"Goodbye To 'The Mack': The 1916 A's In Peril

jksander · 03-16-2026, 04:03 PM

"Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril

The Philadelphia Athletics were riding high ... since the start of the modern era, the A’s played in the “World Series” six times, winning it all in 1910, 1911 and 1913. In 1914 they made it to the big series, winning 99 games but falling to the Boston Braves in a four game sweep, keeping them from making it five titles. And that’s when legendary owner / manager Connie Mack lost his mind and decided to go full-tear down -- claiming “financial problems,” he refused to match offers from the Federal League for his so-called “prima donnas,” letting the bulk of the team go ... in 1915 they fielded an infield so bad it became known as the $10 Infield, featuring the likes of Whitey Witt, Charlie Pick and Nap Lajoie, and the team cratered, losing 109 games in the worst performance of a big-league team ever.

In real life, this collapse put the club into freefall and they didn’t recover until 1929.

In this OOTP 27 redux, things went differently ... will I be able to dig Philadelphia out of the pit Mack dug, and bring the club back to respectability on a quicker timeline?

The setup: team co-owner Benjamin Shibe had seen enough with the 1914 aftermath, and in the 1915 offseason he publicly fueded with, and then ousted, Mack from the Athletics ownership group, taking over himself as full owner of the ballclub. He hired me as General Manager of the team and my job became to quickly turn this team around. Will I be able to take a roster that in real life won just 36 games in 1916 (losing a then-record 117 games, a level of terrible baseball not matched again until the Mets debuted) and bring the team back to respectability? That would mean posting a winning record well before 1924 (when they went 88-64) and winning a pennant well before 1929.

I think we can do it, but it’s going to take a lot of legwork and gumption ... and a great deal of luck!

jksander · 03-16-2026, 04:05 PM

February 26, 1916: With Connie Mack gone from the organization, my first job (aside from assessing our meager roster) would be to find a manager to lead this clubhouse. My main target is 60-year-old Chris Nolan, who in early talks seems to match my goals ... and who only expects to have final veto power over player training strategy. I don’t intend to micromanage, but I want a manager in place who is willing to work with me in this transitional period and not wind up undermining our progress. He seems to be a good fit for what’s available ... we’re already catching a lot of flack in the local press because of Shibe’s ousting of Mack, who remained a beloved managerial presence. But Shibe insisted on a clean break, and after the brutal back-and-forth between those two men it was no question that, when I became GM, I would have to look in different directions.

I have offered Nolan a contract for two years work at $3,600 per season, and if he and I are still on the same page after his first season, it’s possible we can talk about an extension that keeps him with us through our full rebuild.

We have a full roster and 23 players on our reserve squad, and though we’re not completely bereft of talent, I’d say half of our major league roster is at or below replacement level, including our entire bullpen and half our starters. So I’m going in on making an offer to right handed starter Pedro Dibut, a 23-year-old Cuban pitcher who has found himself alone atop the “free agent” pool of players. He’s a control-minded pitcher with a strong arsenal of pitches he gets into the right place -- not flashy, but definitely competant. I expect others to be bidding for his talent, so we’ve offered him $2,750 to play for us this year. If he signs, that would make him our sixth-highest paid player, and would put our player payroll at close to $60,000 for the year.

Whitey Witt, our shortstop, and Charlie Pick, our third baseman, are definitely among our biggest liabilities, but at the outset there may not be a great deal we can accomplish in trying to immediately improve at those positions. The league has decided to institute an amateur draft after this season, and that may well prove to be our best opportunity to find young talent and improve, though I’ll certainly be active on the trading market when the situation merits it.

February 28, 1916: Pedro Dibut signed a minor league deal with the Montreal Royals, but Shibe authorized me to reach out to them and we’ve purchased his contract for $1,960 ... a bargain considering our original offer, and they were barely going to be paying him at all, so they were happy to take our money. Dibut will step into our starting rotation in the number two spot behind Bullet Joe Bush.

March 3, 1916: Chris Nolan has agreed to our two year manager contract, and will take over clubhouse duties immediately. He will have full control of player strategies, but I will be making both the offensive lineups and our pitching lineups. I plan to defer to his judgment for the most part, but I like the ability to make changes if I feel they will benefit our team’s performance on the field.

March 4, 1916: Our scouts have led us to a real find, and we’ve purchased the contract of 18-year-old outfielder Bill Lamar from the Baltimore Orioles over in the International League, for the sum of $1,960. Lamar has a lot of upside as a hitter, and the potential to become a decent fielder, but for now he’ll be part of our reserve roster as he develops. We have also purchased the contract of 20-year-old catcher Johnny Bassler from the PCL’s Los Angeles Angels, intending to develop him in much the same manner. Wally Schang is still in full control of our starting catcher position, but Bassler has long term potential to become a very competant defensive backup. Bassler last played for the Cleveland Naps in 1913-14, but has since been playing on the Pacific Coast as he needs the time to develop.

March 8, 1916: In a move to make up for some of the damage Mack’s selloff did to us two years ago, we’ve brought back Byron Houck, who went 14-6 with a 4.14 ERA during our 1913 World Championship campaign. His attempt to make it in the Federal League failed, and he’s been toiling away in the PCL for Portland, Oregon’s team, where in his first two starts this season he’s gone 2-0 with 16 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA during 17 innings played. Benjamin Shibe authorized us to repurchase his contract from the Beavers, and he’ll be returning to Philadelphia where he belongs, as our #3 starter behind Bullet Joe Bush and Pedro Dilbut.

We’ve been scouring the minor leagues for talent at shortstop and for the hot corner, but our scouts have found nobody who would be a marked improvement, so for now I believe we’re close to having our rosters set for the coming season. We’re still more than a month away from opening day against Boston at Fenway Park ... that four game series is going to be a big deal, as the Red Sox are the defending World Champs after winning 101 games last year and destroying the Phillies from across town in five games. We’ll play our first seven games on the road but will have our home opening series against Boston on the 20th through 24th of April.

March 16, 1916: We’ve made a trade with the Chicago Cubs, sending them 21-year-old reliever Rube Bressler in exchange for Alex McCarthy, age 26, who immediately gives us a huge infield defense boost ... McCarthy isn’t a great hitter, but he’ll give us a huge improvement at both second and short, with passable skills playing from third as well. McCarthy will take over at short as our starter, with Whitey Witt now becoming primarily a pinch hitter / runner -- though he’s still going to be on our main 25-man roster.

With Nap Lajoie being a capable second baseman (and a solid double-play contributor defensively), our primary hole in the lineup remains finding someone who can take over at third base for Charlie Pick, though Pick hasn’t had a lot of major league experience and has done passbly well playing at the AAA level -- and he’s an aggressive baserunner who hits well, so keeping him as a starter may not be a poor decision. I’ll keep searching for upgrades, but I think we’ve made some significant improvements to the roster I was handed when I took this job.

April 3, 1916: The Brooklyn Robins need a catcher, and they reached out to us about Billy Meyer, a 17-year-old we have on our reserve roster who is currently ranked 70th overall among prospects. They have a third baseman we’ve been eyeing, and I decided that, since Meyer is nowhere near at the level right now to compete for a spot on our major league team, why not see if we can make something happen for the third baseman? So we asked about 32-year-old Mike Mowrey, who our scouts say is elite defensively at the position, particularly at defending against the bunt which is a huge deal in this “dead ball era.” He recently resigned with the Robins after playing in the Federal League for Pittsburgh last year, so he hasn’t played in the “Majors” since 1914, but he’s the guy we wanted ... and Brooklyn has said let’s do it. So the trade’s official, and he’s on his way down from New York to join our roster as soon as possible!

With this move, and a newly minted infield of 1B Stuffy McInnis, 2B Nap Lajoie, 3B Mike Lowrey and SS Alex McCarthy, I at least expect our team to be significantly more sound as a fundamental defensive unit ... which should hopefully help our pitching. Whether they all can gel as a team in the early goings of a long season will be the challenge.Charlie Pick will still be on the main roster as a backup at third, and will be a solid pinch hitting / running option as well.

jksander · 03-16-2026, 04:13 PM

1916 OPENING DAY STARTING ROSTER

Offense (stats from 1915)
C - Wally Schang, 26 -- .248/.384/.343, 9 2B, 11 3B, 1 HR, 44 RBI, 18 SB (3 CS) 3.6 WAR
1B - Stuffy McInnis, 25 -- .314/.336/.362, 14 2B, 4 3B, 49 RBI, 8 SB (8 CS), 2.2 WAR
2B - Nap Lajoie, 41 -- .280/.300/.355, 24 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 61 RBI, 10 SB (6 CS), 1.8 WAR
3B - Mike Mowrey, 32 -- did not play in MLB, Federal League (no stats available)
SS - Alex McCarthy, 26 -- .240/.313/.306, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB (3 CS), 0.4 WAR -- played 44 games between Cubs and Pittsburgh
LF - Rube Oldring, 31 -- .248/.292/.363, 23 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 11 SB (6 CS), 1.8 WAR
CF - Amos Strunk, 27 -- .297/.370/.427, 28 2B, 16 3B, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 17 SB (19 CS) 4.0 WAR
RF - Jimmy Walsh, 28 -- .206/.305/.278, 15 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 22 SB (12 CS), 0.9 WAR

Starters
1 - Bullet Joe Bush, 23 -- 5-15, 4.14 ERA, 145.2 IP, 89 K, 1.55 WHIP, 0.6 WAR
2 - Pedro Dibut, 23 -- Rookie, Did Not Play
3 - Byron Houck, 24 -- 0-0, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 4 K, 1.82 WHIP, 0.0 WAR
4 - Elmer Myers, 22 -- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 12 K, 0.78 WHIP, 0.4 WAR

Bullpen
MR - Jack Nabors, 28 -- 0-5, 5.50 ERA, 54.0 IP, 18 K, 1.72 WHIP, -0.4 WAR
LR - Jing Johnson, 21 -- Rookie, Did Not Play
LR - Bill Morrisette, 21 -- 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 20.0 IP, 11 K, 1.00 WHIP, 0.4 WAR

We’re essentially a blank slate ... I feel we have made significant defensive improvements, but whether we can put up runs in any meaningful number remains to be seen. And our pitching is completely raw, with everyone but Jack Nabors aged 24 and under ... Only Bullet Joe Bush put up more than 55 innings’ work last year, and considering we only won 43 games all season, it makes sense. Will Dibut, Houck and Myers be able to get us through heavy workloads without fading? Clearly if they can’t, we’re going to have a rough time as our bullpen is, to say the least, weak. Incredibly, we’ve been picked by the Sporting News to finish with 66 wins this year, three wins more than Cleveland’s Indians ... for what that’s worth.

jksander · 03-16-2026, 04:19 PM

April 12, 1916: In our first game of the season on the road in Boston, the Red Sox took an early lead with an RBI single by Tillie Walker with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, but Bullet Joe Bush kept them from running it up from there -- we were still down just 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning. Unfortunately, he loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and a wild pitch allowed Everett Scott to score, buying the Red Sox some insurance. He pitched the rest of the way, getting us into the top of the ninth with the deficit still at two runs. With one out, Nap Lajoie hit himself a double, getting into scoring position, and they walked Mike Mowrey. Rube Oldring hit into a fielder’s choice and they took the out at second, sending Lajoie to third ... and that’s when our shortstop, Alex McCarthy, got us on the board with a well placed single into center! Lajoie scored and Oldring made it over to third, McCarthy taking second as the trailing runner. That forced us to pull Bullet Joe from the lineup, bringing out Charlie Pick to pinch hit, since it wouldn’t matter who was pitching in the bottom of the inning if we couldn’t get a run across first. With Nabors warming in the pen, Pick gave it his best ... but wound up hitting to second and they made the out easily at first. Boston took the win, beating us 2-1. But we fought hard, and we had our chances. Bullet Joe Bush took the loss, but pitched an eight inning complete game, allowing seven hits, four walks and two runs, striking out three. Meanwhile we were outhit 7-5, led by Amos Strunk with two hits, while Lajoie (a hit and a run) scored off the single by McCarthy (a hit and an RBI).

April 13, 1916: Harry Hooper reached first on an E3 error in the bottom of the third inning, handing the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, but Pedro Dibut was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam without any futher scoring that inning. In the top of the fourth our bats woke up, as Mike Mowrey hit a two-run flyball double for the lead, and Rube Oldring hit an RBI single to make it a 3-1 lead midway through the inning! Oldring hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to add on a run, and a Wally Schang triple gut our lead to 5-1 heading into the stretch! Dibut didn’t quite get his complete game ... though he got through the eighth without any runs scoring, he threw a lot of pitches in that inning and wore out his arm. So Jack Nabors took the ball in the ninth with a four run lead. With two outs and runners on the corners, Boston got a run back with a Harry Hooper RBI single, but with the bases loaded Pinch Thomas proved to not be so good “in a pinch,” as he grounded out on a 5-3 play to close out our 5-2 win! Dibut got the win in his major league debut, lasting eight innings with four hits, three walks, a strikeout and one unearned run, throwing 121 pitches. We outhit them 13-7, led by Oldring with three hits and two RBIs, while Mike Mowrey hit twice with a run and two more batted in.

April 14, 1916: Boston wasted no time in this one, taking the lead when their third batter of the game, Pinch Thomas, hit an RBI single to put them up 1-0 without an out. Byron Houck struggled mightily, and by the time he got us out of the first inning we were deep in a 5-0 hole we had no expectation of digging out of. He gave up two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and we brought Jing Johnson out in the bottom of the fifth to take over. He only gave up one run of his own pitching the rest of the way, but we were outhit 8-2 and never made any real sign of fighting back. They won with ease, 8-0, and we fell to 1-2 on the season with one game left in the series. Rube Oldring and Alex McCarthy were our only two players to get a hit, and Jimmy Walsh took one walk in the game. Houck, meanwhile, took the loss and fell to 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA, allowing seven runs off seven hits and three walks in his four innings. Ouch! Johnson was solid out of the pen, pitching four innings with a hit, a run, three walks and a strikeout.

April 15, 1916: Boston again took the lead in the bottom of the first, Tillie Walker scoring off a sac-fly and Dick Hoblitzel hitting an RBI single to put them quickly ahead 2-0. By the time we got on the board in the top of the third off a sac-fly by Wally Schang, they already had a 3-1 lead, and they added on in the bottom of the inning when Duffy Lewis hit a two-run double to extend their lead to four runs. We answered in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Elmer Myers, who stayed out to pitch through the sixth inning, and Wally Schang hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to send us into the stretch trailing by just two runs, down 5-3. But Jack Nabors came out of the pen and got hammered ... Dick Hoblitzel hit another RBI single, Olaf Henriksen hit an RBI single to bat Hoblitzel home, Harry Hooper singled in a third run, and Larry Gardner reached on an E5 error that allowed Henriksen to put them ahead 9-3. Nabors gave up another four runs in the eighth, staying out to mop up his own mess, and we got destroyed 13-3, Bill Morrisette coming out to get our final out. Boston takes the series three games to one, and we see very quickly how outmatched we’re likely to be this year. Elmer Myers pitched six innings with eight hits, four walks, three strikeouts and five earned runs, digging the hole, while Nabors (with seven hits, two walks and eight runs, only two of them earned) drowned in it during his 1.2 innings. We were outhit 15-7 but committed four team errors, which is absolutely brutal. Jimmy Walsh led our offense with two hits and a run scored, while Schang added a hit and two RBIs.

We’re off tomorrow and then will play three games against the Yankees in New York, before returning to Philly to play our first homestand, against these Boston Red Sox.

April 17, 1916: New York took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out RBI single by Les Nunamaker, and Bullet Joe Bush loaded the bases in the fifth with one out ... after getting an out at home plate off a fielder’s choice, Hugh High walked in the Yankees’ second run, but we got out of the inning still trailing by just the pair. Our manager brought out Jack Nabors in the bottom of the sixth, and with one out Lee Magee hit an RBI single to pile on, and they unleashed the floodgates from there. By the time Nabors got us out of the inning he’d given up four runs and committed an error, and we were in a 6-0 hole, fading fast. He got us through the seventh without further damage, but Bill Morrisette came out in the eighth to mop up the rest of it. We got shut out 6-0, and our offense (or obvious lack thereof) is going to be our real struggle. They outhit us 10-2, and we gave them seven free passes as well, while only walking once ourselves. Strunk and Lajoie were our only players to notch a hit, while pinch-hitter Whitey Witt got our only walk. Meanwhile, Bullet Joe Bush took his second loss, allowing five hits, seven walks and two earned runs with three strikeouts in his five innings. With a little run support he might have made a game of it ... but then Nabors came out and pitched two innings with four hits and four runs (three earned), giving him an 11.57 ERA now through 4.2 innings in three appearances.

April 18, 1916: Pedro Dibut gave up a hit to Frank Baker in the bottom of the third, a bloop single that scored New York’s first run of the game, but he’d done well to that point ... it’s hard to win when your team can barely buy a hit. Dibut would go on to pitch the rest of the game, his second eight-inning effort and the first to be a complete game ... but we were outhit 8-3 and the Yankees held on to shut us out 1-0, our second shutout in a row. With eight hits, one walk, one strikeout and his one earned run, Dibut now has a 0.56 ERA through his first 16 innings as a big leaguer, but he’s now 1-1. Wally Schang had two hits and Alex McCarthy hit one, and Jimmy Walsh had a walk, giving us just FOUR baserunners all game, and Schang got into scoring position both times but failed to find a way to score. We’ve now had twenty consecutive scoreless innings as a team, and our team’s run differential is already at -23 through our first six games.

April 19, 1916: We took our scoreless streak to 22 innings, and then, in the top of the third Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to put us up 1-0 on the Yankees, giving us something finally to cheer about in our dugout. And Byron Houck went on to pitch a real gem, getting us into the bottom of the ninth still leading by that single run! Frank Baker singled but was taken out at second when Wally Pipp hit into a fielder’s choice. With one out, Houck hit Paddy Baumann with a pitch, advancing Pipp into scoring position. Our manager, living dangerously, brought out Jack Nabors from the bullpen at that point, and Hugh High took his base on balls, loading the bags. But Les Nunamaker popped out to left and a sure throw by Oldring kept the runners in place! We still had a chance ... New York’s right fielder, Frank Gilhooley, came to the plate with two outs, and he popped out hard to center field as we stunned the Yankees by stealing this one 1-0! Houck went 8.1 innings with just seven hits, striking out three and allowing nobody across ... and though we were outhit 7-5, Wally Schang had a hit, a walk and scored our winning run, batted in by McInnis’s only hit of the game! Houck now has a 5.11 ERA and a 1-1 record in his second start, and Nabors picked up a save with a walk and two outs on 14 pitches.

We’re heading home to face the Boston Red Sox (5-3) for four games at home, playing tomorrow, Friday and Saturday with an off day on Sunday before completing the series with the fourth game on Monday. We’ll then hit the road to play four against Washington’s Senators (3-5), and will finish the month with the first of a four-game home set hosting the Yankees, who lead the American League at 5-2. We sit three games back, tied for last place with the 2-6 Cleveland Indians.

In other news, the Yankees have demoted player-manager Bill “Wild Bill” Donvan back to just “player,” so they could officially hire none other than Connie Mack to take the helm as their new skipper. Mack, who has a 1,414-1,081 record as a manager for us and Pittsburgh, will now make more than $6,200 per year to lead the Yankees, who look to be serious about fighting for their first-ever American League pennant.

jksander · 03-16-2026, 08:15 PM

April 20, 1916: We got off to a great start in front of our home fans, reportedly numbering just above eight thousand in the crowd, as we took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI double by Amos Strunk which was quickly followed by a hit into a fielder’s choice by Nap Lajoie which allowed Strunk to put us ahead 2-0! But Boston was quickly on the board in the top of the second with an RBI single by Everett Scott, so we knew we wouldn’t be beating them without a fight. Our bats stayed strong, however, and in the bottom of the third we scored off a sac-fly coupled with an E8 fielding error (Jimmy Walsh scoring all the way from second, which he’d reached earlier in the inning with a steal!), and Strunk went on to score himself off a single by Mike Mowrey which expanded our lead to 4-1. Boston loaded the bases in the top of the fifth but we stranded all three runners, and Myers let them load them again in the sixth on one out ... this time he let a run in via a walk, but got the second out on a fielder’s choice at home ... but then he blew the lead when Olaf Henriksen hit an RBI single that scored Harry Hooper and Larry Gardner ... we got the third runner out trying to take third, ending the inning but leaving us tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Myers got us two outs in the seventh and Nabors got us the final out to send us into the stretch still tied up at four, and our bats rallied in the bottom of the seventh, Wally Schang hitting a two-run triple to put us back up 6-4! Jack Nabors stayed out in the eighth and was again an unmitigated disaster ... during the inning the Red Sox batted all the way around, scoring off a Pinch Thomas single, took the lead off a two-run single by Duffy Lewis, and added on with a Jack Barry single to lead 8-6 heading into the bottom of the inning ... it’s maddening to me that our manager decided to keep him in when he got into trouble, but once again our bats rallied big time ... in the bottom of the eighth, Lee McElwee tripled in a run, and Johnny Bessler, who pinch ran for him, scored off a single by Amos Strunk to tie the score. Strunk and McInnis got us the lead when both scored off a Wally Schang triple, and Shang scored some insurance when Shag Thompson walked in the run to make it 11-8 heading into the top of the ninth.

All we needed were three outs, and Bullet Joe Bush came out of the bullpen to get them, facing the top of Boston’s lineup ... and goddamned if he didn’t go and walk THREE BATTERS IN A ROW ... Harry Hooper scored for them off a sac-fly by Henriksen, then Larry Gardner scored off a ground-out to first by Duffy Lewis, bringing Dick Hoblitzel to the plate with runners on second and third, one out. Bush walked him intentionally, loading the bases and bringing up pinch-hitter Ray Haley ... who WALKED IN THE TYING RUN ... what the absolute hell? Bill Carrigan walked in another, giving them a 12-11 lead, and our manager finally pulled Bush for Pedro Dibut, another starter pitching in relief. Dibut would go on to get the two outs we needed, but not before letting Harry Hooper ... yes, they batted around AGAIN ... hit a two-run single to make it a three run deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth. This time our bats stayed silent, and we lost this one in humiliating fashion, 14-11.

The only luck “Bullet Joe” Bush has these days is bad ... he fell to 0-3 after taking this loss, and for the first time all year he truly deserved it ... he threw 45 pitches and got just one out, and he only allowed one hit ... it was the SIX WALKS that doomed his night, and he got three of them so quickly I can’t really blame our maanger for not getting another pitcher warmed up quickly enough to put out the fire. It’s not optimal that we blew through two starters in a bullpen situation, and I’ve decided to let our manager know that, in the future, I’d prefer us not to use starters in a relief role unless it’s an absolute emergency. In the meantime, our pitching rotation’s gonna be shaken up a bit for a few days. Dibut’s going to start tomorrow, followed by Houck, and then we’ll have the day off to rest and get Bush back out there for a proper start as we close out the series.

Beyond that, we’ll have to just put this terrible game behind us. We were outhit 17-14 in a nine-inning game that took nearly four hours, our offense led by Wally Strunk (four hits, a walk, four runs and two RBIs) and Wally Schang (four hits, a run and five RBIs) whose two triples are a new team record. Too bad the effort was wasted on a tough loss.

April 21, 1916: The ballpark was abuzz with fans discussing Connie Mack now being the skipper for the Yankees, something that hadn’t completely made the rounds yesterday, and it’s clear not everybody is on board with our recent changes, as Mack had remained a very popular force among fans despite last year’s downturn in fortunes. But we’re on our new path now, and we have to own it. Today’s focus was on putting yesterday’s insane game behind us before it could fester in our minds.

Pedro Dibut was openly frustrated in the top of the first when Harry Hooper reached on an E5 error, later scoring off a single by Tillie Walker which was aided by another error (this time an E9). It certainly wasn’t an optimal way to begin a game, and the fans let us hear it, but we got out of the inning without any further damage, and we tied the score in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single for Nap Lajoie that scored Jimmy Walsh following a leadoff triple. But Boston got the lead back with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth (another big hit for Tillie Walker, his second homer already of the season) and our offense again had work to do. A balk call against him with the bases loaded had Dibut close to getting thrown out by the umpire, as Larry Gardner walked in the Red Sox’s fourth run of the game in the top of the sixth ... and it got worse, when Everett Scott hit an RBI double that drove in another pair. An RBI triple for Bill Carrigan turned the game into a full-on runaway train by driving in yet another run, and Dibut’s day was over ... Jing Johnson came out trailing 7-1 with just one out, needing desperately to shut this inning down. Johnson did his job, getting two quick outs (though Carrigan scored their eighth run thanks to a groundout by Mike McNally), and he stayed out the rest of the game but this was another lost cause. Boston would add two more runs, one each in the seventh and ninth, and they stumped us completely 10-1. Incredibly they only outhit us 10-6, but they also walked five times which didn’t help. Dibut took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA after allowing eight hits, four walks and eight runs (seven earned) with just one strikeout in his 5.1 innings, and Stuffy McInnis led the offense with two hits, batting in our only run.

We’ve made a trade with the Chicago Cubs, sending them right-handed starter Elmer Myers, backup shortstop Whitey Witt and a pair of players off our reserve roster -- reliever Weldon Wyckoff and top-100 3B prospect Thomas Healy -- in exchange for a pair of lefty starters to shake up our rotation, Gene Packard, a 28-year-old the Cubs have been stashing on their reserve roster, and Dickey Kerr, a 22-year-old ranked in the top 50 among prospects. Both have impressed our scouts, particularly Packard -- who despite average stuff throws four pitches and has excellent control of them. He hasn’t pitched at the major league level since 1913, but last year in the Federal League he was 15-10 with two saves and a 2.72 ERA, throwing 215 innings. And Kerr has a potentially devastating changeup and went 21-10 at the single-A level last year for Fort Worth’s Panthers in the Texas League, pitching in 280 innings with 138 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP.

My plan is to have our manager Chris Nolan run a five-man rotation from here (Dibut, Houck, Packard, Bush and Kerr) while keeping our three man bullpen of Morrisette, Nabors and Johnson in place. It’s going to be a long season, and the added depth among our starters will hopefully help take some pressure off (and if the bullpen should become overly taxed, Packard could potentially move into the bullpen to make more frequent appearances with his less-dominant stamina).

