Week Seventeen of the 1967 BBW Replay is in
the books, and if there is a noticeable trend, it is that we may actually have
a pair of pennant races after all. The replay has completed the first week of
August and all the teams can clearly see the end of the season approaching, so
while teams make roster adjustments with an eye toward next season, the
standings in both leagues are quite bunched up still and if any team can get on
a late-season hot streak they can really jump up in the standings. All teams
have reached or passed the 110-games-played mark and most teams will be at the
120-games-played mark by the end of next week.
In the AL, Boston started the week with a
semi-comfortable 7.0 games lead over Baltimore, but the Red Sox had a tough
week as they lost four-in-a-row at home to lowly Kansas City and ended the week
only 4.0 games ahead of Baltimore. The Boston losing streak eventually reached
six games before the week's end, despite Carl Yastrzemski and Tony Conigliaro
both hitting four homeruns during the week. Baltimore is still struggling to
keep four starting pitchers healthy at the same time, but they have managed to
muddle through, and having Frank Robinson back in the lineup after missing a
month due to concussion issues has been a real boon. Detroit actually lost a
game in the standings to Boston over this past week as they have been
struggling, having gone 0-4 in a series in Baltimore. Mickey Lolich is expected
to return to the mound shortly for the Tigers, Al Kaline is regaining his
batting stroke after missing a month due to a broken hand, so Tigers fans are
expecting a real rush to the top over these final few weeks.
In the NL, St. Louis ended the week with two
losses at home versus Cincinnati but still maintained a 0.5 games lead over
Atlanta. The real news in the NL is that while St. Louis and Atlanta are
scuffling, San Francisco has finally gotten hot, and the Giants ended the week
only 1.5 games out of first and 1.0 games behind Atlanta for second-place. The
Giants have always had good starting pitching, they have outstanding relief,
and recently the hitting has finally begun to manifest itself in a timely and
productive manner, and the timing of all this has allowed San Francisco to
emerge from the middle of the pack to being so close to the top.
While the teams at the top of the NL have
been struggling, the teams in the middle have benefitted as well. Los Angeles,
Chicago, and Cincinnati are all only 5.0 games out of first, and Philadelphia is
right behind them in seventh place (with a .500 record), 6.0 games out of
first. I doubt all four will get
even closer, but I suppose it could happen. More likely is that one of this
group will get hot, similar to San Francisco's recent charge, and will be able
to claw their way into the mix for the NL pennant race.
Eight weeks remaining to be played and a
pennant race in both leagues … this is turning out to be a much better replay
than I anticipated. Who is going to get hot as we move down the stretch, and
who is going to flop? There is only one way to find out - let's go play!
In Memoriam: Orlando
Cepeda
Forbes
Field 1969 Art Print by Gary Grigsby - Pixels
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