HARRIS DIVISION NIGHTMARE
PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Phillies entered May with a sorry 20-32 record. Manager
Al Newman could hardly have thought his team's record would get worse, but it
did. The Phils commenced the month with a nine-game homestand, with the first
visitors being the New York Yankees. The Yanks took three of four in a
heartbreaking series. The Phillies' lineup managed a .271 batting mark against
Yankee pitching, and was led by RF Orlando Merced, who recorded nine hits, a
pair of doubles and a stolen base for the series. LF Dave Clark was superb in
the outfield, and made at least one spectacular play in each game. The problem
was the pitching, which the New York battered to the tune of a 5.85 ERA. SP Orel
Hershiser proved an exception in his one start in the series, surrendering only
two runs in eight innings while striking out five. Yankee hitters gave closer
Dan Plesac an enema. As the team was in the midst of blowing an eight-run lead
in game four, he threw gas on the fire by surrendering the five runs the
Yankees needed to win. Acoording to Newman, that game was the "worst experience
of a piss-poor season." Gambino pitching took their aggression out on C Mike
Stanley, injuring him for 24 games.
The Phils' first Harris division matchup came when the much-improved
Houston Astros arrived in town. This series furthered Newman's disappointment,
as the 'Stros took four of five. Despite the lineup hitting only .237 for the
series, 3B Jeff Cirillo tuned in a solid performance with seven hits, 3 RBI and
a double for the series. 2B Fernando Vina performed well at what the team pays
him for - his outstanding glove work. Although Astro hitters racked Phils
pitching for a 4.80 ERA, rookie SP Matt Beech performed brilliantly in his MBL
debut, allowing a single earned run in six innings while fanning five. As a sign
of the team's mounting frustration, 1B Eric Karros was ejected in game three for
attempting to pummel Astro C Sandy Alomar with a bat. Typical of Karros' season
performance, he missed, and Alomar emerged unscathed.
The team then took off to sunny Chavez Ravine to play the mighty Dodgers.
They repeated their 1-3 performace against the Yankees, despite the fact that
all four games were decided by two or fewer runs. The team's hitting slump
continued with a .208 mark for the series, though Clark managed six hits and
four RBI with a pair of home runs. CF Chad Curtis performed unusually well in
the outfield with a couple of nice catches and a superb assist. The piching
improved, with a 3.95 staff ERA led by SP Pedro Astacio, who surrendered four
earned runs in eight innings while notching seven Ks.
After travelling to Washington, where the news blackout imposed by owner
Gord Fitzgerald is still in force, the Bambinos to the Vet to face their arch
rivals, the San Francisco Giants. Although Weaver's flower children took three
of five with superior pitching and hitting, there were several good signs for
Newman in this series. Finally assured of a starting position in left field in
the wake of Clark's demotion for health reasons, Dante "Bitch"ette celebrated
with ten hits, a pair of RBI, a home run and five stolen bases against Giants'
pitching. Chris Gomez played brilliantly at short, garnering further support
from those who initially opposed the trade of Delino Deshields and fan favorite
Chuck "gimmee a dental plan" Carr to Toronto. The 2.44 ERA against the Giants
demonstrated the dramatic improvement in pitching, and was led by SP Denny
Neagle. In two starts he allowed only six earned runs and recorded half a dozen
strikeouts against an impressive but underperforming San Francisco lineup.
Following the series, a Lt. Michael Torello of the San Francisco Municipal Crime
Unit warned GM Ray Luca: "If you [the Phillies] win one game at 3Com, I'm going
to find the player you value most and kill it. Don't matter what it is - a
starter, a reliever, an outfielder - it's DEAD."
HIT LIST: Gambino hotly denies the allegations made in the Baltimore Sun
concerning SP James Baldwin's involvement in an assassination attempt on Eric
Young in a 7 April contest at Camden Yards. According to Luca, "next time those
pussies visit, we'll show them some real fuckin' hospitality"..."Hitting" coach
Don Baylor clearly disliokes the Washington Senators. "What are those pricks
doing in our division?" Nevertheless, Luca insists on hospitality. In
preparation for next month's visit by the Senators to the Vet, Luca has ordered
the visitors' clubhouse to be outfitted with condom machines, vaseline jars and
live gerbils.
