Stat break: 2019 Minnesota Twins

 

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Adrianza              8     3    4     4       0    0    1      1      0    .500

Arraez               12      4    5     3      2    0     0      1     0     .417
Astudillo             2      0    0     0      0    0     0      0      0    .000

Buxton              23      3    7     3       4    0    0      1      0    .304
Castro               10      4    3      2      3    0    0      2      0    .300
Cron                 12      2     5     2       0    0    1     2      0     .417 
Cruz                    9      1    4     2       2    0    0      1      0    .444
Garver                9      3     3    4       0    0    3      0      0     .333
Gonzalez            4      0     1     0       0    0   0       1      0    .250
Kepler               18     3     5     3       1    0   0       1      0     .278
Polanco             22     7     8     2       3    0    0      3      0     .364
Rosario             22     7   10     6       0    0    1      1      1     .455
Sano                 14     6     7     7       1     0    3     4      0     .500
Schoop             14     1     1     0       1    0    0      0       0    .071

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Berrios              2      2    13         14     7      7        3    11       0      1    1   4.85

Duffey               2      0     2            0     0     0         0      1      0      0    0    0.00

Gibson              2      0      3            5     0     0         1      4      0     0     0   0.00

Harper               2     0      3           2      0      0        0      0      0      0    0    0.00
Littell                2      0      3.3        2      0      0       0      1       0      0    0   0.00

May                  1      0      2           2      0      0       0      0       0      0    0    0.00
Odorizzi            1      1      5        10      3      3       3     4        0      1    0    5.40

Perez                 1      1       5.6       4     2      2        1     4       0      1     0    3.17

Pineda               1      1       5          2     0      0         1    1       0      1     0    0.00

Rogers               1       0    1           0      0      0        0    0       0      0     0    0.00

Romo                2       0    2           0      0      0        0     2       0      0     0    0.00

John bracket: 2019 Minnesota Twins defeat 1961 St. Louis Cardinals in five games

The 2019 Twins -- the "Bomba Squad" of Upper Midwest legend -- displayed their record-setting power in crushing the 1961 Cards in games two through five.

Game One: Cardinals 4, Twins 2: Miguel Sano's bid for a first-inning grand slam fell short (he got a sac fly out of it) and Bob Gibson went eight innings for the win in the opener. Bill White and Carl Swataski each hit two-run homers in the third to accound for all of St. Louis' runs.

Game Two: Twins 10, Cardinals 2: Mitch Gaver homered in his first three at-bats and the Twins scored in six of their eight innings at the plate. CJ Cron also went deep for Minnesota. Martin Perez pitched into the sixth for the win.

Game Three: Twins 15, Cardinals 3: The game was scoreless for three tinnings, but the Twins scored nine times in the top of the fouth. Eddie Rosario drove in four runs in the inning with a single and a three-run homer, and Sano hit the first of his two homers in the frame. Jake Odorizzi shut out St. Louis for four innings but left after allowing three runs in the fifth, with Curt Flood homering for the Cardinals.

Game Four: Twins 4, Cardinals 0: Michael Pineda and the Minnesota bullpen combined for a four-hitter. Sano homered twice more, a two-run blast in the first and a solo shot in the second. Pineda had the other RBI with a single that eluded the range of Cardinal shortstop Bob Lillis/

Game Five: Twins 16, Cardinals 3: The Twins batted around twice, sending 10 hitters to the plate in the second inning (five runs) and 11 in the sixth (six runs). The Twins hit no homers but clubbed eight doubles among their 17 hits (plus five walks). Bob Gibson got just five outs, one less than Kyle Gibson, who pitched the final two innings for Minnesota.

Projected rotation: All pitchers will be fully rested for the second round. Jose Berrios will pitch Game One. The Twins should consider replacing Willians Astudillo on the active roster with Devin Smeltzer.

