## Standings / Recap / Comments3
I didn't really do a July 4th update per se but as the saying goes, the team who is in first place the Sunday after Independence Day will win the division, right? Anyway I don't think the standings have appreciably changed since the 4th: it's still Detroit, Texas, Philadelphia, and Houston, and only one of those races is at all close (I guess St. Louis/Philly is still kind of tight).
AMERICAN LEAGUE
LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST
Code:
Team W L Pct GB STR R RA AVG HR SB ERA BB/9 K/9 FA ZR RTO%
Detroit 53 31 .631 - W5 409 290 .284 69 75 3.19 3.0 5.8 .983 40.4 45.3
Boston 45 36 .55 6½ W2 370 285 .277 65 41 3.31 3.1 5.8 .980 33.4 37.5
New York 46 41 .529 8½ L1 378 414 .248 88 21 4.41 2.7 4.9 .981 -4.1 35.4
Baltimore 33 45 .423 17 L2 327 382 .253 70 33 4.27 4.1 5.0 .976 -1.6 38.8
Cleveland 35 50 .412 18½ W2 306 369 .246 74 29 4.11 3.4 5.4 .981 9.9 30.2
Milwaukee 32 51 .386 20½ L3 332 406 .258 51 57 4.39 3.5 4.8 .978 -12.7 33.3
LEAGUE STANDINGS WEST
Code:
Team W L Pct GB STR R RA AVG HR SB ERA BB/9 K/9 FA ZR RTO%
Texas 53 29 .646 - W3 336 246 .265 53 44 2.71 3.3 5.1 .984 43.0 38.5
Chicago 47 36 .566 6½ L2 362 323 .260 74 46 3.50 3.5 5.0 .981 25.7 34.2
Oakland 43 43 .500 12 W2 362 370 .266 59 40 3.89 3.0 5.0 .980 5.2 34.8
California 40 42 .488 13 L2 354 371 .262 63 62 4.09 3.3 4.9 .980 23.8 40.3
Kansas City 43 45 .489 13 L3 424 436 .258 65 38 4.49 3.6 4.8 .983 11.8 32.9
Minnesota 30 51 .370 22½ W1 302 370 .245 69 40 4.11 3.5 5.2 .977 2.8 33.3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
LEAGUE STANDINGS EAST
Code:
Team W L Pct GB STR R RA AVG HR SB ERA BB/9 K/9 FA ZR RTO%
Philadelphia 51 32 .614 - W1 403 315 .249 66 66 3.37 3.1 5.2 .980 26.9 45.3
St. Louis 48 35 .578 3 L2 348 335 .256 81 25 3.51 3.3 5.8 .981 17.0 44.4
Chicago 47 40 .540 6 W4 349 328 .258 66 44 3.49 3.3 4.8 .985 38.7 40.3
New York 38 42 .475 11½ L5 266 312 .250 35 47 3.43 3.3 5.1 .980 17.1 41.0
Pittsburgh 38 44 .463 12½ L7 267 272 .235 34 16 3.08 2.7 6.0 .982 10.9 37.0
Montreal 32 49 .395 18 W3 325 388 .250 63 34 3.98 3.6 5.1 .978 3.0 35.8
LEAGUE STANDINGS WEST
Code:
Team W L Pct GB STR R RA AVG HR SB ERA BB/9 K/9 FA ZR RTO%
Houston 48 41 .539 - L3 365 355 .251 79 39 3.52 3.6 5.9 .976 10.4 30.2
Cincinnati 45 40 .529 1 L1 349 328 .248 67 35 3.53 3.0 5.7 .980 5.9 27.4
Atlanta 45 43 .511 2½ W3 339 302 .251 61 26 3.10 3.1 6.0 .982 2.4 28.6
San Diego 42 43 .494 4 L4 324 288 .252 48 36 3.01 3.4 5.2 .979 42.6 38.5
San Francisco 38 50 .432 9½ W2 312 369 .244 66 52 3.65 3.2 5.5 .979 7.4 30.3
Los Angeles 37 50 .425 10 W4 276 331 .246 79 34 3.34 3.2 5.4 .978 32.8 37.0
YOUR YUPPIES OF THE WEEK are the Cardinals, who bounced back nicely from 14th to 5th in the old power rankings with a 5-2 week that started better than it ended: they avoided a sweep at the hands of rival Philadelphia, then swept the Pirates in a 4-game series, and then won the first of 3 vs. San Francisco at the Stick before dropping their last 2. The Cubs also moved up 9 spots from 15th to 6th with a good, solid week of their own: 5-1, including 2-1 vs Philly and a sweep at San Diego Stadium of the Padres. They still need a lot of help to get back into the NL East. I guess you give Oakland the bronze Yuppie, although boy I wish I could see "power points" week by week: they're generally just humming along at .500 this year but popped back into the top 10 (9th) with a convincing 2-1 series win vs the Angels and then a 3-1 match in Baltimore. They're still approximately 10 miles out of the AL West race.
The DIRTY HIPPIES are pretty expected, I think: the Pirates, who finished 22nd(!) in the rankings after being in the top 10 (7th) this time a week ago. Looking completely lost on offense and going 0-7 will do that to you, especially when 3 of those games are against last-place Los Angeles. They scored 3 or fewer runs in 4 of those 7 games, scored 4 once, and 5 twice. Somehow LA has scored fewer runs than they have this year but that can't last. The only other real hippie this week was San Diego, who dropped from 8th to 15th with a 2-5 week that even looked like it was going to be OK at first: they finished a long series at Houston with a 6-2 loss, then traveled to LA and won 2 out of 3 against those punchless Dodgers... then hosted the Cubs, who were very mean guests to them (see above). These guys have the 2nd best ERA in the NL but I think they're still a few players away on offense and being without Dale Earnhardt (.293, 14, 43) until August is not going to help.
## Major Transactions
July 6: Woo hoo! An actual trade! No, I didn't forget. The Angels trade minor league CF Anatoly Karpov (.312, 11, 51 at AA El Paso), their #3 prospect and #49 overall, and CL Larry "Gator" Rivers (7-3, 3.20, 11 Sv at AAA SLC) to the Giants for SP Moises Melendez (7-6, 2.71). Melendez, a 3 year vet even though he's only 25, was set to be a franchise cornerstone for the struggling Giants for years to come but this is a pretty good haul coming back. Karpov is projected to be ready for a September call-up and Rivers already has had a cup of coffee in the major leagues earlier this year.
July 7: The Pirates purchase 2B Israel Gaytan (.220, 1, 12) from the A's for $10,000. Gaytan has struggled this year and largely lost his starting job but a. he's still only 25 and b. he's hit around .290 the past couple years. He'll be their new starting second sacker amidst the struggles of Tyler Webster (.219, 2, 14).
