The Denver Brewers of the W.P. Kinsella League

[BirdWatcher]

Along with a strong starting pitching rotation, one of the keys to the Brewers great season thus far has been the play of their three starting outfielders, and this week center fielder Joe McPhillips particularly shined bright, earning MGL Player of the Week honors for the second time this season.

[BirdWatcher]

Things got very testy in Detroit's Conway Park between the home town Falcons and their visitors, the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings, in yesterday's game.



Young Oklahoma City starting pitcher Joe Shetler had hit Detroit's star catcher Zach D'Amico with a pitch in the 1st inning and when he then also hit Detroit left fielder Danny Rivera with the third pitch he threw him in the 7th inning, Rivera decided he'd seen enough and charged the mound, leading to an all-out bench-clearing brawl between the two clubs.
It should be noted that Rivera does not have a reputation for having, shall we say, a pleasant disposition (Disruptive) but no doubt the home fans in this case were not displeased with his aggressive reaction. And apparently league officials also saw some intentionality on the part of young Mr. Shetler as he was handed a 10-day suspension while Rivera will only miss half of that time as punishment for his part in the starting the brawl.

It is an unfortunate turn of events for the Diamond Kings as Shetler is proving to be one of the brightest young pitching stars in the league and one of the few contenders to deny Sadahige Kawasaki a second straight MGL Pitcher of the Year award (though at this point it seems to be Sadahige's to lose.) In addition to his great talent, Shetler is a real fan favorite with his strong work ethic and well-articulated intelligence.

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



Game 1:



The Brewers have largely owned the Lords this season and that trend continued in this series, with game 1 featuring a terrific day at the plate for Val Guzman who went 4 for 4 and continued his recent power hitting trend with a pair of dingers to get to 15 on the season. Val also hit his 29th double, swiped his 20th base, and threw a runner out at home plate for his 6th assist, as he continues to build a legitimate MVP case. Much the same can be said of right fielder Antonio Acuna, who only had one hit in this one but it was his team-high 19th home run. And Sadahige Kawasaki continues to look like the prohibitive favorite for the MGL Pitcher of the Year award for 1979 (it would be his second consecutive) as he went the distance, giving up just 1 run- and he didn't allow that until there were 2 outs in the 9th inning- on 6 hits. Kawasaki also went 2 for 4 at the plate including hitting a big 2-out, 2-run double in the 6th inning.

Game 2:



Brewers third baseman Jake DiCesare (.324/.365/.517) is quietly having a great season- when he's healthy- and he led the offense to a game 2 win as he went 3 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBI, hitting his 14th home run of the season. Val Guzman stays red-hot, going 3 for 5 and picking up his team-best 21st stolen base. Joe McPhillips (.309/.397/.501) was 3 for 5 and hit his 25th double and threw a runner out at home plate for his 9th outfield assist. Sekien Hamasaki gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits over his 6 1/3rd innings but still earned the win and Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 25th save.

Game 3:



The Brewers get their second straight series sweep and have won six in a row now and Joe McPhillips (.313/.400/.503) remains hot, going 3 for 5 again. Jim Atwell got the start for the Brewers and pitched better than his line indicates in spite of not getting the win. Atwell worked 7 2/3rds, being charged with 4 runs on 5 hits, and Nick Schroeder came in and failed to hold the lead but vultured the win. Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 26th save in 28 chances.

Notes from around the league:




You have to feel kind of sorry for Jalen Cotton. The ultra-durable left-handed starting pitcher, who was the 3rd pick overall in the 1968 draft, has pitched most of his career on losing teams and has twice had the unwanted distinction of leading the league in losses. And yet the reality is that on the right team or teams he has the talent that he could have been considered one of the best pitchers in the game and even possibly a Hall of Fame candidate. In his best seasons he has been dominant: in 1972 he went 16-9 with a 2.07 ERA and helped lead the Charlotte Sting to their lone WPK Championship and in 1974 he was 18-8 with a 2.92 ERA. While his career win-loss record is 129-134 he has a respectable career ERA of 3.47 and WHIP of 1.26 with a career FIP- of 94. To be fair, his Wins Above Team number isn't a high as one might imagine, at 9.73. And he is the 16th highest paid player in the league and will see his annual salary rise to $466,000 per year for the next three seasons. Still, it might be some time still before the Chicago Fire are any good and this will likely continue to depress his statistics. This year the Fire are so far the worst team in all of the WPK, sitting in 12th place in the SJL with a 43-74 record, 37 1/2 games behind the first place San Antonio Keys.
The Keys (80-36) lead Columbus (78-38) by 2 games and the Philadelphia Mud Hens (70-46), who continue their second half surge and have won 6 straight, by 10 games.

Over in the MGL, the Brewers, who have also won 6 straight, now have a comfortable cushion of 16 games over the Los Angeles Spinners and Detroit Falcons, tied for 2nd with 64-53 records. Brooklyn (63-54), in 4th place, trails Denver by 17 games.

