PITCHING

Ron Reed (19-11, 3.17 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .276/.313/.339) was phenomenal, allowing only one home run in 258 innings. He struck out 156, second on the team, and walked only 52 (lowest in the rotation).

Jon Matlack (18-12, 3.67, 1.29, .258/.310/.364) was nearly as effective, led the team with 178 strikeouts in 233 innings and allowed only one hit per inning (exactly!)

Bill Lee (17-16, 4.72, 1.54, .304/.351/.403) was ultimately a "winning" pitcher but was so ineffective that the team made a trade near the deadline to acquire Bruce Kison. Lee struck out only 90 batters and allowed 315 hits.

Fred Norman (15-11, 3.93, 1.32, .238/.311/.351) had some tough luck but also walked more batters (84) than any other starter and allowed 17 homers in 208 innings, worst ratio in the rotation. He allowed fewer hits (191) than innings pitched.

Bruce Kison (4-2, 3.93, 1.39, .252/.319/.311) allowed only one homer in 50.1 innings but was not the playoff answer the team had hoped for. Sticking him in the rotation did probably help the team win the division, as Lee's starts were minimized.

Larry Demery (11-2, 2/2 save opps, 3.35, 1.23, .220/.299/.313) was amazing out of the pen, vulturing a number of wins and saving the rest of the pen wear and tear with 113 innings pitched.

Rich Gossage (4-0, 45/53, 1.62, 1.21, .193/.296/.225) emerged as a premier closer and had a number of two inning saves (78 innings in 55 appearances). Gossage walked a tad too many (39) but allowed only 55 hits, only one homer.

Dave Laroche (3-1, 3/6, 2.37, 1.41, .209/.324/.276) was another Rider pitcher who walked too many batters but allowed few hits and even fewer for extra bases. Laroche appeared in 76 games, three more than Demery. He walked 57 but struck out 104 in 91 innings.

Darold Knowles (6-2, 2/2, 3.12, 1.47, .278/.330/.341) had another effective season while Skip Lockwood (4-3. 3.79. 1.32, .221/.307/.327) struck out 78 in only 57 innings. Elias Sosa (1-0, 4.12, 1.32, .256/.310/.449) pitched only 19 innings and allowed an alarming number of extra base hits.

Overall the staff allowed only 65 homers while the offense provided 103.

The Kison gambit didn't quite work as planned, as the team bowed in the first round of the playoffs once again, but Kison is clearly better than any player that the team could have drafted deep in the second round (having traded that pick along with Bill Robinson to get Kison). Robinson will be missed, but the team drafted a potential replacement with the 20th pick in the first round of the 1976 draft, Jerry Mumphrey, a switch-hitting outfielder. Mumphrey is a very different player from Robinson, possessing good speed but less pop.



With no second round selection, the Riders wait until the third round. Though this was thought to be a relatively deep draft, there's not much talent available by pick #20 of round 3. Milwaukee selects a young "catcher" who may be better suited to outfield or 1B duty - Wayne Nordhagen. He should at least be able to spell Thurman Munson on occasion and he seems to have a decent bat.

Major trade news!

Milwaukee has traded 2B Manny Trillo to the New York Brakers of the NL for OF/DH Hal McRae and IF Bob Randall. Trillo was thought to be an important part of the Riders' infield of the future but the opportunity to add an impact bat in the outfield was too tempting for Rider management. McRae is a legitimate big-league hitter and will help make up for the loss of Bill Robinson in last season's trade for Bruce Kison.

1976 Preview:

Tommy John returns to the Riders after missing all of the 1975 season recovering from a serious arm injury. An experimental surgery has been performed on John, in which an elbow ligament was replaced with a tendon from his right (non-pitching) forearm. The jury is out on whether the arm will hold up, but John looked good this spring and the team will put him right back in the starting rotation.

Jon Matlack, Bruce Kison, and Fred Norman also return to the rotation, but in a surprising move the Riders have announced that they will give dominant closer Rich Gossage a spot in the rotation as well. Apparently they're intrigued by the idea of a pitcher with Gossage's stuff throwing heat for six or seven innings at a time. This move was prompted in part by Bill Lee's injury troubles this spring which made it unlikely that Lee could be trusted to hold down a spot.

