[DD Martin]

May 1934 2nd Week (May 7-13)

We will finish up our series with the Montreal Saints 11-7. We took the first two games of the series and look for an early season sweep. It will be Roger Perry 1-1 2.74 going against Chick Wirtz 1-0 3.18. Wirtz came into yesterday's game in the 9th inning to pitch 2/3 of an inning. A little strange to see him getting the start following that but it would probably just be like an off-day bullpen session for him.

Game #18 - Cleveland Foresters 9 @ Montreal Saints 0

The Saints lost their 7th straight game and right now do not look like the team that rattled off 11 straight wins. Saint SP Chick Wirtz got tagged early and did not look sharp at all. Forester SP Roger Perry threw a 5 hit shutout to lower his ERA below 2.00 in picking up his 2nd win.

WP - Roger Perry 2-1 1.97 (9IP 5H 0R 2BB 3K)
LP - Chick Wirtz 1-1 4.56 (6.2IP 8H 6R 6ER 5BB 2K)
HR - (Cl)Brooks Meeks 1st
Notable - Brooks Meeks 2-5 HR 3RBI R, Jake Moore 2-4 DB 2RBI, Dan Fowler 2-3 2BB 3R

Comments - The last two games might have been the best two overall games we have played all season. I am not sure what is going on in Montreal but something just doesn't seem right. That said they are still 11-8 and in 3rd place in the CA.

Next up we will go face a NY Stars team that has gotten hot and won 8 in a row. I don't think we will be as lucky to get a sweep there, but we would love to keep our own little streak going as we have won 3 straight after a disappoint end to our last home stand against Toronto (1-2)

Cleveland Foresters 14-4 (1st Place in the CA) vs New York Stars (11-9 5th place in CA)
May 8th-10th 1934
Season Series - First Meeting

The Stars went threw a change at GM in the off-season and are looking to put it together again. They won the CA just 2 seasons ago and won the World Series for their 8th overall title. Last season the teams split the regular season series at 11 games apiece. The Stars have won 8 straight games as we come to town.

On offense they rank 5th in the CA with 91 runs scored and their 272 batting average also ranks 5th. They are led by their all-star combination of 3B John Lawson and Pete Layton. Lawson is hitting 316 on the season with 2 home runs and 13 RBI's. Layton is hitting at a 362 clip with 3 home runs and 13 RBI's.

On the pitching side of things they have given up 90 runs on the season (3rd) with their starting pitchers compiling an ERA 4.06 (3rd) and the bullpen at 3.91 (5th). They have a very solid starting group but the struggles of Lou Martino in particular are a bit alarming (0-3 6.14).

The 3rd game of the series matchup between Dean Astle and Les Zoller should be a pitching clinic.

Pitching Matchups Cleveland @ New York Stars
Walter Murphy 2-0 4.87 vs Charlie Stedman 1-1 3.82
Eddie Quinn 3-1 3.25 vs Lou Martino 0-3 6.14
Dean Astle 3-0 1.34 vs Les Zoller 3-0 1.36

Game #19 - Cleveland Foresters 6 @ NY Stars 5 (11)

The Foresters tied the game in the top of the 9th with a run and then the fireworks really started. In the top of the 10th RF Moxie Pidgeon looked to have put the game into the win column for the Foresters by blasting a 3-run homer to give Cleveland a 5-2. SP Walter Murphy who pitched a 3-hitter through 9 innings came out to start the 10th and it was a mistake. A single and 2 walks later and Frank Phillips came on to try and get out of the mess. He wasn't able too as the Stars tied the game at 5 by scoring 3 runs. Thankfully for the Forester Fans, Max Morris had dinner plans so he put the game to bed with a solo home run and Phillips pitched a clean 11th for the win.

WP - Frank Phillips 3-0 3.86 (2nd blown save)
LP - Hal Lucas 2-1 1.62
HR - (Cl) Max Morris 5th, Moxie Pidgeon 4th
Notable - Max Morris 2-6 GWHR, RBI 2R, Moxie Pidgeon 2-2 HR DB 2R 3RBI, Walter Murphy 9.1IP 4H 5R 3ER 5BB 4K
Lou Martino 6IP 2H 1R 0ER 5BB 3K

Game #20 - Cleveland Foresters 4 @ NY Stars 1

Forester SP Eddie Quinn is really enjoying his new surroundings with Cleveland as he moves to 4-1 on the season. Forester C TR Goins came out of the game hitting a 2-run double sliding into 2nd. He appeared to be ok but was replaced by Jim Kyle.

WP - Eddie Quinn 4-1 2.80 (9IP 9H 1R 1ER 2BB 6K)
LP - Charlie Stedman 1-2 4.06 (9IP 9H 4R 4ER 1BB 3K)
HR - None
Notable - TR Goins 1-1 DB 2RBI, John Turner 2-4 DB, R

Game #21 - Cleveland Foresters 8 @ NY Stars 3

Cleveland and ventured off on this road trip and won their first 6 games after sweeping both Montreal and New York. Today's pitching matchup didn't turn out to be the gem we had thought. NY SP Zoller was roughed up for 9 hits, 8 runs (7 earned) in just 4.2 innings as the Foresters coasted to victory.

WP - Dean Astle 4-0 1.69 (9IP 10H 3R 3ER 1BB 3k)
LP - Les Zoller 3-1 2.87 (4.2IP 9H 8R 7ER 3BB 4K)
HR - (Cl) Dan Fowler 5th
Notable - Ralph Joiner 4-5 DB, R 2RBI, Dan Fowler 2-4 HR, DB, BB 2R RBI, George Dawson 2-4 BB, R, RBI

Summary - Really an unexpected sweep as we move to 17-4 on the season. For the most part the team is hitting on all cylinders but there is a concern starting to mount that we will talk about a bit later.

We head off to Brooklyn to go against the Kings who are having some early season success which they haven't enjoyed the last few years. Last year we owned the King's going 17-5 against them. I am sure Manager Walt Bailey will have them ready to play this 4 game set.

Cleveland Foresters 17-4 (1st Place CA) @ Brooklyn Kings 14-8 (2nd Place CA)
May 11th-14th (game 4 is on Monday)
King's County Park II
Season Series - First Meeting

The King's come into the game with the CA's best offense scoring 142 runs (1st) averaging almost 6.5 rpg. Their batting average is 2nd in the league at 299. Offensively the Kings are led by their (God I hate saying Barrell is theirs) 20-year-old wonderkid SS Harry Barrell. The Foresters traded Barrell in July of 1932 and the Foresters have been regretting it ever since. Barrell is hitting 338 with 11 RBI's on the season and should be fresh for this series as he had a day off yesterday. LF Art Summers is hitting 289 with 2 home runs and has driven in a team leading 22 RBI's. Harry's brother C Fred Barrell is having a fine hitting 333 with 2 home runs and 15 RBI's.

On the mound is where Brooklyn will likely make or break it season. So far this year they have given up 113 runs (6th) and their starters have an ERA of 5.22 (7th) while the bullpen has been much better at 2.77 (3rd). If Brooklyn is going to make a serious run for the CA their pitching particularly from their SP's needs to improve.

Pitching Matchups (projected) Cleveland vs Brooklyn
Roger Perry 2-1 1.97 vs Buddy Adams 1-1 8.71
Walter Murphy 2-0 4.25 vs Art White 0-0 0.00
Eddie Quinn 4-1 2.80 vs Tommy Barrell 3-0 4.50
*Dean Astle 4-0 1.69 vs Chuck Murphy 1-1 3.86
*Projected

Game #22 - Cleveland Foresters 4 @ Brooklyn Kings 5

Trailing 4-0 entering the 8th, the Foresters decided to make a gam of it. Max Morris and Dan Fowler hit solo homers in the 8th to cut the lead in half. Then TR Goins hit a 2 run shot to tie it in the top of the 9th. The Kings then hit 3 singles in the bottom of the 9th to push across the winning run of RP Frank Phillips.

WP - Hal Galvan 5-2 3.95
LP - Frank Phillips 3-1 4.91
HR - (Cl) Max Morris 6th, Dan Fowler 6th, TR Goins 2nd (Brk) Jack Shadoan 3rd, Doug Lightbody 1st
Notable - Roger Perry 6IP 5H 2R 2Er 4BB 4K, Max Morris 3-5 HR R RBI, TR Goins 2-5 HR R 2RBI

Game #23 - Cleveland Foresters 6 @ Brooklyn Kings 3

SP Walter Murphy wasn't great giving up 10 hits in his 8 innings of work, but he was good enough to give the Foresters the win. TR Goins hit a home run for the 2nd straight day driving in 2 runs.

WP - Walter Murphy 3-0 4.06 (8IP 10H 3R 3ER 1BB 5K)
LP - Hal Galvan 5-3 5.17
HR - (Cl) TR Goins 3rd
Notable - Brooks Meeks 3-5 3R, SB, Dan Fowler 2-4 RBI

Game #24 - Cleveland Foresters 2 @ Brooklyn Kings 5

Tommy Barrell was sharp all night giving up just a 9th inning 2-run home run to Leon Drake but otherwise shutting down the Foresters on just 6 hits. Shabby defense once again plagued the Foresters as they committed 3 errors (2 by 2B Ralph Joiner (4) and 1 by SS George Dawson (10)).

