SEPTEMBER 1, 1941
DEADLOCKED! DYNAMOS AND MINUTEMEN TIED FOR FED LEAD
As the season enters it's final month it is clear the Federal Association race is going to be a battle. The bookmakers give the Boston Minutemen (75-56) a slight edge over the Detroit Dynamos (74-55) to come out on top as the two are in a virtual tie for the top spot. If one was to split hairs it is the Dynamos, who have played 2 less games than the New Englanders, who presently enjoy a slight lead, with Boston gaining a game in the standings this week thanks to a 5-2 showing while the Detroiters went 4-3.
The week began with the two clubs splitting the final two games of their series in Detroit after Boston had claimed victory in last Sunday's series opener. Red Johnson (.292,28,81) powered Detroit to a 5-4 victory Monday with a homer, a double and 3-rbi's while Boston answered with a 6-4 win the next day powered by ex-Cleveland duo Dean Astle, who went the distance for the win, and Bill Moore, who drove in 3 runs.
Detroit then lost a pair at home to the Pittsburgh Miners before sweeping a weekend three game set from the New York Gothams. Boston beat the Gothams twice and then put a damper on third place Pittsburgh's week by winning two of three games in a tightly contested series with the Miners. Each of the three was decided by a single run including the opener which needed extra innings. No one is counting the Miners out but the series loss to Boston puts the Pittsburgh gang 4 games back so they will have their work cut out for them if they want to win a third straight Fed pennant.
The Continental Association still very much belongs to the Chicago Cougars despite the Big Cats having a second consecutive bad week. Chicago lost 3 straight for the second time in 11 days and are just 7-7 over their last 14 games. The clock appears to have struck midnight on the Brooklyn Kings as they have lost 7 of 9 and instead of closing the gap on Chicago when the opportunity presented itself, the Cinderella season for the Kings came crashing down. They moved as close as 4 games back just a couple of weeks ago but with a month to play they are now 8 off the pace and actually in third place as the New York Stars, winners of 5 of their last 7, are preparing for one last chance to make a race out of the Continental. New York hosts Chicago for 3 games this week but it will be an extremely trying 7 days for the Stars pitching staff as they play two doubleheaders, including one with Chicago, in the next 3 days and 9 games in all in the coming week.
CANNONS SOHL GETS DRAFT NOTICE
Injured Cincinnati Cannons pitcher Bill Sohl has been notified by the draft board in his hometown of Portland, Oregon that he must report for his initial physical. Odds are the 22 year old, who has been sidelined with back troubles since July, will not get the green light from Army doctors but the righthander says he will do his duty once he is fully recovered.
"The back is not 100% yet, but it is feeling a lot better so it will be just be a matter of time before I am fit as a fiddle," explained the youngster. The 1940 second overall draft selection out of Portland's Lane State University, Sohl made his Cannons debut this season and was 3-3 with a 4.92 era in 9 games prior to suffering a back injury in July. A first team All-American and Christian Trophy finalist in 1940, Sohl had led Lane State to within a whisker of the AIAA National Championship as a sophomore, finishing second to Maryland State.
MILLER MAY LEAVE ACES TO BECOME AN ACE FLYER
A few years ago when Bob Miller was an All-American football star at Carolina Poly he turned his back on the gridiron to cast his lot in professional baseball. Today, as the 25 year old appears on the verge of becoming a big league regular with the Detroit Dynamos, he may have to change his baseball flannels for a Navy uniform. But if he does, The Rajun Cajun will be ready to turn from chasing flies to flying. He is classed 1-A in the draft.
Miller was a second round pick of the Dynamos in 1939 out of Carolina Poly but was considered much better as a footballer than a baseball player. That is more a testament to his football skills than any deficiencies on the diamond as he hit over .300 all three of his seasons in the Cardinals outfield. He made his FABL debut last season, hitting .256 with 3 homers in 26 games playing in a crowded Detroit outfield. Miller earned another 38 games with the big club this season but the Shreveport, La. native has spent the second half of the year with the AAA Newark Aces.
