Bobby at second. There was a time when Jose Figueroa, the Brewers first round draft pick in 1973, looked was a possible future starter at either second or third base. But although Figueroa has great makeup and is a fine contact hitter, his defense is slightly above average at best, and trending towards being poor, he rarely takes a walk, he has no power, and this season, in 251 PA's and with a slash line of .291/.327/.330 he has zero WAR. He is just entering his arbitration years at the end of this season, but there are serious doubts that he will remain with the club much longer and he might be on the move in the offseason.

Another possibility is Craig Hoover, who the team obtained through a trade with Baltimore mid-season. Hoover is also a former 1st round draft pick, recently turned 26, and is a spectacular fielder at both second and third. (He's even a decent backup at shortstop.) But can he hit? That remains to be seen. His big league slash line thus far is .218/.281/.313 with 1.5 WAR in what adds up to about one full season. His .251/.308/.347 since joining the Brewers is a bit better and he has been hot of late, but he's going to have to show he has a big league bat soon or his ceiling is as a utility infielder. He is under team control through 1987 and will only be making league minimum for the next two seasons, so the Brewers have some time to let him prove himself more.

The Brewers also currently have likely future Hall of Famer, veteran captain, and the leading base stealer in WPK history- Josh Jenkins- on the roster after he found himself unwanted on the free agency list and was signed to a minor league contract by Denver in mid-July. But surely Jenkins won't be with the club again in 1982 at age 38 he might be close to announcing his retirement.

Third base:



Jake DiCesare is looking more and more like a shooting star. DiCesare joined the Brewers organization as a minor league acquisition through trade with Philadelphia in 1975 and developed into a much better player than expected. In spite of missing a lot of playing time with injuries (and injuries upon injuries) DiCesare put up 4.1 WAR in 1979 and followed that up with a 5.1 WAR 1980 season (.363/.398/.497 in 487 PA). He is a very good fielder and even though he lacks foot speed he is very good on the base paths. And he has proven to be a much better hitter than expected. But having once again lost significant time to injury this season, the indications are that like a shooting star his time lighting up the WPK sky will be brief. He was a late bloomer and will turn 30 in the offseason. His arbitration eligibility years kick in at the end of this season and there is no word yet on whether the team will even try to sign him to an extension.

Craig Hoover might take over at third, pending proving he has even an adequate big league bat. If Figueroa sticks around he can at least help fill any gap. Most interesting perhaps is Russell Fleming, the Brewers second round draft pick in 1978, but with his great positional flexibility (he might actually be best as a right fielder, but as mentioned earlier, that job is very much taken), Fleming profiles best as a super sub. He is hard working and durable, he has a plus contact bat profile and decent raw speed, but little power, not much OBP potential, and is a poor base stealer and base runner. He has hit .286/.314/.411 in a few stints with the big league club this season (175 PA) and has at times impressed. But he doesn't look like a future starter.

Shortstop:



Rich White has been the starter at short for the Brewers since joining the club through a trade with El Paso mid-season 1975. He has been an excellent defensive shortstop and won 2 Gold Glove awards. On the other hand, he has only 2 full seasons in his big league career with an OPS+ over 100, and then just barely. Even at age 32 he remains speedy and a very fine defender (by scouting reports anyway, his ZR this season is -1.2) and he is probably the most popular player among Denver fans, known to spend hours after games signing autographs. But he is injury prone, getting old, and is entering the final year of his contract (he was signed earlier this season to a $495K extension for 1982), and his 0.8 WAR in 281 PA this season seems like a true reflection of his decline phase. He'll be around for one more season but is unlikely to remain a Brewer beyond that.



Is Shawn York his replacement? Maybe. The 24-year old York is a gifted fielder (15.7 ZR this season, second best in the WPK at his position, though with the uber-talented Willie Romero and his 49.2 ZR in the the same league, York won't get a Gold Glove this year or probably anytime soon) who has hit .238/.276/.297 in 345 PA this season. He is probably the speediest player on the team with the best stolen base potential and base running savvy, but he doesn't get on base enough to fully utilize these elite tools. His defense and legs might make him the starter at short for the Brewers going forward, but there is little reason to think that he will ever develop into anything other than a mediocre hitter at best. As a shortstop, maybe that is enough.


In summation:

With three of their four infield starters being very injury prone (Taranto being the exception) and all of them now either in their 30's, or in the case of DiCesare turning 30 before next season, the infield situation for the Brewers is in flux and there are many question marks. If the Brewers are going to trade away from their greatest strength (starting pitching prospects) this is likely the area they will need to address.

[BirdWatcher]

With the two teams nearly neck-and-neck coming down into the final stretch of the 1981 WPK regular season, the Denver Brewers today played host to the surprising and talented Portland Wild Things at Centennial Stadium.



