Let's Play Two!

[jksander]

"Let's Play Two!"

I decided to start with the 1953 Cubs, the year Ernie Banks debuted, to see if the Cubs can somehow
successfully beat the curse far sooner than they did eventually in 2016. But I’ve just started playing OOTP again after 20 years
away from the game, so there’s a ton for me to learn. Therefore I am starting myself out as a manager only,
using my grandfather as a template. So I won’t have control over the GM duties or on which players get called up and when,
but I will be able to learn the game through in-game management and I can play things out slowly and really get a feel for things.
There’s no need to rush through seasons, since I’m still learning how everything works.
And if I muck things up too badly I can always restart things, lol ...

Since these years were the start of the so-called “dark ages” for the Cubs, there’s not a ton of pressure.
It’ll be interesting to see if I can work with what the General Manager gives me and prove history wrong.

- - - - -

MARCH 7, 1953 . . . The Chicago Cubs have announced the hiring of a new manager for the upcoming season. Michael Tanzillo, 37, will be moving to the North Side from Lowell, Indiana. He’s spent the last decade working as a scout for the Evansville Braves down in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa league, but has no major league management experience. “Growing up in Lowell in the late 20s and early 30s I idolized managers Joe McCarthy and Rogers Hornsby, and loved every chance I got to visit Wrigley Field with my father. It’s amazing to know I’ll get the chance to work to bring our Cubs wins on the field and try to live up to what the job represents.”

The Cubs’ home opener will take place on April 14th vs. Cincinnati, for the first of two day games. Fans can get their first look at this years’ team, which hopes to build on last year’s 77-77 record and post our first winning season since 1946.

[jksander]

MARCH 24, 1953 . . . Our General Manager Mike Quirk stunned the baseball world and Cubs fans by signing 21-year-old (and 1951 Rookie of the Year Award Winning) center fielder Willie Mays to play for our club! He’s going to make $85,000 this year, though he enters arbitration following the season. He brings great morale to the team, and as a manager, I’m pleased to see ownership and upper management putting real thought into how to improve our chances as a team.

APRIL 13, 1953 . . . Opening Day is finally almost upon us! The Cubs went 13-17 during Spring Training games, but now for the first time games actually count and the fans are really excited to see what we can do. I have been notified by Mike Quirk that we’re still building for the future so expectations are that I have this team playing .500 ball through the season. But I’m optimistic that we can surprise some people and stay competitive enough to make things stressful for the perennial NL leaders. We play the Reds in a two-game series at Wrigley starting tomorrow afternoon, with Bob Rush expected to start tomorrow and Paul Minner on Wednesday.

APRIL 14, 1953 . . . The weather cooperated for our opening day matchup, with partly cloudy, mid-50s temperatures at first pitch, with a strong wind blowing out to right field. I’m told just shy of 20,000 fans turned out to watch, and fans got a great start from Bob Rush early, and a Willie Mays homer in the bottom of the third put us up 2-0! Mays had a spectacular diving save at center in the top of the fourth to kaep the Reds from scoring, getting Rush out of the first jam he’d seen on the day and getting the fans on their feet. And in the bottom of the fifth he hit another towering homer, this time a solo one, to make it 3-0! The Reds got on the board in the top of the sixth with two outs, thanks to an Andy Seminick double, but Rush kept it from getting any worse, pitching out of the jam as the Reds stranded their runnar and we remained up 3-1. We went three up, three down in the bottom of the sixth and I brought in reliever Bob Kelly to pitch in the top of the seventh.

Kelly managed to get all three outs in five pitches in the seventh, but came in to pitch in the eighth with us still holding the 3-1 lead. He gave up a pair of hits in the eighth but the Reds were unable to do anything with them. In the bottom of the eighth, Ernie Banks got on base with a single and then got to second on a passed ball. With two outs, Frank Baumholtz came in to pinch hit for Clyde McCullough, hitting it to deep left but the Reds came up with the catch, sending us to the ninth with a two run lead. Semnick got on base with a hit to start the inning, but Hobie Landrith couldn’t get the ball out of the infield, allowing us to turn a quick double play to put us within an out of victory! They again couldn’t get the ball out of the infield and we were able to take the win, 3-1!

It was a nice way to start the season. Mays was by far the hero of the day with his two homers and three RBIs. Bob Rush got the win with six innings pitched, striking out three against five hits and two walks, giving up the only run of the game and throwing 100 pitches. Bob Kelly got the three-inning save, giving up just two hits while throwing 25 pitches. In his Cubs’ debut, 22-year-old shortstop Ernie Banks reached base twice, once with a single and once on a fielding error, but he was left stranded both times.

APRIL 15, 1953 . . . Hank Sauer got the scoring going today against the Reds in the bottom of the first, when a bloop single to left drove in Willie Mays from third to put us up 1-0. The Reds then walked their way into a bases loaded situation with just one out, and we aimed to run it up. Clyde McCullough hit it into deep right and drove in two more runs, and just like that we had a 3-0 lead. The Reds got on the board in the third thanks to a solo homer by left-fielder Jim Greengrass, and then in the top of the fifth our pitcher Waren Hacker got into a jam, loaded the bases and allowed the tying run to score.

