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Jiggs McGee · 04-06-2023, 12:12 PM

AUGUST 5, 1946

STARS, MINUTEMEN STOCK UP AT DEADLINE

The New York Stars and Boston Minutemen both made statements at the trade deadline with moves each club hopes will result in a trip to the World Championship Series. The Stars are in a heated race with the Chicago Cougars but not only did they upgrade their talent level at the deadline but they also increased their lead on the Cougars to 5.5 games thanks to a 7 game winning streak while Chicago was dropping 5 of 7. Meanwhile in the Federal Association both the Boston Minutemen and Washington Eagles closed the gap on the first place New York Gothams. Each of the Fed challengers had made moves to upgrade while the Gothams made no major additions.

The Stars made two moves in quick succession to upgrade their infield. The first one saw them add veteran second sacker Freddie Jones from the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for young shortstop prospect Lou Hooker and a fifth round draft pick and just a few minutes after announcing that move the Stars made a deal with Detroit to bring in slugging third baseman Mack Sutton in exhange for a pair of highly touted prospects in infielder Tommy Griffin and pitcher Roy Schaub.

The final 'big' deadline move came from New England where the Boston Minutemen decided to part with a second round draft selection in order to add some depth in the form of pitcher Art White and outfielder Rip Curry. The two veterans came over from Detroit with Boston's second rounder in January along with veteran outfielder Alf Pestilli heading to the Motor City. The Minutemen tightened things up considerably by taking two of three from the Gothams in New York over the weekend. Boston is now just 2.5 games back of the leaders with the Washington Eagles - who added all-star outfielder Rats McGonigle two weeks ago- sandwiched in between a game back of the Gothams.

The Gothams did make a trade in addition to the one that brought 42-year old Jim Lonardo back to town in search of the final 3 victories he needs to get to 300 for his career. It was a bit of a perplexing move as New York dealt away two players to Brooklyn for a 4th and a 7th round draft pick. Gone are Mule Monier -who was considered a key piece of New York's $100,000 infield of the late 1930s- and former first round pick Bunny Edwards. Edwards, a 30 year old righthander, had numerous opportunities to claim a job in the Gothams often-weak rotation but never could quite accomplish the task. Monier was a two-time all-star but the 30 year old was a liability in the field at shortstop and could not claim the third base job.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE ON THE DEADLINE DEALS - Let's start with the Continental clubs. The New York Stars struck quickly and very successfully with the additions of third baseman Mack Sutton (.240,20,58) from Detroit and second sacker Freddie Jones (.301,1,36). The moves look like a big upgrade to an already powerful offense and it is clear the Stars are 'all-in' for a pennant clash with the Chicago Cougars. Neither team is one-dimensional by any means but the stretch race will be a battle between the Stars offense and the Cougars pitching and we won't have to wait long to see them clash as the two clubs tangle for four games in the Windy City this weekend.

One might ask why the Cougars did not upgrade and they did have some interest in Sutton but were beaten to the punch by the fast-acting Stars. It might be for the best as there are very few holes in the Chicago lineup and it might have been tough to find a spot for Sutton to play as that means either 3B Hank Barnett or 1B Dick Walker would likely have to sit.

The Brooklyn deal with the Gothams was rare because New York is usually the one dealing picks, and almost never adding them. However, Monier and Edwards are a pair of veterans that were added at minimal cost as Brooklyn -spurred on by some recent success- looks to top its win total of 61 from a year ago.

In the Federal Association the Boston Minutemen followed Washington's lead from a week ago in an attempt to upgrade for a stretch run with New York. Boston parted with a second round pick and Alf Pestilli -a veteran outfielder they would have cut- to add a solid veteran bat in Rip Curry (.323,7,39)and a twenty-game winner from a year ago in Art White (5-12, 3.37) in a deal with Detroit. Both should add depth for Boston's stretch run and they club addressed two needs without having to part with any of their top prospects or their first round pick.

The Chicago Chiefs moved Jones (.301,1,36), an aging but still effective when healthy infielder for a top 100 shortstop prospect and a fifth round draft pick. The prospect replaces Herb Keller, who was sent to the Kings in the Tim Hopkins deal, in the Chiefs system.

Detroit was interesting. The Dynamos went from a full effort to land the 28 year old Hopkins, to pivoting when that fell through in an effort to add more youth. In two deals they parted with their top two hitters this season in Curry and Sutton as well as a pitcher who won 20 games a year ago. In return they added more to what is now the second deepest farm system in the league and -assuming all breaks right- they could be a powerhouse in the next 3 to 4 years.

ANOTHER REBUILD?

Dynamos Brass Say This Time is Different

We have seen it far too often over the past 15 years. A struggling Detroit Dynamos club sells off prize veteran talent either in its prime or at least with a few good years left and then watch them go on to achieve great success elsewhere. Al Wheeler and Frank Vance in Brooklyn a decade ago. First Red Johnson and more recently Sal Pestilli to the Gothams. Now Mack Sutton is off to the New York Stars while Rip Curry and Art White are Boston bound.

Management says it has a plan. But we have certainly heard that before from the previous group in charge at Thompson Field. How will this time be different? We sat down with Dynamos Assistant General Manager Harris Dixon and he outlined the organization's plan with an emphasis being the need to stick with that plan even if things get tough.

