Let's Play Two! - Page 7

Pelican · 08-26-2023, 11:15 AM

TBH I had a bad feeling about using Klippstein in relief and then starting him the next day. The issue isn’t that he barely broke a sweat. It’s all about the ramping up (probably 25-30 warm-up pitches, between the bullpen and the mound) and then recovery time. Consecutive days is a lot to ask. When teams in the Fifties did this, the relief appearance tended to coincide with the day the SP would normally be throwing on the side between starts. So, not the day after pitching, and certainly not the day before a start. SP are all about routines, and disrupting the routine carries risk. As you found out. Tough to say, but here the game mirrors IRL quite well. So much for that Cy Young award.

Pelican · 08-26-2023, 11:26 AM

On the other hand, now Rogovin is in line for the Cy, and the rookie Cohen looks like he can step up in the rotation. A good sign to bounce back and win two on the road against good SP - Conley and Friend.

jksander · 08-26-2023, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pelican

On the other hand, now Rogovin is in line for the Cy, and the rookie Cohen looks like he can step up in the rotation. A good sign to bounce back and win two on the road against good SP - Conley and Friend.

Yeah I was pleased ... if we can at least split the series at the Dodgers I will be very happy. They have been a key foe since I took over as GM / Manager in 1953. Good point re: Klippstein and the relief / start ... hopefully the injury won't regress him too much (right now he's rating as a four star guy with potential to still improve even at 26).

jksander · 08-26-2023, 01:14 PM

JUNE 18, 1954 . . . Last year’s Cy Young winner Warren Hacker (8-2, 2.12 ERA, 106.1 IP, 58 K’s, 0.93 WHIP) takes the mound tonight in front of 16,000 fans in Brooklyn, up against Carl Erskine (9-5, 3.93 ERA, 112.1 IP, 67 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) with a strong wind blowing in from right that makes us all feel like a pitcher’s battle is highly likely even in the hitter-friendly confines of Ebbets Field. But the Dodgers wasted no time defeating the wind, with Campanella hitting a two-run blast to right that put them up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Cavarretta was robbed of what would have been a homer on any other night, leaving us still trailing by two in the middle of the fifth, but Hacker pitched around a pair of runners in the bottom of the inning to still keep us in it. Al Kaline made a brilliant basket catch in right field to end the sixth inning with us in the same position, and we opened the top of the seventh with a triple by Elston Howard, and Russ Snyder came in to pinch hit for Gene Baker, but he hit one straight up to the shortstop to get an out. Hacker grounded out to first, and Al Kaline then flew out to left, ending our best chance of the whole damned game to get a run. Kenneth Chapman came in to play second base in the middle of the seventh, and Warren Hacker got us three more quick outs to bring us back up to bat but with limited chances left to find our spark. But the spark just wasn’t there -- Erskine stayed in well past 100 pitches and still got the top of our order out one, two, three. Hacker pitched a near-perfect eighth inning, sending us back up in the top of the ninth still trailing by two and needing a miracle against Erskine, who stayed in to attempt the complete game shutout. Ernie Banks reached base safely on an error at first, and a would-be Al Rosen homer was blown back at the wall and became out number one. Joe Collins pinch-hit for Elston Howard, but he struck out swinging. Bill Serena came in to pinch hit for Chapman, but he couldn’t get a hit out of the infield and we lost this one 2-0, a game decided by runs scored in the first inning.

Hacker fell to 8-3 on the season, throwing an efficient 111-pitch effort with only five hits, with four strikeouts and three walks to go with just the two earned runs. But Erskine was better, throwing a complete game 131-pitch shutout despite seven hits, notching four strikeouts against two walks as he earned his 10th win of the year and the 76th win of his seven-year career. We out-hit them 7-5 but couldn’t make anything happen on the basepaths, even with the two walks added in for good measure. Elston Howard had two hits, while five other batters contributed and then were stranded. Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow. Our team’s chemistry levels right now are through the roof so I think we have what it takes to keep things calm in the clubhouse through what looks to be a difficult end-of-June road stretch.

JUNE 19, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl (5-3, 3.09 ERA, 67.0 IP, 32 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) faces off this afternoon against Sal ‘The Barber’ Maglie (1-6, 4.17 ERA, 58.1 IP, 33 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) in a down year for the 37-year-old starter who started the decade as one of the best pitchers in the NL. But we were the ones to give ‘The Barber’ a haircut, when Roger Maris hit a grand slam in the top of the first to put us up 4-0 WITHOUT A SINGLE OUT! We didn’t score any more runs in the first, but by the time Diehl came up to throw his first pitch of the game, Maglie had already thrown 30 and given up four hits. And Diehl pitched very well to contact, getting three outs in the bottom of the inning on just six pitches! Al Kaline hit his 10th homer of the year to make it 5-0 in the top of the second, and Willie Mays added his 15th of the year to make it 6-0 with two outs! Everyone was waiting for Maris to hit another one as well, but he flew out to center to end the inning with the Dodgers looking at a potential blowout.

The Dodgers brought out Joe Hatten (0-0, 9.45 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 K’s, 2.40 WHIP) with just one out in the top of the third, in a move that looked like the potential adding of fuel to a fire, but he got them out of the inning unscathed. Diehl gave up a solo homer to Carl Furillo in the bottom of the third, but Al Rosen rung Hatten up for a two-run homer, his ninth of the year, to make it an 8-1 lead for our Cubs in the top of the fifth. Diehl gave up an RBI double to Duke Snyder in the bottom of the fifth, but Willie Mays added a two-run bomb to right in the top of the eighth, his second four-bagger of the game, to make it a 10-2 lead for our Cubs. Diehl loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, so we started warming up Tom Ferrick in case things went off the rails completely -- but the Dodgers hit into a double play, with outs at first and home, and a routine throw from third to first ended the game with us winning 10-2! Bring on the double header tomorrow, we’re ready!

Diehl improved to 6-3 with a 2.84 ERA thanks to a six-hitter, getting five strikeouts against two walks, giving up just the two runs (only one of which was earned) through 128 pitches. Maris and Mays led the way, with Roger’s grand salami being the game winner right from the word ‘go’ -- he had two hits and scored twice while batting in four runs. Mays had two homers and a walk, scoring all three times he came up to bat and getting three RBIs as well. Al Kaline added three hits for three runs and an RBI, and Al Rosen put up a hit, scoring a run and batting in two!

Right now we have a staggering +149 run differential, while no one in the NL is better than +26 (Brooklyn). Even the Yankees in the AL (+76) are even close, and yet they’re still 4.5 games back of a Cleveland team that is on pace to become the luckiest team of the decade -- their Pythagorean record should be 33-27, but they’re currently 40-20 and riding a three-game winning streak. I’m hearing through the papers that Casey Stengel is completely losing his cool out there in Yankeeville, as the NYC press keeps dogging him on why they can’t catch up with a Guardians team that doesn’t have nearly their star wattage. Mickey Mantle has been struggling, hitting just .271 with 11 homers, and Hank Thompson’s having an even worse time, barely batting .250! It’ll be interesting to see how that race shapes up as the year progresses.

If All Star voting completed today we’d have Cavarretta, Rosen, Banks, Mays, Hacker, Klippstein, Dorish and Consuegra in the game, though Klippstein is going to likely earn an All Star bid without being able to play. Mays continues to lead all voters in both leagues by mre than 130,000 votes!

jksander · 08-27-2023, 12:02 PM

JUNE 20, 1954 . . . Tonight Joe Dobson had his second start since becoming a Cub, up against Russ Meyer (4-5, 3.55 ERA, 101.1 IP, 36 K’s, 1.14 WHIP). He went six innings in his first start, a 3-2 win over the Giants a week ago, and with the doubleheader likely to strain our bullpen more than usual, we’re hoping for at least that strong an effort this afternoon.

Cavarretta got us going on a great note with a solo homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the year, to put us up 1-0. Mays got himself a single, and then Ernie Banks hit a double to put them both in scoring position, and Al Rosen walked his way into a bases loaded situation with two outs. Gene Baker hit a perfect shot up the middle between infielders, scoring two more runs to make it a 3-0 lead, all before the Dodgers even took a swing. But Dobson quickly gave up a solo homer to Duke Snider to put Brooklyn on the board via his very first pitch, though he didn’t let it stop him from getting out of the inning without further damage. He struggled much more in the second inning, giving up three consecutive walks and giving up a run on a wild pitch with just one out. We got a runner out at home to get the second out of the inning, but with runners on the corners Duke Snyder hit his second homer of the game and put the Dodgers up 5-3. Dobson got the final out but it was a disasterous start to the game by any measure. Dobson got two outs in the bottom of the third but then gave up a two-run homer to Jackie Robinson that put us in a 7-3 hole and his night was over, with Vern Fear coming in to get us out of the inning with the final out.

Willie Mays opened the top of the eighth inning with a three-bagger, but Mays was tagged out at home plate after a fly-out by Banks, allowing the Dodgers to get out of the frame on a double play to kee the 7-3 lead. Vern Fear had pitched more than four innings of solid baseball, but we had to bring Tom Ferrick in for the bottom of the eighth and would still need a frenzied comeback in the ninth if we were going to come out of this one with a win. Ferrick gave up a base hit and then got two quick flyouts, before Jackie Robinson hit a double to put runners on second and third. Thankfully Pee Wee Reese grounded to third, and a quick out got us into the top of the ninth with just the four runs to overcome. Russ Snyder got one up the middle with one out, safely reaching first base and bringing up Joe Collins, who pinch-hit and got one off the center-field wall to come out with a double and putting two runners in scoring position! Jerry Bunyard pinch-hit for Ferrick and walked, loading the bases and bringing up the top of our order, still with just one out! Al Kaline hit one right past the second baseman to drive in a run and keep the bases loaded, but Cavarretta struck out swinging, bringing up Mays with the bases loaded and two outs. They walked him, scoring a run and pulling us within two -- bases still loaded! -- and Roger Maris came up to the plate with the game on the line. Unfortunately he hit it up the middle straight to the center fielder, who got the final out as the Dodgers beat us 7-5 in the first game.

Joe Dobson took the loss, falling to 0-1 as a Cub, dropping his ERA to 6.30 overall with a four-hit seven-run 2.1 inning meltdown. Vern Fear piched 4.1 innings of two-hit ball, striking out a pair and walking another, improving his ERA to 1.33 on the season through 23 innings, and Tom Ferrick got through an inning with just a pair of hits, improving his ERA to 3.38 overall. But we weren’t able to come through with the comeback runs we needed despite outhitting Brooklyn 9-8. Cavarretta had two hits for a run and an RBI, Willie Mays had a hit for a run and an RBI, and Gene Baker hit once and batted in two.

In game two, Hy Cohen (6-1, 4.19 ERA, 68.2 IP, 42 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) faced off against Brooklyn’s Billy Loes (6-4, 3.97 ERA, 99.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) in the final game of the series, with us needing a win to split the four-game series. Maris and Rosen hit back to back doubles in the top of the first, with Maris coming around easily to score and put us up 1-0. But they were quick to tie things back up 1-1 with a solo bomb to right by Gil Hodges, keeping the home crowd’s noise levels at an electric level. They took the lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by the pitcher, Loes, his first of the year, and Jackie Robinson then made it 3-1 with a solo bomb to left of his own. Cohen pitched well from there but was simply a victim of bad luck and poor pitch placement, and we went into the top of the fourth needing to dig out of a two-run deficit. And it continued in the bottom of the fourth -- a fourth solo homer, this time to Billy Cox, made it a 4-1 lead, and Cohen was getting rattled, though he stayed in to get us our outs and he was still fresh, having thrown only 62 pitches. But I had to start warming up Harry Dorish just in case, because his control simply wasn’t there.

Cohen got one out in the bottom of the fifth and then unleashed a solo homer to Gil Hodges, his second of the game, and that was enough. Three pitches in the innning for one out and then a fifth homer? You just don’t have it tonight. Harry Dorish came in to relieve him, and aside from a double hit off his sixth pitch, he got the outs we needed. Ernie Banks reached base on an error in the top of the sixth, then made it to second on a balk, and an RBI double by Baker with two outs pulled us within three, down 5-2 against the Dodgers. Dorish stayed in for the bottom of the sixth but gave up two hits in a row with no outs, and we brought in Fear to hopefully keep more runs from scoring. But one of Dorish’s runs scored on a passed ball, before a flyout to center allowed a quick throw to home, getting Jackie Robinson out at the plate, which prevented further extensive damage. But because we didn’t have anyone warmed up fast enough, Fear threw 66 pitches in pursuit of his three outs in that inning -- it all happened so fast, and yet it seemed to take forever.

This game was out of control and our bats were dead. Roger Maris walked the bases loaded following Cavarretta reaching base on a hit-by-pitch, but with two outs Al Rosen hit into an easy play from the shorstop to second, ending the inning with nothing to show for it. Tom Ferrick came in for the seventh and, against his first pitcher faced, gave up a solo homer to Carl Furillo on a SEVENTEEN-PITCH AT BAT ... and our bullpen was officially in shambles. Ferrick threw 40 pitches but got us out of the inning without any more runs scoring, but I had to bring Consuegra in to finish the game, and this was about as bad a game to have for the second of a double header that I can imagine. Consuegra got us our outs as quickly as possible, and by the time Maris struck out to end the game with us as 7-2 losers against the Dodgers, we were all just ready to get the f--- on the bus.

In a two hour and 49 minute game that felt like it took five hours, there was nothing for us to be happy about. We lost the series to the Dodgers 3-1, and though they only out-hit us 11-10, we were outscored by five and our pitchers exploded like a nuclear test at Los Alamos. Five pitchers combined for 197 pitches on our side, and though the number of runs didn’t completely shellack our bullpen stats, I worry what this kind of game can do to overall morale. We’re going to need to bounce back and have our bats give our upcoming starters some run support, or we’ll be having to bring up extra guys from the minors to give some rest to our regulars.

Hy Cohen fell to 6-2 and gave up five homers on seven hits, with just two strikeouts and a walk over 65 pitches in 4.1 innings of work. In retrospect I should have made him stay in and take his medicine -- our bullpen was just not ready to take on that workload in a doubleheader situation. And really, the four relievers only gave up two hits, but they blew their arms out having to throw more than planned, and that’s something I am going to have to watch out for as a manager as the season progresses. Cavarretta and Maris each had two hits, and Maris scored one of our two runs. Rosen and Baker batted in runs, and Banks had a hit and a run scored as well.

Thank God for a day off as we travel to Philadelphia for three and then to play the Giants for three games over the weekend. Let’s not forget, we still lead the NL by 9.5 games. We need to keep that winning mentality and not fall into a funk over our first series loss in so long I can’t remember.

jksander · 08-27-2023, 12:49 PM

JUNE 22, 1954 . . . I’m sending Carmen Mauro down to AAA for a spell, giving me a chance to bring up veteran minor-league reliever Bob Spicer to give us a bullpen arm that is not completely worn out. Spicer, at 29, would be making his major league debut if he gets into a game -- he’s spent the last five seasons at AAA, pitching nearly 1,500 minor league innings over his career, and this year he has a 1.96 ERA with 16 K’s through 23 innings over ten appearances. I’m hopeful that we can get long outings from our starters in the next three games -- Rogovin, Diehl and Hacker are next up in the rotation, and we’ll be able to use Dobson as a long-relief option if absolutely necessary, but the key is to give the guys time to recover from the beatdown against the Dodgers and let their arms recover. Consuegra only threw single-digit pitches in the final inning, so we do have him as a closing option as well.

Tonight Saul Rogovin (9-0, 1.31 ERA, 89.0 IP, 54 K’s, 0.89 WHIP) takes the mound hoping to keep his fiery streak going while facing down Bob Lemon (4-4, 3.10 ERA, 104.2 IP, 55 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) in the first game at Philadelphia. Cavarretta tripled to start the top of the first, and Willie Mays got things going with a run-scoring double to put us up 1-0. But Saul Rogovin gave up a two-out, three-run homer to left in the bottom of the inning, and it felt like the nightmare was starting where it left off. Ernie Banks hit a flyball double and Willie Mays was able to score all the way from first to pull us within a run in the top of the fourth, and Al Rosen got a hit right past the ear of the third baseman, the ball rolling into left field and allowing Banks to come around and tie the game 3-3! But Rogovin gave up a goddamned solo homer to start the bottom of the inning, got a strikeout, and then gave up ANOTHER F---ING SOLO HOMER to make it 5-3! What has happened to our control? We’re letting these road fans into our heads! And it’s not like he has no control. By the time he got us out of the fourth inning he had thrown five strikeouts, but he was also nearing 80 pitches. With the day of rest in between games, I decided to warm up Harry Dorish, while hoping that we could get a fifth inning out of Rogovin and maybe some run support.

Willie Mays got a flyball into right in the top of the fifth, driving home a run via Saul Rogovin, who scored from third having walked to start the inning, but Roger Maris hit to the second baseman and ended the inning before we could forment a true rally. Rogovin started the bottom of the sixth with a strikeout, then a runner reached first when the ball took a bad hop at short. Alvin Dark walked, but a flyout to center kept the runners in place, bringing up Randy Jackson at third with two outs and two on. Ernie Banks caught an infield flyball to end the inning, with Rogovin at 95 pitches through five and the lead still 5-4 for the Phillies.

Rogovin got a flyout to center to start the sixth but then surrendered a triple to pitcher Bob Lemon, and I brought in Bob Spicer to pitch with the out and a man in scoring position. He gave up a hit that scored Rogovin’s run, but then took part in a spectacular double play that got a runner out at home with the bases loaded and then the runner out at first to end the inning with the Phillies up 6-4. Spicer got two outs for us in the seventh as well, at which point I brought Harry Dorish in with a man on first, and he got a quick out to end the innning with us still down by two runs. Dorish got us through the eighth without much fuss, but we came up in the top of the ninth needing at least two runs to prolong the game and give us a chance.

Al Rosen took a walk to start things out, and Joe Collins came in to pinch hit for Elston Howard, and they walked him too! I brought Russ Snyder in to pinch hit for Gene Baker, and with the count 2-2 a passed ball allowed both runners to advance with us still playing with no outs! Snyder struck out, bringing up Harry Dorish. With Consuegra warming up in the bullpen, we brought in Bill Serena to hit, and he hit a sac fly to center .... or it would have been, if Rosen had taken the chance! I can’t believe he stayed put. That brought up Al Kaline, two runners in position, two outs. And he hit straight to the second baseman, who got the easy out to home. I still can’t believe that finish, we lose 6-4 in a game we had every chance to win.

Saul Rogovin’s perfect season came to an end with a loss, slipping to 9-1 with a 1.81 ERA thanks to six earned runs off eight hits. He struck out six and walked two, but giving up three homers will f--- you up every time. Spicer’s debut was solid, with 1.1 innings of work and two hits, with two walks and a strikeout over 25 pitches -- no runs of his own, so his ERA as a major leaguer is unblemished! And Harry Dorish threw 1.1 innings without a hit, striking out one and improving his ERA to 1.17. It just wasn’t in the cards. The Phillies outhit us 10-7 as they improved to 35-32 on the season. Kaline and Mays each had two hits, with Mays scoring once and driving in two more. Ernie Banks also had a hit and an RBI, and Cavarretta had a hit and a run scored. Rogovin scored a run off a walk as well.

We need to focus and fight back over the last two in the series, because right now we’ve lost our last three in a row, and the Redlegs, Dodgers and Phillies are all within a dozen games of us. Now’s not the time to start slumping, even if road wins ARE hard to find in the NL.

jksander · 09-02-2023, 10:34 AM

JUNE 23, 1954 . . . We’ve lost four of our last five games and four of our last ten, so it’s time to get back to some winning ways, Cub fans, even if we are in the middle of a long road trip. Tonight we have Warren Hacker (8-3, 2.13 ERA, 114.1 IP, 62 K’s, 0.94 WHIP) taking the mound, up against Philly’s Gordon Jones (6-8, 3.42 ERA, 126.1 IP, 68 K’s, 1.16 WHIP). We have our best players all rested and ready to play, which means our usual Murder’s Row of batters is ready to take the Phillies deep at every opportunity. Though in a game featuring two solid pitchers, those opportunities may be fewer and farther between.

Al Rosen put us on the board in the top of the second with a solo homer to the left field bleachers, giving us a 1-0 lead with his tenth homer of the season. But they answered in the bottom of the second with a solo blast by Willie Jones to almost the same spot in the stands, tying the score 1-1, and in the bottom of the third they took a 2-1 lead on us when a flyout led to the runner scoring from third while our fielder didn’t even attempt a throw. But a two-run homer by Elston Howard in the top of the fifth put us up 3-2 via only his fourth homer of the year! Unfortunately the Phillies tied it up in the bottom of the inning on a deep fly ball to right that got past our fielder, and this game seemed destined to be a battle of wills down to the end. We loaded the bases in the top of the sixth but couldn’t bring anyone home, and Hacker gave up a triple in the bottom of the sixth that scored two runs for the Phillies, giving them a 5-3 lead as we headed into the seventh. Russ Snyder pinch-hit for Hacker in the top of the seventh with no outs, safely reaching first with a grounder to right that advanced Gene Baker to third and brought up the top of the order with no outs and a real shot at creating a rally! Al Kaline got a great hit into right, just over the head of the reaching second baseman, scoring our fourth run. But Cavarretta hit into a double play, getting the runner out at first and then the quick throw to get Cavarretta out at first, leaving Kaline as our lone runner (but in scoring position at second) with a pair of outs. But Willie Mays flew out to left and ended the inning with us still trailing 5-4.

Vern Fear came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, and he pitched well enough to get us out of the inning with just a single hit, and though he got into some trouble in the eighth he got us out of it with a well-timed double play, sending us into the top of the ninth needing a run to keep this game going. But it wasn’t happening. The bottom of the order was up, and even Frank Baumholtz pinchi hitting for Fear couldn’t get a spark going. We lost this one 5-4, and we’re now officially on a skid.

Warren Hacker took the loss, falling to 8-4 with a 2.39 ERA thanks to seven hits and five earned runs in six innings of play. Vern Fear lasted two innings with just three hits, improving his ERA to 1.16, but he couldn’t make us hit. The Phillies had 10 hits to our seven, with the Elston Howard two-run homer and the Al Rosen solo blast being the highlights of the game for us. It was also nice to see Russ Snyder get a hit off the bench -- his batting average is .390 through 41 at-bats, and seems to have recovered well from his injury.

JUNE 24, 1954 . . . We’ve lost four games in a row now, five of our last six, but because the Redlegs keep losing as well, we still remain nine and a half games up in the NL race with our 48-21 record. But even with the series loss against Philly guaranteed, it would be nice to come out of this one with a win to snap the losing streak and get back our mojo. Robert Diehl (6-3, 2.84 ERA, 76.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) will be our starter today, going up against Bob Rush (3-3, 4.84 ERA, 22.1 IP, 10 K’s, 1.75 WHIP), who won 15 games for us last year as a starter before we traded him during the Winter Meetings. We’re giving Roger Maris a day off and starting Russ Snyder out in left, batting sixth behind Banks.

Diehl gave up a run in the bottom of the second inning but pitched his way out of a jam and avoided further damage, stranding two runners for the Phillies. But Rush was on fire and we couldn’t buy a hit, only placing one runner on base in the first three innings and that was via a walk. But Cavarretta got a hit in the top of the fourth, reaching second, and Rush walked Mays, bringing up Al Rosen with a chance to really get something going. He struck out, however, and Banks batted into a fielder’s choice, reaching first and driving Cavarretta to third. Russ Snyder then tied the game 1-1 on an infield single, the ball taking a double hop just past the shortstop, leaving just enough time for Cavarretta to score and for Snyder to reach base safely! Gene Baker then got a hit just barely out into center, allowing enough time for Banks to come around from third and score headfirst, giving us a 2-1 lead, and Elston Howard then cleared all the bases with a homer to left that barely stayed fair, giving us a 5-1 lead and some real momentum! But Diehl was playing poorly, with no command and rushing his throws, allowing two hits to start the bottom of the fourth, Philly scoring a run on a double to right and staying within three -- I had no choice but to start warming up pitchers in the bullpen. He got us out of the fourth but it was unlikely I would give him a fifth.

I brought Tom Ferrick out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth with our lead stil 5-2, and he pitched around a walk to get us out of the inning with our lead still safe. He got us through the sixth with a spectacular double play, and Harry Dorish came in after the stretch with a three-run lead to protect -- and though he gave up a two-out double, he was able to get a groundout to first to end the seventh with our 5-2 lead still safe. Cavarretta hit a solo homer to right to make it 6-2 in the top of the eighth, his sixth home run of the season, and Harry Dorish stayed in the rest of the game as we were able to hold tough to win this one 6-4 against the Phillies in the final game of the series.

Tom Ferrick got his second win of the season, improving to 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA thanks to two innings of one hit, one walk ball. Harry Dorish then lasted three innings with only two hits, a strikeout and two walks, throwing 58 pitches and improving his ERA to 1.14 through 31.2 innings of work. The two relievers combined to save Robert Diehl from the risk of collapse -- Diehl lasted four innings but gave up seven hits and two earned runs, improving his ERA just slightly to 2.92. Philadelphia outhit us 10-6 but we made good use of our eight total baserunners. Cavarretta had two hits, scoring twice and driving in a run with his homer, and Russ Snyder hit twice, scoring once and driving in another, giving him seven RBIs on the season and a .400 average.

We now head to New York for three games against the Giants (21-49, 28 GB) with a chance to hopefully further extend our lead in the NL race. At this point we’re still safely 9.5 games up on the Redlegs, but the race for second is tight -- Brooklyn (37-33) is three games behind Cincinnati, with Philly (36-33) just a half game behind them. And Milwaukee (34-33) and St. Louis (34-37) are at least within striking distance if they can find their way to some key wins before the All Star break. Over in the AL, Cleveland (44-22) continues to add distance between themselves and the rest of the league -- the White Sox (38-30) have also pulled a half game up on the now third-place Yankees, with the Guardians seven games up on the rest of the AL. The Washington Senators (37-32) and the Detroit Tigers (34-33) are all within ten games or so of first in that league, so there’s still a lot of room for mid-summer chaos!

jksander · 09-03-2023, 11:48 AM

JUNE 25, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen is ready to go against the Giants in game one, with his 6-2 record, 4.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 44 K’s through 73 innings. Batters have only been hitting .229 against him this year, a solid rookie season by any stretch. He’ll be up against Bill Connelly (2-2, 3.03 ERA, 35.2 IP, 18 Ks, 1.35 WHIP) for the Giants, who has started three games and played five out of the bullpen so far this year, as the Giants try and figure out anything they can to stop their freefall.

This game turned into a pitchers’ duel early on, with only three hits between the two teams through three innings. Roger Maris got a walk in the fourth, then stole second and an errant throw trying to pick him off allowed him to reach third! Al Rosen got a shot into left that drove Maris home, putting us up 1-0 in the top of the fourth with just one out, but a double play kept the Giants in this one. Connelly continued to pitch well enough -- we only had two hits in the first six innings -- and heading into the bottom of the sixth we still held the slim 1-0 lead. Hy Cohen continued to pitch fireballs, but our batters weren’t making any contact. Cohen got us through the eighth still leading by the one run, but we couldn’t add any insurance in the top of the ninth. Cohen came in to finish what he started, getting two quick outs and then surrendering a walk and a single to right, and after 138 pitches he was done. We brought Consuegra in to get the final out, and a quick groundout to first ended the game! We won this one 1-0 in spite of our inability to hit, stealing a game from the Giants who had outhit us and still floundered.

Cohen got the win, improving to 7-2 with a 4.08 ERA thanks to 8.2 innings of six-hit baseball -- his six strikeouts were top notch, but his five walks wore him down and kept us on a razor’s edge for most of the night. Consuegra earned his 12th save, throwing only three pitches, but with two runners on base we NEEDED that out badly. We only had two hits the entire game, but the five walks Connelly threw gave us extra baserunners, and Maris managed to score our only run without even making contact! Cavarretta was walked three times, and Kaline and Rosen each got one hit -- Rosen collecting the RBI from the Maris score.

With the win we improved to 50-21 and brought our lead in the NL back to double digits over the Redlegs, in the same game where the Giants notched their 50th LOSS of the year.