July 8: The Astros purchase RP Chris Wilson (0-0, 2.73, 2 Sv) from the Cubs for $10,000. Wilson seems like he's lost a few miles off his fastball, which is to be expected at age 37, but he's still been pretty effective for the Cubbies and Houston does need some bullpen help. For the Cubs, this move allows them to call up Walter Kwok (9-6, 2.98), who's been mowing down hitters at AAA Wichita (127 Ks in 130 IP).
## News
July 2: Match Game '73, the first and most successful revival of the NBC game show, debuts on CBS. Gene Rayburn is still your host and they open up from two celebrity panelists to six, starting with Richard Dawson and Vicki Lawrence among others but not, weirdly enough, Charles Nelson Reilly. It will become the highest rated daytime TV show in the US.
July 2: Betty Grable dies of lung cancer at 56.
July 2: Swede Savage, who was badly injured in a crash at the Indy 500 back in May, dies today of his injuries.
July 2: In a loooong week, KC's 2B James Ellroy (.318, 5, 48) is the king. Ellroy went 14-24 (.583) with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs to take the award home. As if KC needed even more young hitting this year, Ellroy, a 17th round pick in the 1971 draft, has blown up this year. He won the California League PotW for the week ending 7/18/1973 but this is the 25 year old's first major league hardware.
July 2: Padres SP/singist Steven Tyler (6-6, 2.80) tossed 2 shutouts in 2 games to pick up the NL Player of the Week. Tyler, in typical "pitch to contact" fashion, struck out 11 and walked 3 in 18 IP last week; he's averaging just 2.8 walks per 9 IP this year (38 in 122 IP). Tyler was the 1972 NL Rookie of the Year and also won the Rookie of the Month awards twice last season; however, this is his very first non-rookie award.
July 2: SYD THRIFT'S NEATO STAT OF THE WEEK! We are talking complete game records this week, so... 5 guys from the 40s and 50s.
5. Carlos Moreno, CHW 1954 (17-13, 2.82), 23 CG. This was Moreno's rookie year, although he was a late bloomer at 27. Moreno won 2 Cy Youngs and went 151-135 in a pretty short career.
6. Joe Barlett, PIT 1947 (17-17, 3.58), 23 CG. Bartlett came into the league late, at age 26 in '46. His best year was '48 (still to come) but was out of the league before his 35th birthday; injuries were the culprit.
7. Jose Vasquez, CLE, 1947 (13-19, 2.93), 25 CG. Vasquez was forced to work a loooo this year; overall, he only went 106-97 but that's a little underrating who he was in his 20s, as he was just 12-17 from age 31 onward.
8. Alex Valencia, CLE 1946 (23-9, 2.53), 26 CG. Somehow not a Cy Young worthy year but hey... another guy who came into the league late and missed a couple years, Valencia was also gone from the league before his 33rd birthday. He wound up 104-81 in his MLB time.
9. Bartlett, PIT 1948 (23-9, 2.72), 26 CG. I'd consider HOFing this guy but man... that 120-92 record is scant even for a guy who might have missed, I don't know, 5 years to the war.
July 2: This scheduling... did they just refuse to play in September? "Only" 11 games scheduled today but the Rangers and White Sox have a _6_ game series ahead of them this week, and not even the entire week! Two straight mid-week double-headers, and then both teams have another double-header on Sunday. Man! This could decide the AL West, unless both teams get so tired out that they just die from here on out...
July 2: Detroit's Edgar Molina (13-8, 3.59) has got a long, long road ahead of him if he wants to challenge his teammate Jimmy Goddard (15-1, 1.88) for the Cy this year. Today he might have gotten a step closer with a 5-hit, 1-run complete game against the Indians and a 5-1 win. Molina struck out 10 and never looked really threatened today. He carried the shutout into the 9th, in fact, before 1B Nick Hodzik (.255, 9, 27) ruined his day with a leadoff solo HR. He also struck out 10, increasing his strikeout lead to 23 (124 in 165.2 IP; Goddardd is still 2nd with 101).
July 2: The Reds won today 6-2 but it wasn't enough for PH Matt Wilson (.163, 0, 0) to keep his job. Following a second straight .143 month, Wilson hit into a double play today to kill a rally and this was enough. Wilson, a .275 career hitter in spite of playing in the low-offense 60s, looked like he'd lost it last year with a .200/.293/.235 season following a .353/.450/.510 1971. Cincy was hoping maybe he'd split the difference; instead, it turned out that '72 was better than what they were going to get. His career is now almost certainly over with at age 37.
July 2: In what might be a prime case of winning the battle to lose the war, the Cardinals juuuuuust avoid getting swept in a 4-game series vs the Phillies by tying the game up in the 9th and then winning it in the 10th. Had the Phillies won, this would have also been their 7th victory over the once-contending Cards in the past week. RF Matt Williams (.279, 11, 29) belted a leadoff triple in the 9th that chased starter Danny Plaunt (5-6, 3.80) with the score still 3-1, Philadelphia. Then closer Tom Grohs (2-6, 3.96) stepped in, promptly wild-pitched Williams in, and then blew the save by allowing an RBI single to CF Jimmy James (.258, 4, 25). He did get out of the inning without further damage but then allowed a leadoff double to LF Rafael Disla (.338, 6, 40) and the game-winning RBI single to 1B Lorenzo Martinez (.256, 13, 40) to end this one.
St. Louis now comes out of their malaise 4 1/2 games behind Philadelphia and with a seasonal record of 4-8 against their rivals. They won't play them again until September 19, a 3-game midweek series at Veterans Stadium. What they do have to do is play a 4-game series at home vs Pittsburgh starting with a double-header tomorrow; they've played 2 straight extra-innings games and had to burn closer Travis Livingston (5-3, 1.79) tonight so it might be rough.
July 3: The US Army and Navy dismiss all charges that had been brought against seven former American POWs for court-martial. Those men - 5 Army and 2 Marines had been charged with collaboration with the enemy; however, further review noted that in addition to a lack of real evidence, the servicemen had spent an average of five years in confinement in Vietnam. This decision comes seven days after the suicide of an eighth person so accused.
July 3: David Bowie retires his Ziggy Stardust persona in front of a (according to Wikipedia at least) shocked crowd at the Hammersmith Odeon in London, England.
July 3: American stage and TV actor Patrick Wilson, best known for... The Full Monty, I guess, is born today in Norfolk, Virginia.
