Milwaukee Riders Fan Club - Page 10 - SimLeague Baseball

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This is very interesting and has led me to believe that I'll be doing kind of the same thing with Oakland in the APL. They're going to suck too, but it gives you a good way to keep up with what everyone's doing.

6/23/2007 10:49 PM

kermit

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Game 159: Oakland scores three early, but the Riders bash back, hitting four solo homers in the sixth and seventh to take the lead. Trevor Harrison walks home the tie run in the ninth, but Nate Colbert's sacrifice fly brings home the winner in the bottom half.

Game 160: Milwaukee draws 11 walks to go along with 12 hits and hangs on for a 12-8 win despite some horrible relief pitching (Brandon Rometti and Fred Norman combine to retire one batter and allow six runs). Nate Colbert doubles and homers, raising his season totals to 18 doubles, 36 homers, and 116 RBI. Ted Sizemore drives home four runs.

Game 161: Nate Colbert's first inning home run gets things rolling, Jack Heidemann drives home three runs, and the bullpen survives some scary moments as the Riders win their 63rd game, 8-7, over Oakland. This ensures that the club will lose fewer than 100 games.

Game 162: Milwaukee ends the season on a high note, sweeping the Invaders with a 5-2 win. Milwaukee scores single runs in five separate innings, including two homers by Nate Colbert, who ends the season with 39 homers and 120 RBI. Danny Coombs gets his 10th win and Ted Abernathy throws two scoreless innings for his seventh save.

6/24/2007 11:35 PM

bringinsxybc

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Has this team had a winning season yet?

6/24/2007 11:57 PM

kermit

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This is only the team's second season... they haven't been winners yet. We're aiming to be competitive in the mid-'70s.

6/25/2007 6:43 AM

kermit

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6/25/2007 8:32 PM

kermit

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The 1971 draft has begun.

With the #1 pick in the draft, Milwaukee selected pitcher Jon Matlack, hoping he can become the ace that Tommy John is not.

Milwaukee addresses two big needs in the second round, trading their pick (#3 in the round) to Houston for pitcher Skip Lockwood and shortstop Gene Michael. While woefully short on outfielders for this season, we were also very short of innings and strapped for a shortstop. Lockwood can step in and start every five games while Michael can start nearly every day at short. It was tempting to take Jeff Burroughs with this pick but we should be able to pick up an outfielder later.

With two picks in the third round, we do address the outfield situation, drafting Angel Mangual, a good defensive player with a decent bat, and Larry Biittner, who was nabbed more for his -handed bat than any glove skills. Biittner can also play 1B, providing some insurance should Nate Colbert go down.

In the fourth round, the Riders make another move for pitching, adding -handed reliever Denny Riddleberger.

The fifth round added a righty reliever, Al Severinsen. I think the pitching staff has enough arms to get through the season. For our final two picks we'll probably look at acquiring a backup catcher and maybe another outfielder.

In the sixth round we add outfielder Ted Ford and in the seventh we can't find a catcher worth taking, so we sign Zoilo Versalles up to provide some backup infield help.

7/3/2007 2:32 PM

kermit

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1970 in Review:

This team never really had a shot. The pitching staff was woefully short of quality innings and they never showed any indication that they could even contend for third in the division.

OFFENSE:

Catcher: Thurman Munson was solid in his first full season (.320/.396/.441). He drew 64 walks with only 60 strikeouts and scored 74 times with 72 RBI. Not much home run power yet (38 doubles, four homers) but that may come with time. Looks like a solid consistent performer. Backup Jake Gibbs (.342/.360/.600) was spectacular, mostly as a pinch hitter (120 ABs in 112 games).

First Base: Nate Colbert (.261/.334/.491) again was the premier run-producer with 39 homers and 120 RBI. He also led the team with 102 runs scored. He struck out far too often (168) but showed enough discipline to take 65 walks, tops on the team.

Second Base: Eddie Leon (.277/.322/.384) performed admirably, leading the team in at bats and scoring 84 with 81 RBI despite a pathetic SLG. He hit 22 doubles, five triples, and 13 homers and had the team's longest hitting streak (19 games). Leon also played some shortstop but was a regular at second due to Ted Sizemore's injury problems. Sizemore was again a great hitter (.334/.412/.381) but was limited to 112 games and was used in the outfield nearly as often as he was at second.

Shortstop: Jack Heidemann (.215/.265/.280) was pretty much what we expected. He somehow drove home 52 runs and played 150 games.

