The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

And so, for the 1933 MLB season and beyond, we now have an All-Star Game (although, somewhat annoyingly, not on a day solely dedicated in the schedule to it).

We have five representatives: Ted Trent and our $100k infield. The Phillies, with six, have the most.

Here are the very first squads in full:





Mel Ott goes on to take the inaugural HR Derby, while the AL thrashes the NL 11-1 (including a 9-run 6th inning) in the main event, with Lou Gehrig named MVP.

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Another setback for Babe in his quest to at least reach the 600 career HR mark. He currently sits on 538.

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All-time Leader: Reggie Richter, 159

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More often than not it is the periods when you are playing poorly but still managing to find ways to win that can make or break a season. That being the case, the early part of this month may well prove pivotal for our 1933 campaign. Our bats go cold, our arms grow even wilder, and yet we manage to win 6 of our first 7 games in July. In one of these against the Cards, we blow a 6-0 lead and need 3 in the 9th to walk off a 9-8 thriller. Games like this might still only get you one win, but can mean so much more in the grand scheme of things. That is, as long as you get back on track and start playing the sort of baseball you should be.

Which is something, as we pass through the Dog Days of Summer, we unfortunately do not seem to be able to do, as a series of what can only be described as manic performances ensues, including four in a row decided in the final inning and losses of 9-10 and 3-11 which show just where our pitching appears to be headed.

Then they proceed to throw back-to-back shutouts and allow just one run in three games in which we ourselves score just 7 runs on 16 hits combined. Then we get belted 14-6 by the Jints, only to beat them 11-7 the next day.

Like I said, manic.

When the dust settles on perhaps the most bizarre month I’ve encountered as a manager, we have gone 18-11 for the month and neither made nor lost barely any ground in the standings.






Once again you won't find anything jumping out from across our metrics. It's simply been one of those seasons you come up against every now and then when things don't gel how you'd like them to. Still, we are right in the hunt again so that is all I am focused on for now. I'll leave looking longer-term until the offseason.





It might be just a wee bit too early to speak definitively, but unless things change dramatically the NL race still looks to be down to four, with the AL a one-on-one dogfight between the Yanks and Tigers.



Here are the Top 20s by WAR to this point:





While Turkey Stearnes no longer seems an absolute cert to claim the AL Triple Crown, he still leads in all three stat cats and also gets his 250th career round-tripper. Other milestones this month include Pie Traynor reaching 2000 hits and Freddie Lindstrom 1500, with Gabby Hartnett also knocking out HR #250 and Brooklyn’s Don Hurst his 100th.

Awards, news leaders.






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Bob Johnson never really got the sort of accolades he could IRL and has started his career here in typically understated yet overwhelmingly effective fashion. Not so in this one where he leaves his mark writ large.

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Jimmie has certainly found his power swing again of late after losing it for a good portion of the season, and this one gets him to another of what we hope will be many milestones in this stat cat while wearing our uniform.

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August is again proving the most entertaining of months, with plenty going on across the league, including this dazzler for the Indians outfielder.

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Hank Greenberg is having a gigantic season, now threatening Turkey Stearnes in the three TC categories - another interesting subtext down the stretch.

Today he's held hitless to end a 34-game streak, tied for the 4th-longest in league history.

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We run our win streak to 6 including a crazy 20-14 decision over the Cards that also sees Earl Combs get his wrist fractured, an injury that will keep him out for at least a month and probably a bit more.

Three games later we lose Bill Foster for up to 2 months with a herniated disc in his back.

Once more unto the breach go the wounded soldiers.

When we travel to Beantown for four against the Braves, we two are tied at 70-44. We win an epic 14-inning first game 7-4 as Dihigo runs amok, follow that up with an easier 8-1 win as Foxx drives in 6, then win again as Trent gives us 8+ scoreless. We complete the sweep with a 7-1 win behind Benge as Foxx again shines.

We then proceed to drop 3 of 4 at the Giants and suddenly it is Philly I can see in the rearview mirror much more prominently than the Braves. Our final series of the month is a four-gamer at their joint, with the gap between us down to 4½ games. After they just destroy us with a combined score of 35-16 in a humiliating sweep, the three top NL teams are within a half-game of each other.

Game. On.






The bats are doing everything they can, with Foxx and Wells both hitting over 400 for the month and Vaughan not far off.