In front of 48,753 fans on a lovely clear night in the mile high city, the Brewers took game 1 of 3 in what is probably the biggest series of the season and a possible make or break moment in the pennant race for both of these teams. It looked to be a great pitching match-up with Denver ace, and reigning MGL Pitcher of the Year, Jim Atwell dueling against Portland ace and team captain Joe Barbour. In this one Atwell was victorious, going the distance, giving up 3 runs while scattering 11 hits and striking out 8 batters to get to 196 on the season while not walking a single batter. Barbour, meanwhile, was gone after 4 innings, having allowed 5 earned runs and seeing his ERA rise from 2.41 to 2.56.

The Brewers veteran second baseman Bobby Erbakan played a big role in the win, not only making several fine defensive plays but also going 2 for 4 with 2 RBI and hitting his 12th homer of the season. With the 2-run bomb Bobby reached 1,000 RBI in his career, all with the Brewers.



Outfielders Val Guzman and Matt Catlett, hitting 1 and 2 in the lineup, each collected a pair of hits, including Guzman hitting his 5th triple and Catlett his 28th double.

The Brewers now have a 1 1/2 game lead over Portland in the MGL West and are finally again mathematically favored to win the division, but certainly can't afford to let off the gas now.

In the MGL East, the Brooklyn Aces (86-67) have a 6 1/2 game lead over their only mathematical rival, the Baltimore Lords (80-74).

Over in the SJL, the El Paso Dawgs (80-74) have won 3 games in a row and have re-taken the lead in the West, 1/2 game over San Antonio (79-74) (in a case of unintentionally wonderful scheduling, the two face off in the final series of the regular season, a 3-game tilt in El Paso).

The Pittsburgh Roadrunners (95-58) have all but wrapped things up in the SJL East, holding an 8 game lead over the Washington Night Train (87-66) with a magic number of 2. With a loss at home against the Night Train, the once mighty Columbus Whalers (84-69) are mathematically eliminated from the race.

[BirdWatcher]

So, the rest of the crucial series between the Denver Brewers and Portland Wild Things did not go so well for the hometown team.

The Wild Things are starting to take on the look of a team of destiny.



In the second game of the 3-game series, after having won game 1, the Brewers were tied with Portland going into the 8th inning, 1-1, thanks to a strong start by veteran right-hander Sadahige Kawasaki. But Portland managed to scratch out a run in the top of the 8th when pinch-hitter, and former Brewer great, Ryan Rodgers worked a walk to lead off the inning (that is, after all, what Ryan does best), then avoided getting tagged in a run down between second and third when Justin Ficklin followed with a single, and scored when 29-year old outfielder Steve Shumway, who has spent most of his professional career in the minor leagues (but oddly has hit .355/.382/.495 over 103 plate appearances in parts of three seasons in the WPK), hit a sacrifice fly to drive him home with what proved to be the winning run. The Portland bullpen was fantastic after young starting pitcher Matt Jenkins had to leave the game after recording just a single out (Jenkins is now out for 7 months with a fractured elbow, which is a huge blow to the Wild Things should they make the post-season). Portland closer Joey Johnson finished things off for his 42nd save of the season.



The following day, the Brewers were holding a narrow 4-3 lead heading into the 8th inning (again) after seeing starting pitcher Bryant Cox give up 3 first inning runs when Willie Romero, the leading candidate for the MGL MVP award this season, hit a 3-run homer, his 19th bomb of the season. But in the end the Portland bullpen proved superior to Denver's, with closer Joey Johnson pitching the final two innings for the victory.

The Brewers now trail Portland by 1/2 a game. Denver plays their last 6 games on the road, first in Los Angeles and then wrapping up the regular season in Phoenix. Portland still has 7 games on the schedule and is in the driver's seat. They play 3 games on the road in Phoenix and then come home for a 4-game series against the St. Louis Redbirds.



Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Aces have clinched the MGL East and the Pittsburgh Roadrunners the same in the SJL East.



Over in the SJL West, the El Paso Dawgs and San Antonio Keys have identical records (81-75) with 6 games apiece remaining, including the final series head-to-head. It should be an exciting finish to this race!

[BirdWatcher]

Jesse Hartong set the WPK single season winning percentage record when he went 20-2 while pitching for the San Antonio Keys just two seasons ago, but the 38-year old saw a quick erosion of his skills following that historic season, and having pitched exclusively in AAA this season he has announced that he has decided it is best that he steps away from the game at the conclusion of this season. Although Hartong is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate (HOF Monitor score of 86, JAWS of 58.6, HOF Standards of 44), he does leave the game as the career leader in wins with 230.






