1972 Athletics Shutdown '75 Reds, Capture Game 2

OAKLAND – Catfish Hunter silenced the vaunted 1975 Cincinnati Reds’ offense, silencing them on just three hits Tuesday as the ’72 A’s scored a 4-1 victory in Game 2 of the @JackSacco6 @sacco_john “Best Teams of the 1970s” Strat-O-Matic World Series.

Oakland leads the series 2-0 as the scene shifts to Cincinnati’s Riverfront Stadium for Games 3 and 4 and Game 5, if necessary.

The A’s have won the first two games by identical 4-1 scores.

Hot-hitting Matty Alou belted a home run and double and second baseman Ted Kubiak delivered a big two-run single in the second inning after catcher Dave Duncan singled and moved to third on a single by shortstop Bert Campaneris, who stole second.

Duncan extended Oakland’s lead to 3-0 with two-out, single off Cincinnati starter and loser Don Gullett. 

Alou’s solo home run in the fifth inning made it 4-0. Alou is five-for-seven (.714) in the Series. Mike Epstein hit a pinch-hit double for the A’s. He is three-for-five (.600) in the Series.

Hunter struck out six and did not walk a batter. His only blemish was an eighth-inning home run by Reds’ centerfielder Cesar Geronimo.

The Big Red Machine has mustered just two runs in the first two games of the Series and went zero-for-eight with men on base in Game 2. In the series, Cincinnati has just four hits in 25 at bats (.160) with men on base.

The Reds’ offensive struggles are highlighted by the failings of lead-off hitter Pete Rose and slugger Tony Perez, who are combined zero-for-17, zero-for-nine and zero-for-seven, respectively.

Cincinnati did not score a run the first seven innings of either of the first two games.

Teams of the 1970s World Series

Game 2

1975 Reds    000 000 010-1  3   0

1972 A’s       021 010 00x-4  10  2

WP-Catfish Hunter (1-0)

LP-Don Gullett (0-1)

HRs-Oakland: Matty Alou (1)

          Cincinnati: Cesar Geronimo (1)

2Bs-Oakland: Alou and Epstein

RBI-Oakland: Kubiak, Duncan and Alou

         Cincinnati: Geronimo

SB-Oakland: Campaneris

Pitching

Name, IP, H, SO, BB, R, ER

Oakland

Hunter (9 IP, 3 H, 6 SO, 0 BB, 1 R, 1 ER)

Cincinnati

Gullett (5 IP, 7 H, 4 SO, 1 BB, 4 R, 4 ER)

Eastwick (2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER)

Norman (1-1/3 IP, 0 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER)

T. Carroll (1 IP, 1 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER)

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, opinions, notes, features, fiction, and some trivia for good measure,

John Sacco

sacman18@comcast.net

@sacco_john

MLB Has Tolerated Cheaters Too Long

Major-league baseball has always tolerated some level of cheating.

From sign stealing, to spit and doctored balls, and corked bats, players and organizations have found ways to — let’s hear it — gain a competitive advantage.

Until now.

What the Houston Astros did in 2017 and were found guilty of this past off-season, was using electronics and a system to help them swipe the signs of their opponents and translate the information by banging a trash can and relay the type of the next pitch to their batters. Houston did this throughout 2017 when it won the American League West Division, AL Divisional round, ALCS and the World Series. 

General Manager Jeff Luhnow and Manager A.J. Hinch were given one-year suspensions by Commissioner Rob Manfred. Owner Jim Crane was fined $5 million – a drop in the bucket – and the organization stripped of four draft picks (first -and second-round picks in 2020 and 2021). Crane subsequently fired Luhnow and Hinch.

Manfred justifiably has been criticized for his handling of the investigation and subsequent punishments, which some feel were not harsh enough.

Also, as part of the fallout, Boston Red Sox Manager Alex Cora – was suspended for one year -- for his role in the cheating as he was the team’s bench coach. 

While Cora, hired as Boston’s manager after the 2017 season, was cleared of wrongdoing in an investigating into the 2018 World Series champion Red Sox’ use of suspected illegal sign-stealing efforts, he has been replaced as manager.

The fallout of the Astros’ investigation also cost newly-hired New York Mets’ manager Carlos Beltran his job. Beltran was the senior member of Houston’s 2017 team and the lone player identified as being part of the sign-stealing scheme.

