FABL -- Chicago Chiefs

[mjj55409]

A decent two week stretch has lifted the Chiefs to a 16-13 record in May and kept them just a game out of first place in a tight Federal Association. This week sees six games with the two clubs tied for first: 3 in St. Louis and 3 with the Gothams in Chicago.

5/20 @ Philadelphia, W, 5-4 (12)
5/21 @ Philadelphia, L, 6-12
5/22 @ Philadelphia, L, 2-5
5/23 @ Washington, W, 12-10
5/24 @ Washington, W, 10-4,
5/25 @ Washington, W, 3-2
5/26 @ Pittsburgh, W, 8-1
5/27 @ Pittsburgh, W, 8-7 (11)
5/28 @ Pittsburgh, W, 5-3
5/29 Off
5/30 vs Detroit, L, 2-6 (game 1)
5/30 vs Detroit, W, 16-11 (game 2)
5/31 vs Detroit, W, 5-4
6/01 @ New York, L, 1-5
6/02 @ New York, W, 3-1




On May 27th, Chicago completed a trade with Montreal, sending prospects P Ray Lee and OF Joe Joseph to the Saints in exchange for RF Cliff Moss. The impetus of the trade was two-fold. It's clearly in everyone's interest that Bennie Griffith and Ed Reyes spend the rest of this season in Fort Wayne. And given that the Chiefs are very right-handed heavy, we've been looking for a left-handed hitter to play right field. Moss was the first overall draft choice in 1927, and while he has had some good years, he hasn't quite lived up to the expectations that come along with being selected first overall. He has some good power--from 1929 to 1932 Moss averaged 152 games played and 21 home runs per season--but he struggled playing in cavernous Parq Cartier. He was optioned to play at class AAA Minneapolis by the Saints this season, where he hit .301/.381/.559 with 7 home runs in 25 games. At still just 28-years-old, the hope is that he can rekindle his career playing in the cozy confines of Whitney Park.


Cliff Moss




There has been some internal debate over whether to keep giving Jim Crawford a regular turn in the rotation. The coaches and scouting staff all think highly of him, and while he has had a couple of gems here and there, mostly he has looked pretty bad. In his place this past week, 24-year-old Max Plourde was given a start. Plourde drew a tough assignment against the Gothams, but he pitched really well: a complete game victory in which he allowed 1 run on 5 hits while striking out 5. Plourde features a 98 mph fast ball, but he was brought north with the club this spring solely because he was out of options. He has certainly earned some more starting opportunities.


Max Plourde

[mjj55409]

Losing 2 of 3 to both St Louis and New York is not entirely unexpected. The Pioneers are 8-1 in June as they try to separate from the pack. The Chiefs next 17 games are at home (this week--4 with Washington and 2 with Philadelphia). We need to make some hay--as the expression goes--if we want to stay in the race.

6/4 @ St Louis, L, 6-17
6/5 @ St Louis, L, 4-6
6/6 @ St Louis, W, 11-4
6/7 vs New York, L, 1-3
6/8 vs New York, L, 3-4
6/9 vs New York, W, 9-3




Top Performers:

* Mose Christopher, .300/.417/1.200, 3 home runs
* Cliff Moss, .368/.429/.526, 1 home run, 5 runs scored
* Len Jones, .333/.370/.500, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 5 runs batted in
* Max Plourde, 1-0, 9 innings, 8 hits, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts


I haven't been entirely satisfied with the situation at short stop. I still think--and scout Rube Carter agrees--that Bill White has the potential to be a long term answer, but right now he's providing negative value with his bat--he has -6.3 BattingRuns, which is worst among the regulars. Tom Aiello is the other regular with a negative value (-5.6). With that in mind, we've made a deal with Detroit. The Chiefs will send class C pitching prospects Art Brandon and Harvey Gaines to the Dynamos in exchange for short stop Bob Barringer. The 29-year-old Barringer has always had a strong glove, and he's been swinging the bat well this season--hitting .322/.363/.422 with 36 runs scored and 9 stolen bases while batting lead-off for Detroit. OSA has Barringer ranked as the 6th best short stop so far this season (White was ranked 14th).


Bob Barringer






Max Plourde followed up his good initial start with another one against St. Louis. He has 2 wins on the road against both St. Louis and New York--not easy assignments. After some reassessment, the scouting staff now considers Plourde as the Chiefs 3rd best pitching option--behind Ron Coles and Jim Crawford.

So where did Max Plourde come from? In 1927, he was pitching out of his high school team's bullpen and had a 1.73 WHIP in his final season. And while he struck out 67 batters in 57 innings, his fast ball topped out at an unimpressive 87 mph. And so he went undrafted in December of 1927, and rather than go to college, he signed with the Springfield Hustlers of the Heartland League (at the time the Hustlers were an independent club). The next season he worked on adding a forkball to his pitches (giving him 5 total pitches), and as he filled out his 6' frame, he was adding juice to his fastball. At the end of 1931, his fast ball was topping out at 98 mph. In January of 1932, the Chiefs acquired Plourde from Springfield in exchange for pitcher Don Attaway. In 1933, Plourde pitched for class AAA Fort Wayne, fashioning a 13-6 record with a 3.54 ERA (126 ERA+). He had brief stints with the Chiefs at the end of 1933 and the end of 1934, but this is his first extended look.

