Worst to First - The Sequel

[NYY #23]

The Indians had a 13-7 month to move into a first place tie with the Tigers and Red Sox. We are pitching well, and are defense is holding up fairy well.

Our offense is another story as we once again have trouble scoring runs. Being in first place has me encouraged, but I don't feel like we are close enough to win a World Series, but we'll see.

Don Gullett won his 200th career game this month, while Jon Matlock of the Phillies won his 300th career game. Rube Vickers of the Braves also won his 200th career game.

[NYY #23]

The Indians traded reliever Mike MacDougal to the Yankees for shortstop Alcides Escobar. It was a fairly minor deal on both sides.

The Indians went 15-11 for the month and now have a game and a half lead over the Tigers. I'm still a little worried about our offense, but the Indians seem to be very slow starters. They usually don't heat up until September.

[ShagVT]

Stan Musial's career may have been HOF, but it was certainly a far cry from his real career. Pretty impressive that he made it with only 7 full seasons.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by ShagVT

Stan Musial's career may have been HOF, but it was certainly a far cry from his real career. Pretty impressive that he made it with only 7 full seasons.

Injuries definitely took a big toll on his career. Would have been interesting to see what he could have done with more of a full career.

[NYY #23]

The Indians went 19-13 for the month and now have opened up a 4 game lead over the Detroit Tigers. Dave Righetti was injured during the month, but will be back shortly.

Our pitching is still definitely carrying us, but our offense if starting to pick up just a little bit.

George Davies of the Phillies won career game number 200. Buddy Bell of the Dodgers picked up career hit number 2000.

It took a while, but Ewell Blackwell of the Cubs won the 300th game of his career. Playing his entire career for the Cubs definitely helped, as strange as that sounds, and the 34 year old will get a chance to add to his total.

[NYY #23]

Maybe these Indians are starting to reward me for my patience after a 24-12 month that has us ahead of the Tigers by 8 1/2 games. It's been a long experience so far, but I've always felt that the Indians have underperformed, whether through bad luck or injuries, so it's nice to see them coming together.

I don't want to get too confident just yet, but I'm at least hopeful.

Another month, another milestone. This time Dory Dean of the Pirates won his 300th game becoming the third player to do so this year.

[NYY #23]

It's hard to believe that the Indians went to the World Series in my first year, because years 2, 3, 4, and 5 seem like forever.

We are currently a little banged up, with Don Gullett, Gary Pettis, Matt Kemp, and Dave Righetti out. After going most of the year virtually injury free we've had a lot of minor injuries crop up.

We'll use the rest of the season to rest up and prepare for the Cincinnati Reds.

Mike Norris of the Browns won his 250th game of his career yesterday.

[Painmantle]

Nice to clinch early, especially with all the nagging injuries you have! Good Luck getting onto another team!

[NYY #23]

We've got one more day until we head into the World Series against the Reds, and outside of Dave Righetti who is injured for 2 more days the Indians are healthy.

I "almost" feel bad for the Reds, who have nine players on the disabled list right now that will miss the World Series. I say almost, because I've been there too.

Remember Walter Thornton, the former number one prospect that I traded to the Reds? It's taken some time, but he's developed into an ace. He went 23-8 this year with a 1.92 ERA with a 189 ERA+. He'll be out the next two weeks so he'll miss the World Series. I could imagine him getting his revenge on us though.

The Reds' sluggers Carlos Delgado and Jim King are both out for the Series as well.

The Indians should have the upper hand, but I'm going to really worried about this one. The Reds have nothing to lose, and the Indians aren't the most consistent team so I also wouldn't be surprised if we were swept.

I wouldn't feel bad losing to a full strength Red's team because they are a good team, but I'd be pretty upset if we lost to the Reds in their current state.



Our final monthly report:

[NYY #23]

Well, I entered this World Series more nervous than normal, because I don't have a high degree of confidence in the Indians and was worried about our chances, so for the first time I just hit the 'Sim to the end of playoffs' option, crossed my fingers and walked away.

I wish I could say that was because I had a high degree of confidence in the team, but as much as I hate to admit it it was probably more indifference. I probably shouldn't come right out and say this, but I didn't really enjoy my time with the Indians. There was no one player who I really cared about, and it felt a little like going through the motions. So this was more see what happens, and if we win I move on, and if we lose I get to sim day by day all through the offseason.

