The Denver Brewers of the W.P. Kinsella League

[BirdWatcher]

EDIT: Whoops- got a little off on my calendar dates here- that should read, Sunday, September 24, 1978


The Denver Brewers:



The Brewers lose a back-and-forth game against Detroit when they give up 3 runs in the top of the 9th after the teams fought to a 4-4 tie up to that point, then tie things up again in the bottom of the inning on a pinch-hit Antonio Acuna 3-run home run (his 11th), only to give up a pinch-hit 2-run shot to Rich Morris in the top of the 10th and then fail to mount any challenge in the bottom of the frame. John Weaver got the start and allowed 4 runs on 8 hits over just 4 innings pitched. (Many believe it will be the last start for Weaver in a Brewers uniform as they are likely not to bring him back for the 1979 season.) Chris Pollack (1-1, 7.88 with Denver) took the loss in relief (also surely not to return next year.) Joe McPhillips and Val Guzman hit back-to-back blasts in the 3rd inning, for McPhillips it was homer number 18 on the season and for Val it was his 13th.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:




And things just get tighter over in the SJL, as El Paso gets swept by the lowly Chicago Fire, this time losing when the Fire cam back to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off win.
Meanwhile Philly ace Rino Aguillon dominated the Columbus Whalers, pitching a 3-hit shutout when the Mud Hens needed it most.
Boston over-powered Seattle.
So El Paso's lead in the SJL drops to just 1 game over Philadelphia, while Boston is 2 games back in 3rd place, and Columbus remains in contention in 4th place, 3 games off the pace. Things don't look good for San Antonio though as they are now 5 games back with just 9 games left on the schedule and 4 teams ahead of them.

[BirdWatcher]

EDIT: Actually, Monday, September 25, 1978


The Denver Brewers:



Sadahige Kawasaki is trying to build a case that he deserves his first Pitcher of the Year award at the end of the season, though that will still probably be an uphill battle with 3-time POtY Aaron McNally once again having a tremendous season. Kawasaki (18-7, 2.22) helped his case though with an 8-hit shutout of Portland yesterday. Rich White went 2 for 3 in the game, driving in a pair of runs. Val Guzman continued his terrific season, collecting his 29th double of the season in his one official at-bat, scoring a pair of runs and driving in two others, walking twice, being hit by a pitch for the 8th time this year, and stealing his team-leading 24th base. Oh, and he threw out a runner at home, his 4th assist of the year.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:





When his team needed it most, El Paso staff ace Dan Bottom (the 1974 SJL Pitcher of the Year) hurled a 5-hit shutout win against Jacksonville to keep the Dawgs at the top of the SJL standings.
But just barely, as Philadelphia also got a big win, just about snuffing out San Antonio's pennant hopes as they beat the Keys 8-1. Xiao-mei Mah, the veteran Philly star second baseman, was the SJL Player of the Week for last week and is currently carrying the team on his back, and was the Player of the Game in this one, scoring 3 runs having drawn 3 walks.
Boston also hangs tough with a win over Washington, as do the Columbus Whalers, who beat Pittsburgh. So little changes in the SJL standings, other than San Antonio dropping to 6 games out and nearing elimination.

[BirdWatcher]

So although the Brewers are headed back to the Kinsella Classic Series to defend their title, it appears they will be doing so without their superstar second baseman Bobby Erbakan.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers:



With many of the Brewers starters resting and several players who were just brought up from AAA Chester (with that team having recently lost in the AAA Championship series to the Benton Baycats (Los Angeles Spinners), 4 games to 1, the Brewers still managed to rally late to beat the Portland Wild Things. Sekien Hamasaki got the start but not a decision, having given up 3 runs on 8 hits over 7 innings pitched. Walter Hackler (1-1, 2.19) got the win in relief and Tim Shore finished things up (though not without some tense moments) for his 25th save of the season. Recently promoted players getting not only their first big league at-bats but also their first WPK hits in this one included outfielder Eric Hammock, who hit his first double and scored his first run as a Brewer, third baseman Willie Olivarez (actually he has one plate appearance, though not technically an at-bat, for Charlotte in 1976), who drove in a run with his lone single, and first baseman Richard Escamilla, the Brewers 2nd round pick in the 1973 draft, who came in as a pinch-hitter and delivered a key 2-run single in his first big league at-bat. Jake DiCesare went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI, hitting his 4th homer of the season. And Geoff Bartholomew was 2 for 5 in the leadoff slot.

