The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

The wild ride continues for the rest of this opening section of the 1935 campaign – and I don’t mean that in the fun way it might imply. On the contrary, given the lofty expectations with which we entered the season, what has transpired over these first 40-odd games has been anything but fun.

The main problem for us lies with our pitching - currently ranked 6th for ERA at 4.27 and pretty ordinary right throughout the staff.

Our offence, on the other hand, has been fantastic with Foxx (whose efforts earn him the monthly prize, just the third time he has won it) and Wells leading the way. Their performance has been even more impressive given Arky's absence and the mid-month loss of Kiddo Davis, which has upset our shape against LHP. Arky will be back during June, but Kiddo's return date is up in the air.

Returns from our three key recruits have been mixed to say the least. Gibson has heated up after his frigid start and ends the month with a 266/383/547 line, 7 homers and 29 RBI. Dandridge has been handy in Vaughan's absence but needs to improve upon his productivity at the plate. Radcliffe - whose contract we extend thru 1938 for $17k per - has been abominable, going 1-3 with a 7.42 ERA in his six starts for us.

Still, with all of this, we enter June tied for the NL lead at 24-19. That is most encouraging.







Both divs are about as tightly-bunched as you can imagine them being six weeks in. Just 6 1/2 games separate top from bottom in the NL, while - apart from the sorry Senators, who are sitting at 11-34 - the remainder of the AL sides are within reach and the top four sides are all within a game.




With the Babe out for 3 months with another injury, Lou Gehrig has stepped right up and has 15 HR in 159 AB to this point. A few milestones reached with John Beckwith passing 2000 hits, Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Ossie Bluege getting to 1500 and Waite Hoyt notching his 200th win.

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[luckymann]

I may be misremembering this - I'M OLD!!! - but I think Turkey has a history of doing this, making it to milestones with special performances. This was certainly one of those, to get him to the 300 HR mark.

[luckymann]

Fair to say we are taking longer than I'd expected to turn things around. That said, we do seem to be doing so.

Problems abound, all the same. Gibson has been ordinary to this point, slashing 233/352/481, but still he's whacked 11 HR and driven in 43. Radcliffe has been borderline disastrous, going 3-8 since we acquired him with some ugly metrics including a 1.73 WHIP, 106 FIP- and 72 ERA+. Wells has cooled right off after his scorching start.

Foxx, on the other hand, is having a career year so far. 324 BA, 16 HR and 68 RBI have him on course for a monster year if he can keep it going.

The pitching has been up-and-down. Foster started dreadfully but this month sees him get things back on track. Derringer has been good, albeit less consistent than we'd like and a fair step back from his stellar 1934. Ferrell has also struggled with keeping an even keel - brilliant one start, absolutely dreadful the next. All of which adds up to our ERA being in the wrong half of the list: 4.03, 5th.

As always, however, when we look at how we've been playing and see we are sitting at 39-32 and just a couple off the pace, we can't be too bothered. We know how much upside we have from here - it's simply a matter of keeping things on an upward trajectory.







Both races still incredibly tight approaching the ASB.




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[luckymann]

Here are this year's All-Stars. Seven for us this time around, with Arky's injury earlier in the season costing him his spot and Josh's protracted run of poor form costing him his.




Ripper Collins is the HR King this year, while MVP Joe Cronin leads the AL to a 7-4 win to take a 2-1 overall lead.

[Brad K]

The AL all stars have no 3B and the NL all stars have no SS. How does that work?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

The AL all stars have no 3B and the NL all stars have no SS. How does that work?

Only 20 on the rosters. None of that "every kid gets a trophy" nonsense here...

No idea why, but I don't get voting results. However, looking at the box score, Willie Wells played SS for the NL (he plays 2B for us) and Luke Appling played 3B for the AL.

[Brad K]

Voting is by position so someone was the leading vote getter at those positions. How can they keep him off the team?

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

Voting is by position so someone was the leading vote getter at those positions. How can they keep him off the team?

Could be they switched positions during the voting period?

[Brad K]

The article on the final voting should be in the news section of the league page even if you elected not to receive it in your inbox.