A few other significant players who announced their retirements recently are former Brewer team captain and starting pitcher Matt Helm, talented left-handed starting pitcher Jalen Cotton, who 3 times in his career led the league in losses, having the misfortune of nearly always pitching for very bad teams (he deserved better), and 4-time All-Star outfielder Eric Taylor, a talented player who never quite lived up to his potential.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, here we are, on the final day of the regular season schedule for the WPK for the 1981 season and all of the pennant races have been decided save one: the MGL West.





Yesterday, the San Antonio Keys defeated the El Paso Dawgs in El Paso 4-1 behind 23-year old Cuban right-hander Humberto Ramirez, who the Keys signed as an international free agent in the off-season. This clinched the second straight SJL West title for San Antonio and sends them to the post-season for the third straight year as they also try to win their second straight KCS championship title.
It might be a tough road for them though as they will be without staff ace Steven Wells (20-6, 2.78, 1.18 WHIP), who suffered an oblique strain in his last start and will be unavailable until well into the off-season, they continue to be without the services of center fielder Zach McClelland, who has not played since late July due to a strained hamstring and whose recovery time remains unknown, and on top of that they recently lost the services of second baseman John Mussaw, a legitimate candidate for the SJL MVP- at least he would be if Pittsburgh's Matt Van der Heyden wasn't so otherworldly and hadn't all but clinched this by mid-season. Mussaw has a severely sprained ankle which is expected to sideline him for at least 6-7 weeks. On top of that, their third baseman Ethan Stallworth, having a career year with a 6.6 WAR, is currently day-to-day with back stiffness.

As for the MGL West, your Denver Brewers traveled to Los Angeles and took 2 of 3 from the Spinners, dropping the final game of the series in spite of having ace Jim Atwell on the mound, as veteran Craig Luther (16-13, 3.37) shut out the Brewers in spite of giving up 11 hits. Meanwhile the Portland Wild Things took 2 of 3 from Phoenix.



The Brewers then also went to Phoenix and this was a great lift for the batters even if Phoenix Municipal Stadium is not the most comfortable place for a pitching staff. (Think Coors Field, pre-humidor.) And after taking an early 10-0 lead, the Brewers held on for a 12-8 victory in game 1.
Unfortunately for Denver, the Portland Wild Things won both ends of a double-header in St. Louis against the Red Birds, 1-0 and 2-1.



The next day, yesterday, the Brewers once again built an early lead against Phoenix, leading 8-0 going into the bottom of the 6th and holding on for an 8-3 win, propelled largely by 2 homers off the bat of Antonio Acuna, including a 3rd inning Grand Slam.
But the Brewers didn't get the help they needed from St. Louis as the Portland Wild Things got another win, stifling the Redbirds for a 3-0 shutout.

So we go into the last day of the regular season and the best the Brewers can hope for is a tie, which will require them to complete the sweep of Phoenix while Portland falls to St. Louis.

[BirdWatcher]

On the final day of the regular season, the Denver Brewers crushed the Phoenix Speed Devils in Phoenix to complete the final series sweep, but in the end it was all for naught as the Portland Wild Things continue to look like a team of destiny, clinching their first MGL West title with a shutout victory over St. Louis.





The Brewers got a tremendous start from young left-hander Austin Bond who improbably took a shutout into the 8th inning before finally allowing a pair of runs on 5 hits over the course of his 8 innings pitched. He got offensive support from many sources, of course, but particularly noteworthy was veteran center fielder Joe McPhillips hitting his 13th home run (and his 3rd of this series, as he hit a pair of bombs, including a Grand Slam, in game 1) and also stroking his 29th double before being pulled for a pinch-hitter in the 6th inning and 2-time MGL MVP right fielder Antonio Acuna finishing the season strong with 3 for 5, 2 run, 2 RBI game, hitting his 25th double and finishing the season just shy of 100 RBI (99).

And I hinted in an earlier post that there was another player other than Bobby Erbakan on the current roster who was an original Brewer (chosen in Inaugural Draft). That man is the one and only Ruben "Streak" Souffront, a real favorite of Brewer Nation, who was signed to a minor league contract as a free agent back in late April and who was brought up to the big league club for one last go 'round on September 1st. While Ruben only managed one hit- a single- in his 18 plate appearances with the club (he did drive in 2 runs and picked up a stolen base) in this final game, likely his last in a Brewer uniform, Ruben was hitless in 3 at-bats but in the bottom of the 9th, with one out recorded, Ruben made a spectacular diving catch in left field to rob pinch-hitter Tim Fite of possibly extra bases and record the penultimate out of the win. It was one last highlight moment for the man they call Streak!

[BirdWatcher]

Brett Taranto of the Denver Brewers finished the season with a .353 batting average, easily the best in the MGL with Will Masiello of Portland coming second at .338 and Taranto's teammate Antonio Acuna finishing third at .334.

