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DD Martin · 01-31-2020, 10:28 PM

GM DD Martin's office

The 1929 season just finished. To say it was a disappointment is a huge understatement. The season started off with several of the prognosticators in the baseball world feeling that the Foresters would compete for a Continental Association title with the defending champions, the Philadelphia Sailors. The Sailors ended won 103 games so (103-51) which was 1 game better than the previous season when the won the World Series. Some had thought the Sailors might slip, but they didn't. How did the Foresters do? Well let's just say it was a season to forget. We finished an alarming 39 games behind the Sailors. My 4th year in the GM office in Cleveland had not produced a championship. In fact it produced more questions than answers to be sure.

Now there were reasons why our record was so bad. In late June as we were treading 500 at 34-34, it was painfully obvious to me that 1929 was not going to be our year. We were already behind the high flying Sailors by double digits. We could have stayed the course and maybe we would have finished in the upper division. But our pitching staff was really failing us. SP Wayne Robinson would was the runner up last season for the Allen Award had a rough spring and just never got it turned around. He wasn't terrible but he wasn't good either, and he was getting older. My concern was that he had crossed that point at 31 where he was going to go downhill and maybe faster than normal. Robinson was 3-6 with a 4.53 ERA (Spring ERA was over 6.00) in 12 starts (15 games) before the trade.

The other pitcher in question was a Cleveland Icon, for a city that has never won a world series that isn't saying much. But Bob Lawrence had been with the Cleveland organization since December 1915 when he signed a minor league contract. He had been the first pick in the 2nd round of the draft by the Philadelphia Sailors just a day earlier, but was released immediately over what some said where "philosophical differences". Cleveland signed him the very next day. He made his Foresters debut in 1920 at the age of 23. He went 13-12 that year and it was the last year the Forester's made the playoffs. When he was traded in June he had a lifetime record with the Forester's of 151-110 with a 3.58 career ERA over 2400+ innings. The concern with Bob was age as he was 33 and would likely not be around when we got back into contention again.

On July 1st, 1929 we struck a deal with the high flying Detroit Dynamos who were in a 3-way battle at the time for the Federal Association title, or the league that would likely lose a World Series to the Sailors for the 2nd straight season. The deal saw us send the two veteran SP for the following package:

1st Round Draft Pick
3rd Round Draft Pick
2B Hank Clark (23 A league) 465-557-760 16 HR's
SP/C Al Howell (23 A league) 8-2 2.86 ERA 88 innings and hitting 352 with 10 hr's

So we picked up a couple of prospects who were not highly rated (Howell was #158 in the FABL ratings) and the draft picks.

How did Detroit do after the trade? Well on June 30, the Dynamo's had stretched out to a 4 1/2 game lead over the Chicago Chiefs with a record of 45-26. The race got much more interesting as and closer at least with the Chiefs, but in the end the Dynamo's ended up 91-63 with a 2 game margin. So they went 46-37 after the deal. We on the other hand went 30-55. For us the wheels fell off completely.

How did the trade go, well at this point depending on who we draft and how they pan out I feel pretty good. Detroit got innings out of both Lawrence and Robinson, but the results after the trade were rather...well see for yourself.

Wayne Robinson (#1 in the Dynamo's rotation) went 5-8 in 15 starts with a rather ugly 5.52 ERA. His numbers across the board were worse than they were in Cleveland.

Bob Lawrence (#3 SP) was 8-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts (1 relief appearance). His numbers too were not as good in Detroit as they were with Cleveland, but he gets a chance at the World Series. It might be a long shot but I hope he helps Detroit win a Championship. The Dynamo's last won the world series 3 time over a 4 year span (1916-1919).

Something that Cleveland has never done once.

The other thing that turned our season upside down besides shipping off our top 2 SP's happened the day after the trade. SP Jimmy Wilson had a catastrophic arm injury that was initially suggested he would be out for 20 months. Unfortunately while in surgery, the doctors found the damage to be much more severe and that Wilson would never pitch again. This was a huge blow that really took any air we had left in us, out. Wilson was slated to be our #1 starter going into 1930 and at only 26 had a bright future in front of him. Wilson's career ended in his 3rd season (but 1929 was to be his first full season at the big league level) with a record of 24-19 with a 3.77 ERA. The numbers might not have screamed #1 starter, but for the first 3 months of the season he was looking to be a very good young SP.

3 SP's gone in 2 days and that was basically the end of any hopes of finishing 500 this year.

The Forester's have had a run of bad luck with SP's and injuries the last 3 seasons. Last year the team was in the race with Philadelphia but then 3 SP went down and out for the rest of the season. Bob Lawrence had also end the last 2 years (27-28) on the DL in the last week or two of the seasons and might have been the difference in 27 when the Forester's missed out by 2 games of the title.

The World Series is set to begin and once again we are not in it. While the season is played out between the Dynamo's and the Sailor's we will look at the 4 seasons of GM Martin's tenure in Cleveland. So far the jury is out on Martin, he has had the team in the upper division of the CA for 2 seasons, and fighting for the #1 draft pick in his 2 other seasons.

The Mediocrity continues into the off-season where there will be a lot of changes.

ooc: Thus begins the long talked about and often delayed diary of the Forester's. Much like so many of the real world Cleveland teams (other than King Jame's Cavs for a few years), this appears to be a typical Cleveland organization.

We will do quick recaps of the last 4 years while the series plays out and then head straight into the off-season.

