Dan Quisenberry

Vuke Wins AL Cy Young

November 3

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced today that Pete Vuckovich of the Milwaukee Brewers is their choice for the American League Cy Young Award, given to the league’s best pitcher.

Pete Vuckovich was voted the American League’s best pitcher.

Though Vuke had been seen as one of the favorites to win the award, the announcement came as something of a surprise since Toronto’s Dave Stieb was named the American League Pitcher of the Year by The Sporting News. In fact, even California’s Geoff Zahn beat out Vuckovich to make the Sporting News team. That said, pitching awards for the American League have been across the board this year. While Vuckovich didn’t make the TSN AL team, he was named the best right-handed pitcher in all of baseball by the Associated Press and was also named to the UPI AL team.

Forgive the voters for their lack of commitment, though, since this year marked one of the weakest AL Cy Young fields. In fact, it may have been the weakest.

Vuke finished the year 18-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Certainly impressive stats, but it was the first time a non-starting pitcher with fewer than 20 wins won the award since it was first handed out in 1958, and his ERA was also the highest of any Cy Young winner. Vuke also stumbled down the stretch, failing to win after a classic September 20 in 11 innings at Fenway Park (though his postseason failures were not considered).

Put all of that aside. Someone had to win, and the voters considered Vuke the most worthy candidate.

“I really feel great about it,” Vuke said, “but I can’t take full credit for it. I just happen to be lucky enough to be out there on the days the team’s playing well enough for me to be a winner. It feels great, it really does, but I’d like to break it up into 25 pieces. Thirty pieces.”

Vuke is humble, but he’s right. When you win as many games as he’s won with only six losses and a somewhat modest ERA, luck certainly plays into it.

“That’s the best election result of the day,” said satisfied general manager Harry Dalton. “I’m so happy for Pete. He’s pitched well enough to win it for two years. I knew he earned it, he should get it, but whether the people voting would recognize that, you’re never sure. This gives him the type of recognition he’s truly earned the past two years. I’m just thrilled for him.”

Speaking of the last two years, the Brewers are now a Robin Yount MVP away from sweeping the two major awards two years running. Reliever Rollie Fingers won both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards last season.

Vuckovich received 14 of the possible 28 first-place votes while the leftovers were split up among Toronto’s Dave Stieb (five), Baltimore’s Jim Palmer (four), Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry (four), and Cleveland’s Rick Sutcliffe (one).

Player – Tm	Pts	1st	W	L	SO	SV	IP	ERA
P Vuckovich, MIL	87	14	18	6	105	0	223.2	3.34
Jim Palmer, BAL	59	4	15	5	103	1	227.0	3.13
D Quisenberry, KCR	40	4	9	7	46	35	136.2	2.57
Dave Stieb, TOR	36	5	17	14	141	0	288.1	3.25
Rick Sutcliffe, CLE	14	1	14	8	142	1	216.0	2.96
Geoff Zahn, CAL	7	0	18	8	81	0	229.1	3.73
Bill Caudill, SEA	4	0	12	9	111	26	95.2	2.35
Bob Stanley, BOS	4	0	12	7	83	14	168.1	3.10
Dan Petry, DET	1	0	15	9	132	0	246.0	3.22

Is Vuke Cy Worthy?

October 7

MILWAUKEE — No game for the Brewers today, so let’s ponder Pete Vuckovich‘s chances at the AL Cy Young Award. Our own Rollie Fingers took home both the MVP and Cy Young awards last year, and we’ve already determined that Yount will be the certain MVP winner this year. So will the Brewers once again sweep the awards? Let’s take a look…

The Players
The Cy Young race isn’t as convoluted as the MVP race. Writers submit MVP ballots that include dudes whose valuable smell provided their respective teams with more wins. More than 30 players are likely to get MVP votes when all is said and done, but we’ll have a much more concise list of Cy Young candidates.

What is difficult about this award in the American League this year, however, is that there hasn’t been that stand-out, dominating season from the mound. There have been a handful of good and very good seasons, but it is not easy handing out the award this year.

