FABL -- Montréal Saints

[mjj55409]

And we are not done dealing. After mentioning in the last update that we will be moving Woody Armstrong to second base, we got on the phone with the Chicago Cougars and will end up moving him to Chicago. The Cougars are looking to improve their defense, and we--as always--are looking to improve our offense. So we are sending Armstrong and class B pitcher Joe Foote to Chicago in exchange for outfielder Bobby Sprague.

Woody Armstrong is a 29-year-old middle infielder who was originally acquired from Cleveland in June of 1927. He has a little bit of power in his bat and is a good defender and a smart base runner. He's played 796 games for Montreal, hitting .258/.329/.369 with 53 home runs, 122 doubles, 22 triples, and 41 stolen bases. He was named to the 1933 inaugural All-Star game.

Joe Foote is a 19-year-old who was drafted in the 6th round of the 1932 draft. He throws three pitches, with his best being an extremely heavy sinker. Over the past two seasons he has made 32 starts for class B Mobile, fashioning a 12-10 record with a 4.93 ERA (97 ERA+).

Bobby Sprague is a 27-year-old who was acquired by the Cougars from the Gothams in an October 1932 trade. Sprague is a good defender who handles the bat very well and has some good speed. He has appeared in 639 FABL games, hitting .321/.377/.421 with 16 home runs, 132 doubles, 29 triples, and 72 stolen bases. He also had a good eye at the plate. For his career he has walked twice as much as he has struck out (220 to 113).

[mjj55409]

After a terrific April (11-2) and a bad May (10-18), Montreal has played to a .500 record over June (14-14) and July (13-13 with 1 game remaining). I was expecting a .500 record this season, and who knows, with a hot streak, we could still top 80 wins.




Montreal's participants in this season's All-Star game were Hank Barnett--who started at third and was hitless in his only at bat--and Earle Whitten--who recorded two outs in the 6th inning. The CA led the FA 6-1 after the 6th, but ended up losing the game 11-7.






Montreal did make a big change in the beginning of July. On the morning of the 10th--the day of the All-Star game in New York--the Chicago Cougars fired manager Dick Pozza and hired former Cleveland manager Hank Leitzke. Montreal owner Jacques Cartier--who of course was in New York for the All-Star game--immediately struck up a conversation with Pozza. The next week, on Wednesday, July 17th, Pozza was named as the new manager of the Montreal Saints.

Pozza spent 10 seasons as a bench coach in Philadelphia (for the Sailors), Washington, and St Louis before being named manager in Detroit in 1927. He managed in Detroit for 3 seasons before being hired by the Cougars in 1930. As a manager he has done nothing but win. In 7 full seasons his clubs have never finished below .500 and have won over 90 games 4 times. His managerial record is 668-490, and he has won 2 World Championships (1 in Detroit and 1 in Chicago).


Dick Pozza

[mjj55409]

This past decade has been filled with many disappointments for the Saints, but this season was one of the more disappointing seasons. I'm beginning to wonder if this club, in it's current configuration, can actually compete. Or do we need to tear it down and start over.




Positional Overview

C - Curt Squillante (.287-2-39), Tom Bird (.239-1-6)

I didn't mention it at the time, but Bird came to Montreal in a trade with St Louis at the end of July. Bird is a 26-year-old who was struggling to get playing time in St Louis. He is someone the scouts love (OSA still has him ranked as the FABL's top prospect). He struggled some after the trade, but perhaps he'll settle in next season. Overall this position is in flux.


1B - Vic Crawford (.295-9-61), George Johnson (.250-0-4), Ed Smith (.224-1-11)

Crawford missed about a month with hamstring problems and overall had a down season (an OPS+ of 110 after achieving a mark of 138 in 1933). Johnson and Smith can both play first and third, and both of them are only around for their gloves.


2B - John Banks (.261-2-38), Danny Findlay (.240-1-13)

That giant sucking sound you hear is the vacuum that exists at this position in Montreal. And there are no quality prospects in the system to look forward to either. The best we can hope for is to find someone to play third so Hank Barnett can move back to second.


SS - Tony White (.277-2-59)

The 23-year-old White joined the club in early May and played well enough to prompt the trade of Woody Armstrong to the Chicago Cougars. White was drafted in 1932 solely on the strength of his glove work. What he was shown in the minor leagues is a tremendous improvement at the plate (he was slashing .455/.520/.636 for Minneapolis at the time of his recall).


