White Sox Down, But Not Out
Magic Number Still Sits At Seven As October Begins
Code:
American League Standings
Team W L PCT GB Home Away M# Streak
New York Yankees 90 56 0.616 - 42-31 48-25 7 L2
Chicago White Stockings 86 58 0.597 3 41-30 45-28 W1
Boston Red Sox 73 72 0.503 16.5 35-35 38-37 W3
Philadelphia Athletics 72 73 0.497 17.5 34-34 38-39 W2
Cleveland Indians 70 73 0.490 18.5 34-43 36-30 L2
St. Louis Browns 64 78 0.451 24 35-38 29-40 W2
Detroit Tigers 62 81 0.434 26.5 32-41 30-40 L3
Washington Senators 60 86 0.411 30 35-37 25-49 L1
National League Standings
Team W L PCT GB Home Away M# Streak
New York Giants 107 36 0.748 - 58-15 49-21 Clinched W1
Cincinnati Reds 80 63 0.559 27 39-27 41-36 L4
St Louis Cardinals 74 73 0.503 35 35-42 39-31 L1
Philadelphia Phillies 72 75 0.490 37 35-39 37-36 W5
Pittsburgh Pirates 72 76 0.486 37.5 37-38 35-38 W3
Chicago Cubs 71 77 0.480 38.5 35-42 36-35 W4
Boston Braves 53 90 0.371 54 23-47 30-43 L5
Brooklyn Dodgers 52 91 0.364 55 22-47 30-44 L4
All-Time Greatest Teams
Team W L PCT GB
1921 Pirates 108 46 .701 -
1925 Red Sox 108 46 .701 -
1911 Giants 107 47 .695 1
1932 GIANTS 107 36 .748 1
1914 Giants 104 50 .675 4
Code:
American League
St. Louis Browns 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 0
New York Yankees 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 11 1
St. Louis AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
S. Rodríguez LF 5 0 2 1 0 0 2 0.261 0 9
B. Coleman 3B 5 0 1 0 0 1 2 0.270 1 37
L. Archie SS 5 0 1 0 0 0 3 0.390 16 105
B. O'Daniel 1B 5 0 1 0 0 3 3 0.307 3 54
C. Austin CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 0.304 3 70
B. Pell 2B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.231 1 17
M. Hagans RF 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0.239 8 65
E. González C 4 2 3 0 0 1 2 0.310 7 67
R. Cossey P 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.212 1 9
** a-D. Fortenberry P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.389 0 1
** b-R. Sutton PH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.305 3 26
** c-C. Haynes P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.150 0 2
Totals 38 2 10 1 0 8 16
a - D. Fortenberry substituted for R. Cossey in the 7th
b - R. Sutton pinch hit for D. Fortenberry in the 10th
c - C. Haynes substituted for R. Sutton in the 10th
BATTING
Doubles: R. Sutton (12, 10th Inning off L. May, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: E. González 3 , M. Hagans , L. Archie , B. O'Daniel , S. Rodríguez 2 , B. Coleman , R. Sutton 2
2-out RBI: S. Rodríguez
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: E. González , L. Archie 2 , B. O'Daniel
Sac Bunt: R. Cossey 2
Team LOB: 8
FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Coleman-O'Daniel, Coleman-González-O'Daniel)
New York AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
N. Behnke CF 5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.318 3 66
E. Race 2B 5 0 3 0 0 0 0 0.326 2 68
M. Kennedy SS 4 0 2 0 0 0 1 0.328 16 112
P. Foster C 5 0 1 0 0 0 6 0.325 7 94
M. Taylor 1B 3 1 2 0 2 0 2 0.400 1 9
J. Faber LF 3 0 1 1 1 0 2 0.297 1 41
G. Nelson 3B 4 0 1 0 1 1 3 0.305 0 76
R. Silva RF 5 0 0 0 0 0 7 0.283 1 28
B. Meyers P 3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.158 0 10
** a-L. May PH, P 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0.462 0 4
Totals 38 1 11 1 4 1 24
a - L. May pinch hit for B. Meyers in the 8th
BATTING
Doubles: E. Race (40, 1st Inning off R. Cossey, 0 on, 1 out)
Triples: J. Faber (13, 4th Inning off R. Cossey, 1 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: M. Taylor 2 , P. Foster , M. Kennedy 2 , J. Faber 3 , E. Race 4 , G. Nelson , L. May
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: B. Meyers , M. Taylor , P. Foster 2 , R. Silva 2
GIDP: P. Foster , R. Silva
Sac Bunt: J. Faber
Team LOB: 15
FIELDING
Errors: G. Nelson (34)
St. Louis IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
R. Cossey 6.2 7 1 1 2 1 0 104 59 5.04
D. Fortenberry W (3-3) 2.1 3 0 0 2 0 0 54 33 3.16
C. Haynes SV (11) 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 14 10 3.39
New York IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
B. Meyers 8.0 8 1 1 0 7 0 104 67 2.60
L. May L (4-5) 2.0 2 1 0 0 1 0 28 20 1.65
Code:
Chicago White Stockings 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 9 1
Washington Senators 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 5 10 1
Chicago AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
L. McGruder 2B 4 2 2 1 1 0 2 0.262 12 60
M. LaPointe RF 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 0.316 7 62
G. Echols LF 5 1 1 2 0 0 2 0.309 5 70
H. Sunday CF 4 0 0 0 1 0 4 0.302 27 106
B. Wolf 1B 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0.357 19 86
M. Sheridan 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.316 10 75
J. Davis SS 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.298 4 64
S. Akins C 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0.300 7 79
B. Hinman P 3 0 1 0 0 2 0 0.176 0 9
Totals 35 6 9 6 3 3 15
BATTING
Doubles: S. Akins (31, 3rd Inning off T. Watson, 0 on, 0 outs) L. McGruder (33, 3rd Inning off T. Watson, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: B. Hinman , B. Wolf 2 , S. Akins 2 , G. Echols , M. LaPointe 2 , L. McGruder 3