Stat break: 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Buckner          24     4    8    4        0    2    2      2      0    .333
Cannizzaro        1    0    0    0        0    0    0      0      0    .000
Cey                 26     3    8    7        2    0    1      3      0    .308
Crawford         25     7    7    3        3    0    0      4      0    .280
W Davis          25     5    9     2       1    0    0      3      2    .360
Ferguson         19     2    7     6        1    0    1      1      0    .368
Garvey             17     1     4   2        0    0    1      0      0    .235
Joshua             12     3     4    1         0    0   1     2      0     .333
Lacy                  4     0     1    0        0    0    0      1      0    .250
Lopes              31     4     6     2       2    0    0      4      1    .194

McMullen         1    1     1     1        0    0    0       2     0   1.000

Mota                 3     0     1     0        0    0    0       2     0     .333

Paciorek            8    0      0     0       0    0    0       0      0    .000
Russell            27    1      6     3       1    0    0       1      0    .222
Yeager              7     0     1     0       0    0    0       2      0    .143

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Brewer               2      0      2          0     0      0        0     2       1       0     0     0.00

Downing            2      0      3          2    1      1        3     1       0       0      0     3.00

Hough                3      0      3          4     4      2       4     2        0      0     1      6.00

John                   2      2    10        11     6      3       1      1        0      1     1     2.70

Messersmith      2      2    11.3     16     9       5       3      5        0      1     1    3.97

Osteen               1      1      8          7      5      4       2      4        0      1     0    4.50

Rau                    1       0     2         2      0       0       0      1      0       0     0    0.00

Richert               5     0       4.6      2      0      0        1     1       0      0      0    0.00

Shanahan           1      0      2         1      0      0        0     1       0       0     0     0.00

Sutton                2      2    16       14     3      3        4    17        0      1     0    1.69

Stat break: 2017 Cincinnati Reds

 Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Barnhart          18     1    7    0        1    0    0      2      0    .389
Cozart             29     5    7    4        1    0    2      2      0    .241
Duvall             23     2    2    1        1    0    0      3      0    .087
Gennett           22     2    9     1        1    0    2      0      0    .409
Hamilton         16     5    4     1        0    0    0      4      3    .250
Mesoraco          6     0    0     0        0    0    0      1      0    .000
Peraza             12     1     4    1        0    0    0      0      2    .333
Schebler          25     3     5    4         0    0    2     4      0    .200
Suarez             25     2     5    3        2    0    0      4      0    .200
Turner               6     0     0     0        0    0    0      0      0    .000
Votto               28     6     8     6       1    0    3       2      0    .286
Winker            16    1      4     2       1    0    0       2      0    .250

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Adelman           2      2      9.3      10     4      4        2     3       0       0     1     3.85

Bailey                1      1     5.3        6     7      7        2     2       0       0     1   11.82

Brace                 2      0      3          3      1      1       1     2        0      0     0     3.00

Castillo              1      1      6          8     2      2       3      4        0      1     0     3.00

Feldman            2      2      8.6     14     8       8       3      5        0      1     1    8.30

Garrett               3      0      2.6       1      0      0       1      1        0      0     0    0.00

Iglesias             3       0      3         2      0       0       1      2       2       1     0    0.00

Lorenzen           4     0       5.6      7      4       4       1      9       0      0      0    6.35

Peralta              4      0       3,3      3      0      0        1     4       0       0     0     0.00

Romano             1      1       5        8     4      4        1      0        0      0     1    7.20

Shackleford       2      0      2.3      0     0      0        3      3        0      0     0     0.00

Stephenson        2      0      3.6     2      0       0       3      3        0      0     0    1.69

Storen               3     0        2        4      1       1       0      4       0      0      0    4.50

Ringo bracket: 1973 Dodgers defeat 2017 Reds in seven games

In theory, this opening round should have been easy for the Los Angeles Dodgers, winners of 95 games in the 1973 season. But the 2017 Cincinnati Reds, who lost 94 games that year, had more power and committed fewer errors, and forced the nominally superior Dodgers to win the final two games to avoid the upset.