In other MGL action, the Brooklyn Aces defeated the Los Angeles Spinners with Aaron McNally (23-8, 2.73) getting the win and Eduardo Obando (17-8, 2.65) taking the loss. L.A. veteran third baseman Jesus Hernandez continues his late-season push to get his second career league MVP award, going 2 for 4 and hitting his league-leading 29th home run of the season.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:





Over in the SJL, it certainly appears that Columbus left-handed ace Luis Ramirez (19-8, 2.26) is in line to get his first Pitcher of the Year award and he led the Whalers to a big win over Pittsburgh. With both El Paso and Philadelphia losing the Whalers are back within 2 games of the lead as they look to three-peat.
Philadelphia remains 1 game behind El Paso, with Columbus now tied with Boston, who lost to 1-0 to Washington, at 2 games back, and San Antonio barely stays alive (having earned an 11th inning walk-off win against Philly), 5 games out of first.

[Andrej72]

Can you post a team picture of the Brewers? :-)

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers:



Having driven in two huge runs with a pinch-hit single in the 4-run 8th inning of Tuesday's Denver victory in his very first big league at-bat, Richard Escamilla followed that up by hitting a 2-out, walk-off 3-run homer in just his second Brewers at-bat, again in a pinch-hitting role. Not a bad first impression for the power-hitting first baseman. Rookie starting pitcher Jim Atwell was not at his best in what might be his last regular season start of 1978, giving up 6 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings of work, though he did strikeout 8 batters while walking just 2.(He also went 2 for 3 at the plate with 2 RBI.) He still had a chance for the win, but veteran left-handed reliever Jason Gottula, having a bad second half of the season, blew the save. Young Brandon Veach (2-0, 0.00) picked up the win in relief. Brett Taranto looks like he is well on the way to his first batting title, and possibly the league MVP award, as he went 3 for 5, scoring 3 times (111 runs scored), hitting 2 doubles to get to 30 on the season. Recent call-up Willie Olivarez was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI and also hit 2 doubles, his first as a Brewer. And Joe McPhillips went 2 for 4 and drove in 2 runs to get to 90 RBI on the year.

Brooklyn's Jose Hernandes had a rough outing against L.A. and saw his ERA rise to 2.32, making it more likely that Sadahige Kawasaki could end the year with the MGL's best ERA.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:





El Paso came from behind for a walk-off win against Jacksonville to maintain a slim hold on the top spot in the SJL standings.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia got a great start from their number 4 starter, sinker specialist Tristan Russell, who shut out San Antonio on 4 hits. Our old friend Harry Lyerly took the loss for the Keys in this one.
Columbus suffered a tough loss in Pittsburgh and Boston lost a 13-inning battle with Washington.

While Boston and Columbus can still get back in things, it is looking more and more like this one will come down to the El Paso Dawgs and the Philadelphia Mud Hens. El Paso holds onto a slim 1 game lead with just 6 games remaining for both teams.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Andrej72

Can you post a team picture of the Brewers? :-)

Sure. Keep in mind this is a big group since we are in late September with roster expansion rules. And one of our biggest stars- Bobby Erbakan- is not pictured since he is currently on the IL. Same is true of our team captain, Matt Helm.

Also, I have not spent much time on things like uniforms, logos, etc. Someday. But mostly I focus on other areas of the league- particularly things to build the story, filling in the backstory, etc.

[Andrej72]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

The Denver Brewers:

Attachment 740931

Having driven in two huge runs with a pinch-hit single in the 4-run 8th inning of Tuesday's Denver victory in his very first big league at-bat, Richard Escamilla followed that up by hitting a 2-out, walk-off 3-run homer in just his second Brewers at-bat, again in a pinch-hitting role. Not a bad first impression for the power-hitting first baseman. Rookie starting pitcher Jim Atwell was not at his best in what might be his last regular season start of 1978, giving up 6 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings of work, though he did strikeout 8 batters while walking just 2.(Though he did go 2 for 3 at the plate with 2 RBI.) He still had a chance for the win, but veteran left-handed reliever Jason Gottula, having a bad second half of the season, blew the save. Young Brandon Veach (2-0, 0.00) picked up the win in relief. Brett Taranto looks like he is well on the way to his first batting title, and possibly the league MVP award, as he went 3 for 5, scoring 3 times (111 runs scored), hitting 2 doubles to get to 30 on the season. Recent call-up Willie Olivarez was 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored and an RBI and also hit 2 doubles, his first as a Brewer. And Joe McPhillips went 2 for 4 and drove in 2 runs to get to 90 RBI on the year.