01-31-2020, 10:28 PM	#1
DD Martin All Star Reserve Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Seattle area Posts: 830	FABL - Cleveland Foresters Mediocrity at its worst GM DD Martin's office The 1929 season just finished. To say it was a disappointment is a huge understatement. The season started off with several of the prognosticators in the baseball world feeling that the Foresters would compete for a Continental Association title with the defending champions, the Philadelphia Sailors. The Sailors ended won 103 games so (103-51) which was 1 game better than the previous season when the won the World Series. Some had thought the Sailors might slip, but they didn't. How did the Foresters do? Well let's just say it was a season to forget. We finished an alarming 39 games behind the Sailors. My 4th year in the GM office in Cleveland had not produced a championship. In fact it produced more questions than answers to be sure. Now there were reasons why our record was so bad. In late June as we were treading 500 at 34-34, it was painfully obvious to me that 1929 was not going to be our year. We were already behind the high flying Sailors by double digits. We could have stayed the course and maybe we would have finished in the upper division. But our pitching staff was really failing us. SP Wayne Robinson would was the runner up last season for the Allen Award had a rough spring and just never got it turned around. He wasn't terrible but he wasn't good either, and he was getting older. My concern was that he had crossed that point at 31 where he was going to go downhill and maybe faster than normal. Robinson was 3-6 with a 4.53 ERA (Spring ERA was over 6.00) in 12 starts (15 games) before the trade. The other pitcher in question was a Cleveland Icon, for a city that has never won a world series that isn't saying much. But Bob Lawrence had been with the Cleveland organization since December 1915 when he signed a minor league contract. He had been the first pick in the 2nd round of the draft by the Philadelphia Sailors just a day earlier, but was released immediately over what some said where "philosophical differences". Cleveland signed him the very next day. He made his Foresters debut in 1920 at the age of 23. He went 13-12 that year and it was the last year the Forester's made the playoffs. When he was traded in June he had a lifetime record with the Forester's of 151-110 with a 3.58 career ERA over 2400+ innings. The concern with Bob was age as he was 33 and would likely not be around when we got back into contention again. On July 1st, 1929 we struck a deal with the high flying Detroit Dynamos who were in a 3-way battle at the time for the Federal Association title, or the league that would likely lose a World Series to the Sailors for the 2nd straight season. The deal saw us send the two veteran SP for the following package: 1st Round Draft Pick 3rd Round Draft Pick 2B Hank Clark (23 A league) 465-557-760 16 HR's SP/C Al Howell (23 A league) 8-2 2.86 ERA 88 innings and hitting 352 with 10 hr's So we picked up a couple of prospects who were not highly rated (Howell was #158 in the FABL ratings) and the draft picks. How did Detroit do after the trade? Well on June 30, the Dynamo's had stretched out to a 4 1/2 game lead over the Chicago Chiefs with a record of 45-26. The race got much more interesting as and closer at least with the Chiefs, but in the end the Dynamo's ended up 91-63 with a 2 game margin. So they went 46-37 after the deal. We on the other hand went 30-55. For us the wheels fell off completely. How did the trade go, well at this point depending on who we draft and how they pan out I feel pretty good. Detroit got innings out of both Lawrence and Robinson, but the results after the trade were rather...well see for yourself. Wayne Robinson (#1 in the Dynamo's rotation) went 5-8 in 15 starts with a rather ugly 5.52 ERA. His numbers across the board were worse than they were in Cleveland. Bob Lawrence (#3 SP) was 8-7 with a 4.76 ERA in 16 starts (1 relief appearance). His numbers too were not as good in Detroit as they were with Cleveland, but he gets a chance at the World Series. It might be a long shot but I hope he helps Detroit win a Championship. The Dynamo's last won the world series 3 time over a 4 year span (1916-1919). Something that Cleveland has never done once. The other thing that turned our season upside down besides shipping off our top 2 SP's happened the day after the trade. SP Jimmy Wilson had a catastrophic arm injury that was initially suggested he would be out for 20 months. Unfortunately while in surgery, the doctors found the damage to be much more severe and that Wilson would never pitch again. This was a huge blow that really took any air we had left in us, out. Wilson was slated to be our #1 starter going into 1930 and at only 26 had a bright future in front of him. Wilson's career ended in his 3rd season (but 1929 was to be his first full season at the big league level) with a record of 24-19 with a 3.77 ERA. The numbers might not have screamed #1 starter, but for the first 3 months of the season he was looking to be a very good young SP. 3 SP's gone in 2 days and that was basically the end of any hopes of finishing 500 this year. The Forester's have had a run of bad luck with SP's and injuries the last 3 seasons. Last year the team was in the race with Philadelphia but then 3 SP went down and out for the rest of the season. Bob Lawrence had also end the last 2 years (27-28) on the DL in the last week or two of the seasons and might have been the difference in 27 when the Forester's missed out by 2 games of the title. The World Series is set to begin and once again we are not in it. While the season is played out between the Dynamo's and the Sailor's we will look at the 4 seasons of GM Martin's tenure in Cleveland. So far the jury is out on Martin, he has had the team in the upper division of the CA for 2 seasons, and fighting for the #1 draft pick in his 2 other seasons. The Mediocrity continues into the off-season where there will be a lot of changes. ooc: Thus begins the long talked about and often delayed diary of the Forester's. Much like so many of the real world Cleveland teams (other than King Jame's Cavs for a few years), this appears to be a typical Cleveland organization. We will do quick recaps of the last 4 years while the series plays out and then head straight into the off-season.