Game One: Dodgers 3, Reds 1

The opener went according to form. Don Sutton allowed one run in eight innings and the Dodgers never trailed. But the Dodgers also left 10 men on base and committed a pair of errors, setting a pair of troublesome trends in motion. 

Game Two: Reds 7, Dodgers 2

Cincinnati scored five runs in the first tow innings to drive Tommy John out of the box, although only one the run were earned. Luis Castillo, in his only start of the series, navigated his way would six innings, allowing just two runs on eight hits and three walks. Billy Hamilton scored three runs for the Reds, and Eugenio Suarez drove in three.

Game Three: Reds 7, Dodgers 6

Another short start for the Dodgers, with Andy Messersmith surrendering seven runs -- six earned -- in four innings. Cincy relievers Amir Garrett, Drew Storen, Kevin Shackleford and Raisel Iglesias held the Dodgers to one run in 3.3 innings, preserving the win for starter Scott Feldman. The Reds got two homers from Scooter Gennett and one apiece from Zach Cozart and Scott Schebler, accounting for all seven of their runs.

Game Four: Dodgers 7, Reds 5

The Dodgers evened the series with a pair of big innings -- four runs in the first and three more in the sixth, all charged against Homer Bailey. Steve Garvey and Ron Cey each homered in the first inning. Claude Osteen went eight innings for the win despite allowing homers to Cozart, Joey Votto and Jesse Winker. 

Game Five: Reds 5, Dodgers 2

Sutton carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth, but Votto clubbed a two-run homer to tie the game -- and hammered another in the 10th off Charlie Hough to win it. Iglesias, the fifth pitcher of the game for the Reds, was credited with the win.

Game Six: Dodgers 4, Reds 3

Back in Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers scored a run in the fourth and three more in the fifth. John allowed a run in the seventh and departed for a pinch-hitter after eight innings  with a 4-1 lead, but the Reds took advantage of more sloppy fielding from the Dodger infield to plate two runs in the ninth before Pete Richert got the final out.

Game Seven: Dodgers 7, Reds 2

The Cincinnati comebacks dried up in the rubber match. The Dodgers scored two in the first and two in the third. The Reds got two in the fourth on a Schebler homer, but Messersmith gave them nothing more, and the Dodgers pulled away fro the series win.

Projected rotation: Sutton-Osteen-Messersmith-John-(Sutton)-(Osteen)-(Messersmith). No bullpen restrictions to open the second round.

John bracket

(1) 2019 Milwaukee Brewers (89-73) and (16) 1973 Minnesota Twins (81-81) Too soon for any HOFers from Milwaukee. The Twins have prime time Rod Carew and Bert Blyleven plus the fading Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva.

(8) 2019 Minnesota Twins (101-61) and (9) 1961 St. Louis Cardinals (80-74). Too soon for the Twns to have any inductees; the Cards have Bob Gibson and Stan Musial, one a little before his greatness and the other a bit beyond his greatness.

(5) 2017 Boston Red Sox (93-61) and (12) Monarchs (no record). The best potential candidates on the Bosox are still active (Mookie Betts, Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel). The Monarchs have Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston and Willie Wells.

(4) 1961 Minnesota Twins (70-90) and (13) New York Yankees (80-81). Harmon Killebrew and Jim Kaat for the Twins; nobody from the Yankees.

(3) 2009 Minnesota Twins (87-76) and (14) 2009 Tampa Bay Rays (84-78). The Twins have Joe Mauer; the Rays have little liklihood of any inductees. 

(6) 1961 Cleveland Indians (78-83) and (11) 2019 Chicago Cubs (84-78). No Hall of Famers in this series.

(7) 2019 Boston Red Sox (84-78) and 2019 New York Yankees (103-59). The best players in this series with one exception are still active. CC Sabathia may be selected to the Hall in a couple weeks from this writing.

(2) 1969 San Diego Padres (52-110) and (15) 1969 Cincinnati Reds (89-73-1) Nobody from the expansion Padres, who may be the weakest team in the field, is in the Hall. The Reds have Johnny Bench, Tony Perez and the barred Pete Rose.