"I can't comment on what happened before I arrived here," explained the new Detroit executive, "but we are looking at building a core group that can contend for a decade and we feel the pieces we added help us take another big step towards that goal." He continued without waiting for a respone "Now I know Detroit fans have heard a similar refrain in the past, and I get there can be a growing frustration seeing Red (Johnson) and Sal (Pestilli) have success in New York, but we have a plan and more importantly we intend to stick with it."

That plan reloves around supplementing the terrific cast of talent that was already in the organization when Dixon arrived with the remaining key pieces the club would need. Dixon says there are still some holes to fill but feels the future could be outstanding.

And a glance at what Detroit's lineup might look like in a year or two is certainly impressive, assuming the players develop as expected and management doesn't do another 180 degree turn. How impressive? Well, one can comfortably state it is far deeper than the core of talent the Dynamos had in the fall of 1937 - a group that featured Red Johnson, Sal Pestilli and Hank Koblenz.

Let's compare the two by looking at the young major leaguers and minor league talent that is in the OSA top 100 today compared to the group in October of 1937.

There is no question this current crop of Dynamos prospects might be one of the best core groups of young talents assembled by any club in decades. They do still have to perform on the field but the Dynamos future looks very bright if the majority can live up to those lofty goals.

However, two things immediately jump out when one compares those two groups of players. Number one is simply a reassurance of just how unpredictable young pitching can be. The big one, for Detroit fans to worry about, is will management stick to the patient plan they have laid out and let this team gel. The '37 group were not given that chance. Imagine how good the Dynamos would be right now if they hung on to the likes of Pestilli, Johnson and Koblenz?

It may be easy to accumulate high draft picks. The challenge is developing them and hanging on to them long enough to lead your club back to the top. And that is something the Dynamos have not been able to do in past years.

WHO HAS THE TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM OF PAST 15 YEARS?

The talk on the current crop of Dynamos prospect brought up some discussion on the top minor league systems. We only have data from 1930 to today and this is not a method without holes, but in strictly looking at the year end minor league system ranking points for each organization the top minor league system would be the 1942 Montreal Saints, who claimed a post-1930 year end record 303 points.

Using strictly the minor league system ranking points as the sole criteria here are all of the organizations that surpassed the 175 point total. Today's top ranked system would be the Chicago Cougars group that lays claim to 187 points which would place it outside of the top twenty.

TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS (Ranked by Points at the end of the season 1930-46)

303 1942 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , RF O. Parker (6th) , SS G. Perkins (7th) , CF E. McCoy (11th) , P B. Cupid (20th)
284 1933 Washington: 3B M. Carrol (3rd) , RF S. Brown (5th) , P G. Gilliard (9th) , SS J. Beard (25th) , 1B H. Shumate (27th)
268 1936 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (1st) , P J. Edwards (7th) , P G. Goulding (17th) , SS C. Car (19th) , CF F. Galloway (21st)
266 1938 Gothams: P E. Bowman (2nd) , C P. Casstevens (3rd) , 1B W. Messer (10th) , P B. Edwards (11th) , 2B R. Brewer (24th)
250 1944 Detroit: CF E. Hackberry (1st) , SS S. Kleminski (5th) , P C. Potter (9th) , P R. Schaub (14th) , SS W. Hamby (36th)

245 1940 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , CF B. Greene (9th) , P G. Wynn (15th) , P E. Whetzel (20th) , SS H. Grant (37th)
235 1941 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , SS G. Perkins (8th) , RF O. Parker (9th) , P J. James (29th) , P B. Cupid (31st)
234 1939 Baltimore: P V. Carroll (2nd) , RF M. Taylor (11th) , SS J. Hensley (14th) , LF O. Parker (16th) , 2B H. Rivers (26th)
233 1938 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (5th) , SS J. Hensley (12th) , SS C. McCullough (14th) , 2B H. Rivers (25th) , RF M. Taylor (27th)
230 1937 Gothams: 2B R. Brewer (3rd) , P B. Edwards (10th) , 1B W. Messer (13th) , 3B B. Dalton (15th) , SS M. Monier (28th)

228 1940 Cincinnati: P B. Sohl (2nd) , LF D. Blaszak (4th) , LF O. Parker (12th) , 2B H. Rivers (17th) , P J. James (26th)
229 1935 Baltimore: P J. Edwards (9th) , P R. Petrick (11th) , C J. Rainbow (17th) , P G. Goulding (19th) , SS C. McCullough (21st)
225 1935 Cougars: 1B L. Mitchell (10th) , SS B. Hunter (12th) , 2B R. Ford (13th) , RF R. Langton (20th) , C H. Mead (38th)
219 1937 Detroit: 1B R. Johnson (1st) , C P. Casstevens (5th) , P R. McCarthy (18th) , 3B H. Koblenz (35th) , SS F. Davis (43rd)
213 1934 Cougars: 1B R. Ford (5th) , 1B L. Mitchell (10th) , SS B. Hunter (18th) , P C. Sullivan (30th) , LF R. Langton (36th)

