Time Warp Baseball - Page 169

rogmax11 · 01-12-2005, 02:11 PM

He's signed through 1953 I believe, but letters to his wife indicate this may be it.

DamnYankees · 01-12-2005, 05:36 PM

How many PA does it take to qualify for the batting title? I realize Morris probably has no shot at it, but hitting .386, he's having a fantastic season. Damn injuries.

jdw · 01-12-2005, 05:50 PM

> How many PA does it take to
> qualify for the batting title?
> I realize Morris probably has
> no shot at it, but hitting .386,
> he's having a fantastic season.
> Damn injuries.

3.1 per game, which is 477.4 in a 154 game season.

He has 307 in 63 starts and 3 PH games. About 477.4 per game played.

He needs about 170 to 171 PA's in the 37 games the Red Sox have left. That's right at the pace he has been at if he plays in every game (starting most with 1-2 PH spots) from here on out.

He leads off. The Sox have the #1 run scoring line-up in TWB. Hargey's injury hurts since he's a good OBP guy keeping innings going. They probably don't have a good replacement. Hutch Kahle has been playing... lord, way too much this year for a #1-16 pick who's so far from being fully developed that it's not funny. He looks for all the world like Mets is trying to get him playing time for an early start towards 3000 hits to be the latest in the long like of his ancestors to make the HOF.

Anyway... I digress...

Morris has a chance.

John

jdw · 01-12-2005, 06:20 PM

rogmax11 wrote:

> Odd stats as Frank Smith winds
> down his career:
>
> 1.) BBs jump from 29 (!) in 341 IP
> six years ago to three straight
> 100-walk seasons, with the one
> in progress nearing a walk every
> 2nd IP. I recognize that pitchers
> lose "stuff" as they age, but dont
> recall a trend toward wildness on
> this level IRL, which leads me to
> suspicions about the accuracy of
> the aging module in regards to
> realistic pitching skills in declining years.

His control is down to 5 this season, so that's part of it going way this year.

Another part is that BB have gone up in TWB (as they did in MLB) in this era. Cotton Simons has 10 control and isn't coming anywhere near Frank's 29 BB number.

Last part (for this year) is that in OOTP, pitchers tend to hit the wall in a season or two unless they pull a miracle retirement before they're time.

> 2.) HRA leaping from mid-teens per
> 300 IP to 32 in 219 innings, a
> whopping one per 7 innings pitched.
> This figure seems strangely inflated
> too, given that the power-pitching
> indications ( K/9IP and HA/IP ) dont
> appear significantly depleted from
> previous seasons, and higher HRA
> totals are typically associated more
> often with control pitchers than with
> hurlers with control issues.

He lost his movement big time this year:

1946 - 9/10/9
1947 - 8/8/8
1948 - 8/7/8
1949 - 8/7/7
1950 - 6/5/5

The 1946-49 are "season end" ratings.

> Still, despite a brutally inept offensive
> team, #22 has cranked out a surprisingly
> robust season with 25% of the team's
> victories, capped perhaps by the recent
> 7 shutout innings against the powerful
> Cardinals. Maybe 450 isnt out of the
> question after all ( 'tho it would be
> miraculous to occur this year, unless
> FS runs the table...).

He's retiring at the end of the year, as someone pointed out. 445-447 is probably where he'll finish.

It's an odd year. He's pretty "average" when it comes to ratings, but a lot of that drop has happened during the season:

Friday 4/1/1950 :
Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...

Friday 4/15/1950 :
Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches...

Friday 5/6/1950 :
Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches...

Friday 6/17/1950 :
Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...

Friday 7/1/1950 :
Frank Smith's control seems to have taken a bump...

Friday 7/15/1950 :
Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches...

Friday 8/12/1950 :
Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff...

The rest of the season could be tough for him.

That said, he's supported by a poor park for him, and absolutely horrid IF defense (ranges of 1-4-4-3 around the horn). Luckily he's a bit of a flyball pitcher, and the Dodgers OF is much better than the IF. The negative is that as his Movement tanks, the dingers have come. He also has, as you point out, a brutal offense supporting him.

Given the various negatives, it *is* amazing the he's 13-10 with a 3.85 ERA in a leauge where the average is 4.30. I'm hoping that he can hang onto a "double" of a winning record and an ERA below league average. It doesn't take a lot of meltdowns to run that ERA up. However, he has been over 4.30 only one month this year - a 4.72 in May. I think that even if he averages 4.72 the rest of the year, he should be below league average. My fear is that he has a 6.00+ month in him.

