THIS WEEK IN FIGMENT BASEBALL
August 30, 1937
SMOOTH SAILING FOR PHILADELPHIA
It's been seven years since the Philadelphia Sailors last finished atop the Continental Association standings but thanks to some steady pitching - always a hallmark of a Sailors squad - Philadelphia finds itself in first place as the calendar is about to turn to September. The Sailors, who finished second a year ago but have not lead the CA since winning three straight pennants for 1928-30, started slow this season and were 18-20 as the end of May approached. Since then they have posted a 54-29 record (.651 winning percentage) and yesterday took over sole possession of top spot in the Continental Association for the first time all season.
Steady as she goes has been the mantra for the Sailors as the club has had very few big runs of victories but also no prolonged slump. Since June 1st the Sailors have had 2 five game winning streaks and never lost more than 3 in a row but it has been almost like clockwork that they win four and lose two pretty much every week. Last week was no exception to that trend as they split a pair in Baltimore, took two of three in Montreal and then won the opener of their brief two game stop in Brooklyn.
William Jones (17-6, 2.91) and Doc Newell (15-7, 3.67) have been solid at the top of the Sailors rotation with the 33 year old Jones making a case for Allen Award consideration. The longtime Sailor righthander recently won his 150th career game and has been nothing short of amazing the post two months, going 10-0 over that stretch.
Cleveland had been in first place ever since overtaking Brooklyn on June 22nd, but the Foresters, much like Brooklyn a couple of months ago, seem to have suddenly fallen on hard times. Cleveland lost to Montreal 5-4 yesterday for their fourth straight defeat and it was enough to knock them out of top spot. The Foresters have dropped 7 of their last 8 games including a 3 game sweep in Brooklyn that perhaps breathed new life into the Kings, who seemed rejuvenated with the return of Tom Barrell and Joe Shaffner to the mound. Perhaps missing #3 starter Lyman Weigel took it's toll on the Foresters, by Weigel returned from a 3 week absence and started the only win of the week for the Foresters, an 11-8 slugfest over the last place Stars in New York.
Cleveland and Brooklyn have always played each other tough and this year is no different with the Kings going up 10-9 in the season series following the sweep that included a pair of 1-run Brooklyn wins. Philadelphia, Cleveland and Brooklyn have all played each other very even this season and perhaps it is those remaining head to head games with will determine who takes home the pennant. Cleveland and Philadelphia still have 6 games remaining head to head.
It is tough to say who has had a bigger impact on the Federal Association pennant race the past couple of weeks: the Boston Minutemen or Detroit Dynamos. The Minutemen's impact is obvious as the club is on a 23-9 run, keyed by strong pitching and great defense, which has allowed Boston to build a 5.5 game cushion atop the Fed but it's hard to not argue the Minutemen should be thanking Detroit for their good fortune. Detroit, which has been the Fed doormat for nearly 3 seasons, has suddenly looked like world-beaters and they literally were World Championship beaters as Detroit took 5 of 6 games from Chicago this month hasten a Chiefs collapse that has seen them drop 23 of their last 31 ballgames. Detroit, which has won 16 of their last 19, did not stop with Chicago as the Dynamos also took 5 of 6 from St Louis and swept Pittsburgh in a 3 game set this past week.
It was just an awful stretch for the second place Miners, who won just once last week and dropped 3 of their games by a single run including a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in 17 innings to Detroit.
The result is a Federal Association race, that had looked to be one that would go down to the wire and feature as many as 5 teams in the thick of a September battle, is starting to look like a runaway victory for Boston, a club that has not won a pennant since 1915. There is obviously a long ways to go and anything can happen but the Federal Association picture might come into perfect focus for the Minutemen with a strong week. It is a crucial one for all of the Fed as the Minutemen, after looking to complete the sweep of a 2-game set in St Louis Monday, head to Chicago for 3 games with the fading Chiefs before returning home to Cunningham Field for a pair with second place Pittsburgh. One has to think the Chiefs need a sweep to get back into the race.