Ernie Banks hit a sacrifice fly to center with just one out and men on first and third, driving in a run to put us back in the lead, and then Randy Jackson hit a triple that drove in another, putting us up 5-3 at the end of five. After his rough fifth inning, Hacker had an excellent game, staying in the game and keeping our lead secure. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, but didn’t add any runs, leading to a ninth inning decision for me -- I had relievers Fred Baczewski and Bob Kelly warmed up in the bullpen, but decided to let Hacker stay in with a shot at the complete game. A fly-out and two K’s later and he’d retired the side, completing the 5-3 victory having given up seven hits against 10 K’s and only three walks. Ernie Banks, our top prospect, drew a walk and drove in the winning run with his sac fly, so he’s definitely becoming popular with the fans. In total we out-hit the Reds today 13-7, and everybody but Banks and Hacker hit.

We play a game on the road tomorrow against St. Louis before our Friday off-day before a three game weekend series at Cincinnati. We’ll then return to Chicago next week for a pair of games against the Milwaukee Braves and a trio against St. Louis.

[jksander]

APRIL 16, 1953 . . . We drove down to St. Louis where we get to put our perfect record on the line against the 0-2 Cardinals. Willie Mays got things going quickly in this one, hitting a triple that drove in Phil Cavaretta with just one out in the first, and Frank Sauer then hit a sacrifice fly to deep right that drove Mays in, making the score 2-0 before most Cardinals fans had a chance to finish their first beers. Ernie Banks then hit his first major league double, but Randy Jackson’s deep shot to left was caught, ending the inning. But it was an auspicious beginning, setting up our starter, Paul Minner, nicely.

Of course their outfield is absolutely vast, and thus is tough for fielders on both teams, so we didn’t hold the shutout for long. St. Louis answered with a run in the first, but strong defense allowed us to keep the lead, and then the defenses for both teams took control of the game. Both teams left runners stranded in the fourth, and we left two more stranded in the fifth thanks to an inning-ending double play by the Cardinals defense, and still we held our 2-1 lead through the end of five.

McCullough opened the sixth with a one out single, followed by a double by Eddie Miksis to put runners on second and third and pitcher Paul Minner at the plate. Minner struck out swinging, sending our lead-off man, Dee Fondy to the plate with hopes of adding to our lead, and that he did! Doubling to deep right, he drove in both runs, making it a 4-1 lead! Phil Cavarretta then promptly singled, hitting it deep enough to drive in Fondy all the way from second, setting Willie Mays up at the plate, all this with two outs. That wound up being the end of the rally, but the damage was done and we went into the bottom of the sixth with a commanding 5-1 lead and Paul Minner rested and ready for more from the mound.

Ernie Banks hit a towering homer in the seventh, nearly 430 feet, to put us up 6-1 with his first four-bagger in the majors, further cementing the rout-in-progress, and in the top of the ninth, when I brought Fred Baczewski in to close the game out, we were still up by that margin. He put two batters down quickly, but surrenedered a solo homer to St. Louis shortstop Solly Hemus, but that was all she wrote. We held tough to win this one 6-2, improving to 3-0 on the young season.

In eight innings pitched, Paul Minner gave up five hits and the one first-inning run, with one strike and three walks as he pitched mostly to contact. Cavarretta had three hits, scoring one and batting in one, bringing his three-game slash line to .667 / .714 / .833. Ernie Banks also had a pair of hits in his five at-bats, scoring one and driving in another. In total we out-hit the Cardinals 14-6, sending us into the long drive to Cincinnati feeling damned good.

We play the Reds Saturday afternoon, before a double-header on Sunday.

APRIL 18, 1953 . . . From the moment we opened this game with a four-run first inning, we had the Reds completely on edge. But the Reds picked up a couple runs in the second and a third run in the bottom of the fourth, so the game was not the blowout it might have been. McCullough hit a hot grounder down the left side for a triple that sent home two more runs to give our pitcher more breathing room in the top of the fifth, but Newcombe gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, eating into our insurance and ensuring it was just a 6-4 lead heading into the sixth inning, with the home crowd really starting to wake up. We brought Frank Baumholtz in to pinch hit for Newcombe with two outs and a man on third in the top of the seventh, and he batted in a run to make it 7-4, and Fondy kept the rally going by batting in another with a single to right, giving us a four run lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, with Bob Kelly soming in to hopefully finish out the game. We tacked on another run in the top of the ninth, and Kelly closed things out perfectly including two strikeouts in the bottom frame as we won 8-4, completed our fourth win in a row to start the season!

Kelly picked up his second save in four games, going three innings for the second time with three K’s, two hits and three walks. Don Newcombe earned the win with six innings pitched, giving up eight hits and four runs, though only two were earned. He had two K’s and two walks, throwing nearly 100 pitches in the six frames. Clyde McCullough went 2 for 4 with two triples, driving in two runs and scoring once. Ernie Banks also had two hits in four at-bats, scoring twice and driving in one. Dee Fondy struck out twice swinging, but he also had two hits in six at-bats, and his .350 average and .419 on base percentage has made him potent in the lead-off position.

Tomorrow we have a double-header to finish the series here on the road against Cincinnati, with the first game starting at 3:05. We’ll be starting Bob Rush in the first game, with Johnny Klippstein likely starting the second.

