California Angels 1970

[sharknut]

We were terrible in April, just terrible. The 2-week injury to Armstead was extended to 3 weeks and we were lost without our lead-off man.

If you just look at the fact that we led the AL in runs, you would ask how. But we were 11th in AVG and 13th in OBP. What saved us is we bashed the ball all over, we lead the majors in home runs. Our pitching has been decent, 6th in ERA, but we were next to last in runs allowed because, just like last year, we couldn't catch the ball in April. Most unearned runs allowed, 3rd most errors.

Armstead made it back for the last 2 games of the month. In his first game back, after the Angels were shut out the day before, he led off with a double, which was followed by a single and then back-to-back-to-back HR's by Lynn, Smith and Howell. We put 5 runs up right away before we made an out. He had a 2nd double and triple that game and hit a home run the last game of month.

Free agent signing Jeff Burroughs won AL Player of the Month, the real bright spot of the team. .351/.412/.676 with 7 hr and 20 RBI paid off for us right away.

But just 10-12 in April, 4 games back. We will catch the ball better, we will get on base more, I think we will be OK

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by Edster007

Interested to see what Eddie Murray does with the change of scenery. I am about 1/2 a season behind you and I shopped and traded Cecil Cooper for the same reason and in the 3 seasons since he has been a 3 time all star.

Murray is hitting .210 after 1 month in Detroit as a DH.

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by sharknut

Armstead made it back for the last 2 games of the month. In his first game back, after the Angels were shut out the day before, he led off with a double, which was followed by a single and then back-to-back-to-back HR's by Lynn, Smith and Howell. We put 5 runs up right away before we made an out. He had a 2nd double and triple that game and hit a home run the last game of month.

He ended up player of the week right off the injured list:

.579/.625/.947 1hr 5rbi 7runs and we went 5-2.

He was just a 2-2 1/2 star guy coming up, but he was 10th in the MVP last year in his first full year......maybe he is going to be special?

[sharknut]

We signed Floyd Bannister to a 2 year extension and on his 100th pitch of his next start, Cesar Cedeno broke up a no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th.

[sharknut]

After May:

+34 run difference, 4th best in baseball
Pythag record 30-22, 5th in baseball

and we are also

2-7 in extra innings
7-14 in 1-run games

And we are 24-28 and 9 games back.

We also lost Reggie Smith for the season with a knee injury. He will be a 37 year old free agent and he was asking for $1.5 million a year, which I wasn't going to do anyway. We called up a 24 year old rookie who is 6'5'' and 210 pounds who has ZERO power at all. He is a career .325 hitter in the minors with just 42 xbh in over 900 at bats, but he also has a good eye, with an OBP of .425.

We just called up our recent 1st round pick Tom Niedenfuer. He has a .8 WHIP in AAA and we will see if that turns out well. Our top starter at AAA, Ray Fontenot isn't far. He in 2nd in WHIP, WAR and ERA so far and I am not far off from dealing a pitcher for some hitting help to open up a spot for him. He's up to a 5-star

[sharknut]

After the first 4 games on June we are now:

2-9 in extra innings
7-18 in 1 run games

That huge addition of all-star closer Mike Proly has paid off to him racking up 8 losses in our first 56 games.

[sharknut]

Maybe we aren't any good. 12-15 in June and we are 12 back.

A few weeks to make up a bunch of games or I will be a seller at the deadline.

Somehow Clark Ullum is 8-0 for our 36-43 club and Floyd Bannister has been good, those are the bright spots. We called up our top prospect this week, 23 year old Ray Fontenot. His first start saw him get a win going 7 innings/6 hits/1 run/1 walk/7 strikeouts.

2 weeks before the break. Hope to get to less than 10 games back

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by sharknut

That huge addition of all-star closer Mike Proly has paid off to him racking up 8 losses in our first 56 games.

He had 1 year at $900,000 left on his deal. I offered him around and got back Nolan Ryan with 1 year left at $700,000, worst case scenario is his massive popularity helps at the gate

I also had a decision whether to re-sign Ullum and trade Hooton or let Ullum walk after the season for nothing. I only have room in the rotation for 1, so I dealt Hooton for 25 year old 2b Jeff Cox. Barranca was great for us last year but his WAR this season is -1.1, so we had to do something.

Cox will get on base, run and play defense. He won't have the pop Barranca was supposed to bring, but I couldn't wait for him to get his avg over .180

[sharknut]

After a 2-week vacation, I finished up the very disappointing regular season with an 80-82 record 12 games back. Our pythag-record was 88-74, 5th best in the league, so we massively underachieved. It will be the White Sox-Orioles and Cardinals-Braves in the playoffs.

