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Dynasty Baseball 1972 League AL Red Sox at Yankees

Posted: October 2, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
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These Writeups are about the 2nd Round of the AL Playoffs. All Series are five games.

Red Sox vs Yankees

RedSox

The Boston RedSox Offensive / Defensive/ Pitching evaluation was done in the Wild card round and Can be found in full here. Fast Summery Strong offense led by Yaz and Fisk, Tied for Top defense in MLB, Pitching, one ace (Nolan) and the rest average with no real closer.

Round 1 vs Angels Game 1 at Anaheim Stadium Gary Nolan Vs Tom Bradley

Game 1 was a true pitchers duel with Redsox Ace Gary Nolan facing Tom Bradley of the 18 losses. The first run came from a leadoff Bill Plummer Solo shot in the 3rd giving the Angels a 1-0. The Red Sox took the lead in the 6th when with two outs light hitting Doug Griffin hit a shot into the Gap that Manny Mota couldn’t catch up to. He end up on 2nd and Yaz immediately drove him with a single to center Griffin beating the throw from Moralas which allowed Yaz to get to 2nd which didn’t matter much since Willie Davis walked putting runners on 1st and Second for Carlton Fisk to singled to center with Yaz motoring home to make it 2-1.

That is all that Bradley would give up the three hits in the 6th were fully half of Boston’s total as Bradly pitched a fine game, alas for the Halo Nolan did even better. Not only did the Angels not get near another run but no Angel got to the plate with a runner in scoring position for Nolan’s 9 innings of work

Red Sox 2 Angels 1 WP Nolan 1-0 LP Bradley 0-1 HR Plumber (1)

Game 2 at Fenway Park Woodie Fryman vs Rick Wise

For the 2nd game in a row California struck first via the longball. In the top of the 1st with two outs Jose Cardinal put a ball over the wall in Right center scoring Bobby Valentine giving the Angels a 2-0 lead. It would have been 3-0 except Wes Parker once again demonstrated his glove at first robbing Manny Mota of a double on a shot down the line.

The lead was cut to one in the bottom of the 2nd when after a pair of walks Doug Griffin singled in Rico Petrocelli but in the top of the 3rd the Angles got it back as Tommy McCraw tripled to center with one out and Bobby Valentine singled him in. Manny Mota followed with a single which could have led to a big inning but wise struck out Cardinal and Morales lined to 3rd to kill the rally. The Sox Answered back again as Fisk put a two out fastball over the monster and the lead was back to 3-2.

In the 5th the Red Sox pitcher Rick Wise helped his own cause by legging out a slow roller that Bobby Valentine couldn’t get to first in time. This would prove critical as with two outs Ollie Brown put one in the gap scoring him all the way from first and the game was tied.

And tied it would stay both teams would threaten in the 8th without success and in the 9th after reaching on an error Dave Conception tried to make it to 3rd when Leroy Stanton hitting for Fryman singled to center but Vada Pinson who had just moved to center threw a strike to Rico Petrocelli for the 2nd out and Wise put out the fire. Angel closer Clay Carroll retired the Sox in order in the 9th and we went to Extras.

Wise would remain in until the top of the 11th when he came out after retiring the first 2. and Joe Horlen came in and promptly grooved a ball to Bill Plumber for his 2nd round tripper of the series.

With victory in their grasp and their playoff hopes on the line they left Carroll in for a 3rd inning which proved costly. He would walk lead off man Vada Pinson who would move to 2nd on a grounder to 3rd and would easily score on a double to left center tying the game. Davis would get to 3rd with two outs when Jack Aker came in and coaxed a pinch hit ground out from Norm Miller and we went to the 12th

After a leadoff single Al Severinsen retired California in order in the top of the inning. Aker would be saved from trouble by a great diving stop by Tommy McGraw keeping Wes Parker from a sure double but his luck would run out when Ollie Brown who only had 2 Homeruns all season for his worst slugging year in his career made Red Sox fans forget this by lifting a ball just over the wall to send the Redsox to a meeting with their longtime rivals from New York.