JUNE 26, 1954 . . . Joe Dobson is back on the mound tonight -- since becoming a Cub, in three appearances (two starts) he’s gone 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.50 WHIP through 10 innings, with five strikeouts. He’ll pitch against Dave Kolso (4-4, 4.10 ERA, 68.0 IP, 20 K’s, 1.46 WHIP) of the Giants, in a game that we were willing to treat as a bullpen game if necessary. But we took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to Cavarretta’s seventh homer of the year, which at least gave Dobson a little rope starting out. He gave up a run to the Giants in the bottom of the inning but got out of the frame with just two hits and the 2-1 lead still intact, and Al Kaline hit a three-run blast in the top of the second, his 11th this year, to make it a 5-1 lead. The Giants scored a single run in the bottom of the second, but Willie Mays hit a run-scoring double in the top of the fifth to extend our lead back to four runs, up 6-2, and with the bases loaded and only one out, Al Rosen hit a sac-fly to left, scoring another. Elston Howard then scored two more with a triple and we went into the bottom of the fifth leading 9-2. Vern Fear came in to pitch for Dobson, pitching two perfect innings in the fifth and sixth, and Al Rosen hit a solo homer in the top of the 7th to make it 10-2, his 11th homer of the season. Fear gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but then got three quick outs, two by strikeout, to end the inning with us still leading by seven runs. Ernie Banks added a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to give him a dozen four-baggers this year and giving us a 12-3 lead. Tom Ferrick came in for Fear with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and gave up a two-run homer on his third pitch of the night, but he got the final out we needed and then stayed in for the ninth, getting all the remaining outs without any mess as we stomped the Giants 12-5.

Vern Fear got the win, improving to 2-0 on the year with a 1.33 ERA thanks to 3.2 innings of one-hit, five strikeout ball. He wound up with two runs given up (only one earned) over 48 pitches. Dobson lasted four innings and gave up four hits with two strikeouts for two earned runs, improving his ERA to 5.79 on the year. And Ferrick, though he gave up the one hit (a home run) for an earned run of his own, he also struck out a batter and didn’t do any damage in the ninth, keeping his ERA at a respectable 3.65 for the season.

Not bad for a bullpen game -- we only gave up six hits all night, and we notched 15 of our own, led by Cavarretta with four hits for a run and two batted in, making up for his three walk no-fer yesterday evening. Kaline, Mays, Howard and Baker each had two hits as well, with Kaline turning his two in to three runs and three more batted in. Banks, Rosen and Howard each batted in a pair as well.

JUNE 27, 1954 . . . Tonight’s leader from the mound will be Saul Rogovin (9-1, 1.81 ERA, 94.1 IP, 60 K’s, 0.94 WHIP), fresh off his first loss of the year. He’ll be facing New York’s Jack Harshman (2-7, 3.88 ERA, 111.1 IP, 54 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) in the final game of this series.

Phil Cavarretta started the game out with a solo homer in the top of the first, keeping him red hot, with eight homers for the season and five hits in his last six at-bats! But New York got the run back in the bottom of the first, Dusty Rhodes scoring on an error, and we could tell they were really going to fight to avoid the sweep. Rogovin struggled in the second, giving up two hits -- one a run-scoring triple -- with just a single out. But he got a quick throw to home to keep the triple from becoming a run, and a third out got us out of the inning with just the one-run deficit. And things took a bad turn in the bottom of the third -- Saul Rogovin started to have pain in his shoulder, and he tried to pitch through it to at least get us through the inning -- with Harry Dorish warming up as quickly as we could. He got the final out, but was in fairly intense pain and we rushed him out of the stadium between innings to get his shoulder examined as quickly as possible. Not another major pitching injury ...

While we waited to hear back about Rogovin, Al Rosen hit a solo shot to left in the top of the fourth to tie the game 2-2, giving him a dozen homers for the season, and with the bases loaded McCullough hit a double to score two and give us a 4-2 lead. Peanuts Lowery, in his first game this season as a backup, walked the bases loaded again, and Joe Collins, batting for Rogovin, walked in a run to make it 5-2, still with no outs. Our team, fully united behind making sure Rogovin wouldn’t get tagged for a loss, gave us a three-run cushion heading into the botom of the fourth, with Harry Dorish coming in to protect it in an unexpected bullpen game.

Gene Baker added a solo blast in the top of the fifth, his fourth of the year, to make it 6-2. Dorish got us through the fifth inning without any damage, and Ernie Banks added a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth to expand the lead to five runs. Dorish got three quick outs in the sixth. Tom Ferrick came in to protect the 7-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and he set the batters down one, two, three in the inning, and Russ Snyder hit a towering blast to right, a 413-footer that made our lead 8-2 in the top of the eighth, his second homer of his rookie season! With a six-run cushion, Ferrick was able to stay out in the bottom of the eighth, and he pitched very efficiently, getting three more outs with just 13 total pitches thrown over two innings, so we kept him in to finish the game. And he did so with even more of a lead -- McCullough hit a spectacular inside-the-park homer, only his third home run of the year in any form, to give us a seven-run lead. Ferrick got three more outs to end the game as a 9-2 Cubs victory!

Harry Dorish improved to 3-1 with a 1.04 ERA, lasting three full innings on just two hits, with a strikeout and a walk through 48 pitches. Tom Ferrick then closed the game out, completing a three-inning save by giving up no hits, throwing 29 pitches to thoroughly dominate the opposition even without any K’s. His ERA is now 2.93 on the season through 15.1 innings, and he has two saves thus far. Rogovin, who lasted through the first three innings before injuring his shoulder, had given up only four hits and two runs (one earned) through 47 pitches. His ERA dipped slightly to 1.85.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that we don’t think Rogovin is going to need surgery on his shoulder. The bad news is that it is indeed a strained UCL, and he’ll be out the rest of the season. That’s going to leave us a huge hole to fill -- two potential Cy Young candidates now out for the season. Bob Spicer will stay up at the major league level in the bullpen but will now have to play more of a spot starter role as well, with Cohen, Hacker and Diehl as our main rotation -- Dobson and Spicer both have good endurance and should be able to back those three up, but it’s going to be a tough road to protect this division lead.

jksander · 09-03-2023, 12:28 PM

JUNE 29, 1954 . . . We just need to get through these two games at Milwaukee and then we can get home to Chicago for the four-game holiday series against St. Louis back at Wrigley. Over the next 13 days before the All Star break we’ve got 14 games against the Braves (35-36), Cardinals (34-40) and Redlegs (40-33). How we handle that run is going to say a lot for what the rest of our season could look like,

Tonight our pitchers are all well rested, thanks to the day off yesterday, and Warren Hacker (8-4, 2.39 ERA, 120.1 IP, 64 K’s, 0.96 WHIP) will be taking the mound against the Braves’ Art Fowler (3-2, 4.65 ERA, 71.2 IP, 34 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Cavarretta put us up 2-0 with another bomb to right field in the top of the first, giving him his ninth homer of the season, But Hacker started out with two walks and a hit into the outfield, loading the bases and putting us in a real jam with no outs. They got a hit into the right-field corner to tie the score in the bottom of the first, at which point Hacker seemed to completely melt down. Another hit and then a sac-fly to left each scored runs, and by the time he got the final out we were down 2-4 and he’d thrown 35 pitches. And it got no better in the bottom of the second, his stuff just wasn’t there. Two more walks and a hit knocked in another run and then with Bob Spicer warming up, he allowed a hit into deep center that blew the lead to 7-2, a two-run triple, all with two outs! He got the final out but the damage was done.

I sat Spicer down and brought Vern Fear in to pitch in the bottom of the third with us trailing 7-2 against the Braves. Bob Spicer then came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the fourth, and he ended the inning on a strikeout, the lead for Milwaukee still at five runs. Spicer pitched very efficiently and gave us real consistency through the middle of the game, though our bats were struggling to catch fire. The Braves added two runs in the bottom of the eighth, one on an error at home plate by Elston Howard, and then a three-run homer put it completely and irrevocably out of reach. This game was an epic humiliation, and it was Spicer who unfairly took the brunt of it in the eighth. They set us down one, two, three in the ninth to end this one as a 12-2 blowout.

Hacker (8-5, 2.87 ERA) took the loss, giving up six hits and seven earned runs in just two innings, with four walks and a strikeout. Vern Fear made it through 1.2 innings with two hits and three strikeouts, and Spicer had 3.1 innings of great pitching followed by the disaster that was the eighth. All totaled, through 4.1 innings, he gave up eight hits, five earned runs and got a strikeout with a single walk, ballooning his ERA to 7.94 as he took one for the team. They out-hit us 16-8, with Kaline (three hits, one run) and Rosen (two hits) trying and failing to get the team to rally.

I’m hoping this was just a bad effort for Hacker and not a sign of what we can expect the rest of the year.

jksander · 09-03-2023, 08:14 PM

JUNE 30, 1954 . . . It’s our final road game of this long stretch to end the month of June, and Hy Cohen (7-2, 4.08 ERA, 81.2 IP, 50 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) will be pitching for us, against Johnny Antonelli (8-6, 3.27 ERA, 126.2 IP, 73 K’s, 1.34 WHIP). Willie Mays hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth, his 17th of the season, to finally give us a 1-0 lead ... and it was only our second hit of the game! And though we had a handful of later hits, the game stayed tight and we were unable to buy an insurance run. Cavarretta reached second in the top of the seventh but was stranded on base and the score stayed 1-0. In the bottom of the inning the Braves tied it up 1-1 with a run scoring single by Del Crandall, and Joe Adcock hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead. Hank Aaron then hit a two-run blast to make it 4-1, and we had our work cut out for us heading into the top of the ninth. Bill Serena pinch-hit for Elston Howard to start the inning, but he struck out swinging. Russ Snyder came in to bat for Gene Baker, amd he popped up to the shortstop, but he caught it on a bounce and wasn’t able to get a throw, allowing Snyder to reach safely. Frank Baumholtz came in to hit for Hy Cohen, but Johnny Sain came in to sub in as their pitcher, and he pitched perfectly into a popup to right, giving us our second out. And Kaline came up to bat and hit a quiet grounder to first, ending the game as another loss, this time by a 4-1 margin.

Hy Cohen fell to 7-3 on the year with a 4.12 ERA, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts, but his four walks killed us and contributed to four earned runs. We outhit them 8-4, making the loss even more frustrating. Kaline and Banks each had two hits but made nothing of them. Willie Mays’ home run was our only real offense of the night.

We’ll end the month of June having gone 19-9, but we’re 4-6 over our last ten games and our pitching depth is now suspect being that two of our best starters are on injured reserve for the rest of the season. We’re 52-23, 9.5 games up on everyone in the NL, and yet it feels like we’re dancing on a razor’s edge. The All Star break can’t get here soon enough.

JULY 2, 1954 . . . Today we’re back at Wrigley, and Robert Diehl (6-3, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 39 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) is pitching against the Cardinals’ Tommy Byrne (3-5, 4.62 ERA, 85.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.65 WHIP). Diehl quickly got into trouble in the first inning, giving up a two-run double to spot the Cardinals a two run lead, but Willie Mays got us on the board in the bottom of the inning with his 18th homer, a solo blast over to right, to make it 2-1. And Diehl settled in well from there, as this one turned into a real duel, just four combined hits in the first four innings, Mays’ homer being our only one.

Phil Cavarretta got a great grounder into right in the bottom of the sixth, driving in the tying run as Diehl slid headfirst into home, capitalizing on a walk he took to start the inning. Willie Mays then hit into left, a single that drove in two more runs, giving Mays 67 RBIs so far in the season! Roger Maris kept it going with a great shot to right, and they missed a throw to third, allowing Mays to score and make it 5-2, still with no outs! Ernie Banks drove one up the middle but Maris was tagged out at home plate to prevent a run from scoring on the double, but Al Rosen doubled himself to drive Banks home from second and making it 6-2! They walked Gene Baker, bringing up Diehl for the second time in the inning, and he flew out to center to end things, but we’d done five runs worth of damage and batted around ... how’s that for a Wrigley return? Elston Howard drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-2, and Diehl stayed in to finish the game, having recovered nicely from his first-inning homer, the only runs scored on him in the game thus far. He held tough for three quick outs and we beat St. Louis 7-2 in the first of four here in Chicago!

Diehl improved to 7-3 on the season with a 2.83 ERA with just four hits in the game, three strikeouts, two walks and the two earned runs, throwing 110 pitches in the complete game. We outhit them 9-4, with Willie Mays hitting twice for two runs and three RBIs, while Banks and Rosen each added a pair of hits themselves.

JULY 3, 1954 . . . We have Warren Hacker (8-5, 2.87 ERA, 122.1 IP, 65 K’s, 1.03 WHIP) pitching tonight against St. Louis’ Vinegar Bend Mizell (11-5, 2.19 ERA, 148.0 IP, 113 K’s, 1.15 WHIP). Hacker struggled in his last outing, and I don’t want him getting in his own head -- it’s a matter of getting out there and pitching through it. We need his experience in this rotation.

Hacker got out to a great start, and then in the top of the second inning we committed back to back errors, via Cavarretta and Baker, to put two runners on base with no outs. Visibly frustrated, Hacker gave up a fastball hit to deep center and St. Louis got on the board. With an unearned run. The second unearned run scored on a line drive left of center, and then we finally got out of the inning with Hacker just fighting to keep his composure, knowing now we’d need our hitters to succeed against one of the best pitchers in the majors. Al Rosen opened the bottom of the second with a double, his 16th of the year, but we left him stranded, heading into the top of the third trailing 2-0. And in the top of the inning Hacker gave up a two-run homer to make it 4-0 St. Louis, and it was like watching him crack in slow motion. Just 40 pitches in, I couldn’t pull him out of the game ... he’d lose all confidence. But by the middle of the inning, with St. Louis ahead 5-0 and Hacker 62 pitches in, I had to start planning out the bullpen game.

Mizell came out and walked Kaline, and then beaned Cavarretta, giving us a sliver of light on the horizon! Mays quickly was walked to load the bases, and that brought up Roger Maris with a scent of blood. He struck out, but Banks hit a sac-fly to left field ... or it would have bene one IF ANYONE HAD F---ING RUN! Thank God Al Rosen had the presence of mind to slap one into right field and drive in two runs or I might have had my head explode here in the dugout. Elston Howard walked to again load the bases, and then Gene Baker walked in a run to make it 5-3 as the Cardinals rushed to have a meeting on the mound. Russ Snyder came in to pinch hit for Hacker, but he struck out to end the inning, bringing Harry Dorish in to see what he could do with this one heading into the top of the fourth.

Dorish came in fired up, striking out the first two batters he faced, getting the third out on a grounder to first. Kaline got to first on a bunt to start the bottom of the inning, and Cavarretta quickly walked, with Vinegar Bend Mizell having a meltdown of his own on the mound. Mays drove one hard into right, leading Kaline to score the fourth run for our Cubs, putting runners at second and third, no outs! Maris grounded out, and Banks hit one out to center, driving in the tying run with a sacrifice, and we went into the fifth knotted 5-5! Vern Fear came in to pitch with one out and a man on second in the top of the sixth, and he successfully stranded the runner by getting the two outs we needed to keep the score knotted. Fear loaded the bases in the seventh with one out, but an infield hit and an out at home kept us in it, and a grounder to third for a quick throw to first got us out of the inning still tied 5-5!

Tom Ferrick came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, but he only got one out while giving up two doubles which led to the go ahead run scoring and putting us down 6-5. A subsequent two-run homer doomed him as I had to bring in Consuegra with the score 8-5. Consuegra got us out of the inning but we had played all afternoon like the game was an afterthought, and our four errors through the middle of the eighth suggested we lacked serious focus. Willie Mays hit a run-scoring double to pull us within two, and Roger Maris hit a two-run blast to right to tie it up 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth, giving us a breath of life once again, but could we capitalize on it? We went into the top of the ninth desperately needing the Cardinals to NOT score. Consuegra looked flustered at first, allowing a batter to reach first on a bloop infield single, but we had a brilliant double play with a catch by Howard and a quick throw to first clearing the bases, and a grounder to Rosen at third made for a quick out at first to get us into the bottom of the inning with a chance to walk this off.

Bill Serena pinch hit for Howard to start the inning, striking out swinging. Gene Baker grounded out to first. And Consuegra grounded out to first, forcing us into extras and setting us up for a potential disaster. Consuegra came out to pitch in the top of the 10th, having thrown 29 pitches, and with Joe Dobson warming up in the bullpen we were hoping Sandy had a few more outs left in him. Maris caught a blistering fly to left for out numnber one, and Consuegra got a strikeout from Ray Jablonski, and a quick throw from short to first got us out number three and kept our hopes alive -- with Dobson ready to come in for the 11th if necessary. But Al Kaline came out and got a single up the middle, hoping to spark the rally that could win this one outright. But Joe Collins struck out, Willie Mays flew out to right, and Roger Maris struck out. This game is destined to never end -- we went into the 11th inning still knotted 8-8. Ernie Banks walked to start the bottom of the 11th, but Bill Serena was the hero of the game. He hit a one-out double into the left field corner that drove Banks all the way around from first to score the walk-off run, giving us the 9-8 win seemingly out of nowhere!

Dobson took the win, improving to 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA with two strikeouts. Consuegra stood out with two strikeouts and only three hits over 2.2 innings of relief, while Hacker struggled yet again in his second start not to last more than three innings -- giving up seven hits and five runs (three earned) in three innings, bringing his ERA down to 3.02. Is there a sports shrink out there? I think we may need one to bust him out of this slump. St. Louis outhit us 14-9 but we stole the 9-8 win out from under them, with Al Rosen leading the way with three hits and two RBIs. Willie Mays added a pair of hits for two runs and two RBIs, and Phil Cavarretta walked twice and managed to score three runs this afternoon, making really good use of his opportunities.

We survive to fight another day, but the bullpen is completely shot heading into tomorrow’s double-header. This win may cost us in the end, as we’ve got Hy Cohen rested for game one, but game two is going to be tough ... Dobson had to pitch to end the game, and though he says he’s fully rested, I don’t know that I can safely use him to start the second game. I called Bob Spicer back up from AAA as a backup option, and we may have to start him in the second game, with Dobson as a potential relief option. Whatever happens, right now we’ve gone from having an incredibly deep pod of pitchers to feeling like we’re running on fumes. God help me if Cohen can’t go the distance in game one. Then we have a second double-header on the fifth on the road in Cincy, giving us four games in two days, meaning no matter what I do we’re going to be risking playing guys on extremely short rest with no days off until the All Star Break.

This could be a very long week for Cubs fans ... here’s hoping I can pull a few miracles out of my ass.

jksander · 09-05-2023, 07:41 PM

JULY 4, 1954 . . . We may have to make some roster moves over the coming days, with four games in two days followed by a stretch of six more days in a row with games before we finally get an All Star weekend reset and an extended stretch of 13 Wrigley games in 11 days to put us into late July. I’ve had some trade interest for Klippstein, despite his injury, but I’m not sure we want to jump the gun on that. If it comes to it as we head toward the trade deadline, however, everything is on the table.

Hy Cohen (7-3, 4.12 ERA, 89.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) started game one this afternoon, up against St. Louis starter Bob Grim (5-7, 2.96 ERA, 140.0 IP, 77 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). In the top of the fourth the Cardinals thought they were going to break a 0-0 stalemate, but with one out and a man on third Al Kaline caught a blistering line drive to right and made a brilliant throw to home, just in time to get the out and the double play. So we were the ones to finally get on the board, when Al Rosen belted one to deep right, a solo blast that put us ahead 1-0 and gave him his 13th homer of the year. A few minutes later Al Kaline walked the bases loaded, but Mays couldn’t get a hit and we went into the top of the sixth with the one run lead. Cavarretta committed an error on a catch at first to allow a runner to advance safely into scoring position, however, and a run-scoring double by Red Schoendienst tied the game. Cohen gave up another double with two outs, putting two men in scoring position, but he threw a strikeout to safely get us out of the inning tied. In the top of the eighth Cohen gave up a solo homer to pitcher Bob Grim to give St. Louis the 2-1 lead, and in the top of the ninth Frank Bolling hit one off him to left, making it 3-1. Howard and Baker singled to give us two baserunners and no outs, bottom of the ninth, and Bill Serena cmae in to pinch hit for Hy Cohen blasting one on the ground into right field, loading the bases! Al Kaline flew out to center and the runners all held ... one out. Cavarretta flew out to center and the runners held ... two outs. RUN YOU CLODS! And Willie Mays flew out to center -- we left three runners on and absolutely blew it in a 3-1 loss.

Hy Cohen fell to 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA, giving up eight hits in the complete game for three runs (two earned) with four strikeouts and two walks. Each team finished with eight hits, but St. Louis did more with the runners they got on. Al Rosen was our only player to score, thanks to his homer in the fifth -- those loaded bases in the bottom of the ninth are going to eat at me, but on to the second game.

Joe Dobson (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) will be starting our second game of the day out of pure necessity, but I don’t plan to use him too deep into the game if we can get ourselves a lead. Dorish, Ferrick and Spicer are available in the bullpen, and we will use them however much is necessary to prevent injury. St. Louis is starting Ron Kline (2-6, 4.29 ERA, 65.0 IP, 22 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). Willie Mays opened the game with a solo blast to left, giving him his 19th homer of the year and us a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Harry Dorish came in with two outs and a man on first in the top of the fifth, and he would have had the out but Cavarretta proved to be a liability at first yet again, bobbling the catch and allowing the runners to both be safe at first and second. But Jablonski hit into an easy throw from short to second, ending the inning with our lead intact. And in the bottom of the fifth Willie Mays drove in two runs with a double, expanding our lead to 3-0 and providing some insurance. Dorish gave up a solo blast on two outs in the top of the seventh to put St. Louis on the board, but he got out of the inning with a strikeout. Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth to relieve Dorish, who had pitched very well all night, as we hoped to close out the win. A runner reached base on a slow infield throw, then Consuegra got a strikeout. But a double to deep center advanced two runners into scoring position with just the one out, but a flyout to right held both runners in place, giving “Steady Sandy” a good shot to secure things. A hit to Rosen and a quick throw to first ended the game as a 3-1 victory. Two games, exact opposite finishes, but we send St. Louis home with another series loss as we took three out of four.

Harry Dorish piched 3.1 innings of one-hit relief, earning the win to improve to 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA! He gave up one run with a strikeout through 34 pitches. Joe Dobson was solid in 4.2 innings of two-hit ball, striking out three and walking two through 64 pitches, and improving his ERA to 4.12 overall. And Sandy Consuegra earned his 13th save of the year, striking out one and giving up two hits, his 1.70 ERA remaining quite impressive. We outhit St. Louis 6-5 in a tightly fought pitchers’ battle, with Willie Mays leading the way with two hits, a run and two RBIs. Cavarretta and McCullough each scored runs as well, and Al Rosen got two hits but was twice left stranded.

JULY 5, 1954 . . . In trade news, we’ve stunned fans in both markets by making a rookie trade between our club and the Detroit Tigers, sending Russ Snyder, our first rounder from this year’s draft, to the Tigers for 21-year-old Bob Shaw, who is rated as the 7th best prospect in the majors! Shaw has spent the last two seasons in the minors, and this year for AA Little Rock he’s put up a 2-0 record with a 2.51 ERA, nine strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP. The deal went through late yesterday afternoon, and we had time to get Shaw down to Cincinnati to meet us in time for today’s doubleheader. The plan is to start Warren Hacker and Robert Diehl today, potentially debuting Shaw as a bullpen option, and keep him available until at least the All Star break, at which point we can move him down to AAA for further development time.

First up, Warren Hacker (8-5, 3.02 ERA, 125.1 IP, 67 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) gets the start after aborted starts two days ago and back on June 29th, during which he failed to get past the third inning. He had three quality starts back in early-to-mid June, and I am confident he can get back into his groove. He’ll be pitching against Redlegs starter Tom Poholsky (7-9, 3.57 ERA, 143.2 IP, 46 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) in the opening game.

Willie Mays hit into a fielder’s choice in the top of the first, safely reaching first and scoring a run as Kaline made it home from third to put us ahead 1-0 heading into the bottom of the inning. But the Redlegs scored two in the bottom of the third off a double by Gus Bell. Heading into the top of the sixth still trailing 1-2, our bats had been mostly quiet all night, and they stayed that way -- we’d get a solid hit and then no one could find ways to advance any runners. But Elston Howard got us going with a triple to start the seventh, and Bill Serena pinch hit for Gene Baker, getting a blast into left to score the tying run as he reached base safely! Clyde McCullough came in to pinch hit for Hacker -- Serena took second off a passed ball, advancing to third as McCullough successfully sac-bunted into our first out of the inning to bring up the top of the order. Kaline hit one out to deep center and Serena used his superior speed to slide into home, giving us the 3-2 lead! We brought Kenneth Chapman in to play second and 24-year-old righty Jim Brosnan, one of our top relief prospects, came up for his major league debut out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh!

Brosnan was a bit tight early on, but despite a double and a walk to start the inning he got out of the seventh with no damage. He got us three quick outs to get out of the eighth as well, and we brought Consuegra in for the ninth for the save opportunity. But he gave up a solo homer on his sixth pitch of the night to tie the game, got a strikeout, and then allowed runners to reach base on consecutive hits. Their leadoff man hit into a fielder’s choice, advancing to first while the runner on second moved to third, and it came down to one out to get us into extras. A flyout to right and we’d escaped the walkoff loss, but we’re now heading into extras on a doubleheader day.

Their pitcher, Bud Podbielan, walked Cavarretta, Maris and Banks with a flyout by Willie Mays in between, sending Al Rosen up to the plate with just one out and loaded bases just calling for him to make something happen in the top of the 10th. A wild pitch by Podbielan led a run to score, and he walked Rosen to again load the bases. Elston Howard then blasted a bouncing grounder into deep center, allowing him to reach with a double that scored three runs, giving us a very comfortable 7-3 lead! Chapman got one into right, and another run scored on a passed ball, and we went into the bottom of the inning suddenly ahead by five runs. Tom Ferrick came in to close things out, and he got us out of game one with an unexpected 8-3 victory!

Hacker would have had the win, were it not for Consuegra’s blown save, his third of the year. So Sandy took the win, improving to 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA, having given up three hits with a run and a strikeout in his one inning of work. Hacker lasted six innings with four hits and two earned runs, striking out five batters and walking another to bring his ERA back down to 3.02. Brosnan debuted with a two-inning hold, giving up one hit with a strikeout and two walks, while Ferrick closed it out with a tenth inning, one hit one strikeout effort. We outhit the Redlegs 13-9, with Cavarretta, Mays, Banks and Howard each notching two hits. Elston Howard’s two hit, two run, three RBI night was the best of all our offensive performances, while Kaline, Mays and Serena each batted in runs of their own.

Robert Diehl (7-3, 2.83 ERA, 89.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) came out and started the second game of the day on three days’ rest, up against Cincinnati’s Vern Law (2-1, 4.28 ERA, 33.2 IP, 13 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Diehl gave up a run to the Redlegs on two outs in the bottom of the second, but we got the run back in the top of the third as Willie Mays took home on a wild pitch to make it 1-1. But the Redlegs hit a run-scoring triple in the bottom of the third as Diehl fought to control his pitches. Another run-scoring triple in the bottom of the fifth extended Cincy’s lead to 3-1, but Gene Baker hit a two-run blast to right, tying the game 3-3 in the top of the sixth, his fifth four-bagger of the season! We brought Bob Shaw in for his major league debut in the bottom of the sixth, and he notched his first major league strikeout while getting us quickly out of the inning. And in the top of the seventh Roger Maris drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single that scored Al Kaline to make it a 4-3 lead! Vern Fear came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth, quickly getting the runner out at second and protecting our 4-3 lead, and he stayed in for the ninth to attempt the same. He set down three out of four batters, giving up just a single hit, as we closed out the one-run victory to sweep the Redlegs in this doubleheader, winning 4-3!

Rookie Bob Shaw won his major league debut in 2.2 innings of three-hit relief, starting out 1-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA, striking out two! Vern Fear got his first save of the year via 1.1 innings of one hit, one strikeout work, improving his ERA to 1.14 through 31.2 innings. And Robert Diehl set everyone up moderately well, getting five full innings in despite nine hits leading to three earned runs. He struck out two batters but threw 85 pitches and therefore had to be relieved to get out of the game without doing further damage. Cincy outhit us 13-12, but Gene Baker had three hits for a run and two batted in, and Mays, Maris, Banks and McCullough each got two hits, keeping the train rolling all the way through the order.

