"Goodbye To 'The Mack': The 1916 A's In Peril

[jksander]

October 29, 1916: Our owner was very happy with our improvements this season, and has given us a solid budget to work with at getting better in the coming offseason -- we won’t have to struggle to make moves if it’s going to help us win, which is great to know. Awards will be revealed starting on November 6th, and winter meetings will begin in December.

November 7, 1916: Brandon Houck was named the AL’s Reliever of the Year, as the 25-year-old played in 53 games, putting up a 9-3 record and saving 14 games, with a 2.49 ERA, 62 K’s and a 1.30 WHIP through 115.2 innings, starting six games. In other news, we’ve made a trade with the Boston Braves, bringing us 32-year-old workhorse right-handed starter Pat Ragan (12-11, 1.93 ERA, 238.0 IP, 132 K’s, 1.02 WHIP, 6.3 WAR) in exchange for outfielders Nemo Leibold and Bill Johnson. Ragan is a control-focused pitcher and will make a fine rotation leader for us, while Boston is looking to get younger and build for the future so they went after Leibold and Johnson based off their age and potentials.

November 9, 1916: Pedro Dibut won Rookie of the Year in the American League, finishing with a 19-18 record and 2.44 ERA through 306 innings pitched, with 81 K’s and a 1.21 WHIP, giving him 3.2 wins above replacement!
 
November 20, 1916: We didn’t win any further individual awards this year, which makes plenty of sense considering we finished in the middle of the pack and none of our players (beyond Dibut and Houck) particularly dominated the league. Amos Strunk hit .317 and put up 6.5 WAR. Jimmy Walsh hit .272 and put up 6.9 WAR, and Wally Schang put up a .256 average with 5.1 WAR, but each was dominated by significantly stronger individual performances at their position by the likes of Tris Speaker, Harry Hooper and Pinch Thomas. And even in a relatively weak AL race for the inaugural Cy Young Award at pitcher, Pedro Dibut, Gene Packard and Dick Rudolph were dominated by New York’s Bob Shawkey, who finished with a 22-12 record, 2.07 ERA and 125 K’s through 269.2 innings, putting up a 1.16 WHIP and 5.0 WAR. Dick Rudolph put up much stronger WAR thanks to his complete games streak, but overall he didn’t command the same results, being more of a workhorse for us.

[jksander]

December 2, 1916: We’ve signed second baseman Tony Defate to a $2,600 contract for the upcoming season, out of AA Topeka, where he put up a .308/.381/.411 stat line last season, good for 32 doubles, seven triples, two homers and 61 RBIs. That was good for 2.5 WAR at that level, and though he’s on the bubble for a big league role at this point in his development, the 21-year-old should make a solid defensive backup option for us off the reserve squad, with decent defensive ability at 2B, 3B and shortstop. He also has great gap power, so even though he’s a weak contact hitter, he could still earn a spot with us as a backup on our 25-man.

We’ve also signed a top defensive center fielder out of Portsmouth, Virginia, where he’s been playing in the Virginia League. Manuel Cueto, age 24, came up from the Cuban baseball leagues, and last year he hit .407/.546/.558 with 29 doubles, seven triples, six homers and 81 RBIs, putting up 11.4 WAR and winning the Virginia League’s MVP award. That league is the second-lowest ranked in the minor leagues of baseball, but even so, Cuerto projects to be a 2.5-star player at the MLB level, and has incredible outfield range and defensive ability in center field, so we have signed him to a $6,000 contract for the 1917 season. But he’s also a solid shortstop defensively, and that’s going to get him a shot to compete immediately for us, as Alex McCarthy has proven to have the ability to hit well but not to defend coherently at all. And if Amos Strunk ever loses effectiveness in center field, Cueto will have the ability to (hopefully) move seamlessly from infield to outfield.

December 3, 1916: Winter meetings have begun, and so has voting for the inaugural Hall of Fame class, with sixty former major league players on the ballot with a chance to be the first enshrined in our national baseball museum as “the best that ever were.” Each GM along with the members of the Baseball Writers Association will get to choose ten players each on a ballot, and anyone who gets more than 75 percent of the vote will earn a spot. Results will be announced on January 17, 1917.

December 9, 1916: Winter meetings have already come to an end, and we’re continuing to look for players who can fill a role on our reserve roster for the coming season.