Boston 5 California 4 WP Severinsen 1-0 LP Aker (0-1) HR Plumber (2), Cardenal (1), Fisk (1), Brown (1)

New York Yankees 111-51 1st Place AL Alpha Division (#1 seed)

Offense: Whoever said “You can’t go home again” apparently never saw this Yankee team whose offense was completely invigorated by their return to the Polo Grounds as Yankees lead the majors in every offensive category except walks (2nd in AL 5th in majors) Stolen bases (3rd in AL 7th in majors) and at bats (1st in AL 2nd in Majors). The top three slugging percentages in the American league belonged to Bobby Murcer (.591+065 over 1971), young John Mayberry (.550 +.291 over 1971) and Reggie Smith (.528 +007 over 1971) Murcer’s HR total went from 23 to 36 Mayberry’s from 5 (in 104 games) to 35 (in 162) and Smith from 20 (in 162 games) to 30 (in 160). Oddly the move didn’t figure in Murcer’s numbers has he hit 10 more homers and slugged a full .197 points higher on the road (.488 vs .685) meanwhile Roberto Clemente hit .290 and drove in 90 while Ron Santo who was floundering in Cincy (.162 0 HR 6 RBI in 29 games) before being dealt to NY soared (.326 13 HR 75 RBI). Put simply they’ve been an offensive monster.

Defense: With so much offense you likely don’t need much defense but the Yanks were above slightly above average. Both Thurman Munson and Ed Kirkpatrick threw out more runners than they allowed to steal. Ron Santo took the 3B job from Bill Melton and ran with it defensively. Horace Clark proved just as good as Doug Griffin who was dealt to Boston early in the season. Clemente only threw out 4 but almost nobody tried to take an extra base against him however Reggie’s Smith’s 9 errors in the outfield were rather high and both Steve Kline and Terry Forster where adventures on the mound if the ball was hit to them.

Pitching: If the Yankees offense wasn’t enough their pitching staff managed the top ERA in the AL (2.96 3rd overall) and the 2nd lowest Avg against in the AL as well (.239) Meanwhile their bullpen saved 45 of 57 however their 116 HR allowed were the 3rd most in the AL & majors but given the dimensions of the Polo Grounds not a huge surprise. Mike Paul & Bob Moose were tied for 2nd in the AL for ERA (2.42) Terry Forester led the AL with 34 saves and Steve Kline and Bob Moose were top 8 in the majors for not giving up walks. Put simply with 3 20 Game winners (Wilbur Wood, Moose and Steve Kline) all of who had over 200 innings they are a force to be reckoned with.

Series one Yankees at Boston April:

Game one was a back and forth affair with six lead changes till it was even at 9 after 9 but in the bottom of the 10th Vada Pinson singled to start the 10th followed by a Triple from Wes Parker to win the game. In Game 2 Roberto Clemente doubled in one run and John Mayberry homered for 2 more in the 6th and Celerino Sanchez tripled in two runs more. Both Fisk and Yaz drove in runs in the 8th but it wasn’t enough and Forester picked up the save for 6-4 Yankees win. A two run shot by Parker and an RBI double by Yaz gave the Redsox a 4-0 lead but Bobby Murcer hit a solo shot in the 8th and the Yanks managed 5 in the 9th including a Reggie Smith homerun giving Yankees a lead that Forester would hold.

Series Two June in NY

The Redsox simply pounded the yanks with a solo shot by Davis a two run shot by Yaz and a three run shot by Rico Petrocelli. Rick Wise threw a complete game giving up 4 which was more than good enough to secure a 9-4 win. In game two after an early exchange of runs the Yanks took the lead with a 3 run 7th with a bases loaded fielders choice plus and a 2 run single giving Wilbur Wood a win and 3rd save for Forster in game 2 and his 4th save in game 3 with a Reggie Smith solo shot and a three run shot by John Mayberry giving Mike Paul the win

Series 3 Aug in Boston:

The Yanks went 8-18 with runners in scoring position allowing them to build a 6-3 lead for which was enough to hold off a 2 run rally in the 9th. In game 2 three Redsox pitchers combined to shut out the Yanks which meant that RBI doubles from Fisk and Griffin and a single from Petrocelli were more than enough to win. In the 3rd game the game remained even at 3 in the ninth but in the end Rick Wise could not hold off a rally with runs scored on a passed ball and a single from Gene Tenace.

Series 4 Sept in NY

The Redsox won a costly victory in game one when he ended up out for 3 series after diving for a ball in left a bases loaded grounder and a Doug Griffin single drove in 2 and a single and flyout in the 9th gave two more runs to secure a 4-1 win for Gary Nolan. In game 2 the Yanks scored 10 including 5 in the first 2 innings and five more on 17 hits while Bob Moose surrendered only 2 runs on 4 hits while striking out 11. In game 3 again things went back and forth and the Yanks took a lead in the 5th on a Clemente single and handed the ball to Terry Forster who had saved 4 vs the Sox but the fifth time was the charm for Boston as he made a key error with two on to load the bases allowing Wes Parker to single in the tying and winning run for a 5-4 Red Sox win.

