The Liberty League, Est. 1876

[Questdog]

Wednesday, May 22, 1889

We were supposed to start a series with Cincinnati today, but that will have to wait until tomorrow as the rain is pouring down.

Liberty League:
Kansas City (1) at Pittsburgh (6): Joe Peters (33-4.9) (3-4) over Piggy Lambert (25-8.2) (2-5). Peters allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6. Lambert allowed 7 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2.

Louisville (1) at Cleveland (3): Lou Townley (27-3.5) (2-6) over Miah Turner (28-5.3) (6-3). Townley allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 10. Turner allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6.

Indianapolis (4) at Boston (2): Sal DeVaux (34-3.5) (1-7) over William Little (28-6.0) (2-6). DeVaux allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. Little allowed 8 hits, 5 walks and struck out 8.

Grand National Association:
Washington (7) at Milwaukee (2): Ed Bush (29-5.3) (5-7) over Dave Ward (24-6.1) (6-5). On his birthday, Bush allowed 8 hits, 6 walks and struck out 9.

Brooklyn (6) at St. Louis (4) in 10 innings: Al Green (26-3.8) (6-4) over Ed Copeland (22-6.0) (3-7). In 10 innings, Green allowed 12 hits, no walks and struck out 5. Copeland allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. For the Terriers, 1B Bill Gordon (32-3.7) hit his 4th home run of the last 3 games. He now leads the GNA with 5 on the season.

Providence (10) at Omaha (4): Tom Ashton (25-5.2) (6-1) over Lee Sprague (29-3.5) (7-5). Ashton allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 5.

Buffalo at Chicago was rained out.

[Questdog]

Thursday, May 23, 1889

We begin a shortened 3 games series against Cincinnati and manager/LF Silver Borresen (35-6.9) today. They have just put a whoopin' on Pittsburgh in the Puddlers home park and have won 8 of their last 9. They are actually leading the League in run scoring now with 6.8 per game (Detroit is all the way up to #6 with 4.7). They are 5th in runs allowed with 5.4 per game (Detroit is still #1, but just barely with 3.6).

Cincinnati Reds (14-9 .609 1.5 GB in 4th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (12-6 .667 1 GB tied for 1st place (Louisville has played 6 more games than us, but has the same winning pct.))

Charlie Branham, Cin. (29-4.2) (R 6-2 2.38 9.0-2.5-2.5 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Jiggs Niedermeyer, Det. (25-5.8) (R 5-1 3.74 10.7-1.7-2.7)

We were 4-4 against Branham last season. Let's hope Niedermeyer's last start was an anomaly and his 1st 5 starts were a truer view of his talent.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
CIN - 1: CF Ed Robling (26-7.3) 2: 2B Ed Kent# (25-3.6) 3: RF Fleet Wilcox (32-4.9) 4: C John Whelan (27-4.6) 5: 1B Will Muller* (25-6.4) 6: 3B Sol Renaud (32-5.7) 7: LF Lev Carpenter (22-6.0) 8: SS Dave Hay (27-5.7)

DET - 1: 2B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: 3B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 3: CF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: C Cliff Robinson (31-6.1) 6: 1B Tom Morgenthal (27-5.3) 7: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 8: LF Fred Negus (25-6.7)

The last game may not have been an anomaly. A hit, a walk, 3 stolen bases and 2 doubles gave them 3 runs before anyone was put out. They ended up with 4 before we even got to bat.

When we finally did get our turn at bat, we tied it up with 4 runs of our own! Morgenthal and Negus each had a 2-out, 2-run single.

Both pitchers managed to keep the other team off the scoreboard for a while, even though the batters were still hitting the ball hard all over the place. They scored a run in the 6th and 7th to go up, 6 to 4. In the bottom of the 8th, I pinch-hit for Niedermeyer and Al Lewis delivered with an RBI single. Aldrich followed with a triple and Ren Dunbar doubled him home to put us up, 7 to 6.

In comes Dave Frazier, who pitched a 1-2-3 9th the last time he came on in relief, but nothing was onthe line that time. This time he got bounced up and down the boulevard for 3 runs. I thought about bringing Rice into the game instead of Frazier, but their 1st batter was a lefty and Rice was pitching tomorrow.

We went down meekly in the bottom of the 9th.

Lost - 9 to 7

In 8 innings, Niedermeyer allowed 11 hits, 4 walks and struck out 3.
In 1 inning, Frazier gave up 4 hits and a walk and struck out 1.

Branham gave us 11 hits, 6 walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had the go-ahead RBI in the 9th.

We made 4 errors and the Reds made 3.

Ed Aldrich hit a triple, scored a run and had an RBI. Ren Dunbar had 2 hits with a double and an RBI. Ben Smith had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. Tom Morgenthal had 2 hits and a walk, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. Pat Dunbar walked twice, but grounded into 2 double plays. Fred Negus had 2 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

For the Reds, Ed Robling had 4 hits, stole 5 bases to tie the record, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

Coming out of Spring practice, I thought my pitching staff consisted of one awesome pitcher and 2 pretty good ones, but it looks like I got one awesome one and 2 mediocre ones. We won't stand for too much more of this.

Liberty League:
Louisville (2) at Cleveland (4): Tom McDowell (25-8.0) (4-3) over William McLeod (30-5.6) (5-3). McDowell allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 5. McLeod allowed 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2.

Kansas City (3) at Pittsburgh (9): Whitey Mathews (26-4.1) (7-2) over Dan Butler (31-4.7) (3-5). Mathews allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. RF Billy Galloway (27-5.3) had 4 hits and a walk, stole a base, scored a run and had 5 RBIs.

Indianapolis at Boston could not be played due to a wet field.

Grand National Association:
Chicago (3) at Buffalo (4): Will Vertner (25-6.9) (7-1) over Pat Seguin (25-4.4) (6-8). Old man RF Washington Macho (39-8.3) tripled in the bottom of the 9th and scored the winning run on a long fly out. Vertner allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. Seguin allowed 2 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. The Bisons scored 3 times in the 7th without the aid of a hit or a walk.

Washington (20) at Milwaukee (8): Tom Graves (24-6.2) (1-0) in his major league debut over Tom McWilliams (27-4.3) (4-6). Graves, an old Detroit farmhand, allowed 10 hits, walked 3 and struck out 4. He was part of the price for us to acquire Ren Dunbar. Rookie 2B Doggie Golly (26-4.9) had 4 hits with a triple and a walk, stole a base, scored 5 runs to tie the GNA record, and had 3 RBIs. 1B Fred Livingood (25-6.4) had 3 hits with a double and his 5th home run of the season, drew a walk, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBIs. He has 5 home runs and the Detroit Wolverines have yet to hit one. Every other team in baseball has at least 6, except for Cleveland, who has 1.

Brooklyn (5) at St. Louis (6): Jimmy Richards (26-0.9) (7-5) over Tom Homer (25-5.0) (3-4). Richards allowed 8 hits, 6 walks and struck out 3. Homer allowed 6 hits, 6 walks and struck out 2.

Providence (6) at Omaha (4): Ed Wison (28-7.3) (5-5) over Tom Lee (31-6.0) (4-4). Wison allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out no one.

[Questdog]

Friday, May 24, 1889

Cincinnati Reds (15-9 .625 0.5 GB in 4th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (12-7 .632 1 GB in 3rd place)

William Butina, Cin. (26-5.6) (R 4-3 4.15 9.8-2.8-2.1 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Al Rice, Det. (24-7.6) (R 6-2 1.16 6.3-2.3-4.0)

We were 4-0 against Butina last season, but he pitched very well against us.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
CIN - 1: CF Ed Robling (26-7.3) 2: 2B Ed Kent# (25-3.6) 3: RF Fleet Wilcox (32-4.9) 4: C John Whelan (27-4.6) 5: 3B Sol Renaud (32-5.7) 6: LF Bert Gellis* (28-5.5) 7: 1B Lev Carpenter (22-6.0) 8: SS Dave Hay (27-5.7)

DET - 1: 2B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: CF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: C Cliff Robinson (31-6.1) 6: LF Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 7: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 8: 3B Sam Boullion (29-4.8)

Whelan had thrown out 1 of 12 on steals so far, but threw out the 1st 3 that tried him today (Aldrich, Ben Smith and Pat Dunbar). Three base runners total and all erased on caught stealings.

Down 3 to 2, we loaded the bases with no outs in the 6th, but did not score.

We tied it up in the bottom of the 7th, thanks to a lead-off double by Aldrich and an error by Ed Robling in center.

Both teams went down in order in the 9th, though Ben Smith gave us heart palpitations by narrowly missing our 1st home run of the season.