[BirdWatcher]

Many around the WPK wonder how Joe Barbour fell all the way to the 5th round in the 1977 draft but give credit to Portland for not letting him fall any further than that. The young man who has already emerged as the team captain at the tender age of 23 nearly threw a no-hitter back at the end of June, but had to settle for a 1-hit shutout of the San Francisco Velocity on that occasion. But yesterday he got his first career no-hitter, in just his 27th big league start. The durable young man with the nasty slider and deceiving changeup looks to have a bright future ahead of him. And no matter what happens he will always have the memory of being in rare company as one of the small club of people who can say that they have achieved a no-hitter as a pitcher at the highest levels of baseball.

Congrats to the hard working young Mr. Barbour!

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



It is a bit hard to understand why the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings find themselves at the bottom of the pile in the MGL this season. Looking at their lineup you see some very dangerous hitters, including perennial dark horse MVP contender Jaime Benjamin, speedy young second baseman Justin Banks, great veteran third baseman Kevin Reed, and their latest sensation- 24-year old left fielder Xu-Gang Chan, the Taiwanese-Venezuelan scouting discovery find who is off to a .409/.442/.693 start in his first 21 big league games. Add former Brewers Josh Schaeffer at the top of the order and power-hitting first baseman Jacob Kieft at number 5 in the lineup and it is not a walk in the park to face this team as an opposing pitcher. And with Banks and the light-hitting shortstop Luis Soto up the middle and a former Gold Glover at third in Reed they have tremendous infield defense. As for the pitching staff, they do have some solid veteran arms in Parker Rayfield and Craig Luther at the top of the rotation along with the terrific young Joe Shetler and there are a few other young arms with potential as well in the hard throwing Steve Meehan and the smart and durable 24-year old Mike Macca with his good cutter and above average movement and control. And while closer Ben Bakeman is having one of the toughest seasons of his great career, all indications are that at age 30 he still has the tools to be a top notch reliever. Somehow it just hasn't added up to wins for this team, but when they come to town it doesn't pay to get over-confident. (Having said that, the Brewers have taken 10 of 12 in the season series thus far.)


Game 1:



And the Diamond Kings put an end to the Brewers recent winning streak in game 1 as veteran lefty Parker Rayfield holds the Denver hitters in check and Ben Bakeman picks up his 18th save. Steve Green takes the loss, allowing 5 runs on 10 hits over 7 innings pitched. You can't blame this one on Brewer MVP candidate Antonio Acuna though, as he went 3 for 4 with a run scored and 2 driven in and hit his 12th double and 20th home run of the season, while also swiping his 19th base.

Game 2:



The Brewers bounce back in game 2, with their own veteran lefty Erik Sloan getting the win, having allowed 2 runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 and walking 1 over his 6 1/3rd innings pitched. And once again it was the Antonio Acuna show, as he went 3 for 4 with a run scored, 2 driven in, and hit his 13th double. Oklahoma City's young starting pitcher Mike Macca was actually shutting the Brewers down until the bottom of the 6th inning but the one Brewer he absolutely could not retire in this game was catcher Zacarias Martell (.291/.366/.385) who was 4 for 4 with an RBI in this one.

Game 3:



And the Brewers take the series with an easy game 3 victory, with Sadahige Kawasaki once again nearly perfect, working 8 innings while giving up no runs on 6 hits and striking out 8 batters and walking just 1. Hey guess who starred for the Brewers on offense? Okay, that was easy, right? Antonio Acuna (.384/.438/.636) was 4 for 4 in the game, scored 3 runs, drove in 2, hit his 14th double and 6th triple. Acuna now easily leads the MGL in batting average and OPS (1.074), SLG, ISO (.252), OPS+ (164), and wOBA (.456). He is second in OBP, and WAR (5.8 to Detroit's John Hemmah with 6.1), 3rd in RBI (79), 4th in Runs Scored (78), 5th in HR (20), 6th in Total Bases (223), and 8th in triples (6). It seems the Brewers made the right decision in trading Josh Schaeffer and installing Acuna as the everyday right fielder. In this one Acuna was playing left however, as Val Guzman needed a bit of a breather, and Eric Hammock, playing in right field, went 3 for 3 with 2 RBI. Joe McPhillips (.314/.400/.500) was 2 for 5 in this one and scored twice and also threw out a runner at home for his 10th assist of the year.

