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Eugene Church · 03-02-2006, 11:11 PM

ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION

Tuesday, April 8, 1902

OPENING DAY JUST TWO DAYS AWAY IN THE AAA

AMERICAN LEAGUE ROSTER CHANGES FOR THE NEW SEASON, PART 1

Winter and the Hot Stove League has come and gone and Spring has sprung! The Boys of Summer are back!

The second season of the Alltime Allstar Association will begin with a full slate of games this Thursday.

The New York Yankees will try to make it two in a row, but will have some strong competition from the White Sox, Athletics and Tigers, who think they might be able to challenge the defending AL and World Series champions.

The NL crown bearer, the Pittsburgh Pirates, added a vital element in the recent Special Draft that may put them right up with the Yankees. They added a fine home run hitter in first baseman Sadaharu Oh. However, the Phillies, Giants and Cards will probably have a lot to say in the coming pennant race, as all of them have added new players to their rosters that will make them potent adversaries again for the Bucs.

BOSTON RED SOX - 5TH PLACE (78-76)

In the American League the Boston Red Sox, who finished in fifth place last year, 13 games behind New York, have added some awesome hitting with the likes of 1B David Ortiz, OF Ellis Burks and OF Fred Lynn. Non-producers Mo Vaughn, Jim Rice and Jackie Jensen are back in the minors. The Bosox may have really shored up the catching department with young Japanese star, Katsuya Nomura, a very strong and durable catcher that hits with power. He will replace Sammy White on the roster. Jason Varitek and Rick Ferrell will back him up. Pitching-wise Manager Joe McCarthy has chosen to go with the same staff as last year. It was good at times and McCarthy thinks the year's experience will do wonders for his young staff. His rotation includes Cy Young, Roger Clemens, Smoky Joe Wood, George Ruth and Pedro Martinez. With such returning offensive talent as Ted Williams, Oscar Charleston and Nomar Garciaparra, it looks like everything is coming up rosey for the Red Sox.

CHICAGO WHITE SOX - 2ND PLACE (86-68)

The Chicago White filled a sore spot in the lineup. They signed Negro star, catcher Louis Santop in the Special Draft. Not only does he hit with power, but for average as well. He will be a big plus in the middle of the lineup and joins Carlton Fisk and rookie Sherm Lollar in the catching department. OF Carlos Lee and 1B Paul Konerko will add some punch, too. Lee may get some playing time, but Konerko will have to play behind one of the top power hitters in the AAA, Frank Thomas. Manager Al Lopez says it is a nice problem to have. Lopez promoted lefthander Mark Buehrle to the parent club. Pitching was a strong point last year as the Chisox tied Cleveland for the lowest ERA with 3.38. Buehrle is expected to be a spot starter and setup man, splitting the starts with Ted Lyons. On paper the White Sox look vastly improved and it could be their year to cheer. Missing from this year's team is Ray Schalk, Nellie Fox, Robin Ventura and Bibb Falk. All were sent back to the bushes for more seasoning. Batting champ, Joe Jackson, Magglio Ordonez, Luke Appling and Eddie Collins are all back for another run at the Bronx Bombers. Ed Cicotte, Ed Walsh, Wilbur Wood and Joe Horlen will be the nucleus of the Lopez pitching corps.

CLEVELAND INDIANS - 6TH PLACE (69-85)

Skipper Steve O'Neill of the Cleveland Indians seems to have juiced up the offense and the defense to go along with the Tribe's fine pitching. Hardhitting catcher Victor Martinez will take over that position and immediately improve it offensively. Last year's holdovers Jim Hegan and John Romano handled the defense quite well, but hit only .200 between them. Same thing for third base, Negro star Boojum Wilson and newcomer, Ken Keltner and Willie Wells will get the call at third, replacing the departed Al Rosen. Rosen, Wells and 5 others played the spot last year. O'Neill intends to split starts equally between the three and see who can win the fulltime job. Shortstops Lou Boudreau and Joe Sewell did not make the cut this spring. Rookie Omar Vizquel will get a shot to replace them, backed up by Wells. Vizquel is a solid and surehanded performer, who handles the bat well, too. Skipper O'Neill still has a trio of stars in the lineup: Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie and Earl Averill. And a solid pitching rotation: Bob Feller, Herb Score, Early Wynn, Addie Joss and Mel Harder. George Uhle is the only new man on the hill. He will work as a sometime starter and in long relief. Pitchers Ray Narleski and Stan Coveleskie were dropped from the roster, as well as UIFs Carlos Baerga and Julio Franco. The Indians will be improved, but may not be able to improve their sixth place finish in the American League. All of the clubs ahead of them made great strides in the offseason, too.