But anyway, on the results of the Series (after the fact) -

Game 1 -

Alan Benes took the mound for the Indians, and the Indians scored 6 runs in the first inning and tried to hold on. The Reds battled back to score five, but the Indians added two late insurance runs late to win game one 8-5 to take a 1-0 series lead.

Game 2 -

Game 2 played out a lot like Game 1 except with Don Gullett on the mound for the Indians. The Indians jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first inning, but the Reds came back to tie the score at 5 heading into the eighth inning. Steve Bilko hit a big 3 home run home in the bottom of the eighth inning though, and the Indians scored 4 runs for a 9-5 victory. The Indians hit the road and travel to Cincinnati for Game 3 was a 2-0 lead.

Game 3 -

Egyptian Healy got the ball for Game 3, and I can't help but sing "Walk Like an Egyptian" every time I see his name. That isn't necessarily a good thing though, although he pitched well, the Indians scored four runs and we won Game three 4-2 to take a 3-0 lead in the World Series. What could go wrong?

[NYY #23]

Game 4 -

Alan Benes got the ball trying to close out the series, and staked the Reds to an early 2-0 lead. He pitched well for the most part though, and kept the Reds off the board until he'd leave the game in the ninth inning for a pinch hitter.

Jack Clark came off the bench in the ninth and delivered a pinch hit single. The next batter, Jimmy Williams hit a two run home run to tie the game, and Hank Aguirre came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth. The Reds got a leadoff walk, stole second, moved to third on a fielder's choice, and scored on the walkoff sacrifice fly to win their first game of the series.

Game 5 -

It was Don Gullett's turn to surrender the early runs tonight, and the Indians were never ever to recover, losing the game 6-3 as the Reds narrowed the series to 3 games to 2.

Game 6 -

Jimmy Williams homered in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie and Egyptian Healy pitched another solid game as the Indians won the game 4-3 and the World Series 4 games to 2.

I'll be back to wrap up the series, and breath a big sigh of relief.

[NYY #23]

First, finishing off with Cleveland was a relief. Let's look at the good that happened this year in Cleveland, besides winning the World Series, Egyptian Healy won the Pitcher of the Year, and the Pitching Triple Crown. Gary Roenicke won a Gold Glove in left field. Jack Clark and his .324 batting average won the American League title.

Johnny Damon decided to hang it up, as did my bench coach, and my hitting coach.

It was a rough five years in Cleveland though, and I'm glad to get through it. I've been having problems with my league file before the upgrade to 14 which I hoped would be cleared up, but they weren't. The problems started when deleting the minor leagues, and phantom games started appearing between teams that no longer exist that I can't find a way to solve.

But even though I don't want to lose the league's continuity it was always about taking a team from worst to first, so I'm going to close down the current file here with 11 teams done, and begin chapter 2 with a fresh save file.

I don't want to start over again making it through 11 teams, and I think that starting off with established rosters and less parity will be a little more challenging way to start, and break things up a little bit as I start Chapter 2. I envision Chapter 3 being the final Chapter in the journey and starting in 2013 with full minors, but we'll see what happens between 1952 and 2013. But first my final history with Chapter 1 of my Worst to First journey with all 30 teams:

11 down, 19 to go:
St. Louis Browns - 9 seasons, lost 4 World Series, won 1910
St. Louis Cardinals - 6 seasons, lost 1 World Series, won 1916
Boston Braves - 4 seasons, won 1920
Philadelphia Phillies - 8 seasons, lost 1 World Series, won 1928
Boston Red Sox - 1 season, won 1929
Philadelphia Athletics - 2 seasons, won 1931
Pittsburgh Pirates - 6 seasons, won 1937
Chicago Cubs - 4 seasons, won 1941
Detroit Tigers - 2 seasons, won 1943
Chicago White Sox - 4 seasons, won 1947
Cleveland Indians - 5 seasons, won 1952

