SEPTEMBER 4, 1944
SPECIAL LABOR DAY ISSUE WITH FOCUS ON THE LOCAL DAILY PAPERS
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN: Club ready for key stretch run - On this Labour Day with the WWII in Europe progressing but not with the rapidity all had hoped let's take a look at the remainder of the schedule for your Toronto Wolves. At 75-54 they are in a dead heat with Cincinnati for the CA title. The Wolves have had a season far above this writers initial expectations in the spring. Manager Bob Call is to be commended for his handling of the team throughout this 1944 season. His new unorthodox handling of the SP, where during the first two months the starter was pulled at first signs of being tired, came under questioning, at times criticism from the traditional experts, fans were also heard to be questioning the soundness of this approach in Dominion Stadium. Call has always said that the purpose of this handling was to insure that the starting staff would be strong in September.
Lately the skipper has said "Over my 30+ years being in and around organized baseball I have seen too many times when starters struggled towards the end of season. I always thought that this was because they have no gas left in the tank due to be overused in the early months of the season. Early season moves to my relief corps was to save some of the gas for this time of the year." We all will see if Bob's theory is correct, through August it has proved to be a gem, as he started lengthening out starters innings through June, July, August.
Now on to the schedule, the Wolves have only six games remaining in Toronto with 19 away dates to close out the season. Toronto has been good on the road posting a 35-23 record thus far in 1944 with a 40-31 home record. With a strange twist of fate Cincinnati's record is exactly the same as Toronto's, Cannons also only have six home dates remaining on their schedule. If being at home means anything in September then the favourites in the CA would have to be the Chicago Cougars, who looked to be a lead pipe cinch until the calendar turned to July. Cougars play 15 of 24 at Cougars Park in September, they are only 1 1/2 games behind the leaders entering Labour Day.
At Cleveland 4 September doubleheader: Probable Starters- Bernie Johnson, Jim Laurita
Season record against the Foresters 14-6.
I expect the Wolves to sweep this twin bill, the final games against the Foresters for the year, after both the public, private criticism of the team's play being swept by the Sailors. The train trip back to Toronto should be an enjoyable ride.
Brett's predicted record after this series 77-54.
Home to Cincinnati 7, 9, 10, 10 September: Probable Starters- Chuck Wirtz, Bob Walls, Jimmy Gibbs, Johnson
Season record versus the Cannons 7-7
This is the beginning of 8 games in 10 days against the Cannons. Important is not a strong enough word to describe what these two series mean in the grand scheme of things to the Wolves. There are rumours circulating around the clubhouse that Call is thinking of skipping the Wirtz start to substitute Tommy Anderson. If that transpires it would be Anderson's first major league start. Wirtz has been showing signs of wearing down after an exceptional performance through June, July, most of August. This would just be another unorthodox move by Call, who has proved to have no fear of the unconventional in his handling of pitchers. I predict the Wolves will win this series 3-1.
Wolves predicted record after this series 80-55
Home to Philadelphia 12, 13 September: Probable Starters- Laurita, Wirtz
Season record against the Sailors 13-7
Let's keep the ballclub rolling as I predict a two game sweep for the Wolves for the fans to close out their home regular season schedule, partially to avenge the losses in Philadelphia at the beginning of this month.
Brett's predicted record after this series 82-55
At Cincinnati 15, 16, 17, 17 September: Probable Starters- Walls, Gibbs, Laurita, Johnson
As this begins a grueling, season closing 17-game road trip for the Wolves I expect that both the competitors in this series will still being looking over their shoulder's at the Chicago nine and will split this series.
Predicted record after this series 84-57
At Brooklyn 20, 21, 22 September: Probable Starters- Wirtz, Walls, Gibbs
Season record against the Kings 11-8
Toronto heads into New York City for 6 games in 5 days. I see the Wolves winning this series 2-1
Toronto's predicted record after this series 86-58
At New York Stars 23, 24, 24 September: Probables- Laurita, Johnson, Anderson
Season record opposing NYS 6-13
If Anderson does not make the start against the Cannons earlier in the month expect his first major league start to be against the Stars. The New York squad has owned the Wolves this season, in a big pressure moment like this I think that the Wolves will gain a minor measure of retribution taking two of three.