Notes from around the league:



Bill Ramiro is one of those guys who just shows up year after year, ready to hit, not making many friends but not really making enemies either, rarely getting in the headlines, nobody's idea of a superstar but you can pencil him in everyday in your lineup (he is rarely hurt) and he mostly won't hurt you. He's not going to win any Gold Gloves, but he's got a strong arm so it might be best you not test it. And every once in awhile you get a 3-homer game from him. And let's face it, you and I don't have the talent to last in the big leagues for nearly a decade, putting up nearly 24 WAR.
After having spent his entire career in Oklahoma City Ramiro was traded to San Francisco earlier this season and these are his first 3 home runs for his new team, which currently sits in 5th place in the MGL, with a 59-61 record, 23 games behind the first place Denver Brewers.
Los Angeles (67-53) is in 2nd place, 15 games behind the Brewers and Detroit (66-54) in 3rd, 16 games back. The Brooklyn Aces, ever the underachievers (2nd best run differential in the MGL), are in 4th place at 64-56, 18 games behind Denver.

Over in the SJL, San Antonio (81-38) holds onto 1st place by 2 games over Columbus (79-40) with the Philadelphia Mud Hens (72-47) continuing to slowly gain ground, now just 9 games out of first.

[BirdWatcher]

This should come as no surprise.

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



Game 1:



The Brewers shut out the Sting in the series opener behind Sekien Hamasaki, who lasts 7 1/3rd innings (with his recent injury issues it was decided not to push him past 110 pitches in spite of the fact that he was hurling a shutout) not allowing any runs while giving up just 5 hits, striking out 6 and walking 1 batter. Val Guzman (.317/.406/.521) went 2 for 4 and his 2 hits were both doubles to get him to 32 for the season. Rich White, experiencing his usual second half of the season offensive decline, did get one hit, a 3-run triple, his 9th of the season.

Game 2:



The Brewers score 5 first inning runs and then barely hold on to get a 1-run win in the middle game of the series. Jim Atwell got the win, going 6 1/3rd while giving up 4 runs on 7 hits. The big 26-year old right hander also went 2 for 2 at the plate and drove in 1 run. Atwell had to leave the game prematurely (though he was likely going to be pulled soon) as he was experiencing some back stiffness (it was minor and he won't miss any starts). Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 27th save. Jose Figueroa (.333/.353/.390) went 2 for 4, scoring 1 run and driving in another and he picked up his 4th stolen base of the season. Figueroa will get more starts at third base for a little while as the oft-injured Jake DiCesare is dealing with a moderate case of knee tendinitis and was put on the 10-day IL.

Game 3:



With veteran right fielder Ricky Salinas (the 1974 SJL MVP) leading the way, the Sting avoided getting swept in Denver by winning a slugfest in the final game of the series. Steve Green had his worst start of the season, allowing 9 runs on 11 hits over just 3 1/3rd innings. On the brighter side, Green did hit a home run, the very first in his big league career, which has included 691 plate appearances. Ben Flynn's pitching inconsistencies continue as he gave up 4 runs on 3 hits over an inning and a third and sees his ERA rise back up to 5.25. Val Guzman (.319/.406/.526) had another great game, going 3 for 5, scoring twice, driving in 2 runs, and he hit his 16th home run as his power game continues its second half resurgence. Zacarias Martell (.289/.359/.388) went 2 for 5 and drove in 3 runs, hitting his 5th home run of 1979.

Notes from around the league:



Among the single season individual statistics that might be under threat this season is Cheol-han Lee's shutout mark of 9, which he set in his pre-Denver days as a member of the Milwaukee Cadets back in 1968. Detroit's veteran Japanese right handed starter Kantaro Yasui doesn't have the most impressive basic pitching stats but when he is on he has been very good this year and on Monday he pitched his 8th complete game and hurled his 7th shutout of this season and is on pace at this time to tie Cheol-han's single-season record.
The Detroit Falcons, the surprise first half team in the MGL, seem to have a reversed a bit of a mid-season trend downwards in the standings, and are showing staying power as a contender, currently tied with L.A. in 2nd place in the MGL, 15 games behind the Brewers at 69-54. The Brooklyn Aces (67-56) are 17 games out in 4th place.

Over in the SJL, San Antonio (84-38) has now stretched their lead over Columbus (80-42) to 4 games. The Philadelphia Mud Hens (74-48), trying to move into serious contention, are now 10 games back in 3rd place.

[BirdWatcher]

Well, that's one way to get to the bullpen early.



In yesterday's game Ben Flynn, getting a rare start at first base, came up to the plate in the first inning against Brooklyn starter Joel Travino, right after Bobby Erbakan had homered to give Denver an early lead, and was plunked by the 4th pitch of the at-bat. Flynn apparently took exception with this and charged the mound, instigating a bench-clearing brawl.
The result was that both Flynn and Travino were ejected from the game and later learned that they would have to serve 4 and 6 game suspensions, respectively.

[BirdWatcher]

The Denver Brewers third baseman Jake DiCesare has established himself this year as a star player, both at the plate and in the field. Unfortunately, it also has become clear that the injury bug will be a problem for him.
His recent nagging injury isn't healing as well as hoped and his time on the IL will last a bit longer than originally anticipated.