April 22, 1916: Boston took the lead in the top of the second off a two-out single by Everett Scott that was aided by an E8 throwing error, Tillie Walker’s second error on a throw to third this season. But we answered with an RBI single by Johnny Bassler in the bottom of the inning, and we took the lead in the bottom of the third thanks to a single by Nap Lajoie and a ground-out by Mike Mowrey, giving us a solid 3-1 lead early. Pitcher Byron Houck himself doubled in a run in the fourth, and a sac-fly by Stuffy McInnis made it a 5-1 lead for us heading into the fifth, at which point we really started to pour it on. Bassler and Houck each hit RBI singles to pile on in the fifth, and though Houck would give up a run each in the sixth and seventh, we went into the stretch with a four run lead. Morrisette took over in the top of the eighth and handled a non-save situation perfectly, allowing a pair of hits and a walk but not letting anybody score the rest of the way as we held tough to win 7-3! Houck improved to 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA, lasting seven innings with eight hits, three walks, two strikeouts and three runs, only one of which was earned. Meanwhile we matched them on hits with 10 each, led by Johnny Bassler with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Houck added two hits, a run and two RBIs, giving him a .250 average through his third start.

April 24, 1916: We had a day off to rest before today’s final game of the series against the Red Sox, and I have Gene Packard up in the rotation ready to make his first start of the season as a member of our Athletics. Boston took the lead in the top of the third with two outs, Duffy Lewis hitting an RBI single to get them on the board. They quickly added on with an RBI double by Tillie Walker, giving them a 2-0 lead midway through the inning. Packard pitched well and kept us in this game -- with two outs in the bottom of the seventh he got us on the board, hitting an RBI single to make it a 2-1 ballgame heading into the top of the eighth. He got three quick outs in the eighth, and came back out in the ninth when our bats were unable to get anywhere ... he got two outs, and then the manager sent out Morrisette to relieve him with Pinch Thomas on first and Everett Scott coming to the plate. Scott popped out to second, getting us into the bottom of the inning with a chance. Rube Oldring led off with a single into center, but Sam Crane grounded into a devastating 4-6-3 double play. Mike Mowrey kept our hopes alive with a single into center, and he made it to second when they failed to pick him off leading off of first ... runner in scoring position, two outs! Pinch hitter Lew Malone then stunned the crowd into pandemonium when he hit a two-run homer out of left field to walk this one off 3-2 ... unbelievable!

Morrisette only threw eight pitches to get one out, but he stole the win away from Packard, who went 8.2 innings with seven hits, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs. I think everyone involved would have preferred to see Packard go for the complete game, but he starts his career with a 2.08 ERA and definitely had great control over his arsenal. We outhit them 10-7, led by Mowrey who had two hits, a walk and a run scored, while Malone’s two run homer was his first successful pinch hit in four tries.

We’ll take our 4-7 record on the road to face the 5-7 Washington Senators for the first of a four-game set tomorrow. We’ll then return to Philadelphia and Shibe Park, where we’ll play our next 23 games in a row. Hopefully we can start to build some momentum and climb from the bottom of the league.

jksander · 03-17-2026, 04:11 PM

April 25, 1916: Until the bottom of the sixth inning Bullet Joe Bush was pitching a no-hitter, and this game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when the Senators broke through with an RBI single for Sam Rice, their right fielder. Bush was pulled from the game after giving up that run, with Morrisette getting us the final out and our turn at the plate in the top of the ninth, and we came out fighting ... Amos Strunk hit a bouncing single into center, and with McInnis at the plate, he managed to steal second off an E6 error that let McInnis take first. Shag Thompson muffed a bunt that took Strunk out at third (but we maintained runners on first and second), and then we struck back -- Nap Lajoie tied the game with a single into right field that, coupled with an E9 error, allowed both remaining runners to advance into scoring position! But we were unable to get a second run across, and Morrisette had an awful bottom of the ninth ... Henri Rondeau singled, Joe Judge bunted him to second and still reached safely, John Henry walked the bases loaded, and Rondeau would score off a walk by Walter Johnson as the Senators beat us 2-1 without us even getting an out in the frame. Morrisette took the loss, getting just the one out in the eighth while allowing two hits, two walks and an earned run. But Bullet Joe Bush had a great night, lasting 7.2 innings with just five hits, three walks, three strikeouts and an unearned run. We even outhit them 8-7, led by Lajoie with two hits and an RBI (Strunk hit three times but got nowhere).

April 26, 1916: Today we scored first, a groundout by Stuffy McInnis scoring Pedro Dilbut from third for a 1-0 lead in the top of the third! In the top of the eighth we bought ourselves a bit of insurance with an RBI single from Nap Lajoie, and again Bill Morrisette took over with two outs in the eighth, staying out in the ninth to protect the two-run lead. This time he handled his business, and we were able to get out of the stadium with a huge 2-0 victory in another low-scoring defensive affair. We outhit them 8-4, led by Wally Schang with two hits and a run and by Lajoie, who had a hit and another critical RBI. Meanwhile, 23-year-old rookie Pedro Dibut improved to 2-2 with a 2.43 ERA, allowing just two hits in his 7.2 innings, with four walks and a strikeout. And Morrisette successfully shrugged off last night’s rough inning by pitching 1.1 innings today with just two hits, improving his ERA to 1.69 thorugh 5.1 innings, while earning his first save.

April 27, 1916: We wasted no time in this one, scoring off a groundout by McInnis and a passed ball by Senators starter Jim Shaw to take a 2-0 lead before throwing our first pitch. Our pitcher, Byron Houck, hit an RBI single in the second to put us up 3-0, and he grounded out in the fourth to drive home another run! Sam Rice hit an RBI single for Washington in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, and again Morrisette took the ball, this time leading 4-1, getting us into the top of the ninth with no issue. He let a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Clyde Milan grounded out to first and we were able to keep the 4-1 victory ... back to back wins, and we still have one game left against the Senators! Houck improved to 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing seven hits, three walks and one earned run with two strikeouts in his 7.2 innings, while Morrisette picked up his second save in a row with 1.1 innings and two hits with one walk, improving his ERA to 1.35.

April 28, 1916: With yesterday’s win, we jumped over the Senators in the standings, improving to 6-8 and sixth place in the AL, just half a game behind Boston and Detroit who are 7-8. And we’ve been emboldened, knowing we can beat these guys ... today we came out slamming the ball, taking the lead with a two-run double by Strunk and adding runs via a groundout by Oldring and a single for Lajoie, leading 4-0 midway through the first inning! Gene Packard gave them back a run in the bottom of the inning (off a single by Clyde Milan), and John Henry hit an RBI single (coupled with an E9 error) that cut our lead to two runs in the bottom of the third. Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the fifth to get us back to a three-run advantage, and Amos Strunk hit a line drive double that drove home Jimmy Walsh to make it 6-2 heading into the stretch. Packard stayed out in the bottom of the seventh but came out of the game after Eddie Foster grounded out while driving home a run for Danny Moeller, bringing out Jack Nabors with one out. Sam Rice hit an RBI single to drive home another of Packard’s runs, but Nabors got us through with a two run lead still safe, and he kept it that way through the eighth. In the top of the ninth Nabors scored a run off a sac-fly by Amos Strunk to get our lead back to three runs, but in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Clyde Milan hit an RBI triple to keep Washington’s hopes alive. But not for long ... John Henry grounded harmlessly to first and we completed the series with a 7-5 win, taking three of four from the Senators. Packard picked up the win, lasting 6.1 innings with eight hits, three walks and four runs (three earned) along with a strikeout, while Nabors pitched his best game of the season ... 2.2 innings with four hits, a strikeout and an earned run, improving his ERA to 10.61 through 9.1 innings over six appearances. They outhit us 12-11, but we were led by Amos Strunk with two hits, a run and four RBIs, while Wally Schang added three hits and a run. Strunk is now hitting .310, while Schang has a .333 average, and the two are combined for 14 of our RBIs. They are also our only two qualified hitters with averages above .230, so it’s impressive that we’ve managed to improve our way to a 7-8 record!

We’ll face a tough challenge from the Yankees (11-4, 1st in the AL) as we host them for a four game set. We’ll have Sundays off in the month of May, and will host Washington (6-10), Detroit (7-9) and St. Louis (9-7) for four each followed by three against Chicago (11-5) and four against Cleveland (5-11) before plying our next road game in Washington on May 26th. So this will be a good chance for us to show if we can differentiate ourselves from the crowded pack in the middle of this league. We’re currently alone in fourth place in the league at 7-8, half a game up on Boston and a game and a half behind St. Louis. But we’re currently playing two games above our expected record, considering our -23 run differential, and none of our team stats suggest we’re anything but a team boosted by a small sample size of games played. Offensively we’re dead last in every category but runs scored (46, 7th), extra base hits (24, tied for 6th), strikeouts (61, 7th), stolen bases (14, 7th) and baserunning (+4.1, 3rd). Our starters’ ERA of 3.02 has us ranked 5th in the AL, and our 138 hits allowed is third best in the league. But our bullpen ERA of 7.66 (8th) and defensive efficiency (.674, 7th) haven’t left us in a great position when playing against quality teams.

jksander · 03-17-2026, 05:09 PM

April 29, 1916: Lefty starter Dickey Kerr made his first start as a big leaguer, just a week after the trade that sent him here from the Cubs over in the National League, and he wasn’t perfect ... Paddy Baumann hit an RBI single for New York in the first, and they added on with a Hugh High RBI single in the fourth to go up 2-0. But Stuffy McInniss hit a homer for us leading off in the bottom of the fourth, his first dinger of the season, to get us on the board. Though Kerr gave up two more runs in the top of the fifth -- an RBI triple for Wally Pipp and an RBI single for Paddy Bauman, we roared back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single for Charlie Pick and a two-run double by Amos Strunk that tied us up at 4-4! I wish our manager had pulled him at that point, but Kerr stayed out for the sixth and gave up two more RBI singles, to Frank Gilhooley and Wally Pipp, forcing us to go to Jack Nabors with one out and Gilhooley on third, trailing 6-4. He got us out of the inning without further damage, and an RBI single for Mike Mowrey drove Nap Lajoie in after his leadoff triple, keeping us in the game trailing 6-5 heading into the top of the seventh. Nabors was excellent, getting us through the top of the eighth with the deficit just at one run, and in the bottom of the eighth Johnny Bassler hit a single that, coupled with an E7 error, allowed both Nap Lajoie and Sam Crane to score, putting us into the lead 7-6! Nabors pitched the ninth and kept it that way, and we were able to get out of the game with our fourth win in a row, 7-6! Nabors earned that win the hard way, pitching 3.2 innings from behind with three hits, no walks, no strikeouts, no runs ... his ERA has now improved to 7.62 through 13 innings, making up for a rough start by Kerr, who allowed 12 hits, four walks and six earned runs in his 5.1 innings, giving the youngster a 10.12 ERA. We outhit them 16-15 in a real fireworks display, led by Nap Lajoie who was 4-4 with two runs scored, while Mike Mowrey added three hits and an RBI.

Pedro Dibut was named Rookie of the Month in the AL, with a 2-2 record and 2.43 ERA, striking out four in 29.2 innings.

May 1, 1916: We ended the month of April having won four in a row, seven of our last ten, to go into May with an 8-8 record which was well above where anyone expected our rag-tag bunch to be even this early in the season. We started this afternoon’s game against the Yankees with an RBI triple for Wally Schang in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, but the Yankees equalized it in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Frank Gilhooley. Bullet Joe Bush lasted until early in the seventh inning, and Jing Johnson got two critical outs in the inning to keep the score tied up 1-1. We brought out Bill Morrisette to take over in the eighth, and New York broke the stalemate with a run scored off a sac-fly by Wally Pipp to give them a 2-1 lead. This time we got ourselves the equalizer in the bottom of the inning, Schang batting in another run with a groundball single, and Morrisette got us into the bottom of the ninth still knotted up with a chance to win this one. Charlie Pick led off with a flyball double, stole third base, and then scored off a walk-off single by Buck Thrasher, who picked up his first pinch-hit in four tries to win the game for us 3-2! There’s something special about this streak right now, and we’re just doing everything we can to keep the momentum and the positivity in our clubhouse. Morrisette improved to 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA, pitching two innings with three hits and the earned run. Bush still hasn’t managed to get a win this year, but he pitched 6.1 innings with just four hits, three walks and a run, striking out two. Walks are his issue ... he has 22 hits and 23 walks against him, which has led to a 1.65 WHIP and has forced him to throw more pitches early than he’d like. If he can get those bullets to fly more on target, he’ll go deeper into games and the wins will come. We outhit New York 14-7, Connie Mack looking absolutely livid at moments in this one. McCarthy and Mowrey combined for five hits to nowhere, but Wally Schang remained on point all game, hitting twice for two RBIs, while McInnis added two hits and a run.

We, with five straight, and the St. Louis Browns with six in a row are the two hottest teams in all of baseball right now, while Boston, having lost eight in a row, is now the coldest ... they’re now just 7-11 with a game and a half lead over Cleveland as they fight to avoid last place, and they’ve gone 3-5 in one run games, making them also by far the league’s unluckiest team.

May 2, 1916: Rookie of the month Pedro Dibut pitched today, and after a sac-fly by McInnis in the bottom of the first drove home Schang for a run, he was pitching with the lead deep into this game. Strunk hit an RBI single in the third to add on, but from there the defenses were fully in control. In the top of the eighth, with a runner on first and one out, Bill Morrisette took over, getting us out of the inning without any damage, and he shut them down in the top of the ninth to cement our sixth win in a row, a 2-0 shutout! Dibut got the win, improving to 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out seven! Morrisette, meanwhile, earned his third save of the year with a hit and two walks, improving his ERA to 1.74. We managed to outhit them 6-5 in this duel, led by Amos Strunk with two hits and an RBI, while McInniss added a hit and an RBI, Walsh and Schang scoring our two runs on the ground.

May 3, 1916: So far Connie Mack’s return to Philly wearing Yankees gear has not gone well for him, and we came into this game with all the momentum. Amos Strunk grounded out in the bottom of the third to drive home Jimmy Walsh for a 1-0 lead, but New York answered in the top of the fifth, Frank Baker scoring off a passed ball to tie the score. Wally Schang batted home Charlie Pick with a single in the bottom of the eighth to get us the lead back, amd Jim Nabors (who took over in the top of the eighth) pitched another clean inning as we shut them down in the top of the ninth, completing the most unlikely of sweeps with a 2-1 victory! Nabors got his second win of the year, improving to 2-0 out of the pen with a 6.60 ERA, allowing three hits and a walk but not letting anyone score. Houck, who lasted seven innings with five hits, five walks, three strikeouts and an earned run, now has a 2.65 ERA through 34 innings. Incredibly, New York outhit us 8-2 and we comitted two errors but we STILL came out of this one with the win, led by Wally Schang, who put us on his shoulders with two hits and a run batted in. Schang, with a .344 average, two doubles, six triples and 11 RBIs, has already put together 1.2 wins above replacement through his first 18 games, despite being a very inefficient defensive catcher. We’ll take his bat any day!

Seven wins in a row, and we’re going to play Washington (9-10) for four games in our next series, the team that started this streak in the first place. Our 11-8 Athletics are now tied for third place, but only half a game back of St. Louis and Chicago, who are both tied at 12-8 for first in what is now a very wide-open American League race.

jksander · 03-17-2026, 05:48 PM

May 4, 1916: The Browns lost their game against Chicago yesterday 5-2, snapping their win streak as they head on the road for 22 consecutive road games, so we now have the longest streak in the land and a chance to fight our way into first place if we can keep it going. We took the lead quickly in the bottom of the first, scoring off a Rube Oldring single and a groundout by Lew Malone to quickly go up 2-0, and Gene Packard dominated their lineup repeatedly with his strong pitching performance ... both pitchers in fact did a great job tying up the batters, with just four hits between our teams in the first seven innings. But Washington woke up big time in the top of the eighth, tying the game on a two-run single by Danny Moeller after Bill Morrisette took over with one out earlier in the inning. Jack Nabors took over the tied game in the top of the ninth, getting three quick outs, but for the first time all year we found ourselves having to play extra innings. With two outs in the top of the 10th, a passed ball allowed Washington to take the lead as Henri Rondeau scored the go-ahead. And we’d run out of magic offensively, as none of our hitters could get us over the hump in the bottom of the inning. Our streak came to a close with a 3-2 10th inning loss. Packard lasted 7.1 innings with three hits, two walks, two strikeouts and an earned run ... he threw 117 pitches, but our manager’s going to take heat over pulling him for Morrisette, who blew the save with a hit, two walks and a run while only getting two outs. Nabors took the loss, pitching two innings with a hit, a walk and an unearned run. But Washington outhit us 5-3, and it was our second game finding it difficult to sustain rallies. Yesterday we lucked into the win against New York, but tonight it wasn’t happening, though Oldring led us with the RBI that originally put us into the lead.

May 5, 1916: We hit them back hard in the bottom of the third in this afternoon’s game, scoring off a Dickey Kerr RBI single and then adding on when Jimmy Walsh reached safely via an E2 error, Kerr scoring from third. Wally Schang reached on an E8 error that then let Jimmy Walsh score, and Stuffy McInniss added another run when he grounded out to score Wally Schang from third. With the 4-0 lead in our hands, we were already firmly in control, but a five-run inning in the fourth turned this into a rout! Dickey Kerr went on to complete the game, a five-hit 9-0 shutout victory, getting us nicely back on track after yesterday’s disappointment. He walked three and struck out a pair, thowing 138 pitches in a dominating performance as he earned his first major league win, our team outhitting theirs 11-5 behind a balanced hitting attack. Schang had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while leadoff man Jimmy Walsh added a hit, two runs and two RBIs. Strunk and Mowrey added two hits each with a run, and Alex McCarthy put up a hit and two runs on the ground.

May 6, 1916: Today we took the lead again in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Stuffy McInnis, but Washington quickly replied with a top-of-the-second RBI single by John Henry to stay in the game. Alex McCarthy hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead, and Bullet Joe Bush held tough the rest of the way as he completed the game to win 2-1! It was his first win, improving our top starter to a 1-3 record with a 2.72 ERA, a four-hit game with four walks, three strikeouts and one unearned run. We outhit the Senators 6-4, led by Mike Mowrey with two this and a run scored, while McInnis had a hit and an RBI.

May 8, 1916: It’s absolutely incredible, we can say we’re in first place in the American League! Our 13-9 record has us tied in the standings with St. Louis, who are now sitting at 14-10 as our two teams have gone on similar tears to flip this league onto its head. Cleveland, however, has won four in a row, and now they, at 10-14, are now tied with Boston (9-13) in last place ... so the entire eight-team league is within four games of each other. Nobody should feel safe or confident of their dominance at this point in the season.

But we’ve won nine of our last ten games, so we’ve certainly earned this change of fortunes, along with the right to at least feel we can compete day in and day out. In today’s final game of the series against Washington we took the lead in the bottom of the second off a groundout by Mike Mowrey, and in the bottom of the fourth we added on with an RBI single by Alex McCarthy, a third run soon scoring off a passed ball to give us a 3-0 advantage going into the fifth. Three more runs scored for us in the bottom of the sixth, giving Pedro Dibut a comfortable lead, and even though Washington got a pair back in the ninth inning, it was too little too late as we stomped them 8-2. Dibut didn’t get a complete game, pitching 8.1 innings with four hits, four strikeouts and two unearned runs, but he still improved to 4-2 with a 1.59 ERA through 45.1 innings over his first seven starts. We outhit them 11-6, led by Mowrey who had two hits, a run and two RBIs, and we were able to improve to 6-2 against them at this early point in the season.

Next up we’ll face Detroit (12-12) for four games, putting our league-leading 14-9 record to the test.

jksander · 03-17-2026, 06:47 PM

[SIZE="4"]May 9, 1916: Detroit came out fighting early, putting up a quick lead in the top of the first off an RBI triple by George Burns and a groundout by Ty Cobb that scored Burns. They added a run in the top of the fourth off a Donie Bush single, but we got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a Stuffy McInnis RBI single to trial 3-1 heading into the top of the fifth. Detroit took control from there, a two-run double by Cobb expanding their lead to four in the fifth, and two more runs in the sixth making it a seemingly insurmountable 7-1 Tigers lead. But we rallied big in the bottom of the sixth, scoring off an RBI double by McInnis, an RBI single by Lajoie and a sac-fly via Oldring to get back within three. Then, in the botom of the seventh, Wally Schang tied it with a three-run triple, scoring himself moments later off a passed ball to give us an incredible 8-7 comeback lead! Jack Nabors took over in the eighth as our third pitcher of the night, Morrisette having taken over in the sixth when the game was considered out of reach. No longer was that the case, and Nabors held firm in the eighth, Stuffy McInnis buying us an insurance run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single! Nabors dominated the rest of the way, and we held on to win 9-7! Morrisette (3-1, 2.19 ERA) got the win with 1.1 innings without allowing a baserunner, and Nabors earned his third save with two hits in two innings, our bullpen giving this team time to find its offensive power. Houck had a rough one, with 5.2 innings and nine hits, three walks and seven runs (six earned), but the bullpen help plus our bats outhitting them 15-11 saved the day ... McInnis led everyone with three hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Wally Schang added a hit, a walk, a run and three more RBIs.

May 10, 1916: This one turned quietly into another pitching duel between Detroit’s Hooks Dauss and our lefty Gene Packard ... and in the bottom of the fifth we finally broke through ... off a wild pitch, Lajoie scoring from third for the 1-0 lead. In a chaotic play in the sixth, a passed ball sent McInnis to third, and he scored when Rube Oldring reached first on an E5 error to extend our lead, still without a run batted in! Detroit got on the board with an RBI single by Oscar Stanage that was coupled with an E9 error, but we put their hopes of a comeback to bed in the bottom of the eighth when Oldring singled in a run and then Mike Mowrey hit a two-run single to make it a four-run lead for our Athletics. They got a run back in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as we held tough to win 5-2! Packard pitched 6.1 innings with six hits, a walk, a strikeout and an earned run, improving to 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA, while Bill Morrisette earned his fourth save, a 2.2 inning effort with two hits, two strikeouts and an earned run, improving his ERA to 2.40 through 15 innings over 12 apperances for the 21-year-old rookie (he was a late-September call-up in 1915 so he’s only got 31 days of MLB service time). Each team had eight hits, ours led by Mowrey, with two hits and two RBIs, and McInnis who had two hits and scored two runs.

May 11, 1916: Oscar Stanage hit a sac-fly to drive home a run for Detroit in the top of the second, and in the top of the sixth another sac-fly, this time by Donie Bush, extended their lead to 2-0. We tried to rally in the ninth, and Nap Lajoie did finally get us on the board from third when he scored off a wild pitch, but we weren’t able make anything connect on a cold, rainy, windy afternoon as we lost this one 2-1. Dickey Kerr pitched 8.2 innings with nine hits, two walks, three strikeouts and two earned runs, with Morrisette getting the final out of the final inning on five pitches. Detroit outhit us 9-8, only Oldring getting on base twice (two hits), Lajoie scoring our only run with one hit.

May 12, 1916: Bullet Bob Bush gave up three runs to Detroit in the top of the second inning, two coming off a triple by Sam Crawford and one off a wild pitch, Crawford scoring from third. But that lit a fire under our asses, and we fought back quickly in the botom of the second -- Lajoie scored off a single by McCarthy, Jimmy Walsh batted in a run with a single, and then Amos Strunk hit a two-run line drive double to drop us into the lead 4-3! Bullet Joe hit himself an RBI double to score Lajoie in the bottom of the third, and we traded runs for a few innings before a two-run double by Charlie Pick in the bottom of the eighth extended our lead to three, up 8-5! That’s where it remained, as Morrisette came out in the ninth for a one-inning save, striking out a batter with no hits or walks to complete the 8-5 victory. He now has five saves and a 2.20 ERA, and Bush got his second win in a row with an eight-inning effort, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) -- his walks continue to be a problem, with six today, but he struck out four batters and was able to keep us in this one late. He now has a 2-3 record and a 3.05 ERA through 44.1 innings. We outslugged them 13-6, led by Nap Lajoie with three hits and three runs scored ... he’s now hitting .263 after recovering from a very slow start to the year.

Our record now stands at 17-10, leading the AL by half a game over St. Louis, who will be our next opponent for four games. Both our teams have been red hat since late April, and we’re not going to be able to coast ... winning this series is going to be a challenge for sure.[/SIZE]

jksander · 03-17-2026, 07:51 PM

May 13, 1916: The Boston Braves needed an outfielder, as they’re struggling in the middle of the NL pack at 12-14, so they reached out to us about acquiring Charlie Grimm from us, a 17-year-old left fielder we have on our reserve roster who is ranked #25 nationally. With us suddenly in a position where we’re leading our league and looking to be a stronger team than had been ancipated, I saw an opportunity to shore up our pitching even further (pitching having been a big reason we’ve been able to stay in, and win, so many close games). We’ve agreed to trade the Braves Grimm, in exchange for 28-year-old right-handed starter Dick Rudolph, who so far this year has gone 3-3 with a 1.31 ERA, 20 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP. We’re moving Dickey Kerr and Byron Houck to the bullpen and sending Jing Johnson down to the reserve roster to make room for Rudolph in the rotation -- right now we’ll be slotting him in third, between Dibut and Packard -- and our bullpen will now feature Nabors and Houck as middle relief and Kerr and Morrisette as long relief options.

Dibut got the start today in game one against the St. Louis Browns, and we quickly took the lead with an RBI single by Amos Strunk in the bottom of the first, though they answered in the top of the second with a sac-fly by Jimmy Austin that scored George Sisler. Jimmy Walsh hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second to get us back the lead, but in the bottom of the sixth they again tied it, this time with a single by Austin. Dibut pitched his way through the ninth inning without letting them back into the lead, and in the bottom of the inning with one out and both Walsh and Strunk in scoring position, Mike Mowrey hit a walk-off groundball single into right to get us the 3-2 win! Dibut improved to 5-2 on the year with a 1.66 ERA, allowing eight hits, a walk and two runs with three strikeouts in his complete game, our bats outhitting them 11-8. Jimmy Walsh led the way from the leadoff spot, hitting three times with two runs and an RBI.