With a strong defense behind him and a good offense, he probably would be on his was to 20 wins. Ingram doesn't appear to be having a better year for the Cards, and he's has 15 wins.

Still, a pretty amazing year even in decline for Frank. It's been a blast to watch his career.

John

rogmax11 · 01-13-2005, 11:01 AM

Terrific analysis, John. You always shed copious light on the players and performances of this league, sort of our own resident Bill James minus the pontificating.

We are fortunate to have your penchant for insight, and I always -- always--read what you contribute; you've taught me a lot, for which Im grateful, and you do it so gracefully. Hope that Matt gave you a significant Christmas bonus. R.

canadiancreed · 01-13-2005, 11:20 AM

I'll second that. Every league should have a jdw

jdw · 01-13-2005, 06:02 PM

Someone posted about Rauch's 4 HR game over on the TWB boards, and no doubt Matt will comment on it in the August Update. Ray Kress had a similar game late in the month, tying two records and break one:

http://www.southernbaseball.com/twb/box1020.html

He hit three HR to tie the AL record for most HR in a game. His second HR tied his own AL record for HR in a season, and in the 7th inning his 3rd HR set the new AL single season HR mark with 40. Kress previously hit 40 HR for the record in 1947 and 1949. He hit 39 in 1948, as has his teammate Luther Ormiston in 1948 and 1949. Kress hit another HR the following night and closed August with 42.

He has 127 RBI on the year. The major league record is 156 set by Oscar Vancini in 1939. Tyrell Chestnut set the AL record in 1930 with 155. The Tigers have 22 games left. Kress drove in 30 back in July in 23 games. Outside shot... very outside shot.

His own TWB record for runs is 137, set in 1948. He has 113, making that seem like an even longer shot. He did just score 25 runs in August despite Luther Ormiston having an off month.

While running away with the HR and RBI titles, he's moved himself into a tight BA race:

.365 - H. Badeau (PHA)
.361 - R. Kress (DET)
.360 - J. Ditty (NYA)
.354 - J. Champagne (SLA)
.351 - S. Poulos (PHA)

And interesting collection of talent there. Peaches and Champagne have combined to flirt with the .400 mark three times since the end of the war. Two weeks shy of hit 38th birthday, Jimmy Ditty is is having a dream season both personally for his age and for his once proud franchise looking to finish above .500 for the first time since 1941, the year the Yankees Dynasty ended a game out of first place and with Ditty heading off to war. And then there's Kress, who has been touted for years as having Triple Crown potential, and his 4-1-2 and 4-2-2 finishes in the TC components back in 1947 and 1948 show how close he's come.

John

jdw · 01-13-2005, 06:06 PM

The Record for Pitching Appearances:

Games : 95, Rudolph Crago (1949, Boston (A))
Games : 86, Gene Masarech (1949, Cincinnati)

Dale Scott of the Reds pitched in his 85th game on 8/31, his 9th appearance in 13 days.

Baring injury, it's safe to say both records *and* the 100 appearance mark will be broken.

Now if he only had better control and gave up less dingers. :P

John

jdw · 01-13-2005, 06:22 PM

Well, that early season monster workload seems to have killed The Greatest Pitching Season of All Time by Cotton Simons:

Apr - 5-0 with 1.70 ERA
May - 6-1 with 2.48 ERA
Jun - 3-3 with 3.25 ERA
Jul - 3-1 with 3.31 ERA
Aug - 2-4 with 4.69 ERA

John

jdw · 01-13-2005, 06:30 PM

Addition to Kress:

.392/.545/.896/1.441 - Scoring Position

YOW~!

John

pat · 01-13-2005, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jdw

Well, that early season monster workload seems to have killed The Greatest Pitching Season of All Time by Cotton Simons:

Apr - 5-0 with 1.70 ERA
May - 6-1 with 2.48 ERA
Jun - 3-3 with 3.25 ERA
Jul - 3-1 with 3.31 ERA
Aug - 2-4 with 4.69 ERA

John

Sad year for the Browns.

DamnYankees · 01-13-2005, 06:34 PM

I'd like to be a complete homer now and say I think Morris Lutske was robbed for Player of the Month. He hit freaking .500, with 55 hits, 12 doubles, and 30 runs coming off a really bad injury which knocked his contact level down a notch. I realize Kress had a great month with the .388 and 11 homers, but throw us pesky shortstops a bone here.

It's too bad he likely won't qualify for the batting title. He has a near 40 point lead...