December 19, 1916: We’ve signed right handed starter Johnny Miljus, age 21, to a $2,920 contract for the coming season, as a developmental prospect for our reserve roster. He played last year for the St. Marys Saints in the Class D Interstate League, where he finished third in the Pitcher of the Year voting while winning the Great Glove award as a pitcher. He went 14-4 with a 3.63 ERA while striking out 125 batters through 156.1 innings of work, but he’ll need development time before he’s ready to face major league pitching. His slider and curve are likely to become his bread and butter pitches, and he definitely has a future on an MLB rotation.

January 6, 1917: We’ve agreed to purchase the rights of three players from the Pacific Coast League and one from the Southern Association for $1,900 each: 1B Bunny Brief (Salt Lake City Bees), LF Jack Calvo (San Francisco Seals), 1B Swede Risberg (Vernon Tigers) and SP Roy Walker (New Orleans Pelicans). All are expected to be on our reserve roster as added depth for the season, though Brief and Calvo have a higher likelihood of getting a shot at the bigs. Brief played for the Browns and White Sox earlier in the decade, and hit .301 last year for the Bees in the PCL with 47 doubles, nine triples and 13 homers, batting in 99 runs during the long season (he played in 207 games, so those numbers are skewed by the league’s peculiarity of scheduling). Calvo, meanwhile, played 17 games with the Washington Senators way back in 1913, but the 22-year-old has been working hard to add another shot ... this year with the Seals he played in 202 games, hitting .356 with 55 doubles, 10 triples and five homers, batting in 97 runs and scoring 111.

[jksander]

January 17, 1917: The Baseball Hall of Fame has its inaugural class of inductees, five players who will forever be able to say they were the first to enter those hallowed halls:

- SP Cy “Cyclone” Young (for whom our Pitcher of the Year award is now named) put together a 511-316 record with 17 saves and a 2.63 career ERA through 7,354.2 career innings while playing for Cleveland’s Spiders and Naps, the St. Louis perfectos and the Boston Americans and Rustlers from 1890-1911. He struck out 2,803 batters and had a career WHIP of 1.13 with 158.6 wins above replacement. Received 99.6 percent of the vote.

- SP Kid Nichols went 361-208 with 17 saves, 1,868 K’s, a 1.22 WHIP and a 2.95 career ERA through 5,056.1 innings pitching for Boston’s Beaneaters, St. Louis’s Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies from 1890-1906, putting up 85.6 career WAR. Received 98.5 percent of the vote.

- LF Ed Delahanty played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Quakers along with the Cleveland Spiders and the Washington Senators from 1888-1903, though he spent the bulk of his career (’91-’01) with the Phillies. He had a career average of .346, notching 2,596 hits, batting in 1,464 runs while scoring 1,599. He also stole 455 bases in his career and had 522 career doubles, finishing with 71.4 wins above replacement. Received 95.6 percent of the vote.

- CF Billy Hamilton had a short career, playing for the Kansas City Cowboys, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Boston Beaneaters from 1888-1901, but he made a strong impression, hitting .344 with 2,158 hits, 1,690 runs scored and an incredible 912 stolen bases during his career, earning the nickname “Sliding Billy.” He finished with 72.1 career wins above replacement. Received 94.4 percent of the vote.

- 1B Dan “Big Dan” Brouthers started his career in 1879 with the Troy Trojans and would go on to play with the Buffalo Bisons, the Detroit Wolverines, the Boston Beaneaters, the Brooklyn Grooms, the Baltimore Orioles, the Louisville Colonels, the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Giants over a career that lasted until 1904. He had a career average of .342, hitting 2,303 times with 1,301 RBIs and 1,529 runs scored, putting together 76.7 wins above replacement as a journeyman in the major leagues. He also hit 107 career homers, and was the league’s first true slugger, with the fourth most home runs in the 19th century. Received 91.9 percent of the vote.

Only 17 other players received votes on more than five percent of ballots, and they will all return to the ballot next season along with any new potential inductees who meet requirements and retired fewer than five years ago.

[jksander]

March 19, 1917: The new season will begin in a few short weeks, and we’ve finalized our development budget, at $30,240, the league maximum. We’ve set ticket prices at fifty-five cents each for the coming season, and we’re expecting to sell around 6,000 tickets per game, with 2,800 season tickets already sold (an increase of nearly 20 percent!) We are lucky enough to open the season here at home, with four game series against the Washington Senators and the Boston Red Sox, with opening day set for April 11th.