To be frank, Vuke wouldn’t have a shot if he were in the National League. If any of the group of Steve Carlton, Steve Rodgers or Fernando Valenzuela were in the American League, they’d win the AL Cy Young without a contest.

But let’s make a list of which pitchers are most likely to be given AL Cy Young consideration. Here they are, in alphabetical order to avoid any perceived bias:

Bill Caudill, SEA
Jim Palmer, BAL
Dan Petry, DET
Dan Quisenberry, KC
Dave Stieb, TOR
Rick Sutcliffe, CLE
Pete Vuckovich, MIL
Geoff Zahn, CAL

It’s a short list, and others may receive votes. But these are the guys I feel have the best shot. Note that Caudill and Quisenberry are relievers and the rest are starters. As such, I’ll compare them separately first.

The Stats
Let’s stack them up and make a list. I have placed the numbers in bold if they lead this group (they don’t necessarily lead the league).

Player	W-L	ERA	CG	SHO	IP	H	BB	SO
Palmer, BAL	15-5	3.13	8	2	227.0	195	63	103
Petry, DET	15-9	3.22	8	1	246.0	220	100	132
Stieb, TOR	17-14	3.25	19	5	288.1	271	75	141
Sutcliffe, CLE	14-8	2.96	6	1	216.0	174	98	142
Vuckovich, MIL	18-6	3.34	9	1	223.2	234	102	105
Zahn, CAL	18-8	3.73	12	4	229.1	225	65	81

Player	W-L	ERA	G	IP	H	BB	SO	SV
Caudill, SEA	12-9	2.35	70	95.2	65	35	111	26
Quisenberry, KC	9-7	2.57	72	136.2	126	12	46	35

You’ll notice that I didn’t highlight the pitchers who were “best” in hits or walks allowed. Too complicated when you involve innings pitched. There needs to be a formula like ERA that takes those two stats into account.

So of the starters, Vuckovich has the best win-loss record (though he is tied in wins with Zahn). Sutcliffe takes ERA and strikeouts while Stieb gets the trio of complete games, shutouts and innings pitched (naturally, after the first two).

Taking a quick glance over Stieb’s stats, I’d take him over Sutcliffe. And his only clear weakness is losses (which are all obviously his fault).

Let’s use Stieb as the measuring stick…

Palmer has a better ERA and winning percentage, though Stieb has more wins. Stieb has way more complete games than Palmer and three more shutouts. I consider innings pitched a pretty important stat, especially for successful pitchers. The more a great pitcher is on the mound, the better chance he gives his team. Stieb threw 61 innings more than Palmer.

But there is another factor to consider. Stieb did not pitch in a pennant race (though not necessarily his fault) while Palmer did. However, Palmer also blew the last game of the season, so I don’t think you can necessarily give Palmer credit there. Therefore, I’d say that Stieb edges out Palmer.

The only advantage Petry has over Stieb is ERA, and it’s by .03. The teams they pitched for are near equals, so no other considerations. Stieb is the man here.

Sutcliffe won three fewer games, but had a 2.96 ERA to Stieb’s 3.25. Sutcliffe also struck out one more in 72 fewer innings. But again, Stieb dominates in shutouts and complete games. And the Indians were not a contender, so no advantage there. I lean to Stieb.

Now our friend Vuke. Vuckovich takes wins by one, but a far greater winning percentage. After that, I’ve got nothing for Vuke. Of course, you do have to consider that Vuckovich pitched in a pennant race. But if we’re going to be honest with ourselves, Vuke didn’t nail down his final game. He did win a couple of crucial starts down the stretch, however, which gives him some points. But I still lean towards Stieb.

Geoff Zahn’s stats are similar to Vuke’s, and he is also on a division winner in the Angels. However, his ERA is far higher than everyone else’s at 3.73, so I just don’t see him getting serious consideration.

Now let’s compare the closers. It’s pretty much a dead heat between Quisenberry and Caudill in my eyes. Caudill has the lower ERA, Quisenberry pitched 40 more innings and saved nine more games. But Caudill was more dominant, striking out 111 batters in 95 2/3 innings while Quisenberry struck out only 46 in 136 2/3. Quisenberry also allowed nearly a hit per inning while Caudill allowed 65 in 95 2/3. Pretty amazing.