Matt from TN · 01-13-2005, 07:38 PM

August 1950

The White Sox pulled into the AL lead with a 18-12 record in August. The A's faltered with a 12-18 record, sliding 3 games back. The Yankees went 17-11 and continue to improve. They are now just 4 games out, while Detroit is 7 back. The Yanks are on the way to their first winning season since the end of their great dynasty in 1941. Who could've imagined back then that they would go nearly a decade without a winning season. And let's not overlook Cleveland who is above .500 and could have their first winning season since 1943, the year after they won their last World Series. It should be an exciting finish as the White Sox play each of A's, Yankees and Tigers in September as well as the improving Indians and slugging Red Sox.

The Cardinals went 19-10 and have pulled out to a strong 9.5-game lead, which could be almost insurmountable with just 4 weeks left in the season. Unfortunately, Cards pitcher Rock Charnley (14-8, 3.04) tore a muscle in his back on August 27th, and doctors have already determined that his pitching career is over at age 30. Miraculously, he was named NL POTM four days after the injury.

On August 13th, Cubs catcher Chuck Rauch became just the 2nd player in baseball history to hit 4 homeruns in a single game. He did it in a 8-6 win at St. Louis. The only other player to have ever hit 4 homeruns was Giants 3B Dale Lamberty back in 1934.

Meanwhile, Giants 1B Ervin Thompson, who recently set a new NL rookie homerun record, now owns the NL's rookie RBI record. He set a new record with a 4 RBI game in a 5-1 win over the Cubs on August 27th. He now has 98 RBI, and the previous rookie record was 95 RBI by Brooklyn 1B Jeff Bundy in 1930.

Detroit's Ray Kress was named AL BOTM, and with 3 homeruns in a 8-2 win over the White Sox on August 27th, he broke his own AL homerun record. He added another the next day, and the new AL record stands at 42. He is currently on pace to hit 48, but the way he is hitting lately, becoming the 3rd player to ever hit 50 is not out of the question.

At the same time, the AL strikeout record of 220 set by HOF'er Jethro Lee in 1938 will almost certainly be broken this season with the Browns Cotton Simson leading the league with 209 and Yankees young ace Carpenter Erickson with 201. Plus Cleveland's George Kauffman has 195.

Before a trade to the Browns, Jonny Perly looked like he would be unseated as the 10-time reigning NL stolen base leader. Now in the AL, he certainly won't lead the NL, but he will keep alive his streak of leading a league. However, he set a new Browns record for steals on August 22nd, and on the same day, the player who will take over as NL steals leader, Ben Cook, set a new team record for a team from the same city - the Cardinals.

In The News

Aug 12: The Giants Al Mugford was banished by umpire Lon Warneke for refusing to stop waving his arms in an attempt to distract Braves batter Ken Chaucer. In the fourth, Mugford moved over behind 2B and went into a windup the same time as the pitcher. Giants manager George Ward had agreed to await a league ruling on the tactic, but after Chaucer knocked Nick Pursell unconscious in a collision at 3B, Ward turned Walt "Whiz" Fabbricatore, Mugford's replacement, loose. In the fourth, Whiz reached base on an error, then on a force at 2B he put a linebacker block on Bonnard Shadle and both dugouts emptied for a brawl. The Braves went on to win 9-5. The Giants protested Mugford’s ouster to no avail.

Aug 14: NL President Ford Frick reproached Giant Al Mugford and banned his tactics, disallowing the Giants’ protest. He also fined Ken Chaucer and Walt Fabbricatore for the incident.

Aug 19: The Gillette Safety Razor Co. payed $800,000 for TV rights to the World Series. Radio rights will add another $175,000 more.

American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Eric Williams (NYA)!
He had a record of 6-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.98 and 1 shutouts.

American League-Batter of the Month:
Ray Kress (DET)!
He batted .388 in 85 AB, with 11 homers and 27 RBI.

National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Rock Charnley (STL)!
He had a record of 5-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.18 and 1 shutouts.

National League-Batter of the Month:
Ken Chaucer (BSN)!
He batted .286 in 98 AB, with 9 homers and 31 RBI.

