Up and Down and Up Again - Page 2

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 01:24 AM

Well, a 10-14 month of June is going backwards.

The hitting started to get out of its slump, but our pitching took a minor slide. Jenkins and Bonham are still the best two pitchers but Henry Boyle is out for 3 months and our starting pitching depth isn't the greatest. We had a couple of other injuries during the month with the most notable being Joe Mauer again. Hank Severeid is developing into a reliable backup catcher and maybe that will reduce the load on Mauer and make him less injury-prone.

I'm itching to make a deal to better the team, but I'm not sure exactly who to move or what for, but I expect something to happen in July.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 01:49 AM

Well, July was better as we posted our best month with a 15-12 record. We're sitting at 45-49 and we're 15 games back of Cleveland, so this season doesn't look like it will be ours, barring an amazing run in August and September.

The major change was a move to bolster our outfield and get a really good leadoff hitter. I always like Sam Crawford and the Chicago White Sox seemed like a team that could afford to move a star player like him for some really solid pieces. I was willing to move D'Angelo Jimenez so I went asking. At first, I offered D'Angelo and Heinie Wagner. Chicago wanted another throw-in and Hank Gowdy had been asking for a trade all season. I didn't feel comfortable trading both Wagner and Jimenez, so I tried to push Pablo Sandoval (who was just drafted this season). The White Sox accepted and the deal was done. This immediately put Sam Crawford in the leadoff spot and his .400 OBP will look great there. If only Daniels and Larker could get their touch back, this team really has some good potential.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 02:09 AM

Okay, so the amazing run has begun and this is sort of the team I was expecting to see this season. We went 21-6 in August and leaped into third place and are now only 8 games behind Cleveland. Detroit kept pace with us as they went 21-5 and they are 6-1/2 games behind. We did this without Sam Crawford who was injured for four weeks but is back for September. Meanwhile, Kal Daniels is heating up and Heinie Wagner has rewarded us for not trading him away by taking over duties at short. All we need is Norm Larker to get back to his rookie form and we should make even more progress.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 02:33 AM

We cooled off a bit in September going 15-10 and then 5-3 in October. We went 1-5 against Cleveland and that was what killed us. We still finished in second with a record of 86-68 and were eight games back of Cleveland. The Naps went on to win the World Series against the Cardinals 4 games to 3. We ended up with the #1 offense and the #2 defense. I'm very confident that this team can compete again next season. We just have to start out strong in April and May.

CatKnight · 04-08-2013, 02:37 AM

I agree. You've made some solid moves forward. 1905 could well be yours.

It's a shame about losing Hughes during the preseason, but you seem to have made up for him nicely.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CatKnight

I agree. You've made some solid moves forward. 1905 could well be yours.

It's a shame about losing Hughes during the preseason, but you seem to have made up for him nicely.

Yes, the drafting of Tiny Bonham meant I didn't even think of Hughes during the season.

I'm always a little leary of big moves - I'm afraid that I'm taking advantage of the AI. But D'Angelo had a great season with the White Sox. He played 2B for them and had a .695 OPS for them. Pablo Sandoval took over as the White Sox 1B and hit .708 OPS for them. With Crawford being hurt, he didn't play as many games, but he did continue his .835 OPS with the Browns. Basically, I think this is still a plus for us, but Chicago did get two good players out of the deal.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 04:09 PM

Going into the draft with the 14th pick meant that I wasn't going to expect to get great players, but I was able to pick up a good SP in Johnny Kucks. At 20 years old, he should jump in as a 3rd starter and make our starting pitching even stronger. In the 2nd round, I took a flyer on 2B Bob Glenalvin who might actually start for us. I really need 3B help but his ratings were great and he's only 21. The rest of the picks were prospect material: LF Matt Murton, CF Drew Stubbs, 1B Chris Shelton, RF Elijah Dukes. I will probably try to package a couple of these for either 3B or CF help.