July 3: Hey, it's the halfway point... I guess, so here are YOUR top 10 prospects:
With the mid-season mark upon us, now is a great time to update the pre-season BNN Top 100 Prospect list with what we have learned to this point. This year, 22 year-old RF Tom Petty of the Texas Rangers is the #1 prospect overall.
Here is the top 10:
1. RF Tom Petty, 22, Texas Rangers (.288, 7, 23 at AAA Spokane)
2. 3B Phil Collins, 23, Montreal Expos (.324, 1, 6 in the majors)
3. CF Penn Gillette, 18, Milwaukee Brewers (.271, 0, 2 at A Danville and dude literally just got drafted)
4. CF Manny Trillo, 22, Cincinnati Reds (.219, 1, 11 in the majors)
5. 3B Tommy Hilfiger, 22, Atlanta Braves (no professional record)
6. 3B Edgar Martinez, 21, California Angels (.293, 6, 33 at A Quad Cities and sadly not his real name)
7. LHP Rush Limbaugh, 22, Atlanta Braves (3-7, 5.03 at AAA Syracuse and sadly his real name)
8. RHP Rodrigo Torres, 16, Los Angeles Dodgers (no professional record and not his actual name)
9. LHP Yiannis "Yanni" Chryssomallis, 18, Milwaukee Brewers (3-6, 4.55 in rookie ball in 1972 - no record in '73)
10. RF Walter Mosley, 21, San Diego Padres (no professional record, also just drafted)
The upside of being an awful expansion team? 2 top 10 guys for the Brewers.
July 3: Rough day for contending NL West teams, as first up Padres 3B Dale Earnhardt (.293, 14, 43), who injured himself diving for a catch yesterday, found he'll miss the next month with a strained hamstring, which will also make him ineligible for the All-Star Game in 3 weeks. "Ah shucks," said the 24 year old, among other things we cannot publish.
July 3: Reds PH/1B Ramon Puig (.244, 1, 5) wasn't nearly as integral a part of his team as Earnhardt was but he was still expected to platoon with MC "Swamp Thing" Gainey (.270, 4, 10) at first base in relief of the also-injured Alonzo Huanosta (.273, 5, 23 but out for the season with a broken kneecap). Instead, the 35 year old Puig will himself hit the IR with a fractured tibia that will keep him out until mid-August at least.
July 3: Apropos to little - his team, the Milwaukee Brewers, got swept in a double-header to the Orioles - but CF Fernando Ceballos (.255, 1, 18) now has 216 at-bats on the season and a higher average than an on-base percentage (.251). He has 6 sac flies so far and just 1 walk. I'd say amazing but not in a good way... just wow.
July 3: The White Sox managed to do the thing only 6 other teams have done all year: beat the Rangers in Arlington Stadium. With a 5-3 victory in Game 2 of their double-header, the Rangers fell to 33-7 at home and to within 2 games of Chicago for first place in the West. Spot starter Damian Seja (1-0, 3.46) pitched 7 quality innings for the victory and Malcolm Post (2-2, 2.36) wrapped things up for his 16th save. 1B Jeff Nation (.262, 13, 55), filling in for a resting Alice Cooper (.316, 22, 62), went 2-4 with a homerun and 4 RBIs to more or less win this one by himself.
July 3: I noted on Monday that the Cards had a rough time ahead of them this week. Well, how about sweeping the double-header vs the Pirates? It took them yet another extra-inning game, a 6-5 victory in the 13th inning of Game 1 when they finally induced a dead-tired Paz Lemus (8-2, 1.71) to issue a game-ending, bases-loaded walk to C Lance Hall (.197, 1, 8 but also a .372 OBP) but they did it. Game 2 was also close into the 7th when LF Parker Sweeney (.273, 3, 6) belted a 3-run HR off of Danny Perez (2-7, 4.41) to put St. Louis ahead 6-3, which was also the final score. Phil Bowman (2-1, 3.75) delivered a complete game spot start right when the Cards needed it the most. Maybe he should be in the rotation? Wait, nope, he's a 2-pitch guy; that would not work out at all.
The Cards' road gets a liiiiittle bit easier from here: they do play the next 5 games straight but a. no double-headers at least, and b. they actually get a day off on Monday the 9th, which is in turn their last day off until the All-Star Break but hey, we're all working hard right now...
July 3: Meanwhile, in Atlanta, the Launching Pad hosted... a classic 60s style pitching duel. The Braves' Frank Evans (8-5, 2.05) pitched a 4-hitter, making just one mistake all game - a solo HR to the Astros' CF George Foreman (.318, 14, 54) - but that was one mistake too many, as Houston's Ernie Alvarez (10-8, 3.44) allowed only 2 hits and zero runs for a 1-0 victory. Houston remains a game up on the Reds with this while the Braves continue to have weird issues scoring runs this year. For Alvarez, this was his 3rd shutout of the year; he had 4 all of last season.
July 3: The Mets' Trevon Dean (3-7, 3.80) has had a pretty solid comeback year this year that's been tamped down by some really bad luck and poor run support. Today, even though his team spotted him 6 runs, he took matters into his own hands, throwing his first shutout since 1970 (when he was still with the Braves) and striking out 10 Expos for his 3rd win of the year. In spite of K rates being down this year, Dean's actually got his highest rate (5.5/9) since 1966, when he was a long reliever and spot starter in Atlanta's first year in their new home. "I'm a Cy Young man," said the 31-year old Dean, who, in spite of thinking highly of himself has never even been to an All-Star Game, after the match.
July 4: IT'S INDEPENDENCE DAY Y'ALL GO AMERICA
July 4: Camilla Shand marries for the first time to British Army Major Andrew Parker Bowles. She will eventually divorce this man and go on to marry future King of England and current Royals CF Prince Charles (.221, 8, 30) in 2005.
July 4: Don Powell, the drummer of the pop group Slade, is critically injured in a car crash that his 20 year old girlfriend is killed in.
July 4: GACKT is born in Okinawa. This is not his real name.
July 4: As one of those "yep, this is the 70s and that was a long time ago" pieces of news, Helen Ogston, best known for interrupting British Prime Minister David Lloyd George at a 1908 meeting in the Royal Albert Hall and then holding off the stewards of the event with a whip, dies today at 91. The attitudes of English authorities towards suffragettes, it should be noted, was kind of insane: in her statement, Ogston noted (truthfully) that her people were commonly beaten up for fighting for the right to vote and that even at this event a man had "put the lighted end of his cigar on [her] wrist; another struck [her] in the chest".
July 4: Hey I guess this is Independence Day and a national holiday so the fact that there are million games (actually 17) on a Wednesday isn't that weird, I guess. Soooo many games going on right now though...
