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Jiggs McGee · 10-20-2021, 05:07 PM

May 15, 1939

MUCH MORE THAN THE NEW STADIUM MAKING NEWS IN NEW YORK

It has been a long wait in New York but ask any fan at the brand new Gothams Stadium and they will tell you it was well worth it. One could be referring to the shiny new steel gargantuan ball park that seats 50,000, is easy to access or at least will be now that the nearby World's Fair has come to a close and in short is everything the dilapidated Bigsby Oval was not. However, one could also be referring to the suddenly competitive product the Gothams are putting on the field this year as well as fans are ecstatic about the Gothams 12-8 start and there are whisperings the team could make a Detroit Dynamos-type jump from the bottom of the Federal Association to immediate contention.

Duplicating Detroit's second place finish of last season after Eddie Thompson's boys spent several seasons as the laughing stock of the Fed might be just a little too much to ask for from the Gothams in a very competitive Federal Association this season but it is clear the club is certainly headed in the right direction. They went from back to back first place finishes in 1934-35 to seasons of 85, 100 and most recently 94 losses but for the first time since the title clubs the first division seems a very realistic possibility.

The Gothams have the best farm system in the game and after three years of being content to field a terrible big league club waiting for the talent to develop the team is now looking to be a factor in the Federal Association pennant race for years to come as the key prospects are either already here or on the cusp of making their big league debuts. The Gothams have 9 players ranked in OSA's top 100 prospects including 4 of the top 11 in pitcher Ed Bowman (1st), catcher Pete Casstevens (2nd), 1B Walt Messer (9th) and pitcher Bunny Edwards (11th). While Bowman is just 19 and still in Class A word from the organization is the Gothams are calling up Edwards in an effort to help solidify a shaky pitching staff.

It is that pitching staff that still worries Gothams management and fans alike. Despite a promising early break from the gate, near team record crowds at the new ballpark and what appears to be a breakout season for young 3B Billy Dalton, there are big concerns on the mound. That's where the 23 year old Edwards comes in. The #11 ranked prospect will make his FABL debut this week filling in for the injured Nate Spear. Edwards has worked his way up through the Gothams system since his first round (draft portion) selection by the team in 1936. Edwards was 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA at Toledo this season.

Spear (3-0, 1.47) should only miss one start with his injury and it is a good thing since he and veteran Oscar Morse (4-0 2.16) have been the only reliable starters this season. Roger Perry (0-2, 5.16) has struggled while Mule Earl (1-1 10.24) and Jack Snyder (1-1 5.92) have been awful and are both going back to the minors as the revolving door on the mound continues. Earle Killebrew (1-1 2.38 at AAA) returns to try again this season along with Edwards to replace them.

Another big move is the promotion of top 30 prospect Roosevelt Brewer. Brewer was the first player to choose the Gothams organization in the 1936 player signing portion of the draft. The 2B was hitting .360 with 7 doubles and a homer at AAA Toledo. Brewer will join fellow rookie Mule Monier up the middle with young Dalton and veteran Bud Jameson rounding out the infield. In other team news catcher prospect Pete Casstevens has been promoted to AA Jersey City. Casstevens was hitting .365 at Albany.

It remains to be seen if the Gothams can maintain their solid start and stay in contention this year but one thing appears certain: the Gothams will be a factor in the Federal Association race for many years going forward.

SAINTS AT RARE HEIGHTS

It has been almost a full decade since the Montreal Saints last spent any meaningful time in the top half of the Continental Association standings but a surprisingly potent offense has Saints fans suddenly dreaming of contention. At 11-9 Montreal is hardly setting the world on fire but it seems like a dream for a club that has not been over .500 after May 5th since 1935 and has not finished a year with a .500 record since 1930.