The Astros’ victims in succession in the 2017 post-season were the Boston Red Sox (ALDS), New York Yankees (ALCS) and Los Angeles Dodgers (World Series).

Anyone really believe that any of those teams – with the tradition, financial resources and influence – didn’t know something wrong was going on? I don’t.

In the World Series, during one of Dodgers’ ace Clayton Kershaw’s starts, he threw 51 sliders or curveballs and there wasn’t one – not one – swing and miss by a Houston batter. Think about that.

Bigger question? Why didn’t that come to light before the end of February 2020? In this era of immediate news, analytics and a statistic for anything and everything, it is mind boggling this was not uncovered until 28 months later.

I’m not buying.

The Dodgers were aware of that stat – as it was happening. Others who track pitches knew – as it was happening. So why was there no mention?

Because baseball has always tolerated some level of cheating.

Players are part of the same union – the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).

You don’t tell on a union brother or brothers, in this case. Ever.

Some union members might bitch and moan about a team cheating, but no one was willing to utter a word to any authority – at least in an official manner.

What were Astros players supposed to do -- run and tell the media: “Hey, some of our guys or our team is cheating?”

Let’s be real.

An old saying use to apply in sports at every level: “What goes on in the locker room (clubhouse in the case of baseball) stays in the locker room.” Years back, athletes and players adhered to that belief. Not so much today.

I understand why not one Astros player would “rat out” anyone.

No player wants to be a pariah. It could cost them a career and a lot of money.

You think the Astros were the lone organization cheating?

Players or coaches who are skilled in the art of stealing signs with their eyes have been hailed through the years by their teammates or fellow coaches. That practice has long been accepted. It’s part of baseball.

The addition of an elaborate electronic system to steal signs – a game changer -- is an entirely different level of cheating.

The Astros got off easy. Before anyone says players should have been suspended, that went out the door when the MLB granted them immunity. The MLBPA’s presence is powerful.

What happened on the field, happened. It cannot be erased. Houston won the 2017 World Series. No matter how loud the cries are from the Dodgers, yours are not more relevant than those of the Red Sox or Yankees. They were cheated as well. But the Dodgers did not win the World Series and should not be awarded the distinction just because they were the National League representative. Who’s to say the Red Sox or Yankees would not have defeated Los Angeles. History cannot be revised.

I do think the Astros’ World Series and AL championships should have been vacated. That would have been an appropriate punishment.

Crane deserved more discipline. He was complicit. He knew.

The suspensions of Luhnow and Hinch should have been longer.

The shutdown of the 2020 season has helped the Astros because as a team and individually this was going to be a most difficult season to navigate. The questions about 2017 were abound in Spring Training and would have dogged them all season. Opposing fans were going to be relentlessly tough on them and indignant toward them.

No matter how talented a team Houston is – and it is talented – those things would mentally, then physically, exhaust and haunt them and perhaps break them.

Clearly opposing pitchers were in search of retribution in the form of inside, purpose pitches and others that would intentionally hit batters.

That was happening, make no mistake. Who knows what that could have led to.

So as MLB contemplates a re-opening of the 2020 season, the Astros will be hoping for games without fans and a reduced media presence. As for opposing pitchers and teams seeking revenge, that is not going to change no matter the circumstances.

Pitcher Mike Fiers, who pitched for Houston in 2017, blew the whistle or snitched – whichever way you want to label it --on the Astros to a couple national baseball writers about the cheating.

Fiers, who was left off Houston’s 2017 playoff roster and non-tendered that off-season, certainly had an axe to grind.

Fiers, who currently plays for Oakland – an AL West Division rival of the Astros -- is viewed differently in the game and to the general public.

The timing off his reveal of the 2017 cheating is curious – two years later and after a 2019 extended post-season run by Houston that ended in a World Series loss to Washington.

Ultimately, it’s a good thing that Fiers, along with at least three other members of the 2017 Astros brought the “above and beyond” cheating to light.

I don’t think he is the “hero” some make him out to be, though. He’ll impress me as a hero when he returns his World Series ring and winner’s share (the financial payout to individuals on the World Series championship team). Some think he is as entitled to those rewards as every other member of that team. He made himself different when he blew that whistle. 

Here’s hoping Fiers’ first appearance against the Astros this season will be televised.

