The Cloverland Leagues

Game On?

2010-11-30T20:34:00.000-08:00

I decided, after some deliberation, to move into the 21st century in terms of the baseball gaming. Seriously. I've been playing APBA Baseball for Windows, which has been fun but was a Windows 95 game. I've dragged it around from our old Windows 95 machine to my rootin'-tootin' dual-bootin' Dell running Windows 2000, to Virtual PC running on my ol' PowerMac. That was where the problems started, and it's only gotten worse since getting my MacBook Pro. I'm not interested in installing Parallels or Boot Camp or whatever it is-- I managed to avoid a whole bunch of tsuris at work because I didn't have even a virtual Microsoft machine on here when they got hit with a major cyberattack. So to play the game I'd have to either play on the old machine (which was already problematic) or, the lazy option I usually would pick, would use a VNC connection to the old machine and play it that way. But I...well, I don't digress but I'm clearly going on too long. The game isn't abandonware, but neither has an upgrade or new version been made since 1997, despite sporadic hope.

So I've decided to try Out of The Park Baseball (OOTP). I've been messing around for a few weeks, playing an All-Time All-Star League that was available on the web. So far so good, I'll post about that soon. I'm not exactly sure that I'll have a 1:1 correspondence with the games/simulations I was doing with the old game, but so it goes...

Northeast Corridor

2010-01-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

Recent and upcoming action centers on the Acela route. I mentioned Baltimore in the last post. The Boston Red Sox play-in is finished, and the 1948, 1949, 1995, and 2003 teams join the 12 Red Sox pennant winners in the qualification league, which I'll start... well, I'm not sure. Sometime soon? I'm still debating which team to manage, I'm leaning toward one of the Babe Ruth-era teams.

Over in the NL, I'm also setting up the Mets QL. Once again, should start soon. I'm less certain which team to manage here-- maybe 1969? Or maybe 1999. Finally, the Phillies QL is underway. At a bit over the 1/3 mark (I'm playing them to 180 games), the 1980 Phils are holding a 3.5 game lead over the 1978 team, with 1901 and 1976 another couple of games further back. I'm not sure who I was expecting, exactly. The teams with the best winning percentage in modern Phillies history are 1976 and 1977, the latter team is in 15th place (out of 16). The current dynasty of 2007-2009 are in 12th, 13th, and 14th. In case you're curious, Gene Mauch won't have to worry about a late choke in this league-- the 1964 Phils are deep in last place.

Back in yon saddle (or '69, dude!)

2010-01-17T07:41:00.000-08:00

Multiple crashes later...

We're back! We have a new router, which should work better. Home network has been messed with and is working better (knock knock knock). So I restarted up some of the leagues that have been so rudely interrupted:

For the Boston Braves, the previous state of affairs left the 1897 team well in front after 100 games. I ran through a replacement league and ended up with the 1897, 1898, and in a suprise, the 1948 teams all within a game of each other atop the league. So I ran it again. This time, as the first time, the 1897 Beaneaters held a healthy league at the end of things. So we welcome back the 1897 Beaneaters. As is the case in the Cloverland Leagues, the Beaneaters scored a ton of runs (6.5/game), but they had a league-average pitching staff this time, no mean feat when competing with dead-ball era squads like the Miracle Braves of 1914.

I also restarted the Red Sox Play-in League. At this point, I'm thinking I'll take four teams to add to the 12 teams with byes (the 12 pennant winners for the Red Sox). About halfway through, those four teams look to be 1949, 2003, 1995, and 1948.

Finally, after wrestling with the Orioles for so long, and all the crashes, I decided to just going to let the computer managers play it out. So congratulations to the 1969 Orioles, winners of 109 games (though they might have traded some of those for an extra three wins against the Mets). Here, they handily defeated their next closest rivals (from 1971 and 1970). In fact, the top four teams were all from Baltimore's early 70s dynasty, as 1973 finished fourth.

The '69ers were second in the league in runs scored (half a run per game above average), and first in ERA (0.7 of a run better than average). Jim Palmer '71 had 27 wins, and Mike Cuellar '69 led in strikeouts. On the hitting side, Eddie Murray '83 led in batting, Boog Powell '69 and Frank Robinson '66 tied for the lead with 44 home runs, with Boog's 1964 version just behind with 43.

Next up? Continuing the Red Sox play-in, and I think I'll try the Phillies. I'm pretty clearly not going to get Season 4 started before the real season begins, but that's OK. It is, after all, supposed to be fun, not work. :)

On the Backstretch

2009-11-22T09:13:00.000-08:00

Well, maybe that's not quite accurate. But a bit more than 90 games are done in the Orioles League, with about 60 to go. The current standings:

Team W L GB
1979 52 34 -
1969 53 38 3.5
1971 49 39 6
1997 49 40 6.5

with the other teams trailing further, all the way to the 1980 club, 21 games back. My 1966'ers have been very hot and cold, following up a 7 game win streak by losing 9 of 10 (and counting!)...
Various Boog Powells and Frank Robinsons are leading the league in the important categories. The big shock (for me) is the 1970 team languishing below .500 and probably out of the running.

As far as the Red Sox Play-in League, the top four teams will make it to the next stage. At this point, those four teams look to be the 2003, 1999, 1949, and 1972 clubs. 1977 and 1995 aren't far behind, though. 1972 was not a particularly distinguished year for the Sox (2nd place, a half-game back in a strike-shortened year in circumstances that, frankly, I don't understand), and I might expect them to drop out of the running.

Red Sox Play-In, and Orioles Update

2009-11-07T16:06:00.000-08:00

First! Started the Red Sox Play-In league. I've already forgotten whether I was going to take 2 or 4 teams, but that's an issue for a later date. The teams, as noted elsewhere, include the near-misses of the pre-Wild Card era (1948, 1949, 1972, 1977, 1978), most of the teams that made the playoffs but not the pennant (1988, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2009), and the only other team that finished over .600 and in 2nd place (1942). 10% of the way through, and the 1999 and 1949 teams are tied at the top.

Second! The Orioles League crept forward. The 1979'ers have a 1 game lead over the 1971 team, with 1997 and 1969 a half-game further back. The season's roughly half over.

Third! Rethinking the Rockies. The 2009 team was a good one, almost certainly at the same level as the 2007 team currently slated for inclusion. So, I'm thinking I'll run them against each other.

Where were we?

2009-11-06T19:04:00.000-08:00

Let's see. Now that I'm probably done recording music for a little while, and crazy summer travel has slackened, and the Yankees have finished off the real season in style :) , it may be time to reconnect with stuff here. Having lost the Orioles season to the crash was something of a bummer, though, and has clearly sapped my enthusiasm for actually playing that season and managing a team. I'm now leaning toward just letting the computer finish it and moving on. In theory, I was also thinking of playing a Red Sox season and managing a team. We'll see how that goes.

Crash and crash

2009-07-29T21:08:00.001-07:00

Lost the Orioles season to a crash. Restarted it and ran it on auto to get to the point where it was before. Again, another crash. Worst of all, it was my own stupidity that led to the crashes. :P

I'm going to try and pick this up again. Oddly (or perhaps as one might expect?) the third time through has tracked the original pretty well: 1969 a bit ahead of 1979, 1966 near .500. The details don't match, though. (The second time through 1969 was running away with it.)

So the question is whether to pick up and start managing where it left off (probably) or just let the computer managers finished what they started and move on (probably not). Unfortunately, I've been so swamped with things, I haven't had much time to play anyhow...

Baltimore, Boston, and Boston

2009-06-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Lumbering along. The Orioles league is approaching the halfway mark, with the 1969 team still holding a narrow lead over the 1979ers. Three other teams are lurking a bit further back. My 1966 squad has been playing much better, and slowly has entrenched themselves above .500.

Meanwhile, the Boston Braves Qualification League is underway. This is almost certainly a battle to be won by one of the 19th century teams; the franchise had a dynasty just before the 20th century dawned, and was almost completely inept from 1900 on. The 1897 Beaneaters, winners of the 2nd Cloverland Series, are in the lead with 1893 in second place.

After the Braves finish, I'm considering a Red Sox league. There are a great many teams worthy of consideration as best of the bunch, so I'm setting aside a bye for the 12 pennant winners they've had (from 1903-2007). The league I'm considering playing with next would be a play-in league, to select another 2 (4?) teams to join those 12. The play-in league would draw from the near-great Red Sox teams, from those that lost in a one-game playoff (1948, 1978) or just missed the playoffs (1949, 1977, 1972) to those that made the playoffs and lost in an opening round (1995, 1999, 2003, 1990...). If not these guys, I may choose to play a White Sox or Indians league.

Twin Cities Closure

2009-05-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

The real season has begun, and progress in the virtual leagues has been slow. However! I have finished the Twins Qualification League and am happy to present the champions: The 2006 Minnesota Twins. American League Central champions and winners of 96 games in real life, the 2006 team held off a late charge by the 1969 Twinkies to take the title by 3.5 games. They were powered, as you might expect, by Johann Santana (22-5, 1.94 ERA, 250+ Ks), Joe Mauer (.385 to lead the league plus 121 RBI) and Justin Morneau (.330, 35 HR). Harmon Killebrew had a monster year for both the 1967 and 1969 teams, but it wasn't enough.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks of game time have passed in the Orioles League. My 1966ers have scuffled a bit and still sit a bit below .500. The 1969 Os are 1.5 games ahead of the 1979 edition, with 1970 in 3rd.

Spirit of '69

2009-02-06T18:57:00.000-08:00

Another two weeks of game time have passed in Baltimore, and we're past the quarter pole. The 1969 Orioles have ripped off 9 wins in a row to roar into first place, leading the 1979 team by 1.5 and 1970 by 3. My team, the 1966 Orioles, have been more or less treading water and sit at 20-22 (8 games behind).

Milt Pappas (who could forget Milt Pappas for Frank Robinson?) from the '64 edition is at a sparkling 8-2, with a surprising 1.17 ERA. My boys from '66 are making a good show of the hitting leader boards, however, with folk hero Russ Snyder batting .375 and Frank Robinson (see, you how could you forget?) leading the league with 15 home runs and 41 RBI.

Up in the Twin Cities, we're over halfway home. And here, too, the 1969ers are putting on a run. However, they have not (yet?) pulled ahead, finding themselves 1 game behind the 2004 team (with 2006 another 1.5 games back). Joe Mauer of the 2006 Twins paces the league with a very impressive .392 average, also leading in RBI. Meanwhile, Harmon Killebrew is tied with himself for the home run lead, and is also sitting a little bit further behind in third. Rafael Santana (2006) is at 14-2 with an ERA just under 2.00.

Looking ahead somewhat, the Boston Beaneaters/Braves or the San Francisco Giants will probably be the next team up after the Twinkies finish.

Twins and Orioles update

2009-01-17T14:01:00.000-08:00

The Twins League is roughly one-quarter done. The 2003 team leads a bunched field, riding a 5-game winning streak with the 2004 team percentage points back and 2006 1.5 games behind. Based on the team stats, the 2006ers are looking pretty strong despite their current residence in 3rd. Rod Carew (1967) leads the league in batting at .395, Killebrew (1967) in home runs, Brad Radke (2004) is at 6-0.

Meanwhile, up in Charm City, the 1979 Orioles are a game up on the 1970 team after 30 games, with the 1969 and 1997 teams in the next rank a few games back. Surprisingly, the pitching for the 1970ers is underperforming, otherwise they'd be running away with things. Mike Mussina (1997) is 6-0 with an ERA of 1.39, with Robby Alomar (1997) hitting .355. Three players are tied for the lead in home runs. My 1966 team is languishing in 9th (of 14), 5.5 back. Of course, who knows how they'd be doing if not for my managing....

Minnesota New Day Rising

2008-12-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

The Twins League is underway (though perhaps with a Prince soundtrack rather than the Posies song quoted in the title). Ten teams, basically in three time periods: the Killebrew era when the Twins had very good teams that couldn't quite beat better teams (like the Koufax Dodgers or the '69-'70 Orioles); the Puckett era when the Twins had decent teams with unbeatable home field advantage and regularly defeated better teams (Whitey Herzog nods sadly); the Johan Santana teams of recent vintage who mostly couldn't quite get out of the first round of the playoffs.

The 1970 team are the current representatives in the Cloverland Leagues. About 20 games in out of 162, it's too close to call and far, far too early. I guess I'd bet on 1965 as the best of these teams, but that doesn't always translate into success. Still, if I have to guess a winner...

Meanwhile, the 1970 Orioles still are the leaders after roughly 25 games, but the 1979 edition has been on a tear and have closed to a half-game back. Again way too early for real prognostication, but it may end up closer than I'd expected...

And from the Polo Grounds...

2008-12-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

After a pretty close race, the 1911 New York Giants fought off the 1912, 1913, 1904, and 1905 editions of the 'Jints to win their qualification league and represent the New York Giants franchise.

The final standings at the top:

W L Pct. GB

1911 89 60 .597 -

1913 88 64 .579 2.5

1904 87 65 .572 3.5

1912 87 65 .572 3.5

Despite winning the World Series in a 4-game sweep, the 1954 Giants finished in 20th (that'd be last), 28.5 games back.

The hitting categories were mostly led by teams from the 1920s and 1930s, as one might expect, save for Jack Doyle of the 1894 squad sitting atop the batting average and obp categories and just missing a .400 season (.399). Mel Ott (1934) led in slugging and runs created, Rogers Hornsby (1927) in runs scored, George Kelly (1922) in RBI, and Bobby Thomson (1951) hit 33 shots heard 'round Kings Contrivance to edge out Ott (1936) and lead in home runs.

Pitching statistics were biased by the 1894 team, who had two pitchers starting 70%+ of their games in real life. Those two pitchers (Amos Rusie and Jouett Meekin) both topped 30 wins. Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson took up 4 slots in the top 10 winners and top 10 ERA, with the 1905 edition performing best: 29-10 (3rd in wins, 2nd in win pct., 1st in ERA, 4th in strikeouts).

The 1911 team didn't have many statistical leaders, but managed to grind out the pennant by being among the team leaders in batting and pitching. In reality they lost the World Series to the Philadelphia Athletics.

The Orioles league has stalled out a bit (naturally, since I'm actually trying to manage one of the teams instead of letting the computer do all the work). Not sure if the next all-computer league will be Oakland or Minnesota...

Giants after 90, Orioles after 20

2008-12-02T17:53:00.001-08:00

The decision of who will right to represent the New York Giants is currently looking like it'll go down to the end. A bit over 90 games are finished, with roughly 60 to go. Five of the 20 teams are within a half-game of the top:

Team W L Pct. GB
1913 52 38 .578 -
1904 53 39 .576 -
1922 53 39 .576 -
1905 52 39 .571 0.5
1912 52 39 .571 0.5

Meanwhile, in Charm City things are a bit more separated, though it's still early:
Team W L Pct. GB
1970 15 5 .750 -
1969 12 6 .667 2.0
1960 12 7 .632 2.5
1997 10 7 .588 3.5

It seems unlikely the 1970 team will be able to keep up that pace, but there's nothing weird about them being atop the standings...

Giant Steps

2008-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

About 40% of the way through for the New York Giants league. The dead ball era teams continue their dominance, with the 1904 club leading the pack followed by the 1911, 1905, and 1912 teams all within 2 games.

Jack Doyle of the 1894 team is pacing the league with a remarkable (and way over his head) .457 average. Bill Terry's excellent .407 is second but obviously overshadowed. Bobby Thomson and Mel Ott are leading in home runs.

Christy Mathewson of various vintages is filling the pitching leaderboards, with the 1905 version at 12-1 and the 1913 version leading in ERA with 1.37.

O's and Jints Update

2008-09-13T10:04:00.000-07:00

Just a short one for now. The Orioles League has gotten through about two weeks of play, and the 1970 team is in the lead at a blistering 10-1. My 1966ers were barely a speed bump in their way, though they did force late inning heroics by Paul Blair of 1970 at least once. There's a bit of a bunch up behind the leaders and needless to say it's early yet.