QUICK HITS
- Must be tough waking up as a Washington Eagles fan seeing their club in last place and thinking well at least we have the first overall pick if it ends up this way.....then remembering it was dealt to Boston so the Minutemen, not the Eagles have the chance to draft Bob Arman if things stay this way. Al Gross, the young shortstop the Eagles received from Beantown for their first rounder, is a very good prospect but the 22 year old is presently batting .222 while fielding like he is wearing the glove on his wrong hand - both of which have combined to send him to the bench behind Arnie Scurlock, who is not exactly setting the world on fire either.
- Are the New York Stars catching the Chicago Cougars at the perfect time? The Cougars are struggling the past two weeks and must play 3 games in two days vs the New Yorkers at Dyckman Stadium this week. A New York sweep and we could be in for a race in the CA as the two clubs still have 5 more games head to head after this week. The Stars are presently 7.5 games back of the Cougars.
- Not a great week for the Cougars, who went 3-4 but still sit 7.5 games above the pack. The wins were big though, as they outscored their opponents 36-2.
- Interesting home/road splits for all the teams in the pennant chase, all the CA teams are on the road the majority of the time. In the FA Detroit only has 6 home games in September. Boston and Pittsburgh have 15, 18 home dates.
- Sixteen of the Cougars last eighteen games are on the road. They have been good on the road, 35-23, which is a better win percentage (.603) then both the Stars (.591) and Kings (.586) overall.
- Fans of pitching duels would have loved the Pittsburgh-Boston matchup at The Fitz yesterday. Faced with really a must win situation the Miners Charlie Stedman shutout the Minutemen 1-0, dueling all the way with Boston youngster Duke Hendricks. The win, the 13th of the season for Hard-Luck Chuck, allowed Pittsburgh to salvage a game from their 3-game set with Boston and move back to within 4 games of the Fed lead.
- Good news for Boston is Art Spencer (.342,4,36) is back after missing a month and a half with a wrist injury. The only question is where does he play with newcomer Bill Moore (.340,1,16) off to a hot start after coming over from Cleveland and Bob Donoghue also healthy and clamoring for playing time. Could Spencer go to third and force Mack Sutton to the bench? Sutton's Selective Service appeal has still not been heard but it is looking more and more like the Arkansas Artilleryman won't be picking up a rifle until at least after the season ends.
- The Cincinnati Cannons continue to limp down the stretch - both literally with all our injuries and figuratively with 7 losses in our last 9 games and are now just 5 games over the break even mark. Fourth place seems a lock with Brooklyn and New York too far ahead and the Wolves too far behind but the Cannons brass wants to see a strong finish and the club surpass the 80 win mark for the second year in a row. They need to win 13 of their remaining 25 to get to 80 victories on the year.
- While the Cannons will likely call a few youngsters up with the roster expansion date upon us it is a pair of veterans who will be watched the most. William Jones (5-8, 5.22) has been awful and at age 37 he will get a few more starts to help determine whether he remains on the 40-man roster over the winter. Likewise, there will be a few more opportunities for 35 year old Doc Love (.250,1,15) to pro he still has value to the club.
- The New York Gothams say they will do some call ups. Mainly just to reward the guys having a good season.
- A few callups are expected in Toronto, with 26 year old Mike Rollinson leading the way. If he looks like he deserves a shot it will only further complicate the Wolves infield jam. The second baseman is having a big year in Buffalo, batting .355 which is second best in the Union League. The infield situation is one that Wolves management will have to examine during the winter.
- Toronto is wondering why the draft board is eerily quite on the McCormick matter this week but the ball is in the all-star first baseman's hands as he needs to request the early release and no word that he has, at least not yet.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with some thoughts on players who deserve a September call-up to the big leagues.
BOSTON- The Minutemen are in the middle of a tough pennant race and are stacked after deadline deals so it is unlikely anyone called up would see much action but pitcher Bobby Montefusco probably deserves to return trip to Boston as he has been practically unhittable since being sent down at the beginning of August. 24 year old outfielder Red Samuel (.288,12,59) has also performed quite well for AAA Columbus.
