Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

Well, this series is living up to the hype so far.
Another roller-coaster ride. Another win for Denver in extras.

[BirdWatcher]

How sweep it is!
Another see-saw affair. Another Brewers victory. And this time it didn't require extra frames.
You might notice in this box score that 22-year old firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan went 3 for 4 in the game and hit his 21st double, which easily leads the team in that category. Erbakan has really been swinging a hot bat since the trade of Arturo Baca. It seems the young man wants to show the team that they didn't make a mistake in putting their full confidence in him to man this position going into the future.

So the Brewers end the week with a 7 1/2 game lead over their nearest competitor in the MGL, Phoenix, and 9 1/2 ahead of the 3rd place Los Angeles Spinners.
There is a lot of season left and it will not be wise for the Brewers to grow over-confident or complacent.
Still, as we enter mid-August, things seem to be heading the direction the team hoped.

[BirdWatcher]

And for the 3rd time this season, the WPK witnesses a no-hitter. This time by a front-line starting pitcher, Los Angeles Spinner Jason Wilson. Although Wilson has been improving every year he has been in the league, this year is looking like a breakout year for him as he is now 13-6 with a 2.13 ERA.
This is the third season in WPK history to see 3 no-hitters. There were 3 in 1965 and again in 1968. This is the first of the 1969 season in the MGL.

[BirdWatcher]

More accolades for premium prospect Joe McPhillips, as he earns Class A Player-of-the-Week honors.

[BirdWatcher]

WPK Ballpark Factors, revisited.

So I've taken a look at the ballparks of the Shoeless Joe League.
And the first thing I learn is that Brewers Field is indeed an outlier in the WPK with its seating capacity of 42,200. The average seating capacity of SJL ballparks is 22,760. The two largest parks (in terms of seating, anyway) are the Ballpark of Philadelphia (Philadelphia Mud Hens) at 26,900 and El Paso Grounds (El Paso Dawgs) at 26,700.
While no SJL park is quite as small as Los Angeles Grounds (17,700), there are two that are close, at 17,900 each. Interestingly, one of those is the Ballpark of Columbus where the current WPK champs (and the team with this year's best record thus far) the Columbus Whalers play. The other is where 2-time WPK champs Jacksonville Wolf Pack play (Wolf Pack Stadium).

I was not surprised to find that the SJL overall has parks that are more favorable to hitters than those in the MGL. While the MGL overall BA ballpark effect is 1.0068, the SJL is 1.0244. Hitting doubles should be a bit easier for an SJL batter as the ballparks combined average 1.0046 in that category, whereas the MGL is .9942. The MGL has a slight advantage in terms of triples: 1.006 compared to an even 1.000 in the SJL. But the SJL is a league slightly more conducive to HR's as the ballpark factors average out to 1.0223 while the MGL is 1.0036.

A few SJL hitter's parks:
Jacksonville is the best place in the SJL to hit for a high average (1.078), and especially favors right handed batters (1.085, tied with El Paso for highest). Lefties don't have it too bad either, though, as the park is third highest in the league at 1.065. The park is also second highest for doubles (1.074), 3rd for triples (1.060) though it is pretty much middle of the pack for HR's (1.009).
El Paso is a good park to hit for power and average though it suppresses other extra-base hits to a great extent. It is second for BA (1.075) and as mentioned above, like Jacksonville particularly favors right handed batters. It is the most HR friendly park at 1.125, which places it ahead of Brewers Field as the best place to hit the long ball. (Denver is second overall in the WPK.) and is very good in that category for both right handed batters (1.135, 1st in SJL) and left handed batters (1.105, 2nd in SJL).

