TWB: The Pittsburgh Pirates

[Matt from TN]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

This is news. My predecessor maybe?

No, maybe '47 or '48. But it was either you, the Braves or Phillies in a team update thread on the TWB boards. Someone mentioned how he kept killing them that year.

[canadiancreed]

For some reason I remember the Braves....but I could be wrong. 1947 seems so long ago now

[ifspuds]

Undisclosed Injury to Walker?
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After an All-Star caliber campaign in 1949, Ike Walker's 1950 season has been a disappointment. Despite a recent 4-game hit streak, the slugger at the hot corner is hitting just .231 on the season and hasn't hit a home run in over a month, when he hit a pair of longballs on May 13th. Now, a local doctor says that he believes Walker is compensating for an injury that the team has not disclosed to the public.

On May 17th, in a game against the Boston Braves, Walker struck out twice and looked lost at the plate. In an 0-4 day at the dish, he failed to put the ball out of the infield, and struck out swinging in his final plate appearance in the top of the 9th. It was clear at the time that he had hurt something on his final, mighty cut for strike 3, as he walked off the field grimacing. The game ended two batters later, so he never had to take the field again on that day. No one thought anything of the possible injury, especially when he went 2-2 with a pair of walks in the next game, but neither of his singles was hard-hit, and he took several pitches that the real Ike Walker would have handled easily. Dr. Michael Paxton, a prominent orthopedist in Pittsburgh, believes that Walker is compensating for an injury to his wrist or hand, which has robbed him of his power and is making him more tentative at the plate. "If you watch his stance and swing, he has a hitch in it that he didn't have at this time last year, or even at the start of the season," said Dr. Paxton in a recent interview. "As a player brings the bat forward and through the hitting zone, the wrists are an important part of bat speed. It's very possible that the May 17th injury has lingered, and is affecting his play even now. If it's true, he should really consider resting."

Ike Walker, in a statement released by the Pirates, responded by saying, "I am not now injured, nor have I been injured at any point this season. All players suffer through slumps, and I'll break out of this one just as I've broken out of them in the past." Others have suggested that Walker was upset at the Pirates' selection of 3B phenom Dave Lemmings in the 1950 amateur draft, and despite the subsequent trade of Lemmings to the Cleveland Indians, the perceived slight continues to affect his game. Whatever the case may be, the Pirates need greater production out of one of their most reliable hitters in the past two seasons. With the top three pitchers in the rotation improving, fans' hopes for a contending team in the upcoming seasons rely on the offense. And the offense relies on Ike Walker.

[ifspuds]

A Monster Season
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Pirates as a team may be suffering through yet another disappointing season, at 31-45 and just a half-game out of last place, but there's one bright spot to be found among the clouds that have hung around this franchise for almost 40 years, and his name is Ed Monchak. After coming over from the Philadelphia A's in late 1948 for a pair of minor leaguers, the 27-year old slugger has done nothing but hit. After a solid, if unspectacular, 1948 season split between Philly and Pittsburgh, Monchak has taken off. In 1949, he hit .280 with 22 homers, no mean feat for a right-handed batter that plays half his games in Forbes Field. But that was just a warmup for 1950.

Halfway through the season, the man they call Monster has already knocked 20 doubles and 13 homers, well on pace to break career highs in both marks (26 and 22, respectively), and he's hitting .290, which would also be a career high. After he narrowly missed an All-Star selection in 1949 -- though many, including this writer, believed he should have been picked -- he's hoping to get a chance to go this season. "Sure, I'd love to go," said Monchak. "Who wouldn't want to go and share a clubhouse for a day with some of the guys in this league? It'd be a real big honor." The lanky left fielder may not look graceful, but when he winds up those long arms, twists up that 6' 5"-inch frame and whips the bat through the zone, what he does to the ball is beautiful to Pirates fans.