April 10, 1917: Our owner is expecting us to improve upon our record from last year, but does not yet demand that we be at a pennant winning level, though I certainly have high expectations for this squad. While we don’t have any top ten prospects at the moment, 19-year-old Bill Lamar (who played in just 13 games for us last year, hitting .286) is ranked 15th overall at the start of the season, while Manuel Cueto (#26) and Johnny Miljus (#37) were key offseason acquisitions. We’ll open the season tomorrow with our first game against the Washington Senators, with the following lineup:

OPENING DAY STARTING ROSTER

Offense (stats from 1916)
C - Wally Schang, 27 -- .256/.351/.371, 20 2B, 13 3B, 4 HR, 61 RBI, 13 SB, 4.7 WAR
1B - Stuffy McInnis, 26 -- .315/.345/.372, 28 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 81 RBI, 6 SB, 1.6 WAR
2B - Tony Defate, 22 -- Rookie, Did Not Play
3B - Mike Mowrey, 33 -- .274/.347/.358, 29 2B, 5 3B, 47 RBI, 16 SB, 3.4 WAR
SS - Manuel Cueto, 25 -- Rookie, Did Not Play
LF - Rube Oldring, 32 -- .253/.299/.327, 23 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 53 RBI, 17 SB, 0.7 WAR
CF - Amos Strunk, 28 -- .317/.394/.417, 28 2B, 6 3B, 6 HR, 79 RBI, 31 SB, 6.1 WAR
RF - Jimmy Walsh, 29 -- .272/.388/.349, 19 2B, 10 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 104 R, 54 SB, 6.5 WAR

Bench
C - Johnny Bassler, 21 -- .210/.291/.229, 2 2B, 7 RBI, 13 R, 3 SB, 0.1 WAR
C - Val Picinich, 20 -- Rookie, Insignificant Playing Time
2B - Roy Grover, 25 -- .214/.312/.214, 14 AB, 3 H, 1 RBI, 2 R, -0.1 WAR -- Rookie, Pinch Hitter
2B - Nap Lajoie, 42 -- .262/.286/.334, 16 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 35 RBI, 45 R, 18 SB, 0.5 WAR
3B - Charlie Pick, 29 -- .301/.375/.355, 2 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 14 R, 4 SB, 0.3 WAR -- Pinch Hitter
SS - Alex McCarthy, 27 -- .219/.308/.279, 14 2B, 6 3B, 31 RBI, 46 R, 12 SB, -0.3 WAR
LF - Bill Lamar, 20 -- .286/.312/.500, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB, 0.1 WAR -- Rookie, September Call-Up
RF - Eddie Murphy, 25 -- .167/.228/.194, 12 2B, 2 3B, 12 RBI, 3 SB, -0.5 WAR -- Pinch Hitter

Starters
1 - Pat Ragan, 33 -- 12-11, 1.93 ERA, 238.0 IP, 132 K, 1.02 WHIP, 5.3 WAR -- played all season for Boston Braves
2 - Gene Packard, 29 -- 11-9, 2.17 ERA, 273.1 IP, 52 K, 1.17 WHIP, 3.4 WAR
3 - Dick Rudolph, 29 -- 18-16, 2.20 ERA, 352.1 IP, 145 K, 1.11 WHIP, 9.5 WAR -- played mostly for us, 62 IP with Boston Braves
4 - Pedro Dibut, 24 -- 19-18, 2.44 ERA, 306.0 IP, 81 K, 1.21 WHIP, 4.3 WAR -- Rookie of the Year

Bullpen
MR - Byron Houck, 25 -- 9-3, 14 SV, 2.49 ERA, 115.2 IP, 1.30 WHIP, 0.8 WAR -- Reliever of the Year
MR - Oscar Tuero, 23 -- Rookie, Did Not Play
MR - Socks Seibold, 20 -- 0-2, 7.36 ERA, 7.1 IP, 1 K, 2.45 WHIP, -0.2 WAR -- only played as a September call-up
LR - Speed Martin, 23 -- 1-4, 4.01 ERA, 58.1 IP, 21 K, 1.51 WHIP, 0.4 WAR -- only played as a September call-up
LR - Rube Parnham, 23 -- Rookie, Did Not Play

[jksander]

I believe I have the draft situation fixed for 1917 ... we'll play on having had no new players added in late 1916, and now I see my draft reveal (Sept 16) and Draft Day (Nov 15) officially on the league calendar. So all should be well ... I'm keeping the draft settings at 15 rounds with 20 rounds of players created. We'll see what happens in six weeks or so when I manage to get through a whole second season

[jksander]

After talking a bit with Pelican about the merits of recalc vs development, I've decided that I'm going to enjoy this league more if I don't have as much god-like understanding of how players are going to play out, so recalc isn't really for me. I've adjusted the league from this point forward to use the game's development engine rather than the one-year recalc I was using. It's the setting I would have used from the start had I been thinking about it more closely. Since the league won't have its first draft until after the 1917 season, this seemed like the best moment to make a tweak.

