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#81 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Slippery Elm Boy Update 1906
Elmer Stricklett and Frank Corridon decided to call it quits and pursue other endeavors outside of baseball. Both had potential as coaches if not as players, but for both their experimentation of the spitball caused control problems they could never get over. Stricklett’s best year was with Minneapolis in 1904 when he went 15-20 with 134 strikeouts. A 37 loss season in ’03 with San Francisco derailed any confidence he may have had to make the bigs. His lasting impression on baseball may be with the emergence of Big Ed Walsh. Corridon never got a fair shake in Philadelphia since ownership changed hands. He pitched extremely well in Toronto but the big league magnate always brought in better talent via trade and mining other minor league teams. Clark Griffith decided to concentrate on the front office side of baseball with the successful Pittsburg club and ended his long pitching career on a high note after a successful 1905. Bill Dineen was traded to Brooklyn by Boston and he responded with a slightly better year, going 11-2 in June and July but faltered to 4-9 the rest of the way leading some to believe the 30-year old can no longer handle the workload of a regular starter. In what seems to be a rebuilding process in Boston, the Americans traded loyal Tom Hughes in August to Seattle of the PCL, who was later released on account of a “dead arm.” Hughes managed to avoid a disasterous season by winning six games in July but by then the damage was done and he was off to the great Northwest. To pick up the slack in Boston, young Ralph Glaze’s raw saliva shoot caused some Boston infielders to grumble about the difficulty in grabbing all the ground balls he induced. Glaze’s 1.86 ERA is a bit misleading on account of all the errors behind him. Ed WalshEd Walsh is establishing himself as one of the best hurlers in the game and whose success in Chi-town is rumored to have spurned an intense fascination of the spitball among the nation’s aspiring moundsmen. He finished his third season in the “bigs” with his second consecutive twenty win season and led the league in strikeouts with 218. He’s beginning to show near pin-point control, as if he can will the spitball wherever and whenever he wants it. He walked only 5 batters in the month of September, winning 6 games, 3 being shutouts, in Chicago’s push to catch Cleveland. Former teammate Harry Howell, who had a stellar 1905 campaign, packed his bags for California after a contract negotiation stalled with stingy magnate Charlie Comiskey. He promptly won 40 games for Seattle with 14 shutouts making any well-informed Chicagoan wonder what would have been if he’d been in town. Lefthander Noodles Hahn was traded by Cincinnati to Portland in the PCL where he got lost in the crowd but looked strong enough to warrant a return somewhere in 1907. Jack ChesbroFellow star Jack Chesbro of New York has hit his stride with his second 20 win season, throwing the spitter on nearly every pitch. He’s clearly defied former mentor Griffith’s approach of using it only when needed, which has, along with Walsh’s success, has encouraged more to try the pitch. Slow Joe Doyle and Al Orth, formerly of Washington, have now joined Chesbro in throwing the wet one. The pitch may prolong Orth’s already long successful career while Doyle still struggles with controlling it, walking a less than bearable 134 batsmen. Glenn LiebhardtAfter three hard-working years in Columbus, righthander Glenn Liebhardt joined the Cleveland ranks and helped propel them to the AL pennant in 1906, winning 25 game in his rookie year. His performance is reminiscent of Earl Moore, who was mysteriously released by the club in January. Moore, known for his loud confidence and nasty sidearm delivery, disappeared, his whereabouts unknown. If a team can find him, he’d surely make them an instant contender next year. Also out of Cleveland by June was Cy Falkenberg who spent time earlier in the year with Columbus. After a three-hit victory in his only start for the Naps, he was traded to the Cubs where he struggled for two months until a 6-0 September found his groove again. Code:
Player Team W L SV ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO F. Corridon - retired - E. Stricklett - retired - C. Griffith - retired - B. Dineen BRO 19 17 0 2.50 39 39 342.2 327 85 107 31 1 T. Hughes BOS 14 11 0 3.11 25 25 219.2 195 70 95 21 0 E. Walsh CHA 23 16 0 1.91 39 39 348.2 285 73 218 38 7 H. Howell PCL -statistics unavailable- N. Hahn PCL -statistics unavailable- J. Chesbro NYH 20 17 0 2.21 40 39 346.2 302 80 195 32 2 J. Doyle NYH 14 18 0 2.34 38 38 334.2 296 134 196 31 2 A. Orth NYH 20 14 0 2.48 35 35 304.1 282 79 115 32 3 G. Liebhardt CLE 25 13 0 2.01 38 38 339.2 283 99 149 38 5 E. Moore - no team - C. Falkenberg CHN 15 6 0 2.50 22 22 197.2 169 65 100 17 2 |
