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reds1 · 08-19-2015, 04:07 PM

November 1, 1939

Western League: Cambria Serves Notice

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A 12-game winning streak to start the season served notice to everyone in the Western League that the Cambria Cannons cared little about projected finishes. The winning streak included a 3-game sweep of Kingston as well, no doubt signaling their intent on challenging the resident champions for the WL Pennant. There’s still a long way to go, but the Cannons are remarkably balanced and strong on both offense and pitching. They lead the league in both runs scored and runs against. If they keep it up, the Pelicans will indeed have a fight on their hands.

Top Position Player: Hard to choose when so many played well this month. I’ll go with SS Clint Jones (.368/.434/.553, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 27 R, 13 BB, 5 SB) who leads the team in a number of categories in the early going.
Both CF Ron Westmacott (.283/.357/.522, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 25 R, 14 BB, 5 SB) and C Glen Yeend (.364/.422/.505, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, 10 BB) won Player of the Week honours during the course of the month.

Top Pitcher: Another tough choice, but I opt for SP Willem Atkins (4-0, 1.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) who seemed to get stronger with each outing.

Key Injuries: 25-year old 2B/SS Charles Halse (.288/.386/.542, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 9 BB) fractured his wrist in a game on October 24. He will be out four more weeks.
3B Eric Jacobs (.273/.369/.382, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 R, 9 BB) will be out for two weeks, due to a bruised wrist, suffered on October 27.

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The Cannons were not the only team shaking things up in the West in October, as the Fort Richmond Generals find themselves tied for 2nd place with Kingston. After being swept by the Pulberry Trolleys to start the season, the Generals then went an impressive 11-4 in the middle of the month before splitting a 4-game series with the Pelicans near the end of it. All-in-all, an encouraging sign of competitiveness in the West by a team not named the Pelicans or Cannons. Now they just need to keep it up.

Top Position Player: The Generals have been very impressive offensively in the early going, so it’s tough to choose. That said, RF Héctor Nájera (.330/.473/.557, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 20 R, 23 BB) had himself a great month.
Last season’s 5th overall pick SS Steven Wormleighton (.262/.297/.344, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 20 R, 5 BB, 8 SB) is showing signs of promise in his first full major league season.

Top Pitcher: The pitching has not been quite as good as the offense this past month. However, SP Tristan Purss (2-3, 3.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) has been the most consistent.

Key Injuries: None.

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The Kingston Pelicans find themselves in unfamiliar territory, as they spent the better part of October trying to get back into the thick of things. After opening the season with a 4-game winning streak, the Pelicans went 2-7 to fall 1 game below .500. They picked things up in the second half. It should be interesting to see if they can regain supremacy in the West in the succeeding months.
Kingston players captured both the Hitter and Pitcher of the Month Awards in October, so it wasn’t that hard to select the top players.

Top Position Player: The runner-up to last season’s WL Babe Ruth Award, SS Okura Ito had a great October, hitting .403/.422/.621, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 28 R, 6 BB.

Top Pitcher: SP Brady Murdy, winner of the 1938-39 Satchel Paige Award and triple-crown winner, picked up where he left off, putting up an incredible 7-0, 1.43 ERA, 0.92 WHIP record.

Key Injuries: After losing SP Joey Cumberledge for the season in Spring Training due to a torn labrum, Kingston will also be without the services of SP Francis Slocock (2-3, 5.53 ERA, 1.99 WHIP) for 8 weeks, due to a herniated disc suffered on October 30.

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After a slow start to the season, the Balmoral Giants improved their play in the latter half of the month to get within a game of .500. The month also saw the Giants go 4-3 in seven games played against Kingston. But they are going to have to pick things up, especially in the pitching department if they want to have any chance to stay within striking distance of the wild card. The Giants currently have the deepest farm system and boast the top two prospects, 20-year old CF Damon Purcell (No. 2 pick last season) and 21-year old RF Carlton Broadbent (No. 3 pick last season – acquired in a trade from Braeland City). The future could be very bright for Balmoral.

Top Position Player: Newcomer SS Francisco Rodríguez was a revelation in his first month in the major leagues. The Rookie of the Month winner went .347/.355/.512, 8-2B, 13 RBI, 20 R, 2 BB. Rodríguez was signed as a free agent from Costa Rica in June.

Top Pitcher: A rough month for Balmoral pitchers, but SP Charlie Crocombe (3-3, 5.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) finished the month fairly strong, and gets the acknowledgement based largely on that.

Key Injuries: None.