St Louis Browns - 54-86 (.386) 28 GB
1902 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 20 GB (Season Score - 35)
1903 - St. Louis Browns 69-71 (.493) 11 GB (Season Score - 36)
1904 - St. Louis Browns 89-65 (.578) - GB, Lost World Series 4-3 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 94)
1905 - St. Louis Browns 88-66 (.571) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 78)
1906 - St. Louis Browns 85-69 (.552) 3 GB (Season Score - 41)
1907 - St. Louis Browns 81-73 (.526) 19 GB (Season Score - 5)
1908 - St. Louis Browns 94-60 (.610) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Philadelphia Phillies (Season Score - 93)
1909 - St. Louis Browns 86-68 (.558) - GB, Lost World Series 4-1 to Boston Doves (Season Score - 57)
1910 - St. Louis Browns 97-57 (.630) - GB, Won World Series 4-3 over Pittsburgh Pirates (Season Score - 97)
St Louis Cardinals - 59-95 (.383) 29 GB
1911 - St. Louis Cardinals 85-69 (.552) 2 GB (Season Score - 40)
1912 - St. Louis Cardinals 89-65 (.578) 3 GB (Season Score - 34)
1913 - St. Louis Cardinals 89-66 (.574) 1 GB (Season Score - 53)
1914 - St. Louis Cardinals 94-60 (.610) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Detroit Tigers (Season Score - 60)
1915 - St. Louis Cardinals 96-68 (.558) 7 GB (Season Score - 21)
1916 - St. Louis Cardinals 103-51 (.669) - GB (Won World Series 4-2 over Cleveland Indians (Season Score - 97)
Boston Braves - 61-93 (.396) 42 GB
1917 - Boston Braves 63-91 (.409) 40 GB (Season Score - 1)
1918 - Boston Braves 82-72 (.532) 14 GB (Season Score -46)
1919 - Boston Braves 76-64 (.543) 6 GB (Season Score - 49)
1920 - Boston Braves 89-66 (.574) - GB, Won World Series 5-2 over Detroit Tigers (Season Score - 79)
Philadelphia Phillies - 61-93 (.396) 27 1/2 GB
1921 - Philadelphia Phillies 69-85 (.448) 11 1/2 GB (Season Score - 17)
1922 - Philadelphia Phillies 80-74 (.519) 7 GB (Season Score - 52)
1923 - Philadelphia Phillies 82-72 (.532) 6 1/2 GB (Season Score - 27)
1924 - Philadelphia Phillies 84-70 (.545) 6 GB (Season Score - 34)
1925 - Philadelphia Phillies 87-67 (.565) 3 GB ( Season Score - 46)
1926 - Philadelphia Phillies 87-67 (.565) 7 GB (Season Score - 23)
1927 - Philadelphia Phillies 100-54 (.649) - GB, Lost World Series 4-0 to Cleveland Indians (Season Score -75)
1928 - Philadelphia Phillies 96-58 (.623) - GB, Won World Series 4-2 over Chicago White Sox (Season Score - 80)
Boston Red Sox - 63-91 (.409) 28 GB
1929 - Boston Red Sox 93-61 (.604) - GB, Won World Series 4-1 over Philadelphia Phillies (Season Score - 100)
Philadelphia Athletics - 67-87 (.435) 26 GB
1930 - Philadelphia Athletics 78-76 (.506) 10 GB (Season Score - 29)
1931 - Philadelphia Athletics 85-69 (.552) - GB, Won World Series 4-3 over Cincinnati Reds (Season Score - 52)
Pittsburgh Pirates - 59-95 (.483) 32 GB
1932 - Pittsburgh Pirates 74-80 (.481) 12 GB (Season Score - 29)
1933 - Pittsburgh Pirates 80-74 (.519) 4 GB (Season Score - 42)
1934 - Pittsburgh Pirates 81-73 (.526) 3 GB (Season Score - 31)
1935 - Pittsburgh Pirates 84-70 (.545) 1 GB (Season Score - 25)
1936 - Pittsburgh Pirates 83-71 (.539) 8 GB (Season Score - 12)
1937 - Pittsburgh Pirates 90-64 (.583) - GB, Won World Series 4-3 over Boston Red Sox (Season Score - 64)
Chicago Cubs - 57-97 (.370) 33 GB
1938 - Chicago Cubs 72-82 (.468) 15 GB (Season Score - 20)
1939 - Chicago Cubs 75-79 (.487) 11 GB (Season Score - 34)
1940 - Chicago Cubs 80-74 (.519) 13 GB (Season Score - 42)
1941 - Chicago Cubs 95-59 (.617) - GB, Won World Series 4-2 over Washington Senators (Season Score - 94)
Detroit Tigers - 55-99 (.357) 37 GB
1942 - Detroit Tigers 90-64 (584) 1 GB (Season Score - 86)
1943 - Detroit Tigers 102-52 (.662) - GB, Won World Series 4-1 over Chicago Cubs (Season Score - 96)
Chicago White Sox - 52-102 (.338) 50 GB
1944 - Chicago White Sox 72-82 (.468) 18 GB (Season Score - 15)
1945 - Chicago White Sox 81-73 (.526) 7 GB (Season Score - 55)
1946 - Chicago White Sox 86-68 (.558) 2 GB (Season Score - 75)
1947 - Chicago White Sox 92-56 (.622) - GB (Season Score - 100)
Cleveland Indians - 58-96 (.377) 37 GB
1948 - Cleveland Indians 86-67 (.562) - GB, Lost World Series 4-2 to Chicago Cubs (Season Score - 88)
1949 - Cleveland Indians 79-75 (.513) 4 1/2 GB (Season Score - 39)
1950 - Cleveland Indians 60-85 (.414) 19 1/2 GB (Season Score - 1)
1951 - Cleveland Indians 79-75 (.513) 9 GB (Season Score - 46)
1952 - Cleveland Indians 95-59 (.617) - GB, Won World Series 4-2 over Cincinnati Reds (Season Score - 124)