---Todd Clark
DODGERS RETURN TO FIRST PLACE DUE TO PITCHING RESURGENCE
The Dodgers, trying to get some breathing room on top in their division,
went 17-11 for the month of May. The only problem is the rest of the
division has come to life. The Orioles kept pace to hang on for a tie for
first place. The hated Yankees are lurking at 3.5 games out. The
improvement in play was due a lot to the pitching looking more like a
Dodger rotation than a Yankee rotation like it has this year. The starting
staff had an era of 3.58. That includes troubled starter, Hideo Nomo.
Nomo gave up 8 gofer balls en route to his 5.82 runs a game average. That
trouble should be over. Apparently Nomo was worried about the St. Louis
Cardinals coming to town. Still working on getting adjusted to the
American culture, Nomo has heard rumors about Cardinals and Dogs. Nomo was
learning how to use his computer and was looking up the official home page
of the MBL St. Louis Cardinals. He saw what he thought was his dog from
when he was a kid. His parents never told him where his dog went. They
just said he went bye for a while. Well, Nomo convinced himself that his
parents sold his dog to Cardinal owner Chuck Engle so they would have money
to put food on the table. Ken Phelps said, "It took a lot of talking but I
think we got Hideo convinced that it wasn't a picture of his dog he saw.
Engle only does American dogs."
Todd Worrell was the pitching star of the month. Worrell compiled an ERA
of 0.75 while striking out more than an inning and earning 6 saves in 7
attempts. John Wetteland is having difficulty adjusting to his new setup
role. He is getting rocked but is convinced that he will have his closer
role back again by the end of the year. "Ken told me he is going to go
with the hot hand. Todd and I have become pretty good friends. I think we
both realize what each of us can do. It don't matter who's finishing the
games as long as we both contribute."
As far as the hitters go, not much has changed. The leadoff man, Tom
Goodwin, is still struggling. He hit .167 for the month. He is on the hot
seat and Phelps is considering giving Goodwin some time in the minors to
he finds his stroke. "Matt Lawton has impressed me and he has showed he
can play center. I am going to sit down and talk with Tommy. I kind of
think he has been playing hurt and not telling us. He finally went on the
DL with that hamstring. If he isn't 100 percent, I don't want him in
there. We will throw Matt in there and not miss a beat."
Mike Piazza and Rafeal Palmeiro were their usual selves. Both hit over
.300 and played every day. Most impressive was Piazza .315 average and 6
home runs. He did all that with the guys behind him hitting just over
.200. The opposition is starting to catch on. They have been trying to
pitch around Piazza without success. The Dodgers are rumored to be talking
to St. Louis about their surplus in right field. "If the Cardinals ever
admit they are out of it, I think we might have something to talk about,"
said Phelps. "They have a surplus in the outfield and we always have
pitching to give up. We might be able to make a deal before the season is
over."
---Bob Biermann
CUBS HAVE QUESTIONS
The two biggest surprises of the first half of the season have been that the
Cubs are over .500
and that Frankie Rodriquez is 10-2. Of course mentioning that fact will cause
the rest of his season
to go down the toilet.
What is going on with the rest of you owners? I have seen very little e-mail
this month from anyone.
How many of you are taking time to read the HPP articles that we are taking the
time to write?
How many homers will Ken Griffey hit during '97? A record number before June
1st and the last
"on a pace to hit" numbers that I saw said he would hit 74. Are the MBL owners
that could not trade
him or receive him happy or sad over his performance? I thought that Toronto
was insane last winter
when they paid so much for Clemens, guess I am wrong at least this year.
Will the Bulls win a sixth title? A team effort this season, with his Airness
finding a lot of air instead
of net. In hockey, Phillie and Detroit, who cares? Well, Russia probably cares
more than most Americans.
How many of you tuned in Tiger Woods and golf last Sunday afternoon instead of
baseball? It is amazing
how one person has turned around a sport. Over the Memorial hodiday weekend we
had dinner at the
best and most well known resturant in the area McGuire's Irish Pub & Brewery.
In the lobby are dozens
upon dozens of autographed pictures of the famous people who been there. As we
were leaving, the
group of photos I happen to stop next to were golfing greats. I noticed a
picture of Fuzzy Z on the wall
and my wife immediately said, "Thats funny I don't remember seeing fried chicken
and watermelon on
the menu."
I recently opened an Internet account with ATT and will soon close my CSi
account. This will happen
when I can figure out why it takes 5-15 minutes to send files via my new
service.
Web site of the month, www.koam.com.