I doubt this will be the popular opinion, but I think Caudill had the better season. Quisenberry had more saves and pitched more innings, but you can counter that by saying Caudill won more games, was more dominant, and pitched in nearly as many games.

Both closers had nice seasons, but it needs to be special like Fingers’ season last year to be given the Cy Young Award. I don’t see it here.

The Verdict
Brewers fans won’t be happy with me, but I’m going with Dave Stieb. There simply is not a runaway candidate, the way Yount is for the MVP. If Vuke had won his final start in Baltimore, it would have helped distinguish his season and make this a much more difficult decision. But all Vuke has on Stieb is an extra win, fewer losses, and pitching in a pennant race. Stieb was far better otherwise, and it’s tough penalizing a guy for having more losses when he pitched for a team like the Blue Jays.

Maybe I’ll be wrong. I hope that I’m wrong. But I am giving the AL Cy Young Award to Toronto’s Dave Stieb.

Vuke Loses Game 1, Cy Young?

October 1

Orioles 8, Brewers 3
Brewers now 94-65 (1st by 2.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule

1982 Topps Brewers Future Stars — For some reason, Chuck Porter made an appearance in a pennant race today.

BALTIMORE — This is it, Brewers fans. We can smell the playoffs. Four games on the slate with the Orioles to close out the season, and all we need is one game. Just one.

With a double header today, how about we take care of business right off the bat? Win that first one, chill out for the final three. It’s not that hard, right?

Eesh.

With Cy Young candidate Pete Vuckovich on the mound, this should have been a golden opportunity to close out the regular season. There were a couple of problems along the way: 1) Vuke was freaking awful, and 2) the Brewers were up against 15-game winner Dennis Martinez.

It all started out smelling like roses. With two down in the second inning of a scoreless game, Charlie Moore smacked a double that scored Ben Oglivie from first.

THAT’S IT! THE BREWERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!

Ehhhhh, nope!

In the bottom of the second, Vuckovich granted four consecutive batters residency to the bases, three on singles and one on a walk. Suddenly, the Brewers were in a 3-1 hole.

Vuke then surrendered single runs in both the third and fourth innings on a solo shot to Ken Singleton and double to Rich Dauer. When he was finally relieved of his duties during the fifth inning by Chuck Porter, Vuke’s final line was far from Cy Young-like: 4 1/3 innings pitched, five runs, four earned runs, nine hits and two walks.

But wait a minute. Did you notice a couple of words that did not belong in the above paragraph? I’ll give you a hint: It starts with “Chuck” and ends with “Porter.” What in the world was Chuck Porter doing in this game? It was his second appearance of the season and fifth of his career. In a pennant race? Really? Is it because Topps labeled him as a “Future Star?”

Maybe Chuck Porter is the new Jamie Easterly: the Grim Reaper of wins. When we see him on the mound, we know that the team has thrown in the towel. I don’t have any other explanation for it. Granted, the rest of the bullpen hasn’t been particularly reliable, but why now? Against the Orioles?

I give the Brewers’ offense some credit, however. Harvey Kuenn may have given up, but the bats weren’t ready to quit. Ted Simmons and Ben Oglivie led off the top of the sixth inning with back-to-back homers to make it a 5-3 game. Seemed like anything could happen.

But of course, the Brewers had Chuck Freaking Porter on the mound, the guy who relieved the leading Cy Young candidate. I don’t care how bad Vuke was, I’d rather have him out there on a bad day than Chuck Porter. Hell, I’d rather see Jamie Easterly or Jerry Aug… I’m sorry, I couldn’t get through that sentence without laughing. No, I wouldn’t rather see those guys. I guess Porter was fine.

Of course, Porter gave those two runs right back in the bottom of the sixth to make it a 7-3 game.

And that was about it. No more runs from the Brewers, and the Orioles managed another run when “all-time great” Lenn Sakata doubled in John Shelby to make it an eventual 8-3 final.

