The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

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Watch out for these Sens.

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A promising start for one of our new recruits.

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Just him and Rube in there now.

Doc White (199) adds his name to the list a couple days later, and Bix Six Mathewson (183) also seems likely to hop on board this season.

Noodles Hahn (191) is out for almost the entire season, so will have to wait until '10.

Jack Chesbro is our leader in this category with 163, with Cy at 156. Deacon Phillippe finished with 118.

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A more comprehensive recap at the start of July but, in a nutshell, we're holding our own in what is panning out as a fairly even season in both circuits. We're 4 GB the Cubs at 22-20, while the Naps continue to surprise in the AL, ahead by 1 1/2 from the A's.

Here's some award news, leaders and expanded standings. S+ page has been updated for those wanting to get involved.

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Most HR over a 3-year period

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Weighted On-Base Average, career

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With Tommy Leach not really giving us much so far in '09 (214 / 1 HR / 25 RBI; 0.9 WAR) and with him also being up for FA at the end of the season, I decided to make a move for a player I've been eyeing for a while. It took three lesser players to get it done, but finally we struck this deal:

TRADE 2 OF 5: (06/09): 3B Tommy Leach, P Bill Foxen, P Jack Ryan and P Joseph Myers traded to Philadelphia (NL) for IF Hans Lobert.

Hans is locked down until 1915 (albeit with an opt-out at the end of ’11) at very reasonable rates and, at 27, he should have some upside and hopefully remain productive throughout. While I wish he was a more polished shortstop, he nevertheless offers the sort of infield utility I seek (he can also play LF quite well), and his addition allows us to improve our defence somewhat with him at 1B, Herzog moving to 2B and Steinfeldt to 3B.

NB Foxen would start his first MLB game against us a couple days later, walking a club record 10. And still we managed to lose it 9-5...

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On the same day Cy Young hurls a three-hitter to get us a 1-0 win at St. Louis, Jack Coombs of the A's delivers the league's 11th no-hitter, and first for 1909.

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Just a few days after Mike Donlin of the Highlanders becomes the third player in history - after Nap Lajoie and Sam Crawford - to reach the 1500 career hits plateau, our own favoured son does likewise.

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Approaching the halfway point of what is turning out to be another fascinating season, although I'm sad to report, not one in which we seem destined to feature at the pointy end.

We are currently sitting mid-standings, with our 34-33 record putting us 8 1/2 back from the Cubs, who have a handy but far from uncatchable break atop the NL. The Junior Circuit is super competitive again this year, with the top five teams bunched within 5 1/2 games.



It's not like we are playing poorly. We are just incredibly streaky and inconsistent in both pitching and hitting. We'll go on nice little runs and look to be bubbling along only to completely drop our bundle and lose a heap in no time flat.



We sit where you'd expect us to in most team metrics - roughly halfway - reflective of the inconsistency I mentioned, along with a fairly wide disparity between those who are playing well and those who are not.




That said, if we can just get that streakiness sorted out and guys like Bresnahan above all, but also Murphy and Steinfeldt, can turn their underwhelming seasons around, all is perhaps not lost. But the Cubs would have to cool off pretty remarkably and we'd have to heat up a similar amount for that to happen. Still, lots can happen in 80-odd games of baseball.

Finally, here are the league awards for June, league leaders, and some other recent news from around the traps. You'll notice the recently-traded Bill Foxen picked up the Rookie of the Month Award. Nobody can call my genius inconsistent...






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26 innings, 7 hours and 41 minutes. That'll test your depth, even in prime deadball era...

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Well if I'd been writing this a week ago I would have been able to tell you that, by dint of a decent month and being in the middle of a 6-game win streak, we had worked our way back if not into the frame, then at least onto its periphery.

Sadly, a 1-4 run to close out July has poured cold water on any thoughts I may have had on somehow sneaking into contention. It leaves us at 16-14 for July.



The thing that immediately jumps out at you from that graphic is our stubborn streakiness, and in the end that is most likely what will keep us from being in the mix come stretch time.

The Cubs slowed down a bit but they are such a disciplined unit that the door is only ever ajar and only ever briefly, and this little late losing spell has cost us more than games. It has cost us vital momentum.

Over in the AL, the Sens have made what already looks like a winning move, putting together a 19-8 month to move 7 1/2 games clear of the A's and Naps.



Danny Murphy's late-career renaissance continues, with Murph a deserving winner of the NL Batter of the Month Award, the first he's received.