We have six games remaining before the All Star break, having started out the month of July with a 5-1 record. We return to Wrigley for three games against Milwaukee, followed by three on the road against St. Louis. Our record stands at 57-24, eleven games up on our nearest competition in the NL (Brooklyn, who have gone on a tear of late, winning eight of their last ten). Over in the AL, the Yankees (44-38) have slid into third, with Cleveland now holding a stunning 9.5 game lead on the White Sox. I think it’s time for people to start taking those Guardians seriously! We, meanwhile, survived the double double-header minefield, and I am hopeful that we have the depth to redouble our efforts to dominate the post-All Star months.

jksander · 09-09-2023, 11:38 AM

JULY 6, 1954 . . . Time to face Milwaukee back at Wrigley! We’ve got Joe Dobson on the mound, with his 1-1 record and 4.12 ERA through 19.2 innings as a Cub (and a rapidly improving 1.17 WHIP) taking on Milwaukee’s Bob Buhl (6-7, 3.63 ERA, 114.0 IP, 69 K’s, 1.48 WHIP). In the top of the second inning Joe Dobson gave up a triple but then got two quick outs, a walk and then a strikeout to escape without a run scored. Baker doubled in the bottom of the third and a sac-bunt moved him safely to third, but a flyout and a grounder to first ended that inning without a score as well. And Dobson gave up a solo homer that stayed barely fair in the top of the fourth, Hank Aaron getting his ninth of the season as the Braves went up 1-0. Mays and Maris got hits to start the bottom of the fourth, and Ernie Banks walked to load the bases with no outs, with Elston Howard finally getting a shot through into the outfield to score the tying run. Gene Baker drove one out there as well to score another and keep the bases loaded with just one out, but that was all we were able to get, though at least we were back in the lead! Dobson got us through the sixth, and Al Rosen hit a towering homer almost out to Waveland in the bottom of the sixth to score two more runs, making it 4-1 -- that was Rosen’s 14th homer of the year, second only to Mays on the team!

Tom Ferrick came in for the top of the seventh to protect the three run lead, and in the top of the eighth Harry Dorish came in with two outs and a man on first, still up three, hoping to keep it that way. Unfortunately he walked two batters, loading the bases, and then gave up a hit into center, allowing two runs to score, before finally getting the out and surviving with at least a semblance of the lead intact. Sandy Consuegra came in for the ninth, with a 4-3 lead, and though he struggled a bit after getting the first two outs, giving up a hit due to a slow throw to first and giving up a walk, he got the final out via strikeout and we held tough to win the game.

Joe Dobson improved to 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA with four hits two strikeouts and three walks along with the one earned run. Ferrick had a 1.2 inning hold, giving up just one hit and one run with a walk thanks to Dorish letting the man on base score. Dorish wound up getting his fourth hold as well, though he only got one out, walked two and gave up a run. Consuegra saved his 14th game of the season with a hit, a strikeout and a walk, improving his ERA to 1.85 on the year. Each team had seven hits, with Gene Baker being our only player to notch two in the game (to go with a run batted in). Al Rosen’s homer gave him a hit with a run scored and two batted in, while Mays and Maris scored runs and Howard batted one in. It was a team effort and a good win -- our bullpen’s going to have bad nights on occasion, and it’s good to see our guys getting the hits when we need them.

JULY 7, 1954 . . . For game two against Milwaukee here at Wrigley we have Hy Cohen (7-4, 3.92 ERA, 98.2 IP, 58 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) taking the mound against the Braves’ Don Liddle (7-7, 4.01 ERA, 101.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Joe Adcock hit a solo homer off Cohen in the top of the third to put Milwaukee on the board 1-0, and in the top of the fifth Hank Aaron hit his 10th homer of the year, driving in two more runs to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. Ernie Banks walked the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the sixth, giving us our first real shot at doing some damage, but Al Rosen hit into a double play, the out at home and the out at first, ending the inning with nothing going for us. Hy Cohen made it to second in the bottom of the seventh on two outs, but we left him stranded, still trailing 3-0 heading into the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth Willie Mays hit his 20th homer of the season to make it 3-1, but it didn’t spark a rally. Cohen got the outs we needed in the top of the ninth, but Johnny Sain shut us down in the bottom of the inning and we lost this one 3-1 in a game where we simply could not do anything with guys we got on base.

Cohen fell to 7-5 with this loss, giving up just six hits in a complete game with six strikeouts and a walk, the three earned runs still improving his ERA slightly to 3.85. We outhit the Braves 7-6, but Mays’ homer was our only offense. He led the team with two hits and brought his average up to .355 for the season.

JULY 8, 1954 . . . Final game of the series, with the wins split thus far, before we head to St. Louis for the last three games before the All Star break. Warren Hacker (8-5, 3.02 ERA, 131.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) is up in the rotation, facing Milwaukee’s legendary Warren Spahn, who has been struggling this year with a 5-10 record, a 3.94 ERA, 68 K’s and a 1.42 WHIP through 144 innings. But it’s always a good pitching battle when the Warrin’ Warrens take the field in the same game.

We loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, and Hacker drove in the two runs that put us on the board! Al Kaline batted into the final out, but we led 2-0 at the end of two in a game where scoring looked to be at a premium. Hacker didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning, at which point he got into a one-out bases loaded jam. A fly ball hit into center allowed two runs to score, knotting the game up and a third run scored on a groundout to first. Hacker finally got the final strikeout, but the damage was done and he looked like a mess coming into the dugout after throwing more than thirty pitches in the inning. He got through the fifth inning with minimal effort, but he gave up a solo homer to Sid Gordon in the top of the sixth that made it 4-2 Braves. But he was throwing strikes, and he looked confident, we just needed to score some damned runs. Willie Mays got things started with a shot into the deep left corner in the bottom of the sixth, reaching third, but we couldn’t capitalize on it, three outs in a row to ruin the inning. Hacker made it through seven with eight strikeouts, but it was looking unlikely he would be able to go much longer so we started warming up Harry Dorish. He stayed in to start the eighth and got an out, but then gave up a two run blast to Sid Gordon, the second of the game for the right fielder, and I had to bring Harry Dorish in to get the final two outs. Our offense remained anemic, and they loaded the bases against Dorish in the top of the ninth, scoring on a passed ball with two outs to make it 7-2 Braves. Spahn stayed in to close out his excellent game, and the Braves won this one by five runs, completely dominating and winning the series two to one.

Hacker pitched 7.1 innings and gave up seven hits, but two homers contributed to six earned runs scoring, neutralizing his eight strikeouts, and he walked three batters which kept him from lasting longer in the game. He threw 121 pitches and fell to 8-6 on the year with a 3.25 ERA. They outhit us 10-8, with Maris being our only player with two hits, scoring a run. Baker scored our other run, with Warren Hacker driving in both in the bottom of the second. The Braves may be 15 games back in the NL race, but they’re a dangerous team if they can put things together.

Now we head to St. Louis for three games against the 39-47 Cardinals. They are 20 games back, but our lead in the NL has been cut to nine games ahead of the Dodgers (49-35) and we cannot afford to go into the All Star break on a skid.

jksander · 09-10-2023, 11:11 AM

JULY 9, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl (7-3, 2.97 ERA, 94.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) will pitch today against St. Louis’ Vinegar Bend Mizell (12-5, 2.20 ERA, 163.1 IP, 120 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) who is having himself a Cy Young caliber year, having won nearly a third of his team’s games this year. I feared for our bats coming into this one, and for Diehl if we couldn’t give him any support. Sure enough, St. Louis found their way to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second off a two-run single by Mizell himself, and this looked to be a long game from there. Ernie Banks got a single into right that drove Al Rosen in to score a run with two outs in the top of the fourth, and Carmen Mauro got one into left on an error by the Cardinals at shortstop that loaded the bases! Diehl made solid contact but was easily out at right to end the inning, but we at least got ourselves within a run heading into the bottom of the inning. Bill Serena pinch hit for Carmen Mauro in the top of the sixth, driving in two runs to give us a 3-2 lead, and suddenly this game was a battle. A flyout to center scored a run from third to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the inning, but Frank Baumholtz got us the lead back in the top of the eighth, driving a hit deep into the left corner to drive in two runs via a triple! Vern Fear came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but he was injured getting his first out, and we had to bring in Tom Ferrick to pitch immediately with Consuegra warming up. Ferrick got the two outs he needed under intense pressure, and with the lead still at two runs, Consuegra came in to close in the bottom of the ninth. It only took him nine pitches to get the three batters out via contact and we held tough to upend the Cardinals 5-3!

Vern Fear looks to be day to day, with what he is describing as back pain. He got an out on one pitch and got a hold, but I’m concerned about his fragility. Hopefully he’s back and ready to play when we need him. Diehl improved to 8-3 with the huge win, giving up seven hits and three earned runs while striking out three and walking one through seven innings, his ERA slipping slightly to 3.02. Tom Ferrick earned his second hold this year, getting two outs with no hits, improving his ERA to 4.26. And Consuegra saved his 15th game of the year with three quick flyouts, improving his ERA to 1.80 on the year. We outhit St. Louis 9-7, led by Cavarretta who had two hits. Ernie Banks came in for Chapman in the fourth and wound up with a hit, two runs scored and a run batted in that helped get us back in this one. Rosen, Howard and Mays each scored runs as well.

JULY 10, 1954 . . . We’ve sent Bob Shaw down to AAA so he can get more development time, as we have also signed free agent reliever Jim Konstanty, formerly of the Chicago White Sox, who will be stepping into our bullpen having signed a $57,000 contract for the current season. The 37-year-old isn’t expected to be a long-term addition to the team, but should give us a touch more depth out of the bullpen so we don’t rush Shaw’s development too much right out of the gate. Tonight we’ve got Hy Cohen (7-5, 3.85 ERA, 107.2 IP, 64 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) going up against the Cardinals’ Tommy Byrne (3-6, 4.87 ERA, 98.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) in game two of our three-game set.

Hy Cohen gave up a homer to Ray Jablonski on just his second pitch of the evening, but the game was a scorcher from a pitching perspective from there. By the time Frank Baumholtz got our first hit in the top of the fifth it was only the third hit of the game for either team. And a Clyde McCullough two-run homer later in the same inning gave us a 2-1 lead on the Cardinals and totally silenced the crowd via his fourth homer of the season. Kaline legged out a triple with one out in the top of the sixth, and Gene Baker followed it with a two-run blast over the wall at left to make it 4-1 Cubs, his sixth homer this year! Baumholtz took a walk to load the bases, still with just one out, and Kenneth Chapman hit one into left to score another. Carmen Mauro walked to drive in our fourth run of the inning, and by the time Hy Cohen batted out to center we had built a 6-1 lead on the Cards. St. Louis got a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Andy Carey to pull within four, but Cohen had been sharp all night -- that was only his third hit given up all game through six, and it didn’t matter anyway since we got the run back in the top of the seventh off a solo blast by Al Rosen, his 15th of the year. The Cardinals scored a run again in the bottom of the seventh to pull within four yet again, but Cohen kept them from doing any damage in the eighth, coming in to finish the game off in the bottom of the ninth with the four run lead still intact. He gave up a triple and a run scored on a sac-fly to left, but a fly-out at center ended the game and we’d held tough to preserve the 7-4 victory!

Cohen improved to 8-5 with the complete game win, giving up four earned runs off just five hits, with four strikeouts and four walks, keeping his ERA at 3.86. We had nine hits to their five, with Kaline and Rosen each getting a pair of hits, and Baker and McCullough each notching homers and two RBIs. Rosen and Baumholtz each scored two runs as well.

The win improves our record to 60-26 with one game left before the All Star break as we continue to outright dominate the NL. All-Star rosters bear out how thoroughly we have dominated -- the following Cubs made the list:

SP Warren Hacker
SP Johnny Klippstein (INJURED)
RP Harry Dorish
CL Sandy Consuegra
1B Phil Cavarretta
SS Ernie Banks
CF Willie Mays
RF Al Kaline

I was surprised Al Rosen didn’t make the cut, but we’re definitely well represented!

JULY 11, 1954 . . . Everyone’s happy about a chance to relax a bit after today, take a couple days off, except all our All Stars who will be putting in more work to pay the fans back for all their support. This afternoon in St. Louis, Joe Dobson (2-1, 3.51 ERA, 25.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) took the mound against Dick Tomanek (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 4 K’s, 1.14 WHIP), the 23-year-old prospect St. Louis just acquired from Cleveland in a recent trade. Elston Howard got a hit in the top of the second that went deep into center, batting in Rosen and Banks to give us a nice 2-0 advantage early. But St. Louis struck back, getting a run back with no outs off a pair of doubles, though Dobson was alert and was able to get us out of the inning via a groundout and a double play, maintaining a one run lead heading into the third inning. Wally Moon got an RBI double to tie the game in the bottom of the third, but Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth, his 13th of the year, to put us back up 3-2. We loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with just one out, and Bill Serena came in to pinch hit for Dobson, keeping the bases loaded though they made the throw successfully to home, preventing a score. And Kaline batted out to center, ending the inning with all runners stranded and the lead still 3-2 as Dorish came in to keep the lead safe. And Roger Maris bought us a bunch of insurance, hitting a three-run blast to right, his sixth of the year, to push the lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh! Tom Ferrick came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth, successfully getting the final out to send us into the ninth up four runs. Ferrick stayed in for the bottom of the ninth and closed things out perfectly as we swept the Cardinals with a 6-2 victory.

Dobson has been solid since the trade from Boston, improving to 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA thanks to five innings of six hit ball, walking three batters and giving up two runs. Harry Dorish earned his fifth hold, a 2.2 inning one hit two strikeout two walk effort, as his ERA continues to shrink to 1.40! And Ferrick finished things out perfectly, pitching 1.1 innings with no hits and a walk, improving his ERA to 3.98 on the season through 20.1 innings. We outhit them 11-7 tonight, with Elston Howard hitting three times and batting in two runs, while Mays, Banks and Rosen each had a pair of knocks. Roger Maris hit only once, the homer, but it batted in three, giving him 26 RBIs this year -- he slugs well, but has struggled to keep his average above .200, but I think he’s proven himself worthy of the opportunities. He has the skills to be an All Star, and his speed on the basepaths coupled with his rapidly improving fielding ability out in left make him a valuable piece of our future.

jksander · 09-10-2023, 06:44 PM

JULY 13, 1954 . . . All Star Game time! The NL dominated last year, and we’re hoping to do the same in 1954. Warren Hacker got the start for the NL, while Herb Score pitched the first inning for the AL. And both guys got things going nicely from a pitching perspective, and the game stayed hitless through the first two innings, though at least the NL batters drew a couple walks. Vinegar Bend Mizell got an out and then walked Jim Delsing in the top of the third, but he handled a double play to get out of the inning still hitless. Jackie Robinson, in the bottom of the third, got the first hit of the game for either team, but he never got past first. Bobby Shantz became the fourth NL pitcher to get through a hitless inning, and Hank Aaron came up with one out in the bottom of the fourth and hit one 420 feet into the center field bleachers, putting us up 1-0 in a game where it seemed that might be enough! Alas, Lou Burdette gave up the NL’s first hit in the top of the fifth and it was a doozy, a 404-foot shot to left by Ray Boone that tied us up at 1-1, and his next pitches led to a solo blast by Yogi Berra that put the AL ahead 2-1. Burdette had a terrible appearance, and by the time he got his third out we trailed 4-1. But Willie Mays came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth and hit a three-run blast to right field, tying it up again! Way to go, Mays! Johnny Podres pitched a perfect sixth inning for us, but Sandy Consuegra gave up a walk and a hit in the seventh and a second hit allowed the go-ahead to score for the AL, a Jim Delsing single that drove in Eddie Yost. Ernie Banks got a hit for us in the bottom of the eighth but was left stranded. Warren Spahn got us through the ninth safely, allowing us to head into the bottom of the final inning trailing the AL All Stars by the same one-run margin. But we couldn’t buy a hit, and the AL All Stars beat us 5-4 in the end.

They outhit us 6-5, a game with few hits but plenty of homeruns. Jim Delsing of the AL was named the game MVP. Willie Mays came out of it with three RBIs and the homer that kept us in the game in the first place, so I’m pretty happy with that.

JULY 14, 1954 . . . Welcome back to baseball games that count in the standings! We’re back at Wrigley for the next week and a half -- tomorrow we have a doubleheader against Pittsburgh, followed by two more game against them before series next week against Brooklyn (three games), the Giants (two games) and Philadelphia (four games, including a Sunday doubleheader on the 25th). And we better make the games count, because we then hit the road on the 27th for 20 games before finally returning to Wrigley on August 17th. We currently lead the Dodgers by 10.5 games, while Cincinnati, Philly and Milwaukee are all within 18.5 games and still at least marginally in the race. In the AL, Cleveland (56-27) has a ten game lead on the Yankees, something I suspect is going to lead to heads rolling if the Yanks can’t find their way back in. The Chicago White Sox are in third, half a game behind the Yankees, and everyone but the Orioles (30 games back) stands at least a chance of fighting their way back to at least .500 baseball in that league.

I’ve decided that Hy Cohen has earned his spot as our ace at the moment, with Robert Diehl moving up to the second spot and Warren Hacker moving to third in the rotation. Joe Dobson will remain our fourth man, and we’re currently running a six man bullpen, led by Consuegra, Dorish, Ferrick and Fear, with Jim Konstanty awaiting his first appearance. We also recently acquired Bob Porterfield, age 30, from Boston via waivers. He’s got great movement and control and a load of stamina -- he’ll make a great spot starter as well as a long relief man if a starter tires early. Right now our team chemistry is through the roof, and I am confident we can build on one of the best starts in franchise history and get our way back into the World Series this fall.

jksander · 09-16-2023, 08:06 AM

Some stats screenshots for you guys post-All Star Weekend ... let me know if there's anything else you would want a screengrab of

jksander · 09-16-2023, 02:56 PM

JULY 15, 1954 . . . Time to head into the dog days of summer and see if these Cubs are made of what I think they are. Can we protect a 10.5 game lead in the NL and make it to our first World Series since 1945 and even win it for the first time since 1908? How we handle the next ten weeks will decide our fate. We’re at home for the next two weeks, with series against Pittsburgh (40-50), Brooklyn (51-37), the Giants (24-65) and the Phillies (46-40) before we hit the road again, so we’ll have chances to put some additional distance between us and our rivals.

Today’s a double-header day against Pittsburgh. Hy Cohen (8-5, 3.86 ERA, 116.2 IP, 68 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) is up in the rotation for game one, facing off against Dick Hall (6-8, 2.86 ERA, 155.0 IP, 72 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). For the first time in weeks, everyone is rested and ready to go! Ernie Banks got robbed of a homer by wind blowing in from the left field side in the bottom of the fourth, becoming an easy out for the visiting fielder and keeping this game scoreless through four. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth and again came up scoreless. Heading into the top of the seventh we were still knotted 0-0, despite our having seven hits to their two. And it stayed that way into the ninth inning, Hy Cohen coming out to pitch with the score 0-0 and him controlling a two-hitter. He successfully got the three quick outs, giving him nine full innings seemingly with energy to spare, but with the bottom of our order coming up. Cohen took a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, and Kaline sac-bunted to move him to second, bringing up Cavarretta with two outs and the runner in scoring position -- AND HE HIT A WALK-OFF, TWO-RUN HOMER TO WIN THE GAME! ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! Chicago 2, Pittsburgh 0, and there’s still another game left for you baseball fans out there in Wrigleyville!

Cohen improved to 9-5 with the two-hitter, striking out four batters on 75 pitches, a remarkably efficient effort! His ERA improved to 3.58 overall with the victory, his first as our official staff ace. We outhit them 10-2 in the game, and though we struggled until the end when it came to actually SCORING, we showed no quit. Kaline, Cavarretta, Banks and Baker each had a pair of hits, and Cavarretta drove in the two RBIs that won the game. Cohen, meanwhile, being the man on second in the bottom of the ninth was actually responsible for the go-ahead run, winning his own game!

For the second game of the afternoon we brought out Robert Diehl (8-3, 3.03 ERA, 101.0 IP, 47 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) to throw against Roy Face (4-5, 3.86 ERA, 79.1 IP, 30 K’s, 1.32 WHIP). Diehl gave up a couple hits in the top of the first, but we got our final out via a tag-out at home plate, preventing the run and frustrating the Pirates right from the start. In the bottom of the third, Clyde McCullough hit his fifth homer of the year, putting us up 1-0 on the Pirates, but that was Face’s only hit given up all game to that point and this one looked to be just as much of a duel as game one had been. Al Kaline hit a ball hard into right in the bottom of the sixth inning, driving McCullough around from second to score a second run via a double, but Willie Mays batted into a double play to end the inning without any additional runs. But Diehl pitched nearly perfectly from there, icing the cake with a three-quick-out final inning as we won this game by 2-0 as well!

Diehl pitched a complete game three-hitter, walking one and striking out five as he improved to 9-3 with a 2.78 ERA, thowing 98 pitches in the winning effort. We had just four hits ourselves, led by Clyde McCullough, who hit twice, scoring (and driving in) both our runs, while Kaline, and Rosen each had a hit as well.

JULY 16, 1954 . . . We’re up 2-0 in the series against Pittsburgh with two games to go, and we’ve managed to pull to a dozen games up on our nearest NL opponent thanks to the doubleheader victory yesterday. This afternoon Warren Hacker (8-6, 3.25 ERA, 138.2 IP, 80 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) will be taking on Bob Friend (9-7, 3.01 ERA, 161.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.19 WHIP), and we have a fully rested bullpen since both games yesterday were complete games for our starters. But we went ahead quickly today, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run double with two outs by Banks. The game stayed tight, however, and a run scored for Pittsburgh in the top of the fourth to pull them within a run down 2-1. Hacker got us through eight innings with the one run lead safe, and we started warming Consuegra for the save opportunity. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Al Rosen walked a run in to make it 3-1, and for a moment it looked like we might buy enough insurance to let Hacker stay in to finish the game, but instead Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth to protect what was now a two-run lead. Flyout to left -- caught on the warning track -- followed by a strikeout and then Consuegra gave up a double to Rip Ripulski, bringing up Ted Kazanski with two outs. A quick popup to Cavarretta ended the game, however, as we closed out a 3-1 win! One more game for the sweep, boys!

Hacker had his best game in nearly a month, lasting eight innings with just one earned run off four hits, with four strikeouts and a walk, improving his ERA to 3.13 for the year. Consuegra earned his 16th save of the year, giving up one hit and striking out a batter as he brought his ERA down to 1.76. We got 10 hits to their five, led by Cavarretta who had three hits for two runs scored, while Ernie Banks added a hit for two RBIs, and Al Rosen hit once to bat in another.

JULY 17, 1954 . . . Time for a sweep! This afternoon Joe Dobson (3-1, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) will control the mound, facing the Pirates’ Gene Conley (5-9, 4.56 ERA, 132.1 IP, 71 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) in game four of our Wrigley series. Ernie Banks hit a hard grounder into right in the bottom of the first with two outs, driving in a run to put us up 1-0, and Elston Howard added an RBI double in the botom of the fourth to make it a 2-0 lead. Dobson gave us eight amazing innings of work, keeping our two run lead intact via one of the best individual games of his career, but he broke 100 pitches for the second start in a row and we decided to bring in Consuegra again to close it out in the ninth. Consuegra got a quick flyout to center, but then surrendered a double to pinch-hitter Jim Russell, who would advance to third on a groundout, scoring thanks to an RBI single by Billy Klaus. Two outs, go-ahead run on first, and Consuegra threw a critical strikeout to right-fielder Carlos Bernier, preserving the 2-1 win and completing the sweep!

Joe Dobson improved to 4-1 since joining us from Boston, throwing eight shutout innings of five hit, one walk NINE STRIKEOUT baseball, improving his ERA to 2.79. Consuegra blew the shutout but completed his 17th save, giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, letting his ERA slip slightly to 1.93 -- still the best among closers by far this season. Pittsburgh outhit us 7-4, but we added five walks to the equation and we were able to use our base-runners effectively. Cavarretta walked twice, scoring a run without a hit, while Ernie Banks hit twice to score a run and bat in another. Elston Howard got an RBI hit of his own as well, as we continue to play smart, winning baseball.

We next welcome the Brooklyn Dodgers back to Wrigley for a three-game set, and so far this year we have a 7-5 record against them, though with our 65-26 record we hold a commanding 12-game lead on them for the NL crown, though they face competition from the red-hot Cincinnati Redlegs, who have closed to within 2.5 games of second place. We’re riding a seven-game win streak into this series, having last lost twice to Milwaukee back on July 7-8 prior to the All Star break.

jksander · 09-16-2023, 09:27 PM

JULY 18, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen (9-5, 3.59 ERA, 125.2 IP, 72 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) is back in action this afternoon, fully rested since pitching three days ago in the first doubleheader game against Pittsburgh. He’ll challenge Brooklyn ace Johnny Podres (12-3, 2.97 ERA, 127.1 IP, 68 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in a game we expect to be pitcher dominated, with the wind blowing in strongly from right on a clear Chicago afternoon. And the wind definitely played a big part in the game early on, with several long-balls turned into easy outs, while many would-be hits couldn’t even escape the infield. We went into the seventh-inning stretch still knotted 0-0, having outhit the Dodgers 3-1 without managing to get a single runner into scoring position. That changed in the bottom of the seventh, when Elston Howard and Gene Baker each took walks to put men on first and second with two outs. But Hy Cohen couldn’t get the ball out of the infield, leaving us still tied at zero. Cohen gave up a hit and a walk in the top of the eighth but got out of his jam handily and kept things knotted. In the bottom of the eighth, Cavarretta took a one-out walk and Willie Mays knocked a hard hit single into center for a single to put Cavarretta in scoring position. But Maris flew out to right and the runners smartly held ... there was no room for Cavarretta to safely reach third. And Ernie Banks flew out to left, ending another opportunity with an oh-fer.

Cohen stayed in for the ninth, but after getting a quick out, he gave up a stunning solo blast by Gil Hodges to put the Dodgers up on us 1-0. Though he got us out of the inning without further incident, we had the bottom of our order up and would need to string something serious together if we want to get out of this one with a win. Al Rosen hit a weak infield blooper that accounted for out number one. Joe Collins came in to hit for Elston Howard, striking out swinging. Gene Baker kept us alive with a blast to center, but he only made it to first base. We brought Bill Serena in to hit for Hy Cohen, with Consuegra warming up in case we forced extra innings, but a hard-hit ball to right was kept barely in the park, blowing right into the fielder’s glove, ending our game as a 1-0 loss. What a bummer of a way to lose this one.

With the loss, Cohen fell to 9-6 on the season with a 3.41 ERA, giving up just three hits and a run, with three walks and eight strikeouts. We outhit the Dodgers 5-3 but couldn’t get anyone around to score, despite hits by Cavarretta, Mays, Maris, Howard and Baker. Three additional runners reached via base-on-balls, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. Games like this are tough, but eventually someone was going to sneak something through. Let’s come back from this and win the next two.

JULY 19, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl’s been red hot lately, and he’s up today against the Dodgers, with a 9-3 record, 2.78 ERA, 52 K’s and a 1.05 WHIP through 110 innings. He’s up against Brooklyn’s Billy Loes (11-5, 3.39 ERA, 156.2 IP, 93 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) so this will almost certainly be another brutal battle. Can we come out ahead?

The Dodgers got on board 1-0 thanks to an RBI single by Jackie Robinson in the top of the first, bit Robert Diehl hit a sac fly to center that drove in the tying run in the bottom of the second. But Diehl gave up a second run in the top of the third, this time a run-scoring double (again by Robinson) and our fielding, particularly by the usually solid Ernie Banks, was atrocious early, allowing two more runs to score before we finally got out of the inning. Vern Fear came in to pitch in the top of the fifth still trailing 4-1, and in the bottom of the sixth we loaded the bases with just one out, and Jerry Runyard walked in a run with two outs, pulling us within two points and bringing up the top of the order! Al Kaline got a hit into right that drove in two runs, tying the score 4-4, and Cavarretta dropped one into center field that should have been a run scored, but a strong defensive play at home plate got the out by miliseconds. So we headed into the top of the seconds knotted at four runs each and with Harry Dorish coming in to pitch.