212 1939 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , CF B. Greene (9th) , 2B C. Woodbury (24th) , 3B S. Bent (40th) , RF H. McKay (43rd)
209 1945 Stars: SS R. Hanson (1st) , 1B B. Barnett (8th) , C L. McClure (17th) , C D. Atwood (30th) , LF J. Welch (34th)
209 1934 Washington: 3B M. Carrol (3rd) , SS J. Beard (15th) , SS O. Page (19th) , 1B H. Shumate (26th) , SS J. Sundberg (43rd)
209 1931 Baltimore: CF K. Curry (3rd) , P P. Conlan (10th) , LF J. Watson (16th) , 1B B. Stapleton (23rd) , 2B R. Barnes (36th)
205 1943 Cleveland: P H. Steinberg (3rd) , SS J. Adams Jr. (5th) , P R. Hughes (9th) , LF P. Sigmund (38th) , P J. Jackson (47th)

194 1945 Detroit: CF E. Hackberry (3rd) , 2B D. Johnson (6th) , SS S. Kleminski (13th) , RF D. Estes (23rd) , P W. Hunter (39th)
192 1936 Keystones: P L. Stevens (8th) , P G. White (13th) , P J. Whiteley (23rd) , P H. Patterson (29th) , 3B F. LeMieux (37th)
190 1939 St Louis : P M. Bianco (8th) , P H. Sharp (10th) , P C. Roe (18th) , 1B B. Johnston Jr. (30th) , P D. Hern (36th)
189 1939 Gothams: P E. Bowman (1st) , C P. Casstevens (4th) , 1B W. Messer (6th) , P J. Walker (41st) , CF B. Boone (67th)
189 1937 Toronto: P G. Garrison (7th) , 3B O. Holliday (11th) , CF T. Frederick (20th) , P B. Long (25th) , SS C. Artuso (29th)

187 1936 Cougars: SS B. Hunter (4th) , C H. Mead (33rd) , P C. Sullivan (34th) , SS H. Wood (41st) , P K. Wallace (47th)
187 1946 Cougars: P B. Allen (3rd) , P D. Bybee (7th) , CF F. Reece (25th) , CF J. Peters (33rd) , C E. Howard (41st)
181 1935 St Louis: RF A. Tucker (2nd) , C H. Zimmer (6th) , P D. Lee (16th) , 1B Z. Sullivan (37th) , RF H. Sharp (56th)
179 1937 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (6th) , CF F. Galloway (19th) , SS J. Hensley (21st) , SS C. McCullough (27th) , P J. Anderson (40th)
177 1942 Stars: 1B B. Barnett (17th) , CF E. Bourdeau (19th) , LF W. Hunter (23rd) , LF J. Welch (37th) , CF N. Cooper (42nd)
177 1930 Gothams :RF M. Strong (1st) , 1B F. McCormick (5th) , 3B J. McDowell (47th) , 2B J. Turner (50th) , P H. Spencer (52nd)

LAND ENTERING UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Batting averages are down across big league baseball - at lows not seen in thirty years for FABL and over a decade ago in the Great Western League when it was a AAA loop. It has been nearly a decade since we have seen a .400 hitter in big time baseball but somehow, when no one in FABL and no one else in the GWL is hitting at more than a .362 clip, Bob Land is having a season that has to been seen to be believed in San Francisco.

It is not entirely unexpected we suppose, as Land did hit .414 in a half season with Sacramento a year ago but the 33 year old is a player who owns a .250 batting average in 123 FABL games and couldn't cut it in the eastern majors despite being a first round draft pick 15 years ago. Yet here we are, two-thirds of the way through the slate of games in the inaugural big league season for the western loop, and Land is batting .415 with the next best hitter on the coast hitting a mere .362.

Land was a solid player in the old feeder high school leagues and taken with the 14th selection in the 1931 FABL draft by the Philadelphia Keystones. Back then OSA felt he was unlikely to be anything more than an average contact hitter but he did crack the top 100 prospects list for a couple of seasons. He never got much of a chance in stints with the Keystones over four diffrent seasons, topped by 126 at bats, and a .270 batting average, in 1940. They released him the following year at age 28 and spent the war years with the independent Syracuse Excelsiors of the Union Legaue. Land was merely an average AAA ballplayer until a surprise break-out season at age 31 saw him hit .367 in 1944 and narrowly lost the batting title to Andy Dye. Sacramento bought his contract out midway through last season as Land continued to excel at the plate and when the GWL turned big-league he moved on to San Francisco. The rest may well be history in the making and if his .415 batting average can hold up Land will become the first major leaguer to hit at least .415 since Max Morris's 1925 campaign.