[mjj55409]

A 3-3 week to kick off the 17-game home stand is...less than ideal. If we want to at least pretend that we are in the race this season, we need to keep the deficit to 5 games or less. Though St. Louis has continued it's hot stretch this month--the Pioneers are now 13-2 on the month and are threatening to run away with it.

6/10 Off
6/11 vs Washington, W, 5-1
6/12 vs Washington, W, 3-0
6/13 vs Washington, L, 7-9 (11)
6/14 vs Washington, L, 1-8
6/15 vs Philadelphia, W, 8-7
6/16 vs Philadelphia, L, 6-7




Top Performances:

* Len Jones, .522/.522/.826, 2 home runs
* Paddy Smith, .455/.519/.591, 3 doubles, 5 runs scored
* Cliff Moss, .308/.400/..538, 1 home run
* Max Plourde, 2-0, 3.86 ERA


As suspected, Cliff Moss likes hitting in Whitney Park. So far in Chicago, Moss is hitting .389/.463/.528 with 1 home run and 2 doubles. And while he didn't make the list of top performances, Tom Aiello hit .333/.500/400 last week. So maybe he is finally breaking out of his season long slump.




Max Plourde won both of his starts this week to improve to 4-0. He will likely make 4 more starts this month, and if he keeps pitching the way he has been, he'll be a good candidate for the Pitcher of the Month award. Plourde is leading the FA in June in strikeouts (23) and FIP- (64), but not ERA. Boston's rookie Dick Higgins is 2-1 on the month with a 1.38 ERA (335 ERA+).

[mjj55409]

It was a 3-4 week, and it's 6-7 on the home stand so far. Not exactly what we were hoping for. Four more games at home, and we are scheduled to face: Charlie Stedman, Dick Higgins, Rabbit Day, and Jim Lonardo--four very tough assignments. We'll be lucky if we can win 2 of those 4. After that, things get a bit easier as we head to Detroit for 3 games. The Dynamos are 3-19 in the month of June.

6/17 vs Philadelphia, W, 14-5
6/18 vs Philadelphia, L, 1-7
6/19 vs Pittsburgh, L, 2-7
6/20 vs Pittsburgh, L, 4-8
6/21 vs Pittsburgh, W, 4-0
6/22 vs Pittsburgh, W, 4-0
6/23 vs Pittsburgh, L, 0-5




Top Performances:

* Ron Rattigan, .444/.444/1.111, 2 home runs, 5 runs batted in
* Cliff Moss, .368/.400/.579, 2 doubles, 1 triple
* Paddy Smith, .423/.464/.462
* Red Hampton, 1-0, 0.00


Since acquiring Cliff Moss at the end of May, we've been using Moss and Ron Rattigan in a right/left platoon in right field. Both players have responded well to the arrangement. In June, Moss is hitting .316/.391/.491 with 2 home runs, and Rattigan is hitting .333/.355/.533 with 2 home runs. A right fielder hitting .322 with 4 home runs for the month is more than acceptable.

We also decided to shake things up a little bit. Tom Eggleton is a first round draft choice from 1930 who was playing third base at class AA Memphis. For Memphis, Eggleton is hitting .403/.425/.517 with 13 doubles and 3 home runs in 54 games. Eggleton has been called up and he'll be giving a chance to play some third base for the Chiefs. Len Jones is a natural second baseman, so he'll take second when Eggleton is in the lineup.




Max Plourde got a little dose of reality this week as he lost both of his starts. Over the weekend, both Red Hampton and Ron Coles tossed shutouts against the Miners. We will go with 5 starters this week to give the guys a little bit of breather before turning the calendar to July. Even with 2 days off for the All-Star game, we will play 14 games during the first 14 days--the 2 off days are offset by 2 doubleheaders.

[mjj55409]

Considering the gauntlet of pitchers that we faced last week, a 6-1 week is quite the surprise. And it puts us just 4.5 games behind the Pioneers on the eve of a big 5 game series in St Louis--which includes an Independence Day double-header on Thursday. After the St Louis series, we return to Chicago and welcome Detroit for a 3 game weekend series.

6/24 vs Boston, L, 9-18
6/25 vs Boston, W, 7-4
6/26 vs New York, W, 7-4
6/27 vs New York, W, 4-3
6/28 @ Detroit, W, 6-4
6/29 @ Detroit, W, 11-0
6/30 @ Detroit, W, 3-2




Top Performances:

* Bob Barringer: .400/.483/.600, 2 triples, 1 double, 5 runs batted in, 7 runs scored
* Cliff Moss: .429/.556/.429, 7 runs scored
* Len Jones: .464/.467/.536, 2 doubles, 5 runs batted in
* Ron Coles: 1-0, 3.86 ERA


I seem to be writing the name of Cliff Moss weekly in the Top Performances. He is hitting .340/.439/.464 since arriving in Chicago. For the month of June, Len Jones hit .418/.432/.573 with 19 runs batted in. Jones starts July with a narrow lead in the batting race over Freddie Jones (.373 to .372). The two Joneses will be going head to head in St Louis this week.




It was a tale of two Jim Crawfords last week--he doesn't make it out of the 3rd inning against Boston, giving up 11 runs on 9 hits, and then he throws a 6-hit shutout in Detroit. We have 8 games this week, and next week, even with the all-star days off, there are 6 games. So we will be sticking with a 5-man rotation.