[luckymann]

Originally Posted by Brad K

The article on the final voting should be in the news section of the league page even if you elected not to receive it in your inbox.

Like I said...



These are the settings in place, which are mainly the defaults. I did not vote.

[Brad K]

OK. Game broken in two ways. Got it.

[luckymann]

We start the month in positive fashion, winning our first four, before the bats go very quiet and things get murky again as we enter the ASB. The pitching is still all over the shop and we have a couple games in quick succession where we give up 10+ runs, with Derringer going through a particularly rough patch and Radcliffe continuing to greatly underwhelm.

But as they so often do, our lads bear down and grind out the wins. This, along with a few of our nearest competitors just coming off the boil a bit, gets us a bit of a break on the group.

We finish the month 21-9. Of those wins, ten in all are one-run affairs. It almost seems as if the group is often toying with their rivals and just doing enough to win. I hope not, because that sort of nonsense will almost invariably end in tears. I’d actually far prefer that these close games are an indication we still are yet to fully hit our straps. Which I believe to be the case.

All the same, I like where we are heading. Radcliffe finally comes good to win the monthly pitching award and Gibson also posts a good sectional, hitting a much healthier 280. In fact, of our starters, only Foxx cools off and hopefully we can enjoy all of them at peak form at some stage this season.







Like ourselves, the Yanks put their foot down with a 20-6 month. Like ourselves, they are nowhere near home just yet, with Detroit 4 1/2 back and Boston also well within reach.




Top 20s as we enter the stretch run.





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[luckymann]

And then, just like that, it all kind of just falls into place as we open the month with 9 straight wins, outscoring our opponents 59-16 in the process.

By mid-month we have broken clear of the pack and eventually finish the sectional 20-8 to sit at 80-49—13 clear and, with our MN down to 14, looking almost guaranteed of another pennant win and Series appearance.

Duke Derringer wins the monthly award for his stellar 7-0 / 1.95 run.

It’s not all beer and skittles. The difference between our best and worst baseball is still far too wide, especially on the mound, and most particularly the bottom half of our rotation. While he has a great August, Gibson continues to float in and out more than we expect or demand of our players. Some of our bench guys are giving us far too little. We have been almost untouched by injuries, which worries the heck out of me. The law of averages is a cruel master indeed.

All the same, we’re where we want to be, so no complaints from me.







The Yankees regress a bit and are now only a couple games ahead of the Tigers with the BoSox one behind them. Here we go again!




Awards, news and leaders. Chuck Klein becomes just the 9th player to reach 300 HR. Earl Whitehill reaches 200 wins.






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[luckymann]

With things still ultra-tight in the AL, games like this beauty from Turkey can often mean more than just the win they help achieve.

[luckymann]

[luckymann]

Here we go again. It's now down to two, with the Yanks leading the Red Sox by two ahead of a season-ending three-game series between them at Yankee Stadium.

The Yanks need just one win from the three.

Game 1




Game 2




Which, of course, makes the final game winner-takes-all...

Game 3




Oooooweeee - things must have been getting pretty tense at The House that Ruth Built around the stretch time... Satchel came on in relief and gave up 6 runs in 3 IP. There's no justice in this game sometimes. That said, the Yanks had led most of the season and are deserving winners.

[luckymann]

Smooth sailing as we clinch nice and early again. On the same day, in fact, as our AAA club at Wilkes-Barre does likewise.

No injuries over the final few weeks and we finish up with a 97-57 record.

Just a couple points of note. Jimmie Foxx surpasses Ken Williams as our franchise HR leader, finishing the season with 134 for the club. He also keeps his streak alive: he has driven in at least 120 runs in each of his five seasons with us so far. Lloyd Waner's effort this season also deserves special mention. His 334 BA is a career high since his stellar rookie year, when he hit 354 in 223 PA. He also outhits big brother Paul by 27 points. Finally, Neck Stanley has been an unheralded hero for us these past two years, in each of which he has given us at least 30 innings of relief with an ERA of 3 or less.