With the score still knotted 4-4, Sandy Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth, getting three quick outs to keep our hopes of a win alive -- with the top of the order coming up for the bottom of the inning! But we went down one, two, three, forcing extra innings. Consuegra got us through the 10th unscathed, but we couldn’t buy a hit. Consuegra hit a batter and then gave up a double to Sandy Amoros, putting two runners in scoring position and I had to bring in Tom Ferrick to try and at least give us a chance at escaping this. But he walked the bases loaded, and then a sac-fly to center scored the go-ahead run for the Dodgers. A second run scored on a botched catch attempt by Chapman at second, at which point we finally got the out we needed to come up in the bottom of the 11th trailing by two. Clyde McCullough opened the frame by hitting a shot deep to left of center, giving him a sudden double, and Kenneth Chapman was walked to give us two on and no outs. Carmen Mauro came in to pinch hit for Ferrick, getting Chapman out at second on a fielder’s choice but advancing McCullough to third and bringing up Kaline. And Kaline did what he does best -- he blasted one into the right field corner, tying the f---ing score and giving us a chance! But Cavarretta got tagged out at first to end the inning, sending us into the 12th, with Bob Porterfield, our recent acquisition from Boston, coming in for his first relief appearance as a Cub.

Porterfield came in and pitched beautifully, getting three quick outs on just 12 pitches, making it likely he could stay in for another inning if required. Mays took a walk to start the bottom of the inning, and though he was tagged out moments later on a fielder’s choice, Ernie Banks reached first on a single and drove Roger Maris, a quick runner, to second. That brought up Al Rosen with just one out, meaning a shot into the outfield could be enough to win this. A single to left kept us alive, but the runners held with the bases loaded -- no score. So that brought McCullough to the plate, one out, bases loaded, and he had a brilliant plate appearance, winning the game on a walk-off .... WALK???? What a way to end this! Cubs win 7-6 in 12 innings!

Bob Porterfield may have been the sixth pitcher to take the mound for us today, but he was also the one to take the win! He’ll start his Cubs career with a 1-0 record of no-hit baseball, and the fans already love him. Diehl struggled, giving up six hits and four earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts, but our bullpen was phenomenal and gave us the chance to climb back. Fear, Dorish and Consuegra each went two innings, with only Consuegra giving up any runs, the two guys he put on base in the 11th without getting any outs. In the end we outhit the Dodgers 13-10, surviving to see if we can steal this series after all. Twenty-one batters for our Cubs were listed in the box score, including all our pitchers and pinch-hitters, but in the end it was lead-off man Al Kaline who led the way with three hits for four RBIs -- call him “Klutch” Kaline! Ernie Banks had three hits and scored two runs, while Rosen and McCullough notched a pair apiece.

JULY 20, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker (9-6, 3.13 ERA, 146.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) took to the mound today in game three against the Dodgers’ Carl Erskine (13-7, 3.78 ERA, 159.1 IP, 93 K’s, 1.33 WHIP). Roger Maris put us on the board in the bottom of the second, hitting a blast to center that just cleared the Ivy by inches, giving us a 1-0 lead and him his seventh homer of the season as he has struggled to stay above .200 in his rookie season. It was a much needed score, giving us the edge in a game I expect will be another tight affair. So of course in the top of the third Hacker pitched a fastball to Bobby Morgan that he quickly put over the left field wall to tie us up, and they scored a second run on an RBI single by Carl Furillo moments later. And suddenly Hacker was giving up nothing but hard contact, barely getting out of the inning without a fire hose. Roger Maris loaded the bases in the bottom of the third thanks to a bobbled catch at second by the Dodgers, and Ernie Banks reached first by being hit by an errant Erskine pitch that tied us at 2-2. But after getting an out, Hacker gave up another fastball solo homer, this time to Pee Wee Reese, and the wheels came off again. An RBI triple made it a 4-2 game, and even Furillo got in on the hit parade. His game was done ... there was no way I could justify keeping him in this game, warming up Vern Fear as Furillo’s double made it a 5-2 game. And suddenly I do have to seriously start questioning whether Hacker still has what it takes -- can you really win the Cy Young at 28 and then the next year just become a hit-or-miss prospect?

Vern Fear made it through the fifth and sixth, getting an out in the seventh before putting two runners on base and forcing us to bring in Porterfield, who got the final outs but also gave up both of Fear’s runs in the process to make it a 7-2 blowout. Porterfield earned a lot of respect by staying in for the eighth and ninth, closing out an unwinnable game -- and giving up four runs in the top of the ninth. Ooooof. We lost this one badly, 11-2, and we deserved to. We’ll have to pick ourselves up and go into our next series hoping we can play better baseball than this.

Warren Hacker took the loss, falling to 9-7 with a 3.35 ERA thanks to four innings of ten hit, five run baseball. Fear came in for 2.1 innings and gave up two hits and two runs but his ERA remains a highly respectable 1.49 overall. Porterfield took a beating, lasting 2.2 innings but giving up eight hits and four runs, with two walks and two strikeouts, blowing his ERA up to 9.82 through 3.2 innings.

The Dodgers pulled to within 11 games of us thanks to the series loss, with Cincy just a game and a half behind them. But the race in the AL is definitely heating up, with Cleveland still comfortably eight games up on both the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, but with Washington’s Senators just nine games back, with Boston sitting 13-1/2 games back and triyng ot eyeball a way back in. With the trade deadline coming up fast, will anyone make big moves to dominate the stretch run? At this point.

And I’m not ready to give up on Warren Hacker yet. I have seen enough good innings from him in my time here in Chicago, I have to trust that he can find his best form. And with Klippstein and Rogovin out for the season, and with our record still a stellar 66-28 overall, it seems foolish to tinker too much and risk ruining our team’s chemistry. The guys still trust Hacker and I have to put my faith in them as a whole. Bring on the Giants and the Phillies for our last six game of this homestand -- let’s see what we can do!

jksander · 09-17-2023, 11:23 AM

JULY 21, 1954 . . . Joe Dobson (4-1, 2.79 ERA, 38.2 IP, 23 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) is set to pitch in the first of two games against the bottom-dwelling Giants of New York, going up against Ted Abernathy (1-9, 4.52 ERA, 81.2 IP, 42 K’s, 1.71 WHIP). Al Kaline hit a solo homer to start the bottom of the first, putting us up 1-0 with his 12th homer of the season -- and mere minutes later, Roger Maris hit his eighth of the year, scoring two runs to make it 3-0! Dobson gave up a run in the top of the third but got out of a jam with two runners in scoring position that could have made things worse. Roger Maris drove in a run with a sac-fly to center in the bottom of the third, getting the run back and giving us a 4-1 lead after three full innings. Dobson singled with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and Kaline got on base quickly thereafter with a line drive to right, but we left both runners stranded. Dobson then struggled to start the fifth, giving up consecutive doubles and letting a run score to make it a two-run game. He got an out via a pickoff play at second, then let two more guys on base with Harry Dorish warming in the bullpen, but he saved himself with a brilliant double play to escape with the 4-2 lead (and the win potential) intact.

Ernie Banks bought us insurance in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run blast to center that gave him 15 homers on the year, and a Gene Baker double scored a seventh run and we decided to let Dorish rest and keep Dobson in for the sixth inning with the expanded 7-2 lead. Dobson wound up hitting a double in the bottom of the seventh that scored a run after an error at third, giving us an 8-2 lead heading into the eighth inning, and he continued to pitch well enough to stay in the game through the first out of the ninth, before he put a runner on third and gave up a run, at which point I brought in Dorish to close things out. Dorish got a groundout at first while the fourth run scored, and then he gave up a hit and a walk to put two on with two outs. A weak grounder to first ended the game, however, as we held tough to win this one 8-4. It wasn’t always pretty, but we got the win out of it and that’s what’s going to count in our race for a pennant.

Dobson improved to 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA, thanks to 8.1 innings of ten-hit, four run ball, striking out five batters and walking just one in a 104 pitch effort. Harry Dorish pitched 0.2 innings with just the hit and the walk, improving his ERA to 1.32 through 47.2 innings as a Cub. We won the hit battle 12-11, with Kaline, Mays, Baker and Dobson each notching a pair. Roger Maris had a hit as well, scoring twice and driving in three runs, giving him 30 RBIs this year.

JULY 22, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen (9-6, 3.41 ERA, 134.2 IP, 80 K’s, 1.02 WHIP) pitched tonight for us against New York’s Al Corwin (0-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.29 WHIP). And we took a big lead in the bottom of the second inning, with Bill Serena hitting one 380 feet into the left field bleachers to put us up 3-0 with his first homer of the year, and the first one he’s hit since 1952 in the majors. Roger Maris drove in a run by Willie Mays in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-0 with a double, and Willie Mays hit a triple in the bottom of the fourth that put us up 5-0! Mays came home to make it 6-0 thanks to an eror that allowed Ernie Banks to reach first and send Roger Maris to second, and Gene Baker reached first safely on another error by the Giants that loaded the bases and brought up Elston Howard. Giants fans breathed a sigh of relief when he batted out to center, ending the inning with us ahead just by six heading into inning number five. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Ernie Banks got a grounder single that drove in a run, and Elston Howard flew out to right to drive in our eighth run. Bill Serena got another solid hit to right, giving him another RBI and driving our lead up to 9-0, and then Cohen batted out to center to end the inning. Hy Cohen stayed in for the complete game shutout, winning this one on a double play as we stomped on the Giants 9-0, dropping them to 25-72 on the season while we won our 68th game.

Cohen improved to 10-6 with a 3.19 ERA thanks to the five-hit shutout, striking out four batters while walking no one. We outhit them 12-5, led by Bill Serena (three hits, a run and four RBIs) and Roger Maris (two hits, two walks, two runs and an RBI). Willie Mays added two hits for three runs and an RBI on a night where it seemed everything was clicking.

jksander · 09-17-2023, 02:10 PM

JULY 23, 1954 . . . Philly is 52-42 and only 15 games back of first in the NL, so these four games mean a hell of a lot to them, and give us a good chance to put further distance between us and our NL rivals. Cincinnati just moved a half game ahead of the Dodgers, so the race between #2 and #4 in our league is definitely still hot, even if the bottom of the NL is sinking fast. The Giants (25-72) and the Baltimore Orioles (29-63), meanwhile, are having historically bad seasons -- the Giants in particular are likely to be mathematically eliminated from the race by the beginning of August.

It’ll be interesting to see if Cincy or Brooklyn do anything at the trade deadline to buy in to competing down the stretch -- right now I suspect we’ve got the pieces we need; no need to upset the apple cart of our “ecstatic” clubhouse situation.

Anyway, in today’s game we have Robert Diehl (9-3, 3.00 ERA, 114.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) going up against Philly’s 25-year-old ace Curt Simmons (12-4, 2.45 ERA, 172.1 IP, 76 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). He’s on track for another 20+ win season and hopes to be in the Cy Young race again this year after missing out last year when he went 23-11 with a 2.80 ERA and 167 K’s through 283 innings. I fully expected this one to be a pitching rock fight, on a nasty day at Wrigley -- wind blowing out at 11 miles per hour but the low clouds and unseasonably cool temperatures likely to favor the arms. But Al Rosen quickly put us in the lead, a blast to left field giving him a double and us a pair of runs to go up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Maris and Rosen got hits to start the bottom of the third, and Maris advanced to third on a fielder’s choice when Rosen was tagged out at second off an Elston Howard single. And with two outs, Kenneth Chapman drove a grounder into right field, bringing Maris home and making it a 3-0 lead as the clouds held low, still threatening.

Diehl struggled in the top of the sixth, putting two men in scoring position before getting our first out, and a deep shot to center (that almost went over the wall) scored two runs for the Phillies before he secured out number two with a groundout at first. Tom Ferrick came in to pitch with two outs and a man on third, and an infield fly to Banks at short got us out of the inning with the lead still intact, Cubs 3 Phillies 2. Ferrick stayed in and got us three quick outs in the top of the seventh, and he got us through the eighth thanks to an amazingly quick double play. Sandy Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth, giving up a double on his second pitch of the inning, and a second double blew the save attempt as Philly tied it 3-3. He got us out of the inning with a double play, but now the pressure was on us to get out of this without having to go to extra innings. Ernie Banks came in to pinch hit for Kenneth Chapman, but he was a quick out at first. Willie Mays came in for Carmen Mauro ... and WALKED IT OFF! Solo homer, we win this one 4-3!

Sandy Consuegra came out of this with a win, improving to 4-1 on the year despite his fourth blown save. He gave up two hits and an earned run, letting his ERA slip to 2.40 on the year through 45 innings of work. Robert Diehl had a solid night, 5.2 innings of work from the mound leading to only five hits and two earned runs, with three strikeouts and a walk, and Tom Ferrick gave us 2.1 solid innings with no hits and just a single walk, earning him his third hold of the year. We had ten hits to their seven, with Al Rosen leading the way with a pair of hits and two RBIs. Willie Mays had his 21st homer of the year to walk this one off, giving him 75 RBIs on the year. And Roger Maris hit twice and scored a run, bringing his average up to .214 with a .371 slug.

JULY 24, 1954 . . . Today we have Warren Hacker (9-7, 3.35 ERA, 150.2 IP, 86 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) up in the rotation, and if anyone’s due for a great effort it’s him. He’ll be up against former Cub Bob Rush (4-4, 4.04 ERA, 62.1 IP, 28 K’s, 1.35 WHIP). Hacker walked the leadoff man in the top of the first but got into a rhythm with two flyouts and a strikeout, A Clyde McCullough error at the plate allowed a second runner on board in the top of the second, but Hacker pitched smartly around it, getting through the second without a hit. McCullough walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the second with two outs, but we weren’t able to get any runs in. And Hacker gave up a two-run homer in the top of the third, putting Philly on board. We’re going to definitely need some run support, Cubs, we can’t win games if we leave all our chances stranded on base. Al Kaline landed a hit into center field with two outs in the bottom of the third, driving in a run with the single and putting Al Rosen in scoring position, but Roger Maris struck out and kept us from rallying. Warren Hacker got a hit into right field in the bottom of the fourth with two outs, but he stretched to make a single into a double and was tagged out to end that inning with us still trailing 2-1. Hacker got another hit opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, driving a low fly to deep right that turned into a triple, scoring two runs and giving us the lead!

We had to bring in Elston Howard at catcher in the seventh, as Joe Collins had pinch hit fcr McCullough in the sixth, and Hacker stayed in to protect his lead. But back to back two-out doubles allowed the Phillies to score the tying run, though he then got the final out to send us into the stretch knotted 3-3. Willie Mays hit a stand-up double in the bottom of the seventh with just one out, but Ernie Banks flew out to center and then Al Kaline took a walk to first, bringing up Roger Maris with two outs and a man in scoring position. They chose to walk him, loading the bases, and I brought Bill Serena in to pinch hit for Kenneth Chapman but he couldn’t get a squib hit out of the infield and we went into the eighth still knotted, bringing Gene Baker in to play second. Hacker stayed in and gave up a single, but a double play cleared the bases and he got us through the inning with the game still knotted. Jerry Runyard came in to pinch hit for Hacker in the bottom of the eighth with one out and no one on, but he too couldn’t get anything out of the infield. But Phil Cavarretta got a hit into left, reaching first, and they hit Al Rosen with a ridiculously errant pitch, giving us a man in scoring position and Willie Mays coming up to the plate. He hit one off the Ivy that stayed on the field, legging out a triple to score two runs and giving us a real chance! Tom Ferrick came in to close things out in the top of the ninth, setting them down flyout, groundout, strikeout to end the game as a 5-3 victory for our Cubs!

Warren Hacker had a great night, improving to 10-7 with a 109 pitch six hit eight inning effort -- he surrendered three earned runs, with three strikeouts and three walks, but he held tough and gave us hope he can return to the lockdown pitcher he was last season during the pennant race, his ERA holding steady at 3.35. Tom Ferrick earned his third save of the year, a great one inning no-hit one strikeout effort that improved his ERA to 3.28 through 24.2 innings of work since coming here from ... where else? ... Philly. We had 12 hits to their six, with Cavarretta, Rosen, Mays, Chapman and Hacker each contributing a pair. Mays had two hits and two RBIs, as did Hacker who did a great deal with his bat to keep us in this game. He has hit .279 with 17 hits and a triple this year through 66 plate appearances as a pitcher, with 10 RBIs.

Tomorrow we have a doubleheader to close out this homestand, and then we’ll have our most grueling stretch, facing three weeks of consecutive road series against everyone but the Cardinals, who we only have four games left against in September. We are now 70-28, on pace for 110 wins, which would be our second best record in the history of the franchise -- we last won 100 games in 1935, the year we lost the World Series to Detroit. We won 104 games in 1909 (losing the pennant race despite the wins) and 1910 (a World Series loss to the Athletics), and won 107 in 1907 when we beat Detroit to win the World Series. So there’s a lot of excitement on the north side, along with a lot of trepidation. How we handle the road trip will say a lot about our playoff prospects. Do we shut the door on our NL rivals or let them sneak back in?

JULY 25, 1954 . . . It’s a clear day in Chicago, upper seventies, wind blowing in from right at 10 miles per hour, perfect weather for us to play two games for the fans assembled at Wrigley. Joe Dobson (5-1, 3.06 ERA, 47.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) took the mound in the first game, facing Philly’s Robin Roberts (9-10, 3.79 ERA, 156.2 IP, 83 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). A run scored for Philly in the top of the third when McCullough botched a tag at home plate, and he did it AGAIN on the very next play, allowing a second run to score on virtually the same error! But Elston Howard is worn down and needs at least one game off today, so he’s going to have to stay out there and figure things out. It definitely put Dobson in a real hole though. Phil Cavarretta got us on the board in the bottom of the third, a solo homer (his 11th of the year) making it a 2-1 ballgame, and McCullough got his confidence back with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth that tied us up 2-2 with just one out. Cavarretta drove one into left, reaching first and sending McCullough around to third, but Willie Mays hit into a double play to end the inning. Dobson stayed hot through the seventh, getting out of a two-runner jam with a double play of his own, and we went into the bottom of the seventh still knotted 2-2, getting us three more outs in the eighth to keep it that way. But even the top of our order in the bottom of the eighth couldn’t get anything out of the infield, and Dobson came back out in the ninth, with Consuegra in the wings, hoping to gut it out and stay in position for a win -- or to protect our bullpen for what could be a long day of extra innings. And though he gave up a hit in between outs, he got us out of the inning successfully, still tied, knowing his night was over no matter what happened in the bottom of the ninth. Ernie Banks reached first when the Phillies’ second baseman couldn’t get a throw off to first in time off a weak grounder. Joe Collins then struck out, but Frank Baumholts hit a blast to right, making it over the wall and giving us a two-run walkoff homer to beat the Phillies in game one of the doubleheader by a 4-2 margin!

Joe Dobson really earned this win, improving to 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA, thanks to a six-hit effort through 115 pitches in his complete game. He gave up two runs, one earned, while striking out three batters and walking three more. We outhit the Phillies 11-6, led by Cavarretta who hit three times, scoring a run and driving in another. Frank Baumholtz, with his fifth homer of the year, had two hits and scored a run, driving in two with the walk-off blast.

For game two we featured red-hot ace Hy Cohen (10-6, 3.19 ERA, 143.2 IP, 84 K’s, 0.99 WHIP) up against the Phillies’ Gordon Jones (11-9, 3.22 ERA, 184.1 IP, 100 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) as we went for the series sweep. Willie Mays had an infield single in the bottom of the first, legged out a steal, and then came around to score on an RBI single by Al Rosen to quickly put us up 1-0. Mays struck again in the bottom of the third, hitting a 404 footer into the bleachers to drive in two more runs, his 22nd homer of the year putting us up 3-0. Cohen got into a bit of danger in the sixth, letting two men on with two outs, but the wind kept a left-field fly just inside the park and allowed Frank Baumholtz to secure the third out to keep the lead 3-0. Cohen stayed in to complete the shutout and we held tough to win 3-0, sweeping the Phillies as we won our 72nd game of the year.

Cohen improved to 11-6 with a 3.01 ERA, giving up just four hits with two strikeouts and four walks in a 120 pitch shutout. We got eight hits ourselves, with Cavarretta leading the team with two hits to go with a run scored, but Willie Mays was the star of the day, hitting once and walking once, scoring twice and batting in two more. He’s not having as flashy a season as in his debut for us last year, but he is by far our most important offensive player hands down.

See you on the road for a few weeks! Cincinnati is now 59-40 and 12.5 games behind us, but with a two game lead over the fading Dodgers (57-42). Philly, at 19 games back, seems all but eliminated from serious conversations about a pennant run, as our four-game sweep has seriously demoralized them. In the AL, the race is still Cleveland’s to lose -- at 60-35 they hold a seven game lead on Washington, with the Yankees (54-45), White Sox (50-48) and the surging Red Sox (49-48) all trying to make moves to catch them. The Red Sox look particularly dangerous, as they’ve won five in a row now and are surging at the right time ... can they make the moves to become a legitimate contender with a deadline move?

jksander · 09-17-2023, 03:43 PM

JULY 27, 1954 . . . We really need to get some big wins now against Brooklyn in this three-game series -- they’ve been our biggest rival of the year, and this is our opportunity, with just seven games left against them this season, to close the door on their pennant chase dreams. We open the road series with Robert Diehl (9-3, 3.01 ERA, 119.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) going up against Brooklyn’s Russ Meyer (8-6, 3.86 ERA, 151.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.24 WHIP). The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Carl Furillo hitting an RBI double, but Diehl struck out Gil Hodges to finally get our first out, and a Frank Thomas pop-up to Elston Howard got us out of the inning without further damage. Jackie Robinson beat out an infield single in the bottom of the second, but a double play cleared the bases and a strikeout got us out of the inning safely. Diehl reached base on a fielding error at first in the top of the third, Brooklyn’s second error of the game thus far, and a third error (also at first!) allowed Cavarretta to reach base and push Diehl in to scoring position with just one out! Willie Mays got a long shot into center, off the wall and just into the outstretched hand of the fielder, but Diehl reached third safely without a throw, giving us runners on the corners with two outs. But Roger Maris struck out swinging, ending the inning with nothing to show, saving Brooklyn from their miserable fielding. An error at second by the Dodgers, their fourth of the game, allowed Elston Howard to safely reach first when he should have been an easy out to end the inning, but Gene Baker couldn’t get anything out of the infield and we went into the bottom of the fourth still trailing by a lone run. But Brooklyn’s offense stayed sharper than ours -- Roy Campanella hit a solo shot to right, his 28th of the season, giving them a 2-0 lead, though Diehl stayed sharp and kept them from doing further damage when a runner eventually reached scoring position. Through four innings we had only two hits, with Brooklyn notching five plus their four errors -- keeping this a winnable game if we could just string some hits together.

Ernie Banks put us on the board with his 15th homer of the season, a solo blast that made it a 2-1 ballgame with two outs in the top of the sixth, and moments later Al Rosen hit one of his own to deep left, over the wall, and his 16th four-base blast of the season knotted the game at 2-2! Elston Howard singled into left, but Gene Baker was unable to keep the rally going and we went into the bottom of the inning holding some momentum for the first time today. Vern Fear came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the sixth, and he quickly got their runner out at second with a well-timed pick, getting out of the inning on a single pitch! Vern Fear gave up a two-run, two-out blast in the bottom of the eighth that put the Dodgers back up 4-2, however, bringing in Harry Dorish to try and give us a shot. He gave up a triple but then got the final flyout to get us into the top of the ninth needing to score at least two runs if we wanted to stay in this one. Al Rosen flew out to center, but Elston Howard made it to first on a single that rolled just past the shortstop into the outfield. Bill Serena came in to hit for Gene Baker, but he struck out swinging. And Kenny Chapman pinch hit for Dorish with two outs, but he flew out to center and ended the game as a 4-2 loss.

Vern Fear took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA thanks to three hits for two earned runs with a strikeout and a walk in two innings of work. Diehl lasted 5.2 innings with seven hits and two earned runs to go with three strikeouts and a walk over 91 pitches. Harry Dorish got one out and had one hit in an eight pitch effort in a position where there was little he could do to affect the outcome. Brooklyn may have committed four errors, but they also outhit us 11-6, with two homers ultimately giving them an edge. Elston Howard tried to pick us up and carry us to the win, hitting three times in the clutch but being stranded each time. The Banks and Rosen homers wound up being our only offense, and it wasn’t enough.

JULY 28, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker (10-7, 3.35 ERA, 158.2 IP, 89 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) took the mound today against Brooklyn’s Jimmy Podres (14-3, 2.75 ERA, 144.0 IP, 75 K’s, 1.04 WHIP), one of the NL’s leading contenders for the Cy Young. We struck first, a Roger Maris single into the outfield allowing Cavarretta to score and put us up 1-0 with just one out and two men on. Ernie Banks struck out swinging and AL Rosen flew out weakly to right, keeping this from becoming a real corker of an inning, but leads are hard to get against the Dodgers and we hoped to be able to build on it. This turned into our game to commit errors -- Ernie Banks bobbled a throw in the bottom of the first, and Willie Mays uncharacteristically dropped a catch in the bottom of the second that allowed Jackie Robinson to reach second. But both times Hacker successfully pitched around the errors, and this one remained a nailbiter. Hacker gave up a solo blast to left for the tying run by Duke Snider in the bottom of the third, and Frank Thomas hit one of his own in the fourth, driving in two runs to give Brooklyn a 3-1 lead and take the wind completely out of our sails. Snider hit a second solo homer off Hacker in the fifth and we went into the sixth inning trailing by three against a team that we continue to struggle to hit against.

Harry Dorish came in to put out the fire in the bottom of the sixth, but in the seventh inning Duke Snider hit his THIRD HOMER OF THE NIGHT and just drove a nail into our hearts. Tom Ferrick came in for the bottom of the eighth, getting us three workmanlike outs against the middle of their order, but we went into the top of the ninth trailing by four runs, and they finished us off quickly to complete the 5-1 beatdown.

Hacker stumbled yet again, losing the game and falling to 10-8 with a 3.46 ERA, giving up just six hits but three of them for homers, amounting to four earned runs. He struck out four batters, but continues to look like his best stuff may be behind him. Dorish lasted two innings with just one hit (a homer, of course) for a run, with a single strikeout. And Ferrick did what he needed to do in a situation with no upside. They outhit us 7-6, with Cavarretta’s two hits leading to our only run, a run batted in by Maris. Beyond that, very little to be pleased about here. If we keep struggling like this on offense, this is going to be a long, painful road trip.

JULY 29, 1954 . . . We’ve made a trade with the AL bottom-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, who really wanted Warren Hacker and were willing to overlook his recent struggles -- so we’ve agreed to send him, along with relievers Jim Brosnan and Bob Spicer to give them some pitching depth, in exchange for 27-year-old left fielder Roy Sievers (solid power and eye, average fielder), 31-year-old third-baseman Grady Hatton (excellent eye, should be a solid pinch hitter, good defense and infield arm in a pinch off the bench) and 23-year-old starter Bob Turley. Turley is the big get here -- he’s been struggling for the Orioles this year due to how terrible their offense is, and he’s gone from finishing third in the 1953 Cy Young voting for the American League (18-14, 2.71 ERA, 216 K’s, 1.35 WHIP through 282 innings) to going 8-12 this year with a 4.32 ERA, 104 K’s and a 1.67 WHIP. Hacker clearly wanted a fresh opportunity, choosing to waive his no-trade clause in the process, and Turley has the potential to become a real lynchpin to our rotation alongside Cohen, with tons of stamina, amazing “stuff” and a fastball, slider and sinker that are already well respected nationally. He’ll need time to rest before slotting into our starting rotation -- he’ll take over the fourth spot in our rotation behind Cohen, Diehl and Dobson, hopefully being ready in time for our Sunday doubleheader against Pittsburgh on August 1st. Our fans were disappointed by the loss of Hacker who had been a favorite after the Cy Young run last year, but the addition of Sievers and Turley have everyone on the north side excited.

We’ll be playing the Dodgers for our final game of the series this afternoon, and then heading to Pittsburgh for four games in three days. Stay tuned for the stretch run in this tightening race in the National League!

08-26-2023, 11:15 AM	#121
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 2,837 Blog Entries: 1	TBH I had a bad feeling about using Klippstein in relief and then starting him the next day. The issue isn’t that he barely broke a sweat. It’s all about the ramping up (probably 25-30 warm-up pitches, between the bullpen and the mound) and then recovery time. Consecutive days is a lot to ask. When teams in the Fifties did this, the relief appearance tended to coincide with the day the SP would normally be throwing on the side between starts. So, not the day after pitching, and certainly not the day before a start. SP are all about routines, and disrupting the routine carries risk. As you found out. Tough to say, but here the game mirrors IRL quite well. So much for that Cy Young award. __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.” Last edited by Pelican; 08-26-2023 at 11:17 AM.

