From Worst to First

[NYY #23]

We didn't have a good start to the season, but that wasn't totally unexpected. Things can only get better from here as I adjust to my team, our roster, and start thinking about our future in Cleveland.

I'm already thinking about trading our best hitting, Elmer Flick, since he is our highest paid player as well, along with 33. I realize I won't get much in return, but it may be worth exploring.

Our record for the month of April - 4-11
Season record: 4-11, 7 games back
Runs - 52 (5th in league)
Batting Average - .244 (5th in league)
Runs allowed - 75 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.63 (8th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Elmer Flick - .298
HR: Joe Birmingham - 1
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 14
W: Bill Bailey - 2
ERA: Bill Bailey - 1.25
K: Bill Bailey - 19

Who's hot:
SP - Bill Bailey - 2-1, 1.25 ERA

Who's not:
SP - Bill Grahame - 1-3, 6.30 ERA
SP - Addie Joss - 0-4, 4.60 ERA
C - Nig Clarke - .233
2B - John Hummel - .114
CF - Vin Campbell - .154

Power Rankings:
15th (Last Month N/A)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 68 (Last Month N/A)
Project Balance - ($68,822)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)

[NYY #23]

First a message from Elmer Flick, then Mal Eason, and then SS Terry Turner. Managing this team just makes me want to take a Nap.

But I'll honor my players wishes when possible. First Elmer Flick, off to the White Sox in a deal that can be described only one way, salary dump. We got back MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich. Both young and poorly rated, but we saved some money.

Unfortunately nobody wanted Mal Eason, so I'm stuck with the middle reliever.

SS Terry Turner was sent to the Tigers, who parted with 28 year old left fielder Matty McIntyre, who should platoon, but will probably start for us.

Not a terrible month, but not a great month either. We pick first in the amateur draft, so I'm looking to start building for our future.

Our record for the month of May - 13-15
Season record: 17-26, 7 games back
Runs - 150 (6th in league)
Batting Average - .246 (4th in league)
Runs allowed - 195 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.16 (8th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Jack Barry - .281
HR: Joe Birmingham - 2
RBI: Jack Barry - 19
W: Bill Bailey - 6
ERA: Bill Bailey - 2.14
K: Bill Bailey - 56

Who's hot:
SS - Jack Barry - .319, 16 RBI
SP - Glenn Liebhardt - 4-0, 1.76 ERA

Who's not:
SP - Buster Brown - 0-1, 5.31 ERA
3B- Morrie Rath - .179
1B - Claude Rossman - .229

Power Rankings:
14th (Last Month 15th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 65 (Last Month 68)
Project Balance - ($37,574)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)

[HGVoyager]

Tough going, but it looks like you are turning things around with the Naps.

[NYY #23]

The first place Boston Red Sox are 44-27. Meanwhile, we are just 15 1/2 games behind them. Life in Cleveland has been rough so far. My players are still begging to get out of Cleveland. It can't be that bad, right?

With the number one pick in the draft we have plenty of needs, both pitching and offense. Comparing this draft class to the past few classes and this class seemed to be lacking those big impact players at the top. Hopefully I'm wrong about that. My scout really liked Doc Miller for the first pick, but I have something against picking a 26 year old with the first pick of the draft.

I had to go on my own and pick CF Max Carey with the first pick of the draft. I don't feel great about the pick, or great about the entire draft to be honest. (I know the big names of the deadball era, but I have lots of things to learn) Doc Miller was around in the second round still, and my scout was still pushing for him, and he was the best player on the board despite his age.

