Da Techguy's (no longer backup) Blog

We’ve looked at the AL Alpha Division here:

We’ve looked at the AL Beta Division here

We examined the NL Alpha Division here

Now let’s go and check out the final division in our 1973 Dynasty the NL Beta division.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

LA has risen from the ashes of a last place season to the top of their division and like the Reds in the Alpha division has not been shy about big deals. Nolan Ryan dealt to the NY Giants while Tom Seaver and Denny Doyle acquired from the Daytraders. Vida Blue to the daytraders, Ted Sizemore from the Giants.

Some rookies have been dealt. Davey Lopes and Mickey Rivers to the Daytraders but others have remained to be the core with Don Sutton 16-7 2.15 ERA with 193 K’s leads the rotation while Wayne Twitchell 13-5 2.38 in his 2nd full season along with veteran Reggie Cleveland having the best season of his career and Grant Jackson has been perfect in the bullpen 12 saves in 12 chances and an ERA of only 1.25. Young J. R. Richard has not quite gotten there yet although he has 94K’s in. The team ERA of 2.53 is a full .7 runs less than every other team giving up only 63 home runs and the 307 earned runs are a full 100 less than any other MLB team.

Veteran slugger Willie McCovey meanwhile has done the job with 29 HR and Dave Roberts has put up fair numbers but the offense has not been the star of this show but they’ve managed a bit of slugging 3rd in the NL

The Dodgers have winning records against both the Braves and the Dodgers and every current playoff team except Baltimore (1-2) and Pittsburgh (3-4) with a series left against each. This bodes very well for the post season in a division that they have pretty much locked up.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh surprised everyone by easily eliminating Cincinnati last season and fought the Giants in one of the most epic playoff series in league history. This year they’re led by Hammering Hank Aaron who leads the majors with 40 Home Runs and 112 Runs Batted In while Rod Carew sets the table hitting .349 with 172 hits and 14 triples all best in the majors and OPS of .948 and 92 runs scored (4th in the league). Rookie Dave Parker looks promising, Bill Melton’s 16 HR are below is peak but up from last year’s injury prone season, George Scott keeps flashing the glove with enough hitting to go along with it

On the mound Gaylord Perry is having another great year, 12-6 with a 2.41 ERA 5th in the majors. Bill Singer 13-9 with 2.61 8th in the majors. Starters Jim Colburn 12-6 2.98 & Tom Bradley 11-6 3.45 are both having career years. And keeping the games they pitch in hand at 9-5 with 21 saves blowing only 3 is Mike Marshall.

Put simply Pittsburgh has the stars and the pitching to win any series they’re in and only Cincy is more deadly on turf.

Between LA & Cincy they are .500 and as well managed as they are will be a deadly threat to any team that faces them in the playoffs. They have the stars and the pitching to carry them all the way all they have to do is get past the two best teams in the league and I wouldn’t want to be the guy who has to bet against them.

Chicago Cubs

The Cubs are an enigma. While Starters Burt Hooten & Rick Reuschel have done yeoman’s work Jerry Koosman is still not up to his days with Oakland although in fairness he’s doing better than last season’s disaster. Fortunately John Hiller 25 saves with only 5 blown means if Chicago can get a lead to him they’ll usually keep it.

Le Grande Orange Rusty Staub has been instrumental in getting those leads, his numbers .320 17HR 63 RBI are the best he’s had. Young Jeff Burroughs 20 home runs are making Washington regret not keeping him and Steve Garvey is also putting up the best numbers of his career. With a supporting cast hitting .259 as a team (2nd in NL 3rd in majors) they’re getting on base a lot but not enough. Their -44 run differential does not impress.

Nevertheless they have a commanding lead for the final wild card spot but are the same distance away from Atlanta for the 2nd. So a playoff spot is nearly assured, what remains to be seen is if they can do better than just a playoff spot. They’ll have to punch up to win a wild card series but with the potential competition they’ll have to get by (LA, Pittsburgh & Cincinnati) they’ll really have to go above their weight grade to even think about going farther.

New York Giants

The only thing more surprising than the the franchise swap between the A’s and Giants was the decision to return to NYC and share the Polo Grounds with the Yankees.

It’s very clear the Giants are building for next year and their acquisition of fireballer Nolan Ryan is a real sign of it. His 4-2 record and 1.67 ERA since joining the team and his .185 avg against leading the Majors means the NY ace is capable of stealing a game from any team they face by pitching alone.

But he’s not alone Reggie Jackson’s 39 HR and 98 RBI and .305 avg is just behind Aaron for the lead and Craig Nettles, now playing for his 3rd NYC team keeps improving. but this is a team building for the future. Their team ERA of 4.69 is rock bottom despite

1. the top rated Defense in the Majors
2. Bill Freehan who, while not hitting remains one of the best game callers in baseball
3. The addition of Ryan

Unless the young bats develop and the pitching improves It will be a while before we see this team back in contention for a pennant.

Montreal Expos

On paper Montreal should be a lot better team that it is. Rookie Starter Steve Rogers 10-6 2.74 ERA WHIP 1.02 is top 10 in multiple categories. They boast of Luis Tiant with a 2.81 ERA despite a 10-12 record and Lou Brock who has stolen 39 bases while hitting .315 and Dave Nelson stealing 29 of his own while only being caught 4 times.

Alas closer Tug McGraw has an ERA over 5. Rookie Ron Cey while showing power (14 HR) has not reached anywhere near his potential and the rest of the batting crowd while hitting a respectable .251 and driving in runs above the league avg just aren’t getting it done. The .980 fielding percentage tied for 3rd worst in the Majors might have something to do with it.

They’re good enough to make a team pay that takes them lightly but they’re just as likely to let a game get away. By the numbers they should be doing better perhaps even contending for a wild card spot, but the breaks just haven’t been there.

