The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

Our team page can be accessed HERE.

Not sure I’ve ever spent as much time on the formation of our squad as I have this year. All the same, it’s nice to have so many options and contingency plans.
Here’s how we'll line up on OD:

Catchers

• C Bob O’Farrell
• C Zack Taylor (R) v LHP and when Snyder needs a rest

Zack gets the nod over Frank Snyder, who really dropped off substantially last year.

Infielders

• 1B Ty Cobb (L) / Rube Bressler (R) platoon
• 2B Dick Lundy (S)
• 3B John Beckwith (R)
• SS Dobie Moore (R)

• Pie Traynor (R)
• Specs Toporcer (L)
• Freddie Spurgeon (R)

As good as Bressler has been, Ty still has too much to offer to be used from the bench. This may well be his last go-around with us so I want to squeeze every last drop out of him. Dick and Dobie have both worked super hard over the break and look fantastic, which is why Pie has been shunted. No doubt there’ll be plenty of changes until we get the mix right.

Outfielders

• LF Ken Williams (L)
• CF Curt Walker (L)
• RF Paul Waner (L)

• Walter Davis (L)
• Les Mann (R)
• Cliff Heathcote (L)

The loss of Charley should hardly be felt here, even on defence.

Rotation

1. LHP Dave Brown
2. LHP Willie Foster
3. LHP Sam Streeter
4. RHP Ray Kremer

This is our biggest area of concern, one which will only get worse if injury strikes. Kremer gets first shot at SP4, with Mirabal and McDonald next in line. Don’t be surprised to see a trade here.

Bullpen

• LHP Garland Braxton
• RHP Ralph Comstock
• RHP Juanelo Mirabal
• RHP Webster McDonald (IL)
• LHP Walter Anderson

There’s a decent enough chance McDonald is the one to go to AAA when he returns.

[luckymann]

It's fair to say the Yanks are coming after us, so I thought I'd keep this feature going to follow their progress.

With the arrival of Poosh 'em Up Tony Lazzeri along with the big-name signings of Salmon and Collins (not to mention Rap Dixon), you'd think they've got all the ducks lined up now. It might not be Murderers Row, but it is close enough. I'm going to call them Assassins Alley instead.

Not too many weak spots now for this group. Perhaps depth might be an issue, but that's the same across the board.

They won't have things all their own way. Detroit looks on the up, as do the BoSox and A's, and the Browns and Sens aren't without some hope. But I don't see anything stopping them from another go-around at the Big Dance. This is a beast of a squad.

[luckymann]

For all the success the NeL pitchers have had, it has - for reasons I have spoken of relating to the game engine - been a real struggle to get the bats working properly and consistently. To the point that Señor Torriente is jut the 4th NeL player after Heavy Johnson, Oscar Charleston and Pete Hill to reach this level. HJ currently heads this list with 1658 and is the best chance to make 2000 and above.

[luckymann]

A rough old beginning to the season as we score just 12 runs in our first 5 games, losing 4 of them.

Ray Kremer acquits himself well in his first MLB start and looks to be doing so again in his next one before he’s forced out with injury. The diagnosis is a strained triceps that will sideline him for about 6 weeks. Juanelo Mirabal moves into the spin, with Sarge Connally called up into the pen.

We pull it together somewhat to finish the month 9-8 but are well off our game to this point. Cobb goes down with an injury in the last game, here’s hoping it isn’t too serious.




The Giants have flown out of the gate to sit at 14-3 and are still riding a win streak that currently sits at 12.




Awards, news, leaders.






S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

A key extension for the A's.

[luckymann]

Will he make 500? After a bit of a dip his ratings have actually improved the past two seasons, so I reckon he's a chance.

[luckymann]

This no-no by young Chet Brewer (in his rookie season, no less - only his 11th career start in the bigs) is the first since 1922. It is just the third by an NeL player after Joe Williams and Jose Mendez, lofty company indeed!

[luckymann]

The early part of this season is not so dissimilar from the corresponding section of last year, where we show glimpses of brilliance but just seem to be having trouble putting it all together consistently. But there are irrefutable signs that we are slowly coming around, a fact confirmed by a late surge that leaves us with a 20-8 record for the month and moves us into first place.