APRIL 19, 1953 . . . In the opening game of the double-header, we took a two run lead in the first inning, but in the bottom of the fourth Rush got himself into some trouble and gave up three runs of his own, putting us behind in what was a tough atmosphere despite the small local turnout. Rush got on base with a walk to start the fourth, however, and with two outs Hank Sauer hit a single that drove him home, tying the game up, and Ernie Banks hit a grounder to the left that barely stayed in, getting himself to second and driving Sauer in for the go-ahead run! Unfortunately the Reds hit a two run homer off Rush in the bottom of the fifth to retake the lead, and this one seemed destined to stay back and forth the whole way. Randy Gumpert came in with one out in the bottom of the seventh to put out the fire after Rush walked in a run with the bases loaded to give the Reds a two-run lead, and he got two strikeouts to end the inning. And he pitched well through the eighth inning, but we were unable to pick up any runs and lost this one in the end 4-6. Rush (1-1, 4.38 ERA) took the loss.

In the evening game, Sauer hit a two-run homer with two outs in the first to give us a 2-0 lead, but the Reds answered with a triple and a single to bat in a run in the bottom of the first, and in the second the Reds took a 2-3 lead on us some aggressive baserunning, ensuring this was going to be as tough to win as the afternoon game. The game was a pitchers’ duel from there, and heading into the top of the ninth, desperately needing a run, we still trailed the Reds 2-3.

Top of the 9th: Hank Sauer got a great hit to right, opening the inning by getting on first. Then Ernie Banks hit a brilliant shot all the way to the center field wall and the defender BARELY MISSED IT, allowing Banks to get to second, and for Sauer to beat the ball back to home, scoring the tying run! They walked Randy Jackson, and Eddie Miksis sacrifice bunted, getting himself out but advancing the runners. I brought Clyde McCullough to pinch hit for Toby Atwell, and he hit it into deep left, driving in Banks AND Jackson and putting us in the lead by two runs! Frank Baumholtz came in to pinch hit for Klippstein, as I have Bob Kelly warming up to come in and close, but he couldn’t get the ball out of the infield, ending our part of the inning and giving us just three outs left to secure the come-from-behind win. The Reds got in one desperation run before Kelly was able to complete the save, and we came out of this one with a 5-4 victory to improve to 5-1 on the young season!

Klippstein got the win, pitching eight innings of four hit ball, striking out five batters while giving up just two walks. Bob Kelly, meanwhile, got his third save of the year and only gave up one run, giving him a 1.29 ERA through seven innings. Clyde McCullough, pinch hitting for the first time this year since he’d caught a game earlier in the afternoon, was obviously the hero, knocking in the difference-making runs. Hank Sauer, with two hits and two scored runs in four at bats, was also a key to our win tonight.

[jksander]

APRIL 22, 1953 . . . Unbelievably, our 5-1 start has us tied with the Milwaukee Braves (6-2) in the overall National League standings, so these two games today and tomorrow here at Wrigley are going to be key. We’ve already proven we can beat the Cardinals and the Reds, but the Braves, Phillies and Giants look to be the programs to beat this year and we’ve got to prove we can put up runs against them. With Hacker and Minner lined up to start in the two games, I like our chances if we can put some runs on the board. That may not be so likely today, however, as the wind’s blowing in hard and it’s cloudy and in the low 40s, which kept a lot of fans at home. Based on my experience attending games like this, I suspect scoring will be at a premium.

After Warren Hacker put three batters in a row down in just seven pitches, Willie Mays hit a single up the gap in the bottom of the first, driving Dee Fondy in from second to score the first run of the game. Mays then scored on an error after an Ernie Banks single, when the fielder tried to throw for third and missed, allowing Mays to come all the way around to make it 2-0. Jackson then hit a double that drove Banks home, giving us a three run lead with two outs. And though that was all the damage we could do, it had our crowd totally riled up and the Braves were reeling.

The game stayed just like this until the top of the sixth inning, when an Andy Pafko solo homer spoiled Warren Hacker’s no-hitter and put the Braves on the board down 3-1. But Phil Cavarretta batted in a run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead, and Hacker remained stone cold dominant from the mound. Ernie Banks hit an insurance homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Hacker closed it out perfectly in the end as we won the game 5-1 over the visiting Braves.

Hacker pitched a complete game three-hitter, giving up only the one earned run with three strikeouts against two walks as he improved to 2-0 (2.00 ERA). Ernie Banks had the best hitting game of his career thus far, hitting three times in four at-bats and scoring two runs himself. He now is hitting .385 / .433 / .692 on the season in 26 at bats, with two home runs.

APRIL 23, 1953 . . . Fundy got on base in his first at bat and managed to get all the way around to score, including a stolen base on the way, giving us a 1-0 lead at the end of one. In the bottom of the third, Minner got on base from the nine-spot, got to second on a sacricifce bunt by Fondy, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Cavarretta, and then Willy Mays came to the plate and socked a homer to put us up 3-0 on just three hits to that point. Milwaukee got on the board in the top of the fourth, but Willie Mays hit his second homer of the game in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 4-1 ballgame with five innings complete. Willie Mays hit a triple in the bottom of the seventh, but was injured sliding into third, so we had to insert Frank Baumholtz as a pinch runner and he played the rest of the game from center field. Hank Sauer walked to give us runners on the corners, and Ernie Banks capitalized on it by hitting a single to drive Baumhholtz home, making it 5-1 before Randy Jackson struck out to end the inning.