I generally like to draft the best player available regardless of position, but when you have needs everywhere that works out pretty well. A look at who we picked up:

1. CF - Max Carey
2. RF - Doc Miller
3. SP - Fred Blanding
4. 1B - Eddie Hohnhorst
5. SS - Cotton Knaupp
6. CF - Elmer Zacher
7. C - Bert Adams
8. 1B - Bert Graham
9. 3B - Ray Jansen
10. 1B - Doc Moskiman

Our record for the month of June - 10-15
Season record: 27-41, 15 1/2 games back
Runs - 222 (7th in league)
Batting Average - .231 (7th in league)
Runs allowed - 307 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.22 (8th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Joe Birmingham - .256
HR: Joe Birmingham - 2
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 27
W: Glenn Liebhardt - 7
ERA: Glenn Liebhardt - 2.37
K: Bill Bailey - 82

Who's hot:
SP - Carl Lundgren - 3-0, 1.84 ERA

Who's not:
3B- Morrie Rath - .187
CF - Danny Hoffman - .059
CF - Max Carey - .120
2B - John Hummel - .150
3B - Stuffy McInnis - .181
MR - Mal Eason - 10.13 ERA
MR - Rudy Schwenck - 15.00 ERA
MR - Bob Rhoads - 37.82 ERA

Power Rankings:
12th (Last Month 14th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 62 (Last Month 65)
Project Balance - ($33,947)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)

[NYY #23]

We had a higher than normal number of day to day injuries this month, and lost our top draft pick CF Max Carey for six weeks due to a shoulder injury. That wasn't a good sign.

We made two deals this month, the first was getting rid of Mal Eason. Yes, I know you want a trade. Yes, I know you want to be a closer in 1909 when it didn't matter. I also know you have a 4.43 ERA, but I'm sick of getting messages from you. Gone to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Compton. Nothing special about Ned Compton, in fact, the only thing he has going for him is he is not Mal Eason. Welcome aboard Ned!

The second deal was a deadline deal, when I gave in to Otto Hess's unhappiness about his role and shopped him around. The only taker was the Boston Red Sox, who offered Ralph Glaze. Funny how things work out isn't it? The same Ralph Glaze who almost was traded for Ty Cobb, and who went from bad to real good in Boston, back to not so hot after I left. He must have missed me I guess. We'll see if he can turn his career around in Cleveland.

I couldn't help looking up a little about Ralph Glaze. As far as a pitcher, he wasn't much of a pitcher (15-21 in 3 seasons). He won more games last season (22) than he did in real life. In real life Glaze was probably better known as a college coach (football, baseball, track).

We also put a winning month in the books, and are now just 11 1/2 games back. A little bit of progress.

Our record for the month of July - 18-11
Season record: 45-52, 11 1/2 games back
Runs - 348 (6th in league)
Batting Average - .242 (4th in league)
Runs allowed - 410 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.00 (8th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Stuffy McGinnis - .259
HR: Max Carey - 4
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 38
W: Glenn Liebhardt - 12
ERA: Glenn Liebhardt - 2.21
K: Bill Bailey - 111

Who's hot:
CF - Vin Campbell - .467
CF - Max Carey - .316, 15 R, 15 RBI
SP - Glenn Liebhardt - 5-1, 1.92 ERA

Who's not:
2B - Red Killefer - .176
SS - Terry Turner - .154
MR - Rudy Schwenck - 5.06 ERA
MR - Fred Olmstead - 6.43 ERA

Power Rankings:
11th (Last Month 12th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 61 (Last Month 62)
Project Balance - ($23,863)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)

[NYY #23]

It is almost the time to put this season in the books, and it hasn't been the best season. We did manage to move up from the worst team in the league to second worst, so we have seen some progress. Our pitching - not great. Our offense - not great. Our top draft pick - injured.

There are good signs though, even though they are hard to find. Vin Campbell is finally starting to play well, hitting .467 and then .293 over the past two months. Ralph Glaze won his first two starts in Cleveland. And well, that is about it for now, but we'll get there soon.

