August 22, 1938
SPECIAL BREAKING NEWS EDITION
STARS MAKE CHANGE AT THE TOP
The New York Stars are searching for a new General Manager after club owner Al Mielke decided a change was overdue for the struggling franchise. Mielke, who has owned the club since 1916 and oversaw 4 World Championship winning teams, was instrumental in getting Dyckman Stadium built for the 1935 season, replacing the old Riverside Stadium. It is the club's failure to be competitive over the first four years in their new park that was said to be the biggest factor in Mielke's decision.
"The New York Stars are a flagship franchise of FABL," read a press release issued by the team earlier this week. "and as such we hold ourselves to a high standard. When the product on the field fails to live up to that standard than changes are necessary." The release went on to discuss the teams dismal 243-332 record since the opening of the new park and lamented the fact the team finished 7th each of the past two seasons and was on track for another poor showing. The success of close rival Brooklyn over the past few seasons while the Stars were struggling was also believed to have irked Mielke.
Despite the recent rough patch the New York Stars have won 7 World Championship and 8 pennants since the creation of FABL in 1892. The 7 World Titles are more than any other franchise. Even with the recent downturn the Stars .515 all-time winning percentage, going back to 1892, is the fifth best in FABL and second to the Chicago Cougars in the Continental Association.
While no permanent replacement has been named, Mielke confirms he will have someone in place by the end of October. In the meantime, Assistant General Manager Tom Davis will take over on an interim basis. Davis has been the Stars AGM since joining the club in 1934.
JIGGS MCGEE TAKES A LOOK AT WHAT THE NEW VACANCY HAS TO OFFER IN A TWIFB SPECIAL REPORT
The New York Stars job is the first General Manager position to open up in FABL in quite some time. The new man will have a lot of work to do with the first task being to turn around the terrible morale issues that seem to plague the system at every level. The good news is if he can get the ball rolling there is a deep leadership group at each level that will hopefully be quick to embrace changes implemented by a new regime. There is also a fair bit of talent to work with and whoever gets the position will have two franchise type players to build around in 18 year old outfielder Bill Barrett and 20 year old pitcher Johnnie Jones.
It feels like the biggest hinderance to player development in this organization was indecision. Far too many players, especially some very marginal prospects are playing regularly at the expense of game experience for the top prospects so another priority for the new GM is to identify which players he wants to build around and get them playing games at the proper level to maximize their development chances.
Here is a position by position break down of the Stars organization:
CATCHER
CURRENT SITUATION: Mike Burkholder 32 (.242,0,22) and Johnny Hooper 24 (.239,0,18)
The veteran Burkholder has spent most of his career in the minors and is perhaps an acceptable back up catcher at best. He did put up some decent numbers as a 31 year old rookie playing half the games last season but seems to have regressed to his actual skill level this year. Hooper is a 24 year old who was taken with the final pick of round one in 1932. He had a very solid season primarily in AAA in 1937 culminating in a brief call-up that year before making the club this season. He was as high as #9 on the prospect ranking before graduating from the list by playing 71 games (as of this writing) this season. Limited sample but Hooper has thrown out 76% of would be base stealers and has a much better Cera than Burkholder. The only downside, is like so many in the Stars organization his morale is terrible. OSA calls him just the 15th best catcher in the position rankings but the expectation is he is improving and with regular playing time should be an acceptable big league option.
FUTURE: Barney George is 21 and was a second round pick in 1935. The New York City native is at Class A Scranton this season but only played in 21 games so far although he is hitting .333. OSA feels he is a front-runner for an audition at catcher but he clearly needs to be playing. Beyond that there is an assortment of lightly regarded prospects but a couple - most notably 18 year old Harvey Ammerman (.386/.471/.483 in C), 23 year old Gene Smith (.321/.377/.410 between AA and AAA) and 22 year old Herm Haines (.284/.357/.436 at B and A) are worth continuing to watch.
FIRST BASE
CURRENT SITUATION: Dave Trowbridge age 40 (.275,6,37) and Lou McEwen 30 (.221,2,25)
Trowbridge is one of the few remaining links to better days in New York, having been with the organization since arriving from Pittsburgh in 1928. This is quite likely his final season and he deserves to go out on his own terms. McEwen is not his replacement, in fact the 30 year old who was acquired from the Sailors prior to the 1937 season should like be plying his trade in the minors or the Lone Star Association.
