I’m the first to admit I went into this season with fairly tempered expectations. I felt we were lucky to win the Pennant last year and had played well below our capabilities throughout. With the group getting a bit older and Cobb’s injury and Train’s drop in performance last season, I honestly believed we were destined for the dreaded “pivot” en route to a comprehensive rebuild, sooner rather than later. Indeed, even though both involved players who cannot be considered “young” in baseball terms, the Williams and Gerber acquisitions were done with this in mind, to try and keep us as competitive as possible during this transitional phase.
Well, the lads have obviously pooh-poohed that idea with their efforts to this point. And so, despite struggling a bit this month to finish with a very streaky 15-15 record for the period, we once again find ourselves right in the thick of things heading into the pointy end of the campaign. Suddenly, a tilt at another Championship is well and truly on the cards.
And so, on the eve of the trade deadline, I make the following moves to try and press home the advantage:
TRADE 3 & 4 OF 5 (07/30/20)
1B Eddie Murphy and P Lefty Williams traded to St. Louis (NL) for P Jose Leblanc.
2B Hod Ford and P Sad Sam Jones traded to Cleveland for UT Lloyd Christenbury.
While Johnson and Cooper (who makes it B2B Pitching Awards in July) continue to excel, the bottom half of our rotation remains problematic. We have a few options at SP4, none of whom seem up to a more prominent role. The hope is that Jose plugs that gap. Murphy was going to enter the FA market at season’s end, so his loss now at least nets us something in return. I would have preferred to trade Krause rather than Williams, but only his inclusion would seal the deal.
Our offence has been superb this year, so the addition of Christenbury is more of a fallback-slash-depth move. Lloyd plays decent enough 2B / SS as well as all three OF slots, and projects as a marked improvement offensively over young Ford, although we’ve sacrificed some years between the two.
The very next day, in the last game of the month, Train experiences back spasms. Thankfully he seems AOK and won’t miss any time, but it is a stark reminder how thin the ice on which we tread.
After a long lean period (their sole NL Pennant came in 1905 when they lost the WS to Detroit), the Reds look like they've finally got a competitive squad. They trail is by 5.5 games, with the Braves, Phillies and Cards bunched behind them and well within reach. In the AL, the Browns and Sens look set to duke it out, with the Red Sox and Yankees needing to get a move on if they want to join in on the action. Still plenty of time, but there's no doubt their moves in August need to be upward.
One of the real surprise packets this year has been Elmer Ponder of the Browns, who becomes the season's first 20-game winner and is on pace for 30.
The hotly-anticipated longball fireworks haven't really eventuated as yet. HJ leads the Babe by 18 to 14 in the AL, while Cincy's Dobie Moore heads the NL with 12. HRs are up slightly across the league, but it has to this point been fairly evenly spread among the playing group rather than concentrated on a few.
Injuries continue to play a part, with the NeL players hit particularly hard this season. The Braves lose Bombin Pedroso for the year to elbow surgery, Joe Williams' recovery has been a slow one, while Cards rookie Andy Cooper is called up, does well enough to win the award in July, then goes down for a month to a strained oblique. Sens Legacy Tom Zachary is another casualty, with his season ended prematurely by shoulder inflammation.
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