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The Pulberry Trolleys joined in the fun as well as they went 9-2 to start the season. But then they proceeded to lose the next eight games and came back down to earth. The Trolleys’ pitching has been pretty effective, especially their bullpen, and they lead the league in defensive efficiency after one month, so they are doing some things right. If they can pick things up on offense, they could very well challenge for the wild card.

Top Position Player: 1B William Tozer (.342/.417/.477, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB) was the top position player for the Trolleys in October.

Top Pitcher: With the bullpen performing well, it’s tempting to go with a reliever, but I’ll stick with a starter. SP Bailey Keedwell, a Rule 5 draft pick taken from the Brunswick Legends in the offseason, went 3-2, 3.77 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in October.

Key Injury: None.

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The Sherburn Tigers were playing valiantly to start the month; going 10-8, but then lost the next seven games and fell 4 games below .500 at month’s end. A plague of injuries to some of their key players no doubt contributed to their struggles.

Top Position Player: For a team that is struggling on offense and dealing with injuries, I’ll go with 26-year old RF Tom Given (.287/.346/.516, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 23 R, 12 BB, 4 SB).

Top Pitcher: 30-year old SP Dillon Green (3-3, 1 SV, 1.96 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) provided some versatility for Sherburn this month. He began the month in the bullpen, but then moved back to the rotation due to an injury to Simon Darling.

Key Injuries: 31-year old SP Simon Darling suffered an injury just 2.2 innings into his first game against the Hespeler Stars on October 5. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will miss 6 more weeks.
LF Robin Harney (.269/.347/.358, 4-2B, 7 RBI, 10 R, 8 BB) strained a “posterior cruciate ligament” October 18 while running the bases in a game against the Cambria Cannons. He is out for another 3-4 weeks.
In a game against the Kingston Pelicans on October 23, 3B Mick Lanfear (.339/.394/.492, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB) fractured his ankle. He is gone for at least 3 months.
2B Tim Rackham (.292/.313/.377, 7-2B, 17 RBI, 13 R, 4 BB) injured himself in a game against the Wolseley Unions on October 31. His diagnosis is not yet known.

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Being swept by the Pelicans to open the season set the tone for the Wolseley Unions, as the teams finds itself 7 games below .500 after one month of action. The Unions are about average on offense, but a bit below average on the pitching side of things.
They do have a strong farm system going for them, as it is rated 2nd only to Balmoral. They also have a couple of dynamic youngsters in 21-year old CF Zak Kidd and 26-year old 1B Aaron Flanagan, who won Rookie of the Year honours last season. So the Unions would appear to be an up and coming team.

Top Position Player: Appropriately, this is a tie. Both Zak Kidd (.349/.376/.524, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 22 R, 6 BB) and Aaron Flanagan (.315/.406/.622, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 22 R, 17 BB) gave the locals something to cheer about in October. Flanagan won the WL Player of the Week Award in the last week of the month.

Top Pitcher: No one on the pitching staff has really pitched all that well in the early going, but I’ll go with SP Jim Smyth (1-1, 3.06 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). He has been steady, if unspectacular.

Key Injury: SP Edward Hill (2-4, 4.44 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) was injured in a game against the Sherburn Tigers on the final day of the month. His diagnosis is not yet known.

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The woeful Hespeler Stars have all of 8 wins 1 month into the season, and 5 of those have come within the past 10. They just do not have the talent to compete with the rest in the Wild West and it shows in their stats and rankings. They are also lagging behind Balmoral and Wolseley in cultivating top prospects. Their farm system is ranked 10th – and they are a lot closer to the bottom of the rankings than to the top.

Top Position Player: LF Steven Winstanley (.311/.392/.557, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 15 R, 14 BB) has been far and away Hespeler’s best offensive player in the early going. Winstanley was the 10th overall pick in the 1937-38 draft.

Top Pitcher: SP Michael Wilberfoss (1-4, 3.24 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) is the pick of a mediocre lot. He pitched a couple of games in October where the Stars were shut-out. Rather hard to win with that sort of run support.
Hespeler claimed SP Michael Hanley (2-1, 1.11 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) off of waivers from the Wellington Athletics on October 21; he pitched well in both his starts for the Stars thus far. It will be interesting to see how he fares the rest of the way.

Key Injury: 30-year old C Boyd Bedard (.194/.219/.242, 3-2B, 3 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB) has been plagued with recurring back spasms since October 21. He will miss a further 4 weeks.

