A messy start to the month for both us and the Cardinals mean we still hold a 4-game lead when we head there for our last 4 scheduled (a key word here) regular season games against them. They take 3 of them and our lead is cut to 2 with 16 to play.
The lads somehow drag themself off the canvas and string 7 wins on the trot but still the Cards hang tough and our lead is only 3 with 10 to play.
They are almost dead on their feet at this stage, having played 14 days straight. When we do finally get a day off there are 7 to play, our lead is 2 ½ and our MN is 5.
2 wins against Philly coupled with 2 Cards losses put us 3 ½ ahead and needing just a win or St. Louis loss to clinch, as the Browns lock down their 2nd AL Pennant.
An emphatic 13-0 win at home over Brooklyn behind a Mamaux 3-hitter gets us there.
We finish the regular season with 97 wins, 5 clear of the Redbirds.
While this race should never have been as close as it turns out to be, there are still many more positives than negatives to be taken from this campaign. The boys show so much heart in the final stretch, with everyone doing their bit.
Easterly has been huge all year, Groh is arguably our best player over the past month after a sluggish start to the season. Lundy’s rookie season is a solid foundation on which to build what looks set to be a most promising career. Charleston has become a real force at the top of the lineup. Smith continues to improve. Cobb is just... well, Cobb. Even Carey and Baker finally show some form when we need it the most, credit where due, and the backups all contribute mightily when called upon to do so.
On the pitching side of the ledger, while Foster doesn’t quite live up to expectations, Johnson more than compensates. Cooper, Mamaux and Mays all play their part, and the pen is once again as reliable as they come.
That said, we need to be much better than this moving forward. I doubt very much the 1918 and beyond St. Louis Cardinals will permit us such profligacy in future.
Heavy Johnson claims his first batting title with a 338 BA and leads HR with 18, but comes up just 9 RBI short in his quest for the AL Triple Crown. Chicago’s Jim Viox pips Ty Cobb on the final day to win the NL crown by crumbs with a 343 mark. And Rogers Hornsby just fails to reach the all-time WAR seasonal figure, finishing with 11.7.
Back for the Big Dance preview soon.
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