The good news for the Brewers is that they have Jose Figureroa, who is a good contact hitter and solid fielder at third, who can capably take over while DiCesare is recovering. But make no mistake, Figueroa does not bring the same level of value to the team as a healthy Jake DiCesare can.

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



Game 1:



Erik Sloan picked an unfortunate time to have perhaps his best start of the season as it came in a game when the great Brooklyn Ace (in more ways than one) Aaron McNally shutout the Brewers to get a 1-0 win. Sloan went the distance for the visitors, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 4 and not walking a batter. The Brewers only managed 4 singles off McNally, whose record this year is not indicative of just how tremendous he has once again been, but Antonio Acuna did pick up his 20th stolen base in this one.

Game 2:



And the Brewers Ace, Sadahige Kawasaki, was outpitched by Jose Hernandes in game 2 as the Aces won again and secured at least a series win. Sadahige was mostly good but had a tough 5th inning and gave up 5 runs on 7 hits over his 7 innings pitched for the loss. The Brewers were held to just 4 hits for the second straight game, with Jose Figueroa (.329/.348/.383) collecting 2 of them in his 3 official at-bats. Joe McPhillips' (.309/.398/.493) 27th double was the lone extra base hit for Denver.

Game 3:



And after a first inning bench-clearing brawl (reported earlier) the Brewers, perhaps a bit fired up, managed to get a narrow victory in game 3 to avoid being swept in Brooklyn. Starter Sekien Hamasaki wasn't bad- giving up 3 runs on 4 hits (and 4 walks) over 6 1/3rd innings- but didn't get a decision. Left-handed reliever Nick Schroeder pitched a very fine inning and two thirds for the victory and Tim Shore worked out of a jam in the 9th, striking out the dangerous Tommie Signor to get the final out with runners stranded on the corners, for his 28th save. Bobby Erbakan (.304/.352/.495), having a good second half, led the offense with a 3 of 4 performance, hitting his 15th double and his 20th home run, tied with Antonio Acuna for the team lead again in this category. Val Guzman (.314/.403/.519) only collected one hit but it was his team-best 33rd double of the season.

Notes from around the league:



In the pitching hotbed of Columbus, the young guys- Kevin DeRouen, who is 17-5 with a 2.65 ERA and Jay Crosby, 17-5, 3.14- are getting much of the attention- but veteran 2-time SJL Pitcher of the Year Jim Norris is somewhat quietly having another great season also, and Friday evening the 28-year old left-hander tossed a 4-hit shutout against El Paso, striking out 11 and walking just 1 batter.
Columbus, largely on the strength of their world-class rotation (last year's SJL Pitcher of the Year, Luis Ramirez, is 17-9 with a 3.07 ERA at the top of the rotation), is in 2nd place, but at 82-43 they have now fallen 5 games behind San Antonio (87-38), winners of 6 straight. Philadelphia (76-49) is still in 3rd place, but once again 11 games out of first and with September approaching they are starting to run out of time.
Speaking of running out of time- the Chicago Fire (47-79) and the Houston Cavaliers (47-77) have both been mathematically eliminated from contention in the SJL in the past few days.

In the MGL, the Brewers, having lost 3 of their last 5 games, see their lead over 2nd place L.A. (71-55) shrink slightly to 14 games, while 3rd place Detroit (70-56) are now 15 games out. Brooklyn, who just took 2 of 3 from the Brewers, sit in 4th place with a 69-57 mark, 16 games back.

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



Game 1:



The Brewers gave starter Jim Atwell plenty of run support in the series opener, and Atwell did his part as well, going 8 innings while allowing 3 runs on just 5 hits, striking out 8 and walking 1, in spite of a shaky first few innings. Atwell (.309/.300/.368) also went 1 for 2 at the plate with a run scored and an RBI and a pair of successful sacrifice bunts. Bobby Erbakan's (.310/.358/.499) strong second half continues, as he goes 4 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI and steals 2 bases to get to 5 on the season. Brett Taranto (.322/.352/.437) has not had a great second half, but he did contribute in this one, going 3 for 6 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI and he hit his 9th home run. Eric Hammock (.352/.395/.577) was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 4 RBI and he hit his 4th home run of the season in a Brewers uniform (he also has 23 bombs with AAA Chester this year). And Antonio Acuna (.367/.424/.605) only collected one hit but he also walked twice and stole 2 bases to get to 22 on the season.

Game 2:



In game 2, the Brewers fought back from an early deficit to force extra innings, only to see veteran reliever Javy Bermudez allow 2 runs on 2 hits in the 10th inning, including a home run by Detroit's superstar center fielder John Hemmah- the main contender for the MGL MVP award who isn't a member of the Denver outfield-and then they weren't able to battle back a second time. Steve Green pitched 7 2/3rds innings giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits while striking out 8 and walking none. Antonio Acuna (.373/.428/.619) had been in a mini-slump but he went 4 for 5 in this one and hit his 21st homer and 16th double, driving in a pair of runs and swiping his 23rd base. And Brett Taranto's (.325/.354/.438) bat continued to show some signs of heating up as he was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI.