[jksander]

April 11, 1917: It’s opening day here in Philly, and Pat Ragan took the mound for us in his first game as an Athletic as we look to build on the successes of last season. Washington took the lead in the top of the third off an RBI double by Sam Rice and an RBI triple by Joe Judge, but we got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a double by Amos Strunk, and Jimmy Walsh helped us tie the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth. We took the lead when the next batter, Mike Mowrey, hit a sac-fly that drove home Rube Oldring, and in the bottom of the sixth Oldring hit an RBI double to drive in another run as we extended our lead to two runs. That was enough, as we held firm to win this one 4-2, a strong opening salvo for what we hope will be a memorable season. Ragan pitched 8.1 innings with five hits, two walks and two runs, striking out six, while Byron Houck got the final two outs on seven pitches for his first save of the season. We outhit them 9-5, led by Oldring who had three hits, a run and an RBI, while Strunk hit twice and had an RBI.

April 12, 1917: We took the lead in the bottom of the first off a single by Tony DeFate, but Washington tied it with an RBI triple by Joe Leonard in the top of the third, taking the lead moments later off a groundout by Sam Rice. They added on another pair of runs in the fourth, but we rallied in the fifth, scoriing off back to back RBI singles for Rube Oldring and Eddie Murphy to get back within a run, down 4-3. Amos Strunk hit a single into the outfield that, aided by an E9 error, helped Stuffy McInnis tie the score in the bottom of the sixth, and we remained tied going into extra innings. In the top of the 12th Clyde Milan scored a run for Washington off a wild pitch, and that wound up being the game-breaker. They would hold on from there to win 5-4 as we fell to 1-1 on the season. Gene Packard only made it through six innings, allowing nine hits and four runs with four strikeouts, but our bullpen held its own down the stretch. Socks Seibold took the loss, pitching two innings with three hits, a walk and an unearned run, and we lost despite outhitting them 17-13. Stuffy McInnis led the way with four hits, a walk and two runs, and Rube Oldring added four hits and an RBI.

April 13, 1917: The Senators got off to a hot start, scoring off an RBI single by Charlie Jamieson and two runs off a double by Eddie Ainsmith, to lead 3-0 midway through the first inning. They added a run in the third, and in the bottom of the fourth we finally got on the board with a sac-fly by Rube Oldring and an RBI single for Manuel Cueto. In the bottom of the fifth McInnis hit a sac-fly and Tony DeFate tied it up with a well placed RBI single, but Washington hammered us from there ... two runs in the eighth and three more in the ninth were enough to bury us 9-4. Dick Rudolph only pitched 7.1 innings, allowing nine hits and six runs with three walks and a strikeout, hardly looking like himself early, and Washington outhit us 11-9. McInnis led the offense with two hits, a run and an RBI, while Amos Strunk added two hits and two runs.

April 14, 1917: We took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, off a two-run single by Jimmy Walsh, adding on with a sac-fly by Mike Mowrey to lead 3-0 heading into the fifth inning. In the top of the ninth, however, we gave it all back -- Clyde Milan hit an RBI single, Sam Rice hit a sac-fly, and Turner Barber walked in a run to make it a 3-3 ballgame heading into the bottom of the inning. This one went into extras, our second game to do so in this series, and this time we got a better result ... in the bottom of the 14th, Socks Seibold hit a walk-off single to win this one for us 4-3! He’d been the goat in the earlier extra innings loss, but this time he got the win after pitching two innings with just one hit. Last year’s Rookie of the Year Pedro Dibut pitched 7.2 innings with just three hits, three walks and three strikeouts, but Oscar Tuero blew the save. We outhit them 8-7 in an incredibly long pitching duel that matched two very strong bullpens. Tony DeFate had a hit, a walk and a run scored, Wally Schang had two hits and a walk, and Seibold had his hit and RBI to win the game.

Boston won their opening series against the Yankees on the road three games to one, so they’ll come into town after a rest day tomorrow with their heads held high as we’ll hope to get off on a good foot ourselves in the four-game series.