Ringo bracket

(1) 1973 San Francisco Giants (88-74) and (16) 1969 Athletics (88-74). The Giants, winners of Tournament Three, have Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal, both late in their careers. The A's have Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers, the latter just finding his way in the bullpen.

(8) 1973 New York Yankees (80-82) and (9) 2017 San Diego Padres (71-91). No Hall of Famers on either roster.

(5) 2019 Los Angeles Dodgers (106-56) and (12) 2017 Arizona Diamondbacks (93-69). Too early for either team to have inductees, but the Dodgers, part of a historicly significant dynasty, feature Clayton Kershaw and the D'backs have Zack Greinke and Paul Goldschmidt.

4) 1973 Kansas City Royals (88-74) and (13) Black Barons (no record). George Brett had under 50 at bats for the Royals. The Black Barons have (deep breath) Cool Papa Bell, Ray Brown, Ray Dandridge. Martin Dihigo, John Henry Lloyd, Bullet Rogan, Mule Suttles and Jud Wilson.

3) 1973 Chicago Cubs (77-84) and (14) 2019 Cincinnati Reds (75-87). Cubs have Ron Santo, Fergie Jenkins and Billy Williams. Too early for the Reds, but Joey Votto is a strong contender.

(6) 1961 Baltimore Orioles (95-67-1) and (11) 1924 Boston Braves (53-100-1). Baltimore has Brooks Robinson and Hoyt Wilhelm. Thde Braves have Dave Bancroft, Rub Marquard (six starts) and Casey Stengel, the latter inducted as a manager.

(7) 1961 New York Yankees (109-53-1, won World Series) and (10) 2009 Colorado Rockies (92-70). One of the most famous Yankees teams with Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra (plus Roger Maris's 61*). The Rox have Todd Helton.

(2) 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers (95-66-1) and (15) 2017 Cincinnati Reds (68-94). Don Sutton for the Dodgers, and Votto the most likely candidate, again, for the Reds).

George bracket

(1) 2019 Toronto Blue Jays (67-95) and (16) 2019 Cleveland Indians (93-64). Too soon for anybody to be HOF, although Vladimir Guerrero Jr and Francisco Lindor certainly have a shot at that status someday.

(8) 2009 Baltimore Orioles (64-98) and (9) Lincoln Giants (no record). No genuine HOF candidates on the Orioles; seven HOFers on the Lincoln Giants in Jose Mendez, Hilton Smith, Smokey Joe Williams, Biz Mackey, Judy Johnson, Ben Taylor and Cristobal Torriente.

(5) 1969 Minnesota Twins (97-65) and (12) 1924 Cleveland Indians (67-86). Four HOFs for the Twins in Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat. Indians have Tris Speaker, Stan Coveleski and Joe Sewell.

(4) 2017 Baltmore Orioles (75-87) and (13) 1973 Pittsburgh Pirates (80-82). Manny Machado is a possible HOFer for the Birds; the Buccos have prime Willie Stargell and Dave Parker breaking in.

(3) 2009 Seattle Marines (85-77) and (14) 2017 Minnesota Twins (85-77). Mariners have Adrian Beltre, Ichiro Suzuki and the fading Ken Griffey Jr. The Twins have Joe Mauer as a first baseman,

(6) 1961 Cincinnati Reds (93-61, lost World Series) and (11) 1969 Boston Red Sox. Reds have Frank Robinson, who won the MVP that year; the Bosox have Carl Yastremski, who hit 40 homers.

(7) 2019 San Francisco Giants (77-85) and (10) 1924 New York Yankees (89-62-1).Buster Posey is a likely inductee for the Giants; Yankees have Babe Ruth, Herb Pennock and Waite Hoyt, plus Earle Combs as a bit player.

(2) 2019 Miami Marlins (57-105) and (15) 1924 St. Louis Cardinals. A seriously weak matchup, although the Cardinals have four Hall of Famers, including Rogers Hornsby's .424 season. The others are Jim Bottomley, Chick Hafey and Jesse Haines/

Paul bracket

The pairings, real-life records, Hall Famers on the rosters and occasional comments: Remember, seedings are totally at random and are not reflective of the teams' perceived strengths and weaknesses.