The first five picks were:
1 PHA Andre Dawson
2 BRO Frank Tanana
3 CWS Todd Helton
4 WAS Joe Tinker (couldn't be signed from last season and was re-drafted)
5 NYG Sam West

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 04:42 PM

NL Gold Gloves
P CHI Gordon Rhodes
C PIT Jocko Milligan
1B CIN Ray Sanders
2B BRO Bobby Lowe
3B STL Pete Kilduff
SS PIT Solly Hemus
LF PIT Duane Walker
CF STL Johnny Hopp
RF PHI Hunter Pence

AL Gold Gloves
P CLE Steve Busby
C CWS Lew Brown
1B DET Wes Parker
2B BOS Gil McDougald
3B CWS Denny Walling
SS DET Woody English
LF PHA Max Venable
CF SLB Darin Erstad
RF WAS Matt Lawton

AL Rookie - CLE Steve Busby
NL Rookie - BBR George Sisler
AL Manager - CLE Connie Mack
NL Manager - STL Steve Williams

AL Pitcher - SLB Fergie Jenkins
NL Pitcher - STL Ted Breitenstein
AL Hitter - SLB Sam Crawford
NL Hitter - CHI Ed Delahanty

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 11:35 PM

In the off-season, I pulled the trigger on one trade. With the drafting of Matt Murton and Drew Stubbs, my manager felt it prudent to platoon not only Darin Erstad but also Sam Crawford. Although Murton's LH ratings were better than Crawford, that just didn't seem right. And since I felt the team had a weakness at 3B, I went looking to move those two prospects for some 3B help.

The Boston Americans had 3B Ken Keltner on the market so they seemed like a natural place to start. With Murton for Keltner, their manager said it was close. When I added in Drew Stubbs, it was a no-brainer for the Americans. So I requested LF Shane Mack as well. That made them consider it so I threw in Willie Smith and the deal was done.

That freed up Crawford from the platoon and gave us a platoon at 3B with Keltner and Ned Wiliamson as well as at CF with Shane Mack and Darin Erstad. I'm now very comfortable with this team and the owner expects us to make the playoffs and the Preseason Predictions have us winning the division with a record of 94-60.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 11:42 PM

My off-season move appears to have backfired on me as Sam Crawford went down with a ruptured medial collateral ligament on the fourth game for the season. We'll have to do with Gene Moore Jr. at RF instead of any of the prospects that we had.

The team got off to its slow start again but we finished the month strong and ended up with a 8-7 record. Our pitching is phenomenal with the big three of Jenkins, Bonham, and Kucks. But the offense still isn't clicking. But I expect that to not last.

jduteau · 04-08-2013, 11:54 PM

After starting the month with a 9-3 record, the team went into a nose dive as they lost 13 in a row! The offense that was sputtering before just stopped producing. I needed to do something to shakeup the team and the announcement from the Cincinnati Reds that Roberto Clemente was on the market seemed to be just the thing. He has been on the market since the beginning last season. I went a calling and asked what they'd want for him and they just wanted 23-year-old outfield prospect Hub Northen. I couldn't believe it and I had to go check the options to ensure that I hadn't set the trading preferences for prospects. Given that they were rebuilding and were gaining 10 years difference and a 4-star prospect in Northen, I only felt a little bad in concluding the deal.

We ended May with a 18-24 record and are down in 7th place. It is going to take a quick turnaround if we want to get back on top!

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 12:02 AM

Okay, this was more like it! We went 18-8 in June and are riding a 6-game winning streak that started with a 3-2 win over the league-leading Cleveland squad. Clemente was named Batter of the Month, Jenkins was named Pitcher of the Month, and Glenalvin was named Rookie of the Month. We're still 6 games back of Cleveland and New York, but I'm confident that if we play the way we know how, we can make that up.