All-Star Ballot

It's time to submit my all-star ballot; the game will take place next Monday. Here are my selections:

Federal Association

P - The Pioneers' Sam Sheppard (13-4, 2.94 ERA) leads the FA in wins. I'm also including Pittsburgh's Walter Murphy (9-5, 2.99 ERA) and Philadelphia's Art Myers (8-5, 3.34 ERA)

C - 21-year-old George Cleaves is having a tremendous breakout season with Pittsburgh, but I'm casting my ballot for New York's John Wicklund (.336/.404/.607, 13 HR).

1B - Bob Martin is having a good season for the Chiefs, and St. Louis' Fed McCormick is starting to challenge for the top position, but for me, it's still Rankin Kellogg (.324/.398/.618, 19 HR)

2B - Andy Carter is having a good season in Washington, but Freddie Jones (.372/.491/.475, 66 R) should have the lock on this position for at least the next decade.

3B - Of course, I'll go with the batter currently leading the FA batting race in Chicago's Len Jones (.373/.397/.500, 53 RBI)

SS - This is a tight race between St. Louis' Earl Michael and Chicago's new arrival, Bob Barringer (.320/.361/.425, 11 SB). But I need to go with the Chief.

LF - Philadelphia's Rip Curry would also be a fine selection, but I'll stay in Chicago with Jim Hampton (.331/.373/.491, 6 HR).

CF - Boston's Chick Donnelly (.364/.402/.510, 7 HR) has firmly established himself as the circuit's best in center field.

RF - Washington's Sam Brown is having a great season, but I will stick with the incumbent in Philadelphia's Bobby Barrell (.334/.375/.557, 15 HR).

Continental Association

P - A trio of Kings pitchers leads the CA in wins (11), but only two of them are on the ballot: Tom Barrell (11-8, 3.35 ERA) and Mike Murphy (11-3, 3.92 ERA). My third vote will be given to Chicago's Dick Luedtke (10-5, 4.73 ERA).

C - For me, Baltimore Joe Welch (.314/.349/.543, 10 HR) just edges out Cleveland's TR Goins.

1B - As long as he is putting on a uniform, Max Morris (.325/.380/.493, 10 HR) gets my vote.

2B - Cleveland's Brooks Meeks is taking full advantage of getting the opportunity to play full time, but my vote is with Chicago's Bill Asbaugh (.343/.407/.569, 5 HR).

3B - The vote here should probably go to Brooklyn's John Langille, but the league left him off the ballot in favor of Frank Vance. And while Vance is having a deserving season, my vote is with New York's John Lawson (.382/.428/.555, 4 HR).

SS - Brooklyn's Harry Barrell (.377/.425/.493, 65 R) should be the pick at this position for a long, long time.

LF - Al Wheeler (.353/.441/.673, 22 HR) has just been playing out of his mind since arriving in Brooklyn from Detroit.

CF - It's a neck and neck race between Brooklyn's Bill May and his former team mate, Montreal's Pablo Reyes (.309/.364/.430, 8 SB), but everyone should have a chance to see Reyes play center field at least once in their life.

RF - Brooklyn's Doug Lightbody may be the sentimental favorite, but Chicago's Lou Kelly (.386/.441/.604) needs more accolades for his month for the ages in May.

[mjj55409]

Losing 4 of 5 to St. Louis was not a good way to start July. That the Chiefs only dropped a game in the standings is thanks to the New York Gothams, who swept St. Louis after Chicago left town.

7/1 vs St. Louis, L, 4-15
7/2 vs St. Louis, L, 7-8
7/3 vs St. Louis, L, 0-6
7/4 @ St. Louis, L, 6-10
7/4 @ St. Louis, W, 3-1
7/5 vs Detroit, W, 6-5
7/6 vs Detroit, L, 3-5
7/7 vs Detroit, W, 8-1




Top Performances:

* Cliff Moss: .438/.550/.750, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 4 R
* Ron Rattigan: .385/.484/.462, 4 R
* Dave Shaffer: .321/.424/.500, 1 HR, 2 2B, 6 RBI, 6 R
* Charlie Bingham: 1-0, 1.00 ERA

Jim Hampton was hit in the hand by a pitch in Monday's game and broke his finger. He'll miss the next 5 weeks. And while I would like to blame the team's performance against St. Louis on Hampton's absence, Dave Shaffer did a decent Hampton impersonation. I thought about calling up either Ed Reyes or Bennie Griffith to take Hampton's place, but I decided to bring veteran Les Woodward back from Fort Wayne instead. Woodward and Shaffer will form a left/right platoon in left field until Hampton returns.




Other than Charlie Bingham's win against Detroit over the weekend, all of the pitchers were knocked around pretty good this week. And following the 2 off-days for the all-star game, there is another double-header in Boston on Thursday. And so we'll need a 5th starter again this week. Bill Ross is being called up from Fort Wayne to make that start. Ross started the year in class AA Memphis, where he went 4-2 with a 3.94 ERA (116 ERA+) in 12 starts before being promoted to class AAA. He made 4 starts for Fort Wayne, going 2-1 with a 1.44 ERA (342 ERA+).