3B - Hank Barnett (.286-15-94)

Barnett is very strong third baseman, and he also plays a good second base. As mentioned above, there are no second base prospects to look at in the Montreal system. The same is not true at third base. 20-year-old Gary Carmichael came over from the Gothams in the Milt Fritz deal. Carmichael hit .350/.385/.444 at class AA Nashville. There is also the 21-year-old Canadian Frank Belair, who split his time between class B Mobile and class A Evansville and hit .363/.414/.511 with 12 home runs, 39 doubles, and 92 runs batted in.

LF - Jim Watson (.332-12-89)

Watson had another strong season--even being named on a few Whitney Award ballots. Since he was purchased from the Chicago Chiefs in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in 1931, Watson has hit .326/.366/.491 for the Saints (good for an OPS of 141).


CF - Bob Worley (.287-17-71), Pablo Reyes (.238-1-29), Bernie Green (.298-0-11)

The ideal outfield alignment would have Watson in left, Reyes in center, and Worley in right. Reyes, however, really struggled at the plate in his sophomore season. His glove remains spectacular, so the hope is that his bat can make a rebound. In his 1933 debut, Reyes hit .262/.300/.410 for an OPS of 113. His defense is so good that even hitting at that level would make him quite valuable.


RF - Bobby Sprague (.278-1-35), Cliff Moss (.245-4-30)

Bobby Sprague came over from the Cougars in the Woody Armstrong deal. But the big question here is--what happened to Cliff Moss? In 1930 as a 23-year-old, Moss hit .345/.405/.557 with 26 home runs and 101 runs batted in. It's been a steady--and precipitous--decline since then. If Reyes can fulfill his potential and Worley can move to right field, we have a strong and deep outfield. If not, there remains work to do.


SP - George Thomas (12-11, 3.78), Earle Whitten (10-13, 3.63), Chick Wirtz (8-11, 4.21), Skinny Foster (7-12, 3.64), Walker Moore (4-11, 5.27), Allan Purvis (4-3, 3.57), Barney Holland (4-3, 3.80), Lou Marion (1-2, 4.31)

For the 2nd year in a row, George Thomas had his season cut short due to injury. In 1933 it was his right shoulder, and in 1934 it was his right elbow. When he is healthy, Thomas is an anchor at the top of the rotation. Hopefully these injury problems are not a harbinger of things to come for the 24-year-old.

[mjj55409]

Here's a quick look at the Montreal selections through round 6.


1.6 C Adam Mullins, 22-years-old, Eastern Oklahoma

As is typically in the FABL drafts, the first few picks were pitching heavy. That meant a very good bat was still available with the 6th pick. There is a prep catcher--Woody Stone (selected 8th by the Sailors)--who might have a higher ceiling, but Mullins is coming out of college with a very mature hit tool. Montreal scout Fred Rowe writes, Mullins "projects to be an elite hitter [with] above average strike zone recognition." There are some scouts who believe that Mullins is FABL-ready right now. He'll compete with Tom Bird for the "catcher of the future" role.


3.6 SP Brad Daniels, 21-years-old, St. Blane College

With no 2nd round pick (it was sent to Pittsburgh in the deal for Squillante), I wanted to take a pitcher with this pick. Daniels doesn't strike out a lot of hitters, but he has good command of his pitches and induces a lot of ground balls (which tends to equal success in Montreal). Rowe feels that Daniels has mid-rotation potential.


4.6 CF Heinie Billings, 18-years-old, Macon (GA) High School

Billings is a tall (6'3"), lanky outfielder with top of the charts speed and defense. He was part of a group of players that I was considering for the 1st round pick, so I was pleasantly surprised that he was still available here. Like most high school selections, he is a project, but his potential ceiling is good.


5.6 SS Bill Smith, 22-years-old, Ferguson College (Greenville, NC)

Smith reminds me of Tony White (3rd round, 1932): elite defense with a questionable hit tool. White worked hard on his approach at the plate and is now the starting shortstop in Montreal. I'm hoping for a similar trajectory from Smith.


5.16 OF Hank McKay, 18-years-old, Dorsey High School (Los Angeles, CA)

This pick was acquired from Cleveland in exchange for minor league third baseman Don Hallum. The OSA mock draft had McKay being taken in the 3rd round, and Fred Rowe had him ranked 23rd overall. He's an above average defender with elite speed and good bat-to-ball skills. Rowe thinks he profiles as a starting outfielder.


