This is my team and I'll run it how I want to!!!

[Ragin Cajun]

(Sitting in the local steakhouse, our protagonist is reminiscing about today's events.)

Well, well, well. It's 1974 and I've just purchased myself a major league baseball team. My team, the California Angels have just come off a 79-83 record and haven't seen a .500 mark since 1970 and it was '67 before that. They've never finished higher than third in their league so they've never won a pennant.

I wasn't really looking to buy a team, but I've been a fan of Gene Autry's for quite some time and I was a fan of the teams' star player, Nolan Ryan. When word got out that Autry was looking to get a partner or sell the team outright he had a ton of suitors try to buy the team but he's a tough cookie on making sure the "right kind" of owner would buy the team. After two years on the market, and no decision reached, Autry began getting very defensive about his tactics in finding a partner or buyer and it began hurting his image. I was very disturbed by that so I had my people contact his people and after the '73 regular season he and I met face to face for the first time. In short order, Autry admitted that I was his man. I was looking to go in as a limited partner due to my lack of funds to buy a team outright but Autry said I was "his man" and he personally fronted me the money to buy the team outright.

Now I'm faced with turning a profit to pay the Singing Cowboy off and also make this team I've followed into a winner.

(Dinner finishes with our hero plotting out his path and how the offseason should progress.)

[Ragin Cajun]

(editors note) For my league I am importing the 1974 season with the entire history put in.
1. I have unchecked the recalculate option to allow some variance of development for players to have an alternative history develop.
2. I envision myself as the owner and GM of the team. I will have a manager that I hire so I will let the AI set rosters and rotations and handle the minor leagues. As GM I will let my baseball men run the team, but I will have say-so in trades and drafting. Envision a kinder-gentler Steinbrenner.
3. There is a DH.
4. There will be no Rule V draft.
5. There will be Option Years for the minor leagues (using AAA, AA and A)
6. Trading of players will be enabled. No picks.
7. Amateur draft set to occur in November.
8. Financials are set to automatically update yearly.
9. There will be draft pick compensation for lost free agents to offset the lack of trading draft picks.
10. Entire revenue available as I am the owner and will need to be able to override any other "owner" decisions on finances.

[rem]

So do you plan on finishing this one?

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...earchid=733405

[Ragin Cajun]

I fell asleep last night and woke up this morning with the same question pounding through my skull that has been since I bought the team exactly one month ago today. It's hard to believe that I am one of twenty four men who own a professional baseball franchise, and that it's already been 30 days. I feel that I've accomplished next to nothing.

Bobby Winkles seems like a nice guy and he's only been here one year; finishing 79-83 last year. I seem to suffer from "owner-itis" and I want my own man in the front office. My staff and I toss around names and we consider bringing back Bobby or possibly Del Rice from the '72 season. I reject both as I don't want an old skipper in here and I've already decided I want my own man. Whitey Herzog is mentioned and I put him on the short list. Finally, I decide on my man and I pick up the phone to offer him the job.

After preliminary introductions, and my staff leaving the room, I get down to business. We discuss philosophies and game tactics and I spend some time reviewing this man's playing career. I like what I hear and offer Ellie Howard the job. He is an 9-time All Star selection and one time Gold Glove award winner. He also won the Batter of the Year award. He knows how to play the game and is old school, yet at the age of 44 he is young enough to have changed as the game has progressed. Since leaving the game, he's bounced around the minors a bit with some bench coach experience and I like his passion for the game. He also knows how to win from spending his career with the Yankees organization. He agrees to come on board and we make arrangements for him to arrive in L.A. next week to get started remaking this team.

[Ragin Cajun]

January 1974

When Elston arrives in California we begin looking at our ballclub and our situation.

I explain to Ellie how things will work that I expect him to make moves on the field and to get this team to win. I will work the front office and handle trades and contract talks. He asks if he can have any input on players and I say he can have input but I will have final say-so. We shake on our understanding and start breaking down the roster.

Financially, we are OK. Last season the team had a payroll of $10.7 million and turned a profit of $5 million. Thanks for that came in large part to merchandising and also to 1.8 million fans hitting the turnstiles. We need to up that though to handle escalating costs and I know that is coming. LA is a big market although the Dodgers are the dominant team. We need to win and our perception as a hick team will go away. Fan interest seems to be there. I've currently got $5 million set aside for player and staff signings. I don't like signing free agents if I can help it, preferring to build from within. Ellie agrees that a solid farm system like the Yankees had is the way to go. First hurdle down and we move on to the next item on the agenda.