I've gotten a bit further for the New York Giants QL. There the 1904 and 1905 teams lead the pack. Again, it's early yet. But I'll note that the current Cloverland League representatives are the 1970 Orioles and the 1905 Giants. It's rare for teams to be able to defend their places, with only the 1906 Cubs, 1927 Yankees, and 1976 Reds having done so so far (and I punted the Yanks for the 1939 edition in part just to do something different and since they'd finished "close enough"...).

Dog Days

2008-08-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Alas, the playoff hopes of my real-life favorites are quickly dimming. I also have been too swamped to get too much done in the APBA leagues. I've started the Orioles QL, managing the 1966 edition. I'll post an update on that league once I've gotten through 10 games (right now it's at 7). I haven't started up the NY Giants at all.

But I figured I'd mark the Rays' clinching of a winning season by officially bumping the 1937 Santo Dominigo Dragones in their favor. With 83 wins and 28 games to play, it seems likely they'll reach 90 wins with no trouble and a .500 record would net them 97. While having the Dragones meant including Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson and other greats in the Cloverland Leagues fun, my general philosophy for the simulation means I should include the team that I have a hope of including at their real relative strength instead of the one with kludged stats. The only real kind of debate would be whether holding off on Tampa Bay until Season 5 might allow a better TB team to be represented, but I can always have a runoff or something if it ends up being useful. But for now, congratulations to Scott Kazmir, Evan Longoria, Carlos Peña and the rest.

The Brewers present another problem. If the 2008 team is worthy, they could either be stuck in the AL as a non-DH team (since the majority of their seasons were as an AL franchise) or included in the NL (since they would have had this season as an NL team) with the AL version removed, or (gulp) treated as separate teams and included twice (though I don't like that option at all). If treated as an NL team, that would bump the 1896 Orioles and open space in the AL for... well, I guess the Dragones again.

National Heroes

2008-08-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

The Washington Nationals Qual League (that'd be the version of the team that moved to Minnesota in 1961) has finished. The 1924 and 1930 teams battled most of the season, with the World Champs opening up a slender lead in the closing weeks...

And then losing it at the very end. As with the Pirates, there were 3-4 rainout makeups to close the season, and it was over the course of those games that the 1930 edition overtook the 1924 team.

The 1930 Nationals finished 2nd in real life to the equally-defunct Philadelphia Athletics, also represented in the Cloverland Leagues. They join a surprising number of 2nd-place teams in a league that ostensibly has the best of each franchise. However, they had the 3rd-most wins in Washington history and the best Pythagorean record of any Washington team, so this result doesn't strain credulity. They were led by Hall of Famer Sam Rice and also had Hall of Famers Joe Cronin and Heinie Manush, trading away HoFer Goose Goslin early in the season. Fittingly for a team managed by Walter Johnson, however, their team strength was pitching. Ironically, in the Qualification League, the 1930 team won via their bats.

Next up: The New York Giants and actually starting the Baltimore Orioles QL.

A Surprise in Steel City

2008-07-13T08:05:00.001-07:00

It came down to the last day, but the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates will be moving on to Season 4. They finished hot, winning 2/3 of their last 50 games while the 1901 edition played merely OK (.550 over their last 50 games, only about .500 in their last 35). The end of the season saw a slew of rainout make-ups, and the 1960 team finished early, one behind in the loss column but one ahead in wins. Needing to win one game to clinch a tie, the 1901 team instead dropped both of their last make-ups...

So for the first time since I began, Pittsburgh will be represented by a group other than Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, and their dynasty of the aughts. Given their status as reigning NL East champions, this is also something of a shock. Instead it'll be Roberto Clemente, Vern Law (20-5 in the QL), and Bill Mazeroski.

The Washington Nationals (AL) Qualification League has begun play, with 8 teams from 1912 to 1945. I might put my money on the 1933 team, though the current representatives from 1925 are also a relatively safe bet. Meanwhile, given the play of Tampa Bay and Milwaukee in real life, the odds of an alteration to current expansion plans is certainly a going concern...

50 More Games Gone...

2008-07-11T17:17:00.001-07:00

The top of the Pirates League remains the same, though there's been some mixing below that upper crust. The 1901 team still leads, winning at a .646 clip. Bonds and the 1991 Pirates have dropped off the pace from 2nd to 3rd, while the 1960 Pirates are hanging in there, merely 4 games back. Meanwhile, the 1970 team has dropped 2/3 of their games since the last update and now sits in last place, with the 1975 and 1972 teams joining them in freefall. Meanwhile, the 1893 edition has picked up the pace as their best pitchers have been taking the mound more often.

Fred Clarke of 1903 continues to blister the ball, batting .380, but has fallen to 3rd in batting behind 1901's Ginger Beaumont and 1927's Paul Waner, who's up at .407. We'll see if he keeps it up all season. Willie Stargell from 1971 now has the HR lead by himself (25), with two other Stargells, Robertson, and Dr. Strangeglove Dick Stuart rounding out the top 5. Fred Killen of 1893 has 17 wins and leads the league in strikeouts, while Jesse Tannehill from 1902 leads in ERA (1.91).

I'd have to think the 1901 squad would continue their pace and make it to Season 4. The 1960 Pirates were good, but not _that_ good. On the other hand, they only need to get lucky...

50 Games Gone in the Steel City

2008-06-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Eighteen teams are vying to represent the Pirates franchise during Season 4. I've gotten through 50 games (out of 136, IIRC). To update all my loyal followers, here's what the top of the standings looks like:

Team W L Pct. GB
1901 35 14 .714 -
1991 32 18 .640 3.5
1960 30 19 .612 5
1909 29 21 .580 6.5
1902 28 22 .560 7.5
1972 26 24 .520 9.5
1975 26 24 .520 9.5
1970 25 25 .500 10.5

I was expecting the 1902 team to be the winners, there's still plenty of time left. The 1991 team is certainly hanging in there, though...

In terms of individual leaders, Fred Clarke of 1903 is leading with a .392 average, Bob Robertson from 1970 and Willie Stargell from 1971 both have 12 home runs, and Jake Beckley form 1893 has 56 RBI. On the pitching side, Vern Law and Bob Friend of the 1960 team and Deacon Phillipe from 1901 all have 8 wins. Ed Brandt from 1938 has an ERA of 1.13 (though he's unlikely to get enough innings over the whole season to qualify), and 1902's Jack Chesbro leads with 60 strikeouts.

Royals Treatment and Incoming Pirates

2008-06-15T08:13:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to the 1977 Kansas City Royals, which will (eventually) represent the franchise in Season 4 of the Cloverland Leagues. They ended up crushing their rivals in a four-team league, going 100-56 and 24.5 games ahead of the second-place 1978 edition.

Next up: A truly massive 18-team Pittsburgh Pirates QL. The participants range from an 1893 team that featured Connie Mack as a player, through the Honus Wagner years, Roberto Clemente, and Willie Stargell years all the way down to teams with a young Barry Bonds. My guess is that the 1902 team, current NL East champions, will take it and return for Season 4.

I also may start trying to get the Baltimore Orioles QL underway. I plan to manage one of those teams, though, and I'm having a hard time picking...

Photo Finish (and a reshoot)

2008-06-01T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Royals Qualification League reached a finish, with the top three teams extremely tightly bunched:

W L Pct. GB
KC 1978 92 70 .568 -
KC 1976 91 71 .562 1
KC 1977 91 71 .562 1

The three teams were also closely matched to one another, within 2 games of .500 over 36 games played. Statistically, they were also very close in ERA and fielding, though the 1977 team scored significantly more runs than their rivals... They also were much better in real life.

So, I figured I'd run it all again, this time with just those three teams and the incumbent 1985 team, which finished fifth (though only a half-game out of fourth). I'm roughly halfway through there, and they're not bunched. So I'm confident there will be a clear-cut Best Royals Team. :)

KC Update

2008-05-18T10:11:00.000-07:00

Things have been poking along slowly around the Pleasure Grounds, but the Royals Qualification League has slowly been moving forward. With about 6 weeks of game time to go, the top of the standings look like:

Team W L Pct. GB
KC 1977 73 55 .570 -
KC 1976 71 54 .568 .5
KC 1978 72 55 .567 .5
KC 1985 70 55 .560 1.5
KC 1984 65 64 .504 8.5

The 1980 team is further back, but it at least seems clear that the mid-late 70s teams were the best in Royals history. Not that this is a surprise.

Good Morning Baltimore!

2008-04-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm going to run most of the qualification leagues with all computer managers, which'll speed things up. But for two of the leagues I'm interested enough to actually manage one team for myself: the Red Sox and the Orioles. Since the local boys aren't going to threaten this year, it seems safe enough to do them first (I'd just as soon hold off on Boston since there's the chance the 2008 team will be the "best-ever" team, though i dearly hope they're not).

I've got 14 teams lined up for the Orioles League, split into two divisions: 6 in the pre-DH division, 8 in the DH division. As with the other QLs, there are basically three types of teams: pennant winners/playoff teams, close misses, and good teams that may or may not have come _that_ close but represent an otherwise absent era. The Orioles were excellent for most of the 70s and early 80s, with a brief late 90s renaissance. In addition, there are 4 teams included from the 1960s-- the 1969 team (famous for losing to the Mets), the 1966 World Series winners, and two near-miss teams, 1960 and 1964. I left out the 1996 wild-card winners since they clearly don't match up and (perhaps more to the point), it'd be a _lot_ more work to include them than other teams since I'd have to enter all their players in by hand.

I haven't totally decided, but I'm leaning toward managing either the 1966 or 1979 teams.

In other QL news, at about the 1/3 mark, the 1985 Royals hold a slim lead over the 1980 team, with 1978 and 1977 close behind. The 1985 Royals are the current Cloverland League representative.

Season Zero

2008-04-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

While I've played a few seasons now with Baseball for Windows (ironically using Virtual PC on my Apple), the very first season was with a Strat-O-Matic card set. I've been thinking of it as Season Zero.

I started it not long after the 1981 baseball strike, when I bought my Strat-O-Matic set. The setup seemed reasonable to me, 11-year-old that I was when I started: use the original 16 teams and play out a season. Unfortunately, given the limitations of the available card sets (and my losing track), I ended up with the Milwaukee Braves instead of the Boston Braves. I also had to settle for the 1940 Reds and the 1950 Phillies instead of the Big Red Machine or the 1980 Philadelphia World Series winners...

I set up an 84-game schedule, and I kept stats by hand. It took years, but luckily I didn't have much of a life (I was, after all, 11-14). I also didn't necessarily follow all the rules: I was too lazy to reshuffle the 40-card deck after every draw, which I'd do for a truly random number. So that got a bit biased. I also didn't necessarily use the "right" lineups, and I'd often turn a good part-time hitter into a full-timer (Fred McNeely, '24 Nationals-- I'm looking at you). But eventually I got through it all.

The '27 Yankees ran away with the American League, leaving the '31 A's in the dust. The '53 Brooklyn Dodgers tussled with those underdog Reds and Phils all season, finally pulling it out by one game over Cincinnati and two over Philadelphia. The Yanks defeated Brooklyn in six games. Lou Gehrig was the MVP for the AL. I don't remember the NL winner, Rip Collins of the '34 Cardinals, perhaps?

These teams and this setup provided the basis for Season 1, though with the software I was able to substitute in a Boston Braves team and also get the Big Red Machine and... well, whatever you'd call the 1980 Phillies.

Milwaukee's Best

2008-03-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

During the no doubt too-long interim between Season 3 and Season 4, everything does not cease. No, indeed! I've been starting to run qualification leagues (for lack of a better term) to try and objectively (sort of) determine which teams get to represent the franchises. The expansion teams have already been figured out, as seen in an earlier post. The first of the currently-in franchises to go through a QL are the Milwaukee Braves.

The Braves were a good team through most of their sojourn in Milwaukee, and an excellent team for much of the time. In their 14 or so years between Boston and Atlanta, they won two pennants and one World Series, and tied for first place one more time (losing in a playoff), never finishing under .500. I picked 6 teams for this league, the pennant winners ('57 and '58) and near miss team ('59), and a set of second-place teams ('53, '56, and '60).

And to my surprise, it was the 1953 team that won it. I ran the league twice through 140-game seasons, with them winning once running away and once in a squeaker. In real life they finished a poor second to a juggernaut Brooklyn team, but with 92 wins. Their Pythagorean record was slightly better (93-61), even with the 1957 and 1958 pennant winners.

But in some kind of reverse Ewing Theory, the 1953 team is the only one without Hank Aaron. They did have big seasons from Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn, however.

The Kansas City Royals qualification league is now underway. My breath is somewhat bated.

MVP Awards

2008-02-07T17:08:00.000-08:00

Unlike the Cy Young awards, the MVP awards came out a bit surprisingly, particularly in the AL. I don't know if "real life" voters would have gone this way, but the differences in VORP were too big to ignore...

NL- Dolph Camilli: This was a two-man race much of the year, Camilli vs. Barry Bonds. Dolph led the NL in VORP and was at or near the top in most of the more traditional categories-- 2nd in batting average (.335, Ginger Beaumont led at .339), 2nd in slugging average (.633, Bonds was at .662), leading in on-base percentage (.442) and RBI (127, tied with Hank Aaron). He also hit 37 home runs (4th, Bonds led with 50). By most sabermetric measures Camilli and Bonds were equals, so the tie-breaker was the pennant race where Dolph led Brooklyn to a close 2nd place finish vs. the 6th place finish San Francisco had.

AL- George Sisler: I'm actually as surprised as you are. Of course, you're probably me if you're reading this. :) Albert Belle had a truly monstrous first half, and was a critical part of an Indians team that needed every contribution they got to eke out a division title over the Mariners, an ALCS win over the Yankees, and a 7-game Cloverland Series championship over the Cubs. Plus, he had 62 home runs and 138 RBI! Still, he placed a surprisingly low 5th in VORP. Of those ahead of him, Tris Speaker edged him out in VORP by placing well in many categories. Better yet were a pair of Philadelphia Athletics who put in huge years: Jimmy Foxx was 5th in slugging (.601, Belle led with .698), 4th in OBP (.423), and also in the top 10 in runs, RBI, doubles and triples. Al Simmons was better yet, finishing 2nd in batting (.374) and slugging (.674), leading the league in RBI (149), tied for third in triples (21, Gardner and Goslin led the league with 22) and in the top 10 in runs, OBP, runs, hits, and home runs. Any other year, Simmons would have been the winner.

But this season George Sisler hit .434. Now, I know there's some amount of disbelief that needs to be suspended here. And I know there's no way in the world Sisler hits .434 against the competition he had. Nobody has ever hit .434 for real even facing awful teams. But there it is- he hit .434 and given that and his other statistics (4th in slugging, 1st in OBP, leading in hits, top 10 in runs, RBI, and stolen bases), and that he led in VORP by 20 runs I don't see any rational way to deny he had the best season of anyone. Cleveland fans may argue, but I think the logic is irrefutable. So congratulations to the Browns fans!

Cy Young Awards

2008-02-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

Naturally, statistics are kept in the Cloverland Leagues. And naturally, awards are given. However, I get the only vote. :) I actually went to the trouble of determining VORP for all the players, and rely pretty heavily on that statistic, though I'm willing to use other info as appropriate. The Cy Young awards for the Cloverland Leagues this season have two relatively obvious winners.

AL: Lefty Grove. While the Philadelphia Athletics had a disappointing season (under .500 and tied for last in the AL Classic Division) Grove provided a bright spot, leading the league in wins (22), ERA (2.40), and shutouts (6, tied with the Yankees' Red Ruffing) while coming in second in strikouts and leading Philadelphia in saves. Baltimore's Jim Palmer was quite close, also winning 20 games with a better winning percentage and more quality starts, along with pitching in a pennant race, but Grove's across the board excellence gained him the nod.