It is Montreal's offense that is the talk of the Continental Association as the Saints, pegged by many for the basement of the CA this time around, have the most productive offense in the CA despite trading away Pablo Reyes over the winter. Adam Mullins (.406,2,21) and Frank Davis (.400,0,6) are a surprise 1-2 in the CA batting race and veteran Vic Crawford (.351,2,15) is also off to his best start in years. The Saints are 3-2 against the three time defending CA champs from Brooklyn and have scored 43 runs off of Kings pitching in those 5 contests.

The worry in Montreal is can the pitching hold up. None of their starters have been particularly effective although Jake DeYoung is off to a 3-1 start and while the bullpen has been solid for the most part thanks to former Pittsburgh Miners reliever Lou Ellertson, one has to question how long they can keep winning games by 8-7 type scores. The lofty heights of the first division might be short-lived for the Saints this season but Montreal fans are certainly enjoying it while it lasts as attendance is up substantially over last season.

KEYSTONES UPDATE FROM THE PHILADELPHIA INQUISITOR

The Keystones had their first above-.500 week at 4-2, including an unlikely sweep of Detroit. Manager Bill Libby juggled his pitching staff, inserting Ed Baker (good) and Gene White (very, very bad) into the rotation for George Brooks and Pepper Tuttle. Tuttle was sent down for more seasoning. White had one of the worst starts in league history against the Gothams, as they laced six straight hits to start the home first, capped off by a 3-run homer by Jack Flint. After a walk and another hit (single), White muffed a grounder to allow another run to score and hit the next batter. Mercifully, after 30 pitches, his day was done, but not before reliever Frank Parsons came in with the bases loaded and poured gasoline on the fire, letting them all score in what became a 12-run inning for the Gothams. The final line: 0.0 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, with a game score of minus-11. Herman Patterson might get another look in the rotation if White continues to struggle and the leash will be extremely short. Baker, the veteran, is keeping a rotation spot warm for a youngster to take it, but no one else is ready, he should be able to at least give the Keystones some innings.

In other news, Carl Ames has started the season 3-for-20 and while he is on a couple of milestone lists (84 hits shy of 2,000 and 72 runs shy of 1,000), those milestones might be tough to reach for the 36-year-old catcher-turned-pinch hitter. Rookie Walt Potter made the team out of camp and has started to struggle and first backup Jake Walton is not exactly pushing for playing time, so Ames might yet get worked back into the lineup. At first base, Sig Stofer has struggled. Enter Lloyd Stevens, who is showing his two-way aptitude is no gimmick. Stevens is hitting .373 with a homer and 8 RBI, which is second on the team. He has played an adequate first base in his nine appearances there. His pitching has been a bit lacking with a 4.00 ERA and 21 walks in 27 innings, but his offense has been outstanding in his first taste of major league ball.