Peter the Heater was awarded Pitcher of the Month in July, finishing 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA (202 ERA+), 0.91 WHIP, 17 walks, and 41 strikeouts in six complete games. Pap then celebrated that award with a 4-hit shutout. He walked one and struck out seven to improve to 14-6 on the season. That ties him with three other pitchers for the association lead. If he can separate from the pack, the 1941 Allen Winner could win his first triple crown. His 133 strikeouts are 23 better then co-win leader Richie Hughes, and his 2.21 ERA (152 ERA+) is now lower then teammate Johnnie Jones (2.28). The 28-year-old has positioned himself as the favorite for the Allen Award, but he'd trade it all for his first ring
Harry MacRae has recorded a save in each of his first four big league appearances. Before his debut, the Cougars staff had just one.
An electric week from Bill Barrett propelled the New York Stars to a badly needed 2 series sweep. B. Barrett : 20 AB, 9 H, 4 HR, 12 RBI, .450 AVG, 1.745 OPS.
A 3-9 stretch from the Cincinnati Cannons leaves the club 10.5 games off the pace and their 3-year reign as Continental Association champs is probably over.
Toronto has fallen to the bottom of the Weekly Power Ranking for the first time in recent memory. A record of 22-30 at Dominion Field is doing nothing to endear the team to the faithful. With 1946 appearing to be a write-off to all but the most ardent or delusional Wolves fans, skipper Bob Call has issued small goals for the team hoping to inspire some spirited ball. He now has stated publicly that he will begin tinkering with the team, "Almost everyone is playing for their position going forward. This unexpected demise in team fortunes has brought some hidden deficiencies to light, we have lots of work to do here."
Kings P Clarence Barton was struggling this season as a starter. Recently he assumed the stopper role for the Kings and the results have been quite good. In 9 games he is 3-0 with 3 saves in 16IP with a 0.00 ERA. He’s given up only 9 hits and has turned his K;BB around with just 4 walks and 11 K’s.
Nice last for new/old Dynamo Roy Schaub, who threw a 4-hit shutout with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts in his last start as a Star farmhand.
Hard to explain baseball. The Dynamos won just 5 games since the all-star break heading into last week. Then with their top two hitters in Mack Sutton and Rip Curry gone, Detroit reels off a 5-1 week.
Despite a slow start to their season, the Houston Bulls enter this week 53-51, only 5 games out from the wildcard and 6 games ahead of the hated Centurions. A large part of this success comes from their agreesive targeting of former FABL free agents, including Montreal veteran Art McMahon(OPS+ 134), detroit mistake Lou Balk(160), and Pittsburgh star Wally Flowers(Hasn't played a game yet). On the pitching side, FABL fans will also recognize names like Sam Vaughn(ERA 2.00), Bill McGraw(2.77), and Pug Bryan(2.72), who all held significant roles on past FABL squads.
After Dallas General Manager Ox Munday lamented the fact he does not have the money he would like to spend on adding talent for his struggling Centurions squad the most vocal opponent of the western loop sprung into action. Toronto owner Bernie Millard's misses no opportunity to bash the rookie coast league and his quote on GWL finances circulated in the Toronto daily's was "How can you try to run a big league team on a shoestring budget? If you try to run an organization with a bush league budget, then it is what you get a bush league, which is what the GWL is bush." To which Munday retorted "Well, you should really ask the perpetually broke (New York) Stars that question."

SULLVIAN TOPS BENJAMIN IN KEY HEAVY TUSSLE

A pair of top heavyweight contenders fought a spirited battle in New Orleans last Wednesday night and when the dust settled Chris Sullivan had scored a narrow but unanimous decision victory over Glenn Benjamin. The 10-rounder went back and forth in the early rounds before Sullivan asserted his control with a strong showing in the middle rounds. There was no quit in Benjamin -who entered the fight ranked as the #3 heavyweight contender behind only Mark Fountain and Scott Baker- as he closed the gap by sending Sullivan, who was the #5 ranked contender in the July 1st list- to the canvas with just 45 seconds remaining in the bout. Sullivan struggled to his feet and then held on to sweep the three scorecards despite being on the short end of a 10-8 verdict from each in the final round.

The victory improves Sullivan's record to 18-3-3 and likely adds the 29 year old Chicago native to a growing list of fighters who feel they should be getting a title shot against Hector Sawyer. Benjamin, 32, drops to 24-3 with the loss. Sawyer is set to next defend his crown on the 17th of this month outside at the Bigsby Oval against 40 year old Jochen Schotter - the powerful German who held the title for 5 years before losing to Sawyer in 1940 but has fought only once since then.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

Aug 17 - Bigsby Oval, New York City: World Heavyweight title as Hector 'The Cajun Crusher' Sawyer (53-3-1) defends against former world champion Jochen Schrotter (48-4).
Sep 21 - Noble Jones College Arena, Atlanta, Ga. : World Welterweight champion Dennis 'The Jacksonville Jackhammer' O'Keefe (20-1) vs Mark Westlake (19-2-1).
Oct 15- Denny Arena, Boston: World Middleweight champion Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (30-0-2) makes his third title defense against European champion Edouard Desmarais (36-0).

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/04/1946

A 21-nation Peace Conferencce is underway in Paris more than a year after the end of the Second World War in Europe with a goal stated by President Georges Bidault of France to abolish "the plague of war."
President Truman declared that "our present fiscal situation is a most serious one" and called on all Federal agencies to cut down on expenditures. Truman added that the 1947 budget will have an operating deficit of nearly $2 billion.
The Senate voted 60 to 2, in favor of American acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction for the World Court, to settle international legal disputes as one of the last acts of the 79th Congress.
Senator Mitchell of Washington has charged corruption by Government officials, including some in Army uniforms as the Senate War Investigating Committee continues hearings into the handling of awarding of war production contracts.

