APRIL 13, 1941
DRESS REHEARSAL IS OVER. BRING ON THE SEASON!
Spring training has come to a close for another year and the 16 FABL clubs are taking trains north, nearly all of them finding their luggage cars overloaded with high expectations for the season ahead. Nearly every club has something they can crow about and raise the hopes of fans. Whether it be the defending champions from Toronto and Pittsburgh, both of whom might not be overly excited about their spring showing in the standings but each, like most other clubs, has plenty of reasons to be optimistic. In Pittsburgh for example it is the showing of newcomer George Phillips who, if we only go by spring performance, might just unseat Lefty Allen as the Fed's top hurler. Now we all know that will not happen but news of Phillips accomplishments in the Citrus loop have Pittsburgh fans looking ahead and not back to last October and yet another WCS disappointment. Even teams that had little to cheer about last season can have high hopes at this time of year. Take the St Louis Pioneers, the Fed doormat a year ago, they paced that loop in Florida with 15 wins against just 9 losses and have fans out west dreaming of how much better the rotation might be if Mel Bianco, Danny Hern and Jaspar Moore live up to their lofty spring expectations. Yes, it is a time to be positive but also to realize the past month was just a dress rehearsal and ultimately means nothing. Tomorrow the curtain is raised for real and the 1941 season begins. But first here is a final look back at the spring standings and leaders:
1941 SEASON
We have seen predictions for the year ahead unveiled by TWIFB's Jiggs McGee and by Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World. Today another soothsayer chimes in and he is none other than Dan Barrell, head of the OSA. Barrell, it should be noted, correctly called the winners in both Associations last season so perhaps his prognostications warrant a little extra attention. Do not forget that in tomorrow's special season preview issue we will hear from many more sports editors from across the league.
5. Robicheaux must go... to the outfield that is. Crawfish needs to play and the most obvious spot for him is... LF. Yeah, some guy named Bobby plays there now, but he should slide over to CF and Chuck Hood should become the fourth outfielder. Robicheaux's bat is the final ingredient in a pennant-winning gumbo thanks to... (see below)
4. The Keystones' pitching is the deepest in all of FABL and George M Brooks needs to be in the rotation.
3. Double trouble in New York City. This is the year both Bill Barrett AND Walt Messer arrive for real.
2. The Heat will be on in Chicago because Peter the Heater has finally harnessed his magical right arm and the Cougars are going to ride the lightning... but the Cannons are going to win the pennant.
1. Not only should Buddy Long not be in AAA, but he should be the #1 starter in the Pioneers' rotation. He led FABL in fewest BB/9, led his team in WAR and FIP- and after getting shelled in his first spring appearance tossed five shutout frames. Maybe it's option-related, but he's the best arm the Pioneers have, bar none.
DAN BARRELL'S PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
1 - Keystones
2 - Miners
3 - Dynamos
4 - Minutemen
5 - Chiefs
6 - Pioneers
7 - Eagles
8 - Gothams
CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
1 - Cannons
2 - Wolves
3 - Cougars
4 - Kings
5 - Sailors
6 - Stars
7 - Saints
8 - Foresters
Whitneys: Hank Koblenz of the Keystones in Fed, Cincinnati's Fred Galloway in Conti
Allens: Pittsburgh's Lefty Allen & George Garrison of Toronto
Johnny Bologna's final camp report on final roster decisions and the last six cuts of camp:
- Carl Ames got that tap on the shoulder to report to the manager's office. The 38-year-old catcher may have reached the end of the line after a brilliant 16-year career that included 2,021 hits, 1,127 RBI and a lifetime batting mark of .292. He appeared in 1,782 games as a catcher and will leave his mark on the all-time franchise leaderboard, finishing in the top three in Keystones history in games played (3rd, 1,845), doubles (2nd, 405), and home runs (3rd, 138). The two-time champion also hit .274 in three World's Championship Series. Charlie Gump will enter his first season as the official backup.
- Doug Lightbody was in an inadvertent competition with Ames for a pinch-hitter spot and Lightbody frankly had a good camp. He will continue his quest for 2,000 hits, sitting 18 away as the season begins. Lightbody will back up Hans Wright and likely be the first off the bench most nights to grab a bat late in games.
- While the winner of the Keystones' "Camp Player of the Year" award went to Billy Woytek, who hit a blistering .433 and walked 10 times without striking out, Davey Robicheaux was the darling of the camp. Robicheaux will make the team and split his time between third base, leftfield and rightfield. He will get the Opening Day nod in leftfield with Bobby Barrell moving to centerfield, spelling Chuck Hood, himself a .324 hitter last year. While Robicheaux figures to get the bulk of his starts at leftfield, he'll get a start at third and a couple of starts in right to start the year.