Code:

American League Standings 
  
Chicago (A)      77 55 .583 - 
Philadelphia (A) 74 58 .561 3.0 
New York (A)     73 59 .553 4.0
Detroit          70 62 .530 7.0
Cleveland        67 65 .508 10.0 
St. Louis (A)    61 71 .462 16.0 
Boston (A)       60 72 .455 17.0
Washington       46 86 .348 31.0
 
National League Standings 
 
St. Louis (N)    81 51 .614 -
Boston (N)       71 60 .542 9.5
Philadelphia (N) 71 61 .538 10.0
Cincinnati       67 65 .508 14.0
New York (N)     66 67 .496 15.5
Chicago (N)      60 71 .458 20.5
Pittsburgh       58 74 .439 23.0
Brooklyn         54 79 .406 27.5

AL AVG
.365 Peaches Badeau, PHA
.361 Ray Kress, DET
.360 Jimmy Ditty, NYA

NL AVG
.367 Tom Howard, NYG
.344 Ted McMurray, CIN
.341 Ogden Wing, STL

AL HOMERUNS
42 Ray Kress, DET
30 Lonny Arrendale, CHA
26 Luther Ormiston, DET
26 Hershel Lee, PHA

NL HOMERUNS
34 Ken Chaucer, BSN
34 Chuck Rauch, CHN
31 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG

AL RBI
127 Ray Kress, DET
106 Bobby Johnson, BOS
105 Cy Helbig, BOS

NL RBI
103 Ken Chaucer, BSN
100 Chuck Rauch, CHN
98 Ervin Thompson, NYG
98 Ben Giordano, PIT

AL STEALS
55 Jonny Perly, PHI
47 Hans Habermehl, PHA
31 Hershel Cooley, PHA

NL STEALS
59 Ben Cook, STL
32 Ogden Wing, STL
26 Gerald Roberson, CIN

AL ERA
3.08 Cotton Simson, SLA
3.16 George Kauffman, CLE
3.18 Carpenter Erickson, NYA

NL ERA
2.81 Scottie Allen, BSN
2.96 Hall Lepre, CIN
3.04 Rock Charnley, STL

AL WINS
20 Sam Cole, CLE
19 Cotton Simson, SLA
19 Hal Andrew, DET

NL WINS
17 Bob Bussmann, PHI
17 Scottie Allen, BSN
17 Grady Ingram, STL

AL STRIKEOUTS
209 Cotton Simson, SLA
201 Carpenter Erickson, NYA
195 George Kauffman, CLE

NL STRIKEOUTS
174 Ron Fleischmann, PIT
173 John Nolting, PHI
156 Scottie Allen, BSN

AL SAVES
21 Billy Hyberg, BOS
15 Gene Masarech, CHA
14 Lloyd Wyman, DET
14 Oscar Villalpando, NYA

NL SAVES
18 Sam Fontana, BKN
17 Jacob Walensky, NYG
16 George Curd, CHN

DamnYankees · 01-13-2005, 07:47 PM

Matt, I was thinking, do you think you really need to keep posting the league leaders in the recap? They are so easily accesible, seems like it would save you work, and alot of room, to let 'em be. Speaking for myself, I don't ever really look at them in the post, as the site has it all. Maybe it's just me.

jdw · 01-13-2005, 07:52 PM

Speaking for me, they pretty much are the history of TWB. I constantly refer to them, even if for something as simple as what each team's record is each month. I was trying to recall which month the Phils began to fade this year and the Cards move to the forefront, and the thread was vital. Matt also is always citing records and great achivements and things... it really is awesome. It also generates discussion here. I don't think any of us want to see The Big Thread die out.

John

DamnYankees · 01-13-2005, 07:56 PM

Oh, of course, I love Matt's updates. I would never suggest getting rid of them. That's crazy. I'm just talking specifically about the bototm part, where Matt lists the top 3 in different statistical categories. Takes up alot of space, and I don't personally think it adds much. I love his summaries, and the quick look at the standings is very nice. Just the pure stats which are copied and pasted.

Vris · 01-13-2005, 08:00 PM

What a month for Chaucer. BOTM and fined for the brawl. Go Braves!

tward13 · 01-13-2005, 08:14 PM

I kind of like having everything here as one snapshot of the month. Things like leaders at certain points of the season diasappear once the new month starts. But we've still got them all here.

Matt from TN · 01-13-2005, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DamnYankees

Matt, I was thinking, do you think you really need to keep posting the league leaders in the recap? They are so easily accesible, seems like it would save you work, and alot of room, to let 'em be. Speaking for myself, I don't ever really look at them in the post, as the site has it all. Maybe it's just me.