Our record for the month of August - 11-15
Season record: 56-67, 15 1/2 games back
Runs - 435 (6th in league)
Batting Average - .239 (5th in league)
Runs allowed - 505 (7th in league)
ERA - 2.83 (7th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Stuffy McGinnis - .258
HR: Nig Clarke - 5
RBI: Claude Rossman - 42
W: Glenn Liebhardt - 13
ERA: Glenn Liebhardt - 2.33
K: Bill Bailey - 136

Who's hot:
SS - Jack Barry - .361
2B - Red Killefer - .323
SP - Addie Joss - 3-3, 1.75 ERA

Who's not:
CF - Danny Hoffman - .120
C - Harry Curtis - .130

Power Rankings:
12th (Last Month 11th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 60 (Last Month 61)
Project Balance - ($20,589)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)

[Jestor]

I love getting attached to certain players and going and getting them when I change teams in pro sports sims, so nice pickup with Glaze.

Fantastic work with the Red Sox and you're quickly getting it sorted out in Cleveland, it looks like. How's Elmer doing with the Pale Hose?

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Jestor

I love getting attached to certain players and going and getting them when I change teams in pro sports sims, so nice pickup with Glaze.

Fantastic work with the Red Sox and you're quickly getting it sorted out in Cleveland, it looks like. How's Elmer doing with the Pale Hose?

Thanks! I think there is nothing better than getting attached to certain players. I'm probably guilty of getting too attached to certain guys, so it makes it harder after you build a team and then leave.

Elmer had a rough time after getting traded, suffering through a couple of injuries before a season ending shoulder injury. He was 35-141 for a .248 AVG with 13 RBI and 21 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. Not great, but locked in a tight race with the Red Sox, they will miss Flick.

[NYY #23]

One year down in Cleveland, and by all accounts it was an unsuccessful one. Before we take a look at how we did, let's take a look at how my last team did. The Boston Red Sox once again won the American League pennant, and went to the World Series for the second straight year. This year was a little different, as they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 2, but I take a little comfort in knowing that I left the team in good enough shape to go back to the World Series.

I don't take any comfort knowing that they are the team I'm chasing though. What went right this year? We did improve by 15 wins, and finished seventh as opposed to eighth. I guess you can say we took some baby steps, but we still have a long way to go.

We'll take a look at our position by position breakdown at the end of month, and we'll talk about our offseason plans.

How did the trades work out?

SP - Carl Lundgren - 10-7, 2.89 ERA, 131 IP
MR - Harry Otis - 1-2, 3.30 ERA, 43 2/3 IP
MR - Ralph Glaze - 6-6, 1.98 ERA
2B - John Hummel - .215, 35 RBI, 30 R
C - Ben Froelich - .250 (4/16)
LF Matty McIntyre - .238, 26 RBI, 39 R
LF Ned Crompton - 0-1

Our record for the month of September - 11-17
Our record for the month of October - 2-1
Season record: 69-85, 21 games back
Runs - 543 (5th in league)
Batting Average - .237 (5th in league)
Runs allowed - 632 (7th in league)
ERA - 2.80 (7th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Stuffy McGinnis - .254
HR: Max Carey - 8
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 53
W: Glenn Liebhardt - 16
ERA: Addie Joss - 2.34
K: Bill Bailey - 164

Who's hot:
1B - Claude Rossman - .321
SP - Addie Joss - 2-4, 1.69 ERA

Who's not:
LF - Matty McIntyre - .125
SP - Fred Blanding - 0-1, 5.40 ERA
Power Rankings:
12th (Last Month 11th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 58 (Last Month 60)
Final Balance - ($23,747)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

Our rotation(8th overall):
Addie Joss (29) - 14-21, 2.34
Ralph Glaze (27) - 18-15, 2.30
Bill Bailey (21) - 13-10, 2.73
Glenn Liebhardt (26) - 16-15, 2.60

Other pitchers (1st):
Bill Grahame (25) - 3-11, 3.41
Carl Lundgren (29) - 10-7, 2.89
Fred Blanding (23) - 2-3, 1.80
Gus Salve (23) - 1-0, 1.01
Willie Mitchell (19)

Catcher (3rd):
Harry Curtis (26) - .172/.213/.190, 11 RBI, 7 R
Nig Clarke (26) - .256/.330/.353, 41 RBI, 58 R

