Up and Down and Up Again

[jduteau]

We're sitting at 26-17 and are leading the league. Given that we have two starting pitchers out for a long time - SP Ray Keating is out for 3-4 months and SP Sadie McMahon for 2-3, we're back to starting middle relievers again.

[jduteau]

Amos Strunk was hit with a huge injury and he's gone for the season. He was hitting very well for us, so this is a big blow.

[jduteau]

Even with all of the injuries - Mariano Duncan went down for a month and Fred Mitchell just went down - we've managed to stay on top of the league and it's only recently that we slipped a bit. We're still within 2 games of Chicago but I just don't feel good about the team. Too many injuries and that glaring defensive hole at CF (I won't mention his name because he's sensitive about his press!).

[jduteau]

If I could actually field my actual intended starting rotation, I think we'd be doing so much better. As soon as one of them comes back, a different one hits the disabled list. If I had kept coaches on, I would fire my pitching coach and trainer! Our offense is keeping us in the thick of the race, but we have slipped a bit and are now in 4th and 4-1/2 games back.

[jduteau]

Well, we finished with a record of 80-74 in 3rd. Given our pitching injury trouble all year long, it could have been worse. In fact, at the end of September, it did look worse! At that point, we were barely hovering around 0.500 and in a bad slump. But we turned it around in October and ensured another first division finish.

Going forward, I'm going to have to figure out what to do with Mickey Mantle as his position rating at CF is now '---'. If only we had DHs in this league! And I hope that my injuries aren't as bad next season as they were this one.

[jduteau]

With the dawning of a new decade, the biggest problem facing the Boston Doves is what to do with Mickey Mantle? His skills have been in decline for awhile and while he can still hurt teams a lot with his bat, his fielding leaves a lot to be desired. Given that the Doves have other alternatives at CF, it seems that Mickey's days playing CF for Boston are numbered.

My problem with leaving him on the active roster is that the manager slots him in as a regular outfielder. The only way to get around that is to put him on the reserve roster. But then I lose access to his great batting skills.

*sigh*

[jduteau]

After my first few years of having decent draft pools, the paucity of picks has been somewhat disappointing. For this draft, I was basically reduced to taking the best player available.

SP Randy Jones
C Phil Baker
SP Eddie Rommel
MR Bobby Ayala
MR Harry Arundel
MR Rip Vowinkel

Jones will step in to the starting rotation and calm my injury fears. Baker will take over as the backup from Bill Sarni. I may look to move Sarni but the trade market is a hard one for me to crack. Rommel is added insurance but I expect him to sit on the reserve roster along with the relievers we drafted.

STARTING ROTATION
Dave Davenport
Sadie McMahon
Randy Jones
Ray Keating

LINEUP
2B Mariano Duncan
LF Amos Strunk
1B George Sisler
3B Bob Bailey
CF Jake Stenzel
RF Terry Puhl
C Smoky Burgess/Phil Baker
SS Yunel Escobar

I went in and forced Duncan to be a 2B and forced Stenzel to be a CF. That allows me to have Mickey Mantle's bat when needed. And I think that Duncan/Escobar is the best use of those two rather than effectively platooning DeWitt and Escobar. I may change my mind on this one but we'll see how we do.

[jduteau]

Blech! This is not the way that I thought we'd start the season. I know that the Browns would have slow starts, but this is worse. We're 20-24 and 5-1/2 back which isn't that bad, but we lost Sadie McMahon for the season, Terry Puhl for 6 weeks, and backup SS Rich Severson for 10 weeks.

I thought I had a trade for Mantle but he exercised his 10/5 trade veto clause. So I'm stuck with him. Or so I thought, since halfway through May, he complained that he felt he should be in the starting lineup and demanded a trade. Shopping him around led to the Cleveland Naps showing interest and willing to return Willy Aybar, a 4-star utility infielder. He's got great defence at 1B, 2B, and 3B and he has average power. So Mantle is gone from Boston. After moving him, I turned off the strategy for Stenzel and Mariano Duncan and went back to the manager calling all of the lineups. We'll see if we can improve on this month.