[Ragin Cajun]

Originally Posted by remangiii

So do you plan on finishing this one?

http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...earchid=733405

Maybe. The others I wasn't sure anyone was looking. Trying to find one that gets someone else's attention besides mine...lol.

[aboe7830]

following!!!!!!

[Ragin Cajun]

The starting staff returning from last year is Ed Figueroa, Rudy May, Nolan Ryan, Bill Singer and Frank Tanana. The bullpen is John Cumberland, Dick Lange, Skip Lockwood, Barry Rasiano, Dick Selma and Luis Quintana in the closers role.

Ryan has dominant stuff but does show a lack of control. He's walked over 157 batters each of the last two seasons. That's a big concern for me. He's a 20 game winner and his ERA has been under 2.87 since coming to California in '72. He should anchor the staff.

Frank Tanana is 20 years old and had a 2-2 record in his call up last year. His ERA was 3.08. I believe he can be a dominant #2 in our order.

Bill Singer is 29 and a veteran of the staff. He came over from LA last year and went 20-14 with a 3.32 ERA. He is penciled in at the #1 slot with his experience.

Rudy May seems to have potential but went 7-17 last season. We'll be watching him closely and he has a short leash.

Ed Figueroa is a rookie this season. He's got solid control and great movement on his ball. His stuff isn't the best and could spell trouble. He's got a shot to make the club for the #5 spot.

Luis Quintana is the closer from Puerto Rico. At 22 he's going to get his first shot at the bigs. He's got great movement with average stuff and control. The question is whether he can handle the pressure of the role.

The rest of the bullpen is a big question. None of our pen guys are overly dominant. We may look at signing one or two arms as the offseason progresses.

[Ragin Cajun]

The catchers on the team are Ellie Rodriguez and Charlie Sands. Ellie is definitely the starter while Sands flat out scares me.

Tommy McCraw and Bruce Bochte are the first basemen while Frank Robinson is available in the minors but he's on the downside of his career although he hasn't lost much off his game. McCraw is a great hitter and should anchor the middle of our lineup. Bochte will spell first base and also left field.

Bobby Valentine and Denny Doyle will man second base and Winston Llenas will be the utility infielder and back up third. Doyle may have a better bat but Bobby has a better eye and defensive skills.

With Llenas at the backup thirdbase spot, I'm happy with Dave Chalk starting at the hot corner. No power whatsoever but a decent bat and a great glove.

Rudy Meoli will start at short with Sandy Alomar the backup in the hole. They project to be bottom of the order guys to me.

Joe Lahoud, Mickey Rivers and Frank Robinson will start in the outfield. Mickey is young, 25 years old, but he will be our leadoff man. He's never played over 79 games in the last three years but hit .349 in 30 games last year. This will be the big year for him. Joe has 20 homer potential but has struggled at the plate, hitting .204 last year. We need him to live up to his potential and get into the .280 range. At 38, Frank Robinson is a possible hall of famer and will pace our offense. He hit 30 homers last year with just under 100 RBIs but has been below .270 the last two seasons. Bochte and Leroy Stanton will back up the outfielders to fill out our starting 25. With the DH I'm faced with Robinson at DH and Bochte thrust into the starting lineup in the outfield. I'm real concerned that we need another stick and will look around for one.

[Ragin Cajun]

I make a decision while reviewing the roster. I know that St. Louis is looking for a shortstop or a utility infielder. I call up their GM and offer 30 year old Sandy Alomar in a deal. They are willing to part with Ted Sizemore and Keith Hernandez. Sizemore will fit in as a spot starter at second base, making Bobby Valentine a utility man at multiple positions. Hernandez is 20 years old and a decent prospect in their A ball system.

I do want to bulk up our pitching staff. I trade the weak link, in my opinion, Ed Figueroa. In shopping him around, the Astros are willing to part with a pitcher that has some control issues in J.R. Richard and we are able to cajole a prospect from them in LF Mike Easler. Richard will take the rotation spot of Figgy while we are in a pickle with Easler. He's not ready for the bigs but has a big league contract and has to clear waivers to place him in the minor leagues. We leave him on waivers, we'll see if he does or not. He needs to be in the minors in my opinion.