BROOKLYN- Ike O'Donnell looks like he is finally ready to make his big league debut at the age of 24. He is on the 40-man roster and looked very good pitching exclusively in relief for AAA Jersey City. Dan Rogers and Jimmie Field have both spent some time with the Kings but are now in AA and playing very well.
CHIEFS- Not a lot of prospects in the Chiefs system that are close to big league ready but they do have a number of veterans who have played well in Fort Wayne and perhaps should be rewarded with a call back to the big leagues. They include first baseman Frankie Cohen, outfielder Bennie Griffith and pitchers Luis Sandoval and George Budd. All except for Budd have had several opportunities in the majors in the past.
COUGARS- 29 year old infielder Tip Harrison was just recalled after Billy Hunter went down again. Not that Chicago needs any more pitching right now but it would be nice to see the Jones brothers make the jump from AAA to Chicago together. 23 year old Johnnie is 9-11, 3.88 for Milwaukee while 21 year old Donnie is 12-6, 3.22. Neither are on the secondary roster at this point but Johnnie will need to be added as otherwise he would certainly be snapped up in the rule five draft come December.
CINCINNATI- Eddie Seguin was sent down after struggling early in the season with Cannons. He has been very good in AAA and likely deserves another shot with the big club. Young catcher Rick York, son of former Detroit legend Dick York, probably has earned a shot as well but the Cannons might be reluctant to add him to the 40-man roster until next season.
CLEVELAND- Most of the Foresters better prospects are still a fair distance away from threatening for a big league spot but outfielder Si Crocker is one they perhaps should look at. He came over from Boston at the deadline and did spend a couple of weeks in the big leagues already this season.
DETROIT- 23 year old Tony Mullis will likely be promoted with Sid Williams getting hurt during the week. Mullis is hitting .320 at Newark and had a brief spell in Detroit last season. Often injured 25 year old righthander Nate Spear is healthy again and has looked good in AAA so he might come in handy if the Dynamos need an arm down the stretch.
MONTREAL- Jimmy Mayse is now 25 years old so perhaps no longer a prospect but he has put together a pair of decent seasons at AAA Minneapolis and likely deserves a chance to make his big league debut. It's too bad outfielder Otis Parker is hurt right now as the 22 year old who joined the Saints organization as part of the Adam Mullins deal with Cincinnati has had a very good year at AAA.
NY STARS- It seems like Chubby Hall has been considered a top outfield prospect forever and he has been in the minor leagues since the Cougars selected him in the third round of the 1935 draft. Hall is now 24 and with his third organization but has played in just 8 FABL games but still ranked 11th overall by OSA. The Stars have some talent ahead of him as corner outfielders and are, at least for the moment, thinking they are still in a pennant race but Hall likely could help as a pinch-hitter. With Dave Trowbridge and Ray Cochran aging it might have made sense to give Hall some reps at first base in Los Angeles this season.
NY GOTHAMS- 27 year old third baseman Ed B White has not done much with a couple of previous trials with the Gothams but his 1941 season at Toledo is just the type New York brass is likely referring to when they say they are going to reward a few minor leaguers for a job well done with a trip to the big leagues. Is it time to give 21 year old super-prospect Ed Bowman a taste of the Big Apple? He has not looked particularly good at AA Reading this year so the answer is likely no but he and 22 year old outfielder Bobby Boone are their two best prospects. Boone just moved up to A ball so he won't get the call-up nor likely will pitchers Monk Adams or Marcus Mangum, the Gothams other two top-100 prospects.
KEYSTONES- While fans would love to see hometown boy Joe Quade get a chance the 19 year old is still in A ball and while he has done a solid job at that level, he is certainly not ready for the Keystones yet. Perhaps 22 year old Ernie Espanoza, a 5th round pick in 1937 who threw a no-hitter in the minors last season and is now the club's top prospect, will get a taste of the big leagues. Espanoza was dominant at AA New Orleans and just promoted last week to AAA Louisville. His debut with the Derbies was solid but I expect the Keystones want him to get some starts at AAA this month and then come to camp in March with an outside chance of sticking on the club. A more likely scenario is the Keystones recall catcher Chet McCormick. The 24 year old struggled in limited action with the big club over the summer but hit .378 in 64 games at AAA.
