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Dukie98 · 03-30-2018, 02:48 AM

Whatever slim hopes the Cleveland Indians had of sneaking their way into a wholly unexpected pennant were extinguished by a mediocre August. The Tribe stumbled, going just 11-12, and falling 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox, ending the month in a distant fourth place. The Indians finished August with a 63-58 overall record.

The Indians were led offensively by third baseman Russ Wrightstone, who hit .410 for the month with ten extra-base hits, including a homer and 20 RBI's. Second baseman Riggs Stephenson enhanced his MVP candidacy, hitting .360 for the month with 3 homers, 19 RBI's, and a team-high 22 runs scored. Center fielder Sam Rice hit a solid .347 with a homer and 10 RBI's, but no one else on the team topped .300. Star shortstop Joe Sewell had a disappointing month, hitting just .281 with only 7 RBI's despite hitting behind Rice. Rookie right fielder Kiki Cuyler rallied from a very poor start to hit .263 with a homer and 8 RBI's in part-time duty.

George Uhle continued to outperform his pedestrian peripheral stats, going 2-1 with a stellar 2.20 ERA despite a frightful 1.57 WHIP, and he ended August leading the American League with a 3.01 ERA. Lefty Dickie Kerr went 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Righty Jim Bagby went 4-2 with a 3.96 and a solid 1.24 WHIP, but struggled mightily with the longball, surrendering ten round-trippers on the month. Indeed, Bagby faced the prospect of surrendering more homers than strikeouts on the year, ending August by yielding 19 homers in 140 innings, but striking out only 15 opposing hitters. Joe Genewich continued to struggle, going 1-2 with a 4.64 ERA and a dreadful 1.70 WHIP. Eppa Rixey continued his disappointing campaign, going 2-3 with a bloated 5.59 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.

By mid-August, it was apparent that the Tribe should be playing for the future. Although first baseman Wally Pipp belatedly recovered from his dreadful start, he started losing significant playing time to backup Sam Post. Veteran left fielder Bobby Veach, though still productive, saw his playing time gradually reduced in favor of youngsters Cuyler and Joe Kelly. And behind the plate, veteran Ted Easterly's playing time was dramatically slashed in favor of Ray Schalk and Luke Sewell. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, led by slugger Hack Wilson, enjoyed a modest lead over the Athletics and Yankees. In the National League, Babe Ruth set a new career high by month's end with 44 homers and continued to flirt with .400, as the Pirates opened up a 10-game lead on the second-place Cardinals and a ridiculous 25-game lead on the third-place Giants.

03-30-2018, 02:48 AM	#357
Dukie98 All Star Reserve Join Date: Apr 2016 Posts: 902	August 1923 Whatever slim hopes the Cleveland Indians had of sneaking their way into a wholly unexpected pennant were extinguished by a mediocre August. The Tribe stumbled, going just 11-12, and falling 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox, ending the month in a distant fourth place. The Indians finished August with a 63-58 overall record. The Indians were led offensively by third baseman Russ Wrightstone, who hit .410 for the month with ten extra-base hits, including a homer and 20 RBI's. Second baseman Riggs Stephenson enhanced his MVP candidacy, hitting .360 for the month with 3 homers, 19 RBI's, and a team-high 22 runs scored. Center fielder Sam Rice hit a solid .347 with a homer and 10 RBI's, but no one else on the team topped .300. Star shortstop Joe Sewell had a disappointing month, hitting just .281 with only 7 RBI's despite hitting behind Rice. Rookie right fielder Kiki Cuyler rallied from a very poor start to hit .263 with a homer and 8 RBI's in part-time duty. George Uhle continued to outperform his pedestrian peripheral stats, going 2-1 with a stellar 2.20 ERA despite a frightful 1.57 WHIP, and he ended August leading the American League with a 3.01 ERA. Lefty Dickie Kerr went 2-2 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Righty Jim Bagby went 4-2 with a 3.96 and a solid 1.24 WHIP, but struggled mightily with the longball, surrendering ten round-trippers on the month. Indeed, Bagby faced the prospect of surrendering more homers than strikeouts on the year, ending August by yielding 19 homers in 140 innings, but striking out only 15 opposing hitters. Joe Genewich continued to struggle, going 1-2 with a 4.64 ERA and a dreadful 1.70 WHIP. Eppa Rixey continued his disappointing campaign, going 2-3 with a bloated 5.59 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. By mid-August, it was apparent that the Tribe should be playing for the future. Although first baseman Wally Pipp belatedly recovered from his dreadful start, he started losing significant playing time to backup Sam Post. Veteran left fielder Bobby Veach, though still productive, saw his playing time gradually reduced in favor of youngsters Cuyler and Joe Kelly. And behind the plate, veteran Ted Easterly's playing time was dramatically slashed in favor of Ray Schalk and Luke Sewell. Meanwhile, the Red Sox, led by slugger Hack Wilson, enjoyed a modest lead over the Athletics and Yankees. In the National League, Babe Ruth set a new career high by month's end with 44 homers and continued to flirt with .400, as the Pirates opened up a 10-game lead on the second-place Cardinals and a ridiculous 25-game lead on the third-place Giants.