April 5, 1984 - NL Pitching Studs

I've worried since starting the season that I'm not utilizing the bullpens enough. In Statis Pro, each pitcher has a "starter rating", or SR for short. This determines how long they can pitch in an average game. Each time the opposition scores a run, gets a hit, takes a walk, etc., the SR is reduced. Once you hit zero on the SR, all action is based on the hitting card. Essentially, the pitcher is done for the day. These last three games were dominated by the starting pitchers, and as I've tried to remind myself, right now it's still guys in the front of the rotation. I'm sure once the fourth and fifth starters take the mound, the bullpen action will warm up.

Game #25 - St. Louis Cardinals, 1 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 5
A Mike Marshall RBI single and a subsequent Candy Maldonado home run gave the boys in blue an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. That would prove to be all Bob Welch needed. He went the distance only giving up a single run. That run came in the top of the eight when, in true 1980's Cardinals fashion, Willie McGee got a single, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a ground out to second. After playing a couple games with all the teams, its painfully apparent the Cardinals have one of the worst offenses. Pedro Guerrero added a solo homer too.

Winning Pitcher - Bob Welch
Losing Pitcher - Dave LaPoint
Player of the Game - Welch, CG, 1R, 6K's, 0BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Game #26 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 @ San Diego Padres, 2
Ed Whitson was pitching in and out of jams until Jason Thompson tagged him for two runs on a single in the top of the sixth, making it 3-0 Pirates. The Padres offense could do nothing against John Tudor until the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, pinch hitter Bobby Brown (not the ex-husband of the late Whitney Houston) hit a single, bringing up slugger Kevin McReynolds. He promptly crushed a two run home run, and suddenly the Padres were only down by one. I made the call to the bullpen, and Cecilio Guante retired pinch hitter Graig Nettles to save the game.

Winning Pitcher - John Tudor
Losing Pitcher - Ed Whitson
Save - Cecilio Guante
Player of the Game - Tudor, 8 2/3IP, 2R's, 4K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

Game #27 - Chicago Cubs, 11 @ San Francisco Giants, 0
Oh boy, the Giants are 0-2 on the season and haven't even scored a run yet. Scott Sanderson of the Cubs pitched an absolute gem. His SR rating is 15, and only got knocked six reductions (five hits and a walk). Two of those hits came in the bottom of the ninth, but he managed to strike out Bob Brenly to end the game and preserve the shutout. Jody Davis had five RBI's, four coming on a grand slam. Keith Moreland homered and had 3 RBI's himself.

Winning Pitcher - Scott Sanderson
Losing Pitcher - Bill Laskey
Player of the Game - Sanderson (with apologies to Jody Davis)
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg

That ends April 5th - all the standings and the stats on the right of the page have been updated. We're roughly 1.23% done with the season.