MORE BAD NEWS FOR HUNTER
Talented Chicago Cougars rookie shortstop Billy Hunter is hurt again. The 22 year old's bad luck started with a hamstring injury in June that cost him six weeks. He finally got back in the lineup three weeks ago but now is likely done for the season after hurting his elbow making throw on a routine ground ball Friday in Baltimore. When healthy the 1932 first round pick has been very good, batting .319 with 6 homers and 29 rbi's while playing outstanding defense in 51 games with the Cougars this season.
DYNAMOS GIVING FANS A GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
(courtesy of the Detroit World)
With things going so well in Detroit right now it might not be a good idea to make any changes but the Dynamos are looking to decide which of their deep collection of prospects to bring up for some September action. With AAA Newark fighting for the Union League crown they have a decision to make. Most likely we will see SP Jack Wood return to the big leagues after 10 fairly successful starts for Newark (4-1 3.26). He went down to figure out his control issues and while not great they are better 4.06 bb/9.
Also getting the call will be C Clem Bliss who struggled in spring training he lost his spot on the big league roster. After a terrible start in Newark he has rebounded of late hitting close to 300 since June 1st in a shared catcher role.
SP Ray McCarthy will come up for a couple of starts towards the end of the season. McCarthy has started 17 games since his demotion in May after going 0-4 with an ERA of 7.49. His main problem was his walks per 9 innings was higher than his bloated ERA at almost 8bb/9.
Others under consideration are SP Karl Wallace (5-2 3.11) and Stumpy Beaman (6-6 3.10) who both came over in a trade from the Chicago Cougars during the draft. Both have pitched very well and are likely to join Wood and McCarthy in a very young starting rotation which might be anchored by “SuperStar” Chuck Murphy.
LF Jay Buckingham will also likely get promoted. His future is likely a 4th/5th OF with good speed and base running skills. He also keeps the clubhouse loose. He is hitting 300 +/- and has done all he can at AAA. Finally there are 2 more that are under consideration but neither are on the 40-man (neither are SP Wallace and SP Beaman). Right now there are 38 guys on the 40-man (39 if I keep P Alex Vaughn who was waiver claimed). RF Wayne Morgan is one candidate. I wish he was hitting closer to 300 (currently 259 but up from earlier in the season). Decent power and speed and could join Buckingham as a reserve in next years OF. He could also be a platoon candidate for Elmer Nolde in one of the corners.
The other guy under consideration is 1B Red Johnson. Red is proving himself well in AAA hitting 327 with 8 home runs and 21 RBI’s in just 98 AB. His walk to strike out ratio is strong at 20:2 so he doesn’t seem overmatched. The only thing holding him back is the desire of the club to give Max Morris all the opportunities to get a few more stats before he ends his hall of fame playing career at the end of the season.
QUICK HITS
- The legend of Sal Pestilli keeps growing in Detroit. The rookie outfielder hit 4 more homers last week to give him a league leading 26 on the season. Included in the big week was a 3-homer outing vs Pittsburgh. Pestilli becomes the first rookie to hit 3 homers in a game since Tom Taylor did it twice for the Chicago Cougars in 1928. It was only the 18th time a player had a 3-homer game and the first for a Detroit Dynamo. Ex-Detroit star Al Wheeler did it once, but not until after his trade to Brooklyn. Surprisingly this gives young Sal some bragging rights over Max Morris as Morris never had a 3-homer game despite hitting 710 of them in his career. On the year Pestilli is hitting .292 with 73 rbi's to go with his 26 round-trippers.
- Leon Drake (.281,21,76) also hit 4 homers last week for surging Detroit, giving him 21 on the season and tied for second most in the Fed. Drake was named Federal Association player of the week. The winner in the CA was Montreal's Vic Crawford (.307,8,72)
- Drake hit for the cycle yesterday in a win over Washington. He becomes the fifth player to get a cycle this season joining Al Wheeler of Brooklyn, Boston's Pete Day, Hank Jones of the New York Stars and Cleveland Forester George Dawson.
- While Red Johnson gets all the attention (rightly so), 3B Hank Koblenz has started to figure things out since his promotion to class A. Koblenz is hitting 287 with 12 homers and 49 RBI’s in 62 games at Terre Haute. He is still striking out to much (51K’s in 230 AB’s 22%) but he will move up to AA for the last month of the season.