Unfortunately, Paul Minner started to struggle in the ninth inning. He loaded the bases, and Milwaukee added two runs to their tally as I started warming up Bob Kelly, though I hoped Minner could get out of this jam on his own. He got outs one and two with the bases still loaded, but the second was a deep fly-out to right which allowed the runner at third to score. He managed to get the final out on an infield grounder, keeping the lead safe and securing our 5-4 win.

Despite the crazy finish to the game, Minner completed the game on his own and had only given up four hits the entire game, and only three of his runs were earned. He added four strikeouts against a walk improving to 2-0 overall with a 2.12 ERA. Willie Mays had two homers and a triple in just three at-bats with four RBIs before leaving with his injury. Ernie Banks was also clutch again with two hits and an RBI in four plate appearances, and Fondy had a hit and scored a run as well to stay above .300 in the lead-off spot.

Mays is day to day with a mild hamstring strain. Unfortunately that means we may not have him for tomorrow night’s home game against St. Louis. Rush, Newcombe and Klippstein will be our starters for the three-game series. We head into that game with a 7-1 record and a two game lead in the pennant race. The Cardinals are 2-6 and in dead last position, but I know they’d love to make some of that ground up.

[jksander]

APRIL 24, 1953 . . . Mays is in the lineup today, saying he’s stretched and ready to go. And the way the cross-winds are blowing in again we’re going to need all the hitting we can get. Cavarretta hit a double in the bottom of the third that sent Fondy home, giving us a 1-0 lead in a game that had been a pitcher’s duel early. And in the fourth inning Clyde McCullough hit a towering three-run homer to make it a 4-0 game! Their reliver, Eddie Yuhas, came out in the ninth with the Cards still trailing 4-0, and he promptly loaded the bases with no one out. He was lucky to get out of it with us only scoring one run, batted in by Eddie Sauer, and Bob Rush came in to close it out and preserve the shutout. He gave up a triple with two outs, but rang up the final batter of the day as we shut out the Cardinals 5-0!

Rush improved to 2-1 (2.53 ERA) in a complete game shut-out, giving up just four hits, with five strikeout against a single walk. “Bob had them chasing a lot of pitches and talking to themselves,” I told the Sun Times reporter after the game. “It was really something special to watch.” He has now pitched 21.1 innings in three starts. Dee Fondy was excellent in the lead-off position, with three hits in four at-bats, scoring twice. Mays struggled from the plate, walking once and reaching first on an error, but both times he was stranded.

APRIL 25, 1953 . . . 15,000 fans showed up today for another blustery gry day at Wrigley, but it’s a lot more fun drinking beers in the bleachers when we’re winning like this. Unfortunately Don Newcombe was not sharp coming out to the mound tonight. He gave up a hit on the first pitch to Enos Slaughter, and then on his eighth pitch of the night Stan Musial hit it into the bleachers to put the Cards up by two in just half an inning. But Newcombe settled in nicely, and in a crazy plate appearance in the bottom of the third, he hit a deep fly to out to right field, sacrificing himself so that McCullough, who had doubled and then reached third on a sacrifice out by Miksis, could find his way home. That put us on the board down 1-2 with two outs. Fondy singled his way to right to take first base, and then stole second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position with Cavarretta at the plate, and Cavaretta then promptly walked, giving us the go-ahead run on first. But Willie Mays struck out, stranding them both to end the inning.

Jackson hit a triple into the ivy in the bottom of the fourth, followed by a walk by Miksis, which set Newcombe up to be either a hero or a goat as he hit from the nine spot again with two outs. He hit the ball to shallow right, but astonishingly the first baseman bobbled the ball, allowing Newcombe to get to second, driving in Jackson to tie the game and sending Miksis to third! And this time Fondy was the one to hit a light blooper to the shortstop, WHO BOBBLED THE BALL TOO, allowing Fondy to safely stay at first and driving Miksis and Newcombe home! Unbelievable errors, back to back, and our pitcher has been involved offensively twice in our comeback, up 4-2 at the end of four.

We went up 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a Randy Jackson two-run homer, but St. Louis didn’t quit, scoring twice in the sixth before I had to bring Bob Kelly in with two outs to put the fire out. And in the seventh, with two outs, the Cardinals again scored as Kelly uncharacteristically melted down himself. And quite suddenly we were down 6-7 and still with just two outs. Finally Kelly got the final out, but we needed Fred Baczewski warmed up as quickly as possible so he could close things out. Baczewski got us safely to the bottom of the ninth without any more damage, but we still trailed 6-7 and badly needed some offense if we were to stay alive in this one. And as crazy as it sounds, our lead-off man Fundy HAMMERED a ball to right and it wound up in the bleachers to tie the score at 7-all! Cavarreta hit a ball lightly off his bat and it stayed far enough left in the infield for him to safely reach first, keeing our hopes alive with no outs! But Willie Mays hit into a double play, and sour hit it to deep center for an easy out, meaning we were headed for our first bout of extra innings, knotted 7-7.

