This week in 1973, the so-called "mainstream (sports) media" (MS(S)M) is showcasing baseball teams who are not the World Series-champion Oakland A's.
I don't know what the July 28 Sporting News is thinking, but I do credit the July 30 Sports Illustrated for at least featuring this Page 6 advertisement for the Miami Dolphins' banking partner.
(I'm pretty sure I know which Dolphins' game that photograph comes from, but I'm going to plan to confirm and have more on that in the comments.)
And while I’m not going to buy the August 1973 SPORT (because $30 is a lot of money, even in 2019), but let me just say that all four teasers on the cover do, in fact, tempt me:
— I do want to know why Bobby Murcer is lost on a $100,000 turf and what that even means.
— I do want to know whether this author thinks Colts general manager Joe Thomas is a genius or a goat for unloading Johnny Unitas, Tom Matte, Bill Curry, etc.
— I do want to know who they think is the “poor man’s Joe Namath.” I’ll bet it’s Dan Pastorini. No, on second thought, I’ll bet it’s John Hadl! (More on this theory in the comments, too.)
Actually, also upon further review, I do not care to read that SPORT story associated with “U.S. Olympic House: Castle Under Siege.” After the Munich 1972 debacle, I don’t want to hear anything more bad about the Olympics.
Of all the sports publications I've seen for this weekend, what I'm most interested in is this sweet Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc., program for the "College All-Stars vs. World Champion Miami Dolphins" in Soldier Field on July 27, 1973 ...
And you better bet I'm going to be rocking some comments on that bad boy!
Also, here's tomorrow 1973's American Top 40, and you don't want to miss that. You'll just have to record the live coverage of Skylab 3's launch ...
Of all the sports publications I've seen for this weekend, what I'm most interested in is this sweet Chicago Tribune Charities, Inc., program for the "College All-Stars vs. World Champion Miami Dolphins" in Soldier Field on July 27, 1973 ...
And you better bet I'm going to be rocking some comments on that bad boy!
Also, here's tomorrow 1973's American Top 40, and you don't want to miss that. You'll just have to record the live coverage of Skylab 3's launch ...
Back to the A's and the baseball All-Star Game for a moment, Catfish Hunter ended up with a fracture in his right thumb when Billy Williams hit a one-hopper off his pitching hand. Hunter’s thumb was set and splinted before the A’s left for a two-day/three-game series in Minnesota. Hunter had won 10 straight starts, but he's expected to be out two weeks. Then Oakland opened the series with the Twins by losing both games of a double-header on July 26. In one of the games, George Mitterwald, Minnesota's catcher in front of Phil Roof, hit two home runs, including a walk-off in the 10th.
ReplyDeleteAnd then on July 27, the Twins got seven runs in the first inning, as George Mitterwald (!) homered again, and coasted to an 8-3 win and sweep of the first-place (but now just barely) A's. Here are the MLB73 standings as of the morning of July 28:
ReplyDeleteAL West
A's 56-45
Royals 57-47, 0.5 games back
Twins 52-47, 3
White Sox 50-51, 6
Angels 48-51, 7
Rangers 37-61, 17.5
AL East
Yankees 59-44
Orioles 54-42, 1.5
Red Sox 52-46, 4.5
Tigers 51-48, 6
Brewers 47-51, 9.5
Indians 36-66, 22.5
NL East
Cardinals 53-46
Cubs 52-48, 1.5
Pirates 48-49, 4
Expos 47-51, 5.5
Phillies 46-54, 7.5
Mets 43-53, 8.5
NL West
Dodgers 64-38
Reds 59-43, 5
Giants 58-44, 6
Astros 53-51, 12
Braves 46-59, 19.5
Padres 34-67, 29.5
Meanwhile, in Cleveland on July 29, Jim Croce was even better than I would've imagined (and I would've imagined he was terrific).
ReplyDeleteThe 1973 A’s are 4-6 since the All-Star break, and, as of the morning of Aug. 3, 1973, they are a game behind the Royals in the division. Here’s Glenn Schwarz in the San Francisco Examiner:
ReplyDeleteLast night, following a ragged 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins, the A’s stuffed their green equipment bags quickly and quietly. The only noise was that of Catfish Hunter slurping down a large chili dog.
But the A’s haste in packing for a 12-game trip was more a reflection of their disappointment in playing poorly than dejection in fualling to second place. In fact, after Kansas City had moved a game up on Oakland in American League West, the world champions should defiantly worn “What, Me Worry?” buttons.
“The Royals are playing over their heads,” said Sal Bando, aware his popularity among the fans in Kansas City may be on the decline.
“If it comes down to K.C. and us, we’ll win it because we have the better club. But I don’t think it will happen that way. I think we’ll pull away before we play them again.”
There are only 16.2 10-game cuts to a major-league season, so, to go .400 in any one of them, is not an insignificant slide. 1973 fan me has lost all confidence in this deal, even though 2019 me keeps telling him to chillax. Dick Williams loaded the American League All-Star pitching roster with A's, and he got Catfish Hunter wrote. He keeps putting in pinch-runners early in games and then leaving us with weird lineups late in games. Everybody's always sniping at each other.
ReplyDeleteAnd now it seems like we are desperately trying wacko stuff. In the last few games, the A's have tried relievers Rollie Fingers, Darold Knowles and Paul Lindblad as starting pitchers. Back on July 30, the Rangers' Jim Bibby no-hit Oakland, so the next day the A's picked up veterans Jesus Alou from the Astros, Vic Davalillo from the Pirates and Mike Andrews, formerly of the White Sox. Sal Bando may not be worried, but it sure seems like some people among the A's are.
Dick Williams got Catfish Hunter hurt, not wrote.
DeleteCharlie Finley brought in Bear Bryant to talk with the A's along about this point in MLB73.
DeleteThe Royals, by the way, have won five straight, despite missing their .277-hitting third baseman, Paul Schaal. They finally called up a rookie yesterday and put Schaal on the DL after his ankle, which he injured July 22, failed to respond to treatment. The new guy, George Brett, had a hit in four at-bats in Kansas City's 3-1 win at Chicago.
ReplyDeleteThe A's begin a series at California today. It'll be All-Star Bill Singer for the home team, pitching against Vida Blue, who, in his last start, yielded a Jeff Burroughs grand slam and Bill Sudaikis solo home run before recorded his first out against the Rangers.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, with regard to the National League East, the folks on the sports desk at the Paducah Sun-Democrat are clearly getting excited about the St. Louis Cardinals, who won 23 of 28 before the All-Star break to move into first place. Here was the newspaper's Aug. 2, 1973, headline over the wire report on the Cardinals:
ReplyDeleteHigh-Flying Redbirds
Rip Montreal--Twice!
Mr. Know-It-All 2019 me warns Paducah to heed a headline just a bit down the page:
ReplyDeleteLast-Place Mets Take Doubleheader
From Pirates Behind Seaver, Milner
Peter Gammons, in his fantastic Sunday baseball-notes column for The Boston Glube last week, observed with curiousity that the Cardinals were in need of a fifth starter and had given up Jim Bibby to the Rangers--the same Jim Bibby who no-hit the A's.
ReplyDeleteBaseball Digest has three smiling White Sox--Dick Allen, Bill Melton and Carlos May--on its August 1973 cover and refers to them as "A New Murderers' Row."
ReplyDeleteAnd now, as Johnny Carson has a cigarette, here's Ricardo Montalbán on bullfighting ...
ReplyDelete