In other Pirates news, Ron Fleischmann might finally be coming back fully from a pair of arm ailments that sidelined him for almost 3 months over 1948 and 1949. The movement on his pitches has started to come back, and he's putting it to good use, currently ranked 3rd in the NL with 92 strikeouts, putting him on pace to break his career mark set back in 1947. With his ERA now just a hair under 4.00, if Fleischmann can remain healthy, he could anchor the rotation until star prospect Martin Gwaltney is ready to test his mettle in the bigs. With James Hering and James Tillis both taking steps backward in the minors this season, a return to form from Fleischmann is crucial to the team's future success.

[canadiancreed]

If Fleischmann can regain his prospect form and your new pitching guy start up, thats' gong to be a NICE 1-2 punch

and Ed the Immoable Object, good to see that he's doign well. Doesnt' he hit left handed?

[ifspuds]

You must be thinking of his lesser-known evil twin "Mobile Ned" Monchak.

[ifspuds]

The story as of mid-July is Harold Perry. After some rumblings about the lack of power the 24-year old rightfielder had shown so far in 1950, he went on a tear like Pittsburgh fans haven't seen in some time. After managing just 6 home runs through the end of June, Perry blasted 7 home runs over the course of 9 games in July and hit .442. He also earned his first All-Star Game selection, pinch-hitting in the 8th and staying in to play right field. Perry is now hitting .304/.384/.503 on the season. Ed Monchak also earned All-Star recognition. Monchak came up as a pinch-hitter in the 7th with runners on second and third and a chance to get the NL All-Stars back in the game with a base hit, but he grounded out to third. Not surprisingly, he didn't take the field after that.

With the Pirates 17 games out of first place, it's reasonable to start looking ahead to next year and see what the future holds for the team. One question that's starting to be asked is what to do with Will Miller Jr. The son of one of the greatest hitters in league history, he's done nothing but hit all season long, and appears to be ready for a major league job after hitting .328/.402/.558 with 19 homers and 21 steals at AAA Indianapolis this season. But where will he play? He's got experience at left field, but Ed Monchak is firmly entrenched there (in more ways than one). He also plays right field, but Harold Perry's got that job. Rumor has it that the team will have him work out in center field for the rest of the season with the potential to take over for Albert Huschke in 1951.

Trade rumors are swirling around Pirate stalwart Elmer "The Jeweler" Menard, who at 34 years old is running out of time to get a World Series ring despite a fine career that's seen him rack up over 2200 hits in a Pirate uniform. The team has neither confirmed nor denied that they are taking offers for one of the great Pirates of all time, but unnamed sources in the front offices say that the team is sensitive to his desires to see postseason action before he retires. But what will the team do if Menard is gone? The top shortstop prospect in the system, Kenneth Whitt, is just 19 and, after a hot start to his season, has tailed off somewhat at AA. While he's still reaching base at a .400+ clip, his average has dipped to .269. It's likely he'll complete the season at AA with the hope of moving to AAA in 1951. Victor Boudet, currently the backup third baseman, can play shortstop, but there are plenty of questions as to whether he can handle a full-time job, even if he's just keeping the place warm for Whitt in 1952 or 1953.

Some sad news came from single-A Burlington on July 2nd, as pitching prospect Will Brown suffered an injury to his shoulder that appears as if it will end his nascent career in just his 2nd year in the league. Brown was known to his teammates as a player who pitched on pure heart, and was considered a quality teammate. He'd pitched well for the Burlington Bees, putting up a 3.19 ERA in 1949 and following it up with a 2.99 mark in 1950 before he was hurt.

[canadiancreed]

Sorry to hear about your pitcher. seems that Single A is getting quite rough

as for the Jewller and Miller Jr., they could always play on my team

[ifspuds]

Will Brown wasn't going to amount to much in the end, unless he took some real talent jumps. Still, you hate to see a guy with decent numbers, even if he's a 1-star guy in single-A, go down to a CEI.

As far as Miller, he ain't goin' nowhere. If he can learn CF, the Pirates might just continue their tradition of great outfields. Even if he can't, I'll find a way to play him. Somewhere. Somehow.

