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The View from the Gangplank May 1, 1930
A very nice welcome back to the game for yours truly as we open the season with road sweeps at Cincy and then the Cards before losing our home opener to the Reds as Josh Gibson belts his first MLB home run. We pick things straight up again and end up winning 13 of 15.
What a lark this baseball thing is... https://i.imgur.com/u0ZsuSM.png?1 We claim pitcher Ray Benge off waivers and send Ray Kremer to Wilkes-Barre. Standings, awards, news, leaders with a full update on 1 June. You might notice the poor old Cards, who win their first 2 games and then lose the 14 since. Ouch. https://i.imgur.com/78ZVvoJ.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/HKphsgg.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/4EXzI1e.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/uBBInR0.png?1https://i.imgur.com/nDPEQFL.png?1 S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME |
The Meal Ticket Delivers
The season's first no-hitter - and first since 1927 - has arrived courtesy of New York's Carl Hubbell.
https://i.imgur.com/994pNS9.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/exRDpi0.png?1 |
Chicks and Ducks
Another astute acquisition for the BoSox in the offseason, and Chick Hafey looks to be settling nicely into his new roost.
https://i.imgur.com/4W8GOOE.png?1 200 in 844 games is most impressive and he should get up there as far as career totals are concerned. He's just the 6th player to reach this threshold but there are few more lining up to do so fairly soon. https://i.imgur.com/z10iBRZ.png?1 |
Getting All Riled Up
Another no-no, this time from Bucs offcast Ed Rile, even more impressive given the quality of the opponent.
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Is Rile playing two way?
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Quote:
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Finally!
With him sitting in the Yanks BP with 0 IP I wondered if this day would ever come.
Thankfully, it has. https://i.imgur.com/SECiXoq.png?1 |
The View from the Gangplank June 1, 1930
Our strong form holds thru the first week but then some cracks start to appear. After we cop a whuppin’ by the Phils at home, I make some moves. O’Doul has given us little in the cleanup spot so I shift him down the order and put Grantham at 4. Streeter’s continued uselessness at this level finally forces my hand and he is sent down, with Benge given first dibs at SP4 (who then pitches a 4-hitter in his debut for us). We also claim pitcher Slim Harriss on waivers, call up young left Carl Fischer and ship Juanelo Mirabal to AAA.
None of which really helps much as the cracks widen, with an injury late in the month to Bill McCall that will sideline him for 5 weeks complicating matters even further and compelling me to look for a more permanent solution. After a fair bit of tire-kicking, this is what I end up with: TRADE 1 OF 2 (05/29/30) OF Liz Funk and OF Evar Swanson traded to St. Louis (AL) for P Ted Trent. I’m not a fan of offloading young good players, especially when we have so few to spare, but this was not only necessary it also netted us a quality arm who is under TC until 1932. Ted will settle at SP3 when Bill McCall returns. We call up Chaney White and Doug Taitt to replace the lost comrades. Then, on the last day of the month, Bill Force is also hurt. Back to the drawing-board I go. Chaney White also picks up a niggle but we should be able to nurse him through it. We end up going 16-13 for the month, entirely satisfactory given the stark reminder I’m given about how much easier it is coaching from the couch... https://i.imgur.com/1Arf0i7.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/K6IrtkO.png?1 Not the most convincing month from the bats by any stretch. Grantham hits just 200 and O'Doul continues to flounder. Wells and Traynor both have quiet patches but still generate most of our offence. https://i.imgur.com/FZrCWSL.png?2 Foster is just monumental, basically holding our staff together with his 4-1 / 2.21 sectional. If we can get McCall back on time, the addition of Trent makes this a good rotation. The BP (2.16 ERA) has been fantastic to this point despite the almost constant upheaval. https://i.imgur.com/3k0j1vV.png?1 We remain on top in the NL, while the Indians lead narrowly in the AL. https://i.imgur.com/OF9qAKk.png?1 Awards, news, leaders. https://i.imgur.com/7STRxsg.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/sB7OBCa.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/skX4gjs.png?1https://i.imgur.com/RMSV8LE.png?1 S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME |
I swear...