QUICK HITS

Hide the liquor in the Thompson Field press box. Freddie Farhat will likely be back to tipping his elbow after what he and the rest of those watching the Detroit Dynamos have been subjected to this season. A 10-10 start 2 years ago had the fans ecstatic but this year not so much. The club is lacking a spark at the moment and it's has carried forward from the spring. The low point so far might have been the 3 game sweep they suffered at the hands of lowly Philadelphia last week, getting outscored 22-9 in the process.
The Chicago Chiefs made yet another deal with Montreal, this time adding AAA shortstop Tony White in an attempt to plug the hole that remains open after Pete Layton's retirement. With the acquisition of White, the Chiefs 24-man roster now has 8 ex-Saints on it. No coincidence as the Chiefs GM and manager each got their start in Montreal. Joe Ward, the current Chicago skipper was reminiscing on when White first joined the Saints system. "It was a shallow draft pool in 1932, and Tony White was drafted in the 3rd round out of Central Ohio because of his glove. However, he quickly rose through the Montreal system and by June of 1934, the 22-year-old White had supplanted Woody Armstrong as short stop. I left Montreal after the 1934 season, and I don't think White was given a fair shake after that. He'll be thrown right into the short stop mix in Chicago.
The news the Chiefs were picking up another shortstop lit a fire under Len Jones. Jones responded by going 6-for-10 in his last 3 games to raise his season average to .280 as he tries to hang on to the starting job.
Might be a small sample size but right now there is likely no one you would rather have coming to the plate in a key pinch-hitting situation over Frankie Cohen. The 28 year old Chief had success last season as a pinch-hitter and so for this year he's come in to pinch hit 15 times and is hitting .583/.643/.583. In close and late situations he has 6 hits in 9 at-bats. In extra innings, he is 1 for 1. Nerves of steel, that Frankie Cohen who also "has great knowledge of the game" and "gets along with everyone." He has "future coach" written all over him.
It is likely the end of the line for Tom Taylor after news broke the Chicago Chiefs are waiving the 34 year old following an 0-for-13 start to the season. Taylor burst on to the scene as a 23 year old in 1928 with the Sailors, winning back to back Whitney Awards to start his career. Injuries slowed is exceptional start but he has stuck around to win 5 World Championship rings with 4 different teams and played in over 1300 games. OOTP doesn't show the records for this anywhere, but in Taylor's history it shows him as having 14 leadoff home runs in his career. That has to be close to a record if not the record. And that really came from 2 seasons batting leadoff for the Cougars.
More injury news from Pittsburgh as the Jack Cleaves experiment at first base ended quickly. Cleaves was moved to first to replace Mahlon Strong after Strong's latest injury. The plan lasted exactly one game before Cleaves, who was hitting .325 on the season, got hurt running the bases against the Chiefs and will be out until late June. Despite the injuries the Miners did win three straight to start last week including a pair over the slumping Chicago Chiefs but the week did not end well for Pittsburgh as they dropped their final 3 contests including the last two of a 3 game set with the surprising St Louis Pioneers.
Jack's brother George Cleaves is off to a cool .493/.564/.836 start with 5 doubles, 3 triples and 4 homers for the Miners. And the 4-time all-star catcher has thrown out 5 of 7 runners. Cleaves was named the player of the week in the Fed while Joe Watson of the Philadelphia Sailors took the honour in the Continental Association.
As high as Minutemen fans were a week ago when their club went 6-1 they have crashed just as low this time around after the club followed that performance up with an 0-6 week including 3 losses to the suddenly relevant New York Gothams.
The decision to acquire Clark Car was seen as overkill by the New York Stars but it is paying off at the moment anyway after young shortstop Joe Angevine went down with a back injury and is expected to miss 3 weeks. Car will take over at SS and Mel Hancock Jr will likely man second until Angevine returns. Car (.312,0,4) is off to a hot start, hopefully proving the Stars thinking he is way better than his stats in Baltimore indicated.
Pitching remains a concern for the Stars but Billy Riley (2-3, 7.20) seems to have settled down a bit after an awful start, only allowing 7 runs over his last 2 starts picking up 2 wins in the process. George Phillips (3-0, 3.86) is pitching well and Chuck Cole (2-1, 6.50) has been up and down. The Stars GM has some questions to answer from the owner about the price paid, but hopefully he will work out. Vern Hubbard (1-1, 5.30) needs to get back to his spring performance while Less Zoller (0-2, 6.88) has been moved to the pen for the time being. In addressing the New York media this week the new Stars GM was unexpectedly frank with reporters admitting he made some missteps coming over to the club from Cleveland. "Lessons learned for future years. But i think we're in a good place. Just need that pitching to settle in."
After 8 failed stolen base attempts 2B Ed Stewart nabbed the Dynamo's first stolen base of the season. So that 1 for 9 success rate doesn't look too good.
It has been an up and down start to the year for Sam Sheppard of St Louis. The 1935 Allen Award winner looked great in beating Chicago in the season opener and gave indications that perhaps he was back to his old self again after a dreadful 1938 season. Then came a pair of average outings before a poor game against Washington to start last week. He righted the ship Saturday with a gem - a complete game 5-hit shutout to run his record to 3-2 as the Pioneers completed a sweep of Boston.
A special moment for rookie St Louis outfielder Henry Cox as the 23 year old hit a dramatic first big league homer. It was a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 9th to lift the Pioneers past Pittsburgh 8-6 on Friday in the opener of a 2-game sweep that pulled the Pioneers to within a game and a half of the Federal Association lead.
Another St Louis rookie is leading the club in rbi's. 22 year old shortstop Ivan Cameron, who like Cox came over from the Chicago Cougars in the Freddie Jones trade, has driven in 14 runs despite hitting at the bottom of the order. Cameron, who originally was a 3rd round pick of the Cougars out of high school in 1934 is hitting .280 on the year.
James Slocum, the step-son of Brooklyn Manager Powell Slocum, is making waves in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. The 19 year old had a 5-hit game this week and is hitting .351 on the season for Brooklyn's Class C affiliate. He was the Kings fourth round pick last June.