Season series Yanks 7-5

The Pick: The Red Sox are a good team with a lot of fine young players who will give the Yankees grief and they played the Yanks tough all season but with excellent pitching and overpowering offence I can’t see the Redsox pulling this one off. Yanks in 4.

1972 League Playoff Review Wild Card Round National League League Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates

Posted: September 29, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, Dynasty, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
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The 2nd of our reviews of the upcoming wild card series. (Best of 3) the winner of this series will face the SF Giants in the Divisional Round (best of 5) The AL Writeup is here.

Cincinnati Reds 88-74 10 GB 3rd Wild Card

Offense: Last year the Reds underperformed this year this year they were 4th in the NL in HR (128) 3rd in Slugging (,383) 2nd in OBP (.325) & 1st in triples (53) led by Johnny Bench who was 2nd in both HR (34) and RBI (114) to Triple crown winner Billy Williams. Of course being 2nd in RBI’s is easy when you have Joe Morgan (135 walks) and Dick Allen (115) walks on base constantly. Morgan would lead the league with 122 runs and finish 2nd to Lou Brock with 53 stolen bases. Dick Allen would have 99 runs scored along with 30 HR of his own. Bobby Tolan would also score 102 runs thanks to 186 hits while stealing 30 more and young Bill Buckner would hit .307 with 10 triples (7th in league) only one behind teammate Ted Martinez tied for 3rd with 11. This is a big Red Offensive Machine.

Defense: The Reds were part of a 4 way tie for the best fielding percentage at .987 like Boston & St. Louis only comitting 83 errors all year. As much as Bench contributed offensively his record behind the plate was incredible 15 caught stealing in 15 attempts and only one passed ball and two errors in 912 chances over 1255 innings. In fact no person not even Lou Brock would steal a single base against the Reds this season. With no stolen bases against and only two passed balls you had to earn your bases against the Reds. Bobby Tolan who saved the 1969 WS for the Mets by robbing Pete Rose of a 9th inning double was excellent in Center. Meanwhile Al Kaline and Dick Allen would both put up great range factors at 1B Allen would move to 3B with the Ron Santo Trade to the Yankees putting up comparable numbers .961 Fielding over 920 innings. Joe Morgan’s .993 fielding percentage at 2nd kept the infield tight.

Pitching: This was the weak link of the team. Cincy’s 3.56 ERA was 12th in the Majors just ahead of the Washington Senators 3.64. Their 904 strikes were in the bottom 5 of the majors and teams hit .262 against them, only the Orioles and Cubs and KC were more generous with their total hits. On the bright side their 406 walks allowed were 2nd lowest in the NL and 4th best in the majors. Fritz Peterson was a legit ace going 22-8 with a 2.90 ERA in 282 innings his 1.28 walks per 9 innings 2nd best in the NL. Spaceman Lefty Bill Lee did fine work in the Bullpen saving 18 in 20 chances while going 6-5 and Pedro Borbon 8 saves in 11 chances wasn’t bad but Fred Gladding’s 4-9 and Bucky Brandon’s 1-6 and Steve Mingori’s 0-3 in saves is why the Reds didn’t clinch against StL till the final two weeks of the season.

Pittsburgh Pirates 91-71 2nd place NL Beta 17 GB 2nd Wild Card

Offense: Pittsburgh .256 team avg (2nd in NL 4th in majors) and .328 OBP (tops in NL 2nd in majors) meant a lot of men on base which is why Pit was 3rd in the NL in RBI’s 676 and just behind Cincy in HR (126). Hank Aaron’s 31 HR led a team that has six players with double figures in HR. He added 101 walks to allow others to drive him in. Rod Carew’s .341 avg (2nd in league) and .400 OBP (4th in league) on 201 hits and meant there was usually someone on base. Rennie Stennett’s .319 Avg didn’t hurt there either.

Defense: Defense was not a strong point for Pittsburgh winning 91 games despite the 3rd worst defense in the NL and the 3rd most past balls and errors in the Majors a bit of a surprise with a man as steady as Bill Freehan behind the plate but age caught up to him in the field as it did Aaron (19 errors) and George Scott (27 errors). Young Bill Russell’s 23 errors and .967 fielding at short was below avg but both Johnny Briggs (6 errors in LF) and young Jose Cruz (5 errors in center) made up for this by throwing out 7 and 9 runners from the OF respectively but Joe Lahoud surpassed them all throwing out 11 runners while committing no errors in 750 2/3 innings to augment his power at the plate.