... this must make it every franchise or close to has had a change of ownership.
https://i.imgur.com/ITppJid.png?1 Might in fact be a good break for the White Sox, they certainly haven't been much chop for a long time. |
The View from the Gangplank July 1, 1930
Bill Force is expected to miss a month. Young Carl Fischer all of a sudden finds himself in the rotation.
Then we lose Grantham for 3 weeks to an ankle sprain. We also lose prospect Joe Heving down at Wilkes-Barre for 14 months. It’s like a game of Whack-a-Mole without the appropriate mallet. Our ragtag bunch keeps applying itself admirably but the law of diminishing returns takes hold and soon enough the hits dry up and the losses start to come. We manage to score just once in three straight losses to the Giants – the first time we’ve lost more than two on the bounce – that gets them just a half-game back, and then overtake us. When we eventually get Grantham back from the IL it seems to steady us as we string together six straight wins right at month-end to finish with a 16-11 sectional that leaves us at 45-26 overall. https://i.imgur.com/wDkzMy4.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/fTxBDaA.png?1 I do some more shuffling of our lineup in advance of the new month: Suhr makes his debut in the bigs and will play 1B, with O’Doul moving to LF and Combs to CF, relegating Lloyd Waner – who has been struggling all year – to the bench. O’Farrell also takes over everyday duties at catcher, with Lerian’s 186 BA no longer tolerable. https://i.imgur.com/14xpUgo.png?1 Close enough to miraculous how our pitching has held up given all of the ins and outs. Still, you can tell it has taken its toll, especially on the pen who have been called upon time and again in pressure situations earlier than is good for them, or us. The imminent return of McCall and Force should at least relieve this to some degree. https://i.imgur.com/EydlXZO.png?1 That late flourish of wins sees us back on top narrowly over the Giants, with some gap to the rest already. The poor Indians have been monstered by injuries, losing Harder, Shaute, Averill, Lundy and Sewell, which has seen them slip back into mid-standings. The Yanks are looking strong and lead the division by a game from the surprising Senators, but there are still plenty within reach. https://i.imgur.com/YTbJUJR.png?1 Awards, news, leaders. https://i.imgur.com/OS3Au2B.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/Pz14Cgc.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/SGMJqQE.png?1https://i.imgur.com/zfZAbCX.png?1 S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME |
A quick observation...
I’m not sure if this is merely a function of me being back at the helm and more closely watching the minutiae of the on an incremental game-by-game basis, but the league seems very quiet with regard to big individual performances. Players are still excelling, just not with the usual sort of volatility. I keep expecting it to explode in a barrage of multi-HR games and no-nos. Maybe this is the start of it...
https://i.imgur.com/C5m2bVn.png?1 |
Stat Check: SB
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Cycle for Joe Cro
The Red Sox aren't out of the AL race by any means, but at 7 1/2 GB they'll need to get a move on. A few more performances like this one will help matters.
https://i.imgur.com/zKvzN54.png?1 |
That's a bit more like it...
The high hopes Cincy would undoubtedly have for their prized rookie are coming good so far, with Josh slashing 271/351/519 with 17 homers and 64 ribbies after this exemplary effort.
https://i.imgur.com/vnJU5i8.png?1 |
The View from the Gangplank August 1, 1930
Our travails continue, and yet somehow we once again manage to post a winning record for the month, albeit only just.