[mjj55409]

Chicago is now 5-9 in July after dropping 4 of 5 games to St. Louis in week 1 and 3 of 4 games to Boston in week 2. 13 of the remaining 15 games this month on are on the road.

7/8 off day
7/9 off day
7/10 @ Boston, W, 4-3
7/11 @ Boston, L, 5-8
7/11 @ Boston, L, 6-7
7/12 @ Boston, L, 2-6
7/13 @ Philadelphia, L, 3-5
7/14 @ Philadelphia, W, 11-8 (10)




Top Performances:

* Les Woodward: .471/.550/.824, 2 HR, 9 RBI
* Len Jones: .438/.438/.719, 2 HR, 7 R
* Jack Brown: .429/.529/.571


Len Jones was hit-less in 4 at bats in the All-Star game, but he picked right up where he left off when the real games started again. The club is no longer playing at Whitney Park, and so Cliff Moss turned back into a pumpkin--Moss hit .111/.385/.111 on the week. Paddy Smith was even worse: 2 hits in 22 at bats for a .095 average. Smith's average has been in a gradual decline since the beginning of June (he's hitting just .176 in July). So Bennie Griffith is being recalled from Fort Wayne to start splitting time with Smith in center.




There were no pitching performances this week that I wanted to highlight in Top Performances. All season long, pitching has been the Achilles heel. Bill Ross giving up 5 runs on 12 hits in 8 innings in his FABL debut on Saturday may be the highlight. Ross is heading back to Fort Wayne so he can take a regular turn in the rotation. We'll likely see him again in September.

[mjj55409]

That was a pretty good week, and the 2 losses were both 1 run losses. The first 4 games this week are in Pittsburgh. The Miners have been one of the hotter clubs in July (13-6). They have a team built around pitching and defense, and they just acquired Lou Kelly from the Chicago Cougars. Kelly is having a great season, and he will be a big upgrade at 1B for Pittsburgh.

6/15 off
6/16 @ Philadelphia, W, 9-0
6/17 @ Philadelphia, L, 5-6
6/18 @ Washington, W, 4-3
6/19 @ Washington, W, 8-7
6/20 @ Washington, W, 6-2
6/21 @ Washington, L, 5-6




Top Performances:

* Ron Rattigan: .636/.667/1.273, 2 HR, 4 RBI
* Len Jones: .360/.448/.400, 6 R
* Tom Aiello: .318/.400/.455, 4 RBI, 6 R
* Ron Coles: 2-0, 1.00 ERA


Over the past few seasons, Ron Rattigan had been putting up some good numbers in the minor leagues. But as a first baseman, with Bob Martin on the club, Rattigan was blocked from Chicago. This Spring we tried him in right field and ended up bringing him north with the team. His bat was a little slow to come around, but now he's settled into a left/right platoon in right field with Cliff Moss, and Rattigan is starting to blossom. Overall in July, he is hitting .386/.470/.544 with 2 home runs, 7 runs batted in, and 9 runs scored. Bennie Griffith looked good in his return also--in 2 starts he was 4 for 9 (.444) with a triple.




While I feel pretty good about the bats, the pitching is another story. We need someone to step up and be the ace of the staff, but I'm not sure that pitcher is currently on the roster. Red Hampton is the closest we have, but he's an ace more in the mold of a workhorse. You can put him down for 250 innings each year. Ron Coles had 2 great starts last week--in terms of game score, 2 of his best all season.

[mjj55409]

The Chiefs split the 4 games with Pittsburgh, and then lost first two of the series in St. Louis, which guarantees a sub-.500 month. There is one more game in St. Louis before we finally return to Chicago and Detroit visits for a 3 game series. And then another 3 game series with St. Louis next week also in Chicago.

7/22 @ Pittsburgh, W, 4-1
7/23 @ Pittsburgh, L, 6-7
7/24 @ Pittsburgh, W, 10-5
7/25 @ Pittsburgh, L, 3-4
7/26 off
7/27 @ St. Louis, L, 5-6
7/28 @ St. Louis, L, 0-9




Top Performances:

* Bennie Griffith: .583/.615/1.000, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R
* Len Jones: .440/.500/.720, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R
* Bob Martin: .423/.464/.538, 4 RBI
* Ron Coles: 1-0, 1.23 ERA


We will start tracking the Federal Association batting race more closely as it's turning out to be a good one (and, of course, Len Jones is involved). For the month of July, Rip Curry (.467/.513/.626), Freddie Jones (.400/.496/.571), and Len Jones (.398/.441/.602) have been the Fed's top three batters, with Curry perhaps having the inside lane for the Batter of the Month award.

Federal Association Batting Race

Rip Curry (PHI)......389
Freddie Jones (STL)..380
Len Jones (CHI)......380

We are certainly missing Jim Hampton--who is likely still two weeks away from returning from his broken finger. Les Woodward and Dave Shaffer have not been the answer in left. Ron Rattigan is deserving of more playing time, and so against right-handers, Cliff Moss will play left and Rattigan will play right. The intention is for Moss not to face any left-handers.