NL: Ed Reulbach. Unlike Grove, Reulbach did not lead a lot of categories-- Kid Nichols (among others) had many more starts and unsuprisingly racked up the counting stats (Nichols led the league with 27, Don Sutton led the league in strikeouts). Reulbach did, however, run away with the ERA crown, finishing with 1.41 in 243 innings, nearly 2 runs better than the league average. He also finished second in shutouts (6, Mordecai Brown led the league with 8) and held opponents to a .164 batting average, way below the league average of .243 and by far the best for pitchers over 100 innings let alone over 200 innings. He held opponents to an average of 5 hits per game and allowed an astonishing 0.04 home runs per game, the league leader by a factor of 5. He pitched 6 two-hitters and a 1-hitter, single-handedly accounting for half of the Cubs number of two-hitters or better. Although not taken into account for these purposes, Reulbach continued to excel in the postseason, finishing 5-0 with 5 quality starts in 5 tries and an ERA of 0.63 as the Cubs almost won the Series. There was no particularly strong competition for this award, Brown was second in VORP but was only the second-best pitcher on the Cubs...

One curse ended/One curse continued: Game 7

2008-01-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

Cleveland! Chicago! Game 7!

Two of the greatest teams in baseball history face off to determine the winner of the Cloverland League championship. Neither won the World Series in reality, each franchise represents the longest championship drought in their league.

Taking the hill for the Indians was El Presidente, Dennis Martinez, while the Cubs countered with Jack Pfiester. The Jake was packed and raucous as "Hometown Hero" Bob Feller, a member of the 1948 champion Indians, threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Hall of Famer Earl Averill.

As has been the pattern through the series, the pitchers worked quickly through the first three innings. The Cubs broke through in the top of the 4th as the Peerless Leader, Frank Chance, manufactured a run on a single and stolen base, moving to third on a ground out and scoring on another ground out.

Pfiester looked like he would make that run count, retiring Cleveland without a run through the 5th. The sixth inning began with trouble, as Tony Peña doubled. The next three batters all hit the ball hard, climaxed by Carlos Baerga's clout to deep left, but all went at fielders save Baerga's (on which Slagle made a brilliant play, stealing a homer). Pfiester escaped the 6th with a 1-0 lead, but perhaps the Indians were catching up with him? The answer came after Martinez pitched a scoreless 7th.

AL MVP candidate Albert Belle had been having a pretty quiet series, but led off the 7th with a double. Jim Thome, whose series had been even more quiet, followed that up with an RBI double, and as quickly as that the Cubs lead was gone. After a strike out of Eddie Murray, and an intentional walk to the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez, pinch hitter Herbert Perry hit a comebacker to Pfiester that was just too slow to be a double play, extending the inning. Pinch hitter Sandy Alomar took advantage, singling to center and scoring Thome. 2-1 Cleveland. Carl Lundgren ended the inning without further damage, but Chicago, 6 outs away from winning the championship, was now 6 outs away from losing it.

Dennis Martinez gave way in the 8th after allowing only three hits and the one run to the Cubs. Assenmacher and Plunk shut down Chicago in the top of the 8th, the rapidly-heating Thome added an insurance run in the form of a homer off of Lundgren.

The Cleveland crowd went wild as Jose Mesa took the mound in search of his third save, to close out the Series. Unfortunately for them, this was Jose Mesa. Sheckard led off with a single and took second on fielder's indifference. With one out Chance walked, now representing the tying run with Steinfeldt and Schulte coming up. Mesa bore down, however and retired both, Schulte's popup to Baerga sealing the deal and making the 1995 Cleveland Indians the champions of the Cloverland League's Third Season.

Championship Series, Game 6

2007-12-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

The action switched back to Cleveland for Game 6. As expected, Ed Reulbach got the call for the Cubs in this must-win situation. The Indians opted to hold Dennis Martinez for Game 7 and trust in Charles Nagy to try and bring the Cloverland League championship to the Forest City.

The game was a taut one through 5. Chicago scratched out a run in the 2nd on a single by Johnny Kling (who took 2nd on a misplay by Manny Ramirez), a sacrifice by Frank Schulte, and a bloop single by Johnny Evers. The Indians threatened in the bottom of the inning, putting men on 2nd and 3rd with one out before Ramirez grounded hard to Tinker and Sorrento ended the inning with a strikeout.

Nagy ran into more trouble in the 6th, walking Steinfeldt to open the inning, who came around to score on a single by Schulte after a fielder's choice. Nagy again escaped without further damage thanks to yet another baserunner kill by Manny, who nailed Schulte at the plate after a single by Slagle to end the inning.

Nagy gave way to Alan Embree in the 7th, and Embree made the Indians' job much harder by walking the two men he faced, loading the bases. Julian Tavarez made matters that much worse by hitting Chance to drive in a run, giving up a single to Steinfeldt, and walking Kling before giving way himself to Assenmacher. One fielder's choice and one double play later, Cleveland had escaped, but with a 6-0 deficit.

Overall entered in the 8th and kept Cleveland down as the Cubs added another run off of Ken Hill in the 9th. In the end, Chicago held the Indians to 4 hits, setting up a climactic Game 7!
Carl Lundgren is slated to start for Chicago, Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. There was some speculation that Reulbach was lifted to allow him to pitch in relief in Game 7, but he's not likely to be available unless the Cubs have run out of pitchers.

Championship Series, Game 5

2007-12-24T18:56:00.000-08:00

Rain! And more rain! The weather forced the cancellation of Game 5 in Chicago, and didn't allow a resumption the next day, either. Since there are no double-headers in post-season baseball, everything got forced a day later, screwing up everyone's travel and hotel reservations. Luckily, this is just a simulation. :)

It does, however, allow games to be played with the rotations. This will probably be seen for Game 6, but the best strategy will clearly depend on the situation after Game 5...

And this is a post about Game 5, though there's no evidence for that yet...

Knotted at two games a piece, the Cubs sent Miner Brown to the mound. While he was among the NL leaders in ERA during the season, his post-season has been less stellar: an ERA of 3.76 entering Game 5, with a 1-1 record. Since the Cubs have only been scoring 2.3 runs per game, this is not so good... The Indians countered with Orel Hershiser, whose postseason ERA of 1.19 augured much better results, or so the Cleveland fans hoped.

Chicago manufactured a run in the 2nd as the light-hitting Evers singled, stole 2nd, and scored on a single by the even lighter-hitting Slagle. The Cubs threatened to add more as Slagle stole 2nd and went to 3rd as Alomar's throw went into center field, but Hershiser ended the threat on Tinker's popout. Orel settled down thereafter, only allowing one more hit before being lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 7th.

To that point, Brown had been throwing a gem, shutting down the Cleveland offense. With Manny Ramirez on first after a walk, Eddie Murray doubled for Hershiser. Brown bore down, inducing a grounder from Kenny Lofton. Ramirez, going with contact, was gunned down at the plate by Tinker. Could the Cubbies escape?

Omar Vizquel said no. His single scored Wayne Kirby, running for Murray. Carlos Baerga followed with a double, putting the Indians up 3-1. Tempting fate, or perhaps addled, the Cubs challenged Albert Belle rather than walking him with first base open. Luckily for Chicago, Belle could not capitalize.

The Cubs tried to come back in the 8th, but aggressive baserunning did them in. Fred Schulte reached first on a dropped popup by Alomar, who then airmailed yet another throw into the outfield as Schulte stole 2nd. This time, however, Manny Ramirez' alert backup (those words have never been written before) caught Schulte trying to take the extra base.

So it came to the 9th and Jose Mesa, who promptly allowed a single to Frank Chance. After a Steinfeld popout, and Chance taking 2nd on fielder's indifference, Johnny Kling's single closed the score to 3-2. Cleveland took control thereafter, however, as Alomar finally caught a runner at 2nd and Mesa retired Evers. The Indians are one win away.

Game 6 will be back at Jacobs Field. The Cubs will pretty clearly have to start Reulbach in an attempt to keep their season alive. Cleveland, by contrast, will likely keep Dennis Martinez for a possible Game 7. It's likely Nagy will get the start in recognition of his yeoman work in the post-season so far.

Championship Series, Game 4

2007-11-20T19:19:00.000-08:00

A fine autumn day in Chicago found another capacity crowd on hand for the Series. Down 2 games to 1, the Cubs put their trust in the right arm of Ed Reulbach, while the Indians countered with El Presidente, Dennis Martinez.

A triple by Frank Schulte and a sacrifice fly by Frank Chance put Chicago on the board in the bottom of the 1st inning. Martinez struck out Steinfeldt to escape further damage. In the 3rd, Wildfire struck again with another triple, driving in Sheckard. Chance drove him in again on a triple of his own, giving the Cubs a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Reulbach was pitching in a way that would make even a 1-0 game insurmountable, and showing why he's one of the favorites to win the Cy Young award. Ed threw 4 innings of no-hit ball before Albert Belle doubled (and had the Indians' only extra-base hit), and was never particularly close to trouble. He was not dominant, striking out only 2, but Cleveland was unable to hit the ball with any authority.

Martinez gave way to Albie Lopez, making his first appearance since the epic ALCS finale, and finally Julian Tavarez. Both prevented further damage, though an errant pitch from Tavarez hit Chance in the 8th, knocking him out of the game. Chance is day to day.

In the end, Ruelbach made it look easy, getting the complete-game shutout and lowering his post-season ERA to 0.75 while improving his record to 4-0. With the win for Chicago, they even the series at 2 games a piece. The weather in Chicago looks iffy for Game 5, though of course the league offices will try and get the game in.... :)

Season 4 Expansion Teams:AL

2007-10-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

The expansion teams for the American League are somewhat less distinguished than their NL equivalents. In constrast to the NL teams, all of which won at least the pennant save the 100-win Diamondbacks, only one of the AL teams even made the postseason, with one not even actually ever playing any major league games...

1982 Milwaukee Brewers: Pretty much a toss-up between this team and the 1992 team, which consistently finished at or near the top of the qualification leagues by beating up on lesser Brewer teams. I finally played a 1600 game season between these two teams, which Harvey's Wallbangers won by a handful of games. On that basis, plus the relative merits of Yount, Molitor, Simmons, Fingers, Cooper, and Thomas vs. Yount, Molitor... um... Listach? Vaughn? It was an easy call. This team will probably get slaughtered when the season rolls around, but I don't think it'll be worse than the 1992 team would have done. Besides, the 1982 team won the pennant.

1969 Washington Senators: This team did not win the pennant. They finished 4th, a distant 23 games back. However, they did win 86 games, the only time this franchise was over .500 during their tenure in the District. Frank Howard was the big star, Ted Williams the manager. The Senators regressed the following year, and were in Texas shortly thereafter. I expect these guys to get slaughtered as well.

1958 Kansas City Athletics: Slaughter, that's where this team is going to be a Viking. Seventh place in real life, witha .474 winning percentage. But they're the best of the Kansas City A's franchise, and that franchise had a 13-year lifetime, plenty long enough to deserve representation. This is something of an experiment, just to see how such a team would do. They might be replaced in Season 5 with a KC A's all-star squad, but that's looking pretty far ahead. Bob Cerv was the big hitter for this team, which I suppose did finish closer to first place in terms of games behind than the Senators above did.

1937 Santo Domingo Dragons: This is the first team in the Cloverland Leagues that is... nontraditional, shall we say? This is based on a real-life Negro League all-star team that played in the Dominican Republic in a league organized by Trujillo. I'm not sure quite how this'll all work out- the players were grabbed from other teams (in the game sense, I mean, though in real life too), and they might be normalized oddly. But this is a game, I guess, so we'll just give it a shot. I suppose they might do extremely well, but I'd bet they'll be first-division but out of the playoffs. I guess it'll depend on what division they're in. If I go with chronologically-based
divisions, they'd probably end up with the '39 Yankees, '40 Tigers and '30 Athletics? Or the '58 A's? Potentially a very tough division, regardless. But with Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, and Cool Papa Bell, the upside is very high...

The Dragons are the team that would likely be punted if things change, though it'll depend on the change. If the Brewers have an amazing season in 2008, the '82 team might drop out and a putative '08 team show up in the NL. I'm debating whether the would-be Fremont A's will count as separate from the Oakland version. It may depend heavily on what they call themselves. This expansion will leave only the Devil Rays as an unrepresented long-term team. A good season from them in '08 might put them in Season 4. Or it might lead me to wait, in anticipation of a better Rays team by the time of Season 5...

Championship Series, Game 3

2007-10-28T06:55:00.000-07:00

The action shifts to West Side Park in Chicago for Game 3 of the Series. Ron Santo was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitch after a brief rain delay, and the Old Styles were flowing. Knotted at a game a piece, the question remains as to which of these star-crossed franchises would provide this year's championship team.

Jack Pfiester took the hill for the Cubs, while Cleveland sent Charles Nagy to the mound, a move precipitated by the loss of Claude Ogea to injury during the ALCS. Indians fans prepared for the worst, as Nagy's regular season record did not give much cause for optimism (11-13, 4.67).

Cleveland struck first in the top of the 2nd as Manny Ramirez (there he is again) singled, moved to second on a fielder's choice, and scored on a throwing error by Joe Tinker. Pfiester bore down after that, but Nagy was pitching the game of his life, throwing 6 2-hit, shutout innings against the National League champions before being lifted for a pinch hitter. In the 8th, Albert Belle hit his first home run of the postseason, giving Cleveland a bit more breathing room.

They would need that breathing room. Chicago threatened against Poole in the 8th, putting two on by a walk to Slagle and a double by Tinker with one out before Solly Hoffman pinch hit for Pfiester. Hoffman sent the ball in the air to right, deep but not quite deep enough as Belle gave the Indians another baserunner kill to end the Cubs threat (and put the West Side Grounds into a stupor). In the 9th, Jose Mesa came on and got two quick outs before a single and miscue by Belle put Frank Chance on 2nd. Steinfeldt's single put the score at 2-1 with Cubs slugger Kling at bat, but Mesa managed to strike him out for the win.

The win put Cleveland up 2 games to 1 in the best-of-seven series. Game 4 will feature a rematch of Game 1's starters-- Ruelbach vs. Martinez.

Season 4 Expansion Teams:NL

2007-10-26T15:52:00.000-07:00

Looking ahead to next season (whenever that will be-- sometime in 2008?), each league will add 4 more teams. I'll probably go with four divisions per league of five teams each, with two rounds of playoffs, but I haven't ruled out five divisions of four teams each, with a wild card and an extra round of playoffs.

The franchises represented here were relatively obvious teams to add. The specific teams were decided in the "usual" way, having all the candidates play one another in a qualification league. Still, one very team snuck in here at the end...

2007 Rockies: Before this month, it was looking like the 2000 team would be Colorado's entry. Though they finished a pretty mediocre 4th, they had the best run differential of any Rockies team. Happily, the current team came along, and in a head-to-head set of ~40 games they handily dispatched the 2000 entry. You know all about these guys. I don't know that they've got much of a chance (depending on the division they're in, I guess), but they're certainly not an embarrassment by any means.

1997 Marlins: World Series winners. They and the 2003 team were really the only competition for the Florida slot, and this team pulled it out. I wasn't a fan of either team, but I guess less Josh Beckett in the Cloverland Leagues is fine with me.

1999 Diamondbacks: Again, a happy acccident that Curt Schilling isn't around, though he's on the 1993 Phillies already. The 1999 team, only the second year for Arizona, stormed to their best record in the desert with over 100 wins (and even more expected). They lost in the playoffs but Randy Johnson had a great year. This is one of only two teams in the league that I've seen in person, the other being the 1986 Mets...

1896 Orioles: One of the most famous 19th century teams, and perhaps the only team in this group with a chance to win it all. They were the rivals of the Beaneaters, and are likely to end up in a killer division with Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants. Often considered the greatest team of all time (pre-1927 Yankees), this team was the last to bring a championship to Baltimore for 70 years.

Barring something crazy, these should be the teams added. There only a few other possibilities: the 1895 Cleveland Spiders, though the teams already present above trump them. If the Washington Nationals have an amazing season, they could displace somebody (Baltimore?). An amazing Milwaukee Brewers season could also do it, though that would cause issues for the American League... Finally, any moves on the part of the Marlins followed by an excellent season could cause their entrance, though all of these possibilities require me to be pretty pokey in getting things underway. Of course, that's a serious possibility...