(1) 1969 Atlanta Braves (93-64) and (16) 2009 St. Louis Cardinals (91-71). Braves have prime time Henry Aaron and Phil Niekro plus a declining Orlando Cepeda. Cardinals have no official Hall of Famers, but do have Albert Pujols, Adam Wainwright and Yadi Molina. Likely one of the most even and powerful first-round matchups.

(8) 1973 Detroit Tigers (85-77) and (9) American Giants (no record). Tigers have Al Kaline near the end of his career. The American Giants have pitcher Leon Day and outfielder Willard Brown. 

(5) 1924 Cincinnati Reds (83-70) and (13) 1973 Oakland A's (94-68, won the World Series). Reds have Edd Roush and Eppa Rixey. A's have Reggie Jackson, Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers. Two outstanding pitching staffs.

(4) 2009 Milwaukee Brewers (80-32) and (13) 1969 Cleveland Indians (63-99). Brewers have Trevor Hoffman, who racked up 37 saves. Indians have no Hall of Famers, although I think Luis Tiant (who had a poor season) should be. The Brewers are the second worst team in this half of the bracket and still ought to advance.

(3) 1969 St. Louis Cardinals (87-75) and (14) 2009 San Diego Padres (75-87). This version of the Cardinals have Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and Lou Brock, plus Joe Torre, inducted as a manager but deserving as a player. The Padres have no HOFers.

(6) 1969 New York Mets (100-62, won World Series) and (11) 2017 Pittsburgh Pirates (75-87). The Miracle Mets have Tom Seaver. The Pirates are too recent for HOFers, but Andrew McCutchen seems like a likely candidate.

(7) 1973 Chicago White Sox (77-85) and 2009 Detroit Tigers (86-77) The Sox have Dick Allen, who played about half the season; Jim Kaat, who made four starts after arriving in a late season transaction; and Goose Gossage, who pitched to an ugly 7/43 ERA. The Tigers feature future inductees Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander/

(2) 1924 New York Giants (93-60-1. lost World Series) and (15) 2017 Tampa Bay Rays (80-82). John McGraw's final pennant winners feature eight players with Cooperstown plaques: Frankie Frisch, Bill Terry, Ross Youngs, Travis Jackson, Freddie Lindstrom, Geroge Kelly, Hack Wilson and Billy Southworth (inducted as a manager). The Rays are too recent to have any inductees; Evan Longoria and Blake Snell are the best possibilities.

NeL Roster: Lincoln Giants

Home park: Catholic Prepartory Oval

Pitchers: John Donaldson*, Jose Mendez*, Verdell Mathis, Piggy Powell, Double Duty Radcliff,* Hilton Smith, Smokey Joe Williams, Nip Winters

Catchers: Biz Mackey, (Radcliff)

Infield: John Beckwith, Sammy T. Hughes, Judy Johnson, Dick Lundy, Dave Malarcher, (Mendez), Buck O'Neil, Alex Radcliff, Ben Taylor

Outfield: Vic Harris, Alejandro Oms, Cristobel Torriente

Comments: With Mendez, Oms and Torriente on the roster, I considered using the Cuban Giants name, but stuck with the Lincoln Giants plan. Just one primary position catcher, but Radcliff is a sound backup and Beckwith is also coded to catch.

NeL Roster: Black Barons

Home park: Rickwood Field

Pitchers: Ray Brown, Phil Cockrell, Rube Currie, Roosevelt Davis, Martin Dihigo*, Dizzy Dismukes, Bill Holland, Bullet Rogan*

Catchers: Spoony Palm, Bruce Petway

Infield: Ray Dandridge, Bingo DeMoss, (Dihigo), Home Run Johnson, Pop Lloyd, Art Pennington, Mule Suttles, Jud Wilson

Outfield: Cool Papa Bell, Jelly Gardner, (Rogan), Chino Smith

Comments: Too many DH candidates -- Suttles, Wilson, and the Dihigo/Rogan pair of two-way stars.