And speaking of injured fingers, Mose Christopher tore a ligament in this thumb and will miss the next three weeks. Christopher is an interesting player. He was a waiver claim from the Gothams last winter. He has handled second base well defensively, and he can certainly hit home runs. But hitting home runs is seemingly all he can do offensively. Despite his team leading 13 home runs, Christopher has contributed -4.3 batting runs (BatR). I don't want to expose Jack Brown, Anders Adriansen, or Jim Thompson by giving them more playing time, so I'm going to call up one of the young second basemen from Fort Wayne: Elmer Hutchins (.446/.493/.615) or Red Moore (.291/.356/.392). Our scouts think the Moore is the more likely long term answer, but Hutchins is swinging the bat really well, and it's been hard to find enough at bats for the both of them. So it's likely that Hutchins will be called up.




We'll need a 5th starter this week, and so Larry Brown will get another chance to showcase his stuff. Though it's only 10 innings of relief, Brown has been the pitcher who has been throwing the ball the best in July.

[mjj55409]

Finishing 1-3 this past week against St. Louis drops our season record versus the Pioneers to 7 wins and 13 losses. At least we having only 2 games remaining with them. Of course, we are not the only club having trouble with St. Louis as they have built a larger lead in the Fed. This week we have 3 games in Detroit and then 4 in New York with the Gothams.

7/29 @ St. Louis, L, 3-7
7/30 vs Detroit, W, 12-7
7/31 vs Detroit, W, 5-2
8/01 vs Detroit, W, 3-2
8/02 vs St. Louis, W, 2-1
8/03 vs St. Louis, L, 3-5
8/04 vs St. Louis, L, 3-8




Top Performances:

* Cliff Moss: .400/.444/.720, 2 HR, 5 RBI
* Paddy Smith: .750/.750/.875, 2 RBI, 3 R
* Ron Rattigan: .360/.429/.560, 1 HR, 6 RBI


Rip Curry has his 28-game hitting streak snapped last week, Freddie Jones won the FA Batter of the Month award for July, and Len Jones had his worst week of the season, hitting just .138.

Federal Association Batting Race

Rip Curry (PHI)......384
Freddie Jones (STL)..380
Len Jones (CHI)......363

We claimed outfielder Tony Henderson off of waivers from Pittsburgh. Dave Shaffer wasn't doing well in his role and has a couple of options remaining in his role. Jim Hampton should be available to play again by next weekend. We know the 32-year-old Henderson from his time in Montreal, and unlike Shaffer, Henderson is capable of backing up center field as well.



In a trade at the trading deadline last week, we sent pitcher Jim Crawford to Detroit in exchange for a 7th round draft pick in the upcoming draft. This would be the 2nd year in a row that Crawford was traded in July--he came over the Cougars last July. For the Chiefs., Crawford made 25 starts, finishing 12-11 with a 4.93 ERA (ERA+ 97).

Larry Brown had a really good start last week--throwing 9 innings and allowing just 5 hits in the 3-2 win over Detroit. He'll make a couple more starts this week.

[mjj55409]

I guess dropping 3 of 4 to the top teams in the league is the new thing. First it was St. Louis and now this past week, New York. I would still like to see us finish on the positive side of .500.

8/5 @ Detroit, W, 7-4
8/6 @ Detroit, L, 11-18
8/7 @ Detroit, W, 6-2
8/8 @ New York, L, 1-5
8/9 @ New York, L, 6-7
8/10 @ New York, L, 2-5
8/11 @ New York, W, 5-1





Rip Curry hit .469 last week, thinking that was good enough to increase his lead in the batting race. And it would have been, were it not for Freddie Jones and his .688 average (11 hits in 16 at bats). Curry and Jones are both approaching .400 now and are threatening to make this a two-horse race.

Federal Association Batting Race

Freddie Jones (STL)...391
Rip Curry (PHI).......390
Chick Donnelly (BOS)..361
Len Jones (CHI).......360

Top Performances:

* Tom Aiello: .545/.565/591, 3 R
* Ron Rattigan: .417/.440/.542, 1 HR, 6 RBI
* Bob Martin: .345/.441/.448, 5 RBI, 7 R
* Red Hampton: 1-0, 2.00 ERA


I haven't listed Tom Aiello in the Top Performances many times this season. He has been in a season-long slump (he listed now as the 15th ranked catcher), and I hope it is merely a slump, and that he can come back strong next season. Otherwise we will need to take a look at Len Wells (hitting .331/.396/.476 for class AAA Fort Wayne). There are no catching prospects in the system. Hank Odegaard is a terrific clubhouse presence, and I would like to have him start coaching when he retires. I hope that he recognizes the time to retire is at the end of this season. If not, we may need to carry three catchers next season. For now, though, Wells will remain in Fort Wayne. The Warriors currently have a 1 game lead over Milwaukee for the Century league pennant.

With Jim Hampton fully healthy again, Les Woodward was returned to Fort Wayne. I've been giving Ron Rattigan more playing time and he has responded by playing even better. He has amply demonstrated that he deserves to play regularly, but for now, he's back into the left/right platoon with Cliff Moss in right field.





I like what I've been seeing out of Larry Brown, and so he will get another start this week. To get back to 8 pitchers after the trade of Jim Crawford, the contract of Gary Heuser was purchased from class AAA Fort Wayne. The 25-year-old was 11-1 with a 2.55 ERA at Fort Wayne (102 hits and 69 strikeouts in 113 innings). To take Heuser's spot on the Fort Wayne roster, 19-year-old Al Miller was promoted from class AA. For Memphis, Miller was 6-7 with a 3.80 ERA (which is an ERA+ of 120 in the Dixie League). In 125 innings, Miller gave up 126 hits with 82 strikeouts. Miller should be able to gain some good experience by jumping into a late summer pennant race with Fort Wayne.