April 16, 1917: Boston took the lead off a sac-fly by Larry Gardner in the top of the second, adding an RBI double off Tillie Walker’s bat to take a quick 2-0 lead. Jimmy Walsh got us on the board in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI single, and strong pitching helped us keep that margin until the bottom of the eighth, when Wally Schang batted home Amos Strunk with a single to tie things up, 2-2! Boston got the lead back off a lead-off solo homer from Del Gainer in the top of the ninth, however, and we weren’t able to get it back, losing this one 3-2. Babe Ruth dominated, pitching a five-hitter with three strikeouts and two unearned runs, giving Boston the edge though Pat Ragan had a solid 8.1 innings with eight hits, three walks and three runs, striking out three of his own before giving up that leadoff homer that lost the game. He’s now 1-1 through 16.2 innings with a 2.70 ERA. Nobody got on base for us more than once (we had no walks), with Schang and Walsh leading the way with a hit and an RBI apiece.

April 17, 1917: Boston again took an early lead, this time picking up two runs in the top of the second off Jack Barry reaching on an E5 error and an RBI single by Carl Mays. Tony DeFate walked in a run in the bottom of the fourth to get us on the board, and in the bottom of the fifth DeFate helped tie it up with an RBI single! That started a rally, as Rube Oldring reached on an E7 error, putting us into the lead, and Jimmy Walsh added on with an RBI single to make it a 4-2 lead heading into the sixth. But again we failed to add any insurance, and another ninth inning meltdown put us in jeopardy again ... Jack Barry reached on another error to drive in a run, Pinch Thomas singled in the tying run, Ray Haley hit a sac-fly for the lead, and Duffy Lewis hit another sac-fly to make it a two-run Boston lead in the bottom of the ninth. This has already happened too many times so early in the season, and we had no answer, losing 6-4 as Boston completely flipped the script on us. Byron Houck blew the save and took the loss, allowing five hits and four runs (three earned) in the ninth inning, blowing it for Gene Packard who had a good night, eight innings with six hits, a strikeout and two unearned runs. Boston outhit us 11-8, but much of that came in the ninth. Tony DeFate led with a hit, a walk, a run and two RBIs, and Rube Oldring added two hits, a run and an RBI.
 
April 18, 1917: This one was knotted up for four and a half innings, and then we exploded in the bottom of the fifth, in a rally that was sparked when Boston’s Al Demaree hit Michael Cueta with a pitch in the leadoff spot, nearly causing a brawl. Instead, we hit them where it hurt -- with two outs and McCarthy on third (as a pinch runner) with Jimmy Walsh on second, Amos Strunk hit an RBI single, driving both of them in to score! Wally Schang then walked the bases loaded, and Tony DeFate hit a grand slam home run to put us up 6-0! Alex McCarthy hit a sac-fly in the bottom of the eighth to add another run, and this time we shut them down in the ninth to hold on to the 7-0 shutout victory! Dick Rudolph pitched a complete game two hitter, walking one and striking out three, and we had eight hits ourselves, led by DeFate, who had two hits, a run and four RBIs as he’s improved to .296 through seven games as a rookie!

April 19, 1917: Wally Schang hit an RBI single to put us into the lead in the bottom of the third, and Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth to add on. Schang hit an RBI double in the fifth as well, followed by a single by DeFate that increased our margin to 4-0, and Stuffy McInnis got in on the action in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single to make it a five-run lead! Boston stranded two runners in the top of the ninth as we held on to win the game 5-0, our second shutout in a row! Pedro Dibut completed his own game with a seven hitter, walking one and striking out three as he improved to 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA through two starts, and we outhit them 13-7, led by Wally Schang who had three hits, a run and two RBIs.

We’ll now head out on the road with our 4-4 record, to play Washington (4-4), New York (3-5) and Boston (5-3), all in four-game sets. We’ll then host the Yankees for four in early May before spending most of the rest of the month on the road. Cleveland and Chicago are both off to hot starts, with 7-2 records atop the American League standings.

[jksander]

April 20, 1917: Washington took the lead in the bottom of the first off an RBI single by Ray Morgan, and a wild pitch thrown past Charlie Jamieson allowed Joe Judge to score another for them in the bottom of the fourth. Manuel Cueto got us on the board with an RBI double in the top of the fifth, and in the top of the ninth we tied it 2-2 with a groundout by Bill Lamar that scored Bunny Brief, who was up in the majors for his first-ever game following the purchase of his contract during the offseason! This game went into extra innings from there, and in the top of the 10th Alex McCarthy got us the lead with an RBI single! We held our own from there and escaped with a 3-2 come from behind victory as a result. We outhit them 11-9, led by Stuffy McInnis who had three hits, a walk and a run scored. Pat Ragan pitched eight innings with six hits, a walk, four strikeouts and a pair of runs, and Byron Houck followed him with two innings and three hits, walking two. He improved to 1-1 with a 2.89 ERA through 9.1 innings as he continues to be our strongest bullpen contributor.