May 15, 1916: Dick Rudolph made his debut for us in today’s game, and he came in with six complete games, tied with the Yankees’ Ferdie Schupp for the most in the majors. But his luck was not good early in this one. St. Louis took the lead in the top of the third with a groundout by Ward Miller that scored Ernie Johnson, and they added a two-run double by Doc Lavan in the fourth which was immediately followed by Lavan scoring off a passed ball. Brutal! We clawed some back in the bottom of the fifth, as Alex McCarthy scored off a passed ball and then Amos Strunk hit a two-run triple to get us back within one. Rudolph gave up an RBI single to Burt Shotton in the top of the ninth to extend St. Louis’ lead to two runs, and that was all they’d need ... our bats stayed silent from there and we lost 5-3. Rudolph completed the game, his seventh, but took the loss with a 12-hit, five run game, striking out two. We were outhit 12-8 which didn’t help ... Wally Schang led the way with two hits, two walks and a run scored.

May 16, 1916: We took the lead today in the bottom of the third with a single by Strunk that was coupled with an E7 error, allowing Jimmy Walsh to score and put us up 1-0. St. Louis answered with an RBI single by Eddie Plank in the top of the fifth, but we retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double by Rube Oldring, putting us ahead 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh. Oldring singled in another run in the eighth that was followed by an RBI double for Alex McCarthy, but Byron Houck blew the save by giving up a grand slam home run off the bat of Jack Tobin to shoot the Browns into the lead 5-4 as we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning. That’s a hell of a way to hand a team a lead, and it gutted us as a team ... the offense pretty much threw their hands up, and we lost 5-4 in a game we should have had well in hand. Houck took the loss, falling to 3-2 with a 4.43 ERA, allowing two hits, two walks and four runs with one strikeout. Gene Packard had lasted 7.1 innings with a six-hitter, walking three, striking out two and conceding one earned run. Jim Nabors got two outs with a hit and a walk as he tried to recover from the grand slam, but it was enough to destroy us despite having outhit the Browns 14-9. Nap Lajoie led the way with three hits and two runs, while Oldring added two hits, a walk and two RBIs.

May 17, 1916: We came into tonight needing to split this series with a win, which would put us back atop the AL, a spot now held by St. Louis by half a game. Bullet Joe Bush took the mound, and it did not go well ... Hank Severeid grounded out in the top of the first but Burt Shotton scored to give St. Louis the lead, and then in the top of the third they added four more runs, nearly batting their entire order in the process. Trailing 5-0 midway through the inning, we worked to slowly claw the runs back ... in the bottom of the fourth Rube Oldring hit a sac-fly to get us on the board, and we got two more back in the sixth thanks to a groundout by Stuffy McInnis and an RBI single by Oldring. Houck took over with two outs in the seventh still trailing by a pair, and in the ninth he gave them two more, sealing the deal as we lost this one 7-3, and the series three games to one. Bullet Joe Bush fell to 2-4 with a 3.53 ERA, allowing eight hits and five earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts in his 6.2 innings. The Browns outhit us 10--6, Rube Oldring leading our offense with three hits and two RBIs.

With that loss, we now trail the Browns (20-12) by a game and a half, and our 18-13 record has us tied with the Yankees for second in the AL, though we still lead Chicago by two and a half. Of course they’re the team we face next, as the White Sox come in for three games before our day off on Sunday. With just two series left in this long homestand, it’s important that we finish strong, so we have some runway ... we’ll be on the road from May 26th through June 18th, and will only play six games in June on our home field. That’ll be a long stretch to spend living out of suitcases on trains and in hotels.

jksander · 03-23-2026, 03:21 PM

May 18, 1916: Wally Schang hit a solo homer for us in the bottom of the third to put us up 1-0 early, and a groundout by Mike Mowrey added a run for us in the fourth to extend that lead. But the White Sox came roaring back in the top of the sixth after an RBI single by Zeb Terry and an E7 error that allowed Joe Benz to reach on error, sending home the tying run. Dibut lasted until the top of the ninth, but his first batter faced, Eddie Collins, hit a double and our manager pulled him for Byron Houck without getting an out in the inning. Happy Felsch hit a sac-fly to put Chicago into the lead, and our offense stayed silent as the White Sox beat us 3-2. Dibut took the loss, falling to 5-3 with a 1.73 ERA, getting eight innings in with 10 hits, four walks, a strikeout and three runs (two earned). They outhit us 11-8, with Stuffy McInnis leading our offense with three hits to nowhere (while Wally Schang hit twice with a run and an RBI, including his first homer of the year).

May 19, 1916: Dick Rudolph pitched well for us early, and in the bottom of the fourth Nap Lajoie hit an RBI single that, with an E7 error assisting, drove home our first run. The next batter of the inning, Mike Mowrey, added on with a two-run triple, giving us a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the fifth, and Lajoie batted in another run in the fifth with an RBI single. Buck Weaver got the White Sox on the board with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, and in the top of the ninth a groundout by Eddie Murphy got them back within two. But Rudolph held firm and completed his game and we were able to get out of it with a 4-2 victory ahead of tomorrow’s rubber match. Rudolph had nine hits, two walks, a strikeout and two earned runs, giving him a 1-1 record and a 3.50 ERA since joining our team -- he’s now 4-4 with a 1.80 ERA through 88 innings this season as a whole, and has put up a total of 2.1 WAR between his time here and in Boston. They outhit us 9-7, but Lajoie powered us through with two hits, a walk, a run and two RBIs. The 41-year-old is hitting .284 for the season, but is still performing a smidge below replacement level, mostly due to his status as a defensive liability in the infield.

May 20, 1916: In the bottom of the third we took the lead against the White Sox off a single by Rube Oldring, and in the bottom of the fourth Mike Mowrey scored off a groundout Johnny Bassler hit into a 4-6-3 double play. But Chicago hit back with three runs in the top of the fifth, including an RBI double by Jack Fournier, an RBI double for Ray Schalk and an RBI single by Zeb Terry. Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to tie it back up in the bottom of the inning, and back to back RBI singles for Nap Lajoie and Mike Mowrey put us back ahead by a pair. Yet once again we couldn’t hold the lead, as Jack Fournier hit a two-run triple to tie it back up in the top of the sixth. Amos Strunk answered for us in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to make it a 6-5 lead again, but Jack Nabors flubbed the eighth inning, allowing an RBI double by Buck Weaver and a two-run Jack Ness triple, Eddie Collins then putting what looked like the final nail when he reached on an E5 error, giving Chicago a 9-6 lead. We got a run back in the ninth with a sac-fly by Lew Malone, but there would be no comeback as we lost this game 9-7 and the series two games to one. Gene Packard only lasted 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) with a walk and a strikeout. And though Nabors pitched 3.2 innings to finish the game, he allowed four hits and four runs (three earned) with a walk and two strikeouts, falling to 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA. We outhit them 11-10, the first time in the series we’d done that, but we couldn’t sustain another rally down the stretch ... Strunk finished with three hits and an RBI, and Rube Oldring added a hit, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

St. Louis (22-13) has increased its margin in the AL lead, up 2.5 games on us and the Yankees, with the White Sox now just four games back with an 18-17 record. We’ll head into Cleveland (12-23, 10 games back of first) for our first series agianst the AL’s bottom dwellers, while staring down the barrel of a long stretch of road games upcoming.

May 22, 1916: Cleveland took the lead in the top of the first with an RBI single from Jack Graney, but a two-run triple by Wally Schang flipped us into the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth. So, in an echo of Saturday’s collapse against Chicago, Cleveland rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs, batting around in the process. The runs kept coming for both sides, and though we went into the bottom of the sixth trailing 7-3, it was our turn to bat around, scoring off an RBI single from Bill Morrisette, an RBI single by Wally Schang, an E6 error that put Amos Strunk on first, and an RBI single by Stuffy McInnis that tied the score ... the capper was an RBI single for Charlie Pick, giving us an 8-7 lead heading into the seventh inning. Cleveland answered in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer by Elmer Smith to retake the lead, but Schang answered with a homer of his own, a solo moonshot in the bottom of the eighth that tied us up at 9-9. This time we had the magic on our side, as in the bottom of the ninth Lew Malone hit a two-run walk-off blast out of right to hand us an 11-9 win. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and we need all the wins we can get. Morrisette pitched 3.2 innings with three hits, four walks and two runs (one earned), giving him a 4-1 record and a 2.25 ERA through 20 innings over his 15 appearances, saving Bullet Bob Bush from a sure loss ... Bush had 12 hits, four walks and seven earned runs in 5.1 innings, throwing 135 pitches and blowing his ERA up to 4.31 in his ninth start of the year. Each team had 15 hits, ours led by Schang, who had three hits, a walk, two runs and four RBIs ... he now has two homers to go with three doubles and eight triples, leading the team with 21 runs batted in.

May 23, 1916: Schang remained hot in the top of the first, hitting an RBI double to put us into the lead in game two of the series, but Cleveland tied it in the second with a double by Steve O’Neill and took the lead in the third with a single by Jack Graney. In the bottom of the fifth Jimmy Walsh tied it with an RBI single, and Stuffy McInnis batted us back into the lead with a single, putting us up 3-2 heading into the sixth. Jack Graney hit Cleveland another RBI single in the top of the seventh to tie it again, and two runs would score moments later off a single by pinch-hitter Larry Chappell. They added an insurance run in the top of the ninth off the bat of Braggo Roth, and that should have finished us off. But with two outs in the bottom of the inning, Charlie Pick hit an RBI single and Buck Thrasher added a two-run double to tie it at 6-6! Pick tried to make it around to score, but instead we wound up in extra innings when he got tagged out at the plate. In the top of the 12th inning, Tom Daly reached on an E6 error to score Jack Graney for the lead, and we left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame, losing this one in a 7-6 heartbreaker. Morrisette came out as our fourth pitcher and handled the 11th and 12th, taking the loss with one hit, two walks and an unearned run, and we outhit them 15-13 but just didn’t have another rally in us. Jimmy Walsh led the way with three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI, while Stuffy McInnis added three hits, a run and an RBI.

May 24, 1916: Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the first to give us the lead, and we added a run in the third thanks to a double (also by McInnis) to extend our lead to 2-0. But Cleveland tied it in the eighth with a two-run homer by Braggo Roth, and for the second day in a row we wound up playing extra innings. They hit us hard in the 10th, scoring three runs (two off a double by Ivan Howard and two off a triple by Joe Leonard) and we had no fight left in the bottom of the inning, stranding a pair as we lost 5-2. Dick Rudolph lasted 8.2 innings with six hits, three walks, two earned runs and five strikeouts, but Dickey Kerr took the loss with two hits, a walk and three earned runs ... he’s now 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA through 24 innings. We outhit them 9-8, led by McInnis with three hits and two runs batted in.

May 25, 1916: Mike Mowrey batted home McInnis with a single in the bottom of the second, and Amos Strunk hit an RBI double in the second to put our lead at 2-0. But Cleveland would score four in the fourth and another run in the fifth to take a commanding lead. But Alex McCarthy hit an RBI single that, aided by an E9 error, allowed a run to score a quick run to start the bottom of the seventh, and that started a rally ... McCarthy scored off a single by Charlie Pick, Jimmy Walsh scored off a single by Wally Schang to tie the score, and Amos Strunk hit an RBI double to put us into the lead! We were able to hold our ground from there and got the 6-5 win, splitting the series as we head into our next three-plus weeks of road games against the bulk of the American League. Jack Nabors took over for Packard with an out in the sixth and got us through the seventh inning for the win, improving to 3-2 with a 4.61 ERA with just one hit in his 1.2 innings. Byron Houck then got his first save of the year, pitching two innings with a hit and a strikeout as our bullpen helped us to victory. We outhit Cleveland 11-8, led by Strunk with two hits and two RBIs, while Mowrey added two hits and an RBI.

Here’s our upcoming schedule of road games:

5/26-27, 29: at Washington (16-22)
5/30-31, 6/1: at New York (20-18) - [i]including a doubleheader on 5/30)
6/3-5: at St. Louis (25-14)
6/6-9: at Chicago (21-18)
6/10-13: at Cleveland (14-25)
6/15-18: at Detroit (18-21)

The only team we won’t face on this trip across the country will be Boston (19-19), who we’ll face on May 23-24 and May 26-27, following a three-game home stand against Washington. That series and three games against the Yankees June 28-30 will be our only home games of the upcoming month, which is concerning since we’ve gone 7-8 over our last four series.

jksander · 03-24-2026, 08:38 PM

May 26, 1916: In our first game in Washingon of the new road trip, we took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the top of the second with a sac-fly by Alex McCarthy. Amos Strunk batted home Bullet Joe Bush in the fifth to add an insurance run, and Bush held firm from there as he completed the game, a three-hitter (with a walk and a strikeout) that gave us a 2-0 win! Bush improved to 3-4 with a 3.72 ERA, and we outhit Washington 9-3, led by Nap Lajoie with three hits and a run scored, while Strunk added two hits and an RBI.

May 27, 1916: Washington took the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple by Eddie Foster and an RBI single for Clyde Milan, giving them a quick 2-0 advantage. But we got on the board with an RBI single by Amos Strunk in the fifth, and moments later Charlie Pick tied it by walking in a run with loaded bases. An RBI single for Jimmy Walsh in the sixth put us into the lead, and a two-run double by Strunk helped us add on quickly, leading 5-2 midway thorugh the inning. Stuffy McInnis added a two run single in the eighth, and that was all we needed to hammer the nails in, beating the Senators 7-2! Pedro Dibut pitched a complete game five-hitter, with two walks and two earned runs, and we had 11 hits ourselves, led by Walsh with three hits and three runs while Strunk added two hits and four RBIs. Dibut was also responsible for a hit and two runs of his own, a solid effort all around!

May 29, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit a sac-fly to give us a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, and we fought to hold that lead until the bottom of the sixth, when the Senators unleashed their bats upon us, scoring off an RBI single for Charlie Jamieson, getting three runs off a Joe Judge triple, and then piling on with an RBI single by Rip Williams to lead by four runs going into the seventh inning. We couldn’t muster anything from the plate from there on, losing this one by the 5-1 margin. Dick Rudolph pitched an eight inning complete game with six hits, a walk and five runs, NONE of them earned, but we were outhit 6-2 only getting three runners on base the entire game. You don’t win games that way.

May 30, 1916: We took the lead in game one of two against the Yankees with an E9 error that let Lajoie on base, scoring Rube Oldring in the top of the second. Lajoie hit a double in the fourth that bought us a second run, but an E1 error in the bottom of the sixth got New York on the board as Paddy Baumann scored as Roger Peckinpaugh took his base. We did very well in the top of the eighth, buying us some space with RBI singles by Byron Houck, Amos Strunk, Rube Oldring and Nap Lajoie, and three more runs in the ninth sealed the deal. New York got a runner to third in the bottom of the inning but wasn’t about to overcome this deficit -- we won with ease, 9-1 after outhitting them 14-6. Gene Packard improved to 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA, pitching 5.1 innings with three hits, three walks, no runs, while Houck earned his second save with a 3.2 inning effort, allowing three hits with an unearned run and three strikeouts. Nap Lajoie led the offense with three hits and three RBIs.

In the day’s second game the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single from Roxy Walters, and they hammered us with four more runs in the bottom of the seventh to put the screws in hard. We had no answer this time, and they beat us with ease 5-0. Bullet Joe Bush took the loss, falling to 3-5 with a 3.77 ERA after allowing four runs (three earned) with eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts in his 6.1 innings. They outhit us 12-3, and we only had five runners on base the entire game. Strunk had two hits, but was caught in the Yankees’ defensive buzzsaw both times.

May 31, 1916: We had a solo homer from Jimmy Walsh to start the third inning, but New York scored a run in the bottom of the inning, another in the fourth and three more in the seventh to build a lead we’d never erase. We scored a pair in the eighth but they got one of those back in the bottom of the inning, holding us off without much real pressure to win 6-3, outhitting us 13-10. Pedro Dibut lasted 6.1 innings with nine hits, two walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs, taking the loss, while Amos Strunk led our offense with two hits, a run and two RBIs.

June 1, 1916: This one was a real defensive fight, with the two pitchers dueling until the top of the sixth when Mike Mowrey singled in a run by McInnis and Nap Lajoie scored off a single by Rube Oldring to give us a 2-0 lead. Oldring walked in a run in the eighth and a fly-out by Alex McCarthy drove in another to give us a four run shutout lead. That was a lead we’d hold on to, as Dick Rudolph closed out a five-hit 4-0 shutout victory, our boys outhitting theirs just 8-5! Rube Oldring led the way with two hits, a walk and two RBIs, while McInnis had two hits, a walk and a run scored. The win helps us maintain a one-game lead over the Yankees, and we now only trail St. Louis (27-20) by a single game as we take our 25-20 record to their city.

jksander · 04-02-2026, 01:33 PM

June 3, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single in the top of the second in our first game against St. Louis, giving us a 1-0 lead early in the game. But the Browns tied it up with a groundout by Hank Severeid in the bottom of the third that scored George Sisler. In the bottom of the fourth Gene Packard survived a bases-loaded jam; Bob Groom had loaded the bases thanks to an E5 groundball error, but Armando Marsans grounded out to end the inning still tied up at 1-1 ... and he continued to pitch well, getting us through the sixth inning with the score unchanged. But our bats remained silent, so Packard got us through the seventh as well as he and St. Louis starter Bob Groom dueled it out. With two outs in the eighth, runners on first and second, Packard showed no signs of cracking ... Charlie Deal hit a hard shot into right and loaded the bases, but Packard got William Rumler to ground out to first and escaped the jam with the score still tied heading into the top of the ninth. But again our bats couldn’t score, and this time our manager did decide to go to the pen, bringing out Jack Nabors to try and get this into extra innings. Sisler got on base with a single on two outs, and a single into center by Del Pratt would have given them a runner in scoring position, but Sisler got greedy and tried for third, and we tagged him out hard at third to get into the 10th.

Byron Houck took over in the bottom of the 11th, and it was in the bottom of the 12th that our defensive struggles started to hit us hard ... Del Pratt had popped out to right for their first out, but Jimmy Austin reached on an E5 error, and then Burt Shotton reached on an E6, our fourth error of the ballgame. Ward Miller grounded out 5-3, moving the runners to second and third with two outs, and Bobby Wallace struck out swinging, however, so the game continued on into the 13th inning! Houck was absolutely phenomenal, continuing to pitch through the 14th inning, all but willing our batters to find some way to get us over the top. And finally, in the top of the 15th inning, Rube Oldring was able to score off a walk by Sam Crane with the bases loaded, and pushed us into the lead 2-1! Houck, who had loaded those bases by grounding into what turned into a failed fielder’s choice for St. Louis, stayed out in the bottom of the 15th, and he got a pop-out and two strikeouts to finish the game as a 2-1 victory!

Our pitching all night was impeccable ... Gene Packard pitched eight innings with eight hits, five walks and a strikeout, allowing our first earned run, but Nabors and Houck combined for SEVEN innings of their own, with four hits and no earned runs between them. Houck in particular earned his win, improving to 4-2 by going five innings with one hit, two walks and five strikeouts, throwing 62 pitches and improving his ERA to 3.57 through 58 innings ... he’s started six games and pitched in 15. We narrowly outhit them 14-12, led by a stirring performance from Stuffy McInnis, who had five hits and two walks, getting us the run in the top of the second off that hit by Mowrey.

June 4, 1916: St. Louis, owner of a five-game losing streak, took the lead in the bottom of the third off a single by Ernie Johnson, but in the top of the fifth Bullet Joe Bush tied it with an RBI single and a sac-fly by Jimmy Walsh pushed us into the lead 2-1. We went into the bottom of the ninth still leading, but Bush blew his lead and the game .. he walked Grover Hartley with one out, Jack Tobin singled Hartley into scoring position ... and though Hartley was picked off trying to take third, Bush chose to intentionally walk Del Pratt and then the Browns struck hard, Ernie Johnson hitting a two-run single to walk this one off 3-2. What a tough way to lose a game. Bush fell to 3-6 with a 3.70 ERA, allowing just seven hits, but walking six for three earned runs ... he also struck out five, so his bullets were flying, but inconsistency proved to be his undoing in the final frame. We matched them on hits with seven each, led by McInnis who had three hits to nowhere. Mowrey had a hit and a run and Jimmy Walsh had a hit and an RBI, while Alex McCarthy walked and scored a run as well.

June 5, 1916: In the top of the fourth Rube Oldring reached first on an E5 error, driving home Wally Schang to give us a 1-0 lead, but George Sisler scored off a passed ball in the bottom of the inning to tie things up. The game stayed tight until the top of the eighth when we again broke through, this time with Pedro Dibut walking in a run by Mike Mowrey to put us ahead 2-1! And today Dibut did what Bush couldn’t yesterday ... he completed his game and held tough to finish a hard-fought 2-1 victory. Dibut improved to 7-4 with a 2.18 ERA, finishing with five hits, a walk and an earned run. They outhit us 5-4, Oldring leading the way with a hit, a walk and an RBI, while Amos Strunk had two hits and a walk but didn’t manage to drive in any runs.

By taking the series two games to one, we have now tied with St. Louis and are leading the AL standings on the basis of tiebreakers, with a 27-21 record! Detroit sits a game and a half back, and Chicago (our next opponent) is in fourth place, two games back with a 25-23 record.The entire division remains within eight games of each other, with the top six now within four games.

jksander · 04-02-2026, 05:49 PM

June 6, 1916: The White Sox took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Jack Fournier hit an RBI double off Dick Gregory to put them up 1-0. But our luck changed in the top of the ninth, when we went in trailing by the one run and with one out and runners in scoring position, Stuffy McInnis hit a two-run line drive single to catapult us into the lead! Rudolph had a four-hitter going, but our manager pulled him for Byron Houck in the bottom of the ninth, and Houck got three quick outs to hold on to our 2-1 victory! So Rudolph got his win, improving to 6-5 with a 1.50 ERA and 3-2 since joining our team ... he had four hits, a walk, three strikeouts and just the one earned run against him through eight innings. Houck got his third save, throwing just eight pitches and improving his ERA to 3.51 thorugh 59 innings, and we outhit them 10-4, dominated by Walsh, Schang and Strunk at the top of our lineup (they combined for seven hits and both our runs scored), with Amos Strunk leading all with three hits and a run, Stuffy McInnis getting a hit and two RBIs as well.

June 7, 1916: An excellent pitching duel was broken up in the bottom of the fifth when Chicago scored three runs off Gene Packard, including an RBI double for Eddie Collins, an RBI triple by Shano Collins and an RBI single by Joe Jackson, all performed back to back to back. Amos Strunk got us on the board with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, but they got the run back in the bottom of the seventh and never let go. We’d go on to lose this one 4-1, committing two errors and getting outhit 9-7 in the process. Packard took the loss, falling to 3-1 with a nine hit four walk four run game, though only one of them was earned. Jimmy Walsh led the offense with two hits and a run, while McInnis hit three times but got nowhere.

June 8, 1916: Bullet Joe Bush gave up three runs in the bottom of the first, and we spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. Mike Mowrey hit a sac-fly to get us on the board in the top of the fifth, but an E8 error on a line drive single by Shano Collins let Chicago add on to the damage, and even a solo homer for Charlie Pick (his first of the year) wasn’t enough to overcome it. We’d go on to lose 4-2, our second loss in a row, and our lack of offense continues to be a struggle ... dig a hole, it gets hard to find a way out of it. Bush took the hit and fell to 3-7, though his ERA is 3.81 through 87.1 innings over 13 games, 12 of them starts. But he held them to five hits in his seven innings, unfortunately walking six and allowing all four earned runs in the process. With our bats only notching five hits ourselves, a comeback was not assured, Charlie Pick’s late-innings homer nonwithstanding. We have to find a way to give our pitchers real run support, or our 28-23 record will prove to be an illusion. With five teams in the AL currently sitting within a game of each other, things are definitely getting competitive, and every game is going to count as we all duke it out for a chance at that pennant.

June 9, 1916: Joe Jackson got Chicago back into the lead quickly in game four of our series, hitting an RBI triple in the bottom of the first for the 1-0 lead. But we managed to tie it in the top of the sixth off a sac-fly by McInnis, and from there the gloves came off on both sides. Jack Fournier hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to give Chicago back the lead, but Rube Oldring hit back in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Lajoie and kept us fighting in this one, trailing just by a run. Unfortunately that’s where it stayed ... we dropped our third in a row, this time by a paltry 3-2 margin and despite another solid night by Dibut, who had seven hits and five strikeouts (no walks) with just two of his runs earned in 7.1 innings as he fell to 7-5 through 14 games, 13 of them starts. Again we matched them on hits, with seven each, but only Oldring (with two hits and an RBI) managed to make anything really happen out there.

And just like that we find ourselves in a FOUR WAY TIE for first atop the American League standings, with Detroit (28-25) just half a game back. And with four games against Cleveland (23-29, 5 GB) before four against Detroit, nothing is assured except that this year’s race is going to be one for the ages ... and if we want to stay part of it, we’ve got to find ways to actually score.

jksander · 04-06-2026, 12:50 PM

June 10, 1916: This game was a roller-coaster ride from the start, as the Indians got out to a 3-0 lead almost from the jump ... with first inning runs coming off a groundout by Chick Gandil, an RBI single for Terry Turner and an RBI double from Ray Chapman. Mike Mowrey hit an RBI double in the top of the second, and a sac-fly by Oldring kept us within a run for a short while, but Ray Chapman hit a two-run single in the bottom of the third that put Cleveland’s lead well out of our usual offensive reach. Mowrey scored off a single by Alex McCarthy in the top of the fourth, but when Cleveland got it back in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI triple by Braggo Roth, all seemed lost for us. In the top of the ninth, still trailing by three, Buck Thrasher hit a groundout that gave us two outs with Oldring on third and McCarthy on second ... but, shockingly, we managed to walk the bases loaded thanks to Jimmy Walsh’s strong eye, Oldring scored off a Strunk RBI single, and then Stuffy McInnis stunned the home crowd silent with a two-run single that tied the score at 6-6, taking the wind out of their sails! Dickey Kerr, who had taken over for Dick Rudolph after the seventh, stayed out to finish the ninth inning, but after getting the first out quickly, he floundered. Joe Leonard singled into right, and moments later Tris Speaker hit one nearly to the same spot ... it rolled into the corner, letting Speaker take second as Leonard came in to score the go-ahead as we lost another heartbreaker, this time by a 7-6 margin after fighting so hard for a chance at extras. So Kerr took the loss, falling to 1-3 after 1.1 innings with three hits and an earned run, while we got out hit 12-8. Mowrey (two hits, two runs and an RBI) and McCarthy (two hits, a run and an RBI) led our offense, but this time even putting up six runs wasn’t enough.