6.6 1B Sig Stofer, 18-years-old, Atlantic City High School

The top power bats in this draft were thought to be: Bob Donoghue, a college outfielder from Iowa A&M, prep outfielder Dan Rogers, and prep first basemen Paul Sammons and Sig Stofer. Donoghue went 11th overall to Boston, Dan Rogers was taken with the 14th pick by Brooklyn, and Paul Sammons was taken in the 3rd round, 39th overall by Pittsburgh. What is holding Stofer back is his defensive indifference (Rowe writes that he "boots too many routine plays") and the fear that he would rather to go college than sign (he graduated at the top of his high school class).

[mjj55409]

SHAKEUP IN MONTREAL

After 9 seasons running things in Montreal without much success, I've decided to step down. I'm not leaving the FABL, but I will be moving the Federal Association and taking over the Chicago Chiefs.

Montreal has been in a couple of pennant races over the past 9 years, but overall there hasn't been much success (overall record of 629-757). As an honest assessment, I would say my biggest mistake was spending the first 5 or 6 seasons trying to get some power into the Montreal lineup. With the ballpark in Montreal, that strategy did not work out. I was really excited with this past draft, and we are leaving Montreal with the 4th ranked farm system in the FABL, so the foundation is there for someone to build upon.

I will likely start up another thread to chronicle the Chiefs. Perhaps whoever takes over in Montreal would like to post here and keep it going. Speaking of which, there is now an opening in the FABL. So if you've been following along and would like to try your hand at a great league, just reach out and let me know.

[mavericktango]

Monday, February 4th, 1935
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My name is Nigel de Laverick and as of February 1935 I will be taking over the Montreal Saints.

With Spring Training fast approaching I will be using the full camp roster to look at our top prospects and our "Class of '34". While there is not expected to be a rush of players making the team there is a few weak spots that I will be closely looking at. Jim Watson is a class act able to hit the long ball, work the walk and steal the bag . . . but he's a bit statuesque in Left Field which will draw my ire if he can't improve. If someone in spring camp can prove that they can play left and hit Jim might well find himself learning first base this coming season. Second base might be a defensive problem too and I have moved quickly in the Independent team player acquisition window to arrange a deal with Houston Bulls of the Lone Star Association to bring in 29-yr-old Harry Fuller. Harry has been tearing it up in the LSA, In three years in Houston he has been a 3+ WAR player, has hit 87 homers, 258 RBI and scored 231 times producing 10.7 WAR. He well be given every chance to prove he deserves a berth on the Saints, while he may not be able to hit FABL pitching straight away, his solid ZR (+22.0 in 1934) may at the very least earn him a bench role.

Also arriving is 30-yr-old reliever Bill Beier, claimed off waivers from the Cleveland Foresters. While. he didn't exactly set the FABL alight he wasn't given much of a chance either. He didn't disgrace himself in limited innings out of the bullpen and in five years with Cincinnati of the Union league has posted a 30-9 record with 42 saves and a 3.19 ERA. If he can produce anything like that in the Parc Cartier there will be a bullpen spot waiting for him.



L-to-R : Harry Fuller & Bill Beier

[mavericktango]

Tuesday, March 19th, 1935
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


With spring training rapidly approaching the players are slowly assembling in camp. Currently there are 48 players with invites, 36 that are on the 40-man and, at the moment, 12 non-roster invitees. Some of the non-roster invites won’t in fact be top prospects but will be for positional needs. So, I suppose we’d better start having a look at some of them.

Catchers : Curt Squillante (30-yrs-old), Tom Bird (26), Johnny Redmon (28) & Adam Mullins (22)

Saints will start with four catchers in camp but expect that to be trimmed before the halfway stage. 1935 sixth overall pick Adam Mullins will probably have the shortest stay but who knows, The FABL scouting department have already installed him as their #9 prospect. In Eastern Oklahoma college his slash line was .317/.413/.460 and he showed his eye at the plate, walking 27 times in 31 games. Johnny Redmon has spent six years now at Triple-A Minnesota, five as a backup and last year was his first in a starting role. He produced 2.7 WAR, earned 60 RBI, scored 50 times and walked 52 times in 119 games; he also threw out 30 of 55 would-be base stealers (54.5%).