Luckily the bullpen is still well-stocked in Gossage's absence, with Ron Reed, Dave LaRoche, and Skip Lockwood ready to handle the back end of games. Reed volunteered for bullpen duty, noting that pitching fewer innings might help him keep his steam up late in the season.

On offense, there is still a notable lack of power. Thurman Munson, Larry Hisle, and Richie Hebner all have 20-home run power but probably not 30-home run power. The addition of Hal McRae gives the club two legitimate .300 hitters, however (along with Bill Madlock). Thurman Munson and Larry Biittner have also shown the ability to hit for high averages... they'll need to in order to make this offense go. One thing the Riders can do is run... the addition of Jerry Mumphrey and McRae means they can terrorize opposing pitchers on the basepaths with speed at nearly every position.

Aneheim proved to be a contender last season, so this could be another tight divisional race. Milwaukee will need to maintain their usual pitching excellence and hope the offense is efficient in order to compete.

1976 begins!

Game 1: Milwaukee starts the season down I-94 in Chicago, facing nemesis Tom Seaver. Jon Matlack is not up to the task, allowing 13 hits, and the White Sox delight their home crowd with a 10-3 win on Opening Day.

Game 2: Rich Gossage throws 7.2 innings of 1-hit ball in his first start and Frank Taveras has three hits to spark the offense as the Riders get their first win, 6-3 over the White Sox. New closer Dave Laroche allows a run but gets the save.

Game 3: Tommy John is brilliant in his return to the field, pitching eight shutout innings. Some defensive miscues make things interesting in the ninth, but the Riders hold on for a 3-2 victory. Hal McRae's pinch hit homer proves to be the deciding run.

Milwaukee's home opener will feature Detroit in opposition. Bruce Kison will take the mound for the Riders.

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Game 4: Ron Reed's first relief appearance is a failure; taking over from Bruce Kison in a 2-2 game, Reed allows two runs in his one inning of work. Milwaukee can't get those runs back and drop the home opener 4-3.

Game 5: Milwaukee has a breakout game at the plate, collecting 16 hits and four walks on the way to a 12-5 win. Bill Madlock and Richie Hebner each hits their first home run of the season.

Game 6: Milwaukee gets 10 hits, nearly matching Detroit's 11, but strands 13 runners, including two innings in which they leave the bases loaded. Jon Matlack makes one bad pitch to Hector Cruz but it turns into a three-run homer and the Riders drop the series finale 5-2.

Milwaukee stays at home to host Washington.

Another big trade announcement for the Riders! Pitcher Fred Norman is sent to Montreal in exchange for IF Len Randle. The loss of Norman will be felt but Randle adds more speed to an already hard-running team and can play nearly any position.

Game 7: Rich Gossage barely outpitches Steve Rogers and Dave Laroche throws a scoreless ninth for his third save as the Riders defeat the Commandos 3-2.

Game 8: Tommy John is not as sharp in his second start, and the Rider offense is pathetic; Washington evens the series with a 4-2 win behind Tom Underwood.

Game 9: Milwaukee rallies for a ninth inning run to tie the score at four, but Skip Lockwood is abominable in the 10th. Washington scores four times and takes the series with an 8-4 decision in the finale.

Milwaukee heads to Baltimore to face the Brown Brewers.

Game 10: Larry Biittner keys a four-run second inning with a two-run double, and Frank Taveras steals second in the ninth and scores the winner on Hal McRae's single as the Riders survive a tough game with Baltimore, 5-4.

Game 11: Thurman Munson hits his first home run and rookie prospect Joshua Riffle makes his debut with two RBI as the Rider beat Baltimore 9-2. Jon Matlack gets his first win of the season after dropping his first two decisions.

Game 12: Bill Madlock hits a two-run homer in the first and an RBI single in the second; Rich Gossage has some control issues but would have escaped with a good outing had Johsua Riffle not committed a key error, which leads to three unearned runs. In the end, the Rider bullpen does its job effectively and Milwaukee holds on for a 6-5 win.

The first round of divisonal play starts with a trip to Kansas City, winners of their first four games but now on an eight-game skid.