08-26-2023, 11:26 AM	#122
Pelican Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2021 Location: Wilmington, Delaware Posts: 2,837 Blog Entries: 1	On the other hand, now Rogovin is in line for the Cy, and the rookie Cohen looks like he can step up in the rotation. A good sign to bounce back and win two on the road against good SP - Conley and Friend. __________________ Pelican OOTP 2020-? ”Hard to believe, Harry.”

08-26-2023, 01:14 PM	#124
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 18, 1954 . . . Last year’s Cy Young winner Warren Hacker (8-2, 2.12 ERA, 106.1 IP, 58 K’s, 0.93 WHIP) takes the mound tonight in front of 16,000 fans in Brooklyn, up against Carl Erskine (9-5, 3.93 ERA, 112.1 IP, 67 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) with a strong wind blowing in from right that makes us all feel like a pitcher’s battle is highly likely even in the hitter-friendly confines of Ebbets Field. But the Dodgers wasted no time defeating the wind, with Campanella hitting a two-run blast to right that put them up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Cavarretta was robbed of what would have been a homer on any other night, leaving us still trailing by two in the middle of the fifth, but Hacker pitched around a pair of runners in the bottom of the inning to still keep us in it. Al Kaline made a brilliant basket catch in right field to end the sixth inning with us in the same position, and we opened the top of the seventh with a triple by Elston Howard, and Russ Snyder came in to pinch hit for Gene Baker, but he hit one straight up to the shortstop to get an out. Hacker grounded out to first, and Al Kaline then flew out to left, ending our best chance of the whole damned game to get a run. Kenneth Chapman came in to play second base in the middle of the seventh, and Warren Hacker got us three more quick outs to bring us back up to bat but with limited chances left to find our spark. But the spark just wasn’t there -- Erskine stayed in well past 100 pitches and still got the top of our order out one, two, three. Hacker pitched a near-perfect eighth inning, sending us back up in the top of the ninth still trailing by two and needing a miracle against Erskine, who stayed in to attempt the complete game shutout. Ernie Banks reached base safely on an error at first, and a would-be Al Rosen homer was blown back at the wall and became out number one. Joe Collins pinch-hit for Elston Howard, but he struck out swinging. Bill Serena came in to pinch hit for Chapman, but he couldn’t get a hit out of the infield and we lost this one 2-0, a game decided by runs scored in the first inning. Hacker fell to 8-3 on the season, throwing an efficient 111-pitch effort with only five hits, with four strikeouts and three walks to go with just the two earned runs. But Erskine was better, throwing a complete game 131-pitch shutout despite seven hits, notching four strikeouts against two walks as he earned his 10th win of the year and the 76th win of his seven-year career. We out-hit them 7-5 but couldn’t make anything happen on the basepaths, even with the two walks added in for good measure. Elston Howard had two hits, while five other batters contributed and then were stranded. Hopefully we can bounce back tomorrow. Our team’s chemistry levels right now are through the roof so I think we have what it takes to keep things calm in the clubhouse through what looks to be a difficult end-of-June road stretch. JUNE 19, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl (5-3, 3.09 ERA, 67.0 IP, 32 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) faces off this afternoon against Sal ‘The Barber’ Maglie (1-6, 4.17 ERA, 58.1 IP, 33 K’s, 1.29 WHIP) in a down year for the 37-year-old starter who started the decade as one of the best pitchers in the NL. But we were the ones to give ‘The Barber’ a haircut, when Roger Maris hit a grand slam in the top of the first to put us up 4-0 WITHOUT A SINGLE OUT! We didn’t score any more runs in the first, but by the time Diehl came up to throw his first pitch of the game, Maglie had already thrown 30 and given up four hits. And Diehl pitched very well to contact, getting three outs in the bottom of the inning on just six pitches! Al Kaline hit his 10th homer of the year to make it 5-0 in the top of the second, and Willie Mays added his 15th of the year to make it 6-0 with two outs! Everyone was waiting for Maris to hit another one as well, but he flew out to center to end the inning with the Dodgers looking at a potential blowout. The Dodgers brought out Joe Hatten (0-0, 9.45 ERA, 6.2 IP, 4 K’s, 2.40 WHIP) with just one out in the top of the third, in a move that looked like the potential adding of fuel to a fire, but he got them out of the inning unscathed. Diehl gave up a solo homer to Carl Furillo in the bottom of the third, but Al Rosen rung Hatten up for a two-run homer, his ninth of the year, to make it an 8-1 lead for our Cubs in the top of the fifth. Diehl gave up an RBI double to Duke Snyder in the bottom of the fifth, but Willie Mays added a two-run bomb to right in the top of the eighth, his second four-bagger of the game, to make it a 10-2 lead for our Cubs. Diehl loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth, so we started warming up Tom Ferrick in case things went off the rails completely -- but the Dodgers hit into a double play, with outs at first and home, and a routine throw from third to first ended the game with us winning 10-2! Bring on the double header tomorrow, we’re ready! Diehl improved to 6-3 with a 2.84 ERA thanks to a six-hitter, getting five strikeouts against two walks, giving up just the two runs (only one of which was earned) through 128 pitches. Maris and Mays led the way, with Roger’s grand salami being the game winner right from the word ‘go’ -- he had two hits and scored twice while batting in four runs. Mays had two homers and a walk, scoring all three times he came up to bat and getting three RBIs as well. Al Kaline added three hits for three runs and an RBI, and Al Rosen put up a hit, scoring a run and batting in two! Right now we have a staggering +149 run differential, while no one in the NL is better than +26 (Brooklyn). Even the Yankees in the AL (+76) are even close, and yet they’re still 4.5 games back of a Cleveland team that is on pace to become the luckiest team of the decade -- their Pythagorean record should be 33-27, but they’re currently 40-20 and riding a three-game winning streak. I’m hearing through the papers that Casey Stengel is completely losing his cool out there in Yankeeville, as the NYC press keeps dogging him on why they can’t catch up with a Guardians team that doesn’t have nearly their star wattage. Mickey Mantle has been struggling, hitting just .271 with 11 homers, and Hank Thompson’s having an even worse time, barely batting .250! It’ll be interesting to see how that race shapes up as the year progresses. If All Star voting completed today we’d have Cavarretta, Rosen, Banks, Mays, Hacker, Klippstein, Dorish and Consuegra in the game, though Klippstein is going to likely earn an All Star bid without being able to play. Mays continues to lead all voters in both leagues by mre than 130,000 votes! __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

08-27-2023, 12:02 PM	#125
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 20, 1954 . . . Tonight Joe Dobson had his second start since becoming a Cub, up against Russ Meyer (4-5, 3.55 ERA, 101.1 IP, 36 K’s, 1.14 WHIP). He went six innings in his first start, a 3-2 win over the Giants a week ago, and with the doubleheader likely to strain our bullpen more than usual, we’re hoping for at least that strong an effort this afternoon. Cavarretta got us going on a great note with a solo homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the year, to put us up 1-0. Mays got himself a single, and then Ernie Banks hit a double to put them both in scoring position, and Al Rosen walked his way into a bases loaded situation with two outs. Gene Baker hit a perfect shot up the middle between infielders, scoring two more runs to make it a 3-0 lead, all before the Dodgers even took a swing. But Dobson quickly gave up a solo homer to Duke Snider to put Brooklyn on the board via his very first pitch, though he didn’t let it stop him from getting out of the inning without further damage. He struggled much more in the second inning, giving up three consecutive walks and giving up a run on a wild pitch with just one out. We got a runner out at home to get the second out of the inning, but with runners on the corners Duke Snyder hit his second homer of the game and put the Dodgers up 5-3. Dobson got the final out but it was a disasterous start to the game by any measure. Dobson got two outs in the bottom of the third but then gave up a two-run homer to Jackie Robinson that put us in a 7-3 hole and his night was over, with Vern Fear coming in to get us out of the inning with the final out. Willie Mays opened the top of the eighth inning with a three-bagger, but Mays was tagged out at home plate after a fly-out by Banks, allowing the Dodgers to get out of the frame on a double play to kee the 7-3 lead. Vern Fear had pitched more than four innings of solid baseball, but we had to bring Tom Ferrick in for the bottom of the eighth and would still need a frenzied comeback in the ninth if we were going to come out of this one with a win. Ferrick gave up a base hit and then got two quick flyouts, before Jackie Robinson hit a double to put runners on second and third. Thankfully Pee Wee Reese grounded to third, and a quick out got us into the top of the ninth with just the four runs to overcome. Russ Snyder got one up the middle with one out, safely reaching first base and bringing up Joe Collins, who pinch-hit and got one off the center-field wall to come out with a double and putting two runners in scoring position! Jerry Bunyard pinch-hit for Ferrick and walked, loading the bases and bringing up the top of our order, still with just one out! Al Kaline hit one right past the second baseman to drive in a run and keep the bases loaded, but Cavarretta struck out swinging, bringing up Mays with the bases loaded and two outs. They walked him, scoring a run and pulling us within two -- bases still loaded! -- and Roger Maris came up to the plate with the game on the line. Unfortunately he hit it up the middle straight to the center fielder, who got the final out as the Dodgers beat us 7-5 in the first game. Joe Dobson took the loss, falling to 0-1 as a Cub, dropping his ERA to 6.30 overall with a four-hit seven-run 2.1 inning meltdown. Vern Fear piched 4.1 innings of two-hit ball, striking out a pair and walking another, improving his ERA to 1.33 on the season through 23 innings, and Tom Ferrick got through an inning with just a pair of hits, improving his ERA to 3.38 overall. But we weren’t able to come through with the comeback runs we needed despite outhitting Brooklyn 9-8. Cavarretta had two hits for a run and an RBI, Willie Mays had a hit for a run and an RBI, and Gene Baker hit once and batted in two. In game two, Hy Cohen (6-1, 4.19 ERA, 68.2 IP, 42 K’s, 1.12 WHIP) faced off against Brooklyn’s Billy Loes (6-4, 3.97 ERA, 99.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) in the final game of the series, with us needing a win to split the four-game series. Maris and Rosen hit back to back doubles in the top of the first, with Maris coming around easily to score and put us up 1-0. But they were quick to tie things back up 1-1 with a solo bomb to right by Gil Hodges, keeping the home crowd’s noise levels at an electric level. They took the lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by the pitcher, Loes, his first of the year, and Jackie Robinson then made it 3-1 with a solo bomb to left of his own. Cohen pitched well from there but was simply a victim of bad luck and poor pitch placement, and we went into the top of the fourth needing to dig out of a two-run deficit. And it continued in the bottom of the fourth -- a fourth solo homer, this time to Billy Cox, made it a 4-1 lead, and Cohen was getting rattled, though he stayed in to get us our outs and he was still fresh, having thrown only 62 pitches. But I had to start warming up Harry Dorish just in case, because his control simply wasn’t there. Cohen got one out in the bottom of the fifth and then unleashed a solo homer to Gil Hodges, his second of the game, and that was enough. Three pitches in the innning for one out and then a fifth homer? You just don’t have it tonight. Harry Dorish came in to relieve him, and aside from a double hit off his sixth pitch, he got the outs we needed. Ernie Banks reached base on an error in the top of the sixth, then made it to second on a balk, and an RBI double by Baker with two outs pulled us within three, down 5-2 against the Dodgers. Dorish stayed in for the bottom of the sixth but gave up two hits in a row with no outs, and we brought in Fear to hopefully keep more runs from scoring. But one of Dorish’s runs scored on a passed ball, before a flyout to center allowed a quick throw to home, getting Jackie Robinson out at the plate, which prevented further extensive damage. But because we didn’t have anyone warmed up fast enough, Fear threw 66 pitches in pursuit of his three outs in that inning -- it all happened so fast, and yet it seemed to take forever. This game was out of control and our bats were dead. Roger Maris walked the bases loaded following Cavarretta reaching base on a hit-by-pitch, but with two outs Al Rosen hit into an easy play from the shorstop to second, ending the inning with nothing to show for it. Tom Ferrick came in for the seventh and, against his first pitcher faced, gave up a solo homer to Carl Furillo on a SEVENTEEN-PITCH AT BAT ... and our bullpen was officially in shambles. Ferrick threw 40 pitches but got us out of the inning without any more runs scoring, but I had to bring Consuegra in to finish the game, and this was about as bad a game to have for the second of a double header that I can imagine. Consuegra got us our outs as quickly as possible, and by the time Maris struck out to end the game with us as 7-2 losers against the Dodgers, we were all just ready to get the f--- on the bus. In a two hour and 49 minute game that felt like it took five hours, there was nothing for us to be happy about. We lost the series to the Dodgers 3-1, and though they only out-hit us 11-10, we were outscored by five and our pitchers exploded like a nuclear test at Los Alamos. Five pitchers combined for 197 pitches on our side, and though the number of runs didn’t completely shellack our bullpen stats, I worry what this kind of game can do to overall morale. We’re going to need to bounce back and have our bats give our upcoming starters some run support, or we’ll be having to bring up extra guys from the minors to give some rest to our regulars. Hy Cohen fell to 6-2 and gave up five homers on seven hits, with just two strikeouts and a walk over 65 pitches in 4.1 innings of work. In retrospect I should have made him stay in and take his medicine -- our bullpen was just not ready to take on that workload in a doubleheader situation. And really, the four relievers only gave up two hits, but they blew their arms out having to throw more than planned, and that’s something I am going to have to watch out for as a manager as the season progresses. Cavarretta and Maris each had two hits, and Maris scored one of our two runs. Rosen and Baker batted in runs, and Banks had a hit and a run scored as well. Thank God for a day off as we travel to Philadelphia for three and then to play the Giants for three games over the weekend. Let’s not forget, we still lead the NL by 9.5 games. We need to keep that winning mentality and not fall into a funk over our first series loss in so long I can’t remember. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty Last edited by jksander; 08-27-2023 at 12:07 PM.