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#82 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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![]() Dynasties in Pittsburg and Cleveland Clash in ‘07 Pittsburg reclaimed the top spot in the National League standings by edging out a surprising Brooklyn squad. Pittsburg again did it with pitching, this time finding a rising star in Ed “Loose” Karger, who in his first year tied Rube Waddell for wins in a season with 28. Heinie Berger, who had toiled in Columbus for three years and pitched in relief last year with the Pirates, finally got his shot as a starter, with emery ball in hand, and racked off 22 wins. Brooklyn was led by Jimmy Sheckard’s league high batting average of .372. His mark was nearly 60 points higher than the next best hitter, and nearly 100 points better than his mark last year. Christy Mathewson quietly put together his best season for the Giants, who always seem a couple hitters away from toppling Pittsburg. Final National Club Standings 1907 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Pittsburg 99 55 .643 - .246 2.23 Brooklyn 94 60 .610 5 .255 2.50 New York 85 69 .552 14 .241 2.19 Cincinnati 74 80 .481 25 .240 2.67 Philadelphia 72 82 .468 27 .233 2.15 St. Louis 71 83 .461 28 .242 2.71 Chicago 58 96 .377 41 .222 2.97 Final American Club Standings 1907 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Cleveland 94 60 .610 - .264 2.24 Philadelphia 87 67 .565 7 .251 2.28 Boston 85 69 .552 9 .247 2.32 Washington 80 74 .519 14 .235 2.11 Detroit 79 75 .513 15 .241 2.35 Chicago 76 78 .494 18 .240 2.32 New York 61 93 .396 33 .249 2.69 St. Louis 54 100 .351 40 .220 2.65 |
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#83 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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![]() Final Statistical Leaders 1907 Code:
National League Batting Average J. Sheckard BRO .372 *F. Molina NYG .316 E. Flick STL .300 Runs Batted In *N. Jolley STL 96 *S. Green BRO 87 *J. Turner PIT 86 Stolen Bases J. Sheckard BRO 43 H. Wolter CIN 40 T. Leach PHI 39 Wins E. Karger PIT 28 N. Rucker BRO 26 *W. Scates CIN 23 [B]Earned Runs Average *W. Scates CIN 1.36 C. Mathewson NYG 1.73 N. Rucker BRO 1.91 Strikeouts *W. Scates CIN 287 *G. O'Donnell STL 267 C. Mathewson NYG 236 American League Batting Average S. Crawford DET .314 M. Grady BOS .313 B. Keister BOS .312 Runs Batted In *P. Stroh BOS 89 *B. Musser CHI 81 *E. Anderson DET 77 Stolen Bases D. Jones STL 65 B. Keister BOS 50 C. Milan WAS 49 Wins N. Hahn CLE 29 H. Berger CLE 25 W. Johnson WAS 25 Earned Runs Average R. Glaze BOS 1.73 W. Johnson WAS 1.75 B. Jacobson WAS 1.75 Strikeouts *R. O'Connor WAS 270 W. Johnson WAS 260 *A. Gomez NYH 254 I'm seriously thinking of disbanding the fictional PCL, already not liking the 2 player limit on foreigners I've put in both leagues that can trade with one another. With the MLB and PCL finances the same IIRC, I'm finding a lot of "dumb" trades by MLB ridding it of its star pitchers. I'll inactivate trading between leagues and see if that helps and reset the draft so that eligible feeder league players must be signed instead of drafted. Things are getting complicated with mixed historical/fictional leagues but it's well worth the learning experience.
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Current Dynasty: The Slippery Elm Boys Historical Uniforms: Major, Minor, Latin and Negro Leagues 19th century uniforms and templates. Logo Collection Last edited by No Pepper; 08-07-2008 at 01:56 AM. |
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#84 (permalink) |
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Hall Of Famer
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I tend to keep "trade between leagues" off because it doesn't really work well, because like you said, MLB teams (or whatever your top league is) will make dumb trades with lower league and foreign leagues. This is why I want a "cash only" option so that teams can buy players, which generally makes more sense. Since I usually play as the commissioner only in my universes, I sometimes intervene and make lower teams "sell" players to higher teams.
Of course, this only applies if you're doing a setup similar to real life as far as talent distribution, finances, etc. go. If you're doing a fantasy universe where all things are equal, then it's a nifty feature.
