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Eugene Church · 03-10-2006, 02:17 AM

ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION

Thursday, April 10, 1902

SCRIBES SAY YANKS WILL WIN AL TITLE AND GIANTS THE NL FLAG

GIANTS TO TAKE THE WORLD SERIES IN 1902

The Baseball Writers of America have announced their preseason picks for the 1902 Alltime Allstar Association:

American League

1. New York Yankees
2. Chicago White Sox
3. Philadelphia Athletics
4. Boston Red Sox
5. Detroit Tigers
6. Cleveland Indians
7. St. Louis Browns
8. Washington Senators

The Bronx Bombers are the favorites to take it again in the AL, although the White Sox could really push them this year. New York will pretty much be the same team as last year, but with much a much better bench. 1B Don Mattingly and C Jorge Posada could be regulars for a whole lot of teams, but have tough competition in Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey, two All-star performers. The Yanks added infield depth with surehanded Phil Rizzuto at shortstop and Manager Casey Stengel's pitching could be a little better this season.

Chicago really went looking and came up with a bunch of new recruits. Manager Al Lopez needed power and he got it. OF Carlos Lee and C Louis Santop will put some pop in the lineup, enough to severely challenge New York. Lopez can call on another powerhitter, 1B Paul Konerko, for pinchhitting. It is unlikely he will replace slugger Frank Thomas, who hammered in 33 homers and 112 RBIs last year. Lefty Mark Buehrle is a welcome addition to the Chisox's already potent staff.

The best team in the second half of the season last year was the Philadephia A's. If they continue to play that way in 1902, the Athletics will be contending for the title, too. Manager Connie Mack's roster moves have added strength at third base with Japanese import, Shigeo Nagashima. He hits for average and the longball and is a fine fielder. Mack really likes his pitchers and made them a little better with righthander Dave Stewart. Philadelphia's outstanding Negro shortstop, John Henry Lloyd, will also be around for the whole season. He only played 79 games last year with a .331 BA, 11 HRs, 51 Runs, 43 RBIs and 19 SBs.

Only a few games will separate the AL's top 3 clubs.

The Boston Red Sox will move up from sixth to fourth this year. They were terrible in the first half of the season and hit only .230 as a team. They won't do that again this year. Oscar Charleston, Ted Williams and Nomar Garciaparra will see to that. They will get some help in that department from rookie David Ortiz, a slugging first baseman, and a fine defensive catcher with power, Japanese import, Katsuya Nomura. Both will be starters. Ellis Burks and Fred Lynn will add hitting and depth to the outfield corps. The mound staff should be better. Manager Joe McCarthy looks for much improvement and more consistency from the talented trio of George Ruth, Pedro Martinez and Smokey Joe Wood, all who were somewhat disappointing last year.

Skipper Hughie Jennings has the best hitting club in the AAA. The Detroit Tigers led all teams with a .279 average and outscored everybody, too. But they finished a distant third to the Yankees and White Sox because of faulty pitching, sixth in the AL. Top priority for Jennings was pitching. He picked up a fine Japanese righty, Masaichi Kaneda, in the Special Draft this season. 1B Rudy York, OF Vic Wertz and C Lance Parrish will give Jennings some good backup and fine pinchhitting with power, when he has to go to the bench. Lack of longball power is Detroit's biggest weakness. They hit only 79 homers last year.

Cleveland is much improved this campaign with fine rookie hitters like 3B Boogum Wilson and 3B Ken Keltner, who will platoon at that position. Victor Martinez will also add much better hitting at the catcher spot, too. Manager Steve O'Neill thinks new signee, SS Omar Vizquel, will be solid at bat and in the field. The Tribe's skipper thinks that his pitchers having a year under their belt will make his pitching better as well.

Earl Weaver, St. Louis Brown pilot, said there no doubt about it, his team is much improved this season. He doesn't expect to finish in the basement like last year. He is shooting for a first division finish. He thinks his pitchers will mature in their second season of play. But more importantly, added home run power will be the essential ingredient to his club's rise in the standings. 3B Doug DeCinces and 2B Davey Johnson are expected to hit 15-20 homers each for St. Louis. On the bench will be OF Ken Singleton, another potent hitter. In the Special Draft Negro League power pitcher, John Donaldson, was selection number two. Weaver thinks the strong portsider will blossom into a much needed starter for him. He is expecting a big season from 1B Eddie Murray, who did not play up to potential in 1901. The Browns' skipper thinks another huge plus is having powerful catcher Josh Gibson for the whole year. He hit .340 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in just 43 games. Weaver predicts Gibson will lead both leagues in home runs and RBIs.

The hapless Washington Senators are picked to be at the bottom of the league again this season. Last year they finished seventh, but won't finish that high in 1902. New hurlers Cannonball Dick Redding from the Negro League and Brad Radke up from the farm system, will help a little. But what the Senators need even more is home run power. They finished dead last in the AL with 59 homers. And it won't be any better this year. Newcomer Mickey Vernon at first base is a fine hitter, but will not go long very often.