Brooklyn's Jose Hernandes had a rough outing against L.A. and saw his ERA rise to 2.32, making it more likely that Sadahige Kawasaki could end the year with the MGL's best ERA.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:

Attachment 740932
Attachment 740933
Attachment 740934

El Paso came from behind for a walk-off win against Jacksonville to maintain a slim hold on the top spot in the SJL standings.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia got a great start from their number 4 starter, sinker specialist Tristan Russell, who shut out San Antonio on 4 hits. Our old friend Harry Lyerly took the loss for the Keys in this one.
Columbus suffered a tough loss in Pittsburgh and Boston lost a 13-inning battle with Washington.

While Boston and Columbus can still get back in things, it is looking more and more like this one will come down to the El Paso Dawgs and the Philadelphia Mud Hens. El Paso holds onto a slim 1 game lead with just 6 games remaining for both teams.

Could be nice to see standings, to be able to follow pennant race.

[BirdWatcher]

With several great WPK players having done their best to keep their careers alive in 1978 but with minimal success, it is now official that future Hall of Fame candidates like Jake Harris (sure thing), Jaime Schardein (probably near miss), and Brad Tesh (anybody's guess) have hung up the spikes.





Danny Sanchez, who won the MGL MVP award in 1968, has also called it quits at age 38.



Former Brewer slugger Antonio Puente, who has been languishing in the minor leagues for most of the past four seasons, is also walking away from the game at age 34.



Other former Brewers who have announced their retirements in the past few weeks include utility infielder Jose Bravo, second baseman Arturo Baca, outfielder Brian Coppola (a Brewer draft pick who was in the farm system for some time but never wore a Brewers uniform- played parts of 3 seasons with Charlotte), and relief pitcher Brad Schmidt.

Among significant former WPK'ers now retired, the list includes 4-time All-Star third baseman Ron Ganier, 5-time All-Star shortstop David "Big Time" Alvarez, 1966 MGL Rookie of the Year Jay Ebersole, 1969 MGL Rookie of the Year Luis Machado, one of the earliest star Cuban-born WPK players, 1965 SJL Reliever of the Year Micah Ray, and long-time Los Angeles reliever Barry Guy.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Andrej72

Could be nice to see standings, to be able to follow pennant race.

Well, to be fair, I am basically giving you all of the relevant standings day-by-day.

But sure, I aim to please- so here is the current look at each league.
Obviously, as well documented here, there is no pennant race in the MGL as our Brewers wrapped this up awhile ago.

[Andrej72]

Originally Posted by BirdWatcher

Well, to be fair, I am basically giving you all of the relevant standings day-by-day.

But sure, I aim to please- so here is the current look at each league.
Obviously, as well documented here, there is no pennant race in the MGL as our Brewers wrapped this up awhile ago.


Attachment 740953
Attachment 740954

Thanks! Now it is more clear now. Only top teams will advance and they will play World Series, right?

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Andrej72

Thanks! Now it is more clear now. Only top teams will advance and they will play World Series, right?

Yes, that is correct.
No pressure, but you would probably have a much better feel for this league if you went back and read some of the history in the threads here. I like to think that I've done a pretty good job of building the story line but it is cumulative in nature.