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#85 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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You are very correct Carplos, thanks for chiming in. I did not anticipate the extent of the trading. I didn't much mind it early on before 1903 when it 'fit nicely' with 'contract jumping' but back then I didn't allow foreigners in the majors either. Couple this with my small roster sizes (18), ghost minors, and the 'major league ready' imported players, player movement was at times too free or too restricted. Recalc may also be playing a role because several of "the Boys" have had great seasons only to be traded for nothing, released, or sent to the minors. My PCL actually is an equal league (a slight mistake on my part) and they still make 'dumb' trades and the players created within aren't equal (strike out more and hit for more power). This will have some implications for the Federal League when it comes, if I choose to add it.
It would seem for historical universes it's best to keep things straight cut and simple or else its a slippery slope.
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Current Dynasty: The Slippery Elm Boys Historical Uniforms: Major, Minor, Latin and Negro Leagues 19th century uniforms and templates. Logo Collection Last edited by No Pepper; 08-07-2008 at 09:32 AM. |
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#86 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Slippery Elm Boys Update 1907
It appears that the career of Bill Dineen, now with Brooklyn, is coming to a close as the 10-year veteran was kept in relief duty and limited use all year. Former teammate Tom Hughes stayed in California after being released by Seattle and did not catch on with a team. Ed Walsh pitched even better this year, his fourth in the majors, but Chicago’s offense was weak this year and failed to support the rising star. Harry Howell was welcomed back to Chicago but experienced a similar fate as the team fell from contention into the second division. The steal of the year came in Cleveland with the signing of Noodles Hahn, ex-Cincinnati star. The return of the lefthanded spitballer made fellow Slippery Elm Boy Glenn Liebhardt expendable, who spent the full year at Columbus in disbelief. Former Nap Heinie Berger made the best of his opportunity to start in Pittsburg and was a key contributor in the championship season. Troubled Earl Moore resurfaced only to announce that he was hanging up his cleats. Hooks Wiltse of New York and Beany Jacobson in Washington are the new breed of spitballers, branding their own mark on the leagues to the tune of being southpaws. For Jacobson, 1907 was his best effort in his five year career, and his 1.75 ERA was tied for second in the AL. Jimmy Dygert repeated last year’s performance in Philadelphia and benefited from an improved offense this year. He joins veteran Eddie Plank, young Chief Bender and Jack Coombs in a tough Athletic rotation. Jack Chesbro again found himself in California, this time via a trade which ended up being a contract dump by the Highlanders. It was a mistake as Chesbro completely dominated the PCL as the Yankees fell on hard times and into the second division. That led to “The Curveless Wonder” Al Orth’s first professional 20-loss season. Overall, Orth has 220 career victories, second only to Griffith’s 238 among those who tossed the wet one. Meanwhile, Cy Falkenberg lost 28 for the lowly Cubs, walking 130 in a frustrating year after being traded from Cleveland. Code:
Player Team W L SV ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO B. Dineen BRO 4 2 3 2.81 19 2 57.2 57 22 18 1 0 T. Hughes - no team - E. Walsh CHA 18 18 0 1.84 40 39 357.0 280 63 213 33 2 H. Howell CHA 16 19 0 2.54 37 37 336.2 295 80 138 31 2 N. Hahn CLE 29 10 0 2.15 39 39 356.0 306 35 98 37 7 G. Liebhardt CLE - minor leagues - H. Berger PIT 22 16 0 2.54 39 39 343.2 274 92 186 36 4 E. Moore - retired - H. Wiltse NYG 20 18 0 2.30 38 38 340.0 308 83 150 36 5 B. Jacobson WAS 19 18 0 1.75 38 38 340.0 281 81 138 36 4 J. Dygert PHA 22 13 0 2.26 39 38 335.0 271 102 167 33 2 J. Chesbro PCL - statistics unavailable - A. Orth NYH 13 21 0 2.55 35 35 304.0 317 78 86 29 1 C. Falkenberg CHN 10 28 0 2.90 38 38 326.0 297 130 155 33 3
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Current Dynasty: The Slippery Elm Boys Historical Uniforms: Major, Minor, Latin and Negro Leagues 19th century uniforms and templates. Logo Collection Last edited by No Pepper; 08-07-2008 at 10:26 AM. |
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#87 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Waterloo Sunday Courier