Del Rice doubled to center field in the top of the 10th, driving a run in to put the Cards up 7-8 with two outs, and then Harry Walker singled on the next at-bat, but deepe enough to drive Rice in to make it 7-9 and hammering fear into the hearts of every Cub fan here. We came up to bat trailing by those two runs. Banks got on base with a single, but Jackson and McCullough hit deep fly balls for outs, followed by a Miksis bloop to left that went nowhere. Alas, we lost this one in 10, 7-9, making tomorrow the series decider.

Newcombe finished with 5.2 innings of action, giving up four earned runs though he negated at least one of those with the run he batted in. Bob Kelly wound up with his first blown save, and Baczewski (2.2 innings pitched, three hits and 2 K’s with no earned runs thanks to his two runs being blamed eventually on fielding errors by Miksis). Ernie Banks had three hits in five at-bats, driving in two runs, while Fondy continues to impress, finishing with two hits in five at-bats, and Jackson added three hits in five at bats. He and Fondy each had their first home runs of the season.

[Brad K]

What kind of settings makes Willie Mays free agent a year before he's arb eligible?

[jksander]

Originally Posted by Brad K

What kind of settings makes Willie Mays free agent a year before he's arb eligible?

I honestly have no idea ... I didn't do anything weird with the settings, and I'm not the GM -- so I was as shocked as anyone when I got the owner email talking how excited he was ...

[jksander]

APRIL 26, 1953 . . . The wind was carrying out today more than usual and the weather was warming -- still cloudy and dreary, but near sixty so almost feeling like spring in Chicago. And St. Louis took advantage by roughing up Klippstein for three runs in the top of the first. We got a run back in the bottom of the third, and in the bottom of the fifth we scored our second when Ernie Banks got hit by a pitch to walk in Fondy to make it 2-3 with the bases still loaded. We tied it up moments later on a sac-fly by Jackson that drove Mays home, but Baumholtz batted himself out to end the inning with us knotted 3-3. Klippstein gave up a run in the top of the seventh, but Randy Gumpert came in to pitch in the eighth and put away the batters one, two, three in the eighth and the ninth to keep it a 3-4 ballgame heading into the bottom of the ninth. Max West came in to pinch hit with one out for Gumpert, but he hit it high into the infield for an easy catch to make it two outs with Fondy coming up, top of the order. He hit it successfully up the center field gap, reaching first and bringing up Eddie Miksis as the potential go-ahead run. Miksis then hit it up the same gap, deep to center, reaching first and allowing Fondy to slide safely into third! And that brought up Willie Mays, bottom of the ninth, two men out, two men on, asnd he delivered a 442-foot three-run walk off monster to win the game 6-4!

Of coure that made Mays the rightful hero, as he finished the night with three hits on five at bats, scoring twice and driving in three. Klippstein finished with seven solid innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Gumpert, in two innings of relief, picked up the win with a strikeout, a walk and no hits in 29 pitches.

We improved with this win to 9-2, with a 2-1/2 game lead on the rest of the National League! We get tomorrow off to travel, before a three game road series at Pittsburgh (6-6) to end the month of April. We open the month of May with the road stretch continuing, including two at Brooklyn (May 1-2), three at Philadelphia (May 3-5), two at the Giants (May 6-7) and three at Milwaukee (May 8-10) before we return to Wrigley for 13 straight home games between May 12-26.

[LansdowneSt]

Originally Posted by Brad K

What kind of settings makes Willie Mays free agent a year before he's arb eligible?

1953 was the year Mays was in the military for the entirety of the season. So, he likely doesn't have an in-game team assigned to him for that sim's starting year. Now I want to start a game in 1953 and snag him!

Glad to see you are up and running with the thread, jksander!

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by LansdowneSt

1953 was the year Mays was in the military for the entirety of the season. So, he likely doesn't have an in-game team assigned to him for that sim's starting year. Now I want to start a game in 1953 and snag him!

Glad to see you are up and running with the thread, jksander!

There it is.

JK, there are a lot of others in your save.. When I set up my 1951 save there were 80ish FAs due to not playing MLB in 1951 but who played before and after. I edited them in into the correct organizations before starting.

[jksander]

Originally Posted by Brad K

There it is.

JK, there are a lot of others in your save.. When I set up my 1951 save there were 80ish FAs due to not playing MLB in 1951 but who played before and after. I edited them in into the correct organizations before starting.

Hope my GM signs them all lol

[Brad K]

Originally Posted by jksander

Hope my GM signs them all lol

The rich teams have the advantage.

[jksander]

Originally Posted by Brad K

The rich teams have the advantage.

Willie probably helps me enough lol

[jksander]

APRIL 28, 1953 . . . We have our best three starters ready to start this series against Pittsburgh (7-7) over the next few nights, and we’re ready to prove that our 9-2 start has not been a fluke. Hacker started the game tonight, and it’s a COLD one ... 36 degrees at dusk, with light winds and abysmal attendance.