The hope is, MLB’s discipline of Houston – even though it was lighter than it should have been – will level the playing field.

But MLB’s tolerance of cheating through history, save for the short reign of  commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti  from April 1, 1989 to September 1 the same year when he died of a heart attack, is not debatable.

The hypocrisy of baseball writers of who they vote into the Hall of Fame and those who are being blackballed is amazing.

Gaylord Perry, a known cheater who wrote and published a book in 1974 titled “Me & The Spitter,” was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1991, his third year of eligibility.

Perry used the Spitter, an illegal pitch, and the threat of the Spitter, to rattle hitters and help him become the first pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award in both leagues.

Yet, a disparaging word is rarely heard about Perry.

MLB ignored his cheating for nearly all of his career. Perry pitched for eight different teams in his 22-year career that spanned from 1962-1983. He had 314 wins, 3,534 strikeouts and a 3.11 ERA . Perry was a five-time All-Star and pitched a no-hitter in 1968 for San Francisco, cheating the entire way. The Giants retired his number, 36.

Despite Perry’s well-known penchant for throwing the Spitter and doctoring the baseball, he was not ejected for throwing an illegal pitch until August 23, 1982 – his 21^stseason.

Interestingly, Perry put himself in the middle of controversy in July 1983 when a home run by his Kansas City teammate George Brett was negated. Brett’s blast gave the Royals a, 5-4 , lead over the Yankees in the top of the ninth inning. The hit was challenged by New York manager Billy Martin, claiming Brett used an illegal bat because pine tar was too far up the bat, therefore breaking a rule.

After conferencing with his crew, home plate umpire Tim McClelland called Brett out, ending the game and handing the Yankees a 4-3 victory. The ruling led to Brett charging onto the field and the umpire, erupting a riotous scene at Yankee Stadium.

Perry, a member of the Royals’ pitching staff, came onto the playing field and snatched the bat from McClelland’s clutches and ran with the bat into Kansas City’s third-base dugout and into the runway leading to the Royals’ clubhouse.

Yankees’ security personnel, one of the umpires and a uniformed member of the Royals charged after Perry, who handed the evidence to a bat boy to hide it in the clubhouse. The bat boy was caught by umpire Joe Brinkman.

Kansas City protested the out call and the Royals’ appeal was upheld by AL president Lee McPhail and Kansas City then held on to win the game, 5-4. Perry was retroactively ejected for his part – the final ejection of his career.

For all his shenanigans, Perry’s inclusion in the Hall of Fame is rarely challenged or discussed.

At the same time, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens – sure-fire Hall of Famers who are connected to steroids usage but never convicted of such usage – are being blocked by baseball writers because of their suspected steroid usage. Similarly, Dave Parker is being blocked because of his drug usage and link to the Pittsburgh drug trials of 1985.

Through the years, baseball has turned a blind eye to the use of “greenies” – amphetamines used excessively in the MLB in the 1970s and 1980s and until baseball instituted random drug testing on the players.

Amphetamines amp up the central nervous system, creating feelings of wakefulness, euphoria and sharper concentration.

Hall of Famer Chipper Jones, a third baseman for the Atlanta Braves, was quoted in the “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette”  once: “I don’t want to say guys are addicted, but it’s like putting on your uniform. You have your glove, your batting gloves, your bat, you take your greenie and you’re ready to go.”

The use of greenies and like performance-enhancing drugs pervaded the game in a manner even steroids didn’t come close to doing.

Perhaps, the Astros’ cheating scandal will prompt MLB and Manfred to more diligently pursue, investigate, and penalize illegal activity.

It is long overdue. 

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, opinions, notes, features, fiction, and some trivia for good measure.

John Sacco

sacman18@comcast.net

@sacco_john

'72 A's Leave '75 Reds Feeling Blue with 4-1 Victory

OAKLAND- Vida Blue pitched seven scoreless innings, Reggie Jackson and Mike Epstein hit home runs and the 1972 Oakland A’s topped the 1975 Cincinnati Reds, 4-1, in Game 1 of the @Jack Sacco6 @sacco_john “Best Teams of the 1970s” STRAT-O-MATIC World Series Sunday. 

The A’s took the lead in the third inning when Matty Alou singled and Jackson belted a two-out, two-run HR off starter and loser Gary Nolan. 