Pitching: Pittsburgh gave up the 4th fewest hits and their teams 1.20 WHIP was tied for 4th best in the majors. This was due to Gaylord Perry being practically unbeatable going 22-10 in 302 1/3 innings (5th in NL) with an ERA below 2 (1.97 1st in NL). Bruce Kison (11-10 2.99) and Bill Singer (10-6 3.05) put up respectable numbers but it was Perry who carried the rotation. Meanwhile Mike Marshall came into his own saving 25 in 29 chances. In all Pittsburgh pen saved 44 games while blowing 15 just below 3/4

Season Series

Series 1 May at Cincy

In Game one Cincy got all they needed in the 1st on a Tolan leadoff single to start the inning and a Morgan double, Bench single and Rudi double off Bill Singer with two outs. A solo shot by George Scott off Milt Wilcox in the 2nd made it 3-1 and a two out 9th inning single by Davey Johnson put the Bucks within one but Don Gullett came in for Bill Lee and Struck out pinch hitter Ron Woods to solidify the victory.

The Pirates struck 1st in game two with a Hank Aaron 2 run shot off Paul Splitoff but Bench answered with a solo shot in the 2nd and the Reds took the lead in the 5th when Buckner stroked a 2 out single scoring Kaline & Martinez and grew the lead in the 7th with an RBI single from Splittorff and an RBI double by Buckner but Ron Woods made up for his failure in game one with a 3 run HR in the top of the 8th to tie it and Carew followed in the 9th with a 2 out two on single to give Pittsburgh the 6-5 lead off George Culver and MIke Marshall held the Reds to a single in the ninth thanks to a nice play by Ron Woods, not known for his range on a flare to Right

In the Rubber match Pit scored to in the 2 and 1 in the fourth off Dick Bosman while the Reds could only manage two unearned runs one off winner Bruce Kison and one off Closer Mike Marshall both made possible by Jose Cruz Miscues but that was all as the Pirates won 4-2

2nd Series June

The Reds took their revenge in Pittsburgh beginning with a pair of shutouts Splitorff in game one of a 5-0 route while 4 Reds pitchers kept the Pirates off the Board for 10 innings and finally scored 3 off of Mike Marshall in Relief of Gaylord Perry who had answered them scoreless inning for scoreless inning. A Tolan Triple and a Kaline Sac to score him made the 3-0 final. The Reds jumped to a 3-0 early lead off Bill Singer thanks to an Allen Homer But Woods, Aaron and Bill Russell all went deep in the 7th to tie things at four until Dick Allen doubled in one run and Rookie George Foster pinch hitting drove in a 2nd off of Mike Marshall for a 6-4 win

3rd Series Aug

Bill Singer finally managed a win off Cincy in game one when he shut out the reds over 8 1/3 on two hits while 2 RBI’s from Woods and another by Rennie Stennett in the first off Reds ace Friz Peterson were more than enough in their 5-0 win. Three Cincy Pitchers returned the favor in game two blanking the bucks who had to use five pitchers after Starter Brian Johnson had to be pulled in the 2nd with arm stiffness. Homers by Dick Allen and Joe Morgan added to the 8-0 rout for their 4th win in their last five meetings but the Pirates had the last laugh in game 3 as they blanked the Reds right Back with Ross Grimsley pitching five, Gary Ross pitching three and Mike Marshall getting his 3rd save vs the reds vs 2 losses. It was a 3rd inning solo shot off Wilcox by Scott and an RBI damage by Aaron off off off Mingori that accounted for the 2-0 win.

Series 4 Sept

The final series of year was the most competitive with Mike Marshall getting saves in game 1 & 3 neither Friz Peterson and Bill Singer batted it out to a 2-2 tie before Hank Aaron just beat Bench’s tag on a throw from Dave Martinez after a Rennie Stennett 8th inning single. In game 3 it was the Pirate bats bailing out Jim Barr who left the Reds with a 5-2 lead in the 2nd. A two out Carew single tied the game 5-5 while Hank Aaron’s three runs on the very next pitch from Mike Caldwell finished the job. In the middle game however the Bucks Ace failed in his 2nd attempt to get a win against the Reds as the Big Red Machine scored 3 in the first and then after Pittsburgh fought back to tie it in the bottom of the 9th they took advantage of a Bill Russell error in the 10th allowing Dick Allen and Joe Morgan to single in the winning runs off a game Gaylord Perry who went the 10 inning distance and a final rally which got the tying runs on with two outs in the 10th fell short.