July 4: The Pirates take anooooooother step back today, dropping a hearbreaker 1-0 to the Cardinals and Mario Garcia (8-6, 3.98), who also whiffed 10 batters for the first time since September 17, 1972. Garcia's been scuffling a bit this year but the Pirates are the anti-scuffle. Santos Arango (7-9, 2.75) gave up an RBI single to 2B Tom Depew (.268, 6, 21) in the 2nd and then his team could do zero things.
The "good" news? This was loss #40 for the Bucs. I'm not sure there's much to do to make this team better offensively but I do feel like maybe it's time to make it younger at least.
July 5: Gregoire Kaylkbanda, the first President of Rwanda, is overthrown 11 years after the nation had become independent, in a coude'atate led by his Minister of Defense.
July 5: In what is surely the biggest news of the baseball season, the Isle of Man begins to issue its own postage stamps. The league's resident Manxer, Dodgers 3B Robin Gibb (.259, 9, 25), was unavailable for comment.
July 5: In Rhodesia, 292 students and staff from the remote St. Albert's Mission are kidnapped. I'm very confused about what happened: it looks like most of them escaped but 46 students and 32 adults are taken into Mozambique, at the time still a Portugese colony.
July 5: Roisin Murphy, an Irish singer and songwriter, is born in Arklow in County Wicklow.
July 5: With both teams playing with pretty empty bullpens, the Red Sox deal a HAMMER BLOW to the Yankees with a 3-0 win at Yankee Stadium. Red Sox hurler Marco Sanchez (11-9, 3.46) improved to 2nd in the AL in Ks with 108 with a 5-hit, 7 strikeout effort and got 2 clutch outs after loading the bases on a hit, a walk (his only walk of the game), and his own error. 3B Edwin Madriles (.206, 3, 5) hit a solo HR in the 2nd for what turned out to be the only run Sanchez would need, although CF Jon Glynn (.301, 6, 29) and RF Tom Brown (.298, 10, 47) also added RBI singles.
The win keeps breaks Boston ahead of NY in the standings at 42-35 and 5 1/2 back compared to the Yankees' record of 44-39 and 6 1/2 behind division leading Detroit. The Red Sox also closed out this massive 5-game series by winning 3 out of 5; both of their losses came on a July 4 double-header yesterday. These two teams play next the week after the All-Star Break in a 4-game series starting July 30 at Fenway Park.
July 5: In the West, meanwhile, Texas continues their insane record at home with a 2-0 win over the White Sox that also means they crushed their rivals in a _6 game_ series, going 5-1. Robby Coltrane (11-4, 2.82), the 23 year old pitcher with a kooky accent who was acquired from Cleveland in May, scattered 2 hits, struck out 5, and walked nobody in cruising to the win. "Aye, 'twas a better night than ere I knew", said Coltrane after the game, or at least that's what we think he said.
The win improves Texas' home record to 36-7(!) and moves them to 4 1/2 games up on the White Sox, who were leading the division as of Sunday.
July 5: His team around him may be bad but Dodgers SP Fernando Apolonio (10-7, 2.29) proved that he's still among the NL's best today, shutting out the Padres 3-0 on 5 hits, one walk, and 9 strikeouts. This is the 3rd ShO for Apolonio, who led the league in ERA last year (20-10, 1.85) and for a while looked like he might even break one-time teammate Jeff Borden's ERA record (from 1956, when h went 24-9, 1.62). He's well off that pace this year and is currently in a virtual tie with the Phillies' Roger Quintana (10-5, 2.29) for 5th in the league in that category.
"I just do what's needed", said the 32 year old Apolonio after the game, who, rumors have it, is not very gruntled with his team's record (34-50, dead last in the NL West) and has reportedly asked for a trade.
July 6: The Flemish Cultural Community adopts an official flag and anthem and sets July 6 as an annual holiday. The anthem, "De Vlaamse Leeuw", was written by Hippoliet Van Peene in 1847 and is not, sadly, about their "vlaamse vrites", which we Americans call French Fries.
July 6: "Live and Let Die" is released in British cinema after premiering in the US on June 27, with the spy played by 45 year old Roger Moore. Also, in my mind, this is the best of all the Bond theme songs. See? Wings did something good after all...
July 6: Joe E. Brown,, comic actor best known for his work in the 30s and 40s but also his role in 1959's "Some Like It Hot" where, as Osgood Fielding III, he says "well, nobody's perfect", dies today from complications of arteriosclerosis at his home in Brentwood, California, 3 weeks short of his 82nd birthday. He got a star on the Walk of Fame back in 1960.
July 6: The Red Sox are stuck in a really tough position where they've got to kind of play lights-out for the next 2 months. Today, Michael "Dozens" Pesco (11-10, 2.93) overcame his usual (for this season at least) poor run support by hurling a 3-hitter against the powerful Chicago White Sox, earning his team a 6-0 win at Comiskey Park. Pesco, who passed his teammate Marco Sanchez for 2nd in the AL strikeout race (110-108) with a 7 K performance, used some iffy control (3 walks) in his favor, constantly keeping the Chisox guessing. On the batting side, SS Oniji Handa (.264, 6, 31) continued a nice hot streak with a 2-4 game that included a 2-RBI single in the 5th that helped chase Chicago's starting pitcher Mick Fleetwood (7-7, 3.38) from the game.
July 6: As overpowering as Texas has been at home... man, they are just not good on the road. Today they were shut down by, of all people, Milwaukee's Jordan Irons (4-5, 3.24), the 28 year old former Angels prospect, getting only 6 hits and not getting across the plate until the 9th inning in a too-little, too-late 3-1 loss. Brewers LF Steve Winwood (.273, 11, 42) launched a solo HR in this one, which dropped the Rangers to 15-22 away from Arlington Stadium.
July 7: President Nixon sends a letter to US Senator Sam Ervin, the chairman of the Watergate investigation committee, stating that he "shall not testify before the committee or permit access to Presidential papers". He will agree to meet in another 5 dayto discuss things with Ervin so as to avoid a "fundamental constitutional confrontation between the Congress and the Presidency".
July 7: Ugandan dictator Idi Amin orders the detention of 112 Peace Corps volunteers from the US after their chartered East Africa Airlines flight stops at the Entebbe International Airport near Kamala for refueling. He tells his cabinet that the volunteers, mostly kids in their late teens and early 20s, "could be mercentaries trying to enter Rwanda" (whose government had recently been overthrown). Fortunately, for now, the hostages will be released in 2 days.
July 7: The Ethiopian generan election is held, with Akily Habte-Wold continuing as prime minister.
July 7: Billie Jean King beats Chris Evert in straight sets, 6-0 and 7-5, to win the women's singles title at the All-England Tennis Championship at Wimbledon. In booooooring men's tennis news, Jan Kodes of Czechoslovakia beat Alex Metreveli of the Soviet Union, 6-1, 9-8, and 6-3.