Oakland scored single runs in the seventh and eighth innings as light-hitting Dal Maxvill drove in Gene Tenace in the seventh and Epstein hit a two-out, solo homer in the eighth off reliever Will McEnaney. 

Alou went three-for-four for the A’s. 

Three Oakland relievers: Dave Hamilton, Bob Locker and Darold Knowles covered the final two innings. Knowles earned the save, getting the final out.

Despite getting 11 hits, Cincinnati was four-for-17 with men on base. 

Pinch-hitter Merv Rettenmund hit a lead-off double in the eighth but was left stranded. Pinch-hitter Bill Plummer drove in the Reds’ only run in the ninth when their first three batters reached base. 

Pete Rose, hitless in five at bats, popped out to end the game. 

Both teams were without their starting second basemen, Joe Morgan of the Reds and Oakland’s Dick Green, because of injuries. Both are expected to return for Game 2 in Oakland. 

Teams of the 1970s World Series

Oakland Coliseum

Oakland, Calif.

Game 1

1975 Reds   000 000 001-1 11 0

1972 A’s      002 000 11x-4 10 0

WP-Vida Blue (1-0)

LP-Gary Nolan (0-1)

Sv-Darold Knowles (1)

HRs-Oakland: Reggie Jackson (1), Mike Epstein (1)

2Bs-Cincinnati: Merv Rettenmund (1)

RBI-Oakland: Jackson 2, Dal Maxvill 1, Espstein 1 – 4

         Cincinnati: Bill Plummer 1 - 1

SB-Cincinnati: Cesar Geronimo 1

SAC-Cincinnati: Nolan 1, John Vukovich 1.

PH-Cincinnati: Rettenmund and Plummer

Multi-hit-Oakland: Alou (3), Epstein (2)

                 Cincinnati: Ken Griffey, Sr. (3), Geronimo (2)

 Pitching

Name, IP, H, SO, BB, R, ER

Oakland

Blue (7 IP, 6 H, 3 SO, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 ER) 

Hamilton (1-1/3 IP, 5 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 1 R, 1ER)

Locker (1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER)

Knowles (1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER)

Cincinnati

Nolan (7 IP, 8 H, 4 SO, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER)

McEnaney (1 IP, 2 H, 1 SO, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 ER)

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, opinions, notes, features, fiction and some trivia for good measure.

John Sacco
sacman18@comcast.net
@sacco_john

Emotional Year for Sirianni Hasn't Shaken His Belief in W&J, Presidents Football Winning NCAA Championship

By his own admission, Washington and Jefferson College football Coach Mike Sirianni learned a lot in the past year.

The illness and death of his close friend and top assistant, Todd Young, shook him. His daughter graduating from Hopewell in June and then going off to college, enlightened him to realities of life and the trials and tribulations of a college freshman.

On top of that, Sirianni and his W&J football team had to grind through a mentally and physically exhausting and frustrating season in 2019 that saw the Presidents lose an atypically-high three Presidents' Athletic Conference games on its way to an 8-3 overall record that is nowhere close to the disaster some folks want to make it out to be. 

“I don’t think Todd’s illness had anything to do with us having a subpar season,” Sirianni said. “When Todd found out about his illness last April, the prognosis was grim. The fact he made it through the season was a miracle in itself.”

Sirianni said getting the opportunity to coach with Young one more time was important for him.

“I was very hard on him through the years,” Sirianni said. “I rode him and pushed him and maybe blamed him for things that were not his fault. I felt terrible and wanted the chance to coach with him again. I got to tell him what he meant to me.”

W&J was without one of the top players in the country, receiver Andrew Wolf, for most of the year and ended the season with two players who entered pre-season camp as defensive linemen, starting on the offensive line. The offense could not pass or run anywhere near as prolific or efficient as in past seasons. That impacted the individual performances of senior quarterback Jacob Adams and senior running back Jordan West.

“It’s probably the least talented up front as we ever had been,” Sirianni said. “It was tough. But those kids played hard and did the best they could.”

In addition to Young’s illness and the three Presidents’ Athletic Conference losses, Sirianni also was dealing with his daughter Jenna’s matriculation to Baldwin-Wallace University.

Sirianni and his family, wife, Jennifer, Jenna and daughter, Jordan, who will be in eighth grade in the fall, reside in Hopewell.