Top of the 10th and Ed Robling leading off. It is absolutely imperative for us to keep him off the bases. He has 7 hits and a walk in the 1st 2 games of the series and has stolen 9 bases, 9!!! He singled to left..... Instead of stealing base #10, though, they bunt him over, 1 out. Wilcox and his .400 average is up. Fly out to left, but Robling tags and moves to 3rd. 2 outs, John Whelan at bat. Hard smash wide of 1st that Cowan just knocks down. He has time to recover and throw the slow-footed Whelan out, Rice covering the bag. Bullet dodged! Let's score a run!

Robinson leads off and reached on an error by 3B Renaud. Lewis bunts and Butina fields it and fires to 2nd, but too late! Pat Dunbar hits a lazy fly to right, but the lazy right fielder, Wilcox, drops it! Bases loaded, no outs! Surely they cannot hold us scoreless in this situation twice in one game..... Sam Boullion up. He launches one down into the right fielder corner and it stays fair and Wilcox cannot reach it! Game Over!

Won - 4 to 3 in 10 innings

In 10 innings, Rice allowed 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 8. At bat, he had a hit.

Butina gave us 9 hits, 6 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit.

Each team made 5 errors.

Ed Aldrich had 2 hits with a double and a walk, stole a base and scored a run. Ben Smith had 2 hits and 2 walks and scored a run. Cliff Robinson had a hit and a walk and scored 2 runs and gave up 6 steals and made 2 errors, both costing us runs. Pat Dunbar had 2 hits with a triple and an RBI.

Our 1st extra-inning game of the year turns out well!

CF Sam King (23-6.0), our 1st draft pick this past winter, is tearing up the International League (A) in Syracuse and we need to get him up here. But there is no room in our outfield. I don't know what to do....

Liberty League:
Louisville (8) at Cleveland (6): Jumbo Hoops (24-6.5) (5-3) over Artie Boucher (26-6.1) (2-5). Rookie C Wilson Terlizzi (26-5.6) had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI.

Kansas City (4) at Pittsburgh (3): Al McClaughry (25-5.6) (6-3) over Tom Lilly (29-6.4) (5-3). Our old C Evan Eckberg (33-3.5) got a 2-out hit to knock in the go-ahead run in the top of the 9th. He had 2 hits and scored a run. McClaughry allowed 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3. Lilly allowed 10 hits, no walks and struck out 2.

Indianapolis (0) at Boston (6): Dave Wolf (26-4.7) (3-4) over Al Conradt (25-4.1) (2-6). Wolf allowed 6 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6.

Grand National Association:
Chicago (5) at Buffalo (1): Skyrocket Howard (24-5.4) (6-2) over Wild Bill Perrell (25-7.3) (5-5). Howard allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored a run. Perrell allowed 9 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. This was a makeup game.

The only scheduled game, Omaha at St. Louis, was rained out.

[Questdog]

Saturday, May 25, 1889

Cincinnati Reds (15-10 .600 1.5 GB in 4th place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (13-7 .650 1 GB in 2nd place)

John Stevens, Cin. (32-8.2) (R 4-4 2.48 8.9-3.3-3.6 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Jiggs Niedermeyer, Det. (25-5.8) (R 5-1 3.98 10.9-2.1-2.8)

We were 3-3 against Stevens last season. Niedermeyer has given up 20 runs in his last 2 starts.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
CIN - 1: CF Ed Robling (26-7.3) 2: 2B Ed Kent# (25-3.6) 3: RF Fleet Wilcox (32-4.9) 4: C John Whelan (27-4.6) 5: 1B Will Muller* (25-6.4) 6: LF Lev Carpenter (22-6.0) 7: 3B Tub Saslow (23-5.8) 8: SS Dave Hay (27-5.7)

DET - 1: 2B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: CF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 6: 3B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 7: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

Niedermeyer shut them out for 8 innings, but Fleet Wilcox led off the 9th, as I knew he was going to do, with a mammoth blast to left for a home run.

Won - 5 to 1

Niedermeyer allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6. Seems he is either right on or way off. Can't complain about a 6-1 record though.

Stevens gave us 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had a hit.

We made 1 error and the Reds made 4.

Ed Aldrich hit a double and had an RBI. Sam Cowan had 2 hits and scored 2 runs. Al Lewis had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. SS Pat Dunbar hit a double. He has 7 hits now, 4 for extra bases.

Tomorrow is Sunday and we have Monday off before 1st place Louisville comes to town on Tuesday. I am going to spend the free days trying to see what I can accomplish on the trade front. I don't want to trade Al Lewis or Ren Dunbar though, but those are the positions (LF an CF) where Sam King (23-6.0) can play. And none of those 3 can move to right, so trading Ben Smith is of no use in that regard. King played some infield in college, but he's no good there. He's a Gold Glove caliber center fielder, though; better than Dunbar who did win the Gold Glove last year. He just has no arm to play right and neither does Lewis or Dunbar. Fred Negus (25-6.7) is the logical choice to ship away and then I'll just try to get King some playing time spelling Dunbar and Lewis.

Editor's Note: Before, I could count on someone getting an injury and opening up a space, but with the setting turned down to "Low" that is less likely. My own suspicion is that Ren Dunbar is playing over his head and will come back to earth and give up the center field job to King eventually. But right now he's the reigning Rookie of the Year and hitting over .300 this season, so taking his job away would be a bit illogical. Besides, maybe he really is as good as he looks.

Also, with Frazier and Niedermeyer looking a bit shaky at times, I need to strengthen our options there. Though both have done well in their last starts, I need to be prepared to be able to make a change. Fred McDonough (21-5.0), who we drafted this winter, is looking very good in Syracuse and might be able to help in Detroit this year, but he is very young. The only other options from Syracuse are guys I don't have much confidence in: Cinders Holmes (23-5.1) and Ed Price (25-5.7). Everyone keeps saying Holmes is a blue-chip prospect, but I don't see it. He was very impressive as an amateur, but hasn't done much since, though his numbers in Syracuse are pretty good this year. Price has dominated the International League (A), but so far, in 2 big league trials, has only gone 3-10.

Liberty League:
Louisville (4) at Cleveland (3): Miah Turner (28-5.3) (7-3) over Lou Townley (27-3.5) (2-7). Turner allowed 11 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. Townley allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6. 2B Tom Walker (26-3.8) had 3 hits with a double and a triple and scored 2 runs.

Kansas City (7) at Pittsburgh (8): Joe Peters (33-4.9) (4-4) over Piggy Lambert (25-8.2) (2-6). The Cowboys scored twice in the top of the 9th to take a 1-run lead, but the Puddlers scored 2 in the bottom half to win. Rookie 2B Fred Russell (24-5.4) tied the game with an RBI double and then scored the winning run on an error. Peters allowed 8 hits, 5 walks and struck out 7.

Indianapolis (9) at Boston (6): Sal DeVaux (34-3.5) (2-7) over William Little (28-6.0) (2-7). DeVaux allowed 5 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had a hit and 2 RBIs.

Grand National Association:
Providence (11) at Buffalo (8): Tom Ashton (25-5.2) (7-1) over Fred Barrow (37-4.7) (5-5). Barrow has lost 4 in a row after a hot start. 1B Ren Mason (23-6.9) had 3 hits with 2 doubles and a walk, stole 4 bases, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBIs. C John Toler (31-6.4) had 4 hits and a walk and scored 3 runs. For the Bisons, rookie CF Lefty Lay (23-5.4) hit a bases load home run in the bottom of the 9th, but even that was not enough.

Omaha (2) at St. Louis (12): Con Arnold (25-6.3) (4-5) over Lee Sprague (29-3.5) (7-6). Arnold allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. RF Biff Place (28-5.4) had 4 hits with a double, scored 4 runs and had an RBI. 3B Kid Powell (26-7.5) had 3 hits with a double and a walk, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Washington at Brooklyn and Milwaukee at Chicago were both canceled because of unpleasant weather.

[Questdog]

Sunday, May 26, 1889

I spent the whole afternoon and evening at the telegraph office and I hope to have something to report tomorrow.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (7) at Chicago (6) Game 1: Dave Ward (24-6.1) (7-5) over Pat Seguin (25-4.4) (6-9). Ward allowed 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. Seguin allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. A lot of pitchers have won games with worse lines, but his Colt teammates made 7 errors behind him. C Jarvis Patten (32-7.3) had 2 hits with a home run and 3 RBIs.

Milwaukee (3) at Chicago (5) Game 2: Pony Stanley (26-6.2) (8-3) over William Peterson (23-7.7) (2-5). Stanley allowed 9 hits, 4 walks and struck out 2. Peterson allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. His teammates made 7 errors. For the Brewers, rookie CF Dave Maxwell (22-5.9) had 3 hits with a triple, stole 2 bases and scored all three of Milwaukee's runs.

Washington (2) at Brooklyn (3): Al Green (26-3.8) (7-4) over Ed Bush (29-5.3) (5-8). Green allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 5. Bush allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. He did not allow and earned run.