---Walt Bick
BLUE JAYS MID-SEASON GRADE CARD
With the completion of the May games, the 1996 Molson season is at its half
way point. The Blue Jays struggled to be at a (mere) four games below the
0.500 mark. Somewhat disappointing after having pulled back to 0.500 in
April, after the 10 game below start in March. Still, in all not too far from
the beginning of the season predictions of GM Pat Gillick and owner Joe
Samocha. "Unless we had three guys with career year, we figure to be a 0.500
club this year," stated Gillick in February. When asked recently, Pat said,
"Well, maybe one guy [Berroa] is having a career year." So every one is
reasonably satisfied with the situation, eh? "Baloney, if Joe Carter, Delino
DeShields, Travis Fryman, Jim Abbott, and Pat Hentgen have even their normal
year numbers, we're at least five games over 0.500!" dissented minority owner
Alex Samocha. To point out where the Blue Jays may be lacking, and why they
are where they are, he got an independent assessment grade card on the team's
performance to date.
Catcher: A
Greg Myers and Jason Kendall started slowly (see Oakland article on MBL home
page) but have put it together offensively. Combined they have 0.297 BA,
0.501 SLG, and 0.350 OB. Defensive work has been solid with an occasional
lapse. Throwing out base stealers has been above average.
First Base: B
John Olerud had to reestablished himself as the starter. He did so through
very solid offense -- consistently in 0.270s BA, 0.510s SLG, 0.350s OB -- and
very good defense. He was the RBI man in March. John is, however, struggling
with protecting base stealing atempts. 70% of the team's caught stealing
incidents have happened with John at the dish.
Second Base: C-
The trade for Delino DeShields was to eliminate the cast of thousands
covering this position and to bring speed into the batting order. This cover
part has worked. Delino has yet to get batting average be over the Mendosa
line with his on base percentage being no better. So, the speed factor just
hasn't come into play like it was supposed to. Still, his defense has been
good thoughout. Because of Delino's lack of offense, utility infielder Tomas
Perez is seeing a lot more playing time than previously planned. Tomas'
defense has been very good except for an occasional wreckless error.
Third Base: D+
Travis Fryman is putting in the innings yet again. His defense has been very
good to exceptional, which keeps the grade near passing. Travis cannot seem
to get it together offensively and has maintained a two hundredish batting
average all season. Travis is attacking his lack of offense head-on and,
therefore, has not compensated the team effort by taking walks, increasing
his power statistics, or attempting situational hitting.
Short Stop: C
Alex Gonzales has been perfoming exceptionally well as a defensive SS. His
offensive game is streaky but acceptable, on average, for a short stop.
Utility infielder Jose Hernandez has spent most of his time at short stop to
give Alex off time against tough right handed pitchers. Jose has never been
an exceptional offensive force. This counter-platoon scheme rather
dramatically illustrates that Jose's batting average was due to hit ability
to hit lefties -- batting average is hovering at 0.125.
Left Field: A
At least since Geronimo Berroa has taken over full time. Frankly, aside from
the catching platoon, Geronimo has been the team's offense. He leads the Jays
in doubles, home runs, runs scored, runs batted in, and walks. His defense
has been unspectacular save for several big assists. Then again, he has not
made any spectacular fielding errors either.
Center Field: C
Brian Hunter has been adequate both offensively and defensively. Brain has
irritated the coaching staff with his inability to bunt and unwillingness to
walk. Al Kaline is convinced that Hunter, with his speed, could be a
devastating offensive force if he'd just do the little things necesary to get
on base. During a brief call up, Quinton McCracken was a classic lead-off
hitter but also showed he needs seasoning on defense. When he deigned to
play, Chuck Carr's offense and defense have been nearly as good as he thinks
it is. Unfortunately, he has been riding the pine -- self imposed due to
"nagging injuries" -- more than he has played. Buddy Bell's saintly patience
is wearing thin on this point.
Right Field: B
Shawn Green has provided solid, reliable performance offensively. Shawn's
swing and offensive numbers are similar to John Olerud's. Fortunately, Shawn
has been better able to protect base stealers. Defensively, he has
demonstarated great range but has made a few (judgemental) throwing errors.
Designated Hitter: D-
Joe Carter may be in his swan song year. Joe simply has not produced
offensively. He has batted below his weight all season and has been
sub-Mendoza since mid-April. His home runs tend to be solo shots. Joe has
eschewed walking as well, something he was willing to do in previous years'
droughts. Joe has said he has to play the field to bat better -- the few
times he has been in the field were unmitigated disasters [errors and
inability to run down a fly ball have cost the Jays at least three games].