Third Base: Another nice campaign for Richie Hebner (.314/.365/.450) with 10 homers and 68 RBI. He was one of two Riders to hit 30 doubles.

Outfield: Larry Hisle (.212/.296/.346) was a big disappointment with only 10 homers and 39 RBI. He struck out 119 times in 106 games. He may need more seasoning in the minors. On the other hand, Al Ferrara bounced back from a disappointing 1969 season to post .308/.398/.466 with 15 homers and 71 RBI. Ferrara was hit by 12 pitches to lead the club. Mike Lum (.253/.302/.397) hit nine homers with 49 RBI and may see more playing time in 1971. Rookie Terry Crowley (.309/.445/.364) showed a knack for getting on base while Bob Aspromonte wore out his welcome in only 53 at bats (.151 BA).

Bench: AAA third baseman Ethan Natz played some outfield and got a lot of starts against ies. He hit nine homers with 40 RBI in 61 games but his overall numbers (.218/.258/.389) don't suggest a long-term career. Terry Harmon hit .283 in less than 100 at bats, proving a capable fill-in.

7/9/2007 9:22 AM

kermit

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PITCHING

The franchise's first ever draft pick, Tommy John, was disappointing again (13-19, 1.66 WHIP, 4.84 ERA), narrowly avoiding a 20-loss season. While he kept the ball in the park (10 homers in 232.2 innings), he walked far too many (107) while striking out not enough (110).

Danny Coombs (10-15, 1.69, 5.36) had similar problems, walking 105 in 215 innings with only 90 strikeouts.

Ron Reed (12-13, 1.42, 5.47) had a much lower walk rate (.329 OBP vs. .370+ for both John and Coombs) but allowed 23 homers in 158 innings (.433 SLG vs .390 for John and .403 for Coombs).

AAA pitcher Brandon Rometti (2-16, 2.25, 8.90) was horrible, allowing opponents to hit .372.

Bill Zepp was 0-9/1.97/7.35 before being traded away.

The bullpen was problematic again, converting only 37 of 60 save opportunities. Only Dave LaRoche (3.54 ERA) was under the 4.00 mark. Darold Knowles led the team with nine saves (14 opps) and John Strohmayer had eight in 12 opportunities. Knowles, Gary Wagner, and Ted Abernathy sported ERAS between 4.10 and 4.60.

7/9/2007 9:22 AM

kermit

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1971 Season Preview:

The Riders are in the Patriot League's West Division with the following teams:

Oakland A's (rolltide3; $56.2M payroll, 23rd in league)

Hells Angels of Anaheim (peajay; $93.2M payroll, 4th in league)

Kansas City Blue Sox (formerly Sith) (cccp1014; $79.9M payroll, 11th in league)

The Riders have a $66.2M payroll for 1970, 20th in the league.

7/9/2007 9:24 AM

kermit

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The Riders don't figure to be a playoff contender this season; the pitching staff is undoubtedly better with the addition of Skip Lockwood and with Fred Norman taking a role in the starting rotation, but the offense has suffered a number of losses. Al Ferrara is out of baseball this season after a car accident during the offseason, and Larry Hisle injured his ankle during spring training. Nate Colbert, Richie Hebner, and Thurman Munson are back, but it remains to be seen how new parts like Angel Mangual, Larry Biittner, and Gene Michael will fit in.

7/19/2007 6:58 AM

kermit

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1971 Begins; Milwaukee hosts the Detroit Stars:

Game 1: The new-look offense struggles in the opener. Detroit's Wilbur Wood throws a complete-game 4-hit shutout as the Stars take a 3-0 decision. Ron Reed pitches effectively for the Riders but may become frustrated if this is the kind of support he gets this season.

Game 2: AAA prospect Gorman Ely has mixed results in his first start.. he allows nine hits and four runs in 5.1 innings, but walks only one and only two earned runs. Unfortunately, he doesn't record any strikeouts either. The Rider offense scores only four runs, all on Nate Colbert's grand slam, and the bullpen is dreadful. Milwaukee loses 11-4.

Game 3: The Riders get a win! Unfortunately, I believe it is pretty typical of what will need to happen for us to win games. Tommy John pitches seven 3-hit innings, and Mike Lum hits a bases-loaded single with one out in the bottom of the ninth to lift Milwaukee to a 2-1 win.

