Pretty interesting times in the Bronx to say the least, with Lou Gehrig's arrival on the back of the team's slow but steady progress up the AL standings over the past few seasons and a brand new stadium in which to flaunt their skills. Obviously IRL this was the period in which the Yanks established themselves as the league's dominant franchise, and while the makeup of the team in this save is somewhat different, the core pieces of the puzzle seem to be coming together. So I thought it might be fun to track their progress along the way and see where the historical and simulated paths cross, parallel and differ.
This is their basic group as it stands at present:
As I mentioned in the season preview, Babe is being used in a two-way capacity, playing in RF and pitching behind Shawkey in the rotation. I can see why they are doing this, as his pitching ratings have had a rebound and it isn't as if they have the best staff going around. All the same, he hasn't been overly impressive on the mound so far, going 2-0 with an ERA of 6.00.
It will be interesting to see what they do when off-season signing Bill Steen returns from the IL. I suspect it will be Rile that gets bumped from the spin. Herb Pennock, Earl Hamilton and Rube Benton are all also capable of starting games.
When not pitching, they have the big guy playing in RF. He is hitting more for power than average so far, slashing 552/639/793 with 2 HR, 8 RBI and 0.9 WAR.
Now for the Iron Horse.
Lou seems to be being used in RF whenever Babe is on the hill and, as one would expect, has had no problems at this grade so far, hitting a team-high 485 with 1 homer, 7 ribbies and 0.7 WAR. He does have a 1B rating but for now Earl Sheely has the everyday role there. Lou is yet to play an out at the position, but with Sheely barely hitting his weight that might soon change.
Bob Meusel is playing in LF, with the solid but no superstar Jack Smith in CF. He's pretty much their only option in the middle and is a bit of a liability there defensively, so Eddie Eayrs usually finishes off close games as a sub. Catcher Pat Collins is also with the club, having been drafted 11th overall in 1918/19, but not as a Legacy.
Who knows how the wind will blow as far as whether or not guys like Combs, Koenig and Lazzeri will earn Legacy status and join the team or, if not, perhaps serendipity will play its part in bringing the Bombers Brothers Band back together. "Jumpin' Joe" Dugan is currently at the White Sox.
For now the Yankees are at 7-5, 2 GB the Browns and ranked in the upper half team-wise for most major stat categories.
EDIT This was Ruth's first start of the new month.