Once pushed off first by Olerud, young Carlos Delgado through his
consistently good offensive performance has now established himself as the
starting DH. This is why the grade is not an "F". Still, there have been only
occasional glimpses of awesome potential from Carlos; he has not been the
hitting juggernaut he was in Syracuse.
Starting Pitching: C-
Number one starter Pat Hentgen is giving the team much needed starter
innings. Unfortunatly, he has also has been relinquishing hits and walks in
clusters which result in a high number of runs: ERA > 5.00 all season and as
high as 9.89 at one point. Second starter Al Leiter has been pitching well
but has victimized himself with too many walks, hit batters, and multirun
gopher balls. Jimmy Key's wilely veteran approach is still working and has
moved him to the third slot in the rotation. Jimmy is, however, showing signs
of being fatigued progressively earlier in each game. Tom Candiotti's starts
are either very good or suck, based on whether the knuck-curve is moving the
way it should. During Spring training, Jim Abbott completely lost command of
his true fast ball. Jim was called up from Syracuse in May (expanding the
rotation to five). While up, he is relied on his cut fast ball, slider, and
change up to get him through a batter order. But ,without a real fast ball to
set them up the other pitches were not enough to MBL batters the second time
through the order. Abbott has been sent back to the minors in favor of a
"young pitcher of the month" fifth man in the rotation scheme.
Relief Pitcher: B+
Mike Bielicki, Tim Crabtree, Paul Spoljaric, Mike Timlin have been
exceptional. Their only failing being an very occasional mistake pitch being
crushed for extra bases at a critical juncture. Hence, Timlin's four blown
saves and Bielicki's one horrible outing which has skewed his statistics into
an unremarkable ERA. Previously reliable Tony Castillo's lack of control has
been preplexing. Joe Hudson has been totally ineffective as a middle man save
for the inning pitched.
Blue Jay Team Offense: C-
The team batting average has sunk into the low 0.240s. This puts them a full
25 point below expectations for batting average and slugging percentage.
[Surprisingly, isolated power numbers are meeting expectations.] Team on base
percentage has dipped below 0.300, which is a full 33 points below
anticipated.
Blue Jay Team Defense: B+
In general the team's defense has been fundamantally sound. This year the
defensive substitues have provided a needed complement to the closer for
finishing close games.
Blue Jay Team Pitching: C+
Going into the season the Jays hoped that Pat Hentgen and Al Leiter combined
would carry the team with 36-40 wins; Jimmy Key and Tom Candiottti together
were expected to chip in 18-22 wins; and, the rest of the staff 16-20.
Current pace is for the starters is about half that. While the offense can
should some of the blame, the starters are allowing too many base runners.
Fortunately, the relief staff is performing above expectations and has
already reached 17 wins. Still, on average, the team ERA is 16 points better
and team HR allowed is 20 lower than expectated.
Blue Jay Overall Grade: C
Should they be doing better? Yes, you bet they should. Could they be doing
worse? Easily. Can the team improve? Not without help, where did I put that
waiver list?! Can they hope to catch up to the resurgent Dodgers? Nope. Is
this a surprise? No. Where are they likely to finish in the division? Second
to third. Deja Vu? Yeah, been there; done that.
---Joe Samocha
SCHOTT SHOVELING OUT THE STABLES?
Well, another month, another few blown saves and ten run outings. Doesn't look
like things are going to settle down in the Orioles division for awhile. I'd
love to know how many people are gonna make the all-star team on the back of
their at-bats against Orioles pitching, especially against our "bullpen". Not
that the starters have been much better, but at least they haven't been blowing
saves. Marge Schott recently caused a bit of turmoil in the clubhouse when,
during the seventh inning stretch and under the influence of something rumored
to be illegal, she walked into the clubhouse screaming "Todd! Todd!" and waving
this huge shovel. Eric Young was of course hit by the shovel and proceeded to
miss the next seven games, but the real excitement came when the Orioles
realized that she wasn't talking about one of her fellow owners. No, Marge had
suddenly seen fit to award the biggest underachiever of her tenure in the
league. Luckily for Todd ".190" Hundley Marge is about as bad with the shovel as
he is with the bat, and he managed to escape to the batters' box - where he
struck out. Of course.
---Nat Bailey
GIANTS SEARCH FOR ANSWERS
YANKEES LOOK TO MAKE MOVE
NO HOME SWEET HOME FOR ASTROS
DISAPPOINTING BRAVES REACH HALF-WAY MARK
MARINERS STRANDED AT SEA LEVEL
PADRES DENY KENNEDY CONNECTIONS