[jduteau]

Well, we're not getting any better - 32-39 at the end of June and we're falling farther and farther behind. We're now 12 games back of Chicago and another key player has gotten injured in Bob Bailey. The offense is still clicking, so there is still hope, but I'm somewhat at a loss as to how to turn this thing around!

[jduteau]

Okay, we're only 8-1/2 games back and we're only 6 games under 0.500. I have to find positives in this season somewhere! We lost another pitcher in Ray Keating and he's also gone for the season. Amos Strunk was injured for most of July and when he came back Willy Aybar went on the disabled list.

Our Runs Against improved but I'm not sure that will last as we're starting to dip back into relievers as starters again. And I've got Goose Goslin and Smoky Burgess complaining about not being in the starting linup. I can understand Goslin, but Burgess is platooning. That is one thing that I wish OOTP fixed - either change the message and indicate that the player doesn't want to be platooned or recognize that just because he's not in the RH lineup doesn't mean he's not in any lineup.

I'm hoping that the pitching stays decent enough that our offense can help us win a few games and stay out of the cellar. Although having better draft picks might actually help!

[jduteau]

I'm hoping that the pitching stays decent enough that our offense can help us win a few games and stay out of the cellar.

Does having the team go 20-5 for the month of August and zoom to the top of the standings count as "win a few games"?

Wow!

We started the month with two wins but then lost so there was no inkling of what was about to happen. We took the next two against Cincinnati, swept four from Pittsburgh, and then swept three from Chicago. With another win against St. Louis, we had won 10 in a row.

On the injury front, we lost another starter in Al Gerheauser, but Joe Blong is actually doing not so bad. Randy Jones is hot, so that helps.

We are now sitting 1/2 game back of Chicago with a record of 66-57 and we're 3 games up on Cincinnati. Our offense is just pounding the ball and we're doing it with a combination of speed and power. Our Runs Against is also staying stable, but I recognize that our team defence is our problem. I'm just hoping that we can keep the offense going and stay in the pennant chase. It will certainly be an interesting September!

[jduteau]

And what I consider a miracle season has concluded and we ended up on top. After despairing for the first half of the season, the team will turned it on and we finished with a record of 86-68 which was good for the pennant. It was quite the parity in the league as the bottom seven teams were within 3 games of each other. Pittsburgh finished at 77-77, 9 games back while New York finished 74-80.

We'll be going up against the Boston Red Sox. This is the first time that I've seen a Boston "subway" series. It obviously never happened in RL and I've never seen it reported in other dynasties, so it will be interesting. The Red Sox boast very strong pitching and some power in their lineup. They ended up with a record of 90-64, 1 game up on Detroit. It is going to be tough going up against them as we'll have to be considered the underdogs.

In a milestone note, George Sisler broke the season HR record with 13. The previous record had been set by former Dove Mickey Mantle.

[jduteau]

Even though I thought that the Red Sox would be the favourites going into the World Series, looking at the lineup screen shows that the Doves have the advantage in the hitting department. It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox big three can tone down our offensive threats.

Game 1 has Randy Jones on the hill for the Doves facing Jim Devlin for the Red Sox. Devlin was traded to Boston from Detroit in 1908. He has been the strikeout king and has led the majors in strikeouts/9 every season except this one where he finished 3rd in the AL. Jones is our rookie pitcher and went 21-11 with a 2.13 ERA.

The Doves are the "road" team and start batting. After Duncan's ground out, Amos Strunk hits a double followed by George Sisler's single. Sisler steals 2nd and then a Bob Bailey flyball scores Strunk as the Doves go up 1-0.

It stays that way until the bottom of the 3rd when P Jim Devlin opens the inning with a single. A wild pitch moves him to 2nd and, after Drew Stubbs strikes out, Whitey Kurowski's ground out moves him to 3rd. Buster Hoover singles to score Devlin and the game is tied at 1.