It was one of those games. A game, on paper, you’d expect the Brewers to win. Thankfully, the Brewers didn’t need this one. Now, they just need one of three. And with 17-game winner Mike Caldwell on the mound against the Orioles and Storm Davis in game 2 of today’s double header, you still have to like the Brewers’ odds.

Cy Young Race: One has to wonder if Vuke did some serious damage to his Cy Young hopes today. He may lead the AL in wins with 18, but pitchers such as Baltimore’s Jim Palmer, Toronto’s Dave Stieb, and Kansas City’s Dan Quisenberry all warrant mention. And let’s face it: with a 3.34 ERA and nearly as many walks (102) as strikeouts (105), it hasn’t been a runaway, dominating season for Vuke.

Typically, we may write off Quisenberry since he’s a reliever. But after Rollie Fingers won both the Cy Young and MVP awards last year, we know that he needs to be taken just as seriously as the starters.

So what do you think? Is Pete Vuckovich still the leading Cy Young candidate? Or did he throw away his chances along with today’s game?

Closers Fall, Brewers Lose in 9th

July 23

Royals 4, Brewers 3
Brewers now 54-38 (1st)
Box Score | Season Schedule

KANSAS CITY — Through eight full innings, neither the high powered Brewers nor the Royals could score a run. Starters Bob McClure and Paul Splittorff did all they could do, but neither pitcher would earn a decision.

The game fell on the two preeminent closers in the game, Dan Quisenberry of the Royals and Rollie Fingers of the Brewers. Things changed in a hurry.

Quisenberry took the mound after Splittorff allowed a leadoff single to Ted Simmons in the ninth. Gorman Thomas deposited an 0-2 fastball into the left field bleachers to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. On the very next pitch, Ben Oglivie made it 3-0 with a home run of his own.

You’d think that would be more than enough to win. Whether or not McClure would remain flawless, the Brewers have Rollie Fingers as back-up. Surely, he wouldn’t fail like Quisenberry, right?

Unfortunately, wrong. McClure allowed a leadoff single to UL Washington and George Brett connected on the first well-hit ball off of McCLure on the evening, a two run home run. Rollie Fingers took the mound and allowed three singles that tied the game before Frank White laid down a successful suicide squeeze to win the game.

Kuenn said it was the hardest defeat in his 45 games as the team’s manager. It may be Brewers’ fans hardest defeat of the season.

Bad Bounce, Poor Execution Lead to Loss

May 5

Royals 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Brewers now 12-10 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — After two unlikely heroes led to a Brewers victory yesterday, Mark Brouhard was set up perfectly to take those honors today.

In the second inning, Brouhard hit a two-run homer to left to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Minutes later, Brouhard made two fantastic catches, crashing into the left field wall to retire George Brett and Hal McRae in the third, keeping the Royals from scoring at least one run.

Even after the Royals tied the game fourth on a two-out RBI single by Onix Concepcion, it was Brouhard’s game. He had been the offense. His defense kept the team from trailing. Just score a run for the guy and make him the hero.

But Brouhard was the only Brewers player who came to hit. Vida Blue, making his first start since recovering from a shoulder injury, held the Brewers to two runs on six hits in six innings. Dan Quisenberry relieved him and held the Crew to two hits for four more.

Brewers Hesitate, Royals Win

May 3

Royals 3, Brewers 2
Brewers now 11-9 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Jim Gantner — Gantner's hesitation at second proved costly.

MILWAUKEE — Not the best way to start this series.

The Royals are without Amos Otis (hamstring), Willie Wilson (hamstring), Willie Aikens (hand), UL Washington (back) and Lee May (groin). Other than George Brett, that’s pretty much the Royals’ lineup.

So the Brewers knew they were playing a team that was short-handed offensively. Quite the advantage. All they’d need to do is, I don’t know, score three or four runs. Right?

Right. Problem is, they only scored two. Brewers only had seven hits in nine innings, but they didn’t have many opportunities to score. The only true blown shot was in the first when Paul Molitor reached third in the first with one down. Ben Oglivie (strikeout) and Ted Simmons (pop-up) failed to bring him home. The only had a runner in scoring position one other time during the game.