As the calendar turns to May, Montreal turned in its first winning week, going 4-3 in games with the New York Stars and Baltimore. Pitching was the name of the game this week as ace Del Plummer turned in two good starts: throwing a 3-hit shutout of New York in a 1-0 victory and beating Baltimore 8-1, with the sole run being unearned.
It's only been 3 weeks, but the early indications are that there are defensive holes at both shortstop and center field, two key defensive positions. Jim Newman just doesn't have the glove to be a full-time shortstop, particularly when he is hitting the way he is hitting this season. This past week, Tommy Chandler was being given more opportunities at short, but he was hit by a pitch in the knee and will be out of action for at least a month. 23 year-old Ernie Woodrow was purchased from Minneapolis to take Chandler's spot. He was swinging a good bat for the Lumberjacks (.323/.369/.430, 0, 11) with solid defense. Woodrow should get at least a couple of starts a week.
For the past 4 seasons, Eddie Rodgerson has been one of the best defensive right fielders in the league. So far, that defensive prowess has not transferred to center field. But he has not been completely awful, and there is no one currently in Minneapolis who would do a better job. So the center field job is Rodgerson's for a while.
Minor League News
Minneapolis Lumberjacks (12-12, 4th (3.5 GB) in the Century League (AAA))
Ernie Woodrow was leading the Century League in doubles with 10 at the time of his call up to Montreal.
Nashville Chieftains (13-10, 2nd (2.5 GB) in the Dixie League (AA))
Pitching is the strong suit of Nashville thus far, with lefties Frank Ellison (3-2, 2.36) and Charlie Stedman (4-1, 1.43) leading the way.
Evansville Hawks (19-4, 1st (+2 GB) in the Heartland League (A))
Evansville has now won 14 games in a row to take over first place in the Heartland.
Right fielder Tony Morris had a rather undistinguished collegiate career at Notre Dame. He went undrafted in December of 1924, and then was selected by Montreal in the 12th round of the 1925 draft. He has been tearing up the Heartland League (.455/.551/.795, 8, 31) and was just named player of the week. As a reward he is being promoted to play right field in Nashville.
Tony Morris
Mobile Monarchs (6-18, 7th (10.5 GB) in the Southeastern League (B))
The Monarchs were able to climb out of the cellar. This is a club of mostly 18 and 19 year-olds getting their first taste of professional baseball, so there is bound to be quite a bit of inconsistent play.