Providence (5) at Buffalo (6): Will Vertner (25-6.9) (8-1) over Ed Wison (28-7.3) (5-6). Vertner allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 4. Wison allowed 7 hits, 7 walks and struck out 2.

Omaha (4) at St. Louis (3): Skyrocket Rice (24-5.2) (8-4) over Jimmy Richards (26-0.9) (7-6). Rice allowed 7 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4. Richards allowed 11 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2.

[Questdog]

Monday, May 27, 1889

Okay, I made some trades last night and everything is confirmed and our new ball players are in town for tomorrow's game or (mostly) in Syracuse to play for the Stars.

First I sent 2B Reddy Daley (25-6.8) and 1B Kid Stapleton (24-10.1) to Brooklyn for P Joe Hoyt (23-5.3). Daley was our 1st round pick in the draft before last and he is 25 and not hitting like I'd hoped yet. He strikes out too much for my tastes. Stapleton is a great kid and hitting well at Syracuse, but just has no where to play for me. Jack Irwin (40-7.3), Brooklyn's manager, says he'll bring them both up to the big league club and use them on his bench for now.

Joe Hoyt was drafted by the Gladiators this past winter in the 2nd round. He's a right-hander with not too many brains, but throws hard enough and seems to have good control. He only gave up 1 home run in B Ball last year in 323 innings. He'll go to Syracuse and get some seasoning.

Second, I sent CF Fred Negus (25-6.7), 3B Jesse Flanders (29-5.4), C Cliff Robinson (31-6.1) and C Henry Newman (35-3.6) to Chicago for RF Fred Floyd (22-6.0) and P John Novack (24-7.9). The Colts manager, Jim Richardson (48-5.1), insisted that I add Henry Newman to the package, so I did. But I found out that Richardson released him today, so I sent word to Newman that he could come back and play at Syracuse. He agreed and so I gave C Joe Garner (30-5.5) his release. Knowing Newman, he probably said something as soon as he stepped off the train to get Richardson's goat. Trading away Robinson hurt, since he was the best hitter on our team so far this year and we have not exactly been hitting all that great. But his defense had driven me to distraction and had cost us a game or two, at least. Whether his receiving cost us more games than his hitting helped us win, I can't say. Probably not, but I think everyone knows I can tolerate poor hitting more than I can tolerate poor fielding. Negus has performed well in the little playing time he has gotten this year, but ever since he lost the center field job to Ren Dunbar last season, he has been unhappy in Detroit. So I hope he thrives in Chicago. Flanders just has not performed up to the big contract he has. Last year, he was a huge disappointment with his bat and this year he is hitting even worse. His glove has never been an issue though. Hopefully, the change of scenery will suit him better than the last time he switched clubs. Richardson says that all 3 players will be put on his major league roster and that Robinson would be his main catcher and Negus will start in left for him. Flanders will be on the bench, at least until he shows that his slump is over.

Fred Floyd was the Colts' 2nd round pick this past winter. He looks to be a ballplayer that will hit for a good average and draw some walks and has the speed to steal some bases. Not much power. He has a good solid right fielder's arm, though it is nothing to get awed by. His range could be a little better for someone with his speed, but maybe that will come with more experience. He is smart and seems to be a nice enough kid, but not a take charge sort. He seems to work hard enough, but is not a fanatic about it. If he develops, he'll give us a true right fielder, something we have not had since Joe Kraus (32-7.9) was here.

John Novack is the reason I was willing to give up all that talent. He was the 5th player taken in the last B Leagues Draft. He is a big tall fella with some meat on his bones. Every bit of six foot in his stockings and weighs 190 lbs. But that is irrelevant to his pitching because he has come up with the derndest pitch I have ever seen. His own invention, he claims. He does not throw the ball hard at all but sort of lobs it at the hitter. But he can make it dance ever which way and the hitter has the toughest time to make solid contact with it. I asked him how he does it and he says it is a secret he'll keep, thank you very much. He says nobody else could throw it right anyhow, even if he told them how to do it.

Editor's Note: Novack is a knuckleball pitcher. Some sources cite Toad Ramsey as the originator of the pitch and he twirled in the 1880's, so Novack will be our Toad. Only one other pitcher in our universe is a knuckler and that is John Linhoff (21-6.0) who was just drafted in the 1st round this past winter as well, by Indianapolis. I do not think any retired players used it. I am not certain, but I am pretty sure these are the 1st two we have ever had.

Both Floyd and Novack will go to Syracuse to get some experience, but I expect Novack to be in Detroit before the year is out.

CF Sam King (23-6.0), our own 1st round pick this past winter, has been sent for and should arrive this evening and be ready to face Louisville tomorrow.

I made one more trade to get some catchers, since I sent 2 of them to Chicago (though I got one back). I sent two minor leaguers with a little talent for 2 catchers with very little talent. LF Cub Jackson (25-7.2) and P Lemuel Joy (23-5.3) went to St. Louis for C's Heinie Fitzgerald (27-7.8) and Pony Lanza (29-4.9). Lanza is an excellent receiver with a strong arm, but cannot hit a lick, and he'll be in Detroit as our 3rd catcher. Fitzgerald will be the #2 catcher at Syracuse and if he ever shows up in Detroit, something bad has happened.

I am pretty certain I have made our club stronger for the future, but the question is basically whether our club is stronger right now with the subtraction of Cliff Robinson. Objectively, probably not. And even good catchers make a ton of errors and let a lot of passed balls through the wickets, so the only thing I have really accomplished in the short term is that I will be driven to distraction slightly less in return for a pretty big dip in offense. Sounds stupid, but Sam King, Reddy Daley, Kid Stapleton and Cub Jackson will all get to play in the big leagues thanks to these trades and Fred Negus gets the starting job he wanted and Novack is gonna win us a lot of ball games and maybe even some this year.

Grand National Association:
Providence (2) at Buffalo (4): Wild Bill Perrell (25-7.3) (6-5) over Jimmy Harrison (22-4.6) (2-6). Perrell allowed 12 hits, no walks and struck out 4. Harrison allowed 10 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a triple and had an RBI. SS Pussy Wise (27-6.8) had 3 hits with 2 doubles and a walk, stole 2 bases and had an RBI.

Omaha (11) at St. Louis (6): Tom Lee (31-6.0) (5-4) over Ed Copeland (23-6.0) (3-8). RF Tom Nelson (23-5.2), playing with a bruised hip, had 3 hits with a double and his 2nd home run of the year, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs. CF Dave Todd (23-5.5) got beaned on his elbow and should be feeling it for a good week.

Milwaukee (4) at Chicago (3): Tom McWilliams (27-4.3) (5-6) over Skyrocket Howard (24-5.4) (6-3). McWilliams allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit and 2 walks and had an RBI. Howard allowed 7 hits, 8 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double.

[Questdog]

Editor's Note: We are getting close to when the new players for the B Leagues are going to be created, but since I am still working on Pennsylvania for the new world_xml.file, I don't want to take a long break to finish it up now. So we will try to have it ready for the 1890 season and carry on here.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, May 28, 1889

We begin a 4 game series with manager Elmer Higgins (43-6.4) and his 1st place Bourbons today to determine which team will be on top of the heap come June. They are 4th in runs scored with 5.7 per game (Detroit is still #6 with 4.8). They are 3rd in runs allowed with 5.1 per game (Detroit is now 2nd by a hair with 3.7).

Louisville Bourbons (18-9 .667 tied for 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (14-7 .667 1 GB tied for 1st place)

Miah Turner, Lou. (28-5.3) (R 7-3 2.40 9.0-2.6-4.3 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Al Rice, Det. (24-7.6) (R 7-2 1.35 6.5-2.1-4.4)

We were 6-1 against Turner last year when he was twirling for the New York Gothams, but he pitched well. His team just usually failed to score many runs. His signing is a big reason for the Bourbons finding themselves in 1st place in their 3rd season. He is a distinct improvement over Count Childs, not to mention a lot more pleasant person.

CF Sam King (23-6.0) makes his major league debut today for Detroit.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
LOU - 1: SS Ed Riley* (25-4.1) 2: 1B Pete Hinde (33-7.9) 3: CF Tom Panozzo* (24-2.0) 4: RF Steve Giles* (23-4.2) 5: LF Pete Armstrong* (22-4.6) 6: C Wilson Terlizzi (26-5.6) 7: 3B Rit Durham (24-5.4) 8: 2B Tom Walker (26-3.8)

DET - 1: 2B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: LF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: 3B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 6: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 7: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

Both pitchers were a little rocky in the early going. Rice walked 2 in the 1st inning and after 5 innings, we were leading 5 to 4. But both pitchers settled down after that and not much else happened offensively in the game.

Won - 5 to 4

Rice allowed 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.

Turner gave us 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1.

We made 3 errors and the Bourbons made 5.

