May 27, 1984 - Calendar Milestones

I suspect that before I'm able to post again, the date of the 2017 MLB season will surpass that of my Statis Pro calendar.  Each year this happens it reminds me of how far I have to go and how quickly real time passes us by!

Game #577 - Milwaukee Brewers, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 8

Few players are having a worse season in the AL than Tim Laudner.  His offense has been abysmal.  But in this game his bat finally came alive.  He had RBI doubles in the second and fifth innings and eventually scored after both hits.  Ken Schrom scattered seven hits over six innings to earn the win.  Pete Ladd went three innings in relief to preserve the Milwaukee bullpen after Mike Caldwell could only go five.

Winning Pitcher - Ken Schrom
Losing Pitcher - Mike Caldwell
Player of the Game - Tim Laudner, 3-4, 2 2b's, 2RBI, 2R's, asst.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Kirby Puckett

Game #578 - San Francisco Giants, 4 @ Montreal Expos, 6

Errors by Joel Youngblood and starter Jeff Robinson helped the Expos plate five runs in the first two innings.   Youngblood, playing left field because of the gluttony of injuries for the Giants, is a disaster at any position thanks to his "E10" error rating.  I think that was mostly earned at third base during the real 1984, but it carries over to whichever position he plays according to Statis Pro.

San Francisco staged a game-long rally but fell short in the ninth, climbing back to within two runs before Bob James retired the top of the lineup (Chili Davis, Chris Brown, and Jeffrey Leonard) in order.

Winning Pitcher - Bill Gullickson
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Robinson
Save - Bob James
Player of the Game - James, 1 IP, SV
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

May 27, 1984 - NL East Feast

Game #575 - Cincinnati Reds, 2 @ Chicago Cubs, 4

Leon Durham stood on third base with two outs in the bottom of the second when Bob Dernier singled him home.  But the Reds moved ahead in the top of third with two runs thanks to Chicago errors by Gary Matthews and Larry Bowa.  Durham came to the rescue in the bottom half of that same inning by hitting a 2RBI single that plated Steve Trout and Thad Bosely.

Winning Pitcher - Steve Trout
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Russell
Save - Warren Brusstar
Player of the Game - Durham, 2-4, R, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez, Ryne Sandberg

Game #576 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 8 @ Houston Astros, 1

Houston actually held the lead in this one when Bill Doran reached on a Jim Morrison error and Jerry Mumphrey tripled him home in the first, but it was all Pittsburgh after that.  They scored two runs each in the third and fifth innings, and another four when Jason Thompson blasted a grand salami.

Winning Pitcher - Larry McWilliams
Losing Pitcher - Mike Scott
Player of the Game - Tony Pena, 3-5, R, 2RBI

May 27, 1984 - Orioles, Red Sox Stay Tied for Fourth

Game #573 - Kansas City Royals, 4 @ Boston Red Sox, 7

The Royals, missing six of their starters due to injuries, didn't do too bad in mustering four runs of offense, but the Red Sox had an explosive first inning.  Wade Boggs singled and was tripled home by Dewey Evans.  Evans got plated by a Mike Easler single, and two batters later Tony Armas launched a three-run homer over the Green Monster.  They added two more runs in the second and coasted on a solid Bruce Hurst start the rest of the way.

Winning Pitcher - Bruce Hurst
Losing Pitcher - Bret Saberhagen
Player of the Game - Dwight Evans, 2-5, 2 3b's, 2RBI, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Game #574 - Baltimore Orioles, 10 @ California Angels, 8 (12 innings!)

Storm Davis got roughed up early, allowing three runs in his first two innings of pitching before settling down.  They tied the game up in the fifth when Cal Ripken scored on a Ken Singleton ground out.

In the top of the seventh the O's plated two with RBI hits from Rich Dauer and John Shelby, but the Angels scored three in the bottom half of the inning to retake the lead thanks to RBI doubles from Bobby Grich, Brian Downing, and Doug DeCinces.  They almost had the win, but closer Doug Corbett allowed pinch runner Lenn Sakata to score in the top of the ninth!

Both teams had runners in scoring position in the tenth and eleventh innings, but neither team successfully advanced them home.  Then, in the top of the twelfth, Baltimore scored a whopping four runs, including a bases loaded and bases clearing double by backup third sacker Todd Cruz.  John Pacella, working his third inning of relief in the bottom of the frame, allowed two Angels to score, but struck out Fred Lynn to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - John Pacella
Losing Pitcher - Luis Sanchez
Player of the Game - Todd Cruz, 1-2, 2B, 3RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

Happy Trails...John Pacella

This marked the last game of the year for John Pacella.  How did he do compared to the real 1984?  Let's take a look...

Statis Pro 1984:  1-1, 6.11 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 17.2 IP, 9K's, 6BB's, 5HR's
The Real 1984:  0-1, 6.75 ERA, 1.67 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 8K's, 9BB's, 2HR's

As you can see, both versions were terrible.  I'm down to only two more Orioles who have yet to pitch on the season, Nate Snell and Ken Dixon.  I'm guessing the real 1984 Orioles only went with a five man pen instead of the six I've been using.  We'll see how that goes as there is still a lot of season left to play...