Championship Series, Game 2

2007-09-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Cleveland faced a must-win situation in Game 2-- after dropping the first game, they desperately did not want to travel to Chicago down 0-2. They turned to Orel Hershiser to try and hold the line, while the Cubs handed the ball to Miner Brown.

I suppose this is as good a place as any to note that if it's the Indians and Cubs in the 2007 World Series, I called it here (much as I'd rather see the Yankees, of course...). [note added later- I'm clearly wrong, though unhappily not because the Yankees made it...]

For the ceremonial first pitch, the Indians recognized their first world champions and honored Tris Speaker, manager of the 1920 team (which represented the franchise during Season 1 of the Cloverland Leagues).

Cleveland was able to score relatively quickly off of Brown, striking in the 2nd on singles by Eddie Murray and Paul Sorrento, followed up by an RBI double by the ubiquitous Manny Ramirez. The Cubs escaped the 2nd and 3rd, no outs situation without further damage, but the stage was set. The Indians scored again in the 5th on a double by Alvaro Espinoza and a triple by Kenny Lofton. A walk, a double, and a hit batsman led to another run for Cleveland and Brown's replacement by Carl Lundgren. After another walk and another hit batsman, Cleveland's lead had swollen to 4-0.

Meanwhile, Hershiser was rolling. Orel finished with 8 shutout innings and only allowed 2 hits. Jose Mesa finished with a 9th that was perhaps more dramatic than necessary, but in the end maintained the shutout. Jimmy Sheckard had 2 of Chicago's three hits. Cleveland knotted the series at 1 game a piece as action shifted to Chicago. Game 3 will feature Charles Nagy vs. Jack Pfiester.

Championship Series, Game 1

2007-09-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

The Series!

A capacity crowd welcomed their pennant-winning Indians home, hoping they could do what they could not do in 1995: win it all. Larry Doby threw out the ceremonial first pitch for Cleveland, and with that, the game was underway.

Game 1 pitted Dennis Martinez for the Indians vs. Ed Ruelbach for the Chicago Cubs. Ruelbach was the MVP for Chicago in the NLCS, who had a long layoff waiting for the end of the Yankees-Indians series.

Despite the difference in preparation, the two pitchers matched each other through five scoreless innings. Martinez worked in and out of trouble, loading the bases in the 1st before being saved by a Johnny Kling double play grounder. Ruelbach only allowed on base hit in five innings, but had control problems that led him to walk a few and take advantage of two double plays behind him.

In the 6th, Chicago broke through against El Presidente. A single by Steinfeld was followed by an RBI double by Kling, who scored on an infield single by Evers, following a sacrifice by Schulte. Cleveland came right back in the bottom of the inning, as a two out double by Baerga plated Kenny Lofton (ending Ruelbach's shutout streak at 22 2/3 innings), and Albert Belle drove Baerga in immediately after. Eddie Murray had a chance to break the game open after Ruelbach hit Thome (who is expected to miss 2-3 games), but he flied out to center, preserving the tie.

Martinez got in to further trouble in the 8th, putting runners on 1st and 3rd via a Steinfeld walk and a Kling single. Paul Assenmacher was called in from the pen to try and hold the Cubs down, but immediately gave up an RBI single to Wildfire Schulte. Assenmacher shut down Chicago afterward, but the damage was done. Ruelbach shut down the Indians the rest of the way, finishing the game with a strikeout of ALCS MVP Ramirez.

Cleveland hopes to even up the series in Game 2, pitting Orel Hershiser against Mordecai Brown, again in Cleveland.

Series Preview

2007-08-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

The championship comes down to one of the oldest teams in the Cloverland Leagues vs. one of the most recent. With 89 years between them, the Cubs and Indians played in very different eras-- Chicago playing in an era of segregated baseball, truly independent minor leagues, daytime games, and a dead ball. Cleveland's team only played a partial season due to a strike, and not only has players of many ethnicities, but also has citizens of several nations. Furthermore, no fewer than 5 Indians outhomered the Cubs team in real life, even in an abbreviated season. In the replay, Albert Belle hit more than three times as many home runs as the Cubs (finishing with an astonishing 62, one more than Babe Ruth's record set the season before).

So, who will win?

Beats me. I picked both of the playoff series incorrectly. If compelled to pick someone, I'll gave to go with Cleveland. Their pitching was good enough to mostly stifle the Yankees, and their hitting is pretty tremendous. Chicago's pitching is, of course, spectacular. But it wouldn't take much to get in a big hole against the Indians.

Having said that, a Cubs win wouldn't shock me. And of course, that's why I play the games...

Scooter beats the traffic

2007-08-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

http://yankees.lohudblogs.com/2007/08/14/breaking-news-phil-rizzuto-passes-away/

Maybe I'll have more to say later. But Phil Rizzuto's announcing is one of the vivid memories of my youth, and one of the real joys that made me a baseball fan, let alone a Yankees fan.

ALCS Game 6: A Game for the Ages

2007-08-12T13:57:00.000-07:00

I'll cut to the chase: the 1995 Cleveland Indians will be representing the AL in the Cloverland Series against the 1906 Chicago Cubs. Cleveland defeated and eliminated the 1939 New York Yankees in a see-saw Game 6 that went to the 17th inning before it was decided.

The Yankees staked Steve Sundra to a 1-0 lead on a leadoff triple by Red Rolfe and a single by King Kong Keller. Sundra and Charles Nagy, starting in place of injured Chad Ogea, traded zeros until the 4th, when Cleveland broke out for 5 runs, punctuated by a three-run home run by Yankee-killer Manny Ramirez. Facing elimination, Yankee manager McCarthy brought in Marius Russo to try and limit the damage.

New York came back in their next at-bats, scoring three to pull to within 1 of the Indians. Further trouble for Nagy in the 6th brought in Paul Assenmacher from the bullpen, but that did not prevent a Bill Dickey sacrifice fly from scoring Frank Crosetti with the tying run. A parade of further Cleveland relief pitchers worked in and out of trouble, but the Yankees just couldn't plate another run.

Meanwile, Russo worked 5.1 innings of two-hit relief. Oral Hildebrand came on with two on in the 10th and nobody out, and induced a double play from Kenny Lofton to keep the Yankees hope alive. Albie Lopez came in to put down a New York rally in the 13th. Cleveland nearly put the Yankees away in the 15th, but Manny Ramirez was thrown out trying to score on a ground ball to Crosetti.

Leading off the 16th, Keller hit a line shot home run into the right field stands. The still-packed stands fell silent hoping against hope the Indians could respond. Respond they did with one out in the 16th, as Carlos Baerga tied it up with a solo home run. And on to the 17th the game went.

Finally in the 17th, the game reached its climax. Eddie Murray opened the inning with a single, but Hildebrand, in his 8th inning of relief, struck out Ramirez and Paul Sorrento. As Tony Peña stood in, most spectators were probably thinking about the next inning. Peña refocused their attention by smacking a double down the left field line and scoring Murray on a close play at home. As suddenly as that, it was over and Cleveland was going to the Series.

Notes: The Yankees were victims of bad baserunning, both in cases where I had a choice to send or not send runners, and in cases where I had no choice. It's something of a problem with the game itself, though in theory it should even out. But it certainly felt like the Yankees got the short end during this series.

The ALCS MVP, much as it pains me, is Manny Ramirez. He finished with "only" a .286 average, but 2 HR, 7 RBI, and a .667 SLG. Dennis Martinez would be another plausible candidate (2-0, 0.56 ERA), but Manny's performance in Game 6 plus some outfield assists he made (even given the previous point) swung me to give him the vote.

This is the first time the Yankees won't be in the Series. They faced the '06 Cubs in Season 1, and defeated the 1934 Tigers in the playoffs en route to their shocking ouster by the 1897 Beaneaters in Season 2. They also were present in Season 0, the season I did with Strat-O-Matic cards back in the mid-80's, defeating the 1953 Dodgers to win that Series.

ALCS Game 5: Advantage Cleveland

2007-08-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Yankee fans packed The Stadium to watch what they hope will not be New York's final home game until next season. Knotted at 2 games a piece, Game 5 was an important one for both teams before they headed back to Cleveland for the remainder of the ALCS.

The Indians started in quickly against Red Ruffing, the Yankees starter. A single by Kenny Lofton followed by a hit-and-run double by Omar Vizquel scored the first Cleveland run, Vizquel scoring on two groundouts before Ruffing was able to end the inning. Cleveland struck again in the second on a solo home run by Paul Sorrento. The Yankees started well in the bottom of the inning, with a single by Dickey and double by Gordon to start the inning. A flyout by Twinkeltoes Selkirk was not quite deep enough, as Kenny Lofton's arm passed the test Bill Dickey put it to, cutting him down at home. Orel Hershiser escaped trouble as a result.

Ruffing and Hershiser settled down after that point, giving up only two hits between them after that point. Ruffing gave way to Johnny Murphy in the 9th, but Hershiser was able to shut down the Yanks, finishing with a complete game, three-hit shutout. The teams return to Jacobs Field with Cleveland one win away from meeting the 1906 Cubs for the championship.

Charles Nagy will start for the Indians in Game 6, replacing the injured Chad Ogea (no record in the postseason, 11-13, 4.67 in the regular season). The Yankees counter with Steve Sundra (1-0, 1.00 in the ALCS, 9-3, 3.22 in the regular season).

NLCS Game 4: Cubs Win The Pennant

2007-08-06T18:29:00.000-07:00

The 1906 Chicago Cubs, winners of 116 games in real life, finished a 4 game sweep of the 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates and will represent the National League in the Cloverland League Series (for lack of a better term). The win ends the Pirates' wild run, where they edged a crowded NL East field to make the playoffs with a mere 87 wins, a full 10 fewer than the Cubs.

Game 4 featured a strong pitching performance by Ed Reulbach (2-0), who shut down the Pirates with only two hits. Jack Chesbro (0-2) matched Reulbach inning for inning until the 7th, when a single by Harry Steinfeldt and a triple by Johnny Kling put Chicago on the board. Kling was thrown out at the plate trying for an inside the park home run, but the damage was done.

Pittsburgh threatened in the bottom of the 8th, with singles by Leach and Bransfield putting men on 1st and 3rd with nobody out. Jack Sheckard saved at least one run with a running catch of a Paddy O'Connor drive followed by a perfect throw nailing Leach at the plate and deflating the Exposition Park field. For all intents and purposes, the pennant was won right there. The Cubs added an insurance run in the 9th, and with Claude Ritchey's foulout to Kling, the pennant was theirs. The Cubs now wait to see whether they will be visiting Cleveland or New York for game 1 of the Championship Series.

Notes: Ed Reulbach was named MVP of the NLCS, going 2-0 with a 0.50 ERA. The only other competition came from Steinfeldt, who batted .385 with two singles, a double, and two triples in the five games. Other than Steinfeldt, no player batted above .300 in the series. Thanks to four walks, however, Fred Clarke led all players with a .467 OBP. The Cubs batted .217 in the series, but their pitchers held Pittsburgh to an astonishing .126 batting average, averaging less than 4 hits a game.

ALCS Game 4

2007-08-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

Game 4 found another full house in Yankee Stadium. This game featured a rematch between the Game 1 starters, Bump Hadley for New York and Dennis Martinez for Cleveland. Both teams saw this as an important game, the Yankees hoping to go up 3-1, the Indians hoping to tie up the series.

Hadley, burned for 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings in Game 1, pitched much better in this game. Through three innings he held Cleveland scoreless, with only a single hit. Martinez also denied the Yankees through three, though he worked through jams in the 2nd (Manny Ramirez threw out Selkirk trying to score) and 3rd (with bases loaded and 1 out, New York failed to score). In the 4th, Ramirez was a difference maker on the other side of the ball, driving in Murray and Thome with a 2-out double. Those would be the only runs Cleveland would get.

However, they would be the only runs they'd need. Martinez allowed a few baserunners the rest of the way but did not run into serious trouble (thanks in part to a spectacular catch by, yes, Manny Ramirez), and went the distance with a shutout. Dennis is now 2-0 in the series, with an ERA of 0.56. With the win, Cleveland ensured a return to Jacobs Field for at least a Game 6.

NLCS Game 3

2007-07-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

The NLCS moved to Exposition Park in Pittsburgh for Game 3. 16,000 fans were on hand to cheer on the Pirates, hoping to dig out of a 2 games to 0 deficit. After Roberto Clemente's ceremonial first pitch, the Pirates were off to a strong start, taking advantage of a walk, two singles (by Wagner and Clarke), and a sacrifice fly by Leach to move ahead 2-0 in the first.

Jesse Tannehill could not hold the lead, however, as Chicago came back in the third with a rally featuring back-to-back triples by player/manager Frank Chance and 3rd baseman Harry Steinfeldt, knotting the score at 2. The tie remained in place until the 7th, when Cubs pitcher Mordecai Brown scored on a single by Schulte on a close play at the plate, just beating Wagner's throw.

Brown was bearing down in the meantime, allowing only 2 hits after the first inning. Though Pittsburgh had the tying run in scoring position a few times (including in the 9th), one never got the sense that he was in any trouble. The Cubs went on to win 3-2, putting Pittsburgh in a serious hole down 3 games to 0 in this best-of-seven series. Game 4 features a rematch of the Game 1 starters Ed Ruelbach and Jack Chesbro. A Cubs win in Game 4 sends them to the World Series for the second time: in Season 1 they faced the 1927 Yankees (and lost), while in Season 2 they dropped the NLCS to the 1897 Boston Beaneaters.

ALCS Game 3

2007-07-19T19:20:00.000-07:00

The ALCS reconvened for Game 3 at Yankee Stadium. A crowd of 70,000+ welcomed the 1939 team back home, and though Fiorello LaGuardia's ceremonial first pitch was a 50-footer the home fans hoped for the best.The game pitted Steve Sundra (9-3, 3.22) for New York vs. Chad Ogea (9-5, 3.26) for Cleveland.

The Indians struck first on three soft hits: a bloop single by Albert Belle to lead off the 2nd inning, followed by a 2-out infield single by Manny Ramirez and a run-scoring bloop single by Sandy Alomar. The lead only held until the 4th, when doubles by Red Rolfe and Joe DiMaggio tied the game. DiMaggio was later thrown out at the plate by Ramirez when he tried to score on a not-quite-deep-enough fly ball... The Yanks took the lead the next inning as pitcher Sundra's double (no DH in Yankee Stadium) scored Tommy "Ol' Reliable" Henrich.

The teams traded zeros for the remainder of the game, Sundra finishing with 8 strikeouts. Ogea left the game with an injured fleen in the bottom of the 6th, with relievers Plunk and Poole pitching scoreless relief. The pitchers duel ended 2-1 in New York's favor, who now hold a 2 games to 1 series lead. Ogea is out for the remainder of the postseason while his fleen is chilled. Game 4, also at Yankee Stadium, sees a rematch of Game 1 pitchers Hadley and Martinez.

Annivers ary and NLCS game 2

2007-07-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

First, I should note today is the 5 year anniversary of when I started this league. I suppose I would have finished quite a bit sooner if I hadn't lost at least a year switching to a Mac and then realizing I could get Virtual PC. And, of course, the crash. But no complaints-- the play's the thing.

Game 2 featured Carl Lundgren of the Cubbies (17-7, 2.05 during regular season) vs. Sam Leever (16-11, 2.86). Chicago hoped to extend their lead to 2 games to 0 before the series headed to Pittsburgh.

Each team threatened but came up empty through the first three, before Pittsburgh broke through in the top of the 4th on a triple by Kitty Bransfield and a sacrifice fly by Wid Conroy. Chicago returned the favor on a triple by Harry Steinfeldt, Johnny Evers knocking him in with a double. Leever escaped further damage when Honus Wagner threw Evers out at the plate trying to score on Jimmy Slagle's single.

