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luckymann · 07-07-2021, 08:55 AM

After an off-day we have fifteen straight games, which should hopefully shake off the cobwebs.

It doesn’t, at least not to begin with as we trade wins and losses with apparent equanimity over the first week and show signs of both improvement (O’Neill, Steinfeldt) and regression (Chesbro in a big way—his ERA balloons to 2.58 within two May starts). We’re not alone; the league looks very evenly-matched this season, and only five games separate top from bottom in both circuits entering mid-month. Still, it’s disconcerting this middling form nearly a month into the season, and I have to remind myself that this is the group that has won us two rings and they can’t have collectively dropped off a cliff.

One thing that certainly hasn’t changed is our abject inability to beat the Reds. They beat us 12 of 20 last season and take seven of our first nine this time around.

And it only gets harder to keep the faith as things progressively worsen over the remainder of the month, with few aspects of our game working at all. Even our defence, which had been much tighter in the early going, reverts to type and we post consecutive five-error games, giving up five unearned runs in each, both losses of course. (Although saying that, we commit seven in a later game against the Giants and still win.)

This coincides with the Beaneaters putting together a nice run as we fall well off the pace, at one point 7 ½ games back before we rally just a smidge to finish at 20-21, five games adrift. That means we have gone 13-15 for May.

Hot

Honus Wagner: strings together a hitting streak of 34 consecutive games before an ohfer late in the month strands him just 2 shy of Zaza Harvey’s record 36. This is perhaps Honus’s finest month in this league. He slashes 413/471/624 with 3 HR and 17 RBI, has a wOBA of 493, 223 wRC+ and 2.5 WAR, and as we enter June sits in the top five for all three Triple Crown categories.
Fred Clarke: no second-banana to Dutchie by any means, Cap hits 321 and bests Honus with 18 RBI.
Danny Murphy: without these top three, we’d be twice as far back as we are. Murph is third in the league with 27 runs, and continued his fine year with a 300/320/370 slash line for May.
Doc McJames: continues to impress, going 3-2 with a 1.60 for the month and winning a couple of tough and crucial matchups for us.

Not

Jimmy Williams: OPS+ of 58 is the most damning stat for a hugely talented guy who often doesn’t seem like his heart’s in it and who appears on this side of the ledger far too regularly.
Socks Seybold: a month of two halves, with the first fortnight just dire. Has woken up a bit in recent games and hopefully this is a sign of him returning to his swashbuckling best.
Jack Chesbro: his greatness will always be tarnished by his inconsistency. After that stupendous April he goes a decidedly pedestrian 0-5 / 4.28. Simply must control the whiplash.

Around the Leagues

The Beaneaters have pinched a tiny break in the NL to lead by 3 from a pack of five teams within two games of each other (in which we are the back-marker).
The AL is tighter at the top – with the new Highlanders franchise starting well to lead by a game and a half from the White Sox – but a bit more strung out as you move downward. Still, far too early to be drawing too much from it.
Andy Coakley pitches a 13-inning two-hitter with 9 strikeouts (and 7 walks!) for the White Sox in a 1-0 win over Boston.

Awards

05/04 POTW: AL – Bill Bradley (Cleveland) .520 / 4 RBI; NL – Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) .423 / 2 HR / 9 RBI.
05/11 POTW: AL – Charlie Hickman (New York) .444 / 6 RBI; NL – Duff Cooley (Chicago) .433 / 3 RBI.
05/18 POTW: AL – Patsy Dougherty (New York) .400 / 10 RBI; NL – Harry Bemis (New York) .667 / 2 RBI.
05/25 POTW: AL – Earl Moore (Cleveland) 2-0 / 0.00 / 11 K / 18 IP; NL – George Browne (St. Louis) .458 / 1 HR / 7 RBI.

AL Batter of the Month: Charlie Hickman (New York) .382 / 2 HR / 20 RBI.

NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .413 / 3 HR / 17 RBI.

AL Pitcher of the Month: Otto Hess (Washington) 7-0 / 1.22 / 30 K / 73.2 IP.

NL Pitcher of the Month: Christy Mathewson (New York) 6-1 / 1.34 / 45 K / 67 IP.

AL Rookie of the Month: Norwood Gibson (Washington) 4-3 / 2.43 / 38 K / 59.1 IP.

NL Rookie of the Month: Barney Wolfe (Boston) 5-3 / 2.07 / 24 K / 74 IP.