April 4, 1908 The Lulus hosted Burlington for the third game of a 4 game set Saturday morning. Manager Flemming decided to pencil in the young Charles Carpenter, of Des Moines as the day’s starting pitcher against Jim Hill. The 18 year old right-hander managed to get two quick outs in his professional debut before two Pathfinder safeties rattled the rookie. Wide with a nervous fastball, Carpenter walked the next batsmen but regained composure and struck out the next, his second in the inning. Carpenter again faced a challenge in the second by surrendering a double but managed another strikeout after a bit of wildness. The Lulus plated a run in their half of the inning with the help of two errors. Vigue scored on Mackey’s single who later killed the rally when he was caught sleeping at second. Trouble found Carpenter in the third frame, again after two outs. With men on first and third, the young pitcher fooled Lenard again, this time a soft fly to center. In the fifth inning, the Pathfinders barely lifted the bat of the shoulder as a walk, two tough chances and a wild pitch led to two tallies against the Lulus to make the score 2-1. The boys failed to score Wolfe after his two-bagger and Carpenter’s wildness continued in the sixth. After a hit batsmen and another strikeout, Carpenter surrendered a triple to left which unnerved him and an ensuing wild pitch allowed Burlington’s third run to score. But just as quickly, Carpenter fired a strike past Newton again for a strike out to end the rally. Carpenter has a quick fastball with a wonderful change of pace. His curve is a bit raw but a solid frame and strong wrists look to solve that during the course of the summer's schedule. Baserunning woes continued for the Lulus as Vigue was cut down stealing second to erase a lead off single. In the bottom of the seventh, our town’s fanatics began chanting “Chuck, Chuck, Chuck!” before every pitch of the young hurler. Two slow balls later led to dramatic strikeouts which fired up the crowd even more. The Lulus responded to the cheers and scored three runs on sharp base hits by Stearns and Vigue. Thomas relieved Carpenter and the Lulus wrapped up the game in short order. The location of the fourth game, on Sunday, is not known. Kitts is expected to take the mound. Charles "Chuck" CarpenterPitching line: 6 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. Carpenter is now 1-0 on the season for the Waterloo Lulus, Central Association, Class D. |
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#88 (permalink) | |
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Hall Of Famer
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#89 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Carpenter Learning Life in Class D
In his inaugural month to what we all hope is a long career, Chuck Carpenter is quickly learning the realities of life in Class D ball. The 18-year old has talent but right now it's untapped potential as a lack of control frustrates his composure on the mound for the Lulus. Currently slated as the number 3 starter, Carpenter has gotten regular work in the month of April, having started well enough to receive longer looks from his coach Flemming. Flemming is a great field manager with a penchant for developing young talented pitchers. However, as stated before, Carpenter currently faces some control problems, namely with his sub-standard curveball. Chuck's curve was extremely hittable and he suffered four straight losses following his strong debut. He surrendered more than 5 runs in each of those starts, progressively walking more batters while striking out less, hitting a low on April 22 when he gave up 10 runs in 5 innings of work against Oskaloosa. Flemming corrected a slight flaw in his release point and in his last start, although giving up 5 runs in 7 innings, he rebounded with 7 strikeouts. Carpenter's accumulated statistics through April 30: Code:
W L ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO 1908 Waterloo D 2 4 5.21 7 7 46.2 58 25 26 1 0
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Current Dynasty: The Slippery Elm Boys Historical Uniforms: Major, Minor, Latin and Negro Leagues 19th century uniforms and templates. Logo Collection Last edited by No Pepper; 08-12-2008 at 01:59 AM. |