Chicago would not be denied, however, scoring a second run in the 6th. Frank Chance reached on a fielders choice, stole 2nd, then scored on a Steinfeldt double. Again Leever escaped thanks to Cub baserunning aggressiveness, as Fred Clarke threw Steinfeldt out at the plate on Kling's single immediately followed by another baserunner kill for Wagner at third base on Evers' single.

Lundgren would make that second run hold up, however, stifling Pittsburgh's bats the rest of the way. Steinfeldt was the hitting star of the game, going 2-3 with a double and triple, driving in one run and scoring the other. Wagner's two hits for Pittsburgh went for naught.

Pittsburgh returns home in what is basically a must-win situation, while the Cubs are in excellent position to return to the World Series for the 2nd time in 3 seasons.

ALCS Game 2

2007-07-15T15:39:00.000-07:00

Game 2 found another full house at the Jake. Cleveland was hoping to take a commanding 2-0 lead, the Yanks were hoping to bring a split back to New York.

Red Ruffing and Orel Hershiser traded zeros for 4 innings, with the Indians missing a golden opportunity in the bottom of the 4th, unable to cash in with 1st and 3rd, nobody out.
Ruffing bore down to strike out Jim Thome and induce a popout from Eddie Murray before Bill Dickey caught Carlos Baerga napping and picked him off of third to end the inning before a crowd stunned into silence.

The Yankees broke through in the 5th on a triple by #9 hitter Frank Crosetti and a single by Red Rolfe. George "Twinkletoes" Selkirk extended the New Yorkers' lead to 3-0 with a home run the following inning. Cleveland closed to 3-2 in the 8th on a RBI single by Baerga and a sacrifice fly by Thome, Tommy Heinrich making a great play to turn a double into an out.

Ruffing held Cleveland down the rest of the way, but the Yankees added two more runs off of Indians closer Jose Mesa, who wasn't helped by Manny Ramirez turning a bloop single into an RBI double for Joe DiMaggio. The final score was 5-2 Yankees. After an off-day, the series resumes with Game 3 at Yankee Stadium.

NLCS Game 1

2007-07-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

A lovely afternoon at the West Side Grounds in Chicago, as 16,000+ jammed the park to watch the Cubs take on the Pirates. Ernie Banks' ceremonial first pitch was low and outside, but the Old Style was flowing and the crowd was in an excellent mood.

They did not like what they saw early on, however, as the Pirates jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a single by batting champ Ginger Beaumont, a sacrifice bunt, and a single by Fred Clarke. Chicago responded off of Pittsburgh starter Jack Chesbro in the bottom of the 2nd with a 2-out rally. Jimmy Slagle singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Joe Tinker.

After that, a tight pitchers duel ensued between Ed Ruelbach and Chesbro. Or, it would have if not for the defensive miscues. The Cubs moved ahead on a walk by Johnny Kling, a hit and run single by Johnny Evers (who then stole 2nd), and a grounder by Slagle. Kling ran with contact, and beat the throw home. An error by Tommy Leach at 3rd led to another run, and before all was said and done in that inning Chicago held a 5-1 lead. Pittsburgh was unable to answer back, and that remained the final score.

In the end, Chicago only had 5 hits but made them count. Jimmy Sheckard collected two of them, driving in two of the Cubbies' runs. Game 2 pits Chicago's Carl Lundgren (17-7, 2.05) vs. Sam Leever (16-11, 2.86) of the Pirates.

ALCS Game 1

2007-07-10T15:28:00.000-07:00

There was a capacity crowd of 43,000+ in Jacobs Field, eager to see their local favorites take on the hated Yankees. After Nap Lajoie threw out the first pitch, the tension mounted. The '39 Yanks offered Bump Hadley (14-8), who had thrown a no-hitter on his first start of the regular season. the '95 Indians responded with Dennis Martinez (13-8), pride of Nicaragua.

For 2 innings, the pitchers traded zeros. New York had the pressure on in the 2nd, but Martinez worked out of the jam with help from Albert Belle's perfect throw cutting down Bill Dickey at the plate. In the bottom of the 3rd, Cleveland broke through, Eddie Murray driving in 2 with a bases loaded single. This was followed by a Jim Thome double driving in 2 more. Manny Ramirez' 2-run home run punctuated the inning, with Hadley hitting the showers before the third inning ended.

Orel Hildebrand's relief was not particularly effective, as he gave up 7 more runs over the next three innings, including home runs to Carlos Baerga and Eddy Murray. Meanwhile, Dennis Martinez cruised, only giving up a solo home run to Red Rolfe. Relief from Julian Tavarez and Paul Assenmacher finished off the Yankees. The final score was a dominating 13-2 decision for Cleveland.

Murray, Thome, and Baerga all finished with 3 hits, while Manny scored 3 runs. New York tries again tomorrow (or perhaps "tomorrow") with Red Ruffing (16-12, 3.19), while Cleveland sends Orel Hershiser (13-8, 3.43) to the hill.

Notes: I never liked Eddie Murray as a player. Don't know why. He was on my rotisserie league team back in '87, though. The Yanks have to win this with pitching-- they just don't have the bats to go toe to toe with this Cleveland team...

Here's the probably unreadable boxscore:

Playoff Preview

2007-07-09T16:29:00.000-07:00

AL: 1939 Yankees vs. 1995 Indians:
A chance for long-suffering Cleveland fans to beat the establishment. The Indians had a 6-2 edge over the Yanks during the regular season, as mentioned below. New York led in most of those games, though "Fireman" Johnny Murphy saw to it that those leads didn't last-- he was 0-2 with a blown save and an ERA of 11.25 against Cleveland. Surprisingly, though the Yankees outhit the Indians .277-.226 and matched them with 6 HR, they were outscored by the Indians 34-30. Of the pitchers slated to start in the series, all did reasonably well against the other team, Red Ruffing throwing a shutout for New York. Game 1 features Bump Hadley (14-8, 2.69 in the regular season) vs. Dennis Martinez (17-11, 3.10). I'm managing both teams, so presumably there's no edge there. I'm picking the Yankees in 7, but wouldn't be surprised to see Cleveland pull it out, maybe even in 5...

NL: 1902 Pirates vs. 1906 Cubs:
I'm not particularly familiar with either team, since I haven't managed either one before. They played each other to a draw during the season, splitting their 8 games. Mostly, said games were sloppy-- averaging more than 4 errors between the teams per game, including as many as 5 by the Cubs alone in one game. The Pirates outhit the Cubs .255 to .238, though 17 of the Cubs' hits came in a single game, without which they hit .203.

And I think that's the Cubs' biggest problem. The starting pitchers did OK vs. the other teams, the ones who got rocked against the Pirates probably won't play a big role, and the large number of unearned runs make it a bit hard to evaluate. But the Pirates can actually hit (Ginger Beaumont won the league batting title at .339, and Fred Clarke was near .320), and the Cubs apparently can't. I've found that hitting will often trump pitching in this game, as the Beaneaters showed against this very Cubs team last season. Pirates in 6.

Season 3 Final Standings: NL

2007-07-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

NL East W L Pct. GB
1902 Pirates 87 74 .540 -
1941 Dodgers 86 76 .531 1.5
1998 Braves 86 76 .531 1.5
1897 Beaneaters 82 79 .509 5
1905 Giants 78 83 .484 9
1993 Phillies 76 86 .469 11.5
1994 Expos 71 90 .441 16
1986 Mets 66 96 .407 21.5

NL West W L Pct. GB
1906 Cubs 97 65 .599 -
1957 Braves 96 66 .593 1
1974 Dodgers 87 74 .540 9.5
1976 Reds 84 78 .519 13
1942 Cardinals 82 79 .509 14.5
1993 Giants 81 80 .503 15.5
1998 Astros 68 94 .420 29
1996 Padres 65 96 .404 31.5

Notes: The Pirates can thank the Mets for the division title-- their 12-2 record against New York provided the edge. The Beaneaters fell apart at the end, and also ended 0-8 against San Francisco. The Cubs, meanwhile, beat up on a few select teams (San Francisco, Houston, and Philadelphia), while mostly splitting the rest of their games (including a 4-4 record against the Pirates). The Beaneaters scored 5.2 runs per game, half a run more than anyone else. Unfortunately, their ERA was 0.3 higher than anyone else, too. The Pirates were second in runs per game, and also second in team batting average. The Cubs ERA was nearly a run better than the average, but they hit very poorly. A lack of hitting doomed them in the Season 2 playoffs against Boston... Atlanta hit the most home runs, a few ahead of Milwaukee.

Season 3 Final Standings: AL

2007-07-08T17:04:00.000-07:00

Classic Division W L Pct. GB

1939 Yankees 91 71 .562 -
1970 Orioles 90 72 .556 1
1912 Red Sox 87 75 .537 4
1940 Tigers 83 77 .519 7
1922 Browns 79 78 .503 9.5
1925 Nationals 79 81 .494 11
1930 Athletics 76 83 .478 13.5
1919 White Sox 74 81 .477 13.5

Modern Divison W L Pct. GB
1995 Indians 92 70 .568 -
2001 Mariners 90 72 .556 2
1977 Rangers 78 83 .484 13.5
1982 Angels 77 82 .484 13.5
1970 Twins 77 85 .475 15
1985 Royals 73 87 .456 18
1987 Blue Jays 71 89 .444 20
1990 A's 65 91 .404 26.5

Random notes: The Yankees cleaned up against the Twins and Mariners, but their performance against the Browns (4-10) almost cost them the division. The Indians are 6-2 against the Yankees this year. The Orioles had 11 wins against Philadelphia, the most any one team had against any other team. Boy, the White Sox had a lot of rainouts... The Twins dropped out of third after holding it most of the season. The Indians led the league with 5.1 runs per game, running away with the most HR (221), as well. Seattle won the ERA crown, allowing only 3.31 earned runs per game (vs. the league average of 3.71). Oakland had the second lowest ERA, but only scored 3.2 runs per game, 0.3 worse than anyone else...

Beaneaters as Speed Bump

2007-07-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

The season, she is finished.

There is joy in Pittsburgh as the 1902 Pirates outlasted the 1897 Boston Beaneaters, coming from behind in the bottom of the 10th to win 14-13 in a sloppy game featuring 6 errors and multiple blown leads. Ed Poole will live on in the hearts of Pirates fans as he got the win after an inning of not-effective-but-not-disastrous relief, which was good enough. Jack Stivetts gutted out three innings of not-quite-good-enough relief after Ted Lewis' not-at-all-good starting for the Beaneaters, wasting a monster 5-6 day by Jimmy Collins. Fred Clarke was the star for Pittsburgh, going 2-3 with a 3b, 3 R and 3 RBI.

The Beaneaters then went on to host Chicago in a makeup game the day after the season ended. Needing a win to avoid a playoff game in Milwaukee, Chicago's Jack Pfiester pitched in and out of trouble to seal the 4-1 victory. Pat Moran did most of the Cubs' damage, going 3-4. Fred Klobedanz lost, and ends the season 20-22.

As reigning champions, perhaps it was fitting this seasons' winners both had to defeat Boston to move on. The Cubs will have home field advantage in the NLCS.

Cliffhanger

2007-07-05T18:25:00.000-07:00

The American League wave function has collapsed: The ALCS will feature the 1939 New York Yankees and the 1995 Cleveland Indians. The Yankees won their division by 1 game over the 1970 Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland won theirs by 2 over the 2001 Seattle Mariners. With the better overall record, the Indians will have home field advantage in the ALCS.

The National League is still TBD. Most of the way through the final day's games, there's a logjam at the top of the NL East-- the 1998 Atlanta Braves, 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers, and 1902 Pittsburgh Pirates all are tied with 86 wins. The Pirates have yet to play today, though, and have a potential makeup game if necessary. They of course only have to win one of those two games to clinch.

The NL West is also undecided. Chicago clings to a half-game lead, and have a makeup game scheduled against the ubiquitous Beaneaters, with the potential for a playoff game after that. The AL playoffs will wait a bit for the NL, but I suppose I'll need to work the timing out...

Last Series Ahead

2007-06-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Four games played since the last update, and a little bit of clarity (but not much!)

AL Classic: The Yankees only took 1 of 4, losing a series to Detroit, their only win coming on a vultured win by Johnny Murphy. After scoring 9 in the first game, the Yanks bats went cold, amounting to only 7 runs in the next 3 games, including a 4-hit shutout by Texas' Bert Blyleven. Mike Hargrove did his future employers a big favor, with his homer accounting for all the scoring in a 1-0 beauty. But could Baltimore take advantage? Not really. The Os split their 4 games, and head into their final series in Detroit 1 game back, while New York hosts Washington. Baltimore has been slightly better than .500 against the Tigers, the Yankees slightly under .500 against the Nationals... New York would host a 1-game playoff if it comes to it. Boston won 2 of 3 against the Browns but were eliminated anyway.

AL Modern: Texas preceded their win against the Yankees by taking a series from Cleveland. Doc Ellis shut down the Indian's bats with a surprising shutout one day, while the Rangers bats pounded Cleveland the next day. Could Seattle take advantage? No. The Mariners played three extra inning games against usually-hapless Oakland, leading each in the 8th only to suffer three blown saves. They lost the first two, games that will haunt fans in the Emerald City if the Ms fall just short. Seattle pulled out the third game, though it took 19 innings to do so. Cleveland hosts Toronto and Seattle visits Texas to finish their season. The Indians have had trouble with the Blue Jays, while the Mariners have hand led the Rangers well this year. Seattle would host a hypothetical playoff. Other than Cleveland and Seattle, no AL Modern team will finish above .500.

NL East: Brooklyn helped their cause immensely by taking 2 of 3 from first-place Pittsburgh. MVP candidate Dolph Camilli was basically AWOL, going 1-12 in the games, but Pete Reiser made up for it by going 6-12 with 3 extra base hits. Ginger Beaumont poured it on for the Pirates, going 11-18, including 5-5 in a heartbreaking extra-inning loss to the Dodgers. The Pirates split their four games, salvaging a make-up against the Mets (featuring a comeback that sent Roger McDowell to a somewhat astonishing 16th loss) after the series loss to Brooklyn. Atlanta took 2 of 3 from Philadelphia, doing it with hitting (a 17-10 slugfest) and pitching (the next day's 2-1 win). Andres Gallaraga did his best to keep Atlanta in it, going 6-9 in the three games. Meanwhile, the Beaneaters are all but eliminated after leaving choosing to score 14 runs in their one win and only 4 in the other three games (all losses). Boston visits Pittsburgh, needing to sweep and then win a to-be-scheduled makeup against the mighty Cubs. Brooklyn is 1.5 back, and is off to Montreal (against whom they've played terribly) to finish the season, while the Mets look to knock Atlanta out. At this point, I believe all results up to and including a four-way tie are still possible. Venues for any playoff games will be (randomly) decided after things clear up a bit.

NL West: Chicago and Milwaukee end this update where they started it-- with the Cubs holding a slim 0.5 game lead. Both teams split their games, Chicago taking 2 of 3 from St. Louis, Milwaukee losing 2 of 3 to Houston before coming back and beating the Cubs in a makeup game. Milwaukee fans might note with some concern the fact they've only scored 4 runs in 4 games, but they can take some solace that their pitching has let them gain the split, stars including Bob Buhl's 11 inning shutout and Spahn's shutout of Chicago to win his 20th (and 7th in a row). The Cubs pitching has been excellent, allowing 6 runs in 4 games, but they too have been scoring little, save an 11 run outburst in game 1. Of more concern is an injury to manager and 1st baseman Frank Chance that likely puts him out for the remaining games, at the Reds. The Braves host Los Angeles. Milwaukee would host any playoff game. The pennant race overshadowed two great pitching performances in games by lesser teams: Doug Rau and Mike Marshall teamed up to pitch a 1-hitter against Cincinnati, and the Padres' Josh Hamilton struck out 11 in a complete game shutout against San Francisco.

Next update after the next three game series, before any last-day makeups.

Time to panic on the North Side?

2007-05-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

It's taken another month, but the end of the season is a bit closer. The most secure leads of recent times are much smaller, and the reverse is also true. There are 7-8 games left for most teams.