In the 4th and 5th, the Doves come back with a vengeance scoring three runs in the 4th and five runs in the 5th. With the game at 9-1, the answer to whether Devlin could keep the Doves hitters down was a resounding no!

The game ended 10-4 and was never in doubt after the two inning barrage. Doves up 1-0!

[jduteau]

Game 2 saw Dave Davenport for the Doves against Kevin Millwood. The Red Sox opened the game in the bottom of the first with four runs. Home Run Baker reached on an error and then two triples and a double scored three runs. A single by Jimmy Rollins later in the inning scored the fourth run. Although the Doves got two runs in the 4th, this game was never out of control for Millwood and the Red Sox even up the series with a 5-2 win.

[jduteau]

Game 3 saw Fred Mitchell take the mound for the Doves and he went up against Esteban Loaiza for the Red Sox.

The Doves continued their running game, taking advantage of Jocko Milligan's inability to get them out. Sisler and Duncan both stole 2nd three times while Strunk and Puhl stole once each. Duncan was thrown out twice and Puhl was thrown out once. All in all, they Doves went 8 for 11 and have stolen 16 bases in the three games.

The basic strategy for the Doves is to get a man on base, have him steal second and then bring him home. It worked very well in the 3rd as Mariano Duncan singled and then stole 2nd. Strunk knocked in a run with a single and the stole 2nd himself. Sisler hit a single but Strunk was only able to get to third and the Doves were held to one run.

In the 5th, Duncan again singled and stole 2nd. Strunk grounded out which moved Duncan to 3rd and Sisler's single brought him home and the Doves were ahead 2-0.

In the top of the 7th, a walk to Rickie Weeks on four straight balls followed by Loaiza being hit by a Mitchell pitch put Red Sox runners on 1st and 2nd. Home Run Baker then doubled to bring them both home and the game was tied.

The game stayed tied at 2 until the 14th inning. Although both teams threatened at times, neither could bring home a runner until the bottom of the 14th when Bob Bailey walked and Jake Stanzel doubled. After Terry Puhl was intentionally walked to load the bases, German Rivera, who had been brought into pinch-hit a few innings ago, singled to bring Bailey home and win the game for the Doves - 3 to 2.

The Doves are now up 2-1 in the Series.

[jduteau]

Game 4 was a rematch of the Game 1 starters with Jim Devlin going up against Randy Jones, this time on Jones' home turf.

The Red Sox got on the board first with two runs in the 2nd. The Doves answered back in the 4th with one run and it stayed a very tight affair throughout the whole game. The Doves went ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the 8th but the Red Sox got those two runs back in the top of the ninth. With the heart of the order up in Sisley, Bailey, and Stenzel, things were tense in Boston but Devlin went the distance and the Red Sox evened up the series with a close 4-3 win.

[jduteau]

This series is proving to be a nailbiter for me! Game 5 was a repeat of Game 2 with Millwood and Davenport on the mound. In another very close and very pitcher-oriented game, the Red Sox again scored first in the 6th but the Doves responded with one of their own in the 7th. Both teams threatened in the 8th and 9th but could not get a run across. In the 10th, DeWitt singled and then a groundball from Davenport was misplayed by Whitey Kurowski. PH Goose Goslin was walked loading the bases and Amos Strunk hit a line drive to center that was thrown badly off line by McCosky. That allowed DeWitt to score and gave the Doves the win and the lead 3-2. The Doves will have to win one in the Red Sox park, but it would be hard-pressed to call that a home park advantage.

[jduteau]

Esteban Loaiza and Fred Mitchell hooked up again and this one was another tight pitching affair. Neither team could get much going until the 7th when the Red Sox started the inning with a Mark Whiten single but Jocko Milligan grounded into a double play. Jimmy Rollins doubled and then Richie Weeks doubled and the Red Sox had gotten on the board. Esteban Loaiza singled home Weeks and the Red Sox had a two run lead.

Going into the ninth, the Red Sox were looking to close the game and tie up the Series. George Sisler started the inning with a single and Bob Bailey followed up with another single. A throwing error allowed both runners to advance. Jake Stenzel grounded out, but that allowed Sisler to score and Bailey to move to 3rd. Terry Puhl hit a long ball to left field that was caught, but did allow Bailey to tag up and head home, tying the game at 2.

In the bottom of the ninth, Mark Whiten struck out, Milligan singled, and Martin Powell flied out, so it looked like a run-of-the-mill inning. Rickie Weeks hit a 3-2 pitch down the line in right which allowed Milligan to score and the game was the Red Sox's.

Series is all tied up at 3 and Game 7 is set with Devlin and Jones.

[jduteau]

The Red Sox won this game 7-1 to break the sequence and win the World Series 4 games to 3. I really feel that the Doves ran themselves out of this ballgame. Three caught stealing and no actual steals, but more discouraging, there were many runners cut down trying to go from 1st to 3rd on a single. The game ended with both Sisler and then Bailey being thrown out trying to go from 1st to 3rd. Given that the score was 7-1, I'm not totally sure that it would have made that much difference, but it didn't help.

In any case, it was a great series and I hope that I can keep the Doves tooled so that we can come back and try again in the next season.

Next up is a recap of the season and a look back at my manager career so far.

[jduteau]

It's been eight seasons in and I'm on my second team. The Beaneaters/Bronchos/Doves/Rustlers have been an interesting experiment. After getting in and out of St.Louis rather quickly, this team is taking a little longer as would be expected in turning a cellar-dwelling team into a contender.


1902 AL St.Louis 55-85 33 8th (pre-takeover)
1903 AL St.Louis 70-70 8.5 5th
1904 AL St.Louis 86-68 8 2nd
1905 AL St.Louis 93-61 -- 1st WS Winner over Pittsburgh
1905 NL Boston 66-88 19 8th (pre-takeover)
1906 NL Boston 66-88 32 8th
1907 NL Boston 70-84 17 7th
1908 NL Boston 84-70 1 2nd
1909 NL Boston 80-74 4 3rd
1910 NL Boston 86-68 -- 1st WS Loser to Boston


Going into the 1911 draft, there wasn't much that we needed so it was a case of taking the best player at each position. Since we drafted 14th, I wasn't sure what we were going to get.

SS Rafael Furcal was our first pick and I was astounded to think that he was still available. He's a 5-star prospect who comes fully developed. He's got great defence and average hitting ability but he'll fit in to the lineup perfectly.

MR Red Hoff was next and the traditional disclaimer over MR applies. SP Ross Grimsley was next. Although he won't be slated to fit into the starting rotation, he will give us injury backup. MR Hector Fajardo, SS John Peters, and 2B Frank Truesdale will all be backups or reserve roster filler.

I wanted another SP since Keating and McMahon are both still suffering from long-term injuries. I now have a glut of 2B and SS after drafting and stockpiling them, so I went out and got the best deal from the Highlanders in being to trade Truesdale and 1B Fred Tenney to NY for Don Gullett.

Going into Opening Day, our team looks as follows:

STARTING ROTATION
Randy Jones
Dave Davenport
Fred Mitchell
Don Gullett

Sadie McMahon has 1 month left to recover while Ray Keating has two months to go.

LINEUP
SS Rafael Furcal
LF Amos Strunk
1B George Sisler
CF Jake Stenzel
3B Bob Bailey
RF Terry Puhl
2B Willy Aybar/Mariano Duncan
C Phil Baker

I've toned down the Stealing Bases and Base-Running strategies to not be as aggressive. Hopefully this will result in more base runners as I think we killed more rallies than we started - based purely on my watching the World Series games.

Preseason predictions have us winning the pennant again with a record of 87-67. Our owner thinks we should make the playoffs and I'm hoping that we do that as well.