MOCK DRAFT RELEASED NEXT WEEK

With the OSA mock draft set for publication next week, TWIFB's Jiggs McGee decided to unveil the names of the players he expects to be at the top of that list. With the new two phase draft Jiggs believes all 16 players to make the first round of OSA's list will have already been selected.

Here are Jiggs predictions for the top 10 in the mock draft

Code:


#     NAME    POS	DRAFT STATUS
1- Wally Fuller 3B	Pick 2 Washington
2- Rats McGonigle CF  	Pick 4 Brooklyn
3- Bob Jennings 2B	Pick 19 Montreal
4-  Vic Carroll P 	pick 1 Baltimore
5-Davey Robicheaux 3B	Pick 6 Keystones
6-Whitey Dorsch 3B	Pick 15 Brooklyn
7-Bob Coon CF		Pick 28 Washington
8-Bill Greene CF	Pick 3 Montreal
9-Jesse Deshazer SS	Pick 35 Montreal
10-Marcus Mangum P	Pick 5 Detroit

Rounding out the opening round should 6 of these guys
P Jackie James		Pick 17 Baltimore
LF Hank Giordano   	Pick 13 Toronto
SS Johnny Zeidman	Pick 11 Sailors
SS Skipper Schneider	Pick 7 Cougars
2B Buddy Schneider	Pick 8 Boston
OF Danny Goff Jr	Pick 23 Cougars
C  Chet McCormick	Pick 22 Keystones

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 05/14/1939

Tokyo is considering joining an Axis Alliance but says "whether such negotiations materialize depends on whether Italy and Germany fully understand Japan's position in East Asia as well as theirs in Europe."
The British government hints to it's new ally, Poland, that London would "welcome amicable settlement" possibly through arbitration on Poland's quarrel with Germany over the city of Danzig.
Pope Pius isin favour of a peaceful settlement in both the Germany-Poland and French-Italian land disputes and has offer direct Vatican mediation by inviting the governments of France, Great Britain, Poland, Germany and Italy to sit down with him.
Polish troops stand ready to act immediately in case there is any attempt by Nazi Germany to alter the present state of affairs in Danzig.
The danger of a coal famine in the United States was averted as the first mines reopened following intervention by President Roosevelt to end a 39 day work stoppage. The re-openings were not without incident as Militia forces with bayonets drawn were needed to halt 4,000 pickets in Harlan, Kentucky.
George Putnam, publisher and husband of the late Amelia Earhart, was found safely a few hours after being kidnapped from his Hollywood home. Putnam, unhurt said the kidnappers demanded the name of the author of the anonymous book "The Man Who Killed Hitler" and suggested it be "healthier" if he ceased printing it.
"Monkeys are a warehouse of spare parts for humans" claims French Doctor Serge Voronoff upon arriving in New York for the World's Fair. Voronoff, known as "the monkey gland doctor" reported he successfully transplanted thyroid glands from monkeys to mentally defective children and has performed some 2,000 rejuvenation operations since 1913.