08-27-2023, 12:49 PM	#126
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 22, 1954 . . . I’m sending Carmen Mauro down to AAA for a spell, giving me a chance to bring up veteran minor-league reliever Bob Spicer to give us a bullpen arm that is not completely worn out. Spicer, at 29, would be making his major league debut if he gets into a game -- he’s spent the last five seasons at AAA, pitching nearly 1,500 minor league innings over his career, and this year he has a 1.96 ERA with 16 K’s through 23 innings over ten appearances. I’m hopeful that we can get long outings from our starters in the next three games -- Rogovin, Diehl and Hacker are next up in the rotation, and we’ll be able to use Dobson as a long-relief option if absolutely necessary, but the key is to give the guys time to recover from the beatdown against the Dodgers and let their arms recover. Consuegra only threw single-digit pitches in the final inning, so we do have him as a closing option as well. Tonight Saul Rogovin (9-0, 1.31 ERA, 89.0 IP, 54 K’s, 0.89 WHIP) takes the mound hoping to keep his fiery streak going while facing down Bob Lemon (4-4, 3.10 ERA, 104.2 IP, 55 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) in the first game at Philadelphia. Cavarretta tripled to start the top of the first, and Willie Mays got things going with a run-scoring double to put us up 1-0. But Saul Rogovin gave up a two-out, three-run homer to left in the bottom of the inning, and it felt like the nightmare was starting where it left off. Ernie Banks hit a flyball double and Willie Mays was able to score all the way from first to pull us within a run in the top of the fourth, and Al Rosen got a hit right past the ear of the third baseman, the ball rolling into left field and allowing Banks to come around and tie the game 3-3! But Rogovin gave up a goddamned solo homer to start the bottom of the inning, got a strikeout, and then gave up ANOTHER F---ING SOLO HOMER to make it 5-3! What has happened to our control? We’re letting these road fans into our heads! And it’s not like he has no control. By the time he got us out of the fourth inning he had thrown five strikeouts, but he was also nearing 80 pitches. With the day of rest in between games, I decided to warm up Harry Dorish, while hoping that we could get a fifth inning out of Rogovin and maybe some run support. Willie Mays got a flyball into right in the top of the fifth, driving home a run via Saul Rogovin, who scored from third having walked to start the inning, but Roger Maris hit to the second baseman and ended the inning before we could forment a true rally. Rogovin started the bottom of the sixth with a strikeout, then a runner reached first when the ball took a bad hop at short. Alvin Dark walked, but a flyout to center kept the runners in place, bringing up Randy Jackson at third with two outs and two on. Ernie Banks caught an infield flyball to end the inning, with Rogovin at 95 pitches through five and the lead still 5-4 for the Phillies. Rogovin got a flyout to center to start the sixth but then surrendered a triple to pitcher Bob Lemon, and I brought in Bob Spicer to pitch with the out and a man in scoring position. He gave up a hit that scored Rogovin’s run, but then took part in a spectacular double play that got a runner out at home with the bases loaded and then the runner out at first to end the inning with the Phillies up 6-4. Spicer got two outs for us in the seventh as well, at which point I brought Harry Dorish in with a man on first, and he got a quick out to end the innning with us still down by two runs. Dorish got us through the eighth without much fuss, but we came up in the top of the ninth needing at least two runs to prolong the game and give us a chance. Al Rosen took a walk to start things out, and Joe Collins came in to pinch hit for Elston Howard, and they walked him too! I brought Russ Snyder in to pinch hit for Gene Baker, and with the count 2-2 a passed ball allowed both runners to advance with us still playing with no outs! Snyder struck out, bringing up Harry Dorish. With Consuegra warming up in the bullpen, we brought in Bill Serena to hit, and he hit a sac fly to center .... or it would have been, if Rosen had taken the chance! I can’t believe he stayed put. That brought up Al Kaline, two runners in position, two outs. And he hit straight to the second baseman, who got the easy out to home. I still can’t believe that finish, we lose 6-4 in a game we had every chance to win. Saul Rogovin’s perfect season came to an end with a loss, slipping to 9-1 with a 1.81 ERA thanks to six earned runs off eight hits. He struck out six and walked two, but giving up three homers will f--- you up every time. Spicer’s debut was solid, with 1.1 innings of work and two hits, with two walks and a strikeout over 25 pitches -- no runs of his own, so his ERA as a major leaguer is unblemished! And Harry Dorish threw 1.1 innings without a hit, striking out one and improving his ERA to 1.17. It just wasn’t in the cards. The Phillies outhit us 10-7 as they improved to 35-32 on the season. Kaline and Mays each had two hits, with Mays scoring once and driving in two more. Ernie Banks also had a hit and an RBI, and Cavarretta had a hit and a run scored. Rogovin scored a run off a walk as well. We need to focus and fight back over the last two in the series, because right now we’ve lost our last three in a row, and the Redlegs, Dodgers and Phillies are all within a dozen games of us. Now’s not the time to start slumping, even if road wins ARE hard to find in the NL. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-02-2023, 10:34 AM	#127
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 23, 1954 . . . We’ve lost four of our last five games and four of our last ten, so it’s time to get back to some winning ways, Cub fans, even if we are in the middle of a long road trip. Tonight we have Warren Hacker (8-3, 2.13 ERA, 114.1 IP, 62 K’s, 0.94 WHIP) taking the mound, up against Philly’s Gordon Jones (6-8, 3.42 ERA, 126.1 IP, 68 K’s, 1.16 WHIP). We have our best players all rested and ready to play, which means our usual Murder’s Row of batters is ready to take the Phillies deep at every opportunity. Though in a game featuring two solid pitchers, those opportunities may be fewer and farther between. Al Rosen put us on the board in the top of the second with a solo homer to the left field bleachers, giving us a 1-0 lead with his tenth homer of the season. But they answered in the bottom of the second with a solo blast by Willie Jones to almost the same spot in the stands, tying the score 1-1, and in the bottom of the third they took a 2-1 lead on us when a flyout led to the runner scoring from third while our fielder didn’t even attempt a throw. But a two-run homer by Elston Howard in the top of the fifth put us up 3-2 via only his fourth homer of the year! Unfortunately the Phillies tied it up in the bottom of the inning on a deep fly ball to right that got past our fielder, and this game seemed destined to be a battle of wills down to the end. We loaded the bases in the top of the sixth but couldn’t bring anyone home, and Hacker gave up a triple in the bottom of the sixth that scored two runs for the Phillies, giving them a 5-3 lead as we headed into the seventh. Russ Snyder pinch-hit for Hacker in the top of the seventh with no outs, safely reaching first with a grounder to right that advanced Gene Baker to third and brought up the top of the order with no outs and a real shot at creating a rally! Al Kaline got a great hit into right, just over the head of the reaching second baseman, scoring our fourth run. But Cavarretta hit into a double play, getting the runner out at first and then the quick throw to get Cavarretta out at first, leaving Kaline as our lone runner (but in scoring position at second) with a pair of outs. But Willie Mays flew out to left and ended the inning with us still trailing 5-4. Vern Fear came in to pitch in the bottom of the seventh, and he pitched well enough to get us out of the inning with just a single hit, and though he got into some trouble in the eighth he got us out of it with a well-timed double play, sending us into the top of the ninth needing a run to keep this game going. But it wasn’t happening. The bottom of the order was up, and even Frank Baumholtz pinchi hitting for Fear couldn’t get a spark going. We lost this one 5-4, and we’re now officially on a skid. Warren Hacker took the loss, falling to 8-4 with a 2.39 ERA thanks to seven hits and five earned runs in six innings of play. Vern Fear lasted two innings with just three hits, improving his ERA to 1.16, but he couldn’t make us hit. The Phillies had 10 hits to our seven, with the Elston Howard two-run homer and the Al Rosen solo blast being the highlights of the game for us. It was also nice to see Russ Snyder get a hit off the bench -- his batting average is .390 through 41 at-bats, and seems to have recovered well from his injury. JUNE 24, 1954 . . . We’ve lost four games in a row now, five of our last six, but because the Redlegs keep losing as well, we still remain nine and a half games up in the NL race with our 48-21 record. But even with the series loss against Philly guaranteed, it would be nice to come out of this one with a win to snap the losing streak and get back our mojo. Robert Diehl (6-3, 2.84 ERA, 76.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) will be our starter today, going up against Bob Rush (3-3, 4.84 ERA, 22.1 IP, 10 K’s, 1.75 WHIP), who won 15 games for us last year as a starter before we traded him during the Winter Meetings. We’re giving Roger Maris a day off and starting Russ Snyder out in left, batting sixth behind Banks. Diehl gave up a run in the bottom of the second inning but pitched his way out of a jam and avoided further damage, stranding two runners for the Phillies. But Rush was on fire and we couldn’t buy a hit, only placing one runner on base in the first three innings and that was via a walk. But Cavarretta got a hit in the top of the fourth, reaching second, and Rush walked Mays, bringing up Al Rosen with a chance to really get something going. He struck out, however, and Banks batted into a fielder’s choice, reaching first and driving Cavarretta to third. Russ Snyder then tied the game 1-1 on an infield single, the ball taking a double hop just past the shortstop, leaving just enough time for Cavarretta to score and for Snyder to reach base safely! Gene Baker then got a hit just barely out into center, allowing enough time for Banks to come around from third and score headfirst, giving us a 2-1 lead, and Elston Howard then cleared all the bases with a homer to left that barely stayed fair, giving us a 5-1 lead and some real momentum! But Diehl was playing poorly, with no command and rushing his throws, allowing two hits to start the bottom of the fourth, Philly scoring a run on a double to right and staying within three -- I had no choice but to start warming up pitchers in the bullpen. He got us out of the fourth but it was unlikely I would give him a fifth. I brought Tom Ferrick out to pitch in the bottom of the fifth with our lead stil 5-2, and he pitched around a walk to get us out of the inning with our lead still safe. He got us through the sixth with a spectacular double play, and Harry Dorish came in after the stretch with a three-run lead to protect -- and though he gave up a two-out double, he was able to get a groundout to first to end the seventh with our 5-2 lead still safe. Cavarretta hit a solo homer to right to make it 6-2 in the top of the eighth, his sixth home run of the season, and Harry Dorish stayed in the rest of the game as we were able to hold tough to win this one 6-4 against the Phillies in the final game of the series. Tom Ferrick got his second win of the season, improving to 2-1 with a 3.27 ERA thanks to two innings of one hit, one walk ball. Harry Dorish then lasted three innings with only two hits, a strikeout and two walks, throwing 58 pitches and improving his ERA to 1.14 through 31.2 innings of work. The two relievers combined to save Robert Diehl from the risk of collapse -- Diehl lasted four innings but gave up seven hits and two earned runs, improving his ERA just slightly to 2.92. Philadelphia outhit us 10-6 but we made good use of our eight total baserunners. Cavarretta had two hits, scoring twice and driving in a run with his homer, and Russ Snyder hit twice, scoring once and driving in another, giving him seven RBIs on the season and a .400 average. We now head to New York for three games against the Giants (21-49, 28 GB) with a chance to hopefully further extend our lead in the NL race. At this point we’re still safely 9.5 games up on the Redlegs, but the race for second is tight -- Brooklyn (37-33) is three games behind Cincinnati, with Philly (36-33) just a half game behind them. And Milwaukee (34-33) and St. Louis (34-37) are at least within striking distance if they can find their way to some key wins before the All Star break. Over in the AL, Cleveland (44-22) continues to add distance between themselves and the rest of the league -- the White Sox (38-30) have also pulled a half game up on the now third-place Yankees, with the Guardians seven games up on the rest of the AL. The Washington Senators (37-32) and the Detroit Tigers (34-33) are all within ten games or so of first in that league, so there’s still a lot of room for mid-summer chaos! __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-03-2023, 11:48 AM	#128
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 25, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen is ready to go against the Giants in game one, with his 6-2 record, 4.56 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 44 K’s through 73 innings. Batters have only been hitting .229 against him this year, a solid rookie season by any stretch. He’ll be up against Bill Connelly (2-2, 3.03 ERA, 35.2 IP, 18 Ks, 1.35 WHIP) for the Giants, who has started three games and played five out of the bullpen so far this year, as the Giants try and figure out anything they can to stop their freefall. This game turned into a pitchers’ duel early on, with only three hits between the two teams through three innings. Roger Maris got a walk in the fourth, then stole second and an errant throw trying to pick him off allowed him to reach third! Al Rosen got a shot into left that drove Maris home, putting us up 1-0 in the top of the fourth with just one out, but a double play kept the Giants in this one. Connelly continued to pitch well enough -- we only had two hits in the first six innings -- and heading into the bottom of the sixth we still held the slim 1-0 lead. Hy Cohen continued to pitch fireballs, but our batters weren’t making any contact. Cohen got us through the eighth still leading by the one run, but we couldn’t add any insurance in the top of the ninth. Cohen came in to finish what he started, getting two quick outs and then surrendering a walk and a single to right, and after 138 pitches he was done. We brought Consuegra in to get the final out, and a quick groundout to first ended the game! We won this one 1-0 in spite of our inability to hit, stealing a game from the Giants who had outhit us and still floundered. Cohen got the win, improving to 7-2 with a 4.08 ERA thanks to 8.2 innings of six-hit baseball -- his six strikeouts were top notch, but his five walks wore him down and kept us on a razor’s edge for most of the night. Consuegra earned his 12th save, throwing only three pitches, but with two runners on base we NEEDED that out badly. We only had two hits the entire game, but the five walks Connelly threw gave us extra baserunners, and Maris managed to score our only run without even making contact! Cavarretta was walked three times, and Kaline and Rosen each got one hit -- Rosen collecting the RBI from the Maris score. With the win we improved to 50-21 and brought our lead in the NL back to double digits over the Redlegs, in the same game where the Giants notched their 50th LOSS of the year. JUNE 26, 1954 . . . Joe Dobson is back on the mound tonight -- since becoming a Cub, in three appearances (two starts) he’s gone 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA and 1.50 WHIP through 10 innings, with five strikeouts. He’ll pitch against Dave Kolso (4-4, 4.10 ERA, 68.0 IP, 20 K’s, 1.46 WHIP) of the Giants, in a game that we were willing to treat as a bullpen game if necessary. But we took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first thanks to Cavarretta’s seventh homer of the year, which at least gave Dobson a little rope starting out. He gave up a run to the Giants in the bottom of the inning but got out of the frame with just two hits and the 2-1 lead still intact, and Al Kaline hit a three-run blast in the top of the second, his 11th this year, to make it a 5-1 lead. The Giants scored a single run in the bottom of the second, but Willie Mays hit a run-scoring double in the top of the fifth to extend our lead back to four runs, up 6-2, and with the bases loaded and only one out, Al Rosen hit a sac-fly to left, scoring another. Elston Howard then scored two more with a triple and we went into the bottom of the fifth leading 9-2. Vern Fear came in to pitch for Dobson, pitching two perfect innings in the fifth and sixth, and Al Rosen hit a solo homer in the top of the 7th to make it 10-2, his 11th homer of the season. Fear gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but then got three quick outs, two by strikeout, to end the inning with us still leading by seven runs. Ernie Banks added a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to give him a dozen four-baggers this year and giving us a 12-3 lead. Tom Ferrick came in for Fear with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and gave up a two-run homer on his third pitch of the night, but he got the final out we needed and then stayed in for the ninth, getting all the remaining outs without any mess as we stomped the Giants 12-5. Vern Fear got the win, improving to 2-0 on the year with a 1.33 ERA thanks to 3.2 innings of one-hit, five strikeout ball. He wound up with two runs given up (only one earned) over 48 pitches. Dobson lasted four innings and gave up four hits with two strikeouts for two earned runs, improving his ERA to 5.79 on the year. And Ferrick, though he gave up the one hit (a home run) for an earned run of his own, he also struck out a batter and didn’t do any damage in the ninth, keeping his ERA at a respectable 3.65 for the season. Not bad for a bullpen game -- we only gave up six hits all night, and we notched 15 of our own, led by Cavarretta with four hits for a run and two batted in, making up for his three walk no-fer yesterday evening. Kaline, Mays, Howard and Baker each had two hits as well, with Kaline turning his two in to three runs and three more batted in. Banks, Rosen and Howard each batted in a pair as well. JUNE 27, 1954 . . . Tonight’s leader from the mound will be Saul Rogovin (9-1, 1.81 ERA, 94.1 IP, 60 K’s, 0.94 WHIP), fresh off his first loss of the year. He’ll be facing New York’s Jack Harshman (2-7, 3.88 ERA, 111.1 IP, 54 K’s, 1.50 WHIP) in the final game of this series. Phil Cavarretta started the game out with a solo homer in the top of the first, keeping him red hot, with eight homers for the season and five hits in his last six at-bats! But New York got the run back in the bottom of the first, Dusty Rhodes scoring on an error, and we could tell they were really going to fight to avoid the sweep. Rogovin struggled in the second, giving up two hits -- one a run-scoring triple -- with just a single out. But he got a quick throw to home to keep the triple from becoming a run, and a third out got us out of the inning with just the one-run deficit. And things took a bad turn in the bottom of the third -- Saul Rogovin started to have pain in his shoulder, and he tried to pitch through it to at least get us through the inning -- with Harry Dorish warming up as quickly as we could. He got the final out, but was in fairly intense pain and we rushed him out of the stadium between innings to get his shoulder examined as quickly as possible. Not another major pitching injury ... While we waited to hear back about Rogovin, Al Rosen hit a solo shot to left in the top of the fourth to tie the game 2-2, giving him a dozen homers for the season, and with the bases loaded McCullough hit a double to score two and give us a 4-2 lead. Peanuts Lowery, in his first game this season as a backup, walked the bases loaded again, and Joe Collins, batting for Rogovin, walked in a run to make it 5-2, still with no outs. Our team, fully united behind making sure Rogovin wouldn’t get tagged for a loss, gave us a three-run cushion heading into the botom of the fourth, with Harry Dorish coming in to protect it in an unexpected bullpen game. Gene Baker added a solo blast in the top of the fifth, his fourth of the year, to make it 6-2. Dorish got us through the fifth inning without any damage, and Ernie Banks added a run-scoring single in the top of the sixth to expand the lead to five runs. Dorish got three quick outs in the sixth. Tom Ferrick came in to protect the 7-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh, and he set the batters down one, two, three in the inning, and Russ Snyder hit a towering blast to right, a 413-footer that made our lead 8-2 in the top of the eighth, his second homer of his rookie season! With a six-run cushion, Ferrick was able to stay out in the bottom of the eighth, and he pitched very efficiently, getting three more outs with just 13 total pitches thrown over two innings, so we kept him in to finish the game. And he did so with even more of a lead -- McCullough hit a spectacular inside-the-park homer, only his third home run of the year in any form, to give us a seven-run lead. Ferrick got three more outs to end the game as a 9-2 Cubs victory! Harry Dorish improved to 3-1 with a 1.04 ERA, lasting three full innings on just two hits, with a strikeout and a walk through 48 pitches. Tom Ferrick then closed the game out, completing a three-inning save by giving up no hits, throwing 29 pitches to thoroughly dominate the opposition even without any K’s. His ERA is now 2.93 on the season through 15.1 innings, and he has two saves thus far. Rogovin, who lasted through the first three innings before injuring his shoulder, had given up only four hits and two runs (one earned) through 47 pitches. His ERA dipped slightly to 1.85. The good news, if you can call it that, is that we don’t think Rogovin is going to need surgery on his shoulder. The bad news is that it is indeed a strained UCL, and he’ll be out the rest of the season. That’s going to leave us a huge hole to fill -- two potential Cy Young candidates now out for the season. Bob Spicer will stay up at the major league level in the bullpen but will now have to play more of a spot starter role as well, with Cohen, Hacker and Diehl as our main rotation -- Dobson and Spicer both have good endurance and should be able to back those three up, but it’s going to be a tough road to protect this division lead. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-03-2023, 12:28 PM	#129
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 29, 1954 . . . We just need to get through these two games at Milwaukee and then we can get home to Chicago for the four-game holiday series against St. Louis back at Wrigley. Over the next 13 days before the All Star break we’ve got 14 games against the Braves (35-36), Cardinals (34-40) and Redlegs (40-33). How we handle that run is going to say a lot for what the rest of our season could look like, Tonight our pitchers are all well rested, thanks to the day off yesterday, and Warren Hacker (8-4, 2.39 ERA, 120.1 IP, 64 K’s, 0.96 WHIP) will be taking the mound against the Braves’ Art Fowler (3-2, 4.65 ERA, 71.2 IP, 34 K’s, 1.40 WHIP). Cavarretta put us up 2-0 with another bomb to right field in the top of the first, giving him his ninth homer of the season, But Hacker started out with two walks and a hit into the outfield, loading the bases and putting us in a real jam with no outs. They got a hit into the right-field corner to tie the score in the bottom of the first, at which point Hacker seemed to completely melt down. Another hit and then a sac-fly to left each scored runs, and by the time he got the final out we were down 2-4 and he’d thrown 35 pitches. And it got no better in the bottom of the second, his stuff just wasn’t there. Two more walks and a hit knocked in another run and then with Bob Spicer warming up, he allowed a hit into deep center that blew the lead to 7-2, a two-run triple, all with two outs! He got the final out but the damage was done. I sat Spicer down and brought Vern Fear in to pitch in the bottom of the third with us trailing 7-2 against the Braves. Bob Spicer then came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the fourth, and he ended the inning on a strikeout, the lead for Milwaukee still at five runs. Spicer pitched very efficiently and gave us real consistency through the middle of the game, though our bats were struggling to catch fire. The Braves added two runs in the bottom of the eighth, one on an error at home plate by Elston Howard, and then a three-run homer put it completely and irrevocably out of reach. This game was an epic humiliation, and it was Spicer who unfairly took the brunt of it in the eighth. They set us down one, two, three in the ninth to end this one as a 12-2 blowout. Hacker (8-5, 2.87 ERA) took the loss, giving up six hits and seven earned runs in just two innings, with four walks and a strikeout. Vern Fear made it through 1.2 innings with two hits and three strikeouts, and Spicer had 3.1 innings of great pitching followed by the disaster that was the eighth. All totaled, through 4.1 innings, he gave up eight hits, five earned runs and got a strikeout with a single walk, ballooning his ERA to 7.94 as he took one for the team. They out-hit us 16-8, with Kaline (three hits, one run) and Rosen (two hits) trying and failing to get the team to rally. I’m hoping this was just a bad effort for Hacker and not a sign of what we can expect the rest of the year. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-03-2023, 08:14 PM	#130
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JUNE 30, 1954 . . . It’s our final road game of this long stretch to end the month of June, and Hy Cohen (7-2, 4.08 ERA, 81.2 IP, 50 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) will be pitching for us, against Johnny Antonelli (8-6, 3.27 ERA, 126.2 IP, 73 K’s, 1.34 WHIP). Willie Mays hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth, his 17th of the season, to finally give us a 1-0 lead ... and it was only our second hit of the game! And though we had a handful of later hits, the game stayed tight and we were unable to buy an insurance run. Cavarretta reached second in the top of the seventh but was stranded on base and the score stayed 1-0. In the bottom of the inning the Braves tied it up 1-1 with a run scoring single by Del Crandall, and Joe Adcock hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to give Milwaukee a 2-1 lead. Hank Aaron then hit a two-run blast to make it 4-1, and we had our work cut out for us heading into the top of the ninth. Bill Serena pinch-hit for Elston Howard to start the inning, but he struck out swinging. Russ Snyder came in to bat for Gene Baker, amd he popped up to the shortstop, but he caught it on a bounce and wasn’t able to get a throw, allowing Snyder to reach safely. Frank Baumholtz came in to hit for Hy Cohen, but Johnny Sain came in to sub in as their pitcher, and he pitched perfectly into a popup to right, giving us our second out. And Kaline came up to bat and hit a quiet grounder to first, ending the game as another loss, this time by a 4-1 margin. Hy Cohen fell to 7-3 on the year with a 4.12 ERA, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts, but his four walks killed us and contributed to four earned runs. We outhit them 8-4, making the loss even more frustrating. Kaline and Banks each had two hits but made nothing of them. Willie Mays’ home run was our only real offense of the night. We’ll end the month of June having gone 19-9, but we’re 4-6 over our last ten games and our pitching depth is now suspect being that two of our best starters are on injured reserve for the rest of the season. We’re 52-23, 9.5 games up on everyone in the NL, and yet it feels like we’re dancing on a razor’s edge. The All Star break can’t get here soon enough. JULY 2, 1954 . . . Today we’re back at Wrigley, and Robert Diehl (6-3, 2.92 ERA, 80.0 IP, 39 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) is pitching against the Cardinals’ Tommy Byrne (3-5, 4.62 ERA, 85.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.65 WHIP). Diehl quickly got into trouble in the first inning, giving up a two-run double to spot the Cardinals a two run lead, but Willie Mays got us on the board in the bottom of the inning with his 18th homer, a solo blast over to right, to make it 2-1. And Diehl settled in well from there, as this one turned into a real duel, just four combined hits in the first four innings, Mays’ homer being our only one. Phil Cavarretta got a great grounder into right in the bottom of the sixth, driving in the tying run as Diehl slid headfirst into home, capitalizing on a walk he took to start the inning. Willie Mays then hit into left, a single that drove in two more runs, giving Mays 67 RBIs so far in the season! Roger Maris kept it going with a great shot to right, and they missed a throw to third, allowing Mays to score and make it 5-2, still with no outs! Ernie Banks drove one up the middle but Maris was tagged out at home plate to prevent a run from scoring on the double, but Al Rosen doubled himself to drive Banks home from second and making it 6-2! They walked Gene Baker, bringing up Diehl for the second time in the inning, and he flew out to center to end things, but we’d done five runs worth of damage and batted around ... how’s that for a Wrigley return? Elston Howard drove in a run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 7-2, and Diehl stayed in to finish the game, having recovered nicely from his first-inning homer, the only runs scored on him in the game thus far. He held tough for three quick outs and we beat St. Louis 7-2 in the first of four here in Chicago! Diehl improved to 7-3 on the season with a 2.83 ERA with just four hits in the game, three strikeouts, two walks and the two earned runs, throwing 110 pitches in the complete game. We outhit them 9-4, with Willie Mays hitting twice for two runs and three RBIs, while Banks and Rosen each added a pair of hits themselves. JULY 3, 1954 . . . We have Warren Hacker (8-5, 2.87 ERA, 122.1 IP, 65 K’s, 1.03 WHIP) pitching tonight against St. Louis’ Vinegar Bend Mizell (11-5, 2.19 ERA, 148.0 IP, 113 K’s, 1.15 WHIP). Hacker struggled in his last outing, and I don’t want him getting in his own head -- it’s a matter of getting out there and pitching through it. We need his experience in this rotation. Hacker got out to a great start, and then in the top of the second inning we committed back to back errors, via Cavarretta and Baker, to put two runners on base with no outs. Visibly frustrated, Hacker gave up a fastball hit to deep center and St. Louis got on the board. With an unearned run. The second unearned run scored on a line drive left of center, and then we finally got out of the inning with Hacker just fighting to keep his composure, knowing now we’d need our hitters to succeed against one of the best pitchers in the majors. Al Rosen opened the bottom of the second with a double, his 16th of the year, but we left him stranded, heading into the top of the third trailing 2-0. And in the top of the inning Hacker gave up a two-run homer to make it 4-0 St. Louis, and it was like watching him crack in slow motion. Just 40 pitches in, I couldn’t pull him out of the game ... he’d lose all confidence. But by the middle of the inning, with St. Louis ahead 5-0 and Hacker 62 pitches in, I had to start planning out the bullpen game. Mizell came out and walked Kaline, and then beaned Cavarretta, giving us a sliver of light on the horizon! Mays quickly was walked to load the bases, and that brought up Roger Maris with a scent of blood. He struck out, but Banks hit a sac-fly to left field ... or it would have bene one IF ANYONE HAD F---ING RUN! Thank God Al Rosen had the presence of mind to slap one into right field and drive in two runs or I might have had my head explode here in the dugout. Elston Howard walked to again load the bases, and then Gene Baker walked in a run to make it 5-3 as the Cardinals rushed to have a meeting on the mound. Russ Snyder came in to pinch hit for Hacker, but he struck out to end the inning, bringing Harry Dorish in to see what he could do with this one heading into the top of the fourth. Dorish came in fired up, striking out the first two batters he faced, getting the third out on a grounder to first. Kaline got to first on a bunt to start the bottom of the inning, and Cavarretta quickly walked, with Vinegar Bend Mizell having a meltdown of his own on the mound. Mays drove one hard into right, leading Kaline to score the fourth run for our Cubs, putting runners at second and third, no outs! Maris grounded out, and Banks hit one out to center, driving in the tying run with a sacrifice, and we went into the fifth knotted 5-5! Vern Fear came in to pitch with one out and a man on second in the top of the sixth, and he successfully stranded the runner by getting the two outs we needed to keep the score knotted. Fear loaded the bases in the seventh with one out, but an infield hit and an out at home kept us in it, and a grounder to third for a quick throw to first got us out of the inning still tied 5-5! Tom Ferrick came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, but he only got one out while giving up two doubles which led to the go ahead run scoring and putting us down 6-5. A subsequent two-run homer doomed him as I had to bring in Consuegra with the score 8-5. Consuegra got us out of the inning but we had played all afternoon like the game was an afterthought, and our four errors through the middle of the eighth suggested we lacked serious focus. Willie Mays hit a run-scoring double to pull us within two, and Roger Maris hit a two-run blast to right to tie it up 8-8 in the bottom of the eighth, giving us a breath of life once again, but could we capitalize on it? We went into the top of the ninth desperately needing the Cardinals to NOT score. Consuegra looked flustered at first, allowing a batter to reach first on a bloop infield single, but we had a brilliant double play with a catch by Howard and a quick throw to first clearing the bases, and a grounder to Rosen at third made for a quick out at first to get us into the bottom of the inning with a chance to walk this off. Bill Serena pinch hit for Howard to start the inning, striking out swinging. Gene Baker grounded out to first. And Consuegra grounded out to first, forcing us into extras and setting us up for a potential disaster. Consuegra came out to pitch in the top of the 10th, having thrown 29 pitches, and with Joe Dobson warming up in the bullpen we were hoping Sandy had a few more outs left in him. Maris caught a blistering fly to left for out numnber one, and Consuegra got a strikeout from Ray Jablonski, and a quick throw from short to first got us out number three and kept our hopes alive -- with Dobson ready to come in for the 11th if necessary. But Al Kaline came out and got a single up the middle, hoping to spark the rally that could win this one outright. But Joe Collins struck out, Willie Mays flew out to right, and Roger Maris struck out. This game is destined to never end -- we went into the 11th inning still knotted 8-8. Ernie Banks walked to start the bottom of the 11th, but Bill Serena was the hero of the game. He hit a one-out double into the left field corner that drove Banks all the way around from first to score the walk-off run, giving us the 9-8 win seemingly out of nowhere! Dobson took the win, improving to 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA with two strikeouts. Consuegra stood out with two strikeouts and only three hits over 2.2 innings of relief, while Hacker struggled yet again in his second start not to last more than three innings -- giving up seven hits and five runs (three earned) in three innings, bringing his ERA down to 3.02. Is there a sports shrink out there? I think we may need one to bust him out of this slump. St. Louis outhit us 14-9 but we stole the 9-8 win out from under them, with Al Rosen leading the way with three hits and two RBIs. Willie Mays added a pair of hits for two runs and two RBIs, and Phil Cavarretta walked twice and managed to score three runs this afternoon, making really good use of his opportunities. We survive to fight another day, but the bullpen is completely shot heading into tomorrow’s double-header. This win may cost us in the end, as we’ve got Hy Cohen rested for game one, but game two is going to be tough ... Dobson had to pitch to end the game, and though he says he’s fully rested, I don’t know that I can safely use him to start the second game. I called Bob Spicer back up from AAA as a backup option, and we may have to start him in the second game, with Dobson as a potential relief option. Whatever happens, right now we’ve gone from having an incredibly deep pod of pitchers to feeling like we’re running on fumes. God help me if Cohen can’t go the distance in game one. Then we have a second double-header on the fifth on the road in Cincy, giving us four games in two days, meaning no matter what I do we’re going to be risking playing guys on extremely short rest with no days off until the All Star Break. This could be a very long week for Cubs fans ... here’s hoping I can pull a few miracles out of my ass. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty Last edited by jksander; 09-04-2023 at 10:55 AM.

