The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

What are the standings?

At the ASB we are 46-40, 2 GB LA.

[luckymann]

We're headed in the wrong direction of late, but none of the blame for that can be laid at the feet of Denny Lemaster. Here are his two most recent starts for us bookending the ASB:






Hopefully, Pags is also finally coming good after another subpar performance in the early part of the season costs him the everyday job, with Sangy taking over. Either way, this will be his last season with us under his current contract, as we'll be voiding his final year.

[luckymann]

With rookie Graig Nettles starring, the Yanks are finally putting together a competitive campaign (including a 16-game win streak at one point), although the BoSox are looking the most likely in the AL for the moment. Still, games like this one from Ron Swoboda will only help the Bombers' cause.

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by luckymann

At the ASB we are 46-40, 2 GB LA.

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[luckymann]

Which active pitchers are leading the MLB in career saves?

• Stu Miller, CIN, 189
• Bill Henry, MIN, 176
• Al Worthington, CIN, 161
• Joe Gibbon, PIT, 154
• Lindy McDaniel, NYY, 145

All-Time Leader: Hoyt Wilhelm, 302

[luckymann]

559 down, 13 to go!

#18 for the season v Boston 07/24 in the 5th off Gary Nolan.




560 down, 12 to go!

#19 for the season @ Cleveland 07/27 in the 9th off Jerry Koosman.

[luckymann]

A dispiritingly dispirited sectional from our group, plagued by inconsistency and incompetence and key players going missing just when we need them to stand up and be counted. As you can probably tell, I'm pretty frustrated by the whole situation and it might be back to the drawing board with a few of these guys who simply aren't giving us what we need.





One can easily send oneself around the twist overanalysing those metrics. The key for me is that we are 7th in runs scored, despite being top 3 across the slash. Have we been unlucky with regard to sequencing? Or all flash and no cash? No idea. All I know is that at one point we were 13 games over 500 and now we are 1. In my book, that speaks volumes to poor application.




Hard to be too critical of Stargell given his overall performance, but we sure could have done with him not tanking in the first three weeks of July. We are dead last in the NL in BB, but 3rd in OBP. Not sure how that works or what it says. Still need more from Bailey, although at least his BA now starts with a 2.




Take Fryman (who wins his first 9 decisions) and Lemaster (who pitches B2B 1-hitters) out and this has been our problem area. Bunning has been a massive disappointment even given our fairly modest expectations, while Hands is a dead man walking. He's just not a winner and I will be actively shopping him around in the offseason for an eligible replacement. That CC slot can be much better utilised than on him. The BP has been up and down with Gibbon a rock once again but Jackson and Giusti struggling.


I don't remember seeing an NL race as competitive as this one is shaping up, although the Cards have hit some great form and made a bit of a run for it. Dare to dream, St. Louis fans? A bit early for all that just yet. For us, 6 GB means all is not lost. That said, the club doesn't seem to have that winning feeling about it again this year.

The Yanks look to be making a strong move in the AL with a 19-11 June that includes a 16-game win streak, only to completely flub the handoff with a 12-18 July. It's between Bawston and Bawlmer now.




News, Leaders and Top 20s











Monthly Award Winners

June

American League

• Batter – Mickey Mantle (Yankees): 264 / 6 HR / 18 RBI
• Pitcher – Bob Shaw (Tigers): 6-0 / 1.13 / 32 K / 47.2 IP
• Rookie – Dock Ellis (Senators): 2-1 / 2.03 / 27 K / 44.1 IP

National League

• Batter – Johnny Callison (Phillies): 355 / 6 HR / 17 RBI
• Pitcher – Dave McNally (Cardinals): 5-0 / 1.46 / 32 K / 49.1 IP
• Rookie – Steve Shea (Cardinals): 2-1 / 1.17 / 4 SV / 9 K / 23 IP

July

American League

• Batter – Tony Conigliaro (Angels): 374 / 8 HR / 22 RBI
• Pitcher – Mike Cuellar (Orioles): 6-0 / 1.84 / 35 K / 53.2 IP
• Rookie – Dock Ellis (Senators): 3-0 / 1.69 / 28 K / 42.2 IP

National League

• Batter – Joe Morgan (Reds): 374 / 3 HR / 19 RBI
• Pitcher – Bob Gibson (Cardinals): 5-0 / 2.01 / 49 K / 49.1 IP
• Rookie – Tom Murphy (Reds): 3-1 / 3.00 / 14 K / 33 IP