Avert your eyes, Red Sox Nation - here's how those final standings look.




First time batting titles to Boston's Ripper Collins and Sam West of the Phillies. Lou Gehrig leads the league in both HR (43) and RBI (133). Schoolboy Rowe wins 31 for the Tigers and I think Satchel can be forgiven that final game meltdown as it's doubtful the Sox would have even been close without his 29 wins and MLB-leading 300 strikeouts.

A few late milestones. Cool Papa Bell brings up his 1500th MLB hit in a 5-for-5 game against the Yanks and Mickey Cochrane also reaches this milestone later in the month. Lefty Grove gets his 250th career win, while Bill McCall makes it to 200 in his age-37 season.

Here are the final Top 20s by WAR, awards, news and leaders.








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[luckymann]

New York Yankees (94-60) v Pittsburgh Pirates (97-57)
Best-of-seven, Yankees with the home-field advantage.

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Hard to believe that this is just the second World Series to be contested by these two great clubs, with the other being a decade ago. It almost feels like two armies who have been skirmishing forever finally digging in for some direct combat.

No doubt their job will have been made tougher by the loss of Willis Flournoy, especially with Dolly Cooper now under a bit of an injury cloud as well, but theirs is still a top-notch staff, both rotation and bullpen. Then, of course, there is their monster lineup. Not a weak hitter among them and the Babe coming off the bench to break your heart. For mine, keeping them as much in check as you could ever hope to starts with keeping Agustin Bejerano quiet. He is their undisputed sparkplug and an absolute menace on the basepaths from all reports.

For us, we just need to go about our business. If there’s one particular concern, it is Ted Radcliffe, who does tend to struggle against these high-power offences, mainly because of his control issues. Men on base against this mob usually spells big time trouble, so the pressure will really be on Bill Foster and Duke Derringer to win their games in case Ted gets beaten up in his.

The neutrals must be salivating at the prospect of this matchup. I wish I was. To be honest, my mouth is as dry as the Sahara in high summer.

[luckymann]

Game 1 in New York - October 2nd, 1935

Ed Rile (20-11, 3.65) v Willie Foster (23-12, 3.19)

And so all is in readiness for what should be a highly-competitive series between two evenly-matched squads. We start off with two guys facing each other who are good friends away from the game, each of whom has won a bunch of games over their career and knows what is required of them here. Bill Foster’s form in the latter part of the season has been near the best of his career, and he enters this game 7-2 lifetime in the postseason. Ed Rile, on the other hand, is looking for his first playoff win at his third attempt. For us, winning at least one of these first two road games is crucial, especially given my concerns about Ted Radcliffe. Going back to Pittsburgh 0-2 is simply not an option.

They waste no time getting at it, belting Foster about like nobody’s business in the 1st and ending up scoring 3 runs on 3 hits and an error by Junior Frey.

We get one in the 4th on a Wells double and a single by Lloyd Waner brings him in as well. The pressure gets to the Yanks as they gift us a third with an errant throw and Dihigo then puts us ahead with a 2-run single.

That lead doesn’t last an out as Crosetti takes Foster deep with a man on in the home half and it is tied at 5.
It is fast and furious, as you’d expect from all of these superstar hitters.

Little Poison comes through again for us in the next, singling one in with two out, and Gibson does likewise in the 6th to double our lead, chasing Rile as he does. With Tex Carleton on the mound in relief, we extend our lead again in the top 8th on an RBI single by Paul Waner.

Foster is done after 7 and Leroy Matlock comes in looking for a six-out save. He gets the first five in a row before giving up a single to Gehrig. He then strikes out Stearnes looking to get us the vital road win we were looking for.

Pirates 8, Yankees 5

BOX SCORE

Game 2 in New York - October 3rd, 1935

Ed Rile (20-11, 3.65) v Willie Foster (23-12, 3.19)

Pirates lead series 1-0

What a fantastic story Jim Willis has been. Just one winning season in his first six, a stretch that included losing 21 and then a whopping 29 playing for the Browns in 1931-32. A move to Detroit in ’33 seemed just the tonic, as he won 20 for the first time in his career, and he has followed that up this year for the Yanks with another stellar effort. So we know he is a gamer – it takes a rare bird to weather that sort of storm and come out and do what he has. We just need Duke to be Duke; the pitcher who has gone 48-18 for us the past two seasons and, of course, won the Johnson-Waddell last year.