Wolves predicted record after this series 88-59
At Chicago 25, 26, 27 September: Probables- Wirtz, Walls, Gibbs
Season record with Chicago 10-9
This is a tough turnaround after a doubleheader in the Big Apple on Sunday. Brett expects the travel to catch up to the team on this leg of the trip, Chicago to win two of three to even the season series between the two clubs.
Predicted record after this series 89-61
At Montreal 28, 29, 30 September 1 October: Probables- Laurita, Johnson, Wirtz, Walls
Season series with Saints 14-4
As much as the Stars have had the Wolves' number Toronto has feasted on Montreal in 1944. The hope is that either these games are very consequential or that the Wolves are preparing for a World Series opponent but the squad will close the season strong winning three of four.
Final predicted record after this series 92-62
In the starting lineup you can expects the regular fielders to get very little time off during these last four weeks. Although everyone has bumps and bruises from the six month schedule ordeal it is time to step up to the plate at many different levels. Will Brett be correct in his 92-62 prediction for the Wolves, will 92 be enough victories to sit atop the CA? There will certainly be surprises, disappoints for teams but it will be an exciting end to 1944, this will give the baseball fans something with which to escape the daily drudgery of sacrifice, extended work hours, on-going war news.
St. Louis starting pitcher Buddy Long is having the best season of his career and he’s frustrated. Winning twenty games in a season should be special but all Long could think about after his 20th victory of the 1944 season was 1943. “If I had pitched this well last season we would have won the Fed,” said the dejected veteran. “We may have won the whole thing!” Long didn’t pitch horrible in 1943 but he lost 16 games and led the Fed in that category for the third time in the last four seasons.
Long came to the Pioneers in the spring of 1938 as a key piece in the deal that sent Fred McCormick to Toronto so there were lofty shoes to fill. He went straight into the big league rotation as the 26th best prospect in the game and did well his first two seasons winning 33 games including 19 in 1939 with a respectable 3.34 ERA. From there he was supposed to become elite but the opposite happened.
Over the next four years he won just 41 games and lost 72 even though his ERA never went above 4.26. The fans turned against him and the Pioneers front office lost confidence in him to the point where he started the 1941 season in AAA Oakland. St. Louis even tried to trade him several times over the four year span but no one would pay the price they were asking and based off of Long’s performance during that four year span everyone in the league thought they were crazy with their demands.
“It’s been a rough go for Buddy the last few years,” explained St. Louis GM Herb DeSpain. “He wants the team to win, he doesn’t care about his own stats...he wants a championship!”
1944 has been a career year for Long. He’s finally turned into the pitcher everyone thought he would be when the trade was made. How good has Long been this year? He leads the Fed in most major pitching stats and if that’s not enough for you then think about this...Buddy Long has more quality starts than he has unintentional walks(24:22)! So what’s the problem you ask? Why is Buddy Long such a Debbie Downer if he’s now one of the best pitchers in the FABL? Well it all came one year too late. You see in 1943 the Pioneers climbed out of the Fed basement and made a run at the Pennant only to come up six games short of the Boston Minutemen for the title. Pioneers legend Sam Sheppard revived his career and the team brought in “Old” Joe Shaffner mid season to make a run.
“Those two guys pitched their asses off last year!” Long admired. “No one thought we would be in the race but this year was different. Everyone thought we’d have a shot this year!” As it turned out, 1943 may have been their best chance to win it all. In 1944 “Old” Joe Shaffner looks, well, old! And Sam Sheppard has looked more like the aging star forced to the bullpen than the rejuvenated All-Star that he was last year.
Long started the season 18 games under .500 for his career. He now sits just five games under .500 as of Labor Day 1944. With maybe six more starts left he has the chance to even up his record and head into an offseason where he’s the returning ace of an uncertain staff. The Pioneers are bringing up three prospects from Oakland to get some starts with the big club the final month of the season. One thing is for sure, Buddy Long will not be starting 1945 in Oakland.