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08-19-2015, 04:07 PM	#129
reds1 Hall Of Famer Join Date: May 2002 Location: Winnipeg Posts: 3,919	November 1, 1939 Western League: Cambria Serves Notice -------- A 12-game winning streak to start the season served notice to everyone in the Western League that the Cambria Cannons cared little about projected finishes. The winning streak included a 3-game sweep of Kingston as well, no doubt signaling their intent on challenging the resident champions for the WL Pennant. There’s still a long way to go, but the Cannons are remarkably balanced and strong on both offense and pitching. They lead the league in both runs scored and runs against. If they keep it up, the Pelicans will indeed have a fight on their hands. Top Position Player: Hard to choose when so many played well this month. I’ll go with SS Clint Jones (.368/.434/.553, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 27 R, 13 BB, 5 SB) who leads the team in a number of categories in the early going. Both CF Ron Westmacott (.283/.357/.522, 3 HR, 26 RBI, 25 R, 14 BB, 5 SB) and C Glen Yeend (.364/.422/.505, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 19 R, 10 BB) won Player of the Week honours during the course of the month. Top Pitcher: Another tough choice, but I opt for SP Willem Atkins (4-0, 1.32 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) who seemed to get stronger with each outing. Key Injuries: 25-year old 2B/SS Charles Halse (.288/.386/.542, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 9 BB) fractured his wrist in a game on October 24. He will be out four more weeks. 3B Eric Jacobs (.273/.369/.382, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 4 R, 9 BB) will be out for two weeks, due to a bruised wrist, suffered on October 27. -------- The Cannons were not the only team shaking things up in the West in October, as the Fort Richmond Generals find themselves tied for 2nd place with Kingston. After being swept by the Pulberry Trolleys to start the season, the Generals then went an impressive 11-4 in the middle of the month before splitting a 4-game series with the Pelicans near the end of it. All-in-all, an encouraging sign of competitiveness in the West by a team not named the Pelicans or Cannons. Now they just need to keep it up. Top Position Player: The Generals have been very impressive offensively in the early going, so it’s tough to choose. That said, RF Héctor Nájera (.330/.473/.557, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 20 R, 23 BB) had himself a great month. Last season’s 5th overall pick SS Steven Wormleighton (.262/.297/.344, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 20 R, 5 BB, 8 SB) is showing signs of promise in his first full major league season. Top Pitcher: The pitching has not been quite as good as the offense this past month. However, SP Tristan Purss (2-3, 3.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP) has been the most consistent. Key Injuries: None. -------- The Kingston Pelicans find themselves in unfamiliar territory, as they spent the better part of October trying to get back into the thick of things. After opening the season with a 4-game winning streak, the Pelicans went 2-7 to fall 1 game below .500. They picked things up in the second half. It should be interesting to see if they can regain supremacy in the West in the succeeding months. Kingston players captured both the Hitter and Pitcher of the Month Awards in October, so it wasn’t that hard to select the top players. Top Position Player: The runner-up to last season’s WL Babe Ruth Award, SS Okura Ito had a great October, hitting .403/.422/.621, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 28 R, 6 BB. Top Pitcher: SP Brady Murdy, winner of the 1938-39 Satchel Paige Award and triple-crown winner, picked up where he left off, putting up an incredible 7-0, 1.43 ERA, 0.92 WHIP record. Key Injuries: After losing SP Joey Cumberledge for the season in Spring Training due to a torn labrum, Kingston will also be without the services of SP Francis Slocock (2-3, 5.53 ERA, 1.99 WHIP) for 8 weeks, due to a herniated disc suffered on October 30. -------- After a slow start to the season, the Balmoral Giants improved their play in the latter half of the month to get within a game of .500. The month also saw the Giants go 4-3 in seven games played against Kingston. But they are going to have to pick things up, especially in the pitching department if they want to have any chance to stay within striking distance of the wild card. The Giants currently have the deepest farm system and boast the top two prospects, 20-year old CF Damon Purcell (No. 2 pick last season) and 21-year old RF Carlton Broadbent (No. 3 pick last season – acquired in a trade from Braeland City). The future could be very bright for Balmoral. Top Position Player: Newcomer SS Francisco Rodríguez was a revelation in his first month in the major leagues. The Rookie of the Month winner went .347/.355/.512, 8-2B, 13 RBI, 20 R, 2 BB. Rodríguez was signed as a free agent from Costa Rica in June. Top Pitcher: A rough month for Balmoral pitchers, but SP Charlie Crocombe (3-3, 5.