I think I originally started it before there were GM's so people could become familiar with player names other than just the greats like Vancini that I mentioned a lot elsewhere. But, like the monthly standings, they're kind of a record of how things stood at a certain point in time. They're not too time consuming, and I kinda enjoy typing them up myself. Nothing it copied/pasted. Most of the tedious stuff I didn't like in the updates, I got rid of, like the monthly updates of all ancestors. I figured anyone who was interested in their ancestor could easily track his career off the website.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

DamnYankees · 01-13-2005, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt from TN

I think I originally started it before there were GM's so people could become familiar with player names other than just the greats like Vancini that I mentioned a lot elsewhere. But, like the monthly standings, they're kind of a record of how things stood at a certain point in time. They're not too time consuming, and I kinda enjoy typing them up myself. Nothing it copied/pasted. Most of the tedious stuff I didn't like in the updates, I got rid of, like the monthly updates of all ancestors. I figured anyone who was interested in their ancestor could easily track his career off the website.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Alright, cool. I remember how long and irritating those ancestor lists got...good decision to get rid of those.

01-13-2005, 11:20 AM	#3366
canadiancreed Hall Of Famer Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 11,660	I'll second that. Every league should have a jdw __________________ PT21 PT22

01-13-2005, 06:34 PM	#3372
DamnYankees All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,644	I'd like to be a complete homer now and say I think Morris Lutske was robbed for Player of the Month. He hit freaking .500, with 55 hits, 12 doubles, and 30 runs coming off a really bad injury which knocked his contact level down a notch. I realize Kress had a great month with the .388 and 11 homers, but throw us pesky shortstops a bone here. It's too bad he likely won't qualify for the batting title. He has a near 40 point lead... Last edited by DamnYankees; 01-13-2005 at 07:48 PM.