2-out RBI: B. Wolf
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: M. Sheridan , J. Davis , H. Sunday , L. McGruder
Sac Bunt: B. Hinman
Team LOB: 7
FIELDING
Errors: M. LaPointe (8)
Washington AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
A. Woodhouse 2B 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0.276 4 48
C. Werts LF 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 0.320 1 12
S. Hunter 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.307 3 75
C. Gregg SS 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0.277 18 98
D. Powell RF 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 0.317 6 62
T. Smith 1B 4 1 2 1 0 0 0 0.244 0 5
R. Whitehead CF 4 1 2 3 0 1 0 0.252 19 58
B. Wardlow C 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 0.289 4 38
T. Watson P 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.231 0 8
** a-P. Alexander PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.291 4 40
Totals 37 5 10 5 0 3 8
a - P. Alexander pinch hit for T. Watson in the 9th
BATTING
Home Runs: R. Whitehead (19, 9th Inning off B. Hinman, 2 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: D. Powell , A. Woodhouse 2 , C. Gregg 2 , R. Whitehead 5 , C. Werts , T. Smith 2
2-out RBI: C. Gregg
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. Powell , B. Wardlow
Team LOB: 5
FIELDING
Errors: C. Werts (6)
Chicago IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
B. Hinman W (26-11) 9.0 10 5 5 0 3 1 129 84 3.07
Washington IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA
T. Watson L (5-9) 9.0 9 6 5 3 3 0 116 77 6.20
With 3 games to make up in the standings and 10 to play, many would not give the Chicago White Sox much grief if they packed it in and went home. But that's not how the Go-Go Sox play baseball. They rode a 17-8 September record to cut the Yankees' lead in half and their fight isn't done yet. Salvador Lopez provided an even hand. "That game [the 12-11 loss to the hated Yankees, chronicled here at the Thriftlon Times] just about did us in," he told us, "but what can you do? You lace 'em up and you go out and play the next day, that's what you do." Chicago sportswriters, leery of Lopez' 2 consecutive 2nd place finishes that look like they're about to be increased to a third, have been calling for his head all season long but the men in the front office didn't make him the manager for nothing.
The Sox have been carried as of late by 1B Bob Wolf, who hit .469 for the month of September and clouted 9 of his 19 homeruns during that time period. As expected, the league named him Player of the Month. It was the 7th time he has been so named but the first time this year for the reigning AL MVP. Bob Hinman paced all Chicago pitchers with 6 victories in 7 decisions, 6 of the team's 10 complete games for the month, and a 3.88 ERA.
The Yankees' lineup, bereft of two of its best hitters, has found its power from some relatively unexpected places. True, Mike Kennedy's hit in the 3 hole for the team all season long, but he's also been a bit maligned by the New York media due to a spate of errors that eventually led the team to move him to first base. Well, he's back at his native shortstop now, and the move seems to have livened up his bat as well: he hit .393 in September with 5 home runs and a team-high 23 RBIs. His replacement at first base is a young native of the Bronx who grew up watching this team constantly fail. Michael Taylor wants to write a new chapter in Yankees history, and he's hitting .400 in 60 September at-bats. It'll be interesting to see what the Yankees do to find this young man a place in the lineup next year when all the injured players come back.
Giants on the Verge of Greatness
So many words have already been spent praising the Giants' awesome might that we're not going to bore you with too many more. We'll bore you with numbers instead. The Jints have won 69 of their last 81 games. They're 25-6 against lefties and let up just a little vs. righties, winning "only" 82 games vs. 30 losses when a starboard-sider takes the mound. They're so good that they've played in very few close games but nonetheless they're 6-2 in extra frames an 23-12 in one-run ballgames. They recorded loss 25 on July 4th and didn't take #30 until August 22nd. In the middle, they won 23 games in a row.
They've scored the most runs in the league (957) and given up the fewest (616). They rank 1st in the NL in every single major offensive category except walks (2nd), strikeouts (3rd), and steals (dead last). The pitching is pretty good, too, ranking #1 in every one of its categories except walks (2nd) and strikeouts (an uncharacteristic last). They even rank #1 in fielding percentage and, even though they've allowed many fewer baserunners than any club, they have 20 more double plays this year than the next best senior circuit entrant.
There is no doubt that this is the greatest team in the history of baseball itself. There is no doubt they will break the wins record. The only question is, how badly will the record be broken, and whether next year's Giants will eclipse it. That's two questions. It's okay. The Giants are so good, one question turns into two.