10-20-2021, 05:07 PM	#268
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	1939 Regular Season May 15, 1939 MUCH MORE THAN THE NEW STADIUM MAKING NEWS IN NEW YORK It has been a long wait in New York but ask any fan at the brand new Gothams Stadium and they will tell you it was well worth it. One could be referring to the shiny new steel gargantuan ball park that seats 50,000, is easy to access or at least will be now that the nearby World's Fair has come to a close and in short is everything the dilapidated Bigsby Oval was not. However, one could also be referring to the suddenly competitive product the Gothams are putting on the field this year as well as fans are ecstatic about the Gothams 12-8 start and there are whisperings the team could make a Detroit Dynamos-type jump from the bottom of the Federal Association to immediate contention. Duplicating Detroit's second place finish of last season after Eddie Thompson's boys spent several seasons as the laughing stock of the Fed might be just a little too much to ask for from the Gothams in a very competitive Federal Association this season but it is clear the club is certainly headed in the right direction. They went from back to back first place finishes in 1934-35 to seasons of 85, 100 and most recently 94 losses but for the first time since the title clubs the first division seems a very realistic possibility. The Gothams have the best farm system in the game and after three years of being content to field a terrible big league club waiting for the talent to develop the team is now looking to be a factor in the Federal Association pennant race for years to come as the key prospects are either already here or on the cusp of making their big league debuts. The Gothams have 9 players ranked in OSA's top 100 prospects including 4 of the top 11 in pitcher Ed Bowman (1st), catcher Pete Casstevens (2nd), 1B Walt Messer (9th) and pitcher Bunny Edwards (11th). While Bowman is just 19 and still in Class A word from the organization is the Gothams are calling up Edwards in an effort to help solidify a shaky pitching staff. It is that pitching staff that still worries Gothams management and fans alike. Despite a promising early break from the gate, near team record crowds at the new ballpark and what appears to be a breakout season for young 3B Billy Dalton, there are big concerns on the mound. That's where the 23 year old Edwards comes in. The #11 ranked prospect will make his FABL debut this week filling in for the injured Nate Spear. Edwards has worked his way up through the Gothams system since his first round (draft portion) selection by the team in 1936. Edwards was 1-1 with a 3.66 ERA at Toledo this season. Spear (3-0, 1.47) should only miss one start with his injury and it is a good thing since he and veteran Oscar Morse (4-0 2.16) have been the only reliable starters this season. Roger Perry (0-2, 5.16) has struggled while Mule Earl (1-1 10.24) and Jack Snyder (1-1 5.92) have been awful and are both going back to the minors as the revolving door on the mound continues. Earle Killebrew (1-1 2.38 at AAA) returns to try again this season along with Edwards to replace them. Another big move is the promotion of top 30 prospect Roosevelt Brewer. Brewer was the first player to choose the Gothams organization in the 1936 player signing portion of the draft. The 2B was hitting .360 with 7 doubles and a homer at AAA Toledo. Brewer will join fellow rookie Mule Monier up the middle with young Dalton and veteran Bud Jameson rounding out the infield. In other team news catcher prospect Pete Casstevens has been promoted to AA Jersey City. Casstevens was hitting .365 at Albany. It remains to be seen if the Gothams can maintain their solid start and stay in contention this year but one thing appears certain: the Gothams will be a factor in the Federal Association race for many years going forward. SAINTS AT RARE HEIGHTS It has been almost a full decade since the Montreal Saints last spent any meaningful time in the top half of the Continental Association standings but a surprisingly potent offense has Saints fans suddenly dreaming of contention. At 11-9 Montreal is hardly setting the world on fire but it seems like a dream for a club that has not been over .500 after May 5th since 1935 and has not finished a year with a .500 record since 1930. It