July 7: Veronica Lake, the American actress known for her femme fatale roles in film noirs with Alan Ladd in the 1940s (for example, "This Gun For Hire", 1942), dies of acute hepatitis and acute kidney injury, the result of cirrhosis brought on by decades of drinking, at age 50.
July 7: Mercurial Cleveland SP Kevin Freeman (7-7, 3.48) had a post-game locker room meltdown today and it's hard to blame him. He was really solid through 8 innings before tiring in the 9th but his opponent... well, I'm not sure you could say that Andy "Lizard" Ring (8-7, 3.58) pitched *well* but he did get the job done, throwing a 3-hitter that was only not a shutout thanks to a 9th inning solo HR by C John Lennon (.233, 9, 32). That would have been enough to make Freeman mad but... Ring allowed *9* walks in this game, 1 off the Angels record (which has been reached 5 times, the last in 1968).
"I COULD HAVE GOTTEN A HIT TODAY" shouted an angry Ring from inside the locker room, where reporters were not allowed. "I WOULD HAVE FLATTENED THEM!" . This seems... unlikely, as before the DH rule was instituted this year, Freeman held a lifetime BA of .138. Nobody had the heart or the courage to bring this up though.
July 7: The Yankees are only 5-5 in their last 10, albeit now with a 2-game winning streak.... their last 10 games have come since last Sunday. They were left to call up SP Noah Cooper (1-0, 0.00) for a one-game spot start today thanks to 3 double-headers this week. Man, the league does noooot like New York, I guess. They have gotten to play 5 of those games against Cleveland and Minnesota, at least (they're 3-2 against them).
July 8: Takieddin el-Solh is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Lebanon by President Suleiman Frangieh.
July 8: Monza claims 3 lives, as motorcyclists Renzo Colombini, Renato Galtruccio, and Carlo Chiono are killed in the Campiano Italiano Juniores race.
July 8: Gene L Coon, an American TV producer best known for "Star Trek", dies of lung cancer at age 49. I'm in that part of my own life where I see "wow, 49, so young".
July 8: Speaking of "wow, so young", Braves RF Henry Riggs (.323, 16, 41), also the all-time leader in HRs with 561, will miss the next month and a half with a hamstring strain, a move that will also mean he'll miss the All-Star Game for the second straight year. Incidentally it's also a huge blow to the Braves, who were really relying on his still-excellent power bat in the cleanup spot.
July 8: All-Star voting update!
Below are the current standings for the American League All-Star Fan voting (as of Sun. Jul. 8th , 1973) for the All-Star Game, which will be played on Tue. Jul. 24th , 1973. The top vote getter at this point is Alice Cooper with 1,064,867 votes.
CATCHER
1. Josh Lewis, Oakland Athletics: 703,623
2. Frank Abagnale, Baltimore Orioles: 657,178
3. John Lennon, Cleveland Indians: 412,893
FIRST BASE
1. Alice Cooper, Chicago White Sox: 1,064,867
2. Angelo Martinez, Minnesota Twins: 749,944
3. Chris Seek, California Angels: 735,862
SECOND BASE
1. Geoffrey Rush, Texas Rangers: 666,351
2. Rodrigo Juarez, California Angels: 651,761
3. Bill Murray, Baltimore Orioles: 627,685
THIRD BASE
1. Tom Weiss, New York Yankees: 802,655
2. Jose Ayala, Detroit Tigers: 774,428
3. Bobby Ramirez, Texas Rangers: 739,967
SHORTSTOP
1. John Johnson, Chicago White Sox: 732,992
2. Oniji Handa, Boston Red Sox: 592,855
3. Rob Curran, Detroit Tigers: 582,767
LEFT FIELD
1. Tony Danza, Kansas City Royals: 888,254
2. Bruce Springsteen, Boston Red Sox: 777,668
3. Pedro Castrejon, Chicago White Sox: 559,962
CENTER FIELD
1. Alvin Romero, Detroit Tigers: 801,121
2. Ronnie Hellström, Minnesota Twins: 577,636
3. Frank Beard, Baltimore Orioles: 555,566
RIGHT FIELD
1. Tommy Pron, Oakland Athletics: 711,583
2. Dave Corona, Kansas City Royals: 677,891
3. Brandon Anderson, Cleveland Indians: 649,721
DESIGNATED HITTER
1. Ernesto Garcia, New York Yankees: 956,329
2. Joey Ramone, Detroit Tigers: 842,643
3. Brian Johnson, Boston Red Sox: 563,950
STARTING PITCHER
1. Jimmy Goddard, Detroit Tigers: 405,906
2. Justin Kindberg, Boston Red Sox: 393,328
3. Michael Pesco, Boston Red Sox: 355,113
4. Rich Reese, Chicago White Sox: 349,385
5. Chad Daugharty, Texas Rangers: 348,775
RELIEVER
1. Montay Luiso, California Angels: 444,977
2. Malcolm Post, Chicago White Sox: 394,059
3. Willis Chavez, Oakland Athletics: 353,502
4. Jim Marceau, Detroit Tigers: 346,726
5. Nate Kemp, Texas Rangers: 316,043
In his 282-game career Cooper is batting .277 with 35 doubles, 5 triples, 86 home runs and 205 RBIs. He has stolen 8 bases and scored 181 times.
Kind of surprising to see that Ernesto Garcia is only #2 in the voting race but hey, he'll be the starting DH and that's all that matters, right? Second base is a real light position this year; not that Geoffrey Rush (.306, 5, 29) is bad or anything but he's a first-year starter. The #2 guy Rodrigo Juarez's (.297, 14, 51) vote has been held down by being in the NL at the beginning of the year - guess the fans are writing him in - so he might surpass Rush soon. Bill Murray (.288, 8, 25) is having a really strong season... as the Orioles DH.
Below are the current standings for the National League All-Star Fan voting (as of Sun. Jul. 8th , 1973) for the All-Star Game, which will be played on Tue. Jul. 24th , 1973. The top vote getter at this point is Justin Stone with 920,597 votes.
