The NL No-Free Agency Assn

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Clay Kirby allowed only four singles as the Reds shut out the Pirates 8-0. Kirby struck out nine and walked three. Johnny Bench swatted a pair of two-run homers to lead a 13-hit attack. Joe Morgan had four hits and Cesar Geronimo added three. The Pirates' John Candelaria allowed 8 hits and five earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. The Pirates hope to even the series in Game Four, sending Jerry Reuss (14-4, 2.36) against the Reds' Fred Norman (10-12, 3.76).

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The Pittsburgh Pirates pounded out 16 hits, as the Bucs evened the series with the Reds 2-2 with a 10-6 victory. Willie Stargell homered twice and drove in three. Al Oliver and Dave Parker had three hits. Richie Zisk added a two-run homer. Tony Perez homered for the Reds. Game One starters Ken Brett and Gary Nolan will take the mound again in Game Five.

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The Cincinnati Reds broke open a 1-1 game in the bottom of the sixth with four runs and beat Pittsburgh 5-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Reds scored on a bases-loaded walk to George Foster, and RBI single by Merv Rettenmund, a sacrifice fly by Cesar Geronimo, and finally an RBI single by Pete Rose. Gary Nolan allowed only one run in six innings. Jack Billingham pitched the final three innings for the save.

The series shifts back to Pittsburgh for Game Six. The Reds will try to close it out with Don Gullett, opposed by the Pirates' Dock Ellis.

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The Cincinnati Reds won the title with a 4-1 victory in Game Six. Don Gullett pitched six scoreless innings. Will McEnaney and Rawly Eastwick finished up on the mound. The Reds opened the scoring in the first on Tony Perez' RBI double. They increased the lead to 3-0 in the fourth, when Joe Morgan drove in two with his own double. Richie Hebner's solo homer off McEnaney in the bottom of the seventh brought Pittsburgh to within 3-1. Johnny Bench blasted a solo shot in the eighth to make it 4-1.

Cincinnati's Gary Nolan won the Cy Young, while the Mets' Dave Kingman took MVP.

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Through the All-Star Break of 1976 and the beginning of (no) free agency:

The Phillies lead the NL East at 50-36, one game better than both Pittsburgh and the Mets.
In the West, Cincinnati has opened up a 12 game lead on the Giants. The Reds are 57-32.

Montreal's Jose Morales leads in batting at .342. LA's Bill Buckner is second at .330. Dave Kingman leads in both HR and RBI with 26/61. He is 10 homers up on the rest of the league. Pittsburgh's Richie Zisk has 60 RBI.

Cincy's Fred Norman leads in ERA with 1.41 (9-2), followed by Houston's Ken Forsch (1.68, 6-1) and Pittsbutgh's Doc Medich (1.70, 6-4). Philly's Wayne Twitchell paces the league with 11 wins (11-4, 3.03), followed by the Mets' reliever Hank Webb (10-6, 3.96), the Cardinals' Pete Falcone (10-4, 3.27) and Pittsburgh's Jerry Reuss (10-3, 2.80). The Mets' Tom Seaver leads in strikeouts with 104, followed by LA's Don Sutton with 92. The Giants' John Montefusco and Reds' Gary Nolan both have 91.

One odd fact: The first team to "keep" a free agent is the Dodgers with Andy Messersmith. It has not helped LA, as they are 35-53 and in last place in the West. Andy himself is struggling along at 3-8, with a 3.81 ERA.

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1976 regular season complete:

NL EAST_______W___L___GB__________NL WEST________W___L___GB_____________
PITT__________96__66__---___________CINN___________101__61__---____________
PHA__________95__67___1____________SF_____________84___78__17____________
NYM__________87__75___9____________HOU___________80___82__21_____________
MONT________86__76___10___________ SD_____________73___89__28____________
STL__________79__83___17___________LA_____________66___96__35_____________
CHC_________69__93___27___________ATL_____________56__106__45____________

The Expos' Jose Morales took the batting title at .328. The Mets' Ed Kranepool was second with .320. Dave Kingman took both the HR and RBI crowns with 42/109. Joe Morgan was well back with 25 HR. The Cubs' Rick Monday had 103 RBI.

Cubs' pitcher Steve Stone won the ERA title with 1.98 (7-7). Cincinnati's Fred Norman finished at an even 2.00 (14-5), while Atlanta's Dick Ruthven was at 2.09 (7-13). Montreal's Steve Rogers (18-9, 2.43) and St. Louis' Bill Greif (18-8, 2.86) tied for the lead in victories. Cincy's Gary Nolan (17-10, 2.64) and Pittsburgh's Jerry Reuss (17-5, 2.44) were close behind. The Mets' Tom Seaver finished atop the K pile with 190. Montreal's Dan Warthen was second with 180.