Alligators Park, where the Seattle ballclub plays, is pretty much the mirror image of El Paso. Seattle is the worst place to hit for a high batting average in the SJL (and 2nd worst to the MGL's Baltimore park) at .945, though it is certainly a bit more forgiving to left handed batters (1.015, 6th best) than righties (.945, worst in SJL, tied with OKC for worst overall). Seattle is also a very tough place to hit HR's at .940 (only Charlotte and Phoenix in the MGL are worse) and is the absolutely worst place for right handed batters to hit HR's in all of the WPK (.905). On the other hand, Seattle is the ballpark that is most likely to inflate the number of doubles and triples (1.104, 1st in SJL in doubles, 1.100, 1st in SJL in triples and best in all of the WPK in this category)

Another SJL ballpark that should be pretty pitcher friendly is San Antonio's Keys Ballpark. This park is next to last in overall BA factor (.985), 8th in the SJL in HR factor (1.002), 9th in doubles (.922), and 7th in triples (.940).

Among SJL ballparks with interesting handedness splits is the Ballpark of Columbus (Columbus Whalers). While this park profiles as being overall hitter friendly, it is far better for lefties than righties. It is first in the SJL for lefties in BA (1.190) but 9th for righties (.980). It is second overall for HR's at 1.067 but while it is first for lefties at 1.1902, it is just 7th for righties at 1.000. (It is also middle of the pack in terms of doubles and triples.)

Right handed hitters fleeing Columbus may want to sign on with Philadelphia. Their ballpark is 4th overall for batting average but a solid third for righties at 1.045 and is favorable for HR's, 2nd in the SJL at 1.045. (Though, to be fair, this park is equal in HR favorability for batters from both sides of the plate.) (Like Columbus, Philly is not a great place for hitting doubles and triples.)

At this stage of the WPK's development, every park in the league is of the open air variety with grass playing surfaces. Though one wonders if a few of these teams might not be contemplating building new stadiums that might creatively help them mitigate extreme weather conditions (thinking in particular of Phoenix and Milwaukee here, but the trick is that we are about 20 years too early for retractable roofs at this point.)

[BirdWatcher]

In light of the SJL ballpark factors, I think this guy looks even more impressive. Jake Harris is arguably the best pitcher in the WPK and at age 30 he is on target to have perhaps his best season yet.
He pitches his home games in a pretty good hitters park in a pretty good hitters league. And he dominates. If he can continue at this level into his late 30's, he might well be the first HOF pitcher in WPK history.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers take 3 of 4 from the Falcons in Detroit. After scoring just 7 runs in the first 3 games of the series, the Brewers bats are booming in game 4 as they win 10-0.
In fact, 10 was the operative number in this game, as young Harry Lyerly fans 10 batters for the 3rd time in his rookie season with the Brewers. In spite of allowing 9 hits and 4 walks in the game, Lyerly pitches 8 shutout innings to improve to 5-1 with a 3.40 ERA. It helped that all 9 of the hits were singles and Lyerly, for the first time this season, did not allow a HR.
A few Brewers hitters who have been struggling quite a bit this season- Ryan Rodgers and Antonio Puente- seemed to come alive in this series. In fact, Rodgers was 4 for 5 in this most recent game and had 1 hit in each of the other three (including a double in game 3.) Puente was 2 for 4 in the game 2 loss and 3 for 4 with his 15th HR of the season in the third game.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers win 2 of 3 in Brooklyn against the Aces to maintain their 7 1/2 game lead over 2nd place Phoenix.
In the rubber match of the series, starting pitcher Diego Ramirez has to leave early but the bullpen does a terrific job in preserving the victory. Ramirez is diagnosed after the game as having a dead arm and is expected to be out for about 2 weeks (he was placed on the 10-day disabled list.)
The team calls up recently acquired prospect Adam Getchell from AAA Chester to take his spot on the roster.

The Brewers now come home to Denver for a big 4-game series against the Phoenix Speed Devils.