But there's not much you can do when the lowest monthly ERA among your starters is a smidge under 4 and that figure for a couple in your staff is over 9. Injuries are only so much to blame, the rest is a combination of management and performance - both of which will need to be addressed in the offseason.




What a stretch run this should prove to be yet again.




Kiki Cuyler reaches 2000 hits, Charlie Gehringer 1500.


Awards, news, leaders.






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Not a lot more Buddy Myer could have done here in a losing cause. 5 hits, 3 doubles, 7 ribbies - no joy. Even worse, the Sens are officially eliminated with this loss.

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As their dogfight with the Tigers - who themselves just cannot seem to get ace Andy Cooper back into action - continues, the Bombers lose a key piece of their puzzle.

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This evens things right up for the WS, which the Yanks have already claimed their spot in. Ruth's return after a long injury layoff will go some way to offsetting it, but still Turkey is having his best season.

Baseball is a cruel, cruel game sometimes...

[luckymann]

We begin the month in stop-start fashion with alternating wins and losses over our first eight games as the bats go quiet and the pitching remains, at best, inconsistent. Meanwhile the Braves have pinched a bit of a break, moving 3 games clear.

Duke Derringer finally comes off the IL. But, as handy as he’d be right now, I stick to the program and rehab him at AAA. My resolve is tested when word comes back from the medical staff that Bill Foster’s return has been delayed by a month, effectively ending his year.

We lose four straight but thankfully our rivals are having their own problems, and when the Braves come to town for four we still only trail them by 2½ games, with the Phils a similar margin behind us. We get Combs back from the IL and, after dropping the opening game 6-2, we pinch the next one by scoring 4 in the 9th to walk it off 7-6, with a 3-run double by Wells the decisive hit. And when we split the final two games, we are no closer to a resolution.

A five-game homestand against the Phils follows that, commencing with a DH in which we take the early game with a 7-6 walkoff win via a run-scoring double by Big Poison and the later game 5-2 behind a fine effort from Bill Swift. We win another walkoff the next day, this time 4-3 in 13, but it costs us as Dihigo picks up a niggle that will keep him quiet for a week. A handsome 11-3 win the next day as Vaughan has 5 hits puts the Phillies out of the race and an 8-1 win caps off a stunning series by the group.

Sadly for us, the Braves have also been winning and we’ve made up just a half-game on them to still sit two back with their MN at 5 and six to play.

A rainout gives us a much-needed lay day, but means we have to play another DH to open our four-game series at the Cards. We nip them 7-6 in the opener, but lose Newsom for a week, and I finally relent and call Derringer back into the fold. We lose the second game 4-2, our first dropped game in 8, but the Braves lose as well. Then we drop a 3-2 heartbreaker. Again, the Braves lose. We win the closer 4-2. The Braves drop another one.

And suddenly, with two games to play, we find ourselves in a tie for the lead.

Three agonisingly long rest days later, we are at Crosley for our final two – scheduled – games against the Reds, while the Braves are hosting the Phils.

For game 153 I roll the dice and start Duke. It doesn’t turn out well to put it mildly. He is poor, but it is Beck who blows it by giving up 3 in the home 9th for us to lose 9-8. Worse, the Braves win 8-5. Worse again, we lose Wells and it looks serious.

Worse again, we lose the next day and are out. To have got this close only to drop four winnable games at the end is a bitter pill indeed to have to swallow. Even more so when the Braves lose, meaning we’ve missed them by the single game. That said, I can’t begrudge them their success. They have been fantastic all year and Braves fans have waited a long time – 20 years, to be precise, their sole appearance to date – for them to get where they now are.

Irony of ironies, Wells’ injury turns out just to be a strain – he would have been fine for the playoffs…






Nothing to add here I haven't already said. A valiant try in a difficult season but we just weren't good enough. I do, however, firmly believe we'll be better for the experience. A bit of fine-tuning in the offseason is required - particularly in our pitching ranks - but certainly no wholesale change will be forthcoming.





The Yanks do it easy in the end. Tough times in the Gateway City - 183 losses combined and cellar finishes for the two St. Louis sides make it a season to forget.