In the NL East, Philadelphia held a 2-game lead over Pittsburgh headed into the season's final weekend. The season wrapped up with the Phillies visiting the Pirates for a three-game series. The Pirates took the first two games by 2-1 scores, the second one on Richie Zisk's two-run walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth off Tug McGraw. That blast brought the teams even with one game remaining. Pittsburgh's Doc Medich twirled a 4-hit shutout to clinch the division for the Pirates with a 5-0 win.

In Game One, Pittsburgh's John Candelaria (12-10, 3.37) is opposed by Cincinnati's Gary Nolan (17-10, 2.64).

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Game One goes to the Reds in dramatic fashion, 4-3. Pete Rose singled in the winning run with one out in the bottom of the ninth. Pittsburgh had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth on Al Oliver's RBI double. Kent Tekulve could not hold the lead, as the Reds loaded the bases with no outs. Joe Morgan's sac-fly tied the score, before Rose won it.

It will be Jerry reuss (17-5, 2.44) facing off against Pat Zachry (11-9, 3.68) in Game Two.

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The Reds are up two games to none following a 7-4 victory in Game Two. George Foster's grand slam capped a 5-run second inning. Pittsburgh tallied four runs in the fifth to cut the lead to 5-4. The Reds added the final two runs in the sixth on Joe Morgan's RBI single and a Larry Demery wild pitch.

The teams travel to Pittsburgh for Game Three. Don Gullett (11-7, 2.55) takes the mound for Cincinnati against the Pirates' Bruce Kison (13-8, 3.20).

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Bob Robertson smacked a two-run pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the 8th to give the Pirates a come-from-behind 5-4 victory in Game Three. The Reds led 4-0 until Dave Parker's three-run homer in the sixth. Robertson's blast off of Will McEnaney gave Bob Moose the win in relief. Kent Tekulve picked up the save.

Cincinnati sends Fred Norman (14-5, 2.00) to the mound in Game Four. The Pirates counter with Doc Medich (14-9, 2.19).

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Bill Robinson homered twice and drove in five runs as Pittsburgh defeated Cincinnati 7-3 to even the series at two games apiece. Robinson's two-run double in the bottom of the fourth broke a 2-2 tie. He added a two-run homer in the sixth and a solo homer in the eighth.

Game One starters John Candelaria and Gary Nolan will go to the mound in Game Five.

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Richie Zisk's RBI single in the bottom of the tenth gave the Pittsburgh Pirates a 6-5 win and put the Pirates up three games to two in the series. Pittsburgh got out to a 5-0 lead with a two-run triple by Frank Taveras in the second and a bases-loaded triple by Willie Stargell in the fifth. The Reds trailed 5-2 entering the ninth, but scored three times off of Pirate closer Kent Tekulve on a pinch-hit double by Joel Youngblood, followed by RBI singles from Pete Rose and George Foster.

The teams travel back to Cincinnati, where Jerry Reuss and Pat Zachry will take the mound in Game Six.

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Cincinnati's Dave Concepcion homered and drove in three runs as the Reds forced the series to a seventh game with a 5-3 victory in Game Six. Concepcion's two-run homer in the sixth gave the Reds a 5-1. Rawly Eastwick shut down the Bucs in the 9th for the save.

Don Gullett and Bruce Kison face off in Game Seven.

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The Cincinnati Reds captured their second straight title with a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game Seven. Willie Stargell opened the scoring for the Bucs with a two-run triple in the first. Pete Rose cut the lead in half with an RBI single in the third. Pitcher Don Gullett helped his cause with a game-tying single in the fourth. Cesar Geronimo put the Reds up 4-2 with a two-run double in the seventh. The Pirates cut the lead to one with a Dave Parker RBI single in the eighth. Rawly Eastwick retired the first two Pirates in the ninth before getting into trouble. He faced Stargell with runners on second and third, before inducing Stargell to ground out and end the series.

Montreal's Steve Rogers (18-9, 2.43) captured the Cy Young Award. Cincinnati's Joe Morgan took home MVP honors. Morgan batted .302, with 25 HR and 93 RBI. He also stole 30 bases and scored 103 runs.

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Through the All-Star Break of 1977:

The Montreal Expos jumped quickly out of the gate and led the NL East into June, but have since faded. The Phillies lead with a record of 57-31, 4 1/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh. Montreal is third, 7 GB, and St. Louis sits fourth, at .500 and 13 GB.

In the West, the Dodgers have led all the way, and currently sit at 51-37, six games ahead of the Reds. All others are under .500.

The Cardinals' Ted Simmons is off to a great start, leading the league in hitting at .368, a full forty points ahead of the Dodgers' Reggie Smith. Ron Cey of the Dodgers leads with 24 HR, followed by Willie Stargell and Reggie Smith with 23 apiece. Philly's Mike Schmidt has 72 RBI, followed by Stargell's 69.

Pittsburgh's Jerry Reuss heads the ERA list with 1.91 (8-3). The Giants' John Montefusco is second at 2.34 (also 8-3). Pete Falcone of St. Louis leads in wins at 11-7 (3.80), followed by Philly's Larry Christenson at 10-3 (2.87). Several others have 9 wins. Montefusco leads in Ks with 110. The Braves' Phil Niekro has 104.

