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luckymann · 06-25-2021, 08:56 AM

The Reds overtake us early in the month as they sweep us with three one-run decisions (they would end up running that winning string to ten). I’m not so bothered about this development. I like the idea of us finding our groove and slowly improving over the course of the season – like we did in ’01 – more than I do having a sensational start but then drifting off into mid-standings mediocrity. Nobody remembers who led the league in May or June. Nor do they give you a ring and a trophy for doing so.

A game versus Brooklyn not long after that Reds series deserves special mention. Deacon up against Jesse Tannehill, who regularly gives us trouble. Tied at 1 after 8. Both sides score a deuce in the 9th to send it into extras, then score another one in the 11th to keep it going. We finally get the 5-4 win in the 15th on a walkoff single by Seybold. Here’s the box score and game log if you want to check it out.

When the Phillies come to town toward the end of the month, I arrange a sit down with their GM Jose Vazquez. By the end of which, I have made my first trade for the year.

TRADE 1 OF 5: (05/21): OF Lefty Davis and P Buttons Briggs to Philadelphia for OF Fred Clarke.

As I mentioned at the top, I don’t see myself doing much trading this year unless circumstances – form, injury, the exigencies of a tight race – force my hand. But I saw the opportunity to upgrade at left with a player who, all things considered, should have been a member of our squad (and would have been had the league started in 1902) all along. Lefty is a solid player and had a good ’01, but has struggled this year and I just think we’ve got enough flexibility in the group to cover Fred’s defensive one-dimensionality (he only plays LF). Buttons, too, is a good pitcher but we’ve got enough so that his absence should never even really be noticed. Again we are pivoting (slightly) older, which is something I need to keep an eye on. But at 29, “Cap” Clarke has plenty of good years left in him, all things going accordingly, and it’s not as if Lefty (27) or Buttons (26) were all that much younger.

Cap’s Pittsburgh debut turns out to be the most astounding game in our short history. At home. Deacon against the mighty Christy Mathewson, so we are expecting a tough one. What we get instead is a 21-0 rout as we chase Matty with 10 runs in less than 5 innings and just keep on scoring. Here are the boxscore and game log in all their glory, but the Cliff Notes go something like this: we have 19 hits, of which only four are for EB; Seybold has a career day with 7 RBI, tying the NL record; Clarke homers and drives in 3; Phillippe pitches a 3-hitter; Wagner and Williams each score four runs.

We lose 5-0 the next day. Ahhh, baseball, you’re a piece of work, you are.

Right at the end of the month, we get to face the recently-traded Buttons Briggs as the Phils come to town again. Deacon makes sure I don’t look foolish for having traded him (see comments re Jiggs Donahue in the end of month recap for context) by pitching us to a 5-1 win.

The final game of the month is an unpalatable finish, as Frank Owen – the only one of our pitchers not having a banner year so far – is pummelled by the Orphans in an 11-2 loss, the first time in the season we’ve conceded 10 or more. It is confirmation of a sneaking suspicion I had that we are just dying on our run a bit.

That shocker notwithstanding, May pans out to be an OK month for us, a nice consolidation after our scorching April. Mind you, our 16-12 record for the month would look a fair bit worse if not for a few close (read: lucky) wins, with us 8-8 in one-run games and 4-0 in extras. We’re still a bit too hot-and-cold for my liking, but to be sitting just a half-game off the lead at 26-14 overall is pretty much where we want to be.

Hot

Mike O’Neill: 10 Quality Starts on the trot before a loss to the Reds.
Honus Wagner: a deserved Hitter of the Month, hit 390 with 11 RBI / OPS+ of 211 / 470 wOBA / 201 wRC+.
Socks Seybold: MLB high 36 ribbies so far, 21 of which were earned in May.
Ossee Schreckengost: had a diametric May to ’01, back as starting catcher thanks to his 328 BA.
Jack Chesbro: unlucky not to win the monthly pitching award for his 4-2 / 1.21 effort; 81 FIP- and 1.4 WAR among the league’s best.
Deacon Phillippe: not quite as stellar as his rotation mate, but still an excellent month; 4.3 K/BB is the best in either league and 74 FIP- shows how much of his own heavy lifting he’s been doing.

Not

Billy Maloney: his light hitting (216 BA for May) cost him the everyday catcher role, which only improved performance will earn him back.
Jimmy Williams: knocking enough in (14 RBI in May, 20 season-to-date), but his 243 BA needs upping or a lineup reshuffle might be on the cards.
Frank Owen: lost his way in May, going 0-6 with a 4.36 ERA (ERA+ of just 70), and is on the cusp of being switched out of the rotation should improvement not be steep and swift.