First Base (9th):
Claude Rossman (28) - .247/.290/.335, 52 RBI, 50 R
Eddie Hohnhorst (24) - .313/.343/.344, 3 RBI, 3 R

Second Base (13th):
Red Killefer (24) - .280/.339/.363, 26 RBI, 23 R
Harry Hinchman (31) - .227/.227/.318, 3 RBI, 2 R

Third Base (5th):
Stuffy McInnis (19) - .254/.303/.310, 53 RBI, 52 R
Morrie Rath (22) - .225/.310/.270, 46 RBI, 42 R

Shortstop (9th):
Jack Barry (22) - .272/.329/.344, 42 RBI, 25 R

Left Field (10th):
Matty McIntyre (29) - .238/.331/.290, 26 RBI, 39 R

Center Field (7th):
Joe Birmingham (25) - .241/.288/.315, 26 RBI, 34 R
Vin Campbell (21) - .252/.307/.343, 30 RBI, 25 R
Max Carey (19) - .242/.307/.385, 22 RBI, 28 R

Right Field (9th):
Doc Miller (26) - .253/.295/.328, 38 RBI, 55 R

We certainly have a long way to go. I don't feel as bad about my pitching as our lineup for some reason, even though our pitching did worse. I guess I'm hopeful they can develop into something decent.

I don't even know where to start with our position players. We could really use a new middle infield, even though I think Barry has some room to grow. I'm already not too please with my recent draft picks. I'm not happy with the durability of Max Carey, and regretting picking a 26 year old in the second round.

I expect a fairly quiet offseason, maybe a couple of minor deals, but I don't think I can pull off any major trades.

[NYY #23]

We managed to start the season off with a winning record in April, so that is a good sign. Although we were 6-1 at home, and just 3-6 on the road. We loss Ralph Glaze to injury for the next two to three months, so that is a big blow to our rotation.

We didn't make any moves during the offseason, so I'll be carefully monitoring how things go in the beginning of the season, and maybe we'll make a couple of moves before the deadline. I shopped a couple of players during the offseason, but it either wasn't worth it based on what I would get back, or I could shop an old middle reliever with no stamina off of our reserve roster and get back a starting first baseman? It just didn't seem like fair deals so I didn't make them. Seems like middle relievers are valued too much for an era where they don't play much of a role. Oh well, I'm not going to make deals if I can't at least justify them in my head.

Our record for the month of April - 9-7
Season record: 9-7, 2 games back
Runs - 59 (5th in league)
Batting Average - .229 (6th in league)
Runs allowed - 53 (3rd in league)
ERA - 2.71 (3rd in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Morrie Rath - .341
HR: Doc Miller - 4
RBI: Doc Miller - 13
W: Addie Joss - 3
ERA: Fred Blanding - 0.83
K: Bill Bailey - 17

Who's hot:
3B - Morrie Rath - .341, 7 RBI, 6 R
SP - Addie Joss - 3-0, 2.20 ERA

Who's not:
SS - Jack Barry - .100
SP - Bill Bailey - 1-1, 4.30 ERA

Power Rankings:
4th (Last Month 12th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 58 (Last Month 58)
Final Balance - ($66,726)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

I feel like there must be some type of mistake with our team in first place. Yes, we are only tied for first place with the St. Louis Browns and our record should be worse than it is and the Brown's record better than what it is, but in the standings we have made good progress.

Our offense isn't great, but our pitching is pitching better than last season, but I don't expect this to continue. It is almost an eerie parallel to year 2 with the Red Sox where we were playing good then fell apart. I look up and down my roster and I don't really feel good about the team, and I feel like we've got a lot of holes still.

I'm expecting a rough June, and the highlight will be the amateur draft.