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#90 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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![]() Cincy Duo Powers Reds Past Pirates Left-handers Rube Waddell and Roy Hitt are making a difference for Cincinnati this year who finally return to the top of the standings for the first time since the turn of the century. Waddell is his usual stellar self, having just gone through his former stomping grounds and pummeling the Pennsylvania nines the past three games, giving up just one run and striking out no less than 6 batsmen. Rookie Roy Hitt has made Cincy fanatics forget about the departed star Noodles Hahn by showing the toughness of a veteran in his youthful 21 years. Waddell has 4 shutouts in 12 wins with a 1.54 ERA and is tied for the lead league in strikeouts. Hitt is 11-4. Pittsburgh is not far behind the Reds but its once strong offense has fallen from grace and struggles to score runs despite leading the league in hits and home runs. Honus Wagner is the lone star of the lot, hitting an impressive .331, nearly 90 points higher than the league average. Otherwise, steady Jim St. Vrain leads a solid pitching staff with a 10-8 record. The Giants seem perpetually stuck in third place, this year managing perhaps as good a pitching staff as there is with Mathewson, Wiltse and Ames, but not able to hide the large shortcomings on offense to make any push to the top. The Cardinals break into the first division on the laurels of 38 year old journeyman Mike Grady who has gotten better with age, hitting .336. National Club Standing, July 1, 1908 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Cincinnati 43 29 .597 - .245 2.24 Pittsburgh 40 34 .541 4 .240 2.28 New York 36 32 .529 5 .248 2.27 St. Louis 37 34 .521 5.5 .251 2.34 Brooklyn 33 35 .485 8 .226 2.42 Chicago 35 37 .486 8 .248 2.80 Philadelphia 30 38 .441 11 .228 2.65 Boston 27 42 .391 14.5 .247 2.89 Cleveland maintains its dominance over the American League with the best record in baseball, but its edge is slight in that four other nines are within 6 games of the top spot. Each club sports a better pitching staff than the Naps, and if their league-best offense should slump or falter down the stretch, the throne may be usurped by any one of them. Field Manager Nap Lajoie leads the charge to the pennant with a .306 average but is showing signs of slowing down. Noodles Hahn is the only pitcher of note, who although having lost some zip on his fastball, has gotten the outs when he needs them, going 11-1 and only walking 9 in 109 innings. His efforts negate Ed Killian’s horrible start of 5 wins against 11 losses he’s given up nearly 1.5 runs more than the average pitcher. Detroit fashions a very fine right fielder in Cobb, who after three years seems to have learned the ropes of American League pitching, hitting a hot .365 with a league high 100 safeties. Sam Crawford is having his worst year but a number of pitchers are having career years to pace the Tigers. Ed Hughes and Bumpus Jones each claim an ERA under 2 while Bill Bernhard, 37, is capping a fine career with a steady performance while taking rookie Eddie Cicotte (8-7, 2.18 ERA) under his wing. Philadelphia’s Chief Bender is having a career year with 13 wins against 5 losses. A 1.41 ERA and 92 strikeouts put the tall Indian near the top in pitching categories but it’s Chicago’s Ed Walsh that has everyone buzzing. Walsh is a can’t miss attraction, winning 16 of 20 games started. He leads the league in strikeouts with 103 and sports the league’s best control. If Chicago can continue to ride the wave of its wet wonders (the Sox sport 3 spitballers in its rotation) and can hope rookie Tris Speaker (Boston released him last year) continues his success, they’ll be a contender to break Cleveland’s string of AL pennants. American Club Standings, July 1, 1908 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Cleveland 42 24 .636 - .273 2.48 Detroit 38 27 .585 3.5 .251 2.10 Philadelphia 40 29 .580 3.5 .252 2.23 Chicago 39 30 .565 4.5 .262 2.19 New York 39 30 .565 4.5 .267 2.43 Boston 28 41 .406 15.5 .240 2.45 Washington 25 42 .373 17.5 .225 2.76 St. Louis 20 48 .294 23 .215 2.77 |
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#91 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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“Chuck” Carpenter has coped well in what is becoming a hitter-dominated Central Association. The league batting average is .293 and scores nearly 3 more runs per game than the American League, which is hitting at just a .248 rate. Waterloo is currently in second place, 50-34, four games back of the Ottumwa Packers. Carpenter has migrated to the end of the Lulu rotation, but is third overall in wins with 10. A lack of command has resulted in a team leading 71 walks and perhaps explains Fleming's quick hook, allowing the raw 18 year-old to go the distance only twice in 21 starts.