CANNONS NEED ONE MORE BIG PUSH
Well, we have certainly been here before. It's Labor Day and the Cincinnati Cannons are in the thick of the Continental Association flag race. The pressure might be a little less this time around thanks in part to the WCS win celebrated after a thrilling seventh game victory over Boston 11 months ago, but also it feels like the Cannons are playing with house money considering their two-time Allan Award winning ace Deuce Barrell -the game seven hero a year ago- missed the entire season with an arm injury and in late June the Cannons were 17.5 games out of first place and focusing primarily on next season. But a 49-21 run can quickly turn a clubs fortunes around and now with four weeks remaining in the season a second straight trip to the WCS is quite possible.
The nemisis will be a familiar one, or two actually. Cincinnati had a tough time with the Toronto Wolves last September and there was plenty of worry the club might just squander the 7.5 game lead they had on Labor Day one year ago. Losing 7 of 8 to the Wolves that month turned out to not be fatal because the cushion had been built through hard work earlier in the season. This time around there are once again 8 September dates with Toronto but there is no such cushion as the two clubs are in a dead heat atop the CA. And don't count out the Chicago Cougars. This writer, and many others, all but handed the Cougars this year's crown when they opened the season with 50 wins in their first 68 games and had a 10 game bulge on second place Toronto until the wheels feel off in July and August. But the Cougars are just a game and a half back and, unlike Toronto and the Cannons who each play 19 of their last 25 games on the road, Chicago will be home for 15 of it's 24 remaining contests.
There have been plenty of battles between these three since the Cannons moved to Cincinnati for the 1940 season. Cincinnati nearly pulled off a miracle worst to first run in '40 but faded late and ended up in third place - 4 games back of the front-running Wolves and 3 behind the Cougars. Chicago won the flag the following year in a down season in which the Cannons still landed in the first division, but 15 games off the pace. 1942 saw the New York Stars run away with things leaving the Cannons and Cougars to duke it out for second place and a year ago they were once more 1-2-3 with the Cannons going to their first World Championship Series since the franchise accomplished the feat as the Baltimore Clippers way back in 1914.
So here we go again. One month to go but zero margin for error this time as the Cannons bid to become the first CA club to repeat as pennant winners since Brooklyn won 3 straight from 1936-38. This has been a most unusual season and by rights with the number of injuries and the awful start to the season the club endured they should not even be in the conversation when it comes to pennant talk. But here we are and there is little doubt management decided to show confidence in Ad Doria's boys by going all-in with big name acquisitions like Tom Bird, Rabbit Day and the legendary but lately very inconsistent slugger Al Wheeler.
This is now a veteran team. Perhaps the oldest in the league but the Cannons are getting production from the likes of the three ex-Chicago Chiefs along with Sam Brown, Tom Barrell, Jake Smith, Butch Smith, Chris Clarke, Tony White, and Jack Cleaves. In all there are 18 players on the Cannons active roster right now that are on the wrong side of thirty but the Cannons hope they can play like they are in their prime for one more month and turn a season that started out as a nightmare into another dream year.
*** MONARCH CAGE CREW HEADING WEST ***
Queen City University cagers will spend the start of November in San Francisco as the Monarchs basketball team has been invited to take part in the prestigious West Coast Classic, which is one of the bigger season opening college basketball tournaments around. The Monarchs are coming off a 17-12 season that followed a pair of 16 win campaigns as they continue to dream of an invite for the season-ending National Tournament. That is something Queen City has not been a part of since 1925.
A pair of seniors in forward Preacher Hynes and guard Michael Peraz will be counted on to lead the team this season with freshman Daniel Reel -out of nearby Lee's Creek being a much anticipated addition. Reel, who is a 6'3" guard, had hoped to see double-duty this season and play as an end for the Monarchs football team but the school has opted not to field a team again this season due to player shortages and travel concerns. The Monarchs last fielded a football squad in 1942 but do hope to return to the gridiron for the 1945 campaign.