[canadiancreed]

well if you dont ask, you dont get

still that outfield with Perry, Immobile Ed, and Miller Jr, that's a nice hitting OF

[ifspuds]

The 1950 season ended with little fanfare, and a resounding ho-hum from the city of Pittsburgh. After making a late season run at .500, the team collapsed into a 7th place finish in the National League, ahead of only the Dodgers. Just another losing season in a long history of losing seasons. The bright spots in the season were All-Star appearances for Ed Monchak and Harold Perry, but despite fine efforts from these two players, the offense struggled and the pitching was even worse.

So was there any reason to hope that 1951 would be any different. There aren't many optimists around Pittsburgh these days, as a litany of losses has drummed the life out of even the most starry-eyed of fans. But in the front office and in the clubhouse, there were rumblings of something better to come. The core of the offense, in Herm Vardaman, Harold Perry, Ben Giordano and Ed Monchak, had another season's experience and plenty of indication that they could carry the team. Furthermore, there were moments when the rotation of Ron Fleischmann, Carl Maloney and John Caffee looked like they might be able to keep the team in games, if not something better. With ace of the future Martin Gwaltney at AAA, even the pitching staff looked like they had potential. Still, league pundits pegged the Pirates for another 7th place finish, calling it a mediocre team without any hope of a winning season in the near future.

The Pirates went out and signed Moses Bottoms out of the Negro League to fill the hole at shortstop left after Elmer Menard was traded to the St. Louis Browns late in 1950. Bottoms is known to have excellent range in the field, good speed on the basepaths, and a capable bat. The reception he got from the fans was cool, as he had two "strikes" against him coming in: first, despite several years of integrated baseball and a Negro pitcher in the Pirates organization in James Tillis, the fans had yet to encounter a Negro player of their own. Second, Bottoms had the unenviable task of replacing one of the most popular Pirates players in recent years in Menard. Many fans were outraged when Menard was traded in the first place, and any new player would have been looked on with suspicion. The team accepted Bottoms as well as could be expected, with young Herm Vardaman seeking out his new double play partner for extra work. Bottoms, for his part, has been quiet, saying all the right things to the local newspapers and remaining upbeat on the field and reserved off it.

Then the unexpected happened: the Pirates jumped out in the first two weeks of April hotter than a furnace at the steel mill, posting an 8-2 record before finishing the month at 14-9, a game and a half back of frontrunning St. Louis. Ben Giordano and Harold Perry led the offense, with Giordano leading the National League in homers (8), RBI (22) and runs scored (24) and Perry taking home Batter of the Month honors by hitting .470 with 6 homers, 18 RBI and 22 runs scored. As a whole, the Pirates are the top-run scoring team in all of Time Warp Baseball through April, hitting .300 as a team with 31 homers and 142 runs scored, all tops in TWB. The pitching hasn't been quite as good, though Carl Maloney and Ron Fleischmann each have 3.56 ERAs and Fleischmann ranks second in the NL in strikeouts. Word came down from the front office last week, however, that Martin Gwaltney would get a callup to replace the struggling John Caffee in the rotation. Gwaltney had put up a 1.51 ERA in 41 innings at AAA, allowing just 30 hits and impressing the coaching staff with fine movement on his pitches. If the left-hander can hold down a spot as the #4 starter in the rotation, there might just be bright days ahead for the team.

[ifspuds]

Is it time to believe in Pittsburgh? Could Forbes Field be home to a contender? After a month and a half of play, the most surprising team in the majors could well be the Pirates. Thanks to an offense at or near the top of the league for the whole of the season, anchored by a breakout season from Harold Perry (.440/.490/.645, 6 HR) and solid efforts from Ben Giordano, Herm Vardaman, Ike Walker and Ed Monchak, the Pirates are 21-15 and in third place, a game behind league leaders Boston and a half-game behind second place St. Louis. The key to continued success is the pitching, as it always has been for the Pirates, who have never produced even a Pitcher of the Year winner, much less a Hall of Fame hurler.