Taranto also led the league in hits (210), OBP (.398), OPS (.911), and triples (11), while also playing fine defense at first base (6.9 ZR) and finished the season with the second best season WAR in his career at 6.3 (he had a 7.2 WAR in his MVP season of 1978.)

It is Taranto's third batting title in his WPK career.




Over in the SJL, no surprise that Matt Van der Heyden won the batting title, easily. You are bound to see more about Van der Heyden later, including him leading his team in the upcoming post-season, but also when he collects his MVP trophy and all the other hardware surely coming his way in the off-season.

[BirdWatcher]

In the WPK League Championship series the greatest shortstop of his generation (and greatest player of his generation up until the past season or two), Bud Lindsay, led the San Antonio Keys to a 4 games to 1 victory over Pittsburgh to move on to their third straight Kinsella Classic Series.



They will be going up against the Portland Wild Things, led by the young man who has emerged as the most likely successor to Lindsay as the best shortstop in the game.

[BirdWatcher]

It took 7 games, but in the end the Portland Wild Things were the team of destiny in the WPK in 1981, as they defeat the reigning WPK champion San Antonio Keys to get their first ever championship. They were led by 26-year old rookie third baseman (and relief pitcher) Tom Jansing, who is already a fan favorite and should have a good future ahead of him.



For long-time Denver Brewer superstar Ryan Rodgers, who was signed by Portland in the off-season, it was a way to go out in glory, earning his 4th championship ring (2 with Denver, 1 with his original team, the Washington Night Train, and now the final with the Wild Things), and he even started every single game of the KCS, including having 2 for 4 performances in games 3 and 5. For the 43 year old Rodgers it was pretty much the perfect ending to a fantastic career, and shortly after he announced his retirement the Denver Brewers announced that they would be retiring his uniform number 15. He is just the second player to be so honored by the club, joining #16, Cheol-han Lee. Next stop for Ryan, the WPK Hall of Fame, which he is bound to be inducted into once he becomes eligible.
(Note: the totals listed above are just for his time in Denver, his actual career totals are much higher than this.)


Speaking of retirement, after one last short stint with his original team, Ruben "Streak" Souffront, also announced that he was stepping away from the game he loves (though many expect him to show up in the coaching ranks at some point before too long.)



Although Ruben won't be a viable Hall of Fame candidate, there are a few others who join Ryan Rodgers in retiring this year who surely will, including Jesus Hernandez (whose uniform number the Los Angeles Spinners will be retiring), and Travis Johnson, and some others like Jesse Hartong, Mike Robinette, and David Beane should certainly get some votes and possibly last on the ballot for years, even if they are less likely to eventually earn induction.

[BirdWatcher]

Among the many starting pitching prospects in the Denver Brewers organization currently, Jose Corpeno is considered the 7th best, and that says far less about Corpeno than it does about just how deep and talented this organization is in pitching.



Corpeno is a durable, right-handed ground ball specialist with a nasty curveball and good cutter with room for improvement still and a splitter that profiles as being well above average at his peak. He has good stuff and decent control that is developing still but at the present time is prone to the longball with well below average movement (potential for it to be above average eventually.) He isn't quite big league ready yet but his ceiling is likely that of a solid mid-rotation arm. With all of the great pitching in the Denver organization though, he might need a change of scenery to get there.

[BirdWatcher]

I won't go into all the details here as I used to regarding the post-season awards but let's look at some highlights, particularly as it regards the Denver Brewers.

The lone Brewer to win a Gold Glove award this season was Antonio Acuna, our right fielder extraordinaire. And he fully deserved it. Having finally settled into right full time Acuna was nothing short of incredible, putting up a 17.0 ZR and throwing out 19 runners on the base paths, both of which led his position in the MGL and he was just 2 outfield assists shy of the WPK leader, the great Matt Van der Heyden.

The Brewers got one Silver Slugger award this season. Can you guess? Yup, that's right: Antonio Acuna.

Denver ace Jim Atwell, who won the MGL Pitcher of the Year award in 1980, was this time narrowly edged out for the honor by Baltimore ace Sako Zakian. Sadahige Kawasaki finished 10th in the voting, earning a single point.



Over in the SJL, San Antonio staff ace Steven Wells won his 1st Pitcher of the Year award.




But the Brewers didn't get shutout in the major awards category when Antonio Acuna walked away with his 3rd straight MGL MVP award. Teammate Brett Taranto, who has one MVP award himself, finished 5th in the voting, though he received no first place votes.



And to the surprise of absolutely nobody, Matt Van der Heyden captured his second straight SJL MVP award, and did so easily and unanimously.