[mjj55409]

The Chiefs are now 2-8 over their past 10 games. It's hardly a coincidence that we have played the three clubs with the best pitching in the Fed in that stretch: New York, Boston, and Pittsburgh. Two more games remain with Pittsburgh this week before we welcome Washington into town for a 4-game set. A series with the Keystones will then begin next Sunday.

6/12 off
6/13 vs Boston, L, 4-7
6/14 vs Boston, L, 4-5
6/15 vs Boston, W, 4-2
6/16 vs Boston, L, 1-5
6/17 vs Pittsburgh, L, 6-10
6/18 vs Pittsburgh, L, 1-8




I'm not sure how much longer I'll keep highlighting the batting race, as Freddie Jones has hit .481 in August to give himself a commanding lead. Len Jones has struggled along at a .268 pace in August.

Federal Association Batting Race

Freddie Jones (STL)...391
Rip Curry (PHI).......381
Chick Donnelly (BOS)..361
Len Jones (CHI).......355

Top Performances:

* Cliff Moss: .467/.500/.467, 3 RBI
* Paddy Smith: .286/.500.467, 1 HR, 3 R
* Bob Martin: .360/.407/.360, 3 R

Not a lot to choose from for the Top Performances this week--Jack Brown hit .571/.571/.714, but he only played in 2 games. The whole team has been in a funk the past few weeks.




Not a lot of great news on the pitching front either. Larry Brown won his start this week (our only win of the week). Jim Simmons (2-3, 7.29 ERA) gave up 7 runs in the 10th inning in yesterday's 8-1 loss. And for that he was rewarded with being designated for assignment this morning.To take his roster spot, Jim Spencer was recalled from Fort Wayne. Spencer will be given a spot in the rotation this week as the 5th starter.

[mjj55409]

This past week is a good microcosm of the season--we look really good in the two games against Pittsburgh, and then the pitching gets hammered--giving up 26 runs in two games--against Washington.

8/19 vs Pittsburgh, W, 7-1
8/20 vs Pittsburgh, W, 7-0
8/21 vs Washington, L, 2-13
6/22 vs Washington, L, 10-13
8/23 vs Washington, W, 4-3
8/24 vs Washington, W, 8-6
8/25 vs Philadelphia, L, 3-4 (10)




Top Performances:

* Tom Aiello: .522/.607/.739, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R
* Cliff Moss: .357/.421/1.214, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R
* Jim Hampton: .433/.486/.467, 8 R


Tom Aiello has an appearance in the Top Performances list for the 2nd week in a row. He is hitting .407/.457/.500 in August as he is trying to salvage his season. Cliff Moss continues his love affair with Whitney Park. Since coming over the Chiefs, Moss is hitting .374/.439/.604 at home. Mose Christopher has recovered from his injured thumb and can return to the lineup. To make room for him on the roster, outfielder Paddy Smith (shoulder) was added to the Injured List.




We may be witnessing a changing of the guard in Chicago. For August:

* Larry Brown: 5-0, 2.86 ERA
* Charlie Bingham: 2-3, 3.50 ERA
* Ron Coles: 1-3, 4.38 ERA

And then:

* Red Hampton: 2-3, 7.24 ERA

The coaching staff and scouts sees the future starting rotation in Chicago as consisting of: Bingham, Coles, Brown, Al Miller, and Bob Walls. The first 3 are in Chicago, and the next 2 are in class AAA Fort Wayne. It's quite possible that you will be seeing that complete rotation in Chicago by the end of next season.

[mjj55409]

I was too busy to provide a season recap, but suffice it to say that the results were as expected: to finish around .500. A few interesting developments: Ron Coles handled a full workload as a starting pitcher, Len Jones had a great breakout season, and Cliff Moss enjoyed a resurgence after coming over from Montreal.


Now it's time for the December amateur draft. Of course, the biggest news of the draft was the presence of Rufus Barrell II. "Deuce" became the latest member of baseball's first family to be drafted first overall when he was taken by Baltimore.

Here's an overview of the selections for Chicago in the first 10 rounds:

1.10 3B Billy Dalton, 21-years-old, Perry State College (St. Louis, MO)

We were originally slated to pick 8th, where we identified two players we thought could fall to us: Dalton and shortstop Hal Wood. Both were available at 1.8, but the Chicago Cougars really wanted Wood. So we made a deal with the Cougars to swap picks, with the Cougars also giving us a pick in the 4th round.

Dalton is a switch-hitter who plays a good third base. He has a good eye at the plate, makes good contact, and has some power (he hit 14 home runs and 14 doubles in 61 games for Perry State in 1935).


2.8 1B Chuck Adams, 19-years-old, Memphis High School (Memphis, TN).

The OSA mock draft had Adams going in the first 5 picks of the draft, and so we were delighted to get the big (6'1") slugging first baseman. In two years as a starter for Memphis, Adams hit .581/.620/1.102 with 24 home runs in 49 games. Although my scout--Rube Carter--is not sold on Adams, it is tantalizing to imagine what the left-hander could do with that inviting right field fence at Whitney Park.