Oakland had offered us Reggie Jackson in a possible deal this month, but we went with the Astros to get Richard that day. I contact them again about Jackson but we couldn't get a deal done again. I express an interest in Billy North. They are talkative about it at least. It ended up costing us three players but we got the deal done. Mike Epstein, Leroy Stanton and Winston Llenas head up the coast while Billy comes south. North is good enough to start but will be a three spot backup in the outfield and also spell Frank Robinson at DH right now. I wonder if I can get Jackson for Robinson. Hate to move a possible hall of famer but we need to get younger and better.

1/4
Well, the gamble with Easler didn't pay off. The Twins pulled him off waivers so we lost him. Well, it was a gamble and I learned a lesson. We still have Richard so I can't complain.

1/18
I got a call today from the Rangers. They wanted Mickey Rivers and offered up Toby Harrah and Jim Shellenback. Shell is to old at 30 for me to consider and while I like Harrah who is 25, I don't see an improvement over Chalk right now at third and how we'd replace Rivers. No deal I said.

2/3
Another call about Rivers today, this time from the Pirates. They wanted to send us Richie Hebner, a 26 year old third sacker. Hebner has good numbers and could fill in the DH hole for us but I like a speedy leadoff man and Rivers is that guy. Another no deal
(editors note: I wanted to get a couple of moves made but am considering not instigating any trades, and only negotiating when I receive a trade offer.)

2/24
A trade that got my attention today. Oakland sent Blue Moon Odom to the Dodgers in exchange for second baseman Lee Lacy. Odom is only 28 and has a career mark of 79-69 while Lacy is just starting his career and struggled with a .241 average last year.

3/1
Wow, The Big Red Machine dealt Tony Perez today to the Dodgers. 210 career homers is a great pickup for LA and will cut our draw power some. In exchange, Cincy got Willie Crawford and Ivan DeJesus. What a steal for Cincy I'm thinking.

3/2
Texas calls me again today. They want to make an AARP trade, Leo Cardenas for Frank Robinson. Combined they are 73 years old. Frank is a much better hitter, so he stays with us.

[Ragin Cajun]

4/4
The offseason has flown by, it's hard to believe that Opening day is already here. Although we don't open up until tomorrow I will catch at least one of the games on TV today. Not much happened for us after the few trades we made. I'm not real comfortable still with the team as a whole but I think we acquired a few solid pieces. Ellie appears to like what we've pieced together as well and is anxious to make his own big league debut in the dugout.

The starting five is now Bill Singer, Nolan Ryan, Rudy May, Frank Tanana and J.R. Richard. Quintana is still the anchor in the bullpen. It's a question if we can get the ball to him in the ninth innings that worry me the most.

The batting order shapes up with Mickey Rivers leading off then Bruce Bochte and Tommy McCraw follwoing him. Joe Lahoud hits cleanup giving us four straight lefties to open the game. I wish one or two of them could switch hit at least. Frank Robinson will DH and bat fifth. Ellie Rodriguez is catching and in the sixth spot. Rudy Meoli, Bobby Valentine and Dave Chalk close out the order. Billy North is on the bench and can pinch hit or play a defensive reserve if needed. He'll get his share of starts as well, especially in left field behind Bochte.

4/5
Gene (Autry) called me up this morning to wish me luck. His heart is still in this team. I want to win for him almost as much as I want to win for me now. I spent the morning going over the books. Our payroll has gone up to $11.24 million with the moves we made. Tickets are printed up at $4.10 each and we are budgeted at $16.2 million for the year. While the season is just beginning, I am already beginning to think ahead. I like Frank Robinson alot, but is he worth being the highest paid player on the team at $1.74 million? That will be a big chunk of change to free up come seasons end. Maybe he'll retire and relieve me the burden of making that decision. Or maybe he'll have a great season and be a steal at that salary and make me re-up him for another year or two. We'll see.

(later that day)
It's a bit cold up here in Chicago as we face the Sox. Singer started for us tonight against Jim Kaat. The game started with Rivers doing a great job. He worked the count full before flying out but he got seven pitches for his teammates to see. I love that in a lead off man. Ellie decided at the last minute to pencil in Billy North who walked and then Joe Lahoud slapped a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right field for a 2-run homer and a 2-0 lead for my club. The game was tight as the Sox evened up the game in the bottom of the fourth, I was so nervous I started chewing on my nails. Bad habit, need to stop doing that. The clubs traded runs in the seventh before we pulled Singer after eight solid innings. Kaat was still in the game as we started the ninth. Bochte walked and Bobby (Valentine) doubled so we had two on with one out. Dave (Chalk) singled scoring both runners for a two run lead. Quintana came in to get the save, and he allowed Bucky Dent to score on a single before closing it out and we got the win 6-5.