“That was interesting to be on the other side of it,” the coach said. “As a coach, you’re the parent of all the players. You feel for them when they are home sick. To be on the other side was different and unique. It has kind of opened my eyes to see what  our players feel. My daughter got home sick.

“I may be more sympathetic to our freshman and what they are going through. It’s such a time of apprehension. For my daughter to go on to college as one of the best volleyball players in the WPIAL, to being the fourth middle hitter or outside hitter is tough. It gave me a different perspective.

“We’ve always been good at treating our freshmen the right way, but to see what my daughter went through gives me another perspective.”

DOUBTING MIKE?

His detractors say Sirianni is interested in the total of number of plays W&J runs more than the team’s point total -- an absurd and unfounded criticism.

While there have been times his approach has worked against him in games where slowing things down a bit might have been more prudent or advantageous, it is hard to argue with Sirianni’s success at W&J.  

He owns a career record of  156-36 (an .813 winning percentage) in 17 seasons. He is W&J’s winningest football coach and his winning percentage is one of the top in NCAA football. He has won multiple PAC titles and has won playoff games in his 21 seasons as head coach and four as an assistant in the program.

It cannot be denied that this guy is a flat-out tremendous offensive mind, who for the most part has had an offense that lights up the scoreboard and torments opposing defenses play-to-play, not just game-to-game.

Despite all setbacks and circumstances in 2019, Sirianni rallied the Presidents for a season-ending, 20-17, victory over Ithaca in ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl in New York. W&J, which trailed 17-0 in the third quarter with about 20 minutes left, found a way to overcome the Bombers and a trying four-to-five months.

“When we knelt on the ball to end the game, it was a great feeling for everyone,” Sirianni said. “It was an ECAC bowl game between two traditional programs. Kneeling gave us the chance to hug one another. It was pretty special.

Some felt playing a “meaningless game” – non-NCAA Division III playoff game – was pointless. Sirianni disagrees. 

“When you’re offered to play, and your seniors are never going to play again, why wouldn’t you play? That’s me. I compete at everything. There are different ways to look at it.”

Traditionally, W&J has benefitted greatly from an ECAC post-season win, parlaying that into great success the following season. In 2003 and 2016, the Presidents won ECAC games and followed with 12-1 and 11-1 records, respectively and PAC championships. W&J won an ECAC post-season game in 2010 but went just 6-4 the next season.

“If you go back to the 2004 season when we set a school-record for wins in a season, the win in the ECAC game in 2003 was a big boost,” Sirianni said.

“For our senior class (this past season), and it was a small senior class, 25 years from now, they can say we won a bowl championship. Even though we didn’t win the PAC or play in the national championship, it will seem like winning the Orange Bowl to them. For them to go out on a note like that will be beneficial.

“That game could have been bad. When we were down, I realized it could be a bad outcome. It was a great come back. Todd and I sat on the bus together. The kids were laughing the whole trip back. It was a great experience.”

REMEMBERING TODD YOUNG

The laughing stopped in early March when Young passed away.

Many of W&J’s football players were away from campus because of spring break.

“I feel bad for our young men who didn’t get a chance to say good-bye,” Sirianni said. “A lot of  them were on spring break and not here. We had a meeting (March 5 with some who weren’t away) and it was very emotional, a lot of  tears shed. We shared our views and feelings we had for Todd. We planned a memorial service that we weren’t able to hold (because of the Coronavirus). I feel bad for our players who weren’t able to go to Ohio for the viewing or funeral.

“I was able to speak, give a eulogy, at the funeral. That was neat for me and others to laugh and tell some stories. That was good.

“I think the college will do something in fall to honor Todd. That should give some of our kids some closure. We’ll use Todd’s memory as well for motivation for a great season. That also should help bring some closure.”

HOME SWEET HOME

His record and coaching prowess would have, and still could, allow him to go elsewhere.

When the Mt. Union head coaching position opened after the 2019 season there was speculation that Sirianni might return to his alma mater, if the job were to leave the Kehres family. 

Larry Kehres retired as Mt. Union’s coach in 2012. He had a career record of 332-24-3 and won 11 NCAA Division III national titles. He coached Sirianni, a Purple Raiders graduate.

Vince Kehres, Larry’s son, coached the team from 2013-2019.