3.8 P Sam Vaughn, 19-years-old, Waggener High School (Louisville, KY)

As is typical in FABL drafts, the first few rounds were pitching heavy. Vaughn was the 14th pitcher selected (40th overall). Vaughn is a tall (6'1"), lanky (165 lbs) left-hander who features a curve and slider in addition to his fastball. I think he has some room to grow, and it would be really nice if he was able to add another pitch.


4.5 OF Sam West, 18-years-old, Dunbar High School (Washington, DC)

Not flashy, but West has a chance to be a sold outfielder. He has speed and good hit tool, but to really improve his prospects he will need to develop some power.


5.8 SS Fritz Reynolds, 21-years-old, Chesapeake State (Annapolis, MD)

Reynolds has some decent speed--38 stolen bases in two years at Chesapeake. But he has a long swing that he'll need to shorten in order to have a chance in the FABL. In his favor is positional flexibility: he can play all infield positions as well as the outfield.


8.8 OF Dode Foster, 21-years-old, Indianapolis Tech (Indianapolis, IN)

Another speedy outfielder without a lot of pop. In two years at Indianapolis, Foster hit 2 home runs and stole 74 bases.


9.8 C Frankie Kitchen, 21-years-old, College of Waco (Waco, TX)

I have a weakness for catchers that my scout describes as being a "baseball rat." Kitchen has limited offensive potential, but pitchers love throwing to him.


10.8 P Monty Morehouse, 18-years-old, Port Townsend HS (Port Towsend, WA)

Morehouse highlights a sinking fastball and a good change, but he'll need a 3rd consistent pitch to move up the minor league ladder.

[mjj55409]

We are entering the final week of spring training--just 5 games remain in Florida. Most of the roster decisions have been made; there are just two spots remaining on the pitching staff. Here is a look at the 1936 Chicago Chiefs:


Catcher (3)

Tom Aiello (.289-5-73), Len Wells (.304-4-55 (AAA)), Hank Odegaard (.193-0-10)

After hitting just .193 in 1935, Odegaard is currently hit-less this spring. The 34-year-old's career appears over, but Hank hasn't gotten the memo yet. He's a great clubhouse presence, and I'd like to turn him into a coach when he retires. I just hope that is sooner rather than later.


Infielders (6)

Ron Rattigan (.314-8-38), Len Jones (.338-11-101), Bob Martin (.324-9-83), Bob Barringer (.269-1-44), Mose Christopher (.251-17-62), Bill White (.292-2-18)

Rattigan made his debut last season sharing right field with Cliff Moss. Rattigan is a big (6'2", 200 lbs) guy who hits the ball very hard. The question for the staff was: how do we get him into the lineup more often? And it just so happens that he is the best fielding first baseman on the roster. So this spring we've been playing Rattigan at first. Bob Martin, who is an athletic fielder with a good arm, has moved from first to third base. When Len Jones first came up to Chicago, he was primarily a second baseman, and so he has moved from third to second. This pushes Mose Christopher to the bench. And for now, the veteran Bob Barringer remains the starting shortstop, but he is being pushed by the 23-year-old Bill White.


Outfielders (6)

Jim Hampton (.361-7-84), Bennie Griffith (.298-3-28), Cliff Moss (.332-19-60), Paddy Smith (.299-5-44), Ed Reyes (.225-0-5), Jim Stinson (.258-1-17 (AAA))

Hampton, of course, is a fixture in left field. Bennie Griffith and Paddy Smith will be sharing time in center. I would love to see Griffith step up and claim the position for himself. Moss had a great deal of success last season by sitting against most left handers. And so Ed Reyes and Smith will be spelling Moss in right field. Reyes struggled during his time in Chicago last season, but he hit .377-10-101 in Fort Wayne. Stinson is primarily a pinch hitter.


Pitchers (11)

Ron Coles (14-16, 4.00), Charlie Bingham (15-9, 3.94), Jack Beach (2-3, 7.31), Larry Brown (11-7, 4.18), Max Plourde (9-10, 4.59), Al Miller (10-9, 4.16 (AAA/AA)), Red Hampton (), Chuck Murphy (2-4, 5.09), Jim Spencer (2-2, 7.63), Gary Heuser (0-0, 5.93), Don Basinger (2-1, 3.52)

We will bring 8 pitchers north with us, so there are 3 cuts yet to be made. The first three spots are certain: Ron Coles, Charlie Bingham, and Jack Beach. Beach was acquired over the winter from Brooklyn. He had a very rough time of it in 1935, but he won an Allen Award in 1932 while pitching for Detroit. He features a really heavy fastball, which he has been throwing to great effect this spring. The fourth and fifth starter slot is between: Larry Brown, Max Plourde, Al Miller, and--to a lesser extent--Red Hampton. Brown was the FA Pitcher of the Month last August. Plourde throws a 98 mph fastball. And the 20-year-old Miller is projected to be a future ace. The coaching staff all feel that Miller is ready now, and he has been one of the top pitchers on the staff this spring (Bingham is probably having the best spring among the pitchers). Hampton has been nursing a sore shoulder this spring, and so he hasn't pitched much. But it was apparent by the end of 1935 that he is at best the 6th or 7th pitcher on the staff.

