You have to believe me - this was actually an extremely close game! The Pirates scored first in the bottom of the first when Jim Morrison singled home lead off man Marvell Wynne. Spot starter Ralph Citarella calmed down after that and went seven innings while striking out 10 Pirates and only surrendering three hits. Jose DeLeon of Pittsburgh was equal to the task, also going seven innings and yielding but one run.
With the game tied up in the top of the ninth, Kent Tekulve came in for the black and yellow. Statis Pro had made him "hot" for this game, meaning by a lucky turn of the "fast action card" his pitching range was stronger than normal. This didn't end up meaning a thing, as he gave up five hits, two walks, and a total of seven runs in 2/3 of an inning's work. It was some of the best luck I've ever seen for a 2-9 rated pitcher (that's nearly unhittable in Statis Pro).
Winning Pitcher - Dave Rucker
Losing Pitcher - Kent Tekulve
Player of the Game - I'm going with Citarella, who was quite dominant despite getting the no-decision.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith
Game #298 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 @ San Francisco Giants, 2
A Joel Youngblood error in the top of the third led to a run for the Dodgers. Youngblood has an "E10" rating in the field, which is the worst you can have. It's almost as if he's wearing the glove on the wrong hand. He has a decent stick, though, especially for the Giants, so he has to stay in the lineup. Bob Brenly tied things up with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, and later in that same inning Johnnie LeMaster doubled home Youngblood to give San Fran the lead.
The Dodgers took the lead for good, though, in the fifth, thanks to an outfield collision between Chili Davis and Manny Trillo. Davis will miss 11 games, but Trillo will be gone for 30 games. That means I won't play a game with Trillo for a few years, which is weird to think about. That also leaves the Giants with four of their opening day starters on the DL (Jeff Leonard and Al Oliver too). No wonder they're dead last in the NL West.
Winning Pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela
Losing Pitcher - Atlee Hammaker
Save - Tom Niedenfuer
Player of the Game - Fernadomania, 8IP, 6K's, 2R's
Happy Trails - Atlee Hammaker
This game was the last for Hammaker, an All-Star caliber pitcher who was off to a great start in 1984 before, I'm assuming, suffering an injury to shelve him for the year. Let's compare performances:
Real 1984: 6G's, 33IP, 2.18ERA, 24K's, 1.24WHIP
StatisPro 84: 6G's, 49.2IP, 1.63ERA, 30K's, 0.95WHIP
The big disparity is the innings pitched. Absolute purists could accuse me of violating Statis Pro tenants by allowing his innings totals to exceed his actual. For my own sanity in doing this, though, I'm merely going by games played and trying my best to approximate the innings. Hammaker was giving Gooden a run for his money for the best pitcher in the NL, it's sad to see him go and absolutely devastating for the Giants, who are left with a bunch of 2-5 rated starters.
What was Hammaker's rating for 1984?
ReplyDeleteThe cards I'm using had him at a 2-8.
ReplyDelete