[Andrej72]

Sorry, I was a bit confused. In my save, started in 1972 and with 24 teams, for some reason AI configured the league with Wild Card Game option, although Wild Card Game concept was not even in sight back then.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers:



Steve Green (15-9, 3.58) deserved better in this one, his only real mistake being a fat pitch to veteran power-hitting outfielder Nick Stier in the 1st inning, that Stier hit into the seats to plate the first two runs of the game. And that would be all San Francisco would need as the Brewers couldn't get anything started against 29-year old Geoff Connell, who has very much over-achieved since his September 1st call-up, and closer Joe Hall, who is simply a great pitcher. Green went the distance in the loss, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits while striking out 7 and walking just 1. Val Guzman went 2 for 4 in the loss and Brett Taranto's lone hit was his 31st double of the season and drove in the lone run of the game, for Brett's 99th RBI.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:




And then there were four.
The Columbus Whalers shut out the San Antonio Keys who are now mathematically eliminated from contention, ending the great Bud Lindsay's hopes for a chance at post-season glory this year.
El Paso got a narrow victory over Pittsburgh to remain in first place, still 1 game ahead of the Philadelphia Mud Hens, who got a big game from former Brewer Mike Lovett, who hit his 28th home run and went 2 for 3 to lead them to a big win over Boston, who now fall to 4 games back in 4th place.

So Boston is hanging on by a thread, while Columbus continues to battle but is running out of time and El Paso and Philly remain in the top two slots of the league with just 5 games remaining on the regular season schedule.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers:



With a shutout win over San Francisco the Brewers set a new team single-season high in wins with 109, exceeding their previous high of 108 set in 1971.

When facing a tough, veteran starting pitcher- and that is precisely what the Velocity's Mike Stagner is- it is always good to try to get to them early before they have a chance to settle into their rhythm. And so it was huge when the Brewers started this game with a walk followed by 3 straight hits, including Willie Olivarez 3rd double in his brief time with the team, and had scored their 3rd run on the first out of the game. With Erik Sloan (10-4, 4.06) in fine form and a strong 3 innings of relief from rookie Rand Pinti, that was more than enough. Sloan worked 6 innings, giving up 5 hits while striking out 4 and walking 1. Pinti was perfect in his 3 innings, striking out 3 batters and not allowing a base runner. Joe McPhillips went 2 for 4 in the game and hit his 26th double.

In other MGL news, L.A.'s great veteran third baseman Jesus Hernandez continued to build his case for a 2nd MGL MVP award, leading his team to an 8-5 win over Portland, going 2 for 4 and hitting his league-leading 30th homerun. It is the 4th time in his 14-year career that Hernandez has hit at least 30 homers in a season.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:





The El Paso Dawgs, once the doormats of the league, inch another step closer to reaching their first Kinsella Classic Series as their own great veteran third baseman and team captain Trevor Leach led the team to a victory over Pittsburgh with a 4 for 5, 3 runs scored, 2 RBI game, hitting his 15th homer of the year (the 160th of his career). Their 26-year old starting pitcher Zachary Shackleford, #3 in their strong rotation, gets his 19th win of the season.
Meanwhile their nearest competitor, Philadelphia, was suffering a painful loss, giving up 6 runs to the Boston Berserkers in the 8th inning and then falling short in their attempt to re-gain the lead.
The Columbus Whalers get a win over San Antonio (again) to stay in the hunt, for the time being.
With 4 games left things look pretty good for El Paso but they do play their last 3 games at home but against the mighty Columbus Whalers so this is far from over.

El Paso is in 1st with Philly now 2 games out in 2nd, Columbus 3 games back in 3rd, and Boston barely hanging in there in 4th place, 4 games back.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers:



Antonio Valadez, a 22-year old sinkerball specialist, who was a surprise addition to the club when the roster was expanded on September 1st, is control challenged but the latest development indications are that he might have some potential still to become a useful back end of the rotation arm. Yesterday he was given the first start of his career at the big league level and although he looked a bit out of his depth he was actually quite good for his first 4 innings. Things got a little hairy in the 5th inning but while his pitching line does show that he gave up 5 runs on 8 hits over 4 2/3rds innings, he certainly wasn't helped by having Ben Flynn come in with 2 men on base and promptly give up a double which scored them both. All in all it wasn't really the worst first taste of the bigs and the kid will almost surely get more chances in the future. Plus the Brewers weren't able to get much going against Chris Martin, who was trying to avoid taking his 20th loss of the season. Martin, who was picked by the Brewers in the WPK inaugural draft but was traded away before making it to the big leagues, has had some fine seasons in his long but uneven career, but at this stage his basically 2-pitch repertoire might make him a bit poorly cast as a starter. (He has a great curveball, a good sinker, and a poor changeup.) Joe Willemse went 2 for 5 and hit his 11th double and Brett Taranto and Antonio Acuna also doubled- for Brett it was the 32nd two-bagger and for Acuna it was number 13.