Around the Leagues

The Cards are having one of the most bizarre seasons imaginable. After a 1-11 April, they have completely turned things around and their 18-8 May has got them back to smack bang on 500 ball. They are currently riding a 7-game win streak and are 12 of their last 14. Another month along those lines and they’ll be well in this, even as is they only trail the Reds – who lead us by the aforementioned ½ game – by 6½.
Both the Beaneaters (8-18) and Phillies (8-19) had shocking months, and Boston is already 14 GB.
The AL is anyone’s as it stands, with just 7 games from first (the A’s and White Sox at 20-15) to last (the 13-22 Tigers), with the top five within two games of one another.
Our erstwhile teammate Jiggs Donahue has certainly found a home at the Sens, as only a late quiet patch sees his BA dip under 400 and his 2.8 WAR is tied for top in the AL with the mighty Nap Lajoie.
Cincy ace Noodles Hahn pitches a one-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Orphans. On the same day, Red Donahue of the Phillies and Tom Hughes of the Giants duke it out for 16 innings before the Phils finally get the win, 2-0.
Chicago Legacy Player Roy Patterson also pitches a one-hitter over 10 in a 2-0 win over Cleveland.

Awards

05/05 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 1 HR / 3 RBI; NL – Red Donahue (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.72 / 4 K / 25 IP.
05/12 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 2 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) .577 / 4 RBI.
05/19 POTW: AL – Jiggs Donahue (Washington) .655 / 1 HR / 4 RBI; NL – Willie Keeler (Chicago) .833 / 4 RBI.
05/26 POTW: AL – Dan McGann (Philadelphia) .615 / 1 RBI; NL – Jack Chesbro (Pittsburgh) 2-0 / 0.00 / 6 K / 18 IP.

AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .362 / 5 HR / 26 RBI.
NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .390 / 0 HR / 11 RBI.
AL Pitcher of the Month: Roy Patterson (Chicago) 7-1 / 1.71 / 20 K / 73.2 IP.
NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-3 / 1.91 / 63 K / 85 IP.
AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 6-2 / 1.71 / 40 K / 63 IP.
NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 4-3 / 1.62 / 24 K / 61 IP.

