Imaginary Sports

Awards- Here is the All-League Lineup, with final statistics from the season.

July 28, 1984 - It’s too late in the season to be losing games like this one.  The Chicago Cubs lost 9-6 in 10 innings to the New York Mets.

The Cubs got off to a great start, sending 8 men to the plate in both the 1st and 2nd innings, although only scoring 2 runs in each inning while leaving the bases loaded.

They led 5-2 going into the bottom of the 5th, but allowed a run in the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th, and the game ended up going into extra innings with a 6-6 tie.

Rich Bordi (L 3-3; 0.2 IP, 3 ER) almost got out of the jam, but with two outs and men on the corners, he surrendered a walk-off, three-run homer to Darryl Strawberry.

Could we have intentionally walked him?  Yes.  But the on-deck hitter was an even worse matchup for us, so it was better to just take your chances with the Straw men.

Besides, over-managing and pitching around hitters cost me a run earlier in the game as two batters who were “pitched around” with a man on 3rd led to a bases-loaded walk that scored a run.  Ugh.

The following standings are not up to date, however the Pirates were also losers, so the Cubs are still 5.5 games back.

Day 33 - There were plenty of crooked numbers going up on the scoreboards on the final day of the 1900s/10s Strat-o-Matic season.

The 1906 Chicago Cubs proved they were worthy of the pennant, pounding the 1919 Chicago White Sox 17-0.

Frank Chance had four hits with five runs scores, a pair of doubles, and three stolen bases.  Harry Steinfeldt had a pair of extra-base hits.  And Joe Tinker had four hits and four RBI.

Mordecai “Three Finger” Brown (W 5-4) lowered his ERA to 2.06 after tossing a three-hit shutout, striking out six men.  That was good enough to put him up to 2nd place in the league ERA leaders, passing up teammate Jack Taylor who finished the season with 29 1/3 innings pitched, just shy of qualifying for the league leaders.

In the final game of the season, the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates crushed the 1905 New York Giants, 15-4.  The Giants’ loss actually gave them a negative run differential (-2) for the season.  It was a strange ending for a team that started the season 10-4 but then finished just 7-9 down the stretch.  Pittsburgh, on the other hand, started 5-6 while going 13-6 to close out the year.

Bobby Byrne had three hits, four runs scored, a double, and a pair of stolen bases for the Pirates.  Tommy Leach had five hits, including a homer (his 2nd) and triple, plus 5 RBI and a stolen base.  Fred Clarke had four hits with a triple, 3 RBI, and stolen base.

And that was just the front three batters.

The only guy who didn’t hit for Pittsburgh was Honus Wagner, batting cleanup, who went 0-for-6.

Catcher George Gibson also had four hits, batting 8th in the Pirate lineup.

Pittsburgh starting pitcher Howie Camnitz (W 5-2) had a nice ending to his season, posting his 5th complete game of the season.

In the day’s opening game, Ty Cobb held off Mike Donlin by going 1-for-2 to keep the batting title.

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher George Mullin (W 3-6) went the distance for just his 3rd win despite a fine 2.33 season ERA.  It was Mullin’s 8th complete game in 9 starts, easily tops in the league.  The Cubs’ Jack Pfeister, who seemed to do everything else without equal this season, finished 2nd in the league with 6 complete games.

July 25, 1984 - The 1984 Chicago Cubs finished off a big three-game sweep of the Philadelphia Phillies with a 6-2 win.

Scott Sanderson (W 5-4) went 7 innings, allowing a pair of runs for the win.

On the offensive side, Larry Bowa (2 RBI) and Jody Davis (2 H, 3B) led the team.

It marked for the 5th straight loss of Philadelphia.  The Pirates were also losers, bringing Chicago within 5 games of 1st place in the NL East.

July 26, 1984 - Off day.

July 27, 1984 - There was nothing that could be done as it required a near perfect game to beat Dwight Gooden and the New York Mets.

Starting pitcher Rick Sutcliffe (L 9-9) did his best, matching Gooden in a scoreless affair through six innings.

But a three-run 7th inning gave New York the only runs of the game, while Gooden picked up his 2nd shutout and 4th complete game of the season.

Gooden (W 8-3) allowed just 5 hits while striking out 10.

“Doctor K” now has 182 strikeouts, 48 more than the AL’s strikeout leader, Mike Witt, and 53 more than the NL’s second place pitcher, Nolan Ryan.

July 24, 1984 - The 1984 Chicago Cubs put five runs on the board in the 9th inning, coming from behind to beat the 2nd place Philadelphia Phillies 10-8.

Steve Trout had yet another horrible start for the Cubs, finally pushing his ERA on the completely miserable side of 5.00 after allowing 7 earned runs in 6 innings of work.

Thankfully, the Cubs defense turned 4 double plays while Ryne Sandberg went 3-for-5 with a pair of triples at the plate.

Chicago trailed 8-5 heading into the 9th inning.

Keith Moreland singled to lead off the inning and Larry Bowa singled with one out to bring the tying run to the plate.

Jay Johnstone, he of the miserable fielding in center field, hit a key double down the right-field line to cut the score to 8-6.

Thad Bosley followed with a base hit that plated Bowa, and Sandberg singled to score pinch-runner Henry Cotto, tying the game.

Ron Cey then hit a ground ball down to Mike Schmidt at third base. Although it appeared that the Phils had a chance for an inning-ending double play, Schmidt decided to throw home to try and get Bosley, who was attempting to score on the grounder. But Bosley got in before the tag, pushing Chicago ahead 9-8.

Lee Smith allowed two hits in the 9th, but held Philadelphia scoreless to record his 12th save.