Hacker gave up a run in the bottom of the third, putting us down 0-1 against Pittsburgh, but Banksa and Jackson quickly got on base in the top of the fourth and McCullough hit a three-run homer that really got the home fans booing to put us up by two with no outs. Dee Fondy got on base shortly thereafter, and Cavaretta doubled to send him home as well. At the end of our share of the inning we were up 4-1. They added a run in the bottom of the fourth, but McCullough added a second homer, this time solo, in the top of the eighth to make it a 5-2 game. And Bob Kelly came in for the last two innings and pitched brilliantly to get the save and hold the Pirates off for good. Final score: Cubs 5, Pirates 2.

McCullough batted four times, hitting his two homers and reaching base on a walk, bringing his RBI count to 12 on the year so far, tied with Mays. Hacker pitched seven innings and took his third win of the season (he’s now 3-0 with a 2.16 ERA) giving up seven hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts and three walks. Bob Kelly earned his 4th save, throwing 21 pitches in two innings, with one strikeout, no hits and no walks. I think Hacker was a little miffed I pulled him after seven, but I could tell even if he couldn’t that he was starting to wear out. Throwing 115 pitches in seven innings is a lot for anyone, and on the road I didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

APRIL 29, 1953 . . . In a real pitchers’ duel early, the Pirates got on board in the bottom of the fourth with a run, and that run became three before the inning was over as Bob Rush loaded the bases and struggled to get the third out. They added two more in the bottom of the sixth and another three in the seventh, making this into a rout. And that was where we’d finish out, losing this one to the Pirates 0-8, our worst outing of the season by far.

They out-hit us 11-4 as Bob Rush fell to 2-2 (3.62 ERA) on the season. Dutch Leonard, who came in for two innings of relief, gave up a three-run homer in the eighth, giving him a 13.50 ERA for his seson debut. Cavarretta had a triple in the first inning that could have really changed things if he’d been able to get home. He reached base twice on hits, while Banks and Jackson each had a hit of their own with 11 total batters left on base including walks.

We still have a game tomorrow afternoon, so we can put this one behind us and still get the series win.

[jksander]

I hope you guys like my reports here ... already LOVING the in-game management experience and the 3D renderings. Totally immersive!

[jksander]

MAY 1, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit a double that sent Cavarretta around to score, putting us up 1-0 with just one out in the top of the first, but the Dodgers were able to tie it in the bottom of the second before Newcombe got the third out to end that inning. Cavarretta hit a triple to open the top of the third, and then managed to steal home on a wild pitch to put us up 2-1, McCullough doubled to send two runs in to start the top of the eighth, extending our lead, while Miksis added another by batting Jackson in from third on a sac-fly to left. But Newcombe wore down in the bottom of the eighth, putting two men on and I had to bring in Bob Kelly to close things out.

Kelly gave up one of Newcombe’s runs as the Dodgers narrowed the gap to three, but he struck the final batter out, sending us into the top of the 9th with a 5-2 advantage. Ernie Banks singled to left with two men out, driving Cavarretta in from third to make it a four-run lead, Kelly got into serious trouble in the final frame, however, giving up a run and then loading the bases with two men out, putting us in a really dangerous position. Jim Gilliam hit a tight slow-moving ball into the infield, and it appeared the runner was tagged out at first, but the umps ruled differently -- instead, the bases stayed loaded and another run scored. But Kelly struck out the final batter and we were able to beat the Dodgers in game one, 6-4.

Newcombe picked up the win, improving to 2-0 with a 3.72 ERA with 7.2 innings pitched and nine strikeouts against three walks. Kelly, despite giving up two earned runs, did clinch his fifth save of the season, though his ERA took a hit at 4.50. He gave up four hits with three strikeouts and two walks in 1.1 innings. McCullough had a great night, with two hits in four at-bats, and though he didn’t score himself, he batted in two runs to give him 14 RBIs on the season, leading the team. Cavarretta, meanwhile, improved his average to .380 with two hits and a walk in four at-bats, scoring three times. He’s now batting .389/.476/.611 on the season.

MAY 2, 1953 . . . Fondy doubled on the first pitch of the game, and then Cavarretta and Mays each walked, sending Hank Sauer to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs. Sauer promptly doubled, narrowly missing a grand-slam, sending Fondy and Cavarretta home to quickly get us on the board. We’d lead 3-0 at the end of the frame, setting a good tone for what we aimed to do in this one. Johnny Klippstein gave up a solo homer to Gil Hodges in the bottom of the first, Hodges’ sixth of the year, but Fondy doubled again in the top of the second (his second of the game and 6th of the year!) and Cavarretta doubled as well to drive him home and make it a 4-1 ballgame. We gave up a second run in the bottom of the third, but Klippstein himself doubled to start the top of the fourth, and Willie Mays drove him in with a single, allowing him to score our fifth run. Klippstein then loaded the bases in the bottom of the frame with one out, but managed to strike out two batters in a row to get out of the jam. The Dodgers got a run back in the bottom of the sixth to pull within two, down 5-3, but Willie Mays hit his sixth homer, a solo shot to center, to start the top of the seventh, and we added another with two outs to make it a four run lead heading into the stretch. Dutch Leonard came in and pitched the last two innings to hold it right there as we beat the Dodgers 7-3, sweeping the series!

