The Bucs Start Here - A Pirates Do-Over

[luckymann]

After a relatively promising start to the new season, May sees old issues bubble up yet again. We kick off the month in a positive fashion with a 5-win streak taking us to 16-8, but it is all downhill from there as we lose 3 of 4 at Boston and then 4 straight at the Giants. In the end, we finish with a 14-15 sectional to put us at 24-21 and second in the division. By no means panic stations, but the Giants have got off to a flyer and already lead us by 8 ½ games, leaving little margin for error from here.



Despite the offseason moves, our pitching continues to be the main source of concern. More specifically, the inconsistent performance of our starters. Too many hits being conceded which has led to an inordinate amount of high-scoring affairs. Our offence looks great once again but can only do so much, so it is up to our pitchers to tighten things up.




The Tigers have cooled off a tad, allowing Boston to close within 3 1/2. The White Sox finally seem to have put the tumult of last season behind them and a 17-9 May sees them well within reach. They will, however, have to improve upon their 1-11 road record if they want to figure in the pennant race this year.



Awards, news and leaders.






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Most saves in debut season

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Opponents' Batting Average, career

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AL Batting Title race at the moment.

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... in the "Battle of the Rubes".

[luckymann]

Just a quick update, with June being kind of a good news / bad news month for us in which we ride a much more consistent performance from our rotation to post a 17-10 record, only for it to gain us no ground on the Giants, who are having one heck of a season so far.



Approaching the halfway mark of the season, they still lead us by 8 games, with the Cubs hot on our tails.

The AL remains tight at the top, with the Tigers still holding sway by 2 games from the Red Sox, with the A's also right in the thick of things.



Awards and some news, with a more comprehensive update in a month.






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Most HR with BA < .200

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[luckymann]

I shall keep this brief, brief.

We suck. Again. Another horrendous month, 10-18, and at 51-49 after 100 games we are among the also-rans. Again.





I am bewildered, bamboozled, and beside myself with frustration. Still, we must continue to fight the good fight. Go onward, up toward the light. Refuse to sink into the everlasting night.

The Giants slip a bit, but nobody makes a run at them and they extend their NL lead to 10 1/2 games in front of the Cubs. The Tigers are still just ahead of the Red Sox in the AL, although their task has been made harder by the loss of pitcher Ray Collins for the year. The A's and Sens are also still loitering with intent.



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[luckymann]

Not Dutchie's best season by a long stretch, and with Wildfire Schulte banging out 15 or so per and in just his age-28 season I think he'll set the new high-water mark pretty soon (perhaps even this year) and hold it until the ball livens up for good, but he adds this fleeting honour to his storied career.



Here's how the Top 20 in this category currently stands:

[luckymann]

The lads do what is necessary, finally putting together a decent string of games to finish 17-8 for August. That said, we're still 8 GB the Jints and with < 30 to play one would think we'll really need everything to go our way for us to even go close to catching them.



This despite our pitching remaining incredibly inconsistent. Mathewson has not been the saviour we had hoped, and posts an ugly 4.66 ERA for the month.



The bats, on the other hand, continue to save us time and again, with Campbell and Carey leading the way, supported by Herzog, Harvey and an improved showing from Bresnahan.



The Tigers continue to hold the Sox at bay, but the AL is still very much in play. Expanded standings and awards.





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Most OF assists, career

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Zone Rating, career

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... Wildfire in the record books as well.

[luckymann]

As you can see, the Giants have secured their first NL Pennant. Full details in the season-end recap.

[luckymann]

A big day for Detroit and their star as The Peach goes bananas and the Big Cats lock up their spot in the Big Dance. Ty is still flirting with a 400 season as well and is collecting WAR like they are furry toys in a Skill-Tester.

[luckymann]

Both races peter out with the Giants and Tigers clinching. The AL race is never as close as it ends up looking, with the Tigers always seemingly in control down the stretch.



Ty Cobb becomes just the third player to hit over 400 in a season, while Sam Crawford cruises to the NL batting title ahead of our own Vin Campbell, who must be in the NL MVP mix. Walter Johnson locks down two - wins (29) and strikeouts (276) - of the Triple Crown legs in another fantastic campaign, while Philadelphia rookie Pete Alexander leads the NL with 28 wins.



And as for us?

Well we lose 7 of last 10 in an untidy dismount from – to extend the gymnastics metaphor if I may – what was a fairly underwhelming routine from go to whoa.

The primary measure of success each season is obviously whether or not you make the playoffs. But we all know that happens far less often than not, so you can't simply look at the absolutes to gauge the health of your club. You need to dig a bit deeper. I tend to resort to the tried and trusted "Pros and Cons" methodology. Let's apply it here.

PROS

• We won 11 more games than we did last year with a fair amount of unfamiliarity among the squad, and finished in the top 3 of most important team metrics for both hitting and pitching
• Campbell, Carey and Herzog all blossomed into fantastic players and look to be the nucleus of our franchise going forward.
• While still inconsistent, our pitching did take a step in the right direction.