Recently however, Chuck has upped his game. After a dreadful 8-run barrage in 3 innings against Kewanee, Carpenter rebounded with 8 scoreless innings in a win against the front-running Packers. Chuck has helped his own cause, hitting .271 with a triple and 11 runs batted in (currently 4th among Central Association pitchers. Code:
W L ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO 1908 Waterloo D 10 6 4.84 21 21 145.0 167 71 68 2 0 |
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#92 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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THE "SPIT" BALL
Renewed Protest By Manager Napoleon Lajoie Notwithstanding the Possession of Great "Spit Ball" Pitchers the Cleveland Manager Declares That this Delivery Injures Base Ball Special to "Sporting Life," August 3, 1908 [The real article I’ve adapted this from appeared in “Sporting Life” on August 3, 1907] Cleveland, OH., July 31 - Although four "spit" ball pitchers helped him win three American League pennants and two of the four were responsible for the Naps winning the World's championship in 1904 [notably Earl Moore and Cy Morgan], Manager Napoleon Lajoie, of the AL pennant winners, is in favor of doing away with the "spit" ball. "I warned Somers against the evils of the 'spit' ball two years ago," said Lajoie recently. "He laughed at me and said baseball was more prosperous than ever. That may be all true, but I would be willing to wager that the crowds would be even larger if it were not for the 'spit' ball. Somers was on the Rules Committee when I begged him to have a rule inserted prohibiting a pitcher from moistening the ball, but he thought that my fears were groundless." AN INJURY "In my opinion the 'spit' ball is doing a great injury to the game. In the first place, it is not natural. In the second place, it is not cleanly. Lots of people do not like to go out to the park and watch a pitcher slobbering all over a ball. Thirdly, the use of the 'spit' ball lengthens the games, as pitchers who depend upon the 'spit' ball consume so much time applying the moisture. Another reason is that when a 'spit' ball pitcher has good control of his 'spitter' the opposing team can consider itself lucky if it gets a hit. I do not care what some others may say, but a hit off a 'spit' ball is nothing but luck. The fans went crazy over Wednesday's game in which all hit the ball hard and the fielders had a chance to make some fine stops and catches. That's base ball. The rooters like to see the ball hit or a fine piece of fielding." DEMORALIZES FIELDERS "Then again, with a 'spit' ball man in the box, the fielders behind him are more liable to make errors in consequence of the slippery condition of the ball. Furthermore, a fielder with a nonspitter in the box knows generally where to play for the batter. With a 'spit' ball pitcher at work, it is much guesswork with him. A left field hitter may hit to right field and vice versa. It is said that 'spit' ball pitchers would not have to be feared because they would be unable to control the ball. Such talk is ridiculous, for any good 'spit' ball pitcher has as good control as any of them who do not use the delivery in question. Two years ago, when I made the first kick against the 'spit' ball, Chesbro and Howell were practically the only 'spit' ball pitchers. Now we have Walsh and Mattern of Chicago, Washington has Jacobson and Philadelphia Dygert, New York Orth, Boston Kroh and Pruiett, St. Louis Lake. And many have already crossed lines to play in the National League and many more take it up in the minor leagues. Thank goodness Chesbro sits in California this year.” TIME TO ACT "By another year there may be twice as many and it would be no surprise to see all the pitchers within a few years using this delivery which injures the game. Now is the time to act. Let the league instruct its umpires to call every ball pitched in which the pitcher uses the saliva a ball and this delivery will be killed in short order. Then we will see a stop put to star pitchers being made of twirlers who have nothing but plenty of moisture with which to dampen the ball." [To pile on the irony, Lajoie is a two-time batting champion and best fielder recipient, at both shortstop and second base. One wonders if the recent takeover of first place by the once lowly Athletics lit the fire.] |
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#93 (permalink) |
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Anyone still interested (or even remember) this dynasty? I got engaged last September and had to take a break and now that things have settled down somewhat I am wondering if it is worth continuing for any readers out there. If not, I might try something else or just plod on.
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#94 (permalink) |