[BirdWatcher]

After dropping the first two games to Phoenix at Brewers Field, ace Daniel Torres, in spite of having one of his worst outings of the season, is bailed out by the offense (and some great defense, particularly by third baseman Jared Stephenson and right fielder Pat Rondeau, who came into the game late for defensive purposes) and improves to 12-3 (2.64).
Two big 2-run HR's key the win: first, a 4th inning blast off the bat of Jared Stephenson (15) and then an opposite field dinger off the bat of Tanner Yurek (12) the very next inning.
The Brewers are 6 1/2 games ahead of the Speed Devils now and have a 10 1/2 game lead over the third place Los Angeles Spinners.

[Augetout]

30 pages means you're way ahead of me in game recap/month recap/season recap skills. I will endeavor to learn from your path, to improve my own.

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Augetout

30 pages means you're way ahead of me in game recap/month recap/season recap skills. I will endeavor to learn from your path, to improve my own.

Well, I've been at this one for awhile and am completely caught up in this fictional baseball world. I think applying the word addiction would not be totally out of order.

[BirdWatcher]

But the Brewers fail to hold onto an early 4-1 lead in the 4th game of the series, and Phoenix takes the series 3-1 and trims the Brewers lead to 5 1/2 games.
Another rough start for Steve Alonso, who gives up 6 runs in 8 1/3rd innings pitched, allowing 3 HR's. He sees his record fall to 10-6 and his ERA rise to 3.21.

On the plus side, Juan Lujan continues to be quite valuable off the bench as a strong defensive infielder who can hit a bit too, as he showed by going 2 for 4 with a triple (his first) and 2 RBI.

[BirdWatcher]

In the first of three against Brooklyn at home, Harry Lyerly is sailing along for the first 5 innings having been staked to an early 4-0 lead. Things get a little dicey for him in the 6th and then even worse in the 7th when he allows a 2-out, 2-run HR off the bat of Luis Machado, which brought the Aces within one run of the Brewers. The Brewers got one in the bottom of the 7th to go up by 2.
But then closer Miguel Solis blew the save in the top of the 9th as once again Machado homered, this time to tie the game.
The bullpens both then settled down nicely and the game remained deadlock into the bottom of the 12th. After Ryan Rodgers led off with a walk, Antonio Puente moved him to second with a groundout to the secondbaseman, Oscar Vargas, who came into the game as a defensive substitute in the 8th inning, hit a little sinking liner single to left which moved Rodgers to third. Vargas then stole second to eliminate the traditional double play. Bobby Erbakan hit a sharp grounder to shortstop for the second out, with the runners frozen in place. The Aces walked Pat Rondeau to set up the force at any base and to face the weak hitting catcher, Matt Webb. What happened next was improbable, and for Brewers fans, exhilarating. On the very first pitch he saw, Webb blasted an opposite field Grand Slam into the rightfield seats. Game over!
Meanwhile, Phoenix was shut-out by Detroit, 3-0, so the Brewers are now 6 1/2 up in the standings.

[BirdWatcher]

Some guys I just don't get.
For instance, this is our starting rightfielder down at single A Bainbridge. He's not a premium prospect, but he has some skills and could be a decent major leaguer eventually.
He's been angry pretty much all season. What has angered him? Well, apparently his performance for one thing. He's hitting .326/.387/.464 with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 19 stolen bases (with only 4 CS). He has a 3.6 WAR for the season. Really, that's not good enough for you?
But he's also angry about his role on the team. He's the starting rightfielder, as I mentioned, getting virtually the same amount of playing time as two of his teammates who are the top two position player prospects in the organization- Joe McPhillips and Jonathan Koch. He's the teams leadoff hitter, not our number 7 or 8 guy. Maybe he wants to be in the middle of the lineup, but c'mon. Does he really have a reason to complain?
Some guys I just don't get.
(He's also a low work ethic guy. So maybe he's just looking for excuses.)

[BirdWatcher]

I just noticed how much the Brewers offense has improved since earlier in the year. We are now tied for 2nd in the MGL in runs scored, 2nd in BA and OBP, while of course remaining first in stolen bases and last in HR's. But given that we remain 1st in runs against, 2nd in starting pitcher's ERA and 3rd in bullpen ERA, and have the top defense in the league (not just by the standard of defense efficiency listed here), our first place position at this point seems pretty legit.