Tom Bird started 1934 as the FABL #2 prospect while with St Louis in their AAA side, he was traded to the Saints on the last day of July and went straight into the backup role in Montreal. He only managed 91 AB’s during the remainder of 1934, hitting .231 and walked eight times; he threw out 4 of 18 runners attempting to steal bases (22.2%) while allowing one passed ball. The man with the job to lose is Curt Squillante, originally a fourth-round pick of Pittsburgh in 1922. He spent seven years in the Miners side but only twice managed more than 60 games. Traded to the Saints in March 1934 he played a career high 108 FABL games as the starting catcher in Montreal. Hitting a solid .287 with the bat, he could have perhaps done better behind the plate, allowing nine passed balls and throwing out 25 of 67 base stealers (37.3%). He might find it a hard slog to outshine the younger guns in camp, Tom will be expecting more games in 1935 while Adam will be keen to show that he is the Saints catcher of the future. Johnny will have no real expectations but will be giving it his best to prove that if anyone slips up, he will be ready to step into the breach.





l-to-r: Curt Squillante, Tom Bird & Adam Mullins. (No photo available of Johnny Redmon)


Pre-Season Predictions





The media have been quite keen on the Saints, expecting them to improve by 11 wins and finish close behind Brooklyn in third. Vic Crawford is projected to be among the best hitters in the CA while George Thomas is their pick for the CA's top pitcher, winning 25 games.

It would be nice if it came to pass but as a new manager to the league, I'm rather skeptical . I'd be happy to at least match last year's tally and work from there.

[mavericktango]

Tuesday, March 19th, 1935
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second Base

John Banks (26), Jack Brown (28), Danny Findlay (29), Harry Fuller (29), Charlie Rector (30)

One of the main positional battles in this spring camp will be for second-base, the Saints will have five considered contenders in camp. John Banks was the incumbent last year, in 100 games he hit .261/.296/.326 with two homers, 38 RBI and four stolen bases as well as a +2.1 ZR. Not really dreadful but 18 errors probably contributed to him only being ranked as 15th positionally by the OSA. He will have every chance to retain his role, but we’d like, in reality, an upgrade at the position. Jack Brown had some limited success in Montreal during the period 1929-31 but ended up back in Triple-A Minneapolis. His bat, if not his defence, came alive there and he got another FABL shot last year. The nine games he played didn’t really advance his claims, hitting a mere .150, and this is probably last chance saloon.

Danny Findlay has been a backup 2B in Montreal since 1932 with diminishing returns and limited defence which eventually ended up with him spending part of 1934 back in Minneapolis. He’s another that is a long shot and will likely be leaving Montreal if he can’t grab a role with the Saints this time round. Harry Fuller is the interesting one; acquired in the off-season from Houston of the Lone Star Association where he had become known for his top-notch defence. Over his last three years in Houston, he has produced over 3 WAR each season (a total of 10.7) with a total of 87 homers and 258 RBI over that time as well as stealing 51 bags. If he can produce a decent spring, he will probably be a lock for a bench role at the very least; he will be helped by the fact that he can also play some sort of passible defence at shortstop as well. Charlie Rector had given a good account of himself as the Montreal second baseman between 1928 to 1933, but a season hitting .143/.172/.161 in ’33 when he had become the backup 2B sealed his demotion to Minneapolis. There he had shown some sparkle once more, both with bat and ball, earning him perhaps a final shot at reclaiming his second base role in Montreal.

In reality the battle probably all hinges on whether Fuller can hit FABL pitching, if he can he will get the starting job with Banks in all likelihood being the backup. If Fuller flails wildly at the pitches flying by, Banks will probably keep his starting role for another year and Fuller will become the defensive backup. The others will have to play out of their skins to upset that vision.




l-to-r: John Banks, Jack Brown, Danny Findlay, Harry Fuller & Charlie Rector

[mavericktango]

Monday, March 25, 1935
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spring Training – Week One

Week one of Spring Training is in the books and using mainly backup and try-out players the saints compiled a 2-4 record. Our two wins both came in our two home games while we lost all four on the road. We were though pretty competitive on all of the games and are hoping to do better in week two with a few more regulars getting more AB’s.

Winners


OF Bobby Sprague – Backup right fielder last year, Bobby went 6-8 with two doubles, three RBI and scored three runs. Looked solid in the outfield, mainly playing in left.

C Tom Bird – Last year’s backup catcher started three of his five appearances and picked up five hits as well as four walks.