Sirianni admits he “talked to the people” he needed to talk with at Mt. Union, “in the respectful way that (he) needed.’ “

"I talked to coach (Larry) Kehres (Mt. Union's former and legendary coach and athletic director) briefly," Sirianni said.

"I told him, if  Geoff (Dartt) wants the job, he should get it. If you're hiring within, which they should, Geoff’s the guy.”

He added that talks "never got to the stage where it was ever serious."

Dartt, who was an assistant under Vince Kehres for seven years, five as offensive coordinator, was hired as the Purple Raiders’ head coach in January.

“They're still my second favorite team,” Sirianni said. “I know all their coaches and I'm friends with them. My wife is from Alliance (where the school is located in Ohio). “It was never serious. They did the right thing hiring Geoff. I hope they lose one game a year and that's to us in the playoffs."

Sirriani’s brother Nick is the offensive coordinator for the Indianapolis Colts.

At one time, Sirianni would have considered an NFL position. He also considered some higher-level coaching opportunities in college football.

Circumstances and feelings have changed.

“Back in the 2000s,  I could have left and really thought about it,” Sirianni said. “I talked to Toledo (about an assistant position). Our family situation dictated we didn’t make the move at the time.

“Now that I’m a little older, I’m stuck in my ways. I don’t want to be an assistant, unless it would be for my brother. I’m not going to chase jobs. I’m happy at W&J. I like the direction President (John) Knapp is taking us.

As for working for his brother, Nick.

“On vacation (recently) we got in a fight over bocce ball,” Mike Sirianni said. “I don’t know how that would work out. (Nick) can be the better coach. Our middle brother won multiple state (football) championships in New York state. My dad taught us all. I can handle being the worse coach, because I know I was the best player,” he laughed.

“I spent a week with (Nick) at mini-camp or an OTA,” Mike Sirianni said. “It’s a different world. I don’t know if I could do that, honestly. I would doubt I would go anywhere. I’m happy.”

MOVING FORWARD

The return of the vast majority of the defensive unit that Sirianni said was probably the best he’s had at W&J, along with other offensive weapons and an intriguing and promising recruiting class, is reason for optimism about the 2020 Presidents.

Of course, the Coronavirus threatens the season and has changed how the football program is operating.

“Listen, everyone is doing it differently Sirianni said. “It’s changed the rules. I don’t know how many Face Time calls I made. Division III recruiting sometimes goes into  May.  For the first time, we went into Florida. It’s no secret, less kids are playing football in western Pennsylvania. We needed to go (recruit) Florida. Those guys were not able to visit campus. We hope some will come sight unseen.

“We have a good staff and hired terrific recruiter and coach to succeed Todd. The fact we were able to replace Todd with someone who played in the program, and played under Todd, it was an unbelievable hire. Recruiting has been a struggle and different. I  wrote a lot of handwritten letters.”

Sirianni admits there are things he and the program need to do better. Getting a jump on recruits is one of them, especially WPIAL players, the coach said.

Much has changed in Division III football’s post-season over the years. Post-season matchups – in the early rounds -- are much more reliant on travel than balanced brackets.

Sirianni is encouraged that North Central (Illinois) won the championship this past season, upending Mt. Union in the second round and a program such as Muhlenberg advanced to the semifinals.

“We are in the process of having a really good class, one of the better ones we’ve had. There’s some terrific football players,” Sirianni said.

“W&J is still going upward. We still hope to win a national championship.  With North Central winning, it gives us all hope. I wasn’t crushed when they beat Mt. Union. I didn’t want Mt. Union to lose, but it did give everyone a little hope.

“If you’re not trying to win a national championship, I don’t know what you’re trying to do. We know to get there we have to get through a pretty tough conference in the PAC and then get by Mt. Union in the first or second round of the playoffs.”

W&J’s 2020 schedule will be the same as last season. Sirianni said perennial power, John Carroll, will come onto the Presidents’ schedule in the near future.

Sirianni has been somewhat of a polarizing figure since he succeeded John Banaszak as coach in 2003. He had worked under Banaszak prior to the coaching change.

He expects things done his way within the program and he’s not afraid to let anyone within the program know when he’s upset. Sirianni has brought stability, and consistent winning throughout his tenure. His teams play hard and for 60 minutes, evidence by some dramatic comeback victories over the years.

He knows, he might not be the most popular coach in W&J history, but none before him have been more confident or victorious.

