Two of the hotter teams in the league face off in Series XXIII.
The
Birmingham Black Barons, riding a 9 game winning streak, head into the series having moved into 3rd place in the
Marvin Miller Division, 6.5 games behind Portland while the
Los Angeles Angels, 7-3 over their last 10 games, are only 2 games behind the Gothams in the
Bill James Division.
We first featured Birmingham in
Series III and then again in
Series XIV while the Angels were first profiled in
Series V and then shortly thereafter in
Series VIII.
#Birmingham Black Barons
The Black Barons were really seen as giving up on the season, moving All-Stars
Tim Hudson and
Tom Herr, as well as Ps
Dick Rudolph and
Hoyt Wilhelm and IF
Frank Isbell. They picked up a dozen players and 4 draft picks for those players, but the only one currently at the WBL level is 1B
Adrián González, who is hitting better than he did for Chicago, but still struggling at 220/238/317.
So how have they done it?
Hank Aaron has led a group of hitters hot since the break including fellow OFs
Billy Southworth and
Bob Nieman, as well as C
Del Crandall, and on the mound,
Greg Maddux has suddenly seemed to find a groove, allowing only 2 earned runs in 3 starts, and riding a 14 inning scoreless streak. Almost as surprising, the Black Barons' bullpen has solidified, with
Steve Bedrosian and
Bruce Chen both pitching very well over the last couple weeks.
The numbers are still not all that impressive overall: Nieman leads the team with an 865 OPS and a 398 OBP.
Pie Traynor edges him out with a 320 BA and CF
Curtis Granderson leads the way in SLG at 508. Aaron has 16 HRs and 54 RBIs, and looks to pass Granderson in slugging soon. But still, none of those numbers are exactly eye-popping.
Alejandro Peña has been the most consistent of the starters, with an 8-6 record and a 3.81 ERA.
Juan Ríncón, promoted to the closer role earlier in the year, has excelled, with 13 saves and a 3.13 ERA. But perhaps the key to the Black Barons' success is a trio of unproven arms: Maddux needs to maintain his level, and both
Larry Benton (5-1, 3.05) and
Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) have excelled in their initial stints in the rotation.
#Los Angeles Angels
The Angels have the look of a team coming together at the right time.
1B
Carlos Delgado may be the best of all of the trade acquisitions in the league, slashing 396/439/623 since moving to the Left Coast from Ottawa. Adding Delgado to the continued excellence of
Bobby Grich,
Doug Radar, and
Don Buford has been important, as has
Mike Trout continuing to approach the league leaders in BA (322) and OBP (396), although his power numbers continue to lag behind.
The challenge for LA is what to do with their rotation after the magnificence of
Gerrit Cole. Cole is the frontrunner for the
Brock Rutherford Award, leading the league with a 12-3 record and an ERA under 4.00. The rest looks ugly, but looks can, of course, be deceiving:
Nolan Ryan,
Chuck Finley, and especially
Doc Gooden have all turned it around since some disastrous appearances early in the season.
Joe Nathan closes out the bullpen with 14 saves, and the combination of
Jonny Venters and
Francisco Rodríguez has been great in getting Nathan his opportunities.
#Series Matchups
Birmingham starter first.
Vic Willis (1-1, 2.09) @
Chuck Finley (4-4, 5.66)
Sam Streeter (4-4, 4.52) @
Nolan Ryan (3-3, 3.94)
Greg Maddux (2-2, 3.78) @
Tom Seaver (0-0, 23.14)
Alejandro Peña (8-6, 3.81) @
Doc Gooden (3-7, 5.47)
#Predictions
Look, I like a feel-good story as much as anyone. But I ain't a believer. LA to take 3 out of 4--with Birmingham's victory being Maddux continuing his dominant run.