June 11, 1916: Today’s game was over barely after it started, when Braggo Roth reached first on an E3 error, giving Cleveland the lead as Tris Speaker scored the go-ahead. And though Gene Packard pitched the rest of the way, our bats never gave him any support at all, and we lost this one by that same margin, never making an ounce of a comeback attempt as we lost 1-0, our fifth consecutive loss. Packard pitched a gem, too, with three hits, a walk and the one (unearned!) run, but our offense was nonexistant ... five baserunners, three hits, and only Shag Thompson wound up with both a hit and a walk. We need to find some momentum, because the season’s not lost, yet. But if we can’t get our heads back above water, it very quickly could be.

June 12, 1916: The Indians walked in a run in the bottom of the second to take the lead once again, but a groundout by Amos Strunk in the top of the third helped us tie things up when Johnny Bassler scored to make it a 1-1 ballgame. Another duel promptlly ensued, and in the top of the eighth we were the ones to break through, Jimmy Walsh hitting an RBI double to give us a 2-1 lead! But Jack Nabors blew it big-time in the bottom of the inning, as he let Ray Chapman hit a two-run single to take the lead from us, and Steve O’Neill batted home Chapman to make it a two-run Cleveland lead heading into the top of the ninth. We loaded the bases in the frame, Stuffy McInnis pushing in a run by reaching on an E4 error, but we stranded Strunk, McInnis and Schang as we lost this one 4-3, the skid continuing for another night. Nabors took the loss, pitching 1.2 innings with six hits, a walk and three earned runs, and we hit 10 times but they matched us on that count ... backup catcher Johnny Bassler led the way with three hits and two runs, giving him a .375 average through 40 at-bats over 18 appearances.

June 13, 1916: We’ve fallen from first to fifth in a matter of days, and with five games left on this seemingly endless road trip, it’s getting harder and harder to see ourselves as winners in any game. But this one started as one of our prototypical duels, and in the top of the fifth we took the lead with an RBI double by Amos Strunk, doing what we could to stay alive in this final game against the Indians on their field. Unfortunately Pedro Dibut got hit hard in the bottom of the sixth, Braggo Roth scoring off a single by Elmer Smith and Ivan Howard batting them into the lead with a single moments later. We could have given up there, but in the top of the seventh Charlie Pick hit a two-run single to flip us back into the lead, up 3-2 heading into the stretch! We added insurance in the top of the ninth when Amos Strunk batted home Jimmy Walsh with a single that was followed by a sac-fly by Stuffy McInnis to extend our lead to three runs, and Byron Houck held firm in the bottom of the inning to complete it as we won 5-2 ... what a great way to snap this horrible six-game losing streak and give us hope heading into what will surely be a tough series in Detroit. Dibut lasted just 6.2 innings, but he got the win and improved to 8-5, allowing just five hits, but walking five and allowing two earned runs. Houck then pitched 2.1 innings to finish the game out, walking a pair and striking out one but not letting anybody score. And for the first time in what seems like forever, we outhit a team -- this time by a 9-5 margin, Strunk leading the way with three hits and a pair of runs batted in.

We’re off tomorrow and will then face the 30-27 Tigers, who have a half-game lead on us in the standings as we sit, 2.5 games out of first, in fourth.

jksander · 04-06-2026, 12:52 PM

June 15, 1916: This was a tough way to start the series against Detroit. They took the lead in the bottom of the second with a groundout by Donnie Bush that scored Ossie Vitt, but we answered with a single by Amos Strunk that, thanks to an E9 error, allowed Jimmy Walsh to score the tying run. And that tie lasted all the way into the bottom of the ninth, when on two outs George Harper reached on an E5 error, Steve Evans sinking the dagger in as he scored the unearned run and gave Detroit a 2-1 win. Dick Rudolph pitched the whole way and only allowed six hits, striking out six and walking a pair while allowing two runs (only one of which he earned). Each team had six hits, ours led by Strunk who had a hit, a walk and an RBI.

June 16, 1916: We took the lead in the top of the third of this one, two runs scoring off a Stuffy McInnis line drive single to put us up 2-0. But our bats gave us no insurance, and in the bottom of the seventh a Buddy Veach triple drove home Bill McTigue and Ty Cobb to tie the score. Lew Malone batted us back into the lead with an RBI single in the top of the eighth, and Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single in the ninth to make it a two-run lead. With two runners on base and two outs, Byron Houck held his own and got Bobby Veach to pop out harmlessly as we held on to win 4-2! Jim Nabors, who had blown the save earlier in the game, got the win and improved to 4-3, while Houck picked up his fifth save of the year with a two-inning effort (one hit, one walk). It was a real slugfest, with us outhitting them 18-13, which makes it maddening how hard it was for us to score enough runs to stay ahead. Mowrey was on fire, though, with five hits, a run and an RBI, and Strunk, McInnis, Schang and McCarthy each had two hits each.

June 17, 1916: Nap Lajoie hit an RBI single for us in the top of the fourth to give Bullet Joe Bush a lead, but he lost it in the bottom of the sixth when Ossie Vitt singled in Ty Cobb from second to tie the score at 1-1. Amos Strunk tripled in the eighth and came around to score off a sac-fly by Buck Thrasher to put us back up a run, and Bush stayed out to complete his game as we held tough to win 2-1! Bush had a four-hitter with three walks, four strikeouts and the one earned run, and we out hit Detroit 9-4, Strunk leading the way with two hits and two runs.

June 18, 1916: Today we wasted no time at all, as Amos Strunk singled and an E8 error allowed Jimmy Webb to score in the top of the first. Strunk scored himself moments later off a flyball double by McInnis, and in the top of the second we got two more runs off a double by Alex McCarthy to give us a 4-0 lead! With that lead and Dibut on the mound that lead was insurmountable, but our pitcher hit an RBI double of his own for good measure in the sixth just to pile on. We held firm to win easily 5-0, completing the series win as we beat the Tigers three times out of four on their own field ... what a great way to fight our way out of this slump. Dibut improved to 9-5 with a five-hit complete game shutout, walking one and striking out a pair as he improved his ERA to 2.02 through 116 innings, making a strong early case for himself as the league’s best rookie. We outhit them 13-5, led by Rube Oldring (three hits, two runs) and Stuffy McInnis (three hits and an RBI).

We’re off again tomorrow and then will return home for one series, a three-game set against Washington (25-35, 9.5 GB), the league’s last-place team. We’ll then finish the month with a four-game road trip to play Boston (26-35, 9 GB, 7th place) and then come back to Philly to host the Yankees (33-27, 1.15 GB, 2nd place) for four going into the start of July. With us sitting at 32-28 and just 2.5 games out of first place, we’re still very much right in the hunt ... and with 26 of our next 30 games taking place in front of our home fans, we get the chance to write our own ticket. Even after our recent slide on the road we’re just one game under .500 playing away from Philly, and we’re 16-11 on our own field ... and only Chicago (17-14) and St. Louis (18-12) have better road records than us right now.

jksander · 04-06-2026, 02:19 PM

June 20, 1916: Dick Rudolph and Walter Johnson faced off in a battle of seasoned veterans today, and as expected scoring was at a premium ... until it wasn’t! In the bottom of the fourth we came to life, as Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to get us on the board, and moments later Mike Mowrey hit a three-run double to immediately dig the Senators a huge hole. Rudolph himself reached on an E6 error to allow another run through, and we were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth! John Henry hit a solo bomb for the Senators to get them on the board in the top of that inning, and they got another run back in the top of the ninth but left runners on the corners as we held tough to beat them 5-2! Both starters finished their games, with Rudolph picking up the win with a seven-hitter, walking two, striking out three and allowing just two runs (one earned). We outhit them 10-7, led by McInnis with two hits, a run and an RBI, while Mowrey had a hit, a walk and a run with three RBIs.

June 21, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the bottom of the second in game two against Washington, but Ray Morgan drove home Harry Harper with an RBI single of his own in the top of the third to tie things up. They took the lead in the top of the sixth with a sac-fly by Joe Judge, but that time we had the answer, tying things in the bottom of the sixth with a single by Nap Lajoie to go into the seventh knotted up 2-2. Gene Packard got us through the seventh without letting them go back ahead, and Byron Houck took over in the eighth -- and it did not go well. Rip Williams hit an RBI single, Eddie Foster hit a sac-fly to add on, and an RBI single for Sam Rice made it a three-run lead for the visitors as they batted around on Houck, facing little resistance. He pitched the rest of the way, and we left two runners stranded in the bottom of the ninth so we had our chances, we just couldn’t capitalize. This one would go down as a 5-2 loss, evening the series ahead of tomorrow’s rubber match. Houck (4-3, 3.49 ERA) took the loss, allowing two hits, FIVE WALKS and striking out one with three earned runs. We matched them with nine hits as a team, led by Wally Schang with two hits and a run scored.

June 22, 1916: Washington took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI single by Jim Shaw, and a six-run inning in the top of the seventh for them put the nails in our coffin, as “Bullet Joe” Bush ran out of ammunition, Dickey Kerr furthering the collapse as he barely managed to get us two outs to escape the inning. We plated two runners in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t get a run on the board as they humiliated us 7-0. We were outhit 10-6, led by Amos Strunk who had two hits and a walk. Bush (4-8, 3.47 ERA) took the loss with three hits, SEVEN WALKS and four strikeouts, allowing the first three runs, while Kerr took one for the team and pitched the last 2.2 innings, allowing seven hits, two walks, a strikeout and four earned runs. So we’ll head into our series against Boston (29-35) having lost five of our last 10 games as we cling to third place (tied with the Yankees at 3.5 games back of first).

June 23, 1916: Boston took the lead in the bottom of the third off a groundout by Harry Hooper, but we answered in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Mike Mowrey ... Nap Lajoie had stolen second and was able to score his way from first on the play ... the almost-42-year-old still has a lot of life in him! But the Red Sox retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Hooper that scored Babe Ruth from third, so again we had to find an answer. This time it was Mowrey again, driving in Amos Strunk with an RBI single, and we went into the bottom of the sixth tied again at 2-2. Boston hit us back hard in the bottom of the eighth, Chick Shorten driving in two runs with a line drive single into left field, and though we fought valliantly in the ninth, scoring off an RBI single by Rube Oldring to get back within a run, we didn’t have the juice for a full comeback, losing this one 4-3. Pedro Dibut took the loss, falling to 9-6 with a 2.12 ERA after 7.1 innings with six hits, a walk, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Each team had nine hits, ours led by Mike Mowrey who had three hits, a run and two RBIs. The 32-year-old has a .332 average through his first 199 at-bats, and has put up 3.1 WAR with 12 doubles, four triples and 29 RBIs.

June 24, 1916: We took the lead in the top of the first this afternoon thanks to a Nap Lajoie RBI single, but the Red Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Harry Hooper, our nemesis, to tie the score 1-1. Rube Oldring batted us into the lead in the top of the sixth with a single that scored McInnis from third, but yet again the Red Sox found a reply, Olaf Henriksen doubling in a Hooper run in the bottom of the eighth to send us into the top of the ninth tied 2-2. In the top of the eighth we again retook the lead, this time off a two-out RBI single by Oldring, who has proven to be a real clutch hitter, and we kept the rally going with a single by Alex McCarthy to send Oldring over to third. But we weren’t able to add any additional insurance, going into the bottom of the inning with a one-run lead. We stranded two runners in the ninth as well, and Dick Rudolph stayed out to pitch in the bottom of the inning as he aimed to finish what he’d started. He got Pinch Thomas to ground out, but Jack Barry singled, reaching second on a controversial balk call moments later before Harry Hooper grounded out for their second out of the inning. Larry Gardner singled Barry over to third, and Rudolph had to face Olaf Henriksen for all the marbles, two outs and men on the corners. He had ice in his veins, striking out Henriksen swinging as we held on to win 3-2! Rudolph got the complete game win, allowing nine hits with three walks, three K’s and two runs (one earned), and he’s now 5-3 with a 1.79 ERA since coming to Philadelphia (and 8-6 with a 1.59 ERA for the season!) We outhit them 10-9, led by Rube Oldring, who had two hits and two RBIs.

June 26, 1916: In a real duel, we wer able to finally be the team to break through first in the top of the sixth when Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to drove Jimmy Walsh around from second to put us up 1-0! Gene Packard, our starter, hit into a fielder’s choice in the seventh that allowed Rube Oldring to score our second run, and in the top of the eighth McInnis scored off an RBI single by Mike Mowrey to put us ahead 3-0! Boston scored in the bottom of the ninth off a two-out RBI double for Ray Haley, but they stranded him and Everett Scott as we held firm to win 3-1. Packard pitched seven strong innings today with seven hits, two walks and a strikeout, and Byron Houck earned his sixth save of the year with a two-inning one hit three walk one strikeout one earned run effort. We outhit them again 9-8, this time led by McInnis who had three hits, a run and an RBI, putting him at .300 for the year after 66 games and 270 at-bats.

June 27, 1916: Boston was having nothing to do with us taking this series, as they came our roaring in the bottom of the first, scoring off an RBI double by Pinch Thomas and an RBI single from Tillie Walker. And in the bottom of the third they doubled down, Walker hitting a three-run bomb to dig us a 5-0 hole as their fans celebrated in the bleachers. The game quickly became an absolutely humiliating rout, of which I’ll speak litlte except that in the end they’d steamrolled us 16-2, outhitting us 20-11. Tillie Walker finished with four hits, a run and EIGHT RBIs, while Pinch Thomas hit four times, walked once and had five runs with four RBIs for the Red Sox ... what a drubbing! Bullet Joe Bush was out after 5.1 innings with nine hits, two walks, four strikeouts and eight runs (seven earned), and Bill Morrissette did no better, allowing eight hits, a walk and seven runs in just one inning of work, striking out one batter. Sam Crane, a rarely used pinch hitter for us, ended up leading the way with two hits and a run, which says very little of our offense as we split this series at two games each.

We’ll end this month and enter the next with a four-game series hosting the now-Connie Mack led Yankees as we start a long summer homestand. We’re in fourth place at 35-32, a game behind the Yankees and 4.5 out of first as the St. Louis Browns continue to stun the American League with their 41-29 record. I feel like we’re in a good spot to stay in this pennant chase, but we need to develop a sense of offensive consistency or the long hot summer months will be a real slog.

jksander · 04-10-2026, 02:26 PM

June 28, 1916: Rube Oldring got us a lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single, and in the bottom of the sixth Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead. But we really broke it wide open in the bottom of the eighth, when we scored a run off a wild pitch, Lajoie singled in a run, Oldring singled in another, and Alex McCarthy singled in one more for good measure as we expanded our shutout lead to six runs! The Yankees had no answer at all, and we won with ease 6-0 as Pedro Dibut earned his 10th win as a rookie with a two-hit shutout (walking three and striking out two) on just 92 pitches! It was the 23-year-old’s second complete game shutout in a 10-day span, and we outhit them 8-2, led by McInnis (three hits, a run and an RBI) and Lajoie (two hits, two runs, one RBI).

June 29, 1916: This game was an absolutely brutal duel between Dick Rudolph and Yankees starter Bob Shawkey, and Rudolph won the starters’ battle when (with the score still 0-0!) Connie Mack pulled Shawkey for reliever George Mogridge in the top of the eighth to get their final out. But the Yankees got the real laugh in the top of the ninth, when Roger Peckinpaugh hit an RBI single off Rudolph to stun our fans as they took the lead, and the next hitter, Frank Gilhooley, hit a sac-fly to make it a 2-0 lead in a matter of minutes. So we had work to do in the bottom of the ninth. Amos Strunk hit a slow bouncer in the infield and was able to take first on the leadoff hit, but we couldn’t do anything with him once he got there, so this one went down as a heartbreaking 2-0 loss. Rudolph only allowed six hits all day, striking out six and walking no one, but the two runs were both earned and he took the loss hard. We matched them on hits with six of our own, led by Jimmy Walsh who hit twice and walked once, giving us nearly half of our entire game worth of baserunners on his own. But he got nowhere, and again our lack of offensive gumption cost us a win.

June 30, 1916: Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give us the lead, but the Yankees quickly took it back in the top of the third, tying the score off a Frank Baker RBI single and taking the lead with a groundout by Gilhooley. Baker batted in another run for them in the fourth to make it a 3-1 lead, but we got one run back in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Wally Schang and the game stayed close from there. Lee McElwee hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to tie things at 3-3, and Alex McCarthy took advange moments later when he slapped a hit into right to drive home Lajoie and McElwee to push us quickly into the lead! RBI singles for Wally Schang and Amos Strunk helped pile on, giving us a four-run advantage headng into the top of the ninth! Byron Houck shut them down in the top of that inning and we were able to get out of here with a 7-3 win that was hard-fought-for. Gene Packard took the win, pitching eight innings with seven hits and three runs (two earned), walking one and striking out three. We outhit them 10-7, led by Schang, who had two hits, a walk and two runs batted in.

Dick Rudolph was named AL Pitcher of the Month, going 4-2 in June with a 1.51 ERA through seven starts, piling up 59.2 innings with 28 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .210 average. Pedro Dibut, meanwhile, was named AL Rookie of the Month, going 4-2 through six starts, striking out 14 and posting a 1.30 ERA through 48.1 innings.

July 1, 1916: We opened the month of July with a big trade for prospects with the Chicago White Sox! We’ve agreed in principle to trade struggling ace Bullet Joe Bush along with 26-year-old reserve right-fielder Buck Thrasher to Chicago, in exchange for 24-year-old right fielder Eddie Murphy, 24-year-old center fielder Nemo Leibold and 22-year-old right-handed reliever Speed Martin (who is ranked 34th nationally among prospects). It’s a move I got significant pushback for from my assistant GM Frank Vitello, who feels we didn’t get enough back for Bush, but I’ve grown frustrated with his frequent meltdowns and his inability to lead from the mound by controlling his arsenal of pitches. Martin, whose contract was purchased by the White Sox earlier this year, will start out his time with us on the reserve roster as we transition to a three-starter rotation ... but he’ll be our first player called up if we need additional pitching depth. Murphy will step onto the 25-man roster as our number three backup at right field, number three as a pinch hitter and number two as a pinch runner, while Leibold will immediately be our top backup at both left and center field on defense and our number four pinch hitter in the depth chart.

Dibut got the start today against Urban Shocker in his first game as our official team ace, and we got him a lead in the bottom of the first when Rube Oldring reached on an E6 error, allowing Amos Strunk to put us up 1-0. Les Nunamaker hit an RBI double to tie it in the top of the second, however, and in the top of the third they added on with a two-run single by Hugh High. Dibut batted in a run with a single in the bottom of the fifth to cut their lead to one run, but they took control from there as this one became a shootout. Down three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Eddie Murphy grounded out to push Oldring in to cut our deficit to 7-5, but that was as close as we’d get -- we’re just not built to chase teams in a high-scoring environment. Dibut lasted 6.1 innings with 11 hits and seven runs (five earned) with a pair of walks and no K’s, and the Yankees outhit us 11-9 ... Murphy got an RBI in his first pinch-hitting opportunity, but it was a small-ball kind of day for us and nobody really shined on offensel McInnis had two hits to nowhere, and Rube Oldring had three hits and a run, but it was nothing exciting.

Once again we split the series. We’ll host Boston (33-39) for four games (including a July 4th doubleheader) after a day off to rest tomorrow. Following that series we’ll host a three-game set against Detroit (36-37) and then four-game sets against St. Louis (42-33), Chicago (41-32) and Cleveland (32-40).

jksander · 04-10-2026, 02:28 PM

July 3, 1916: Boston took the lead with an RBI single by Harry Hooper in the top of the third, adding on with a Tillie Walker homer in the fourth to lead 2-0. Jimmy Walsh got us on the board in the bottom of the fifth by walking in a run with the bases loaded, and in the bottom of the eighth we leaped into the lead with a two-run single by McInnis that was coupled with an E7 error! But Dick Rudolph blew it in the top of the ninth, Del Geiner doubling in the tying run and Jack Barry reaching on an E4 error to push in the go-ahead run by Ray Haley. That took the wind out of our sails and we quietly lost this one 4-3. Rudolph took the loss with a nine hit complete game, walking one and striking out three as he allowed four runs, only two of them earned. But we were outhit 9-4 and committed two errors, damning Rudolph in another game we should have been able to win after fighting all the way back. Stuffy McInnis led the way with a hit and two runs batted in.

July 4, 1916: Happy 140th birthday, America, let’s play two! Gene Packard started game one, and we took the lead in the bottom of the first off a sac-fly by Amos Strunk. That lead held for us until the top of the seventh when Carl Cashion hit an RBI triple to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the seventh inning stretch, the pitcher playing a key offensive role in keeping the Red Sox in the game. But with two outs in the bottom of the seventh we struck back hard, Wally Schang hitting a two-run single into right as we retook the lead 3-1, Byron Houck taking over on the mound as we went into the eighth inning. Houck pitched two excellent innings from there and we were able to hold on to the 3-1 victory in the first game of the afternoon. Packard had pitched 6.1 innings, but Jack Nabors got the final punch-out of the seventh inning, getting a strikeout on five pitches to earn the win -- he’s now 5-3 with a 4.98 ERA through 34.1 innings over 22 appearances. Houck earned his seventh save, with a hit and two K’s in his two innings, giving him a 3.28 ERA through 74 innings over 25 appearances. We outhit them 6-5 in the duel, led by Strunk who had two hits and an RBI, while Wally Schang added a hit and two RBIs, Jimmy Walsh walking twice and scoring a run as well.

In game two I would have preferred to use Bill Morrisette as a spot-starter, but our manager overruled me and started Dibut who was fully rested after throwing 102 pitches three days ago. Dibut pitched a gem, eight scoreless innings, but with the score knotted 0-0 heading into the top of the ninth we had to go to the bullpen, bringing out Houck who had thrown 26 pitches in game one. He got us through the frame on 15 pitches, and in the bottom of the inning Alex McCarthy brought the crowd to its feet with a walk-off RBI double to win the game 1-0! Happy fourth, Philly, now enjoy those fireworks! Boston outhit us 10-6, but it didn’t matter thanks to McCarthy’s late-game heroics. But our pitching deserved all the credit, Dibut lasting seven innings with nine hits and a walk, Nabors with another key out on two pitches to get us out of the eighth, and Houck earning the win with a hit and a strikeout as he improved to 5-3 with a 3.24 ERA. McCarthy’s hit gave him two for the day and the critical RBI, even more impressive considering he’s only hit .231 this season, struggling to find his place in the offense. He came through huge today, that’s for sure!

July 5, 1916: Bill Morrisette got his first start of the year in game four against the Red Sox, as I flat-out refused to let our manager start Dick Rudolph on two days’ rest, no matter how “durable” he says he is. We took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Amos Strunk that was coupled with an E8 error, and in the bottom of the second we added five more runs, off a single by McCarthy, a single by Wally Schapp and a three-run homer for Amos Strunk, giving the 27-year-old a pair of four-baggers and 42 RBIs on the season. Morrissette gave them a pair of runs back in the top of the third, but held strong with a solid start as McCarthy batted in a run in the fifth to extend our advantage to 7-2. We traded runs in the seventh and went into the eighth still leading 8-3 ... but Sammy Ross and Harry Hooper each hit RBI singles to cut into that, and Larry Gardner hit a two-run single to cut our lead to two heading into the bottom of the inning, Dick Kerr having come in to get the final out. Kerr stayed out in the ninth and was able to hold our ground as we got out of the game with a hard-fought 8-7 win despite nearly letting it all slip away. Morrissette got the win in his first start of the year, improving to 5-2 after pitching 7.2 innings with six hits, three walks, four strikeouts and four runs, though only one was earned. He now holds a 3.29 ERA through 31.2 innings in his 20th appearance. We outslugged them 14-10, led by McCarthy, who had three hits, a run and two RBIs, impoving his average by ten points.

The win gets our record up to 40-35, and we’re now in third place, a full game up on the Yankees and only trailing Chicago, our next opponent, by a game and a half, with St. Louis still leading the AL with a 44-34 record a game up on Chicago. That we’re only 2.5 games back of first this late in the season is a testament to our grit as a team, considering we have a -4 run differential and are performing three full games above our expected pythagorean record. Boston, at 34-42, has been the unluckiest team in baseball, performing six wins under average with a +13 run differential ... they sit nine games out of first when they should be right in the mix ... it’s definitely been a crazy year here in the American League!

Over in the National League, Brooklyn’s Robins (48-27) and the New York baseball Giants (48-28) have been running away with the league, both teams putting up huge hitting numbers (Brooklyn is +78 and the Giants are +52 in run differential). But their whole division is getting a boost off destroying the lowly Cincinnati Reds, who are -137 with a miserable 20-59 record, a full THIRTY GAMES out of the pennant race. And though the Reds haven’t won a “pennant” since 1882, and in the modern era they’ve yet to finish above third, nobody expected them to be this bad ... last season they were 71-83 and finished 22.5 games out of first but at least had shown the ability to fight. This year they’re just .... AWFUL.

03-16-2026, 04:03 PM	#1
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	"Goodbye To 'The Mack': The 1916 A's In Peril "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril The Philadelphia Athletics were riding high ... since the start of the modern era, the A’s played in the “World Series” six times, winning it all in 1910, 1911 and 1913. In 1914 they made it to the big series, winning 99 games but falling to the Boston Braves in a four game sweep, keeping them from making it five titles. And that’s when legendary owner / manager Connie Mack lost his mind and decided to go full-tear down -- claiming “financial problems,” he refused to match offers from the Federal League for his so-called “prima donnas,” letting the bulk of the team go ... in 1915 they fielded an infield so bad it became known as the $10 Infield, featuring the likes of Whitey Witt, Charlie Pick and Nap Lajoie, and the team cratered, losing 109 games in the worst performance of a big-league team ever. In real life, this collapse put the club into freefall and they didn’t recover until 1929. In this OOTP 27 redux, things went differently ... will I be able to dig Philadelphia out of the pit Mack dug, and bring the club back to respectability on a quicker timeline? The setup: team co-owner Benjamin Shibe had seen enough with the 1914 aftermath, and in the 1915 offseason he publicly fueded with, and then ousted, Mack from the Athletics ownership group, taking over himself as full owner of the ballclub. He hired me as General Manager of the team and my job became to quickly turn this team around. Will I be able to take a roster that in real life won just 36 games in 1916 (losing a then-record 117 games, a level of terrible baseball not matched again until the Mets debuted) and bring the team back to respectability? That would mean posting a winning record well before 1924 (when they went 88-64) and winning a pennant well before 1929. I think we can do it, but it’s going to take a lot of legwork and gumption ... and a great deal of luck! __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-16-2026, 04:19 PM	#4
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	April 12, 1916: In our first game of the season on the road in Boston, the Red Sox took an early lead with an RBI single by Tillie Walker with two outs in the bottom of the first inning, but Bullet Joe Bush kept them from running it up from there -- we were still down just 1-0 heading into the top of the seventh inning. Unfortunately, he loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and a wild pitch allowed Everett Scott to score, buying the Red Sox some insurance. He pitched the rest of the way, getting us into the top of the ninth with the deficit still at two runs. With one out, Nap Lajoie hit himself a double, getting into scoring position, and they walked Mike Mowrey. Rube Oldring hit into a fielder’s choice and they took the out at second, sending Lajoie to third ... and that’s when our shortstop, Alex McCarthy, got us on the board with a well placed single into center! Lajoie scored and Oldring made it over to third, McCarthy taking second as the trailing runner. That forced us to pull Bullet Joe from the lineup, bringing out Charlie Pick to pinch hit, since it wouldn’t matter who was pitching in the bottom of the inning if we couldn’t get a run across first. With Nabors warming in the pen, Pick gave it his best ... but wound up hitting to second and they made the out easily at first. Boston took the win, beating us 2-1. But we fought hard, and we had our chances. Bullet Joe Bush took the loss, but pitched an eight inning complete game, allowing seven hits, four walks and two runs, striking out three. Meanwhile we were outhit 7-5, led by Amos Strunk with two hits, while Lajoie (a hit and a run) scored off the single by McCarthy (a hit and an RBI). April 13, 1916: Harry Hooper reached first on an E3 error in the bottom of the third inning, handing the Red Sox a 1-0 lead, but Pedro Dibut was able to get out of a bases-loaded jam without any futher scoring that inning. In the top of the fourth our bats woke up, as Mike Mowrey hit a two-run flyball double for the lead, and Rube Oldring hit an RBI single to make it a 3-1 lead midway through the inning! Oldring hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to add on a run, and a Wally Schang triple gut our lead to 5-1 heading into the stretch! Dibut didn’t quite get his complete game ... though he got through the eighth without any runs scoring, he threw a lot of pitches in that inning and wore out his arm. So Jack Nabors took the ball in the ninth with a four run lead. With two outs and runners on the corners, Boston got a run back with a Harry Hooper RBI single, but with the bases loaded Pinch Thomas proved to not be so good “in a pinch,” as he grounded out on a 5-3 play to close out our 5-2 win! Dibut got the win in his major league debut, lasting eight innings with four hits, three walks, a strikeout and one unearned run, throwing 121 pitches. We outhit them 13-7, led by Oldring with three hits and two RBIs, while Mike Mowrey hit twice with a run and two more batted in. April 14, 1916: Boston wasted no time in this one, taking the lead when their third batter of the game, Pinch Thomas, hit an RBI single to put them up 1-0 without an out. Byron Houck struggled mightily, and by the time he got us out of the first inning we were deep in a 5-0 hole we had no expectation of digging out of. He gave up two more runs in the bottom of the fourth, and we brought Jing Johnson out in the bottom of the fifth to take over. He only gave up one run of his own pitching the rest of the way, but we were outhit 8-2 and never made any real sign of fighting back. They won with ease, 8-0, and we fell to 1-2 on the season with one game left in the series. Rube Oldring and Alex McCarthy were our only two players to get a hit, and Jimmy Walsh took one walk in the game. Houck, meanwhile, took the loss and fell to 0-1 with a 15.75 ERA, allowing seven runs off seven hits and three walks in his four innings. Ouch! Johnson was solid out of the pen, pitching four innings with a hit, a run, three walks and a strikeout. April 15, 1916: Boston again took the lead in the bottom of the first, Tillie Walker scoring off a sac-fly and Dick Hoblitzel hitting an RBI single to put them quickly ahead 2-0. By the time we got on the board in the top of the third off a sac-fly by Wally Schang, they already had a 3-1 lead, and they added on in the bottom of the inning when Duffy Lewis hit a two-run double to extend their lead to four runs. We answered in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Elmer Myers, who stayed out to pitch through the sixth inning, and Wally Schang hit an RBI single in the top of the seventh to send us into the stretch trailing by just two runs, down 5-3. But Jack Nabors came out of the pen and got hammered ... Dick Hoblitzel hit another RBI single, Olaf Henriksen hit an RBI single to bat Hoblitzel home, Harry Hooper singled in a third run, and Larry Gardner reached on an E5 error that allowed Henriksen to put them ahead 9-3. Nabors gave up another four runs in the eighth, staying out to mop up his own mess, and we got destroyed 13-3, Bill Morrisette coming out to get our final out. Boston takes the series three games to one, and we see very quickly how outmatched we’re likely to be this year. Elmer Myers pitched six innings with eight hits, four walks, three strikeouts and five earned runs, digging the hole, while Nabors (with seven hits, two walks and eight runs, only two of them earned) drowned in it during his 1.2 innings. We were outhit 15-7 but committed four team errors, which is absolutely brutal. Jimmy Walsh led our offense with two hits and a run scored, while Schang added a hit and two RBIs. We’re off tomorrow and then will play three games against the Yankees in New York, before returning to Philly to play our first homestand, against these Boston Red Sox. April 17, 1916: New York took the lead in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out RBI single by Les Nunamaker, and Bullet Joe Bush loaded the bases in the fifth with one out ... after getting an out at home plate off a fielder’s choice, Hugh High walked in the Yankees’ second run, but we got out of the inning still trailing by just the pair. Our manager brought out Jack Nabors in the bottom of the sixth, and with one out Lee Magee hit an RBI single to pile on, and they unleashed the floodgates from there. By the time Nabors got us out of the inning he’d given up four runs and committed an error, and we were in a 6-0 hole, fading fast. He got us through the seventh without further damage, but Bill Morrisette came out in the eighth to mop up the rest of it. We got shut out 6-0, and our offense (or obvious lack thereof) is going to be our real struggle. They outhit us 10-2, and we gave them seven free passes as well, while only walking once ourselves. Strunk and Lajoie were our only players to notch a hit, while pinch-hitter Whitey Witt got our only walk. Meanwhile, Bullet Joe Bush took his second loss, allowing five hits, seven walks and two earned runs with three strikeouts in his five innings. With a little run support he might have made a game of it ... but then Nabors came out and pitched two innings with four hits and four runs (three earned), giving him an 11.57 ERA now through 4.2 innings in three appearances. April 18, 1916: Pedro Dibut gave up a hit to Frank Baker in the bottom of the third, a bloop single that scored New York’s first run of the game, but he’d done well to that point ... it’s hard to win when your team can barely buy a hit. Dibut would go on to pitch the rest of the game, his second eight-inning effort and the first to be a complete game ... but we were outhit 8-3 and the Yankees held on to shut us out 1-0, our second shutout in a row. With eight hits, one walk, one strikeout and his one earned run, Dibut now has a 0.56 ERA through his first 16 innings as a big leaguer, but he’s now 1-1. Wally Schang had two hits and Alex McCarthy hit one, and Jimmy Walsh had a walk, giving us just FOUR baserunners all game, and Schang got into scoring position both times but failed to find a way to score. We’ve now had twenty consecutive scoreless innings as a team, and our team’s run differential is already at -23 through our first six games. April 19, 1916: We took our scoreless streak to 22 innings, and then, in the top of the third Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to put us up 1-0 on the Yankees, giving us something finally to cheer about in our dugout. And Byron Houck went on to pitch a real gem, getting us into the bottom of the ninth still leading by that single run! Frank Baker singled but was taken out at second when Wally Pipp hit into a fielder’s choice. With one out, Houck hit Paddy Baumann with a pitch, advancing Pipp into scoring position. Our manager, living dangerously, brought out Jack Nabors from the bullpen at that point, and Hugh High took his base on balls, loading the bags. But Les Nunamaker popped out to left and a sure throw by Oldring kept the runners in place! We still had a chance ... New York’s right fielder, Frank Gilhooley, came to the plate with two outs, and he popped out hard to center field as we stunned the Yankees by stealing this one 1-0! Houck went 8.1 innings with just seven hits, striking out three and allowing nobody across ... and though we were outhit 7-5, Wally Schang had a hit, a walk and scored our winning run, batted in by McInnis’s only hit of the game! Houck now has a 5.11 ERA and a 1-1 record in his second start, and Nabors picked up a save with a walk and two outs on 14 pitches. We’re heading home to face the Boston Red Sox (5-3) for four games at home, playing tomorrow, Friday and Saturday with an off day on Sunday before completing the series with the fourth game on Monday. We’ll then hit the road to play four against Washington’s Senators (3-5), and will finish the month with the first of a four-game home set hosting the Yankees, who lead the American League at 5-2. We sit three games back, tied for last place with the 2-6 Cleveland Indians. In other news, the Yankees have demoted player-manager Bill “Wild Bill” Donvan back to just “player,” so they could officially hire none other than Connie Mack to take the helm as their new skipper. Mack, who has a 1,414-1,081 record as a manager for us and Pittsburgh, will now make more than $6,200 per year to lead the Yankees, who look to be serious about fighting for their first-ever American League pennant. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-16-2026, 08:15 PM	#5
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	April 20, 1916: We got off to a great start in front of our home fans, reportedly numbering just above eight thousand in the crowd, as we took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI double by Amos Strunk which was quickly followed by a hit into a fielder’s choice by Nap Lajoie which allowed Strunk to put us ahead 2-0! But Boston was quickly on the board in the top of the second with an RBI single by Everett Scott, so we knew we wouldn’t be beating them without a fight. Our bats stayed strong, however, and in the bottom of the third we scored off a sac-fly coupled with an E8 fielding error (Jimmy Walsh scoring all the way from second, which he’d reached earlier in the inning with a steal!), and Strunk went on to score himself off a single by Mike Mowrey which expanded our lead to 4-1. Boston loaded the bases in the top of the fifth but we stranded all three runners, and Myers let them load them again in the sixth on one out ... this time he let a run in via a walk, but got the second out on a fielder’s choice at home ... but then he blew the lead when Olaf Henriksen hit an RBI single that scored Harry Hooper and Larry Gardner ... we got the third runner out trying to take third, ending the inning but leaving us tied 4-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth. Myers got us two outs in the seventh and Nabors got us the final out to send us into the stretch still tied up at four, and our bats rallied in the bottom of the seventh, Wally Schang hitting a two-run triple to put us back up 6-4! Jack Nabors stayed out in the eighth and was again an unmitigated disaster ... during the inning the Red Sox batted all the way around, scoring off a Pinch Thomas single, took the lead off a two-run single by Duffy Lewis, and added on with a Jack Barry single to lead 8-6 heading into the bottom of the inning ... it’s maddening to me that our manager decided to keep him in when he got into trouble, but once again our bats rallied big time ... in the bottom of the eighth, Lee McElwee tripled in a run, and Johnny Bessler, who pinch ran for him, scored off a single by Amos Strunk to tie the score. Strunk and McInnis got us the lead when both scored off a Wally Schang triple, and Shang scored some insurance when Shag Thompson walked in the run to make it 11-8 heading into the top of the ninth. All we needed were three outs, and Bullet Joe Bush came out of the bullpen to get them, facing the top of Boston’s lineup ... and goddamned if he didn’t go and walk THREE BATTERS IN A ROW ... Harry Hooper scored for them off a sac-fly by Henriksen, then Larry Gardner scored off a ground-out to first by Duffy Lewis, bringing Dick Hoblitzel to the plate with runners on second and third, one out. Bush walked him intentionally, loading the bases and bringing up pinch-hitter Ray Haley ... who WALKED IN THE TYING RUN ... what the absolute hell? Bill Carrigan walked in another, giving them a 12-11 lead, and our manager finally pulled Bush for Pedro Dibut, another starter pitching in relief. Dibut would go on to get the two outs we needed, but not before letting Harry Hooper ... yes, they batted around AGAIN ... hit a two-run single to make it a three run deficit heading into the bottom of the ninth. This time our bats stayed silent, and we lost this one in humiliating fashion, 14-11. The only luck “Bullet Joe” Bush has these days is bad ... he fell to 0-3 after taking this loss, and for the first time all year he truly deserved it ... he threw 45 pitches and got just one out, and he only allowed one hit ... it was the SIX WALKS that doomed his night, and he got three of them so quickly I can’t really blame our maanger for not getting another pitcher warmed up quickly enough to put out the fire. It’s not optimal that we blew through two starters in a bullpen situation, and I’ve decided to let our manager know that, in the future, I’d prefer us not to use starters in a relief role unless it’s an absolute emergency. In the meantime, our pitching rotation’s gonna be shaken up a bit for a few days. Dibut’s going to start tomorrow, followed by Houck, and then we’ll have the day off to rest and get Bush back out there for a proper start as we close out the series. Beyond that, we’ll have to just put this terrible game behind us. We were outhit 17-14 in a nine-inning game that took nearly four hours, our offense led by Wally Strunk (four hits, a walk, four runs and two RBIs) and Wally Schang (four hits, a run and five RBIs) whose two triples are a new team record. Too bad the effort was wasted on a tough loss. April 21, 1916: The ballpark was abuzz with fans discussing Connie Mack now being the skipper for the Yankees, something that hadn’t completely made the rounds yesterday, and it’s clear not everybody is on board with our recent changes, as Mack had remained a very popular force among fans despite last year’s downturn in fortunes. But we’re on our new path now, and we have to own it. Today’s focus was on putting yesterday’s insane game behind us before it could fester in our minds. Pedro Dibut was openly frustrated in the top of the first when Harry Hooper reached on an E5 error, later scoring off a single by Tillie Walker which was aided by another error (this time an E9). It certainly wasn’t an optimal way to begin a game, and the fans let us hear it, but we got out of the inning without any further damage, and we tied the score in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single for Nap Lajoie that scored Jimmy Walsh following a leadoff triple. But Boston got the lead back with a two-run homer in the top of the fourth (another big hit for Tillie Walker, his second homer already of the season) and our offense again had work to do. A balk call against him with the bases loaded had Dibut close to getting thrown out by the umpire, as Larry Gardner walked in the Red Sox’s fourth run of the game in the top of the sixth ... and it got worse, when Everett Scott hit an RBI double that drove in another pair. An RBI triple for Bill Carrigan turned the game into a full-on runaway train by driving in yet another run, and Dibut’s day was over ... Jing Johnson came out trailing 7-1 with just one out, needing desperately to shut this inning down. Johnson did his job, getting two quick outs (though Carrigan scored their eighth run thanks to a groundout by Mike McNally), and he stayed out the rest of the game but this was another lost cause. Boston would add two more runs, one each in the seventh and ninth, and they stumped us completely 10-1. Incredibly they only outhit us 10-6, but they also walked five times which didn’t help. Dibut took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA after allowing eight hits, four walks and eight runs (seven earned) with just one strikeout in his 5.1 innings, and Stuffy McInnis led the offense with two hits, batting in our only run. We’ve made a trade with the Chicago Cubs, sending them right-handed starter Elmer Myers, backup shortstop Whitey Witt and a pair of players off our reserve roster -- reliever Weldon Wyckoff and top-100 3B prospect Thomas Healy -- in exchange for a pair of lefty starters to shake up our rotation, Gene Packard, a 28-year-old the Cubs have been stashing on their reserve roster, and Dickey Kerr, a 22-year-old ranked in the top 50 among prospects. Both have impressed our scouts, particularly Packard -- who despite average stuff throws four pitches and has excellent control of them. He hasn’t pitched at the major league level since 1913, but last year in the Federal League he was 15-10 with two saves and a 2.72 ERA, throwing 215 innings. And Kerr has a potentially devastating changeup and went 21-10 at the single-A level last year for Fort Worth’s Panthers in the Texas League, pitching in 280 innings with 138 strikeouts and a 1.04 WHIP. My plan is to have our manager Chris Nolan run a five-man rotation from here (Dibut, Houck, Packard, Bush and Kerr) while keeping our three man bullpen of Morrisette, Nabors and Johnson in place. It’s going to be a long season, and the added depth among our starters will hopefully help take some pressure off (and if the bullpen should become overly taxed, Packard could potentially move into the bullpen to make more frequent appearances with his less-dominant stamina). April 22, 1916: Boston took the lead in the top of the second off a two-out single by Everett Scott that was aided by an E8 throwing error, Tillie Walker’s second error on a throw to third this season. But we answered with an RBI single by Johnny Bassler in the bottom of the inning, and we took the lead in the bottom of the third thanks to a single by Nap Lajoie and a ground-out by Mike Mowrey, giving us a solid 3-1 lead early. Pitcher Byron Houck himself doubled in a run in the fourth, and a sac-fly by Stuffy McInnis made it a 5-1 lead for us heading into the fifth, at which point we really started to pour it on. Bassler and Houck each hit RBI singles to pile on in the fifth, and though Houck would give up a run each in the sixth and seventh, we went into the stretch with a four run lead. Morrisette took over in the top of the eighth and handled a non-save situation perfectly, allowing a pair of hits and a walk but not letting anybody score the rest of the way as we held tough to win 7-3! Houck improved to 2-1 with a 3.72 ERA, lasting seven innings with eight hits, three walks, two strikeouts and three runs, only one of which was earned. Meanwhile we matched them on hits with 10 each, led by Johnny Bassler with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Houck added two hits, a run and two RBIs, giving him a .250 average through his third start. April 24, 1916: We had a day off to rest before today’s final game of the series against the Red Sox, and I have Gene Packard up in the rotation ready to make his first start of the season as a member of our Athletics. Boston took the lead in the top of the third with two outs, Duffy Lewis hitting an RBI single to get them on the board. They quickly added on with an RBI double by Tillie Walker, giving them a 2-0 lead midway through the inning. Packard pitched well and kept us in this game -- with two outs in the bottom of the seventh he got us on the board, hitting an RBI single to make it a 2-1 ballgame heading into the top of the eighth. He got three quick outs in the eighth, and came back out in the ninth when our bats were unable to get anywhere ... he got two outs, and then the manager sent out Morrisette to relieve him with Pinch Thomas on first and Everett Scott coming to the plate. Scott popped out to second, getting us into the bottom of the inning with a chance. Rube Oldring led off with a single into center, but Sam Crane grounded into a devastating 4-6-3 double play. Mike Mowrey kept our hopes alive with a single into center, and he made it to second when they failed to pick him off leading off of first ... runner in scoring position, two outs! Pinch hitter Lew Malone then stunned the crowd into pandemonium when he hit a two-run homer out of left field to walk this one off 3-2 ... unbelievable! Morrisette only threw eight pitches to get one out, but he stole the win away from Packard, who went 8.2 innings with seven hits, a walk, a strikeout and two earned runs. I think everyone involved would have preferred to see Packard go for the complete game, but he starts his career with a 2.08 ERA and definitely had great control over his arsenal. We outhit them 10-7, led by Mowrey who had two hits, a walk and a run scored, while Malone’s two run homer was his first successful pinch hit in four tries. We’ll take our 4-7 record on the road to face the 5-7 Washington Senators for the first of a four-game set tomorrow. We’ll then return to Philadelphia and Shibe Park, where we’ll play our next 23 games in a row. Hopefully we can start to build some momentum and climb from the bottom of the league. Attached Images __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-17-2026, 04:11 PM	#6
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	April 25, 1916: Until the bottom of the sixth inning Bullet Joe Bush was pitching a no-hitter, and this game was scoreless until the bottom of the eighth, when the Senators broke through with an RBI single for Sam Rice, their right fielder. Bush was pulled from the game after giving up that run, with Morrisette getting us the final out and our turn at the plate in the top of the ninth, and we came out fighting ... Amos Strunk hit a bouncing single into center, and with McInnis at the plate, he managed to steal second off an E6 error that let McInnis take first. Shag Thompson muffed a bunt that took Strunk out at third (but we maintained runners on first and second), and then we struck back -- Nap Lajoie tied the game with a single into right field that, coupled with an E9 error, allowed both remaining runners to advance into scoring position! But we were unable to get a second run across, and Morrisette had an awful bottom of the ninth ... Henri Rondeau singled, Joe Judge bunted him to second and still reached safely, John Henry walked the bases loaded, and Rondeau would score off a walk by Walter Johnson as the Senators beat us 2-1 without us even getting an out in the frame. Morrisette took the loss, getting just the one out in the eighth while allowing two hits, two walks and an earned run. But Bullet Joe Bush had a great night, lasting 7.2 innings with just five hits, three walks, three strikeouts and an unearned run. We even outhit them 8-7, led by Lajoie with two hits and an RBI (Strunk hit three times but got nowhere). April 26, 1916: Today we scored first, a groundout by Stuffy McInnis scoring Pedro Dilbut from third for a 1-0 lead in the top of the third! In the top of the eighth we bought ourselves a bit of insurance with an RBI single from Nap Lajoie, and again Bill Morrisette took over with two outs in the eighth, staying out in the ninth to protect the two-run lead. This time he handled his business, and we were able to get out of the stadium with a huge 2-0 victory in another low-scoring defensive affair. We outhit them 8-4, led by Wally Schang with two hits and a run and by Lajoie, who had a hit and another critical RBI. Meanwhile, 23-year-old rookie Pedro Dibut improved to 2-2 with a 2.43 ERA, allowing just two hits in his 7.2 innings, with four walks and a strikeout. And Morrisette successfully shrugged off last night’s rough inning by pitching 1.1 innings today with just two hits, improving his ERA to 1.69 thorugh 5.1 innings, while earning his first save. April 27, 1916: We wasted no time in this one, scoring off a groundout by McInnis and a passed ball by Senators starter Jim Shaw to take a 2-0 lead before throwing our first pitch. Our pitcher, Byron Houck, hit an RBI single in the second to put us up 3-0, and he grounded out in the fourth to drive home another run! Sam Rice hit an RBI single for Washington in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, and again Morrisette took the ball, this time leading 4-1, getting us into the top of the ninth with no issue. He let a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the ninth, but Clyde Milan grounded out to first and we were able to keep the 4-1 victory ... back to back wins, and we still have one game left against the Senators! Houck improved to 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing seven hits, three walks and one earned run with two strikeouts in his 7.2 innings, while Morrisette picked up his second save in a row with 1.1 innings and two hits with one walk, improving his ERA to 1.35. April 28, 1916: With yesterday’s win, we jumped over the Senators in the standings, improving to 6-8 and sixth place in the AL, just half a game behind Boston and Detroit who are 7-8. And we’ve been emboldened, knowing we can beat these guys ... today we came out slamming the ball, taking the lead with a two-run double by Strunk and adding runs via a groundout by Oldring and a single for Lajoie, leading 4-0 midway through the first inning! Gene Packard gave them back a run in the bottom of the inning (off a single by Clyde Milan), and John Henry hit an RBI single (coupled with an E9 error) that cut our lead to two runs in the bottom of the third. Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the fifth to get us back to a three-run advantage, and Amos Strunk hit a line drive double that drove home Jimmy Walsh to make it 6-2 heading into the stretch. Packard stayed out in the bottom of the seventh but came out of the game after Eddie Foster grounded out while driving home a run for Danny Moeller, bringing out Jack Nabors with one out. Sam Rice hit an RBI single to drive home another of Packard’s runs, but Nabors got us through with a two run lead still safe, and he kept it that way through the eighth. In the top of the ninth Nabors scored a run off a sac-fly by Amos Strunk to get our lead back to three runs, but in the bottom of the ninth with two outs, Clyde Milan hit an RBI triple to keep Washington’s hopes alive. But not for long ... John Henry grounded harmlessly to first and we completed the series with a 7-5 win, taking three of four from the Senators. Packard picked up the win, lasting 6.1 innings with eight hits, three walks and four runs (three earned) along with a strikeout, while Nabors pitched his best game of the season ... 2.2 innings with four hits, a strikeout and an earned run, improving his ERA to 10.61 through 9.1 innings over six appearances. They outhit us 12-11, but we were led by Amos Strunk with two hits, a run and four RBIs, while Wally Schang added three hits and a run. Strunk is now hitting .310, while Schang has a .333 average, and the two are combined for 14 of our RBIs. They are also our only two qualified hitters with averages above .230, so it’s impressive that we’ve managed to improve our way to a 7-8 record! We’ll face a tough challenge from the Yankees (11-4, 1st in the AL) as we host them for a four game set. We’ll have Sundays off in the month of May, and will host Washington (6-10), Detroit (7-9) and St. Louis (9-7) for four each followed by three against Chicago (11-5) and four against Cleveland (5-11) before plying our next road game in Washington on May 26th. So this will be a good chance for us to show if we can differentiate ourselves from the crowded pack in the middle of this league. We’re currently alone in fourth place in the league at 7-8, half a game up on Boston and a game and a half behind St. Louis. But we’re currently playing two games above our expected record, considering our -23 run differential, and none of our team stats suggest we’re anything but a team boosted by a small sample size of games played. Offensively we’re dead last in every category but runs scored (46, 7th), extra base hits (24, tied for 6th), strikeouts (61, 7th), stolen bases (14, 7th) and baserunning (+4.1, 3rd). Our starters’ ERA of 3.02 has us ranked 5th in the AL, and our 138 hits allowed is third best in the league. But our bullpen ERA of 7.66 (8th) and defensive efficiency (.674, 7th) haven’t left us in a great position when playing against quality teams. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-17-2026, 05:09 PM	#7
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	April 29, 1916: Lefty starter Dickey Kerr made his first start as a big leaguer, just a week after the trade that sent him here from the Cubs over in the National League, and he wasn’t perfect ... Paddy Baumann hit an RBI single for New York in the first, and they added on with a Hugh High RBI single in the fourth to go up 2-0. But Stuffy McInniss hit a homer for us leading off in the bottom of the fourth, his first dinger of the season, to get us on the board. Though Kerr gave up two more runs in the top of the fifth -- an RBI triple for Wally Pipp and an RBI single for Paddy Bauman, we roared back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single for Charlie Pick and a two-run double by Amos Strunk that tied us up at 4-4! I wish our manager had pulled him at that point, but Kerr stayed out for the sixth and gave up two more RBI singles, to Frank Gilhooley and Wally Pipp, forcing us to go to Jack Nabors with one out and Gilhooley on third, trailing 6-4. He got us out of the inning without further damage, and an RBI single for Mike Mowrey drove Nap Lajoie in after his leadoff triple, keeping us in the game trailing 6-5 heading into the top of the seventh. Nabors was excellent, getting us through the top of the eighth with the deficit just at one run, and in the bottom of the eighth Johnny Bassler hit a single that, coupled with an E7 error, allowed both Nap Lajoie and Sam Crane to score, putting us into the lead 7-6! Nabors pitched the ninth and kept it that way, and we were able to get out of the game with our fourth win in a row, 7-6! Nabors earned that win the hard way, pitching 3.2 innings from behind with three hits, no walks, no strikeouts, no runs ... his ERA has now improved to 7.62 through 13 innings, making up for a rough start by Kerr, who allowed 12 hits, four walks and six earned runs in his 5.1 innings, giving the youngster a 10.12 ERA. We outhit them 16-15 in a real fireworks display, led by Nap Lajoie who was 4-4 with two runs scored, while Mike Mowrey added three hits and an RBI. *Pedro Dibut was named Rookie of the Month in the AL, with a 2-2 record and 2.43 ERA, striking out four in 29.2 innings.* May 1, 1916: We ended the month of April having won four in a row, seven of our last ten, to go into May with an 8-8 record which was well above where anyone expected our rag-tag bunch to be even this early in the season. We started this afternoon’s game against the Yankees with an RBI triple for Wally Schang in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, but the Yankees equalized it in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Frank Gilhooley. Bullet Joe Bush lasted until early in the seventh inning, and Jing Johnson got two critical outs in the inning to keep the score tied up 1-1. We brought out Bill Morrisette to take over in the eighth, and New York broke the stalemate with a run scored off a sac-fly by Wally Pipp to give them a 2-1 lead. This time we got ourselves the equalizer in the bottom of the inning, Schang batting in another run with a groundball single, and Morrisette got us into the bottom of the ninth still knotted up with a chance to win this one. Charlie Pick led off with a flyball double, stole third base, and then scored off a walk-off single by Buck Thrasher, who picked up his first pinch-hit in four tries to win the game for us 3-2! There’s something special about this streak right now, and we’re just doing everything we can to keep the momentum and the positivity in our clubhouse. Morrisette improved to 2-1 with a 2.08 ERA, pitching two innings with three hits and the earned run. Bush still hasn’t managed to get a win this year, but he pitched 6.1 innings with just four hits, three walks and a run, striking out two. Walks are his issue ... he has 22 hits and 23 walks against him, which has led to a 1.65 WHIP and has forced him to throw more pitches early than he’d like. If he can get those bullets to fly more on target, he’ll go deeper into games and the wins will come. We outhit New York 14-7, Connie Mack looking absolutely livid at moments in this one. McCarthy and Mowrey combined for five hits to nowhere, but Wally Schang remained on point all game, hitting twice for two RBIs, while McInnis added two hits and a run. We, with five straight, and the St. Louis Browns with six in a row are the two hottest teams in all of baseball right now, while Boston, having lost eight in a row, is now the coldest ... they’re now just 7-11 with a game and a half lead over Cleveland as they fight to avoid last place, and they’ve gone 3-5 in one run games, making them also by far the league’s unluckiest team. May 2, 1916: Rookie of the month Pedro Dibut pitched today, and after a sac-fly by McInnis in the bottom of the first drove home Schang for a run, he was pitching with the lead deep into this game. Strunk hit an RBI single in the third to add on, but from there the defenses were fully in control. In the top of the eighth, with a runner on first and one out, Bill Morrisette took over, getting us out of the inning without any damage, and he shut them down in the top of the ninth to cement our sixth win in a row, a 2-0 shutout! Dibut got the win, improving to 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA, allowing just four hits and a walk while striking out seven! Morrisette, meanwhile, earned his third save of the year with a hit and two walks, improving his ERA to 1.74. We managed to outhit them 6-5 in this duel, led by Amos Strunk with two hits and an RBI, while McInniss added a hit and an RBI, Walsh and Schang scoring our two runs on the ground. May 3, 1916: So far Connie Mack’s return to Philly wearing Yankees gear has not gone well for him, and we came into this game with all the momentum. Amos Strunk grounded out in the bottom of the third to drive home Jimmy Walsh for a 1-0 lead, but New York answered in the top of the fifth, Frank Baker scoring off a passed ball to tie the score. Wally Schang batted home Charlie Pick with a single in the bottom of the eighth to get us the lead back, amd Jim Nabors (who took over in the top of the eighth) pitched another clean inning as we shut them down in the top of the ninth, completing the most unlikely of sweeps with a 2-1 victory! Nabors got his second win of the year, improving to 2-0 out of the pen with a 6.60 ERA, allowing three hits and a walk but not letting anyone score. Houck, who lasted seven innings with five hits, five walks, three strikeouts and an earned run, now has a 2.65 ERA through 34 innings. Incredibly, New York outhit us 8-2 and we comitted two errors but we STILL came out of this one with the win, led by Wally Schang, who put us on his shoulders with two hits and a run batted in. Schang, with a .344 average, two doubles, six triples and 11 RBIs, has already put together 1.2 wins above replacement through his first 18 games, despite being a very inefficient defensive catcher. We’ll take his bat any day! Seven wins in a row, and we’re going to play Washington (9-10) for four games in our next series, the team that started this streak in the first place. Our 11-8 Athletics are now tied for third place, but only half a game back of St. Louis and Chicago, who are both tied at 12-8 for first in what is now a very wide-open American League race. Attached Images __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-16-2026, 04:05 PM	#2
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	February 26, 1916: With Connie Mack gone from the organization, my first job (aside from assessing our meager roster) would be to find a manager to lead this clubhouse. My main target is 60-year-old Chris Nolan, who in early talks seems to match my goals ... and who only expects to have final veto power over player training strategy. I don’t intend to micromanage, but I want a manager in place who is willing to work with me in this transitional period and not wind up undermining our progress. He seems to be a good fit for what’s available ... we’re already catching a lot of flack in the local press because of Shibe’s ousting of Mack, who remained a beloved managerial presence. But Shibe insisted on a clean break, and after the brutal back-and-forth between those two men it was no question that, when I became GM, I would have to look in different directions. I have offered Nolan a contract for two years work at $3,600 per season, and if he and I are still on the same page after his first season, it’s possible we can talk about an extension that keeps him with us through our full rebuild. We have a full roster and 23 players on our reserve squad, and though we’re not completely bereft of talent, I’d say half of our major league roster is at or below replacement level, including our entire bullpen and half our starters. So I’m going in on making an offer to right handed starter Pedro Dibut, a 23-year-old Cuban pitcher who has found himself alone atop the “free agent” pool of players. He’s a control-minded pitcher with a strong arsenal of pitches he gets into the right place -- not flashy, but definitely competant. I expect others to be bidding for his talent, so we’ve offered him $2,750 to play for us this year. If he signs, that would make him our sixth-highest paid player, and would put our player payroll at close to $60,000 for the year. Whitey Witt, our shortstop, and Charlie Pick, our third baseman, are definitely among our biggest liabilities, but at the outset there may not be a great deal we can accomplish in trying to immediately improve at those positions. The league has decided to institute an amateur draft after this season, and that may well prove to be our best opportunity to find young talent and improve, though I’ll certainly be active on the trading market when the situation merits it. February 28, 1916: Pedro Dibut signed a minor league deal with the Montreal Royals, but Shibe authorized me to reach out to them and we’ve purchased his contract for $1,960 ... a bargain considering our original offer, and they were barely going to be paying him at all, so they were happy to take our money. Dibut will step into our starting rotation in the number two spot behind Bullet Joe Bush. March 3, 1916: Chris Nolan has agreed to our two year manager contract, and will take over clubhouse duties immediately. He will have full control of player strategies, but I will be making both the offensive lineups and our pitching lineups. I plan to defer to his judgment for the most part, but I like the ability to make changes if I feel they will benefit our team’s performance on the field. March 4, 1916: Our scouts have led us to a real find, and we’ve purchased the contract of 18-year-old outfielder Bill Lamar from the Baltimore Orioles over in the International League, for the sum of $1,960. Lamar has a lot of upside as a hitter, and the potential to become a decent fielder, but for now he’ll be part of our reserve roster as he develops. We have also purchased the contract of 20-year-old catcher Johnny Bassler from the PCL’s Los Angeles Angels, intending to develop him in much the same manner. Wally Schang is still in full control of our starting catcher position, but Bassler has long term potential to become a very competant defensive backup. Bassler last played for the Cleveland Naps in 1913-14, but has since been playing on the Pacific Coast as he needs the time to develop. March 8, 1916: In a move to make up for some of the damage Mack’s selloff did to us two years ago, we’ve brought back Byron Houck, who went 14-6 with a 4.14 ERA during our 1913 World Championship campaign. His attempt to make it in the Federal League failed, and he’s been toiling away in the PCL for Portland, Oregon’s team, where in his first two starts this season he’s gone 2-0 with 16 strikeouts and a 2.65 ERA during 17 innings played. Benjamin Shibe authorized us to repurchase his contract from the Beavers, and he’ll be returning to Philadelphia where he belongs, as our #3 starter behind Bullet Joe Bush and Pedro Dilbut. We’ve been scouring the minor leagues for talent at shortstop and for the hot corner, but our scouts have found nobody who would be a marked improvement, so for now I believe we’re close to having our rosters set for the coming season. We’re still more than a month away from opening day against Boston at Fenway Park ... that four game series is going to be a big deal, as the Red Sox are the defending World Champs after winning 101 games last year and destroying the Phillies from across town in five games. We’ll play our first seven games on the road but will have our home opening series against Boston on the 20th through 24th of April. March 16, 1916: We’ve made a trade with the Chicago Cubs, sending them 21-year-old reliever Rube Bressler in exchange for Alex McCarthy, age 26, who immediately gives us a huge infield defense boost ... McCarthy isn’t a great hitter, but he’ll give us a huge improvement at both second and short, with passable skills playing from third as well. McCarthy will take over at short as our starter, with Whitey Witt now becoming primarily a pinch hitter / runner -- though he’s still going to be on our main 25-man roster. With Nap Lajoie being a capable second baseman (and a solid double-play contributor defensively), our primary hole in the lineup remains finding someone who can take over at third base for Charlie Pick, though Pick hasn’t had a lot of major league experience and has done passbly well playing at the AAA level -- and he’s an aggressive baserunner who hits well, so keeping him as a starter may not be a poor decision. I’ll keep searching for upgrades, but I think we’ve made some significant improvements to the roster I was handed when I took this job. April 3, 1916: The Brooklyn Robins need a catcher, and they reached out to us about Billy Meyer, a 17-year-old we have on our reserve roster who is currently ranked 70th overall among prospects. They have a third baseman we’ve been eyeing, and I decided that, since Meyer is nowhere near at the level right now to compete for a spot on our major league team, why not see if we can make something happen for the third baseman? So we asked about 32-year-old Mike Mowrey, who our scouts say is elite defensively at the position, particularly at defending against the bunt which is a huge deal in this “dead ball era.” He recently resigned with the Robins after playing in the Federal League for Pittsburgh last year, so he hasn’t played in the “Majors” since 1914, but he’s the guy we wanted ... and Brooklyn has said let’s do it. So the trade’s official, and he’s on his way down from New York to join our roster as soon as possible! With this move, and a newly minted infield of 1B Stuffy McInnis, 2B Nap Lajoie, 3B Mike Lowrey and SS Alex McCarthy, I at least expect our team to be significantly more sound as a fundamental defensive unit ... which should hopefully help our pitching. Whether they all can gel as a team in the early goings of a long season will be the challenge.Charlie Pick will still be on the main roster as a backup at third, and will be a solid pinch hitting / running option as well. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-16-2026, 04:13 PM	#3
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	1916 OPENING DAY STARTING ROSTER Offense (stats from 1915) C - Wally Schang, 26 -- .248/.384/.343, 9 2B, 11 3B, 1 HR, 44 RBI, 18 SB (3 CS) 3.6 WAR 1B - Stuffy McInnis, 25 -- .314/.336/.362, 14 2B, 4 3B, 49 RBI, 8 SB (8 CS), 2.2 WAR 2B - Nap Lajoie, 41 -- .280/.300/.355, 24 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 61 RBI, 10 SB (6 CS), 1.8 WAR 3B - Mike Mowrey, 32 -- did not play in MLB, Federal League (no stats available) SS - Alex McCarthy, 26 -- .240/.313/.306, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB (3 CS), 0.4 WAR -- played 44 games between Cubs and Pittsburgh LF - Rube Oldring, 31 -- .248/.292/.363, 23 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 42 RBI, 11 SB (6 CS), 1.8 WAR CF - Amos Strunk, 27 -- .297/.370/.427, 28 2B, 16 3B, 1 HR, 45 RBI, 17 SB (19 CS) 4.0 WAR RF - Jimmy Walsh, 28 -- .206/.305/.278, 15 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 22 SB (12 CS), 0.9 WAR Starters 1 - Bullet Joe Bush, 23 -- 5-15, 4.14 ERA, 145.2 IP, 89 K, 1.55 WHIP, 0.6 WAR 2 - Pedro Dibut, 23 -- Rookie, Did Not Play 3 - Byron Houck, 24 -- 0-0, 3.27 ERA, 11.0 IP, 4 K, 1.82 WHIP, 0.0 WAR 4 - Elmer Myers, 22 -- 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 12 K, 0.78 WHIP, 0.4 WAR Bullpen MR - Jack Nabors, 28 -- 0-5, 5.50 ERA, 54.0 IP, 18 K, 1.72 WHIP, -0.4 WAR LR - Jing Johnson, 21 -- Rookie, Did Not Play LR - Bill Morrisette, 21 -- 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 20.0 IP, 11 K, 1.00 WHIP, 0.4 WAR We’re essentially a blank slate ... I feel we have made significant defensive improvements, but whether we can put up runs in any meaningful number remains to be seen. And our pitching is completely raw, with everyone but Jack Nabors aged 24 and under ... Only Bullet Joe Bush put up more than 55 innings’ work last year, and considering we only won 43 games all season, it makes sense. Will Dibut, Houck and Myers be able to get us through heavy workloads without fading? Clearly if they can’t, we’re going to have a rough time as our bullpen is, to say the least, weak. Incredibly, we’ve been picked by the Sporting News to finish with 66 wins this year, three wins more than Cleveland’s Indians ... for what that’s worth. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-17-2026, 05:48 PM	#8
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	May 4, 1916: The Browns lost their game against Chicago yesterday 5-2, snapping their win streak as they head on the road for 22 consecutive road games, so we now have the longest streak in the land and a chance to fight our way into first place if we can keep it going. We took the lead quickly in the bottom of the first, scoring off a Rube Oldring single and a groundout by Lew Malone to quickly go up 2-0, and Gene Packard dominated their lineup repeatedly with his strong pitching performance ... both pitchers in fact did a great job tying up the batters, with just four hits between our teams in the first seven innings. But Washington woke up big time in the top of the eighth, tying the game on a two-run single by Danny Moeller after Bill Morrisette took over with one out earlier in the inning. Jack Nabors took over the tied game in the top of the ninth, getting three quick outs, but for the first time all year we found ourselves having to play extra innings. With two outs in the top of the 10th, a passed ball allowed Washington to take the lead as Henri Rondeau scored the go-ahead. And we’d run out of magic offensively, as none of our hitters could get us over the hump in the bottom of the inning. Our streak came to a close with a 3-2 10th inning loss. Packard lasted 7.1 innings with three hits, two walks, two strikeouts and an earned run ... he threw 117 pitches, but our manager’s going to take heat over pulling him for Morrisette, who blew the save with a hit, two walks and a run while only getting two outs. Nabors took the loss, pitching two innings with a hit, a walk and an unearned run. But Washington outhit us 5-3, and it was our second game finding it difficult to sustain rallies. Yesterday we lucked into the win against New York, but tonight it wasn’t happening, though Oldring led us with the RBI that originally put us into the lead. May 5, 1916: We hit them back hard in the bottom of the third in this afternoon’s game, scoring off a Dickey Kerr RBI single and then adding on when Jimmy Walsh reached safely via an E2 error, Kerr scoring from third. Wally Schang reached on an E8 error that then let Jimmy Walsh score, and Stuffy McInniss added another run when he grounded out to score Wally Schang from third. With the 4-0 lead in our hands, we were already firmly in control, but a five-run inning in the fourth turned this into a rout! Dickey Kerr went on to complete the game, a five-hit 9-0 shutout victory, getting us nicely back on track after yesterday’s disappointment. He walked three and struck out a pair, thowing 138 pitches in a dominating performance as he earned his first major league win, our team outhitting theirs 11-5 behind a balanced hitting attack. Schang had two hits, two runs and two RBIs, while leadoff man Jimmy Walsh added a hit, two runs and two RBIs. Strunk and Mowrey added two hits each with a run, and Alex McCarthy put up a hit and two runs on the ground. May 6, 1916: Today we took the lead again in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Stuffy McInnis, but Washington quickly replied with a top-of-the-second RBI single by John Henry to stay in the game. Alex McCarthy hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead, and Bullet Joe Bush held tough the rest of the way as he completed the game to win 2-1! It was his first win, improving our top starter to a 1-3 record with a 2.72 ERA, a four-hit game with four walks, three strikeouts and one unearned run. We outhit the Senators 6-4, led by Mike Mowrey with two this and a run scored, while McInnis had a hit and an RBI. May 8, 1916: It’s absolutely incredible, we can say we’re in first place in the American League! Our 13-9 record has us tied in the standings with St. Louis, who are now sitting at 14-10 as our two teams have gone on similar tears to flip this league onto its head. Cleveland, however, has won four in a row, and now they, at 10-14, are now tied with Boston (9-13) in last place ... so the entire eight-team league is within four games of each other. Nobody should feel safe or confident of their dominance at this point in the season. But we’ve won nine of our last ten games, so we’ve certainly earned this change of fortunes, along with the right to at least feel we can compete day in and day out. In today’s final game of the series against Washington we took the lead in the bottom of the second off a groundout by Mike Mowrey, and in the bottom of the fourth we added on with an RBI single by Alex McCarthy, a third run soon scoring off a passed ball to give us a 3-0 advantage going into the fifth. Three more runs scored for us in the bottom of the sixth, giving Pedro Dibut a comfortable lead, and even though Washington got a pair back in the ninth inning, it was too little too late as we stomped them 8-2. Dibut didn’t get a complete game, pitching 8.1 innings with four hits, four strikeouts and two unearned runs, but he still improved to 4-2 with a 1.59 ERA through 45.1 innings over his first seven starts. We outhit them 11-6, led by Mowrey who had two hits, a run and two RBIs, and we were able to improve to 6-2 against them at this early point in the season. Next up we’ll face Detroit (12-12) for four games, putting our league-leading 14-9 record to the test. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-17-2026, 06:47 PM	#9
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	[SIZE="4"]May 9, 1916: Detroit came out fighting early, putting up a quick lead in the top of the first off an RBI triple by George Burns and a groundout by Ty Cobb that scored Burns. They added a run in the top of the fourth off a Donie Bush single, but we got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a Stuffy McInnis RBI single to trial 3-1 heading into the top of the fifth. Detroit took control from there, a two-run double by Cobb expanding their lead to four in the fifth, and two more runs in the sixth making it a seemingly insurmountable 7-1 Tigers lead. But we rallied big in the bottom of the sixth, scoring off an RBI double by McInnis, an RBI single by Lajoie and a sac-fly via Oldring to get back within three. Then, in the botom of the seventh, Wally Schang tied it with a three-run triple, scoring himself moments later off a passed ball to give us an incredible 8-7 comeback lead! Jack Nabors took over in the eighth as our third pitcher of the night, Morrisette having taken over in the sixth when the game was considered out of reach. No longer was that the case, and Nabors held firm in the eighth, Stuffy McInnis buying us an insurance run in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single! Nabors dominated the rest of the way, and we held on to win 9-7! Morrisette (3-1, 2.19 ERA) got the win with 1.1 innings without allowing a baserunner, and Nabors earned his third save with two hits in two innings, our bullpen giving this team time to find its offensive power. Houck had a rough one, with 5.2 innings and nine hits, three walks and seven runs (six earned), but the bullpen help plus our bats outhitting them 15-11 saved the day ... McInnis led everyone with three hits, two runs and three RBIs, while Wally Schang added a hit, a walk, a run and three more RBIs. May 10, 1916: This one turned quietly into another pitching duel between Detroit’s Hooks Dauss and our lefty Gene Packard ... and in the bottom of the fifth we finally broke through ... off a wild pitch, Lajoie scoring from third for the 1-0 lead. In a chaotic play in the sixth, a passed ball sent McInnis to third, and he scored when Rube Oldring reached first on an E5 error to extend our lead, still without a run batted in! Detroit got on the board with an RBI single by Oscar Stanage that was coupled with an E9 error, but we put their hopes of a comeback to bed in the bottom of the eighth when Oldring singled in a run and then Mike Mowrey hit a two-run single to make it a four-run lead for our Athletics. They got a run back in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as we held tough to win 5-2! Packard pitched 6.1 innings with six hits, a walk, a strikeout and an earned run, improving to 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA, while Bill Morrisette earned his fourth save, a 2.2 inning effort with two hits, two strikeouts and an earned run, improving his ERA to 2.40 through 15 innings over 12 apperances for the 21-year-old rookie (he was a late-September call-up in 1915 so he’s only got 31 days of MLB service time). Each team had eight hits, ours led by Mowrey, with two hits and two RBIs, and McInnis who had two hits and scored two runs. May 11, 1916: Oscar Stanage hit a sac-fly to drive home a run for Detroit in the top of the second, and in the top of the sixth another sac-fly, this time by Donie Bush, extended their lead to 2-0. We tried to rally in the ninth, and Nap Lajoie did finally get us on the board from third when he scored off a wild pitch, but we weren’t able make anything connect on a cold, rainy, windy afternoon as we lost this one 2-1. Dickey Kerr pitched 8.2 innings with nine hits, two walks, three strikeouts and two earned runs, with Morrisette getting the final out of the final inning on five pitches. Detroit outhit us 9-8, only Oldring getting on base twice (two hits), Lajoie scoring our only run with one hit. May 12, 1916: Bullet Bob Bush gave up three runs to Detroit in the top of the second inning, two coming off a triple by Sam Crawford and one off a wild pitch, Crawford scoring from third. But that lit a fire under our asses, and we fought back quickly in the botom of the second -- Lajoie scored off a single by McCarthy, Jimmy Walsh batted in a run with a single, and then Amos Strunk hit a two-run line drive double to drop us into the lead 4-3! Bullet Joe hit himself an RBI double to score Lajoie in the bottom of the third, and we traded runs for a few innings before a two-run double by Charlie Pick in the bottom of the eighth extended our lead to three, up 8-5! That’s where it remained, as Morrisette came out in the ninth for a one-inning save, striking out a batter with no hits or walks to complete the 8-5 victory. He now has five saves and a 2.20 ERA, and Bush got his second win in a row with an eight-inning effort, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) -- his walks continue to be a problem, with six today, but he struck out four batters and was able to keep us in this one late. He now has a 2-3 record and a 3.05 ERA through 44.1 innings. We outslugged them 13-6, led by Nap Lajoie with three hits and three runs scored ... he’s now hitting .263 after recovering from a very slow start to the year. Our record now stands at 17-10, leading the AL by half a game over St. Louis, who will be our next opponent for four games. Both our teams have been red hat since late April, and we’re not going to be able to coast ... winning this series is going to be a challenge for sure.[/SIZE] __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-17-2026, 07:51 PM	#10
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	May 13, 1916: The Boston Braves needed an outfielder, as they’re struggling in the middle of the NL pack at 12-14, so they reached out to us about acquiring Charlie Grimm from us, a 17-year-old left fielder we have on our reserve roster who is ranked #25 nationally. With us suddenly in a position where we’re leading our league and looking to be a stronger team than had been ancipated, I saw an opportunity to shore up our pitching even further (pitching having been a big reason we’ve been able to stay in, and win, so many close games). We’ve agreed to trade the Braves Grimm, in exchange for 28-year-old right-handed starter Dick Rudolph, who so far this year has gone 3-3 with a 1.31 ERA, 20 strikeouts and a 1.02 WHIP. We’re moving Dickey Kerr and Byron Houck to the bullpen and sending Jing Johnson down to the reserve roster to make room for Rudolph in the rotation -- right now we’ll be slotting him in third, between Dibut and Packard -- and our bullpen will now feature Nabors and Houck as middle relief and Kerr and Morrisette as long relief options. Dibut got the start today in game one against the St. Louis Browns, and we quickly took the lead with an RBI single by Amos Strunk in the bottom of the first, though they answered in the top of the second with a sac-fly by Jimmy Austin that scored George Sisler. Jimmy Walsh hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second to get us back the lead, but in the bottom of the sixth they again tied it, this time with a single by Austin. Dibut pitched his way through the ninth inning without letting them back into the lead, and in the bottom of the inning with one out and both Walsh and Strunk in scoring position, Mike Mowrey hit a walk-off groundball single into right to get us the 3-2 win! Dibut improved to 5-2 on the year with a 1.66 ERA, allowing eight hits, a walk and two runs with three strikeouts in his complete game, our bats outhitting them 11-8. Jimmy Walsh led the way from the leadoff spot, hitting three times with two runs and an RBI. May 15, 1916: Dick Rudolph made his debut for us in today’s game, and he came in with six complete games, tied with the Yankees’ Ferdie Schupp for the most in the majors. But his luck was not good early in this one. St. Louis took the lead in the top of the third with a groundout by Ward Miller that scored Ernie Johnson, and they added a two-run double by Doc Lavan in the fourth which was immediately followed by Lavan scoring off a passed ball. Brutal! We clawed some back in the bottom of the fifth, as Alex McCarthy scored off a passed ball and then Amos Strunk hit a two-run triple to get us back within one. Rudolph gave up an RBI single to Burt Shotton in the top of the ninth to extend St. Louis’ lead to two runs, and that was all they’d need ... our bats stayed silent from there and we lost 5-3. Rudolph completed the game, his seventh, but took the loss with a 12-hit, five run game, striking out two. We were outhit 12-8 which didn’t help ... Wally Schang led the way with two hits, two walks and a run scored. May 16, 1916: We took the lead today in the bottom of the third with a single by Strunk that was coupled with an E7 error, allowing Jimmy Walsh to score and put us up 1-0. St. Louis answered with an RBI single by Eddie Plank in the top of the fifth, but we retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth with an RBI double by Rube Oldring, putting us ahead 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh. Oldring singled in another run in the eighth that was followed by an RBI double for Alex McCarthy, but Byron Houck blew the save by giving up a grand slam home run off the bat of Jack Tobin to shoot the Browns into the lead 5-4 as we came up to hit in the bottom of the inning. That’s a hell of a way to hand a team a lead, and it gutted us as a team ... the offense pretty much threw their hands up, and we lost 5-4 in a game we should have had well in hand. Houck took the loss, falling to 3-2 with a 4.43 ERA, allowing two hits, two walks and four runs with one strikeout. Gene Packard had lasted 7.1 innings with a six-hitter, walking three, striking out two and conceding one earned run. Jim Nabors got two outs with a hit and a walk as he tried to recover from the grand slam, but it was enough to destroy us despite having outhit the Browns 14-9. Nap Lajoie led the way with three hits and two runs, while Oldring added two hits, a walk and two RBIs. May 17, 1916: We came into tonight needing to split this series with a win, which would put us back atop the AL, a spot now held by St. Louis by half a game. Bullet Joe Bush took the mound, and it did not go well ... Hank Severeid grounded out in the top of the first but Burt Shotton scored to give St. Louis the lead, and then in the top of the third they added four more runs, nearly batting their entire order in the process. Trailing 5-0 midway through the inning, we worked to slowly claw the runs back ... in the bottom of the fourth Rube Oldring hit a sac-fly to get us on the board, and we got two more back in the sixth thanks to a groundout by Stuffy McInnis and an RBI single by Oldring. Houck took over with two outs in the seventh still trailing by a pair, and in the ninth he gave them two more, sealing the deal as we lost this one 7-3, and the series three games to one. Bullet Joe Bush fell to 2-4 with a 3.53 ERA, allowing eight hits and five earned runs with three walks and three strikeouts in his 6.2 innings. The Browns outhit us 10--6, Rube Oldring leading our offense with three hits and two RBIs. With that loss, we now trail the Browns (20-12) by a game and a half, and our 18-13 record has us tied with the Yankees for second in the AL, though we still lead Chicago by two and a half. Of course they’re the team we face next, as the White Sox come in for three games before our day off on Sunday. With just two series left in this long homestand, it’s important that we finish strong, so we have some runway ... we’ll be on the road from May 26th through June 18th, and will only play six games in June on our home field. That’ll be a long stretch to spend living out of suitcases on trains and in hotels. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