AL Classic: Baltimore treaded water, taking 2 of 3 from St. Louis while the Yankees took 2 of 3 from the Philadelphia Athletics. The Orioles lost a good opportunity to make up ground when Dick Hall blew a save in the 9th and the Browns took the game in the 11th. The Yanks, meanwhile, used some late heroics and took advantage of hot hitting from Joe DiMaggio (4-8, 2 HR, 7 RBI in the two wins) to lower their magic number to 6. Washington swept the Red Sox, effectively knocking them out of the race (and putting the Nats in plausible striking distance of Detroit for 4th place). The Yankees lead by 2, tied for the largest division lead, and will host Detroit. Baltimore heads to Philadelphia.

AL Modern: The Indians and Mariners slouched toward the finish. Seattle caught Cleveland after they beat Kansas City (coupled with an Oakland win), but the Royals swept a big double header, Jeff Nelson blowing the save in the 8th of the nightcap. In the end, the Indians' lead remains 1 game with 6 to play. The battle for third place between Texas, Minnesota, and California continues in the leaders' rear-view mirror. The Mariners head down I-5 to Oakland, the Rangers come next to the Jake.

NL East: Brooklyn edged closer to the top, moving into second place after sweeping the fading Beaneaters. Boston's vaunted offense was shut out twice in the three game set, including a heartbreaking 1-0 finale. The Dodgers have won 5 straight. Pittsburgh took two of three from the Mets and have lowered their magic number to 6. Atlanta dropped two of three to the New York Giants. Heading into the final two series, the Pirates lead Brooklyn by 2 games, with Boston at 2.5 back and Atlanta 3 back. This sets up a critical series as Pittsburgh visits Ebbets field. The Beaneaters and Braves will try to take advantage against the Giants and Phillies, respectively.

NL West: Chicago has led for the lion's share of the season and has had a large lead for months (of game time, to say nothing of real time). The Cubs wake this morning with their lead a slender 0.5 games, 1 game in the all-important loss column. This is most immediately a result of a disastrous sweep at the hands of the Los Angeles Dodgers (who outscored the Cubbies 22-4 in the three games) while the rolling Milwaukee Braves easily handled San Francisco. Milwaukee has the easier schedule going forward, facing the anemic Astros next before facing the 3rd place Dodgers (who would be in 1st place in the NL East, but that's another story). Chicago takes on the resurgent St. Louis Cardinals. There is also a make-up game between Chicago and Milwaukee after this next series, which is looming ever-larger.

Catch and Release

2007-04-06T20:40:00.000-07:00

A long, long month. So, we've only creeped forward a few more games. But they were important ones...

AL Classic: The Yankees ran into a heap of trouble via their nemeses, the 1922 St. Louis Browns. The Browns had had their number all year, and New York was faltering a bit heading into this 5 game set. The Brownies took the first three games in commanding fashion, pounding out 24 runs and 34 hits, by which time Baltimore's two wins against the Red Sox put them in a tie for first. The Yanks got revenge in the final two games against St. Louis (including a 16-1 thrashing), and the Red Sox salvaged the series finale. Adding in Minnesota's victory over the Orioles in a makeup, the Yankees are up by 2, with 10 to play. The Yanks travel to Philadelphia, Baltimore tries their luck in St. Louis, and Boston hosts Washington for the next round of games.

AL Modern: The leaders had a rough series: Seattle dropped 2 of 3 in extra innings to Minnesota, Cleveland lost two 1-run games to the Royals, and then dropped another one to Washington for good measure. The end result finds the Indians with a one-game lead over the Mariners with 9 to play.

NL East: Boston split, but the Pirates took 3 of 4 to take a slender half-game lead. Atlanta is 2 back, Brooklyn three back. With between 9 and 12 games to play for the leaders, it's still quite up in the air. The Braves would seem to have the easiest schedule with the Giants, Phillies, and Mets, but they've played badly against the two latter teams. Boston hosts Brooklyn next in a series that will likely determine the fate of at least one of those teams. Pittsburgh hosts the Mets before traveling to Ebbets Field

NL West: The Cubs grind their way forward, magic number now at 8. They maintain a healthy 3.5 game lead with ~10 to play. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has the second-best record in all the Cloverland Leagues and is going to sit home for the postseason barring a miracle finish. The Curse of Bud Selig? One can only hope. My Cardinals managed to win one of three, which is pretty good for them lately.

Creeping along...

2007-03-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

A set of big series! Not that it should have taken a month, of course.

AL Classic: Baltimore took 2 of 3 from the Yankees (including a 1-0 thriller decided on a Don Buford HR) to keep it a race-- they're now 2.5 back with ~14 games to play. Boston failed to make up any ground, dropping a series to Detroit. They're 3.5 back and need to make a move soon. There's something of a battle for 5th place/.5oo between Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Washington. I'd put a single quatloo on the Athletics, but no more. The Yanks head to Sportsman's Park where the Browns hope to play spoilers, with a pretty good chance of doing just that-- they've won 7 of 9 against the mighty Yankees this year. Baltimore and Boston, meanwhile, face each other at Fenway to see who gets to try and take advantage.

AL Modern: Seattle kept the pressure on the Indians by taking 2 of 3 and closing the gap to 1.5 games with ~12 to play. Interestingly, the Mariners have played much better in-division than cross-division (.628 vs. .500), while the Indians have nearly the reverse split-- .523 against the AL Modern division but .667 against the likes of the Yankees, Orioles, Red Sox... With only in-division games the rest of the way, could that swing things toward the Mariners? Cleveland heads to Kansas City, the Mariners are off to Bloomington, MN.

NL East: The Beaneaters are making the best of the reset and have crept out to a 1.5 game lead by sweeping the Mets, even getting a shutout from Ted Lewis. The Pirates are hanging tough, but dropped a game at the Polo Grounds. Atlanta dropped a game further behind Boston as well, and Brooklyn dropped their series to Philadelphia, likely dooming their hopes. The Phillies travel to Exposition Park in Pittsburgh next, while Boston hosts Atlanta and Brooklyn looks from some help from the now last-place Mets.

NL West: The Cubs first-place lead is still larger than any other teams, but in the past 10 games it's been whittled down by Milwaukee from 7 games to 3. Chicago had been hoping to use the last couple of weeks to get their pitching rotation ready for the postseason, but a race seems to have broken out instead. Meanwhile, the Cards swept the Reds! A happy day for manager Rivkin. St. Louis becomes involved in the pennant race for the first time in months as they host the surging Braves, while Chicago hosts the not surging San Diego Padres.

Back underway: NL games

2007-02-10T11:27:00.000-08:00

Given the AL scoreboard both was unreadable _and_ made other things unreadable, I'll pass on an NL scoreboard image and just put it here:

NL East

Boston Beaneaters 76 67 -
Pittsburgh Pirates 76 68 .5
Brooklyn Dodgers 76 71 2
Atlanta Braves 76 71 2
New York Giants 68 77 9
Philadelphia Phillies 67 79 10.5
Montreal Expos 66 80 11.5
New York Mets 63 83 14.5

They're rumbling to the finish. 15 games to go, and 4 teams very much in the hunt. To recap:

Pirates-Braves: Atlanta took two of three from Pittsburgh, improving their own chances as well as those of all around them, despite making an astonishing 12 errors in the three-game series, 7 in the 13-inning game 2 alone. Sam Leever went the distance for the Pirates in that game, getting the win. Atlanta pitchers pitched well, and if the offense had scored anything in regulation in game 2, they would have swept. The Braves followed up the Pirates series by shutting out the suddenly hapless Cardinals. Pittsburgh travels to the Polo Grounds next, Atlanta remains at home to host Montreal.

Beaneaters-Expos: Boston leapfrogged Pittsburgh into a slim 1st place lead, taking two of three from Montreal. Jack Stivetts was a standout, going 9-10 at the bat and winning his start on the mound. Hugh Duffy was 6-13 with 6 RBI, Jimmy Collins 8-13. All the offense was necessary, as in typical Beaneaters fashion, the pitching was knocked around. Even Kid Nichols got bombed in his start, with only the lack of possible relief pitchers keeping him in the game. The Beaneaters hope to lengthen their lead against the Mets in their next series.

Bklyn Dodgers-NY Giants: The classic rivalry convened for the final time this season, Brooklyn with their eyes on the division lead they held for much of the season, New York hoping to play spoiler. The Dodgers came closest to their goal, taking 3 of 4 from the Giants, including both ends of a doubleheader. Pete Reiser was hot and cold for the Bums, 4-5 in the first game but with only one hit the rest of the way. Dolph Camilli was more steady, burnishing his case for NL MVP, easily leading the league in batting and tying for the league lead in RBI. Christy Mathewson won his 21st to prevent a sweep. Brooklyn followed up this series with a win in a make-up game at Shea. Next up for the Dodgers is hosting Philadelphia.

Mets-Phillies: After a bad start for Philadelphia, they came back to take the last two at Shea. New York erupted for 12 runs, HoJo hitting two homers and El Sid striking out 9 in 7 innings to hand Schilling the loss in a 12-3 game. The Metropolitans would have been well-advised to spread those runs out, however, as they only scored 2 runs the rest of the way, including a 15-inning scoreless stretch against Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The immortal Bob Rivera pitched a 2-hit shutout, striking out 9 Mets and improving his record to, um, 8-12.

NL West

Chicago Cubs 89 56 -
Milwaukee Braves 86 59 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 78 68 11.5
Cincinnati Reds 77 70 13
San Francisco Giants 76 71 14
St. Louis Cardinals 73 73 16.5
San Diego Padres 61 86 29
Houston Astros 59 88 31

Milwaukee's reeled Chicago in a little bit, and are legitimately still in it. There's still a battle for 3rd place, but it's probably little consolation for San Francisco, who would be 2 games out of first place in the other division. Of course, the NL East doesn't get to beat up on the Padres and Astros.

Recap:
Cubs-Milwaukee Braves: Chicago still has the best record in the Cloverland Leagues, but they no longer have the largest lead. Milwaukee made the best of their chances by sweeping both games of a rain-shortened series. Johnny Logan was 4-4 in the first game, but Hank Aaron's 41st home run was the big blow as the Braves cruised 8-1. Aaron struck again in game 2, driving in Andy Pafko in the 8th, the deciding run in a 2-1 squeaker. The Cubs couldn't get their bats going, scoring only 2 runs en route to their 7th loss in 10 games. The Braves have won 5 straight and have closed the gap with Chicago from 8 games to 3.

Los Angeles Dodgers-Cardinals: St. Louis' woes continued, as they dropped two of three to the Dodgers and a make-up game to Atlanta. Davey Lopes bedeviled the Cards, going 4-8 in the first two games before sitting out the finale. Mort Cooper pitched a shutout to give St. Louis their only win in the last 10 games. San Francisco comes to LA next, while the Reds visit Sportsman's Park.

Reds-Padres: San Diego scored 4 runs in every game, Cincinnati averaged over 9 runs a game but settled for 2 wins. Pete Rose was 7-14 with 6 runs, Joe Morgan had a monster game in the opener. But Fernando Valenzuela, Bryce Florie, and Trevor Hoffman kept the Big Red Machine in check and John Flaherty drove in 4 to salvage a win for the boys in brown.

San Francisco Giants-Astros: Barry Bonds' heroics, including his league-leading 46th and 47th home runs, couldn't win this series over Houston, the NL's doormats. Jose Lima pitched a beautiful complete game, and a good start by Randy Johnson, spoiled by Billy Wagner's blown save, was redeemed by a walk-off Moises Alou home run in the 15th inning of the third game. In between, critical errors by Brad Ausmus and Richard Hidalgo doomed Scott Elarton's bid to defeat Billy Swift. The Astros head home to welcome the Cubs, who own Houston this year.

Back underway: AL games

2007-01-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

We're through our first series back and a day with some rainout make-up games. Teams have generally played 145 +/- 1 games, save a few teams who've been particularly unlucky with weather (yes, St. Louis Browns, I'm looking at you). The not-quite readable current standings are above.

Yankees-Red Sox: The Yanks took 2 of 3 from Boston, losing the last game played pre-crash but winning the next two. They managed to bury Joe Wood early in game 2, knocking him out after 4 innings. Joe Gordon had a good series, 5-13 with 2 HR and 4 RBI. Tris Speaker was even better, 6-12 in a losing cause. The Yankees followed this up with a shutout loss to Washington, but have a comfortable cushion as they head to Baltimore for a big series with the Birds. Boston visits Detroit.

Orioles-White Sox: Chicago dealt Baltimore's hopes a major blow, sweeping them at Memorial Stadium. The Sox' pitchers stifled the O's offense, which hasn't been helped by the loss of Frank Robinson and Merv Rettenmund to injury. The Orioles managed only 3 runs in the three games, not good even ignoring the White Sox' dead-ball offense scratching out 18... Joe Jackson was 5-12 for Chicago. Baltimore hosts the Yankees in a series they really must win (or better, sweep) to stay in the hunt. Chicago hosts the Browns.

Phil. Athletics-Tigers: Philadelphia effectively eliminated Detroit with a sweep. The Tigers did themselves no favors with 5 errors in game 1, though the 8 earned runs the A's scored were more than enough to compensate for the 1 run George Earnshaw allowed. Game 3 was shortened by rain in the 9th. Mickey Cochrane had a monster series, 9-13 with 6 RBI. Philadelphia travels to the District to take on the Nationals next.

Browns-Nationals: A see-saw series, as the Browns erupted for 19 runs in game 2, but Washington took the rest of the games. George Sisler was 7-10 with 6 RBI in the first two games before resting in game 3. His league-leading average is now .428, roughly 50 points ahead of his closest pursuer (Philadelphia's Al Simmons at .369). Washington also took their schedules make-up vs. the Yankees, Dutch Reuther cooling the New Yorker's bats with a shutout and evening his record at 11-11. Walter Johnson's win in game 3 was his 17th, leading the Nats.

Indians-Twins: Cleveland, dealt a setback by the computer crash, took two of three from Minnesota, and was only a blown Eric Plunk save from sweeping the Twinkies. Kenny Lofton was en fuego, 7-9 with 2 doubles, a triple, and a HR in two games. The aftormentioned blown save, on a bases-loaded Cardenas triple, salvaged a game for Minnesota where Jim Kaat struggled with his his control for 1 1/3 innings, walking 3 and eventually being ejected after hitting his second batsman. The Twins managed .500 for this period by beating Texas 2-1 in a makeup game, Tiant pitching brilliantly but Perranoski getting the win in relief. Cleveland travels to Seattle for a big series, Minnesota travels to Texas for more Ranger fun.

Mariners-Angels: Seattle is trying to make the best of their new lease on life, sweeping California 8-2, 7-1, 5-2. Carlos Guillen, of all people, paced Seattle with a 5-6 in the first two games before sitting out the third. Kaz Sasaki notched his 29th save in the finale, his 21st in a row. The Angels did not have much to celebrate. They go on to Kansas City.

Rangers-Oakland A's: Oakland's hitting woes continued, as they were restricted to 7 runs in the three games, 4 of them in one "eruption". Still, they managed to net a win out of it, 2-1 in the first game. There were no real performances of note. Oakland goes on to Toronto.

Blue Jays-Royals: Speaking of Toronto... The Blue Jays and Royals played a taut, exciting series with basically no importance to any of the races in any way. Still, good baseball is good baseball. All three games were 1-run affairs, with the first two going extra innings. Charlie Liebrandt pitched a 10-inning shutout in game 1, winning on an RBI single by George Brett. Toronto got revenge the next day, with Jim Clancy striking out 11 in 10 innings before giving way to Mark Eichhorn, who got the win in relief on a Jesse Barfield sacrifice fly in the 12th.
Kansas City took the third game, but succumbed to St. Louis in a makeup game the next day.

Clichéd Return...

2007-01-18T19:46:00.000-08:00

(Frank Selee wakes up. He is startled to find himself laying on the sidewalk in Boston. Two bystanders look on with concern.)