04-06-2023, 12:12 PM	#674
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	August 5, 1946 - Trade Deadline Recap AUGUST 5, 1946 STARS, MINUTEMEN STOCK UP AT DEADLINE The New York Stars and Boston Minutemen both made statements at the trade deadline with moves each club hopes will result in a trip to the World Championship Series. The Stars are in a heated race with the Chicago Cougars but not only did they upgrade their talent level at the deadline but they also increased their lead on the Cougars to 5.5 games thanks to a 7 game winning streak while Chicago was dropping 5 of 7. Meanwhile in the Federal Association both the Boston Minutemen and Washington Eagles closed the gap on the first place New York Gothams. Each of the Fed challengers had made moves to upgrade while the Gothams made no major additions. The Stars made two moves in quick succession to upgrade their infield. The first one saw them add veteran second sacker Freddie Jones from the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for young shortstop prospect Lou Hooker and a fifth round draft pick and just a few minutes after announcing that move the Stars made a deal with Detroit to bring in slugging third baseman Mack Sutton in exhange for a pair of highly touted prospects in infielder Tommy Griffin and pitcher Roy Schaub. The final 'big' deadline move came from New England where the Boston Minutemen decided to part with a second round draft selection in order to add some depth in the form of pitcher Art White and outfielder Rip Curry. The two veterans came over from Detroit with Boston's second rounder in January along with veteran outfielder Alf Pestilli heading to the Motor City. The Minutemen tightened things up considerably by taking two of three from the Gothams in New York over the weekend. Boston is now just 2.5 games back of the leaders with the Washington Eagles - who added all-star outfielder Rats McGonigle two weeks ago- sandwiched in between a game back of the Gothams. The Gothams did make a trade in addition to the one that brought 42-year old Jim Lonardo back to town in search of the final 3 victories he needs to get to 300 for his career. It was a bit of a perplexing move as New York dealt away two players to Brooklyn for a 4th and a 7th round draft pick. Gone are Mule Monier -who was considered a key piece of New York's $100,000 infield of the late 1930s- and former first round pick Bunny Edwards. Edwards, a 30 year old righthander, had numerous opportunities to claim a job in the Gothams often-weak rotation but never could quite accomplish the task. Monier was a two-time all-star but the 30 year old was a liability in the field at shortstop and could not claim the third base job. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE ON THE DEADLINE DEALS - Let's start with the Continental clubs. The New York Stars struck quickly and very successfully with the additions of third baseman Mack Sutton (.240,20,58) from Detroit and second sacker Freddie Jones (.301,1,36). The moves look like a big upgrade to an already powerful offense and it is clear the Stars are 'all-in' for a pennant clash with the Chicago Cougars. Neither team is one-dimensional by any means but the stretch race will be a battle between the Stars offense and the Cougars pitching and we won't have to wait long to see them clash as the two clubs tangle for four games in the Windy City this weekend. One might ask why the Cougars did not upgrade and they did have some interest in Sutton but were beaten to the punch by the fast-acting Stars. It might be for the best as there are very few holes in the Chicago lineup and it might have been tough to find a spot for Sutton to play as that means either 3B Hank Barnett or 1B Dick Walker would likely have to sit. The Brooklyn deal with the Gothams was rare because New York is usually the one dealing picks, and almost never adding them. However, Monier and Edwards are a pair of veterans that were added at minimal cost as Brooklyn -spurred on by some recent success- looks to top its win total of 61 from a year ago. In the Federal Association the Boston Minutemen followed Washington's lead from a week ago in an attempt to upgrade for a stretch run with New York. Boston parted with a second round pick and Alf Pestilli -a veteran outfielder they would have cut- to add a solid veteran bat in Rip Curry (.323,7,39)and a twenty-game winner from a year ago in Art White (5-12, 3.37) in a deal with Detroit. Both should add depth for Boston's stretch run and they club addressed two needs without having to part with any of their top prospects or their first round pick. The Chicago Chiefs moved Jones (.301,1,36), an aging but still effective when healthy infielder for a top 100 shortstop prospect and a fifth round draft pick. The prospect replaces Herb Keller, who was sent to the Kings in the Tim Hopkins deal, in the Chiefs system. Detroit was interesting. The Dynamos went from a full effort to land the 28 year old Hopkins, to pivoting when that fell through in an effort to add more youth. In two deals they parted with their top two hitters this season in Curry and Sutton as well as a pitcher who won 20 games a year ago. In return they added more to what is now the second deepest farm system in the league and -assuming all breaks right- they could be a powerhouse in the next 3 to 4 years. ANOTHER REBUILD? Dynamos Brass Say This Time is Different We have seen it far too often over the past 15 years. A struggling Detroit Dynamos