Despite the unlikelihood of any quantitative success, I still feel we've rebounded well this season. The move of Babe Adams into the rotation has been a good one, as has the recruitment of Rube Vickers, and hopefully we can get Louis Drucke back on track to fill that foursome out for '10 and beyond. Honus seems to have found his swing, Zaza Harvey is having another strong campaign, and Buck Herzog has been a revelation in the leadoff spot.

Here's how our hitting and pitching was for July.




Finally, here are the Awards and some other news, as well as the league leaders. Ty Cobb is threatening to take another AL Triple Crown, trailing just by 3 RBI. Danny Murphy actually leads in two of the categories for the NL, but I doubt he'll be able to make up the 40-odd average points needed.






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A 16-10 month for us that could have been even better if not for another fadeout caused mainly by some erratic performances by our rotation. Just how erratic is perhaps best shown by the fact that, despite that fairly healthy record, our run diff for the month sat at -9. That means tight wins, big losses in a lot of cases. Both Rube Vickers and Cy Young's ERAs are north of 4 for the sectional, outrageous given the era.

We sit at 66-57 overall, an inconvenient 8 GB the Cubs, bunched with the Superbas and Phillies. Inconvenient, how? Well, we do still have seven head-to-head with the Chicago boys, and there are still more than enough games in general for us to catch them. Which means - despite my belief that this chance is merely mathematical, not based in any sort of realistic hope - we must keep trying to run them down, rather than perhaps use the time to blood new players or give our prospects more game time. Guess we best catch them, then, to make it worthwhile hahahahaha.



We can take some heart from the developments in the AL this past month, which have seen the Senators come right back to the A's, who fashion together a 12-game streak in mid-month to completely revive their hopes. Just 3 games separate the two and it is only them left in the race.

Here are the awards, news and leaders, as well as the team stats to this point.









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... but not what the A's would have wanted, losing their gun rookie shortstop in the heat of a pennant race.

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Meanwhile at base camp, Dutchie seems to have decided to pick the whole team up and carry them on his back for a while...



That translates to these stats for the month so far:




Almost certainly for naught, with us still in all likelihood still too far back at 7 1/2 GB the Cubbies, but it has been inspirational to watch all the same and, if nothing else, should lock down Honus's 6th NL MVP Award. Currently at 9.7 WAR, he's even an outside chance of breaking his own single-season record of 12.2 if he can keep this up or something similar. HE also trails Heinie Zimmerman by just 002 average points and might snag his second batting title. Here's hoping, he sure deserves whatever accolades come his way.

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Jack Powell of the Cards throws the second no-hitter this season.

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One of the real challenges I find with presenting my various saves on here is how to keep things interesting for those reading along. Just because certain elements seem vitally important to the person whose universe it is doesn't mean everyone else shares that view. It is well-documented (by myself) that I can tend toward overkill, and thus my continued tweaking of the way I share them with you until hopefully stumbling upon the Goldilocks zone of coverage.

Key to an interesting thread is, of course, a close race. There's nothing more boring than a runaway winner. So I always check the late-season series to look for potential suspense in the retelling.

This year I saw early on our series against the Cubs to start October. As the season progressed the importance of this series faded as the Cubs took control. Never at any stage after about May did I figure this series would have any meaning. Never over the same period did I even remotely think we would still be alive when this series was upon us.

Well, guess what? We are.

Sure, the Baby Bears still have a handy 4 1/2 game break on us. Sure, their magic number is just 2. But, thanks to a torrid 18-8 month by our lads, we are still mathematically viable with five games to play.



Amazing.

You will notice that Washington has clinched its first AL Pennant. Congratulations to all involved with the Senators franchise.




Wagner cooled off a bit but still slashed 398 / 462 / 581 with 14 RBI to rightfully claim the NL Batter of the Month prize. Danny Murphy, Hans Lobert and Del Howard were also fantastic, while our pitching held up under enormous strain.



As you can see, the odds are still stacked... stacked... against us, but sometimes - as I think I have pointed out before - it is the journey, not the destination that counts. Or, to repurpose half of Red Sanders' famous quote, winning isn't everything.

Here are the other updates for September. Back in a week or so for the final recap and World Series.





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Most hits without a 2B / 3B / HR (excluding pitchers)

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Walks + Hits Per Inning Pitched, 1909 season to date

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It only takes them one to put us away.