NeL Roster: American Giants

Home park: Schorling Park

Pitchers: Andy Cooper, Leon Day, Bill Drake, Rube Foster, Slim Jones, Max Manning, Ted Trent, Tom Williams

Catchers: Bill Perkins, Quincy Trouppe

Infield: Tank Carr, Rev Cannady, Newt Joseph, Dick Seay, Bonnie Serrell

Oufield: Bernadro Baro, Willard Brown, Jimmie Crutchfield, Spot Poles, Bill Wright

Comment: This feels like the weakest roster of the four NeL squads.

NeL Roster: Monarchs

Home park: Muehlebach Field

Pitchers: William Bell, Dave Brown, Bill Byrd, Webster McDonald, Satchel Paige, Cannonball Redding, Harry Salmon, Frank Wickware

Catchers: Josh Gibson, TJ Young

Infielders: Newt Allen, Sam Bankhead, Dewey Creacy, Candy Jim Taylor, Willie Wells

Outfielders: Oscar Charleston, Rap Dixon, Heavy Johnson, Hurley NcNair, Neal Robinson

Comments: Paige AND Gibson AND Charleston? Those may be the three best players in the NeL set. A genuine threat to win it all.

Making a comeback

It has been more than two years since my last entry here, meaning it's been more than two years since I abandoned the Great Lakes League having barely started it.

My leagues had simply gotten too complicated for me to do well, and my life had gotten too complicated to give them the time to do them well. So I stopped.

But my last day of work at the Free Press was two days ago. This opens more time. And I know that the tournament format works. So I am picking up the Strat baton once again, this time with Tournament Four, aka the Random Tournament.

Random is a slight overstatement. Four of the 64 teams will be drawn at random from the Negro Leagues set, with 20-man rosters.The rest of the field will be drawn at random from the 1924, 1961, 1969, 2009, 2017 and 2019 sets, although there are eight specific teams I want to have in the field, and I will at the end of the draw ensure that at least four of them are in. Seedings will also be at random, so it's quite possible that some very good teams will get lousy seedings and some really poor teams will get higher seeds. 

I expect the NeL teams will be very strong. I expect at least one of them to reach the final four, and I won't be at all surprised if more do. (I will keep them in different regions, so an all NeL final four is possible.)

Rules for Tournament Four:

Active rosters: 25-man rosters, except for the NeL teams, which will be 20 player, with at least eight pitchers and at least one primary-position catcher.

Schedule: All series are best of seven. They will use the standard TV-era format: 2 games at Team A, an off day, three games (as needed) at Team B, an off day, two games (as needed) at Team A. There will be one off day to follow. For purposes of calculating pitcher rest, assume that all seven games were needed. For example, if a team sweeps a series, it has five off days (Game 5, off day, Game 6 Game 7, off day.)

The higher seeded team gets home field. If in the round of four two teams with like seeds face each other, the priority is John, Paul, George, Ringo

 
Pitching use rules: Pitchers with an asterisk on the roster may pitch on three days rest, but will be penalized one inning on their weakness factor on short rest. Those pitchers from 162-game seasons with 40 starts and/or 300 innings are exempt from that penalty; pitchers from 154-game seasons are exempt with 38 starts and/or 285 innings. (For the NeL teams, Satchel Paige and Smokey Joe WIlliams are exempt.)

In the round of four, the penalties are lifted for 35 starts/250 innings. (For NeL pitchers, I will use the "154-game scan" on the front of the cards to determine eligibility.) There are no penalties for short rest in the championship series, although existing penalties will be enforced.

The "Pascual Perez rule" will be enforced: No pitcher with less than 100 innings pitched may start more than once in a series. For the NeL pitchers, Slim Jones will be covered by the Pascual Perez rule.

Injuries: Remainder of game only.

DH: Home team rules apply; the NeL teams will use the DH at home.