[mjj55409]

The club has returned to Chicago from Florida and are anxiously awaiting tomorrow's Opening Day match-up with the St. Louis Pioneers. It was a good Spring, and the new-look infield, with Rattigan at first base, was a resounding success. They were only spring training games to be sure, but the expectations of the Chicago faithful were elevated when the Chiefs led all FABL clubs with 17 wins in 24 games.

This past weekend, the final cuts were made to get the roster down to 23--P Jim Spencer, P Don Basinger, and OF Jim Stinson were all designated for assignment. The only surprise was perhaps Stinson, as the Chiefs decided to carry 9 pitchers. There was some internal debate about 20-year-old P Al Miller making the roster; there was a group--led by pitching coach Doc Bartlett--that felt that Miller, who still has minor league options remaining, should open the season in Fort Wayne. In the end, though, Miller made the opening day roster and will be taking a regular turn in the rotation for Chicago.


Chicago's 1936 Opening Day lineup:

1. Bob Martin (3B)
2. Jim Hampton (LF)
3. Cliff Moss (RF)
4. Ron Rattigan (1B)
5. Len Jones (2B)
6. Tom Aiello (C)
7. Bob Barringer (SS)
8. Bennie Griffith (CF)
9. Ron Coles (P)


I'm expecting the Chiefs to be competitive this season. The lineup is deeper, and the pitching will be better than most think. For what it's worth, the BSN Preseason Predictions have the Chiefs finishing on top of a very competitive FA, one game in front of Philadelphia and St. Louis.

[mjj55409]

A great opening weekend for the Chiefs, winning 5 in a row against St. Louis and New York--the two clubs which are the consensus favorites to win the pennant. Next week sees 5 games against Detroit (2 at home and 3 in Detroit) before New York visits Chicago for a 2-game weekend series.

4/14 vs St. Louis, W, 1-4
4/15 vs St. Louis, W, 3-4
4/16 vs St. Louis, W, 2-3
4/17 @ New York, W, 6-5
4/18 @ New York, W, 6-2
7/19 @ New York, L, 4-5




Top Performances:

* Jim Hampton: .444/.464/.593, 4 doubles
* Bob Martin: .400/.483/.520, 5 runs batted in
* Bob Barringer: .350/.435/.450, 1 triple, 3 runs
* Jack Beach: 1-1, 1.00 (9 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 7 K)


I really like our lineup this year. Even though I think it gets overlooked and underestimated a little because of a lack of power. And it just got a little (a lot?) better with a trade between Chicago and Montreal: the Saints will send C Tom Bird and 1B Frankie Cohen to the Chiefs in exchange for 2B Red Moore (AAA) and P Bill Ross (AAA). It's a steep price as Moore and Ross are 2 nearly major league ready prospects, but Tom Bird is an extremely talented catcher. In fact our staff thinks that Bird is Chicago's top catcher now--though Aiello will nominally keep his starting job for the moment. Cohen was a Rule 5 draft pick by Montreal from the Sailors organization. Last season, for class AAA San Francisco, Cohen hit .420/.474/.610 with 19 home runs and 130 runs batted in. He'll serve as a bench bat and first base depth.




It was difficult to pick out a single pitching performance to highlight this week--everyone (with the possible exception of Max Plourde) threw the ball well. And the Pioneers and Gothams are not push overs either. There might not be a marquee name here, but I really like the depth from 1 through 6. Brown will pick up a start this week in place of Plourde.

[ashantewarrier]

Good stuff MJ!

[mjj55409]

Originally Posted by ashantewarrier

Good stuff MJ!

Thanks, Ashante. This is shaping up to be a fun season.

[mjj55409]

When I look at a successful season, one of the barometers is series wins. If you can win the majority of your series, you should be in the thick of the race at the end. From that perspective, the Chiefs are 4-0-1 on the year.

After an off-day today, Chicago will be in Boston for a 3 game series to close out the month of April. That marks the start of a 13 game road trip that will see the club visit Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Washington, and St. Louis before returning to Chicago in mid May.


4/20 vs Detroit, W, 2-3
4/21 vs Detroit, W, 1-3
4/22 @ Detroit, L, 2-3
4/23 @ Detroit, W, 5-3
4/24 @ Detroit, W, 6-2
4/25 @ New York, L, 3-9
4/26 @ New York, W, 7-5




Top Performances:

* Tom Bird: .625/.667/.750, 1 2B, 3 RBI
* Jim Hampton: .385/.448/.500, 3 2B, 7 R
* Len Jones: .370/.367/.481, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 5 R
* Jack Beach: 2-0, 3.18, 17 IP, 11 K


It was only two starts last week, but Tom Bird made his presence felt immediately. As I said in the last update, Tom Aiello is still nominally the starting catcher, but I would expect Bird to have caught the majority of games by the end of the season. And while it's still early, the Chiefs' offense is currently slightly below average in the Fed. We don't want to lean on the pitching all season, and so I would like to see the runs scored number start to rise.




And we've been able to rely on the pitching so far this season because the pitching has been so good. Chicago, St. Louis, and New York are the 3 clubs that are allowing fewer than 4 runs/game, with the Chiefs being the toughest to score on at 3.3 runs/game. Jack Beach had such a forgettable 1935, that I wasn't expecting him to return to his 1932 Allen Award winning form. Yet, in his first 3 starts, he has looked very much like that Allen Award winning version of himself.