01-13-2005, 07:38 PM	#3373
Matt from TN Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: In a funk.... Posts: 3,413	August 1950 The White Sox pulled into the AL lead with a 18-12 record in August. The A's faltered with a 12-18 record, sliding 3 games back. The Yankees went 17-11 and continue to improve. They are now just 4 games out, while Detroit is 7 back. The Yanks are on the way to their first winning season since the end of their great dynasty in 1941. Who could've imagined back then that they would go nearly a decade without a winning season. And let's not overlook Cleveland who is above .500 and could have their first winning season since 1943, the year after they won their last World Series. It should be an exciting finish as the White Sox play each of A's, Yankees and Tigers in September as well as the improving Indians and slugging Red Sox. The Cardinals went 19-10 and have pulled out to a strong 9.5-game lead, which could be almost insurmountable with just 4 weeks left in the season. Unfortunately, Cards pitcher Rock Charnley (14-8, 3.04) tore a muscle in his back on August 27th, and doctors have already determined that his pitching career is over at age 30. Miraculously, he was named NL POTM four days after the injury. On August 13th, Cubs catcher Chuck Rauch became just the 2nd player in baseball history to hit 4 homeruns in a single game. He did it in a 8-6 win at St. Louis. The only other player to have ever hit 4 homeruns was Giants 3B Dale Lamberty back in 1934. Meanwhile, Giants 1B Ervin Thompson, who recently set a new NL rookie homerun record, now owns the NL's rookie RBI record. He set a new record with a 4 RBI game in a 5-1 win over the Cubs on August 27th. He now has 98 RBI, and the previous rookie record was 95 RBI by Brooklyn 1B Jeff Bundy in 1930. Detroit's Ray Kress was named AL BOTM, and with 3 homeruns in a 8-2 win over the White Sox on August 27th, he broke his own AL homerun record. He added another the next day, and the new AL record stands at 42. He is currently on pace to hit 48, but the way he is hitting lately, becoming the 3rd player to ever hit 50 is not out of the question. At the same time, the AL strikeout record of 220 set by HOF'er Jethro Lee in 1938 will almost certainly be broken this season with the Browns Cotton Simson leading the league with 209 and Yankees young ace Carpenter Erickson with 201. Plus Cleveland's George Kauffman has 195. Before a trade to the Browns, Jonny Perly looked like he would be unseated as the 10-time reigning NL stolen base leader. Now in the AL, he certainly won't lead the NL, but he will keep alive his streak of leading a league. However, he set a new Browns record for steals on August 22nd, and on the same day, the player who will take over as NL steals leader, Ben Cook, set a new team record for a team from the same city - the Cardinals. In The News Aug 12: The Giants Al Mugford was banished by umpire Lon Warneke for refusing to stop waving his arms in an attempt to distract Braves batter Ken Chaucer. In the fourth, Mugford moved over behind 2B and went into a windup the same time as the pitcher. Giants manager George Ward had agreed to await a league ruling on the tactic, but after Chaucer knocked Nick Pursell unconscious in a collision at 3B, Ward turned Walt "Whiz" Fabbricatore, Mugford's replacement, loose. In the fourth, Whiz reached base on an error, then on a force at 2B he put a linebacker block on Bonnard Shadle and both dugouts emptied for a brawl. The Braves went on to win 9-5. The Giants protested Mugford’s ouster to no avail. Aug 14: NL President Ford Frick reproached Giant Al Mugford and banned his tactics, disallowing the Giants’ protest. He also fined Ken Chaucer and Walt Fabbricatore for the incident. Aug 19: The Gillette Safety Razor Co. payed $800,000 for TV rights to the World Series. Radio rights will add another $175,000 more. American League-Pitcher of the Month: Eric Williams (NYA)! He had a record of 6-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.98 and 1 shutouts. American League-Batter of the Month: Ray Kress (DET)! He batted .388 in 85 AB, with 11 homers and 27 RBI. National League-Pitcher of the Month: Rock Charnley (STL)! He had a record of 5-1 in 7 games started, with an ERA of 1.18 and 1 shutouts. National League-Batter of the Month: Ken Chaucer (BSN)! He batted .286 in 98 AB, with 9 homers and 31 RBI. Code: American League Standings Chicago (A) 77 55 .583 - Philadelphia (A) 74 58 .561 3.0 New York (A) 73 59 .553 4.0 Detroit 70 62 .530 7.0 Cleveland 67 65 .508 10.0 St. Louis (A) 61 71 .462 16.0 Boston (A) 60 72 .455 17.0 Washington 46 86 .348 31.0 National League Standings St. Louis (N) 81 51 .614 - Boston (N) 71 60 .542 9.5 Philadelphia (N) 71 61 .538 10.0 Cincinnati 67 65 .508 14.0 New York (N) 66 67 .496 15.5 Chicago (N) 60 71 .458 20.5 Pittsburgh 58 74 .439 23.0 Brooklyn 54 79 .406 27.5 AL AVG .365 Peaches Badeau, PHA .361 Ray Kress, DET .360 Jimmy Ditty, NYA NL AVG .367 Tom Howard, NYG .344 Ted McMurray, CIN .341 Ogden Wing, STL AL HOMERUNS 42 Ray Kress, DET 30 Lonny Arrendale, CHA 26 Luther Ormiston, DET 26 Hershel Lee, PHA NL HOMERUNS 34 Ken Chaucer, BSN 34 Chuck Rauch, CHN 31 Joe Rodabaugh, NYG AL RBI 127 Ray Kress, DET 106 Bobby Johnson, BOS 105 Cy Helbig, BOS NL RBI 103 Ken Chaucer, BSN 100 Chuck Rauch, CHN 98 Ervin Thompson, NYG 98 Ben Giordano, PIT AL STEALS 55 Jonny Perly, PHI 47 Hans Habermehl, PHA 31 Hershel Cooley, PHA NL STEALS 59 Ben Cook, STL 32 Ogden Wing, STL 26 Gerald Roberson, CIN AL ERA 3.08 Cotton Simson, SLA 3.16 George Kauffman, CLE 3.18 Carpenter Erickson, NYA NL ERA 2.81 Scottie Allen, BSN 2.96 Hall Lepre, CIN 3.04 Rock Charnley, STL AL WINS 20 Sam Cole, CLE 19 Cotton Simson, SLA 19 Hal Andrew, DET NL WINS 17 Bob Bussmann, PHI 17 Scottie Allen, BSN 17 Grady Ingram, STL AL STRIKEOUTS 209 Cotton Simson, SLA 201 Carpenter Erickson, NYA 195 George Kauffman, CLE NL STRIKEOUTS 174 Ron Fleischmann, PIT 173 John Nolting, PHI 156 Scottie Allen, BSN AL SAVES 21 Billy Hyberg, BOS 15 Gene Masarech, CHA 14 Lloyd Wyman, DET 14 Oscar Villalpando, NYA NL SAVES 18 Sam Fontana, BKN 17 Jacob Walensky, NYG 16 George Curd, CHN

01-13-2005, 08:00 PM	#3377
Vris Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: somewhere where I don't know where I am Posts: 3,251	What a month for Chaucer. BOTM and fined for the brawl. Go Braves! __________________ None Blog it.

01-12-2005, 02:11 PM	#3361
rogmax11 All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 1,320	He's signed through 1953 I believe, but letters to his wife indicate this may be it.

01-12-2005, 05:36 PM	#3362
DamnYankees All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,644	How many PA does it take to qualify for the batting title? I realize Morris probably has no shot at it, but hitting .386, he's having a fantastic season. Damn injuries.