Our record for the month of May - 17-12
Season record: 26-19, 0 games back (tied for first place)
Runs - 164 (4th in league)
Batting Average - .239 (6th in league)
Runs allowed - 153 (3rd in league)
ERA - 2.50 (3rd in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Claude Rossman - .303
HR: Doc Miller - 4
RBI: Doc Miller - 21
W: Addie Joss - 8
ERA: Willie Mitchell - 2.04
K: Bill Bailey - 50

Who's hot:
1B - Claude Rossman - .355, 13 RBI, 14 R
CF - Vin Campbell - .318, 9 RBI, 7 R
SP - Bill Grahame- 4-0, 1.82 ERA

Who's not:
2B - John Hummel - .182
CF - Joe Birmingham - .180
C - Harry Curtis - .164
MR - Gus Salve - 0-3, 12.00 ERA

Power Rankings:
5th (Last Month 4th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 58 (Last Month 58)
Final Balance - ($45,789)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

I've spent a lot of time during the early years of this dynasty talking about Ralph Glaze, the middle reliever turned into a starter, who I couldn't resist trading for while running the Cleveland Naps. Still just 28 years old, Glaze is coming off a decent season, and just returned from a two month injury.

With the recent draft I had a surplus of starting pitching and wanted to make a move. I thought about dealing Addie Joss, who at 30 years old is still rolling along, and I received some more than fair offers for Joss, but couldn't bring myself to dealing him away from the only team he has ever known, and he still seems to be pitching well. I shifted my focus to shopping around Ralph Glaze, and found a deal I liked with the pitching starved St. Louis Browns who recently loss three members of their rotation to injury. I normally don't like trading with teams I'm in a tight race with, but I think this deal will help us both out. We received back second baseman Larry Doyle, who seemed to have found himself at the plate this year, despite having sub par defense.

Its funny how pitching depth works out though, since the next game after pulling the trigger on the deal we lost a starting pitcher, Glenn Liebhardt for the year. Bad timing I guess. In the draft we went with pitching first, drafting Hank Robinson as our top pick, then going for the best available player. Hopefully the addition of Robinson can help make up for the loss of both Liebhardt and Glaze.

SP - Hank Robinson
RF - Gus Williams
C - Ivey Wingo
SS - Otis Johnson
C - Grover Hartley
1B - Gene Paulette
1B - Joe Kutina
MR - Cy Slapnicka
MR - Howard Armstrong
MR - Blaine Thomas
2B - John Shovlin
LF - Mike Handiboe

Our record for the month of June - 14-10
Season record: 40-29, 0 games back (tied for first place)
Runs - 255 (5th in league)
Batting Average - .243 (5th in league)
Runs allowed - 252 (4th in league)
ERA - 2.70 (4th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Claude Rossman - .309
HR: Doc Miller - 4
RBI: Max Carey - 34
W: Addie Joss - 9
ERA: Willie Mitchell - 2.07
K: Bill Bailey - 82

Who's hot:
1B - Claude Rossman - .319, 8 RBI, 9 R
CF - Vin Campbell - .381
SP - Bill Bailey- 2-1, 1.09 ERA

Who's not:
SS - Jack Barry - .185
CF - Joe Birmingham - .192
C - Ivey Wingo - .186
MR - Carl Lundgren - 1-2, 6.23 ERA

Power Rankings:
1st (Last Month 5th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 69 (Last Month 58)
Final Balance - ($14,168)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

July was a bad month for us, as we fell five game out of first place, all the way down to fourth place. The recently traded Ralph Glaze has pitched the Browns into first place. Although Larry Doyle hasn't exactly been a slouch for us, collecting a hit in all but one game for us with a 27 game hitting streak.

The Red Sox woke up from their season long slumber and moved ahead of us into third place, behind the Browns and Philadelphia Athletics. Out of the three teams ahead of us the Red Sox look to be the team to beat.

I'm please with our progress though, and think we are now a .500 team, or slightly better. We'll see what the last couple of months bring us though.