Write-up of the AL Alpha here:

Now let’s look at the NL Alpha Division

Cincinnati Reds (Cin City):

Last season the Reds despite a powerful team squeaked into the final wild card spot only to be swept by Pittsburgh. This season they have built a juggernaught that is steamrolling everything in sight and anything they didn’t have they traded for. This Reds team that has been so active in the trade market that they should be called the day traders. Cincy leads the NL in slugging and despite playing most games without a DL has a slugging avg 2nd to only Baltimore in the AL. The are also 3rd in the majors in ERA and that combination has given them an insurmountable lead both in their division and best record in the majors. They’re led by Willie Stargel (acquired from the Daytraders) with 24 HR for the team (31 over all) Ken Singleton (acquired from Cleveland) hitting .331 for them (.314 over all) Bill Sudakis (acquired from the Yankees along with Thurman Munson for Johnny Bench) with 16 HR (24 over all). Ironically Joe Morgan one of the few stars who has been here all year is having an off year but still leads the league in walks and SB’s.

On the Mound Randy Jones (8-2 2.38) Mel Stottlemyre (acquired from Cleveland) 6-2 (14-7 overall) Sonny Siebert (7-2) Jack Billingham (acquired from Montreal) 12-8 (13-12 overall) and Don Gullet (10-7) have all bee adequate but it’s the bullpen that has shined with the ever young Don McMahon (acquired from St Louis) at 4-0 1 save 0.96 ERA, Dick Barney 10-0 1.76 ERA and Pedro Borbon 11-7 2.33 ERA with 16 saves (but 7 blown ones) that have really done the job. Add to that a .985 fielding percentage (3rd in NL) and you have a team that’s almost impossible to beat.

The one danger to the team is a short series and a hot pitcher or a spate of injuries. The question is who will they bench to save for the playoffs? The irony almost nobody on the team is among the league leaders because so many have come from elsewhere and don’t quality. Only Stargell who was traded early competes 2nd in doubles and 3rd in HR & RBI.

Atlanta Braves (Bravos) Atlanta won the beta last year but like the reds were stunned last year by the Daytraders (Mets) who would go on the win the Pennant. This year Atlanta is defying the odds of a division winner and have built a strong team with Caesar Cedeno making a strong case for MVP being in the top 10 in almost every offensive category and Dusty Baker who has 9 triples to go along with 14 HR and 22 doubles.

One the mound Ferguson Jenkins has already matched his 17 wins from last season. Tom Hilgendorf has gone 10-3 out of the pen while Rollie Fingers has managed 13 saves with only two blown ones.

The big danger for Atlanta has been fielding their 106 errors and .976 fielding percentage is the worst in the majors. Don Money (acquired from Montreal) has hit .271 while making 13 errors at short which isn’t bad. The question is can Jenkins, Catfish Hunter (11-7) and the pen and Jenkins overcome those extra gift outs?

St. Louis Cardinals

St. Louis has some serious strengths Matty Alou is hitting .290, Lee May has slugged 25 HR and managed 7 triples Bob Gibson has 164 k’s and 2.50 ERA along with Ken Brett 3.16 ERA can beat any team but on the down side Jim Bibby despite a respectable 3.64 ERA is only 3-10 while Tom Hall out of the bullpen is having the worst season of his career with an ERA a full 2 runs over his lifetime stats (5.10 vs 3.16) and alas May’s 25 HR is more than the rest of the team combined (17).

Despite this the Cardinals have the 2nd best ERA in the majors (3.26) and WHIP (1.22) however their save percentage is barely over 50% 18 saves 17 blown saves and are near the bottom of the majors in on base percentage (.304). Still they’ve also caught 20 of 25 people trying to steal so you never know which Cardinals team will be there.

Put simply the well managed Cards are close enough to make a run for that final wild card spot but will their front office decide that they’d rather sell and retool or make a run? We’ll find out.

New York Mets (Daytraders)

Last year’s pennant winners started strong but began to fade and have begun to trade assets. Willie Stargell has been dealt to Cincinnati. Tom Seaver to LA with rookie Davey Lopes coming back along with Vida Blue currently leading the NL in ERA (who LA got from the Giants) while retaining Phil Niekro and Jim Perry who they hope will return to his winning ways from his days in Cleveland.

The biggest disappointment has been Lefty Steve Carlton who ERA has only gone up slightly from last season (3.30 vs 3.14) but has put up a 5-12 record. Ron Bloomberg has respectable numbers (.291 12 HR 34 RBI). but their .238 avg is 2nd to last in the NL. Furthermore only Atlanta is doing worse in the field (.979) and their On Base percentage is less than .300 (.299)

In short the Daytraders are rebuilding and it’s only a question of what assets they will trade and which they will keep. With the trade deadline coming we will soon find out.

Philadelphia Phillies:

Philly has one of the most feared lineups in the league. Bill Robinson has 28 HR and 98 RBI’s Rookie Mike Schmidt despite a .176 avg has hit 18 HR and 2nd year man Greg Luzinski has 14 HR with a much better batting avg .248. Philly is 4th in the NL in runs scored , Home Runs, 3rd in the NL in doubles. No lead is safe against them and no hurler wants to face this lineup.

Unfortunately for them their 4.50 ERA is 2nd worst in the majors. Their 1.51 WHIP is the worst in the majors and their bullpen has blown more saves (26) then they’ve converted (22). Combine this with their Ace Fritz Peterson having one of his worst seasons (4.09 ERA) with batters hitting .375 with the bases loaded.

Put simply Philly isn’t going anywhere this season but with the worst record in the NL they’ll be able to keep all their power and Schmidt and Luzinski will only get better. If they can acquire anything resembling decent pitching they will be a force to be reckoned with for years.