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Houston Fires Manager Cooper

olehippi

By olehippi
in MLB

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Migrant Redbird All-Star

Migrant Redbird

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I'm sure Coop's a good guy and all, but even 27 years later I have trouble mustering any sympathy for members of "Harvey's Wallbangers", those dastardly 1982 Milwaukee Brewers.

What did the Wallbangers do to you?

My grudge against the '82 Brewers is that they featured Cy Young winner Pete Vukevich, catcher Ted Simmons, and closer Rollie Fingers, who won the Cy Young award the previous season. In that trade, the Cardinals got highly touted prospect, David Green, Sexto Lezcano, , and Dave LaPoint.

Green was injured and never amounted to anything. Lezcano only appeared in half the team's games in 1981 and was most notable as part of the Garry Templeton for Ozzie Smith trade prior to the 1982 championship season. Sorensen pitched one injury shortened season in '81 before being part of a 3-way trade with the Indians and Phillies which brought Lonnie Smith to the '82 championship team. The Cards got the most out of LaPoint, who put together a couple of good seasons in '83 and '84 before being traded to the Giants for Jack Clark.

Few trades in Cardinals history have given up more for less. Whitey Herzog had issues with Ted Simmons, who resisted being moved from catcher to 1st base. Rollie Fingers was expendable when the Cards also acquired Bruce Sutter from the Cubs for Leon Durham and Ken Reitz. Vukevich? I think that Whitey may have just misjudged Pete's talent and competitiveness.

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Boy Howdy All-Star

Boy Howdy

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What did the Wallbangers do to you?.

Are you kidding? I'm an Orioles fan.

The 1982 Brewers ruined Baltimore's incredible comeback on the final day of the regular season. Memorial Stadium kept rocking nonetheless to bid Earl Weaver a tearful farewell, inspiring Howard Cosell to say more nice things about Baltimore that afternoon than he had in his life.

Green was a top prospect but battled alcoholism amid worries about the family he left behind in war torn Nicaragua. I understand he owns a dog grooming business in the St. Louis area these days.

But MR, you really shouldn't have a beef with the Brew Crew. The 1982 World Series was a classic in a --to use a boxing analogy-- "styles make a fight" sort of way. And I know you're fully aware that the Redbirds prevailed in seven behind my all-time favorite Joaquin Andujar's second win of the series, though he didn't get a single MVP vote despite pitching to a 1.35 ERA. I became something of a St. Louis fan during that Fall Classic because I wanted somebody, anybody to knock off those Brewers.

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Migrant Redbird All-Star

Migrant Redbird

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Are you kidding? I'm an Orioles fan.

Didn't realize the O's were in the running in '82. The experience apparently stood them in good stead the next season. :)

But MR, you really shouldn't have a beef with the Brew Crew...

It's not a huge beef, but you always have to ask what the '81 Cards would have been like with Vukevich, Simmons, and Fingers. Templeton would probably have been traded for Ozzie anyhow, given that the trade was spawned by Garry giving Cardinals fans the finger and Ozzie being involved in an acrimonious salary negotiation in San Diego.

I see a little bit of the immature Garry Templeton in Milton Bradley. Unfortunately, Bradley doesn't appear to have the reservoir of character which enabled Templeton to resurrect his career with the Padres. Templeton was only 25 at the time; Bradley is 30 and ought to have grown up by now.

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Boy Howdy All-Star

Boy Howdy

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Didn't realize the O's were in the running in '82. The experience apparently stood them in good stead the next season. :)

Oh man, it was a heckuva race.

The Orioles were 8 games out on August 13, but went 35-14 to pull into a tie for the division lead entering the season's final day.

Even more dramatically, the dividsion leading Brewers came to Baltimore for the final four games sporting a three-game lead. After the Orioles won three straight (by a combined 26-7 score) to draw even, Hall of Famers Jim Palmer and Don Sutton matched up to decide the AL East.

Many thought Palmer was washed up in when he finished the first week of June 3-3 with a 5.40 ERA, but he won 12 of his next 13 to lead Baltimore's charge. Another Hall of Famer, Robin Yount, hit two homers off him that fateful last day though, and Cecil Cooper added one as well. Ben Oglivie made a back-breaking catch to end an Orioles rally in the bottom of the eighth, and the game got out of hand in the ninth to drive a lot of O's fans to tears.

The Angels, featuring a bunch of ex-Orioles blew a 2-0 lead in a best-of-five series, but Joaquin and the Cardinals got the job done.

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