SHL Opening Day: Ryan Digs Deep, “Big Klu” Goes Massive

The Seamheads Historical League got off to a rousing start, and with four games already in the books, there’s plenty of buzz around the virtual ballparks.

Two teams jumped out to 4-0 starts, the Phillies and the surprising D-Rox (a combination of the Rockies and Diamondbacks).  The Phils rode the bats of Chase Utley (.625) and Chuck Klein (.471, 1 HR, 5 RBIs) and the arms of Cole Hamels, Pete Alexander, Steve Carlton, and Robin Roberts, who combined to post a 1.85 ERA in their four starts, to a sweep over the Giants and a win over the Angels.  The Expansion Three division-leading D-Rox rode the back of Luis Gonzalez, who belted all three of the team’s home runs, and the strong right arm of Curt Schilling, who tossed a nifty four-hit shutout at the Marlins/Rays while fanning 13, to three wins over the Marlins/Rays and a win over the A’s.

Meanwhile Reds pitchers had their hats handed to them—they combined to post a 5.20 ERA—but Ted Kluszewski returned the favor to opposing pitchers by shelling them for four home runs and nine RBIs in 10 official at-bats. “Big Klu” especially enjoyed tormenting the Dodgers, going deep twice on April 7 against Don Newcombe and Don Sutton, but he also smashed a homer against Tigers starter Tommy Bridges the next day, and drove in three runs, to give him eight ribbies in two games.  Thanks to Kluszewski’s bombs and Sam Crawford, who hit .615 and stole four bags in four attempts, the Reds went 3-1 and stand in a first-place tie atop the National Association with the Pirates.

Pittsburgh was the beneficiary of two home runs and seven RBIs from Barry Bonds, who recorded both of his circuit clouts off Royals hurler Gil Meche on April 8.  Bonds should have saved some of those homers for another day; Babe Adams shut Kansas City down on only three hits over eight innings before leaving in favor of Roy Face, who completed the 8-0 whitewash.  Bonds got help from teammates Paul Waner (.500) and Honus Wagner (.400) and the team batted .310 with a .388 OBA in its first four games.

In the National Originals division, the Braves jumped out to a 3-1 record and sit a game behind the Phils, after taking two of three from the Cubs and the first game of a two-game set against the Red Sox.  Marcus Giles batted .455 and Fred McGriff belted two homers and drove in six runs to lead the hitters, while Greg Maddux and John Smoltz went 2-0 and combined for a 0.59 ERA to lead the pitching staff.

The American Atlantic Division looks to be the most balanced so far, as all four teams went 2-2 in their first four tilts.  The Yankees lost their first two games of the season, falling to the A’s, but rebounded to beat the A’s, then took one from the Expos.  Derek Jeter (.417) and Mickey Mantle (.400) are hitting .400 or better, five different hitters blasted a home run, and Mantle leads the team with four RBIs.  Ron Guidry was mostly fantastic in his first start, going the distance in a one-run, four-hit effort.

From the life-imitates-art department, the Red Sox’s season began 180 degrees opposite the Yankees, as Boston won their first two games over the Senators/Twins, before losing their next two.  Ted Williams (.529 and 6 RBIs), Tris Speaker (.412, 7 R, 5 XBH) and Manny Ramirez (.385, 3 HRs, 5 RBIs) led the offense, while Pedro Martinez backed up his manager’s decision to start him on Opening Day by surrendering only one earned run in eight innings against the Senators/Twins.

The Athletics didn’t have much hitting, which is surprising considering their powerful lineup, but Rube Waddell and Chief Bender made sure few runs were needed for victory.  Waddell held the Yankees to one run in his Opening Day assignment and fanned eight, including Babe Ruth and Alex Rodriguez twice each.  Then Bender followed that up by allowing only two earned runs in eight innings and whiffed eight enemy batters of his own.  Eddie Collins paced the offense with a .462 average and Mickey Cochrane led the team with a 1.163 OPS on the strength of two doubles, a triple, and four walks in 17 plate appearances.

The Senators/Twins paced the SHL with a .335 AVG, thanks to a quartet of hitters who all batted .380 or better—Harmon Killebrew (.467), Gary Gaetti (.400), Tony Oliva (.385), and Rod Carew (.381).  But the rotation was brutal, posting a 7.94 ERA, including Walter Johnson, who was shellacked by the Red Sox on Opening Day, and Johan Santana, who wasn’t much better against Boston in game two.  If not for the stellar work of Tom Hall, Joe Nathan, and Camilo Pasqual out of the bullpen (0.77 ERA in 11 2/3 IP), it would have been worse.