Sam Boullion hit a double and walked twice and scored a run. Jimmy Babcock hit a double and had an RBI. Sam King went 0 for 3 in his debut, but reached on an error and scored a run and made 4 catches in center without an error.

For the Bourbons, rookie Steve Giles had 2 hits and knocked in all 4 of their runs. Pete Hinde had a hit and a walk and scored 3 times.

We are now in 1st place all alone for the 1st time this season!

Liberty League:
Cincinnati (8) at Cleveland (11): Lou Townley (27-3.5) (3-7) over John Stevens (32-8.2) (4-6). RF Tom Steiner (22-4.9) had 3 hits with a double and a walk, scored 4 runs and had an RBI.

Indianapolis (7) at Pittsburgh (14): Whitey Mathews (26-4.1) (8-2) over Sal DeVaux (34-3.5) (2-8). SS Bill Baker (27-3.6) had 4 hits with a double, stole a base, scored a run and had 2 RBIs.

Kansas City (6) at Boston (0): Al McClaughry (25-5.6) (7-3) over William Little (28-6.0) (2-8). McClaughry allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5.

Editor's Note: Since the Boston Shamrocks are the only original Liberty League team left in the League, the proprietor (me) has deemed them immune from the normal rules governing the survival of franchises in the 1800's and will insure that they make it to the 20th century. They have not needed special protection in the past, but it looks like they might this year.

Grand National Association:
Providence (4) at Buffalo (2): Tom Ashton (25-5.2) (8-1) over Fred Barrow (37-4.7) (5-6). Ashton allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 7. Barrow allowed 10 hits, 1 walk and struck out 1.

Brooklyn (7) at Washington (6): William David (26-3.6) (6-3) over Sammy Berry (29-5.5) (3-4). Reddy Daley (25-6.8) made his debut for Brooklyn, playing center field. He had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. For the Monuments, SS John Ingling (29-4.6) had 3 hits and a walk, stole a base, and scored 3 runs.

Milwaukee (3) at Chicago (5): Pony Stanley (26-6.2) (9-3) over William Peterson (23-7.7) (2-6). Stanley allowed 10 hits, 4 walks and struck out 1. Peterson allowed 7 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4. None of the players the Colts got from Detroit played; perhaps they did not arrive in time.

Only games scheduled.


Down in the International League (A), John Novack (24-7.9) made his debut for Syracuse. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and struck out 6 and did not allowed an earned run, but lost to Troy, 3 to 0. The recent trades have unfortunately taken away a lot of the Stars' big bats.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, May 29, 1889

Louisville Bourbons (18-10 .654 0 GB in 2nd place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (15-7 .682 in 1st place)

William McLeod, Lou. (30-5.6) (R 5-3 2.74 7.8-3.9-3.9 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Jiggs Niedermeyer, Det. (25-5.8) (R 6-1 3.60 10.0-2.1-3.2)

We were 5-1 against our old ace last season, but he, too, pitched pretty well against us.

I am switching Sam Boullion and Ed Aldrich. Aldrich has a little more range, but Boullion is more smooth and steady. He will be at 2nd now and Aldrich will move to 3rd. Of course, now that I said that about Boullion, he will make 3 errors today.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
LOU - 1: 3B Ren Morgan (25-4.0) 2: 1B Pete Hinde (33-7.9) 3: CF Tom Panozzo* (24-2.0) 4: RF Steve Giles* (23-4.2) 5: LF Pete Armstrong* (22-4.6) 6: C Wilson Terlizzi (26-5.6) 7: SS Ed Riley* (25-4.1) 8: 2B Tom Walker (26-3.8)

DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: LF Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 6: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 7: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

As predicted, the 1st batter hit a slow roller to Boullion at 2nd, who scooped it up and threw the ball into the stands. The next batter singled to right, but Ben Smith threw Morgan out at the plate to undo most of the harm of the error, though Hinde went to 2nd on the throw.

In the 2nd, the 2nd ball that was hit to Boullion at 2nd eluded his grasp for his 2nd error. Unbelievable how canny a prognosticator I am! The next batter doubled and once again the runner that reached on the error was thrown out at the plate, this time by Al Lewis and relay man Pat Dunbar.

We busted out and scored 8 runs in the 2nd!

Won - 18 to 1

Niedermeyer allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out no one. At bat, he had 2 hits and a walk, scored 2 runs and had an RBI.

McLeod gave us 18 hits, 5 walks and struck out 2. 17 of the 18 runs were earned.

Each team made 5 errors.

Everyone in the lineup had a hit and scored a run! Ed Aldrich had a hit and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs. Sam Boullion made up for the 2 errors with 3 hits with a double and a triple, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBIs. Ben Smith had a hit and 3 walks, stole a base, scored 4 runs and had an RBI. Al Lewis had the best day of anyone with 4 hits, 3 of them doubles, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 5 RBIs. Pat Dunbar had 3 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. Sam King got his 1st major league hit and scored twice. Jimmy Babcock had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI.

Liberty League:
Cincinnati (7) at Cleveland (3): Charlie Branham (29-4.2) (8-2) over Tom McDowell (25-8.0) (4-4). Branham allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. For the Spiders, SS Zachary Pfeiffer (21-4.5) pulled a muscle and is going to miss about 3 weeks.

Indianapolis (8) at Pittsburgh (9) in 10 innings: Tom Lilly (29-6.4) (6-3) over Al Conradt (25-4.1) (2-7). RF Billy Galloway (27-5.3) knocked in a run in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and rookie 2B Fred Russell (24-5.4) led off the bottom of the 10th with a walk and scored the winning run on a passed ball. Tom Lilly gave up 18 hits as a pitcher, but had 3 as a hitter, scoring a run and knocking in 3. For the Hoosiers, SS Kid Stevens (27-8.4) had 4 hits with a double and a triple, scored a run and had an RBI.

Kansas City (7) at Boston (5): Piggy Lambert (25-8.2) (3-6) over Dave Wolf (26-4.7) (3-5). 3B Lou Kelsey (24-5.2) had 3 hits with a double and 3 RBIs.

Grand National Association:
Brooklyn (2) at Washington (7): Ed Bush (29-5.3) (6-8) over Al Green (26-3.8) (7-5). Bush allowed 8 hits, 5 walks and struck out 5.

Only game scheduled.


Down in Syracuse, newly acquired P Joe Hoyt (23-5.3) got injured in his 1st start with the team, straining something in his shoulder and will have to sit for a month or so.

[Questdog]

Thursday, May 30, 1889 Decoration Day

Time for some holiday double-headers! At least for everyone but us.... We were lucky to get in one game before the rain came pouring down.

Louisville Bourbons (18-11 .621 1 GB in 3rd place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (16-7 .696 in 1st place)

Jumbo Hoops, Lou. (24-6.5) (R 5-3 4.76 9.6-3.2-3.2 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Dave Frazier, Det. (29-5.7) (L 1-4 3.00 9.5-3.5-2.3)

We were 1-3 against Hoops in his rookie season last year. Thanks to rain-outs, Frazier makes his 1st start in nearly 2 weeks. We are supposed to play 140 games this season, but it does not look like we will get close to playing that many.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
LOU - 1: SS Rit Durham (24-5.4) 2: 2B Tom Walker (26-3.8) 3: RF Tom Panozzo* (24-2.0) 4: 1B Pete Hinde (33-7.9) 5: C Wilson Terlizzi (26-5.6) 6: CF Ed Phillips (26-3.5) 7: LF Steve Giles* (23-4.2) 8: 3B Ren Morgan (25-4.0)

DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: CF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: LF Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 6: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 7: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 8: C Tom Trever (26-4.7)

Down a run in the bottom of the 9th, PH Tom Morgenthal (27-5.3) led us off by reaching on an error, but the next 3 batters went down without a whimper.

Lost - 6 to 5

Frazier allowed 10 hits, 3 walks and struck out 2.

hoops gave us 9 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4.

Each team made 3 errors.

Ed Aldrich had a hit and 3 walks, stole 2 bases and scored 2 runs. Ren Dunbar hit a double, drew a walk, stole a base and had an RBI. Sam Cowan went hitless and is now 4 for 30 (.133) on the season. Though he has only played 8 games, he leads the team in hard hit balls that have been turned into outs. So I am not ready to give up on him quite yet. If just half of those hard hit balls had been hits, he'd be hitting .300. Ben Smith had a hit and scored 2 runs. Sam Boullion had 2 hits and scored a run. Tom Trever had 2 hits with a triple and 2 RBIs.

For the Bourbons, 2B Tom Walker had 3 hits, stole 2 bases, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. Rookie C Wilson Terlizzi (26-5.6) had 2 hits and an RBI and threw out 4 base stealers.

Liberty League:
Cincinnati (9) at Cleveland (4) Game 1: William Butina (26-5.6) (5-4) over Artie Boucher (26-6.1) (2-6). Rookie 1B Lev Carpenter (22-6.0) hit 2 triples and was beaned, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Cincinnati (11) at Cleveland (6) Game 2: Charlie Branham (29-4.2) (9-2) over Tom McDowell (25-8.0) (4-5). RF Fleet Wilcox (32-4.9) had 2 hits, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs.