[BirdWatcher]

For the second game in a row, Luis Machado hits 2 HR's against the Brewers.
This time it helps his team to a 4-2 victory.
(Fortunately for the Brewers, Phoenix loses again and Denver remains up by 6 1/2 games.)

[BirdWatcher]

Thanks in large measure to the bat of Ruben Souffront, the Brewers take both ends of the Sunday doubleheader to win 3 of 4 in the series against Brooklyn.
Game 1 of the doubleheader took extras to decide and it was Ruben's third hit of the day that decided it in the bottom of the 13th.
Game 2 saw Adam Getchell get his first win in a Brewers uniform and hit his first HR not only as a Brewer but his first as a professional ballplayer, and in only his first AB for the team. It would prove to be just 1 of 4 HR's for the Brewers, as Ruben Souffront would hit a pair (a 2-run HR in the 3rd and a 3-run shot in the 6th) and up his team-leading RBI total to 81, and Bobby Erbakan, who had been slumping, hit a 2nd inning solo shot that would be just 1 of his 3 hits in the game.
It was a good thing the Brewers put on the offensive fireworks as young Mr. Getchell was not particularly sharp in spite of lasting 8 2/3rds innings.

The Brewers finish the week with a 7 game lead over the Speed Devils. Los Angeles now trails Denver by 12 and Oklahoma City by 12 1/2. While there is still plenty of time left (it is now August 25th), it certainly appears that this it will come down to a 2 team race in the MGL. And if Denver can just keep plugging away as they have been, there is a very real possibility that they will claim their first MGL pennant soon.

[BirdWatcher]

Young flamethrower Harry Lyerly deserved his sixth win, but the Brewers failed to give him run support and he suffered his second loss instead as the Brewers drop 2 of 3 to the visiting Detroit Falcons.
Lyerly not only went the distance giving up just 3 runs (2 earned) but he tied the Brewers single game record with 12 strikeouts while issuing just 1 walk.
With the loss, the Brewers see their lead over Phoenix shrink to just 5 games will need to locate their hitting skills soon again if they are going to maintain their MGL lead.

[BirdWatcher]

Although August ends as the best month of the season for the Brewers yet in terms of total wins and win percentage, they end the month a bit flat and lose big on the last day of August to the San Francisco Velocity, 10-0.
Fortunately for the Brewers, the Phoenix Speed Devils are a bit flat right now too and the Brewers still maintain a 4 1/2 game lead in the MGL. On the other hand, the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings have re-found some of their early season magic and have won 9 of their last 10 and are back to within single digits (9) of the Brewers.

Things have tightened up in the SJL a bit as well with reigning champs Columbus sputtering and the Jacksonville Wolf Pack playing well and having trimmed to Whalers lead to 5 1/2 games. We may have some pennant races coming down the stretch after all.

[BirdWatcher]

A pair of minor league outfielders in the Brewers organization won Player of the Week honors for the last week of August.
At AA Nashville, Jordan Gallardo continued to show advanced hitting skills as he has pretty much his entire minor league career. With the September 1st call-up to the Brewers of several AAA players, Gallardo has been promoted to the AAA Chester squad for the remainder of the 1969 season. It is thought that Gallardo has likely earned the right to compete for a back-up job with the Brewers for 1970.
Joe McPhillips, who is no stranger to awards, was once again named the Player of the Week at single A Bainbridge where he continues to impress. With Gallardo's elevation to AAA, McPhillips was moved up to AA Nashville today.
If McPhillips continues to show power potential, particularly, the thought is that the increasingly disappointing Antonio Puente may become expendable as the team will need to make room for this young potential star. McPhillips is clearly not WPK-ready yet, but with the progress he has been making and his great minor league success thus far, it is not unreasonable to expect him to earn a spot on the roster by 1971.