CONS

• Despite knocking in 100 runs, Honus may well have started the long slide, posting just 3.3 WAR - the lowest of his career.
• He, Harvey, Bresnahan and Lajoie are all getting on and we'll need to be working toward finding replacements for them over the next couple seasons.
• Our defence - abysmal.

This last point needs some elaboration.

The clear issue we have is a poor mix of players. All four of our starters posted WHIPs of at least 1.28, with Ford's a whopping 1.46 (Walter Johnson's, by comparison, was 1.11). Which is fine if you have a robust defence playing behind them. We, it is fair to say, do not have such a defence. In fact, we have the worst in the league as measured by ZR, with our -53.4 a long way off the Cubs' top mark of +43.7. Of our starters, only Herzog (+4.9) and Campbell (1.7) post positive numbers in this category. This is untenable. Something's gotta give.

Danny Murphy has been an absolute hero for this club, but we simply can't carry him anymore on D and he'll be let go into FA . Honus is another real concern, and there's no way he can hold down the everyday SS role from here on in. He and Nap combined in the middle IF for -28 fielding runs. Problem being, Pop Lloyd seems more a back up than regular, at least for now. So, unless he really zooms in the off-season, we'll need to address this before OD 1912. But I honestly believe a mini-rebuild is needed here that may take a few seasons.





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[luckymann]

Detroit Tigers (92-62) v New York Giants (96-58)

Best-of-seven, Tigers with the home-field advantage.

DETROIT TIGERS S+ PAGE

NEW YORK GIANTS S+ PAGE


Cobb is obviously the key for Detroit, and the Giants’ #1-rated rotation will have to keep him quiet just to have a chance here. You look at the Jints and it’s hard to see how they got where they are, which to me says underrate them at your peril. Still, I just can’t see them winning this. Tiges in 5.

[luckymann]

Game 1 in Detroit, October 15th 1911
Vean Gregg (10-9, 3.00) v Rube Marquard (26-14, 2.62)

After a couple ordinary seasons to kick off his MLB career, Marquard delivered on his promise this year and now finds himself pitching Game 1 of the World Series. The fact that Detroit has Gregg, a rookie who didn’t exactly blow the doors off in his debut campaign, starting for them would undoubtedly give the Giants plenty of belief that they can duke it out.

Sure enough, it is the visitors who draw first blood, as Marquard carries his good form into the post-season with a 7-hit CG and his offence does the rest, helped by 4 errors by the Tigers that give the Giants 4 unearned runs. A game that never reaches any great heights, but one that shows the Giants belong here and will be tough to put away.

Giants 5, Tigers 2
BOX SCORE


Game 2 in Detroit, October 16th 1911
Doc White (27-12, 2.64) v Red Ames (21-15, 3.02)
Giants lead series 1-0

Game 2 sees two wily campaigners go head-to-head and again it is the Tigers who come up short as Ames pitches a beauty. The Jints take an early lead with a pair in the second and never relinquish it as Ames goes the distance, allowing just a late run on 6 hits. Cobb goes 2-for-3 but this Series looks to be going completely off-script as we head to the Polo Grounds for 3.

Giants 4, Tigers 1
BOX SCORE


Game 3 in New York, October 18th 1911
Frank Lange (24-12, 3.08) v George Mullin (22-11, 4.55)
Giants lead series 2-0

24-game winner Frank Lange with a real opportunity to twist the knife here against George Mullin, whose 4.55 ERA must look nice and juicy to the New York bats.

Mullin ends up doing all he can, but that isn’t enough to stop the Giants taking an absolute stranglehold with a tight win. It is a close-run affair right through, with the Tigers squaring it at 3 in the 8th, only to concede what would prove the match-winner in the home half of that inning. Cobb has 3 hits but, tellingly, is yet to drive in a run and he and his teammates find themselves on the verge of an ignominious sweep loss.

Giants 4, Tigers 3
BOX SCORE


Game 4 in New York, October 20th 1911
Rube Marquard (1-0, 2.00) v Vean Gregg (0-1, 1.00)
Giants lead series 3-0

A rematch of Game 1 and the result is, if anything, even more emphatic as the Giants hit early and run away with it to finish off the Tigers having barely broken a sweat. 4 runs on 4 hits in the 2nd lays the table for the home side and Detroit comes up empty, managing. A meagre 6 hits yet again (making it just 27 for the Series) to go down ever so quietly. A consummate performance from the Giants that clearly highlights the difference between a champion team and a team of champions.

Giants 7, Tigers 1
BOX SCORE


NEW YORK GIANTS WIN SERIES 4-0

SERIES MVP: Steve Yerkes (New York)





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[luckymann]

AL 1911 HISTORY INDEX

NL 1911 HISTORY INDEX

AWARDS HISTORY

The Cubs keep their streak alive, with Rube Marquard's win meaning they have won every NL CYA to this point. Walter Johnson wins his 4th in the AL, while Ty Cobb wins his 4th AL MVP.




Simulation accuracy all in line.



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