CATCHER
1. Jason Bushon, New York Mets: 877,447
2. John Stuart, St. Louis Cardinals: 780,581
3. Doug Connally, Pittsburgh Pirates: 648,060
FIRST BASE
1. Justin Stone, Los Angeles Dodgers: 920,597
2. Joshua Waltenbery, Houston Astros: 849,664
3. Lorenzo Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals: 703,233
SECOND BASE
1. Juan Perez, Chicago Cubs: 856,123
2. Paul McCartney, San Diego Padres: 825,588
3. Kevin Dwyer, Atlanta Braves: 720,517
THIRD BASE
1. Dale Earnhardt, San Diego Padres: 756,118
2. George Harrison, San Francisco Giants: 682,911
3. Pete Little, Houston Astros: 655,883
SHORTSTOP
1. Tony Shannon, Philadelphia Phillies: 722,247
2. Joe Wicker, San Diego Padres: 496,044
3. Ronney Yitzhaki, Los Angeles Dodgers: 480,652
LEFT FIELD
1. Alberto Juantorena, Philadelphia Phillies: 829,009
2. R.J. Domínguez, Cincinnati Reds: 789,064
3. Henry Riggs, Atlanta Braves: 786,791
CENTER FIELD
1. George Foreman, Houston Astros: 875,989
2. Greg Lake, Philadelphia Phillies: 593,853
3. Mike Schurke, Chicago Cubs: 491,867
RIGHT FIELD
1. Matt Williams, St. Louis Cardinals: 747,429
2. Paul Kahl, Montreal Expos: 659,105
3. Jaden Weaver, Cincinnati Reds: 657,479
STARTING PITCHER
1. Tony Rivera, Houston Astros: 235,984
2. Fernando Apolonio, Los Angeles Dodgers: 216,340
3. Danny Plaunt, Philadelphia Phillies: 213,279
4. Jeremy Battaglia, Pittsburgh Pirates: 202,538
5. George House, Atlanta Braves: 192,923
RELIEVER
1. Geoff Saus, New York Mets: 272,376
2. Brian Bruno, Pittsburgh Pirates: 249,023
3. Pete Lynn, Cincinnati Reds: 235,479
4. Paz Lemus, Pittsburgh Pirates: 234,447
5. Alec Cosby, Los Angeles Dodgers: 225,294
As far as career numbers, Stone has compiled a .321 batting average and collected 2226 hits, 485 home runs and 1413 RBIs.
There's soooome weirdness here too, as Greg Lake (.299, 9, 45) is more of a utility OFer with Bryant Tarala (.269, 8, 15) the actual starter in CF when he's healthy (which, if you know Tarala, is sort of rare). Matt Williams (.274, 11, 30) is nursing a sprained ankle; he looks juuuust on pace to play in the Midsummer Classic but if he doesn't it'd be kind of neat to see Paul Kahl (.293, 6, 30) start for the Expos after washing out of the league in 1971. All the pitching voting is waaaay split compared to the AL; Tony Rivera (11-5, 2.50) isn't necessarily having the "All-Star starting pitcher" type season but he's doing well enough I guess, and the fans I guess don't want to see Ringo Starr (14-4, 2.57) in there at all since he hasn't even cracked the top 5.
July 8: You wouldn't know it from the raw numbers but Brewers SP Marius Gaddi (4-10, 4.29) is having an OK bounceback year. Sure, the ERA is the highest of his career. Today was a good example of what he's capable of: he went 7 innings of 6-hit ball, allowing just 1 unearned run to the Rangers. Unfortunately, that wound up being the single run scored by either team in this contest, as Texas spot starter Nate Kemp (4-1, 1.98) pitched a 4-hitter of his own.
"Look, I'm gonna level with you," said Kemp following the game. "I should be starting. I started in college, I started in the minors, I'm made to start. Start me and good things happen." The Rangers have a pretty packed rotation and honestly Kemp is fortunate to start because his team has already had ot play 11 games this month including 3 double-headers this week.
July 8: Another day, another grueling 1-0 loss for the Pirates, this time to the LA Dodgers, who do have a league-best starters' ERA (2.99); it's dragged down by a league-worst bullpen (5.05) but when you never see the bullpen, that doesn't mean much. Today it was Ken Hansen (5-8, 4.08) who showed up, scattering 8 hits and 2 walks over 9 innings and striking out 8 to edge Santos Arango (7-10, 2.67), who isn't showing any signs of getting fed up but... I sure would be if I were in his shoes. Hansen, in spite of inducing 10 groundouts, didn't even get a double play today. Instead he counted on the Pirates to strand all 10 baserunners.
This was Hansen's 2nd shutout this year; he had 6 of them in 15 complete games last season.
## Teams in Review
July 5: The
Chicago Cubs (43-40, 8 GB) are... are they supposed to be here? It's really hard to say. They've finished 2nd or 3rd in 4 of the last 4 seasons (3rd the last 2) but aside from finishing 1 game back in 1970 your "lovable losers" have never really been that close. This year, they're winning more than they're losing, which is good, but they are baaaarely within shouting distance of the Phillies. I think the game plan has to be to try and compete for now and take another look in the 2nd half.
Rotation: The pitching staff is... in a position. While the bullpen has been really solid and bailing them out, the starters have been less than fantastic. I'm thinking strongly of demoting veteran Scott Coffey (6-5, 5.49) because I can't really just start him at home (3-1, 4.98 - not great but it's Wrigley) and sit him on the road (3-4, 6.00, only 3 QS in 8 starts). For now though Jason Sanders (7-6, 3.76) is nursing a sore back so there's not much I can do. Also, Javy Obregon (7-6, 4.59) continues to be roughly replacement level as the Cuban defector seems to have always been. Extremely reluctantly, I guess I'm making no changes here.
Bullpen: The 'pen on the other hand is 2nd in the NL in ERA (2.50) and isn't really having any issues. When Jesse Kelly (5-3, 1.98, 12 Sv) isn't shutting down the late innings, the other 3-4 guys are doing their job. No changes here either.
Infield: 1B Antonio Lopez (.269, 4, 24) hasn't recovered well from a broken hand so far. I'm not about to replace him - before this season, dude was a perennial MVP candidate - but I've got my eyes out now I guess. I will swap him and "SS" Jeremy Taylor (.246, 10. 27) between 3rd and 4th, as Taylor a. is hitting for power at least but b. seems like he's going with the all-or-nothing swing that's more befitting cleanup than 3rd.
Aurelio Rodriguez (.244, 2, 14) seems like a much better fit for a utility role than the full-time 2B position he's stuck in right now but with Juan Perez (.295, 13, 37) now out for the season with a torn rotator cuff (yikes) I don't see how I've got any other choice here. One option I guess I've got is minor leauger Jon Cooley (.265, 1, 5), who is a better fielder than "Chi Chi" (in this universe anyway), which in turn allows Rodriguez to be more of a jack of all trades... if that works. Neither player has, like, any power, even for a middle infielder.