May 27, 1984 - Murph

Game #572 - St. Louis Cardinals, 4 @ Atlanta Braves, 8

In the top of the first Lonnie Smith walked, stole second base, went to third on an Ozzie Smith sacrifice, and then scored on a sac fly by Willie McGee.  Cardinals baseball!!  But in the bottom of the first Gerald Perry and Glenn Hubbard drew back to back walks and, two batters later, Dale Murphy went big-fly to give the Braves a 3-1 lead.

Atlanta got three more runs in the fourth thanks in part to RBI singles from Rafael Ramirez and Alex Trevino.  Rick Camp lasted six innings and scattered five walks along with two hits to get the victory for the Braves.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Camp
Losing Pitcher - Danny Cox
Player of the Game - Dale Murphy, 2-4, HR, 3RBI, SB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Week in Review: May 20 - May 26, 1984

Dan Driessen is in the top five for NL OPS

This is our first "Week in Review" since September 2016, meaning it took seven months to finish the week.  That honestly feels like a pretty good pace, one playing day a month.  At that rate I could finish two weeks in the same calendar year.

The Phenomenal Phive:

1. Houston Astros, 32-12, .727 win%  Just about everything is going the right way for the Astros.  Their starting pitching delivers, the bullpen is the best in the National League, and their platoons on offense are clicking.  I need to start playing Ray Knight more in anticipation of his trade later in the season to the Mets, so that could dampen the run scoring.
2. Toronto Blue Jays, 31-13, .705 win %  There isn't a better outfield in the league right now than the Blue Jays.  Dave Collins, Jorge Bell, and Lloyd Moseby are murdering the ball, and Jesse Barfield is coming off the DL this coming week.  That's bad news for the AL East.
3. St. Louis Cardinals, 32-14, .696 win%  The Cardinals continue to distance themselves from the rest of the NL East.  Bruce Sutter now leads the league in saves (10) and has been nearly unhittable.
4. Detroit Tigers, 28-14, .667 win%  Detroit Rock City continues to keep the pressure on Toronto.  Kirk Gibson leads the multi-pronged offensive attack as Howard Johnson has enjoyed increased playing time with Tom Brookens' injury.
5. New York Yankees, 27-16, .628 win%  The Bronx Bombers are still performing above their true talent level.  They got a nice pick-me-up when Willie Randolph came off the DL, and Dave Winfield's bat is sizzling right now.

Useless Stats:

• Brett Butler leads the AL in caught stealing with eight, twice as many as the runner in second place.  Tim Raines leads the NL with six, though he's successfully nabbed 22 bags.
• Lloyd Moseby has been plunked seven times so far this season, good for tops in the AL.  Dave Anderson of the Dodgers leads the senior circuit with four.
• Kent Hrbek has grounded into 15 double plays.  Mike Marshall leads the NL with 11.
• Ricky Horton is the only pitcher in the National League with a save and at least one game started.
• Dave Stieb and Doyle Alexander of the Blue Jays lead the American League with four complete games pitched.

May 26, 1984 - Last Game of the Week

Game #571 - Cleveland Indians, 4 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 10

Rick Sutcliffe and Luis Leal were in a race for worst pitching performance in the last game of the week.  In the bottom of the first Cliff Johnson launched a three run homer as the Blue Jays totaled four in the inning.  In the top of the second Indians catcher Jerry Willard deposited a Leal pitch over the right field wall for three RBI of his own, bringing the Indians within a run of tying it up.

In the third, though, Willie Upshaw took the game over.  With Jorge Bell and Cliff Johnson on base, he ripped a bases-clearing triple.  In the seventh he added a three-run homer off George Frazier and Toronto ended the game with one in the win column.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Leal
Losing Pitcher - Rick Sutcliffe
Player of the Game - Willie Upshaw, 2-3, BB, 3B, HR, 5RBI

May 26, 1984 - Great Eight

Game #569 - Detroit Tigers, 8 @ Seattle Mariners, 0

Glen Abbott started for Detroit, and even though he wasn't much of a pitcher in the real 1984, he held the Mariners scoreless through five innings.  That's when Willie Hernandez came on for three innings of relief brilliance.

Kirk Gibson, Darrell Evans, and Howard Johnson all homered for Detroit.

Winning Pitcher - Glen Abbott
Losing Pitcher - Jim Beattie
Player of the Game - Hernandez, 3IP, 0R, 4K's

Game #570 - Chicago White Sox, 8 @ Texas Rangers, 5

The Pale Hose had a huge inning in the first.  Harold Baines and Tom Paciorek both launched two-run homers.  They were up to an 8-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth when Hall of Famer starter Tom Seaver allowed a three-run pinch hit homer to Tracy Jones to end his bid for a complete game.

Winning Pitcher - Tom Seaver
Losing Pitcher - Mike Mason
Save - Juan Agosto
Player of the Game - Paciorek, 3-3, HR, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tom Seaver