is Montreal's offense that is the talk of the Continental Association as the Saints, pegged by many for the basement of the CA this time around, have the most productive offense in the CA despite trading away Pablo Reyes over the winter. Adam Mullins (.406,2,21) and Frank Davis (.400,0,6) are a surprise 1-2 in the CA batting race and veteran Vic Crawford (.351,2,15) is also off to his best start in years. The Saints are 3-2 against the three time defending CA champs from Brooklyn and have scored 43 runs off of Kings pitching in those 5 contests. The worry in Montreal is can the pitching hold up. None of their starters have been particularly effective although Jake DeYoung is off to a 3-1 start and while the bullpen has been solid for the most part thanks to former Pittsburgh Miners reliever Lou Ellertson, one has to question how long they can keep winning games by 8-7 type scores. The lofty heights of the first division might be short-lived for the Saints this season but Montreal fans are certainly enjoying it while it lasts as attendance is up substantially over last season. KEYSTONES UPDATE FROM THE PHILADELPHIA INQUISITOR The Keystones had their first above-.500 week at 4-2, including an unlikely sweep of Detroit. Manager Bill Libby juggled his pitching staff, inserting Ed Baker (good) and Gene White (very, very bad) into the rotation for George Brooks and Pepper Tuttle. Tuttle was sent down for more seasoning. White had one of the worst starts in league history against the Gothams, as they laced six straight hits to start the home first, capped off by a 3-run homer by Jack Flint. After a walk and another hit (single), White muffed a grounder to allow another run to score and hit the next batter. Mercifully, after 30 pitches, his day was done, but not before reliever Frank Parsons came in with the bases loaded and poured gasoline on the fire, letting them all score in what became a 12-run inning for the Gothams. The final line: 0.0 IP, 7 H, 10 R, 9 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, with a game score of minus-11. Herman Patterson might get another look in the rotation if White continues to struggle and the leash will be extremely short. Baker, the veteran, is keeping a rotation spot warm for a youngster to take it, but no one else is ready, he should be able to at least give the Keystones some innings. In other news, Carl Ames has started the season 3-for-20 and while he is on a couple of milestone lists (84 hits shy of 2,000 and 72 runs shy of 1,000), those milestones might be tough to reach for the 36-year-old catcher-turned-pinch hitter. Rookie Walt Potter made the team out of camp and has started to struggle and first backup Jake Walton is not exactly pushing for playing time, so Ames might yet get worked back into the lineup. At first base, Sig Stofer has struggled. Enter Lloyd Stevens, who is showing his two-way aptitude is no gimmick. Stevens is hitting .373 with a homer and 8 RBI, which is second on the team. He has played an adequate first base in his nine appearances there. His pitching has been a bit lacking with a 4.00 ERA and 21 walks in 27 innings, but his offense has been outstanding in his first taste of major league ball. QUICK HITS Hide the liquor in the Thompson Field press box. Freddie Farhat will likely be back to tipping his elbow after what he and the rest of those watching the Detroit Dynamos have been subjected to this season. A 10-10 start 2 years ago had the fans ecstatic but this year not so much. The club is lacking a spark at the moment and it's has carried forward from the spring. The low point so far might have been the 3 game sweep they suffered at the hands of lowly Philadelphia last week, getting outscored 22-9 in the process. The Chicago Chiefs made yet another deal with Montreal, this time adding AAA shortstop Tony White in an attempt to plug the hole that remains open after Pete Layton's retirement. With the acquisition of White, the Chiefs 24-man roster now has 8 ex-Saints on it. No coincidence as the Chiefs GM and manager each got their start in Montreal. Joe Ward, the current Chicago skipper was reminiscing on when White first joined the Saints system. "It was a shallow draft pool in 1932, and Tony White was drafted in the 3rd round out of Central Ohio because of his glove. However, he quickly rose through the Montreal system