club sells off prize veteran talent either in its prime or at least with a few good years left and then watch them go on to achieve great success elsewhere. Al Wheeler and Frank Vance in Brooklyn a decade ago. First Red Johnson and more recently Sal Pestilli to the Gothams. Now Mack Sutton is off to the New York Stars while Rip Curry and Art White are Boston bound. Management says it has a plan. But we have certainly heard that before from the previous group in charge at Thompson Field. How will this time be different? We sat down with Dynamos Assistant General Manager Harris Dixon and he outlined the organization's plan with an emphasis being the need to stick with that plan even if things get tough. "I can't comment on what happened before I arrived here," explained the new Detroit executive, "but we are looking at building a core group that can contend for a decade and we feel the pieces we added help us take another big step towards that goal." He continued without waiting for a respone "Now I know Detroit fans have heard a similar refrain in the past, and I get there can be a growing frustration seeing Red (Johnson) and Sal (Pestilli) have success in New York, but we have a plan and more importantly we intend to stick with it." That plan reloves around supplementing the terrific cast of talent that was already in the organization when Dixon arrived with the remaining key pieces the club would need. Dixon says there are still some holes to fill but feels the future could be outstanding. And a glance at what Detroit's lineup might look like in a year or two is certainly impressive, assuming the players develop as expected and management doesn't do another 180 degree turn. How impressive? Well, one can comfortably state it is far deeper than the core of talent the Dynamos had in the fall of 1937 - a group that featured Red Johnson, Sal Pestilli and Hank Koblenz. Let's compare the two by looking at the young major leaguers and minor league talent that is in the OSA top 100 today compared to the group in October of 1937. There is no question this current crop of Dynamos prospects might be one of the best core groups of young talents assembled by any club in decades. They do still have to perform on the field but the Dynamos future looks very bright if the majority can live up to those lofty goals. However, two things immediately jump out when one compares those two groups of players. Number one is simply a reassurance of just how unpredictable young pitching can be. The big one, for Detroit fans to worry about, is will management stick to the patient plan they have laid out and let this team gel. The '37 group were not given that chance. Imagine how good the Dynamos would be right now if they hung on to the likes of Pestilli, Johnson and Koblenz? It may be easy to accumulate high draft picks. The challenge is developing them and hanging on to them long enough to lead your club back to the top. And that is something the Dynamos have not been able to do in past years. WHO HAS THE TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM OF PAST 15 YEARS? The talk on the current crop of Dynamos prospect brought up some discussion on the top minor league systems. We only have data from 1930 to today and this is not a method without holes, but in strictly looking at the year end minor league system ranking points for each organization the top minor league system would be the 1942 Montreal Saints, who claimed a post-1930 year end record 303 points. Using strictly the minor league system ranking points as the sole criteria here are all of the organizations that surpassed the 175 point total. Today's top ranked system would be the Chicago Cougars group that lays claim to 187 points which would place it outside of the top twenty. TOP MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEMS (Ranked by Points at the end of the season 1930-46) 303 1942 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , RF O. Parker (6th) , SS G. Perkins (7th) , CF E. McCoy (11th) , P B. Cupid (20th) 284 1933 Washington: 3B M. Carrol (3rd) , RF S. Brown (5th) , P G. Gilliard (9th) , SS J. Beard (25th) , 1B H. Shumate (27th) 268 1936 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (1st) , P J. Edwards (7th) , P G. Goulding (17th) , SS C. Car (19th) , CF F. Galloway (21st) 266 1938 Gothams: P E. Bowman (2nd) , C P. Casstevens (3rd) , 1B W. Messer (10th) , P B. Edwards (11th) , 2B R. Brewer (24th) 250 1944 Detroit: CF E. Hackberry (1st) , SS S. Kleminski (5th) , P C. Potter (9th) , P R. Schaub (14th) , SS W. Hamby (36th) 245 1940 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , CF B. Greene (9th) , P G. Wynn (15th) , P E. Whetzel (20th) , SS H. Grant (37th) 235 1941 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , SS G. Perkins (8th) , RF O. Parker (9th) , P J. James (29th) , P B. Cupid (31st) 234 1939 Baltimore: P V. Carroll (2nd) , RF M. Taylor (11th) , SS J. Hensley (14th) , LF O. Parker (16th) , 2B H. Rivers (26th) 233 1938 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (5th) , SS J. Hensley (12th) , SS C. McCullough (14th) , 2B H. Rivers (25th) , RF M. Taylor (27th) 230 1937 Gothams: 2B R. Brewer (3rd) , P B. Edwards (10th) , 1B W. Messer (13th) , 3B B. Dalton (15th) , SS M. Monier (28th) 228 1940 Cincinnati: P B. Sohl (2nd) , LF D. Blaszak (4th) , LF O. Parker (12th) , 2B H. Rivers (17th) , P J. James (26th) 229 1935 Baltimore: P J. Edwards (9th) , P R. Petrick (11th) , C J. Rainbow (17th) , P G. Goulding (19th) , SS