Season Series even 6-6

This series I suspect will come down to who wins the Perry/Peterson Duel. Neither Ace managed a win vs the other team during the season. Both have good offenses but Cincinnati’s is so overwhelming that it’s hard to pick against them, but Pittsburgh has a legitimate closer so if they can get a lead they might hold it. However while Marshall had four saves vs the Reds he also lost a par. Despite this I have no faith in the Reds holding leads once acquired. I suspect as I said it will all come down to the first meeting between Peterson & Perry? Will one or both rise to the occasion? I really don’t know but I have to pick a winner so I’m going to give the edge to the team managed by the winningest manager in Dynasty history (2665 tournaments wins) and the player #1 ranked #1 all time in the game.

Pit 2-1

1972 League Playoff Review Wild Card Round American League California Angels at Boston Red Sox

Posted: September 28, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, Dynasty, dynasty baseball, gaming, online gaming
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The first round of our 1972 league playoffs kick off this week in a best of three series between the 2nd and 3rd wild card teams. The winner will face the top seeded NY Yankees in the Division series in round two (Best of 5):

California Angels 82-80 2nd in AL Alpha 29 GB 3rd wild Card

Offense: The Angels played pretty much .500 ball this season with a team that didn’t scare many people with their bats hitting .241 as a team despite Manny Mota being 2nd in the AL in hits (202) and hitting .314 (6th in the league) and walking even less (16th out of 20 MLB teams) hitting only 75 Home runs all season and finishing 14th in slugging although they had three players in the top 8 in the AL for Triples Mota with 10 (8th), Jerry Moralas 12 (tied 3rd) and Tommy McGraw who was 2nd with 13 and also 7th in OBP .374. Their most dangerous offensive player being Jose Cardinal who finished the season at .288 17 HR 107 RBI (4th in league) and 39 doubles (tied 5th) and 95 runs scored (7th)

Defense: A team with little offence needs solid defense and California certainly qualified in that score their .986 fielding percentage was tied for 5th in the majors and only .001 off the MLB lead and their 89 Errors were 6th in the majors. Bobby Valentine at 2nd (.984) Don Money at 3rd (.980) and Dave Concepcion (.980). The two weak links. 2nd Catcher Bill Plummer who let 10 of 11 baseruners steal on him and Cardinal whose 5 errors in right and .978 fielding percentages were a problem.

Pitching: Clay Carrol was lights out in the pen saving 28 in 31 chances with a WHIP of .092 (2nd in AL) but the starters ran hot at cold. Tommy John’s 2.46 ERA in 248 innings only produced a 15-14 record. Another innings eater was Tom Bradley who pitched 275 1/3 innings (6th in AL) but at a cost of 18 losses (tied 3rd in AL) against only 10 wins. The Ace of the team was Clay Kirby who led all American league pitchers with a .193 Avg against finishing with a 18-12 Record with a 3.33 ERA

Red Sox 86-76 3rd in AL Beta 14 GB 2nd Wild Card

Offense: Boston’s .256 avg and .326 OBP were both 3rd in the Majors and 2nd in the AL led by Carl Yazstremski whose .335 led the AL. Yaz also led the Majors with a .431 OBP and his .519 Slugging pct was good enough for 4th in the AL and top 10 in the majors. He was helped by Vada Pinson whose .311 avg (7th in AL (37 doubles (6th in AL) did their job and Rookie Carlton Fisk who managed 39 doubles of his own and Willie Davis whose 97 walks led the AL and Rico Petrocelli whose 24 Home Runs led the team (yet only drove in 67). Despite playing in Fenway they only managed 96 round trippers although their 244 doubles, no doubt aided by the green monster were good enough for 6th in the Majors and 2nd in the AL.

Defense: Boston .987 fielding percentage was part of a 4 way tie for the best in the majors and their paltry 83 errors were part of a 3 way tie for 2nd in the Majors (and 2nd in the AL) Fisk’s arm discouraged base stealing as he threw out 5 of the mere 12 who attempted to steal. Boston was one of three teams who allowed less that 10 SB all season (9). In the rest of the field things were just as good. Wes Parker only committed 4 errors in 1389 1/3 innings while helping to turn 100 DP getting to balls most fielders would not be able to touch while Rick Petrocelli only committed 7 errors at 3rd in 537 chances for an .987 fielding percentage while Vada Pinson committed only a single error in the OF primarily in Right while Willie Davis in center threw out 12 runners this season. One surprise down side was Left Fielder Carl Yazstremski who managed 6 errors as age seemed to catch up but was perfect at 1B when spelling Wes Parker.