and by June of 1934, the 22-year-old White had supplanted Woody Armstrong as short stop. I left Montreal after the 1934 season, and I don't think White was given a fair shake after that. He'll be thrown right into the short stop mix in Chicago. The news the Chiefs were picking up another shortstop lit a fire under Len Jones. Jones responded by going 6-for-10 in his last 3 games to raise his season average to .280 as he tries to hang on to the starting job. Might be a small sample size but right now there is likely no one you would rather have coming to the plate in a key pinch-hitting situation over Frankie Cohen. The 28 year old Chief had success last season as a pinch-hitter and so for this year he's come in to pinch hit 15 times and is hitting .583/.643/.583. In close and late situations he has 6 hits in 9 at-bats. In extra innings, he is 1 for 1. Nerves of steel, that Frankie Cohen who also "has great knowledge of the game" and "gets along with everyone." He has "future coach" written all over him. It is likely the end of the line for Tom Taylor after news broke the Chicago Chiefs are waiving the 34 year old following an 0-for-13 start to the season. Taylor burst on to the scene as a 23 year old in 1928 with the Sailors, winning back to back Whitney Awards to start his career. Injuries slowed is exceptional start but he has stuck around to win 5 World Championship rings with 4 different teams and played in over 1300 games. OOTP doesn't show the records for this anywhere, but in Taylor's history it shows him as having 14 leadoff home runs in his career. That has to be close to a record if not the record. And that really came from 2 seasons batting leadoff for the Cougars. More injury news from Pittsburgh as the Jack Cleaves experiment at first base ended quickly. Cleaves was moved to first to replace Mahlon Strong after Strong's latest injury. The plan lasted exactly one game before Cleaves, who was hitting .325 on the season, got hurt running the bases against the Chiefs and will be out until late June. Despite the injuries the Miners did win three straight to start last week including a pair over the slumping Chicago Chiefs but the week did not end well for Pittsburgh as they dropped their final 3 contests including the last two of a 3 game set with the surprising St Louis Pioneers. Jack's brother George Cleaves is off to a cool .493/.564/.836 start with 5 doubles, 3 triples and 4 homers for the Miners. And the 4-time all-star catcher has thrown out 5 of 7 runners. Cleaves was named the player of the week in the Fed while Joe Watson of the Philadelphia Sailors took the honour in the Continental Association. As high as Minutemen fans were a week ago when their club went 6-1 they have crashed just as low this time around after the club followed that performance up with an 0-6 week including 3 losses to the suddenly relevant New York Gothams. The decision to acquire Clark Car was seen as overkill by the New York Stars but it is paying off at the moment anyway after young shortstop Joe Angevine went down with a back injury and is expected to miss 3 weeks. Car will take over at SS and Mel Hancock Jr will likely man second until Angevine returns. Car (.312,0,4) is off to a hot start, hopefully proving the Stars thinking he is way better than his stats in Baltimore indicated. Pitching remains a concern for the Stars but Billy Riley (2-3, 7.20) seems to have settled down a bit after an awful start, only allowing 7 runs over his last 2 starts picking up 2 wins in the process. George Phillips (3-0, 3.86) is pitching well and Chuck Cole (2-1, 6.50) has been up and down. The Stars GM has some questions to answer from the owner about the price paid, but hopefully he will work out. Vern Hubbard (1-1, 5.30) needs to get back to his spring performance while Less Zoller (0-2, 6.88) has been moved to the pen for the time being. In addressing the New York media this week the new Stars GM was unexpectedly frank with reporters admitting he made some missteps coming over to the club from Cleveland. "Lessons learned for future years. But i think we're in a good place. Just need that pitching to settle in." After 8 failed stolen base attempts 2B Ed Stewart nabbed the Dynamo's first stolen base of the season. So that 1 for 9 success rate doesn't look too good. It has been an up and down start to the year