09-05-2023, 07:41 PM	#131
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 4, 1954 . . . We may have to make some roster moves over the coming days, with four games in two days followed by a stretch of six more days in a row with games before we finally get an All Star weekend reset and an extended stretch of 13 Wrigley games in 11 days to put us into late July. I’ve had some trade interest for Klippstein, despite his injury, but I’m not sure we want to jump the gun on that. If it comes to it as we head toward the trade deadline, however, everything is on the table. Hy Cohen (7-3, 4.12 ERA, 89.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) started game one this afternoon, up against St. Louis starter Bob Grim (5-7, 2.96 ERA, 140.0 IP, 77 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). In the top of the fourth the Cardinals thought they were going to break a 0-0 stalemate, but with one out and a man on third Al Kaline caught a blistering line drive to right and made a brilliant throw to home, just in time to get the out and the double play. So we were the ones to finally get on the board, when Al Rosen belted one to deep right, a solo blast that put us ahead 1-0 and gave him his 13th homer of the year. A few minutes later Al Kaline walked the bases loaded, but Mays couldn’t get a hit and we went into the top of the sixth with the one run lead. Cavarretta committed an error on a catch at first to allow a runner to advance safely into scoring position, however, and a run-scoring double by Red Schoendienst tied the game. Cohen gave up another double with two outs, putting two men in scoring position, but he threw a strikeout to safely get us out of the inning tied. In the top of the eighth Cohen gave up a solo homer to pitcher Bob Grim to give St. Louis the 2-1 lead, and in the top of the ninth Frank Bolling hit one off him to left, making it 3-1. Howard and Baker singled to give us two baserunners and no outs, bottom of the ninth, and Bill Serena cmae in to pinch hit for Hy Cohen blasting one on the ground into right field, loading the bases! Al Kaline flew out to center and the runners all held ... one out. Cavarretta flew out to center and the runners held ... two outs. RUN YOU CLODS! And Willie Mays flew out to center -- we left three runners on and absolutely blew it in a 3-1 loss. Hy Cohen fell to 7-4 with a 3.92 ERA, giving up eight hits in the complete game for three runs (two earned) with four strikeouts and two walks. Each team finished with eight hits, but St. Louis did more with the runners they got on. Al Rosen was our only player to score, thanks to his homer in the fifth -- those loaded bases in the bottom of the ninth are going to eat at me, but on to the second game. Joe Dobson (1-1, 5.40 ERA, 15.0 IP, 9 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) will be starting our second game of the day out of pure necessity, but I don’t plan to use him too deep into the game if we can get ourselves a lead. Dorish, Ferrick and Spicer are available in the bullpen, and we will use them however much is necessary to prevent injury. St. Louis is starting Ron Kline (2-6, 4.29 ERA, 65.0 IP, 22 K’s, 1.58 WHIP). Willie Mays opened the game with a solo blast to left, giving him his 19th homer of the year and us a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Harry Dorish came in with two outs and a man on first in the top of the fifth, and he would have had the out but Cavarretta proved to be a liability at first yet again, bobbling the catch and allowing the runners to both be safe at first and second. But Jablonski hit into an easy throw from short to second, ending the inning with our lead intact. And in the bottom of the fifth Willie Mays drove in two runs with a double, expanding our lead to 3-0 and providing some insurance. Dorish gave up a solo blast on two outs in the top of the seventh to put St. Louis on the board, but he got out of the inning with a strikeout. Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth to relieve Dorish, who had pitched very well all night, as we hoped to close out the win. A runner reached base on a slow infield throw, then Consuegra got a strikeout. But a double to deep center advanced two runners into scoring position with just the one out, but a flyout to right held both runners in place, giving “Steady Sandy” a good shot to secure things. A hit to Rosen and a quick throw to first ended the game as a 3-1 victory. Two games, exact opposite finishes, but we send St. Louis home with another series loss as we took three out of four. Harry Dorish piched 3.1 innings of one-hit relief, earning the win to improve to 4-1 with a 1.12 ERA! He gave up one run with a strikeout through 34 pitches. Joe Dobson was solid in 4.2 innings of two-hit ball, striking out three and walking two through 64 pitches, and improving his ERA to 4.12 overall. And Sandy Consuegra earned his 13th save of the year, striking out one and giving up two hits, his 1.70 ERA remaining quite impressive. We outhit St. Louis 6-5 in a tightly fought pitchers’ battle, with Willie Mays leading the way with two hits, a run and two RBIs. Cavarretta and McCullough each scored runs as well, and Al Rosen got two hits but was twice left stranded. JULY 5, 1954 . . . In trade news, we’ve stunned fans in both markets by making a rookie trade between our club and the Detroit Tigers, sending Russ Snyder, our first rounder from this year’s draft, to the Tigers for 21-year-old Bob Shaw, who is rated as the 7th best prospect in the majors! Shaw has spent the last two seasons in the minors, and this year for AA Little Rock he’s put up a 2-0 record with a 2.51 ERA, nine strikeouts and a 1.26 WHIP. The deal went through late yesterday afternoon, and we had time to get Shaw down to Cincinnati to meet us in time for today’s doubleheader. The plan is to start Warren Hacker and Robert Diehl today, potentially debuting Shaw as a bullpen option, and keep him available until at least the All Star break, at which point we can move him down to AAA for further development time. First up, Warren Hacker (8-5, 3.02 ERA, 125.1 IP, 67 K’s, 1.06 WHIP) gets the start after aborted starts two days ago and back on June 29th, during which he failed to get past the third inning. He had three quality starts back in early-to-mid June, and I am confident he can get back into his groove. He’ll be pitching against Redlegs starter Tom Poholsky (7-9, 3.57 ERA, 143.2 IP, 46 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) in the opening game. Willie Mays hit into a fielder’s choice in the top of the first, safely reaching first and scoring a run as Kaline made it home from third to put us ahead 1-0 heading into the bottom of the inning. But the Redlegs scored two in the bottom of the third off a double by Gus Bell. Heading into the top of the sixth still trailing 1-2, our bats had been mostly quiet all night, and they stayed that way -- we’d get a solid hit and then no one could find ways to advance any runners. But Elston Howard got us going with a triple to start the seventh, and Bill Serena pinch hit for Gene Baker, getting a blast into left to score the tying run as he reached base safely! Clyde McCullough came in to pinch hit for Hacker -- Serena took second off a passed ball, advancing to third as McCullough successfully sac-bunted into our first out of the inning to bring up the top of the order. Kaline hit one out to deep center and Serena used his superior speed to slide into home, giving us the 3-2 lead! We brought Kenneth Chapman in to play second and 24-year-old righty Jim Brosnan, one of our top relief prospects, came up for his major league debut out of the bullpen in the bottom of the seventh! Brosnan was a bit tight early on, but despite a double and a walk to start the inning he got out of the seventh with no damage. He got us three quick outs to get out of the eighth as well, and we brought Consuegra in for the ninth for the save opportunity. But he gave up a solo homer on his sixth pitch of the night to tie the game, got a strikeout, and then allowed runners to reach base on consecutive hits. Their leadoff man hit into a fielder’s choice, advancing to first while the runner on second moved to third, and it came down to one out to get us into extras. A flyout to right and we’d escaped the walkoff loss, but we’re now heading into extras on a doubleheader day. Their pitcher, Bud Podbielan, walked Cavarretta, Maris and Banks with a flyout by Willie Mays in between, sending Al Rosen up to the plate with just one out and loaded bases just calling for him to make something happen in the top of the 10th. A wild pitch by Podbielan led a run to score, and he walked Rosen to again load the bases. Elston Howard then blasted a bouncing grounder into deep center, allowing him to reach with a double that scored three runs, giving us a very comfortable 7-3 lead! Chapman got one into right, and another run scored on a passed ball, and we went into the bottom of the inning suddenly ahead by five runs. Tom Ferrick came in to close things out, and he got us out of game one with an unexpected 8-3 victory! Hacker would have had the win, were it not for Consuegra’s blown save, his third of the year. So Sandy took the win, improving to 3-1 with a 1.89 ERA, having given up three hits with a run and a strikeout in his one inning of work. Hacker lasted six innings with four hits and two earned runs, striking out five batters and walking another to bring his ERA back down to 3.02. Brosnan debuted with a two-inning hold, giving up one hit with a strikeout and two walks, while Ferrick closed it out with a tenth inning, one hit one strikeout effort. We outhit the Redlegs 13-9, with Cavarretta, Mays, Banks and Howard each notching two hits. Elston Howard’s two hit, two run, three RBI night was the best of all our offensive performances, while Kaline, Mays and Serena each batted in runs of their own. Robert Diehl (7-3, 2.83 ERA, 89.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) came out and started the second game of the day on three days’ rest, up against Cincinnati’s Vern Law (2-1, 4.28 ERA, 33.2 IP, 13 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Diehl gave up a run to the Redlegs on two outs in the bottom of the second, but we got the run back in the top of the third as Willie Mays took home on a wild pitch to make it 1-1. But the Redlegs hit a run-scoring triple in the bottom of the third as Diehl fought to control his pitches. Another run-scoring triple in the bottom of the fifth extended Cincy’s lead to 3-1, but Gene Baker hit a two-run blast to right, tying the game 3-3 in the top of the sixth, his fifth four-bagger of the season! We brought Bob Shaw in for his major league debut in the bottom of the sixth, and he notched his first major league strikeout while getting us quickly out of the inning. And in the top of the seventh Roger Maris drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single that scored Al Kaline to make it a 4-3 lead! Vern Fear came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth, quickly getting the runner out at second and protecting our 4-3 lead, and he stayed in for the ninth to attempt the same. He set down three out of four batters, giving up just a single hit, as we closed out the one-run victory to sweep the Redlegs in this doubleheader, winning 4-3! Rookie Bob Shaw won his major league debut in 2.2 innings of three-hit relief, starting out 1-0 with a perfect 0.00 ERA, striking out two! Vern Fear got his first save of the year via 1.1 innings of one hit, one strikeout work, improving his ERA to 1.14 through 31.2 innings. And Robert Diehl set everyone up moderately well, getting five full innings in despite nine hits leading to three earned runs. He struck out two batters but threw 85 pitches and therefore had to be relieved to get out of the game without doing further damage. Cincy outhit us 13-12, but Gene Baker had three hits for a run and two batted in, and Mays, Maris, Banks and McCullough each got two hits, keeping the train rolling all the way through the order. We have six games remaining before the All Star break, having started out the month of July with a 5-1 record. We return to Wrigley for three games against Milwaukee, followed by three on the road against St. Louis. Our record stands at 57-24, eleven games up on our nearest competition in the NL (Brooklyn, who have gone on a tear of late, winning eight of their last ten). Over in the AL, the Yankees (44-38) have slid into third, with Cleveland now holding a stunning 9.5 game lead on the White Sox. I think it’s time for people to start taking those Guardians seriously! We, meanwhile, survived the double double-header minefield, and I am hopeful that we have the depth to redouble our efforts to dominate the post-All Star months. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-09-2023, 11:38 AM	#132
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 6, 1954 . . . Time to face Milwaukee back at Wrigley! We’ve got Joe Dobson on the mound, with his 1-1 record and 4.12 ERA through 19.2 innings as a Cub (and a rapidly improving 1.17 WHIP) taking on Milwaukee’s Bob Buhl (6-7, 3.63 ERA, 114.0 IP, 69 K’s, 1.48 WHIP). In the top of the second inning Joe Dobson gave up a triple but then got two quick outs, a walk and then a strikeout to escape without a run scored. Baker doubled in the bottom of the third and a sac-bunt moved him safely to third, but a flyout and a grounder to first ended that inning without a score as well. And Dobson gave up a solo homer that stayed barely fair in the top of the fourth, Hank Aaron getting his ninth of the season as the Braves went up 1-0. Mays and Maris got hits to start the bottom of the fourth, and Ernie Banks walked to load the bases with no outs, with Elston Howard finally getting a shot through into the outfield to score the tying run. Gene Baker drove one out there as well to score another and keep the bases loaded with just one out, but that was all we were able to get, though at least we were back in the lead! Dobson got us through the sixth, and Al Rosen hit a towering homer almost out to Waveland in the bottom of the sixth to score two more runs, making it 4-1 -- that was Rosen’s 14th homer of the year, second only to Mays on the team! Tom Ferrick came in for the top of the seventh to protect the three run lead, and in the top of the eighth Harry Dorish came in with two outs and a man on first, still up three, hoping to keep it that way. Unfortunately he walked two batters, loading the bases, and then gave up a hit into center, allowing two runs to score, before finally getting the out and surviving with at least a semblance of the lead intact. Sandy Consuegra came in for the ninth, with a 4-3 lead, and though he struggled a bit after getting the first two outs, giving up a hit due to a slow throw to first and giving up a walk, he got the final out via strikeout and we held tough to win the game. Joe Dobson improved to 2-1 with a 3.51 ERA with four hits two strikeouts and three walks along with the one earned run. Ferrick had a 1.2 inning hold, giving up just one hit and one run with a walk thanks to Dorish letting the man on base score. Dorish wound up getting his fourth hold as well, though he only got one out, walked two and gave up a run. Consuegra saved his 14th game of the season with a hit, a strikeout and a walk, improving his ERA to 1.85 on the year. Each team had seven hits, with Gene Baker being our only player to notch two in the game (to go with a run batted in). Al Rosen’s homer gave him a hit with a run scored and two batted in, while Mays and Maris scored runs and Howard batted one in. It was a team effort and a good win -- our bullpen’s going to have bad nights on occasion, and it’s good to see our guys getting the hits when we need them. JULY 7, 1954 . . . For game two against Milwaukee here at Wrigley we have Hy Cohen (7-4, 3.92 ERA, 98.2 IP, 58 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) taking the mound against the Braves’ Don Liddle (7-7, 4.01 ERA, 101.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Joe Adcock hit a solo homer off Cohen in the top of the third to put Milwaukee on the board 1-0, and in the top of the fifth Hank Aaron hit his 10th homer of the year, driving in two more runs to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. Ernie Banks walked the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the sixth, giving us our first real shot at doing some damage, but Al Rosen hit into a double play, the out at home and the out at first, ending the inning with nothing going for us. Hy Cohen made it to second in the bottom of the seventh on two outs, but we left him stranded, still trailing 3-0 heading into the eighth. In the bottom of the eighth Willie Mays hit his 20th homer of the season to make it 3-1, but it didn’t spark a rally. Cohen got the outs we needed in the top of the ninth, but Johnny Sain shut us down in the bottom of the inning and we lost this one 3-1 in a game where we simply could not do anything with guys we got on base. Cohen fell to 7-5 with this loss, giving up just six hits in a complete game with six strikeouts and a walk, the three earned runs still improving his ERA slightly to 3.85. We outhit the Braves 7-6, but Mays’ homer was our only offense. He led the team with two hits and brought his average up to .355 for the season. JULY 8, 1954 . . . Final game of the series, with the wins split thus far, before we head to St. Louis for the last three games before the All Star break. Warren Hacker (8-5, 3.02 ERA, 131.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.05 WHIP) is up in the rotation, facing Milwaukee’s legendary Warren Spahn, who has been struggling this year with a 5-10 record, a 3.94 ERA, 68 K’s and a 1.42 WHIP through 144 innings. But it’s always a good pitching battle when the Warrin’ Warrens take the field in the same game. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the second, and Hacker drove in the two runs that put us on the board! Al Kaline batted into the final out, but we led 2-0 at the end of two in a game where scoring looked to be at a premium. Hacker didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning, at which point he got into a one-out bases loaded jam. A fly ball hit into center allowed two runs to score, knotting the game up and a third run scored on a groundout to first. Hacker finally got the final strikeout, but the damage was done and he looked like a mess coming into the dugout after throwing more than thirty pitches in the inning. He got through the fifth inning with minimal effort, but he gave up a solo homer to Sid Gordon in the top of the sixth that made it 4-2 Braves. But he was throwing strikes, and he looked confident, we just needed to score some damned runs. Willie Mays got things started with a shot into the deep left corner in the bottom of the sixth, reaching third, but we couldn’t capitalize on it, three outs in a row to ruin the inning. Hacker made it through seven with eight strikeouts, but it was looking unlikely he would be able to go much longer so we started warming up Harry Dorish. He stayed in to start the eighth and got an out, but then gave up a two run blast to Sid Gordon, the second of the game for the right fielder, and I had to bring Harry Dorish in to get the final two outs. Our offense remained anemic, and they loaded the bases against Dorish in the top of the ninth, scoring on a passed ball with two outs to make it 7-2 Braves. Spahn stayed in to close out his excellent game, and the Braves won this one by five runs, completely dominating and winning the series two to one. Hacker pitched 7.1 innings and gave up seven hits, but two homers contributed to six earned runs scoring, neutralizing his eight strikeouts, and he walked three batters which kept him from lasting longer in the game. He threw 121 pitches and fell to 8-6 on the year with a 3.25 ERA. They outhit us 10-8, with Maris being our only player with two hits, scoring a run. Baker scored our other run, with Warren Hacker driving in both in the bottom of the second. The Braves may be 15 games back in the NL race, but they’re a dangerous team if they can put things together. Now we head to St. Louis for three games against the 39-47 Cardinals. They are 20 games back, but our lead in the NL has been cut to nine games ahead of the Dodgers (49-35) and we cannot afford to go into the All Star break on a skid. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-10-2023, 11:11 AM	#133
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 9, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl (7-3, 2.97 ERA, 94.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) will pitch today against St. Louis’ Vinegar Bend Mizell (12-5, 2.20 ERA, 163.1 IP, 120 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) who is having himself a Cy Young caliber year, having won nearly a third of his team’s games this year. I feared for our bats coming into this one, and for Diehl if we couldn’t give him any support. Sure enough, St. Louis found their way to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second off a two-run single by Mizell himself, and this looked to be a long game from there. Ernie Banks got a single into right that drove Al Rosen in to score a run with two outs in the top of the fourth, and Carmen Mauro got one into left on an error by the Cardinals at shortstop that loaded the bases! Diehl made solid contact but was easily out at right to end the inning, but we at least got ourselves within a run heading into the bottom of the inning. Bill Serena pinch hit for Carmen Mauro in the top of the sixth, driving in two runs to give us a 3-2 lead, and suddenly this game was a battle. A flyout to center scored a run from third to tie the game 3-3 in the bottom of the inning, but Frank Baumholtz got us the lead back in the top of the eighth, driving a hit deep into the left corner to drive in two runs via a triple! Vern Fear came in to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but he was injured getting his first out, and we had to bring in Tom Ferrick to pitch immediately with Consuegra warming up. Ferrick got the two outs he needed under intense pressure, and with the lead still at two runs, Consuegra came in to close in the bottom of the ninth. It only took him nine pitches to get the three batters out via contact and we held tough to upend the Cardinals 5-3! Vern Fear looks to be day to day, with what he is describing as back pain. He got an out on one pitch and got a hold, but I’m concerned about his fragility. Hopefully he’s back and ready to play when we need him. Diehl improved to 8-3 with the huge win, giving up seven hits and three earned runs while striking out three and walking one through seven innings, his ERA slipping slightly to 3.02. Tom Ferrick earned his second hold this year, getting two outs with no hits, improving his ERA to 4.26. And Consuegra saved his 15th game of the year with three quick flyouts, improving his ERA to 1.80 on the year. We outhit St. Louis 9-7, led by Cavarretta who had two hits. Ernie Banks came in for Chapman in the fourth and wound up with a hit, two runs scored and a run batted in that helped get us back in this one. Rosen, Howard and Mays each scored runs as well. JULY 10, 1954 . . . We’ve sent Bob Shaw down to AAA so he can get more development time, as we have also signed free agent reliever Jim Konstanty, formerly of the Chicago White Sox, who will be stepping into our bullpen having signed a $57,000 contract for the current season. The 37-year-old isn’t expected to be a long-term addition to the team, but should give us a touch more depth out of the bullpen so we don’t rush Shaw’s development too much right out of the gate. Tonight we’ve got Hy Cohen (7-5, 3.85 ERA, 107.2 IP, 64 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) going up against the Cardinals’ Tommy Byrne (3-6, 4.87 ERA, 98.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) in game two of our three-game set. Hy Cohen gave up a homer to Ray Jablonski on just his second pitch of the evening, but the game was a scorcher from a pitching perspective from there. By the time Frank Baumholtz got our first hit in the top of the fifth it was only the third hit of the game for either team. And a Clyde McCullough two-run homer later in the same inning gave us a 2-1 lead on the Cardinals and totally silenced the crowd via his fourth homer of the season. Kaline legged out a triple with one out in the top of the sixth, and Gene Baker followed it with a two-run blast over the wall at left to make it 4-1 Cubs, his sixth homer this year! Baumholtz took a walk to load the bases, still with just one out, and Kenneth Chapman hit one into left to score another. Carmen Mauro walked to drive in our fourth run of the inning, and by the time Hy Cohen batted out to center we had built a 6-1 lead on the Cards. St. Louis got a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth thanks to Andy Carey to pull within four, but Cohen had been sharp all night -- that was only his third hit given up all game through six, and it didn’t matter anyway since we got the run back in the top of the seventh off a solo blast by Al Rosen, his 15th of the year. The Cardinals scored a run again in the bottom of the seventh to pull within four yet again, but Cohen kept them from doing any damage in the eighth, coming in to finish the game off in the bottom of the ninth with the four run lead still intact. He gave up a triple and a run scored on a sac-fly to left, but a fly-out at center ended the game and we’d held tough to preserve the 7-4 victory! Cohen improved to 8-5 with the complete game win, giving up four earned runs off just five hits, with four strikeouts and four walks, keeping his ERA at 3.86. We had nine hits to their five, with Kaline and Rosen each getting a pair of hits, and Baker and McCullough each notching homers and two RBIs. Rosen and Baumholtz each scored two runs as well. The win improves our record to 60-26 with one game left before the All Star break as we continue to outright dominate the NL. All-Star rosters bear out how thoroughly we have dominated -- the following Cubs made the list: SP Warren Hacker SP Johnny Klippstein (INJURED) RP Harry Dorish CL Sandy Consuegra 1B Phil Cavarretta SS Ernie Banks CF Willie Mays RF Al Kaline I was surprised Al Rosen didn’t make the cut, but we’re definitely well represented! JULY 11, 1954 . . . Everyone’s happy about a chance to relax a bit after today, take a couple days off, except all our All Stars who will be putting in more work to pay the fans back for all their support. This afternoon in St. Louis, Joe Dobson (2-1, 3.51 ERA, 25.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) took the mound against Dick Tomanek (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 7.0 IP, 4 K’s, 1.14 WHIP), the 23-year-old prospect St. Louis just acquired from Cleveland in a recent trade. Elston Howard got a hit in the top of the second that went deep into center, batting in Rosen and Banks to give us a nice 2-0 advantage early. But St. Louis struck back, getting a run back with no outs off a pair of doubles, though Dobson was alert and was able to get us out of the inning via a groundout and a double play, maintaining a one run lead heading into the third inning. Wally Moon got an RBI double to tie the game in the bottom of the third, but Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth, his 13th of the year, to put us back up 3-2. We loaded the bases in the top of the sixth with just one out, and Bill Serena came in to pinch hit for Dobson, keeping the bases loaded though they made the throw successfully to home, preventing a score. And Kaline batted out to center, ending the inning with all runners stranded and the lead still 3-2 as Dorish came in to keep the lead safe. And Roger Maris bought us a bunch of insurance, hitting a three-run blast to right, his sixth of the year, to push the lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh! Tom Ferrick came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the eighth, successfully getting the final out to send us into the ninth up four runs. Ferrick stayed in for the bottom of the ninth and closed things out perfectly as we swept the Cardinals with a 6-2 victory. Dobson has been solid since the trade from Boston, improving to 3-1 with a 3.52 ERA thanks to five innings of six hit ball, walking three batters and giving up two runs. Harry Dorish earned his fifth hold, a 2.2 inning one hit two strikeout two walk effort, as his ERA continues to shrink to 1.40! And Ferrick finished things out perfectly, pitching 1.1 innings with no hits and a walk, improving his ERA to 3.98 on the season through 20.1 innings. We outhit them 11-7 tonight, with Elston Howard hitting three times and batting in two runs, while Mays, Banks and Rosen each had a pair of knocks. Roger Maris hit only once, the homer, but it batted in three, giving him 26 RBIs this year -- he slugs well, but has struggled to keep his average above .200, but I think he’s proven himself worthy of the opportunities. He has the skills to be an All Star, and his speed on the basepaths coupled with his rapidly improving fielding ability out in left make him a valuable piece of our future. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-10-2023, 06:44 PM	#134
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 13, 1954 . . . All Star Game time! The NL dominated last year, and we’re hoping to do the same in 1954. Warren Hacker got the start for the NL, while Herb Score pitched the first inning for the AL. And both guys got things going nicely from a pitching perspective, and the game stayed hitless through the first two innings, though at least the NL batters drew a couple walks. Vinegar Bend Mizell got an out and then walked Jim Delsing in the top of the third, but he handled a double play to get out of the inning still hitless. Jackie Robinson, in the bottom of the third, got the first hit of the game for either team, but he never got past first. Bobby Shantz became the fourth NL pitcher to get through a hitless inning, and Hank Aaron came up with one out in the bottom of the fourth and hit one 420 feet into the center field bleachers, putting us up 1-0 in a game where it seemed that might be enough! Alas, Lou Burdette gave up the NL’s first hit in the top of the fifth and it was a doozy, a 404-foot shot to left by Ray Boone that tied us up at 1-1, and his next pitches led to a solo blast by Yogi Berra that put the AL ahead 2-1. Burdette had a terrible appearance, and by the time he got his third out we trailed 4-1. But Willie Mays came up to bat in the bottom of the fifth and hit a three-run blast to right field, tying it up again! Way to go, Mays! Johnny Podres pitched a perfect sixth inning for us, but Sandy Consuegra gave up a walk and a hit in the seventh and a second hit allowed the go-ahead to score for the AL, a Jim Delsing single that drove in Eddie Yost. Ernie Banks got a hit for us in the bottom of the eighth but was left stranded. Warren Spahn got us through the ninth safely, allowing us to head into the bottom of the final inning trailing the AL All Stars by the same one-run margin. But we couldn’t buy a hit, and the AL All Stars beat us 5-4 in the end. They outhit us 6-5, a game with few hits but plenty of homeruns. Jim Delsing of the AL was named the game MVP. Willie Mays came out of it with three RBIs and the homer that kept us in the game in the first place, so I’m pretty happy with that. JULY 14, 1954 . . . Welcome back to baseball games that count in the standings! We’re back at Wrigley for the next week and a half -- tomorrow we have a doubleheader against Pittsburgh, followed by two more game against them before series next week against Brooklyn (three games), the Giants (two games) and Philadelphia (four games, including a Sunday doubleheader on the 25th). And we better make the games count, because we then hit the road on the 27th for 20 games before finally returning to Wrigley on August 17th. We currently lead the Dodgers by 10.5 games, while Cincinnati, Philly and Milwaukee are all within 18.5 games and still at least marginally in the race. In the AL, Cleveland (56-27) has a ten game lead on the Yankees, something I suspect is going to lead to heads rolling if the Yanks can’t find their way back in. The Chicago White Sox are in third, half a game behind the Yankees, and everyone but the Orioles (30 games back) stands at least a chance of fighting their way back to at least .500 baseball in that league. I’ve decided that Hy Cohen has earned his spot as our ace at the moment, with Robert Diehl moving up to the second spot and Warren Hacker moving to third in the rotation. Joe Dobson will remain our fourth man, and we’re currently running a six man bullpen, led by Consuegra, Dorish, Ferrick and Fear, with Jim Konstanty awaiting his first appearance. We also recently acquired Bob Porterfield, age 30, from Boston via waivers. He’s got great movement and control and a load of stamina -- he’ll make a great spot starter as well as a long relief man if a starter tires early. Right now our team chemistry is through the roof, and I am confident we can build on one of the best starts in franchise history and get our way back into the World Series this fall. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-16-2023, 08:06 AM	#135
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	Some stats screenshots for you guys post-All Star Weekend ... let me know if there's anything else you would want a screengrab of Attached Images __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-16-2023, 02:56 PM	#136
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 15, 1954 . . . Time to head into the dog days of summer and see if these Cubs are made of what I think they are. Can we protect a 10.5 game lead in the NL and make it to our first World Series since 1945 and even win it for the first time since 1908? How we handle the next ten weeks will decide our fate. We’re at home for the next two weeks, with series against Pittsburgh (40-50), Brooklyn (51-37), the Giants (24-65) and the Phillies (46-40) before we hit the road again, so we’ll have chances to put some additional distance between us and our rivals. Today’s a double-header day against Pittsburgh. Hy Cohen (8-5, 3.86 ERA, 116.2 IP, 68 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) is up in the rotation for game one, facing off against Dick Hall (6-8, 2.86 ERA, 155.0 IP, 72 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). For the first time in weeks, everyone is rested and ready to go! Ernie Banks got robbed of a homer by wind blowing in from the left field side in the bottom of the fourth, becoming an easy out for the visiting fielder and keeping this game scoreless through four. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth and again came up scoreless. Heading into the top of the seventh we were still knotted 0-0, despite our having seven hits to their two. And it stayed that way into the ninth inning, Hy Cohen coming out to pitch with the score 0-0 and him controlling a two-hitter. He successfully got the three quick outs, giving him nine full innings seemingly with energy to spare, but with the bottom of our order coming up. Cohen took a one-out walk in the bottom of the ninth, and Kaline sac-bunted to move him to second, bringing up Cavarretta with two outs and the runner in scoring position -- AND HE HIT A WALK-OFF, TWO-RUN HOMER TO WIN THE GAME! ABSOLUTE PERFECTION! Chicago 2, Pittsburgh 0, and there’s still another game left for you baseball fans out there in Wrigleyville! Cohen improved to 9-5 with the two-hitter, striking out four batters on 75 pitches, a remarkably efficient effort! His ERA improved to 3.58 overall with the victory, his first as our official staff ace. We outhit them 10-2 in the game, and though we struggled until the end when it came to actually SCORING, we showed no quit. Kaline, Cavarretta, Banks and Baker each had a pair of hits, and Cavarretta drove in the two RBIs that won the game. Cohen, meanwhile, being the man on second in the bottom of the ninth was actually responsible for the go-ahead run, winning his own game! For the second game of the afternoon we brought out Robert Diehl (8-3, 3.03 ERA, 101.0 IP, 47 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) to throw against Roy Face (4-5, 3.86 ERA, 79.1 IP, 30 K’s, 1.32 WHIP). Diehl gave up a couple hits in the top of the first, but we got our final out via a tag-out at home plate, preventing the run and frustrating the Pirates right from the start. In the bottom of the third, Clyde McCullough hit his fifth homer of the year, putting us up 1-0 on the Pirates, but that was Face’s only hit given up all game to that point and this one looked to be just as much of a duel as game one had been. Al Kaline hit a ball hard into right in the bottom of the sixth inning, driving McCullough around from second to score a second run via a double, but Willie Mays batted into a double play to end the inning without any additional runs. But Diehl pitched nearly perfectly from there, icing the cake with a three-quick-out final inning as we won this game by 2-0 as well! Diehl pitched a complete game three-hitter, walking one and striking out five as he improved to 9-3 with a 2.78 ERA, thowing 98 pitches in the winning effort. We had just four hits ourselves, led by Clyde McCullough, who hit twice, scoring (and driving in) both our runs, while Kaline, and Rosen each had a hit as well. JULY 16, 1954 . . . We’re up 2-0 in the series against Pittsburgh with two games to go, and we’ve managed to pull to a dozen games up on our nearest NL opponent thanks to the doubleheader victory yesterday. This afternoon Warren Hacker (8-6, 3.25 ERA, 138.2 IP, 80 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) will be taking on Bob Friend (9-7, 3.01 ERA, 161.2 IP, 61 K’s, 1.19 WHIP), and we have a fully rested bullpen since both games yesterday were complete games for our starters. But we went ahead quickly today, scoring two runs in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run double with two outs by Banks. The game stayed tight, however, and a run scored for Pittsburgh in the top of the fourth to pull them within a run down 2-1. Hacker got us through eight innings with the one run lead safe, and we started warming Consuegra for the save opportunity. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Al Rosen walked a run in to make it 3-1, and for a moment it looked like we might buy enough insurance to let Hacker stay in to finish the game, but instead Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth to protect what was now a two-run lead. Flyout to left -- caught on the warning track -- followed by a strikeout and then Consuegra gave up a double to Rip Ripulski, bringing up Ted Kazanski with two outs. A quick popup to Cavarretta ended the game, however, as we closed out a 3-1 win! One more game for the sweep, boys! Hacker had his best game in nearly a month, lasting eight innings with just one earned run off four hits, with four strikeouts and a walk, improving his ERA to 3.13 for the year. Consuegra earned his 16th save of the year, giving up one hit and striking out a batter as he brought his ERA down to 1.76. We got 10 hits to their five, led by Cavarretta who had three hits for two runs scored, while Ernie Banks added a hit for two RBIs, and Al Rosen hit once to bat in another. JULY 17, 1954 . . . Time for a sweep! This afternoon Joe Dobson (3-1, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) will control the mound, facing the Pirates’ Gene Conley (5-9, 4.56 ERA, 132.1 IP, 71 K’s, 1.49 WHIP) in game four of our Wrigley series. Ernie Banks hit a hard grounder into right in the bottom of the first with two outs, driving in a run to put us up 1-0, and Elston Howard added an RBI double in the botom of the fourth to make it a 2-0 lead. Dobson gave us eight amazing innings of work, keeping our two run lead intact via one of the best individual games of his career, but he broke 100 pitches for the second start in a row and we decided to bring in Consuegra again to close it out in the ninth. Consuegra got a quick flyout to center, but then surrendered a double to pinch-hitter Jim Russell, who would advance to third on a groundout, scoring thanks to an RBI single by Billy Klaus. Two outs, go-ahead run on first, and Consuegra threw a critical strikeout to right-fielder Carlos Bernier, preserving the 2-1 win and completing the sweep! Joe Dobson improved to 4-1 since joining us from Boston, throwing eight shutout innings of five hit, one walk NINE STRIKEOUT baseball, improving his ERA to 2.79. Consuegra blew the shutout but completed his 17th save, giving up two hits and a run with a strikeout, letting his ERA slip slightly to 1.93 -- still the best among closers by far this season. Pittsburgh outhit us 7-4, but we added five walks to the equation and we were able to use our base-runners effectively. Cavarretta walked twice, scoring a run without a hit, while Ernie Banks hit twice to score a run and bat in another. Elston Howard got an RBI hit of his own as well, as we continue to play smart, winning baseball. We next welcome the Brooklyn Dodgers back to Wrigley for a three-game set, and so far this year we have a 7-5 record against them, though with our 65-26 record we hold a commanding 12-game lead on them for the NL crown, though they face competition from the red-hot Cincinnati Redlegs, who have closed to within 2.5 games of second place. We’re riding a seven-game win streak into this series, having last lost twice to Milwaukee back on July 7-8 prior to the All Star break. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-16-2023, 09:27 PM	#137
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 18, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen (9-5, 3.59 ERA, 125.2 IP, 72 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) is back in action this afternoon, fully rested since pitching three days ago in the first doubleheader game against Pittsburgh. He’ll challenge Brooklyn ace Johnny Podres (12-3, 2.97 ERA, 127.1 IP, 68 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in a game we expect to be pitcher dominated, with the wind blowing in strongly from right on a clear Chicago afternoon. And the wind definitely played a big part in the game early on, with several long-balls turned into easy outs, while many would-be hits couldn’t even escape the infield. We went into the seventh-inning stretch still knotted 0-0, having outhit the Dodgers 3-1 without managing to get a single runner into scoring position. That changed in the bottom of the seventh, when Elston Howard and Gene Baker each took walks to put men on first and second with two outs. But Hy Cohen couldn’t get the ball out of the infield, leaving us still tied at zero. Cohen gave up a hit and a walk in the top of the eighth but got out of his jam handily and kept things knotted. In the bottom of the eighth, Cavarretta took a one-out walk and Willie Mays knocked a hard hit single into center for a single to put Cavarretta in scoring position. But Maris flew out to right and the runners smartly held ... there was no room for Cavarretta to safely reach third. And Ernie Banks flew out to left, ending another opportunity with an oh-fer. Cohen stayed in for the ninth, but after getting a quick out, he gave up a stunning solo blast by Gil Hodges to put the Dodgers up on us 1-0. Though he got us out of the inning without further incident, we had the bottom of our order up and would need to string something serious together if we want to get out of this one with a win. Al Rosen hit a weak infield blooper that accounted for out number one. Joe Collins came in to hit for Elston Howard, striking out swinging. Gene Baker kept us alive with a blast to center, but he only made it to first base. We brought Bill Serena in to hit for Hy Cohen, with Consuegra warming up in case we forced extra innings, but a hard-hit ball to right was kept barely in the park, blowing right into the fielder’s glove, ending our game as a 1-0 loss. What a bummer of a way to lose this one. With the loss, Cohen fell to 9-6 on the season with a 3.41 ERA, giving up just three hits and a run, with three walks and eight strikeouts. We outhit the Dodgers 5-3 but couldn’t get anyone around to score, despite hits by Cavarretta, Mays, Maris, Howard and Baker. Three additional runners reached via base-on-balls, but we couldn’t capitalize on it. Games like this are tough, but eventually someone was going to sneak something through. Let’s come back from this and win the next two. JULY 19, 1954 . . . Robert Diehl’s been red hot lately, and he’s up today against the Dodgers, with a 9-3 record, 2.78 ERA, 52 K’s and a 1.05 WHIP through 110 innings. He’s up against Brooklyn’s Billy Loes (11-5, 3.39 ERA, 156.2 IP, 93 K’s, 1.28 WHIP) so this will almost certainly be another brutal battle. Can we come out ahead? The Dodgers got on board 1-0 thanks to an RBI single by Jackie Robinson in the top of the first, bit Robert Diehl hit a sac fly to center that drove in the tying run in the bottom of the second. But Diehl gave up a second run in the top of the third, this time a run-scoring double (again by Robinson) and our fielding, particularly by the usually solid Ernie Banks, was atrocious early, allowing two more runs to score before we finally got out of the inning. Vern Fear came in to pitch in the top of the fifth still trailing 4-1, and in the bottom of the sixth we loaded the bases with just one out, and Jerry Runyard walked in a run with two outs, pulling us within two points and bringing up the top of the order! Al Kaline got a hit into right that drove in two runs, tying the score 4-4, and Cavarretta dropped one into center field that should have been a run scored, but a strong defensive play at home plate got the out by miliseconds. So we headed into the top of the seconds knotted at four runs each and with Harry Dorish coming in to pitch. With the score still knotted 4-4, Sandy Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth, getting three quick outs to keep our hopes of a win alive -- with the top of the order coming up for the bottom of the inning! But we went down one, two, three, forcing extra innings. Consuegra got us through the 10th unscathed, but we couldn’t buy a hit. Consuegra hit a batter and then gave up a double to Sandy Amoros, putting two runners in scoring position and I had to bring in Tom Ferrick to try and at least give us a chance at escaping this. But he walked the bases loaded, and then a sac-fly to center scored the go-ahead run for the Dodgers. A second run scored on a botched catch attempt by Chapman at second, at which point we finally got the out we needed to come up in the bottom of the 11th trailing by two. Clyde McCullough opened the frame by hitting a shot deep to left of center, giving him a sudden double, and Kenneth Chapman was walked to give us two on and no outs. Carmen Mauro came in to pinch hit for Ferrick, getting Chapman out at second on a fielder’s choice but advancing McCullough to third and bringing up Kaline. And Kaline did what he does best -- he blasted one into the right field corner, tying the f---ing score and giving us a chance! But Cavarretta got tagged out at first to end the inning, sending us into the 12th, with Bob Porterfield, our recent acquisition from Boston, coming in for his first relief appearance as a Cub. Porterfield came in and pitched beautifully, getting three quick outs on just 12 pitches, making it likely he could stay in for another inning if required. Mays took a walk to start the bottom of the inning, and though he was tagged out moments later on a fielder’s choice, Ernie Banks reached first on a single and drove Roger Maris, a quick runner, to second. That brought up Al Rosen with just one out, meaning a shot into the outfield could be enough to win this. A single to left kept us alive, but the runners held with the bases loaded -- no score. So that brought McCullough to the plate, one out, bases loaded, and he had a brilliant plate appearance, winning the game on a walk-off .... WALK???? What a way to end this! Cubs win 7-6 in 12 innings! Bob Porterfield may have been the sixth pitcher to take the mound for us today, but he was also the one to take the win! He’ll start his Cubs career with a 1-0 record of no-hit baseball, and the fans already love him. Diehl struggled, giving up six hits and four earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts, but our bullpen was phenomenal and gave us the chance to climb back. Fear, Dorish and Consuegra each went two innings, with only Consuegra giving up any runs, the two guys he put on base in the 11th without getting any outs. In the end we outhit the Dodgers 13-10, surviving to see if we can steal this series after all. Twenty-one batters for our Cubs were listed in the box score, including all our pitchers and pinch-hitters, but in the end it was lead-off man Al Kaline who led the way with three hits for four RBIs -- call him “Klutch” Kaline! Ernie Banks had three hits and scored two runs, while Rosen and McCullough notched a pair apiece. JULY 20, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker (9-6, 3.13 ERA, 146.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) took to the mound today in game three against the Dodgers’ Carl Erskine (13-7, 3.78 ERA, 159.1 IP, 93 K’s, 1.33 WHIP). Roger Maris put us on the board in the bottom of the second, hitting a blast to center that just cleared the Ivy by inches, giving us a 1-0 lead and him his seventh homer of the season as he has struggled to stay above .200 in his rookie season. It was a much needed score, giving us the edge in a game I expect will be another tight affair. So of course in the top of the third Hacker pitched a fastball to Bobby Morgan that he quickly put over the left field wall to tie us up, and they scored a second run on an RBI single by Carl Furillo moments later. And suddenly Hacker was giving up nothing but hard contact, barely getting out of the inning without a fire hose. Roger Maris loaded the bases in the bottom of the third thanks to a bobbled catch at second by the Dodgers, and Ernie Banks reached first by being hit by an errant Erskine pitch that tied us at 2-2. But after getting an out, Hacker gave up another fastball solo homer, this time to Pee Wee Reese, and the wheels came off again. An RBI triple made it a 4-2 game, and even Furillo got in on the hit parade. His game was done ... there was no way I could justify keeping him in this game, warming up Vern Fear as Furillo’s double made it a 5-2 game. And suddenly I do have to seriously start questioning whether Hacker still has what it takes -- can you really win the Cy Young at 28 and then the next year just become a hit-or-miss prospect? Vern Fear made it through the fifth and sixth, getting an out in the seventh before putting two runners on base and forcing us to bring in Porterfield, who got the final outs but also gave up both of Fear’s runs in the process to make it a 7-2 blowout. Porterfield earned a lot of respect by staying in for the eighth and ninth, closing out an unwinnable game -- and giving up four runs in the top of the ninth. Ooooof. We lost this one badly, 11-2, and we deserved to. We’ll have to pick ourselves up and go into our next series hoping we can play better baseball than this. Warren Hacker took the loss, falling to 9-7 with a 3.35 ERA thanks to four innings of ten hit, five run baseball. Fear came in for 2.1 innings and gave up two hits and two runs but his ERA remains a highly respectable 1.49 overall. Porterfield took a beating, lasting 2.2 innings but giving up eight hits and four runs, with two walks and two strikeouts, blowing his ERA up to 9.82 through 3.2 innings. The Dodgers pulled to within 11 games of us thanks to the series loss, with Cincy just a game and a half behind them. But the race in the AL is definitely heating up, with Cleveland still comfortably eight games up on both the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, but with Washington’s Senators just nine games back, with Boston sitting 13-1/2 games back and triyng ot eyeball a way back in. With the trade deadline coming up fast, will anyone make big moves to dominate the stretch run? At this point. And I’m not ready to give up on Warren Hacker yet. I have seen enough good innings from him in my time here in Chicago, I have to trust that he can find his best form. And with Klippstein and Rogovin out for the season, and with our record still a stellar 66-28 overall, it seems foolish to tinker too much and risk ruining our team’s chemistry. The guys still trust Hacker and I have to put my faith in them as a whole. Bring on the Giants and the Phillies for our last six game of this homestand -- let’s see what we can do! __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-17-2023, 11:23 AM	#138
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 21, 1954 . . . Joe Dobson (4-1, 2.79 ERA, 38.2 IP, 23 K’s, 1.16 WHIP) is set to pitch in the first of two games against the bottom-dwelling Giants of New York, going up against Ted Abernathy (1-9, 4.52 ERA, 81.2 IP, 42 K’s, 1.71 WHIP). Al Kaline hit a solo homer to start the bottom of the first, putting us up 1-0 with his 12th homer of the season -- and mere minutes later, Roger Maris hit his eighth of the year, scoring two runs to make it 3-0! Dobson gave up a run in the top of the third but got out of a jam with two runners in scoring position that could have made things worse. Roger Maris drove in a run with a sac-fly to center in the bottom of the third, getting the run back and giving us a 4-1 lead after three full innings. Dobson singled with one out in the bottom of the fourth, and Kaline got on base quickly thereafter with a line drive to right, but we left both runners stranded. Dobson then struggled to start the fifth, giving up consecutive doubles and letting a run score to make it a two-run game. He got an out via a pickoff play at second, then let two more guys on base with Harry Dorish warming in the bullpen, but he saved himself with a brilliant double play to escape with the 4-2 lead (and the win potential) intact. Ernie Banks bought us insurance in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run blast to center that gave him 15 homers on the year, and a Gene Baker double scored a seventh run and we decided to let Dorish rest and keep Dobson in for the sixth inning with the expanded 7-2 lead. Dobson wound up hitting a double in the bottom of the seventh that scored a run after an error at third, giving us an 8-2 lead heading into the eighth inning, and he continued to pitch well enough to stay in the game through the first out of the ninth, before he put a runner on third and gave up a run, at which point I brought in Dorish to close things out. Dorish got a groundout at first while the fourth run scored, and then he gave up a hit and a walk to put two on with two outs. A weak grounder to first ended the game, however, as we held tough to win this one 8-4. It wasn’t always pretty, but we got the win out of it and that’s what’s going to count in our race for a pennant. Dobson improved to 5-1 with a 3.06 ERA, thanks to 8.1 innings of ten-hit, four run ball, striking out five batters and walking just one in a 104 pitch effort. Harry Dorish pitched 0.2 innings with just the hit and the walk, improving his ERA to 1.32 through 47.2 innings as a Cub. We won the hit battle 12-11, with Kaline, Mays, Baker and Dobson each notching a pair. Roger Maris had a hit as well, scoring twice and driving in three runs, giving him 30 RBIs this year. JULY 22, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen (9-6, 3.41 ERA, 134.2 IP, 80 K’s, 1.02 WHIP) pitched tonight for us against New York’s Al Corwin (0-0, 2.57 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 K’s, 1.29 WHIP). And we took a big lead in the bottom of the second inning, with Bill Serena hitting one 380 feet into the left field bleachers to put us up 3-0 with his first homer of the year, and the first one he’s hit since 1952 in the majors. Roger Maris drove in a run by Willie Mays in the bottom of the fourth to make it 4-0 with a double, and Willie Mays hit a triple in the bottom of the fourth that put us up 5-0! Mays came home to make it 6-0 thanks to an eror that allowed Ernie Banks to reach first and send Roger Maris to second, and Gene Baker reached first safely on another error by the Giants that loaded the bases and brought up Elston Howard. Giants fans breathed a sigh of relief when he batted out to center, ending the inning with us ahead just by six heading into inning number five. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Ernie Banks got a grounder single that drove in a run, and Elston Howard flew out to right to drive in our eighth run. Bill Serena got another solid hit to right, giving him another RBI and driving our lead up to 9-0, and then Cohen batted out to center to end the inning. Hy Cohen stayed in for the complete game shutout, winning this one on a double play as we stomped on the Giants 9-0, dropping them to 25-72 on the season while we won our 68th game. Cohen improved to 10-6 with a 3.19 ERA thanks to the five-hit shutout, striking out four batters while walking no one. We outhit them 12-5, led by Bill Serena (three hits, a run and four RBIs) and Roger Maris (two hits, two walks, two runs and an RBI). Willie Mays added two hits for three runs and an RBI on a night where it seemed everything was clicking. __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-17-2023, 02:10 PM	#139
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 23, 1954 . . . Philly is 52-42 and only 15 games back of first in the NL, so these four games mean a hell of a lot to them, and give us a good chance to put further distance between us and our NL rivals. Cincinnati just moved a half game ahead of the Dodgers, so the race between #2 and #4 in our league is definitely still hot, even if the bottom of the NL is sinking fast. The Giants (25-72) and the Baltimore Orioles (29-63), meanwhile, are having historically bad seasons -- the Giants in particular are likely to be mathematically eliminated from the race by the beginning of August. It’ll be interesting to see if Cincy or Brooklyn do anything at the trade deadline to buy in to competing down the stretch -- right now I suspect we’ve got the pieces we need; no need to upset the apple cart of our “ecstatic” clubhouse situation. Anyway, in today’s game we have Robert Diehl (9-3, 3.00 ERA, 114.0 IP, 56 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) going up against Philly’s 25-year-old ace Curt Simmons (12-4, 2.45 ERA, 172.1 IP, 76 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). He’s on track for another 20+ win season and hopes to be in the Cy Young race again this year after missing out last year when he went 23-11 with a 2.80 ERA and 167 K’s through 283 innings. I fully expected this one to be a pitching rock fight, on a nasty day at Wrigley -- wind blowing out at 11 miles per hour but the low clouds and unseasonably cool temperatures likely to favor the arms. But Al Rosen quickly put us in the lead, a blast to left field giving him a double and us a pair of runs to go up 2-0 in the bottom of the first. Maris and Rosen got hits to start the bottom of the third, and Maris advanced to third on a fielder’s choice when Rosen was tagged out at second off an Elston Howard single. And with two outs, Kenneth Chapman drove a grounder into right field, bringing Maris home and making it a 3-0 lead as the clouds held low, still threatening. Diehl struggled in the top of the sixth, putting two men in scoring position before getting our first out, and a deep shot to center (that almost went over the wall) scored two runs for the Phillies before he secured out number two with a groundout at first. Tom Ferrick came in to pitch with two outs and a man on third, and an infield fly to Banks at short got us out of the inning with the lead still intact, Cubs 3 Phillies 2. Ferrick stayed in and got us three quick outs in the top of the seventh, and he got us through the eighth thanks to an amazingly quick double play. Sandy Consuegra came in for the top of the ninth, giving up a double on his second pitch of the inning, and a second double blew the save attempt as Philly tied it 3-3. He got us out of the inning with a double play, but now the pressure was on us to get out of this without having to go to extra innings. Ernie Banks came in to pinch hit for Kenneth Chapman, but he was a quick out at first. Willie Mays came in for Carmen Mauro ... and WALKED IT OFF! Solo homer, we win this one 4-3! Sandy Consuegra came out of this with a win, improving to 4-1 on the year despite his fourth blown save. He gave up two hits and an earned run, letting his ERA slip to 2.40 on the year through 45 innings of work. Robert Diehl had a solid night, 5.2 innings of work from the mound leading to only five hits and two earned runs, with three strikeouts and a walk, and Tom Ferrick gave us 2.1 solid innings with no hits and just a single walk, earning him his third hold of the year. We had ten hits to their seven, with Al Rosen leading the way with a pair of hits and two RBIs. Willie Mays had his 21st homer of the year to walk this one off, giving him 75 RBIs on the year. And Roger Maris hit twice and scored a run, bringing his average up to .214 with a .371 slug. JULY 24, 1954 . . . Today we have Warren Hacker (9-7, 3.35 ERA, 150.2 IP, 86 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) up in the rotation, and if anyone’s due for a great effort it’s him. He’ll be up against former Cub Bob Rush (4-4, 4.04 ERA, 62.1 IP, 28 K’s, 1.35 WHIP). Hacker walked the leadoff man in the top of the first but got into a rhythm with two flyouts and a strikeout, A Clyde McCullough error at the plate allowed a second runner on board in the top of the second, but Hacker pitched smartly around it, getting through the second without a hit. McCullough walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the second with two outs, but we weren’t able to get any runs in. And Hacker gave up a two-run homer in the top of the third, putting Philly on board. We’re going to definitely need some run support, Cubs, we can’t win games if we leave all our chances stranded on base. Al Kaline landed a hit into center field with two outs in the bottom of the third, driving in a run with the single and putting Al Rosen in scoring position, but Roger Maris struck out and kept us from rallying. Warren Hacker got a hit into right field in the bottom of the fourth with two outs, but he stretched to make a single into a double and was tagged out to end that inning with us still trailing 2-1. Hacker got another hit opportunity in the bottom of the sixth, driving a low fly to deep right that turned into a triple, scoring two runs and giving us the lead! We had to bring in Elston Howard at catcher in the seventh, as Joe Collins had pinch hit fcr McCullough in the sixth, and Hacker stayed in to protect his lead. But back to back two-out doubles allowed the Phillies to score the tying run, though he then got the final out to send us into the stretch knotted 3-3. Willie Mays hit a stand-up double in the bottom of the seventh with just one out, but Ernie Banks flew out to center and then Al Kaline took a walk to first, bringing up Roger Maris with two outs and a man in scoring position. They chose to walk him, loading the bases, and I brought Bill Serena in to pinch hit for Kenneth Chapman but he couldn’t get a squib hit out of the infield and we went into the eighth still knotted, bringing Gene Baker in to play second. Hacker stayed in and gave up a single, but a double play cleared the bases and he got us through the inning with the game still knotted. Jerry Runyard came in to pinch hit for Hacker in the bottom of the eighth with one out and no one on, but he too couldn’t get anything out of the infield. But Phil Cavarretta got a hit into left, reaching first, and they hit Al Rosen with a ridiculously errant pitch, giving us a man in scoring position and Willie Mays coming up to the plate. He hit one off the Ivy that stayed on the field, legging out a triple to score two runs and giving us a real chance! Tom Ferrick came in to close things out in the top of the ninth, setting them down flyout, groundout, strikeout to end the game as a 5-3 victory for our Cubs! Warren Hacker had a great night, improving to 10-7 with a 109 pitch six hit eight inning effort -- he surrendered three earned runs, with three strikeouts and three walks, but he held tough and gave us hope he can return to the lockdown pitcher he was last season during the pennant race, his ERA holding steady at 3.35. Tom Ferrick earned his third save of the year, a great one inning no-hit one strikeout effort that improved his ERA to 3.28 through 24.2 innings of work since coming here from ... where else? ... Philly. We had 12 hits to their six, with Cavarretta, Rosen, Mays, Chapman and Hacker each contributing a pair. Mays had two hits and two RBIs, as did Hacker who did a great deal with his bat to keep us in this game. He has hit .279 with 17 hits and a triple this year through 66 plate appearances as a pitcher, with 10 RBIs. Tomorrow we have a doubleheader to close out this homestand, and then we’ll have our most grueling stretch, facing three weeks of consecutive road series against everyone but the Cardinals, who we only have four games left against in September. We are now 70-28, on pace for 110 wins, which would be our second best record in the history of the franchise -- we last won 100 games in 1935, the year we lost the World Series to Detroit. We won 104 games in 1909 (losing the pennant race despite the wins) and 1910 (a World Series loss to the Athletics), and won 107 in 1907 when we beat Detroit to win the World Series. So there’s a lot of excitement on the north side, along with a lot of trepidation. How we handle the road trip will say a lot about our playoff prospects. Do we shut the door on our NL rivals or let them sneak back in? JULY 25, 1954 . . . It’s a clear day in Chicago, upper seventies, wind blowing in from right at 10 miles per hour, perfect weather for us to play two games for the fans assembled at Wrigley. Joe Dobson (5-1, 3.06 ERA, 47.0 IP, 28 K’s, 1.19 WHIP) took the mound in the first game, facing Philly’s Robin Roberts (9-10, 3.79 ERA, 156.2 IP, 83 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). A run scored for Philly in the top of the third when McCullough botched a tag at home plate, and he did it AGAIN on the very next play, allowing a second run to score on virtually the same error! But Elston Howard is worn down and needs at least one game off today, so he’s going to have to stay out there and figure things out. It definitely put Dobson in a real hole though. Phil Cavarretta got us on the board in the bottom of the third, a solo homer (his 11th of the year) making it a 2-1 ballgame, and McCullough got his confidence back with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the fifth that tied us up 2-2 with just one out. Cavarretta drove one into left, reaching first and sending McCullough around to third, but Willie Mays hit into a double play to end the inning. Dobson stayed hot through the seventh, getting out of a two-runner jam with a double play of his own, and we went into the bottom of the seventh still knotted 2-2, getting us three more outs in the eighth to keep it that way. But even the top of our order in the bottom of the eighth couldn’t get anything out of the infield, and Dobson came back out in the ninth, with Consuegra in the wings, hoping to gut it out and stay in position for a win -- or to protect our bullpen for what could be a long day of extra innings. And though he gave up a hit in between outs, he got us out of the inning successfully, still tied, knowing his night was over no matter what happened in the bottom of the ninth. Ernie Banks reached first when the Phillies’ second baseman couldn’t get a throw off to first in time off a weak grounder. Joe Collins then struck out, but Frank Baumholts hit a blast to right, making it over the wall and giving us a two-run walkoff homer to beat the Phillies in game one of the doubleheader by a 4-2 margin! Joe Dobson really earned this win, improving to 6-1 with a 2.73 ERA, thanks to a six-hit effort through 115 pitches in his complete game. He gave up two runs, one earned, while striking out three batters and walking three more. We outhit the Phillies 11-6, led by Cavarretta who hit three times, scoring a run and driving in another. Frank Baumholtz, with his fifth homer of the year, had two hits and scored a run, driving in two with the walk-off blast. For game two we featured red-hot ace Hy Cohen (10-6, 3.19 ERA, 143.2 IP, 84 K’s, 0.99 WHIP) up against the Phillies’ Gordon Jones (11-9, 3.22 ERA, 184.1 IP, 100 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) as we went for the series sweep. Willie Mays had an infield single in the bottom of the first, legged out a steal, and then came around to score on an RBI single by Al Rosen to quickly put us up 1-0. Mays struck again in the bottom of the third, hitting a 404 footer into the bleachers to drive in two more runs, his 22nd homer of the year putting us up 3-0. Cohen got into a bit of danger in the sixth, letting two men on with two outs, but the wind kept a left-field fly just inside the park and allowed Frank Baumholtz to secure the third out to keep the lead 3-0. Cohen stayed in to complete the shutout and we held tough to win 3-0, sweeping the Phillies as we won our 72nd game of the year. Cohen improved to 11-6 with a 3.01 ERA, giving up just four hits with two strikeouts and four walks in a 120 pitch shutout. We got eight hits ourselves, with Cavarretta leading the team with two hits to go with a run scored, but Willie Mays was the star of the day, hitting once and walking once, scoring twice and batting in two more. He’s not having as flashy a season as in his debut for us last year, but he is by far our most important offensive player hands down. See you on the road for a few weeks! Cincinnati is now 59-40 and 12.5 games behind us, but with a two game lead over the fading Dodgers (57-42). Philly, at 19 games back, seems all but eliminated from serious conversations about a pennant run, as our four-game sweep has seriously demoralized them. In the AL, the race is still Cleveland’s to lose -- at 60-35 they hold a seven game lead on Washington, with the Yankees (54-45), White Sox (50-48) and the surging Red Sox (49-48) all trying to make moves to catch them. The Red Sox look particularly dangerous, as they’ve won five in a row now and are surging at the right time ... can they make the moves to become a legitimate contender with a deadline move? __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty

09-17-2023, 03:43 PM	#140
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,474	JULY 27, 1954 . . . We really need to get some big wins now against Brooklyn in this three-game series -- they’ve been our biggest rival of the year, and this is our opportunity, with just seven games left against them this season, to close the door on their pennant chase dreams. We open the road series with Robert Diehl (9-3, 3.01 ERA, 119.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) going up against Brooklyn’s Russ Meyer (8-6, 3.86 ERA, 151.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.24 WHIP). The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Carl Furillo hitting an RBI double, but Diehl struck out Gil Hodges to finally get our first out, and a Frank Thomas pop-up to Elston Howard got us out of the inning without further damage. Jackie Robinson beat out an infield single in the bottom of the second, but a double play cleared the bases and a strikeout got us out of the inning safely. Diehl reached base on a fielding error at first in the top of the third, Brooklyn’s second error of the game thus far, and a third error (also at first!) allowed Cavarretta to reach base and push Diehl in to scoring position with just one out! Willie Mays got a long shot into center, off the wall and just into the outstretched hand of the fielder, but Diehl reached third safely without a throw, giving us runners on the corners with two outs. But Roger Maris struck out swinging, ending the inning with nothing to show, saving Brooklyn from their miserable fielding. An error at second by the Dodgers, their fourth of the game, allowed Elston Howard to safely reach first when he should have been an easy out to end the inning, but Gene Baker couldn’t get anything out of the infield and we went into the bottom of the fourth still trailing by a lone run. But Brooklyn’s offense stayed sharper than ours -- Roy Campanella hit a solo shot to right, his 28th of the season, giving them a 2-0 lead, though Diehl stayed sharp and kept them from doing further damage when a runner eventually reached scoring position. Through four innings we had only two hits, with Brooklyn notching five plus their four errors -- keeping this a winnable game if we could just string some hits together. Ernie Banks put us on the board with his 15th homer of the season, a solo blast that made it a 2-1 ballgame with two outs in the top of the sixth, and moments later Al Rosen hit one of his own to deep left, over the wall, and his 16th four-base blast of the season knotted the game at 2-2! Elston Howard singled into left, but Gene Baker was unable to keep the rally going and we went into the bottom of the inning holding some momentum for the first time today. Vern Fear came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the sixth, and he quickly got their runner out at second with a well-timed pick, getting out of the inning on a single pitch! Vern Fear gave up a two-run, two-out blast in the bottom of the eighth that put the Dodgers back up 4-2, however, bringing in Harry Dorish to try and give us a shot. He gave up a triple but then got the final flyout to get us into the top of the ninth needing to score at least two runs if we wanted to stay in this one. Al Rosen flew out to center, but Elston Howard made it to first on a single that rolled just past the shortstop into the outfield. Bill Serena came in to hit for Gene Baker, but he struck out swinging. And Kenny Chapman pinch hit for Dorish with two outs, but he flew out to center and ended the game as a 4-2 loss. Vern Fear took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA thanks to three hits for two earned runs with a strikeout and a walk in two innings of work. Diehl lasted 5.2 innings with seven hits and two earned runs to go with three strikeouts and a walk over 91 pitches. Harry Dorish got one out and had one hit in an eight pitch effort in a position where there was little he could do to affect the outcome. Brooklyn may have committed four errors, but they also outhit us 11-6, with two homers ultimately giving them an edge. Elston Howard tried to pick us up and carry us to the win, hitting three times in the clutch but being stranded each time. The Banks and Rosen homers wound up being our only offense, and it wasn’t enough. JULY 28, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker (10-7, 3.35 ERA, 158.2 IP, 89 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) took the mound today against Brooklyn’s Jimmy Podres (14-3, 2.75 ERA, 144.0 IP, 75 K’s, 1.04 WHIP), one of the NL’s leading contenders for the Cy Young. We struck first, a Roger Maris single into the outfield allowing Cavarretta to score and put us up 1-0 with just one out and two men on. Ernie Banks struck out swinging and AL Rosen flew out weakly to right, keeping this from becoming a real corker of an inning, but leads are hard to get against the Dodgers and we hoped to be able to build on it. This turned into our game to commit errors -- Ernie Banks bobbled a throw in the bottom of the first, and Willie Mays uncharacteristically dropped a catch in the bottom of the second that allowed Jackie Robinson to reach second. But both times Hacker successfully pitched around the errors, and this one remained a nailbiter. Hacker gave up a solo blast to left for the tying run by Duke Snider in the bottom of the third, and Frank Thomas hit one of his own in the fourth, driving in two runs to give Brooklyn a 3-1 lead and take the wind completely out of our sails. Snider hit a second solo homer off Hacker in the fifth and we went into the sixth inning trailing by three against a team that we continue to struggle to hit against. Harry Dorish came in to put out the fire in the bottom of the sixth, but in the seventh inning Duke Snider hit his THIRD HOMER OF THE NIGHT and just drove a nail into our hearts. Tom Ferrick came in for the bottom of the eighth, getting us three workmanlike outs against the middle of their order, but we went into the top of the ninth trailing by four runs, and they finished us off quickly to complete the 5-1 beatdown. Hacker stumbled yet again, losing the game and falling to 10-8 with a 3.46 ERA, giving up just six hits but three of them for homers, amounting to four earned runs. He struck out four batters, but continues to look like his best stuff may be behind him. Dorish lasted two innings with just one hit (a homer, of course) for a run, with a single strikeout. And Ferrick did what he needed to do in a situation with no upside. They outhit us 7-6, with Cavarretta’s two hits leading to our only run, a run batted in by Maris. Beyond that, very little to be pleased about here. If we keep struggling like this on offense, this is going to be a long, painful road trip. JULY 29, 1954 . . . We’ve made a trade with the AL bottom-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, who really wanted Warren Hacker and were willing to overlook his recent struggles -- so we’ve agreed to send him, along with relievers Jim Brosnan and Bob Spicer to give them some pitching depth, in exchange for 27-year-old left fielder Roy Sievers (solid power and eye, average fielder), 31-year-old third-baseman Grady Hatton (excellent eye, should be a solid pinch hitter, good defense and infield arm in a pinch off the bench) and 23-year-old starter Bob Turley. Turley is the big get here -- he’s been struggling for the Orioles this year due to how terrible their offense is, and he’s gone from finishing third in the 1953 Cy Young voting for the American League (18-14, 2.71 ERA, 216 K’s, 1.35 WHIP through 282 innings) to going 8-12 this year with a 4.32 ERA, 104 K’s and a 1.67 WHIP. Hacker clearly wanted a fresh opportunity, choosing to waive his no-trade clause in the process, and Turley has the potential to become a real lynchpin to our rotation alongside Cohen, with tons of stamina, amazing “stuff” and a fastball, slider and sinker that are already well respected nationally. He’ll need time to rest before slotting into our starting rotation -- he’ll take over the fourth spot in our rotation behind Cohen, Diehl and Dobson, hopefully being ready in time for our Sunday doubleheader against Pittsburgh on August 1st. Our fans were disappointed by the loss of Hacker who had been a favorite after the Cy Young run last year, but the addition of Sievers and Turley have everyone on the north side excited. We’ll be playing the Dodgers for our final game of the series this afternoon, and then heading to Pittsburgh for four games in three days. Stay tuned for the stretch run in this tightening race in the National League! __________________ "Oh No! We Suck Again!" -- Reviving the White Sox in 2025 -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty "The Rockies' Baseball Horror Show" -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty