FOUNDER'S CUP: GROUP STAGE
 

FOUNDER'S CUP: QUARTERFINALS 

Los Angeles 6, San Francisco 3
The Outlaws turned back a 3-0 deficit with a four-run fifth inning and added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to advance to the final four.  Art Mahaffey gave up three runs in the third on three hits and a walk, but then pitched six no-hit innings.  Luis Tiant had a shutout going until the wheels fell off in the fifth.  Wally Moon hit a two-run double and then scored on Frank Robinson's two-run homer, his 23rd of the year.  Mahaffey returned to the rotation at the beginning of June and is 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA in six starts.

Brooklyn 2, Detroit 1
Gene Conley anchored a combined seven hitter, striking out nine in six innings, and Dennis Higgins earned his third save with 1.2 shutout innings, as the Bas edged Detroit 2-1.  Back-to-back doubles by Ted Lepcio and Dick McAuliffe put Brooklyn ahead in the first.  Charlie Lau tied it up in the second with an RBI single, but Brooklyn grabbed the lead for good in the third on Lepcio's solo home run.

Washington 6, Dallas 5, 10 inn.
Charlie Maxwell capped a dramatic rally with a game-winning RBI single off Ray Crone in the bottom of the 10th.  Dallas led 5-3 going into the bottom of the eighth, but the Mons plated a pair to tie the game.  Sammy Taylor hit a sac fly to score Johnny Romano, and Dick Howser doubled home Frank Robinson.  Romano and Howser had three hits each, and Marv Throneberry homered for the Texans.

St. Louis 4, Cleveland 3
Bob Shaw nearly blew a 4-0 lead, but Billy O'Dell and Bob Locker stemmed the tide, as St. Louis held on for a 4-3 win in their home ballpark.  Roger Maris homered in the third and fifth, and Tony Perez homered in the seventh, before Cleveland clawed back to within a run in the seventh and eighth innings.  Maris scored three runs and raised his homer total to 20, and Bob Friend took the loss for the Barons.
  

Brooklyn 5, Los Angeles 0
Johnny Kucks ended L.A.'s six-game winning streak emphatically, shutout out the Outlaws 5-0 on six hits.  Ted Lepcio was 3-for-5 and homered again, driving in three runs, and Mickey Mantle homered.  Brooklyn's only loss in the group stage was a 2-0 setback in Fritz Peterson's shutout.  Brooklyn advanced to the FC Final for the second time.  They lost to the Boston Federals in the second Founder's Cup final in Cleveland in 1963.

Washington 5, St. Louis 4
Washington won on the last at-bat for the second time in a row, manufacturing a run off Billy O'Dell in the bottom of the ninth.  Dick Howser reached on an infield hit, got to second on Charlie Maxwell's sac bunt, stole third, then scored on Willie Mays' sac fly to right.  Rick Wise went the distance, despite allowing 13 hits (but no walks).  Mays drove in a pair without getting a hit.  Jim Fregosi was 3-for-4 with a double and 3 RBIs.  It was O'Dell's ninth loss in 12 decisions.  Washington is making its first appearance in the FC final since it won the inaugural cup in Dallas in 1962 with a 3-2 win over Louisville.

Three-Way? Way!
by Charlie Qualls
Last season, UL fans were exposed to pennant fever for the first time in years.  Now it seems to be spreading.  As exciting as BRO v. CLE was last year, that fever didn’t really pitch until well into the second half of the season.  Now, as we tip-toe past the halfway mark of 1966, we find three teams within a game-and-a-half atop the East Division.  Three very different teams are finding roughly the same amount of success.

Franchismo
The Brooklyn Superbas are winning the way they always have:  Starting Pitching and OBP.  Mickey Mantle is on pace to mirror or exceed his 1960 career year.  Jim Gentile has stepped up his game to match.  Ageless
wonders Lew Burdette and Gene Conley are pitching as if entering their prime.  Tim McCarver is blossoming
into one of the UL’s top tier backstops.  The team’s focus as always is to get to the post season and let their legendary rotation take over from there. 
However:
Key injuries to Conley, Burdette, McCarver, Dick Williams and Sandy Amoros may have kept the Bas from
building a healthy lead in the standings.  Despite Dick Sisler’s return to closer form, the Brooklyn bullpen has not been living up to the high standards already in place.  Also, now that they’re a team that plays better on the road, the Superbas have seen fan interest wane this season.

The Best Defense is a Good Defense
The Cleveland Barons have relied almost exclusively on pitching and glove work to carry them into this title
defense fight.  Had they been able to post even average lumber numbers to this point, there might not be a race at all.  But let’s focus on the positive.  Cleveland’s arms have not only been the most effective all year, but are also one of the healthiest rotations.  When asked to comment about the overall good health of the squad thus far, Barons Team Doctor Ray Zeraitts said only  “Whirling Dervishes.”  The Barons have also made the second fewest errors leaguewide.  Cleveland believes their arms and gloves can keep them in the hunt until the hitting kicks in.
However:
The significant power threat that was once Eddie Mathews seems to be fading.  Starters Steve Barber and
Bob Friend have been less than stellar in their last handful of starts, the lack of run support each has received this year may finally be getting to them.  In any case, if those matchsticks the Barons hitters are swinging don’t catch fire soon, it may be a cold October in Cleveland.

Spoilerella
Certainly winning isn’t a foreign concept to the fine folks in D.C., but the UL’s first ever monster squad has been in a rebuilding pattern for years.  Like Cleveland, the Washington Monuments have not missed a start from their rotation.  Unlike Cleveland (or anyone else) the Mons have let their bat men do most of the heavy lifting.  Dick Howser is building a case to prove he’s the United League’s best lead-off man ever.  Willie Mays has had to build several cases over the years to house the unfathomable amount of awardage he’s earned.  Ron Santo is cutting down on K’s and carving up opposing pitchers.  Bob Veale is knocking on Cy Young’s window from the fourth door down in the rotation.  Plus, in war, one of the most effective elements is surprise.
However:
The family dog may be circling this house of cards.  If the D.C. thumpers don’t stay white hot, there may not be enough pitching to sustain a title grab.  Don Larsen may be too old, Rick Wise may be too young, Don Drysdale too average.  Bob Veale is just right and will have to stay that way if the Monuments hope to clean the bowls of their division rivals.

Suck My Poll
In an informal poll of UL GM's, most believe Cleveland will defend their title.  Out of 70 "predict-a-votes"
returned, the Barons received 31, Brooklyn 23, Washington 15, and John Edwards 1.
However:
We're still awaiting results from Florida. . .
 

Point, Counterpoint Part 5: Cleveland Barons
What Mistake by the Lake? by Sean Holloway 

Point:  Michael Wilbon
Even though I’m in the hospital because my girl Beyonce nearly gave me a heart attack last night when I was hanging with JayZ and Shaq, I still have better forecasting skills.  The Barons are the team of the future – watch out for them.

Reason 1:  An Even Better One-Two Pitching Punch
Podres…..Francis – what more do you want?  Podres is 10-5 with a 2.23 ERA, and Francis is 11-4 with a 2.46 ERA, helping the Barons to the best team ERA in the UL.  In fact, find me a pitching category where the Barons don’t lead the League.  You name it and the Barons likely lead in it.  The Team is like Tom Brady’s girl Giselle – stacked from top to bottom. 

Reason 2:  Where’s the Glove?
With Cleveland; that’s where.  Check out that starting line-up – it’s like one giant Hoover vacuum cleaner.  There’s not one weak link out there, so even if you are lucky enough to get a bat on the ball, it’s bound to be scooped up by a Baron.  I’m telling you Wilbon, there’s more sucking when Cleveland’s in the field than when the Detroit Lions make draft picks.

Counterpoint:  Tony Kornheiser
Wilbon!  Where’ve we been?  Hospital?  Just can’t handle the young girls, can you?  I can’t remember the last time we did this, but let’s get on with it.  I heard my girl Jessica Simpson is now single again and in need of consoling.

Reason 1:  Man Cannot Live By Pitching Alone
Sure the Barons can pitch, but what about hitting?  They’re last or next to last in almost every offensive category.  Talk about being offensive!  What happens if the Barons run into a hot pitching staff?  All it takes is a few stellar performances from your opponent’s staff and you quickly become the Atlanta Braves.  Staub, Allen, Mathews and F. Robinson are deadly, but they have to actually hit the ball first.

Reason 2:  Money, Money, Money – must be funny – in the rich man’s world
I’ve heard rumblings in Cleveland’s clubhouse that it’s causing issues.  GM Qualls’ willingness to throw money at any free agent available coupled with an inability to say no to current players with expiring contracts has resulted in a sky-high payroll.  This may be good for some, but if you’re Earl Francis making 500k per year, don’t you think you’d be upset that Johnny Podres is making close to 10 million?