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07-07-2021, 08:55 AM	#46
luckymann Hall Of Famer Join Date: Nov 2019 Posts: 13,524	1903 May After an off-day we have fifteen straight games, which should hopefully shake off the cobwebs. It doesn’t, at least not to begin with as we trade wins and losses with apparent equanimity over the first week and show signs of both improvement (O’Neill, Steinfeldt) and regression (Chesbro in a big way—his ERA balloons to 2.58 within two May starts). We’re not alone; the league looks very evenly-matched this season, and only five games separate top from bottom in both circuits entering mid-month. Still, it’s disconcerting this middling form nearly a month into the season, and I have to remind myself that this is the group that has won us two rings and they can’t have collectively dropped off a cliff. One thing that certainly hasn’t changed is our abject inability to beat the Reds. They beat us 12 of 20 last season and take seven of our first nine this time around. And it only gets harder to keep the faith as things progressively worsen over the remainder of the month, with few aspects of our game working at all. Even our defence, which had been much tighter in the early going, reverts to type and we post consecutive five-error games, giving up five unearned runs in each, both losses of course. (Although saying that, we commit seven in a later game against the Giants and still win.) This coincides with the Beaneaters putting together a nice run as we fall well off the pace, at one point 7 ½ games back before we rally just a smidge to finish at 20-21, five games adrift. That means we have gone 13-15 for May. Hot Honus Wagner: strings together a hitting streak of 34 consecutive games before an ohfer late in the month strands him just 2 shy of Zaza Harvey’s record 36. This is perhaps Honus’s finest month in this league. He slashes 413/471/624 with 3 HR and 17 RBI, has a wOBA of 493, 223 wRC+ and 2.5 WAR, and as we enter June sits in the top five for all three Triple Crown categories. Fred Clarke: no second-banana to Dutchie by any means, Cap hits 321 and bests Honus with 18 RBI. Danny Murphy: without these top three, we’d be twice as far back as we are. Murph is third in the league with 27 runs, and continued his fine year with a 300/320/370 slash line for May. Doc McJames: continues to impress, going 3-2 with a 1.60 for the month and winning a couple of tough and crucial matchups for us. Not Jimmy Williams: OPS+ of 58 is the most damning stat for a hugely talented guy who often doesn’t seem like his heart’s in it and who appears on this side of the ledger far too regularly. Socks Seybold: a month of two halves, with the first fortnight just dire. Has woken up a bit in recent games and hopefully this is a sign of him returning to his swashbuckling best. Jack Chesbro: his greatness will always be tarnished by his inconsistency. After that stupendous April he goes a decidedly pedestrian 0-5 / 4.28. Simply must control the whiplash. Around the Leagues The Beaneaters have pinched a tiny break in the NL to lead by 3 from a pack of five teams within two games of each other (in which we are the back-marker). The AL is tighter at the top – with the new Highlanders franchise starting well to lead by a game and a half from the White Sox – but a bit more strung out as you move downward. Still, far too early to be drawing too much from it. Andy Coakley pitches a 13-inning two-hitter with 9 strikeouts (and 7 walks!) for the White Sox in a 1-0 win over Boston. Awards 05/04 POTW: AL – Bill Bradley (Cleveland) .520 / 4 RBI; NL – Bobby Wallace (St. Louis) .423 / 2 HR / 9 RBI. 05/11 POTW: AL – Charlie Hickman (New York) .444 / 6 RBI; NL – Duff Cooley (Chicago) .433 / 3 RBI. 05/18 POTW: AL – Patsy Dougherty (New York) .400 / 10 RBI; NL – Harry Bemis (New York) .667 / 2 RBI. 05/25 POTW: AL – Earl Moore (Cleveland) 2-0 / 0.00 / 11 K / 18 IP; NL – George Browne (St. Louis) .458 / 1 HR / 7 RBI. AL Batter of the Month: Charlie Hickman (New York) .382 / 2 HR / 20 RBI. NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) .413 / 3 HR / 17 RBI. AL Pitcher of the Month: Otto Hess (Washington) 7-0 / 1.22 / 30 K / 73.2 IP. NL Pitcher of the Month: Christy Mathewson (New York) 6-1 / 1.34 / 45 K / 67 IP. AL Rookie of the Month: Norwood Gibson (Washington) 4-3 / 2.43 / 38 K / 59.1 IP. NL Rookie of the Month: Barney Wolfe (Boston) 5-3 / 2.07 / 24 K / 74 IP. S+ HOME REPORTS HOME PIRATES HOME Attached Images __________________ HISTORICAL DO-OVERS A'S RED SOX DODGERS CUSTOM SAVES ECLIPSE LEAGUE MOON SHOT LEAGUE EVERYMAN LEAGUE GULF LEAGUE USBA