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firstbigweekend · 05-13-2004, 11:45 AM

Cleveland Blues Update — June/July 1902
By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press

CLEVELAND — Though Cleveland Blues general manager Levi Chronister usually tries to stockpile young talent, he traded away his best prospect in early June.

Chronister sent No. 6-overall prospect 3B Donald Azar to Baltimore for 25-year-old 2B Danny Murphy, the 15th pick in the 1902 draft.

"Honestly, I had been looking to trade Donald for a few weeks," Chronister said. "He didn't seem to be progressing in Kinston (Cleveland's Single-A affiliate) and I was contemplating a deal. Baltimore stepped in and made an offer I couldn't refuse."

After accepting Baltimore's offer, Cleveland dealt 3B George Rohe and MR Bill Cristall to Washington for CL Billy Milligan and $50,000, making room for Murphy on the Blues' roster.

Murphy took over at second base for the Blues, bumping Billy Gilbert to a reserve role. Flourishing with his new team, Murphy hit .289/.320/.411 in June, with six walks and no strikeouts and was one of five Blues named to the American League All-Star team.

Joining Murphy on the AL roster were catcher Roger Bresnahan, first baseman Harry Davis, leftfielder Jeffrey Schank and rightfielder Sam Crawford. All but Crawford started for the American League.

In the June 30 All-Star game, the National League defeated the American League, 9-3. Cincinnati's Jake Beckley was named player of the game after going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Murphy went 2-for-3 with two runs, and Crawford, who pinch hit for Murphy in the ninth inning, was 1-for-1 with a run scored.

Being named to the All-Star team wasn't Crawford's only honor of the month. He was also named the AL player of June after hitting .333 with a homer and 19 RBI in 102 at-bats.

Other June highlights for the Blues included Schank's second player of the week award after he hit .522 with five homers and 10 RBI in the second week of the month, and Win Mercer's five-hit shutout of Detroit on June 19.

Starting pitcher Earl Moore continued Cleveland's semi-regular player of the week honors by receiving the award for the third week of July. Moore was 2-0, including a five-hit shutout of Detroit, with a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings.

Despite Moore's good work off the mound and first-round pick Bob Wicker's continued success, Cleveland was still looking for another potential front-line starter. The Blues lucked into just what they were looking for when Washingto put George Mullin on the trading block in late July.

Chronister packaged SP Win Mercer, SP John Dunn and RF William Hallman together for Mullin, CF Homer Smoot and $3.5 million. The July 26 trade seemed even more of a coup for Cleveland when Chronister revealed that not only had he considered taking Smoot over Wicker in the draft, but that he had thought about taking Mullin over shortstop Rudy Hulswitt in the second round.

"I'm not sure how we pulled that one off, but honestly, I'm pretty sure we fleeced them," Chronister said. "It's basically like we went back in time and picked up an extra first- and second-round pick in the draft.

"We lowered our payroll by a bit more than $3 million, picked up that much in cash, got two good prospects who can help us now and opened up a spot in our rotation for Charlie Shields. This may go down as the best trade in Blues history."

Shields, Cleveland's third-round pick last year, was 14-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Buffalo. In 162 innings he struck out 144 batters and walked just 41, pitching 12 complete games and one shutout.

Smoot took over for Matt McIntyre in center field, hitting leadoff against righties. McIntyre replaced Hallman as the first outfielder off the bench.

The Blues ended July 53-55, the closest they've been to .500 at the end of a month in their short history. Even with that record mark, they were still 12 games behind Boston in the American League.

In the minors: Middle reliever Jim Miller was promoted from Single-A Kinston to Double-A Akron on July 19. Four days later MR Ron Yee was demoted from Akron to Kinston.

Around the league: Philadelphia signed outfielder Ed Delahanty a four-year extension for his current salary of $10.62 million a year, keeping the 34-year-old leftfielder the fifth-highest paid player in the majors.

June batters of the month: Crawford and Brooklyn's Jimmy Sheckard (.318, .625 SLG, 23 RBI).

June pitchers of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Eddie Plank (5-2, 1.60 ERA) and Brooklyn's Ham Iburg (6-1, 1.15 ERA).

July batters of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Nap Lajoie (.358, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and St. Louis (N)'s Jesse Burkett (.442, 2 HR, 13 RBI).

July pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (6-1, 2.03 ERA) and Cincinnati's Charlie Case (3-0, 1.00 ERA)

05-13-2004, 11:45 AM	#19 (permalink)
firstbigweekend Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Lawrence, KS Posts: 42 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0x in 0 posts	Cleveland Blues Update — June/July 1902 By Chauncey St. John, Associated Press CLEVELAND — Though Cleveland Blues general manager Levi Chronister usually tries to stockpile young talent, he traded away his best prospect in early June. Chronister sent No. 6-overall prospect 3B Donald Azar to Baltimore for 25-year-old 2B Danny Murphy, the 15th pick in the 1902 draft. "Honestly, I had been looking to trade Donald for a few weeks," Chronister said. "He didn't seem to be progressing in Kinston (Cleveland's Single-A affiliate) and I was contemplating a deal. Baltimore stepped in and made an offer I couldn't refuse." After accepting Baltimore's offer, Cleveland dealt 3B George Rohe and MR Bill Cristall to Washington for CL Billy Milligan and $50,000, making room for Murphy on the Blues' roster. Murphy took over at second base for the Blues, bumping Billy Gilbert to a reserve role. Flourishing with his new team, Murphy hit .289/.320/.411 in June, with six walks and no strikeouts and was one of five Blues named to the American League All-Star team. Joining Murphy on the AL roster were catcher Roger Bresnahan, first baseman Harry Davis, leftfielder Jeffrey Schank and rightfielder Sam Crawford. All but Crawford started for the American League. In the June 30 All-Star game, the National League defeated the American League, 9-3. Cincinnati's Jake Beckley was named player of the game after going 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Murphy went 2-for-3 with two runs, and Crawford, who pinch hit for Murphy in the ninth inning, was 1-for-1 with a run scored. Being named to the All-Star team wasn't Crawford's only honor of the month. He was also named the AL player of June after hitting .333 with a homer and 19 RBI in 102 at-bats. Other June highlights for the Blues included Schank's second player of the week award after he hit .522 with five homers and 10 RBI in the second week of the month, and Win Mercer's five-hit shutout of Detroit on June 19. Starting pitcher Earl Moore continued Cleveland's semi-regular player of the week honors by receiving the award for the third week of July. Moore was 2-0, including a five-hit shutout of Detroit, with a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings. Despite Moore's good work off the mound and first-round pick Bob Wicker's continued success, Cleveland was still looking for another potential front-line starter. The Blues lucked into just what they were looking for when Washingto put George Mullin on the trading block in late July. Chronister packaged SP Win Mercer, SP John Dunn and RF William Hallman together for Mullin, CF Homer Smoot and $3.5 million. The July 26 trade seemed even more of a coup for Cleveland when Chronister revealed that not only had he considered taking Smoot over Wicker in the draft, but that he had thought about taking Mullin over shortstop Rudy Hulswitt in the second round. "I'm not sure how we pulled that one off, but honestly, I'm pretty sure we fleeced them," Chronister said. "It's basically like we went back in time and picked up an extra first- and second-round pick in the draft. "We lowered our payroll by a bit more than $3 million, picked up that much in cash, got two good prospects who can help us now and opened up a spot in our rotation for Charlie Shields. This may go down as the best trade in Blues history." Shields, Cleveland's third-round pick last year, was 14-2 with a 2.28 ERA in 19 starts for Triple-A Buffalo. In 162 innings he struck out 144 batters and walked just 41, pitching 12 complete games and one shutout. Smoot took over for Matt McIntyre in center field, hitting leadoff against righties. McIntyre replaced Hallman as the first outfielder off the bench. The Blues ended July 53-55, the closest they've been to .500 at the end of a month in their short history. Even with that record mark, they were still 12 games behind Boston in the American League. In the minors: Middle reliever Jim Miller was promoted from Single-A Kinston to Double-A Akron on July 19. Four days later MR Ron Yee was demoted from Akron to Kinston. Around the league: Philadelphia signed outfielder Ed Delahanty a four-year extension for his current salary of $10.62 million a year, keeping the 34-year-old leftfielder the fifth-highest paid player in the majors. June batters of the month: Crawford and Brooklyn's Jimmy Sheckard (.318, .625 SLG, 23 RBI). June pitchers of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Eddie Plank (5-2, 1.60 ERA) and Brooklyn's Ham Iburg (6-1, 1.15 ERA). July batters of the month: Philadelphia (A)'s Nap Lajoie (.358, 2 HR, 17 RBI) and St. Louis (N)'s Jesse Burkett (.442, 2 HR, 13 RBI). July pitchers of the month: Baltimore's Joe McGinnity (6-1, 2.03 ERA) and Cincinnati's Charlie Case (3-0, 1.00 ERA) __________________ -- Life, its beauty, is all bound up in the fact it can surprise you.