Klippstein improved to 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA, throwing seven innings including seven hits, two strikeouts and three walks. Leonard brought his ERA down to 6.75, putting down six batters with only one walk given up and no hits in 31 pitches. Willie Mays put himself back over .400, hitting three times in four tries, scoring twice and batting in two. And lead-off man Dee Fondy hit three times in five at-bats, scoring twice himself, proving to be a perfect fit for that spot in the lineup.

We improved with this win to 13-3, giving us a 3-1/2 game lead over the Giants here in the NL. A lot of that can be put down to luck, as we are three wins above expected, but we’re +25 in runs scored and have continued to play well day in, day out, so I’m pleased with our solid start. We’ll get a test now with four games in a row against the Phillies on their field, including a double-header tomorrow. They’re off to a 10-9 start and they’re in fourth place but only 4-1/2 games out of first.

[jksander]

MAY 3, 1953 . . . The Phillies quickly got on board in the bottom of the second to take an early one run lead in the first game of the afternoon. We out-hit them in the early going, but couldn’t get any of our gues home -- at the end of four we trailed the Phillies 0-2. The Phillies added a third run in the bottom of the seventh, and we never got any run support from our lineup at all. Philly dominated this one 3-0 to take the first of four.

Hacker pitched a complete game with three earned runs given up on eight hits, falling to 3-1 with a 2.45 ERA. He fanned six batters but walked four, throwing 123 pitches. Cavarretta had a triple in the first inning but no one else hit, so he was stranded. In total the Phillies out-hit us 8-5.

After an hour off to lick our wounds, we were back out there for game two, with Bob Rush (2-2, 3.62 ERA) on the mound. Willie Mays doubled to send Fondy, who had doubled earlier in the inning, home to score in the bottom of the first. Sauer promptly then sent his first pitch into the bleachers, giving us a 3-0 lead with only one out. Ernie Banks hit into a double play to end the top of the inning, but at least we’d woken our bats. We added a run in the fourth, and Sauer hit a two-run homer in the fifth for his second of the game and third of the year, giving us a 6-0 lead heading into the botom of the fifth. Rush gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning, spoiling the shut-out, but we added two more in the eighth to make it an 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. The Phillies added a third run in the bottom of the eighth, but in the bottom of the ninth they still trailed by five, with Baczewski on the mound to close the game out. Of course he gave up a solo homer to Connie Ryan to narrow the gap, but he got out of the inning one-two-three after that as we finished out the big win, 8-4!

Sauer had his two homers and a walk, scoring three runs and batting in four. Ernie Banks added two hits in three at-bats, scoring twice, and Rush was solid all night with 7.2 innings pitched with two strikeouts against two walks with seven hits given up. He improved to 3-2 with a 3.60 ERA. The team will enjoy a few hours of downtime tonight before we’re right back at it tomorrow and Tuesday to finish out this series. This road trip is gruelling, but we’re fighting everyone off -- fans better be out in support when we get back into Chicago next week, because at 14-4 we’ve been exceeding expectations in a big way.

[jksander]

MAY 4, 1953 . . . The Phillies got on board first in the bottom of the second, but that was an early anomaly ... through four innings this was a tight game in which Minner only gave up four hits and the game was still 0-1 Phillies. Left Fielder Ron Northey got on base with a single to start the fifth inning, his first hit in the majors this year, amd McCullough got to first on a solidly hit line drive to left, giving us two men on with no outs. If there was ever a scoring opportunity, this was it. Minner bunted out to drive the runners to second and third, but Dee Fondy couldn’t get the ball out of the infield and wound up being our second out. Still, Miksis stepped up to the plate completely unfazed, nailed a frozen rope to deep center, and finished with a double that drove in Northey and McCullough to give us a 2-1 lead! Unfortunately Minner had a terrible run at the bottom of the fifth, giving up five earned runs to dig us a four run hole heading into the sixth.

Ernie Banks doubled in the top of the eighth with one out, driving in Miksis to make it a three-run deficit, and Jackson hit a ball off kilter into the infield and the Phillies couldn’t get a handle on it, allowing Jackson to take first and Banks to take third! Unfortunately Baumholtz batted out and Northey struck out, ending the inning with us trailing 3-6. Baczewski kept them from adding any damage in the bottom of the eighth, leaving us just three runs to make up in the ninth if we wanted to stay alive. With two outs, Fondy and Miksis managed to reach base back to back, sending Willie Mays up as the potential game-tying run ... but he couldn’t get the ball into the outfield, making for an easy third out. And with that, we lost this one 3-6, falling to 1-2 on the series with just one game left.

Minner (3-1, 4.06 ERA) tookt the loss having given up eight hits and six earned runs in five innings, with three strikeouts and three walks. Baczewski pitched three innings of no-hit ball in relief, with three strikeouts against two walks, bringing his ERA down to 2.25 and keeping the game from becoming an outright humiliation. What really stinks is we out-hit them 14-8 but couldn’t drive runs home when it counted. Ron Northey had a solid first game with the Cubs this season, getting two hits in four at-bats, scoring one of our three runs. Eddie Miksis moved into the second spot in the lineup and hit three times in five at-bats, scoring one and driving in two. Willie Mays got two hits tonight in five at-bats but did not score or drive in any runs.