April 21, 1917: We took the lead in the top of the third, Amos Strunk grounding out while allowing Gene Packard to score the go-ahead. A wild pitch thrown to Rube Oldring allowed Stuffy McInnis to add an insurance run in the top of the sixth, and we piled on in the eighth with a two-run triple by Alex McCarthy and an RBI single by Oldring to put us up 5-0. Rube Parnham took over for Gene Packard in the eighth inning and held firm to our shutout, and we won with ease 5-0. Packard got the win with 7.2 innings and nine hits, walking one and striking out another, and we were able to defeat them soundly despite being outhit 10-7! McCarthy had a hit, a run and two RBIs, while McInnis hit once and scored twice.

April 23, 1917: Washington’s Howie Shanks scored off a fielder’s choice hit by Eddie Ainsmith in the bottom of the second to give them the lead, but we quickly bit back ... in the top of the third Stuffy McInnis stole second, and moments later he came around to score when Amos Strunk stole second and an errant pickoff attempt allowed McInnis to come all the way around to tie it. Seconds later Wally Schang singled in Strunk, and just like that we led 2-1 midway through the inning. Schang doubled home Strunk in the top of the fifth to add on, but Washington fought back, scoring runs in the sixth and ninth to push this one into extra innings knotted up 3-3. In the top of the 11th we hit them back hard, picking up two runs off an RBI single by Jimmy Walsh and adding on with an RBI single for McCarthy to lead by three. Oscar Tuero came out to close things with a solid inning, allowing no baserunners as we won this one 6-3, earning him his first major league save! It also earned Houck, who had blown his second save of the season, his second win of the year thanks to two innings with two hits, three strikeouts and an unearned run. Dick Rudolph, who had pitched the first eight innings, ended his day with just six hits, a walk, three strikeouts and two earned runs, and we outhit Washington 15-8. McInnis led the way with three hits, a walk and two runs scored, while Wally Schang dominated with three hits and a pair of runs batted in.

April 24, 1917: A sac-fly by Charlie Jamieson gave the Senators a one run lead in the bottom of the fourth, but Amos Strunk scored off an RBI single by Johnny Bassler in the top of the sixth to tie it up. Unfortunately the Senators scored six runs in the bottom of that inning, and they’d go on to beat us handily 10-2, preventing the series sweep. We outhit them 10-7, but proved maddeningly unable to find ways to score, as Strunk led the way with two hits, a walk and just his one run scored. Pedro Dibut only lasted 5.2 innings, allowing only two hits but walking five and giving them seven runs (only two of which were earned) in a rough outing overall. Dibut’s 37 inning scorelesss streak sadly came to an end, and he’s now 1-1 with an 0.81 ERA through his first 22.1 innings of the current season, with seven strikeouts and a 0.94 WHIP.

Our road trip continues with four games against the New York Yankees, who currently sit three games behind us in the standings at 4-8.

[jksander]

April 25, 1917: The Yankees absolutely hammered us with five runs in the bottom of the first, the whole lineup taking a swing at us as they took us apart. They’d add a run in the seventh to pile on, and we barely raised a hand in self-defense, losing this one 6-0 while being outhit 13-4. Pat Ragan had a rough night with six innings and nine hits, walking three and striking out one with five earned runs, and 42-year-old Nap Lajoie led the offense with two hits to nowhere.

April 26, 1917: The first seven innings of this one were a merciless duel, and then we broke through with a run in the top of the eighth only because Manuel Cueto was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. New York then tied it with a sac-fly by Hal Chase in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead moments later off an RBI single by Ray Caldwell. We went down quietly after that, losing 2-1 after making nothing happen in the top of the ninth. The Yankees outhit us 10-9, with McInnis leading our bats with two hits and a run scored. Gene Packard went 7.2 innings with 10 hits, three walks and both earned runs, as he fell to 1-1 with a 1.84 ERA through his first four starts.

Tony DeFate has been a pinch-hitter and backup option all season, but while Nap Lajoie will remain on the roster, he will now be backing up LaFate, who our scouts say has developed well enough at age 22 that he needs more major league at-bats to continue to develop toward his potential. Lajoie, while a legend with this team, has been hitting just .222 this season and has lost quite a few steps due to age, and he no longer can handle the rigors of starting on a daily basis. DeFate, meanwhile, has gap and power potentials that are positively off the charts, and he’s already earned a reputation as a sparkplug type, who wants to get out on the field and make things happen. We’re excited to see if he can help fully wake up our hitting core. He made the trip with us to New York and should get his first major league start tomorrow as we try and snap this losing streak.