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1977 regular season compete, and it provided one of the best pennant races I've enjoyed. The Phillies led most of the way and took the East. On September 19, with two weeks remaining in the season, there was a three-way tie in the West. LA, Houston, and Cincinnati were all 78-71. The Giants were two back. Going into the final weekend, Houston had assumed the lead, with LA two back, SF three back, and the Reds eliminated and 5 back. Houston hosted SF and the Dodgers traveled to Cincy. Both Houston and LA won their Friday night games, with the Houston win eliminating the Giants. On Saturday, the Giants bested Houston 6-4 in 10 innings, while the Dodgers squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Reds. Entering the last day, Houston held a one-game lead over LA. The Giants played spoiler in the Astrodome, topping Houston 2-1. LA, knowing they must win to tie, used a combined three-hitter from Burt Hooton, Charlie Hough, and Elias Sosa to blank the Reds 1-0. LA went 13-5 against Houston during the season and was awarded first place.

EAST
PHA 100-62
MON 94-68
PIT 86-76
STL 81-81
CHC 77-85
NYM 70-92

WEST
LA 86-76
HOU 86-76
SF 84-78
CIN 80-82
ATL 66-96
SD 62-100

Ted Simmons could not keep up his first-half pace, but still won the batting title at .335. Reggie Smith and Bill Madlock followed at .307 and .306, respectively. Reggie captured the home run crown with 41, three better than George Foster and five better than Willie Stargell. Mike Schmidt topped the league in RBI with 123. Foster had 114 and Simmons 111.

Andy Messersmith had the lowest ERA at 2.16 (9-6). Jerry Reuss had 2.23 (15-7) and Jerry Koosman ended up at 2.46 (11-13). San Diego's Randy Jones led the league in wins at 17-5 (2.85). Four pitchers had 16: Randy Lerch (16-5, 3.13), Wayne Twitchell (16-6, 3.33), Pete Falcone (16-16, 3.63), and Don Sutton (16-4, 3.28). The Giants' John Montefusco led the league in strikeouts with 184. Phil Niekro had 174 and J.R. Richard had 172.

It will be LA vs Philly in the postseason, mirroring real life.

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Game One: Messersmith (9-6, 2.16) against Christensen (15-9, 2.94).

Mike Schmidt broke a 1-1 tie when he smacked a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Greg Luzinski followed with a solo shot, increasing the Philly lead to 5-1. Reggie Smith's solo shot in the 8th accounted for the final run in the Phillies' 5-2 win over the Dodgers.

Game Two has LA's Don Sutton (16-4, 3.28) opposing Philly's Steve Carlton (14-3, 2.57).

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The LA Dodgers scored four times in the eighth inning and took Game Two 4-2. Philly went up 2-0 on a Bake McBride solo homer and a pinch-hit RBI double by Bob Boone. Steve Carlton held LA scoreless through seven innings. Reliever Dan Warthen allowed an RBI single by Dusty Baker and a two-run triple by Steve Yeager. Ron Reed came on and allowed an RBI single by Reggie Smith. Warthen allowed four runs, three earned, and took the loss.

Following an off-day, the teams travel to the west coast for Game Three. It will be Randy Lerch (16-5, 3.13) for the Phillies against the Dodgers' Rick Rhoden (12-7, 3.08).

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Wow, the weather on the west coast has never been worse. Tsunamis (travel league baseball), earthquakes (Tiger Woods EA golf game), wildfires (fishing with my son), and the like, have delayed the series. Has it really been over two weeks?

I'll try to get things back up and running in a few days, but a recent power outage in California (Statis-Pro Football for Windows) has meant additional delays. Watching the Falcons and Patriots go at it on Saturday in Fenway has re-kindled my interest in the game. Scores of 13-3 and 14-0? What's up with that?

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Dave Johnson collected three hits and drove in three runs to support pitcher Randy Lerch as the Phillies took Game Three 7-1. Lerch allowed only one unearned run in 7 2/3 innings. Dodger pitchers walked eight men, including five by losing pitcher Rick Rhoden, who allowed five earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. Dave Cash added two RBI for the Phils on a single and a bases-loaded walk.

It will be Jim Kaat (14-7, 3.11) and Burt Hooton (13-11, 2.95) taking the mound in Game Four.

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Bake McBride homered on the game's first pitch, setting the tone for a 20-hit Philly attack and a 14-1 rout of LA in Game Four. Mike Schmidt and Tim McCarver added three-run homers. Dave Cash had four hits. Every Phillie starter, including pitcher Jim Kaat, had at least one hit. Kaat helped his own cause with an RBI single, while allowing only one earned run in 7 2/3 innings. LA starter Burt Hooton lasted only 3 2/3 innings, allowing seven hits and four earned runs.

With the Phillies looking to clinch the title, Game One starters Christensen and Messersmith take the mound.