Game 13: Trailing 4-2 entering the ninth, Milwaukee starts the inning with five consecutive hits, including a pinch hit double by Mike Ivie, and rallies to win 7-4. Tommy John allows 11 hits but only two earned runs in seven innings; Dave Laroche gets his sixth save.

Game 14: Bob Randall and Frank Taveras combine for five hits and five RBI as the Riders give Bruce Kison his first win of the season, 9-2 over KC. Kison pitches seven innings and hits a two-run double.

Game 15: KC's bullpen is already in bad shape and they pay the price in this one, a blowout almost from the onset. Milwaukee collects 19 hits and draws 16 walks en route to a 23-6 win. Larry Hisle homers and drives in six; he and three other players score four each. Joshua Riffle scores and drives in four; he and Jim Wohlford draw three walks each.

Game 16: Milwaukee reaches double digits again, turning a close game into a laugher with a five-run ninth. Rich Gossage improves to 4-0 and Dave Laroche gets his seventh save by pitching to one batter in the eighth when it was still a two-run game. Riders win, 10-3, completing a sweep of the Blue Sox.

The Riders head back to Milwaukee to host Anaheim.

Game 17: Two errors by Lenny Randle lead to eight unearned runs in the seventh inning; Anaheim rallies for a 10-5 win in the series opener.

Game 18: Bruce Kison pitches seven 2-hit innings and Frank Taveras hits his first home run as the Riders shut out the Angels 5-0. Taveras and Bob Randall combine for four RBI.

Game 19: Jon Matlack pitches a complete game 4-hitter and Richie Hebner doubles his season RBI total with a four-RBI game as the Riders take a 2-1 lead in the series with an 11-2 victory. Frank Taveras steals four bases, including 2nd, 3rd and home after a sixth inning single.

Game 20: Three Angel errors lead to four unearned runs for the Riders; Rich Gossage and the bullpen make them stick and Milwaukee takes the series with a 4-2 decision in the finale.

Still clinging to a slim one-game lead over Oakland in the division, Milwaukee will face some NL competition next in the first interleague series of the season: Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Game 21: The Goats do not live up to their name at Wrigley, scoring four times in the seventh off Darold Knowles to break open a close game. Chicago holds on for a 9-4 win. Tommy John pitches well but allows three unearned runs due to errors by Joshua Riffle and Jim Wohlford.

Game 22: Milwaukee drops a second straight game to the Goats, who again take advantage of fielding miscues to score three unearned runs. Chicago has a big five-run fifth inning and eventually wins it in 10, 8-6, on Dave Winfield's home run off Bill Lee. Joshua Riffle continues to impress at the plate with two hits and two RBI, but now has four errors.

Game 23: Jon Matlack outpitches Doug Rau and Bill Madlock drives in two runs as the Riders beat Pittsburgh in Milwaukee, 4-3. Dave Laroche pitches the ninth and gets his ninth save.

Game 24: Rich Gossage suffers his first loss of the year, surrendering two home runs and knocked out of the game in the fourth inning, as the Flying Dutchmen even the score with Milwaukee, winning at Forbes Field 11-3.

Milwaukee heads west to finish the first round of divisional play with a series in Oakland. The Zoo is tied for the division lead at 15-9.

Game 25: Milwaukee has always matched up poorly against Oakland, and it looks like this season is more of the same. Oakland scores three in the first off Tommy John and adds SIX more in the fourth (with not an extra base hit to be found) as they romp 9-2 over the Riders.

Game 26: Milwaukee bounces back behind Bruce Kison, who tosses seven scoreless innings, and evens the series with an 8-0 victory. Thurman Munson and Hal McRae drive in three runs each.

Game 27: Richie Hebner and Larry Biittner drive in two runs each and Jon Matlack has one of his best starts of the season, striking out eight, as the Riders take a one-game lead over the Zoo with an 8-2 win.

Game 28: Jerry Mumphrey and Frank Taveras have three hits each, and the Riders steal seven bases as they take the finale 8-5. Rich Gossage is beat up a little (five runs in five innings) but still gets the win, improving his record to 6-1.

Milwaukee takes over the league lead in stolen bases with 50; interleague sets with Cincinnati and Georgia Force are next.