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 12:22 AM

And the come-from-behind charge has begun. We went 19-9 in July and are now sitting with the front-runners. With a 55-41 record, we are tied with Cleveland and one game back of New York. Going 4-1 against Cleveland and 4-0 against New York really helped us out. Unfortunately, Fergie Jenkins was injured for 7 weeks and still has a month to go, but the team didn't miss a beat. Tiny Bonham has been lights out. Just look at how many shutouts he's pitched in the two seasons he's been in the league!

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 12:32 AM

The torrid pace continues as the Browns go 16-10 in August and pull ahead of Cleveland on the 2nd last day of the month. New York has faded so it looks a two-team race for the rest of the season. Jenkins is back from his injury so I just feel like we've got the stars to keep ahead of Cleveland this year. We have five games against them at the beginning of the month and then our series with them is complete. Other teams will have the chance to play spoiler!

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 12:41 AM

We were blistering hot in September, going 20-6 and clinching the AL Pennant. The offense in these past two months has been scorching and when you combine that with our killer pitching, the Browns have been a force to reckon with.

Over in the NL, it has been a three-team race until recently with the Phillies, Pirates, and Cardinals duking it out. The Phillies have fallen off the pace recently but the Pirates and Cards are tied at the top.

Not that I'm looking ahead, but the Chicago White Sox and Boston Beaneaters are sitting on the bottom of their leagues with Boston having a 1-game disadvantage on the White Sox.

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 12:52 AM

It came down to the last day and Philadelphia had muscled their way back into the playoff picture. With a record of 84-70, they were 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh who had a record of 84-69 and a game against Cincinnati. Win and the Pirates were in the World Series. Lose and it would be tie-breaking game. Going into the 9th inning, the Pirates were up 3-2. They scored 3 in the top to go up 6-2 and it looked like their ticket was punched. But the Phillies mounted a rally and scored three runs of their own to make it 6-5. With two out and a runner on 1st, Chippy McGarr was at bat. He hit a towering drive to centerfield and Quentin McCracken run underneath it to stop it from doing any damage and the Pirates squeaked out their win and their pennant.

It will now be the St. Louis Browns vs the Pittsburgh Pirates for the World Series.

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 03:13 AM

Game 1 of the 1905 World Series opened in St. Louis in Sportsman' Park with Tiny Bonham getting the starting nod for St. Louis against Ted Gray for the Pirates. In the bottom of the 1st, the Browns struck first on a Tom Downey double followed by a Joe Mauer single which put runners on 1st and 3rd. After Roberto Clemente struck out, Kal Daniels singled home Downey and the Browns took a 1-0 lead.

The game was played quite sloppily as there were 6 errors, 3 for each team. The first costly error came in the Pittsburgh 6th when Joe Agler singled and Solly Hemus doubled to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no out. Levi Meyerle hit a grounder to shortstop that should have been an easy out with no runner advance except that Downey misplayed the ball which allowed both runners to score. In the Browns 6th, they got the two runs back after Norm Larker singled and then Shane Mack tripled and Ned Williamson flied out to score Mack.

In the 7th, a Joe Agler double scored Johnny Evers and Gray as Pittsburgh retook the lead. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it was all St. Louis after that as they scored 4 runs in the 7th and added another run in the 8th. Although Pittsburgh plated a run in the ninth, the outcome was never really in doubt and St. Louis took the 1st game 8-5.

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 03:32 AM

Game 2 saw the Pirates jump out to an early lead and it didn't look good for the Browns. Fergie Jenkins was going up against Brian Matusz and although the fans thought that Jenkins would eat the Pirates for breakfast, it appeared to be the other way around. Matusz sailed through the first five innings, only allowing three hits and two walks and one run on a fly out. Meanwhile Jenkins was allowing a lot of base runners and Pittsburgh had scored three and threatened for more. But in the 6th inning, the wheels fell off for Pittsburgh scored 8 runs as they put a bunch of hits together and took advantage of another Pittsburgh fielding error.