Indianapolis (3) at Pittsburgh (2) Game 1: Billy Simonsen (24-8.0) (5-2) over Joe Peters (33-4.9) (4-5). Simonsen allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. Peters allowed 7 hits, 4 walks and struck out 3.

Indianapolis (0) at Pittsburgh (1) Game 2: Whitey Mathews (26-4.1) (9-2) over Al Conradt (25-4.1) (2-8). Mathews allowed 3 hits, 2 walks and struck out 6. Conradt allowed 5 hits, 4 walks ands truck out 2.

Kansas City (8) at Boston (7) Game 1: Dan Butler (31-4.7) (4-5) over Freddy Wood (33-6.3) (2-4). RF Ed Anderson (21-7.5) had 4 hits, stole a base and had 2 RBIs.

Kansas City (1) at Boston (9) Game 2: Dave Wolf (26-4.7) (4-5) over Al McClaughry (25-5.6) (7-4). Wolf allowed 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. Rookie SS Lou Lawrence (20-5.1) had 3 hits, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs and made his 32nd error at short.

Grand National Association:
St. Louis (6) at Providence (8) Game 1: Ed Wison (28-7.3) (6-6) over Jimmy Richards (26-0.9) (7-7). Wison allowed 11 hits, 5 walks and struck out 5. At bat, he had 4 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. For the Terriers, rookie CF Effie Green (24-4.6) had 4 hits with a double, stole a base, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. 1B Bill Gordon (32-3.7) had 2 hits, with his league-leading 6th home run of the season, drew a walk and had 3 RBIs. It seems the reports of his demise were a bit premature.

St. Louis (2) at Providence (7) Game 2: Jimmy Harrison (22-4.6) (3-6) over Con Arnold (25-6.3) (4-6). Harrison allowed 4 hits, 7 walks and struck out 1. LF Al Young (25-4.8) had 2 hits with a double and 4 RBIs.

Chicago (11) at Brooklyn (5) Game 1: Pat Seguin (25-4.4) (7-9) over Tom Homer (25-5.0) (3-5). Seguin allowed 3 hits, 3 walks and struck out 9.

Chicago (4) at Brooklyn (5) in 10 innings Game 2: William David (26-3.6) (7-3) over Skyrocket Howard (24-5.4) (6-4). The game was tied at 3 entering the 9th. The Colts scored a run in the top of the 9th, but RF Tom Campbell (30-3.6) tripled and 1B Con Nixon (26-8.1) singled to tie it back up in the bottom. The wining run scored on a long fly out. In 10 innings, David allowed 11 hits, no walks and struck out 3. Howard allowed 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. 1B Joe Vaughan (34-5.2), the 1880 Liberty League MVP, busted up his knee and will miss at least 2 months. He had tweaked it in the 1st game and was trying to play on it.

Omaha (7) at Washington (8) in 10 innings: Tom Graves (24-6.2) (2-0) over Lee Sprague (29-3.5) (7-7). The wining run scored on an error. C Jumbo Watkins (33-6.0) had 3 hits with a triple, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs.

The 2nd game scheduled at Washington and both games of the intended Milwaukee at Buffalo double-header were canceled due to weather.

[Questdog]

Friday, May 31, 1889

Liberty League:
Indianapolis (3) at Cleveland (5) Game 1: Lou Townley (27-3.5) (4-7) over Sal DeVaux (34-3.5) (2-9). Townley allowed 9 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4. For the Hoosiers, manager/1B Pete Bucolo (41-4.1) had 4 hits, stole a base and had an RBI.

Indianapolis (6) at Cleveland (3) in 10 innings Game 2: Billy Simonsen (24-8.0) (6-2) over Deacon Dubin (32-8.8) (0-1) in relief of Artie Boucher (26-6.1). Down 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th, the Spiders had to pinch-hit for Boucher. They scored twice to tie the game, but after 4 games in 2 days, they found themselves short of fresh pitchers and sent C Dubin into the game with unfortunate results. He only allowed 1 hit, but it was a 3-run home run to 3B Bill Lawson (32-6.9)/ For the Spiders, LF Ace Trimmell (31-5.0) had 4 hits and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI.

No games were schedule for today; the above games were of the makeup variety.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (10) at Buffalo (11): Will Vertner (25-6.9) (9-1) over Dave Ward (26-6.1) (7-6). Rookie CF Lefty Lay (23-5.4), the only legitimately talented hitter the Bisons have, had 3 hits with a double, stole 2 bases, scored 4 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Chicago at Brooklyn, Omaha at Washington and St. Louis at Providence were all rained out.

Editor's Note: Today was the day of the Johnstown Flood. Over 2200 people were killed in Pennsylvania when a dam gave way due to nearly 10 inches of rain falling in 24 hours.

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

[Questdog]

Saturday, June 1, 1889

I have sent SS Ed Engelhardt (24-5.0) to Syracuse so he can play everyday and get out of his slump. I still think he's gonna be a good hitter. Ducky Foster (24-9.0) is here to sit on our bench. He is an excellent infielder, but not much of a hitter.

We begin a 4 game series against manager Sam Cook (47-4.4) and his Puddlers today. This is the last series of our current home stand. We lost 3 of 4 to them in Pittsburgh a month ago, the last time we met. They are 4th in the League in runs scored with 5.5 per game (Detroit is still 6th with 5.3). They are 2nd in the League in runs allowed with 3.8 per game (Detroit is back up to #1 with 3.7).

Pittsburgh Puddlers (19-10 .655 0 GB in 2nd place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (16-8 .667 0.5 GB in 1st place)

Tom Lilly, Pitt. (29-6.4) (L 6-3 2.71 10.2-2.2-2.8 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Al Rice, Det. (24-7.6) (R 8-2 1.31 6.3-2.1-4.2)

The only game of the 4 we won in Pittsburgh was the one Lilly pitched. We beat him, 5 to 3.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
PITT - 1: CF Al Steel (29-7.0) 2: 2B Fred Russell* (24-5.4) 3: LF Fred James* (25-5.3) 4: RF Billy Galloway (27-5.3) 5: C Wilson Wendling (28-4.1) 6: 3B Ed Glass (29-4.5) 7: 1B Phil Lane (28-7.4) 8: SS Bill Baker (27-3.6)

DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: LF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 6: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 7: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

Down, 2 to 1, in the bottom of the 9th, Ben Smith led off with a groundball single into left. Pat Dunbar hit a liner, but right to RF Galloway. Sam Boullion grounded one sharply up the middle and into center field. Smith rounded 2nd and headed to 3rd. Al Steel's throw was over the third baseman's head and Smith scored to tie it up! Boullion ended up at 2nd. Sam King grounded out to short and Jimmy Babcock struck out to end the inning.

Extras!

P Lilly led off the top of the 10th with a bloop single into left. They bunted him over, but could not knock him in.

Al Rice duplicated Lilly's feat and led off the bottom of the 10th with a sharp ground ball single up the middle. Same as the Puddlers did, we bunted him over, Aldrich taking care of the duty. Ren Dunbar grounded out to second, sending Rice to third. Sam Cowan, who is more than due, drove one deep to center, but Al Steel made an excellent over the shoulder catch to deny him the glory of winning the game.

In the top of the 11th, Ed Glass doubled down the left field line with 2 outs. Phil Lane followed with a drive to center, but not deep enough to get over Sam King's head.

In the bottom half, Pat Dunbar knocked the cover off the ball with a blast to deep left center, but Steel made another great catch. Dunbar has hit the ball on the screws 4 of the 5 times he's been up, but has nothing to show for it. Sam Boullion worked a 2-out walk, the 4th time he has reached base today. He stole second, but Sam King hit a lazy fly to center and that was that.

The top of the 12th started with Pat Dunbar booting a ball at short to let the lead-off batter, Bill Baker, on base. He tried to steal 2nd, but Jimmy Babcock threw him out! That was the 4th runner he has erased this game! Lilly followed that with a line drive single to center. Al Steel then chopped one down to 3rd, but Sam Cowan dropped the throw and 2 were on with 1 out. Fred Russell lined one past Boullion at 2nd for a hit, but Lilly ran through the stop sign at 3rd and Ben Smith gunned the mobily-challenged pitcher out at the plate by a mile. The runners moved up on the throw. Rice then struck out Fred James to dodge a huge bullet.

Let's end this now!

Phil Lane returned Cowan's favor by dropping a throw at 1st to let lead-off hitter Jimmy Babcock on base. Instead of bunting, Rice decided to swing away and hit a fly ball to center for an out. Aldrich flew out to right. Babcock then thought he could maybe steal 2nd and found out that he could not. What were that idiot thinking? Babcock has stolen exactly 1 base in his entire professional career and that had to be on the back end of a double steal. No other way the lead-foot could get one. We deserve to lose this one, now.