- Casualties for Robicheaux's rise are third baseman George Wright and centerfielder Ed Greenwood. For Wright, he must feel the world is passing him by, as Hank Koblenz and Robicheaux have raced past him on the organizational depth chart. Greenwood hung in there through the entire camp, but it was a battle of attrition for the last outfielder spot. Greenwood did not hit particularly well last season in Triple-A, but he will be penciled in the leadoff spot every day.
- With Herman Patterson healthy and back atop the rotation, there was a battle between two 1940 rookies: Bud Canfield (2.48 ERA in 1940), last year's Rookie of the Month in August, and Henry Shaffer (3.41 ERA in 1940). Shaffer had the better camp, but did not impress the management. In somewhat of a surprise, both were sent to AAA Louisville to start the season and George Brooks will be given a shot to start. Brooks started for the better part of three seasons before switching to a short-reliever role in 1939. Gene White made this possible, as he allowed 24 baserunners in 23-1/3 innings with 18 strikeouts in the Spring.
- The shortstop position will settle into a platoon based on the throwing arm of the pitcher. Clyde Duncan, a left-handed hitter, will get most of the starts against righthanders, while Johnny Wolsey will work primarily against lefties. Prospect Tim Humphrey hit only .154 in exhibition play and will start in Louisville.
The Pioneers will head north with a six man rotation to begin the season. Top prospects Jasper Moore, Mal Bianco, and Cal Roe have earned a chance to start and will be joined by David Abalo, Harry Sharp, and Danny Hern. All six pitchers posted great spring numbers. The move down to a five man rotation will depend on the timing of Abalo's inevitable injury or poor performance. How much rope each pitcher will have depends on the health of Ed Cornett who is on the DL and out of options. The bullpen is stacked with veterans such as Russ Peeples, Jake Smith, and Pioneers' legend Sam Sheppard. They will be joined by Angel Padilla and Del Thomas. Some may be surprised to learn that 26 year old Buddy Long will start the season in AAA after giving up five runs in seven spring innings.
The big surprise in the lineup is RF Hal Sharp who earned his spot over Art Cascone and Al Tucker by hitting .431 in spring competition. Sharp will be joined in the outfield by Les Hendrix in center and veteran Gail Gifford in left. Neither Gifford nor Hendrix played well in the spring. The other surprise in the lineup is rookie Luke Michaels who won the SS job from Ivan Cameron and Ray Russell. Michaels hit .328 in the spring while committing just two errors in the field. Tommy Wilson and his glove are back at third base but he'll have to bring his bat this year if he wants to remain in the lineup. Artie D'Alessandro will man second for the second consecutive season. First base will be a platoon between Jim Vaughn and Zip Sullivan until one of them can outshine the other and take the job out right. All-Star Heinnie Zimmer is the every day catcher while Red Bryant earned the back up job only because he was out of options and John Kennedy was not.
If the youngsters play close to their spring performance, then the Pioneers will surely not finish last in the Fed as predicted by most publications around the country.
QUICK HITS
- The Toronto Wolves finish their spring cuts with three players going to the waiver wire, P Bill Bell, C Don Rogers, OF Joe Smith. The team is now set to begin their title defense but the CA will be a tough division in which to repeat, there are at least four clubs that could win the CA.
- Tom Barrell is going to begin the year as the Miners' 5th starter, with Bill Ketterman back in the bullpen as the stopper. Barrell, who won 3 Allan Awards in the Continental Association but suffered through an injury plagued 1939 season and struggled last year, hopes to get back on track in Pittsburgh after the Miners acquired him from Brooklyn over the winter.
- Bill Sohl had a great spring until his final start. The second overall draft pick in 1940 was shelled in a 14-0 loss to Cleveland and that, coupled with a couple of other players out of options means he will begin the season in AAA. I expect he will be back with the big club in 2 weeks tops but this gives the Cannons the opportunity to see Roger Perry and Donie Scheuermann a couple of more times before we need to make a decision on which to DFA. Nick Wallace had a very good spring for us but he is going on the waiver wire because Pete Asher can play 3 infield positions so he is just a little more valuable than Wallace as our final infielder.
OPENING DAY WEATHER FORECAST
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/13/1941
- Britain cuts diplomatic ties with Hungary after that country becomes a base of operations for Germany.
- Pope Pius eyes filled with tears upon hearing news the Germans invaded Greece and Yugoslavia. Nazi forces were advancing in Greece and close to victory in Yugoslavia as the week came to an end.
- Prime Minister Churchill warns Hitler will step up sea attacks aimed at preventing US aid from reaching Britain. Churchill also warns that Turkey and Russia are likely next on the Germans radar.
- With Nazi forces now in north Africa the Axis is making headway in regaining ground the British had previously secured from the Italian army.
- Britain boosted income tax to 50 cents on the dollar but assures it's people all difficulties have been eliminated in securing financing from the United States.
- The United States pledged to defend Greenland under an agreement with Denmark giving the US the right to establish air bases and other fortifications on the vast island.