As it turns out, neither Stearnes no Greenburg gets the AL Triple Crown, but both still have monster seasons all the same. Agustin Bejeran's 390 BA leads both leagues (he also swipes the most bases with 63), with Ducky Medwick winning his first batting title in the NL. Hank Greenburg's 40 big flies tops the HR tally, while Turkey leads the way with an MLB-record 161 ribbies, even with his early season end. Boston's Ed Brandt has a magnificent season with 31 wins and should be right in the mix for the NL CYA, while Satchel Paige's 273 K earn him the King of K title yet again. He has now moved into 12th all-time with 2124 at just age-27. Another performance of note comes courtesy of age-41 John Donaldson, who wins 20+ for just the third time in his career and the first since 1920. He currently sits at 192 career wins and I hope he goes around one more time and gets the 8 he needs for 200 - it would be well-deserved.

Here are the final Top 20s and leaders.






And, finally, the September awards and latest news.





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New York Yankees (98-56) v Boston Braves (91-63)
Best-of-seven, Yankees with the home-field advantage.

NEW YORK YANKEES S+ PAGE

BOSTON BRAVES S+ PAGE


Well, those injuries to Stearnes and Gomez have certainly brought these two sides closer on paper, that cannot be denied.

That said, as much as I’ve admired the Braves’ chutzpah from close quarters this season, I still believe the Yanks simply have too much firepower for them, especially with The Babe back in action. I’ll tell you right now, though, if they think they’ll be able to just cruise through then they are in for a big shock.

Yankees in a hard-fought and high-scoring five.

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Game 1 in New York, October 4th 1933

Darltie Cooper (20-12, 4.50) v Ed Brandt (31-11, 3.27)

Brandt was unquestionably, in my opinion, the league’s outstanding pitcher this season and he gets the chance here to give his club the ideal start against late-bloomer Darltie Cooper, who after just 54 wins in his first seven MLB seasons, has notched 43 in the past two alone.

Neither, however, acquits himself particularly well here, and it takes extra innings to separate the two sides after they are tied at 5 thru 9. The Braves get a pair in the top 10th off Ed Rile and then Jumbo Brown closes it out with a clean inning to give Boston a key road win.

Braves 7, Yankees 5 (10 innings)

BOX SCORE

Game 2 in New York, October 5th 1933

Eric Erickson (16-10, 3.90) v John Donaldson (21-17, 4.02)

Braves lead series 1-0

Baseball can produce its share of fairy-tales, as is the case here as age-38 Eric Erickson and age-41 John Donaldson go head-to-head.

And it is fairly generous with dosing out the reality as well, with both of these elder statesmen treated roughly in what will go down as one of the most exciting World Series games ever.

Neither starter sees the 5th inning as the sides combine for 27 runs on 38 hits. When the dust settles, it is the visitors who have triumphed again by 14 to 13, coming from 6 runs down entering the 8th to pinch it in regulation. Eight different players drive in two runs or more and the Yankees suddenly find themselves deep in a hole of their own making.

Braves 14, Yankees 13

BOX SCORE

Game 3 in Boston, October 7th 1933

Neck Stanley (13-6, 3.90) v Red Ruffing (17-10, 5.10)

Braves lead series 2-0

Well hasn’t this Series been turned on its pretty little head!

You can’t say the Yanks weren’t given fair warning and now their entire season hangs by a thread as they have to win at least two of three in Beantown just to get back home again. That, you’d almost have to think, must start with a win in this one as two dogged competitors in Stanley and Ruffing take the mound.

And, while it is far from convincingly procured, the Bombers do get that vital victory by a final of 7-5.

A 3-run bomb in the 1st by Bill Dickey gives the visitors a lead they don’t relinquish, despite the Braves’ best efforts, but the game is up for grabs until the end before Boston finally runs out of outs with the tying run at the plate.

Yankees 7, Braves 5

BOX SCORE

Game 4 in Boston, October 8th 1933

Ed Brandt (1-0, 5.00) v Darltie Cooper (0-0, 4.50)

Braves lead series 2-1

Yep, I’m gonna say it – this game is pivotal. (Thanks for your indulgence, I feel much better having gotten that out of my system.) Game 1 combatants back in action and looking for redemption.

It is Brandt who gets it, albeit barely, as the home side goes out to an early lead with a run in each of the 2nd and 3rd, extends it to 6-1 after 6 and then hangs on for dear life as the Yanks throw everything at them over the closing stages, scoring 3 in the 9th and leaving the tying runs aboard. Brandt goes the distance, holding his nerve to get the dangerous Dickey to pop out harmlessly and get the Braves one measly game away from the franchise’s first Championship.