FS: Oh, I must have taken a tumble.
Bystander 1: Indeed-- tripped on the uneven pavement. We thought you might be hurt, and with the big games coming up...
FS: Oh, I shouldn't discourage you, but our odds are slim, as far behind Pittsburgh as we are, with less than two weeks to play.
(The bystanders look at each other, confused.)

Bystander 2: Sir?
B1: Perhaps we should find a medic?
FS: I assure you, I'm fine.
B2: But the Beaneaters are in fine shape, just a half-game back, with roughly three weeks to go.
(FS is dismayed)
FS: We're not three and a half back? And the Yankees-- they're still atop the AL Classic Division? Cleveland has not yet buried everyone else in their division?

(B1 and B2 are back to looking concerned...)
B1: No sir, yes sir, and, um, no sir.
B2: Respectively.

(FS brushes himself off and stands up.)
FS: Then there's work to be done and a championship to be defended! See you at the game!

Do-over

2007-01-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

Got the ol' computer back, lost the increment of the season I'd done on it. I think it amounts to ~20 games. :P

I think I'm going to start again from where I last backed it up and pretend this never happened. I believe the big winners turn out to be, embarrassingly, three of the teams I manage-- the Yankees get a big lead restored (which they frittered away last time), the Mariners get another crack at the Indians, and the Beaneaters come back to neck-and-neck with the Pirates. If something turns out differently from the way it was headed, I've got some thinking to do. But that's a problem for a later time...

The inevitable computer problem

2006-12-16T19:50:00.000-08:00

Right. I just posted some old results. My beloved laptop had a bit of a catastrophic problem, and I'm awaiting its return. Hopefully I can carry on unscathed...

AL Action- Classic Division

2006-11-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

Entering this series, the Yankees seemed to have retaken control of the AL Classic division, while Cleveland had all but clinched the AL Modern division. To the action!

Yankees-Browns: St. Louis began action in 6th place, but with an inexplicable advantage over New York through the season. That continued, to the Yanks dismay, as the Browns took 3 of 4, including two in extra innings. Ken Williams went 8-20 in the series, Eddie Foster adding an 8-17 performance. The Browns won big (11-6), small (2-1 in 10) and in between (5-4 in 12). While New York was still in first place at series' end, they lost a big chance to put Baltimore and Boston away...

Orioles-Red Sox: ...because they were playing one another. Boston and Baltimore split the first two games before Buck O'Brien captured his 22nd win for the Sox, tied for the league lead. Baltimore did get Boog Powell and Frank Robinson back from injury for this series, though they lost Paul Blair in the second game. Blair is likely out for the season, though could possibly return for the playoffs.

Nationals-Tigers: The hits kept falling in during this series. Four different Washington players had three-hit days, while five Detroiters pulled off the stunt (including a four-hit, five RBI day by Pete Fox). The Tigers erupted for 17 runs in the course of salvaging the final game, and remain mathematically in contention, 6 games back in fourth place.

White Sox- Phil. Athletics: The series started promisingly for Philadelphia, as George Earnshaw (19-16) pitched a one-hit shutout in a game sloppily played by Chicago (with four errors). The Pale Hose came back to sweep the remaining games, however, foiling Lefty Grove's bid for his 23rd win by scoring two in the 9th, then erupting for four in the first inning the next day to win in less-dramatic fashion. Buck Weaver was 6-12 in the three games, including the only hit off of Earnshaw.

Edging closer to the postseason: the NL

2006-11-19T17:37:00.000-08:00

Pittsburgh-New York Giants: The Pirates put some room between themselves and their pursuers by taking two from the Giants. Ginger Beaumont was 5-9 with 4 RBI in the two games, and is second in the league in batting at .342. They head home to Exposition Park to host Philadelphia. The Giants remain at the Polo Grounds for a visit by Montreal.

Boston-New York Mets: Things did not go well for the reigning champs. A big third inning highlighted by a 3-run home run by Keith Hernandez led to an early exit for Boston ace Nichols in game 1, and El Sid struck out 11 in 6 1/3 before giving way to Sisk and McDowell. George Foster and Wally Backman each had 3 hits, including a homer by Foster. In the second game, it was Kevin Mitchell who single-handedly doomed the Beaneaters, driving in all 6 runs on a double, triple, and homer. Backman added two more hits. The Beaneaters cling to their hopes for unseating Pittsburgh, returning home to meet Atlanta. The Mets travel to Brooklyn.

Atlanta-Montreal: A Tuesday rainout led to a Wednesday doubleheader, swept by the Expos. Two home runs by Andres Gallaraga were for naught, though he now sits in third place in the league in that category. Jeff Fassero pitched masterfully for the 'spos in the nightcap, combining with John Wetteland for a three-hit shutout. Maddux was the hard luck loser in the 1-0 final, lowering his ERA to 1.93 and only giving up an unearned run (thanks to Chipper Jones)... Atlanta is now 4.5 back, with 11 to play.

Brooklyn-Philadelphia: The Dodgers and Phillies split their two games. hit two home runs in the first game, helping Curt Schilling get a complete game victory (he's now 9-11) and dropping Brooklyn under .500. They came back in game 2, but still find themselves mired in 4th place. Dolph Camilli leads the NL in batting average, slugging and on-base percentage, making him the odds-on favorite for the MVP, despite Brooklyn's standing.

Chicago-Houston: The Cubs took two from the last-place Astros, Ed Reulbach going the distance in an 11-inning game to win game 1, Pfiester striking out 14 to win game 2. Unsurprisingly, there wasn't much to cheer for as a Houston fan, though Craig Biggio did hit a 3-run home run and David Bell did have a 4-4 day...

Milwaukee-San Diego: The Braves took two, despite playing very sloppily. Danny O'Connell made 2 errors and his teammates added 3 more before all was said and done. But it was Rickey Henderson's dropped fly ball that doomed the Padres in game 1, wasting a 3-5 day by Wally Joyner (including a home run). Bob Buhl shut the Pads down in game 2, with Del Rice's homer providing all the offense he'd need.

Los Angeles-San Francisco: The two ancient rivals split their two games, the Giants scoring 1 run in each, but winning 1-0 in game 1. John Burkett pitched masterfully, making Don Sutton the hard luck loser. Game 2 saw Steve Garvey's three run home run iced the game for the Dodgers after Bill Russell singled home Steve Yeager in the 7th.

St. Louis-Cincinnati: The Cards eked out a split, as their poor play carried on. The Reds took advantage of 6 walks in the first game and Ken Griffey banged out three hits in game 1, while it took brilliant pitching by Johnny Beazley and a homer by Stan Musial to sneak to a 2-1 victory in game 2. The Cardinals are hoping to return to .500 against the Milwaukee Braves, while the Reds hope to catch Los Angeles and move into third place as they host San Francisco.

Edging closer to the postseason: the AL

2006-11-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Rather than cover every game, I figure updating after every series makes more sense. So here's the situation as it stands:

Yankees-Orioles: Split the last two games, Ruffing winning for the Yankees powered by home runs by Rolfe and Selkirk, Palmer striking out 9 in preventing the sweep. The Yankees ended the series up 1.5 games over the Birds.

Red Sox-Tigers: Also split their last two (a pattern we'll see often). Speaker was 4-6, but a rain-shortened game gave Gorsica a 5-inning complete game win (in which he drove in both of Detroit's runs)... Boston 2.5 back, Detroit theoretically still alive at 6.5 back (but a long, long shot at this point).

White Sox-Browns: Hey, another split! Chicago's bats come alive for a rare double-digit outburst in game 1, with Ed Cicotte the beneficiary. A homer by Ken Williams and a couple of hits from George Sisler (and 4 from Marty McManus) give game 2 to St. Louis.

Philadelphia Athletics-Nationals: Hey, not a split! Philly's pitchers shut down the potent Washington offense, Lefty Grove shutting them out and Rube Walberg limiting them to 1 run in the second game. Foxx homered twice, Simmons ended the series at .379.

Mariners-Indians: Seattle managed to split their last two games with Cleveland, but that left them 5.5 behind with only 12 games left. Nagy shut down the Mariners for 7 innings, while the Indians crushed Jamie Moyer in game 1, Joel Piniero shut Cleveland out, but again--- too little, too late? Cleveland's magic number is 8, and the Mariners are the only team in the division with a mathematical shot at the title other than the Indians.

Twins-Rangers: Minnesota took two from Texas, a well-pitched game preceding a slugfest. Kaat and Zepp got the winse for the Twins, while the Rangers wasted a big day from Toby Harrah (4-5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)...

Angels-Royals: The Royals scored 11 runs in two games against California, and were never close. The Angels, unfortunately for Kansas City, scored 26 runs in the same two games... Reggie Jackson crushed Royals pitching to the tune of a 7-10 performance with 4 runs and 5 RBI, 3 doubles and a home run. Bobby Grich was only 2-10, but drove in 6 thanks to two homers. Fred Lynn drove in 5. The Royals also lost Willie Wilson to injury in the process.

Blue Jays-Oakland A's: Oakland were the anti-Angels, not only scoring zero runs in two games, but only managing 4 hits in the process. Things started poorly for Toronto as they lost Dave Steib before the first pitch was thrown, but Mark Eichhorn pitched amazingly in "relief" with 7 scoreless innings before giving way to two perfect innings by Tom Henke. Jimmy Key went the distance the next day. Frustratingly for the A's, their pitchers did very well, only allowing 5 runs and 10 hits in the two games, themselves. Toronto shut them out in the preceding game, too...

NL Games

2006-10-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

The day began with the 1902 Pirates leading the NL East by 1.5 games, while the 1906 Cubs continued their steady journey to the NL West title. The 1897 Beaneaters, managed by Your Humble Blogger, trekked to Queens to open a three-game set with the Mets at Shea. The 1942 Cardinals, with the same manager, are playing host to the 1976 Reds and hoping to stem something of a free-fall which began a week or so earlier...

Beaneaters 2, Mets 0: The Beaneaters have the 2nd-worst ERA in the Cloverland Leagues, at 4.03 in a league whose average ERA is 3.38. However, Ted Lewis (16-19) managed to put together a 3-hit shutout, drive in Bobby Lowe and the only run he'd need, and simultaneously avoid his 20th loss of the year. Ron Darling (13-13) was the hard-luck loser, victimized by two Boston runs in the 5th on the aforementioned hits by Lowe and Lewis, another single by Fred Tenney, a sacrifice bunt and a judicious groundout. Tenney and Lowe each added additional hits as well. The Mets "attack" wasn't much, as Darryl Strawberry and Kevin Mitchell each doubled but not in the same inning. With the win and a Pirates loss, the Beaneaters closed to 0.5 game behind Pittsburgh.

New York Giants 4, Pirates 3 (10 innings): Meanwhile, over in Manhattan, Christy Mathewson (21-10) overcame two unearned runs to come up with a complete game, extra-inning victory. Pittsburgh struck first, taking advantage of an error by catcher Roger Bresnahan and scoring twice on a single by Fred Clarke. An injury to Pirates workhorse Jack Chesbro required a tired Ed Poole to come on in relief, however, and sloppy defense by Pittsburgh led to the Giants tying the game at 3-3 in the 6th. The Giants won in the 10, as Mike Donlin doubled off of Ed Doheny (11-11), and after two intentional walks and a sacrifice bunt, Bobby Gilbert singled Donlin home.

Phillies 9, Brooklyn Dodgers 3: Philadelphia led early and never looked back. Paced by Darren Daulton's 28th home run and 7 shutout innings by Brian Rivera (8-12), Brooklyn's postseason chances dimmed further. Cookie Lavagetto had three hits for the Dodgers, and Ducky Medwick homered for them as well.

Expos 19, Atlanta Braves 5: What can you say about a 19-5 game? Tom Glavine (17-8) gave up 4 runs in the 1st inning before additional runs in the 4th and 5th knocked him out of the box, and an eight-run 6th did not help Paul Byrd's ERA. The 'spos offense was keyed by home runs by Will Cordero (who had 5 RBI on the day before being pulled for a pinch hitter late in the game), Darrin Fletcher (3-5) and Mike Lansing (4 RBI before another mercy pinch hitter) also homered for Montreal. Things were so bad for Atlanta that the pinch hitters inserted to rest the Montreal regulars went 3-5 with 3 runs scored and 3 RBI...

Astros 2, Cubs 1 (12 innings): The worst team in the NL took on the best, and came out on top. Baseball, what a game! :) Three Finger Brown (16-9) went the distance for Chicago, striking out 8. A parade of Houston pitchers held the Cubs down after the 3rd inning. Jeff Bagwell scored the winning run as Brad Ausmus' squeeze play caught the Cubs infield flat-footed. Craig Biggio's double was the key blow in the inning for Houston. Mike Magnante got the win, raising his record to 2-1.

Milwaukee Braves 4, Padres 2: Del Crandall's 11th home run led Gene Conley and the Braves (12-5) to victory over Bob Tewksbury (9-18) and San Diego. Conley allowed two unearned runs thanks to a dropped fly ball by Hank Aaron, but scattered five hits otherwise. Don McMahon closed out the game for his 14th save.

Reds 3, Cardinals 2: Another frustrating loss for St. Louis, their 4th in a row and 9th in the last ten. Santo Alcala (5-13) pitched 7 effective innings before Rawly Eastwick and Will McEnany finished off the Cards. Joe Morgan scored twice for Cincinnati. Murry Dickson (7-7) pitched well, but as has often been the case of late, not quite well enough...

Los Angeles Dodgers 5, San Francisco Giants 4: Andy Messersmith (12-14) struck out 10 en route to a complete game victory for the Dodgers. Matt Jackson (5-4) took the loss for San Francisco, as a single by Davey Lopes off of a clean-handed Kenny Rogers drove in the winning run in the 7th. Barry Bonds drove in 2 runs, tying him for 5th in the league with 109. Ron Cey was 3-3 for LA with two doubles.

Today's AL action

2006-10-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

At the start of the day, the Yankees were clinging to a 0.5-game lead as they arrived in Baltimore to play the second-place Orioles, and Seattle was 4.5 games back as they began a big three-game set hosting first-place Cleveland.

Yankees 4, Orioles 3: Joe Gordon started off the Yankees right, hitting his 25th home run (leading the Yanks) in the 2nd inning, though Dave McNally escaped further damage by inducing an inning-ending grounder by Charlie "King Kong" Keller with the bases loaded. Gordon continued his hot hitting in the 3rd, driving in Bill Dickey before Babe Dahlgren drove Gordon and DiMaggio in with a triple. New York then hoped to wait out Baltimore. The Orioles scored in the 6th on a single by Davey Johnson, and added another on an 8th inning home run by Don Buford when with two out and men on first and third, manager Rivkin made the call to the bullpen for Johnny "Fireman" Murphy. Murphy's had an awful year, much worse than in real life, so this was not a clear call... (There's a digression into whether teams should be managed as they really were or whether hindsight should be used, but that's for another time). A single by Merv Rettenmund off of Murphy shaved the score to 4-3, but Murphy had a relatively easy 9th for his 9th save. Steve Sundra, starter for the Yankees, improved his record to 10-1, McNally fell to 15-15. Gordon finished the day with 3 hits. The Yankees got some much-needed breathing room.

Indians 8, Mariners 1: For my other AL team, though, it's looking like the pennant race may be over. Seattle was down 4-0 by the time they batted in the 5th, and in the end Freddy Garcia (13-9) gave up home runs to Paul Sorrento and Manny Ramirez and John Olerud made a critical error that led to two unearned runs. Meanwhile Dennis Martinez (15-9) cruised through seven scoreless innings. Reliever Paul Assenmacher gave up a home run to Edgar Martinez, but it was way too late for the M's. Ryan Franklin giving up hits to all three Indians he faced didn't help. In the end, Cleveland's lead in the division swelled to 5.5 games and their magic number dropped to 10, the lowest in the Cloverland Leagues. Seattle's put up a good run, but Cleveland is just too good this season. Barring a miracle finish, they'll be headed to the playoffs.