C. McCullough (21st) 225 1935 Cougars: 1B L. Mitchell (10th) , SS B. Hunter (12th) , 2B R. Ford (13th) , RF R. Langton (20th) , C H. Mead (38th) 219 1937 Detroit: 1B R. Johnson (1st) , C P. Casstevens (5th) , P R. McCarthy (18th) , 3B H. Koblenz (35th) , SS F. Davis (43rd) 213 1934 Cougars: 1B R. Ford (5th) , 1B L. Mitchell (10th) , SS B. Hunter (18th) , P C. Sullivan (30th) , LF R. Langton (36th) 212 1939 Montreal: P P. Weakley (3rd) , CF B. Greene (9th) , 2B C. Woodbury (24th) , 3B S. Bent (40th) , RF H. McKay (43rd) 209 1945 Stars: SS R. Hanson (1st) , 1B B. Barnett (8th) , C L. McClure (17th) , C D. Atwood (30th) , LF J. Welch (34th) 209 1934 Washington: 3B M. Carrol (3rd) , SS J. Beard (15th) , SS O. Page (19th) , 1B H. Shumate (26th) , SS J. Sundberg (43rd) 209 1931 Baltimore: CF K. Curry (3rd) , P P. Conlan (10th) , LF J. Watson (16th) , 1B B. Stapleton (23rd) , 2B R. Barnes (36th) 205 1943 Cleveland: P H. Steinberg (3rd) , SS J. Adams Jr. (5th) , P R. Hughes (9th) , LF P. Sigmund (38th) , P J. Jackson (47th) 194 1945 Detroit: CF E. Hackberry (3rd) , 2B D. Johnson (6th) , SS S. Kleminski (13th) , RF D. Estes (23rd) , P W. Hunter (39th) 192 1936 Keystones: P L. Stevens (8th) , P G. White (13th) , P J. Whiteley (23rd) , P H. Patterson (29th) , 3B F. LeMieux (37th) 190 1939 St Louis : P M. Bianco (8th) , P H. Sharp (10th) , P C. Roe (18th) , 1B B. Johnston Jr. (30th) , P D. Hern (36th) 189 1939 Gothams: P E. Bowman (1st) , C P. Casstevens (4th) , 1B W. Messer (6th) , P J. Walker (41st) , CF B. Boone (67th) 189 1937 Toronto: P G. Garrison (7th) , 3B O. Holliday (11th) , CF T. Frederick (20th) , P B. Long (25th) , SS C. Artuso (29th) 187 1936 Cougars: SS B. Hunter (4th) , C H. Mead (33rd) , P C. Sullivan (34th) , SS H. Wood (41st) , P K. Wallace (47th) 187 1946 Cougars: P B. Allen (3rd) , P D. Bybee (7th) , CF F. Reece (25th) , CF J. Peters (33rd) , C E. Howard (41st) 181 1935 St Louis: RF A. Tucker (2nd) , C H. Zimmer (6th) , P D. Lee (16th) , 1B Z. Sullivan (37th) , RF H. Sharp (56th) 179 1937 Baltimore: P R. Barrell II (6th) , CF F. Galloway (19th) , SS J. Hensley (21st) , SS C. McCullough (27th) , P J. Anderson (40th) 177 1942 Stars: 1B B. Barnett (17th) , CF E. Bourdeau (19th) , LF W. Hunter (23rd) , LF J. Welch (37th) , CF N. Cooper (42nd) 177 1930 Gothams :RF M. Strong (1st) , 1B F. McCormick (5th) , 3B J. McDowell (47th) , 2B J. Turner (50th) , P H. Spencer (52nd) LAND ENTERING UNCHARTED TERRITORY Batting averages are down across big league baseball - at lows not seen in thirty years for FABL and over a decade ago in the Great Western League when it was a AAA loop. It has been nearly a decade since we have seen a .400 hitter in big time baseball but somehow, when no one in FABL and no one else in the GWL is hitting at more than a .362 clip, Bob Land is having a season that has to been seen to be believed in San Francisco. It is not entirely unexpected we suppose, as Land did hit .414 in a half season with Sacramento a year ago but the 33 year old is a player who owns a .250 batting average in 123 FABL games and couldn't cut it in the eastern majors despite being a first round draft pick 15 years ago. Yet here we are, two-thirds of the way through the slate of games in the inaugural big league season for the western loop, and Land is batting .415 with the next best hitter on the coast hitting a mere .362. Land was a solid player in the old feeder high school leagues and taken with the 14th selection in the 1931 FABL draft by the Philadelphia Keystones. Back then OSA felt he was unlikely to be anything more than an average contact hitter but he did crack the top 100 prospects list for a couple of seasons. He never got much of a chance in stints with the Keystones over four diffrent seasons, topped by 126 at bats, and a .270 batting average, in 1940. They released him the following year at age 28 and spent the war years with the independent Syracuse Excelsiors of the Union Legaue. Land was merely an average AAA ballplayer until a surprise break-out season at age 31 saw him hit .367 in 1944 and narrowly lost the batting title to Andy Dye. Sacramento bought his contract out midway through last season as Land continued to excel at the plate and when the GWL turned big-league he moved on to San Francisco. The rest may well be history in the making and if his .415 batting average can hold up Land will become the first major leaguer to hit at least .415 since Max Morris's 1925 campaign. Peter the Heater was awarded Pitcher of the Month in July, finishing 5-1 with a 1.67 ERA (202 ERA+), 0.91 WHIP, 17 walks, and 41 strikeouts in six complete games. Pap then celebrated that award with a 4-hit shutout. He walked one and struck out seven to improve to 14-6 on the season. That ties him with three other pitchers for the association lead. If he can separate from the pack, the 1941 Allen Winner could win his first triple crown. His 133 strikeouts are 23 better then co-win leader Richie Hughes, and his 2.21 ERA (152 ERA+) is now lower then teammate Johnnie Jones (2.28). The 28-year-old has positioned himself as the favorite for the Allen Award, but he'd trade it all for his first ring Harry MacRae has recorded a save in each of his first four big league appearances. Before his debut, the Cougars staff had just one. An electric week from Bill Barrett propelled the New York Stars to a badly needed 2 series sweep. B. Barrett : 20 AB, 9 H, 4 HR, 12 RBI, .450 AVG, 1.745 OPS. A 3-9 stretch from the Cincinnati Cannons leaves