03-23-2026, 03:21 PM	#11
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	May 18, 1916: Wally Schang hit a solo homer for us in the bottom of the third to put us up 1-0 early, and a groundout by Mike Mowrey added a run for us in the fourth to extend that lead. But the White Sox came roaring back in the top of the sixth after an RBI single by Zeb Terry and an E7 error that allowed Joe Benz to reach on error, sending home the tying run. Dibut lasted until the top of the ninth, but his first batter faced, Eddie Collins, hit a double and our manager pulled him for Byron Houck without getting an out in the inning. Happy Felsch hit a sac-fly to put Chicago into the lead, and our offense stayed silent as the White Sox beat us 3-2. Dibut took the loss, falling to 5-3 with a 1.73 ERA, getting eight innings in with 10 hits, four walks, a strikeout and three runs (two earned). They outhit us 11-8, with Stuffy McInnis leading our offense with three hits to nowhere (while Wally Schang hit twice with a run and an RBI, including his first homer of the year). May 19, 1916: Dick Rudolph pitched well for us early, and in the bottom of the fourth Nap Lajoie hit an RBI single that, with an E7 error assisting, drove home our first run. The next batter of the inning, Mike Mowrey, added on with a two-run triple, giving us a 3-0 lead heading into the top of the fifth, and Lajoie batted in another run in the fifth with an RBI single. Buck Weaver got the White Sox on the board with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, and in the top of the ninth a groundout by Eddie Murphy got them back within two. But Rudolph held firm and completed his game and we were able to get out of it with a 4-2 victory ahead of tomorrow’s rubber match. Rudolph had nine hits, two walks, a strikeout and two earned runs, giving him a 1-1 record and a 3.50 ERA since joining our team -- he’s now 4-4 with a 1.80 ERA through 88 innings this season as a whole, and has put up a total of 2.1 WAR between his time here and in Boston. They outhit us 9-7, but Lajoie powered us through with two hits, a walk, a run and two RBIs. The 41-year-old is hitting .284 for the season, but is still performing a smidge below replacement level, mostly due to his status as a defensive liability in the infield. May 20, 1916: In the bottom of the third we took the lead against the White Sox off a single by Rube Oldring, and in the bottom of the fourth Mike Mowrey scored off a groundout Johnny Bassler hit into a 4-6-3 double play. But Chicago hit back with three runs in the top of the fifth, including an RBI double by Jack Fournier, an RBI double for Ray Schalk and an RBI single by Zeb Terry. Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to tie it back up in the bottom of the inning, and back to back RBI singles for Nap Lajoie and Mike Mowrey put us back ahead by a pair. Yet once again we couldn’t hold the lead, as Jack Fournier hit a two-run triple to tie it back up in the top of the sixth. Amos Strunk answered for us in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single to make it a 6-5 lead again, but Jack Nabors flubbed the eighth inning, allowing an RBI double by Buck Weaver and a two-run Jack Ness triple, Eddie Collins then putting what looked like the final nail when he reached on an E5 error, giving Chicago a 9-6 lead. We got a run back in the ninth with a sac-fly by Lew Malone, but there would be no comeback as we lost this game 9-7 and the series two games to one. Gene Packard only lasted 5.1 innings, allowing six hits and five runs (four earned) with a walk and a strikeout. And though Nabors pitched 3.2 innings to finish the game, he allowed four hits and four runs (three earned) with a walk and two strikeouts, falling to 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA. We outhit them 11-10, the first time in the series we’d done that, but we couldn’t sustain another rally down the stretch ... Strunk finished with three hits and an RBI, and Rube Oldring added a hit, a walk, two runs and an RBI. St. Louis (22-13) has increased its margin in the AL lead, up 2.5 games on us and the Yankees, with the White Sox now just four games back with an 18-17 record. We’ll head into Cleveland (12-23, 10 games back of first) for our first series agianst the AL’s bottom dwellers, while staring down the barrel of a long stretch of road games upcoming. May 22, 1916: Cleveland took the lead in the top of the first with an RBI single from Jack Graney, but a two-run triple by Wally Schang flipped us into the lead 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth. So, in an echo of Saturday’s collapse against Chicago, Cleveland rallied in the top of the fifth with four runs, batting around in the process. The runs kept coming for both sides, and though we went into the bottom of the sixth trailing 7-3, it was our turn to bat around, scoring off an RBI single from Bill Morrisette, an RBI single by Wally Schang, an E6 error that put Amos Strunk on first, and an RBI single by Stuffy McInnis that tied the score ... the capper was an RBI single for Charlie Pick, giving us an 8-7 lead heading into the seventh inning. Cleveland answered in the top of the eighth with a two-run homer by Elmer Smith to retake the lead, but Schang answered with a homer of his own, a solo moonshot in the bottom of the eighth that tied us up at 9-9. This time we had the magic on our side, as in the bottom of the ninth Lew Malone hit a two-run walk-off blast out of right to hand us an 11-9 win. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done, and we need all the wins we can get. Morrisette pitched 3.2 innings with three hits, four walks and two runs (one earned), giving him a 4-1 record and a 2.25 ERA through 20 innings over his 15 appearances, saving Bullet Bob Bush from a sure loss ... Bush had 12 hits, four walks and seven earned runs in 5.1 innings, throwing 135 pitches and blowing his ERA up to 4.31 in his ninth start of the year. Each team had 15 hits, ours led by Schang, who had three hits, a walk, two runs and four RBIs ... he now has two homers to go with three doubles and eight triples, leading the team with 21 runs batted in. May 23, 1916: Schang remained hot in the top of the first, hitting an RBI double to put us into the lead in game two of the series, but Cleveland tied it in the second with a double by Steve O’Neill and took the lead in the third with a single by Jack Graney. In the bottom of the fifth Jimmy Walsh tied it with an RBI single, and Stuffy McInnis batted us back into the lead with a single, putting us up 3-2 heading into the sixth. Jack Graney hit Cleveland another RBI single in the top of the seventh to tie it again, and two runs would score moments later off a single by pinch-hitter Larry Chappell. They added an insurance run in the top of the ninth off the bat of Braggo Roth, and that should have finished us off. But with two outs in the bottom of the inning, Charlie Pick hit an RBI single and Buck Thrasher added a two-run double to tie it at 6-6! Pick tried to make it around to score, but instead we wound up in extra innings when he got tagged out at the plate. In the top of the 12th inning, Tom Daly reached on an E6 error to score Jack Graney for the lead, and we left the bases loaded in the bottom of the frame, losing this one in a 7-6 heartbreaker. Morrisette came out as our fourth pitcher and handled the 11th and 12th, taking the loss with one hit, two walks and an unearned run, and we outhit them 15-13 but just didn’t have another rally in us. Jimmy Walsh led the way with three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI, while Stuffy McInnis added three hits, a run and an RBI. May 24, 1916: Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the first to give us the lead, and we added a run in the third thanks to a double (also by McInnis) to extend our lead to 2-0. But Cleveland tied it in the eighth with a two-run homer by Braggo Roth, and for the second day in a row we wound up playing extra innings. They hit us hard in the 10th, scoring three runs (two off a double by Ivan Howard and two off a triple by Joe Leonard) and we had no fight left in the bottom of the inning, stranding a pair as we lost 5-2. Dick Rudolph lasted 8.2 innings with six hits, three walks, two earned runs and five strikeouts, but Dickey Kerr took the loss with two hits, a walk and three earned runs ... he’s now 1-2 with a 4.12 ERA through 24 innings. We outhit them 9-8, led by McInnis with three hits and two runs batted in. May 25, 1916: Mike Mowrey batted home McInnis with a single in the bottom of the second, and Amos Strunk hit an RBI double in the second to put our lead at 2-0. But Cleveland would score four in the fourth and another run in the fifth to take a commanding lead. But Alex McCarthy hit an RBI single that, aided by an E9 error, allowed a run to score a quick run to start the bottom of the seventh, and that started a rally ... McCarthy scored off a single by Charlie Pick, Jimmy Walsh scored off a single by Wally Schang to tie the score, and Amos Strunk hit an RBI double to put us into the lead! We were able to hold our ground from there and got the 6-5 win, splitting the series as we head into our next three-plus weeks of road games against the bulk of the American League. Jack Nabors took over for Packard with an out in the sixth and got us through the seventh inning for the win, improving to 3-2 with a 4.61 ERA with just one hit in his 1.2 innings. Byron Houck then got his first save of the year, pitching two innings with a hit and a strikeout as our bullpen helped us to victory. We outhit Cleveland 11-8, led by Strunk with two hits and two RBIs, while Mowrey added two hits and an RBI. Here’s our upcoming schedule of road games: 5/26-27, 29: at Washington (16-22) 5/30-31, 6/1: at New York (20-18) - [i]including a doubleheader on 5/30) 6/3-5: at St. Louis (25-14) 6/6-9: at Chicago (21-18) 6/10-13: at Cleveland (14-25) 6/15-18: at Detroit (18-21) The only team we won’t face on this trip across the country will be Boston (19-19), who we’ll face on May 23-24 and May 26-27, following a three-game home stand against Washington. That series and three games against the Yankees June 28-30 will be our only home games of the upcoming month, which is concerning since we’ve gone 7-8 over our last four series. Attached Images __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds) Last edited by jksander; 03-23-2026 at 04:42 PM.

03-24-2026, 08:38 PM	#12
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	May 26, 1916: In our first game in Washingon of the new road trip, we took an early lead, going up 1-0 in the top of the second with a sac-fly by Alex McCarthy. Amos Strunk batted home Bullet Joe Bush in the fifth to add an insurance run, and Bush held firm from there as he completed the game, a three-hitter (with a walk and a strikeout) that gave us a 2-0 win! Bush improved to 3-4 with a 3.72 ERA, and we outhit Washington 9-3, led by Nap Lajoie with three hits and a run scored, while Strunk added two hits and an RBI. May 27, 1916: Washington took the lead in the bottom of the third with an RBI triple by Eddie Foster and an RBI single for Clyde Milan, giving them a quick 2-0 advantage. But we got on the board with an RBI single by Amos Strunk in the fifth, and moments later Charlie Pick tied it by walking in a run with loaded bases. An RBI single for Jimmy Walsh in the sixth put us into the lead, and a two-run double by Strunk helped us add on quickly, leading 5-2 midway thorugh the inning. Stuffy McInnis added a two run single in the eighth, and that was all we needed to hammer the nails in, beating the Senators 7-2! Pedro Dibut pitched a complete game five-hitter, with two walks and two earned runs, and we had 11 hits ourselves, led by Walsh with three hits and three runs while Strunk added two hits and four RBIs. Dibut was also responsible for a hit and two runs of his own, a solid effort all around! May 29, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit a sac-fly to give us a 1-0 lead in the top of the second, and we fought to hold that lead until the bottom of the sixth, when the Senators unleashed their bats upon us, scoring off an RBI single for Charlie Jamieson, getting three runs off a Joe Judge triple, and then piling on with an RBI single by Rip Williams to lead by four runs going into the seventh inning. We couldn’t muster anything from the plate from there on, losing this one by the 5-1 margin. Dick Rudolph pitched an eight inning complete game with six hits, a walk and five runs, NONE of them earned, but we were outhit 6-2 only getting three runners on base the entire game. You don’t win games that way. May 30, 1916: We took the lead in game one of two against the Yankees with an E9 error that let Lajoie on base, scoring Rube Oldring in the top of the second. Lajoie hit a double in the fourth that bought us a second run, but an E1 error in the bottom of the sixth got New York on the board as Paddy Baumann scored as Roger Peckinpaugh took his base. We did very well in the top of the eighth, buying us some space with RBI singles by Byron Houck, Amos Strunk, Rube Oldring and Nap Lajoie, and three more runs in the ninth sealed the deal. New York got a runner to third in the bottom of the inning but wasn’t about to overcome this deficit -- we won with ease, 9-1 after outhitting them 14-6. Gene Packard improved to 3-0 with a 2.77 ERA, pitching 5.1 innings with three hits, three walks, no runs, while Houck earned his second save with a 3.2 inning effort, allowing three hits with an unearned run and three strikeouts. Nap Lajoie led the offense with three hits and three RBIs. In the day’s second game the Yankees took the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single from Roxy Walters, and they hammered us with four more runs in the bottom of the seventh to put the screws in hard. We had no answer this time, and they beat us with ease 5-0. Bullet Joe Bush took the loss, falling to 3-5 with a 3.77 ERA after allowing four runs (three earned) with eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts in his 6.1 innings. They outhit us 12-3, and we only had five runners on base the entire game. Strunk had two hits, but was caught in the Yankees’ defensive buzzsaw both times. May 31, 1916: We had a solo homer from Jimmy Walsh to start the third inning, but New York scored a run in the bottom of the inning, another in the fourth and three more in the seventh to build a lead we’d never erase. We scored a pair in the eighth but they got one of those back in the bottom of the inning, holding us off without much real pressure to win 6-3, outhitting us 13-10. Pedro Dibut lasted 6.1 innings with nine hits, two walks, four strikeouts and four earned runs, taking the loss, while Amos Strunk led our offense with two hits, a run and two RBIs. June 1, 1916: This one was a real defensive fight, with the two pitchers dueling until the top of the sixth when Mike Mowrey singled in a run by McInnis and Nap Lajoie scored off a single by Rube Oldring to give us a 2-0 lead. Oldring walked in a run in the eighth and a fly-out by Alex McCarthy drove in another to give us a four run shutout lead. That was a lead we’d hold on to, as Dick Rudolph closed out a five-hit 4-0 shutout victory, our boys outhitting theirs just 8-5! Rube Oldring led the way with two hits, a walk and two RBIs, while McInnis had two hits, a walk and a run scored. The win helps us maintain a one-game lead over the Yankees, and we now only trail St. Louis (27-20) by a single game as we take our 25-20 record to their city. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-02-2026, 01:33 PM	#13
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 3, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single in the top of the second in our first game against St. Louis, giving us a 1-0 lead early in the game. But the Browns tied it up with a groundout by Hank Severeid in the bottom of the third that scored George Sisler. In the bottom of the fourth Gene Packard survived a bases-loaded jam; Bob Groom had loaded the bases thanks to an E5 groundball error, but Armando Marsans grounded out to end the inning still tied up at 1-1 ... and he continued to pitch well, getting us through the sixth inning with the score unchanged. But our bats remained silent, so Packard got us through the seventh as well as he and St. Louis starter Bob Groom dueled it out. With two outs in the eighth, runners on first and second, Packard showed no signs of cracking ... Charlie Deal hit a hard shot into right and loaded the bases, but Packard got William Rumler to ground out to first and escaped the jam with the score still tied heading into the top of the ninth. But again our bats couldn’t score, and this time our manager did decide to go to the pen, bringing out Jack Nabors to try and get this into extra innings. Sisler got on base with a single on two outs, and a single into center by Del Pratt would have given them a runner in scoring position, but Sisler got greedy and tried for third, and we tagged him out hard at third to get into the 10th. Byron Houck took over in the bottom of the 11th, and it was in the bottom of the 12th that our defensive struggles started to hit us hard ... Del Pratt had popped out to right for their first out, but Jimmy Austin reached on an E5 error, and then Burt Shotton reached on an E6, our fourth error of the ballgame. Ward Miller grounded out 5-3, moving the runners to second and third with two outs, and Bobby Wallace struck out swinging, however, so the game continued on into the 13th inning! Houck was absolutely phenomenal, continuing to pitch through the 14th inning, all but willing our batters to find some way to get us over the top. And finally, in the top of the 15th inning, Rube Oldring was able to score off a walk by Sam Crane with the bases loaded, and pushed us into the lead 2-1! Houck, who had loaded those bases by grounding into what turned into a failed fielder’s choice for St. Louis, stayed out in the bottom of the 15th, and he got a pop-out and two strikeouts to finish the game as a 2-1 victory! Our pitching all night was impeccable ... Gene Packard pitched eight innings with eight hits, five walks and a strikeout, allowing our first earned run, but Nabors and Houck combined for SEVEN innings of their own, with four hits and no earned runs between them. Houck in particular earned his win, improving to 4-2 by going five innings with one hit, two walks and five strikeouts, throwing 62 pitches and improving his ERA to 3.57 through 58 innings ... he’s started six games and pitched in 15. We narrowly outhit them 14-12, led by a stirring performance from Stuffy McInnis, who had five hits and two walks, getting us the run in the top of the second off that hit by Mowrey. June 4, 1916: St. Louis, owner of a five-game losing streak, took the lead in the bottom of the third off a single by Ernie Johnson, but in the top of the fifth Bullet Joe Bush tied it with an RBI single and a sac-fly by Jimmy Walsh pushed us into the lead 2-1. We went into the bottom of the ninth still leading, but Bush blew his lead and the game .. he walked Grover Hartley with one out, Jack Tobin singled Hartley into scoring position ... and though Hartley was picked off trying to take third, Bush chose to intentionally walk Del Pratt and then the Browns struck hard, Ernie Johnson hitting a two-run single to walk this one off 3-2. What a tough way to lose a game. Bush fell to 3-6 with a 3.70 ERA, allowing just seven hits, but walking six for three earned runs ... he also struck out five, so his bullets were flying, but inconsistency proved to be his undoing in the final frame. We matched them on hits with seven each, led by McInnis who had three hits to nowhere. Mowrey had a hit and a run and Jimmy Walsh had a hit and an RBI, while Alex McCarthy walked and scored a run as well. June 5, 1916: In the top of the fourth Rube Oldring reached first on an E5 error, driving home Wally Schang to give us a 1-0 lead, but George Sisler scored off a passed ball in the bottom of the inning to tie things up. The game stayed tight until the top of the eighth when we again broke through, this time with Pedro Dibut walking in a run by Mike Mowrey to put us ahead 2-1! And today Dibut did what Bush couldn’t yesterday ... he completed his game and held tough to finish a hard-fought 2-1 victory. Dibut improved to 7-4 with a 2.18 ERA, finishing with five hits, a walk and an earned run. They outhit us 5-4, Oldring leading the way with a hit, a walk and an RBI, while Amos Strunk had two hits and a walk but didn’t manage to drive in any runs. By taking the series two games to one, we have now tied with St. Louis and are leading the AL standings on the basis of tiebreakers, with a 27-21 record! Detroit sits a game and a half back, and Chicago (our next opponent) is in fourth place, two games back with a 25-23 record.The entire division remains within eight games of each other, with the top six now within four games. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-02-2026, 05:49 PM	#14
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 6, 1916: The White Sox took the lead in the bottom of the fourth when Jack Fournier hit an RBI double off Dick Gregory to put them up 1-0. But our luck changed in the top of the ninth, when we went in trailing by the one run and with one out and runners in scoring position, Stuffy McInnis hit a two-run line drive single to catapult us into the lead! Rudolph had a four-hitter going, but our manager pulled him for Byron Houck in the bottom of the ninth, and Houck got three quick outs to hold on to our 2-1 victory! So Rudolph got his win, improving to 6-5 with a 1.50 ERA and 3-2 since joining our team ... he had four hits, a walk, three strikeouts and just the one earned run against him through eight innings. Houck got his third save, throwing just eight pitches and improving his ERA to 3.51 thorugh 59 innings, and we outhit them 10-4, dominated by Walsh, Schang and Strunk at the top of our lineup (they combined for seven hits and both our runs scored), with Amos Strunk leading all with three hits and a run, Stuffy McInnis getting a hit and two RBIs as well. June 7, 1916: An excellent pitching duel was broken up in the bottom of the fifth when Chicago scored three runs off Gene Packard, including an RBI double for Eddie Collins, an RBI triple by Shano Collins and an RBI single by Joe Jackson, all performed back to back to back. Amos Strunk got us on the board with an RBI double in the top of the sixth, but they got the run back in the bottom of the seventh and never let go. We’d go on to lose this one 4-1, committing two errors and getting outhit 9-7 in the process. Packard took the loss, falling to 3-1 with a nine hit four walk four run game, though only one of them was earned. Jimmy Walsh led the offense with two hits and a run, while McInnis hit three times but got nowhere. June 8, 1916: Bullet Joe Bush gave up three runs in the bottom of the first, and we spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. Mike Mowrey hit a sac-fly to get us on the board in the top of the fifth, but an E8 error on a line drive single by Shano Collins let Chicago add on to the damage, and even a solo homer for Charlie Pick (his first of the year) wasn’t enough to overcome it. We’d go on to lose 4-2, our second loss in a row, and our lack of offense continues to be a struggle ... dig a hole, it gets hard to find a way out of it. Bush took the hit and fell to 3-7, though his ERA is 3.81 through 87.1 innings over 13 games, 12 of them starts. But he held them to five hits in his seven innings, unfortunately walking six and allowing all four earned runs in the process. With our bats only notching five hits ourselves, a comeback was not assured, Charlie Pick’s late-innings homer nonwithstanding. We have to find a way to give our pitchers real run support, or our 28-23 record will prove to be an illusion. With five teams in the AL currently sitting within a game of each other, things are definitely getting competitive, and every game is going to count as we all duke it out for a chance at that pennant. June 9, 1916: Joe Jackson got Chicago back into the lead quickly in game four of our series, hitting an RBI triple in the bottom of the first for the 1-0 lead. But we managed to tie it in the top of the sixth off a sac-fly by McInnis, and from there the gloves came off on both sides. Jack Fournier hit a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to give Chicago back the lead, but Rube Oldring hit back in the seventh with an RBI single that scored Lajoie and kept us fighting in this one, trailing just by a run. Unfortunately that’s where it stayed ... we dropped our third in a row, this time by a paltry 3-2 margin and despite another solid night by Dibut, who had seven hits and five strikeouts (no walks) with just two of his runs earned in 7.1 innings as he fell to 7-5 through 14 games, 13 of them starts. Again we matched them on hits, with seven each, but only Oldring (with two hits and an RBI) managed to make anything really happen out there. And just like that we find ourselves in a FOUR WAY TIE for first atop the American League standings, with Detroit (28-25) just half a game back. And with four games against Cleveland (23-29, 5 GB) before four against Detroit, nothing is assured except that this year’s race is going to be one for the ages ... and if we want to stay part of it, we’ve got to find ways to actually score. Attached Images __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-06-2026, 12:50 PM	#15
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 10, 1916: This game was a roller-coaster ride from the start, as the Indians got out to a 3-0 lead almost from the jump ... with first inning runs coming off a groundout by Chick Gandil, an RBI single for Terry Turner and an RBI double from Ray Chapman. Mike Mowrey hit an RBI double in the top of the second, and a sac-fly by Oldring kept us within a run for a short while, but Ray Chapman hit a two-run single in the bottom of the third that put Cleveland’s lead well out of our usual offensive reach. Mowrey scored off a single by Alex McCarthy in the top of the fourth, but when Cleveland got it back in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI triple by Braggo Roth, all seemed lost for us. In the top of the ninth, still trailing by three, Buck Thrasher hit a groundout that gave us two outs with Oldring on third and McCarthy on second ... but, shockingly, we managed to walk the bases loaded thanks to Jimmy Walsh’s strong eye, Oldring scored off a Strunk RBI single, and then Stuffy McInnis stunned the home crowd silent with a two-run single that tied the score at 6-6, taking the wind out of their sails! Dickey Kerr, who had taken over for Dick Rudolph after the seventh, stayed out to finish the ninth inning, but after getting the first out quickly, he floundered. Joe Leonard singled into right, and moments later Tris Speaker hit one nearly to the same spot ... it rolled into the corner, letting Speaker take second as Leonard came in to score the go-ahead as we lost another heartbreaker, this time by a 7-6 margin after fighting so hard for a chance at extras. So Kerr took the loss, falling to 1-3 after 1.1 innings with three hits and an earned run, while we got out hit 12-8. Mowrey (two hits, two runs and an RBI) and McCarthy (two hits, a run and an RBI) led our offense, but this time even putting up six runs wasn’t enough. June 11, 1916: Today’s game was over barely after it started, when Braggo Roth reached first on an E3 error, giving Cleveland the lead as Tris Speaker scored the go-ahead. And though Gene Packard pitched the rest of the way, our bats never gave him any support at all, and we lost this one by that same margin, never making an ounce of a comeback attempt as we lost 1-0, our fifth consecutive loss. Packard pitched a gem, too, with three hits, a walk and the one (unearned!) run, but our offense was nonexistant ... five baserunners, three hits, and only Shag Thompson wound up with both a hit and a walk. We need to find some momentum, because the season’s not lost, yet. But if we can’t get our heads back above water, it very quickly could be. June 12, 1916: The Indians walked in a run in the bottom of the second to take the lead once again, but a groundout by Amos Strunk in the top of the third helped us tie things up when Johnny Bassler scored to make it a 1-1 ballgame. Another duel promptlly ensued, and in the top of the eighth we were the ones to break through, Jimmy Walsh hitting an RBI double to give us a 2-1 lead! But Jack Nabors blew it big-time in the bottom of the inning, as he let Ray Chapman hit a two-run single to take the lead from us, and Steve O’Neill batted home Chapman to make it a two-run Cleveland lead heading into the top of the ninth. We loaded the bases in the frame, Stuffy McInnis pushing in a run by reaching on an E4 error, but we stranded Strunk, McInnis and Schang as we lost this one 4-3, the skid continuing for another night. Nabors took the loss, pitching 1.2 innings with six hits, a walk and three earned runs, and we hit 10 times but they matched us on that count ... backup catcher Johnny Bassler led the way with three hits and two runs, giving him a .375 average through 40 at-bats over 18 appearances. June 13, 1916: We’ve fallen from first to fifth in a matter of days, and with five games left on this seemingly endless road trip, it’s getting harder and harder to see ourselves as winners in any game. But this one started as one of our prototypical duels, and in the top of the fifth we took the lead with an RBI double by Amos Strunk, doing what we could to stay alive in this final game against the Indians on their field. Unfortunately Pedro Dibut got hit hard in the bottom of the sixth, Braggo Roth scoring off a single by Elmer Smith and Ivan Howard batting them into the lead with a single moments later. We could have given up there, but in the top of the seventh Charlie Pick hit a two-run single to flip us back into the lead, up 3-2 heading into the stretch! We added insurance in the top of the ninth when Amos Strunk batted home Jimmy Walsh with a single that was followed by a sac-fly by Stuffy McInnis to extend our lead to three runs, and Byron Houck held firm in the bottom of the inning to complete it as we won 5-2 ... what a great way to snap this horrible six-game losing streak and give us hope heading into what will surely be a tough series in Detroit. Dibut lasted just 6.2 innings, but he got the win and improved to 8-5, allowing just five hits, but walking five and allowing two earned runs. Houck then pitched 2.1 innings to finish the game out, walking a pair and striking out one but not letting anybody score. And for the first time in what seems like forever, we outhit a team -- this time by a 9-5 margin, Strunk leading the way with three hits and a pair of runs batted in. We’re off tomorrow and will then face the 30-27 Tigers, who have a half-game lead on us in the standings as we sit, 2.5 games out of first, in fourth. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-06-2026, 12:52 PM	#16
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 15, 1916: This was a tough way to start the series against Detroit. They took the lead in the bottom of the second with a groundout by Donnie Bush that scored Ossie Vitt, but we answered with a single by Amos Strunk that, thanks to an E9 error, allowed Jimmy Walsh to score the tying run. And that tie lasted all the way into the bottom of the ninth, when on two outs George Harper reached on an E5 error, Steve Evans sinking the dagger in as he scored the unearned run and gave Detroit a 2-1 win. Dick Rudolph pitched the whole way and only allowed six hits, striking out six and walking a pair while allowing two runs (only one of which he earned). Each team had six hits, ours led by Strunk who had a hit, a walk and an RBI. June 16, 1916: We took the lead in the top of the third of this one, two runs scoring off a Stuffy McInnis line drive single to put us up 2-0. But our bats gave us no insurance, and in the bottom of the seventh a Buddy Veach triple drove home Bill McTigue and Ty Cobb to tie the score. Lew Malone batted us back into the lead with an RBI single in the top of the eighth, and Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single in the ninth to make it a two-run lead. With two runners on base and two outs, Byron Houck held his own and got Bobby Veach to pop out harmlessly as we held on to win 4-2! Jim Nabors, who had blown the save earlier in the game, got the win and improved to 4-3, while Houck picked up his fifth save of the year with a two-inning effort (one hit, one walk). It was a real slugfest, with us outhitting them 18-13, which makes it maddening how hard it was for us to score enough runs to stay ahead. Mowrey was on fire, though, with five hits, a run and an RBI, and Strunk, McInnis, Schang and McCarthy each had two hits each. June 17, 1916: Nap Lajoie hit an RBI single for us in the top of the fourth to give Bullet Joe Bush a lead, but he lost it in the bottom of the sixth when Ossie Vitt singled in Ty Cobb from second to tie the score at 1-1. Amos Strunk tripled in the eighth and came around to score off a sac-fly by Buck Thrasher to put us back up a run, and Bush stayed out to complete his game as we held tough to win 2-1! Bush had a four-hitter with three walks, four strikeouts and the one earned run, and we out hit Detroit 9-4, Strunk leading the way with two hits and two runs. June 18, 1916: Today we wasted no time at all, as Amos Strunk singled and an E8 error allowed Jimmy Webb to score in the top of the first. Strunk scored himself moments later off a flyball double by McInnis, and in the top of the second we got two more runs off a double by Alex McCarthy to give us a 4-0 lead! With that lead and Dibut on the mound that lead was insurmountable, but our pitcher hit an RBI double of his own for good measure in the sixth just to pile on. We held firm to win easily 5-0, completing the series win as we beat the Tigers three times out of four on their own field ... what a great way to fight our way out of this slump. Dibut improved to 9-5 with a five-hit complete game shutout, walking one and striking out a pair as he improved his ERA to 2.02 through 116 innings, making a strong early case for himself as the league’s best rookie. We outhit them 13-5, led by Rube Oldring (three hits, two runs) and Stuffy McInnis (three hits and an RBI). We’re off again tomorrow and then will return home for one series, a three-game set against Washington (25-35, 9.5 GB), the league’s last-place team. We’ll then finish the month with a four-game road trip to play Boston (26-35, 9 GB, 7th place) and then come back to Philly to host the Yankees (33-27, 1.15 GB, 2nd place) for four going into the start of July. With us sitting at 32-28 and just 2.5 games out of first place, we’re still very much right in the hunt ... and with 26 of our next 30 games taking place in front of our home fans, we get the chance to write our own ticket. Even after our recent slide on the road we’re just one game under .500 playing away from Philly, and we’re 16-11 on our own field ... and only Chicago (17-14) and St. Louis (18-12) have better road records than us right now. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-06-2026, 02:19 PM	#17
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 20, 1916: Dick Rudolph and Walter Johnson faced off in a battle of seasoned veterans today, and as expected scoring was at a premium ... until it wasn’t! In the bottom of the fourth we came to life, as Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to get us on the board, and moments later Mike Mowrey hit a three-run double to immediately dig the Senators a huge hole. Rudolph himself reached on an E6 error to allow another run through, and we were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth! John Henry hit a solo bomb for the Senators to get them on the board in the top of that inning, and they got another run back in the top of the ninth but left runners on the corners as we held tough to beat them 5-2! Both starters finished their games, with Rudolph picking up the win with a seven-hitter, walking two, striking out three and allowing just two runs (one earned). We outhit them 10-7, led by McInnis with two hits, a run and an RBI, while Mowrey had a hit, a walk and a run with three RBIs. June 21, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the bottom of the second in game two against Washington, but Ray Morgan drove home Harry Harper with an RBI single of his own in the top of the third to tie things up. They took the lead in the top of the sixth with a sac-fly by Joe Judge, but that time we had the answer, tying things in the bottom of the sixth with a single by Nap Lajoie to go into the seventh knotted up 2-2. Gene Packard got us through the seventh without letting them go back ahead, and Byron Houck took over in the eighth -- and it did not go well. Rip Williams hit an RBI single, Eddie Foster hit a sac-fly to add on, and an RBI single for Sam Rice made it a three-run lead for the visitors as they batted around on Houck, facing little resistance. He pitched the rest of the way, and we left two runners stranded in the bottom of the ninth so we had our chances, we just couldn’t capitalize. This one would go down as a 5-2 loss, evening the series ahead of tomorrow’s rubber match. Houck (4-3, 3.49 ERA) took the loss, allowing two hits, FIVE WALKS and striking out one with three earned runs. We matched them with nine hits as a team, led by Wally Schang with two hits and a run scored. June 22, 1916: Washington took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI single by Jim Shaw, and a six-run inning in the top of the seventh for them put the nails in our coffin, as “Bullet Joe” Bush ran out of ammunition, Dickey Kerr furthering the collapse as he barely managed to get us two outs to escape the inning. We plated two runners in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t get a run on the board as they humiliated us 7-0. We were outhit 10-6, led by Amos Strunk who had two hits and a walk. Bush (4-8, 3.47 ERA) took the loss with three hits, SEVEN WALKS and four strikeouts, allowing the first three runs, while Kerr took one for the team and pitched the last 2.2 innings, allowing seven hits, two walks, a strikeout and four earned runs. So we’ll head into our series against Boston (29-35) having lost five of our last 10 games as we cling to third place (tied with the Yankees at 3.5 games back of first). June 23, 1916: Boston took the lead in the bottom of the third off a groundout by Harry Hooper, but we answered in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Mike Mowrey ... Nap Lajoie had stolen second and was able to score his way from first on the play ... the almost-42-year-old still has a lot of life in him! But the Red Sox retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Hooper that scored Babe Ruth from third, so again we had to find an answer. This time it was Mowrey again, driving in Amos Strunk with an RBI single, and we went into the bottom of the sixth tied again at 2-2. Boston hit us back hard in the bottom of the eighth, Chick Shorten driving in two runs with a line drive single into left field, and though we fought valliantly in the ninth, scoring off an RBI single by Rube Oldring to get back within a run, we didn’t have the juice for a full comeback, losing this one 4-3. Pedro Dibut took the loss, falling to 9-6 with a 2.12 ERA after 7.1 innings with six hits, a walk, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Each team had nine hits, ours led by Mike Mowrey who had three hits, a run and two RBIs. The 32-year-old has a .332 average through his first 199 at-bats, and has put up 3.1 WAR with 12 doubles, four triples and 29 RBIs. June 24, 1916: We took the lead in the top of the first this afternoon thanks to a Nap Lajoie RBI single, but the Red Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Harry Hooper, our nemesis, to tie the score 1-1. Rube Oldring batted us into the lead in the top of the sixth with a single that scored McInnis from third, but yet again the Red Sox found a reply, Olaf Henriksen doubling in a Hooper run in the bottom of the eighth to send us into the top of the ninth tied 2-2. In the top of the eighth we again retook the lead, this time off a two-out RBI single by Oldring, who has proven to be a real clutch hitter, and we kept the rally going with a single by Alex McCarthy to send Oldring over to third. But we weren’t able to add any additional insurance, going into the bottom of the inning with a one-run lead. We stranded two runners in the ninth as well, and Dick Rudolph stayed out to pitch in the bottom of the inning as he aimed to finish what he’d started. He got Pinch Thomas to ground out, but Jack Barry singled, reaching second on a controversial balk call moments later before Harry Hooper grounded out for their second out of the inning. Larry Gardner singled Barry over to third, and Rudolph had to face Olaf Henriksen for all the marbles, two outs and men on the corners. He had ice in his veins, striking out Henriksen swinging as we held on to win 3-2! Rudolph got the complete game win, allowing nine hits with three walks, three K’s and two runs (one earned), and he’s now 5-3 with a 1.79 ERA since coming to Philadelphia (and 8-6 with a 1.59 ERA for the season!) We outhit them 10-9, led by Rube Oldring, who had two hits and two RBIs. June 26, 1916: In a real duel, we wer able to finally be the team to break through first in the top of the sixth when Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to drove Jimmy Walsh around from second to put us up 1-0! Gene Packard, our starter, hit into a fielder’s choice in the seventh that allowed Rube Oldring to score our second run, and in the top of the eighth McInnis scored off an RBI single by Mike Mowrey to put us ahead 3-0! Boston scored in the bottom of the ninth off a two-out RBI double for Ray Haley, but they stranded him and Everett Scott as we held firm to win 3-1. Packard pitched seven strong innings today with seven hits, two walks and a strikeout, and Byron Houck earned his sixth save of the year with a two-inning one hit three walk one strikeout one earned run effort. We outhit them again 9-8, this time led by McInnis who had three hits, a run and an RBI, putting him at .300 for the year after 66 games and 270 at-bats. June 27, 1916: Boston was having nothing to do with us taking this series, as they came our roaring in the bottom of the first, scoring off an RBI double by Pinch Thomas and an RBI single from Tillie Walker. And in the bottom of the third they doubled down, Walker hitting a three-run bomb to dig us a 5-0 hole as their fans celebrated in the bleachers. The game quickly became an absolutely humiliating rout, of which I’ll speak litlte except that in the end they’d steamrolled us 16-2, outhitting us 20-11. Tillie Walker finished with four hits, a run and EIGHT RBIs, while Pinch Thomas hit four times, walked once and had five runs with four RBIs for the Red Sox ... what a drubbing! Bullet Joe Bush was out after 5.1 innings with nine hits, two walks, four strikeouts and eight runs (seven earned), and Bill Morrissette did no better, allowing eight hits, a walk and seven runs in just one inning of work, striking out one batter. Sam Crane, a rarely used pinch hitter for us, ended up leading the way with two hits and a run, which says very little of our offense as we split this series at two games each. We’ll end this month and enter the next with a four-game series hosting the now-Connie Mack led Yankees as we start a long summer homestand. We’re in fourth place at 35-32, a game behind the Yankees and 4.5 out of first as the St. Louis Browns continue to stun the American League with their 41-29 record. I feel like we’re in a good spot to stay in this pennant chase, but we need to develop a sense of offensive consistency or the long hot summer months will be a real slog. Attached Images __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-10-2026, 02:26 PM	#18
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	June 28, 1916: Rube Oldring got us a lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single, and in the bottom of the sixth Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to make it a 2-0 lead. But we really broke it wide open in the bottom of the eighth, when we scored a run off a wild pitch, Lajoie singled in a run, Oldring singled in another, and Alex McCarthy singled in one more for good measure as we expanded our shutout lead to six runs! The Yankees had no answer at all, and we won with ease 6-0 as Pedro Dibut earned his 10th win as a rookie with a two-hit shutout (walking three and striking out two) on just 92 pitches! It was the 23-year-old’s second complete game shutout in a 10-day span, and we outhit them 8-2, led by McInnis (three hits, a run and an RBI) and Lajoie (two hits, two runs, one RBI). June 29, 1916: This game was an absolutely brutal duel between Dick Rudolph and Yankees starter Bob Shawkey, and Rudolph won the starters’ battle when (with the score still 0-0!) Connie Mack pulled Shawkey for reliever George Mogridge in the top of the eighth to get their final out. But the Yankees got the real laugh in the top of the ninth, when Roger Peckinpaugh hit an RBI single off Rudolph to stun our fans as they took the lead, and the next hitter, Frank Gilhooley, hit a sac-fly to make it a 2-0 lead in a matter of minutes. So we had work to do in the bottom of the ninth. Amos Strunk hit a slow bouncer in the infield and was able to take first on the leadoff hit, but we couldn’t do anything with him once he got there, so this one went down as a heartbreaking 2-0 loss. Rudolph only allowed six hits all day, striking out six and walking no one, but the two runs were both earned and he took the loss hard. We matched them on hits with six of our own, led by Jimmy Walsh who hit twice and walked once, giving us nearly half of our entire game worth of baserunners on his own. But he got nowhere, and again our lack of offensive gumption cost us a win. June 30, 1916: Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give us the lead, but the Yankees quickly took it back in the top of the third, tying the score off a Frank Baker RBI single and taking the lead with a groundout by Gilhooley. Baker batted in another run for them in the fourth to make it a 3-1 lead, but we got one run back in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Wally Schang and the game stayed close from there. Lee McElwee hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to tie things at 3-3, and Alex McCarthy took advange moments later when he slapped a hit into right to drive home Lajoie and McElwee to push us quickly into the lead! RBI singles for Wally Schang and Amos Strunk helped pile on, giving us a four-run advantage headng into the top of the ninth! Byron Houck shut them down in the top of that inning and we were able to get out of here with a 7-3 win that was hard-fought-for. Gene Packard took the win, pitching eight innings with seven hits and three runs (two earned), walking one and striking out three. We outhit them 10-7, led by Schang, who had two hits, a walk and two runs batted in. Dick Rudolph was named AL Pitcher of the Month, going 4-2 in June with a 1.51 ERA through seven starts, piling up 59.2 innings with 28 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a .210 average. Pedro Dibut, meanwhile, was named AL Rookie of the Month, going 4-2 through six starts, striking out 14 and posting a 1.30 ERA through 48.1 innings. July 1, 1916: We opened the month of July with a big trade for prospects with the Chicago White Sox! We’ve agreed in principle to trade struggling ace Bullet Joe Bush along with 26-year-old reserve right-fielder Buck Thrasher to Chicago, in exchange for 24-year-old right fielder Eddie Murphy, 24-year-old center fielder Nemo Leibold and 22-year-old right-handed reliever Speed Martin (who is ranked 34th nationally among prospects). It’s a move I got significant pushback for from my assistant GM Frank Vitello, who feels we didn’t get enough back for Bush, but I’ve grown frustrated with his frequent meltdowns and his inability to lead from the mound by controlling his arsenal of pitches. Martin, whose contract was purchased by the White Sox earlier this year, will start out his time with us on the reserve roster as we transition to a three-starter rotation ... but he’ll be our first player called up if we need additional pitching depth. Murphy will step onto the 25-man roster as our number three backup at right field, number three as a pinch hitter and number two as a pinch runner, while Leibold will immediately be our top backup at both left and center field on defense and our number four pinch hitter in the depth chart. Dibut got the start today against Urban Shocker in his first game as our official team ace, and we got him a lead in the bottom of the first when Rube Oldring reached on an E6 error, allowing Amos Strunk to put us up 1-0. Les Nunamaker hit an RBI double to tie it in the top of the second, however, and in the top of the third they added on with a two-run single by Hugh High. Dibut batted in a run with a single in the bottom of the fifth to cut their lead to one run, but they took control from there as this one became a shootout. Down three runs in the bottom of the eighth, Eddie Murphy grounded out to push Oldring in to cut our deficit to 7-5, but that was as close as we’d get -- we’re just not built to chase teams in a high-scoring environment. Dibut lasted 6.1 innings with 11 hits and seven runs (five earned) with a pair of walks and no K’s, and the Yankees outhit us 11-9 ... Murphy got an RBI in his first pinch-hitting opportunity, but it was a small-ball kind of day for us and nobody really shined on offensel McInnis had two hits to nowhere, and Rube Oldring had three hits and a run, but it was nothing exciting. Once again we split the series. We’ll host Boston (33-39) for four games (including a July 4th doubleheader) after a day off to rest tomorrow. Following that series we’ll host a three-game set against Detroit (36-37) and then four-game sets against St. Louis (42-33), Chicago (41-32) and Cleveland (32-40). __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)

