Write-up of the AL Alpha here:
NL Alpha here
Now let’s go and check out the AL Beta division.
| Team | Wins | Losses | Percentage | GB | WCGB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | 65 | 56 | .537 | —– | +6 |
| Washington Senators | 59 | 62 | .488 | 6 | —– |
| Boston Red Sox | 58 | 63 | .479 | 7 | –1 |
| Minnesota Twins | 57 | 64 | .471 | 8 | -2 |
| Oakland A’s | 54 | 70 | .435 | 12 1/2 | -6 1/2 |
Milwaukee Brewers:
Full disclosure This is my team.
It is very rare in this league that a team repeats a division win but Milwaukee has managed to sneak by with pitching (WHIP 1.26 best in AL fewest hits given up in the league) despite the 4th fewest k’s in the majors. They also are 4th in RBI’s and 1st in walks in the majors and 3rd in the AL in hits thanks to Pete Rose (169 2nd in majors 1st in AL). And Ron Fairly tied for the MLB lead in walks (101). All of this is despite being 2nd to last in homers.
There are some weak spots. Don Wilson despite a 14-7 record a .201 avg against (7th in MLB) and a no-hitter thrown this season has given up 27 home runs in only 192 1/3 innings and Ken Holtzman 221 2/3 innings and 20 home runs. Jerry Bell 2nd year man has been 8-13 with a 5.31 ERA. Elias Sosa has been on and off with 10 saves but seven saves blown. Dennis Menke has 88 walks but is only hitting .152 and has been a defensive liability but his move to DH with the Harrelson & Davis for Carbo trade will mitigate this at least vs RHP
The lead is only six games and Washington, Boston and Minnesota are all only one good run away from catching up so if Milwaukee is going to pull this off their huge trade of on base Machines and incredible arm Bernie Carbo for SS Bud Harrelson and CF Willie Davis is going to have to pay off in addition HR’s and better defense
Washington Senators:
Washington has spent a ton of time in the cellar this season, due to the worst defense in the AL (.980) and a team batting avg (.233) tied for worst in the majors. However in their last mainly to their inability to get on base.
Yet they’ve gone 19-10 in their last 29 games including series wins against the powerhouse Reds, and Boston and sweeps of both Cleveland all teams that are either playoff teams or were playoff teams at the time of said series wins. They now hold the 3rd wild card sport and are only 6 games out of first.
Del Unser’s 11 triples (tied for the AL lead) and Dave Kingman’s 33 HR leading the AL have something to do with this along with the steady numbers of Jim Northrup along with Bob Johnson’s 19 saves in 22 chances and the workhorses of the staff, Bill Lee, Joe Coleman and Carl Morton have made a big difference.
The wild cards? Jim Kaat missed some time due to injury and Blue Moon Odem who was a winner in Milwaukee last season has been a bust at 1-10 his only win coming in relief. Furthermore while Washington is only a game behind Cleveland for the 2nd wild card spot and 6 out of 1st in the division they are a full 13 games behind the Royals for the top spot and Boston and Minnesota are right on their heels.
In short with 4 teams vying for 2 playoff spots and less than 3 games separating the top from the bottom there isn’t a lot of margin for error but so far Washington’s determination to keep fighting has paid off
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox started the season at the top of the division and then began dropping, first slowly then faster till at the moment they find themselves a game behind Washington for the final playoff spot and the Twins right behind them. How far has Boston fallen? You won’t find a single Red Sox player on any of the leaderboards.
Still Carlton Fisk has 20 HR in his sophomore year and they have a great crop of young players from Dave Winfield to Dwight Evans to Cecil Cooper. If Yaz and Petrocelli can start hitting a bit more anything can happen but Boston seems to be selling rather than buying trading starter Claude Osteen who was 9-3 for Boston and closer Lindy McDaniel to Pittsburgh and veteran Slugger Willie Davis and slick fielding but fragile SS Bud Harrelson for young on base machine Bernie Carbo all sings seem to be a youth movement for 1974 rather than a run in 73.
Oddity: Despite the green monster in left Boston is in the bottom half of the league in doubles.
Minnesota Twins
Minnesota is the epidemy of what you would call an average team. In all kinds of offensive categories they are at or near the league average with one exception this is true on the pitching side as well. The exception is walks allowed. They lead the AL in fewest walks allowed and both Jim Barr (1.80 per 9 innings) and Ross Grimsley (2.11 per 9 innings) are among stingiest in the majors on free passes. This explains their 6-1 record vs Milwaukee which lives by the walk who had the previous year swept the season series against them but in a team that is mostly average closer Sparky Lyle shines with a 6-1 record 24 saves in 30 chances, a 1.16 ERA and not a single home run given up in 38 relief appearences.
Ross Grimsley, Gary Gentry and Stan Bahnsen , Doyle Alexander are all average pitchers who have performed as advertised only Dave McNally has disappointed with a 4.00 ERA and a record near .500. At the plate they have guys who can get the job done. Al Oliver’s 21 HR & 83 RBI’s lead the team and both he and Richie Hebner (18 HR 71 RBI) are flirting with .300 and Lou Piniella has been destroying left handed pitching (.352 4 HR vs southpaws) but on the down side young Jose Cruz is suffering sophomore blues slumping to .190 and committing 9 errors in the field, while Luis Aparicio has gotten his avg back to his career level from last seasons low with the Reds (.272 vs .193) he hasn’t been the spark plug he has been in the past.
In the field Aparicio and young Bobby Grich have been double play machines but Hebner’s 24 errors are a bit much but at the other corner the platoon of Mike Hegan & Oliver have put up range numbers through the roof
In short the Twins are good enough to win games but have not managed to get beyond that level. But being only 2 games out of a playoff spot they like Boston, Washington and Cleveland are just one big streak away from a return to the postseason while one bad streak away from obscurity.
Oakland A’s
It was a wild time when the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland A’s last season swapped names. The A’s moved east to become the NY Giants back in the polo grounds while San Francisco abandoned the city by the bay to take advantage of the DH rule.
SF had been a solid playoff team last season playing in two of the most exciting series of the year, their victory vs the Pirates and their defeat by the Daytraders and they brought some of their star power to the AL with Bobby Bonds (.288 23 HR 88 RBI) and five outfield assists in right against the few who dare run against his arm. Darrell Evans adds 24 HR and 86 RBI’s of his own.
Alas while Ron Hunt at 2B has as usual been an on base machine (.440) he missed three full months due to injury and while Bill Sharp has done yeoman work getting on base at a .375 clip the rest of the supporting cast have not given the stars what they need to shine. They are dead last in the majors in both average at .233 and first in strikeouts. Of course when they hit the ball they can move their 41 triples are 2nd in the majors
The downturn in the pitching hasn’t helped. While Ron Bryant’s 13-11 record & 3.81 ERA is not bad it’s a far cry from last season’s 14-7 record and 3.44 ERA while ace Jim Palmer seems to be keeping up his pattern of outstanding seasons (26-5 1.87 last year) followed by mediocre seasons (11-12 3.04 this year). Their team ERA of 4.12 is not inspiring and while Dave Gusti does have 18 saves in 23 chances holding batters to a .203 avg he has given up six dingers this season so far while surrendering only a single one in 1972.
In theory Oakland is close enough to have a shot to return to the post season but has too many teams ahead of them to get around and no thump to get there. With a better supporting cast next season via the draft there is every chance that they will return to their winning ways as long as they can get Giusti, Palmer and Bryant back to their 1972 form.
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