FUTURE: There really is nothing in the system in the way of a natural first basemen for the Stars but the good news is they can easily find a short term solution on the waiver wire or in an inexpensive trade. There is also the possibility of converting an existing outfielder like Hank Jones to the position as a short term solution. However, adding a young power hitting first baseman with loads of upside potential like Chuck Adams, who the Stars could have acquired recently in trade, should be a priority.
SECOND BASE
CURRENT SITUATION: Larry Colaianni 29 (.280,1,40) and Del Huddletson 31 (.231,5,10)
The duo have been around for several years with Colaianni getting the bulk of the playing time. His defense is below average and his bat is merely average with Huddleston no better in either category.
FUTURE: The future at second looks pretty bright with Ira Armstrong (age 19 .270/.317/.333) in Class B being a youngster that OSA is pretty high on. I am not sure why but Armstrong is already on the 40-man roster, but he is ranked #135 on the OSA prospect list. Like so many other Stars prospects I wish they would have played him more but from what has been seen his glove looks pretty solid. The gem of the system at second base is likely 20 year old Harry Bush, a second round (lottery) guy from this past June. Bush is 20 years old and is just outside the top 100 prospects. For depth you have 26 year old Tom Gregory (.302/.357/.396) doing an acceptable job at AA and perhaps warrants a look in New York until Bush or Armstrong are ready.
SHORTSTOP
CURRENT SITUATION: Floyd Briscoe 23 (.273,0,32) and Bill Rich 36 (.221,0,18)
Briscoe, a rule 5 pickup from the Keystones over the winter is merely a short-term solution to fill into until one of the young prospects is ready and Rich is a player who's best days are well behind him, and never were really that good to begin with.
FUTURE: 26 year old Bill Michael spent a bit of time in New York this season. OSA calls him an average starter and he can play 3 infield positions so likely should replace Rich as the utility infielder right away. OSA says he looks like an average FABL starter mainly because of his glove. Moving Michael up also allows highly touted prospect Joe Angevine (#42) to play in Los Angeles although he might be ready for the big leagues right now. The issue with Angevine is it is hard to tell because an injury has limited him to just 30 games this season. He was originally selected 18th overall by Boston in 1933 but came to the Stars a year later in the Charlie Stedman trade. Angevine looks like a very good shortstop for the Stars and likely should be their everyday guy next season.
With Angevine as the pick for Stars SS that likely leaves 22 year old Leon Blackridge (,296/.374/.489 at AA) competing for a utility role at some point. He is presently ranked #57 by OSA so perhaps could also be trade bait if the new GM decides Angevine is his guy. Further down the chain we have 20 year old Andy Gross (.331/.370/.491 at B) but his glove might dictate a change in position.
THIRD BASE
CURRENT SITUATION: Gus Williams 23 (.253,4,38)
Williams is another rule 5 pick and has done a decent job at the plate and very well in the field. OSA likes his defense at the hot corner but calls him a bench player.
FUTURE: Ernie Brown (.312/.364/.425 at AA/AAA) is a player worth keeping an eye on. The 23 year old, a second round pick in 1936, is a natural shortstop but is having a nice year playing third. OSA feels he has the talent to flourish at the hot corner and with Angevine and Blackridge ahead of him on the SS depth chart the move makes perfect sense especially considering the lack of prospects at this position in the organization. There is also 18 year old Blackie Parks, an 8th round pick in June that OSA has some moderate interest in but he has not played enough to formulate much of an opinion.
OUTFIELD
CURRENT SITUATION: Bill Barrett 18 (.227,3,6 in 7 games), Hank Jones 30 (.296/5/64), Chink Stickels 27 (.334,5,50), Art McMahon 27 (.270,0,24) and Spider Thompson 30 (.375,1,5)
Really, really good. Like most teams the Stars have their share of quality outfielders but unlike anyone expect Detroit (with Sal Pestilli) the Stars have a superstar on the rise in 18 year old Bill Barrett. There is no need to say much about Barrett as so much has been said elsewhere so we will just say write his name into the CF spot on the lineup card in pen and be done with it for the next 10-15 years. With the addition of Barrett that means Chink Stickels can move to a corner spot and continue to be an above average lead-off man. If McMahon, who is also a natural CF, can hit enough he could play the other corner and give the Stars excellent outfield defense. Hank Jones is the odd man out but the 30 year old could move to first until a suitable candidate is found and be an upgrade on McEwan.