A Little P trip in the 2nd opens the scoring in this one and Foxx makes it 2-0 in the 4th with our first homer of the Series, then adds 2 more in the next with another one. Yet another longball by Gibson the very next AB puts us up by 5.

They get a run in the 7th as Duke just starts to gas a bit, but we cancel it out in the next on a single by Dandridge.

I go to the pen for the 9th and Lee closes it out no problems. A clinical win by the lads that gets us two to the good heading home.

Pirates 6, Tigers 1

BOX SCORE

Game 3 in Pittsburgh - October 5th, 1935

Ted Radcliffe (21-16, 4.58) v Darltie Cooper (16-11, 3.56)

Pirates lead series 2-0

Look, we know how good Double Duty can be on his day. That is precisely why we traded for him. What we didn’t expect was how infrequently his day was going to happen, and how bad he can look when his stuff deserts him. So there’s no doubt today is a complete lottery, especially with their bats and a hardened campaigner like Cooper going for them. We’ll need runs, of that I am sure, and the more the better.

We open the scoring in the bottom 1st on a Foxx single and Ted comes out firing strikes, always a good sign. In fact, he is yet to give up a hit when Foxx blows it wide open with a 5th-inning slam to get us out by 5.

They finally get to him in the 7th with back-to-back singles by Stearnes and Gehrig, which also get them their first run. He only just gets out of that inning as they leave them loaded, and I decide we’ve ridden our luck as far as we should, with Stanley taking over in the 8th. That said, he has been fantastic here.

Neck gets a clean 8th but then two hits and an error by Vaughan – who is having the dirtiest of series – load the bases with none out and put us under all sorts of pressure. Lee comes in to pitch and swaps a run for two outs with a GIDP then strikes out the Babe to finish them off. Nearly there.

Pirates 5, Yankees 2

BOX SCORE

Game 4 in Pittsburgh - October 6th, 1935

Ted Radcliffe (21-16, 4.58) v Darltie Cooper (16-11, 3.56)

Pirates lead series 3-0

I always suspected it would fall to Bill Foster to get us home. I just thought it would be in Game 7, not 4. Still, if we take our foot off the gas that scenario could well be on the cards. The Yankees are capable of doing that to you.

As tempted as I am to bench Vaughan, who is a nasty 1-for-12, he’s just too good to leave out. Same goes for the 1-for-10 Wells. So we go in unchanged.

We once again score early, with one coming in on a Foxx groundout in the 1st. But they tag Foster for two in the 4th to go ahead. Only briefly, however, as Frey ties it at 2 in the home half with a two-out solo shot.

Foster seems out of sorts and they pull ahead again with a pair in the next, but we again strike back quickly with a bases-loaded WP plating one run and an inside-the-park grand slam by Wells making it 7-4.

Not liking what I am seeing, I almost hook Bill for the 7th. Instead I leave him in and watch Gehrig hit one of the longest homers I have ever seen, getting them back within a run. This time, late as it is, I make the move and Matlock comes in.

Our bats have gone AWOL all of a sudden and when Lazzeri bombs one out in the 8th we are tied at 7.

It is still tied in the bottom 9th, when an error by Gomez puts Paul Waner aboard with one out. Foxx walks, to put him into scoring position and another walk to Gibson loads them up. Wells covers himself with glory, singling in the walkoff winner to give us the sweep and Championship number 14.

The regular season posed its challenges, but this fantastic group responded and this result is precisely what they deserve.

Pirates 8, Yankees 7

BOX SCORE

PITTSBURGH WINS SERIES 4-0

SERIES MVP: Jimmie Foxx (Pittsburgh)

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[luckymann]

Completing a banner year for our franchise, Wilkes-Barre also sweeps their AAA World Series with Brownsville for their sixth Championship.