P Skinny Foster – Last year split his time between the rotation & bullpen and in his one relief outing this week he pitched five innings allowing just three hits while striking out five. This coming week he will get a go in the rotation.


Losers


2B John Banks – Last year’s starting second baseman got into four games, two as a starter. In eight AB’s he failed to connect with anything and managed just one walk. He did however get several good innings at first base, perhaps opening a path for him to backup second & first bases if he can sort out his bat?

P Lou Marion – Last year mainly in Minneapolis but went 1-2 in five starts in Montreal. In his one start this week he managed just 3.2 innings, giving up seven hits, eight runs and six walks.

2B Charlie Rector – Spent last year hitting .323 in Minneapolis but in four appearances this week he got seven AB’s and managed a solitary hit.



OF Dilly Ward (1934 at Mobile (B)) and 2B Harry Fuller (1934 in Houston (AA)) both looked very impressive in the field at their positions but didn’t hit that well. Both however did hit a lot of balls deep into the outfield and didn’t suffer a lot of infield outs or strikeouts. C Adam Mullins hitting looked a bit weak and may well be heading for Minneapolis to start his pro career.

Projected top CA starter George Thomas only had an innings in relief and got shelled, giving up five hits and three runs while last year’s stopper Howie Snyder had a three-innings outing and gave up nine hits and four runs. Bill Beier pitched his first innings for the Saints giving up just a walk.

[mavericktango]

Tuesday, April 16th, 1935
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On to the 1935 season


So, the dust is settling on Spring Training now. The team have headed back to Canada, the cuts have been made and everyone is preparing to open the season with a road trip to Baltimore and New York.

Decisions have been made, maybe not the right ones, but all I have to go on is the players performances this last month. Maybe they will work out, maybe they won’t, we have a long season ahead of us for that to unfold. The media haven’t been as keen as they were on our performances, they’ve dropped our predicted finish to fourth, at only 78-76, still eight wins more than 1934 though,. Vic Crawford is still expected by them to be among the top CA hitters of 1935, but George Thomas’ weak spring has dropped him out of the expected top pitchers.

Adam Mullins did well in spring, but it was felt that the 1934 6th overall pick would probably benefit from starting his pro career behind the plate in Minneapolis. He’s still very much in our thoughts for an early promotion to the FABL though. Tom Bird's .425/..540/.575 in camp with two homers has won him the starting role with last year’s catcher Curt Squillante riding the pines.

Vic Crawford and Hank Barnett had no problems retaining their roles at the infield corners while Pablo Reyes is still running the centre outfield despite Dilly Ward having a tremendous spring out in centre. Dilly, a 1932 seventh rounder, who played last year at his highest level at Mobile of the Southeastern League (B) impressed no end and will spend 1935 as the starting centrefielder in Minneapolis with a real shot at the FABL in 1936.

Harry Fuller wowed everyone, as expected, with his glove in camp as well as hitting two homers. He wasn’t a standout with his bat, at only .226, but the languid showing of the rest of the 2B candidates made him the starting man almost by de facto. The hardest part was picking a backup for him, last year’s starter John Collins eventually getting the bench spot. 28-yr-old Jack Brown, who hit .150 in Montreal at second base last year in nine games late on, never made it through waivers. He was claimed by Chicago, now led by the former Saints GM as was 29-yr-old reliever John Lizak who also made his FABL debut in a late 1934 call-up. 23-year-old Art Armstrong, whose highest previous level was at Double-A Nashville, had a good spring and claimed the job at shortstop, last year’s SS 23-yr-old Tony White will start in Minneapolis, but those roles could well flip-flop as performances dictate.

The outfield was a bit more convoluted; Jim Watson swung the bat well enough for me to give him the LF role (with fingers crossed behind my back that he doesn’t let us down with his defense), Reyes eventually claimed his CF role and at RF will be Bobby Sprague. Bobby showed in 1934 and spring that he can play reasonable defense all over the outfield and a .459/.545/.595 show with his bat in spring earned him the last OF spot left. Bernie Green (on the back of a good all-round spring) and Bob Worley (on the back of a good 1934) will be on the bench along with 3B Gary Carmichael who was the only real choice for the backup 3B and may well get some outings at 2B as well.

The Saints will carry nine pitchers into the start of the 1935 FABL season, more of them later.