In the top of the 8th, Pittsburgh got to Jenkins again and managed 4 runs on 5 hits to get the score close at 9-7. Relief pitcher Lee Smith came in for the 9th and completely shut down Pittsburgh and St. Louis took Game 2 and headed off to Pittsburgh in control of the series.

NOTE: I had been lamenting the use of random drafts for Middle Relievers when you're playing in an era where pitchers mostly go the distance. I kept trying to trade Lee Smith or some of my other 4-5 star relievers to get better value. Now I'm glad nothing ever came of those trades!

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 03:42 AM

If I told you that one of the St. Louis Browns was going to throw an extra-inning one-hitter in the playoffs, you'd be sure to guess either Jenkins or Bonham. If I further told you that it was almost a no-hitter except for a 2-out Levi Meyerle hit in the bottom of the 9th, you'd even more sure that it was one of the big two. But darned if it wasn't rookie Johnny Kucks! Kucks had the Pirates batters on edge all day. But even with his wonderful performance, the game still had to go to extra innings because Charlie Smith bent but didn't break. He allowed St. Louis 6 hits but no runs. And it was another Pirate error in the 10th that allowed St. Louis to score its one run and bring home the win for Kucks.

Just one more win needed for the Browns...

jduteau · 04-09-2013, 03:59 AM

Game 4 saw a rematch of Ted Gray for the Pirates against Tiny Bonham for the Browns. Both pitchers were decent with Gray allowing 8 hits and Bonham allowing 9 hits. The only difference was in how those hits came together as Pittsburgh took Game 4 4-2.

Game 5 saw another rematch as Fergie Jenkins took the mound for the Browns and Brian Matusz was on the hill for the Pirates. This time, Jenkins was his normal self as he limited Pittsburgh to seven hits and two runs. St. Louis, mostly off the bat of Roberto Clemente, scored 4 runs with Clemente scoring one after a triple and batting one in after a double.

St. Louis wins Game 5 4-2 and takes the series 4 games to 1!

The Browns are World Champions!

04-08-2013, 01:24 AM	#21
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	June 1904 Well, a 10-14 month of June is going backwards. The hitting started to get out of its slump, but our pitching took a minor slide. Jenkins and Bonham are still the best two pitchers but Henry Boyle is out for 3 months and our starting pitching depth isn't the greatest. We had a couple of other injuries during the month with the most notable being Joe Mauer again. Hank Severeid is developing into a reliable backup catcher and maybe that will reduce the load on Mauer and make him less injury-prone. I'm itching to make a deal to better the team, but I'm not sure exactly who to move or what for, but I expect something to happen in July. Attached Images

04-08-2013, 01:49 AM	#22
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	July 1904 Well, July was better as we posted our best month with a 15-12 record. We're sitting at 45-49 and we're 15 games back of Cleveland, so this season doesn't look like it will be ours, barring an amazing run in August and September. The major change was a move to bolster our outfield and get a really good leadoff hitter. I always like Sam Crawford and the Chicago White Sox seemed like a team that could afford to move a star player like him for some really solid pieces. I was willing to move D'Angelo Jimenez so I went asking. At first, I offered D'Angelo and Heinie Wagner. Chicago wanted another throw-in and Hank Gowdy had been asking for a trade all season. I didn't feel comfortable trading both Wagner and Jimenez, so I tried to push Pablo Sandoval (who was just drafted this season). The White Sox accepted and the deal was done. This immediately put Sam Crawford in the leadoff spot and his .400 OBP will look great there. If only Daniels and Larker could get their touch back, this team really has some good potential. Attached Images

04-08-2013, 02:09 AM	#23
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	August 1904 Okay, so the amazing run has begun and this is sort of the team I was expecting to see this season. We went 21-6 in August and leaped into third place and are now only 8 games behind Cleveland. Detroit kept pace with us as they went 21-5 and they are 6-1/2 games behind. We did this without Sam Crawford who was injured for four weeks but is back for September. Meanwhile, Kal Daniels is heating up and Heinie Wagner has rewarded us for not trading him away by taking over duties at short. All we need is Norm Larker to get back to his rookie form and we should make even more progress. Attached Images