In other action:
Tigers 7, Red Sox 1: A four-run 7th, keyed by Dick Bartell's bases-clearing double, powered Detroit to victory. Bobo Newsom (14-16) held Boston to one run in a complete game victory, while Smokey Joe Wood (20-14) was victimized by three unearned runs. McCosky, Higgins, and Sullivan (as well as Bartell) all had two-hit days for the Tigers. Bartell and Boston's Tris Speaker had two doubles. Boston fell to 3.5 games behind New York.

White Sox 5, Browns 2: Swede Risberg and Buck Weaver had three-hit days for Chicago, which took an early 5-0 lead against Elam Vangilder (10-17) and held on to win. In return, Vangilder, along with Jack Tobin, had three-hit days against White Sox pitcher Lefty Williams, who evened his record at 18-18 and is second in the league in innings pitched. Much of Chicago's damage was done by Risberg, who had a double and triple among his hits. George Sisler went 2-5, dropping his average to .425. Happy Felsch was injured when hit by a pitch, and is expected to be out at least two days.

Nationals 10, Athletics 1: A perfect 4-4 day by Sam Rice helped Washington overwhelm Philadelphia. A five-run first inning gave Stan Coveleski (16-12) all he needed and more, but the Nats continued to pour it on. Muddy Ruel added three hits, Everett Scott drove in three runs. George Earnshaw (18-16) lasted six innings before giving way to George Quinn to finish. With the Browns loss, the Athletics' hold on 5th place remains 0.5 game.

Twins 13, Rangers 2: A six-run first knocked John Poloni (0-1) out of the box after only 1/3 of an inning, and three relievers gave up seven more runs over the rst of the game. Minnesota knocked four home runs, by Cesar Tovar, Harmon Killebrew, Brant Alyea, and George Mitterwald. Mitterwald added three more hits, driving in four and scoring three times. Jim Perry (15-18) cruised for seven innings, with relievers Pete Hamm and Stever Barber finishing out the game. Toby Harrah had a home run in a losing cause, with Mike Hargrove adding three hits for Texas.

Angels 9, Royals 2: I was complaining about the last set of games being pitching duels? The top third of California's lineup hit .500, scoring 4 runs and driving in 7, four by Fred Lynn. Bob Boone added two hits and two runs. Mike Witt (9-10) pitched effectively, giving up only one extra-bae hit. Bud Black (8-13)? Not so effective. But Larry Gura's relief was more problematic, giving up three runs in the 9th before himself being relieved by Mike LaCoss.

Blue Jays 3, A's 0: Oakland's hitting woes continue. Hitting just .220 as a team, and scoring just 3.2 runs per game (a full run lower thant the league average), Oakland could only manage four hits against Toronto starter Jim Clancy (9-12). Toronto also managed only four hits against Bob Welch (6-16), but made them count, with home runs by Lloyd Moseby and Willie Upshaw, the latter a two-run shot. Both pitchers went the distance. Oakland has the worst record in the Cloverland Leagues.

Actual action from actual fake games

2006-10-18T18:29:00.000-07:00

Yankees 5, Nationals 3: Lefty Gomez went the distance as the Yanks opened up a little breathing room over idle Baltimore. Joe DiMaggio got three hits to raise his average to .332, but errors by Peckinpaugh and Bluege did Washington in (and more than offset Bluege's 2nd home run of the year. Dutch Ruether took the hard luck loss, falling to 10-12 on the year. Gomez is 13-9.

Browns 3, Royals 1: Dixie Davis shut down Kansas City on 5 hits, including a home run by Darryl Motley. Danny Jackson pitched well, but not well enough. George Sisler was 1-2 for St. Louis, raising his average to .425.

Rangers 3, Twins 2: In another low-scoring affair, Gaylord Perry went the distance to run his record to 14-12. Willie Horton homered for Texas. Luis Tiant lost for Minnesota, and is now 3-8. Tony Oliva drove in both Minnesota runs.

Blue Jays 3, Angels 1: Yes, another pitchers duel. Jimmy Key continued to make his case for AL Cy Young, going 7 2/3 innings and combining with Tom Henke on a two-hitter, losing the shutout on a 7th inning home run by Doug DeCinces Key's ERA was lowered to 2.31 and record improved to 16-10. Henke's 33rd save tied him for first in the AL with Jose Mesa. Fred McGriff homered and scored twice for Toronto, Lloyd Moseby added two hits of his own.

Braves 3 Cardinals 0: St. Louis continues its recent slump, losing its third in a row and 9th out of 10. Kevin Millwood (10-11) went the distance for Atlanta, striking out 8. Andres Gallaraga provided all the offense Millwood needed with a first-inning three-run home run, his 33rd, tying him for third in the NL. Lanier (7-10) walked 5 in 6 innings, not helping his cause.

Mets 8, Brooklyn Dodgers 4: At last, not a pitchers duel! Powered by two-run home runs by Darryl Strawberry and Howard Johnson, the Mets handily defeated their cross-town rivals. Dwight Gooden (11-8) pitched well enough to get the win, with Doug Sisk picking up his second save. Home runs by Brooklyn's Lew Riggs and Pete Reiser were not enough to help Freddie Fitzsimmons (2-8), who was injured at the start of the 5th and looks to be out for the rest of the season. Ineffective relief by Mace Brown and Hugh Casey doomed the Dodgers.

And, at the last, the NL West

2006-10-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

The last division is the NL West. The Cubs are running away with it this year, not entirely surprisingly. It's also tended to be pretty pitching dominated. The Astros and Padres are getting crushed, perhaps not surprisingly given how many games a year they're playing against these other teams...

1906 Cubs: They hold the record for most wins in a 154-game season (116), now shared with the 2001 Mariners, who required 162. First in a three-year stretch of pennant winners for Chicago, they featured players fabled in story and song, or maybe doggerel is more apt. Naturally, being the Cubs, they lost the Series while heavily favored (though they won it the next two years).

1957 Braves: Richie Cunningham's favorite team, and why not? Milwaukee featured three Hall of Famers: Eddie Mathews, Warren Spahn, and Hammerin' Hank Aaron. They defeated the Yankees in 7 games, the high point of their time in Milwaukee, though they did also play in the Series in 1958.

1942 Cardinals: Winners in an exciting pennant race over Brooklyn, and then winners of the World Series over the Yankees, this team is also often considered among the best in history. Just ask Stan Musial. Don't ask him about how that 2004 team worked out, though. I'm managing these guys, who are hanging around .500, and not hitting well at all...

1974 Dodgers: Not the Sandy Koufax/Don Drysdale teams, not the Fernandomania team, not even the stupidly overhyped Kirk Gibson team. But this team does share the record for most wins by an LA Dodger team, and won the pennant (though losing to Oakland in the World Series) and was the first of the dreaded Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey pennant winners that dominated the NL in my youth.

1998 Astros: 1998 was a great year for great teams. This Astros team set the Houston record for wins in a season, helped along by the late-season addition of Randy Johnson, plus great seasons by Bagwell, Biggio, and Moises Alou. Just don't shake Moises' hand to congratulate him. Unfortunately for them, they lost in the NLCS to San Diego. They also seem to be getting killed in the Cloverland Leagues this year...

1996 Padres: I was a bit surprised to see this team as the best San Diego could offer, but who am I to argue? Ken Caminti won a steroid-fueled MVP award, Tony Gwynn was Tony Gwynn, and Trevor Hoffman saved 42 games. Oh, and I guess Fernando is represented after all. And Ricky Henderson's there too. Yay.

1976 Reds: The Big Red Machine. Swept the NLCS, swept the Yankees in the World Series.

1993 Giants: Another great team that fell just short. They led the NL West most of 1993 before a late charge by the Braves left them just short in the last pennant race before the Wild Card made such things quaint memories. Still, they share the record for most wins by a San Francisco team, and Barry Bonds won the MVP with a season that puts him in MVP contention even when playing against the all-time greats...

The NL East

2006-10-08T10:32:00.000-07:00

Wow. The Yankees. Wow. The tiniest possible consolation is that Bonderman was on my fantasy team, so I like him.

I suppose that means the '39 team can now officially take up more of my attention than the just-as-historical 2006 version.

On to the NL East. The leagues were split into divisions starting last season, and both last and this season the NL East has been the closest and craziest.

1897 Beaneaters: Perhaps the greatest team of the 19th century, with four Hall of Famers, not including manager Frank Selee. Tremendous hitters, and got the best of archrivals Batimore more often than not.

1902 Pirates: Dominated the National League, setting a record for winning percentage still unmatched (if I remember right). Led by Honus Wagner, the team went on to win the pennant the following year and play in the first World Series.

1986 Mets: One of only two teams in the eight-team division to be World Series winners, and my brother's favorite team. My uncle referred to their bullpen as "Roger McDoubtful", "Jesse Fiasco" and "Doug Risk". But it's hard to argue with 108 wins and two classic postseason series.

1941 Dodgers: Originally the 1953 team was in the league, but by a mechanism to be later explained, the 1941 team came to the fore. another famous post-season error turned the tide in Game 4 leading to a Yankees victory in their first meeting in October. The Dodgers won 100 games in 1941, and won even more the following year in a second-place effort...

1905 Giants: Winners of the 1904 NL pennant, New York refused to play Boston in the World Series, which led Boston to claim their second consecutive title by default. The Giants won 105 games, following up their 1904 pennant with another in 1905, paced by Christy Mathewson and Iron Man McGinnity. Amazingly, the Giants did not allow an earned run during the five games, only giving up three unearned runs. Obviously, they won.

1993 Phillies: While all of the interest in the National League was focused on the Giants/Braves duel in the West, the Phils were the surprise winners in the East. They defeated the Braves in the NLCS, but lost to Toronto in the World Series on a famous home run.

1998 Braves: A team-record 106 wins led them to an easy NL East title. After crushing the Cubs in the NLDS, the Padres defeated them for the pennant and the right to be crushed, in turn, by the Yankees. Though Greg Maddux was probably their best pitcher, Tom Glavine won the Cy Young Award for them that year.

1994 Expos: They were the best team in baseball when the strike hit in 1994. They're the reason Atlanta really can't claim to have won 14 (or however many) consecutive divisional titles. They had a young Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, Moises Alou, Marquise Grissom, John Wettleand and Cliff Floyd. And many people who've done simulations think they would have won the World Series.

AL Modern Division

2006-10-03T22:06:00.000-07:00

We're back with the never-ending description of the teams!

The AL Classic division basically has all the DH teams. It's easier to group them together this way for gameplay purposes. Unfortunately, there are only 7 teams that used the DH, so after a coin flip the 1970 Minnesota Twins was selected to join them. Good thing, too, because the other choice, the 1970 Orioles would probably be running away with the division otherwise...

1995 Cleveland Indians: Great underrated team, who won 100 games in a strike-shortened year. Unfortunately for them, they provided the Atlanta Braves with their only World Series win of their 14-year run of success.

2001 Seattle Mariners: Hold the record for most wins in a season by an American League team with 116. Stopped by the Yankees in the ALCS that year, despite the presence of Edgar Martinez and Rookie of the Year (and MVP) Ichiro!

1970 Minnesota Twins: One of the all-time great bullpens, and a representative of the Minnesota teams that dominated the first years of the AL West (plus a young Rod Carew and Luis Tiant). Unfortunately, they ran into Baltimore in the playoffs and did not make the World Series.

1987 Toronto Blue Jays: Victims of one of the major collapses of recent times, losing their last 7 games to finish 2 behind Detroit. Still, the computer players should be able to shake that off.

1985 Kansas City Royals: The team that finally broke through and won the World Series with George Bretty, Willie Wilson, and the gang. I managed them last season, which was excruciating.

1982 California Angels: Winners of the American League West, they lost in the playoffs to the Brewers (a unique achievement!) after taking a 2-0 lead in a 5-game series. They'd signed a large number of all-stars to get there, including Doug DeCinces, Fred Lynn, Rod Carew, and this guy.

1990 Oakland A's: The Athletics cruised to the pennant, winning 103 games and crushing the Red Sox in the playoffs. The World Series was another story, though. Called the Bash Brothers in real life, they can't seem to hit in the Cloverland Leagues and have performed surprisingly poorly the last two seasons.

1977 Texas Rangers: Second place behind one of those Royals teams that didn't make it to the World Series, winners of 94 games. Bert Blyleven and Gaylord Perry are probably the most famous players on the team, though they did include at least two managers (Mike Hargrove and Jim Fregosi) a pefect game pitcher (Len Barker) and a guy named Bump.

Who's playing (AL)?

2006-10-03T02:13:00.000-07:00

I'm glad you asked.

No, really, I am.

The AL Classic division consists of:

1939 New York Yankees: perhaps the greatest team of the greatest Yankees dynasty, 1939 saw Lou Gehrig's last game, but also saw Joe DiMaggio win the MVP award and lead the team to their 4th straight World Series victory.

1970 Baltimore Orioles: Another World Series winner, these Orioles avenged the previous years' loss to the Mets, winning 108 games, sweeping the Twins in the playoffs, and crushing Cincinnati in the series. All this while using one of the least intimidating sets of logos/mascots in sports.

1912 Boston Red Sox: My vote for best Red Sox team in history, winners of the World Series over New York thanks in part to the most famous error in World Series history before karmic payback gave a different New York team a victory over the Sox via the current most famous error... Led by Tris Speaker and Joe Wood.

1940 Detroit Tigers: When the Yankees weren't winning pennants in the 30s and 40s, the Tigers took up the slack. From 1934-1945, New York or Detroit led the league every year but one. This team lost the World Series in 7 to the Reds , despite the heroics of MVP Hank Greenberg.

1922 St. Louis Browns: The who? The team that became the Orioles spent 50+ years in mostly-obscurity in St. Louis. They were the one team that broke the Yankees/Tigers pennant stranglehold I mentioned, ironically enough it was their only pennant in St. Louis. I've always had a soft spot for this team. The 1922 version nearly knocked off Babe Ruth and the Yankees, but fell just short .

1930 Philadephia Athletics: Another World Series winner, the last one the Athletics had in Philly. Part of the dynasty that felled the Murderer's Row Yankees, the A's have some supporters for being the best team in history .

1925 Washington Nationals: The year after they won the only World Series in DC history, the Nats won even more games. Unfortunately, they lost the series in hair-tearing fashion. And yes, they were officially the Nationals, even though they were in the American League and everyone called them the Senators. That's as opposed to the team officially called the Senators, and the current Nationals.

1919 Chicago White Sox: You may have heard of this team.

And once again, this is really pretty long. I'll continue in my next post...

Setting the scene

2006-10-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

I've been playing APBA's Baseball for Windows for several years, using various combinations of the best teams of all time in the "Cloverland Leagues". I use one team per franchise, where the St. Louis Browns and Baltimore Orioles count as different franchises, for instance. I'm near completion of my third season, and figured I'd put up a blog rather than send email to various potentially interested parties. I hope to keep this blog going through the end of the regular season and through the CL playoffs and World Series, and hopefully through some other game projects and beyond to CL season 4...

There are basically two and a half weeks left in the 162-game regular season. There are two leagues (American and National), divided into two divisions each. The NL has Eastern and Western divisions. The AL has "Classic" and "Modern" divisions, with the Modern division using DH in their home games. The 1970 Twins are caught on the wrong side of the divide, but all the other AL teams use the DH or not as they historically did (or didn't). The majority of teams are managed by computer managers, but I've taken on four teams as my own: the 1939 Yankees, 2001 Mariners, 1897 Beaneaters, and 1942 Cardinals.

The Yankees were running away with the AL Classic division, but hit a serious snag of late and have just been caught by the 1970 Orioles (with the 1912 Red Sox close behind). The 1995 Indians have maintained a healthy lead in the AL Modern division, with the Mariners hanging around behind. In the NL, the 1941 Brooklyn Dodgers led much of the year, before a tailspin put them behind the Beaneaters and the currently-leading 1902 Pirates in a wild Eastern Division. In the NL West, it's been all 1906 Cubs, all year.

In an attempt to get this up and going, I'll stop here and include the current standings. Sorry about the small size on the standings, but clicking on them gives you a bigger version. Further core dumps will follow...