July 22, 1984 - I really wanted to start Bob Dernier in center field, but the big advantage that left-handed hitters had over San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Mike Krukow made me ignore Dernier’s defensive and speed advantages and instead plug Jay Johnstone in.

That won’t happen again.

Johnstone dropped a ball in center field to allow one Giant run and later couldn’t chase down a fly ball in the gap that led to three runs as the Chicago Cubs fell 5-4.

Equally heartbreaking was two golden opportunities to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th. Larry Bowa led off with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt.

Thad Bosley singled into center and with Bowa’s speed and average arms across the San Francisco outfield, I figured I’d take the chance to tie the game right there.

Giants’ catcher Bob Brenley made a great block of the plate, and Bowa was gunned down at the plate.

Had I thought better of it, I might’ve held Bowa at third and given the on deck hitter a chance to tie the game. It was Ryne Sandberg, after all, and he’s no slouch.

Bosley moved to second on the throw home. He’d end up suffering the exact same fate as Bowa, as Sandberg singled to left only to watch Bosley get thrown out at the plate to end the game.

Consecutive base hits with speedy base runners thrown out at the plate by average arms.

Ugh.

July 23, 1984 - You hate to call it a “must win” game in late July with over 60 games still remaining in the season. But after a loss like yesterday’s and the fact that we’re playing the second place team now, you kind of feel like you must beat the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Cubs came out swinging, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning.

But a dropped ball by right fielder Gary Woods led to a couple of runs and Philly tied it up 3-3 after 4 innings.

After Chicago took the lead back in the 7th, Ron Cey muffed a ground ball in the bottom of the inning and Philly had men on the corners with one out.

But starting pitcher Dennis Eckersley got out of the jam, striking out Juan Samuel and Mike Schmidt.

Chicago got two insurance runs in the top of the 9th, and Eck went the distance, tossing 140 pitches in a 6-4 win.

It would be a good series to win, so let’s make sure we win tomorrow…

The Pirates lost a double header on the 22nd and had the 23rd off, so the Cubs gain a game in the standings.

Day 32 - It wasn’t their finest hour, but the 1906 Chicago Cubs were crowned champions of the 1900s/10s Strat-o-Matic season on the penultimate day of the season.

The Cubs were losers of their game, falling 4-1 to the 1919 Chicago White Sox who were led by starting pitcher Eddie Cicotte.

Cicotte (W 4-3) went the distance, allowing one run on five hits.

But the only other team left in the pennant race, the 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates, also lost, falling 3-0 to Christy Mathewson and the 1905 New York Giants.

Mathewson (W 5-1) had a rough season, but pitched fantastically in his final two starts of the season.  He picked up his first shutout of the season as well as his fourth complete game in eight starts, allowing six hits.

New York took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning thanks to an RBI triple by Dan McGann that brought Mike Donlin home.

Donlin crossed the plate again in the 8th inning, leading off with a single, stealing second, then scoring on a Sam Mertes double.

The only bad news for the Cubs, then, came for starting pitcher Carl Lundgren.

Lundgren, who entered the game with a league-best 1.50 ERA, allowed four earned runs in seven innings of work, raising his ERA to 2.09.

With one day left in the season, the only thing left to watch now are the races for various titles.  Can Ty Cobb (.386) hold off Mike Donlin (.375) for the batting title?  Will Frank “Home Run” Baker (23), Frank Schulte (23), or Sam Crawford (22) emerge with the RBI crown?  And can Jack Coombs, Philadelphia’s starting pitcher for the final day of the season, come out with a 7th victory on the season?

July 21, 1984 - The Chicago Cubs were 3-2 winners over the San Francisco Giants despite starting pitcher Dick Ruthven giving seven free passes.

Ruthven (W 6-4) lasted 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and seven walks.

Despite the rough pitching, Ruthven was huge at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run and double.

Matching his prowess at the plate was third baseman Ron Cey, who also was 2-for-3 with a homer and double.  It was a gratifying game for Cey, who has struggled to get his batting average above .200 this season while appearing part time.

Lee Smith recovered from a rough outing yesterday to pick up his 11th save today.  Smith retired Chili Davis on a deep fly out to center with the potential tying run stranded on first base, ending the game.

Regular catcher Jody Davis sat the bench for the second straight day.  Only Keith Moreland has been available as a backup catcher, and his skills behind the plate are suspect.  Because of that, Davis has received more playing time than his body can handle.

Manager Chris Witt decided consecutive days off would be good for Davis’ aching knees but said J.D. is expected back behind the plate for tomorrow’s game.

Management has also promised a more capable backup catcher would be recalled to the team soon, freeing up Moreland to concentrate his playing time back in right field and first base.

July 20, 1984 - The Chicago Cubs found an unlikely hero as Larry Bowa hit a two-run homer to lead them to an 8-7 win at home against the San Francisco Giants.

The Giants had just taken their first lead of the game, going ahead 5-4 in the top of the 8th.

But Bowa took a pitch just over the wall in left field in the bottom of the inning, his second of the season, to put Chicago up 6-5.

Thankfully for the Cubs, they picked up two more insurance runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks in part to two of their six stolen bases on the day.

Ryne Sandberg went 3-for-5 with 4 stolen bases, giving him 33 on the year.

Lee Smith ran into some trouble in the 9th, allowing two Giants to score and moving the potential tying run to second base with one out.

The runner, Dusty Baker, moved to third on a deep fly ball to left before the Cubs turned to Warren Brusstar to face the left-handed hitting Scot Thompson.

The move paid off as Brusstar got Thompson on a ground out to Sandberg at second, ending the game for his fourth save of the season.

The Cubs actually lost a half game in the standings, however, as the Pittsburgh Pirates swept a double header against the San Diego Padres.