the club 10.5 games off the pace and their 3-year reign as Continental Association champs is probably over. Toronto has fallen to the bottom of the Weekly Power Ranking for the first time in recent memory. A record of 22-30 at Dominion Field is doing nothing to endear the team to the faithful. With 1946 appearing to be a write-off to all but the most ardent or delusional Wolves fans, skipper Bob Call has issued small goals for the team hoping to inspire some spirited ball. He now has stated publicly that he will begin tinkering with the team, "Almost everyone is playing for their position going forward. This unexpected demise in team fortunes has brought some hidden deficiencies to light, we have lots of work to do here." Kings P Clarence Barton was struggling this season as a starter. Recently he assumed the stopper role for the Kings and the results have been quite good. In 9 games he is 3-0 with 3 saves in 16IP with a 0.00 ERA. He’s given up only 9 hits and has turned his K;BB around with just 4 walks and 11 K’s. Nice last for new/old Dynamo Roy Schaub, who threw a 4-hit shutout with 3 walks and 11 strikeouts in his last start as a Star farmhand. Hard to explain baseball. The Dynamos won just 5 games since the all-star break heading into last week. Then with their top two hitters in Mack Sutton and Rip Curry gone, Detroit reels off a 5-1 week. Despite a slow start to their season, the Houston Bulls enter this week 53-51, only 5 games out from the wildcard and 6 games ahead of the hated Centurions. A large part of this success comes from their agreesive targeting of former FABL free agents, including Montreal veteran Art McMahon(OPS+ 134), detroit mistake Lou Balk(160), and Pittsburgh star Wally Flowers(Hasn't played a game yet). On the pitching side, FABL fans will also recognize names like Sam Vaughn(ERA 2.00), Bill McGraw(2.77), and Pug Bryan(2.72), who all held significant roles on past FABL squads. After Dallas General Manager Ox Munday lamented the fact he does not have the money he would like to spend on adding talent for his struggling Centurions squad the most vocal opponent of the western loop sprung into action. Toronto owner Bernie Millard's misses no opportunity to bash the rookie coast league and his quote on GWL finances circulated in the Toronto daily's was "How can you try to run a big league team on a shoestring budget? If you try to run an organization with a bush league budget, then it is what you get a bush league, which is what the GWL is bush." To which Munday retorted "Well, you should really ask the perpetually broke (New York) Stars that question." SULLVIAN TOPS BENJAMIN IN KEY HEAVY TUSSLE A pair of top heavyweight contenders fought a spirited battle in New Orleans last Wednesday night and when the dust settled Chris Sullivan had scored a narrow but unanimous decision victory over Glenn Benjamin. The 10-rounder went back and forth in the early rounds before Sullivan asserted his control with a strong showing in the middle rounds. There was no quit in Benjamin -who entered the fight ranked as the #3 heavyweight contender behind only Mark Fountain and Scott Baker- as he closed the gap by sending Sullivan, who was the #5 ranked contender in the July 1st list- to the canvas with just 45 seconds remaining in the bout. Sullivan struggled to his feet and then held on to sweep the three scorecards despite being on the short end of a 10-8 verdict from each in the final round. The victory improves Sullivan's record to 18-3-3 and likely adds the 29 year old Chicago native to a growing list of fighters who feel they should be getting a title shot against Hector Sawyer. Benjamin, 32, drops to 24-3 with the loss. Sawyer is set to next defend his crown on the 17th of this month outside at the Bigsby Oval against 40 year old Jochen Schotter - the powerful German who held the title for 5 years before losing to Sawyer in 1940 but has fought only once since then. UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS Aug 17 - Bigsby Oval, New York City: World Heavyweight title as Hector 'The Cajun Crusher' Sawyer (53-3-1) defends against former world champion Jochen Schrotter (48-4). Sep 21 - Noble Jones College Arena, Atlanta, Ga. : World Welterweight champion Dennis 'The Jacksonville Jackhammer' O'Keefe (20-1) vs Mark Westlake (19-2-1). Oct 15- Denny Arena, Boston: World Middleweight champion Frank 'The Tank' Melanson (30-0-2) makes his third title defense against European champion Edouard Desmarais (36-0). The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/04/1946 A 21-nation Peace Conferencce is underway in Paris more than a year after the end of the Second World War in Europe with a goal stated by President Georges Bidault of France to abolish "the plague of war." President Truman declared that "our present fiscal situation is a most serious one" and called on all Federal agencies to cut down on expenditures. Truman added that the 1947 budget will have an operating deficit of nearly $2 billion. The Senate voted 60 to 2, in favor of American acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction for the World Court, to settle international legal disputes as one of the last acts of the 79th Congress. Senator Mitchell of Washington has charged corruption by Government officials, including some in Army uniforms as the Senate War Investigating Committee continues hearings into the handling of awarding of war production contracts. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports