An incredibly challenging start to the season’s final stretch with consecutive doubleheaders in the first week, a challenge compounded by a little niggle Nance picked up that will keep him to very limited playing time for a week. Not ideal, and will test both the group’s intestinal fortitude and my skills of man management, but it is what it is and you just have to get on with it. What I’m looking for is to survive it without having lost further ground to Chicago. Anything above that is gravy. We still have seven games against the Cubs, including the very last series of the regular season, so I certainly haven’t given up hope. If we can start creeping up on them, anything can happen – as we saw in the AL last year.
We certainly begin positively enough, winning five of the seven in that opening week. More importantly, both Hickman – who goes yard twice in one game against the Reds – and Robinson seem to be finding form just at the right time.
We enter a four-game series with the Baby Bears trailing them by 5˝.
Taylor outpitches Chesbro 2-1 in the opener as we can muster just three hits. The next day is a rainout that will be tacked onto that final season series. A series that loses most, if not all, of its significance when Waddell gets them a 3-2 win against Phillippe and Brown shuts us out 2-0 for the sweep to put them 8 ˝ ahead of us.
In other words, game over.
Little more to add here, with us no chance of bridging the gap to the Cubbies, other than – with an eye to the future and with Deacon flagging after a long and arduous campaign (383 IP already) – I switch him out of the rotation over the final couple weeks to give Camnitz some experience. After being soundly thrashed by Matty and the Jints in his first start, he pitches a CG in his next to give us a nice 6-1 win. Something to build on for next year and beyond.
The Cubs clinch on the next-to-last day of September. The A’s duly follow suit the very next day.
We limp home to finish 84-70, in second place and some 8 GB the Cubs.
Hot- Honus Wagner: finishes off the best season of his career and arguably the best ever by a position player, at least in terms of WAR, in which category he ends up accruing 12.2 – a full 2 points and then some clear of his nearest rival.
Not- We just don’t have what it takes this season, from start to finish we are a step or two off the pace with all aspects of our game slipping a little from ’03.
Around the Leagues- Rube Waddell becomes the first player to record 100 career wins, then the first player to record 30 in a season, capping off a season that may never be eclipsed as he leads the NL in wins (30) and strikeouts (a record 352) and misses the pitching Triple Crown by a fraction. He also sets a new high-water mark for pitcher WAR with 13.9.
Awards- 09/05 POTW: AL – Jake Weimer (Boston) 2-0 / 0.50 / 7 K / 18 IP; NL – Frank Huelsman (New York) 778 / 1 HR / 2 RBI.
- 09/12 POTW: AL – Miller Huggins (Washington) 462 / 7 RBI; NL – John Titus (Philadelphia) 500 / 6 RBI.
- 09/19 POTW: AL – Mike Grady (Detroit) 370 / 2 HR / 6 RBI; NL – John Titus (Philadelphia) 500 / 4 RBI.
- 09/26 POTW: AL – Andy Coakley (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.50 / 6 K / 18 IP; NL – Jack Powell (St. Louis) 2-0 / 0.00 / 8 K / 19 IP.
- 10/03 POTW: AL – Chick Fraser (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.50 / 6 K / 18 IP; NL – Rube Waddell (Chicago) 2-0 / 0.00 / 20 K / 21 IP.
- 10/10 POTW: AL – Bill Reidy (St. Louis) 2-0 / 0.00 / 1 K / 18 IP; NL – Al Orth (Philadelphia) 2-0 / 0.00 / 6 K / 18 IP.
- AL Batter of the Month: Pop Foster (Detroit) 333 / 4 HR / 20 RBI.
- NL Batter of the Month: Honus Wagner (Pittsburgh) 375 / 3 HR / 16 RBI.
- AL Pitcher of the Month: Willie Sudhoff (Philadelphia) 6-1 / 1.09 / 13 K / 66 IP.
- NL Pitcher of the Month: Rube Waddell (Chicago) 5-3 / 1.33 / 64 K / 74.2 IP.
- AL Rookie of the Month: Ed Walsh (Chicago) 4-4 / 2.41 / 35 K / 67.1 IP.
- NL Rookie of the Month: Harry Lumley (Brooklyn) 333 / 4 HR / 14 RBI.
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