But even in the rotation, there is cause for excitement. Future ace Martin Gwaltney made his major league debut against Brooklyn on May 4th, and won Player of the Game honors for an 8 inning, 6 hits, no walk and 4 strikeout performance, allowing only one run. He followed that up by going 8 against the Giants, allowing one earned run on 5 hits and 3 walks, with 3 strikeouts. He did get rocked in his third start, in New York against the Giants, allowing 7 runs in 5.2 innings, but overall, he's performed very well. While their 4.22 team ERA ranks just 12th in the league, much of that is due to the lackluster bullpen: all 4 starting pitchers have ERAs under 4, led by Ron Fleischmann at 3.68. Fleischmann is finally coming around to become the pitcher the team had hoped for since a fine debut in 1947, tied for the league lead in wins (7) and strikeouts (47).

The schedule for the remainder of May would appear favorable for Pittsburgh. Except for a 3-game set at St. Louis from May 24-26, the Pirates have 6 games against last place Brooklyn and 4 against the slumping Phillies before finishing off at Chicago against the Cubs. If the Pirates are to continue their surprising season, they will need to take at least one of the three games against St. Louis if only to prove to themselves that they belong.

[ifspuds]

Pirates Riding High
by Jack McKinley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

After a fade toward .500 at the end of May, the Pirates came back strong in June and worked their way back to 6 games over and 2.5 games back of first-place St. Louis. A lot of that can be attributed to their shopping spree at the trading deadline: John Caffee was sent to Cincinnati in return for the surprising veteran Walt Gajan and minor league outfielder Zack Gloss. Gajan won Pitcher of the Month in the NL for May, going 5-0 with a 1.00 ERA, and the Pirates hope that he can be the anchor at the front of the rotation for a pennant push. Not to be overlooked is the acquisition of reliever/swingman Clyde Eakes from the Chicago Cubs for minor leaguers Smokey Lyons and David Patterson. Eakes pitched in eight games since his acquisition, and allowed just a single run -- unearned -- to solidify an inconsistent bullpen.

"The biggest thing we've had to get over is the feeling that we're not meant to be here," said manager Slap Hertzog in a recent interview. "I keep telling these guys that they're just as good as any other team out there, and they'll only play as well as they think they can." Hertzog has nothing but praise for his young team. "Harold Perry's been outstanding, and the offense has been solid from top to bottom. But I'm just tickled with the way our pitching's performed. I've been saying ever since I got here that we'd only go as far as the pitchers took us. Stob (Jonathan Stobart, pitching coach) has worked magic, far as I'm concerned."

Besides newcomer Walt Gajan, the rest of the rotation has been outstanding, and the biggest story has been rookie Martin Gwaltney. Gwaltney, who came over in a trade with the Cleveland Indians for top 3B prospect Dave Lemmings last season, made his major league debut on May 4th and hasn't looked back since. Gwaltney's made 10 starts in a Pirates uniform, and allowed 2 runs or less 7 times, going 6-2 with an even 3.00 ERA, allowing opponents to hit just .212 off him in 78 innings. Ron Fleischmann's been excellent as well, with a 9-4 record and 3.53 ERA with a team-high 70 strikeouts, and Carl Maloney's been nearly as good, 7-7, 3.55. "I ain't doin' or sayin' nothin' these guys ain't already heard," said pitching coach Jonathan Stobart. "They just finally got it in their thick skulls to trust their abilities. And Gwaltney, he's too young 'n' excited to be scared."

After all these long years wandering lost in the cellar of the National League, the Pirates have hometown fans anything but scared. They're just hoping that it's not all a dream. If it is, no one in this city seems to want to wake up just yet.

[canadiancreed]

I guess that's payback for Bajofer and McGlathery hmm?

[ifspuds]

Nah, I wouldn't say it's payback. There was no reason to expect Bajofer would suddenly break out in Cincinnati, and McGlathery... eh. No skin off my nose. Gajan's a roll of the dice. What I really wanted was for Cotton Simson to clear waivers (surprise surprise). I think the Browns and I might have been able to swing a deal. But in the absence of Cotton, I'll take my chances with Gajan continuing his incredible season, or something like it.