Pitching: Boston’s team era of 3.52 was decidedly middle of the pack (0.02 behind California) Gary Nolan (16-9 2.72 ERA in 254 1/3 innings) Claude Osteen (16-18 3.72 ERA in 276 innings) and Rick Wise (17-14 3.11 in 272 1/3 innings) carried the workload with a rotation by committee Tom Timmerman, Lynn McGlothen, Ken Bret and John Curtis carrying the rest of the load. Boston lead the AL with 51 complete games. Nolan did lead the league with a 1.01 WHIP and was top 10 in avg against and was top 10 in ERA but the Bullpen as a whole managed only 24 saves in 35 chances with an aging Joe Horlen demoted to the pen with only a single start managing 8 saves in 10 chances (10th in league) but on the whole the bullpen was unremarkable.

Boston vs Calif head to head.

Series 1:

The Angels visited Boston in May losing two of three. In game one the Redsox gave Jim McAndrew his first loss 5-1 with Hector Torres, Horace Clarke and winner Gary Nolan (3-1) all singling with 2 men on in the 4th to provide all they needed. In game two Tommy John broke an Angels four game losing streak holding Boston to one run while Jerry Moralas’ 2 run shot off of Tom Timmerman did the job with insurance added later and Clay Carroll closing it out. Boston won the series however with a 6-4 win with Clarke and Torres again doing the damage to give Boston the lead in the sixth. Rick Wise pitched a complete game for the win.

Series 2:

The Sox came to California in Junes and Swept the angels away starting with a 9-2 blowout with Six Redsox hitters driving in runs off of Tom Bradly including winning pitcher Claude Osteen. Game 2 was closer as the Angels bailed out Tommy John with 2 out in the 9th to tie the game but the Sox started the top of the tenth with four straight single to drive in 1 and a two out single by Bud Harrelson driving in two more for the 6-3 final. Game three was a dual between Rick Wise and Clay Kirby but despite a one out Leroy Stanton single in the 9th driving for the 2nd day in a row to narrow it to 4-3 Rick Wise held on to win the duel.

Series 3

For the 2nd Time Tommy John held the Redsox to a single run and Carroll provided the save as the Angles won 3-1 thanks to a Rusty Torrez Home run off of Ken Brett in the 7th but Boston answered back the next day at Fenway with a 5-4 win with doubles by Carlton Fisk and Hector Torrez making the difference. In game 3 Claude Osteen who like his foe Tom Bradly would lose 18 on the season shut out the Angels who would win 2-0 helped by a rare key error by shortstop Dave Conception which put Fisk on first. Yaz singled him to 3rd and Petrocelli fly to the warning track in the August night sent him home.

Series 4

The last visit meeting of teams in September was again good luck for the hard luck Osteen. Tommy John only gave up a single run through seven but John Rooker gave up 3 more in the 8th including a 2 run HR by light hitting Doug Griffin so that when the Halos finally got two off of Osteen in the 9th it wasn’t enough. Game two went worse as three Sox pitchers combined for a shutout meaning that the paltry two runs that Jim McAndrew gave up was enough to cost him the game. Finally the Redsox scored three solo runs in the 1st three innings off of Bradley and added three more to double up California 6-3 despite RBI triples from both Money and Morales which couldn’t overcome homers by Pinson and Petrocelli

Season Series Redsox win 7-2

Boston’s offense clearly give them the advantage as both teams have excellent defense and middling pitching staffs, Boston’s strength in the rotation while California has a shut down closer. The question is can the Angels score enough runs to get to the Sox mediocre bullpen. I think the series will come down to Tommy John and Clay Kirby vs Gary Nolan and Rick Wise. But with the Bats Boston has I can’t see the Halos managing to break through.

My prediction Boston wins series 2-1

Dynasty League Playoff Pictures 1997 & 1972 Leagues

Posted: September 8, 2024 by datechguy in baseball, Dynasty, dynasty baseball, fun, gaming, online gaming, Sports
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On my first regular Sunday off in almost forever I thought I’d take the time to update you on the two Dynasty Leagues I am currently running as both seasons are nearing their end.