Game 3:



Things looked a bit grim early on for the Brewers when starter Erik Sloan had to exit the game having thrown only 1 pitch (which was hit to Joe McPhillips in center for the first out). It was later revealed that the veteran lefty was suffering from a mild abdominal strain and he is already recovered. With the bullpen a bit depleted due to Ben Flynn still serving his suspension and the always challenging former Brewer Hector Hard on the mound for the Falcons, some thought this was perhaps a game for the Brewers just to endure and write off. As it turned out, the bullpen was spectacular, even with the pressure of a very close game until late, when the Denver offense finally chipped away enough to give the pitchers a little breathing room. Adam Buhman, a veteran former starting pitcher, took the ball from Sloan and worked a gutsy 3 innings, followed by Javy Bermudez, coming off a disastrous 10th inning the night before. This time Bermudez was flawless over 2 2/3rds. And finally young lefty Rand Pinti, just recently recalled from AAA Chester (with Brandon Veach sent back to Chester) carried the shutout for 3 more innings to earn a save. Brett Taranto (.328/.356/.440) capped off a terrific series with a 3 for 5 day, scoring one run and driving in another. Brett was 9 for 16 against Detroit pitching in the three games. Antonio Acuna (.374/.430/.620) was 2 for 4 in this one, hitting his 17th double.

Notes from around the league:



With the calendar turning to September in just a few days, this seems like a good time to talk about the potential SJL hitting Triple Crown race that is being waged between 3-time MVP Bud Lindsay of San Antonio and former Brewer Mike Lovett of Philadelphia. Lindsay currently leads the SJL in batting average at .390 with Lovett second with a .384 BA. Lindsay also leads in home runs at 32. Lovett is second with 29. And Lovett has 120 RBI to lead all of the WPK in that category. Lindsay is next with 117.
As far as the MVP race though, with his sterling defense at shortstop and his great skills on the bath paths, Lindsay is once again the frontrunner. If he does win it again it will be the 4th straight year of getting this honor for the almost sure future Hall of Fame player.
With team captain Bud Lindsay leading the way the San Antonio Keys now lead the SJL by 5 games over Columbus (84-44) with an 89-39 WPK best record. Philly is hanging in there in 3rd place at 78-50, but still trail by 11 games as we approach the final month of the regular season. Boston has been playing well, but at 73-56 and trailing the Keys by 16 1/2 games it is probably too late for them to be thinking about a serious challenge. Meanwhile, the Seattle Alligators and the Washington Night Train have joined Houston and Chicago on the official also-rans list in the SJL.

Over in the MGL, the Brewers have a 14 game lead over L.A. (73-56), and lead Detroit by 16 now after their series win against the 71-58 Falcons. Brooklyn (70-59) remains in 4th place, 17 games out. Oklahoma City and Phoenix, each with a 52-77 record, are the first teams to be mathematically eliminated in the MGL this season.

[BirdWatcher]

The Scouting Report:



The Brewers face three very talented starting pitchers in a good pitcher's park in this series.

Game 1:



Jamil Morales, a 26-year old Israeli-American who was the 8th overall pick of the 1974 draft out of Worcester College, came up to the big leagues in 1975 and pitched that season and the next three in the Falcons bullpen before being traded to Portland mid-season 1978, where he was immediately installed in the rotation. It was a smart move by the Wild Things. Morales is a talented pitcher with a plus changeup and good movement whose only real weakness is a propensity for injury. (Thus far he mostly has suffered from nagging back issues but hasn't experienced any major arm injuries.) And in game 1 the Brewers batters saw the full force of his talent as he held the most talented lineup in the MGL to just 1 run on 4 hits. Tough loss for Sadahige Kawaski, who went the distance for the Brewers, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits. Rich White (.286/.344/.448) was 2 for 3 in the game and Brett Taranto hit the only extra base hit for the Brewers, his 4th triple of the season.

Game 2:



Brad Evans holds the single-season record for walks allowed with 161 bases on balls issued in the 1977 season. Evans is arguably the most control challenged pitcher in the WPK. But he also has one of the most elite curveballs in the game and is a durable groundball specialist with a great work ethic and a humble attitude. And this year he is having the best season of his career (when he's not pitching against us, this is something we applaud). In the middle game of the series Evans combined with the rising young relief star Joey Johnson to hold the Brewers to 1 run on just 3 hits (2 against Evans, as well as the run, unearned). It was Sekien Hamasaki's turn to suffer a tough loss for the Brewers. He went the distance, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits. Kirk Patnode (.316/.385/.385) hit the lone extra base hit for Denver- his 13th double. Antonio Acuna (.368/.427/.611) didn't get a hit but did walk twice, scoring the lone Denver run and stole his 24th base.