SAILORS- 22 year old outfielder Cotton Dillon has looked great at AAA San Francisco and deserves a shot. He was one of the lottery players from the 1937 draft and made a nice jump this season, batting .318 with 11 homers and 91 rbi's for the Hawks after playing A ball a year ago. Fellow outfielder Ducky Pugh and pitchers Al Duster and Slick Wesolowski perhaps also deserve a look this month.
PITTSBURGH- 23 year old Luke Berry is leading the Century League with a .344 average and a big reason the St Paul Disciples are on the verge of winning their first pennant in 21 years. He played 3 games last season for the Miners and likely belongs in Pittsburgh, not just as a September call-up, but next year as well. 25 year old Tony Puccinello (18-9, 3.58) leads the Century League in wins and while the Miners pitching staff has a lot of depth, they likely need to find room for Pooch.
ST LOUIS- Pitchers Cal Roe and Jasper Moore have both spent some time in St Louis and likely should get another opportunity to start a game or two each this month. 22 year old's Tucker Ness, a catcher, and shortstop Luke Michaels are two others deserving but I don't expect the Pioneers to add Ness to the secondary roster at this stage. Michaels struggled at the plate the first half of the season but perhaps the stint in Oakland helped his confidence. His glove remains a big worry as a shortstop so he will need to hit if he wants to stick as a third baseman in St Louis.
TORONTO- Hank Giordano is the Buffalo prospect I want to see get a shot in Toronto. He has had two very strong years in AAA, despite still being just 20 years old and has earned a look but the Wolves may be hesitant to burn a 40-man roster spot on him at this stage. They are promoting 26 year old second baseman Mike Rollinson but the sentimental choice should be Al Jensen. The 34 year old just doesn't seem to have ever received a fair shake. He hit .298 in a season and a half in Toronto but with Fred McCormick at first baseman he was relegated to Buffalo the past 4 seasons. With McCormick in the Army this might be Jensen's only chance to get a chance with the Wolves.
WASHINGTON- Bob Coon and Al Gross, OSA's highest rated Eagles prospects, are already in Washington and there really are not a lot of other higher end prospects close to being ready. Maybe 28 year old Ernesto Perez will get another chance. Perez was an All-Star for the Gothams in 1938 but has spent most of his time since coming over to the Eagles at AAA Kansas City. A guy I always liked from back at his days with Central Ohio is Bill Seabolt. Now 26, the righthander has never played a big league game and while solid at AA Mobile this season, has been below average at Kansas City. Still, I would love to see Seabolt get a big league opportunity.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/31/1941
- The Axis rather than the Americans may force the final decision of war or peace for the New World, warns President Roosevelt. While still hoping the US can avoid fighting involvement in the world conflict, the President told the nation in a Saturday address that "very possibly" it may be in peril more acute than at any time since the outbreak of the present war two years ago.
- Leningrad continues to be a hot spot for heavy fighting between Russian and Nazi troops with both sides sustaining heavy losses.
- British and Russian forces invaded Iran in an effort to oust German agents and protect the Red Army's oil fields and supply lines. By week's end Iran had surrendered to the British.
- By week's end the Nazi claimed they were on the verge of victory on the Eastern front and the Red Army was annihilated on the central front. The Russians claim to have inflicted heavy damage on the Nazis in a counter-offensive.
- Japan says it cannot stand by and allow American oil bound for Russia to be shipped through Japanese controlled waters saying "since the United States has closed the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping, the Japanese territorial waters of the Tsugaru Straits and Soya Straits can certainly not remain open."
- President Roosevelt is undertaking personal negotiations with the Japanese Ambassador regarding differences between the two countries in the tense Far Eastern situation. Late reports indicated a basic understanding was reached following the meetings.
- With a gas shortage in the eastern United States hundreds of gas stations were forced to close over the Labor Day weekend when shipments did not arrive.
- Faced with a morale problem growing out of the 18 month service extension law, the Army will begin releasing certain classes of selectees and National Guardsmen next week. Included in those are men over the age of 28, those with a hardship or dependency case and married men who desire discharge after 12 months service.