1997

The 2nd season of our 80 game once a week short league has seven weeks to go. With no wild cards in this league it’s all down to winning divisions and 3 of the four are still very much in play. Because of the structure of the league ( 2 games series vs opposite league, 3 game series vs opposite division and 4 game series within divisions) and the fact that the final three series are all in division there is the potential of as much as a 12 game shift in the last 3 weeks.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
New York4318.705—-
Cleveland3526.574812
Baltimore2932.475146
Boston2536.410182
ALEast

Led By Tony Gwynn who is threatening .400 (.395) and leading the majors in hits and the AL in OBP while 3rd in the league in RBI the Yanks are dominating with the best record by far helped by Andres Galarraga who leads the majors in RBI, Todd Jones who leads the majors in saves, Workhorse Andy Pettitte who leads the majors in fewest HR per 9 innings despite being 6th in Innings and Todd Stottlemyre 2nd in the AL in ERA & 4th in Avg against behind teammate Dustin Hermanson who is 3rd in the AL while 5th in k’s per 9 inn. Realistically only the Indians are still in play whose cause has not been helped by Eric Gunderson leading the AL in blown saves despite the efforts of Jeff Blauser getting on base and Matt Stairs knocking them out and driving them in.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
Seattle3625.590—-
Chicago3326.559219
Minnesota3129.5174 1/216
Toronto2239.361146
ALWest

In the wild wild AL west only Toronto is on the way out. Seattle leads Thanks to Ken Griffey Jr. 31 HR 13 more than anyone else in the majors and Randy Johnson carrying them on their backs (1st in Majors in K/9 tied for 1st in wins 2nd in K’s overall, innings pitched & avg against, with help from Alex Rodriguez (4th in AL hits). Unlike today’s White Sox these guys are only one game away in the loss column with Jeff Shaw providing the saves while Frank Thomas the big hurt provides the offense with Mike Cameron getting on base ahead of him and J. T Snow Slugging along. Meanwhile the Twins are still in striking distance thanks to Pedro Martinez who leads in all the categories that Johnson is 2nd in and Chuck Knobloch who has been a stolen base and runs machine. Billy Wagner helps out with 11 saves 2nd in both AL & Majors but his three blown saves haven’t helped.

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
Atlanta3823.623—-
Cincinnati3526.574317
Pittsburgh2734.443119
Florida2638.40613 1/25
NLEast

Atlanta maintains a 3 game lead thanks to Greg Maddux, Rick Reed and Francisco Cordova all in the top 10 in ERA in the majors and Mariano Rivera who has saved 10 while blowing only one while Larry Walker (NL batting & Slugging lead) Tino Martinez (2nd NL slugging) provide the offense. Cincinnati with a below avg pitching stall and wracked by injury are kept alive by the return of Rickey Henderson and Lance Johnson from the DL. Pittsburgh recent 7-3 run has given them hope but the real story is last years World Series runner up Florida who despite Mark McGuire leading the league in HR, Barry Bonds leading the majors in walks and triples and Curt Schilling & Keven Brown both being top 4 in NL ERA and 1 & 2 in NL inning pitched can’t seem to get a break

TeamWinsLossesPCTGBClinch/Elim #
St. Louis2931.483—-
Los Angeles2932.4751/220
San Diego2435.4074 1/217
Houston2638.406514
NLWest

The bad news is the NL west has four teams under .500 the good news is that there is only 5 game separating the 1st and last place teams meaning that likely all four teams will be in the thick of it till the end. St. Louis has Ray Lankford and Vinnie Castilla (2nd in NL HR) and David Cone keeping them up. LA counters with Ismael Valdez 1st in the NL in avg against, WHIP & ERA carrying the team on his back. San Diego (Kenny Loftin & Billy Ripkin) and Houston (Craig Biggio , Brady Anderson ) both have stars helping them out but alas for SD while Hoffman leads the league in saves he is 2nd in Blown saves while Antonio Osuna has been even worse saving seven while blowing six most in the majors.

1972

In the 1972 league there is a lot less mystery in terms of division leaders but because of the three wild card spots in each league it’s still interesting.

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
New York9949.669—N/AClinched
California 7672.51423+ 1 1/2E/7 to clinch
Cleveland6880.459327 1/2E/9
Kansas City5986.40738 1/215E/3
Baltimore5989.3994016 1/2E
AL ALPHA

The only question left for the Yankees is will they get home field advantage over the Giants if they get to the World Series. Their return to the Polo Grounds with their short left and right field has given Bobby Murcer, Reggie Smith and rookie John Maybury a grand slugging boost while Terry Forster has been light out leading the majors in saves. California led by Tommy John (1st in ERA) had the 1st wild card for a while but a 2-8 skid has hurt along with Tom Bradley (2nd in Losses). They currently have the 2nd wild card but is close enough to get the 1st and the bye or drop to 3rd. With 16 to go they still need 6 more wins to secure that playoff birth so they need Manny Mota and Jose Cardenal to heat up. Cleveland seemed totally out of it but the aforementioned crash of California and Minnesota and a 6-4 run has kept them alive. Kansas City’s Bert Blyleven led the majors in innings and the AL in strikeouts and vet Frank Robinson put up a good fight in a losing cause while Baltimore had three players (Don Baylor, Amos Otis and Rick Auerbach) in the top 10 of stolen bases