I'm also not at all fond of moving Jeremy Taylor back to shortstop this year. He got moved out to RF for a reason: he's just not that great at short and I don't want it to impact his hitting. Well... with Charles Bradley (.216, 3, 4 at AAA Wichita) not even hitting in the minor leagues, I don't see a better option right now. If this can somehow get this team back into contention, great; if not, the 2nd half of the year might see Bradley getting called back up, stick or no stick.
Outfield: Alex Vallejo (.333, 4, 11) is currently out with a strained back but when he's healthy he'll get into the lineup... but for now, man... I'm going to stick Ryan Clements (.326, 5, 11) in center because he's the only guy who can play the position well. That sticks Chance Cooper (.223, 8, 30) in right for now and probably on the bench once Vallejo gets back, at least for as long as Vallejo can play. Cooper for the year is just 6-40 against lefties with a single extra-base hit (a double) so maybe going forward he stops playing against southpaws entirely.
July 5: For the
Pittsburgh Pirates (38-40, 10 GB) on the other hand I think it's pretty clear by now that they're going nowhere. Which is... sad since even with the underwater record they've got the best pitching in baseball. They also have the 2nd worst offense thanks to a league-low .236 average, 32 HRs, and 16 steals. Something's gotta give, right? I don't think there's a lot in terms of youth to try out but hey, we might try...
Rotation: Danny Perez (2-7, 4.41) has been pretty bad this year and from a larger perspective I am - yes! - going to switch out to a 5-man rotation to save the Big 3 from further abuse. That means Viktor Yanukyovych (1-1, 0.95) and Rick Springfield (7-3, 1.81 at AAA Charleston) move into the rotation. Both guys are pretty young; imagine adding a 4th big starter to this rotation...
Bullpen: Brian Bruno (2-1, 6.04) has been terrible this year but he's got a history of being a decent middle relief / spot starter for this team so I'm not willing to cut him just yet. I will slot him in long relief. Will Paz Lemus (8-2, 1.71, 10 Sv) play even more with the youngsters in the rotation now? I guess we'll see (answer: probably).
Infield: I wanted C Miklos Nemeth (.188, 1, 8) to start working on taking over for Doug Connally (.271, 4, 28) but he just hasn't hit and what's more, Connally's looking like his poor 1972 (.223, 9, 56 in 394 at-bats) was just a blip, so I'm going to call up 25 year old Timothy Higgins (.222, 11, 34 at AAA Charleston), who's got a lot of power, which he'll utilize mostly off the bench for the team because Connally's starting full-time down the stretch.
1B David Salinas (.259, 1, 19) seems to have chosen exactly the wrong time to stop hitting. The 37 year old has never been any kind of a power man and needs to carry a high average to contribute, but he's done that well in the past, as the .292 career average suggests. He's hitting just .237 for Pittsburgh so far this year. I have "California" Josh Lewis (.209, 2, 9) there to spell him but I have zero confidence here. Albilio Valdivia (.400, 0, 1) is back from the DL in 2 weeks but he's 41 and has a grand total of 108 at-bats since 1971.
Everywhere is bad for this team, man... MI Tyler Webster (.219, 2, 14) is awful this year, his backup Luke Dunnahoe (.228, 2, 9) hasn't exactly blown anyone away either, and the main guy I could replace them with is a 24 year old who does nothing but draw walks. He does have speed that the major league roster lacks... ugh. It's a bad situation, I don't see anything good from it, but I'm going to send down 24 year old 3B Hank Williams Jr. (.198, 1, 6) in favor of... the deep-voice of John Noble (.207, 4, 19 at AAA Charleston). Here's hoping you can, like, hit or something!
Outfield: LF Justin Lawson (.260, 1, 12) has been a cleanup hitter for this team in the past... but where did the power go? He's hit as many as 24 HRs and driven in 98 men (in 1971) but thanks in part to a a hamstring strain he's got just a single HR in 31 games. The other issue I've got is that defensive lineman Jerry Sherk (.239, 9, 36) can also basically only play that position and is the only guy on the team with power so I think it's ust a numbers game for Lawson at this point.
RF Brian Jackson (.248, 3, 25) has also been slumping but in his case I just don't see how I can take the 29 year old out of the lineup (well, he's sitting with a quad strain right now, but when healthy). Man, this OF situation is bad.
July 6: The
San Diego Padres (42-40, 3 1/2 GB) on the other hand are in an... interesting position. They aren't really ready to contend I don't think and yet, here they are. Remember how the Pirates are #2 in the league in runs allowed? San Diego is #1, thanks to an electric bullpen and a frontline that is... good enough, I guess. The hitting on paper at least seems like it should be carrying this team but it kind of hasn't been, just 8th in the NL in runs scored with a pretty pedestrian .252 average and the 3rd lowest HRs in the league at 47.
Rotation: I think I'm going to move to the 4 man rotation with this unexpected run. That means pulling AAAA guy Ruben Estrada (2-2, 3.12) out of the rotation and into long relief. I'll surely mix guys around after the All-Star Break, as right now Eagles frontman Don Henley (10-4, 2.05) is clearly the cream of the crop, but right now the gammes are just plain coming too quickly to mess around.
Bullpen: Speaking of unexpected, Darius Parchman (2-2, 0.72, 13 Sv) has been a complete boon. He was fine last year (4-9, 2.62, 23 Sv), if a little prone to losses, but he's been unstoppable this year somehow. In fact, pretty much everyone has done well save lefty specialist Dan Pineau (0-1, 4.43), and it always seems like that's a position where one bad outing makes a guy look way worse than he really is so I'm leaving everything alone.
Infield: Oliver Williams (.220, 5, 20) is handling the primary backstop duties over Michael DeBose (.178, 0, 7) thanks to experience, defense, and, frankly, the fact that DeBose has been pretty bad this year. I'm not suuuper happy with this position in general; let's chalk it up to an expansion position.
Outfield: LF Junior Cannon (.205, 5, 24) has been really bad ever since he came over to San Diego late last year (.139, 1, 5) and frankly he wasn't any good in Cincy last year either (.225, 5, 17). My problem is, nobody else is even close to being able to play out there on this team. I guess I'll try out Ian Everett (.279, 0, 5) on account of even though he's a no-power guy who's best suited in CF, the bar that Cannon has set is really, really low. I'd call someone, anyone up but there's just plain nobody in the minor leagues right now save maaaaybe Russ Deuser (.221, 1, 8), who I guess plays a mean corner OF, but this is a guy who can't even break .250 in the minor leauges.
Likewise, Ray Herring (.180, 2, 17) is kind of only sticking around because... well, he was great for San Diego last year (.304, 11, 38 in 359 at-bats) so I'm hoping that comes back, but also the lack of anybody else who can play out there. Incidentally he's lost the starting job to "Doctor" Phil McGraw (.288, 2, 21), who doesn't exactly have the power for RF but... I am not caring about this overly much.