Game 3:



If you've been following the WPK at all you have already heard about young Joe Barbour, one of the rising pitching stars in the MGL and the Portland team captain. The Brewers offense woke up a bit against the young right-hander out of Bladensburg, Maryland, as they plated 3 runs on 8 hits against him, but Denver still fell short and the Wild Things got the series sweep. Jim Atwell gave up 4 runs on 7 hit with 4 walks and 5 K's over his 7 2/3rds innings to take the loss. Bobby Erbakan (.307/.353/.496) was 2 for 4 in the loss, scoring a run and driving in 2 and he hit his 21st home run of the season. Antonio Acuna (.370/.428/.615) was also 2 for 4 and hit his 7th triple and also threw a runner out at home for his 9th outfield assist of the year. And Val Guzman (.314/.402/.508) went 2 for 4, scoring 1 run. Our old friend Ruben "Streak" Souffront drove in what proved to be the winning run with his 8th inning RBI double. It hasn't been a good season for the 34-year old outfielder who is still among the fastest in the league and a fine left fielder but has a slash line of .210/.244/.298 and WAR of -1.2. He is under contract through the 1980 season, is an iron man, and is smart and adaptable, but it certainly seems that he is destined for a bench role before long.

Notes from around the league:



Yet another bit of evidence for the case that the Columbus Whalers have some of magical method for creating great pitchers. Juan Olguin spent much of the past 8 seasons pitching at the back end of the Columbus rotation before joining the Boston Berserkers this past off-season for backup catcher Tommy McCombs. (Interestingly, Olguin was originally drafted by Boston- in the WPK inaugural draft- but was traded to Columbus before he pitched any games for Boston. The Berserkers got superstar third baseman Kasey O'Neil in the deal so that worked out pretty well for them.) And here we are in 1979 with the 33-year old Olguin pitching at the top of the Boston rotation, and quite well. Columbus pitching cast-off's are stars on any other team.

We have reached September 1st so there will be a separate post to update all of the standings, so I'll skip that here.

A few quick notes about single-season performances and how they measure up against WPK records:
Jamar Clay of Columbus is up to 45 saves as he continues to add to his already record number of saves in a season.
Veteran starter Jesse Hartong of San Antonio is now 18-1 and will likely set a new WPK record for single season winning percentage.

Mike Lovett and Bud Lindsay are both now batting .387, a bit better than the current single season highest batting average of .385, set by the great Travis Johnson in 1966.
Mike Lovett's OPS of 1.101 is on pace to be the best ever, breaking Jesus Casiano's record of 1.078 set in his historic 1970 season.
It appears that Bud Lindsay may break the single season position player WAR record of 12.98 set by Curtis Horah in 1968.
Two players, both members of the high-octane San Antonio Keys- Bud Lindsay and Zach McClelland- are on pace to break the single season runs scored record, which is 138 and was set by Nate Bennett in 1977. (Lindsay is on pace for 155 and McClelland, 152.)
McClelland and Lindsay are also both on pace to break the single-season hits mark, which is 243, set by Lazaro Lowndes in 1977. McClelland is on pace to collect 250 hits and Lindsay 247.
Fred Reinhardt of Seattle may set a new single-season doubles record. He is on pace for 59, with the current record being 57, set by Pittsburgh's Bill Winchester in 1977.
Detroit's John Hemmah will likely set a new single-season stolen base record, as he is on pace for 80 and the current record is 72, set by Jeremy Brigatti in 1976.
Matt Van der Heyden may well break his own single-season bases on balls record, which he set last year when he walked 137 times. He is on pace for 140 this year.

[BirdWatcher]

the Shoeless Joe League:



The offensively gifted San Antonio Keys enter the last month of the regular season having stretched out their lead over the pitching-rich Columbus Whalers to 6 games. It is never wise to count out the mighty Whalers but things are looking good for the best player and leader in baseball, Bud Lindsay, to finally take his team to the promised land. [Imagine, if you will, Mike Trout finally having the support around him to contend for a championship.] It looks like the talented Philadelphia Mud Hens will fall short this year but they are mostly young enough that their window of opportunity should stay open for at least another few years. Jacksonville becomes the most recent team to be officially eliminated, but really this race comes down to San Antonio and Columbus unless Philly can pull off some kind of miracle.

the Moonlight Graham League:



Anyone who has followed the WPK at all closely over the course of the past several seasons will be unsurprised that the Brooklyn Aces are among the most under-achieving teams in the MGL. It remains mostly inexplicable but at some point a pattern that repeats season after season can't just be accidental. According to the statistical experts the Denver Brewers have a 100% chance of winning the MGL once again. Everyone in Brewers nation will tell you that this is an exaggeration and that with 30 games remaining nothing has been won yet. Still, it would be pretty amazing (astonishing, miraculous, really) if either Los Angeles or Detroit somehow caught the Brewers down the stretch. There really isn't much to talk about here. Unless, maybe, about just how horrible the Phoenix Speed Devils are.