01-12-2005, 05:50 PM	#3363
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	> How many PA does it take to > qualify for the batting title? > I realize Morris probably has > no shot at it, but hitting .386, > he's having a fantastic season. > Damn injuries. 3.1 per game, which is 477.4 in a 154 game season. He has 307 in 63 starts and 3 PH games. About 477.4 per game played. He needs about 170 to 171 PA's in the 37 games the Red Sox have left. That's right at the pace he has been at if he plays in every game (starting most with 1-2 PH spots) from here on out. He leads off. The Sox have the #1 run scoring line-up in TWB. Hargey's injury hurts since he's a good OBP guy keeping innings going. They probably don't have a good replacement. Hutch Kahle has been playing... lord, way too much this year for a #1-16 pick who's so far from being fully developed that it's not funny. He looks for all the world like Mets is trying to get him playing time for an early start towards 3000 hits to be the latest in the long like of his ancestors to make the HOF. Anyway... I digress... Morris has a chance. John

01-12-2005, 06:20 PM	#3364
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	rogmax11 wrote: > Odd stats as Frank Smith winds > down his career: > > 1.) BBs jump from 29 (!) in 341 IP > six years ago to three straight > 100-walk seasons, with the one > in progress nearing a walk every > 2nd IP. I recognize that pitchers > lose "stuff" as they age, but dont > recall a trend toward wildness on > this level IRL, which leads me to > suspicions about the accuracy of > the aging module in regards to > realistic pitching skills in declining years. His control is down to 5 this season, so that's part of it going way this year. Another part is that BB have gone up in TWB (as they did in MLB) in this era. Cotton Simons has 10 control and isn't coming anywhere near Frank's 29 BB number. Last part (for this year) is that in OOTP, pitchers tend to hit the wall in a season or two unless they pull a miracle retirement before they're time. > 2.) HRA leaping from mid-teens per > 300 IP to 32 in 219 innings, a > whopping one per 7 innings pitched. > This figure seems strangely inflated > too, given that the power-pitching > indications ( K/9IP and HA/IP ) dont > appear significantly depleted from > previous seasons, and higher HRA > totals are typically associated more > often with control pitchers than with > hurlers with control issues. He lost his movement big time this year: 1946 - 9/10/9 1947 - 8/8/8 1948 - 8/7/8 1949 - 8/7/7 1950 - 6/5/5 The 1946-49 are "season end" ratings. > Still, despite a brutally inept offensive > team, #22 has cranked out a surprisingly > robust season with 25% of the team's > victories, capped perhaps by the recent > 7 shutout innings against the powerful > Cardinals. Maybe 450 isnt out of the > question after all ( 'tho it would be > miraculous to occur this year, unless > FS runs the table...). He's retiring at the end of the year, as someone pointed out. 445-447 is probably where he'll finish. It's an odd year. He's pretty "average" when it comes to ratings, but a lot of that drop has happened during the season: Friday 4/1/1950 : Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff... Friday 4/15/1950 : Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches... Friday 5/6/1950 : Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches... Friday 6/17/1950 : Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff... Friday 7/1/1950 : Frank Smith's control seems to have taken a bump... Friday 7/15/1950 : Frank Smith has lost some movement on his pitches... Friday 8/12/1950 : Frank Smith seems to have lost some of his feel for his stuff... The rest of the season could be tough for him. That said, he's supported by a poor park for him, and absolutely horrid IF defense (ranges of 1-4-4-3 around the horn). Luckily he's a bit of a flyball pitcher, and the Dodgers OF is much better than the IF. The negative is that as his Movement tanks, the dingers have come. He also has, as you point out, a brutal offense supporting him. Given the various negatives, it is amazing the he's 13-10 with a 3.85 ERA in a leauge where the average is 4.30. I'm hoping that he can hang onto a "double" of a winning record and an ERA below league average. It doesn't take a lot of meltdowns to run that ERA up. However, he has been over 4.30 only one month this year - a 4.72 in May. I think that even if he averages 4.72 the rest of the year, he should be below league average. My fear is that he has a 6.00+ month in him. With a strong defense behind him and a good offense, he probably would be on his was to 20 wins. Ingram doesn't appear to be having a better year for the Cards, and he's has 15 wins. Still, a pretty amazing year even in decline for Frank. It's been a blast to watch his career. John

01-13-2005, 11:01 AM	#3365
rogmax11 All Star Starter Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 1,320	Terrific analysis, John. You always shed copious light on the players and performances of this league, sort of our own resident Bill James minus the pontificating. We are fortunate to have your penchant for insight, and I always -- always--read what you contribute; you've taught me a lot, for which Im grateful, and you do it so gracefully. Hope that Matt gave you a significant Christmas bonus. R.