04-08-2013, 02:33 AM	#24
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	September/October 1904 We cooled off a bit in September going 15-10 and then 5-3 in October. We went 1-5 against Cleveland and that was what killed us. We still finished in second with a record of 86-68 and were eight games back of Cleveland. The Naps went on to win the World Series against the Cardinals 4 games to 3. We ended up with the #1 offense and the #2 defense. I'm very confident that this team can compete again next season. We just have to start out strong in April and May. Attached Images

04-08-2013, 04:09 PM	#27
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Draft 1905 Going into the draft with the 14th pick meant that I wasn't going to expect to get great players, but I was able to pick up a good SP in Johnny Kucks. At 20 years old, he should jump in as a 3rd starter and make our starting pitching even stronger. In the 2nd round, I took a flyer on 2B Bob Glenalvin who might actually start for us. I really need 3B help but his ratings were great and he's only 21. The rest of the picks were prospect material: LF Matt Murton, CF Drew Stubbs, 1B Chris Shelton, RF Elijah Dukes. I will probably try to package a couple of these for either 3B or CF help. The first five picks were: 1 PHA Andre Dawson 2 BRO Frank Tanana 3 CWS Todd Helton 4 WAS Joe Tinker (couldn't be signed from last season and was re-drafted) 5 NYG Sam West

04-08-2013, 02:37 AM	#25
CatKnight All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 1,199	I agree. You've made some solid moves forward. 1905 could well be yours. It's a shame about losing Hughes during the preseason, but you seem to have made up for him nicely.

04-08-2013, 04:42 PM	#28
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	1904 Awards NL Gold Gloves P CHI Gordon Rhodes C PIT Jocko Milligan 1B CIN Ray Sanders 2B BRO Bobby Lowe 3B STL Pete Kilduff SS PIT Solly Hemus LF PIT Duane Walker CF STL Johnny Hopp RF PHI Hunter Pence AL Gold Gloves P CLE Steve Busby C CWS Lew Brown 1B DET Wes Parker 2B BOS Gil McDougald 3B CWS Denny Walling SS DET Woody English LF PHA Max Venable CF SLB Darin Erstad RF WAS Matt Lawton AL Rookie - CLE Steve Busby NL Rookie - BBR George Sisler AL Manager - CLE Connie Mack NL Manager - STL Steve Williams AL Pitcher - SLB Fergie Jenkins NL Pitcher - STL Ted Breitenstein AL Hitter - SLB Sam Crawford NL Hitter - CHI Ed Delahanty

04-08-2013, 11:35 PM	#29
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Starting 1905 In the off-season, I pulled the trigger on one trade. With the drafting of Matt Murton and Drew Stubbs, my manager felt it prudent to platoon not only Darin Erstad but also Sam Crawford. Although Murton's LH ratings were better than Crawford, that just didn't seem right. And since I felt the team had a weakness at 3B, I went looking to move those two prospects for some 3B help. The Boston Americans had 3B Ken Keltner on the market so they seemed like a natural place to start. With Murton for Keltner, their manager said it was close. When I added in Drew Stubbs, it was a no-brainer for the Americans. So I requested LF Shane Mack as well. That made them consider it so I threw in Willie Smith and the deal was done. That freed up Crawford from the platoon and gave us a platoon at 3B with Keltner and Ned Wiliamson as well as at CF with Shane Mack and Darin Erstad. I'm now very comfortable with this team and the owner expects us to make the playoffs and the Preseason Predictions have us winning the division with a record of 94-60.