July 7: When it rains it pours... the
California Angels (39-40, 11 GB) are pretty well out of the race but hey, you know, they are the defending AL West champs so maybe it's not quite time ot accept this. They just look pretty average across the board to be honest, not really great, not really terrible, so I'm at a loss as to how to actually improve them but I guess we'll see what tinkering I can do.
Rotation: I'd put these guys into a 4 man at some point but with things set the way they are and even with new guy Moises "Duck" Melendez (7-6, 2.71) recently acquired from the Giants, I'm dropping back to a 5 man "Los Angeles" style rotation with Andy O'Connor (6-1, 3.88) taking up the mantle as the new starter. This will leave the bullpen a *little* thin, but...
Bullpen: ...now the bullpen has longtime Orioles ace Montay Luiso (0-2, 2.82, 7 Sv) in it so they should be fine. No other changes to make I don't think.
Infield: Maaaan, catcher is in a bad spot right now. Shaun Dennehy (.200, 1, 11) is starting pretty much because he has to. The backuo Mauricio Alvarez (.094, 0, 0) has completely forgotten how to hit and both the guys in AAA are below the Timonen Line. Oh right, Tsui Hark (.194, 2, 7) is also here; I keep waiting for him to hit but it's not seeming to happen. I am going to just release Alvarez outright for now and... we'll try and figure something out, I guess.
3B Bobby Kralcevic (.241, 4, 29) has been awwwwwful since flipping leagues (.155, 1, 7 with Cal) but at this point I've just got to keep handing him the reins at the hot corner and hope he'll figure out AL pitching. If he can't, Marc Aaronson (.333, 8, 37 at AAA SLC) already came up for a couple weeks this year and could be a second half option.
Outfield: It's... fine. No changes will happen.
July 7: The
New York Yankees (44-40, 8 GB) are next up, barely treading water in this tough division. So far the pitching has really deep-sixed the chances of what's actually a pretty strong offense that's built around 3 run homeruns (2nd in OBP with .339, 1st in HRs with 87). Of course the HR tallies begin and end with DH Ernesto Garcia (.258, 32, 66), who's as all-or-nothing as he's ever been. Can we do... anything to right the rest of this ship? Seriously they are 2nd worst in the AL in runs allowed, 3rd worst in starters' ERA (4.39), and 2nd worst in bullpen ERA (4.71).
Rotation: Right now I just feel like the pieces in place have been unexpectedly bad, but have to get better. Santos Rodriguez (8-12. 4.53) literally led the AL in ERA last year; why is he 3-4, 6.34 with the Yankees after they acquired him from the Braves last month? He's not even allowing a million HRs, a fate that sometimes befalls pitchers in Yankee Stadium. He's allowing a .330 opponents' average in spite of 6.7 K/9, which screams "BABIP" to me except that it's 1973 and I'm not supposed to know about that yet. Let's just say "ba(bip)d luck". Manny Carbajal (3-5, 4.17) also posted a sub-3 ERA last year (11-16, 2.63) but got blown up yesterday in his first game back in a month to raise his 1973 ERA over 4. These guys have to get better.
Bullpen: Likewise, the dual closer setup of Gabriel Covarrubias (4-1, 2.70, 8 Sv) and former Giants ace John "The Assassin" Booth (4-1, 2.11, 8 Sv combined) should get things done going forward and counter poor play earlier in the season. I'll leave things as-is.
Infield: I experiemented with Justin Inkster (.135, 0, 4) at catcher but wow, he is not cutting it so I'm back to Khalil Tabb (.212, 1, 15). I'm not going to say the Ernesto Garcia trade was anything but a major steal but man, we could really use John Lennon now...
IF TJ Pritchett (.218, 2, 18) looks like he might have gotten the old "ya done" hit that happens to guys in their mid-30s a lot - I was about to say "in this game" but let's face it, in real life too. He's more or less already dropped the 2B job to Jonathan Banks (.290, 1, 13) and the time may be near to have to release him.
Outfield: Speaking of guys who are on the outs... Ryan Johnston (.168, 6, 19) did OK as a backup OF last year but he is noooot hitting at all now and just refused a minor league assignment so he goooone. Instead, I'll call up Armin "Quark" Shimerman (.319, 10, 34 at AAA Syracuse), who's the latest in a pretty colorful line of good Yankees OFers who've come up the past few years. Let's hope he doesn't fall apart like so many of them have!
July 8: I think this is the last one of these for the week? The
Houston Astros (48-40, 1 game ahead) are doing pretty well, albeit in a weird, anti-Astros way: in spite of the home stadium they're 2nd in the NL in runs scored and 3rd worst in runs allowed. How? 78 errors (dead last) is a big part of that. Wow. Let's see what we can do...
Rotation: At a glance, everyone in the (5 man) rotation is fine. In the interests of moving down to a 4 man dealio... man, who'd I get rid of? Rowan Atkinson (7-2, 3.20) has more than done his job in 10 starts, as has Allen Bailey (5-5, 2.44). Roberto Ortiz (5-6, 3.79) has an option year left but he's one of the most experienced starters on this staff and I moved him out of relief specifically to bolster things. Ugh. I hate to do it but I guess Bailey is the odd man out.
Bullpen: Even though I don't think I'm going to make wholesale changes here, this is a real pain point outside of CL Adam Eastin (2-1, 2.80, 10 Sv). Hopefull the brand new Chris Wilson (0-0, 2.73 with CHC) will help, although the man's 14/11 K/W ratio does not inspire joy. I should cut Caleb McDonald (2-2, 6.75) but he's been... solid for this team (10-14, 3.83 last year, 16-10, 4.07 in 1971) and I can't bring myself to do it just yet.
Infield: Hey, changing horses in midstream and all that but catcher has been pretty bad for the Astros this year. Jonathan Hyde (.185, 4, 17) is at least a good defender. I'm calling up minor leaguer Latimer Roy (.315, 3, 12 at AAA Denver) and having him play a lot against RHPs. Good luck!
Dusty Hill (.289, 3, 20) has bbeen an ooookay shortstop but I'm really not liking all those errors. He has 10 of them for a .959 fielding average. There is absolutely nothing on farm, to the extent that I just signed a couple of minor league free agents to possibly call up later and have as better options than the 35 year old Elijah Patton (.286, 0, 5), who's looking like a 35 year old trying to still play shortstop.
Outfield: I'm not a massive fan of CF George Foreman (.306, 14, 55) having committed 7 errors himself so far but it's not like I'm going to pull him from the lineup and he's clearly the most qualified CF on the team. So, a lot of words to say "no changes".