for Sam Sheppard of St Louis. The 1935 Allen Award winner looked great in beating Chicago in the season opener and gave indications that perhaps he was back to his old self again after a dreadful 1938 season. Then came a pair of average outings before a poor game against Washington to start last week. He righted the ship Saturday with a gem - a complete game 5-hit shutout to run his record to 3-2 as the Pioneers completed a sweep of Boston. A special moment for rookie St Louis outfielder Henry Cox as the 23 year old hit a dramatic first big league homer. It was a walk-off shot in the bottom of the 9th to lift the Pioneers past Pittsburgh 8-6 on Friday in the opener of a 2-game sweep that pulled the Pioneers to within a game and a half of the Federal Association lead. Another St Louis rookie is leading the club in rbi's. 22 year old shortstop Ivan Cameron, who like Cox came over from the Chicago Cougars in the Freddie Jones trade, has driven in 14 runs despite hitting at the bottom of the order. Cameron, who originally was a 3rd round pick of the Cougars out of high school in 1934 is hitting .280 on the year. James Slocum, the step-son of Brooklyn Manager Powell Slocum, is making waves in the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. The 19 year old had a 5-hit game this week and is hitting .351 on the season for Brooklyn's Class C affiliate. He was the Kings fourth round pick last June. MOCK DRAFT RELEASED NEXT WEEK With the OSA mock draft set for publication next week, TWIFB's Jiggs McGee decided to unveil the names of the players he expects to be at the top of that list. With the new two phase draft Jiggs believes all 16 players to make the first round of OSA's list will have already been selected. Here are Jiggs predictions for the top 10 in the mock draft Code: # NAME POS DRAFT STATUS 1- Wally Fuller 3B Pick 2 Washington 2- Rats McGonigle CF Pick 4 Brooklyn 3- Bob Jennings 2B Pick 19 Montreal 4- Vic Carroll P pick 1 Baltimore 5-Davey Robicheaux 3B Pick 6 Keystones 6-Whitey Dorsch 3B Pick 15 Brooklyn 7-Bob Coon CF Pick 28 Washington 8-Bill Greene CF Pick 3 Montreal 9-Jesse Deshazer SS Pick 35 Montreal 10-Marcus Mangum P Pick 5 Detroit Rounding out the opening round should 6 of these guys P Jackie James Pick 17 Baltimore LF Hank Giordano Pick 13 Toronto SS Johnny Zeidman Pick 11 Sailors SS Skipper Schneider Pick 7 Cougars 2B Buddy Schneider Pick 8 Boston OF Danny Goff Jr Pick 23 Cougars C Chet McCormick Pick 22 Keystones The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 05/14/1939 Tokyo is considering joining an Axis Alliance but says "whether such negotiations materialize depends on whether Italy and Germany fully understand Japan's position in East Asia as well as theirs in Europe." The British government hints to it's new ally, Poland, that London would "welcome amicable settlement" possibly through arbitration on Poland's quarrel with Germany over the city of Danzig. Pope Pius isin favour of a peaceful settlement in both the Germany-Poland and French-Italian land disputes and has offer direct Vatican mediation by inviting the governments of France, Great Britain, Poland, Germany and Italy to sit down with him. Polish troops stand ready to act immediately in case there is any attempt by Nazi Germany to alter the present state of affairs in Danzig. The danger of a coal famine in the United States was averted as the first mines reopened following intervention by President Roosevelt to end a 39 day work stoppage. The re-openings were not without incident as Militia forces with bayonets drawn were needed to halt 4,000 pickets in Harlan, Kentucky. George Putnam, publisher and husband of the late Amelia Earhart, was found safely a few hours after being kidnapped from his Hollywood home. Putnam, unhurt said the kidnappers demanded the name of the author of the anonymous book "The Man Who Killed Hitler" and suggested it be "healthier" if he ceased printing it. "Monkeys are a warehouse of spare parts for humans" claims French Doctor Serge Voronoff upon arriving in New York for the World's Fair. Voronoff, known as "the monkey gland doctor" reported he successfully transplanted thyroid glands from monkeys to mentally defective children and has performed some 2,000 rejuvenation operations since 1913. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 10-20-2021 at 08:55 PM.