Things start promisingly when Carl Fischer throws an impressive 1-hitter in just his sixth career start. We get McCall back but my plans to give him a short rehab stint are derailed when Force is hurt again, out for about 6 more weeks. Then Ted Trent goes down for a month with forearm inflammation. The middle part of the month sees us win one / lose one almost like clockwork for about two weeks, but then a late dose of the wobbles leaves us at 16-14 for July and cuts our lead to just a couple games. https://i.imgur.com/7a4k1Ly.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/AsihydX.png?1 With all of this going on among our pitching ranks, it is in fact our hitting that is letting us down. We put together one good game every so often but intersperse these with lacklustre performances with very little pop even when we do rack up a few hits, even when we get a close and low-scoring win. Our skinny +41 run diff is a good indication of just how hard we've had to fight for the record we've got. We sit mid-rankings for most offensive metrics aside from HR, in which we are next-to-last with just 50. Wells with 10 is our only player into double-figures. Still, I keep my second trade option in my pocket as the deadline passes. I just can't find the right piece for the right price, so it is up to the group as is to get the job done. https://i.imgur.com/O70b17I.png?1 Our pitching is starting to show the wear and tear of all its exertions and tumult. Even Foster has just started to struggle a bit, posting a 4.45 ERA for the sectional. Trent is a week away and his return can't come soon enough. Force may well find himself at AAA as I really don't know if he is robust enough to see this through. https://i.imgur.com/IQ9dINH.png?1 Entering the stretch it is all set up for big finishes in both divisions. The Yanks are the same distance ahead as we are, with just 5 1/2 games separating them from the 5th-place Indians. A late and as-yet-undiagnosed injury to Lou Gehrig may be the biggest news all season and, if serious, a key factor over the final two months. https://i.imgur.com/aWGQTjz.png?1 Here's a look at the Top 20 players and pitchers by WAR to this point. https://i.imgur.com/W3phWgy.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/Gd0tVJk.png?1 Awards, news, leaders. https://i.imgur.com/pP8SapF.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/jYBHMU0.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/Mr7QcGE.png?1https://i.imgur.com/V4vTqqN.png?1 S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME |
Iron Horse Put Out to Pasture
It could have been worse, but this will really test the Yankees' resolve and resourcefulness.
https://i.imgur.com/g4vHswq.png?1 |
His Royal Heaviness Gets #300
On the homeward stretch now of a superb career that should almost certainly end with a call from the Hall, and this is a fine exclamation point to it as Heavy Johnson becomes just the second player to reach the 300 HR plateau.
https://i.imgur.com/GxBDngi.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/KheVbeW.png?1 |
The View from the Gangplank September 1, 1930
The 3-game losing streak we carry into the new month quickly becomes 6 before Bill Foster finally gets us in the win column. Just as we start stringing some wins together, we lose Carl Fischer for the season to bone spurs, although thankfully this takes place on the very same day Ted Trent returns. Then, in mid-month we lose Foster for 6 weeks and, with him, almost certainly our season as well.
That might be how I see it, but the lads obviously don’t share my point of view. They proceed to win 6 of the next 7 games. When it comes down to it, how they see things is all that matters. I’m happy to just go along for the ride as they eventually win 9 of 12 to round out the month with a 14-13 mark. https://i.imgur.com/1XbDQuZ.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/kAtbUmc.png?1 Big Poison and Earl Combs lead the bats, with bit-players like Chaney White (406) and Freddy Spurgeon (429) proving key in an improved offensive month. But still that power dearth is handicapping us greatly, with Willie Wells' 3 making him the only player with multiple homers for the sectional. https://i.imgur.com/2Y25nmf.png?1 I cannot speak highly enough about our patchwork quilt of a pitching staff and how they have stuck to their guns amid all the chaos. Ted Trent and Bill McCall have stepped up manfully in Bill Foster's absence, and Bill Force and Ray Benge have done their bit as well. https://i.imgur.com/wZKEb34.png?1 This is going to be one heck of a final month. Four teams within 2 1/2 games in the NL, 4 teams within 4 in the AL. Whichever teams get home, they will well and truly have earned it. https://i.imgur.com/uO5scwN.png?2 Awards, news, leaders. https://i.imgur.com/zjz1Qf9.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/tsztTGg.png?1 https://i.imgur.com/mji6PJD.png?1https://i.imgur.com/T1dcOF2.png?1 S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME |
BoSox Lose a Big One
We're hopeful that Bill Foster will be back should we manage to make the Series. Sadly, the Red Sox have no such luck with one of their best players. Two days later, the Yanks get Lou Gehrig back.
https://i.imgur.com/DhgF9mR.png?1 |
White on Time
With the injury bug taking chunks out of our playing group at regular intervals, our backup guys become more and more important. This chap has been fantastic all year and has a special day today.
https://i.imgur.com/BAeAbm2.png?1 |
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