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



Simply the best baseball player on the planet. Will this season end with Mr. Lindsay finally getting his well-deserved championship ring? (Not to mention his 4th straight MVP award.)


MGL:



The latest Brewer to be named the MGL MVP? It could be. (Detroit's John Hemmah will have something to say about that, and possibly also Brooklyn's slugging first baseman Danny Salvador, although he has cooled off in the second half.)

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



Oh, that Columbus pitching factory. The envy of the WPK.


MGL:



After just missing winning the ERA title (losing out to Denver's Sadahige Kawasaki) in 1978, his first year as a starter, Brooklyn's Jose Hernandes has had a disappointing 1979 campaign, but at least he seems to be heating up in the second half of the season.

[BirdWatcher]

SJL:



Jeff Mariani, the 23-year old left-handed reliever for the Seattle Alligators is believed to only be scratching the surface of his potential talent but it was enough to earn him the August Rookie of the Month honors. Mariani possesses a plus sinker and also throws a curveball that grades out as above average now but is thought to have the potential to eventually be one of the best in the game, if not the best. He reportedly isn't the most likeable young man, but he has the raw talent and potential to become one of the dominant closers in the game eventually.

MGL:



The San Francisco Velocity have quietly put together one of the best second half records in the MGL- second only to the Brewers- and with a number of young players just coming into their own (starting pitcher Jon Harrington, center fielder Greg Dohman, right fielder Brian Paul, left fielder Cameron Olsen, shortstop T.J. Williams, in addition to having arguably the best catcher in the MGL in 26-year old Andrew Litteral), the future is looking bright in the Bay Area. Add Tim Wilson to that mix. Wilson, a 3rd round pick out of Vanderbilt in the 1975 draft, has started 19 games for the Velocity this year, with mostly positive outcomes. He doesn't profile as a premiere starter the way Harrington does, but with a good team around him he should be a solid mid-rotation arm for an up and coming team. (Although he was recently moved back to the bullpen in a long relief role, his future should certainly be in the starting rotation.)

[BirdWatcher]

Quincy Schultz was the 9th pick overall in the this year's draft, taken by the Portland Wild Things. Shortly thereafter he was named the #35 best prospect in the WPK at the tender age of 18. Granted, he does have advanced development for a player his age but there can be no doubt that he has torn up the Rookie league in his first taste of pro ball.



And with his great makeup, good speed, defensive tools that should lead to Gold Glove awards, and power/contact hitting skills that are well above average, Schultz looks like the real deal. If he does have a weakness it is that his approach at the plate, in terms of selectivity and patience, isn't the best and doesn't project as ever being great. Will it limit his development? Only time will tell. But this reporter would be willing to take the chance with this kid.

[BirdWatcher]

With the active roster now up to a 40-player limit, the Brewers called up several players from AAA Chester to help down the stretch run and get some big league experience.

Among the call-ups are quite a few players who already have worn the Brewer uniform, either this season or last season, including starting pitcher Bryant Cox, relievers Tim Reinecke and Brandon Veach, catcher Erik Bettencourt, first baseman Richard Escamilla, and shortstop Geoff Bartholomew.

The lone call-up who is getting his first taste of the big leagues is outfielder Matt Catlett. Catlett, who turned 24 three days ago, started the season at AA Nashville where he hit .325/.382/.481 in 78 games and then was promoted to AAA Chester where he got off to a slow start but eventually hit an even better .341/.385/.488 in 52 games. Catlett is the Brewers best hitting prospect (with the possible exception of Eric Hammock, who was already on the big league roster) and has a good chance of becoming the starting center fielder eventually when Joe McPhillips is ready to relinquish that position. Although his over the fence power is below average, he has an elite contact tool and should rarely strike out and he possesses plus gap power, which paired with his elite speed should lead to plenty of extra base hits, especially in Centennial Stadium. He is a hard working kid with good range in the outfield, though he might be slightly error prone and has just an average throwing arm.



With the September call-ups to the big leagues, several other players in the organization saw themselves moving up to fill roster holes created, domino-like, on the various minor league teams. The most significant of these is starting pitcher Eric Maisch, who over the course of 28 starts for the single A Bainbridge Brawlers went 8-9 with a 3.23 ERA and a fine 1.13 WHIP. In addition to his decent numbers at Bainbridge, a big factor in Maisch's promotion to AA Nashville was the recent development update provided by the Brewers scouting department, which was very glowing with regards to the organization's top pitching prospect after Bryant Cox. (The feeling at this point is that Maisch may well surpass Cox soon.)