Our record for the month of July - 11-14
Season record: 51-43, 5 games back
Runs - 362 (4th in league)
Batting Average - .246 (3rd in league)
Runs allowed - 363 (4th in league)
ERA - 2.82 (5th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Claude Rossman - .329
HR: Doc Miller - 4
RBI: Max Carey/Stuffy McGinnis - 41
W: Addie Joss - 10
ERA: Willie Mitchell - 2.26
K: Bill Bailey - 101

Who's hot:
1B - Claude Rossman - .397, 10 RBI, 8 R
2B - Larry Doyle - .356, 9 RBI, 16 R
RF - Doc Miller - .348
SP - Hank Robinson - 3-0, 2.16 ERA

Who's not:
LF - Matty McIntyre - .161
CF - Joe Birmingham - .167
C - Ivey Wingo - .193
SP - Bill Grahame - 0-4, 4.08 ERA

Power Rankings:
8th (Last Month 1st)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 67 (Last Month 69)
Final Balance - ($858)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

We lost a little bit of ground this month, but I feel like we are still in pretty good position to make a run in September. Looking at our upcoming schedule we play a lot of games against the bottom rung of teams, which could work to our advantage. Addie Joss is back, and other than our woeful play against the Red Sox, where we lost our last 12 games, and are 4-14 against this season, we are doing pretty well. We have a winning record against everyone else except the Red Sox. Oh the irony.

We are going to make money for the first time in four years this season, so that is a good sign.

Our record for the month of August - 14-13
Season record: 65-56, 6 1/2 games back
Runs - 480 (4th in league)
Batting Average - .250 (2nd in league)
Runs allowed - 491 (4th in league)
ERA - 2.82 (4th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Claude Rossman - .316
HR: Doc Miller - 5
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 57
W: Addie Joss - 13
ERA: Willie Mitchell - 2.13
K: Bill Bailey - 129

Who's hot:
C - Ivey Wingo - .326, 8 RBI, 9 R
CF - Vin Campbell - .309
SP - Willie Mitchell - 3-1, 1.67 ERA
MR - Bob Rhoads - 2.1, 0.68 ERA

Who's not:
SS - Jack Barry - .227
SP - Fred Blanding - 1-5, 3.58 ERA

Power Rankings:
5th (Last Month 8th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 69 (Last Month 67)
Final Balance - $10,227

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)

[NYY #23]

It was a disappointing end to the 1910 season, as we faltered down the stretch. It just wasn't meant to be in Cleveland, but we did meet our owner's expectations and finish above .500 for the season.

Losing Liebhardt definitely hurt, and in retrospect trading Ralph Glaze may have been a mistake, even though Larry Doyle did well at second base. Glaze did win another championship though with the St. Louis Browns, who beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4 games to 3 in the World Series.

Going into the offseason I'm going to try and shore up a couple of positions, shortstop and left field. We'll take a look and see what's out there, but those are our two weakest positions. I'll dangle center fielder Max Carey, and right fielder Doc Miller and see what they can net.

I also plan to implement minor leagues during the offseason. After a few years the reserve roster is getting too full

Our record for the month of September - 13-13
Our record for the month of October - 1-6
Season record: 79-75, 11 games back
Runs - 625 (4th in league)
Batting Average - .252 (3rd in league)
Runs allowed - 635 (3rd in league)
ERA - 2.87 (4th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Claude Rossman - .301
HR: Max Carey - 6
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 74
W: Addie Joss - 16
ERA: Bill Grahame - 2.56
K: Bill Bailey - 167

Power Rankings:
10th (Last Month 5th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 70 (Last Month 69)
Final Balance - $19,142

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)
1910 - Cleveland Naps 79-75, 11 GB (Season Score - 30)

[NYY #23]

After a slow offseason and a disappointing 8-10 start to the season I decided to shake things up a little to start May. With two right fielders on the team I decided to ship off 28 year old Doc Miller to the Pittsburgh Pirates. We added 24 year old Jack Barry to the deal, and got back 37 year old shortstop Honus Wagner and 28 year old left fielder John Kane.

This deal goes against most of my philosophies, both adding payroll and getting older, maybe at a time where we aren't as close to the next level as we should be. Wagner is a future Hall of Famer, but coming off two seasons in which he hit .253 and .216. Will a change of scenery be all that he needs, or is age catching up with Wagner? Time will tell, but this could be a trade that I regret. John Kane was a member of the Boston Red Sox, and provided solid defense and little else. Last season Kane hit .193.