Singer gave up three earned, four total, over eight innings and Quintana got the save. Joe Lahoud won player of the game honors with a 3-4 day at the plate and 2 RBIs with his home run. Chalk had a huge game, 2-4 with 3 RBIs including the game winner. I was so nervous I couldn't stand it. Hard to believe I have to sit through 161 more of these.

[Ragin Cajun]

4/7/74
Well, it's Sunday night and we just finished our opening series on the road with the White Sox. So far so good as we are 3-0 out of the gate with 6-5, 8-2 and 7-2 wins. We lost Rudy Meoli for a week with finger blisters, needs to build up some callouses I guess. Ellie wanted to put him on the DL. I was hesitant since it as for such a short period. I caved in though, it's not enough to worry about right now. All three of our starters, Singer, Ryan and May got wins with the latter two going complete games to rest up our pen. In fact, only Quintana got any work this week. On the offensive side of things, Chalk is hitting the cover off the ball. A .600 average over 10 at bats and 4 RBI to pace the team. Lahoud and Frank Robinson have the only homers in the early going. Frank is only hitting .182 and Rivers is hitting .200, both something to keep an eye on.

We sent down Dick Lange, a reliever, and put him on waivers. We called up Bill Stoneman from Spokane (AAA) and also shortstop Orlando Ramirez from Double A-Manton to fill the roster spots. Stoneman will take the last middle relief spot while Ramirez will be a defensive substitute and will be the second off the bench at shortstop behind Sizemore. He will also serve some spot time as DH if needed.

4/14/74
A pretty tough week for us. We had our first home series with Texas and then a rematch with the Sox, also in Anaheim. We gave up 10 run in the first game with the Rangers and lost 10-7 and then got shut out 5-0 in the final game of that series. We managed a 5-2 win in the second game to avoid the sweep. We took two of three from the Sox including a tough 2-1 game on Saturday. Most of the pitchers are performing well. Singer is now 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA. Ryan gave up three in his seven innings against the Rangers to fall to 1-1 on the season. Tanana was manhandled by the Rangers in his first start, five earned in six and a third innings. A 7.11 ERA is not a pretty number to see in the newspaper. He did come back, allowing only 2 hits and 2 earned in eight innings against the Sox to earn his first win.

The bullpen is the concern I thought it might be. Raziano has a 9.00 ERA and Selma a 10.80 here in the early going. Quintana has four saves already and dropped his ERA to 3.86. He looks like he'll be alright. I'm itching to pull a deal for a reliever or two but Ellie has told me to sit tight for a while and not be so anxious to pull the trigger.

Denny Doyle has started 5 games and has 16 at bats. He leads the team with a .500 average. Bobby Valentine is the leader of everyday players with a .297 average. Bochte, Ellie Rodriguez and Dave Chalk are all hitting .290 or better. Rivers is hitting .167 as is Frank Robinson as they continue to struggle at the plate. Lahoud hit his second homer this week; Lahoud, Chalk and Rivers all have six RBIs to pace the team. We are now 6-3 and a half game behind Oakland in the divisional race. The Pirates are 8-1 and off to a hot start. The Braves are 8-2. The Mets have yet to win a game, and are 0-7. Mike Hegan of the Yankees is getting lots of headlines in the early going, with 7 homers and 19 RBI pacing the majors.

Now the nerves are starting to hit that we won't compete this year. This ownership stuff if really nerve wracking.

[Ragin Cajun]

4/22/74
I'm sitting on the team charter, flying back home after a weekend series against Oakland. It was a great week for us, going a perfect 7-0. Bill Singer and Rudy May both tossed complete game shutouts against the Twins in Anaheim and reporters notified us after tonights game that Joe Lahoud will be named the AL player of the week. He was on fire this week, hitting .583 with three homers and 7 ribbies. He is definitely the offensive force on the team right now.

We've only got three guys hitting the ball now; Lahoud at .373, Bochte at .303 and Valentine at .290. Rivers has raised his average to .257 with a .308 OBP and six stolen bases. He's been caught five times though, showing his inexperience. He needs to do better to be a tablesetter for us. I like to run and Ellie likes that too. Singer has run his record to 4-0 while Ryan is 3-1. The rest all have two wins, Tanana and Richard yet to take a loss but they are getting no decisions. Quintana is settling into the closers role rather nicely with 8 saves this month and a 2.35 ERA.

At 13-3 we have built a 4 game lead over Oakland and are on a nine game winning streak. We sold out our opening game at the Big A but we've dropped to an average attendance of 26,499 per game. Right now that's about four thousand more per game. I hope we can keep that up.

John Cumberland and Skip Lockwood along with Dick Selma are all possible free agents. I'm not enamored with any of them and it will take some convincing for me to resign them. Cumberland is the best of the trio if we have to make a leap of faith with any of them. The big problem is we have no farm system depth to replace them. That means trade or free agency to stock up.

[Ragin Cajun]

4/23/74
I woke up this morning to find that Rudy Meoli was eligible to come off the DL. I set up a meeting with Ellie to pick his brain. He actually had a long laundry list of moves he recommended.

First we activated Meoli back to the team. Lange, the reliever we demoted to AA last week was placed back on the 40 man roster. We also decided to add Ritchie Scheinblum on the 40 man. Bill Stoneman was optioned back to AAA-Spokane and we also moved Lange up to Spokane as well. With Meoli back on the big team, we sent Ramirez back down on options to AA-Manton. We sent John Doherty down to Spokane with an option and called up veteran Bill Oliver from AA-Manton back to the team.

Oliver slots in as the backup first baseman, Meoli is back in the starting lineup at short with Sizemore back in the backup role. Small changes really, we'll see how they play out.

A few names do pop up today as possible free agents. All are names I need to pay attention to. First is Joe Lahoud, then Ted Sizemore and finally Frank Robinson. Lahoud is currently on a one year deal worth $973,000. At 27, he is in his prime and I think someone we can build around based on his play this year. My concern is that he's a career .221 hitter that has already hit as many homers this year in 16 games than he did for Milwaukee last season in 96 games. Even with over 300 at bats, he's had career highs of 14 homers and 34 rbi and have never hit higher than .245. Not someone I want to spend alot of money on as a one year wonder. I decide to hold off to see how May goes for the young man. Extension, or trade while the value might be high. Decisions decisions. I do call his agent to feel him out; seems he wants $1.8 mill per year. Ouch.

Sizemore is 29 and a solid veteran. He's a .275 hitter lifetime so I think his .167 this year is a slump and not the norm. He hit .282 with 54 rbi last year for the Cardinals and I think he can do that here as well. He's currently making $44k per year and wants a reasonable offer of $75k per year for three years. I decide to jump on that now and make the offer to him.

Frank hit .266 last year and is struggling at .159 this year. If he can be near the 30-97 mark he was last year I'd be delighted. At 2-7 through the first month, I'm really worried. He's making $1.7mill now and wants a three year deal at $2.28 mill annually. I'm not feeling that. Do I trade a player that is that popular?

(a few hours later)
I thought about it, and talked with Ellie about it. I made a few calls about trading Frank and found a few deals that I liked. One was with the White Sox to get a young reliever named Rich Gossage. He looks like a quality arm that would help our bullpen. I was tempted to go that route, but then the Royals got involved and offered up a young prospect named Brett. I feel that George could fit at third base now, and allow Chalk to move over to shortstop and make our entire left side of our infield better. It also cuts my payroll by $1.5 million, so much the better. I jumped on the deal, now to talk to Frank to break the news to him. This will probably cost the Angels a shot at Frank wearing a halo into the Hall.

[Ragin Cajun]

4/26/74
Ted Sizemore came by my office today to sign his contract extension. The offer matches his request for $225,600 over the next three years.

5/1/74
Joe Lahoud was named batter of the month for the AL, getting 35 hits in 86 at bats. A .407 average is certainly something to be proud of. He had 14 rbi and also scored 15 runs. A career month for the young man. I'll have a tough decision to not renew his contract if he continues to play anywhere near this level. Of course, if he keeps it up, it's a no-brainer.

We finish the month 17-6 and hold a four game lead over the Sox in the West. The Royals are also tied with Chicago four back. Highlights of the month were Lahoud's performance, winning player of the month and player of the week once. In addition to earlier pitching performances, Frank Tanana threw a four-hit shutout against the Red Sox on the 29th, allowing only one walk. Singer and Ryan both have four wins. Tanana and May have three apiece. J.R. Richard is 2-2 with a 2.79 ERA, highest on the starting staff. Quintana finished the month with 9 saves and a 1.69 ERA. I'm really liking the moxie of this young kid. Brett is hitting .299 with 6 RBI since coming over and getting his first action. Lahoud continues to pace the team with 6 homers and 14 RBI. Chalk has responded to the position change with his usual professionalism. He's batting .303 with 2 home runs and 11 RBI while Bobby Valentine is at .241 with 10 RBI and one homer. Paying more attention to the AL, Lahoud is leading all batting categories and is one behind Rod Carew in hits with 35. Mike Hegan of the Yankees is the power source in the AL thusfar with 8 home runs and 22 RBIs. Ryan and Singer are both top five in ERA and tied for first in wins. Quintana leads the league in saves, two in front of the Indians Tom Hilgendorf. Tanana leads the league in hits allowed per nine innings, only giving up 5.26 per game. Ryan leads the AL with 45 K's and also 19 walks. Overall on the AL pitchers board, there is a lot of California names showing up as leaders. I like that very much.

[Ragin Cajun]

5/9/74
Joe Lahoud came by my office today to discuss a contract extension. I sat him down and discussed the situation with him. He wasn't happy that I wouldn't give him an offer today, but I think he appreciated my honesty with him. If he stays hot and shows me he can be a leader on this team I won't have a problem paying him to stay an Angel. If he shows me that he's just a Punch and Judy guy, then I need to spend my money on a better long term option. I told him to get out there and show me he's worthy of being the leader of this team and that I'd take care of him if he does that. He is hitting .400 in May with 3 homers and 7 RBI. I don't expect him to be a .400 hitter all year, but I'm waiting to see what he does when the slump inevitably comes calling. .405-9-21 are pretty staggering numbers in the first week of May though.


5/10/74
Andy Hassler had pitched the eight tonight against the Royals. We were getting blown out so Ellie left him in for the ninth to rest the remainder of the pen. Something happened on his pitch to Hal McRae and he had to leave the game. They tell me it's a strained shoulder, something about a rotator cuff, and he'll be shelved for 5 or 6 weeks. Ellie swings by my office, we usually meet every two weeks to review the team, but with this injury we have to make some decisions. This one is pretty easy; Hassler goes on the 15 day DL and we call up Dave Sells from Spokane. He was with the big club in 72 and 73 where he went 9-2 wiht a 3.54 ERA. He's 3-2 in Spokane this year with a 1.26 ERA. He will be between Lockwood and Dick Selma in middle relief. Ellie also juggles the starting rotation, now going with Tanana, Ryan, Richard, Singer and May.


5/31/74
We finished the month with a 36-15 mark and have extended our lead to 8.5 games over the Twins. The Royals are nine back and the A's 9.5. The Orioles and Indians are deadlocked at 26-24 in the East while Pittsburgh and San Francisco lead their NL divisions. We are still drawing just over 26,000 fans per game, they were certainly not happy when we traded Frank Robinson but we've continued winning and they've continued to show up at the park.

Joe Lahoud hit .311 for the month with 4 home runs and 23 RBI. For the season he is .354-10-37. He dropped to .227 last week so maybe he's hit the wall. One more month to make sure before I make a decision about him. Ellie has agreed that he's playing way over his head thusfar, but at 27 years old maybe he's finally figured out the game and we have a budding star on our hands.

Nolan Ryan reached the 10 win mark, Singer is one back with 9. All five of our starters have 2 losses, except Tanana who has 3. Only May is near a .500 mark as he is 3-2 in his eight starts this year. Quintana continues to show poise in the pen, now with 15 saves on the season. He's blown only one save chance and has a 2-1 record. Lahoud continues to pace the team in average, homers and RBIs. Chalk is hitting .303 with 11 RBI. Billy North is batting .264 but only 3 RBI. In his first full month with the club, Brett is batting .292 with 2 home runs and 15 RBI. He's fit in real well. He's showing real skill at the plate with a seven game hitting streak to his credit this month and he's currently at an 8 game hitting streak. Very impressive young man who celebrated his 21st birthday this month. I'm real pleased with his performance. Speaking of, I need to send a message to Frank Robinson. He's done decently in Kansas City, batting .250 for Many with 3 HR and 12 RBI.

(break to leave work and get back to hotel...I'll pick up here later)

[Ragin Cajun]

5/31 con't

Looking back at my notes from some of the games this month; Ryan threw a 5 hitter with 11 K's against the Royals in a win. John Doherty, from our Spokane affiliate, won the AAA Player of the Week honors. He hit .435 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. He's only 22, but I'm not sure he'll amount to much at the big league level. He did have a cup of coffee with the club earlier in the season, getting 1 at bat in 5 games. Don't know if he'll be back up or not without a major injury. I got a call around the middle of the month from my manager in Spokane saying he was having some issues with Chuck Dobson. He's a 30 year old veteran pitcher that can't crack our starting rotation. I've shopped him around some but haven't had any takers. Finally this last week, I traded him away for Mike Easler...remember him? We got him as part of the J.R. Richard deal and lost him on waivers. Somehow, the Twinkies got him into their minor league system. Anyway, we got him back and put him in our AA system the day we got him. I'll be making some moves later today with Ellie, so he may not be there long if he's ready for Spokane. Last week, on the 25th, Ryan was the man again with a four hitter against the A's as we won 5-0. This win gave Ryan a 9-2 mark with a 1.56 ERA. Orlando Ramirez, the shortstop who came up earlier in the year when we had an injury, won the AA player of the week honors for the Manton Chill. He hit .450 with 2 homers and 8 RBI that week. John Doherty would make the news again this month for our farm system when he went 5 for 6 against in a 14-2 win.

When awards were handed out today for the month of May, Nolan Ryan was the big winner being named AL Pitcher of the Month with a 6-1 mark, a 1.45 ERA, 76 K's in 56 innings of work. John Doherty was named the AAA Batter of the Month, hitting .317 with 6 homers and 22 RBI. He also scored 18 times and walked 10 times.

In my afternoon meeting with Ellie Howard, was brought Dick Lange back up while optioning Dave Sells back to Spokane. We promoted Orlando Ramirez from AA-Manton to AAA-Spokane. We also decided Mike Easler was not ready for AA so demoted him to A-Garland.

Taking a look at our cross-town rivals, we are outdrawing them by about 2,000 per game. We also recognize the fact that one half of our major league bullpen are potential free agents. We don't have anyone in the minors even remotely ready to replace them so we decide to offer two of them extensions right now. Skip Lockwood is currently making $44,741 this year and wants a three year deal worth $304,200. He's 27 so he may get better. I make him a two year deal worth an average of $90k per season. We'll see if he takes it. John Cumberland is also 27 and making $44k per season. He wants a 2 year deal at just under $600,000. I don't like the numbers but counter to see if he takes it. He's a lefty, and he's acting like he's Warren Spahn.

I have one other issue to take up this month end. Joe Lahoud is on the warpath about his extension. I told him to bear with me and I'd take care of him if he continued to perform. However, this is getting out of control. He's gone to the press and upped his demands to a 7 year deal at $2.5 million per season. He's not worth being the highest paid player on the team. I put him on the trading block to see what's out there. I can get two or three really good players for that price.

[Ragin Cajun]

6/3
I get a few hits on my player, Joe Lahoud. Joe's off to a hot start for June, hitting .350, but I'm not sold on him being a $2 million dollar player. Some names that get my attention: Jim Rice, Greg Luzinski and Ken Griffey. Tommy John is a possibility as well. My scouts have done a great job and I know who I want when I start getting offers. I make my bid and sit back to wait on a reply. I expect it will take a couple of days.

6/4
Well, today turns out to be a little bit busy. First I meet with John Cumberland to sign his extension. It's finalized as a 2 year deal worth $369,482. Skip Lockwood also decides to sign his deal.

Reds GM Juan Tanon calls me up to make a counter offer. I was asking for Ken Griffey and George Foster, both outfielders, in exchange for Joe Lahoud. Personally I think that would have been a steal. Tanon is looking for another player in the deal. Many of the names are not good for me; Ryan, Chalk, Brett and May. Some possibilities are Mickey Rivers, Bruce Bochte and Morris Nettles. We discuss some new terms and he says he'll get back with me in a day or two.

6/6
Tanon calls me back today. He's on the verge of this deal and I really like these two players, plus I need to move Lahoud now that I have had him on the trade block. I offer up outfielder Morris Nettles and reliever Dick Lange, along with Lahoud and get Griffey and Foster. Done deal!

With two new potential stars now on the club, Ellie and I meet. We put both on the 40 man roster and activate them. We also call up Dave Sells from Spokane to fill the vacancy in the bullpen. Bochte moves over to first base, McCraw will be the everyday DH now. Griffey will start in right field and Billy North will now start every day in center. We move Mickey Rivers over to left and Foster will back up all three and should see plenty of playing time. I admit, I'm thinking I like Foster alot and he could start, making Rivers expendable. The lineup card will now read:
Billy North, George Brett, Mickey Rivers, Tommy McCraw, Bruce Bochte, Ken Griffey, Ellie Rodriguez, Bobby Valentine and Dave Chalk.


6/17
Andy Hassler is able to come off the DL today. We activate him and recall him to the big club. Sells is sent back down to Spokane. Hassler will be a spot starter and the #2 middle relief man behind Barry Raziano.

As I'm sitting down dealing with team issues today, I thought I'd glance at my notes for the first half of this month. John Knox had a 5 for 5 day against us for the Tigers. I wasn't happy to see that. I was especially unhappy to be on the wrong end of a 10-6 score that day. Back on the 3rd of the month, John Doherty again won AAA Player of the Week honors with a .367 average, 3 homers and 10 RBI. He's playing well. I'm not sold on him though. A week later, on the 10th, Doherty would win another Player of the Week honor for Spokane, hitting .409 with 2 more homers and 9 RBI.

Another first baseman in the organization is young Keith Hernandez. He won Player of the Week honors for Garland, down in A ball, hitting .455 with 1 home run and 6 RBI.

On the 11th, Tanana beat the Yanks 3-0 on a three hit shutout. The win was number 8 on the year for Frank.

At the day's end, I decide that Doherty may not be any hotter than he is now and I find an opportunity to let him play and I can get some relief help in return. I trade him to the Phillies for 25 year old reliever Mac Scarce.

We want Scarce on the big club so we bring him up and send Hassler down to Spokane. He's a starter, not a true reliever and we need him down there every fourth or fifth day to get ready to help us if he can.

[Ragin Cajun]

We slump a bit coming out of mid-month but finish 7-3 down the stretch. Our lead is down to 6 games over the Royals and 8 over the Twins. The NL West continues to be the hotbed for a pennant race with the Reds and Giants tied and the Braves only a half game back. The Pirates can start printing playoff tickets with a 13.5 game lead in the NL East. The AL East is another tight race. Four and a half games separate five teams, only the Tigers at 11.5 out are really out of it.

Ryan is now 13-5 with a 2.80 ERA. Singer is 12-3 and still pacing the team with a 2.01 ERA. Tanana reached the 10 win mark as the month drew to a close. Richard is 7-4 and May is 4-6, the only pitcher really struggling. Quintana is up to 22 saves on the year with a 1.88 ERA. The bullpen has come together, the highest ERA in the pen is Dick Selma's 3.72. I can live with that.

Tommy McCraw is now leading the team with nine home runs and 47 RBI while hitting .277. Not bad numbers. Ken Griffey is at .286 with 5 homers and 30 RBI. He's also stolen 14 bases. Billy North leads the team with 21 swipes and hitting .292. I'm really liking our pick up of that youngster. Foster is hitting .316 with 2 Home runs and 5 RBI since coming over.

A few games of note in the latter half of the month: Bill Singer got his eleventh win of the season against the Rangers with a 2-0 shutout victory, yielding 3 hits and striking out seven. Against Oakland on the 24th, J.R. Richard threw a 1-hit gem as we blanked them 3-0. He struck out 10, giving him 77 on the season in 98 innings. Oakland was the victim again two nights later when Frank Tanana twirled a 2-0 shutout to get his tenth win of the season. Bill Singer torched the Rangers again on the 28th with a two hitter as we won 5-0. At month end, Bruce Bochte was named AL Rookie of the Month hitting .375 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI during the month. His average for the season is right at .300 with 5 HR and 34 RBI. In our farm system, Keith Hernandez was named the A-League Batter of the Month with 34 hits, 4 HR, 15 RBI and 12 runs scored. He's hitting .290 with 8 homers on the season.

The big club is set for personnel right now. We do decide to promote Hernandez from A-Garland to AA-Manton.

[Ragin Cajun]

7/1/74
Back on the first, we got some bad news. Frank Tanana will be sidelined for 1-2 weeks. Doctors are saying he has a dead arm and will just need to rest. He's 10-5 with a 3.23 ERA and I hate to lose him.

7/21/74
The All Star rosters were announced today. Most players will get a well deserved three day break with friends and family while others will show their skills to the world. Several Angels will be busy during the break. Bill Singer, Nolan Ryan and Luis Quintana will be part of the AL pitching staff. Tommy McCraw was named a backup for the field. Joe Lahoud did make the team for the NL with Cincinnati. In 42 games, since being traded to the Reds, he is batting .303 with 6 home runs and 21 RBI. Not much of a drop off. I'm still confident of the trade. I did note that he has not been signed to an extension by them either.