Our strong form holds thru the first week but then some cracks start to appear. After we cop a whuppin’ by the Phils at home, I make some moves. O’Doul has given us little in the cleanup spot so I shift him down the order and put Grantham at 4. Streeter’s continued uselessness at this level finally forces my hand and he is sent down, with Benge given first dibs at SP4 (who then pitches a 4-hitter in his debut for us). We also claim pitcher Slim Harriss on waivers, call up young left Carl Fischer and ship Juanelo Mirabal to AAA.
None of which really helps much as the cracks widen, with an injury late in the month to Bill McCall that will sideline him for 5 weeks complicating matters even further and compelling me to look for a more permanent solution.
After a fair bit of tire-kicking, this is what I end up with:
TRADE 1 OF 2 (05/29/30)
OF Liz Funk and OF Evar Swanson traded to St. Louis (AL) for P Ted Trent.
I’m not a fan of offloading young good players, especially when we have so few to spare, but this was not only necessary it also netted us a quality arm who is under TC until 1932.
Ted will settle at SP3 when Bill McCall returns. We call up Chaney White and Doug Taitt to replace the lost comrades.
Then, on the last day of the month, Bill Force is also hurt. Back to the drawing-board I go. Chaney White also picks up a niggle but we should be able to nurse him through it.
We end up going 16-13 for the month, entirely satisfactory given the stark reminder I’m given about how much easier it is coaching from the couch...
Not the most convincing month from the bats by any stretch. Grantham hits just 200 and O'Doul continues to flounder. Wells and Traynor both have quiet patches but still generate most of our offence.
Foster is just monumental, basically holding our staff together with his 4-1 / 2.21 sectional. If we can get McCall back on time, the addition of Trent makes this a good rotation. The BP (2.16 ERA) has been fantastic to this point despite the almost constant upheaval.
We remain on top in the NL, while the Indians lead narrowly in the AL.
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