[jksander]

OCTOBER 25, 1954 . . . With Klippstein out long term, it was more important than ever that we get Saul Rogovin signed and happy with his role on our team heading into next year. He was not, however, interested in signing anything long term. After several rounds of negotiations, we were able to get him on board with a two year deal, worth $55,000 for the 1955 season and $65,000 for the 1956 season, at which point he’ll be 32. He will also get solid bonuses for any awards he might win, as well as for reaching 250 innings pitched in a season. He was a player I actively pursued in the trade with the White Sox last year, and I feel he’s our perfect veteran ace heading into the new season, with Hy Cohen right there with him.

NOVEMBER 6, 1954 . . . The offseason has officially begun! Our owner has kept our budget relatively static, at $1.78 million, giving us room for about $1.4 million for payroll -- ours currently sits at $1.39 million, second in the majors, and we’re clearly in ‘win now!’ mode. Our fan interest has jumped off the charts, and we’ll be bumping ticket prices up this year as we are clearly no longer rebuilding. The product we’ve been putting on the field is more than worth a $2 ticket. Awards voting begins today, here’s looking forward to how that turns out over the next couple weeks.

NOVEMBER 14, 1954 . . . NL Gold Glove winners were announced today, and Willie Mays was given the award for center field performance! Several other Cubs were in contention for awards at other positions, but the young center fielder is by far our best in the outfield.

NOVEMBER 15, 1954 . . . Sandy Consuegra was named the NL’s Reliever of the Year, thanks to his 2.33 ERA and 26 saves over 47 relief appearances. He struck out 39 batters while walking only four, and opponents hit just .244 against him. Not bad for a 34-year-old veteran!

NOVEMBER 16, 1954 . . . Duke Snyder narrowly edged out Mays for the Platinum Stick award among center fielders, but Ernie Banks did win as a shortstop, having hit .303/.351/.498 with 23 homers, a pair of stolen bases and 4.9 WAR.

NOVEMBER 17, 1954 . . . Al Kaline won the NL’s Rookie of the Year award, with Robert Diehl, Roger Maris and Gene Baker finishing in the top six among vote getters as well, showing how young our team that dominated so much of last season truly was! Kaline hit .322 through 131 games, getting 182 hits, 17 homers and 64 RBIs, scoring 90 runs in the process. Way to go, Al! Glad we’ve got him locked up long term to stay with us here in Chicago!

NOVEMBER 18, 1954 . . . I was officially named NL Manager of the Year today, which is a huge honor, but also a tough act to follow. I’m hoping the last two seasons weren’t as flukeish as they seemed to me as they were happening. Can I keep this going and become one of the better managers in Cubs history? Can I keep the fans’ trust by getting us back to the World Series again and breaking the nearly five-decade curse? I’m certainly going to do my best!

NOVEMBER 19, 1954 . . . No Cy Youngs coming to Chicago this year. Brooklyn’s Johnny Podres won the award in the National League, having finished with a 25-4 record through 252.2 innings, striking out 143 batters and crafting a 2.49 ERA, with teams batting just .204 against him. Hard to beat that, though we did have Robert Diehl and Hy Cohen who finished in the top four in votes.

NOVEMBER 20, 1954 . . . Willie Mays won himself a huge honor, taking home the NL’s MVP award, thanks to a .328 average, 26 doubles, 16 triples , 35 homers, 127 RBIs and 108 runs scored, accounting for 10.5 WAR, and he’s put up 23.7 total WAR over his first four seasons in the major leagues. This is his second consecutive NL MVP, and he’s earning every penny of his $102,000 contract for the upcoming season.

DECEMBER 1, 1954 . . . We signed ourselves a backup catcher -- Bob Durretto, 27, a two-star prospect who hasn’t played above AA level since 1945, but who has loads of experience in the minors and some ability as a pitcher as well. He’s on a one year deal worth $15,000, but will start out in AAA as an option down the road, should McCullough, who is making $35,000 this year in the final year of his contract, not pan out. Whether McCullough’s bat still outweighs his defensive deficiencies will remain to be seen this year in Spring Training.

DECEMBER 15, 1954 . . . The Draft wasn’t much of a deal, as most of the best players went in the upper levels of the first round, while our pick was dead last in every round. I’m pretty happy with our first rounder, Deacon Jones, a first baseman with great eye, contact and power, who knows how to use his speed well on the basepaths. He’s a solid three stars plus at this point, and could be ready to get playing time right away, once we see how our roster shapes up. Beyond that, I don’t see any impact players coming straight out of our draft, but I’ve made big moves in the past, and I’d love to find a way to convince the now-in-Kansas City Athletics to give up their studly draftee, a young hurler named Sandy Koufax. It seems doubtful they’ll want to move him, but we have some trade pieces they may find useful, and once everyone has signed their bonus deals I can start making some calls.

DECEMBER 20, 1954 . . . We decided to use a Rule 5 Draft pick on Chicago White Sox second baseman Danny Lynch, an incredible infielder with excellent skills in the field at 2B or 3B, while passable as a backup at short. He’s currently on a minor league contract,, has great morale, and will be ecstatic to be a bench player and utility infielder for us. At 28, he’s been around the block in the minors, and I think he’s ready for a chance to show he can do well at the major league level. Committing to keeping him on our active roster for the season seems like a small risk to take.

JANUARY 14, 1955 . . . We’ve made a huge trade with Kansas City. We are sending four-star veteran reliever Vern Fear, three-star veteran right fielder Phil Cavarretta, and 21-year-old starter Bob Shaw, who is listed as a top nine prospect, in exchange for the first-rounder we wanted all along, Mr. Sandy Koufax, who was taken sixth overall in the draft this year! Koufax’s BNN ranking has not been issued yet, but the 19-year-old from New York, born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has the stuff and movement to play immediately at the major league level as a reliever, with the potential to develop quickly into a top-of-the-rotation starter. We took a risk getting rid of Vern Fear, but I’m not afraid of going younger in the bullpen if it means giving a kid a chance to develop and become a star at this level. Our pitching is going to be a question mark this year anyway, Rogovin and Cohen are our top starters, with Diehl, Dobson and Porterfield likely to be the rest of our five-man rotation, but the bullpen are up in the air, . We’ll learn a lot in spring training, but I see no reason to believe Koufax can’t come in and make it work right away.