Milestones and Observations of Note

• Don Drysdale earns his 200th career Win.
• Dick Allen is currently on the podium across the three TC stat cats.
• The Red Sox lose pitcher Fritz Peterson for the remainder to a shoulder injury, while a ruptured finger tendon makes it highly unlikely we’ll see O’s young gun Jim Palmer (13-4 / 1.20 to this point) back in action this season.
• A spot of elbow trouble will keep Houston’s Larry Dierker on ice for about 6 weeks, while the Giants lose 2B Horace Clarke for the rest of the year after he suffers a broken bone in his elbow.
• The Tigers’ horror 1968 goes from bad to worse as they lose gun catcher Bill Freehan for the year to a wrist fracture.
• Camilo Pascual is still kicking around in a relief capacity, and is traded by the White Sox to the Cards for fellow pitcher Dick Joyce. St. Louis also acquires catcher Dave Duncan and RP Ron Kline in a separate trade with the same club a few days later for OF Buddy Bradford. Here are some other Deadline trades of note:

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[luckymann]

Most HRs with AVG < .200

[luckymann]

561 down, 11 to go!

#20 for the season @ Boston 08/01 in the 6th off Ken Holtzman.

[luckymann]

Our first no-no for the year goes to Canada's finest son Fergie Jenkins, who does it the hard way against a stacked Reds lineup.

The great man never threw one IRL.

[luckymann]

564 down, 8 to go!

#562 @ California 08/13 in the 6th off Billy Hoeft.




#563 @ Oakland 08/17 in the 7th off Bob Trowbridge.




#564 @ Cleveland 09/01 in the 5th off Dave Boswell.

[luckymann]

... could the Owner drop dead with his club looking to be on the verge of making just its third WS appearance.

[luckymann]

568 down, 4 to go!

#565 @ Baltimore 09/04 in the 7th off Masanori Murakami.




#566 v Washington 09/08 in the 4th off Ken Brett.




#567 v Chicago 09/10 in the 9th off Claude Osteen.




#568 @ Detroit 09/18 in the 4th off Bob Shaw.

[Makonnen]

I am in the postseason of the WBL (posting lags behind a bit), and I checked some dates ... turns out you can play the entirety of the history of a franchise in about as much time as I can play a full season by hand.

Here's to many more ...

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Makonnen

I am in the postseason of the WBL (posting lags behind a bit), and I checked some dates ... turns out you can play the entirety of the history of a franchise in about as much time as I can play a full season by hand.

Here's to many more ...

Ha! Indeed, my man.

[luckymann]

A first taste of success for one of the expansion clubs as Mets affiliate Tidewater beats Beaumont in five to take this year's AAA title.

[luckymann]

We start August poorly and just when it seems all is lost, the lads go on a strong run in the middle of the month that gets us back within six when we head to St. Louis for three with the team we are trailing. But the Cards show us up as the pretenders we are, sweeping us, and I have seen quite enough for this season. I fast-sim through to the end and, while we keep pace and even make up a bit of ground, we never challenge and finish 85-77, runners-up at 7 GB.




It's funny, but being stuck in that no-man's land over the final weeks allowed me to step back and gain some perspective on where we go from here. In the process, some glaringly obvious moves made themselves manifest to me and I am relishing the chance over the offseason to try and get what we need to get back to being a force in this league. Of course, that will be complicated somewhat by the upcoming Expansion Draft adding a new layer of complexity to our roster management.




One of my obvious mistakes - though born more of a lack of alternatives than any purported strategy - has been Bailey at leadoff. We know BB gets good but isn't there yet and the advent of Oliver means we will look to shift Bob down the order to six most likely. What we need is a power RHB to complement Stargell, who is our only true power guy at present. The issue is where to play him and who misses out, and that's where my immediate focus will be post the ED. Mota will play off the bench next season with Oliver into the starting lineup. His high contact is nullified by how little power he generates (15 doubles on the season and just 22 XBH all told), so I don't see him being with us into the 1970s. Helms is the obvious choice to be swapped out, but finding the appropriate and available guy at 2B is a tough ask. Loads to do.




A shame for Woody Fryman, who had a special season going before getting hammered in his final few starts. Still, he and Lemaster are by far the pick of our guys, with Hands at the bus stop looking for a ride and Bunning a possible unprotected option as I doubt he'd get us much in the trade market. At 33, it might be time for Joe Gibbon to hand over the Stopper role to Dave Giusti. Maybe just one more year before that happens, but DG has been solid and is our guy moving forward. Grant Johnson has been the main disappointment, but we remain confident he's a key BP piece moving forward. Fingers crossed Bob Veale returns healthy and back to his best next year.