The White Sox of the American Midwest division had an even more impressive quartet of hitters than the Senators/Twins—Carlton Fisk batted .538, Tommie Agee .467,  Frank Thomas .429, and Luis Aparicio .417—but the rest of the lineup was putrid and the Sox batted “only” .295 as a team.  And the only home runs the team hit were the pair of longballs Frank Thomas hit against the Orioles on April 7.  But the pitching was brilliant, led by Eddie Cicotte, Ed Walsh, and Early Wynn, who combined to go 3-0 with a 0.76 ERA, and closer Hoyt Wilhelm, who saved all three wins and didn’t allow a run in any of his appearances.

The Indians also went 3-1, thanks mostly to their hitting.  Catcher Johnny Romano batted .667 with a homer and four RBIs, Nap Lajoie hit .438, Tris Speaker hit .421, Joe Jackson batted .368, and Roberto Alomar hit .364.  Five different batters homered and Jackson and Lajoie tied for top honors with five runs batted in.  The pitching, on the other hand, was mixed.  Bob Feller and Stan Coveleski went 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA; Addie Joss and Sam McDowell went 1-1 with a 5.74 ERA.

The Astros (3-1) are pacing the Expansion One division and were led by Moises Alou (.467, 5 RBIs) and Lance Berkman (.467/.529/.733) at the plate, but the big story was the pitching of Nolan Ryan, who struck out 15 Angels in his first start, en route to a 5-1 victory.  Roger Clemens was brilliant in his first start as well, while Randy Johnson has been stellar out of the pen (4 IP, 0 ER, 3 Ks).

The Brewers are off to a 3-1 start and pace the Expansion Two division, and in Milwaukee, it’s all about the pitching.  Only three hitters did anything with the bat—B.J. Surhoff hit .333, Prince Fielder .313, and Ben Oglivie has two home runs and is slugging .688—but the pitching staff was phenomenal in the team’s first four contests.  Well, the bullpen was phenomenal; the starters not so much.  C.C. Sabathia threw six innings of one-hit ball at the Cardinals, then watched his bullpen record three holds and a save with three more hitless innings.  In fact, it was only a third-inning double by Lou Brock that kept the Cards from being the victims of a no-hitter.

The rest of the rotation—Chris Bosio, Teddy Higuera, and Ben Sheets—boasts a 6.87 ERA, which doesn’t bode well for the Brew Crew, but the relievers held the opposition scoreless in 15 2/3 innings and allowed only six hits in 11 combined appearances.

Scattered Hits

Having Your Cake and Eating it Too: Despite Ryan’s brilliance against the Angels, the top pitching performance of the week was turned in by Curt Schilling, who registered a Game Score of 89 against the Marlins/Rays.  Not only does Schilling pitch for the D-Rox in the SHL, but he owns the Pirates, who are tied for first place after four games.  I wonder how Schilling the owner/GM will game plan against Schilling the hurler.

“Big Klu” Who?: Ted Kluszewski may be the hottest slugger in the first week of the season, but he owns only the second best Game Score (82) behind Dodgers first sacker Dolph Camilli.  After starting out 1-for-6 in his first three games, Camilli went 3-for-3 with a double, two homers, 4 runs, 4 RBIs, and two walks against the Senators/Rangers on April 8 for a Game Score of 91.  Camilli will be getting most of the playing time at first base for the Dodgers, facing righties while Gil Hodges plays only against southpaws.

Soft Landing: Angels third baseman Troy Glaus strained a muscle in his rib cage while sky diving during Spring Training, and Braves hurler Tim Hudson suffered an “undisclosed injury” while working on his farm, which makes me believe Glaus landed on Hudson while the latter was tending to his crop and neither is fessin’ up about the incident.

Thank God He Wasn’t Using a Chain Saw: Cardinals reliever Dennis Eckersley injured himself in his Pittsburgh hotel room while attempting to cut a brownie out of a pan  and will miss two weeks of action.  No word yet on what was in those brownies, or how many he’d consumed before going Norman Bates on those helpless chocolate snack cakes.

Don’t Drink the Water: On Opening Day, Padres first baseman Nate Colbert entered the game in the ninth inning, replacing Ryan Klesko at first base, reached first on a walk in the bottom of the 12th, then promptly injured his meniscus in his knee while sliding into third, and is expected to miss 7-8 weeks.  In that same game, starter Jake Peavy was left in to throw 10 1/3 innings (129 pitches), heavily taxing his arm in his first start of the year, and closer Trevor Hoffman was brought into a tie game in the 11th, despite the fact the Padres had Goose Gossage, Craig Lefferts, Scott Linebrink, and Rollie Fingers in middle relief and setup roles.  The Padres lost 6-4.

Fingers, Legs, and Leather: Speaking of the Padres, Rollie Fingers may be the league’s most valuable player after the first four games.  He’s made an appearance on the mound and boasts a 0.00 ERA; he pinch ran for Colbert when the slugging first baseman went down with his knee injury, and he stayed in at first base and recorded two putouts and went 0-for-1 in his only at-bat.  Before long he’ll be raking the field, selling advertising, and driving the team bus.