01-13-2005, 06:02 PM	#3367
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	Someone posted about Rauch's 4 HR game over on the TWB boards, and no doubt Matt will comment on it in the August Update. Ray Kress had a similar game late in the month, tying two records and break one: http://www.southernbaseball.com/twb/box1020.html He hit three HR to tie the AL record for most HR in a game. His second HR tied his own AL record for HR in a season, and in the 7th inning his 3rd HR set the new AL single season HR mark with 40. Kress previously hit 40 HR for the record in 1947 and 1949. He hit 39 in 1948, as has his teammate Luther Ormiston in 1948 and 1949. Kress hit another HR the following night and closed August with 42. He has 127 RBI on the year. The major league record is 156 set by Oscar Vancini in 1939. Tyrell Chestnut set the AL record in 1930 with 155. The Tigers have 22 games left. Kress drove in 30 back in July in 23 games. Outside shot... very outside shot. His own TWB record for runs is 137, set in 1948. He has 113, making that seem like an even longer shot. He did just score 25 runs in August despite Luther Ormiston having an off month. While running away with the HR and RBI titles, he's moved himself into a tight BA race: .365 - H. Badeau (PHA) .361 - R. Kress (DET) .360 - J. Ditty (NYA) .354 - J. Champagne (SLA) .351 - S. Poulos (PHA) And interesting collection of talent there. Peaches and Champagne have combined to flirt with the .400 mark three times since the end of the war. Two weeks shy of hit 38th birthday, Jimmy Ditty is is having a dream season both personally for his age and for his once proud franchise looking to finish above .500 for the first time since 1941, the year the Yankees Dynasty ended a game out of first place and with Ditty heading off to war. And then there's Kress, who has been touted for years as having Triple Crown potential, and his 4-1-2 and 4-2-2 finishes in the TC components back in 1947 and 1948 show how close he's come. John

01-13-2005, 06:06 PM	#3368
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	The Record for Pitching Appearances: Games : 95, Rudolph Crago (1949, Boston (A)) Games : 86, Gene Masarech (1949, Cincinnati) Dale Scott of the Reds pitched in his 85th game on 8/31, his 9th appearance in 13 days. Baring injury, it's safe to say both records and the 100 appearance mark will be broken. Now if he only had better control and gave up less dingers. :P John

01-13-2005, 06:22 PM	#3369
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	Well, that early season monster workload seems to have killed The Greatest Pitching Season of All Time by Cotton Simons: Apr - 5-0 with 1.70 ERA May - 6-1 with 2.48 ERA Jun - 3-3 with 3.25 ERA Jul - 3-1 with 3.31 ERA Aug - 2-4 with 4.69 ERA John

01-13-2005, 06:30 PM	#3370
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	Addition to Kress: .392/.545/.896/1.441 - Scoring Position YOW~! John

01-13-2005, 07:47 PM	#3374
DamnYankees All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,644	Matt, I was thinking, do you think you really need to keep posting the league leaders in the recap? They are so easily accesible, seems like it would save you work, and alot of room, to let 'em be. Speaking for myself, I don't ever really look at them in the post, as the site has it all. Maybe it's just me.

01-13-2005, 07:52 PM	#3375
jdw All Star Starter Join Date: Nov 2003 Posts: 1,161	Speaking for me, they pretty much are the history of TWB. I constantly refer to them, even if for something as simple as what each team's record is each month. I was trying to recall which month the Phils began to fade this year and the Cards move to the forefront, and the thread was vital. Matt also is always citing records and great achivements and things... it really is awesome. It also generates discussion here. I don't think any of us want to see The Big Thread die out. John

01-13-2005, 07:56 PM	#3376
DamnYankees All Star Starter Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,644	Oh, of course, I love Matt's updates. I would never suggest getting rid of them. That's crazy. I'm just talking specifically about the bototm part, where Matt lists the top 3 in different statistical categories. Takes up alot of space, and I don't personally think it adds much. I love his summaries, and the quick look at the standings is very nice. Just the pure stats which are copied and pasted.

01-13-2005, 08:14 PM	#3378
tward13 All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 1,965	I kind of like having everything here as one snapshot of the month. Things like leaders at certain points of the season diasappear once the new month starts. But we've still got them all here.