[gehrig38]

11/8 The New York Giants and Boston Braves made a pretty big trade today. Giants send 25 year old OF Mike D Young (acquired from the Cardinals and hit a combined .265-26-92 in 139 games, 12-37 in 70 games with STL and 14-55 in 69 games with NY) to Boston for 35 year old journeyman C Mike A Gonzalez and 24 year old 2B Ruben Rodriguez, a 3.5 star prospect.

11/8 The A's trade 29 year old Warren Cromartie (.286-11-88) to the White Sox for 30 year old RP Johnny Murphy and 24 year old OF prospect Juan Gutierrez. Murphy was 2-2 3 Saves 3.81 in 49 games over 52 IP. Gutierrez is a 3.5 star OF prospect who can run and defend.

11/11 The New York Giants send 33 year old Myron Allen (.364-3-14 as a pinch hitter in 70 games) to the World Champion Tigers for 26 year old minor league C Justin Phillips and 24 year old minor league reliever Bill Gould. Both prospects are potential 4 star guys.

11/14 NL Champion Cincinnati sent 28 year old Russ Derry to the St Louis Cardinals for 23 year old CF Earl Naylor and 30 year old 2B Bill Stein. Stein hit .305-5-23 in 61 games for Cincy while Derry hit .277-15-42 in 103 games for the Cardinals.

11/16 The Brooklyn Dodgers sent 31 year old OF Matt Lawton to Philadelphia for 27 year old SP Bill H James. Lawton hit .266-14-53 for Brooklyn while James was 4-9 4.64 in 13 starts for the Phillies. James missed the last few months of the season with elbow and shoulder issues.

11/23 The Boston Braves sent 39 year old Closer Joe A Berry and 22 year old OF Jose Santiago to the Cardinals for 31 year old Brant Blake. Berry was 4-9 22 Saves 3.78 in 48 games for Boston.

MLB Leaders in CG's
Roscoe Miller (NYY) 22
Jim Tobin (BRA) 21
Bill Wise (CHI) 19
Roger Wolff (STLC) 18
Chris Young (CLE) 18

WINTER MEETINGS
11/28 The Boston Braves have dealt 28 year old Scott Podsednik to the Chicago White Sox for 27 year old RP Willlie Blair and 19 year old P prospect Bobby Martin. Podsednik hit .286 6 HR's 60 RBI's in 151 games between the New York Giants and Boston Braves last year, leading the NL in SB with 21. Blair is 2-3 5.04 ERA in 45 games with Chicago. The White Sox will now feature a top 3 in their lineup of Podsednik, Ray Durham and Jacoby Ellsbury.

FREE AGENT SIGNINGS
12/7 The New York Giants managed to retain one of their own. Signing 30 year old Hugh Duffy (.311-9-83) to a 3 year 111,600 dollar deal, with a player option for the '54 season at 37.2K.

TRADE NEWS
12/8 Brooklynhas traded CF Torii Hunter to the New York Yankees for 22 year old minor league 2B Juan Lozano and 27 year old SP Jim Owens. Hunter hit .228-3-23 in 87 games this year while Owens was a combined 10-14 4.17 in 39 games, 26 starts with the Braves and Yankees last season.


12/12 The World Champs dealt a piece of their rotation away today. Sending 26 year old Erskine Mayer to the St Louis Browns for 25 year old 1B Russell Knox and 24 year old RP Edgar Fernandez. Mayer went 11-14 between Brooklyn and Detroit in helping the Tigers win the 1950 World Series. Knox and Fernandez are both 4 star prospects according to the MLB scouting bureau.

FREE AGENT SIGNING
12/16 Slugger Cliff Johnson (.274-30-89 with the Cubs in '50) settled on a 1 year 32,000 dollar deal from the Indians for the 1951 season. The 35 year old figures to hit 5th in their lineup, providing protection for the 3-4 combo of Aaron and Agee.

12/24 Tiger OF Gavvy Cravath, who hit .273-17-68, has decided to help the 'other guys' out. Today signing a deal with the team he helped beat in the series, the Cincinnati Reds. The 36 year old signed a 2 year 116,000 dollar deal with a vesting plate appearance option of 520. Cravvath is expected to play RF and hit 4th for the Reds, between Jimmy Walsh (335-36-107) and John E Briggs (309-30-101).


TRADE NEWS
12/29 The Boston Braves have sent 27 year old 1B Brad Wilkerson to Cincinnati, along with 19 year old 2B Bobby Martin, for 29 year old Ivan Goodman. Wilkerson hit .262-17-62 for the Braves while the 29 year old Goodman hit .312-16-61 in 132 games.