DETROIT TIGERS - 3RD PLACE (83-71)

Manager Hughie Jennings of the Detroit Tigers hopes to improve last season's third place finish. The Tigers fizzled in the second half of the season and ended up 8 games behind New York. Lack of home run power and questionable pitching were the Tigers' downfall. They have signed the outstanding Japanese pitcher, Masaichi Kaneda. He is a workhorse fireballer and is set to start off the season as a spot starter and late inning relief specialist. Joining him on the mound will be Tommy Bridges, Hal Newhouser, Frank Lary, Jim Bunning and Hilton Smith. Detroit led the AAA in team batting with a .279 average, but hit only 78 homers. They still are pretty much the same club in the starting lineup with stalwarts, Hank Greenberg, Ty Cobb, Harry Heilmann, Harvey Kuenn and Charlie Gehringer, but have seemingly improved in the depth department with catcher Lance Parrish, first baseman Rudy York, outfielder Vic Wertz and utility man, Dick McAuliffe. All of these will supply much needed longball power in backup roles and pinchhitting. Infielders Lou Whitaker and Pinky Higgins are no longer on the club and have been farmed out. Likewise pitchers Harry Coveleskie, Jack Morris, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. It doesn't look like Detroit has equalled the other contenders in quality additions. They just might drop to the second division. A fifth or sixth place finish could be in the cards for them.

Check League Reports here:
http://aaa.allsimbaseball.com/

03-02-2006, 11:11 PM	#385 (permalink)
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 16,947 Thanks: 92 Thanked 96x in 50 posts	ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION Tuesday, April 8, 1902 OPENING DAY JUST TWO DAYS AWAY IN THE AAA *AMERICAN LEAGUE ROSTER CHANGES FOR THE NEW SEASON, PART 1* Winter and the Hot Stove League has come and gone and Spring has sprung! The Boys of Summer are back! The second season of the Alltime Allstar Association will begin with a full slate of games this Thursday. The New York Yankees will try to make it two in a row, but will have some strong competition from the White Sox, Athletics and Tigers, who think they might be able to challenge the defending AL and World Series champions. The NL crown bearer, the Pittsburgh Pirates, added a vital element in the recent Special Draft that may put them right up with the Yankees. They added a fine home run hitter in first baseman Sadaharu Oh. However, the Phillies, Giants and Cards will probably have a lot to say in the coming pennant race, as all of them have added new players to their rosters that will make them potent adversaries again for the Bucs. BOSTON RED SOX - 5TH PLACE (78-76) In the American League the Boston Red Sox, who finished in fifth place last year, 13 games behind New York, have added some awesome hitting with the likes of 1B David Ortiz, OF Ellis Burks and OF Fred Lynn. Non-producers Mo Vaughn, Jim Rice and Jackie Jensen are back in the minors. The Bosox may have really shored up the catching department with young Japanese star, Katsuya Nomura, a very strong and durable catcher that hits with power. He will replace Sammy White on the roster. Jason Varitek and Rick Ferrell will back him up. Pitching-wise Manager Joe McCarthy has chosen to go with the same staff as last year. It was good at times and McCarthy thinks the year's experience will do wonders for his young staff. His rotation includes Cy Young, Roger Clemens, Smoky Joe Wood, George Ruth and Pedro Martinez. With such returning offensive talent as Ted Williams, Oscar Charleston and Nomar Garciaparra, it looks like everything is coming up rosey for the Red Sox. CHICAGO WHITE SOX - 2ND PLACE (86-68) The Chicago White filled a sore spot in the lineup. They signed Negro star, catcher Louis Santop in the Special Draft. Not only does he hit with power, but for average as well. He will be a big plus in the middle of the lineup and joins Carlton Fisk and rookie Sherm Lollar in the catching department. OF Carlos Lee and 1B Paul Konerko will add some punch, too. Lee may get some playing time, but Konerko will have to play behind one of the top power hitters in the AAA, Frank Thomas. Manager Al Lopez says it is a nice problem to have. Lopez promoted lefthander Mark Buehrle to the parent club. Pitching was a strong point last year as the Chisox tied Cleveland for the lowest ERA with 3.38. Buehrle is expected to be a spot starter and setup man, splitting the starts with Ted Lyons. On paper the White Sox look vastly improved and it could be their year to cheer. Missing from this year's team is Ray Schalk, Nellie Fox, Robin Ventura and Bibb Falk. All were sent back to the bushes for more seasoning. Batting champ, Joe Jackson, Magglio Ordonez, Luke Appling and Eddie Collins are all back for another run at the Bronx Bombers. Ed Cicotte, Ed Walsh, Wilbur Wood and Joe Horlen will be the nucleus of the Lopez pitching corps. CLEVELAND INDIANS - 6TH PLACE (69-85) Skipper Steve O'Neill of the Cleveland Indians seems to have juiced up the offense and the defense to go along with the Tribe's fine pitching. Hardhitting catcher Victor Martinez will take over that position and immediately improve it offensively. Last year's holdovers Jim Hegan and John Romano handled the defense quite well, but hit only .200 between them. Same thing for third base, Negro star Boojum Wilson and newcomer, Ken Keltner and Willie Wells will get the call at third, replacing the departed Al Rosen. Rosen, Wells and 5 others played the spot last year. O'Neill intends to split starts equally between the three and see who can win the fulltime job. Shortstops Lou Boudreau and Joe Sewell did not make the cut this spring. Rookie Omar Vizquel will get a shot to replace them, backed up by Wells. Vizquel is a solid and surehanded performer, who handles the bat well, too. Skipper O'Neill still has a trio of stars in the lineup: Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie and Earl Averill. And a solid pitching rotation: Bob Feller, Herb Score, Early Wynn, Addie Joss and Mel Harder. George Uhle is the only new man on the hill. He will work as a sometime starter and in long relief. Pitchers Ray Narleski and Stan Coveleskie were dropped from the roster, as well as UIFs Carlos Baerga and Julio Franco. The Indians will be improved, but may not be able to improve their sixth place finish in the American League. All of the clubs ahead of them made great strides in the offseason, too. DETROIT TIGERS - 3RD PLACE (83-71) Manager Hughie Jennings of the Detroit Tigers hopes to improve last season's third place finish. The Tigers fizzled in the second half of the season and ended up 8 games behind New York. Lack of home run power and questionable pitching were the Tigers' downfall. They have signed the outstanding Japanese pitcher, Masaichi Kaneda. He is a workhorse fireballer and is set to start off the season as a spot starter and late inning relief specialist. Joining him on the mound will be Tommy Bridges, Hal Newhouser, Frank Lary, Jim Bunning and Hilton Smith. Detroit led the AAA in team batting with a .279 average, but hit only 78 homers. They still are pretty much the same club in the starting lineup with stalwarts, Hank Greenberg, Ty Cobb, Harry Heilmann, Harvey Kuenn and Charlie Gehringer, but have seemingly improved in the depth department with catcher Lance Parrish, first baseman Rudy York, outfielder Vic Wertz and utility man, Dick McAuliffe. All of these will supply much needed longball power in backup roles and pinchhitting. Infielders Lou Whitaker and Pinky Higgins are no longer on the club and have been farmed out. Likewise pitchers Harry Coveleskie, Jack Morris, Denny McLain and Mickey Lolich. It doesn't look like Detroit has equalled the other contenders in quality additions. They just might drop to the second division. A fifth or sixth place finish could be in the cards for them. Check League Reports here: http://aaa.allsimbaseball.com/ Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-06-2006 at 10:26 PM.