[mavericktango]

Monday, April 22nd, 1935
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Perfect Road Start

Opening the season in Baltimore the Saints pinched a win in the top of the ninth when Art Armstrong hit a 2-run single to snap a 1-1 tie. George Thomas, who big things are expected of this season, opened his year with a complete game win. In game two the Cannons started off as if they meant business, going up 4-0 after two innings but we broke their hearts clawing it back and coming out with a 7-4 win.The icing on the cake was our first homer of the season in the eighth inning . . . scored by Bill Beier, the reliever claimed off waivers from the Foresters, Beiers went on to allow just one hit & a walk in 2.1 IP and collect his first save. Vic Crawford, expected by the media to be one of the top CA hitters, went 3-5 driving in two runs. Completing the series sweep of Baltimore the Saints won the final game 4-2 despite making two errors. Crawford had a 2-5 day, coming home with two runs and his batting average for the series is now .462. Starter Allan Purvis walked five but still came out with the win, Howie Snyder collected his first save of 1935 pitching two innings allowing just a walk.

Moving on to the Big Apple, Montreal were 0-4, 2-5 and 2-8 down to the Stars but we came back with three runs in the eighth and another three in the ninth to steal our fourth win of the fledgling season. Lead-off man Bobby Sprague went 3-6, driving in five runs and scoring twice. Bill Beier, rapidly becoming a Saints hero, took the win with just three hits only allowed in 2 IP. Saints new #1 catcher, Tom Bird lit the blue touchpaper, driving three runs in as Montreal swept past New York 7-3. Jim Watson hit his second triple of 1935 and Earle Whitten opened his fourth FABL season with an 8 IP win. Our third game in New York proved to be our sixth straight win when Bird hit a 3-run homer in the eighth to take the game away from the Stars. Vic Crawford went 3-4, scoring once, but creeping up in the hitting stakes is Art Armstrong. The rookie shortstop is leading the team with a .450 batting average.

Player of the Week



Bill Beier - 4.1 IP 4H 1BB 1K 1Win 1Save

CA Table

[mavericktango]

Monday, June 10th, 1935
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I must apologise for the lack of news out of Montreal, but there’s a lot of learning to be done and not a lot of time. Since the euphoria of the six-game opening streak on the road (which became seven as we completed the sweeps of both Baltimore & New York) things have been on a kinda downhill path. The Saints came home to lose their home opener but win the season’s third series against Baltimore. The second series at home came against New York who handed Montreal their first series loss leaving Montreal 10-4 on the opening month.

The first half of May was a disaster, opened with a six-game losing streak and just four wins in the first fifteen games. The second half of the month wasn’t much better, six wins in 15 games left Saints 10-20 on the month and four games below .500 in my first two month’s in charge. A team bonding session on the way back from a series loss in Baltimore seems to have had the desired affect as Montreal won six of the opening eight games and returned to .500 as their record sat at 26-26. The Saints have recorded two shutouts so far this season, both complete game shutouts by Earle Whitten. Their best win so far was on June 1st as the Saints went to town on in Baltimore winning 16-2, but on the other hand they had been embarrassed by Cleveland mid-May who took them apart 17-0 in Ohio.

Sophomore catcher Tom Bird has repaid my faith in him, slashing .347/.443/.524 with two homers, he’s been our most cost-effective player posting 1.7 WAR this season so far. All that has made last season’s catcher Curt Squillante pretty pissed and he’s let me know already that he should be the starting catcher. I told him straight “when you can hit .347 like a 27-yr-old kid you’ll get to start, until then you’re a 30-yr-old riding the pines picking up splinters” and as a parting shot told him that he ought to keep an eye on the draftee [b]Adam Mullins[/url] in Minneapolis, “the kid’s 22-yrs-old and hitting .290. If he carries on like that, you’ll be begging me for any AB in 1936”. Jim Watson is metaphorically thumbing his nose at me for doubting him with each of his seven homers he’s hit so far. Pablo Reyes & Bobby Sprague have been running the outfield with outstanding defence but the infield has been letting balls through them left, right and centre.

George Thomas has been good, not quite as good as the media predicted, but still with a 6-3 record with a 3.32 ERA. Bill Beier has proved to be a bit wild on the mound walking 14 batters compared to only six strikeouts and he owns a 2-4 record, but in general he’s proved a decent pickup earning three saves and a 2.42 ERA. Howie Snyder, the real backend man of the bullpen has only earned four saves but owned an ERA over five. Angie Bertrand was the first rotation guy to lose his spot, he’s posted a 1-5 record this season so far and we’ve given Allen Purvis his rotation spot; he’s been doing will in his first three sparts posting a 1-0 record.