04-08-2013, 11:42 PM	#30
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	April 1905 My off-season move appears to have backfired on me as Sam Crawford went down with a ruptured medial collateral ligament on the fourth game for the season. We'll have to do with Gene Moore Jr. at RF instead of any of the prospects that we had. The team got off to its slow start again but we finished the month strong and ended up with a 8-7 record. Our pitching is phenomenal with the big three of Jenkins, Bonham, and Kucks. But the offense still isn't clicking. But I expect that to not last. Attached Images

04-08-2013, 11:54 PM	#31
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	May 1905 After starting the month with a 9-3 record, the team went into a nose dive as they lost 13 in a row! The offense that was sputtering before just stopped producing. I needed to do something to shakeup the team and the announcement from the Cincinnati Reds that Roberto Clemente was on the market seemed to be just the thing. He has been on the market since the beginning last season. I went a calling and asked what they'd want for him and they just wanted 23-year-old outfield prospect Hub Northen. I couldn't believe it and I had to go check the options to ensure that I hadn't set the trading preferences for prospects. Given that they were rebuilding and were gaining 10 years difference and a 4-star prospect in Northen, I only felt a little bad in concluding the deal. We ended May with a 18-24 record and are down in 7th place. It is going to take a quick turnaround if we want to get back on top! Attached Images

04-09-2013, 12:02 AM	#32
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	June 1905 Okay, this was more like it! We went 18-8 in June and are riding a 6-game winning streak that started with a 3-2 win over the league-leading Cleveland squad. Clemente was named Batter of the Month, Jenkins was named Pitcher of the Month, and Glenalvin was named Rookie of the Month. We're still 6 games back of Cleveland and New York, but I'm confident that if we play the way we know how, we can make that up. Attached Images

04-09-2013, 12:22 AM	#33
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	July 1905 And the come-from-behind charge has begun. We went 19-9 in July and are now sitting with the front-runners. With a 55-41 record, we are tied with Cleveland and one game back of New York. Going 4-1 against Cleveland and 4-0 against New York really helped us out. Unfortunately, Fergie Jenkins was injured for 7 weeks and still has a month to go, but the team didn't miss a beat. Tiny Bonham has been lights out. Just look at how many shutouts he's pitched in the two seasons he's been in the league! Attached Images

04-09-2013, 12:32 AM	#34
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	August 1905 The torrid pace continues as the Browns go 16-10 in August and pull ahead of Cleveland on the 2nd last day of the month. New York has faded so it looks a two-team race for the rest of the season. Jenkins is back from his injury so I just feel like we've got the stars to keep ahead of Cleveland this year. We have five games against them at the beginning of the month and then our series with them is complete. Other teams will have the chance to play spoiler! Attached Images

04-09-2013, 12:41 AM	#35
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	September 1905 We were blistering hot in September, going 20-6 and clinching the AL Pennant. The offense in these past two months has been scorching and when you combine that with our killer pitching, the Browns have been a force to reckon with. Over in the NL, it has been a three-team race until recently with the Phillies, Pirates, and Cardinals duking it out. The Phillies have fallen off the pace recently but the Pirates and Cards are tied at the top. Not that I'm looking ahead, but the Chicago White Sox and Boston Beaneaters are sitting on the bottom of their leagues with Boston having a 1-game disadvantage on the White Sox. Attached Images

04-09-2013, 12:52 AM	#36
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	October 1905 It came down to the last day and Philadelphia had muscled their way back into the playoff picture. With a record of 84-70, they were 1/2 game behind Pittsburgh who had a record of 84-69 and a game against Cincinnati. Win and the Pirates were in the World Series. Lose and it would be tie-breaking game. Going into the 9th inning, the Pirates were up 3-2. They scored 3 in the top to go up 6-2 and it looked like their ticket was punched. But the Phillies mounted a rally and scored three runs of their own to make it 6-5. With two out and a runner on 1st, Chippy McGarr was at bat. He hit a towering drive to centerfield and Quentin McCracken run underneath it to stop it from doing any damage and the Pirates squeaked out their win and their pennant. It will now be the St. Louis Browns vs the Pittsburgh Pirates for the World Series.

