The Gowdy 86 project now has 7 rounds in the books with round 8 left to play for the race to the playoffs. Over 175 games are in the books and the races for playoff spots offer some exciting possibilities down the stretch. A King of the Hill format is used in every round of divisional play.
Baltimore and Philadelphia are making surprising runs for the playoffs. The Orioles picked up wins over Toronto and Atlanta to give them 11 wins and the lead in the Eastern Division while the Phillies, Red Sox and Mets are right behind them with 9 wins. The Phillies entered the race in the East by reeling off 4 impressive wins. Shane Rawley limited the Orioles to 1 run over 6.2 IP for a 5-1 win over Baltimore. Bruce Ruffin threw a 4 hit complete game shutout for a 2-0 win over the Yankees. Kevin Gross, not to be outdone, added a complete game 4 hit shutout over the Red Sox while Mike Schmidt launched an early grand slam off Bobby Ojeda for a dramatic 4-3 win over the Mets. Phillies' wins over the Orioles and Mets are important given head to head records are one of the tie breakers when deciding who goes to the playoffs.
Detroit maintained its lead in the Central division despite a 1-1 record. Kansas City lefty Charlie Liebrandt stunned Tiger nation with a 5 hit complete game shutout for a 5-0 Royals win. The game raised some eyebrows among Gowdy 86 analysts because it indicated the Tigers may have trouble against lefties. Nevertheless, the Tigers have a commanding 6 game lead in the Central with only 8 games left to play.
The dogfight continues over in the West. The Giants and Padres both have 9 wins and also are tied at 1-1 in head to head matchups. The Giants hold a 18-13 run differential in these contests for a razor thin advantage. The Angels are 1 game out while the Astros and Twins are only 2 out with 8 division games left to play.
Jack Morris remains the leading candidate for the Cy Young award. The Tiger ace leads the project in wins, innings, strikeouts and complete games. Other pitching leaders include Vern Ruhle ( ERA and WHIP) and Ed Wojna ( Games and Saves).
Tigers continue to dot the leader board on the hitting ledger. Kyle Gibson leads the league in PA and hits while Lance Parrish leads in HRs and RBIs. Other leaders include Fred Lynn (Runs) and Vince Coleman (SBs). There are two names who are surprising leaders on the hitting board. Ron Oester, the Reds 2B, leads the project with a 429 AVG and a 500 OBP while Cory Snyder leads in SLG and OPS.
Fred Lynn is out with an injury for 8 games and cannot play again unless the Orioles make the playoffs. John Shelby is expected to replace Lynn but Shelby is no Fred Lynn.
Finally, a tip of the cap to the Inside Pitch board game and Digital Diamond board game companion. IP gives me realistic results based on every players' skill set for every facet of the game and strategy has consequences on the final result of a game. Digital Diamond makes score keeping and stat tracking a breeze. All in all, the project is simply a blast.
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