[canadiancreed]

well I'm not surprised that Cotton got claimed. I mean the bidding war on him would have been insane. With St Louis, Boston, yourself, the Cubs and the Giants in just the NL tryign to get him, the Browns could literally ramp up the price to whatever they wanted.

In fact the only tam that probably woudlnt make a bid is me. Unless he'll take Vera and Scott for him

[WillTheThrill]

The son of one of the greatest hitters in league history, he's done nothing but hit all season long, and appears to be ready for a major league job after hitting .328/.402/.558 with 19 homers and 21 steals at AAA Indianapolis this season.

I've been waiting for this moment, IT BEGINS

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by WillTheThrill

I've been waiting for this moment, IT BEGINS

*looks to trade for him, so his offense will be stiffled by one of the most pitcher freindly parks in the league :d *

[ifspuds]

Originally Posted by WillTheThrill

I've been waiting for this moment, IT BEGINS

Well, it hasn't begun quite yet. I was waiting for him to learn CF in the minors, which just happened last sim. With Ed Monchak and Harold Perry entrenched at the corners (where Miller's best), CF was the best route available to him. Unfortunately, while he's now rated at CF, he's only got a rating of 1 in range. Since Ed Monchak's also rated 1 in LF, I'm a little frightened to think about the two of them side-by-side in the outfield.

With the Pirates' offense taking a downturn, though, he could see the majors soon. Miller Jr. is currently hitting .276/.346/.510 in 308 ABs at AAA, with 18 HR and 6 steals. His ratings are 4/5/2 (C/M/E) against 7/5/3 talents and they have been since last season, so it might be time to go ahead and bring him and see what he can do.

[ifspuds]

"(Baseball) breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart."
-- A. Bartlett Giamatti

While the late Dr. Giamatti was only 13 years old in 1951, and would not make this statement for many years later, this is Time Warp Baseball, so there's a good chance his words might have fallen into that time warp. And they apply all too well to July in Pittsburgh.

6 games over and 2.5 back headed into the month of July, things looked good at the outset for the upstart Pirates. Two clutch wins in three games against front-running St. Louis had the team flying high heading to Philadelphia. The Phillies, crafty veterans and former champions, showed their Pennsylvania partners what it meant to be a contender, hanging a 3-game sweep on the Pirates. None of the games were closer than 3 runs, and the previously solid pitching staff gave up 20 runs in the 3 games. Manager Jerry "Slap" Hertzog counseled patience, saying, "Tough teams hang in through tough times. We're about to find out if this is a tough team."

As it happened, when it came time to find out if the Pirates were men or mice, the team went skittering for holes in the walls and picked up a sudden overpowering urge for cheese.

Cincinnati has been the Pirates' nemesis all season long, but the four-game series was back at Forbes Field, where they'd put up a terrific record thus far. With so many players swapping back and forth between these two teams recently, it had the feeling of a reunion. Between two sides of a family that have to lock up the knife drawer. The Pirates had no chance in this series. The Reds bombed their former teammate Walt Gajan in game one, on the way to a 10-2 win. Former Pirate John Caffee outdueled Ron Fleischmann in game two, a 4-2 Cincinnati win. Another former Pittsburgh pitcher, Buck McGlathery, won a close one against rookie sensation Martin Gwaltney, 4-3. And in the final game, the Pirates offense finally broke through, putting up 9 runs -- 7 off ex-Pirate James Bajofer. But, as you can no doubt expect, the Reds put up more. Many more. 5 more, to be exact.

The All-Star break couldn't come soon enough. The Pirates sent Harold Perry and Ron Fleischmann to the Midsummer Classic while the rest of the team took a much-needed rest. They came back with a split of two games against the Braves, but they ended the first half of July with a 44-45 record, and now sit 9 games out of first. Is it too late for the Pirates? With 4 teams in front of them, the chances of a pennant are looking as slim as they have been for the past many years. And Pirates fans around the city are saying, "That's what you get for having hope."

Baseball is designed to break your heart.