With this loss the Phillies (12-10) pulled within 3-1/2 games of us, with the Giants and Braves, each 12-9, hanging just three games back in the NL. Those two teams will be our opponents in the next six road games following tomorrow’s Philly final, meaning we’ve got to avoid a slump at all costs.

MAY 5, 1953 . . . Willie Mays hit a solo homer in the top of the first to put us up 1-0 -- it was his seventh of the year, traveling more than 430 feet! The Phillies answered with a run in the bottom of the second, Ernie Banks got us a run in the top of the fourth, hitting a single that drove Hank Sauer (who had reached second on a two-base error) all the way around. McCullough singled to deep left, sending Banks all the way to third with two outs, but Miksis couldn’t get him home so we headed to the bottom of the inning with a 2-1 lead. Mays hit his second homer of the game in the top of the fifth with two outs, scoring two to make our lead 4-1. Don Newcombe came in as a reliever in the bottom of the seventh -- we’re going to be running a starting four of Hacker, Rush, Minner and Klippstein with him giving us a stronger arm out of the bullpen -- and he got through the final three innings only giving up a single run in the eighth as we won this one 4-2, splitting the series and improving to 15-5!

Warren Hacker pitched six solid innings, picking up the win and improving to 4-1 on the season with a 2.31 ERA. He only gave up a single hit with a strikeout and a walk during those innings, throwing 77 pitches but doing plenty enough not to need to throw a complete game. Newcombe brought his ERA down to 3.63 and picked up his first save of the year, giving up three hits and one run with a strikeout and a walk as well. Willie Mays was the stud of the game, with his two homers allowing him to score twice and drive in three runs, bringing his RBI total to 19 and putting his slugging percentage just one point shy of .800! We out-hit the Phillies 10-4 and handed their starter, Robin Roberts, his fifth loss of the year.

Tonight we’ll drive up to New York to prep for tomorrow’s first of two afternoon games against the 12-10 Giants. Rush and Klippstein are expected to pitch those two games.

[jksander]

MAY 6, 1953 . . . New York homered to drive in two runs in the bottom of the second, but Bob Rush hit a single to right in the top of the fourth which drove in two runs and tied it all up. Rush got into a jam in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases but only giving up one additional run. Eddie Miksis hit a line drive to center, driving in Jackson in the top of the sixth to tie it 3-3, And it stayed that way into extra innings! In the top of the tenth, Jackson hit a double that drove in two runs to put us up 5-3, and we scored one more with two outs to make it a three-run lead heading into the bottom of the tenth. And Bob Rush closed it out perfectly, allowing us to preserve the 6-3 victory, improving him to 4-2 overall with a 3.40 ERA! He pitched ten innnings and gave up nine hits and three earned runs, while striking out three and walking five.

Toby Atwell had three hits in five at-bats, scoring a run and bringing his average up to .250, while Randy Jackson had a stellar game as well with one hit and two walks, scoring three runs and driving in two! Aside from having a great night on the mound, Bob Rush also had two hits in five at-bats, batting in his first two runs of the year and bringing his average up to .125 on the year.

MAY 7, 1953 . . . Tonight we had a less than stellar lineup going for us on offense, as Banks, Mays and Jackson were out for a needed rest day. Still, Fondy hit a triple right out of the gate, and Cavarretta hit a single to center that drove him home, putting us on the board with no outs in the top of the first. That was all the damage we could do, leaving two runners stranded at the end of the frame. And the lead didn’t last, as Johnny Klippstein surrendered a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, and the hometown fans in the crowd loved it. Backup third-baseman Bob Ramazzoti reached first on a fielding error in the top of the fourth to drive Tommy Brown home to make it a 2-3 ballgame, but Klippstein surrendered three runs in the bottom of the fourth, digging our hole to four runs down and leading me to start warming up Newcombe to take over in the fifth. But this just wasn’t our night -- Newcombe gave up TWO three-run homers in the bottom of the fifth and there was no way we were coming back from that with this lineup. We kept fighting, adding a run in the top of the sixth to cut the deficit to nine runs, but their bats were just insanely effective today -- Fred Baczewski came in and gave up a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, and by then the wheels were off. We lost this one in humiliating fashion, 3-16, falling to 16-6.

They out-hit us 21-8, roughing up all three of our pitchers -- Klippstein, who took the loss and fell to 2-1 with a 5.19 ERA, gave up 10 hits for six earned runs, including three homers. All told, the Giants hammered us with six home runs today, an absolutely lights-out performance. Baczewski stayed in for three innings because eventually someone just had to take one for the team. None of our batters had particularly impressive nights, though Fondy, Baumholtz and Brown did at least manage to score.

We don’t have any time to lick our wounds -- we finish this brutal road trip with a four game stretch at Milwaukee tomorrow through Sunday, including a double-header on Sunday. Then we return to Chicago for two much needed weeks of Wrigley Field ball. But with the Braves currently only two games back with a 15-9 record, they smell blood and we’re starting to feel beat up as a unit. Can we find that extra level of grit needed to win this series?

[matttb324]

Great idea, I like it a lot. Would the project end if you do pull it off? I'm trying to think off the top of my head when the Cubs even contended, '69 was it? '84 I remember. I would assume it's going to be tempting to tank