The All Star Break
By the time the All Star break rolled around it was clear all was not well in Liverpool.
The Pirates were so far off the pace that news had already reached Pittsburgh. And the MLB club, that had pumped huge amounts of money into the fledgling British franchise, were not happy. Not happy at all. The only bat to escape criticism was second baseman Carl Stonehouse with an AVG of .341. Even the much heralded Clive Pinch, who had promised so much in pre-season was slumping to a SLG of only .384 although he had batted in 40 runs. The real problem however was the pitching. The club had four of the original rotation on long term injuries. In total the Pirates had five pitchers and two position players sidelined for over two months. This was the one thing that money couldn't solve. The Pirates management however were left in no doubt by their MLB overseers that they had to find a solution so that by the end of the season they weren't the laughing stock of the League.
Meanwhile, the Cubs of Belfast were tearing it up. Already 9.5 games up they looked to be bankers for the pennant. Unfortunately for them the spectre of injuries was beginning to cast its shadow of them too. The Cubs depended heavily on their starting pitching. Unfortunately however their ace Ross Kinsey had succumbed to a shoulder injury just before the All Star break.
At the time of his injury "Hoover" Kinsey had pitched 12-0 from 16 starts with an ERA of 1.17. His replacement had pitched 2 losing games with an ERA of 7.24. The Cubs had lost 6 of their last 10 games and their fans were hoping this wasn't a sign of the bubble having burst.
In the South things were much closer.
The Reds, in contrast to the Pirates, were running the shop on a shoestring however the entire staff seemed to be overachieving and they were on top of the Division. Obviously things could change in the run in but this was exactly the pennant race the Government, the MLB and the domestic organisers were hoping for. A grand spectacle was planned at The Oval cricket ground in Kennington, south London which was hosting the All Star Game. The Prime Minister, Clement Attlee had even arranged for King George VI to turn up and throw the ceremonial first pitch. Unfortunately the British weather had the last word and the entire event was rained off with monsoon conditions lasting the entire week. The All Star game was cancelled and the season resumed.
Play Ball!!