Our first road trip takes us to Minnesota.

7/19/2007 7:18 AM

kermit

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Game 4: Tommy John's first start of the season is a good one, but the Riders lose 3-2 when Ted Abernathy reverts to 1969 form and chokes up a 2-1 lead in the eighth. Milwaukee reaches double digits in the hit column for the first time, with 12, but struggles to move those runners around.

Game 5: Milwaukee matches their top offensive output of the season with four runs, all in the final two innings, but Denny Riddleberger and John Strohmayer conspire to allow the Mooseheads to match that total. Since Minnesota had scored prior to the eighth, they walk away with a 5-4 win after scoring three in the bottom of the ninth on Joe Lahoud's home run.

Game 6: Milwaukee is swept in Minnesota, dropping a second straight 5-4 decision as the bullpen blows another save. This time it's Darold Knowles and Denny Riddleberger doing the damage. Richie Hebner hits two home runs and drives in all four Rider runs (his first RBI of the season).

The starting rotation is now 0-1. The bullpen is 1-4. We host 3-3 Washington next.

7/20/2007 6:40 AM

kermit

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Game 7: When I said that our 2-1 win in Game 3 was probably going to be typical of our wins, I did not literally mean that we could not win games except by a 2-1 score. Yet, after the opener against Washington, we have two wins, both by that score. In this one, Skip Lockwood throws eight one-hit innings and gets just enough support to pick up a win; Eddie Leon homers and Richie Hebner hits a run-scoring single. Milwaukee gets 12 hits in all but not many of them with men on base.

Game 8: If nothing else, our pitching is much improved this season. (so far). AAA prospect Gorman Ely throws five one-hit innings (though walking five) and the bullpen tacks four scoreless frames onto that for a 2-0 win. Denny Riddleberger gets the save. Milwaukee reaches double digits again with 11 hits.

Game 9: Milwaukee finishes off an unlikely three-game sweep of the Commandos, takingthe finale 5-1, their biggest offensive output of the young season. They allow only two runs in the series. Tommy John gets the win with seven strong innings. Milwaukee collects only eight hits, all singles, but bunches them for a change.

We travel south to Chicago to face the 3-6 White Sox before the first round of divisional play begins.

7/21/2007 7:16 AM

kermit

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Game 10: Chicago's Juan Marichal is untouchable for the first five innings, but tires in the sixth, and suddenly the floodgates open. Milwaukee explodes, scoring in each of the final four innings, and takes the opener at Comiskey by a 10-2 score. Nate Colbert hits a two-run homer, Richie Hebner hits his first two doubles of the season, and Angel Mangual hits a pinch hit triple.

Game 11: Jack Heidemann is 3-3, including a double, but the rest of the lineup produces only two hits and the Riders fall, 3-0, to Tom Seaver and the White Sox.

Game 12: Milwaukee enters the first round of divisional play at .500 after beating the White Sox 5-4 in the finale. Skip Lockwood hits a three-run homer to help his own cause and improves to 2-0. Ted Abernathy earns his first save.

We head west to visit Anaheim (7-5).

7/22/2007 6:56 AM

kermit

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Game 13: Milwaukee gets another good pitching performance from Tommy John, who allows one run in six innings of work, as they take the opener in Anaheim, 3-1. AAA catcher Ronny White scores all three Rider runs and Angel Mangual has three hits.

Game 14: Gorman Ely throws five scoreless innings; Ted Ford and AAA prospect Devin Bedinghaus debut with hits in their first start, and the Riders shut out Hells Angels 4-0.

Game 15: This one is something of a slugfest, in that the teams combine for 31 hits (13 by Milwaukee). However, it more resembles a blowout, in that the Angels crush Milwaukee 13-4. Fred Norman gets lit up and little-used long reliever Bill Lee has a rough go as well. Ronny White hits his first home run but there aren't many highlights for the Riders.

Game 16: The finale is a nail-biting pitchers' duel; each team is limited to four hits as starters Ron Reed and Rudy May combine for 13 scoreless innings. Luke Walker walks Milwaukee's Thurman Munson to lead off the ninth, and Eddie Leon follows up with a run-scoring triple. Nate Colbert greets reliever Jim Shellenback with an RBI single and the Riders lead 2-0. Darold Knowles retires the Hells Angels in order in the bottom half and the Riders are tied for first in the division at 9-7.

We host Oakland (7-9) next.

7/23/2007 6:43 AM

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