I had high hopes for Jack Barry, but after hitting .272 in 1909 he struggled last year hitting .226. With his poor glove, if he can't hit it is time for him to move on. Doc Miller was our second round pick in 1909 and hit .253 and .266 in two seasons. A good defender in right field he became expendable when we drafted Gus Williams last year. After shopping both Miller and our top pick in 1909, Max Carey continuously through the off season, I had trouble finding a deal for either that I liked.

We'll see how this turns out for the Naps, but this is a deal I already feel apprehensive about, before any player has played a game for my team.

Our record for the month of April - 8-10
Season record: 8-10, 6 games back
Runs - 68 (7th in league)
Batting Average - .261 (7th in league)
Runs allowed - 98 (7th in league)
ERA - 3.23 (5th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Larry Doyle - .358
HR: Max Carey - 3
RBI: Claude Rossman/Gus Williams - 10
W: Addie Joss - 3
ERA: Bill Bailey- 2.08
K: Bill Bailey - 18

Power Rankings:
11th (Last Month 10th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 74 (Last Month 70)
Final Balance - ($57,892)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle
1911 - Traded RF Doc Miller and SS Jack Barry to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Honus Wagner and LF John Kane

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)
1910 - Cleveland Naps 79-75, 11 GB (Season Score - 30)

[NYY #23]

This season just hasn't felt too good so far, and I feel like I'm struggling with the Naps with no real sense of direction. Injuries to SP Beany Jacobson, 2B Larry Doyle, and 1B Claude Rossman have hurt the team.

Honus Wagner had a respectable first month with Cleveland, hitting .263 with 17 RBI and scoring 12 runs. Gus Williams has been our offensive leader this season, batting cleanup and hitting .318 while driving in 30 runs

Our pitching is struggling this season though, with a 3.61 ERA, sixth best in the league. Other than Addie Joss (7-4) none of our starting pitchers have really been throwing too well. At 23 years old Gus Williams has been pitching well in limited action (2-1, 1.88 ERA) this season, so maybe he is ready for a bigger role.

We also have the 16th rated minor league system, with only one prospect C Grover Hartley (70th) among the top 100. This probably has more to do with moving up players immediately after drafting, at least I hope.

Our record for the month of May - 15-13
Season record: 23-23, 4 1/2 games back
Runs - 205 (5th in league)
Batting Average - .267 (6th in league)
Runs allowed - 255 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.61 (6th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Larry Doyle - .349
HR: Max Carey - 5
RBI: Gus Williams - 30
W: Addie Joss - 7
ERA: Addie Joss- 2.96
K: Bill Bailey - 48

Power Rankings:
6th (Last Month 11th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 73 (Last Month 74)
Final Balance - ($13,479)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle
1911 - Traded RF Doc Miller and SS Jack Barry to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Honus Wagner and LF John Kane

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)
1910 - Cleveland Naps 79-75, 11 GB (Season Score - 30)

[NYY #23]

Things couldn't get much worse in June for the Naps. Injuries hit us and hit us hard. We finished the month with eight players on the disabled list, including our starting 1B Claude Rossman, and his backup Eddie Hohnhorst. Our starting 2B Larry Doyle, and two of our backup shortstops - Otis Johnson and the recently drafted Buck Weaver. We also lost our backup third baseman, Morrie Rath, and two thirds of our starting outfielders - CF Max Carey and RF Gus Williams.

Not surprising we finished the month 7-18 and have now fallen back into last place. Chapter 2 hasn't been as easy as Chapter 1, that's for sure. We picked 10th in the amateur draft, and selected SS Buck Weaver first, who was injured in just his second game in the majors. Our full list of drafted players:

SS - Buck Weaver
SP - George Baumgardner
C - Ray Schalk
C - Frank Snyder
1B - Bunny Brief

Things can't get much worse in July. Larry Doyle and Claude Rossman will both be back in early July, and I'm hoping we have a decent month at least.