“If someone is critical of me and it wouldn’t be a person, I would take advice from, I really don’t care,” Sirianni said. “I learned how to coach from the best coach in the history of football -- Larry Kehres. We talk quite a bit.

“It’s a different time and a different age. It’s a different W&J than 10 years ago. We have to continue to adjust and find ways to recruit student-athletes.”

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, opinions, notes, features, fiction, and some trivia for good measure.

John Sacco

sacman18@comcast.net

@sacco_john

1975 Big Red Machine, '72 Swingin' A's Roll to Titles

The 1975 Cincinnati Reds and the 1972 Oakland's claimed the championships in their respective brackets Sunday afternoon in the @JackSacco6  and @sacco_john STRAT-O-MATIC baseball "The Best of the 1970s" tournament to advance to the World Series, which begins next week.

Both teams staved off elimination Saturday to reach the championship games today.

The '75 Reds (5-1) allowed four, first-inning runs but responded with five in the bottom of the first, then built a 10-4 lead before the 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers (3-2) scored four in the seventh and one in the ninth. Clay Carroll nailed down the 10-9 victory to earn the save.

The 1972 A's and the 1979 Pirates battled scoreless through seven innings as John "Blue Moon" Odom and Jim Bibby dueled. A lead-off single by Joe Rudi in the eighth chased Bibby. Third baseman Sal Bando then delivered the hit of the game, a two-run home run off Kent Tekulve, who saved all three of his team's victories in the tournament. The blast capped a three-for-four performance for Bando.

The Pirates (3-2) rallied with one out in the ninth off Odom, as Bando booted a Mike Easler grounder. Second baseman Phil Garner followed with a single and shortstop Tim Foli drove in Easler with a single. Garner moved to third on the play. Pinch-hitter Bill Robinson's attempted squeeze bunt went awry as Garner was thrown out at the plate. The Pirates comeback attempt died when pinch-hitter Lee Lacy bounced back to Odom.

The Reds and A's (5-1) were the top seeds in their respective brackets. The Reds lost to the Dodgers in the winner's bracket finals and the A's lost to the Pirates in the other winner's bracket final.

Cincinnati's win ruined a spectacular performance by Dodgers' catcher Joe Ferguson who belted a three-run home run in the first inning and slugged a grand slam in the seventh inning. His seven RBI were a tournament single-game high. Jimmy "The Toy Cannon" Wynn led off the ninth with a home run to cut the Reds' lead to 10-9 but Carroll retired the next three batters to clinch the title.

The Big Red Machine erased the 4-0 deficit quickly as Ken Griffey, Sr. connected on a two-run home run in the first and left fielder George Foster, shortstop Dave Concepcion and pitcher Jack Billingham drove in runs. Cincinnati scored two runs in the third, getting RBI from centerfielder Cesar Geronimo and third baseman Pete Rose. The big blow of the game came in the bottom of the seventh when catcher Johnny Bench belted a three-run home run after second baseman Joe Morgan was hit by a pitch and forced to leave the game. Morgan will miss Game 1 of the World Series with a hand injury.

Bench, who hit two home runs with 10 RBI, had a .591 slugging percentage and .976 OPS, along with pitcher Gary Nolan, who went 2-0 in the tournament with a 0.50 ERA, a 0.611 WHIP with six strikeouts in 28 innings and two complete games, were named Co-MVPs of the tournament for the Reds.

Reggie Jackson, who hit two home runs and drove in seven runs with a .379 on-base percentage, .625 slugging percentage and 1.004 OPS, was named MVP for Oakland. Odom (1-0) had a 1.59 ERA in 17 innings.

Ferguson was the Dodgers' top performer in the tournament, hitting four home runs in 21 plate appearances with 11 RBI, a .426on-base percentage, 1.056 slugging percentage and 1.482 OPS.

The Pirates had several solid performances. Foli hit .526 (10-for-19) with four RBI, three doubles, a .550 on-base percentage, .684 slugging percentage and a 1.234 OPS. Willie Stargell popped three HRs, drove in six runs, slugged .882 and had a 1.337 OPS. Garner hit .538, going seven-for-13.

Oakland second baseman Dick Green will also miss the World Series opener as he was forced to leave Sunday’s game with a nagging big toe injury.

The Big Red Machine will be managed by @JackSacco6 in the Series while the Swingin' A's will be managed by @sacco_john.