Our neighbors down in Lexington apparently also earned an invite to one of the big tip-off tourneys. The Central Kentucky Tigers are reportedly accepted in the Jack Easton Tip-off Classic -the annual big Boston event named after the founder of the sport.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: ROOKIE DEBUTS
September is a big time for everyone, not just the contenders. A lot of teams that may not be in the flag race use the start of the month and the expanded roster size to take a look at some of their top prospects. Even the contenders often rely on that hotshot prospect to perhaps deliver a key inning on the mound or a timely hit to keep the pennant push going. This year is no different despite the fact that a number of the top prospects are scattered across Europe or the Pacific. Here is a look at the players who have been promoted and set to make their big league debut. There could be others coming but here are the ones we are aware of now.
BOSTON- no rookie call-ups as of press time
BROOKLYN- no rookie call-ups as of press time
CHIEFS- He was up with Cincinnati earlier in the season but the Chiefs will give 22 year old Frank Sears his first taste of the Federal Association. Sears was acquired in the deal that sent Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to the Cannons.
COUGARS- The Cougars have called up a number of reinforcements from AAA Milwaukee including 5 may make their big league debut this month. They are catcher Gene Lee, infielders Steve Jones and Danny Richardson along with outfielders Leo Davis and Huuck Hanes.
CINCINNATI- The Cannons have dealt away all their prospects so will have no newcomers for the final few weeks of the season, unless you count 32 year old waiver pick-up Don Homer as a prospect.
CLEVELAND- no rookie call-ups as of press time
DETROIT- Detroit promoted pitcher Dick Reaume to make his big league debut at age 29. Also called up for the first time were a pair of 25 year olds in catcher Herb Hartman and SS/OF Eddie Kincaid.
MONTREAL- Excitement in Montreal with former Saints star Hal Eason in town to watch the big league debut of his son Hank, a first round pick in 1941. The Saints also promoted 25 year old second baseman Eddie Barkley and top prospect Bert Cupid (#22 on OSA list) to make their debuts.
NY STARS- no rookie call-ups as of press time
NY GOTHAMS- 24 year old outfielder Simon McFadden was promoted a couple of weeks ago and went 2-for-4 in his big league debut against Philadelphia. He will be joined this week by several players as New York World Telegraph scribe William 'Red' Wedge points out with this excerpt from his recent column.
"Johnny Massey will make his major league debut in game 2 of Monday's Labor Day doubleheader. Massey has made a long slow climb to the big leagues since being drafted in the 5th round of the 1936 draft by the Gothams. Catching Massey will be Cliff Leiby, who will also be making his first big league appearance. Leiby was selected in the 14th round of the 1937 draft by New York. While a decent bat Leiby has struggled with the glove which has slowed his progress through the minors.
Also added to the major league roster for the first time is Bucky Palmer, a reliever who has had success at each rung of the minor league ladder. The final newcomer is Cy Howard, another piece of the Rusty Petrick deal, along with Jim Lonardo and Bunny Hufford to appear for the Gothams this season. His solid bat a defensive flexibilty give him a chance to stick with the big club in the future. And finally, Eddie Ziehl is back. Manager Ziehl's son and namesake spent most of the campaign at AAA Toledo, but will get to spend another September in the big city."
KEYSTONES- Hardly a prospect but an injury to Walt Potter prompted the Keystones to promote 28 year old catcher Charlie Gagnon, who went 0-for-10 in his first two weeks as a big leaguer.
SAILORS- 24 year old lefthander Art Hull made his big league debut a couple of weeks ago
PITTSBURGH- promoted 25 year old pitcher Whitey Reynolds after an 11-11, 4.45 season at AAA St Paul.
ST LOUIS- called up three pitchers including two ranked in the top 100 prospects. Those two are Lazaro DeLeon (#50) and Ben Fiskers (#73) along with 26 year old Herb Armstrong.
TORONTO- The Wolves are promoting pitcher Tommy Anderson from AAA Buffalo after a 13-7, 3.15 season for the Nickels. The 25 year old was a second round pick out of Chesapeake State in 1940 and is expected to debut in a pressure-packed situation -getting his first big league start against Cincinnati Wednesday.
WASHINGTON- no rookie call-ups as of press time