FUTURE: OSA has liked 24 year old Hub Parks (.283/.351/.410) for quite some time but he has only played 49 games at the AAA level and none in the majors so perhaps his time is past. He is another natural CF and would not hurt the Stars in a 4th outfielder role but that might be his peak. There are some other speedster types as well such as 23 year Paul Hall who, like so many others has rarely been given a chance to play regularly in the Stars system. Then there is 1931 second round pick Hal Roberts who is 24 and has been promoted at a snail's pace.
What the Stars lack, other than Barrett obviously, is a power bat. It would be nice to replace McMahon with someone with a bit more power to his game, although they could also solve that need with the right option at first base. Overall though, this team looks to have a solid core in place position-wise, but need to get the top guys playing more and playing at the right level which in itself should greatly help towards addressing the morale issues that plague the entire organization.
PITCHING
CURRENT SITUATION: George Phillips 27 (9-6, 2.75), Vern Hubbard 23 (5-9, 4.67), Billy Riley 24 (7-7, 2.86), Chris Clarke 26 (3-5, 3.72), Glenn Payne 24 (2-9, 3.43) with also Boyd Harper 34 (16sv, 2.64), Harry Carter 27 (5-9, 4.54), Tom Fitzgerald 30 (3-2, 3.99) and Gene Stevens 32 (4-2, 5.03)
OSA calls both Hubbard and Riley top of the rotation guys, Payne a decent #2 once he matures and Clarke and Phillips both back end guys so there is some talent in place already if it develops. Both Hubbard and Riley were slower developing high school arms selected back in 1932. Hubbard is one I would have a lot of confidence in as he was been a top 40 prospect for several years and has been very healthy his entire career. Riley was a later draft pick (Round 9) who never made the top prospect list until this season when he debuted at #29 so he is a late bloomer but the worry is he has had numerous injuries although on the positive side of the ledger, none have been to his arm. However, back problems have plagued Riley and perhaps will be a concern going forward. The bullpen could certainly use an upgrade but overall the staff is not in that bad of shape.
FUTURE: Here is where the Stars could shine but job 1 is getting Johnnie Jones invested in the program once again. The 20 year old Jones, like many of the Stars young pitching prospects has been treated terribly, changed to a reliever, stuck on ridiculously low pitch counts and left in a level well below what should be challenging him. His attitude is shot and it might be a challenge to turn that around, but one that is well worth undertaking as the 1936 4th overall pick has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the game.
There is more good news for whoever gets the job as Stars GM as there are several other very highly touted arms, but that is exactly what a few years of terrible finishes should allow you to acquire. 21 year old Jim Douglass was selected in the third round of the June draft and is another New York arm OSA feels has front-line starter potential. He only averaged a little over 4 innings in his first 6 starts at Class B so has no decisions but has looked every bit as dominant as one would expect from a 21 year old top ranked prospect playing at that level. Tom Henderson is, like Douglass, 21 years old and was in the top 100 prospect list but has slipped of late after struggling out of the pen since a promotion to Class A. Give him time in a minor league rotation and he might be another solid middle of rotation arm in New York one day.
SUMMARY
There are clearly a lot of good pieces in place and another high draft pick coming in January so while it won't be easy, a 2-3 year turnaround is very possible and one could very accurately state this club is in a much better position than the Detroit Dynamos were just 3 years ago. It is easy to draw some parallels between this club and the Dynamos as each has a franchise guy to build around and while the Dynamos might have had slightly more position player depth thanks to some shrewd moves early from GM Martin to acquire picks and prospects it appears the Stars have much more upside on their pitching prospects than Detroit did early in it's rebuild.
The Dynamos have set the bar almost impossibly high for all future rebuilds to be compared to but a General Manager calling Dyckman Stadium his new home base could, with some shrewd moves and a little luck, come close to mirroring Detroit's recipe for success. A lot of the ingredients are there. Stars owner Al Miekle now needs to just hire the right chef and they stay out of the kitchen and let the new man do the cooking.