April 27, 1917: The Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second off a Les Nunamaker RBI single, but we tied it up in the top of the sixth when a balk call allowed McInnis to score from third, drawing derision from the home fans toward the umpire. Frank Baker promptly hit a two-run homer for the home team to put them back on top, but we answered in the top of the seventh with RBI singles for Johnny Bassler and Stuffy McInnis to tie the score again at 3-3 heading into the stretch. This one went into extra innings, Wally Schang giving us the lead with a homer in the top of the 10th, his first long bomb of the season. The Yankees stranded a runner at second in the bottom of the inning and we were able to hold on for a 4-3 win, each team having had eight hits in the game. Dick Rudolph pitched nine innings with seven hits, a walk, five strikeouts and three earned runs, and he got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 2.97 ERA, while Oscar Tuero earned his second save, improving his ERA to 1.29 through seven innings. Wally Schang led the offense with two hits, a walk, a run and an RBI, while McInnis added two hits, a walk and a run.

April 28, 1917: Wally Schang grounded out but allowed Stuffy McInnis to score a run in the top of the first, giving us an early 1-0 lead the Yankees quickly erased with an RBI single by Ray Caldwell in the bottom of the inning. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth when the Yankees walked it off with an RBI single for Frank Baker, taking the series from us three games to one with the 2-1 win. Dibut has struggled to get past the sixth inning, and tonight was no different ... he left the game after 5.2 innings and just four hits, walking three and striking out two with one earned run. But it was Oscar Tuero who took the loss, allowing three hits, a walk and a run while only getting one out in his inning. They outhit us 11-6, with McInnis leading our offense with just a hit and a run. Tony DeFate walked twice but got nowhere, and through 38 at bats he now has a .237 average but has drawn four walks and produced nine RBIs, so he seems to be fitting in well. We’ll be hoping to see more pop off his bat, but his willingness to wait for good pitches is a solid sign of things to come.

We’re off tomorrow and will then finish the month with a game in Boston, starting a four-game series which will continue into May. We sit in fourth place at 8-8, trailing the 10-6 Red Sox by a pair, with 12-5 Cleveland leading us by 3.5 games. The world champion White Sox are in third place, half a game up on us with a 9-8 record.

[jksander]

April 30, 1917: We took the lead against Boston in game one, going up 1-0 in the top of the second off an RBI single by pitcher Pat Ragan. But Boston scored two in the bottom of the inning off a triple by Al Cabrera, and in the bottom of the third they added a sac-fly by Jack Barry to extend their lead to 3-1. Pat Ragan scored another run for us in the fourth thanks to a groundout by Jimmy Walsh, but Boston added two runs back in the seventh and were able to cruise to victory from there, beating us 5-2. Ragan took the loss, lasting 5.1 innings with six hits, three walks, two strikeouts and three earned runs, and we were outhit 9-7. Manuel Cueto led with two hits, but Ragan had the best offensive night with a hit, a run and an RBI.

May 1, 1917: Wally Schang grounded out but allowed Stuffy McInnis to score a run for us in the top of the first for an early lead, and Mike Mowrey added an RBI double in the fourth to extend that lead to 2-0. Heinie Wagner hit an RBI single for the Red Sox in the bottom of the ninth, but we were able to strand Pinch Thomas on third and escaped with the 2-1 win as a result. We outhit them 11-9, led by Johnny Bassler who hit twice with a run scored, while Mike Mowrey added two hits and an RBI. Gene Packard got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 1.46 ERA after a 7.2 inning five hit effort, walking one and striking out four.

May 2, 1917: Boston took the lead in the bottom of the second off a single by Al Demaree, but in the top of the fifth we tied it off a single by Dick Rudolph, taking the lead moments later with an RBI single by Amos Strunk. Wally Schang and Tony DeFate each hit RBI singles in the seventh to add on, and we stranded two Red Sox runners in the ninth to get out of here with a solid 4-1 victory! Dick Rudolph got the win with a seven hit, one walk, three strikeout and one run complete game, and we outhit them 11-7, led by Strunk (two hits and two RBIs) and DeFate (two hits, one RBI).