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

03-10-2006, 02:17 AM	#391 (permalink)
Eugene Church Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 16,947 Thanks: 92 Thanked 96x in 50 posts	ALLTIME ALLSTAR ASSOCIATION Thursday, April 10, 1902 *SCRIBES SAY YANKS WILL WIN AL TITLE AND GIANTS THE NL FLAG* GIANTS TO TAKE THE WORLD SERIES IN 1902 The Baseball Writers of America have announced their preseason picks for the 1902 Alltime Allstar Association: American League 1. New York Yankees 2. Chicago White Sox 3. Philadelphia Athletics 4. Boston Red Sox 5. Detroit Tigers 6. Cleveland Indians 7. St. Louis Browns 8. Washington Senators The Bronx Bombers are the favorites to take it again in the AL, although the White Sox could really push them this year. New York will pretty much be the same team as last year, but with much a much better bench. 1B Don Mattingly and C Jorge Posada could be regulars for a whole lot of teams, but have tough competition in Lou Gehrig and Bill Dickey, two All-star performers. The Yanks added infield depth with surehanded Phil Rizzuto at shortstop and Manager Casey Stengel's pitching could be a little better this season. Chicago really went looking and came up with a bunch of new recruits. Manager Al Lopez needed power and he got it. OF Carlos Lee and C Louis Santop will put some pop in the lineup, enough to severely challenge New York. Lopez can call on another powerhitter, 1B Paul Konerko, for pinchhitting. It is unlikely he will replace slugger Frank Thomas, who hammered in 33 homers and 112 RBIs last year. Lefty Mark Buehrle is a welcome addition to the Chisox's already potent staff. The best team in the second half of the season last year was the Philadephia A's. If they continue to play that way in 1902, the Athletics will be contending for the title, too. Manager Connie Mack's roster moves have added strength at third base with Japanese import, Shigeo Nagashima. He hits for average and the longball and is a fine fielder. Mack really likes his pitchers and made them a little better with righthander Dave Stewart. Philadelphia's outstanding Negro shortstop, John Henry Lloyd, will also be around for the whole season. He only played 79 games last year with a .331 BA, 11 HRs, 51 Runs, 43 RBIs and 19 SBs. Only a few games will separate the AL's top 3 clubs. The Boston Red Sox will move up from sixth to fourth this year. They were terrible in the first half of the season and hit only .230 as a team. They won't do that again this year. Oscar Charleston, Ted Williams and Nomar Garciaparra will see to that. They will get some help in that department from rookie David Ortiz, a slugging first baseman, and a fine defensive catcher with power, Japanese import, Katsuya Nomura. Both will be starters. Ellis Burks and Fred Lynn will add hitting and depth to the outfield corps. The mound staff should be better. Manager Joe McCarthy looks for much improvement and more consistency from the talented trio of George Ruth, Pedro Martinez and Smokey Joe Wood, all who were somewhat disappointing last year. Skipper Hughie Jennings has the best hitting club in the AAA. The Detroit Tigers led all teams with a .279 average and outscored everybody, too. But they finished a distant third to the Yankees and White Sox because of faulty pitching, sixth in the AL. Top priority for Jennings was pitching. He picked up a fine Japanese righty, Masaichi Kaneda, in the Special Draft this season. 1B Rudy York, OF Vic Wertz and C Lance Parrish will give Jennings some good backup and fine pinchhitting with power, when he has to go to the bench. Lack of longball power is Detroit's biggest weakness. They hit only 79 homers last year. Cleveland is much improved this campaign with fine rookie hitters like 3B Boogum Wilson and 3B Ken Keltner, who will platoon at that position. Victor Martinez will also add much better hitting at the catcher spot, too. Manager Steve O'Neill thinks new signee, SS Omar Vizquel, will be solid at bat and in the field. The Tribe's skipper thinks that his pitchers having a year under their belt will make his pitching better as well. Earl Weaver, St. Louis Brown pilot, said there no doubt about it, his team is much improved this season. He doesn't expect to finish in the basement like last year. He is shooting for a first division finish. He thinks his pitchers will mature in their second season of play. But more importantly, added home run power will be the essential ingredient to his club's rise in the standings. 3B Doug DeCinces and 2B Davey Johnson are expected to hit 15-20 homers each for St. Louis. On the bench will be OF Ken Singleton, another potent hitter. In the Special Draft Negro League power pitcher, John Donaldson, was selection number two. Weaver thinks the strong portsider will blossom into a much needed starter for him. He is expecting a big season from 1B Eddie Murray, who did not play up to potential in 1901. The Browns' skipper thinks another huge plus is having powerful catcher Josh Gibson for the whole year. He hit .340 with 12 homers and 43 RBIs in just 43 games. Weaver predicts Gibson will lead both leagues in home runs and RBIs. The hapless Washington Senators are picked to be at the bottom of the league again this season. Last year they finished seventh, but won't finish that high in 1902. New hurlers Cannonball Dick Redding from the Negro League and Brad Radke up from the farm system, will help a little. But what the Senators need even more is home run power. They finished dead last in the AL with 59 homers. And it won't be any better this year. Newcomer Mickey Vernon at first base is a fine hitter, but will not go long very often. Check League Reports here: http://aaa.allsimbaseball.com/ Last edited by Eugene Church; 03-11-2006 at 12:03 AM.