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![]() Second Division No Longer, for Superbas Brooklyn, once a perennial doormat of the National League, has now claimed four straight winning seasons and found itself atop the league standings at season’s end for the first time. After trading away 1907 league-leading hitter Jimmy Sheckard, Brooklyn’s “hitless wonders” eeked out the pennant on the back of a solid, if not spectacular pitching staff. 24 year old sensation Nap Rucker showed no jitters in a second year of play, In 39 contests, he gave up 3 runs or less in 35 of them. No question was his ear bent whenever the veterans took time to instruct him- 33 year-olds Ed Siever, Red Powell, and Dick Harley, all steady performers after a brief hiccup in their careers. Siever was well traveled and spent all of ’04 in the minors. Powell needed two years in California to resurrect his career, and Harley, traded for the popular Sheckard, had to rid himself of rabbit ears and wildness at Montreal when the boo-birds sent him there after a torrid spring performance. By July it was Cincinnati’s pennant but a horrid stretch at the end of the month proved the nail in the coffin for the Redlegs. Two consecutive sweeps fallen to the struggling Phillies and a beating by the otherwise benevolent “Doves” of Boston and not even the great Rube Waddell could resurrect them. The Redlegs also lost Dopey Scates’ (fictional player) 23 wins, 1.36 ERA when he bolted to the PCL for more money. New York fell to the improving Boston squad on the final day and finished one game back. In a league of parity, defending champion forgot what got them championships and fell in love with the power game, something most always frowned upon by league strategists. The Pirates led the league in homeruns, with an unprecedented 19 homeruns by catcher Jim Turner [fictional player]. Turner had 16 round-trippers last year. As if offended by his teammate’s record, crafty veteran Honus Wagner went old school and came one triple short of Heinie Reitz’s record of 31 set in 1894. Why the fall from the top? Pirates were awful in extra-inning games and were baffled by National League southpaws. Star Ed Karger turned in a 20 loss season when last year he garnered a league-leading 28 wins. Final National League Club Standings 1908 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Brooklyn 85 69 .552 - .233 2.33 New York 84 70 .545 1 .251 2.27 Cincinnati 80 74 .519 5 .242 2.36 Philadelphia 77 77 .500 8 .230 2.43 Boston 76 78 .494 9 .254 2.52 Pittsburg 76 78 .494 9 .236 2.38 St. Louis 74 80 .481 11 .251 2.40 Chicago 64 90 .416 21 .235 2.85 Final American League Club Standings 1908 Code:
Club Won Lost Pct G.B. Avg. ERA Cleveland 97 57 .630 - .266 2.24 Philadelphia 94 60 .610 3 .252 2.18 New York 80 74 .519 17 .261 2.59 Chicago 77 77 .500 20 .253 2.37 Boston 74 80 .481 19 .249 2.50 Detroit 72 82 .468 21 .258 2.62 Washington 71 83 .461 26 .230 2.26 St. Louis 51 103 .331 46 .223 2.79 Author's note: Importing spitballers earlier than their major league debut has been tougher to track than I thought. Prominent Heinie Berger has found himself on two championship caliber teams the past few years in Pittsburg and Cleveland. Ooops! I think I'll retire the one in Pittsburg on account of their fall from grace this year.
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Current Dynasty: The Slippery Elm Boys Historical Uniforms: Major, Minor, Latin and Negro Leagues 19th century uniforms and templates. Logo Collection Last edited by No Pepper; 03-28-2009 at 10:24 AM. |
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#95 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Slippery Elm Boys Update 1908
Ralph GlazeIn this year's World's Series we had three of our expectorators climb to the pinnacle of a player's career. In Game 1 and the deciding Game 5, we saw well-decorated Noodles Hahn disintegrate under pressure going up against a journeyman in Ralph Glaze. While Hahn has won over 200 major league games in his career, Glaze has jumped around from Boston to the minors and over to Brooklyn in search for a steady job. He replaced the aging Bill Dineen in Boston in 1906 and posted a sub 2.00 ERA that year and the next, but never seemed to earn the respect of teammates and his manager, who was forced to deal Dineen, who now ironically, is teammates with Glaze in Brooklyn. After a few stints in the minors, Glaze took two wins from Hahn in the World Series. Not too bad a recovery. Rube KrohOverall, 15 of 17 spitballers in the majors are prominent members of their team's pitching staffs, each having logged over 300 innings on the mound. Of them, Hahn and Heinie Berger of Cleveland, Ed Walsh of Chicago, and upstart lefty Rube Kroh of Boston, all American Leaguers mind you, are top notch. Jack Chesbro, the greatest spitballer not in the majors, continues to pitch over 400 innings in Portland of the Pacific Coast League, seemingly tireless and content in his friendlier than New York confines. In New York, Chesbro toiled for 4 years with a struggling team and the press for failing to live up to his western hype and his success in Pittsburgh. At 34, his career seems to be set out West, never to return east. With Cleveland’s struggle in the Championship, it would seem imperative they reclaim "Crossfire" Earl Moore. If not to win games, but to revitalize Hahn's mental makeup. Moore has been out of baseball now for 3 years and his whereabouts still remain unknown. Code:
Player Team W L SV ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO R. Kroh BOS 24 13 0 1.48 38 38 341.1 268 70 162 35 4 R. Glaze BRK 20 16 0 2.84 38 37 330.0 338 79 112 31 2 B. Dineen BRK 1 3 1 4.09 16 0 22.0 36 13 3 0 0 E. Walsh CHA 25 15 0 1.70 41 41 364.1 329 46 204 36 6 H. Howell CHA 17 16 0 2.35 36 36 325.0 280 85 99 28 2 C. Falkenberg CHN 9 20 0 2.90 37 28 257.0 259 85 87 20 2 B. Ewing CHN 19 20 0 2.27 39 39 349.0 308 109 116 32 5 H. Wiltse CIN 18 18 0 2.46 36 36 318.0 290 88 139 33 3 J. Doyle CIN 18 19 0 2.54 40 40 365.1 312 130 151 36 2 N. Hahn CIN 26 8 0 1.85 34 34 305.2 275 26 78 34 8 H. Berger CLE 26 9 0 1.75 37 37 329.0 251 89 195 34 3 A. Orth NYA 19 18 0 2.58 37 37 321.0 308 58 84 32 5 G. McQuillan PHN 16 22 0 2.60 39 39 339.1 304 90 120 34 3 J. Dygert PHA 19 18 0 2.51 38 38 347.1 285 104 199 35 3 G. Winter STN 15 23 0 3.25 40 39 340.2 345 110 107 32 1 J. Lake STA 16 21 0 2.77 39 39 337.2 328 112 153 31 4 B. Jacobson WAS 13 22 0 2.96 38 38 325.0 295 95 88 29 3 ![]() Code:
Player Team W L SV ERA G GS IP HA BB K CG SHO C. Carpenter WTL(D) 13 13 0 5.04 35 35 248.0 293 114 113 4 0 |
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#96 (permalink) | |
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Hall Of Famer
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Philadelphia Phillies World Champions: 1980,2008 National League Champions: 1915,1950,1980,1983,1993,2008,2009 |
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#97 (permalink) |
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![]() May 1, 1909 Wet and Windy Without Walsh Leaves Chicago Just Soaked The success of Ed Walsh of the Chicago White Stockings has led to a small exodus of sorts of pitchers who are dabbling in the spitball. Career minor leaguer Lou Fiene out of Minneapolis has finally broken the big league lineup this spring and joins newcomer Jim Scott as two new disciples of the big righthander. They round out a staff already occupied by a stubborn straight-and-true Addie Joss and Harry Howell, no stranger to the saliva shoot. The influx of wet arms to Chicago has come at a price however as Walsh has developed arm troubles that have sidelined him indefinitely. The loss of their mentor seems to have weighed heavily on the rest of the lot, and an utter lack of offense doubles the stress they’re under to perform. Joss remains the star he’s always been but his supporting cast can’t buy a win. Howell remains winless in four starts. Fiene left his control down south and rookie Scott, although leading the team in strikeouts, has walked just as many and has an ERA over 5. During the winter, the White Sox managed to entice their lost son lefty Doc White, out of the California league the last four years, to rejoin the squad. Ironically enough, he was teammates with Jack Chesbro, the estranged New York star spitter, but not surprisingly, has pitched, like Chesbro, over 400 innings in each of his years out west. For the Pale Hose this April, he’s been restricted to outfield work, apparently of a dead arm. The uncertainty of the pitching staff and the slow progress of outfielder Tris Speaker has the Chicagoans looking up from the basement at a miserly 4-13. The loss of Walsh extends further and casts a shadow on the viability of the spitball as a pitcher’s star weapon. The league as a whole has seen a noticeable decrease in headliners who throw the dirty pitch, with only a few that stand out so far. George “Sassafras” Winter of Cleveland (3-1, 0.47 ERA) has managed to buffer Noodle Hahn’s slow start (2-2, 2.57 ERA) but the Naps are 8-7 and Red Sox’s Rube Kroh is the only light coming out of Boston, continuing an amazing campaign with a 3-1 mark, 0.74 ERA. And New York may have forgotten about Chesbro with the emergence of rookie Jack Quinn, who already has 2 shutout victories in the first month of play. But has the spitball already seen it’s hey day? Jack Quinn
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#98 (permalink) |
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Hall Of Famer
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This is a lot of fun, Pep...I'm glad to see you've brought it back.
BTW, I'm going to be taking advantage of your vintage uniform templates to "dress" Charlie Callahan and the other players of his universe very soon. And I might have to bring Pat O'Farrell back to life, if only to get him in one of your old-time Red Sox uniforms just once.
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My current OOTP dynasties: The Base Ball Life of Patrick O'Farrell: where it all began What Could Have Been: a semi-historical dynasty The Finger Lakes League: better than before Become a Hall of Fame voter for What Could Have Been!! |
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#99 (permalink) |
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All Star Reserve
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Thanks for your support Big Six. To say the least this dynasty has been a learning experience in the sense of how the game works (or doesn't). If I could do it again I'd do some things differently behind the scenes but we'll plod on.
I'm a big fan of your writing too so have fun with the uniforms, that's why they are there. If you should ever need something, just let me know, I'd be happy to help. |
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#100 (permalink) | |
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Hall Of Famer
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Philadelphia Phillies World Champions: 1980,2008 National League Champions: 1915,1950,1980,1983,1993,2008,2009 |
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