Billy Galloway led off the top of the 13th with a liner into left for a hit, but C Wilson Wendling grounded into a double play, 6-4-3. Thinking everything is hunky dory now, Ed Glass promptly launched one into the left field corner and before Ren Dunbar could retrieve it and get it back into the infield, Glass had rounded the bases for an inside-the-park home run. 3 to 2, Puddlers. I admit that I cursed after that one.

In the bottom of the 13th, Ben Smith got a 2-out single, but Pat Dunbar grounded one to short. The throw went over the 1st baseman's head though and runners were at 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs and the hot-hitting Sam Boullion at the plate. He's already reached base 4 times today, so he'll get out for sure. He drove one deep to center, but Al Steel, of course, ran it down and the game is over.

Lost - 3 to 2 in 13 innings.

In 13 innings, Rice allowed 13 hits, 2 walks and struck out 9. At bat, he had a hit, but not bunting in the 12th was stupid.

Lilly gave us 10 hits, 3 walks and struck out 5. at bat, he had 2 hits.

We made 7 errors and the Puddlers made 4.

Ed Aldrich had 2 hits, but got caught stealing twice. I swear that every time he steals the other team has a pitch-out called. Ben Smith had 3 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. He also threw 2 runners out. Sam Boullion had 2 hits and 2 walks and stole a base. Jimmy Babcock hit a double and threw out 4 runners.

For the now 1st place Puddlers, Ed Glass had 3 hits with a double and a home run, a walk, and scored twice.

We had our biggest crowd since Opening Day with over 2000 people on hand.

Liberty League:
Cleveland (1) at Boston (2) in 11 innings: William Little (28-6.0) (3-8) over Ace Trimmell (31-5.0) (0-1) in relief of Tom McDowell (25-8.0). Rookie SS Lou Lawrence (20-5.1) had the game-winning hit. In 11 innings, Little allowed 11 hits, 1 walk and struck out 6. McDowell had to leave in the 1st inning with what must have been a phantom twinge in his shoulder, because he says it feels fine now. Trimmell, who is not a pitcher, when 10 innings, allowed 8 hits, 6 walks and struck out 2. He also beaned a pair. He was a pitcher in college, but had not been in the box for 11 years.

Indianapolis at Cincinnati and Louisville at Kansas City were both canceled for foulness in the weather.

Grand National Association:
Omaha (4) at Washington (3) Game 1: Skyrocket Rice (24-5.2) (9-4) over Ed Bush (29-5.3) (6-9). Rice allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 6. Bush allowed 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 2.

Omaha (7) at Washington (6) Game 2: Tom Lee (31-6.0) (6-4) over Sammy Berry (29-5.5) (3-5). Ex-Wolverine 2B Jocko Cole (27-6.1) pulled a muscle and will miss 3 or 4 weeks. He is 2nd in the GNA in RBIs.

Chicago (2) at Brooklyn (8): Al Green (26-3.8) (8-5) over Pony Stanley (26-6.2) (9-4). Green allowed 6 hits, no walks and struck out 3. SS Reddy Daley (25-6.8) had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. He has played 3 games for the Gladiators since the trade and has had 2 hits in each one.

Milwaukee (7) at Buffalo (5) in 10 innings: Tom McWilliams (27-4.3) (6-6) over Wild Bill Perrell (25-7.3) (6-6). C Tim Fish (34-5.4) hit a 2-out, 2-run single to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th for the Bisons, the Brewers scored twice in the top of the 10th to win. The go-ahead run was plated by manager/2B Lou Bohus (29-5.4). C Jarvis Patten (32-7.3) had 3 hits with a triple and 2 RBIs.

St. Louis at Providence was washed out for the 2nd day in a row.

Down in Syracuse, SS Ed Engelhardt went 1 for 2, but pulled a stomach muscle making a throw and will miss about a week.

[Questdog]

Sunday, June 2, 1889

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (14) at Buffalo (9) Game 1: William Peterson (23-7.7) (3-6) over Fred Barrow (37-4.7) (5-7). Milwaukee scored 9 runs in the 8th. Barrow has now lost 6 in a row after a hot start. 3B Andy Byl (35-4.0) had 3 hits with 2 home runs, scored 3 times and had 3 RBIs. He now has 3 home runs on the season.

Milwaukee (2) at Buffalo (6) Game 2: Will Vertner (25-6.9) (10-1) over Dave Ward (24-6.1) (7-7). The rookie Vertner becomes the 1st 10 game winner in the major leagues. He allowed 10 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. Ward has lost 5 of his last 6 starts.

Chicago (15) at Brooklyn (3): Pat Seguin (25-4.4) (8-9) over Tom Homer (25-5.0) (3-6). Seguin allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7. 3B Stub Nelson (27-5.6) had 4 hits with 2 doubles, stole 2 bases, scored 4 runs and had 2 RBIs. SS Bob Robertson (26-4.1) had 3 hits with a triple and his 2nd home run of the year, drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 6 RBIs.

St. Louis (14) at Providence (10): Jimmy Richards (26-0.9) (8-7) over Tom Ashton (25-5.2) (8-2). Rookie CF Effie Green (24-4.6) had 4 hits with a double and a walk, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBIs.

Omaha at Washington was the daily rain-out for today.

[Questdog]

Monday, June 3, 1889

Our game with Pittsburgh was rained out today.

Liberty League:
Indianapolis (10) at Cincinnati (11) in 10 innings: John Stevens (32-8.2) (5-6) over Sal DeVaux (34-3.5) (2-10). The Hoosiers scored a run in the top of the 10t, but the Reds plated 2 in the bottom half to win on a 2-run, 2-out single by SS Dave Hay (27-5.7). 3B Tub Saslow (24-5.8) had 4 hits and a walk, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs. 2B Kid Stevens (27-8.4) is going to have a sore hip for the next few weeks after a mishap on the bases. For the Hoosiers, rookie CF Fatty Jennings (22-5.1) had 4 hits with a double and a triple, drew a walk, stole 3 bases, scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs.

Cleveland (6) at Boston (2): Lou Townley (27-3.5) (5-7) over Dave Wolf (26-4.7) (4-6). Townley allowed 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out 8. At bat, he had 3 hits and and RBI.

Louisville (6) at Kansas City (1): Miah Turner (28-5.3) (8-4) over Al McClaughry (25-5.6) (7-5). Turner allowed 5 hits, 1 walk and struck out 5. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double.

With us not being able to play, we have fallen to 3rd place.

Grand National Association:
Omaha (12) at Providence (7): Lee Sprague (29-3.5) (8-7) over Jimmy Harrison (22-4.6) (3-7). Sprague was cruising until they scored 5 runs off him in the bottom of the 9th. At bat, he had 2 hits and a walk and scored 3 runs. RF Tom Nelson (24-5.2) hit a bases-loaded home run, his 3rd home run of the year. He also hit a triple and drew a walk, scored 2 runs and had 5 RBIs.

St. Louis (2) at Buffalo (4): Wild Bill Perrell (25-7.3) (7-6) over Con Arnold (25-6.3) (4-7). Perrell allowed 3 hits, 4 walks and struck out 7. Arnold allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2.

Chicago (10) at Washington (6): Skyrocket Howard (24-5.4) (7-4) over Tom Graves (24-6.2) (2-1). Howard allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had 3 hits, scored 2 runs and had 3 RBIs. SS Bob Robertson (26-4.1) had 3 hits, stole a base, scored a run and had 3 RBIs.

Milwaukee at Brooklyn was a casualty to the elements.

[Questdog]

Tuesday, June 4, 1889

Pittsburgh Puddlers (20-10 .667 in 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (16-9 .640 1.5 GB in 3rd place)

Whitey Mathews, Pitt. (26-4.1) (L 9-2 2.30 8.4-1.9-5.1 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Jiggs Niedermeyer, Det. (25-5.8) (R 7-1 3.19 9.8-2.1-2.8)

Mathews has already beaten us twice this year with one of the wins a 4-hitter.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
PITT - 1: CF Al Steel (29-7.0) 2: 1B Al Oglesby (25-7.6) 3: RF Billy Galloway (27-5.3) 4: C Tom Conner (24-8.8) 5: 3B Ed Glass (29-4.5) 6: 2B Fred Russell* (24-5.4) 7: LF Joe Coffey* (32-5.2) 8: SS Bill Baker (27-3.6)

DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: LF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 6: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 7: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

C Tom Conner is making his major league debut today. He was hitting .365 for Toledo in the Western Association (A). He is a mediocre receiver with a decent arm.