Speaking of Cox, the expectation was that he would be a member of the Brewers rotation for most if not all of the 1979 season and that did not end up happening. Cox did pitch very well after being sent back to AAA Chester (6-1, 2.70, 0.97 WHIP, in 9 starts) and he still profiles as a solid mid-rotation arm if not even a bit better than that. With Steve Green eligible for free agency at the end of the season and the Brewer scouting team seeing some indications of decline for Green at age 33, Cox will be given every opportunity of earning a full-time rotation slot next year and the plan is for him to get at least a few starts here down the stretch run. (Rumor has it that Green has inquired, more than once, about signing an extension with the Brewers, but the front office doesn't seem to be inclined to discuss this with him.)

[BirdWatcher]

So to step outside the reality of the WPK a bit I'd like to discuss a few things I have been thinking about lately regarding this league, and would love it if anyone wanted to give any feedback or reactions to these ideas as well.

I will say that with the thanks button no longer being an option it does sometimes feel a bit like a tree falling in the forest situation around here- I'm not really sure if anyone is hearing any of this, though the numbers of views would seem to indicate that someone is reading (or at least glancing) at my posts in this thread. Mostly I do this for myself- it helps me to focus on aspects of the league I might not otherwise and it is a bit like talking aloud in the sense that sometimes you haven't fully processed a thought until you try to convey it to someone else. But it would be nice to know that this is meaningful, at least a little, to someone other than me.

Anyway, here are the things I've been thinking about:

1) The Designated Hitter:
I will admit that my bias has been against the DH and allowing it to be a part of the WPK. While I do use the league evolution feature, the DH is one of the options I have not allowed. Having said that, I've been feeling some shifting in my opinion about this, both for the WPK and even for MLB IRL. To be clear, I'm not thinking about adding the Designated Hitter rule to the WPK at this time. But I am considering checking the box that makes this an option for league evolution and letting things happen as they will.
Any thoughts?
(I will say that one of my hesitancies around this is the fact that my Denver Brewers club has at least one really decent hitting starting pitcher in Jim Atwell, and a few others, like Sadahige Kawasaki and Sekien Hamasaki, who are good enough that they seem to come up with some big hits not that infrequently. On the other hand, Erik Sloan is just pitiful at the plate and drives me crazy in that regard. )

2) Expansion and league re-alignment/divisional play:

And this really is the big idea floating around in my head right now. I feel like it is time for the SJL and MGL to have a matching number of teams and I also feel like it would be good to introduce divisional play and expand the playoffs (just a bit.)
My attitude in the past has been to be very hands off with these sorts of things and let league evolution do its thing. That is still mostly my preference as philosophically and temperamentally I am inclined to not want to exert control over the details and would rather be surprised and have the feeling that the league is evolving very organically without my interference.
Having said that, I am inclined right now to reach in and exert a little divine intervention to make changes to the league structure as we head into the 1980's and add two teams to the MGL. After which I think I would turn off the possibility of expansion for a period of time, probably stretching at least a few game decades into the future.
Admittedly part of the impetus of this is the lack of a pennant race in the MGL this year and the minimal pennant race that exists in the SJL.
When I think about separating the two leagues into East and West divisions, I think about the possibility of an exciting pennant race this year between the Detroit Falcons and the Brooklyn Aces in the MGL East and the chance that an upstart team like the Falcons would have a better potential path to the Kinsella Classic Series. Granted, in the potential MGL West the Brewers would still be winning easily. But for me personally it would lead to another level of challenge in having to win an MGL playoff series before hoping to win a KCS championship series.
Over in the SJL, if the league had the divisions I envision, there would actually be less of a pennant race, with San Antonio easily running away with the SJL West while Columbus would have some competition from Philadelphia in the SJL East.

What I am trying to figure out is if I want to/should take the reins on this prior to the calendar flipping to 1980, not having any idea whether another expansion will kick in due to league evolution and how that would work out in terms of divisional play/re-alignment.

So, any ideas/concerns/opinions/advice?

[BirdWatcher]

Jesus Casiano, who had arguably the greatest single season as a hitter in the WPK history in 1970 when he had a slash line of .367/.423/.655, leading the league in hits with 234, in home runs with 46, and in RBI with 152, for an 11.6 WAR season and earning the SJL MVP award, the only one of his probable Hall of Fame career, has seen the writing on the wall and is stepping away from the game at age 37.



Casiano had a disastrous season for the Jacksonville Wolf Pack in 1978 and became a free agent at the end of the season, only to find that there was no market for him at this stage of his career. He did eventually sign a minor league deal with the El Paso organization and has played for their AAA club in Honolulu this season but having not received an invitation to join the big league club when the rosters expanded on September 1st, he must have seen that a return to the WPK was not in the cards.
The Jacksonville Wolf Pack is the only WPK team he ever played for, as it turns out, and he put up 70.7 WAR playing for them over the course of 14 seasons. He was an 8-time All-Star, 7-time Silver Slugger, and 6-time Gold Glove award winner as a third baseman. It looks like he will finish his career with the most doubles for a WPK player with 482 and the most RBI with 1,506. He is 4th on the career HR list at 353.