- Time for a Rufus Barrell II update. After going 9-6 with a 3.28 era in 17 starts at Class B, Deuce was recently promoted to Class Camden by the Baltimore Cannons. He is 0-1 with a 5.68 era after a rough first outing but looked much better in his second start. No decision but he fanned 6 while allowing 3 runs on 7 hits over 8 innings of work.
- Word out of St Louis is Pioneers management is bitterly disappointed with the play of the team...not just this year but the past couple of seasons. The St. Louis Globe reports the team is getting tired of Sam Sheppard's antics. Sheppard is 17-14 with a 4.65 era but has had a big drop-off from the form that won him an Allan Award in 1935. David Abalo (14-11, 4.79) has also seem a drop in productivity and 24 year old Dixie Lee (12-12, 4.20) is improved from his rookie season but still not showing the promise that made him a top twenty prospect for several years. Of course dropping 5 of 6 to Detroit is enough to send any GM to the edge.
- Just ask the Chicago Chiefs brass, who also suffered the indignity of getting thrashed by the Dynamos. The Chiefs have 5 games left with Boston, including 3 at home this week, so they still have a little hope, but that sweep at the hands of Washington really hurt, particularly with it coming at Whitney Park. Washington, like Detroit, has been relishing the role of spoiler lately.
- The Gothams will bring up some more pitchers in September as they continue to try and find some success from their young arms. Most of the youngsters have had their butts kicked this year in the majors, but it's good experience. Most likely Ernie Wise, Fred Ratcliffe and Pedro Villarreal will come up when the rosters expand. Also catcher Joe Green, 1B Dick Canfield, 3B Billy Dalton and OF Harry Clark and Earl West. Dalton, who is hitting .297 with 11 homers in half a season at AAA Toledo, is the most anticipated of this group. He is ranked as the Gothams #4 prospect behind Roosevelt Brewer, Bunny Edwards and Walt Messer - all of whom are at least a year away. Edwards, taken 7th overall out of Red River State in the 1936 draft is pitching well at Class A Albany. Messer, the second overall pick in '36, and Brewer, who was part of the new free agent signing rules for top prospects, are both playing for Class B Fresno. Messer is hitting .242 with 11 homers for the Falcons while Brewer has looked very good with a .301 batting average since coming to Fresno right out of high school in June.
- While on the topic of the Gothams, the New York World Telegram is reporting that Bud Jameson has quietly asked the organization for a trade. The 33 year old has been relegated to a back-up role in New York and feels he should be starting somewhere. Unfortunately the only place he might be capable of doing that is in the Lone Star Association. Jameson has had a great run as a Gotham ever since being selected 3rd overall in 1925 but he does not have the power to play first base in today's game. A Gotham source confided "We could tolerate his moderate power when he was hitting .340 but not so much at .290" Jameson is actually hitting just .275 this season with 4 homers in 222 at bats.
- Brooklyn will face a similar dilemma with Doug Lightbody very soon. Like Jameson, Lightbody was a 1925 draft pick (6th overall) who has been the face of his franchise for over a decade. Lightbody also had limited power but won a pair of batting titles and has a .351 career average. This season he is hitting just .270 as a spare part and the Kings are finding it increasingly difficult to give him at bats in a crowded outfield. A tough call as Lightbody was named to the Kings 50th anniversary team a few years back and really is the face of the franchise.
- Brooklyn extended the contract of Tom Barrell this week, signing the righthander to a deal for next season that will pay him $31,100 - close to the $31,500 the Chiefs gave fellow 3-time Allan Award winning pitcher Rabbit Day recently. Barrell returned to the lineup this week with a victory over Cleveland after missing two and a half months with a hamstring injury.
The Week That Was
Current events for the week ending 8/29/1937
- Far East crisis continues to escalate as Japanese forces bombard Shanghai with hundreds of civilians, including 3 more Americans, among the dead.
- Tokyo formally apologizes after Japanese fighter pilots attack British convey leaving Shanghai and wound British Ambassador to China.
- President Roosevelt warns Supreme Court must be reorganized in first comment on matter since Congress shelved his demand to enlarge the high tribunal by one new member for every present Justice over 70 who did not retire.
- Spanish insurgents report they had 'destroyed' three battalions of government troops attacking their concentration at Zaragoza.