Niedermeyer cruised through the 1st 8 innings without a hitch and we were leading, 2 to 0, heading into the 9th. But a walk, a single and a hit batter, loaded them up with 1 out for LF Joe Coffey, who smashed one just inside the line at 1st. He ended up with a triple and suddenly we were losing, 3 to 2. Bill Baker came up and they tried a squeeze bunt, but 1b Sam Cowan pounced on it and threw home in time to nip Coffey streaking from 3rd. Niedermeyer struck out Mathews to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 9th, Sam Boullion led off with a single that Al Steel muffed in center and Sam was the tying run out at 2nd with no outs. Pat Dunbar wasted no time by singling to left and scoring Boullion to tie the game. He went to 2nd on the throw home. After rookie Sam King struck out, Jimmy Babcock came up and doubled to right to win the game!

Won - 4 to 3

Niedermeyer allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. He also hit a batter. At bat, he drew a walk and scored a run.

Mathews gave us 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. at bat, he had a hit and a walk.

We made 2 errors and the Puddlers made 5.

Sam Cowan hit a double and 2 other times drove the ball to the wall but both were caught. Sam Boullion had 2 hits with a triple and a walk and scored 2 runs. He is the hottest hitter on the team right now. He's had 4 straight multi-hit games and had a 9 game hitting streak. He has also walked 7 times during the streak. Pat Dunbar had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. Sam King hit a double. And of course Jimmy Babcock won the game with his double!

For the Puddlers, LF Joe Coffey had 3 hits with a triple, stole a base and had 3 RBIs.

Liberty League:
Cleveland (9) at Boston (8): Tom McDowell (25-8.0) (5-5) over William Little (28-6.0) (3-9). CF Effie Poff (23-8.5) had 3 hits, stole 2 bases, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Louisville (3) at Kansas City (6): Piggy Lambert (25-8.2) (4-6) over William McLeod (30-5.6) (5-5). Lambert allowed 7 hits, no walks and struck out 7. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double.

Indianapolis at Cincinnati was another victim of the weather monster.

Grand National Association:
Omaha (9) at Providence (10) in 10 innings: Tom Ashton (25-5.2) (9-2) over Skyrocket Rice (24-5.2) (9-5). LF Al Young (25-4.8) knocked in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th. He had 3 hits. CF Tom Herold (24-6.4) had 4 hits with a double and a triple, drew a walk, stole 3 bases and had an RBI. For the Mutuals, CF Dave Todd (24-5.5) had 4 hits, stole 2 bases and had 3 RBIs.

Chicago (5) at Washington (2): Pony Stanley (26-6.2) (10-4) over Ed Bush (29-5.3) (6-10). Stanley allowed 6 hits, 4 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double, drew a walk and scored a run. RF Candy Simpson (30-6.8) had 3 hits with 2 triples, scored a run and had 3 RBIs.

Milwaukee at Brooklyn and St. Louis at Buffalo were both canceled due to wet weather.

[Questdog]

Wednesday, June 5, 1889

Pittsburgh Puddlers (20-11 .645 0 GB in 2nd place in the Liberty League) at
Detroit Wolverines (17-9 .654 0.5 GB in 1st place)

Tom Lilly, Pitt. (29-6.4) (L 7-3 2.44 9.8-2.2-2.9 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Al Rice, Det. (24-7.6) (R 8-3 1.32 6.6-2.0-4.5)

We are 1-1 against Lilly, so far. He beat us, 3 to 2, in 13 innings on Saturday.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
PITT - 1: CF Al Steel (29-7.0) 2: 1B Al Oglesby (25-7.6) 3: LF Fred James* (25-5.3) 4: RF Billy Galloway (27-5.3) 5: C Tom Conner (24-8.8) 6: 3B Ed Glass (29-4.5) 7: 2B Fred Russell* (24-5.4) 8: SS Bill Baker (27-3.6)

DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: LF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 6: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 7: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

The only base runner we got through the 1st 3 innings was on a walk by Ren Dunbar, but he was promptly picked off by Lilly. But we exploded for 4 runs in the 4th, the big blow being a 2-out, 2 run single by Sam King.

Won - 5 to 2

Rice allowed 10 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7.

Lilly gave us 6 hits, 2 walks and struck out no one.

Each team made 1 error.

Ed Aldrich had 2 hits and scored a run. Ben Smith had 2 hits, scored a run and had an RBI. Sam King had a hit and 2 RBIs.

Liberty League:
Louisville (8) at Kansas City (0) Game 1: Jumbo Hoops (24-6.5) (7-3) over Dan Butler (31-4.7) (4-6). Hoops allowed 7 hits, 2 walks and struck out 2. At bat, he had 3 hits and 2 RBIs. Shutting out the Cowboys in their home park where the baseballs fly is an impressive feat.

Louisville (3) at Kansas City (6) Game 2: Al McClaughry (25-5.6) (8-5) over Miah Turner (28-5.3) (8-5). McClaughry allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he had 2 hits and scored a run. LF Lou Baggett (27-4.2) had 3 hits with a double, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had an RBI.

Cleveland (13) at Boston (4): Artie Boucher (26-6.1) (3-6) over Freddy Wood (33-6.3) (2-5). Wood started out the season winning his 1st 2 games.... Boucher allowed 4 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. CF Effie Poff (23-8.5) had 3 hits with a double and a walk and scored 3 runs.

Indianapolis at Cincinnati was rained out for the 3rd day in a row.

Grand National Association:
Omaha (16) at Providence (7): Tom Lee (31-6.0) (7-4) over Ed Wison (28-7.3) (6-7). Amidst a bunch of big days at the plate, the best was by RF Tom Nelson (24-5.2), who had 4 hits with a double and a triple, scored 4 runs and had 3 RBIs. Our old friend, 2B Tom Duncan (24-6.6) pulled rib cage muscle and will miss 3 to 4 weeks.

St. Louis (4) at Buffalo (14): Fred Barrow (37-4.7) (6-7) over Jimmy Richards (26-0.9) (8-8). Barrow allowed 10 hits, 3 walks and struck out 6 in snapping his 6 game losing streak. C Tim Fish (34-5.4) had 2 hits with his 2nd home run of the season, scored 2 runs and had 4 RBIs.

Milwaukee (9) at Brooklyn (10): Al Green (26-3.8) (9-5) over Tom McWilliams (27-4.3) (6-7). Green did not pitch so well, but he had 3 hits at bat with 3 RBIs.

Chicago (6) at Washington (3): Pat Seguin (25-4.4) (9-9) over Sammy Berry (29-5.5) (3-6). Seguin allowed 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 10.

Elsewhere:
At their annual convention, the National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players named 1B Hub Kaderli (19-6.2) of Grand Prairie, Texas the top amateur player in the country. Note: Before 1871 and the advent of professional baseball there were three awards given. One each for the best player and pitcher in the country and one for the best newcomer to the national scene. The winners listed below are the winners of the latter, as it more closely reflects the current award.

Past Recipients of the Award:
1857: Art Walker, lf, Kansas City, Kansas (21-7.6)
1858: George Rush, c, New York, New York (21-6.5)
1859: John Foster, p, Columbus, Ohio (19-5.5)
1860: Jim Emerson, lf, Dallas, Texas (22-5.1)
1861: Sam Yates, 3b, Memphis, Tennessee (20-7.9)
1862: Fred Swanger, lf, Portland, Oregon (21-6.8)
1863: Buck Redfearn, rf, Linglestown, Pennsylvania (22-4.5)
1864: Gil Bechard, lf, Chicago, Illinois (21-4.7)
1865: Tom Dore, rf, Streemwood, Illinois (21-4.0)
1866: Pete Bucolo, 1B, Dyersburg, Tennessee (18-4.1)
1867: George Kennedy, cf, Atlanta, Georgia (21-8.9)
1868: Nehemiah Robinson, ss, Brooklyn, New York (19-6.2)
1869: Bill Rosenthal, c, Killingly, Connecticut (22-5.5)
1870: Milt Wright, cf, Santa Ana, California (23-8.1)
1871: Bill Sears, 3B, Burlington, Vermont (22-4.0)
1872: Charlie Warner, rf, Chattanooga, Tennessee (18-9.2)
1873: Frank McSherry, p, Chicago, Illinois (17-4.1)
1874: Jim Ware, ss, Longueuil, Quebec, Canada (20-5.6)
1875: Sam Cowan, ss, Cedar Hill, Texas (19-5.1)
1876: George Thomas, c, Straughn, Indiana (19-6.3)
1877: Jim Granier, c, Houston, Texas (21-5.7)
1878: Joe Turner, rf, Yale, Michigan (18-6.6)
1879: Harry Hooks, 1b, Brooklyn, New York (20-6.1)
1880: William McLeod, p, Yardville, New Jersey (21-5.6)
1881: Cowboy Gray, ss, San Francisco, California (19-7.8)
1882: Lou Townley, p, Shelby, North Carolina (20-3.4)
1883: Pat Stafford, cf, Los Angeles, California (22-5.4)
1884: Ed Aldrich, ss, St. Louis, Missouri (20-6.8)
1885: Heinie Ashmore, cf, Elgin, Illinois (20-6.0)
1886: Ed Robling, cf, Port Clinton, Ohio (23-7.3)
1887: Tom Paul, lf, Kirksville, Missouri (17-5.4)
1888: Adams Atkinson, cf, Stony Brook, New York (18-5.4)

Editor's Note: This is the first player taken in the draft of amateurs the B Leagues have every year. Also note that once I finish the new world_xml all birthplaces will be changed.

[Questdog]

Thursday, June 6, 1889

We are in Cleveland for a 3 game series against manager William Morey (47-7.5) and his Spiders. After this we will head back home and play as series against these same Spiders before heading off on an extended road trip. They are 7th in runs scored with 4.8 per game (Detroit seems to have settled in comfortably at #6 with 5.1). They are 4th in runs allowed with 5.4 per game (Detroit is back to #1 with 3.6). As I mentioned the last time we were here, this League Park is a fairly fair place for a ball game. Home runs are hard to come by, especially to left field, but their infield is very fast and ground balls will get past the defenders more often than at other parks (except for Kansas City's Exposition Park).

We beat them 3 of 4 here a month ago, the last time we met, but all the games were closely contested.

Detroit Wolverines (18-9 .667 in 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Cleveland Spiders (13-20 .394 8 GB in 6th place)

Dave Frazier, Det. (29-5.7) (L 1-5 3.60 9.6-3.4-2.2 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Lou Townley, Clev. (27-3.5) (R 5-7 3.11 10.5-2.4-6.1)

We are 2-0 against our former ace this season, but his team only scored him 3 runs total in the 2 games. If Frazier has a poor outing, he may find himself on a train for Syracuse.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
DET - 1: 3B Ed Aldrich (25-6.8) 2: RF Tom Morgenthal (27-5.3) 3: LF Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 4: SS Pat Dunbar (27-8.3) 5: 1B Dave Odekirk# (24-6.5) 6: CF Sam King (23-6.0) 7: 2B Ducky Foster (24-9.0) 8: C Pony Lanza* (29-4.9)

CLEV - 1: CF Ed William (28-6.0) 2: 3B Tom Nelson (22-6.6) 3: RF Tom Steiner (23-4.9) 4: C Deacon Dubin (32-8.8) 5: 1B Dave Kelly (27-6.0) 6: LF Effie Poff* (23-8.5) 7: 2B Sy Herzberger (28-6.4) 8: SS Gussie Byrne (29-4.4)

Frazier saved his bacon for one more start, but that's about all you can say.

Lost - 3 to 2

Frazier allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 1. At bat, he had a hit.

Townley gave us 7 hits, 1 walk and struck out 8.

We made 1 error and the Spiders made 2.

Tom Morgenthal had 2 hits and stole a base. Ducky Foster, in his season debut, had 2 hits, stole 2 bases and scored a run.

Liberty League:
Cincinnati (9) at Louisville (15): William McLeod (30-5.6) (6-5) over Charlie Branham (29-4.2) (9-3). Two old Wolverines excelled today: RF Pat Womack (28-6.3) had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 4 RBIs and CF Tom Panozzo (24-2.0) had 3 hits with his 3rd home run of the year, stole a base, scored 3 runs and had 5 RBIs.

Pittsburgh (3) at Boston (10): Dave Wolf (26-4.7) (5-6) over Joe Peters (33-4.9) (4.6). Wolf allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out 4. LF Jocko Breton (26-4.5) had 4 hits with a double and his 3rd home run of the year, scored 3 runs and had 4 RBIs.

Indianapolis (7) at Kansas City (9): Piggy Lambert (25-8.2) (5-6) over Al Conradt (25-4.1) (2-9).

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (3) at Brooklyn (9) Game 1: William David (26-3.6) (8-3) over Dave Ward (24-6.1) (7-8). David allowed 8 hits, 3 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit and 2 RBIs.

Milwaukee (3) at Brooklyn (18) Game 2: Tom Homer (25-5.0) (4-6) over Dave Ward (24-6.1) (7-9). Homer allowed 5 hits, 3 walks and struck out 11. This boy has real talent if he can ever harness his control. SS Charlie Smith (31-5.6) had 4 hits and a walk, stole 2 bases, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs. Ward has lost 5 in a row and 8 of his last 9. Trying to pitch both ends of a double-header did not work out so well.

St. Louis (9) at Buffalo (13): Will Vertner (25-6.9) (11-1) over Con Arnold (25-6.3) (4-8). Vertner lost his 1st start of the year and has now won 11 in a row. At bat, he had 2 hits, scored a run and had 2 RBIs. Washington Macho (39-8.3) had 3 hits with a double and his 2nd home run of the season, drew a walk, scored 3 runs and had 2 RBIs.

Omaha (2) at Providence (7): Jimmy Harrison (22-4.6) (4-7) over Lee Sprague (29-3.5) (8-8). Harrison allowed 6 hits, 5 walks and struck out 5. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run. Sprague did not allow and earned run. He allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. The Mutuals made 8 errors to none for the Grays.

Chicago (5) at Washington (10): Tom Graves (24-6.2) (3-1) over Skyrocket Howard (24-5.4) (7-5). Graves allowed 10 hits, 5 walks and struck out 4. SS John Ingling (29-4.6) had 3 hits and scored 3 runs. C Caleb Sawyer (30-8.9) hit a double and a home run and scored twice.

[Questdog]

Friday, June 7, 1889

Detroit Wolverines (18-10 .643 0.5 GB in 1st place in the Liberty League) at
Cleveland Spiders (14-20 .412 7.5 GB in 6th place)

Jiggs Niedermeyer, Det. (25-5.8) (R 8-1 3.17 9.6-2.1-2.9 H/9-BB/9-SO/9) vs. Tom McDowell, Clev. (25-8.0) (R 5-5 3.99 11.0-3.2-2.8)

We are 0-1 against McDowell so far this season.

LINEUPS (* = LHB # = SHB)
DET - 1: CF Ren Dunbar (25-6.8) 2: 2B Sam Boullion (29-4.8) 3: 1B Sam Cowan (33-5.1) 4: RF Ben Smith* (29-6.7) 5: LF Al Lewis* (23-9.1) 6: 3B Dave Odekirk# (24-6.5) 7: SS Ducky Foster (24-9.0) 8: C Jimmy Babcock (32-6.9)

CLEV - 1: 3B Tom Nelson (22-6.6) 2: LF Effie Poff* (23-8.5) 3: RF Tom Steiner (23-4.9) 4: C Deacon Dubin (32-8.8) 5: 2B Cowboy Gray (27-7.8) 6: 1B Dave Kelly (27-6.0) 7: CF Ed William (28-6.0) 8: SS Ed Maynard# (25-3.8)

We jumped all over McDowell in the 1st inning. Dave Odekirk hit our 1st home run of the season, a mammoth blast to straight away center! I was beginning to think we would never hit one. We scored 4 times in the 1st.

Sam Cowan was hit on his wrist in the 3rd inning by McDowell and it looks like it is broken.

Won - 12 to 7

Niedermeyer allowed 12 hits, no walks and struck out 6. At bat, he had 2 hits with a double and a walk, scored a run and had an RBI.

In 8 innings, McDowell gave us 11 hits, 7 walks and struck out 3.

We made 4 errors and the Spiders made 5.

Ren Dunbar was hitless from the lead-off spot, but drew a walk and scored a run. He has gone cold as ice, going 0 for his last 17 and 1 for 34. Sam Boullion had a hit, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. Ed Aldrich had 2 hits, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. Dave Odekirk hit a home run and drew a walk, scored twice and had 2 RBIs. Ducky Foster had 3 hits and drew a walk, scored a run and had 3 RBIs. Jimmy Babcock had 2 hits with a double and scored a run.

Sam Cowan's wrist is definitely broken and he will miss at least a month. Odekirk will assume 1B duties and I sent for Patsy Roberts (35-5.5) to return to Detroit. I offered minor league contracts to a couple of old geezer first basemen who had been unemployed: Willie Martz (35-5.7) and Tommy Way (33-6.8).

Liberty League:
Pittsburgh (2) at Boston (4): William Little (28-6.0) (4-9) over Whitey Mathews (26-4.1) (9-4). Little allowed 11 hits, 1 walk and struck out 7. Mathews allowed 7 hits, 5 walks and struck out 1.

Cincinnati at Louisville and Indianapolis at Kansas City were both washed out.

Grand National Association:
Milwaukee (6) at Brooklyn (5): Tom McWilliams (27-4.3) (7-7) over Al Green (26-3.8) (9-6). McWilliams allowed 8 hits, 2 walks and struck out no one. At bat, he had a hit and scored a run.

No games were scheduled for today; the above contest was a makeup game.