CA Table

[mavericktango]

Monday, August 26th, 1935


Well, a lot of time has passed since my last report and it hasn’t been kind to all of the Montreal players. Just over two months have past and while the Saints have moved up the table some of our top players have spent some considerable time on the sidelines.

First to get injured was commanding centre fielder Pablo Reyes who on June 25th strained his hamstring while barely a week later star Closer Howie Snyder, was diagnosed with bone spurs in the elbow. To cap the run of bad luck in Montreal three days later our new #1 catcher Tom Bird suffered a herniated disc in his back and all three have only just returned to the starting line-up in the last few days, it was most galling for Bird who was forced to his first ever All Star selection. Another injury that I don’t think I mentioned was that new 2B Harry Fuller also had five weeks out with a fractured finger suffered in May.

The absence of Fuller allowed John Banks to regain his second base role and he has been hitting well enough with the bat as well as flashing the leather to keep Fuller on the bench. In other changes shortstop Art Armstrong was poor in the field and has found himself all the way down in Double-A Nashville. Coming up in his place is Red Palmer, he’d had several visits to the FABL already, but he’d been impressing with the leather in Minneapolis and has been continuing with the Saints in his 37 games. Right fielder John Collins is another who has just lost his spot due to dreadful defence and Bobby Sprague has taken his role. We’ve also swapped to a 4-man rotation and the three top starters George Thomas (14), Rich Fisher (11) and Earle Whitten (11) have all won double-digit games while Lou Marion has won four out of his 14 starts.

So, that’s where we are with the personnel changes over the last couple of months, now here’s the results we have been getting and firstly the current Continental association table.

Brooklyn and Cleveland are still the class of the division, way out in front of the rest, and Philly remain just out in front of us. We have past Toronto though and have a comfortable view of them and the rest in the rear view mirror. With just 44 games left we are looking good for finishing one or two places higher in the table than in 1934. So, despite all those top players missing we have actually won 13 out of 21 games so far in August after a patchy July. We have played quite well in the last two months against Cleveland, gaining two 2-2 series splits against the Foresters. Top prospect Adam Mullins, our 1934 first round pick, was promoted in Bird’s absence and made 28 appearances, hitting .353 and throwing out 6 out of 11 prospective base stealers. He probably could have stayed up with the Saints when Bird returned from injury, but I demoted him back to the Lumberjacks as I’d prefer to have him starting in Minneapolis at the moment rather than riding the pines in Montreal.

We currently have some big hitters on the team, Hank Barnett and Vic Crawford lead the team with 13 homers each but have Jim Watson pushing them with 10 homers as well. Crawford has driven in 84 runs while Barnett has 61 RBI. Hank has also been patient at the plate with 66 walks, almost double the tally of our next best Tom Bird with 36.

Minor League Woes

It hasn’t been the best of seasons for our minors. Minneapolis has been the best with a 59-55 record, sitting a distant fourth in the table. They do have all of the top six starters hitting over .300 with left fielder Red Bond & third baseman Ed Smith both on 16 homers, Ed leading the team on 71 RBI. Lefty pitcher Walker Moore has been proving his worth as the rotation ace with a 12-6 record with an team leading starter’s ERA of 3.71.

Double-A Nashville has been clinging to the bottom of the standings with a 39-75 record. Second baseman Jim Honeywood has been doing well with eight homers and a team leading 78 RBI. Pitcher Billy Stall is the best the Chieftains have, with an 8-5 record.

A ball Evansville have slumped to the bottom of the table as well with a 46-69 record. Right fielder Len Calvert is mashing it with 25 homers and 64 RBI, but he’s 29 and should really be playing at a higher level. He has younger players blocking his return to the higher levels though.

Mobile Monarchs are just one off the bottom of the table with a 48-66 record. Reliever Jackie Norfolk, in his first year at B level, has 16 saves and an ERA of just 1.94 while third baseman Lew Peacock leads the team with 12 homers and shares the RBI lead with 44.

Finally Rookie Dubuque Dukes have been having a nightmare, rooted to the foot of the league with a 37-80 record, third baseman Charlie Snelling is the top man, hitting .392 with 10 homers and 91 RBI from the clean-up spot. At the end of the year we will be able to assess what we have in the minors and will be able to tidy them up a bit for 1936.