Only one fan was allowed to attend the game, Eloise, the Queen of the house, and family dog. She slept, close to the action, through most of the championship doubleheader except for when @sacco_john startled her when he threw his STRATO cards and blurted out several curse words in disgust after the '79 Pirates lost.

Both contests were good ball games, as I am sure @JPerrotto predicted.

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on sports, notes, opinions, features, fiction, and some trivia for good measure.

-- John Sacco

sacman18@comcast.net

@sacco_john

Sports, Time Never Seen

The days move on and the sporting world gets pushed further away from our existence by the mandated social distancing and threat of the deadly Coronavirus.

For many, including myself, sports has sometimes played too large of a role in everyday life.

As some have told me, "there is more to life than sports."

Through some culture introduced to me by my wife -- before she was my wife -- and my children, who in addition to being athletes are talented musicians, singers, actors, dancers and volunteers, I found diversification of interests was a good thing -- a really good thing.

In my life, there is more to life than sports. I love music, even though I cannot play it, the theater, even though all are dark, and volunteering, working with others, who I can't be around right now.

My son, every now and again plays his saxophone, my daughter sings songs almost daily. Dancing is out for now. We do have drama time-to-time, the impact of spending all hours together now for more than four weeks. I still can provide volunteer work, making phone calls, pounding on my computer keys and meeting with others either virtually or via teleconference for meetings.

Nothing is the same.

My family is healthy. We push forward.

It doesn't mean certain things are not missed; the school musical is postponed. Baseball games and track meets cancelled for the spring.

Baseball, my favorite sport, barely got started and MLB is uncertain of having a season. The NHL and NBA suspended their seasons. The NCAA cancelled March Madness, the wrestling championships, the hockey championships and whatever else is contested in the winter and early spring. Harness racing is shutdown; no golf; no Masters, no anything. 

I do occasionally take a peep at my inactive online racing wagering balance hoping somehow a little, unspoken of, help from the stimulus package was earmarked for my Xpressbet account. 

My baseball fix has been reduced to playing two, eight-team brackets of Strat-O-Matic baseball's 16 top teams of the 1970s, which was introduced this year as a special feature of the regular game that features teams and player cards based on statistics and metrics from the previous season.

My son and I have played these two tournaments out to a final four  -- the 1974 Dodgers and the 1975 Reds in Bracket A and the 1979 Pirates and the 1972 Athletics in Bracket B. 

The Dodgers and Pirates need just one victory to advance to the World Series and play for the mythical "Best Team of the 1970s" championship. The Reds -- Big Red Machine I might add -- and A's need two wins to move on. Dodgers' pitching has been dominant. Johnny Bench has been well... Johnny Bench. The Pirates have been dramatic, if not sharp, and Pops is still the leader of The Family as he terrorizes opposing pitchers and -- out of nowhere  -- Tim Foli has been Honus Wagner. The A's are athletic indeed, which has offset some subpar defense and an uncharacteristic shaky and unreliable bullpen.

That has been fun and helped to provide a baseball fix.

No amount of movies watched -- including Dark Waters, The Irishman and Two Popes, all of which I enjoyed -- replays of games, 1979 World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, huge prize fights and other random contests on TV and You Tube can't make up for real live, contested athletic events that provide fresh results and exciting moments or frustrating and disappointing results. I'll take good, bad, even devastating at this point.

I am getting my music fill from You Tube, started reading two books -- Me and The Spitter by Gaylord Perry and The Big Red Machine, written many fungoes ago by my friend, the great Bob Hertzel -- and initiated a writing project I have contemplated since early 2017.

Through it all, my family eats dinner together every day. We share computers and ideas and there's enough room here to go to a neutral corner when needed. The family dog, Eloise, still remains Queen.

Everyone here is healthy and relatively happy.

I miss sports, watching my children compete and perform. But time spent together is precious and even with all the bad going on, we're all good here and making the best of it.

For now, we all hope and yearn for a semblance of normalcy. We’ve learned about and now use Zoom.  We understand sacrifice a little better and we thank God we can live through this.

Be well, stay safe and God bless.

My blog will appear on a regular basis and will focus on, sports, notes and news, opinions, features, and some trivia for good measure.

I hope you enjoy.

-- John Sacco 

sacman18@comcast.net

sacco_john