[NYY #23]

Since round one ended in 1952 I thought that I would start a new historical league in 1953 to kick things off with 19 teams left, but just 5 that currently exist:
1. New York Yankees (Highlanders)
2. Minnesota Twins (Washington Senators)
3. San Francisco Giants (New York Giants)
4. Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn)
5. Cincinnati Reds
6. Los Angeles Angels (1961)
7. Texas Rangers (Senators) (1961)
8. Houston Astros (1962)
9. New York Mets (1962)
10. Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos) (1969)
11. San Diego Padres (1969)
12. Kansas City Royals (1969)
13. Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots) (1969)
14. Toronto Blue Jays (1977)
15. Seattle Mariners (1977)
16. Florida Marlins (1993)
17. Colorado Rockies (1993)
18. Arizona Diamondbacks (1998)
19. Tampa Bay Rays (1998)

I decided it would be best to start a historical league and allow amateur players to import according to history. Either way there would be duplicate players, but nothing against the random debut, if I was going to start over again I'd do it this way and keep players in their appropriate era. In order to switch things up a little bit I'm going to enable scouting this time and settings are pretty much out of the box.

I wanted to sim through 1953 and take the team with the worst overall record. I'm getting to the point where that may not always be possible and I'll take the worst team, but since I'm starting fresh so to speak I thought that was the most fair.

1953 saw both the Athletics and Cubs lose 98 games, and I've already guided both those teams to it was on to 1954. I figured this would be a race between the Senators, Giants, and Reds since the Yankees and Dodgers started from a good place.

1954 again saw the Athletics finish last overall, with the Giants (69-85) and Reds (71-83) the top two candidates.

1955 provided a winner, the 59-95 Cincinnati Reds, or Redlegs as they were known that year. Since I was simming to the next year we'll begin on January 1, 1956 following the amateur draft. I can honestly say my pick would have been different without even looking at the Redlegs, because either Frank Robinson or Don Drysdale would have been too tough to pass up. But we'll get to know the Reds next, and find out who their pick was.

[NYY #23]

There is a couple of things to like about the Redlegs, and some areas we need to address before we can get to the next level. I haven't used scouts in a while, so this may be a little bit of a work in progress.

Rotation
Joe Nuxhall - the 27 year old is our ace, and he went 13-11 with a 3.37 ERA.
Marion Fricano - came over in a trade from the Royals last year and went 4-8 with a 4.90 ERA in Cincinnati. He's 32, and ideally no better than a third or fourth starter, but he'll be our second starter
Joe Margoneri - a 25 year old rookie who was selected in the fourth round of last year's draft.

I'm not convinced outside of Nuxhall that we've got solid options, and I would have felt much better with Drysdale.

Catcher

Earl Averill is 24 years old and our future catcher, especially since he was our top pick last year, over Drysdale and Frank Robinson. Hobie Landrith is 25 years old and a decent option, which makes the draft pick more puzzling. He hit.264 with 12 home runs last year, so one of the two could be trade bait.

Infield

Ted Kluszewski hit 49 home runs last year with a .321 average, and our manager has him riding the pine in favor of 22 year old Ed Bouchee, our second round pick last year. Big Klu won't be on the bench though, so he'll either be dealt or start, and with 6.4 WAR he was our most valuable player. As a note, recalc is off and players will develop according to OOTP.

Second base will be handled by Bobby Hofman, who hit .300 with 28 homers last year. Third base currently belongs to Bobby Adams, but at 34 he is not the long term solution, and maybe not the short term solution either.