The Shoeless Joe League Pennant Race:




And the Boston Berserkers fall out of the race with a loss to Philadelphia.
But with Philly, El Paso, and Columbus all winning things stay tight and unchanged at the top.
We now enter the month of October and each team has one last 3-game series. Two of the teams play each other as El Paso hosts Columbus while Philadelphia is at Houston.
El Paso's magic number is 2 so they clearly are in the driver's seat but playing the Whalers is a much tougher task then taking on the last place Cavaliers. So this should be fun and exciting to the end.

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



Heading into a pennant stretch you find yourself wondering which superstar or superstars (or non-star surprises) might lift their team on their back and do their best to carry them to glory. I'd say that winning the September Batter of the Month honors is a pretty good indication that a player might have done just that. If the Philadelphia Mud Hens do end up winning the SJL pennant it certainly won't be just because their superstar veteran second baseman Xiao-mei Mah upped his already elevated game, but it will have been a big factor. And if they don't quite make it, well, you won't be able to blame Mah.

MGL:



Dan Kaeding spent just a short time in the Brewers minor league system (having joined the team in a trade that sent relief pitchers Jaden Francis and Jeremy Walker to San Francisco.) And while the Brewers brain trust liked the kid it is very hard to find a place in the very talented Denver outfield and he was not added to the 40-man roster and was gobbled up by the expansion Chicago Fire in the 1975 Rule 5 draft. And while the 27-year old hasn't exactly become a star since, he has been a solid big league ballplayer for the past three seasons. In September he was even somewhat better than that.

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



It might be argued that a pitcher who only appears once every 5 games or so can't really carry his team on the back to a pennant, but let's not under-estimate the importance of the stretch run performances of El Paso starter Zachary Shackleford (also one of the best names in the game) as the Dawgs close in on what they hope will be their first SJL pennant. It should be remembered that Shackleford is slotted in to El Paso rotation not at the very top, or even second, but as their third starter. It's hard to argue that he wasn't the true number one this past month.

MGL:



The days of true Obando-mania may be a thing of the past, but let's not imagine that when he is healthy Mr. Obando isn't still one of the best starters in the game. He is, and he proved it again this past month. While he won't win his 2nd MGL Pitcher of the Year award (how could he climb over the likes of Aaron McNally and Sadahige Kawasaki?) he'll be in the mix once again, surely.

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



Bobby Glaus was the Pittsburgh Roadrunners 2nd round draft pick in the 1974 amateur draft after a fine collegiate career as a member of the Chandler College Crawdads. And he's been a perennially award winning player in the minors while somehow never cracking any Top 100 Prospect lists. He's 26 now and finally getting some playing time in the big leagues. And you have to wonder, what took so long? The kid's smart, a fine defender, a good contact hitter who will rarely strike out. Sure, he's not fast, but he has good base stealing savvy and technique and he's a well above average base runner. He also won't draw a ton of walks, but he has average power and above average gap power. And, well, look at what the kid did in September. It says here he has earned his chance. At long last.

MGL:



Brewers nation likes to think of Jim Atwell as the MGL Rookie of the Year. And, yeah, he's had a mostly quite good season and almost surely has a bright future ahead of him. But let's be real, the MGL Rookie of the Year is the kid above. Like Glaus, he is 26 and getting a bit of a late start in the bigs. But watch out MGL- this guy's for real. And he's only going to get better.

[BirdWatcher]

Backup catcher Kirk Patnode, known as one of the best defensive backstops in the game, was the last member of the Brewers active roster who was arbitration eligible at the end of the season and as yet unsigned. Now he is, as he and the club agreed on a $93,000 deal for next season.



The general feeling is not only that the pitching staff counts on his incredible skills behind the plate but also that his leadership in the clubhouse will be needed more than ever next season, with the likelihood being that longtime team captain Matt Helm won't be brought back for 1979. (The club has an option to buy-out the last year of his contract.)