Braves 7, Yankees 5

BOX SCORE

Game 5 in Boston, October 9th 1933

John Donaldson (0-0, 14.73) v Eric Erickson (0-0, 13.50)

Braves lead series 3-1

You’d have to think pretty much anything could happen in this one given the events of Game 2, not to mention how much is on the line with regard to the outcome.

As it turns out, the game itself is something of a fizzer for all but Braves fans as their heroes clinch the title in a canter, thanks to a 5-run 3rd that seems to knock the last tufts of stuffing out of the Pinstriped straw men. Donaldson caps off his marvellous season with an excellent CG performance in which he never lets the Yanks get anything going and eventually concedes just 2 runs on 7 hits to give the Boston faithful a memory they’ll treasure for all their days.

Braves 8, Yankees 2

BOX SCORE

BOSTON WINS SERIES 4-1

SERIES MVP: Babe Herman (Boston)

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Given our pitching problems and the limited avenues at our disposal to redress them I decide to pony up the $18k for another year of Bill McCall’s services. Hopefully, we get a bit more bang for our buck from him than we have to this point.

The Browns fire skipper Dutch Rudolph, while Braves pilot Sumner Bowman decides to leave the game on a high.

Not too many big names among this year’s retiring players, but Edd Roush, Lefty Williams, Heinie Sand Joe Judge and Cliff Heathcote all call it quits.

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AL 1933 HISTORY INDEX

NL 1933 HISTORY INDEX

AWARDS HISTORY


Turkey Stearnes finally gets his long-deserved AL Wagner-Lajoie Medal, with Chuck Klein repeating in the NL.

Satchel Paige wins his third Johnson-Waddell, Ed Brandt his first

RoYs for Detroit backstop Bill DeLancey and Giants OF Pete Fox; Relievers of the Year are Roy Henshaw (Browns) and Benny Frey (Cubs), the first for each.


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6 Legacies this year: each solid; none outstanding.

These are the Legacy Players for the 1934 season:

Boston Red Sox: Fritz Ostermueller (35.9; 219)
Chicago Cubs: Phil Cavaretta (37.0; 1953)
Detroit Tigers: Rudy York (31.7; 1268)
New York Yankees: George Selkirk (23.4; 846 – one-club player)
St. Louis Browns: Harlond Clift (42.1; 1443)

Bill Lee (31.4; 364) was also eligible for the Cubs, but Cavaretta’s higher WAR makes him the selection.

There are 114 rookies for this season, and the Draft will consist of 5 rounds.

The Draft order will be as follows (winning percentage from 1933 IRL season in brackets; bold indicates Legacy Pick in 1st Round):

Round 1

1. St. Louis Browns (364)
2. Chicago Cubs (558)
3. Boston Red Sox (423)
4. Detroit Tigers (487)
5. New York Yankees (607)
6. Cincinnati Reds (382)
7. Philadelphia Phillies (395)
8. Brooklyn Dodgers (425)
9. Chicago White Sox (447)
10. Cleveland Indians (497)
11. Philadelphia Athletics (523)
12. St. Louis Cardinals (536)
13. Boston Braves (539)
14. Pittsburgh Pirates (565)
15. New York Giants (599)
16. Washington Senators (651)

Rounds 2 thru 5

1. St. Louis Browns (364)
2. Cincinnati Reds (382)
3. Philadelphia Phillies (395)
4. Boston Red Sox (423)
5. Brooklyn Dodgers (425)
6. Chicago White Sox (447)
7. Detroit Tigers (487)
8. Cleveland Indians (497)
9. Philadelphia Athletics (523)
10. St. Louis Cardinals (536)
11. Boston Braves (539)
12. Chicago Cubs (558)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (565)
14. New York Giants (599)
15. New York Yankees (607)
16. Washington Senators (651)


Fairly straightforward mandate here: pitching.

Here’s who we took:

1. P Bill Lee, 24

• Of the four pitchers we had earmarked, he was the only one left by the time our pick rolled around. Thankfully, he was the one we wanted.

2. P Al Smith, 26

• Not usually one for taking mature-aged guys but he was clearly the best LHP of the bunch and that’s what we need right now.

3. P Jack Wilson, 21

• A live arm but has had control issues from all reports. Still, he fits the bill nicely and should come in handy a couple years on.

4. P George Caster, 26
5. C Joe Holden, 20

• A “renovator’s delight” for Pitching Coach Dave Brown at AAA and a backup catcher for them as well.

Job. Done.

First-Rounders.



FULL DRAFT LOG