Our record for the month of June- 7-18
Season record: 30-41, 14 1/2 games back
Runs - 294 (7th in league)
Batting Average - .258 (7th in league)
Runs allowed - 374 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.65 (6th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Gus Williams - .326
HR: Max Carey - 5
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 41
W: Addie Joss - 9
ERA: Addie Joss- 2.91
K: Bill Bailey - 76

Power Rankings:
15th (Last Month 6th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 70 (Last Month 73)
Final Balance - ($9,622)

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle
1911 - Traded RF Doc Miller and SS Jack Barry to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Honus Wagner and LF John Kane

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)
1910 - Cleveland Naps 79-75, 11 GB (Season Score - 30)

[NYY #23]

Sometimes you have to do unpleasant things as a GM, and we completed a deal at the deadline that was a tough one to make, dealing our best starting pitcher Addie Joss. A fan favorite in Cleveland, and the leader of our staff, Joss has been one of the few bright spots this season for us, but we seem to be struggling along this year.

Being over 20 games back and closer to the back of the pack than the front I felt that we needed to do something. We shipped off Addie Joss to the highest bidder, the Boston Red Sox, and got back a pair of 23 year old pitchers, Bob Harmon and Les Backman. They will each get their shot in Cleveland, but both pitchers are raw, but have a lot of upside. The jury is still out on whether they develop appropriately, but it was a risk I felt worth taking.

I wasn't able to complete any other deadline deals, although it wasn't for lack of effort. I was trying to move Honus Wagner, but I couldn't find a match that I liked too well. We'll have to hang on to Honus and see what happens. While we won a World Series in the third year with the Red Sox, it has become apparent that a return trip won't be so easy. At this point we'd have to get really lucky to even equal last year's record. I think my flaws as GM are starting to show now, and I'm feeling like we were more lucky than anything else in Boston.

Our record for the month of July- 11-16
Season record: 41-57, 21 1/2 games back
Runs - 389 (8th in league)
Batting Average - .255 (8th in league)
Runs allowed - 509 (8th in league)
ERA - 3.60 (6th in league)

Team Leaders -
AVG: Larry Doyle - .330
HR: Max Carey - 5
RBI: Stuffy McGinnis - 52
W: Addie Joss - 12
ERA: Addie Joss- 2.58
K: Bill Bailey - 102

Power Rankings:
11th (Last Month 15th)

Financials:
Fan Interest - 63 (Last Month 70)
Final Balance - $11,902

Trade Log:
1909 - Traded C Bill Ludwig to the Chicago Cubs for SP Carl Lundgren
1909 - Traded LF Bunk Congalton to the Brooklyn Superbas for 2B John Hummel
1909 - Traded RF Elmer Flick to the Chicago White Sox for MR Harry Otis and C Ben Froelich
1909 - Traded SS Terry Turner to the Detroit Tigers for LF Matty McIntyre
1909 - Traded MR Mal Eason to the St. Louis Browns for LF Ned Crompton
1909 - Traded SP Otto Hess to the Boston Red Sox for MR Ralph Glaze
1910 - Traded SP Ralph Glaze to the St Louis Browns for 2B Larry Doyle
1911 - Traded RF Doc Miller and SS Jack Barry to the Pittsburgh Pirates for SS Honus Wagner and LF John Kane
1911 - Traded SP Addie Joss to the Boston Red Sox for SP Bob Harmon and SP Les Backman

History (1 down, 29 to go):
1906 - Boston Americans 74-80, 15 GB (Season Score - 6)
1907 - Boston Americans 79-75, 8 GB (Season Score - 30)
1908 - Boston Red Sox 106-48, Won World Series 4-2 over New York Giants (Season Score - 77)
1909 - Cleveland Naps 69-85, 21 GB (Season Score - 22)
1910 - Cleveland Naps 79-75, 11 GB (Season Score - 30)