Shortstop is a top priority. Last year it was manned primarily by Rocky Bridges, who should be on the bench, and playing second when he plays.

Outfield

27 year old Gus Bell is our centerfielder and one of our best hitters, hitting .369 last year with 13 home runs. I'd love to slide him over to right field though.

Jim Greengrass and Bob Borkowksi manned left and right field respectively. They combined for -2.4 WAR. Whitey Lockman was the fourth outfielder, although his best defensive position is first base.

------------------------------------
Those are the highlights, and I'm waiting for a fresh set of scouting reports to come back before making any deals.

[NYY #23]

One of the things I haven't noticed with Cincinnati yet is that our budget is projected to be ($19,000) so that is one thing we'll have to keep in mind.

I had a series of trades lined up, but they didn't feel right to me, and sure enough I never set the trading difficulty to hard. It sure would have made my life easier, but back to the drawing board….

[NYY #23]

There are a couple of things that I want to do, get younger and save some money. I've tried a lot of different options, and I'm having no luck doing what I want to do. Nobody seems to have much interest in my players in one for one deals, especially our top guys, Big Klu, Joe Nuxhall, and Gus Bell. In fact I needed to package all three together to get back a player who I'd want as a starter, but I'm having trouble getting close to fair value.

2B Bobby Hofman got the most attention, which makes sense after he hit .300 with 28 home runs, and had a 3.7 WAR. We were able to work out a deal with the Cubs.

Reds sent -
2B Bobby Hofman (3.7)
2B Rocky Bridges (-1.6)
LF Bob Borkowski (-1.8)
SP Marion Fricano (0.8)

Cubs sent -
CF Roberto Clemente (0.2)
2B Gene Freese (1.8)

I could have made the deal without Bridges and Borkowski, but saving the extra money helped.

Then finally I had to make a decision about first base, and keep either Big Klu, or Ed Bouchee. I worked out a deal with the Phillies for Big Klu, but then chickened out. I was able to substitute Bouchee into the deal and make it work though.

Reds sent -
1B Jim Bouchee
LF Jim Greengrass
MR Tom Acker

Phillies sent -
3B Brooks Robinson
MR Mike McCormick
MR Bob Blaylock

Ratings wise Bouchee was actually better than Robinson, and Big Klu, but sometimes it's hard to get past a name. We'll see if this turns out to be a mistake though.

[NYY #23]

After all the wheeling and dealing the Redlegs started off slow going 4-8 for the month. With nine players injured May should be a better evaluation of the team.

[NYY #23]

One thing that I didn't expect was the number of injuries we've experienced so far. We've had between 8-12 players injured at the same time, and they are primarily effecting our pitching, although Ted Kluszewski and Gene Freeze are both out with injuries.

For the month of May we were 9-20, and things are not going well in Cincinnati.

[NYY #23]

The Reds finished our second straight month with a 9-20 record and now are 22-48 for the year, a total of 25 1/2 games out. Looking over the deals I've made in Cincinnati I can't say I regret any of them, or would have done things differently. While Ed Bouchee isn't doing too bad for the Phillies, I think our problems go beyond those deals.

Clemente and Robinson are both young, so they'll get better. We need pitching help, and Marion Fricano wasn't the answer. I'm not sure there is a quick fix solution, although I'll look a little before the trade deadline. Getting healthy will help though.

[NYY #23]

We traded reliever Bubba Church to the Brooklyn Dodgers for minor league starting pitcher Johnny Podres, and also swung a big deal with the Yankees -

Going to New York -
1B - Ted Kluszewski
MR - George Susce
LF - Bob Hazle

Going to Cincinnati -
RF - Hank Bauer
2B - Clete Boyer
SS - Billy Martin
1B - Gus Triandos

The Yankees are in 'Win Now' mode and need a first baseman, and even though I don't want to move Big Klu I also know we need help and he's fragile, so I don't want to wait too long. We get three young players that aren't going to start for the Yankees, along with Hank Bauer, who is 34 and on the downside of his career, but can fill the right field hole for us.

It wasn't a popular move with the fans, but they already don't like a team that is playing .360 ball. The outgoing Big Klu won the Batter of the Month after hitting .281 with 10 home runs, 23 RBI, and 19 runs scored. It was a two part deal though, but unfortunately we couldn't close on the second part of the deal for a starting pitcher.

Hopefully we sold high on Big Klu though. The Reds did have our best month of the year going 14-16 though.