The Cards win just their third NL pennant and will face a hot Red Sox team looking for their 10th Championship. The Tribe finishes with a flourish, winning their last 5 and going 15-6 in September to earn a runner-up gong in the AL.

Pete Rose makes it three straight batting titles by taking his first in the NL, while Reggie Smith wins his first across in the senior circuit. As expected, the offensive numbers were fairly modest with only Frank Howard (33) and Willie McCovey (30) hitting 30 or more HR, whilst Dick Allen's 100 are the high ribbie mark for the year.

Hoot Gibson finishes top 3 across the TC stat cats, sharing the most wins with Dave McNally (21) while losing just 4, fanning 239 (second to Koufax) and posting a 1.85 ERA (second to McNally's league-low 1.51) The Ryan Express hits full steam or near thereto, leading both leagues with 281 K, while Bob Locker's 45 Saves are the most of all, and a new MLB season high to boot.


Final Top 20s and Leaders








Monthly Award Winners

August

American League

• Batter – Harmon Killebrew (Twins): 267 / 11 HR / 31 RBI
• Pitcher – Jim Kaat (Twins): 5-1 / 2.53 / 36 K / 42.2 IP
• Rookie – Gary Nolan (Red Sox): 3-0 / 3.50 / 42 K / 46.1 IP

National League

• Batter – Henry Aaron (Braves): 374 / 12 HR / 31 RBI
• Pitcher – Juan Marichal (Giants): 4-0 / 1.50 / 41 K / 54 IP
• Rookie – Tom Seaver (Mets): 4-1 / 3.19 / 29 K / 48 IP

September

American League

• Batter – Harmon Killebrew (Twins): 286 / 11 HR / 28 RBI
• Pitcher – Jim Kaat (Twins): 4-0 / 1.15 / 18 K / 39 IP
• Rookie – Tom Burgmeier (Twins): 3-1 / 1.40 / 4 SV / 7 K / 19.1 IP

National League

• Batter – Willie McCovey (Giants): 315 / 6 HR / 19 RBI
• Pitcher – Sandy Koufax (Dodgers): 4-0 / 1.47 / 42 K / 49 IP
• Rookie – Marty Pattin (Braves): 3-0 / 0.97 / 26 K / 37 IP

Milestones and Observations of Note

• 400 HR: Rocky Colavito; 2000 Hits: Frank Robinson
• In the midst of his HR chase, Mickey Mantle also reaches the 2500-hit mark for his career, with Al Kaline reaching the same milestone a week or so later.
• Atlanta 2B Bobby Knoop has his season cut short thanks to a knee injury, while Angels young gun Carlos May misses 5 weeks with a torn quad.
• Chico Salmon goes down late in the year with a PCL tear that will likely see him start late in ’69, while a back injury curtails the season of White Sox veteran Luis Aparicio.
• Disaster for the Mets in the next-to-last game of the year as rookie Andy Messersmith blows out his RC and will miss most, if not all, of 1969 as a result.

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[Brad K]

Nobody looks like a lead off hitter in the year of the pitcher. I hope you can find a lead off hitter because they're scarce when you're playing real life Pirates.

[luckymann]

Boston Red Sox (100-62) v St. Louis Cardinals (92-70)
Best-of-seven, Cardinals with the home-field advantage.


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Could this finally be the year the Cards break their duck? They’ll know they’ve earned it if they do because this is a top-notch Red Sox squad, led of course by Yaz. He has a fine supporting cast, including Reggie Smith and Rico Petrocelli, with Davey Johnson having a fantastic season in the leadoff spot and veteran Doc White still showing plenty of oomph down in the 7 slot.

But the Cards have a simply outstanding pitching staff, of course with Gibson as its ace and Dave McNally almost his equal. They won 42 games between them this season and winning four more here is well within the realms of possibility. Their big problem is an absolute dearth of pop, with their highest HR total for the year being six. That leaves very little wriggle room for the pitchers.

The Cards’ home field advantage might be telling here, but I’m going to go the Sox in seven.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Nobody looks like a lead off hitter in the year of the pitcher. I hope you can find a lead off hitter because they're scarce when you're playing real life Pirates.

Yep. It's a tough club all over using the restrictions I have in place. They just didn't go through a lot of players. I'm thinking Tolan is the guy. Clemente at 2, Oliver at 3, Pops, newbie (whoever he might be), Bailey, Alley, Sangy. We'll see.