Fred Lynn led the league in slugging and runs scored, was 3rd in HR's and 4th in RBI. Burroughs was 2nd in runs, 4th in HR's and 5th in RBI. I am going to try to deal 2-3 good players for a great player in the off-season. I am also going to target SS Bobby Grich in free agency.

Our AAA, A and rookie team all won their league championships. We called up 23 year old C Ted May late in the season after seasons of 24/27/17 HR's as he climbed the ladder and he hit .444 with 4 HR in 10 games late in the season. Our top prospect 24 year old Ray Fontenot went 8-7 with a 3.55 ERA and 70 K in 120 innings.

I would fire me as a coach and keep me as a GM.

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by sharknut

I am also going to target SS Bobby Grich in free agency..

Grich just broke his leg in the 1st game of the playoff and is out for 3 months. The only other SS that would help is a guy we traded 3 years ago who did not like it in California. Maybe I target a SS in a trade instead

[sharknut]

After perusing the free agent and the "on the block" list, the Yankees are in re-building mode. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)

They have the #1 pick and have decided all their vets must go. We gave them

26-year old Floyd Bannister, legit #3 starter for a good team.
26-year old Ken Landreaux, has averaged .282/.330/.441 with 16 HR's a season in 3 years
24-year old 2b prospect Jeff Doyle, a 2 1/2-star prospect

for

31-year old Jon Matlack who has 50 career WAR in 9 years as a starter. $630,000 a year and he is a free agent after next year
33-year old Dave Concepcion. Not much of a hitter anymore but a solid defender. $625,000 a year with 2 years left.

[sharknut]

Rather unexpectantly, William Sheets won Reliever of the Year for us. I hadn't even mentioned him in the recap, yes, he had a good year, but I didn't expect 8-1 with 15 saves and a 2.40 ERA to be considered the best in the league. Chili Davis won his first MVP going .323/.387/.526 with 25 HR's. Dennis Martinez won his 1st Cy Young going 19-12 with a 2.63 ERA and Eric Davis won ROY going .293/.375/.435 10 HR and 65 steals.

In the NL, Lou Whitaker won his 1st MVP going .302/.367/.480 with 29 HR and 50 steals. Bob Welch won his 1st Cy Young going 16-10 2.68 ERA, Tony Phillips won ROY with .307/.405/.448 with 8 HR leading the league in OPB. Will McEneney won Reliever of the year with 10 wins and 40 saves.

Only 2 of the 5 players I voted for the HOF made it, both Juan Marichal and Roberto Clemente made it on their first try with over 97% of the vote each. I also voted for Brooks Robinson, Orlando Cepeda and Hoyt Wilhelm, but they fell short. In this world, legends like Willie Stargell, Frank Howard, Gaylord Perry, Phil Niekro and Lou Brock were dropped after their first year, not getting enough votes to last 2 years. Also, Pete Rose, Fergie Jenkins, and the other 3 players I voted for look like they will never make it.

Here was the draft up to my pick:

Yankees-Kal Daniels
Mariners-Dwight Gooden
Reds-Mike Greenwell (not signed)
Cleveland-Jose Canseco
Twins-Duane Ward (not signed)
Mets-Kirby Puckett
Pirates-Mariano Duncan
Astros-Alvin Davis
Rangers-Bobby Bonilla
Phillies-Kevin McReynolds
Giants-Cecil Fielder
Dodgers-Roberto Kelly
Angels-Bip Roberts

We also picked up Tom Browning in round 3.

We are right up against our spending cap, just over $100,000 left, so not much more for us to do until Spring Training comes

[sharknut]

Originally Posted by sharknut

After perusing the free agent and the "on the block" list, the Yankees are in re-building mode. (HAHAHAHAHAHA)

They have the #1 pick and have decided all their vets must go. We gave them

26-year old Floyd Bannister, legit #3 starter for a good team.
26-year old Ken Landreaux, has averaged .282/.330/.441 with 16 HR's a season in 3 years
24-year old 2b prospect Jeff Doyle, a 2 1/2-star prospect

for

31-year old Jon Matlack who has 50 career WAR in 9 years as a starter. $630,000 a year and he is a free agent after next year
33-year old Dave Concepcion. Not much of a hitter anymore but a solid defender. $625,000 a year with 2 years left.

The 1st start in spring training for Matlack, he had to be pulled from the start with the 'Red Cross' indication for an injury and I about rage quit. He hadn't missed a start for 6 years and 25 pitches for me and he gets hurt?!?!?

.....was just a blister.....whew

[sharknut]

We start my 13 year in charge with lower expectations, lower payroll and lower season ticket holders. I think I am going to hit and I think my starters will be good. I just need to find a reliable bullpen and play better defense.