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06-25-2021, 08:56 AM	#29
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,716	1902 May The Reds overtake us early in the month as they sweep us with three one-run decisions (they would end up running that winning string to ten). I’m not so bothered about this development. I like the idea of us finding our groove and slowly improving over the course of the season – like we did in ’01 – more than I do having a sensational start but then drifting off into mid-standings mediocrity. Nobody remembers who led the league in May or June. Nor do they give you a ring and a trophy for doing so. A game versus Brooklyn not long after that Reds series deserves special mention. Deacon up against Jesse Tannehill, who regularly gives us trouble. Tied at 1 after 8. Both sides score a deuce in the 9th to send it into extras, then score another one in the 11th to keep it going. We finally get the 5-4 win in the 15th on a walkoff single by Seybold. Here’s the box score and game log if you want to check it out. When the Phillies come to town toward the end of the month, I arrange a sit down with their GM Jose Vazquez. By the end of which, I have made my first trade for the year. TRADE 1 OF 5: (05/21): OF Lefty Davis and P Buttons Briggs to Philadelphia for OF Fred Clarke. As I mentioned at the top, I don’t see myself doing much trading this year unless circumstances – form, injury, the exigencies of a tight race – force my hand. But I saw the opportunity to upgrade at left with a player who, all things considered, should have been a member of our squad (and would have been had the league started in 1902) all along. Lefty is a solid player and had a good ’01, but has struggled this year and I just think we’ve got enough flexibility in the group to cover Fred’s defensive one-dimensionality (he only plays LF). Buttons, too, is a good pitcher but we’ve got enough so that his absence should never even really be noticed. Again we are pivoting (slightly) older, which is something I need to keep an eye on. But at 29, “Cap” Clarke has plenty of good years left in him, all things going accordingly, and it’s not as if Lefty (27) or Buttons (26) were all that much younger. Cap’s Pittsburgh debut turns out to be the most astounding game in our short history. At home. Deacon against the mighty Christy Mathewson, so we are expecting a tough one. What we get instead is a 21-0 rout as we chase Matty with 10 runs in less than 5 innings and just keep on scoring. Here are the boxscore and game log in all their glory, but the Cliff Notes go something like this: we have 19 hits, of which only four are for EB; Seybold has a career day with 7 RBI, tying the NL record; Clarke homers and drives in 3; Phillippe pitches a 3-hitter; Wagner and Williams each score four runs. We lose 5-0 the next day. Ahhh, baseball, you’re a piece of work, you are. Right at the end of the month, we get to face the recently-traded Buttons Briggs as the Phils come to town again. Deacon makes sure I don’t look foolish for having traded him (see comments re Jiggs Donahue in the end of month recap for context) by pitching us to a 5-1 win. The final game of the month is an unpalatable finish, as Frank Owen – the only one of our pitchers not having a banner year so far – is pummelled by the Orphans in an 11-2 loss, the first time in the season we’ve conceded 10 or more. It is confirmation of a sneaking suspicion I had that we are just dying on our run a bit. That shocker notwithstanding, May pans out to be an OK month for us, a nice consolidation after our scorching April. Mind you, our 16-12 record for the month would look a fair bit worse if not for a few close (read: lucky) wins, with us 8-8 in one-run games and 4-0 in extras. We’re still a bit too hot-and-cold for my liking, but to be sitting just a half-game off the lead at 26-14 overall is pretty much where we want to be. Hot Mike O’Neill: 10 Quality Starts on the trot before a loss to the Reds. Honus Wagner: a deserved Hitter of the Month, hit 390 with 11 RBI / OPS+ of 211 / 470 wOBA / 201 wRC+. Socks Seybold: MLB high 36 ribbies so far, 21 of which were earned in May. Ossee Schreckengost: had a diametric May to ’01, back as starting catcher thanks to his 328 BA. Jack Chesbro: unlucky not to win the monthly pitching award for his 4-2 / 1.21 effort; 81 FIP- and 1.4 WAR among the league’s best. Deacon Phillippe: not quite as stellar as his rotation mate, but still an excellent month; 4.3 K/BB is the best in either league and 74 FIP- shows how much of his own heavy lifting he’s been doing. Not Billy Maloney: his light hitting (216 BA for May) cost him the everyday catcher role, which only improved performance will earn him back. Jimmy Williams: knocking enough in (14 RBI in May, 20 season-to-date), but his 243 BA needs upping or a lineup reshuffle might be on the cards. Frank Owen: lost his way in May, going 0-6 with a 4.36 ERA (ERA+ of just 70), and is on the cusp of being switched out of the rotation should improvement not be steep and swift. Around the Leagues The Cards are having one of the most bizarre seasons imaginable. After a 1-11 April, they have completely turned things around and their 18-8 May has got them back to smack bang on 500 ball. They are currently riding a 7-game win streak and are 12 of their last 14. Another month along those lines and they’ll be well in this, even as is they only trail the Reds – who lead us by the aforementioned ½ game – by 6½. Both the Beaneaters (8-18) and Phillies (8-19) had shocking months, and Boston is already 14 GB. The AL is anyone’s as it stands, with just 7 games from first (the A’s and White Sox at 20-15) to last (the 13-22 Tigers), with the top five within two games of one another. Our erstwhile teammate Jiggs Donahue has certainly found a home at the Sens, as only a late quiet patch sees his BA dip under 400 and his 2.8 WAR is tied for top in the AL with the mighty Nap Lajoie. Cincy ace Noodles Hahn pitches a one-hitter in a 9-0 win over the Orphans. On the same day, Red Donahue of the Phillies and Tom Hughes of the Giants duke it out for 16 innings before the Phils finally get the win, 2-0. Chicago Legacy Player Roy Patterson also pitches a one-hitter over 10 in a 2-0 win over Cleveland. Awards 05/05 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 1 HR / 3 RBI; NL – Red Donahue (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.72 / 4 K / 25 IP. 05/12 POTW: AL – Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .481 / 2 HR / 8 RBI; NL – Sam Crawford (Cincinnati) .577 / 4 RBI. 05/19 POTW: AL – Jiggs Donahue (Washington) .655 / 1 HR / 4 RBI; NL – Willie Keeler (Chicago) .833 / 4 RBI. 05/26 POTW: AL – Dan McGann (Philadelphia) .615 / 1 RBI; NL – Jack Chesbro (Pittsburgh) 2-0 / 0.00 / 6 K / 18 IP. AL Batter of the Month: Nap Lajoie (Philadelphia) .362 / 5 HR / 26 RBI. NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .390 / 0 HR / 11 RBI. AL Pitcher of the Month: Roy Patterson (Chicago) 7-1 / 1.71 / 20 K / 73.2 IP. NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 6-3 / 1.91 / 63 K / 85 IP. AL Rookie of the Month: Addie Joss (Cleveland) 6-2 / 1.71 / 40 K / 63 IP. NL Rookie of the Month: Fred Glade (New York) 4-3 / 1.62 / 24 K / 61 IP. S+ HOME REPORTS HOME Attached Images __________________ HISTORICAL DO-OVERS A'S RED SOX DODGERS CUSTOM SAVES ECLIPSE LEAGUE MOON SHOT LEAGUE EVERYMAN LEAGUE LGB USBA Last edited by luckymann; 06-25-2021 at 08:58 AM.