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP) finished the month fairly strong, and gets the acknowledgement based largely on that. Key Injuries: None. -------- The Pulberry Trolleys joined in the fun as well as they went 9-2 to start the season. But then they proceeded to lose the next eight games and came back down to earth. The Trolleys’ pitching has been pretty effective, especially their bullpen, and they lead the league in defensive efficiency after one month, so they are doing some things right. If they can pick things up on offense, they could very well challenge for the wild card. Top Position Player: 1B William Tozer (.342/.417/.477, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 16 R, 15 BB) was the top position player for the Trolleys in October. Top Pitcher: With the bullpen performing well, it’s tempting to go with a reliever, but I’ll stick with a starter. SP Bailey Keedwell, a Rule 5 draft pick taken from the Brunswick Legends in the offseason, went 3-2, 3.77 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in October. Key Injury: None. -------- The Sherburn Tigers were playing valiantly to start the month; going 10-8, but then lost the next seven games and fell 4 games below .500 at month’s end. A plague of injuries to some of their key players no doubt contributed to their struggles. Top Position Player: For a team that is struggling on offense and dealing with injuries, I’ll go with 26-year old RF Tom Given (.287/.346/.516, 1 HR, 23 RBI, 23 R, 12 BB, 4 SB). Top Pitcher: 30-year old SP Dillon Green (3-3, 1 SV, 1.96 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) provided some versatility for Sherburn this month. He began the month in the bullpen, but then moved back to the rotation due to an injury to Simon Darling. Key Injuries: 31-year old SP Simon Darling suffered an injury just 2.2 innings into his first game against the Hespeler Stars on October 5. He was diagnosed with a herniated disc and will miss 6 more weeks. LF Robin Harney (.269/.347/.358, 4-2B, 7 RBI, 10 R, 8 BB) strained a “posterior cruciate ligament” October 18 while running the bases in a game against the Cambria Cannons. He is out for another 3-4 weeks. In a game against the Kingston Pelicans on October 23, 3B Mick Lanfear (.339/.394/.492, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB) fractured his ankle. He is gone for at least 3 months. 2B Tim Rackham (.292/.313/.377, 7-2B, 17 RBI, 13 R, 4 BB) injured himself in a game against the Wolseley Unions on October 31. His diagnosis is not yet known. -------- Being swept by the Pelicans to open the season set the tone for the Wolseley Unions, as the teams finds itself 7 games below .500 after one month of action. The Unions are about average on offense, but a bit below average on the pitching side of things. They do have a strong farm system going for them, as it is rated 2nd only to Balmoral. They also have a couple of dynamic youngsters in 21-year old CF Zak Kidd and 26-year old 1B Aaron Flanagan, who won Rookie of the Year honours last season. So the Unions would appear to be an up and coming team. Top Position Player: Appropriately, this is a tie. Both Zak Kidd (.349/.376/.524, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 22 R, 6 BB) and Aaron Flanagan (.315/.406/.622, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 22 R, 17 BB) gave the locals something to cheer about in October. Flanagan won the WL Player of the Week Award in the last week of the month. Top Pitcher: No one on the pitching staff has really pitched all that well in the early going, but I’ll go with SP Jim Smyth (1-1, 3.06 ERA, 1.48 WHIP). He has been steady, if unspectacular. Key Injury: SP Edward Hill (2-4, 4.44 ERA, 1.48 WHIP) was injured in a game against the Sherburn Tigers on the final day of the month. His diagnosis is not yet known. -------- The woeful Hespeler Stars have all of 8 wins 1 month into the season, and 5 of those have come within the past 10. They just do not have the talent to compete with the rest in the Wild West and it shows in their stats and rankings. They are also lagging behind Balmoral and Wolseley in cultivating top prospects. Their farm system is ranked 10th – and they are a lot closer to the bottom of the rankings than to the top. Top Position Player: LF Steven Winstanley (.311/.392/.557, 6 HR, 25 RBI, 15 R, 14 BB) has been far and away Hespeler’s best offensive player in the early going. Winstanley was the 10th overall pick in the 1937-38 draft. Top Pitcher: SP Michael Wilberfoss (1-4, 3.24 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) is the pick of a mediocre lot. He pitched a couple of games in October where the Stars were shut-out. Rather hard to win with that sort of run support. Hespeler claimed SP Michael Hanley (2-1, 1.11 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) off of waivers from the Wellington Athletics on October 21; he pitched well in both his starts for the Stars thus far. It will be interesting to see how he fares the rest of the way. Key Injury: 30-year old C Boyd Bedard (.194/.219/.242, 3-2B, 3 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB) has been plagued with recurring back spasms since October 21. He will miss a further 4 weeks. -------- __________________ United Leagues of Braeland Last edited by reds1; 07-02-2017 at 08:38 PM.