May 3, 1917: Boston took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second with a Pinch Thomas double and a groundout by Mike McNally, but Rube Oldring got us on the board with an RBI double in the top of the fourth to keep things close. Unfortunately that was all the “close” we were gonna get, as they held us off from there to win 2-1, outhitting us 10-8. Pedro Dibut lasted 6.2 innings this time with nine hits, a walk, three strikeouts and two earned runs, taking the loss and falling to 1-2 despite a 1.30 ERA through 34.2 innings. We’ll now head back home for one four-game series against the Yankees (8-12) while we continue to stay mired at .500, currently wih a 10-10 record. We’ll then spend three weeks on the road before again hosting the Yanks to end the month.

[jksander]

May 4, 1917: The Yankees took the lead in the top of the second off a single by Roger Peckinpaugh, and in the top of the fifth they added on when Frank Baker hit an RBI single to score Ray Fisher, putting them ahead 2-0. We traded runs in the bottom of the fifth and top of the sixth, and Mike Mowrey reached on an E6 error in the bottom of the sixth to drive in Manuel Cueto to keep us within a run. But that was as close as we’d get as we dropped game one to the Yankees 3-2. Pat Ragan, our big trade acquisition, has struggled so far this year -- through 8.2 innings today he allowed 10 hits, walking one and striking out a pair while allowing three runs (two earned). Through six starts and 44.2 innings he’s earned a 1-4 record with a disappointing 3.43 ERA, with a 1.28 WHIP. We’re hopeful he’ll turn the tide and become the ace this team needs, but so far in the season we’re just treading water. They outhit us 11-9, our bats led by Wally Schang who had a hit a run and an RBI, and by Amos Strunk who hit twice to nowhere.

May 5, 1917: Manuel Cueto grounded out but drove home a run by Rube Oldring to give us a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, and we held that lead until the top of the sixth when Wally Pipp grounded out to score Hal Chase as the Yankees tied it up. Amos Strunk batted home Bunny Brief with an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to give us back a slim lead, and we were able to strand Hal Chase on first after a two-out single, getting the 2-1 win as a result. Speed Martin got his first win of the year out of the bullpen, throwing 13 pitches to get his one out, and Houck saved his second game of the year with a solid ninth, allowing just two hits off his 13 pitches. They outhit us 11-5, so we were lucky to hold on to this one, led by Oldring and Brief who each had a hit and a run.

May 7, 1917: This game was one of the most epic duels I’ve managed ... we went through nine scoreless innings, despite outhitting them 9-4 in regulation as we went into the 10th inning still looking at goose eggs. Dick Rudolph got two outs in the 10th before Houck came out to spell him, keeping us scoreless into the 11th, when Houck was replaced by Oscar Tuero. Tuero did well in the 11th, but got rung up in the 12th ... New York took the lead when Hal Chase reached on an E6 error scoring Tim Hendryx, and then Ray Caldwell hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead. We stranded a pair of our own runners in the bottom of the inning and just like that we lost a heartbreaker, 2-0. Tuero took the loss, falling to 0-2 with a 2.31 ERA despite only allowing two hits and a walk in his inning, neither of his two runs being earned. We outhit New York 10-8 as well, led by Strunk, Schang, Oldring and DeFate who each hit a pair but couldn’t manage that pesky task of actually scoring runs.

May 8, 1917: The Yankees wasted no time taking a quick lead in the top of the first, thanks to a two-run homer by Hal Chase, and they added on run after run from there, leading 8-0 after four. Johnny Bassler hit a solo homer to lead off in the bottom of the fifth, and Rube Oldring hit a sac-fly in the sixth to cut it to six runs. But New York outscored us 4-2 in the eighth inning to maintain their position, and we lost this one 12-4, getting outhit 13-9. Pedro Dibut had his worst outing as a big leaguer, lasting 3.2 innings with nine hits, three walks and two strikeouts, allowing eight runs, six of which were earned. Reliever Rube Parnham pitched 5.1 innings to get us the rest of the way, allowing four hits, two walks and four runs (two earned) while striking out three, and he now has a 3.12 ERA through 8.2 innings over three appearances. Wally Schang led the offense with three hits and two runs, while Manuel Cueto had two hits and two RBIs.

We now hold an 11-13 record and sit in sixth place in the AL heading into a long road stretch which will include four games in St. Louis (8-19), four in Chicago (15-12), four in Cleveland (19-8), and four in Detroit (12-15) before we get an extended homestand. The impression we’ve given off so far this year is that last season’s final few months were a better representation of where we’re really at as an organization, with much of our .500 record last season being fool’s gold. But we’ll have plenty of chances over the next few weeks to show otherwise if we have the ability.