WP - Tommy Barrell 4-0 4.04 (9IP 6H 2R 2ER 3BB 4K)
LP - Eddie Quinn 4-2 2.77 (7IP 8H 5R 2ER 5BB 0K)
HR - (Cl) Leon Drake 5th, (Brk) John Langille 2nd
Notable - Leon Drake 2-4 HR R 2RBI

Summary - Brooklyn's starting pitching has come out strong so far in this series first 3 games (Starters 2.72 ERA over 23.2 innings). When they get pitching like that then Brooklyn is a tough team to beat.

As I stated in the New York series we have a developing issue that is starting to concern me quite a bit. What can be an issue with a team that is 18-6 on the season you ask? Well it is the performance or lack of it by 3B John Turner. After a 300+ plus month in April to start the season, Turner has gone ice cold hitting just 132 in May and his season average is down to 216. Last year he was sent down after hitting around 230 through May. Its no secret that he is projected to be a 300 hitter and play an upper end defense at 3B, but right now he has struggled at the plate both this season and last. What do we do about that? Well we are going to start sniffing around and seeing what is available as we head into June. It is no secret that we have been approaching Boston for years in regards to 3B Charlie Berry. Talks came up again this off-season but we were not able to agree on a price for the 35-year-old who still is producing and playing a solid 3B. We also discussed 3B Joe Masters of the Chicago Chiefs who is also climbing into his mid-30's and didn't come close to a deal. Master is a great hitter, who still is mashing this season but his defense isn't as solid as it once was. Are their others we might be able to discuss? Maybe, but it is so early in the season it is hard to make deals until you get closer to the end of June when teams start to realize they are not likely to be a contender.

In house options? There are not many. Prior to this year one might have said give Harry Stroud a chance, but he was released in the off-season as his defense had eroded and he was not longer a suitable option. There is also Cincinnati 3B/2B Vince Frazier who currently is not on the 40-man roster. Frazier is a solid 4A player but has never done much with the bat in the big leagues. He is a valuable locker room presence. Finally there is 31-year-old Jake Moore who has been the long time starter. He is on the bench a lot so far this season but we are going to give him a few starts and see if that sparks Turner. We will evaluate them both in a time share this week and depending on the results (mainly if Turner gets a few hits) will determine if its time for more desperate measures. I know likely an over-reaction but we have worked hard to try and make this our year, we don't want any real weak links.

Roster Moves - After re-acquiring Hughie Fitts in the trade with Montreal we optioned him to AA Portland. The move was just to clear some room for him to get every day at-bats as we have a few OF's in Cincinnati that also need them.

We promoted RF Fred Quinn to AAA Cincinnati as he has hit well at every level in the organization. He will be the everyday RF for the Steamers.

We released our 1st round pick from the 1927 draft LF Dick Kennon. He hit for a decent average in the minor leagues but just never developed the power that we were looking for to distinguish himself from others. Kennon never made it to the major leagues and only played in 3 games at the AAA level last year.

Players of the Week
FA Player of the week goes to St. Louis 1B Fred McCormick who hit 11-24 (458) with 2 home runs, 9 RBI's this past week as St. Louis moved into 1st place in the FA. On the season McCormick is hitting 359 4-27 with 21 runs scored.

CA Player of the Week - Goes to the Montreal Saints 3B Hank Barnett who hit 520 (13-25) with 2 home runs and 9 RBI's. Barnett is hitting 367 on the season with 4 homers and 20 RBI's for the 3rd place Saints

Manager Firing in Montreal
In a move that is probably more to do with last years collapse and the streakiness of this season, the Saints fired manager Joe Ward who had gone 449-500 in his 6+ years as the Saints skipper. The Saints are above 500 at 14-11 and in 3rd place in the CA so far, but the team started 11-1 before losing 10 of its last 13 to seal Ward's fate. Ward's replacement is minor league manager James Gentry (64) who has been in the Saints organization since 1924. His minor league managerial record is 1317-1080 (549) 6 minor league championships. Gentry has been described as a conventional manger in style and has a more personable personality that his predecessor. Will this be the right hire for the Saints to shed the label of mediocre the last dozen or so years?

Forester Hitter of the Week - C TR Goins hit 304 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's.

Forester Pitcher of the Week - Roger Perry went 1-0 in 2 starts with a 1.20 ERA giving up just 10 hits in 15 innings worked.

Minor League Awards -
Savannah Privateers C Bill Malachi (23) won (SEL Class B) player of the week award by going 9-18 with 2 home runs, 9RBI's and 4 runs scored. On the season the 17th rd pick (1932) is hitting 371 4-18.

An Ottumwa Owl for the 2nd week in a row has won the class C UMVA player of the week award. This week its CF Tom Hoppe (24) who hit 481 13-27 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI's and 10 runs scored. Hoppe while not a top prospect is a team leader on the class C team.