Walker continues his form from a stellar 1925 to lead the NL in BA with 390. Lundy, Moore and Williams are each contributing well and Waner is still shining bright. Only Cobb and Beckwith among our starters are underperforming to this point.




The pitching - led by Brown who, by dint of his astonishing 7-0 / 1.05 May, wins the monthly pitching award - has been superb, with Streeter and Foster showing great improvement on last season. As we enter June, our Starter ERA sits at just 2.37 while the pen's is even better at 1.85.




While Ruth, Gehrig and Lazzeri are dominating, the Yanks still aren't overwhelmingly doing likewise as a whole, just a game and a half clear of the much-improved Tigers, with the BoSox and A's not far behind. The Giants' win streak earlier in the month runs to 14 before they regress, although they are still just a game off the pace with the Cards hot on their heels.




Awards, news, leaders.






S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

We lock down some key pieces of our puzzle for the foreseeable future:

• Sam Streeter - 5 years + team option / $85k
• Bob O'Farrell - 2 years + 2 team options / $25k
• Specs Toporcer - 2 years + team option / $30k
• Rube Bressler - 2 years + team option / $18k
• Ralph Comstock - 2 years / $7k
• Juanelo Mirabal - 1 year / $2.5k
• Garland Braxton - 1 year / $2.5k

[luckymann]

Braves OF Bob Fothergill is one of those guys you rarely hear of but who quietly go about their business day-in, day-out. A 315 hitter over his 5 seasons in the bigs, this is certainly the biggest game of his career to date.

[Makonnen]

At first I thought the names in all caps were to designate the NeL players you had added. But clearly not--what do they mean?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Makonnen

At first I thought the names in all caps were to designate the NeL players you had added. But clearly not--what do they mean?

Either NeL players or Legacies. There's a few in other shortlists as well - traded players, players of interest. It'd be nice if you could colour-code them instead of having them capitalised.

[luckymann]

A huge loss.

[luckymann]

Things seem to be going swimmingly as we consolidate our lead in the early part of the season.

Then all hell breaks loose as we lose 8 in a row in which we concede 52 runs and score just 19, including twice being shut out and 5 straight to the Reds.

Just like that, our lead has virtually disappeared. Only a win over the Cards on the final day of the month keeps us in front at all. It leaves us at 12-15 for the month.






You can't fall into the trap of overanalysing periods like this. They happen. You simply have to trust the group and pray that now they've got it out of their system.





Sure does liven the standings up a fair whack, though.




Awards, news, leaders.






S+ HOME

REPORTS HOME

PIRATES HOME

[luckymann]

Highest Career H/K ratio (Minimum 100 Hits)

[luckymann]

Weighted On-Base Average (1926 season to date)

Weighted On-Base Average (career)

[luckymann]

Marty was enjoying a fair sophomore season, sadly now cut short.

[luckymann]

It's becoming ever more clear that it will be Lou Gehrig, rather than Babe Ruth, who dominates the HR leaderboard in oncoming years. Unfettered by the constraints that seem to have plagued Babe - pitching duty, inconsistency, environment - Lou is on pace to catch Babe sooner rather than later. With no such thing as ALS in this universe to prematurely curtail his career, I'll be surprised if The Iron Horse doesn't hit close to 800 all up.

This game brings him 3 closer to that target, whatever it might be, and puts his career total at 88 in 1442 AB, a ratio of 1 every 16.4 AB. This compares to Babe's 271 in 4734, or 1:17.5. When you take into consideration those "lost" years while Babe was pitching, the math is pretty simple.




As for the club they represent, the Yanks have suffered a somewhat similar fate to ourselves and now trail the BoSox in the AL. Vance hasn't been the saviour they were after and, while they lead the div in homers, their 257 BA ranks last, meaning they are getting nowhere near the buck for their bang (so to speak) they should be, with less runners aboard when the big bats go deep.

[luckymann]

[luckymann]

Cocky, still going strong at 39, heads back to the scene of many a triumph.

An odd one for the Phillies, this, given they are closer than ever before to a pennant and have no solid replacement for Cocky at 1B.