04-10-2026, 02:28 PM	#19
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,828	July 3, 1916: Boston took the lead with an RBI single by Harry Hooper in the top of the third, adding on with a Tillie Walker homer in the fourth to lead 2-0. Jimmy Walsh got us on the board in the bottom of the fifth by walking in a run with the bases loaded, and in the bottom of the eighth we leaped into the lead with a two-run single by McInnis that was coupled with an E7 error! But Dick Rudolph blew it in the top of the ninth, Del Geiner doubling in the tying run and Jack Barry reaching on an E4 error to push in the go-ahead run by Ray Haley. That took the wind out of our sails and we quietly lost this one 4-3. Rudolph took the loss with a nine hit complete game, walking one and striking out three as he allowed four runs, only two of them earned. But we were outhit 9-4 and committed two errors, damning Rudolph in another game we should have been able to win after fighting all the way back. Stuffy McInnis led the way with a hit and two runs batted in. July 4, 1916: Happy 140th birthday, America, let’s play two! Gene Packard started game one, and we took the lead in the bottom of the first off a sac-fly by Amos Strunk. That lead held for us until the top of the seventh when Carl Cashion hit an RBI triple to tie the score at 1-1 heading into the seventh inning stretch, the pitcher playing a key offensive role in keeping the Red Sox in the game. But with two outs in the bottom of the seventh we struck back hard, Wally Schang hitting a two-run single into right as we retook the lead 3-1, Byron Houck taking over on the mound as we went into the eighth inning. Houck pitched two excellent innings from there and we were able to hold on to the 3-1 victory in the first game of the afternoon. Packard had pitched 6.1 innings, but Jack Nabors got the final punch-out of the seventh inning, getting a strikeout on five pitches to earn the win -- he’s now 5-3 with a 4.98 ERA through 34.1 innings over 22 appearances. Houck earned his seventh save, with a hit and two K’s in his two innings, giving him a 3.28 ERA through 74 innings over 25 appearances. We outhit them 6-5 in the duel, led by Strunk who had two hits and an RBI, while Wally Schang added a hit and two RBIs, Jimmy Walsh walking twice and scoring a run as well. In game two I would have preferred to use Bill Morrisette as a spot-starter, but our manager overruled me and started Dibut who was fully rested after throwing 102 pitches three days ago. Dibut pitched a gem, eight scoreless innings, but with the score knotted 0-0 heading into the top of the ninth we had to go to the bullpen, bringing out Houck who had thrown 26 pitches in game one. He got us through the frame on 15 pitches, and in the bottom of the inning Alex McCarthy brought the crowd to its feet with a walk-off RBI double to win the game 1-0! Happy fourth, Philly, now enjoy those fireworks! Boston outhit us 10-6, but it didn’t matter thanks to McCarthy’s late-game heroics. But our pitching deserved all the credit, Dibut lasting seven innings with nine hits and a walk, Nabors with another key out on two pitches to get us out of the eighth, and Houck earning the win with a hit and a strikeout as he improved to 5-3 with a 3.24 ERA. McCarthy’s hit gave him two for the day and the critical RBI, even more impressive considering he’s only hit .231 this season, struggling to find his place in the offense. He came through huge today, that’s for sure! July 5, 1916: Bill Morrisette got his first start of the year in game four against the Red Sox, as I flat-out refused to let our manager start Dick Rudolph on two days’ rest, no matter how “durable” he says he is. We took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Amos Strunk that was coupled with an E8 error, and in the bottom of the second we added five more runs, off a single by McCarthy, a single by Wally Schapp and a three-run homer for Amos Strunk, giving the 27-year-old a pair of four-baggers and 42 RBIs on the season. Morrissette gave them a pair of runs back in the top of the third, but held strong with a solid start as McCarthy batted in a run in the fifth to extend our advantage to 7-2. We traded runs in the seventh and went into the eighth still leading 8-3 ... but Sammy Ross and Harry Hooper each hit RBI singles to cut into that, and Larry Gardner hit a two-run single to cut our lead to two heading into the bottom of the inning, Dick Kerr having come in to get the final out. Kerr stayed out in the ninth and was able to hold our ground as we got out of the game with a hard-fought 8-7 win despite nearly letting it all slip away. Morrissette got the win in his first start of the year, improving to 5-2 after pitching 7.2 innings with six hits, three walks, four strikeouts and four runs, though only one was earned. He now holds a 3.29 ERA through 31.2 innings in his 20th appearance. We outslugged them 14-10, led by McCarthy, who had three hits, a run and two RBIs, impoving his average by ten points. The win gets our record up to 40-35, and we’re now in third place, a full game up on the Yankees and only trailing Chicago, our next opponent, by a game and a half, with St. Louis still leading the AL with a 44-34 record a game up on Chicago. That we’re only 2.5 games back of first this late in the season is a testament to our grit as a team, considering we have a -4 run differential and are performing three full games above our expected pythagorean record. Boston, at 34-42, has been the unluckiest team in baseball, performing six wins under average with a +13 run differential ... they sit nine games out of first when they should be right in the mix ... it’s definitely been a crazy year here in the American League! Over in the National League, Brooklyn’s Robins (48-27) and the New York baseball Giants (48-28) have been running away with the league, both teams putting up huge hitting numbers (Brooklyn is +78 and the Giants are +52 in run differential). But their whole division is getting a boost off destroying the lowly Cincinnati Reds, who are -137 with a miserable 20-59 record, a full THIRTY GAMES out of the pennant race. And though the Reds haven’t won a “pennant” since 1882, and in the modern era they’ve yet to finish above third, nobody expected them to be this bad ... last season they were 71-83 and finished 22.5 games out of first but at least had shown the ability to fight. This year they’re just .... AWFUL. __________________ "Goodbye To 'The Mack'": The 1916 A's In Peril -- An OOTP 27 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)