04-09-2013, 03:13 AM	#37
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Game 1 - 1905 World Series Game 1 of the 1905 World Series opened in St. Louis in Sportsman' Park with Tiny Bonham getting the starting nod for St. Louis against Ted Gray for the Pirates. In the bottom of the 1st, the Browns struck first on a Tom Downey double followed by a Joe Mauer single which put runners on 1st and 3rd. After Roberto Clemente struck out, Kal Daniels singled home Downey and the Browns took a 1-0 lead. The game was played quite sloppily as there were 6 errors, 3 for each team. The first costly error came in the Pittsburgh 6th when Joe Agler singled and Solly Hemus doubled to put runners at 2nd and 3rd with no out. Levi Meyerle hit a grounder to shortstop that should have been an easy out with no runner advance except that Downey misplayed the ball which allowed both runners to score. In the Browns 6th, they got the two runs back after Norm Larker singled and then Shane Mack tripled and Ned Williamson flied out to score Mack. In the 7th, a Joe Agler double scored Johnny Evers and Gray as Pittsburgh retook the lead. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, it was all St. Louis after that as they scored 4 runs in the 7th and added another run in the 8th. Although Pittsburgh plated a run in the ninth, the outcome was never really in doubt and St. Louis took the 1st game 8-5.

04-09-2013, 03:32 AM	#38
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Game 2 - 1905 Series Game 2 saw the Pirates jump out to an early lead and it didn't look good for the Browns. Fergie Jenkins was going up against Brian Matusz and although the fans thought that Jenkins would eat the Pirates for breakfast, it appeared to be the other way around. Matusz sailed through the first five innings, only allowing three hits and two walks and one run on a fly out. Meanwhile Jenkins was allowing a lot of base runners and Pittsburgh had scored three and threatened for more. But in the 6th inning, the wheels fell off for Pittsburgh scored 8 runs as they put a bunch of hits together and took advantage of another Pittsburgh fielding error. In the top of the 8th, Pittsburgh got to Jenkins again and managed 4 runs on 5 hits to get the score close at 9-7. Relief pitcher Lee Smith came in for the 9th and completely shut down Pittsburgh and St. Louis took Game 2 and headed off to Pittsburgh in control of the series. NOTE: I had been lamenting the use of random drafts for Middle Relievers when you're playing in an era where pitchers mostly go the distance. I kept trying to trade Lee Smith or some of my other 4-5 star relievers to get better value. Now I'm glad nothing ever came of those trades!

04-09-2013, 03:42 AM	#39
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Game 3 - 1905 Series If I told you that one of the St. Louis Browns was going to throw an extra-inning one-hitter in the playoffs, you'd be sure to guess either Jenkins or Bonham. If I further told you that it was almost a no-hitter except for a 2-out Levi Meyerle hit in the bottom of the 9th, you'd even more sure that it was one of the big two. But darned if it wasn't rookie Johnny Kucks! Kucks had the Pirates batters on edge all day. But even with his wonderful performance, the game still had to go to extra innings because Charlie Smith bent but didn't break. He allowed St. Louis 6 hits but no runs. And it was another Pirate error in the 10th that allowed St. Louis to score its one run and bring home the win for Kucks. Just one more win needed for the Browns...

04-09-2013, 03:59 AM	#40
jduteau Minors (Double A) Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 166	Game 4 and 5 - 1905 Series Game 4 saw a rematch of Ted Gray for the Pirates against Tiny Bonham for the Browns. Both pitchers were decent with Gray allowing 8 hits and Bonham allowing 9 hits. The only difference was in how those hits came together as Pittsburgh took Game 4 4-2. Game 5 saw another rematch as Fergie Jenkins took the mound for the Browns and Brian Matusz was on the hill for the Pirates. This time, Jenkins was his normal self as he limited Pittsburgh to seven hits and two runs. St. Louis, mostly off the bat of Roberto Clemente, scored 4 runs with Clemente scoring one after a triple and batting one in after a double. St. Louis wins Game 5 4-2 and takes the series 4 games to 1! The Browns are World Champions!