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
Milwaukee9454.635—N/AClinched
Boston7870.52716+ 3 1/2E/5 to clinch
Minnesota7471.51018 1/2—-E/9 to clinch
Oakland6682.4462810 1/2E/7
Washington6385.4263119 1/2E/4
AL Beta

Milwaukee returns to the playoffs thanks to a bounce back season from Pete Rose, and exceptional season from Ron Fairly and spectacular pitching from Ken Holtzman and last year’s Cy Young winner Don Wilson with Ken Sanders returning to save 20. Boston’s 8-2 run propelled them from the 3rd wildcard to the first led by Carl Yastrzemski whose return to Fenway has him leading the AL in batting (.330) and tied with Pete Rose for the MLB lead in OBP while rookie Carlton Fisk is doubling up a storm. Minnesota has been crashing and burning but still has Nate Colbert and his 33 HR keeping them going. Their 3 game series vs Cleveland will be critical. Oakland’s surprise sweep of Milwaukee has kept them technically alive with some help from Jim Brewer and Roy White while Washington hopes have maybe one more week left unless Mike Epstein and workhorse Jim Kaat and Richie Scheinblum (91 runs 182 hits) can pull off a miracle

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
New York 8863.583—N/ATo clinch 12/ 3
Atlanta8563.5741 1/2+ 4To Clinch 15/3
Cincinnati 8167.5475 1/2—-9/10 to clinch
Oakland6682.4462810 1/2E/7
Philadelphia6784.4442115 1/2E/E
NL Alpha

The surging New York Daytraders (Mets) have gone 25-7 in their last 32 games (.781) to roar into 1st place with starting Pitchers Phil Niekro (21 wins), Tom Seaver (20 wins) and Steve Carlton (22 wins) and the group(1, 2 & 3 in NL inning pitched add to that big years from Willie Stargell, Leron Lee, Dick Allen and Willie Mays who is constantly walked to get on base for them they’re on their way to a return to the playoffs but despite a change in managers Atlanta who is even in the loss column led by likely MVP Billy Williams along with Catfish Hunter (23 wins 2nd in MLB) and Fergie Jenkins aren’t giving up that division lead that they’ve held most of the year without a fight. Meanwhile the big Red Machine of Cincinnati with Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Bobby Tolan are only 5 1/2 out of first while 5 up for the last wild card. The St. Louis Cardinals led by Bob Gibson (21 Wins 1st in MLB in HR/9) and Matty Alou (.330 avg) and closer Darold Knowles (23 saves) have no intention of going quietly. Philly might be out of this this year, but with Joe Torrie being joined by rookies Greg Luzinski and a young 3rd baseman named Schmidt are sure to be a threat in 73

TeamWinsLosses PCTGBWCGBElim #
San Francisco9850.662—N/A1 to Clinch
Pittsburgh8464.56814+ 31/ to clinch 7
Montreal6781.4533114E/1
Chicago5692.3784225E
Los Angeles42106.2845639E
NL Beta

The 1970 World Champion Giants are one win away from clinching the NL Beta with 24 game winner Jim Palme 2nd in the NL in ERA 1.98 leading the way and Dock Ellis 2.01 ERA right behind him Meanwhile Bobby Bonds (90 runs 102 RBI 30 SB) is seeing a ton of pitchers as rookie Darryl Evans (123 BB 1st in MLB) and Veteran Harmon Killebrew (90 BB) keep the fear of God in pitchers along with a powerful rookie named Dave Kingman. Gaylord Perry of the Pirates leads the Majors in ERA and has 22 wins to go with it while bullpen ace Mike Marshall has chalked up 23 saves along with a still dangerous Hank Aaron (29 HR 98 walks ) all are conspiring to keep the 2nd wild card spot in the Bucks hands and are certainly in range of that #1 wild card spot. The young Montreal Team are a game from elimination but pitcher Baylor Moore who leads the majors in K/9 (11.72) and Lou Brock (52 sb 1st in majors & .326 avg) and closer Tug McGraw (31 saves) made it a fight. The Cubs can look back at Steve Brawn .333 avg 3rd in NL and Pitcher Mike Paul while last years Series winner the LA Dodgers combo of Don Sutton (3rd in WHIP) and Nolan Ryan (1st in Majors in avg against .165 & 2nd in K/9 11.19 are unlikely to stay down for long.

If you are interested in joining either league we currently have one opening in 1997 and people joining the waiting list for 1972 are welcome. If we get 4 people on the list we’ll expand.

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