That's all

[sharknut]

An up and down first two months had us struggle with an 8-14 April where we couldn't hit and then an 18-10 May where things clicked. We are 4 1/2 out and we just lost Armstead to a broken wrist for 6 weeks. We also lost our 2b Jeff Cox for a few weeks so we had to call up prospects Jesus Alfaro and Lenny May to try to fill in.

Alfaro is a 23-year old infielder who can hit and play good defense at 2nd and 1st, but not at SS, where I really need him. While Cox is out, he is sharing 2b with Rodney Scott. May is a 22-year old OF with speed and a little pop who has hit over .300 at every level.

24 year old Ray Fontenot has the makings of an ace with an ERA under 3 so far and Blyleven is getting closer to his Cy Young form of 2 years ago

[sharknut]

The All-Star break finds us 46-41 and 5 games out of 1st. We just got Armstead back, but lost Jeff Burroughs for 5 weeks, although he is really bad this year just hitting .213. Fred Lynn is our only All-Star being 4th in HR and 1st in RBI's.

With 1B Burroughs hurt, we will move 2b Jeff Cox to first and call up 1977 1st round pick Steve Sax, Sax was hitting .361 in AA when we moved him to AAA and he has hit .533 in 10 games there, so may as well call him up while he is red-hot.

32 year old Jon Matlack has been ok after dealing for him in the offseason, but he is asking for far too much to re-sign. We have been offered 21year old Bob Tewksbury for him, he's a top 100 prospect and my scout actually wants me to do this, which is pretty rare. The downside is the offer is from Oakland, the team we are 6 games behind. This will probably make them better short team while hurting our chances this year, but I think I have to do this.

This would also open up enough money to add someone at the deadline if we feel the need.

[sharknut]

We've gone 19-12 since the break and we just took 3 of 4 at 1st place Oakland, and we now sit 2 1/2 behind Chicago, who passed the A's after our last win.

Fred Lynn has a good shot to win the MVP. He is leading the league in RBI, 3rd in BA and 5th in HR and is on pace for .336/.424/.577 with 32 HR and 140 RBI.

But, 41 year old Tommy Harper is amazing. .345/.430/.589 with 16 HR 70 RBI and 10 steals is just tremendous. I had chances to sign him as a UFA for a few years, but he is better than ever at 41. He is a HOF lock at this point. 2611 hits/610 steals/1569 runs/1134 RBI and he is 1 HR away from being the FIRST player ever with 300 HR and 600 steals.

In the NL, Mike Marshall is doing better than that, leading the league in all Triple Crown categories at age 22. His line of .359/.395/.654 on a pace for 52 HR and 136 RBI. If he has a healthy career, that's quite an amazing 2nd season to build from.

At age 22, Rich Rodas of the Phillies had 1000 MLB innings under his belt. He had 57 wins and led the league in strikeouts, IP and starts in various seasons. In unsurprising news, he tore his rotator cuff and is out for 12 months.

Last years ROY, Eric Davis, was hit by a pitch and fractured his elbow after half a season of 12 HR/34 SB/.288/.388/,474 and is out for the year.

23 year old Julio Franco is a 2-time all-star and was hitting .340/.414/.485 with 11 HR and 18 steals fractured his skull while trying to break up a double play and is out for the year.

[sharknut]

With 22 games left we are tied for 3rd just 1 1/2 out. We are tied with the Rangers and we have 7 left against them. We have nothing left against the A's who are 1 back of the White Sox, who we are about to play 3 with. All to play for

Fred Lynn is a machine. He leads the AL in AVG and RBI's and is 1 HR behind Willie Aikens. Mike Marshall still leads in the NL in everything, we may see 2 Triple Crown winners.

The Blue Jays are 4 up over the Red Sox, the Mets have a 3 1/2 game lead over the Phillies and the Braves are running away with the west, 12 1/2 over the Dodgers.

[sharknut]

We swept the Sox, 5-2, 7-0, 7-5. We now lead the west by 1/2 over the Rangers and A's and 1 1/2 over the Sox. Now we have to go to AL East leading Toronto for 4.

Fontenot has back to back shutouts and now leads the league with a 2.49 ERA. At 25, he should be our ace for a long time.

If we win the division, we sure as hell will have earned it. We've won 7 straight now.

[sharknut]

The 4 game set against the Jays went L-W-L-W, the last another win for Fontenot, though he did allow 2 runs this time.

But the Sox swept the A's 4 games back and they are now 1/2 ahead of us. The Rangers also lost 4 in a row and are tied with the A's.

Our next 3 are at home against last place KC while the Sox have 4 at 5th place Seattle.

Thanks to our 4 game sweep over the Jays, their lead is down to 3 over the Red Sox, the Mets are now up 6 1/2 and the Braves have already won the west.